Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Gazprom’s Hong Kong charm offensive. Russia’s state-controlled giant is meeting with investors to talk about its plans to send more natural gas to China across the vast Sino-Russian border.
China’s bank regulator makes his debut. Guo Shuqing, the new chairman of the country’s Banking Regulatory Commission, is due to hold a press conference, where he will face questions about his ability to rein in the country’s opaque, debt-ridden financial sector.
Snap’s IPO. The company has reportedly priced 200 million shares at $17 each, exceeding expectations and raising $3.4 billion at a $24 billion valuation. Shares in the loss-making tech startup will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange, in the biggest tech offering since Facebook.
While you were sleeping
The head of the world’s largest hedge fund dropped a bombshell. Ray Dalio announced a sweeping re-organization at Bridgewater Associates: He will step down as interim co-CEO while remaining co-chief investment officer, and “star hire” Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple executive, will resign after only 10 months as co-CEO.
McDonald’s said deliveries are key to growth. The fast food giant has suffered from years of declining traffic to its restaurants. It’s working with firms including Uber and Postmates to get Big Macs directly to its customers.
Researchers found the oldest evidence of life on Earth. If there’s a book of life, this might be the first page: microfossils of bacteria that lived in hydrothermal vents. They could be up to 4.3 billion years old—a mere 200 million years younger than the planet itself.
Teresa May suffered a Brexit defeat in parliament. The House of Lords rejected a bill that would trigger its exit from the European Union, citing concerns about EU nationals’ right to remain in the UK. The government may try to reverse the defeat when the bill returns to the House of Commons.
Three Spaniards won architecture’s highest award. The coveted Pritzker Prize went to Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramón Vilalta, three Catalan architects who ardently champion the idea of “shared creativity.” The award, often referred to as architecture’s Nobel, has mostly lionized solo geniuses like Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.
Quartz obsession interlude
Echo Huang and Josh Horwitz on the wildly popular “Uber for bikes” startups of China. “It’s difficult to overstate how popular these services have become … But the very factors that make China’s bike-share services so convenient—low prices and ease-of-use, namely—are the same factors that could spell their death.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Wall Street feels frisky
After a rousing speech. Are
Cold showers needed?
Matters of debate
Young people think all news is biased. They’ve learned to verify information through multiple sources.
Is social media a civil right? The US supreme court is considering a case about a sex offender banned from Facebook.
Will a rapper ever win a Nobel Prize for Literature? It may take a few generations before hip-hop is considered to be part of the literary canon.
Surprising discoveries
Gray squirrels in Britain are being baited with Nutella. Conservationists are lacing the gooey treat with with contraceptives to curb the invasive species.
Lego’s new heroes are the women of NASA. The toymaker’s new minifigures are based on scientists, engineers, and astronauts.
Public pools contain up to 75 liters (20 gallons) of urine. Don’t worry, swimmers! Hotel jacuzzis are far, far worse.
A Gambian dishwasher is the new co-owner of Noma. Ali Sonko is “the heart and soul” of the famed Copenhagen restaurant.
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