Good morning, Quartz readers!
An invitation
Take part in the political chatter. On Nov. 8, election day in the United States, we’re inviting our readers around the world to join Quartz reporters and editors for a discussion of US politics. It will be hosted all day long on Slack, the group messaging tool, with forums in both English and Spanish. Click here to participate.
What to watch for today
America votes. After a long, bruising presidential election, voters finally get their chance to choose between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Polls show a Clinton lead of three to four percentage points, thanks in part to a surge in early voting by Hispanics.
US markets brace for turmoil. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the stock markets are sure to behave erratically. A Clinton win, which investors believe is more likely after the FBI cleared her (again) of email-related wrongdoing on Sunday, could push the S&P 500 index up by as much as 3%. If Trump wins, a huge sell-off of US equities could be on the cards; analysts say it would be more severe than the Brexit vote in June, which made the S&P 500 dive 5.3% in two days. But chin up! Here’s why you shouldn’t panic.
While you were sleeping
Henkel beat expectations in the third quarter. The German consumer goods group that owns Persil and Schwarzkopf posted a 7.6% rise in earnings and its shares rose 1.6%, putting it at the top of the DAX. Henkel’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Sun Products in May allowed it to jump into the competitive US market and go up against detergent-market leader Procter & Gamble.
Iran signed a $4.8 billion gas deal with France’s Total. The deal to develop a massive gas field in Iran was announced on Monday and inked today. It’s the first deal to be announced (paywall) since sanctions were lifted earlier this year, and Tehran is hoping it will pave the way for more oil-and-gas contracts with foreign investors. The Total-led consortium includes China’s CNPC and Iran’s Petropars.
Slowing US sales hurt Toyota. A stronger yen and declining sales in North America caused operating profit at the world’s largest automaker to almost halve, dipping to $4.5 billion in the quarter ending September. Foreign-exchange swings are particularly bad for Toyota as it produces two fifths of its cars in Japan before exporting them.
Samsung’s offices were raided in a corruption probe. Korean prosecutors are investigating allegations that the company illegally provided gifts to Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the heart of the influence-peddling scandal that’s threatening to bring down president Park Geun-hye. The South Korean tech company is accused of giving $3 million to a company owned by Choi.
A Hong Kong jury convicted a British banker of double murder. Rurik Jutting had pled guilty to manslaughter for the brutal murder of two Indonesian women in Hong Kong in 2014, claiming diminished responsibility. But the jury rejected his defense and unanimously found him guilty of double murder. The 31-year-old former Bank of America employee will be jailed for life.
Quartz obsession interlude
Cassie Werber on the shrinking “happiness gap” between post-Soviet countries and their peers. “Transitioning from a centrally-controlled economy to one based on market forces was meant, ultimately, to improve the quality of life for people living in the former Soviet Union. And it did. It just took a really, really long time.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Job interviews are a pointless exercise. Employers should rely on objective measures rather than their own intuition.
India’s focus on smart cities is hurting the environment. Nature, not technology, might be the answer to sustainable urban spaces.
A Trump victory would be less scary for the markets than Brexit. The UK exit from the EU will cause more lasting damage.
Surprising discoveries
A Trump advisor literally had his pants on fire. Campaign CEO Stephen Bannon did not immediately notice that a hot light at a rally had set his pant leg alight.
The US military has developed electrical brain stimulators. The devices boost the neural skills of staff in high-pressure situations.
Medieval peasants had more time off than modern-day Americans. Frequent holidays were key to preventing a revolt.
An astronaut’s corpse could give rise to life. A dead body floating through space might deliver microbes to a new world.
People are buying “USB condoms” to stop nasty viruses. They enable you to charge your device without transmitting data.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, flame-retardant pants, and USB condoms to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our iPhone app.