Bloomberg Takata Corp.’s selection of a bidder is running behind schedule as the shortlisted companies embark on a more thorough review of the air-bag maker behind the biggest auto safety recall, according to people familiar with the matter. The successful bidder may only be named some time in the January-to-March quarter, the people said, asking not to be identified …

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG gained market share in Europe for the first time since its diesel-cheating scandal erupted in September 2015, a sign that the German manufacturer is regaining consumer trust. The region’s biggest automaker accounted for 24.8 percent of car sales in November compared with 24.6 percent a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said …

  LONDON / AP The eurozone economy is ending 2016 robustly and inflation pressures are growing, a key survey showed on Thursday, in a combination that suggests the European Central Bank’s stimulus efforts are working. Financial information company IHS Markit said its purchasing managers’ index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing and services sectors, held at 53.9 points in …

  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 …

  San Francisco / AFP Mark Zuckerberg envisions a software system inspired by the “Iron Man” character Jarvis as a virtual butler managing his household. The Facebook founder’s dream is about artificial intelligence, which is slowly but surely creeping into our daily lives, no longer just science fiction. Artificial intelligence or AI is getting a foothold in people’s homes, starting …

  Paris / AFP It has been hailed as a revolutionary way to get people moving, using smartphones to pursue cartoon creatures through city parks and streets on foot, instead of taking the car or metro. But has Pokemon Go made people more active and healthy? A study reported mixed success. In the first week of playing the game, people …

  Relaxnews Deliveries of the Chevrolet Bolt, the first mainstream electric car to offer a 238-mile range, have officially started. Three customers in San Francisco received their cars and by the end of this week, deliveries will extend to other cities in California and Oregon. “All of the hard work that the Chevrolet team have put into designing, engineering and …

  Washington / AFP Yahoo said personal data from over a billion users was stolen in a hack dating back to 2013 — twice as big as another breach disclosed just three months ago. In a huge blow to the struggling internet pioneer, Yahoo said it made the discovery as it was investigating what was already the largest data breach …