When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, cryptocurrency fans appeared to be trapped in a decadent fantasy. A batch of CryptoPunk NFTs (blockchain collectibles) had just been yanked from auction at Sotheby’s amid fading enthusiasm and a broader market sell-off. The seller tweeted Drake memes to laugh off the cancelled event, but considering the glitzy marketing campaign, it was ...

  Bloomberg Foreign aircraft lessors are facing the increasing possibility of writeoffs that could total in the billions of dollars as Russia considers ways to defy worldwide sanctions and keep carriers such as Aeroflot flying. Russia’s Transportation Ministry is weighing options including buying or even nationalizing hundreds of Airbus SE and Boeing Co planes that lessors have demanded be returned ...

  Bloomberg Dassault Aviation SA threatened to pull out of developing a future European fighter jet with Airbus SE over a protracted dispute between the two defense suppliers over leadership of the project. Talks between the French company and the German and Spanish arms of Airbus have reached an impasse and an agreement on moving to the next phase “still ...

Bloomberg Gap Inc gave an optimistic projection for the current year, saying its strategic moves are starting to pay off, even though the apparel maker’s fourth-quarter results missed estimates on several key measures. The shares rose in late trading. For the current fiscal year, which ends in January, the retailer is projecting earnings per share in the range of $1.95 ...

Bloomberg Kroger Co shares jumped the most in almost 30 years after the company unveiled a profit forecast that signaled new gains on top of a two-year surge in demand for groceries sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. Adjusted earnings in the current fiscal year will range between $3.75 and $3.85 a share, Kroger said. That handily exceeded the $3.44 average ...

Bloomberg The US should immediately move towards recognizing Taiwan as a country, former US Secretary of State and potential presidential candidate Mike Pompeo said in Taipei, comments that garnered a testy response from Beijing. “It is imperative to change 50 years of ambiguity,” said Pompeo, the top diplomat in the Trump administration who is visiting Taipei in an unofficial capacity ...

Bloomberg Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the Nato defense bloc after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countries’ leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment. Polls released in the two Nordic countries on Friday showed 51% of Swedes and 48% of Finns now back joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It’s the first ...

Bloomberg Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is stepping up his calls for a no-fly zone as his country faces escalating Russian bombardment of key cities and strategic sites, but the Nato military alliance remains highly unlikely to support one. “Europe must wake up,” Zelenskiy said in a video message early Friday after Ukraine said shelling in the area that houses the ...

  Bloomberg Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi made the biggest changes to his cabinet since coming into power in 2015, placing allies in key positions as the ruling party prepares for an elective congress in September. Nyusi named Adriano Maleiane, who had been finance minister since 2015, as the new prime minister, replacing Carlos do Rosário, according to a statement posted ...

  Bloomberg Singapore plans to introduce a points-based visa system for some of its highest-paid foreign workers, including scores for how the applicant’s nationality contributes to the diversity of their firm, in addition to education, skills and pay. The program unveiled Friday in parliament by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng is among the biggest visa changes ever for a nation ...