Bloomberg The head of Facebook Inc’s Libra project said that it could use cryptocurrencies based on national currencies like the dollar, rather than the synthetic one it initially proposed, Reuters reported. David Marcus, who oversees the Libra initiative for Facebook, told a banking seminar hosted by the Group of 30 in Washington that Facebook is open to looking at alternative …

Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) aims to expand its lending to environmentally-friendly projects after this year building the biggest exposure to green loans among its Southeast Asian peers. The bank has built a team of five to focus on sustainable financing after foraying into green loans last year and is looking to add bankers, said Mike Ng, the Singapore bank’s …

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) officials must bear in mind their previous premature interest-rate hikes and the market turmoil around the US Federal Reserve’s tapering of bond purchases when they eventually start to tighten monetary policy, Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn warned. “The core inflation rate remains low and clearly below the ECB’s price-stability target,” Rehn wrote in a …

Bloomberg A group led by luxury property developer Nicholas Candy is considering making an offer for Capital & Counties (CapCo) Properties Plc, whose stock has cratered amid London prime real estate’s longest slump in decades. Capco’s shares rose 8% in London on Monday, valuing the firm at $2.8 billion. The stock had lost nearly half its value from its 2015 …

Bloomberg Boeing Co said it told US regulators “multiple times” that it had expanded the role of flight-control software later linked to two fatal crashes, and that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel observed the system operating in flight tests before the 737 Max was certified for service. The statement provided a broader explanation to the bombshell revelation that a former …

Bloomberg Coca-Cola Co’s international sales and low-sugar offerings like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar drove brisk revenue growth in the third quarter. Shares rose the most intraday since July. The beverage giant said unit case volume grew by 2%, while net revenue expanded 8% to $9.5 billion. The key metric of organic revenue, which strips out some items like currency effects, jumped …

Bloomberg It’s all about that new plane smell. Private jets that can fly faster and go longer distances are causing a surge in new corporate-jet deliveries from General Dynamic Corp’s Gulfstream unit, Bombardier Inc and Textron Inc’s Cessna. Innovations that have spurred sales include better fuel-efficiency, roomier, quieter cabins and gadget-packed cockpits that can predict the weather and smooth out …

Bloomberg Japan’s largest clothing maker Fast Retailing Co suspended a TV commercial in South Korea which angered consumers, the Kookmin Ilbo newspaper reported. An ad in English promoting Uniqlo’s fall/winter collection had Korean subtitles that some believed made reference to a period of war-time slaves. The commercial was withdrawn from Uniqlo’s Youtube account and TV networks, the paper said, citing …

Bloomberg Routine drone deliveries of medication, snacks and other small items from a drugstore began in a small Virginia town. Alphabet Inc offshoot Wing, which just received an expanded certification to act as a small air carrier, is starting the nation’s inaugural delivery service via a small civilian aircraft with partners Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and FedEx Corp. “This is …

Bloomberg For a taste of CEO Steve Rowe’s ambitions to transform Marks & Spencer Group Plc, look no further than its newly refurbished shop in London’s Clapham neighbourhood. The store looks more like a Whole Foods Market than one of the 135-year-old British retailer’s more traditional outlets. Alongside piles of avocados and herbs grown with the help of artificial intelligence …