What to watch for today
What will Apple cook up? Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off in San Francisco. The company is expected to unveil iOS 7, a redesigned version of its mobile operating system. It may also announce a new music streaming service, dubbed “iRadio” by Apple watchers.
Her Majesty’s spies. The UK foreign secretary will make a statement to parliament about reports that the GCHQ intelligence service used its access to the US National Security Agency’s PRISM program to spy on British citizens.
A peek at Lulu’s bottom line. Lululemon Athletica announces quarterly earnings and investors will get to find out just how much the sheer yoga pants recall sheared off its profits.
More takers for burgers? McDonalds releases its May sales report. Falling sales over the last couple of months forced the company to start courting late night diners with an expanded breakfast menu.
Over the weekend
China’s growth engines sputtered. Industrial production rose 9.2% year-over-year in May, down marginally from the 9.3% increase in April, and the slowest rate since last September. Exports grew just 1% y-o-y in May, as against 14.7% in April, after a crackdown on fake trade invoices. That showed that China’s GDP growth is even worse than initially thought. At least inflation wasn’t too high.
Cyber-espionage deal remained elusive. The US and China are no closer to an agreement on cybersecurity after two days of informal talks between presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. The “shirt-sleeves” summit did deliver results on other fronts: The two countries pledged to work together to fight climate change and rein in North Korea.
And the whistleblower is… The Guardian revealed that the source for its spectacular leaks about NSA digital eavesdropping was a 29-year old computer security contractor. Meanwhile US lawmakers have called for swift measures to protect civil liberties. Some are even threatening to sue the NSA.
Hollande in la-la land? Much of Europe is suffering from recession and high unemployment, but French President François Hollande has declared that the “crisis in Europe is over.” And he believes it will strengthen the euro zone. Is Hollande still jet-lagged?
Merkel cracked the whip. German chancellor Angela Merkel, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t think the worst is over for Europe. Merkel asked European nations to follow Germany’s lead in tightening budgets and improving competitiveness to return to growth.
Nadal smashed a record. Rafael Nadal overpowered his Spanish compatriot David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, to win his record 8th French Open tennis title. And an on-court intruder brandishing a flare sparked a security scare.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on why fixing the world’s busiest border crossing could save the US billions. ”When the US economy is stronger than Mexico’s, unauthorized immigration goes up as more immigrants seek work across the border. A logical way to keep Mexicans from illegally crossing the border for American jobs, then, would be to boost job creation in Mexico. And a good way to do that is to speed up cross-border trade between Mexico and the US.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Robots will steal the jobs of the future. It’s time to future-proof the middle class.
Spain and Italy are struggling. But the CEOs have it good.
Why do most US-based internet giants fail in China? It’s not that complicated.
Anonymous feedback is a powerful management tool. Use it wisely.
Do web developers deserve the money and respect they get? An insider’s perspective.
When racism threatens the beautiful game. The Italian experience.
Surprising discoveries
Guess who banned Google Glass from its shareholder meeting. Google!
Still living with your parents? You are in good company.
The price of a Chinese bride: up to $24,000. And don’t forget the jewellery, livestock and “luck cakes.”
Your Wi-Fi is watching you. Soon it will let you control household devices by waving your hands.
The immortality business. Death may soon be temporary.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, euro-zone delusions and bad Lululemon jokes to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day.