Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Uber files for its IPO. The company is expected to reveal a raft of details about its financial situation ahead of a May listing. The company is aiming to raise funds at a valuation of up to $100 billion, below previous expectations, after Lyft’s shares sank shortly after its IPO last month (paywall).
South Korea’s president visits the White House. Moon Jae-in will meet with Donald Trump in a bid to restart discussions with North Korea, which foundered at a summit in February when the US determined it hadn’t made enough concessions to warrant lifting sanctions.
Carlos Ghosn’s wife testifies in Tokyo. Carole Ghosn is expected to speak with prosecutors as soon as today in defense of her husband. The ousted Nissan chairman, arrested for the fourth time last week on charges of financial impropriety, says he is innocent and the victim of “backstabbing.”
Disney gets into the streaming business. Execs are expected to announce the launch of Disney+, putting all the entertainment giant’s catalog—which includes Star Wars and all the Marvel movies—in one place. Disney-produced content will probably steadily disappear from Netflix and other platforms as a result.
While you were sleeping
Sudan’s leader reportedly stepped down. The three-decade rule of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir is over. The army is set to make it official today and talks are underway to form a transitional council to run the country. Months of protests against Bashir began after an attempt to raise bread prices.
South Korea legalized abortion. A South Korean court ended the country’s 70-year old ban on abortion, ruling it unconstitutional. The current law only allows abortions in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, or if she was raped, and often require permission from a woman’s spouse. Lawmakers will be required to amend the law by the end of next year.
Voting began in the world’s largest democratic contest. Narendra Modi seeks another five-year term (membership) as prime minister of India, where almost 900 million people are eligible to vote. The election, which will last six weeks, is a test for both Modi’s Hindu nationalism, which some fear is reshaping India for the worse, and his economic policies. From a history of the quirky electoral symbols on the ballot, to how to talk about a divisive election with kids, check out all of Quartz India’s election coverage.
Halloween Brexit became a thing. The European Union agreed to allow the UK to postpone its April 12 departure from the bloc (itself an extension from March 29) until October 31. British prime minister Theresa May had asked for a postponement to June 30. The October extension is flexible—Britain can leave whenever it’s able to pass a withdrawal agreement that’s also acceptable to the EU.
A Turkish court acquitted a senior banker for tweeting. Selim Kervanci, HSBC’s chief executive for Turkey, was acquitted of insulting president Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he retweeted a satirical video back in 2013, during nationwide protests. Insulting the president is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison.
Quartz Obsession
Modern Monetary Theory: It’s sometimes known as the “deficits don’t matter” school of economic thought, and it’s almost certain to be a feature of the 2020 campaigns for US president. MMT’s claims are huge: The US government can spend almost whatever it likes by simply printing more money. Read more here.
Membership
Our week-long investigation of the tech IPO boom continues: today, we consider how venture-backed consumer companies have created a few winners and lots of losers and why Zoom may be the true unicorn—a profitable tech startup. Meanwhile, Private Key ponders the implications of China’s proposal to ban bitcoin mining.
Matters of debate
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Employers could easily fix America’s retirement fund crisis. It would likely cost less than $3 an hour per employee.
Compulsory parental leave could be the key to gender parity on Wall Street. Male bankers tend not to take time off when their babies are born.
Amazon should lead on combating climate change. Employees argue the retail giant needs to stop helping the oil industry extract more fossil fuels.
Surprising discoveries
Abraham Maslow didn’t create the hierarchy of needs. The famous pyramid ranking levels of human needs is based on a misinterpretation of his ideas.
A small picture of a black hole requires an insane amount of data. A virtual telescope the size of the earth collected the equivalent of 5,000 years of MP3 music files that had to be flown—online transfer would’ve been too slow—to a central location to be analyzed and turned into a tiny image.
Climate change is making seasonal allergies worse. Blame the combination of milder winters, earlier seasonal warming, and pollution for your sniffles and sneezes.
A suspected burglar turned out to be a trapped Roomba. Deputies responding to a 911 call from an Oregon woman found the shadowy figure in a locked bathroom was a little robot doing a “very thorough vacuuming job.”
Warner Brothers blocked Trump from using the Dark Knight soundtrack. The studio filed a copyright complaint after Trump posted a campaign ad with music by Hans Zimmer.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, antihistamines, and innocent robots 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.