The purchasing managers index for the U.S. manufacturing sector rose to 57.1 in December from 56.7 in November. That was the biggest improvement since September 2014.

The use of what are called blank-check companies, which go public with no assets and then merge with private companies, surged in 2020, raising a record $82.1 billion in 2020, up from $13.5 billion in 2019.