Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
India’s central bank issues an interest rate decision. Economists expect the benchmark rate to hold steady, after a record-breaking run on the country’s stock exchanges suggested that demonetization was less harmful than anticipated.
Donald Trump receives Xi Jinping in Florida. The US and Chinese presidents will have their intensely anticipated sit-down at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private club on Thursday and Friday. One surefire agenda topic: What to do about North Korea, which just conducted yet another provocative missile test.
The US Senate holds a big procedural vote on a Supreme Court nomination. Republicans have set the stage for a “nuclear option” that would disregard parliamentary precedent to confirm Neil Gorsuch with a simple majority, over fervent opposition from Democrats.
While you were sleeping
Trump changed his tune on Syria… A poison gas attack that killed 72 people this week is “an affront to humanity,” he said, adding that “my attitude toward Syria and Assad, has changed very much.” At the UN security council, Britain and the US assailed Russia, which blamed rebel groups for the attack—a claim US officials dismissed as “not credible.”
…And removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council. The demotion puts national security advisor H.R. McMaster firmly in charge, after concerns that Bannon’s presence would result in politicized decisions on national strategy. The shuffle also restored chief military and intelligence officials to the council.
Coffee giant JAB bought Panera Bread for $7.5 billion. The fast-casual restaurant chian is the latest in a string of acquisitions by the European holding company—joining Krispy Kreme, Keurig, Stumptown, and Peet’s Coffee. The deal, made at a steep premium to Panera’s share price, is the biggest US restaurant acquisition ever.
The Fed lifted the curtain on its March meeting. The US central bank is focused on shrinking its $4.5 trillion balance sheet as it raises interest rates; analysts expect two more hikes this year. Fed governors also warned that stock valuations appear to be “quite high.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Devjyot Ghoshal on the Indian engineers who have no place in Donald Trump’s America: “Not all computer programmer positions qualify for the H-1B visas that allow foreign professionals to work in the US for up to six years. Currently, these visas are heavily utilised by India’s $150-billion IT sector to fly relatively inexpensive engineers to the US.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
“Correction,” Fed warns /
Of frothy stocks. Could be worse /
No one said “bubble.”
Matters of debate
Which tech CEO would make the best supervillain? Musk, Thiel, Bezos, Kalanick, and Gates are all in the running.
The voter apathy that elected Trump is about to hit France. Marine Le Pen’s supporters are committed and the broader electorate is in a funk.
Sharing salary data makes the gender gap worse. An online experiment by a hiring company didn’t turn out as expected.
Surprising discoveries
Taser is rebranding itself as a body-cam company. The newly named Axon is giving its devices away for free, but civil rights groups are concerned.
Risk-averse publishers are hiring sensitivity readers. They read unpublished works and ask, “Would my community find this disrespectful?”
Trees have their own individual songs. An ornithologist says they’re particularly easy to identify when it rains.
An unusually large crop of icebergs is clogging global shipping lanes. Ships are taking precautions near the area where the Titanic sank.
The link between video-game and real-life violence is still in doubt. Two major studies that claimed a connection were just retracted.
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