🌍 Russia can’t be lovin’ it

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Davos returns later this month. You don’t have to be in the Alps to get every update. Just sign up for our Need to Know: Davos popup email. 

Here’s what you need to know

McDonald’s is getting out of Russia for good. The fast-food giant will sell its outlets to a local buyer in a move that underscores how Russia’s Ukraine invasion is hurting its own economy.

Shanghai’s total lockdown will end on June 1. City officials announced a phased reopening plan as the economic costs of China’s zero-covid policy mount.

Vladimir Putin said NATO’s expansion is “no direct threat for Russia.” But he warned that Russia would react if the military alliance tried to send troops or weapons to Finland and Sweden.

JetBlue is attempting a hostile takeover of Spirit Airlines. JetBlue urged Spirit shareholders to reject the airline’s planned deal with Frontier in favor of an all-cash offer of $30 a share.

Sri Lanka’s new prime minister said the nation has only a day’s supply of petrol. The country is also dangerously low on stocks of 14 essential medicines.

What to watch for

Five more years. That’s the amount of time Jamie Dimon always seems to have left as CEO of US bank titan JPMorgan Chase. Today, JPMorgan shareholders will vote on whether they think Dimon deserves the $52.6 million retention award he got last July.

As CEO pay continues to reach new heights, so does investor opposition to big compensation hikes. Dimon will likely keep the money regardless, but the vote will show how investors feel about the award. Two key advisory firms have already recommended that shareholders vote no on the package, citing a lack of performance requirements for vesting. The last time the advisers opposed a vote, support for JPMorgan payouts shriveled.

Maybe Dimon—Wall Street’s longest-serving CEO and possibly America’s most tolerable banker—can win shareholders over with some biscuits in little pink boxes?

The “most bitcoin-friendly mayor on the planet”

Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, Florida, has thrown his full endorsement behind a CityCoin-branded cryptocurrency for his municipality: MiamiCoin.

But over the last nine months, MiamiCoin has lost nearly all of its value. Its rapid descent has burned investors on the way down, muting the dreams of Miami’s city leaders, and possibly raising red flags for regulators now investigating cryptocurrency transactions.

Quartz reporters Scott Nover and Camille Squires found that while MiamiCoin has made money for the city—about $5.25 million—it hasn’t proved very useful for much else.

We’ll keep this brief

In a first for underwear, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared latex panties to protect against sexual diseases during oral sex. The single-use, vanilla-flavored undergarments are just the latest in a boom in underwear innovation.

The lingerie space as a whole is enjoying a surge in investment. Venture capital-backed underwear brands raised $457 million in the last year alone—the highest in five years.

Quartz’s most popular stories

🚗 The countries with the world’s deadliest roads

🃏 In crisis-hit Sri Lanka, India holds all the cards

🇨🇳 Is the era of free movement for Chinese citizens coming to an end?

🌾 India’s wheat export ban is another reality check for its lofty soft power goals

😀 The three elements of a fulfilling job

Love stories like these?  ✦ Support Quartz journalism by becoming a member today.

Surprising discoveries

Wrinkle the duck is nothing to quack at. The feathery participant in the Long Island Marathon ran one kilometer in just over 18 minutes.

As the pandemic ballooned, Marvel zoomed. The studio virtually produced a TV show and box-office hit during covid, with some directors and editors never meeting in person.

Batteries can run on light and water. Researchers created an algae-powered battery that is both renewable and reliable.

Chocolate-free chocolate hit the markets. A UK-based company made the alternative, ethically-conscious sweet from fermented barley and carob.

The replacement rate for most countries is 2.1 children per couple. 🎧 But why is it 2.1? And who came up with the indicator in the first place? Double your knowledge of this demographic concept (and then some) in the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast.

🚼 Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, racing ducks, and chocolate-full chocolate to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Sarah Todd, Julia Malleck, and Morgan Haefner.