Bloomberg Hong Kong is banning flights from eight countries including the US and UK for two weeks from January 8, in a drastic tightening of rules as it rushes to plug holes that have seen the highly infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant break through the city’s defenses. The bans last until Jan. 20 and also apply to flights from Australia, …

  Bloomberg The National Retail Federation plans to host more than 20,000 people in person at its annual convention in New York City next week despite a surge in Covid cases. The event comes at a critical time for the industry, which is grappling with labor shortages and supply constraints. Organizers say all attendees must be fully vaccinated and will …

  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 …