Good morning. Today is the last day of winter, and we completely whiffed on our winter bucket list: - Lost only three pairs of gloves, short of our target of five
- Never once read anything by a fire
- Failed to bring a snowman to life and learn about friendship with him
Here's to a more productive spring. —Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt | | | |  | Nasdaq | 13,893.84 | | | | | S&P | 4,463.12 | | | | | Dow | 34,754.93 | | |  | 10-Year | 2.153% | | | | | Bitcoin | $41,772.48 | | | | | DraftKings | $19.62 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: March Madness, indeed. US stocks posted their best week since November 2020 and even turned green for the month; European stocks also erased all of their losses since the war in Ukraine began. DraftKings closed up more than 23% this week, because it appears there's a basketball tournament happening that a lot of people are betting on.
- Ukraine: President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a nearly two-hour long video call to discuss the war in Ukraine, their first chat since the Russian invasion. Biden warned Xi of "implications and consequences" if China were to help out Russia. Xi said that the war "is not something we want to see."
| | Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images More than 400 multinational companies have vamoosed out of Russia in the three weeks since it launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. But dozens, including a number of American companies, are still racking up receipts in the country. Why, in the face of such overwhelming public outrage at Russia's actions, aren't they headed for the exits? Well, for a few reasons. 1. They can't Take Burger King. The fast-food chain wants to get out of Russia, but because of the way its business is structured there…leaving is just not possible right now, the company says. Like some other American chains, such as Subway and Marriott, Burger King entered the Russian market through the franchise model, which means it's partnered with local operators who run locations under the brand name. - What this means in practice: Burger King's parent company, Restaurant Brands International, only has a 15% stake in a joint venture that runs Burger Kings in Russia.
So while Burger King said it wants to shut down its 800+ stores, it needs the cooperation of its Russian franchisee. And when asked, that partner said no. The company is taking other steps—including halting new investments, divesting that 15% stake, and pulling support of its supply chain—to minimize its operations in Russia. 2. Just the essentials Nestle, P&G, PepsiCo, and other consumer goods giants have halted capital investments and/or marketing efforts in Russia, but they're sticking around to provide daily essentials such as dairy products, baby food, and personal care items. "We must stay true to the humanitarian aspect of our business," Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta wrote. Ukrainian officials aren't satisfied with that position. After a call with Nestle's CEO Mark Schneider, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal tweeted that Schneider "shows no understanding. Paying taxes to the budget of a terrorist country means killing defenseless children&mothers." He said he hopes Nestle will reconsider. 3. Better me than the Russian government The industrial conglomerate Koch Industries said it'll keep its two factories open in Russia, because withdrawing would mean handing over those plants to the Russian government "so it can operate and benefit from them," COO Dave Robertson said. Perhaps he was alluding to a remark by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who floated nationalizing Western assets in Russia and putting them under "external management."—NF | | Alexey Furman/Getty Images  Powerful symbol: 109 strollers were arranged in rows in the central square of Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. The number of strollers represents the number of children who've been killed in the war so far, Ukrainian officials said. Lviv, which has been a haven for refugees during the war, was the site of more Russian missile attacks Friday.
 Initial bids for Chelsea were due yesterday. More than 20 parties have expressed interest in buying the iconic soccer club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has put it up for sale. Because of Chelsea's stature and the geopolitical turmoil surrounding the transaction, it will be the "highest-profile, fastest, and most complex sports team sale ever," per Axios.
 Credit agencies take a magic eraser to medical debt. The top three credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—said yesterday that they'll remove most medical debt from consumers' credit reports beginning this summer. This move will wipe out almost 70% of medical debts that can sometimes stick around for up to seven years on Americans' credit reports and make it harder for them to buy a house, car, or take out other loans.
| | Francis Scialabba At one point in 2020, you could fly round trip from Pittsburgh to Tokyo for $173. Now, you're lucky if you can find a round-trip ticket from Pittsburgh to New York for that price. Airfares were already up 13% annually in February but, due to a combo of surging demand and higher oil prices, airlines plan to raise prices even higher this spring and summer. - Delta said that prices for domestic flights would jump between 5% and 10%, and that international routes would see even bigger price hikes.
- International carriers like Emirates and Japan Airlines have introduced surcharges to cover the rising cost of fuel.
The more you know: Jet fuel is the biggest cost for airlines outside of labor, accounting for 20%–25% of their operating expenses, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. And in lockstep with the surge in oil prices, fuel has risen 45% to $3.29 a gallon this year. Think filling up your car's 15-gallon gas tank has gotten expensive? Try 31,000 gallons on the Boeing 777. Big picture: If it's any comfort, airfares are still down 16% from February 2020.—NF | | | Want to tap into high-quality, transparent, and affordable commercial real estate (CRE) investments? We don't blame you. CRE has historically proven to be an attractive hedge against inflation, and it's typically a more stable asset class than stocks or bonds. That's where Cadre comes in. They're a next-generation real estate investment platform for individual investors, as well as registered investment advisors and institutions. With a primary focus on acquiring income-generating multifamily properties, Cadre's proprietary data-science tools improve investment performance while creating efficiencies that allow them to reduce costs for investors. So far, they've transacted on real estate assets with a total value of nearly $3.5 billion—and delivered more than $184 million in gross distributions to investors.  Learn more about investing in commercial real estate with Cadre. | | Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, who introduced the bill. Williams/Getty Images The US House passed the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act yesterday, a bill that bans race-based hair discrimination in the workplace and in federally funded programs like public housing. The problem it's aiming to address: 80% of Black women said they've changed their natural hair to fit in at their jobs, according to a 2019 Dove survey. This bill contains specific language to protect hairstyles "in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros" and would effectively treat race-based hair discrimination like other forms of bias under federal civil rights law. But will this time be different? A Republican-led Senate blocked the CROWN Act the first time the House passed the bill. Now, Democrats have the slimmest of majorities in the chamber, where the next vote on the CROWN Act will take place. - A number of Republicans oppose the bill, saying that there are already protections in place for this type of discrimination and the government has bigger fish to fry.
Zoom out: The Biden administration voiced support for the CROWN Act this week, but the federal government has already been outpaced by 15 states and 30 cities that have passed similar bills.—MM | | Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Stat: Last year was a really good time to own a home—like, historically good. For the first time on record, homeowners earned more from the increase in home values than income from their jobs, according to Zillow. The numbers: The typical US home increased $52,667 in value, while the median full-time worker earned about $50,000 before taxes. Quote: "The industry appears to be taking advantage of the crisis for its own benefit." Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey is one of many Democrats who are accusing energy giants of padding profits while failing to protect Americans from rising gas prices. The Senate and the House are calling on oil and gas execs to testify at upcoming hearings. Read: His software sang the words of God. Then it went silent. (Input) | | - Russia held a huge pro-war rally in Moscow, but the broadcast was hit by a glitch following Putin's speech.
- Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station, showing that the US and Russia still have a working relationship at the galactic level.
- The US stepped up its calls to gain access to Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who's being detained in Russia on drug charges.
- Pete Davidson is no longer going to space. The launch date for his trip on a Blue Origin rocket was moved, and he apparently has other things going on then.
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