Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
France celebrates Bastille Day. This year’s military parade, which marks the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into WWI, will be led by US troops for the first time. US president Donald Trump’s attendance follows an amiable meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where Trump hinted at a possible renegotiation of the Paris climate accord.
China takes a bird’s-eye view of its financial system. Chinese leaders convene in Beijing for the National Financial Work Conference, held every five years, to consider ways to improve the country’s complex financial system. On the agenda this year: handing regulation responsibilities over to China’s central bank.
The US reviews June economic activity. The commerce department releases June retail sales data—the struggling sector (paywall) is expected to grow only 0.1% after a 0.3% drop in May. Also due: inflation data and industrial production figures.
While you were sleeping
Honda recalled 1.2 million vehicles. Engine compartments in Accords from the 2013 to 2016 model years can catch fire, the company said. The problem has cropped up in US states where winter roads are cleaned with salt, which corrodes and possibly shorts out inadequately sealed battery terminals. The recall follows Honda’s confirmation this week of the 11th customer death in the US tied to faulty Takata airbags.
EasyJet made post-Brexit plans. The low-cost carrier will set up an Austria-based airline, called EasyJet Europe, to allow it to keep running flights (paywall) across the continent whatever the outcome of Britain’s future aviation agreement with the EU.
China rebuffed international calls to free Liu Xiaobo’s widow. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China had made every effort to treat her husband, Nobel laureate Liu, who was in custody since 2008 and died from cancer aged 61 yesterday. His wife Liu Xia has been under house arrest for the past seven years. Chinese censors were scrubbing or blocking mentions of Liu’s name, RIP, candles, and other tributes on social media Friday.
A judge in Hawaii loosened Trump’s travel ban. Federal judge Derrick Watson ordered the administration to allow grandparents and other relatives of people already in the US to be allowed to enter the country. The Supreme Court approved Trump’s controversial ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries in June, pending their full judgement.
Arconic was sued in the US over the London tower fire. A shareholder of the Pittsburgh-based company that supplied the flammable cladding panels on Grenfell Tower in London—which went up in flames last month, killing at least 80 people—filed a class-action suit in the Manhattan district court accusing Arconic of failing to disclose it was using the cladding and causing losses for its shareholders.
Gunmen opened fire at a holy site in Jerusalem. The three attackers who opened fire on policemen at the Temple Mount were shot dead and three Israelis were injured. Friday prayers were cancelled for the first time in 17 years after the attack. Reports in the Israeli media suggested the attackers were Israeli Arabs, but that has not been confirmed by police.
Quartz obsession interlude
Oliver Staley on “chiefiness” taking over the corporate world. “As the proliferation of chiefs spreads, the title has become less a position of authority, and more a reflection of a company’s current culture. To stress its pizzas are made with fresh ingredients, Papa John’s promoted a senior vice president to chief ingredient officer. Mars, the candy and food company, is making a push toward sustainability, so it named a chief agricultural officer.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Universal basic income is bad for everyone except billionaires. It helps Silicon Valley sleep better, while compounding social inequality.
Nobody really believes in free-market health care. If they did, they’d be willing to forego saving some patients (paywall).
There’s a right and wrong kind of popularity. Likability, not status, is a more meaningful trait for people to pursue.
Surprising discoveries
Our perception of time is warped by the number of important events we remember. That’s why the Trump presidency already feels like a lifetime.
A Chicago library is seeking a witch translator. Volunteers are needed to help make sense of a mysterious 17th-century book of charms.
Some narcoleptics hallucinate their own death. A lesser-known aspect of the sleep disorder prevents sufferers from distinguishing between dreams and reality.
People miss almost 10% of their faces when they apply sunscreen. UV photos reveal that they’re especially lax around their eyes.
A Google search helped the US SEC nab an insider trader. He was allegedly looking for tips on “how sec detect unusual trade.”
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