What to watch for today
A cozy Chinese visit to London. President Xi Jinping is due for a warm welcome in the UK, which is set to take in $150 billion in Chinese investment over the next 10 years. Britain, in turn, has smoothed the way for the Chinese to use British banks, buy British property, and send their kids to British schools.
A tense Pakistani visit to DC. Prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be in the US all week. He’ll be talking to American president Barack Obama about Pakistan’s edgy relations with its neighbors, India and Afghanistan, and how militants based in his country have carried out attacks through the region.
Votes are tallied in Canada’s election. Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper is trying to win a historic fourth term in office, but voters seem to be leaning left, toward Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Tom Mulcair’s New Democrats. Trudeau—the son of former PM Pierre Trudeau—was the frontrunner when polls opened on Monday.
Investors get a status update on United’s CEO. Oscar Munoz, 56, was hospitalized last week after less than a month on the job, and details on his condition have been scarce. The Wall Street Journal’s report that Munoz suffered a heart attack has not been confirmed by United, but the company says it will disclose more information today.
A busy earnings week continues. Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and United Technologies are expected to report little to no growth in their quarterly earnings, as the Pentagon spent slightly less on weapons in fiscal 2015. Verizon, Harley-Davidson, Yahoo, and Chipotle are also due to post third-quarter results.
While you were sleeping
Migrants rushed into Croatia. With thousands of migrants waiting in the rain at the Serbian border, Croatia unexpectedly opened its border, allowing an estimated 3,000 people to enter the country. The migrants were bused to Slovenia, where most were allowed to enter, despite Slovenia’s reluctance to ease its daily quota of 2,500 refugee entrances.
The US wants to create a drone registry. Regulators said consumers will have to register their drones in order to fly them within US airspace. Doing so will require federal agencies to redefine US airspace, since hobbyists could previously fly planes (manned or unmanned) freely up to 600 feet in the air.
Oprah Winfrey bought a chunk of Weight Watchers. The billionaire mogul bought a 10% stake in the weight loss company for $43 million, and will join the company’s board of directors. The Oprah stamp of approval sent the company’s up by 60%.
Morgan Stanley had an ugly quarter. The bank’s net revenues dropped 13% to $7.8 billion due troubled private equity investments in China and the same volatile markets that also punished rivals Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. Shares were down nearly 5%.
Outrage over a migrant killed in Israel. When an Eritrean man sought cover from a mass shooting in the southern city of Beersheba, he was mistaken for the Palestinian assailant and beaten to a death by a mob. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the vigilantes, but many blame his government’s policies for the killing.
Quartz obsession interlude
Mike Murphy on how Google has been logging your voice records—and how to delete them. “In recent months, I’ve apparently asked Google where I can eat nearby, how to take a screenshot on the OnePlus Two, what a Trap Queen is, what the Perseids are, and to play a Linkin Park song. It’s all there—my dumb voice asking dumb questions that I thought were lost into the ephemerality of Google’s search servers.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Yahoo is losing executives, but that’s not the big problem. Marissa Mayer’s turnaround effort is not driving much growth.
Breastfeeding is overrated. Advocates are crossing the line, especially since the benefits are modest.
Cultural appropriation is not racist. The exchange of ideas and styles is a tenet of a modern society.
Donald Trump is great at quitting. Despite his promise to stay in the White House race, he has a knack for anticipating a decline.
When you’re making pesto, hold the pine nuts. They are destroying an ecosystem in Russia’s far east.
Surprising discoveries
Our brains think corporations are people. The same neural systems are used to understand corporate and human behavior.
Chicago police “disappeared” 7,000 people, most of them black. They were subjected to brutal off-the-books interrogations.
The first earthlings in space had six legs. The heroic American fruit flies were launched 68 miles into the sky on a captured Nazi rocket.
Deutsche Bank sent $6 billion to a US hedge fund by mistake. The “fat finger” error happened when the boss was on vacation.
WestJet will have a “Frozen”-themed plane. “Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky.”
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, pine nut-free pesto, and fruit fly astronauts to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.