Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The OECD discusses its Global Economic Outlook. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will go over its twice-yearly assessment of the world economy, covering economic trends and prospects for the next few years. In June it said the outlook had improved, but warned against complacency (paywall).
Ivanka Trump arrives in India. In her highest-profile appearance yet representing the US—as a senior White House advisor—the first daughter will be part of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad and attend a dinner hosted by prime minister Narendra Modi. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, in an apparent snub, didn’t send a top delegation to join her.
Jerome Powell’s confirmation hearing. Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair will appear before the Senate Banking Committee. Powell will be responsible for unwinding a $4.5 trillion stimulus plan if confirmed.
While you were sleeping
China sentenced a Taiwanese human-rights activist to five years in prison. Lee Ming-che, who went “missing” in China in March, was charged with inciting subversion of state power. Critics said the trial was not only a sham, but also a warning to Taiwanese democracy activists.
The owner of Cinnabon and Arby’s agreed to buy Buffalo Wild Wings. The private-equity firm Roark Capital Group will pay $2.4 billion for the Minneapolis-based restaurant chain, according to Bloomberg. The deal could be announced as soon as today.
Mexico’s finance minister resigned to run for president. Economist Jose Antonio Meade said he aims to become the candidate of Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party in the July 2018 election. Replacing him is Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, who will step down as CEO of state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
The founder and CEO of Tumblr said he’ll resign. David Karp, who created the blogging site 10 years ago at the age of 20, will leave Oath, the Verizon-owned media conglomerate of which Tumblr (and Yahoo) is now a part. Chief operating officer Jeff D’Onofrio will take the helm. Yahoo bought the startup for $1.1 billion in 2013, admitting later it badly overpaid for it.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tripti Lahiri on the Pope (likely) avoiding the word “Rohingya” while in Myanmar. “Outside Myanmar, the word is just the name for the country’s beleaguered Muslim community. Inside, the use of the word implies the user is siding with the Rohingya, and against the many people in Myanmar who insist the Muslim community are outsiders and ‘Bengalis,’ like the people of neighboring Bangladesh.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
If aliens are out there, China will make contact first. Building the world’s largest radio dish comes with a lot of responsibility.
The British monarchy is renouncing its rigid roots. Meghan Markle is being welcomed into the royal family despite her unlikely (and inarguably impressive) background.
Liberalization won’t ease China’s debt burden. While standard macroeconomic reforms may work in theory, they have a history of failing in practice.
Surprising discoveries
Russians are smoking home-grown tobacco. A fitful economy has forced one of Europe’s heaviest-smoking populations to grow it in the backyard.
Our brains are built for bargain hunting. We care less about the actual stuff and more about the killer deal we got.
South Korea is updating North Koreans via loudspeaker about the soldier who defected. He barely survived a daring escape across the DMZ but is recovering in a South Korean hospital.
Chicago offered to let Amazon pocket employee income taxes. “The result is that workers are, in effect, paying taxes to their boss,” one think tank warned (paywall).
Google can tell if someone is looking at your phone over your shoulder. It’s developed an AI-based system that can recognize a person’s gaze in 2 milliseconds.
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