North American Morning Briefing: Stock Futures, -3-

Rio Tinto PLC said Dominic Barton, Canada's ambassador to China, would become its chairman as the mining company strives to repair damage to its reputation from the destruction of two ancient rock shelters in Australia last year.

By selecting Mr. Barton, who will succeed Simon Thompson in May, Rio Tinto is hoping that a diplomat's skill set can help it to navigate challenges that include rising resource nationalism in some key markets and demands from investors for mining companies to more aggressively address the environmental impact of their operations. Rio Tinto also makes most of its earnings in Australia, which is locked in a trade and diplomatic dispute with China.

China has imposed heavy tariffs and restrictions on some Australian products including coal, which Rio Tinto no longer produces. While Rio Tinto's most profitable commodity, iron ore, hasn't been targeted so far, China's leaders have signaled their intention to become less reliant on Australian iron ore.

As ambassador to China, Uganda-born Mr. Barton helped to secure the September release of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained by Beijing in 2018 in a standoff between Canada, the U.S. and China. They were accused of espionage in what was widely viewed as retaliation for Ottawa's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecommunications-networking company Huawei Technologies Co.

Market Talk:

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Expected Major Events for Monday

00:01/UK: Nov Zoopla House Price Index

05:00/JPN: Nov Convenience Store Sales

10:00/ITA: Oct Balance of Payments

11:00/UK: Dec CBI Industrial Trends Survey

11:00/UK: Nov Aluminium Production report

15:00/US: Nov Leading Indicators

17:59/UK: Dec CBI Scottish Productivity Index

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Expected Earnings for Monday

ARK Restaurants Corp (ARKR) is expected to report for 4Q.

AutoZone Inc (AZO) is expected to report $17.71 for 1Q.

Blade Air Mobility Inc (BLDE) is expected to report for 4Q.

Bridgeline Digital Inc (BLIN) is expected to report for 4Q.

Calavo Growers (CVGW) is expected to report $-0.11 for 4Q.

Carnival Corp (CCL) is expected to report $-1.36 for 4Q.

Electrovaya (EFL.T) is expected to report for 4Q.

Micron Technology (MU) is expected to report $2.05 for 1Q.

Mullen Automotive Inc. (MULN) is expected to report for 3Q.

NIKE Inc (NKE) is expected to report $0.66 for 2Q.

Optical Cable (OCC) is expected to report for 4Q.

Perma-Pipe International Holdings Inc (PPIH) is expected to report for 3Q.

Simply Inc (SIMP) is expected to report for 3Q.

U.S. Gold Corp (USAU) is expected to report for 2Q.

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ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS

Bottomline Techs Cut to Market Perform From Outperform by Raymond James

Sunrun Cut to Sector Weight From Overweight by Keybanc

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-20-21 0615ET