Paris climate conference, Japanese whaling, the coming bananapocalypse
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
US auto sales perk up. Analysts expect consumers to break a November record, topping 1.3 million. Buyers took advantage of financing options and holiday deals, with the industry on track for its most successful year in a decade.
Japan resumes whaling. After a year of suspended activity, the country will send out its whaling fleet, defying international criticism and a UN court decision. The mission will last from December to March, and will hunt 333 Antarctic minke whales.
Brazil faces some bad GDP news. The economy is expected to contract by more than 1% in the third quarter—its worst performance in nearly two decades. Domestic demand has been drained by high inflation and unemployment, extending the country’s recession into its third consecutive quarter.
Puerto Rico has to pay up. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla will decide at the last minute whether the US island territory will make a $354 million debt payment. Puerto Rico already defaulted on part of a loan payment in August, and skipping another may draw lawsuits and disrupt bond prices. The island’s total debt is $70 billion.
Stressed-out UK banks. The Bank of England releases the results of stress tests that predict whether British banks can withstand financial shocks, focusing on economic turbulence in Asia and the euro zone. The country’s seven biggest lenders are expected to pass the tests, which could be tougher next year.
While you were sleeping
The largest climate conference in history began in Paris. The COP 21 delegates have 11 days to hammer out an ambitious agreement to bring down emissions. At the opening session, Barack Obama said that the United States “recognizes our role in creating this problem,” and argued that global cooperation was one way to rebuke the Islamic State.
The IMF raised the status of China’s currency. The International Monetary Fund added the yuan (pronounced something like “you-en,” but that’s just for starters) to its basket of reserve currencies. Does that mean the yuan is finally a major global currency, up there with the dollar, euro, pound, and yen? Not quite.
US consumers splurged online. Retailers raked in 14% more sales than last year on Cyber Monday, even though several major websites crashed due to heavy traffic. The annual post-Thanksgiving sale, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, was a PR sham that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Turkey detained thousands of Europe-bound migrants. Authorities rounded up some 1,300 people trying to cross into Greece and sent them to repatriation centers, after Turkey was offered €3 billion from the EU to stem the refugee flow. Meanwhile, the US moved forward with a plan to tighten restrictions on its visa-free entry program, in an effort to filter out potential terrorists.
Pope Francis broke a siege to declare that Christians and Muslims are “brothers.” The pontiff ventured into PK5, a neighborhood in the capital of the Central African Republic, where Muslims fled during bloody religious clashes that have killed thousands of people. A photo of Pope Francis gesturing with a microphone during the visit has gone viral.
Quartz markets haiku
It’s all just data, mere blips
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on the impending bananapocalypse. “It’s clear the strategies for containing the spread of Panama disease, as it’s known, aren’t working. And since the fungus can’t be killed, it’s likely only a matter of time before it lands in Latin America, where some more than three-fifths of the planet’s exported bananas are grown. In other words, the days of the iconic yellow fruit are numbered.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Don’t blame Syria’s civil war on climate change. Attributing violent conflicts to climate patterns is rarely backed up by evidence.
The US heroin crisis was aided and abetted by Big Pharma. Corporations pushed doctors to prescribe painkillers recklessly, and patients got hooked.
Domestic terrorists are just as deadly as foreign terrorists. But we fear the latter more due to our aversion to outsiders.
Surprising discoveries
Santa upgraded his sleigh this year. In Brazil, he may arrive in a stolen helicopter.
Saudi Arabia is building a 1 km-tall tower. The 200-floor, $2.2 billion building will be the world’s tallest.
A UK town is painting yellow stripes on its ponies. It’s designed to protect them from dangerous drivers.
Amazon’s new deliveries need a big lawn. The company says it’s close to rolling out a hybrid plane-copter drone.
A group of Canadian thieves stole a tractor full of cheese. They were caught trying to hail a cab.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Canadian cheese, and painted ponies to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.