Lego’s Christmas shortage, Ferrari’s supercharged IPO, cupcake burglar nabbed
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The European Central Bank weighs options for boosting inflation. Central bankers meeting in Malta are reportedly edging toward a stimulus extension to prevent the euro from strengthening against the dollar. ECB president Mario Draghi will likely reiterate his willingness to prolong the stimulus—and such talk alone may stem the euro’s rise.
Republicans grill Hillary Clinton. She faces questions from a Congressional committee created to investigate a 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Republicans are now under pressure to demonstrate that the investigation—which has shifted to Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state—is not politically motivated to hamper the Democratic presidential frontrunner.
Tech companies open their books. Amazon has projected improved operating income this quarter, from a $544 million loss a year ago. Alphabet, the newly-formed Google holding company, will report its first results since the re-organization, but won’t break out the new operating subsidiaries for another three months. Microsoft’s quarterly presentation will hinge on the success of its cloud business.
More earnings: Daimler, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Raytheon, Under Armour, Caterpillar, United Continental, McDonald’s, Capital One, Southwest Airlines, and AT&T are all reporting quarterly results.
While you were sleeping
Ferrari’s IPO took off. The Italian car manufacturer’s shares rose by as much as 17% on its first day of trading on the NYSE. That bodes well for parent company Fiat Chrysler, which plans to finance global expansion plans for its Jeep, Alfa Romeo, and Maserti brands with Ferrari’s IPO funds.
Lego predicted a holiday shortage. The world’s biggest toymaker said demand has outpaced its forecasts and it may not be able to fulfill all customer orders this year, without specifying which markets would be affected. A spokesperson for the Danish firm said it would expand three manufacturing sites to close the gap.
Joe Biden isn’t running for president. The US vice president put to rest widespread speculation that he would challenge Hillary Clinton. Biden, flanked by his wife and president Barack Obama, referenced his son’s recent death as part of his decision not to run.
South African student protesters stormed parliament. Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators in Cape Town who staged a sit-in to protest proposed tuition increases. South Africa spends more on education than on any other budget item, but students say an education is still out of reach for many.
The EU busted Starbucks and Fiat for tax evasion. The European commission ruled that Starbucks and Fiat were involved in illegal tax deals with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, respectively. The companies face tens of billions of euros in new tax bills; Starbucks plans to appeal.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on the hype, funding, and surprise sale of a battery start-up. “In an age of routine billion-dollar tech deals and global fever for electric cars and clean-energy research, how did one of the few perceived jewels of advanced batteries sell for less than $100 million—to a vacuum cleaner company?” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Commercial DNA registries are a terrible idea. Police are targeting innocent people based on their relatives’ genetic material, stored by companies like Ancestry.com.
Life in 2015 is pretty great. A Nobel-prize winning economist says there’s more democracy and opportunity for education than ever before.
The heyday of electric cars is nearer than you think. The next few years could mark a tipping point as they transcend their green, feel-good niche.
All-male conference panels are no accident. The dearth of women speakers doesn’t “just happen.”
Refugees are very unlikely to be terrorists. The United States should change its fear-driven asylum policy.
Surprising discoveries
A Norwegian hiker found a 1,300-year-old Viking sword. The man was sitting down to rest after going fishing.
Lab-grown burgers may be ready by 2020. Made out of beef stem cells, they’re technically not vegetarian.
Sunscreen is killing the world’s coral reefs. It’s changing coral DNA and deforming it in the larval stage.
Visible food in your kitchen predicts your weight. Women who had breakfast cereal in plain sight were 20 pounds heavier than average.
Police found a cupcake burglar covered in frosting. The “highly intoxicated” woman was arrested for breaking and entering.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Viking swords, and burgled cupcakes to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.