Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The EU talks Brexit. Leaders from European Union member countries will come together Saturday to discuss Brexit practicalities, including how to safeguard the status of EU citizens (paywall) living in the UK once Britain is out of the bloc.
SpaceX launches a classified payload into orbit. Elon Musk’s reusable-rocket company could gain more government contracts if its Sunday launch for the National Reconnaissance Office—part of the US defense department—proves successful. (Psst, it’s probably a spy satellite.)
US lawmakers thwart a government shutdown. Talks on a spending bill went more smoothly after Donald Trump dropped his demand that it include funding for a US-Mexico border wall. A vote is expected today for the bill, which would fund government operations for one more week while a longer-term deal is worked out.
While you were sleeping
Trump warned that a “major, major conflict with North Korea” is possible. But the US president said he’d prefer a diplomatic solution to the rogue nation’s weapons development programs. He also praised Chinese president Xi Jinping for his efforts to end the crisis. Meanwhile, secretary of state Rex Tillerson said talks with Pyongyang could happen, as long as the agenda was denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
Britain’s growth stuttered. The UK economy grew by just 0.3% in the first quarter of 2017, its worst performance in a year. The pound, battered since the Brexit vote, has hiked prices, forcing consumers to tighten their belts
France’s Thales bought a big-data firm in the US. The defense company will pay around $200 million (paywall) to acquire California-based Guavus, which analyzes about 5,000 terabytes of data a day. Thales is the latest in a line of European aerospace and defense firms to hook up with tech companies to manage their data: Boeing and Rolls-Royce Holdings both work with Microsoft.
The spat between Germany and Israel heated up. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled talks with Sigmar Gabriel after the German foreign minister met with a group that is critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Netanyahu told the Bild tabloid that Gabriel refused to take his call when he reached out to smooth things over.
RBS shares soared while Barclays’ plunged. Shareholders cheered (paywall) as RBS turned a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) loss at the start of 2016 into a £259 million profit in the first quarter of this year—and its shares leapt 4%. Barclays’ shares fell by 4%, despite doubling its underlying profit in the first quarter. CEO Jess Staley is still in regulators’ crosshairs for trying to unmask a whistleblower who complained about a bank hire.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on an insanely detailed map of US racial diversity. “The free map tracks racial diversity spatio-temporally by laying census data from 1990 to 2010 over detailed grids from NASA satellite maps… ‘People don’t realize that the United States is a diverse country but at the same time is still very segregated,’ says astrophysicist Tomasz Stepinski.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Trump’s tax cut is radical, but America can afford it. An investment in the US economy would be worth the increase in the national debt.
It’s time to hand science over to machines. AI can find relationships and correlations that are beyond the grasp of the human mind.
Japan’s most powerful political bargaining chip is its culture. Sushi and manga are two obvious examples of Japanese soft power.
Surprising discoveries
Asians spend seven times as much as Americans on tutoring their kids. Asian households devote about 15% of their income to supplemental education, compared to a mere 2% in the US.
Estonian police are enlisting teddy bears. They’re putting cuddly toys in their patrol cars and police stations to comfort children involved in accidents.
Drug dealers are lacing heroin with an elephant tranquilizer. Carfentanil, 5,000 to 10,000 times stronger than morphine, is being blamed for a surge in fatal overdoses.
Cobalt is the unlikely hero of 2017. The metal’s price has soared nearly 70%, more than any other commodity, due to demand for rechargeable batteries and electric cars.
Crowded subways are golden opportunities for online retail. Cramped commuters buy 45% more than those on uncrowded trains.
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