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Here’s what you need to know
Spotify’s CEO doubled down on support for Joe Rogan. Daniel Ek said he is “deeply sorry” for his $100 million star’s past use of racial slurs, but also insisted that “canceling voices is a slippery slope.”
Amazon and Nike are reportedly interested in buying Peloton. According to the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, the two giants are each evaluating bids for the faltering fitness firm, which reports second-quarter earnings tomorrow.
Ottawa declared a state of emergency. More than 10 days of protests against covid-19 vaccine mandates are overwhelming police, the Canadian capital’s mayor said.
Emmanuel Macron is in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. The French president is there for “de-escalation” over Ukraine, with US officials warning yesterday that a Russian attack is close.
Australia is reopening its borders for fully vaccinated travelers. After nearly two years of restrictions, visitors can enter from Feb. 21.
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai resurfaced at the Winter Olympics. Once thought to have disappeared following a sexual assault allegation, Peng did an interview with French publication L’Équipe, and met Olympic chief Thomas Bach for dinner.
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: The next installment of the Grand Theft Auto series is currently under development—the news 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 bought by Take-Two in a deal valued at $12.7 billion;
- What it has to say about Microsoft’s proposed purchase of 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 two 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
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📑 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 Hasit Shah, Heather Landy, Annalisa Merelli, and Morgan Haefner.