Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The G20 tackles Brexit. Starting Saturday, finance ministers and central bankers will convene for two days in Chengdu, China, to discuss Britain’s plans to exit the EU, global exchange rate policy, and China’s weakening currency.
Russia could be ousted from the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is expected to make a decision on Sunday about whether to ban all of the country’s athletes amid mounting evidence of a state-sponsored doping scheme.
The world’s largest airline reports earnings. Investors will want to know (pdf) what American Airlines is doing to increase revenue amid high industry capacity, and how it thinks Brexit will affect its lucrative London routes. General Electric will also share its quarterly results.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump painted a dark picture of the United States. The Republican presidential nominee described the US as being afflicted by crime and violence—backing his view with distorted statistics—and offered himself as the leader who could quickly fix the problem. Trump railed against illegal immigrants, free-trade agreements, and blamed Hillary Clinton for pretty much all the ills of the world.
France charged five suspects in connection with the Nice terror attack. The four men and one woman, aged between 22 and 40, were accused of helping Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel plan the attack that killed 84 people on July 14. This raises the possibility that the attacker and his accomplices are part of a larger jihadist group that went undetected by the French authorities.
Vodafone enjoyed a European rebound. The world’s second-largest mobile operator partly attributed its 2% rise in first-quarter service revenue (money earned from phone bills and network usage) to a revival in the German and Italian markets. Vodafone shares rose nearly 3% this morning in London.
Pokémon Go went live in Japan. Nintendo finally released its chart-topping smartphone game in its home market, weeks after it made its debut overseas. The game has added as much as $20 billion to the company’s market value, and it’s also boosted shares of McDonald’s Japan, an exclusive partner for the app.
The UK economy showed a “dramatic deterioration” after the Brexit vote. The Markit purchasing managers’ index for July revealed that the UK’s powerful services sector slumped to 47.4 (paywall), worse than analysts expected. By contrast, its neighbor Germany shrugged off Brexit uncertainties with an uninterrupted seven-month high (paywall). Its PMI of 55 showed the private sector is in fine fettle.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on Trump’s mythical vision of a dark America. “It seemed safe to hope that now was the time for Teleprompter Trump to shine. But, nope. It’s clear tonight that Rally Trump can read just fine from a teleprompter and still double down on fear-mongering and race-baiting, on whipping up white angst.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Hillary Clinton is now running against Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump’s geopolitical proclivities are perfectly in line with the authoritarian Russian leader’s.
Plagiarism should be decriminalized. The careful repurposing of words that are not your own can be a satisfying and valid creative act.
Fox News has a big problem—and it’s not Roger Ailes. The network’s future is in peril because its median viewer is 68 years old.
Surprising discoveries
France wants to ban “too cool” cigarette brands. Gitanes and Gaulouises, the favorite smokes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge Gainsbourg, still have trendy appeal.
The search for the missing MH370 flight is nearing its end. Next of kin have been informed that the $135 million search will soon be suspended.
The US political divide extends to TV shows. Democrats love Game of Thrones, but it isn’t even in the Republican top 10.
Social media is making young American men insecure about their jawlines. Plastic surgeons are performing a record number of chin implants.
When a crow dies, other crows investigate. Call it crowminal justice (or maybe “Caw and Order”).
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