đ SpaceX shines brighter than several suns
Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereâs what you need to know
The Dow hit 42,000 after the Fed rate cut. Itâs not a surprise, but it is a record.
Donât expect mortgages to get much cheaper very soon, though. The stock market reacts to Fed moves much more quickly than the housing market.
SpaceX satellites are blotting out several suns. Astronomers say Starlink radiation leaks are making it hard for their telescopes to see distant stars.
Of course Ray Dalio is trying to hedge against the electionâs options. The billionaire investor doesnât think Kamala Harris or Donald Trump should be president.
Olive Garden is going takeout mode. The chain will partner with Uber to do delivery as sit-down sales slide.
The counterintuitive move Starbucks might make in China
Normally, the way to grow in a given countryâs market is to do more business there. But Bank of America thinks Starbucks should do less instead.
An analyst at the bank suggests that the coffee giant should consider licensing its operations there instead of doing all the work itself. That way, it doesnât have to deal with uncertainty in the second-largest economy and focus more on its North American operations.
Quartzâs Francisco Velasquez spells out why the move might be a good idea and its precedent among other U.S. companies with footholds in China.
Huaweiâs triple-fold phones are fetching triple retail
The Chinese smartphone giantâs latest offering is trying to go head-to-head with Appleâs iPhone 16. And by one measure, it is.
Pre-orders for the Mate XT were so robust that resellers are already listing the device on secondhand phone sites for three times its list price. Even a bumped-up supply might not be enough to meet demand.
Quartzâs Britney Nguyen breaks down the development and what it says about the smartphone market and one of Appleâs biggest competitors.
More from Quartz
âż Bitcoin climbs above $62,000 on the Fedâs jumbo interest rate cut
đ©ïž JetBlue is frustrated with its Airbus engine troubles
đ” Trump Media stock hit a new low right before Donald Trump can dump his shares
đ Cheaper money might help sell more cars
đ A Delta Air Lines flight blew out passengersâ eardrums
đ€ Bill Gates would like to make rich people a lot less rich
Surprising discoveries
Kids arenât reading books like they used to â in English class. Full-length reading assignments are becoming less common in American schools.
Polar bears and grizzlies are just barely different. The two species diverged evolutionarily only 70,000 years ago.
The football world wants the golf look. A cap with a little rope is making a big splash.
Yes, you can stream that weird movie you swear you canât find. Film nerds put together a site with more than 3,000 âforgottenâ flicks.
A single sauce packet can get scarily expensive. Scammers are using such orders to digitally rob delivery drivers.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, Starbucks China growth hacks, and neat hats to [email protected]. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman, Francisco Velasquez, and Morgan Haefner.