Good morning. Fascinating stats from Airbnb's Q4 earnings: About half of the nights booked on the platform were for stays of at least one week, and 20% were for at least one month. How long does a vacation have to last before it's just…moving? —Jamie Wilde, Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,139.76 | | | | | S&P | 4,471.07 | | | | | Dow | 34,988.84 | | | | | 10-Year | 2.047% | | | | | Bitcoin | $43,997.61 | | | | | Expedia | $211.93 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks snapped their three-day losing streak as tensions along the Russia–Ukraine border seemed to ease a little. Tech and travel stocks led the way.
- About those easing tensions: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was "partially" pulling back troops from the Ukrainian border and signaled he was open to more dialogue with Western leaders. But President Biden responded that the US hasn't verified whether those forces have been withdrawn, while NATO's secretary general said that the alliance hasn't seen "any sign of de-escalation."
| | Francis Scialabba The day before the Super Bowl, US health authorities suspended avocado imports from Mexico, which supplies 80% of US avocados, "until further notice." The news hit right as avocado prices reached record highs, squeezed by broader supply chain pressures like worker shortages. Why suspend imports? One of the US Agriculture Department's Mexico-based safety inspectors was threatened over the phone, the agency said. Though the Mexican and US governments haven't revealed who made the threat, a source told the Washington Post that the inspector had discovered an illegal avocado shipment. Details are scant, but what we do know is that the fruit (yeah, it's a fruit) has become so lucrative over the past decade that Mexican cartels, which have diversified their cash flows beyond drugs, fight with farmers over it. - For the past several years, cartels have routinely stolen truckloads of avocados, sprung up their own growing operations, and charged farmers per-hectare fees to "protect" their crops, with dire consequences for those who refuse.
- Farmers have formed militias to fight back, and the death toll in Michoacán (the only Mexican state approved by the US to export its avocados) has risen amid the conflicts.
The big question: Will we run out of avocados? A ban on the US' biggest supplier of avocados could definitely impact your ability to "add guac." Here are some forecasts: - Chipotle's CFO said its restaurants have "several weeks" of avocados left.
- Mission Produce, the US' biggest distributor, is looking to other countries for the product, but JPMorgan analysts responded that there simply isn't enough global supply to go around.
- Avocado supplier Eco Farms said it may have to raise prices as much as 25%.
But the fallout all depends on how long the ban lasts: Analysts say a ban of a couple weeks would increase prices and have a drastic impact on availability, while farmers say a ban of a couple months could seriously hurt Michoacán's economy. And so far the US Department of Agriculture has left us on read, saying the ban will last "as long as necessary" to make sure its personnel in Mexico are safe.—JW | | Duncan Mcglynn/Getty Images  Prince Andrew settles US civil sex abuse case. Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reached an out-of-court, undisclosed settlement, according to a court document filed by Giuffre's lawyers on Tuesday. Giuffre claimed that Andrew sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was underage, after meeting him through his connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
 Super ratings. The LA Rams win over Joe Brrr and the Cincinnati Bengals was the most-watched Super Bowl in five years, pulling in an average of 112.3 million viewers across streaming and TV—a more than 16% bump from last year's game (which was a ratings dud). The 2015 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks is still the most-viewed ever, at ~114 million viewers.
 There's a reason they call Buffett an oracle. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchased a nearly $1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard in Q4 of 2021…just weeks before Microsoft announced plans to buy the video game company. Now, Berkshire's stake is worth a lot more as Activision's stock has boomed following the takeover announcement. It's up 21% this year, far outpacing the S&P 500.
| | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images Families of the people killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School agreed to a $73 million settlement with Remington, the manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle used to kill 20 children and six adults that day. The deal marks the first time a gunmaker has been held liable for a mass shooting and, the families say, it could provide a blueprint for future legal action against the gun industry. That blueprint: Go after a firearm company's marketing tactics. While a 2005 federal law grants gunmakers broad immunity from litigation when their products lead to violence, the Sandy Hook families sued Remington on grounds it violated Connecticut's consumer protection law through unfair marketing tactics. - The families claimed Remington marketed the rifle to at-risk, young males by running an ad that featured a rifle and the phrase, "Consider Your Man Card Reissued."
- Remington, which has gone bankrupt since the shooting, denied that its marketing was connected to the shooting.
Zoom out: The landmark settlement comes one day after the four-year anniversary of the school shooting in Parkland, FL. Gun rights advocates staged a protest near the White House and pressed President Biden to do more to strengthen gun laws.—NF | | TOGETHER WITH YIELDSTREET | | We bring exciting news: The investing techniques often dominated by the 1% are actually available to you, too. Is it magic? Nope. It's thanks to the good folks at Yieldstreet. With Yieldstreet, you can invest beyond the stock market and access alternative investments in real estate, art, venture capital, and more. Yieldstreet already has a cool 340K+ members who've invested over $2B using the platform. So, how does this happen? Yieldstreet offers a unique suite of products with various yields, minimums, and durations, all of which has been vetted by professionals. You can choose from a variety of investment products to suit your needs, and even try out Yieldstreet's handy portfolio simulator to visualize the building process that could unlock your $$$'s potential—which is the best kind of potential. Get started with Yieldstreet right here. | | Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic opened space ticket sales to the general public today, and they can be yours for the price of $450,000 ($150,000 now, $300,000 later). Okay so not the general public. But some people, for sure. Astronaut joyriders will launch from New Mexico aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity in groups of four beginning later this year. After Unity, attached to a carrier plane, reaches an altitude of 50,000 feet, Unity's engine ignites and it propels itself into space. Once there, weightless ticket holders can observe our pale blue dot through 17 windows. But a simple trip to space isn't all you get out of the deal. The half-a-bil reservations also come with: - Several days of training
- A bespoke Under Armour spacesuit
- The opportunity to purchase an "Astronaut Edition" Range Rover
- Probably some luxurious onboard mixed nuts
Virgin Galactic shares closed about 32% higher on the news of the ticket release. Some analysts are optimistic about the space tourism company's ability to sell tickets, citing Virgin's technical capability to shoot for the stars and the "promising" market of 1.3 million billionaires.—MK | | Pool/Getty Images Stat: Elon Musk, the world's richest man, gave ~$5.7 billion worth of Tesla shares to charity, new filings showed on Monday. It's one of the largest philanthropic donations in history and would put him second on the list of top donors of 2021 behind Bill and Melinda French Gates, who gave an estimated $15 billion. It's not clear where Musk's gift went, but he's previously said that he'd give $6 billion to the UN's World Food Program if they could show how the money would solve world hunger. Quote: "I'm a Belieber." Jose Cil, the CEO of Restaurant Brands International, is a fan of Justin Bieber, and it's not hard to see why: The company's Tim Hortons chain saw a huge boost in sales after it partnered with the pop star on a donut hole line called Timbiebs Timbits. The promotion "was one of the more successful traffic-driving initiatives in recent memory," Cil said, helping reverse a major sales decline from a year ago. Read: Peter Thiel has reemerged as a prime financier of the Make America Great Again movement. (New York Times) | | - A woman appeared to become the third person ever (and first woman) cured of HIV, scientists said yesterday.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home topped Avatar as the third-biggest movie of all time at the domestic box office (not adjusted for inflation).
- Tennis star Novak Djokovic said he'd be willing to sit out future tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon instead of getting vaccinated, telling the BBC it's "the price I'm willing to pay" for having the freedom to choose what goes into his body.
- A century's worth of sea level rise is projected to hit US coasts in the next 30 years, a new government report warns. By 2050, waves hitting the US coast will be 10 to 12 inches higher.
- The Coachella and Stagecoach festivals are dropping all Covid-related requirements for entry.
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