Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
France presents a massive aerospace industry rescue plan. The package, worth billions of euros, is aimed at providing aid to major manufacturers like Airbus and engine maker Safran, as well as hundreds of other French suppliers. It will also create funds to protect key suppliers from Chinese takeovers (Quartz member exclusive).
The UK and Japan start negotiating a free trade deal. Britain’s trade minister will meet the Japanese minister for foreign affairs to hammer out a post-Brexit trade agreement, which the UK hopes will be in force by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the UK also wants to reinvent its relationship with China.
IBM shuts down its facial-recognition business. The tech giant will no longer offer, research, or develop the technology over concerns of mass surveillance, racial profiling, and human rights violations, its CEO said in a letter to the US Congress.
Hong Kong bailed out Cathay Pacific. The city’s flagship carrier, battered by a year of protests and the pandemic, will get a HK$30 billion ($3.9 billion) rescue package—that could also see the government take a stake and get a direct say in the company’s affairs. The airline attracted Beijing’s ire after employees expressed support for the protest movement.
North Korea began ghosting South Korea. The decision to stop responding to calls or messages from Seoul was made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister and a former hardline military officer, according to Pyongyang’s state news agency.
When the world stands together
Today, George Floyd will be laid to rest in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer touched off protests against racial injustice that, over the course of a week, spread across the US and then the globe.
Africa: More than 100 prominent African writers signed a statement condemning “the acts of violence on Black people in the United States” and demanding justice “for any and all racial killings.” Small protests sprung up in Nairobi and Cape Town.
Europe: Over the weekend, thousands gathered in London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Budapest, and many other cities. In Rome, protesters kneeled for eight minutes before shouting “George Floyd is here! No to racism.”
Asia: To a crowd gathered in Tokyo, protest organizer Taichi Hirano shouted, “Even if we are far apart, we learn of everything instantly on social media. Can we really dismiss it all as irrelevant?” In Seoul, protesters gathered for several days in a row.
Australia: Marchers used the moment to protest the racial injustice against the country’s indigenous people, with placards carrying messages like “Same story, different soil.”
Middle East: The phrase “We want to breathe, too” is spreading on social media in Iraq.
Charting the way we spend now
Those who still have money to spend are merely funneling it into different channels than they were a year ago. Any of these—or a combination thereof—sound familiar?
🌵The Hipsteader (DIYus hippus domesticus): The gardener, the baker, the candlestick maker (maybe?). This consumer has traded Instagram-worthy outings for Instagram-worthy tomato plants, and they’re growing the revenue for seed companies, flour manufacturers, and Crocs.
📺 The Screenhead (zombus remotus): Gamers, film fans, and virtual concertgoers. Screenheads used to haunt movie theaters and arenas, but now they’re throwing their ticket budget at streaming services, platforms, and delivery giants.
💪 The Overachiever (proactivus nervosis): The kind that never stops improving. They’ve been using this time to learn new skills, hit Peloton goals, and perfect their hair-highlighting touch. As the chart below shows, Overachievers may forego trying a new lipstick, but are insistent on keeping their roots in check.
For members: China within German industry
In the early 2010s, Chinese companies took advantage of the opportunities presented by the eurozone debt crisis to heavily invest in or outright take over many German manufacturers in verticals like:
- High-end factory robotics
- Luxury vehicles
- Blood coagulation disorder treatments
- Waste management
- Energy management
- Banking
- Plastics processing
- Forklift trucks
- Concrete pumps
The prospect of Chinese competitors in Germany’s backyard worried Berlin enough that it tightened its rules on foreign investments, and has repeatedly called for EU-wide measures to prevent Chinese corporate takeovers tied to Covid-19. Read more about how Covid-19 is a defining moment in the relationship between Europe and China in this week’s field guide on China’s changing influence.
✦ To gain access to all the stories, presentations, field guides, workshops, and more that are available exclusively to Quartz members, try a seven-day free trial. ✦
Building an anti-racist company
Turning company statements and social media posts into meaningful action is the next leg of the journey for any leader. And that’s what anti-racism is—a journey with lots of potential roadblocks and wrong turns along the way. It may seem daunting, but inaction will take a higher toll as companies start to bear more of the responsibility for structural change.
Join us for a free online workshop that will help point you in the right direction, featuring Melissa Theiss, vice president of operations at Quorum, Nadia Owusu, associate director at Living Cities and author of Aftershocks, and Steve Pemberton, chief human resources officer at Workhuman.
We’ll be live on Thursday, June 11 at 11am EDT. Register online, and we’ll see you there!
Surprising discoveries
Parasite released Zoom backgrounds. The Oscar-winning South Korean film is offering five official virtual background images to spice up video calls.
Archaeologists mapped a complete Roman city. The achievement used ground-penetrating radar, revealing new details on how such sites worked.
Gym owners are ditching CrossFit. They’re ending partnerships with the fitness company over its silence on police brutality and the CEO’s racist tweets.
Satellite data showed a surge in car traffic to Wuhan hospitals last fall. It could suggest that the coronavirus outbreak started much earlier than reported.
Apple has a patent on the socially distant group selfie. The tool would allow users to stitch photos of themselves together, even if they have to stay apart.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, responsible selfies, and cinematic backgrounds tips to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Susan Howson, Nicolás Rivero, Mary Hui, and Tripti Lahiri.