What to watch for today
The Bank of England tries to pop London’s bubble. A financial stability report will probably recommend measures to cool surging home prices, which have some observers worried. Not the UK treasury, though, which says the real-estate fever is relatively localized and people “shouldn’t get carried away.”
China and the US meet for an awkward military exercise. Naval craft from 23 countries will take part in the largest maritime exercise in the world in Hawaii, but the inclusion of China for the first time will make for an uneasy fit, given its recent aggressive moves in the South China Sea.
A US consumer rebound. Economists expect consumer spending to improve, consistent with recent improvements in consumer sentiment, job creation and housing data.
The barcode’s 40th anniversary. A 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum was the first-ever item to be scanned on June 26, 1974. The original pack now hangs in a museum.
World Cupdate. Portugal v Ghana is at 5pm (BST), as is USA v Germany.
While you were sleeping
Google tried to win developers’ hearts and minds. The search giant unveiled, among other things, a redesigned version of its Android mobile operating system, a platform for smart TVs, and a way to pull in data from wearable devices at its annual conference.
GoPro’s IPO aimed high. The company that makes rugged cameras for extreme sports priced its shares at $24 (paywall), at the high end of a $21-24 range, raising $427 million.
A hedge fund bought into Allergan. Paulson & Co reportedly bought 6 million shares of the maker of Botox, making it one of the company’s top shareholders. Crucially, the hedge fund supports the prospect of a deal between Allergan and its prospective acquirer, Valeant.
GM halted sales of a faulty sedan. GM has told dealers not to sell 33,000 Chevrolet Cruzes that may have faulty airbags. The airbag fault has already led to a recall of 10.5 million cars, and GM has recalled more cars this year than any other in its history.
Malaysia added more ethnically Chinese cabinet members. Prime minister Najib Razak replaced Hishammuddin Hussein, the face of the nation’s probe in to the disappearance of the MH370 jet, with Liow Tiong Lai, along with other substitutions. The government typically favors Malays for ministerial positions, but the country has a large ethnic Chinese population.
Another bomb targeted Nigerian soccer fans. A blast killed 21 people in a shopping district in the capital, Abuja, just as the Nigerian team was about to play Argentina in the World Cup. It was the second World Cup-related blast attributed to the Islamist insurgents Boko Haram.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dan Frommer on why developers still opt to work on Apple’s iOS before Google’s Android. ”There are more Android apps available than iOS apps—almost 1.3 million, according to AppBrain, versus 1.2 million available iOS apps, according to AppShopper. But that’s not the best representative of priority—many apps on both platforms are low-quality, and only a small percentage of apps become breakout businesses.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Bigger iPhones spell trouble at Apple. It makes the company a follower, not a leader.
The financial markets need less liquidity. The SEC is toying with making some markets less efficient to reduce dangerous volatility.
Mexico is the new China. Its competitive labor costs and proximity to the US mean investors should take a look.
Tabloids newspapers are dead. So says a certain salmon-colored broadsheet (paywall).
Harley-Davidson is having its own midlife crisis. As baby boomer cast their motorbikes aside, the iconic company is struggling to stay relevant.
Surprising discoveries
A free lunch turned ugly. A Chinese billionaire promised New York’s neediest $300 to dine with him, but was heckled when he didn’t pay out.
Garlic prices are surging in the Philippines. They were surging in Tunisia too before the Arab Spring.
There’s a lot writhing in the World Cup. Honduras’s players spend the most time demonstrating their agony (paywall).
The battle armor of the future might be spider silk. Strands from genetically-modified silkworms could be woven into protective clothing.
Kenya is the world capital of second-hand fashion. The stylish used clothing called mitumba is a huge money maker.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, pricey garlic cloves, and videos of egregious soccer flops to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.