Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!
It’s that funny time of year when Thanksgiving is over, but you still haven’t finished putting off your Christmas shopping. You’ve probably been rushing all week to get things done before the holiday break, but we’re here to tell you you can relax for a day. Because it’s Sunday, and time to shift your gaze to some hand-selected reads. Here are some of our favorite Quartz stories from the week, plus a sneak peek at one story coming next week to get your day started.
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5 things we especially liked on Quartz
🚢 All that Trump tariff tough talk? Take it seriously, says Chandri Navarro, senior counsel at the law firm Baker & McKenzie’s international commercial and trade practice. “Those are the kinds of threats that he made prior to his first administration, and then he actually did put them into effect,” she tells William Gavin.
🖥️ Google’s got a brand new chip. The quantum chip, Willow, has demonstrated two major achievements in quantum computing. How fast is it? Willow was able to perform a computation in under five minutes that would take Frontier, the world’s fastest existing supercomputer, 10 septillion years to solve. Britney Nguyen takes a look at how that will change our lives.
🏦 Remember Citi? The creaky lender and investment house says it’s wrapped up a massive reorganization, and investors are noticing. Top-line growth should hit 5% this year, CFO Mark Mason said. Shares are up more than 37% year-to-date. Rocio Fabbro has the details.
💉 Re-upping the supply. Can’t get your hands on the drugs you want? Eli Lilly is partnering with direct-to-consumer telehealth platform Ro to get medications like its popular weight loss treatment Zepound to consumers. For Lilly, that means less profit is lost to middlemen. Bruce Gil follows the money.
🏡 Homegrown. As home prices have surged across the U.S. in recent years, affordability remains one of the biggest challenges for prospective homebuyers — especially those looking to get their foot in the door for the first time. Rocio Fabbro looks at the 10 cities where prices have risen the most in the past decade.
1 sneak peek
2024 was a transformative year — and 2025 promises to reorder the global business landscape at an even more dizzying, breakneck pace. Quartz is here to help you make sense of it all — and get a jump on what comes next. So with 2024 almost history and 2025 just around the corner, we brought together current and former executives, along with other business experts, to look ahead at what the next year will bring for key sectors. Visit qz.com on Monday morning for a look at the future of everything.
What we’re watching this week
- Tuesday: The Federal Open Market Committee meets to consider a further cut in interest rates. Spirit Airlines is back in bankruptcy court seeking permission to do a sale-leaseback on Airbus planes awaiting delivery.
- Wednesday: The Federal Reserve issues a public statement at 2 pm.
- Thursday: Nike and Darden Restaurants (owner of Olive Garden) report earnings.
- Friday: Carnival Cruise Lines reports earnings.
Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, feedback, joy, or thoughts on how to buy a first home. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter S. Green.