Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The mastermind of China’s economic policy speaks at Davos. Liu He, head of the Communist Party’s top economic-affairs steering group and right-hand man to president Xi Jinping, will tell the World Economic Forum on how China intends to shape the world economy.
Rodrigo Duterte and other ASEAN leaders arrive in India. Host Narendra Modi will try to woo the heads of state from 10 countries, as India jockeys for position with China in the region.
LeEco’s tech unit resumes trading after a nine-month absence. The debt-ridden LeShi Internet & Information Technology is seeking equity stakes in the car businesses owned by its largest shareholder, embattled mogul Jia Yueting.
While you were sleeping
The US special counsel interviewed attorney general Jeff Sessions. Robert Mueller had a closed-door conversation with Sessions last week, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday, regarding potential obstruction of justice by the Trump administration. Mueller also spoke with former FBI director James Comey about the circumstances of his firing by Trump.
Tesla revealed a do-or-die pay package for Elon Musk. The CEO’s new 10-year deal rewards him handsomely with Tesla shares if the company hits some very ambitious market capitalization targets, but gives him nothing if it misses. The announcement quelled rumors that Musk might step down.
Twitter’s chief operating officer resigned. Anthony Noto is taking on the CEO job at Social Finance Inc, an online lending firm. He’s leaving a company that’s thin on senior executives and has just begun to start a turnaround effort; Twitter shares sank by 3.9% on the news.
A high school shooting in Kentucky left two dead. In a rural town called Benton, a 15-year-old student opened fire before morning classes began, injuring dozens before he was taken into custody. The suspect was “non-violently” apprehended, and no motive has been disclosed.
“The Shape of Water” led the pack in Oscar nominations. Guillermo del Toro’s sea-creature love story scored 13 nominations, followed by “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” with nine, and “Dunkirk” with seven. While Hollywood is still struggling to adapt to the #MeToo movement, there were some notable milestones among the nominations.
Quartz obsession interlude
Preeti Varathan on the recent history of the global economy, in one chart: “In 1950, the average African had almost twice as much income as the average Asian. At 63% of the world’s average, she wasn’t far behind the typical global citizen, either. By 2016, the opposite was true … the average African was relatively worse-off, making a little over 40% of the worldwide average.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The US National Security Agency loves Amazon Echos. Spies have been using smart speakers to identify targets by voice alone.
Facebook’s newsfeed changes are bad for democracy. Authoritarian regimes have more sway if the press can’t serve as a counterweight.
Trump’s solar panel policy is a boon to China. Increasing import tariffs will likely do little to decrease Beijing’s manufacturing advantage, and might even increase it.
Surprising discoveries
India’s “good morning!” texts are choking its smartphones. Mass greetings are eating up memory on low-end Android devices, forcing Google and Facebook to adapt.
Hawaii’s governor couldn’t fix a false alarm because he forgot his Twitter password. David Ige was promptly notified of the mistake, but his constituents weren’t so fortunate.
A champion doughnut-eater robbed a Dunkin’ Donuts. Irony was sweet for police, who had previously nabbed the man when he won a doughnut-eating contest.
A male-only charity event in London is a shocking relic of the pre-#MeToo era. An FT reporter went undercover to expose politicians and businessmen who groped scantily clad hostesses.
Wolves have returned to Belgium. Naya, a female equipped with a tracker, is been the first wild wolf to visit in more than 100 years.
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