Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Alibaba earnings. Jack Ma’s e-commerce giant has been expanding in rural China and is expected to report higher quarterly profits, despite China’s economic downturn. Analysts are predicting $3.6 billion in revenue, up nearly 30% over the last year.
Scotland heads to the polls…. Voters are expected to re-elect first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party. The SNP has vowed to renew the campaign for Scottish independence—especially if Great Britain votes to leave the European Union.
…And London selects a new mayor. After weathering the financial crisis and overseeing the 2012 Olympics, Boris Johnson’s tenure is at an end. He is due to be replaced by either fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith or Labour’s Sadiq Khan.
While you were sleeping
Tesla got even more ambitious. Elon Musk’s electric carmaker posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and said it could produce 500,000 cars annually by 2018, two years ahead of schedule, sending its shares up nearly 10%. Tesla also announced the departure of two senior manufacturing executives, who were reportedly linked to some of the company’s recent production woes.
Donald Trump completed his Republican takeover. Ohio governor John Kasich, Trump’s last rival standing, dropped out of the presidential race, hours after Texas senator Ted Cruz did the same. Trump is now turning his focus to presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who leads him by a wide margin in the polls, and vetting potential running mates.
Turkey’s prime minister is stepping down. Ahmet Davutoglu, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hand-picked successor, has been caught up in a power struggle with Erdogan for months. The dissolution of their alliance sent the Turkish lira into a tailspin.
Canada rejected two Huawei executives on espionage fears. The telecom giant is already banned from operating in the United States due to alleged ties with the Chinese military, which it denies. The South China Morning Post reported that the Huawei employee visas were blocked due to a provision banning organizations “engaged in espionage, government subversion or terrorism.”
Europe abandoned the €500 bill. In an attempt to hamper nefarious crash transactions, the European Central Bank announced plans to phase out the bill by 2018. It’s a favorite among terrorists and criminals, who sometimes refer to it as the “Bin Laden” banknote.
Quartz markets haiku
Productivity
Is down, bad news for profits
The market hates that
Quartz obsession interlude
Corinne Purtill talks to a Lego master builder about his job. “Master builders must have a solid grasp of math and physics concepts like ratios, scaling, and load-bearing. They also need an artist’s creativity and aesthetic eye.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
A gap year can teach you more than school. Life skills are more important than rushing into a university education.
Trump will bolster authoritarian leaders around the world. His rise shows how democracy can descend into chaos.
Stealing food is not a crime if you’re poor. Italy’s top court just freed a starving homeless man jailed for stealing $4.50 worth of cheese and sausage.
Surprising discoveries
KFC made nail polish that tastes like fried chicken. The chain is trying to make its “Finger Lickin’ Good” motto quite literal.
Opioid addicts are abusing some very unlikely drugs. Over-the-counter diarrhea medicine is the “poor man’s methadone.”
Cicadas are so loud that they’re hazardous to your health. “Brood V,” set to hatch in a few weeks, may cause “physical and psychological strain.”
Medical errors are now the third-leading cause of US deaths. They have surpassed accidents and respiratory diseases.
Malaria during pregnancy is a lot more dangerous than Zika. The virus kills an estimated 10,000 mothers and 100,000 newborns a year.
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