QE coming up, Google wireless and the internet literary agent

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

The ECB has been debating plans for a one to two year programme to make monthly purchases of EUR50bn in government bonds. No formal decision had been made last night but it looks set to embark on large scale quantitative easing for the first time in its history. Mario Draghi is expected to announce the decision at 1.30pmGMT today. (FT)

To see what the ECB plans to do and how it hopes this will help the eurozone economy, read our guide here. For the sceptics’ view, here’s our Q&A on ECB bond buying and The Big Read on the debate over the asset-buying plan. (FT)

In the news:

Google wireless service

The search giant struck deals with Sprint and T-Mobile to sell wireless services directly to consumers. This sees Google seize more control over delivery of services such as YouTube and Gmail, and will put pressure on the wireless industry to ramp up speeds and knock down prices. (WSJ$)

Microsoft holograms

The company is trying to shed its old PC roots and show its innovative colours. It has unveiled a headset that overlays holograms of imaginary objects on the real world. Existing customers will also get a free upgrade to the next version of Windows. (FT)

A lucky miss with Ebola

Bill Gates said the Ebola outbreak would have spread more widely were it not for “a bit of luck” and criticised countries for not providing resources quickly enough. He urged countries and aid agencies to learn how to respond quicker, warning: “There are many pathogens out there that are much worse – even more infectious than Ebola.” (FT)

No civil rights charges against officer in Ferguson case

The US justice department will recommend that no charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. The decision ends the investigation of the case, which set off protests and violent clashes. (NYT$)

Off-piste at Davos:

Today’s agenda includes discussions on the future of the digital economy with Eric Schmidt and Sheryl Sandberg (4.45pm GMT), and a talk from Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi (10.30am GMT)

FirstFT is producing a quick mid-morning video every day at Davos, which you can watch if you would prefer your briefing in a 60-second video.

Tech’s reputational risk

Business leaders warned that large technology will experience the same collapse in reputation that banks endured recently unless they rapidly change their policy approach. Izabella Kaminska doubts that the tech elite will be any better at regulating itself than the banking elite. (FT)

China’s entrepreneurial future

Premier Li Keqiang admitted that the country’s growth rate would slow but said the power of ” mass entrepreneurship and innovation” will ensure it avoids a hard landing. (FT)

Ukraine’s requests

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko accused Russia of sending 9,000 troops to back separatist rebels in his country and requested a larger bailout programme from the IMF. (Reuters, FT)

Being a Davos woman

The five stages of being a Davos wife include anger at the lowly status badge and bewilderment at the ritual humiliation. But Davos can still be fun, says Anya Schiffrin, a lecturer at Columbia University. (Quartz)

It’s a big day for:

Starbucks, which reports first-quarter earnings this week. The US coffee chain is expected to report a 4.7 per cent rise in same store sales, driven by holiday promotions and gift card sales. (FT)

Royal Mail, which will update the market on its performance over the festive period. The recently privatised business is engaged in a restructuring programme while battling fierce competition to deliver parcels. It blamed its 21 per cent drop in first-half operating profits onAmazon’s decision to set up its own delivery van network. (FT)

Food for thought:

The internet’s literary agent

She helped I can Has Cheezburger and Texts from Jane Eyremake it from the web to print. Now, Kate McKean, thinks Instagram might be “the next frontier in blog-to-books“. (Daily Dot)

The next peg to go

Hong Kong’s peg to the US dollar may now be fuelling social discontent and it limits the government’s room for manoeuvre. William Pesek argues for some shock treatment from Hong Kong after the Swiss move to liberate the franc. (Bloomberg)

Amazon’s latest plot to shake up the film industry could just be a step on the path to shaking up other industries. (FT)

Video of the day:

Venezuela’s shortages

People are struggling just to get in the doors of supermarkets as the whole nation is running out of milk and nappies. Russ Dallen, head of Caracas Capital Markets, explains how policy failures have reduced production capacity and why the country cannot afford to import or pay its debts. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with a Google logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic.