What to watch for today
Indonesia names a president. Preliminary tallies show Jakarta governor Joko Widodo leading with 52% of the vote against former general Prabowo Subianto. There are fears of violence when the official outcome is announced, and both candidates have complained of voting irregularities.
Will iPhone sales boost Apple? Smartphone sales have been slow, but Apple’s quarterly results should show the iPhone bucking that trend. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has put in larger-than-expected orders (paywall) for 70-80 million units of the iPhone 6, which will come with larger 4.7- and 5.5-inch screen options.
EU foreign ministers discuss Russia. The UK is pressing for tougher sanctions against Russia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, suspected to be the work of pro-Russian separatists. Moscow has acquiesced to a UN security council resolution calling for an international investigation.
The US tax evasion crackdown. Credit Suisse is expected to post a massive quarterly loss of 701 million Swiss francs ($781 million), due mostly to a $2.6 billion US tax evasion fine. And a congressional panel will discuss into how Deutsche Bank and Barclays helped hedge funds escape paying billions in taxes (paywall).
While you were sleeping
Ukrainian rebels handed back the MH17 black boxes. Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak brokered a deal with pro-Russian separatists to return the flight data recorders along with the bodies of MH17 passengers, and allow access by international investigators to the crash site.
Netflix profits more than doubled. The company now has more than 50 million streaming video subscribers—36.2 million in the US and 13.8 million in the rest of the world—and 6 million people are still getting those red envelopes in the mail. Second-quarter profit surged 145% to $71 million.
China’s latest food scandal spread to Starbucks and IKEA, which both removed menu items sourced from Shanghai Husi Food Co. The meat processing company is owned by US-based OSI, which said it was “appalled” by allegations that it sold expired and reprocessed meat products.
Time Warner prepared its takeover defense. The company instituted new rules that ban special shareholder meetings, as a tactic to block Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox from making an unsolicited bid. Time Warner has already rebuffed an $80 billion offer from Murdoch.
Crocs announced closures and layoffs. The plastic clogs maker will close or convert 100 stores (paywall) and fire about 180 of its 5,000 employees, in an attempt to adjust its size to reflect customers’ changing tastes.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on why America catches the world’s best salmon but eats the worst. “Two-thirds of the salmon eaten by US consumers is imported—mostly from farms in Chile, Canada and Norway and from processing factories in China. More than just a quirk of taste, this habit of snubbing domestic salmon in favor of foreign farmed fish exemplifies a more disquieting trend for US industry, argues journalist Paul Greenberg in his book American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood (purchase required). It’s the result of an American seafood ignorance that could threaten both the country’s long-term status as a fishing powerhouse and its secure supply of nutritious protein.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Dial down your internet use without “going dark.” Just remove the Facebook and Twitter apps from your phone.
American football should follow Australian rugby. Referees wear GoPro helmet-cams for better up-close coverage.
The Middle East today is like Europe in the early 17th century. Get ready for another Thirty Years War.
Broadband should get public funding. The infrastructure is too important to leave to the private sector.
Surprising discoveries
Religious children are more likely to believe fairy tales. Secular 5- and 6-year-olds are more skeptical.
Foxconn is getting into the spa business. The electronics manufacturer wants to build a chain of healthcare resorts (paywall).
A giant inflatable duck is missing. The public artwork was last seen on China’s Nanming River before flooding hit the region.
Germany broke the World Cup trophy. A piece of the prize “was chipped off” when celebrations got out of hand.
The US is criminalizing homelessness. Laws that restrict loitering, begging, and sitting in public are on the rise.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, giant duck sightings, and World Cup fragments to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.