Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China cuts off North Korean imports. Responding to US pressure, Beijing will implement a ban on several key North Korean products including coal, iron ore, and seafood as it complies with UN sanctions announced earlier this month.
The US releases retail data. Economists predict a small increase (paywall) in July’s retail sales figures, a measure that has been volatile in recent months. Home Depot, one of the sturdiest retailers in America, will also report results after department stores posted a string of lackluster earnings (paywall) last week.
New York City braces for Donald Trump. The US president is returning home to Trump Tower for three days after his working vacation in New Jersey. The trip marks his first overnight stay in the city as president and traffic-snarling protests are expected.
While you were sleeping
North Korea may have bought black market missiles from Ukraine. New intel points to the Yuzhmash missile factory in Dnipro, Ukraine as the likely source for North Korea’s newly improved ICBM (paywall) technology. The factory has ties to Russia, building missiles from the Cold War until the invasion of Crimea.
Donald Trump finally denounced neo-Nazis. Facing pressure for his failure to comment on an attack that killed a counter-protester at a white supremacist rally over the weekend, the US president told reporters “racism is evil.” That didn’t come promptly enough for Merck CEO Ken Frazier, the only person of color on Trump’s business council, who resigned in protest.
Netflix poached Shonda Rhimes from ABC. The streaming company signed its biggest name yet with Rhimes, whose TV hits (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal”) generated over $2 billion in revenue during her 15-year tenure at ABC. The announcement follows the news that Disney, ABC’s parent company, will pull content from Netflix and launch a streaming service in 2019.
The US launched an investigation into China’s IP practices… Trump authorized a probe into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property from US businesses (paywall)—a “jab, not punch” approach as Trump attempts to fulfill his campaign promises on trade without alienating Beijing during the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program.
… While Fiat Chrysler rejected an acquisition bid from a Chinese automaker. Guangzhou Automobile Group reportedly made the approach, which sent Fiat’s shares up by nearly 9%. Analysts believe the third-largest US automaker will cave to a bid soon, though a Chinese takeover may not play out well with the Trump administration.
Quartz obsession interlude
Olivia Goldhill on why Western philosophy is probably rooted in psychedelics: “In Plato’s Phaedo, the philosopher says he was inspired by the Eleusinian Mysteries, an ancient religious ceremony where participants took kykeon. It’s widely believed (thought cannot be definitively proven) that kykeon was a psychoactive substance.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Wall Street has declared / There won’t be war, after all / Feeling safer now?
Matters of debate
Accountants are ruining the theater. Their increased influence in the world of drama stunts creativity and risk-taking (paywall).
The social media “influencer” is the new exploited intern. The gig offers menial pay and rarely turns into a lucrative career.
Index funds are strangling the global economy. The uber-diversified funds for low-risk investors might actually reduce competition.
Surprising discoveries
Researchers are growing mini-brains in petri dishes. Known as “cerebral organoids” the pea-sized blobs of neural cells could revolutionize our understanding of the brain.
Antarctica is jam-packed with hidden volcanoes. That’s cause for concern since an eruption would mean even more melting of the ice caps.
Women prefer the body odor of men who eat lot of fruits and vegetables. A study found that men who ate more bread and pasta gave off a smell that was less appealing.
The inventor of the Slinky ran off to Bolivia to join a religious cult. His wife took over as president of the Pennsylvania company responsible for one of the most iconic American toys.
Vikings figured out how to freeze-dry fish 1200 years ago. Norwegian cod may have appeared in Germany way earlier than scientists thought.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, mini-brains, and freeze-dried fish to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android.