Q-MHI Daily Brief ;

Good morning, Q-MHI readers!

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY

Spain holds a crisis meeting over Catalonia. The emergency cabinet meeting will take place today, in response to last night’s announcement from Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont—he put an independence declaration on hold in an effort to “de-escalate the situation.”

SpaceX’s second launch of the week. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Luxembourg communications satellite into orbit will lift off from Florida at 6:53pm local time. The company’s 15th launch of 2017 comes less than three days after a launch from the US west coast.

Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau talk NAFTA in Washington.With the fourth round of trade pact renegotiations between North America, Canada and Mexico underway, Trudeau is expected to tell Trump that Canada is America’s biggest client and “not its problem,” according to Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

SPONSOR CONTENT BY BARCLAYS

Technology is a mixed blessing. For decades, corporations in advanced economies have shifted production processes to emerging markets. Here’s why technological advances, like robotics, may reverse the factors that have defined hyperglobalization. 

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

The US sent bombers over the Korean Peninsula. In a show of force to North Korea, it sent two B-1B bombers to conduct air-to-ground missile drills. The US jets were accompanied by fighter planes from Japan and South Korea—it marks the first time the three nations conducted drills at night together.

Alibaba earmarked $15 billion for overseas research hubs.China’s online giant is going up against global e-commerce, logistics, AI, financial, and cloud tech companies with research bases in China, Israel, the US, Russia, and Singapore. Alibaba already has a data science lab in California, as well as centers in Europe, the Middle East, and India.

The MacArthur Foundation named its “genius” award winners.The fellowship honors “exceptionally creative people” with a $625,000 grant (paywall) paid out over five years. This year it included established figures from the art world, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Baker and theater artist Taylor Mac. The youngest fellow is 33-year-old Cristina Jiménez Moreta, the founder of United We Dream, an advocacy network for young immigrants.

The US Navy fired top officers over a deadly ship collision. A probe into the crash off the coast of Singapore in August, which killed 10 sailors, is still ongoing. But the Navy said it’s already clear the collision involving the USS McCain and a tanker was preventable and that the commanding officers exercised poor judgement and leadership.

The US failed to qualify for the World Cup. An embarrassing 2-1 loss to low-ranked Trinidad and Tobago meant the American team will miss the competition for the first time since 1986. It needed at least a tie to qualify.

Q-MHI OBSESSION INTERLUDE

Jayashri Kulkarni on the shortcomings of borderline personality disorder. “As a diagnostic term, borderline personality disorder not only fails to capture any of the underlying issues and mechanisms involved in producing its symptoms, it also denigrates them. In contrast, major depressive disorder describes a serious condition with the key feature of depressed mood explicit in the diagnostic term.”

MATTERS OF DEBATE

Let’s assume that all of our data will be stolen. A determined hacker can almost always succeed, so the tech industry needs to focus on limiting the damage.

It’s highly unlikely that Catalonia will become fully independent.An article in the Spanish constitution can impose direct control if the region breaks away.

The next financial crisis is probably around the corner. Whether it’s budget deficits, higher debts, unstable markets, or loosened bank regulations, it’s just a matter of time.

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

Eminem rapped about everything he hates about Donald Trump.He launched an expletive-laden tirade in a video for BET’s Hip Hop Awards.

A McDonald’s franchisee in India went rogue. The fast-food giant says its partner is in breach of contract (paywall), but Connaught Plaza Restaurants refuses to quit.

Swedish boars are radioactive from eating Chernobyl mushrooms. Fallout from the 1986 nuclear disaster was carried 1,000 miles (1,609 km) west and began moving up the food chain.

Scientists found half of the universe’s missing matter. It was hiding in particles called baryons that connect galaxies via “filaments of hot, diffuse gas.”

A man in a shark costume was fined for violating Austria’s burqa ban. The law may also ensnare people in other costumes or motorcycle gear.

Q-MHI