Bloomberg Germany’s economy ended 2016 on a strong footing, with a key index suggesting growth accelerated in the fourth quarter. IHS Markit said its composite Purchasing Managers Index was at 54.8 this month after a reading of 55 in November, capping the economy’s strongest three-month period since the second quarter of 2014. That indicates economic growth picked up from ...

  Bloomberg Lonza Group AG agreed to buy US capsule maker Capsugel SA from KKR & Co. for $5.5 billion, as the Swiss biotech and specialty chemicals company seeks to focus more on health care. The price includes refinancing of existing Capsugel debt of about $2 billion, Basel-based Lonza and Capsugel, which has headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, said in ...

  Bloomberg US factory output dropped in November for the first time in three months, showing an anemic recovery in manufacturing after an extended slowdown. Production at factories, which make up 75 percent of all output, fell 0.1 percent, a Federal Reserve report showed Wednesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.2 percent drop. Total industrial ...