Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China and the EU hold talks. China says its top diplomat Yang Jiechi will meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters in Brussels. China has been pushing for a more favorable trading status in Europe, but EU countries, fearing job losses to China’s bloated steel industry, are reluctant to grant it.
France braces for Euro 2016. More than two million people are traveling to France for the monthlong European Championship football tournament, which kicks off today in Paris. Travel may be hampered by a four-day Air France pilots’ strike, and the government has had to shore up security in anticipation of terror threats at the matches.
US consumer confidence is expected to stay strong. With the healthy performance of the real estate and stock markets, economists expect consumer sentiment to remain high in preliminary readings for June. Last week’s surprisingly weak jobs report, however, could trigger a downward shift.
While you were sleeping
Barack Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton. The US president released a video saying there’s never “been someone so qualified” for the Oval Office. He also met with Bernie Sanders about uniting the Democratic Party against Donald Trump.
Investors flocked to U.S. government bonds. A $12 billion sale of 30-year Treasury bonds attracted strong foreign demand, as money managers seek alternatives to the low yields of some European nations’ debt and hedge against riskier markets.
California became the fourth US state to allow assisted suicide. The state approved the legislation for the terminally ill after a schoolteacher with brain cancer made headlines documenting her move to Oregon to receive aid in dying. The law allows people to take medicine to end their lives and is restricted to patients with less than six months to live.
UN experts spoke out against Ireland’s abortion ban. A committee of human rights experts said the ban violates women’s human rights and should be lifted in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities. The committee suggested Ireland amend its laws and, if necessary, its constitution to prevent women being subjected to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
A French court convicted and fined two Uber executives. The ride service and the employees were fined almost $100,000 after being found guilty of deceptive commercial practices and illegal business activity. The suit was brought by local taxi companies, ticked off by Uber’s use of nonprofessional drivers.
Quartz markets haiku
Done hibernating,
The hungry old bear sets off
And the deers scatter
Quartz obsession interlude
Corinne Purtill on why every baby you know chews on the same giraffe. “Sophie doesn’t make children smarter or improve cognitive development or any other benefit more high-tech toys promise. It’s just a rubber teether. Yet in less than a decade Sophie’s gone from being a virtual unknown in the US to the go-to baby gift for the upper-middle class. The giraffe’s rise to fame is a starlet’s tale of obscure rural beginnings, an LA discovery, and a few lucky breaks.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Uber and strippers have the same problem. The gig economy complicates the question of who is an independent contractor versus an employee.
You don’t have to love your job to be good at it. Employees’ attitude to coworkers and clients might be a better predictor of productivity.
Taking children to aquariums teaches them that cruelty is acceptable. Watching a documentary about marine wildlife is a much better lesson.
Surprising discoveries
Indian villagers are using artificial glaciers to water their crops. The forcibly frozen meltwater helps farmers mitigate the effects of climate change in the cold, high-altitude desert.
Spain’s left wing party disguised its manifesto as an Ikea catalog so that people will read it. Podemos hopes the 192-page electoral program will be the “most read in the history of democracy.”
China is planning a “space station” for the sea. The manned platform would be 10,000 feet underwater and be used to search for minerals in the South China Sea.
You can live for a year without a heart. A special backpack carrying an external artificial heart could be transformative for people waiting for a transplant.
Parents are worried that the Amazon Echo could make their kids rude. Artificial intelligence is highly tolerant of annoying behavior.
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