Bloomberg Asia and European factory activity continued its expansion in December, lifted by resilient demand and easing supply-chain bottlenecks as the Omicron strain begins to spread in the region. North Asia’s export hubs led the recovery as they enjoyed better-than-expected industrial production and robust demand for their tech products. The IHS Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for Taiwan rose …

  Bloomberg US equity futures gained, while Asian stocks were mixed in thin trading as investors mulled the impact of the omicron variant on the global recovery. Shares of troubled China Evergrande Group were suspended in Hong Kong. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts advanced at the start of the new year, with major markets including Australia, Japan and China …

  Bloomberg Traders looking for a turnaround in Asian stocks in 2022 will be keeping a watchful eye on Chinese stimulus, the direction of the dollar, fading retail participation and the outlook for equity listings. The case for a rebound should be aided by lower valuations after the MSCI Asia Pacific Index underperformed its global counterpart by around 20 percentage …

  Bloomberg Big tech powered US stocks to a third straight winning year in 2021, as giants like Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. continue to see strong demand almost regardless of the economic environment. Five of the market’s most notable Internet and technology names — Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc — …

  Bloomberg The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies are expected to revive more oil supplies when they meet next week, underscoring the group’s optimism in the outlook for global demand. The 23-nation alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia is likely to proceed with another modest monthly hike of 400,000 barrels a day as it restores …

  Bloomberg China added $16.7 billion in foreign debt in the third quarter of 2021 due in part to increased purchases of onshore yuan-denominated bonds by foreign investors. About 47% of China’s outstanding debt of $2.7 trillion at the end of September are medium to long-term obligations, up three percentage points from the end of June, Wang Chunying, deputy director …

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is planning to allow some natural-gas and nuclear energy projects to be classified as sustainable investments in a proposal that sparked immediate criticism from the Greens. The European Commission wants to give a temporary green label to gas projects that replace coal and emit no more than 270 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour, …

  Bloomberg Indonesia, one of the world’s top exporters of thermal coal, is pausing exports of the fuel in January to secure dwindling supplies for domestic power plants. The monthlong halt is needed to prevent shutdowns at about 20 power plants in Java, Madura, Bali and other regions, the energy and mineral resources ministry said in a statement posted on …

  Bloomberg Travel delays continued in the US early Sunday as a winter storm swept eastward and carriers dealt with staff shortages caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Cancellations of flights into, out of and within the US were close to 1,900 early Sunday morning, with over 600 delays already posted, according to the tracking firm FlightAware.com, …

  Bloomberg Philippine Airlines Inc. received approval to tap $150 million in additional financing and plans to cut its debt by $2 billion, after winning approval last month from a US court for its reorganization plan. “There are immense challenges ahead, but we look forward to tackling them as a reinvigorated Philippine Airlines, better positioned for strategic growth to continue …