Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Europe and the IMF spar over Greece. The euro zone’s finance ministers are expected to approve €10 billion ($11.2 billion) in new loans that will stave off a potential default in July. But they are at odds with the International Monetary Fund, which wants to give Athens “upfront and unconditional” debt relief (paywall).
Justin Trudeau meets with Shinzo Abe. The sharp-elbowed Canadian prime minister will talk with his Japanese counterpart ahead of this week’s G7 meeting. Trudeau is also expected to lobby Japanese automakers to open new factories in Canada.
A fresh batch of earnings. Best Buy, DSW, Kirkland’s, AutoZone, and Hewlett Packard all report quarterly results.
While you were sleeping
Austria made a last-minute swerve away from the far right. Economics professor Alexander Van der Bellen eked out a dramatic win in the presidential election, defeating Norbert Hofer, the gun-toting far-right candidate. A victory for Hofer would have been a huge boost for Europe’s anti-Islam, anti-immigration parties.
Spotify’s financials sent a mixed message. The streaming music company’s annual loss widened to $200 million, from $180 million the previous year, as revenues rose 77% to $2.1 billion. Almost 90% of revenue came from the 30% of users who pay for a premium subscription, highlighting the difficulties of making money from advertising.
More Viacom drama unfolded. CEO Phillippe Dauman sued the daughter of executive chairman Sumner Redstone, who removed him and another executive from a trust that will control the $40 billion media empire if Redstone dies or is declared mentally incapacitated. Investors are betting the chaos will shake up the struggling media giant.
The US Supreme Court sided with a death row inmate over racial bias. In a 7-1 decision, justices ruled that prosecutors improperly hand-picked a white jury to convict a black man of murder. The ruling could open the door for other racial bias cases.
Exxon Mobil shareholders got antsy about climate change. Several large institutional shareholders plan to press the oil giant to disclose the risks that global warming may pose to its business. Exxon projects that demand for oil will keep growing, despite global calls to cap fossil fuel use.
Quartz markets haiku
Whipping in the wind,
First one way, then another
Red mountain banner
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on why Vietnam is globalization’s last big fan: “A 2014 survey by Pew Research noted that ‘the Vietnamese are the most enthusiastic backers of both trade and investment’ among the nations included in the Trans Pacific Partnership …. Some 95% of Vietnamese respondents said that ‘trade is good,’ with high percentages concurring that trade both creates jobs and raises wages.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Your brain is not a computer. The ubiquitous metaphor is based on faulty logic.
Your Facebook feed is keeping you from making the world better. Social media stymies our ability to understand others.
Breakfast is not that crucial. The cereal industry is responsible for most of the studies that claim otherwise.
Surprising discoveries
Climate change is creating interspecies romance for bears. “Grolor” bears are popping up where grizzly and polar bears share the same turf.
Paramount won’t sue its biggest fans, after all. The studio will let a homemade movie live long and prosper.
An ancient Indian remedy is the hot new hipster drink. Turmeric lattes are being hailed for their purported health effects.
Scientists have uncovered the genetics of nose shapes. Width and pointiness are determined by four separate genes.
Allergies might actually be a good thing. An emerging theory suggests they protect against harmful environmental toxins.
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