Good morning, Quartz readers!
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. Forward to the friend who refuses to use new slang.
Here’s what you need to know
Russia has 70% of the military buildup needed to invade Ukraine. Intelligence assessments from the US, which a senior Russian diplomat disputed, show Kyiv could be seized in days.
The US is readying a new Asia-Pacific economic strategy. The plan aims to fill a gap left after the US exited the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017.
Lata Mangeshkar, known as the voice of India, has died at 92. She was the country’s most popular female singer and leaves behind a colossal body of work.
Protests in Canada’s capital entered their 10th day. Demonstrators against covid-19 vaccine mandates are overwhelming police, Ottawa’s mayor said, and declared a state of emergency.
The coach of Finland’s Olympic men’s hockey team accused China of violating human rights. A player on the team has been isolated in Beijing since testing positive for covid-19 more than two weeks ago.
Subscribe to our Need to Know: Beijing Olympics newsletter for all the conflict and controversy of the 2022 Winter Games.
What to watch for
There are few sectors more interesting right now than video games, making today’s earnings release from Take-Two Interactive Software a must-watch for many. But one of the biggest questions about the company’s future has already been answered: Its Rockstar Games studio confirmed via blog post Feb. 4 that the next installment of its popular Grand Theft Auto series is currently under development, which contributed to a 7% one-day rise in the company’s shares.
There’s plenty more investors will want to know about Take-Two, including:
- How it will jumpstart earnings growth (profit was forecast to fall last quarter, even as revenue rose);
- Its plans for hit mobile games maker Zynga, which agreed in January to be acquired by Take-Two in a deal valued at $12.7 billion; and
- What it has to say about Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of rival games maker Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion.
Bid on the big screen
Auction house Sotheby’s is accepting bids until Feb. 8 on a selection of movie posters and original set photos. Prices start at £300 (about $400) for a two house stills from Disney’s 1953 Peter Pan, and go all the way to £30,000 ($34,400) for the 1962 original poster of Dr. No, the first James Bond movie. Other lots available include:
🕴️ Pierre Etaix’s poster for Jacques Tati’s 1958 classic Mon Oncle (current bid £2,000)
🚀 A graphic poster for the 1980 British launch of The Empire Strikes Back (current bid: £10,000)
💃 The original Italian poster for Federico Fellini’s 1960 La Dolce Vita (starting bid £14,000)
🐦 A 1965 conceptual Polish poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s (Alfreda Hitchcocka, in Polish) Ptaki (The Birds)
Best Companies for Remote Workers
Are you working remotely by design or as a result of the pandemic? Either way, how your company supports you is paramount. Enter them for our Best Companies for Remote Workers 2022 list.
Handpicked Quartz
🤑 Amazon’s price hikes are a test of Prime’s stickiness
🎧 Listen to the voice that soothed India for decades
🙅 Facebook was on the defensive for years—until the metaverse came along
📑 Scientific journals are incentivized to publish positive drug studies
🔥 China tried deflecting criticism over Uyghurs with an Olympic torchbearer from Xinjiang
🚫 Jamie Dimon says he no longer uses the word “cryptocurrency”
Surprising discoveries
An American man took down North Korea’s internet from his living room. He was tired of state-sponsored spies hacking him.
A search for the Endurance shipwreck has begun… Explorer Ernest Shackleton’s vessel sank in the waters of Antarctica in 1915.
…while James Cook’s ship was found? Australian historians said Endeavour is lying off the US East Coast, but US researchers aren’t sure.
Meet the flatworm named covid-19. Locked down with no field work, scientists spent a lot of time running computer analyses on Humbertium covidum.
An Icelandic company likely sold $30,000 worth of eiderdown to fill a coat for Vladimir Putin. But Russian media said the coat was worth $11,000. Learn more in the first episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast’s second season.
🎧 Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, underwater treasure, and $30,000 coats 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 Heather Landy, Annalisa Merelli, and Morgan Haefner.