Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines has completed a $450-million purchase of nearly a quarter stake in Brazil's third largest airline Azul, according to a statement issued Thursday, as its parent HNA embarks on an overseas investment binge.

Activity in Britain's crucial services sector sank in July following the vote to leave the EU, a survey by the research Markit group showed Wednesday, making a recession more likely.

Nigeria has resumed the payment of allowances to former Niger delta rebels under an amnesty scheme, a spokesman said Wednesday, after low global crude prices plunged the oil-rich country into a financial crisis.

"The payment of allowances is ongoing. Before now, there were some logistics issues, which we have addressed," program spokesman Owei Lakemfa told AFP.

A major Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange has suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was reportedly stolen by hackers -- sending the digital currency plunging more than 20 percent.

Bitfinex said it had suspended all transactions after discovering that some users' Bitcoins had been taken.

Saudi Arabia has promised "urgent" action to resolve the plight of some 2,500 Indian workers stranded without money in the kingdom after a plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs.

Labor Minister Mufarrej al-Haqbani issued orders to allow the Indian workers "to immediately transfer their kafala (sponsorship) and renew their residencies," the Okaz daily reported on Wednesday.

HSBC said Wednesday net profit plunged in April-June and that the bank was heading into "a period of heightened uncertainty" after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Profit after tax sank 40 percent on-year to $2.61 billion, the firm said in a statement, but assured it had weathered the Brexit storm "securely".

Britain aims to tackle the economic divide between London and the rest of the UK, the government said on Tuesday as part of efforts to boost the economy.

Thousands of jobless Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis are stranded and destitute in Saudi Arabia after the plunge in oil prices sparked construction layoffs, activists and officials said Tuesday.

The foiled coup attempt seeking to unseat the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cost the Turkish economy 300 billion lira ($100 billion/90 billion euro), the trade minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Customs and Commerce Minister Bulent Tufenkci was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet newspaper the heavy price tag may even go up but insisted that Turkey's economic fundamentals were solid.

German flag carrier Lufthansa warned Tuesday that recent terror attacks in Europe were having a "tangible impact" on business, with second-quarter profits down 17 percent.

Net profits between April and June came in at 437 million euros ($488 million), the group said, slightly below analysts' expectations, who had forecast a figure of 443 million euros.