*****FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2022 ~ VOL. CCLXXIX NO. 69WSJ.comHHHH$5.00DJIA34707.94À349.44 1.0%NASDAQ14191.84À1.9%STOXX 600453.07g0.2%10-YR. TREAS.g5/32 , yield 2.340%OIL$112.34g$2.59GOLD$1,961.60À$25.00EURO$1.0997YEN122.37BRENTWOOD, England—Alot of people in England makefun of Essex the same waysome New Yorkers do withparts of New Jersey.Set just to the east of Lon-don, the county is filled withcommuter towns, pockets ofindustrial blight and cheap-and-cheerful resorts, wherebig-city salaries combine withlower property prices to cre-ate a world where 20- and 30-somethings can afford toflaunt expensive high heelsand sharp suits, and fre-quently do.Before Covid-19, busloads ofvisitors would flock to thetown of Brentwood, made fa-mous by “The Only Way Is Es-sex,” a glitzy reality show re-creating the spray-on tans andloosely scripted dramas of“Jersey Shore.”Now the county council haslaunched a half-million-dollarcampaign to shift perceptionsof Essex. It wants to bring awider range of visitors, thekind of people who might bemore interested in some of itsRoman ruins, say, or the rurallandscapes that inspired JohnConstable, the 19th-centuryEnglish painter.The stars of Towie—that’show“TheOnlyWayIsEssex”is known here—aren’t im-Please turn to page A13BYJAMESHOOKWAYIn U.K. Version of the Jersey Shore,Rebranding Plan Strikes a NerveiiiEssex, next to London, is a party scene;it doesn’t need culture too, devotees sayUber Technologies Inc. isbecoming friends with a for-mer foe.The company reached anagreement to list all New YorkCity taxis on its app, an alliancethat could ease the ride-hailinggiant’s driver shortage andtemper high fares while direct-ing more business to cabdriv-ers, whose livelihoods were af-fected by the emergence of car-sharing apps and the pandemic.While Uber has formedpartnerships with some taxioperators overseas, and ridersARTS IN REVIEWA look aheadat the Oscars,Hollywood’s big night.A14-15SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Thisyear, with Democrats seekingto defend a narrow Washing-ton majority, will see the firstnational election since RonaldReagan defeated Jimmy Carterin 1980 where inflation will bea major issue.Its prominence is clear inthe southern half of Scotts-dale’s McCormick Ranchneighborhood in the Phoenixmetropolitan area, which hasseen the biggest inflationsurge in the U.S. since Presi-dent Biden took office. Nation-wide, the inflation rate is 7.9%.BRUSSELS—President Bidensaid Russia should be expelledfrom the Group of 20 majoreconomies and pledged the U.S.would take in up to 100,000refugees fleeing Ukraine as hemet with world leaders to dis-cuss new sanctions and hu-manitarian aid in response toMoscow’s invasion.Thursday’s gatherings inBrussels came amid concernsthat President Vladimir Putinof Russia could order the useof chemical or other uncon-ventional weapons in Ukraine,a move Mr. Biden said wouldtrigger a response.Mr. Biden stressed thatNATO and European allies areunited in their efforts. TheU.S. outlined a new round ofsanctions against political fig-ures, oligarchs and defensecompanies and $1 billion inhumanitarian funding.“The single-most-importantthing is for us to stay unifiedand the world to continue tofocus on what a brute this guyis,” said Mr. Biden, referring toMr. Putin. “And all the inno-cent people’s lives that will belost and ruined.”Mr. Biden also said hethought Russia should be re-moved from the G-20, addingthat the decision was up tothe group. He said that issuewas discussed on Thursdayamong leaders. He said if itwasn’t possible to removeRussia, he had raised the ideathat Ukraine should be al-lowed to attend the meetingsand observe. A G-20 summit isscheduled to be held in Bali,Please turn to page A8ByTarini Parti,Robert WallandCatherine LuceyOBITUARYEdward Johnson III, 91,transformed FidelityInvestments into afinancial behemoth.B1JIM BOURG/REUTERSPresident Biden met in Brussels on Thursday with North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders, as well as with those of theG-7 and the European Union. Mr. Biden stressed that NATO and European allies are united in their support for Ukraine.Ukraine said it struck theRussian-occupied port in theAzov Sea city of Berdyansk onThursday, igniting a large fireand hitting a Russian warshipat the site, which has become amajor logistics hub for Mos-cow’s invasion forces.Footage from the areashowed smoke billowing from aship and secondary explosionsfrom detonating ammunition.Footage also showed twosmaller Russian ships fleeingthe port after the explosions,one of the ships on fire.The attack in Berdyansk—50miles west of the besieged portof Mariupol and nearly 100miles from the main front linein southern Ukraine—is a signKyiv has retained significantmilitary capabilities in its fightagainst larger Russian forcesthat are struggling to maintainsupply lines in the country.Russian officials didn’t con-firm the attack. Kyiv initiallysaid the strike destroyed theRussian navy landing ship,Orsk. Ukrainian news reportsnamed the targ