🌍 Release the grain

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

A deal to restart Ukraine grain exports will be signed today. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN have arrived at an agreement that will free up 20 million tons of grain trapped in Odessa.

The European Central Bank raised rates by half a percentage point. The bigger-than-expected hike, the bank’s first since 2011, aims to tackle “undesirably high” inflation.

US president Joe Biden tested positive for covid. A press release stated he is taking Paxlovid and will carry out duties from isolation in the White House.

Didi was fined $1.2 billion. Chinese authorities found evidence that the ride-hailing service violated cybersecurity and data laws.

Italian prime minister Mario Draghi resigned. The country’s parliament will dissolve after attempts to save the ruling coalition failed, paving the way for a snap election.

India elected Droupadi Murmu as the next president. A tribal leader from Odisha, she will become the second woman to hold India’s highest office.

Baidu revealed a new self-driving taxi. The tech giant, whose robo-taxis have been trialed in 10 Chinese cities since 2020, says the Apollo RT6 is cheaper to manufacture.

The US leveled charges of cryptocurrency insider trading for the first time. The three defendants allegedly made $1.1 million through a Coinbase tips scheme. The Department of Justice stated, “Web3 is not a law-free zone.”

What to watch for

Twitter reports earnings today, but there won’t be an accompanying call since the social media company has a pending deal with one Elon Musk. Analysts expect Twitter’s earnings will be down this quarter, but the bigger story is how turbulent the company’s shares have been over the past few months.

The latest boost to Twitter’s stock, not pictured above, has been its first win in its fight with Musk. The two parties are heading to court this October, earlier than Musk’s requested 2023, after the billionaire went cold turkey on his $44 billion bid to buy the social media company. Twitter’s stock was up more than 5% on news of the trial’s expedited date.

What comes next for Twitter will depend on how well it can walk the tightrope of investor confidence. It has to prove to shareholders it can succeed alone, while also showing it will come out on top in court.

About that other company with a “T”

In the second quarter, Tesla saw its biggest drop in production since the start of the pandemic, down 15% from the previous quarter.

It was expected—the company’s factory in Shanghai wasn’t operating in April because of covid lockdowns, and facilities in Austin and Berlin couldn’t scale up fast enough to make up for the loss of output in Shanghai.

Tesla is predicting a major turnaround in production in the second half of the year. But the most recent numbers were bad enough that the company sold off 75% of its bitcoin holdings to bolster its cash reserves. On a July 20 earnings call, Musk told investors that the sell off “should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin,” but rather, “we were concerned about overall liquidity for the company.”

How to spot corporate greenwashing

It’s becoming increasingly hard to spot when a company’s environmental advertising is genuine or dubious. The tactics corporations use to manipulate consumers into thinking they’re climate-focused organizations can range from the simplistic (flashing images of polar bears) to the deceitful (baseless claims of carbon offsets).

Quartz reporters Tim McDonnell and Amanda Shendruk put together a taxonomy of red flags to look for in marketing materials, and advice on how to get smarter about consuming green.

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Surprising discoveries

Last year’s sudden surge in trading of Berkshire Hathaway shares was an illusion. Mystery solved—it was due to a change in how brokerage app Robinhood reported fractional trades.

The James Webb Space Telescope made another awesome discovery. It found the oldest galaxy ever seen in the universe, dated to 300 million years after the big bang.

A seized Russian oligarch’s superyacht was carrying precious cargo. A suspected Fabergé egg was recovered on board the Amadea.

A cannabis facility turned the sky pink in an Australian town. Someone must have forgotten to put down the blinds, treating locals to a spellbinding glow.

The world’s oldest, giant male panda has died. An An the panda had reached the ripe age of 35 years, equivalent to the age of 105 in human years.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, a Fabergé egg, and Barbiecore skies to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Sofia Lotto Persio, Julia Malleck, Morgan Haefner, and Scott Nover.