Kevin Warsh Isn’t Crazy, the Fed’s Big Balance Sheet Is

The New York Times’ popular word-grouping game Connections delivered another brain-teasing challenge to players on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with puzzle No. 1,021 blending everyday actions, physics concepts, educational visuals and clever wordplay.

Connections, which launched in 2023 and quickly became a daily staple alongside the Mini Crossword and Wordle, tasks players with sorting 16 words into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden theme, ranked by difficulty from yellow (easiest) to purple (most challenging). Many solvers turned to online hints and companion articles as they tackled the Saturday edition.

Today’s Puzzle Themes and Answers

The 16 words in Connections #1021 were: BOARD, EMBARK, ENTER, MOUNT, ACCELERATION, FORCE, MASS, MOMENTUM, FIGURE, ILLUSTRATION, PICTURE, PLATE, FACE, PITCHER, POWER, ROBERT.

Here are the complete solutions, revealed in order from easiest to hardest:

Yellow Group (Easiest): Step Onto, as a Vehicle BOARD, EMBARK, ENTER, MOUNT

These verbs all describe boarding or mounting modes of transport — think stepping onto a bus, train, plane or even a horse. Solvers who spotted the travel-related action early often nailed this category first.

Green Group: Quantities in Mechanics ACCELERATION, FORCE, MASS, MOMENTUM

A physics-heavy group drawing from classical mechanics. These are fundamental quantities used in Newton’s laws and equations of motion. Players with a science background likely connected these quickly, though the theme required recalling high-school physics terminology.

Blue Group: Textbook Images FIGURE, ILLUSTRATION, PICTURE, PLATE

This category refers to visual elements commonly found in educational books. “Plate” here means a full-page image or diagram, a term still used in academic publishing. The grouping rewarded familiarity with how textbooks label their visuals.

Purple Group (Hardest): ____ Plant FACE, PITCHER, POWER, ROBERT

The trickiest set played on compound phrases: face plant, pitcher plant, power plant and Robert Plant (the iconic Led Zeppelin frontman). This punny category often stumps players until they consider proper names and botanical or industrial terms.

How Solvers Approached the Puzzle

Many online guides, including those from CNET, Mashable, Try Hard Guides and Lifehacker, offered tiered hints to avoid full spoilers. Early hints encouraged thinking about vehicle entry for the yellow group and basic physics for green. Blue hints pointed toward book visuals, while purple required lateral thinking around “plant.”

The New York Times’ own Connections Companion for No. 1,021 provided community discussion and further reading, noting the puzzle’s mix of concrete actions and abstract concepts. Some players reported struggling with the purple group due to the proper name “Robert Plant,” while others breezed through the mechanics terms.

Why Connections Remains Popular in 2026

Since its debut, Connections has grown into one of the NYT Games suite’s standout titles, attracting millions of daily players who share streaks, near-misses and victories on social media. Its appeal lies in the balance of logic, vocabulary, cultural knowledge and occasional wordplay — a formula that keeps the game fresh even years later.

Saturday’s puzzle exemplified this mix: accessible entry points via travel verbs contrasted with more specialized references to physics and publishing. The purple category added the signature “aha” moment many fans crave, linking mundane words to a rock legend and carnivorous flora.

For those who missed a perfect solve, the game resets daily with a new grid. Streaks carry over, encouraging consistent play. Tips from seasoned solvers include scanning for obvious synonyms first, then considering multiple meanings of words like “mount” or “plate,” which can fit different contexts.

Tips for Future Connections Puzzles

• Start with the yellow group by looking for strong synonyms or clear actions.
• Consider technical or academic fields for mid-level categories.
• Save purple for last — it often involves puns, proper names or less common phrases.
• Use the in-game shuffle button to rearrange words and spark new connections.
• If stuck, step away briefly; fresh eyes often reveal hidden links.

The NYT Games team continues to refine the puzzle, occasionally adding visual or thematic ties to current events while maintaining the core challenge. Followers of the official NYT Games Instagram account frequently find behind-the-scenes insights and solving strategies.

Whether you’re a daily player chasing a long streak or a casual solver checking in on weekends, Connections #1021 offered a satisfying mix of straightforward groupings and one head-scratching reveal. For the official companion and community reactions, visit the New York Times Games section.

Players can access the latest puzzle directly through the NYT Games app or website. With fresh challenges dropping every morning, there’s always another chance to test your word association skills.

(Word count: approximately 1,020. This article incorporates the latest available solutions and hints as of March 28, 2026, drawing from official NYT resources and leading puzzle coverage sites.)

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Geopolitical shocks, like the ongoing conflict in West Asia, naturally unsettle markets. When headlines flash warnings of oil price spikes, shipping disruptions, and global “risk‑off” sentiment, it’s easy to lose sight of long‑term goals. We saw this not too long ago when the Nifty dropped nearly 3% intraday, driven by fears over crude supply routes and broader risk aversion. For India, which imports a large share of its crude and gas from this region, concerns about inflation, the current account deficit, and growth are entirely understandable.

Yet history, both global and Indian, offers a reassuring lesson: markets are usually far more resilient than the gloom that dominates the headlines. From the Gulf War to the Russia‑Ukraine conflict in 2022, we have seen that while volatility spikes and drawdowns occur, broad indices have tended to recover as uncertainty fades. For long‑term investors, the real challenge is sticking to a disciplined plan that balances risk management with the ability to capture opportunities when they arise.

What is Driving Markets Right Now?

In the short term, three forces are shaping the market: the war, oil prices, and global liquidity. The disruption of key energy routes has pushed crude prices higher, unsettling risk assets worldwide. For India, this raises the risk of imported inflation and a wider current account deficit. At the same time, global central banks remain cautious, with a gradual path of rate cuts extending into 2026–27. This has kept Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on the sidelines, even as domestic institutions continue to provide crucial support.Indian benchmarks have swung between sharp declines and swift rebounds. What often gets missed is that the real “pain” at the stock and sector level (especially in mid‑caps, small‑caps, and high‑beta financials) can be far deeper than the headline index suggests. In such an environment, thoughtful asset allocation and strict valuation discipline matter more than trying to time daily index movements.

What Can History Teach Us About Markets and Wars?

Looking back at decades of geopolitical events, we can spot three recurring patterns. During episodes such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, 9/11, and the Russia‑Ukraine war, markets did experience sharp volatility and drawdowns. Yet, as uncertainty eased and worst‑case scenarios were priced out, indices typically recovered within weeks to months. After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, for example, the S&P 500 regained its initial losses within about a month, even as crude prices remained elevated.
The key takeaway is that geopolitical shocks alone rarely derail long‑term equity returns. Lasting damage usually happens only when these shocks coincide with deep macroeconomic imbalances. Today, for India, the near‑term risk is less the conflict itself and more a sustained spike in oil prices and its secondary effects on inflation and the currency. Provided crude does not stay well above $100 for an extended period, the macro impact, while uncomfortable, is likely manageable for a growing economy with strong domestic demand.

A Practical Framework for Indian Investors

Given this backdrop, the right response will naturally depend on your risk profile and investment horizon. That said, a few universal principles can help investors stay grounded and balanced.

Do’s:

• Revisit asset allocation: Use this period to check whether your mix of equity, debt, and gold still matches your true risk tolerance. Portfolios that have drifted toward high‑beta or thematic bets may benefit from a course correction toward core, diversified holdings.
• Stagger investments: For those with surplus capital, systematic deployment, through STPs or SIP top‑ups, helps average into volatility without trying to time the absolute bottom.
• Upgrade quality: Corrections often compress valuations for fundamentally strong businesses. Use the dip to rotate from speculative names into leaders with healthy balance sheets and pricing power.
  
  
• Maintain liquidity: Ensure 6–12 months of essential expenses are parked in safe, liquid instruments, so you’re not forced to sell equities in a downturn.
  
  
• Stick to a plan: Document your target allocation and review schedule. A structured quarterly check‑in helps you avoid impulsive decisions driven by fear or greed.

Don’ts:

• Avoid leveraged “catch‑the‑falling‑knife” bets: Aggressively averaging down with borrowed money is a fast track to capital destruction, especially when news flow is uncertain and margin calls loom.
• Don’t overhaul long‑term plans: Selling quality equity exposure wholesale because of a geopolitical event risks missing the eventual recovery.
  
  
• Don’t ignore valuations: Not every stock that falls 20–30% is a bargain. Focus on businesses where temporary headwinds do not impair long‑term cash flows.
  
  
• Don’t panic‑stop SIPs: Systematic plans are designed for exactly this kind of environment. Halting them turns temporary paper losses into permanent losses of compounding potential.

What Does the Future Hold?

For Indian investors, the goal should be to protect long‑term objectives while using volatility to strengthen portfolio quality. In the base case, where the conflict remains contained and oil prices do not stay significantly elevated, the impact on India should be manageable. Even in a more adverse scenario, the right response is disciplined, systematic risk management, not extreme “all‑in or all‑out” moves.

Over the next 12–24 months, I recommend a three‑step framework:

• Stabilise: Reaffirm your emergency buffers and pare down unnecessary debt, so decisions aren’t forced by stress.
  
  
• Systematise: Continue or enhance SIPs and use clear, predefined rules to guide your deployment.
• Capitalise: Use corrections to upgrade portfolio quality and, for those with capacity, consider calibrated allocations to dynamic asset‑allocation strategies.

Wars and crises will come and go. India’s long‑term growth and financialisation story, however, is playing out over decades. For investors who stay aligned to that horizon, staying calm, staying liquid, and staying disciplined is likely to be the most rewarding strategy.

Absolut vodka maker

Pernod Ricard

RI

7.94%

increase; green up pointing triangle and Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman BF.B 5.63%increase; green up pointing triangle are in talks to combine as alcohol companies contend with slowing sales. 

Pernod, based in Paris, oversees a portfolio of 200 spirits brands, including Jameson Irish whiskey and Beefeater London gin, and has a market value of around $17 billion.