Bloomberg Much of the UK economy is starting the new year on sick leave. With Covid infections soaring to about 200,000 a day as the Omicron variant spreads, hospitals, restaurants, transport operators and retailers are facing acute levels of staff absenteeism. England’s National Health Service is coming under particular pressure. Matthew Taylor, chief executive officer of the NHS Confederation, …

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc and Kroger Co are boosting the price of a popular at-home Covid-19 test after a deal with the White House to sell the kits at cost expired. The price of BinaxNOW tests at Walmart is rising to $19.88 this week from $14, the company said in an email Tuesday. Kroger said it reinstated “retail pricing” after …

  Bloomberg China’s tech stocks fall once again on Wednesday as firms backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. came under pressure after it pared investment in the cohort for a second time in two weeks. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 4.6% — the most since July — in a third straight day of declines, with overnight weakness in US peers …