Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Iraq’s prime minister meets Barack Obama. Haidar al-Abadi will meet the US president in Washington and will probably ask for more weaponry to fight ISIL. Last weekend, the militant group took control of Iraq’s largest oil refinery.
SpaceX tries again. On Monday, the commercial rocket company canceled the test flight and landing of a reusable rocket that could make space launches much cheaper. It will attempt the same launch again today at 4:10pm ET.
Great expectations for JPMorgan Chase. Analysts expect an annual earnings-per-share increase of 9.5% when America’s biggest bank posts its first-quarter results. Revenue is expected to have risen 6.3%.
Intel’s first-quarter figures. The PC chipmaker has already lowered its quarterly revenue forecast, but analysts expect earnings to be slightly up from last year. Investors will be looking for insight into a bigger question: What is the future of the PC?
While you were sleeping
Nestle neared a sale of its frozen foods group. The Swiss food giant is in advanced talks to sell French canteen supplier Davigel as part of its quest to offload smaller units from its portfolio. Previous reports suggest it may sell the company for around $318 million (paywall).
Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for the US presidential race. The Republican senator from Florida is the fourth person to officially declare, following fellow Republicans Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Rubio is the youngest candidate at 43.
Rakuten mulled a $580 million purchase of PopSugar. The Japanese conglomerate could make the celebrity news site its latest in a flurry of international acquisitions as it invests in markets outside of Japan, according to TechCrunch. PopSugar reports 41 million unique viewers per month—around a third of the audience Huffington Post had when AOL bought it for $300 million.
Toyota planned a $1 billion Mexico plant. The Japanese automaker plans to produce 200,000 cars per year and hire 2,400 staff in the state of Guanajuato, according to Reuters. That would end a self-imposed three-year ban on new investments, as the auto industry fights oversupply.
European data offered mixed signals. Low fuel prices and a supermarket price war pushed inflation in the UK down to zero in March, compared with the year earlier. In Spain, consumer prices fell for the ninth consecutive month. And euro zone factory output beat forecasts, rising 1.6% in March from the same period last year.
IBM and Apple teamed up on health. The tech firms—and various drug and medical device companies—will join forces to provide data from wearers of the Apple Watch to insurers and doctors, which will be used to tailor treatments or contribute to medical trials. Dozens of apps already exist for Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit platforms.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jason Karaian on the recent buzz in Hong Kong’s stock market. “Last November, when China allowed mainland residents to trade shares in Hong Kong and Hong Kong investors to access previously closed off Chinese companies, there was widespread speculation that tidal waves of money would start to flow between mainland China and Hong Kong. Those expectations fell flat—until now.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
There’s no such thing as a humane execution. One US state is thinking of using nitrogen gas on its prisoners, but death is death.
The ATM still has a future. Even in a world of digital finance, there will be a place for cash.
To stop the Houthis, stop Iran. Yemen’s president, currently in exile, argues that the crisis in his country, and the rest of the Middle East, is being fueled by Iran’s thirst for power (paywall).
The Fed needs to raise rates quickly. Investors are taking on bigger and bigger risks, says the man who predicted the financial crisis.
Don’t ask to meet for coffee, stick to email. Businesspeople don’t have the kind of free time you think they do—unless you’re a large client.
Surprising discoveries
Over-the-counter painkillers could dull your emotions. The active ingredient in Tylenol was found to reduce people’s emotional sensitivity in one study.
Beijing wants residents to tattle on people smoking indoors. The government is encouraging residents to upload videos of people violating no-smoking rules.
The presence of attractive men makes other men bigger risk-takers. A study found the presence of more attractive competitors spurs compensating behavior.
The US army can call in airstrikes on their tablets. KILSWITCH is an Android device that lets soldiers request a plane strike in as little as four minutes, instead of using radio and paper maps.
Pulling your hair out could cure baldness. In a study on mice, plucking 200 hairs led to over 1,000 growing back in their place.
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