Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
ASEAN defense ministers meet. US defense secretary James Mattis will convene with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss terrorism, disputes in the South China Sea, and North Korea. Meanwhile, secretary of state Rex Tillerson will stop in Pakistan following his visits (paywall) to Afghanistan and Iraq on Monday.
China’s twice-a-decade congress starts to wrap up. Delegates are expected to approve changes to the Communist Party’s constitution, including the addition of president Xi Jinping’s name—”enhancing his halo of power,” the New York Times reports (paywall.)
Trump talks tax reform with his fellow Republicans. The US president hopes to lobby senators, attending their weekly policy lunch for the first time since taking office. Budget and tax overhauls will top the agenda.
While you were sleeping
Cisco announced a $1.9 billion deal to buy BroadSoft. The networking equipment giant wants to diversify its slow-growing router business and expand into software for the telecom and cable industries. Cisco’s shares rose 1% on the news.
Rex Tillerson took an unannounced road trip. The US secretary of state had back-to-back visits to Afghanistan, where his presence was kept secret until he departed, and Iraq. Tillerson’s Baghdad trip came just a day after the Iraqi government rejected his call to send home Iranian-backed militia groups that helped defeat ISIL.
Snapchat misfired on wearable tech. The Information reported the company has only sold 150,000 of its $130 Spectacles and has hundreds of thousands sitting unsold in warehouses (paywall.) That’s bad news for parent company Snap, which went public in July has been struggling ever since.
Boeing signed a deal to sell 39 new aircrafts to Singapore Airlines. The previously announced deal helps the airline modernize its fleet with new planes worth $13.8 billion at list price. Airlines typically get discounts on these bulk orders, so Singapore Airlines probably paid somewhere closer to $6.5 billion.
Amazon received 238 headquarter proposals. The online retailer won’t release names, but said that 54 locations—including sites in Mexico and Canada—want to host Amazon HQ2. The competition to snag the Seattle-based company followed its announcement to invest more than $5 billion and create up to 50,000 jobs in its next location.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on the financial system’s dangerous dependence on GPS. “What makes the Global Positioning System so crucial, then, isn’t in fact the ‘positioning’ part; it’s the ability to make machines all over the planet agree on exactly what time it is. … Though it is illegal, it takes only a little tech savvy to build a device that broadcasts powerfully enough on the GNSS frequency to drown it out, and almost none to purchase an (illegal) jammer online for a few hundred dollars.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Thomas Piketty’s inequality data is looking shaky. It’s dangerous to craft an all-sweeping theory from patchy 19th century sources.
Facebook’s fake news problem is far worse in Asia. Online hoaxes have led to lynchings in India, toxic hatred of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and religious tensions in Indonesia.
The key to focus is a little loneliness. In a world overrun with distraction, build some solitude into your schedule.
Surprising discoveries
Kodak unwittingly exposed the atomic bomb. The company’s radiosensitive film appeared foggy, and it traced the problem to a secret bomb test in New Mexico.
A 21-year-old woman spent three years sweating blood. Doctors diagnosed her with hematohidrosis, a rare condition with no discernible cause.
A Quebec man was fined $149 for singing ‘90s music in his car. Taoufik Moalla was pulled over while singing “Gonna Make You Sweat,” by C&C Music Factory.
Data proves that Bollywood films are crazy sexist. Women are described by their superficial qualities (“beautiful”), emotional traits (“young,” “heartbroken”), and relation to men (“wife,” “daughter”.)
High-fashion brand Balenciaga is selling a sock with a sole for $700. The new “sock-sneaker” is going viral in fashion capitals around the world.
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