Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US and China meet to discuss North Korea. The inaugural session of the US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, which presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping launched after their April summit, will focus on joint efforts to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Toshiba finally sells its chip business. Reuters reports that the struggling conglomerate’s board will vote to accept a bid and announce the result through the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A consortium of Japanese, US, and South Korean firms is thought to have an edge over Broadcom, with offers expected to top $18 billion.
Results are due in a record-setting US congressional election. Polls close at 7pm ET (7am in Hong Kong) after Republicans and Democrats spent a combined $57 million as they vie to fill the seat vacated by US health secretary Tom Price. A win for Democrats could kill Donald Trump’s faltering legislative agenda.
While you were sleeping
Ford said it would import small cars from China, not Mexico. The company plans to build the Ford Focus at an existing plant in Chongqing, rather than build a factory in Mexico that was criticized by Trump. A Ford executive claimed US consumers largely don’t care where their cars are built.
Aston Martin recalled more than 1,600 cars. The luxury British carmaker announced a global recall of its Vantage sport car after complaints, originating in China, of stalling engines and power loss. CEO Andy Palmer blamed mistakes by Chinese dealers following software updates to the cars.
Uber is finally letting its drivers accept tips. The company bowed to pressure as part of a plan to reduce driver turnover and dissatisfaction, rolling tips out to several US cities this week and the rest of the country by the end of July. CEO Travis Kalanick, who long opposed a tipping option, is currently on leave.
The UK charged Barclays with fraud. The troubled British bank and four former executives will face criminal charges over undisclosed payments to Qatar during the financial crisis, when Barclays was raising funds in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.
Chinese stocks got a big boost from MSCI. The US index giant agreed to add mainland “A” shares to its widely tracked emerging markets index. While the stocks will only account for 0.5% of the index, the decision could lead to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of share purchases.
Quartz obsession interlude
Sarah Kessler on the selective roll-out of Facebook’s “Pride” button: “The decision to make pride month reactions more visible in some places than others highlights a common problem for Facebook as it has scaled to nearly 2 billion global active users. In many of the countries where Facebook users said they could not access the pride button feature, such as Egypt and Algeria, homosexual acts are illegal.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
There’s a glut of crude / Bad news for cartels, good news / for your Suburban
Matters of Debate
The “cool tech girl” is a dangerous myth. Casual sexism and toxic bro-culture have created a trope that needs to die.
Brazil may elect its own version of Donald Trump. Jair Bolsonaro is running on a racist, misogynist, and xenophobic platform that is gaining steam with each new controversy.
Index funds aren’t as passive as you think. The proposed exclusion of dual-class companies and recent inclusion of Chinese shares show that “passive” funds make active choices (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Positions of power can rot your mind. CEOs and other leaders show a marked decrease in cognitive abilities linked to empathy.
An ancient Islamic city was discovered under an Ethiopian town. Researchers have found evidence of a giant trading post, including jewelry and massive building stones.
No one knows Nigeria’s true population. Africa’s most populous country hasn’t had a census since 2006, and even that was wildly inaccurate.
Old dads tend to have geeky sons. A survey of 8,000 boys found that older fatherhood was linked with higher IQs and social aloofness.
It’s so hot in Phoenix that planes can’t fly. American was forced to cancel 20 regional flights after the mercury hit 120°F (49℃), above some aircraft’s operational limits.
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