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Oil is pricey stuff | Everyone loves the cloud | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for March 3rd in 3:06 minutes. 💰 Maybe one day you’ll be able to swap your credit card for bitcoin, but we’re not quite there yet. Join Onramper’s Thijs Maas for [The Legal Blockers To Blockchain Adoption]( on Thursday, and find out when – and how – crypto could officially become a revolutionary currency. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - The price of oil topped $110 for the first time since 2014 - … and here’s how those higher-for-longer energy prices could impact you – [Read Now]( - Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results Crude Behavior [Crude Behavior] What’s Going On Here? Oil’s price [topped]( $110 for the first time since 2014 on Wednesday, as the world refuses to do business with a belligerent troublemaker. What Does This Mean? Oil’s been getting more and more expensive in the last few months, as recovering economies clamor for the limited supply that’s out there. And now that Russia’s invaded Ukraine, those supply issues are looking even more desperate. See, big buyers of Russian oil – think refineries, banks, and shipowners – are now shunning the country altogether, even though it’s the third-biggest producer in the world. In fact, according to one energy consultancy, Russia is struggling to find buyers for around 70% of all its output, even at a discount. And unfortunately, we’re all going to feel it: the price of Brent crude – a key oil benchmark – hit an eight-year high on Wednesday. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: Thanks for coming, IEA. At least the International Energy Agency is trying to keep everyone calm amid this shortfall in supply: the intergovernmental organization [announced]( this week that it’ll release 60 million barrels of oil from its global stockpiles, in what will be the first time in 11 years its various members have simultaneously released oil reserves. That’s cute: the world goes through 60 million barrels in 14 hours flat. The bigger picture: Ripple effects. This oil hike hasn’t filtered through to the inflation rate yet, but recent data doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what happens when it does. Europe’s energy prices were already 31% higher last month than they were in February 2021, which [helped]( push inflation in the region to a record high of 5.8%. A rising oil price, then, means Europeans will face higher bills in the next few months, which will leave them with even less cash to spend. That could be why one European Central Bank economist thinks that the Russian invasion could stunt the region’s economic growth by as much as 0.4% this year. You might also like: [The less obvious ways to position your portfolio during the Russian invasion.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Crude Behavior&utm_campaign=daily-global-03-03-2022&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Will Energy Prices Bleed Us All Dry? [Will Energy Prices Bleed Us All Dry?]( [Photo of Reda] Reda, Analyst What’s Going On Here? Like it or not, the world is still very dependent on fossil fuels. And according to Gavekal Research, the cost of a typical basket of oil, coal, and natural gas was up [more than 50%]( from a year ago even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With the conflict now threatening energy supplies even more, we could increasingly be looking at a scenario where energy prices stay high for [years to come](. If that’s the case, [the impact of energy prices]( is bound to be felt by everyone on every level. So that’s today’s Insight: how higher-for-longer energy prices will impact [economies](, [businesses](, and most importantly, [your portfolio](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL Amazon’s new toy Jeff Bezos has been frank about the fact that [artificial intelligence]( is key to Amazon’s future. He didn’t just say it would bolster the company. He admitted that “it’s hard to overstate the impact” of [this game-changing technology](. ARK’s Cathie Woods took Bezos one step further: “We think [AI]( could approach $17 trillion in market cap”. That would, she pointed out, be the equivalent of 35 Amazons. And now, [The Motley Fool]( thinks it’s found an exciting opportunity that could capitalize on AI’s future growth. You can find out all about it in the company’s exclusive report: [get the report here.]( [Get The Report]( Always And Forever [Always And Forever] What’s Going On Here? Salesforce [reported]( better-than-expected quarterly results earlier this week, and it had a lot to do with a special new messaging service in the cloud provider’s life. What Does This Mean? Salesforce’s Customer 360 platform – which allows different departments to seamlessly share data – was a big draw for new customers, as was one of its most recent [acquisitions](, Slack. Both helped lift revenue from the company’s subscription and support business – its biggest division – 25% higher last quarter than the same time the year before, and took the company’s total revenue to a quarterly record of $7.3 billion. That brought its sales for the year as a whole to $27 billion. And when Salesforce went on to give a better-than-expected outlook for both this quarter and 2022, giddy investors sent its shares up 3%. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: Easy money. Salesforce’s revenue has now grown by around 25% a year since 2018, and the stage is set for that to continue: analysts are [expecting]( the sales software market to see double-digit growth over the next few years, and Salesforce to benefit from massive growth in subsegments like revenue management and planning. And there’s still plenty of juice to squeeze from Slack too: Salesforce thinks integrating the messaging app with even more of its products could help it bring in $1.5 billion in sales this year alone. The bigger picture: Who needs ethics when you have NFTs? Salesforce also recently [announced]( plans to launch its own cloud-based NFT marketplace – a potentially shrewd move given that a leader in the space, OpenSea, was valued at more than $13 billion last year. But it’s already come upon a PR stumbling block, with some employees [saying]( the move would violate Salesforce’s purported commitment to sustainability. Fair point: the average carbon footprint of a single NFT is [estimated]( to be the same as 1,500 hours of air travel ([tweet this](). You might also like: [How to profit from the cloud’s relentless ascent.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Always And Forever&utm_campaign=daily-global-03-03-2022&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius (a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY NEXO Show volatility who’s boss You can’t beat volatility, but you can outsmart it. With [Nexo’s]( industry-leading Earn, you’ll turn your idle crypto assets into a reliable stream of income, no matter what ups and downs are going on in the wider market. You can earn up to [20% interest on all your favorite coins](, and depending on your choice of plan, you’ll also unlock daily compounding interest or the maximum possible yield. And whichever you choose, you can rest easy knowing your assets are protected by [Nexo’s]( $375 million insurance policy. [Make a deposit]( before the end of March, and you’ll even get a [welcome bonus of up to $100]( in bitcoin. [Get Your Welcome Bonus]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🎯 On Our Radar - A night in a galaxy far, far away. You don’t actually need to go far, far away for the full [Star Wars]( experience. - The rich are getting richer. They’re doing it through franchising, and you can do the same with [this platform](.* - What do we become after death? 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