Bloomberg Faced with a shortage of workers, Japanese companies are taking matters into their own hands, helping the government fix a chronic lack of day care that is blunting efforts to get more women into the workforce. Nichiigakkan Co., which provides hospital administration and care services, is among more than 500 companies approved for new subsidies to start their …

  Bloomberg China’s effort to promote public-private partnerships to fund roads, bridges and railways and keep a lid on rampant debt growth is succeeding in luring companies to the projects. Problem is, they’re mainly state-owned. Two years into the PPP push, the majority of partners in the projects have turned out to be state-owned enterprises, according to analysts at Fitch …

  WASHINGTON / AP US businesses boosted their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in January by the largest amount in three months, but a key category that tracks business investment plans slipped. Orders for durable goods rose 1.8 percent in January after two months of declines, the Commerce Department said. The strength stemmed from a big surge in demand for …