Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Emmanuel Macron proposes toughening France’s immigration and asylum laws. Despite criticism from human rights groups, the French president will push a bill shortening deadlines to apply for asylum and doubling the time in which illegal migrants can be detained to 90 days. Illegally crossing borders would become a jail-able offense.
The Fed releases minutes from its January meeting. Policymakers decided to hold interest rates steady at the last meeting, but the bank is expected to raise them again in mid-March.
Wendy’s serves up fourth-quarter earnings. Analysts expect that higher franchise revenue and rental income boosted the burger chain’s revenue in the last quarter. New mobile ordering and payment tech may have had a positive effect on sales, too.
While you were sleeping
Apple is racing to nail down its cobalt supply. The iPhone maker, one of the world’s biggest end-users of cobalt, is reportedly in talks to secure long-term cobalt supplies directly from miners—rather than rely on its suppliers. That puts Apple in direct competition with global carmakers, who are also in a mad dash to lock down cobalt supplies for their electric-car batteries.
Glencore raked in the cash. The world’s biggest commodities trader trumpeted its “best year ever.” It posted a full-year overall adjusted profit of $14.7 billion—and a $2.9 billion dividend for shareholders—based on a rebound in commodity markets. The Swiss mining giant is expecting to ramp up cobalt production (paywall) in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year.
North Korea cancelled a meeting with Mike Pence at the last-minute. The vice president was supposed to meet with leader Kim Jong-un’s sister and others during the Winter Olympics in South Korea last week. However, they called it off (paywall) two hours beforehand, after Pence announced harsher sanctions and slammed the country’s human-rights violations.
Venezuela said the launch of its “petro” cryptocurrency raised $735 million. President Nicolás Maduro provided no details or evidence to back the claim, which followed the cryptocurrency’s first day of pre-sale. He hopes the petro will help pull the nation out of an economic tailspin amid hyperinflation and US sanctions.
The final version of the landmark Trans-Pacific trade deal came out. The deal—officially called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership—reduces tariffs among 11 countries, including Canada, Japan, and Mexico. It’s expected to be signed in early March. Donald Trump yanked the US out of the original deal early last year.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on China’s newfound love for streetwear. “For hip-hop in the world’s most populous country, it marks a turning point. The genre has been accumulating fans since the 1990s, but even so it has remained basically an underground art form. The government kept a wary eye on it, concerned it might promote the wrong values for good Communist youth, and has gone so far as to ban songs in the past for ‘promoting obscenity, violence, crime or threatening public morality.'” Read more here.
Matters of debate
It’s unwise to talk about weed at work. Even if certain drugs aren’t against your employer’s policies or local laws, it could still impact how your coworkers view you.
Trump’s order to ban bump stocks is an empty gesture. The devices, which basically turn legal weapons into machine guns, weren’t used in last week’s school shooting in Florida.
Rising US wages aren’t to blame for inflation. Medical care and education are much bigger culprits.
Surprising discoveries
Emoji activists lobbied for an anatomically correct lobster. Maine residents demanded a redesign after an early version showed eight legs rather than 10.
An average skier gamed the system to compete in the Olympics. US-born Elizabeth Swaney skied for Hungary in the free-ski halfpipe with a simple run devoid of any tricks.
The Queen made a surprise visit to London Fashion Week. Queen Elizabeth II, looking cool in an ice-blue suit, had a front row seat next to Anna Wintour.
Vampire bats are a marvel of evolution. Blood is low in nutrients and high in pathogens, so the bats had to mightily adapt to make it work.
A rare copy of the US Declaration of Independence was found in a cardboard box. James Madison’s version is in better shape than the original (paywall).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Chinese streetwear, and crafty Olympians to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Lianna Brinded.