Who to follow for market analysis of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Plus: Inflation heats up globally, Goldman Sachs stuns the industry, and more

Welcome back to?This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations and top voices trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click Subscribe to be notified of each edition. This week:

Markets react to Ukraine invasion

With the humanitarian and geopolitical ramifications front and center, investors are also weighing the implications of Russia's Ukraine invasion on markets and the global economy. Stocks in Russia, Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere started Friday on the rise as officials in Moscow signaled a possibility of negotiations with the Ukrainian government. The previous day, global markets for stocks, currencies, bonds, and commodities swung wildly as participants digested updates and analyses, and the turmoil drove oil prices higher, though that market cooled after President Joe Biden spared Russian energy supplies from sanctions.

• Russian assets had taken a nosedive Thursday, with the ruble sinking to a record low and stocks experiencing their worst-ever daily decline — the effects of which spread into Europe.
• Financial and economic experts are weighing in on the conflict's relationship to markets here.

Who to follow:

Fed price gauge highest since '82

U.S. inflation accelerated in January, as the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge surged an annual 6.1% — the fastest pace since 1982 — from 5.8% in December. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index quickened on a monthly basis, too, to 0.6% last month from 0.4% in the prior period, the Labor Department said. The pace of price increases compares to the 2% annual inflation goal of the central bank, which has signaled that it’s prepared to embark on a series of interest-hikes as soon as next month to rein in prices.

• The prospects for faster inflation have only grown with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is likely to send oil and other commodity prices still higher.
• Consumer spending rose 2.1% last month as the economy continued a pandemic recovery.
• Here's what people are saying.
• In Canada, inflation is everywhere: The cost of just about everything is going up in Canada as inflation becomes more general and pervasive. Prices are climbing at over 5% a year, and incomes are not keeping up. The Bank of Canada is expected to start raising interest rates on March 2, beginning a rate-hike cycle that could see borrowing costs return to pre-pandemic levels or surpass them.
• Asia's inflation is heating up: Inflation rates on the continent have jumped, joining the global trend. The impacts of rising food and energy costs have begun to seep into everyday goods.
• Inflation worries in India: Higher oil prices will raise the risk of consumer price inflation breaching the central bank’s 2-6% inflation range, economists say. Higher inflation will also hit disposable incomes, disproportionately impacting low-income households.

Who to follow:

Goldman stuns with clawback pursuit

Goldman Sachs isn’t just handing out bigger bonuses as it seeks to hold on to top talent — it’s also clawing them back from executives who bail on the investment bank. The firm is currently weighing whether to confiscate the vested stock of Omer Ismail and David Stark, two rising stars who left Goldman to run a Walmart-backed startup, reports Bloomberg. Confiscation is a “nuclear option” normally only used in cases of misconduct. Former Goldman division chiefs Gregg Lemkau and Eric Lane had unvested stock worth millions of dollars taken away when they moved to other companies. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Who to follow:

Intel is crypto's newest player

Intel is getting into the Bitcoin game. The major chip maker’s new Bitcoin mining rig — dubbed the Bonanza Mine chip — was announced last month and further legitimizes cryptocurrencies. With the new chip, Intel could be a serious competitor to Chinese mining hardware manufacturers that previously dominated the market. Experts say a crypto chip producer based in North America could weaken Chinese manufacturers’ pricing power and better serve North American customers.

• Intel’s first mining chip customers include Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. and Argo Blockchain.
• The company’s crypto initiative focuses on energy efficiency, though it still lags behind other models.
• Bitcoin miners tripled their revenue to $15 billion last year, according to The Block Research.
• Here's what people are saying.
• Singapore ups crypto investment: Asian investors continue to ride the crypto fever. Singapore-based crypto firm Amber Group has raised a $200 million financing, led by Singapore investment company Temasek. With the latest round of funding, the company, which is eyeing an IPO as early as next year, is now valued at $3 billion. Singapore has become a hotbed for Asia’s crypto startups, and Temasek has been an active investor in the crypto market.

Asia's wealthy lure investments

More international firms are vying for a share of Asia’s wealth as the region is poised to be home to 24% of the world's ultra-high-net-worth individuals by 2025. Blackstone is looking to double its headcount in Asia through hiring across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, Bloomberg reports. Nomura is joining the pack and expanding its wealth management business in Singapore and Hong Kong, reports Reuters. Meanwhile, Singapore banks are bulking up their presence in the region, with UOB and DBS snapping up Citigroup’s consumer banking business in the ASEAN and Taiwanese markets, respectively. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Musk investigated by SEC: WSJ

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Elon Musk and his brother violated insider trading rules, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources. At issue is whether Kimbal Musk, who is on Tesla's board of directors, had nonpublic knowledge when he sold company shares worth $108 million last November. A day after that sale, Elon Musk conducted a Twitter poll asking whether he should sell 10% of his own stake, pledging to abide by the results. Tesla's share price plummeted in the wake of the poll as the CEO offloaded billions of dollars worth of the stock. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Activist investor Icahn targets McD's

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has renewed his battle against how McDonald’s requires its suppliers to treat pigs, this time by launching a proxy battle for two seats on the fast-food giant’s board, reports The Wall Street Journal. Icahn first raised an issue with the way that pork suppliers for McDonald’s use gestation crates — small cages to constrain pregnant pigs — in 2012. Partnering with the Humane Society, Icahn argues that McDonald’s has still not banned these 10 years later. McDonald’s confirmed in a statement that Icahn had nominated two directors, which the board would now evaluate. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Who to follow:

Housing boom or housing shortage?

The housing “boom” now underway is different to those of the recent past, due both to the pandemic and to other changes along the property ladder, says Axios. For one, while demand for housing has surged as more Americans spread out and work from home, supply lines are still clogged. So, homebuilding activity is widespread but prolonged. Much more of it, too, is for multifamily units — which is making the dream of individual homeownership less obtainable.

• Average home prices in metro areas soared by 18.8% last year, the most since S&P CoreLogic began records in 1987.
• With interest rates expected to rise, mortgage lenders are poised to cut thousands of jobs amid dwindling refinancing applications.
• Here's what people are saying.

With?Cate Chapman,?Riva Gold, Serla Rusli, Dipti Jain,?Theunis Bates,?Ruiqi Chen,?Melissa Cantor, and Jessica Hartogs.

What's your take on the week's news and other developments impacting you or your business? Join the conversation in the comments below.