Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
North Korea’s foreign minister delivers a keynote to the UN general assembly. Ri Yong-ho, considered a go-to expert on the US and disarmament issues in his country, called Donald Trump’s incendiary maiden speech at the UN earlier in the week a “dog’s bark.”
Angela Merkel looks for a fourth term as German chancellor. With her party enjoying a healthy lead over nearest rival the Social Democrats, Merkel is almost guaranteed to win Sunday’s election. The real contest might be among the smaller parties, which are almost neck-and-neck—whoever comes third gets to take part in the Christian Democrats-led coalition.
New Zealand elects a new prime minister. Rising star Jacinda Ardern, the newly anointed leader of the opposition Labour party, faces off against current leader Bill English’s Nationals in elections on Saturday. Key issues include immigration, house prices, and the environment.
Controversial French labor reforms are introduced. President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to improve the country’s competitiveness and lower unemployment is expected to soon become law after he introduces them to the cabinet today. Unions protested across France yesterday against the measures, though the turnout has been weakening.
Theresa May gives a big Brexit speech in Florence, Italy. Ahead of the fourth round of UK-EU talks on Monday, the UK prime minister is expected to offer a €20 billion ($24 billion) payment to the EU in exchange for access to the bloc’s single market.
While you were sleeping
“Rocket Man” hit back at Trump. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the US president a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard,” though “old beast lunatic” is another translation for the Korean term he used. Name-calling aside, hostility between the two countries escalated further after Trump slapped new sanctions on Pyongyang, and North Korea said an H-bomb test in the Pacific was a possibility.
Steve Bannon made a secret trip to Beijing last week. The former White House advisor met with Wang Qishan, the Communist Party’s second-most powerful official, after a trip to Hong Kong, the Financial Times reported (paywall). The meeting was reportedly instigated by Beijing, which wanted to hear more about Bannon’s views on economic nationalism and populism.
China said S&P’s downgrade of its credit rating was a “wrong decision.” The Chinese finance ministry said that Thursday’s credit downgrade failed to properly understand the country’s economic fundamentals, and that China can appropriately control its credit growth. S&P cut China’s long-term sovereign rating a notch from AA- to A+, and today also cut Hong Kong’s from AAA to A+, citing spillover risks to the city as China deleverages its debt.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise plans to cut about 10% of its staff. The job cuts, amounting to about 5,000 people, will take place before the end of the year, Bloomberg reported. CEO Meg Whitman flagged earlier that she wanted to make the company “simpler, nimbler, and faster.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Echo Huang on the abandoned Tibetan mastiffs roaming China. “The craze for the furry dogs rose and fell with the Chinese economy’s trajectory. Around a decade ago, when China’s economy was rapidly growing, owning a Tibetan mastiff was a symbol of stature and wealth… In 2009, a woman in Xian bought a Tibetan mastiff for 4 million yuan, and welcomed the dog’s delivery with a 30-car motorcade at the airport.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Apple sell-off scare / after all-time market highs. / Tech leads the tumble
Matters of debate
America needs Amazon more than vice versa. The competition is fierce to woo the company’s second HQ.
2017 is full of jerks. A Stanford professor points to technology and fatigue as primary factors—and he uses a much stronger word than “jerks.”
Academic arguments backing colonialism are making a comeback. The thinking is that, on balance, colonialism seems like a fairly benevolent part of human history.
Surprising discoveries
A prestigious French chef asked Michelin to strip his restaurant of its three stars. Sébastien Bras of Le Suquet said he’s weary of the constant pressure to perform.
Only 2% of power in Puerto Rico comes from renewable sources. After hurricanes Irma and Maria hit, the island is now totally in the dark.
Spiders have adorable paws with claws. The furry appendages are also capable of detecting wind currents and odors.
Iran’s president trolled Trump with poetry. To refute the US president’s accusations, Hassan Rouhani cited Persian literary masters from the 12th and 13th centuries.
A prehistoric frog may have eaten dinosaurs. Madagascar’s Beelzebufo ampinga (aka the “devil frog”) weighed up to 10 lbs (4.5 kg) and may have also chomped on crocodiles.
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