Bloomberg It’s only a matter of time before central banks adopt blockchain to settle high-value, interbank fund transfers, according to the head of Ripple, whose technology has won support from former Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. As the technology, which is based on encrypted distributed ledgers, catches on, central banks around the world will be afraid to miss out, Ripple ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump has compared landing at Los Angeles International and other US airports to arriving in a third-world country. But a provision in the tax bill passed by the House of Representatives would eliminate a tool central to his $1 trillion pledge to upgrade airports and other public works. The House measure would eliminate a form of tax-exempt ...

Bloomberg Coca-Cola Co., facing a world where consumers fill up Amazon baskets instead of grocery carts, is trying to raise its tech game. The 131-year-old beverage company is taking its understanding of driving real-life traffic to the world of e-commerce. That includes upping the appearance of its “digital shelf,” integrating with voice products like Amazon’s Echo, and adding impulse buy ...

Bloomberg There’s some simple math when it comes to airfares: the higher the price, the bigger the profit. And the most expensive tickets tend to be those sold at the very last minute—specifically those picked up by business travellers with schedules dictated by sudden deals and unexpected client meetings. And not coincidentally, these fares are usually paid for by the ...

Bloomberg For the past year, Amazon employees have been test driving Amazon Go, an experimental convenience store in downtown Seattle. The idea is to let consumers walk in, pick up items and then pay for them without ever standing in line at a cashier. Amazon is vague on the mechanics, but the store relies on a mobile app and some ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp. plans to invest as much as $25 billion in Saudi Arabia over the next three to four years as the Japanese company run by Masayoshi Son deepens investment ties with the kingdom, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank aims to deploy up to $15 billion in a new city called Neom that Crown Prince ...

DUBAI / WAM The Dubai-based airline, flydubai, on Wednesday announced its commitment to a $27 billion order for 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, to support the growth of its fleet. This is the third order placed by the airline with Boeing in its eight-year history, following those in 2008 and 2013. The new aircraft order will support its continued expansion ...

Bloomberg OPEC and allied oil producers should extend their production cuts beyond March to help re-balance the market, the United Arab Emirates said, adding weight to a gathering consensus for longer reductions in output among participants in the global accord. The UAE favours maintaining the cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the first quarter, Minister of ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced plans to launch Umm Lulu Crude Oil, a new crude blend produced from its Umm Lulu and SARB fields, operated by ADNOC Offshore. Umm Lulu Crude Oil, which has an expected API density of around 39 degrees and sulphur content of around 0.7 percent weight percent, is a ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Union Insurance Company, a leading provider of innovative customer-focussed insurance solut- ions to individuals and corporations in the region, has reported a net profit of as much as AED6.3 million for the first nine months ended on September 30 compared to a net loss of AED12.8 million for the same period last year. Gross insurance premium ...