Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Imran Khan heads to China. Pakistan’s prime minister aims to negotiate a $3 billion financial aid package during his four-day visit. Khan will likely meet his counterpart Li Keqiang in Beijing, along with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Berkshire Hathaway earnings. Analysts don’t expect hurricane insurance claims and Kraft Heinz’s sales rut to drag too much on Warren Buffett’s empire. At a predicted $19 billion in net income from a series of prescient deals, the company could deliver record earnings (paywall) on Saturday.
More quarterly reports. ExxonMobil and Chevron are expected to show healthy ledgers on Friday with energy prices climbing. This weekend’s action (paywall) should also see high-revenue, low-profit results from Alibaba in the tech giant’s first quarterly update since Jack Ma announced retirement plans.
While you were sleeping
Three Goldman Sachs bankers were implicated in 1MDB. Tim Leissner, the firm’s former top official in Asia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money. The Wall Street Journal also reported (paywall) that former banker Roger Ng and financier Jho Low will both be indicted. Ng is under arrest, but Low is still at large.
The US accused Chinese companies of stealing trade secrets. The Justice Department announced that it will be prosecuting firms in China and Taiwan—including Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, which the Trump administration singled out earlier this week—for spying on Idaho-based Micron and its memory storage technology.
Google employees walked out. At 11:10am local time on Thursday, staffers worldwide demonstrated to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment (paywall). An executive named in a New York Times report last week stepped down without pay, but employees are demanding more systemic change to the way Alphabet and Google handle discrimination, harassment, and inequality.
Systemic sexual abuse in North Korea was exposed. The Human Rights Watch released a 98-page report that detailed an oppressive atmosphere of assault and rape at the hands of the country’s powerful officials, who intimidate victims into staying silent.
SoftBank ordered robot pizza. The Vision Fund gave Zume a $375 million investment with another $375 million promised in the near future. The company, which uses robots to handle food preparation and delivery logistics, could be valued at $2.25 billion.
Obsession interlude
Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz on witchcraft and “mysticore” in the age of Instagram: “The mainstreaming of mysticism also overlaps with the broader interests of millennials—think yoga and meditation, mindfulness, and New Age spirituality. With that foundation, it might not be a stretch to show up for pagan holidays or new moon gatherings, or begin to explore the more serious spiritual concepts at the root of these practices.” Go down this rabbit hole with the Quartz Obsession email.
Matters of debate
Japan should spring forward. Adopting daylight saving time could cut energy costs, limit heat exposure, and make the 2020 Olympics safer.
Brazil’s next leader is a major threat to the Amazon. Jair Bolsonaro plans to dissolve the nation’s environmental ministry, wipe out indigenous reserves, and aggressively expand land development.
Cities need more women on bikes. Angry men make urban cycling dangerous, especially in crowded cities like London.
Surprising discoveries
Japan lost an island. Esanbe Hanakita Kojima, which was only slightly above sea level, received a name four years before being swallowed by the sea.
Hyundai and Kia will go solar. Roofs equipped with solar panels aren’t just for luxury cars—or even electric vehicles—anymore.
AI will test truthfulness in European airports. Virtual border guards will look more skeptical and use different tones of voice if they think passengers are lying.
Air pollution is making kids dumber. Exposure to small particulates known as PM2.5 was found to affect brain development in young children.
India’s top science university had caste-segregated dining halls. Attempts to combine them were met with protests until the 1950s.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, lost islands, and skeptical guard avatars 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 McKinley Noble and Susan Howson.