Obama’s Afghanistan reversal, VW’s German recall, Disney’s counter-terrorism intern
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China launches an image-building offensive. The country is hosting an informal meeting of defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), amid escalating tension over China’s territorial claims to the South China Sea, along with a separate forum on security and anti-terrorism.
South Korea’s president visits the White House. US president Barack Obama meets with Park Geun-hye to discuss the ongoing threat from North Korea, as well as cooperation on energy and cybersecurity.
Netflix releases its first original movie. “Beasts of No Nation” will become available online around the world and in some theaters in the United States. It tells the story of a child soldiers during a brutal civil war.
General Electric reports earnings. Analysts will scrutinize third-quarter results as the conglomerate offloads its finance business. This year, the company divested $97 billion from financial assets, a move its managers say deserves more credit from Wall Street.
Who else? Honeywell, Synchrony Financial, SunTrust Banks, and Progressive also open their books.
While you were sleeping
US troops will stay in Afghanistan. President Obama called off the planned withdrawal of thousands of US troops to better train Afghan soldiers in their fight against the Taliban, extending the United States’ 14-year presence in its longest-ever war. Nearly 10,000 troops will remain in place through most of next year, and about 5,500 will remain when Obama’s term ends in early 2017.
VW faces a massive recall order. In one of the largest automobile recalls in European history, Germany demanded that VW recall 8.5 million diesel vehicles, saying the company’s plans for car owners to voluntarily fix software that evaded emissions tests were insufficient.
Burberry’s CEO took a paycut. Christopher Bailey slashed his salayr along with executive bonuses after the luxury brand warned of lower profits this year due to weakness in China. Shares fell by almost 13%.
Turkey wrestled with the EU over refugees. Turkey said it would not accept Syrian and other refugees, many of which come to the EU through Turkey, unless the EU passes a visa deal making it easier for Turks to enter Europe.
Goldman Sachs tanked. Third-quarter income fell 36% as the company’s trading revenues took a major hit from the turbulent global financial markets. The bank has struggled even more than rivals like JPMorgan and Bank of America.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on how the last 30 years of global economic history are about to go out the window. “For nearly 30 years, China has bulked up by digesting tons of commodities from the world’s emerging markets and turned them into exports, and in the process has become a key creditor to the world’s largest consumer economy, the United States. All of that is changing now, and nobody is quite sure how it will play out.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The world needs a war against climate change. It will require a technocratic revolution, and even then success is uncertain.
Go ahead and call yourself a “guru.” If you’re really an authoritative expert, it’s a perfectly fine job title.
Central heating and indoor lighting are making us sick. Modern comforts are messing with our immune systems.
We probably haven’t discovered aliens orbiting a distant star. The Milky Way’s most mysterious light pattern is probably caused by something very mundane.
“Homeland” is racist. That’s the message that guerrilla artists wrote in Arabic on the TV’s show own set in Berlin.
Surprising discoveries
Disney is hiring a counter-terrorism intern. The main requirement for the position is knowing how to use Microsoft Office.
Tanzanians can receive birth certificates by mobile phone. It’s a solution for families who can’t travel to government offices.
An Australian restaurant has a chicken typing its Twitter content. The stunt will continue until she tweets a five-letter word.
Sweden is becoming the world’s first cashless society. Digital transactions are so ubiquitous that using paper currency is suspicious.
Celestial navigation is making a comeback in the US navy. It’s a backup in case satellites and GPS are taken down by hackers.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tweeting chickens, and counter-terrorism internships to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.