Quartz Daily Brief—Uber goes autonomous, Amazon goes shopping, Australia goes low, robot goes gourmet

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Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today S&P reaches another settlement. The ratings agency that issued blue-chip ratings to dodgy mortgage securities will pay $125 million to the California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest US pension fund, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall). Obama curbs snooping. The US president will order intelligence agencies to delete information they collect incidentally (paywall) and which has no intelligence purpose. He is also expected to announce new rules on how agencies obtain information from companies. Italy swears in a new president. Sergio Mattarella, age 73, is replacing 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned last monthbecause of his age. Mattarella, who was nominated by prime minister Matteo Renzi, is known for putting the screws on organized crime after his older brother was killed by the Mafia. More earnings. Companies reporting quarterly results include Disney and Chipotle. While you were sleeping Amazon may buy some RadioShack stores. The online retailer is in talks to purchase some of the ailing electronics retailer’s storefronts after it files for bankruptcy, according to a report by Bloomberg, with an eye toward using them as a showcase for Amazon’s own gadgets as well as a pickup/drop-off point for online purchases. Uber moved into autonomous cars. The ride-hailing business is moving into Google’s turf by starting an autonomous car researchproject with Carnegie Mellon University. Meanwhile Google, an investor in Uber, is testing a ride-sharing platform of its own, but it may be just for in-house carpooling (paywall). Staples and Office Depot are in merger talks. The big-box retailers, valued at $11 billion and $4 billion respectively, are in advanced discussions over combining their businesses, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall). Regulators blocked the same merger in 1997, but increased competition from online retailers may sway them this time around. BP vowed to cut spending. The British oil giant’s profit that wasbetter than expected, thanks in part to an unexpected profit from its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft. But low oil prices mean BP will cut spending by a fifth to $20 billion in 2015. Santander’s new loans boosted profits. The euro zone’s biggest bank reported a 70% jump in fourth-quarter profit, to €1.5 billion. New loans at the bank rose 5% last year, and CEO Ana Botín plans to boost lending even more this year—though a share sale and dividend cut needed to pay for the expansion has hurt Santander’s share price. Australia cut interest rates. The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its benchmark interest rate to 2.25%, matching an all-time low. It expects unemployment to rise as commodity prices fall and domestic demand remains sluggish, but the low rate also risks further inflating a housing bubble. Lenovo beat expectations. The Chinese electronics maker reported a quarterly net income of $253 million, well above analyst expectations of $200 million. The acquisition of Motorola doubled Lenovo’s smartphone sales, which now make up a quarter of the company’s total revenue. SPONSOR CONTENT BY LEXUS Interior design is becoming increasingly technical. The productsselected by a panel of designers as the most influential and innovativelargely exist in connected environments. Smart furniture, multi-touch screens, and digitally fabricated objects may soon materialize in our living spaces. Quartz obsession interlude Leo Mirani on the end of the Western world’s love affair with cars.“The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. And young people are increasingly willing to stay there, unlike their parents, who flocked to the suburbs as their families grew. Nearly two-thirds of American ‘millennials,’ or people born after 1984, live in cities today and some 40% say they’re not leaving.” Read more here. Matters of debate Professional women shouldn’t worry about being liked. Being effective is more important. Work is so over. So many jobs will soon be automated that we should just pay people to do whatever they want. Obama’s Israel strategy is backfiring. The US president is onlybolstering Netanyahu’s lead. Motorcycles are a danger to public health. They pose a bigger threat to developing economies than malaria or AIDS. America’s founding fathers wouldn’t approve of anti-vaxxers.Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to vaccinate Americans. Surprising discoveries Your smartphone is powerful enough to be a drone’s brain. A standard Android device was used to run an autonomous quadcopter. YouTube can teach robots to cook. Researchers had them watch videos and imitate what they saw. The Queen of England is done with corgis. The world’s oldest monarch is reportedly afraid she’ll trip over a dog and hurt herself. Previously-owned power plant for sale, free shipping included.German utilities offer tempting terms to offload their old plants. Katy Perry’s “left shark” is a longtime collaborator. No word on why the back-up dancer acted so weird during her SuperBowl show. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, robot cooking lessons, and shark dancers to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.