Quartz Daily Brief—America stays open, Hong Kong protesters released, China’s Australian M&A, New York whales
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
California spars with Mother Nature. Central and northern California are bracing for the tail end of an epic storm stoked by the ”pineapple express,” a wave of moisture flowing from the sub-tropics. The water surge comes amid crippling droughts.
Argentina’s latest attempt to become creditworthy. The country is hoping “holdout” creditors will accept an expiring offer to swap or cash in (paywall) $6.7 billion in debt maturing next year. That would give Argentina leeway to issue debt on the international market, which it hasn’t done since its 2001 default.
A barrage of terrible holiday fashion. Several countries are due to host their renditions of ”Ugly Christmas Sweater Day,” honoring the most visually displeasing garments to ever to come off a loom.
While you were sleeping
The US averted a government shutdown by a few scant hours. The House passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill after president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden called lawmakers to ensure their support. Current government funding ran out at 5am Friday GMT, and bipartisan support was required to secure new funds.
Hong Kong police released 247 protestors. All of the activists detained during Thursday’s demolition of the city’s main pro-democracy encampment have been released, but police reserved the right to prosecute them at a later date. Student leader Joshua Wong said his Scholarism group has no plans for further civil disobedience.
Jack Ma became the richest man in Asia. The founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba took the title from Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong property tycoon, as Alibaba’s stock climbed. Ma is worth $28.6 billion according to Bloomberg, and Alibaba has a market capitalization of $259 billion.
The CIA defended its use of torture. Director John Brennan told reporters it was “unknowable” whether so-called enhanced interrogation techniques produced useful intelligence, and admitted that some officers used “abhorrent,” unauthorized techniques. But the agency acted correctly to keep the US secure, Brennan said.
China bought one of Australia’s biggest builders. State-owned construction firm CCCI will pay A$1.15 billion ($950 million) for John Holland, a major building and engineering company. The countries signed a free-trade agreement last month and Australia is planning a multibillion-dollar infrastructure building program.
Old school media love AwesomenessTV. Magazine publisher Hearst bought a 25% stake (paywall) in the digital video network aimed at teenagers, suggesting a valuation of $325 million less than two years after DreamWorks Animation paid $33 million for the company. AwesomenessTV manages 90,000 channels on YouTube and boasts 114 million subscribers.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on the American tradition of oil booms and busts. “In recent years, America’s oil and gas sector has flared brightly against an otherwise gloomy economic backdrop. Since the end of the Great Recession, the number of jobs in oil and gas extraction—not counting related industries such as transportation—has jumped 35%, while total US jobs have risen only 7%. Unemployment in energy-producing states, especially those involved in the shale oil boom, has collapsed to some of the lowest levels in the country.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Progress ended in 1971. Everything that defines the modern world was developed in the short span after World War II.
Beijing’s secret weapon is boredom. It knows not to engage with foes like the Hong Kong protesters directly.
London should secede from England. It has an economy the size of Sweden (paywall) and unemployment is under 3%.
The US needs to prolong its stay in Afghanistan. Obama only wants out because he’s worried about his legacy.
Ukraine doesn’t deserve a bailout. Hardly anyone pays taxes.
Surprising discoveries
NFL players are taking untested stem cell treatments. They could end up growing body parts where they don’t belong.
China can’t quit big tobacco. Its state-owned monopoly made 43% of all cigarettes produced last year—2.3 trillion to be exact.
Enormous tourists are invading New York City. Humpback whale sightings off the coast of Queens have tripled.
Spotify has a white supremacy problem. The music streaming site has been slow to remove racist anthems.
Greenpeace is in trouble in Peru. A climate change publicity stunt may have permanently scarred an ancient monument.
Click here for more surprising discoveries on Quartz.
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