Quartz Daily Brief—SpaceX tries again, China fines Qualcomm, Spider-Man-Marvel reunion, Google’s kickable robot

Daily Brief sponsored by

Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today An attempt to end a US oil refinery strike. The United Steelworkers union and oil companies will try again to reach a deal over a new contract, with about 5,000 workers in six states currently on strike. Take two for the DSCOVR satellite. SpaceX will try once again to send the US Deep Space Climate Observatory into orbit one million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth, after a radar problem delayed the original launch. Elon Musk’s rocket company will then try to land its reusable rocket on an unmanned ship. The Ubuntu phone finally ships. The UK company Canonical hopes to emulate Xiaomi’s flash sale tactics with the launch of a €169 ($192) smartphone with a mobile operating system that is based on a widely-used version of Linux. The numbers. The US reports wholesale inventories; company earnings include América Móvil and Coca-Cola. While you were sleeping China fined Qualcomm $975 million. The US chipmaker will pay the largest fine in Chinese corporate history after being found guilty of antitrust violations. It is also required to lower royalty rates on its patents, which could help China’s smartphone makers. Spider-Man rejoined the Marvel fold. Sony will co-produce the next Spider-Man movie with Disney’s Marvel Studios, ending a corporate feud that kept the webslinger largely isolated from his crossover-happy comic book brethren. Crucially, Sony will retain the rights to Spider-Man, as studios remain heavily reliant on their stables of superheros. Narendra Modi’s party was routed in Delhi. The Indian prime minister admitted defeat after the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party scored a landslide victory in Delhi’s state elections. The AAP declared victory in 67 of the 70 available seats. French and Italian industrial data offered a positive surprise.Increased activity in transport and energy pushed French industrial production up 1.5% in December, well above an expected rise of 0.4%. Italy’s output also edged up by slightly more than expected (paywall). UBS issued a profit warning. The Swiss bank said quantitative easing, a strong Swiss franc, and litigation costs will make 2015 a tough year (paywall). Its fourth-quarter net income rose 5% to 963 million Swiss francs ($1 billion) thanks to an upturn in investment banking, but it was not enough to stop shares falling over 3% in early trading. China edged nearer to deflation. Consumer prices rose just 0.8% in January from a year earlier, lower than an expected 1% rise and the slowest increase since 2009. Overcapacity pushed producer prices down 4.3% in the month, marking the 35th consecutive monthly fall in prices, as analysts suggested the central bank could cut interest rates sometime this month. SPONSOR CONTENT BY CATHAY PACIFIC 11 essential things to see in Singapore. Kopi (coffee) culture, the architecture of Moshe Safdie, and farm resorts are among them. See the full guide to find out how to travel well in the city-state. Quartz obsession interlude Matt Phillips tackles the uncomfortable issue of government debt.“Britain essentially defaulted by going off the gold standard in 1931. Currency devaluation was the preferred mode of default for the French. And while it’s often said that the US has never defaulted on its obligations, that’s not true either. The fact is, governments never really pay back all the money they borrow, at least not in real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) terms.” Read more here. Matters of debate McDonalds deserves a break today. Its management is dealing rather well with some serious problems. Realtors should have to follow money-laundering laws. A surge in cash transactions in the US is raising red flags. Addressing climate change comes with a cost. Refusing to accept that fact will be even costlier. Women, don’t start shaving your faces. Despite recent rumors, it willdo nothing to prevent the aging process. Surprising discoveries An Italian town disowned a Michelin-starred chef. He sacrilegiously added garlic to a hometown specialty. Is there a terrorist in your family? The US has a secret questionnaireto find out. Japan is home to militant anti-Valentines Day Marxists. They believe that attractiveness is a class issue. Being kinky is good for you and your relationship. Couples who are into domination are less stressed out. Google created a kickable robotic dog. Stability aside, that seems unwise. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, kinky stress relief, and robot dog revenge scenarios, tohi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day. You’re getting the Americas edition of the Quartz Daily Brief. To change your region, click here. We’d also love it if you shared this email with your friends. They can sign up for free here.