Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Bank of England makes a big decision. The central bank is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven years, in an effort to mitigate the damaging effects of the Brexit vote.
Xiaomi enters virtual reality. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer is expected to launch its Daydream VR headset, part of a wave of such products from companies including Google, Samsung, and Facebook.
Kraft Heinz reports its earnings. Analysts are divided on what to expect from the food giant created last year; earnings are expected to fall despite higher revenues. Other companies reporting results include Priceline, LinkedIn, and Viacom.
While you were sleeping
Tesla’s losses widened, but investors didn’t mind. Elon Musk’s electric-car maker posted a wider-than-expected $293.2 million quarterly loss, from a loss of $184.2 million a year earlier, as it spent heavily on a new battery factory and ramping up production. The company burned through $144.4 million in cash, which was much better than analysts predicted, and shares were roughly flat.
India passed its biggest tax reform in 70 years. The Goods and Services Tax, pegged to be between 15% and 18%, will replace and unify 17 different state and federal tax structures by April 2017. Certain categories that generate high state revenues, like petroleum and alcohol, will not fall under the new umbrella tax.
A knife assault in London left one woman dead and up to six people injured. Police apprehended the attacker, a 19-year-old man, in Russell Square. Authorities said the man’s mental health was a “significant factor” and that for now terrorism as a motivation could not be ruled out.
Square had a surprisingly good quarter. The payments company reported that net revenue reached $439 million for the quarter, a more than 40% increase from a year earlier. CEO Jack Dorsey’s other company, Twitter, missed expectations last week.
Nike announced it’s exiting the golf business. After years of weak sales, the sporting goods giant will no longer sell clubs, balls, and bags for the sport, but will stick with golf shoes and apparel. Interest in golf is declining, with millennials in particular seeing it as too time-intensive and elitist. Adidas made a similar announcement in May.
Quartz markets haiku
Profits in decline
Industry no longer spends
Everyone feels pain
Quartz obsession interlude
Abdi Latif Dahir on the transformative growth of smartphone use in Africa: “Lower smartphone prices are driving a digital revolution in Africa, allowing mobile phone users to access the internet at unprecedented levels. Operators and developers are also leveraging the power of mobile networks to transform services in health, agriculture, education, energy and water management.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The war on drugs in sports is doing more harm than good. Athletes should be able to decide what’s best for their bodies.
It’s time for the Obama administration to finally bomb Assad. Instead, it’s pursuing a deal with Russia that risks helping the Syrian dictator (paywall).
US gun policies fuel terrorism. Radicalized American recruits can easily buy guns on their own, meaning the terrorist organization doesn’t have to supply them (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Google is desperately seeking thick Scottish accents. It wants to improve its speech recognition software, which has particular trouble with Scotland’s rolled “r” and thick tones.
Canadian hikers were surprised by a shirtless Justin Trudeau. He was emerging from a cave with his wife and children.
Airplanes have disturbing ways of handling airborne corpses. They stuff them in “corpse cupboards” or buckle them into empty seats.
Kim Kardashian is the world’s last BlackBerry addict. She’s bereft that her favorite model is sold out on eBay.
Humpback whales may be the ocean’s most altruistic creatures. They’re rescuing other mammals from attacks by killer whales.
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