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  Beijing / AP Beijing and other cities across northern and central China were shrouded in thick smog, prompting authorities to delay dozens of flights and close highways. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau extended an “orange alert” for heavy air pollution for three more days. Beijing’s smog had initially been forecast to lift by Monday. The “orange alert” is ...

  Bloomberg A private gauge indicates that India’s manufacturing sector will shrink for the first time in a year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unprecedented clampdown on cash hurts demand. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 49.6 in December, a report showed, the lowest since December 2015. A number below 50 indicates a contraction. “Shortages of money ...

  Beijing / AP State broadcaster Central China Television has rebranded its international networks and digital presence under the name China Global Television Network as part of a push to consolidate its worldwide reach. CCTV unveiled several new mobile apps under the CGTN brand, and visitors to CCTV’s non-Chinese language websites are directed to a new http://www.cgtn.com site. The broadcaster ...

  Bloomberg It’s clear the era of rapid growth for US auto sales is over. The industry entered 2017 with analysts projecting the first significant decline in eight years — a drop of 200,000 vehicles, about the equivalent of one factory’s production — to 17.3 million cars and light trucks. While top-earning consumers will continue to snap up luxury vehicles ...

  Bloomberg Tesla Motors Inc. customers in the UK may find their Christmas cash goes a little further than expected after the carmaker postponed a price increase by two weeks. The US electric-auto manufacturer’s plans to raise prices 5 percent in the UK have been put off until Jan. 15 from the original beginning-of-the-year deadline, Tesla said in an e-mailed ...

  Bloomberg Household confidence in the US is closing in on its best year since before the last recession, according to figures in the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index. Comfort measure cooled to 46 in period ended Dec. 25, the first retreat in five weeks, from 46.7. The gauge in the prior week was the strongest since April 2015. Gauge of ...

  Bloomberg Euro-area manufacturing expanded last month at the fastest rate since April 2011, in a sign that the currency bloc’s recovery is intact heading into 2017. A Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 54.9 in December, IHS Markit said on Monday. The reading matches the initial estimate on Dec. 15 and was up from 53.7 in November. Higher import costs ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets were mixed on Monday as most reopened after the New Year, with Oman falling after the release of an austere state budget for 2017. Egypt edged down although foreign investors remained net buyers of stocks. Dubai’s index rose 0.2 percent as much activity focused on speculative stocks with prices below 1 dirham. Islamic ...

  LONDON / AP Global stocks rose on the first day of 2017, though trading volumes were thin as many major markets observed New Year’s holidays. KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX was up 0.8 percent at 11,574 and France’s CAC 40 was 0.4 percent higher at 4,883. Italy’s FTSE MIB was up 1.5 percent at 18,520, though trading was still suspended ...

  Bloomberg The mega-extravaganza of the tech world in Las Vegas is showcasing an array of new devices that get smarts from computer chips, sensors and artificial intelligence, but go further by opening doors to augmented or virtual realities. The Consumer Electronics Show, which begins with a series of media events on Tuesday will offer trade professionals a look at ...