Notes Today:

• Toyota has no plans to leave the Russian market and close its plant.

• Owners Fear Planes ‘Are Gone Forever’ After Russia Shields Them From Seizure

• Amazon intends to boost its outstanding shares by a 20-to-1 ratio, under a plan disclosed late Wednesday. (makes selling covered puts more accessible – about time)

• Providers of virtual private networks, or VPNs, are recording a surge in usage from Russia after the Kremlin cracked down on Facebook and other services as part of a broader effort to silence dissent and limit information about its invasion of Ukraine.

• Germany's benchmark index Dax gains more than 1,000 points for 1st time ever in historic move on hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war.

• Fitch downgrades Russia’s credit rating and says default is ‘imminent’

• WP: Chernobyl nuclear plant disconnected from power grid, creating an ‘extremely dangerous situation’