Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Vatican begins a crucial summit on clergy sexual abuse. Pope Francis has warned against inflated expectations of the four-day meeting in Rome to address what some have called the Church’s biggest crisis. Advocates for abuse survivors nevertheless hope to see concrete steps on accountability, transparency, and ways to protect children from predatory priests.
Liu He joins US-China trade talks in Washington. The Chinese vice premier, who has been given “special envoy” status by Beijing, will meet with US trade negotiators, and is likely to see Donald Trump (paywall) tomorrow. The two countries are trying to reach a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline after which China could see a US tariff hike on $200 billion of goods.
Juan Guaidó makes his way to the Colombia border. The Venezuelan opposition leader, who the US and a growing list of countries have recognized as interim president, will lead a caravan in hopes of lifting a military blockade preventing humanitarian aid from entering the country.
Israel’s first mission to the Moon takes off. The Beresheet probe weighs 1,290 pounds (585 kg), is about the size of a dishwasher, and, if the launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida is successful, will make Israel the fourth nation to achieve a lunar spacecraft landing.
Baidu reports earnings. China’s search giant is expected to report a weak fourth-quarter profit after the US market closes, as it faces competition from the WeChat messaging service, the threat of Google returning in some form to its home country, and complaints about how well it serves information seekers.
While you were sleeping
Lyft could hold its IPO as soon as next month. The ride-hailing company, which submitted its IPO registration documents late last year, is expected to make that paperwork public next week (paywall) and hold a roadshow ahead of a Nasdaq listing. The company could be valued at between $20 billion and $25 billion.
Deutsche Bank made a bad bet. The Wall Street Journal reported that a single wager cost the German bank a whopping $1.6 billion (paywall) in the decade after the 2008 financial crisis. It was yet another piece of bad news for the bank as it struggles to restructure.
Barclays is back in the black. The British bank posted a net profit of $1.8 billion last year, a vast improvement over the roughly $2.5 billion hit it took the year before. It also set aside nearly $200 million as a buffer against “the impact of the anticipated economic uncertainty in the UK” as Brexit approaches.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents teamed up. Two centrist figures, who are leading challengers to Israel’s right-wing leader, announced that they would form a joint election list ahead of the upcoming poll in April. Netanyahu, the subject of several ethics investigations, has held power for 13 years.
Jussie Smollett was charged with staging a hate crime against himself. The actor on the Fox series Empire reported being attacked by two men last month in Chicago, and said they had put a rope around his neck as they yelled “MAGA country!” Chicago police charged the actor after two extras on show said they had been paid by him to carry out a faux attack.
Membership
Getting inside Satya Nadella’s head. It’s unlikely Microsoft would be enjoying its current successes were it not for Nadella, and Quartz had an opportunity to talk to the CEO recently—check out the Q&A here. We also have a rundown of the lists Nadella likes to make, on everything from management principles to tech regulation. Elsewhere, Private Key takes on the hype around JPMorgan’s in-house cryptocurrency, while Insider View features a human behavior professor’s thoughts on achieving goals.
Quartz Obsession
In 1995, one of Microsoft’s biggest failures predicted the future. Its infamous Bob software was a “social interface” for Windows, dropping inexperienced users into a cartoon house and using cutesy animated characters to guide them through basic home-office tasks. Bob burst and left an infamous legacy (Clippy! Comic Sans!), but its social interface was also well ahead of its time. We’ll show you around at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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TV and newspaper ads are yesterday’s news. Facebook and Google show no signs of stopping their domination of the advertising industry, as digital ads surpassed print and broadcast for the first time ever.
Workplaces can learn a lot from the “flipped” classroom. Offices could inspire more productivity if employees used them for unstructured networking instead of tackling big projects.
Going cashless isn’t as simple as eliminating paper currency. The UK’s latest initiative will only succeed if it’s willing to address the 25 million people who rely on notes and coins.
Surprising discoveries
More than 10,000 people want the US to sell Montana to Canada. A petition for the $1 trillion idea was launched in an effort to help pay down the considerable US national debt.
A stroll a day keeps the doctor away. A new study found that a 30-minute walk might be as useful at lowering blood pressure as some common medicines.
A New York deli informed Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s feminism. At a time when few companies counted women among their staff, Russ & Daughters showed the US Supreme Court justice that female business owners can be just as successful as men.
Teens are more worried about, well, being worried than bullying or drugs. A recent Pew survey found that anxiety and depression were the biggest concerns for US teens, with 70% of respondents considering both to be a “major problem.”
An enterprising Girl Scout turned Samoa cookies into Jason Momoas—and sales skyrocketed. The fifth-grader worked with her mom to feature the hunky Aquaman actor on the box.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Clippy fan art, and moose for sale 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.