‘RRR’ Review: A Hero (or Two) Shall Rise

Scenes of glorious excess make the screen hum with energy in S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic set in British colonial India.

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By Nicolas Rapold

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Wendy's CEO: Expect menu price increases of 5% this year

New York (CNN Business)McDonald’s is bringing back Spicy Chicken McNuggets, but not everyone can buy them.

The fast food chain said that the spicy nuggets are now available at about half of its US locations, or roughly 6,900 locations, for a limited time. McDonald’s regularly releases menu items on a regional basis to generate buzz and excitement among its fans.

McDonald’s first unveiled the spicy chicken nuggets in 2020, making them the first new McNugget flavor in the United States since the item was introduced in 1983. The nuggets have have a a breaded tempura coating of cayenne and chili peppers, packing a more flavorful punch compared to its regular chicken nuggets.

The chain credits the nuggets for boosting sales two years ago during the initial onset of the pandemic. McDonald’s US sales jumped 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 thanks in part to menu price increases, powerful digital sales and popular items like its crispy chicken sandwiches and the limited-time McRib sandwiches.

Limited-time items are an important marketing tool for the food industry to draw foot traffic and interest. These items offer consumers some variety — a key for fast food, as it’s a notoriously thin-margin business with little customer loyalty. Offering something new gives people a reason to come back.

Oil Pares Early Gains, Settles Notably Lower On Demand Concerns

Crude oil prices pared early gains and drifted lower on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a surge in coronavirus cases in China.

According to reports, lockdown has been extended in Shanghai, where asymptomatic coronavirus cases rose by a record 13,086 on Monday, up from 8,581 cases a day earlier.

Oil prices climbed higher earlier in the day, extending gains from the previous session amid rising concerns over tighter global supply as the European Union and the United States are reportedly mulling further sanctions against Russia.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down by $1.32 or about 1.3% at $101.96 a barrel, after having climbed above $105.00 a barrel earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures were down $1.59 or 1.48% at $105.94 a barrel a little while ago.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and sought additional sanctions on Russia.

The U.S. is likely to announce new sanctions on Russia this week. Meanwhile, the 27-member EU is under pressure to extend sanctions to Russia’s oil and coal sectors to condemn its war crimes in Ukraine.

Traders looked ahead to weekly inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), due later today, and Wednesday morning, respectively.

Tiny Love Stories: ‘I Quietly, Foolishly Eloped’

Modern Love in miniature, featuring reader-submitted stories of no more than 100 words.

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European Economics Preview: Germany Flash Inflation Data Due

Flash consumer prices from Germany and economic confidence from euro area are due on Wednesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Statistics Sweden releases retail sales for February. Sales had increased 4.5 percent on month in January.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain’s INE releases flash consumer and harmonized prices for March. EU harmonized inflation is forecast to rise to 8.1 percent from 7.6 percent in February.

In the meantime, the KOF leading index from Switzerland and economic tendency survey results from Sweden are due.

At 4.00 am ET, Italy’s Istat publishes business and consumer confidence survey data and producer prices.

At 5.00 am ET, the European Commission is slated to release Eurozone economic sentiment survey data. Economists expect the index to fall to 109.0 in March from 114.0 in February.

At 8.00 am ET, Destatis releases Germany’s flash CPI & HICP data. Consumer price inflation is seen at 6.7 percent in March versus 5.5 percent in February.

JetBlue Offers To Buy Spirit For $33 A Share

JetBlue (JBLU) on Tuesday confirmed that it has submitted a proposal to the Board of Directors of Spirit (SAVE) to acquire Spirit for $33 per share in cash, implying a fully diluted equity value of $3.6 billion.

The proposal represents a premium of 52% to Spirit’s undisturbed share price on February 4, 20221, and a premium of 50% to Spirit’s closing share price on April 4, 2022. A 37% premium to the value implied by the Frontier transaction as of April 4, 2022

JetBlue said it firmly believes its proposal constitutes a “superior proposal” under Spirit’s merger agreement with Frontier and represents the most attractive opportunity for Spirit’s shareholders.

In February, Spirit Airlines reached a merger deal with Frontier Airlines. According to the deal, Spirit share holders will receive 1.9126 shares of Frontier plus $2.13 in cash for each existing Spirit share they own. This implies a value of $25.83 per Spirit share. Upon closing, existing Frontier equity holders will own about 51.5%, while Spirit equity holders will own around 48.5% of the combined airline.