Like Oklahoma and Notre Dame, Team Transitory just lost its head coach with little warning.

In Senate testimony yesterday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that it was time to retire the use of the word “transitory” to describe the current inflation dynamics in the US.

The backstory: Powell has led Team Transitory since the summer, when pandemic-induced supply chain bottlenecks caused a surge in prices for goods like used cars. Powell and other officials argued those prices would return to normal levels once the wrinkles of the economic recovery were ironed out.

But Team Transitory has been on a losing streak since then, as inflation has spread to other sectors and is generally overstaying its welcome. “The economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high,” Powell said, telling lawmakers that the Fed will consider accelerating the wind-down of its Covid stimulus measures at its next meeting later this month.

His comments touched a nerve in an already sensitive market

The Omicron variant has dropped off stocks at Six Flags with $70 and no rules. The S&P fell 2.3% on Friday, rebounded 1.3% Monday, then dropped 1.9% yesterday, recalling the volatility in the early days of Covid.

Powell’s remarks added another unwelcome twist for investors: They thought that the arrival of Omicron (and its potential impact on economic growth) would delay the Fed’s decision to hike interest rates next summer. But based on yesterday’s testimony, battling inflation is priority No. 1 for Powell—so those economy-cooling rate hikes could arrive right with air conditioning season.

So what is the economic impact of Omicron? Like everyone else, Powell is waiting for more information on vaccine effectiveness before offering his hot take. But he did say that Omicron’s effect on the economy won’t be “remotely comparable” to the devastation of spring 2020, which shows why he’s staying laser-focused on combating inflation. Still, there are some “downside risks” to employment and economic activity, Powell said.—NF

The UK’s competition regulator told Facebook parent Meta that it needs to sell Giphy, a year and a half after the tech giant first announced its acquisition of the GIF platform. Now, Zuck will have to get his GIFs just like the rest of us: for free online.

It’s the first time the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has snuffed out a completed tech deal—a sign that global regulators are trying to slow Big Tech’s massive game of Snakes. According to the CMA, the $315 million deal that gave Meta ownership of Giphy would reduce competition among social media platforms and ad businesses.

Following the acquisition, Meta shut down Giphy’s advertising business, stamping out a competitor to its own business in the process. Regulators are requiring that Meta reinstate Giphy’s ad services before selling the company off to an approved buyer.

Zoom out: This decision could mark the beginning of the end for Big Tech’s Wild West acquisition era. Antitrust regulators in the UK, US, and Australia are a lot less welcoming toward tech company deals these days—a striking change from the years when then-Facebook acquired Instagram, Oculus, and WhatsApp with little to no pushback.—MK

There’s only one abortion clinic in Mississippi, and today it’s at the center of the biggest challenge ever to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal throughout the US. The Supreme Court will soon decide how to handle a Mississippi law that only allows abortions before the 15th week of pregnancy.

Some possible outcomes:

• The court could overturn Roe v. Wade and another ruling that protects abortion access, Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). This would tip legislative dominos in 22 US states that have laws in place to outlaw abortion in Roe’s absence.
• Alternatively, it could strike down Mississippi’s law and reaffirm Roe, which would surprise legal experts, considering three justices were appointed by former President Trump for their antiabortion stances.

But there’s a less splashy alternative: Uphold Mississippi’s law and Roe by changing something called the “viability” standard, or the point at which a fetus’s life could be sustained outside of the womb and the latest time Roe asserts a woman’s right to receive an abortion.

Zoom out: Mississippi is the poorest state in the US, and low-income women are the most likely to seek abortions nationwide. For new mothers, Mississippi only provides health care to children in need until they are six months old.—JW

Stat: Just 43 international travelers visited Bali, Indonesia, during the first nine months of this year, compared to the 6.3 million who mobbed the island in 2019, per the WSJ. Bali’s not alone in its aloneness: Tourism’s contribution to the world economy will only tick up slightly in 2021 over last year, according to a new UN report.

Quote: “Imagine if you came to New York when it was farmland, and you had the option to get a block of SoHo.”

Michael Gord, cofounder of virtual real estate company Metaverse Group, explained to the NYT why he and other investors are speculating on parcels of land in the metaverse. If you want to pay a visit to Gord’s office, just know that Metaverse Group has a virtual headquarters in the Crypto Valley region of a world called Decentraland. Read the whole thing, it’s wild.

Read: Twitter has a new CEO, but what about a new business model? (Stratechery)

Barbados just made the change from constitutional monarchy to republic. The island nation of about 300,000 people celebrated the switch in a ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate officially severing ties with former head of state Queen Elizabeth.

Sandra Mason, a former governor general appointed by the Queen, was sworn in as the nation’s first president. The occasion marked exactly 55 years after the country gained independence from Britain—and formally ended 396 years of British rule. 17th century English settlers turned Barbados into a wealthy sugar colony off the work of hundreds of thousands of African slaves.

One of the new republic’s first acts? Naming native Barbadian Rihanna a “national hero” and giving the billionaire musician the title “the right excellent.” The right excellent Rihanna is also the namesake of the island’s “Rihanna Day” on February 22.

• Certified Rude Boy Prince Charles was also in attendance at the ceremony and passed along the Queen’s well wishes.

The sun still hasn't set on these folks: Whether you watch The Crown or not,  you may be surprised to learn that even with Queen Elizabeth’s figurative departure from Barbados, she is still the official head of state of 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belize, and Jamaica.—MK

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We present to you...our 2021 Holiday Gift Guide. Whether you’re shopping for Grandma, Dad, or your work bestie, our guide can help you win the holidays. Find the perfect present here.

Websites worth exploring: 1) Milestones in human evolution and history and 2) this resource for learning about human anatomy and physiology.

The mobile phone museum: How many of these old handsets did you drop in the toilet?

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Word Search: Any plane geeks in the house? Today’s puzzle is made just for you (and anyone else who loves a good airplane livery). Play it here.

Cheers!

In honor of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returning for a 15th season today, we’re going to test your knowledge of TV show bars. Can you name the shows associated with the following watering holes?

Score a 10/10 and you probably should get out of the house more.

1. Paddy’s Pub
2. The Bada Bing
3. The Gem Saloon
4. MacLaren’s Pub
5. The Drunken Clam
6. Snakehole Lounge
7. The Salty Spitoon
8. McGinty's
9. Moe’s Tavern
10. Kavanagh’s