19 August 2024 Morning Biz News: Pupkewitz Megabuild Reports Major Price Drop; Rand Surges as South African Stocks Hit Record Highs; Epic Games Launches New App Store

Pupkewitz Megabuild Sees Major Price Drop

Pupkewitz Megabuild in Windhoek has reported a significant 23.45% decrease in its basket of goods for August. This drop is the largest year-on-year decline among the four hardware stores surveyed by The Brief. Key price reductions include paint, which saw a dramatic fall from N$2,576.00 to N$928.99. Additionally, Door Frame Steel and Roofing Galvanized IBR prices have also decreased, reflecting a broader trend of reduced costs in the hardware sector.

Rand Gains as South African Stocks Reach Record Highs

South Africa’s rand is poised to gain over 2% this week, with stocks reaching an all-time high in intra-day trading on Friday. This surge follows optimistic U.S. economic data that alleviated recession concerns. By late afternoon, the rand was trading at 17.88 against the U.S. dollar, marking a 0.65% increase from the previous day’s close. Meanwhile, the dollar fell approximately 0.39% against a basket of global currencies.

Asian Stocks Pause Amid Optimism

Asian stocks experienced a pause on Monday after a robust week for global markets. The positive outlook for the U.S. economy, combined with cooling inflation expectations, has led to hopes for interest rate cuts. This optimism has driven gold prices above $2,500 an ounce and weakened the dollar against the euro. Conversely, the yen and Swiss franc have fallen as global risk appetite improves.

Epic Games Launches New App Store

Epic Games has introduced its own app store, enabling users to bypass the app stores of Apple and Google, according to ENCA. The new Epic Games Store is now available globally for Android devices and in Europe for iPhone and iPad users. This move marks a significant shift in the app market, coming after Epic’s extensive legal battles and regulatory efforts aimed at challenging the dominance of Apple and Google in app sales.

Financial Indicators

• Namibian Dollar: 17.87 to the US$
• Euro: 19.71
• Pound: 23.13
• Gold: $2,507.65 per ounce
• Brent Crude: $79.68 per barrel
• Bitcoin: $1,044,015.85