Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US Justice Department’s report on Baltimore police. The report, seen by the New York Times (paywall), says Baltimore’s police force disproportionately targeted and arrested black citizens. The report is the first step in the Justice Department reaching a “consent decree” with Baltimore, whereby police practices may be overhauled under the supervision of a federal judge.
More Delta cancellations and delays. After Monday’s power outage which led to around 1,700 flights being grounded, the airline has struggled to get back to normal operations. It expects about 90 cancellations for the first half of the day.
Bad news from fashion brands. Ralph Lauren may have designed Team USA’s Olympic uniforms, but quarterly results are expected to be grim. Earnings from Michael Kors will likely suffer from store-opening costs and the strong US dollar.
Rio 2016. Watch out for Japan’s Kohei Uchimura in the men’s all-around gymnastics final—he’s been called the greatest gymnast of all time. Tour de France winner Chris Froome will be pedalling for gold in the cycling, too.
While you were sleeping
Brazil’s Senate voted to open an impeachment trial against Dilma Rousseff. It voted 59 to 21 in favor of trying the suspended president for breaking the budget law, after a late-night debate. The trial is due to be held towards the end of the month, after the Rio Olympics are over.
Peppa Pig’s owner rebuffed a £1 billion takeover bid. Toronto-based Entertainment One, the film company behind the hugely successful children’s brand, said the offer from ITV, which valued the company at $1.3 billion, was too low. Entertainment One’s shares rose 10% on Tuesday, and 37% overall since talk of the takeover began in April.
Disney reported a strong quarter and invested in streaming. Blockbusters including Captain America: Civil War and Finding Dory helped the company beat expectations. Separately, it announced it’s buying a minority stake in BAMTech, which will work with ESPN to launch a subscription streaming service for live sporting events.
The impact of Brexit without a trade deal? Not good. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said if the UK was unable to negotiate new trade agreements with the EU before leaving the bloc, its economic output could drop by 4%. The report highlighted financial services, in particular, as particularly vulnerable.
Germany’s biggest utility reported a $3.3 billion first-half loss. Eon posted a 28% drop in net income for the first half of 2016, thanks to the writedown in the value of its Uniper power unit. Eon’s been battered by low electricity prices as renewable energy gains pace.
Quartz obsession interlude
Mike Murphy on Google’s dream for office drones. “Almost every videoconferencing system on the market seems to be difficult to set up, unreliable, or just a hassle to use. But a device described in a new Google patent might be able to do away with choppy video and awkward camera angles, and make it really feel like the faces of your coworkers are in the office with you. If you can put up with the buzzing.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Protest votes are an illusion. Just because a message is sent doesn’t mean it’s received.
The world only loves refugees when they’re in the Olympics. Some 65 million displaced people get no love at all (paywall).
China’s old tactics won’t fix its debt problem. Economic growth isn’t a cure-all anymore.
Surprising discoveries
A Dutch gymnast enjoyed the Rio nightlife a little too much. Yuri van Gelder, a.k.a. “Lord of the Rings,” was kicked off his team and withdrew from competition.
Berlin is the only European capital that drags its country down. All other capital cities boost their national per-capita GDP.
Crows make tools. New research shows they bend twigs into hooks to make them more effective.
Ancient Romans turned to magic to cope with theft. They wrote “curse tablets” when their clothes were nabbed from the baths.
Italian police cooked for an elderly couple whose neighbors called about their sobbing. They weren’t in danger—just lonely and underfed.
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