Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today General Electric reports fourth-quarter earnings. Expectations are high for GE, with shares having recently risen over 30% following JP Morgan upgrading its stock from "neutral" to "outperform." Analysts say GE's turnaround is anything but certain, however, with issues still plaguing its power and financial services divisions—which could spell underwhelming results. Amazon reports fourth-quarter results. It all comes down to holiday sales, which logged a six-year high this past season. Prime membership and Amazon's ad business are also expected to bolster its results, though experts warn that e-commerce restrictions coming to India could harm the company. More record cold weather in Europe and the US. The UK is expected to see snow and freezing fog today, while Chicago is expected to match its 1985 record low of -27°F. The polar vortex turned swathes of North America colder than Antarctica yesterday, paralyzing cities. At least nine deaths in the US have been linked to the extreme weather. While you were sleeping Canada slashed its Cuba mission after another mysterious illness. After Canada saw its 14th diplomatic staff member with unexplained health problems, it announced plans to remove half of its 16 or so positions from the country. Two dozen workers at the US embassy in Cuba have also been affected since late 2016, after suffering a range of symptoms such as dizziness and difficulty concentrating (paywall). China's manufacturing sector contracted again. The official gauge of factory activity remained below 50, the threshold for expansion, amid ongoing talks between China and the US to resolve trade tensions, but improved slightly to 49.5 from December's figure of 49.4. Samsung Electronics warned earnings will decline in 2019. The electronics giant, a linchpin of South Korea's economy, saw fourth-quarter revenues drop 10%, and operating profit decline nearly 30%, due to weaker demand for its memory chips. China's slowing economy and sluggish smartphone sales led it to forecast weaker earnings this year. Facebook shares surged 7% on stellar earnings. Revenue grew 30.4% from last year to $16.9 billion. The news came a day after Facebook was found to have paid users to track their smartphone usage, leading Apple to revoke its ability to release apps directly to users. Meanwhile Microsoft's stock took a small hit in after-hours trading for just missing revenue expectations, even though the pillars of its reinvention—cloud services and subscriptions—are solid. Tesla's CFO departed as it missed the mark on earnings. Shares in the electric-car company dropped 1.5% after it missed profit expectations in the fourth quarter and announced the retirement of Deepak Ahuja. Still, Tesla posted its second-consecutive profitable quarter and beat analysts' sales expectations. The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged. The Fed abandoned language indicating additional rate hikes were ahead, instead adopting a cautious approach in light of potential shifts in its bond portfolio. Stocks rose on the news, with the Dow logging a 450-point increase. Quartz obsession interlude The pager is the cockroach of mobile communications. Tiny, tough, and with an unmatched ability to function in emergency conditions, the device that was borne out of the Prohibition-era pursuit of bootleggers (and later became a tool of the trade for drug dealers) still plays a robust role in the medical industry. Get the 411 in today's Quartz Obsession. Quartz Membership Used water routinely gets flushed down the toilet or sink. But the water crisis is forcing us to ask not whether we should treat and drink used water, but how best to do it (and how to ignore our gag reflex). One place to start: learning from those already recycling water, like astronauts. Join Quartz on a journey around (and out of) the world to see approaches to turning wastewater into drinking water. Matters of debate Join the conversation with the new Quartz app! American retail isn't dying–it's squeezing the middle. Sales are booming for both high-end brands and budget retailers. You can robot-proof your career. It requires a multifaceted approach: learning to work with machines, managing their data, and thriving at things non-humans can't do. AOC's make-up tips are a feminist statement. Acknowledging interests light as well as lofty is something women in public life have studiously avoided. Surprising discoveries Emergency calls to vets are up 765% thanks to the popularity of weed edibles. Getting a dog stoned is no laughing matter: THC is toxic for canines. The UAE boasts the world's largest virtual battery plant. It's so large that it could provide up to six hours of backup power in case Abu Dhabi's electricity grid goes down. More than 52,000 lbs (23,000 kg) of chicken nuggets were recalled in the US this week alone. Tyson Foods yanked about two-thirds due to rubber contamination, and Purdue took back the rest over allergen concerns. China is ranked second on the list of countries with the most Starbucks locations. There are more than 3,600 shops across 150 cities, and a virtual store on Alibaba. Shark attacks are way down, but no one knows why. Either there are fewer sharks, safety alerts are more effective, or humans are better at sharing the seas with them. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, uncontaminated chicken nuggets, and pagers to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today's Daily Brief was written by Yenni Kwok and Tripti Lahiri, and edited by Isabella Steger. | 
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