Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The ANC discusses Jacob Zuma’s ouster. The South African ruling party will talk about the “management of the transition,” after the president resisted calls to resign amid corruption allegations. Zuma’s deputy Cyril Ramaphosa took over as party leader in December and is the front-runner to replace him.
The sale of the Los Angeles Times could be announced. Billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong is reportedly close to buying the publication, one of the most prominent US newspapers, from Tronc. Valued at about $500 million, the deal would also include the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Tesla presents full-year earnings. The successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is not enough to distract investors from Tesla’s performance. They want to know if Elon Musk is overcoming manufacturing bottlenecks after it pushed back its timeline for hitting a production rate of 5,000 Model 3 cars per week.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump asked for a military parade. The president asked the Defense Department to look into planning a big parade to celebrate US service members. Trump was particularly impressed with France’s Bastille Day military parade last year, which he attended as a guest of president Emmanuel Macron.
The frantic search continued for those missing in the Taiwan earthquake. The 6.4-magnitude quake on Tuesday night local time killed at least five and injured more than 250 in the eastern coastal city of Hualien. Some 60 people are still missing and authorities warned people to stay away from their buildings as aftershocks continue.
Kim Jong-un’s younger sister will attend the Winter Olympics. Kim Yo Jong will be the first member of the ruling Kim family to set foot in South Korea. Kim, thought to be in her late 20s, is part of the ruling party’s political wing and regarded as one of the most powerful people in North Korea.
Germany finally agreed on a new government. According to Der Spiegel (link in German), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fourth term has been secured after her Christian Democrats pulled an all-nighter to reach a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD). The contract still needs approval from 450,000 SPD members.
Casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned following sexual misconduct claims. While denying the numerous allegations against him, the billionaire left his post as CEO of Wynn Resorts, having also stepped aside last month as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. Matt Maddox, the company’s president, took over as CEO.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tracy Chou on the need for diversity in the tech industry. “There is the very human moral case, and there’s also the business case. The quality, relevance, and impact of the products and services put out by the technology sector can only be improved by having the people who are building them be demographically representative of the people who are using them.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Ignore the stock market rollercoaster, the sell-off in bonds is what matters. Beneath the reversal in global stock markets was a much bigger market fall in government bonds, suggesting the three-decade-long bull run might finally be over.
Just-in-time manufacturing has a fatal flaw. Recent scandals in Japan are proof that timeliness and quality can be mutually exclusive (paywall).
Job automation will hurt women first, but men most of all. By the 2030s, the most affected industries will be those that employ more men.
Surprising discoveries
Google and Facebook employees can only ask out co-workers once. In an effort to cut down on harassment, the tech giants have made things even more confusing.
Ecuador will debut in this year’s Winter Olympics. Known for tropical rainforests, the country first had to create a ski federation.
Nintendo is thinking about Mario’s belly button. The mustachioed plumber appeared shirtless in Super Mario Odyssey with nipples but no navel, to fans’ dismay.
The Falcon Heavy launch was the second most-watched livestream ever on YouTube. Over 2.3 million watched the SpaceX launch, but 8 million watched Red Bull’s Stratos jump in 2012.
A 100-million-year-old spider had a tail. The discovery of the species raises big questions about arachnid evolution.
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