Morning Market Roundup: EU Adopts Iran Embargo, Volt Investigation Closed

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

This week, markets will look to extend their gains to date. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release policy news and throughout the week look for a barrage of corporate earnings reports.

News from Europe could affect this week’s market on news from Greece’s debt-swap talks and Monday’s European Union finance ministers meeting. They will talk about the recent fiscal-pact draft, according to MarketWatch.

Over in the Asian markets, many markets will be closed for holidays but there will be news from Japan and Thailand’s central banks. Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen will be closed from Monday through Wednesday; the Taipei market will be closed on Thursday. South Korea’s market will be shut down on Monday and Tuesday. Australian markets are closed on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India will make its policy announcement. In December, it did not have any interest rate hikes and suggested it was done with doing so and was ready to focus on growth.

The Bank of Japan will also announce its policy news on Tuesday. On the following day, look for news nuggets of the bank’s moves in its policy statement. The Bank of Thailand will report its policy move on Wednesday.

Back in the U.S. get ready for earnings. Lots of earnings.

Chevy Volt is "safe": U.S. regulators ended an investigation into why Chevrolet Volt electric cars caught fire, and said electric vehicles do not pose a greater risk of fire, according to Bloomberg. The conclusion by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came two weeks after General Motors Co. told owners to bring the vehicles to dealerships for repair.

"Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles," the agency said in an e- mailed statement today.

EU vs Iran: The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran on Monday and froze the assets of Iran's central bank, part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on its controversial nuclear program.

Two Iranian lawmakers, stepped up threats that their country would shutter the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude flows, in retaliation for the EU oil sanctions on Tehran.

Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's influential committee on national security, said Monday the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way." Tensions over the strait and the potential impact its closure would have on global oil supplies and the price of crude have weighed heavily on consumers and traders. Both the U.S. and Britain have warned Iran not to disrupt the world's oil supply. Many analysts doubt that Iran could set up a blockade for long, but any supply shortages would cause world oil supplies to tighten temporarily.

For its part, the United States has enacted, but not yet put into force, sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and, by extension, the country's ability to be paid for its oil.

Economic Numbers and Fed Speak

• Monday: Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
• Tuesday: Ecofin meeting of EU finance ministers, Day One of FOMC meeting, and President Obama’s State of the Union address.
• Wednesday: Pending Home Sales index for December,FOMC policy announcement and Ben Bernanke Press Conference.
• Thursday: Durable Goods orders for December, Weekly jobless claims, December new home sales and leading indicators.
• Friday: Fourth-quarter GDP report and University of Michigan consumer sentiment for January.

[Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]

The Associated Press contributed to this story.