Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
An EU summit begins in Brussels. The meeting comes a day after UK prime minister Theresa May survived a leadership challenge from her own party, though she remains in a bind over how to get support from parliament for her Brexit deal. The EU has said that it won’t renegotiate anything in the UK’s withdrawal agreement.
Marina Butina is expected to plead guilty in a US federal court. The alleged Russian spy cut a deal with prosecutors, who are investigating how Butina fits into a broader pattern of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
OMG, the ECB ends QE. The European Central Bank is expected to formally end its emergency bond-buying program (paywall), otherwise known as quantitative easing. Since 2015, the central bank has been pumping up the euro-zone economy by acquiring some $3 trillion in assets. The end of the stimulus comes just as worries about the next economic downturn begin to rise.
Virgin Galactic takes a giant leap toward space tourism. It will try to send a rocket-powered plane up to 50 miles (80 km) into the atmosphere, close to what’s considered the edge of space. If it succeeds, it could move Richard Branson’s company ahead of its competition, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
While you were sleeping
Apple announced a big expansion in America. Apple said it will spend $1 billion on a new campus in North Austin, Texas, and invest another $10 billion in data centers in Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City, California over the next three years. The investments will create 20,000 jobs, and offer ammunition against charges—from Donald Trump, and others—that the company does not invest enough at home.
A second Canadian citizen went missing in China. Ottawa said that Michael Spavor, a businessman living in northern China who frequently travels to North Korea, couldn’t be contacted after he had told Canadian authorities he was questioned in China. The news comes days after Canada confirmed the detention of former diplomat Michael Kovrig.
Jailing journalists is the “new normal.” More than 250 journalists around the world were jailed in 2018, according to a new report. This is a sign that governments cracking down on free speech is “more than a temporary spike,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists. Turkey, Egypt, and China were the worst offenders, with Turkey taking the top slot for imprisoning at least 68 reporters.
Another hedge fund closed up shop. Veteran investor Philippe Jabre has begun returning investor capital and winding down his Geneva-based operation, Bloomberg reports. Jabre, who was hit with a hefty fine in 2006 in one of the biggest market-abuse cases in British history, joins a growing list of hedge fund managers who have thrown in the towel due to unfriendly markets—174 funds liquidated in the third quarter alone.
Opec set an oil-price “floor” of $60 per barrel. The cartel and its allies have successfully curtailed supply to bring “relative stability” to the market, the International Energy Agency said in a new report (paywall). Getting Russia on board was key, ensuring that big producers cut supply by a collective 1.2 million barrels per day.
Obsession interlude
Is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” problematic in the #MeToo era? A handful of radio stations have stopped playing the holiday classic, but some feminists see it as a subtle anthem of empowerment. Also, did you know “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” played a pivotal role in the rise of Islamic fundamentalism? There’s bound to be talk tomorrow, so let’s see if “BICO” really can’t stay.
Matters of debate
Join the conversation with the new Quartz app!
The workplace needs humans and AI to survive. Humans working with machines give businesses the agility to survive the rise of automation.
Bill Gates needs to read more fiction. The genre is essential to gaining a better understanding of the world.
Theresa May is a zombie leader. She won’t be ousted before the Brexit deadline, but she no longer has the authority (paywall) of a leader who is able to secure a deal for her country.
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Surprising discoveries
Taylor Swift used facial recognition to track her stalkers at a concert. She knew they were trouble when they walked in.
A Russian robot turned out to be a man… A robot called Boris at a youth forum on robotics in Yaroslavl was in fact a person wearing a robot costume.
… While a robot in Japan makes fried chicken. Convenience-store chain Lawson is deploying a chicken-cooking robot in its stores amid a crippling labor shortage in the country.
Fanny packs are one of humankind’s oldest accessories. Belt bags are nothing if not practical, which explains why they were already in use in the Copper Age.
Up to 23 billion tons of organisms could be living in Earth’s netherworld. The amount of living matter far below the ocean surface is hundreds of times more than the carbon mass of all humans on the planet.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, robot costumes, and ancient accessories to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jenny Anderson and edited by Jason Karaian.