Quartz Daily Brief—Publicis-Omnicom deal collapses, Apple eyes Beats, China inflation slows, the end of Sundays
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
An unusually complicated Victory Day. May 9 is the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s announcement that Nazi Germany had surrendered, which is usually celebrated by all its former members who fought together. Kiev has cancelled its traditional military parade due to current tensions with Russia.
Merkel and Hollande have a tête-à-tête. The German and French presidents meet in Stralsund on the Baltic Sea to discuss the situation in Ukraine, as well as the takeover battle between Siemens and General Electric for Alstom’s energy arm.
Portugal gets a debt upgrade. Ratings agency Moody’s could bump Portugal’s creditworthiness up by a notch as the country prepares to exit its bailout program without a backup loan.
Congress considers pot. The recent decision by the District of Columbia—home to the US government—to decriminalize marijuana possession goes to a Republican-led subcommittee hearing. Even if lawmakers disapprove of the new law, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s done for.
Brazil inflation edges higher. The country’s annual inflation rate likely rose in April to 6.41%, from 6.15% in March. Its central bank has already raised base interest rates nine times over the past year, and may pause as early as this month, which may have a further knock-on effect on prices.
While you were sleeping
The $35 billion Publicis-Omnicom merger fell apart. The deal to combine the world’s largest advertising company was foiled by myriad difficulties, including who would run the new firm. The collapse of the deal is a win for WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, who campaigned aggressively against the merger of two of his biggest rivals.
Apple may buy Beats for $3.2 billion. The headphones company founded by hip-hop DJ Dr. Dre and music industry honcho Jimmy Iovine would be Apple’s largest acquisition ever (paywall). Buying Beats would give Apple both a high-priced electronics brand and a leg-up in its attempt to move into cloud-based music streaming.
China’s inflation slowed. The consumer price index rose by a lower-than-expected 1.8% in April, and the producer price index fell 2% extending the longest stretch of declines since 1997. The data heightens concerns about China’s lackluster domestic demand, but may make it easier for Beijing to stimulate the economy to achieve its 7.5% growth target.
South Korea’s ferry disaster may hurt the economy. The Bank of Korea said the Sewol ferry catastrophe could impact domestic demand (paywall). The country’s period of mourning is forcing people to cancel festivals, travel, and purchases.
Snapchat got a slap on the wrist. The US Federal Trade Commission required the photo-messaging startup to undergo 20 years of independent privacy monitoring for misleading customers into believing its shared images disappear forever and for collecting customer data without permission—a pretty light penalty, considering it led to 4.6 million people’s data being leaked.
Critics panned Comcast’s bid for Time Warner Cable. Opponents of the $45 billion deal told Congress that Comcast abuses its market power (paywall) and will continue to do so if the merger is allowed to go ahead. None of the complaining lawmakers asked regulators to block the merger, though.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lily Kuo on the race between China and the US to turn naive millennials into spies. “The fact that this kind of covert recruitment occurs isn’t as surprising as each government’s attempts to paint the other as emotionally manipulative and ruthless. It may be a sign that US and Chinese intelligence agencies are waging a war for public opinion, as well as critical information.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Alibaba’s gender diversity puts Silicon Valley to shame. Six of its 18 founding partners are women.
Smuggling could help unite India and Pakistan. Illicit trade between the two countries may add to pressure to normalize trade ties.
Nintendo should allow gay avatars. Any simulation of the real world should at least have the option to be diverse and inclusive.
Say goodbye to Sundays. The weekly switch-off won’t be a day of rest for much longer.
Surprising discoveries
This bike helmet can be folded into a briefcase—a neat solution for the 83% of bikers who cite the inconvenience of helmets as a reason they don’t use one.
The future of constipation cures is a vibrating pill. It works by triggering bowel contractions. So long, laxatives.
There is a point to pain. Research on injured squids shows that intense discomfort has evolutionary benefits.
The most popular US female baby name beginning with B is Brooklyn. Except in Brooklyn.
Amazon patented taking a photo against a white background… It probably won’t enforce the patent—it just wants creator’s credit.
…While Huawei trademarked the “groufie.” It’s a group selfie, à la Ellen at the Oscars.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, baby names beginning with B, and groufies (non-white backgrounds only please) to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.