Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
JPMorgan reports earnings. Investors will find out on Friday whether the famously resilient bank is a safe haven amid the stock market’s sharp and sudden correction. This week’s rout has essentially kept JPM stock flat for the year, but the company still managed a strong first quarter and record-setting Q2 profits.
South Korea and UAE talk security. Both nations’ defense ministers and foreign policy directors will hold a Friday meeting to discuss economic ties, diplomacy, and cooperative peacekeeping measures.
MJ Akbar returns to India. The country’s external affairs minister could face questions from his own political party about sexual misconduct—one of many such cases in India’s widespread #MeToo fallout. Claims against Akbar haven’t resulted in legal action, but the Bharatiya Janata Party may request his resignation to avoid election backlash.
The UN makes a controversial vote. The United Nations Human Rights Council will decide membership status for Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Eritrea, the Philippines, and Somalia—six nations with rather questionable human rights records. A lack of region-specific opposition may see the most problematic countries voted in.
While you were sleeping
Trump blamed the market drop on the Fed. The US president roundly criticized the Federal Reserve for “out of control” interest-rate hikes (paywall), though he cooled on the idea of firing chairman Jerome Powell. Such a move would be a unusual reversal on a policy of non-interference with the central bank.
Quarterly reporting will live another day. Despite Trump’s request for US regulators to study the effectiveness on the traditional earnings report schedules, SEC chair Jay Clayton said the quarterly practice will remain in place (paywall). Smaller companies, however, could see a six-month schedule in their future.
Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance stressed international relations. Suspicion is growing that the Trump administration is doing next to nothing about the Washington Post contributor’s alleged death in Istanbul’s Saudi consulate, which was possibly a brazen warning to critics (paywall) by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. To make matters worse, the US has no ambassadors in Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
Harvey Weinstein dodged one criminal charge. A judge dismissed one count tied to allegations by actress Lucia Evans that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. Evans described the 2004 encounter as consensual to a witness, and had a written account to the same effect, but told a grand jury the opposite. The Manhattan DA’s office wasn’t informed before Weinstein’s indictment, and did not oppose the dismissal.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Lynsey Chutel on how gender equality in tech starts with teenagers on their phones: “This limited access to phones means that usage also differed significantly from boys … Where boys accessed WhatsApp, YouTube, used the internet to find work or read the news, girls’ cellphone usage was limited to calls or sending texts to keep in touch with family and friends.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The Saudi crown prince is sowing chaos. Mohammed bin Salman often uses dictatorship tactics (paywall) to bring about what he calls progressive reform.
Denial is dangerous. Humans stay put during hurricanes because they misunderstand remote possibilities (paywall).
Cold emails can outdo warm ones. Start with genuine, interesting information, provide proof of ability, and be clear about objectives.
Surprising discoveries
Ants use antibiotics. A species of fungus-farmers teamed up with bacteria (paywall) that fought off crop-ruining parasites.
Pompeiians died much more violently than you thought. A new theory concludes their blood boiled and skulls exploded when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Picking robots are headed for factory workers’ jobs. They can’t recognize specific objects on Amazon’s conveyor belts yet, but it won’t be long.
Two female mice produced a baby. Researchers took an egg from one and a haploid embryonic stem cell from another.
A moon’s moon is a moonmoon. Other potential names include “submoon,” “moonito,” or “moooon,” depending on what the International Astronomical Union decides.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, moonitos, and moooons 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 Susan Howson and McKinley Noble.