Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Theresa May visits Japan. The UK prime minister will meet her counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo to talk trade and defense ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU. May’s visit is preceded by North Korea’s first missile launch toward the island nation, which she branded an act of “reckless provocation.”
Germany measures inflation. The EU’s largest economy enjoys steady growth and low unemployment (paywall); inflation figures are expected to stay below the ECB’s 2% target. Chancellor Angela Merkel also meets today with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss concerns over Poland’s judiciary.
The US checks in on GDP. Economists expect a revised second-quarter growth rate to tick up to 2.9% from an initial estimate of 2.6% (paywall) after July delivered promising figures in retail and durable goods. The US is in its ninth year of economic expansion.
While you were sleeping
Harvey continued to batter Texas… More than a dozen people are estimated to have died and rescue efforts continue as the tropical storm lashed the state with record rainfall and flooding (paywall). The storm triggered several oil refinery outages, taking a chunk of US refining capacity offline.
…while Trump showed his support. Trump praised rescue efforts by local and federal agencies during a visit to the small Texas town of Corpus Christi. Trump also revived his spat with North Korea ahead of the visit to Texas, calling its recent ballistic missile launch a sign of its “contempt” for its neighbors.
Mumbai prepared for more monsoon rains. Three days of nonstop heavy rainfall has left at least three dead and forced schools and briefly, the airport, to close. Officials urged people to stay home as the city struggles to deal with the worst deluge of rain in more than a decade.
Best Buy tumbled. The nation’s largest electronics retailer saw its worst decline in over a year after CEO Hubert Joly warned that recent sales gains were likely temporary. Best Buy has been sustained by a demand for gadgets and home devices, but Joly’s comments revived investor concerns over the threat posed by Amazon.
Google bowed to the EU on antitrust. The tech titan submitted an outline of how it plans to ensure the search engine does not demote rival shopping services. The Alphabet-owned company was hit by the EU with a €2.4 billion ($2.9 billion) fine over the practice in June.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ana Campoy and David Yanofsky on lessons from Houston’s flooding. “The city, the largest in the US with no zoning laws, is a case study in limiting government regulations and favoring growth—often at the expense of the environment. As water swamps many of its neighborhoods, it’s now also a cautionary tale of sidelining science and plain common sense.” Read more.
Matters of debate
Heart of Darkness is not a guidebook to the Congo. Contemporary writers fall short when they insist on referencing the outdated 100-year-old novella in their experiences of today’s DRC.
There’s not a lot of glory at the top of the career ladder. Getting less credit while having to care more can be uncomfortable for a lot of top performers.
Amazon isn’t the all-consuming vortex it’s made out to be. There are still plenty of dollars in the retail sector for the e-commerce giant’s competitors to claim.
Surprising discoveries
Cheerios tried to trademark the color yellow. A US trademark court office denied the cereal brand’s campaign to exclusively claim the bright color used in its packaging.
Late-night snacking increases your risk of sunburn. Eating at weird times may disrupt your skin’s biological clock, leaving it more susceptible to skin damage.
Carrying a plastic bag in Kenya could land you in jail. A new law punishes anyone using or making a plastic bag with a fine of up to $38,000 or four years in jail.
Buddhists can hire a robot to perform their last rites. SoftBank’s “Pepper” robot, embedded with chanting software, is available as a funeral priest in Japan.
The next wave of emojis will be inspired by selfies. The Polygram app uses AI and the iPhone’s graphics processing unit to translate facial expressions into emojis.
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