U.S. tech giants are under pressure from both Russia and the West to respond to the conflict in Ukraine, highlighting their power over global discourse but also escalating a recent trend in which their businesses are squeezed by geopolitical events.
Analysts say the conflict could accelerate the fracturing of the internet, which not so long ago was largely split between China and the rest of the world. Increasingly, big tech companies are beholden to a patchwork of local rules, leading some to believe the "splinternet" is coming closer to reality.
Walmart Pushes New Delivery Services for a Post-Pandemic World
Walmart Inc. wants to keep the e-commerce party going.
The retail giant is focused on adding new ways to offer shoppers home delivery and efficiently move online inventory as the pandemic-related e-commerce surge shows signs of cooling.
Berkshire Hathaway Net Earnings Rose 11% in Fourth Quarter
A growing economy propelled Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s railroad, energy and consumer businesses, pushing net earnings up 11% in the fourth quarter. And a powerful stock market nearly doubled the conglomerate's investment gains for the full year.
Warren Buffett's company reported $90 billion in net earnings in 2021, a record, thanks in part to its giant stock portfolio. Berkshire owns 5.6% of Apple Inc., a stake valued at $161.2 billion at the end of the year-up more than $40 billion from the year before.
Zendesk Terminates Deal With SurveyMonkey Parent
Zendesk Inc. said it has terminated its deal with the parent of web-survey company SurveyMonkey after its shareholders rejected the agreement at a stockholder meeting.
The deal required approval from both Zendesk and Momentive Global Inc.'s investors in votes that took place on Friday. Momentive shareholders approved the deal.
Russia's Ruble, Financial Markets Are Hammered by Sanctions
Powerful Western sanctions rocked Russia's financial system and triggered a spiral in the ruble, drawing the central bank into an emergency doubling of interest rates.
The Russian ruble fell as low as 111 to the U.S. dollar from 83 on Friday, a drop of more than 20% and, if sustained, the biggest single-day fall on record. But trading was spotty, with local onshore markets frozen by the central bank and markets outside Russia reluctant to trade the currency.
Ukrainian Forces Hold Kyiv as Talks With Russia Are Planned
KYIV, Ukraine-Russian and Ukrainian officials prepared to meet for the first talks since Moscow began its invasion four days ago, as Ukraine's defenders held on to the capital, Kyiv, and pushed back Russian troops in urban combat in its second-largest city, Kharkiv.
In a sign of growing tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's nuclear-deterrence forces to be put on alert.
U.S. Looks to Make China Pay for Close Ties to Russia in Ukraine Crisis
WASHINGTON--The U.S. wants to pry China away from its tight partnership with Russia. One step, U.S. officials said, is making Beijing feel pain over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Washington is looking to gain from any divisions between Moscow and Beijing, the officials said, and Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine is an opportunity to force China to choose between siding with Russia and maintaining valuable economic ties to Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world.
EU, U.K., Canada, U.S. Plan to Cut Some Russian Banks From Swift
BERLIN-The U.S., European Union, Canada and U.K. announced new sanctions against Russia, saying they planned to cut some Russian banks off the Swift financial network and would take actions to prevent Russia's central bank deploying its more than $600 billion in reserves to help Russia's economy.
The joint statements in Washington and Brussels late Saturday-as Ukrainian and Russian forces fought for control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv-sent a powerful signal of how the West could flex its collective muscle, after debating how to respond to the Russian aggression. They marked a significant step-up in efforts by western capitals to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a diplomatic off-ramp to the crisis.
Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine Largely Spare Energy Sector, Vital to Europe
The West is rolling out increasingly tough sanctions on Russia but it is going out of its way to preserve the country's biggest source of revenue: energy exports.
In the latest example, the European Union said late Saturday that it had agreed with the U.S., the U.K. and Canada to eject some of Russia's banks from the global financial system's payments infrastructure, Swift. The move, if applied to all banks, would be powerful, essentially blocking money transfers in and out of the country. By cutting only some, Western countries are allowing payments, including for energy, to continue through non-sanctioned banks.
Inflation Raises Expenses for Pension Funds
Rising inflation is driving up expenses for many large U.S. pension funds that have promised retirees cost-of-living raises.
About half of states link pension benefits for some or all of their retired workers to changes in the consumer-price index, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. With inflation reaching 7% in December, some retirement funds are now looking at increasing pension checks by 3% or more for the first time in a decade. At others, board members or state officials are approving one-time cost-of-living raises.
SEC Asks Companies for Rationales Behind Disclosures of Climate Risks
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking more details from companies about their climate risks as it gears up to propose new disclosure requirements on the topic.
Many companies already share details on climate risks when disclosing information they deem material, but investors often find it hard to make comparisons.
Car Parts, Chips, Sunflower Oil: War in Ukraine Threatens New Shortages
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is piling new troubles onto the world's already battered supply chains. The fighting has shut down car factories in Germany that rely on made-in-Ukraine components and hit supplies for the steel industry as far as Japan. It has severed airways and land routes that had become crucial since the pandemic began gumming up sea trade.
The conflict is also bottling up Ukraine and Russia's vast commodity exports, sending the price of oil, natural gas, wheat and sunflower oil rocketing. Shipping from Ukrainian ports, an important corridor for grain, metal and Russian oil shipments to the rest of the world, has all but ceased.
Populist Embrace of Putin Cools After Ukraine Invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine is testing the adoration of some of Europe's loudest populist leaders.
Matteo Salvini of Italy's main anti-immigrant party has worn T-shirts emblazoned with Mr. Putin's face. Eric Zemmour, a far-right candidate in France's April presidential elections, once said he dreamed that someone like Mr. Putin would save France. Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally traveled to the Kremlin to meet Mr. Putin.
Ukraine Crisis Raises Stakes for Biden's State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON-President Biden often points to big moments as inflection points facing the nation and the world. Now, in the midst of a foreign-policy crisis, he is confronting one of his own.
Mr. Biden, who has seen his standing with voters tumble during his first year in office, will attempt to balance competing priorities in Tuesday's State of the Union address by framing the U.S. response to the war in Ukraine along with his administration's efforts to emerge from a deadly pandemic and confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court.
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Stocks to Watch:
Chorus Aviation To Acquire Falko To Create A Premier Full-Service Provider In Regional Aviation; Transaction Total Consideration at About $855M; Consideration Comprised of $445M Cash, About $410M of Existing Indebtedness That Will Remain With Target Entities; Transaction Includes Falko's Asset-Management Platform, Fortress Investment's Equity Interests in 126 Regional Aircraft; Combined Co Will Have 353 Owned, Operated, Managed Regional Aircraft; Chorus Anticipates Having 32 Airline Customers in 23 Countries After Closing Deal; Chorus: Deal Diversifies Future Cash Flows With Shift to Asset-Light Model; Transaction Will Be Accretive to EPS in First Yr
Chorus Establishes Partnership With Brookfield as Strategic Cornerstone Investor; Brookfield to Invest $374M in Chorus, Including $300M of Preferred Equity $74M of Common Equity; Chorus to Issue 25.4M Common Shares at C$3.70 Each; 8% Premium to 30-Day VWAP as of Jan. 28; Chorus to Also Issue 18,642,772 Common Shr Purchase Warrants With C$4.60 Exercise Price, a 35% Premium; Brookfield to Nominate Two Member to Chorus's Bd of Directors; Chorus Expects to Close Falko Transaction, Private Placement to Brookfield in 2Q; Deutsche Bank Securities Serving as Exclusive Fincl Advisor to Chorus
Expected Major Events for Monday
01:00/JPN: Jan Steel Imports & Exports Statistics
04:30/JPN: Jan Preliminary Report on Petroleum Statistics
05:00/JPN: Jan Construction Orders
05:00/JPN: Jan Housing Starts
13:30/CAN: Jan Industrial product & raw materials price indexes
13:30/US: Jan Advance Economic Indicators Report
13:30/CAN: 4Q Balance of Payments
14:45/US: Feb Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey - Chicago PMI
15:30/US: Feb Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
20:00/US: Jan Agricultural Prices
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