Bloomberg Canada consumer optimism ended 2016 with a small weekly increase, finishing above where it started the year on rising expectations for the country’s growth prospects. The sluggish economy, hampered by disappointing exports was a focal point for policymakers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first full year in power. Trudeau expanded transfer payments and cut middle-income taxes, while Bank …

  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 …