Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU and Japan sign a major trade deal in Tokyo. Eliminating 99% of tariffs, it’s the largest trade deal ever negotiated by the European Union. It’s also a strong rebuttal of the protectionism emanating from the White House. Negotiations quickened after Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership last year.
Amazon workers go on strike in Germany. Warehouse employees in Germany will join Spanish and Polish workers protesting poor labor conditions. The actions coincide with the 36-hour Amazon Prime sales event hurt by a crashing website. Meanwhile CEO Jeff Bezos just became the richest person in modern history, with a net worth topping $150 billion.
Jerome Powell testifies to US lawmakers. The Federal Reserve chairman begins two days of testimony on the economy and monetary policy, starting with the Senate’s banking committee. Investors will be watching closely for clues on the pace of interest rate rises.
While you were sleeping
Trump showered praise on Vladimir Putin in Helsinki… He said he trusted his counterpart’s claim that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 US election, despite the unanimous findings of US intelligence agencies. Republican senator John McCain said Trump “abased himself… abjectly before a tyrant,” while former CIA director John Brennan accused him of treason.
…As the US arrested a Russian pro-gun activist for spying. Maria Butina, a former aide to a Russian central bank official, was accused of setting up a communications backchannel between the Kremlin, the US National Rifle Association, and the Republican Party. The FBI is investigating whether Russia funneled donations to the Trump campaign via the NRA.
Didi Chuxing plans to spin off its car services unit. The deal could be worth up to $1.5 billion for China’s biggest ride-hailing firm ahead of its expected initial public offering, according to Reuters. The unit is mainly focused on car rental and maintenance services. Didi, which bought Uber’s operations in China in 2016, is currently valued at $56 billion.
Netflix plummeted on slowing subscriber growth. The streaming media giant fell short of expectations for the first time in five quarters, adding 670,000 US and 4.5 million international subscribers, versus estimates of 1.2 million and 5.1 million, respectively. Netflix shares, which have doubled in the past year, plunged more than 14% in after-hours trading.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on the threat of self-driving cars to the oil industry. “The logic goes: When there are self-driving cars, people would increasingly prefer to be driven than to drive. That means self-driving cars will spend more time on the road than normal cars. These newer cars are more fuel efficient, so widespread use will curb oil demand, regardless of whether they are electric or not.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Socially conscious consumers shouldn’t shop on Amazon. They probably will anyway, despite its checkered history on labor and vaguely monopolistic tendencies.
A home doesn’t need formal living and dining spaces. They’re meant to make us more social but actually foster isolation.
Longer lives mean one lifelong marriage isn’t enough. People get more skilled at transitions of all kinds, both professional and personal.
Surprising discoveries
France’s World Cup journey made a Chinese oven maker hot. The company’s pledge to give out product refunds if France won generated massive online buzz.
Nudists love Twitter. The platform’s commitment to free speech and tolerance of fake names lets the naturalist community thrive.
Algerians are speaking Korean thanks to K-pop. South Korea has become the surprise soft-power mecca of the 21st century.
China’s first $100 million movie is a breathtaking flop. The fantasy film Asura was pulled from cinemas after selling only $7 million worth of tickets in its opening weekend.
An Indonesian mob slaughtered about 300 crocodiles. The bloody, illegal act of revenge took place after a local villager was reportedly killed by one of the protected animals.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Korean lessons, and World Cup marketing strategies 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 Tripti Lahiri.