Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
EU officials talk counter-terrorism with Silicon Valley. They want help from US tech giants in fighting terrorist propaganda online and will meet with leaders at Google, Facebook, and Twitter, among others. The California confabs will come at an awkward time, after WikiLeaks apparently revealed ways the CIA hacks smartphones and other devices.
The US jobs report. The economy is expected to have added more than 200,000 jobs in February. It’s too early to hold the impressive numbers up as proof of Trump’s promises to bring back jobs—the trend is continuing from Obama’s term.
A big decision on a bitcoin ETF. US securities regulators are due to decide this weekend whether the cryptocurrency can have its own exchange-traded fund. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame are trying to convince the government to let more investors access the borderless cryptocurrency.
While you were sleeping
The end of the line for South Korea’s president. Park Geun-hye became the nation’s first president to be ousted by impeachment. On live TV a panel of justices upheld a motion to dismiss her over one of the biggest influence-peddling scandals in the country’s history. The ruling triggers new elections, with Park’s replacement to be determined in the next 60 days. Two people were killed in clashes with the police at protests after the hearing.
Elon Musk made a powerful wager with South Australia. In a Twitter exchange with the Atlassian CEO, the Tesla boss said he could build a 100MW battery storage farm in the state within 100 days—or its free of charge. The state has been suffering from serious power outages in the last six months. Tesla built an 80MW farm in just 90 days in California last year.
Germany’s huge trade surplus suddenly shrunk. The country’s trade surplus, which has been slammed by the Trump administration, dropped to its lowest level in a year (paywall)—from €18.7 billion ($19.8 billion) in December to €14.8 billion in January. It’s fallen because of a rise in monthly imports, driven by consumer demand. That, coupled with its current account balance falling by almost a half, might get critics off its back momentarily.
MGM Holdings closed in on sole ownership of the pay-TV channel Epix. It’s been investing heavily in its TV business recently. While Epix lags behind HBO and Showtime, it does have millions of subscribers, shows like Graves, and an online streaming service. A deal would likely value Epix at between $1 billion to $2 billion, Reuters reported.
BT finally agreed to split off its network division. Openreach, BT’s best performing business, will become a separate entity after years of wrangling between the telecoms company and the British competition regulator. Investors were happy: BT shares topped the FTSE 100 on Friday morning, rising around 4.5%.
Quartz obsession interlude
Sarah Kessler on the optimist’s guide to the robot apocalypse: “Our modern fear that robots will steal all the jobs fits a classic script. Nearly 500 years ago, Queen Elizabeth I cited the same fear when she denied an English inventor named William Lee a patent for an automated knitting contraption.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
People who speak multiple languages make the best employees. Their malleable minds produce more original thinking.
Google’s next big business isn’t a moonshot. The company thinks its AI expertise will give it an edge in the lucrative cloud computing sector.
The world needs more cable cars. The quaint mode of transit can boost tourism and improve troubled regions.
Surprising discoveries
Most US restaurants get their truffles from a 24-year-old. Ian Purkayastha sources luxury goods like suckling pig and sea urchin for Michelin-starred chefs.
Wild radioactive boars are rampaging in Japan. They’ve taken over towns in the Fukushima prefecture near the site of the 2011 nuclear plant disaster.
Scientists have discovered the world’s oldest crocodile egg. The remarkably well-preserved fossil dates back 125 million years.
NASA is growing potatoes for Mars. A project with a Peruvian research center successfully grew tubers in an environment that mimicked the Red Planet.
China leads the world in self-made female billionaires. An estimated 56 out of 88 call China home.
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