Vodacom’s R600 million expansion plan, and Elon Musk wants to give away $10 billion in SpaceX stock

The rand was trading at R16.40 against the US dollar on the morning on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, continuing to strengthen slightly.

South African equities posted sharp declines yesterday, with the JSE All Share Index dropping 1.75% and the Top 40 Index by 1.90%.

Market attention is focused on tomorrow’s medium-term budget, as well as upcoming consumer inflation and retail sales data.

On Wall Street, technology stocks rallied, pushing the Nasdaq up 1% ahead of corporate earnings announcements.

The S&P 500 gained 0.41%, offsetting softer housing confidence data as the NAHB/Wells Fargo index slipped 3 points to 29 against a forecast of 31.

In Europe, indices retreated under political and fiscal uncertainty in France, causing the CAC 40 to drop 1.11% and the STOXX 600 by 0.9%.

London’s FTSE also weakened by 1.08%, with reports that the Bank of England is investigating allegations that Barclays traders understated private credit risks.

Asian markets weakened on Tuesday amid geopolitical concerns, with the Nikkei 225 decreasing by 0.62%.

China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the seventeenth consecutive month, leaving the one-year rate at 3.00% and the five-year rate at 3.50%.

In commodities, Brent crude oil remained above $109 per barrel due to ongoing Middle East supply concerns and uncertainty around US sanctions.

Gold softened on Tuesday morning as markets anticipate next week’s Federal Reserve rate decision, sitting around $4,143.51 per ounce.

On Tuesday morning, the rand was trading at R16.40 to the US dollar, R18.43 to the euro, and R21.87 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Elon Musk wants to give away $10 billion in SpaceX stock: Elon Musk said he would gift every child in America one share in SpaceX, following pledges from Anthropic to donate some of the wealth accumulated through the AI boom. Based on the current stock price and the number of US children under the age of 18, this is equivalent to roughly $10 billion in stock. [Wall Street Journal]

Vodacom’s R600 million expansion plan: Vodacom has set aside R600 million to expand its network in Mpumalanga throughout the 2026 financial year, focusing on technical upgrades and rural areas. The rollout will target all 17 local municipalities in the Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande, and Nkangala districts, and follows a R620 million investment in the province a year prior. [BusinessDay]

100% inheritance tax in America: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said America should have inheritance taxes close to 100%, and that he would pay them if they did. Kirby said wealth inequality had become a danger to society, and is not the first businessman to call for higher taxes on the wealthy, joining Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and George Soros. [Yahoo Finance]

Netflix sheds second executive in a week: Netflix film head Dan Lin is leaving the company after three years at the helm, marking the second senior executive to leave in less than a week. Content chief Bela Bajaria is also leaving after nearly a decade with the company, and will be replaced by former Disney executive Peter Rice. Rice will oversee the films division until a new head is announced. [Reuters]

KZN rakes in R124.5 billion in pledges: KwaZulu-Natal has secured R124.5 billion in investment pledges, exceeding its target by almost R30 billion. Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli announced this during the 2026 KwaZulu-Natal Investment Conference in Durban, and said the commitments could create 330,000 more jobs. [EWN]