The European Union, U.S. and other Western nations on Saturday announced they would cut off a "certain number of Russian banks" from the SWIFT international payments system and impose restrictions on Russia’s Central Bank.
Why it matters: The measures will effectively cut Russia out of the world's most important financial messaging system and undermine the Kremlin's ability to use its central bank reserves to blunt the impact of other sanctions.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich on Saturday turned over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea FC, the British soccer club he's owned since 2003, to Chelsea FC's charitable foundation.
Why it matters: Abramovich is trying to distance his team from Russia's war on Ukraine, even though his brief statement didn't mention the conflict.
Shoppers are worn out as supply chains have disrupted everything — including buying expectations and behaviors.
The big picture: They largely understand that getting things like cars and appliances takes more time. But they have zero tolerance for delays of smaller purchases, according to retail experts.
The "everything shortage," born of the COVID calamity, likely will require another huge disruption before we get back to normal.
Why it matters: Product shortages, delays and corresponding price spikes have become a fact of life in America since the pandemic started. To end it, either demand has to go down — which could be rough — or supply has to go up, which means we'd have to wait it out.
Good afternoon, and welcome to our Axios AM Deep Dive on the supply chain — already stressed by the pandemic, and now likely to get worse because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Read our story about the impact on wheat supplies.)
Advances in technology will make the global supply chain run more smoothly in the future, especially when it comes to information sharing, experts tell Axios.
Yes, but: The new tech won't solve the kinds of big problems that got us into our current mess.
Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time partisanship and double down on the network's news-gathering muscle, top sources tell me.
Why it matters: Ratings are secondary to credibility, in the view of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who's taking over CNN.
Longtime CBS executive Chris Licht has been chosen to lead CNN Worldwide, succeeding Jeff Zucker, a source close to CNN tells Axios.
Why it matters: Licht takes the reins at a chaotic time for CNN. The network is still embroiled in a messy legal battle with Zucker and CNN's former chief marketing officer, Allison Gollust, who is also Zucker's romantic partner.
Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. says it's time to put abolitionist and Black writer Frederick Douglass on a U.S. currency bill — after Harriet Tubman is added tothe $20 bill.
The big picture: Black intellectuals and activists have been pressing for more images of Black Americans in U.S. currency, public spaces, and national parks in recent years.
Everyone following the war in Ukraine seems to be talking about SWIFT — but many Americans are hearing about it for the first time this week.
The big picture: SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a secure messaging service that more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions around the world use to communicate.
