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Poland’s parliament voted for a controversial media law. The bill, which has been criticized as censorship, is seen as a possible threat to the country’s relationship with the US.
The US asked OPEC to step up the pace. The current speed of oil production is too slow to keep gas prices reasonable as countries reopen.
Samsung is still iterating on folding phones. The company announced the Galaxy Z Fold 3—it’s waterproof!—a smartwatch using Google’s Wear OS, and plastic-elimination goals.
Joe Biden will attempt to convince businesses to mandate vaccines… The US president’s Covid-19-fighting strategy now hinges on four private sector industries: large corporations, small businesses, universities, and healthcare.
…and pregnant women are being urged to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there’s no evidence the shot causes miscarriages.
What to watch for
India’s government releases its inflation figures for July today, and with the central bank focused on reviving growth in the Covid-hit economy, rising prices are cause for concern. Consumer price inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4% target for a year.
While July’s reading is expected to be slightly lower—5.78% as compared to 6.26% in June—because of a fall in food prices and a high base effect, the pressure is likely to continue due to rising global oil prices. Fears of a fresh Covid-19 wave are also adding to inflation worries. The deadly second wave in April and May forced many states to re-impose strict lockdowns, which punctured supply chains and pushed prices higher.
Even the RBI seems less hopeful of meeting its target in the near term. Last week, it raised its inflation forecast for 2021-22 to 5.7% from 5.1%.
Charting the US labor shortage
The US unemployment rate declined from 5.9% to 5.4% in July (though it is still higher than the 3.5% unemployment rate pre-pandemic). However, a closer look at the trends in worker movement by the sizes of companies reveals the disparity between small businesses and larger ones.
Data from June show workers are quitting at historic levels, but it’s hitting small businesses much harder. There are also more job openings at companies with over 250 employees, and hiring is increasing faster at large businesses.
Should small businesses invest in cyber insurance?
With online attacks increasing exponentially in recent years, more and more companies are looking at purchasing cyber-liability insurance, which explicitly covers losses in the event of a cyberattack.
Whether such protection is right for your business comes down to factors like the size of your company, what kind of business you operate, and the types of data that you store and where. Ultimately, cyber insurance is about recovering stolen data, not protecting against an attack, so the first step is making sure you and your employees are following cybersecurity best practices.
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Surprising discoveries
NASA’s Mars simulation habitat is being 3D printed. For one year, four astronauts will live in a space designed to keep them alive without sacrificing style.
An Olympic volunteer paid for a taxi. It got Jamaican hurdler Hansle Parchment to his gold-medal-winning race on time, and he and his government are both feeling grateful.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest English word. It’s not a pleasant one, though (and we’re embarrassed to report it involves quartz).
A wandering European walrus is extremely into boat life. The mammal has chosen small vessels to rest in, which makes for cute pictures and broken boats.
A six-foot giraffe was born in a Massachusetts zoo. That’s an unusually huge baby, even for giraffes.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, extra long words, and extra tall giraffes 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 Mimansa Verma, Clarisa Diaz, Karen Epper Hoffman, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.