Bloomberg The speculative frenzy in bitcoin is spilling over into the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Remixpoint Co., Infoteria Corp. and Fisco Ltd., have all seen volatile swings in their share prices after announcing businesses related to digital currencies. Remixpoint, which has more than doubled since tying up with Peach Aviation Ltd. to let customers pay for tickets with bitcoin, fell as …

Bloomberg Qatari banks, already stretched by financing demands of the $200 billion 2022 World Cup, took a head-on blow from its neighbours’ abrupt decision to cut economic and diplomatic ties. At risk are the foreign deposits-especially from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council-that have helped sustain institutions like Qatar National Bank QPSC, the region’s largest by assets, and Doha Bank QSC. …

DOHA / Reuters The Qatari currency came under pressure on Tuesday as Gulf commercial banks began to hold off on dealing with Qatari banks because of the diplomatic rift in the region, banking sources said. Some Saudi Arabian, UAE and Bahraini banks were delaying business with Qatari banks, such as letters of credit, after their governments cut diplomatic ties and …

COLOMBO / Reuters Some Sri Lankan banks stopped buying Qatar Riyal on Tuesday, saying their counterpart banks in Singapore advised them not to accept the currency a day after the Arab world’s biggest powers cut ties with Qatar. Dealers at four local private banks said they have stopped buying Qatar Riyal. “Our counter-party in Singapore has asked us not to …

Bloomberg The Bank of Israel has a new message for the market: Don’t assume it will follow the US path on interest rates. Investors and economists long speculated that the Bank of Israel, anxious about a strengthening local currency, would keep rates on hold until the US Federal Reserve had raised its lending rate a few times. As the rate …

Bloomberg Emilio Saracho’s plan to turn around Banco Popular Espanol SA has become a struggle for survival. Just four months after the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker took charge, the troubled lender is exploring ways to bolster its cash and short-term funds and may request additional central bank loans, a person familiar with the matter has said. Expansion newspaper …

Bloomberg Qatar’s state airline is set to become the biggest loser from the diplomatic breakdown in the Persian Gulf—with competitors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi also set to suffer. Some 76 daily flights are likely to be grounded, of which 52 are operated by Qatar Airways, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE suspended ties with Qatar, according to …

Bloomberg Alitalia has started an administration process aimed at finding investors willing to invest in the carrier Etihad Airways, the biggest single shareholder in Alitalia, is open to deepening its ties with the insolvent airline after investing about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the Italian company. “Strong ties continue to exist between Alitalia and Etihad Aviation Group and we …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etisalat on Monday announced a new digital initiative across key retail stores with the launch of its first self-interactive eLife and mobility experience zones to provide a real time digital experience of its innovative features and services. Customers can walk in to key retail stores to have a 360 degree real-time experience of our eLife …

Bloomberg Airbus SE will refit Zodiac Aerospace seats on all of Finnair Oyj’s A350 wide-body jetliners because of quality issues, said the airline’s CEO, Pekka Vauramo. Entire business-class berths must be replaced on the nine A350s that Finnair has in operation, Vauramo said in an interview at the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The changes will …