The Pour Over Today - Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

Today, we’re talking about the continued drama in banking, a controversial new oil project in Alaska, fighting in Bakhmut, and other top news for Wednesday, March 15th (AKA the Ides of March). Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Sponsored by Monogram *Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Monogram Orthopedics’ Regulation A+ offering. Learn more at www.invest.monogramorthopedics.com/disclosures

Today we're talking about the continued drama in banking, a controversial new oil project in Alaska, fighting in Bachmut, and other top news for Wednesday, March 15th, a.k.a. the Ides of March. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour-Over. Here's the quote of the day. Visit many good books, but live in the Bible. Charles Spurgeon Let's get started with some espresso shots. The banking sector is taking a deep breath following the collapses of SVB and Signature Bank,

which opened the vault door for investigations and finger-pointing. One matter of debate is whether to call regulators' decision to guarantee all deposits, even those above the usual $250,000 limit, a bailout. Critics, like Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, say regulators overstepped in that this will ultimately be paid for by all banking customers, i.e. taxpayers. Regulators disagree, saying all funds will come from the deposit insurance fund, paid in to buy banks, not taxpayers, and that unlike 2008, neither the bank's executives nor investors are being helped. Meanwhile, regional bank stocks look like a Six Flags attraction. First Republic Bank stock

dropped 60% on Monday, only to jump 50% yesterday morning before ending the day up 23%. There may be good reasons to be worried about this day, month, or year. God does not promise good days. He promises a great eternity. Stay focused on eternity. It changes everything. Philippians 4, 6-7 says, Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, Texas-based oil conglomerate ConocoPhillips set out to develop the Willow Project in 1999. On Monday, President Biden signed off. Willow Project in 1999. On Monday, President Biden signed off.

The now scaled-back $8 billion project features three drilling sites, 199 wells, expected to generate up to 180,000 barrels of oil daily. Willow has broad support in Alaska due to the project's economic potential—2,500 construction jobs, 300 long-term jobs, and $8 to $17 billion in revenue. It also has plenty of critics. The project is estimated to generate 263 million tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of 1.7 million cars emissions, and has been the subject of over 1 million protest letters mailed to the White House. Sunday, Biden had declared about 16 million acres of the Arctic Ocean and Alaska's North Slope off-limits to drilling, but it did little to temper activists' criticism of

his broken campaign promise. Disagreeing? That's easy, anyone can do it. Disagreeing while being committed to loving the people you disagree with? That's a whole different story, and that's the path Jesus calls us to. Matthew 5, verses 46 and 47 say, For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Both Russia and Ukraine have suffered heavy losses in the key city of Bakhmut this week as the longest battle of the war continues. The once little-known city has become a key battleground. Russia wants to control its access to the industrial Donbass region,

and Ukraine seized its opportunity to stall the enemy there. Before the conflict, Bakhmut housed about 70,000 residents. Now, nearly all are gone. Western intelligence estimates that Russia has suffered 20,000 to 30,000 casualties in the city, with more than 1,100 soldiers reportedly dying in the last week. Russia says they've killed about 200 Ukrainian soldiers there in the last few days. Yesterday, near Ukraine, a Russian fighter jet collided with an unmanned U.S. military drone, forcing the drone into the Black Sea. The U.S. criticized the dangerous actions by Russian pilots. It's easy to feel discouraged in the face of unrelenting conflict.

Pray that peace will come to Ukraine. John 14 verse 27 says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. well-known why. Current joint replacements are generic one-size-fits-all implants that often cause problems later on, and surgical methods have barely changed in the last 40 years with surgeons using hand saws and crude jigs to open up the bone. Monogram is on a mission to modernize the $19.4 billion, yes that's with a B, knee replacement industry. They're gearing up for FDA approval of their robotic surgical system on the NASDAQ this year. Learn more and invest in Monogram via the link in the show notes. Disclosure, this is a paid advertisement for Monogram Orthopedics

Regulation A-plus offering. Learn more via the link in the show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Inflation is slightly less high. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual inflation was 6% in February, a touch lower than January's 6.4%. The report also brought back a crack of hope for omelet chefs. Egg prices have declined 6.7% since January, but they're still 55% higher than this time last year. The Uzbekistani man convicted of killing eight people with a rental truck in an NYC bike path in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors sought the death penalty,

but the jury didn't reach the required unanimous vote. The last time an execution occurred in New York was 1963. Yet another old man river, or atmospheric river, is hammering California, dumping up to 8 inches of rain and prompting a fresh wave of evacuation orders. Over 30 million Californians are under flood alerts, 40 counties are under a state of emergency, and at least two people have died from the recent storms. According to a California state appeals court, Uber and Lyft can treat drivers as contractors, not employees. This week's ruling means the gig economy giants don't have to provide drivers certain benefits, like sick leave. However, the gavel doesn't stop there.

The Service Employees International Union could still appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court. The U.S. has agreed to sell three to five nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of a plan between the U.S., U.K., and Australia seeking to stymie China's Pacific influence. Meanwhile, North Korea fired two missiles from submarines this weekend, ahead of the U.S.-South Korea military drills it opposes. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a 5-star rating and drop a review. If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We appreciate your support and we hope you have a great day. We'll see you on Friday.