That currency moves and renewed demand from China -- on its return from its public holiday -- are spurring metals prices higher, according to Marex Spectron. London gold was down with its post-jobs rally faltering on rising risk appetite in Asian equity markets said OANDA's Jeffrey Halley.
EMEA HEADLINES
The Latest Slump in Car Sales Has Winners and Losers
Sky-high vehicle prices are a good hedge against sliding sales for U.S. car makers and dealers as a whole. But the math is working out less favorably for some than for others.
The industry's luck turned last quarter after a remarkably profitable year. Light vehicles sold in the U.S. at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of just 12.2 million in September-the lowest for over a decade excluding the shutdown-affected months of spring 2020.
AstraZeneca's AZD7442 Trial Showed Reduced Risk of Developing Severe Covid-19
AstraZeneca PLC said Monday that high-level results from the AZD7442 long-acting antibody's Phase 3 trial showed a statistically significant reduction in the risk of developing severe Covid-19 or death.
The U.K. pharmaceutical company said the trial met its primary endpoint, and that AZD7442 was the only long-acting antibody combination shown to both prevent and treat Covid-19.
Italian Industrial Production Swung to Decline in August
Italy's industrial production fell in August after rising the previous two months, as severe supply constraints and rising input costs curtailed output.
Industrial output decreased 0.2% in August compared with the previous month, which followed an upwardly revised 1% rise in July, according to data released Monday by the country's statistics office Istat.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis Loses His Bid for Re-Election
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis lost his re-election bid on Saturday, a major upset against a billionaire businessman who had personified the rise of populist nationalism in Central Europe.
With 99.9% of ballots counted, Mr. Babis's Yes party held 27.2% of the vote, trailing less than a percentage point behind a coalition of right-leaning parties called Together. Along with a separate, liberal alliance of parties called Pirates and Mayors, the two coalitions appeared to hold 108 of parliament's 200 seats, according to Czech Television, the national public broadcaster.
Austria's Sebastian Kurz Steps Down as Chancellor Amid Corruption Probe
BERLIN-Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he would step down following accusations of corruption less than two years after his re-election.
Mr. Kurz's departure is the latest blow for conservatives in Western Europe, who have been struggling in recent years. Germany's Christian Democratic Union lost a national election last month after leading the government for the past 16 years under Chancellor Angela Merkel. Conservatives are in the opposition from France to Spain and Portugal.
Covid-19 Booster Shots Are Available for All in Israel. Younger People Aren't Convinced.
TEL AVIV-Israel is among the most aggressive countries in the world in pushing boosters for the Covid-19 vaccine. Many younger people here are asking why.
Later this month the government will begin enforcing new rules requiring people to get a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine or present a negative test if they want to go to restaurants, bars or other indoor entertainment spots. The boosters are needed to keep "Green Pass" Covid passports valid, which authorities view as an effective way of nudging as many people as possible to get a third shot of the vaccine to boost immunity and reduce the virus's spread through the population.
Covid-19 Cases Rise in U.K. Schoolchildren, Whom the Nation Hesitated to Vaccinate
LONDON-Coronavirus infections among schoolchildren in the U.K. have pushed daily caseloads to stubbornly high levels, a setback that underscores how Britain now trails many of its European neighbors on vaccination after staking out an early lead.
The U.K. began vaccinating teenagers in August, far later than in the U.S. and Europe, and decided to drop almost all public-health restrictions during the summer, amid optimism that vaccines had checked the fast-spreading Delta variant.
Severe Drought Adds to Afghanistan's Woes, Endangering Millions as Economy Collapses
KAJAKI, Afghanistan-Afghan farmer Niamatullah survived nearly two decades of conflict, growing beans, wheat and corn in Helmand province as war raged around him. When he finally decided to uproot his family and flee last month, it was because of the weather.
One of the worst droughts in decades in Afghanistan parched the fields of the 38-year-old, who goes by a single name, leaving his crops withered and worthless. He felt he had no choice but to pack his 15-member extended family into a rented truck and head out to search for day labor somewhere less desperate.
Iraqi Election Could Determine the Future for U.S. Forces in the Country
BAGHDAD-Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election that could shape the future for U.S. forces still based there and indicate how Baghdad will navigate a broader geopolitical power struggle between Washington and Tehran.
Polls closed in the evening on schedule in Sunday's election, which was brought forward as a concession to a protest movement that began in 2019. The election was dominated by the issues that triggered the upswell of dissent: an economic crisis and endemic corruption.
GLOBAL NEWS
Oil Price Jumps Above $80 and Natural Gas Races Higher, Turbocharged by Supply Shortages
The extended climb in oil prices is leaving some other industrial commodities behind, a divergence that reflects bets that energy supply shortages will offset any slowdown in the global economy.
U.S. crude rose more than 2% early Monday to a seven-year high of $81.50 a barrel, bringing its climb since the end of last October to more than 120%. If sustained, it will be the first time the U.S. oil benchmark closes above $80 a barrel since October 2014, when the shale revolution set off a multiyear slump in fossil-fuel prices.
Investors Watch for Rising Costs in Earnings This Week
Third-quarter earnings season kicks off this week, with investors on the lookout for signs that rising costs will pose a problem for U.S. corporate profits this quarter and beyond.
What companies reveal about the impact of any supply-chain problems, labor shortages and the continuing pandemic could determine the tone of trading, following a month of ups and downs that have pushed the S&P 500 down 3.2% from its September record. Already, a handful of boldface-name firms have said they are struggling with the crosscurrents of an unusual economic expansion, sending their shares lower and raising concerns that further surprises might await.
Tariff Relief Plan From Biden Administration Falls Short, Businesses Say
WASHINGTON-U.S. businesses are panning the Biden administration's new China trade policy, saying it fails to provide the tariff relief they expected for importers who lack cost-effective alternatives to Chinese products.
The complaints are coming from companies that rely on Chinese electronic components and other parts to manufacture goods, from retailers that import shoes and skirts from China, and from people including Michael Mojica, who owns a camping-gear company in Englewood, Colo.
U.S.-China Trade Talks Take First Steps in Re-Engagement
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration kicked off its trade-policy engagement with China late Friday with a virtual meeting between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
In the meeting, Ms. Tai raised a range of concerns including what the U.S. says have been China's "state-led, nonmarket policies and practices" and its failure to live up to the commitments it made under the 2020 phase one trade pact signed with the Trump administration, according to senior administration officials.
Derby's Take: Fed Down Two Hawks as Regional Bank Presidents Depart
The number of Federal Reserve policy makers has dropped from 18 to 16, with potential implications for how the central bank communicates future policy changes.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan booked his last day leading the bank in a tenure stretching back to 2015. His exit follows the Sept. 30 accelerated retirement of Boston Fed leader Eric Rosengren, which was tied, officially, to health issues.
Sharp Rise Brings Treasury Yields Near Spring Highs
A wave of selling has brought U.S. Treasury yields closer to their March highs, vindicating predictions that a long summer rally would fade in the face of stubborn inflation and a looming turn toward tighter monetary policies.
Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, have been on a sharp upward trajectory ever since the Federal Reserve's Sept. 21-22 policy meeting. On Friday, a disappointing September jobs report briefly stalled the climb. But the yield on the 10-year note ended the session at 1.604%, its highest close since June.
Risky Volatility Funds Set to Make a Comeback
Funds that track stock-market volatility are making a comeback, despite concerns they are too complicated for some investors.
Two new exchange-traded funds that let investors make leveraged or inverse bets on a popular barometer of market fluctuations are set to start trading later this fall. Similar products devastated investors in a high-profile blowup less than four years ago.
China's Xi Emphasizes 'Peaceful Reunification' With Taiwan, Days After Record Show of Force
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan days after China's People's Liberation Army sent a record 56 bombers and other aircraft on sorties near the self-ruled island in a single day.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen answered in a speech the following day, saying Taiwanese people would not bow to Chinese pressure.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
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10-11-21 0625ET
