Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Snap and Blue Apron report earnings. Investors are bracing for big swings (paywall) from the two companies, which are struggling in the face of steep competition from Facebook and Amazon, respectively. Snap’s stock hit a record low last week, and meal-kit startup Blue Apron has also seen sharp declines since its IPO.
China summons bigwigs to talk steel. Regulators and steel executives will meet to discuss the industry’s sharp declines in production, due in part to pollution fears, which have sent global prices surging.
EU observers weigh in on Kenya’s election. A group of 130 monitors will report on the fairness of the Aug. 8 vote. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has protested incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta’s claim of victory, arguing the results were hacked.
While you were sleeping
North Korea revealed more details about its plans to launch missiles toward Guam. Getting unusually specific, it said that under the plan (paywall) four of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles would fly over Japan before hitting the ocean about 19 to 25 miles from Guam, which has a large US military presence. That would be the closest its missiles have come to a US territory.
Facebook revamped its video offering. The company announced a TV-like rival to YouTube and Netflix, calling it Watch. The feature will let users more easily discover videos from outside their feed and follow shows. For now only select producers can broadcast shows—the first appear to be mostly reality TV numbers—but eventually it will be open to anyone, the company said.
The US hit Venezuela with more sanctions. The Trump administration froze the assets of eight Venezuelans, seven of whom are government officials, to raise pressure on president Nicolas Maduro’s regime. US sanctions have deepened the nation’s economic turmoil, although they’ve stopped short of banning Venezuelan oil imports.
Tesla announced plans for self-driving semi-trucks. The carmaker will test autonomous, electric semi-trucks in Nevada next month. The long-haul model will be able to move in truck “platoons” and marks Tesla’s first foray into commercial transport.
Japan reported an unexpected drop in core machinery orders. In June the orders fell for a third consecutive month, decreasing 1.9% from May despite a forecasted increase of 3.7%. They were also down for the second quarter in a row for the first time since 2012. The numbers showed a reluctance by companies to spend and conflicted with signs that the economy is gathering momentum.
Quartz obsession interlude
The Quartz finance team looks back a decade, when people were blithely unworried about impending financial doom. “It’s more likely the economy is sturdy and will grow solidly in coming months, and perhaps years,” said Bear Stearns’ then chief economist David Malpass.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Sub-prime, black swans, TARP: / All words we’ve gained. Those we’ve lost: / Bear Stearns and Lehman
Matters of debate
The secret to happiness at work is caring less. That frees us up to care more about things that matter more.
Greedy drug makers deserve public shaming. In an era of sharply rising costs, there’s no excuse for thwarting generics.
The debt-ceiling crisis is real. Hitting it this fall as the US is poised to would eradicate any future constraints (paywall) on congressional responsibility to the national debt.
Surprising discoveries
Economists have put a price on living without pain. The estimate of $56 to $145 a day could help governments decide how much to spend on health care.
Commuting to Silicon Valley on a private jet is cheaper than opening an office there. A Houston-based intellectual-property firm has gained several new clients that way.
The Thai navy is giving monkeys vasectomies. The marauders have been stealing food and wreaking havoc at the country’s largest base (paywall).
Donald Trump gets a folder of positive press twice a day. It contains admiring tweets and images of Trump on TV looking powerful.
The world’s shortest scheduled flight takes 90 seconds. It’s between two Scottish islands.
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