Newsletter Mar 21, 2022

3 things you must know

Zelensky calls for direct talks with Putin to 'end this war'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday renewed his plea for talks with his Russian counterpart, taking to US television to say talks were the only way to "end this war." He stressed that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were the only principals able to thrash out a deal to stop the fighting, now in its fourth week, but he signaled he would draw red lines against ceding Ukrainian territory. Zelensky's words apparently fell on deaf ears as Russian forces continued relentless attacks on Ukraine cities.
FIND OUT WHERE RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS STAND

How inflation disproportionately impacts low-income families
Driven by rising food and energy costs with no relief in sight, inflation is taking a heavy toll on the world's poor. Factoring in the rising costs of the basic necessities, prices are well above the overall inflation rate of 7.9% reported by the government last week. Food and energy inflation affects low-income people more than high-income people, as they spend a more significant proportion of their incomes on necessities like energy and food.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO EASE THE IMPACT ON THE POOR?

Russia's ruble, Ukraine's hryvia destabilized amid conflict
Their economies rocked by war, Russia and Ukraine authorities have deployed different tactics to save their weakened currencies, with varying degrees of success. The Russian ruble, which was trading around 80 to the dollar before Moscow sent troops into Ukraine last month, lost 40% of its value in the following days. In Ukraine, the central bank suspended all currency trading and set a fixed exchange rate of approximately 29 hryvnia to the dollar.
SEE WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO SAVE THEIR CURRENCIES

Markets

DJIA	34,754.93	0.80%
S&P 500	4,463.12	1.17%
Nasdaq Composite	13,893.84	2.05%
Japan: Nikkei 225	26,827.43	0.65%
UK: FTSE 100	7,443.14	0.52%
Crude Oil Futures	108.61	3.73%
Gold Futures	1,923.60	-0.30%
Yen	119.22	0.06%
Euro	1.11	0.11%
* As of market close

American volunteers join Ukraine's fight

While the U.S. is reluctant to directly intervene in the conflict, many U.S. volunteer fighters who have risked their lives alongside Ukrainian soldiers said they had joined the struggle against Russian forces to stop civilians suffering and in the name of freedom. The group, including a female college student from New York, spoke of their narrow escape after they said the vehicle they were traveling in hit a land mine on Sunday on the frontline near the capital Kyiv.

READ ABOUT THEIR NARROW ESCAPE FROM RUSSIAN FORCES

Starbucks to test sustainable cup options

Your Monday morning cup of coffee might seem a little different today. Starbucks announced last week that it will testing sustainable cup option to be more useful and efficient, either through the â€œborrow-a-cup programâ€ or by customers bringing their own reusable cups to the stores. The coffee chain revealed that it will begin testing multiple different versions of these options in select markets to see what will work best to tackle its ongoing effort of becoming more sustainable.

FIND OUT HOW STARBUCKS IS TRYING TO CUT ITS WASTE

'CODA' win leaves Oscar race wide open

Hollywood's producers named "CODA," a heartwarming indie drama about a deaf family, the year's best film at their annual gala Saturday, throwing the race for next weekend's Oscars wide open. "CODA," which cast deaf actors in several lead roles, was released by Apple TV+, and is now in position to vie with Netflix's "The Power of the Dog," the presumed Oscar front-runner. The Producers Guild Awards have correctly predicted 11 of the past 14 Oscar winners for Best Picture.

SEE WHICH MOVIES AND ACTORS ARE THE OSCAR FAVORITES

And the winner is ...

Which movie was the first to win the Best Picture award at the very first Academy Awards ceremony?

Friday's answer: The tallest LEGO tower ever constructed measured in at 114 feet tall and used over 450,000 bricks in Budapest, Hungary.

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