Bloomberg Circle Internet Financial Ltd., one of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency platforms, is looking to make a big leap into the highly regulated realm of US banks and brokerages. The venture, partly backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., plans to seek a federal banking license to provide more services to customers. It also intends to pursue registration as a …

Bloomberg European Central Bank Chief Economist Peter Praet confirmed that next week’s policy meeting will be pivotal for reaching a decision on when to end the institution’s bond-buying program. His comments reinforce the view that the ECB is close to settling the question of how long it will keep buying debt to support the euro-area economy. Bloomberg reported that policy …

Bloomberg Polish rate setters kept borrowing costs unchanged, sticking to a wait-and-see policy that may last into the next decade as the central bank diverges from other countries in the region already tightening monetary policy. Below-forecast inflation and higher-than-estimated economic growth have given the Monetary Policy Council all it needs to stick with Governor Adam Glapinski’s stance that rates may …

Bloomberg Emirates aircraft are synonymous with luxury, offering premium-class passengers shower on board while cruising at 30,000 feet. Now the carrier wants to give some legroom for those flying coach. The world’s biggest long-haul airline outlined details of a new premium economy seat that it plans to help stem “leakage” of passengers who can’t afford business, but want a more …

Bloomberg South African Airways is offering surplus pilots and cabin crew to major global carriers as part of a bid to cut costs and secure alliances in its three-year turnaround plan. SAA, as the unprofitable state-owned company is known, needs fewer staff of its own as it scraps under-performing routes, and views the experienced personnel as a path to discussions …

Bloomberg With more than 100 languages and the ambition to connect even its smallest villages by air, India has become a testing ground for a new software being developed by Honeywell International Inc. that aims to make it easier to understand pilots speaking English with strong local accents. The conglomerate is, at the behest of the government, developing software that …

Bloomberg The cleanup continues at Hudson’s Bay Co., the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue. The struggling Canadian retailer agreed to sell Gilt, a flash-sale, e-commerce company it bought two years ago that has become one of its worst-performing businesses. The buyer, Rue La La, announced the purchase on Monday without disclosing a price, and said it plans to run the …

Bloomberg In its rush to find a buyer earlier this year and avoid liquidation, bankrupt Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. landed on a familiar name: Sycamore Partners, according to people familiar with the matter. The private-equity firm, which had already scooped up several troubled retailers, held advanced talks with Toys ‘R’ Us about acquiring the chain and keeping open half its …

ABU DHABI / WAM The Arab Coalition in Support of Legitimacy in Yemen has said that the Iranian-backed Houthi militias are currently suffering from wide isolation and facing difficulty in enlisting recruits, a fact reflected in the great losses they sustained in the Yemeni districts of Al-Hodeidah and Saada. In a news conference in Saudi Arabia, the official spokesman of …

Bloomberg They are the building blocks of our daily stuff, from sports shoes to computer keyboards, created when oil and natural gas molecules are split, or cracked, to produce ethylene, propylene and other chemicals. The petrochemicals are big business in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, and they’re poised for further growth. Energy producers view these compounds increasingly as a key to …