Quartz Daily Brief—Xiaomi’s US plans, Kraft’s shakeup, Hasbro’s heads-up, China’s censorship anthem
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Tim Cook lectures Barack Obama. The Apple CEO will speak at a White House cybersecurity summit in California, amid tension between tech companies and the US government over privacy and surveillance issues. Executives from Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are also attending.
Air France negotiates layoffs. Labor unions will meet with the airline to discuss potential cost-cutting measures, ahead of the French airline’s quarterly earnings announcement next week.
A heads-up from Hasbro. The toymaker will webcast a presentation from the annual US Toy Fair, as investors wait to hear which toys it hopes will make it big this year.
Euro zone GDP data. The euro zone likely grew by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, thanks in part to cheaper oil and the European Central Bank’s stimulus plan.
Fifty Shades of Grey hits the big screen. Based on a series of novels that have sold more than 100 million copies, the film is expected to rake in over $60 million during the Valentine’s Day weekend. The early reviews are not good.
While you were sleeping
A shakeup at Kraft. The food giant announced the removal of its CFO and two other executives as it posted a fourth-quarter loss of $398 million, compared with a near-billion dollar profit a year earlier. New CEO John Cahill said consumers were no longer attracted to Kraft’s older food brands.
Xiaomi dipped a toe into the US market. The Chinese smartphone maker will sell earphones and fitness trackers within the next few months, but not its low-price, high-spec handsets—at least for now. Xiaomi is increasingly facing off against Apple’s iPhone, but patent issues may constrain its expansion.
AIG’s profit sank. Fourth-quarter net income for the largest commercial US insurer fell to $655 million, down from $2 billion a year earlier and short of estimates. CEO Peter Hancock called 2014 a “transitional year” after the company refinanced its debt.
New York Times columnist David Carr died. The 58-year-old journalist collapsed suddenly in the Times offices, just hours after interviewing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden (who appeared remotely) along with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras.
Ashton Carter was confirmed as US defense secretary. He is the fourth Pentagon chief since president Barack Obama took office six years ago. He replaces Chuck Hagel, who resigned in November amid differences with the White House over Iraq and Syria.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on why women should be running the finance world. “It’s a well-established fact that pretty much everything on earth would run better if women were in charge. That dictum would seem to extend to the financial markets. Look no further than the February edition of the prestigious American Economic Review for a quick refresher on the rafts of research that lead to such a conclusion.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Americas is the best at imprisoning people. But it’s no longer working as a way to reduce crime.
Don’t kick the robots. Google runs the risk of creating an “unfriendly AI.”
Your toothpaste is killing Asia’s rainforests. The palm oil it contains is an environmental disaster.
Muslim lives don’t matter to the US media. Coverage of a North Carolina triple murder is proof.
Don’t believe the Modi hype. The Indian prime minister isn’t as powerful as investors would like (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Liquor will get you art in Russia… For one day only, artists in St. Petersburg are trading their work for booze.
…But most Finns are there for the gas. They’re driving over the border to take advantage of the cheap ruble.
China has an anthem for internet censorship. Selected lyrics: Where the Internet is, so is the glorious dream.”
Ghosts are big business in Thailand. One supernaturally-focused radio host has a sprawling multimedia empire.
Please don’t overfeed the crocodiles. Bangladeshis killed a 100-year-old croc by giving him too many sacrificial chickens.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, censorship anthems, and ghost empires to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.