TOKYO (Reuters) - Manufacturing in China and Japan suffered in January, while South Korea and Taiwan saw improvement amid a resurgence in coronavirus infections, underscoring the fragile nature of the region’s economic recovery.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s factory activity expanded at the slowest pace in seven months at the start of 2021, weighed down by falling export orders amid a surging global pandemic and rising costs, a business survey showed on Monday.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares rallied on Monday and U.S. stock futures recouped early losses as newly empowered retail investors turned their attention to precious metals, promising a respite to some hard-hit hedge funds.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday after a weak start, adding to the gains of the last three months, although patchy coronavirus vaccine rollouts, new infections and the discovery of new variants are casting a shadow over the outlook for demand.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar edged higher on Friday, heading for a weekly gain, as lingering jitters about a coordinated assault on hedge fund short positions in the United States boosted demand for safe-haven assets.

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian stock markets recovered on Friday but are headed for their steepest weekly loss in months, as a liquidity squeeze in China and a Wall Street retail-trading frenzy has unnerved investors.