Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A continuation of bitcoin’s rally. There’s little consensus as to why it’s surging, but the cryptocurrency hit its highest price since August 2014 over the weekend.
French economic data. France will release GDP data for the first quarter, as its unemployment rate remains around 10%, and strikes and clashes over reforms to its labor laws seem likely to persist.
Over the weekend
France won’t cut a back-taxes deal with Google. The country’s finance minister said France intends to collect taxes it believes Google evaded, which Reuters reports could amount to €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion), and could bring cases against other multinationals.
The deadly toll of the migrant crisis mounted. Up to 700 migrants were feared dead this weekend after a series of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean in recent days. Following the EU-Turkey deal that stipulated all “irregular” arrivals from Turkey be turned back or deported, migrants are now resorting to more perilous routes to reach Europe.
Iran said it’s boycotting the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. That’s due to Iran’s ongoing feud with Saudi Arabia, with which it’s increasingly at odds, especially after hundreds of Iranians died last year in a stampede near Mecca.
France and Germany marked the centenary of the battle of Verdun with a call for unity. Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel commemorated the longest battle of World War I by calling for more European reconciliation and integration.
Mexican soccer star Alan Pulido was kidnapped. Pulido, a forward for Olympiacos of Greece who was part of Mexico’s 2014 World Cup team, was taken by armed kidnappers. Mexico suffers from an estimated 100,000 kidnappings a year.
The Venice Architecture Biennale opened. The 15th edition of the world’s biggest architecture exhibition is curated by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena and aims to explore architecture’s relationship with social, economic, and environmental issues.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on Volkswagen and the advanced-battery arms race. “Judging just by the expense involved—more than twice Tesla’s spending—the VW battery plans are typically of global ambitions….It will be a big gamble, pitting it against incumbents that have worked out the bugs of immensely complex battery manufacturing through years of trial and error. Similarly, it is unlikely to find any commercial-scale lithium-ion chemistry that isn’t produced by one of the Asian giants it wants to avoid.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
A female James Bond is exactly what the franchise needs. Jane Bond is an opportunity to create a better empowerment fantasy—for people of every gender.
Car horns should be phased out. They’re nothing more than a pin cushion for angry drivers.
It’s over for hedge funds. Competitors, analysts, and even managers can’t deny the industry’s performance is abysmal and it’s due for a washout.
America is losing its mojo. The decline of US dynamism is linked to the high cost of housing in the country’s most productive cities.
Surprising discoveries
Moët Hennessy’s latest super-premium wine is made on the edge of Tibet. The red-blend Ao Yun, produced and bottled in China’s Yunnan province, costs €300 ($335) a bottle.
There’s a yacht club for people who have crashed their boats into things. Members get a club tie emblazoned with a tiara, distress signal, and buoy.
An Italian judge backed a man’s right to pay alimony to his ex-wife in pizza. The man, who owned a pizza restaurant, owed €300 (about $335) a month.
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