Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Fed gives a major policy statement. The US central bank is expected to announce plans to begin unwinding its $4.5 trillion debt portfolio, created in the wake of the financial crisis. The Bank of Japan will also kick off a two-day monetary policy meeting.
World leaders discuss Iran’s nuclear accord. Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the US will revisit the disarmament deal (paywall) negotiated with Tehran in 2015. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has said the US will pay a “high cost” if Donald Trump follows through with his threats to scrap the pact.
Hurricane Maria extends its rampage through the Caribbean. The category 5 storm is set to hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea. The US president mocked Kim Jong-un as a “rocket man” on “a suicide mission” in a bellicose speech to the UN general assembly. Trump also heralded US sovereignty (21 times) and targeted the Iranian and Venezuelan governments.
A powerful earthquake hit Mexico City. The 7.1 quake’s epicenter was only 100 miles south (paywall) of the sprawling metropolis, killing at least 42 people and causing massive structural damage. It hit only hours after people practiced evacuation drills to mark the anniversary of a deadly earthquake that destroyed the city in 1985.
Dominica was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The storm caused “mind boggling” damage to the Caribbean island according to prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who live-blogged the destruction on Facebook even as the roof was ripped off his house. The strongest storm ever to hit Dominica left at least one person dead and 80,000 without power.
US defense contractors made demands in India. Lockheed Martin and Boeing, bidding to make combat jets for New Delhi, told the government they would move production lines to India, but only if they could maintain control of proprietary technology. Narendra Modi’s government wants foreign bidders to transfer technological know-how.
T-Mobile and Sprint resumed merger talks. CNBC reported that the third- and fourth-largest US mobile carriers are back at the negotiating table, discussing a potential deal that would leave Sprint owner SoftBank as a minority shareholder in the combined company. An earlier merger was abandoned due to US antitrust concerns.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jessanne Collins on the chemical company that convinced the world to wear plastic: “For better and for worse, perhaps no material has done more to reshape everyday fashion in the past century. Today it’s the most-produced fabric in the world, but polyester‘s rise to stretchy, wrinkle-free domination wasn’t always so assured.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
No fear to be found / Quietest market in years / What could go wrong now?
Matters of debate
We have the wrong ideas about political violence. Non-violent political resistance is not as tactically successful as the history books suggest.
Team-building exercises create toxic companies. They create in-groups and out-groups that can lead to an exclusive workplace culture.
US teens are delaying sex and booze. 18 is the new 15 for adolescents, due to smaller families and more parental attention.
Surprising discoveries
Beyoncé fans got a punk rock surprise on the vinyl version of “Lemonade.” A printing error resulted in one side filled with songs from the Canadian punk band Zex.
China’s police force shut down a sex doll rental service. The company “sincerely apologized” after a public outcry.
Scientists used CRISPR to change the color of butterfly wings. The gene-editing technique confirmed the existence of “paintbrush genes.”
Some dinosaurs laid blue eggs. Most birds, lizards, and mammals have all-white eggs; colored eggs suggests the dino nests were exposed.
Netflix wrote the coolest cease-and-desist letter of all time. Lawyers told an unauthorized “Stranger Things” bar that they weren’t “total wastoids” before threatening to call their mothers.
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