Iran has suggested isolating the US by ditching the dollar during a meeting yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran. Remonstrating against US threats to impose new sanctions and cancel the nuclear agreement, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: “We can nullify US sanctions, using methods such as eliminating the dollar and replacing it with national currencies in transactions between two or more parties; thus, isolate the Americans.” Source Middle East Monitor
Boeing Co (BA.N) said Wednesday it was eliminating more than 12,000 U.S. jobs, including involuntary layoffs of 6,770 U.S. workers as the largest American planemaker restructures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Source Reuters
China seeks to have its planned sovereign digital currency ready in time for the 2022 Winter Olympics here, the central bank revealed Tuesday, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a shift away from cash.
The government plans to run pilot tests at Olympic venues, though there remains no official timetable for a release, People’s Bank of China Gov. Yi Gang told Chinese media in an interview released by the central bank. Limited trials are underway in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and the Xiongan New Area in the northern province of Hebei, he said. Source Asian Review
Airline giant Lufthansa said it cannot approve a German state rescue over fears that conditions imposed by Brussels would be too harsh. The aid package must still be cleared by the European Commission’s competition arm. Source Deutsche Welle
