Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump lands in Israel. Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered reluctant government ministers to attend Trump’s arrival ceremony, after some reportedly planned to skip it. The US president has called an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement “the ultimate deal,” but has been vague about how to revive the long-stalled negotiations.
Another Greek bailout… Euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels to talk debt relief for Greece. Germany’s top politicians can’t agree on the matter: foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel says debt relief should be offered, while finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble refuses to release more bailout funds.
…and the big Brexit bill. Meanwhile, EU ministers plot their next move on Brexit after Britain threatened to quit divorce talks if it’s forced to pay a multibillion-euro bill after it separates from the bloc.
Manila meets Moscow. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s five-day trip to Russia is part of a shift in diplomatic focus away from Washington and towards the Kremlin. Duterte, who once described Vladimir Putin as his “favorite hero,” plans to sign arms deals during his trip.
Over the weekend
Ford is ousting its CEO. Jim Hackett, who currently heads the carmaker’s autonomous-driving subsidiary, will reportedly take over from Mark Fields, who oversaw a 40% fall in Ford’s share price during his three-year tenure. Ford has suffered a number of recalls this year, is reportedly planning drastic job cuts, and has fallen behind in self-driving car development.
Trump addressed the Muslim world from Saudi Arabia. The US president delivered a speech about Islam and terrorism on Sunday without using a favorite phrase: “radical Islamic terrorism.” Instead, he described a battle between good and evil. He also launched a fierce attack on Iran—Saudi Arabia’s enemy—for funding militias in the region, he said.
Incumbent Hassan Rouhani was re-elected president in Iran. Rouhani, who wants to open the country up to the West, handily beat Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who strongly opposed Iran’s nuclear deal in 2015.
Huntsman and Clariant agreed to a trans-Atlantic hookup. Texas-based Huntsman will merge with Clariant of Switzerland to create a chemicals company valued at about $20 billion (paywall). The merged group will operate in more than 100 countries, employ 32,000 staff, and sell everything from polyurethanes to automotive fluids.
North Korea conducted another missile launch. The missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) off the country’s east coast and appeared to be an upgraded version of a solid-fuel submarine-launched missile. South Korea condemned the “reckless and irresponsible” test.
Egypt unexpectedly hiked interest rates. The aggressive rise in the central bank’s benchmark rate—from 14.75% to 16.75%—caught economists off guard, and appears to be in response to pressure from the IMF to curb inflation. Prices rose at an annual rate of more than 30% in April.
Quartz obsession interlude
Keith Collins on the digital heist that terrorized the world. “There was a telecommunications company in Spain, a cell phone carrier in Russia, and the French automaker Renault. Anyone using certain versions of Windows that hadn’t been updated within the last month was vulnerable. Within hours, it was being called the most successful ransomware attack of all time.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
We’re not in Nixon territory yet. The Trump-Russia probe is not akin to Watergate (paywall) because there isn’t evidence of “obstruction on a monumental scale.”
The quants have taken over Wall Street. Math geniuses with algorithmic-driven trading systems are outperforming humans (paywall).
Hungary is the most authoritarian country in Europe. A law aimed at shutting down Central European University is part of a larger war (paywall) on liberal culture.
Surprising discoveries
Twin Peaks was first resurrected in Japan. Before David Lynch revived the series for Showtime, it had a brief second life in Japanese coffee commercials.
Avo-lattes are a thing. You can buy a latte served in an avocado peel at coffee shops in Turkey and Australia.
Slovakia and Slovenia held an event to help people tell them apart. Ambassadors from the countries invited journalists, businesspeople, and diplomats to an informational session in London.
China is hooked on videos of a toddler wolfing down huge amounts of food. The two-year-old’s insatiable appetite is raising questions about her weight (paywall).
Reading in bed used to be considered immoral. When candlelight was the norm, it was considered a fire hazard.
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