Q-MHI Daily Brief ;

Good morning, Q-MHI readers!

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY

Phoenix braces for Donald Trump’s visit. The city’s police chief said the force is ready to prevent a repeat of the violent clashes in Charlottesville, as businesses, schools, and courts plan to close earlyahead of the president’s rally on Tuesday evening. Protests are expected.

Brussels completes its review of the Bayer-Monsanto merger. The European Commission had extended its review of the $66 billion deal by two weeks. Bayer said it would divest assets to pass antitrust scrutiny by the body, which rules on mergers in the European Union.

Salesforce reports second-quarter earnings. Investors are expecting more information about how the cloud-software giant’s string of acquisitions in the past year, worth more than $4 billion, are faring. Two acquisitions in focus are Commerce Cloud, an e-commerce service provider formerly known as Demandware, and Einstein, an AI platform.

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Trump committed to an open-ended Afghan war. In an about-face from campaign pledges, Trump said a “hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists,” and that the US would commit more troopsto what is now America’s longest war. He pledged to pressure Pakistan to do more in the fight against terrorists that operate near its border with Afghanistan.

BHP Billiton offloaded shale assets in the US. The Anglo-Australian mining giant’s move is a win for activist hedge fund Elliott Management, which claims that poor management by BHP has destroyed some $40 billion in shareholder value. Riding the global commodities rebound, BHP posted a five-fold rise in annual profit to $6.7 billion.

A high-speed train crashed into a parked train outside Philadelphia. More than 40 were reportedly injured, none seriously, after an inbound train hit an unoccupied train at a terminal in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

Facebook has a teen problem. A forecast by EMarketer said the social network will suffer a decline among teenage users in the US for the first time ever this year. Teens are flocking instead to Snapchat and Instagram. Good thing Facebook owns Instagram, then.

Fujitsu’s has had enough of making mobile phones. Daunted by competition from bigger rivals, the Japanese company could open bidding for its mobile unit as early as next month, Nikkei reported. Lenovo, CVC Capital Partners, and Polaris Capital are potential buyers.

Q-MHI OBSESSION INTERLUDE

Chase Purdy on the paleo diet being marketed to babies. “Meals include liquified uncured bacon with organic kale and butternut squash, chicken with peas and carrots, even beef with kale and sweet potato. The product is sold in packs of six 4-ounce pouches for about $27.”

MATTERS OF DEBATE

Spotify playlists are the new albums. The streaming service is forcing artists to reshape how they make music.

You’re more likely to achieve the “American dream” in Denmark. Far from being the land of opportunity, the US has very low social mobility.

Tech companies aren’t special. They need regulatory watchdogs like their old-economy peers.

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

An Antarctic microbe could reveal the origin of viruses. The single-celled organism is host to a fragment of DNA that can build a capsule around itself.

A good credit score is sexy. When it comes to dating in the US, the three-digit number ranks above looks, ambition, and a sense of humor.

Venus flytraps can count. It’s how they sense the difference between prey and raindrops.

You can’t charge your Tesla and make a cup of tea at the same time. The average UK household would blow the main fuse if they tried.

HIV could treat cancer. The virus’s ability to inject DNA into cells (paywall) is being repurposed for a revolutionary immunotherapy.

Q-MHI