Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
A UN body votes on membership for human-rights violators. The UN Human Rights Council, whose members include Saudi Arabia and China, will decide today whether to admit Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Eritrea, the Philippines, and Somalia—six nations with questionable human-rights records. The US left the council in June.
Turkey rules whether to free an American pastor. The US and Turkey have reportedly reached an agreement to drop some of the charges against Andrew Brunson, who could be freed today. The evangelical preacher was jailed in October 2016 on suspicion of terrorism.
Results from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. Investors will find out today whether JPMorgan remains a safe haven amid the stock market’s sharp and sudden correction. This week’s rout has leveled the company’s stock gains for the year, after it reported record profits in the second quarter.
Regional elections will send shockwaves throughout Germany. The right-wing Christian Social Union, a key ally of chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, is expected to lose its majority in the state of Bavaria for the first time since World War II. Sunday’s election will serve as a bellwether of the CSU’s influence on national politics.
Another royal wedding. The queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie will marry Jack Brooksbank today at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed in May.
While you were sleeping
A glimmer of hope after a rough week for global markets. After US stocks closed lower for the sixth day in a row, markets in Asia and Europe mostly opened up on Friday. US futures also point to a turnaround when the market opens later today. Still, a clutch of companies hoping to launch IPOs shelved their plans amid the turmoil.
The death toll from Hurricane Michael rose to seven. Over 1 million people remained without power in states from Florida to Virginia on Thursday night after the storm made landfall the day prior. Rescue efforts are underway in the Florida Panhandle.
New evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s fate emerged… The Turkish government told the US that it has audio and video recordings that prove the journalist was murdered at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to the Washington Post (paywall). “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered,” an anonymous official told the paper.
… and business leaders distanced themselves from Saudi Arabia. Richard Branson halted talks with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund over its planned $1 billion investment in Virgin Group’s space ventures. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, media titan Arianna Huffington, and Viacom CEO Bob Bakish also announced they were backing out (paywall) of a Saudi conference.
China’s trade surplus with the US hit a record high. New data show China’s surplus grew to $34 billion in September, up from $31 billion in August. Economists say that Chinese export orders likely spiked as US companies tried to stock up before new rounds of tariffs hit.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on whether the stock-market dive signals a US recession: “Finally, it’s here. The bad news the financial media has been searching for, doggedly, for the last six months. As stocks plunge across the planet, fears of a recession are resurfacing. We can say this with some confidence: The stock market panic is overblown. And a US recession is not imminent.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The Saudi crown prince is sowing chaos. Mohammed bin Salman uses dictatorship tactics (paywall) to bring about what he calls progressive reform.
Denial is dangerous. Humans stay put during hurricanes because they misunderstand remote possibilities (paywall).
Everyone saw the stock-market meltdown coming. Actually, our explanations after the fact can’t account for what is probably a random event (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Ants have used antibiotics for millions of years. A species of fungus farmers teamed up with bacteria (paywall) to produce chemicals that fight off parasites.
Two women were fined $18,000 for urging Lorde to boycott Israel. An Israeli judge ordered the New Zealand women to pay damages after they helped convince Lorde to cancel a planned concert.
Two female mice produced a baby. Researchers took an egg from one and a haploid embryonic stem cell from another.
Kanye West’s iPhone password is 000000. Reporters caught him typing his code while meeting with Donald Trump.
Bees were too confused to buzz during the total solar eclipse. They were nearly silent as the moon blotted out the sun last year.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, password suggestions, and baby mice 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 Jason Karaian and Sarah Todd.