What to watch for today
Another round of Greek drama. Euro zone leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss—what else?—Greece’s financial crisis. Finance ministers, meeting on their own before the main event, will consider a new Greek proposal for bailout funds. The country is essentially broke, so any delay or rejection of terms will push Greece closer to an exit from the euro zone.
Allen and Company hosts its Sun Valley confab. The elite guest list for the investment banking conference, which has hatched a series of major tech and media deals, includes Tim Cook, Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk. But beware too much gossip about who’s chatting up whom—most of it doesn’t amount to much (paywall).
The Iran talks come up on yet another deadline. The cut-off date for the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program have already been extended by a week. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi urged the US and China to find a way to achieve a landmark compromise, saying a deal is “within reach.”
How is the US trade balance doing? The Commerce Department releases data for May, after several shaky months for the US economy following a labor dispute that hit West Coast ports. Economists expect a slight widening of the US deficit, due to a higher demand for imports in a strengthening economy.
While you were sleeping
Euclid replaced Yanis. Mild-mannered Euclid Tsakalotos stepped up to replace outspoken finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who abruptly quit his post, having fulfilled his role as “bad cop” during previous bailout negotiations. Separately, Greek banks will probably remain closed through the end of the week, after the European Central Bank tightened its terms for the emergency loans that are keeping banks afloat.
A massive media merger in Germany. Broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and publisher Axel Springer are in the early-stage talks over a deal to combine their businesses, which include Germany’s biggest private TV network and newspaper, the Wall Street Journal reports (paywall). The companies, which have a combined market cap of $16 billion, would have to clear significant anti-trust hurdles.
A computer programmer triumphed over Goldman Sachs. A New York judge threw out charges against Sergey Aleynikov, accused of stealing code from the investment bank, bringing a six-year battle toward a close. The case hung on a rarely-used criminal statute enacted nearly 50 years ago, highlighting the US legal system’s failure to keep up with the digital age.
South Carolina moved toward removing the Confederate flag. The state Senate overwhelmingly voted to remove the flag from the capitol grounds after a hate crime massacre that claimed the life of state senator Clementa Pinckney and eight others. The bill will face one more ratifying vote, in which is expected to pass, and then move on to the legislature’s lower chamber, where its prospects are less certain.
Pope Francis drew a massive crowd for an outdoor mass in Ecuador. More than 650,00 people gathered to listen to Francis during the first day of his tour of South America. The pope hinted he is planning to address those who feel excluded from the church, including homosexuals, the divorced, and the remarried.
An Iraqi plane accidentally bombed Baghdad. A fighter jet returning to its base malfunctioned and dropped a bomb on a residential neighborhood, killing up to 12 people and injuring dozens. Iraq has been using the Russian-made Sukhoi jets to attack fighters from the Islamic State, which controls huge swathes of Iraqi territory.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on Beijing’s stock market gamble. “The government is assuring investors it will do what it has to to keep the market aloft. … The downside of that wager is profound indeed. The government’s creation of the Chinese bull market has disproportionately benefitted state-owned companies—and therefore the Communist Party.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Alexis Tsipras is the leader Greece needs. He is at once a reckless revolutionary and a calculating gambler.
Soccer has a shameful gender pay gap. Women’s world cup teams get 40 times less prize money than men.
Streaming services are not artists’ biggest enemy. Taylor Swift should focus on fighting record labels, instead.
Don’t blame developers for your smartphone addiction. The problem is deeply rooted in the structure of capitalism.
Hotpot is making China fat. A newly affluent middle class means that people can eat more oily, salty foods.
Surprising discoveries
Oreos are slimming down. “Oreo Thins” are designed for adults—so you’re not supposed to pull them apart.
California weed growers are getting into salad. Hydroponic techniques work well with all sorts of leafy greens.
Get ready for digital baggage tags. They’re permanently affixed to your luggage and automatically routed to your destination.
Worker ants are actually super lazy. Roughly half are “effectively ‘specializing’ on inactivity.”
Japan accepted a US giant robot fighting challenge. The duel will happen when both sides agree to some ground rules.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, lazy ants, and fighting robots to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.