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What to watch for today
Positive economic news is expected out of Europe (finally). Eurozone industrial production data out Wednesday is projected to show a 1.5% increase for August (paywall), a welcome upswing after a 1.1% drop in July. A recovery would help alleviate concerns about Brexit’s impact on the region’s manufacturers, miners, and utility providers.
Local election campaigning ramps up in India. Ahead of polls in the Indian state of Punjab, the state arm of the opposition Indian National Congress party will launch a door-to-door campaign that aims to reach 20 million farmers in two weeks. The battle for Punjab is crucial to the party, which is trying to regain momentum after taking a beating in the last general election. Winning over the farming community would guarantee a sizeable chunk of the state’s electorate.
The Fed releases September meeting minutes. Policy makers at the US Federal Reserve have been divided on the issue of raising interest rates, with three members disagreeing with the decision to leave rates unchanged at the Open Market Committee’s Sept. 20-21 meeting. The meeting’s minutes are expected to hold clues about the thinking behind this decision.
While you were sleeping
Putin snubbed France. The Russian president postponed a planned trip to France indefinitely, after French president François Hollande said the only thing he wanted to talk about was Syria. The news comes amid reports of renewed Russian bombing in Aleppo.
Amazon will open brick-and-mortar grocery stores. The Wall Street Journal reported (paywall) that the mega-distributor is planning to open convenience stores as well as curbside pickup locations. The expansion would be a big step toward conquering grocery delivery, the holy grail of online shopping. Amazon declined to comment “on rumors or speculation.”
The US announced plans to touch down on Mars. In an oped emphasizing the benefits of public-private partnerships for space exploration, US president Barack Obama said Americans would land on Mars sometime in the 2030s. Plugging this six-year-old plan might have more to do with generating goodwill for the Democratic party than furthering space policy, though.
Donald Trump rejected Republicans who rejected him. The presidential nominee said he was happy that “the shackles have been taken off” after members of the Republican establishment, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, pulled their support in the wake of an explicit tape recording. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has pulled ahead of Trump in polls, both nationally and in key states.
South Africa’s finance minister was issued a summons. The rand plunged on news that Pravin Gordhan will face fraud charges in court, the latest episode in an ongoing power struggle between the finance minister and president Jacob Zuma.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jacek Krywko on the power and potential of insects. “Damian Jozefiak, a professor at the Poznan University of Life Sciences, believes insects offer much more than protein. He thinks they can become bio-processing units working in fully automated, remotely controlled smart factories producing high-quality proteins, fats for the pharmaceutical industry, and biofuels—all using different kinds of waste as raw materials.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Feeling inefficient? Have kids. Motherhood forces women to become hyperproductive and produce more than their childless peers.
Twitter already lost the social media wars. Investors are looking for the next big thing in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and drones.
Children ruin natural history museums. The quiet respect exhibited at churches and libraries needs to be extended to these keepers of history.
Surprising discoveries
Spinning tops and pinwheels are more popular than Pokemon Go in Indonesia. Parents are reintroducing retro games to increase physical interactions.
California is trading green grass for gravel. A company revamped 12,000 lawns in less than two years in light of the golden state’s half-decade drought.
It’s okay if your Galaxy Note 7 explodes in transit. Samsung is sending out extremely fireproof boxes for returns.
Half of the mass of Eurasia and India has disappeared. Scientists thought continental crust couldn’t be swallowed by the Earth’s mantle, until it apparently happened.
Melting Arctic ice is taking history with it. The impact of climate change on excavations may force questions about Inuit ancestors’ migration, climate conditions, and walrus populations to go unanswered.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, retro games, and Mars colonization plans, to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our iPhone app.