Good morning, Quartz readers!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
It turns out Elon Musk is going to be running Trump’s slash-and-burn Department of Government Efficiency. He and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to be consulting through DOGE on Donald Trump’s efforts to gut federal spending.
Crypto coincidence: Dogecoin soared after the announcement. The memecoin is a favorite of Musk’s, and investors think it will somehow benefit from his government work.
Nvidia’s latest customer will use its fancy new chip to build an ultra-powerful AI supercomputer. Softbank Group, the major tech investor, will also be using its Nvidia ties to develop Japan’s “largest AI data center.”
Wall Street bonuses are back to getting bigger this year. A flurry of banking and trading activity means that fleece vest pockets will soon be very full.
Saks Fifth Avenue is canceling its annual flagship-store holiday light show. The retailer is toning things down during what has been “a challenging year for luxury.”
Chart of the day
Bitcoin is having a wild ride this year. Quartz’s Deena Zaidi tracks the cryptocurrency’s tumultuous-so-far 2024.
An AI-fueled tech company reactor race
Tech companies are using so much energy to power their power-hungry AI data centers that they’ve collectively chosen the nuclear option to keep things going — literally. They’re speccing out nuclear reactors to keep the juice flowing to their servers and throwing around a lot of cash to make sure it happens.
Microsoft is teaming up with major nuclear power player Constellation Energy, and Amazon is investing in reactor design firm X Energy. But they’re far from the only tech players jumping into the space.
How is Big Tech’s fission mission shaping up? Quartz’s Britney Nguyen breaks down the sector’s nuke strategy.
MORE FROM QUARTZ
✖️Bernard Arnault’s newspapers are suing Elon Musk’s X for alleged content theft
🎈Inflation is creeping back up after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts
🧠 Apple is going after Amazon and Google in the smart home device market
🛩️ Spirit Airlines says its earnings report will be late as bankruptcy concerns swirl
🤑 Amazon is launching an ultra-cheap competitor to China’s Temu
🔄 Here are the candidates in line to replace Disney’s Bob Iger
💼 A bunch of Republican businessmen are about to join the senate
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
The Philippines are dealing with an unprecedented onslaught of typhoons. Four named storms are barreling towards it from the Pacific Ocean — the most-ever on record for a November.
Starter homes are no longer for people just starting out. The median first-time homebuyer is now 38 years old and not getting any younger.
Power-travelers are cris-crossing the globe to snag an airline miles bounty. Scandinavian Airlines says that it will give 1 million miles to anyone who flies on 15 of its 20 fellow SkyTeam Alliance carriers by the end of the year. (paywall)
A Scottish football club is having trouble fielding a suitable…field. Bonnyrigg Rose is asking fans to pitch in £100,000 ($127,000) to level its sloping pitch out.
Ukraine can’t trademark its hatred of Russian invaders. A European Union court says that its prospective member can’t claim commercial rights on “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” stamps because they use a “political” slogan.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, DOGE tricks, and salty stamp slogans to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.