* * * * MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022 ~ VOL. CCLXXIX NO. 53
00
Last week: DJIA 33614.80 g 443.95 1.3%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
ussia’s invasion of
R Ukraine has set the
stage for faster-rising con-
sumer prices, with the
mayhem of war driving up
manufacturing costs for
food, consumer goods and
machinery in places far
from the battlefield. A1
 Carl Icahn exited from a
big bet on Occidental Petro-
leum, selling the last of what
was once a roughly 10%
stake in the oil-and-gas pro-
ducer as its shares surge. B1
 Ryan Cohen, the co-
founder of pet-products re-
tailer Chewy, has a big
stake in Bed Bath & Beyond
and is pushing it to stream-
line its strategy and explore
strategic alternatives. B1
 Rival North Dakota
shale drillers Oasis Petro-
leum and Whiting Petro-
leum are close to a deal to
merge, according to people
familiar with the matter. B3
 Vista CEO Robert Smith
played a larger role than
previously known in the
$2 billion alleged tax eva-
sion of his former business
partner, recently filed
court documents show. B1
 “The Batman,” Warner
Bros.’ reboot of the stand-
alone Batman franchise,
grossed $128.5 million in
its opening weekend, the
studio said. B2
 China set a 5.5% goal
for economic growth this
year, paving the way, econ-
omists say, for more-ag-
gressive stimulus measures
in the coming months. A18
World-Wide
 Russian forces intensi-
fied strikes across Ukraine,
pushing toward the capital,
Kyiv, and the country’s sec-
ond-largest city, Kharkiv,
while killing dozens of ci-
vilians and disrupting
evacuation efforts. A1, A5-9
 Biden is caught between
conflicting demands that he
tame rising consumer prices
while banning Russian oil
imports to punish Moscow
for invading Ukraine. A1
 Congressional negotia-
tors were rushing to com-
plete the text of legislation
funding the government be-
yond Friday, with the Biden
administration’s request for
$10 billion in aid to Ukraine
adding to pressure to meet
a looming deadline. A4
 Fresh demands from
Russia threatened to derail
talks to restore the 2015 Iran
nuclear deal, as Moscow
said it wanted written guar-
antees Ukraine-related sanc-
tions won’t prevent it from
trading broadly with Tehran
under a revived pact. A18
 Federal prosecutors filed
fraud charges against the
leader of a financial firm that
received funding from a com-
pany affiliated with basketball
legend Earvin “Magic” John-
son to issue loans through the
government’s Paycheck Pro-
tection Program. A4
 Florida lawmakers are
poised to pass legislation
that would stiffen inspec-
tion and funding require-
ments for condo buildings
following the Surfside, Fla.,
tower collapse last year. A3
JOURNAL REPORT
Personal Investing:
How to Avoid an IRS
Audit. R1-8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business & Finance B2
Business News....... B3
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street... B10
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
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Attacks Take Heavy Civilian Toll
Russia targets routes
for people leaving
Ukraine as troops press
closer to Kyiv, Kharkiv
Russian forces intensified
strikes across Ukraine, pushing
toward the capital, Kyiv, and
the country’s second-largest
city, Kharkiv, while killing doz-
ens of civilians and disrupting
evacuation efforts.
By Yaroslav Trofimov
in Kyiv, Ukraine,
MANU BRABO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)
and Alan Cullison
in Lviv, Ukraine
After beating off an initial
Russian offensive, Ukraine is
now preparing for a second
wave of Russian attacks focused
on major population centers
around the country, Ukraine’s
national security adviser, Olek-
siy Danilov, said in a social-me-
dia post Sunday.
The Russian plan, he said, is
Above, a man, woman and child were killed on Sunday by a Russian artillery shell while they were trying to flee Irpin, to encircle Ukrainian forces and
Ukraine. Below, a woman reached Ukrainian-controlled land in Bilohorodka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Sunday. “create a situation of humani-
tarian disaster for the civilian
population.”
Evacuees Face Deadly Bombardment
BY YAROSLAV TROFIMOV
Officials in Kharkiv said sev-
eral civilians were killed after a
Russian Grad multiple-launch
rocket system fired on a line
outside a grocery store. Images
IRPIN, Ukraine—A line of from the scene showed at least
yellow school buses pulled up five bodies and streaks of blood
on a forested roadside in this on the snow. There were several
once-prosperous suburb of other attacks in the city that
Kyiv on Sunday, ready to evac- killed civilians, officials said.
uate Ukrainian civilians. Then Russian airstrikes hit the lo-
the Russian shells started fall- cal TV station, disrupting
ing. broadcasts, as well as several
People dived for cover, hug- residential neighborhoods and
ging the ground. Frightened government buildings. Kharkiv
pets ran into the woods. A officials said two Russian
man, woman and child were bomber jets were downed over
killed. The three bodies fell the city, providing footage to
near one another by a monu- corroborate their claims.
ment to local soldiers who Around Kyiv, Russian forces
died fighting Germany in engaged in a heavy fight with
World War II. Their gray suit- Ukrainian forces northwest of
case stood nearby, untouched the capital city, seizing parts of
by the blast. the town of Irpin. As thousands
In total, eight Irpin civilians of civilians streamed out of
were killed by the afternoon, Irpin, Russian shelling of the
as relentless shelling contin- evacuation route killed eight
ued, Mayor Oleksandr people, local authorities said.
Markushyn said. A nearby “We will defend Kyiv at any
house was on fire after receiv- Russian attack on what is a ists” for shelling their own, country, while agreements to price,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko
ing a direct hit. In the dis- critical gateway to Kyiv. without any evidence. But evacuate other towns and cit- said as he visited the city’s de-
tance, plumes of gray smoke Russia’s military insists it deaths are mounting from ies have fallen through. fenses Sunday. “The capital of
rose above Irpin, where Ukrai- isn’t targeting civilians and Russian strikes on residential On Sunday, Ukrainian au- Ukraine today is the outpost of
nian forces fought to repel a blames Ukrainian “national- areas in cities throughout the Please turn to page A7 Please turn to page A7
Accelerating Inflation War Pinches Supply Chain,
Complicates U.S. Bid Driving Up Prices Globally
To Ban Moscow’s Oil BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND ALISTAIR MACDONALD
from producers to consumers,
executives and analysts expect
and poultry.
Aluminum prices rose in
BY TIMOTHY PUKO has faced criticism for months the war’s fallout to worsen in- anticipation of sanctions on
AND LINDSAY WISE over inflation levels that have Russia’s invasion of Ukraine flation already stoked by Russia, a major supplier of the
reached 40-year highs, driven has set the stage for faster-ris- shortages of goods and work- metal used in soda cans, air-
President Biden is caught by surging demand, supply ing consumer prices, with the ers. craft and construction, as well
between conflicting demands chain constraints and labor mayhem of war driving up “It seems to be overshad- as on fears that Moscow could
that he tame rising consumer shortages. But rising energy manufacturing costs for food, owing everything now and re- halt exports.
prices while banning Russian costs are also among the big- consumer goods and machin- versing the improvement that Crude oil prices rose 25%
oil imports to punish Moscow gest contributors to higher ery in places far from the bat- we were seeing,” said Kathy last week, to more than $118 a
for invading Ukraine, a sanc- consumer prices, with oil, gas tlefield. Bostjancic, chief U.S. econo- barrel, the highest level since
tion that would threaten even and other commodity prices The conflict is stressing an mist at Oxford Economics. 2013. Gas prices have gone up
more inflation and raise pres- soaring to the highest levels in already strained global supply The short-term conse- an average of 43.7 cents a gal-
sure on allies with more de- years. chain, and its economic impact quences have been serious. lon in the U.S., according to
pendence on oil imports. Even as prices rise, outrage will likely be felt in house- Grain markets recently hit a data from price tracker Gas-
The U.S. said on Sunday it is over Russian bombing of civil- holds world-wide, at super- 14-year high in anticipation of Buddy. On Sunday, the na-
in active discussions with allies ian facilities in Ukraine has markets, retailers and the gas a diminished harvest in tional average was $4.02 a
about a ban. Those talks come now prompted lawmakers pump. While higher costs will Ukraine, which would raise gallon, according to GasBuddy.
as the Biden administration Please turn to page A8 take time to work their way costs to feed the world’s cattle Please turn to page A8
Russia’s missteps helped Thousands of protesters U.S. seeks Venezuelan oil Russian banks cut off from Dollar builds strength
blunt its advance are detained in Russia to replace Russian supplies West turn to China in safe-asset search
A5 A6 A9 A9 B1
In India, a Fish on the Campaign INSIDE Surge in Shootings
Trail Can Help at the Ballot Box
Rattles Seattle
NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY IMAGES
i i i
Candidates play up symbols, which help
the illiterate vote; a kettle, a TV, a plow Downtown hospital sees stream of young
BY SHAN LI The 32-year-old politician gunshot victims, some for a second time
AND RAJESH ROY wants voters to remember the
fish because an image of one BY DAN FROSCH trauma surgeon tried to cut
LOHARAPALI, India—A can- will appear next to his name on AND ZUSHA ELINSON into the man’s midsection to
didate running for local village the ballot. It is part of a long BUSINESS & FINANCE stanch the bleeding, a brick
Outlook....................... A2 chief in the eastern Indian tradition in India to ensure any SEATTLE—Dr. Deepika of scar tissue blocked her
Personal Journal A11-12 Carl Icahn sells off the
state of Odisha has been buy- voters who are illiterate can Nehra knew the only way to way. It was from a previous
Sports....................... A14
ing a live fish from the market identify their preferred candi-
last of his stake in save the man on her operat- gunshot wound. Unable to
Technology............... B4
U.S. News............. A2-4 nearly every day date. Occidental as crude ing table dying of a gunshot break through it quickly
Weather................... A14
World News...A5-9,18
during his recent The symbols prices soar. B1 wound was to slice open his enough, she couldn’t stop
campaigning. have become even abdomen. the bleeding.
Instead of eat- more important Nights like this have be- Long one of America’s saf-
> ing it, Prabhu Datta Remember me lately. Covid restric- SPORTS come routine at Harborview est cities, Seattle had 612
Goud cradles the flop- tions have banned Mets pitcher Max Medical Center, where this shootings and shots-fired in-
ping animal with his bare large gatherings—including the once-peaceful city’s mount- cidents last year, nearly dou-
hands while meeting voters country’s raucous rallies where
Scherzer emerges as ing toll of shootings has ble its average before the
door-to-door. The fish gets politicians usually make their the public face of the played out again and again pandemic. The city has just
dunked back into a five-gallon mark. Amid the hordes of can- MLB players union. A14 during the past year. experienced its two worst
bucket of water between stops. Please turn to page A10 When the 39-year-old Please turn to page A10
A2 | Monday, March 7, 2022 * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS
THE OUTLOOK | By Paul Hannon

U.S. and Europe Take Two Paths on Rates

U.S. and the course of the conflict. crease in spending on goods, Used-car prices, tember 2021 production was There is little the ECB can
European cen- If and when the ECB does combined with widespread change from a year earlier down 13% from the pre-pan- do to affect energy prices,
tral bank- begin to remove its stimulus supply shortages and bottle- demic September 2019 level. while it is also aware that
ers both con- measures, it isn’t necessarily necks, as businesses resumed 50% By contrast, German produc- higher energy costs are
front inflation going to tighten policy as activities that had been halted U.S. tion was down a third. But in likely to be a greater drag on
problems, but much as the Fed because Eu- or curtailed during 2020 the U.S., where consumers economic growth in the eu-
with different roots that ropean inflation is largely when the pandemic erupted. are flush with savings from rozone than in the U.S. Some
could lead the Americans to due to disruptions to sup- But much of that pickup bigger government stimulus economists now think that
25
raise interest rates more and ply—particularly in energy, in demand last year came programs, prices for used the eurozone could enter a
to a higher level than their economists say. U.S. inflation from the U.S. and relatively cars and trucks were 40.5% recession later this year if
continental counterparts. also reflects supply problems little from large European higher in January than a year energy prices rise further, or
Much could change in the but appears driven as well economies. U.S. consumer Eurozone earlier, while in the eurozone the supply of natural gas
days or weeks ahead if the by strong demand for goods spending on goods was more they were just 7% higher. from Russia is reduced. In
0
war in Ukraine hits markets and services. than 12% higher than its pre- Fed officials attributed the contrast to the U.S., which
and the global economy in pandemic level in the three 2020 '21 '22 inflation surge last spring to saw economic activity return

T
unforeseen ways. But as of he sources of inflation
last week, U.S. Federal Re- matter because while
serve officials indicated they central banks can curb
were on track this month to demand by raising rates,
begin a series of rate in- they have few tools that can
creases to cool high inflation. boost supply.
Before Russia’s invasion of “Demand plays a much
Ukraine, European Central more important role in the
months through September
2021, adjusted for inflation,
the International Monetary
Fund estimated in a recent
paper. By contrast, consump-
tion of goods in Germany
was down, while in France it
was broadly the same and in
Sources: Labor Department; Eurostat
taled $5.3 trillion, or roughly
a quarter of annual economic
output. In Germany, equiva-
lent measures amounted to
13.6% of annual output, and
the responses were smaller in
increases in the prices of a to pre-pandemic levels in
handful of items tied to re- mid-2021, eurozone output
opening the economy, which has yet to recover fully and
they thought would be short- may be delayed in crossing
lived. Instead, price pres- that threshold by the fallout
sures broadened, and the la- from the invasion.
bor market tightened. The combination of a
weaker European recovery

I
Bank officials had indicated U.S.,” said Alfred Kammer, Italy only slightly higher. France, Italy and Spain. f strong demand is a and inflation fueled less by
they were likely to set a head of the International Some of that relative One illustration of that larger part of the U.S. in- strong demand explains why
timetable for ending their Monetary Fund’s European strength in U.S. consumer difference is prices of used flation story, energy many economists expect the
purchases of government department. Most of the in- spending is a result of the cars, which have climbed plays the dominant role in ECB to raise rates much less
bonds, opening the way for flation in Europe “is driven by greater size of government more in the U.S. According to Europe. According to the than the Fed.
their first rate rise since the energy side that monetary measures to support the econ- IMF estimates, U.S. automo- ECB’s economists, energy ac- “There are differences in
July 2011. Since the invasion, policy cannot do anything omy during the pandemic. bile production has fallen counted for half of the rise economic situations, and
it has become unclear against anyway,” he said. The IMF estimates that in- much less than in Europe, as in consumer prices in the 12 they justify a difference in
whether they will do that at Economists agree that a creases in U.S. government factories in both places have months through December in approach,” said Luigi Sper-
their meeting this week, or big part of the surge in infla- spending and forgone tax rev- struggled with a shortage of the eurozone, but just a anza, chief global economist
wait for greater clarity on tion in 2021 was a global in- enues through June 2021 to- components. In the U.S., Sep- third in the U.S. at BNP Paribas.

ECONOMIC
Spring-Training Sites Feel Economic Pain CALENDAR
BY ALICIA A. CALDWELL San Francisco Giants at their Tuesday: The U.S. trade defi-
spring training home in cit hit a record last year, under-
The labor standoff between Scottsdale, Ariz. In a typical scoring both strong domestic de-
Major League Baseball players season, she said, her group of mand and dependence on
and owners could cost the 10 will spend upward of overseas suppliers. Economists
spring training havens of Ari- $15,000 on housing, food and are forecasting another record
zona and Florida more than drinks. That doesn’t include monthly trade gap in January as
$1.3 billion, according to stud- gas for weekend drives from American consumers kept spend-
ies of fans’ spending. her home in Palm Desert, Ca- ing, businesses worked to replen-
Communities with baseball lif., or airfare for relatives. ish inventories and inflation
stadiums in those states had “It’s kind of where we do pushed prices to new heights.
hoped for a return to normal our family reunions,” said Ms. Wednesday: China’s inflation
this year. Spring training Silveira, a 36-year-old art likely eased further in February.
ended early because of pan- teacher. “We just want base- The producer-price index is fore-
demic shutdowns in March ball back so we can be back in cast to have risen 8.8% from a
2020, and attendance last year the stadium, eating the garlic year earlier in February, slowing
was limited to about 25% of fries and drinking a cold one.” from January’s 9.1% gain, accord-
normal to arrest the spread of Mesa, east of Phoenix, is ing to economists polled by The
Covid-19 before vaccines were home to a pair of ballparks Wall Street Journal. Annual con-
widely available. where the Chicago Cubs and sumer price inflation is likely to
This year, stadiums in Ari- Oakland A’s train. The city have stayed flat as weak food
zona and Florida were set to owns both stadiums and will prices offset rising costs for other
open at full capacity. But with miss out on millions in ex- commodities.
the players’ union and the pected tax revenue, said Thursday: The European Cen-
league so far unable to reach a Mayor John Giles. tral Bank is likely to downgrade
deal and the start of the offi- Cities like Mesa “have in- its forecast for economic
MARK LIPCZYNSKI

cial season already postponed,
hopes for spring training’s
economic boost are dimming.
In Florida, where baseball’s
Grapefruit League includes 15
teams in 12 cities, spring train-
ing generates an annual eco-
nomic impact of $687 million,
according to a 2018 study by
Downs & St. Germain Research.
Nearly 1.5 million fans attended
that year, and 52% were from
out of state, the study found.
In Arizona, 15 Cactus
League teams train and play at
10 stadiums in the Phoenix
area. Average annual atten-
dance is 1.8 million, and 60%
of spectators come from out of
state, according to the Cactus
League. Spring training had a
total economic impact there of
$644 million in 2018, accord-
ing to the L. William Seidman
Research Institute at Arizona
Chip Mulala, director of operations at Huss Brewing, said the loss of business ‘really is tough.’
State University.
One spring training ballpark
got some use recently. Repre-
sentatives from management
and the locked-out union spent
nine days negotiating at Roger
Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.,
which hosts the Miami Marlins
and St. Louis Cardinals during
spring training. Their efforts
to reach a new collective bar-
gaining agreement failed, how-
ever, and Major League Base-
ball Commissioner Rob
Manfred on Tuesday canceled
the first two series of the reg-
ular season. The two sides are
at odds over compensation for
young players and changes to
rules the players believe dis-
courage spending on talent.
Family-owned Huss Brew-
ing Co. sells beer at seven Cac-
tus League stadiums, including
a stand-alone bar at one.
“Late February through
March is the busiest time of
the year,” said Chip Mulala, di-
rector of operations for Huss.
“It’s the best weather of the
year. This really is tough.”
In Lakeland, Fla., where the
Detroit Tigers play, a $55 mil-
lion annual economic boost
benefits not just the stadium,
but nearby restaurants, bars,
hotels and car-rental agencies,
said Kevin Cook, the city’s di-
rector of communications.
Area restaurants have re-
ported a 35% increase in sales
during spring training, he said.
March is normally a peak
month for business at Charlie’s
Family Restaurant By Dee,
which is across the street from
where the Tigers play. On game
days, owner Delicia Ebare said,
Detroit fans often gather in one
area of the establishment and
rival fans in another.
“We are certainly going to
feel it this year,” said Ms.
Ebare. “It sucks for all of us.”
Katherine Silveira and her
extended family are longtime
season-ticket holders for the
vested many, many millions of
dollars into Major League
Baseball, and we would like to
see some return on that in-
vestment,” he said.
When spring training was
cut short in 2020, Arizona lost
about half of the season’s eco-
nomic activity, according to
Seidman Research Institute.
Anthony Evans, a senior re-
searcher at the institute, said
the damage could be smaller
this year if spring training re-
sumes soon.
“Generally the greater im-
pact is the latter games rather
than the early games,” Mr. Ev-
ans said. “It’s probably better
from the state’s perspective to
miss the first week of spring
training than the last week.”
 Baseball’s $350 million union
activist......................................... A14
growth and raise its outlook for
inflation after Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine sent commodity
prices soaring, further snarled
supply chains and raised the risk
of broader fallout.
U.S. inflation reached a four-
decade high in January as strong
consumer demand collided with
pandemic-related supply disrup-
tions. Price pressure isn’t ex-
pected to retreat in February.
Economists are forecasting that
the consumer-price index
moved higher yet again last
month as demand remained
strong and costs for energy and
other commodities climbed fur-
ther. Thursday’s report will be
one of the last major data re-
leases ahead of the Federal Re-
serve’s March 15-16 policy meet-
ing, where officials are expected
to raise interest rates in an ef-
fort to tamp down inflation.

U.S. WATCH CORRECTIONS  AMPLIFICATIONS

FLORIDA bans “biological males”—which it The yield on the bench- March 2020.
defines as “an individual’s genet- mark 10-year U.S. Treasury
Two Large Wildfires ics and anatomy at birth”—from last week recorded its biggest Notice to readers
Prompt Evacuations girls leagues. one-week decline since March Some Wall Street Journal
With two-thirds majorities in 2020. In some editions Satur- staff members are working re-
Firefighters and emergency both chambers, lawmakers could day, the first paragraph of an motely during the pandemic.
workers battled two large mas- override a governor’s veto. But Exchange article about finan- Please send reader comments
sive wildfires Sunday in an area with some Republicans opposing cial markets incorrectly said only by email or phone, using
of the Florida Panhandle that the ban, that is unlikely. bond yields recorded their big- the contacts below, not via
was still recovering from destruc- —Associated Press gest one-week yield since U.S. Mail.
tion caused by a Category 5
hurricane more than three PHILADELPHIA Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by
years ago. emailing wsjcontact@wsj.com or by calling 888-410-2667.
MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES

The 8,000-acre Bertha Four People Killed in

Swamp Road fire and the 1,400-
acre Adkins Avenue fire threat-
ened homes and forced the evac-
uation of residents of at least
750 homes in Bay County over
the weekend. The Adkins Avenue
fire destroyed two structures and
damaged an additional 12 homes
late Friday. Local emergency offi-
cial said no homes were de-
stroyed and there were no inju-
ries on Saturday.
Hundreds of thousands of
acres of downed trees from the
2018 hurricane, along with low
humidity and strong winds, have
created “the perfect storm” for
hazardous fire conditions, Gov.
Ron DeSantis said at a news
conference in Panama City.
“It is NOT safe to return
home at this time. Please be pa-
tient as first responders battle
these dangerous fires,” Bay
County officials posted online.
—Associated Press
PRAYERS FOR UKRAINE: A worshiper extinguished candles after
Mass at the Ukrainian Cathedral of St. Vladimir in Los Angeles.
UTAH
Ban on Transgender
Athletes Faces Veto
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox
said he plans to veto legislation
passed Friday that would ban
transgender student-athletes
from competing in girls sports.
Without his support, Utah is
unlikely to join the 11 states, all
Republican-led, that have re-
cently enacted bans on transgen-
der girls wanting to compete in
school sports leagues that corre-
spond with their gender identity.
In vowing to veto the bill, Mr.
Cox directly addressed transgen-
der student-athletes, who he
said found themselves the sub-
ject of political debate through
no fault of their own. “I just
want them to know that it’s
gonna be OK. We’re gonna work
through this,” Mr. Cox said.
The governor had for months
engaged in behind-the-scenes
negotiations to broker a compro-
mise between LGBTQ advocates
and social conservatives.
Legislation sent to Mr. Cox af-
ter passing through the state
Senate and House on Friday
Weekend Shootings
Three men died in a triple
shooting in north Philadelphia
over the weekend, police said.
Two men in their 20s and one
man in his 30s were shot multi-
ple times shortly after 11:30 p.m.
Saturday in the west Oak Lane
neighborhood, police said. All
were pronounced dead at the
scene shortly before midnight.
Police said a weapon was recov-
ered but no arrests were made.
In west Philadelphia just be-
fore 9 a.m. Sunday, a woman be-
lieved to be about 30 to 40
years old was shot in the chest
and died minutes later at Penn
Presbyterian Medical Center.
Police said another woman was
taken into custody. Several other
people were wounded in other
shootings around the city
overnight.
—Associated Press
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 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Commuter Rail Girds
For Long-Term Falloff
Transit officials are
adjusting schedules,
unveiling discounts for
a decline in ridership
BY SCOTT CALVERT
AND JIMMY VIELKIND
The nation’s biggest com-
muter railroads are preparing
for potentially permanent shifts
in daily ridership, declines that
in some cases could threaten
their long-term viability.
The changes are based on
expectations that many office
workers will continue to work
from home at least part-time
for years after the pandemic
subsides. Transit officials in
some cities have shifted sched-
ules away from traditional
rush-hour periods, or are doing
more to attract suburbanites
headed downtown for sporting
events as a way to fill seats.
Agencies are also rolling out
discounted ticket packages
geared to occasional commut-
ers, who no longer need to
shell out hundreds of dollars
Tornadoes in Iowa Leave at Least 7 Dead and a Path of Destruction
BRYON HOULGRAVE/THE DES MOINES REGISTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Several tornadoes carved a
path of destruction through
Iowa on Saturday, killing at least
seven people, including two chil-
dren, and destroying dozens of
homes, officials said.
In Madison County, south-
west of Des Moines, four adults
and two children had died, said
Florida to Pass Stiffer Condo Rules
BY ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES
MIAMI—Florida lawmakers
are poised to pass legislation
that would stiffen inspection
and funding requirements for
condo buildings, a move aimed
at preventing a repeat of the
Surfside tower collapse last
June that left 98 people dead.
The disaster was one of the
deadliest building failures in
U.S. history and highlighted
the vulnerabilities of condo
ownership, where unit owners
are collectively responsible for
a building’s upkeep. As main-
tenance needs accumulate,
owners often fail to set aside
enough money, leading to de-
ferred repairs. Owners at
Champlain Towers South, the
building that collapsed, had
Researchers Seek DNA to Help Identify Tulsa Massacre Victims
BY JOSEPH PISANI
Researchers exhuming what
could be victims of the Tulsa
race massacre of 1921 are ask-
ing possible descendants of vic-
tims to submit DNA samples to
help identify the remains.
Fourteen separate remains
found in unmarked graves
were exhumed and are being
examined as part of an investi-
gation reopened in 2018 by
the city of Tulsa, Okla., to find
victims of the massacre.
One set of the remains
found in the Oaklawn Ceme-
for monthly passes that formed
the bedrock of the commuter-
railroad business model.
Ridership on some U.S. com-
muter railroads has ticked up
as the Omicron variant faded,
but largely empty trains are
common, according to data
from the American Public
Transportation Association.
The most recently reported
weekday passenger counts at
the nation’s five largest sys-
tems ranged between 25% and
55% of pre-pandemic levels, the
systems said.
The falloff for commuter rail
has been far steeper and more
sustained than for other transit
modes like municipal bus ser-
vice, in part because many
front-line workers who don’t
have a remote option rely on
the bus or subway to get to
their jobs.
“We already know that the
traditional commuting patterns
have probably gone out the
window. But that doesn’t mean
that people can’t utilize transit
for social activity,” said Debra
A. Johnson, chief executive of
Denver’s Regional Transporta-
Diogenes Ayala, director of
county Emergency Management
Agency, at a news conference
Sunday afternoon. The adults
who died ranged from age 37 to
72, and the children were 2 and
5, he said. Winds were higher
than 136 miles an hour, he
added.
fought over paying for repairs
and put them off.
The House passed a bill last
week, and a similar measure is
advancing in the Senate. Both
have bipartisan support, and
lawmakers are expected to
settle on one version or a
combination of both.
A new law, if approved,
would be one of the strictest
in the U.S. regarding condo in-
spection and reserve-funding
requirements, said Will Si-
mons, president of the Florida
office of Association Reserves,
which conducts studies on
funding reserves for proper-
ties around the U.S.
Under the House bill that
passed, condo buildings that
are three stories or taller
would need to be inspected
tery had at least three gunshot
wounds, according to a 1,000-
page report on the investiga-
tion released Tuesday. The
other skeletal remains had no
visible signs of trauma.
In 1921, white mobs in
Tulsa burned and destroyed 35
square blocks of the Black
neighborhood of Greenwood.
Home to more than 9,000
people, it was at the time one
of the country’s most prosper-
ous Black communities with
bustling hotels, theaters and
doctors offices. Most of the
people who lost businesses
U.S. NEWS
tion District.
Billions of dollars in federal
Covid-19 aid have helped sus-
tain transit agencies, but that
money will run out in coming
years. The Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority,
which operates commuter rail
and other transit modes
around Boston, predicts it will
exhaust the nearly $2 billion it
received sometime in the
2023-24 fiscal year.
The MBTA commuter rail
system is averaging about
45,000 weekday passenger
trips versus roughly 120,000
before Covid-19, and officials
don’t expect a full rebound.
“We’re going to have to fig-
ure out a way to operate with
lower fare revenue, and it re-
mains to be seen how much
lower it’s going to be,” MBTA
General Manager Steve Poftak
said.
Caltrain, whose commuter
trains link San Francisco with
Silicon Valley, said in January
that a sustained ridership de-
cline “poses a severe financial
challenge to the viability of the
railroad’s business model.” Cal-
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said
the damage done by the torna-
does was devastating. “It was
unimaginable, the destruction
that we were able to witness,”
she said at the news conference.
Four adults were injured,
three of whom were in serious
condition and one whose injuries
and recertified when they
reach 30 years of age, and
those within 3 miles of the
coast would be required to do
so at 25 years. Thereafter,
buildings would have to be re-
certified every 10 years. Under
the Senate bill, the inspection
process for condos near the
coast would kick in at 20 years
and be required every seven
years thereafter.
Both bills involve a two-
phase inspection process: an
initial visual inspection and, if
that one identifies potential
structural problems, a more-
intensive, second one. The re-
sulting reports must be sub-
mitted to unit owners and
local building officials, and the
measures have varying provi-
sions to empower local offi-
and property were denied rec-
ompense through insurance
and other legal claims. The
city of Tulsa in recent years
has aimed to recognize the
personal and financial de-
struction of the massacre.
A 2001 bipartisan state
commission confirmed 38
deaths in the massacre, but
said the ultimate toll could be
as high as 300.
The only way to connect the
remains to the massacre is
through DNA matches, but that
could be challenging because
they have been underground
Riders sat on a downtown-bound Metra train during a morning commute in Chicago last Friday.
train said fare revenue histori-
cally covered nearly 70% of op-
erating costs.
The report cited a survey in
which 37% of people said they
expected to commute at least
four days a week post-pan-
demic, down from 71% before,
while 41% said they would
likely commute a few days
weekly or monthly, up from 9%
pre-pandemic.
Sebastian Petty, Caltrain’s
deputy chief of planning, said
the agency, like the MBTA, was
pivoting to focus less on the
were life threatening, Mr. Ayala
previously said.
Ms. Reynolds on Saturday is-
sued a disaster declaration for
Madison County, where Betty
Hope of Winterset, above,
searched on Sunday for items
worth keeping at her home.
—Corinne Ramey
cials to penalize condo associ-
ations that fail to address
needed repairs.
More than 900,000 of the
roughly 1.5 million condo units
in Florida are at least 30 years
old, and they house more than
two million residents, accord-
ing to bill analyses filed with
the Legislature.
A range of groups repre-
senting engineers, architects
and building officials support
the proposed legislation, and
some of the recommendations
they provided to lawmakers
were included in it. Little or-
ganized opposition has
emerged, though analysts have
said that the legislation would
likely lead to steeper mainte-
nance fees for some condo
owners.
for 100 years, said Phoebe
Stubblefield, a forensic anthro-
pologist at the University of
Florida who is working on the
Tulsa massacre investigation.
“We don’t know how avail-
able DNA will be in these re-
mains,” she said.
Bones and teeth from the
remains are expected to be
sent to Intermountain Foren-
sics in Utah soon, according to
laboratory director Danny
Hellwig. The rest of the re-
mains were interred.
If DNA can be extracted, the
next step is matching it with
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A3
commuter market. “Our future
is to be more of a regional rail
provider,” he said.
Metra’s Chicago-area com-
muter service is carrying about
25% of its usual passenger
load. The agency projects it
will take until the end of 2024
to hit 80% of its previous rider-
ship, CEO Jim Derwinski said.
Sales of monthly passes at
the three commuter railroads
serving New York City—the
Long Island Rail Road, Metro-
North Railroad and New Jersey
Transit—fell more than 95%
Novavax Shot Moves
Closer to Approval
BY JOSEPH WALKER
Novavax Inc.’s long-awaited
Covid-19 vaccine is moving to-
ward U.S. authorization after
the company said it resolved
manufacturing problems that
had held up its application.
Clearance in the U.S. isn’t
imminent because the Food
and Drug Administration must
sort through a large amount of
study data from several coun-
tries, a person familiar with
the matter said. A decision is
getting closer, however, since
Novavax formally submitted
an authorization request in
late January.
If the shot is rolled out in
the U.S., it could boost vacci-
nation efforts that have
flagged among the hesitant,
according to Novavax and doc-
tors.
Unlike the cutting-edge
messenger RNA vaccines from
Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.,
Novavax’s jab uses a familiar
technology, used for decades
to inoculate babies against
hepatitis B, which some hesi-
tant people might find more
appealing. Some people have
also worried about how rap-
idly the mRNA shots were de-
veloped and their lack of long-
term data.
“It’s important to offer the
choice,” said Carina Rodriguez,
chief of infectious diseases at
the University of South Flor-
ida. “Maybe it will not com-
pletely eliminate the issue of
vaccine hesitancy but will help
people who are not comfort-
able going with an mRNA vac-
cine.”
Novavax, of Gaithersburg,
Md., emerged in early 2020 as
a dark-horse candidate in the
race to make a Covid-19 vac-
cine. In July 2020, the U.S.
awarded the company a
$1.6 billion contract to develop
and deliver 100 million doses
of its vaccine candidate.
Yet Novavax struggled to
match the pace of the larger
and more experienced Pfizer
and the richer biotech Mod-
erna, said Roger Song, a Jef-
feries biotech analyst. “All the
major players were much bet-
ter funded,” said Dr. Song.
“Novavax was an underdog
and did not have the capital to
do this.”
Novavax had to expand its
workforce quickly and find
descendants using DNA data-
bases and then trying to build a
family tree to identify the re-
mains, said Mr. Hellwig. In
coming weeks, Intermountain
Forensics will put up a page on
its website asking people who
think they had victims in their
family to submit DNA samples.
Mr. Hellwig said there will
be a way for people to submit
DNA reports already taken
with at-home kits like
23andMe and Ancestry.com.
Workers may be sent to Tulsa
to educate residents on the
project, Mr. Hellwig said,
TAYLOR GLASCOCK FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
early in the pandemic. Since
then, sales haven’t exceeded
30% of pre-pandemic levels, ac-
cording to an analysis by The
Wall Street Journal. Ridership
is around 50% of pre-pandemic
levels, says the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority,
which oversees the LIRR and
Metro-North.
This month the MTA un-
veiled a 20-trip ticket that will
give riders a 20% per-ride dis-
count from the single-ticket
peak fare, a move aimed at for-
mer monthly pass holders.
partners to boost its manufac-
turing capability. By the end of
2020, it had quadrupled its
workforce to around 690, then
doubled it last year to more
than 1,500 employees.
Novavax’s biggest chal-
lenges were in showing the
FDA that it could reliably and
consistently manufacture its
vaccine on a mass scale, said
Novavax Chief Medical Officer
Filip Dubovsky.
The Novavax jab, known as
a recombinant protein vaccine,
directly delivers a version of
the spike protein that the cor-
onavirus uses to infect human
cells, training the immune sys-
tem to fight off the virus. (By
contrast, mRNA vaccines de-
liver the genetic material that
the body uses to manufacture
the spike protein to trigger
the same immune response.)
The shot includes a so-
called adjuvant, an ingredient
that is sometimes used in vac-
cines to stimulate an immune
response. Novavax’s is a sub-
stance called Matrix-M, de-
rived from the bark of a tree
native to Chile.
To win FDA authorization,
Novavax had to show that its
spike protein and adjuvant
were the same in every manu-
facturing batch. The process
took longer than expected, but
Novavax has been able to re-
solve it, Dr. Dubovsky said.
“That’s why we were de-
The Covid vaccine
appears to have
lower rates of side
effects, doctors say.
layed compared to some of the
other platforms,” said Dr.
Dubovsky. “Because it was
more difficult to convince the
regulatory agencies that we
had it figured out.”
Novavax’s vaccine was 90%
protective against symptom-
atic infection and 100% pro-
tective against severe disease
in a large Phase 3 trial con-
ducted in the U.S. and Mexico.
It also appears to have lower
rates of side effects including
headache and fatigue than
mRNA vaccines, according to
doctors.
though he added it may be
hard to convince people to
hand over DNA samples.
Researchers have asked the
city of Tulsa to continue their
research and excavate more
areas to look for remains at
Oaklawn Cemetery and other
nearby areas where remains of
victims may be found. The city
said it is supportive of doing
that. “Based on their recom-
mendation, we will work to-
ward the next steps of this in-
vestigation—including further
excavation,” Tulsa Mayor G.T.
Bynum said.
A4 | Monday, March 7, 2022 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS

PPP Lender CEO Accused of Fraud Deadline

BY AMARA OMEOKWE
Looms buy a villa in the Dominican Re- businesses owned by women on EquiTrust nor its policyhold- line with a life-insurance com-

Federal prosecutors filed

fraud charges against the leader
public and several luxury vehi-
cles, including a 2018 Porsche
911 Turbo and a 2017 Ferrari
of a financial firm that received
funding from a company affili-
ated with basketball legend
488 Spider.
Lawyers representing Mr.
Martinez contest the charges.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson to issue Mr. Martinez “did exactly
loans through the government’s what he was supposed to do as
Paycheck Protection Program. a PPP lender. He worked enor-
The federal government al- mously hard to get government
leges that Rafael Martinez, chief assistance into underserved
executive officer of MBE Capital communities where it was
Partners, used fraudulent finan- needed most,” said a statement
cial statements to gain approval from Telemachus Kasulis, an at-
from the Small Business Admin- torney at the law firm Morvillo
istration to issue loans to small Abramowitz Grand Iason &
companies through the Pay- Anello in New York, and other
check Protection Program. Un- attorneys representing Mr. Mar-
der the program, government- tinez. Mr. Martinez declined to
approved lenders provided comment when reached via
Covid-19 aid to small businesses email. Representatives of MBE
in the form of forgivable loans Capital couldn’t be reached for
backed by the SBA. comment.
The charges were filed last MBE Capital in 2020 re-
week in a federal district court ceived $100 million in capital
in New York. In its complaint, from EquiTrust Life Insurance
the Justice Department alleged Co., which is majority owned by
that Mr. Martinez used the fees Magic Johnson Enterprises, to
his company collected for pro- bolster the lender’s efforts to is-
cessing the pandemic loans to sue PPP loans targeted at small
and minorities. The govern-
ment’s complaint didn’t men-
tion EquiTrust or Mr. Johnson
ers.”
“We are disappointed and
surprised if true as these ac-
pany, which then provided MBE
Capital with $100 million to
fund PPP loans. The Justice De-
To Fund
by name, nor allege the com-
pany or the former Los Angeles
Lakers star engaged in any
tions are concerning and incon-
sistent with our values,” he said.
The EquiTrust representative
partment in its complaint also
alleges that Mr. Martinez was
then able to use the loans as
Spending
wrongdoing. said Mr. Johnson was unavail- collateral to borrow additional BY SIOBHAN HUGHES
Mr. Johnson is the chairman able to comment. Magic John- capital through a Federal Re-
and chief executive officer of son Enterprises didn’t respond serve facility that provided WASHINGTON—Congres-
to requests for comment and to lenders liquidity to help them sional negotiators were rush-
make Mr. Johnson available. make PPP loans. ing to complete the text of
The funding EquiTrust pro- The department didn’t name legislation funding the govern-
The executive’s vided to Mr. Martinez’s com- the life insurance company in ment beyond Friday, with the
lawyers said he ‘did pany was the subject of a May the complaint against Mr. Mar- Biden administration’s request
2020 article in The Wall Street tinez. The funding amount was for $10 billion in aid to
exactly what he was Journal. Mr. Martinez said then the same as the amount Eq- Ukraine adding to pressure to
supposed to do.’ that the funding would support uiTrust officials said, in May meet a looming deadline.
MBE Capital’s ability to provide 2020, was provided to MBE Republicans and Democrats,
PPP loans. In an interview for Capital. after taking months to agree
that article, Mr. Johnson said he The PPP’s structure relied on on total defense and nonde-
Magic Johnson Enterprises, wanted EquiTrust to provide banks and other lenders to fense fiscal 2022 spending,
which makes investments in the funding to MBE Capital be- make the loans, which received have been held up by topics as
firms across several industries, cause many small, minority- a government guarantee. The varied as tacking on emer-
according to the company’s owned businesses had reported federal government paid PPP gency money for Ukraine and
website. difficulties accessing the PPP lenders fees for facilitating the the next phase of the corona-
EquiTrust CEO Eric Holoman initially. loans. The SBA declined to com- virus outbreak.
said in a statement provided According to the Justice De- ment on or provide more details With the interim law fund-
through a representative that partment, Mr. Martinez alleg- about the loans MBE issued. ing the government expiring
the allegations against Mr. Mar- edly used fraudulent financial —Sadie Gurman at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, and
tinez “have no financial impact statements to seek a funding contributed to this article. House Democrats set to be in
Philadelphia starting Wednes-
day for a long-planned retreat,

Election Officials Face Own Tough Races

negotiators need to make
progress quickly.
If Congress doesn’t reach a
deal, the government would
BY CAMERON MCWHIRTER partially shut down. In an-
AND ALEXA CORSE other alternative, lawmakers
could pass a new short-term
ATLANTA—When President resolution to fund the govern-
Donald Trump narrowly lost ment at fiscal 2021 levels, con-
Georgia in the 2020 presiden- tinuing with last year’s priori-
tial election, he demanded ties.
that Republican Secretary of But that would hamstring
State Brad Raffensperger in- the federal government, pre-
validate the results. Mr. venting it from hiring for and
Raffensperger refused. investing in new programs.
Now Mr. Trump and his Some aides and lawmakers
supporters want to get pay- of both parties said that the
back by ousting Georgia’s top chances of passing an omnibus
election official—and they spending measure this week
have their sights set on other had increased, in part because
states as well. a fiscal 2022 measure would
Primary contests for secre- include financing for Ukraine
taries of state, who typically and Eastern European allies
oversee state elections and and give the military flexibil-
more mundane services like ity for any related needs.
driver’s licenses and business “It makes it more likely,”
certifications, used to be ho- said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.,
hum affairs. Not this year. The S.C.). “It would be political
races for secretary of state malpractice for us not to help
ERIK S LESSER/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

have drawn record fundraising our own military, help the

from both Republican and Dem- Ukrainians and get a budget.”
ocratic groups, as the parties The Biden administration’s
vie to oversee elections in some request for $22.5 billion—less
of the country’s most competi- than the $30 billion that had
tive battlegrounds during the originally been floated—to
2024 presidential season. deal with the coronavirus pan-
Within GOP ranks, argu- demic has been one of the
ments have broken out between complicating factors.
Trump supporters who believe Former President Donald Trump has endorsed the primary opponent of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican. Some 35 Republicans, led
he didn’t lose in 2020, and by Sen. Mitt Romney (R.,
those who think the party fairly lost in Georgia, Michigan president himself to Mr. Raffen- Trump’s defeat was followed in Some Republicans can’t ac- Utah), had said previously that
needs to move on from the loss. and Arizona to Joe Biden. sperger and a state employee January 2021 by runoff losses cept that Mr. Trump lost, Mr. they needed a full accounting
Mr. Trump has gotten in- In Nevada last year, the that were later made public. for two sitting Republican sen- Raffensperger said. of how the government has
volved in three secretary-of- state Republican Party cen- Mr. Raffensperger held two ators from Georgia, Mr. Perdue “I know that many on my spent the more than $5 trillion
state races so far. He has en- sured Secretary of State Bar- state recounts and a partial fo- and Kelly Loeffler. The wins by side are still grieving,” he said. already approved by Congress
dorsed Rep. Jody Hice in bara Cegavske for what it rensic audit, but the results Raphael Warnock and Jon Os- “But at some point, we need to in several rounds of aid. Re-
Georgia; Kristina Karamo, a col- called failure to investigate didn’t change: Mr. Trump lost soff gave Democrats narrow get over that because if we publicans have also pointed to
lege educator, in Michigan; and fraud claims. Ms. Cegavske has to Joe Biden by about 12,000 control of the U.S. Senate, with don’t get over that, we’re going some $105 billion remaining in
Mark Finchem, a state House said she investigated thou- votes out of 5 million cast. Vice President Kamala Harris to continue to lose elections.” a coronavirus relief fund at
representative, in Arizona. sands of fraud allegations and Now Mr. Trump is backing breaking ties in a 50-50 cham- Mr. Raffensperger may have the end of January.
Those candidates claim, with- didn’t find evidence of wide- Mr. Hice, 61 years old. Mr. ber. an uphill fight, according to a According to documents the
out evidence substantiated by a spread cheating. Republican Trump has also criticized Re- “At some point, people are January Quinnipiac University Health and Human Services
court or official, that the 2020 Jim Marchant, a former state publican Gov. Brian Kemp, going to be ready to turn the poll. It found 44% of likely Re- Department shared with Con-
elections in those states were lawmaker, is running to replace backing former Sen. David Per- page [on the 2020 election],” publican primary voters sur- gress and viewed by The Wall
marred and sitting secretaries Ms. Cegavske, who is term-lim- due in a primary bid against said Chris Grant, a political-sci- veyed disapproved of Mr. Street Journal, that fund has
of state didn’t root out sus- ited from running again. Mr. him. ence professor at Mercer Uni- Raffensperger while 33% ap- since been depleted.
pected fraud. Marchant said he wouldn’t Winners in the GOP primary versity in Macon, Ga. “I don’t proved. Many GOP leaders in In the documents, the HHS
In Michigan, the Democratic have certified Nevada’s 2020 contests, which will be held know if 2022 is going to be that the state, including Mr. Kemp, says the federal government
incumbent secretary of state is election until a third party au- May 24, will have to face a year.” have steered clear of endorsing must secure more funding to
expected to run for re-election, dited the results. well-funded Democratic ticket Mr. Hice, for his part, is still anyone in the secretary of make purchase agreements
and in Arizona, candidates from Mr. Raffensperger’s re-elec- this fall, led by Stacey Abrams, focused on 2020. state’s race. now if it is to have supplies of
both parties are running to re- tion contest in Georgia has who is running again for gover- Voters’ trust in elections As Republicans fight it out, critical treatments in coming
place a Democratic secretary of emerged as a heated example nor after losing a close race to “was broken in Georgia in this Georgia Democrats face little months.
state who is now running for of Republican infighting. Mr. Kemp in 2018. last election cycle and it all divisiveness this year. Bee Supplies of antivirals, vac-
governor. The current secretar- Mr. Trump’s campaign to Mr. Trump’s 2020 loss was rests on the shoulders of Brad Nguyen, a state representative, cines for children, monoclonal
ies of state all say the 2020 pressure Mr. Raffensperger to the first time a GOP presiden- Raffensperger who now needs is considered the front-runner antibodies, new booster shots,
contests were largely handled overturn the results included tial candidate was defeated in to have the boot and he needs to be that party’s candidate for and testing capacity illustrate
properly, and that Mr. Trump two telephone calls from the the state since 1992. Mr. to go,” Mr. Hice said recently. secretary of state. the need, HHS said.

Rep. Spartz, Originally From Ukraine, Has Her Party’s Ear

BY ELIZA COLLINS steps to punish Russian leader Ms. Spartz, who represents
AND NATALIE ANDREWS Vladimir Putin. President Bi- a district that includes the
den must act “decisively, fast, north part of Indianapolis and
WASHINGTON—As Republi- or this blood of many millions some of its suburbs, moved to
cans try to influence the Biden of Ukrainians will be on his the U.S. from Ukraine at age
administration’s response to hands too,” she said. 21 in 2000 after meeting her
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Later, in a speech on the future husband on a train in
GOP freshman lawmaker Rep. House floor, she softened her Europe. She had attended col-
Victoria Spartz has injected a tone, saying lawmakers lege in Kyiv after growing up
personal edge into the policy “should put pressure on our in the Chernihiv region.
debate. president to be more decisive Ms. Spartz has shared ac-
GOP leaders say Ms. Spartz, and have stronger actions.” counts of what she was hear-
the only Ukrainian-American The White House has re- ing and seeing from Ukraine in
member of Congress, has been sponded to critics by saying a closed-door GOP meeting.
one of the most effective ad- the scope of its sanctions has That prompted Rep. Elise Ste-
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES

vocates for escalating efforts been historic and unprece- fanik (R., N.Y.), the chair of the
to squeeze Moscow and help dented, fully coordinated with GOP conference and a critic of
Kyiv, including a bipartisan European allies, and that offi- Mr. Biden’s actions on Russia,
push to ban oil-and-gas im- cials are weighing further eco- to ask Ms. Spartz to speak
ports from Russia. nomic penalties. during a news conference later
The 43-year-old former Ms. Spartz’s personal story that day.
businesswoman and state sen- and ties to Ukraine have Ms. Spartz also was chosen
ator, who has family and struck a chord within the by Mr. McCarthy to be one of
friends still in Ukraine, also party and made her the face of Rep. Victoria Spartz (R., Ind.) with Rep. Burgess Owens (R., Utah) on the day of the State of the Union. the lawmakers to escort Mr.
wants the U.S. to quickly get Republicans calling for ratch- Biden into the chamber for the
more weapons and humanitar- eting up the U.S. response. Mr. McCarthy now gets reg- to her apartment was bombed. whether I like it or not,” she State of the Union. She said in
ian aid to the country. “She personalizes it,” ular updates on Ukraine from She said she worried con- said in an interview about her their brief interaction she told
“This is not war. This is House Minority Leader Kevin Ms. Spartz, who receives mes- stantly about utilities, such as role. Mr. Biden that she wanted his-
genocide of the Ukrainian peo- McCarthy (R., Calif.) said. sages and videos from friends electricity and water, being An administration official tory to show the U.S. did ev-
ple by a crazy man,” Ms. “Her being the messenger is in the country. She said Thurs- turned off and people running said Ms. Spartz spoke to prin- erything it could to help the
Spartz said at a press confer- more powerful than somebody day she hadn’t been able to out of food. cipal deputy national security Ukrainian people.
ence in which she called for else being the messenger,” he reach her 95-year-old grand- “In some ways I feel I have adviser Jon Finer, and officials —Andrew Restuccia
blocking oil imports and other said. mother after the building next to step up to the plate remain in touch with her. contributed to this article.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Monday, March 7, 2022 | A5

THE UKRAINE CRISIS

Missteps Helped Blunt Russia’s Advance
Miscalculation,
unexpectedly strong
resistance derail plan
for a quick victory
BY BRETT FORREST
AND ALAN CULLISON
LVIV, Ukraine—In late Febru-
ary, Russian President Vladimir
Putin unleashed a military of-
fensive designed to swiftly out-
maneuver Ukraine’s defenders,
oust the country’s government
and win control over his
smaller neighbor. Since Feb. 24,
Mr. Putin’s armies are strug-
gling to gain momentum.
Combat-hardened Ukrainian
troops, armed with weapons
from the U.S., Britain and else-
where, have managed to slow
and in some cases halt Russian
advances by taking advantage
of strong morale, a deep, home-
team knowledge of the battle-
field and Russian shortcomings
in logistics and tactics.
trucks hauling gas and other
supplies, delaying their advance,
said Nick Reynolds, an analyst
at London’s Royal United Ser-
vices Institute think tank.
Ukraine’s military said Rus-
sia has lost 269 tanks and
nearly a thousand armored per-
sonnel vehicles since the war’s
start. U.S.-made Javelin and
U.K.-designed NLAW antitank
weapons have been widely dis-
tributed among Ukrainian
forces. Kyiv hasn’t disclosed its
own military losses.
The antitank weapons and
deliveries of U.S.-made Stinger
antiair missiles are strengthen-
ing Ukraine’s defenses. Kyiv
also has released videos it says
depict strikes on Russian ar-
mored vehicles, missile systems
and fuel trucks conducted by
Turkish-made armed drones.
Shipments of Western arms
have continued with convoys
bringing them in overland
across Ukraine’s western
borders.
Facing a better-armed Rus-

Ukraine’s military, which has
fought Russia and Russian-
backed forces since 2014, when
Moscow seized the Crimean
Peninsula and fomented war in
the country’s eastern Donbas
region, had long prepared for a
wider conflict.
“The armed forces of Ukraine
are now, at least on the Euro-
pean continent, the only armed
forces that have permanent
eight-year combat experience,”
said Yurii Biriukov, a former ad-
viser to the Ukrainian president.
“Now here is the result.”
Russian troops have ad-
vanced from Ukraine’s south,
taking the port city of Kherson.
In the north, Russia’s forces
have made territorial gains but
failed to take the key cities of
Kharkhiv and the capital, Kyiv,
having met fierce Ukrainian
resistance.
Ukrainian troops were able to
position themselves to ambush
Russian columns along some of
the main invasion routes and
pick off armored vehicles and
sian force, Ukraine has chosen
to fall back to cities, defending
from within, rather than chance
facing Russian tanks and air-
craft in the open, making Mos-
cow’s work harder. “Clearing
military units out of cities is
just a long, slow, laborious pro-
cess,” Mr. Reynolds said.
Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a for-
mer defense minister now at a
Kyiv think tank, said the Ukrai-
nian special forces, Pentagon-
funded and -trained since 2015,
had engaged in efforts to de-
moralize the enemy, assaulting
Russian convoys and striking
Russian camps at night. “They
attack when they’re least ex-
pected,” he said.
Ukrainian special forces also
have been instrumental in hold-
ing off Russian advances north
of Kyiv, and in counterattacks
that have prevented Russia
from consolidating gains.
“Going deep into our terri-
tory, Russian troops are
stretched and lose contact with
their command,” said Yurii
FROM TOP: MANU BRABO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; CHRISTOPHER OCCHICONE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Above, Ukrainian servicemen guard the outskirts of Kyiv on Sunday; below, a Russian military vehicle burned on Saturday.
Kochevenko, an officer with
Ukraine’s 95th Airborne Assault
Brigade. “Their logistics are dis-
rupted. They have great difficul-
ties with the supply of fuel, with
the delivery of ammunition.
They abandon their equipment
and scatter in all directions.”
Before the invasion, the
Kremlin predicted a friendly re-
ception from locals in Ukraine,
and mass desertions from the
Ukrainian army into Russian
ranks. The Russian line was es-
sentially that Ukrainian people
were pro-Russian but held hos-
tage by a U.S.-backed govern-
ment opposed to Moscow.
As a result, Russia appears
to have invaded Ukraine with a
much smaller force than it
needed, said Seth Jones, a di-
rector at the Center for Strate-
gic and International Studies,
in Washington.

Putin’s Top General Faces Setback U.S. Seeks Polish

BY THOMAS GROVE

When Russian President

Vladimir Putin ordered the
boosted the military’s reputa-
tion and drew in young men
to be professional soldiers.
Every spring, he paraded the
Planes for Ukraine
RAMIL SITDIKOV/SPUTNIK PHOTO AGENCY/REUTERS

country’s nuclear forces to go
on high alert last week, he
looked down a long table at his
defense minister, Sergei
Shoigu, who nodded in assent.
In his decade at the head of
the Russian military, Mr.
Shoigu, who has never been a
professional soldier but holds
the rank of general of the
army, has worked to modernize
and professionalize the armed
forces, and build their image as
an effective fighting machine
and foreign-policy tool.
Victories in Crimea and
Syria helped propel Mr. Shoigu
and the military to the center
of Mr. Putin’s Kremlin power
structure, with an upper hand
over the feared intelligence
services that had previously
been the main supporters of
the Russian president, who is
himself a former spy.
Russian troops’ failure to
quickly seize Ukraine, however,
has shown that Mr. Shoigu’s
changes, while real, didn’t cre-
ate the fearsome fighting force
he touted. Poor logistics,
flawed strategy and ill-pre-
pared troops mean any victory
will be immensely costly, and
an occupation hard to sustain.
Experts on the Russian mili-
tary place some of the blame
on Mr. Shoigu’s willingness to
back Mr. Putin’s plans, even if
they are unrealistic. That has
meant agreeing with assump-
tions that the Ukrainian mili-
tary would quickly fold in the
face of a superior force and
that Russian troops would be
greeted as liberators.
“Beyond Putin, this is very
damning for one person in par-
ticular, and that is Sergei
Sergei Shoigu has led the Russian military for a decade.
Shoigu,” said Michael Kofman,
director of Russia studies at
CNA, a nonprofit research and
analysis organization located
in Arlington, Va. “By agreeing
to these assumptions and this
type of operation, he has es-
sentially thrown the Russian
military into a disaster.”
It is hard to predict how
this plays out for Mr. Shoigu.
His acquiescence to the inva-
sion demonstrated loyalty to
Mr. Putin’s political objectives
in Europe. But if the operation
fails, the Kremlin leader would
likely look for a scapegoat. “It
all depends on how this all
ends for Putin,” said Mr. Kof-
man.
Whether or not Russia pre-
vails in Ukraine, Mr. Shoigu’s
initial strategy to quickly top-
ple the Ukrainian government
with minimal losses has failed.
After 11 days of fighting, Rus-
sian troops have failed to take
any major city and have suf-
fered unexpectedly heavy casu-
alties. Ukraine has gotten
global support and Western
sanctions are on track to crip-
ple the Russian economy. To
make up for its military set-
military’s new weapons and
technology through central
Moscow.
Mr. Shoigu’s first success
came in Crimea, when he
planned a nighttime interven-
tion by special forces to seize
the peninsula. They took over
government buildings in an
operation that ultimately led
to the annexation of the terri-
tory in 2014. The invasion was
seen as retribution for the
ouster of a pro-Russian presi-
dent in Kyiv a month earlier
backs, Russia has increasingly and to protect Russia’s Black
resorted to indiscriminate Sea fleet, which had its head-
bombing and shelling of civil- quarters in Crimea.
ian areas. The military’s power in
The 66-year-old Mr. Shoigu helping Moscow achieve its
is one of the most popular top aims in Syria was clear when it
officials in Russia. Trained as a started its air campaign in sup-
civil engineer, he started as port of Syrian President Bashar
head of the country’s emer- al-Assad in 2015. “The military
and the ministry of defense
had gained the upper hand
over the foreign ministry,” said
The 66-year-old Mr. Hanna Notte, senior research
Shoigu is one of the associate at the Vienna Center
for Disarmament and Non-Pro-
most popular top liferation. She added, “You
officials in Russia. could talk to diplomats, but it
wouldn’t matter much.”
The resurgence has made
the military the primary tool of
gency management agency just Mr. Putin’s foreign policy and
before the fall of the Soviet made Mr. Shoigu a key mem-
Union. He dashed around the ber of his inner circle. Mr.
country tackling the multitude Shoigu was sanctioned by the
of crises in those years. He U.S. and the European Union
built a massive ministry whose last month, along with Mr. Pu-
efforts were packaged and pro- tin and other close associates.
moted to the Russian people. “He’s long been seen as the
His success led to his appoint- most likely successor to Putin
ment as head of the military. should the latter drop dead,”
There he took a dispirited said Sergey Radchenko, a pro-
and weak military and turned fessor at the Johns Hopkins
it into a more modern fight- School of Advanced Interna-
ing force. Heavy marketing tional Studies.
CHISINAU, Moldova—Secre-
tary of State Antony Blinken
said the U.S. government is ac-
tively pursuing ways to address
Ukraine’s request for combat
jets and to replenish Poland’s
arsenal should it hand over So-
viet-era planes to its besieged
neighbor.
By William Mauldin,
Drew Hinshaw
and Nancy A. Youssef
Ukrainian President Volod-
ymyr Zelensky on Saturday
made an impassioned plea to
Capitol Hill for assistance in
obtaining more lethal military
aid, especially Russian-made
jet fighters that Ukrainian pi-
lots can fly. Ukraine’s military
has largely relied on surface-
to-air missiles to challenge
Russian military planes flying
over the country, with some
apparent success.
“We are looking actively
now at the question of air-
planes that Poland may provide
to Ukraine and looking at how
we might be able to backfill
should Poland choose to supply
those planes,” Mr. Blinken said
on Sunday.
Mr. Blinken said the U.S. is
working with Mr. Zelensky and
other Ukrainian officials to get
an “up-to-the-minute assess-
ment of their needs.” The U.S.
and partners will then assess
what can be provided, he said a
day after meeting Ukraine’s
Foreign Minister Dmytro
Kuleba during a brief gathering
at the Polish-Ukrainian border
at which Mr. Kuleba asked the
U.S. to do more to aid its coun-
try militarily.
“I can’t speak to a timeline,
but I can just tell you that
we’re looking at it very, very
actively,” Mr. Blinken told re-
porters during a stop in Mol-
dova as he traveled across Eu-
rope to reassure allies there
about U.S. support in the wake
of Russia’s invasion of neigh-
boring Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials are push-
ing Western governments for a
swift provision of combat jets—
or, alternatively, a no-fly zone—
saying either would help save
lives at risk as Russia continues
to bombard cities in the nearly
two-week-old war.
Yet European governments
worry that donating jet fighters
at this stage risks retaliation
from Russia, potentially drag-
ging Poland—and with it, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion alliance—into the war.
On Sunday, Poland’s prime
minister’s office dismissed re-
ports of a potential arrange-
ment for the country to hand
over combat planes to Ukraine.
“Poland won’t send its jet fight-
ers to #Ukraine as well as allow
to use its airports,” the chan-
cellery of Prime Minister Ma-
teusz Morawiecki tweeted. “We
significantly help in many other
areas.”
Two Polish officials close to
the issue said Poland would at
least consider the proposal
Washington was willing to put
together. The Polish air force
inventory still includes some
Soviet-made MiG-29 combat
jets, similar to those Ukraine
has had in its fleet.
—Gordon Lubold
and Michael R. Gordon
contributed to this article.

Moscow Said to Recruit Syrians for Urban Combat in Invasion

WASHINGTON—Moscow is
recruiting Syrians skilled in
urban combat to fight in
Ukraine as Russia’s invasion is
poised to expand deeper into
By Gordon Lubold,
Nancy A. Youssef
and Alan Cullison
cities, according to U.S.
officials.
An American assessment
indicates that Russia, which
has been operating inside
Syria since 2015, has in recent
days been recruiting fighters
from there, hoping their
expertise in urban combat can
help take Kyiv and deal a
devastating blow to the
Ukraine government, accord-
ing to four American officials.
The move points to a potential
escalation of fighting in
Ukraine, experts said.
It is unclear how many
fighters have been identified,
but some are already in Russia at a time. unteered to fight for Ukraine, into Ukraine internationalizes
preparing to enter the conflict, Chechen forces have also part of what he described as an the Ukraine war, and therefore
according to one official. been deployed to Ukraine, ac- “international legion.” could link the war in Ukraine
Officials declined to elabo- cording to a Reuters report With volunteers from other to broader cross-regional dy-
rate on what else is known citing Ramzan Kadyrov, the countries flowing into Ukraine, namics, particularly in the
about the deployment of Syrian leader of the Chechen Repub- the conflict there could be- Middle East,” she said.
fighters to Ukraine, the status lic and an ally of Russian Pres- come a new center of gravity Syrian fighters have spent
or precise scale of the effort. ident Vladimir Putin. for foreign fighters, said Jen- nearly a decade fighting urban
According to a publication Fighters are also pouring nifer Cafarella, national secu- warfare, while Russia’s largely
based in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Rus- into the country to fight on the rity fellow at the Institute for conscripted force lacks this
sia has offered volunteers from side of the Kyiv-based govern- the Study of War in Washing- skill set. Russia has been a key
the country between $200 and ment. Ukrainian President Vo- ton, D.C. backer of Syrian President
$300 “to go to Ukraine and op- lodymyr Zelensky said recently “The Russia deployment of Bashar al-Assad since it en-
erate as guards” for six months that 16,000 foreigners have vol- foreign fighters from Syria tered that conflict.
A6 | Monday, March 7, 2022
Russia Detains
Thousands in
Antiwar Rallies
BY EVAN GERSHKOVICH
Russian police detained
thousands of people protesting
the war in Ukraine, as the
Kremlin—which has banned
Facebook and Twitter and shut
down independent media—
moved to silence any dissent
against the military operations.
Thousands turned out in
dozens of cities across the
country. They were the largest
demonstrations so far of the
daily antiwar rallies that have
taken place in Russia since
President Vladimir Putin
launched a full-scale invasion
of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
In Moscow, crowds gath-
ered at Manezhnaya Square,
just outside of the Kremlin’s
walls, chanting “No to war,”
and one man was detained
while singing the Ukrainian
national anthem, according to
video taken by independent
television reporters. In St. Pe-
tersburg, people marched
down the central artery,
Nevsky Prospekt.
But the protests are un-
likely to affect Russia’s aggres-
sion in Ukraine, with police
detaining more than 13,000
people since the protests
kicked off and recent polling
showing majority support for
the war.
According to independent
protest monitor OVD-Info, po-
lice detained more than 4,600
people on Sunday in 63 cities.
The figures, which were still
rising as the evening went on,
bring the number detained to
nearly 13,000 since Feb. 24,
according to the monitor.
Russia’s Interior Ministry
said police had detained more
than 3,400 of the 5,200 people
who had taken part in the
rallies, though it didn’t say
how many cities had demon-
strations.
The demonstrators turned
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out despite the threat of op-
posing the Kremlin, which has
steadily suppressed dissent
and opposing voices in Russia.
Russia’s main opposition
leader, Alexei Navalny, who
was jailed last year, called for
the rallies in social-media
posts on Friday.
“You may be scared, but to
succumb to this fear means to
take the side of the fascists
and murderers,” Mr. Navalny
wrote.
The rallies are unlikely to
shift Mr. Putin’s thinking.
“If we’re not talking about
millions [of people], then this
won’t be taken into account,”
said Tatiana Stanovaya,
founder of R.Politik, an
independent political-analysis
firm.
Recent polls show that Mr.
Putin’s approval rating has
risen since the start of the
war. It also shows that 68% of
Russians support the war, ac-
cording to state pollster Vt-
SIOM. The Kremlin is likely to
blame the protests on foreign
interference, said Ms.
Stanovaya.
Most Russians would also
not see that their compatriots
were demonstrating after au-
thorities last week banned
Facebook and Twitter and shut
down the country’s last inde-
pendent-minded radio sta-
tion, Ekho Moskvy, and TV
Rain.
State news agency RIA No-
vosti published several video
clips of small groups of pro-
testers being detained.
It also showed a column of
what appeared to be Kremlin
supporters driving vehicles
along the Moscow River flying
Russian flags and those of
Russia-backed separatists in
Ukraine. The cars also fea-
tured the letters Z and V car-
ried by Russian military vehi-
cles in Ukraine.
THE UKRAINE CRISIS
In St. Petersburg, Russia, a protester was detained on Sunday amid the country’s largest demonstrations since the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has sought to con-
trol the narrative on its war in
Ukraine, which it describes as
a special military operation
protecting Russian speakers
living there.
On Saturday, Russia passed
a law that threatens anyone
publishing what authorities
consider to be false informa-
The protests are
unlikely to affect
Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
tion about the invasion with
up to 15 years in prison.
TikTok on Sunday an-
nounced it would bar new con-
tent or live streaming from
Russia while it reviews the im-
plications of the new law. CNN
had earlier stopped broadcast-
ing in Russia, while the British
Broadcasting Corp. and
Bloomberg News decided to
suspend the work of their
journalists inside the country.
Russian communication
watchdog Roskomnadzor on
Sunday closed two indepen-
dent websites. Since the start
of the war, nearly two dozen
independent outlets have been
forced to shut down or have
chosen to stop operations.
The watchdog also said it
planned to block access to
Zello Inc.’s mobile app, which
allows voice communications
among users. Roskomnadzor
said the app hadn’t complied
with a request to stop spread-
ing messages that the regula-
tor said contained inaccurate
information about Russia’s in-
volvement in Ukraine.
Russia also could block
YouTube, says Andrei Solda-
tov, a senior fellow at the
Washington-based Center for
European Policy Analysis. That
would be a blow to Russian
media, as the platform had in
recent years become popular
among Russians seeking infor-
mation independent from the
Kremlin. It also was used
heavily by opposition politi-
cians and independent media.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
The dwindling space for un-
censored information means
unfiltered news of the war will
seep through slowly to aver-
age Russians, possibly taking
months, said Lev Gudkov, the
head of independent Levada
Center pollster.
While there is strong sup-
port for the war, Mr. Gudkov
said that there is a strong di-
vide along age and geographi-
cal lines. Russians strongly
against the war—about one-
quarter of the population, ac-
cording to polls—are mostly
young people in urban centers,
the kind that have turned out
to protests. The Russians who
support the war are older, live
in provincial areas and largely
get their information from
state television.
Thousands of Russians also
have fled the country in recent
days, as the ruble collapsed in
the wake of Western sanctions
and the economic future looks
bleak.
Their departure leaves an
even smaller group of people
in Russia who would oppose
the war. According to Mr. Gud-
ANATOLY MALTSEV/SHUTTERSTOCK
kov, nearly 60% of Russians,
mostly in the provinces, who
consume state television and
already rely on cheap Russian
goods, consistently say sanc-
tions don’t affect them.
“Sanctions have hit very
hard against people who are
against Putin and against the
war. Even in this group anti-
Western sentiment could
grow,” said Ms. Stanovaya, the
political analyst.
Sonya Groysman, a 27-year-
old journalist formerly with
TV Rain in Moscow, left Russia
the day after the television
station was shut down. Al-
ready branded a “foreign
agent” by authorities last year,
she was advised to leave for
her safety.
“You can see on social me-
dia that most people aren’t
blaming the closure of IKEA
and so on on Putin,” she said.
“It feels like the sanctions are
not affecting the people in the
Russian provinces, but pro-
gressive and mostly opposi-
tion-minded people.”
—Mauro Orru
contributed to this article.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, March 7, 2022 | A7

THE UKRAINE CRISIS

Evacuees
Try to Flee
Deadly Fire
Continued from Page One
thorities said they had to
abandon efforts to evacuate
civilians from the southern
city of Mariupol, for the sec-
ond day in a row, saying Rus-
sia shelled the southeastern
port city as evacuation con-
voys were gathering.
More than 200,000 civilians
had been expected to start
leaving Mariupol and nearby
Volnovakha on Saturday in a
deal overseen by the Interna-
tional Committee of the Red
Cross. The agreement was
supposed to be a test case for
similar humanitarian corridors
out of other Ukrainian cities
and towns, including Irpin.
Those trapped in the be-

MANU BRABO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

sieged cities include at least
2,000 foreign citizens, said
Ukraine’s deputy prime minis-
ter, Iryna Vereshchuk. “They
are suffering from cold, hun-
ger and shelling alongside
Ukrainian students, Ukrainian
women, children and the el-
derly,” she said. “The whole
world must realize what is go-
ing on.”
In Irpin, residents have
been streaming out for days,
as Russian shelling has in-
creasingly hit civilian neigh-
borhoods, with artillery
rounds smashing into high-
rise apartment towers. Sunday
was the first time Russia di-
rectly attacked an evacuation
route—as hundreds of civilians
were trying to escape.
“It’s a miracle I am still
alive,” said Lyubov Tarasyk,
her face flushed and her coat
muddy. “It hit so close to us. I
am fortunate someone pushed
me down, my face into the
dirt. The soldiers who helped
me, they said I was born in a
shirt,” she added, using a
Ukrainian expression for in-
credible luck.
Russian and Ukrainian ne-
gotiators, who are scheduled
to hold their third round of
talks on Monday, have agreed
Ukrainian civilians packed in a van during the evacuation of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Irpin isn’t covered by any humanitarian corridor agreement.
in principle to open humani-
tarian corridors for civilians
fleeing areas besieged by Rus-
sia or under Russian attack.
Irpin isn’t covered by any
humanitarian corridor agree-
ment, but Ukrainian officials
said they were trying to se-
cure evacuations from the
nearby towns of Bucha and
Hostomel.
Ukrainian forces battling to
retain control of Irpin de-
stroyed a column of Russian
armor on Saturday night. On
Sunday, they fired long-range
artillery barrages on Russian
positions. The town remained
contested, with a large num-
ber of Ukrainian troops, in-
cluding special forces armed
with antitank missiles, trying
to repel a Russian advance.
“We are holding off the enemy,
but unfortunately the enemy
has come with an enormous
force,” Kyiv region Gov. Olek-
siy Kuleba said.
Caught in the middle of this
are thousands of civilians,
many of them too frail to walk
out even without the shelling.
At the entrance to Kyiv
from Irpin, a woman who only
gave her name as Lesya was
shaking as she spoke to a psy-
chologist from Ukraine’s emer-
gency service. Her parents, in
their 80s, have remained be-
hind.
“There was an explosion to
the left of my house, there was
an explosion to the right of my
house, and my parents are still
there, in between, after a
stroke, in their slippers,” she
asked. “How, how can I get
them out?”
On Sunday, just before the
shelling of the evacuation
route started, Ukrainian sol-
diers were helping women and
children climb over the high-
way railing and into buses,
passing prams and suitcases.
Some of the elderly had to be
carried over, clutching canes.
The buses, organized by
charities, were offering free
rides to the western Ukrainian
cities of Rivne and Lutsk. Once
every few minutes, civilian
cars brought in people injured
in the shelling. They were
loaded into waiting ambu-
lances and taken to hospitals.
Maria Polianska, who was a
real-estate agent in Irpin be-
fore the war, had just made it
out and was waiting to see if
her grandmother also man-
aged to escape. “We ran as
fast as we could as the shells
were falling all around us,” she
said, breathing heavily.
She said she stumbled and
fell down on the way. There
was no electricity in the town
because the power substation
was damaged, and Russian
forces occupied that area,
making repairs impossible,
residents said.
A retired accountant who
only gave his name as Ihor
said that eight houses next to
his caught fire in Irpin over-
night. “It was so scary, but es-
pecially for him, he was shak-
ing,” he said, pointing to Tip,
the chihuahua he was carrying
under his arm.
Ukrainian soldiers on Kyiv’s
outskirts said they expected a
massive offensive Sunday and
Monday, as Moscow sought to
improve its negotiating posi-
tion ahead of Monday’s talks.
“They are going to come here
with all they’ve got,” said a
Ukrainian airborne forces ser-
geant who wanted to be iden-
tified by his call sign, Casper.
A career soldier, he leads a
front-line detachment made
up mostly of volunteers from
Ukraine’s Territorial Defense
force. He said he was confi-
dent his position will hold.
“Putin has made a mistake,”
he said. “He thought he would
be fighting just with the
Ukrainian army, but now he is
fighting with the entire Ukrai-
nian people.”

Attacks tors at their previous round of

talks on Thursday—to open hu-
manitarian corridors for fleeing
on Sunday that Moscow would
stop its offensive “only if Kyiv
ceases hostilities and fulfills
plants in Ukraine, after Russian
shelling in southern Ukraine
sparked a fire at Europe’s larg-
Azov is without water, electric-
ity or mobile phone service.
Maj. Gen. Konashenkov said
There, regional Gov. Vitaly Kim
posted videos of himself driving
in a Tigr, the vehicle of choice

Take Toll on civilians—have yet to be imple-

mented.
In a video address Sunday,
Russia’s well-known demands,”
according to the Kremlin’s ac-
count of the call. Mr. Putin said
est nuclear power plant on Fri-
day. Mr. Putin said he was will-
ing in principle to hold a
Russia attacked Ukrainian mili-
tary airfields in Starokostyan-
tyniv and Vinnytsia and that
for Russian reconnaissance
forces, with trophy antitank
rockets behind him.

Civilians President Volodymyr Zelensky

Continued from Page One
freedom for all of Europe.”
For the second straight day,
Russian shelling disrupted the
planned evacuation of some
200,000 civilians from the
southeastern city of Mariupol,
Kyiv said. Civilians had been ex-
pected to start leaving Mariupol
and nearby Volnovakha on Sat-
urday in a deal overseen by the
International Committee of the
Red Cross, in an agreement that
was supposed to be a test case
for similar humanitarian corri-
dors out of other Ukrainian cit-
ies.
U.S. Secretary of State Ant-
ony Blinken said Sunday he has
“seen very credible reports of
deliberate attacks on civilians,
which would constitute a war
crime.”
Ukrainian and Russian nego-
tiators are scheduled to meet
for their third round of cease-
fire talks on Monday, even
though chances for a break-
through were uncertain as the
Kremlin signaled its determina-
tion to pursue the war.
Agreements reached by
Ukrainian and Russian negotia-
Russian invasion
Areas seized as of Saturday
Controlled by or allied to Russia
Primary refugee crossing locations
Nuclear facilities
Disputed border
BELARUS
Chernobyl
Rivne Not in operation
P OL A N D
Khmelnitsky
Lviv
TRANSNISTRIA
M O L D OVA
ROMANIA
200 miles
200 km
of Ukraine again urged the U.S.
and allies to enforce a no-fly
zone over Ukraine—something
the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization said it won’t do—or
provide the Ukrainian air force
with more jet fighters. “If you
don’t do that, if you at the very
least don’t give us the planes so
that we can defend ourselves,
there is only one conclusion:
You also wish for us to be
slowly killed,” he said.
Mr. Blinken said the U.S. gov-
ernment is actively pursuing
ways to address Ukraine’s re-
quest for combat jets and to re-
plenish Poland’s arsenal should
it hand over Soviet-era planes
to its besieged neighbor. He
also said the U.S. is talking with
European partners about the
prospect of banning the import
of Russian oil.
President Emmanuel Macron
of France, President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
of Israel have engaged in talks
with President Vladimir Putin
of Russia in recent days. Mr.
Bennett met with Mr. Putin on
Saturday, phoned Mr. Zelensky,
and then met with Chancellor
Olaf Scholz of Germany.
Mr. Putin told Mr. Erdogan
Direction of invasion forces
Kharkiv
Kyiv
UKRAINE
South Zaporizhzhia
Ukraine
Kherson
Odessa
CRIMEA
Sevastopol
he expected Ukrainian negotia-
tors on Monday to take a more
constructive approach that
takes into account “the emerg-
ing realities.”
The U.S. cites ‘very
credible reports of
deliberate attacks
on civilians.’
At the outset of the war, Mr.
Putin said he was seeking to
“demilitarize” Ukraine and end
its alignment with the West. He
later said Ukraine must recog-
nize the 2014 annexation of its
Crimea peninsula by Russia.
Mr. Putin also spoke with Mr.
Macron on Sunday, again blam-
ing Kyiv for failed civilian evac-
uations from Mariupol, accord-
ing to the Kremlin’s account of
the call. Without providing evi-
dence, he said the cease-fire
had been a ploy by Ukraine “to
build up forces and means in
their positions,” according to
the Kremlin.
Messrs. Putin and Macron
spoke at length about ensuring
the safety of nuclear power
RUSSIA
Ukraine territory, recognized
by Putin as independent
Luhansk
Donetsk
Dnipro
Mariupol
Controlled by
separatists
Sea of Azov
Black Sea
trilateral meeting among Rus-
sia, Ukraine and the Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia had destroyed nearly all
of Ukraine’s military aircraft.
He claimed that Ukrainian jet
Wounded Ukrainian fighters
will be treated in hospitals in
Germany and Poland, officials
He said Russian troops in co- fighters have flown to Romania of the countries said Sunday.
operation with Ukrainian per- and other neighboring coun- German hospitals, including
sonnel were working to ensure tries during the conflict, an ac- military clinics in Berlin, will
normal operations and that tion which he said “can be re- start treating Ukrainian fighters
background radioactivity re- garded as the involvement of Monday, German officials said.
mained at normal levels. these states in armed conflict.” —Laurence Norman,
The U.N. atomic agency said Because of fierce Ukrainian William Mauldin
Sunday that staff at the nuclear resistance, Russian forces have and Evan Gershkovich
plant were now under orders taken unexpectedly heavy casu- contributed to this article.
from the commander of Russian alties, especially in the north,
forces there and that communi- where attempts to quickly seize Scan this code
cation channels between the Kyiv and Kharkiv have failed. for a video on
plant and Ukraine’s nuclear reg- Russian forces were also re- Ukrainians’
ulator had been sharply re- pelled over the weekend in the struggle to flee
duced. southern city of Mykolayiv. Russia’s invasion.
“I’m extremely concerned
about these developments,”
IAEA Director General Rafael
Grossi said. “In order to be able
to operate the plant safely and
securely, management and staff
Body balm.
must be allowed to carry out
their vital duties in stable con- Mind medicine.
ditions without undue external
interference or pressure.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainians in ar-
Soul salve.
eas occupied by Moscow came
out for new protests on Sunday,
demanding that the Russian
forces withdraw.
In Kherson, the only regional
capital that Russia has con-
quered since it unleashed the
war on Ukraine on Feb. 24,
thousands of people came out
for the third day of protests
against the occupation, waving
Ukrainian flags. Other such ral-
lies took place Sunday in the
towns of Nova Kakhovka and
Kalanchak in the Kherson re-
gion. Russian forces in Nova
Kakhovka fired volleys into the
air and threw flash-bang gre-
nades into the crowd as local
residents chanted “Go home!”
In Russia, thousands turned
out in dozens of cities to pro-
test the war, the largest demon-
strations so far of the daily ral-
We invite you to try our finest massage chair.
lies that have taken place since
Immersive massage choreography by shiatsu
the invasion began.
Russian police have detained sensei Akira Okabayashi. Designed by the
more than 13,000 people since legendary Ken Okuyama. Made in Japan.
the protests kicked off last
month. The Kremlin has banned
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tary operations.
In briefings Sunday, Russian
military spokesman Maj. Gen. Available
Igor Konashenkov said Russia’s from:
forces continued to advance on
Mariupol. The Mariupol mayor’s
office said the city on the Sea of
A8 | Monday, March 7, 2022
Inflation
Hurts Bid
To Ban Oil
Continued from Page One
from across the political spec-
trum to demand the U.S. ban
imports of Russian oil. On Sat-
urday, a bipartisan bill to ban
such imports was gathering
momentum in the U.S. Senate,
with 22 co-sponsors. House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Ca-
lif.) said she supports the bill.
The pressure threatens to
upset the White House’s bal-
ance between exacting further
punishment on Moscow—as
even Mr. Biden’s own Demo-
cratic Party is now demand-
ing—with keeping the oil flow-
ing, particularly to U.S. allies
who are much more dependent
on Russian oil and gas than
the U.S.
For days, senior officials
have walked a fine line, ac-
knowledging calls to ban Rus-
sian oil, but also underscoring
its importance to global mar-
kets. “We are now talking to
our European partners and al-
lies to look in a coordinated
way at the prospect of ban-
ning the import of Russian oil
while making sure that there’s
still an appropriate supply of
oil on world markets,” U.S.
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said on CNN Sunday.
“That’s a very active discus-
sion as we speak.”
Russia is the world’s third-
largest oil producer, providing
10% of global supply last year,
according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Oil traders said fear of restric-
War Drives
Prices Up
Globally
Continued from Page One
On Friday, Russia, one of
the world’s largest suppliers of
fertilizers such as potash and
nitrogen, said it could suspend
exports. Farmers and consum-
ers will bear the cost of any
prolonged shortage.
Ingka Group, which owns
and operates furniture giant
IKEA’s stores, said Thursday
that prices would rise more
than expected this year after it
warned the war in Ukraine
was causing serious supply
chain disruptions. IKEA said
its global prices would rise
about 12%, up from earlier es-
timates of 9%.
Some analysts and company
officials caution that it is too
early to know exactly what the
long-term effects of the war
will have on the global econ-
omy, and not all think the con-
flict in Ukraine will have a ma-
jor impact on supply chains.
Businesses have rebounded
from global conflicts in the
past and can mitigate the ef-
fects by finding alternative
suppliers elsewhere.
But the invasion of Ukraine
has already slowed the jour-
ney of goods traveling by vari-
ous means. Many Western
shipping companies are steer-
ing clear of Russian ports, an
important Asia-to-Europe rail
line is used less, much of the
Black Sea remains out of
bounds and many air cargo
flights are either banned from
or are avoiding Russian air-
space, a key route for goods
moving between Europe and
Asia. Shipping and airfreight
rates have moved higher.
Rising energy and food
prices are only the most obvi-
ous pressure points for con-
sumers. “Now that we are see-
ing increases across other
commodities, like aluminum,
palladium, copper,” Ms. Bost-
jancic said, “that is going to
feed through to some degree
to consumer prices as well.”
Ukraine industries, includ-
ing car-part manufacturers,
breweries and an alumina re-
finery, have halted production.
A giant steel mill owned by
ArcelorMittal SA, one of the
country’s largest industrial en-
terprises, closed Thursday.
That and other plant closures
in the country, along with Rus-
sia’s difficulty in getting some
of its steel out, are expected to
accelerate rising steel prices.
Companies that use stain-
less steel and other heat and
corrosion-resistant steel alloys
containing nickel say they’re
bracing for higher prices and
the potential for disrupted
nickel shipments from Russia,
a large exporter.
Gazprom, which owes $1.3 billion to bondholders Monday, is facing a backlash from Western partners.
tions on the flow of Russian
energy caused a scramble for
crude that drove oil prices up
25% last week.
The upward spiral of oil
prices has Mr. Biden in a box:
He will be unable to respond
to calls to ban Russian imports
without risking even-higher
prices at the pump. High en-
ergy prices pose a vulnerabil-
ity to Democrats ahead of No-
vember midterm elections,
while leaders of U.S.’s allies
face similar political risks over
energy.
“Joe Biden’s failed agenda is
to blame for the highest infla-
tion in decades,” the Republi-
can National Committee
tweeted on Friday morning,
just hours after Russian forces
shelled Ukraine’s largest nu-
clear power plant and trig-
gered another surge in com-
modity markets.
“The president is now
backed into a cul-de-sac,” said
Ukraine’s only private rail yard at the TransInvestService port on the Black Sea, the country’s largest dry cargo port.
Nickel also is used in lith-
ium-ion batteries that power
consumer electronics and elec-
tric vehicles. The price of
nickel rose to $29,800 a met-
ric ton, a 14-year high, up
about 19% on the London
Metal Exchange since the out-
break of fighting in Ukraine.
Small car-parts plants in
Ukraine that supply the
broader automotive industry
have closed, while sanctions
and severed trade routes are
hindering auto-related ship-
ments to and from Russia.
Farm to table
Ukrainian farmers are sup-
posed to plant their spring
crops soon. Yet even if the
fighting were to stop, they
may not have enough fertilizer
and pesticides. Agriculture in-
dustry executives are warning
of smaller yields in Ukraine,
which normally has some of
the world’s most productive
fields.
“Depending on what crop
you’re looking at, it could have
rather severe impacts already
in the first growing season,”
said Svein Tore Holsether,
chief executive officer of Nor-
way-based Yara International
ASA, one of the world’s largest
fertilizer makers. “Yields could
drop by 50%.”
Ukraine accounts for 8%
and 13%, respectively, of global
wheat and corn exports, ac-
cording to U.S. Department of
Agriculture data. “For certain
THE UKRAINE CRISIS
Stephen Brown, a Democrat
and former lobbyist for refin-
ing interests who now runs
the consulting firm RBJ Strat-
egies LLC. “The Republicans
win this one either way.”
When the U.S. and its Euro-
pean allies imposed histori-
cally harsh sanctions on Rus-
sia after its tanks rolled across
the Ukrainian border in late
February, they sought to levy
those sanctions in ways that
would avoid energy shortages
and higher oil prices.
The U.S. imposed sanctions
on Russia’s largest banks—
Sberbank and VTB—but pro-
vided broad exemptions on
payments for natural gas, oil
and petroleum products. It se-
lected which Russian banks to
eject from the Swift network
in ways designed to minimize
disruption of energy markets.
That effort failed. Oil mar-
kets have ignored such nu-
ances, and banned or not,
Percentage change in futures prices since Feb. 1
40% Russia invades Ukraine
30
Brent Crude Oil
20
10
0 Wheat
-10
Natural
Natural
-20 Gas
March
Feb. 2022
Source: FactSet
parts of the world it means
more expensive food,” Mr.
Holsether said. “For other
parts of the world, it means
access to food, and it’s a mat-
ter of life and death.”
In the past month, wheat
futures climbed to a 14-year
high and rose in all more than
40% over the past week. Corn
and soybean prices over the
past month were up roughly
21% and 15%, respectively.
Higher commodity costs
stand to further inflate prices
of such pantry staples as ce-
real and cooking oil, as well as
beef and other meat, because
producers rely heavily on
grain to feed livestock and
poultry.
traders shunned Russian crude
on fears it could ultimately
draw government penalties or
otherwise fund Russia’s war
effort. The scramble to replace
that supply with alternative
sources sent U.S. benchmark
crude prices to $118.11 a barrel
on Friday, the highest mark
since 2008.
U.S. imports of Russian oil
are, in fact, limited. About 8%
of all U.S. imports of oil and
refined products, or about
672,000 barrels a day, came
from Russia last year, said
Andy Lipow, president of Li-
pow Oil Associates LLC, citing
EIA data. The European Union,
by contrast, has imported as
much as 27% of its crude from
Russia in recent years, accord-
ing to EU statistics.
“We don’t import a lot of
Russian oil,” Cecilia Rouse,
chair of the White House
Council of Economic Advisers,
said on Friday. But Canada has
60%
50
40
30
20
10
Corn ber one cost of feeding cattle.”
0
-10
Feb. 2022 March
Rising grain and corn costs
eliminate some of the hope
that inflation could plateau in
the second half of the year.
Such agricultural commodities
are used in nearly all food
products, said Ben Bienvenu, a
food and agribusiness research
analyst at Stephens Inc.
Hormel Foods Corp., the
owner of food brands includ-
ing Spam canned meat and
Skippy peanut butter, said it
expected higher raw material
prices from the war in
Ukraine. “There will be some
disruption now and further
down the road,” the company’s
Chief Financial Officer Jacinth
Smiley said.
James Halverson, a rancher
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
banned Russian oil imports,
and British leaders have
openly discussed the appeal of
a similar move. A U.S. ban
could put pressure on other
allies to follow suit, and such a
concerted effort might mean
shortages that drive up prices
for everybody.
The Labor Department,
meanwhile, is scheduled to re-
lease the consumer-price in-
dex for February on Thursday,
after the CPI in January
showed an annual inflation
DMITRI LOVETSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
rate of 7.5%, a level unseen
since 1982.
On Sunday, the nation’s av-
erage gasoline price surpassed
$4 a gallon for the first time
since 2008, according to AAA,
which tracks retail prices
daily.
Mr. Biden has spent months
trying to reassure voters trou-
bled by inflation, and has co-
ordinated with other govern-
ments to address surging
prices by releasing oil reserves
and increasing supply. “I know
this is hard and that Ameri-
cans are already hurting,” Mr.
Biden said in February.
Despite the inflationary
risks, Sen. Joe Manchin (D.,
W.Va.), the chairman of the
Senate’s Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, and the
panel’s top Republican, Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, an-
nounced the bill on Thursday
to ban imports of Russian fos-
sil fuels.
Pressed about the conse-
quences for U.S. consumers,
Mr. Manchin said he would
gladly pay 10 cents a gallon
more for gasoline to help the
Ukrainians. He has been vocal
about his inflation fears. But,
he said, “This is war.”
The oil industry itself has
come out in support of a ban.
U.S. refiners started shrinking
in Beulah, Wyo., and executive
director of the South Dakota
Stockgrowers Association, said
feed costs have jumped in the
past week, making it more ex-
pensive for ranchers, himself
included, to hold on to cattle
and negotiate better prices
from meatpackers.
If grain costs stay high over
the coming months, it will cut
into his bottom line, he said,
and customers will pay more
for meat at the grocery store.
“We’ve seen grain come
up,” he said. “That’s the num-
Soil supplements
Higher food prices are re-
lated to the rising cost of nat-
ural gas, one of the main in-
gredients for nitrogen
fertilizers. Ken Seitz, interim
chief executive of fertilizer gi-
ant Nutrien Ltd., said higher
gas prices could lead to plant
closures in Europe.
The transport of fertilizers,
largely on trains and ships,
has been difficult since the in-
vasion of Ukraine. Several
large shipping companies have
temporarily suspended ser-
vices to Russian ports.
Fertilizer supplies were al-
ready tight, and prices have
reached record highs. That
adds to the pressure on farm-
ers, who are paying signifi-
cantly more for fuel, weed-kill-
ing chemicals, crop seeds and
seasonal labor.
If fertilizer supplies run
their Russian supplies late last
year. The refiners’ trade group
American Fuel & Petrochemi-
cal Manufacturers shared with
lawmakers and their staff the
group’s views on how to limit
supply disruptions resulting
from a ban and has said it
supports a ban on new U.S.
purchases of Russian crude.
Mr. Biden has sought to
promote renewable energy as
part of his strategy to address
the inflationary impact of fos-
sil fuels. But that is a long-
term solution at best.
Republicans, instead, want
Mr. Biden to “reverse his poli-
cies,” 25 Republican governors
said in a letter they signed on
Friday. Their prescription is
less help for clean fuel and
lighter environmental regula-
tions; more oil-and-gas lease
sales and permitting on fed-
eral lands; and faster permit-
ting for oil-and-gas pipelines.
Industry analysts said those
moves, too, would take years
to boost energy supplies.
On Thursday, Sen. Rob
Portman (R., Ohio) blamed the
Biden administration directly
for slowing industry develop-
ment on public lands and for
its decision to revoke a key
permit for the Keystone XL oil
pipeline.
Ms. Murkowski said Mr. Bi-
den could calm markets with a
speech committing to boost
domestic energy production.
“But right now, the signal
from this administration is
we’re going to keep ours in
the ground and we’re going to
count on it from somewhere
else,” she said.
“And now we’re realizing
we’ve been counting on Russia
to help us with that,” Ms.
Murkowski said.
—Sabrina Siddiqui
contributed to this article.
CHRISTOPHER OCCHICONE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
short—or get too expensive—
some farmers may shift acres
toward less fertilizer-intensive
crops such as soybeans. Oth-
ers could cut back on fertiliz-
ers, potentially slimming har-
vests, analysts said.
Nutrien, the Canada-based
company, could produce more
potash fertilizer if the global
supply problems persist, Mr.
Seitz said. But his company
could be stuck with unsold
quantities should Belarusian
and Russian suppliers return
to the market.
Farmers are wringing their
hands over supplies they will
need for spring planting, said
Chris Edgington, president of
the National Corn Growers As-
sociation and an Iowa farmer.
“The American farmer is going
to get a crop in the ground,”
he said. “What it will look like,
I can’t tell you.”
Randy Stephens, chief exec-
utive of SureGrow Agricultural
Products Inc., has a plan to fill
orders from his roughly 3,000
customers in Texas. The CEO
of the chemical and fertilizer
business in Comanche, Texas,
says that over the next three
months he will be making
stops at as many as 15 ports
from Houston to Corpus
Christi, seeking needed ship-
ments.
Even if he finds enough
supply, he said, “I think we
can run out really quickly.”
—Bob Tita, Thomas Gryta
and Nina Trentmann
contributed to this article.
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
TATYANA MAKEYEVA/REUTERS
Nornickel is responsible for about 5% of the world’s annual nickel output and some 40% of its palladium. A plant in Norilsk, Russia, last year.
Metals Giant Avoids Sanctions
Russia’s Nornickel
shows dilemma U.S.,
allies face in imposing
curbs that hurt West
BY ALISTAIR MACDONALD
From its base at a former
Arctic gulag, Russia’s MMC
Norilsk Nickel PJSC digs up a
large portion of two metals
that are essential to greener
transport and computer chips.
So far, the U.S. and its allies
haven’t imposed sanctions on
the company or its oligarch
chief executive, underscoring
the dilemma some analysts
say governments face in seek-
ing to punish Russia without
hurting their own access to
key commodities.
The mining company is re-
sponsible for about 5% of the
world’s annual production of
nickel, a key component of elec-
tric-vehicle batteries, and some
40% of its palladium, which
goes into catalytic converters
and semiconductors. Nornickel,
as the company is known, also
supplies energy transition met-
als such as cobalt and copper.
The price of those metals has
jumped since Russia invaded
Ukraine amid concerns that
Western sanctions or logistical
difficulties stemming from the
conflict could choke supplies.
On Friday, nickel traded at its
highest level for a decade, and
is up 37% this year. Palladium is
up around 57% year to date.
Despite the rally in metals
prices, Nornickel’s share
price—like that of other Rus-
sian commodity companies—
has dropped, and is down 17%
this year. The fall is likely to
be more severe, given trading
in Moscow-listed stocks was
U.S. Seeks Venezuela Oil to Replace Russia’s
BY PATRICIA GARIP
AND JUAN FORERO
The Biden administration is
seeking to ease oil sanctions on
Venezuela as part of a broader
U.S. strategy to curb oil prices
that have skyrocketed because
of Russia’s war in Ukraine, ac-
cording to people familiar with
the matter.
U.S. officials began rare
face-to-face meetings with Ven-
ezuelan officials in Caracas
over the weekend, with a view
to allowing Venezuelan crude
oil back on to the open market,
these people said.
The administration also
BLOOMBERG NEWS
wants to isolate Russia from its
most important ally in South
America, Venezuela, an essen-
tial supplier of crude to the
U.S. until economic misman-
agement and then sanctions
caused the nation’s oil sector to
crater.
The proposals being dis-
cussed in the Venezuelan capi-
tal would ease sanctions for a
limited period on U.S. national
security grounds. Since the
Trump administration began
turning the economic screws
on Venezuela in 2017, and then
leveled sanctions on the oil
sector in 2019. Caracas has
come to rely on China, Russia
and Iran to keep its oil sector
afloat. As of 2020, Petróleos
de Venezuela SA, the country’s
state oil company, was produc-
ing about 300,000 barrels a
day.
By easing the sanctions now,
the U.S. would redirect Venezu-
elan oil exports out of an
opaque China-bound export
suspended several days ago as
they began to plummet. On
Saturday, Fitch Ratings down-
graded Nornickel’s debt to
junk, reflecting the tougher
environment in Russia and
weakened financial flexibility
of its commodity companies.
Several Western companies
say they are looking to diversify
their supply away from Nor-
nickel. That mirrors a trend
across several commodities, in-
cluding oil and steel, as West-
ern buyers steer clear of Rus-
sian suppliers amid concerns
they could be hit by sanctions
or simply have problems getting
products out of the country.
A spokesman for Nornickel
said the miner is committed to
fulfilling its obligations to cus-
tomers, partners and employ-
ees. Chief Executive Vladimir
Potanin, who also holds a 31%
stake in the company, declined
to be interviewed.
Western sanctions in re-
sponse to the current conflict
have so far largely avoided
companies that provide the
West with oil, gas and other
key commodities.
Few companies are as piv-
otal in large commodity mar-
kets as Nornickel, particularly
for palladium.
“If we have sanctions and
we can’t access that palla-
dium, you have to expect dis-
ruption globally,” said Gabriele
Randlshofer, managing direc-
tor of the International Plati-
num Group Metals Associa-
tion, a trade group whose
members include buyers and
suppliers of palladium. “At the
moment all companies are
looking at [who supplies
them], they have to,” she said.
Among the companies look-
ing for alternative supplies of
nickel is Outokumpu Oyj, one
A gas station in Caracas, Venezuela. Sanctions have barred Venezuelan oil exports to U.S. refineries.
network and back to Gulf Coast
refiners that process the heavy
crude Venezuela produces, peo-
ple familiar with the adminis-
tration’s thinking on the matter
said.
It also would peel Caracas
out of the political orbit of
Russia, which has helped Vene-
zuela sidestep U.S. sanctions by
putting its financial system to
work processing payments for
PdVSA, as the Venezuelan state
oil company is known. And
sanctions relief would replace
Iran’s supply of condensate—a
very light oil that PdVSA uses
to dilute its extra-heavy oil—
with Western-supplied diluents
like naphtha, according to peo-
ple familiar with the Biden ad-
ministration’s strategy.
THE UKRAINE CRISIS
Performance on the London
Metal Exchange
Palladium Nickel
30%
Russia Invades
Ukraine
20
10
0
–10
Feb. 2022 March
Source: CQG
of the world’s largest stainless-
steel manufacturers. The Finn-
ish company said around 6% to
7% of its nickel comes from
Nornickel, with the rest com-
ing from recycled steel. “Given
the situation in Ukraine, we
are looking for alternatives for
Russian supply for nickel,” a
spokeswoman said.
Germany’s BASF SE, mean-
while, said it would fulfill exist-
ing contracts with Nornickel
but not pursue any new busi-
ness with the Russian company.
The chemicals giant described
Nornickel as an important sup-
plier of nickel and cobalt for its
production of cathode materi-
als as well as a source of palla-
dium and platinum.
On Friday, British steel exec-
utive Peter Davies received an
email from a Polish steel mill
he in which is invested, saying
it was unable to buy nickel
amid problems related to the
conflict in Ukraine. “Expect an
earthquake in [the] steel in-
With the help of its allies,
Venezuela’s authoritarian re-
gime—which the U.S. accuses
of widespread rights abuses—
was able to increase production
to about 760,000 barrels a day
in 2021. That is only a quarter
of what it pumped in the 1990s.
The visit to Venezuela by se-
nior American officials, first re-
ported by the New York Times,
isn’t just about oil, people fa-
miliar with their strategy said.
The delegation included Jim
Story, the Bogotá, Colombia-
based ambassador to Venezu-
ela; Juan Gonzalez, the White
House special assistant for
Western Hemisphere affairs;
and Roger Carstens, the U.S.
special presidential envoy for
hostage affairs.
dustry,” the mill said, accord-
ing to a copy of that email.
Reverberations are being
felt across industries that have
typically relied on Russian
commodities. Refiners have
balked at buying Russian oil,
according to traders and oil
executives. Swedish refiner
Preem AB and Finland’s Neste
Oyj, for instance, say they have
halted purchases of Russian oil
and plan to replace it with
crude from Northern Europe.
Severstal PAO, one of Rus-
sia’s largest steel companies,
struggled to sell its steel as soon
as Moscow’s forces crossed into
Ukraine, said a person familiar
with the matter, who said
would-be buyers were con-
cerned about possible sanctions.
In Severstal’s case, they did
come, with the European
Union levying measures on its
majority owner, Alexey Mor-
dashov, on Monday.
The market prices for met-
als Nornickel produces reflect
similar concerns, some ana-
lysts say. “It’s helping to make
the markets twitchy, everyone
is looking at it and saying if
we are taking out [Nornickel’s]
nickel from the market, that is
significant,” said Andrew
Mitchell, director of nickel re-
search at energy-consulting
firm Wood Mackenzie.
Nornickel’s production is
important, some analysts say,
because demand for nickel is
forecast to grow strongly amid
the growing popularity of
electric vehicles.
The company mines in one
of the world’s most northern
cities, Norilsk—a former penal
colony. The area provides the
company with some of the
world’s best mineral deposits,
which are mined up to 5,000
feet below the permafrost.
They also came to discuss
the fate of six employees of Pd-
VSA’s Houston-based refining
subsidiary, Citgo, who were ar-
rested in 2017 and convicted of
crimes the U.S. says are
trumped up. Five are natural-
ized American citizens and a
sixth is a permanent U.S. resi-
dent.
There also are three former
U.S. servicemen jailed in Vene-
zuela. Luke Denman and Airan
Berry were arrested after a
botched incursion by dissident
Venezuelan soldiers attempting
to seize power in May 2020.
And in September, 2020, Mat-
thew Heath was detained on a
country road near Venezuela’s
coast and accused of terrorism
and spying.
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A9
Russian Banks
Cut Off From West
Turn to China
BY PATRICIA KOWSMANN
AND ALEXANDER OSIPOVICH
Russian banks that have been
cut off from global payments
networks are turning to China’s
state-owned UnionPay system
as the country tries to sidestep
boycotts by Western businesses
for its invasion of Ukraine.
Visa Inc. and Mastercard
Inc. said they are suspending
their Russian operations, mak-
ing it difficult for Russians to
buy goods from abroad. The
moves by the two companies
go beyond sanctions issued
against many Russian banks.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest
bank by assets, Alfa Bank and
Tinkoff Bank said on Sunday
that they were working on the
possibility of issuing cards
powered by China’s UnionPay.
Another Russian lender,
Gazprombank, said customers
can do cross-border transac-
tions by getting cards that use
UnionPay or Japan’s JCB
system.
The workarounds show Rus-
sia may increasingly rely on
China in the face of isolation
by the West. It wasn’t clear
whether the move signaled a
shift toward greater coopera-
tion between China and Russia
to help Moscow find alterna-
tive ways to connect to the
global financial system.
UnionPay is ubiquitous in
China and expanded globally
as Chinese traveled abroad, of-
ten to buy luxury goods.
UnionPay cards are accepted in
stores in 180 countries and re-
gions, and online in over 200
countries and regions, accord-
ing to the company’s website.
Besides its card network,
China has been developing its
own payments system as an
alternative to the widely used
global network known as
Swift. That system though re-
mains dependent on Swift for
most of its transactions.
Beijing officials have op-
posed the Russian sanctions,
while in the West, several
companies are going beyond
them, stopping business deal-
ings even with entities not un-
der sanctions. It isn’t clear
how Chinese companies will
react.
Spokespeople for UnionPay
and Japan’s JCB couldn’t be
reached for comment.
Moscow Relents
On Bond Payments
BY ANNA HIRTENSTEIN
AND ALEXANDER OSIPOVICH
Russia will allow borrowers
to make payments on their
overseas debt, but only using
rubles even for bonds denomi-
nated in foreign currencies.
Making debt payments in
the ruble, which has lost al-
most 40% of its value this
year, could still leave Russia
and its companies in default
on dollar-denominated debt.
Allowing foreign investors
to be paid at all was a switch
for the Kremlin, which banned
foreign-exchange transfers
abroad in retaliation for sanc-
tions imposed on Russia by
the West for its invasion of
Ukraine. The Russian central
bank also blocked coupon pay-
ments to foreign bondholders.
Russia’s shift came just in
time for two of its most im-
portant energy companies. Oil
major Rosneft has a $2 billion
bond maturing on Sunday and
Gazprom has $1.3 billion to
repay to bondholders on Mon-
day.
Both bonds are denomi-
nated in dollars, and it is un-
clear whether investors will
accept rubles. Any ruble pay-
ments would be at the value
calculated with the official ex-
change rate set by the Russian
central bank. One reason in-
vestors might not accept ru-
bles is that trading in the cur-
rency has dried up, so it would
be difficult to exchange the ru-
bles for dollars.
The Kremlin decree, issued
Saturday evening, set up a
temporary procedure to allow
Russian borrowers to pay for-
eign lenders from countries
that have imposed sanctions
on Russia. The Russian central
bank said on Sunday that the
new procedure for repayments
Visa and Mastercard both
said on Saturday that they
were cutting ties with Russia.
Among the debit and credit
cards issued in Russia, Visa
and Mastercard cards ac-
counted for 74% of payment
transactions in the country in
2020, according to the Nilson
Report, a trade publication.
The move dealt another
blow to Russia, which has seen
many Western companies cut
services to the country over
the past week. Some Russian
banks have been placed under
sanctions by Western coun-
tries, meaning individuals and
businesses there are forbidden
from dealing with them. But
several Russian banks remain
free to do business around the
world.
Visa and Mastercard
said they are
suspending their
Russian operations.
The U.S. and the U.K. have
moved to cut Sberbank off
from U.S. dollar and U.K.
pound access, but companies
and individuals are still al-
lowed to deal with the bank.
Russian cardholders will
still be able to use Visa and
Mastercard cards inside Russia
because the transactions will
travel over Russia’s payments
system, called Mir. But they
won’t be able to use the cards
abroad, except in a few coun-
tries that support Mir, includ-
ing Turkey, Vietnam and Ar-
menia.
Alfa Bank said on Sunday
that its customers’ Visa and
Mastercard cards will face re-
strictions on their use outside
Russia starting March 10. It
urged users abroad to with-
draw cash in the meantime.
Still, Alfa Bank said it
would continue to issue cards
attached to both Visa and
Mastercard, given it has sev-
eral million in stock.
“We hope that the interna-
tional payment systems will
return to our country. Then
the cards will automatically
start working all over the
world,” it said.
would “support the financial
stability of the Russian mar-
ket.”
Previous measures had
blocked such repayments,
which stoked concerns among
investors that Russia could de-
fault for the first time since
1998. A ruble-denominated
government bond had a cou-
pon payment due last week,
which its bondholders said
they didn’t receive. Records
showed the Ministry of Fi-
nance transferred the pay-
ment, but it was blocked by
the central bank from trans-
ferring it to foreigners’ ac-
counts.
The three major rating
companies cut Russia’s sover-
eign rating to junk status over
the past week. S&P Global
downgraded it for a second
time on Friday to two notches
above default level. The speed
of the sovereign’s plunge in
creditworthiness is unprece-
dented, an S&P spokesman
said.
“If they defaulted on their
external debt, it would be out
of unwillingness to pay, in re-
taliation to sanctions. The im-
pact would likely be longer be-
cause of lack of trust in the
regime,” said William Jackson,
chief emerging-market econo-
mist at Capital Economics.
“That could mean Russia
would be locked out of capital
markets for a very long time.”
Russia also has a dollar-de-
nominated government bond
with interest owed on March
16 that will be closely watched
by investors as an indicator
for Russia’s willingness to re-
pay its external debt.
Separately, the central bank
said on Sunday that it was
limiting money transfers by
Russians outside of the coun-
try to $5,000 a month.
A10 | Monday, March 7, 2022
Shootings
Rattle
Seattle
Continued from Page One
years for homicides since the
1990s, when murder rates were
at all-time highs. Gunfire has
erupted all across surrounding
King County, not just in neigh-
borhoods plagued by violence.
“I stood by his side as he
died and reflected on how
needless his death was,” Dr.
Nehra said. “The increase in
gun-related injuries that we are
seeing at Harborview and in Se-
attle is both palpable and just
simply tragic. It will not let up.”
Dan Satterberg, the top
county prosecutor, recently
filed murder charges against a
14-year-old alleged to have
randomly gunned down one
man in January and another in
October. In over 30 years as a
prosecutor, he said, he
couldn’t recall charging a per-
son so young with two killings.
Seattle is one of many U.S.
cities that have seen shootings
and killings jump since the on-
set of the pandemic. Several
cities, including Albuquerque,
Philadelphia and Portland,
Ore., endured their deadliest
year ever in 2021.
Officials around the country
are struggling to understand
why. They point to a range of
factors such as the social and
institutional chaos wrought by
the pandemic, which stalled ef-
forts by community groups
that steer young people away
from crime. Officials also cite
fallout from the sweeping pro-
tests over police killings, which
led to a push to defund the po-
lice and a pullback by officers.
Such protests were especially
persistent in Seattle, where
demonstrators took over a sec-
tion of the Capitol Hill neigh-
borhood for weeks in 2020.
While Seattle’s murder rate
remains lower than other ma-
jor cities, it leapt above the U.S.
average in 2020 for the first
time in more than a decade.
The shootings are reshaping
facets of life in the metro area,
and kindling tensions over the
best ways to reduce them.
Voters in the traditionally
liberal-leaning city elected a
tough-on-crime Republican as
city attorney in November, and
for mayor, picked a moderate
Democrat who vowed to bol-
ster the police force and com-
bat gun violence.
King County is dispatching
what it calls peacekeepers to
work with young people they
have identified as prone to
committing shootings, becom-
ing shooting victims or both.
Harborview hospital has hired
a past shooting victim to
counsel the crush of gunshot
patients entering its doors,
hoping to keep them from re-
turning for the same reason.
Seattle Police Chief Adrian
Diaz’s phone buzzes with a text
every time there is a shooting.
It woke him just before 2 a.m.
on July 25. A man had been
shot in a fight outside a bar.
By the time the chief arrived
at the chaotic scene, where of-
ficers were trying to hold the
victim’s wailing mother behind
the police tape, his phone had
buzzed again. This alert was for
multiple shootings a mile away,
where people were spilling out
of nightclubs. Mr. Diaz sped
there to find five men shot.
An hour later, another text:
A woman was shot in the stom-
ach. And an hour after that, a
message saying a man was shot
at a pickup basketball game. In
all, three people were killed
and five wounded in three
A Fish Can
Help at the
Ballot Box
Continued from Page One
didates running for seats on
village and district councils, as
well as for legislative assem-
blies in five states in February
and March, office seekers have
had to get creative to make an
impression.
“Voters get a huge smile on
their face when they see the
fish,” said Mr. Goud, owner of a
business that installs air condi-
tioners. “It gives a positive
vibe to my campaign. Fish are
seen as an incarnation of the
Hindu lord Vishnu.”
Election officials gave Sas-
mita Khara, who is running for
a council seat in her district of
Koraput, three options for her
Police respond to a Seattle shooting, above. Below from left: Deepika Nehra, a trauma surgeon at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center;
Paul Carter, a violence intervention and prevention specialist at Harborview; Gosefa Velázquez, whose son was shot twice in eight months.
hours, in a city that had long
averaged 25 homicides a year.
“When you have a night like
that, you’re trying to figure out
what’s generating that level of
violence,” said Mr. Diaz, who
joined the department in 1997.
Since the start of Covid-19, the
chief said, there has been a no-
ticeable spike in domestic dis-
putes, bar fights and road rage.
Demoralized officers
Nightly protests in the sum-
mer of 2020 after the killing of
George Floyd by a Minneapolis
police officer pulled Mr. Diaz’s
officers away from their focus
on gun violence, he said. The
city council responded by cut-
ting millions from the police
department’s budget, including
cutting the salary of then-chief
Carmen Best, part of a na-
tional push to reallocate police
funds to social programs. Mr.
Diaz became interim police
chief in 2020 after Ms. Best,
Seattle’s first Black female po-
lice chief, resigned.
Demoralized officers have
since left in droves, similar to
other cities, said Travis Hill, a
recently departed police ser-
geant who spent 14 years on
the force. About 360 officers
left Seattle’s force in the past
two years, leaving about 950 in
the department to battle the
rise in shootings. At the begin-
ning of the pandemic, Seattle
had 1,305 officers. Stops and
other activity initiated by offi-
cers dropped by 27% in 2021,
and police response times
reached historic highs, accord-
ing to the department.
Mr. Diaz dealt with the loss
of officers by shifting two-
thirds of a unit devoted to gun
violence back to patrol. He now
is trying to rebuild that unit.
Police staffing and gun vio-
lence were a focus of Mayor
Bruce Harrell’s winning elec-
tion campaign last fall. He
routed City Council President
M. Lorena González, who sup-
ported the cuts to Seattle’s po-
symbol: a bucket, a bottle or a
television. The 31-year-old
chose the TV because it is an
aspirational item. “Voters can
easily relate to it,” she said.
Ms. Khara, who recently
worked as a sales executive at
a bank, borrowed a 32-inch
LED flat-screen from a friend
who runs an electronics shop.
The TV is her constant com-
panion as she hits the road
speaking to voters. She can
carry it only for an hour before
her arm muscles give out, she
said, forcing her to hand it off
to a campaign volunteer. “It is
the center of attraction,” she
added.
At Kalahandi Colony, a
neighborhood dotted with con-
crete houses topped by corru-
gated metal roofs, dozens of
women and girls on a recent
weekday cheered and chanted
“Long live, long live” as Ms.
Khara walked door-to-door
with the flat-screen tucked un-
der one arm, while she used
the other to hand out pink fli-
FROM PAGE ONE
lice department. At a Feb. 4
news conference on gun vio-
lence, Mr. Harrell, who de-
clined to be interviewed, said
he was directing the police
force to focus on the relatively
few individuals authorities be-
lieve are behind most gun
crimes, and on neighborhoods
where violence is worst. “I in-
herited a depleted and demor-
alized police department,”
said the mayor. Mr. Harrell op-
poses police budget cuts and
backs funding for community
intervention programs.
Almost everyone shot in
King County goes through Har-
borview hospital. It treated
about 300 to 350 gunshot pa-
tients annually until two years
ago. In 2020 there were around
400 and last year more than
500. Frustrated with the num-
ber of people shot more than
once, Dr. Nehra and her col-
leagues launched a pilot pro-
gram last fall aimed at keeping
patients from being shot again.
Harborview hired a past
shooting victim named Paul
Carter to shepherd patients to-
ward nonprofit groups that
steer people away from vio-
lence. At the bedside of young
gunshot patients, Mr. Carter,
Seattle shooting incidents
Shots fired Non-fatal
0 200
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
*Rate for Seattle 2017-2020 calculated using FBI homicide count and intercensal population estimates from July 1 of each year
Source: Seattle Police Department 2021 Year-End Crime Report (shootings); FBI (homicide rates); U.S. Census (population estimates).
ers featuring a drawing of an
old-fashioned cathode-ray-tube
TV.
Many voters said they were
thrilled that a woman was run-
ning for office. “The candidate
with the TV symbol is qualified
and looks smart,” said Radhika
Mudulu, a 55-year-old home-
maker. Ms. Mudulu, who can-
not read or write, said she
would look for a TV when she
goes to the polls.
Established parties like
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party,
which uses the lotus as a sym-
bol, and the opposition Indian
National Congress Party, which
uses the palm of an open hand,
have permanent symbols that
are prominently stamped onto
banners, clothing and pam-
phlets.
Candidates not associated
with an existing political party
are allocated symbols by elec-
tion officials. In Odisha, the
state’s commission has ear-
marked common household
41, talks with them about how
they reached this dangerous
moment in their lives. His
gravelly voice is a vestige of
his own wound, which required
surgery on his esophagus.
One patient Mr. Carter has
worked with, a 16-year-old
named John, arrived at Har-
borview the day before last
Thanksgiving. John’s torso was
pocked with wounds from be-
ing shot at a bus stop follow-
ing a dispute with two others.
His best friend was also shot in
the incident. The best friend’s
father was murdered at the
same bus stop two days later.
This was John’s second visit
to Harborview. Eight months
earlier, he was there after tak-
ing a bullet in his right side
during a fight at a gas station.
This time, John was in the
hospital for nearly a month, al-
lowing Mr. Carter to spend time
with him and his mother, Gos-
efa Velázquez, a single mother
also raising twin 12-year-olds.
Ms. Velázquez said she moved
her family from Louisiana to
escape an abusive husband. She
said John was traumatized by
beatings from his father and
from witnessing abuse she suf-
fered. He got caught stealing
Homicide rate, 1985-2020
Fatal (per 100,000) *
400 600 12
Seattle
10
8 brought in. She had seen him
6 U.S.
4 Mr. Carter, who had coun-
Washington
2
0 when his phone lighted up
1985 '90 '95
items such as stools, kettles
and lamps to parcel out.
When parties split into com-
peting factions, squabbles of-
ten break out over ownership
of the original symbol. Last
year, the Election Commission
of India barred the use of the
bungalow symbol—valuable be-
cause it was already well
‘Voters get a huge
smile on their face
when they see the
fish.’
known—after the Lok Janshakti
Party in the eastern state of Bi-
har broke in two, and instead
assigned new symbols: a heli-
copter and a sewing machine.
In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most
populous state, the commission
was forced to referee a bitter
family feud in 2017 between
and joined a gang.
John said he wasn’t worried
about dying after his most re-
cent shooting. “The only thing
I’m thinking about is, ‘Damn, I
left the house without saying
goodbye to my mom and my
little brother and little sister,’ ”
he said. He showed flickers of
self-reflection, like when he de-
scribed how he would catch his
little brother staring at his bul-
let wounds. “I could see I was
scaring him,” John said. “I
would say ‘Look at my stomach,
and remind yourself of what
comes with this’ ” lifestyle.
Worried John wouldn’t sur-
vive a third shooting, Mr.
Carter connected him and his
mother with a nonprofit called
Community Passageways. It is
one of several groups that, un-
der a county- and city-funded
program called the Regional
Peacekeepers Collective, pin-
point young people thought
likely to be involved in gun vi-
olence. The groups offer coun-
seling, family assistance and
job training, and respond
when shootings happen to try
to thwart retaliatory violence.
For months in 2020, because
of Covid-19, such organizations
couldn’t meet with groups of
2000 '05 '10 '15
Akhilesh Yadav, then-chief min-
ister of the state, and his father
over control of the regional Sa-
majwadi Party. The younger
Mr. Yadav’s bloc gained control
of the bicycle symbol.
“The cycle will go on,” he
tweeted after the decision. Mr.
Yadav resigned two months
later after the Samajwadi Party
lost seats to Mr. Modi’s BJP
party in the state election.
Mr. Goud, the candidate who
carries a fish, is running for
head of a council encompassing
three villages, together home
to around 2,700 people. On a
recent weekday, he blitzed
through some 300 homes in
the village of Loharapali.
With a trio of drummers
trailing, Mr. Goud clutched the
fish as he walked from door to
door, sometimes pausing to
kneel and touch a voter’s feet
in a traditional sign of respect
to the elderly. The fish is allot-
ted an occasional five-minute
rest break in the bucket of wa-
ter. Mr. Goud said he once
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
young people in person. Zoom
was less effective, and some
participants stopped showing
up. “It was almost like every-
thing shut down but the streets
and the little homies in the
streets,” said Dominique Davis,
who heads Community Pas-
sageways.
Last March, just as they
were starting to meet in person
again, Community Passageways
held a meeting at a church with
about 40 young people. A few
hours in, a 22-year-old spotted
a 19-year-old he believed had
once shot him, pulled a gun
and shot the younger man
dead. The incident, recounted
by Mr. Davis, traumatized his
staff and left the group having
to work to win back the trust
of authorities. A few months
later, the gunman died in a
shootout with Seattle police.
A mall shooting
More than 60% of shootings
in King County last year oc-
curred outside the city. Last
month, two mothers wandered
the parking lot of Westfield
Southcenter mall in Tukwila, a
suburb, handing out flyers of-
fering a $1,000 reward for in-
formation leading to an arrest
in the shooting of their two
JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (4)
teenagers. Late on the after-
noon of Nov. 24, one of the
women, Jeanine Burnley, was
doing holiday shopping at the
mall with her family when she
heard shots from the parking
lot. She rushed over to find her
18-year-old son, Josiah, lying
in her daughter’s arms, shot
multiple times. His girlfriend,
17-year-old Jashawna Hollings-
worth, was face down in her
own blood, Ms. Burnley said.
Josiah, a college freshman
home on break, survived.
Jashawna, a high-school se-
nior who Ms. Burnley said
planned to study nursing, died.
Ms. Burnley said she had no
idea why they were targeted in
the shooting, which police are
still investigating.
Late last year, mayors of
four growing suburbs south of
Seattle called a meeting with
King County officials to dis-
cuss a raft of shootings in
their areas. The mayors, from
districts more politically mod-
erate than Seattle, grew
alarmed upon learning of a
new approach the county was
taking: putting some accused
juvenile offenders under the
charge of community groups
instead of the courts.
Mr. Satterberg, the King
County prosecuting attorney,
said the program provides su-
pervision in instances where,
in the legal system, the offend-
ers would likely just get proba-
tion and be back on the streets.
Mayor Jim Ferrell of Fed-
eral Way, a large suburb that
had 11 murders in 2021, said
shootings have reached a tip-
ping point. Mr. Ferrell, a for-
mer prosecutor running for
the post held by Mr. Satter-
berg, who is retiring, was
headed to his office in January
when he learned of a double
shooting in his city the night
before. It appeared two people
had been shot in a parking lot.
One was a 14-year-old boy.
At Harborview, Dr. Nehra,
the trauma surgeon, recog-
nized the boy when was
before, when he had a gunshot
in the leg. This time he was
struck in the groin area. He
would survive, she said.
seled John, the young man
shot along with his best friend
just before Thanksgiving,
learned of this latest shooting
'20 with a text. He, too, recog-
nized the name of the boy who
had just been shot. It was
John’s best friend.
dropped it, but retrieved it and
gave it a rinse, and all was
well. He said no fish have died
on the campaign trail.
After its duties are complete
for the day, the fish is retired
to the home of a campaign sup-
porter and turned into dinner.
A fresh one is purchased the
next morning.
The perfect specimen is
about 4 pounds, Mr. Goud said.
At that weight, the fish makes
a solid impression but is still
light enough to haul around
during back-to-back days of
speaking to voters about his
platform of fixing bad roads
and improving the local water
supply.
Mihir Naik, one of the candi-
dates opposing Mr. Goud for
the job of village chief, said he
looks at his opponent’s tactics
with respect and a touch of
envy. His assigned symbol is a
wooden plow, a farming tool
common to the region.
“I can’t carry a plow,” he
said. “It’s too heavy.”

© 2022 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved.
FROM TOP: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TIM ROBINSON FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Spot Fake News, Even in a War
When emotions run high, news-literacy tactics taught in school can weed out misinformation
FAMILY
&TECH
JULIE
JARGON
T
he challenge of determin-
ing the credibility of on-
line news has gotten a lot
harder. Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine, unfolding in
real time on traditional
and social media, has demonstrated
that anyone can be misled.
A media professor publicly put
himself in the penalty box after
retweeting a pair of out-of-context
photos on Ukraine, as well as a
false report on Russia’s progress
into Kyiv.
“It’s very easy to get caught up
in the emotions of war,” said David
Carroll, associate professor of me-
dia design at Parsons School of De-
sign. Photos in two of his retweets
weren’t part of the current crisis,
he said, and perhaps he should have
first tried to search the images in
Google. “I was retweeting well-re-
spected, verified people,” he added.
If bogus reports can fool some-
one who understands—and
teaches—the ways of social-media
platforms, is there any hope for
the rest of us?
Fortunately, there can be. Re-
searchers from the Stanford His-
tory Education Group at Stanford
University taught high-school stu-
dents in Lincoln, Neb., to corrobo-
rate information they found on-
BY ALEX JANIN
T Helping Kids
he elimination of school mask
mandates is bringing joy for
some kids and apprehension
for others—and a new round of
challenges for parents.
Many children are thrilled to see
their classmates’ smiles in person
for the first time in two years, but
others are nervous about whether
it’s safe for themselves or their
loved ones. Some also worry about
being mocked for their decisions to
wear (or not wear) a mask.
Shannon McCormick, 47 years
old, who works in public relations in
Upper Arlington, Ohio, says her 12-
year-old daughter feels safest wear-
ing a mask at school and has no
plans to change that.
“When we go somewhere, she is
the first one with her mask on,”
says Mrs. McCormick. “I’m going to
keep asking her how she feels and
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELENA SCOTTI/ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ALAMY
measure that against what’s hap-
pening in the world.”
For parents helping their kids
navigate evolving rules and social
pressures, listening to children’s
fears and helping them understand
why masking is changing is impor-
tant, say child psychologists. Even
kids who are mostly excited about
ditching masks might have some
anxiety. Parents can also help kids
come up with ways to respond to
uncomfortable social situations.
Under the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s updated
guidelines for assessing Covid-19 risk
by county, the agency recommended
universal school masking in less than
10% of U.S. counties as of Thursday,
compared with more than 95% in pre-
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
line, with measurable success.
The skill they taught, “lateral
reading,” is a strategy long em-
ployed by fact-checkers at news
organizations. It involves cross-
checking the information in a
news article or on a website with
key factors—such as the source of
that information, and the perspec-
tives and possible motivations of
the individuals behind it—to deter-
mine the author’s credibility.
The study, expected to be pub-
lished soon in the Journal of Edu-
cational Psychology and funded
by Google.org, the charitable arm
of Google, involved nearly 500
students in government classes at
six high schools. Students at three
of the schools received six lateral-
reading lessons over three
months; students at the other
three schools completed only the
regular curriculum.
The students were tested on
their ability to discern credible on-
line content before and after the
lessons were given. All of the stu-
dents started out with a very low
ability to discern credible informa-
tion. The test scores of trained
students improved significantly
more than the scores of students
in the control group.
Sharper Reading
In the past, students were taught
to look at website addresses for
credibility. It was once widely be-
lieved that a .org URL, which is of-
ten used by nonprofits, contained
Navigate the
End of Mask
Mandates
vious weeks, under its earlier metrics.
As of Thursday, some 40% of U.S.
school districts required masks for
students and staff, compared with
74% of districts in October 2021, ac-
cording to Burbio Inc., a Pelham, N.Y.,
data company that tracks K-12
school closures and mask policies. In
New York City, students and staff in
K-12 public schools will no longer be
required to wear masks indoors as
of Monday.
Explain what’s changed and
what hasn’t
For kids who are anxious about re-
turning to school alongside mask-
less peers, parents can help by ex-
plaining the changing status of the
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
reliable information; likewise a
professional-looking website, a
strong “About Us” page and claims
of nonpartisanship or other state-
ments of non-bias could be trusted
as authentic.
But as groups that try to sway
policy and political opinions have
become more sophisticated in their
methods, this guidance no longer
holds up, Sam Wineburg, one of the
Stanford study authors, said.
In addition to relying on multi-
ple sources, it’s important also to
figure out whether a news source
has accountability to readers, such
as a way to contact authors and
editors and a policy and practice
of correcting mistakes, said Emily
Bell, director of the Tow Center
for Digital Journalism at Columbia
pandemic, mental-health profession-
als say. For instance, they can note
that case counts are falling in their
district as the Omicron-driven wave
subsides, and that public-health of-
ficials in many places have deter-
mined that the risks are now lower.
Parents can also talk with their
kids about other ways to reduce
risk, says Brett Enneking, a child
psychologist at Riley Hospital for
Children at Indiana University
Health in Indianapolis. For example,
she says, it can help to reassure
children that “we will still do other
things that help keep us and other
people healthy, like washing our
hands and staying home when we
are sick.”
Lincoln Public
Schools in
Nebraska
embraced
lateral-reading
lessons.
University’s Graduate School of
Journalism.
One task in the Stanford study
required students to check the
credibility of an environmentally
themed website created by a scien-
tific-looking nonprofit that
claimed not to represent any in-
dustry. Students who researched
the organization found that the or-
ganization had received funding
from the oil industry, which could
indicate bias toward fossil fuels.
As part of their lateral-reading
lessons, students also were taught
not to rely solely on the first few
websites that come up in a search,
because search-result rankings can
be affected by paid promotion and
search-engine optimization.
I asked Dr. Wineburg and Joel
Offer choices
Some kids might feel more comfort-
able continuing to wear a mask.
And some parents might want their
children to keep masking, too.
Ask for your kids’ input and pro-
vide choices within limitations, says
Cailin Currie, a developmental psy-
chologist and research scientist
with the Seattle-based nonprofit
Committee for Children. For exam-
ple, if you live at home with an im-
munocompromised sibling or grand-
parent, you might ask your child to
continue wearing a mask during
class but let them decide whether
to wear it during recess.
Leaving the choice completely up
to kids, especially middle- and high-
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A11
Breakstone, another of the Stan-
ford study authors, for ways lateral
reading can be applied to informa-
tion about the Ukraine war on so-
cial media. They provided several
examples, including two from the
same Twitter-verified account of a
Belarusian news outlet. One was
an announcement that retailer
H&M had suspended sales in Rus-
sia. The other featured a supposed
Time magazine cover visually link-
ing Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler.
Simple Google searches demon-
strated that the H&M news was
accurate, and that the image
wasn’t really from Time. The chal-
lenge for someone who spotted
them on Twitter would be to
pause, do a search to check for
signs of validity and then, if satis-
fied, return to Twitter to share or
comment. But that requires aware-
ness and impulse control.
Start in Schools
Embedding lateral-reading lessons
into social-studies classes is more
effective than teaching them as a
separate media-literacy course, said
Jaclyn Kellison, a social-studies cur-
riculum specialist at Lincoln Public
Schools, the Nebraska district that
participated in Stanford’s study.
Students learn the techniques bet-
ter when applying them as they’re
conducting research, she said.
The district didn’t have a sys-
tematic way of teaching students
how to verify information until it
tried Stanford’s curriculum. Stan-
ford is making all of its lateral-
reading course materials free for
educators.
One challenge is to teach stu-
dents to figure out credible sources
for themselves, so educators aren’t
accused of bias. “Teachers don’t say,
‘Here’s a list of bad or good sources
or those with a liberal or conserva-
tive bent,’ ” said Rob McEntarffer,
an assessment and evaluations spe-
cialist for the district.
It’s one thing to vet online in-
formation during research for a
school assignment and another to
apply the same rigor to a provoca-
tive tweet or Instagram post, as
Prof. Carroll, the media-design
professor, learned. He said tech
companies bear a lot of the re-
sponsibility for the spread of mis-
information.
Facebook parent company Meta
Platforms Inc., which also operates
Instagram, said it has implemented
a number of ways to fight the
spread of misinformation around
the Ukraine war on its platforms,
including by demoting posts on
Facebook that contain links to Rus-
sian state-controlled media web-
sites and labeling the links so peo-
ple know where they lead before
clicking on or sharing them. Twit-
ter has said it will reduce visibility
of tweets containing content from
Russian state-controlled media and
label them. Twitter also has cre-
ated a dedicated page containing
reliable information and updates
about the conflict.
It’s unrealistic to fact-check ev-
ery Instagram post or tweet that
crosses our feeds. But we can
practice restraint. As part of his
Twitter mea culpa, Prof. Carroll
decided not to tweet for a day.
“I gave myself a timeout be-
cause that’s what I’d do to my
kids,” he said.
school-age students, can create an
opportunity to teach critical-think-
ing skills, says Dr. Currie. Andrew
King, a father in Fairfax, Va., took
this approach with his 14- and 15-
year-old daughters when their
school lifted its mask mandate.
“I’ve said it is your choice entirely
and I support that decision,” says
Mr. King.
His daughters opted to continue
wearing their masks in class for
now, he says, and they told him
that most of their classmates did
the same. Safety considerations
factor into their decision, but it also
doesn’t hurt that the masks hide
the girls’ new braces, he added.
Head off social friction
Helping your child develop scripts
about why they’re continuing to
wear a mask can help alleviate so-
cial anxiety, says Dr. Enneking. She
suggests offering sample language
for a child to use if someone makes
an uncomfortable comment, for in-
stance, “I wear my mask to protect
my grandma who’s high risk.”
It can also help to explain that
different families will have different
rules on masking, just like they do
for other situations, mental-health
experts say.
Parents can provide examples
when a rule has changed in your
house but not in everyone’s, Dr. Cur-
rie recommends. For instance, she
says: “In our family, we can’t watch
TV on a school night, but I know at
your friend’s house they watch TV
on a school night, and families just
have different rules that they
follow because every family isn’t
the same.”
A12 | Monday, March 7, 2022 NY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

PERSONAL JOURNAL.

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: KRISTEN NORMAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2); JEFF ABERNATHY;
WHAT’S YOUR WORKOUT? | JEN MURPHY

Virtual Bike-Race
Team Helped Him
Rebuild Strength

A
recreational runner
and cyclist, Jeff Aber-
nathy nearly aban-
doned his athletic aspi-
rations in 2014 when
he was diagnosed with
psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune
condition that affects the joints. A
virtual bike-racing league now has
him training like a pro cyclist.
After a year of inactivity, he set
a goal to run 1 mile or bike 5 miles
every day. To keep up his cycling
in the winter months, he started
riding a stationary bike, streaming
workouts via Zwift, an app where
indoor cyclists can ride and race
together in a live, videogame-like
universe. Riders often cycle on vir-
tual versions of real racecourses,
like the Tour de France.
He joined a virtual-racing
league team in January 2021 to
boost his motivation during the
pandemic. He now trains to win,
not just to stay fit. As president of
Alma College in Alma, Mich., Mr.
Abernathy, 57 years old, is on the
road at least 10 days a month
fundraising and networking. He
says a team sport was never prac-
tical before Zwift because he
couldn’t commit consecutive week-
ends to in-person racing.
Virtual competition lets him
race three eight-week seasons with
his team each year. He logged 140
races in 2021, and his team fin-
ished first in its bracket during the
final season. They are hoping to
defend their title this year.
“I’ve never had more fun riding
my bike in my life,” he says.
The Workout
Mr. Abernathy says racing has
inspired him to embrace an ath-
lete’s approach to training. He
works on and off with a cycling
coach, plus a personal trainer and
sports nutritionist.
His Zwift team is made up of
five Americans and five Canadians
he has gotten to know over group
chats. He is the oldest member by
20 years but says he’s still the
strongest sprinter on the team.
Every Tuesday night they com-
Jeff Abernathy, president of Alma College, works out at the campus gym, above, and with his trainer, left. His
avatar, above left, takes the lead in a Zwift race. The app lets indoor cyclists ride in a live, videogame-like universe.
pete in 40- to 80-minute virtual
races. “We take it very seriously,
even strategizing ahead of races,”
he says. On Wednesdays he partic-
ipates in Zwift’s duathlon series, a
virtual bike-run race that might
entail a 35-minute ride followed by
a 15-minute run. He does a Zwift
interval workout once a week. On
Saturdays he participates solo in
training rides that might be up to
100 miles long.
Two to three days a week are
devoted to strength training, ei-
ther at his home gym or with a
trainer at the Alma College cam-
pus gym. Sessions focus on either
lower or upper body and might in-
clude bench presses, dumbbell
curls, plank variations, dead lifts
or weighted squats.
Despite his joint pain, which he
manages with steroid injections and
massage work, he is training to run
the Boston Marathon with his wife
on April 18 to raise money for mul-
tiple sclerosis. He keeps his mileage
low and will do only a handful of
long runs ahead of the race. His
wife is a devoted Peloton user, and
the couple go on a tandem-bike
touring vacation annually.
The Diet
Philosophy: Gluten free, moder-
ate carbs and a minimum of 135
grams of protein a day.
Breakfast: A protein shake and
a lot of coffee.
Racing fuel: Energy gels and
Nuun electrolyte tablets every
hour.
Dinner: Greek salad with
chicken or fish, and a steak once a
week.
Essential Gear
Never leaves home without: His
2015 Cannondale SuperX cyclo-
cross bike (bought used for
$1,000)
Commuter bike: 2010 Breezer
Uptown 8 ($800)
Indoor training: Tacx NEO Bike
Smart Trainer ($3,200)
Bike for two: He and his wife
ride a 2016 Cannondale Road Tan-
dem 2 Bike ($2,200). They plan to
spend a week touring Scotland by
tandem this June.
Sneakers: The Nike ZoomX Va-
porfly Next% 2 ($250), which has
drawn controversy over its design
and has become a popular shoe
among marathoners. “It’s pricey,
but I’ll take every advantage I can
get,” he says.
Subscriptions and fees: Zwift
($15 a month), Strava Summit ($60
a year), Headspace meditation app
($95 a year) and about $200 a
month for personal training.
Recovery: Hyperice Normatec
2.0 Legs compression sleeves
($900) and Hyperice Hypervolt 2
Pro ($400) are lifesavers, he says.
Playlist
For interval training, Mr. Aber-
nathy puts on John Lee Hooker,
Robert Johnson and the Rolling
Stones, including all the tracks on
the “Beggars Banquet” and “Goats
Head Soup” albums. During endur-
ance rides, he listens to the Sex
Pistols and Italian ensemble Il Gi-
ardino Armonico.
MATT MARTIAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)

Rebecca Fowler’s Lamborghini can beat 200 mph. Arizona weather lets her keep the top down.

MY RIDE | A.J. BAIME 5 foot 8, and it fits me per-

fectly, and because the
This Lamborghini weather is what it is in Ari-
zona, I can keep the top

Is Her Perfect Car down nearly all the time. I

Rebecca Fowler of Scotts-
dale, Ariz., founder and presi-
dent of RAC Financial, a
credit-card processing firm,
on her 2021 Lamborghini
Huracán EVO RWD Spyder,
as told to A.J. Baime.
I GREW UP the oldest
daughter of a car enthusiast
and club-racing driver. Our
family lived all over the
world, and everywhere we
went, the one constant was
cars. Since I was the oldest
child, my father took me to
racetracks all the time.
When I got my driver’s li-
cense, he made me take all
the wheels off my car and
put them back on before he
would let me drive.
That passion has never
left me. Being a female in
my 50s, I suppose it is
slightly unusual. But I am
not a good passenger. I pre-
fer to be in the driver’s seat.
We have a lot of cars in
our garage, but for me the
Lamborghini is the one. I
first saw it six weeks ago
when it came up on consign-
ment at our local McLaren
dealership, and bought it im-
mediately. I loved the col-
ors—classic white, with
white and black interior. The
model comes in all-wheel
drive, but I prefer rear-wheel,
which is what this car is. Ev-
ery time I get in it, I spark
the engine and I feel this ex-
citement. There is no sound
like the sound of this car’s
V-10 engine. I have a 1,000-
horsepower truck, and it just
roars. But there is some-
thing so smooth and oper-
atic about the Lamborghini.
When I was growing up,
Lambos weren’t as popular as
they are today. They always
broke down. They weren’t
well-built and not easy to
drive at all. This car I can
Ms. Fowler’s passion for cars was instilled by her father.
drive every day. People look at
it and think it would be scary
to drive, but it’s not. Yes, it
does have about 600 horse-
power, and it can top 200
mph. But it is also very driv-
able for just about anybody.
It is true that, when the
top is up, it can be difficult
to get in and out of the car.
My husband has to grab his
knees and pull them in close
to get them inside. But I am
would not recommend using
this Lamborghini for runs to
the grocery store, as the
“frunk” [the trunk is in the
front, while the engine is be-
hind the driver] is barely big
enough to fit my handbag.
Since I’ve owned this car,
nearly every weekend, I take it
somewhere. I belong to an all-
female group in Arizona called
the Leadfoot Ladies, and we
get together for driving
events. There is a local Cars &
Coffee that lures hundreds of
cars. My husband and I will
take our cars to Monterey Car
Week in California in August.
Almost daily, when I go
someplace with my husband
(or even my son), we’ll get
out of the car and a
stranger will turn to him and
say, “Nice car.” He will an-
swer, “It’s hers, not mine.”
That’s just the norm, but we
are trying to change that.
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
ART REVIEW
Tutorial on an Underknown Painter
A small show elevates the profile of late-20th-century American realist Lennart Anderson
FROM TOP: BNY MELLON; COLLECTION OF VINCENT ARCILESI
BY LANCE ESPLUND
T
Old Lyme, Conn.
he art critic Hilton
Kramer called the
late-20th-century Ameri-
can realist painter Len-
nart Anderson
(1928-2015) a “Degas of
our time.” Another avid fan and a
collector of Anderson’s paintings
refers to him as “America’s Char-
din.” These French masters were
undoubtedly important to Ander-
son, as were Roman frescoes, Piero
della Francesca, Poussin, Ingres,
Corot, Puvis de Chavannes and Bal-
thus, as well as the psychologically
charged portraits of Anderson’s
teacher Edwin Dickinson. The in-
fluence of these earlier painters,
flashing here and there like famil-
ial traits throughout Anderson’s
oeuvre, shine through in “Lennart
Anderson: A Retrospective,” a
handsome exhibition (curated by
Amaya Gurpide and Jordan Sokol)
of more than 30 oil paintings and
drawings here at the Lyme Acad-
emy of Fine Arts.
Born in Detroit, Anderson stud-
MUSIC REVIEW
The Songbook Hits
The Backroads
BY BARRY MAZOR
P
erforming a George and Ira
Gershwin song has always
been a rare occurrence on the
country side of the American music
spectrum. The Gershwin brothers’
combined musical and lyrical so-
phistication seems to have repre-
sented an urbane wall that country
music makers have largely chosen
not to breach or be especially iden-
tified with. So the new album
“Gershwin Country,” out Friday
(Craft Recordings)—conceived by
Great American Songbook promul-
gator Michael Feinstein, recorded
in Nashville, and pairing him with
such country standard bearers as
Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Brad
Paisley and Lee Ann Womack—is a
provocative surprise.
Country has never been worlds
apart from pop and jazz. Jimmie
Rodgers, the “Father of Country
Music,” recorded with Louis Arm-
strong in 1930. And in the decades
that followed, Bob Wills, Milton
Brown and the broad Western
Swing contingent regularly fused
country and jazz sounds. Nashville
musicians have been contributing
to jazz and pop sessions with
aplomb since the 1950s. Still, while
the Gershwins’ “Summertime,” for
ART STREIBER
example, has been recorded thou-
sands of times, there have not been
more than a handful of country
ARTS IN REVIEW
ied at the Art Institute of Chicago,
Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield
Hills, Mich., and the Art Students
League in New York. A painter’s
painter (and a professor at Brooklyn
College, Columbia, Pratt, Princeton
and Yale), Anderson is deeply ad-
mired yet relatively unknown be-
yond circles of artists. That’s why
it’s entirely fitting yet somewhat
The exhibition,
currently traveling to
schools, deserves to be
more widely seen.
disheartening that this show is
making the rounds at colleges. It
opened, in a very different, scruffier
and more comprehensive configura-
tion, at the New York Studio School,
where Anderson also taught; and, in
June, it travels to the Southern Utah
Museum of Art at Southern Utah
University. I’m thrilled to see that
he is still inspiring student artists,
takes on it, mainly by notably jazz-
friendly, instrumentally adroit art-
ists—Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins,
Doc Watson. (It’s not included in
this set, either.) Wills’s
1938 version of “Oh,
Lady Be Good” with
his band was one ex-
ception to the “not
Gershwin” rule, as was
fellow-Texan Mr. Nel-
son’s 1978 version of
“Someone to Watch
Over Me.”
Mr. Feinstein has
decided to bridge the
longstanding gap,
viewing country art-
ists as the last, best
interpreters of lyrics
around, fully commit-
ted to inhabiting a
song, and telling their
stories simply and
honestly. That he gen-
erally sings the often-
neglected introduc-
tory verses to this Michael Feinstein’s new release, ‘Gershwin Country,’ is out Friday.
set’s songs—the most
narrative and scene-
setting aspect of Ira Gershwin’s
lyrics—underscores how much the
storytelling is central for him.
His friend Liza Minnelli, Ira
Gershwin’s goddaughter, served as
the project’s executive producer,
contributing to the song and artist
choices. The direct link to the Nash-
but this retrospective, the first since
his death, should be much larger
and headlining at major museums.
Anderson, extremely talented and
idiosyncratic, explored a handful of
idioms. His oeuvre was variable,
messy, uneven. Besides the tradi-
tional genres of portrait, still life,
landscape and interior, Anderson pro-
duced Bacchanals and Idylls—ambi-
tious series of mythical landscape
paintings with animals, gods, god-
desses, bathers, dancers and nymphs.
He depicted street scenes with acci-
dents and, in 1951, a man falling from
the sky, about to hit the pavement.
Lyme’s retrospective, though co-
hesive in and of itself, does not of-
fer a full range of Anderson’s pas-
sions, fantasies and eccentricities. It
primarily features Anderson’s por-
traits—which make him appear
more conventional and unimagina-
tive than he actually was. Many
here, extremely strong, express the
immediacy, frontal presence and
unique personalities found in early
Roman Fayum mummy portraits.
Most, such as “Morris Dorsky”
(1990-91) and “Portrait of Jeanette”
(1995), like Byzantine Madonnas,
ville artists was gifted record maker
Kyle Lehning, who’d produced cele-
brated albums by Waylon Jennings,
Randy Travis and Kenny Rogers, and
now joined Mr. Feinstein in produc-
ing this one.
For the arrangements, crucial
to determining how this musical
union would work, they turned to
Nashville guitarist Bryan Sutton,
bass player Viktor Krauss and ac-
cordionist Jeff Taylor. A decision
appears to have been made to
avoid horns and keep keyboards
to a minimum; Mr. Taylor often
takes an accordion solo where a
horn break might be expected.
The strong fiddle presence,
mainly courtesy of Aubrey
Haynie, is not old-time country
hoedown style, but in the swing
mode associated with Joe Venuti
explore the tension between a solid,
fully realized head and its sur-
rounding mostly flat and neutral-
colored ground. “Portrait of Mrs.
Suzy Peterson” (1959), reminiscent
of Renaissance por-
traiture, is monumen-
tal, yet emits soft,
milky light. In “Por-
trait of Barbara S.
(the First One)”
(1972), the sitter’s
eyes hover just above
center, as if she is
struggling to hold our
gaze and to keep her
head above water.
Also included at
Lyme are a few nudes;
a handful of wonder-
ful still lifes; two
small, striking, light-
filled landscapes,
“Patmos” (1959) and
“Motecastello di
Vibio” (1990), which
summon Corot; and
the large, multi-figure
narrative painting
“Street Scene” (1961).
A rich array of warm,
and Stephane Grappelli.
The singers known as instantly
identifiable stylists stay that way.
Ms. Krauss, trading off lines with
Mr. Feinstein, gives a typically vul-
nerable reading to “Someone to
Watch Over Me,” which calls for it,
and where many Broadway singers
turn dramatically urgent, even
frantic with the “put on some
speed; follow my lead” verse, she
remains delicate and understated.
Ms. Parton approaches “Love Is
Here to Stay” with the airy vocal
attack she often uses these days,
and Mr. Feinstein and fiddler
Haynie match that light, breathy
style for a tight—and airy—trio.
Ronnie Milsap has always worked
the line between country and soul;
he brings some gritty tone to “Oh,
Lady Be Good,” but swings, too.
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A13
Lennart Anderson’s ‘Street Scene’
(1961), left, and ‘Portrait of Barbara
S. (the First One)’ (1972), below
heightened oranges, salmons,
ochers, limes, roses and blues, it de-
picts the unfurling reactions to an
accident involving a child and his
broken toy wagon. Radiating sum-
mer heat, the painting recalls, in
color, drama and organized chaos,
Poussin’s “The Abduction of the Sa-
bine Women” (c. 1633-34), in New
York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The injured boy and an attending
woman (a pocket of calm) suggest a
pietà; and a girl, her blond pigtails
flapping like angel’s wings, surges
into the scene like a superhero. The
painting’s numerous figures, as if
suspended, begin to collide, freefall,
tumble and topple, as if abandoned,
midair, by a juggler.
For me, however, the most com-
pelling pictures here are Anderson’s
still-life paintings, which unfold like
dramatic narratives. In one, from
1993, the tiny, crinkly, gleaming alu-
minum-foil facets of a Jiffy Pop pop-
corn bag mesmerize, as does its torn
opening—gaping like a hellmouth. In
“Still Life With Mannequin (Admira-
tion)” (1997), an artist’s jointed,
wooden studio mannequin gazes up-
ward, toward a plaster bust frag-
ment—perhaps an ancient Roman
goddess arisen from her tomb. She
leans out, toward us, as the reclining
mannequin, like a fallen warrior,
leans in. Their gazes, like ships pass-
ing, miss each other, a palpable
emptiness in their wake. It’s a hum-
ble, beautiful, melancholic picture,
painted by “America’s Chardin.”
Lennart Anderson: A Retrospective
Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, through
March 18
Mr. Esplund, the author of “The Art
of Looking: How to Read Modern and
Contemporary Art” (Basic Books),
writes about art for the Journal.
And Ms. Womack, a country torch-
song master, brings those gifts to
“Soon,” in a duet with Mr. Feinstein
sounding just as longing in tandem.
The jazziest here? Lyle Lovett,
who’s always married country, folk
and jazz in his “Large Band” re-
cordings, powers the relatively ob-
scure “Clap Yo’ Hands,” a rave-up,
electrified jubilee number from the
1926 Broadway show “Oh, Kay!”
And Nashville’s own Western Swing
band, the Time Jumpers—with its
Vince Gill and Mr. Feinstein singing
twin lead vocals, three fiddlers and
multiple guitars, steel included—
keep “Fascinating Rhythm” straight
ahead danceable, yet with the
rhythmic surprises the number fa-
mously demands.
Rosanne Cash (“I’ve Got a Crush
on You”), Mr. Paisley (“I Got
Rhythm”), Amy Grant (“They Can’t
Take That Away From Me”) and
Mandy Barnett (“How Long Has This
Been Going On?”) all take charming
turns in a traditional mode—not
country traditional, mainstream pop
traditional. Ms. Minnelli provides
the album closer, a low-key, after-
hours-style “Embraceable You”
backed by the album’s musicians,
and it doesn’t leap out as an outlier,
which is telling.
This set is not so much “Gersh-
win goes country” as “country
singers and players handle Gersh-
win.” They do that quite well, but
not dramatically differently from
other first-rate singers. There’s
never been one defining country-
music sound or vocal attack; those
have evolved over time. This proj-
ect’s agenda has not been about
featuring any of them.
Mr. Mazor reviews country and
roots music for the Journal.
A14 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

SPORTS
Baseball’s $350 Million Union Activist
Max Scherzer, the highest-paid player in the sport, has emerged as the public face of the MLB players union
BY JARED DIAMOND

Of all the people affected by the

baseball lockout that has delayed
the season indefinitely, Max Scher-
zer might have least to gain from
the contents of any new labor deal.
Many changes the Major League
Baseball Players Association is
fighting for—increased compensa-
tion for its youngest members and
fewer mechanisms that discourage
spending on talent—will barely af-
fect Scherzer at all.
He has already earned around
$240 million during his professional
career and recently signed a three-
year contract with the New York
Mets that will pay him an annual
salary of $43.3 million, an all-time
record. By the time the deal runs
out, Scherzer will have made well
over $350 million for his ability to
throw a ball 60 feet, 6 inches.
But when the union and team
owners gathered recently for nine
consecutive days of bargaining in
Florida to try to reach an accord to
preserve opening day, Scherzer was
a constant presence. He was fre-
quently in the room for high-stakes
meetings opposite top MLB offi-
cials. At a news conference after
games were canceled, Scherzer was
one of two players on the dais,

GREG LOVETT/ASSOCIATED PRESS

emerging as the public face of the
union and a key negotiator.
Scherzer, 37, doesn’t have to be
doing any of this. “There’s nothing
about what he’s doing that’s going
to have benefit for him personally,”
said Scott Boras, his agent.
As Scherzer enters the final
stages of a career that will end with New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer has been a major player in contract negotiations for the union. ’It’s my turn to stand and hold that torch,’ he says.
a plaque in the Hall of Fame, he has
taken on a surprising new role: one
of the world’s unlikeliest—and ery last dollar. pool that would be allocated to top are the right people to be able to Tony Clark said.
probably highest-paid—union activ- His interest in union matters in- young stars. voice that and protect those guys As a player, Scherzer has nothing
ists. tensified after the ratification of the Scherzer isn’t the only big-name because we are some of the biggest left to prove, establishing himself as
“When it’s your opportunity to previous collective bargaining player who is part of union leader- faces in the game.” one of the great starters of his gen-
be able to stand and fight for the agreement, before the 2017 cam- ship. The executive subcommittee Some in management say pri- eration. He has won three Cy Young
young players, you need to stand paign. In its aftermath, it became includes several other stars like vately that they don’t believe Scher- awards, more than every pitcher
and fight for them and make the clear that management had won the Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor zer’s altruistic motives and are con- ever besides Roger Clemens, Randy
game better for them,” Scherzer deal: The average player salary de- ($341 million), New York Yankees vinced that the union is more Johnson, Steve Carlton and Greg
said by telephone last week. “It’s creased over its life. ace Gerrit Cole ($324 million) and interested in helping the top of the Maddux. The seven-year, $210 mil-
my turn to stand and hold that Scherzer was frustrated with market than the rank and file. They lion pact he inked with the Wash-
torch and leave that type of mental- how the union fared five years ago argue that increasing the luxury tax ington Nationals in 2015 is widely
ity for the next generation.” but realized, “I can’t sit here and threshold, which primarily benefits seen as ranking among the most
Scherzer didn’t necessarily ex- complain about the deal that we got
As a player, Scherzer has veteran free agents, is the real mis- successful free-agent contracts in
pect to follow this path. But from if I’m not going to stand up and established himself as sion and that what’s on the table history, featuring a World Series
the start of his career, he has taken fight for guys myself.” currently already improves condi- championship in 2019.
a tenacious approach to the busi- At that time, Scherzer said,
one of the great starters tions for young players. Scherzer is known for his fierce
ness side of baseball. “Players were not ready to fight of his generation. Indeed, that is one area in which competitiveness and bringing an al-
The Arizona Diamondbacks strong enough.” So he volunteered the current talks could improve most manic intensity to the
drafted him 11th overall in 2006 out to join the union’s eight-man execu- Scherzer’s life. His new employer, mound—traits that people involved
of the University of Missouri and tive subcommittee, the group most Mets owner Steve Cohen, has dem- with the talks say he’s unafraid to
offered him half of what he thought closely involved with bargaining ef- Texas Rangers infielder Marcus onstrated that he will spare no ex- bring into bargaining.
he deserved. So Scherzer held out, forts. Semien ($175 million). Five of the pense to improve the team. Raising Now, before he retires, Scherzer
going to pitch for the independent “I needed to be on the front eight members are represented by the luxury tax threshold would only wants to win another title with the
Fort Worth Cats in an effort to gain lines,” Scherzer said. Boras, baseball’s most powerful motivate Cohen to spend even more Mets. But he has to finish some-
leverage. This time around, the union is agent. with no fear of penalty. thing first: attaining a labor con-
Nearly a year later, mere mo- seeking a significantly less onerous The makeup of the subcommittee The union strongly disputes that tract that he hopes will benefit gen-
ments before the Diamondbacks “luxury tax,” which penalizes teams has given rise to a public narrative its efforts are tilted toward high erations of players to come.
would have lost the rights to Scher- for surpassing certain payroll that the baseball labor problem is a earners, and considers the notion “The only reason I’ve been able
zer, they offered him $4.3 million thresholds, and people familiar with clash between “billionaires and mil- an attempt to create division among to sign the contracts I have is be-
guaranteed and up to $6 million the talks say it is likely the thorni- lionaires,” though a large portion of the players. cause the guys before me have
with incentives. Scherzer prevailed, est issue on the table. Players are players don’t make millions. “Accomplished veterans like Max fought and pushed the market
but the experience illustrated to also pushing for significant raises in “Who better to stand up for the have always risen to the forefront higher for the guys behind them,”
him the cutthroat nature of his cho- the minimum salaries and the cre- younger guys to go try to fight the of our player fraternity at critical Scherzer said. “That’s part of the
sen profession in the battle for ev- ation of a performance-based bonus billionaires?” Scherzer said. “We moments,” union executive director brotherhood.”

Weather The WSJ Daily Crossword | Edited by Mike Shenk

Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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w York 10 Workplace 44 Highchair user
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Des Moines
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Denver Springfield
Washington D.C.
37 38 39 47 Harbor lofty
San Francisco 40s Indianapolis 90s best!”
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Charleston Richmond ambitions
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100+ 12 Insert under a 48 Soccer star
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70s Phoenix Albuquerque Oklahoma City Columbia leg 49 Contacted by
San Diego Atlanta 50 51 52
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0s Austin 59 60 61 62
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80s
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Anchorage Honolulu 60s Miami 23 Official in a example
Showers Flurries 66 67 68
40s 70s striped shirt 55 Treat for winter
25 “Venerable” birds
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Ice
WATCH YOUR TONE! | By Tori Grant monk of old 56 Carded, say
England
U.S. Forecasts City
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Anchorage 33 22 s 35 29 pc Pittsburgh 61 30 t 43 32 pc Istanbul 47 39 r 45 38 r 14 Sunburn soother
excursions 63 “No man is an 32 “___ only take a Lovelace
Atlanta 79 51 t 62 52 sh Portland, Maine 44 32 sh 43 21 c Jakarta 87 76 t 87 76 t 15 Oil grp.
Austin 58 40 pc 51 37 pc Portland, Ore. 57 42 pc 51 40 c Jerusalem 59 43 s 62 51 c 37 Coward island” poet minute” 61 Kitchen gadget
16 Fire remnants brand
Baltimore 80 41 t 54 39 pc Sacramento 69 38 s 72 39 s Johannesburg 78 62 pc 77 61 t 40 Crete’s highest 64 Wagon haulers 33 “...amazingly
Boise 49 30 s 50 30 r St. Louis 41 28 c 48 33 pc London 46 34 pc 52 42 pc 17 Many speakers enough!”
peak, for short 65 Pear, pine or 62 Bread source,
Boston 52 38 r 45 30 pc Salt Lake City 37 27 pc 43 33 pc Madrid 52 39 sh 56 35 sh connect via it
Burlington 42 29 sn 35 23 pc San Francisco 65 45 s 64 47 s Manila 91 76 pc 93 77 pc 42 Black color pecan 35 Panache for short
Charlotte 80 56 pc 66 50 pc Santa Fe 44 19 pc 44 18 c Melbourne 73 61 c 69 57 c
19 “___ a dream”
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Cleveland 46 29 r 40 30 pc Sioux Falls 30 17 pc 37 13 s Milan 53 35 s 51 27 s 20 Barbecue 46 Sea seasoning 67 One of Luke E I G H T C E R
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Dallas 55 36 pc 57 39 pc Wash., D.C. 79 45 t 54 40 pc Moscow 35 17 sn 24 7 pc MA D R A S O X E
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Miami 83 74 sh 85 74 s Beijing 62 27 s 60 30 pc Sydney 78 72 r 75 66 r competition 56 Some digital 2 Powerful S I D D U A D A L I O T O
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Milwaukee 37 21 sn 43 28 s Berlin 45 25 pc 45 27 pc Taipei City 65 55 r 68 57 pc 27 Heavyweight chats, for short attraction
Minneapolis 30 18 c 38 15 pc Brussels 43 29 s 50 35 s Tokyo 54 41 pc 49 42 pc The contest answer is PERU. Eight crossing
great 58 Word after small 3 They’re held by countries can be found by filling in letters in four of
Nashville 69 35 t 55 41 pc Buenos Aires 79 63 r 76 68 s Toronto 36 25 sn 37 27 pc
New Orleans 81 59 t 68 60 r Dubai 90 77 s 93 75 pc Vancouver 48 40 c 48 33 pc 29 Midterm or final or chicken skeptics the black squares (CYPRUS/NEPAL, GREECE/
New York City 69 41 r 49 37 pc Dublin 43 36 c 47 41 r Warsaw 40 27 sn 41 31 c YEMEN, NAURU/IRAQ, ECUADOR/PORTUGAL).
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Oklahoma City 46 26 s 51 29 pc Edinburgh 48 31 pc 49 41 pc Zurich 43 20 pc 47 23 s The four added letters spell the contest answer.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
OPINION
Putin’s ‘Vertical’ Empire Will Fall
Vladimir Putin
obviously
didn’t get the
memo.
kleptocrat
The
handbook has
changed. You
INSIDE
don’t invade
VIEW
countries any-
By Andy
more because
Kessler
after the
smoke clears,
you have to fix their plumbing
and heating and cell service.
Instead, you hire them.
Some estimate Mr. Putin
may be worth $100 billion via
hidden holdings in Gazprom,
Russia’s state-owned energy
company. But Jeff Bezos and
Bill Gates are worth more and
they don’t control any tanks.
Their success shows the world
is now divided into horizontal
slices, with the most produc-
tive sitting on top. The Ameri-
can empire, if you want to call
it that, is a horizontal empire.
Mr. Putin’s attempt to re-cre-
ate the Soviet Union’s vertical
empire is doomed to fail.
As digitization allowed de-
sign and control to be sepa-
rated from manufacturing, the
world got horizontal, organiz-
ing into stacks of companies,
industries and even countries
to which markets provide capi-
tal based on their value-add.
IBM vertically integrated
computers, while Microsoft,
Intel, Dell, Singapore-made
disk drives and Japanese
memory chips dominated
slices of the personal-comput-
ing stack. AT&T was vertical,
the Internet horizontal, with
Google and Amazon sitting on
top of the data-center, fiber-
optics and cable-modem
U.S. Lawmakers Back a Honduras Coup
In a Feb. 17
letter to Sec-
retary of
State Antony
Blinken, Sen.
Bernie Sand-
AMERICAS ers and a
couple of his
By Mary
socialist side-
Anastasia
kicks in the
O’Grady
H o u s e —
Reps. Ilhan
Omar and Ayanna Pressley—
came out in favor of U.S. im-
perialism in Honduras. The
missive didn’t get wide cov-
erage. But there’s no mistak-
ing what they’re up to.
Progressives see in leftist
Honduran President Xiomara
Castro a unique opportunity
to impose their socialist,
woke agenda on the conser-
vative Central American na-
tion. If meeting their ends
requires treating the nation
like a U.S. colony and flout-
ing democracy, so be it.
Start with what happened
in Tegucigalpa in January,
when Honduras’s interior
minister was about to swear
in Jorge Cálix, the duly
elected president of the new
Congress—a post similar to
the speaker of the U.S. House
but with greater power over
the legislative agenda.
Ms. Castro’s husband is
former President Manuel Ze-
laya, who during his tenure
(2006-09) was a loose cannon
close to the drug-trafficking
dictatorships of Venezuela
and Cuba. Mr. Zelaya’s law-
lessness has made the legisla-
ture—including members of
the president’s own Libre
party—wary about giving the
ESG May Be an Antitrust Violation
By Mark Brnovich
T
he biggest antitrust vio-
lation in history may be
in plain sight. Wall Street
banks and money managers are
bragging about their coordi-
nated efforts to choke off in-
vestment in energy. It’s nearly
impossible to raise money to
explore for oil and gas right
now, and we may all be experi-
encing rising energy costs be-
cause of this market manipula-
tion. Russian and Chinese
aggression overseas also is ex-
acerbating inflation.
Here’s what is happening:
The biggest banks and money
managers seek to implement
a political agenda, such as
compliance with the Paris Cli-
mate Accord. Then a group
mobilizes: Climate Action
100+, for example, comprised
of hundreds of big banks and
money managers that to-
gether manage $60 trillion.
The group uses its coordi-
nated influence to compel
companies to shut down coal
slices. Apple adds its operat-
ing system to smartphones af-
ter paying Foxconn to assem-
ble Korean screens and
Taiwanese chips in China. Suc-
cessful companies give up
owning everything to expand
opportunities.
As long as the U.S. provides
the stuff at the top, its hori-
zontal empire will endure, cre-
ating societal wealth and
enough technology and taxes
to defend itself and its allies.
These include Japan, South
Korea and Taiwan, all of which
have far higher gross domestic
product per capita than verti-
cal commodity-dominated
Russia. Especially in trade,
horizontal topples vertical.
Absolute control is
no longer the key
to wealth and power.
Innovation is.
Under the guise of reuniting
the Soviet Union’s footprint,
Mr. Putin wants to control oil
and gas distribution to clueless
nuclear-reducing, wind-depen-
dent, energy-deprived Euro-
pean countries. Control Ukraine
and he might prevent others
from delivering fuel.
This game is 150 years old.
John D. Rockefeller played it
in the 1870s, colluding with
railroads to control the trans-
port of oil, building pipelines
to bypass competitors like the
Pennsylvania Railroad, and al-
legedly destroying competing
pipelines. It worked then, but
it won’t in 2022. The U.S. can
first couple too much power.
Instead they elected Mr. Cá-
lix, who gathered votes from
across the political spectrum,
including the center-right Na-
tional Party, the Liberal Party
and about 20 of 50 Libre
deputies.
Mr. Cálix is a member of
Libre but was not Ms. Cas-
tro’s candidate for the job.
So as his swearing-in cere-
mony got under way, a pro-
Castro congressman climbed
up on the dais and attacked
him with fists and kicks. A
brawl broke out.
There are parallels with
what happened in the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when
there was an attempt to dis-
rupt democracy. But in the
Honduran case three things
are different.
First, after the melee in
Congress, the homes of some
supporters of Mr. Cálix were
vandalized. The next night
Ms. Castro, who was yet to
be sworn in as president,
called on her supporters to
block the opposition from en-
tering Congress the following
day. Mr. Cálix was forced to
convene Congress at an off-
site location.
Second, while Congress is
now back in its proper cham-
bers, Ms. Castro’s unelected
candidate is sitting in the
speaker’s chair.
Third, 22 U.S. House and
Senate Democrats have ratio-
nalized the successful coup.
They did so in the letter
signed by Mr. Sanders, Ms.
Omar and Ms. Pressley as well
as Democratic Sens. Patrick
Leahy, Elizabeth Warren, Dick
and natural-gas plants. The
activism can include pushing
climate goals at shareholder
meetings and voting against
directors and proposals that
don’t comport with the
agenda, even if other deci-
sions may benefit investors.
Firms report their plan to
carry out these activities back
to Climate Action 100+ head-
quarters. This helps ensure
maximum coordinated effort
toward the common goal of
overhauling the energy indus-
try. Money managers wield in-
fluence over these companies
because they represent inves-
tors who are shareholders, of-
ten through their 401(k)s or
pension plans. In other words,
your retirement funds are
likely helping facilitate these
political campaigns to advance
far-left policy goals, with con-
sumers bearing the costs of in-
creased energy prices.
Climate Action 100+ is one of
many activist groups that oper-
ate like this, with a significant
impact on critical investments
ship liquefied natural gas to
Europe from its fracking fields.
Today’s wealth and power
seekers hire what they need
lower down the stack. I know
plenty of startups with soft-
ware-development teams in
Ukraine. Estonia, Poland, Ro-
mania and India have teams of
coders for hire. Countries start
lower down the stack until
enough talent and capital are
accumulated to implement cre-
ative ideas on their own. See
Israel—and China.
It’s a shame Mr. Putin has
petroleum-fogged vision. Ap-
ple, Microsoft, Google and Am-
azon all have market caps
greater than Russia’s GDP.
Russia has, or had anyway, a
vibrant software community,
including VKontakte, its own
social network. But scale mat-
ters, and property rights for
Russian entrepreneurs feel
fickle.
Mr. Putin could have en-
couraged entrepreneurs or at
least noted that oil and gas
will eventually decline in im-
portance and funded research
into batteries and nuclear and
geothermal energy. Instead, he
unimaginatively invaded. The
horizontal world has more
power than Mr. Putin realized.
Many Russian banks were cut
off from the Swift interbank
messaging system. Russia’s
central bank has been isolated
and raised interest rates to
protect a crashing ruble and
closed its stock exchange. Re-
minder: It was also closed in
1917-92.
China has smartly allowed
capitalism to bring hundreds of
millions of people out of pov-
erty. The Chinese Communist
Durbin and Chris Murphy.
The Americans acknowl-
edge Ms. Castro’s failure to
gather the votes necessary to
carry out her “appointment.”
This, they write, signals “the
difficulties she may face in
securing legislative victories
that could prove decisive in
fulfilling key elements of her
platform.”
Bernie Sanders and
friends support a left-
wing power play. Will
Biden go along?
Independent institutions
forced to negotiate and build
consensus provide protection
against authoritarianism. But
the progressives want Ms.
Castro to have unchecked
power to implement their
ideals. So they want the U.S.
to provide the “essential”
backing “to overcome inter-
nal opposition to [her] re-
form agenda from sectors of
the Honduran National Con-
gress, judiciary, and security
forces.”
Those institutions were
crucial in keeping Mr. Ze-
laya from making himself a
dictator in 2009. He was
deported to Costa Rica be-
fore his term ended but
there was no military coup
d’état. The head of Congress
became the temporary pres-
ident and Mr. Zelaya left
the Liberal Party. Elections
took place on schedule and
for the next 12 years the
in America’s energy infrastruc-
ture. Decarbonization of capital
expenditures is one of their ma-
jor goals. Investment in oil and
gas exploration and production
in 2021 was nearly 25% below
2019 levels. One private-equity
CEO described trying to raise
wide-scale capital for drilling
oil as almost impossible.
I’m investigating a
coordinated effort
to allocate markets.
An axiom of economics is
that if you produce less, the
cost will go up. The price of
Brent crude hit $114 a barrel
last week, an eight-year high,
amid tensions over the Russian-
Ukraine war. This hurts the
pocketbook of all Americans,
especially lower-wage workers,
who spend a greater percentage
of income on fuel.
While climate activists be-
lieve they know best, the U.S. general of Arizona.
Party stayed in power while a
market economy grew, but re-
cently the party has felt threat-
ened by those pulling the tech-
nology levers. Alibaba’s Jack
Ma was silenced, tutors shut
down, videogames limited. The
party took control of data ac-
cess. China is foolishly going
vertical, threatening its honey
pot.
I can hear the criticism now:
“A horizontal model exploits
those in the lower slices.” But
it doesn’t—just the opposite.
The horizontal model grows
economies and raises the stan-
dard of living of everyone in
the stack, with a byproduct:
They can afford to buy more of
America’s stuff like iPhones,
virtual-reality goggles, HBO
subscriptions and NBA
streams. Grow the pie, unlike
an oligarchy that only shuffles
wealth around.
Xi Jinping and the Commu-
nist Party have their eyes on
Taiwan and its world-leading
chip manufacturing. Is an in-
vasion imminent? It’s less
likely. Mr. Xi must now see
what it’s like to be “Putined”—
excluded from the global fi-
nancial system. It’s not worth
it. Let’s make Mr. Putin the
last to play this old game.
Commodities come and go,
while productivity drives
progress. Horizontal rules.
This will be true in the future
for cloud computing, machine
learning and autonomous vehi-
cles. But staying on top re-
quires constant innovation.
Despite all the talent in Russia,
Mr. Putin never understood
this. I’m not always convinced
U.S. leadership does either.
Write to kessler@wsj.com.
National Party held the
presidency.
Ms. Castro owes her vic-
tory at the polls in November
in large part to her predeces-
sor, Juan Orlando Hernández
(2014-22) of the National
Party. His manipulation of
the Supreme Court to run for
a constitutionally prohibited
second term undermined the
right’s credibility. He was
also named by the Justice
Department as an unindicted
co-conspirator in a drug-traf-
ficking case. Mr. Hernández
maintains his innocence and
says that he fought drug
trafficking during his tenure.
But his brother was con-
victed in the U.S. in 2021 for
drug trafficking. Hondurans
wanted change.
The U.S. is asking for Mr.
Hernández’s extradition. Ms.
Castro’s supporters claim she
will tackle corruption. Yet
when her backers took con-
trol of Congress illegally,
they immediately passed an
amnesty law for corruption
during the Zelaya administra-
tion.
Congressional crackpots
are always writing letters,
and this one wouldn’t matter
if the Biden administration
weren’t already short on
friends in the region and
desperate to placate Ms. Cas-
tro. It may think that going
along with progressives is
the way to keep Honduras on
its side. But that hasn’t
worked anywhere else in
Latin America. Blessing au-
thoritarianism is no way to
protect U.S. interests.
Write to O’Grady@wsj.com.
can’t maintain its security
while depending on foreign
dictators and oligarchs to sup-
ply its energy. Current eco-
nomic trends and international
tensions heighten the need for
domestic companies to maxi-
mize efficiency and productiv-
ity. Proper corporate gover-
nance is good not only for
shareholders but for the sta-
bility of America and the
world.
As attorney general of Ari-
zona, I have a responsibility to
protect consumers from artifi-
cial restrictions on production.
That’s why I’ve launched an in-
vestigation into this poten-
tially unlawful market manipu-
lation. The resources of hard-
working Arizonans should
never be compromised in the
name of spurious political ac-
tivism, especially if that activ-
ism is a coordinated conspir-
acy that allocates markets in
violation of the law.
Mr. Brnovich is attorney
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A15
BOOKSHELF | By Diane Cole
A Forgotten
‘Jerusalem’
The Murders of Moisés Ville
By Javier Sinay
(Restless, 265 pages, $28)
T
he Argentine journalist Javier Sinay’s family
memoir, “The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise
and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America,” is as
fascinating as it is quirky—a journey that begins in the
impoverished Jewish communities of late 19th- and early
20th-century Eastern Europe and winds its way through
the newly built towns on the pampas of Argentina,
where, for a time, Yiddish was the common tongue.
Imagining the lilting sound of Yiddish echoing through
the Argentine plains and countryside can seem like a
dream. But Mr. Sinay reminds us that this was a real
chapter in Jewish history. The Yiddish-speaking members
of the diaspora who fled the pogroms and persecution
of the Old World for South America differed little from
those who landed in North America.
What we also tend to forget, or never knew, is the
particular draw that attracted many Jews to the port of
Buenos Aires: the possibility of owning and running a
farm, courtesy of the Jewish
philanthropist Maurice de
Hirsch. In 1891, shocked by
news of the starvation and
deaths of would-be Jewish
farmers lured to the pampas
by fraudulent land schemes,
Hirsch established the Jewish
Colonization Association,
designed to fund agricultural
colonies for distressed Jews
emigrating from Europe.
Hirsch purchased large tracts
of land throughout the country
for new immigrants to build
their own villages, where they
could make a living by working
the land while also maintaining their cultural and
religious traditions through Jewish schools and syna-
gogues. These farming towns grew so quickly that in 1896
Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, weighed for a
moment whether the Jewish State should be situated in
Palestine or in Argentina.
Moisés Ville, located some 400 miles northwest of
Buenos Aires, was among the first of Hirsch’s colonies,
eventually growing so big that it was dubbed the
Jerusalem of South America. It was also the site,
between 1889 and 1906, of the murders that Mr. Sinay
refers to in his title. Perhaps most important to the
author, this is where his own ancestors first settled in
1894, when they emigrated from Belarus, before moving
a few years later to the Jewish-immigrant-filled neighbor-
hoods of Buenos Aires.
Mr. Sinay was not particularly aware of, or interested
in, any of this until 2009, when his father sent him an
email with the subject line: “Your great-grandfather.”
Mr. Sinay knew almost nothing about this ancestor, Mijl
Hacohen Sinay, beyond the fact that Mijl, too, had been
a journalist. The email included a link to a 1947 article,
written by Mijl, titled “The First Fatal Victims in Moisés
Ville.” Mr. Sinay’s curiosity was piqued. The crimes that
the piece memorialized, some 40 years after the fact,
had been vicious, ruthless and brutal. Twenty-two Jews
had lost their lives, sometimes entire families at a time,
to murderous bandits, few of whom were ever identified,
caught or convicted.
Argentina’s Jewish agricultural colonies were
once so successful that Theodor Herzl briefly
considered situating the Jewish State there.
But Mr. Sinay, an investigative journalist himself,
sensed some gaps in Mijl’s reporting. The precise details
of how, when and why these killings took place—anti-
Semitism? xenophobia? crimes of opportunity?—were
less than clear. Most puzzling of all, for Mr. Sinay, was
Milj’s own motive in writing so passionately about them.
As much as he tried to set these questions aside, all
the loose ends—both familial and journalistic—dangled
in Mr. Sinay’s mind. Unable to let go of the murders and
determined to find out more about his great-grandfather,
he begins his journey into the past.
Mr. Sinay’s frequent jumping between eras can be
confusing, and I wish the translator, Robert Croll, had
included brief definitions of the numerous Spanish and
Argentine phrases that are sprinkled throughout the
book. But the author holds our interest as he perseveres.
In one of the more amusing episodes, he consults a
“book detective,” whom he hopes will uncover a copy of
the first Yiddish newspaper published in South America—
Der Viderkol (The Echo)—whose founder and editor
was none other than a 21-year-old Milj.
Mr. Sinay eventually learns that many of the
documents he seeks were lost or destroyed in the
devastating 1994 terrorist bombing of the Argentine
Israelite Mutual Association, where the Institute for
Jewish Research and other Jewish organizations were
housed, in a blast that killed 85 people and injured
hundreds. Inexplicably, Mr. Sinay doesn’t situate this
horror within the broader history of anti-Semitism in
Argentina, including the country’s role in harboring
former Nazis, the most infamous being Adolf Eichmann.
Inevitably, Mr. Sinay arrives in Moisés Ville. During its
1940s heyday, the town was home to about 5,000 Jews,
which accounted for more than 90% of its population.
Today, the town’s total population is less than 2,500,
of which roughly 10% are Jewish, most of them elderly.
Mr. Sinay describes a picturesque if sleepy scene, with
the main street still called Calle Barón Hirsch. At the
fully restored synagogue, he finds himself drawn to
attend for the first time in his life a Friday-night service
welcoming the Sabbath. Very few others are present.
What happened to the once-thriving Jewish town that
existed here, Mr. Sinay wonders. The answer has the
ring of classic Jewish humor: “We planted wheat and
harvested doctors.”
And some journalists, too, Mr. Sinay may have added.
For Mr. Sinay, the path that began with his father’s
email ultimately leads him to take up the study of
Yiddish. His investigation may not have brought a
resolution to the murders, but the journey taught him to
value an ancestry and a heritage he had not previously
deemed so deeply integral to his identity. In the end,
those were the answers that mattered most.
Ms. Cole is the author of the memoir “After Great Pain:
A New Life Emerges.”
A16 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Hitting Putin Where It Hurts The Electoral Count Act Is Unconstitutional

A
merican politicians are suddenly scram- oil exports is stronger than for natural gas, Regarding Thomas Berry’s letter power granted to them by the U.S.
bling to ban the U.S. purchase of Rus- which Europe needs in the near term. The “The Electoral Count Act’s Constitu- Constitution, making these determi-
tional Role” (Letters, March 1): The nations a unique species of federal
sian oil, and the Biden Administration worry is that oil sanctions would send the
ECA in its present form gives Con- law. Hence, any disputes about spe-
seems likely to go along. Too global crude price soaring gress essentially unfettered authority cific selection of presidential electors
bad this is a largely symbolic A U.S. ban on Russian oil even higher than Friday’s to invalidate state-certified slates of involve the application of federal law.
gesture that ducks the main imports is a distraction close of $118 a barrel. presidential electors. This is pro- Since the power to determine what
issue: whether to sanction all How high could prices go? foundly unconstitutional. federal law requires rests with the ju-
Russian energy exports. from the real issue. Nobody knows. It would de- As we pointed out in our op-ed diciary, the federal courts have the
Oil and gas revenue makes pend on how long sanctions “Congress Sowed the Seeds of Jan. 6 primary responsibility to resolve
up about half of the Kremlin’s are in effect and how long the in 1887” (March 19, 2021), the Fram- these disputes.
budget and is critical to financing Vladimir Pu- war in Ukraine lasts. Russian crude is already ers, after much debate, determined to To facilitate timely resolution,
tin’s bloody war on Ukraine. The problem is that selling at a discount, and last week 70% of Rus- give Congress no substantive author- Congress should enact a statute pro-
sanctions on Russian energy could also harm sian oil exports couldn’t find a buyer due to lo- ity to select the president and vice viding for an expeditious judicial han-
president, except in the rare instance dling of any presidential elector-re-
the world economy and especially Europe, gistical challenges and sanctions risk.
in which no candidate gains an Elec- lated challenges, with the Supreme
which imports about 25% of its oil and 40% of If tougher sanctions caused Mr. Putin to set- toral College majority. The Constitu- Court as ultimate decision maker. The
its natural gas from Russia. But unless the West tle for an exit deal, the war would end sooner tion’s Electors Clause gives state leg- only power that Congress legiti-
is willing to grasp this nettle, the world will and oil prices would fall. Meanwhile, higher oil islatures plenary authority in mately possesses here is a purely
continue to finance the Putin war machine. prices would provide a huge incentive for U.S. choosing how to select electors. It al- ministerial authority to receive the
i i i shale producers and OPEC to pump more. Rus- lows Congress to determine only the letters featuring certified state elec-
U.S. politicians are ducking this subject even sia’s exports of eight million or so barrels a day day on which the Electoral College toral results, have them opened by
as they rush to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil. can’t be replaced overnight, but much of it casts its votes. the vice president and counted in the
The best argument for banning U.S. purchases could be by the end of this year. The Framers’ choice reflected sep- presence of both houses. Congress
is to show a reluctant Europe that the U.S. is The International Energy Agency estimated aration-of-powers considerations—if should amend the Electoral Count Act
willing to make sacrifices first. But Russia ac- last month that global supply could increase by Congress could select the president, to reflect this constitutional reality.
this would make the executive branch Holding itself out as able to overturn
counted for only 8% of U.S. petroleum imports about 6.3 million barrels a day this year. OPEC a subordinate, and not a coequal, the people’s will and choose the pres-
and 3% of oil consumption last year. It wouldn’t has an estimated four million barrels a day in branch. This would greatly augment ident will add to political polarization
be hard for the U.S. to replace this—or for Rus- spare capacity. The Saudis and United Arab the power of the federal legislature, and inspire future violence, putting
sia to find another buyer. Emirates have rebuffed Mr. Biden’s pleas to in- which the Framers were determined Congress itself at risk.
Democrats are rushing to embrace the U.S. crease production in part because they worry to limit. Moreover, disputes over the MIKE LUTTIG AND DAVID B. RIVKIN JR.
ban in part as a shield against criticism of their the market could soon be oversupplied, espe- selection of presidential electors in- Chicago and Falls Church, Va.
party’s anti-fossil fuel policies. Nancy Pelosi has cially if sanctions on Iran are eased. Cutting off volve a legal, not a political, discern- Mr. Luttig served as a judge on the
endorsed the idea, and vulnerable House Demo- Russian oil from global markets would assuage ment, that is appropriate for a judi- Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
crats like New Jersey’s Josh Gottheimer are this concern. cial body. Congress is not a court. (1991-2006). He advised Vice Presi-
jumping on board. The Biden Administration is unfortunately To the extent that disputes about dent Mike Pence on the 2020 vote
presidential electors arise, they can certification. Mr. Rivkin served at the
“We have the opportunity to cut off Putin’s expected to sign a new Iran nuclear agreement
be resolved by courts. When state Justice Department and White House
largest revenue source, to support America’s soon (see nearby), which will add some 1.3 mil- legislatures determine the manner of Counsel’s Office in the Reagan and
own energy independence and security, and to lion barrels a day to global supply. U.S. shale selecting electors, they exercise George H.W. Bush administrations.
work with our allies to stabilize the global en- producers could pump 1.4 million or so barrels
ergy market to help us mitigate rising energy a day more this year, and strategic petroleum
costs for our hardworking families,” says Mr. reserve releases could increase supply at the
Gottheimer. margin. Oil averaged about $110 a barrel be-
A U.S. purchase ban would do none of those tween 2011 and 2014 without tipping the U.S.
Don’t Rule Out Arming Ukrainian Insurgents
things. But it would let politicians claim credit into recession. In “The U.S. Shouldn’t Interfere superior force using the tactic of par-
for doing something even as they avoid the Our guess is that the real White House reluc- While Putin Loses in Ukraine” (op-ed, titioning, or divide and conquer, with
sanctions that really matter—on any company tance here is political. The average gasoline March 1), Mark Hannah misunder- aimed-fire. Intangible factors such as
stands a key technical point. He op- morale also help. Conversely, in area-
or bank in the world that buys Russian oil and price in the U.S. is already $4 a gallon, and Dem-
poses arming an insurgency because fire engagements, partitioning yields
gas. ocrats fear this will increase the chances of an “Ukraine is a flat country unsuited to no tactical advantage.
Russian energy is exempt from the Swift electoral wipeout in November. guerrilla warfare.” Maybe so, but The Russian tactic for taking Kyiv
sanctions against some Russian banks, and the But this is where political leadership comes guerrilla warfare is only one example will involve encirclement and lots of
U.S. has declined to impose so-called secondary in. Mr. Biden can use the bully pulpit to explain of what the U.S. Army terms “asym- artillery, a type of area fire. It’s an in-
sanctions against banks world-wide that fi- the high stakes in Ukraine for American inter- metric warfare.” There are others. efficient process. Whether the Ukrai-
nance the Russian energy trade. The U.S. has ests, and why a short-term increase in gasoline Roughly speaking, there are two nians can also turn it into an ineffec-
imposed those sanctions on Iran and North Ko- prices is worth it when Ukrainians are sacrific- mechanisms for destroying targets: tive process hinges on their ability to
rea, and they are effective. ing their lives. If he won’t do that, he isn’t doing aiming at them (aimed fire) and aim- convert their operations into the kind
The case for secondary sanctions on Russian enough to stop Vladimir Putin. ing near them (area fire). In guerrilla of asymmetric warfare I’ve described.
warfare (ambushes), one side uses This will take time and resources, the
aimed fire while the other is forced latter coming from elsewhere. Since I

Andrew Cuomo on Cancel Culture to use area fire. Urban warfare in-
volves a similar kind of asymmetry.
question Mr. Hannah’s narrow view of
guerrilla warfare, I have to question

F
ormer New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
feels aggrieved and wants to make a po-
litical comeback. He spoke at a church
on Sunday and deplored “cancel culture” for
driving him out of Albany and for his brother
Chris’s firing from CNN.
Mr. Cuomo apologized for his behavior to-
ward women that led to investigations and his
resignation. But he noted that no formal
charges had ever been filed against him. “Any
accusation can trigger condemnation without
facts, without due process. We’re a nation of
laws. We are not a nation of tweets,” he said.
“And woe unto us if we allow that to become
our new justice system.”
Excellent point about fairness and due pro-
cess, though readers may recall that Mr. Cuomo
The Iran-Russia Nuclear Nexus
didn’t offer the benefit of the doubt to Brett Ka-
vanaugh during his Supreme Court confirma-
tion hearings.
That still leaves the question of why, if Mr.
Cuomo wasn’t guilty, he didn’t stay in office and
fight the accusations. We urged him to do so.
The Assembly in Albany was moving on an im-
peachment probe, but as Governor he would
have had ample opportunity to defend himself
at a trial in the state Senate. His lawyers could
have cross-examined accusers.
He resigned instead, letting Albany Demo-
crats off the hook from a tough vote. Yet now
he claims to have been mistreated and that he
broke no law or regulation. It’s hard to credit.
In the end as Governor, Mr. Cuomo canceled
himself by resigning.
It isn’t difficult to see that aimed
fire is more efficient than area fire.
It’s possible to defeat a numerically
The Debt Is Big Enough to Take Care of Itself
Regarding Jeb Hensarling’s op-ed
“Debt and Inflation Threaten U.S. Se-
curity” (Feb. 23): There is no causal
connection between the rate of infla-
tion and the deficit or the level of
outstanding Treasury obligations.
There has been a deficit in each of
the past 20 years, adding to the
growing national debt. In most years
there was negligible inflation.
Debt alarmists cite the national
debt as a percentage of GDP. But
what counts is the ability of the in-
ternational bond market (estimated
to be $125 trillion) to absorb easily
new Treasury issues that are a frac-
his conclusion as well.
CAPT. DAVID L. BITTERS, USA (RET.)
Mission Hills, Kan.
When Treasury issues new debt in-
struments, there is no increase in M2
(and, thus, inflation) because the dol-
lars used to purchase that debt al-
ready exist in the financial markets.
Alarmists have claimed since the
New Deal that the national debt
would be America’s ruin. For 90
years, the growing national debt has
confounded those alarmists.
ROBERT DE PORRES-RAS
Oak Brook, Ill.
From the Cockpit to the OR,
Training Hours Are the Key

T
tion of its size.
he U.S. and Europe are trying to stop for terrorism, both of which the Islamic Republic Mr. Hensarling’s implication is that I am moved by Maj. Steve Dalton’s
Russia’s bloody conquest of Ukraine, but pursued with a vengeance after 2015. the U.S. should run operating sur- plea for real practice for fighter pi-
at the same time they are relying on Rus- Donald Trump left the deal in 2018 and pur- pluses to pay down the national debt. lots (Letters, Feb. 28). There is no
sia to help revive the 2015 nu- sued a “maximum pressure” That would cause a sharp decline in substitute for hands-on experience.
clear deal with Iran. No won- Will Team Biden give sanctions campaign. Iran be- GDP. And interest on Treasury obliga- Years ago, when the case was
der Russia feels emboldened to tions will not “crowd out defense made for cutting medical and surgical
call for even more capitulation
Moscow relief to help gan openly violating the deal
and gaining irreversible nu- spending.” Increasing the national resident’s hours so that there would
from the West. save a flawed Iran deal? clear knowledge—gains that debt allows the U.S. to increase be no tired doctors, many of us felt
spending for national defense and precisely as Mr. Dalton feels. The ter-
“We have asked for a writ- have made the old deal in- other important federal programs. rible Libby Zion tragedy in 1984,
ten guarantee . . . that the cur- creasingly irrelevant. The which ultimately resulted in short-
rent process triggered by the United States does Trump Administration also imposed sanctions ened physician-training hours, has to-
not in any way damage our right to free and full related to Iran’s terror support, and leaks to the Khrushchev and Kennedy day given us young doctors poorly
trade, economic and investment cooperation media suggest the Biden Administration is will- prepared for their enormous respon-
and military-technical cooperation with the Is- ing to lift both those and the nuclear sanctions Took Care of Business in ’60 sibilities. As with shortened practice
lamic State,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei to get a renewed deal. Bob Greene’s op-ed “A Warning for bombing runs and lack of gun am-
Lavrovsaid on Saturday. The 2015 deal was also based on the assump- About Khrushchev” (March 2) brings munition, the training change had
The world’s rogue regimes are increasingly tion that the West had a full accounting of Iran’s to mind a short letter to the editor predictable results with human lives
working together, and here Russia is trying to le- nuclear program, but the regime has stonewalled published in the Chicago Tribune dur- at stake.
ing the 1960 presidential election For patients, the real question
verage Iran for relief from the sanctions imposed the International Atomic Energy Agency. On Sat-
campaign. It went something like must be: Do you want your doctor to
over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. urday the United Nations agency and Tehran an- this: Utopia is here! JFK has promised be well rested, but have less experi-
Lavrov’s demand points to the fundamental ab- nounced a plan to clear up questions about unde- to take care of us from the cradle to ence making a decision when tired in
surdity of this process: Iranian officials have re- clared nuclear sites, but IAEA chief Rafael Grossi the grave and Khrushchev has prom- the middle of the night? Because that
fused to speak with Americans directly, and Rus- suggested the issues ultimately might not be re- ised to bury us. is the choice.
sia has played a central role as a mediator since solved. Iranian military sites are still likely to be PAUL W. GARD JR. SUSAN CRAIG SCOTT, M.D.
negotiations began last year in Vienna. off-limits to inspectors in a new deal. Westminster, Colo. Key Largo, Fla.
The Biden Administration claims there’s no Why the U.S. desperation? Secretary of State
linkage between Iran and Ukraine sanctions. Antony Blinken said Sunday on “Face the Na- Mr. Greene uses the 1960 election
“The new Russia-related sanctions are unrelated tion” that it wants to put Iran’s nuclear program as a counterpoint to the way dicta- Pepper ...
tors win fake elections—such as Ni-
to the JCPOA and should not have any impact on “back in the box,” but it’s a box made of card-
kita Khrushchev and his 99.9% vote
And Salt
its potential implementation,” a State Depart- board. Even if Iran abides by the deal again, its
share in the Soviet Union. Unfortu- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
ment spokesman said on Saturday. “We continue provisions already have started to expire and by nately and ironically, Mr. Greene
to engage with Russia on a return to full imple- 2031 Tehran will be able to freely produce and chose a U.S. election that many histo-
mentation of the JCPOA. Russia shares a com- stockpile weapons-grade uranium. rians argue was stolen by the Demo-
mon interest in ensuring Iran never acquires a A new deal will also shower Iran with tens of crats through vote fraud, especially in
nuclear weapon.” billions of dollars to stir mayhem in the Middle Chicago and Texas.
A common interest? Russia has worked to East. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Democrats wouldn’t do anything
help Iran evade sanctions, and you can bet Iran suggested last week that “all options are on the like that these days, would they?
will help Russia do the same. table” when asked whether the U.S. could pur- ASSOC. PROF. JOHN F. GASKI
This triumph of hope over reality has been a chase Iranian oil. Brilliant: Impose sanctions on University of Notre Dame
South Bend, Ind.
consistent theme in the Obama-Biden approach Russia—then support Russian ally Iran. Venezu-
to Iran. The 2015 accord provided Iran with bil- ela could be next.
Letters intended for publication should
lions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for No agreement will stop Iran from its determi- be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please
temporarily slowing nuclear development. nation to become a nuclear power, and Russia include your city, state and telephone
Obama officials hoped this would moderate won’t enforce the deal. The two malign powers number. All letters are subject to
Iran’s behavior abroad. But the deal didn’t stop will work together to harm U.S. interests around editing, and unpublished letters cannot “I think I’ve met your husband.
be acknowledged.
the country’s missile development or support the world. Is he utterly ridiculous?”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
What the
U.S. Can Do
For Ukraine
By Natalie Jaresko
A
s a Ukrainian-American, I feel
torn between anger and shame.
Anger at the continuing massa-
cre of thousands of Ukrainians by the
Russian military as it targets civil-
ians. Shame because the U.S. could do
much more to stop this indiscrimi-
nate slaughter.
America must stop Vladimir Putin
now to avoid the worst catastrophe in
Europe since World War II. If Wash-
ington doesn’t act decisively, hundreds
of thousands of Ukrainians will die,
and other countries may be invaded as
well. The U.S. has underestimated Mr.
Putin’s appetite too many times, and
Washington’s leniency has given him
the confidence to commit the war
crimes we see in the news today.
Mr. Putin must be stopped on two
fronts—in Ukraine, by the Ukrainian
army, with direct and unwavering
U.S. support; and in Russia, by cut-
ting off its economy and financial
system to block the war’s funding.
Stopping Putin’s slaughter
will require help from
federal and state officials
as well as businesses.
For this to work, the U.S. must in-
crease its involvement at all levels:
federal, state and business.
At the federal level, that means sub-
stantially increasing the delivery of mil-
itary equipment to the Ukrainian army,
in particular air defense and electronic
warfare systems, fighter jets provided
through allies, and Patriot and Stinger
missiles. It also means tightening eco-
nomic sanctions. Washington must also
expand these sanctions to all Russian
and Belarusian banks and commodity
and energy companies—Belarus has al-
lowed Russian missile launches from its
territory—as well as freeze all these in-
stitutions’ assets and put each one on
the Treasury Department’s Specially
Designated Nationals list. The U.S. must
disconnect all of these banks, not only
a “select” few number, from Swift—the
international network through which
almost all financial information flows.
America can lead on these sanctions,
bringing allies along.
Washington also must impose a
blanket ban on U.S. public-sector pen-
sion funds holding Russian assets.
America must impose a trade embargo,
at a minimum banning trade with all
Russian energy and commodity com-
panies, and seize all crypto-wallets
linked to the Russian government and
officials. Washington must target Mr.
Putin’s lieutenants and allies by impos-
ing sanctions on all Duma members
and Russian government officials as
well as the 100 top Russian oligarchs.
At the state level, every U.S. gov-
ernor should follow the example of
Kathy Hochul, who signed an execu-
tive order Feb. 27 preventing New
York state from doing business with
or investing in any Russian entities.
The American business community
must also stop financing Mr. Putin.
U.S. imports from Russia totaled some
$24 billion in 2019—the equivalent of
about 15 new Russian tanks a day. Our
purchases are indirectly financing the
weapons killing Ukrainians.
Many companies are publicly com-
mitted to upholding environmental, so-
cial and governance principles. Given
the level of human-rights violations, in-
ternational-law violations, and slaugh-
ter of a peaceful nation they should im-
mediately divest any and all Russian
equities and debt and terminate con-
tracts with Russian companies. Exxon,
Delta Airlines, Maersk and Shell have
shown what true corporate leadership
is about. Others need to follow.
The words and symbols of solidar-
ity with Ukraine shown over the past
few days are important, but getting
arms to the Ukrainian army and tak-
ing finances away from Moscow are
the only things that can stop this un-
provoked war and save lives.
Ms. Jaresko served as Ukraine’s fi-
nance minister, 2014-16, and in the
U.S. State Department, 1989-95, in-
cluding as chief of the economic sec-
tion at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY
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Editor in Chief
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Gerard Baker, Editor at Large
Putin’s Other Nuclear Threat
By James L. Regens
And Eugene A. Hughes
T
actical and strategic
weapons aren’t the only
nuclear threat from Rus-
sia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That became clear last
Friday with the predawn attack on
Europe’s largest nuclear power
plant—the Zaporizhzhya plant in En-
erhodar. Russian troops shelled the
facility, sparking a fire in the plant’s
administrative facility that set off
alarms around the world. The blaze
didn’t affect the six reactors or
stored spent fuel, and Russian forces
occupied the plant without any radi-
ation leak.
“We survived the night that could
have put an end to history,” Ukrai-
nian President Volodymyr Zelensky
said. The attack removed any doubt
that Vladimir Putin is willing to risk
nuclear catastrophe. If Ukraine loses
the capacity to secure and protect
fuel rods, waste and other radioac-
tive material at its civilian nuclear
power plants, it will threaten the en-
vironment, safety and public health
well beyond Ukraine’s borders. West-
ern powers need to be mindful of
that danger as they consider how to
respond to Moscow’s aggression
against Ukraine.
Russia, a member of the Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency, is a
party to multiple agreements that
any armed attack against nuclear fa-
cilities devoted to peaceful purposes
violates the United Nations Charter,
the Geneva Conventions and the
IAEA Statute. But control of power
supply and distribution is a major
military objective for an invader: It
would strangle Ukraine’s ability to
keep the lights on throughout the
country.
Ukraine is highly dependent on nu-
clear power. According to the World
Nuclear Association, baseload elec-
tricity generation overwhelmingly
Israel, Russia and the U.S. Moral Abdication
By Natan Sharansky
A
s Vladimir Putin’s barbaric as-
sault on Ukraine unfolds, the
public conversation about Is-
rael’s response has grown predict-
able. On one side are the defenders of
realpolitik, including many Israelis,
who see the need for coordination
with Russia in Israel’s fight against
terrorism on its northern border. On
the other side are a small group of
moralists, myself included, who re-
gard Mr. Putin’s actions as the ulti-
mate threat to freedom and who urge
Israel to join the rest of the civilized
world in standing unequivocally
against him.
Israel’s leaders have hewn a cau-
tious path between the two. Prime
Minister Naftali Bennett met with Mr.
Putin in the Kremlin over the weekend
and spoke to Ukrainian President Vo-
lodymr Zelensky by phone. Last week
the Israeli government declined to
join 81 other countries in co-sponsor-
ing a United Nations Security Council
resolution against the Russian inva-
sion. The Israeli government has re-
peatedly declined requests for mili-
tary aid from Mr. Zelensky. But Israel
has sent significant humanitarian aid
and condemned the Russian invasion
in the General Assembly.
Every country that values democ-
racy and human rights ought to stand
in solidarity against Mr. Putin’s ac-
tions. Yet when former U.S. Defense
Secretary William Cohen tells a re-
porter he is “deeply disappointed” with
Israel and demands that we choose be-
tween Russia and the U.S., it is clear an
important point has been forgotten: It
was America’s lack of moral clarity
that forced Israel to become so depen-
dent on Mr. Putin.
How did this happen? The first ma-
jor development was President
Obama’s disastrous response to Syrian
dictator Bashar al-Assad’s use of chem-
ical weapons against his own people.
In 2012 Mr. Obama declared chemical
weapons to be a “red line” in the Syr-
ian conflict, the factor that would lead
him to use military force against Mr.
Assad. In 2013 reports surfaced of a
devastating chemical weapons attack
in the rebel-controlled suburbs of Da-
mascus. Hundreds of civilians were
killed. Yet the Obama administration
delayed action and the momentum for
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OPINION
A Russian flare lands at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant Friday.
comes from nuclear plants using So-
viet era VVER reactor designs (about
54%) and older coal-fired plants
(about 29%).
Ukraine’s four active nuclear
plants have 15 reactors with 13.8
gigawatts of installed capacity. In
addition to Zaporizhzhya’s six reac-
tors, Khmelnytska, near Netishyn,
has two reactors; Rivne in the West
Friday’s attack on a power
plant raises Chernobyl’s
specter and the likelihood
of a similar disaster.
Polissya region, four; and Yuzh-
noukrainsk, in the Nickolaev region,
three. These Russian-designed plants
became operational between 1980
and 2004 and have received signifi-
cant safety upgrades from the IAEA
and the West.
Because Ukraine’s operational re-
actors meet IAEA and World Associ-
ation of Nuclear Operators require-
ments and safety standards, the
challenge is ensuring continued com-
pliance—a daunting but essential
a military intervention faded, leading
to a massive humanitarian crisis.
Mr. Putin saw the U.S. retreat in
Syria as a sign of weakness and ex-
ploited the opportunity to advance
his project of renewing Russia’s
great-power status. In 2014 he in-
vaded Crimea. In 2015 he established
a military base in Khmeimim, Syria,
and began air strikes to support Mr.
Assad’s forces there. Both maneuvers
provided him with an opportunity to
test his military strength. His pres-
ence in Syria further ensured that the
keys to Syrian airspace would remain
in his hands.
The next development in the U.S.
abdication of moral leadership was
the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The
agreement neglected to demand that
Iran respect human rights and end its
support for global terrorism in ex-
change for billions of dollars in cash.
A significant portion of these funds
went to Hezbollah, which in turn man-
aged to transform itself from a parti-
san group into an army, building bases
in Syria and continuing its operations
there and in Lebanon.
Israel had no choice but to reach a
strategic agreement with Russia to
fight against Iran and its proxies. In
protecting itself from terrorist ag-
gression, Israel must consider Rus-
sia’s presence in Syria and secure Mr.
Bad News About the Good Inflation News
By Jason Furman
W
ishful thinking has led eco-
nomic forecasters to under-
estimate inflation over the
past year. Observers correctly identify
one factor that would bring inflation
down while missing other, inextricably
linked factors that would raise it. The
latest examples: expectations of a dra-
matic reduction in inflation as people
return to the workforce, consumers
switch from buying goods to services,
and the pandemic recedes.
In February 2022, there were 2.3
million fewer people in the labor
force than before the pandemic, after
adjusting for changes in the age dis-
tribution. It is plausible that most of
these people will return to the labor
force, adding 200,000 jobs a month
over the coming year and raising the
labor-force participation rate by
about a percentage point. Many have
argued that these returning workers
will expand supply and bring down
nominal wage and price pressures.
Yet the last time we had a similarly
big increase in labor-force participa-
tion, in the late 1970s, it did nothing
to dent inflation. Structural changes
in labor supply generally don’t affect
inflation much. Underlying the opti-
mism about the return of workers
lowering inflation is an error econo-
mists call “partial equilibrium think-
ing”—failing to see the big picture, or
the “general equilibrium.” Returning
workers increase supply, but they in-
crease demand as well through the
spending power of their income.
Perhaps the increased supply will
exceed the extra demand. But the
REUTERS
task in the midst of Europe’s most
intense combat since World War II.
Soviet Ukraine was the site of the
world’s worst nuclear accident in
1986. Poorly trained personnel were
testing systems at the RBMK reactor
in Chernobyl, some 70 miles north-
west of Kyiv, when a sudden power
surge created an explosion that de-
stroyed Unit 4, releasing at least 5%
of its core into the environment. Au-
thorities evacuated an “exclusion
zone” of about 1,000 square miles.
An early warning of Moscow’s in-
tentions came on Feb. 24, when Rus-
sian forces seized the decommis-
sioned Chernobyl plant. According to
Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory
Inspectorate, gamma radiation dose
rates recorded the next day in Cher-
nobyl’s exclusion zone exceeded con-
trol levels because of “disturbance of
the top layer of soil from movement
of a large number of heavy military
machinery through the exclusion
zone.” The IAEA reported those lev-
els weren’t dangerous.
Mr. Putin’s effort to shatter the
Ukrainian state dramatically in-
creases the chances of another
avoidable disaster. Russian forces
captured the territory around
Zaporizhzhya on March 2. Poignant
Putin’s agreement for airstrikes
against targets there. This arrange-
ment, which began under Prime Min-
ister Benjamin Netanyahu, renders Is-
rael dependent on Russia’s goodwill
even now, during Mr. Putin’s worst
aggressions to date.
Obama’s fecklessness in
Syria and the Iran deal
forced Jerusalem to choose
survival over its principles.
Making matters worse, an immi-
nent nuclear deal with Iran will give
yet more money to the regime with-
out any linkage to its behavior. As a
result, Israel will become even more
dependent on Russia.
Israel would not have been forced
to choose between its principles and
survival had it not been for the lack
of moral clarity in Europe and the
U.S. The same free world that now
stands in solidarity against one dicta-
tor is on the verge of signing—with
that very dictator—an agreement
that would give hundreds of billions
of dollars to another corrupt, oppres-
sive regime that has vowed to de-
stroy Israel.
difference—and thus the effect on in-
flation—is unlikely to be large. More-
over, whatever brings the workers
back may be associated with other
changes in the labor market that fur-
ther expand demand and tighten la-
bor markets.
The analysis of the goods-services
shift has been plagued by similar rea-
soning. Consumers have been spend-
ing much more than normal on goods
and less than normal on services. The
pandemic was a factor, as people
shifted from, say, buying gym mem-
berships to stationary bikes. But
much more of the shift to durable
goods was the result of the fiscal
stimulus. When a family gets a one-
time check, it often goes toward a
one-time purchase. Despite higher
prices, consumers still bought many
more durables in June 2021, when
nationwide deaths with Covid aver-
aged 300 a day and falling, than in
December 2020, when the death
count was 3,000 a day and rising.
Regardless of the cause, the shift
from services to durable consumer
goods resulted in extremely rapid
goods inflation in 2021, while ser-
vices inflation was muted. This has
led analysts to make statements to
the effect that core inflation would
have been 2 points lower if consumer
durables hadn’t gone up in price. It’s
the partial equilibrium fallacy again:
If goods prices hadn’t risen as much,
consumers would have spent more on
services, driving up their prices.
It’s likely that the goods-services
rotation boosted inflation somewhat in
2021, because goods production is less
responsive than services production to
Monday, March 7, 2022 | A17
images showed power-plant staff
and volunteers from Energodar try-
ing courageously, peacefully and un-
successfully to block the highway
leading to the plant. It was sheer
luck that the now-extinguished fire
didn’t damage critical assets such as
storage areas or cause loss of cool-
ant, uncover the core, and increase
temperatures to melt the fuel and
cause a radioactive release.
Russian forces threaten Ukraine’s
other three nuclear plants. Safety
upgrades at Ukraine’s nuclear plants
provide multiple measures to main-
tain reactor-core integrity and cope
with loss of coolant for fuel rods.
But operators have to enter the
plant and control key equipment to
avoid catastrophic heat increases in
the reactor. Cooling water and an ul-
timate heat sink are necessary. Ade-
quate power must be available in
reasonable time for pumps to bring
in cooling water and prevent a Fuku-
shima-like accident.
Mr. Putin is attacking not only
Ukraine but the international order
that protects the peaceful use of
nuclear power. Securing Ukraine’s
nuclear power plants and radioac-
tive material is urgent. The ques-
tion is whether the U.S., in coopera-
tion with the U.K., the European
Union and other countries, can
achieve rapid de-escalation of the
conflict and immediate protection
using diplomacy. Or must they
move decisively and through limited
intervention to protect and secure
Ukraine’s vulnerable nuclear power
plants and other radioactive mate-
rial? Averting disaster may depend
on the answer.
Mr. Regens is a regents professor
and director of the University of
Oklahoma Center for Intelligence and
National Security, has chaired IAEA
technical consultancy committees.
Mr. Hughes, a nuclear engineer, is
managing director of Etranco Inc.
It isn’t too late to change this state
of affairs. One option is to table the
latest Iranian nuclear agreement and
instead make clear to Tehran’s theo-
crats that their aggressions won’t be
tolerated, let alone rewarded. If a
deal is inevitable, another solution is
to tie financial support for Iran to the
latter’s verifiable commitment to
protect human rights at home and
cease its terrorist incitement abroad.
This simple solution, which both the
Obama and Biden administrations
have thus far refused to accept,
would not only reflect moral clarity,
it would undermine Mr. Putin’s grow-
ing power on the world stage.
Russia’s actions in Ukraine are a
test for the free world, which is why
my government’s reluctance to op-
pose them forcefully is disappointing.
Yet the reality of Israel’s dependence
on Russia shows again that if the U.S.
wants to lead the free world in con-
fronting tyranny, its actions in con-
fronting tyrants must be clear and
consistent.
Mr. Sharansky is a former Soviet
dissident, Israeli government minister
and author of “The Case for Democ-
racy.” He is chairman of the Interna-
tional Supervisory Board of Kyiv’s
Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial
Center.
increased demand. If so, then the rota-
tion back from goods to services will
lower inflation—but only modestly af-
ter offsetting forces. Over the past
three months core services inflation
has run at a 4.7% annual rate, well
above its pre-pandemic pace, and it is
hard to see service inflation coming
down much in 2022. Rents are rising,
prices of pandemic-depressed services
like air travel and live entertainment
are likely to rise with demand, and the
main cost of producing services—
wages—continues to exert upward
pressure.
More generally, the Fed and other
forecasters appear to be counting on
the shift from pandemic to a manage-
able endemic lowering inflation. But
like the pandemic’s onset, this will
unleash forces that push prices in dif-
ferent directions. It will raise services
and energy prices and lower durable-
goods prices. It will expand both de-
mand and supply by an unpredictable
relative magnitude.
In 2020 the net effect of the initial
pandemic wave was to lower inflation
globally. Then, in the first half of
2021, inflation popped up as eco-
nomic activity resumed. A full return
to normal in 2022 would mean more
lives saved and better lived—but not
necessarily a dramatic reduction in
inflation. If anything, it is likely to be
an additional source of upward infla-
tionary pressure.
Mr. Furman, a professor of the
practice of economic policy at Har-
vard University, was chairman of the
White House Council of Economic Ad-
visers, 2013–17.
A18 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

WORLD NEWS
Russian Demands Slow Iran Talks China 5.5%
GDP Goal
Western and Iranian
officials have said they Signals
were very close to
reaching a nuclear deal Stimulus
BY LAURENCE NORMAN BY STELLA YIFAN XIE

Fresh demands from Russia HONG KONG—By calling for

threatened to derail talks to growth of 5.5% this year,
restore the 2015 Iran nuclear China’s leaders have set a rela-
deal, as Moscow said it tively high bar for an economy
wanted written guarantees facing a litany of challenges at
Ukraine-related sanctions home and abroad—and paved
won’t prevent it from trading the way, economists say, for
broadly with Tehran under a more-aggressive stimulus
revived pact. measures in the coming
The demands, made by months.
Russian Foreign Minister Ser- Officials in Beijing said on
gei Lavrov on Saturday and Saturday that they would seek
dismissed by U.S. officials on to expand gross domestic
Sunday, came as Western and product by 5.5% this year.
Iranian officials said they While that target is lower than
were near to reaching a deal any annual goal since China
to restore the nuclear pact, began setting such bench-
ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/SHUTTERSTOCK

which lifted most interna- marks in 1994, economists say

tional sanctions on Iran in ex- it is actually a much heavier
change for tight but tempo- lift than its 2021 target of 6%
rary restrictions on Tehran’s or more, given last year’s pan-
nuclear programs. demic-related statistical dis-
The U.S. left the agreement tortions and the mounting
in May 2018, and Iran has headwinds facing the world’s
since mid-2019 massively ex- second-largest economy.
panded its nuclear work. The More than two years after
Vienna talks focus on the ex- the Covid-19 pandemic first ex-
act steps that Tehran and Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdoulahian, left, speaks with the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, in Tehran on Saturday. ploded in Wuhan, the benefits
Washington would need to of China’s export-fueled recov-
take to return into compli- keeping Iran months away economic and energy sanc- narrower than Mr. Lavrov had done,” said Henry Rome, a di- ery are starting to fade, re-
ance with the deal. from being able to amass tions the West has imposed in suggested. rector covering global macro placed with growing pressures
Western officials said they enough nuclear fuel for one recent days because of Rus- Mr. Blinken told CBS that politics and Iran at Eurasia at home and abroad: A govern-
wanted a deal on the nuclear nuclear weapon. sia’s invasion of Ukraine. the western sanctions on Rus- Group. ment-induced real-estate
file in place last week. Chief A confidential report from “We have asked for a writ- sia “have nothing to do “Russia throwing sand in downturn, strict pandemic re-
negotiators from European the United Nations atomic ten guarantee…that the cur- with…the Iranian nuclear the gears may actually bring strictions that have squelched
powers left Vienna to return agency circulated Thursday rent process triggered by the deal.” these two adversaries to- domestic consumption and,
to their capitals Friday as showed that Iran had now United States does not in any “These things are totally gether to reach creative solu- now, rising uncertainties
they waited for Iran and the produced 33.2 kilograms of way damage our right to free different and are just are not tions to get the deal signed,” around energy prices and eco-
U.S. to try to solve the final highly enriched uranium, and full trade, economic and in any way linked together, so he said. nomic sanctions related to
differences between them. around three-quarters of what investment cooperation and I think that’s—that’s irrele- Since talks began last Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
These included precisely it would need to have enough military-technical cooperation vant,” he said Sunday. April, Iran has refused to ne- “China is under the triple
which sanctions Washington weapon-grade 90% fuel for a with the Islamic State,” Mr. The Iranian delegation in gotiate directly with the U.S. pressures of shrinking demand,
would lift and the exact se- nuclear weapon. Lavrov said. Vienna said over the weekend Instead, the other parties to disrupted supply and weaken-
quence of steps the U.S. and Experts say it would take that they were awaiting clari- the agreement—Britain, ing expectations,” Chinese Pre-
Iran would take to return into Iran just a few weeks to fication from Moscow. France, Germany, Russia and mier Li Keqiang told officials
compliance with the 2015 amass enough weapons grade A Western diplomat said China and the European at the opening of annual legis-
deal. nuclear fuel.
Moscow wants a new that if the guarantees are Union—have served as inter- lative meetings in Beijing on
“We’ve made real progress It was always understood pact to guarantee purely about the work Russia mediaries. Saturday. “Local Covid-19 cases
in recent weeks…and I think by Western officials that Rus- would do in Iran under a re- Russia had played a gener- are still occurring sporadically.
we’re close, but there are a sia’s role within the 2015 nu-
that it can trade stored nuclear deal, “that can ally constructive role in the The recovery of consumption
couple of very challenging re- clear deal would need to be broadly with Tehran. be managed. talks, Western diplomats have and investment is sluggish. It
maining issues and nothing’s protected from sanctions. “But if Lavrov is using this said, at times pulling Iran is getting more difficult to
done until everything’s done,” That includes receiving en- as a play to try to carve a back from unreasonable de- maintain steady growth in ex-
U.S. Secretary of State Antony riched uranium from Iran and huge hole out of the overall mands and pressing Tehran— ports, and the supply of energy
Blinken said on CBS’s Face the exchanging it for yellowcake, Soon after Mr. Lavrov’s Ukraine sanctions, that’s a publicly at times—not to drag resources and raw materials
Nation program on Sunday. Russia’s work to turn Iran’s comments, Russia’s chief ne- different story,” the person the talks out too long. remains inadequate.”
Advances in Iran’s nuclear Fordow nuclear facility into a gotiator at the nuclear talks, said. However, senior Western Given the challenges now
work mean Western officials research center and other nu- Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted that Either way, the Russian de- officials said that over the facing China’s economic plan-
have warned that it could clear-specific deliveries to he had raised questions that mands now look set to kick past few days, with the ners, a growth target of 5.5%
very soon be impossible to re- Tehran’s facilities. needed tackling with a senior talks into this week, two Ukraine conflict in the back- is actually “quite high,” said
store the 2015 nuclear deal However, Mr. Lavrov ap- European official “to ensure Western diplomats said. ground, Russian officials at Bert Hofman, director of the
because it would no longer be peared to demand far more smooth civil nuclear coopera- “In my view, a deal is still the talks had been more hesi- East Asian Institute at the Na-
possible to re-create the cen- sweeping guarantees that tion with Iran.” more likely than not. Criti- tant, telling their counter- tional University of Singapore
tral benefit for the U.S. and could introduce major loop- That implied Russia’s real cally, both Washington and parts they needed to check and a former World Bank
Europe of that agreement— holes in the tight financial, demands at the talks were Tehran want to get this new ideas with Moscow. economist.

Brutal Brawl at Mexican Soccer Match Injures Dozens

BY ANTHONY HARRUP ground in the stadium and in
AND JOSÉ DE CÓRDOBA the accesses to the stands. In
one video, groups of fans were
MEXICO CITY—Mexicans seen stripping two seemingly
were shocked by a brutal brawl unconscious men naked and
that turned a first-division then kicking them in the head.
soccer match into a battlefield Another video showed one
between rival fans that left shirtless man, not moving, a
several dozen people injured, a pool of blood around his head,
number of them seriously. and fans kicking other inert
The fighting broke out on bodies.
Saturday at the Corregidora “In all my life I had never
Stadium in the central city of seen in Mexican football any-
Querétaro, where the local thing like what happened in
team was playing against Atlas Querétaro, terrible and tragic,”
from Guadalajara, the capital former Mexican national team
of Jalisco state. player Alberto García Aspe
Querétaro state Gov. Mauri- tweeted.
cio Kuri on Sunday said 26 On Sunday morning, Mexi-
people—24 men and two cans went to the stadium and
women—required hospitaliza- left scores of votive candles,
tion. He said three were in flowers and small statues of
said 22 fans received medical
attention.
Fans of crosstown rivals
Guadalajara also went to the
stadium to express solidarity
with the arriving Atlas sup-
porters.
Saturday’s violence began
when Querétaro fans attacked
the visiting supporters during
the second half of the match
with Atlas, the current Mexi-
can champions, leading the
game 1-0.
The game was halted and
stadium staff opened access to
the playing field so fans could
escape the brawl.
The fighting then spread to
the pitch and continued in
other parts of the stadium.
“This is a serious violent sit-
SERGIO GONZALEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS

critical condition, and 10 in a St. Jude, the saint of desperate uation that worries us and
delicate state. cases and lost causes, at the forces us to act energetically
He denied reports that places where fans had been against those responsible,” said
there had been a number of knocked down and beaten. Mexican soccer league Presi-
deaths during the violence. Jalisco state Gov. Enrique dent Mikel Arriola. He said the
“Although there aren’t any Alfaro said six busloads of At- league plans to review its secu-
deaths, it doesn’t mean it isn’t las fans arrived at the team’s rity protocols and the way in
a tragedy,” he said. home stadium early Sunday, which it works with state and
Gruesome videos posted on escorted by state security municipal authorities.
social media showed numer- forces, and were met by rela- The league postponed all of
ous bloodied fans lying on the tives and other supporters. He Sunday’s scheduled matches. Fights among soccer fans at Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro, Mexico, left dozens hurt Saturday.

WORLD WATCH
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES eration of seven sheikhdoms on killing 13 troops including several INDIA India and Pakistan, which both A rescue operation ended
the Arabian Peninsula home to a officers, state media reported. claim it in its entirety. Sunday after the miners’ bodies
Nation Put on Money multitude of economic free The militants used a variety Attacker Throws India accuses Pakistan of sup- were retrieved, state-owned Xin-
Laundering List zones and real-estate ventures, of weapons in the attack in the Grenade Into Crowd porting armed rebels who want hua News Agency said.
it could strike at its carefully Palmyra region, state news to unite the region, either under The workers were trapped af-
A global body focused on managed business-friendly im- agency SANA said, adding that One person was killed and Pakistani rule or as an indepen- ter the roof of a shaft at Sanhe
fighting money laundering has age. Ratings agencies and other 18 soldiers were wounded. more than 20 others injured on dent country. Islamabad denies Shunxun coal mine in Guizhou
placed the United Arab Emirates financial institutions consider No details were immediately Sunday when an assailant lobbed the accusation. province collapsed on Feb. 25.
on its so-called gray list over such a listing a risk. available and no one claimed re- a grenade at a busy market in —Associated Press The rescue operation was
concerns the trade hub isn’t do- —Associated Press sponsibility. In the past, authori- the main city in Indian-controlled challenging because the roof
ing enough to stop criminals and ties have blamed such attacks on Kashmir, police said. CHINA caved in about 1.9 miles from the
militants hiding wealth there. SYRIA Islamic State militants who have The target of the attack in entrance of the mine, media re-
The decision late Friday by been active in southern and cen- Srinagar appeared to have been Workers in Collapsed ported.
the Paris-based Financial Action Militants Kill 13 tral Syria, despite losing territorial security personnel in the area, Mine Reported Dead The cause of the accident
Task Force puts the UAE, home Soldiers in Convoy control since 2019. In January, according to local media reports. was being investigated. China’s
to Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi, the militants fired rockets and an There was a huge crowd in the Fourteen workers trapped coal mines are among the
on a list of 23 countries. Militants attacked a military anti-aircraft gun at a bus in the market when the grenade ex- when a coal mine in southwest world’s deadliest, regularly suffer-
While not expected to dent bus traveling on a desert high- same area, killing five troops. ploded. China collapsed 10 days ago died, ing explosions and gas leaks.
business in the Emirates, a fed- way in central Syria on Sunday, —Associated Press Kashmir is divided between media reported Sunday. —Associated Press

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Icahn Sells Off Occidental Stake
BY CARA LOMBARDO
Carl Icahn exited from a big
bet on Occidental Petroleum
Corp., selling the last of what
was once a roughly 10% stake
in the oil-and-gas producer as
its shares surge.
Mr. Icahn, who had been
cutting the position, in recent
days sold the remainder of it,
according to a letter he sent to
Occidental’s board Sunday.
The move brings to a close
one of Mr. Icahn’s most dra-
matic recent clashes, which
began when he criticized Occi-
dental for outbidding larger ri-
val Chevron Corp. to strike a
Oil Buyers Pay
Bonuses for
Prompt Delivery
BY RYAN DEZEMBER
AND KENNY JIMENEZ
Oil buyers racing to replace
Russia’s crude are paying re-
cord premiums for barrels that
can be delivered now rather
than later, reflecting worries
about adequate near-term fuel
supplies and expectations that
high prices will cut consump-
tion and encourage drilling.
Prices for April deliveries of
crude have shot up since Russia
invaded Ukraine and buyers be-
gan shunning its oil exports.
The main U.S. price last week
topped $110 a barrel for the
first time in more than a de-
cade and in off-hours trading
late Sunday, they burst above
$130 following fresh attacks,
mounting civilian casualties
and a push by U.S. lawmakers
to ban Russian oil imports.
Futures contracts for deliv-
ery in subsequent months have
risen as well but not by nearly
PATRICK T. FALLON/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Robert Smith
CEO’s Role
In Alleged
Tax Scam
Is Detailed
BY MARK MAREMONT
AND MIRIAM GOTTFRIED
Robert Smith, the billion-
aire chief executive of private-
equity firm Vista Equity Part-
ners, played a larger role than
previously known in the $2
billion alleged tax evasion of
his former business partner,
recently filed court documents
show.
Mr. Smith played a role in a
2004 deal nicknamed “Project
Hotrod” that was designed to
allow Texas billionaire Robert
Brockman to avoid U.S. taxes
while transferring $635 mil-
lion from his main U.S. holding
company to his offshore enti-
ties, according to internal
memos and other deal docu-
ments filed by the Internal
Revenue Service in U.S. Dis-
Please turn to page B2
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become a net zero company.
Accelerate your ecosystem
with Palantir Foundry.
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* * * **
$38 billion deal to buy Ana-
darko Petroleum Corp. in May
2019.
The activist investor’s two
representatives on Occiden-
tal’s board are also resigning,
he said in the letter, as was re-
quired by a settlement agree-
ment with the company at the
onset of the pandemic.
Occidental’s shares plum-
meted in March 2020, allow-
ing Mr. Icahn to increase the
investment, boosting his stake
from 2.5% to around 10%. By
that time, he had been arguing
for almost a year that the An-
adarko deal was an ill-con-
ceived defensive move and
as much. When U.S. futures for
delivery next month ended
Wednesday at $110.60 a barrel,
contracts for next March set-
tled at $84.53. The $26.07 dif-
ference has never been greater
in favor of the front month.
Prices ended the week a little
closer together, but the sharp
rise Sunday night in near-term
futures suggests a widening
gap in the week ahead.
The pattern is mirrored in
international markets, where
the 12-month price spread on
benchmark Brent crude futures
also surpassed $20 a barrel last
week for the first time on re-
cord and blew out even wider
Sunday night when front-
month futures also rose above
$130.
“It’s hoarding,” said RBC
Capital Markets analyst Mi-
chael Tran. He points to an 83%
week-over-week jump in lease
rates for very large crude carri-
Please turn to page B2
Asian Markets Fall Sharply,
But Some Stocks Outperform
BY KAREN LANGLEY
AND CLARENCE LEONG
The rocky spell for stocks
persisted in Asia early Mon-
day, although some investors
see promising signs in the U.S.
market.
U.S. stock futures and
global equity indexes dropped,
after Russian forces intensi-
fied strikes across Ukraine and
with the threat of a potential
ban on imports of Russian oil
helping spur a fresh surge in
energy prices.
By early afternoon Monday
Hong Kong time, futures tied
to Dow Jones Industrial Aver-
age, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100
Share-price performance
40%
Chevron
30 AmerisourceBergen
Hershey
Union Pacific
20
10
0 week, its highest level since May
–10
Jan. 2022 Feb.
Source: FactSet
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
DJ TRANS À 1.22%
campaigning for the ouster of
Chief Executive Vicki Hollub.
He also took issue with the
$10 billion of pricey financing
from Warren Buffett that Occi-
dental relied on to pay for the
deal.
Mr. Buffett has been buying
Occidental shares in recent
days. As of Friday, Mr. Buf-
fett’s Berkshire Hathaway
Inc. reported owning roughly
$5 billion worth.
Within weeks of Mr. Icahn’s
raising his stake, he and Occi-
dental called a truce that
brought back former CEO Ste-
phen Chazen as chairman and
added three directors, includ-
Price difference, front-month U.S. crude-oil
futures versus contracts for 12 months later
1984 ’90
$120 a barrel
115
110
105
100
95
90
May 2022
Note: West Texas Intermediate shown; data as of Friday.
had declined between 1.1% and
1.8%, suggesting U.S. markets
could come under pressure in
Monday’s trading. Futures tied
to Europe’s Euro Stoxx 50 in-
dex fell more than 3%.
Stock benchmarks in the
Asia-Pacific region fell sharply
Monday, with South Korea’s
Kospi and the mainland Chi-
nese CSI 300 both falling more
than 2%. Japan’s Nikkei 225
shed more than 3% and Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell
more than 4%, putting it on
pace to close at a multiyear
low.
The S&P 500 rose or fell at
least 1% in six of the past nine
trading days as anxieties over
Index performance
0%
–2
–4
–6
–8
–10
–12
March Jan. 2022
WSJ $ IDX À 1.02% 2–YR. TREAS. yield 1.490%
ing Mr. Icahn’s two represen-
tatives. Ms. Hollub remained
CEO, and the company an-
nounced deep cost cuts.
Mr. Icahn thanked Mr. Cha-
zen in Sunday’s letter, includ-
ing for supporting his push to
issue a free dividend of war-
rants that he said created over
$4 billion of value for Occiden-
tal shareholders.
“While we certainly had our
disagreements with Vicki Hol-
lub concerning M&A, we thank
her for using her well-honed
operating skills and resiliency
so well in Occidental’s darkest
hours,” Mr. Icahn wrote. “We
believe our relationship with
2000 ’10
U.S. crude-oil futures prices,
by contract month
July Sept. Nov. Jan. 2023
the war in Ukraine, high infla-
tion and the path of interest
rates buffet the market.
The benchmark U.S. stock
index recently suffered its first
correction, or decline of at
least 10% from a recent high,
since the beginning of the
Covid-19 pandemic. It is now
down 9.2% this year, including
last week’s 1.3% fall.
Despite the volatility, a va-
riety of individual stocks have
broken out.
Among those setting re-
cords last week were candy
maker Hershey Co., oil giant
Chevron Corp., railroad com-
pany Union Pacific Corp.,
Please turn to page B9
S&P 500
Equal Weight
S&P 500
Feb. March
ADVERTISEMENT
NIKKEI 25985.47 g 1.85%
Monday, March 7, 2022 | B1
See more at WSJ.com/Markets
Occidental turned out to be
Investor
Targets
activism at its best.”
With the help of a surge in
oil prices, Occidental’s shares
Bed Bath
have more than quintupled af-
ter sinking below $10 in 2020.
They closed Friday at $56.15,
& Beyond
just below where they were BY CARA LOMBARDO
before the Anadarko deal was
completed. Ryan Cohen, the billionaire
Mr. Icahn realized a profit co-founder of online pet-prod-
of around $1 billion on the in- ucts retailer Chewy Inc., has a
vestment, according to people big stake in Bed Bath & Be-
familiar with the matter. He yond Inc. and is pushing the
also has an unrealized net housewares retailer to stream-
profit of roughly $500 million line its strategy and explore
on the warrants, they said. He strategic alternatives.
said in the letter that he still Mr. Cohen, who also serves
owns over 15 million warrants. as chairman of videogame re-
tailer GameStop Corp., owns a
9.8% stake in Bed Bath & Be-
$30 a barrel yond through his investment
firm, RC Ventures LLC, accord-
Friday ing to a copy of a letter sent
$24.19 to its board Sunday that was
20 viewed by The Wall Street
Journal. That makes him a
top-five shareholder in the
10 New Jersey-based chain,
which has a market value of
roughly $1.6 billion.
Bed Bath & Beyond has
0 hundreds of stores around the
country and operates the Buy-
buy Baby and Harmon retail
chains. While its shares ini-
–10 tially received a boost from
the pandemic, they have fallen
over the past year and closed
–20 Friday at $16.18, not far from
where they were three years
’20
ago.
The chain has a turnaround
–30 plan that includes reducing
the number of products in its
stores and launching new pri-
vate-label brands. But that left
–40
it vulnerable to supply-chain
issues roiling the retail indus-
try and caused it to cede more
–50 sales to rivals such as Ama-
zon.com Inc. and Target Corp.
Some analysts who initially
backed Chief Executive Mark
–60 Tritton’s plan are now ques-
tioning its viability.
Mr. Cohen said in the letter
–70
that Bed Bath & Beyond’s
March
strategy is failing to stem sus-
tained market-share losses,
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data Please turn to page B2
INSIDE
WARNER BROS/EVERETT COLLECTION
ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS
‘The Batman’ revives Dubai grows into a
moviegoing with top center for technology
box-office opening so companies during the
far this year. B2 pandemic. B3
Dollar Builds Strength
In Safe-Asset Search
BY CAITLIN MCCABE globe and sending traders
scrambling for assets perceived
Escalating conflict between as safer, such as gold, U.S. gov-
Russia and Ukraine sent inves- ernment bonds and the dollar.
tors dashing to safer assets, The U.S. currency is often seen
propelling the dollar to its as the ultimate haven asset be-
highest level since the pan- cause of its status as the world’s
demic-induced volatility of reserve currency. In times of
two years ago. turmoil, traders tend to seek out
The ICE U.S. Dollar index, dollar liquidity and dump riskier
which tracks the currency investments.
against a basket of others, That scenario represents half
surged as high as 98.92 last of what is known as the so-
called dollar smile, a market
2020. It finished the week with theory that posits that a strong
a 2.1% jump, one of the largest dollar tends to emerge when the
in the past five years. global economy sours and trad-
Investor anxiety swelled as ers rush for safety. The other
Russia advanced across Ukraine, half of the smile, according to
upending markets across the Please turn to page B4
B2 | Monday, March 7, 2022
INDEX TO BUSINESSES
These indexes cite notable references to most parent companies and businesspeople
in today’s edition. Articles on regional page inserts aren’t cited in these indexes.
A-H
Alfa Bank....................A9
Alphabet......................B4
AmerisourceBergen....B1
Applebee's...................B3
BASF ........................... A9
Bed Bath & Beyond....B1
Berkshire Hathaway...B1
Binance........................B3
Campbell Soup............B9
Cheesecake Factory....B3
Chevron ....................... B1
Delivery Hero............B10
DoorDash...................B10
Emerging Markets
Property Group.........B3
First Trust Global
Tactical Commodity
Strategy Fund...........R8
Fitch Ratings..............A9
GameStop....................R2
Gazprom Neft.............A9
HelloFresh.................B10
Hershey.......................B1
Huss Brewing ............. A2
I-N
INDEX TO PEOPLE
B Hannum, Dan..............R6
Bassett, Ralph............R2
Benz, Christine...........R3
Brockman, Robert.......B1
Buffett, Warren..........B1
C Johnson, Jovan...........R6
Cannon, Bryan.............R6
Chaudhuri, Gargi.........R2
Chazen, Stephen.........B1
Cohen, Ryan................B1
G-H
Goldstein, Jeffrey.......B2
Gray, Larry .................. R1
Greenwood, Robin ...... R2
Oil Buyers
Pay Bonus
For Speed
Continued from page B1
ers on the Persian Gulf to Asia
route as further evidence that
buyers are paying whatever
they must to stock up in case
Russian exports dry up. “People
are saying, ‘Give me as much as
you’ve got, I’ll buy as much as I
can,’” he said.
Over nearly four decades of
trading in West Texas Interme-
diate futures, a barrel on aver-
age has cost 40 cents more
than one delivered a year later.
The difference rarely exceeds
$10 in either direction, and
when it does, the blowout is
usually related to a war, hurri-
cane, market crash or pan-
demic.
The widest spread on record
came in April 2020, when the
global economy was locking
down to slow the spread of
Covid-19 and front-month U.S.
oil-futures prices plunged into
negative territory. The worry
was that fuel consumption was
falling faster than oil producers
could shut off the spigots, lead-
ing to trades in which sellers
effectively paid buyers to take
oil off their hands. Prompt-
month futures settled at nega-
tive $37.63 after one historic
trading session, while contracts
for barrels one year out stayed
above water at $34.35, for a
spread of negative $71.98.
Producers eventually choked
back before the world’s oil-stor-
age facilities overflowed. Now,
as economies reopen, produc-
ers—from the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Coun-
tries to Texas frackers—have
been slow to meet rising de-
mand. The imbalance has
drained fuel stockpiles around
the world and sparked Wall
Street forecasts for $100 oil
this summer, during peak driv-
ing season.
Triple-digit oil prices arrived
Executive’s
Role
Is Detailed
Continued from page B1
trict Court in Houston as part
of a civil dispute with Mr.
Brockman.
The IRS, calling the Brock-
man offshore entities involved
“shams,” claims in the court
filings that most of the trans-
ferred funds were dividends
on which Mr. Brockman should
have paid taxes.
Mr. Smith isn’t a party to
the court dispute, but the doc-
uments show that he was in-
volved in the planning of the
transaction and that a Cayman
Islands entity named Vista Eq-
uity Fund III LP facilitated the
transaction. He personally
signed the deal-closing docu-
ments on behalf of that entity,
the documents show.
An attorney for Mr. Smith,
Emily Hughes of Kirkland & El-
lis LLP, said the government
* * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Invesco DB Base Metals Pfizer...........................A3
Fund .......................... R8 Rivian Automotive ... B10
Invesco DB Gold Fund R8 Robinhood Markets....R2
iShares S&P GSCI Rosneft Oil ................. A9
Commodity-Indexed Sberbank Rossia ... A8,A9
Trust..........................R8 Sequoia Capital...........B3
Just Eat Takeaway...B10 Severstal PAO ............ A9
Kitopi...........................B3 Shake Shack................B3
Land & Buildings SoftBank Group..........B3
Investment SPDR Gold Shares......R8
Management.............B3 S&P Global..................A9
Lean Technologies ......B3
Telda............................B3
Lordstown Motors....B10 Tesla..........................B10
Lucid Group...............B10
Teucrium Wheat FundR8
Mastercard..................A9 Texas Roadhouse........B3
MMC Norilsk Nickel ... A9
Tinkoff Bank...............A9
Moderna......................A3 Ulta Beauty.................B9
Nando's Peri-Peri........B3
Unifonic.......................B3
Neste Oyj....................A9 Union Pacific...............B1
Novavax.......................A3
Ventas.........................B3
JONATHAN OLLEY/WARNER BROS./ASSOCIATED PRESS
O-Z Visa.............................A9
Oasis Petroleum.........B3 Vista Equity Partners.B1
Occidental Petroleum.B1 Vista Global................B3
Oracle .......................... B9 VTB Bank....................A8
Outokumpu Oyj .......... A9 WarnerMedia..............B2
Petroleos de Venezuela Whiting Petroleum.....B3
A9 Zello ............................ A6
McDonald, Jim............R2
Hollub, Vicki................B1 R
I Rogers, Jim.................R8
Icahn, Carl...................B1 S The superhero film with Robert Pattinson had the second-best opening weekend of the pandemic era.
J
‘The Batman’ Reboots Box Office
Sherman, Andrew.......R6
Smith, Eric..................R1
K Smith, Robert.............B1
Stanton, Cathie .......... R5
Kessler, Scott ............. R2
L T
Laartis, Toomis...........R2 Tomlinson, Joe............R3 BY ROBBIE WHELAN Since 2019 there have only
Lincoln, Matthew........R6 Tran, Michael..............B1 Estimated Box-Office Figures, Through Sunday been two movies that have
Litt, Jonathan.............B3 W Batman can add another Sales, in millions opened with more than $100
M Wurgler, Jeffrey ......... R2 vanquished villain to his ré- Film Distributor Weekend* Cumulative % Change million at the box office,” said
sumé: the dreary start to this 1. The Batman Warner Bros. $128.5 $128.5 — Jeffrey Goldstein, president of
year’s Hollywood box office. domestic distribution for War-
2. Uncharted Sony $11.0 $100.3 -52%
sooner than expected when
Russian tanks rolled into
Ukraine. Analysts and Wall
“The Batman,” Warner
Bros.’ reboot of the stand-
alone Batman franchise,
3. Dog United Artists
Releasing
$6.0 $40.0 -41%
ner Bros.
Mr. Goldstein cited the
film’s strong performance at
Street strategists are increasing
price forecasts even higher now
that Russia’s oil exports are be-
grossed $128.5 million in its
opening weekend, the studio
said, the best opening week-
4. Spider-Man:
No Way Home
Sony
5. Death on the 20th Century
$4.4
$2.7
$786.5 -24%
$37.1 -39%
premium showings through
IMAX, Dolby Cinema and oth-
ers, plus improvements that
ing treated as off limits by
many buyers.
OPEC and its market allies,
end for a film since Sony Pic-
tures Entertainment’s “Spider-
Man: No Way Home” earned
Nile Studios
*Friday, Saturday and Sunday in North American theaters Source: Comscore
theater owners made to the
viewer’s experience, including
renovations, new concession
including Russia, have chosen $260.1 million in its December offerings and sound technol-
to maintain the cartel’s produc- debut, according to box office ogy, as part of the reason for
tion quotas despite surging tracker Comscore. ing sign for studios, given the “The Batman,” directed by the opening’s success.
prices. Including international re- timing of its release in be- Matt Reeves, which has been The film’s box office perfor-
U.S. oil output has remained ceipts, “The Batman” grossed tween holiday seasons, linger- described as a gritty film noir mance also gives ammunition
flat since autumn at around 11.6 a total of $248.5 million in its ing fears over the Omicron that has more in common with to critics of many Hollywood
million barrels a day, yet there opening weekend. variant of Covid-19, the film’s Christopher Nolan’s “Dark studios’ pandemic strategy to
are signs that free-market pro- The film, which has been dark subject matter and its Knight” trilogy—in which the release some big-name mov-
ducers are ramping up to cap- paused for release in Russia in nearly three-hour run time. title character and his adver- ies, including “Dune,” “Suicide
ture higher prices. There were response to the invasion of The result represents the saries grappled with personal Squad,” and “The Matrix Res-
519 rigs drilling in the U.S. for Ukraine, comes out in Japan fourth-largest opening weekend demons—than with the super- urrections,” on streaming ser-
crude last week, up from 480 at next week and in China on gross ever for a Batman movie. hero ensemble movies, such as vices and in theaters at the
the start of the year, when oil March 18. The best was $166 million for “Justice League” that immedi- same time.
was $76 a barrel, according to The success of “The Bat- “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn ately preceded it. WarnerMedia, which owns
oil-field-services firm Baker man”—it had the biggest box of Justice” in 2016. Warner “The Batman” brought a both the studio and stream-
Hughes Co. office haul of 2022 after just Bros. had predicted an opening new ensemble of actors to the ing service HBOMax, released
Allowing for time to permit one weekend on screens and weekend gross of between $80 classic tale, including Robert its entire slate of films simul-
and drill wells, it could be six the second-best gross of the million and $90 million. Pattinson as the title character. taneously in theaters and on-
to nine months before in- pandemic era—is an encourag- Critics were impressed by “We’re in rarefied air here. line last year.
creased domestic drilling, even
with government incentives,
adds meaningful supply, Jeffer-
ies analysts estimate.
Until then, and barring dip-
Investor that given his focus on
GameStop, he isn’t in a posi-
tion to become a Bed Bath &
lomatic deals that would allow
more oil to flow from Venezu-
ela and Iran, analysts say prices
Targets Beyond director himself but
didn’t rule out his firm nomi-
nating directors if necessary.
are likely to rise until consum-
ers can no longer bear the ex-
pense and cut consumption.
Bed Bath The window to nominate di-
rectors is open now and closes
at the end of next week.
MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGES
“Should the market remain Raised in Montreal, Mr. Co-
averse to Russian barrels for a Continued from page B1 hen co-founded Chewy in 2011.
sustained period of time, we’re noting that core sales dropped He served as its CEO through
hard pressed to see a scenario 14% from a year earlier in the 2018 after leading the com-
in which prices don’t test for most recent quarter. pany to a $3.35 billion sale to
pressure points on demand de- He urged the company to PetSmart Inc. In addition to a
struction,” analysts with Hous- narrow the focus of its turn- sizable position in GameStop,
ton investment bank Tudor, around plan, maintain the RC Ventures has been a large
Pickering, Holt & Co. wrote in a right inventory mix to meet shareholder of Apple Inc. for
note to clients. demand and explore a separa- years.
The average U.S. retail price tion of the Buybuy Baby chain In 2019, a trio of activists pushed to revamp the retailer’s board. This isn’t the first time that
of gasoline ended February at or a sale of the entire com- Bed Bath & Beyond has come
$3.608 a gallon, up 28% from a pany. Mr. Cohen gained a following ing lower than they were a under activist-shareholder
year earlier. Gasoline futures He wrote that given Buybuy after he built a big GameStop year ago, closing Friday at pressure in recent years. Mr.
have risen 20% in March, fore- Baby’s growth trajectory, it stake and in November 2020 $111.66, but roughly 30 times Tritton was named CEO in
shadowing more pain at the could be valued at several bil- criticized the company for where they were two years 2019 after three activists
pump for Americans already lion dollars. moving too slowly toward e- ago. pushed to revamp the board,
grappling with inflation across He also wrote that the en- commerce. At its peak in January 2021, saying the company hadn’t
their household budgets. tire company could be better He joined the board in Jan- the stock hit $347.51, giving adapted to the rise of e-com-
off in the hands of a private- uary 2021, which contributed the company a market value of merce and shrinking profit
Scan this code equity firm. to the Reddit-fueled spike in more than $20 billion. margins.
for a podcast on He added that the company its shares that followed. He GameStop’s market value The activists reached a set-
how the Ukraine should better align leadership took over as chairman in June stands at about $8.5 billion. tlement agreement that put
war is affecting compensation with results. 2021. Its sales have been increasing. four new directors on the
gasoline prices. Far from a typical activist, GameStop’s shares are trad- Mr. Cohen said in the letter company’s board.
“never has alleged that Robert
Smith engaged in any wrong-
doing in connection with the
has denied the allegations and
has denied owing any taxes,
including on the Project Ho-
Vista specializes in buyouts of
business-software companies.
It was founded in 2000 and
Mr. Smith has tried to put
the tax settlement behind him.
He has appeared on television
terials seized from an en-
crypted server kept by Mr.
Brockman. The documents in-
transaction, nor that Mr.
Smith knew that Mr. Brockman
structured the Hotrod transac-
trod transaction. He also has
claimed to be unable to stand
trial due to advancing demen-
has grown to manage more
than $86 billion in assets. In
January, Vista announced a
to offer financial advice to
young people and has tried to
focus attention on his many
clude a 2002 letter from Mr.
Brockman with an attachment
outlining the Project Hotrod
tion for the purpose of ille-
gally avoiding taxes.” She said
Mr. Smith relied on the repre-
tia. Prosecutors claim he is ex-
aggerating a mental decline.
Both sides are awaiting a rul-
roughly $13 billion deal to buy
Citrix Systems Inc., one of the
biggest recent software buy-
charitable initiatives, including
one aimed at reducing debt
burdens for students at histor-
transaction.
It called for a non-U.S. cor-
poration managed by Mr.
sentations of the other parties ing from a federal judge on outs. The firm’s success has ically Black colleges and uni- Smith to form an offshore en-
involved, as well as the opin- Mr. Brockman’s competency. made Mr. Smith the richest versities. tity called Vista Equity Fund
ion of a nationally recognized Mr. Smith, who was also a Black person in the U.S., with The IRS filed the docu- III, according to the docu-
law firm, that the transaction target of the government’s a wealth Forbes pegs at $6.7 ments showing the intricacies ments.
wasn’t taxable. probe, reached a nonprosecu- billion. of the Hotrod transaction in The fund would use money
Mr. Brockman, the owner of tion agreement around the Vista is trying to raise what late January in federal court, raised from a “private offshore
a large automotive-software time of Mr. Brockman’s indict- would be its biggest-ever fund, as part of a separate civil case mutual fund” to help buy ma-
firm, was indicted in October ment. He admitted to engaging in which Mr. Brockman has jority control of Mr. Brock-
2020 on charges that he used in an illegal scheme to evade sued the IRS over the agency’s man’s U.S. holding company
a web of offshore entities to taxes on more than $200 mil- early efforts to collect $1.4 bil- from his main Bermuda trust,
evade taxes on what the Jus- lion in income from Vista’s
Robert Smith has lion in tax, penalties and inter- using the change in control to
tice Department said was first fund—in which Mr. Brock- told Vista investors est it claims he owes. transfer more than $600 mil-
about $2 billion in income, man was the sole investor— In the civil case, the IRS lion to Mr. Brockman’s off-
most of it derived from invest- and agreed to pay $139 million
he regretted his pegged at $2.7 billion the shore structure without incur-
ments in Vista funds. Prosecu- in back taxes and penalties. conduct. amount of income on which ring U.S. withholding taxes,
tors have called it the biggest Mr. Smith also agreed to coop- Mr. Brockman failed to pay according to the documents.
tax-fraud case brought against erate against Mr. Brockman. taxes—more than the $2 bil- Vista’s role in the deal “is
an individual in U.S. history. Mr. Smith has told Vista in- lion cited by the Justice De- very unusual,” said Gregg Pol-
The indictment said Mr. vestors he regretted his con- a vehicle that could total as partment when Mr. Brockman sky, a tax-law professor at the
Brockman “directed and duct but said it was purely a much as $24 billion. As part of was indicted. The Project Ho- University of Georgia who ex-
caused” a transaction code- personal tax matter and that that effort, the firm has been trod income accounts for most amined the court filings for
named Hotrod as part of his the Justice Department had emphasizing to prospective in- of the difference, the IRS doc- The Wall Street Journal. “You
alleged criminal tax-evasion “never claimed that Vista or vestors that its bench of in- uments suggest. wouldn’t normally think of a
scheme, but it didn’t go into any Vista funds were involved vestment talent extends be- In the case, the IRS filed private-equity fund manager
details about the transaction. or under investigation.” yond Mr. Smith, said people hundreds of pages of support- like Robert Smith participating
Mr. Brockman, 80 years old, Based in Austin, Texas, familiar with the talks. ing documents, including ma- in something like this.”
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Monday, March 7, 2022 | B3

BUSINESS NEWS

Shale Oil
Drillers
Are Set
To Merge
BY CARA LOMBARDO
AND COLLIN EATON
Oasis Petroleum Inc. and
Whiting Petroleum Corp. are
close to a deal to merge, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
The all-stock tie-up be-
tween the rival North Dakota
shale drillers could be un-
veiled this week, the people
said, assuming the talks don’t
fall apart. The companies com-
bined would be valued at
roughly $6 billion, given Oasis’
market value of $2.8 billion
and Whiting’s of $3.3 billion.
It would be the first signifi-
Dubai Emerges as a Tech Hub
Sector grew during
pandemic as emirate
kept borders open and
pushed vaccinations
BY RORY JONES
DUBAI—A technology indus-
try is growing in Dubai, spurred
by the pandemic, as startups
here attract interest from inter-
national venture firms, includ-
ing SoftBank Group Corp. and
Sequoia Capital.
Dubai largely kept its bor-
der open, aggressively vacci-
nated and introduced visas
and other policies that at-
tracted a mobile international
workforce. With much of Eu-
rope and Asia launching lock-
downs through multiple waves
of Covid-19, Dubai’s mix of re-
laxed virus policies, low taxes
CHRISTOPHER PIKE/REUTERS

cant tie-up between oil com- and relatively light business

panies in several months, after
a string of them in recent
years, and comes as Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine roils en-
ergy markets and causes crude
prices to surge.
Oasis and Whiting have
been streamlining their hold-
ings recently and benefited
from rising oil prices in the
past few months along with
the rest of the industry.
Shares of both have been ris-
ing as oil prices have topped
$100 a barrel in past weeks,
and combining could help the
companies take continued ad-
vantage of the surge.
Both companies filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec-
tion after oil prices collapsed
in 2020, following the worst of
the pandemic-related eco-
nomic downturn.
Last year, Oasis bought as-
sets in the Bakken Shale re-
gion from Diamondback En-
ergy Inc. in a transaction
initially valued at $745 mil-
lion. It also sold its holdings in
the Permian Basin of West
Texas and New Mexico.
Meantime, Whiting divested
itself of leasehold interests
and other assets in the DJ Ba-
sin in Colorado last year and
has snapped up more assets in
the Bakken.
HANS GUTKNECHT/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/ZUMA PRESS
regulation created an attrac-
tive environment for tech
startups, executives said.
“The thing that’s really
changed is Covid—it acceler-
ated the ecosystem by three to
five years,” said Asher Sid-
diqui, a Dubai venture capital-
ist and former partner at San
Francisco-based 500 Startups.
Ralf Glabischnig, an inves-
tor and founder of Crypto Oa-
sis, an organization helping
blockchain and crypto startups
establish in Dubai, moved last
year to the city that he calls
the fastest-growing hub glob-
ally for crypto technology.
Crypto Oasis says it helped
200 startups—trading crypto-
currencies or building busi-
nesses on blockchain—estab-
lish in Dubai. The world’s
largest crypto exchange, Bi-
nance, set up offices in Dubai.
Dubai has benefited from
the United Arab Emirates’ new
diplomatic relations with Is-
rael, struck in 2020 in a deal
known as the Abraham Ac-
cords, which created opportu-
nities for Dubai to make con-
nections with the tech hub in
Tel Aviv. Companies from Is-
rael, which is also experienc-
ing a tech boom, are expand-
ing and choosing Dubai for
their first regional outpost.
Blockchain and crypto businesses grew in the emirate during the pandemic. The downtown skyline from the Museum of the Future.
Investments in Middle East
and North Africa tech firms,
excluding Israel, quadrupled to
$2.87 billion last year, com-
pared with $654 million in
2020, with roughly half that
investment flowing into the
U.A.E., according to Wamda, a
Dubai research platform.
Dubai is now home to three
tech startups worth at least a
billion dollars: Kitopi, a cloud
kitchen platform; private avia-
tion platform Vista Global;
and Emerging Markets Prop-
erty Group, which operates
classified listing websites in
the U.A.E., Egypt and other
countries, according to New
York-based CB Insights.
“This is a tipping point,”
said Dominic Perks, chief exec-
utive of London investment
firm Hambro Perks, which
launched a fund to invest in
startups in the Middle East.
Three India-based executives
at Sequoia Capital moved to
Dubai during the pandemic,
where they obtained long-term
permits to move freely in and
out of the city, according to
people familiar with the moves.
The effective extension of
Sequoia Capital India to Dubai
helped produce the venture
fund’s first investment in the
Gulf region, these people said.
California-based Sequoia’s In-
dia-focused fund in January
led a $33 million early-stage
investment in a Saudi fintech
startup, Lean Technologies
Ltd., and the fund is planning
another deal, one person said.
Alongside Lean, Sequoia’s
Europe-based team invested
last year in Egyptian fintech
startup Telda.
SoftBank Group’s Vision
Fund 2 in July led a $415 mil-
lion investment in Kitopi. A few
months later, SoftBank did a
$125 million deal for a stake in
Saudi Arabian customer-en-
gagement platform Unifonic.
The investment firm, backed
with $60 billion from Saudi and
U.A.E. sovereign-wealth funds,
established a presence in Abu
Dhabi in 2018 but didn’t invest
any of the first Vision Fund in
companies in the Arab world.
Instead, SoftBank waited
for deal flow to pick up, and
now sees more sophisticated
entrepreneurs running Gulf
companies of a significant-
enough size, according to a
person familiar with the fund’s
strategy. SoftBank passed on
investing in Kitopi in an ear-
lier investment round, but it
kept in touch with the found-
ers and invested when the
firm grew to operate more
than 60 cloud kitchens across
the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Ku-
wait and Bahrain.
The region’s sovereign-
wealth funds such as Saudi
Arabia’s Public Investment
Fund and Abu Dhabi’s
Mubadala Investment Co. are
taking direct stakes and seed-
ing local venture-capital firms.
“Big money checks are com-
ing in from Silicon Valley VCs
or global VCs who see this as
the next emerging region,” said
Kunal Savjani, a Dubai partner
at venture firm Shorooq Part-
ners, which has a portfolio of
more than 45 startups.
The Arab world has a
young, tech-savvy population,
but it traditionally has been a
source of capital for investors
rather than a place lauded for
its entrepreneurs, venture cap-
italists said. Its frequent con-
flicts have put off investors,
and Saudi Arabia, the biggest
economy, opened up economi-
cally and socially only in re-
cent years, they added.
The U.A.E. has a stated aim
of becoming home to 20 tech
companies worth $1 billion or
more by 2031. It is offering
100,000 “golden visas,” or per-
mits that allow entrepreneurs
and tech investors to live in the
country for up to 10 years, lon-
ger than regular visas. The
U.A.E. set up a national small-
business program to help start-
ups find funding, teaming up
with established companies and
market their products overseas.

Workers at a Shake Shack in Canoga Park, Calif. The chain still requires employees to wear masks.

Restaurants Weigh Easing

Covid-19 Mask Restrictions
BY HEATHER HADDON
AND STEPHEN COUNCIL
Covid-19 restrictions are
easing. Restaurants are decid-
ing whether to keep masks on
the menu.
California, New York, Con-
necticut, Illinois and other lo-
cal governments in recent
weeks ended mask require-
ments for dining inside and
working at restaurants.
Some businesses, including
Texas Roadhouse Inc., the
Cheesecake Factory Inc. and
Applebee’s, believe there is a
benefit for business and their
workers when mask mandates
are removed. The facial cover-
ings are hot and uncomfort-
able to work in, and not hav-
ing to put them on between
bites and sips makes custom-
ers more motivated to dine
out, Applebee’s President John
Cywinski said Wednesday.
Other restaurant operators
said they feared alienating
workers and diners by elimi-
nating mask- and vaccination-
requirement rules when al-
lowed to do so. Some
restaurant owners are strug-
gling to recruit enough staff to
fully run their operations and
worry that relaxing rules
could scare off employees
fearful about their health.
Dan Connor, co-owner of
Donovan’s Pub in Woodside,
N.Y., said most of his servers
stopped wearing masks since
New York state dropped its fa-
cial-coverings mandate in Feb-
ruary, but his kitchen crew are
largely keeping them on out of
health concerns.
Mr. Connor said he has been
trying to hire another cook for
months, and he is considering
updating the ad to include that
masks can still be worn to cater
to workers worried about their
health. “I’m trying to balance
different opinions,” he said.
In late February, the Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-
tion eased its masking recom-
mendations, keeping them as a
recommendation in counties
deemed high-risk but allowing
them to be dropped elsewhere.
The CDC first recommended
that the public wear masks in
indoor public settings in 2020,
and many states reinstated fa-
cial covering requirements for
indoor settings during corona-
virus surges last year. Other
states, including Texas and Ar-
izona, dropped masking re-
quirements last year and
never brought them back.
Some cities went further in
Covid-19 rules last year, with
jurisdictions asking restaurants
and bars to only service inside
customers who were vaccinated
or had a negative test. Those
proof-of-vaccination rules are
now changing. Chicago and Se-
attle dropped such require-
ments in the past week. New
York City expects to lift its
proof-of-vaccination rules for
indoor spaces on Monday.
Restaurants in regions of the
country with fewer Covid-19-re-
lated restrictions have bounced
back faster than those parts
with more rules, according to
the NPD Group, a market-re-
search firm. Restaurant orders
were down by the steepest
amount last year in the North-
east and mid-Atlantic regions
compared with before the pan-
demic, with those states gener-
ally having more restrictions.
Americans are divided on
whether to keep wearing
masks. Women are twice as
likely as men to agree that
they will keep wearing facial
coverings in indoor spaces
even when no longer required,
according to a poll of 1,005
adults in February by Lisa W.
Miller & Associates LLC, a
consumer-research firm.
Nationally, more than
228,200 restaurants listed that
they still required masks or
that their staff wore facial
coverings, according to
Yelp.com, a platform for busi-
ness reviews.
Shake Shack Inc. and inter-
national chicken chain Nando’s
Peri-Peri are among companies
still requiring staff to wear
masks, the companies said.
B4 | Monday, March 7, 2022
YouTube Kids Boosted Content Scrutiny
BY YOREE KOH their products aren’t doing
enough to promote the safety
When YouTube set out to of younger consumers.
create a product for children, Instagram, owned by Meta
employees thought it could be Platforms Inc., paused the de-
built like its main video- velopment of a children’s ver-
streaming platform: ruled by sion of its namesake product
algorithms with little human after lawmakers and parents
intervention. They learned, sev- raised concerns. ByteDance
eral years after launch, that Ltd.’s TikTok started to test fill-
they were wrong, according to ing users’ feeds with age-based
former employees. content in response to criticism
From the early days of You- that adolescents are often ex-
Tube, videos directed at chil- posed to mature and poten-
dren were among the most pop- tially harmful videos.
ular content. Channels featuring YouTube Kids was intro-
animated nursery rhymes, chil- duced in 2015. Former employ-
dren engaged in pretend play ees say it was an effort to show
and adults opening new toys parents and regulators that the
garnered billions of views since company took children’s safety
the platform started in 2005. seriously while grabbing its
As the site grew in popular- next generation of users.
ity and advertising revenue Employees at YouTube Kids
poured in, an increasing num- were divided on the best way
ber of parents complained that to build a product for children,
their children stumbled upon the former employees said. Em-
unseemly content through its ployees debated how big a role
algorithm-driven recommenda- humans should play in picking
tions. Holding on to young what videos are allowed in the
viewers involved a difficult children’s version, they said.
reckoning at Alphabet Inc.- The founding engineers backed
owned YouTube. Ultimately, it an open platform and were
decided that humans could best against employees selecting
select content for children. content, these people said,
That trade-off of quality at while others argued that a
the cost of user and revenue product for children couldn’t be
growth is significant as tech left solely to an algorithm.
companies wrestle with attract- The feeling among many
ing and keeping young users product managers and engi-
while addressing criticism that neers was that if a platform
The Dollar The recent move by the dol-
lar builds on earlier strength
that began last year amid expec-
Builds Up tations of higher interest rates
in the U.S., which tend to bol-
ster the currency as higher
Strength yields make it more attractive.
But the crisis in Ukraine sent
bets on the dollar into over-
drive. Concerns have mounted
Continued from page B1 that the war and sanctions in-
the framework, occurs when the flicted by the West will ripple
U.S. economy is healthy com- across Europe, stunting growth.
pared with other countries, For now, investors believe the
spurring investors to buy dollar- U.S. economy will be relatively
denominated investments. insulated from the war, prompt-
The economic effects from ing bets on U.S. stocks.
the war in Ukraine, combined The broader WSJ Dollar In-
with the expectations that the dex, which tracks the dollar
U.S. will outperform global against a basket of 16 curren-
markets, has propelled the cies, closed at its highest level
dollar to an unusual sweet since July 2020, while the euro
spot, analysts say. fell below $1.10 Friday for the
Enjoy a New
Complimentary
Ebook With
© 2022 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ8793
WSJ+
TECHNOLOGY
The YouTube Kids mobile application displayed on a tablet.
was 99% safe, that was enough,
according to one former execu-
tive. The point was to find a
way to avoid human curation,
the person said. The employees
pushing for little editorial in-
terference won out.
Within months, users were
spending an average of 90 min-
utes a day watching videos, ac-
cording to two former execu-
tives. Like its parent site,
YouTube Kids relied on users to
flag troubling content and was
subject to minimal review by
human moderators.
Controversy and negative
publicity followed. Watchdog
groups and parents identified
disturbing videos in which pop-
first time in almost two years.
The British pound lost 1.3%
against the dollar for the week.
The moves came alongside
broader risk-off sentiment
around the globe, sending gold
up 4.2% for the week and the
S&P 500 down 1.3%. The pan-
continental Stoxx Europe 600
index tumbled 7% to finish near
its lowest level in nearly a year.
A strong dollar, though, can
be a double-edged sword, po-
tentially weighing on U.S. com-
panies that generate revenue
outside the U.S. When the dollar
rises, revenues in other curren-
cies lose value. Companies in
the S&P 500 generate roughly
40% of their revenue from out-
side the U.S., FactSet data show.
Recent history shows evi-
dence of an inverse correlation
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
WSJ.com/Tech
ployees said. Human reviewers cording to a former executive
were hired to vet channels. The and people who work closely
number of human curators, with the company.
who pick featured videos on us- YouTube’s increased scrutiny
ers’ home screens, rose fivefold of its children’s site coincided
to about 25 people, they said. with a $170 million fine from
Alicia Blum-Ross, a re- the FTC for violating children’s
searcher on children and tech- privacy. After the settlement,
nology, was hired by YouTube YouTube began to repeatedly
ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
to minimize risk to children remind users to switch over to
and ramp up quality content the children’s version whenever
while maintaining the range of they watched a video targeting
user-generated content that children on the main platform.
makes YouTube unique. “There YouTube Kids continues to
is an inherent tension there,” attract a fraction of the eye-
said Ms. Blum-Ross. balls of the main platform. In
She formed an advisory January, YouTube said the chil-
board of about a dozen aca- dren’s version has 35 million
demic researchers specializing weekly viewers, up from 11 mil-
in disciplines such as child de- lion in November 2017. The
ular characters from Mickey velopment and media literacy. main YouTube platform has
Mouse to Peppa Pig were put in The board informed product two billion monthly users.
obscene or violent situations. questions like how to recom- YouTube has done a good
Researchers chronicled the mend new content to children job of turning the children’s
prevalence of videos they based on their viewing pattern. platform into a safer place, said
deemed to have little educa- At the end of 2019, YouTube Jill Murphy, editor in chief at
tional merit, such as “unboxing” removed millions of what it Common Sense Media, a non-
videos that showed children and deemed low-quality videos profit group that offers guid-
adults opening new toys. from YouTube Kids, a decision ance on age-appropriate enter-
By late 2018, YouTube execu- that cut the library by about tainment and technology.
tives acceded to more editorial 80%, according to a former ex- But she and other experts
intervention and began to pour ecutive. Over the next few caution that safe doesn’t mean
more resources into YouTube months, YouTube cleared out high-quality or educational
Kids. In early 2019, the Federal videos of cartoon parodies and content. YouTube Kids remains
Trade Commission started in- many unboxing videos that vio- rich with videos that often have
vestigating YouTube’s data-col- lated its policy on commercial minimal educational value, she
lection practices of minors. content. The children’s plat- said. “That has a slow-burn ef-
The trust-and-safety team form is now mostly made up of fect, and that’s more of what
expanded from a handful of videos that are created by pre- kids are consuming on a regu-
people to hundreds, former em- approved content partners, ac- lar basis,” Ms. Murphy said.
between the S&P 500 and the
dollar. Take 2015, when the
ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 9.3%
ICE U.S. Dollar Index, past two years
104
for the year amid concerns
about Chinese growth, a slide
in emerging-market currencies
102
and expectations of a rate in-
crease from the Federal Re-
serve. Late that year, the Fed
100
98
raised rates for the first time
in nearly a decade. The S&P
96
500 fell 0.7% that year.
This time things could be dif-
ferent, said Huw Roberts, head 94
of analytics at Quant Insight.
With economic growth poten- 92
tially slowing in Europe and
elsewhere, investors may begin 90
pouring more money into the
U.S. “At the moment, our mod- 88
els show that a stronger dollar
April 2020 ’21 ’22
is a very small positive for the
S&P 500,” he said. Source: FactSet
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, March 7, 2022 | B5

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B6 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

MARKETS DIGEST
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index New to the Market
Last Year ago Last Year ago
33614.80 t 443.95, or 1.30% last week Trailing P/E ratio 18.67 32.05 4328.87 t 55.78, or 1.27% last week Trailing P/E ratio * 24.21 45.02 Public Offerings of Stock
High, low, open and close for each of P/E estimate * 17.63 21.27 High, low, open and close for each of P/E estimate * 19.25 22.34
Dividend yield 2.08 1.88 Dividend yield * 1.42 1.49
IPOs in the U.S. Market
the past 52 weeks the past 52 weeks
All-time high 36799.65, 01/04/22 All-time high 4796.56, 01/03/22 None expected this week
Lockup Expirations
Current divisor 0.15172752595384 Below, companies whose officers and other insiders will become eligible
36600 4800
to sell shares in their newly public companies for the first time. Such
sales can move the stock’s price.
34500 4500 Lockup Offer Offer amt Through Lockup
expiration Issue date Issuer Symbol price($) ($ mil.) Friday (%) provision
March 12 Sept. 13, ’21 Sportradar Group SRAD 27.00 503.5 –53.0 180 days
65-day moving average 32400 4200 Feb. 11, ’22 Modiv MDV 25.00 1.0 –30.5 30 days
65-day moving average Sources: Dealogic; Dow Jones Market Data

Week's high 30300 3900 IPO Scorecard

DOWN UP Performance of IPOs, most-recent listed first
t

Monday's open Friday's close % Chg From % Chg From

28200 3600 Company SYMBOL Friday3s Offer 1st-day Company SYMBOL Friday3s Offer 1st-day
Friday's close Monday's open IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close
t

200-day moving average

Kensington Capital Acquisition IV 9.95 –0.5 –0.4 Futuretech II Acquisition 10.01 0.1 ...
200-day moving average KCAC.UT March 2/$10.00 FTIIU Feb. 16/$10.00
Week's low 26100 3300 SHUAA Ptnrs Acquisition I 10.00 ... 0.1 Meihua Intl Med Tech 7.66 –23.4 –40.7
SHUAU March 2/$10.00 MHUA Feb. 16/$10.00
Bars measure the point change from Monday's open Sound Point Acquisition I 10.05 0.5 ... Smart for Life 0.95 –90.5 –64.6
24000 3000 SPCMU March 2/$10.00 SMFL Feb. 16/$10.00
M A M J J A S O N D J F M M A M J J A S O N D J F M Valuence Merger I 10.02 0.2 0.2 ASPAC I Acquisition 10.04 0.4 –0.0
VMCAU March 1/$10.00 ASCAU Feb. 15/$10.00
Primary FG Merger 10.02 0.2 0.3 Genesis Unicorn Capital 10.04 0.4 0.4
NYSE weekly volume, in billions of shares market Composite
t
t

FGMCU Feb. 25/$10.00 GENQU Feb. 15/$10.00

36 Track the Markets GSR II Meteora Acquisition 10.01 0.1 ... Direct Digital Hldgs 1.45 –73.6 –51.7
24 Compare the performance of selected GSRMU Feb. 25/$10.00 DRCT Feb. 11/$5.50
global stock indexes, bond ETFs, Clean Earth Acquisitions 10.01 0.1 0.1 HNR Acquisition 10.02 0.2 0.1
12
currencies and commodities at CLINU Feb. 24/$10.00 HNRA.UT Feb. 11/$10.00
0 WSJ.com/TrackTheMarkets Blue Water Vaccines 61.50 583.3 7.1 Jaguar Global Growth I 10.07 0.7 0.2
M A M J J A S O N D J F BWV Feb. 18/$9.00 JGGCU Feb. 11/$10.00
*Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc.; † Based on Nasdaq-100 Index PowerUp Acquisition 9.99 –0.1 –0.2 Modiv 17.37 –30.5 –74.5
PWUPU Feb. 18/$10.00 MDV Feb. 11/$25.00
Major U.S. Stock-Market Indexes Nasdaq Composite AXIOSSustainableGrowthAcquisition
AXAC.UT Feb. 16/$10.00
10.15 1.5 0.3 Relativity Acquisition
RACYU Feb. 11/$10.00
10.01 0.1 –0.1

Latest Week 52-Week % chg t 381.19, or -2.78%

High Low Close Net chg % chg Low Close (l) High %chg YTD 3-yr. ann. Sources: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet
Dow Jones
last week
Industrial Average 34179.07 33107.67 33614.80 -443.95 -1.30 31496.30 • 36799.65 6.7 -7.5 9.2
Public and Private Borrowing
Transportation Avg 15646.42 14924.04 15392.41 185.20 1.22 13627.98 • 17039.38 12.9 -6.6 14.0
13700
Treasurys
Utility Average 989.11 930.80 988.47 50.22 5.35 814.03 • 988.47 21.4 0.8 9.1
Monday, March 7 Thursday, March 10
Total Stock Market 44826.45 43380.70 43803.40 -713.35 -1.60 40139.84 • 48929.18 8.5 -9.9 14.9
Auction of 13 and 26 week bills; Auction of 4 and 8 week bills;
Barron's 400 1023.04 990.13 998.69 -15.59 -1.54 926.23 • 1127.2 7.8 -9.7 12.3 13500
announced on March 3; settles on March 10 announced on March 8; settles on March 15
Nasdaq Stock Market Tuesday, March 8
13300
Nasdaq Composite 13837.59 13224.98 13313.44 -381.19 -2.78 12609.16 • 16057.44 3.0 -14.9 20.7
Auction of 3 year note;
Nasdaq-100 14342.56 13738.61 13837.83 -351.33 -2.48 12299.08 • 16573.34 9.2 -15.2 24.6 announced on March 3; settles on March 15
13100
S&P
25 28 1 2 3 4
500 Index 4416.78 4279.54 4328.87 -55.78 -1.27 3821.35 • 4796.56 12.7 -9.2 15.7 February Closed-End Funds
MidCap 400 2691.29 2591.00 2615.47 -46.13 -1.73 2512.92 • 2910.7 4.1 -8.0 10.9 DJ US TSM Listed are the 300 largest closed-end funds as 52 wk
SmallCap 600 1331.69 1281.94 1299.07 -11.69 -0.89 1252.49 • 1466.02 -0.2 -7.3 10.3
t 713.35, or -1.60%
measured by assets. Closed-end funds sell a limited
number of shares and invest the proceeds in securities. Fund (SYM)
Prem Ttl
NAV Close /Disc Ret
Unlike open-end funds, closed-ends generally do not
Other Indexes last week buy their shares back from investors who wish to cash VAGIAI & Tech Opptys AIO 23.00 21.91 -4.7 -0.2
• VDivInt&PremStr NFJ 15.47 13.92 -10.0 10.6
in their holdings. Instead, fund shares trade on a stock
Russell 2000 2067.28 1985.51 2000.90 -40.03 -1.96 1931.29 2442.74 -8.7 -10.9 8.3 exchange. NA signifies that the information is not
Income & Preferred Stock Funds
NYSE Composite 16434.99 15954.19 16129.66 -298.29 -1.82 15251.83 • 17353.76 5.8 -6.0 8.5
available or not applicable. NS signifies funds not in
existence for the entire period. 12 month yield is CalamosStratTot CSQ 16.67 16.68 +0.1 7.8
Value Line 635.13 612.75 617.82 -12.79 -2.03 606.81 • 696.4 -1.5 -8.1 4.5 44500
computed by dividing income dividends paid (during
the previous 12 months for periods ending at month-
CohenStrsLtdDurPref&Inc LDP 23.56 22.61 -4.0 -2.4
CohenStrsSelPref&Income PSF 23.89 22.63 -5.3 -8.0
NYSE Arca Biotech 5052.99 4868.02 4896.24 -83.32 -1.67 4790.85 • 6022.37 -11.6 -11.3 -1.1 end or during the previous 52 weeks for periods
ending at any time other than month-end) by the
CohenStrsTaxAvPreSecs&I PTA 23.55 22.07 -6.3 -4.8
NYSE Arca Pharma 795.97 776.69 789.99 -1.77 -0.22 676.86 • 828.58 16.7 -4.5 10.0
44100
latest month-end market price adjusted for capital
gains distributions. Depending on the fund category,
Dividend and Income DNI 19.25 13.80 -28.3 23.5
FirstTrIntDurPref&Inc FPF 22.53 21.27 -5.6 -2.1
KBW Bank 134.96 123.78 125.51 -10.44 -7.68 116.06 • 147.56 6.1 -5.1 7.9 either 12-month yield or total return is listed. JHanPrefInc HPI 19.03 18.61 -2.2 4.5
PHLX§ Gold/Silver 155.83 141.59 155.05 12.11 8.47 117.06 • 166.01 16.1 17.1 27.6
Friday, March 4, 2022
Source: Lipper JHPrefIncII HPF 18.81 18.39 -2.2 4.7
HnckJPfdInco III HPS 16.83 17.34 +3.0 10.2
PHLX§ Oil Service 73.27 66.41 73.25 5.677 8.40 48.31 • 73.25 18.4 38.9 -8.7 43700
52 wk J Han Prm PDT 14.74 15.98 +8.4 25.2
PHLX§ Semiconductor 3460.80 3220.41 3258.92 -193.75 -5.61 2762.75 • 4039.51 11.6 -17.4 33.7
Fund (SYM)
Prem Ttl
NAV Close /Disc Ret
LMP CapInco SCD 16.01 14.29 -10.7 25.1
Nuveen Multi-Asset Inc NMAI 18.15 16.21 -10.7 NS
Cboe Volatility 35.19 28.43 31.98 4.39 15.91 15.01 • 33.32 29.7 85.7 29.8 43300 General Equity Funds Nuveen Pref & Inc Opp JPC 9.06 8.50 -6.2 -0.6
25 28 1 2 3 4 Adams Diversified Equity ADX 20.48 17.66 -13.8 15.5 Nuveen Fd JPS 8.88 8.39 -5.5 -4.8

Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data Nuveen Pref & Inc Term JPI 22.92 22.69 -1.0 -0.1
February Boulder Growth & Income BIF 16.51 13.95 -15.5 19.1
Central Secs CET 45.82 40.98 -10.6 23.8 TCW Strat Income TSI 5.58 5.19 -7.0 -3.1
CohenStrsCEOppFd FOF 12.98 13.36 +2.9 11.2 Convertible Sec's. Funds
EVTxAdvDivIncm EVT 27.25 26.61 -2.3 15.8 AdvntCnvrtbl&IncFd AVK 16.10 15.16 -5.8 4.8
International Stock Indexes Commodities and GabelliDiv&IncTr GDV 26.94 23.86 -11.4 8.7 CalamosConvHi CHY 13.73 13.87 +1.0 3.4
CalmosConvOp CHI 13.02 12.87 -1.2 0.1
Latest Week 52-Week Range YTD
Currencies Gabelli Equity Tr GAB 5.88 6.97 +18.5 12.2
GeneralAmer GAM 47.90 40.73 -15.0 16.6 VAGI Conv & Inc II NCZ 4.70 4.33 -7.9 -3.3
JHancockTaxAdvDiv HTD 25.63 24.97 -2.6 23.0 VAGI Conv & Inc NCV 5.25 4.86 -7.4 -4.4
Region/Country Index Close % chg Low Close High % chg VAGI Dvs Inc & Conv ACV 25.94 25.91 -0.1 4.1
Last Week YTD Liberty All-Star Equity USA 7.11 7.24 +1.8 9.6
VAGI Eqty & Conv Inc NIE 28.85 26.07 -9.6 6.1
World MSCI ACWI 679.32 –2.75 654.18 • 758.86 –10.0 Close Net chg %Chg % chg Liberty All-Star Growth ASG 6.78 6.86 +1.2 -11.3
Royce Micro-Cap Tr RMT 11.48 10.17 -11.4 -0.7 World Equity Funds
MSCI ACWI ex-USA 309.01 –4.70 309.01 • 359.82 –10.3
DJ Commodity 1218.52 149.74 14.01 28.78
Royce Value Trust RVT 17.89 16.95 -5.3 3.7 Aberdeen Emg Mkts Eq Inc AEF 7.43 6.57 -11.6 -19.5
MSCI World 2896.52 –2.81 2722.64 • 3248.12 –10.4 Source Capital SOR 43.56 41.29 -5.2 6.9
Sprott Focus Trust FUND 9.24 8.67 -6.2 22.3
Aberdeen Tot Dyn Div AOD 10.20 9.38 -8.0 9.8
Allspring Gl Div Oppty EOD 5.68 5.31 -6.5 10.2
MSCI Emerging Markets 1144.91 –2.31 1144.91 • 1390.85 –7.1 Refinitiv/CC CRB Index 299.95 35.51 13.43 29.08
Tri-Continental TY 34.78 30.65 -11.9 13.6 BlackRock Capital Alloc BCAT 18.89 16.89 -10.6 -14.4
Calamos GloDynInc CHW 8.38 8.55 +2.0 -6.0
Americas MSCI AC Americas 1660.35 –1.30 1482.86 • 1836.68 –9.1 Crude oil, $ per barrel 115.68 24.09 26.30 53.81 Specialized Equity Funds
Aberdeen Glb Prem Prop AWP 6.32 6.10 -3.5 19.8 China CHN 17.22 15.24 -11.5 -31.0
Canada S&P/TSX Comp 21402.43 1.40 18380.96 • 21768.53 0.8 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 5.016 0.546 12.21 34.48 Adams Natural Resources PEO 23.70 20.41 -13.9 43.5 EV TxAdvGlbDivInc ETG 19.71 19.19 -2.6 12.6
EtnVncTxAdvOpp ETO 27.06 27.37 +1.1 15.8
Latin Amer. MSCI EM Latin America 2434.19 2.47 2036.85 • 2687.02 14.3
Gold, $ per troy oz. 1965.10 78.60 4.17 7.53
ASA Gold & Prec Met Ltd ASA 27.16 23.14 -14.8 22.3
BR Enh C&I CII 20.30 20.07 -1.1 14.3 FirstTr Dyn Euro Eq Inc FDEU 12.94 12.09 -6.6 3.2
Brazil BOVESPA 114473.78 1.18 100774.57 • 130776.27 9.2 BlackRock Energy & Res BGR 12.60 11.30 -10.3 28.1 Gabelli Multimedia GGT 7.01 8.66 +23.5 0.5
Chile S&P IPSA 3020.29 3.94 2631.83 • 3396.76 7.6 U.S. Dollar Index 98.49 1.88 1.94 2.63 BlackRock Eq Enh Div BDJ 10.00 9.37 -6.3 13.8
BlackRock Enh Glbl Div BOE 12.34 11.14 -9.7 7.5
Highland Global Alloc HGLB 12.64 10.05 -20.5 46.9
India Fund IFN 20.52 18.95 -7.7 4.3
Mexico S&P/BMV IPC 53322.05 1.46 46342.54 • 53973.27 0.1
WSJ Dollar Index 90.93 0.92 1.02 1.54 BlackRock Enh Intl Div BGY 6.15 5.60 -8.9 1.2 Japan Smaller Cap JOF 8.76 7.46 -14.8 -10.7
LazardGlbTotRetInc LGI 18.20 17.76 -2.4 5.8
EMEA STOXX Europe 600 421.78 –7.00 408.68 • 494.35 –13.5
Euro, per dollar 0.9145 0.027 3.09 4.01
BlackRock ESG Cap Alloc ECAT 18.58 15.96 -14.1 NS
BlackRock Hlth Sci Tr II BMEZ 21.69 19.45 -10.3 -22.1 Mexico MXF 17.75 14.99 -15.5 17.3
STOXX Europe 50 3425.11 –6.45 3162.34 • 3866.60 –10.3 BlackRock Hlth Sciences BME 44.00 43.43 -1.3 2.6 MS ChinaShrFd CAF 20.25 17.56 -13.3 -15.5
MS India IIF 28.23 23.77 -15.8 7.2
Eurozone Euro STOXX 395.56 –10.06 395.56 • 487.72 –17.4 Yen, per dollar 114.83 -0.68 -0.59 -0.23 BlackRock Innov and Grow BIGZ 12.54 11.54 -8.0 NS
BlackRock Res & Comm BCX 11.27 10.59 -6.0 19.7 MS CBRE Gl In Mg MEGI 19.76 18.68 -5.5 NS
Euro STOXX 50 3556.01 –10.44 3556.01 • 4401.49 –17.3 U.K. pound, in dollars 1.32 -0.018 -1.35 -2.17 BlackRock Sci&Tech Tr II BSTZ 30.09 27.09 -10.0 -15.0 New Germany GF 12.05 10.93 -9.3 -18.7
Austria ATX 3029.95 –13.58 3029.95 • 4057.59 –21.5
52-Week
BlackRock Sci&Tech Trust BST 42.78 42.03 -1.8 -12.1
BlackRock Utl Inf & Pwr BUI 23.50 23.68 +0.7 2.1
Templeton Dragon TDF 15.96 14.38 -9.9 -26.4
Templeton Em Mkt EMF 15.27 13.59 -11.0 -25.6
Belgium Bel-20 3760.43 –7.41 3760.43 • 4402.32 –12.8 Low Close(l) High % Chg CLEARBRIDGEENGYMDSOPP EMO 34.12 26.75 -21.6 54.3 Prem12 Mo
France CAC 40 6061.66 –10.23 5782.65 • 7376.37 –15.3 ClearBridge MLP & Midstm CEM 39.93 32.35 -19.0 49.8 Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld
Germany DAX 13094.54 –10.11 13094.54 • 16271.75 –17.6 DJ Commodity 794.01 l1218.52 47.81 ChnStrInfr UTF 27.00 27.30 +1.1 11.3
Cohen&SteersQualInc RQI 16.21 16.17 -0.2 33.4
U.S. Mortgage Bond Funds
BlckRk Income BKT 5.48 5.16 -5.8 8.0
Greece Athex Composite 821.74 –11.38 821.74 • 971.09 –8.0 Refinitiv/CC CRB Index 184.08 l 299.95 55.06 Cohen&Steers TotRet RFI 14.81 15.44 +4.3 18.4 Investment Grade Bond Funds
Israel Tel Aviv 1943.51 0.84 1538.94 • 2071.10 –1.7
Crude oil, $ per barrel 57.76 115.68 75.03
CohenStrsREITPrefInc RNP 26.24 24.86 -5.3 15.8
Columbia Sel Prm Tech Gr STK 30.53 30.77 +0.8 18.2
Angel Oak FS Inc Trm FINS 17.49 16.31 -6.7 8.0
BlRck Core Bond BHK 14.35 13.46 -6.2 6.5
Italy FTSE MIB 22464.86 –12.84 22465 • 28163 –17.9
l
DNP Select Income DNP 10.07 11.39 +13.1 21.7 BR Credit Alloc Inc BTZ 13.90 12.89 -7.3 7.8
Netherlands AEX 671.73 –7.71 653.87 • 827.57 –15.8 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 2.456 l 6.312 85.71 Duff&Ph Uti&Infra Inc Fd DPG 14.30 14.72 +2.9 22.9
EtnVncEqtyInc EOI 17.54 18.18 +3.6 18.1
InvescoBond VBF 18.81 17.66 -6.1 3.6
Portugal PSI 20 5331.85 –2.97 4671.94 • 5826.31 –4.3 Gold, $ per troy oz. 1677.70 l1965.10 15.73 EtnVncEqtyIncoII EOS 19.98 20.23 +1.3 0.2
J Han Income JHS
MFS Intmdt MIN
14.59 13.72 -6.0 5.8
3.46 3.23 -6.6 9.8
Russia RTS Index 936.94 Closed 742.91 • 1919.58 –41.3 EVRskMnDvsEqInc ETJ 9.39 9.82 +4.6 0.5
ETnVncTxMgdBuyWrtInc ETB 15.28 16.17 +5.8 17.5
Western Asset Inf-Lk Inc WIA 13.51 12.22 -9.5 11.7
South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 74734.37 0.71 61453.42 • 77536.12 1.4 U.S. Dollar Index 89.64 l 98.49 7.08 EtnVncTxMgdBuyWrtOpp ETV 14.61 15.44 +5.7 11.4
Western Asset Inf-Lk O&I WIW 13.76 12.54 -8.9 7.9
Westn Asst IG Def Opp Tr IGI 20.05 19.16 -4.4 4.1
Spain IBEX 35 7720.90 –9.02 7720.9 • 9281.1 –11.4
WSJ Dollar Index 85.05 l 90.93 4.79
EvTxMnDvsEqInc ETY 13.08 13.59 +3.9 17.4 Loan Participation Funds
Sweden OMX Stockholm 812.90 –6.08 812.90 • 1045.27 –21.6 EtnVncTxMgdGlbB ETW 9.66 10.04 +3.9 11.1
EVTxMnGblDvEqInc EXG 9.31 9.18 -1.4 10.1
Apollo Senior Floating AFT 16.21 15.37 -5.2 6.2
BR Debt Strategy DSU 11.34 10.62 -6.3 6.8
Switzerland Swiss Market 11300.13 –5.73 10607.79 • 12970.53 –12.2 Euro, per dollar 0.8162 l 0.9145 8.94 Ecofin S&S Impact Term TEAF 16.98 15.10 -11.1 14.7 BR F/R Inc Str FRA 13.68 13.27 -3.0 6.0
U.K. FTSE 100 6987.14 –6.71 6630.52 • 7672.40 –5.4 Yen, per dollar 107.88 l 116.13 5.95
First Trust Energy Inc G FEN 15.67 15.99 +2.0 41.0
First Tr Enhanced Eq FFA 19.61 19.75 +0.7 17.7
BlackRock Floatng Rt Inc BGT 13.29 12.81 -3.6 6.0
Blackstone Strat Cr BGB 14.19 13.10 -7.7 6.3
Asia-Pacific MSCI AC Asia Pacific 178.56 –1.59 178.6 • 210.4 –7.5 U.K. pound, in dollars 1.32 l 1.42 -4.34
FirstTrEnergyInfra FIF 16.81 14.52 -13.6 35.5
FirstTrMLPEner&Inc FEI 9.18 8.05 -12.3 32.5
Eagle Point Credit ECC NA 14.02 NA 12.2
Australia S&P/ASX 200 7110.80 1.61 6708.2 • 7628.9 –4.5 Gabelli Healthcare GRX 14.45 12.67 -12.3 11.7
EtnVncFltRteInc EFT 14.19 13.68 -3.6 6.3
EV SenFlRtTr EFR 13.97 14.14 +1.2 6.6
China Shanghai Composite 3447.65 –0.11 3357.74 • 3715.37 –5.3 Gab Utility GUT 4.12 8.05 +95.4 22.1
GAMCOGlGold&NatRes GGN 4.17 4.02 -3.6 28.6
FT/Sr Fltg Rte Inc 2 FCT 12.02 11.98 -0.3 8.6
Hong Kong Hang Seng 21905.29 –3.79 21905.29 • 29468.00 –6.4 Scan this code to get J Han Finl Opptys BTO 39.02 42.04 +7.7 19.2
Highland Income HFRO 14.99 11.80 -21.3 7.9
InvDYCrOpp:AX VTA 12.27 NA NA NA
India S&P BSE Sensex 54333.81 –2.73 47705.80 • 61765.59 –6.7 real-time U.S. stock Neuberger Brmn MLP & EI NML 7.92 6.13 -22.6 54.5 InvSnrIncTr VVR 4.58 4.34 -5.2 7.1
Japan NIKKEI 225 25985.47 –1.85 25970.82 • 30670.10 –9.7 quotes and track most- Neuberger Nxt Gen Conn NBXG 15.22 13.18 -13.4 NS
NubrgrRlEstSec NRO 4.90 4.67 -4.7 17.7
Nuveen Credit Strat Inc JQC 6.72 6.06 -9.8 9.4
Malaysia FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI 1603.94 0.77 1480.92 • 1639.83 2.3 active stocks, new NuvDow 30 DynOverwrite DIAX 17.30 16.29 -5.8 13.0
NuvFloatRateIncFd JFR 10.26 9.86 -3.9 7.1
NuvFloatRteIncOppty JRO 10.16 9.80 -3.5 7.0
Singapore Straits Times 3226.78 –2.05 3013.85 • 3441.57 3.3 highs/lows, mutual NuvCorEqAlpha JCE 15.97 15.74 -1.4 21.7
NuveenNasdaq100DynOv QQQX 26.24 26.03 -0.8 4.6
Nuveen Senior Income NSL 6.03 5.68 -5.8 7.1
South Korea KOSPI 2713.43 1.37 2614.49 • 3305.21 –8.9 funds and ETFs. Nuv Real Est JRS 12.12 11.61 -4.2 37.5
High Yield Bond Funds
Aberdeen Inc Credit Str ACP 9.30 9.98 +7.3 11.9
Taiwan TAIEX 17736.52 0.48 15353.89 • 18526.35 –2.6
All are available free at
Nuveen Rl Asst Inc & Gro JRI 16.51 14.73 -10.8 10.1
NuvS&P500DynOvFd SPXX 17.57 17.11 -2.6 15.0 AllianceBernGlHiIncm AWF 12.01 10.89 -9.3 7.2
Allspring Income Oppty EAD 8.58 8.01 -6.6 8.8
Source: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data WSJMarkets.com NuvSP500BuyIncFd BXMX 14.36 13.60 -5.3 11.6
Barings Glb SD HY Bd BGH 17.31 15.77 -8.9 8.0
ReavesUtilityIncome UTG 33.36 33.19 -0.5 14.4
Tortoise Enrgy Infra Crp TYG 39.91 32.16 -19.4 38.0 Continued From Page B7
Consumer Rates and Returns to Investor Benchmark Yields and Rates
U.S. consumer rates Selected rates Treasury yield curve Forex Race Currencies
A consumer rate against its Five-year ARM, Rate Yield to maturity of current bills, Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs.
notes and bonds major U.S. trading partners U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange rates in late New York trading
benchmark over the past year
Bankrate.com avg†: 2.92% US$vs, US$vs,
5-year Fri YTDchg Fri YTDchg
San Diego County Credit Union 2.50% 2.50% Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%)
adjustable-rate 4.00% Tradeweb ICE 14%
San Diego, CA 877-732-2848 Vietnam dong .00004378 22840 –0.1
t

mortgage (ARM) Friday Close 2.00 Americas

t AmericanAirlinesFederalCreditUnion 2.63% 7 Euro WSJ Dollar Index Europe
3.00 s Argentina peso .0093108.0702 5.2
Ft Worth, TX 800-533-0035 1.50
s
Brazil real .1975 5.0621 –9.1 Czech Rep. koruna .04255 23.500 7.4
2.00 Royal Savings Bank 2.63% 0 Canada dollar .7861 1.2722 0.6 Denmark krone .1469 6.8051 4.0
1.00 Chile peso .001239 807.16 –5.3 Euro area euro 1.0935 .9145 4.0
5-year Treasury Chicago, IL 773-768-4800
t note yield Colombiapeso .000262 3812.46 –6.2 Hungary forint .002821 354.43 9.2
1.00 One 0.50 –7 s
t

Associated Bank, NA 2.75% Ecuador US dollar 1 1 unch Iceland krona .007592 131.72 1.5
year ago Yen
Rockford, IL 800-682-4989 Mexico peso .0477 20.9532 2.2 Norway krone .1118 8.9476 1.6
0.00 0.00 –14 .2234 4.4755 11.1
Uruguay peso .02329 42.9386 –4.0 Poland zloty
MAM J J A S O N D J F M Credit Union of New Jersey 2.88% 1 3 6 1 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 Russia ruble .00939 106.500 42.4
2021 2022 Asia-Pacific
2021 2022 Ewing, NJ 609-538-4061 month(s) years Sweden krona .1016 9.8459 8.8
Australian dollar .7374 1.3561 –1.5
Switzerland franc 1.0908 .9168 0.5
Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg maturity China yuan .1583 6.3177 –0.6
Turkey lira .0704 14.2016 6.6
Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 2 4 6 8 High (pct pts) Sources: Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data Hong Kong dollar .1280 7.8140 0.2
Ukraine hryvnia .0332 30.1500 10.2
India rupee .01309 76.422 2.6
Federal-funds rate target 0.00-0.25 0.00-0.25 0.00 l 0.25 -2.25 Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Indonesia rupiah .0000695 14388 0.9
UK pound 1.3235 .7556 2.2
Prime rate* 3.25 3.25 3.25 l 3.25 -2.25 Spread +/- Treasurys, Japan yen .008708 114.83 –0.2 Middle East/Africa
Libor, 3-month 0.61 0.52 0.11 l 0.61 -2.00 Yield (%) in basis pts, 52-wk Range Total Return Kazakhstan tenge .001950 512.77 17.9 Bahrain dinar 2.6529 .3770 unch
Bond total return index Last Wk ago Last Low High 52-wk 3-yr Macau pataca .1239 8.0699 0.4 Egypt pound .0638 15.6855 –0.2
Money market, annual yield 0.07 0.07 0.07 l 0.10 -0.54 .3054 3.2748
Malaysia ringgit .2393 4.1780 0.3 Israel shekel 5.3
Five-year CD, annual yield 0.49 0.43 0.41 l 0.49 -1.51 U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 1.730 1.880 -0.97 3.25 New Zealand dollar .6861 1.4575 –0.3 Kuwait dinar 3.2955 .3034 0.3
30-year mortgage, fixed† 4.22 4.23 3.00 l 4.29 -0.22 U.S. Treasury Long, Bloomberg 2.200 2.350 2.45 7.16 Pakistan rupee .00561 178.125 1.1 Oman sul rial 2.5971 .3850 0.01
15-year mortgage, fixed† 3.47 3.45 2.28 l 3.55 -0.38 Aggregate, Bloomberg 2.320 2.440 45 29 45 -1.79 3.36 Philippines peso .0192 52.049 2.1 Qatar rial .2731 3.662 0.5
Singapore dollar .7354 1.3598 0.8 Saudi Arabia riyal .2665 3.7519 –0.1
Jumbo mortgages, $647,200-plus† 4.26 4.24 3.03 l 4.33 -0.28 Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 2.450 2.580 28 7 38 -2.59 2.01
South Korea won .0008213 1217.52 2.4 South Africa rand .0652 15.3322 –3.8
Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 2.92 2.93 2.82 l 3.43 -1.47 High Yield 100, ICE BofA 5.212 5.086 339 247 344 0.530 3.945 Sri Lanka rupee .0049392 202.46 –0.2
New-car loan, 48-month 3.58 3.55 3.41 l 4.12 -1.08 Muni Master, ICE BofA 1.691 1.673 2 2 19 -1.319 2.922 Taiwan dollar .03554 28.138 1.5 Close Net Chg % Chg YTD%Chg
Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan 6.318 5.885 441 303 441 -6.799 0.956 Thailand baht .03062 32.660 –1.7 WSJ Dollar Index 90.93 0.39 0.43 1.54
banks.† Excludes closing costs.
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Sources: J.P. Morgan; S&P Dow Jones Indices; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; ICE BofA Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, March 7, 2022 | B7

CLOSED-END FUNDS
This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell Company Shares (as defined below). The Offer (as defined below) is made only by the Offer to Purchase
Continued From Page B6 52 wk (as defined below), dated March 7, 2022, and the related Letter of Transmittal (as defined below) and any amendments or supplements thereto, and is being made to all holders
Prem Ttl of Company Shares. The Offer is not being made to (nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf of) holders of Company Shares in any jurisdiction in which the
Prem12 Mo
Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret maing of the Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, “blue sy” or other laws of such jurisdiction. In jurisdictions
CIM RA&C C 26.10 NA NA 9.3 where applicable laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer shall be deemed to be made on behalf of the Offeror
BR Corporate HY HYT 11.28 10.70 -5.1 8.6
BlackRock Ltd Dur Inc BLW 15.55 14.58 -6.2 8.1 CIM RA&C I 26.59 NA NA 10.4 (as defined below) by one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction to be designated by the Offeror.
CIM RA&C L 26.34 NA NA 9.9
BNY Mellon Hi Yield Str DHF 3.08 2.81 -8.8 8.9 Clarion Partners REI D 12.26 NA NA 26.4
Brookfield Real Asst Inc RA 19.12 20.78 +8.7 8.4 Clarion Partners REI I 12.27 NA NA 26.7
CrSuisHighYld DHY 2.42 2.23 -7.9 8.4
DELAWAREIVYHIGHINCOPP IVH 14.17 13.06 -7.8 6.3
Clarion Partners REI S 12.27 NA NA 25.5
Clarion Partners REI T 12.25 NA NA 25.7
Notice of Offer to Purchase for Cash
Griffin Inst Access RE:A 29.94 NA NA 23.3
DoubleLine Inc Sol DSL 15.72 14.53 -7.6 11.8
DoubleLine Yld Opps DLY 18.54 17.33 -6.5 8.0 Griffin Inst Access RE:C 28.52 NA NA 22.4 All Outstanding Shares of Common Stock
First Tr Hi Inc Lng/Shrt FSD 15.00 13.70 -8.7 9.4 Griffin Inst Access RE:I 30.44 NA NA 23.6
First Trust HY Opp:2027 FTHY 19.30 17.92 -7.2 8.9 GS Real Est Div Inc:A 10.54 NA NA 14.4 of
KKR Income Opportunities KIO 15.98 15.01 -6.1 8.4 GS Real Est Div Inc:C 10.52 NA NA 13.4
GS Real Est Div Inc:I 11.04 NA NA 14.6
Nuveen Global High Inc JGH 15.31 14.02 -8.4 9.4
PGIM Global High Yield GHY 14.88 13.67 -8.1 8.9
PGIM High Yield Bond ISD 16.12 14.74 -8.6 8.6
GS Real Est Div Inc:L 10.54 NA NA 14.0
GS Real Est Div Inc:P 11.04 NA NA NS
GS Real Est Div Inc:W 10.71 NA NA 14.2
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company
PGIM Sh Dur Hi Yld Opp SDHY 18.90 17.00 -10.1 7.5 NexPointRlEstStrat;A 22.37 NA NA 45.5 at
PioneerHilncm PHT 9.00 8.42 -6.5 10.0 NexPointRlEstStrat;C 22.64 NA NA 44.5
6.29 6.33 +0.6 9.2 NexPointRlEstStrat;Z 22.62 NA NA 45.9
WstAstHIF II HIX
Western Asset Hi Inc Opp HIO 4.98 4.60 -7.6 7.7
Western Asset Hi Yld D O HYI 14.49 13.86 -4.3 8.0
PREDEX;I
PREDEX;T
30.18 NA NA 23.7
30.36 NA NA 23.6
$21.00 Net Per Share
PREDEX;W 30.35 NA NA 23.6
Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds Principal Dvs Sel RA A 27.26 NA NA 10.6 Pursuant to the Offer to Purchase dated March 7, 2022
Allspring Multi-Sector ERC 11.36 10.59 -6.8 10.1 Principal Dvs Sel RA Ins 27.34 NA NA 10.8
Apollo Tactical Income AIF 16.12 14.60 -9.4 6.9 Principal Dvs Sel RA Y 27.49 NA NA 11.0
Ares Dynamic Crdt Alloc ARDC 15.99 14.77 -7.6 7.9 StoneCastle Financial Co BANX NA 21.50 NA NA by
BlackRock Mlt-Sctr Inc BIT 16.60 16.04 -3.4 9.1 The Private Shares;A 43.02 NA NA 17.4
BlackRock Tax Muni Bd BBN 23.85 23.50 -1.5 6.1
DoubleLine:Oppor Crdt Fd DBL 18.16 17.25 -5.0 7.9
EVLmtDurIncm EVV 12.46 11.86 -4.8 10.2
The Private Shares;I 43.51 NA NA 17.7
The Private Shares;L 42.55 NA NA 17.1
Thirdline Real Estate I 10.10 NA NA NS
Harbor Purchaser Inc.
USQ Core Real Estate:I 29.13 NA NA 21.9
Franklin Ltd Dur Income FTF 8.27 7.65 -7.5 11.6 USQ Core Real Estate:IS 29.16 NA NA 21.9 a wholly owned subsidiary of
J Han Investors JHI 17.05 16.46 -3.5 8.8 Versus Cap MMgr RE Inc:I 30.37 NA NA NE
MFS Charter MCR 7.82 7.40 -5.4 9.2
NuvCorePlusImpact NPCT 17.35 15.61 -10.0 NS
Nuveen Taxable Muni Inc NBB 21.43 21.18 -1.2 6.0
PIMCO Corp & Inc Oppty PTY 13.11 15.14 +15.5 9.9
Versus Capital Real Asst 27.05 NA NA 9.6
Wildermuth:A
Wildermuth:C
Wildermuth:I
13.52 NA NA 6.1
12.86 NA NA 5.4
13.64 NA NA 6.4
Harbor Holding Corp.
PIMCO Corp & Inc Strat PCN 13.55 15.89 +17.3 8.6 Income & Preferred Stock Funds
A3 Alternative Inc 7.54 NA NA -15.8 Harbor Purchaser Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Offeror” or “we”) and a wholly owned subsidiary of Harbor Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), is
PIMCOHilnco PHK 5.51 5.78 +4.9 10.0
PIMCO IncmStrFd PFL 9.80 10.36 +5.7 10.0 Calamos L/S Eqty and DI CPZ 20.48 20.30 -0.9 -0.5 offering to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares (the “Company Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company,
First Trust Alt Opps;A 27.55 NA NA NS a Delaware corporation (“HMH”), at a purchase price of $21.00 per share (the “Offer Price”), net to the holder thereof in cash, net of applicable withholding taxes and
PIMCO IncmStrFd II PFN 8.63 9.05 +4.9 10.2 First Trust Alt Opps;A 27.59 NA NA 12.2
Putnam Prem Inc PPT 4.30 3.95 -8.1 5.8 Flat Rock Opportunity 22.43 NA NA 20.0
without interest, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated March 7, 2022 (the “Offer to Purchase”), and in the related Letter of
Western Asset Dvsfd Inc WDI 18.67 16.96 -9.2 NS Lord Abbett Spec Sit I:A 9.87 NA NA NS Transmittal (the “Letter of Transmittal” which, together with the Offer to Purchase, as each may be amended or supplemented from time to time in accordance with the
World Income Funds Lord Abbett Spec Sit I:I 9.87 NA NA NS Merger Agreement described below, collectively constitute the “Offer”). Following the consummation of the Offer, and subject to the conditions described in the Offer to
Abrdn AP IncFd FAX 3.92 3.49 -11.0 9.4 Variant Altrntv Inc:Inst 28.33 NA NA 11.3 Purchase, the Offeror intends to effect the Merger described below.
MS EmMktDomDebt EDD 5.76 4.93 -14.4 7.4 Variant Impact;Instl 25.34 NA NA NS
PIMCO Dynamic Income PDI 23.01 24.56 +6.7 10.9 Zell Capital NA NA NA NS
PIMCO Dynamic Inc Opp PDO 18.12 17.53 -3.3 10.1 Convertible Sec's. Funds THE OFFER AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS WILL EXPIRE AT ONE MINUTE AFTER 11:59 P.M., NEW YORK
PIMCO Stratg Inc RCS 5.50 5.73 +4.2 10.3 Calmos Dyn Conv and Inc CCD 25.93 25.59 -1.3 -8.5
Templeton Em Inc TEI 7.17 6.57 -8.4 11.6
World Equity Funds CITY TIME, ON APRIL 1, 2022, UNLESS THE OFFER IS EXTENDED OR EARLIER TERMINATED.
ACAP Strategic:A 18.27 NA NA -26.9
Templtn Glbl Inc GIM 5.32 5.00 -6.0 8.2 ACAP Strategic:W 13.51 NA NA -26.3
WstAstEmergDebt EMD 11.58 9.76 -15.7 9.9 Aspiriant Rsk-Mgd Cap Ap NA NA NA NS The purpose of the Offer is for Parent to acquire control of, and all of the outstanding equity interests in, HMH. Parent is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of
Western Asset Gl Cr D Op GDO 15.93 15.61 -2.0 7.6 CalamosGlbTotRet CGO 12.98 13.54 +4.3 -6.8 The Veritas Capital Fund VII, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. The Offer is being made pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 21,
National Muni Bond Funds Primark Priv Eq Inv:I 11.71 NA NA 4.6 2022, by and among Parent, the Offeror and HMH (as it may be amended and supplemented from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which, as soon
AllBerNatlMunInc AFB 14.35 13.23 -7.8 4.8 Thornburg Inc Bldr Opps TBLD.O 18.29 17.08 -6.6 NS
VirtusTotalRetFd ZTR 8.95 9.35 +4.5 11.9 as practicable after the consummation of the Offer, and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, the Offeror will merge with and into HMH (the
BlckRk Inv Q Mun BKN 15.46 16.76 +8.4 5.2
BlackRock Muni 2030 Tgt BTT 25.57 24.93 -2.5 3.0 Prem12 Mo “Merger”), with HMH continuing as the surviving corporation in the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. At the effective time of the Merger, each issued
BlackRock Muni BFK 13.68 13.88 +1.5 5.2 Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld and outstanding Company Share (other than (i) Company Shares owned by HMH or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries (including Company Shares held as treasury
BlackRock Muni II BLE 14.01 13.50 -3.6 5.4 U.S. Mortgage Bond Funds stock), or owned by Parent or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, including the Offeror (including any Company Shares acquired by the Offeror in the Offer), in each
BlckRk Muni Inc Qly BYM 14.82 13.96 -5.8 5.0 Arca US Treasury 1.00 NA NA 0.0 case, immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger and (ii) Company Shares owned by any stockholders who have properly exercised their appraisal rights under
BR MuniAssets Fd MUA 14.00 13.70 -2.1 4.3 Ellington Inc Opp:A 9.58 NA NA 5.2 Section 262 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”)) will be converted automatically into and will thereafter represent only the right to receive an
BR MuniHoldings Qly MFL 14.18 13.20 -6.9 4.4 Ellington Inc Opp:M 9.47 NA NA 5.4 amount in cash equal to the Offer Price, net of applicable withholding taxes and without interest. As a result of the Merger, the Company Shares will cease to be publicly
BR MH Qly 2 MUE 13.36 12.61 -5.6 4.9 Loan Participation Funds
1WS Credit Income;A2 20.35 NA NA NS traded, and HMH will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent.
BR MuniHoldngs MHD 16.07 14.85 -7.6 4.9
1WS Credit Income;Inst 20.46 NA NA 6.1 If, as a result of the Offer, the Offeror owns Company Shares representing at least one Company Share more than one-half of the then outstanding Company Shares,
BR MuniVest Fd MVF 9.34 8.75 -6.3 4.5 AlphCntrc Prime Merid In 9.59 NA NA 9.2
BR MuniVest 2 MVT 14.53 13.95 -4.0 5.0 Parent, the Offeror and HMH will, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, as soon as practicable, consummate
Axonic Alternative Inc 21.98 NA NA 11.4
BR MuniYield Fd MYD 14.19 13.18 -7.1 5.0 Blackstone FR EI D 23.59 NA NA 5.3 the Merger under the provisions of Section 251(h) of the DGCL without prior notice to, or any action by, any other stockholder of HMH.
BR MuniYield Qlty MQY 15.39 14.68 -4.6 5.4 Blackstone FR EI I 23.56 NA NA 5.6 The Offer is not subject to any financing condition. The obligation of the Offeror to accept for payment the Company Shares validly tendered pursuant to the Offer is
BR MuniYld Qlty2 MQT 13.55 12.83 -5.3 5.1 Blackstone FR EI T 23.52 NA NA 5.1 conditioned upon, among other things: (a) the number of Company Shares validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) prior to the expiration of the Offer (but excluding
BR MuniYld Qly 3 MYI 14.30 13.48 -5.7 4.6 Blackstone FR EI T-I 24.10 NA NA 5.1
Blackstone FR EI U 24.56 NA NA 5.1 Company Shares tendered pursuant to guaranteed delivery procedures that have not yet been “received,” as such term is defined by Section 251(h)(6) of the DGCL), together
BNY Mellon Muni Bd Infra DMB 13.82 13.38 -3.2 4.8
BNY Mellon Str Muni Bond DSM 7.87 7.41 -5.8 4.9 BNYM Alcntr Glb MS Cr Fd 99.50 NA NA 7.8 with the Company Shares then owned by the Parent or any subsidiary of Parent, representing at least one Company Share more than one-half of the then outstanding
BNY Mellon Strat Muni LEO 8.20 7.62 -7.1 5.2
CliffwaterClFd;I 10.73 NA NA 6.9 Company Shares (the “Minimum Condition”); (b) the expiration or termination of any waiting period (and any extensions thereof) applicable to the consummation of
CliffwaterElFd;A 10.63 NA NA NS the Offer under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”); and receipt of any approvals or clearances applicable to the Offer
DWS Muni Inc KTF 11.90 10.86 -8.7 4.6 CNR Strategic Credit 9.70 NA NA 13.7
EVMuniBd EIM 13.12 12.16 -7.3 4.8 Equalize Community Dev 9.85 NA NA 2.5 or the consummation of the Merger under the HSR Act; (c) the absence of any law, order or other legal restraint or prohibition, entered, enacted, promulgated, enforced or
EVMuniIncm EVN 13.39 12.66 -5.5 4.4 FedProj&TrFinanceTendr 9.78 NA NA 2.2 issued by any court or governmental authority that has the effect of making the consummation of the Offer, the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by the
EVNatMuniOpp EOT 20.90 20.32 -2.8 3.7 Flat Rock Core Income 20.77 NA NA 6.7 Merger Agreement illegal or otherwise enjoining, restraining, preventing or prohibiting consummation of the Offer, the Merger or the other transactions contemplated
InvAdvMuIncTrII VKI 11.37 10.99 -3.3 5.2 InvDYCrOpp:A 12.27 NA NA NS
InvDYCrOpp:R6 12.27 NA NA NS by the Merger Agreement; (d) the accuracy of HMH’s representations and warranties contained in the Merger Agreement (subject to certain qualifications); (e) HMH’s
Invesco MuniOp OIA 7.42 7.23 -2.6 5.1
InvescoMuOppTr VMO 12.75 11.91 -6.6 5.3 InvDYCrOpp:Y 12.27 NA NA NS performance or compliance, in all material respects, with its covenants and obligations required to be performed or complied with by it under the Merger Agreement at or
Invesco Sr Loan A 6.45 NA NA 4.9 prior to the Acceptance Time; (f) since the date of the Merger Agreement, the failure to occur of a Material Adverse Effect (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) with respect
InvescoMuTr VKQ 12.76 11.79 -7.6 5.3 Invesco Sr Loan C 6.47 NA NA 4.1
InvescoQual Inc IQI 12.84 11.83 -7.9 5.1 Invesco Sr Loan IB 6.45 NA NA 5.1 to HMH and its subsidiaries; (g) the receipt by Parent and the Offeror of a certificate of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of HMH as to the satisfaction
InvTrInvGrMu VGM 13.14 12.26 -6.7 5.3 Invesco Sr Loan IC 6.45 NA NA 5.0 of the conditions referred to in clauses (d) and (e) above; (h) the Merger Agreement not having been terminated in accordance with its terms (the “Termination Condition”);
InvescoValMunInc IIM 15.62 15.00 -4.0 5.0 Invesco Sr Loan Y 6.45 NA NA 5.1 and (i) the Acceptance Time (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) not otherwise being required to occur prior to April 7, 2022 (the “Inside Date Condition”) (the conditions
MAINSTAY:MKDEFTRMUNOP MMD 19.90 19.73 -0.9 5.2 OFS Credit Company OCCI NA 13.03 NA NA in clauses (a) through (i), the “Offer Conditions”). The Offer is also subject to certain other terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase.
NeubrgrBrm NBH 14.11 13.95 -1.1 5.3 Yieldstreet Prism 9.46 NA NA 10.1
High Yield Bond Funds The term “Expiration Time” means one minute after 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on April 1, 2022, unless the Offeror has extended the Offer, in which event the term
Nuveen AMT-Fr Mu Val NUW 16.47 15.62 -5.2 2.9
Nuveen AMT-Fr Qlty Mun I NEA 14.86 14.05 -5.5 4.9 Griffin Inst Access Cd:A 23.85 NA NA 6.3 “Expiration Time” means the latest time and date at which the offering period of the Offer, as so extended by the Offeror, will expire.
Griffin Inst Access Cd:C 23.85 NA NA 6.3 The board of directors of HMH has unanimously (a) approved and declared the advisability of the Merger Agreement, the Offer, the Merger and the other transactions
Nuveen AMT-Fr Mu CI NVG 16.26 15.97 -1.8 5.1 Griffin Inst Access Cd:F 23.86 NA NA 6.3
Nuveen Dyn Muni Opp NDMO 14.50 14.36 -1.0 6.5 Griffin Inst Access Cd:I 23.85 NA NA 6.3 contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (b) declared that it is in the best interests of the Company and the stockholders of the Company that the Company enter into the
Nuveen Enh Muni Val NEV 14.86 13.89 -6.5 5.1 Griffin Inst Access Cd:L 23.85 NA NA 6.3 Merger Agreement and consummate the Merger and that the stockholders of the Company accept the Offer and tender their Company Shares pursuant to the Offer, in each
Nuveen Int Dur Mun Term NID 14.39 14.19 -1.4 3.8 Griffin Inst Access Cd:M 23.85 NA NA NS case on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, (c) declared that the terms of the Offer and the Merger are fair to the Company and the
Nuveen Mu Crdt Opps NMCO 14.71 14.37 -2.3 5.2 PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-1 8.95 NA NA 8.7
PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-2 8.95 NA NA 8.4 Company’s stockholders and (d) recommended that the Company’s stockholders accept the Offer and tender their Company Shares pursuant to the Offer.
Nuv Muni Credit Income NZF 15.99 15.53 -2.9 5.1
NuvMuniHiIncOpp NMZ 13.74 13.88 +1.0 5.6 PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-3 8.95 NA NA 8.1 Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, unless the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, the Offer may be extended
Nuveen Muni Val NUV 10.21 9.88 -3.2 3.5 PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-4 8.95 NA NA 8.1 from time to time as follows: (a) as required by applicable law (including for any period required by any rule, regulation, interpretation or position of the Securities and
PIMCO Flexible Cr I;Inst 8.95 NA NA 8.9
Nuveen Quality Muni Inc NAD 15.24 14.47 -5.1 4.9 WA Middle Mkt Inc 628.01 NA NA 5.4
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)); (b) in connection with an increase in the consideration to be paid pursuant to the Offer if and only to the extent required to comply
Nuveen Sel TF NXP 15.68 14.87 -5.2 3.6 Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds with applicable rules and regulations of the SEC; and (c) if, at the then scheduled Expiration Time, any Offer Condition has not been satisfied (and the Parent or the Offeror
PIMCO MuniInc PMF 12.34 13.55 +9.8 5.0 AFA MMC;Inst 9.99 NA NA NS has not, to the extent permitted by applicable law, waived such condition in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement), for one or more periods specified by the
PIMCOMuniIncII PML 11.45 12.99 +13.4 5.4 AFA MMC;Inv 9.98 NA NA NS Offeror (not in excess of 10 business days each) but not (without the prior written consent of the Company) beyond August 22, 2022 (the “Outside Date”), except that, if,
Pimco Muni III PMX 10.54 11.07 +5.0 5.0 Alternative Credit Inc:A 11.03 NA NA 6.3
Alternative Credit Inc:C 11.15 NA NA 5.6 at the then scheduled Expiration Time, the Minimum Condition is the only Offer Condition that has not been satisfied or waived (to the extent waivable in accordance with
PioneerHilncAdv MAV 11.42 10.50 -8.1 5.0
PionrMuniHiIncOppty MIO 17.67 15.77 -10.8 NS Alternative Credit Inc:I 11.06 NA NA 6.6 the terms of the Merger Agreement), the Offeror may, but is not obligated to, so extend the Offer (not more than four times without the approval of the Company), unless
PioneerMunHiIcm MHI 12.37 11.23 -9.2 4.6 Alternative Credit Inc:L 11.03 NA NA 6.1 requested by the Company, in which case the Offeror will so extend the Offer; provided, that if all of the Offer Conditions other than the Inside Date Condition (and other
Alternative Credit Inc:W 11.03 NA NA 6.3
Putnam Mgd Inc PMM 7.77 7.39 -4.9 4.3 Angel Oak Str Crdt:Inst 22.31 NA NA 14.3 than those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at the Acceptance Time) have been satisfied or waived (to the extent waivable in accordance with the terms of
Putnam Muni Opp PMO 12.97 12.59 -2.9 3.9 BR Credit Strat;A 9.51 NA NA 5.8 the Merger Agreement) at any then-scheduled Expiration Time, the Offeror will extend the Offer until one minute after 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the day that is the first
RiverNorth Flx Mu Inc II RFMZ 18.31 16.99 -7.2 6.3 BR Credit Strat;Inst 9.51 NA NA 6.6 business day after April 7, 2022. There can be no assurance that the Offeror will, or will be required under the Merger Agreement to, extend the Offer. During any extension
RiverNorth Mgd Dur Mun I RMM 18.61 17.85 -4.1 6.1 BR Credit Strat;U 9.52 NA NA NS of the initial offering period, all Company Shares previously validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will remain subject to the Offer and subject to withdrawal rights.
Western Asset Mgd Muni MMU 13.22 12.33 -6.7 3.9 BR Credit Strat;W 9.52 NA NA NS
Single State Muni Bond BlackRock Mlt-Sctr Oppty 78.81 NA NA 8.0 Any extension of the Offer, waiver, amendment of the Offer, delay in acceptance for payment or payment or termination of the Offer will be followed promptly by public
BlackRock CA Mun BFZ 14.83 13.07 -11.9 3.9 BlackRock Mlt-Sec Opp II 81.99 NA NA 7.5 announcement thereof, the announcement in the case of an extension to be issued not later than 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the next business day after the previously
BR MH CA Qly Fd Inc MUC 14.81 13.89 -6.2 4.8 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:A 8.90 NA NA 6.7 scheduled Expiration Time in accordance with the public announcement requirements of Rules 14d-4(d), 14d-6(c) and 14e-1(d) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:I 8.94 NA NA 7.2
BR MH NJ Qly MUJ 14.94 14.18 -5.1 5.4 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:L 8.89 NA NA 6.8 as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
BR MH NY Qly MHN 14.00 13.32 -4.9 5.0 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:M 8.94 NA NA 6.5 Subject to the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the provisions of the Merger Agreement, Parent and the Offeror reserve the right to increase the Offer
BR MuniYld CA MYC 15.07 13.54 -10.2 3.8 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:N 8.89 NA NA 7.2 Price, waive, in whole or in part, any Offer Condition (other than the Minimum Condition or the Termination Condition) or modify the terms of the Offer. However,
BR MuniYld CA Qly MCA 15.06 13.82 -8.2 4.8 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:Y 8.90 NA NA 7.0 pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Parent and the Offeror have each agreed that it will not, without the prior written consent of HMH, (a) change the form of consideration
BR MuniYld MI Qly MIY 14.82 13.66 -7.8 4.9 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;A 25.51 NA NA 5.4
BR MuniYld NJ MYJ 15.09 14.07 -6.8 5.3 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;C 25.41 NA NA 5.4 payable in the Offer, decrease the Offer Price or change the Offer so that it is for fewer than all of the outstanding Company Shares (other than Company Shares to
BR MuniYld NY Qly MYN 13.45 12.47 -7.3 4.9 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;I 25.79 NA NA 5.3 be cancelled in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Merger Agreement); (b) except pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, terminate the Offer
BlackRock NY Mun BNY 13.93 12.78 -8.3 5.7 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;L 25.63 NA NA 5.4 or accelerate, extend or otherwise change the expiration date of the Offer; (c) provide any “subsequent offering period” (or any extension thereof) within the meaning of
CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;U 25.64 NA NA 5.4
EVCAMuniBd EVM 11.78 10.46 -11.2 4.7 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt:U2 25.61 NA NA 5.4 Rule 14d-11 promulgated under the Exchange Act; (d) amend, change or waive the Minimum Condition or the Termination Condition; (e) amend, modify or supplement
Eaton Vance NY Muni Bd ENX 12.52 11.14 -11.0 4.2 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;W 25.81 NA NA 5.3 any of the Offer Conditions or the terms of the Offer in any manner that is adverse to holders of Company Shares; or (f) impose any condition to the Offer other than the
InvCaValMuIncTr VCV 12.82 11.85 -7.6 4.8 CNR Select Strategies 12.30 NA NA 0.0 Offer Conditions. The Offer may not be terminated prior to its then-scheduled Expiration Time, unless the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms
InvPAValMuIncTr VPV 13.58 12.38 -8.8 4.8 First Eagle Crdt Opps A 25.95 NA NA 7.3
InvTrInvGrNYMu VTN 13.62 12.38 -9.1 4.6 First Eagle Crdt Opps I 25.91 NA NA 8.1 or HMH has provided its prior written consent to such termination.
Nuveen CA AMT-F Qual MI NKX 15.58 14.10 -9.5 4.7 FS Credit Income;A 12.97 NA NA 5.4 In order to tender all or any portion of your Company Shares to the Offeror in the Offer, you must (a) follow the procedures described in the Offer to Purchase or
Nuveen CA Val NCA 10.30 9.60 -6.8 3.1 FS Credit Income;I 13.01 NA NA 5.7 (b) if your Company Shares are held through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee, contact such nominee and request that they effect the
NuveenCAQtyMuInc NAC 15.01 13.80 -8.1 4.7 FS Credit Income;T 13.00 NA NA 5.2 transaction for you and tender your Company Shares. Beneficial owners of Company Shares holding their Company Shares through nominees should be aware that
FS Credit Income;U 12.94 NA NA 4.9
NuvNJ Qual Muni Inc NXJ 15.46 13.75 -11.1 5.1 FS Credit Income;U-2 13.03 NA NA 4.9 their broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee may establish its own earlier deadline for participation in the Offer. Accordingly, beneficial
Nuveen NY AMT/FrQual MI NRK 14.14 12.65 -10.5 4.5 GL Beyond Income 0.47 NA NA NE owners holding Company Shares through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee and who wish to participate in the Offer should contact
Nuveen NY Qual Muni Inc NAN 14.61 13.15 -10.0 4.5 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;D 24.46 NA NA 9.1 such nominee as soon as possible in order to determine the times by which such owner must take action in order to participate in the Offer.
Nuveen OH Qual Muni Inc NUO 16.57 14.87 -10.3 3.9 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;I 26.35 NA NA 6.5
Nuveen PA Qual Muni Inc NQP 15.33 14.36 -6.3 4.6 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;T 26.11 NA NA 5.7 If you desire to tender Company Shares to the Offeror pursuant to the Offer and the certificates representing your Company Shares are not immediately available,
Nuveen VA Qlty Mun Inc NPV 14.46 14.22 -1.7 4.1 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;U 25.15 NA NA 5.8 or if you cannot comply in a timely manner with the procedures for tendering your Company Shares by book-entry transfer, or cannot deliver all required documents
PIMCO CA PCQ 13.03 16.28 +24.9 4.7 Lord Abbett Cred Opps Fd 10.37 NA NA 6.2 to Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (the “Depositary and Paying Agent”) by the expiration of the Offer, you may tender your Company Shares by following the
PIMCOCAMuniII PCK 8.32 8.22 -1.2 4.7 Lord Abbett Cred Opps Fd 10.37 NA NA 7.0
Lord Abbett Crd Op:U 10.37 NA NA 6.3 procedures for guaranteed delivery set forth in the Offer to Purchase.
52 wk Palmer Square Opp Inc 18.26 NA NA 4.7 For purposes of the Offer, the Offeror will be deemed to have accepted for payment and thereby purchased Company Shares validly tendered and not validly
Prem Ttl The Finite Solar Finance 9.97 9.97 0.0 NS withdrawn if and when the Offeror gives oral or written notice to the Depositary and Paying Agent of its acceptance for payment of those Company Shares pursuant
Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret Thrivent Church Ln&Inc:S 10.14 NA NA 2.6 to the Offer. Payment for Company Shares accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer will be made by deposit of the purchase price therefor with the Depositary and
World Income Funds
General Equity Funds BlueBay Destra Itl E:A 22.96 NA NA 6.1 Paying Agent, which will act as agent for the tendering stockholders for purposes of receiving payments from the Offeror and transmitting those payments to tendering
Alternative Strategies:I 6.41 NA NA 16.4 BlueBay Destra Itl E:I 22.98 NA NA 6.4 stockholders. If the Offeror extends the Offer, is delayed in its acceptance for payment of Company Shares or is unable to accept for payment Company Shares pursuant
BOW RIVER CAPTL EVGN;II NA NA NA N BlueBay Destra Itl E:L 22.93 NA NA 5.9
Specialized Equity Funds to the Offer for any reason, then, without prejudice to the Offeror’s rights under this Offer, the Depositary and Paying Agent may nevertheless, on behalf of the Offeror,
BlueBay Destra Itl E:T 22.88 NA NA 5.7
Aspiriant Rsk-Mgd RA NA NA NA NS Oaktree Dvsfd Income;D 9.66 NA NA NS retain tendered Company Shares, and those Company Shares may not be withdrawn except to the extent that tendering stockholders are entitled to withdrawal rights as
Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:A 35.73 NA NA 26.0 National Muni Bond Funds described in the Offer to Purchase. Under no circumstances will interest be paid on the Offer Price for Company Shares, regardless of any extension of the Offer or
Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:C 33.70 NA NA 25.1 Ecofin Tax-Adv Soc Impct 9.52 NA NA 6.3 any delay in payment for Company Shares.
Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:I 36.52 NA NA 26.3 Lind Cap Pt Mun Cred Inc 9.80 NA NA NS
Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:L 35.31 NA NA 25.7 Nuveen En HY Muni Bd:A 9.21 NA NA NS Company Shares tendered pursuant to the Offer may be withdrawn at any time on or prior to the Expiration Time, and, if not previously accepted for payment at any
Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:M 33.72 NA NA NS Nuveen En HY Muni Bd:I 9.21 NA NA NS time, after May 6, 2022, the date that is 60 days after the date of the commencement of the Offer, pursuant to SEC regulations. For a withdrawal of Company Shares to
Broadstone Rl Est Acc:I 1.30 NA NA 3.1 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;A-3 11.31 NA NA 1.6 be effective, a written or, with respect to “eligible institutions,” facsimile transmission, notice of withdrawal with respect to the Company Shares must be timely received
Broadstone Rl Est Acc:W 1.29 NA NA 3.0 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc:A1 11.31 NA NA 1.9 by the Depositary and Paying Agent at the address set forth on the back cover of the Offer to Purchase. Any notice of withdrawal must specify the name of the person
CBRE GlbRlEst IGR 9.10 8.23 -9.6 20.7 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;A2 11.31 NA NA 1.9
CIM RA&C A 26.47 NA NA 10.1 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;Inst 11.31 NA NA 2.4 having tendered the Company Shares to be withdrawn, the number of Company Shares to be withdrawn and the name of the registered holder of the Company Shares to
be withdrawn, if different from that of the person who tendered those Company Shares. The signature(s) on the notice of withdrawal must be guaranteed by an eligible
institution, unless those Company Shares have been tendered for the account of any eligible institution. If Company Shares have been tendered pursuant to the procedures
for book-entry transfer, any notice of withdrawal must specify the name and number of the account at The Depository Trust Company to be credited with the withdrawn
A Week in the Life of the DJIA Company Shares. If certificates representing the Company Shares to be withdrawn have been delivered or otherwise identified to the Depositary and Paying Agent, the
name of the registered owner and the serial numbers shown on such certificates must also be furnished to the Depositary and Paying Agent prior to the physical release of
A look at how the Dow Jones Industrial Average component stocks did in the past such certificates. If a stockholder tenders Company Shares by giving instructions to a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee, the stockholder
week and how much each moved the index. The DJIA lost 443.95 points, or 1.30%, must instruct such broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee to arrange for the withdrawal of those Company Shares.
on the week. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = 6.59-point change in the All questions as to the validity, form, eligibility (including time of receipt) and acceptance of any tender of Company Shares will be determined by the Offeror (which
average. To date, a $1,000 investment on Dec. 31 in each current DJIA stock may delegate such power in whole or in part to the Depositary and Paying Agent) in its sole and absolute discretion, which determination will be final and binding absent a
component would have returned $28,605, or a loss of 4.65%, on the $30,000
finding to the contrary by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Offeror reserves the absolute right to reject any and all tenders determined by it not to be in proper form.
investment, including reinvested dividends.
The Offeror also reserves the absolute right to waive any defect or irregularity in the tender of any Company Shares of any particular stockholder whether or not similar
The Week’s Action defects or irregularities are waived in the case of any other stockholder. No tender of Company Shares will be deemed to have been validly made until all defects and
Pct Stock price Point chg $1,000 Invested(year-end '21) irregularities relating thereto have been cured or waived. None of Parent, the Offeror or any of their respective affiliates or assigns, the Depositary and Paying Agent
chg (%) change in average* Company Symbol Close $1,000
13.01 18.27 120.41 CVX $158.65 and Okapi Partners LLC (the “Information Agent”), or any other person will be under any duty to give notification of any defects or irregularities in tenders or incur
Chevron $1,366
4.81 22.90 150.93 UnitedHealth Group UNH 498.65 any liability for failure to give any such notification. Withdrawals of tenders of Company Shares may not be rescinded, and any Company Shares validly withdrawn will
993
be deemed not to have been validly tendered for purposes of the Offer. However, withdrawn Company Shares may be retendered by following one of the procedures for
4.72 6.44 42.44 Walmart WMT 142.82 987
tendering Company Shares described in the Offer to Purchase at any time prior to the Expiration Time.
4.60 8.60 56.68 Caterpillar CAT 195.66 951
The information required to be disclosed by paragraph (d)(1) of Rule 14d-6 under the Exchange Act is contained in the Offer to Purchase and is incorporated herein by reference.
3.29 1.52 10.02 Walgreens WBA 47.72 924 The Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal are being mailed to record holders of Company Shares whose names appear on HMH’s stockholder list and
2.59 5.88 38.75 Amgen AMGN 232.91 1,044 will be furnished to brokers, dealers, commercial banks, trust companies or other nominees whose names, or the names of whose nominees, appear on the stockholder list
2.40 7.61 50.16 Home Depot HD 324.26 781 or, if applicable, who are listed as participants in a clearing agency’s security position listing, for subsequent transmittal to beneficial owners of Company Shares.
2.10 3.48 22.94 Johnson & Johnson JNJ 169.48 997 The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and HMH’s Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 and the other documents to
1.98 1.51 9.95 Merck MRK 77.83 1,016 which such documents refer contain important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer.
1.96 2.44 16.08 IBM IBM 126.62 959 Questions and requests for assistance and copies of the Offer to Purchase, the Letter of Transmittal and all other tender offer materials may be directed to the
1.83 0.99 6.52 Verizon VZ 55.11 1,073 Information Agent at its address and telephone numbers set forth below and will be furnished promptly at the Offeror’s expense. Neither Parent nor the Offeror will pay any
0.84 0.47 3.10 Cisco CSCO 56.51 897 fees or commissions to any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee (other than to the Depositary and Paying Agent and the Information Agent)
0.75 0.36 2.37 INTC 48.07 in connection with the solicitation of tenders of Company Shares pursuant to the Offer.
Intel 940
–0.02 –0.04 –0.26 Travelers TRV 173.40 1,108
–0.45 –0.28 –1.85 Coca-Cola KO 62.57 1,057 The Information Agent for the Offer is:
–0.60 –1.13 –7.45 Honeywell HON 187.43 904
–1.02 –1.68 –11.07 Apple AAPL 163.17 920
–1.37 –0.82 –5.40 Dow DOW 58.83 1,049
–1.96 –3.10 –20.43 Procter & Gamble PG 155.14 954
–2.44 –5.08 –33.48 salesforce.com CRM 203.01 799
–2.51 –3.78 –24.91 3M MMM 146.73 834
–2.51 –7.45 –49.10 Microsoft MSFT 289.86 864 Okapi Partners LLC
–5.47 –13.64 –89.90 McDonald’s MCD 235.81 885 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
–5.49 –7.62 –50.22 Nike NKE 131.18 789
–5.84 –20.45 –134.78 Goldman Sachs GS 329.67 867
New York, New York 10036
–5.89 –8.81 –58.06 Walt Disney DIS 140.72 909 Banks and Brokerage Firms, Please Call: (212) 297-0720
–8.66 –18.98 –125.09 Visa V 200.29 926 Stockholders and All Others Call Toll-Free: (888) 785-6668
–9.17 –13.57 –89.44 JPMorgan Chase JPM 134.40 854
–10.24 –20.64 –136.03 Boeing BA 180.84 898
Email: info@okapipartners.com
–10.72 –20.76 –136.82 American Express AXP 172.95 1,060
March 7, 2022
*Based on Composite price. DJIA is calculated on primary-market price.
Source: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet.
B8 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

INSIDER TRADING, BONDS & COMMODITIES

Insider-Trading Spotlight Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks
Trading by ‘insiders’ of a corporation, such as a company’s CEO, vice president or director, potentially conveys
new information about the prospects of a company. Insiders are required to report large trades to the SEC Money Rates March 4, 2022
within two business days. Here’s a look at the biggest individual trades by insiders, based on data received by Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and international markets. Rates below are a
Refinitiv on March 4, and year-to-date stock performance of the company guide to general levels but don’t always represent actual transactions.
KEY: B: beneficial owner of more than 10% of a security class CB: chairman CEO: chief executive officer CFO: chief financial officer
CO: chief operating officer D: director DO: director and beneficial owner GC: general counsel H: officer, director and beneficial owner Week —52-WEEK— Week —52-WEEK—
Inflation Latest ago High Low Latest ago High Low
I: indirect transaction filed through a trust, insider spouse, minor child or other O: officer OD: officer and director P: president UT:
unknown VP: vice president Excludes pure options transactions Jan. Index Chg From (%)
level Dec. '21 Jan. '21 Federal funds Libor
Effective rate 0.0900 0.0900 0.1000 0.0500 One month 0.31014 0.23057 0.31014 n.a.
Biggest weekly individual trades U.S. consumer price index High 0.1500 0.1000 0.2000 0.0700 Three month 0.61014 0.52300 0.61014 n.a.
Based on reports filed with regulators this past week All items 281.148 0.84 7.5 Low 0.0500 0.0500 0.0900 0.0100 Six month 0.93943 0.82871 0.93943 n.a.
Core 285.996 0.74 6.0 Bid 0.0700 0.0800 0.7000 0.0300 One year 1.35286 1.33071 1.39229 n.a.
No. of shrs in Price range ($) $ Value Offer 0.0900 0.1000 0.1200 0.0500
Date(s) Company Symbol Insider Title trans (000s) in transaction (000s) Close ($) Ytd (%) Secured Overnight Financing Rate
International rates
Treasury bill auction 0.05 0.05 0.05 n.a.
Buyers Week 52-Week 4 weeks 0.165 0.050 0.165 n.a.
Latest High Low Value 52-Week
Feb. 28-Mar. 1B. Riley Financial RILY B. Riley CEO 85 58.63-58.77 4,990 64.33 -27.6 ago 13 weeks 0.360 0.380 0.440 n.a. Latest Traded High Low
Feb. 28 R. Paulson D 40 58.64-59.44 2,362 26 weeks 0.670 0.710 0.770 n.a.
Feb. 23 Dillard's DDS W. Stephens DI 20 228.28-231.26 4,610 254.79 4.0 Prime rates DTCC GCF Repo Index
Feb. 28 AbCellera Biologics ABCL V. Lecault CO 231 8.66 1,999 8.53 -40.3 U.S. 3.25 3.25 3.25 n.a. Secondary market Treasury 0.060 21.830 0.073 n.a.
Feb. 24 Mohawk Industries W. Wellborn P 10 135.05-136.15 1,358 137.35 -24.6 Canada 2.45 2.45 2.45 n.a. MBS 0.070 25.500 0.088 n.a.
MHK Fannie Mae
Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475 n.a.
Feb. 25 Parsons PSN G. Ball CFOI 40 33.40 1,336 35.95 6.8 30-year mortgage yields Notes on data:
Feb. 25 APA APA C. Joung D 40 32.92 1,317 39.48 46.8 Policy Rates 30 days 3.327 3.514 3.517 n.a. U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate loans
Feb. 24 Royalty Pharma RPRX H. Fernandez DI 33 37.49 1,218 38.42 -3.6 Euro zone 0.00 0.00 0.00 n.a. 60 days 3.383 3.575 3.577 n.a. posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks,
Mar. 3 Montrose Environmental Group MEG J. Price D 25 41.90 1,048 46.04 -34.7 Switzerland 0.00 0.00 0.00 n.a. and is effective March 16, 2020. Other prime rates
Mar. 3 James River Group Holdings JRVR F. D Orazio CEO 50 20.64 1,032 20.74 -28.0 Britain 0.50 0.50 0.50 n.a. Other short-term rates aren’t directly comparable; lending practices vary
0.10 0.10 n.a. widely by location; Discount rate is effective March
Feb. 28-Mar. 1Coterra Energy CTRA T. Jorden CEOI 44 23.17-24.12 1,023 26.11 37.4 Australia 0.10
Week 52-Week 16, 2020. Secured Overnight Financing Rate is
Mar. 1 Necessity Retail REIT RTL L. Kabnick D 143* 7.02 1,007 7.43 -18.6 Latest ago high low as of March 3, 2022. DTCC GCF Repo Index is
Overnight repurchase Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s weighted average
Mar. 2 Nerdy NRDY C. Cohn CEOI 221 4.52 1,001 4.19 -6.9 U.S. 0.05 0.04 0.06 -0.04 for overnight trades in applicable CUSIPs. Value
Call money
Mar. 1-3 Archer Aviation ACHR M. Lore B 316 2.98-3.12 960 2.88 -52.3 traded is in billions of U.S. dollars. Federal-funds
U.S. government rates 2.00 2.00 2.00 n.a. rates are Tullett Prebon rates as of 5:30 p.m. ET.
Feb. 25 Cowen COWN L. Kim D 30 30.03 901 28.67 -20.6
Feb. 25-28 JAKKS Pacific L. Rosen B 57 14.95-15.65 870 16.27 60.1 Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureau of Labor
JAKK Discount Commercial paper (AA financial) Statistics; DTCC; FactSet;
Feb. 23 DraftKings DKNG H. Sloan D 40 20.05 802 20.69 -24.7 0.25 0.25 0.25 n.a. 90 days 0.62 0.44 0.62 n.a. Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd.
Feb. 28 Strategic Education STRA R. Silberman OD 13 59.97-61.14 783 58.28 0.8

Sellers Cash Prices | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Friday, March 4, 2022

Feb. 28 MP Materials MP J. Litinsky CEOI 3,750 43.50 163,125 38.95 -14.2 Thesepricesreflectbuyingandsellingofavarietyofactualor“physical”commoditiesinthemarketplace—separate
Feb. 28-Mar. 1 D. Gold DOI 298 43.55-46.16 13,640
Feb. 28 CF Industries Holdings CF W. Will CEO 1264* 80.10-80.60 101,418 91.25 28.9 fromthefuturespriceonanexchange,whichreflectswhatthecommoditymightbeworthinfuturemonths.
Feb. 24 D. Barnard GC 184 77.48-78.80 14,367 Friday Friday Friday
Feb. 28 Airbnb ABNB J. Gebbia H 498* 148.76-154.60 75,312 142.70 -14.3 Iron Ore, 62% Fe CFR China-s 152.4 Wheat,Spring14%-pro Mnpls-u 12.4825
Mar. 1 NVIDIA NVDA J. Huang CEO 292 232.03-242.88 69,321 229.36 -22.0
Energy Shredded Scrap, US Midwest-s,m n.a. Wheat,No.2 soft red,St.Louis-u 10.7000
Mar. 1-2 Motorola Solutions MSI G. Brown CEO 200 214.89-222.36 43,847 222.96 -17.9 Coal,C.Aplc.,12500Btu,1.2SO2-r,w 90.550 Steel, HRC USA, FOB Midwest Mill-s 1000 Wheat - Hard - KC (USDA) $ per bu-u 11.1650
Coal,PwdrRvrBsn,8800Btu,0.8SO2-r,w 21.650 Battery/EV metals Wheat,No.1soft white,Portld,OR-u 11.4000
Feb. 24 Golden Entertainment GDEN B. Sartini CEOI 600 46.30 27,780 53.54 6.0
Feb. 28-Mar. 2 B. Sartini CEOI 322 55.10-56.79 18,043 Metals BMI Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, =99.2%-v,k 70675 Food
Feb. 25-28 Arista Networks ANET A. Bechtolsheim HI 200 120.01-123.69 24,420 118.55 -17.5 BMI Lithium Hydroxide, EXW China, =56.5% -v,k 64000
Gold, per troy oz BMI Cobalt sulphate, EXW China, >20.5% -v,m 17729 Beef,carcass equiv. index
Feb. 24 A. Bechtolsheim H 114* 110.47-121.08 13,454
Engelhard industrial 1957.00 BMI Nickel Sulphate, EXW China, >22%-v,m 6479 choice 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 224.36
Mar. 1 Tesla TSLA R. Denholm D 25 857.65-886.23 21,695 838.29 -20.7 select 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 217.28
Handy & Harman base 1945.30 BMIFlakeGraphite,FOBChina,-100Mesh,94-95%-v,m 685
Mar. 1 Upstart Holdings UPST D. Girouard CEO 133* 155.24-160.08 21,064 128.27 -15.2 Handy & Harman fabricated 2159.28 Broilers, National comp wtd. avg.-u,w 1.3567
Mar. 3 Velodyne Lidar VLDR D. Hall B 6,000 3.07 18,420 2.53 -45.5 LBMA Gold Price AM *1935.40 Fibers and Textiles Butter,AA Chicago-d 2.6850
LBMA Gold Price PM *1929.60
Cheddar cheese,bbl,Chicago-d 197.00
Feb. 25-Mar. 1American National Group ANAT F. Moody-DahlbergDOI 78 189.14-189.17 14,771 189.00 0.1 Burlap,10-oz,40-inch NY yd-n,w 0.8400
Krugerrand,wholesale-e 2041.83
Cheddar cheese,blk,Chicago-d 215.00
Feb. 25-28 Live Nation Entertainment LYV J. Hopmans O 111 123.60-126.31 13,840 114.38 -4.4 Cotton,1 1/16 std lw-mdMphs-u 1.1742 Milk,Nonfat dry,Chicago lb.-d 187.25
Maple Leaf-e 2061.47 Cotlook 'A' Index-t *134.45
Feb. 28 Lordstown Motors RIDE S. Burns B 5,285 2.56 13,530 2.18 -36.8 Coffee,Brazilian,Comp-y 2.2385
American Eagle-e 2061.47 Hides,hvy native steers piece fob-u 41.000
Mar. 1-2 DraftKings DKNG P. Liberman OD 569 22.64-24.56 13,335 20.69 -24.7 Coffee,Colombian, NY-y 2.8394
Mexican peso-e 2375.15 Wool,64s,staple,Terr del-u,w n.a. Eggs,large white,Chicago-u 1.3650
* Half the transactions were indirect **Two day transaction Austria crown-e 1927.43
Flour,hard winter KC-p 30.20
p - Pink Sheets
Austria phil-e 2061.47 Grains and Feeds Hams,17-20 lbs,Mid-US fob-u 0.66
Silver, troy oz. Barley,top-quality Mnpls-u n.a. Hogs,Iowa-So. Minnesota-u 97.18
Engelhard industrial 25.7000 Bran,wheat middlings, KC-u 193 Pork bellies,12-14 lb MidUS-u n.a.
Buying and selling by sector Handy & Harman base 25.5650 Corn,No. 2 yellow,Cent IL-bp,u 7.2700 Pork loins,13-19 lb MidUS-u 1.1981
Handy & Harman fabricated 31.9560 Corn gluten feed,Midwest-u,w 198.0 Steers,Tex.-Okla. Choice-u n.a.
Based on actual transaction dates in reports received this past week LBMA spot price *£18.9300 Corn gluten meal,Midwest-u,w 627.8 Steers,feeder,Okla. City-u,w 191.25
(U.S.$ equivalent) *25.3100 Cottonseed meal-u,w 343
Sector Buying Selling Sector Buying Selling Coins,wholesale $1,000 face-a 21430 Hominy feed,Cent IL-u,w 171 Fats and Oils
Basic Industries 4,174,452 66,967,312 Health care 5,369,876 144,039,895 Other metals Meat-bonemeal,50% pro Mnpls-u,w 350 Degummed corn oil, crude wtd. avg.-u,w 64.7500
Business services 0 0 Industrial 0 0 LBMA Platinum Price PM *1085.0 Oats,No.2 milling,Mnpls-u n.a. Grease,choice white,Chicago-h 0.6975
Platinum,Engelhard industrial 1096.0 Rice, Long Grain Milled, No. 2 AR-u,w 27.75 Lard,Chicago-u n.a.
Consumer durables 2,657,817 52,868,960 Media 0 0 Palladium,Engelhard industrial 2981.0 Sorghum,(Milo) No.2 Gulf-u n.a. Soybean oil,crude;Centl IL-u,w 0.7505
Consumer nondurables 0 0 Technology 5,130,010 296,618,390 Aluminum, LME, $ per metric ton *3728.5 SoybeanMeal,Cent IL,rail,ton48%-u,w 474.90 Tallow,bleach;Chicago-h 0.7500
Consumer services 8,832,021 186,073,635 Transportation 0 6,501,433 Copper,Comex spot 4.9290 Soybeans,No.1 yllw IL-bp,u 16.3900 Tallow,edible,Chicago-u n.a.
Energy 2,585,434 96,384,687 Utilities 0 0
Finance 18,692,995 130,350,023 KEY TO CODES: A=ask; B=bid; BP=country elevator bids to producers; C=corrected; D=CME; E=Manfra,Tordella & Brookes; H=American Commodities Brokerage Co;
K=bi-weekly; M=monthly; N=nominal; n.a.=not quoted or not available; P=Sosland Publishing; R=SNL Energy; S=Platts-TSI; T=Cotlook Limited; U=USDA; V=Benchmark
Sources: Refinitiv; Dow Jones Market Data Mineral Intelligence; W=weekly; Y=International Coffee Organization; Z=not quoted. *Data as of 3/3 Source: Dow Jones Market Data

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  ;

 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * * Monday, March 7, 2022 | B9

MARKETS

Asian
Markets
Decline
Continued from page B1
drug distributor Amerisource-
BRIAN CASSELLA/TNS/ZUMA PRESS

Bergen Corp. and conglomer-

ate Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Many investors see reason
for optimism when stocks
from different corners of the

LUKE SHARRETT/BLOOMBERG NEWS

market rally simultaneously.
Such moves hint at the under-
pinnings of a durable advance,
even when that has yet to ma-
Rivian is expected to post a loss of $1.79 a share on Thursday. terialize at the level of major
stock indexes. That contrasts
THE TICKER | MARKET EVENTS COMING with periods in recent years
THIS WEEK when big technology stocks
lifted the market while other
Monday sectors languished. Candy maker Hershey was among those companies whose stocks set records last week.
Wednesday EIA report: natural gas
“That can’t sustain itself
Previous change in stocks
Consumer credit Short-selling reports in billions of cubic feet forever, so I think that’s been software company Oracle Share of S&P 500 stocks above The market’s drawdown has
in billions Ratio, days of trading volume down 139 a healthy development,” said Corp. for insights on cost their 200-day moving average* been so widespread that the
Dec., previous up $18.9 of current position, at Feb 15 Hank Smith, head of invest- pressures and customer de- percentage of S&P 500 stocks
Jan., expected up $24.3 NYSE 3.3 Initial jobless claims ment strategy at Haverford mand. 100% trading above their 200-day
Nasdaq 2.7 Previous 215,000 Trust. Even with the recent While the recent stock-mar- moving averages recently hit
Earnings expected* Expected 220,000
Estimate/Year Ago down week, “what you’re see- ket declines might make inves- its lowest level since May
EIA status report
AvidXchange Holdings Previous change in stocks Treasury budget ing is there is buying power tors cringe, some point to 80 2020.
(0.12)/n.a. in millions of barrels in billions out there.” signs that shares are poised And in late February, the
Ciena 0.45/0.52 Crude-oilstocks down2.6 Feb., ’21 $311.0 deficit Tech shares pulled back this for a rebound. 15-day moving average of the
Gasolinestocks down0.5 Feb.,’22, exp n.a. year as the Federal Reserve’s Profits among big U.S. com- 60 percentage of S&P 500 stocks
Tuesday Distillates down 0.6 plan to raise interest rates panies are expected to grow declining in a trading session
Earnings expected* weighs on the high value that more than 8% from 2021, and hit one of its highest levels
Int’l trade deficit Mort. bankers indexes Estimate/Year Ago
in billions investors assigned to those the stock market looks less ex- since March 2020, according
Purch., prev. down 2% LegalZoom.com 40
Dec., previous $80.7 companies’ future earnings. pensive than it has since the to brokerage Instinet.
Refinan., prev. up 1% 0.00/n.a.
Jan., expected $87.3 The losses in sectors ranging early days of the pandemic in It is too soon to know just
Lifestance Health from industrials to financials the wake of the recent selloff. how effects of the war in
Wholesale inventories Earnings expected*
(0.30)/n.a. 20
Estimate/Year Ago to healthcare have been less The widespread selling on Ukraine and ensuing sanctions
Dec., previous up 2.2% CampbellSoup 0.69/0.84 Oracle severe, and the energy group geopolitical news shows a against Russia will ripple
Jan., expected up 0.8% Diversey Holdings 1.18/1.16 has shot higher. rush from risk but not funda- through the global economy.
Earnings expected* 0.13/0.20 Rivian Automotive In one sign of the outsize mental weakness that would 0 The prices of commodities
Estimate/Year Ago Franco-Nevada (1.79)/n.a. influence of big tech compa- weigh on stocks longer term, 2020 ’21 ’22 from wheat to corn to alumi-
Casey’s General Stores 0.86/0.85 Ulta Beauty nies, the S&P 500, which is these investors said. num have hit multiyear highs,
*Data as of March 3
1.45/1.04 Thor Industries 4.57/3.41 weighted by market value, is “It doesn’t feel good right Source: FactSet and oil has surged above $100
Dick’s Sporting Goods 3.39/2.38 Wheaton Precious lagging behind a version of the now, but it points to the po- a barrel for the first time
3.47/2.43 Metals 0.31/0.33 index in which each constitu- tential for that breadth to im- month. since 2014. Gas prices have
Guidewire Software Thursday ent is equally weighted. The prove markedly,” said Shannon Some investors had feared topped $5 a gallon in some
(0.11)/0.11 S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is Saccocia, chief investment of- the Fed might raise rates by parts of the country.
Nuvei 0.45/0.33 Consumer-price index
Friday down 5.9% in 2022. ficer at SVB Private Bank. half a point. Higher rates tend Mr. Powell said on Thurs-
Olaplex Holdings All items, Jan. up 7.5% Investors this week will On Wednesday, for example, to pressure stock valuations day that Russia’s invasion was
0.09/n.a. Feb., expected up 7.8% U.Mich. consumer index scrutinize new inflation data more than 90% of the stocks in by reducing investors’ risk ap- likely to push up inflation. He
Petco Health & Core, Jan. up 6.0% Feb., final 62.8 ahead of the central bank the S&P 500 advanced after petite and denting the value indicated the Fed wouldn’t tol-
Wellness 0.24/0.17 Feb., expected up 6.4% March, preliminary 62.3 meeting, which begins March Fed Chairman Jerome Powell analysts assign to companies’ erate a significant period of
15. They also will parse earn- said he would propose raising future earnings. higher inflation, even if that
* FactSet Estimates earnings-per-share estimates don’t include extraordinary items (Losses in
parentheses) u Adjusted for stock split ings reports from Campbell interest rates by one-quarter To be sure, other technical meant choking off economic
Note: Forecasts are from Dow Jones weekly survey of economists Soup Co., Ulta Beauty Inc. and of a percentage point this indicators have been bleak. growth.

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B10 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

HEARD STREET ON
THE
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

Top 10 electric vehicles for efficiency

Rivian, Lucid Drive Off Course
Parts shortages and inflation disrupt EV startups’ aggressive growth plans
Even the best electric-vehicle
startups are giving investors few
reasons to buy the dip.
Rivian Automotive and Lucid
Group had terrible weeks on the
stock market. Rivian shares fell 25%
after the company canceled price
increases imposed on customers
who ordered its truck, issuing an
apology. Lucid cut its anticipated
output for 2022 to between 12,000
and 14,000 vehicles from 20,000.
The shares fell 14% for the week.
Based in California, these two
companies are leading the charge
among U.S. startups to take on
Tesla as well as the giants in De-
troit and Germany. Both started pro-
duction of their well-reviewed debut
vehicles late last year and are in the
early stages of ramping up output.
This year is proving how hard
that is, particularly in an environ-
ment of component shortages
more generally. Lucid said last
Monday that the key bottlenecks it
faced were in comparatively trivial
parts such as glass and carpets,
but they are keeping it from deliv-
ering as many cars as hoped.
Investors are by now well
versed in the lesson that small
parts can have a big impact. Last
year, it applied to semiconductors.
This year, the spotlight may shift
in the auto industry to wiring har-
nesses, for which Ukraine is a pro-
duction center. Startups could be
more exposed to shortages than
established manufacturers because
their limited output doesn’t justify
multiple sourcing and gives them
less sway with suppliers.
Moreover, the cost of produc-
tion delays will likely be magnified
by inflation, which is being further
stoked by Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. Rivian’s experience shows
that startups are on some level
bound to the prices at which cus-
tomers make reservations, often
years ahead of delivery. Raw-mate-
rial inflation could turn high reser-
vation numbers, which are usually
seen as a key asset for EV start-
ups, into something of a liability.
Rivian and Lucid are at least
well-funded following their spec-
tacular listings last year—the for-
mer via an initial public offering
that raised nearly $12 billion in
November and the latter through
one of the biggest mergers to date
with a special-purpose acquisition
vehicle. That can’t be said of all
their peers. Lordstown Motors
said last week that it would re-
quire “substantial additional capi-
tal” to finance its business plan,
despite the sale of its Ohio factory
to Taiwanese electronics giant
Foxconn. Lordstown stock fell 32%
in the past week.
Is there value in these compa-
nies after such a run of bad news?
The rocketing oil price gave many
clean-energy companies a decent
run in the past week, including
2020 Hyundai Ioniq Electric
2020 Mini Cooper SE
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric
2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus 23.0
2020 Kia Niro EV
2022 Chevrolet Bolt
2020 Chevrolet Bolt
2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range
2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range
2020 Nissan Leaf Plus SL
Note: Based on Edmunds testing
Tesla, whose stock rose 3.5%. More
U.S. consumers might be tempted
to go electric if financial sanctions
on Russia keep the oil price in tri-
ple digits.
Still, it is hard to see any EV
startup as anything other than a
hugely risky investment given the
capital and time required to mas-
ter both a fast-moving new tech-
nology and mass production. Tesla
20.8 kWh / 100 miles
21.8
22.3
25.3
25.7
25.7
25.9
26.2
27.1
Source: Edmunds
eventually made it, but that is no
guarantee others will in a more
crowded market. And, even after
the selloff, Rivian and Lucid have
market values of $42 billion and
$37 billion, respectively. By com-
parison, Lucid last week estimated
the sales value of its 25,000 reser-
vations at $2.4 billion. A lot has to
go right for their valuations to
make any sense. —Stephen Wilmot

Europe’s Food-Delivery Stocks Are Appetizingly Cheap

Europe’s fast-growing food apps
can add inflation to their list of
problems. But changes in consumer
eating patterns caused by the pan-
demic are sticking so far and valua-
tions seem undercooked.
Demand for takeout meals re-
mained strong in the three months
through December, recent results
have shown. Berlin-based Delivery
Hero said its sales rose 66% com-
pared with the same period of 2020.
HelloFresh, which delivers boxed
meal kits that consumers cook up at
home, increased sales by more than
one-third. Grubhub’s Dutch owner
Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET) grew
by 14%, which was less than inves-
tors had hoped.
The Omicron variant probably
extended diners’ taste for easy
meals at home. The services the
apps offer are also proving sticky:
Both HelloFresh and JET pointed
out that the average number of or-
ders placed by a typical user is still
well above pre-pandemic levels. As
consumers head back to restau-
rants, though, the apps will have to
increase their marketing spending if
they are to continue to grow.
Fatter ad budgets and increasing
labor costs will make it harder to
turn a profit. JET said heavy losses
seen in 2021—caused by a big push
to sign up new restaurants and the
impact of fee caps in important
food-delivery markets like New
York—are now behind it, although
the business still isn’t expected to
break even in 2022. The company is
pulling out of Norway and Portugal
to stem losses. It is also in talks
with private-equity firms and indus-
try buyers about a possible sale or
partnership for the weak U.S. Grub-
hub brand, which it bought less
than nine months ago.
Delivery Hero will be heavily in
the red this year. The company,
which mainly operates in emerging
markets, lost almost a third of its
market value in a single day last
month when it told investors how
much it needs to invest in so-called
quick commerce to deliver groceries
to consumers in minutes, as well as
in its latest acquisition Glovo. The
business may not report positive
free cash flow until 2025, according
to Bernstein analysts.
Doubts about whether these
businesses can ever be profitable
are weighing down valuations, as
investors sour on fast-growing but
cash-burning tech names more gen-
erally. There are regulatory risks to
consider this year if the European
Union tightens labor laws to protect
gig economy workers. This would
hit U.K.-based takeout app De-
liveroo hard, as it relies on self-em-
ployed couriers for a higher share
of deliveries than its competitors.
On average, Europe’s food-tech
stocks are down 49% so far in 2022.
Food inflation, which the war in
Ukraine will aggravate, is the sec-
tor’s next big hurdle. HelloFresh in-
creased the price of its meal kits by
2%—well below the current 5.8%
and 7.5% rates of inflation in the eu-
rozone and U.S., respectively. The
company hopes this will make
meal-kit subscriptions attractive
relative to supermarkets and dining
out, where prices are rising fast.
However, HelloFresh is still a
pricey option. A typical meal box
can be up to 2.4 times as expensive
as alternatives like cooking from
scratch or buying a microwavable
ready meal, Bernstein data shows.
Modest price increases hint at fears
that the company needs to cut the
cost of its product in real terms to
maintain growth. The move will
make it hard for HelloFresh to hit
its profit margin target this year.
Still, the stocks are now so cheap
that a lot of bad news is baked in.
JET, which traded at nine times
projected sales before the pan-
demic, changes hands for just one
times sales today. Europe’s other
food-delivery names trade at simi-
lar levels. San Francisco-based
DoorDash fetches a 5.6 times multi-
ple by comparison. Its fourth-quar-
ter growth was in the same ballpark
as its peers across the Atlantic.
For investors willing to stomach
some volatility, Europe’s cheap cui-
sine looks appealing.
—Carol Ryan

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 MUTUAL
FUNDS
& ETFS
MONTHLY DATA
R6, R7

© 2022 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, March 7, 2022 | R1

10 RED
FLAGS
THAT
COULD
TRIGGER
AN IRS
TAX AUDIT
IN 2022
RYAN JOHNSON

all the appropriate documentation and
Accounting for pandemic-inspired grants, loans and information,” says Mr. Gray, who is
tax credits could make it a tricky year for many also government liaison for the Na-
tional Association of Tax Professionals.
BY LORI IOANNOU To avoid a tax audit, the best thing
you can do is file a return that is cor-
tax forms that can trigger an audit?
According to the IRS and tax profes-
sionals, here are 10 that can easily
trip up filers.
1. Education tax credits

F
OR MOST Americans,
any letter from the Inter-
nal Revenue Service
sparks fear, especially a
notice of a tax audit.
Unfortunately, a con-
fluence of factors—in-
cluding the pandemic-inspired federal
grant, loan and tax-credit programs—
will make this a particularly complex
tax-filing season for individuals and
business owners.
“Filing your taxes could be a mine-
field this year because of all the tax-
law changes, credits and programs
that rolled out,” says Larry Gray, a
partner at Rolla, Mo.-based Alfermann,
Gray & Co. CPAs. “Make sure you have
rect and complete, says Eric Smith, an
IRS spokesman. Filing electronically is
also recommended since you can
amend and fix any issues more quickly.
Fewer than one million Americans
get audited each year. But individuals
who don’t file their taxes, or underre-
port their income, are top of the list.
So what are the red flags on your
Two types of education-related tax
credits were issued last year: the
$2,500 American Opportunity Tax
Please turn to page R6
Inside: WSJ 2022 TAX GUIDE
A special supplement on the big tax
questions this tax season. R4-5

Inside
Meme Stocks Need to Know

Remember that
Inthe SCOREBOARD
February 2022 fund performance,
total return by fund type. More on R2.
Want to Retire Early?
Watch These
meme-stock rally?
A new study shows
Bucket As commodity
prices surge,
U.S.
stocks*
Intl.
stocks*
Bonds
(intmd.)
Financial Risks
Scan this code
how Uncle Sam’s The Ask Encore column for a podcast on
describes the merits of here is how –1.3% –3.5% –1.3% the financial
stimulus checks a ‘bucket strategy’ for that market *Diversified funds only, excluding sector risks of retiring
played a role. R2 retirement funds. R3 works. R8 and regional/country funds Source: Refinitiv Lipper early.

Three funds, all in

the Invesco QQQ family.
QQQ QQQ IVNQX
INVESCO NASDAQ INVESCO INVESCO NASDAQ 100
NEXT GEN 100 ETF NASDAQ 100 ETF MUTUAL FUND

NOT A DEPOSIT NOT FDIC INSURED NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK MAY LOSE VALUE NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY
There are risks involved with investing in ETFs, including possible loss of money. ETFs are subject to risks similar to those of stocks. Investments focused in a particular sector,
such as technology, are subject to greater risk, and are more greatly impacted by market volatility, than more diversiied investments. An investment cannot be made directly into any index.
BEFORE INVESTING CAREFULLY READ AND CONSIDER FUND INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, RISKS, CHARGES, EXPENSES AND MORE IN PROSPECTUS
AT INVESCO.COM.
Invesco Distributors, Inc.
R2 | Monday, March 7, 2022
JR
A Journal Report
special look at the
numbers and news about
this month’s investing
l Insight
 dence to support some ex-
2/24/22 Customers at a Citibank branch in Moscow, on the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
-7%
Year-to-date decline in the
Dow Jones Industrial
Average (2,723.50 points),
after rising 19% last year.
War The world’s financial system has been punishing Russia. The ruble
lost more than one-quarter of its value and Russian stocks were
And booted from stock-index funds. U.S. markets have been choppy—daily
index moves of 1% are common. U.S. crude-oil prices at one point last
Money week surged past $116 a barrel for the first time since 2008.
l Monthly Monitor William Power
Stock Funds Down 7.9% for 2022
The rough start to 2022 continued for
U.S. investors.
The average diversified U.S.-stock
fund declined 1.3% in February—a month
that started with concerns about the
Federal Reserve and quickly shifted to
Russia’s war on Ukraine. February’s de-
cline pushed the year-to-date slide to
7.9%, according to Refinitiv Lipper data.
International-stock funds were down
3.5% for February and 7.7% year to date.
“It was a very meaningful month…not
just for the markets but for us as human
beings first, given the tragedy taking
place in Europe,” says Gargi Chaudhuri,
head of iShares investment strategy for
the Americas at BlackRock in New York.
The month was a tale of two halves,
Ms. Chaudhuri says. “I think about how
much the market was focusing on the
Federal Reserve, right up until the mid-
dle of the month,” before Russia invaded,
she says. The focus on the jobs report
and inflation data in early February “all
l Financial Flashback
A look back at Wall Street Journal
headlines from this month
20 YEARS AGO 
Six months after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the U.S., the
stock market bounced back in a way
that The Wall Street Journal de-
scribed as “nothing short of remark-
able.”
After hitting bottom on Sept. 21,
half a year later, on March 11, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average had
rallied by 29%, the tech-led Nasdaq
Composite Index by 36% and the
S&P 500 index by 21%.
But while the country continued
to recover with pride from 9/11, the
good feelings in the market didn’t
last. After that spectacular stock
rally, the U.S. stock market resumed
its long, drawn-out slide that began
in March 2000 when the dot-com
JOURNAL REPORT | PERSONAL INVESTING
U.S.-stock funds (monthly)
l
-41%
The year-to-date decline in Russia’s RTS
stock-market index, before trading was
shut down all last week as Russia tries to
shield local shares from even more selling.
seems a very long time ago,” she says.
Some strategists are saying to pull
back from investment-grade bonds. That
includes Jim McDonald, chief investment
strategist at Northern Trust. “We want
protection against inflation in our port-
folios today, and also want to reflect the
increased risk to European growth from
the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he
says. “Inflation protection is achieved by
our overweights to natural-resource eq-
uities and U.S. equities, and underweight
to investment-grade bonds.”
Ms. Chaudhuri says investors will con-
tinue to digest the economic and human
toll of Russia’s attacks. In previous peri-
ods of geopolitical risk, she notes, for
the most part investors who stayed in-
vested in the markets during the geopo-
litical volatility “tended to do better, un-
less the volatility was happening when
economic growth was slowing for other
reasons.”
Until Friday’s stock declines, stocks
had held up fairly well since the inva-
sion, notes Ralph Bassett, head of North
American equities at asset manager
Abrdn in Philadelphia. “What we strug-
gle with is how enduring these commod-
ity-price rallies will be. You will have
supply come in,” says Mr. Bassett.
Mr. Power is a Wall Street Journal
features editor in South Brunswick, N.J.
Email him at william.power@wsj.com.
The Journal’s first-quarter 2002 wrap
bubble first burst.
“At the time I worked for S&P
Global which had a disciplined ap-
5.7% 3.9 2022
How Uncle Sam Fueled
O
N
D
J F
The Meme-Stock Craze
2021 –2.8 –1.3
–6.7 BY MARK HULBERT
Meme stocks were one of
the biggest market phe-
nomena during the pan-
demic. And federal stimulus
payments appear to have
done a lot to fuel the surge.
That is the conclusion of
a new study that began cir-
culating this past week in
academic circles. The re-
search found that shares of
meme stocks—speculative
investments often driven
by chatter on internet fo-
rums—soared in the weeks
after individual investors
received their first two
rounds of stimulus checks.
These meme investments,
the study found, delivered
gains that beat out non-
meme stocks by as much
as 19 percentage points.
Of course, a lot of fac-
tors went into the meme-
stock surge—including the
advent of commissionless
trading at websites such as
Robinhood, the growth in
social media and the in-
creased number of individu-
als working at home with
free time on their hands.
But this study offers evi-
perts’ suspicions that stim-
ulus money was making its
way into the stock market,
says Jeffrey Wurgler, a co-
author of the study and
professor of finance at
New York University. And it
suggests that flows of cash
into the market were large
and had significant impact.
Track the spending
Consider the first stimulus
in April 2020, in which citi-
zens received payments of
up to $1,200, totaling more
than $200 billion. To mea-
sure the money’s immedi-
‘I’m encouraged ate impact on the market,
by the strength the researchers—along with
Prof. Wurgler, Robin Green-
of the U.S. wood of Harvard University
economy and and Toomas Laarits of
NYU—determined exactly
unified stance when individuals would
among Western have been able to spend or
nations [on invest their payments. They
looked at a number of
Russia/ sources to make the call,
Ukraine]. including social-media
Although posts in which investors
talked about receiving stim-
market ulus payments.
volatility could The researchers next
identified two groups of
stick around more than 500 stocks each
for a while, the that were most and least
threat of likely to be the focus of re-
tail speculation, based on
a global such factors as which
economic crisis stocks were most and least
owned by Robinhood users,
is low—for now.’ and which had the highest
and lowest shares of retail
Liz Young trading, according to data
Head of investment from the Financial Industry
strategy, SoFi Regulatory Authority.
The professors found
that over the three weeks
after the day payments
started showing up in bank
accounts, the meme-stock
group gained 15.5 percent-
age points more than the
non-meme group.
That outperformance
makes a strong circumstan-
tial case that the payments
drove investments, Prof.
Greenwood says.
To be sure, the pandemic
proach, and we had a hard time jus- has been a good time gen-
tifying valuations,” recalls Scott Kes- erally for meme stocks. But
sler, global technology, media, and
telecommunications specialist at fi-
nancial firm Third Bridge. Coincidence?
“Then sentiment changed,” he GameStop, along with when Jan. 2021 stimulus checks were paid
says. “People needed to understand
where the value was.” $400
Crazy-high valuations of compa-
350
nies with scant profits continued de-
flating as analysts and investors re-
300 Dec. 30, 2020
turned to using traditional valuation
metrics such as price/earnings multi- First stimulus
250 payments received
ples. The market decline continued
until September 2002, when the 200
S&P 500 bottomed, beginning a rally
that lasted to October 2007. 150
—Simon Constable
100
100 YEARS AGO 
50
British Investing Again
In American Securities 0
Dec. 21
5 YEARS AGO  2020
Dow Hits 21000 for First Time Source: Hulbert Ratings, Robin Greenwod, Toomas Laarits, Jeffrey Wurgler
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
not nearly this good. On av-
erage, across all other
three-week periods during
the first year of the pan-
demic, the meme-stock
group outperformed the
non-meme group by just 3.0
percentage points.
The second stimulus pro-
gram in December 2020
and January 2021 showed
even more striking results.
In that round of payments,
citizens received up to $600
each, totaling nearly $150
billion. Over the three
weeks following the day on
which the stimulus pay-
ments started showing up
in bank accounts, the meme
stocks on average did 18.7
percentage points better
than the non-meme stocks.
January 2021 was the
month in which GameStop,
building upon social-media
attention that went viral,
skyrocketed from below
$20 a share to an intraday
high of nearly $500. That
cemented GameStop’s repu-
tation as the paradigmatic
meme stock. Prof. Wurgler
speculates that “GameStop
might not have been the
meme stock it was but for
the stimulus checks sent
just a few weeks earlier.”
The researchers didn’t
find any impact on meme-
stock performance in the
wake of the third round of
stimulus payments that oc-
curred in March 2021. Prof.
Wurgler speculated that, for
this third round, the market
could have caught on to the
likely impact of stimulus.
In any case, the study’s
findings have public-policy
implications for how future
stimulus programs should
be designed, Prof. Green-
wood says. In theory, those
payments should go to indi-
viduals who will most im-
mediately spend it, since
that is how the payments
can have the greatest stim-
ulus effect on the overall
economy. He said that pay-
ments that are instead
saved or invested have an
unintended indirect impact.
Individuals’ role
Prof. Wurgler says the find-
ings show us that individual,
or retail, investors still play
an important role, especially
for certain groups of stocks.
He adds that the meme-
stock phenomenon during
the pandemic is likely to
have long-lasting effects on
retail-investor behavior,
making more stocks “vulner-
able to retail sentiment.”
That is because meme
stocks taught individuals
“that investing is easy.” Just
as “people who lived
through the Depression in-
vested more conservatively
throughout their lives,” he
says, experiences of the
meme-stock phenomenon of
2020-21 could “dominate in-
vestor behavior for the rest
of their lives, having long-
term implications for how
speculation manifests itself
in the stock market.”
Mr. Hulbert is a columnist
whose Hulbert Ratings
tracks investment
newsletters that pay a flat
fee to be audited. He can be
reached at reports@wsj.com.
FROM TOP: ANDREY RUDAKOV/BLOOMBERG NEWS; GIACOMO BAGNARA
Jan. 4, 2021
First official
payment
Jan.
’21
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Ask Encore • Glenn Ruffenach
Do ‘Bucket’ Investment Strategies
Make Sense in Retirement?
• On Your Bucket List
What do you think about
“bucket” strategies when it
comes to managing invest-
ments in retirement? Do
buckets, in the long run,
produce better results than
other withdrawal strategies?
Using a bucket strategy—dividing
your money into a handful of sim-
ple categories for an important
goal—is a fine way to manage
and tap your nest egg in later life.
This approach, though, likely does
more for your mental health than
it does for your portfolio.
Financial planners first began
using buckets in the mid-1980s to
help investors generate income in
retirement. The picturesque term
helps investors visualize the pro-
cess. An investor, typically, sets
up two or more buckets, each of
which holds specific kinds of in-
vestments with different pur-
poses and levels of risk. (You can
do this within a single retirement
account and simply track—on a
spreadsheet, for instance—which
investments are in which bucket.)
In a three-bucket model, the
first bucket would hold cash—
enough to cover two or three
years of living expenses. The
other buckets mostly would hold,
Mistakes That Families Make When Appealing College-Aid Offers
No. 1: They don’t bother
asking for a review in
the first place
BY CHERYL WINOKUR MUNK
As college financial-aid award
letters trickle in, many families
will find the offers coming up un-
expectedly short because of how
the pandemic has affected their
lives.
But they might have some
wiggle room.
Families whose aid award
doesn’t reflect their current finan-
cial or household situation can
ask a school’s aid office for a re-
view. This can be especially useful
for families whose finances or life
situation were hammered by the
pandemic: Aid for the 2022-23 ac-
ademic year is largely based on fi-
nancial data from a family’s 2020
FROM TOP: PAUL BLOW; DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/ZUMA PRESS
tax returns, and a lot might have
changed since then.
There are, however, many pit-
falls when planning and going
through a review:
1. Not asking for a review
Financial-aid offices don’t know
what has happened in your life
and that the information reflected
on the 2022-23 Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa) or
CSS Profile, used by about 250
JOURNAL REPORT | PERSONAL INVESTING
Also: We answer a reader’s question about Social Security survivor benefits
Breaking your investments into “buckets” may help simplify your way of
confronting market ups and downs. Here are two scenarios.
On a stock-market dip:
1
Stocks Bonds
2
Cash
1 Bondholdings may be shifted into
stocks as stock prices fall.
2 Monthly income comes from a
combination of cash and
bondholdings, which have held
their value during the dip.
Source: Fidelity Investments
respectively, bonds and stocks. As
cash from Bucket No. 1 gets
spent, Nos. 2 and 3 are tapped to
replenish No. 1—how much stock
is sold compared with bonds de-
pends on how each is performing.
Ideally, this process generates
a steady payout in later life and
colleges and universities, no lon-
ger represents your current cir-
cumstances. You must tell them.
Yet sometimes families are
afraid to reach out to financial-aid
offices, for any number of rea-
sons, says Mary Sommers, direc-
tor of financial aid at the Univer-
sity of Nebraska at Kearney. It
might seem especially intimidat-
ing or overwhelming if weighing
offers from several schools.
But nothing ventured is noth-
ing gained, aid counselors say.
And don’t delay—especially if a
student is running up against the
May 1 decision deadline that
many colleges have.
“We always tell families it’s
worth you giving us the data in
those circumstances,” Ms. Som-
mers says. Even if it doesn’t dra-
matically change a student’s fed-
eral award, it is possible the
college can use some of its dis-
cretionary money, if available, to
help out the family.
2. Not distinguishing
between need and merit
When asking for a review, it is
important to be clear about what
you’re actually asking for, says
Justin Draeger, president and
chief executive of the National
Association of Student Financial
Aid Administrators. If your finan-
cial picture has changed, you will
On a stock-market rebound:
1 Mr. Tomlinson found that buck-
2
Stocks Bonds
Cash
1 Monthly income comes from
selling stocks.
2 Additional proceeds from stock
sales may move into bonds or
cash.
helps insulate retirees from mar-
ket gyrations.
But simplicity doesn’t neces-
sarily translate into better per-
formance. Some of the best re-
search on how buckets perform
comes from Joe Tomlinson, an
actuary and financial planner
usually ask for a need-based re-
view. But some schools that offer
merit-based aid will also re-evalu-
ate these awards—for instance, if
a student’s academic circum-
stances have improved signifi-
cantly since you applied.
For merit-based reviews, a
good first step is to call the ad-
missions office or email the ad-
missions officer responsible for
your region. Or, the financial-aid
office can likely assist or put stu-
dents in touch with the appropri-
ate program lead responsible for
merit-based aid, says Amanda
Bierbrauer, associate vice presi-
dent of enrollment management
and student finances at Portland
State University in Portland, Ore.
If a merit-based appeals pro-
The University of Michigan campus on Jan. 19.
who writes about retirement fi-
nances. In a 2020 study, he
looked at how various withdrawal
strategies, including buckets,
would fare over a 30-year retire-
ment. Would an investor end up
depleting his or her savings?
ets, for the most part, did no bet-
ter—or worse—than several other
approaches. (You can read the re-
search in full, “Bucket Strategies—
Challenging Previous Research,”
at advisorperspectives.com.) The
lesson: Using a collection of pails
to manage your money isn’t likely
to give you fatter returns or help
your nest egg last longer.
So…why bother with buckets?
Because they’re designed to stop
investors from making a funda-
mental error: selling stocks in
down markets. Again, the sizable
cash cushion in Bucket No. 1
means you don’t have to worry
about where your paychecks are
coming from if the sky is falling.
What’s more, that knowledge—
that confidence, if you will—
makes it more likely that you’ll
stick with your investment strat-
egy. Says Mr. Tomlinson: “Where
buckets can work is [giving] cli-
ents peace of mind, even if they
don’t make a difference in terms
of financial performance.”
cess exists, you can start working
on your appeal letter, according to
Scholarships360, a platform that
helps students find advice, tools
and college-funding options. This
letter could include any additional
achievements such as awards, ex-
tracurricular activities or test
scores that may be applicable.
3. Not knowing what
could qualify for more
need-based aid
Families might not think to men-
tion issues such as higher-than-
normal medical expenses, a sepa-
ration or divorce, a reduction in
child support, the death of a
spouse, a natural disaster or even
homelessness.
Monday, March 7, 2022 | R3
One of my favorite writers on
retirement planning, Christine
Benz, director of personal finance
at researcher Morningstar Inc., has
written extensively about buckets
and developed a series of hypo-
thetical portfolios. Go to: morn-
ingstar.com/model-portfolios/retir-
ees. Registration may be required.
•
I have been divorced for
about 12 years, and my
ex-husband died recently.
Can I collect survivors ben-
efits from Social Security?
Yes, divorced spouses are eligible
for a survivors benefit. In fact,
you could receive the same bene-
fit as your former husband’s
widow (if he remarried).
The basics: If you and your
husband were married for at least
10 years, and if you are age 60 or
older (50, if you’re disabled), you
are eligible for benefits as a “sur-
viving divorced spouse,” in the
words of the Social Security Ad-
ministration. The size of the ben-
efit depends on your age when
you file for the benefit and the
size of your ex-husband’s benefit,
assuming that he was already
collecting Social Security.
(If he hadn’t filed for benefits
before his death, the survivors
benefit would be based on what
he was entitled to receive from
Social Security, based on his age
at death and earnings history.)
For instance, if you file for a
survivors benefit at your “full re-
tirement age” (as defined by So-
cial Security) or older, you would
be eligible for 100% of your for-
mer husband’s benefit. If you file
between age 60 and your full-re-
tirement age, you would be eligi-
ble for between 71.5% and 99%.
As with all things Social Secu-
rity, there are additional wrinkles
and rules. Perhaps most impor-
tant—and people often worry
about this—your survivors benefit
would have no effect on other
survivors benefits. So, again, if
your ex-husband had remarried,
both you and his widow would be
eligible for survivors benefits.
Your benefit wouldn’t affect or re-
duce her benefit, and vice versa.
There’s also the issue of you
(possibly) remarrying. If you re-
marry before age 60, you can’t
collect a survivors benefit as a di-
vorced spouse. (Unless your sec-
ond marriage ends for any rea-
son.) However…if you remarry after
you reach 60 (50, if disabled), “the
remarriage will not affect your eli-
gibility for survivors benefits,” ac-
cording to Social Security.
Mr. Ruffenach is a former
reporter and editor for The Wall
Street Journal. Ask Encore looks
at financial issues for those
thinking about, planning and
living their retirement. Send
questions and comments to
askencore@wsj.com.
Many students don’t equate
sleeping on a friend’s couch while
in high school with not having a
home. But if this is your perma-
nent situation, it is considered a
change in circumstances for fed-
eral aid purposes, says Teresa
Washburn, financial-aid customer
service coordinator for Houston
Community College. “If you don’t
live at your custodial address, you
need to be reviewed for special
circumstances because it may re-
sult in more money,” she says.
4. Not adhering to the
school’s review process
Be sure to look at the financial-
aid office’s website and determine
the process for asking for a re-
view. Sometimes families don’t
follow the requested steps, or
don’t provide the necessary sup-
porting documents.
5. Not following up
If you haven’t heard back from an
aid office in a week or so, it is a
good idea to follow up with a
phone call, Ms. Bierbrauer says. A
counselor can tell you the status
of your review and provide addi-
tional guidance, as needed.
Ms. Winokur Munk is a writer in
West Orange, N.J. She can be
reached at reports@wsj.com.
R4 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

JOURNAL REPORT |

The Wall Street Journal

TaxGuide
2022
With the latest on claiming expanded child credits,
stimulus payments and more
—By Laura Saunders and Richard Rubin

Another Tax Year for the Books

old on during this wild tax season. • Last year at this

H time, after the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdowns, we

said it would be a tax season like no other. But the
2022 filing season is also challenging: Millions of taxpayers
haven’t had returns they filed in 2021 processed, and many
more will grapple with reporting requirements for stimulus
payments or expanded child tax credits. • In a historic move,
Congress had the IRS prepay a portion of the expanded child
credits in monthly installments during 2021. While that put
cash in the pockets of families, it will shrink refunds many
filers are anticipating. • To help you navigate, tax reporters
at The Wall Street Journal have prepared the fifth edition of
the WSJ Tax Guide. Here are highlights. Subscribers can
download the complete WSJ ebook at WSJ.com/taxguide.
Charitable-Donation Deduction
For 2021, but not 2022, taxpayers
who don’t itemize on Schedule A can
deduct some charitable donations.
During the pandemic, Congress
temporarily expanded tax deduc-
tions for charitable donors. This ex-
pansion expired at the end of 2021.
For 2021, single filers who don’t
itemize deductions on Schedule A
can deduct up to $300, and married
joint filers can deduct up to $600.
Donations must be of cash—such
as by check, credit card or similar
Checklist
Ways You Can Still Save
On 2021 Taxes
There are still a few things people can do now
to cut last year’s taxes. Here are some:
Contribute to a Contribute to an HSA
traditional IRA Taxpayers covered by approved
Savers can take a tax deduction for high-deductible healthcare plans for
putting up to $6,000 in a traditional 2021 have until their April due date
IRA, and people age 50 and over of 2022 to make tax-deductible con-
can put in an extra $1,000. (Limits tributions to health savings ac-
may apply based on type or amount counts (HSAs) for 2021, unless the
of income). The deadline for 2021 IRS delays the tax deadline. The de-
contributions is April 18, 2022, un- duction for single coverage is up to
less the IRS delays it. Residents of $3,600, plus $1,000 for those age
transfer—rather than property such Massachusetts and Maine have un- 55 and older. The deduction for
as used clothing or furniture, and til April 19, and victims of certain di- family coverage is up to $7,200, plus
they can’t be made to donor-advised sasters have longer. $1,000 if the HSA owner is 55 or
funds. Gifts had to be made by year- older.
end to be deductible for 2021. Contribute to a SEP IRA
According to the most recent IRS People with self-employment in- Save on penalties
data, the number of taxpayers item- come can often make a tax-deduct- People who didn’t pay in enough
izing charitable donations dropped to ible contribution for 2021 of up to tax in 2021, and aren’t yet ready to
13 million for 2019 from 37 million in $58,000 to these retirement ac- file, can make a payment of part
2017. Still, donors who want to maxi- counts. The deadline for setting or all of the overdue tax to stop
mize deductions for donations have them up and contributing for 2022 the penalty or lessen it. See
options. A simple one is to “bunch” is Oct. 17, 2022, for taxpayers who IRS.gov/payments.
donations every few years. have a six-month extension to file.

Taxes for Investors Because of the surtax, top-

bracket taxpayers typically owe
23.8% instead of 20% on their
long-term gains and dividends.
ongress hasn’t made vorable rates of 0%, 15% or 20%, Some investors in the 15%
Say that Janet is a single tax-
payer with $30,000 of taxable
ordinary income for 2021 after
deductions and exemptions, such
as for tax-free municipal-bond in-
payer name and address. It first
appeared on the 2019 tax return in
a less-prominent position and
moved to its current place on the
2020 return.

C changes to rates on long-

term capital gains and div-
idends for 2021 and 2022.
Investors with taxable ac-
counts—as opposed to tax-favored
retirement accounts such as indi-
vidual retirement accounts or
401(k)s—are often eligible for
lower tax rates and other benefits.
When an investor sells a hold-
ing in a taxable account, the result
is a capital gain or loss. That is
the difference between the invest-
ment’s original cost (plus adjust-
ments) and its selling price. If an
investor buys a share for $3 and
sells it for $5, the capital gain is
$2. If that person buys another
share for $3 and sells it for $2, the
capital loss is $1.
A key benefit is that capital
losses can offset capital gains. If
the investor in this example sells
both shares in the same calendar
year, he or she would have a net
taxable capital gain of $1 after
combining the $2 gain and the $1
loss. If total losses exceed total
gains, the net losses can offset up
to $3,000 of “ordinary” income
such as wages per year.
Another benefit is that unused
capital losses can be carried for-
ward to offset future capital gains
and ordinary income.
Long-term capital gains are
profits on investments held longer
than a year. They are taxed at fa-
plus a 3.8% surtax for higher
earners.
Short-term capital gains are
those on investments held a year
or less. They are taxed at the
higher rates that apply to ordi-
nary income. This is a key dis-
tinction that frequent traders
should be aware of.
The favorable lower rates for
long-term gains also apply to div-
idends that are “qualified,” which
are most of them. Other divi-
dends are taxed at the higher
rates for ordinary income like
wages.
The 3.8% surtax
The 3.8% surtax applies to net in-
vestment income for most single
filers with adjusted gross income
(AGI) above $200,000 and most
couples filing jointly with AGI
above $250,000. This surtax ap-
plies only to the amount of net
investment income above those
thresholds, which aren’t indexed
for inflation.
For example, say that a single
taxpayer has earned income such
as wages and bonus totaling
$150,000, plus a $60,000 taxable
capital gain and $20,000 of divi-
dends. This filer would owe the
3.8% tax on $30,000, which is
the amount of his AGI above
$200,000.
bracket for this income owe the
3.8% surtax on part or all of it
because their adjusted gross in-
come is above the $250,000/
$200,000 thresholds.
Here’s another example. Say a
single filer has $210,000 of ad-
justed gross income, and
$50,000 of that is a windfall
from a long-term gain on an in-
vestment and qualified dividends.
In that case, all this taxpayer’s in-
vestment income would be taxed
at a 15% rate. He or she would
also owe an additional 3.8% on
$10,000 because that’s the
amount exceeding $200,000. So
the rate on the $10,000 would be
18.8%.
Here is a simplified example.
terest. Her taxable income is sub-
ject to rates up to 12%, as de-
tailed in the income-tax brackets.
But Janet also has a $20,000
long-term capital gain. This
“stacks” on top of her $30,000 of
taxable income, giving her total
taxable income of $50,000. For
2021, the 15% bracket for capital
gains begins at $40,401 of tax-
able income for single filers.
As a result, Janet would
owe zero tax on about
$10,400 of her gain and 15% on
about $9,600 of it.
Cryptocurrency
crackdown
Cryptocurrency owners, beware:
The Internal Revenue Service is
trying to strip away excuses for
millions of people who aren’t
complying with the tax rules on
them, either inadvertently or on
purpose.
The agency has put a pointed
question on the front page of the
Form 1040, just below the tax-
On the 2021 return, the ques-
tion has been reworded slightly: At
any time during 2021, did you re-
ceive, sell, exchange or otherwise
dispose of any financial interest in
any virtual currency?
The tax filer must check the
box “Yes” or “No.” Cryptocurrency
owners who don’t answer the
question or are untruthful risk
higher penalties if the IRS audits
them, as it will be hard to claim ig-
norance of the rules.
The agency also has other
crypto enforcement efforts under
way. In 2021, it persuaded judges
in Boston and San Francisco to
approve summonses requiring two
crypto exchanges to turn over re-
cords for customers who had
more than $20,000 in transactions
in any year from 2016 to 2020.
The IRS first released guidance
on the taxation of cryptocurren-
cies in 2014. It said that bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies are
property, not currencies such as
dollars or euros. Often they are in-
vestment property akin to stock
shares or real estate.
This means that if the crypto is
held in a taxable account—as op-
posed to a retirement account like
an IRA or Roth IRA—net profits
from a sale are typically taxed as
long-term or short-term capital
gains, and losses can be used to
offset gains.

Key Inflation-Adjusted Tax Numbers for 2021 Key Inflation-Adjusted Tax Numbers for 2022
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARTIN TOGNOLA

Capital gains, dividends* Taxable income Capital gains, dividends* Taxable income
RATE* SINGLE MARRIED, FILING JOINTLY RATE* SINGLE MARRIED, FILING JOINTLY
0% Up to $40,400 Up to $80,800 0% Up to $41,675 Up to $83,350
15% $40,401 to 445,850 $80,801 to 501,600 15% $41,676 to 459,750 $83,351 to 571,200
20% $445,851 + $501,601 + 20% $459,751 + $517,201 +
*Applies to gains on assets held longer than a year and qualified dividends. Source: Internal Revenue Service *Applies to gains on assets held longer than a year and qualified dividends. Source: Internal Revenue Service
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
PERSONAL INVESTING
Child Tax Credit
Congress has expanded the
child tax credit twice since
2017, and these expansions
have put needed dollars in
the pockets of many par-
ents. However, prepayments
of the credits during 2021
will also create confusion
during the 2022 tax-filing
season and could leave
some recipients owing un-
expected tax bills for 2021.
As part of the 2017 tax
overhaul, Congress doubled
the existing child tax credit
to $2,000 per child under
age 17 at year-end. It is a
dollar-for-dollar reduction in
taxes that a range of filers
can claim, because it begins
to phase out at $400,000
of adjusted gross income
for married joint filers and
$200,000 for single filers.
This expanded child
credit is in effect for 2021
and 2022, and it expires at
the end of 2025.
In March 2021, Congress
added a second expansion
of the credit just for 2021,
as part of its pandemic re-
sponse. It’s up to $1,600 per
child under age 6 and
$1,000 per child ages 6
through 17 as of Dec. 31,
2021. Also, just for 2021,
the first expansion of the
child credit applies to de-
pendents who were 17 at
year-end.
This means that for 2021
the total maximum child
tax credit is $3,600 per
child under 6 and $3,000
per child from ages 6 to 17
at year-end. The full credit
is refundable and available
even to tax filers who have
no income and owe no tax.
The income limits are
lower for the 2021 expan-
sion, however: The phase-
out begins at $75,000 of
adjusted gross income for
most single filers and
$150,000 for most married
joint filers. Above that, the
taxpayer loses $50 of this
credit for every $1,000 of
income, so the cap on it
varies according to income,
number of children and fil-
ing status. The phaseout of
this credit is separate from
the one for the 2017 expan-
sion, so many parents will
still qualify for a $2,000
credit per child even if they
don’t qualify for the 2021
expansion of $1,000 or
$1,600 per child.
Congress also directed
the IRS to use existing re-
cords to send families
monthly prepayments of up
to half their total antici-
pated 2021 child tax credits.
These prepayments began
in July and continued for
six months, usually by di-
rect deposit. They have
halted for 2022 because
Congress hasn’t extended
this tax break, although
some lawmakers hope to
do so.
What will confuse tax-
payers this filing season is
that last year’s prepayments
must be reconciled on
Schedule 8812 of 2021 tax
returns based on actual in-
come and circumstances for
the year. As a result, many
filers will receive lower-
than-expected refunds or
face a higher balance due on
their 2021 returns.
Monday, March 7, 2022 | R5
For Widows
And Widowers
Key Inflation-Adjusted Tax Numbers for 2021
The death of a spouse often combines emo-
tional upheaval with the need to make key Individual income tax Taxable income
decisions and deal with tax complexities.
RATE SINGLE MARRIED, FILING JOINTLY
Filing an estate-tax return 10% Up to $9,950 Up to $19,900
Executors don’t need to file a return if the 12% $9,951 to 40,525 $19,901 to 81,050
decedent’s estate is below the total lifetime
exemption for taxable gifts made during life 22% $40,526 to 86,375 $81,051 to 172,750
and assets left at death. This exemption 24% $86,376 to 164,925 $172,751 to 329,850
was $11.7 million per individual for 2021 and 32% $164,926 to 209,425 $329,851 to 418,850
is $12.06 million for 2022.
They may want to file one, however, as 35% $209,426 to 523,600 $418,851 to 628,300
the surviving spouse can often add the part- 37% $523,601 + $628,301 +
ner’s unused exemption to their own. This Source: Internal Revenue Service
could help if Congress lowers the gift- and
estate-tax exemption in the future.
Estate taxes are normally due nine
months after the date of death. But the IRS
allows executors to claim the unused ex-
emption for the spouse up to two years af- Key Inflation-Adjusted Tax Numbers for 2022
ter the date of death, in many cases.
Individual income tax Taxable income
Tax-bracket shifts RATE SINGLE MARRIED, FILING JOINTLY
The year of death is the last one for which
10% Up to $10,275 Up to $20,550
a couple can file jointly. After that, the survi-
vor files either as a single person or, if there 12% $10,276 to 41,775 $20,551 to 83,550
are dependent children, as a surviving
22% $41,776 to 89,075 $83,551 to 178,150
widow or widower. Surviving widow(er)s re-
tain the benefits of joint filing for up to two 24% $89,076 to 170,050 $178,151 to 340,100
years after the year of the spouse’s death, 32% $170,051 to 215,950 $340,101 to 431,900
and then they typically file as head of
35% $215,951 to 539,900 $431,901 to 647,850
household.
37% $539,901 + $647,851 +
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Estate and Gift Tax
The combined lifetime estate-tax and gift-tax exemption expires at the end of 2025.
The exemption applies to the total of an individual’s taxable gifts made during life
and assets left at death. Above the exemption, the top rate on such transfers is 40%.
In 2017, Congress doubled the exemption starting in 2018, and the amount will
continue to rise with inflation through 2025. This expansion helped reduce the num-
ber of taxable estates to about 1,300 for returns filed in 2020 from about 5,200 in
2017, according to the latest IRS data.
For 2021, the lifetime exemption for both gift and estate taxes was $11.7 million
per individual, or $23.4 million per married couple.
For 2022, an inflation adjustment has lifted it to $12.06 million per individual, or
$24.12 million per couple. While the increase in the exemption is set to lapse after
2025, in 2019 the Treasury Department and the IRS issued “grandfather” regulations.
They allow the increased exemption to apply to earlier gifts if Congress reduces the
exemption in the future.
Home-Sellers’ Exemption
This popular benefit ensures that used the house as a primary resi- State Taxes
most homeowners don’t owe tax on dence for two of the previous five On Remote Work
the sale of their home. years. In general, taxpayers aren’t el-
Married couples filing jointly can igible for the full exemption if they Some employers have stopped trying to predict
exclude up to $500,000 of net profit excluded the gain from the sale of when they will require employees to return to
on the sale of a primary home from another home during the two years the workplace and on what terms. People work-
taxes. For single filers, the exemp- before the sale. ing remotely in a state different from the one
tion is $250,000. These amounts Surviving widows and widowers where their office is may have to file returns
aren’t indexed for inflation. have until two years after the and even pay taxes to more than one state.
For example, say that a married spouse’s date of death to sell and (Your state taxes likely won’t change if your
couple bought a home many years qualify for the $500,000 exemption home state and your “office state” already had a
ago for $120,000 and later made rather than a $250,000 benefit, as reciprocity agreement that means your income
$100,000 of improvements. This long as the survivor hasn’t remar- is taxed just in your home state.)
year, they sell the home for ried. The survivor will also likely get Otherwise, each state’s tax system is a
$600,000. The gain, or profit, on the a “step-up” in cost basis on half of unique mix of rules that consider how long a
sale is $380,000. All of it would be the home’s value (in most states) or worker is there, what income is earned, and the
exempt from capital-gains tax due all of the home’s value (in commu- location of the worker’s true home, or “domicile.”
to their $500,000 exemption. nity-property states). This will lower A number of states passed special pandemic
To be eligible for this benefit, the capital-gains taxes on the home sale, provisions for remote workers, but these have
homeowner typically must have if any are owed. mostly lapsed, according to Cathie Stanton, a
member of the American Institute of CPAs who
monitors state taxes on remote work.
‘529’ Accounts
These plans, used for college-tuition
costs, now can also be used to pay
up to $10,000 of private K-12 tuition
and up to $10,000 of student-loan
debt, but clarifications are needed in
some states. Withdrawals from these
accounts are tax-free if they are used
to pay eligible education expenses.
2021 Pandemic Stimulus Payments of $75,000 or less, heads of household
with AGI of $112,500 or less and married
Filers who qualify for higher stimulus pay- ceived an amount based on their 2019 in- joint filers with AGI of $150,000 or less
ments than they received last year can come and then qualified for more based qualify for the full $1,400 payment. Above
claim those amounts on 2021 tax returns. on 2020 returns they filed in 2021. That that, the phaseout for receiving a partial
In March 2021, Congress authorized a could be, for example, because of a job payment is steep: Individuals with AGI of
third round of stimulus payments of up to loss or the birth of a child in 2020. $80,000, heads of household with AGI of
$1,400 per household member—including Because the stimulus payments were $120,000 and married joint filers with AGI
adults, children, adult dependents like col- structured as an advance payment of a of $160,000 get nothing.
lege students and elderly relatives. These tax credit for 2021, taxpayers can also To help filers with record-keeping, the
payments aren’t taxable, and overpay- qualify based on their 2021 income and IRS has been sending letters in early 2022
ments don’t need to be returned to the family situation if they haven’t received to each person who received stimulus pay-
IRS in most cases. payments or are eligible for more. These ments last year detailing the total
To date, the IRS has sent more than amounts are claimed as a Recovery Re- amount. Tax professionals are urging peo-
175 million third-round payments totaling bate Credit on line 30 of Form 1040; the ple to save these letters to ease prepara-
more than $400 billion, based on a filer’s instructions have a worksheet to deter- tion of 2021 tax returns because mis-
2019 or 2020 income. Some of these were mine the correct amount. matches will likely cause processing and
“top-up” payments for people who re- Single filers with adjusted gross income refund delays.
R6 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

JOURNAL REPORT | PERSONAL INVESTING

Tax Audit For eligible families, the credit

rose to $3,000 from $2,000 for
try, but the number of people
reporting their crypto income
who aren’t the taxpayer’s quali-
fying children; using an incor-
against your W-2 income. This is
a common mistake filers make,
children ages 6 to 17, and to for tax purposes is not growing rect filing status; earning says Mr. Johnson in Atlanta.
Red Flags $3,600 from $2,000 for under 6.
And as part of the American
at the same rate,” says Dan Han-
num, chief operating officer at
$10,000 of investment income or
more; and overreporting or un-
Another issue is attempting
to claim deductions on a mixed-
For 2022 Rescue Plan of 2021, advance
payments of up to one-half of
Zenledger, a crypto tax software
company contracted by the IRS
derreporting income. use rental property—a dwelling
that is a personal residence and
Continued from page R1 the tax credit owed were sent to track the cryptocurrency is rented part of the year. “The
Credit, primarily for students monthly to eligible taxpayers. movements of U.S. citizens. 6. Large charity amounts more you and your family use
pursuing an undergraduate de- In their filings for 2021, tax- Tax filings related to crypto For charitable donations to be the property, the less deductions
gree; and the $2,000 Lifetime payers now must reconcile the earnings pose challenges be- deductible, recipients must be you qualify for,” says Matthew
Learning Credit for people pur- amounts they were paid with cause most investors use several qualifying organizations such as Lincoln, principal of Lincoln Tax
suing a career change or ad- the amount they qualified for. exchanges world-wide and 10 to religious groups and nonprofits. Professionals in Fredrick, Md.
vanced educational training at a Some may have to pay back 20 different digital wallets, Mr. But if deductions are high com- • Red flags: Underreporting
postsecondary school. Both money they didn’t qualify for; Hannum says. It is up to individ- pared with your income, they rental income; claiming large
come with eligibility require- others could get a bigger refund. uals to aggregate all of this in- will be reviewed and perhaps rental losses as deductions; and
ments. “It’s important not to “This is one of the biggest au- formation on Form 8949. audited by the IRS. Deductions excessive or vague deductions.
claim the wrong tax credit on dit triggers this year for millions • Red flags: Underreporting for cash donations to charitable
your 1040; we see this confusion of Americans, and at income-tax crypto income and any interest organizations typically cannot
a lot,” says Bryan Cannon, chief time there will be many sur- income from a crypto interest exceed 60% of a certain calcula- 8. Home-office deductions
executive of Cannon Advisors, a prises,” says Jovan Johnson, account or from a nonfungible tion of your adjusted gross in- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in
firm that does tax planning. chief executive of Peace of Mind token; and not listing all of your come (the limit was expanded to 2017 suspended tax write-offs
“You also cannot claim both Wealth Planning in Atlanta. taxable trades individually. 100% for cash donations in 2020 related to home offices for em-
credits in the same tax year,” ployees of companies through
Mr. Cannon says. 2025. That means millions of
• Red flags: Claiming the people who worked remotely
wrong credit or both in the last year during the Covid-19
same tax year; claiming multiple pandemic aren’t eligible. Only
tax breaks for the same college people who were self-employed
expenses; and not submitting in 2021 can claim the deduction.
Form 8863—used to figure and If you did freelance or self-
claim your education expenses. employed work during the year,
you may qualify for a partial-
year home-office deduction. The
2. Small businesses deduction could be disallowed if
Small businesses will get a lot of it was used both for W-2 work
scrutiny from the IRS this tax and self-employment work.
season, especially S Corps, sole • Red flags: Claiming a large
proprietorships and partnerships percentage of your home’s
making $100,000 a year that are space, and claiming a deduction
cash-intensive—such as restau- if you are a W-2 worker.
rants, bars, grocery stores and
beauty shops. It is a category in
which excessive deductions and 9. IRA/401(k) withdrawals
underreporting of business in- Early payouts from a traditional
come are often suspected. IRA or 401(k)—before age 59½—
Business owners who received generally incur a 10% penalty on
emergency stimulus loans in the top of regular income tax. For
Paycheck Protection Plan under Roth accounts, parts of early
the Cares Act also should be vig- distributions can be taxable and
ilant. Those “loan amounts the 10% penalty can apply.
could be taxable income if the The Covid-Related Tax Relief
proceeds were used improperly,” Act of 2020 waived the 10% pen-
says Andrew Sherman, partner alty but it was reinstated last
at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a Chi- year. Be sure to document (Form
cago-based law and advisory 1099-R) all taxable income.
firm. At least 60% of the pro- Further complicating matters, 5. Earned-income tax credit and 2021), and the limit is lower • Red flags: Failing to report
ceeds were required to be used in January the IRS announced Each year about 25 million low- if the donation isn’t cash or is income from IRA or 401(k) dis-
to cover payroll costs, utilities, there were errors in some copies and moderate-income Americans made to organizations such as tributions, and not including all
rent and mortgage interest. of its Letter 6419 to credit recip- seek a refundable earned income certain private foundations. See documentation with your 1040.
• Red flags: Failing to report ients; in some, wrong amounts tax credit (EITC). The amount IRS Publication 526.
all taxable income; taking low were shown for payments re- received depends on factors in- • Red flags: Lack of receipts,
wages; overstating deductions; ceived. Recipients of this credit cluding if they have worked and canceled checks and written ac- 10. Health premium credit
claiming high losses well above should go to IRS.gov/Account earned income is under $57,414, knowledgments for donations of Many people last year qualified
those in earlier years; not re- and the IRS Child Tax Credit Up- have investment income below $250-plus; inflated values for for tax credits to help them pay
cording debt forgiveness; inter- date Portal to find the correct $10,000 in the 2021 tax year, are noncash donations, and failure to for their premiums on health in-
mingling personal and business amount of the advance payment. disabled, have a qualifying child, get appraisals; not providing doc- surance purchased through the
income and expenses; excessive • Red flags: Inaccurately re- or other criteria. The maximum umentation for qualified charity government-run marketplaces.
travel and entertainment ex- porting the advance payment; for the 2021 tax year is $6,728. contributions from an IRA. Recipients of this benefit must
penses; and amended returns. misstating your income. But billions of dollars of these complete Form 8962.
credits are paid in error, the IRS • Red flags: Married couples
says; that’s why it is scrutiniz- 7. Rental income who file separately, a category
3. Child tax credit 4. Cryptocurrency ing claims to prevent fraud. For Many people new to the rental that gets IRS attention because
Adjustments to the child tax Anyone think the IRS isn’t tak- 2021 only, more childless cou- business (and there are many, of potential for mistakes and
credit made in 2021 could trig- ing cryptocurrency seriously? ples qualify for the EITC and for thanks to the rise of Airbnb) fraud; not supplying documenta-
ger audits for several reasons. The No. 1 question on this the first time it is available to don’t realize that all rental in- tion for unemployment benefits;
year’s Form 1040 asks if you both younger workers and se- come is generally considered not including the premium-tax-
Scan this code for a have received, sold, traded or nior citizens. To qualify, workers passive income, not active. So if credit Form 8962 with your 1040.
RYAN JOHNSON

podcast on the disposed of any financial inter- typically must be at least 19 you have a rental loss for the
financial risks to est in a virtual currency. years old and older than 64. Stu- year, because your operating ex- Ms. Ioannou is a writer in New
watch out for if you “The IRS has seen the tre- dents under 24 don’t qualify. penses exceed your rental in- York. She can be reached at
intend to retire early. mendous growth in this indus- • Red flags: Claiming children come, you cannot deduct it reports@wsj.com.

Mutual-Fund Yardsticks: How Fund Categories Stack Up How the Largest Funds Fared
Performance numbers are total returns (changes in net asset values with reinvested distributions) as of
Includes mutual funds and ETFs for periods ended Feb. 28. All data are final. Feb. 28; assets are as of Jan. 31. All data are final.
Performance (%) Performance (%)
Investment objective February YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Investment objective February YTD 1-yr 5-yr*
Stock Mutual Funds and ETFs
Diversified stock & stock/bond funds World stock funds Total Return (%)
Large-Cap Core –2.9 –8.2 14.3 14.3 Global –3.0 –8.9 3.4 10.9 Assets Annualized
Fund Ticker ($ billions) February 1-year 3-year 5-year 10-year
Large-Cap Growth –4.3 –13.5 4.6 17.9 International (ex-U.S.) –3.5 –7.7 –0.2 7.4
Large-Cap Value –1.3 –2.9 16.9 10.7 European Region –5.4 –10.5 2.6 7.4 Vanguard TSM Idx;Adm VTSAX 1302.80 –2.6 11.9 17.5 14.6 14.2
Midcap Core -0.1 –5.9 10.8 10.0 Emerging Markets –5.9 –8.0 –12.2 6.6 Vanguard 500 Idx;Adm VFIAX 816.59 –3.0 16.3 18.2 15.1 14.6
Midcap Growth –1.3 –14.3 –6.9 15.1 Latin American 2.5 9.5 6.4 2.5 SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY 413.47 –3.0 16.3 18.2 15.1 14.5
Midcap Value 0.5 –2.0 17.1 8.9 Pacific Region –2.5 –7.4 –16.2 8.0 Vanguard Tot I S;Inv VGTSX 402.91 –3.0 0.2 8.1 7.4 5.7
Small-Cap Core 1.1 –5.5 5.8 9.0 Gold Oriented 12.0 4.5 8.8 7.8 Fidelity 500 Index Fund FXAIX 387.09 –3.0 16.4 18.2 15.2 14.6
Small-Cap Growth –0.1 –12.4 –9.2 13.3 Global Equity Income –2.3 –3.7 11.2 8.0 iShares:Core S&P 500 IVV 318.60 –3.0 16.4 18.2 15.1 14.5
Small-Cap Value 2.2 –1.4 13.5 8.5 International Equity Income –2.2 –3.3 6.4 5.8 Vanguard Instl Indx;InsP VIIIX 288.32 –3.0 16.4 18.2 15.2 14.6
Multicap Core –2.1 –8.2 10.5 12.6 Taxable-bond funds American Funds Gro;A AGTHX 263.20 –3.7 1.9 17.9 15.9 15.0
Multicap Growth –2.6 –14.0 –2.7 16.9 Short-Term –0.6 –1.2 –1.3 1.7 American Funds Bal;A ABALX 217.48 –1.5 9.3 11.1 9.5 9.9
Multicap Value –0.7 –2.4 16.3 9.9 Long-Term –1.8 –4.6 –2.9 3.6 Invesco QQQ Trust 1 QQQ 191.48 –4.6 10.8 26.9 22.6 19.5
Equity Income –1.5 –3.9 16.6 10.0 Intermediate Bond –1.3 –3.3 –2.7 2.8 American Funds EuPc;R6 RERGX 173.43 –4.3 –9.4 9.5 9.0 7.4
S&P 500 Funds –3.0 –8.1 15.9 14.7 Intermediate U.S. 0.5 –1.1 3.4 3.5 Vanguard Gro Idx;ETF VUG 169.42 –4.6 10.2 23.2 19.3 16.3
Specialty Divers. Equity –5.5 –15.1 1.3 13.6 Short-Term U.S. –0.4 –1.0 –1.9 1.1 American Funds Wash;A AWSHX 163.23 –1.4 18.3 14.6 12.9 13.0
Balanced –1.9 –5.4 5.2 7.9 Long-Term U.S. –0.8 –2.9 –2.1 2.6 Vanguard Dev Mkt;ETF VEA 162.97 –2.5 3.0 8.6 7.7 6.7
Stock/Bond Blend –1.9 –5.6 4.5 8.1 General U.S. Taxable –1.3 –3.3 –1.8 3.6 Vanguard Md-Cp I;Adm VIMAX 155.68 –1.0 8.5 15.2 12.4 12.9
Avg. U.S. Stock Fund† –1.3 –7.9 7.4 12.3 High-Yield Taxable –0.9 –3.3 0.8 4.2 Vanguard Val Idx;ETF VTV 141.37 –1.2 18.7 13.1 11.1 12.7
Sector stock funds Mortgage –0.8 –1.9 –2.7 1.7
American Funds NPer;A ANWPX 136.48 –5.1 1.8 16.9 15.2 12.7
Science & Technology –3.5 –14.2 –4.3 20.8 World Bond –2.9 –4.6 –5.2 2.0
Fidelity Contrafund FCNTX 131.66 –4.9 8.1 18.6 17.4 15.2
Telecommunication –3.8 –10.3 –4.8 7.2 Avg. Taxable-Bond Fund** –1.0 –2.6 –1.1 2.8
Vanguard S-C Id;Adm VSMAX 129.01 0.9 0.8 12.3 11.0 12.2
Health/Biotechnology –0.7 –12.1 –6.5 10.3 Municipal-bond funds American Funds Inc;A AMECX 128.95 –1.3 11.8 10.2 8.2 8.7
Utility –1.0 –4.1 17.9 8.4 Short-Term Muni –0.6 –1.2 –2.1 1.0
Natural Resources 7.9 21.8 43.6 –0.9 Intermediate Muni –0.5 –2.9 –1.0 2.3 Bond Mutual Funds and ETFs
Total Return (%)
Sector –2.4 –8.4 15.0 8.1 General & Insured Muni –0.7 –3.4 –0.5 3.2 Assets Annualized
Real Estate –3.5 –10.6 19.7 7.7 High-Yield Muni –0.8 –3.5 1.4 4.4
Fund Ticker ($ billions) February 1-year 3-year 5-year 10-year
Vanguard Tot Bd;Adm VBTLX 310.09 –1.1 –2.7 3.3 2.7 2.4
Vanguard Tot Bd II;Inv VTBIX 249.06 –1.2 –2.7 3.2 2.6 2.3
Stock & Bond Benchmark Indexes All total return unless noted PIMCO:Income;Inst PIMIX 143.53 –2.5 –0.8 3.5 3.9 6.2
Perfomance (%) Performance (%)
Investment objective February YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Investment objective February YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Vanguard Tot Itl BI;ETF BNDX 93.77 –1.4 –2.7 2.0 2.5 N.A.
Vanguard Tot Itl B2;Inst VTILX 93.46 –1.4 –2.8 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Large-cap stocks Stock indexes iShares:Core US Agg Bd AGG 89.92 –1.1 –2.7 3.2 2.7 2.4
DJIA –3.3 –6.4 11.6 12.7 DJ U.S. TSM Growth –3.7 –12.6 9.2 18.7 Vanguard Int-Tm TxEx;Adm VWIUX 86.66 –0.4 –0.8 3.0 3.0 2.9
S&P 500 –3.0 –8.0 16.4 15.2 DJ U.S. TSM Value –1.5 –4.4 14.7 9.7
MetWest:Total Rtn;I MWTIX 83.13 –1.2 –2.5 4.0 3.2 3.5
Midcap stocks Taxable bonds American Funds Bond;A ABNDX 78.44 –1.0 –2.1 4.3 3.2 2.8
S&P MidCap 400 1.1 –6.2 8.0 10.7 Barclays Agg. Bond –1.1 –3.2 –2.6 2.7 Vanguard Sh-Tm Inv;Adm VFSUX 76.70 –0.8 –2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2
Small-cap stocks Municipal bonds Vanguard Sh-Tm B;ETF BSV 72.09 –0.6 –2.2 2.1 1.8 1.5
Russell 2000 1.1 –8.7 –6.0 9.5 Barclays Muni. Bond –0.4 –3.1 –0.7 3.2 Dodge & Cox Income DODIX 69.93 –1.4 –2.7 4.1 3.5 3.4
Broad stock market International stocks PIMCO:Tot Rtn;Inst PTTRX 69.53 –0.9 –1.9 3.9 3.2 3.1
DJ U.S. Total Stock Market –2.5 –8.4 11.9 14.6 MSCI EAFE†† (price return) –2.0 –6.7 0.5 4.4 Lord Abbett Sh Dur;F LDLFX 61.01 –0.8 –0.7 2.3 2.2 2.5
Russell 3000 –2.5 –8.3 12.3 14.7 Dow Jones World (ex. U.S.) –1.9 –5.9 –0.7 7.4 Vanguard ST IPSI;ETF VTIP 59.84 1.0 5.1 4.9 3.3 N.A.
*Annualized †Diversified funds only **Excludes money-market funds ††Europe, Australia, Far East Source: Refinitiv Lipper Note: For funds with multiple share classes, only the largest is shown. N.A.: Not applicable; fund is too new or data not available Source: Refinitiv Lipper
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, March 7, 2022 | R7

JOURNAL REPORT | PERSONAL INVESTING

Young Money | J.J. McCorvey that I cannot water fast enough. tic ways to achieve it, I’m also re-
Trips to visit my family in Mis- searching what my job will and

My Friends Are Rethinking sissippi become guilt-inducing re-

minders that I am forgoing those
fleeting early moments in the
won’t allow me to do, and learn-
ing from the experiences of
friends who have moved, commit-

Their Lives. Should I?

lives of my nieces and godson by ted to long-term travel, and
living so far away. And sure, call started or joined new social or-
me old-fashioned, but I would ganizations or business ventures.
very much like a husband in the All of that means weighing
near future. I’ve matched and un- some difficult trade-offs. I moved
I don’t really know how big the gap is between what I want matched so many times in New to New York, the media capital of
from life and how I’m living it. But it’s time to figure it out. York that the dating apps have the world, to build my career as a

L
started suggesting women. (I writer and journalist. Long term,
have the screenshots to prove it.) would I be hampering my ambi-
ast spring, on a ter- tions and the reality check of the career. She had already been feel- So, how do I even begin to fig- tions by living elsewhere?
race overlooking Bry- Delta-variant surge. I’ve found it ing underpaid and undervalued. ure out a “rethink” for me? Socially, I’m more hesitant to
ant Park in Manhattan, difficult to shake the feeling that “Coming up on 35, I was just like, start dating someone and possi-
one of my closest the world outside my apart- is this where I want to be at this Preliminary steps: Apparently, I bly get attached, in case my re-
friends—the first of ment—which still serves as my age?” she says. “It was 100% the first need to supercharge my sav- think takes me to a different city.
several roommates in office, gym, church, and maybe pandemic. It opened up my mind ings. In a testament to the flexi- I can no longer sacrifice my
my 13 years of living five or six other functions—has for the first time in nine years.” bility that money can bring, my mental and spiritual health by
in New York City— been moving along briskly and dy- Ouch. At 36 years old, the dis- friend who was in fashion saved putting off the reassessment.
married his beautiful bride. namically without me. connect between who I feel I am $12,000 in anticipation of a mo- And I can no longer do nothing as
I was to give the best-man That married couple is already and how I’m living has become ment like this—a stash separate the pandemic forces drastic and
speech, and I had been nervous discussing the possibility of mov- more glaring for me, too. As an from her emergency fund. unwelcome changes to my life.
through the whole wedding. But ing even farther from New York, extrovert who thrives on commu- I also need to think carefully The only question left is how
by the time the DJ brought me possibly somewhere rural and nity and social engagement—yet about what it is I really want to I’ll choose to change with them.
the microphone, the liquid cour- Midwestern. Another friend re- who works from home every day do, and what’s feasible logistically.
age I had just guzzled took over. cently launched a fashion brand in a city his friends are increas- In addition to regular talks with Mr. McCorvey is a reporter for
“Watching you build a life to- and has rededicated himself to his ingly fleeing—it feels as if some- my therapist about what’s absent The Wall Street Journal in New
gether reminded me that a loving DJing side hustle—bye bye, week- thing is withering inside of me from my life and the most realis- York. Email jj.mccorvey@wsj.com.
partnership can be a beautiful end hangs—while another ended
thing,” I told them. “Keep building.” her five-year tenure at an archi-
Indeed, they did: By the end of tecture firm to start a nonprofit
the year, they had left Manhattan for underserved neighborhoods.
for New Jersey, bought the requi- In talking to my friends, most
site family SUV and welcomed a of them described how the pan-
gorgeous baby girl into their lives. demic illuminated a gap between
The truth is, watching them what they wanted from their lives
build a new life has also reminded and how they were actually living
me that I am not. it. But no one I know exemplifies
My friends’ journey is one of this more than one companion.
many examples of peers around She moved to New York nine
me who have embarked on seis- years ago to work in fashion, and
mic life changes—some in defi- the mere thought of ever leaving
ance of the pandemic, others was anathema. Once the lock-
fueled and stretched by the condi- down happened, though, all of
tions it created. Like the millions that changed: She found herself
of millennials who are steering Airbnb-ing in Hawaii for four
the “great resignation,” they are months, while scrimping else-
changing careers and demanding where so she could keep her
higher wages as well as pursuing apartment in Brooklyn’s Bedford-
untethered lifestyles, free to live Stuyvesant neighborhood.
and work where they please. When she realized this was
While I’m elated for them and the life she wanted—to see the
their newfound self-fulfillment, I world and work from anywhere—
can’t help but wonder, “When is it and that her employer wouldn’t
DANIEL DIOSDADO

going to happen for me?” sanction such a change, she

found a remote-first job in a com-
Standing still: It started some- pletely different field that granted
where between the first vaccina- her the largest salary jump of her

Category Kings in 10 Realms Leaders and Laggards

Top-performing funds in each category, ranked by year-to-date total returns (changes in net asset values Performance numbers are total returns (changes in net asset values with reinvested distributions) as of Feb.
with reinvested distributions) as of Feb. 28; assets are as of Jan. 31. All data are final. 28; assets are as of Jan. 31. All data are final.

Large-Cap Core Small-Cap Value Best-Performing Stock Funds

Total Return (%)
Assets Total return (%) Assets Total return (%) Assets Annualized
($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Fund Ticker ($ millions) February YTD 1-year 3-year 5-year
Torray Fund 359.9 –0.7 ... 15.3 6.4 Aegis Value;I 191.5 5.3 7.6 34.0 16.7 MS US BO Idx 3X Lvrgd NRGU 1,019.5 21.5 103.7 157.6 N.A. N.A.
Nationwide:GQG US QE;R6 73.0 1.2 –0.2 22.2 N.A. Invesco SC Value;Y 1,699.2 6.3 5.9 25.9 12.3 MS O&G Expl & Pr 3X L OILU 5.3 23.8 99.5 N.A. N.A. N.A.
BlackRock:Exchange;BR 217.5 –0.7 –1.8 24.5 14.2 RBB:WPG Sel SmCp V;Inst 3.2 7.1 5.3 N.A. N.A. Allspring:Sp Aggr G;C WEACX 171.9 72.0 60.0 89.5 36.6 24.6
Glbl Beta:Low Beta 1.3 –0.9 –2.1 23.9 N.A. RBB:WPG Sm/Micro Val;I 28.1 6.9 4.4 23.3 7.9 Direxion:EnergyBull 2X ERX 639.4 14.1 59.8 114.0 –38.6 –31.2
CornerCap Fundamtrcs LC 112.5 –1.6 –2.1 17.9 N.A. Undsc Mgr:Beh Val;L 7,870.4 4.3 4.1 21.0 10.8 ProShares:Ult Oil & Gas DIG 211.0 14.4 56.5 115.6 –4.2 –6.7
Indep Franch Prtnrs USEq 1,880.8 –0.8 –2.5 11.2 13.7 Hotchkis:Sm Cap Val;I 544.1 4.8 4.1 22.3 8.9 Direxion:S&P Btech Br 3X LABD 41.3 2.9 54.7 104.1 –53.6 –54.5
Davis Sel US Equity ETF 379.4 –3.2 –3.0 6.5 11.6 Cullen:Sm Cap Val;I 8.3 5.5 3.6 10.5 9.5 iPath ETN S&P GSCI CTR A 68.3 15.6 50.0 131.7 –5.5 –2.4
Category Average: 1,611.7 –2.9 –8.2 14.3 14.3 Category Average: 484.7 2.2 –1.4 13.5 8.5 ProShs II:Ult Blm CrO UCO 1,219.4 15.5 49.9 134.0 –36.1 –25.2
VelShs Dly 2x VIX ST ETN 6.7 16.2 49.8 –92.1 –82.3 –79.7
Fund Count 654 653 652 611 485 Fund Count 244 243 242 233 200
VelShs 3x Long Nat Gas 46.0 –38.2 49.1 18.0 –73.4 –66.4
Large-Cap Value Small-Cap Growth Direxion:DJ Int Bear 3X WEBS 9.8 8.2 48.6 11.2 N.A. N.A.
ProFunds:OE & S US;Inv OEPIX 19.1 11.4 46.5 21.6 –27.1 –29.5
Assets Total return (%) Assets Total return (%)
($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Direxion:S&P OG EP Bl 2X GUSH 841.4 19.3 45.1 82.5 –68.6 –61.4
Hennessy:Crnst Val;Inv 282.9 –0.5 3.2 25.8 9.5 Palm Valley Capital;Inv 83.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 N.A.
Morg Stan I:Dyn Value;I 11.7 0.4 3.0 N.A. N.A. Eaton Vance Sm-Cap;I 142.9 3.4 –4.4 9.1 12.2
Best-Performing Bond Funds
Total Return (%)
Invesco Comstock Slct;A 686.0 1.6 2.9 22.9 10.7 Eaton Vance Spec Eq;A 64.5 2.7 –4.5 8.4 11.7 Assets Annualized
Fund Ticker ($ millions) February YTD 1-year 3-year 5-year
Invesco Comstock;A 10,170.0 0.8 2.3 25.3 11.1 Kinetics:Paradigm;NL 719.1 6.8 –4.8 4.8 16.0
Voya Corp Leaders 809.9 1.0 2.2 25.6 12.0 Invesco S&P MidCap Qlty 319.8 0.7 –4.9 6.2 13.2 Tidal:FolioBeyond Rs Rts RISR 12.9 3.7 17.7 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Neuberger LC Value;Inst 8,479.3 1.2 2.0 16.6 15.4 Fidelity Small-Mid MF 67.5 0.8 –5.0 10.7 N.A. Direxion:20+Y Trs Br 3X TMV 355.1 3.7 15.6 –11.0 –30.3 –21.9
QRAFT AI-Enhanced US NV 5.7 1.2 1.6 14.0 N.A. WM Blair:Sm-Md Cp Cr;I 134.4 3.3 –5.2 9.5 N.A. Simplify:Intrst Rt Hdg PFIX 126.6 6.5 15.2 N.A. N.A. N.A.
ProShares:UPSh 20+ Trs TTT 230.4 3.7 14.9 –13.9 –30.1 –21.4
Category Average: 2,021.3 –1.3 –2.9 16.9 10.7 Category Average: 802.8 –0.1 –12.4 –9.2 13.3
ProShares:UlS 20+ Yr Trs TBT 1,352.3 2.6 10.1 –8.1 –19.1 –13.1
Fund Count 409 408 407 387 345 Fund Count 727 727 721 709 610 Direxion:7-10Y Trs Br 3X TYO 33.3 0.4 6.8 2.2 –12.7 –9.1
ProFunds:Rs Rt Opp;Inv RRPIX 11.7 1.0 6.7 –5.6 –13.9 –9.4
Large-Cap Growth Multicap Core Rydex:Inv Gv LB Str;Inv RYJUX 49.5 1.0 5.6 –3.6 –10.1 –6.6
Assets Total return (%) Assets Total return (%) ProShares:Sht 20+ Treas TBF 707.8 1.3 5.0 –3.7 –9.0 –5.8
($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ProShares:UlS 7-10Y Trs PST 98.2 0.5 4.8 1.2 –7.7 –4.8
GQG Partners US SQE;Inst 868.4 1.1 –0.1 20.1 N.A. Centre Am Sel Eq;Inv 166.3 4.4 5.8 27.6 18.3 Direxion:M7-10Y B 2x;Inv DXKSX 2.4 0.5 4.8 2.8 –7.5 –5.2
Fidelity Stocks for Inf 153.6 0.3 –2.3 28.6 N.A. MF&Var:Rtnl Inf Gro;Inst 2.8 4.4 3.5 N.A. N.A. Rydex:Inv Hi Yld Str;H RYIHX 11.5 1.2 4.1 –0.8 –4.6 –4.2
Alpha Dog ETF 75.7 –0.2 –3.6 N.A. N.A. WBI BB Value 3000 46.8 2.8 1.4 12.9 5.2 ProFunds:Fx Br HY;Inv AFBIX 0.9 1.0 3.8 –1.8 –5.6 –4.7
UBS US Div Ruler;P 120.3 –1.9 –5.8 15.8 N.A. Horizon Kinetics Inf Ben 855.0 3.8 1.2 25.7 N.A.
Fidelity US Multifactor 17.0 –3.3 –7.3 18.8 N.A. Formidable ETF 23.8 0.9 ... N.A. N.A. Worst-Performing Stock Funds
Total Return (%)
Vontobel US Eq Inst;I 22.9 –3.3 –7.4 11.6 N.A. USA Mutuals:Vice;Inv 82.7 1.3 ... –5.2 3.1 Assets Annualized
NS Multi Strategy;A 53.7 –1.8 –7.9 7.4 11.9 Virtus:FORT Trend;A 147.6 0.9 –1.1 2.6 3.0 Fund Ticker ($ millions) February YTD 1-year 3-year 5-year

Category Average: 2,763.3 –4.3 –13.5 4.6 17.9 Category Average: 3,076.6 –2.1 –8.2 10.5 12.6 Direxion:Russia Bl 2x RUSL 59.2 –83.1 –86.7 –83.3 –53.4 –38.1
Voya:Russia;A LETRX 71.8 –68.4 –71.7 –65.7 –25.1 –12.5
Fund Count 696 693 692 676 568 Fund Count 683 681 679 643 517
VanEck:Russia RSX 1,324.2 –67.4 –70.7 –66.2 –23.9 –13.4
VanEck:Russia Sm Cap RSXJ 26.2 –56.9 –61.2 –63.2 –21.5 –16.4
Midcap Core Multicap Growth T Rowe Price Int:E Eur TREMX 134.3 –57.8 –60.9 –55.3 –20.7 –11.0
Assets Total return (%) Assets Total return (%)
($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* MS US BO Idx -3X Inv Lev NRGD 40.7 –22.6 –57.7 –86.0 N.A. N.A.
MS O&G Expl & Pr -3X IL OILD 2.4 –25.0 –57.4 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Nuance Mid Cap Val;Inst 3,551.0 0.7 –0.7 9.6 9.7 Schwartz Inv:Val Focused 22.5 5.1 0.2 13.5 12.2
Direxion:S&P Btech Bl 3X LABU 948.0 –15.5 –53.7 –84.9 –34.4 –19.8
Fuller&Thaler BMCV;R6 231.9 0.9 –1.2 22.4 N.A. Meridian Enh Eqty;Leg 59.6 –1.4 –4.7 8.9 19.6
ProShs II:UlS Blm Nat Gs KOLD 185.9 –0.4 –53.4 –83.3 –34.3 –31.1
Sterling:Mid Value;Inst 70.2 1.1 –1.3 9.8 8.3 ACM Dynamic Oppty;I 98.9 –1.7 –5.0 –8.2 5.9
Franklin ETF:FTSE Rus FLRU 22.1 –47.8 –51.7 –40.9 –9.4 N.A.
Pioneer Mid Cap Val;A 784.3 0.8 –1.5 19.0 7.4 Marshfield Concntrrd Opp 301.0 –3.2 –5.9 8.4 15.9
Direxion:Hbldrs&Sup Bl3X NAIL 281.6 –18.7 –51.3 8.5 19.2 12.7
Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock 7,492.0 2.2 –1.7 16.9 13.4 Midas Magic 20.3 –1.6 –6.3 17.3 15.0
Direxion:DJ Int Bull 3X WEBL 174.3 –19.4 –47.4 –52.6 N.A. N.A.
Fidelity Mid Cap Stk K6 597.0 2.3 –1.7 16.2 N.A. Aptus Drawdown Managed E 344.5 –3.3 –7.0 12.8 9.0
MS Sol FANG & Innov 3X BULZ 382.6 –19.8 –46.8 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Saratoga:Lg Cap Val;I 19.3 2.5 –1.8 17.4 11.0 Grizzle Growth ETF 0.9 1.0 –7.2 N.A. N.A.
Category Average: 961.5 –0.1 –5.9 10.8 10.0 Category Average: 982.7 –2.6 –14.0 –2.7 16.9 Worst-Performing Bond Funds
Total Return (%)
Fund Count 311 311 311 306 251 Fund Count 511 510 504 490 408 Assets Annualized
Fund Ticker ($ millions) February YTD 1-year 3-year 5-year

Midcap Value Small-Cap Core Direxion:20+Y Trs Bl 3X TMF 399.8 -5.5 -17.1 -9.5 9.3 5.2
Assets Total return (%) Assets Total return (%)
Glbl X Adptv US Rsk Mgmt ONOF 112.9 -6.8 -15.7 5.6 N.A. N.A.
($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* ($ millions) Feb YTD 1-yr 5-yr* Glbl X Blckchn & Btc Str BITS 6.9 5.4 -15.1 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Hotchkis:Mid Cap Val;I 467.7 2.2 5.7 24.3 7.3 Highland:Sm-Cp Eqty;A 17.9 2.7 3.1 40.2 –3.5 MassMutual EM DB TR;Y BXEYX 119.7 -12.8 -14.7 -18.4 1.4 2.9
iShares:Focused Val Fctr 44.1 0.6 2.0 21.2 N.A. Auer Growth 24.9 7.0 2.8 31.2 12.2 Invesco EM Sov Dbt PCY 2,441.3 -8.4 -12.2 -12.0 -1.6 -0.01
Pzena Mid Cap Value;Inst 134.9 0.9 1.8 18.0 9.7 Cambria Val and Momentum 23.1 5.8 1.7 16.4 2.9 Eaton Vance EM Dbt;I EEIDX 8.3 -8.8 -11.5 -11.1 0.6 N.A.
US Value ETF 3.3 1.5 1.1 N.A. N.A. Victory:Integ SMCV;R6 223.8 4.1 1.4 19.6 10.7 HCM Income Plus;A HCMEX 694.8 -2.5 -11.1 -4.1 14.6 9.9
T Rowe Price MC Vl;Z 14,840.3 2.1 0.9 16.6 N.A. Victory:RS Partners;A 369.1 2.7 0.1 12.6 10.5 ProShares:Ult 20+ Yr Tr UBT 41.7 -3.6 -11.1 -1.5 10.0 6.1
J Hancock II:Mid Val;NAV 1,762.9 2.0 0.8 15.5 9.6 Hennessy:Crnst MdCp;Inv 360.7 4.9 –0.2 7.6 10.0 DWS Em Mkt FI;S SCEMX 74.1 -9.4 -11.0 -12.1 -0.4 0.9
Frst Tr VI:DW Mom&Value 24.7 2.8 0.7 23.1 N.A. Monteagle Texas;I 15.6 3.2 –0.2 6.5 8.5 Ashmore:EM CI ESG;Inst ECIEX 9.2 -7.8 -10.8 -16.5 N.A. N.A.
Category Average: 1,008.4 0.5 –2.0 17.1 8.9 Category Average: 584.1 1.1 –5.5 5.8 9.0
Stone Harbor EM Dbt;Inst SHMDX 929.1 -7.5 -10.5 -9.7 -0.03 1.1
JPMorgan:Emg Mkt SD;R6 JECUX 569.5 -8.0 -10.3 -8.9 -0.3 0.7
Fund Count 215 212 212 206 180 Fund Count 856 856 855 845 728 Goldman:Emg Mkts Dbt;I GSDIX 1,160.2 -7.5 -10.2 -9.3 0.03 0.8
N.A.: Not applicable; fund is too new * Annualized Note: For funds with multiple share classes, only the largest is shown. Source: Refinitiv Lipper Note: For funds with multiple share classes, only the largest is shown. N.A.: Not applicable; fund is too new or data not available Source: Refinitiv Lipper
 R8 | Monday, March 7, 2022 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

JOURNAL REPORT | PERSONAL INVESTING

Need to 54% Pretty much the opposite is true

for commodity investors. It costs
money to own commodities. For
example, a buyer of 100 ounces

Know. A monthly look at key topics in
markets and personal finance
of gold bullion will need to cover
Year-to-date rise in the costs of storage and insur-
crude-oil futures price ance. While such expenses can be
low for precious metals, they can
stack up faster for oil and grains
such as wheat and corn as more
extensive facilities are needed to
hold the stuff.

Mutual funds & ETFs

More than 150 mutual funds and
ETFs cover the sector. Unfortu-
nately, that means much due dili-
gence is required. It’s essential to
understand what the fund owns
and what its strategy is.
Just as with stocks, there are
both passive funds (those that
track a benchmark index) and ac-
tive ones (those that follow a dis-
cretionary investing strategy).
In the passive category, some
track the price of single commodi-
ties, such as SPDR Gold Shares
A worker in Brazil ETF (GLD) and Invesco DB Gold
separates coffee Fund (DGL), which track slightly
cherries (the beans are different benchmarks. Likewise,
inside the fruit). there is an ETF for wheat, Teu-
crium Wheat (WEAT). There are
also passive funds that are de-
signed to track groups of com-
modities, such as Invesco DB

What to Know About…Commodities Base Metals (DBB), or the whole

sector, such as iShares S&P GSCI
Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG).
Actively managed funds, such
BY SIMON CONSTABLE as active ETF First Trust Global
Tactical Commodity Strategy
Fund (FTGC), make decisions on
After years in the investing wilderness, commodities are hot again. And it
looks as if the rally may continue for at least the foreseeable future, some Glossary what commodities to buy or sell.

analysts say. • The speed of the rally has been striking. The Refinitiv/Core-
Commodity CRB Index, which tracks a basket of commodities selected to • Futures contracts: Investors
bet on commodity prices by
represent prices of futures contracts across the whole sector, doubled from buying or selling contracts tied
April 2020 through mid-February. • That performance follows a yearslong to a specific date in the future.
period when the index trended lower. And the surge is now attracting in-
vestors of all types—from veterans to neophytes. • The latter would do well • Cash market: Trading of ac-
tual, or physical, commodities. A warning on
to understand some of the basics in how commodity investing works. Com- leveraged funds
modities typically get grouped into three broad buckets: energy, foodstuffs • Spot: A tricky term with two
Average investors should avoid
and materials. Each has endemic risks, including weather, local and geopoli- different meanings. The spot
any fund that uses leverage to
(or cash) price is the price for
tics. • Each also offers the possibility of direct investment, in the commodi- a physical commodity, as
enhance performance. Such funds
ties themselves, or indirect investment, through vehicles such as mutual often promise to deliver two or
opposed to futures contracts.
three times the performance of a
funds and exchange-traded funds. For the relatively inexperienced, direct in- But the spot month also
given commodity. While that
means the current, or nearby,
vesting in commodities can be particularly challenging, in part because of month for a futures contract.
means the funds can deliver mul-
additional costs and risks generally not found in other types of investing. tiplied profits, they also magnify
losses. Other funds claim they’ll
We’ll get to those details in a moment. • What follows is a look at some of • Commodity Futures Trading
mimic an inverse performance so
the basics of commodity investing. Commission (CFTC): A federal
that if a commodity’s price falls,
agency that regulates futures
the fund will increase by a similar
market trading. It was
amount. This isn’t the same as a
established by the Commodity
hedge against losses unless the
Futures Trading Act of 1974.
Commodities’ Climb hold strategy here won’t help you trade is made specifically to di-
Weekly Refinitiv/CoreCommodity accumulate wealth as it would in versify risk within a larger portfo-
• Open interest: The number
CRB Index the stock market. lio. The funds are best left to so-
of outstanding futures con-
Commodity prices can fre- phisticated investors.
300 tracts for a month or market.
quently trend lower for decades. It’s also worth being cautious
The month with the largest
New technologies, such as better about exchange-traded notes, or
250
open interest, which isn’t al-
farming techniques or methods of ETNs. This type of investment
ways the nearby month, typi-
mineral extraction, have allowed can expose investors to the risk
cally provides the most impor-
200 supplies to increase over time, de- that the fund company goes bust.
Complicated pressing prices.
tant price reference point for
ETFs and mutual funds protect
economics 150 For instance, crude-oil prices
investors.
investors against such events.
The price of each commodity gets hit a record high of around $147 a As with all investing, investors
determined by the supply and de- 100 barrel in 2008 versus the current should find funds with low ex-
mand dynamics for that item. For price of $115.68. Likewise, Arabica pense ratios. Annual fund ex-
instance, last year bad weather in 50 coffee prices peaked at $3.35 a penses mainly range from 0.5% to
Brazil hurt the coffee crop and pound in 1977 versus $2.24 now. 1%. Leveraged funds tend to have
pushed up the cost of beans. 0 When these prices get adjusted expenses of 1% and more. These
Likewise, an attack on an oil-re- for inflation, the declines look compare with costs of 0.09% for
Jan. 2012 ’15 ’20 ’22*
fining plant in the Middle East starker. SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which tracks
will tend to disrupt supplies and Thus, even for individual inves- the S&P 500.
spark an energy-market rally.
*As of March 4, 4 p.m. EST
Source: Dow Jones Market Data tors in commodity-related invest-
The futures market
While even just the risk of war ments, timing in these markets Commodity investors typically
can send prices higher for com- pricey alternatives. They might can be critical. Whether you think don’t operate in the cash market,
modities, particularly those that decide to buy corn from arable of your investment as short term meaning they don’t purchase
originate in the countries directly farmers instead of wheat or vice or long term, investors need to physical materials such as metals,
involved, actual invasion tends to versa depending on the relative pay attention to buy at the right oil, or foodstuffs. Instead, traders
send those prices even higher. prices. In turn, those prices moment and sell at an auspicious mostly buy or sell futures con-
That is exactly what happened change to reflect the new de- one. Lean-hog prices tripled from tracts in the hope of benefiting
with the conflict between Ukraine mand for each product. This phe- 37 cents a pound in April 2020 to from the increase or decrease in
and Russia as both countries are nomenon shouldn’t be too sur- $1.20 in June 2021 before collaps- prices. These contracts are legally
leading exporters of foodstuffs. prising. Imagine if the cost of ing to 72 cents in October. Any- binding agreements to buy or sell Riches and rags
Although the invasion began on aged blue Stilton increases at the one not ready for such swings a specific volume of a commodity Investing guru Jim Rogers fa-
Feb. 24, prices were rising long supermarket; at least some peo- will be in for a shock. on a specific date in the future. mously made a boatload of
before. A bushel of wheat is ple will likely switch to a less-ex- Adding commodities to a larger Ultimately, the prices in the fu- money during the 1970s investing
fetching $13.48, up 77% from pensive cheese. balanced portfolio can also help tures market and those in the in the commodity markets while
$7.61 at the beginning of February reduce risks as commodity prices cash market will tend to con- material prices and food costs
on fears that global supplies tend to have low correlation to verge. That’s why commodity pro- jumped. There will likely be other
would be disrupted. Likewise, corn other assets such as stocks and ducers and consumers use fu- people who do similarly again.
prices have rallied 21% over the bonds. When the S&P 500 falls, tures to hedge the risks of However, even the most so-
same period. Such surges added commodity prices may go up, or market price movements. phisticated investors sometimes
to those already happening in the down, or not move at all. come unstuck, such as the Hunt
commodity markets. Even before One more advantage to invest- brothers. In 1980 they accumu-
the war, unfavorable weather- ing directly in commodities rather lated major positions in silver fu-
and pandemic-related disruptions than commodity companies is tures using borrowed money. But
PATRICIA MONTEIRO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

across the world were reducing

supplies and pushing up prices.
Sometimes a price change in
one commodity causes the cost
of another one to move as well.
One typical example is in live-
stock farming. Farmers some-
times switch from feeding hogs
or cattle with costly grain to less-
Price swings
Unlike commodity traders and
other professionals whose direct
positions in oil or grain might
change from second to second,
average investors in commodities
will have longer time frames in
mind for their commodity-related
holdings. But a simple buy-and-
that a layer of risk is removed. a change in exchange rules led to
When investing in stock there is a price drop, and quickly the
always the possibility that man- brothers couldn’t cover their obli-
agement may make mistakes gations. In other words, be careful
even when the underlying sector in the commodity markets.
economics are favorable. No dividends
Most stocks pay dividends, mean- Mr. Constable is a writer in
ing you can make money even if Edinburgh, Scotland. He can be
the share prices don’t move. reached at reports@wsj.com.