Global market gloom, Middle East factions, 19th century Tinder
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China braces for more stock market drama. Will the country’s new market “circuit breaker”—engaged for the first time yesterday after a 7% stock decline—temper investor pessimism over China’s slowing growth prospects? Or did it merely delay more panicked selling?
The best year in history for US car sales. Automakers report December sales, which analysts expect to climb 12% to 1.6 million, for a record annual total of 17.4 million. Sales have been boosted by lower gas prices, more credit, and a stronger job market.
Barack Obama pulls the trigger on stricter gun controls. The US president will announce several executive actions on limiting firearm sales, fulfilling a New Year’s pledge. Shares of the two largest US gunmakers surged on the expectation that gun owners will buy more weapons ahead of any restrictions.
While you were sleeping
Global stocks tumbled on the heels of China’s market crash. The S&P 500 fell more than 2% in its weakest annual opening since the 1930s, and emerging markets and European shares also dropped sharply. Investors are uneasy about manufacturing weakness in China and the United States, along with heightened geopolitical tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The US sued Volkswagen for environmental violations. Three months after the German automaker’s emissions-cheating scandal broke, the US government is taking it to court for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, seeking more than $90 billion in fines. US prosecutors are also investigating VW for criminal fraud.
General Motors made a $500 million bet on Lyft. The auto giant and Uber rival will create a fleet of self-driving cars, along with a rental program to give US Lyft drivers access to rental cars. The GM investment was part of a $1 billion financing round that brought Lyft’s value up to $5.5 billion, compared with Uber’s $62.5 billion valuation.
Middle Eastern countries took sides in the Saudi-Iran row. Tensions have escalated following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Iran. Fellow Sunni-led states Bahrain and Sudan followed the Sunni kingdom’s lead, while the United Arab Emirates downgraded diplomatic relations, and Saudis ended direct flights to their Shia-dominated rival.
Donald Trump launched a fear-stoking ad campaign. The Republican presidential frontrunner’s first TV commercial repeats several of his outrageous claims about Muslims, ISIL, and Mexican immigrants. Analysts expect a surge of negative attacks by Trump and his rivals ahead of the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on why everything is terrible in 2016. “A key gauge of Chinese manufacturing continued to show the industrial sector contracting, the 10th straight month of shrinkage. But perhaps more troubling, in the US, an important measure of manufacturing activity stayed in negative territory for the second straight month, adding evidence to the idea that the US industrial sector is weakening.” Read more.
Market haiku
Big economies,
Matters of debate
Yemen is caught between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The end of a truce means more tragedies in a fiendishly complicated yet largely forgotten proxy war.
NASA has a secret mission on Mars. The search for aliens could reveal surprising clues to our own existence.
Vacations with toddlers are exquisitely boring. Adorable yet ever-demanding offspring didn’t get the memo about rest and relaxation.
Surprising discoveries
Abraham Lincoln’s hand is missing. Illinois authorities have no idea who stole the plaster sculpture from an art museum.
The 19th century had an ink-and-paper version of Tinder. Americans used cheeky joke cards to flirt.
Mark Zuckerberg wants to build his own AI butler/nanny. It’s part of the Facebook CEO’s annual goal-setting tradition.
Meet the man with the world record for most valid credit cards. Perhaps not coincidentally, he’s also the owner of the world’s longest wallet.
A Nigerian comics startup is creating African superheroes. Characters include Guardian Prime, a fashion designer with extraordinary strength.
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