1. Sri Lankan stocks plunge as protests and power cuts mount
Inflation is soaring in Sri Lanka as civil unrest grows with the nation experiencing major power outages. According to Bloomberg: Sentiment has soured even as the government seeks a bailout from the International Monetary Fund to tackle surging living costs and a foreign-exchange crisis. The rupee is the world’s worst-performing currency this year with foreign funds withdrawing a net $11 million from local stocks”. Further, the growing political crisis has annihilated a market that was the world’s second-best performer in 2021 after rallying 80%. Now, the Sri Lanka Colombo Stock Exchange All Share Index has lost 33% and is showing no signs of slowing down, making it the world’s worst performer this year behind Russia.

2. Russian war crimes come to light, prompts EU to discuss further sanctions
The European Union said that work is underway on additional sanctions to penalize Russia for what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine, as it condemned the alleged atrocities committed against civilians.

In a statement on behalf of the 27-nation bloc, Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief foreign envoy, blamed the occupying Russian forces for the images of dead civilians in the streets, saying that the EU will work on further sanctions “as a matter of urgency,” he said. 

“The Russian authorities are responsible for these atrocities, committed while they had effective control of the area,” Borrell said. “The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil.”

New EU sanctions will be discussed over the next few days, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for “very clear measures.” 

“I am in favor of a round of sanctions, particularly on coal and oil, which we know are particularly harmful … We must convey a sign that it is our values and our common dignity that we’re defending,” he said.

3. World’s top climate scientists say it’s now or never to act on rising temperatures
“It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” IPCC Working Group III co-chair Jim Skea said. The 1.5 degrees Celsius goal is the aspirational temperature threshold ascribed in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) follows a series of mind-bending extreme weather events worldwide.

“For instance, in just the last few weeks, an ice shelf the size of New York City collapsed in East Antarctica following record high temperatures and heavy rains deluged Australia’s east coast, submerging entire towns,” CNBC reports.

4. Britain announces plans to mint its own NFT
If you didn’t believe crypto adoption had hit mainstream adoption, this may be the surest sign yet. UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has asked the Royal Mint to create and issue the NFT “by the summer,” City Minister John Glen said on Monday. Glen announced a number of steps the UK will take to bring digital assets under more regulatory scrutiny. He says the government wants Britain to “lead the way” in crypto. For those scratching their heads, NFTs are digital assets that represent unique ownership of a virtual item like an artwork or video game avatar using blockchain, the technology that underpins many cryptocurrencies. The ownership can be replicated (as is the case with NFT artworks) but the original is undisputed as its ownership is encoded on the blockchain for all to see, hence retaining its value.

5. ASX to rise, Twitter shares surge on Musk stake
“Australian shares are set to open higher as Twitter surged more than 25 per cent on news that Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media company, bolstering overall tech sector sentiment.” (AFR).

ASX futures were up 47 points or 0.6% to 7525 near 6.20am AEST, with thw AUD +0.7% to 75.45 US cents. On Wall St Dow +0.3% S&P 500 +0.8% Nasdaq +1.9%. Bitcoin on bitstamp.net -0.7% to $US46,155.88 near 6.20am AEST. 2-year yield: US -0.04% (2.42%) Australia +0.01% (1.81%). 10-year yield: US +0.03% (2.41%) Australia +0.01% (2.83%).