Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Will Austria shift to the right? The country votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday. The People’s Party of Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s 31-year-old foreign minister, leads in the polls, and it may form a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party if the vote goes as expected.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo open their books. The two US banks report their latest quarterly earnings. Investors aren’t in a forgiving mood—yesterday, JPMorgan and Citigroup both beat analysts’ profit expectations but saw their share prices fall anyway.
Hollywood holds emergency talks on Harvey Weinstein. Following numerous allegations of the film mogul’s sexual misconduct, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will meet Saturday to discuss the allegations. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has already suspended Weinstein’s membership.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump won’t scrap the Iran nuclear deal—yet. The White House said the US will not exit the international agreement, but would stop certifying the deal, as required every 90 days. That means Congress can impose stiffer sanctions on Iran if it fails to keep up its end of the weapons agreement. Yes, it’s confusing—here’s an explainer (paywall) about what happens now.
Bitcoin went bananas. After tearing past $5,000 on Thursday, the cryptocurrency soared above $5,800 (paywall) during early trading on Friday. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who told investors last month that bitcoin was a bubble “worse than tulip bulbs,” said yesterday he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.
Trump moved to undermine Obamacare. The White House confirmed late Thursday that the president plans to cut off subsidy payments to insurers. That followed his signing an executive order calling for new regulations to encourage cheap, loosely regulated health plans. Some insurers are likely to sue to the administration.
The boss of Amazon Studios was suspended. Roy Price was put on an immediate leave of absence after an Amazon TV producer claimed he sexually harassed her. Amazon is also reviewing its projects with The Weinstein Company in light of the sexual assault allegations against its founder.
Samsung’s “Mr Chip” abruptly resigned. Kwon Oh-hyun, one of three co-chief executives, cited an ”unprecedented crisis” for his decision, on the same day the firm forecasted record quarterly profits. Kwon, known as “Mr Chip,” said the company is having difficulties identifying future trends.
Bayer sold its crop-science business to BASF for $7 billion. Germany’s Bayer said the sale will help fund its $66 billion takeover of US seed maker Monsanto. Bayer also needs to shed assets to get antitrust approval for the mega-deal.
Quartz obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on the world’s first “negative emissions” plant, which turns carbon dioxide into stone. “Although it’s still at pilot scale—capturing only 50 metric tons CO2 from the air each year, about the same emitted by a single US household—it’s the first system to take CO2 in the air and convert the emissions into stone, thus ensuring they don’t escape back into the atmosphere for the next millions of years.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Xi Jinping has more clout than Donald Trump. China’s leader is steadily consolidating his power as the US loses its status.
Kids need to be taught better social skills. New research suggests such skills are more important than good test scores.
Polarizing speakers should be allowed on college campuses. There is value in letting provocateurs—however discriminatory, racist, or otherwise offensive—air their views.
Surprising discoveries
Swedish “death cleaning” is the latest lifestyle trend. Dostadning helps you ditch the junk that will one day be a burden to your heirs.
Some Vikings had the word “Allah” stitched into their clothes. The discovery is giving archaeologists a new perspective on the global reach of Islam.
Dating apps are reshaping society. There’s been a big uptick in interracial and same-sex partners who find each other online.
Something punched a huge hole in a South Pole ice sheet. Scientists can’t figure out why a chasm the size of Maine just reopened after closing up 40 years ago.
Low-fat avocados could soon be a thing. A Spanish company is growing avocados with 30% less fat that also ripen faster and oxidize slower.
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