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The World
How does it end? A way out of the Ukraine War proves elusive. There are three separate back-channel efforts underway to start negotiations — by the leaders of France; Israel and Turkey; and, in a recent entree, the new chancellor of Germany. But so far, all have hit the stone wall of President Vladimir V. Putin’s refusal to engage in any serious negotiation. At the Pentagon, there are models of a slogging conflict that brings more needless death and destruction to a nascent European democracy, and others in which Mr. Putin settles for what some believe was his original objective: seizing a broad swath of the south and east, connecting Russia by land to Crimea, which he annexed in 2014. And there is a more terrifying endgame, in which NATO nations get sucked more directly into the conflict, by accident or design. That possibility became more vivid on Sunday, when Russian missiles landed in Ukraine’s western reaches, an area unscathed until now by the 18-day-old conflict, about a dozen miles from the Polish border. In interviews with senior American and European officials in recent days, there is a consensus on one point: Just as the last two weeks revealed that Russia’s vaunted military faltered in its invasion plan, the next two or three may reveal whether Ukraine can survive as a state, and negotiate an end to the war. (New York Times)
Angry over invasion of Ukraine and fearing crackdown, Russians trying to move abroad crowd into few remaining trains and planes. (Washington Post)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens a big portion of the world’s wheat supply and has sent prices on a dizzying ride to new highs as well as the sharpest weekly drop in years. Wheat stockpiles were already running low and prices were the highest in years thanks to two years of poor growing weather when Russia’s attack jammed up Black Sea trading and endangered nearly a third of the world’s exports. The invasion prompted fears of food shortages in countries fed with imported grain and pushed prices to new highs. (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge funds that placed bullish bets on commodities are notching sizable returns from the biggest rally in decades following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Wall Street Journal)
Ukraine's defense ministry began using Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology, the company's chief executive told Reuters, after the U.S. startup offered to uncover Russian assailants, combat misinformation and identify the dead. Ukraine is receiving free access to Clearview AI’s powerful search engine for faces, letting authorities potentially vet people of interest at checkpoints, among other uses. (Reuters)
China’s government has responded to a sharp rise in coronavirus infections by shutting down its southern business centre of Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, and restricting access to Shanghai by suspending bus services. Everyone in Shenzhen, a finance and technology centre that abuts Hong Kong, will undergo three rounds of testing after 60 new cases were reported Sunday. All businesses except those that supply food, fuel and other necessities were ordered to close or work from home. (The Guardian)
Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam emphasized that as the region navigates its fifth wave of COVID, the focus is now on reducing deaths and severe infections. The Chief Executive has postponed universal testing and aims to make use of antiviral medication and open beds for new cases. (The South China Morning Post)
Though challenging, scientists have hope that it may be possible to develop a vaccine that combats all coronaviruses. Given that there have been three which have caused pandemics, experts anticipate that there will be others. (Harvard Medical School)
Silos that work: How the pandemic changed the way we collaborate. A study of 360 billion emails shows how remote work isolated teams, but also led to more intense communication within siloed groups. (Harvard Business School)
Economy
The Big Four face a fraught exit from Russia: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC say they will cut ties but with 15,000 staff there the firms are deeply enmeshed. That all makes pulling out a torturous process. The FT offers a detailed look at where things stand, including asking: Have the Big Four actually left Russia? (Financial Times)
Investors are racing to cut their exposure to oil dependent industries, as the highest crude price in more than a decade raises fears for the global economy and deals a fresh blow to sectors that were only just emerging from the pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unleashed turmoil across commodity markets, sending Brent crude oil to levels not seen since shortly before the financial crisis of 2008 and driving European gas prices to new highs. The prospect that energy prices could leap even higher if other countries were to follow the US in imposing an oil embargo on Russia — and the Kremlin were to retaliate by turning off its own supply of crude and gas — has left financial markets on edge. (Financial Times)
Oil prices fell on Sunday at the start of the session, extending last week's decline, as a U.S. official said Russia was showing signs it might be willing to have substantive negotiations over Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell $1.82, or 1.6%, to $110.85 a barrel by 6:47 p.m. ET (2247 GMT). WTI crude futures fell $2.41, or 2.2%, to $106.92 a barrel. (Reuters)
European banks take brunt of market selloff: Analysts say the lack of visibility regarding what will come next in the conflict, a spike in oil prices that may slow down Europe’s economy, and indirect exposures that aren’t yet known, are combining to make investors ultra-wary of lenders on the continent. “It is a bit like the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. No one has a clue of what will happen next,” said Jérôme Legras, head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments. (Wall Street Journal)
Dubai has adopted an initial crypto law and established an independent authority for oversight. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum described this move as an important step in aims to be a major player in the space. Within the UAE, Abu Dhabi has also been aggressive in attempts to be a “crypto hub”. (Coindesk)
Women embrace flexible working, but economists say it could hurt their careers: A shift to remote-work arrangements is showing signs of boosting the lagging share of women in the labor force as the economy recovers from the pandemic. A February survey of job seekers by hiring platform ZipRecruiter Inc. found that women were twice as likely as men, 26% versus 13%, to say they were only looking for remote work. But economists say that workers who never come back to the office risk isolating themselves from promotions and networking opportunities. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Only the iPhone 14 Pro models will have the "A16" chip, while the standard iPhone 14 models will retain the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13, according to insightful Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet, Kuo said that the 6.1-inch "iPhone 14 Pro" and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 14 Pro Max" will get the A16 chip, while the 6.1-inch "iPhone 14" and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 14 Max" will retain the same A15 chip from the iPhone 13 lineup. (Macrumors)
Twitter rolled out a new shopping beta: Twitter Shops, which lets sellers add a virtual storefront to their profiles for customers to browse. Notably, Twitter Shops won’t actually let you purchase things directly — instead, the shop listings will link you out to the company’s website in an in-app browser to actually complete your purchase. (The Verge)
Big tech is spending billions on AI research. Investors should keep an eye out. If the past is any guide, the immense amount of research—this time in artificial intelligence—will spawn new products across medicine, new materials, climate and other areas. Investors would do well to stay tuned. (Wall Street Journal)
Make room at the virtual conference table: Here comes the head of Remote. (Protocol)
Smart Links
What you need to know about South Korea’s new conservative president. (Financial Times)
JPMorgan leads talks to contain nickel crisis damage. (Wall Street Journal)
M&A, Before and After: What founders need to know. (A16Z Podcast)
Tom Brady changed his mind. (ESPN)