Daily Pulse: Iowa Kicks off Primaries, US and Europe in Data Privacy Fight, Will Google Become More Valuable than Apple?

It's time to find out Alphabet's numbers. The company formerly known as Google reports fourth quarter earnings today after close (live here at 4.30 pm E.T.) For the first time it'll disclose revenue, operating income and capital expenditures separately for two segments: "Google", which includes the legacy search and advertising business, Youtube, Android, etc; and "Other bets," which is what we're all curious about – Nest, GV (Google Ventures), X (self-driving cars, robots etc...) and other odds and ends. For comparison's sake, Alphabet will release data on both segments going back to 2013. Analysts expect the core Google business is going to appear much more profitable than in the past, without the investments in moonshots dragging down the numbers. And that'll make shares climb, which could help Alphabet swing past Apple to become the largest market cap in the world. They're apart by $30 billion and Google added twice that one day last July... 

Ready, set... Iowa voters gather tonight at caucus sites to kick off the US presidential primary season. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump lead the polls for the Democratic and Republican tickets, respectively. The big questions are whether Trump's media appeal translates into votes and how close Bernie Sanders and Clinton will be.

Data Without Borders: US and European negotiators failed to reach a deal over how data can be transferred across the Atlantic by a Sunday deadline as the Safe Harbor agreement expires. That leaves US tech giants in murky legal waters over what they can or cannot do with European users' data. National privacy regulators in Europe will make their requirements public on Wednesday. European countries have stronger cultural concerns – and therefore stricter laws – around privacy rights and revelations about US intelligence overreach have done nothing to reassure them. Influencer Jules Polonetsky, executive director of the Future of Privacy Forum, explains the consequences for businesses, employees and customers of US tech companies:  

If threats to restrict data flows are realized, the impact won't be felt by the NSA.  The primary effect on major US online companies will be expense and inconvenience. The true harm will be felt by tens of thousands of EU employees and customers of services that cross the Atlantic.

A Chinese Ponzi: Authorities arrested 21 people over what they say was a Ponzi scheme that fleeced nearly a million Chinese investors of 50 billion yuan (US$7.6 billion.) Ezubao was an 18-months-old peer-to-peer lending platform where, much like female profiles on Ashley Madison, 95% of the projects were fake, according to "confessions" cited by Chinese news agency Xinhua. 

It's been a while since I've talked to you about Greece. International lenders start a review today to figure out how Athens is progressing on the reforms it must implement in exchange for its bailout. Representatives from the IMF and EU institutions will meet with the government all week. 

Cover art: An American flag is seen painted on a barn on January 30, 2016 outside of Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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What you may have missed — and really should read:

• Silicon Valley has dominated the world for the past 20 years. What about the next 20?
• In US politics, is crass the new clever? 
• That moment when you're calling internationally from China and the government lets you know they're listening. 

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