Quartz Daily Brief—India’s inflation, Ireland’s tax loopholes, a cupcake empire strikes back
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A confab on Europe’s future. The euro zone’s finance ministers convene in Luxembourg to propose short- and medium-term projects to grow the continent’s economy. The International Monetary Fund says it is concerned that Europe will enter into another recession—Germany may already be heading into one.
Tweet me your half of the bill. France’s second largest bank chain—Groupe BPCE—is announcing that its members will be able to send each other money simply by tweeting. Twitter only recently added a “buy” button to let its members purchase goods mentioned in tweets.
A regrouping to figure out how to destry ISIL once and for all. US Army general Martin Dempsey is holding a meeting in Washington with the defense ministers of more than 20 other countries to discuss how to defeat the Islamic State. Despite constant airstrikes, ISIL appears to be unharmed, and may even be strong enough to march up to Baghdad’s borders.
Ireland assesses its “tax haven” status. The country’s finance minister is giving a speech where he’s expected say something about the country’s 12.5% corporate tax rate and—more importantly—the tax loopholes (paywall) that allow companies to avoid paying their due.
The return of corporate cupcakes. Crumbs Bake Shop jumped onboard the cupcake craze back in 2003—and its cakes were so scrumptious that they IPO’d in 2011—but those sweet fortunes soured in July when the chain announced it was closing shop. Today Crumbs rides again, at least in one Manhattan location.
While you were sleeping
There’s another line to wait in now at Heathrow. The UK’s health secretary announced that Ebola screenings are set to begin in the country’s busiest airport today. Furthermore, he warned, people shouldn’t be surprised if a “handful” of Ebola cases crop up, considering London’s status as a major international hub.
Apple announced which countries will get the new iPhones. Consumers in an additional 36 countries will be able to purchase the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus by the end of this month. This Friday, the devices go on sale in China and India.
India’s inflation hit a three-year low. Economists were expecting the consumer price index to hit 7.1% in September, but instead it came in at 6.46%. It was as high as 7.73% in August. The goal is to drop below 6% by January of 2016.
North Korea told the US to collect its dead soldiers. Over 8,000 American soldiers went missing during the 1950s Korean War. Excavation to find their remains was halted in 2005 when the US pulled out, citing a lack of security. Now Pyongyang is telling the US to return and collect the remains of an estimated 5,300 troops.
A French economist won the Nobel for “taming powerful firms.” Jean Tirole, a 61-year-old economist from the Toulouse School of Economics, won the Nobel Prize in economics. His work on “how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms” is topical, given worries about how internet giants such as Amazon and Google might abuse their market power to stifle competition and innovation.
Quartz obsession interlude
Kabir Chibber on Finland’s problems. “Finland lost its AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s last week, thanks to the “loss of global market share in the key information technology sector [and] structural retrenchment of the important forestry sector,” according to S&P. Today, Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb laid the blame for the decline of its tech and paper industries at the feet of one company: Apple.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Computers ruined both dating and finance. No one plays the long game anymore: It’s all about right here, right now.
Hong Kong’s problems are Britain’s fault. When Hong Kong became independent, Britain should have stood its ground on the terms of the handover to China.
Beethoven was indeed great. But he wasn’t a god, so let’s move on.
The whole midlife crisis thing is made up. There’s no data to back it up.
Ukraine was just the first step. Putin is slowly taking over Eastern Europe.
Surprising discoveries
Kroger makes $100 million a year selling your data. That means the US supermarket chain makes a little over $1.80 per year per loyalty card holder.
What would you swallow for good health? Scientists are administering pills with frozen fecal matter inside to restore gut bacteria.
A new species of snail is named in honor of marriage equality. Aegista diversifamilia is not just any old snail, but one with both male and female reproductive organs.
Stressed out penguins are survivors. Low levels of stress hormones are fine in normal life, but make it harder to proactively deal with climate change.
Sometimes a lie is the only option. A 113-year-old woman couldn’t join Facebook because the service wouldn’t let her input her birth year—1900. She was forced to say 1915.
Correction: In yesterday’s brief we said the marathon world record hadn’t changed since 1988. In fact it was unbroken only from 1988 to 1998.
Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, new snail species, and classical music mix-tapes to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.