Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
China and the EU hold talks. A top Chinese 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
Elizabeth Warren endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Massachusetts senator, a popular figure with the liberal wing of the Democratic party, threw her weight behind Clinton’s bid for the White House. That followed president Barack Obama also endorsing Clinton.
The US will widen its military role in Afghanistan. The Obama administration approved giving the military greater ability to accompany and enable Afghan forces battling the Taliban insurgency, according to a US official who spoke to Reuters.
Peru voted for its next president. Former investment banker Pedro Pablo Kuczynski narrowly defeated his opponent Keiko Fujimori, with 50.12% of the votes against her 49.88%. But with thousands of disputed or unclear ballots not yet counted, Kuczynski hasn’t yet claimed victory, and Fujimori hasn’t yet ceded defeat.
Investors flocked to US government bonds. A $12 billion sale of 30-year Treasury bonds attracted strong foreign demand (paywall), as money managers seek alternatives to the low yields of some European nations’ debt and hedge against riskier markets.
Twitter locked accounts with exposed passwords. Following reports of leaked Twitter names and passwords on the “dark web,” the company announced it’s locking some accounts, with affected users being notified they need to reset their passwords. Twitter said the company’s servers were not hacked.
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.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, baby giraffes, and fake Ikea catalogs to hi@qz.com. You can download our iPhone app or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.