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Kremlin insiders are concerned, Netflix sheds customers and real rates turn positive.Kremlin insidersA small but growing number of senior Kr [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Kremlin insiders are concerned, Netflix sheds customers and real rates turn positive. Kremlin insiders A small but growing number of senior [Kremlin insiders](are quietly questioning Vladimir Putin’s decision to go to war. Ukrainian defenders at a sprawling steel plant in [Mariupol]( said they were outnumbered and appealed to world leaders for help. Troops risk being encircled in a new Russian offensive. [China]( said it will continue strengthening strategic ties with Russia. European [car sales]( plunged as the war deepens manufacturers’ supply-chain woes. Losing customers Netflix Inc. tumbled in pre-market trading after [losing customers]( for the first time in a decade. If the declines hold, the streaming leader will see about $40 billion in market value wiped out overnight. The streaming giant lost 200,000 customers in the first quarter and projected it will shrink by another 2 million customers in the current second quarter. [Netflix]( plans to create a lower-priced version of its service that has advertising and and will start to crack down on people sharing their passwords even before that. The extent of the crash in the share price for results that aren’t that bad shows just how much of [Netflix’s value]( was locked in the future. Real rates Investors in 10-year Treasuries can expect to earn [real returns]( on their money for the first time in more than two years. The yield on 10-year inflation-protected Treasuries rose as high as three basis points in Asia trading Wednesday, with the turnaround driven by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance. The Fed’s aggressive rate hike plans are jolting policy in [China and Japan.]( Positive real yields will rip up the [global markets playbook.Â]( Futures pare drop [U.S. equity futures]( pared some of their losses but are still in red as of 5:25 a.m. New York time. Nasdaq 100 contracts traded 0.2% lower, with all eyes on Netflix -- down about 26% in pre-market. All Group of 10 currencies gained against the dollar. Treasuries rallied with oil while gold fell. Coming up... Today's U.S. economic data is limited to the MBA Mortgage Application print at 7 a.m. New York time and March's Existing Home Sales release at 10 a.m. We have three non-voting FOMC members scheduled to deliver speeches today with Fed's Mary Daly up first at 11:25 a.m. Charles Evans and Raphael Bostic follow later in the session. The Fed's Beige Book will be released at 2 p.m. Auctions today include $16 billion of 20-year bonds at 1 p.m. DOE oil inventory numbers are due at 10:30 a.m. Proctor & Gamble Co., Abbott Laboratories and Tesla Inc. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the weekend. - [Elon Musk](drops cryptic hint about Twitter offer. - Pension giant votes to [replace Buffett](as Berkshire chair. - [Stock bulls]( wake up from nightmare of a dying economy. - Goldman scraps [free lunch](. - [Credit Suisse]( signals first-quarter loss. - [Crypto billionaire]( looking for Elon. - [Goldman’s CEO]( pays himself like PE chief. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning At the same time that [Netflix shares are cratering](, some "old economy" companies are on an incredible run. Shares of hotel company Marriott have been surging lately, hitting fresh high after fresh high. Other entertainment and leisure companies are going gangbusters as well. With plenty of folks on recession watch, this chart certainly doesn't look as if an economic downturn is imminent. Rather, it seems to reflect cash-flush households shaking off two years of limitations and really getting out there and traveling. That's not something you typically associate with a recession. In many respects, the downs and ups of the last two years have been highly unusual. The brief recession that we got in the spring of 2020 was nothing like a typical downturn. It was the result of an exogenous shock, and didn't reflect underlying economic fundamentals. Of course the same goes for the recovery. It wasn't a typical expansion, as much of it was about returning to normal, and digesting the significant amount of fiscal and monetary support that was put in place. And so who's to say we can't have another atypical cycle, with some flatlining or reversal of labor market gains even as people splash out? Knowing the future is hard, but there’s something weird about the market and economy that’s flashing warning signs in some places, and in others arrows going straight up into the right. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Special Daily Brief: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine [Keep up with the latest news]( on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the worst security crises in Europe since World War II. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. 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