Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Boeing releases earnings. The aircraft manufacturer is expected to report lower first-quarter profit and sales, and update investors on its efforts to recover from the 737 Max crisis. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Visa, Facebook, and AT&T are projected to deliver good news, and investors will see what Tesla’s delivery reports and online sales models might mean for its earnings.
Intelligence officials discuss cyber security. Members of the “Five Eyes” alliance, comprised of agencies from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, will appear on a panel on global cyber vulnerabilities at a two-day conference in Glasgow. The alliance appears split over Huawei’s work building 5G networks, which the UK government reportedly approved in part yesterday.
Top UN officials visit Bangladesh to address the Rohingya refugee crisis. The delegation will host talks with senior officials and then travel to the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, as they continue to seek solutions for the safe return of almost a million Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar.
Indigenous groups march in Brazil. The government will send security forces to the country’s capital, Brasilia, to monitor an annual two-day demonstration by indigenous communities demanding protection from development. Newly elected president Jair Bolsanaro has been criticized (paywall) for undermining indigenous Brazilians’ rights.
While you were sleeping
New Zealand launched a global push to combat online terror content. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled the “Christchurch Call,” a pledge to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online that she hopes world leaders and tech companies will support. She will host a summit with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris next month to discuss the campaign.
The US Treasury missed another deadline to release Trump’s tax returns. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said (pdf) he needed more time to study the legality of House Democrats’ “unprecedented” request for six years of president Trump’s tax returns, and would decide (paywall) by May 6.
Sri Lanka made more arrests tied to the Easter Sunday attacks. Police said they had detained 18 more suspects overnight in their hunt for the perpetrators of the bombings that killed 359 people in churches and hotels on Sunday. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, the deadliest on record for the group.
Nissan cut its earnings outlook for the second time this year. The Japanese carmaker downgraded its net profit projections for the fiscal year ending in March to ¥319 billion ($2.8 billion) from ¥410 billion ($3.7 billion), amid weakening US sales and internal tensions tied to the arrest of its former CEO, Carlos Ghosn.
Credit Suisse beat expectations. In its first earnings report since concluding its three-year restructuring plan, the Swiss bank reported an 8% boost in net profit, driven by wealth management gains. Other investment banks reporting this week include UBS and Barclays on Thursday, and Deutsche Bank on Friday.
Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok. The North Korean leader crossed into Russia by train this morning en route to the port city for a summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin tomorrow. The pair, who are meeting for the first time, will likely discuss US sanctions and Russian support for North Korea’s economy.
Hong Kong’s “Umbrella 9” were sentenced to prison. Among those sentenced were legal scholar Benny Tai and retired sociology professor Chan Kin-man, who were handed two years in prison for their leadership role in the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement protests. Supporters of the nine who were convicted argue that the sentencing is excessive for what were peaceful protests.
Membership
With the rise of at-home testing kits, it may feel like getting your DNA sequenced is straightforward. We explain why that might not be the case, employing Moby Dick as a metaphor. We’ve also developed a handy chatbot to help you decide whether you should take an at-home genetic test at all. Plus, we analyzed the proxy filings of big tech companies to understand the voting power of the founders.
Quartz Obsession
White-out: Even as paper sales decline, the correction fluid market has stayed remarkably resilient. Invented by a secretary who managed to turn her secret weapon against typos into a multimillion dollar juggernaut, correction fluid’s modern appeal is anything but opaque. It would be a mistake to ignore this Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Join the conversation with the new Quartz app!
eBay should not allow dinosaur fossils. Private fossil collections deprive scientists and the public of the chance to learn.
The Instagram look is so last year. A messier, less curated look is the new aesthetic of choice among influencers.
Shutting down social media can be a matter of life and death. The Sri Lankan government was right to cut access to platforms that channel outrage and fuel violence (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Merriam-Webster is now more swole. The dictionary added 640 new words, including snowflake, buzzy, go-cup, swole, and omnicide.
Indian officials trekked through a jungle so a holy man could vote. A special polling station was set up so a lone priest could take part in the world’s biggest democratic exercise.
NASA detected a first possible “marsquake.” The American space agency’s InSight lander may have sensed its first seismic event on Mars.
The British army has a plan to slay a dragon. In honor of Saint George, it released an odd video of soldiers explaining how they’d take down the mythical beast.
Cathay Pacific has a theft problem. The Hong Kong carrier said it is taking action against the pilfering of ice cream, cutlery, and champagne from its planes.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, airplane swag, and hip new words to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Annabelle Timsit and edited by Jackie Bischof.