Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Venezuela’s opposition protests the country’s new assembly. The demonstration coincides with the inauguration of new legislators, picked in a lopsided election to rewrite the country’s constitution. Two opposition leaders, taken in pre-dawn raids on Monday night, remain in custody.
The Bank of England mulls its next move. The central bank will give an economic forecast and could signal a likely hike in the first quarter of next year, despite the growth-dampening effects of Brexit.
The US reports on factory goods orders. They fell more than expected in May, but economists expect to see a 2.9% increase for June (pdf).
While you were sleeping
Tesla results were better than expected. The company posted a net loss of just over $400 million, compared to $293.2 million a year earlier, ahead of analyst projections. Revenue more than doubled to $2.79 billion from $1.27 billion, on higher sales of its Model S and Model X vehicles.
Amazon unveiled the location of its first warehouse in Australia. Its massive new fulfillment center will sit just outside of Melbourne, giving struggling brick-and-mortar retailers Down Under even more to worry about. The company said the operation will create hundreds of new jobs.
Qatar Airways abandoned its plans to invest in American Airlines. The airline scrapped an attempt to buy up to 10% of its rival’s shares in the face of stiff opposition from American’s CEO, who called the overture “puzzling at best and concerning at worst.’’ Qatar Airways said the purchase “no longer meets our objectives.”
Square registered a strong quarter. The payments-processing company started by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reported revenue of $552 million, up 26% from a year ago and beating expectations of $536 million. Initially popular with food trucks and other small businesses wanting to accept credit card payments, Square is now gaining traction with larger companies.
Quartz obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on the overblown fears of genetic engineering. “We don’t yet understand the sheer number of genes involved in the creation of traits [such as higher intelligence or greater strength]… even if you think it’s an ethical hazard to use Crispr to provide advantageous mutations, there’s no reason to worry right now; those ‘designer babies’ are decades away.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Mastery beats creativity every time. To solve problems with the best of them, we need to work on becoming not just artists, but experts.
Trump wouldn’t need a trade war if he’d stayed in the TPP. The trade deal would’ve forced China to crack down on IP violations and moderate its tariffs.
Venezuela’s economic crisis is unprecedented. It dwarfs anything in US, Western European, or Latin American history.
Surprising discoveries
Nature is reclaiming Fukushima. Six years after the nuclear reactor disaster, a photographer found a sea of green.
Switzerland has $750 billion burning a hole in its pockets. The country isn’t sure where it should invest its massive foreign reserves (paywall).
Climate change may be causing Indian suicides. A new study argues that nearly 60,000 farmers took their own lives because of environmental degradation.
Queen Elizabeth II has an impressive cocktail schedule. The 91-year-old British monarch consumes four cocktails a day—three of them before 1pm.
A Japanese chef accidentally created melt-proof popsicles. “Kanazawa Ice” uses strawberry extract to remain solid, even at 28℃ (80℉).
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