Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
“China’s Nasdaq” starts trading. The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science and Technology Innovation Board was designed to persuade Chinese tech-industry champions to list at home. The first 25 companies trading on the board range from telecommunications equipment makers to biotech firms.
The fallout from another mass protest in Hong Kong. Following massive demonstrations demanding an investigation into police conduct, some black-clad protesters vandalized Chinese government facilities with graffiti and eggs. A group of masked men wearing white attacked protesters in a subway station.
President Ricardo Duterte of the Philippines gives his fourth state of the nation address. The speech on Monday is expected to cover corruption, illegal drugs, criminality, and his legacy.
Over the weekend
Abe kept his majority in Japan. The LDP-Komeito coalition kept its majority in the House of Councillors but it fell short of the super majority needed to amend the country’s pacifist constitution.
Airlines suspended flights to Cairo. British Airways and Lufthansa abruptly halted flights to Cairo on Saturday after citing unspecified threats to safety. BA’s suspension is set to last seven days. Lufthansa resumed flights on Sunday.
A break in the US-China trade war. Chinese companies are seeking new purchases of US agricultural products, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday. It’s intended to be a signal of China’s goodwill and eagerness to resume stalled trade talks with the US.
Benjamin Netanyahu became Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. After 13 years and 128 days in office, he’s broken the record held by David Ben-Gurion just ahead of a September election.
Florida’s Key West was awash in Hemmingway wannabes. As part of an annual festival honoring the old man by the sea, 142 bearded fellows competed for the title of best writer lookalike.
Quartz Obsession
Bad banks aren’t so bad. Deutsche Bank is creating one to dump its icky assets away in, which it calls, with Orwellian flair, a “Capital Release Unit.” But there’s often a silver lining, as not only do they help stabilize the good bank, the bad one can turn a profit. It’s also a good place for bankers to cut their teeth, like Citi’s current CEO, who once led its bad bank. Get fiscal at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Want to save the environment? Subsidize e-bikes. According to a study of transportation options in the UK, subsidies to e-bikes are more than twice as effective at reducing carbon emissions than subsidies for electric cars on a dollar for kilogram basis.
The new statue of Melania Trump in Slovenia is beautiful. A life-sized wooden sculpture of the US’s first lady near her birthplace has been widely mocked online but art experts see its merits.
Trashy TV has made us dumber. The more children and adults are exposed to vapid programming, the more likely they are to vote for populist politicians with simplistic messages.
Surprising discoveries
Residents of Hong Kong are eyeing escape to Portugal. After opposition to a Chinese-extradition bill prompted mass protests, locals are mulling a future in one of Europe’s more affordable nations.
Pacific gray whales are dying at an accelerated pace. The US is investigating an “unusual mortality event” that has seen gray whales being found dead this year at a rate four-times greater than typical.
Anti-smoking advertising relies on a deceptive image. A man who lost his leg after a 1997 shooting in Albania recognized his own stump by its distinctive scar patterns on a French cigarette-warning label arguing that smoking clogs arteries.
A Nigerian flight was delayed by a hitchhiker. As the pilot was taxiing along the runway in Lagos, he noticed a man running from the bushes and jumping onto the wings of the moving aircraft.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, amateurish sculpture, whale-death theories, and exile locales to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by David Yanofsky and Ephrat Livni.