Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
An update on the US economy. The final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth is expected to be revised down, from 2.6% to 2.4% (paywall), on weaker retail and construction spending. That would drag the year-over-year growth rate to 2.9%—below the 3% that Trump boasted about.
Theresa May tries to put herself out of a job. The British prime minister will lobby fellow lawmakers to support her Brexit deal, by offering to step down if it passes through parliament. If she can persuade enough people to back it—the deal was rejected by 149 votes two weeks ago—it could come up for another vote on Friday.
Google signs a deal with Cuba. The tech giant is set to announce a memorandum of understanding with Cuban telecoms monopoly ETECSA to explore ways of improving connectivity in the island nation.
Lyft will settle on a price for its initial public offering.The ride-hailing company raised its expected range on Wednesday to between $70 and $72 per share. That means it is now targeting a valuation of up to $24.3 billion when trading opens on Friday.
Qatar’s national museum opens to the public. Eighteen years in the making, the giant desert rose-like structure designed by French architect Jean Nouvel will welcome its first visitors. The museum’s series of permanent exhibitions will showcase Qatari history.
While you were sleeping
Boeing announced a software fix for the 737 Max. The company said its update would prevent erroneous sensor data from triggering a controversial anti-stall system, which is suspected of causing two fatal crashes in recent months. Boeing was close to rolling out the fix (paywall) when an Ethiopian Airlines jet went down on March 10, Bloomberg reported.
Daimler and Geely teamed up to move Smart car production to China. The German carmaker, parent of Mercedes-Benz, said that the next generation of its tiny city cars, all of which will be electric, will be manufactured in China. Chinese automaker Geely will take a 50% stake in the joint venture.
A tanker hijacked by the migrants it rescued arrived in Malta. Malta’s armed forces said they took control of the vessel, shepherding it into port. The merchant vessel picked up 108 people off the coast of Libya on Tuesday evening, but when it set out to take them back to Tripoli, the migrants appear to have seized control and forced a change of course back to Europe.
Brunei introduced death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex. The penalty, which will also apply to adultery, sodomy, and rape, is part of a move in the small southest Asian kingdom towards strict sharia law, and will come into effect next week. Homosexuality is already illegal in Brunei.
Monsanto was ordered to pay $80 million in damages. A federal jury ruled that the agrochemcial corporation should be held liable for a California man’s cancer, linked to his use of the popular weedkiller Roundup. Monsanto and its parent company Bayer are defending themselves against thousands of similar claims.
Quartz Obsession
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But that wasn’t always the case. The phrase, which now crops up as a reminder to look for the hidden costs in a mutual fund or user agreement, comes from the days when US saloons would offer patrons a meal when they bought a drink. Sidle up to the Quartz Obsession for the full story.
Membership
Under the sea. Today, we have a look at what lobsters, jellyfish, and hydras can tell us about immortality. There’s also a new Private Key article about Enron’s Jeff Skilling, the latest tarnished executive to look to blockchain for redemption.
Matters of debate
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Ethicists aren’t any more ethical than the rest of us. They might have stricter moral views, but are no better at behaving morally.
White nationalism is no different than white supremacy. Facebook was forced to erase the distinction by the New Zealand mosque shootings.
Bagels shouldn’t be vertically sliced. Serving them “St. Louis style” is a crime against the baked good, according to #BagelGate.
Surprising discoveries
One-third of China is invested in a single mutual fund. Ant Financial’s Yu’e Bao has $168 billion in assets under management (paywall).
A Bangladeshi woman gave birth to a baby—and then twins a month later. When Arifa Sultana returned to hospital 26 days after giving birth, doctors discovered she had two uteruses, and a second pregnancy.
Kosher cannabis is on sale in California. The Jewish dietary law requires the product to be prepared in a specific way.
Health officials want France to cut back on wine. New guidelines suggest no more than two glasses a day, and at most 10 a week.
Greenland’s largest glacier is growing—but not in a good way. NASA found that part of Jakobshavn Glacier is gaining ice for the first time in 20 years, due to troublesome shifts in ocean temperatures.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, yuan-denominated dividends, and surplus French wine to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written Cassie Werber and edited by Jason Karaian.