Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Tesla’s market cap briefly slipped below $500 billion yesterday. Its stock has fallen more than 36% this year in what’s shaping up to be a brutal 2024 for the electric carmaker.
Russia told OPEC it would export less oil, but it’s actually exporting more. Outgoing oil shipments hit nearly 4 million barrels a day this week, levels not seen since last May.
Apple is putting more money into Vietnam to distance itself from China. CEO Tim Cook talked about new investments with Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh yesterday.
Bitcoin is on a rollercoaster ride with its big halving event on the horizon. The topsy-turvy phase of price hikes and dips is probably here to stay for a bit.
Jamie Dimon made $183 million selling JPMorgan stock. It’s something CEOs of big companies do — and make a lot of money from. In other JPMorgan news, it tops a new list of best companies for training workers to use AI.
Dr. Martens are made for walking… just not out of the store
Shoppers in the U.S. are holding off on purchasing boots — and Dr. Martens is bearing the brunt.
Doc’s stock was down by more than 34% yesterday, all the way to $0.78 per share, after the company warned of a challenging outlook for next year and a decline in its U.S. wholesale market. Trading of the company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange was even briefly suspended.
The U.K.-based company said it hasn’t been able to offset inflation pressures, and its CEO is exiting at the end of this year. That’s all fair. But it can’t help that Americans are obsessed with Crocs, right? Just an observation, no correlation to see here.
Mondelēz’s cookie borders are crumbling
Need a surefire way to make the European Union angry? Try limiting the cross-border sales of cookies.
Oreo-maker Mondelēz could face millions of dollars in fines if the EU orders the food company to stop limiting competition by restricting cross-border trading.
Mondelēz already knew it was probably biting off a little more than it could chew with its trading practices: It has $360 million in savings to pay off any fines regulators may pass down.
More from Quartz
😬 Tesla’s layoffs ‘leave no doubt’ that Elon Musk has an EV demand problem, JPMorgan says
👀 Super Micro Computer stock is spiking after an analyst said it can hit $1,500
🎬 People are giving up on Amazon Prime Video shows because of catalog errors
🌏 Jeff Bezos’ Earth Fund is giving out $100 million for AI solutions to tackle climate change
🤝 Adobe might partner with OpenAI to offer AI video generation
🤞 A reverse stock split is BuzzFeed’s last hope of staying listed on the Nasdaq
Surprising discoveries
Coral reefs are experiencing their fourth global bleaching event in just 30 years. More than 54% of the colorful algae have turned white since February 2023 because of warm waters.
Enter the latest condiment we never asked for: Barbiecue sauce. It’s bright pink and a mixture of vegan mayo and barbecue sauce and honestly just no thank you.
A major meteor shower will be at its peak this weekend. The Lyrids is an annual event humans have known about for more than 2,700 years. Here’s how to watch it.
Energy demand for data centers, AI, and cryptocurrency could double by 2026. That’s so soon…
…and the current number of data centers around the world stands at 9,000 to 11,000. They already account for 2% of the world’s global electricity use.
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, Oppie-cue, and Lyrid viewing plans to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.