Pompeo: U.S. to work with Iraqi leaders to get to 'the right place' on U.S. troop deployment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will work with Iraqi leaders to ‘get to the right place’ on U.S. troop deployment in the country, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, following a request from Baghdad last week to prepare to pull them out.

“How ultimately our force posture will be resolved inside of Iraq, we will work along (with) the … elected leaders in Iraq to get to the right place,” Pompeo said at an event at the Hoover Institution in California.

BC Hydro asks customers in Westside Road area to unplug so crews can restore power

BC Hydro crews are responding to a power outage in the Westside Road area near Vernon, B.C., affecting more than 940 customers.

According to BC Hydro’s outage list, the power has been off since Jan. 12 at 5:18 a.m. west of Tronson Rd. and along Westside Rd.

New Brunswick receives 8 proposals to privatize cannabis sales 

The New Brunswick government has received eight responses to a request for proposals for the operation, distribution and sales of recreational cannabis in the province.

The government issued the call for proposals in November, saying that losses incurred by Cannabis NB – the provincial cannabis corporation – persuaded the government it was time to turn to the private sector.

Finance Minister Ernie Steeves says the interest shows entrepreneurs are ready to invest in New Brunswick.

Cerberus-owned Albertsons preparing for an IPO amid improved performance and strong stock market: WSJ

Albertsons Cos. is preparing for an initial public offering, which could value the grocery giant at around $19 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Albertsons is owned by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. The report, which cites people described as familiar with the matter, says Albertsons has been updating IPO documents that had been confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report said Albertsons has substantially reduced debt since it last filed IPO papers back in 2015, and Cerberus is resurrecting IPO discussions in an effort to cash in on the grocer’s improved performance and a strong stock market. The IPO preparation comes as the shares of fellow grocery giant Kroger Co. KR, +0.48% have rallied 17.4% over the past three months, while the Renaissance IPO ETF IPO, +0.72% has climbed 14.7% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.58% has gained 10.4%.

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at new records ahead of U.S.-China trade deal signing

U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending the day at fresh record highs, as U.S. and Chinese officials prepare to sign a phase-one trade deal in Washington later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.29% advanced about 82 points, or 0.3%, to close at 28,906 and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.70% rose 23 points, or 0.7% to end the session at about 3,288. The Nasdaq Composite index COMP, +1.04% gained 95 points, or 1% to close at about 9,274, as both it and the S&P 500 set new intraday and closing highs. Reports that the Trump Administration will soon retract its designation of China as a "currency manipulator" fueled the bullish sentiment on Wall Street, as the move is seen as evidence of growing good will between the world’s two largest economies. In company news, shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc. TSLA, +9.77% surged 9.8% after Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch boosted his stock-price target by nearly 60%, adding to the stock’s 25.5% year-to-date rise.

Treehouse, Post Holdings end their deal on cereal bars

Treehouse Foods Inc. THS, +2.26% and Post Holdings Inc. POST, +1.50% said late Monday that Treehouse’s deal to sell its ready-to-eat cereal business to Post has ended after a December complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission opposing the deal. "After thoroughly evaluating our options and the potential outcomes, our board has determined that terminating the agreement with Post and immediately seeking another buyer for the business is the proper course forward," said Treehouse Chief Executive Steve Oakland in a statement. "Unfortunately the business risk, necessary resources and extent of time required to challenge the FTC’s position was not in the best interest of our constituencies." TreeHouse had bought its ready-to-eat cereal business from ConAgra Brands in 2016. TreeHouse announced the deal with Post in May for an undisclosed sum, saying that the transaction was expected to close in July.

European Economics Preview: Eurozone Inflation, Retail Sales Data Due

Flash inflation and retail sales from euro area are due on Tuesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.30 am ET, Swiss consumer price figures for December are due. Consumer prices are forecast to remain flat on a monthly basis, following a 0.1 percent fall in November.

At 3.00 am ET, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office releases retail sales for November. Sales are expected to grow 5.8 percent on year, slower than the 6.2 percent increase logged in October.

At 3.30 am ET, IHS Markit is slated to release Germany’s construction PMI data for December.

At 4.00 am ET, consumer price data from Poland is due. Economists forecast inflation to accelerate to 2.9 percent in December from 2.6 percent in November.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is scheduled to publish euro area flash consumer prices and retail sales figures. Inflation is expected to rise to 1.3 percent in December from 1 percent in November.

Retail sales in the currency bloc are expected to grow 0.6 percent on month in November after falling 0.6 percent in October.

In the meantime, Italy’s Istat releases consumer price data for December. Economists forecast inflation to rise to 0.6 percent from 0.2 percent in November.