Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
FedEx reports fourth-quarter earnings. Investors will also be keen to hear how Amazon is affecting the company’s business and any comments FedEx has on the mounting trade tensions between the US and other countries.
Audi’s crisis talks. The board of directors hunkers down for a second day to figure out what to do after CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested yesterday in the emissions-cheating investigation. Audi is Volkswagen’s most profitable brand.
Donald Trump talks immigration with House Republicans. Amid growing furore over the government’s policy of separating migrant parents from their children, the president will discuss a compromise immigration bill which, among other things, aims to protect Dreamers from deportation.
Kim Jong Un heads back to China. The North Korean leader makes his third trip to Beijing to meet president Xi Jinping to discuss his recent summit with Trump.
While you were sleeping
ZTE shares plunged after the Senate voted against Trump’s deal. Shares in the Chinese tech giant hit their lowest level (paywall) in two years on Tuesday, after lawmakers on both sides voted to reinstate a ban preventing it from buying US parts. Trump struck a deal with Beijing to save ZTE after it paid a fine for breaking sanctions.
Australia took a $6.5 million bite out of Apple. A court ruled that Apple had breached consumer rights by refusing to repair their iPhones and iPads if the devices had already been serviced by third parties. The case centers around “error 53,” a fault that made phones inoperable after a software update.
Roche bought the rest of a US cancer drug company for $2.4 billion. The Swiss pharma giant will fully acquire Foundation Medicine, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Roche is the world’s largest cancer-drug maker and the deal means it can add Foundation Medicine’s genomic profiling expertise to its roster.
China-focused stocks took a hit on Trump’s tariff threat. Beijing vowed to hit back after Trump announced plans for tariffs on a further $200 billion of Chinese imports (on top of the $50 billion announced last week). The Hang Seng dropped to its lowest since early April, while the CSI 300 index of Shenzhen and Shanghai-listed companies hit a 10-month low.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz on how Rihanna forced the beauty industry to acknowledge people of color. “Since Fenty’s launch, lines that still do not offer a wide range of shades and price points are doing so at their peril. What’s more, the fact that a designer heritage brand like Dior is on board suggests that the beauty industry is entering a time of reckoning, a time where beauty brands—even iconic names like Dior—can no longer afford to be skin color- or cost-exclusive in their offerings.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Vladimir Putin will be the true World Cup winner. He understands the sport’s ability to foment feelings of national pride and enhance his standing at home.
Women eating on screen is radical. Scenes of the protagonists eating in Ocean’s 8 feel different because women are rarely seen eating for no particular reason in movies.
Negative online reviews aren’t trustworthy. Those who leave them are often too emotional to be neutral (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Don’t call Emmanuel Macron “Manu.” The French president gave a teenager a public scolding for using the common shortened form of his name.
China’s new Silk Road extends into space. The country wants to use satellites to build a “Belt and Road spatial information corridor.”
Iceland’s World Cup debut was watched by 99.6% of its TV viewers. Its weekend game was the most-watched sporting event in the nation’s history.
The sneaker boom has created a leather glut. The beef industry is supplying too much cow hide for the athleisure era.
Viruses love what we’ve done with the planet. The unchecked spread of humanity creates more opportunities for deadly pathogens.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, excess leather, and better nicknames 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 Lianna Brinded.