Free Republic

Food company Frito-Lay has cut down the number of chips in each bag of Doritos as record inflation has raised production expenses. A bag of Doritos has five fewer chips than it used to, the company told Quartz. "Inflation is hitting everyone. … We took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips," a Frito-Lay representative said. Other ubiquitous consumer products have fallen victim to "shrinkflation," Quartz reported. Bounty has cut three sheets from each roll of paper towels, and a box of Wheat Thins...

President Biden had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into banning Russian oil imports. Even then, he still fell short — imposing a “ban” that restricts US imports, rather than “sanctions” to restrict Russian exports to the entire world. Big difference. And it came only after companies began self-sanctioning — divesting Russian energy. Biden simply made virtue out of necessity. But as reluctant as he was to ban Russian oil, it took Biden no time at all to start blaming Russia for rising gasoline prices. “Since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin began his military buildup at Ukrainian borders . . ....

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Republican politicians, conservative pundits and fossil fuel industry leaders have accused President Biden of weakening the U.S.’s economic power against Russia by reducing oil and gas production. Last week, for example, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said, “Joe Biden has given up the best defense we had against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s evil vision for the world — energy independence.” But a data dashboard unveiled Wednesday by the Center for Western Priorities shows that the opposite is true. The federal government has been issuing oil and gas drilling permits more willingly than it...

BlackRock has taken a $17 billion loss as a result of its Russian exposure since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February—and it’s not the only Western bank set to take a sizable hit. International banks are owed roughly $121 billion by Russia-linked entities, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements—and because of the recent decoupling of the West and Russia, they are unlikely to get most of that money back. BlackRock’s clients held around $18.2 billion in exposure to Russia-linked assets as of the end of January, the firm revealed. The world’s largest asset manager declined...