Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
US lawmakers vote on whether to abolish Obamacare. It’s unclear whether Republican leaders have garnered enough support in the House of Representatives to pass the American Health Care Act, but calling for a vote suggests they’re closer than before. Donald Trump has lobbied undecided lawmakers hard this week for their support.
Trump sits down with Malcolm Turnbull. The Australian prime minister had a fraught first phone call with the US president shortly after his inauguration, with Trump calling a US-Australia asylum seeker agreement a “dumb deal.” The two will meet in New York to reaffirm the alliance between the two nations as China—now Australia’s top trading partner—looms ever larger.
Southeast Asian leaders meet with Rex Tillerson. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet the US secretary of state in Washington to discuss the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, along with China’s ambitions in the South China Sea.
While you were sleeping
Queen Elizabeth’s husband announced his retirement. Buckingham Palace said in a surprise statement that 95-year-old Prince Philip will step down from public life this fall. The Queen, 91, will keep up her full program of official engagements. The British monarch has been on the throne for 65 years.
Adidas outplayed Nike on its home turf. The German sportswear firm’s massive marketing drive paid off with a strong sales increase in the first quarter and a 30% hike in net profit to €455 million ($495 million) from the same period a year ago. Adidas’s online business is booming; even its limping Reebok brand got a leg up from its training and retro lines.
Big Beer beat estimates… Beer sales grew in the first quarter at world-leader AB InBev and its Danish rival Carlsberg, thanks to thirsty Europeans. AB InBev is still being battered by two years of falling sales in Brazil and its Bud Light and Busweiser brands both lost market share in the US.
… And Big Oil rode the crude-price rebound. Royal Dutch Shell was the latest oil giant to report a positive first quarter: its net profit more than doubled from the same time a year ago. Shell is more than half way through its $30 billion asset disposal, set to be completed by next year, to allow it to finance the $53 billion acquisition of British rival BG.
Sandstorms from Inner Mongolia brought Beijing to a standstill. Twenty-two million people have been advised not to go outside as the choking combination of the sandstorms and poor air quality pushed pollution levels to more than 27 times the recommended exposure level. Dozens of flights have been delayed and cancelled.
Quartz obsession interlude
Josh Horwitz on Tencent’s secret advantage in artificial-intelligence research. “A core component of artificial-intelligence research lies in teaching machines how to communicate with humans. Tencent’s WeChat is the perfect conduit for this type of research. A chat app with 889 million users, WeChat is collecting countless messages every day from people talking to one another.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
A woman’s higher status can hurt her marriage. But the odds of satisfaction are better if her spouse helps around the house.
Index funds are finally getting the respect they deserve. Human nature and hostility from Wall Street contributed to the delay.
The French election is nothing like Brexit or Trump. Marine Le Pen’s poor position in the polls means the odds of a shock win are much lower.
Surprising discoveries
Private-equity billionaires blame PR for their bad image. Attendees at an industry conference complained that bad publicity has undermined their contributions to society.
Faulty new British one-pound coins are fetching large sums on eBay. The ultra-secure, 12-sided coins are being auctioned for up to 5,000 times their face value.
A Finnish brewery is offering a 1,000-pack of beer. And customers are actually buying it, says the company.
Track-and-field authorities want to erase dozens of world records. They argue that a clean slate is needed due to insufficient anti-doping standards.
Some Canadian martinis were extra strong this month. Bombay Sapphire is issuing a recall for gin that was nearly twice as potent as advertised.
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