What to watch for today
Malaysia Airlines gets a new CEO. Christoph Mueller takes the helm of the airline that lost two planes and more than 500 lives in 2014. The 52-year-old former head of Aer Lingus will cut 6,000 jobs and aim to outdo regional budget carrier AirAsia.
China launches a deposit insurance program. The country’s new deposit-insurance system (paywall), backed by a fund run by the People’s Bank of China, secures up to 500,000 yuan ($80,550) of bank deposits for businesses and individuals at banks and is meant to cover 99% of depositors.
Turkey prepares for Labor Day protests. The Turkish government is readying at least 10,000 police officers in Istanbul and erecting iron barricades in the city center for protests on Labor Day. Last year’s Labor Day demonstrations resulted in 140 arrests and 90 wounded people.
Tesla unleashes home batteries. Elon Musk is set to unveil a pair of batteries meant to store power during off-peak hours for homes and businesses, for use at peak hours when power grids are strained.
Earnings, earnings, earnings. Companies opening up their books today: Chevron, CVS, Lloyds Bank, Wynn Resorts, and Yahoo Japan.
While you were sleeping
Europe’s deflation fears subsided. Consumer prices in April halted their downward trajectory (paywall) after falling each month since December, according to the EU’s statistics agency. The news has allayed concerns that the euro area economy would fall into a deflationary spiral.
Investors freaked over LinkedIn’s unremarkable earnings. The earnings themselves were fine but the company’s outlook for the next quarter and fiscal year underwhelmed. The stock dropped 25% within minutes, wiping out around $6 billion in market value.
Apple and IBM teamed up to serve the elderly in Japan. The two US tech giants are partnering with Japan Post—the government-owned postal service that’s also an insurance company and a bank—to create software for the Apple iPad (paywall) to help improve its elderly watch service.
Russia made a big interest rate cut. The country’s central bank slashed interest rates from 15% to 12.5%, attributed in part to the improving performance of the ruble. The country had hiked its key interest rate dramatically in December.
Time Warner Cable’s earnings flopped, but it may have another suitor. Shortly after its merger with Comcast fell apart, the US cable television and broadband provider posted a first-quarter profit below analysts’ estimates, thanks to TV channels charging more for their content. Charter Communications, has reportedly reached out to discuss an acquisition (paywall).
Quartz obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on hacking your coffee habit to improve focus and decrease anxiety. “The psychiatrists’ bible, DSM-V, came very close to classifying caffeine-use disorder as a mental health problem, much like alcohol-use disorder. Regular coffee drinkers often can’t function well without their everyday cuppa. You probably don’t want to be that person who cries, “I need coffee. I can’t think.” But there is a way of enjoying some of coffee’s benefits without getting addicted to it.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The Pope is half way there on supporting women. If Pope Francis is going to advocate for wage equality, he needs to also support contraception.
Apple isn’t Samsung’s problem. Its lackluster products don’t have enough cachet to withstand the negative effects of currency fluctuations.
Germany does globalization right. It has successfully shifted power from shareholders and management to labor, keeping high-skilled jobs at home and boosting worker training and compensation.
Tahrir Square’s makeover reflects shifting power in Egypt. The government’s revamping of the birthplace of the Arab Spring ignores its past to make things seem orderly and progressive.
The violence in Baltimore should be no surprise. The American city is burning in protest because its residents have been systematically abused for far too long (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Italy is hankering for more weed. The Italian military has opened its own grow house to produce 100 kilograms a year, aimed at lowering the price of medical marijuana.
“Dadbod” is the male version of the ”Yummy Mummy.” The ideal father’s physique can be achieved by pairing some exercise with moderate pizza intake.
We can now 3D-print airway stints for babies. Researchers cured life-threatening breathing disorders in three babies by implanting a splint that grows with the child.
Bilingual kids see the world differently. More so than their unilingual counterparts, many children exposed to a second language after age three understand that people are molded by their experiences, rather than how they’re born.
NASA has plans to make air travel cheaper. The US space agency jointly developed an airplane wing that can change shape mid-flight and boost fuel efficiency by up to 12%.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Dadbod workout tips, and half-baked feminist teachings to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.