Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The world’s longest rail tunnel opens. The 35-mile Gotthard tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps will cut transit times along one of Europe’s busiest transport corridors. Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Francois Hollande will attend the opening ceremony and discuss Switzerland’s relationship with the EU.
Airline chiefs meet in Dublin. Security, oil prices, and the global economy will be discussed at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association, which reported yesterday that passenger demand in April rose at its slowest rate since January 2015.
Brazil’s woes deepen. Latin America’s largest economy is expected to shrink for the fifth straight quarter in what is the country’s worst recession since the 1930s. A crippling political crisis has stalled investments, while high unemployment is dragging down consumer spending.
While you were sleeping
Now French rail workers are on strike. With just nine days to go until the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, French rail workers joined almost everyone else in going on strike to protest recent labor reforms. Around half of the country’s local and regional train services are affected. The Paris Metro is due to go on strike from tomorrow.
Toyota courted Boston Dynamics. The Japanese carmaker is reportedly interested in acquiring the robotics company behind Cheetah, the world’s fastest-legged robot, from Alphabet. It may also buy Alphabet’s Schaft robotics venture.
A slight hitch in Abenomics. To avoid damaging the fragile economy, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced a two-and-a-half year delay to his planned sales tax hike. Opposition parties, who lost a no-confidence vote against Abe’s cabinet on Tuesday, blame his policies for rising inequality and poverty.
Softbank is selling a big chunk of Alibaba shares. The Japanese tech giant said it would offload $7.9 billion worth of Alibaba stock to raise capital, reducing its ownership stake from 32% to 28%. About $2.4 billion will be sold back to Alibaba, with the rest going to institutional investors.
Australia reported strong economic growth. In the first quarter, the economy grew 1.1% over the previous quarter and 3.1% over the past year, beating expectations. Strong exports and household consumption helped fuel the fastest quarterly growth since March 2012.
Quartz obsession interlude
Introducing the beasts of Silicon Valley. “Being a unicorn is no longer something that sets a company apart. We dug deep into mythology to identify fantastical creatures that reflect the increasingly diverse herd of tech companies.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
You’re going to marry the wrong person. It’s better to be a pessimist (paywall) when it comes to marriage.
The alliance between US businesses and the Republican party is in shambles. It was undone by Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Facebook should ditch Peter Thiel, but it won’t. They have both effectively declared war on journalism.
Surprising discoveries
Most people actually like to go to work. India has the world’s happiest employees, followed by Mexico.
Zimbabwe ran out of space in its jails, so it freed 2,000 prisoners. And asked them not to commit any more crimes.
Poorer students are left out of university ”hookup culture.” And that may not be a bad thing.
Pelé is auctioning off his memorabilia in the biggest sports auction ever. The legendary Brazilian soccer star’s collection could fetch up to $7 million.
Scientists can analyze your breath to tell what movie you’re watching. The chemicals you emit are different for dramas and comedies.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, movie breathalyzers, and Pelé memorabilia to hi@qz.com. You can download our iPhone app or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.