🌍 The euro recession zone

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

The euro zone is likely in a recession, new data showed. Indexes surveying the bloc’s economic activity indicate that a business slowdown is deepening.

The yen is improving. Japan’s currency is performing better against the dollar after hitting a nearly 33-year low earlier this year.

Israel found a large tunnel along the Gaza border. It was used by Hamas in the militant group’s deadly assault on Oct. 7.

Activision Blizzard agreed to settle workplace discrimination allegations in California for $54 million. Women employed by the video game maker had accused it of denying promotions and underpaying them for similar work as their male colleagues.

Canada will require all new vehicle sales to be zero emission by 2035. To ensure supply, the government plans to give automakers incentives to produce more EVs and invest in charging stations.

Wall Street likes noncompetes. Workers don’t

About one in five Americans are bound by noncompete agreements, most of them in salaried managerial and executive roles. But the contracts don’t just hurt the people who sign them—they reduce earnings even for those who don’t.

A December study (pdf) from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that states with stricter rules enforcing noncompete agreements were tied to a 1.7% reduction in earnings for all workers who lived there. In fact, average annual earnings for US workers would rise anywhere between 3% and 14% if a nationwide ban on the contracts was enacted.

The main reason they’re harmful to workers’ earnings is that there are typically fewer job openings in states with stricter laws. As Quartz’s Laura Bratton reports, the impact is even stronger for women and people of color.

McDonald’s new drive-thru concept is expanding

CosMc’s, the new space-themed spinoff from McDonald’s, may be popping up near your neighborhood.

The drive-thru-only concept offers a Starbucks-meets-Sonic menu, featuring fruity and coffee-flavored slushies and drinks. The next 10 CosMc’s are set to open in Texas, in both the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas, by the end of 2024.

Whether McDonald’s will expand the test beyond the locations below is TBD, but what is certain is, it would like a sip of the $100 billion specialty drinks and coffees market.

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Surprising discoveries

A huge solar flare knocked out some radio communications on Earth. NASA said it was the most powerful one in six years.

A marketing team within Cox Media claims it actually can target ads based on what people say when using smartphones. The validation!

There’s long flu, too. Its side effects are different from long covid’s, but it does carry increased risk of health problems.

The fossil of a tyrannosaur was found with its last meal intact. The carnivore was munching on a bird-like dino, but was picky about it.

You can bid on a 40-foot (12-meter) shipping container that the City of New York once used. That’s just one item on the city’s auction page.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, picky eaters, and shipping containers to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.