Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Bombay Stock Exchange makes it easier to buy stocks. Starting today, investors will no longer be charged transaction fees for stocks that are part of the Sensex 30 index, India’s most highly valued companies. The move was made to entice individual investors.
Will people vote for Colombia’s former rebels? The ex-militants known as FARC took part in congressional elections on Sunday for the first time since securing 10 congressional seats as part of a landmark 2016 peace deal. Ahead of May presidential elections, they were not expected to gain any seats.
A British fintech startup may announce its IPO. Funding Circle, an eight-year-old peer-to-peer lender, has hired four banks to prepare for a share sale in the second half of the year, according to Sky News. It became a so-called unicorn when it was privately valued at £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in January.
Over the weekend
China officially removed its presidential term limits. The National People’s Congress chose to abolish two-term, 10-year limit for presidents on Sunday, paving the way for Xi Jinping to hold that position for life. Only two delegates, out of almost 3,000, voted against the measure.
France’s far-right party floated a new name. Marine Le Pen proposed changing her party’s name from the National Front to the National Rally—a name eerily similar to a WWII-era party aligned with Nazi Germany. Le Pen nonetheless believe the change might remove a “psychological barrier” for some voters who see the National Front as racist.
Elizabeth Warren ruled out running for US president. At a rally over the weekend, Donald Trump said the media would grow bored of covering a hypothetical Warren campaign. The US senator from Massachusetts responded by confirming she would not seek the Democratic nomination in 2020.
The EU and Japan pushed to be exempted from US tariffs. In Brussels on Saturday, European Union and Japanese trade officials lobbied their US counterparts (paywall) for exclusion from the US’s new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The EU says it will slap $3.5 billion on products imported from the US if it does not receive an exemption.
Asked about election meddling, Vladimir Putin said, “I do not care.” When quizzed by NBC’s Megyn Kelly about Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russian citizens for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election, the Russian president dismissed them and suggested some weren’t even Russians, but “Ukrainians, Tatars, or Jews.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Abdi Latif Dahir on what China’s growing presence in Africa might mean for the US. “Despite giving millions of dollars in aid, China has eclipsed the US in Africa in many ways: providing loans, financing much-needed infrastructure, competing for resources like oil and minerals, increasing its trade share, and spreading its ideological influence.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Donald Trump’s diplomacy with North Korea should be celebrated. The US president’s willingness to meet with Kim Jong-un is a worthy gamble (paywall).
It’s selfish to go to college. Government subsidies to higher education are wasteful and ultimately immoral.
Transgender activism will lead to a backlash. Advocates must be careful to use accurate language to describe the issue.
Surprising discoveries
Tesla seeks a valet mastermind. It wants a manager of “exceptional ability” to fix its California HQ parking problems.
“Black Panther” is now Marvel’s fifth billion-dollar movie. After a strong opening in China, the superhero blockbuster became the 33rd movie ever to gross ten digits.
Japan’s lack of gun fatalities is about more than just laws. For gang members, it is more honorable to choose to fight with a more difficult weapon.
You won’t be as happy in the future as you think. Surveys show that people consistently overestimate how satisfied they will be with their life five years down the line.
North Korea will launch two new slick soap operas. One show depicts farmers battling Japanese soldiers as they attempt to “steal ginseng from the people.”
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, “Warren-Sanders 2020” bumper stickers, and North Korean TV shows to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Daniel Kopf and edited by Kabir Chibber.