Author: The Motley Fool

Best-selling author Ben Mezrich has captured the attention of millions of readers with his true-life books about Facebook ("The Accidental Billionaires") and Las Vegas ("Bringing Down The House"). In this conversation with Dylan Lewis he revisits his 2015 book “Once Upon a Time in Russia” to talk about the rise of the oligarch and his experiences with Russia’s billionaire class. They discuss: - The history leading to the creation of Russia’s billionaire class - Potential ways oligarchs could affect Russian's war with Ukraine - Why Russia’s billionaires are closer to “The Sopranos” than the technology titans of Silicon Valley Books discussed: Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs - https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Time-Russia-Oligarchs-ebook/dp/B00RM266ZM The Midnight Ride - https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Ride-Ben-Mezrich/dp/1538754630 Host: Dylan Lewis Guest: Ben Mezrich Engineer: Rick Engdahl

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A company's financials are more than just a set of numbers. They can tell a story that helps us understand the core of a business and where its growth opportunity lies.

John Rotonti talks with fellow Motley Fool senior analyst Auri Hughes about the financials to watch before putting your money into a publicly traded company. They discuss: - Profit drivers in a company’s balance sheet - The portions of a 10-K that investors should pay close attention to - Metric that provide insights about a company’s growth prospects

Stocks discussed: AAPL, SBUX, CPRT, CNSWF

Host: John Rotonti Guest: Auri Hughes Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Tim Sparks, Rick Engdahl

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Last month is was Alphabet. This week Amazon became the latest mega-cap company to announce a 20-for-1 stock split. (0:45) Ron Gross and Jason Moser discuss how Amazon, without changing their underlying businesses, has found a way to strengthen ties with one of their key stakeholders (employees), as well as:

- DocuSign's strengthening business in the face of a declining share price - Enthusiasm for dating app Bumble - Ulta Beauty continuing to grow same-store sales - Chipotle and Jones Soda launching very different products - The latest from Oracle, Stitch Fix, and Marqeta

(19:00) Tess Vigeland, host of The Wall Street Journal's new podcast "As We Work", talks about the changing dynamics of the workplace, the rise of pay transparency, and the challenge facing companies hoping to retain employees. (35:30) Ron and Jason share two stocks on their radar: Intellia Therapeutics and Apple. Stocks discussed: AMZN, DOCU, ORCL, SFIX, BMBL, MQ, ULTA, CMG, JSDA, NTLA, AAPL You'll find 15 stocks and 5 ETFs in our free Investing Starter Kit:  http://fool.com/StarterKit Investing questions? Email podcasts@fool.com Host: Chris Hill Guests: Jason Moser, Ron Gross, Tess Vigeland Engineer: Rick Engdahl

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That's how Bill Mann describes the importance of the oil & gas industry in Russia. (0:20) As we take stock of where we are at this moment, Bill discusses: - Ripple effects for European countries - Whether seizing property of Western companies would spell the end of foreign investment in Russia - Why Energy Secretary Granholm's recent comments give him hope - Rising raw material costs affecting companies like McDonald's and Domino's Pizza - The J Curve (12:15) If Russia provides just 3% of America's oil supply then why have gas prices spiked? Ricky Mulvey talks with Nick Sciple to get some context. Stocks discussed: MCD, SBUX, KO, DPZ Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Mann, Nick Sciple Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl

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The hour-long event gave Apple the chance to highlight multiple upgrades to their devices, but some were more noteworthy than others. (0:20) Tim Beyers discusses: - How the new iPhone SE indicates Apple's unwillingness to cede market share to anyone - Pricing the Max Studio desktop for a small consumer base - The "super chip" powering the Max Studio - Live sports being added to Apple+ - Netflix taking a "never say never" approach to ads on their platform (13:00) Rickey Mulvey moderates a "bull vs. bear" debate between Matt Frankel and Jason Moser over Block (aka, the company formerly known as Square). Stocks discussed: AAPL, DELL, NFLX, DIS, SQ, UA Host: Chris Hill Guests: Tim Beyers, Jason Moser, Matt Frankel Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Tim Sparks

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On this day in 2002, The Motley Fool launched its first subscription service: Stock Advisor. To celebrate we're not breaking out champagne and cake. Instead, we've gathered three members from our investing team (Andy Cross, Asit Sharma, Emily Flippen) to share some of the most important lessons learned over the past two decades, including: - The idea that sometimes the best place for new money is a stock you already own - Importance of diversification - Putting money into the stock market on a regular basis - The challenge (and payoff) of letting your winners run Stocks discussed: SFIX, LMND, NFLX, CWBHF, BBY Host: Chris Hill Guests: Andy Cross, Asit Sharma, Emily Flippen Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Tim Sparks

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Before you buy that stock, have you thought about why you're buying it? It can help (in part, for future reference) to go through the process of writing out your investment thesis. (0:25) Jason Moser discusses: - Recognizing short-term catalysts - Why home improvement is "one of the most obvious long-term trends out there" - Travel and return-to-work being two trends worth watching (15:45) Using language-learning app Duolingo as an example Alicia Alfiere shares key questions to ask when writing an investment thesis, including: - What are its competitive advantages? - Who's running the company? - Will broader trends help or hurt? Stocks discussed: BKNG, HD, LOW, MSFT, DUOL Host: Chris Hill Guest: Jason Moser, Alicia Alfiere Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl

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Motley Fool co-founder and CEO Tom Gardner interviews Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, an enterprise software and business intelligence company. Saylor has put billions of his company’s money into Bitcoin and hundreds-of-millions of his personal wealth into the cryptocurrency. They discuss: - Bitcoin as a hedge against an increasing money supply - Environmental implications of mining cryptocurrency - The security of Bitcoin’s network Additional Resources: What Is Bitcoin? Should You Invest? - https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/cryptocurrency-stocks/bitcoin/ Investing in Bitcoin ETFs - https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/cryptocurrency-stocks/bitcoin-etfs/ Hosts: Tom Gardner, Chris Hill Guest: Michael Saylor Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl

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Buying any stock starts with an idea, but where do you find them? Consider this a starting spot for investors. John Rotonti talks with fellow Motley Fool analysts Auri Hughes and Yasser El-Shimy in a discussion about finding stock ideas and what to look for once you've found them. They discuss: - Using 3rd-party research tools to discover new companies. - What to look for in investor letters and 10-Ks - The utility of “cloning” versus using stock screeners Stocks discussed: KKR, AMZN, KIND, SNAP, FTCH, ETSY Additional resource: How to Find Investment Ideas - https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/where-find-investment-ideas/

Hosts: John Rotonti Guests: Yasser El-Shimy, Auri Hughes Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Tim Sparks, Rick Engdahl

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Nearly 700,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February. The biggest gains were in the leisure and hospitality industries. Apple, Alphabet, and other Silicon Valley companies announced plans for returning to their offices. (0:30) Jason Moser and Emily Flippen discuss employers taking an "omnichannel" approach with their employees, as well as: - Target's stellar results - Costco's mixed quarter - Salesforce focusing on Slack (instead of more big acquisitions) - Disney's plan to launch an ad-supported tier for Disney+ - The latest from Sweetgreen, Domino's Pizza, Best Buy, Elastic, and Zoom Video (31:00) Emily and Jason answer a listener's question about whether to sell index funds in order to buy more stocks, and share two stocks on their radar: Bilibili and Accenture. Stocks discussed: AAPL, GOOG, GOOGL, CRM, TWTR, TGT, COST, SG, DPZ, BBY, ESTC, DIS, NFLX, ZM, CAN, BILI You'll find 15 stocks and 5 ETFs in our free Investing Starter Kit:  http://fool.com/StarterKit Investing questions? Email podcasts@fool.com Host: Chris Hill Guests: Emily Flippen, Jason Moser Engineer: Rick Engdahl

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