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Here’s what you need to know
The Trump impeachment trial saw new footage of the Capitol riot. It shows senior figures being hurried to safety, violent attacks on police officers, a shooting, and rioters wearing body armor.
The World Health Organization recommends the AstraZeneca vaccine. The WHO said doses can be spaced out, offer protection against variants, and can be administered to over-65s.
A UK-discovered coronavirus variant is “going to sweep the world.” That’s according to the head of Britain’s genetic surveillance program, professor Sharon Peacock.
Amsterdam overtook London as Europe’s share-trading center. The Dutch capital saw a four-fold growth in volume to $11.2 billion in January, with London falling to $10.4 billion.
US president Joe Biden gave China’s leader Xi Jinping a call. Though he noted possible areas for cooperation, Biden also confronted Xi on human rights abuses.
Jeep pulled a Bruce Springsteen ad following news of a DWI charge. The rock legend was prosecuted back in November, but his car commercial aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Rihanna’s luxury collaboration with LVMH is over. The clothes were too expensive for their target customers, and lacked a clear identity.
What to watch for
🐝 Bumble, the female-friendly dating app, is abuzz with good news. As it will no doubt detail on its earnings call today, the Austin-based start-up has dramatically increased its user base during the pandemic. With an IPO looming, analysts say that it could be worth up to $8 billion.
How did the six-year old company become dating industry royalty so quickly?
2012: Whitney Wolfe Herd joins a group that develops Tinder and has an office romance that ended in a fiery sexual harassment lawsuit.
2014: Learning from that experience, Wolfe starts Bumble, where “Integrity, kindness, equality, confidence, and respect” are the platform’s core values.
2016: Bumble introduces a job-hunting feature called BumbleBizz. (It also has a BFF setting for kindling platonic friendships.)
2018: Bumble’s launch in India is a big hit.
2019: Blackstone takes a majority share of the company, which launches a print magazine called Bumble Mag.
2020: Three new profile badges navigate the awkwardness of dating during a raging pandemic. Sharon Stone complains that she’s been blocked on the platform.
2021: DC-based Bumble users help the FBI track some US Capitol insurrectionists.
Charting inflation in emerging markets
As the Covid-19 pandemic spread, a slew of central banks from India to Turkey to South Africa for the first time engaged in quantitative easing, buying up government debt and corporate bonds to stabilize their currencies and boost their recoveries, while overlooking the risk of inflation.
But declining currency values can be damaging to emerging markets reliant on foreign imports of basic goods like food and fuel. Countries like Turkey, Brazil, and Nigeria are now smarting from the pain of food inflation.
Roya Wolverson explains the consequences for emerging economies that engage in US Federal Reserve-style money-printing measures.
Netflix’s focus on la famille
When it arrived in France, Netflix was seen as a potential disruptor to the very foundation of French television. Now, nearly a decade later, with 70 million people watching crime drama Lupin and 20 more French series and films to come, Netflix and French TV have formed a mutually beneficial partnership.
Netflix also wants to put some action behind CEO Reed Hastings’ talk of eventually unseating Disney from its family animation throne. To that end, it has acquired bestselling children series Redwall and is positioning itself to sway parents much like it did French TV lovers, endearing itself to families as a one-stop viewing shop for all ages even as membership rates continue to climb.
✦ Your Quartz membership is safe from Lupin; he’s probably got his own. Try it for a week, free.
Surprising discoveries
Cinemas in South Korea found a new way to make money. Up to four gamers can rent a big screen for $90 for two hours.
Europe’s oldest person beat Covid-19. The now fully recovered French nun celebrates her 117th birthday today.
An Israeli company 3D printed a steak. The ribeye is made from lab-grown cow cells.
Buying bitcoin after an Elon Musk tweet is a perfectly rational move. John Maynard Keynes would approve.
The news doesn’t have enough dinosaur stories. A kid convinced the NPR that incessant senator chat is just boring.
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