Good morning. We longtime Saint Peter's fans never thought this day would come, but last night our dear Peacocks became the first No. 15 seed in history to advance to the Elite Eight. This team could go all the way… —Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt, Jamie Wilde | | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,169.30 | | |  | S&P | 4,543.06 | | | | | Dow | 34,861.24 | | | | | 10-Year | 2.479% | | | | | Bitcoin | $44,486.92 | | | | | Wells Fargo | $52.56 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: It might be safe to start checking your investment portfolio again, now that stocks have risen for two straight weeks. Investors appear to be putting more emphasis on strong corporate earnings than all the uncertainty around the war in Ukraine and inflation. Treasury yields climbed (in anticipation of higher interest rates), giving a lift to financial stocks.
- Ukraine: Top Russian military officials signaled a change in approach to the war yesterday. They spoke about the "complete liberation" of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which means Russia could potentially be pivoting from its initial goal of taking Ukraine's biggest cities and toppling its government.
| | Obi-Wan Kenobi/Lucasfilm European countries have embarked on a frantic, Amazing Race-style expedition to find new energy sources and replace the Russian supplies they've sworn to ditch. Yesterday, they found a willing helper: The US announced it would work with international partners to boost shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe this year, and provide increasing amounts going forward. The amount pledged is not a ton (at most it would equal one-third of the gas Russia sends to the EU), and the details of the agreement are fuzzy. But it'll still be welcomed by Europe given the monumental task at hand. That task: Europe relies on Russia for a mammoth 40% of its gas, so going cold turkey—like the US and other countries have done—is not an option. - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that cutting off Russian imports immediately would "mean plunging our country and all of Europe into recession" and put "hundreds of thousands of jobs" at risk.
Plus, cobbling together new natural gas infrastructure is a bit more complex than building an Ikea bookshelf. It will require the construction of new terminals and (this is a real term) floating storage regasification units. So, in all, the effort to drop that 40% to 0% is going to take years. But with funds from every purchase of Russian energy going into Vladimir Putin's warchest, Europe is trying to make that transition happen ASAP. It's going about it along two fronts: - Domestic: Countries such as France are trying to tamp down demand for natural gas by ending subsidies for new gas heaters and incentivizing the purchase of electric heat pumps. Governments could also ramp up coal production, at the expense of their greenhouse gas emissions targets.
- International: European leaders are racking up the miles trying to find alternative gas suppliers. Qatar, a Gulf nation that's one of the world's leading gas suppliers, has been fielding calls from "everyone in Europe," its energy minister told CNN.
Bottom line: The war in Ukraine has resulted in profound macroeconomic changes—shaking up energy markets might be at the top of the list.—NF | | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images  Prime union voting season. Amazon employees at a Staten Island warehouse began voting on the same day the final ballot was cast at a company warehouse nearly 1,000 miles away in Bessemer, Alabama. The Bessemer vote is the second union election held at the facility, after Amazon was found to have illegally interfered in the first election last year. The Alabama votes will be counted next week—if successful, it'd be the first Amazon facility in the country to unionize.
 Mortgage rates are spiking. The 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 4.95% yesterday, putting another squeeze on potential homebuyers already contending with surging home prices and limited inventory. The median mortgage payment is currently more than 20% higher than a year ago, due to the expectation of higher interest rates.
 J. K. Rowling hits back at Vladimir Putin. Okay, we probably need to explain this one a bit. At a meeting yesterday, Putin complained the West was trying to "cancel" Russia in a similar vein to the backlash against the Harry Potter author, who has been criticized for her views on transgender issues. Rowling responded, "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians…"
| | Francis Scialabba Grocery delivery service Instacart said Thursday it was dropping its valuation to $24 billion, down 38% from its pandemic-era high. - Sound smart: This specific valuation, called a 409a, is an internal marker that's typically used to price employee stock, as opposed to the valuation you'd see tied to an outside funding round, Axios explains.
- But the self-own is still a big deal that signals the delivery app may have gotten ahead of itself with the $39 billion valuation it scored during its most recent fundraising round last March.
Who could blame it? Even for those of us who find peace picking out our own pears, the pandemic made delivery apps like Instacart wildly popular. But partial reopenings, along with soaring inflation, more competition, and a turbulent market, have slowed growth dramatically, Instacart said. Shares of DoorDash, another pandemic winner, have dropped 22% from a year ago. Big picture: Idle hands are the innovator's playthings. After hiring the former head of Facebook's app, Fidji Simo, as its new CEO in August, Instacart has leaned hard into diversifying revenue channels. On Wednesday, it said it's dipping its toes into ultra-fast delivery popularized by companies like GoPuff.—MM | | | The celeb-fave OCA Low in Canvas by Cariuma is finally BACK IN STOCK. These kicks are coming off a 'round-the-block 34K waiting list—and while we can't promise you'll have the paparazzi flashing cameras in your face, your feet just might make the front page. With the OCA Low in Canvas, A-list season is year-round. They're the perfect stylish sneaks that'll always keep you comfortable—whether you're rockin' your favorite tee or sportin' board shorts on the way to the beach. The OCA Lows are hittin' high notes to match your  fit with gorgeous, neutral colors such as Off-White, Rose, Sand, and Grey. And JSYK: These cult favorites never go on sale, but Brew readers get a special offer here. | | Jamie Wilde's avatar at Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland Thursday marked the start of the first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week. Over 60 fashion brands—including legacy names like Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger—are hosting runway shows, after parties, and shopping events. It's all going down on a 6,000 square-foot plot of virtual real estate in the online metropolis of Decentraland. A few MVFW events that pureed our brains: - Forever 21 opened a 450,000 square-foot store in Decentraland where shoppers can buy one of 10 NFT outfits from sales associate avatars.
- Estée Lauder's taking a more T-shirt cannon approach, giving away 10,000 NFTs that will make their owners' avatars glow.
- Grimes will close out the week by performing a DJ set in a waterfall chamber as an avatar dressed in a Mystique-inspired bodysuit by the brand Auroboros.
Why MVFW is cool: Digital fashion isn't new—The Sims, Second Life, and Fortnite have all collabed with designers in the past. But this show is different because it's on-chain, meaning the NFTs shoppers buy are backed by the Ethereum blockchain and can, in theory, be used on other metaverse platforms. Gamers who bought a Balenciaga backpack in Fortnite, for instance, can only ever own/wear it in Fortnite.—JW | | Getty Images Stat: Apparently some people still watch the Academy Awards, if TV commercial prices are any indication. The average price for a 30-second ad during tomorrow's telecast reached ~$1.7 million last week, and all 60 ad slots are sold out, per Marketing Brew. That's impressive but, as a point of comparison, Super Bowl commercials went for $6.5 million per ad this year. Quote: "We don't ask for spring break, we don't promote it, we don't encourage it; we just endure it." Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber is imposing an emergency midnight curfew during Spring Break for the second straight year, citing the threat of violence (two shootings injured five bystanders last weekend). Businesses and civil rights advocates are pushing back, arguing the curfew unfairly targets the hospitality industry and Black visitors. Read: Retirement the Margaritaville way. (New Yorker) | | - Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said he would support the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, effectively guaranteeing her confirmation.
- Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska, was found guilty of lying about receiving campaign funding from a Nigerian billionaire. He could face expulsion from Congress.
- Spotify is suspending its service in Russia, citing a new law on news operations that could put its employees and customers at risk.
- Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for attacking a Saudi Aramco site in Jeddah. Jeddah is set to host the Formula One race this weekend.
| | Weekend conversation starters: Manifest your financial freedom. Money with Katie's weekly newsletter takes a spicy approach to spending habits, investing best practices, and tax strategies. Subscribe for free. NSFW book covers: Seems like the f-bomb is being used way more in book titles these days. | | | The pop culture references in today's crossword would put even Ted Lasso to shame. Play it here. | | These days, everyone is an entrepreneur, whether you like it or not. So step up your business-building IQ with Founder's Journal, a bite-sized podcast hosted by Morning Brew's co-founder and executive chairman Alex Lieberman. These episodes will get you hooked: This editorial content is supported by Attentive. | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt, and Jamie Wilde Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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