February 16, 2021 - Biz in 60

Bitcoin briefly tops $50,000 for the first time Bitcoin has briefly crossed the 50-thousand dollar mark for the first time, as the world's most popular cryptocurrency extends its rally. The digital token climbed as much as 4 -percent to hit 50,400 dollars on Tuesday, before retreating to 49,500. Bitcoin was up around 25 percent last week, driven by endorsements from Tesla and the investment bank, BNY Mellon Singapore unveils $8.3B pandemic relief package Singapore has announced further support for households and businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat has unveiled a new fiscal package worth 8-point-3 billion dollars in his annual budget speech. Last year, the Asian city-state committed nearly 70-billion- dollars - or around 20 percent of its GDP - to cushion citizens from the pandemic's economic impact. Mining giant BHP sees profit jump, declares record dividend The world's biggest miner BHP has reported its best first-half profit in seven years thanks to higher iron ore prices. Underlying profit for the six months to the end of December jumped 15-percent from the same period last year to over 6-billion- dollars. The Anglo- Australian company has also announced a record 5-point-1 billion dollar interim dividend.