Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
David Hockney could set a new record at auction. Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is expected to fetch $80 million at a Christie’s sale, overtaking Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog, which sold in 2013 for $58.4 million, as the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction.
The fate of 150 Rohingya in Bangladesh. The country is facing pressure from the US and UN to back down from plans to repatriate members of the minority group to Myanmar. It’s unclear they will be safe upon return, rights groups say.
A hearing on NAFTA’s replacement. The US International Trade Commission is holding a two-day public hearing to investigate the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, which will likely be signed at the end of the month.
Updates on retail sales from the UK and US. The data releases for October come after a challenging September for both countries. The UK experienced a retail slump after the World Cup, while the US saw sales slow for the second straight month heading into the holiday season.
Results from the world’s largest retailer. After seeing e-commerce grow 40% in the second quarter, Walmart’s expected to report similar or better results in the third. Analysts also anticipate a jump in same-store sales thanks to increased foot traffic.
While you were sleeping
The first wave of the migrant caravan arrived at the US-Mexico border. Hundreds of Central American migrants have made their way to a shelter in Tijuana, with the bulk of the caravan still in Mexico City. Many are waiting for the caravan leaders to arrive for guidance on asylum and immigration options, though some plan to cross into the US illegally.
Theresa May’s cabinet backed a draft Brexit agreement. Emerging from a five-hour meeting with her ministers, the UK prime minister hailed the “decisive step” and said an agreement could be finalized in the coming days. But getting parliament to approve the deal could prove challenging.
Uber lost $1 billion in the third quarter. Though its loss widened by 20% from the previous quarter, it was 27% smaller than a year ago after Travis Kalanick departed. The ride-hailing giant also saw bookings slow for the third straight quarter after reporting double-digit growth for all of 2017.
Stormy Daniels’s lawyer was arrested. Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing the adult-film star in two suits against Trump, was booked in Los Angeles for a felony domestic-violence charge (paywall). He has denied the allegations, and his ex-wife, originally reported by TMZ to be the victim, defended him. He was released after posting $50,000 bail.
Berkshire Hathaway revealed a big bet on banks. In a new filing, Warren Buffett’s company disclosed a new $4 billion stake in JPMorgan Chase. It also added to its positions in Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, and added a new one in PNC Financial.
Obsession interlude
Cloud seeding only sounds futuristic. It’s actually an old technology, a product of WWII utopianism enlisted to combat climate dystopia. Sprinkle some silver iodide in the clouds, and voila—rain. Or at least more than you would get otherwise. It’s cheaper than desalinization or “renting” water, assuming it works. Fifty-six countries believe in it enough to give it a try. But we may never know if it actually makes it rain.
Conversation starters
“Instagram was replicating Snap’s business model with ease and with speed and that was clear to all investors. We recommended that investors not buy the stock. Some chose to make their bets anyway knowing the challenges Snap faced. They lost money and are now trying to recoup. I’ve seen this occur throughout my career.”
—Victor Anthony, internet equity analyst at Aegis Capital, commenting on: Snap reveals U.S. subpoenas on IPO disclosures
“Local players such as soon-to-be Disney’s Hotstar, with exclusive cricket and a lot of Bollywood and regional cinema (thanks to Star TV) haven’t been able to grow paid subs at prices Netflix is now proposing so this isn’t a fait accompli. There is also a significant data cost issue among the very price conscious customers they are going after there. So watch for the marketing spends too that need to follow these apps.”
—Raju Narisetti, professor at Columbia Journalism School, commenting on: Netflix is testing a mobile-only subscription to make its service more affordable
“If you measure it, you can change it. The FT found that only 21% of people quoted in the paper are women so staff told that automated analysis could warn about the lack of female voices in an article as it is being typed.”
—Kristalina Georgieva, CEO at the World Bank, commenting on: Financial Times tool warns if articles quote too many men
Surprising discoveries
Prince Charles is nuts about squirrels. He’s named some of the red squirrels that live on their Scotland estate and will even allow a few into the house.
GQ named Serena Williams its “woman” of the year. Fans say the quotes are misogynistic (paywall), but they were scrawled by the designer who created her US Open outfit, replete with the marks.
The US tax agency is tired of getting bags of cash from weed companies. The US last year collected $4.7 billion in taxes from legal cannabis firms, most of which can’t open bank accounts.
An EU court ruled that taste can’t be copyrighted. The decision came after cheesemaker Levola sued competitor Smilde over a suspiciously similar spreadable cheese.
Tiffany & Co. will sell you a $375 luxury straw. The same amount of money could buy you enough carbon offsets to cover two years’ worth of emissions.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, sacks of cash, and questionable quotation marks 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 Alice Truong and edited by Tripti Lahiri.