đ Tighten those belts
Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereâs what you need to know
The UK announced its biggest tax hikes and spending cuts in 10 years. In his autumn statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt laid out a ÂŁ55 billion ($66 billion) âbelt tighteningâ plan for the next five years that will seek to lower government debt.
The Russia-Ukraine grain deal was extended. Another four months have been added to the UN-brokered agreement allowing Ukrainian grain ships safe passage through the Black Sea.
Alibabaâs third-quarter earnings fell short of estimates. The e-commerce giant still reported a profit, but has pushed back its Hong Kong listing and announced a $15 billion boost to its share buyback plan as Chinaâs economic slowdown continues to take a toll.
A Dutch court convicted three men for the downing of flight MH17 in 2014. Two Russians and one Ukrainian have been handed a life sentence for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine, killing all 298 people onboard.
Activision Blizzard is shutting down most of its online games in China. The âWorld of Warcraftâ developer failed to renew its agreement with Hangzhou-based NetEase, ending a 14-year partnership. Meanwhile, Beijing has granted 70 new game licenses this month, signaling an easing of its industry crackdown.
FTX advisors canât find billions of dollars in assets. From a lack of an accounting department, to emoji expense approvals, new CEO John Ray III, who previously oversaw the bankruptcy of US energy company Enron, has called the situation âunprecedented.â
What to watch for
The fall from grace of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been playing out in the public eye over seven years, and will finally near its end with her sentencing today (Nov. 18). Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year sentence for Holmes, who was found guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud to the tune of $140 million.
The Theranos unraveling was meant to be a cautionary tale, yet the saga hasnât stopped other fake-it-till-you-make-it founders from winning over investorsâfrom the crypto world of Sam Bankman-Fried (who has not yet been charged with any crime) to the electric truck claims of Nikola founder Trevor Milton (who is awaiting sentencing for securities and wire fraud convictions).
Will Silicon Valley ever learn to spot the difference between a secret sauce and snake oil? A healthy dose of skepticism would help, but given the infancy and transient nature of tech firms, thereâs no foolproof way to get this right.
Donât stomp your little last season rankings on me, honey
Two of the top law schools in the US, Yale and Harvard, gave US News & World Report the olâ Elle Woods âI object!â to its rankings system. Theyâre not being sore losers; the universitiesâ law schools consistently bag the highest spots on the list. Rather, they have some beef with the methodology.
US News ranks law schools based on data collected across several categories, including what the school spends on infrastructure and how many grads are placed in jobs. But Harvard and Yale specifically donât like the rankingâs handling of metrics that require nuance, like student debt and test scores.
What a shrinking workforce means for manufacturing hubs
Sure, the worldâs population is the largest itâs ever been, but beyond sheer growth, itâs also getting older on average as the number of retirees and senior citizens swell.
As a result, the workforce is starting to contract in cheap manufacturing hubs, and companies are already starting to look to countries outside of China, such as Mexico, where wages are low and a growing population will ensure plenty of workers.
⌠On Saturday, the Weekend Brief will take a look at the world population, including where itâs growing the fastest, and the impacts this will have on the global economy. To receive this issue, grab a Quartz membership today with 60% off.
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Surprising discoveries
A Goldilocks climate at home could protect you from covid. If itâs just rightânot too dry or too humidâthe virus may be less transmissible.
A rock that smashed into a British driveway has swayed a scientific debate. A 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite provides evidence that Earthâs water may have come from space.
A fossil of a leviathan-sized sea turtle was found in Spain. The newly identified species, which measured about 4 meters (13 ft) across, once swam in Europeâs seas 70 million years ago.
Scrabble added âvibingâ to its official dictionary. Itâs just one of over 500 new entries that you can now play to nab that triple word score.
Volkswagen made an office chair that moves up to 20 kilometers per hour (12.4 mph). All the better to get your hands on that 3pm coffee. Stat.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, words that arenât really words, and tickets to your next office chair grand prix to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to allâbecome a member. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Ananya Bhattacharya, Sofia Lotto Persio, Julia Malleck, and Morgan Haefner.