Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The “father of Android” unveils his new smartphone. Andy Rubin sold Android to Google in 2005, but his new company Essential Products will announce “something big” today. Little is known about the new device, which Rubin teased in March.
The Pentagon tests a new anti-missile system. In the midst of escalating threats from North Korea, the Pentagon will test its ability to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile with its upgraded long-range interceptor missile. The test will take place over the Pacific Ocean.
A health check for US consumers. The report revealing April numbers for personal income and personal spending is out this morning, and it’s worth watching because it features one of the Fed’s preferred measures of inflation. Analysts estimate a 0.4% increase in personal spending from the month before.
While you were sleeping
General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s former dictator, died aged 83. The former military leader, who ruled the country for six years during the 1980s, died from a hemorrhage following surgery to remove a brain tumor. Noriega was a close ally of the US in its attempts to contain the spread of communism in central America, but was removed when US troops invaded in 1989 and later jailed on drugs and corruption charges.
Ryanair soared to a record annual profit. Europe’s largest carrier by passengers avoided a Brexit-induced hangover by slashing fares and increasing capacity, which boosted its net profit by 6% in its latest fiscal year. The pugnacious low-cost airline plans to reduce its reliance on the UK by bulking up its fleet to expand elsewhere in Europe.
Vietnam planned its first foreign tech IPO. Backed by Goldman Sachs, the Vietnamese game developer VNG started the process to list on the Nasdaq. VNG has shipped games all over the world, runs a domestic chat app with more than 70 million users, and boasts projected growth in revenue of 70% this year, to $180 million.
Cyclone Mora hit South Asia. In Bangladesh, where the storm made landfall, authorities have been trying to evacuate up to a million people, and in some places the danger is ranked at the highest possible level. The region has seen eight of the 10 deadliest cyclones in recorded history.
Credit Suisse got a slap on the wrist from Singapore. Wrapping up a two-year probe into Malaysia’s scandal-ridden 1MDB state fund, Singapore’s central bank charged Credit Suisse and United Overseas Bank for breaches of anti-money laundering rules. Eight banks have now been fined a total of nearly $21 million—Credit Suisse got off relatively lightly, with a fine of half a million US dollars.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lila MacLellan on a time-management system that explodes the myth of multitasking. “‘Personal Kanban’ was named for the Japanese concept that inspired it, a just-in-time manufacturing process developed at Toyota in the late 1940s. James Benson, a former urban planner based in Seattle, has adapted the system to reduce overhead of the emotional sort—the ‘too many tasks on my mind’ feeling that’s the biggest downside of our mostly doomed attempts to multitask.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
North Korea’s missile tests aren’t all bad for China. They distract the world from disputes in the South China Sea.
GDP is not a helpful measure of development. Well-being, not economic growth, should be the true measure of society’s progress.
Movie stars are becoming too muscular. The overly buff bods filling our screens are emblematic of how far we’ve taken our push for perfection.
Surprising discoveries
More than half of US employees didn’t take all their time off last year. Americans’ reluctance to take a break meant they sacrificed 662 million vacation days last year.
There’s a dark side to meditation. The unpleasant emotions and disturbances that can occur while staring at one’s “third eye” are well known to long-time practitioners.
There’s a frog that literally bares its heart. The newly discovered Hyalinobatrachium yaku from Ecuador belongs to a species of frogs with transparent skin.
The US-Italy coffee wars stretch back nearly a century. Italy’s first Starbucks is only the latest chapter in an ongoing tussle over what constitutes the perfect cup of coffee.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s happiest economic stories right now. The country of 160 million is experiencing its fastest expansion in 30 years.
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