But Madison Avenue was also skittish in some ways. Companies faced conflicting advice to pause marketing campaigns out of respect for Ukraine, but also to speak out in support of the country. Executives were pressured to pause their advertising campaigns and instead gift their marketing budgets to humanitarian aid organizations (though warnings circulated on social media about scammers pretending to collect donations for relief efforts).The Russia-Ukraine War and the Global EconomyCard 1 of 6Gas supplies. Europe gets nearly 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, and it is likely to be walloped with higher heating bills. Natural gas reserves are running low, and European leaders have accused Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, of reducing supplies to gain a political edge.Shortages of essential metals. The price of palladium, used in automotive exhaust systems and mobile phones, has been soaring amid fears that Russia, the world’s largest exporter of the metal, could be cut off from global markets. The price of nickel, another key Russian export, has also been rising.Financial turmoil. Global banks are bracing for the effects of sanctions intended to restrict Russia’s access to foreign capital and limit its ability to process payments in dollars, euros and other currencies crucial for trade. Banks are also on alert for retaliatory cyberattacks by Russia.Wall-to-wall news coverage showing the smoking rubble of residential buildings and newborn infants in intensive care in a makeshift bomb shelter caused familiar fears to resurface for companies that had worried during the pandemic about ho …
