Bloomberg American manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in two years, reflecting firmer output and the biggest pickup in orders growth since August 2009. The Institute for Supply Management said that its index increased to 54.7, the fourth straight advance, from 53.2 a month earlier. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 53.8. Readings above …

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. is planning to invest $1 billion in SoftBank Group Corp.’s giant new technology fund, adding its name to a growing list of interested parties and giving the iPhone maker a new avenue to tap up-and-coming technologies. Qualcomm Inc. also said it will participate in the fund, but the terms and the amount of its investment are …

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG must face claims it misled US investors after installing so-called defeat devices in diesel vehicles used to cheat emissions tests. A San Francisco federal judge also rejected a request to dismiss shareholder claims against former VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn, who said investors in VW’s American depositary receipts couldn’t prove he knew the extent of the company’s …