Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Emerging market routs. Asian stocks traded broadly lower early Tuesday, raising fears of a week of big losses after currencies in the 20 biggest emerging markets fell on Monday (paywall) against the dollar and stocks plummeted across Asia.
US retail earnings under scrutiny. After muted earnings from Macy’s and Walmart last week, JC Penney, embroiled in a shareholder war over its leadership, is likely to add to the gloom. Best Buy is also expected to struggle in the face of growing competition from discounters and other online retailers, while Barnes & Noble, still reeling from the departure of its CEO a month ago, is likely to post a loss. Home Depot may report higher earnings thanks to the US housing recovery.
The fallout from Miranda’s detention. Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, described the detention of David Miranda, partner of the journalist who published classified information given to him by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, at Heathrow airport. Rusbridger also said UK authorities forced the paper to destroy computer hard drives.
The UN hears North Korean defectors. A UN human rights panel will hear testimony from North Korean defectors in Seoul before moving to Toyko later in the week to hear evidence relating to the abduction of Japanese citizens by the isolated Kim dynasty.
Mixed results from miners. Glencore Xstrata is expected to report strong profits in its first results release since the completion of its $29 billion takeover of Xstrata in May. BHP Billiton may post a fall in earnings due to lower commodity prices.
Kodak to emerge from bankruptcy. A Manhattan court will review Kodak’s plan to pay off its creditors. The company has shed assets and operations, and now plans to focus (pdf) on its commercial-imaging business, which includes digital printers and motion-picture film.
While you were sleeping
Muslim Brotherhood leader arrested. Mohammed Badie, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s angry opposition, was arrested in Cairo a day after a court ordered the release of the country’s former dictator, Hosni Mubarak.
Bo Xilai’s son speaks out. In a statement published in the New York Times, Bo Guagua said he has been denied contact with both of his parents for the last 18 months, and that the trial against his father, which begins Thursday, will carry no “moral weight” if his well-being is being used by Chinese authorities to barter for testimony.
Fukushima leaks again.Tokyo Electric, the operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, said that about 300 tons of highly-contaminated water leaked from a storage tank at the site.
Philip Falcone gets a fine and five-year ban. The Harbinger Capital boss agreed to a five-year ban from the financial industry and a fine of $18 million, to be split between him and Harbinger, to settle charges of improper use of hedge fund money and favoritism.
The Chinese Communist Party’s latest plan to retain power. In a secret memo, “Document No. 9,” the party called for the eradication of seven threats, including Western ideas of constitutional democracy and universal human rights.
Climate scientists are getting more confident. A draft of the next big report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it’s 95-100% certain that humans are the main cause of global warming, and dismisses a recent slowdown in warming as short-term.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on why investors are fleeing emerging markets. “As the rip-tide of liquidity pours out of a country, it drives the value of the currency lower. That makes imports of crucial foreign products—such as energy—costlier. The surge in spending on imports worsens the current account deficit. That prompts still more worries about investing, setting off a further outflow of investor cash. The decline of the currency gets deeper. A spiral can ensue until you hit something known as a ‘sudden stop,’ which pushes a country into default.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Not everyone with cancer needs treatment. Improved detection methods may actually be putting a lot of people through trauma, unnecessarily.
Safe banks need not mean slow economic growth. New evidence shows higher bank capital does not necessarily make banks lend less (paywall).
Behind Egypt’s rage is a worsening lack of resources. Population explosion has made energy and food shortages worse.
China’s overcapacity needs competition, not regulation. The market, not the government, should decide which iron and steel plants to shut.
Surprising discoveries
London calling. More than a quarter of new homes sold in the UK capital are being bought by Chinese investors, and 75% are purchased by foreigners (paywall).
A snowmobile called Loki. The Canadian military is testing a $620,000 stealthy snowmobile for Arctic operations, named after the Norse god.
Europe’s forests may be reaching “carbon saturation.” That’ll make reducing overall carbon emissions a lot harder.
Americans who prefer not to be online. Most American homes have access to high-speed broadband, but 20% of them don’t use the internet.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, unused broadband capacity and stealthy snowmobile sightings to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day.