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WASHINGTON — Facebook is ready to launch a digital wallet that would let users store cryptocurrencies, a senior company executive said in a US media interview on Wednesday.

David Marcus, head of Facebook's crypto unit, told The Information news site that company leaders "feel pretty committed" to launch the digital wallet called Novi this year.

Marcus said he would have preferred to release Novi alongside Diem, a digital currency tied to the dollar that the company is also developing, but Diem's timing was uncertain.

"In theory, Novi could launch before Diem, but it would mean launching without Diem and that's not necessarily something that we want to do," Marcus told The Information.

"It all depends on how long it's going to take for Diem to actually go live and that's not something I'm personally looking after."

In 2019, Facebook said it plans to introduce a cryptocurrency that at the time was called Libra. The project however faced regulatory resistance over concerns about security and reliability.

In December 2020, the Libra changed its name to Diem and moved its operations from Switzerland to the United States as part of a "strategic shift.

HONG KONG — Asian markets mostly fell on Thursday as hopes for the global recovery and signs of a possible slowdown in new virus infections play off against the prospect of an end to Federal Reserve largesse and China's regulatory clampdown.

Equities and oil have by and large enjoyed a positive week, helped by US full approval of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine and speculation the Fed will take its time in removing its ultra-loose monetary policy whenever it begins to do so.

However, while Wall Street continued to chalk up new records, Asian investors shifted a little more cautiously as they assessed the outlook.

Top of the agenda this week is Fed boss Jerome Powell's speech on Friday to the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers and economists, which will be closely followed for any indication about its policy plans in light of rising inflation and the economic rebound.

The bank is widely expected to begin easing back on its vast bond-buying programme by the end of the year, though the spread of the Delta variant and its impact on growth has some observers and even hawkish Fed members rethinking the wisdom of doing so.

Analysts said the speed and timing of a pullback could be crucial."When the Fed actually announces the taper, it will likely also give some degree of information on what pace it will take and how flexible or inflexible they want to be with the process," Guneet Dhingra, at Morgan Stanley, said.

"That could provide a key signal for the rate-hike cycle -- particularly with regard to the pace of the hikes."

However, some warn that starting to taper too late could cause problems.

"It would be dangerous for the Fed to do this because it needs to be in a position -- from the middle of next year -- to start putting out the rhetoric that they may be raising rates," said Steven Barrow, of Standard Bank Group.

"And we know it's not out of the realm of possibilities that the Fed could lift rates some time around the end of next year. So I'm focused more on the end point for Fed tapering than the starting point."

Asian investors struggled to maintain Wall Street's rally.

Hong Kong led losses as tech firms were dragged down by weak earnings results that came as China embarked on its crackdown on the industry, while Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also fell. However, Tokyo, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok eked out gains.

Seoul was also in the red after South Korea became one of the first major economies to start lifting interest rates since they were cut to record lows last year to battle the coronavirus impact.

The central bank move came as it looks to tackle surging household debt and sharp rises in property prices. The won jumped against the dollar after the announcement.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all fell soon after opening.

Traders are also keeping a keen eye on China after it rattled world markets in recent weeks with a wave of regulations aimed at winding in private firms -- particularly in the tech sector -- it considered to have become too powerful and posed security risks.

While there has been little noise out of Beijing lately, the state-backed People's Daily reported that Xi Jinping had said China should try to achieve key economic and social development objectives this year.

While it did not set out specifics, the president has embarked on a mission to rein in the country's tycoons and powerful organisations, instead focusing on "common prosperity".

BEIJING — China reopened a key terminal at the world's third-busiest cargo port on Wednesday, after a shutdown to control the coronavirus caused backlogs through supply chains — but disruptions at a major airport are now sending transport costs soaring.

Several cargo aircraft workers at Shanghai Pudong International Airport tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week, sparking a suspension in freight operations.

That has led to a spike in air freight rates of "around 30 per cent", SEKO Logistics told AFP.

The company added that it has rerouted cargo to different airlines and airports to avoid delays, after the current suspension starting last Friday.

"The closure is currently estimated to last around seven to 14 days," it said.

There have been flight cancellations at Pudong while in the industry, staff resignations following tighter quarantine rules have dragged handling times and created a "backlog for upcoming flights", said logistics company Ligentia in another recent statement.

The situation piles stress on already-stretched global supply chains.

The shipping network is still reeling from recent port closures, as exporters work to meet soaring demand for goods from Western consumers and comply with strict domestic virus controls.

The air cargo disruptions come shortly after a partial halt at the eastern Ningbo-Zhoushan port, starting two weeks ago when a worker at its Meishan terminal tested positive for the coronavirus.

The terminal handles a fifth of the container volume at Ningbo-Zhoushan and the hold-up forced ships to other Chinese ports, which were left facing their worst levels of congestion in seven years, reported Chinese media outlet Caixin this week.

The Ningbo-Zhoushan port handled almost 1.2 billion tonnes of goods in 2020.

But Ningbo authorities said late Tuesday that restrictions will be lifted from Wednesday morning.

Calling for a "resumption of work and production", authorities added that business should also prioritise loading and unloading stranded trucks, said a notice republished by state broadcaster CCTV.

Chinese port workers are routinely tested for COVID-19, and the affected worker had been fully vaccinated.

Similarly, the infected air cargo workers in Shanghai were fully vaccinated as well, according to state media reports.

China has been battling a resurgence of COVID-19 in recent weeks caused by the highly infectious Delta variant, but strict lockdowns and mass testing has helped push new case numbers back down.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — TikTok unveiled plans to allow users to buy products while using the video-sharing app in a partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify.

The social media app said it would begin pilot-testing TikTok Shopping with a group of Shopify merchants in the United States, Britain and Canada in the coming weeks. 

"TikTok Shopping will bring new features that help Shopify merchants create engaging, organic content that sends consumers directly to their online store for checkout, making it easy for people to explore and buy the products they discover on TikTok," said a statement from the app owned by China-based ByteDance.

Blake Chandlee, head of global business solutions at TikTok, said the app "is uniquely placed at the centre of content and commerce, and these new solutions make it even easier for businesses of all sizes to create engaging content that drives consumers directly to the digital point of purchase."

Harley Finkelstein, Shopify president, said the partnership will help boost platform "creators" who promote products online by "enabling new in-app shopping experiences and product discovery on TikTok for the first time".

"Shopify is powering the creator economy on one of the fastest-growing social and entertainment platforms in the world," he said. "We are excited to help this next generation of entrepreneurs connect with their audiences."

The news comes amid rising interest in "social commerce" that is expected to be worth some $36 billion in the United States this year, according to the research firm eMarketer.

An eMarketer report said Facebook was leading this segment, and that an estimated 56 million US residents would be making at least one purchase on the leading social network this year.

TikTok came under pressure last year from US former president Donald Trump, who claimed the platform represented a national security risk because of its links to China.

Joe Biden's administration shelved plans to ban TikTok or force a sale to US investors, instead ordering a national security review of foreign-controlled platforms.

LONDON — Bitcoin rose back above $50,000 on Monday for the first time in three months after supportive news from payments giant PayPal and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.

The world's most popular virtual unit jumped to $50,440 during Asian trade, before easing to $50,350 in early morning London deals.

"Bitcoin continues its recent recovery, moving above the $50,000 mark it last attained in May though still some way short of its $65,000 record as PayPal announces plans to launch its cryptocurrency trading platform in the UK," said AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson.

PayPal has announced that it will begin to allow users in Britain to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency through its platform for the first time.

The expansion into the hot digital money trend follows similar moves by the payments giant in the United States earlier this year.

Bitcoin won another shot in the arm on Monday from last week's news that Coinbase was ploughing cash into the unit.

"The news last week that Coinbase will buy $500 million (427 million euros) in cryptos to put on its balance sheet and put 10 per cent of quarterly profits into a crypto portfolio has lent support to sentiment," noted Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.

Blistering run 

Bitcoin enjoyed a blistering run earlier this year but in mid-May it began tumbling on a range of issues, including China's crackdown on cryptocurrencies and Tesla boss Elon Musk's decision to stop accepting it on concerns about the environmental impact of mining.

The electric carmaker has since indicated its support for Bitcoin, while several other high-profile investors including Twitter founder Jack Dorsey have flagged their interest.

It has now risen more than 70 per cent from the six-month lows below $29,000 touched in June, while speculation is swirling that it could begin its push towards $100,000.

However, Bitcoin is still a long way off its record just below $65,000 that it achieved in April.

LONDON — Oil prices soared and stocks rebounded Monday on bargain-buying from last week's blow-out, with traders riding a wave of optimism following pre-weekend Wall Street gains.

"Markets enter the new week with some renewed optimism, having ended the previous week's tumultuous ride in positive fashion," noted Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.

"Although volatility is likely to persist given lighter summer volumes, the weakness which the markets endured for the majority of the previous trading sessions tempted some investors to buy on the dips."

The gains were mirrored in oil markets, with both main contracts enjoying big gains of over 5 per cent.

After having suffered heavy losses recently owing to concerns that the Delta variant of the coronavirus would impact demand as countries restrict people's movements, investors were reassured by the fact China reported no new local COVID-19 cases on Monday for the first time since July.

Fears about the much more contagious variant have rattled world markets as it forces some governments to reimpose containment measures, which depresses demand for oil as people cannot travel.

"It is a good sign that there were apparently no new cases recorded over the weekend in China," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

Sentiment was also jolted last week by minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting indicating it could start withdrawing its vast financial support by year-end.

The colossal bond-buying programme and record-low interest rates have been a key pillar of the global recovery for more than a year, and the prospect of the cash being withdrawn has stalled that advance.

However, Dallas Federal Reserve chief Bob Kaplan, who is considered a policy hawk, suggested he could rethink his view to taper soon in light of the Delta variant's global march, which is showing signs of hobbling economic growth.

The focus is now on Fed chief Jerome Powell's speech to the Jackson Hole annual conference of central bankers and finance chiefs on Friday, with hopes for a clue about a taper timetable.

"The data in recent months have been fantastic but the outlook is becoming increasingly downbeat," said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam.

"Jackson Hole looked the ideal platform for a taper warning, but now officials may be more inclined to see how the data unfold over the weeks before the September meeting before dropping any major hints," he said.

Bitcoin topped $50,000 on Monday for the first time in three months after supportive news from payments giant PayPal and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.

The virtual unit jumped to $50,440 during Asian trade, before easing to $50,350 in early morning London deals.

"Bitcoin continues its recent recovery... as PayPal announces plans to launch its cryptocurrency trading platform in the UK," said AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson.

PayPal will this week begin to allow users in Britain to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency through the online payment platform for the first time.

DUBAI — Alongside a grinding seven-year military conflict, Yemen's government and the Houthi rebels are locked in battle on another front — a currency war that has opened up a gulf in riyal values.

Both the government and the Iran-backed Houthis used the same notes until late 2019 when the rebels banned new banknotes printed in government-run Aden, due to concerns about inflation. 

The resulting difference in money supply has since seen the riyal's value plummet to around 1,000 to the dollar in government areas, while the value in Houthi-controlled zones has held relatively stable at 600. 

Citizens and businesses in both government and rebel-controlled zones have been left out of pocket by the divergence, but especially those in the former, given rampant inflation there.

This internal exchange rate has also complicated trade and led to manipulation by profiteers, to the detriment of most in a country on the verge of famine. 

"Right now, we have... an exchange rate of the same currency inside the country," said Amal Nasser, an economist with the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies. "This is bizarre from an economic perspective." 

According to Nasser, other experts and ordinary Yemenis, the gap between the two currency values meant higher transfer costs between the two zones.

Yemen's conflict has split the country between the mostly Houthi-controlled north, and the south under the internationally-recognised government which relocated the central bank to Aden after the insurgents seized Sanaa in 2014. 

The war has pushed the nation, long the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula, to the brink of famine and economic collapse, with most schools, factories, hospitals and businesses either destroyed or closed.

As the riyal plummeted to new lows in recent weeks in government areas, the central bank there pledged to withdraw the series of banknotes which had accumulated in its territory after the Houthi ban in late 2019.

The central bank in Aden was caught out because it had expected the new notes to eventually spread evenly through both zones, but the concentration of supply in the government zone stoked inflation there and spurred the exchange rate divergence.

The government this month introduced a stockpile of what it claims were old bills, drawing the ire of the rebels who accused it of minting new, "counterfeit" money. 

Rebel authorities also banned their use and issued civilians with guides to identify the so-called "fakes" — something experts said would be hard for an average citizen to do. 

"Obviously, this new injection of money will affect the economy negatively, increase inflation and affect the citizen's purchasing power," Alaa Al Haj, an Aden resident said.

Yemenis were already battling soaring living costs in a country where more than 80 per cent of people are dependent on international aid.

The Houthis have accused Goznak, a Russian state-owned company, of colluding with the central bank of Aden to print "large amounts of counterfeit currency" this year — "in particular 1,000 riyal notes" to pass new bills off as old. 

Wahid Al Fawdai, an adviser to the central bank, said the bills the government recently put into circulation had been in the central bank reserves for several years. 

Goznak and the central bank did not comment when contacted by AFP. 

Social media and newspapers are rife with stories of profiteers exploiting the unstable economic situation. 

Some people have used the rate discrepancies as an opportunity to cash in, including by using the newly issued "old" notes in Aden to buy up those printed after 2017 at a discount of around 20 per cent.

Experts spoken believe that the new "old" notes have a strong chance of permeating largely undetected into Houthi areas, since they are hard to distinguish from the earlier old notes. 

Ultimately, this should help the central bank in closing the gap in the exchange rate between the two zones, they said.

NEW YORK — Aiming for a bigger presence in US brick-and-mortar retail, Amazon plans to open "several" multipurpose shopping venues similar to department stores, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The stores will sell household items, electronics and apparel, showcasing Amazon's private-label merchandise, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. 

Some of the first stores are expected in California and Ohio, according to the report.

An Amazon spokesperson said, "We do not comment on rumours and speculation."

The move would come on the heels of Amazon's 2017 acquisition of the Whole Foods Market grocery chain for $13.7 billion, which significantly expanded the e-commerce giant's presence in physical retail.

At around 30,000 square feet, the new shops would be far smaller than traditional department stores but bigger than most existing physical retailers in the company's network, which includes bookstores and smaller grocery shops. 

Department stores were once prominent spaces in American retail, showcasing not only high-end fashion but also items such as toys, furniture and appliances.

But like other brick-and-mortar shops, department stores have lost market share to online vendors, as well as big-box stores including Walmart and Target. 

Chains such as JC Penney and Macy's have closed dozens of outlets at US malls over the last few years, with the former company also shifting owners following a reorganisation overseen by a bankruptcy court. Without those big anchor stores, malls too have been in steady decline.

Analysts pointed to several strategic reasons for Amazon's planned expansion into physical retail, including the desire to boost sales in apparel, home furnishings and other product lines and a recognition that the "future of retail is multichannel" rather than primarily online, GlobalData Retail's Neil Saunders said in a note.

"The move by Amazon will be experimental at first," Saunders said. "However, if it gets rolled out in a serious way, it is very bad news for traditional department stores."