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Bored apes, Buffett’s spending spree and a slowdown in China.Bored apesYuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Apes Yacht Club collectio [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Bored apes, Buffett’s spending spree and a slowdown in China. Bored apes Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Apes Yacht Club collection of NFTs, launched a sale of [virtual land]( related to its highly anticipated metaverse project, raising about $320 million worth of cryptocurrency. Transaction costs just to mint Otherdeed NFTs after the launch reached $123 million, with each Otherdeed requiring about $6,000, or 2 Ether, in transaction fees to mint. Meanwhile, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger reiterated their criticism of crypto, with Buffett noting that he’d rather own lots of farmland or apartments than Bitcoin. Shopping spree Speaking of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., they’ve been a bit of a spending spree. The billionaire investors went on their biggest stock buying spree for at least a decade, undeterred by the geopolitical turmoil and fears of runaway inflation. They expanded stakes in Chevron Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc., even as Buffett noted the “extraordinary” price increases in Berkshire’s businesses. They made [$41 billion in net stock purchases]( in the first quarter. China slowdown China’s stringent lockdowns to curb Covid-19 infections are taking a significant toll on the economy and roiling global supply chains, with President Xi Jinping under pressure to deliver on pledges to support growth. Both [manufacturing and services activity plunged]( to their worst levels since February 2020. The offshore yuan weakened in the wake of the data. Stocks mixed [Stocks were mixed]( and the dollar was steady amid investor caution driven by worries over high inflation, tightening monetary policy and China’s Covid lockdowns. Europe’s Stoxx 600 fell 1% as of 5:50 a.m. after a downbeat Asian session affected by holiday closures, while U.S. equity futures made modest gains. April’s slump in U.S. shares -- among the worst since the pandemic roiled markets in 2020 -- is shadowing sentiment. Oil decline and gold fell. Bitcoin advanced 1.4%. Coming up... Key data in the U.S. includes ISM manufacturing numbers and construction numbers at 10 a.m., with Canada’s S&P manufacturing PMI also set for release. Earnings this week include Airbnb, Airbus, BMW, BNP Paribas, BP, Credit Agricole, Hilton, ING Groep, Pfizer, Shell, Starbucks, Uber, VW and there’s a Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision on Tuesday. The Fed rate decision and briefing with Chair Jerome Powell occurs on Wednesday. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the weekend. - Looks like the [Fed will go big](. - Germany will only [lift sanctions]( if Russia withdraws troops. - Apple’s [overdependence on China](. - Soaring [fuel prices weigh on Indian growth](. - How [commodity trading houses]( really work. - Nadal, Djokovic slam [Wimbledon’s ban on Russian]( players. - How bad can [stagflation]( get? And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning April was obviously a brutal month for stocks, with tech especially continuing to get crushed. Pull up a chart of basically any SPAC/Cloud/SaaS/ARK/crypto/growth/“Covid Winner” and it all looks the same. My one thought is that all the takes about the end of the “Fed put” were thoroughly proven correct last month. The yield on 2-year U.S. government bonds is the simplest proxy for where Fed policy is headed in the short term, and it ended the month right at the high for the cycle. There’s zero indication that the market expects the Fed to get jittery about its hiking plans, on account of the weakness in risky assets. At some point the decline might start to affect the Fed’s thinking, but at these levels it still means they’ll go full speed ahead. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](