US inflation, Guptas raided, robot skiing link graphic Quartz qz dot com Good morning, Quartz readers! heading level 2 WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY Markets walk a tightrope on US inflation and VIX data. The US consumer price index is expected to show a slight downtick, but any surprises link could trigger another big market sell off dot Separately, link monthly options will expire for the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index, making bigger swings more likely. Boris Johnson offers a Brexit valentine. In London, the British foreign minister link will deliver a link speech that sets out a new vision for post Brexit Britain, as the government tries to win over people who voted to remain in the EU. It will be the first of six Road to Brexit speeches over the coming weeks. Cisco Systems is about to turn a corner. At least, analysts are feeling optimistic that the networks company will return to quarterly link revenue growth after six straight quarters of declines. heading level 2 WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING Police raided the home of a powerful family with ties to Jacob Zuma. The elite Hawks unit swept into the link Gupta family compound in Johannesburg. The Gupta brothers are believed to have corrupt links with the embattled South African president. Meanwhile, Zuma still hasn’t stepped down despite expectations that he would this morning. Donald Trump’s lawyer said he paid Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket. Michael Cohen told the New York Times that he had paid link $130,000 to porn actress (paywall) Stephanie Clifford who claimed she had an affair with Trump in the run up to the 2016 election. Cohen said that he wasn’t reimbursed for it, but wouldn’t say if Trump had been aware of the payment. The Israeli opposition called for Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation. Israeli police on Monday recommended charging the prime minister with bribery, over allegations link he took expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen. Netanyahu then went on TV to accuse the police of conducting a witch hunt, and vowed to keep leading the country. Punjab National Bank uncovered fraud to the tune of $1.8 billion. India’s link second largest state bank said it had detected fraudulent and unauthorized transactions at a single branch in Mumbai that’s the equivalent of eight times its 2017 net income. Other banks are also likely to be affected. Germany ended 2017 on a high. The juggernaut economy reported 0.6 percent growth in the fourth quarter from the year before and link 2.2 percent overall in 2017 (paywall). As expected, robust exports powered the growth the Federal Statistics Office said household consumption was more or less flat. heading level 2 QUARTZ OBSESSION INTERLUDE Dan Kopf on the foolish strategies people use to pay down credit card debt. The best way to pay off credit card debt is simple. If you can’t pay the full balance for all the cards, pay the minimum monthly payment for each, and then devote the rest to repaying the card with the highest interest rate. Following this rule, you incur the least interest and save the most money. Very few people do this. link Read more here dot heading level 2 MATTERS OF DEBATE Smart cities are a pipe dream. Gadgetry won’t make urban living link more affordable or resilient dot Nobody knows what’s causing stock meltdowns. Understanding why something happened in the market is link only slightly easier than grasping the meaning of life. South Africa’s political crisis could taint an entire continent. If the nation fails to recover, cynicism about Africa link will spread across the rest of the world (paywall). heading level 2 MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER Sign up for a revolutionary new book club made for people in search of the next big idea. link Subscribers to the Next Big Idea Club receive groundbreaking new nonfiction books hand selected by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink each season, as well as author interviews, video insights, and two books donated on their behalf to underresourced students. heading level 2 SURPRISING DISCOVERIES Robots had their own Winter Olympics in South Korea. Eight teams sent link autonomous humanoids down a 70 meter ski slope, with very mixed results. South Korea bankrolled North Korea’s trip to the Winter Olympics. Seoul signed off on $2.64 million to cover personnel costs for link hundreds of North Koreans dot A scientist captured an impossible photo of a single atom. The award winning image link shows a glowing link strontium atom suspended in a web of lab machinery. China banned touching penguins in Antarctica. Ill mannered tourists have been link flocking to the link continent dot The Amazon molly can clone itself without any male DNA. The link all female fish species is upending how scientists think about asexual reproduction. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Valentine’s Day messages, and atom pics to link email protected dot You can follow us link on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our link apps for i Phone and link Android dot Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Lianna Brinded. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can link click here to sign up. If you click a link to an e commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See link here for more information. 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