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Joe Biden picked a highly competent chief of staff. The choice of Washington operative Ron Klain signals a return to the White House’s traditional managerial style—and less chaos ahead. The US-UK “special relationship,” though, may not return exactly to form despite Tuesday’s friendly phone call. Read more below.
The UK releases its third-quarter GDP. While it’s expected to be more positive than the previous quarter’s 19.8% decline, any rebound will likely be short-lived as England reimposed lockdowns earlier this month.
Hong Kong’s opposition resigns en masse. After Beijing granted the Hong Kong government sweeping new powers to directly expel the city’s pro-democracy politicians, the entire opposition camp is expected to quit following yesterday’s ouster of four legislators. In response, the US warned of more sanctions on China.
Tencent reports earnings during China’s tech turmoil. The gaming giant will need to explain to investors how it will weather China’s new rules against internet monopolies, which caused a $290 billion selloff in the Chinese tech sector this week. Meanwhile, TikTok is complaining about radio silence from the Donald Trump administration—the deadline he set for it to be sold is today.
Will a Biden-Johnson bromance blossom?
British prime minister Boris Johnson made it to the first cut of world leaders that Biden got on the phone with after his win—a huge improvement from 2016, when Trump spoke with Turkey and Egypt before the UK. Still, as Annabelle Timsit explains, the US-UK “special relationship” is changing, especially now that Britain is no longer part of the EU.
Nevertheless, the two leaders will find a lot to work together on, from countering China to fighting climate change, with the UK set to host the global climate talks in Scotland next year.
But will relations between the two men ever be warm, given Biden sees Johnson as Britain’s Trump counterpart? A US senator close to Biden said he found Johnson “more agile, engaging, educated, and forward-looking” than US coverage led him to expect. Perhaps Biden will feel the same.
Cleaning up Chrome
As Google faces mounting antitrust scrutiny in the US, prosecutors are considering splitting off Chrome from the rest of the business. Selling the world’s most popular browser to a new owner might address monopoly concerns, but it could also have effects beyond Google’s business, like:
🍪 Tracking cookies will never look the same. Chrome is the last major browser that doesn’t default to block third-party cookies, which advertisers use to follow users around the web. A new owner could quickly implement more privacy-oriented settings, which means…
🗞️ Digital ad revenues could go down the drain. If you can’t track users, you can’t show targeted ads to them. Cutting cookies could cause digital publishers to lose more than half of their revenue from programmatic ads, by Google’s estimates.
💸 Say goodbye to Silicon Valley’s favorite business model. Google’s own business is ad-centric, which is how it keeps the majority of its services free. A disruption to its ecosystem could throw the role of other free, ad-driven platforms (ahem, Facebook) into question.
Enthusiastic and invested
Since 2018, global investment in climate tech has exceeded $900 million, more than the prior 10 years combined. The biggest investments went to companies like nuclear startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems ($199 million over two years), and the lab-grown meat company Wild Type, which closed a $12.5 million deal in 2019.
While that may sound like a lot, it’s still a pittance compared to digital tech and its multi-billion-dollar investments. And in the US, venture capitalists only invested about $217 million in 20 climate tech startups last year, just 20% of total global investment in the sector. Our latest field guide interrogates the role Silicon Valley has to play in the race to decarbonize the economy.
We’re obsessed with high heels
These shoes weren’t made for walking. The high heel may have actually started out as an eminently practical tool for equestrians. But over the last 1,000 years, this family of footwear has become a multi-billion dollar industry, a feminist lightning rod, and a literal pain in the butt. Sneakerheads and a global pandemic may be momentarily serving the stiletto—and its shorter, stockier cousins—a curveball. But no matter how many times it falls, the heel has a way of getting right back up again. Strut on over to the Quartz Weekly Obsession.
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Surprising discoveries
Allbirds will increase its price on Black Friday. The shoemaker will donate the $1 extra charge for each item to climate activist Greta Thunberg’s movement.
Brazil’s president urged citizens not to be “sissies” about Covid. Everyone is going to die one day, said Jair Bolsonaro.
Scientists discovered a new primate species. With a population of under 300, the Popa langur, a monkey found in the jungles of Myanmar, is already endangered.
Physicists reverse engineered the universe’s origin. Firing trillions of protons a day in an underground lab, they replicated a nuclear reaction that happened moments after the Big Bang.
Get your heart pumping by starring in your own spy thriller. A new running app sends users on top-secret missions to evade snipers and beat their personal records.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, big bang theories, and motivational quotes from presidents 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 Jane Li, Tripti Lahiri, Michael Coren, and Eleanor Cummins.