Good morning. A quick update before we jump into the news: We just hit 4 million subscribers to this email! .gif) —Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde | | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,619.64 | | | | | S&P | 4,631.60 | | | | | Dow | 35,294.19 | | |  | 10-Year | 2.401% | | | | | Bitcoin | $47,481.36 | | | | | Robinhood | $15.91 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The Dow and S&P have put together a classy four-day win streak as the first quarter comes to a close. Plus, Robinhood stock soared after the company said it would extend trading hours to between 7am–8pm. We'll go deeper on the state of the stock market in just a sec.
| | The Godfather: Part III/Paramount Pictures For the US stock market, March came in like a bear and is going out like a bull. Stocks have recovered all of their losses since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and, with another push, could turn positive for the year. Leading the charge is the most valuable company in the world: Apple. Right now, it's on an Amy Schneider-esque winning streak: - Apple has gained for 11 straight trading days, its longest streak since 2003 (before it released the iPhone).
- It's just $3/share shy of its record closing high and is staring down a $3 trillion market cap.
In general, the Hakuna Matata days seem to be back on Wall Street. The VIX, sometimes dubbed the "fear index," fell to its lowest level since January. Bitcoin is up nearly 36% from its January low. And meme stocks like AMC and GameStop have also been surging recently due to huge demand from retail investors. What's going on? The market is less decipherable than a defensive teenager, but we can at least float a few theories to help explain the rally: - Ukraine and Russia seem to be inching toward peace. Following a round of face-to-face negotiations in Turkey, Russia said it would "dramatically reduce" its military activities in the region around Kyiv. Though the US is skeptical, any progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine is a bullish sign to investors.
- Investors think the Fed can stick the landing. The Fed has embarked on the high-stakes campaign of hiking interest rates while not inducing a recession at the same time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, for one, said he's not worried about a downturn in the near future.
- Stocks are cheaper. When you drop the price of an item, you're going to find more buyers. And, following the big sell-off to start out the year, investors pounced on some deals.
Big picture: With war still raging and supply chains still bottlenecked, the stock market rally could be fragile. Investors are more pessimistic in the bond market, where a segment of the yield curve inverted yesterday. That move has historically predicted a recession.—NF | | Dianna "Mick" McDougall  Workers are still harder to find than a PS5. In February, there were a record 5 million more job openings in the US economy than the number of available workers. Plus, the number of workers who quit their job jumped 94,000 from January to 4.35 million. In all, there are 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person.
 More boosters for boomers. US health officials authorized a second Covid booster shot (either Moderna or Pfizer) for people aged 50 and older. Scientists are still split on if/when a fourth dose is needed, given that two shots + a booster has proven to be effective against severe disease. Covid deaths in the US are at their lowest levels since before the emergence of Omicron.
 When 24/7 news isn't enough. CNN+, the cable news giant's foray into the streaming wars, launched yesterday with new shows from Audie Cornish, Anderson Cooper, and Jake Tapper. The service also includes an interactive element called Interview Club, where viewers can submit questions before and during certain live events. CNN+ costs $5.99/month.
| | Francis Scialabba Axie Infinity—an online game where users battle NFT critters to earn crypto—suffered the largest hack of digital funds to date last Wednesday. Developers discovered the breach yesterday morning, hopefully after they had their coffee. The details: The hack drained roughly $617 million worth of ether and USDC from the Ronin Network—a "layer 2" solution (layer 1 being the Ethereum blockchain) that conducts crypto transactions for Axie Infinity. Because Ronin is off-chain, its transactions are faster, cheaper, and less energy intensive than on-chain ones. But there's a trade-off: Ronin is less secure than the blockchain it supports. In this case, hacker(s) took control of enough of the "nodes" that greenlight transactions on Ronin to funnel money into their own ethereum wallet. According to a post from Ronin yesterday, most of the stolen funds are still sitting in that wallet, and Ronin is working 25/7 with regulators to get them back. Zoom out: This hack eclipses the theft of $611 million from decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Poly Network that occurred in August. One of blockchain technology's big promises is enhanced security, but so far its track record is muddier than a Dirty Jobs episode.—JW | | | Wanna dip your toes in the world of NFTs? Need a spot to share your creations with fellow artists and buyers alike? How does minting your NFTs for free on a carbon-neutral blockchain sound? If you just heard a hallelujah chorus in your mind, join the club—literally, on Voice. Voice is the platform for sharing your latest creations, sprucing up your NFT collection, and meeting fellow creative community members. PS, collectors: Don't have crypto? Just swipe the ol' credit card. With a UX that feels like Web 2.0 but provides Web 3.0 benefits, Voice's homepage is curated based on the quality of work, not just the noise an NFT makes on social. You can even access multiple marketplaces via Voice's multichain functionality. Basically, it's the NFTotal package, all in one space. Boom. Get started here. | | The Office/NBC via Giphy American business schools are more adept at training future managers to lower wages than to increase sales, according to a new paper circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper looked at businesses in the US and Denmark and found similar results in both countries: Managers with a business degree oversee declining pay at their businesses. - Wages fell by 6% within five years at US companies that hired managers with business degrees. In Denmark, wages at those businesses fell by 3%.
- The labor share of profits at US businesses managed by business school graduates decreased by five percentage points. In Denmark, the labor share decreased by three points.
It turns out that effective managers can come from anywhere—be it business school or an online, three-week pottery intensive. The researchers found that companies with business degree-wielding managers don't see any increase in sales, productivity, investment, or employment compared to companies without business managers.—MK | | Francis Scialabba Stat: As if you needed another reason to pivot to queso, avocado prices have jumped to a 24-year high due to lower supplies from Mexico, the world's biggest avocado exporter. An index tracking the price of avocados from the Mexican state of Michoacan has soared 81% this year, per Bloomberg. Quote: "I hit a 5-iron, which sailed magnificently into a rather strong wind, with approximately 5 feet of cut, whereupon it bounced twice and then went clank, into the hole." Because "many people are asking," former President Trump confirmed in a statement that he made a hole-in-one while playing golf in Florida. That ace might be the only thing Trump can brag about this week: The NY attorney general's office said it had found "significant evidence" that the Trump Organization gave misleading valuations of its real estate assets for 10+ years. Read: The phones of Zelensky. (Electrospaces.net) | | - President Biden signed a bill, named for Emmett Till, that makes lynching a federal hate crime.
- The NFL is changing its overtime rules to allow for both teams to have a possession—but only in the playoffs.
- Employees at the publisher Condé Nast, which owns brands including Vanity Fair and GQ, formed a union.
- You always remember your first: British authorities have seized their first Russian superyacht, which belongs to an unnamed Russian businessman.
 Correction: Yesterday we wrote that NY taxpayers would contribute $850 billion to the Buffalo Bills' new stadium. Truth is, they're not getting a spaceship—the correct number is $850 million. | | A stream about nothing. When you're bored at work today, just flip on this website that streams Seinfeld 24/7. It's what George would do. Simplify your workout: Muscle Wiki is like Wikipedia, but for exercise. Why are gas prices so high? It's complicated—but here's a digestible explainer on how sanctions on Russia have tightened global gas supplies, and why prices may vary by state. Where investing insights are in full view. Commonstock is the social network for experienced traders that amplifies verified financial data, trades, and trends so you can detect signal over noise. You can even connect your existing brokerage accounts without moving your dough. Start here.* This electric mower's a portfolio grower. Graze's fully autonomous, electric commercial mowers are primed to disrupt the $100B commercial landscaping industry. And with $32M in preorders, it's time to get your cut. Invest in Graze before 4/15.* *This is sponsored advertising content. | | You asked, we delivered. Morning Brew workout gear is in the works, but we need your help. Take a quick, five-minute survey and let us know what you think about these new Nike Dri-FIT workout tees. Take the survey | | Word Search: Today's puzzle will get you stoked for the summer concert season. Play it here. Cubism dream This might be harder than solving a Rubik's Cube itself: Can you pick out the six colors of a regular Rubik's Cube? (Via Sporcle.)  Sporcle screenshot | | | Orange, yellow, red, blue, green, white | | |
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