Good Morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Bank of England’s new boss. Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will take over as head of the BoE, where he will take measures to improve transparency, such as issuing forward guidance on interest rates.
Egypt after the storm. After millions of protesters called for President Mohamed Morsi’s resignation and ransacked the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood over the weekend, Egyptians are searching for someone or something to break the country’s political stalemate.
Transit strike in San Francisco. Two of Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) largest unions went on strike, ensuring a chaotic Monday morning commute.
Manufacturing data: An Institute for Supply Management report is expected to show that US factory activity expanded in June after a surprise contraction in May. Manufacturing output for Brazil, the euro zone, France and Germany are also due.
Snowden’s blunder? NSA leaker Edward Snowden might have been better off in Hong Kong. Wikileaks’ Julian Assange said Snowden is “marooned” in Moscow without proper travel documents, and Ecuador President Rafael Correa said Snowden is “in the care of the Russian authorities,” and downplayed the chances of asylum in Ecuador.
Over the weekend
NSA accused of spying on the EU. Snowden may be marooned, but the leaks keep coming: German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the US bugged EU offices in Washington and carried out cyber attacks against EU agencies. EU leaders have demanded that the US come clean on the allegations.
China cools off. China’s official manufacturing index showed the sector expanded at the slowest rate in four months, and the unofficial HSBC PMI index showed slipping into contraction. Over the weekend, President Xi Jinping said that Communist party officials would no longer be evaluated solely on their ability to boost GDP.
Hopeful in Japan. Manufacturers turned optimistic for the first time since September 2011 on the strength of Abenomics, despite market volatility. In South Korea, manufacturing, exports, and imports all fell in June.
European recession update. The euro zone unemployment rate ticked up to 12.1% in June and Markit’s Eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a 16-month high of 48.8. UK Markit PMI rose to 52.5, the highest level in two years.
Nokia buys out Siemens. A 50-50 telecommunications equipment joint venture will come to an end, with Nokia paying Siemens €1.7 billion ($2.21 billion) for its stake.
Obama in Africa. President Obama announced $7 billion in aid to help combat frequent blackouts in sub-Saharan Africa. The US president also met with Nelson Mandela’s family and visited the prison where Mandela was jailed.
China tightened security in Xingjiang. China sent paramilitary forces into the streets and ordered 24-hour security patrols in the western province after 35 people died in sectarian violence earlier in the week.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on Russia’s options now that it has won the long battle of pipeline politics. “Russia has won a big round in an almost two-decade battle with the West over the flow of natural gas from the Caspian Sea. But the June 28 victory is a mixed one for Moscow, for it helps undermine the rationale for another Russian project—one that has been a key weapon in the country’s fight for energy dominance.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The miniseries is the future of television. Bite-sized chunks are easier to chew.
The US is wary of using cyber-weapons. Successful American attacks could make the US a bigger target.
Social media between coworkers can make communications more efficient and transparent.
Good luck vetting Syrian rebels. There are simply too many groups, too little information, and too much bad blood.
Surprising discoveries
The US military is cancelling some July 4th fireworks shows. Some rockets are just too expensive.
Worried about NSA surveillance? Try this stealth clothing fashion line, which masks your thermal signature from drones.
Neglecting your elderly parents is against the law in China. But there’s no penalty specified other than parental guilt.
Why healthy people buy unhealthy food. Options like salads on a menu give people permission to get the french fries.
Taking money laundering too literally. A scheme in Costa Rica used 10 million bars of soap to hide illicit payments.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, favorite miniseries and stealth clothing designs to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day.