Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
South Korea heads to the US with a message from North Korea. Two officials who met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this week are expected to extend an offer from the dictator to the Trump administration to negotiate over denuclearization. Such talks have failed before, so Washington remains cautious.
Donald Trump formally announces tariffs. The White House may be willing (paywall) to temporarily exempt Canada and Mexico from controversial steel and aluminum tariffs that the president initially insisted would be universal.
Kroger releases its fourth-quarter earnings. The US supermarket operator was hit by stiff competition after Amazon’s $13 billion acquisition of Whole Foods last year. Expectations are low—it’s the 2018 profit outlook investors are particularly anxious about.
While you were sleeping
Grab neared a deal with Uber… Southeast Asia’s dominant ride-hailing service is reportedly ready to buy out Uber’s operations in the region and offer Uber a stake in Grab. That’s a similar deal to the one Uber did with Didi Chuxing in China in 2016, when it sold its China operations to Didi in exchange for equity in the company.
…And Travis Kalanick launched his own investment fund. The ex-Uber CEO said the fund, called 10100, will invest in real estate, e-commerce, and emerging tech in China and India, and in companies that focus on ‘large-scale job creation.’ Kalanick is well placed to make some investments: he made $1.4 billion from selling his Uber shares to SoftBank.
Apple unearthed serious supplier problems during its audits. Apple, which runs one of the world’s largest supply chains, said that it had found a higher number of violations of its labor and environmental policies for suppliers. It found 44 “core violations” of its labor rules in 2017, double the previous year. Compliance with Apple’s 60-hour work week fell.
More than 300 trains were cancelled as Spanish women went on strike. Workers unions called the 24-hour strike to highlight gender inequality on International Women’s Day. Women in Spain are paid 13% and 19% less than their male counterparts in the public and private sectors respectively.
Trump asked witnesses what they discussed with the special counsel. Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigators are reportedly aware of two occasions where the president asked witnesses about their interviews, including asking former chief of staff Reince Priebus if they had been “nice” to him (paywall).
Quartz obsession interlude
Lianna Brinded on why women need to start bragging if they want to close the pay gap. “You’d think that simply performing well at work and helping others would be enough to get you the recognition you deserve. But as a woman you might as well shoot yourself in the foot. If want to move up the ladder, you need to be your own personal cheerleader because people are less likely to do it for you. You need to brag.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Rich people are ruining wine. The hobbyist “lifestyle vintner” lacks knowledge of vines, husbandry, and winemaking, and puts in no physical labor.
The boom in self-employed working mothers is nothing to celebrate. It’s often their only option, but means they don’t get the employee benefits or the stability that comes with working for a company.
Streaming is killing cult film. Once upon a time, you had to wait for an arthouse theater to schedule a screening to watch obscure movies.
Surprising discoveries
A lack of diversity hurts firms’ profits. A study found that discriminatory pay practices cost the UK economy £127 billion ($176 billion) in lost output each year.
Switzerland is wrapping its glaciers in blankets. The white canvas coverings reduce melting by reflecting sunlight.
Dogs “see” the world with their noses. New research reveals that canines form a mental picture of a target when tracking down a scent.
Samsung’s new TVs are nearly invisible. “Ambient Mode” allows you to snap a picture of the wall behind the TV and make it the TV’s background.
Giant squids practice food piracy. Kleptoparasitism occurs when one giant squid kills another to steal its food.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, glacier covers, and camouflage TVs 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.