Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Apple updates investors. The company’s fiscal third-quarter results tend to be sleepy, but investors will watch closely for any hints about upcoming smartphone releases, which typically take place in September. Analysts expect the Apple Watch and audio accessories to perform strongly (paywall).
Paul Manafort goes on trial. Donald Trump’s former campaign manager is the first major figure to face a jury in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He is charged with bank and tax fraud related to his lobbying work in Ukraine prior to joining Trump’s campaign.
Procter & Gamble puts its best face forward. The consumer goods giant is expected to post a rise in quarterly revenue, thanks to solid sales in its beauty and home-care divisions.
While you were sleeping
Activity was detected at a North Korean missile plant. Work on new missiles is underway at a site outside Pyongyang, according to the Washington Post, citing unnamed US officials. The same facility, in Sanumdong, previously produced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the US.
The final hikers were rescued from Lombok’s Mount Rinjani. More than 600 hikers were stranded up the mountain after a powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island on Sunday and landslides blocked walking paths. The final six people were brought down Tuesday morning.
The Galaxy S9 dragged down Samsung. The South Korean tech giant reported a slowdown in quarterly growth and a decline in its mobile business, as the flagship Galaxy S9 missed sales targets and struggled against stiff competition, especially from cheaper, Chinese-made handsets.
BP came top of the class. Higher oil prices and an output increase bumped BP’s second-quarter profit (paywall) to $2.8 billion, up from $684 million in the same period last year, outshining the results from rivals Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil.
In other earnings news… Lufthansa’s shares soared after it said it planned to hike long-haul ticket prices. Huawei reported 15% revenue growth in the first half, the same as last year. Sony revealed a bumper profit in its latest quarter (paywall), driven by PlayStation demand and the sale of a stake in Spotify. In banking, Credit Suisse shareholders celebrated after quarterly profit more than doubled, while Standard Chartered’s stock dropped on news of higher-than-expected costs.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Nikhil Sonnad on the banal evil of Facebook. “The imperative to ‘connect people’ lacks the one ingredient essential for being a good citizen: Treating individual human beings as sacrosanct. To Facebook, the world is not made up of individuals, but of connections between them… There are certain things you do not in good conscience do to humans. To data, you can do whatever you like.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China’s technical prowess is an illusion. Top-down industrial policies won’t make it a meaningful competitor for global technological supremacy any time soon.
The secret to a good vacation starts the day before. Transition days help you fully unplug.
Water on Mars is a double-edged sword. The invaluable resource could enable human exploration, but accessing it could compromise alien life-forms.
Surprising discoveries
Kangaroos are taking over Canberra. The Australian capital is overrun due to food shortages caused by unseasonal weather.
A McDonald’s worker stole millions by cheating at Monopoly. The employee rigged the company’s promotional game.
A seven-year-old girl persuaded New Zealand to change its road signs. Signs will be updated from “linemen” to “line crew,” after Zoe Carew wrote to officials to say that women can do that job, too.
The world’s largest king penguin colony has shrunk by 90% in 30 years. Climate change is a key factor for the colony at Île aux Cochons, halfway between Africa and Antarctica.
Banks are targeting rich kids at summer camp. They want to win the loyalty of very wealthy families as early as possible (paywall).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Martian spring water, and non-sexist road signs 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 Jason Karaian.