Bloomberg A supply crunch in cocoa that’s boosted prices will last until year-end, when production may rebound in West Africa, according to Sucres et Denrees SA. The worst desert winds in three decades that reduced the quality of cocoa in West Africa means some beans won’t be processed this season, making an expected shortage of 280,000 metric tons appear …

  Bloomberg Big Internet and software deals are rare. That may change in 2016. Microsoft Corp.’s $26.2 billion deal for LinkedIn Corp. could trigger other large-cap M&A for business software and Internet companies. NetSuite Inc. and Ultimate Software Group Inc. could both be targeted by companies including SAP SE, IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp. that want to strengthen their cloud-computing …

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s liftoff from near-zero interest rates in December sparked angst over how quickly the central bank would start whittling down its US$2.5 trillion hoard of Treasuries. It turns out that investors in the world’s biggest bond market had little cause for concern. The weaker-than-forecast labour report for May wiped out bets that policy makers would follow …