Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
France’s centrist candidate campaigns in London. Emmanuel Macron, considered a presidential frontrunner, will address expat French voters in Westminster. With some 300,000 French thought to live in London, it is sometimes dubbed the “sixth biggest French city.”
Mark Carney addresses a parliamentary committee. The Bank of England governor will be questioned on the UK’s inflation and growth forecasts. Oh, and Brexit.
How is Walmart faring against Amazon? Investors will focus on the retailer’s e-commerce progress when it reports quarterly results, which are expected to be somewhat lackluster overall. More clues on the health of the US economy can be found in earnings from Home Depot and Macy’s, which also report today.
While you were sleeping
Copper prices sent mining giants surging. A 30% rise in copper and a general turnaround in commodity markets in the past year helped BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, unearth a net profit of $3.2 billion (paywall) in the second half of last year. Anglo American’s earnings also soared, and it said it no longer needs to sell off assets to pay down debt.
HSBC’s profit plunged. Europe’s largest bank by assets posted a 62% drop in 2016 pre-tax profit, thanks to a string of write-downs and charges. HSBC also said it was being investigated by British regulators looking into potential money-laundering offenses.
French and German businesses had a fantastic February. Surveys of purchasing managers soundly beat expectations (paywall) in both countries, with businesses reporting the highest optimism in years.
Facebook added international money transfers to its chat app. The service comes via London-based TransferWise, in the form of a Facebook Messenger chatbot. It enables transfers to and from the US, Europe, Australia, and Canada.
A plane crash killed five in Australia. Four American tourists were aboard a light aircraft en route to a golf resort when it reported engine failure and crashed into a shopping mall in Melbourne, killing the Australian pilot and his passengers. No one on the ground was injured.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve Levine on why journalists shouldn’t fear Trump’s attacks: “Reporters around the world know this drill—a leader who feels a need for an enemy in order to rule effectively. And so he creates one. As for the wild praise of his followers, I and colleagues have seen that, too—the president who plays to the galleries. Trump does not hate the media—for him, it is theater.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Deleting Uber is the least you can do. It’s time for consumers to take an ethical stand that Uber’s board, investors, and managers won’t.
It’s morally right to keep great apes in zoos. Thanks to disappearing habitats, there’s rarely a viable alternative to captivity.
Democracy can’t function without secrecy. There’s no “right to know” enshrined in the US Constitution, and often leakers are not acting on public-spirited principle (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Barns are red because of nuclear fusion. Red paint is cheaper, but why it’s cheaper is down to the size at which nuclei stop producing energy.
A failed satellite became an unlikely hero in the Rosetta space mission. After falling short in its primary mission, Japan’s Procyon spacecraft helped Rosetta gather data.
Citronella candles are useless against mosquitos. Also ineffective: sonic mosquito repellent and bracelets containing herbal extracts.
Russians are obsessed with a blob-like sculpture. Artwork meant to symbolize the experience of waiting to see a doctor has become an internet meme.
You’re a completely different person at 14 than you are at 77. At least, that’s the conclusion of the longest personality study ever conducted.
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