Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The European Central Bank decides on interest rates. President Mario Draghi is expected to hold rates at their record low, but the big question is whether he’ll talk about plans for bond buying in 2017. Any plans to slow down purchases would jolt markets.
Don’t mention Brexit at Theresa May’s first EU summit. The new British prime minister will brief other EU leaders on her exit plan, but European Council president Donald Tusk doesn’t want them to respond and kick off an ad hoc negotiation. Migration, trade, and relations with Russia are also on the agenda.
The next chapter of the EU antitrust case against Intel unfolds. An adviser to the EU’s highest court will issue its opinion on the 2009 case, in which the European Commission hit the US chipmaker with a record fine of just over €1 billion for abusing its dominant position. The highest court typically rules in line with the adviser’s opinion.
While you were sleeping
Clinton and Trump faced off for the last time. The Republican nominee started off by complaining that a Supreme Court justice insulted him back in July, doing nothing to allay concerns that he is thin-skinned. Clinton suggested Vladimir Putin wants Trump to win so that he could have “a puppet” in the White House, to which Trump replied, “You’re the puppet.” He said he may reject the election result if he loses.
Elon Musk announced every new Tesla will be able to drive itself. The company will add self-driving hardware—including ultrasonic sensors and cameras with 360-degree visibility—to all models. But it won’t activate the functionality until the software has received “complete validation” and regulators give the green light.
A super typhoon rocked the Philippines. Haima’s wind gusts of up to 195 miles per hour (315 km per hour) caused extensive damage in northern Luzon overnight, especially in the Cagayan province. Another typhoon, Sarika, saturated the mountainous region a few days earlier, making landslides and flash floods more likely until the storm veers off into South China Sea on Friday evening.
The European Space Agency lost contact with its Mars lander. The Schiaparelli craft, designed to test new landing equipment, went ominously silent after its descent to the planet’s surface. On the bright side, the agency’s TGO satellite achieved the correct orbit, and will search the atmosphere for the chemical signatures of life.
Facebook wants to sell you a pizza. The tech giant unveiled new features that let customers order food deliveries, book salon appointments, and buy tickets to events through its website and app. The move is seen as a challenge to Google and its efforts to dominate local e-commerce.
New York cracked down hard on Airbnb. The state legislature passed a bill that would impose strict fines on people who put their homes and apartments up for rent; the governor has 10 days to sign or veto the measure. Airbnb has threatened to sue over the proposal, which could see listings in New York City cut by half.
Quartz markets haiku
A nation hangs in
The balance. Not the U.S.
Saudi Arabia
Quartz obsession interlude
Annalisa Merelli on the consequences of electing a sexist to run your country: “While his pop-culture influence primed Italian audiences for misogynist content, it was Berlusconi’s political influence that made sexism seem powerful. By continuing to appeal to the lowest instincts of the Italian male, Berlusconi was living proof that disrespecting and belittling women was the best way to become successful.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The world isn’t ready for online voting. Even though it would increase voter turnout, the system could be easily manipulated.
Facebook is defending diversity by keeping a Trump booster on its board. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is defying demands that he cut ties with Peter Thiel.
The US and Europe are silent bystanders to Russia’s war crimes in Syria. The West must show there is a price to pay for Moscow’s aggression (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Montblanc’s luxurious pens are going digital. A $650 device uses “augmented paper” to transfer writing directly to digital devices.
Eels consume their own bones to survive marathon migrations. They lose more than half their bone volume during the journey of some 3,000 miles (4,828 km).
Hot dogs need a new name in Malaysia. Islamic religious authorities don’t like the canine-derived moniker.
Iran aired the US presidential debates. The mudslinging between the candidates makes for great propaganda.
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