🌏 What doth Meta foretell?

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Meta’s earnings exceeded expectations. The Facebook parent company brought in $32.17 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, beating analyst estimates (see more below).

Adani Enterprises scrapped its $2.4 billion share sale. The Indian conglomerate is calling off its stock offering after fraud allegations triggered an $86 billion wipeout in its market value.

India unveiled its annual budget. The $550 billion plan focuses on economic growth and deficit reduction as prime minister Narendra Modi keeps an eye fixed on the 2024 general election.

Tesla is ramping up its Shanghai output. Reuters reports that the EV maker, whose steep price cuts have boosted demand, plans to increase production over February and March as it competes with China’s domestic brands.

EU inflation fell in January. The consumer price index dropped for the third straight month to 8.5%, but high food and energy prices persist.

The US announced a quarter-point interest rate hike. The Federal Reserve approved its smallest raise in nearly a year but stated it still expects “ongoing increases” to combat inflation.

The EU announced its Green Deal Industrial Plan. The program, a response to the US and China’s green investment pushes, would earmark a proposed €250 billion ($272 billion) to subsidize net-zero technologies.

What to watch for

Four of the biggest tech companies in the US report results this week, and you can expect to see some downward-pointing arrows.

Meta, who reported on Wednesday, beat expectations thanks to cost-cutting measures, though it still struggles with declining ad revenue and higher costs. Will it be the same for the Big A Trio, who all release earnings today (Feb. 2)?

📱 Apple: The iPhone maker is expected to post its first year-over-year revenue decline in four years owing to covid lockdowns in China and factory unrest hitting both supply and demand.

📦 Amazon: The retail and cloud computing juggernaut prepared investors for sliding results, citing increased costs amid investments in its fulfillment capacity.

👨‍💻 Alphabet: Google’s parent company, which cut 12,000 jobs earlier this month, will likely witness a significant slide in ad revenue—one that even its growing cloud business can’t make up for.

But maybe don’t stress too much on an overall economic impact. All sorts of analysts are calling Big Tech shakiness a post-pandemic correction that still leaves these companies with plenty of cash to swim around in.

The UK has some regrets

It’s been a rough three years for the UK. The combined effect of the pandemic and Brexit, compounded by the wider regional and global impacts of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, has led to a widespread sense of frustration and regret.

Let’s look at how Brexit has measured up to expectations:

🔄 Immigration: Because of said jobs—and also because of some plain, old-fashioned racism—Brexiteers wanted to block the tide of incoming humans, but leaving the EU has only changed the flows of people, not solved the perceived problem of migration.

💷 Economy: While inflation and high energy prices are rampant across Europe, the UK has had a particularly tough time, and is the only G7 economy projected to contract this year.

India’s budget, decoded

India’s annual and somewhat exhausting tradition of a very long budget speech, given yesterday by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is as much a political exercise for those in power as it is a fiscal one. And while the Indian government has long embraced acronyms and monikers, PM Narendra Modi’s crew has taken naming to a new level. Staring at the alphabet soup (with a side of word salad) and wondering what it all means?

Niharika Sharma is here to lead you through the maze of devoted references to Hindu ideology and to Modi himself.

✦ Depend on stories like these to help you navigate the global economy? Help keep our content free and accessible to all by getting a Quartz membership. We’re offering 50% off for Daily Brief readers!

Quartz’s most popular

😡 Exxon’s record $56 billion profit has sparked the ire of the White House

🏦 A new Sierra Leone law finally allows women to get bank loans

🤝 This one-hour exercise helps build high-performing remote teams

🧐 India’s LIC and public sector banks are reassessing their Adani stakes

🔺 Cryptocurrency lender Celsius was “insolvent since inception,” investigation finds

🗺️ Nearly every country on earth is named after one of four things

Surprising discoveries

Not all cappuccinos are created equal. Costa’s drinks have almost five times the amount of caffeine compared to Starbucks’s.

A marble statue of Hercules was found in a sewer. It appears someone stuck him down there at some point in the 20th century for reasons that are unknown, but surely very mean.

Flirting with VR can avert IRL dalliances. It can even increase desire for one’s own partner, according to one study.

The Arctic skies are glowing with rainbows… Rare nacreous clouds are not to be confused with the aurora borealis.

…and Chinese caves are harboring unicorns. They’re actually blind, horned fish but they do kind of give off an ethereal energy.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, rescued Greek demigods, and mythical beasts that don’t quite live up to expectations to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Ananya Bhattacharya, Cassie Werber, Sofia Lotto Persio, Julia Malleck, and Susan Howson.