Good morning. Fresh sanction powers authorized by President Trump against Iran could squeeze the remaining trade and finance channels keeping the Iranian economy on life support by threatening those companies still doing business with the country.

The U.S. on Friday levied more sanctions on Iran in response to ballistic-missile attacks against U.S. bases in the region earlier this week, blacklisting eight senior Iranian officials and some of Iran’s largest metals manufacturers.

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Along with new designations against officials and companies, Mr. Trump also signed an executive order that authorizes the U.S. Treasury Department to target the construction, mining, manufacturing and textiles sectors of the Iranian economy. The Treasury Department can now blacklist any individuals or entities operating in these sectors, or anyone assisting them.

The Trump administration also warned Iraq that it risks losing access to a critical government bank account if Baghdad kicks out American forces following the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, according to Iraqi officials.

• Iran Faces Growing Criticism Over Downing of Ukrainian Plane
• Threat of Cyberattack by Iran Still Critical, Experts Say

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said a major Russian gas pipeline to Europe would be delayed due to U.S. sanctions on the project, a slight setback to a German-Russian venture that has emerged as a major flashpoint in both countries’ relations with Washington.
   
• A new Labor Department rule will make it more difficult for workers to claim to have two employers simultaneously in cases where they are challenging wages and overtime, easing regulatory burdens for large franchised brands and companies using staffing firms.
   
• The chief legal officer of Google parent Alphabet is leaving the company amid an investigation into his relationships with employees of the search-engine giant. A Google spokeswoman said Mr. Drummond isn’t receiving an exit package from the company.
   
• U.S. regulators have proposed an additional fine on Boeing for its alleged use of defective wing parts on some 737 MAX jets that it maintained were ready for service. The proposed $5.4 million fine from the Federal Aviation Administration comes on top of a $3.9 million penalty proposed last month for Boeing’s alleged use of the same type of parts on 737 New Generation jets, the agency said.
   
• The State Department said public charter flights between the U.S. and most Cuban destinations—though not the nation’s main city, Havana—would be suspended in an effort to reduce the Cuban government’s revenue, another step in the Trump administration’s move to clamp down on the island. The State Department said the suspension, affecting nine destinations, would restrict Cuba’s ability to continue to finance Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government.
   
• A star witness in the continuing trial of Telemaque Lavidas, a New York businessman charged for his role in an alleged insider-trading network, portrayed a global network whose members—most of whom haven’t been charged by U.S. authorities—reaped tens of millions off stolen information on scores of publicly traded companies.
   
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to pay roughly $8.8 million to settle claims by the state of Oklahoma that the company’s marketing played a role in the opioid abuse crisis. Endo International PLC, the parent of Endo Pharmaceuticals and Par Pharmaceutical Inc., said on the settlement fully resolves Oklahoma’s investigation into the opioid maker and its affiliates. 
   
• Valic Financial Advisors Inc., a unit of American International Group Inc., recently disclosed that the firm makes payments to organizations for client referrals and endorsements. As part of a broader inquiry into sales of high-cost products in retirement plans for public-sector workers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating sales and disclosure practices at Valic, including its dealings with school districts and retirement-plan participants at schools, the Journal has reported.

The U.K. Financial Reporting Council said its investigation into the audits of Carillion PLC’s financial statements would take longer than expected, highlighting the complexity of its probe into the British construction and services company’s collapse.

Carillion, once one of the U.K. government’s biggest contractors, entered liquidation proceedings in early 2018 following the breakdown of rescue talks with its lenders, several write-downs and profit warnings. Its fall, alongside other corporate failures, has triggered intense debate among regulators, lawmakers and audit professionals about the quality of auditing and accounting in the U.K.

Much of the U.S. economy is largely unscathed by two turbulent years of trade war with China, economic indicators show. Yet economic growth is trending near 2% in 2019, well short of the Trump administration’s goal of 3%.

The U.S. and China are preparing to sign a first-stage trade accord on Wednesday, easing trade tensions and making the tariffs worth it, in the administration’s view. The deal “protects American innovation and creates a level playing field for our great farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs,” said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, adding, “President Trump protected the American worker and fundamentally changed our relationship with China.”

• Ford’s China sales fell for the third year in a row in 2019, a drop to less than half of what it sold at its zenith in 2016, and the company said the situation for the broader market is likely to get worse in 2020.

Exxon Mobil is in talks to sell its oil assets in Equatorial Guinea, the country’s oil minister said, and might be replaced there by a Russian company—among other options—as U.S. companies retreat to shale projects and Moscow strengthens its foothold in African resources.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an energy event Sunday, Gabriel Obiang Lima said he was in talks with Exxon about a sale of its assets in Equatorial Guinea, including its operating stake in the Zafiro field. At 90,000 barrels a day, the field makes up the bulk of Equatorial Guinea’s output.

• Drugmakers are experimenting with new ways to get paid for their most-expensive medicines, as resistance to escalating prices builds and improvements are made in collecting and analyzing patient data. Meanwhile, pharmaceuticals startup EQRx Inc. wants to capitalize on the backlash against high prices by developing slightly different versions of expensive brand-name drugs and selling them for less. 

• The biggest Boeing 737 MAX supplier said it is planning an initial 2,800 layoffs, the first announced job cuts since the grounding of a plane that is rippling through the broader aerospace industry. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. makes the fuselage and engine parts for the MAX and had been producing enough for 52 jets a month before Boeing said it would freeze assembling the planes in January for a “temporary” time.
   
• Airbnb said it will hire union construction labor for new real-estate developments, the latest sign that the home-sharing company is trying to strengthen its support from organized labor. The San-Francisco-based company said it would team up only with developers that hire workers organized under the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America umbrella. Projects include 10 that Airbnb plans to invest in over the next three years and possibly others later on.

• Days after fleeing Japan, Carlos Ghosn is mounting a pointed counterattack on Japanese authorities and Nissan, aiming to unravel their case against him. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the former auto executive tried to reclaim some of the stature he had lost since Japanese authorities threw him in jail in late 2018. Speaking from a corner office overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Mr. Ghosn acknowledged he has a long way to go in rebuilding his reputation and seeking retribution from his former employer.
   
• Wirecard AG ’s chairman, who resisted calls for an independent audit of the under-fire German payments group, quit his role, effective immediately—a move the company said was aimed at improving its corporate governance.

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Send comments to the Risk & Compliance editor, Jack Hagel, at jack.hagel@wsj.com