**__ Diplomatt’s Daily Digest – February 17, 2022__**
Good morning and happy Thursday, everyone! Stock futures dipped in early morning trading Thursday as investors digested corporate earnings reports, updates from the Federal Reserve, and developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Weekly jobless claims numbers will also be released Thursday morning. According to a Dow Jones estimate, initial filings for unemployment benefits are expected to total 218,000. That would be a slight decline from the week before. The S&P 500 in Wednesday’s regular trading session closed little changed, while the Dow shed nearly 55 points and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%. The major stock averages came off their lows Wednesday after the release of minutes from the Fed’s January meeting.

The meeting summary showed the Fed is prepared to hike interest rates and reduce its balance sheet soon, as investors had already expected.

Quote of the week: “We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” -Jimmy Carter

**General News:**
• Ukraine has denied claims by Russian state-controlled media that it launched shells in eastern Ukraine and accused Moscow-backed rebels of attacking a village in the region. Russian-controlled media agency RIA claimed that Ukrainian forces had shelled territory held by pro-Russian separatists on Thursday. The two countries currently have a cease-fire agreement in place.
•Nick Clegg, once the second most powerful man in Britain, is now one of the most powerful people at Meta, formerly known as Facebook. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promoted the former deputy prime minister to president of global affairs on Wednesday, putting him in charge of “all policy matters” as the tech giant faces a barrage of international regulation.
• Amazon has reached a global agreement with Visa to settle a dispute over the credit card giant’s fees. The deal means Amazon customers in the U.K. can continue using Visa credit cards, as previously announced by the two companies. Amazon will also drop a 0.5% surcharge on Visa credit card transactions in Singapore and Australia, introduced last year.
• Shares of DoorDash soared as much as 32% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter. The company also posted strong order numbers and added new users, suggesting that food delivery services remain high.
• Nvidia reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales on Wednesday that beat analyst expectations and provided a strong outlook for the current quarter. The stock fell about 2% in extended trading.
• Avocados will likely be in short supply and more expensive in the coming weeks if a current U.S. suspension of Mexican avocado imports persists.
• Walmart topped estimates on Thursday after shoppers turned to the retailer for groceries and gifts over the holidays and said it’s focused on value as some shoppers grow nervous about inflation. The company said it’s on track to hit its long-term growth targets, which called for adjusted earnings per share growth in the mid-single-digits.

**StockTwits Top 10 Trending Tickers of the Day:**
1. PLTR
2. NVDA
3. MTTR
4. FSLY
5. GRC
6. DASH
7. SCL
8. ETFC
9. FVRR
10. WMT