Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UN Security Council discusses North Korea’s latest provocation. Sunday’s missile test showed dramatic improvements in North Korea’s progress toward a long-range missile capable of reaching the US and other targets. That may prompt China and Russia to agree to new sanctions.
How are America’s builders and factories faring? The Commerce Department publishes the latest numbers on the construction of new houses, with analysts expecting a rise of nearly 4% in April. The Fed’s April reading on industrial production is also due—it’s expected to show a 0.3% uptick (paywall).
Trump has an uneasy sit-down with Erdogan. The Turkish president’s Washington visit has been overshadowed by US support for a Kurdish militia in Syria that Turkey considers a terrorist affiliate. Turkey is also vying for the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it says inspired a military coup last year.
Manchester United tries to hit its financial goals. The New York-listed English soccer club will publish its latest earnings, which have been solid lately but could have been better if the underperforming team made the cut for the money-spinning Champions League this season. It will earn a spot for next year’s tournament if it wins the final match of the second-tier Europa League next week.
While you were sleeping
The White House denied Donald Trump revealed “highly classified” intel to the Russians. US national security adviser H.R. McMaster denied reports that the president revealed classified information to Russia’s foreign minister, saying “I was in the room, it didn’t happen.” The Washington Post reported yesterday that Trump discussed information (paywall) “from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State” with Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office.
Vodafone’s Indian business saddled it with a big loss. The world’s second-largest mobile operator booked a €6 billion ($6.6 billion) loss (paywall) for the year ending March, thanks to impairment charges in India. The country’s mobile market is incredibly cutthroat, with operators slashing prices to compete with disruptors like Jio that offer calls and data for free.
Ford plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce. The reductions to the carmaker’s North American and Asia workforce could be outlined (paywall) as early as this week, reports the Wall Street Journal. The carmaker is targeting $3 billion in cost reductions for 2017 as it seeks to boost profits and stop its share price from sliding. The company has fallen far behind Tesla and GM in terms of market value.
EasyJet made a loss but bought more planes. The weak pound dragged Europe’s second-largest discount carrier to a £192 million ($248 million) loss in the six months to March. The UK-based carrier has ordered 30 Airbus A321neo planes, for around $3.8 billion, to boost revenues by packing in more passengers per flight.
Ant Financial put its huge IPO on hold. Alibaba-affiliated Ant, which runs China’s Alipay, was expected to be most dazzling IPO of the year (paywall). It was valued at $60 billion in its latest round of financing, more than twice the value of Snap. The Financial Times reports that the delayed IPO is down to regulatory troubles with the Chinese government.
Singapore set a worrying precedent for the EU’s post-Brexit trade talks. The EU’s top court ruled that a free-trade pact with Singapore must be ratified by each EU country separately. That will slow things down considerably as national parliaments weigh in—and doesn’t bode well for Britain’s hopes of getting a trade deal done quickly during or immediately after its divorce talks with the EU.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lily Kuo on the pitfalls of China’s New Silk Road: “The One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, marketed as a modern-day recreation of the ancient Silk Road trading route, is about gaining access to new markets for Chinese goods. In this way, OBOR is similar to Britain’s colonial trade routes, used to take natural resources from its outposts as well as ship finished goods back to its colonial subjects.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Ransomware is great advertising for cybersecurity stocks. Hackers have netted a paltry sum compared to the millions of dollars added to the sector’s soaring market values.
Trump gave the new Silk Road a credibility boost. The presence of a top US official at the “One Belt, One Road” summit was exactly what Beijing wanted.
The US is starting a disastrous new war on drugs. A move to re-impose tougher sentencing guidelines is a throwback to an ugly era (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs landed in the worst possible spot. Striking rocks in the shallow coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico sent vast amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere.
An American retailer is giving its workers exoskeletons. They’re designed to transfer energy more efficiently while lifting heavy objects.
Florence Nightingale was great at infographics. The famous nurse used persuasive statistics to improve the health-care system.
Pre-pubertal anorexia is on the rise. Messages about “good” and “bad” foods are forcing kids to worry about what they eat at a very early age.
Americans keep naming their babies after Star Wars characters. Forty years after the uptick in Lukes and Leias, there has been a surge of Reys and Kylos.
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