EUROPEAN MIDDAY BRIEFING - Oil Tops $115, Stocks -3-

London Stock Exchange 2021 Pretax Profit Rose; Good Momentum Carrying Into 2022

London Stock Exchange Group PLC on Thursday reported a more-than-doubled pretax profit for 2021 after strong growth across all of its businesses, and said that it is confident about its outlook.

The FTSE 100 stock-exchange and financial-information company posted a pretax profit of 987 million pounds ($1.32 billion) compared with GBP492 million a year earlier.

Merck KGaA Earnings and Sales Climbed in 2021, Driven by Life Science; Raises Dividend

German pharmaceuticals-and-chemicals company Merck KGaA on Thursday posted higher 2021 earnings and sales, driven by its life science division, and proposed a higher dividend.

The company--which had raised its guidance three times over the course of 2021--posted after-tax profit of 3.07 billion euros ($3.41 billion) for the year, up from EUR1.99 billion the year prior.

Thales Posts Rise in 2021 Net Profit

Thales SA said Thursday that its orders and profit rose strongly in 2021, and guided for its sales to grow this year.

The French aerospace-and-defense company posted a net profit of 1.09 billion euros ($1.21 billion) for the year up from EUR483 million in 2020. On an adjusted basis, net income stood at EUR1.36 billion, up 45%.

ProSiebenSat.1 Raises Dividend After Higher Profit in 2021

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE said Thursday that profit rose in 2021, and it is increasing the payout to shareholders.

The German broadcaster said its full-year net profit was 449 million euros ($499.3 million) compared with EUR267 million a year earlier.

Coca-Cola HBC Scraps 2022 Guidance Due to Ukraine War

Coca-Cola HBC AG on Thursday removed financial guidance for 2022 due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The Switzerland-based bottler for Coca-Cola Co. said both regions generated around 20% of its volumes and earnings before interest and tax last year, and therefore the company no longer believes it is prudent to provide guidance for the period.

Sibanye-Stillwater 2021 Profit Rose to New Record

Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd. on Thursday reported a record profit for 2021, as all segments achieved production guidance targets.

The South African precious-metals mining company made a net profit of $2.23 billion last year up from $1.77 billion in 2020.

Sweden's SEB Changes Course on Defense Stocks as War Tests ESG Rules

Sweden-based financial-services company Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB said it would permit some of its funds to buy shares of weapons makers and defense companies, reversing a position it adopted just a year ago as part of its commitment to investing based on environmental, social and governance principles.

SEB will from April 1 allow six out of its more than 100 funds to invest in companies that generate more than 5% of their revenue from the defense business. SEB announced the change in its sustainability report on Tuesday and listed the funds that will be allowed to invest in defense companies.

GLOBAL NEWS

Fed's Powell Set to Discuss Rate-Rise Plans With Senate Lawmakers

WASHINGTON-Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to return to Capitol Hill on Thursday morning for the second of two days of testimony, this time before the Senate Banking Committee.

Before a House panel on Wednesday, Mr. Powell offered an unusually explicit preview of anticipated policy action when he said he would propose a quarter-percentage-point interest-rate increase at the central bank's meeting in two weeks amid high inflation, strong economic demand and a tight labor market.

Chinese Property Developers' Broken Promises Erode Investor Confidence

After more than 10 dollar-debt defaults by property developers over the past year, many investors have come to the conclusion that trust is broken in the $200 billion market for high-yield bonds of Chinese companies.

Since last summer, when the financial troubles of China Evergrande Group sparked a selloff in the giant property company's bonds and those of its peers, the market has remained deeply distressed, with no end in sight to the malaise. A string of easing measures from Chinese authorities, local governments and banks to support the housing market and help developers access funding onshore have so far done little to change the mood in the market. China's top 100 developers' monthly contracted sales volume fell for the eighth straight month in February, plunging 47% from a year earlier, figures from Chinese data provider CRIC showed.

A Closed Russia Market After Invasion Challenges U.S. Fund Managers

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created a conundrum for U.S. investment firms, pressuring them to unload Russian securities when the country's stock market is closed and foreigners are blocked from selling shares there.

In response to sanctions and other steps the U.S. and other countries have taken to punish Russia, the Moscow exchange suspended stock trading every day this week through Wednesday. Russia on Monday banned brokers from selling securities owned by foreign investors.

Shares of Chinese Oil Companies Rise, Fueled by Higher Crude Prices

Shares of Chinese oil companies gained in morning trade, fueled by the rise in crude oil prices amid worries that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will result in severe disruptions to global supply.

Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co. rose as much as 2.4% in early trade before paring gains, and was last 1.7% higher at HK$4.31. The energy major's one-week gains stand at 4.9%, taking the stock to its highest level since September 2019.

U.S. Officials Detail Efforts to Enforce Raft of New Russia Rules

Law enforcement and regulatory agencies are preparing to enforce a raft of new export control rules and initiatives as part of the U.S. government's response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Officials from the U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Commerce Department and other federal agencies spoke Wednesday at a conference on white-collar crime in San Francisco about their efforts to contribute to the Biden administration's response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Government Bonds Sink to New Lows Following Russian Military Escalation

Bonds issued by the Ukrainian government hit new lows Wednesday despite assurances from foreign governments and global institutions that they would continue to buttress Ukraine's wartime finances.

On Wednesday, a Ukrainian government bond coming due in September was quoted between 36 and 40 cents on the dollar, down from 65 cents on Friday, according to data from FactSet. A 2033 bond was quoted between 23 to 26 cents on the dollar Wednesday, down from 45 cents Friday.

Greg Kelly, Former Ghosn Aide at Nissan, Gets Six-Month Suspended Sentence

TOKYO-Former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly was found guilty of helping former Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn evade Japan's pay-disclosure laws during one fiscal year, but the Tokyo District Court cleared him of other charges and gave him a suspended sentence, meaning he probably won't have to serve prison time.

The court found Mr. Kelly guilty in connection with Nissan's financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2018, but said he wasn't guilty of wrongdoing on other Nissan reports stretching back nearly a decade.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-03-22 0640ET