Quartz Daily Brief—McDonald’s ousts CEO, Samsung’s new hope, Alibaba’s regulator feud, human-Neanderthal trysts

Daily Brief sponsored by  Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Alibaba explains its row with regulators. The e-commerce giant’s fiscal third-quarter earnings will be overshadowed by a Chinese regulator’s accusations that the group’s Taobao site enables fraud and the sale of counterfeit goods. News of the investigation—which was kept quiet to avoid spoiling Alibaba’s IPO—caused the company’s shares to fall by more than 4% on Wednesday. How much is Coal India worth? Shares in the government mining monopoly will be priced in advance of an IPO on Friday. The government is looking to sell up to 10% of the company, which would be worth a cool $4 billion at its current valuation, despite protests by mineworkers. And what about Shake Shack? The US boutique hamburger chain is also pricing shares for an IPO as it looks to raise $95 million. There are 63 Shake Shacks around the world, and the goal is to open 10 new stores a year “for the foreseeable future.” Tighter screws on Russia. EU foreign ministers will discuss extending sanctions in the wake of renewed attacks by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine, including last weekend’s deadly bombardment of Mariupol. The US may also increase the size (paywall) of its loan guarantees to Kyiv. A new president for Italy. The race to succeed Giorgio Napolitano is wide open, and there’s a lot of horse-trading going on among legislators. The president can nominate prime ministers, dissolve parliament, call for elections, and grant pardons—powers that tend to come in handy in Italy. More earnings: Companies reporting quarterly results include Amazon, Ford, Visa, and Google. While you were sleeping An executive shakeup at McDonald’s. CEO Don Thompson, 51,abruptly announced his retirement after failing to pull the fast-food giant out of a two-year sales slump. Steve Easterbrook, the fast-food chain’s chief brand officer, will replace him, which sent the company’s stock higher in after-hours trading. The Ebola virus is mutating. Scientists at the institute that first detected last year’s West African outbreak are testing whether changes in the virus make it more contagious but less deadly—a dangerous combination that would facilitate the spread of the disease. German unemployment fell to 6.5%. The number of unemployed jobseekers in the euro zone’s largest economy dropped by 9,000 in January, following a fall of 25,000 in December. Analysts hope the strong employment figures, coupled with low energy prices, will translate into consumer confidence. Royal Dutch Shell prospered despite the oil glut. Europe’s largest oil company posted a 12% increase in adjusted fourth-quarter earnings. CEO Ben van Beurden, who warned against overreacting to falling oil prices, nevertheless announced a three-year $15 billion plan to cut spending. Diageo reported a tough six months. The world’s biggest distiller said net income fell 18% to £1.3 billion ($2 billion) (paywall) in its fiscal first half compared with a year earlier. In the US market, sales of its Johnnie Walker label were down by 14% and Smirnoff by 7%. Deutsche Bank enjoyed a reprieve from legal fees. Germany’s largest lender unexpectedly reported a €253 million ($285 million) fourth-quarter pretax profit, helped by an uptick in trading revenue and postponed litigation fees. Samsung: A new hope? The South Korean electronics giant posted a27% fall in fourth-quarter profit from a year earlier, due mostly to its troubled smartphone division, but pinned its future on its semiconductor division. The unit’s operating profits rose 36%, and the company said it would boost capital expenditures to ramp up output. SPONSOR CONTENT BY THUNDERHEAD.COM 82% of customers are turned-off by a one-size fits all approach.Fresh research looks at the customer engagement challenge in unprecedented depth, and reveals how vital it is to put customers at the center of everything you do. Quartz obsession interlude Lily Kuo on where you won’t be spending your next vacation.“China is promoting 2015 as ‘Silk Road tourism year,’ hoping to attract visitors to stops along the ancient trading route in the northwest of the country. But recent numbers show that steep visa fees, cumbersome rules for tourists, and bad pollution are steadily pushing China down on the list of top tourist destinations.” Read more here. Matters of debate Investors should have more faith in Mark Zuckerberg. Spending billions on R&D will probably pay off in the long run. Chinese money is propping up Russia’s aggression. It’s all part ofBeijing’s plan to internationalize the renminbi. Don’t trust a corporation to do a library’s job. Google hasabandoned its efforts to “organize the world’s information.” Don’t get too excited about the liberation of Kobani. ISIL is getting stronger elsewhere in Syria. America is courting a food disaster. The US environment regulator is allowing ever greater concentrations of toxic chemicals in crops. Surprising discoveries Don’t be fooled by handwriting robots. Junk-mail marketers areusing them for a faux-personal touch. Britain’s V&A museum is hiding an image of Muhammad. It waserased from the museum’s website due to terrorism concerns. Anthropologists found the first human-Neanderthal lovenest. An Israeli cave held evidence of an interspecies tryst. Emoticons are now admissible in court. The Silk Road trial may hinge on a pivotal smiley face (paywall). Beijing may roll out women-only subway cars. Sexual harassment is on the rise (paywall)—though the cure may not work very well. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Neanderthal romance novels, and handwritten junk mail tohi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.