Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or the Dodgers vs the Braves? Both presidential candidates have their own televised town halls tonight; NBC decided to host Trump alone after he refused to debate Biden, who’s on ABC. Meanwhile, over on Fox, Atlanta leads the playoff series 2-1.
Europe is struggling to deal with its second Covid-19 wave… German officials are warning people to be more careful, London is under increasingly severe restrictions, and from tonight, Paris and other major French cities have a 9pm-6am curfew.
… But also stepped up its battle against US tech giants. France and the Netherlands signed a document (paywall) that tells EU regulators to deal with emerging tech companies and the large existing platforms, such as Google and Facebook, including breaking them up if necessary.
The pandemic isn’t hurting Goldman Sachs. The investment bank made just over $3.6 billion in the third quarter, nearly double the same period last year (paywall), with revenue of nearly $10.8 billion. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s profit fell 16%, and Wells Fargo’s dropped 56%.
Starbucks is tying executive pay to diversity targets. The company wants at least 30% of its US corporate staff (paywall), and 40% of employees in retail and manufacturing, to be people of color by 2025. Senior managers will, in theory, suffer financially if these targets are not met.
Charting China’s shaky global status
To the dismay of activists, China was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council this week. Left unsaid was a slightly more uncomfortable truth: support for China at the election was actually its weakest since the council’s founding in 2006.
It’s the latest indication that Beijing’s global reputation is taking a beating as governments grow increasingly disturbed by its actions at home and abroad. But even small changes in China can have huge effects worldwide—we’re obsessed with everything that happens, Because China.
Words of wisdom
If you look at the history of exclusions to overtime provisions—agricultural worker, domestic workers, until recently home healthcare workers—they’re jobs primarily held by people of color. It is a law that works in a systematically racist fashion, and if we don’t recognize that, we have failed.—Judy Conti, government affairs director, National Employment Law Project
To learn more, read Quartz editor Oliver Staley’s latest piece on the racist origins of US overtime laws. And for regular updates from Quartz at Work, sign up for The Memo newsletter below.
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Consulting jobs cool down
The pandemic has frozen the US consulting industry. A deeply uncertain economy and global travel restrictions have put the industry’s hiring on pause, making it an incredibly difficult time to break into a firm. The jobs listings site Indeed says that as of mid-September, postings for US-based consultant jobs were down 56%, compared to just 18% for jobs overall. Glassdoor, another jobs site, also shows consulting job listings down 45% in September compared to last year, compared to 14% overall.
Limited layoffs, low turnover, and a drop in business travel are all likely contributors to the lack of new jobs. Find out more in our guide to consulting’s new challenges.
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Obsession interlude: Rethinking Cities
Here’s a fun way to speak up for your city: Mobile app Earth Speakr allows users to overlay their faces on any object in their surroundings using AR technology, then record messages in real time. Imagine making buildings talk, a plastic bottle scream, or an overflowing trash bin weep. Anyone can download the app for free, but Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, who came up with Earth Speakr, says it’s meant to get children involved in urban design and climate change conversations at an early age. Adults are encouraged to listen for a change.
Augment your own understanding of the urban landscape by keeping tabs on our Rethinking Cities obsession.
Reclaim your focus and your time. Join us today from 11am-12pm US eastern time for our free workshop on how to be indistractable while working from home. Our experts will share advice and practical tips on locking in and managing your workload.
We’re obsessed with lungs
The thing about lungs is that when they’re working well, we barely notice them. It’s only when they’re threatened by something like a global respiratory pandemic that we start to pay attention to just how talented these organs actually are. Although they can temporarily be replaced with ventilators, nothing on Earth quite measures up to the lungs’ ability to fill our cells with what they need and toss what they don’t. Take a deep breath with the Quartz Weekly Obsession.
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Surprising discoveries
A person in a jetpack was spotted 6000 feet over LA. It’s the second recent sighting.
Finnair is selling its plane food in supermarkets. It’s the closest thing to a taste of travel that they can offer right now.
Robot dolphins might be coming to a theme park near you. Instead of wild animals in captivity, life-like animatronics could entertain crowds for $3 million to $5 million apiece.
Does this sound funny to you? New tech analyzes subtle changes in sound to determine when factory machines are prone to failure.
You’ll have to cook this $275 chicken dinner yourself. Pretend you’re a Michelin-starred chef with this meal kit from New York’s Eleven Madison Park.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, a chicken, and a goodfella to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Liz Webber, and Max Lockie.