| Good morning. Raise your hand if you also Googled "Where is Oral Roberts?" this weekend. The school became the second #15 seed in NCAA tournament history to advance to the Sweet 16. The first, if you can remember back to 2013, was Florida "Dunk City" Gulf Coast. Oral Roberts is in Tulsa, OK, by the way—we'll save you the new tab. | | | |  | NASDAQ | 13,215.24 | + 2.54% | | | | S&P | 3,913.10 | + 4.18% | | | | DOW | 32,627.97 | + 6.60% | |  | GOLD | 1,738.00 | - 8.60% | | | | 10-YR | 1.709% | + 79.00 bps | | | | OIL | 60.87 | + 25.71% | | | *As of market close. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Covid: Cases are now rising in 21 states following a loooong decline. Officials are concerned about states loosening restrictions too early and the circulation of highly contagious strains, including one that was first found in Brazil called P1.
- Nation: Vigils were held in cities across the country to remember the victims of the Atlanta shootings and to call out racism against Asian-Americans.
| |  KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images | Today, the city council of Evanston, IL, will vote to begin distributing $400,000 in grants to Black residents. It would be the first instance of a US city issuing reparations for decades of racist government policies. Who's eligible? Black people who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 (or those whose ancestors did), as well as Black residents who can show they were subject to housing discrimination by the city government. They'll receive up to $25,000 to put toward housing, such as buying or upgrading a home. - The money will come from a sales tax on recreational marijuana, which was recently legalized in Illinois.
How we got here Since the Civil War ended in 1865, reparations have been floated as a potential solution to the racial wealth gap that has resulted from centuries of discriminatory laws. For instance, in a process known as "redlining," banks would deny mortgages to Black people in certain neighborhoods—preventing them from accumulating wealth by owning a home. Fast forward to 2019. Evanston, a Chicago suburb and home to Northwestern University, voted to create the Reparations Fund to begin making amends for its past policies that denied wealth to its Black residents, who currently make up 16% of the total population. The city pledged to give out $10 million over 10 years. For some, that's not close to enough A group of Black residents argue that Evanston's reparations program is more like Reparations Lite for its narrow focus on housing assistance and cash payments: "If we're doing reparations, let's do reparations right," said Alderwoman Cicely Fleming in a statement. "Let's not short-change Black people on something they've been waiting centuries for." Proponents say it's a good start for grappling with systemic racism, and could serve as a model for other cities, including neighboring Chicago, Providence, RI, and Asheville, NC, that are also considering reparations programs. | |  George Rose/Getty Images | Yesterday, railroad operator Canadian Pacific announced plans to acquire Kansas City Southern for ~$25 billion. This is a big deal, not just because it's a deal that is big (the biggest M&A announced so far this year), but also because if regulators green-light it, the new company will have the first US-Mexico-Canada railroad. - Kansas City Southern's routes run through Mexico and Texas to...Kansas City.
- Canadian Pacific, which has a network that runs across Canada and some Northern US states, has been eyeing its railroad rival for years as a way to extend its own southern reach.
The deal may have some trouble with that regulatory green light; Canadian railroads have historically hit antitrust speed bumps in efforts to buy US companies. Zoom out: The deal is a bet that North American trade will come roaring back as economies and factories flicker back to life. The USMCA trade agreement took effect last July and is expected to boost trade among the three countries. | |  Charly Triballeau/Getty Images | A year into the global pandemic, the coronavirus continues to cause calendar chaos. The Tokyo Olympics will bar international spectators from attending the event, which is set to start on July 23. Typically about 10%–20% of Olympics tickets go to international fans, and the Tokyo games had already sold 600,000 to overseas buyers, per the NYT. March Madness had its first Covid-related forfeit: Saturday's game between VCU and Oregon in the NCAA tournament was declared a "no-contest" after VCU reported multiple positive Covid-19 tests. Oregon will advance and play Iowa today. Miami Beach declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in its entertainment district for 72 hours. The reason? Spring breakers have simply overwhelmed the area. "We've got too many people and too many looking to act out while there's a pandemic going on," Mayor Dan Gelber told USA Today. | | | Last week, you might have heard that the art market went—as they say in business school—absolutely bonkers, setting a new record of $69.3 million for a nifty digital artwork. The takeaway? Art investing has hit the mainstream. But perhaps putting your money in real, tangible art by the blue-chips makes more sense for you. For one thing, contemporary art has outperformed the S&P by 172% from 2000–2020, according to data from Masterworks. They were the first platform to let you invest in paintings by the likes of Basquiat, Kaws, and Haring. But what about returns? They've got that too: They sold their first Banksy work for a cool 32% annualized return to investors. With results like that, it's no wonder there are over 25,000 people on the waitlist. Just use our special link, tell them the Brew sent you, and you'll be good to go.* | |  Francis Scialabba | Stat: There are more real estate agents in the US than homes for sale, per the WSJ. The National Association of Realtors had 1.45 million members in January (up 4.8% annually), while there were 1.04 million homes for sale (down 26%). Quote: "There's a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information. If Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get shut down." During a virtual appearance at the China Development Forum, Elon Musk addressed reports that the Chinese government banned the use of Teslas at its facilities over fears their cameras could send sensitive information back to the US. Musk said the company would never do that. Read: What working from home looks like in nine different countries. (Rest of World) | |  Francis Scialabba | Earnings: GameStop drops its Q1 financials on Tuesday lol. Inflation: Key inflation numbers will arrive on Friday in a report known as the Core PCE price index. Many investors have been worried about higher prices...but will it finally show up in the data? DC appearances: The economic power duo of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will talk to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday about Covid relief efforts. Everything else: - Israel will hold its national elections on Tuesday
- So much college basketball will be played
- Start getting rid of your chametz, because Passover starts Saturday evening
- Earth Hour, when people are encouraged to shut off lights for an hour, is Saturday night
| | - Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant, said its net income fell 44% last year but sees better times ahead and will maintain its $75 billion annual dividend.
- The Turkish lira plunged as much as 15% after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced the head of the country's central bank.
- Kent Taylor, the CEO and founder of restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse, died by suicide Thursday following a battle with "post-Covid-related symptoms," the company said.
- Facebook is working on an Instagram for kids under 13.
- The NCAA apologized for discrepancies in the weight rooms between the men's and women's basketball tournaments, and upgraded the women's facilities.
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