Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US announces new sanctions on Russia. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin will announce the new measures in the wake of US airstrikes on Syria. Russia has backed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s side in Syria’s civil war.
Does China still love US debt? The latest US Treasury report on international capital flows will reveal if China, the largest foreign holder of American debt, continues to trim its holdings. The last report, in January, showed it held $1.17 trillion of US debt, down from around $1.2 trillion in August.
Bank of America delivers first-quarter results. Bank earnings season continues this week, and today investors are expecting Bank of America’s results (paywall) to be as robust as JPMorgan’s last week.
Netflix broadcasts its quarterly numbers. The video-streaming giant—which is now 20 years old—has been one of the hottest stocks of the year. Today, all eyes will be on its quarterly subscriber growth and plans to expand its international reach.
Over the weekend
James Comey attacked Donald Trump. With his memoir out this week, the former FBI director told ABC News that Trump is “morally unfit” to be president, but should be voted out of office rather than impeached. He also defended the decision to launch an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails days before the 2016 election. Trump, as he does, slammed Comey on Twitter.
An advertising titan stepped down. Shares in WPP dropped on Monday morning after the weekend resignation of CEO Martin Sorrell following a probe into alleged misconduct, which he denies. Sorrell, who transformed WPP into the world’s biggest advertising network during his 30-plus years at the helm, reportedly does not have a non-compete clause (paywall) in his contract.
The US, France, and UK struck Syria. The Saturday missile barrage was designed to target an alleged chemical-weapons program used by the Assad regime. Trump declared “mission accomplished,” while Russia’s Vladimir Putin warned against hitting Syria again.
Starbucks apologized for Philadelphia arrests. CEO Kevin Johnson called the arrest of two black men last week a “reprehensible outcome,” after customer videos surfaced showing police handcuffing them in a Starbucks store. Employees had called the police saying the men refused to leave; the men said they were waiting for a friend. Critics alleged racial bias.
Calls for Shinzo Abe to resign got louder. Tens of thousands gathered in Tokyo to demand the Japanese prime minister’s resignation, amid scandals related to land deals. Abe’s popularity has hit all-time lows, which could threaten his chances of becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Beyoncé delivered an epic performance. The pop icon’s Saturday show at the Coachella music festival garnered superlative reviews, and spawned the hashtag #Beychella. One critic compared Beyoncé to Michael Jackson and Gene Kelly.
Quartz obsession interlude
Adam Epstein on how internet fandom is ruining Hollywood. “Boy, are the fans eager to have their voices acknowledged. Social media has closed the gap between cultural producers and consumers. Aware of this newfound power, fans have become more demanding, more critical, and, most of all, more entitled.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Automation will spur a “massacre of the Dilberts.” Unglamorous office-worker jobs like those of the satirical cartoon character are seriously endangered.
Trump’s Syria attack wasn’t precise or proportionate. It might have relieved emotional pressure but was worse than doing nothing at all.
Informed consent online is a fraud. Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony underscored that consumers have no idea what they’re agreeing to when they accept Facebook’s terms of service.
Surprising discoveries
Thousands of toddlers are listed as business owners in the UK. It is surprisingly easy to create a company in someone else’s name.
There’s now “blockchain-traced coffee.” A Colorado company is giving customers access to a cloud-based ledger that shows the entire supply chain (paywall).
Google’s new AI search tool can answer any question by reading thousands of books. Type a question into “Talk to Books,” and it will scan every sentence in 100,000 volumes and generate a list of likely responses.
The US is recalling 207 million eggs. Fears of salmonella contamination have led to the biggest recall in years.
It cost $7.3 million to keep Mark Zuckerberg safe last year. The Facebook CEO’s security expenses surged over the previous year, according to a regulatory filing.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, untainted eggs, and crypto-coffee 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 Jill Petzinger and edited by Jason Karaian.