☕️ Vodka boycott

What even is an oligarch? March 03, 2022 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [eToro]( Good morning. If you’re headed to see The Batman this weekend, you should expect to pay $1 or more than usual with theaters introducing surge pricing for the flick. There’s also a discount tier: For $6 the snack counter guy will give you a summary. —Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, Matty Merritt MARKETS Nasdaq 13,752.02 +1.62% S&P 4,386.54 +1.86% Dow 33,891.35 +1.79% 10-Year 1.878% +15.3 bps Bitcoin $44,147.57 +0.10% Intel $48.87 +4.38% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks rose [across the board]( with strong corporate fundamentals outshining geopolitical worries…at least for a day. Intel had a strong showing after its CEO got a shoutout in the State of the Union address (to be fair, we have no idea if those two things are related). - Economy: Fed Chair Jerome Powell [told Congress]( that “it’s too soon to say” how the war in Ukraine will affect the central bank’s plans, but for now it’s not enough to derail the Fed from hiking interest rates later this month. - Ukraine war: Russian forces [took control]( of the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said yesterday—a significant victory for Russia due to Kherson’s strategic position in the region. GEOPOLITICS [The oligarch garage sale has begun]( [Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is seen on the stand during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland](Clive Mason/Getty Images Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich [confirmed]( yesterday that he would sell Chelsea Football Club, the English soccer powerhouse he’s owned since 2003. The sale of Chelsea is the biggest instance yet of Western pressure forcing Russia’s oligarchs to part with their prized assets. Abramovich said that the net proceeds of the sale will go to “benefit all victims of the war in Ukraine.” He’s reportedly asking for at least $2.5 billion. Wait, what is an oligarch? We’ve used the term a lot recently, so it’s worth providing a definition: Broadly speaking, an oligarch is an elite individual who wields considerable political influence in society. An oligarchy is a form of government that’s characterized by a few (often corrupt) oligarchs with an outsized grip on power. So why are they so prominent in Russia? To answer that, you have to go back to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In the years following its demise, the country now known as Russia began the process of privatizing many of the valuable assets owned by the government during its communist days. But the auctions for these assets were as rigged as a game of Monopoly when we’re the banker. And if you had political connections you could get your hands on incredibly valuable companies at extremely discounted prices. Abramovich’s story is a good example of how many oligarchs earned their fortunes. - In 1995 Abramovich acquired a 50% stake in Siberian Oil Co. (Sibneft, for short) for the rock-bottom price of ~$100 million, and later gained a majority stake. - 10 years later, the Russian energy giant Gazprom bought Sibneft for more than $13 billion. Abramovich netted ~$10 billion of the proceeds. Abramovich has repeatedly denied that he has a relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he was not one of the many oligarchs sanctioned by the West in recent days. But he clearly feels like he’ll be the next on the hit list as Western nations attempt to seize the luxury goods of Russian billionaires. And those seizures have begun. German authorities have reportedly [taken possession]( of the 512-foot megayacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov in the port city of Hamburg.—NF �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=The%20oligarch%20garage%20sale%20has%20begun%3A%20utm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3D4904f90a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A BUSINESS [Tour de headlines]( [Amazon books physical retail location](Amazon Amazon’s retail experiment exploded like Mentos in Diet Coke. The company [said]( it’s closing all 68 of its physical bookstores and pop-ups in a major shakeup of its slapdash brick-and-mortar strategy. Moving forward, it’ll focus on grocery stores, a fashion store in LA, and cashierless tech. The irony of Amazon closing its bookstores is not lost on these newsletter writers. More like Fo rd. The automaker took notes from One Direction in the hopes that breaking up would make it stronger. Ford [said]( yesterday it will divide into two separate businesses: Ford Blue, which will handle internal combustion engine vehicles, and Ford Model E, which will focus on EVs. Ford thinks the split will allow its EV business to grow startup-level fast and compete with behemoth Tesla. First Meta, now TikTok. Eight state attorneys general, who clearly get their recipes elsewhere, are [launching]( an investigation into TikTok and its potential physical and mental harm on young users. The announcement comes less than a day after President Biden urged lawmakers to hold social media firms accountable for the “experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit.” �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Tour%20de%20headlines%3A%20utm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3D4904f90a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A FOOD AND BEV [Guess we’re gin and soda people now]( [Full vodka bottles in dumpster.](Francis Scialabba States including Ohio, Oregon, Utah, and New Hampshire are jumping on the sanction train and [boycotting]( Russian-made vodka. The governors of Texas and Maine are also asking retailers and state agencies to remove Russian spirits from shelves. While these snubs may raise awareness about the war in Ukraine, Americans prefer their Texas-made Tito’s: Russian vodka only accounted for about 1.3% of all vodka imported into the US last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US. Plus, some non-Russian vodka brands are also feeling the effects. - American businesses have mistakenly removed vodkas like Stoli and Smirnoff, which are made in Latvia and the US, respectively, in protest. - After one Maine liquor store owner bumped Stoli from his shelves only to learn it wasn’t made in Russia, he doubled down. “I think it sends a signal,” he [told]( the Portland Press Herald. Zoom out: Russia has seen its banking, business, sports, and entertainment ties with the West, which it’s built up for decades, evaporate in a matter of days. Yesterday, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked video game companies to disconnect Russian and Belorussian gamers.—MM �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Guess%20we%E2%80%99re%20gin%20and%20soda%20people%20now%3A%20utm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3D4904f90a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A TOGETHER WITH ETORO [Axe the juggling act](#) [eToro]( Because managing all your stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency just got a whole lot easier. On [eToro](, you can get all of your favorite investments in one place. Searching for stocks? eToro lets you browse 1,600+ stocks—and offers partial shares of a few popular picks. Plus, you’ll get dividends (AKA: $$$ for you), and you don’t have to worry about paying commissions (even more $$$ for you). Craving crypto? You can access over two dozen cryptocurrencies on eToro. And if crypto still feels a little cryptic to you, you can [copy Popular Investors automatically or choose a ready-made portfolio](. [Get $10 when you deposit $100 on eToro for a limited time](. ENVIRONMENT [175 countries agree to help Larry]( [Larry struggles to open a plastic package](Curb Your Enthusiasm/HBO via YouTube World leaders met on Wednesday to draft an [agreement]( to reduce plastic pollution. Though in early stages, the treaty has already been hailed as “the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord” by UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen. What’s so significant about it? The broad strokes include goals to: - Make packaging more sustainable (no more clamshells, we hope) - Ramp up recycling (Only 9% of plastic has ever been recycled, per the UN Environment Programme.) - Do something about microplastics, the insidious little plastic pieces that sneak into water - Limit the overall production of plastic The treaty won’t be fully hashed out until 2024—which is actually a fast timeline for global agreements—but whatever makes it to the final draft will be legally binding to keep loopholes to a minimum. Big picture: It turns out life in plastic’s not fantastic. About 11 million tons of plastic waste wash into bodies of water annually, and the UNEP estimates that’ll triple by 2040. Produced from fossil fuels, plastics are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Ergo, global warming.—JW �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=175%20countries%20agree%20to%20help%20Larry%3A%20utm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3D4904f90a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators]( [A view of the Fanatics ball pit at Michael Rubin's Fanatics Super Bowl Party](Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics Stat: Sports merchandising is huge business in the digital age. The sports platform Fanatics is now valued at [$27 billion]( following its most recent funding round, a big bump from its $18 billion valuation less than a year ago. Fanatics’s trading card unit is worth $10 billion by itself. Quote: “The height of irresponsibility.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was [peeved]( by Vladimir Putin’s move last weekend to put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert. “It’s dangerous and it adds to the risk of miscalculation,” he added. Read: Four ways the war in Ukraine might end. ([Atlantic Council]() �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Key%20performance%20indicators%3A%20utm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3D4904f90a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A WHAT ELSE IS BREWING - [Fitbit]( is recalling about 1.7 million of its Ionic Smartwatches following reports that their batteries were overheating and burning customers. - [Fortnite maker Epic Games]( is expanding its push into the creator economy by acquiring the music platform Bandcamp. - [Apple]( is hosting an event on March 8 where it’s expected to unveil a new low-cost iPhone model. - [Uber]( announced several initiatives to support Ukrainian refugees, including unlimited free rides between Poland and Ukraine and between two Polish cities. TOGETHER WITH HULU [Hulu]( Thursdays now call for : Because Hulu’s new limited series The Dropout premieres today. The story follows the unbelievable journey of Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried), the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire who lost everything in a tale of ambition, fame, and deception. New eps drop Thursdays, so start poppin’ that corn, folks, and [watch here](. BREW'S BETS Movie to bookmark for later: [AlphaGo](, the award-winning documentary that’s free on YouTube. How your brain deceives you: Check out this [trippy optical illusion](. Informative on Ukraine: A [video]( on the background of why Russia is invading Ukraine and a [thread]( on how Russia’s aviation sector is on the brink of collapse. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and Better Call Saul all make appearances in today’s supersized Mini. [Play it here](. Three headlines and a lie Three of these news headlines are real and one is faker than a promise to yourself that you’ll read the entire book this time. Can you guess the odd one out? - Warren Buffett wants to play a [history teacher]( on the next season of Euphoria - Hidetaka Miyazaki [reveals]( all his swamp levels are based on different cities in New Jersey - NFT buyers furious after art they spent $70 million on turned out to be [completely hideous]( - Georgia official accused of [faking 2 pregnancies]( also planned 2 fake weddings, friend says FROM THE CREW [Business, made casual]( [Business Casual promo image with Nora and Scott]( Looking for a podcast worth listening to? Check out [Business Casual]( which reveals the unexpected business story behind everything. A few episodes: - Trapital’s Dan Runcie on the [entrepreneurial spirit of hip-hop]( - Turns out NFTs are [not just for bros]( - The [biggest players]( dominating the $200 billion gaming industry This editorial content is supported by Stella Artois. ANSWER Warren Buffett has no desire to star in Euphoria...that we know of. ✢ A Note From eToro Securities trading through eToro USA Securities, Inc. Member of FINRA and SIPC. Crypto Trading through eToro USA LLC, not FDIC insured. � � � � � Written by [Neal Freyman](, [Jamie Wilde](, and [Matty Merritt]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. WANT MORE BREW? 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