Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Iran begins accepting applications for energy projects. With global sanctions being lifted, the oil-rich country hopes to revitalize a hobbled energy sector by inviting foreign investors to develop its oil and natural gas fields.
ZTO begins a global investor roadshow. The Chinese logistics company goes public later this month and could raise up to $1.5 billion (paywall). It would be the biggest US IPO this year, and the second-largest by a Chinese company in the US, after Alibaba.
Bank of America releases its third-quarter results. The bank will likely face questions about how its consumer banking sales incentives compare to those of Wells Fargo (pdf), rocked by revelations that it opened unauthorized credit and deposit accounts.
Over the weekend
The US and UK discussed new sanctions for Russia. Ten countries met in London on Saturday to discuss crimes against humanity in Aleppo, Syria. Russian warplanes have played a key role in the Syrian government’s bloody siege of the city.
China launched its Shenzhou-11 rocket. The spacecraft carried two astronauts to the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab, where they’ll stay for a month. The operation brings China one step closer to establishing its own space station by 2020.
A local Republican Party office was vandalized with fire and graffiti. Police are investigating the attack, which took place in North Carolina. A Democrat-led crowdfunding campaign promptly raised $13,000 to rebuild the office.
Elon Musk postponed announcing a mysterious new Tesla product. The electric car company has kept details of the unveiling under lock-and-key, though some speculate it’s related to the new $35,000 Model 3. The announcement is now scheduled for mid-week.
Thailand shut down its tourism hotspots. A list of temporary closures was announced by the national tourism authority. Thailand is mourning the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and tourists have been asked to dress somberly.
Thousands of French people protested gay marriage. At least 24,000 people took to the streets in Paris against a 2013 act legalizing same-sex marriage. So far, though, none of the country’s right-wing candidates for next year’s presidential election has taken aim at the law.
Quartz obsession interlude
Elijah Wolfson on how aerospace engineers learned to predict where the cream ends up when you twist an Oreo, with 100% accuracy. “When you’re a kid, you constantly need ways to make quick, unbiased decisions on issues like who gets first pick in the recess basketball draft […]. One quick way was introduced by Nabisco in a mid-1990s TV ad campaign for Oreos, their famous cream-filled cookie sandwich: Hold one side of the cookie while your friend holds the other, twist, and see who ends up with the cream.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Guaranteeing pension returns is a terrible idea. The risks grow as more people sign on.
There’s nothing wrong with backing Trump. He’s “a major party nominee,” Y Combinator president Sam Altman said, defending partner Peter Thiel’s recent $1.25 million donation to Donald Trump.
The sun has set on libertarianism. Big government is now just one among many threats to personal freedom.
Surprising discoveries
Boris Johnson made an argument for staying in the EU. His February op-ed was never published (paywall).
It took 11 Clinton campaign staffers to draft a tweet. Uncovered in a batch of leaked emails, the short statement was on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis.
How to earn $10 extra per night on your Airbnb listing? Offer a hair dryer.
Karl Lagerfeld designed a $3,000 set of colored pencils. There’s already a waiting list.
Russian hackers used a simple phishing scheme to hack the DNC. More than 20 staffers fell for it.
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