What to watch for today and over the weekend
SpaceX launches a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. It will carry supplies, fungi and live mice (for experiments), and materials for growing veggies. Also on board: an expandable habitat that will become five times larger than its compressed size in about 45 minutes.
Pope Francis releases a major document on family issues. “Amoris Laetitia,” Latin for “The Joy of Love,” could have a significant impact on thorny issues in the Catholic Church, including divorce and same-sex relationships. It’s the culmination of Francis’s sweeping examination of how the Church meets the needs of families in the 21st century.
Brazil reports inflation figures for March. Analysts think price increases slowed significantly in March, blunted by interest rate hikes and a steep recession. The consensus expectation is 9.42%, from 10.36% in February.
Occupy leaders launch a new political party in Hong Kong. Joshua Wong and his fellow activists will on Sunday unveil Demosisto (meaning “stand for democracy”), which plans to field candidates in legislative elections later this year. The group says the semi-autonomous city must be autonomous under Beijing’s sovereignty.
While you were sleeping
Verizon and maybe even Google are reportedly pursuing Yahoo. The US telecom giant will submit a bid as soon as next week; Google’s parent Alphabet is also considering an offer along with Time Inc., Bain, and TPG, sources told Bloomberg. AT&T, Comcast, and Microsoft have dropped out.
Japan reported its biggest current-account surplus since March 2015. More foreign tourists, cheaper energy imports, and higher income from investments abroad by Japanese companies all contributed to the February surplus, which was the 20th in a row and at $22.4 billion beat most forecasts.
Uber settled a lawsuit over safety. The ride-hailing giant will pay at least $10 million to resolve accusations that it oversold the safety of its rides. As part of the deal with California prosecutors, it must not market itself as the “safest ride on the road,” or call its background checks “the gold standard.”
Jack Ma tried to stem departures at the South China Morning Post. Now officially the Hong Kong paper’s owner, the Alibaba founder offered one-time cash gifts to keep journalists from leaving. Some key individuals resigned anyway.
Quartz markets haiku
Caught in a great storm,
Travelers seeking safety
Worst day in six weeks
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on the end of globalization as we know it. “The evidence is everywhere. It’s in Donald J. Trump’s ugly comments about Mexican immigrants and his promises to build an impregnable wall between the US and its southern neighbor. It’s manifest in the complaints about an influx of eastern Europeans in the the UK, now fueling the push for Brexit.” Read more.
Matters of debate
Stop worshipping central bankers. Policymakers like Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi have very little power relative to the attention we pay them.
Roads aren’t ready for self-driving cars. Cities need to be totally redesigned for a driverless future.
The Panama Papers prove that the US can afford a universal basic income. Tax evasion is standing in the way.
Surprising discoveries
Mexico is deploying a dream team for Trump damage control. The Republican presidential candidate has become a real threat to US-Mexico relations.
It’s finally legal for unmarried couples to cohabitate in Florida. A rarely enforced 148-year-old law banned them from living together.
Ivanka Trump is feeling the burn. Her line of fashion scarves has been recalled because they are extremely flammable.
You might be missing important messages on Facebook. The Messenger app has a hidden second inbox that tries to screen out spam.
There’s a way to make Teslas affordable and obtainable. Just order the Lego version.
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