Quartz Daily Brief—ISIL massacre looms, Samsung’s profit plunge, Glencore chases Rio, doves can’t cry
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
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 a string of Chinese food-quality scandals.
The Nobel Prize in physics is awarded. 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 address their gas dispute—perhaps. Winter is coming, which means Ukraine needs the gas that Russia stopped delivering in June. The two countries are due to report back to the European Commission, which has been overseeing negotiations aimed at finding a solution.
Data, data, data! The IMF will publish its global economic outlook, the Bank of Portugal will disclose the state of local banks, and the US will issue an update on its oil stockpile.
While you were sleeping
Hong Kong protesters agreed to negotiations. The pro-democracy Federation of Students and government representatives said “substantive” talks would go ahead this week. The student group warned that protests would continue in three key areas of the city unless progress was made, though their numbers have been dwindling in recent days.
The fight for Kobani intensified. The Islamic State raised its black flag inside the Syrian border town after a lengthy siege, and US-led airstrikes followed. Syrian Kurds say they are woefully outgunned, and warn that “a terrible slaughter is coming” if the extremist group takes the city.
German factory activity fell by the most since 2009. Industrial output dropped by larger-than-expected 4.0% in August from the previous month, raising fears of a possible recession in Europe’s largest economy. On Monday, factory orders for the month fell 5.7%.
Samsung’s profits dropped like a stone. The South Korean tech giant said its third-quarter operating profits will fall by 60% to 4.1 trillion won ($3.8 billion)—even worse than most analysts expected—due to intense competition in the smartphone market, which is eating away at the company’s market share and forcing heavy discounting and marketing expenditures.
Glencore tried to merge with Rio Tinto. The Anglo-Swiss mining company approached Rio Tinto this summer with a merger proposal that would have created the world’s largest mining company, but was turned down in August. Glencore is now gauging Aluminium Corporation of China’s interest in a deal; the state-owned company controls 9.8% of Rio Tinto.
Brussels is going after Amazon. The European Commission will launch a formal investigation into the tax relationship between the online retailer and Luxembourg, according to the Financial Times (paywall). Brussels alleges Luxembourg improperly offered Amazon preferential tax rates for a decade, in a deal similar to those that have Apple in Ireland and Starbucks in the Netherlands.
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
Travel bans won’t stop the Ebola outbreak. They could make it worse.
What if Kim Jong-un is no more? Japan, South Korea, and the US should really start considering their next moves.
The US can’t win in Syria. Even if it destroys the Islamic State extremist group, it will only destabilize the region further.
Finland’s schools are the best. Perhaps because its school days are shorter and teachers don’t work as hard.
Short men make better husbands. Their lack of stature means they work harder at everything.
Surprising discoveries
Algorithms are re-writing history. Google’s AutoAwesome service creates photos of events that never actually happened.
Prince could have used a fact checker. Doves, though they have tear ducts, cannot cry.
Putin got a Hercules-themed art show for his birthday. It shows the Russian president battling a seven-headed sanctions hydra.
There’s a town in South Africa that still practices apartheid. Meet the Oranians.
A Japanese zoo spent two years trying to get a hyena couple to mate. It finally realized they were both male.
Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.
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