Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Beijing’s top economic policy maker goes to Washington. Liu He will discuss US-China trade disputes (paywall) as the Trump administration ramps up criticism of China’s trade policies.
Daimler’s biggest shareholder continues his German goodwill tour. Geely founder Li Shufu shocked the automaker with a $9 billion investment. He’s reportedly going to sit down with Lars-Hendrik Roeller, economic adviser to chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jerome Powell makes his congressional debut. The new chairman of the US Federal Reserve may signal that he’s willing to accept slightly higher inflation (say 2.5%, versus the current 2% target) in order to extend the economy’s winning streak.
While you were sleeping
The Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s move to deport young immigrants. The top US court refused to hear an expedited appeal from a lower court, which could extend protections for “dreamers”—currently protected by the Obama-era DACA program—by another year.
Apple soared as it prepared for an extra-large iPhone. The company is reportedly prepping a new smartphone lineup to reverse sluggish sales of the expensive iPhone X, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, bullish comments from investor Warren Buffett drove Apple shares close to an all-time high.
GE plunged as it overhauled its board. The embattled conglomerate said three outsiders would replace some of its longest serving members, as it shrinks its board (paywall) and many of its sprawling businesses. The company’s shares plunged to an eight-year low after revealing that federal regulators are examining the company’s accounting practices.
Fiat Chrysler is ditching diesel. The Italian-US firm is the latest carmaker to publicly abandon the fuel after an expensive emissions scandal, reportedly phasing it out from passenger cars by 2022 (paywall).
Quartz obsession interlude
Josh Horwitz on the anti-Marxist intellectual gaining a following in China: “Jordan B. Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and author with a large following on YouTube … is fed up with cultural signals and institutional measures that aim to, in his view, maximize ‘equality of outcome’ for women, minorities, and other groups. Yet much of Peterson’s commentary runs parallel to a movement that has long been gestating in China.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Companies shouldn’t cut ties with gun owners. Warren Buffett argues against imposing his personal views on his employees and shareholders.
We’re entering the age of human climate migration. Extreme weather from climate change displaced more than a million people in 2017.
Taiwan needs to preserve its history. A push to modernize is destroying crucial artifacts.
Surprising discoveries
Teen sexting is more common than you think. One in seven kids ages 12-17 has sent a sext, and one in four has received one.
American psychopaths are different from Dutch psychopaths. The most salient qualities in the US are callousness and a lack of empathy; in the Netherlands they’re irresponsibility and neediness.
Snowball fights broke out in the Vatican. Some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations are coated in several centimeters of snow.
Apple uses Google’s cloud for iCloud. Executives confirmed that it uses the Google Cloud Platform to store photos, videos, and other files.
Infants expect people to be prejudiced. Babies expect a woman doling out cookies to favor those who look more like her.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, baby prejudices, and Italian snowballs 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 Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and Preeti Varathan, and edited by Adam Pasick.