Quartz Daily Brief—AbbVie’s surprise acqusition, China’s slower growth, US stress tests, smelly handshakes

Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Stress test results. The US Federal Reserve posts the initial results of its annual stress tests on big banks, which look at how well they would withstand a severe and protracted financial crisis. Citi has flunked two of the past three years. When will Europe start QE? The European Central Bank will put a start date on its €60 billion ($66 billion) per month debt purchases, and provide details on what it’s going to buy. Fresh economic forecasts are expected to show gradually improving growth in the euro zone. Nuclear talks in Switzerland. Officials from Iran and the P5+1 nuclear powers meet in Montreux as they try to reach a deal by the end of March. The US is downplaying expectations after Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s fiery speech to Congress on Tuesday. Iran has said no to the US’s proposal that it freeze nuclear activities for a decade. While you were sleeping AbbVie won a cancer drug bidding war. The company will pay $21 billion in cash and stock for Pharmacyclics, the maker of a blockbuster blood cancer treatment. AbbVie trumped Johnson & Johnson, which reportedly had the deal sewn up just hours beforehand, and adds more fuel to an overheated market in biotech. Intel and Huawei teamed up in the cloud. The US and Chinese firms will jointly provide cloud computing services to global telecom companies, deepening an existing partnership. China is increasingly wary of foreign technology companies, and US authorities have accused Huawei of being a front for Chinese surveillance efforts. The US ambassador to South Korea was slashed in a knife attack.Mark Lippert was attacked by an activist calling for the unification of North and South Korea, who was wielding a 10-inch blade. Lipper suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but needed 80 stitches in his face. Adidas reported deeper losses. The world’s second-largest sportswear manufacturer posted a fourth-quarter loss of €140 million($155 million), from a loss of €10 million a year earlier, largely due to currency fluctuations and a weak Russian market. Adidas said it expects “robust” sales growth this year as it turns around its struggling golf business and expands retail space. China forecast slower growth. Premier Li Keqiang said China’s GDP growth target is “about 7%” in 2015, as expected, below last year’s 7.4%. Speaking at China’s annual parliamentary meeting, Li pointed toa lack of innovation, an inefficient growth model, overcapacity, and weak agriculture as areas ripe for reform. Xiaomi increased its revenue forecast by 50%. CEO Lei Junpredicted sales of 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) this year, compared with 74.3 billion yuan last year, on the back of a more diversified product range and international expansion. Lei was speaking on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress, where he is a deputy alongside many of the country’s most powerful executives. Brazil raised interest rates to a near-six-year high. The central bankraised the cost of borrowing by 50 basis points to 12.75%, as the desire to control inflation outweighed the danger of causing a recession. Price increases hit a 12-year-high last month, and analysts expect the economy to contract by more than 0.5% this year. Quartz obsession interlude Ankita Rao on how startups are fulfilling India’s lust for sex toys.“More couples than ever are opening up about sex and trying out new toys in the bedroom. And the burgeoning online sex-toy market is there to help them out. Some estimate that India’s online sexual wellness industry will be worth Rs8,700 crore ($1.4 billion) by 2020, a massive increase from about Rs1,000 crore ($161 million) in 2014.” Read more here. Matters of debate China should set a wage target. A blunt GDP target is not as useful as raising people out of poverty. The mobile payment scene is already too crowded. There are five major apps taking two different approaches. Janet Yellen knows her way around a crystal ball. As central bankers go, she’s exceptionally good at forecasting. Globalization has stalled. Fewer goods are crossing international borders and the financial crisis may be to blame. Tinder’s ageist business model misses an opportunity. Instead of charging older people more, the dating app should filter out creeps. Surprising discoveries We smell our fingers after shaking hands. It’s probably part of anunconscious chemical signaling system. Turkey’s president was fined for insulting a statue. A sculptor won $4,000 because Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his work “ugly.” There’s a campaign to ban Facebook’s “feeling fat” emoji.Campaigners say it trivializes body perception issues. Perfume-makers are investing in genetically engineered scents.Right now they’re working on creating rose aromas from yeast. If you’ve lost something in Switzerland, this guy has it. Roland Widmer buys in bulk the lost items from buses, trains, and airports. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, smelly handshakes, and lost Swiss luggage to hi@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.