Sunday Reads: Target and airplane seats

Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!

Well, this is the week that Kamala roared! Four days of the Democratic National Convention filled the airwaves. The Federal Reserve is telegraphing a September interest rate cut, Ukraine keeps gaining ground in Russia (and losing it at home), the Boeing astronauts are still stuck in space, and there is a strange shortage of available seats on U.S. airlines.

It’s Sunday, and time for some hand-selected reads to go with your latte. Here are some of our favorite Quartz stories from the week, plus a sneak peek at one story coming next week to get your day started.

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5 things we especially liked on Quartz

𓇲 Get smart: It’s a new world out there for stocks, and the Big Kahuna, the one everyone is watching, is AI chip maker Nvidia, which reports its second-quarter earnings on August 28. In the first quarter, Nvidia reported $26 billion in revenues — a 262% increase from a year prior. After reporting those results, Nvidia’s stock price passed $1,000. Quartz’s Rocio Fabbro takes a look at what to expect.

🎯 Back on Target: Target is luring back inflation-weary shoppers. Sales at the retail giant grew 2% from a year ago in the second quarter. That’s a strong reversal from a 4% decline in sales in the first quarter, as Target struggled in the inflation economy. Rocio walks us through the numbers.

💵 It’s the Benjamins, Ford. Detroit giant Ford may be cutting back on its EV production, but it knows where the money is going to come from. With the Biden administration’s $7,500 EV consumer tax credit only available for cars with a large percentage of U.S. parts, Ford is moving electric battery production from Poland to Holland. Holland, Michigan, that is. Quartz’s William Gavin takes a drive through Ford’s battery scene.

🛒 More Americans live life in the fast (shopping) lane. In a world where inflation hits hard, some shoppers have shifted to survivalist mode. Their goal: Get in and get out. Cue “mission-driven shopping,” a savvy way consumers are making fewer but more efficient trips to the store. Francisco Velasquez clocks the foot traffic.

✈️ The great U.S. airline space squeeze. No, it’s not about your knees, or the seatback tray table in your face. U.S. airlines have been cutting back the number of seats and the number of flights, even as demand grows. Why? Melvin Backman buckles in to explain.

1 sneak peek

How did activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management become one of the most feared names in finance, known for forcing firms as big as Starbucks and Southwest Airlines — not to mention the government of Argentina — to bend to its will? Rocio Fabro explains Monday in a profile of Singer and his firm. Visit qz.com on Monday morning for a look at the future of everything.

What we’re watching this week

Monday: It’s a bank holiday, so Britain is taking the day off.

Tuesday: Nordstrom reports earnings; fintech leaders gather in Atlanta for FinTech South; the June S&P Case-Shiller home price index is released at 9 am.

Wednesday: Earnings from Nvidia, Salesforce, CrowdStrike, Foot Locker, Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess, and Kohl’s.

Thursday: Earnings from Lululemon, Ulta Beauty, Dollar General, and Gap.

Friday: Expect the U.S. to shut down early as folks make their way to the beach for Labor Day weekend.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the last week of summer, and don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, feedback, joy, or tips on where to find the Cap’n Crunch at Walmart. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter S. Green.