Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Canada rushes to join US-Mexico trade talks. Foreign minister Chrystia Freeland cut short a European trip to fly to Washington (paywall) to discuss a new trade pact that could replace NAFTA, after the US and Mexico announced a preliminary new deal on Monday.
Primary elections in Arizona, Florida, and Oklahoma. One of the more contentious races is for Arizona Republican Jeff Flake’s Senate seat. Voters will also decide on the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor in the states.
Best Buy and Tiffany post quarterly figures. Investors are watching to see if Best Buy’s earnings are as perky as other retailers, like Target and Walmart. Tiffany, meanwhile, is expected to sparkle following a change in strategy to appeal more to millennials.
While you were sleeping
Nestlé and Starbucks finalized their $7.1 billion coffee alliance. The Swiss food giant will take on 500 Starbucks staff in the US and Europe as part of the licensing deal that gives Nestlé the right to market Starbucks products (paywall). Nestlé’s own Nespresso and Dolce Gusto brands have struggled in the US.
European and Asian markets welcomed the new US-Mexico deal. Stock indexes in France, Germany, and the UK all opened higher Tuesday morning as trade tensions relaxed following Trump’s announcement that the US and Mexico were hatching a new trade pact.
A second night of violent riots rocked a Germany city. At least six people were injured as right-wing groups performed illegal Nazi salutes and clashed with counter-protesters in the eastern city of Chemnitz. Police weren’t prepared for the scale of the protests, which were called after a German man died during a fight with a Syrian and an Iraqi at the weekend.
Bank of Cyprus offloaded billions in toxic debt. The bank agreed to sell a €2.7 billion ($3.1 billion) loan portfolio to US-based private equity firm Apollo Global (paywall) at a steep discount, in what the lender called a “transformative” deal. The European Central Bank has been putting pressure on banks to tidy up their balance sheets.
Russia announced its biggest war games in nearly 40 years. Russian media agencies quoted defense minister Sergei Shoigu saying that the exercises will involve some 300,000 Russian troops, 1,000 military aircraft, and two naval fleets. Vostok-2018 (East-2018), as it’s called, will take place next month.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Lila MacLellan on a to-do list method for people with short attention spans. ”All you do is choose one task that is going to be the focus of your day, even if it doesn’t take you the whole day to complete. You write that item down on a Post-it note, stick it to your laptop (or a wall, we presume) and use it as your lodestar. Look to the note when your mind begins to wander to your waiting text messages, to your dry-cleaning, or to any of the ridiculous things people do when they should be working.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Less affluent students should be encouraged to retake the SAT. Retaking the test, as privileged students often do, could help close the income and racial gap (paywall) in college enrollment.
Cigarette filters do more damage than plastic straws. Cigarette butts are by far the most common type of human litter, and they don’t make smoking any healthier.
After Coltrane, there is nothing left to say. The saxophone virtuoso pushed jazz as far as it could go, and it’s been downhill ever since.
Surprising discoveries
Pollution lowers our cognitive abilities. A new study found that breathing dirty air caused a dramatic drop in verbal and math test scores, particularly in older men.
THC can pass through breast milk. Traces of the mind-altering chemical in marijuana were found in the milk of pot-smoking moms, suggesting it could affect babies’ development.
There’s now a meat-vending machine for late-night steak cravings. One New York butcher shop plans to serve customers 24 hours a day.
Spanish pensioners will sell their flats for half price, on one condition. Prospective buyers must agree to move in only after the owners die.
Pumpkin spice latte season is already upon us. It may be August, but Starbucks’s cozy autumn drink is back, starting today.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, apartment deeds, and dry-aged steaks 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.