1.) E-Z Money - The BIG Story
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is wreaking havoc on the global economy. U.S. crude topped $130/barrel on news that there may be a new Western ban on Russian oil. Gas is now above $4/gallon at the pump, a price not seen since 2008. The war will also hurt national economies already reeling from years of the Coronavirus pandemic. Analysts now believe that the U.S. economy will slow with higher inflation, Europe will face a recession, and Russia will suffer a double-digit decline. Stock futures dropped more than 400 points on Sunday evening on the news.
2.) “To the Moon” — Retail Investing
Netflix ($NFLX) is the latest American company to pull its service out of Russia. The market is relatively small featuring only 1 million subscriptions out of 222 million globally. But $NFLX is still pretty heavily invested in Russian language projects. The company had four Russian series in production and post-production before this decision. Netflix joins Disney ($DIS), AT&T’s ($T) Warner Bros, Sony ($SONY), Paramount Pictures ($PGRE), and Comcast’s ($CMCSA) Universal Pictures in the ban.
3.) “The Cypher” — Crypto Investing
Bitcoin ($BTC) is in free-fall since it topped $44K this past Thursday. The benchmark cryptocurrency now trades just above $38K, a fall of more than 12%. Analysts are warning that Bitcoin is heading to $36K this week amid the global uncertainty plaguing traditional financial markets. Not everyone is concerned about the future outlook for cryptocurrencies, however. Some believe war and sanctions are actually good for Bitcoin. The bullish perspective is that “this crisis might hasten efforts to develop sovereign digital currencies, set rules for stablecoins, and coordinate efforts to track global crypto flow.” (Ape Translation - war will lead to more crypto adoption)
4.) “Straight Cash” — Sports Betting
L lost an absolute heartbreaker last week. He took Syracuse (+7.5) versus UNC on Monday night and the game ended up being tied after two bricked Syracuse free throws at the end of regulation. Somehow the Orange didn’t cover in Overtime, leading to an absolute killer beat. This week L will shift back to the English Premier League. Everton will head to Tottenham to take on the Spurs in North London. L likes the draw at (+353).
5.) “The Alternatives” — NFTs, ESGs, & More!
Is the NFT bubble already popping? The average trading price of non-fungible tokens has dropped precipitously, declining from a record $6,900 at the beginning of the year to under $2,000, according to Bloomberg. Daily sales are also down 83% since January 31st, with a 30% drop since Russia invaded Ukraine. The NFT market was flying high to start the year with OpenSea reporting its best month ever in January. February was not kind and prices steadily retreated as geopolitical tensions weighed on the broader crypto market.
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