Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
UberEATS debuts in more countries. The ride-hailing giant launches its takeaway meal delivery service in Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and parts of Tokyo today. Next on the hit list: Hong Kong, Bangkok, Brussels, Taipei, Jakarta, and Stockholm.
Margrethe Vestager gives the keynote speech at big data conference. The EU’s commissioner for competition speaks at the “individual rights and smart enforcement” event in Brussels. The unstoppable Danish politician recently went after Apple and Google for tax and antitrust violations.
PepsiCo and Costco results. Analysts expect Pepsi’s third-quarter earnings and revenue to be down. Likewise, Costco, the world’s second largest retailer, is expected to deliver a lackluster increase in fourth-quarter revenue (paywall) of around 3%.
While you were sleeping
Oil reacted to the OPEC decision. Brent crude was at a three-week high of $48.54 per barrel as investors reacted to OPEC’s agreement on Wednesday to cut oil production for the first time in eight years. Many are skeptical on how OPEC will actually implement the plan. In corporate terms, Royal Dutch Shell gained 5%, BP 4.3%, and Total was up 4.5%.
California cut ties with Wells Fargo. The state treasury suspended major parts of its business relationship with the bank, over the unauthorized customer accounts scandal. California will no longer buy the bank’s debt securities, and will stop using Wells Fargo as a bond underwriter or broker-dealer for buying securities.
Spotify snuggled up to SoundCloud… The music streaming company is said to be in advanced talks with Berlin-based Soundcloud (paywall), which raised $100 million from investors in June. Spotify has 40 million paying subscribers, and is eyeing an IPO next year.
… and launched in Japan. Spotify will be the first major music-streaming service available for free on an ongoing basis there. Japan has the world’s second-largest music market, largely because consumers still prefer buying their music in CD form. The nation has more old-fashioned music stores than anywhere else in the world.
India attacked terror camps in Pakistan. The strikes were in retaliation for a deadly attack on Indian soldiers in the disputed region of Kashmir earlier this month. India experts see the open announcement of the cross-border strike as a provocative move by Narendra Modi’s government. It certainly unsettled the markets—stocks, bonds and the rupee fell on the news.
Quartz obsession interlude
Christopher Groskopf on how internet companies delete your right to own your digital purchases. ”Terms of Service are essentially very one-sided contracts written by the company selling the digital goods. Often they include provisions that shield the business from liability and even prevent the consumer from going to court if they feel ripped off. Typically a consumer’s only choice is to accept them as they are, or to decline to use the service entirely. An overwhelming majority of internet users agree to them without reading them.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Organizations don’t value intelligence. People are more likely to be rewarded if they blindly follow bureaucracy.
Civilization hasn’t made humans less violent. Modern humans have inherited a tendency toward lethal violence from our ancestors.
We need new words to describe Facebook and Google. Terms like “media company” or “platform” don’t even come close to capturing their power in our lives.
Surprising discoveries
Mexicans have 300 different ways of referring to corruption. A civil society group has compiled them in a book.
It’s fine to curse around kids. Slurs and swearing directly at kids is out of bounds, but hearing the occasional F-bomb won’t hurt them.
Manmade reservoirs emit more greenhouse gases than all of Canada. The artificial lakes harbor the perfect conditions to produce more methane than other water systems.
Learning German will get you paid more in the UK. There are also more job openings for people who speak German as a second language.
The CIA is protecting the privacy rights of a fictional journalist. ”Guy Sims Fitch” was a regular contributor to newspapers during the Cold War—and the CIA won’t divulge any info on who was behind the pseudonym.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, new swear words, and fictional journalists to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our iPhone app.