Quartz Daily Brief—JD.com’s IPO, trouble in Ukraine, Turkey’s rate cut, Farts candy
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Ukraine gears up for its presidential election. European officials arrive in Ukraine ahead of Sunday’s poll, to make sure things go smoothly. European integration and particularly the relationship with Russia will no doubt be front and center.
England announces local election results. In what is being seen as a precursor to next year’s general election, England will reveal which parties bagged the most seats on local councils. The results could also hint at the winners of the European Parliament elections, ahead of Sunday’s results.
Mexico’s economy brightens a bit. After posting its slowest annual growth since 2009 last year, Mexico’s economy looks to be on the up. Analysts expect first-quarter GDP growth to rebound—which would be particularly welcome news for President Enrique Peña Nieto, who pushed hard to enact tricky industrial reforms this year.
Pakistan decides on India’s olive branch. India invited Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif to Narendra Modi’s swearing-in as prime minister, in what could be a thawing of relations. Whether Sharif goes will depend on whether he can convince his own suspicious army chiefs.
A unique meteor storm. Earth will, for the first time, intersect the debris cloud of comet 209P/Linear, which has swung by the Sun every five years since 1803. It might produce a spectacular meteor shower—but it might not. Optimal viewing will be overnight in North America.
While you were sleeping
JD.com rocked its first day on the market. Shares in China’s second-biggest e-commerce company climbed more than 10% after it raised $1.8 billion in its IPO, banking a valuation of more than $25 billion. The float was seen as an important precursor to its rival Alibaba’s US flotation this summer.
Sino-African relations took a step in the right direction. The governor of China’s central bank admitted to the country’s troubled relationship with Africa after agreeing a $2 billion deal with the African Development Bank. It’s being touted as a move away from critics’ claims that China only agreed to deals that benefitted its own industries (paywall).
Turkey surprised with a rate cut. Turkey’s central bank lowered interest rates for the first time in a year. Given that inflation rose more than anticipated in April, the move was unexpected, adding to worries that prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been calling for rate cuts, is putting political pressure on the bank.
Violence rose ahead of Ukraine’s election. A series of attacks in Ukraine killed 16 people, including 13 Ukrainian soldiers in the separatist region of Donetsk and another in Luhansk, in what is thought to be the deadliest attack on troops to date.
Wage protests continued at McDonald’s. One day after the fast-food giant was forced to close one of its Illinois headquarters buildings, McDonald’s boss Don Thompson refused to acquiesce to workers’ demands for higher pay. He said the company pays fair and competitive wages and provides job opportunities.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on the battle between Alibaba and JD.com for poorer, inland China. “And we’re not talking about thinly populated farmland here. Outside the 35 biggest cities—megalopolises like Shanghai and provincial capitals like Chengdu—there are still 125 other cities whose populations exceed one million residents, and many hundreds more with populations of more than 500,000. Brick-and-mortar shopping options there are much scarcer than in the coastal major cities, limiting the quality, safety and selection of available products, says Alibaba’s prospectus (p.130).” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Spy agencies should not be snooping on humanitarian groups. Institutions such as Unicef rely on independence, impartiality and anonymity.
Don’t blame your co-workers for messy office situations. Work conflicts have nothing to do with personality clashes.
Thailand’s military coup could kill its tourism industry. The ongoing political crisis shows no sign of abating, and travelers are keeping away (paywall).
Resume-based job applications are a waste of time. They’re inefficient information sorters and minefields for bias.
Surprising discoveries
Brokers are going rogue. More and more financial advisors are leaving Wall Street and making it on their own (paywall).
Pope Francis will not be joining Facebook. Twitter is fine, because profanity-ridden replies are less visible and easier to ignore.
The latest candy on the market is called “Farts.” Only because kids can’t help but giggle when they hear the word.
Music has gone to the dogs. Quite literally; the Pittsburgh Symphony has hired five of them to perform a piece written by Mozart’s father.
You don’t need an Ivy League degree to work for a tech giant. Going to a school near its HQ helps, though.
“Desk Envy” is sweeping the nation. Workers with plain-old sitting stations want standing desks (paywall) like their colleagues.
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