Bloomberg Taiwan’s economy, which began 2016 in contraction, concluded it on the strongest footing in almost two years as stronger trade activity helped offset weakness in consumption. Gross domestic product rose 2.58 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, preliminary data from the statistics bureau showed on Wednesday. That compared with a median estimate of 2.85 percent …

  Bloomberg South Korea’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in the fourth quarter as a political scandal engulfing impeached President Park Geun-hye and conglomerates including Samsung Group hurt consumer confidence and spending. Construction investment fell as the government took steps to curb household debt and property market overheating in some areas. Gross domestic product …

  Bloomberg As China welcomes the Year of the Rooster this week, bets that a recovery in Asian palm oil production will drive prices lower may be something for consumers to crow about. While high prices may keep Chinese buyers on the sidelines in the first part of the new year, an expected surge in supply later in 2017 in …