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    A travel guide is fleeing Ukraine — and hosting free online ‘tours’ along the way

    CNBC Travel

    Her virtual tours around Kyiv normally attract between 30 and 100 people.  
    But more than 1,800 tuned in to Olga Dudakova’s livestreamed tours in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

    The first tour was scheduled with only a few hours’ notice, she said.
    “It was totally unprepared,” she said. “I didn’t have a plan … I just wanted to show my soul and the tragedy of the situation. … This war is totally unjustified, and it’s unprovoked.”
    Dudakova said so many people were posting questions during the online tour that she could barely read them because they were scrolling by too fast. She said people were asking basic questions such as: What is happening? Where is the bombing? What is the reason for the war?
    But she didn’t have the answers, she said.
    “I don’t know why we are attacked,” she said. “We are a peaceful country.”

    The realities of war

    CNBC spoke to Dudakova four days after she left Kyiv for the safety of a smaller town. Her family was in such a rush to leave that she put on a pair of shoes she only later realized were mismatched.

    This is where Dudakova held her second tour, titled “A Small Town to Hide from Bombing.” While she was livestreaming, Dudakova said she was stopped by police because speaking English in public raises suspicions — a situation which played out in front of viewers, some of whom commented about it on the tour webpage.  
    “The way in which Olga dealt with the police who questioned her was both terrifying and heartwarming,” one review read. “This incident did more to bring the horrors of war home to me than all the news broadcasts I have heard and seen.”  
    Now, even this small town is no longer safe, said Dudakova. The Russian army is approaching, she said. When local authorities told residents to buy enough food and water to last a month, Dudakova decided to join the estimated 1.5 million residents who have fled Ukraine, a statistic tweeted this week by Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
    “It’s weird, you know, I’m a tour guide. … I often tell about war — the atrocities that happened during war time,” she said. “But when you in are the circumstances, it is absolutely different.”
    Dudakova likened Putin to a “wounded bear” who’s been “humiliated” on the international stage. “We don’t know what he’s going to do in the end,” she said.

    Online tours

    Dudakova’s tours are livestreamed on Heygo, a virtual travel company that was launched during the pandemic. She called the website her main source of inspiration right now — a direct line to share what she is seeing and experiencing with people around the world.
    “For the audience at Heygo, I’m kind of the representative of Ukraine, the representative of Kyiv because they can see what is really happening,” she said. “And, for me, they are like a community that’s really helped me.”

    Olga Dudakova likened Putin to a “wounded bear” who’s been “humiliated” on the international stage, she told CNBC.
    Source: Olga Dudakova

    Tours are free, though viewers can tip. Before the invasion, people normally gave about 2 to 5 euros ($2 to $5) each, she said.
    But that’s since changed, said Dudakova. Viewer support is now helping to fund her escape from Ukraine, she said.
    Dudakova was already a popular guide on Heygo, said Ani Chemilian, the company’s chief of staff. But her decision to hold tours during the invasion allowed her to connect with more online travelers than ever before, said Chemilian.
    “Dudakova’s first tour after the announcement of the Russian invasion placed her in the top 3 most booked experiences on Heygo,” she said. “The other two are an Icelandic volcano eruption and a Haunted London tour.”
    Dudakova said she doesn’t know when her next tour will be held, but people who follow her touring channel will be notified when she plans to log in again. This can be on short notice, she said, mainly because of intermittent internet connectivity.

    An uncertain future

    Dudakova said her youngest child isn’t sleeping well and is frightened by slamming doors and other loud noises.
    Yet, she said, others have it worse. “We are quite lucky because what is happening in other cities … I don’t have words to describe what is going on there. The things that are happening there are just beyond belief.”

    They can occupy physically the space, the territory, but they can never defeat people and the spirit.

    Olga Dudakova
    Heygo tour guide

    She said she felt the international reaction was slow at first, but has picked up, especially with sanctions piling up and the decision to disconnect select Russian banks from SWIFT, the interbank messaging system.
    However, she said, Ukraine can’t win the battle alone. “If you can look at the map at the size of Russia and the size of your Ukraine, it’s just like David and Goliath,” she said.
    Despite the devastation, Dudakova said the people of Ukraine are united.  
    Russia “can occupy physically the space, the territory, but they can never defeat people and the spirit,” she said. “What we are seeing now is the revival of Ukrainian spirit.”   More

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    U.S. far from normal with Covid deaths 10 times higher than seasonal respiratory viruses, report says

    Two dozen scientists, doctors and public health experts, in a 136-page report, said Covid is still causing an “intolerable” level of death that’s far higher than other viruses such as the flu.
    Several of the reports authors served on President Joe Biden’s Covid transition team.
    White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the U.S. can safely return to a more normal way of life when the disease burden from Covid resembles viruses like the flu.
    The report also laid out investments the U.S. should make to help the transition to a more normal way of life.

    Nurse practitioner Deborah Beauplan administers a COVID-19 swab test at a drive-thru testing site set up for Suffolk County, New York.
    Newsday | Getty Images

    The U.S. has a long way to go before the pandemic is over and life returns to semblance of normalcy as deaths from Covid-19 remain far higher than seasonal respiratory viruses such as the flu, a group of two dozen scientists, doctors and public health experts said in a 136-page report published Monday.
    The report lays out a road map for the U.S. to transition to a new normal in which the country can live with Covid without major disruptions to daily life. While the nation has made progress, Covid is still causing an “intolerable” level of death that far exceeds the toll of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, even during bad years, according to the experts.

    In years past, as many as 1,150 people died weekly from respiratory viruses like flu and RSV without the implementation emergency mitigation measures. However, Covid’s death toll remains about 10 times higher with 12,000 people succumbing to the virus some weeks, according to the report. More than 9,000 people have died in the last week alone from Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has previously said the U.S. can safely return to a more normal way of life when the disease burden from Covid resembles common respiratory viruses such as the flu and RSV.
    “Make no mistake, the United States is far from a normal situation,” the authors wrote.
    Several of the report’s authors are leading health experts who served on President Joe Biden’s Covid transition team. They include Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minnesota; Dr. Zeke Emanuel at the University of Pennsylvania’s Medical Ethics and Health Policy department; Dr. Luciana Borio, a fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Rick Bright, CEO of the Pandemic Prevention Institute among others.
    The report comes as elected leaders across the nation are lifting public health measures in response to a dramatic decline in Covid infections and hospitalizations from the peak of the omicron wave this winter.

    Biden, in his State of the Union speech last week, said the nation was returning to normalcy and encouraged Americans to return to working in person. In addition, the CDC has said more than 90% of Americans live in areas where they can take off face masks under the agency’s new Covid guidance.
    New Jersey on Monday ended its public health emergency that was declared in response to omicron, and New York City has lifted its school mask mandate as well as its vaccine requirement for indoor dining. The states were two of the hardest-hit places in the country during the first Covid wave in the spring of 2020 and during the omicron surge this winter.
    The report noted that higher levels of immunity in the population due to vaccination and natural infection would make even a worst case not as bad as feared. In this pessimistic scenario, as many as 264,000 people could die from Covid between now and March 2023 if a new variant emerges that infects 80% of the U.S. with 0.1% of those who catch it dying, according to the report. This is about half the death toll suffered in each of the previous two years of the pandemic in the U.S.
    In an optimistic scenario, the future annual death toll from Covid might be as low as 20,000, according to the report.
    “This is less dire than many expected,” the authors wrote. “This is mostly a result of higher population immunity through vaccination and infection rates.”
    However, the report’s authors warned against complacency, inaction and “premature triumphalism.”

    CNBC Health & Science

    The report called for the U.S. to make major investments to better manage Covid moving forward. The White House should create a post on the National Security Council to advise the president on monitoring and preparing for pandemic threats, according to the report. The deputy assistant of biosecurity would also coordinate efforts to counter anti-science information on vaccines and drugs.
    The U.S. should also invest in a multi-drug oral antiviral cocktail through a program similar to Operation Warp Speed, which developed effective vaccines in record time, as the virus is expected to develop resistance to any single drug, according to the report. The U.S. should also improve wastewater, air and animal surveillance to track Covid variants and other respiratory viruses, it said.
    The report also called for investments in public health and the health-care workforce, expanded research into long Covid and requiring better air ventilation in building codes among other recommendations.
    Biden, during his State of the Union speech, said the U.S. is taking steps to prepare for another Covid variant. He said the U.S. can deploy new vaccines within 100 days if another variant threatens the effectiveness of the current shots. The president also announced a program in which people who test positive for Covid at pharmacies and community health centers can receive Pfizer’s oral antiviral pill at no cost on the spot.
    “I cannot promise a new variant won’t come. But I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does,” Biden said.
    New Covid infections in the U.S. have declined 94% from a pandemic record in January. The U.S. reported a daily average of more than 46,000 new Covid cases on Sunday, down from a high of more than 802,000 on Jan. 15, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Hospitalizations are down 79% from the peak during the omicron wave, according to data from the CDC.

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    Russia looks to Chinese financial plumbing to keep money flowing

    NATIONALIST BLOGGERS in China have a new fascination: global payment systems. Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, followed by Western sanctions on Russia, have prompted internet pundits to extol the virtues of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), the rails on which Chinese banks transfer and clear yuan-denominated payments around the world. Some have also taken to bashing SWIFT, the Belgium-based financial messaging system that has started excluding Russian banks from international payments. “That thing called SWIFT cannot be relied on,” avers one popular blogger on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform.CIPS and SWIFT are far from being household names in China. But the sweeping sanctions against Russia—on the usage of SWIFT by some of its banks and on its central bank—have put a spotlight on China’s homegrown financial networks, and the extent to which it can use them to help Russia. Three primary Chinese financial channels are in place to assist—two legitimate, one not. None are remotely adequate substitutes for the links to the Western financial system that Russia has lost.First, consider the direct connections between the two countries’ central banks, which do not require SWIFT messaging to transact. Russia has about $90bn-worth of mainly yuan-denominated deposits held with the Chinese central bank. It also has a 150bn-yuan swap-line agreement with China. It can use these funds to finance imports from China in the event that other trade-finance routes in dollars are blocked, note analysts at Natixis, an investment bank.But this trade will largely remain in yuan, limiting what Russia can purchase. China’s regulators are still keen to avoid American “secondary” sanctions. Primary sanctions target Russian institutions and American firms that deal with them. The secondary sort have yet to be used, but would target third parties outside America that transact with Russian firms, even if those transactions are permitted by local law. Allowing Russia to sell yuan-denominated assets in order to raise dollars could attract scrutiny and goes beyond what Chinese officials are willing to do for their friends in Moscow, reckons Rhodium, a consultancy.Next, there are the several complex financial networks China has spent decades building around the globe. Take, for example, the web of state-owned banks that have cropped up in commercial hubs around the world. China’s banking regulator may have stated on March 2nd that the country would not join Western sanctions, but most of its big banks will adhere to them, particularly those that interact most with the Western financial system and have legal entities that are domiciled in America. The four largest Chinese state-owned banks, for example, all have branches in Moscow. But according to the Federal Reserve, those same four firms also have offices in America which collectively had $106bn of assets at the end of September.These large institutions that conduct the bulk of trade finance between the two countries are highly unlikely to risk getting blocked from dollar clearing in order to continue doing dollar-denominated business with Russia. Two large state-owned banks stopped issuing dollar-denominated letters of credit for purchasing Russian commodities as soon as sanctions were issued, according to Bloomberg, a news service. Maintaining full access to global financial markets is “more valuable than anything Russia can offer”, according to Neil Shearing of Capital Economics, a consultancy.UnionPay, China’s state-owned bank-card firm, is another powerful financial network. It is set to gain market share in Russia in the wake of the departures of Visa and Mastercard, the American-based giants of global card payments, which were announced on March 5th. Several Russian banks have said that they will move to UnionPay, which already has a significant presence in the country.This shift will not come easily, however. Within Russia, UnionPay’s network is small and many banks do not have prior agreements with the company. Banks will need to show they meet network requirements to be licensed as a card issuer, says Zilvinas Bareisis of Celent, a research group. The cards must be designed, certified and then distributed—a process which can take months. For Russians abroad the problem is that, despite being in more than 180 countries, UnionPay is a fringe service in America and Europe, says Jason Ekberg of Oliver Wyman, another consultancy. UnionPay could also open itself to secondary sanctions by offering some types of services to sanctioned Russian banks.CIPS, meanwhile, will not be the miracle solution Chinese bloggers hoped for. That is because China has not been able to roll out its own messaging system. Foreign banks linked to CIPS still use SWIFT messaging to operate, notes Edwin Lai of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. That means Western sanctions will still apply to any transfers between SWIFT-barred Russian banks and foreign banks.A final route for financial assistance will come through backchannel banks that dodge sanctions. China has a long history of turning a blind eye to smaller banks that finance trade with countries targeted by America and the UN. These activities usually occur on a small scale. And many are caught in the act and hit with secondary sanctions themselves. In 2012 Bank of Kunlun was hit with American sanctions for making $100m of payments with an Iranian bank. Five years later American regulators accused Bank of Dandong, another smallish lender, of dealings with North Korea. Some Chinese banks may take the risk with Russia, but these institutions will be minnows that are unable to provide the large-scale assistance Russia needs.All told, Sino-Russian financial links appear weaker than Russia might hope. The situation is likely to raise questions about the shortcomings in China’s efforts to build global financial networks. For CIPS, many of the problems are clear. In order to maintain control over capital flows, China has not linked the system directly with foreign banks outside mainland China, with the exception of Standard Chartered, a British bank with long-established links to China. CIPS’s indigenous messaging system works only with Chinese banks. To improve the system, China must continue opening it up and granting more direct links with foreign banks.The lack of such links makes the system more difficult and less attractive to foreign financial institutions. CIPS is for the most part illiquid, says Natixis. It processes just 13,000 transactions per day, equivalent to about 5% of those processed by America’s domestic-payments system, known as CHIPS.China’s President Xi Jinping has referred to Mr Putin as a “best friend”. The Russian conflict is laying bare some of China’s financial vulnerabilities. That may make the relationship less amicable. More

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    Stock futures dip after the S&P 500's worst day since October 2020 amid Russia-Ukraine war

    Traders on the floor of the NYSE, March 4, 2022.
    Source: NYSE

    Stock futures fell slightly in overnight trading Monday following the S&P 500’s worst day since October, as investors remained on edge about surging oil prices and slowing economic growth amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 100 points. S&P 500 futures traded 0.3% lower and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%.

    The overnight action came after a steep sell-off on Wall Street where the S&P 500 dropped nearly 3% for its biggest one-day decline in more than a year. The blue-chip Dow tumbled almost 800 points for its fifth negative session in six, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 3.6%, falling into bear market territory, down 20% from its record high from November.
    “Sentiment is palpably negative,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. “Any hope/optimism that may have exited seems to have completely evaporated from the market and there’s NO interest to buy dips.”
    Oil prices spiked to start the week with U.S. crude hitting a 13-year high of $130. WTI futures eventually settled Monday’s session up 3.2% at $119.40, the highest settle since September 2008. The international benchmark, Brent crude, reached a high of $139.13 at one point overnight before settling at $123.21 per barrel, its highest since July 2008.
    Investors continued to monitor developments of escalated geopolitical tensions. Ukraine said Moscow is seeking to manipulate its cease-fire arrangement by only allowing Ukrainian civilians to evacuate to Russia and Belarus.
    Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. and its allies are eyeing a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports for its actions against Ukraine.

    “There seems to be no evidence of improvements in Ukraine and the rhetoric out of DC continues to get more hawkish,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth. “While it’s impossible to know where the ultimate bottom may be, from a risk-reward standpoint, the market looks very reasonable.”
    Dick’s Sporting Goods is set to report quarterly earnings Tuesday before the bell.

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    NFL suspends Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley for 2022 season for betting on games

    The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley through the 2022 season for betting on games, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Monday.
    In a series of tweets following his suspension, Ridley said he bet $1,500 in total, adding, “I don’t have a gambling problem.”
    The league said Ridley is eligible for reinstatement in February 2023. 

    Calvin Ridley #18 of the Atlanta Falcons warms up prior to a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on August 21, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
    Michael Reaves | Getty Images

    The National Football League suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley through the 2022 season for betting on games, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Monday.
    The league said Ridley, 27, bet on NFL games during a five-day period last November. During that time, Ridley was on the non-football illness list, indicating that he was addressing his mental well-being.

    “There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” Goodell wrote in a letter to Ridley.
    “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.”

    The league said Ridley is eligible for reinstatement in February 2023. 
    In a series of tweets following his suspension, Ridley said he bet $1,500 in total, adding, “I don’t have a gambling problem.”
    Ridley is represented by agency SportsTrust Advisors. The firm didn’t immediately return a request for comment from CNBC.

    Ridley has been with the Falcons for four seasons, and marked his best in 2020 when he notched nine touchdowns and 1,374 receiving yards.
    His roughly $11 million salary for the 2022 season could face forfeiture, with his suspension falling under a “conduct detrimental” provision in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with players.
    In a statement, the Falcons said they were first notified about the NFL’s probe into Ridley’s betting on Feb. 9 and “cooperated fully with the investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions.”
    “We are moving forward in the 2022 season with the decision that was made,” the Falcons added.
    The NFL has an exclusive data rights deal with London-based data and technology firm Genius Sports valued at $100 million per year. As part of the deal, Genius provides its integrity services to monitor betting around NFL games and tracks suspicious activity.
    Ridley’s suspension for betting on games comes more than two years since the previous one.
    In November 2019, the NFL suspended defensive back Josh Shaw for the 2020 season for betting on games while he was with the Arizona Cardinals. Shaw was reinstated in March 2021. He is currently a free agent.

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    McDonald's, quiet on the Ukraine war, has more exposure to Russia than other U.S. fast-food chains

    U.S. fast-food chains have limited exposure to Russia and Ukraine, but McDonald’s is under the most pressure, according to a new report from Bank of America Securities.
    McDonald’s, which owns the majority of its Russian locations, has yet to comment on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company did not respond to several requests for comment from CNBC.
    Other restaurant companies have avoided greater exposure to Russia and Ukraine because most — or all — of their locations in the countries are operated by franchisees.

    A McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow.
    Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    U.S. fast-food chains have limited exposure to Russia and Ukraine, but McDonald’s is under the most pressure, according to a new report from Bank of America Securities.
    McDonald’s, which owns a large majority of its restaurants in Russia, has been quiet about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The company declined to comment to CNBC on Monday.

    Other restaurant companies have avoided greater exposure to Russia and Ukraine because most — or all — of their locations in the countries are operated by franchisees. While those restaurants generate less revenue for the franchisor, it also means that a significant economic downturn in either country is less likely to dent the company’s overall results. Rather than face consumer or government backlash from either side of the conflict, both the franchisor and franchised restaurants can point to their local ownership, even if the chain is based in the U.S.

    Since opening its first location in the Soviet Union 32 years ago, McDonald’s has grown its footprint in Russia and Ukraine to more than 900 locations. Those restaurants account for 2% of its systemwide sales, roughly 9% of its revenue and 3% of its operating income.
    The Chicago-based company has shrunk its ownership from 100% to roughly 84% of restaurants in Russia since the Kremlin invaded Crimea.
    “In 2014, after Russia was hit with sanctions in response to its Crimea invasion, there was a perceived negative reaction at the country level against American companies, including McDonald’s whose Moscow restaurants it closed for ‘sanitary violations,'” Bank of America Securities analyst Sara Senatore wrote in a note to clients Monday.
    Franchisees operate the rest of McDonald’s Russian footprint.

    According to Senatore, a bigger threat to McDonald’s business is whether the conflict spills over into the rest of Europe. The Continent accounts for nearly a quarter of McDonald’s systemwide sales. Senatore estimates that the region could generate roughly a third of its operating profit.
    Starbucks, on the other hand, generates only about 5% of its systemwide sales from Europe, according to Senatore. The coffee giant hasn’t paused operations in Russia, where all of its cafes are run by franchisees. CEO Kevin Johnson condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine and vowed to donate royalties from its Russian business to humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
    Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, has more than 1,000 restaurants in Russia that account for roughly 2% of its systemwide sales. However, the vast majority of those locations are franchised, so the revenue that Yum receives through licensing fees is much smaller.
    “Like so many across the world, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, and we’re focused on the safety of our employees, franchisees and partners in the region,” Yum said in a statement to CNBC.
    The company added that it is too early to discuss the impact but it is monitoring the situation very closely. Its foundation is donating $1 million to the Red Cross and matching employee donations to a number of charitable relief organizations.
    Domino’s Pizza and Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International also have restaurants in Russia and Ukraine, although all of those locations are operated by franchisees, according to Senatore.

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    Joint vs. separate accounts: How couples choose to handle finances could impact their financial success

    DusanManic | iStock | Getty Images

    When it comes to handling money, couples have a choice: combine all of their accounts, keep them entirely separate or strive for something in between.
    But what is normal?

    About 43% of couples who are married, in a civil partnership or living together have joint assets, according to a new survey from CreditCards.com.
    Baby boomers are most likely to have only joint accounts, with 49%, followed by Gen Xers, with 48%, versus just 31% of millennials.
    More from Invest in You:The American dream of the middle class isn’t what it used to beHow a four-day workweek helped an online retailer cure employee burnoutHow Suze Orman recommends couples should fairly split their finances
    Meanwhile, 45% of younger millennial couples ages 26 through 32 keep their money entirely separate, versus just 20% of Gen Xers and 14% of baby boomers who do the same.
    Experts say there’s generally not a right or wrong way for a couple to manage their assets.

    “Whatever is the right answer is the one that allows for the most harmonious relationship between two people along the way,” said Jesse Sell, a certified financial planner and managing principal at Prevail Financial Planners in Stillwater, Minnesota.
    But whichever way couples choose, they should keep some key tips in mind.

    Make communication a priority

    Couples who keep their accounts separate may be more likely to hide financial secrets from their partners, according to Ana Staples, a credit card expert at Bankrate.com.
    Even those who choose to pool their money together would benefit from setting aside time to discuss where they are with their finances and where they would like to go.
    “This is the kind of topic that makes people feel vulnerable, maybe a little bit defensive, because nobody is perfect when it comes to finances,” Staples said. “Everybody has their own issues, their own fears.”
    Ideally, a formal conversation should happen at least once a year, Sell said, so that couples can make sure they are still on the same page.
    “Money can be a very emotional topic,” Sell said. “Talking about it regularly is important because if it’s not done intentionally, it kind of gets cast aside and never talked about.”

    Get on the same page with big-ticket goals

    Getty Images

    While couples may strive to combine all their assets in joint accounts, there are some areas that they will have to keep separate, namely retirement accounts.
    Many workers have a 401(k) plan or other employer-sponsored plans offered through their jobs. Individual retirement accounts, which can be opened independently of an employer, also do not permit joint ownership.
    Nevertheless, couples should make sure they clearly communicate what they are both doing when it comes to investing toward retirement, so they can achieve retirement and financial freedom together, said CFP Jennifer Weber, vice president of financial planning at Weber Asset Management in North New Hyde Park, New York.
    Couples should strive to defer 15% of their combined income toward retirement, she said, while 20% or more would be more ideal.
    “The more that you save and invest, the better you are for the long term,” Weber said.

    Couples should also make sure they are on the same page with 529 college savings plans they invest in on behalf of their children. Notably, those accounts also must be in just one adult’s name.
    While couples may come into a relationship with their own investments, they should open a combined after-tax brokerage account to save for goals that are five or more years away, Weber said.
    In addition, couples should strive to have at least six months’ living expenses set aside in an emergency fund.
    Importantly, couples should make sure they update their beneficiaries for all their accounts as their relationship status changes or new children enter the family, she said.
    “The biggest piece of advice that I have is to really have open and honest discussions with one another,” Weber said. “There’s no right way, there’s no one way to do it.” More

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    Airline stocks slump as jet fuel surge overshadows travel rebound

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns around global oil supplies have driven jet fuel prices up to the highest level in more than 13 years.
    Some analysts expect airlines to trim first-quarter profit and revenue estimates this month.
    Airlines are limited in how much they can raise fares as they chase passengers returning to the skies.

    An American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner approaches for a landing at the Miami International Airport on December 10, 2021 in Miami, Florida.
    Joe Raedle | Getty Images

    Airlines trying to claw their way out of two bruising pandemic years are now facing the most expensive jet fuel costs in more than 13 years, overshadowing a recent jump in travel demand and sending shares spiraling.
    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month has set off a global panic around fuel supplies. Now, some analysts expect U.S. carriers to trim first-quarter profit and revenue estimates in the coming weeks after fuel costs rose 32% last week alone. The expense is generally airlines’ second biggest, behind labor.

    “The higher fuel will more than wipe out better revenue near-term resulting in modest reductions to 1Q22 estimates,” wrote MKM Partners airline analyst Conor Cunningham in a note.
    The surge in fuel prices — more than 50% so far this year — is the latest challenge for carriers that expect travelers to come back in droves this year as Covid-19 cases fall.
    Airline stocks have been among the hardest-hit industries in recent weeks as Russia’s invasion threw markets into turmoil.
    The NYSE Arca Airline Index, which tracks 18 airlines, dropped more than 13% on Monday.
    Shares of United Airlines fell 15% on Monday to finish the day at $31.20, the lowest since July 2020. Delta Air Lines dropped nearly 13% to $30.11, while American Airlines fell 12% to $12.84, those stocks’ lowest closing prices since October 2020 and November 2020, respectively.

    Airlines are limited in how much they can trim capacity to raise fares as they chase passengers returning to the skies.
    For the second quarter, U.S. domestic schedules are flat compared with 2019 “and we doubt much capacity will be cut given the increased competition for the leisure customer,” Andrew Didora, Bank of America airline analyst, said in a Monday research note.
    Didora said travel demand should outpace supply, particularly during peak leisure times, “but it will not create nearly enough pricing to offset the fuel move.”
    The second and third quarters, which coincide with spring and summer vacations, are when U.S. carriers generate the bulk of their revenue.
    It could take months before travelers feel the fuel price in tickets. Cowen & Co. airline analyst Helane Becker sees a roughly four-month delay before fares catch up.
    “As a result, it is likely the next few months will be financially concerning, even though traffic is strong,” she said in a note Friday.
    Some large U.S. airlines like American abandoned fuel hedging after oil prices peaked and then crumbled in 2014. The fuel-price slump drove a decade of U.S. airline profits that was eventually upended by the coronavirus in 2020.
    “It’s not something we’re considering at this time,” American spokesman Matt Miller said about hedging.
    United and Delta, which owns a refinery, didn’t immediately comment.
    United’s “current strategy is to not enter into financial transactions to hedge the market price exposure of its expected fuel consumption, although the Company regularly reviews its strategy based on market conditions and other factors,” it said in its annual report last month.
    MKM Partners’ Cunningham told CNBC that airlines not currently hedging fuel prices may have missed the boat — prices are already high just at a time when they’re trying to keep a lid on costs.
    “If someone was to announce hedging today, I think that stock would get obliterated,” he said.

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