What to watch for today
John Kerry is in Malaysia. The US secretary of state will attend talks with the Association of South East Asian Nations, including an expected focus on China’s activity in the South China Sea. The timing is a bit awkward: Malaysia’s human trafficking record is under scrutiny, and prime minister Najib Razak continues to dodge accusations of corruption.
A piece of potential MH 370 debris goes under the microscope. French investigators will begin examining the barnacle-encrusted Boeing 777 fragment that was found on Réunion Island last week, as they look for clues to the disappearance of the Malaysian plane.
The US mulls a CEO pay disclosure rule. The securities and exchange commission is expected to approve a contentious policy ordering companies to publish the ratio of CEO pay to the median pay of all employees. Consumer advocates hope the ratio will shame companies with outsize CEO pay ratios.
Entertainment companies report earnings. Time Warner investors will be listening for hints about HBO Now’s success, while Dish Network will have an update on its $20-a-month Sling TV offering. CBS is projected to report a slight increase in revenue despite losing viewers this summer, and 21st Century Fox will respond to worries about rising programming costs after yet another rough quarter.
While you were sleeping
Disney missed expectations and cut its forecast. The entertainment giant said it would likely grow its operating income by single digits through 2016, citing currency issues and a decreasing number of subscribers to its TV offerings. The share price dropped 2%, despite a record second-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, 11% higher than a year earlier.
Etsy reported deeper losses. The craft sales website reported a second-quarter loss of $6.4 million, compared with a $3.2 million loss a year earlier, despite strong revenue growth. Additionally, plans to spend more on hiring and marketing in this quarter sent shares tumbling by as much as 15% in after-hours trading.
China’s service sector got a much-needed boost… The Caixin/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index for services rose to 53.8 in July, from 51.8 in June, pushing ahead of the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The biggest rise in 11 months will be particularly welcome as China looks to services to ensure sustainable growth.
… As Japan’s slipped. The Nikkei/Markit PMI for services fell to 51.2 in July, from 51.8 in June, signaling a slower rate of expansion. Despite the slip, that’s still the fourth straight month of expansion—something the government will be happy to see as it strives to achieve a 2% rate of inflation.
Ten candidates were chosen for a US presidential debate. A prime time television debate scheduled for Thursday forced the Fox network to select 10 Republican candidates from the nearly two dozen running. Billionaire Donald Trump made the cut, but Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum will appear on an earlier debate, among others.
Quartz obsession interlude
Leo Mirani on Facebook’s hard sell of internet.org in India. “Facebook redirects users to a page asking them to support services like Facebook’s internet.org, which, as Quartz and several others have written before, provides a subpar internet experience that restricts the poorest and least educated users in the world to a walled garden of Facebook-approved content.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The new Ebola vaccine may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Cutting clinical trials short means we’ll never know its true effectiveness.
Adoptees should have the right to annul the contract with their adoptive parents. Currently the only way to get out of a family is to be adopted by another adult.
The coming age of automation will be bad for men. Jobs commonly held by women are not easily done by robots.
The United States shouldn’t have an official language. Declaring one would be un-American.
Surprising discoveries
Human life in sunlight-deprived Britain requires supplements. A government panel is advising Britons to take vitamin D.
An American chicken is getting a prosthetic leg. It’s a $2,500, 3D-printed replacement for the bird’s torn tendon.
Brain training games can help treat schizophrenia. Yes, there’s an app for that.
Websites can track you by monitoring your smartphone’s battery level. The technique could track users even if they take steps to protect their privacy.
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