Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU considers relaxing anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels. The duties were implemented in 2013, when they nearly caused a trade war between the bloc and China. The European Commission had planned on extending the duties another two years, but now appears set to reduce that to a final 18 months.
Somalia holds elections at last. After postponing the vote four times due to corruption allegations, parliament is expected to elect the country’s next leader from a secure area in Mogadishu’s airport. Sixteen of the 24 candidates are holders of foreign passports.
The Brexit bill nears approval. MPs in the House of Commons will debate final changes to the bill that enables the British government to trigger the formal process of leaving the EU. Prime minister Theresa May yesterday nixed demands for MPs to be allowed to order her back to the EU negotiating table of they don’t like the exit deal.
While you were sleeping
Netflix is getting into the toys business. A job posting shows it’s looking for someone to oversee the licensing of its shows for toys and books and to establish partnerships with retailers. The company created the sci-fi smash Stranger Things using its own in-house studio.
Russia had its first major IPO in four years. Russia’s answer to Toys R Us, Detsky Mir, (“Children’s World”) went public on the Moscow exchange, expecting to raise around $355 million. The thriving 70-year-old company had planned an IPO in 2014, but had to shelve it after Moscow annexed Crimea and sanctions were put in place against Russia.
Japan’s current account surplus soared. The 20.6 trillion yen ($183.63 billion) current account surplus for 2016 was the highest since 2007, thanks to low oil prices, a surge in foreign tourists, and sizable income from overseas investments. There is much for Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump to discuss when they meet this week—Trump has accused Japan (and Germany and China) of devaluing their currencies to boost growth.
Iron bumped Rio Tinto back into profit. The world’s second-largest mining company reaped the benefits of extensive cost-cutting, Chinese demand, and recovering iron-ore prices—they doubled last year from their lowest point in a decade. The Anglo-Australian giant’s annual underlying profit rose to $5.1 billion.
L’Oréal’s done with The Body Shop. The French cosmetics company is reportedly planning to sell of the struggling ethical skincare business (paywall) for €1 billion ($1.06 billion), the Financial Times reports. It acquired The Body Shop just over 10 years ago. Expect more details when L’Oréal reports its annual results on Thursday.
Quartz obsession interlude
Max de Haldevang on what it would actually take to impeach Trump: “Democrats know two big things need to happen… Someone in the House of Representatives needs to actually charge him with something, and they need to convince a load of Republicans to vote to take him down.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Europe must defend itself from an extreme threat. Germany and the EU should prepare their defenses against the Trump presidency, writes Der Spiegel.
Non-Americans should avoid Google and Facebook if they care about privacy. The US government considers itself to have jurisdiction anywhere US companies operate.
Incompetent AIs are more dangerous than evil ones. Humans are liable to put too much trust in machines that do one thing well.
Surprising discoveries
China’s top businesswoman hasn’t taken a day off in 26 years. Dong Mingzhu says she has sacrificed her personal and family life “to make the world a better place.”
A crack in an Antarctic ice shelf has grown 17 miles (27 km) in two months. It’s expanding at a pace of five US football fields a day (paywall).
Women in Buenos Aires are protesting for the right to sunbathe topless. The demos began after police ordered a semi-nude woman to leave the beach.
Barack Obama went kitesurfing with Richard Branson. America’s 44th president is taking a break from politics in the British Virgin Islands.
Engineers at MIT have invented a robot that can catch fish. The transparent gel bots can also kick a ball underwater.
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