News From the Control Tower - 3/23/2022

News from the Control Tower: Our weekly curated list of news stories affecting you and your finances.

This week’s reads include:

1.       The Price of a Lunch Salad Went Berserk While You Were Working From Home

Workers returning to the office after two years are learning that their already-expensive downtown salads and sandwiches got pricier during their absence

2.       Largest Federal Utility Chooses Gas, Undermining Biden’s Climate Goals

President Biden wants electricity generated from wind, solar and other clean sources. The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to invest in fossil fuels instead.

3.       Forecasters see growing chance of a recession as Fed hikes rates this year to fight inflation

The probability of a recession in the U.S. was raised to 33% in the next 12 months, up 10 percentage points from the Feb. 1 survey. The chance of a recession in Europe stands at 50%.

4.       McDonald’s Ice Cream Woes Have Inspired Memes, Mockery and Now, a Federal Lawsuit

A California tech company that tried to solve the problem of malfunctioning ice cream machines claims in the suit that it was thwarted by McDonald’s.

5.       Why Warren Buffett Doesn't Buy Real Estate And Most Other Investors Shouldn't Either

Buffett isn’t opposed to investing in real estate and has invested in several real estate investment trusts (REITs) over the years. However, he knows it makes little sense to get into the business of being a landlord.

Bonus:  Decades Before They Had the Vote, Women Launched Their Own Stock Exchange

Critics tried to dissuade the public from investing money with the female stockbrokers.