The world's two largest credit and debit card companies, Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc, said on Friday they could no longer support bank cards being used in Crimea, following U.S. sanctions imposed earlier this month.
Regions
Iran expands 'smart' Internet censorship
Iran is to expand what it calls "smart filtering" of the Internet, a policy of censoring undesirable content on websites without banning them completely, as it used to, the government said on Friday.
Microsoft Xbox Live back up, Sony PlayStation Network still down
Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live was back up on Friday while Sony Corp's PlayStation Network remained offline for a second day after a hacker group claimed responsibility for attacking the two Internet gaming services.
China's Dalian Wanda buys control of China online payments firm
China's Dalian Wanda Group Co, whose real estate arm just raised about $3.7 billion in a Hong Kong share sale, said on Friday it has bought a controlling stake in 99Bill Corp, a Chinese third-party payment processor similar to PayPal.
Japan Post: IPO to include separate listings of bank, insurance units
Government-owned Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd [IPO-JAPP.T] said it plans to list in the second half of the next business year and its bank and insurance units will go public at the same time, in what could be the biggest IPO of Japanese state enterprises in two decades.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government on Wednesday to rein in rising vodka prices, as he battles to preserve his popularity amid an aggravating economic crisis.
U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc will relaunch its Roadster model with a new battery pack that will increase the distance the car can travel on a single charge by nearly two-thirds to more than 400 miles.
Major U.S. retailers missed fewer Christmas deliveries this year, according to two small, early surveys released on Friday, partly reflecting a year's worth of investments made to avoid 2013's last-minute shipping debacle.
Oil prices fell Friday, tumbling as the dollar strengthened and as a supply glut in top consumer, the United States, trumped worries about falling production from Libya.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at records in a broad rally, though trading was light with many market participants still out for the Christmas holiday.
China will increase official aid to Nepal by more than five times from fiscal 2015-16, officials said on Friday, to develop infrastructure in the landlocked nation where regional rival India has long wielded political influence.
A big oil price slide will hurt Iran's attempts to rescue battered living standards, but economic pain is unlikely to soften its stance in nuclear talks or end aid to allies such as Syria, matters seen by its ruling clerics as strategic priorities.
Toshiba Corp will decide during the next business year from April on where to build an additional memory chip plant and will consider overseas locations for the facility, Chief Executive Hisao Tanaka said on Friday.
BYD Co Ltd 002594.SZ(1211.HK), the Chinese carmaker backed by Warren Buffett, said on Wednesday its chairman has increased his stake in the company and may buy more shares as a sign of confidence following the stock's record slump last week.
