Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Angela Merkel visits Warsaw. The German chancellor will meet with elected officials and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful leader of the ruling Law and Justice Party. Germany and Poland are allies and close trading partners, but don’t always see eye-to-eye on EU policy.
An update on the US trade deficit. Economists don’t expect much to change in December, but the $45 billion deficit will be in the spotlight as president Donald Trump tries to rework NAFTA and other trade deals. The White House has proposed narrowing the persistent gap by imposing fees on certain imports.
BP earnings. The oil giant is expected to post a hefty quarterly profit of $640 million, versus an even bigger loss of $3.3 billion the year before, as it emerges from a protracted period of cost-cutting. Japan’s Sumitomo and French banking group BNP Paribas also report earnings.
While you were sleeping
A US appeals court considered the legality of Trump’s travel ban. A court of appeals in San Francisco heard arguments from more than a dozen states and nearly 100 tech companies who oppose the White House clampdown. Judges requested additional briefs by end of day Monday, in a high-profile legal dispute that is probably bound for the US Supreme Court.
The euro zone economy picked up some speed. The GDP for the economic bloc rose 0.5% in the fourth quarter, up from 0.4% the previous quarter and extending a streak of 14 consecutive quarters of growth. Economic confidence is up, unemployment is back in the single digits, and inflation rate of 1.8% was close to a four-year high.
Uber hired a NASA expert to build a flying car. Mark Moore is the company’s new director of engineering for aviation, working on a plan to build a fleet of fixed-wing, tilt-rotor aircraft. He thinks issues around noise pollution and battery life can be solved sometime around 2020.
Google and Facebook vowed to fight fake news in France. The companies rolled out new fact-checking tools that rely on dozens of news organizations that will monitor and vet suspicious content during the country’s upcoming election. Similar efforts are underway in Germany and the United States.
Quartz obsession interlude
David Yanofsky explores all $304.6 billion in goods that the US imports from Mexico in a year: “Trump has floated a 20% import tax on all Mexican products to finance his border wall. A blanket tax, however, may not be the best approach. Tariffs are typically applied in a much more nuanced way.” Read more here.
Quartz markets haiku
Glaciers silently
Slumber, before they crack wide
Will stocks ever wake?
Matters of debate
The IMF should leave Greece before it makes things worse. Forgiving the country’s debts to the IMF would allow Europe and Greece to work out their own solution.
The US should not use Russia to fight ISIL. Moscow’s goals have very little to do with fighting the extremist group.
Isolating China will only hurt the US. A trade war or military conflict will make the Middle Kingdom more defensive and anti-American.
Surprising discoveries
Cubans buy their apps in brick-and-mortar stores. The internet is slow and expensive, so vendors use hardwired connections to transfer software to customers’ phones.
Trump aides are literally working in the dark. White House newcomers reportedly couldn’t figure out how to operate some light switches.
A “Hamilton” Ponzi scheme ensnared some prominent billionaires. Michael Dell and hedge fund boss Paul Tudor Jones were among the victims of the ticket resale fraud.
Apple is doubling down on dongles. Yet another iPhone connector—somewhere between the old lightning port and the new USB-C—is in the works.
Science designed a song to makes babies happy. They like upbeat, surprising tracks sung by energetic female vocalists.
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