Iran talks resume. The general framework deal reached earlier this month still needed specifics on the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the end of Western sanctions. Iran and six world powers now begin that process, with a self-imposed June 30 deadline.
The EU takes on Gazprom… Antitrust regulators will formally accuse the company (paywall) of abusing its dominance of the gas supply in several European countries. Roughly 60% of the gas used in eastern and central Europe is Russian, according to Gazprom.
…as Gazprom helps out Greece. CEO Alexei Miller will meet (paywall) with Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras about advancing the debt-laden country as much as €5 billion ($5.4 billion) in cash. Greece has several IMF payments due in the next few weeks.
Teva reportedly prepares a bid for Mylan. The Israeli generic drugmaker may make a public bid for its rival as soon as today, according to Bloomberg. Mylan, which has a market capitalization of $33.3 billion, has said it is not interested in a deal.
Numbers, numbers, and more numbers. Companies scheduled to report quarterly results include Yahoo, Chipotle, and Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
While you were sleeping
Xi Jinping addressed Pakistan’s parliament. The Chinese president said that the two countries “share a common stake in security,” a day after announcing $46 billion in infrastructure and energy projects. China’s planned trade corridor through Pakistan is likely to require a heavy security force; earlier this morning, suspected militants attacked an air-traffic control tower.
Mohamed Morsi was jailed for 20 years. Egypt’s first freely-elected leader was convicted of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during clashes in 2012, in which 11 people died. The Muslim Brotherhood is now banned and Morsi still faces more charges by the military that ousted him in 2013.
The iPhone boosted ARM’s first quarter. Pre-tax profit at the British chipmaker rose 24% to $121 million (paywall), on a 14% increase in revenue in the same period last year. ARM licenses designs for components that end up in 95% of the world’s smartphones.
Credit Suisse profits climbed 23%. The first European bank to report first-quarter earnings said net profit rose to 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion), marginally ahead of expectations. Its private bank for wealthy clients performed well as the bank continued to cut back its investment banking operations.
A giant US poultry farm was hit with bird flu. Some 5.3 million chickens at an egg-laying operation in Iowa will be culled after an outbreak of H5N2 avian influenza, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The disease is not dangerous to humans but can kill an entire flock within 48 hours.
Quartz obsession interlude
Max Nisen on the future of work. “It’s possible to rank employees in entirely new ways in the age of big data. People in sales are used to seeing their numbers compared. But now everything from how well truck drivers drive, to individual author web traffic and how quickly engineers write code can be quantified in great detail.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Republicans want doctors to know less, not more. A North Carolina bill will prohibit doctors from learning how to perform abortions.
Venture capital in France is broken. Aside from the structural obstacles, the country simply doesn’t like entrepreneurs.
Marijuana is not a gateway drug. That notion is kept alive by political scaremongering, vested interests, and flawed research.
The World Bank and IMF are hypocrites. They demand that poor countries fix their economies, but are less demanding when rich countries mess up.
Why Russia belongs in the EU. Europe isn’t a club of liberal democracies, but an alliance of countries that lost their empires.
Surprising discoveries
Not all animals that evolved from the ocean stayed on dry land. Some evolved again and again, switching from fins to legs.
A designer label is a useful interview tool. A Louis Vuitton logo provided a clear advantage in one Korean study.
HBO shut down a bar screening of Game of Thrones. The network wants everybody to pay to see the most pirated show ever.
The Australian prime minister can down a beer in seven seconds. Tony Abbott was responding to chants from football players at a pub.
You can take a flight in R2-D2. All Nippon Airways is flying a Boeing Dreamliner painted like the robot from Star Wars.
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