Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A Malaysian court rules on the Kim Jong Nam murder suspects. Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong were charged with spreading the VX nerve agent on the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two women claim they thought they were pulling a reality show prank, and four North Koreans are still sought in connection with the assassination.
Pakistan awaits review results on terror financing. An Asia-Pacific group will submit its findings on whether the nation has complied with international terror financing policies. The Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body, previously put Pakistan on its “grey list” for failing to curb terrorist funding or money laundering.
Walmart and JC Penney report earnings. Just a day after US retail numbers exceeded expectations for July, two retail giants present their own data. Walmart’s will indicate whether its efforts to take on Amazon have borne fruit. JC Penney faces a bigger struggle as it searches for its place in today’s market, ultimately shuffling its senior management in the process.
While you were sleeping
Corona beer-maker Constellation Brands will pour $4 billion into weed. The company has already pumped $200 million into Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth, but this latest planned investment marks the largest of its kind. Recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada this October, and the sluggish beer industry is hoping to hop onto pot’s bandwagon.
US retail numbers topped predictions. Clothing and motor vehicle purchases saw a significant surge in July, which indicates a strong third quarter for the US economy ahead of two forecasted interest rate hikes by the Fed later this year. Manufacturing and worker productivity also rose, but the Trump administration’s tariffs are beginning to make raw materials hard to come by.
Iran’s supreme leader said the meeting that led to the 2015 nuclear deal was a mistake. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei considered the agreement, which Donald Trump abandoned in May, a “loss.” VP Eshaq Jahangiri had harsher words, and accused the US of using reenacted sanctions as a strong-arm tactic to force the country to “surrender.”
Investors told Uber to nix its money-losing self-driving unit. Uber sunk between $125 million and $200 million per quarter into the unit over the past 18 months, amounting to between 15% and 30% of its losses in previous quarters. At the end of the day, the beleaguered company reported $404 million in second-quarter losses.
Qatar promised Turkey a $15 billion investment. The lira rose 6% (paywall) after Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Al Thani announced his decision, following a lengthy meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkey faced near-economic crisis following escalating sanctions imposed by the US over the detainment of an American pastor Ankara believes was involved in the failed 2016 coup.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Aisha Hassan on the amazing NASA playlist that can’t wake up the Mars rover: “NASA engineers played Wham!’s ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ in an attempt to wake up Opportunity, a rover on Mars that has been radio silent for months. But even the lively spirits of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley failed to stir the rover, and NASA has been playing a different song each day ever since, in the hopes that Opportunity will soon say something back.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Companies must be accountable to employees. Thinking solely of shareholders’ returns has widened the wealth gap and ultimately hurts workers.
It’s time to drop tech jargon. Buzzwords make it both harder to communicate and harder to attract more diverse employees.
Man’s best friend is the key to women’s success. Owning a dog helps women stay in touch with the parts of themselves that a sexist society is often determined to strip away.
Surprising discoveries
A fake diploma took down a GOP congressional candidate. Melissa Howard counterfeited the wrong dean’s signature and a degree that wasn’t offered by Miami University.
Lower-income US teens use Facebook more than rich kids do. The social network ties together far-flung families and helps keep less-affluent teens connected with support systems.
Climate change has Andean flamingos feeling frisky. Six flamingos laid eggs at a UK reserve for the first time in 15 years, thanks to Europe’s sweltering heat wave.
El Chapo is making New York traffic even worse. Authorities must close the Brooklyn Bridge each time the drug lord’s motorcade brings him to court.
Nobody died on Prince Edward Island. The newspaper contained an empty obituary section, prompting a reporter to confirm the day without death to alarmed readers.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, imaginary degrees, and blank obituaries 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 and edited by April Siese and Susan Howson.