Good morning, Quartz readers!
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. Forward to your friend who’s obsessed with their step count.
Here’s what you need to know
The World Health Organization wants a moratorium on Covid boosters. The global health watchdog is concerned about growing vaccination disparities between rich and poor countries. Meanwhile, the global Covid caseload has reached 200 million infections.
Mexico is suing US gun companies. The suit, filed in Massachusetts, argues that gun makers have deliberately unleashed “a deadly flood of military-style and other particularly lethal guns” across the border. It’s the first time that a national government has sued gun manufacturers in the US.
China has been slammed by Covid outbreaks as delta hits. The country is limiting cross-border travel and millions are back in lockdown.
Robinhood trading halted several times. Shares jumped as much as 80% on Wednesday in the second-straight day of wild trading.
US businesses fell short of hiring estimates. Private companies added 330,000 jobs in July, much lower than the predicted 653,000.
Uber made a $1.1 billion profit last quarter, thanks mostly to its investment in Didi. But Uber’s stake in the Chinese ride-hailing giant has lost a huge chunk of its value as Didi faces intense scrutiny from Chinese regulators.
Rihanna is a billionaire. The artist and fashion mogul is now worth $1.7 billion, making her the highest-paid female musician in the world.
What to watch for
Shiseido, Japan’s largest cosmetics company, reports earnings today. The company has rebounded from the worst of the pandemic, recording a return to growth over 2020 levels in line with the overall beauty market’s recovery. In China and the US, makeup sales are climbing, and last month L’Oréal posted growth numbers that surpassed those of 2019, before the pandemic took hold.
But Shiseido’s biggest market is Japan, which continues to struggle with Covid-19 outbreaks. The company’s home country was the one major market that didn’t grow (pdf) year-over-year as of last quarter. As for this earnings announcement, analysts expect Shiseido’s global sales to rise above 2020 levels, but the situation in Japan is likely to put pressure on its quarterly results.
Charting a US landlord’s stock market returns
Shares of Invitation Homes—America’s largest single-family landlord—have soared more than 40% this year, more than double that of the S&P 500. Rents across the country have jumped 11% in 2021 as of June, according to online marketplace Apartment List, pushing the cost of renting a house well ahead of pre-pandemic trends. As the cost of housing goes up, Invitation Homes raised rents by 8% nationwide in the second quarter.
The American housing market is red hot, from coast to coast. John Detrixhe has more on what’s fueling the boom.
Want more of Quartz’s journalism?
Thanks for making a spot for us in your inbox each morning. The Daily Brief is just a small sliver of what Quartz has to offer. From the myriad forces driving the world economy to what’s changing about the way we work to on-the-ground coverage of India and Africa, we’ve got the inside intel for today’s global citizens. Support our journalism with a Quartz membership—take 40% off using code QZEMAIL40.
Handpicked Quartz
(👇As always, the first story in this list is paywall-free.)
💉 Why should the US follow Europe’s lead on vaccine passes? Because they work
🏠 Latinx renters face the highest risk of eviction in the US
🤨 Why it’s not nearly enough that Germany is returning Nigeria’s looted Benin bronzes
💼 How much do corporate Covid-19 vaccine mandates really matter?
🔮 Today’s mental health practices have seen the future
⌚️ Wearable technology is changing the way Olympic athletes train
Surprising discoveries
Iraq reclaimed 17,000 looted artifacts. Cuneiform tablets and other items were held by the Museum of the Bible, a Washington, DC collection run by the family that owns Hobby Lobby.
Louis Vuitton made its own video game. The fashion house released a mobile app where users can guide its mascot on a journey through Paris.
Harvestmen can detach their own legs. When threatened, these arachnids can pop off a limb at a moment’s notice.
Olympic athletes should watch what they eat… Tainted pork and other contaminated meat can elicit a false positive in doping screens.
…while Olympic horses were spooked by a sumo butt. A life-size statue of a sumo wrestler has bewildered animals and their riders in Tokyo.
World leaders knew that Donald Trump loved himself. Leaders from Australia, Egypt, and Vietnam gifted Trump photos or portraits of himself, valued collectively at more than $10,000. Among other gifts: an Ottoman Empire rifle from the Bulgarian prime minister.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, detachable limbs, and high fashion video games to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Marc Bain, Samanth Subramanian, Scott Nover, and Liz Webber.