Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China’s Communist Party kicks off its twice-a-decade meeting. China’s most important political event will bring together the top 2,300 party members, including current president Xi Jinping. Don’t expect much suspense: All key decisions have already been decided behind closed doors.
US and Japanese diplomats discuss North Korea in Seoul. US deputy secretary of state John Sullivan said that while a diplomatic solution to denuclearization is the goal, the allies will prepare to defend themselves should those efforts fail.
Rex Tillerson gives his inaugural policy speech on India. The US secretary of state will deliver a speech on US-India relations to a top American think tank ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to Asia next month.
While you were sleeping
A top Facebook hardware executive abruptly resigned. Regina Dugan, formerly of Google and Darpa, was the head of Facebook’s secretive Building 8 hardware lab, which has yet to release any of its highly touted projects, including a video chat device and a smart speaker. She is leaving after only 18 months to “lead a new endeavor.”
US-backed rebels seized the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa. Militias announced that “more than 90%” of the northern Syrian city is under their control, after being seized by the Islamic State and turned into the group’s de facto capital. Celebrations erupted in the city, where residents had lived under extreme militant rule since 2013 (paywall).
George Soros gave $18 billion to his Open Society foundation. Over the last four years, the billionaire has turned the organization into the second-largest non-profit in the world (pawall), after the Gates Foundation. Soros was facing a year-end change in US tax law that required investors to repatriate overseas funds.
A judge blocked Donald Trump’s travel ban, yet again. Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii, who also blocked two previous attempts (paywall) by the Trump administration, granted a injunction that mostly halts the president’s executive order limiting travel by visitors from eight countries. An appeal is expected.
Marc Faber left Sprott after a racist report. The veteran investor was asked to leave the money manager’s board after writing in his newsletter, “thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks.” Faber, a former managing director at Drexel Burnham Lambert, has also been banned from appearing on financial channels CNBC and Bloomberg.
Quartz obsession interlude
Echo Huang on the Communist app store that tracks party members. “Feature-wise, these apps are largely indistinguishable from one another—they collect user profiles, disseminate party-related information and lessons, and offer some version of a chat tool. But they all serve an important purpose—to keep track of and evaluate the performance of millions of party members.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Who will chair the Fed? / “Honestly I like them all.” / Hawkish John Taylor?
Matters of debate
The spreadsheet was Apple’s first big break. It’s the anniversary of VisiCalc, the pioneering software that became the company’s first killer app.
We don’t dream as much as we used to, and it’s a public health problem. A lack of deep REM sleep leads to irritability, depression, erosion of reason, memory loss, and weight gain.
You are what you read. You’re reading all the time (even right now!), but browsing the internet may not be the kind of reading that hones your mind.
Surprising discoveries
Fish depression is a lot like the human variety. Sad fish withdraw to the bottom of their tanks (paywall), and happy ones play towards the top.
There’s a secret Swiss bunker where millionaires stash their bitcoins. Private cryptographic keys are guarded by a security team that fends off constant attacks.
A missing Rodin bust of Napoleon was hiding in New Jersey for 85 years. The 700 lb work, worth an estimated $10 million, was being displayed in a town hall with Rodin’s signature on the bottom.
Super high-end coffee shops will pour you a cup for $55. Rare beans, fancy equipment, and a healthy dollop of hype add up to sky-high prices.
General Motors will test self-driving cars in New York City. The packed streets will give autonomous cars tougher training scenarios than the suburbs.
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