Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Rex Tillerson heads to Moscow. The former oil executive’s relationship with Vladimir Putin will likely be frostier in his role as US secretary of state—it’s unclear if Putin will meet with him. Russia is furious after last week’s US air strike on a Syrian air base and White House criticism of the country’s support for the Assad regime in Syria.
The US releases economic data. The labor department will share numbers (pdf) on February job openings, while survey results from the Federal Reserve will shed light on how easily small businesses are operating and securing loans.
The White House hosts a Passover Seder. The tradition set by former US president Barack Obama will continue—except this year, contrary to initial reports, the president won’t attend.
While you were sleeping
North Korea said it’s ready for war. A spokesman declared it’s prepared for “any mode of war desired by the US,” in response to the US sending warships toward the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang could be prepping for its sixth nuclear weapon test, with Saturday marking the birth of late leader Kim Il-sung.
A US judge denied an Uber executive’s Fifth Amendment plea. A former executive for Google’s self-driving car unit Waymo, Anthony Levandowski is accused of taking 14,000 files from the company when he left to join Uber. The judge in the trade secret lawsuit rejected Levandowski’s argument that revealing documents would violate his right against self-incrimination.
LVMH shrugged off the luxury slump. The world’s biggest luxury goods group posted a 15% year-on-year increase in first quarter sales. A run on its Hennessy cognac has led to a shortage for 2017. Investors went gaga, sending LVMH shares up almost 3% to a record high. The group’s buoyant results were in step with bright outlooks for competitors Gucci and Hermès.
Toshiba finally produced a report card. After failing to meet its deadlines twice, the Japanese conglomerate filed earnings without auditor approval, posting an operating loss of $5.2 billion for the nine months ending in December. Toshiba wants to sell its chip business to make up for the $6 billion write-down from its US nuclear unit Westinghouse—and Foxconn is reportedly willing to pay as much as $27 billion for it.
British shoppers felt the pinch. UK retail sales had their biggest quarterly dip since 2011 in the first quarter of 2017, as energy and food prices rose faster than wages. Annual inflation remained at 2.3% in March, its highest level since September 2013.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve Mollman on the next Korean War: “As long as China didn’t get involved to help, [North Korea] would lose in a conventional ground war to the US and its allies within ‘six weeks, a month, two months max.’ [But] one possibility is that the North would unleash its chemical or biological weapons.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The advertising business has bigger problems than digital disruption. Big packaged foods companies (paywall) are slashing ad budgets as sales decline for consumers who prefer fresh produce.
The Khmer Rouge trials are a massive failure. Cambodia’s United Nations-backed tribunal has cost $300 million over 11 years, and resulted in only three convictions (paywall) for the deaths of 1.7 million people.
Marriage should be temporary. Millennials in particular are signing on to an age-old idea.
Surprising discoveries
Silvio Berlusconi enraged Italy’s meat lobby by promoting vegetarianism. The former prime minister cuddles and bottle feeds lambs in a “Choose a vegetarian Easter” campaign.
US death sentences hit their lowest since 1973. The country also dropped out of the top five executioners in the world, according to Amnesty’s latest report.
Ikea is building an apartment block for its Icelandic workers. The housing will be a lot cheaper than Reykjavik’s sky-high rental rates.
Only one African country issues foreign currency bonds that aren’t junk. South Africa was recently downgraded, leaving only Namibia with an investment-grade credit rating.
A precious collection of ice samples melted in Edmonton. You had one job, Canadian Ice Core Archive.
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