What to watch for today
London Underground workers go on strike. Negotiations between transit officials and unions over new weekend shifts have broken down, and a strike on all tube lines is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm local time, closing down travel through the end of July 9. Overland rail lines will not be affected, but they are expected to be swamped with extra travelers.
A trio of cyclones pummels Asia. Three major storms are threatening to cause serious damage: Tropical Storm Linfa has already brought flooding to the Philippines; Typhoon Chan-Hom is headed toward Taiwan but may also hit the Chinese mainland; and Typhoon Nagka is a potential threat to Japan.
Do China’s stocks have further to fall? Investors are waiting to see if the government will unveil further efforts to halt the markets’ steep slide. More than a quarter of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks have halted trading as they attempt to ride out the decline.
Vladimir Putin hosts a BRICS summit. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa hope to finalize a the creation of a joint currency reserve and a development bank, which would counterbalance US- and Europe-dominated institutions in the global economy.
While you were sleeping
Subway suffered a PR disaster. The home of the chain’s longtime spokesman, Jared Fogle, was raided by federal and state law enforcement, reportedly as part of a child pornography investigation. Subway said it would suspend its relationship with Fogle, who is cooperating with authorities.
HSBC fired UK employees for staging a mock ISIL-style execution. The workers were reportedly engaged in a team-building exercise when they filmed themselves acting out a mock ISIL beheading scenario. A video of the stunt was posted on Instagram and later deleted—but not before a British tabloid picked it up.
Carnival will cruise to Cuba in 2016. The cruise operator received approval from the US government to take passengers on week-long Cuba tours next year. They will be so-called “social impact” cruises, which let passengers partake in a range of volunteer activities.
Your daily dose of Iran negotiations: Talks were extended, again, and the news was only conveyed with a memo that hotel room reservations had been changed. A supposed “drop-dead deadline” of July 9 seems unlikely to be met.
Your daily dose of Greek drama: New finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos showed up in Brussels without a new proposal to resolve the country’s debt crisis, clouding the country’s prospects to stay within the euro zone.
Quartz obsession interlude
Annalisa Merelli on former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis’s most memorable moments. “In a post on his blog, titled ‘Minister No More!’ Varoufakis announced his decision in his classically no-nonsense tone. His parting line: ‘I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride,’ is already a hit. After resigning, Varoufakis got on his motorcycle and rode away with his wife into the Greek summer.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Europe doesn’t have a debt crisis. It has a democracy crisis.
“Broken windows” should apply to Wall Street. Regulators should crack down on small but obvious transgressions.
Smartphones are not ruining children. They are just exasperating their grandparents.
Coddling workers won’t make them productive. Forget the gourmet office snacks and question your business model.
Athletic brands are under-utilizing the power of female athletes. Only Nike seems to understand their value.
Surprising discoveries
Denver’s marijuana growers are killing the electric grid. They account 2% of all power consumed in the Colorado city.
The BBC is getting back into the computer business. It giving out 1 million “Micro Bits” to teach kids about programming.
Muslim non-profits are raising money to rebuild black churches. They say “all houses of worship are sanctuaries.”
Russian police have published a guide to safe selfies. Too many citizens were were attempting foolhardy stunts.
Some iPhone owners are cloaking their devices in fake handgun cases. US police think this is a terrible idea.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, ballistic iPhone cases, and safe selfie guidelines to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.