Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
China and Japan resume their dialogue. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi (now also state councillor) will meet Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in Tokyo on a three-day visit starting Sunday. The main focus will be on improving economic ties, but North Korea, contested islands, and a future top-level summit will also be discussed.
Investigators head to Syria. On Saturday two teams from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will begin their investigation into the attacks in Douma. Russia said it will take responsibility for their safety—inspectors from the intergovernmental group were ambushed during a 2014 probe into reports of weaponized chlorine.
A reading on US consumer confidence. The University of Michigan releases its preliminary consumer sentiment index for April. The widely followed gauge has been tracking confidence levels not seen since 2004, though uncertainty over the US-China tariffs spat has caused some minor dips.
While you were sleeping
Volkswagen replaced its CEO. Herbert Diess will take over Matthias Müller’s seat as the automaker shifts gears. The former brand manager will try to make the company a leader in cleaner cars after the diesel emissions scandal of 2015, while also striving for streamlined development. VW will hold a live-webcast briefing today.
America may join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Donald Trump tasked economic council director Larry Kudlow and trade representative Robert Lighthizer with exploring options to join the TPP. In January 2017 Trump withdrew the US from the trade pact, then still being negotiated, but last month the remaining 11 countries signed a revised version of it anyway.
China recorded a rare trade deficit. Last month exports fell 2.7% from a year ago, surprising analysts who had forecast a 10% increase. It was the first drop since February last year. Import growth meanwhile beat expectations. For the quarter, exports still grew 14.1%.
Early reviews of James Comey’s memoir were released. In A Higher Loyalty, the former FBI director writes that Trump’s leadership is “transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty,” while describing the US president as unethical and “untethered to truth.” The first big memoir by a key player in the Trump administration, the book goes on sale next week.
Trump ordered an audit of the US Postal Service. The move follows the US president accusing Amazon of fleecing the agency by taking advantage of bulk delivery rates. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post, which often draws Trump’s ire for its coverage of him. Trump did not mention Amazon while issuing the order.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tripti Lahiri on Malaysia’s fake-news law making it hard to talk about its biggest corruption scandal. “Many fear the main aim of the law is to prevent renewed scrutiny of [prime minister Najib Razak], who is running for re-election, in relation to state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd… At least $4.5 billion has been siphoned away from the fund.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Where are Apple’s billionaires? Tech companies that are less wealthy have richer executives, but Apple’s salaries may just be distributed more evenly.
The REcoin ICO fraud will set the tone for future prosecutions. Sketchy practices surrounding initial coin offerings could be watched much more closely from now on.
Don’t buy the line that AI will save Facebook. It’ll be humans who end up making the tough decisions about removing harmful content.
Surprising discoveries
A sperm whale died with 64 lbs (29 kg) of mostly plastic trash in its belly. Scientists found it had swallowed all manner of debris, including nets, plastic bags, and a plastic drum, before washing ashore in Spain.
Samuel L. Coleridge was found in a wine cellar. The coffins of the famous poet and his family had been stashed in a safe place, bricked off and forgotten.
A US investor owes the Internal Revenue Service $1 billion. John Paulson deferred payments, but the sum is due (paywall)—and it’s more than the IRS will even accept in a single check.
Poor sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s. Sleep deprivation caused study participants’ brains to produce (or retain) more of a protein that’s known as a precursor to the disease.
Chinese iPhone users can’t use the Taiwanese flag emoji. It’s one of many concessions Apple’s made to Beijing, including blocking VPN apps and moving data to local servers.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, 🇹🇼, and $1 billion checks 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 Steve Mollman and edited by Isabella Steger.