Company News in Brief

Oil prices rise after US and Iran exchange fire in Hormuz strait

Oil prices rose on Friday after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.

The US said it made self‑defence strikes in response to "unprovoked" Iranian attacks as US ships were heading out of the Gulf through the strait, which is south of Iran. Iran said the US had violated the ceasefire agreed in April, according to its state media.

The global Brent oil benchmark price rose almost 3% to nearly $103 (£75) a barrel at one point before falling back to around $100.

Despite the attacks, US President Donald Trump said on Friday the US-Iran ceasefire is still in place.

Iranian state media has reported that the situation "is back to normal now".

More than a fifth of the world's oil and gas usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

Before the conflict began, oil was trading at around $70 a barrel.

-BBC News 

World Cup fans in China and India face broadcast uncertainty

Millions of football fans in India and China face uncertainty over whether or not the World Cup will be shown in their countries as broadcasters have yet to reach deals with football's governing body, Fifa.

It is unusual for TV rights deals to not be agreed for an event of this scale with just weeks to go before it is due to start. Such agreements are typically settled months, if not years, before the opening ceremony.

Local media in both countries have said Fifa and broadcasters are still wrangling over the cost of showing the games.

Fifa told the the BBC that talks in China and India "are ongoing and must remain confidential at this stage", without commenting on the fees involved.

A total of 180 territories have now completed deals with Fifa, the global football organisation said.

But a handful have yet to secure the rights to broadcast the 2026 World Cup, including India and China - which together account for around a third of the world's population.

Fifa's initial offer to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) for rights to the tournament was reportedly as high as $300m (£220m).

Fifa has now lowered the price to between $120m and $150m, according to state-controlled newspaper Beijing Daily. But that is still more than double CCTV's budget for the event, the paper said.

-BBC News 

Eskom days away from a miracle year

Eskom is less than 10 days away from avoiding load-shedding for an entire year, something the power utility has not achieved since 2018.

As of 7 May 2026, Eskom had not implemented national power cuts for 356 days. Just two years ago, many would have thought the prospect of three months without load-shedding unrealistic.

South Africa experienced crippling power cuts between 2021 and 2023, with each consecutive year setting a new record for load-shedding days and gigawatt-hours (GWh) shed.

The current reprieve is the longest since the 1,004 days of uninterrupted supply between September 2015 and June 2018.

The first long-term period of relative generation stability lasted 311 days, from 26 March 2024 to 31 January 2025.

That run ended after multiple breakdowns at five power stations over a short period early last year, prompting Eskom to implement stage 3 load-shedding.

The situation deteriorated over the following weeks, and by late February 2025, the power cuts had escalated to stage 4 and stage 6 load-shedding.

More bouts of stage 2 and stage 3 load-shedding followed in April and May 2025. The return to service of several Kusile units and Medupi Unit 4 provided a sufficient boost to avoid winter load-shedding.

The last time load-shedding was implemented was the evening of 15 May 2025, with a six-hour run of stage 2 power cuts.

-MyBroadband