Quartz Daily Brief—GM’s recall, German immigration, JD.com’s IPO, drunk fish
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
JD.com gears up for its IPO. China’s biggest direct-to-consumer online retailer is set to price its shares somewhere in the $16-$18 range, which could give it a valuation of up to $24.6 billion. The company could raise as much as $1.7 billion when it lists on Nasdaq on Thursday.
Target misses the mark. The pressure will be on the US retail chain to show that it can get back on track after firing its CEO earlier this month over a massive data security breach. The company will report a drop in earnings, but others in its sector are doing the same—so investors’ low expectations (paywall) could work in Target’s favor.
American lawmakers discuss the military budget. The House of Representatives debates the annual defense policy bill and whether to approve almost $576 billion in discretionary spending and war operations for the current fiscal year. The budget needs to be cut, but the Pentagon and lawmakers can’t seem to agree where.
Brazilian banks pay for decades-old policies. Brazil’s government introduced policies to fight hyperinflation in the 1980s and 1990s (for example, capped interest rates for saving accounts), and now bank depositors want compensation. If the Supreme Federal Court finds in favor of the plaintiffs, banks could have to pay up $154 billion.
Amazon and HBO take on Netflix. Some HBO shows become available to Amazon prime customers in the US, UK, and Germany, in the wake of a deal the two companies reached last month. The shows include The Sopranos and The Wire, but newer hits such as Girls, The Newsroom and Game of Thrones aren’t part of the package.
Janet Yellen speaks to NYU graduates. The Federal Reserve chair will deliver the address at Yankee Stadium. Other speakers in the US’s annual season of commencement (i.e., graduation) ceremonies include Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. IMF boss Christine Lagarde had to cancel her Smith College speech following protests.
While you were sleeping
Brussels called three banks out for rate-rigging. The European Commission charged HSBC, JP Morgan and Crédit Agricole with rigging Euribor, the benchmark interest rate for lending in euros. Brussels said the banks were participating in a cartel that manipulated the lending rate. If they’re found guilty, the fine could be up to 10% of annual revenues, but will likely be a lot less.
General Motors issued yet another recall. GM doubled its expected second-quarter hit from repeated recalls to about $400 million after calling back another 2.6 million vehicles, bringing its total to almost 15.4 million recalls so far this year—more than the previous five years combined.
Slavery is a bigger problem than expected. A report from the International Labour Organization estimated that there are 21 million people around the world in forced labor, mostly in Asia. Human trafficking makes illegal profits north of $150 billion a year, none of which is paid to the workers or as taxes.
Germany became the go-to place for immigrants. Permanent migration to Germany jumped 38% over the last year, spurred by southern Europeans seeking better fortunes amid the economic crisis. Formerly ranked eighth, Germany skipped past the UK and Canada and is now second only to the US.
Glencore promised to appoint a woman. The mining giant is the only blue-chip company in the UK with no women on its board (paywall), and its chairman pledged to rectify that before the year’s end. Major investors had said they would vote against the annual report because of the lack of female directors.
Quartz obsession interlude
Mark DeCambre asks Lloyd Blankfein why Goldman Sachs is taking the opposite strategy to most other banks. “‘I’ve just been doing this a long time. I’ve been doing this over 30 years,’ the Goldman Sachs CEO told Quartz in an interview after the firm’s annual shareholder meeting in Dallas, Texas on May 16. ’I think it’s a vanity to say something that has worked is not going to work from this moment forward.’” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Officials are grossly underestimating Africa’s collective GDP. It’s probably a third larger than is currently thought.
Classic literature shouldn’t come with “trigger warnings.” The red-flag alerts over emotionally fraught content are just one step away from book-banning.
Bangalore isn’t India’s Silicon Valley—Delhi is. At least, that’s what this startup would like you to believe.
Southeast Asia’s tourist industry may in for a beating. Riots, martial law and missing planes aren’t doing the region any favors.
Surprising discoveries
Why Silicon Valley is on the US west coast. Research finds people with entrepreneurial qualities are more likely to live on that side of the US.
Lost your pet? Find another just like it. This app lets you upload a photo of your old cat or dog and browse through the matches.
Why octopuses don’t stick to themselves. A skin chemical tells the suckers in their tentacles if a body part belongs to them.
Men are more likely than women to think they’re smarter than others. Gen X-ers aren’t so sure, though.
There could be a cure for paralysis. Scientists are developing technology to take signals from the brain to a limb without needing a spine.
Drunk fish are cool. Sober fish will even follow them around.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, pet pictures, and intelligence estimates to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.