Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot make it official. The two companies will release a binding memorandum of understanding that will lay out the final details of their combination into the world’s fourth-largest auto company. French carmaker PSA is expected to be the senior partner.
Taiwanese presidential candidates present their platforms. The three nominees have thus far focused on mudslinging and smear campaigns ahead of a Jan. 11 election, but will finally reveal their policy proposals during a televised debate (7pm, local time).
The US House votes on impeachment articles. Representatives will debate the two articles—with Republicans pulling out parliamentary stops to demonstrate their resistance—and put each to a vote.
US diplomats cautiously meet Indian counterparts. High-level meetings in Washington are expected to focus on defense, trade, and strengthening ties, with the Citizenship Act and the Kashmir situation taking a backseat.
While you were sleeping
US regulators finalized restrictions on tech exports to China. In a win for the tech industry, the Commerce Department will only apply a few narrow rules to limit the sale of technologies like AI, quantum computing, and 3-D printing to rival powers.
Instagram announced it will fact-check posts. Parent company Facebook said it would roll out its efforts against misinformation globally, after it tested its fact-checking system in the US this year. Posts deemed false will be removed from discovery channels and paired with links debunking untrue claims.
WeWork got a $1.75 billion bailout. The fundraising round, led by Goldman Sachs, gives the floundering real estate firm another $800 million to burn. It’s the first of $5 billion that parent company SoftBank has vowed to raise to prop up WeWork.
Boris Johnson revived the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. The newly empowered prime minister said that the UK’s transition period for leaving the EU will end in 2020, whether or not the two sides strike a new trade deal. Unlike his past do-or-die pledges, Johnson now has a clear parliamentary majority to back this threat up.
Parisians protested pension reform. Utility workers cut power to tens of thousands of homes and nearly a million demonstrators clashed with police to voice their displeasure with the government’s plans to replace France’s convoluted scheme of 40 different pension plans with one streamlined system.
Quartz membership
The world needs governments and businesses to save water. As part of our ongoing field guide on water scarcity, we bring you a Q&A with Stuart Orr, who works with the World Wildlife Fund to cajole corporate leaders and investors to become more-active water managers. The fundamental problem, he says, is corporate accounting: Water is much more valuable than its price, and many firms don’t take that into account.
Quartz obsession
What even is a country anyway? The idea of a micronation challenges the definition and recognition of a nation or state—and there are dozens of self-declared micronations that boast their own passports, flags, and even stamps. Go forth and discover a new country with the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Keynes’s optimism about the future was wrong. Instead of moving beyond basic economic problems, Gen Z faces economic stagnation and ecological collapse.
It’s dangerous to depict Greta Thunberg as a prophet. It risks distorting her message and giving ammunition to climate deniers.
Everyone has moved past the US-China trade war—except the US and China. Bystanders are playing both sides to their benefit.
Surprising discoveries
A new species of flower was discovered on Facebook. Kew Gardens experts identified the plant after a Ukrainian snowdrop specialist spotted it in a Turkish pediatrician’s holiday photos.
Japan’s Little Miss Period is trying to break taboos. The movie’s animated character knocks women out with a “period punch.”
WeChat slipped a subversive message into its translations. “🇨🇦” became “he’s in prison,” an apparent reference to a diplomatic spat between China and Canada.
Climate change will shorten pregnancies. Heat stress causes women to give birth earlier, and may account for 250,000 fewer days of gestation by 2100.
Ride-hailing makes us drink more. On the bright side, we drink and drive less.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, plant pics, and dubious emoji translations to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android, and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Susan Howson, Max Lockie and Nicolás Rivero.