What to watch for today
Can Chinese stocks sustain their rebound? The Shanghai Composite Index rose 5.16% in morning trading, following a 5.76% rise yesterday on serious government intervention designed to boost the markets. Stock-pickers are suddenly seeing opportunity—Fidelity has joined Goldman Sachs in calling China stocks a buy.
Janet Yellen offers her views on the US economy. The chair of the Federal Reserve will speak in Cleveland, Ohio on her outlook on the US job market, inflation, and economic growth.
South Carolina takes down the Confederate flag. Governor Nikki Haley signed a law for the contentious flag to be relegated to the state capitol’s “relic room.”
A Canadian jobs update. Canada is forecast to have lost 10,000 jobs in June, after a gain in May, with unemployment at 6.9%. The new data could provide a clue about the Bank of Canada’s decision on interest rates next week.
While you were sleeping
Greece met its bailout deadline. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s government submitted a package of reform proposals to European creditors, and was rewarded by Germany’s finance minister conceding that Greece’s debt ought to be restructured. Greece signaled that it might even start making some amendments before bailout cash is made available.
Facebook encroached further into YouTube territory. The social network is holding preliminary talks with record labels about licensing music videos for use on the site, according to the New York Times (paywall). That’s another sign that Facebook is serious about monetizing video; it recently announced a partnership with video content creators like ESPN.
The UK warned its citizens to leave Tunisia. The British Foreign Office said another terrorist attack is “highly likely” and urged citizens to cancel all non-essential travel to the country. But Nabil Ammar, the Tunisian ambassador to the UK, told the BBC that such a move would reward the Islamic State, which took responsibility for a recent terror attack that killed 38.
The latest US hack was bigger than estimated. Hackers who accessed the US government’s personnel office gained access to the personal details of 22.1 million people—far higher than the previous estimate of 4.2 million. China is the lead suspect.
Iran talks were extended, again. US secretary of state John Kerry said negotiators “will not rush,” but that the talks are making progress; Iran accused Western representatives of shifting position, and adding new “red lines” as late as last night.
Global PC sales took a tumble. Personal computer shipments fell to 68.4 million in the second quarter, a 9.5% drop from a year earlier, Gartner reported. Analysts believe the fall is because consumers are holding off buying for the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 10, due in the third quarter.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dan Frommer on having your own personal cloud. ”I am now wearing several machines that are capable of talking to each other …This phenomenon—some are calling it the “personal cloud” or “personal mesh”—is one of the most important changes that will come out of the rise of wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Africa’s ticket to wealth is the garment industry. It should follow Asia’s development model.
Can we just, like, get over the way women talk? Advising women to speak more directly doesn’t address the nuances of communication.
Jeb Bush wants Americans to work more. The presidential candidate has both a carrot and a stick to ensure that happens.
We should just give the homeless homes. It actually saves money as well as improves lives.
Finland can teach America a lot about baseball. An obscure variant called “pesäpallo“ (paywall) offers near-constant action.
Surprising discoveries
Norwegian police fired their guns only twice last year. UK cops are equally gun-shy, but are very fond of Tasers.
People with re-usable grocery bags buy more junk food. They may be rewarding themselves for being so eco-conscious.
Pope Francis prepared for a Bolivian mass in a Burger King. It was the only space available.
Four Colombians suffered an epic switch. Two sets of identical twins were separated at birth, and raised as each other’s fraternal twins.
A McDonald’s children’s toy may have a potty mouth. Some parents hear the phrase commonly abbreviated WTF.
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