Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Tesla provides financials on its proposed acquisition of SolarCity. CEO Elon Musk promised that he would share more details (paywall) on the impact of the acquisition, on which both companies’ shareholders will vote on Nov. 17. Tesla reported a surprise profit for its most recent quarter.
The Federal Reserve begins its last pre-election meeting. During a meeting spanning Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, the US central bank is unlikely to raise rates (paywall) ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8.
Earning, earnings, earnings. Pfizer is expected to post positive third-quarter results, as is cereals giant Kellogg. Electronic Arts, Molson Coors and Papa John’s also reveal their quarterly figures.
While you were sleeping
The Clinton campaign accused the FBI of “blatant double standards.” Reports that FBI director James Comey had sought to withhold evidence of Russian support for Donald Trump drew ire from Hillary Clinton’s camp. Republican senator Chuck Grassley asked Comey for more information on probes of Clinton’s emails and the Clinton Foundation by Nov. 4.
China showed off its new J-20 stealth fighter. Two of the radar-evading jets did a flyover at the International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, offering a rare glimpse into the nation’s latest military hardware and expanding combat capabilities. Russian weapons makers are also expected to make a strong showing at the event, which runs until Nov. 6.
Shell beat expectations… The Anglo-Dutch oil company reported an 18% rise (paywall) in earnings for the third quarter from the same period last year, more than analysts expected. Its acquisition of BG Group helped it boost oil production but it warned that low oil prices are still a worry.
… And BP’s third-quarter profit halved. The British energy company, and Shell rival, earned $933 million, a 50% drop in third-quarter profit from this time a year ago. It blamed falling oil prices and trimmed its investment plans for the remainder of 2016.
Sony had some disappointing results. The strong yen, a PlayStation price cut, and a one-time charge from the sale of its battery unit meant its quarterly profit—¥45.7 billion ($436 million)—missed estimates. Revenue grew at its games division, which helped offset losses at its image-sensor unit after earthquakes in April temporarily shut chip production.
The Bank of Japan held off on more stimulus. As expected, the central bank didn’t change its monetary policy. It left the policy rate on a portion of commercial bank reserves at -0.1%, and maintained its target for the 10-year government bond yields at around 0%. The bank pushed back its forecast date for reaching its inflation target of 2%.
Quartz obsession interlude
Josh Horwitz and Echo Huang Yinyin on how manufacturing, globalization, and ignorance could ruin the internet. “The same system that brought exploding hoverboards into consumers’ homes last Christmas is responsible for unleashing hundreds of thousands of vulnerable cameras into American households—and probably millions of other equally vulnerable internet-connected devices.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Apple needs to buy Netflix. It’s the logical next step as the company tries to build up Apple TV.
Peter Thiel’s “bubble theory” is flawed. He cites an economic rationale for supporting Trump, but most supporters are driven by other issues.
Star Trek humor is increasing tech’s gender gap. Geeky jokes and references make women feel unwelcome in computer classes.
Surprising discoveries
Insects scare us because our brains confuse disgust and fear. And, to be fair, some bugs are actually dangerous.
Spinach could be used in bomb detection. By embedding tubes into its leaves, the plants can pick up nitro-aromatics, the chemicals found in landmines.
The Zika virus could affect the male reproductive system. Infected mice have shrunken testicles and lower levels of sex hormones.
A Chinese woman bought a house with 20 iPhones. Each of her 20 boyfriends bought her a smartphone; she sold them to put down a deposit.
One dozen billionaires could buy all of Manhattan. Bezos and Zuckerberg could divvy up the Upper West Side.
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