Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Mercari’s $1.2 billion IPO. The online flea market will make its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as Japan’s third-largest tech listing in the past five years. The popular app, which allows users to buy and sell used items, may be undermining the central bank’s attempts to stoke inflation.
Amazon Prime launches in Australia. A subscription will cost roughly AU$59 (US$44) per year, less than half the cost of a US subscription. The move comes ahead of a new policy that will block Australian customers from shopping on other countries’ Amazon sites.
Kim Jong Un heads back to China. The North Korean leader is set to make his third trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping to discuss his recent summit with US president Donald Trump.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump vowed that the US “will not be a migrant camp.” Under intense criticism for his administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their families, Trump blamed Democrats for obstructing immigration reform—even though Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Trump also falsely claimed that Germany (paywall) is suffering from increased crime due to lax immigration policies.
Fujifilm sued Xerox for over $1 billion. The Japanese camera company is accusing Xerox of breach of contract and engaging in “intentional and egregious conduct” after it abandoned a $6.1 billion merger following pressure from activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason.
JPMorgan was slapped with $65 million fine. The bank is the latest target of an investigation into traders who rigged ISDAfix, a widely used benchmark for interest-rate derivatives. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Barclays have been hit with similar penalties.
Square got a cryptocurrency license. New York-based users of Square Cash, the mobile payment company, can now trade Bitcoin on the app. The cryptocurrency access drove Square’s shares to an all-time high.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Olivia Goldhill on the ego-boosting effects of yoga and meditation: “According to Buddhist teaching, the self is an illusion. The religion preaches a fundamentally selfless worldview, encouraging followers to renounce individual desires and distance themselves from self-concern … But a recently published psychological study directly contradicts that approach.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Mindfulness decreases motivation. Employers might want to think twice before encouraging their employees to become calmer and more accepting (paywall).
American CEOs are strangely silent on child separation at the US border. If corporate leaders think the injustice does not impact their employees, they’re wrong.
We already know the true World Cup winner. Soccer aside, Russia 2018 will go down as a political victory for Vladimir Putin.
Surprising discoveries
South Korean soccer players swapped shirts to foil spies. They aim to confuse World Cup opponents that can’t tell Asian people apart.
China’s new Silk Road extends into space. The country wants to use satellites to build a “Belt-and-Road spatial information corridor.”
The sneaker boom has created a leather glut. The beef industry is supplying too many cow hides for the athleisure era.
Viruses love what we’ve done with the planet. The unchecked spread of humanity is creating more opportunities for deadly species-jumping pathogens.
Mammals are getting more nocturnal. To avoid humans, they have become increasingly active at night (paywall).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, extra cow hides, and space roads 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 Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and David Wexner, and edited by Adam Pasick.