Biden administration officials said the agreement with the U.K. will allow the U.K to ship "historically-based sustainable volumes" of steel and aluminum products to the U.S. without levies imposed under the former Trump administration.
Lush CEO Expects Its Russian Business to Run Out of Stock, Wind Down
Cosmetics maker Lush Ltd. has stopped sending supplies to Russia and expects its business in the country to fizzle out. It won't, however, force the closure of its local stores, illustrating the many complications multinational companies face as they try to sever their business ties to Russia.
Lush, a private company based in Poole, England, has 500 employees in Russia and runs 48 branded stores, which continue to operate, even though management doesn't plan on retrieving any funds, Chief Executive Mark Constantine said.
Elon Musk Opens Tesla's First European Factory
BERLIN-Elon Musk formally kicked off customer deliveries at Tesla Inc.'s first European factory outside Berlin, marking a milestone in the electric-car maker's international expansion.
Speaking Tuesday as he handed the first Tesla Model Y vehicles built at the plant to their new owners, the chief executive said the factory would create a foundation for both electric vehicles and the batteries that would store energy from wind and the sun. Mr. Musk called that a big step in the fight against global warming.
Suspected Terrorist Attack in Israel Leaves Four Dead
TEL AVIV, Israel-An assailant killed four people and seriously injured two others in southern Israel Tuesday, stabbing several people and ramming his car into a cyclist in one of the deadliest suspected terrorist attacks against Israelis in recent years.
The assailant, who was identified as an Arab Bedouin in his 30s from a town in southern Israel, was known to security services, Israeli police said. A security official said the assailant had been imprisoned in 2015 for supporting Islamic State, and was arrested before trying to join the Islamist militant group in Syria.
Ukrainians Flee Mariupol as Russian Forces Push to Take Port City
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine-The battle for the southern port city of Mariupol intensified Tuesday with fleeing civilians describing Russian and Ukrainian forces locked in street-by-street warfare through the city's downtown as Moscow's airstrikes gutted entire neighborhoods.
Nearly a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, it is on the verge of taking Mariupol in what would be the first major city to fall under its control. But Mariupol is a shattered prize.
Flood of Refugees From Ukraine War Tests Europe's Capacity to Welcome Them
PARIS-Olga Nychyporenko and her two children lived for five days in a basement in Bucha, a town on the front lines of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as bombs and tanks destroyed the streets above her.
A week later, the 48-year-old schoolteacher and her family were at a refugee center in Paris, exhausted but safe, and awaiting temporary housing. They escaped during a lull in the fighting, traveled for days to Poland and then caught a free flight to the French capital. She is now eligible to live and work in France for at least a year, with free medical care and schooling for her children.
Oligarch Companies Want to Pay Their Debts. But Sanctions Stand in the Way.
Russian companies owned by sanctioned oligarchs say they are having trouble making payments to their foreign creditors, potentially setting them up for default even though they have the funds to pay.
The first major default since Russia invaded Ukraine and the West unleashed punishing sanctions could come as soon as Wednesday. Steel giant Severstal PAO owed a coupon payment due on a dollar bond on March 16 with a five business-day grace period, which expires Wednesday.
Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Sentenced to Nine More Years in Prison
Russia's leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, was sentenced to nine more years in prison on charges of fraud and contempt of court, in a case his supporters say was brought against him on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.
The fresh sentence comes as Russian authorities seek to put down any dissent against Mr. Putin's war against Ukraine, which has stalled in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance. Russian authorities have detained more than 15,000 people in antiwar rallies since the invasion began on Feb. 24, according to OVD-Info, an independent organization which monitors detentions at protests. They also passed a law earlier this month that imposes a penalty of up to 15 years in prison on anyone who criticizes the Russian army or refers to its offensive as an invasion or a war.
GLOBAL NEWS
Fed Officials Lay Out Case for Further Rate Rises
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said Tuesday the U.S. central bank has quite a few rate rises ahead of it as it seeks to lower very high levels of inflation.
"In my view, inflation, which is at a 40-year high, is the No. 1 challenge for the U.S. economy at this time," Ms. Mester said in a speech text.
High Gasoline Prices Have Consumers Thinking Electric
With gasoline prices setting records across the U.S. and oil topping $100 a barrel, consumer interest in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies is speeding up.
Gasoline prices, which hit a nationwide average record high of $4.33 on March 11, are about $1.35 higher than they were a year ago, according to AAA. Every dollar of higher gasoline prices adds more than a $50 increase in households' monthly expenses, according to Northern Trust.
Global Finance Watchdog Warns of Risks Posed by Migrant Smuggling
Countries must do more to understand the money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks posed by the clandestine business of migrant smuggling, a global finance watchdog said Tuesday.
Over the past decade, political instability, poverty and the effects of climate change have led to more migrants and refugees, fueling the growth of an illegal industry with annual profits exceeding $10 billion, according to a new report by the Financial Action Task Force.
Russian Stock Market Prepares for an Unusual Reopening
Russian officials are signaling that the country's stock market will soon reopen, nearly a month after it shut down following the invasion of Ukraine.
The challenge for Moscow is that the resumption of trading could simply send Russian stocks back into free fall. On Feb. 24, the day when President Vladimir Putin began the assault on Ukraine, the main Russian stock index tumbled 33%. While the index regained a fraction of those losses on Feb. 25-its last day of trading-that was before Western sanctions hammered the ruble and sent the country into an economic crisis.
South Korea Names IMF Official as New BOK Governor
Changyong Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, has been named to head South Korea's central bank.
Mr. Rhee, 61, will succeed Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, whose second and final four-year term ends in March, South Korea's presidential office said Wednesday.
Ukraine Steps Up U.S. Lobbying Campaign
WASHINGTON-Ukraine has expanded its Washington advocacy efforts in the wake of the Russian invasion, with the nation's energy lobbyists pressing U.S. lawmakers for a no-fly zone, more military support and additional Russian sanctions, according to records and interviews.
Lobbyists for the Ukrainian Federation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry, a trade group representing state-owned energy enterprises that leads much of Ukraine's lobbying in the U.S., are asking Washington for a second tier of sanctions on Russia that would prohibit U.S. banks from doing business with any bank in the world that is also doing business with Russia.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-23-22 0643ET
