Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
EU leaders regroup in Bratislava. European Council president Donald Tusk wants to calm tensions among the 27 countries—Britain is not invited. If they can get over their animosities—host Slovakia is suing the EU over forcing it to accept quotas of migrants, and Luxembourg recently suggested that Hungary should be thrown out—there is talk of setting up a joint military HQ.
The iPhone 7 is here. But Apple’s entire inventory of the “jet black” iPhone 7 and the larger iPhone 7 Plus has already sold out in online pre-ordering, so only a few devices in other colors will be in stock on the first day of in-store sales.
Russia is to cut interest rates and holds parliamentary elections. Economists predict a half-point rate cut, down to 10%, when the bank meets today. And although more than a dozen opposition candidates have been allowed to run in Sunday’s elections, president Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to triumph.
While you were sleeping
The US fined Deutsche Bank $14 billion. The proposed amount is to settle an investigation into the German lender’s selling of mortgage-backed securities. The bank said it would fight the near-record demand, which didn’t seem to reassure shareholders—shares fell 8% on Friday morning.
Barack Obama stalled his veto of a 9/11 compensation bill. The legislation would let the families of those killed on 9/11 sue Saudi Arabia for involvement in the attack (paywall). The president has a week to veto the bill, which some fear would open Americans abroad to similar exposure for US military actions.
Almost 90% of people have not returned their exploding Galaxy Note 7s. Despite an official recall by Samsung on Thursday, and a sale stop on the phone on September 2, only 130,000 out of around a million affected phones have been handed back in the US. A lack of replacement phones is thought to be a key reason.
Unilever is in talks to buy Jessica Alba’s Honest for over $1 billion. The actress’s company has built a loyal following among young mothers by avoiding harsh chemicals in its products, which include diapers, household cleaners, and beauty products. The talks are still in the early stages (paywall).
GE bagged a $1.9 billion contract from Britain’s new nuclear plant. General Electric will build steam turbines and generators capable of powering six million homes for the Hinkley Point plant in Somerset. The contract comes through France’s Alstom, whose power assets GE acquired in 2015.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on why Silicon Valley is losing the self-driving car race. “While the valley’s most hallowed high-tech names, the self-described industry disruptors—Apple, Google, Tesla, Uber—have attracted most of the attention, they appear to be flailing at execution, and hyping their capabilities. The names to beat, at least at this juncture, are supposedly dowdy incumbent carmakers such as GM, BMW, and Volvo.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Questions on US college applications about criminal history discourage prospective students. “Banning the box” gives felons a second chance.
Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment was a stroke of branding genius. The clever, catchy name turned the tables on Donald Trump.
We want our leaders to be vulnerable—until they are. The capacity to show weakness is a leadership strength, but we are quick to rebuke any visible frailty.
Surprising discoveries
If you have a fear of flying, imagine yourself in an airplane crash. Psychology shows that “disaster scripting“ can help desensitize you.
Australians are petitioning to put Steve Irwin on their currency. Ten years after his death, people want to honor their famous crocodile hunter.
Google’s street view blurred a cow’s face in the UK. The technology may have been a little overzealous.
Some words sound the same in every language. An analysis of two-thirds of the world’s languages found that certain basic words are associated with similar sounds.
There is a school for weed sommeliers. Refined potheads can take classes on the nuances of different strains of marijuana and how to pair them with food.
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