Good morning, Quartz readers!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Apple is winning its smartphone away game in China. After falling behind rival Huawei in the lucrative market, the iPhone maker staged a comeback.
The Boeing machinists union asked its members to be nicer to each other. Repeated votes to extend their strike are raising tensions for workers who don’t want to wait for a better contract deal.
Here’s what to expect from Alphabet’s earnings next week. A two-letter hint: A and I.
Another fast-food chain is battling e-coli. This time, it’s Burger King doing a double-take at its products.
Satya Nadella asked for a pay cut and still made a bunch more money in 2024. Despite giving back some compensation after a few cybersecurity failures, his compensation jumped 63% to $79.1 million this year.
Vladimir Putin has Elon Musk by the ear
It is normal for major American executives to be in touch with various world leaders. It is perhaps less normal for one to be in touch with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Reports have emerged that Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Putin, who allegedly pressed him to limit Starlink internet service in Taiwan as a favor to Chinese president Xi Jinping. The timeline of their communications also lines up with Starlink becoming much more difficult for the Ukrainian military to use.
How does this look to U.S. government officials who have national security dealings with Musk? Quartz’s William Gavin looks at the latest Musk scandal.
Spend more, fill up for less
Everyone loves cheap gas, and there are companies out there that hope they can get you to buy more stuff by linking purchases to cheaper gas. A link here, a sign-up there, and suddenly petrol is a little less pricey.
Walmart+ hooked itself up with Exxon; Amazon Prime can get you a discount at BP. The savings come after the upfront cost of a membership in the programs.
Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez lays out which corporate loyalty programs will make it easier to fill your tank.
THIS WEEK AT QUARTZ
Look for stories about:
⛽ Gas price volatility (by Deena Zaidi)
📊 A lookahead to Microsoft’s earnings (by Britney Nguyen)
🦾 Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta-era AI pivot (by Jackie Snow)
₿ Bitcoin’s besting of gold (by Vinamrata Chaturvedi)
📱 Each generation’s favorite money-sending apps (by Deena Zaidi)
🦃 The best hotels for watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (by Madeline Fitzgerald)
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
There’s a long history of the paranormal in photography. Early practitioners used double exposures to trick viewers into thinking spirits were being captured on film.
Moana 2’s soundtrack is making historical noises. For the first time, a team of women scored a Disney picture.
The Dodgers-Yankees world series could sell the most postseason merch ever. The wave of product their match-up generates could crest higher than the 2012 Cubs’ “blue wave.”
More and more students need computer programs to make their human writing sound less like AI. There’s a growing anxiety of being falsely accused for turning in bot-written papers. (paywall)
Some bananas are seeing a 1000% price increase in just five years. Maurizio Cattelan’s banana-and-duct tape work, “Comedian,” is expected to fetch up to $1.5 million at auction after selling for $190,000 in 2019. (paywall)
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, Satya Nadella comp package leftovers, and million-dollar bananas to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.