🏆 It was a wild night at the Oscars. Will Smith got up on stage and smacked presenter Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, shocking the audience. He then won best actor for “King Richard." https://bloom.bg/36PdeM8

💸 Hong Kong’s tycoons are spending billions on property bargains in mainland China as their counterparts there battle a credit crisis. https://bloom.bg/3uBI1nI

🔄 Vanguard is stumbling in the absence of Jack Bogle. For his diehard fans, what’s at stake is the very soul of the $8 trillion mutual-fund giant. https://bloom.bg/3tJkWjV

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🇺🇸 U.S. President Joe Biden sought to clarify his call for the removal of Vladimir Putin, saying he wasn’t seeking regime change after European allies raised concern and critics said he was further inflaming tension with Russia. https://bloom.bg/3uyuU75

🗣 Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams plan to meet in Turkey this week with big differences remaining on terms for a potential cease-fire deal after more than a month of fighting. https://bloom.bg/3iNOoPj

✂ The U.K. seeks to cut public sector contracts with Russian suppliers, as Boris Johnson’s government seeks to ramp up pressure on President Vladimir Putin. https://bloom.bg/3qGLGQl

✔️ Subscribe to our special daily brief on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the most urgent security crises in Europe since World War II. https://bloom.bg/3JjkyOz

🏥 Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators suffered a suspected poisoning after meetings in Kyiv at the beginning of the month. https://bloom.bg/3iQ0dVb

🖐️ Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock for slapping the presenter at the Oscars. The Academy opened a formal review of the actor, adding it would explore possible “consequences” for his actions. https://bloom.bg/3LejSKS

💰 Hong Kong bankers who stuck around when many left due to the city's restrictive Covid rules are being handsomely rewarded with a pay bonanza. https://bloom.bg/3LhLjTS

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

📞 Moscow says it would sharply cut military operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv after negotiators from Ukraine and Russia wrapped up discussions in Turkey aimed at de-escalating the war. https://bloom.bg/3LiMSRA

☮ As NATO allies discuss the terms of any potential peace deal, signs of strategic splits are emerging from within their ranks. https://bloom.bg/3qJm3y4

❌ Energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations unanimously reject Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that natural-gas contracts be paid in rubles. https://bloom.bg/36Hhs8K

↔️ Hedge funds that took money from sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich are now stuck: They can’t give it back to him, sell his stake or collect fees on it. https://bloom.bg/3Nx5WNV

🎮 Hackers stole nearly $600 million from a blockchain network connected to an online game in one of the biggest crypto attacks to date. https://bloom.bg/3qHhXGT

🍽️ It's time to start making reservations. These were just named the 50 best restaurants in Asia. https://bloom.bg/3LplKQV

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🇷🇺 Half of Russia’s 20 richest people have not been sanctioned over its war in Ukraine, leaving a group of super-rich, powerful billionaires free to operate around the world without legal restriction.

In total, tycoons worth a total of least $200 billion before the war started have been hit by sanctions.

Yet the list of who’s blocked –and who’s not – reveals a patchwork pattern of cross-border penalties that has spared many Russians with business interests in key global markets, a Bloomberg News analysis shows. Keep reading: https://bloom.bg/3JMg9nr

🛢 Oil tumbled as the U.S. weighed a massive release from its reserves. Russia, meanwhile, is offering India steep discounts on its shunned export, sources say. https://bloom.bg/3LnY4wi

📉 Hong Kong is now the worst place to be in during the pandemic, while Norway is the best. Explore the full Covid Resilience Ranking. https://bloom.bg/2ZGzSDl

😷 Never caught Covid? Scientists are studying people with "super immunity" to fight future variants. https://bloom.bg/3tS1hOM

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

💻 Officials from Russia and Ukraine are set to resume talks via video conference on Friday. https://bloom.bg/35pFZyA

🪖Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked for additional military assistance in an address to Australia’s parliament, saying his country needs help now. https://bloom.bg/3uKVuKf

🛢Russia is offering India steep discounts on the direct sale of oil as mounting international pressure lowers the appetite for its barrels elsewhere following the invasion of Ukraine. https://bloom.bg/3NwuKWm

Hello 👋 Here’s what we’re reading right now:

🔒 A new wave of infections is highlighting the growing cost of China’s Covid Zero virus policy. Shanghai, the country’s financial center, is locking down, and the debate is starting to shift about what should happen next. https://bloom.bg/3uNyI4r

🐣 Japan needs more babies, so it’s helping to pay for expensive IVF treatments. Experts say it’s not enough to reverse the demographic decline. https://bloom.bg/3wUUs11

📈 And here’s where to invest $100,000 in Asia right now: https://bloom.bg/3IWTqns

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🚁 Russia says two Ukrainian military helicopters crossed the border and attacked an oil-storage facility in the city of Belgorod, causing a large fire early Friday. https://bloom.bg/3J0FB7v

☢ Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of raising radiation-exposure risks at the defunct nuclear power plant in Chernobyl. https://bloom.bg/36NtBJx

🗣 Talks between Ukraine and Russia resumed Friday via video link, following meetings earlier in the week in Turkey. https://bloom.bg/3DyPTuC

✔️ Subscribe to our special daily brief on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the most urgent security crises in Europe since World War II. https://bloom.bg/3JjkyOz

Hello, here’s what we’re reading right now:

🔎 China reported more than 13,000 new Covid infections and found a new subtype of the omicron variant. https://bloom.bg/3J4WU7s

💸 A 30-year-old crypto billionaire wants to give his fortune away. https://bloom.bg/378oaoi

🍎 In the latest edition of Power On, Mark Gurman breaks down what Apple is working on – including an iPhone hardware subscription service that’ll essentially let users lease their device and get a new model annually. https://bloom.bg/3uTKzOs

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🇪🇺 The European Union says that work is under way on additional sanctions to penalize Russia for what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine, as it condemned the alleged atrocities committed against civilians. https://bloom.bg/3u3NqoO

🗣 U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week will host talks with leaders of Germany and Poland in an effort to firm up the NATO alliance and galvanize the response to the war in Ukraine. https://bloom.bg/3uRcYED

📺 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy makes a surprise taped appearance at the Grammy Awards, seeking to rally support for his country in the war against Russia. https://bloom.bg/3NLh8qn

✔️ Subscribe to our special daily brief on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the most urgent security crises in Europe since World War II. https://bloom.bg/3JjkyOz

🪖 A U.S. shipment of Switchblade drones to Ukraine includes the latest models armed with tank-destroying warheads, sources say. https://bloom.bg/38sQpyJ

✏️ Elon Musk — now Twitter's biggest shareholder with a 9.2% stake — may prompt an edit button on the platform. Even Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal chimed in when Musk asked his followers if they wanted the feature. https://bloom.bg/3x6aIMM

🦠 What is omicron XE? A hybrid of two strains — BA.1 and BA.2 — may be the most transmissible variant yet, the WHO said. But health experts say there's no reason to panic. https://bloom.bg/3j769cM

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

❌ The European Union plans to propose a mandatory phaseout on coal imports from Russia in a direct response to reports that Russian forces committed apparent war crimes in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. https://bloom.bg/38ncw9z

🇪🇺 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Kyiv this week in a show of support as mounting civilian casualties prompt European nations to consider expanding sanctions to Russian coal. https://bloom.bg/36Xa2hN

🛑 The U.S. Treasury stops dollar debt payments from Russian government accounts at American banks, increasing pressure on Moscow to find alternative funding sources to pay bond investors and avoid a default. https://bloom.bg/3LL6zC2

🇨🇳 China’s envoy to the UN called reports of violence in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, "deeply disturbing." But his comments fell short of condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin. https://bloom.bg/3DRQHec

📂 Elon Musk filed to reclassify himself as an active investor in Twitter after taking a seat on the social network's board. The appointment ends the possibility of him mounting a takeover of the company. https://bloom.bg/3jetM2U

📉 Chinese tech stocks fell, tracking U.S. peers, after Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the central bank will raise rates steadily while reducing the balance sheet as soon as next month. https://bloom.bg/3j9uIFX

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

💵 Russia’s pays rubles for some of its dollar debt obligations due this week after foreign banks declined to process $649.2 million of payments, raising speculation over a potential technical default. https://bloom.bg/3ubZrZ9

🇺🇦 President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s ambition to occupy all of Ukraine remains undiminished as his forces continue to strike fuel storage sites and grain silos. https://bloom.bg/38yafIT

🇪🇺 The European Union is discussing whether to sanction Oleg Deripaska, a wealthy Russian aluminum tycoon, in its next round of penalties, along with several other key business figures, according to people familiar with the discussions. https://bloom.bg/3jdawTw

🇷🇺 The U.S. will impose new sanctions on Russia, including penalties on President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, following allegations of atrocities in Ukraine by Russian forces. https://bloom.bg/35M4N3Z

🇨🇦 Canada will ban most foreigners from buying homes for two years in an attempt to cool off its property market, which has surged more than 50% over the past two years. https://bloom.bg/3DNMrfE

🇹🇼 In a move likely to irritate Beijing, Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to visit Taiwan this weekend, according to media reports. She will be the first serving U.S. house speaker to do so since Newt Gingrich in 1997. https://bloom.bg/3ugaz7p

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🪨 Mocked as ‘Rubble’ by U.S. President Joe Biden, Russia’s ruble surges all the way back to where it was before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. https://bloom.bg/3japbiu

🇺🇦 Ukraine’s foreign minister pleads for more weapons at a NATO meeting in Brussels as the United Nations moves toward a vote on whether to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. https://bloom.bg/3r46Bgj

⛽️ While European nations, along with the U.S. and others, have sanctioned Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine, their dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal supplies is providing Moscow with a vital financial lifeline. https://bloom.bg/3JgBkNu

⛔️ Pets beaten to death. Parents forced to separate from their kids. Elderly folks unable to access medical care. Shanghai’s 25 million people are still under lockdown — and it risks becoming the biggest crisis of Xi Jinping’s tenure. https://bloom.bg/3JkKfxe

🍸 A dozen airport drivers, firefighters and even plane maintenance staff reported to work drunk in India in the first two months of the year, a regulatory crackdown found. https://bloom.bg/3NV7YHV

🏡 📉 And home prices are falling in Asia’s most expensive cities, including Hong Kong and Sydney. The turnaround couldn’t be more abrupt. https://bloom.bg/3LMBI7Y

Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

🇺🇦 Dozens have been killed and at least 300 injured after Russia bombed a major train station used for civilian evacuations, Ukrainian officials say. https://bloom.bg/3DSmHP4

👀 Recognition is growing in Kyiv and allied capitals that the window to prevent the nation’s partition and a long war of attrition may be narrow. https://bloom.bg/3NZtqve

🪖 President Vladimir Putin is betting his troops can deliver a victory in Ukraine’s east to rescue Russia’s faltering invasion after failing to seize the capital Kyiv with a lightning war. https://bloom.bg/3Jo0Dx8

✔️ Subscribe to our special daily brief on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the most urgent security crises in Europe since World War II. https://bloom.bg/3JjkyOz