What to watch for today
Further unrest in Turkey. Demonstrations are expected following the death of a 15-year-old left comatose by police last year. Tear gas has already been fired on 1,000 protestors gathered at the hospital where Berkin Elvan died.
Krispy Kreme’s sticky growth. Analysts expect the US donut company to post fourth-quarter earnings-per-share of $0.13, up from $0.11 last year. Investors will be looking for an update on when its K-Cup coffee packs will hit the market.
The US extends a hand to Ukraine. Barack Obama will meet Ukraine’s interim president, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, at the White House in a show of American support. The two leaders will discuss US financial aid and Ukraine’s recent plea for Western military help.
While you were sleeping
Malaysia enlisted India to look for its missing plane. The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was expanded westward after suggestions that the plane may have doubled back and crossed into the Malacca Straits.
An Obamacare foe won in Florida. A special Congressional election was won by a Republican opponent of the president’s health care reforms, in a possible preview of November’s midterm elections.
Thailand cut its benchmark rate, from 2.25% to 2.0%, to invigorate its economy following months of anti-government protests—even as other emerging economies are boosting rates to counter the Fed’s taper.
Cathay Pacific’s net earnings tripled to $340 million in 2013. Lower fuel prices, a recovering euro zone, and more mainland Chinese passengers helped the Hong Kong airline outperform some of its struggling peers.
SpiceJet ordered $4.4 billion in Boeing jets. The budget Indian airline will acquire 42 new B737MAX planes starting in 2018, which could help it seek new investors in the wake of relaxed restrictions on international investment.
Alibaba spent $800 million on TV and movies, buying a controlling stake in Hong Kong-based ChinaVision. The move is part of its ever-expanding rivalry with Tencent, which is expanding into Alibaba’s home turf in e-commerce.
A mystery threat shut down Facebook’s campus. Employees were held on site in the company’s Menlo Park headquarters until 8:30p.m. on Tuesday as police secured the offices, following a phone-in threat. Police have not said what the threat was, but later called it “totally not credible”.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on how a male youth boom could rattle emerging markets. “When there aren’t enough jobs to employ the supply of young men, that can galvanize conflict, argue the analysts—as can stagflation, rising income inequality, unaffordable property, and other problems facing emerging markets. Particularly if they’re unmarried, these young men have less to lose by banding together and committing crimes, unrest or violence. The latter point is a particular concern in China and India, where a cultural preference for boy children has led to sex selection of infants that now means there are tens of millions more young men than young women.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The internet needs a Magna Carta… Human rights now reside online.
…But Ralph Waldo Emerson would still hate it, because it’s a shortcut to actual thinking.
Ted Cruz is the real-life Frank Underwood. The Texas senator is the most shamelessly Machiavellian player in DC.
Netflix is exaggerating its rivalry with HBO. It plays into Americans’ “love-to-hate” attitude toward cable providers.
Surprising discoveries
Moving to a richer neighborhood is traumatic. But only for boys, who suffer PTSD-like symptoms.
Worrying about money will makes hangovers worse. But even the worst hangover won’t delay your next drink.
TV was the hot ticket at SXSW this year. The interactive tech conference highlights the return of the idiot box.
The Kremlin spends millions on PR in the US. It doesn’t seem to be paying off.
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