EMEA Morning Briefing : Stocks to Tumble as Fed -2-

ADP's December employment report, which measures the change in employees on private companies' payrolls, said that 807,000 jobs were added last month, significantly above the 400,000 expected by economists. The November report showed a 505,000 increase, which was revised down from 534,000 in the latest release.

Natural-Gas Crisis Pushes German Utilities Into Dash for Cash

European energy companies are racing to secure billions of euros in funds, a sign of the financial strains caused by dramatic moves in natural-gas and power prices this winter.

Uniper SE, one of Europe's largest energy companies, in recent weeks agreed to credit lines for EUR10 billion, equivalent to $11.3 billion, from its parent company and Germany's state-owned lender. The utility, which generates electricity across Europe and trades gas around the world, also has tapped an existing EUR1.8 billion credit facility with banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Biden Steps Up Vaccine Push as U.S. Cases Surpass Records

President Biden stepped up his vaccination push as cases reported in the U.S. rose to new records, saying unvaccinated people would suffer the worst of the Omicron-driven surge in infections.

The development came as the U.K. national statistics agency estimated Wednesday that one-in-15 people in England had Covid-19 in the last week of December. The government there said it would try to ride out a record wave of infections without further restrictions. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macronlashed out at unvaccinated people.

CDC Recommends First Covid-19 Boosters for 12- to 15-Year-Olds

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Covid-19 boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds, making the doses available to the adolescents for the first time.

With the move Wednesday, many doctor's offices, schools and other vaccination sites will make booster shots from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE available to 12- to 15-year-olds.

U.K. New Car Registrations in 2021 Remain Well Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

U.K. car registrations rose just 1.0% on-year in 2021, stubbornly remaining 29% below pre-pandemic levels as a number of challenges keeps the market subdued, an industry body said Thursday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that registrations of new vehicles fell to 1.65 million, underlining the continued effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors, and marking the second worst year since 1992.

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Expected Major Events for Thursday

07:00/GER: Nov Manufacturing orders

07:00/GER: Nov Manufacturing turnover

08:00/HUN: Nov PPI

09:00/GER: Dec Baden-Wuerttemberg CPI

09:00/GER: Dec Hesse CPI

09:00/GER: Dec Brandenburg CPI

09:00/UK: Dec UK monthly car registrations figures

09:30/GER: Dec North Rhine Westphalia CPI

09:30/UK: Dec UK Official Reserves

09:30/UK: Dec CIPS / Markit Services PMI

10:00/GER: Dec Saxony CPI

10:00/EU: Nov PPI

13:00/GER: Dec Provisional CPI

16:59/BEL: Nov PPI

All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-06-22 0037ET