Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump unveils his tax blueprint… The president reportedly wants to apply a 15% tax rate on both mom-and-pop companies and large corporations, which currently face a much higher rate. The slashed rate would also apply (paywall) to entities like his own real estate conglomerate—opening a line of attack for his opponents.
…And 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.
Earnings, earnings, earnings. Among the many companies reporting results (pdf) are Twitter, PayPal, PepsiCo, Hershey, Boeing, and Procter & Gamble. The day could be especially painful for Twitter, which is expected to report a revenue drop amid struggles to find new users and advertisers.
While you were sleeping
China launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier. The nation could eventually have a fleet of up to six as it tries to project power further afield. For Chinese president Xi Jinping, the launch was a chance to bolster his commander-in-chief credentials ahead a key Communist Party meeting later this year.
Boohoo had nothing to cry about. The disruptive British online fashion retailer left mainstream competitors with their pants down, as it doubled pre-tax profits last year (paywall) to £295 million ($378 million). Boohoo’s push into the US is also paying off, with millennial shoppers boosting its revenues in North America by 120%.
Trump tweeted about Canada, New Zealand shuddered.The Kiwi dollar took a nosedive (paywall) after Trump took aim at Canada’s dairy industry. New Zealand is the world’s eighth-largest milk producer but its biggest milk exporter, so any threat to its core industry is cause for concern.
McDonald’s dropped plans to sell shares in its Japan unit. It had been mulling selling the business, which was reeling from a series of food scandals. But same-store sales rose almost 17% last month from a year ago. Shares in McDonald’s hit an all-time high yesterday after the company reported a strong quarter.
Gucci’s owner dazzled in Paris. Kering, the luxury group that owns Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, swung to the top of the Paris stock exchange on Wednesday, after first quarter sales surged 30% to €3.6 billion ($3.9 billion) from this period a year ago. Kering’s performance, driven by rebounding demand in China and Europe, outshone its main rival LVMH.
Turkey’s president launched another massive crackdown. Police arrested 800 people overnight suspected of having links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom president Tayyip Recep Erdoğan accuses of orchestrating an attempted coup in 2016. More than 40,000 people have been arrested in Turkey since.
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.
Matters of debate
Being a generalist can be a good thing. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk prove that learning across multiple fields increases our odds of breakthrough success.
Our musical tastes atrophy after our twenties. The ability to experience surprise, and the attendant sense of wonder and appreciation, dims as we age.
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 sac 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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