Good morning, Quartz readers!
HEREāS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The CEO of ExxonMobil told Donald Trump that fighting climate change isnāt all bad. Darren Woods asked the president-elect not to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords.
Boeing delivered the fewest planes in a month since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It will take a while for the company to restart production following its machinistsā strike.
Bitcoin is nearing a record $90,000 price. The cryptocurrency is now the eighth (most valuable) wonder of the financial world ā beating out silver.
Chipotle investors are upset about the chainās portion sizes, too. Theyāre suing because they think the company misled the public about its shrinking servings.
Amazon is giving away server space to AI researchers in a bid to beat Nvidia. The only catch is that scientists would have to use Amazonās Trainium chip in their studies.
Stores are locking up their own profits next to the deodorant
Retailers like Target and Walmart put many common purchases behind glass to deter retail theft. But a new report suggests that customers decided to buy those goods online rather than wait for someone to come by and unlock a display case.
The market research firm Numerator says that one in four shoppers abandon their purchases when they canāt just grab them and go. On earnings calls, Amazon executives have thanked the phenomenon for a boost in sales.
Quartzās Francisco Velasquez explains just how miserable anti-theft impediments are making paying customers and how much of an existential threat it is for brick-and-mortar stores.
More Musk money will flood U.S. politics
Elon Musk has made it plain that heās going to be playing a big role in the second Trump administration. Heās not done playing politics now that the presidential election is over, though.
Musk said that his pro-Trump political action committee America PAC will also seek to sway the course of the 2028 presidential primaries. That could mean a reprisal of stunts like a controversial $1 million-a-day giveaway that drew legal challenges.
What is Musk going to be up to next? Quartzās Will Gavin scopes out the Tesla CEOās intentions.
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š§ Costco is recalling butter because it forgot to say the product contains dairyĀ
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SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Climate change is changing the way that people think about real estate. A report from Zillow says that 90% of homebuyers say features that can withstand natural disasters are āvery important.ā
An outlaw sheepās offspring are on the run. Federal agencies are trying to track down Marco Polo argali sheep bred from an illegally cloned specimen. (paywall)
Itāll be hurricane season in Floridaās auction lots for a while. Flood-damaged collector cars from Hurricanes Helene and Milton are washing up at salvage sales across the state by the thousand.
KFC has beef with Churchās Texas Chicken. The two chains are embroiled in a legal dispute over who gets to use the phrase āoriginal recipeā in their marketing.
Some day traders have a different set of charts in mind. Astrology is gaining steam as a means of intuiting the marketās animal spirits. (paywall)
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, online locked-up toiletry orders, and counterintuitive policy pleas to talk@qz.com. Todayās Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Kevin Ryan.