Dump Russian investments with this one weird trick

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an NFT sale of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here.Today’s Agenda Getting Russia out of your porftol [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an NFT sale of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Getting [Russia out of your porftolio]( is easy. - Hackers can [fight Putin’s propaganda](. - The U.S. [dollar is untouchable](. - The financial system is [holding up OK](. Fighting Russia … With Money This Twitter exchange says a lot about how many of us are reacting to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine: The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT in question [appears]( to have been purchased last May for about $228. Based on recent price trends, weather conditions and sunspots, it could be worth anywhere from 300 to 1,000 times as much today. That, and recent shakiness in the NFT market, as much as any “geopolitical current event,” would certainly be motivation enough to unload a JPG of a cartoon ape as fast as possible. Still, the sentiment endures: What can those of us living far from Ukraine do about such an epic tragedy as Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked slaughter of his neighbors? We could buy [war bonds](. We could sell our NFTs and other investments to raise cash for Ukrainian refugees and [similar charities](. We could straight-up donate our NFTs and crypto, as Lionel Laurent notes people have done (raising questions about [just how disconnected crypto really can be]( from the real world, along with the more obvious questions about how and whether Ukraine should cash in a $200,000 CryptoPunk NFT). You might feel inspired to [strike back at Russia by exorcising it]( from your portfolio. Alexis Leondis writes this is a lot more complicated than it sounds. For one thing, settle down there, Roman Abramovich: You probably didn’t own a lot of Russian assets to begin with. And the value of whatever shreds of the stuff were blended into your mutual funds and ETFs has gone to roughly zero lately. You really don’t have to do much to divest. What you could do is more proactively invest in clean energy, Alexis notes, to help wean the world from its addiction to Russia’s fossil fuels. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today [joined]( calls to ban Russian oil imports — putting her in [conflict]( with the White House — which sounds great, but we’ll need alternatives.  Corporations are doing their part by [cutting]( off Russian sales of iPhones, sneakers, [Järvfjället]( office chairs and more. Tim Culpan suggests this is [the absolute least these companies could do](, given how little business they have in Russia. Many still have problematic relationships in China and elsewhere. Then again, it’s better than nothing, which is all many of us are doing. Performatively cashing in meme investments doesn’t count. Some Pro Tips on Fighting Putin People with hacking skills have many more tools to fight back, and [they’ve been harassing Russia in swarms](, writes Parmy Olson. Not all of their efforts have been constructive, of course; flashing messages like “Putin is a poopyhead” won’t win many hearts and minds, except maybe among 5-year-olds. But breaking through the Kremlin’s wall of propaganda to tell average Russians the truth about their country’s war crimes can make a difference. Similarly, there’s a lot of talk out there about setting up a no-fly zone in Ukraine to protect it from Russian bombs. Ruth Pollard points out this would be [extraordinarily reckless to do against a nuclear-armed]( country and might not work anyway. Finally, in any battle, it’s always good to have an endgame in mind. This could include Sun Tzu’s admonition to give your enemy a golden bridge for escaping. Clive Crook wonders if the West has [come up with such a golden bridge for Putin](. And would he even accept it? Further Ukraine-Reaction Reading: - There’s [no sign China wants to give up its relationship]( with the West to embrace another pariah state. — Clara Ferreira Marques - The West must be patient and careful in [trying to woo India away from Russia](. — Mihir Sharma - Britain must be [more welcoming of Ukrainian refugees](. — Therese Raphael Telltale Charts [Nothing will replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency]( and primary weapon against rogue states anytime soon, writes Robert Burgess. Cutting Russia off from the world’s financial system could [threaten that system’s plumbing](, but it’s holding up so far, Marcus Ashworth writes, thanks partly to pandemic-era safeguards. Further Reading The U.S. can do more to [get plastic out of the oceans](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board [Iran shouldn’t think it has the upper hand]( in nuclear negotiations now. — Bobby Ghosh Foreign workers are [looking for alternatives to Hong Kong](. — Anjani Trivedi People love to go everywhere [but back to the office](. — Mark Ein ICYMI It’s [twilight for Russia’s oligarchs](. [McKinsey backs away]( from Russia. At least [Putin still has MBS]( (whose [feelings are hurt](, by the way). Kickers [Six people living under a metaphorical rock](, including three Russians and two Americans, don’t know about the war. Underwater [power cables change crabs]( at the cellular level. Tired: The Great Retirement. Wired: [The Great Slacking Off](. Chaotic evil: [Sedecordle](. That's 16 Wordles in one. Notes:  Please send oligarchs’ yacht locations and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. 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 Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022