What to watch for today and over the weekend
A decisive jobs report. Analysts think the US added about 160,000 jobs in May. Any hint of a hiring slowdown could prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates later this month.
Touchy talks over the South China Sea. US defense secretary Ash Carter joins Asian counterparts in Singapore for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue. Beijing is reportedly set to require aircraft in the region to identify themselves to the Chinese military.
Hong Kong commemorates Tiananmen Square. A memorial for the 1989 massacre in Beijing begins at 6pm local time on Saturday. The annual event may expose generational divisions among pro-democracy groups, with younger activists less inclined to seek reforms on the mainland.
While you were sleeping
Paul Ryan endorsed Donald Trump for US president. In a move that consolidated Trump’s backing from Republican congressional leaders, the influential house speaker ended a month-long holdout and formally backed his party’s presumptive presidential nominee.
The US subpoenaed Huawei. Officials are investigating whether the Chinese telecom equipment giant company broke export controls in its transactions with Syria, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Sudan. The company is already barred from doing business in the US, but could still lose its access to critical US suppliers.
Japanese investigators raided Suzuki Motor headquarters. The transport ministry is looking into the minicar maker’s use of improper fuel economy tests. The company said that after the 2008 global financial crisis it lacked the resources to meet regulatory testing standards.
AB InBev and Starbucks joined forces on tea. The giants in beer and coffee, respectively, announced an agreement for the brewer to produce, bottle, and distribute a ready-to-drink line of Starbucks’ Teavana brand tea in the US. Starbucks bought Teavana for $620 million in 2012.
Quartz markets haiku
Jobs Friday up next
The US economy
Is in decent shape
Quartz obsession interlude
Josh Horwitz on startups’ meaningless jargon: “‘Content.’ ‘Platforms.’ ‘Synergy.’ ‘End-to-end’… These words sound technical and informed. But they mean nothing, and they make it difficult for ordinary people to understand what a company actually does. In an effort to either sound smart and attract investors, or to simply dress up an otherwise boring product, startups that rely too much on jargon end up alienating the users they want to attract.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Letting your wife work is dangerous. She might lose her “softness,” Donald Trump warned in a 1994 interview with ABC News.
The right to not be offended hurts free speech—and helps repressive regimes. Western liberals should think twice before insisting offensive words be censored.
China’s tech companies are the future of banking. They’re using their online payment systems to steal business from traditional banks (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
The Kremlin blames condoms for the spread of HIV. The “Russian model” of prevention relies on heterosexual, monogamous relationships.
King Tut’s dagger came from outer space. Scientists confirmed that the iron in his blade is from a meteorite.
The rich get to design their own luxury jail cells. US courts are allowing defendants to arrange the terms (paywall) of their own confinement.
One of the internet’s inventors thinks it should still be capitalized. Vint Cerf has objected to a recent decision by AP to lowercase it.
The number of Americans who’ve had a same-sex experience has doubled since the 1990s. It’s now 8.7% for women and 8.2% for men.
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