Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Japan’s disaster minister resigns after calling the 2011 earthquake “a good thing.” Masahiro Imamura is set to step down following painful gaffe in which he expressed gratitude that the quake didn’t happen in Tokyo.
Australia hits its inflation target. Consumer prices for March are expected to climb by an annualized 2.2%—within the central bank’s 2%-3% target for the first time in several years—due to more expensive energy, gasoline, and produce.
Donald Trump briefs the US senate on North Korea. All 100 senators have been summoned to a rare joint meeting at the White House with the president and senior cabinet officials to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
While you were sleeping
Bernard Arnault consolidated control over Christian Dior. The French fashion magnate offered to buy out minority Dior shareholders for $13.2 billion, which would fold the fashion house’s operations fully into his LVMH conglomerate.
McDonald’s soared as Coke foundered. The burger chain posted better-than-expected quarterly results thanks to the popularity of its all-day breakfast and Big Mac promotions, sending its shares to an all-time high. Coke announced massive layoffs for its corporate headquarters staff as it struggled with a worldwide slump in soda sales.
A Thai man committed a horrible crime on Facebook Live. The unidentified man killed his baby daughter while streaming video to the world and then killed himself, according to police. The video from the resort town of Phuket was available on Facebook for roughly 24 hours, prompting renewed criticism about the company’s standards.
Germany was unimpressed with Ivanka Trump. The presidential daughter’s first foreign trip as a White House advisor got off to a chilly start on a panel with chancellor Angela Merkel. The Berlin audience hissed and groaned after Trump praised her father’s “advocacy” on women’s issues.
Wells Fargo’s board was barely re-elected. Shareholders upset with a string of scandals came close to booting chairman Stephen Sanger, who was approved with only 56% of the vote. The chaotic meeting was frequently interrupted by angry investors, several of whom were ejected.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on Donald Trump’s war on Canadian lumber socialism. “The lumber debate between the US and Canada began in 1982. It is driven by fundamental factors: In the US, much timber land is privately owned and competitively priced. In contrast, Canada’s vast timber reserves are mostly owned by the government and leased over the long term to producers.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
The mystery of / business success in three words: / “All-Day McMuffins.”
Matters of debate
French politics have moved beyond left and right. Instead, the far-left and far-right are converging.
People are scared of artificial intelligence for all the wrong reasons. Robotic cars are far less dangerous than AIs making decisions about policing and healthcare.
The 😬 emoji is the best emoji. It allows us to acknowledge the low-key stress and anxiety we feel every day.
Surprising discoveries
Astronomers are investigating an aurora named “Steve.” The purple-green streak was created by a ribbon of ionized gas over Alberta, Canada.
Researchers created an artificial womb for livestock (and soon, for humans). Fetal lambs lived in the fluid-filled sack for four weeks.
Apple wants the cool kids to hang out at its stores. Retail chief Angela Ahrendts is overseeing a revamp featuring “Genius Groves” and lots of foliage.
Brazilian bandits stole $40 million from a heavily guarded vault in Paraguay. The gang killed one police officer in its overnight raid on a cash storage facility.
A dead woman’s Fitbit led to her husband’s murder arrest. It showed she was alive after he claimed she was shot by an intruder.
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