Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Scientists decide whether the “Doomsday clock” needs adjusting. Donald Trump’s stance on nuclear arms, refusal to address climate change, and disregard for science in general may be inching the world toward disaster. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists may push the minute hand closer to midnight.
Britain kickstarts Brexit maneuvers… Theresa May’s government will publish legislation seeking parliamentary approval to begin divorce proceedings from the EU. One think tank believes the Article 50 bill could pass as soon as February, though March looks more likely.
… And Theresa May speaks at the Republican retreat. She plans to push a closer UK-US relationship with the US in her address in Pennsylvania, but House and Senate Democrats are angry at what they say is a “partisan visit” and a “breach of standard protocol”
Gambia’s new president comes home. Adama Barrow is returning from Senegal, where he took refuge during a standoff with ex-leader Yahyah Jammeh. One urgent bit of business he’ll need to address: It turns out his just-appointed vice president, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, is past the constitutional age limit.
While you were sleeping
Mexico’s president rejected Trump’s border wall. Following Trump’s executive order on Wednesday, Enrique Peña Nieto assured Mexicans that his country would not be paying for the border fence, as the US president has suggested. The Mexican foreign minister said the Jan. 31 meeting between Trump and Peña Nieto is still on “for now.”
Hugo Barra became VP of VR at Facebook. Three days after he stepped down as global vice president of the Chinese smartphone giant citing health reasons, Barra announced he was joining Facebook to run its virtual reality unit. Mark Zuckerberg said last week (paywall) that Facebook is looking at around 15 more years of VR development before it becomes a mainstream platform.
Johnson & Johnson clinched the deal with Actelion. The $30 billion acquisition of the Swiss pharma company means J&J, already the global leader in health-care, can add a whole new set of blood-pressure treatment drugs to its roster. It plans to spin off Actelion’s R&D operations.
The Dutch market watchdog made a Soros-sized boo-boo. Regulator AFM accidentally published details of hundreds of short positions (bets that a company’s shares will drop in value) held by hedge funds on its website, including bets by George Soros’s office against ING and other Dutch banks. Soros made $1 billion betting against sterling in 1992.
Unilever’s limp fourth quarter caused its shares to slide. The Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant’s shares fell by 4% after it missed its fourth-quarter sales targets. It blamed demonetization in India and the struggling economy in Brazil. Unilever ramped up product prices in the UK after the Brexit vote to counter the slump in the pound.
Quartz obsession interlude
Eshe Nelson on the downgrade of the United States to a “flawed democracy.” “The US has been ‘teetering on the brink of becoming a flawed democracy’ for years, a new report says… Trust has been declining in the US for decades, leaving the country’s institutions battling a ‘legitimacy crisis’ and struggling to sustain representative democracy in its current form.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China should reduce its trade surplus with the US. Beijing has a clear path (paywall) to undisputed superpower status, but it needs to prevent a trade war.
Angela Merkel’s re-election is far from assured. Her coalition partner has chosen the popular Martin Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament, as her opponent in this year’s election.
The stock market doesn’t really care who’s president. The US commander-in-chief has very little to do with the economy’s performance.
Surprising discoveries
An Irish novel that was overlooked in the West was a huge hit in the Soviet Union. “The Gadfly” by Ethel Voynich sold over 5 million copies in 22 languages behind the Iron Curtain.
Doctors removed a patient’s lungs for six days. Machines oxygenated and circulated her blood until a transplant became available—it’s believed to be the first time this was done.
The US constitution is stored in an atomic bomb-proof vault. A special elevator carries the country’s foundational documents underground every night.
Elon Musk is building a tunnel under SpaceX. It’s not exactly clear why, but the billionaire has tweeted that traffic is “driving him nuts.”
Chasing sheep is illegal in New Zealand. So a famed rodeo is employing men dressed like sheep as a substitute.
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