Quartz Daily Brief—Another German recession, Spanish Ebola, Samsung’s struggles, cage-fighting colleagues
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Samsung announces its third-quarter results. And investors are expecting to see some serious damage—a 47% drop in profit and 15% drop in sales. During the weekend, the company unveiled plans to build a $14.7 billion factory that will begin making chips for phones and tablets in 2017.
Yum looks distinctly less yummy. The owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC is expected to report disappointing third-quarter earnings due to a sharp fall in sales in China (paywall). Like McDonald’s, which reported a similar decline last month, Yum has fallen prey to Chinese food-quality scandals.
The Nobel Prize in physics. Every winner of this prestigious award since 1963 has been a man—a fact that’s rightly rubbing some people the wrong way. One survey says that this year’s winners will likely be a group of (male) scientists who researched materials that could be used for quantum computers.
Ukraine and Russia solve their gas problem—maybe. Winter is coming, which means Ukraine needs gas—gas that Russia stopped delivering in June. The two countries have been negotiating under the beady eye of the European Commission. The results of those talks are now due.
More economic data than you know what to do with. On Bloomberg’s calendar: The IMF will publish its World Economic Outlook, the Bank of Japan will announce a change—if any—to the country’s monetary policy, the Bank of Portugal will disclose the state of local banks, and the US Energy Information Administration will issue an update on America’s stockpile of oil.
While you were sleeping
Facebook completed the WhatsApp acquisition. Back in February, Facebook said it wanted WhatsApp for $19 billion. The US said OK in April. The EU said OK last week. And now it’s done. Final transaction price: $21.8 billion.
The Nobel Prize in medicine went to three people. Two Norwegians (the fifth married couple ever to get a Nobel) and a London-based scientist are splitting the $1.1 million prize for discovering nerve cells within rodent brains that act like a sort of “inner GPS“.
A Chinese firm bought the Waldorf-Astoria. For $1.95 billion, Anbang Insurance will take over the 1,232 rooms of New York’s most iconic hotel. That makes it the biggest real-estate deal by a Chinese entity, beating Soho China’s $1.4 billion purchase of the General Motors building last year.
Ebola scored another first. A nurse in Spain, who treated a priest who had visited Sierra Leone, has tested positive for the disease, becoming the first person ever to contract it outside Africa. The US has so far resisted calls to ban flights from Ebola-stricken countries.
Apple’s supposed sapphire screen supplier filed for bankruptcy. Remember when all the rumor sites said the iPhone 6 would ship with a screen impervious to scratches? It didn’t. And the company everyone thought Apple would use to secure that sapphire, GT Technologies, filed for Chapter 11.
Germany’s factories disappointed. Orders placed by countries within the euro zone declined by 5.7% in August; economists were expecting to see only a 2.5% drop. The country hasn’t seen data this bad since the 2009 crisis, and it looks like it’s about to enter yet another recession.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on bitcoin finding its killer app. “There are three stories bitcoin’s proponents tell about what bitcoin technology could potentially do for the world: That bitcoin will become a currency used by many people to purchase goods; that it will be a superior method to store value over time; and that it can form the basis of a highly secure and efficient payments system. The volatility of the price chart suggests that storing value, at least so far in its young life, isn’t bitcoin’s strong suit.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The US can’t win in Syria. Even if it destroys the Islamic State group, the latest in a long series of military campaigns in the Islamic world will only serve to destabilize the region further.
Finland’s schools are the best. Because its school days are shorter and teachers put in half the work of their American counterparts.
Stopping Ebola is just step one. Bill Gates says fixing healthcare is critical to the growth of emerging economies.
There is no gender inequality in the US. Claims of a conservative “war on women” are just political propaganda by the left.
Short men make better husbands. Their lack of stature means they work harder at everything.
Surprising discoveries
There’s a town in South Africa that still practices apartheid. Meet the Oranians.
At least 423 different genes determine your height. And they still account for only 60% of its genetic component.
Ukrainians have taken up the Trash Bucket Challenge. It’s not about donating money to cure a deadly disease, but hurling corrupt politicians into dumpsters.
Money can buy you anything. Including an office with an octagonal cage-fighting ring (paywall) to release some of that pent-up aggression.
Saying you’re a loser will make you a winner. Politicians who send out emails saying they’re about to lose (paywall) end up raising more money.
A Japanese zoo spent two years trying to get a hyena couple to mate. It finally worked out they were both male.
Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Intro to Karate DVDs, and tips for determining a hyena’s sex to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.