Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
2020 Democrats gather in San Francisco. At least 13 candidates are attending a Democratic National Committee meeting that gives party delegates—plus the press and public—the chance to hear from the presidential hopefuls and possibly settle on endorsements. Frontrunner Joe Biden is skipping the event, but Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris will be there.
The G7 summit kicks off amid a global outcry over the Amazon rainforest fires. World leaders gather for three days of talks in Biarritz, France, for what are expected to be tense discussions on the future of multilateralism (paywall). French president Emmanuel Macron, who has tweeted that the fires in Brazil are an “international crisis,” called for them to top the G7 agenda.
Hong Kong holds hands. On the 12th weekend of protests in the territory, demonstrators will create a 40 km (25 mile) human chain to keep the focus on their fight to protect the city’s freedoms. It’s inspired by the Baltic Way, which saw 2 million people in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join hands in 1989 to denounce Soviet rule.
Jay Powell addresses Jackson Hole. At the annual gathering of bankers and economists, the Fed chief, who faces divisions within the central bank as well as constant criticism from the US president, will seek to reassure markets that he stands ready to cut rates to prevent a recession.
While you were sleeping
Walmart and Tesla made nice. In a joint statement, the two companies said they were trying to resolve all the issues around solar panels on rooftops of Walmart stores, and “re-energize” the effort. It comes two days after the retailer sued the electric carmaker over fires at several of the installations.
Deutsche Bank got a slap on the wrist. Germany’s largest lender agreed to pay $16 million to settle allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had hired “poorly qualified” relatives of officials in Russia and Asia to win business. The firm didn’t admit or deny the charges.
A Putin opponent got out of jail. After serving a 30-day prison term for organizing demonstrations, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was released today. Moscow has been hit by large-scale demonstrations since authorities refused to allow opposition candidates to stand for upcoming elections in the capital, arresting thousands.
Hasbro bought Peppa Pig. The US toymaker, behind brands like Monopoly and G.I. Joe, agreed to purchase parent company Entertainment One for $4 billion. The deal marks a major boost to expand its entertainment offerings into media and TV production, given the popularity of the 15-year-old children’s cartoon.
Huawei struck a more positive tone. The Chinese telecom giant said the impact of its US blacklisting has not been as bad as had been feared. Earlier in the year, founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said it would cost the company $30 billion in revenue this year.
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Purdue Pharma has received heaps of criticism for the role it played in the US opioid epidemic. After a year-long investigation, Quartz found that Mundipharma—an international network of companies also owned by the Sackler family—is using similar deceptive marketing to sell opioids overseas. Members are invited to view our exclusive 40-minute documentary on what we found when we looked into how exactly legal drugs are sold.
Quartz Obsession
Time to pick a side in #JollofWars. Every West African country has its own approach to jollof rice, a hearty staple with a tomato base that’s the ancestor of jambalaya and gumbo, and whose is the best is an ongoing social media debate (hint: It’s not Jamie Oliver’s!). Now it’s hitting the menu in upscale US and UK restaurants, and KFC is hoping jollof will help it win over Nigerians. Things are getting spicy at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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The US should issue a 100-year bond. America has the rare opportunity to lock-in ultra-low rates for a century, and it’s time to go long.
Tech addiction is ruining the workforce of the future. The good news is that Gen Z knows it should unplug, but it’s everyone else’s job to help them.
India’s lunar mission is bigger than patriotism. The space industry is growing and countries are investing today to win earthly rewards tomorrow.
Surprising discoveries
The Apple Card bruises easily. The company says that leather, denim, and even other credit cards can damage the piece of etched titanium.
The world’s longest flight might be too long. Qantas is doing test runs for its new 20-hour direct flights to see how the human body holds up.
Lightning megaflashes are mega flashy. New weather satellites are revealing record-breaking lightning strikes that stretch up to 418 miles (672 km) long.
Philly’s male Tinder users include union affiliations in their profiles. It’s a difficult achievement they’re proud of—and might signal they’ll be a good provider.
There’s a battle to own the word “the.” Marc Jacobs and Ohio State University have both filed applications to trademark the everyday word.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, “the” trademarks, and hardy cards to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Adam Rasmi, Rashmee Roshan Lall, and Jason Karaian.