Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Home Depot improvements. The retailer’s sales offer a window into the health of the housing market; investors will also want to know if store and supply chain investments are paying off. Analysts predict 26% percent earnings growth and a 6.7% increase in same-store sales for the last quarter.
Tapestry posts its fourth-quarter earnings. Fewer discounts and the acquisition of Kate Spade last year are expected to boost profit at the company, which also owns Coach and Stuart Weitzman.
The US releases import and export price data. Economists will be watching the Labor Department data to see if last month’s unexpected tumble in import prices was temporary. Despite the strength of the dollar, metal import tariffs are expected to cause prices to rise again soon.
While you were sleeping
India caught Turkey’s cold. The Indian rupee plunged to an all-time low of Rs70 (paywall) against the US dollar, as jitters over the Turkish lira’s meltdown rippled across emerging markets. But the lira recovered some losses after Turkey’s central bank said it would to provide extra liquidity to its banks.
All four West Virginia Supreme Court justices were impeached. The Republican-led House of Delegates approved 11 articles of impeachment in a scandal over $3.2 million in office renovations. The judges will now be tried in the state senate.
Elon Musk said he’s working with Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake on taking Tesla private. The CEO said the firms are acting as financial advisors, and that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had approached him “multiple times” about a buyout. He also named two law firms as legal advisors amid lawsuits over his tweet that funding was “secured.”
Nicolás Maduro plans to rein in Venezuelan fuel subsidies. The Venezuelan president said that gasoline should be sold at international prices to stop smuggling to Colombia and the Caribbean, and raise much-needed revenue for the state.
China’s economy showed more signs of slowing. Fixed-asset investment growth fell well short of expectations in the first half of the year, as weakening domestic demand and faltering business confidence took their toll. Retail sales also missed expectations, rising 8.8% in July from a year earlier.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Isabella Steger on South Korea’s spy-cam problem. “Since May, tens of thousands of women have turned out on the streets in South Korea to protest against spy cameras (molka) and urge tougher punishment for perpetrators—the biggest-ever women’s protests in South Korea… Many women inspect public bathrooms for hidden cameras when they use them.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The Space Force isn’t ridiculous. Its creation would bring welcome attention and resources to an increasingly important domain.
Trump’s trade war with China could start an economic Cold War. A successful “Made in China 2025” strategy would make it a tech-innovation leader capable of outpacing US growth (paywall).
Overpaying CEOs does not motivate them. Long-term rewards lose their power.
Surprising discoveries
Peppa Pig will shed her “gangster” persona to return to China. The formerly censored cartoon character will be featured onscreen, possibly as a way to boost fertility rates.
Rainbow trout can now be called salmon in China. Illegally labelled as salmon for years, authorities have put an end to the identity crisis.
An 11-year-old hacked Florida’s voting systems in under 10 minutes. Emmett Brewer’s feat highlights worrying faults in US election software.
UK shoppers buy and return outfits just for Instagram. After the “outfit of the day” makes it online, 9% of Brits return it back to the store.
A smartphone app is officially a contraceptive. Natural Cycles, which uses body temperature to determine a woman’s fertility, can now market itself as legitimate birth control in the US.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Insta-worthy outfits, and trout dressed as salmon 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 Edmund Heaphy and edited by Eshe Nelson.