Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Citigroup reports first-quarter earnings. Analysts expect lower profits (paywall) and revenue. The bank turned its largest annual profit in nearly a decade in 2015, but is unlikely to have escaped the effects of the global slowdown as it gets over half its revenue from outside the US.
Oil producers meet in Qatar. The world’s biggest oil exporters, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, will meet Sunday in Doha to discuss freezing output to try and tackle the current oversupply of around two million excess barrels a day.
Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment vote. The vote will happen on Sunday, after Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned a last-minute government motion to halt the proceedings. If a two-thirds majority votes to impeach, the next steps could be to prosecute Rousseff for breaking budget laws and eventually suspend her.
While you were sleeping
China’s growth was its slowest since 2009. The economy grew 6.7% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, which was in line with expectations. On the bright side, it reported jumps in both consumer spending and investment in industrial assets and infrastructure.
The UK started its official campaign over an EU exit. Both sides of the “Brexit” debate have already been making their arguments, but the official campaigning period started today, ahead of the stay-or-leave referendum on June 23.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders faced off in New York. Repeatedly questioning each other’s judgement, the Democratic rivals got nasty in their last debate before the state’s April 19 primary—a critical contest in their race for the nomination. Aside from all the yelling, Sanders offered to release his tax returns, and Clinton said she’d raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
A North Korean missile launch failed. South Korean and US sources said Pyongyang had tried unsuccessfully to test a ballistic missile with a range of about 1,800 miles to mark the birthday of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung. China condemned it as “sabre-rattling, that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere.”
Carrefour’s stock gained 2% on strong Latin American sales. The French retailer reported first-quarter revenue growth of 3.1%, excluding calendar effects and gasoline prices. It reported a 9.9% jump in like-for-like sales in Brazil. Europe was generally weak, except for rebounds in Spain and Italy.
Spain’s industry minister resigned. José Manuel Soria stepped down after he was unable to give a satisfactory explanation for his links to an offshore company listed in the Panama Papers leak. Soria denied any wrongdoing.
Quartz obsession interlude
Michael J. Coren on our conflicting interpretations of emoji. “As digital interactions start to displace more face-to-face communications, academics are now confirming what many social media enthusiasts have complained about for years: Emotional communication online is a mess.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Society’s reaction to Zika babies reflects our deep prejudices. Media coverage implies the lives of people with disabilities aren’t worth living.
Science fairs aren’t fair. Students who don’t have the help of a science-savvy parent are ill-equipped to compete.
No good can come from spying on your teenagers. Technology makes it easier than ever to keep tabs on them, but snooping erodes trust.
Surprising discoveries
The Czech Republic wants a snappier name. The government is pushing “Czechia“—its third name since 1990.
Jamaica might ditch the British queen as head of state. The constitutional amendment could make the island a republic.
People in Denmark get paid interest on their mortgages. Welcome to the wacky world of negative interest rates (paywall).
There’s a terrifying Finnish museum dedicated to poisonous spiders. “I’m waiting for one to bite the prime minister.”
The best way to predict gentrification? Using social-media posts, which might be more helpful than census data.
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