Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!
It was another busy week in the Trump 2.0 Era. Tariffs were about to hit Canada and Mexico, then they weren’t, but China still took its lumps. Elon Musk is burrowing deeper into the federal government. And Big Tech companies are still spending big on AI, DeepSeek or no DeepSeek.
But it’s Sunday, and before the Super Bowl kicks off, there’s plenty of time to catch up with some of the most important stories of the week, plus a sneak peek at one story coming next week.
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5 things we especially liked on Quartz
🪖 Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) came into existence with the pledge to slash red tape and dismantle the federal bureaucracy. Although it certainly hasn’t been free of controversy, there’s one group of people that have stars in their eyes: defense industry CEOs. William Gavin explains.
🏛️ When Donald Trump was running for president, he made it clear that one of his priorities was to slash the size of government. On his first day in office, cameras clicked as President Trump signed what he said were 100 executive orders putting his stamp on the U.S. government, many of them calling for cuts to federal agencies. But just out of the limelight, the Trump administration has also been pursuing plans to privatize huge swaths of government services. Peter Green has more.
🤖 DeepSeek sparked a global tech stock sell-off that cost Nvidia $600 billion in market value. But JPMorgan Chase says the AI chipmaker is bound to benefit from the Chinese startup. Britney Nguyen breaks down why analysts say Nvidia shareholders shouldn’t panic.
🏦 Regional banks stand to be winners under the relaxed regulatory environment of the Trump administration, analysts say. The Federal Reserve defines regional banks as having between $10 billion and $100 billion in assets. Most are too small to be described as community banks, but they lack the size and scale of the largest. Kevin Williams has the view from analysts.
📱For better or for worse, the process of meeting someone who could end up being the love of your life has been revolutionized with the rise of online dating. Gamified swipe-based apps such as Tinder and Bumble can make it feel even easier to meet people. But in recent years, singles have complained that these popular dating apps are getting worse, with features such as unlimited swipes and preferences locked behind paywalls, and an algorithm skewed to make you pay for the matches you want. Britney Nguyen looks beyond the algorithm.
One sneak peek
It’s no secret that planning a wedding is a deeply involved process: There are cakes to sample, flowers to purchase, dresses to try on, and seating charts to mastermind. In recent years, however, more and more people have added another step to the process: signing a prenuptial agreement. Madeline Fitzgerald dives into the trend. Visit qz.com on Monday morning for the future of everything.
What we’re watching this week
- Monday: McDonald’s reports earnings before the bell.
- Tuesday: Coca-Cola and Lyft report earnings before the bell.
- Wednesday: The Consumer Price Index for January is released. CVS also reports earnings before the bell.
- Thursday: Airbnb reports earnings after the bell.
- Friday: The Producer Price Index for January is released. Happy Valentine’s Day
Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out.