__Big yellow taxi takes a turn…__ but Uber’s in the driver’s seat. The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has [agreed](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/business/uber-new-york-taxis.html) to list all its cabs on the Uber app. __[Uber](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UBER)__ says taxi riders will see prices up front and pay roughly the same amount for a cab as they would for an UberX. Cabbies will see how much they’d make on a given ride, with the power to accept or deny. Uber says taxi drivers *could* make more with Uber than from regular street hailing, while Uber and its taxi partners will take a cut of each ride. 

__“Call a cab”…__ a phrase never uttered by 20-somethings with smartphones. Uber’s rivalry with taxis could best be compared to Giants vs. Yankees (#tense). Starting from when Uber was UberCab, the disruptive startup clashed with taxi unions and regulators. 

- __2010:__ California transit organizations ordered Uber to cease and desist, and San Francisco threatened Uber execs with 90 days of jail time for every ride offered.
- __2014:__ The Verge published [leaked](https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/26/6067663/this-is-ubers-playbook-for-sabotaging-lyft) documents revealing Uber’s cutthroat tactics for poaching __Lyft__ drivers.
- __2018:__ A [wave](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shadow-uber-s-rise-taxi-driver-suicides-leave-cabbies-shaken-n879281) of suicides among cabbies called attention to record-high medallion prices and the challenges of competing against the modern convenience of ride-hail apps. 
- __2021:__ By last year, the pandemic and ride-hailing apps had pushed [two-thirds](https://www.curbed.com/2021/05/nyc-yellow-cabs-taxis-disappearing.html) of NYC yellow cabs off the streets.

Trying to track down my Uber cab [Daniel Grill/Getty Images]

Cabby

__If you can’t beat ’em, leverage them…__ The ride-hailing app that once vowed to disrupt cab commerce now thinks food-delivery [services](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7smONUNjrn1RF9LBhEgLe7/articles/2aGMAsFF7RhrjGK8g17FCy/), public-transit [partnerships](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2zpVwVyEiGyPCvumSTvoc8/articles/6yN6Pa4Rv06oCT8tXPdeL5/), and traditional taxis will fuel its next growth phase. Plus, Uber is likely getting a great deal: it’s absorbing a massive fleet of drivers in one of its most lucrative [markets](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/business/uber-new-york-taxis.html) during a dire driver shortage. For the taxi drivers, the road ahead is less clear.

After disrupting the taxi industry, Uber’s listing NYC cabs on its app to fuel growth

__End of an era…__ According to Wall Street’s $10T man, Larry Fink, three decades of globalization is ending. Refresher: globalization is the movement of products, tech, and jobs across borders through free trade. Yesterday the __[BlackRock](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BLK)__ boss [told](https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-chairmans-letter) investors he believes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will halt globalization and cause countries to “decouple” from the global economy.

- __Fink’s words echoed__ across the business world because BlackRock manages $10T in assets (think: pension funds and retirement accounts). That’s more than the GDP of every country except the US and China. 

__The big breakup…__ Many countries [cut](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2aFNNo1cLzMdtzoAVyyeFI/) financial ties with Russia after its invasion: the US halted Russian oil imports, and major corporations stopped doing biz there. Meanwhile, the EU is [scrambling](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/46hG8qxlWDaXYY96ecECBB/) to phase out Russian energy by 2027. But Fink says Russia’s aggression will also push countries to reduce dependence on each other and boost domestic production.

- __The cons:__ Fink expects that companies will bring supply chains closer to home, which could drive up prices as businesses rebuild operations and hire domestic workers. “Onshoring” is already happening in the US’s EV industry and in the chip biz. 
- __The pros:__ Blue-collar workers in the US, Mexico, Brazil, and Southeast Asia could benefit from more local manufacturing jobs. Green-energy adoption could accelerate as countries invest in renewables to limit reliance on imported fossil fuels.

Fink

__Globalization is a mixed bag…__ and deglobalization could have pros and cons too. In the past three decades, globalization helped US companies by driving down production costs and boosting profits. It also benefited American consumers by lowering prices (think: $100 4K flat screens from China). But globalization hurt blue-collar Americans by outsourcing their jobs to cheaper labor markets. Now deglobalization could reverse those effects by shifting production stateside (think: TVs made in the US by American workers — but they cost $600).

Wall Street’s most powerful investor says globalization as we know it is ending — and blue-collar workers could benefit

🚕 After disrupting the taxi industry, Uber’s listing NYC cabs on its app to fuel growth

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Bitcoin

On a typical day, the Netflix “skip intro” button is pressed 136M times, saving viewers nearly 200M years in watch time

🚕 Uber welcomes taxis

__There’s an IPO drought…__ and it’s leaving Wall Street thirsty. Big banks like __[Morgan Stanley](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MS)__, __[Chase](https://robinhood.com/stocks/JPM)__, __[Bank of America](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BAC)__, __Goldman__, and __[Citi](https://robinhood.com/stocks/C)__ make big bucks from helping companies go public. But as initial public offerings have slowed to a trickle, fees have shriveled:

- __Fewer offerings, less champagne:__ The Big Five investment banks have [earned](https://www.ft.com/content/31dcd748-26d2-4f7a-ad3d-a3efc05c0f25) just $645M from IPO fees this year, compared to $5.3B at this point last year (don’t cry for the banks: their profits mostly come from other services, like wealth management).
- __Boom to bust:__ Last year companies [raised](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/a-record-year-for-ipos-in-2021) a record $286B through 1K+ IPOs, or three IPOs *per day*. Already this year there was a 25-day stretch without a single IPO, the longest dry spell in five years.

__A perfect storm…__ Last year, IPO conditions were ideal: booming markets, low interest rates, confident investors, SPACs, and online roadshows made listing easy. But the clouds have rolled in and most of last year’s IPOs are trading [below](https://www.wsj.com/articles/ipos-had-a-record-2021-now-they-are-selling-off-like-crazy-11640773806) their listing prices (not encouraging for prospective IPO’ers). Some other reasons for the reversal:

- __Too many IPOs:__ We may be seeing "demand pulled forward" — aka some companies that would’ve IPO’d this year already did last year. 
- __Too many options:__ VCs are sitting on [record](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-900-billion-cash-pile-inflating-startup-valuations-11640539562) cash piles, giving startups easy access to private $$ — and one less reason to tap the public markets.
- __Too much uncertainty:__ Now public-curious companies have to navigate the effects of war, a newly hawkish Fed, and bearish markets.

IPO times have changed [Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

Float

__IPOs prefer calm weather…__ and right now the weather in public markets is anything but. Companies that can afford to are choosing to delay going public until conditions improve: last month fintech biz __Acorns__ [canceled](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-18/investing-app-acorns-pioneer-cancel-2-2-billion-spac-deal) its offering last minute because of “market conditions.” __Instacart__ and __Stripe__ also recently said they planned to stay private, dashing investors’ IPO dreams, at least for now.

IPOs have dried up after last year’s IPO-palooza, and banks are taking a nearly $5B hit

__Took the Harry Potter sorting quiz...__ still not a wizard. Investors weren’t feeling the magic this week when HuffPost owner __[BuzzFeed](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BZFD)__ dished up its first public earnings. On the plus side, annual [sales](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/buzzfeed-says-people-are-spending-less-time-on-facebook.html) were up 24% from 2020. On the not-so-plus side, revenue was still $100M short of what investors expected. BuzzFeed shares are down 40% [since](https://www.axios.com/buzzfeed-earnings-q4-2021-1308121a-a492-4fbb-9433-550cbfeb734e.html) its December IPO.

__10 reasons your cat’s grumpy…__ Like most digi-media companies, BuzzFeed makes money through strategically placed ads — alongside “Seinfeld” quizzes and spring break shopping listicles. But a decade ago, the company built out a legit newsroom (think: major investigative reports). Last year BuzzFeed’s global news division even won a [Pulitzer](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/pulitzer-prize-buzzfeed-news-won-china-detention-camps). But like many newsrooms, BuzzFeed News bleeds money, to the tune of $10M a year. Now:

- __Close:__ Some shareholders want BuzzFeed to ditch its news biz entirely, saying it could add $300M to its market cap.
- __Shrink:__ BuzzFeed instead wants to cut costs by offering buyouts (the prelude to layoffs) to [dozens](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/buzzfeed-investors-have-pushed-ceo-jonah-peretti-to-shut-down-newsroom.html) of news staffers. Three top editors have already quit. 
- __Pivot to video:__ The company says it can help offset news losses by growing its e-comm biz, including producing and monetizing more vertical __TikTok__-esque videos.

__Self-reliance is hard to achieve…__ in the digi-media economy. Publishers like BuzzFeed rely on clicks from __[Meta](https://robinhood.com/stocks/META)__ and YouTube to drive traffic — and a single algorithm change could crush their numbers. Last year BuzzFeed warned that a heavy reliance on social-media platforms could hurt its business, and it has. In its earnings call, its CFO repeatedly mentioned that its audience was abandoning Facebook, where the bulk of its e-com traffic comes from.

BuzzFeed’s first earnings: newsroom cuts, resignations, and the dangers of depending on Facebook 

Madeleine Albright, who died yesterday at 84, was the first woman to be US secretary of state

🦄 Where are all the IPOs?

__Schnitzel in the Model S...__ crispy luxury. __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ just cut the ribbon at its new Gigafactory outside Berlin. Elon Musk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz [attended](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-hands-over-first-model-ys-german-gigafactory-finally-goes-live-2022-03-22/) the opening of Tesla's first European plant — Elon [danced](https://twitter.com/Teslarati/status/1506269484763463681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1506269484763463681%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%2Fworld-news%2Felon-musk-breaks-into-dance-as-he-hands-over-made-in-germany-teslas-2837430), Olaf didn't,. Tesla snagged approval to produce up to 500K cars/year at Giga Berlin, but ramping up production will take time. It’s hoping for 30K cars by June.

__Fake German heiress...__ real Model X. By expanding manufacturing, Tesla [delivered](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4JaJC0FkdGD5qt6zW5UWxa/articles/6g5fbLZOViIV6i968tWbF8/) almost 1M cars last year — nearly double 2020 deliveries. Giga Berlin will play a key role as Tesla's European production hub (currently it ships cars to Europe from its China plant, and pays hefty import duties for the privilege). Tesla’s footprint:

- __Fremont, CA:__ Tesla's OG factory is the [most productive](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-tesla-factory-california-texas-car-production/#:~:text=Now%2C%20Tesla's%20original%20California%20factory,of%208%2C550%20cars%20a%20week.) car plant in the US (8.5K cars/week). The bulk of Teslas come from here. 
- __Reno, NV, and Buffalo, NY:__ These Giga plants [produce](https://electrek.co/2021/07/14/tesla-factory-locations-where-they-are-and-could-soon-be/#:~:text=Current%20Tesla%20factories,and%20one%20is%20in%20China.) electric motors, batteries, and solar-energy-storage products instead of EVs.
- __Shanghai:__ The second Giga after Fremont to actually assemble Teslas. Since starting production in 2019, it’s nearly doubled in size. 
- __Next up:__ Giga Texas is under construction in Austin, TX, and will become Tesla’s new HQ (#TaxReasons). It’ll also crank out Cybertrucks… if they ever materialize.

The Technoking and Germany’s chancellor christen Tesla’s first European factory  [Patrick Pleul/Getty Images]

Giga

__A global footprint is fuel…__ for global EV domination. Last year [85%](https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-electric-vehicle-market-2021) of the world’s EVs were sold to customers in Europe and China. With oil prices gone haywire, EV demand could soar. Thanks to its continent-spanning factories, Tesla can produce at a much higher volume than other EV-first companies. But it’s losing ground in Europe to OGs like Volkswagen, which has eclipsed Tesla in EV sales there. The Berlin Gigafactory should help Tesla compete on VW’s home turf.

Tesla opens a Gigafactory in Germany to win back Europe’s EV market

__DecentraCow…__ Non-fungible tokens could be coming to a farm near you. A Wyoming cattleman recently [started](https://thespoon.tech/its-like-a-drivers-license-for-cows-why-one-wyoming-company-is-creating-nfts-for-cattle/) a four-person shop called __CattleProof__ to help fellow ranchers create NFTs for their cows (the same guy also founded [BeefChain](https://beefchain.com/about/), which aims to help ranchers sell blockchain-validated meat — call him a crypto bull). Here’s how CattleProof makes it easier to track and sell cattle:

- __Connected cows:__ Ranchers attach sensors to their cows and upload their bovines’ data (like: weight, birthplace, birthday). Then they mint NFTs with that info on the ethereum blockchain.
- __Digital records:__ Many ranchers still use paper records, which can be lost or altered. But CattleProof NFTs can’t be edited: when cows are sold, they’ll have “driver’s licenses” with accurate digital info about their origins and medical histories. 

__Bored Cow Graze Club…__ Big Agriculture has been embracing blockchain technology to make supply chains safer and more efficient. More than *half* of fruits and veggies are [lost](https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/resources/food-trust/fresh-produce/) along the supply chain, leading to $100B+ in annual food waste. Blockchain systems could create more transparency from farm to store: 

- __Weeding out bad veggies:__ After a deadly 2018 E. coli outbreak caused a nationwide romaine recall, __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__ started using __[IBM’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/IBM)__ blockchain tech to track its fruits and veggies — and to avoid future recalls. 
- __Fighting food fraud:__ Tomato farmers in Italy [work](https://www.tomatonews.com/en/italy-puts-tomatoes-on-the-blockchain_2_1098.html) with a blockchain biz to protect the value of their “Made in Italy” label from counterfeiters. 

__NFTs are becoming more practical…__ Early NFT hype centered on digital art, but these tokens can be applied to more than ape collectibles. NFTs are already being used to verify ownership of physical assets, from a plot of real estate to, now, a herd of cows. The latest use case has companies adopting blockchain tech to fix broken supply chains and improve out-of-date systems.

Ranchers are minting NFTs for cows as agriculture embraces blockchain tech

15% of Google searches have never been Googled before

🏎️ Tesla speeds into Europe

__Not the continental-breakfast variety...__ Buffett just added a lot to his plate. Warren Buffett's legendary holding company, __[Berkshire Hathaway](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BRK.A)__, owns businesses like Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen, and has major investments in blue-chip companies like __[Coca-Cola](https://robinhood.com/stocks/KO)__, __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__, and __[Amex](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AXP)__ (hence: "holding"). Now the 91-year-old billionaire is doing his biggest deal in six years:

- __Double down:__ Berkshire agreed to buy insurance conglomerate __[Alleghany](https://robinhood.com/stocks/Y)__ for $11.6B in cash. Insurance = a Berkshire bread-and-butter industry that [generates](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/berkshire-hathaway-acquire-alleghany-116-bln-deal-2022-03-21/) a fifth of its profits. 
- __Double up:__ Alleghany stock jumped 25% yesterday as Berkshire offered Alleghany shareholders a sweet premium to buy their stock.

__A Cherry Coke a day...__ Even with a $120B net worth, Buffett's famous for his modest lifestyle. Think: still living in the Omaha house he bought in the ’50s, having Coke and McMuffins for [breakfast](https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-diet-2017-10#on-the-first-breakfast-of-the-week-i-was-nervous-but-had-a-supply-of-foolish-confidence-in-my-ability-to-handle-what-was-ahead-2), and donating most of his $$ instead of splurging. He’s been conservative with investments too:

- __Berkshire hasn’t made a big acquisition__ since 2016, opting to hoard its nearly $150B cash pile and invest in companies it already holds. In his popular shareholder letter last month, Buffett complained that nothing looked attractive. 
- __Despite its conservative approach,__ Berkshire has [beat](https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2021ar/2021ar.pdf) the overall market when compared against the S&P 500. Last week its Class A stock surpassed $500K/share (not a typo), and has hit a new high on the Allegheny deal.

The Oracle of Omaha makes a $12B comeback [Scott Olson/Getty Images]

Oracle

__Slow and steady wins the race…__ at least for Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha’s 60-year investment strategy focuses on un-sexy but reliable industries like insurance and utilities — and, yes, even fossil fuels. Rule #5 of Berkshire's acquisition [criteria](https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2000ar/acq.html): invest in "simple businesses (if there's lots of technology, we won't understand it)." Before the Allegheny deal, Berkshire was [doubling down](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/investing/berkshire-hathaway-warren-buffett-occidental-petroleum/index.html) on OG investments like __[Occidental Petroleum](https://robinhood.com/stocks/OXY)__. As high-growth tech stocks have plunged, Berkshire has been more resilient thanks to its more defensive investments like oil and insurance.

Berkshire shows its dedication to old-school industries in Buffett's biggest deal since 2016

__Date night on a school night…__ there’s an app for that. Yesterday __[Match](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MTCH)__ [launched](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/21/match-stir-is-a-new-dating-app-for-single-parents.html) Stir, a dating app for single parents. Match owns over a [dozen](https://mtch.com/ourcompany) matchmaking apps, like Tinder and Hinge, which together reach [16M](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/could-bumble-become-the-next-match-group)+ paying users worldwide. Now Match is targeting the [20M](https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/21/match-group-launches-its-latest-dating-app-stir-aimed-at-single-parents/) single US parents.

- __Penciling in:__ Stir’s “me time” feature lets busy parents create a calendar-like schedule so that potential matches can see the best time to meet between work and soccer practice.
- __Sans-swipe:__ Users can scroll from a roster of local singles, but the Tinder-esque swipe is gone. 
- __Freemium:__ Stir is free to download and use, but for $40/month you get bonus features like “super likes” to let people know you’re *really* into their profile pic.

__Balancing act…__ The US has the world’s highest rate of one-parent homes, but it’s a market overlooked by dating services. A quarter of single parents say coordinating schedules prevents them from dating. On mainstream apps, singles with kids have a harder time connecting to those without: over [half](https://www.fastcompany.com/90732580/match-launches-a-new-dating-app-designed-for-single-parents) say they’ve been ghosted after a first date. With Stir:

- __Match can grow its Western user base,__ which is recovering faster compared with Asian countries, where Covid lockdowns have been blocking meetups.
- __Match has been building__ a suite of dating apps based on relationship type (hook up vs. committed), age, race, and religious preferences — now it’s targeting based on family structures.

__You can go wide or you can go niche…__ While rival __[Bumble](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BMBL)__ is expanding into platonic relationships (like: Bumble Biz and Bumble BFF), Match is going all in on romance with a segmentation strategy. Picture: apps like Hawaya, which caters to Muslim singles, and OurTime, aimed at singles over 50. The timing seems right: last quarter Match’s sales grew 24% — but paid users fell for the first time since the pandemic began.

Match launches a dating app for single parents, as the Tinder owner continues to niche-ify the dating pool

Cable-TV providers lost another 4.7M customers last year to cord-cutting

👓 Buffett’s back

__When you blink and gas is $5...__ Your move, J-Pow. Two months ago, the Fed thought conditions were ripe for hiking interest rates to fight inflation: Covid in retreat, a strong labor market, and a rebounding economy. Then Russia invaded Ukraine.

- __Surge:__ Sanctions against Russia have sent the prices of commodities like oil and wheat soaring. 
- __Change of plans:__ Last week, the Fed hiked rates by a quarter point, half of what some expected pre-war. 
- __Soft landing:__ The Fed’s still worried about inflation and signaled six more hikes this year. But it’s also worried rapid hikes could slow growth.

__A ’70s economic monster could return…__ its name: stagflation (aka inflation + stagnant growth). Typically, inflation and recessions don’t happen simultaneously. But when they do, profits can shrink, assets like stocks can tumble, and workers can lose jobs. When stagflation last reared its head in the 1970s after an oil shock, economists weren’t sure what to do and markets slumped for a decade. Former Fed Chair Paul Volcker intervened by raising rates to historic levels, which led to a painful recession.

- __Echoes:__ The war keeps pushing oil higher, and since it still fuels the world, that could contribute to a recession.
- __Outlook:__ __[Goldman Sachs](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GS)__ [estimates](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html) that the odds of a US recession are as high as 35%, and it’s already [cut](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/goldman-sachs-cuts-us-growth-forecast-commodity-prices-bite-2022-03-11/) its growth forecast for this year. 
- __Pocketbooks:__ Higher rates = higher borrowing costs for consumers. E.g.: the rate on a 30-year mortgage just ticked above 4% for the first time since 2019. 
- __Limits:__ While rate hikes can curb inflation, they can’t [fix](https://www.ft.com/content/f0a6303f-336b-49e8-a253-f21a101dd029) geopolitical jolts.

Protesting rising food prices in 1973, during a time of “stagflation” in the US Credit: [Keystone/Getty Images]

Slug

__The Fed faces a delicate balancing act…__ Powell’s job is to tame inflation, but not so much that it slams the brakes on growth. The US has been experiencing “boomflation”: inflation that’s bearable because wages have been rising and employment is high. But now the shadow of stagflation is creeping in — especially in Europe, because of its dependence on Russian energy. And in a globalized economy, struggles in one country can quickly become another’s.

Some economists are worried about “stagflation” — and it’s bringing on ’70s-era déjà vu to the market

__Late fees...__ After a slew of Western sanctions, Russia’s hurtling toward default as it struggles to pay off foreign debts in USD. Moscow said it [paid](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/world/europe/russia-bond-payment.html) $117M due in interest last week, avoiding its first default since 1998. But it’s unclear whether Russia will make its $2B payment in April. Experts [say](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-03-15/what-if-russia-defaults-on-its-debt-ukraine-war-sanctions-risk-150-billion) a default likely won’t drag down global markets as it did in ’98, since banks have reduced Russian exposure. Still, [Russia’s central bank](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/18/world/ukraine-russia-war#russia-central-bank-economy) says sanctions will cripple the country’s economy. Russian-linked entities [owe](https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/16/investing/russian-debt-payments/index.html) international banks $121B. 

__The golden honor…__ This could be the year __[Netflix](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NFLX)__ breaks its Oscar curse. The streamer’s favored to nab its first best-picture trophy on Sunday for “The Power of the Dog.” A win for the Flix would be a milestone for the Oscars, which have been slow to recognize streamer-made films in top categories. Another scoreboard to watch: ratings. Last year’s Oscars drew 10.4M viewers — 60% fewer than a year earlier (and 80% fewer from 1998’s high). ABC paid $1B in 2016 for rights to the Oscars, which now get a quarter of the viewers of NFL playoff games.

Zoom Out

Stories we’re watching...

__Checking the “LOL” tab...__ while waiting for __[BuzzFeed’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BZFD)__ first earnings. The 16-year-old digi-media pioneer has evolved from a cat-meme extraordinaire to a Pulitzer winner. But its shares have plunged by half since its December SPAC IPO, as investors doubt the profitability of virality. The company did [report](https://www.wsj.com/articles/buzzfeed-revenue-jumps-51-ahead-of-public-listing-11631202114) a 51% jump in annual revenue ahead of its listing. BuzzFeed is still reliant on third-party sites like __[Twitter](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TWTR)__ and YouTube for more than two thirds of its audience. We'll see if that dependence has eased when BuzzFeed reports Tuesday.

__China’s shutdown...__ means your iPhone might be [delayed](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1hYpHIVc5P8AlsMMvgrYCo/). A week ago China locked down Shenzhen. The city is home to __[Tencent](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TCEHY)__ and [ships](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/61f1B3p6bwLVtvt34XMAtW/) 90% of China’s exports from __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ supplier __Foxconn__ and others, and the shutdown’s weighing on an already strained global supply chain. US-listed Chinese stocks then took their worst [tumble](https://www.ft.com/content/243bcb9a-6a49-4345-9348-1b3825dbad2d) since 2008 as investors worried about China’s “zero Covid” strategy and Beijing’s Moscow ties. We’ll see whether Chinese businesses took a hit when US-listed __[Tencent Music](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TME)__, __[PetroChina](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PTR)__, __[China Life Insurance](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LFC)__, __[Nio](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NIO)__, and __[China Petroleum](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SNP)__ report this week.

Events

Coming up this week...

- __[Gap](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/3w02cADofNMb268YLFTys5/):__ Women earn 82 cents on the dollar compared to men. Now, in a push for transparency, states from Colorado to Connecticut are passing laws that make employers include pay ranges in job postings.
- __[Sun](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6ht9xmeiakqWmxNZxauISJ/):__ Hold your clocks: The Senate unanimously passed a bill to make daylight-saving time permanent. While the vast majority of Americans want a single time system, there’s still [disagreement](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/well/live/daylight-saving-time-standard-time-debate.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-daylight-savings&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc) over which one.
- __[House](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6ht9xmeiakqWmxNZxauISJ/):__ 1900s “company towns” are having a comeback. Resorts like __[Vail](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MTN)__, where rents [spiked](https://www.9news.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/mountain-living-more-expensive-part-timers-stay-longer/73-ceca7bf5-6e32-4464-b7c5-d2c663308faf) 20% during the pandemic, are building housing for workers to make living more affordable in WFH hotspots.

ICYMI

Last week's highlights...

The S-word: Why some economists are worried about stagflation

Netflix has brought back “Servant of the People,” a fictional show starring former actor and current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for US viewers after airing it from 2017 to 2021

🐌 The dreaded S-word

__That viral recipe for baked feta pasta…__ is headed straight from __TikTok__ to your __Instacart__. This week, Instacart [launched](https://www.instacart.com/company/pressreleases/shoppable-recipes-press-release/) a “shoppable recipes” feature that lets TikTok stars like Jason Derulo tack on shopping lists to food videos, so that fans can buy the ingredients for his giant doughnut burgers. Here’s how it works:

- __Social shopping:__ You can now add recipe ingredients to your Instacart by clicking a button in a TikTok. It’s already open to some creators, and a wider rollout is coming.
- __Several ways to shop:__ Instacart’s also teaming up with __[BuzzFeed’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BZFD)__ Tasty and Delish owner __Hearst__ to add shopping buttons to recipes on their cooking sites.  

__Content is all about consuming…__ and Instacart wants to translate video consumption into food consumption. By making it easier for shoppers to add ingredients to their carts while browsing social media, Instacart hopes to differentiate itself from grocery deliverers like __[Blue Apron](https://robinhood.com/stocks/APRN)__, __Shipt__, and __FreshDirect__, as well as bigger rivals like __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ and __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__. 

- Crowded field: Instacart’s the second-largest online grocery deliverer after Walmart, but is expected to lose market share to __[Uber](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UBER)__ and [DoorDash](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DASH) as they get deeper into the grocery game. 
- __Imminent IPO:__ Instacart is expected to go public this year, after delaying earlier plans to focus on building out its ad platform.

An Instacart shopper during the early days of the pandemic, when the grocery-delivery app saw a surge in demand [Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]

Hangry

__Grocery shopping can be a chore…__ and apps like Instacart exist to make it easier. But it’s going further, using TikTok and Tasty to try to make food shopping *entertaining*. If Instacart can inspire TikTok scrollers to cook up viral recipes instead of ordering takeout, it could attract last-minute impulse buyers, on top of its usual meal preppers.

Instacart zeroes in on TikTok to make viral recipes shoppable and win over swipe-happy home cooks

__Run the numbers…__ This Tuesday marked Women’s Equal Pay Day — the date women’s earnings finally catch up to what men earned *last year*. That's nearly 15 months to make what men made in 12. Put another way, in a 9-to-5 job, women start working for free at 2:40 p.m.  

- __The gap starts early:__ A 20% pay gap is [apparent](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/gender-pay-gap-for-class-of-2020-starting-salaries-shown-in-new-report.html) in starting salaries for recent college grads, even before motherhood and other factors come into play.  
- __Women’s work:__ The gender pay gap is often dismissed as a consequence of women working more jobs in [lower-paying fields](https://www.epi.org/publication/womens-work-and-the-gender-pay-gap-how-discrimination-societal-norms-and-other-forces-affect-womens-occupational-choices-and-their-pay/) like teaching. But there’s research to suggest that when women enter higher-paying industries dominated by men, [the pay drops](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/upshot/as-women-take-over-a-male-dominated-field-the-pay-drops.html) for everyone. 
- __Pandemic accelerant:__ Globally, [64M+ women](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1vyj6JcFa6X4qlpX8UnGzW/articles/YxobtPSBOs1XAr71CEDda/) lost their jobs in 2020, which resulted in $800B in lost income. There are now about [2M](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/over-1-million-fewer-women-in-labor-force.aspx) fewer women in the workforce than pre-pandemic (cue: [she-cession](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4FiPxYkU4FGEKs36P1LNJJ/articles/4kp1BqJkQIJqk2dJ3iMTuU/)).

__Mind the gap…__ Women have [made some gains](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/women-are-pursuing-more-high-paying-degrees-but-the-pay-gap-remains.html) in pay equity. Pew estimates that the average pay gap for young workers shrank by [half](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/#:~:text=Women%20ages%2025%20to%2034,from%2036%20cents%20in%201980.) from 1980 to 2020. But when race is taken into account, the gap still looks more like a chasm. Black women will have to work until [September 22](https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/equal-pay-day-calendar/) to catch up to what men made last year.

__One potential solution: building more protections into the hiring process…__ President Biden just signed an executive order [recommending](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/equal-pay-day-2022-biden-taking-steps-narrow-gap-federal-workers/2999480/) that federal contractors stop asking about job applicants' salary history in hopes of stopping the pay-gap cycle for gov jobs. On a local level, NYC is about to enact a law requiring employers to publish pay ranges for job postings to improve transparency. A handful of states including Colorado, Maryland, and Connecticut are taking up similar laws.

Women still earn 82 cents on the dollar compared to men — safeguards in the hiring process could help

Instacart makes TikTok recipes shoppable in a bid to win over swipe-happy home cooks

Burkina Faso-born architect Diébédo Francis Kéré just became the first African to win the Pritzker Prize, aka the Nobel Prize for architecture

🛒 Instacart hearts TikTok

__Bipartisanship lives…__ Hold your clocks: This week, senators made a unanimous vote: to make daylight-saving time permanent (starting next year). Now the bill heads to the House, where its fate is uncertain. President Biden hasn’t weighed in over whether he’ll sign it.

- __Oven clock, still wrong:__ Nearly half of US states already [passed](https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx) laws to make DST (the “spring forward” period we’re in now) permanent if Congress allows it. (FYI: Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that don’t observe DST.)
- __Ripples:__ The outcome has implications on everything from productivity and mental health to retail revenue.

__Walking on sunshine…__ In the 1900s, a British architect first [floated](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/matters-of-time/4/) the idea of shifting clocks so that summer days could be longer. But it wasn't until WWI that it caught on: Germany was the first to adopt DST, touting its "energy-saving" benefits. The UK, France, and the US followed. But messing with the clocks has consequences:

- __Closing time:__ For retailers, when the clocks turn back so do profits. Some studies have found that shoppers spend nearly 4% less in the month following DST.
- __In the spring:__ By one account, losing an hour of sleep adds up to nearly half a billion dollars in lost productivity. 
- __In the fall:__ Studies also found that SAT [scores](https://qz.com/2085899/five-economic-effects-of-daylight-saving-time/#:~:text=Lost%20productivity&text=That%20gained%20hour%20of%20sleep,episodes%2C%20which%20also%20decreases%20productivity.) dropped 2% when taken after the time change — and the extra hour of darkness can increase depression by more than 10%.

Bright

__Lighter later has pros and cons…__ 70% of Americans say they *hate* changing the clock. But we’ve been here before: during the energy crisis of [1973](https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise-exhibition/consumer-era/energy-crisis), the US made DST [permanent](http://washingtonian.com/2022/03/15/the-us-tried-permanent-daylight-saving-time-in-the-70s-people-hated-it/), hoping it would save energy (later sunset = less need for electricity). But after pre-sunrise car accidents increased and energy savings weren’t huge, Congress [nixed](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/01/archives/senate-votes-return-to-standard-time-for-four-months-and-sends-bill.html) it nine months later. Fifty years on, it’s popular to want a single time system — but there’s [disagreement](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/well/live/daylight-saving-time-standard-time-debate.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-daylight-savings&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc) over which one. 


Daylight-saving time could become permanent, but the economics are a mixed bag

__No room at the inn…__ Resorts have a new customer: their own employees. It’s so hard for mountain residents to find affordable housing that resorts are building their own apartments for workers. Publicly listed ski biz __[Vail Resorts](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MTN)__ [said](https://snowbrains.com/vail-resorts-new-direction-employees/) yesterday that it plans to “aggressively” build affordable housing for its lift operators and other employees. The ski biz is also bumping wages for hourly workers by 30%.

- __Ski bum-mer:__ Vail already had 7K corporate beds across its 37 mountains. But after rent prices in many ski towns [spiked](https://www.9news.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/mountain-living-more-expensive-part-timers-stay-longer/73-ceca7bf5-6e32-4464-b7c5-d2c663308faf) 20%+ during the pandemic, it needs more. Ultrawealthy Aspen, Colorado, has 3K affordable housing [units](https://www.skimag.com/news/did-the-pandemic-finally-end-the-modern-day-ski-bum/) in a town of 7.5K — including hundreds owned by __Aspen Ski Co.__
- __Not just the slopes:__ An auto-shop owner in Breckenridge [built](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/amid-housing-crisis-employers-become-landlords) apartments on top of his garage. Employers in FL, WI, and TN have also developed staff housing.

__Last resort…__ In the past two years, high-earning remote workers have ditched big cities for the mountains, beach towns, lakeside spots, and other desirable WFH destinations. The result: rental prices in attractive locales have soared, pricing out the lower-paid service workers who keep those economies humming.

- __From mountains to sea:__ Colorado ski town Crested Butte [declared](https://www.skimag.com/news/did-the-pandemic-finally-end-the-modern-day-ski-bum/) a housing emergency in June, and rents in warmer resort hotspots in Hilton Head, SC, and Orlando, FL, surged 24% in the past year.

A Tennessee town near Dollywood, which is building more housing for theme park employees [George Rose/Getty Images]

__Not all services work on Zoom…__ Many companies are [offering](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6EL5TRTmp9geUpgsXeiK1l/articles/2vf0ghZ3cYccAbq8of8SuW/) remote options to keep workers through the Great Resignation. But hospitality businesses like Vail need IRL staff. So Vail’s becoming a landlord to hold on to talent, not to create a new revenue stream. It’s a throwback to the early 1900s, when big employers like __[Hershey](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HSY)__, __Steinway__, and __Kohler__ built entire “company towns” to house workers, though with [mixed results](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/housing/company-towns-1890s-to-1935/).

Vail Resorts vows to build more worker housing as WFH hot spots become the new company towns

The Chicago River is dyed shamrock green for St. Patrick’s Day using a powder derived from vegetables. The exact recipe’s a tightly held secret 

🏘️ WFH hot spot → company town

__BYOM…__ Time to dust off that old college mug before your next coffee run. __[Starbucks](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SBUX)__ plans to phase out its signature paper and plastic cups over the next three years in a renewed effort to get customers to embrace reusables. Starbs goes through 7B disposable cups a year — which account for nearly a quarter of its global waste. Now the coffee giant is experimenting with ways to fix its garbage problem, while catering to eco-friendly investors: 

- __Borrow-a-cup:__ One option would have customers paying a deposit to use a Starbs reusable tumbler or mug (they’ll have to bring it back when they’re done). 
- __Bring-a-cup:__ Starbs is reviving the option for customers to use their personal mugs after a pandemic pause, and will expand it to drive-thru and mobile orders. Those now make up a combined 70% of US sales. 

__Frictionless frappuccinos…__ Starbucks has struggled to get people to change their daily rituals. In 2008, it [pledged](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/starbucks-unveils-new-plans-to-eliminate-single-use-cups-encourage-reusable-mugs.html) to have a quarter of customers drinking out of reusable cups by 2015 (didn’t happen). Now Starbs figures the best chance of success is a push that has minimal impact on people’s routines. For drive-thru, it could mean baristas pouring premade drinks at the window. Don’t like walking around with a mocha-stained tumbler? Cup-washing stations — like those bartenders use — are coming to some stores.

Single-use plastic cups at a garbage dump outside Jakarta, Indonesia [John van Hasselt/Corbis via Getty Images]

Drip

__Starbs is putting skin in the sustainability game…__ Nearly all corporate sustainability [initiatives](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/371861) fail. But Starbucks is investing real capital to try to make reusable cups stick. How much it costs is TBD. Starbs shares [rose](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SBUX) on its cup-cutting announcement, and ahead of today’s shareholder meeting. But they’re still down 30% in the past year as the latte icon contends with supply snags, rising costs, and [labor](https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/24/22949417/outlook-crash-error-delay-starbucks-anti-union-lawyers-new-york-deadline) issues.

Starbucks is phasing out its ubiquitous cups, in a sustainability push that’ll test consumer habits

__Grab the popcorn…__ There’s a plot twist in __[AMC’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMC)__ stock saga. The struggling theater chain has bought a 22% stake in a gold mine for $28M. FYI, the Nevada mine, __[Hycroft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HYMC)__, went public through a SPAC in 2020 after financial trouble and bankruptcy. AMC stock rose 6%, and the Nevada mine, Hycroft, jumped 19% yesterday on news of the odd-coupling: 

- __Making its case:__ AMC’s CEO compared Hycroft to AMC last year, [saying](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-03-15/amc-bought-a-gold-mine) the deal would help Hycroft solve its “severe and immediate liquidity issue.” 
- __Staying viral:__ AMC’s “bold diversification move” (CEO’s words) could be a push to capture investor interest now that shares have nearly fallen to pre-2021 levels. 

__Roller coasters…__ Last year, AMC shares popped 12X and __[GameStop](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GME)__ shares spiked 7X thanks partly to an influx of retail investors. Both companies used their juiced-up market caps to raise cash. 

- __Step 1: Go to the market.__ AMC and GameStop each raised $1.6B+ via at-the-market (ATM) offerings last year. ATM offerings have become popular with some companies like __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ and __[Hertz](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HTZ)__ because they let them issue shares at (high) market prices, not (potentially lower) prices negotiated by institutional investors. 
- __Step 2: Go shopping.__ AMC and GameStop have used that $$ to pay debts, invest in new crypto products, and — now — buy a gold mine.

Metal

__AMC’s already converted some buzz into cash…__ Now it’s using that cash in even more experimental ways — e.g., acting *kind* of like a holding company. But it’s a long way from AMC’s core biz: movies, getting people to buy popcorn, and see them again. As for Hycroft, the mine’s looking to raise $500M through an ATM offering. TBD if that’ll work.

AMC just bought a stake in a gold mine in a meme-ified push to diversify beyond movie theaters

Starbucks ditches disposable cups to drive sustainable habits — and cater to eco-friendly investors

During last year’s NCAA tourney, UConn women's star Paige Bueckers had nearly 1M Instagram followers — more than the starters on the final four men's teams combined

🥤 Starbucks’ reusable push

__Déjà vu…__ As many countries look toward a post-Covid life, China’s experiencing a surge in cases. The spike’s triggered the harshest restrictions since the virus was first discovered in Wuhan nearly two and a half years ago. On Sunday, China quickly acted to curb its 1K+ new Covid cases (a fraction of US caseloads) by closing schools, suspending public transport, and halting non-essential biz in Shenzhen, aka “China’s Silicon Valley.” Now, its 17.5M residents are on a weeklong lockdown. 

- __Phone problems:__ __Foxconn__, which assembles most of the planet’s iPhones, has [paused](https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-outbreak-shuts-down-some-china-factories-including-apple-supplier-11647246503?mod=business_lead_pos5) production at its two Shenzhen factories. __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ shares [fell](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL) nearly 3% yesterday. 
- __Car trouble:__ China also locked down all of Jilin province (population: 24M), home to auto plants operated by __[Volkswagen](https://robinhood.com/stocks/VWAGY)__ and __[Toyota](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TM)__.

__Check your pockets…__ You’re probably carrying a gadget made in Shenzhen. Thanks to its status as China’s first “special economic zone” (think: big tax breaks for foreign companies), Shenzhen grew from a [fishing](https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/shenzhen-city-of-electronics.html) village to a global tech powerhouse over the past four decades. It’s home to Chinese tech giants like __Huawei__ and __[Tencent](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TCEHY)__, and the world’s fourth-largest port, where China ships off 90% of its electronic exports.

A temporary isolation facility to house Covid-19 patients near a bridge linking Shenzhen and Hong Kong [Anthony Kwan/Getty Images]

Spike

__The world’s things are still largely Made in China…__ The US imported [$540B](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/china) worth of goods from China last year. While many countries are trying to move on to an “endemic” phase of Covid, the world’s second-biggest economy has taken a zero-tolerance approach to any new infection spikes. That’s going to disrupt the global supply chain, already strained from pandemic shortages and, now, a war in Europe. US policymakers are trying to reduce China dependence: the House just passed a $52B bill to boost domestic chip manufacturing, which has been a priority for Biden’s admin.

China's “zero Covid” policy is put to the test as new lockdowns threaten to snarl the global supply chain — again

__Marky Mark’s back…__ with a back workout. __[F45 Training](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FXLV)__, a Mark Wahlberg-backed chain of __HIIT studios__, just flexed its first earnings as a public company. As you ditched at-home YouTube exercises, F45’s sales more than [tripled](https://ir.f45training.com/news/news-details/2022/F45-Reports-Record-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Fiscal-2021-Results/default.aspx) to a quarterly record. It seems that people missed group sweat sessions:

- __Team training:__ F45 only offers group fitness classes and it’s known for its signature 45-minute high-intensity workouts. Think: __CrossFit__ meets __SoulCycle__. 
- __Big gaining:__ F45 opened 300 locations last year and expects to open 1K this year (#gainz). It’s reportedly the [fastest](https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/fastestgrowing)-growing fitness franchise in the world. 

__Franchises aren’t just for fast food…__ Part of the reason F45 is expanding faster than Wahlberg’s biceps: its franchise model. F45 doesn’t need tons of cash to open new locations, because it passes most costs to franchise owners. And those owners are lining up to open gyms: franchisees have already opened 1.7K F45 gyms and bought the rights to open another 1.6K.

- __More reps:__ Some of the biggest gym chains use franchise models: __[Planet Fitness](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PLNT)__ and __Anytime Fitness__ have well over 2K franchises each and charge less than $50 for monthly membership.
- __Heavier weight:__ Premium gyms like __Equinox__ own their eucalyptus-scented locations, which helps control branding but limits growth: Equinox has only 106 gyms but charges $170+/month.

Lift

__Survival of the fittest demands strength + flexibility…__ Nearly a third of US gyms went out of business during the pandemic. And while the US gym industry is recovering, it still hasn’t rebounded. That’s the opening for a biz like F45, which just had a record quarter combining two key strategies: franchising and premium-ifying. Its $150 monthly fee and high-end classes give it an Equinox-like appeal, while its franchise model gives it flexibility to grow without requiring much cash on hand.

Mark Wahlberg’s F45 gym franchise is booming thanks to its premium-meets-flexible strategy

China's zero-Covid policy could snarl supply chains further, as Shenzhen enters lockdown

Today is Equal Pay Day, the date that signifies how far into the year women have to work, on average, to be paid what men were paid the previous year

📱 China’s supply-chain shock

__WFH Fridays...__ a distant term from a distant time, when __[Zoom](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ZM)__ wasn't a verb and doing spreadsheets in your bedsheets was *special*. Pre-pandemic, just [4%](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/business/remote-work-office-life.html) of employed Americans worked fully remote. By May 2020 it was nearly *half*. But as the number of Covid cases wanes across the US, employees are returning to fluorescent cubicles.

- __Conference-room donuts:__ Office occupancy reached a pandemic peak of 40% in December, then dipped on Omicron. Now it's rising again, hitting 38% this month.
- __Couch cupcakes:__ Last year [90%](https://news.gallup.com/poll/355907/remote-work-persisting-trending-permanent.aspx) of remote workers said they wanted to stay at least partly remote. And 75% said their employer would allow at least some remote work post-pandemic.
- __FYI:__ [50M](https://www.brookings.edu/research/to-protect-frontline-workers-during-and-after-covid-19-we-must-define-who-they-are/) Americans are frontline workers (think: nurses, grocery workers), most of whom couldn’t work from home.

__Reviving rush-hour podcasts…__ Employers aren’t taking a one-size-fits-all approach. On one end, companies like __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__, __[Netflix](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NFLX)__, __[Citi](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CITI)__, and __[Goldman](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GS)__ have set deadlines for full office returns (many this spring). Then there are hybrids [like](https://hubblehq.com/blog/famous-companies-workplace-strategies) __[Meta](https://robinhood.com/stocks/META)__, __[Disney](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DIS)__, and __[Lyft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LYFT)__, which are offering flexibility to retain talent. __[Google’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL)__ [spending](https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/googles-new-manhattan-groundscraper-bets-on-the-future-of-the-office) billions on new offices to lure hybrid-ers back to kombucha taps. Finally, there’s remote-first companies like __[Shopify](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SHOP)__, __[Coinbase](https://robinhood.com/stocks/COIN)__, and __Slack__. Some pros and cons:

- Banks, law firms, and others bullish on RTO must’ve decided that remote life dampens productivity — or invested too much in pricey leases.
- Others are happy to save on rent and catered meals, and like the option of dipping into a wider talent pool (aka: nationwide).

Commuters at New York’s Grand Central Terminal three years ago this week [Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images]

__We can return to office, but not to normal…__ The conclusion of this remote experiment: it worked out better than most could’ve imagined. Many say their productivity and overall happiness [improved](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/workers-better-off-were-two-125100870.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKKhN49omnqrMQkRDyE0epMF8KOuqug-_Q5su9-7Sc5lXlv2WLpTd8JIDknB0CiFMtuRW-AUDHtaDWGHsJOOhiVJ2JkLooK0TJD2QpvbsjfFyCslbPhtwgUIT4bBZv80Cp_tmg8usuroBglHO4e5VHE6-AL_fSg8YzrkUK_OjVdY). But reactions varied: Women and people of color are [more likely](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/business/remote-work-office-life.html) to view remote work positively than white males. And among those with children, women are [50%](https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2021/09/the-hybrid-workplace-can-be-unfair-to-women-heres-how-you-can-help.aspx) more likely than men to prefer WFH. But they’re also less likely to get promoted while remote, which suggests IRL facetime can make a difference. That could become a point of tension in the new 9-to-5.

It’s “back-to-office March,” but the new 9-to-5 doesn’t affect all workers equally

__The human cost of war…__ Millions of Ukrainians are fleeing their country as death counts rise, and some are getting support from Western employers. In recent years, Ukraine has become a thriving tech hub: __[Microsoft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT)__, __[Cisco](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CSCO)__, and Google have teams there, as do an [estimated](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/how-a-san-francisco-tech-ceo-is-supporting-his-250-plus-workers-in-ukraine.html) 20% of Fortune 500 companies. As the crisis has escalated, tech companies have tried to [help](https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-one-tech-companys-attempt-to-evacuate-employees-from-ukraine-11646660626?mod=business_lead_pos5) their workers: __[Wix](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WIX)__ chartered planes to evacuate the third of its workforce that’s in Ukraine. In a tragic case, a Silicon Valley tech worker, her children, and their friend [were killed](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/Silicon-Valley-tech-worker-was-the-Ukrainian-mom-16990037.php) as they tried to flee the conflict.

__Going for (literal) gold…__ Gold prices [hit](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-surges-above-2-000-and-extends-rally-toward-18-month-high-palladium-rises-to-a-record-11646742589?siteid=YAHOOB) $2K/ounce last week, approaching 2020’s all-time high. As prices soar, investors are shifting $$ from riskier assets like stocks to “safe haven” assets like gold, bonds, and cash. That’s been bullish for the two largest gold miners, __[Barrick Gold](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOLD)__ and __[Newmont](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NEM)__: their shares are up around 30% this year while the market’s down 10%. Smaller __[Orla Mining’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ORLA)__ stock is up 21% this year.

__Stimmy season’s officially over...__ The Fed is set to start raising interest rates this week — for the first time in three years. Typically, higher rates help curb sky-high inflation that drives up the cost of everything from groceries to gas. But Fed Chair Powell said the war in Ukraine could spook the US economy in unforeseen ways, partly why Goldman Sachs has cut its US growth forecast for the year. All the uncertainty is why Powell is signaling a quarter-point rate hike on Wednesday, instead of the half-point predicted just a month ago.

__It’s all in the delivery…__ There’s a race to deliver your latest __[Revolve](https://robinhood.com/stocks/RVLV)__ impulse buy. Despite labor and supply strains, sales boomed for __[FedEx](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FDX)__ and __[UPS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UPS)__ last year as shoppers kept ordering online post-lockdown. UPS profits *tripled* last quarter thanks partly to its stable union workforce. Meanwhile, despite record holiday deliveries, FedEx’s profit fell as it [splurged](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-04/labor-shortage-ups-union-drivers-give-delivery-service-edge-over-fedex-fdx?sref=q3KSFp38) on hiring extra workers. Still, FedEx is buying $5B of its shares and underscored its “confidence” in its biz. We’ll see if it’s still optimistic when it reports Thursday.

- __[Slice](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/PFFGKCT3sOunNoPNSZewb/articles/64ihwMyXAiLa7f4axGhOS1/):__ __[Amazon’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ splitting its shares 20 for 1, its first stock split in 20+ years. Thanks to fractional shares, splits are mostly for show now — but they’re also a sign the Zon thinks its $3K stock can keep rising.
- __[Canola](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5vfIOlOV4U5lL9HBIaeiOu/articles/xduVS4tKoldDPPu0KAPLB/):__ US Big Foodies like __[McDonald’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MCD)__ and __[Coke](https://robinhood.com/stocks/KO)__ halted biz in Russia after peer pressure and __[Twitter](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TWTR)__ #boycotts. The fast-food exodus is symbolic: McD’s was one of the first US chains to open in Russia post-Soviet Union.
- __[Gassy](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/3G8DZH7eP3cykbzth81uso/articles/1hDlJUMUdFLZ8DTrJOp0fM/):__ Gas prices spiked even higher last week after the US banned Russian oil imports to punish Putin. Sanctions also sent grain and metal prices soaring, hurting __[Kellogg](https://robinhood.com/stocks/K)__, __[General Mills](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GIS)__, __[BMW](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BMWYY)__, and __[Boeing](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BA)__.

Spiders use Earth’s electric field to fly, and have been observed as high as 2.5 miles in the air