Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
General Electric reports on its restructuring progress. Expectations are high for GE, with shares having recently risen over 30% following upgrades by brokers. Analysts say GE’s turnaround is anything but certain, however, with issues still plaguing its power and financial services divisions.
Amazon reveals fourth-quarter results. It all comes down to holiday sales, which logged a six-year high this past season. Prime membership and Amazon’s ad business are also expected to bolster its results, though some warn that e-commerce restrictions coming to India could harm the company.
More bone-chilling weather in Europe and the US. Chicago is expected to match its 1985 record low of -27°F (-33°C). The polar vortex turned swathes of North America colder than Antarctica yesterday, paralyzing cities. At least a dozen deaths in the US have been linked to the extreme weather. Meanwhile, the UK is expected to experience snow and freezing fog.
Europe launches a barter system with Iran. Germany, France, and the UK are set to launch a special payment vehicle to trade with Iran, breaking with US sanctions as they try to preserve the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The system is aimed at shielding European firms from US courts; Donald Trump has previously warned Europeans not to circumvent US sanctions.
A tense US-China trade meeting. Trump meets with China’s Vice Premier Liu He, as the two countries look to hammer out an agreement that will end their trade war. A 90-day trade truce ends on March 1, after which $200 billion worth of tariffs will be imposed on Chinese goods unless a deal is reached.
While you were sleeping
A US-Russia arms control treaty has made “no progress.” Moscow’s deputy foreign minister made the remarks following a meeting with a US official focused on arms control. Washington said it will withdraw from a nuclear weapons control treaty on Feb. 2, unless Russia removes a ground missile system that the Americans say breaches the 1980s-era agreement.
Patents for AI have made a “Quantum leap.” More than half of the 340,000 AI patents ever filed have come since 2013, the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization said. The data only go to 2016, but the UN said the massive surge shows no signs of abating—AI is especially crucial to US, Chinese, and Japanese tech firms.
Deutsche Bank is mulling a back-up merger. If the beleaguered bank’s restructuring efforts fail to hit targets, it will merge with Commerzbank by mid-year in a government-backed deal, according to a Bloomberg report. Deutsche Bank’s patchy progress cutting costs and persistent legal troubles have hammered its shares lately.
A mixed bag of corporate earnings. The good: Shell reported its biggest fourth-quarter profit in years; Nintendo is making money, although Switch sales are soft; Roche made up for sluggish European sales with bumper results in the US and Asia; and Diageo’s gin sales generated a pleasing profit in its latest quarter. The bad: H&M reported an unexpected loss due to big warehouse investments; Unilever’s new boss missed expectations; and Samsung’s subdued outlook for memory chips put a damper on things. The ugly: Nokia said buyers are putting off crucial 5G deployments; and Swatch was hit by particularly weak demand in Asia.
Quartz obsession interlude
The pager is the cockroach of mobile communications. Tiny, tough, and with an unmatched ability to function in emergency conditions, the device that was borne out of the Prohibition-era pursuit of bootleggers (and later became a tool of the trade for drug dealers) still plays a robust role in the medical industry. Get the 411 in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Quartz Membership
Used water routinely gets flushed down the toilet or sink. But the water crisis is forcing us to ask not whether we should treat and drink used water, but how best to do it (and how to ignore our gag reflex). One place to start: learning from those already recycling water, like astronauts. Join Quartz on a journey around (and out of) the world to see approaches to turning wastewater into drinking water.
Matters of debate
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American retail isn’t dying–it’s squeezing the middle. Sales are booming for both high-end brands and budget retailers.
You can robot-proof your career. It requires a multifaceted approach: learning to work with machines, managing their data, and thriving at things non-humans can’t do.
AOC’s make-up tips are a feminist statement. Acknowledging interests light as well as lofty is something women in public life have studiously avoided.
Surprising discoveries
Emergency calls to vets are up 765% thanks to the popularity of weed edibles. Getting a dog stoned is no laughing matter: THC is toxic for canines.
The UAE boasts the world’s largest virtual battery plant. It’s large enough to provide up to six hours of backup power for critical infrastructure in case Abu Dhabi’s grid goes down.
More than 52,000 lbs (23,000 kg) of chicken nuggets were recalled in the US this week alone. Tyson Foods yanked about two-thirds due to rubber contamination, and Purdue took back the rest over allergen concerns.
Shark attacks are way down, but no one knows why. Either there are fewer sharks, safety alerts are more effective, or humans are better at sharing the seas with them.
Erotic audiobooks are hot in Sweden. Demand has almost doubled in two years, as buyers listen to racy tales during their commutes, instead of feeling squeamish about cracking open saucy books for all to see.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, discrete romance novels, and robot-proof tasks 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 Adam Rasmi and edited by Jason Karaian.