An Update on Russia & Ukraine

🇺🇦 The fourth round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials were held virtually yesterday.

• As the discussion extended into the evening, both sides agreed to a “technical pause” and will resume negotiations today.
• More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the UN’s refugee agency, with over 1.7 million people ending up in neighboring Poland.
• US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart yesterday amidst reports that Russia asked Beijing for military equipment and other assistance to support its invasion.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to address Congress virtually on Wednesday.

How the invasion is impacting…

🇷🇺 The Economy: Russian prosecutors have reportedly issued warnings to Western companies within the country – including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and IBM – threatening to arrest corporate leaders who speak out against Moscow and seize the assets of businesses that withdraw from Russia.

🛢️ Oil & Gas: Oil fell below $100 per barrel for a brief period yesterday before closing at $106.90 (-5.1%). 

• The average price of a gallon of gas in the US is currently $4.325 – up nearly 30 cents from a week ago, and over 80 cents from a month ago.

📈📉 Markets: US stocks rose early in the day, but by mid-afternoon all three major indexes had lost those gains. (Dow: ±0% | S&P: –0.7% | Nasdaq: -2.0% )

• The Russian stock market, which has been closed since February 25, won’t reopen this week.

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