 Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. have announced sanctions against Russia after it recognized two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine – Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. Following the recognition announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into the breakaway regions as part of a "peacekeeping" mission. The U.S., its European allies, and the U.N. Security Council have all condemned these actions, calling them a "blatant violation of international law." Many believe Russian troops in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are a precursor to a full invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions: - Germany
- On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country would not accept the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the country would suspend the approval of Nord Stream 2.
- Nord Stream 2 is the $11B natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany. It is expected to double the amount of gas coming from Russia to Germany.
- Following the announcement, European natural gas prices jumped 13%, with the international oil benchmark, Brent crude, reaching $99.50 a barrel.
- Dutch gas futures rose 8.4% to $89.16 (€78.63) a megawatt-hour, and German Power rose 6.6%.
- U.K.
- On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced economic sanctions on five Russian banks and three Russian high-net-worth individuals.
- The banks: The Black Sea Bank, General Bank, Rossiya, IS Bank, and Promsvyazbank.
- The three individuals, Boris Rotenberg, Gennady Timchenko, and Igor Rotenberg, will have their U.K. assets frozen, and they will be banned from traveling to the U.K.
- U.K. citizens and entities are also prohibited from doing business with them.
- Johnson noted these are the first tranche of sanctions, and the kingdom is prepared to deploy more alongside the U.S. and the EU as the situation escalates.
- U.S.
- On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order prohibiting any U.S. citizen or entity from investing, trading, or doing any business with the two breakaway regions.
- The State Department moved all its staff from Ukraine to Poland and called again for all Americans living in Ukraine to leave the country immediately.
- On Tuesday, Biden announced various financial sanctions against Russia and certain Russian individuals, including a sanction targeting Russia's military bank, Promsvyazbank.
- Biden also announced the U.S. will sanction Russia's sovereign debt.
- Biden also stated the U.S. will send military troops to protect Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, surrounding NATO nations in the Baltic region.
- Japan
- On Tuesday, the nation said it was ready to join the U.S. and other G7 nations to impose sanctions on Russia.
- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called Russia's actions "unacceptable and a violation of international law."
- In 2021, Russia supplied about 10% of Japan's natural gas and 12% of its coal.
- EU
- The European Union's 27 member nations voted unanimously on an initial set of sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities.
- The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, noted the sanctions would hurt Russia significantly.
- The sanctions include banning EU investors from trading in Russian state bonds, freezing Russian assets held in the EU, and banning sanctioned individuals from traveling to the EU bloc.
- Russia supplies the EU with about 40% of its gas needs.
In related news: - Russia's stock market fell following news of an onslaught of sanctions against the country. The Moscow Stock index has fallen 16% since Monday.
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Volkswagen AG and its largest shareholder, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, are in advanced talks for an IPO for the Porsche brand. Volkswagen and the Porsche-Piech family have agreed on a framework for a potential €20B ($22.66B) public listing. Under the agreement, VW would list 25% of Porsche, which is expected to fetch an €80B ($90.63B) to €90B ($101.96B) valuation. Half of the listed shares would have voting rights, and a special dividend is also being considered. More: - The agreed framework still needs to be approved by the respective boards of VW and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
- Volkswagen is the world's second-largest carmaker by volume.
- Following the announcement, VW shares rose 10%, closing at €187.94 ($213.19), up 7% for the day.
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 Jeffrey Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images Macy’s released its Q4 and full-year 2022 earnings report on Tuesday, beating analysts’ expectations on revenue and earnings. The retail giant reported Q4 revenue of $8.67B. Q4 net income came in at $742M or $2.45 a share. Full-year revenue came in at $24.46B, and full-year net income came in at $1.43B or $5.31 per share. More: - Q4 Comparable sales rose 28.3% YoY.
- Q4 Digital sales rose 12% YoY, accounting for about 39% of the company’s net sales.
- Full-year comparable sales rose 43% YoY.
- Full-year digital sales were up 13% YoY and up 39% compared to 2019.
- During its earnings call, CEO Jeff Gennette said it would not spin off its online business despite calls for it from activist investor Jana Partners.
- The company is expecting full-year 2022 sales to fall between $24.46B and $24.7B.
- Macy’s share rose 8% following the report but dropped 5% by afternoon trading. It closed at $24.42, down ~5% for the day.
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U.K. pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has named its new consumer health unit Haleon. The company is preparing to spin off its consumer health unit after rejecting multiple acquisition bids from Unilever Plc. GlaxoSmithKline plans to update its investors on the new business' strategy, finances, and growth ambitions on Feb. 28. The company is on track to launch Haleon in mid-2022. More: - The name was developed from input from employees.
- The name was inspired by the words "hale" and "leon." Hale is an old English word meaning “in good health," and “leon” is associated with strength.
- GlaxoSmithKline said it expects Haleon sales to grow 4% to 6% in the medium term.
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 A message from CELSIUS NETWORK Welcome to Celsius, your new home for crypto. We’ve made some major updates and enhancements to our mobile app experience to make Celsius easier for you to Buy, Swap, Earn and Borrow with crypto. We’re often asked at Celsius, “What makes you different from those other guys?” Whether those “other guys” are traditional banks or similar crypto companies, the answer is always the same: Celsius is driven by the success of our external impact first rather than our internal bottom line (do well then do good). We exist to give anyone, anywhere, unparalleled access to reach financial freedom. Our goal is to allow anyone and everyone access to fair, rewarding, and transparent financial services. When we say Celsius is your home for crypto, we mean it. In 2022, we will be adding more coins, launching CelsiusX (the DeFi arm of Celsius), and Credit Card so you can earn rewards while you swipe, and all under the Celsius ecosystem. Check Out Celsius Now
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Personal banking company SoFi announced it is buying banking-software company Technisys SA for $1.1B. The all-stock deal will give SoFi control over its own core-banking platform, the back-end technology that banks use to power mobile-banking apps, open accounts, and keep track of customer deposits. SoFi started as a consumer lending platform and has branched out to offer other personal financial services. More: - The deal comes to about 10% of SoFi’s market value.
- Earlier this month, SoFi officially became a bank after it acquired Golden Pacific Bancorp Inc.
- In 2020, it acquired Galileo Financial Technologies, a financial-infrastructure company that issues debit cards.
- SoFi says the Technisys acquisition will bring in an additional $800M in revenue through 2025.
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- Hong Kong announced on Tuesday that all its residents would take a mandatory COVID-19 test starting next month. Experts say about a third of the city will be in isolation within weeks, and half the residents will have COVID by April.
- Canadian lawmakers voted to extend emergency powers targeting the truckers' protest. The emergency powers were invoked last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
- Slack experienced some issues on Tuesday morning, causing users not to be able to send or receive messages or load the platform. The issue was resolved by 2:30 p.m. ET.
- Colombia has joined other Latin American countries like Mexico and Argentina in legalizing abortion. The highest court in the country decriminalized abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
- Members of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation reached a $24M settlement in the players' gender discrimination lawsuit over pay.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @Ms_Omeo. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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