Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Bank of England mulls its next move. The central bank will update its economic forecast and could signal a rate hike in the first quarter of next year, despite the growth-sapping effects of Brexit.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner results. Kraft, Kellogg’s, and Yum! Brands all report quarterly earnings today. Positive results are expected from Yum, which owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, based on its efforts to streamline operations. Analysts think Kraft will meet expectations despite getting squeezed in the Amazon-Walmart price war. Kellogg’s is expected to deliver slightly soggy results as healthier eating trends hurt sales.
The US reports on factory orders. This crucial gauge of manufacturing activity dropped by more than expected in May, but economists expect a recovery in June (pdf).
While you were sleeping
Britain’s top CEOs earned less. The average salaries for FTSE 100 chiefs dropped by 17% in the 2016 financial year—dragged down primarily by WPP boss Martin Sorrell, whose pay fell from £70 million ($92 million) to a mere £48 million. Weep not for their loss: they still earn 160 times the average Brit’s pay. By comparison, CEOs of the top 350 US companies (paywall) made an average of $15.6 million in 2016, 271 times what average Americans earn.
Brazil’s president dodged a corruption trial. After a rowdy session, where lawmakers shoved each other and threw banknotes at rivals, congress voted to not put Michel Temer on trial on bribery accusations. The BBC’s Julia Carneiro in Rio noted that you know something serious is happening in Brazil when a prime soap opera is cancelled to broadcast a live feed of legislators instead.
What diesel drama? BMW revved ahead. The luxury carmaker sold over 630,000 cars in the second quarter and profit soared by almost 10% (paywall). Waning US and Europe sales were offset by a rise in demand for Beamers in China. Investors still worry, however, about BMW’s role in the ongoing diesel-emissions scandal and the massive recall it agreed to yesterday.
Amazon unveiled the location of its first warehouse in Australia. Its spacious 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.
Americans can’t get enough of Adidas. The German sportswear company said its sales surge in the second quarter was driven by American and Chinese consumers. North American sales rose by nearly 30%, meaning Adidas is gaining on rival Nike, which reported flat sales in its latest quarter.
Tesla lost less money than expected. The company posted a net loss of just over $400 million, compared to around $290 million a year earlier, beating analysts’ gloomier projections. Revenue more than doubled, to $2.8 billion, on higher sales of its Model S and Model X vehicles.
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 experts.
Trump wouldn’t need a trade war if he’d stayed in the TPP. The trade deal would have 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 pocket. The country isn’t sure where to 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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