Russian Sanctions' Tightrope | Tinder Swindler's Reckoning | Rivian’s Lost Drive

Plus: Exodus Of Western Brands From Russia Leaves Putin On An Island

Good morning.

Washington and Brussels are treading a difficult line—pressure fossil-fuel dependent Russia to end its war in Ukraine without totally shutting the door on its energy exports, which would only drive oil prices even higher and could take a serious toll on American and European economies. For retail brands too, leaving Russia isn’t easy—but the alternative is likely worse. We’re also covering the billionaire Leviev family’s lawsuit against the so-called Tinder Swindler who allegedly pretended to be a relative as part of his romance scams, and the tumble in Rivian shares hitting its founder’s net worth.

Correction: Yesterday’s edition of the Daily Dozen referred to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's yacht as having been seized by German authorities. That is incorrect and we regret the error. The story has been updated with new information.

In The News Today

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, has fallen under Russian control but no radioactive material has been released in the fighting, said the International Atomic Energy Agency. Follow our live blog for the latest news on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

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Top Take-Aways

The U.S. and its allies have come down hard on some Russian banks but fear leaving European countries without enough natural gas—walking a fine line between rebuking Russian President Vladimir Putin and hurting themselves. Meanwhile, western oil giants are abandoning tens of billions of dollars of investment in Russia—effectively a handover to Putin, who could nationalize the abandoned positions, or sell to an image-insensitive buyer, perhaps PetroChina.

As pressure mounts for crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance to ban access to their platforms for all Russian users, and not just sanctioned individuals, other major crypto players are plugging potential leaks in their sanctions compliance programs.

Elon Musk unexpectedly dropped his opposition to efforts by the United Auto Workers to organize workers at Tesla’s Fremont California plant and invited the union to arrange a vote to determine if its employees want to join the union.

The man known as the Tinder Swindler for allegedly conning scores of women out of an estimated $10 million by pretending to be the son of Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev is now reportedly being sued by the family he claimed to be a part of.

Off-price chains like T.J. Maxx, Ross and Burlington see plenty of room to “aggressively” raise prices this year without alienating customers as long as they stick to one simple rule: keep prices below mainstream competitors.

Electric vehicles maker Rivian’s shares have tumbled 17% to $50.91 per share as of market close Thursday, the aftermath of a badly managed price hike for its products, costing its founder RJ Scaringe his billionaire status.

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Nik Storonsky, the Russian billionaire cofounder of London-based financial app Revolut, wrote a blog post on Tuesday declaring his opposition to the Russian war against Ukraine and announced his company would match up to £1.5 million ($2 million) in donations to the Red Cross Ukraine appeal over the next week. 

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