Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
France opens its first safe-injection room for drug addicts. The salle de shoot in Paris will give intravenous drug users access to clean needles under the supervision of medical professionals. The facility is intended to prevent viral infections and overdoses, and has been vehemently opposed by conservatives.
Wells Fargo has an awkward earnings call. In the wake of a massive scandal over its sales practices, the bank is expected to report weaker third-quarter earnings than last year. New CEO Tim Sloan will likely lead the call, after John Stumpf’s exit earlier this week. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase will also disclose third-quarter results.
The US releases data on retail sales. September is expected to show a healthy turnaround from August (paywall). A result to the contrary would spark concerns about the health of the US GDP—for most of the year consumer spending has been the nation’s main driver of growth.
While you were sleeping
Thailand mourned its monarch. Thousands took to the streets in Bangkok to mourn the death of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Thursday after 70 years in power. He was seen as a unifying figure, and his death raises questions about the future of Thailand’s monarchy.
China’s producer prices rose for the first time in nearly five years. The producer price index rose 0.1% in September from a year earlier—good news for a government trying to reduce corporate debt. Consumer inflation also beat expectations, easing concerns about China’s economy after its weak trade data roiled global equity markets yesterday.
Brazil’s ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faced more charges. A federal judge said there was sufficient evidence to try him on corruption charges in connection to a state development bank. It’s the third case opened against Lula, who said the reputation-damaging trials are designed to prevent him from running in 2018.
Donald Trump denied allegations of sexual assault. After the New York Times reported two women’s accounts of being groped by the Republican presidential candidate, Trump called the allegations (paywall) “false smears” and threatened to sue. The paper’s lawyer said Trump does not have a libel claim because he created his own reputation as a misogynist.
Quartz markets haiku
Money doesn’t talk
Said the joker to the thief
But how does it feel?
Quartz obsession interlude
Oliver Staley on the fraud that brought down Wells Fargo’s CEO. “Unlike previous banking scandals, Wells Fargo’s crimes were easily understood—and the targets of the malfeasance were ordinary banking customers. This scandal didn’t involve exotic financial instruments like synthetic credit default swaps, and the victims weren’t faceless institutional investors, but our neighbors.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Reading novels teaches us humanity. Literary fiction improves our ability to comprehend that our beliefs and desires might not be the same as others’.
Silicon Valley isn’t visionary. Today’s tech entrepreneurs are too busy trying to fix things that aren’t broken.
Bob Dylan’s greatest work of fiction is Bob Dylan. The Nobel Prize winner reinvented himself too often to be the “voice of a generation.”
Surprising discoveries
The world has its first “space nation.” Scientists have proposed the formation of Asgardia, which would, among other things, develop a shield to protect Earth from space threats.
Hip-hop loves Grey Poupon mustard. It’s most commonly rhymed with “coupon,” “futon,” and “crouton.”
McDonald’s is opening graffiti-themed restaurants in Europe. Already some artists are suing the company (paywall) for copyright-infringement.
Cretaceous-period birds quacked too. The vocal organ of a waterbird that lived 66 million years ago suggests it made sounds similar to those of modern-day ducks.
There’s a Twitter bot sharing dictators’ flights to Geneva. Built by a Swiss journalist, the bot is currently tracking 80 different aircraft registered to repressive governments.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, space treaties, and Grey Poupon raps to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our iPhone app.