🌏 The one with all the chicken

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Mexico surpassed China for US exports. That hasn’t happened in 20 years, and signals a shift in global trade.

One thing that is winning over China: KFC. Kentucky-fried chicken sales in China bounced back in 2023, growing 20% and heating up a fast food battle with McDonald’s.

Chanel has a new definition of “fake purse.” It only took six years to come up with. 

Disney cast a spell on investors. The company’s latest earnings beat Wall Street expectations, sent stock up in after-hours trading, and rode the momentum of a new sports offering.

Snap stock plunged more than 35%. Investors were spooked by its fourth-quarter earnings as Snapchat struggles to keep up with its competitors.

The job market for American sports is growing. Jobs for athletes and coaches will rise three times as much than other industries on average, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said yesterday.

Quotable: US-China competition is getting really real

“If we are forced to fight a three-pronged war, you cannot do that even from a perspective of keeping ammunitions ready without accurate software. So the more dangerous, the more real it gets, the more battle-tested and real your software has to be.” —Palantir CEO Alexander Karp speaking to investors this week about ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East and US involvement in them.

And “it’s about to get very real,” he added. “Why? Because [US] GDP growth is significantly better than China’s”—basically leaving it in a more vulnerable position that could nudge it to take more aggressive action sooner.

It makes sense for a company that depends on lucrative military contracts to make this assessment, and to air it publicly. Whether the scenario presented by Karp is the most likely one is another question. Here’s some other scenairos.

Microsoft came out of Super Bowl ad hiatus for AI

If you need to wrap up some work items during Sunday’s NFL championship game, Microsoft hopes you’ll let its Copilot AI assistant help you—and will remind you about it, too. You’ll probably see a lot more AI products, Copilot and beyond, being advertised during the Super Bowl this year (here’s how much companies are paying for a slot).

Let’s just hope the AI ads that got Microsoft to come out of its four-year Super Bowl hiatus don’t age like crypto’s did.

More from Quartz

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1️⃣ Tesla sold only 1 car in South Korea last month

🎧 Spotify raised prices and still hit a record for new subscribers

🚕 Uber turned a profit last year—the first time since its IPO

💺 Southwest Airlines can soon cram more customers onboard with thinner seats

🤫 NASA’s Mars Rovers have a lot of secrets

🚗 Ford doesn’t think EVs can make money yet

Surprising discoveries

Who invented butter chicken? Be careful who you ask.

But don’t forget to ask them about space chicken nuggets. Yep, they are a thing!

The number of private jets descending on Las Vegas for the Super Bowl will be double the number of parking spots that are available. Spots could cost $3,000 a pop.

People were wondering if 31 favorable headlines about Philadelphia’s sheriff were real. They ended up being the work of ChatGPT.

Flatworms live a lot deeper in the ocean than previously thought. Some were found more than 3 miles (4.8 km) below the surface!

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, butter chicken fights, and floating fried poultry to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.