Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU talks Turkey. In a two-day sit down in Brussels, EU leaders will discuss big issues like Brexit and the deteriorating relationship with Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkey will likely extend its state of emergency, which critics say president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used as an excuse to go after journalists and political opponents.
The Senate votes on a key tax-reform measure. Donald Trump’s push to overhaul the US tax code reaches an important stage today, with Senate Republicans poised to approve a budget measure that would help them pass tax legislation without Democratic support.
PayPal powers ahead. The payment processor is expected to report a rise in third-quarter profit (paywall) thanks to customer-account growth and the popularity of its mobile peer-to-peer payment app Venmo. PayPal has been making great strides in the digital payments market since it split from eBay in 2015.
While you were sleeping
Spain is set to impose direct rule over Catalonia. Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is poised to trigger Article 155 after Catalan president Carles Puigdemont missed another deadline to clarify secession plans. If parliament approves the move by Saturday, Madrid could install its own officials in key positions in Catalonia, and take over the region’s finances and police forces.
Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s next prime minister. The 37-year-old, who took over the Labor party in the middle of the election campaign, will head a center-left coalition government with the small New Zealand First party and the Greens. The Kiwi dollar dropped sharply on the news, amid concerns over the new government’s plans to boost social spending and curb immigration.
Unilever blamed bad weather for its lousy quarter… The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant said hurricanes in the Americas and soggy climes in Europe caused disappointing sales in the third quarter. The first bids on Unilever’s spreads business are due today—the unit, which makes Flora margarine, could fetch around $7 billion.
…And rival Nestlé did badly in its biggest market. The world’s largest consumer goods company reported disappointing sales in the US (paywall) as people move away from ready meals towards healthier eating options. The Swiss giant is expected to sell off its US confectionary business by the end of the year.
A revolutionary gene-modification treatment won approval from US regulators. For certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Yescarta uses a patient’s own genetically modified immune cells to attack cancer. But the treatment, offered by Gilead Sciences, comes at the hefty price of $373,000.
Quartz obsession interlude
Annalisa Merelli on Italy’s deeply misogynistic reaction to Asia Argento’s accusation against Weinstein. ”Argento’s story, and the fact that she kept silence for two decades, encapsulates that power imbalance, the complexity of guilt, and the insidious ways in which sexual assault and rape lingers in the lives of the victims for years. But while many around the world have commended Argento for the risk she took in sharing her story, things have been different in her home country of Italy.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Blame Wall Street for fake news. Facebook and Twitter are partly valued by user numbers, which gives social media firms few incentives to get rid of fake accounts.
Uber and Lyft are making traffic worse. Roughly half of US ride-hailing trips would have been made via walking, biking, or public transit—or not at all.
India and China are backing Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya. Both countries are building roads, pipelines, and ports at the epicenter of the ethnic violence.
Surprising discoveries
Eye-drop bottles are designed to release too much medicine. Drug companies profit from expensive prescriptions, so the quicker a bottle is used up, the better.
Richard Branson was almost conned out of $5 million. A man claiming to be the UK defense secretary asked him for help to ransom a kidnapped British diplomat.
An evangelical school in California is teaching “young saints.” The School of Supernatural Ministry, known as the “Christian Hogwarts,” is part of a larger US movement.
A British neo-Nazi came out as gay and Jewish. Kevin Wilshaw was a well-known member of the National Front.
An Air Berlin plane took a “lap of honor” after its final long-haul flight. The now-suspended pilot buzzed the runway and circled the terminal building at Düsseldorf Airport.
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