Good morning to Virginia Oliver, Maine's "Lobster Lady" who has been hauling lobster traps since she was 8 years old and is about to embark on her 95th lobster hauling season. Today we’re exploring:
March on Moscow
Russia appeared on the verge of a coup on Saturday, as an armed rebellion from the Wagner Group — frustrated with the Russian defense ministry, treatment of its mercenaries, and progress in Ukraine — marched on the capital.
The paramilitary group, a de facto private army founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, promptly halted its advance on Moscow after a peace deal brokered by Belarus at the last minute prevented a potential civil war in Russia.
The sudden chaos and instability in Russia was a sharp reminder that the country remains the world’s largest nuclear power. Although stockpiles have been greatly reduced, Russia still holds some 4,500 nuclear warheads — more than the ~3,700 in the US.
A new, new START
The good news is that US officials say they haven’t detected any irregular activity from Russia’s nuclear forces. But the events of the weekend, which experts believe were the most severe threat to Vladimir Putin in his 23 years in power, leave question marks over the fragility of the nuclear agreements that have governed the arsenals of the two countries since the Cold War.
In February, Russia suspended its participation in the New START treaty, an agreement which cuts the number of long-range nuclear missiles, although Moscow said that it still plans to observe the limits on the number of strategic warheads that can be deployed under the accord until the treaty expires in 2026.
Driving investments
Not content with his ventures in soccer, alcohol, telecoms and — of course — acting, Ryan Reynolds has expanded his portfolio to include a stake in the Formula 1 team Alpine. The Hollywood A-lister, alongside his Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney and actor Michael B. Jordan, joined an investor group in taking a 24% equity stake in the Formula 1 team in a €200m deal ($218m), valuing the team at ~$908m.
Alpine, which is owned by French automaker Renault, currently sits mid-table in the constructors' title race. For the owners, the deal seems like a no-brainer. Even if not involved in the day to day, the investment from Reynolds and co might bring a celebrity spotlight onto the team — just as Renault tries to raise the visibility of its Alpine electric vehicle line.
Zooming out
The deal comes during a period of growth for the sport as a whole. Since its acquisition by Liberty Media in 2017, Formula 1 has been reinvigorated.
Partnering with Netflix for the gripping docu-series "Drive to Survive", Liberty has looked to grow the sport’s footprint in the US. New races like the Miami Grand Prix, which debuted in 2022, and the upcoming inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix have brought a legion of American fans.
A burgeoning race calendar, and growing global audience, have filled the coffers of F1’s owners. The group's revenue reached $2.6 billion last year — up nearly $800m since Liberty Media's acquisition. Some 45% of that revenue gets split amongst the teams according to performance, size and longevity in the sport. If Reynolds can replicate his success with Wrexham at Alpine, his foray into the world of Formula 1 could be a masterstroke.
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has filed for an exchange-traded bitcoin fund, aiming to provide institutional investors with exposure to the original, and still largest, cryptocurrency. The news sparked a wave of similar applications from rival issuers and ignited a rally in Bitcoin's price, ultimately reaching $31,000 — the highest level since June last year.
Crypto enthusiasm evaporates
But if Bitcoin is having a positive week, the rest of the crypto world remains ice cold, as tech investors pivoted from web 3 to AI almost overnight, after major catastrophic events in the space — most notably the sudden collapse of FTX. The exchange, whose list of backers was embarrassing for a large number of VC firms, has caused early-stage investors to take extra caution, keen to avoid rushing into another high-profile disaster. As a result, global venture capital funding has plummeted to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, marking an 80% decline from its peak of $12.3 billion during the same period last year, according to data from Pitchbook.
Adding to the negative sentiment in the crypto space, the SEC recently filed lawsuits against industry giants Coinbase and Binance, accusing them of violating regulatory rules. Indeed, the commission's strict stance could potentially hinder the approval of BlackRock's filing, as it has already rejected a number of similar applications for other bitcoin-centric ETFs.
• Never count out the all-you-can-eat buffet — sales are reportedly soaring at buffet operator Golden Corral, up 20% this year, as unlimited helpings help fight back the rising cost of dining out.
• Spare a thought for the hardworking honeybee. Bee hives have reportedly just gone through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing 48% of their managed colonies.
• Interesting report from Samba TV, finding that Hispanic actors are underrepresented on TV — only 10% of lead actors were Hispanic, despite making up nearly 20% of the US population.
• The South Pole scientific bases are slowly sinking into the accumulating snow, requiring millions of dollars of investment to keep planned projects on track.
• Welcome to the Web Design Museum, chronicling the classic designs of iconic websites.
• The Messi effect: Inter Miami gained over 7 million Instagram followers after signing Lionel Messi.
Off the charts: Which company, that has announced a plan for Solar-powered roller coasters, were we charting about below? [Answer below].
