Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
The UK and EU want a “win-win” over vaccine supplies. US president Joe Biden is also dialing into the European leaders’ conference call today.
AstraZeneca released more complete data. The drugmaker was criticized earlier for “cherry-picking” information about its vaccine, but still says it offers “100% efficacy against severe or critical disease and hospitalization.”
Nike and H&M face fury in China. Influencers appear to have cut ties with the brands because of statements about Uyghur forced labor, and there are calls for a boycott.
Tencent’s sales surged. In the last quarter of 2020, the Chinese tech giant’s online gaming revenues alone rose by 29% to $6 billion, compared to the same quarter in 2019—however, it has regulatory headaches.
The Suez Canal is still blocked. It could take at least two days to move the grounded cargo ship—that’s better than eight years (read more below.)
What to watch for
Like everything else, the Olympic torch relay is a year late. Today, the flame begins its Japanese journey in Fukushima, the site of a devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster a decade ago.
How weird will these Olympic and Paralympic games be? A look by the digits:
0: Number of overseas spectators that will be allowed in Tokyo
0: Number of athletes representing Russia, because of a doping-related ban
Up to 10: Number of Russians competing as “neutral athletes” in track and field events
26,000: Number of beds in the Athletes Village—they will be made almost entirely of renewable materials
6.2 million: Number of cellphones donated to create gold, silver, and bronze medals
For more Olympian numbers, use the coronavirus living briefing to assess the impact of the pandemic on the Games, Asian economies, and key global industries.
Charting global trade through the Suez Canal
Low visibility and 40-knot winds during a sandstorm grounded a container ship on the Suez Canal on Tuesday—completely blocking the important shipping lane. It’s not just a fascinating photo—the blockage disrupts global shipping the longer it stays in place, explain David Yanofsky and Clarisa Diaz.
This isn’t the first time the canal has been blocked. Following military and political conflict in the region, Egypt closed the canal to shipping for six months in 1956, and also from 1967 to 1975, which trapped 14 ships and their crews for eight years.
Stealing from the rich
Meme stock trading seems to have settled down somewhat, but Robinhood’s upcoming IPO and GameStop’s latest moves are demonstrating what the landscape looks like after the dust clears.
🏹 Robinhood filed confidentially for an IPO—that is, the IPO itself isn’t secret, but some key financial details are, at least for a while longer. (It also means the company’s employees won’t yet be able to see how much its leaders—those calling for the democratization of finance—are making.)
🎮 GameStop had a dismal earnings call on Tuesday—being a meme stock doesn’t necessarily benefit a company’s sales. But the same evening, GameStop filed a 10-K that indicated it considered selling shares during the height of GME mania, but decided to wait. It’s either a laudable sign of restraint or a missed opportunity for a brick and mortar whose business model is becoming obsolete.
✦ What manner of bubble even is this? Quartz members can get a sense by diving into our field guide on the next bubble. Try out a membership for free. It won’t pop your budget.
Handpicked Quartz
🍩 America’s businesses have discovered vaccine marketing
🇧🇷 Why have two long-dead Austrian economists become cult figures in Brazil?
🎤 The case for inviting a standup comedian to your next Zoom meeting
📈 The new wave of retail traders is younger, less white, and less male
🍛 India’s first food delivery IPO is finally on its way—but Amazon could be a speed bump
🇮🇳 Rising US treasury bond yields could threaten India’s economic recovery
🇨🇳 Beijing’s European sanctions are also a bid to control who tells the China story
🕷 Disney’s Black Widow decision is a huge blow to a desperate theater industry
Surprising discoveries
For-profit nursing homes are understaffed by design. Cutting labor costs is the fastest way to boost profits.
China can’t stop memeing a 3,000-year-old gold mask. Hello Kitty looks particularly fetching while sporting the newly discovered artifact.
Researchers figured out why our brains are so big. A molecular switch that controls growth is in the off position in our chimp and gorilla cousins.
Pollution is causing babies to be born with smaller penises. Make all the jokes you want, but it’s a problem for human reproduction.
The Large Hadron Collider finally made another discovery. Nine years after proving the existence of the Higgs boson, scientists at CERN found evidence of a “brand new” type of particle.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, giant brains, and new particles 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, Mary Hui, Tripti Lahiri, Oliver Staley, Samanth Subramanian, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.