Apple’s executive shuffle, Martin Shkreli arrested, pangolin meat seized
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Democrats debate. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley will face off in a third debate in Manchester, New Hampshire on YouTube this Saturday. Clinton has widened her lead nationally, but in Iowa, where primary voting kicks off, Sanders is only 9 points behind.
The Force Awakens worldwide—almost. The seventh film of the Star Wars saga, and the first produced by Disney, will land in theaters around the world, and is expected to set a record with $220 million in US box office sales. In China, the world’s second-largest movie market, the franchise is mostly unknown, and won’t premiere until Jan. 9.
The Australian prime minister visits Japan. Malcolm Turnbull will meet with the Japanese government for diplomatic and trade talks, as well as raise Australia’s concerns about Japan renewing its whale-hunting program. Japan is also bidding to design and build Australia’s new fleet of submarines.
High-level Syria talks in New York. US secretary of state John Kerry chairs a UN security council meeting, arranged during Kerry’s visit to Moscow this week, in an effort to broker an end to Syria’s bloody civil war.
While you were sleeping
Reviled hedge fund bro Martin Shkreli was arrested. The 32-year-old Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO, who jacked up the price of a drug for HIV and cancer patients, was charged with securities fraud after allegedly using stock from one of his companies to pay off other business debts. The FBI says Shkreli’s one-of-a-kind Wu Tang album was not seized during the arrest.
Tim Cook promoted “Tim Cook’s Tim Cook” to Tim Cook’s old job. Apple announced a wide-reaching management reshuffle, promoting Jeff Williams to chief operating officer. Williams is a longtime Cook deputy who had been senior vice president of operations, in charge of Apple’s supply chain.
WhatsApp returned in Brazil. A São Paulo court overturned a lower court’s order to shut down the Facebook-owned messaging app, a move that caused 12 hours of chaos for WhatsApp’s 100 million Brazilian users. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said he was “stunned” by the court’s initial ruling, which was linked to the use of Brazil’s most popular app by criminal gangs.
IMF boss Christine Lagarde will stand trial in a decades-old corruption case. A French court levied charges of negligence against Lagarde for her role in a controversial €400 million ($434 million) government payout to a well-connected businessman. Lagarde, who was serving as France’s finance minister when the payout was approved, said she would appeal the decision.
Vladimir Putin stroked Donald Trump’s ego. The Russian president said the GOP presidential frontrunner is “a very bright character, talented, without any question,” after a lengthy press conference. He also took a crudely worded stab at Turkey over its downing of a Russian plane last month.
Quartz obsession interlude
Corinne Purtill on how a butter coffee maker sells an entire lifestyle: “In company lingo, “being Bulletproof” means hacking your diet, your sleep, your workout routines and virtually every other interaction with your environment to become a smarter, sharper, better performing you … What Bulletproof is really selling isn’t high-fat coffee but a new take on a perennially popular product: the promise of a better life, and a faster, easier way to get there.” Read more here.
Quartz markets haiku
The mighty greenback
When rates rise it too ascends
Stocks? Bonds? Not so much.
Matters of debate
The Arab Spring backfired. A woman who sparked the movement says Tunisia hasn’t changed; Syria, Iraq, and Libya are now burning.
Mars should be independent from Earth. Future colonists should renounce their Earth citizenship.
Instead of treating depression, we should preempt it. The animal tranquilizer ketamine could act as a preventative vaccine.
Surprising discoveries
A South Korean company makes employees undergo mock funerals. Lying in coffins is supposed to make them appreciate life.
Two California thieves had “shop lift” on their to-do list. They were stealing Amazon packages from doorsteps.
American teenagers are smoking marijuana more than tobacco. Weed use has stayed constant; tobacco use has fallen sharply.
Hong Kong police seized $190,000 worth of pangolin meat. The endangered species is prized in China for its supposed medicinal qualities.
Smoggy Chinese cities are a perfect market for bottled air. A Canadian company is selling “premium quality” oxygen; a seven-liter bottle is $25.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, bottled air, and workplace coffins to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.