Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump, Moon Jae-in, and Shinzo Abe meet. The US, South Korean, and Japanese leaders will convene on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program (paywall). The trilateral meeting follows Trump’s bombastic remarks on Wednesday about “utterly destroying” North Korea.
The South African Reserve Bank could cut rates again. Analysts expect the country’s central bank to slash interest rates for the second time this year to stimulate the economy. It has suffered from plunging foreign investment and political turmoil, and has only just exited a recession in the second-quarter.
Ryanair’s fraught AGM. Buckle up for a fight between feisty CEO Michael O’Leary and his shareholders in Dublin today, after a recent vacation-scheduling mixup at Europe’s biggest airline led to the cancellation of thousands of flights—and potentially €20 million ($23 million) in compensation payouts.
While you were sleeping
HTC and Google struck a deal. The Alphabet unit will pay $1.1 billion to acquire the people who worked on HTC’s flagship Pixel smartphone and enter a non-exclusive licensing agreement for HTC’s intellectual property. This allows the Taiwanese company to focus on its VR business, while acquiring hardware helps Google push its software offerings.
The SEC was hacked. The federal securities regulators said late Wednesday that its massive electronic database (Edgar) which holds thousands of filings made by financial firms and public companies (paywall) was breached last year. The SEC only realized the possibility of illicit trading in August this year.
South Korea earmarked $8 million in aid for North Korea. Humanity trumps politics, minister Cho Myoung-gyon said, noting that aid should be “separated from political consideration.” South Korea’s aid will go through agencies like Unicef, which today said North Korea children are suffering from chronic malnutrition.
The US and Iran held tense talks at the UN. US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif met member nations of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The EU said it is committed to upholding the deal, but Tillerson said that Iran still poses a “serious threat” to the region, and that Trump hasn’t shared his decision yet with anyone.
The Bank of Japan left policy unchanged. Inflation remains below its 2% target even as the economy shows continuing signs of growth. Japan’s economy has expanded for six consecutive quarters, the longest streak since 2006.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lila MacLellan on the science behind the 15 common smart drugs. “Not all drug users are searching for a chemical escape hatch. A newer and increasingly normalized drug culture is all about heightening one’s current relationship to reality—whether at work or school—by boosting the brain’s ability to think under stress, stay alert and productive for long hours, and keep track of large amounts of information.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
India lacks the guts to face its economic crisis. The government has a history of denying the numbers until it’s too late.
Toymakers will ensure that Toys ‘R’ Us survives. Mattel and Hasbro desperately need the company’s 1,600 stores as a counterweight to Amazon.
Companies should get involved in politics. “People should have values,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, and “companies are nothing more than a collection of people.”
Surprising discoveries
Bill Gates regrets Ctrl+Alt+Delete. The Microsoft founder wishes it took just one button to reboot a Windows PC.
A baggage handler in Singapore swapped hundreds of baggage tags. Tay Boon Keh has been charged with 286 counts of mischief.
North Korea owes New York City $156,000 in parking tickets. The country’s diplomatic mission to the UN has been racking up fines since 1990s.
The most popular boys’ name in England is Muhammad. If you include spelling variants, it far surpasses the country’s 6,623 Olivers.
You can buy furniture made of fungus. The designers grow chairs and lamps by blending wood chips with mycelium.
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