🌎 Not on Target

Plus: Now hiring for Starbucks CEO Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here]( [Quartz]( June 08, 2022 [View in browser]( Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know US senators revealed a bipartisan “pro-crypto” regulation bill. The law would recognize many digital assets [as commodities]( and shift their oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen warned inflation will remain high. On Tuesday, she stated that inflation levels are “[unacceptable](” and a “top economic problem.” The World Bank cut its outlook for the global economy. The agency said the Russia-Ukraine war and high inflation will [slow growth]( to 2.9% this year, down from 5.7% in 2021. An oil company is selling renewable energy to Texans. Shell, the London-headquartered energy firm, is [outpacing American rivals]( in the wind and solar power sector. Target bought too much inventory. The US retail giant is [cutting prices and canceling orders]( from suppliers as Americans’s spending habits changed faster than expected. Climate crisis costs are up over 800%. Not only is the need for extreme weather-related humanitarian funding higher, but donor nations [are having trouble keeping up](, according to a new report. Credit Suisse is considering another round of job cuts. After warning it will likely report a loss in the second quarter, the bank is considering [company-wide layoffs](. Sponsor content by Fidelity Introducing a new way to have a professionally managed, personalized stock portfolio tailored to what matters most to you. Learn more about Fidelity Managed FidFoliosSM[Advertisement] [Learn more]( What to watch for [In the foreground are two giant, stylised penguin plushies with red and pink scarves, respectively, on an orange-tinged glass shelf, above it is another shelf with two more plushies that are slightly smaller, also with scarves. One looks like a rabbit, the other is a tiger. Tencent's CEO is in the back, leaning against the wall and looking slightly down at the cameraman with his arms crossed. The space is covered floor to ceiling in light-colored wood panels, some of it curved concave and convex.] Reuters/Bobby Yip Tencent is officially [shuttering]( its streaming service Penguin Esports this week, citing changes to its business strategy. The change comes months after Chinese regulators blocked a [$6 billion merger]( between two other streaming platforms where Tencent holds a sizable stake: Huya and Douyu. China’s hostile attitude toward the gaming industry is nothing new. In recent years, it has [suspended]( game title approval and banned children’s [playing time]( for video games. [No new game titles]( were approved for sale in May this year, while [60 were approved]( for June but none for Tencent and NetEase, the industry’s largest players. This trend is likely to continue. Beijing’s targeted crackdown, which led to the closure of 14,000 game studios between July 2021 and April 2022, is pushing companies to [pivot their business]( overseas. Just last month, NetEase announced the opening of its [first US-based studio]( in Texas as it seeks new opportunities for growth. Now hiring: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s [third stint]( as Starbucks CEO is set to [end in March]( as the company zeros in on a new leader it hopes to name by this fall. According to the Wall Street Journal, the coffee chain [isn’t interested]( in another Schultz. In fact, it’s only considering external candidates, and Schultz has asked some executives, who’ve been at the organization for more than 15 years, to step down. What will make the best CEO candidate for a global coffee giant that’s looking to stir things up? Here are a few qualifications that might move someone to the top of the list: Qualifications - Ability to respond to [growing unionization pressure]( - Use of the [shifts app]( - [Obsessed with NFTs]( - Experience with [digital tipping]( - Prefers iced lattes to go (but coffee experience isn’t mandatory) The big business of podcasts [a microphone as used in podcasting] Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Question: Which fact is true of Quartz Obsession podcast listeners? 1. 50% live in the US 2. 6% live in Sweden 3. They listen on Apple Podcast and Spotify the most 4. Nearly all finish each episode Answer: Trick question. They’re all true! As with most things on the internet, data collection has become a big part of the podcasting business. But there’s still limitations for podcasters who want to really understand and grow their audience. Get meta with us and learn all about the business of podcasting in the [latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast](. 🎧 Listen on: [Apple Podcasts]( | [Spotify]( | [Google]( | [Stitcher]( Sponsored by EY Quartz’s most popular 🤪 [Manhattan landlords are rejecting single tenants who don’t make over $160k]( ⛽️ [The world’s top liquified natural gas exporter is facing a shortage]( 📆 [The list of companies that joined the world’s biggest four-day week experiment]( 🤐 [Narendra Modi’s party disavows rant against Prophet Muhammad]( 🧠[Big tech is winning the battle for Kenya’s talent]( 🔎 [Inside Elon Musk’s new legal strategy for ditching his Twitter deal]( Sponsor content by Fidelity Introducing a new way to have a professionally managed, personalized stock portfolio tailored to what matters most to you. Learn more about Fidelity Managed FidFoliosSM[Advertisement] [Learn more]( Surprising discoveries KFCs in Australia are putting cabbage in their burgers. Faced with a [lettuce shortage](, the fried chicken chain told customers that it will use a crispy blend of the two greens. Meet delivery workers’s worst fear: A giant box of cat litter. Imagine needing to place a 40-pound box of Dr. Elsey’s waste collector on a doorstep [sans handle cutouts](. Before they were McNuggets, chickens were status symbols. Researchers say the domestication of chickens may have occurred some [3,500 years ago in what is now Thailand](. Bumblebees are fish, according to a California court. The unanimous ruling straightened out a legal debate between conservationists and farmers over a [half-century-old endangered species law](. Licking fish roe from one’s fist is all the rage. The [caviar “bump”]( is a no-frills way to eat a pricey delicacy. 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. 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