Good morning, Quartz readers!
WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY
Markets reopen in a post-Brexit world. Stocks plummeted on Friday in response to the referendum vote. Further turbulence is expected, and has already been seen in Asia, as the world adapts to the idea of a UK-less European Union. British finance minister George Osborne will make a statement at 6am GMT.
EU heads of state meet in Berlin. Germany’s Angela Merkel will host (paywall) France’s François Hollande, Italy’s Matteo Renzi, and European Council president Donald Tusk for a post-Brexit summit. Merkel is determined to hold the EU together despite populist pressures threatening to further divide it.
The UK’s Labour Party considers ousting leader Jeremy Corbyn. Members of the UK parliament are expected to discuss a vote of no confidence in Corbyn. If the motion is accepted by party chair John Cryer, it will be followed by a secret ballot tomorrow, which could force Corbyn out.
OVER THE WEEKEND
Britons called for a redo. A petition that calls for a second Brexit referendum if the winning campaign garnered less than 60% of the vote and voter turnout was less than 75%, both of which were true on Thursday, got 3 million signatures. By law, the UK parliament must consider petitions with more than 100,000 signatures, but this one is still a long shot—and many of the signatures might be fake.
Iceland and Spain held elections. On Saturday, Icelanders elected history professor Gundi Johannesson as president, a largely ceremonial post. In Spain, the conservative People’s Party won the most seats, but no party won a majority (paywall).
China and Russia strengthened ties. Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin met on Saturday to reaffirm 15 years of mutual political and economic support. Among other things, they discussed an energy deal that would put Russian oil producers and Chinese national chemical companies into business together.
Brazil’s drug-testing laboratory was suspended. Just six weeks before the Olympics start in Rio, the World Anti-Doping Agency declared the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory unfit to test blood and urine samples from athletes, citing “non-conformity” with international laboratory standards. The lab has 21 days to appeal the suspension.
Pope Francis recognized the Armenian genocide and said gays deserve an apology. During a visit to Armenia, the leader of the Catholic church referred to the 1.5 million deaths during WWI as a genocide, and prayed that killings of that magnitude would never happen again. Returning from the trip, he said Christians should apologize to and seek forgiveness from gay people they have disrespected or discriminated against.
QUARTZ OBSESSION INTERLUDE
Oliver Stanley on a fertility drug made with the Pope’s blessing and gallons of nun urine. “Soon, tanker trucks were hauling the pee of hundreds of nuns from Catholic retirement homes across Italy to Serono’s headquarters in Rome. While the urine of any post-menopausal women would work, nuns provided Serono with an extra advantage: Because hormones from pregnant women would contaminate the batch, it was critical there be no chance any of the women were pregnant. Working with nuns improved the odds.” Read more here.
MATTERS OF DEBATE
The Brexit fallout will be good for young Europeans. The vote will force younger generations to be more seriously politically engaged, instead of relying on the benefits their parents enjoyed.
The political center needs its mojo back.
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair argues that unless the center can find a way to resist populist anger and push back against the far left and right, Europe
(paywall).
Ads featuring super-thin models shouldn’t be banned. Blocking advertisements that show unhealthily thin women only reinforces the idea (paywall) that judging women’s bodies is acceptable.
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Some fish are OK out of water. A meta-review suggests that, in some instances, fish may have evolved to survive out of water for short periods of time.
Tech companies are hiring chiefs of staff. Rapid expansion is forcing Silicon Valley firms to adopt a more hierarchical structure, and they’re looking to Washington for clues.
Americans are sleeping more. It’s mostly because of the country’s aging workforce, but unemployed Americans are also getting more shut-eye (paywall).
Goldman Sachs is using video interviews to tackle diversity. In lieu of on-campus interviews, the bank will require (paywall) summer analyst candidates to answer software-generated questions via video.
Trendy nitro-brewed beers are creamier thanks to chemistry. Nitrogen creates smaller bubbles than carbon dioxide, and doesn’t produce extra acid.
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