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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the next round of US-China talks could include a discussion of China’s purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, a signal that the focus could shift from more traditional trade issues to ones that cross over into matters of national security.

“Trade is in a good place,” Bessent said on CNBC, referring to recent and ongoing negotiations with China. “And I think now we can start talking about other things. The Chinese, unfortunately, are very large purchasers of sanctioned Iranian oil, sanctioned Russian oil — so we could start discussing that.”

Bessent was also asked about new sanctions on Russia, and he hinted the US was more likely to pursue a tariff-based strategy that would impose hefty duties on any country it found to be purchasing sanctioned Russian energy.

Zambia’s state-owned Industrial Development Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding with Fujian Xiang Xin Corp. to develop an oil refinery that will process about 60,000 barrels a day.

The $1.1 billion project will be in Ndola, Copperbelt province, the IDC said in a statement Monday. The company didn’t say where the crude oil feedstock would be sourced from or how it would be transported to Ndola.

CoreWeave Inc., a provider of AI computing power, plans to offer $1.5 billion of senior notes that will be used in part to refinance debt, according to a release.

Proceeds from the unsecured notes due 2031 will also go toward general corporate purposes.

Stellantis NV’s new Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa offered investors a first glimpse of his plan to overhaul the struggling automaker for a global car market that’s being reshaped by US President Donald Trump.

The 52-year-old Italian on Monday announced a surprise €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) first-half net loss — analysts had expected a small profit — as the maker of Jeep SUVs and Fiat cars tallies the costs of trade wars and scraps investments in electric and hydrogen vehicles to account for reduced demand. Trump has dialed back US support for EVs since he returned to the White House.

Filosa is trying to “kitchen sink” the first-half results “to provide a low earnings base upon which to build,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean said in a note.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sought to buy time in office following a second election setback in less than a year. But whether he stays days, weeks or even months, Sunday’s vote made clear that his Liberal Democratic Party needs an overhaul to stay relevant.

Ishiba on Monday vowed to remain in his job even though his LDP-led coalition finished Sunday running a government without a majority in both chambers of parliament for the first time since the party’s founding seven decades ago. While it has ruled Japan for most of that period, younger voters are increasingly turning toward populist smaller parties as rising prices fuel discontent.

US stock futures climbed ahead of a busy earnings week that will include results from Tesla Inc. and Alphabet Inc. The yen strengthened as Japan’s Prime Minister vowed to stay in power even after an election defeat.

S&P 500 contracts added 0.3% and Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index posted small moves. Shares of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks mostly traded higher in the US premarket.

Stellantis NV slid after reporting a loss in the first half as restructuring expenses, slowing sales and US tariffs hit the struggling automaker. The yen strengthened 0.7% while the dollar slipped.

Elon Musk’s X said it won’t accede to French authorities’ demands in a probe into alleged bias and manipulation of the social media platform’s algorithm.

“X remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform,” the company said in a post on its Global Government Affairs handle on Monday. “X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech.”

Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen’s port of Hodeida on Monday, in retaliation for a series of missile volleys from the group over the last week.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attack was intended to prevent attempts by the Iranian-backed group to restore damaged infrastructure. The Israeli military said it targeted vehicles the Houthis were using to rebuild port infrastructure, as well as fuel storage sites and naval vessels.

“The Houthis will pay a heavy price for firing missiles at the State of Israel,” Katz said.

Despite repeated Israeli strikes on the strategic port of Hodeida and sites such as the airport in the capital Sanaa — both in Houthi-controlled territory — the group has maintained regular missile attacks on Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

A former employee of HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong alleges he was racially discriminated against and made redundant after he raised concerns to human resources and senior leadership.

Robert Ngugi Tomkinson, previously a senior business analyst with HSBC Global Services (Hong Kong) Ltd., claims that in September 2024, following “sustained and differential treatment” by a new manager, he raised concerns of racial discrimination that culminated in a formal internal complaint, according to a claim filed with the district court in Hong Kong.

The company’s internal investigation “partially upheld” the complaint on Feb. 11, and while it did not make findings of discrimination, it concluded that Tomkinson’s manager had acted inappropriately, including disclosing his performance status to irrelevant parties, the claim said. A “performance improvement plan” initiated against Tomkinson was not implemented and subsequently canceled, it added.

European natural gas prices edged higher as top supplier Norway extended and expanded seasonal works, weighing on flows to the continent and its storage sites.

Benchmark futures rose as much as 1.2% after fluctuating earlier, while prompt prices also gained. Maintenance at Norway’s giant Troll field, which started last month, was extended by two more days until Thursday, with even less capacity available than previously anticipated.

Coupled with unplanned outages in the country last week, that’s generated some concerns over the supply outlook.

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