Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Bali. They’ll discuss international trade frictions, in particular the US-China trade war, as well as other challenges for the world economy at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s annual meetings.
Delta Air Lines reports on its third quarter. The airline is expected to post a rise in profit and revenue, but investors will be looking for an update on negative fallout from Hurricane Florence and higher jet-fuel prices.
The world’s longest commercial flight takes off. Singapore Airlines is relaunching a 19-hour flight from its home base in Changi Airport to Newark International after a five-year hiatus.
While you were sleeping
European and Asian markets plummeted on the back of a US sell-off. European shares plunged to their lowest level in 20 months on Thursday, and markets in South Korea, China, and Japan (paywall) suffered a similar fall after yesterday’s rout on Wall Street. Tech stocks took a particular beating: Hong Kong-listed Tencent entered its 10th straight day of declines.
Hurricane Michael weakened, but continued to wreak havoc. Michael has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but is packing winds of up to 70 mph as it heads toward South Carolina. The storm has killed two people so far.
Apple expanded its chip operations in Europe. The tech giant announced it was buying into Dialog Semiconductor for $600 million, acquiring patents and some 300 engineers as part of the deal. Apple has used power-management chips from the Anglo-German company since its first phones.
BMW raised its stake in its Chinese joint venture. The German carmaker paid $4.2 billion to increase its ownership in BMW Brilliance Automotive from 50% to 75%. It’s the first move by a foreign car company to take control of a Chinese partner since Beijing relaxed rules on ownership.
Elon Musk denied that James Murdoch has been tapped as Tesla’s chairman. The Financial Times reported (paywall) yesterday that Tesla board member and 21st Century Fox CEO Murdoch was the top choice to replace Musk, who was ousted as chairman of the electric-car company as part of a deal with the SEC. Musk’s tweet—posted at 4:20 Pacific time—simply said: “This is incorrect.”
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
SoftBank could end up over-WeWorked. Buying a majority stake in the office-sharing company represents a dangerous concentration of risk for the Japanese investment fund.
China is nowhere near as dangerous as Russia in terms of hacking. Mike Pence’s assertions about Beijing trying to sway US elections (paywall) 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 restaurants are following suit (paywall).
Moons could have moons, too. But “moonmoons”—moons that circle moons that orbit planets—have yet to be proven.
The victims of Mount Vesuvius had their blood boiled. A study suggests citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum died from a sudden surge in temperatures, not suffocating ash.
Hard-to-read fonts help boost your memory. The “desirable difficulty” gets you more actively involved in the learning process.
Some US towns ban teens from trick-or-treating. Teens face up to six months in jail and $100 in fines in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, moonmoons, and upscale cheese 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 Sarah Todd.