Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump sits down with Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinian president says a “historic” deal is possible, as he seeks US support for an Arab League peace plan.
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen debate. It’s the last opportunity for the centrist ex-banker and the euroskeptic, anti-immigrant presidential candidates to have at each other before Sunday’s runoff vote. Macron, who has a 20 point lead in the polls, promised “hand-to-hand fighting” at the showdown.
Can Facebook extend its earnings streak? The social media giant has beat expectations every quarter since March 2013. Investors will be keenly looking at Instagram’s revenue growth as the Facebook news feed loses steam.
The Fed sets the table. The US central bank isn’t expected to make a move on interest rates, but its readout on the economy will give a strong signal for June’s widely anticipated rate hike (paywall).
While you were sleeping
Volkswagen bounced back. In signs it is finally shrugging off the 2015 “dieselgate” emissions-cheating scandal, the German carmaker announced a 40% rise in profits (paywall) for the first quarter from this time a year ago, powered by cost-cutting and recovery in its core brand. The company is in talks with Exxon Mobil and Gazprom about supporting its push into cars that run on natural gas.
The police involved in the shooting of Alton Sterling won’t be charged. The death of Sterling, an African-American, at the hands of two white officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana sparked protests last summer and fueled resentment over racial injustice in the US. The Justice Department will announce as soon as today that no charges will be filed.
BNP Paribas felt the Macron magic. A surge in bond trading helped the Paris-based bank beat estimates to deliver $1.9 billion in revenue the first quarter, 33% growth from a year earlier. France’s biggest bank by assets has enjoyed a stock rally as investors celebrated the pro-EU Macron making it through the first round of the presidential election—and looking very hopeful to win Sunday’s runoff.
Eight people were killed in a suicide attack on a NATO convoy in Afghanistan. The victims of the attack, which happened near the US embassy in Kabul, were all civilians. Three US service members were wounded. ISIL claimed responsibility for the blast.
Peugeot partnered with an autonomous-driving startup. The French carmaker will work with Boston-based nuTonomy on a project involving self-driving cars in Singapore. Last August the startup, spun out of MIT, helped Singapore become the first city in the world to offer self-driving taxis.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve Mollman on how we’ll know China is working with the US on North Korea: “China accounts for about 90% of North Korea’s trade… The importance of the limited flow of luxury goods like liquor and flat-screen TVs into North Korea should not be underestimated. ‘If hard currency and luxury goods were cut off, the regime could lose the support of the elite.'” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Corporate sexual harassment hotlines don’t work. They exist as legal cover for companies, but many workers are too afraid to use them.
Don’t stress about robots replacing humans. Worry instead about machines replacing high-paid positions and leaving drudge work behind.
The idea of “one true calling” is a romanticized lie. Pressure to decide on a single career path wreaks havoc on our hearts and psyches.
Surprising discoveries
The US is prosecuting a woman who laughed at Jeff Sessions. The attorney general’s confirmation hearing was allegedly disrupted when she guffawed “very loudly.”
Factory workers are crafting poetry on their phones. Their literary work pairs traditional Chinese imagery with the harsh realities of employment.
Chinese tech giants are investing in pigs. NetEase’s Weiyang subsidiary sells pampered black pork for up to $40,000 at auction.
An upcoming solar eclipse will cost California a ton of energy. The state’s increasing reliance on solar power will cause some complications on Aug. 21.
Shaving accessories caused a World War I anthrax outbreak. Common horsehair brushes carried bacterial spores that infected dozens of soldiers.
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