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.
India celebrates its 70th year of independence. The usual pomp and circumstance will mark the event, with prime minister Narendra Modi giving a speech at Delhi’s Red Fort followed by a military parade. Amid a rising tide of Hindu nationalism, Islamic schools in Uttar Pradesh state have been ordered to film their celebrations.
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.
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 (paywall) for North Korea’s newly improved ICBM technology. The factory has ties to Russia, building missiles from the Cold War until the invasion of Crimea.
… But tensions de-escalated on the Korean peninsula, for now. North Korea’s state news agency said leader Kim Jong-un would hold off on any military action against Guam while he waits for signs that the US is willing to “ease tensions.”
Donald Trump finally denounced neo-Nazis… Facing pressure for his failure to comment on the white supremacist rally over the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, the US president told reporters “racism is evil.” Thousands of protestors waited for Trump as he returned to Trump Tower in Manhattan for the first time since his inauguration, but didn’t see him (paywall).
… But it wasn’t enough for some CEOs. Three corporate chiefs quit Trump’s manufacturing council in protest of the president’s handling of Charlottesville, including Merck CEO Ken Frazier, who was the only person of color on the body. The CEOs of Under Amour and Intel also resigned shortly after.
Taylor Swift won a sexual assault case. The singer was awarded $1 in damages in the case against former radio DJ David Mueller, whom Swift alleged groped her at a concert in 2013. Swift said she would donate money to organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.
Quartz obsession interlude
Oliver Staley on how Mars’s secretive nature is becoming a talent problem. ”That secrecy served the company well in the cut-throat world of confectionery… (But it’s) a disadvantage for any company competing against employers in far more glamorous fields such as tech or finance, and an especially big hurdle for Mars as it embarks on the biggest workforce expansion of its 100-year history.” 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).
There’s an art to comparing yourself to others. Doing it the wrong way can wreak psychological havoc, generate envy, and lead to depression.
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 lots 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 1,200 years ago. Norwegian cod may have appeared in Germany way earlier than scientists thought.
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