What to watch for today
Myanmar’s parliament selects a president. Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is banned from serving as head of state under a restrictive constitution written by the former military junta. Instead, her longtime confidant Htin Kyaw is likely to be confirmed; Suu Kyi has said she will “serve above” the president.
The US Federal Reserve starts its two-day meeting. The Fed is under pressure to nurture the economy’s fragile gains, so no interest rate hike is expected. But investors will read the tea leaves for clues about future increases.
Oracle reports its latest quarterly figures. The tech giant is expected to post revenue slightly below Wall Street’s estimates due to falling sales of licensed software and a strong US dollar. Valeant Pharmaceuticals will also share its latest quarterly results.
While you were sleeping
Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to start withdrawing from Syria. The surprise move comes as Syria resumes UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva with anti-government rebel groups. It suggests that the Russian intervention has turned the tide in Bashar al-Assad’s favor.
Institutional investors filed a $3.6 billion lawsuit over Volkswagen’s emissions scandal. Nearly 300 large investors, including the US pension fund Calpers and German insurance companies, are suing VW for breaching its obligations to capital markets.
Sony bought Michael Jackson’s stake in a music publisher for $750 million. The late pop star’s estate had a 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Sony will consolidate its control of a catalog that includes nearly four million songs as industry revenues increasingly shift to subscription services like Spotify.
Bangladesh’s central bank governor offered to resign. The move by Atiur Rahman comes amid rising tensions over hackers stealing about $100 million from the nation’s foreign reserves.
Quartz market haiku
All the little dots
Don’t paint much of a picture
Quartz obsession interlude
Madeline E. Heilman on why women get less credit in the workplace. “In study after study, we have found that female as well as male evaluators attribute less credit to women than men for teamwork. Women, along with men, devalue the contributions of other women.” Read more.
Matters of debate
Populist fears about China’s economic prowess are misplaced. Manufacturing jobs in the US are actually on the rise.
Donald Trump has unleashed fearsome forces. Violence between protesters and Trump supporters is likely to increase in the months ahead.
Economics needs a woman’s touch. Ignoring the social norms that drive economic decisions isn’t just sexist—it’s inaccurate.
Surprising discoveries
Ducks are getting less bread. A campaign to feed them seeds and veggies instead appears to be working.
Americans are buying more legal pot than Girl Scout cookies. The weed industry is becoming a serious economic engine.
Amazon hires more MBAs than any other tech company. Business school graduates aren’t turned off by its hard-driving culture.
The secret to happiness in Swedish workplaces is fika. Some of the least stressed-out people in the world leave the office for coffee two or three times a day.
T. rex brains came before brawn. The fearsome dinosaur started out small and evolved its intelligence before its size.
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