White House officials are mulling over a plan that would “release one million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for as long as 180 days,” a move intended to ease sticker shock at the pump for Americans who have seen gas prices rise steadily since Russia invaded Ukraine. While the action isn’t final, the mere serious consideration of it sent prices down this morning - NYTimes and Bloomberg and WSJ
As Russia’s incursion into Ukraine continues, Germany is reportedly implementing a national gas emergency plan “that could lead to the rationing of natural gas”—a direct result of Russia’s energy hold over the nation and the increased likelihood that Russia will cut its supply to Germany - NYTimes and ThePost and WSJ
Also, in Germany (and Spain, for that matter), and also as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, inflation has hit levels not seen “in more than 40 years,” with consumer prices jumping “7.6 percent over last year” - NYTimes
The Post gives us this exclusive look at Facebook’s use of consulting firm Targeted Victory to “undermine TikTok through a nationwide media and lobbying campaign portraying the fast-growing app, owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, as a danger to American children and society.” The effort reportedly targeted politicians and media sources alike in an effort to “turn the public against TikTok.” Not great, Zuck. Not great – ThePost [and Mashable]
More on the alleged block trading scandal currently under investigation by the DOJ and SEC that’s pulled in some of the biggest names on Wall Street. At issue: the routine leakage of information about supposedly secret big share sales (the block trades) ahead of time—“a potentially illegal practice that costs those sellers millions of dollars and benefit banks and their hedge-fund clients” - WSJ
The SEC is out with a proposal for new disclosure requirements aimed at the special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, that have boomed in popularity as a vehicle for startups to go public in recent years. The rules, which “would hold SPACs and the companies they acquire to similar standards as traditional IPOs,” are open to public comment for the next 60 days - WSJ and Law360
Apple and Meta admitted this week that they “provided customer data to hackers who masqueraded as law enforcement officials,” including customer addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses. The companies fell victim to “forged ‘emergency data requests’” - Bloomberg
More on Bill Ackman’s rather shocking news that he’s “permanently retir[ing]” from the activist short-selling biz - NYTimes and WSJ
A California judge has signed off on a $18 million settlement between video-game giant Activision Blizzard and the EEOC resolving the latter’s investigation regarding “allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation” at Activision. The approval is seen as “a win over objections from a state department that sought to intervene” - WSJ
Really, the only recap of the Oscars you’ll need, courtesy of Amber Ruffin, who really captures the spirit of the thing - LateNight
Stay safe,
MDR
The Robins Kaplan Financial Daily Dose features top stories and latest news headlines in financial markets, banking, securities and technology topics.
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