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What to watch for today
Jair Bolsonaro begins a state visit in Beijing. The Brazilian president aims to expand trade with China and is expected to secure key agreements in agriculture. Soaring Chinese demand for soy and beef has played a large role in the Amazon’s surging deforestation rates.
Mike Pence speaks on China. Analysts expect the US vice president, who criticized Beijing a year ago, to act as a “bad cop” on religious freedom and human rights, while letting his boss play the “good cop” in trying to clinch a trade deal.
NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels. Secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says the fight against ISIS “is not over” and that the extremist group will be a major topic at the two-day summit. Other issues up for discussion include Syria, Afghanistan, and 5G security.
While you were sleeping
Slowing demand in China hurt Ford. The US automaker cited it as a chief reason for lowering its year-end guidance by $500 million while reporting its third-quarter results, which weren’t as dire as feared. The company is undergoing an $11 billion restructuring.
Boeing reported turbulence. The planemaker said the 737 Max grounding cost it $900 million in the third quarter, bringing the total to $9.2 billion since two fatal crashes involving the plane killed nearly 350 people. Defense contracts helped it register a $1.2 billion profit anyway.
Donald Trump declared the ceasefire in northern Syria permanent. The US president also lifted sanctions on Turkey. This did little to blunt criticism that his abrupt removal of American troops from the area created an opening for Russia and betrayed Kurdish allies.
US lawmakers confronted Mark Zuckerberg. The House Financial Services Committee grilled the Facebook CEO over Libra, noting fears the cryptocurrency could roil financial systems and enable fraudsters. Zuckerberg said his firm is “committed to taking the time to get this right.”
Google claimed a quantum computing breakthrough. The company said a calculation that a traditional supercomputer would have needed thousands of years to complete was done by an experimental quantum processor in minutes. IBM took issue with the findings.
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The world can’t wait to rid itself of the need for coal. Without drastic cuts, there’s little chance of hitting emission targets and avoiding the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Mining coal and then burning it also produces other toxins, polluting our air, water, and soil. But what exactly makes coal so dirty?
Quartz Obsession
Rubber ducks: The world is awfully fond of them. They were the foundation of Hong Kong’s immense plastic toy industry; they’ve been used to track ocean currents and glaciers; they’re a protest symbol and a pop-art icon all over the world. And, of course, they make bathtime lots of fun. Give the subject a squeeze at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Australia should cancel its foreign aid to Indonesia. The Southeast Asian nation recently announced its own development fund for reducing poverty around the world.
The world needs more statues of women. Only five of 150 statues in New York City, for instance, are of females—and an advocacy group is working to change that.
School lunches should have assigned seating. It helps break up cliques and unhealthy social hierarchies.
Surprising discoveries
The stethoscope faces obsolescence. It’s becoming less relevant with the spread of handheld devices featuring AI, ultrasound viewing, and connectivity to smartphone apps.
Butterflies are just moths who wanted to change their careers. Moths evolved to spread wings not only to escape nocturnal bats, but also to eat nectar, which is more abundant during the daytime.
Violence goes down when pollen is high. Increased levels of pollen, resulting in allergies, can make violent crimes decline around 4%.
The “interior least tern” has made its comeback. After 34 years on the endangered list, population numbers of the US Midwestern bird have grown tenfold since 1985.
Not everyone is tweeting about politics. On Twitter in the US, just 10% of the adult users are producing 97% of the political posts.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rubber ducks, and vintage stethoscopes to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Steve Mollman and Patrick deHahn.