BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Activity in China's services sector expanded at a faster pace in December amid higher demand and easing inflationary pressure but continuing small-scale COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on the outlook, a private sector survey showed on Thursday.

SHANGHAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Thursday, extending a global slump after Federal Reserve meeting minutes pointed to a faster-than-expected rise in U.S. interest rates due to concerns about persistent inflation.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The dollar hovered near a five-year high to the yen on Thursday, supported by a surge in U.S. Treasury yields on rising bets for a Federal Reserve rate hike by March.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor (0489.HK) said on Thursday they would build a new factory in Wuhan to exclusively manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) from 2024.

LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - European automobile stocks rose more than 2% to a record high on Wednesday as investors turned increasingly bullish on the sector on growing expectations for stronger car sales in 2022.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - The demand for electric vehicles pushed U.S. automakers last year to unveil plans to spend billions of dollars to electrify gasoline models or introduce electric cars and trucks in a bid to catch up with market leader Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).