Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Microsoft reports its earnings. Hot on the heels of hitting record high, Microsoft stock could jump even further if the numbers exceed expectations. But the company’s share value history indicates that if earnings fall short of the projected $29.17 billion in revenue, it could just as easily take a significant downturn.
Xi heads to the Middle East and Africa. China’s president hopes to strengthen economic ties in the region as he moves through the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda, Mauritius, and South Africa. Xi is expected to encourage the nations to collaborate on the infrastructure of China’s Belt and Road project.
Turkey’s two-year state of emergency expires. After a failed coup in 2016, the ruling government purged tens of thousands of civil servants and charged suspected conspirators. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to end the state of emergency’s extension, but critics say his proposed anti-terrorism law and executive presidency will keep conditions essentially the same.
While you were sleeping
A US judge ruled to keep Maria Butina behind bars… Prosecutors argued the alleged Russian agent represented an extreme flight risk before her trial. She had previously been living with an unidentified man who introduced her to a network of influential Americans.
… Meanwhile, Trump defended his Russia policies. The US president accused his critics of being deranged, claimed that Russia wasn’t meddling in American elections (paywall), and then tweeted that people “at the higher ends of intelligence” loved his performance in Helsinki. The White House later said Trump, again, misspoke.
Jeff Bezos reached new heights. His rocket company, Blue Origin, successfully completed a complicated trial launch of its New Shepard rocket, paving the way for human-crewed tests later this year. Separately, Amazon stock market value reached $900 billion, putting it in competition with Apple for Wall Street MVP.
Morgan Stanley topped expectations. The bank reported $2.4 billion in profit (paywall) in the second quarter, up almost 40% from last year and $400 million more than forecasted. Such revenue levels haven’t been seen since 2007.
The EU hit Google with a record antitrust fine of $5 billion. In the bloc’s sharpest rebuke to tech giants (paywall), Google was charged with abusing the dominance of its Android operating system to promote its own search engine. Joseph Simons, the head of the US Federal Trade Commission, said he would take a close look at Europe’s recent decision.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Anne Quito on office chairs: “Chair settings are tweaked according to cultural norms, according to industrial designer Martin Potrykus of Berlin-based ITO Design. For example, knowing that most Americans like to lean back, office chairs in the US are delivered pre-reclined. In contrast, Japanese workers tend to only occupy the only front of the seat.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
ETFs don’t disrupt markets. Passive investment funds may temporarily swing prices, but stocks correct themselves (paywall) quickly thereafter.
Open offices exacerbate isolation. A democratizing floor plan actually ends up shutting down both collaboration and productivity.
Spain’s constitution should be gender neutral. Removing masculine collective terms would create a more inclusive country.
Surprising discoveries
Crows are into necrophilia. The birds have been seen to shred corpses to pieces after copulating with them.
Ant emojis are bugging entomologists. Apple’s version especially infuriates those who say the insect’s portrayal is both poor and inaccurate.
There’s a giant Jeff Goldblum statue in London. The 25-foot-tall sculpture of the bare-chested, reclining actor celebrates Jurassic Park’s 25-year anniversary.
Both partners lie about wives outearning husbands. A new study found that women understated their income, while men overstated theirs.
Facebook says photo-tagging was its key to success. The feature massively accelerated the platform’s growth, and impacted every successive product decision.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, reformed crows, and Ian Malcolms 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 Aisha Hassan and David Wexner, and edited by Susan Howson.