🇺🇸 Is America’s oil ban a bluff?

Oil just got even more expensive | Uber's picking everyone up | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for March 8th in 3:03 minutes. 🎨  The most expensive NFT sold for over $91 million, so its owner must’ve really seen something special in it. That, or they didn’t brush up on their valuation skills. Make sure you do: join FabriikX’s Lior Cyngiser for [How To Value NFTs]( on Wednesday, and find out how put a price on pixels. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - The oil price soared again after the US said it's considering banning all Russian oil imports - Our analyst has looked into whether bitcoin or gold is the better investment for this moment – [Read Now]( - Uber upped its profit outlook for this quarter Cold Shoulder [Cold Shoulder] What’s Going On Here? The price of oil [hit]( a 14-year high on Monday, after the US threatened to cut all ties with the world’s third-biggest oil producer. What Does This Mean? The oil price already [hit]( an eight-year high last week, when global refineries and banks refused to buy the slippery elixir from a warmonger like Russia. And the supply squeeze now looks set to get worse: the West is ramping up sanctions in a bid to put more pressure on Russia’s flailing economy and bring the conflict to an end. The US government, for one, said this weekend that it’s thinking about outright banning Russian oil imports. And since that would leave an even smaller supply of oil up for grabs, its announcement drove up the price of Brent crude – a key international oil benchmark – to an eye-watering $139 a barrel on Monday. Why Should I Care? The bigger picture: Here comes stagflation. The International Monetary Fund [warned]( over the weekend that the effects of the war – including higher food and energy prices – could cripple the global economy going forward. It’s not the only one: JPMorgan’s economists just cut their outlook for global economic growth this year by 1% ([tweet this](), while some analysts have expressed concern that America’s ban might tip us into “stagflation” – the dreaded mixture of slowing growth and rising inflation. Zooming out: China’s nothing if not contrarian. China has mostly kept out of the fray so far, and the West’s sanctions aren’t exactly a pressing concern: Russian and Ukrainian trade and investment only make up a small proportion of its economy. That might be why the country is still confident it can [grow]( its economy by 5.5% this year. As for how, economists reckon it’ll invest heavily in its infrastructure, as well as cut interest rates to encourage borrowing and spending – even as other major economies raise theirs. You might also like: [Will higher-for-longer energy prices bleed us all dry?]( 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=Cold Shoulder&utm_campaign=daily-global-08-03-2022&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Which Is The Better Investment Right Now, Bitcoin Or Gold? [Which Is The Better Investment Right Now, Bitcoin Or Gold?]( By Jonathan Hobbs, Analyst What’s Going On Here? There’s a lot to be said for owning bitcoin and gold right now. With inflation on the rise and geopolitical tensions at boiling point, they’re two assets that could [keep your portfolio steady]( when the world is anything but. But as for which one is a better bet right now, that depends on a few factors – not least their effectiveness as [a store of wealth]( and their [scarcity](. Technical analysis of the pair might offer [a few clues]( too: gold has a solid base of support right now, while bitcoin looks like it’s setting itself up for a rally. So that’s today’s Insight: [which of these assets is the better investment right now](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL “Amazon will fail” That’s not us talking, that’s Jeff Bezos. Yup, Bezos himself said: “I predict one day, Amazon will fail”. But Bezos will do just fine: after all, he’s already pouring cash into a [fast-growing emerging technology]( that he thinks will “improve every business”. He’s not alone: [that tech]( – which Warren Buffett calls “enormously disruptive” – has already attracted some of the world’s most successful investors. Find out [what tech they’re chasing, and why](. [Find Out More]( Easy Rider [Easy Rider] What’s Going On Here? Uber [upped]( its quarterly profit forecast on Monday, and the US ride-hailing service could get used to traveling in this sort of style. What Does This Mean? Uber was the first to [admit]( at its earnings update last month that its hopes for this quarter weren’t too high, pointing out that Omicron could impact its ride-hailing business for some time. It needn’t have worried: workers have been heading back to the office, social lives have picked up, and airport bookings – some of Uber’s most profitable routes – were up 50% last month compared to the one before. In fact, the company only saw 10% fewer bookings last month than they did in February 2019. Meanwhile, pandemic habits are dying hard, with bookings for food delivery service UberEats reaching an all-time high in February. Uber’s not doubting itself anymore: it upped its profit forecast for this quarter, and investors sent its shares up 4%. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: Do your wurst. UberEats has made big strides during the pandemic: the service posted its first-ever profit last quarter, and its European segment has more than tripled in size since the outbreak. That might be why Uber [announced]( last week that it’s planning to expand UberEats’ presence in Germany, and cater to around 70 of its cities – up from 14 today – by the end of the year. Zooming out: A $1 billion-shaped hole. Uber isn’t the only one doubling down on the potential of food delivery: rival service Just Eat [announced]( last week that it made a loss of more than $1 billion for 2021, in part because it bought US food delivery company Grubhub last year for $7 billion. But it also said it’s expecting to “rapidly” swing back into profit as its big-ticket purchases start to pay off, and investors seemed to buy it: they initially sent Just Eat's shares up 8%.  You might also like: [How to analyze Uber’s stock in under two hours.]( 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=Easy Rider&utm_campaign=daily-global-08-03-2022&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King (a former American tennis player) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL That emerging tech we mentioned? Jeff Bezos isn’t the first to spot the opportunity. Mark Cuban’s on record saying it’ll create the world’s first trillionaire, and Elon Musk is contributing to a $1 billion investment in the technology. [The Motley Fool]( has the scoop on what’s making investors go crazy for this tech in particular, and it’s all bundled up in a [free report](. You might want to get your hands on that: [The Motley Fool’s]( analysts reckon [the tech’s]( about to take off soon. [Find out more today](. [What’s The Tech?]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🎯 On Our Radar - The Earth is amazing. That’s why [these people]( want to take it out on a date. - Have you heard the news? [This app]( lets you manage thousands of coins with one wallet, and it’s just added [Solana]( and [Cronos]( to its roster.* - Oh, honey. This family’s turning pollen into a [health booster](, and challenging American sterotypes while they’re at it. - The Vagina Museum is back. The [world’s first space]( devoted to female anatomy has been shut for six months. - Here’s how to slug. After all, nothing sounds better than covering your face in [petroleum jelly](. 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