Beijing smog alert, Cisco’s China “win-win,” insomnia vs. “night milk”
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Beijing goes on smog alert. The Chinese capital has issued its first-ever “red alert” for the next three days, commencing at 7am local time. To alleviate the air quality crisis, car traffic is restricted, some schools are closed, and factory and construction work has been halted.
Malaysia’s ruling party meets amid political turmoil. A five-day gathering of the United Malays National Organization, the country’s largest political party, starts in Kuala Lumpur. Prime minister Najib Razak is embroiled in a massive corruption scandal, and some party members are calling for his resignation.
China’s trade surplus soars, and Japan perks up. The gap between imports and exports in China is expected to reach a record high of $63 billion in November, as imports fall more than exports due to low commodity prices. Meanwhile, Japan’s third-quarter GDP is expected to be revised upward, after an initial reading that showed the economy slipping into recession.
Home Depot lays out its future. The world’s biggest home improvement retailer will fill investors and analysts in on its three-year strategic plan, after strong third-quarter results that suggested American consumers are confidently spending again. The retailer is also embroiled in a lawsuit over a massive credit card security breach.
While you were sleeping
Cisco vowed to find a “win-win” with Beijing. But chairman John Chambers declined to say whether the networking giant would agree to China’s demands to let the government control routers and other equipment in the world’s largest internet market. Cisco plans to invest $10 billion in China, despite other Western tech firms’ uneasiness about Beijing’s demands.
A Staples-Office Depot merger isn’t happening just yet. The US Federal Trade Commission is challenging Staples’ $6.3 billion bid for its rival, citing concerns that the takeover would reduce competition that large businesses use to keep office supply prices down. Both companies plan to contest the FTC’s decision.
GE backed out of its Electrolux deal. The conglomerate had agreed to sell its appliance business to Sweden’s Electrolux, but cancelled the sale after opposition from US antitrust regulators, who warned that the deal would raise prices for consumers. Electrolux shares fell by more than 10%.
Revenge of the pod people: Private equity buys Keurig for $14 billion. Keurig Green Mountain, a frequent target of environmentalists and coffee snobs, is being purchased by investment firm JAB, which includes giant coffee brands as well as niche companies like Stumptown. Keurig has struggled due to soaring coffee costs, recalls, and botched product roll-outs.
Turkey is staying put in Iraq. Turkey said its ground troops in northern Iraq are critical to its mission of training and equipping Iraqi soldiers in the fight against ISIL, and refused to remove its forces—even after Baghdad threatened to get the UN involved and gave the Turks 48 hours to leave.
Quartz obsession interlude
Nikhil Sonnad on ISIL’s new recruitment song. “If the goal of this song is recruitment, the choice to perform it in Mandarin is puzzling…It seems more likely that doing the song in Mandarin is simply a way to direct a warning at all of China. The song is sure to annoy the Chinese Communist Party, as ISIL has been doing more often of late.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Kids shouldn’t play American football. Minors who haven’t reached the age of consent shouldn’t participate in a dangerous game.
Apple waited too long to enter the streaming music wars. The company isn’t providing any incentive to switch from established rivals.
The West should strike a deal with Assad and Putin. Better the devils we know, argues London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Surprising discoveries
A Chinese newswire accidentally wrote that Xi Jinping had resigned. Journalists were suspended after a vocabulary mixup.
“Night milk” is better at curing insomnia. Milk collected from cows at night has “enhanced sedative effects.”
A sun-loving nudist once promoted an all-coconut diet. He died of malnourishment.
Germany took in more refugees this year than the US has in the past 10. More than half are from Syria.
“Britain’s loneliest schoolboy” is about to get a lot of mail. Reddit users organized a holiday card campaign for the 10-year-old on a remote Scottish island.
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