Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Indonesian Christians try to block their deportation from the US. Attorneys for 51 migrants who say they fled religious persecution will appear in a Boston federal court in an attempt to counteract an expulsion order. Some have been living in the US for 20 years.
The Fed publishes its beige book. After two consecutive quarters of GDP growth above 3%, the report is expected to show a robust economy.
Bank earnings kick up a gear. Next up: Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Bank of America is expected to take a hit (paywall)—estimated at $3 billion—to quarterly earnings due to the new corporate tax bill. Goldman’s tax-related charge is forecast to be $5 billion, which would wipe out (paywall) the bulk of its annual profits.
While you were sleeping
The Senate okayed a bill to renew a controversial surveillance program. The National Security Agency program allows for warrantless surveillance of foreigners’s email and texts while abroad—and incidentally scoops up Americans’ communications.
Burberry posted some checkered results. The luxury British brand had less-than-glitzy sales in its home market in the last quarter and flat revenue in the US. Still, it saw a 2% increase in global same-store sales. CEO Marco Gobbetti said he was forging ahead (paywall) with his plan to take the retailer more upmarket.
An ex-CIA officer was arrested on suspicion of aiding China. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, who worked for the CIA between 1994 and 2007, is suspected of helping identify US informants in China; some 20 moles were killed or jailed in what was a huge intelligence failure for the US. The inquiry has been going on since 2012.
The DOJ charged a former Barclays NY Forex boss with fraud. The Department of Justice alleged that Robert Bogucki was part of a front-running scheme that manipulated foreign-exchange options ahead of a large trade by Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He will appear in court in Brooklyn, New York later today.
Hong Kong sentenced a democracy activist to jail for contempt. Joshua Wong will serve three months for his leading role in blocking a road with a protestors’ camp in the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, despite a court order to clear out. Wong has already served part of a six-month sentence for another case related to the demonstrations.
Quartz obsession interlude
Joon Ian Wong on the rise and fall of a Korean crypto exchange. “Bithumb’s struggles to scale its operations mirror the problems facing exchanges around the world. Often set up by founders without a background in developing serious financial platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges are struggling to build systems that can withstand the rapidly growing demand for access to the crypto markets.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Hawaii’s nuclear missile false alarm was a failure of design. A lack of fail-safes and a confusing user interface led almost inevitably to disaster.
TV advertising and retail are headed for a perfect storm of failure. The combination of e-commerce and cord-cutting spells disaster for two interdependent industries.
Social causes can reduce employee turnover. Fulfilling a desire to volunteer helps job satisfaction, especially when it draws on expertise and competition.
Surprising discoveries
NASA engineers thought female astronauts would want makeup in space. The cosmetic kit prototype they designed was never used.
France plans to lend the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain. The 11th century tapestry, showing the Norman conquest of England, hasn’t left French shores for 900 years.
Fanta was created in Nazi Germany. With American imports drying up, a German bottler improvised with a new soda recipe based on apple shavings and whey.
Hong Kong’s Cantopop owes a debt to Dolores O’Riordan. The late Cranberries singer inspired Faye Wong to cover “Dreams” in 1994, which sparked a movement of its own.
A dazzling meteor streaked over the US Midwest. It cased a powerful boom, that registered a 2.0 magnitude tremor near Saint Clair Shores in Eastern Michigan.
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