Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Angela Merkel holds forth in China. On a two-day trip German chancellor will meet with president Xi Jinping and others to discuss commerce and international affairs. Trade between the nations reached record highs last year, but German companies want fairer play and easier market access. Meanwhile both countries vowed today to stand by the Iran nuclear deal.
Russia begins its annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Investors want to know what Vladimir Putin has to say about his country’s uncertain economic outlook amid shaky international relations and continuing sanctions. Other speakers include French president Emmanuel Macron and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launches his election campaign. Turkey’s president will speak in Ankara to formally begin his run for reelection, but traders will be looking for reassurances on the lira (paywall). The currency is in crisis, having declined on all but three days this month.
Narendra Modi holds a summit with his Dutch counterpart. India’s prime minister will meet Mark Rutte to discuss economic cooperation, with the stalled free-trade agreement between his country and the European Union high on the agenda. Dutch expertise in water and waste management is of particular interest in New Delhi.
While you were sleeping
Uber posted a profit, sort of. After years of mounting losses the ride-hailing giant announced a first-quarter profit of $2.5 billion. But it would have been over $300 million in the red if not for two large deals in which it ceded to overseas competition: selling its business in Southeast Asia to Grab and finishing a merger of its Russia business with Yandex.
Apple has teamed up with VW to develop self-driving vehicles. The German automaker will turn some of its new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for Apple employees, under a deal reported by the New York Times. It’s still unclear whether Apple’s end ambitions are to build and sell its own autonomous vehicles, or just the software inside.
The US disinvited China to an international military exercise. The Pentagon rescinded Beijing’s invite to the US-led biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise to signal its disapproval of China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea. China recently landed a nuclear-ready bomber on one island and installed cruise missiles on others.
The Federal Reserve may hike interest rates “soon.” Minutes from the central bank’s meeting earlier this month showed officials saying the economic outlook warranted a rate hike, signaling that they may modestly overshoot their 2% inflation target for a temporary period.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Brandon Keim on how it’s not necessarily a bad thing that alligators keep turning up in unexpected places. “They might represent an unexpected and possibly wonderful development: large predators rebounding from past persecution and recolonizing their ancestral habitats. So ancestral, in fact, that people don’t even realize they once lived there.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Bitcoin is bad for the planet. It wastes 0.1% of the planet’s energy, but bitcoin fans are spinning this news in a positive way.
Companies aren’t ready for GDPR. They’ve been hoarding data for so long, becoming compliant with the EU regulation has taken a lot more time than planned.
Technology’s impact on your brain is overblown. There is a moral panic over “addiction” to tech that’s based on weak data.
Surprising discoveries
Black Panther has inspired a new trend in Ramadan attire. Shirts worn by the film’s hero look like traditional Indonesian koko ones, so fans have merged the two.
France could soon combat catcalling with a €750 fine. Last week a majority of lawmakers backed the idea.
Amazon’s just not fashionable. Millennials may have made it the second-biggest apparel retailer, but just for basic duds.
Fugitives keep getting caught at a Chinese singer’s concerts. Cameras using facial-recognition technology flagged men at three different Jacky Cheung shows.
Sweet potatoes originated in Asia. Plant-fossil evidence debunked the myth of the superfood being indigenous to North America.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, superfoods, and koko shirts 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 Josh Horwitz.