💼 Commuting like it’s 2019

…and stimulus season is officially over [Disclosures](   Commuters at New York’s Grand Central Terminal three years ago this week [Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images]   Last Week’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 32,944 (-1.99%) S&P 500 4,204 (-2.88%) Nasdaq 12,844 (-3.53%) Bitcoin $38,920 (-0.63%) Dow Jones 32,944 (-1.99%) S&P 500 4,204 (-2.88%) Nasdaq 12,844 (-3.53%) Bitcoin $38,920 (-0.63%) Hey Snackers, It’s week three of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The closest attack yet to NATO's border happened over the weekend, when Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian military base near Poland — at least 35 people were killed. Millions of dollars have been raised in support of Ukrainians, [including]( through charities, as well as no-show [Airbnb]( bookings and donations on [Etsy](. Stocks fell last week, the fifth down week in a row for the Dow, as the war showed no sign of ending. Want to start getting Snacks daily? Or prefer to unsubscribe? Manage your subscription preferences [here](. RTO It’s “back-to-office March,” but the new 9-to-5 doesn’t affect all workers equally WFH Fridays... a distant term from a distant time, when [Zoom]( wasn't a verb and doing spreadsheets in your bedsheets was special. Pre-pandemic, just [4%]( of employed Americans worked fully remote. By May 2020 it was nearly half. But as the number of Covid cases wanes across the US, employees are returning to fluorescent cubicles. - Conference-room donuts: Office occupancy reached a pandemic peak of 40% in December, then dipped on Omicron. Now it's rising again, hitting 38% this month. - Couch cupcakes: Last year [90%]( of remote workers said they wanted to stay at least partly remote. And 75% said their employer would allow at least some remote work post-pandemic. - FYI: [50M]( Americans are frontline workers (think: nurses, grocery workers), most of whom couldn’t work from home. Reviving rush-hour podcasts… Employers aren’t taking a one-size-fits-all approach. On one end, companies like [Apple]( [Netflix]( [Citi]( and [Goldman]( have set deadlines for full office returns (many this spring). Then there are hybrids [like]( [Meta]( [Disney]( and [Lyft]( which are offering flexibility to retain talent. [Google’s]( [spending]( billions on new offices to lure hybrid-ers back to kombucha taps. Finally, there’s remote-first companies like [Shopify]( [Coinbase]( and Slack. Some pros and cons: - Banks, law firms, and others bullish on RTO must’ve decided that remote life dampens productivity — or invested too much in pricey leases. - Others are happy to save on rent and catered meals, and like the option of dipping into a wider talent pool (aka: nationwide). THE TAKEAWAY We can return to office, but not to normal… The conclusion of this remote experiment: it worked out better than most could’ve imagined. Many say their productivity and overall happiness [improved](. But reactions varied: Women and people of color are [more likely]( to view remote work positively than white males. And among those with children, women are [50%]( more likely than men to prefer WFH. But they’re also less likely to get promoted while remote, which suggests IRL facetime can make a difference. That could become a point of tension in the new 9-to-5. Zoom Out Stories we’re watching... The human cost of war… Millions of Ukrainians are fleeing their country as death counts rise, and some are getting support from Western employers. In recent years, Ukraine has become a thriving tech hub: [Microsoft]( [Cisco]( and Google have teams there, as do an [estimated]( 20% of Fortune 500 companies. As the crisis has escalated, tech companies have tried to [help]( their workers: [Wix]( chartered planes to evacuate the third of its workforce that’s in Ukraine. In a tragic case, a Silicon Valley tech worker, her children, and their friend [were killed]( as they tried to flee the conflict. Going for (literal) gold… Gold prices [hit]( $2K/ounce last week, approaching 2020’s all-time high. As prices soar, investors are shifting $$ from riskier assets like stocks to “safe haven” assets like gold, bonds, and cash. That’s been bullish for the two largest gold miners, [Barrick Gold]( and [Newmont]( their shares are up around 30% this year while the market’s down 10%. Smaller [Orla Mining’s]( stock is up 21% this year. Events Coming up this week... Stimmy season’s officially over... The Fed is set to start raising interest rates this week — for the first time in three years. Typically, higher rates help curb sky-high inflation that drives up the cost of everything from groceries to gas. But Fed Chair Powell said the war in Ukraine could spook the US economy in unforeseen ways, partly why Goldman Sachs has cut its US growth forecast for the year. All the uncertainty is why Powell is signaling a quarter-point rate hike on Wednesday, instead of the half-point predicted just a month ago. It’s all in the delivery… There’s a race to deliver your latest [Revolve]( impulse buy. Despite labor and supply strains, sales boomed for [FedEx]( and [UPS]( last year as shoppers kept ordering online post-lockdown. UPS profits tripled last quarter thanks partly to its stable union workforce. Meanwhile, despite record holiday deliveries, FedEx’s profit fell as it [splurged]( on hiring extra workers. Still, FedEx is buying $5B of its shares and underscored its “confidence” in its biz. We’ll see if it’s still optimistic when it reports Thursday. ICYMI Last week's highlights... - [Slice]( [Amazon’s]( splitting its shares 20 for 1, its first stock split in 20+ years. Thanks to fractional shares, splits are mostly for show now — but they’re also a sign the Zon thinks its $3K stock can keep rising. - [Canola]( US Big Foodies like [McDonald’s]( and [Coke]( halted biz in Russia after peer pressure and [Twitter]( #boycotts. The fast-food exodus is symbolic: McD’s was one of the first US chains to open in Russia post-Soviet Union. - [Gassy]( Gas prices spiked even higher last week after the US banned Russian oil imports to punish Putin. Sanctions also sent grain and metal prices soaring, hurting [Kellogg]( [General Mills]( [BMW]( and [Boeing](. What else we're Snackin' - [Raise]( It’s an ideal job market for a raise, but asking can be stressful. Watch a money mentor share tips on negotiating for your worth — from making “brag” sheets to researching salaries. - [Club]( DAOs — blockchain-based communities co-owned by members — have become a $13B biz. Thousands of community-run groups have invested in crypto projects, like private social clubs for coin holders. - [Salty]( There’s a new starting salary for some college grads: entry-level bankers and consultants are raking in six-figure salaries, miffing coworkers who made 30% less when they started a few years ago. 🍪 Want to start Snacking daily? Sign up [here]( for our daily market newsletter. The Snacks Daily Podcast Because we needed another “+.” The news channel that revolutionized cable is about to foray into streaming. [Tune in]( to hear how CNN is using “forever pricing” to lock in new subscribers. Snack Fact Of the Day [Spiders use Earth’s electric field to fly, and have been observed as high as 2.5 miles in the air]( This Week - Monday: Earnings expected from XPeng, Vail Resorts, GitLab, and Del Taco - Tuesday: Earnings expected from Lennar, SentinelOne, Smartsheet, and Dole - Wednesday: Fed’s interest-rate decision. Earnings expected from Pinduoduo, Cintas, MillerKnoll, Williams-Sonoma, and Lands' End - Thursday: Weekly jobless claims. St. Patrick’s Day. Earnings expected from Accenture, FedEx, Dollar General, Warby Parker, and Scholastic - Friday: Earnings expected from Orla Mining - The weekend: SXSW ends Saturday Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Netflix, Twitter, Starbucks, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Disney ID: 2078158 Robinhood Snacks newsletters and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC (Member [SIPC]( and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are for informational purposes only, and are not a recommendation of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any security, digital asset (cryptocurrency, etc) in any account. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. 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