Afghan earthquake aftershocks, Guatemala’s new president, dangerous unicorns
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A $3.2 billion casino resort opens in Macau. The world’s largest gambling market is struggling amid a government corruption crackdown and an economic slowdown. But casino owner Melco Crown is betting on family-friendly attractions at the Hollywood-themed Studio City complex to create a mass-market appeal—like the highest Ferris wheel in Asia.
The US Navy challenges China. The US is sending a naval destroyer ship within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-built artificial islands in the South China Sea, in a test of Beijing’s territorial claims. The Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago were turned into islands by a massive Chinese dredging operation last year.
Apple and Twitter release quarterly reports. Apple investors will be scrutinizing iPhone sales, especially in China, with analysts predicting a 25% increase to 49 million units sold worldwide, though Apple shares were down 3% on Monday. Meanwhile, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will have to convince investors that he is making strides in attracting new users. Twitter shares were up slightly on Monday as analysts predicted a 55% increase in quarterly revenue.
More earnings. Bristol-Myers, Merck, and Pfizer are scheduled to reveal results, as well as the prescription drug service Express Scripts. Comcast, UPS, and Ford are also reporting.
While you were sleeping
Afghanistan and Pakistan assessed earthquake damage. The death toll from the 7.5-magnitude quake that struck the Hindu Kush on Monday continued to rise, with the latest minimum estimates at 200. Aftershocks and landslides terrified residents across northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Bad news for meat eaters. The World Health Organization delivered a damning report linking meat consumption to cancer, with an especially strong link between processed meats and colorectal cancer that put bacon and hot dogs in the same class of cancer risk as tobacco smoke. Red meat was classified as “probably carcinogenic.”
Walmart applied to start testing drone deliveries. The world’s largest retailer, struggling to compete against Amazon, asked US regulators for approval to test out unmanned aerial vehicles for home delivery, curbside pickup, and checking warehouse inventories, Reuters reported. The company plans to use drones made by Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology.
An EU summit in Brussels stoked anxiety about migrants and refugees. Europe will “start falling apart” if it doesn’t take meaningful action soon, Slovenia’s prime minister said at a tense meeting with Eastern European leaders. The EU’s Donald Tusk is due to testify on the crisis in European parliament on Tuesday.
Guatemala got a new president. Former comedian Jimmy Morales won 70% of the vote in the second round of the Guatemalan presidential elections, riding a wave of disillusionment about the country’s corruption. Morales, who has never held political office, defeated former first lady Sandra Torres.
Quartz obsession interlude
Alice Truong on the benefits of graduating from coding bootcamp. “While the makeup of students who attend coding schools still largely skews white and male, there are encouraging signs these so-called bootcamps are helping diversify the industry by encouraging people in their early- to mid-careers (on average, participants were 31 years old) to become programmers.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Taxis can survive Uber. The ride-hailing app is expanding at the expense of cabs in New York, but licensed taxis still have a chance.
“Daily fantasy” sports leagues are perfect for laundering money. DraftKings, beware.
Tech unicorns are dangerous. Their demise could create an unpredictable chain reaction.
Chinese bachelors should share wives. Polyandry could erase the country’s huge surplus of single men.
Britain should abandon Halloween pumpkins. Turnips, beets, and potatoes have a much longer “Jack-o’-lantern” lineage.
Surprising discoveries
Colleges are snooping on applicants. Educational data mining is used to juice university acceptance stats.
Turkey tried to thwart Daylight Savings Time. But ubiquitous smartphones foiled the plan.
Fitness fanatics can buy a $365 foam roller. The handmade device gives a deeper, more painful muscle massage.
To make super-strong passwords, roll the dice. A New York City sixth-grader sells the uncrackable logins for $2 each.
The Titanic’s last cracker sold for $23,000. It came from the survival kit on one of the doomed ship’s lifeboats.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, ironclad passwords, and century-old crackers to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.