Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for
Uber defends its business model in the UK. The ride-hailing company will appear before the employment appeal tribunal, which will determine whether its drivers should be classified as employees or self-employed workers. Last week, London’s transport regulator stripped Uber of its operating license; Uber will appeal the decision.
The US durable goods report lands. The Commerce Department’s August report on orders for big-ticket items offers a window into current business investment. Orders rose in July as companies spent more on equipment like computers and machinery.
US Republicans unveil their long-awaited tax plan. The GOP, still smarting from a failed, last-ditch attempt to repeal Obamacare, will propose major tax cuts for large and small businesses. It’s not clear whether it will seek to reduce the top individual tax rate of 39.6%.
While you were sleeping
Trump’s pick lost in the Republican primary for a Senate seat in Alabama. Roy Moore, a firebrand populist and former judge, defeated Luther Strange (paywall) in the race to fill the seat vacated by attorney general Jeff Sessions. Moore is also extremely conservative, but Strange’s defeat suggests that deep-red Republicans won’t necessarily always follow Trump’s lead.
Theresa May slammed the new US tariff on Bombardier. The US slapped a preliminary 219% import tariff on Canada’s Bombardier on Tuesday, after Boeing complained that unfair subsidies allowed Bombardier to sell planes in the US at an unfairly low price. Britain’s prime minister said she was “bitterly disappointed” as it put 4,000 jobs at risk in Northern Ireland, where the CSeries jet wings are made.
Thailand’s former prime minister got a five year jail sentence. The Supreme Court found Yingluck Shinawatra guilty of negligence in the handling of a rice-subsidy scheme. She was sentenced in absentia as she fled the country last month. She’s rumored to be in Dubai with her exiled brother.
Easyjet teamed up with a US startup to make an electric airplane. US-based Wright Electric is working on a battery-powered plane that could fly 335 miles. It’s likely to take a decade to complete, but being the first to get a commercial electric plane in the skies would help reduce fuel costs and give Easyjet an edge in the cutthroat short-haul market.
The US jumped in the competitive stakes. Trump has spent the past two years railing about how the US has lost its competitive edge, but the new World Economic Forum report reveals it has beat Singapore to become the second-most competitive economy in the world. After three years in third place, it is now second only to Switzerland.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lily Kuo on China’s vision of itself as the world’s peacekeeper, which starts in Africa. “It also appeals to a growing sense of nationalism in China’s military might and influence around the world. Chinese media this week released footage of live-fire shooting drills at China’s first overseas base in Djibouti… China’s top grossing film of all time, Wolf Warrior II, released last month, reflects some of that sentiment. In the movie, a Chinese special ops soldier single-handedly saves locals and Chinese expatriates in an unspecified African country in the throes of conflict.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The Saudi king’s decree allowing women to drive is really about money. The country’s repressive culture is a barrier to its efforts to modernize and diversify its economy away from oil.
The racial wealth divide in the US is worse than people think—and it’s growing. The median black family, who today only owns $1,700 in wealth excluding their car, will have zero wealth by 2053.
Hollywood created its own worst enemy in Rotten Tomatoes. It encouraged the film-review aggregator, until critics started turning against would-be blockbusters.
Surprising discoveries
Researchers have been scaring guppies for science. Regular doses of fear were used to determine (paywall) whether the fish have individual personalities. (They do, sort of.)
What do Belgium, the Mexico-US border wall, and sleeping gas have in common? They’re all things that Trump has called “beautiful.“
Twitter doubled its character limit—but not for Asians. Japanese and Chinese tweeters won’t get the new 280-character limit, as it says its easier to say more with fewer characters in these languages.
North Koreans also need help understanding Trump. They’ve reached out to Republican analysts for assistance (paywall).
You can invest in Eminem’s future royalties. A new startup is going public to monetize his back catalog, but without Slim Shady’s consent.
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