Uber on trial, Ralph Lauren resigns, Ikea robot assembly
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Toshiba shareholders meet in Tokyo. In the wake of the electronics firm’s massive bookkeeping scandal, investors are being urged to reject the re-election of ex-president Masashi Muromachi and two board members, who presided over an extended period of fraudulent accounting.
Uber executives stand trial in France. Two top executives are slated to appear in court on charges that UberPOP, the ride-hailing giant’s low-cost service, is an illegal taxi service. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and Thibaud Simphal could face up to two years in prison.
US lawmakers vote to avert an Oct. 1 government shutdown. Despite attempts by some Republicans to block a crucial spending bill unless pro-choice group Planned Parenthood is de-funded, the Senate will vote on a provisional measure to extend current government funding plans through the end of the year. The bill is widely expected to pass.
Bank of America submits a new “stress test” plan. The Federal Reserve rejected the bank’s submission in March—its third stress test gaffe in five years—and barred it from issuing dividends or stock buybacks. BofA investors will be sitting tight for the next 75 days as the Fed evaluates the new plan.
While you were sleeping
Axel Springer bought Business Insider. After making an unsuccessful bid for the Financial Times a few months ago, the German publishing house is spending $343 million to buy nearly all of the rapid-fire business news site at a significant premium to its revenues. Business Insider, founded by former stock analyst Henry Blodget in 2009, will be 97% owned by Springer and 3% owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Volkswagen said it would recall and retrofit 11 million cars. That’s how many diesel vehicles it sold with software to cheat emissions tests. New CEO Matthias Müller told managers that the company was preparing a refit plan to submit to regulators, and that customers would be asked to take their cars in for adjustments in October.
FIFA expelled Jack Warner for life. The international football association’s former vice president is currently fighting US efforts to extradite him from Trinidad on charges of racketeering, fraud, and money laundering. FIFA said it discovered “many and various acts of misconduct” by Warner while investigating the controversial bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Afghan forces struggled to retake Kunduz from the Taliban. A day after the Taliban’s militants seized the northern city, Afghan police and soldiers tried to launch a counter-attack at the local airport. But the insurgents were able to consolidate their gains, according to Reuters, even after the US conducted an airstrike to help government troops.
Obama held a summit on fighting ISIL. On day two of the United Nations General Assembly, the US president told world leaders that the fight against the Islamic State and other extremists would be “a long-term campaign.” Meanwhile, ISIL reportedly confirmed its first attack in Bangladesh: the killing of an Italian aid worker.
Ralph Lauren resigned as CEO of his namesake company. Lauren, who had held the CEO job for 48 years, will stay on as chairman and chief creative officer. Former Old Navy executive Stefan Larsson will take over as chief executive of the fashion house, whose shares have fallen 44% (paywall) this year.
Quartz obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on why we can’t look for life on Mars where we are most likely to find it. “Even if NASA was 100% certain that there is liquid water on Mars, it could not do anything about it. The world’s space powers are bound by rules agreed to under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that forbid anyone from sending a mission, robot or human, close to a water source in the fear of contaminating it with life from Earth.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Stop telling obese people to whip themselves into shape. We don’t actually have much control over our weight.
Ad-blockers are great. Eventually, they’ll compel the advertising industry to curtail its worst practices.
Tesla is a victory of function over form. Its cars are the opposite of flashy, but they shine where it counts.
Donald Trump isn’t going anywhere. Attempts by the media and politicians of all stripes to dismiss him as a joke have completely failed.
The government should pay people enough to not be poor. Universal basic income is a solution to poverty that everyone can live with.
Surprising discoveries
Robots are just as bad as humans at assembling Ikea furniture. But unlike humans, robots can improve.
Deloitte doesn’t care where you went to school. Recruiters will ignore alma maters to boost diversity and social mobility.
Your expensive whisky is artificially colored. A flavorless additive known as E150a is legally allowed in the production of Scotch.
The US is heading for its first big drone Christmas. Aviation regulators worry the unmanned aircraft will present a danger to air traffic.
There’s a name for jolting awake as you fall asleep. It’s called a hypnic jerk, caused by a tussle between different parts of your brain.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, furniture-assembling robots, and artificially-colored whisky to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.