Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
London selects a new mayor. Boris Johnson is due to be replaced by either fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith or Labour’s Sadiq Khan. England is also voting in local elections; both results should give us an idea if there will be a challenge to hard-leftist Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.
Turkey’s prime minister is stepping down. Ahmet Davutoğlu, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s handpicked successor, is due to hold a news conference about calling an extraordinary congress of his party. Davutoğlu has been caught up in a power struggle with Erdogan for months. The imminent dissolution of their alliance sent the Turkish lira into a tailspin.
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.
While you were sleeping
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 (paywall). It’s a favorite among terrorists and criminals, who sometimes refer to it as the “bin Laden” banknote.
Barclays retreated in Africa. The British bank raised nearly $900 million (paywall) by selling a 12.2% stake in its African unit to several investors, including South Africa’s state pension fund. Regulatory pressure on the continent is one reason why Barclays has said it plans to sell off most of its banking operations there.
The owners of the LA Times rejected an offer… Gannett, which owns USA Today, last month said it wanted to buy the Los Angeles paper for $815 million. But Tribune, which owns the LA Times, called the offer “opportunistic” and said that it understated the paper’s value.
…and the UK’s newest newspaper was shut down—nine weeks after launch. The New Day, a print-only publication that had no website, was launched by the news group Trinity Mirror in February. They had hoped for paid circulation of about 200,000 copies a day, but only managed a “disappointing” 40,000.
Tesla got even more ambitious. Elon Musk’s electric car maker posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss but said it wanted to produce 500,000 cars annually by 2018—two years ahead of schedule. Musk told investors not to worry: “My desk is at the end of the production line.”
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
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.
A gap year can teach you more than school. Life skills are more important than rushing into a university education.
China’s Baidu should have higher standards than Google. The search engine is the only way many Chinese citizens get information online.
Surprising discoveries
Neither of the former president Bushes will endorse Donald Trump. Is Trump too high-energy?
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.”
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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