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Here’s what you need to know
The UK is set to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine. Regulators could give the greenlight today, adding to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot already being rolled out across the country.
Europe approves the EU-UK Brexit trade deal. All 27 member states will endorse the agreement—a formal vote will follow later—while the UK and Turkey are expected to sign a trade deal. Separately, the EU and China will likely ink an investment pact this week.
The US House both endorsed and rebuked Donald Trump. Lawmakers voted to overturn the president’s veto of a massive defense spending bill, while approving his call for $2,000 pandemic relief checks. Both bills head to the Senate this week.
The White House tightened restrictions on US investment in Chinese firms. It clarified that a November executive order applies to investors in exchange-trade funds and index funds as well as subsidiaries of alleged Chinese military controlled companies.
Alexei Navalny was ordered to return to Moscow. Authorities threatened the Russian opposition leader, who has been recuperating in Germany after his poisoning, with prison time if he doesn’t report to the federal prison service office today.
Argentina edges closer to legalizing abortion. Its senate convenes today to debate a bill approved earlier this month by the lower house, with a narrow victory projected for senators who back the legislation.
The Hong Kong Exchange still doesn’t have a new CEO. More than seven months after the bourse’s head, Charles Li, announced his plans to step down, the city’s stock exchange has not found a successor ahead of his last day on Thursday.
What to watch for
Yesterday, the US Environmental Protection Agency finalized its first ever rules targeting airplane CO2, which accounts for about 3% of total global emissions. Just one problem: The new standards are more than a decade obsolete. And now that the rules are finalized, it will be harder for president-elect Joe Biden to improve upon them.
When the pandemic brought much global air travel to a halt, the climate breathed a sigh of relief: Global carbon emissions from aviation fell 75% during peak lockdown, and are still 40% below last December’s levels. But when people take to the sky again, emissions will jump back, especially if there’s no pressure on carriers to embrace more efficient designs or lower-carbon fuels. Thankfully, a number of electric airplane startups are getting tantalizingly close to commercial breakthroughs.
Charting fashion’s consolidation
In 2021, the gap between fashion’s winners and losers is set to widen even further, creating the conditions for a wave of consolidation. Shoppers are expecting to spend less on clothing, and companies with healthy balance sheets are trimming product ranges and hunting for smaller upstarts and floundering rivals to scoop up.
But like a good pair of jeans, consolidation is never out of vogue. Even before 2020, a shrinking group of fashion companies was generating all the industry’s profits.
Post-Covid power dynamics
“We know that just more face time, more exposure, tends to breed liking” and a more “positive assessment” of an employee’s work ethic, says Mark Mortensen, a professor of organizational behavior. “More face time with the boss means I’m going to come up top of mind for new projects. That means when it comes time for performance evaluations, the boss has more time with me.”
Working remotely before Covid-19 often meant proving that you were actually being productive. That’s a manifestation of proximity bias—a phenomenon that favors office workers who have regular, face-to-face contact with their colleagues. While the pandemic temporarily wiped a lot of these problems away, the threat of an uneven playing field is rearing its head as workers start getting called back to the office. Jackie Bischof looks at how companies and managers will need to adapt to this tricky new power dynamic.
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Surprising discoveries
Even Pompeii had fast food. Archaeologists discovered a thermopolium, or street food and hot drinks counter, within the city’s ruins.
The UK set a record for wind power generation. Thanks to Storm Bella, more than half of the country’s electricity came from wind turbines on Boxing Day.
There’s a new theory behind the origin of life. A simple compound could have knit together the earliest strands of DNA.
North Korea has a new political star. Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of dictator Kim Jong Un, is making waves with her aggressive denunciations of defectors.
Japan’s new box-office champion is based on a manga series. Demon Slayer is Japan’s highest-grossing film ever, unseating Spirited Away with earnings of ¥32.47 billion ($313.9 million).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, blustery winds, and new theories about the origin of life 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 Mary Hui, Tripti Lahiri, Oliver Staley, Lila MacLellan, Jordan Lebeau, and Kira Bindrim.