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Here’s what you need to know
AstraZeneca insists Europe has to wait. Its CEO said the firm would not divert Covid-19 vaccine doses intended for the UK to the EU, after announcing a major shortfall in deliveries to the bloc.
Joe Biden signed executive orders to advance racial equity… The US president is requiring the justice department to curb its use of private prisons, and urging housing authorities to strengthen anti-discrimination rules.
…and had a prickly chat with Vladimir Putin. Biden brought up Russia’s alleged poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and cyberattacks on the US during the leaders’ first phone call.
The International Olympic Committee discusses Tokyo 2020. The head of the IOC is expected to express confidence the postponed games will happen—but some Japanese officials are becoming openly less optimistic.
There’s hope for reviving Ant Group’s monster listing. The head of China’s central bank hinted during a discussion at Davos that the fintech giant—whose $35 billion IPO was thwarted by Beijing—could resume the process after it addresses regulatory concerns.
Wall Street returns to “Davos in the desert.” Investors temporarily shunned the Saudi Arabian investment event after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
India deployed more paramilitary forces in its capital. The beefed-up security came after a day of clashes between farmers angered by agricultural reforms and police.
What to watch for
Microsoft beat earnings expectations yesterday, as it continues to reap benefits from working from home. Today, three more of the world’s biggest tech companies have a chance to prove themselves to investors:
📱Apple: Apple’s data will offer the first glimpse at how the company fared during a pandemic-tinged holiday shopping season. All eyes will be on sales numbers for the iPhone 12, launched last fall. The company has reportedly hiked production 30% to meet demand, suggesting that not even a pandemic can kill Apple’s product buzz.
💰Tesla: The electric car maker is riding a wave of stock market enthusiasm that pushed the company’s value up 700% and crowned its CEO the richest man on earth. Its latest earnings report will tell whether Tesla can live up to its own hype.
💆♀️Facebook: The social media giant has a chance to soothe investors’ nerves by releasing convincing user growth and revenue numbers. Facebook’s stock is down 2% this year amid fear of antitrust enforcement, a potential repeal of liability protections, and a backlash over its ban of the former US president.
Charting South Africa’s Covid battle
Covid isn’t slowing down, and vaccine rollouts show no sign of catching up. South Africa, where a more contagious strain of the novel coronavirus was recently discovered, is awaiting two deliveries of a combined 1.5 million doses to start its program to vaccinate its 59 million residents.
The new variant has driven the numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths to an all-time high leading to hospitals being overwhelmed. While South Africa’s government waits on the supply of vaccines to bring the pandemic under control, recent studies have confirmed that current vaccines are less efficient on the new variant.
BlackRock’s new request for potential investments
On Tuesday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink dropped his annual letter to CEOs, and surprise surprise, it focused on the climate. “Climate risk is investment risk,” Fink emphasized, but the transition also offers “a historic investment opportunity.”
BlackRock is now “asking” all public and large private companies to disclose their exposure to climate risk. Naturally, Fink said BlackRock will launch investment products offering explicit temperature goals and a pathway to net-zero emissions.
This is far from the first time Fink has led Wall Street on initiatives to address climate change: BlackRock announced in 2020 it would screen investments for sustainability criteria, divest from thermal coal producers, and vote against management failing to act on climate. With the pandemic accelerating the climate transition, “we need to move even faster,” Fink says.
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Surprising discoveries
Plastic surgery is getting a lift. The industry’s in a sweet spot, as vaccine hopes rise while masks are still around to keep faces hidden during recovery.
Some beetles can change how a corpse smells. To ward off hungry competition, they use microbes to change the odor during a process too gross for us to describe here.
An old star survived a black hole. The two are stuck in a delicate dance.
The first entirely private squad will head to the ISS. Three wealthy men will have one former astronaut to guide them.
iPhone 12s can screw up medical devices. Apple says the model contains so many magnets, it can mess with defibrillators and pacemakers.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, iPhone 11s, and a ticket to the ISS 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, Nicolás Rivero, Susan Howson, and Jordan Lebeau.