Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US reports employment figures for March. Employers likely added about 200,000 jobs in the last month. The jobless rate is expected to hold steady at an eight-year low of 4.9%, despite a weak global economy.
Bouygues and Orange try to seal the deal. The French conglomerate has delayed a final decision about selling its telecoms business to Orange, the country’s biggest telecoms operator. The companies now have a Sunday deadline to make the call.
Japan’s power companies face a major shakeup. Regional utilities will lose their monopoly rights to sell power to small customers. Shinzo Abe’s government hopes the reforms will shake up Japan’s stagnant economy.
While you were sleeping
Zaha Hadid, the world’s only female “starchitect,” died at 65. The Iraqi-born, London-based Hadid suffered a heart attack in Miami. Known for her gravity-defying, deconstructivist structures, she received some of the highest honors in architecture—but also courted controversy by designing buildings for autocrats.
US women’s soccer stars are suing for wage discrimination. Five top players, including team co-captains Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn, said they will file a federal complaint against US Soccer. The World Cup- and Olympic gold medal-winning team receives far less than their less successful male counterparts.
Tesla fans lined up for the new Model 3. Thousands of people thronged Tesla showrooms around the world to place $1,000 deposits for the company’s high-profile new sedan, sight unseen. The car will be unveiled by CEO Elon Musk at an 830pm PDT (1130 HK time) event.
GE Capital doesn’t want to be “too big to fail” anymore. The lender asked the US government to strike down its “”systemically important” designation, in place since the financial crisis. Being on the list comes with more government oversight and larger capital requirements, which GE says should no longer apply after it sold most of its financial units.
The nuclear security summit started off with a whimper. With Vladimir Putin boycotting the meeting and Barack Obama in his last year as US president, world leaders broke no new ground in Washington, DC. However, Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping pledged cooperation on North Korea and vowed to sign last year’s Paris climate deal on April 22.
Quartz markets haiku
The roller coaster
Is climbing again. What fun!
Then again, is it?
Quartz obsession interlude
Nico Lang on the legal name changes for transgender Americans. “Kinkade explains that many of his clients have faced sexual violence from police after being targeted for not having up-to-date identification that reflects their chosen name and their gender identity. It means that many of the trans people he works with have stopped even going to the grocery store, in fear of what will happen if they encounter a police officer.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Manufacturing still matters, even in knowledge economies. It creates more well-paying jobs than any other sector.
America may finally be tiring of Donald Trump. He’s still the odds-on Republican nominee, but his antics are getting boring.
Naive attorneys are killing the legal profession. They all want to be like the fictional Atticus Finch.
Surprising discoveries
Italy may start teaching 6-year-olds about wine… Legislators want a mandatory wine education class for public schools.
…As the world studies an Italian village filled with centenarians. Many are older than 110, despite enjoying cigarettes and never exercising.
Spain’s third-largest city changed its name. Valencia is now València—pronounced identically, but with an accent to match the local language.
Tyrion is the mathematically proven protagonist of Game of Thrones. Researchers used a network analysis technique that’s also used to track terrorists.
Christian Louboutin is making “nude” shoes to match every skin tone. They range from “porcelain” to “deep chocolate”—and from $675 to $875.
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