Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Bali. They’ll discuss international trade frictions and other challenges for the world economy at the IMF and World Bank’s annual meetings. The US-China trade war and struggles of emerging markets will be front and center.
Hurricane Michael wreaks havoc in the Florida Panhandle. The Category 4 storm made landfall packing ferocious 155 mph (241 km/h) winds. Authorities expect dangerous flooding, widespread power outages, and a storm surge featuring waves of up to 14 ft (4.3 m).
The world’s longest commercial flight commences. Singapore Airlines is relaunching a service from its home base to New York, forsaking economy seats for the nearly 19-hour journey. High oil prices forced it to abandon the offering five years ago.
While you were sleeping
Wall Street stock indexes had their worst day in months. Investors worried about rising US Treasury yields and trade policy sent stocks tumbling. The Nasdaq Composite closed 4.1% lower, its biggest one-day drop since 2016’s Brexit vote (paywall), while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell by more than 3%.
Turkish media showed footage of an alleged Saudi hit team. Caught on airport cameras, the squad was allegedly involved in the disappearance of journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and feared killed. An Apple Watch he wore is at the heart of an investigation.
NASA released a scathing report on Boeing. The US space agency detailed delays and cost overruns by the company, which it accused of “poor performance.” Boeing countered by claiming the report doesn’t factor in changes it’s made to correct past mistakes.
T. Rowe Price upped its stake in Tesla. In a vote of confidence for embattled CEO Elon Musk, the firm raised its stake by nearly half in the third quarter, a regulatory filing revealed. It now has a 10.2% stake in the electric-car maker, second only to Musk himself.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on the search for life in the universe: “Scientists are expanding their understanding of habitability beyond a binary and into a spectrum, which may sound trite, but previous research relied on blunt instruments and blunter assumptions about alien life—starting with the idea that it would appear on the surface.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Australia is setting itself up for failure. It isn’t addressing workers’ needs (paywall), ignoring what helped it weather the 2008 global crisis.
China is nowhere near as dangerous as Russia in terms of hacking. Mike Pence’s assertions about Beijing trying to sway US elections are irresponsible.
Writing your own obituary can boost your career. It enables you to “think backwards” as you chart a path forward.
Surprising discoveries
Millennials are killing American cheese. They’re opting for finer fromage and eateries are following suit (paywall).
Jesse Jackson ’88 t-shirts are hot in South Korea. The civil rights activist’s US presidential campaign is alive and well on the streets of Seoul.
A competitive beard-grower was sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking. Gal Vallerius was known as “OxyMonster” on a dark-net trading portal.
Hard-to-read fonts can help boost your memory. The “desirable difficulty” gets you more actively involved in the learning process.
Teens are too old to trick-or-treat in certain US towns. They face up to six months in prison and fines of up to $100 in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, inexplicably popular shirts, and helpfully bad fonts 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 and edited by April Siese and Steve Mollman.