Copper prices were lower, extending last week's weakness on rising fears of higher interest rates in 2022.

Huatai Futures reckons the downturn may drag on in the near term, as investors increasingly expect interest rate hikes to start earlier than previously anticipated, which would weigh on commodity prices. Higher copper inventories due to more imports would be another negative factor pressuring buying interest, Huatai said.

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Cerberus Cuts Stake in Deutsche Bank

Cerberus Capital Management is selling a chunk of its stakes in Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, following years of disappointing share performances at the German lenders.

The U.S. private-equity firm is selling about 21 million shares out of around 62 million it owns at Deutsche Bank, and 25 million out of 63 million it holds at Commerzbank, according to a person familiar with the sale.

VW Finance Chief Expects Inflation to Ease and Chip Shortage to Drag On

BERLIN-Volkswagen AG, one of the world's largest auto makers, expects inflation to ease later this year but warned there would be no significant improvement in the global semiconductor shortage that has caused many auto makers to slash output as they try to find chips.

The outlook comes as the automotive industry is ramping up production of electric vehicles that require raw materials and an array of semiconductors to control a car's core systems and infotainment components, and connect them to the internet. The computer-chip shortage has left many auto makers unable to meet consumer demand for new cars, limiting their ability to grow and pushing up the price of new and used vehicles.

London Stock Exchange and Aflac Invest in Pricing Service BondCliQ

London Stock Exchange Group PLC and the venture arm of Aflac Inc. are betting on demand for better real-time bond pricing.

The two companies invested in bond-market quoting system BondCliQ Inc.'s $7.5 million Series A funding round, a BondCliQ spokesman said. The amount of the investments wasn't disclosed.

Delivery Hero Expects Food-Delivery Ops to Break Even in 2H

Delivery Hero SE said late Monday that it anticipates its food-delivery business to break even in the second half of this year.

The Berlin-based company also said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be between zero and 100 million euros ($0-$113.3 million) in the fourth quarter of 2022. It confirmed its long-term adjusted Ebitda-to-gross merchandise-value margin target of between 5% and 8%.

Pandora Prelim FY Earnings Beat Guidance After Strong 4Q

Danish jeweler Pandora AS said late Monday that its preliminary full-year results have beaten guidance after recording a strong fourth quarter with broad-based growth across most of its key markets.

"Revenue in the fourth quarter as well as for the full year 2021 is the highest ever for Pandora," it said.

Banca Carige Shares Drop After BPER Banca Gets Exclusivity Period for Takeover

Shares in Italy's Banca Carige SpA fell Tuesday morning, dropping to the price per share that potential buyer BPER Banca SpA said it would offer minority shareholders.

BPER said late Monday that it has been granted an exclusivity period for the potential acquisition of Banca Carige SpA after making an improved offer for its smaller rival.

U.K. Retail Sales Rose 2.1% in December

The British Retail Consortium said Tuesday that U.K. retail sales rose 2.1% in December, bringing full-year growth to 9.9%.

On a like-for-like basis, sales rose 0.6% in December and 8.9% over the whole of 2021.

Kazakhstan Crisis Shows That Russia Still Trumps China's Power in Central Asia

For years, Russia and China have had a tacit division of labor in the Central Asian region that both consider their strategic backyard: Moscow provided security oversight while Beijing helped develop the area's economies.

This month's uprising in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's biggest economy, reaffirmed that Moscow's security primacy remains undisputed-despite China's growing military might and Beijing's recent attempts to expand its own security footprint.

U.S., Russia Talks Yield Little Overall Progress Amid Ukraine Crisis

U.S. and Russian negotiators held their first security talks since Russia's deployment of tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border sparked fears of an invasion, but they left the Monday talks saying they failed to narrow their differences.

Although both sides described the discussions as businesslike, they remain at odds over Moscow's demands that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the postwar military alliance of Western powers, halt its expansion in Europe, and the U.S.'s insistence that Russia remove more than 100,000 Russian troops arrayed near Ukraine's border.

Past 7 Years Have Been Hottest on Record, EU Climate Report Says

The past seven years have been the warmest on record and 2021 was the fifth-hottest ever, according to new findings from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The report, released Monday, said 2014-2021 were the warmest years on record "by a clear margin." Temperature records from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which provides climate analytics to EU member countries, date back to 1950.

GLOBAL NEWS

Powell Confirmation Hearing Could Shed More Light on Plans to Contain Inflation

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to win a second term leading the central bank but could face a grilling Tuesday at his Senate confirmation hearing, where he is likely to be pressed over how the central bank will tighten policy to combat inflation.

Mr. Powell and his colleagues at their meeting last month penciled in three quarter-point rate increases this year, and over the past week, they have signaled those rises could start in March.

Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida to Resign

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said he would resign from the central bank on Friday, two weeks before his term on the central bank's board is set to end.

His resignation follows questions raised over financial transactions he conducted at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed announced Mr. Clarida's resignation on Monday afternoon, on the eve of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Senate confirmation hearing.

U.S. Moves to Restrict Oil Leasing in Alaska

The Interior Department said Monday that it plans to block oil and gas leasing on about 11 million acres on Alaska's North Slope, or roughly half of a 23-million acre reserve set aside for energy development decades ago.

The action, announced in connection with a federal lawsuit brought by environmentalists, would reverse a Trump administration effort to expand oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Endorses China's 'Common Prosperity' Drive

Bridgewater Associates LP founder Ray Dalio backed China's push for "common prosperity," or greater equality, under President Xi Jinping and said countries such as the U.S. could benefit from a similar approach.

Beijing's pursuit of common prosperity has been a driver behind its wide-ranging crackdowns on sectors such as e-commerce, videogames, property and after-school tutoring. The heightened regulatory pressure in turn has caused steep declines for many Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. and Hong Kong, and prompted many investors to reassess the risks and rewards of Chinese assets.

China's Car Market Snapped Three-Year Decline in 2021

BEIJING-China's car market snapped a three-year decline last year, helped by strong electric vehicle sales, even as the global chip shortage and Covid-19 outbreaks in the country disrupted production.

Sales of passenger cars in 2021 rose 4.4% from a year earlier to 20.15 million vehicles, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday. October-December sales dropped 11.4% compared with the same period last year, data from the association showed.

North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Off Its East Coast, South Korea Says

SEOUL-North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, marking the Kim Jong Un regime's second weapons test in under a week.

The single-missile launch was detected at 7:27 a.m. local time from the North's Jagang province near the Chinese border, flying around 430 miles and reaching an altitude of roughly 37 miles before splashing into the waters between Korea and Japan, according to South Korea's military.

Japan Extends Entry Ban for Foreigners, Citing Omicron

TOKYO-Japan said Tuesday it would extend its near-total ban on foreigners entering the country until at least the end of February, citing the risk of the Omicron variant.

The ban took effect on Nov. 30 and has earned more than 80% support from Japanese surveyed in recent polls. Helped by the perception that he is tough on Covid-19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet has enjoyed around 60% support.

McConnell Issues Threat to Democrats on Filibuster Changes

WASHINGTON-Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) issued a pre-emptive threat to Senate Democrats considering an overhaul of the chamber's longstanding filibuster rule, detailing a plan to force tough votes on GOP-sponsored bills if Democrats make even modest changes.

Those votes would include contentious subjects such as blocking vaccines mandates or stopping fracking bans, his office said. Aides familiar with Mr. McConnell's thinking say the threat is intended to cause heartburn for Democrats as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) tries to unify his caucus ahead of possible votes to amend or abolish the filibuster's 60-vote threshold in the next week.

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01-11-22 0559ET