Good morning, Quartz readers!
You may notice a few new things in the Daily Brief, as part of Quartz’s biggest expansion since we launched six years ago. We’re introducing a new app for the Quartz community, built around commenting and conversation, and a new membership program that offers a field guide to the players and phenomena that are upending the global economy.
The Brief’s new “Conversation Starters” section takes the place of “Matters of Debate,” and gives you the highlights of the day’s comments in the new Quartz app (iOS only for now, Android very soon). We hope you’ll join the conversation!
What to watch for today
A moment of reckoning for Brexit. UK and EU negotiators reached a draft agreement yesterday, subject to approval from British prime minister Theresa May’s deeply divided cabinet, which will consider the deal today.
A high-flying cannabis company reports earnings. Canopy Growth reports earnings for the third quarter—before Canada legalized recreational pot, but after stores began to stockpile supplies ahead of the policy change. Analysts expect Canopy’s losses to widen before it turns profitable next year.
Clues on future rate hikes from the Fed. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will speak about the US and global economy at an event hosted by the Dallas Fed. Nuanced signs that the central bank isn’t overly committed (paywall) to a cycle of tightening could cheer jittery markets.
While you were sleeping
The German and Japanese economies shrank. Global trade turmoil took its toll on export-dependent Germany, where the economy contracted in the third quarter for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile in Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, a series of natural disasters combined with a drop in exports to generate a disappointing quarter.
Italy continued to defy the European Commission. Italian government bond yields jumped and local stocks fell on Wednesday after the country’s deputy prime minister refused to rein in its massive spending plan. The European Commission rejected the debt-riddled country’s proposed budget, threatening it with fines and other disciplinary measures.
Calgary said no to the Winter Olympics. More than 56% of residents in the Canadian city voted against hosting the event in 2026. That leaves Stockholm and Milan-Cortina D’Ampezzo as the only candidates left.
Mike Pence asked Aung San Suu Kyi to pardon jailed Reuters journalists. During their meeting at the Asia summit in Singapore, the US vice president reportedly urged the Myanmar leader “multiple times” to pardon the journalists. Amnesty stripped Suu Kyi of its highest human-rights award this week, saying she was complicit in human rights abuses by not condemning violence against her country’s Rohingya minority.
Snap said it got subpoenas over its 2017 IPO. The social-media company said the inquiries from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department appear to be related to a shareholder lawsuit over the information it shared ahead of its listing about how Facebook’s Instagram affected its business.
Obsession interlude
The magnetic stripe has quietly powered our card-centric lives for decades. It owes its dominance to three parties: the CIA, an IBM engineer, and his wife. Take a swipe at this overlooked, endangered technology at the Quartz Obsession.
Conversation starters
“Employees have to stand up for their values and what is right. Ruth sent a important message by doing this—as a colleague, as a human, not as ‘management.’”
—Beth Comstock, former vice chair of General Electric, commenting on: This is why Google CFO Ruth Porat walked out to protest sexual harassment
“14 million Yemenis could be at risk of starvation and damage to Hodeidah port, which is the key entry point for food needed to avert these preventable deaths, would be disastrous. An immediate, UN Security Council-mandated ceasefire is absolutely vital, as is the end of US and UK diplomatic and military support for the Coalition’s war strategy.”
—David Miliband, president and CEO at International Rescue Committee, commenting on: 149 killed in 24 hours in Yemen’s Hodeida
“Google, Facebook, and Amazon are blocking huge swaths of opportunity that would normally attract startups, forcing venture dollars into sectors that are more capital intensive than traditional tech.”
—Roger McNamee, co-founder and managing director of Elevation Partners, commenting on: More Venture-Capital Money Is Going Into Fewer Startup Deals
Surprising discoveries
Justin Trudeau has a hidden buzzer to escape meetings. It reportedly signals staff to discreetly extract the Canadian prime minister from a pow-wow.
Marie Antoinette’s jewels are up for sale. The French queen’s jewels, not seen in public for 200 years, will be auctioned in Geneva on Thursday.
Men were tricked into wearing stretchy jeans. Denim makers snuck secret comfort into their products so guys wouldn’t scoff.
There’s no such thing as flushable wet wipes. No wipes billing themselves as “flushable” have passed disintegration tests in the UK.
New Yorkers are buying Jeff Bezos a helipad. Taxpayer money will fund the Amazon CEO’s landing site in Queens.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, comfy jeans, and helipad subsidies to hi@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Jason Karaian.