Good morning and welcome to March. President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at 9pm ET tonight. It should be an interesting speech, but we're more excited for the halftime show: a duet of Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell singing "Picture." —Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt | | | |  | Nasdaq | 13,751.40 | | |  | S&P | 4,373.94 | | | | | Dow | 33,892.60 | | | | | 10-Year | 1.828% | | | | | Bitcoin | $42,679.53 | | | | | Citigroup | $59.23 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks were a mixed bag, but the S&P still suffered back-to-back losing months. The war in Ukraine is leaving its imprint on markets: Russia's stock exchange will be closed for the second straight day, and US banks closed lower following heavy sanctions from the West.
- Ukraine: A first round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials did not produce a breakthrough (though it wasn't really expected to). While that was happening, Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, killing potentially dozens of civilians, according to Ukrainian officials.
| | Francis Scialabba We discussed yesterday how the West is flexing its banking muscles to cut off Russia from the global financial system. But Russia is being isolated in other ways, too. Following its invasion of Ukraine, the country is becoming the target of a growing cultural boycott. For instance, you won't be seeing the Russian team at the World Cup later this year. FIFA and UEFA, two major governing bodies for soccer, announced yesterday that they were suspending Russia and Russian club teams from competing in international competitions "until further notice." The move is a major escalation from FIFA's initial ruling that allowed the Russian team to play, but under the "Football Union of Russia" name. It's also a dramatic example of Russia's plunging status in the court of public opinion. Some Twitter users joked that if you've lost the moral high ground to FIFA—an organization notorious for corruption—you've really dug yourself into a hole. Other sports organizations have also unveiled actions against Russia. - The International Olympic Committee called on sports organizations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international events to preserve "the integrity of global sports competitions."
- Formula 1 canceled its Russian Grand Prix that was scheduled for September.
- This one's really gonna hurt: The International Judo Federation stripped Russian President Vladimir Putin (a black belt in the sport) from his role as honorary president and ambassador.
The boycott extends beyond sports In the entertainment realm, companies are severing ties with Russia and those who support its government. - Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony said yesterday that they're pausing all of their upcoming theatrical film releases in the country.
- The Eurovision Song Contest, the annual European songwriting competition, banned Russia from entering this year.
- New York's Metropolitan Opera is also cutting ties with artists and institutions that have expressed pro-Putin sentiments.
Bottom line: Faced with overwhelming public outrage at Putin and sympathy with Ukraine, Western cultural organizations have no choice but to sever their connections to Russia.—NF | | Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images  Another troubling climate report: A highly anticipated report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded there is a "brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all." It warned of certain "tipping points" that could increase climate risks if global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (it's already increased 1.1 degrees).
 Western energy giants get out of doge: Shell said it's ending its joint ventures with Russia's Gazprom, BP is selling its stake in Russian oil company Rosneft (at a cost of up to $25 billion), and Norway's Equinor is also halting its investments in Russia. It's a stunning U-turn for Western energy companies that had spent decades building relationships—and forking over billions—in Russia.
 Airbnb opens its doors. CEO Brian Chesky said the company will offer short-term housing for up to 100,000 displaced Ukrainians, and asked hosts in neighboring countries Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania to open their homes. Over 500,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled the country in the last four days, according to the UN.
| | Roman Abramovich's luxury mega yacht. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Among the Russian sanctions drawn up by Western governments is a pledge to "hunt down" and seize the prized possessions of Russian billionaires—their yachts, mansions, and other property purchased through dirty money. But one of those categories is a moving target, and the target is certainly on the move. At least four yachts owned by Russian billionaires have set a course to Montenegro or the Maldives since the sanctions were announced, according to Marine Traffic data reviewed by CNBC. If you find yourself in the waters near the boot of Italy, you might spot the Galactica Super Nova, a 70-meter yacht owned by Vagit Alekperov, the CEO of the Russian oil giant Lukoil. Alekperov's yacht (featuring a "beach club" and a helipad) is on its way to Montenegro, a European country that has pledged to join in on the EU's sanctions. The other three ships heading to the Maldives might have better luck evading the crackdown. The Maldives, a country in the Indian Ocean that's popular among Russian tourists, does not have an extradition treaty with the US. Zoom out: The conflict is forcing Western countries to reckon with their history as a haven for Russian dirty money. London even earned the nickname "Londongrad" for being a safe place for Russian billionaires to park their laundered riches.—NF | | TOGETHER WITH EI.VENTURES | | There's growing reason to be: The natural properties of plant-based treatments and psychedelic medicine have already shown promising results in potentially helping millions cope with anxiety, depression, PTSD—even alcohol and nicotine addiction. Ei.Ventures is the very first psychedelic medicine company in the  to qualify for a Reg A+ Tier 2 offering. Their flagship product Psilly, a whole-plant and fungi botanical psilocybin-based formulation with natural properties, has potential to be an effective treatment. And you better be-leaf that this investment opportunity is ready to bloom—plant-based treatments and psychedelic medicine are already an estimated $35 billion industry. FYI: The last day to invest with Ei.Ventures is March 22. Learn more and get in on all this potential right here. | | PBS SoCal TikTok is determined to give you what you don't want: 10-minute ootd videos. The social media company is bumping max video lengths up to 10 whole minutes to expand beyond short-form content and potentially take on the other capitalize-whatever-letter-you-want video platform, YouTube. TikTok already has nearly 1 billion users around the world. But by adding longer videos, TikTok wants a piece of the world's second-largest search engine and to hopefully claw away some of the $28.8 billion YouTube earned in ad revenue last year. It's a gamble. - TikTok's creators have become popular for their hyper-short pieces of content; it's unclear how those skills will translate to longer videos.
- Plus, the app is relying on its audience to volunteer more screen time.
Big picture: Social media is converging. Less than a year ago, TikTok extended its max video length from 60 seconds to three minutes, and before that, the app had a 15-second time limit. But while TikTok was allowing for longer videos, its competitors were getting more bite-sized, introducing TikTok copycats like Facebook and Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight, and YouTube Shorts. Guess they'll just all meet in the middle?—MM | | Wordle Stat: The guy who invented Wordle sold it to the NYT for an amount in the low seven figures, but he's probably kicking himself for not asking for more. In the first 24 hours that the company integrated Wordle into its website, visits to the page were about equal to the total monthly audience for the entire NYT site, according to Puck News. Quote: "I don't regret anything I've done and I would do it again." A 55-year-old Ukranian mechanic appeared in Spanish court after trying to sink a yacht that belonged to his boss, an executive at a Russian weapons company. Read: Is crypto a solution for America's unbanked? (Morning Brew) | | - The 13 Ukrainian soldiers who were thought to have been killed in their defiant defense of Snake Island are actually alive, the Ukrainian Navy said.
- Estee Lauder fired executive John Demsey over an Instagram post that contained a racial slur and a Covid-19 joke.
- California, Oregon, and Washington announced plans to end school mask mandates. New York made a similar announcement on Sunday.
- Derek Jeter is stepping down as the CEO of the Miami Marlins and selling his stake in the team.
| | | Sheesh, the markets sure are moody. Park your $$$ in PrizePool. You'll get a chance to win weekly cash prizes of up to $10,000, all while earning beaucoup interest on the money in your account. And with PrizePool's Mastercard-powered debit card, you're also eligible for daily reimbursements on your everyday purchases. In finance, they call that a no-brainer. Start saving today. | | Tech Tip Tuesday: An easy method to help you keep conversations organized in Gmail. A new kind of standardized test: The art collective MSCHF announced a new game modeled after the SAT—it's $52 to enter, and the winner of the test collects the whole pot. To learn more about Putin's history: Listen to this episode of This American Life or read the thrilling book, Red Notice. | | Brew Mini: Do you know what Florida city is known as the Big Guava? If so, you're 20% of the way to solving today's Mini puzzle. Play it here. Casting call The following is a screenshot from which actor's IMDb page?  | | | Written by Neal Freyman and Matty Merritt Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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