Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Queen Elizabeth announces the British government’s legislative agenda. This will be the first Queen’s Speech delivered by a minority government since 1978, after prime minister Theresa May called a June 8 snap election that hurt rather than helped her Conservative party in Parliament.
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. Trump doesn’t seem to have much confidence in the meeting, tweeting on Tuesday, that while he appreciated China’s efforts to help with North Korea “it has not worked out.”
The National Association of Realtors shares existing-homes sales data for the US. In April sales fell 2.3% from the previous month. For May, economists expect a 0.4% decline (paywall), with a shortage of properties keeping prices high and buyers sidelined.
While you were sleeping
Travis Kalanick quit as Uber CEO. Five major investors on Tuesday demanded the embattled chief’s resignation (paywall). Kalanick, who has become a liability for Uber, took a leave of absence last week as the ride-hailing giant struggled with a raft of problems, from its sexist workplace culture, to an intellectual-property lawsuit with Waymo, and a federal inquiry into a program designed to deceive law enforcement.
Republicans retained a fiercely contested seat in the US Congress. Karen Handel won the House seat vacated by US health secretary Tom Price. Democrats, sensing voter anger against Donald Trump, had hoped for an upset win in the GOP-leaning district in Atlanta’s suburbs. The two parties combined spent a record $57 million on the contest.
Saudi Arabia’s king ousted his nephew as his successor. King Salman, using a royal decree to upend the established royal succession, named his favorite son Mohammed bin Salman as heir to the throne, rather than his nephew, crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef. Prince Mohammed, still in his early 30s, has played a key role in the country’s efforts to expand the economy beyond oil.
Toshiba picked a bidder for its prized memory-chip unit. It chose a consortium led by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Bain Capital, and the Japanese Development Bank and backed by the Japanese government, which is keen to keep the unit under domestic control. The sale is expected to raise around $20 billion (paywall) if it goes through—Toshiba’s chip partner Western Digital is trying to block the deal.
Chinese stocks got a big boost from MSCI. After rejecting them for three years in a row, the US index giant agreed to add China’s “A” shares to its widely tracked emerging markets index. While the stocks will account for just 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 rollout 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.
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 (paywall) and recent inclusion of Chinese shares show that “passive” funds make active choices (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
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 probably exaggerated.
The neon flying squid is faster than Usain Bolt. It propels itself through the air by expelling water and using its fins as sails.
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 Airlines was forced to cancel 20 regional flights after the mercury hit 120°F (49℃), above the operational limits of some aircraft.
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