Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
This Q&A with Russia expert Fiona Hill is fascinating for its assessment of Putin’s motives in attacking Ukraine. The autocrat’s view, Hill says, “is that borders change, and so the borders of the old Russian imperium are still in play for Moscow to dominate now.” – Politico
Inflation and the ever-dizzying rise of housing costs in B.C. are persuading many B.C. couples not to have kids. – CBC
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Engaging in-depth yarn about the take-down of a Los Angeles drug-dealing operation that operated much like DoorDash, but dealt drugs laced with fentanyl, causing overdoses that sparked a police investigation. – Los Angeles Times
With the world closer than ever to WW3, and some calls for NATO troops to defend Ukraine, the Netflix movie Munich: The Edge of War provides historical perspective on appeasement.Its story takes place in the lead-up to the 1938 Munich conference and has characters including U.K. PM Neville Chamberlain and others in his orbit. The movie implies that he smartly acceded to Hitler taking over territory because the U.K. was not ready for war, and needed an extra year to make weapons and planes to defend itself.
This review of the movie by a Winston Churchill biographer adds perspective. – The Washington Free Beacon
https://freebeacon.com/culture/review-munich-the-edge-of-war/
The U.S. Mint spent more than US$0.05 to produce each of that nation’s nickels even before the sudden unexpected surge in the price of the metal nickel to more than US$100,000/tonne. When a large short-squeeze caused that spike in nickel pricing, the price for the metal in a U.S. nickel rose to more than US$0.16 – about US$0.12 for the 1.25 grams of nickel, and US$0.0375 for the 3.75 grams of copper.
Of course, the mint prohibits the melting of pennies and nickels for metal value. – Barron’s
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Down, not up, might be where to look for the future of energy. Up is where oil and gas prices appear headed in the near and long term. But down – way down, 12 miles or so – might be where a vast reservoir of untapped energy might be, especially for a Putin-power-dependent Europe, according to U.S. geothermal startup Quaise Energy. – Vice and Shift
https://thenextweb.com/news/geothermal-energy-europe-answer-natural-gas
Regardless of up or down, if you’re looking ahead for energy futures, here are some alternative energy stocks worth considering, according to Forbes.
