Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A high-profile congressional hearing on the FBI director’s firing. US deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein will answer lawmakers’ questions and discuss his controversial role in James Comey’s dismissal.
The Tories launch their manifesto ahead of June’s election. British prime minister Theresa May will announce the Conservative Party’s main policy proposals ahead of the June 8 vote, with leaks suggesting lots of tough talk on immigration and a hard line on the upcoming Brexit negotiations.
Can Walmart weather the retail downturn? The retail giant is expected to report steady earnings amid widespread angst in the sector. Investors will be heartened if the company maintains its expectations-beating profit streak, steeling itself for competition from German discounter Lidl (paywall), which is about to make its debut in the US.
Alibaba’s magic numbers. The Chinese e-commerce giant is expected to report revenue growth of up to 50% in its latest quarter, but analysts are concerned that profit margins are shrinking. Investors are not too bothered though—Alibaba is a darling among hedge funds buying US-listed Chinese stocks.
While you were sleeping
A former FBI director was put in charge of the Trump-Russia investigation. It will now be up to the no-nonsense Robert Mueller III (nickname: Bobby Three Sticks) to determine whether there was collusion between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Kremlin. In a show of independence, the Department of Justice official who gave Mueller the task didn’t consult with the White House before doing so.
European stocks got the Trump trembles. EU stocks started the day in the red (paywall), mirroring Asian and US markets, as turmoil in Washington unsettled investors. The Dow and S&P 500 suffered their worst day in eight months on Wednesday as hopes for deregulation and tax cuts faded amid the din surrounding the US president’s alleged meddling in the FBI’s Russian investigation.
General Motors is done selling cars in India. After 20 years, GM will stop selling Chevrolets (the only brand it sells in India) at the end of this year. The American carmaker only has 1% of the highly competitive passenger-car market in India; it will sell off one of its two Indian assembly plants and keep the other for making cars for export.
The EU fined Facebook €110 million ($122 million) over its misleading WhatsApp takeover. Antitrust regulators said the social media platform claimed it couldn’t automatically match user accounts on Facebook and WhatsApp when it bought the messaging service in 2014—but it already knew it could. Facebook’s having a tough time in Europe: it is accused of breaking data privacy laws in several countries on the continent.
Japan enjoyed its longest growth streak in over a decade. In the first three months of this year, GDP grew at an annualized rate of 2.2%, the fifth consecutive quarter of growth, thanks to solid exports and a jump in private consumption. Stagnating consumer prices and wages will keep the pressure on the central bank to continue with stimulus measures, regardless.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve Mollman considers what a North Korean refugee crisis would look like. “The logistical challenge will require new solutions from China. Besides trying to fortify its border, it might seize control of some North Korean territory in order to create a buffer zone, in which case it would probably first try to get approval from the international community.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Indifferent relationships are the key to workplace success. The colleagues you can barely name play a crucial role in innovation and productivity.
The MP3 is far from dead. After 20 years, the ubiquitous audio format is finally free from patents.
Can America be trusted with classified information? The Trump leak to Russia is a bad misstep—but it’s probably not catastrophic.
Surprising discoveries
The king of the Netherlands is a secret airline pilot. He’s been moonlighting as a commercial pilot for more than 20 years.
The world’s biggest drinkers are trying to rein it in. Lithuania may restrict alcohol sales to control consumption—the average Lithuanian drinks the equivalent of 910 bottles of beer per year.
A chemical company paid $1 billion for an animated talking cat. It’s part of a string of odd deals between Chinese conglomerates and Western video game companies.
Cicadas are waking up early in Washington, DC. A portentous sign in tumultuous times.
Internet pirates are holding the latest Pirates of the Caribbean hostage. Disney has refused to pay a ransom for a stolen copy of the upcoming sequel.
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