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Ukraine won’t lay down arms, natural gas prices fell and Hong Kong flights.Mariupol fights onUkraine rejected a Russian demand to lay down a [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Ukraine won’t lay down arms, natural gas prices fell and Hong Kong flights. Mariupol fights on Ukraine rejected a Russian demand to lay down arms and [leave Mariupol.]( A large shopping center on the outskirts of Kyiv was shelled overnight. China’s top U.S. diplomat pledged his country will work to [de-escalate]( the war in Ukraine, but refused to condemn Russia’s attack. The [European Union]( looks set to reinforce the U.S. warning to China about helping Russia. [Aluminum]( jumped after Australia banned alumina shipments to Russia, adding to inflation fears. European energy European natural gas prices [fell]( to the lowest since early March as Russian shipments through Ukraine held stable and forecasts showed warmer-than-usual weather on the horizon. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to [meet]( leaders from the nuclear and wind industries to discuss ramping up alternative energy sources. In other commodity news, nickel fell by the daily limit again in London trading. Hong Kong flights Hong Kong [announced]( major changes to the city’s pandemic strategy, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., and reducing hotel quarantines to seven days. On the mainland, Shanghai [reported]( record high new Covid infections as it implemented mass mandated testing, and the city’s Disney theme park said it would temporarily close. In the U.S., Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said that Covid-19 infections are likely to rise again but won’t lead to a renewal of full-scale restrictions. Stocks steady Stocks had a uninspiring start to the week with much of Europe trading flat to slightly higher. Energy and mining names are trading well. S&P futures are little changed while those on the Nasdaq are in the red. Bonds drift lower and most FX majors are in a narrow range. In the [commodity space](, it’s a case of another day, another rally. This time focus is on aluminum, which gained as much as 4%. Oil futures are heading higher, with both WTI and Brent up over 3%. Spot gold holds steady near $1,924/oz. Coming up... We start the week with a relatively sparse economic calendar: just the Chicago Fed National Activity Index due at 8:30 a.m. Fed speakers could, once again, garner more interest with Bostic and Powell both scheduled to speak. President Joe Biden will host a call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. to coordinate responses to the war in Ukraine. In earnings, Nike is due to report. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the weekend. - U.S. [Covid-19 infections are likely to rise]( again, Fauci says. - China Eastern [Boeing 737 crashes]( with more than 130 on board. - [Texas’s worst wildfire]( expands as high winds fan dry brush. - [Trump’s political war chest]( is growing. - Margins of up to 90% give [energy firms that mine Bitcoin]( an edge. - [Disney]( to meet with staff after outcry over stand on LGBTQ bill. - [Ukrainian pop star escapes](the war zone to perform. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning Without a doubt, one of the huge industry themes of the last decade was ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing. It seems very plausible that the next decade is going to be considerably more difficult. There's two challenges, which are somewhat related. The first is that we're seeing, immediately, that the world is nowhere close to transitioning off of fossil fuels. There's more to ESG than decarbonization and renewables, but that's a big part of it, moving away from energy sources like oil and coal. With gasoline costs surging in the US, that may provide some impetus to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. But that's a slow process, and what's more is that it too is constrained by resources (for example, various metals) which are expensive and scarce. And it's going to be slow going to build out big new mines for them. The path of least resistance, for now, is more oil drilling. The other problem is that ESG funds are severely underperforming the broader market. Here's the ratio of the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF against SPY (the popular S&P 500 ETF). For the first time since its inception, the ESG ETF is massively losing ground. There's a reason for this underperformance, and you can see it when you look at the fund's top holdings. It basically looks like the Nasdaq 100. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet aren't pulling dirty fuel out of the ground, so they rank well. And so, of course, an ESG fund is going to do well, because as a simple equity story, they're in large part a tech story and tech had an incredible decade. But for the first time in awhile, we're seeing a serious downturn in tech. It's very possible, of course, that tech is just hitting a speed bump and will resume its outperformance. But at least for the moment, mining and other extractive industries are hot, and if you don't have them in your portfolio, you're missing out on real gains. For the moment, ESG investors are sacrificing returns. That, combined with the realities of our energy balances in the U.S. and Europe, may make this decade a tougher one when it comes to selling ESG. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Special Daily Brief: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine [Keep up with the latest news]( on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the worst security crises in Europe since World War II. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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