Bloomberg Much of the UK economy is starting the new year on sick leave. With Covid infections soaring to about 200,000 a day as the Omicron variant spreads, hospitals, restaurants, transport operators and retailers are facing acute levels of staff absenteeism. England’s National Health Service is coming under particular pressure. Matthew Taylor, chief executive officer of the NHS Confederation, …

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc and Kroger Co are boosting the price of a popular at-home Covid-19 test after a deal with the White House to sell the kits at cost expired. The price of BinaxNOW tests at Walmart is rising to $19.88 this week from $14, the company said in an email Tuesday. Kroger said it reinstated “retail pricing” after …

  Bloomberg China’s tech stocks fall once again on Wednesday as firms backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. came under pressure after it pared investment in the cohort for a second time in two weeks. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 4.6% — the most since July — in a third straight day of declines, with overnight weakness in US peers …

  Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is planning a potential return to the yen bond market, just as a drop in the Japanese currency versus the greenback makes investments in nation’s companies more attractive. The US company has mandated banks for a potential benchmark yen-denominated bond offering. The deal may come in the near future, subject to market conditions. …

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc strategist Scott Chronert gave up on what had appeared to be a too conservative market view after US stocks rounded out a third year of monster gains. Chronert increased his year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,100 from 4,900, citing an earnings expansion that could last for at least two more years. While keeping his …

  Bloomberg The US was the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas last month for the first time ever, as projects ramped up production and deliveries surged to energy-starved Europe. Output from American facilities edged above Qatar in December due largely to a jump in exports from the Sabine Pass and Freeport facilities, according to ship-tracking data compiled by …

  Bloomberg Thousands of US flight cancellations cascaded into the first workday of the new year as ongoing Covid-19 issues among airline workers were compounded by winter storms hitting the northeast. More than 2,830 flights were canceled as of 2 p.m. New York time on Monday, according to data tracker FlightAware.com, the highest daily total in more than a month. …

  Bloomberg Aviation trade groups have asked the White House to intervene in the standoff between airlines and telecommunications companies over a planned expansion of 5G service. “We respectfully call on President Biden to intervene and delay the full implementation of C-band 5G until proper risk assessments have taken place and crewmembers are fully briefed as to the extent of …

  Bloomberg UK airline stocks surged as London traders played catch-up following Monday’s holiday while digesting data suggesting a milder impact from Omicron than prior Covid-19 variants. British Airways owner IAG SA soared as much as 11%, the most in more than three months, with short-haul peer Wizz Air Holdings Plc also gaining 11% as it reported a jump in …

  Bloomberg Sydneysiders are facing empty shelves at some supermarkets as exploding coronavirus cases force a range of staff from truck drivers to warehouse workers into isolation. Woolworths Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest supermarket operator, said some store deliveries are being delayed, while rival Coles Group Ltd. said growing numbers of staff are isolating because of household exposure to the virus. …