🌍 Samsung installs new CEOs

Plus: If inflation isn’t transitory, what is it? [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Forward to the friend who [always has to have the latest thing](. Here’s what you need to know Samsung replaced its CEOs and reorganized the business. Kyung Kye-hyun will run the components division, while Han Jong-hee will lead the [newly combined]( mobile and consumer-electronics unit. New York City will force private companies to ensure their staff are vaccinated. Details are hazy around [the law’s implementation](, the first of its kind in the US. The US government will boycott the Beijing Olympics. It won’t be [sending officials to the 2022 Winter Games](, and China threatened to retaliate. Athletes are unaffected, for now. BuzzFeed’s IPO tanked. [Shares fell as much as 17%]( at its Nasdaq debut, following a difficult SPAC merger. Donald Trump’s media venture is under investigation. The former president’s SPAC partner [filed with US regulators](, who are making preliminary inquiries into the deal. Elizabeth Holmes is still testifying. The trial of the Theranos founder, who denies multiple charges of fraud, [resumes today]( in San Francisco. Sponsor content by Barclays Is there a case for Fedcoin? Private digital currencies are proliferating, but without US Federal Reserve oversight they could pose a systemic risk and potential threat to US dollar primacy. Should the Fed create its own digital currency in response? [Barclays Research examines the options](. What to watch for Today the US Census Bureau and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release data on the balance between US exports and imports for October. Meanwhile, the General Administration of Customs is releasing China’s export and import [data]( for November. As the pandemic changed the composition of US consumer demand away from services and toward goods, it increased a longstanding trade deficit that the US has with China. In September, the global US trade deficit hit what economists think was its peak. Preliminary data [have shown]( that US exports in food, autos, and other goods picked up in October. In the same month, China had a [record monthly trade surplus](. Ahead of the new reports, here are where a few key numbers stand: -$80.9 billion: US trade balance in September $84.5 billion: China trade balance in October –$98.2 billion: US goods deficit in September If inflation isn’t transitory, what is it? US Federal Reserve officials have [described rising prices]( as part of a pattern of [transitory]( inflation. But chair Jerome Powell has said he wants to retire “transitory” for a clearer adjective. The chief problem with “transitory” is that the word “doesn’t communicate how persistent something can be,” according to Riccardo Trezzi, a former economist at both the Fed and the European Central Bank. Instead, Powell could [favor these adjectives](: not chronic: It means inflation is not systemic and won’t persist for a long time. al ratito: In Spanish, it means “in a little while,” but it’s technically indefinite. vorübergehend: It means “over-going” in German, and suggests brevity, but isn’t strictly implied. Insuring the insurers One thing that’s becoming less transitory and more persistent is the number of natural disasters due to climate change. But as the severity and costs of catastrophes increase, insurance companies need bailouts out, too. [Global natural catastrophe losses, total and insured] Enter reinsurance, the global economy’s last backstop for the costs of climate chaos. In many cases, those costs fall to Swiss Re, the world’s [second largest]( reinsurer by value of premiums written. But even as premiums rise globally, an S&P [analysis]( found that reinsurers are likely underestimating climate risk by 33-50%. Can Swiss Re and its peers cover their bases? ✦ The dilemma was discussed in our latest [Company email](, which offers Quartz members a closer look at the companies changing business. [Try a free membership for a week](. Quartz announcement Wonder what a career in social impact looks like and how to get there? Perhaps you’re just starting your career or maybe you’re mid to senior level and looking to pivot into work that allows you to spur social change. In this Quartz at Work from anywhere workshop, you’ll learn how to successfully make the leap into the social impact space. [Register now]( Handpicked Quartz 💉 [Is it time to change the definition of “fully vaccinated”?]( 🍟 [Disposable culture is diminishing the power of brands]( 👩🏾‍💻 [Girls Who Code CEO Tarika Barrett on what causes tech’s gender gap]( 🚫 [These are the US states with laws ready to ban abortion]( 🚢 [Why fewer ships are anchoring at the Port of Los Angeles]( 🛢 [Oil billionaire Mukesh Ambani explains why data is better than oil]( Surprising discoveries New York City is running out of cream cheese. Only a few days remain until [dry bagels](. Michael Sheen is now a not-for-profit actor. The British star is [tired of accumulating wealth](. An Italian man tried to get a vaccine in a fake arm. The [health worker was offended](, but not fooled. Researchers are arguing about the artistic intent of 200,000-year-old handprints. What will [researchers say about us]( in 200,000 years? Japanese whisky has its own signature cocktail. The recipe may be simple, but the spirit’s place in the global economy is complex. Learn more—including how to make the Japanese whisky highball—in the [latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast](. 🥃 Drink up all this season’s episodes on [Apple Podcasts]( | [Spotify]( | [Google]( | [Stitcher]( SPREAD THE WORD Over 500k readers and counting. You already know why half a million people read the Daily Brief, so why not spread the word? [Share the Daily Brief today]( and get rewarded. Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, two-ingredient cocktail recipes, and cream cheese stashes to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Nate DiCamillo, Samanth Subramanian, Tim McDonnell, Susan Howson, and Morgan Haefner. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. 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