Newsletter Feb 18, 2022

3 things you must know

US challenges Russia to step back from Ukraine invasion
The U.S.said Thursday that Russia is on the verge of unleashing a massive military attack against Ukraine, dismissing Moscow's claim to be pulling forces back, as artillery fire hit a Ukrainian kindergarten. In a dramatic, previously unscheduled speech to the U.N., Secretary of State Antony Blinken said intelligence showed Moscow could order an attack on Ukraine in the "coming days."
FIND OUT WHAT US INTEL SAYS ABOUT ODDS OF INVASION

Prices are skyrocketing for Americans' most popular cars
Consumers are getting sticker shock when it comes to the price of new cars, so much so that buyers paid above MSRP in 82.2% of all new vehicle purchases in January compared to just 2.8% last year. The average price for a new vehicle was $728 over MSRP in January, compared to $2,152 below MSRP in January 2021.
FIND OUT WHICH MAKES AND MODELS ARE THE HIGHEST

Walmart surpasses all expectations with strong Q4 report
All eyes were on Walmart on Thursday and its Q4 earnings report, and the retail giant did not disappoint. Walmart turned in strong numbers despite being hampered by the Omicron variant, record inflation, supply chain issues and labor shortages. Investors were looking to Walmart for indicators of the direction of the economy.
SEE HOW WALMART'S REPORT IS A WIN FOR WALL STREET

Markets

DJIA	34,312.03	-1.78%
S&P 500	4,380.26	-2.12%
Nasdaq Composite	13,716.72	-2.88%
Japan: Nikkei 225	27,232.87	-0.83%
UK: FTSE 100	7,537.37	-0.87%
Crude Oil Futures	91.61	-0.16%
Gold Futures	1,901.60	-0.02%
Yen	114.87	-0.05%
Euro	1.14	0.08%
* As of market close

Elon Musk has beefs on multiple fronts

Even by Elon Musk's standards, Thursday was a rough one for the outspoken Tesla CEO. Musk courted dual controversies, accusing a regulator of trying to stifle his speech while drawing condemnation for comparing Canada's leader to Hitler. That Twitter post was taken down but there were other beefs brewing due to his temper tantrum tweets.

CHECK OUT MUSK'S TWEETS TARGETING BIDEN, SEC, OTHERS

How many Americans are omicron immune?

While cases of Omicron have waned in recent weeks, the number of Americans who have gained immunity from the COVID variant has skyrocketed. Due to Omicron's high infection rate, one model estimates that 73% of Americans now have immunity to the strain, and that number could rise to as high as 80% by mid-March.

FIND OUT WHAT MASS IMMUNITY MEANS FOR THE PANDEMIC

Student debt forgiven for 16,000 borrowers

The Department of Education has forgiven more than $415 million in student debt from borrowers who attended for-profit schools in the latest move by the Biden administration to help the 16,000 students. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced that the department would erase the debt for these students because the "evidence shows their [for-profit] college violated the law and standards."

FIND OUT IF MORE STUDENT LOAN DEBT WILL BE FORGIVEN

Discount stock

What year did Walmart go public, and what was the initial stock price?

Thursday's answer: Then-22-year-old Dave MacPherson, now a noted humor columnist, was the first in line when Disneyland opened in 1955.

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