Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Iran, Russia, and Turkey discuss Syria’s future. Representatives will meet with United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura to discuss the process for rewriting war-torn Syria’s constitution. Tasked with picking members of Syria’s “constitutional committee,” de Mistura will meet with Western and Jordanian officials later this month.
Mario Draghi and Larry Summers kick off the ECB Central Banking Forum. The European Central Bank president and former US Treasury secretary will speak at a three-day summit in Portugal on price and wage-setting in wealthy economies. Watch both speeches live here.
Will the US and South Korea suspend “war games”? Senior officials on both sides expect to cancel the Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercise, scheduled for August, after Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he would end such joint drills. The move should please North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Markets are closed in China for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Over the weekend
Colombians elected a new president. Voters chose conservative Ivan Duque, who supports oil exploration and cutting corporate taxes, over leftist Gustavo Petro, a former Bogota mayor and guerrilla. Duque promised to alter the peace deal struck with FARC, which appealed to voters angered by guarantees of softer sentencing for leaders of the militant group.
Migrants from the boat Aquarius arrived in Spain. A week after being turned away by both Malta and Italy, over a hundred migrants who’d been adrift on the Mediterranean were given safe harbor. They docked in Valencia, but not before losing at least two young men.
Google placed a $550 million bet on China’s second-largest e-commerce player. The investment in JD.com, part of a broader partnership, will help the US tech giant expand in fast-growing Asian markets and take on rivals including Amazon.com. For its part, JD.com will be able to better reach consumers in the US and European markets.
Noble Group requested a trading halt of its stock. The struggling commodities trader made the request pending the release of an announcement. The Singapore-listed firm has seen more than 90% of its value wiped since 2015 (paywall), following questions about its accounting practices.
An earthquake in Japan killed at least three and injured dozens. The magnitude 6.1 quake shook Osaka, the nation’s second-biggest metropolis, during the morning rush hour today. Panasonic, Daihatsu, and other firms halted factory production in the key industrial area, while authorities contended with burst water mains.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on Cambridge Analytica’s resurrection. “Top staffers from the fallen consultancy are back on the job at a newly formed company with a name that’s eerily reminiscent of the last place they worked—Data Propria. As the name implies, the new company is similarly preoccupied with gathering information, specifically to target voters and consumers.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Globalists should learn the zen of trade. Too many free traders are focused on how they think the world should be, instead of how it is.
OPEC is not the one driving up oil prices. Donald Trump’s decision to reintroduce sanctions against Iran will reduce the amount of crude oil (paywall) by as much as a million barrels a day.
Paris bistros deserve UNESCO status. As iconic sites of debate, romance, and business, the sidewalk scenes are a key part (paywall) of France’s “intangible cultural heritage.”
Surprising discoveries
China is reeling in all the world’s squid. Thanks to the government’s help, Chinese fishing ships account for between 50% and 70% of all squid caught in international waters.
Ontario is giving citizens’ health data to corporations. The government hopes data-sharing will speed the development of healthcare-related tools.
Zongzi are a way of networking. The wrapped balls of sticky rice, traditional for China’s Dragon Boat Festival, were historically gifted to gain favor or as a courtesy.
Goldman Sachs bankers are quietly moonlighting as venture capitalists. The bankers were early backers (paywall) of Uber, Dropbox, and Square.
Connecticut is America’s most psychopathic state. A study of psychopathy across the US placed California at number two, followed by New Jersey.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, health data, and squid recipes 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 Devjyot Ghoshal.