A steady thud of artillery fire echoed through downtown Kyiv on Monday while Ukrainian negotiators met with their Russian counterparts by video. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had sounded positive notes before Monday's talks, but Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Monday afternoon that the meeting had paused and would resume on Tuesday.
London Metal Exchange to Resume Nickel Trading Wednesday
The London Metal Exchange said trading in nickel contracts will resume on Wednesday, almost a week after trading was halted amid disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Trading was halted March 8, the first time the LME had suspended a market since 1985, and canceled trades executed before the suspension in response to a huge loss-making trade originating in China. The halt also occurred in the backdrop of low metal stocks and geopolitical tensions as Russia, a major nickel supplier, was already in short supply of nickel.
Lockdowns Spread Across China as Race to Contain Covid-19 Outbreak Intensifies
HONG KONG-Fallout from China's race to halt its worsening coronavirus outbreak is growing as authorities order lockdowns and other restrictions across more of the country.
All 24 million residents of northeastern Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea, were locked down on Monday, the first time since Covid-19 was first detected two years ago in Wuhan that such restrictions have been imposed on an entire province. Shenzhen city began a weeklong lockdown on Monday, closing public transport, nonessential businesses and schools, while companies in Shanghai began shutting down over the weekend.
Megadeals Yield Record Year for Healthcare Private-Equity M&A
In the midst of the largest public-health crisis in recent memory, private-equity firms poured cash into health investments resulting in a string of megadeals and a record year for mergers and acquisitions.
A report from consulting firm Bain & Co. found that there were 30 sponsor-led transactions last year involving healthcare businesses where deal values exceeded $1 billion.
The High Cost of Europe's Energy Security
Europe's ambitious plan to cut its reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds this year just might work. But it will come at a price-economically or environmentally.
The European Union is expected to release another round of sanctions this week covering industries such as steel and luxury goods, but the kind of bans on Russian energy introduced by the U.S. and U.K. aren't on the table. The bloc's road map to end its dependence on Russian fuels by 2027 already gives it plenty to do.
Talks to End Ukraine War Pause as Russia's Offensive Intensifies
KYIV, Ukraine-Diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine showed no signs of progress on Monday as fighting for the capital intensified, with Russian missiles destroying an aircraft factory and an apartment building in Kyiv and a television tower in the western city of Rivne.
A steady thud of artillery fire echoed through downtown Kyiv on Monday while Ukrainian negotiators met with their Russian counterparts by video. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had sounded positive notes before Monday's talks, but Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Monday afternoon that the meeting had paused and would resume on Tuesday.
Apple Supplier Foxconn in Talks to Build $9 Billion Factory in Saudi Arabia
Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of Apple Inc. iPhones, is in talks with Saudi Arabia about jointly building a $9 billion multipurpose facility that could make microchips, electric-vehicle components and other electronics like displays, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Saudi government is reviewing an offer from the company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., to build a dual-line foundry for surface-mount technology and wafer fabrication in Neom, a tech-focused city-state the kingdom is developing in the desert, the people said. Discussions over the project started last year, they said.
Rio Tinto Offers $2.7 Billion for Remaining Stake in Turquoise Hill
Rio Tinto PLC offered to pay roughly $2.7 billion to buy out minority shareholders in Canada's Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd., which controls a giant copper-mining operation in Mongolia, a bet on copper being in high demand.
Rio Tinto's proposal to take over the company, in which it owns about 51%, comes as commodity prices are running hot, fanned by concerns that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could disrupt supplies. Russia is an important producer and exporter of a number of commodities, including copper, whose price is close to record highs.
Saudi Arabia Invites China's Xi to Visit Kingdom Amid Strained U.S. Relations
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-Saudi Arabia has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Riyadh as the kingdom looks to deepen ties with Beijing amid strained relations with Washington, people familiar with the plan said.
The trip is expected to happen after Islam's holy month of Ramadan, which begins in early April this year, the people said, in what could be Mr. Xi's first foreign travel since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Riyadh is planning to replicate the warm reception it gave to former President Donald Trump in 2017 when he visited the kingdom on his first trip abroad, one of the people said.
Wirecard Ex-CEO Markus Braun Is Charged in Germany
German prosecutors said they had charged Wirecard AG's former chief executive, Markus Braun, and two other former senior executives with suspected market manipulation and false representation of the company's financial accounts.
The prosecutors said they suspected that Mr. Braun, referred to as Dr. B., signed off financial statements for the years 2015 to 2018 even though he knew them to be incorrect, according to a statement published Monday.
Deutsche Bank Violates DOJ Settlement, Agrees to Extend Outside Monitor
Deutsche Bank AG agreed to extend the term of an outside compliance monitor after Justice Department prosecutors found the bank violated a criminal settlement by not disclosing a misconduct complaint in its asset manager's sustainable-investing business, the bank said.
The complaint, made by a former executive, alleged that Deutsche Bank's majority-owned asset manager, DWS Group, overstated how much it used environmental, social and governance criteria, or ESG, to manage investments it oversees. Instead of hearing about it from the bank, U.S. authorities learned of the issue in an August Wall Street Journal article.
Elon Musk Says Tesla, SpaceX Facing 'Significant' Inflationary Pressure
Billionaire Elon Musk said his two companies Tesla Inc. and SpaceX are facing substantial inflationary pressure and that he has no plans to sell his cryptocurrency holdings.
Mr. Musk, the world's richest person by net worth, said in a tweet Sunday that both the electrical-vehicle maker and the space-exploration company "are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics."
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
06:00/FIN: Jan Retail sales
07:00/NOR: Feb External trade in goods
07:00/UK: Feb UK monthly unemployment figures
07:30/SWI: Feb Import Price Index
07:30/SWI: Feb PPI
07:45/FRA: Feb CPI
08:00/SVK: Feb Core & net inflation development
08:00/SVK: Feb CPI
08:00/CZE: Jan Import & export price indices
08:00/CZE: Feb PPI
09:00/POL: Jan Merchandise trade
09:00/POL: Feb CPI
09:00/BUL: Feb CPI
10:00/EU: Jan Industrial Production
10:00/GER: Mar ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
11:00/FRA: 4Q OECD Quarterly National Accounts G20 GDP growth
11:00/IRL: Jan Goods Exports and Imports
16:59/AUT: Mar OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report
16:59/GER: Jan Balance of Payments
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-15-22 0129ET
