What to watch for today
The US talks jobs, officially. Payroll firm ADP says 213,000 US jobs were created in September, but it’s the US labor department’s report due on Friday that’s being watched for whether the jobless rate has continued to stay low at 6.1%.
Playing whack-a-mole with ISIL. The US-led bombing campaign against ISIL is forcing a change in tactics. In Iraq’s Anbar province, locals will face curfews on vehicle use—though only for certain types of vehicles—so it’s easier to tell when ISIL fighters attempt to relocate.
Another Hong Kong showdown. The deadline protestors gave chief executive CY Leung to resign came and went. Leung refused to relinquish power, but offered demonstrators a chance to begin talks with chief secretary Carrie Lam. Police told protestors if they attack defensive lines, there will be consequences.
The presidential parade in Brazil. Dilma Rousseff and Marina Silva have one more debate (link in Portuguese) before the first round of elections on Oct. 5, though a run-off vote between the two on Oct. 26 is practically a foregone conclusion.
While you were sleeping
Turkey approved the use of force against ISIL. Both Iraq and Syria will soon face Turkish fighters; foreign nations will also be allowed to conduct campaigns from Turkish soil. The Syrian town of Kobani—which sits on Turkey’s border—is about to be overthrown by ISIL, spurring an influx of refugees into Turkey.
Elon Musk teased the next Tesla. With a single tweet, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX set off a flurry of rumors and speculation about an elusive unveiling to occur on Oct. 9. In the meantime, we’re still waiting on the affordable Model 3.
Italy scoffed at Mario Draghi. In response to a visit by the European Central Bank head, the youth of Italy took to the streets to protest the austerity measures battering its hobbled economy.
Ukraine loses grip on Donetsk airport. Flouting a Sept. 5 ceasefire, rebels in the eastern part of the country say they’ve captured 95% of the city’s airport, which the government needs to continue its flow of food and munitions.
Angry Birds got its wings clipped. Rovio CEO Mikael Hed published a note saying that the company has “been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialized.” Translation: 130 people in Finland—16% of the team—will be laid off. Hed will be flying the coop at year’s end.
Bob Iger couldn’t find the exit sign—again. After extending his stay as the CEO of Disney once already, Iger has now decided he’ll be sticking around until June 2018.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jason Karaian on why Mario Draghi has yet put out the fire in Europe. ”More than two years after [Draghi’s] famous promise, the pace of actual action at the ECB remains glacial. Today, traders looked to Draghi for details of a major bond-buying program he previewed last month. (That was when the ECB said it would buy asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed bonds from banks across the euro zone in hopes of freeing up funds to lend to hard-up small businesses and other cash-strapped borrowers.) The traders were largely disappointed. Read more here.
Matters of debate
Obama needs to keep quiet about Hong Kong. Because if he doesn’t, China’s paranoia—and propaganda—will rise to unhealthy levels.
ISIL’s beheadings aren’t its only weapon of terror. Preventing women from receiving an education is just as dangerous and destabilizing.
Retirement is a pipe dream for the middle class. The global cost-cutting race means you’re going to work until you die.
All this feminism talk is hot air. We’re in yet another cycle of popular slogans that will soon be forgotten.
Surprising discoveries
Wall Street hates nice people. GoPro’s shares fell by nearly 9% after investors discovered the company’s founders donated $500 million to charity.
No, Londoners aren’t colorblind. Six of the city’s iconic red telephone boxes will be given a fresh coat of green paint, identifying the structures as solar-powered charging points.
Beer is a memory booster. Researchers at Oregon State University say a flavonoid found in hops—beer’s main ingredient—boosts mental performance.
The human nose knows when death is near. Once your sense of smell starts to go, you’re three times more likely to die in the near future than your aromatically-sound brethren.
Not all typos are created equal. One Japanese brokerage firm confused value with volume and tried to trade a sum of money larger than Sweden’s economy.
Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, charitable offenses, and cases of beer to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.