Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index had its best day in almost 16 years. Global markets rebounded yesterday after a rough start to the week.
U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris tapped Tim Walz to be her running mate. The Minnesota governor is a former high school teacher and army man.
An OpenAI co-founder left to join a rival. Less than a day after one OpenAI co-founder filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its executives, another revealed he’s leaving for Anthropic.
Elon Musk’s X accused advertisers of boycotting it. The social platform claimed a major group of advertisers violated antitrust laws by coordinating the effort.
Uber drove forward its self-driving car plans. Uber said its autonomous rides increased sixfold last quarter.
Disney raised prices for its streaming services again. The price hikes will affect Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
Canadian gold glistens
Gold is Canada’s glimmering economic hero this summer. The practical-yet-precious commodity helped turn Canada’s trade deficit into a surprise surplus this summer. The country exported C$638 million ($432 million) more in goods and services than it imported in June — a whole lot more than the C$2 billion trade deficit economists expected. Demand for Canada’s gold and oil drove the upswing.
That’s because central banks — especially China’s — have been increasing their stockpiles of the precious metal amid global economic uncertainty. Quartz’s Melvin Backman has the story.
And if you’re hankering for more gold reads, here’s Quartz’s thoughts on the history of the lost gold standard.
One big number: $43 billion
The total annual cost for cancer screenings in the U.S. as of 2021, per a new study
Colorectal cancer screenings and colonoscopies are gobbling up funds from private insurance plans, government programs, and uninsured people. A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine examines whether the high costs of screenings are really worth it — or if funds should be redirected toward cancer treatment.
More from Quartz
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🌮 Taco Bell reigns supreme among Yum! brands
👀 Watch: A ‘healthy’ recession can’t hurt
Surprising discoveries
New Chinese e-bikes run on star fuel. At least 12 cities in China have launched hydrogen-powered bike share programs — to mixed reviews.
The Moon is drifting away from Earth. A study showed that the drift could lead to 25-hour days — in 200 million years.
Paris is using AI to crawl CCTV footage for threats. There are too many CCTV cameras for humans to monitor, so controversial algorithms are watching footage instead.
A 36-year-old trademark lawyer created the domain HarrisWalz.com — four years ago. The same lawyer sold the domain name ClintonKaine.com in 2016 for $15,000, and he wants to make a similar sum this go-around.
Florida International University’s football stadium will be named after Pitbull. Pitbull bought the naming rights for $1.2 million a year, for five years.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, star fuel, and Harris-Walz domain names to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Laura Bratton and Morgan Haefner.