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What to watch for today and over the weekend
Greece raises its monthly minimum wage. The 11% increase to €650 (roughly $744) is the nation’s first adjustment in more than 10 years, though workers and employers say the effort doesn’t offset the losses from Greece’s prolonged recessions.
The US releases employment data. The January jobs report (paywall) will show whether US employers were able to keep up the record pace set in December or whether the government’s partial shutdown had an impact on the labor market.
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement begins. Although it’s not clear how the deal will look after Brexit, regulations for more than $200 billion in trade goods will see significant changes as Japan and the EU enter their free trade pact.
Angela Merkel heads to Japan. The German chancellor will meet Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Monday. The two leaders have been discussing ways to strengthen international ties—and future-proof their respective economies against American isolationism.
While you were sleeping
Tesla named a new CEO. The automaker reported better-than-expected sales and its first back-to-back profitable quarters, but fell short on analysts’ expectations for its earnings. Then the company’s stock took a tumble by nearly 6% after founder Elon Musk made a last-minute announcement that 34-year-old Zach Kirkhorn would be taking over for Deepak Ahuja.
GE showed signs of digging itself out of its hole. The company posted a modest profit of $666 million on revenues of $31.1 billion, and new CEO Lawrence Culp bolstered investors’ hopes enough to send shares up as much as 17%.
Trump signaled successful negotiations with China. As trade talks between the two nations concluded, the US president said he wouldn’t commit to any sort of deal until his yet-to-be-scheduled summit with Xi Jinping “in the near future.” The countries have only a month left in their 90-day truce before many tariffs double.
A US court determined that the Syrian Assad regime was behind the death of Marie Colvin. The district court released a ruling that ordered the regime of Bashar al-Assad to pay $300 million dollars in punitive damages and $2.6 million to Colvin’s sister for targeting the Sunday Times war correspondent in a rocket attack while she covered the country’s civil war in 2012.
The EU recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim leader. A special session of parliament voted to support the man at the head of embattled president Nicolás Maduro’s opposition. The European parliament called on its member nations’ governments to follow suit if Maduro doesn’t open elections by the end of the weekend.
Quartz obsession interlude
We fear change—especially when it comes to logos. Every new one that comes out runs an internet gauntlet of mockery and disappointment, but legendary designer Saul Bass knew that “failure is built into creativity.” It’s rare for a logo to completely miss, but when it does, the backlash makes it easy to tell. (Just ask the Gap.) Get on brand with the Quartz Obsession.
Quartz Membership
All you need to know about water’s global impact. Contributor Peter Green breaks down the Earth’s looming H2O shortage by listing estimated volumes, potential conflict zones, active multibillion-dollar conservation projects, and the biggest companies in the water market—in roughly 500 words.
Matters of debate
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Apple could regulate Facebook. Cutting off the social network’s App Store access is an effective sanction—and a new spin on commercial warfare.
McDonald’s needs to help itself before it can help the environment. The company’s rocky relationship with embattled franchisees is still the biggest barrier to becoming eco-friendly.
The human race needs to hang on for 100 more years. Josh Clark, host of the “The End of the World” podcast, predicts that’s the benchmark to figure out if our species survives.
Surprising discoveries
American colonization caused an ice age. The murder of more than 50 million indigenous people triggered an imbalance in the New World’s environment.
Elephant seals invaded a Bay Area parking lot. The US government shutdown allowed dozens of adults and newborn pups to take over an unsupervised beach.
It’s hard to say when the Super Bowl “starts.” Sports Illustrated trolled the SEO-rich question by asking a theoretical physicist to frame it with relativity and time dilation.
A drug trafficker altered his fingerprints by burning his skin. Hair transplants, false IDs, and skin grafts helped him evade police for 15 years.
Rock salt keeps roads safe at a high price. Excess chloride can ruin water quality and harm the environment, but cheese brine, pickle juice, and potato juice could be safer alternatives.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cheese brine, and seal pups to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Susan Howson and McKinley Noble.