Quartz Daily Brief—Migrant ghost ships, global manufacturing gloom, Elon Musk’s divorce, explosive Swiss bridges
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Italy takes control of another “ghost” migrant ship. The Ezadeen, a merchant ship flying the Sierra Leone flag, was boarded by the coastguard after it was discovered headed towards the Italian coast carrying an estimated 400 migrants—but without a crew. Earlier this week almost 1,000 migrants were rescued from a separate vessel headed to Italy, whose crew also abandoned ship.
The US economy’s year-end picture comes into clearer focus. The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of manufacturing activity will give a reading on the state of the US industrial economy for December. Analysts will also parse November data on US construction spending for indications that an uptick in homebuilding and government construction will continue into 2015.
Families of Shanghai stampede victims demand answers. The outraged relatives of the 36 people killed on New Year’s Eve streamed into hospitals demanding information about their loved ones, with many blaming police for inadequate crowd control. Some complained that they were essentially kept under house arrest at a compound set up for grieving families.
While you were sleeping
More bodies were retrieved from missing flight #8501. Seven more bodies were brought to a town near the crash site as a French team searched for the fuselage of the plane. If intact, authorities hope to find clues about what happened to the plane before it crashed.
Former New York governor Mario Cuomo died. The legendary orator and longtime liberal leader who served three terms as the governor of New York died at the age of 82, hours after his son Andrew was sworn in for a second term in the same job.
Macau casino revenues fell for the first time. The city’s gambling venues took in 351.5 billion patacas ($44 billion) in 2014, a 2.6% year-on-year fall, as a corruption crackdown in China continued to squeeze big spenders. That makes it the first annual decline since record-keeping began in 2002.
Mumbai commuters protested late trains. Passengers destroyed ticket counters and pelted trains with stones after one train broke down, causing delays for thousands. The commuters occupied four railway tracks to protest delays and disruptions on the overstretched transit system.
China and Europe manufacturing slipped. The euro zone’s purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.6 in December, from 50.8 in November, indicating a slower rate of expansion in factory activity. China’s official PMI fell to 50.1 in December, barely above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Hyundai expects slower sales growth. The South Korean auto manufacturer and its Kia affiliate predicted 2.5% sales growth in 2015—its lowest rate in 12 years, and far below 5.8% growth in 2014. Hyundai cited more competition in the US and uncertainties in Russia in the year ahead.
Elon Musk and his wife divorced for the second time. The tech entrepreneur and his wife, British actress Talulah Riley, said they were splitting amicably, with Riley receiving $16 million in cash and assets under the terms of a prenup. They were previously divorced in January, 2012, before remarrying in July, 2013.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on how Musk’s space company is about to change space flight. “Typically, the first stage of a rocket that carries a payload into space is abandoned, falling into the sea. But SpaceX has been developing the technology to land and reuse those stages—a challenge considering the SpaceX Falcon 9’s stage 1 rocket is 14 stories tall and re-enters the atmosphere traveling 1,300 m per second.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Don’t bother with that discounted gym membership. It’s probably not worth it.
Mario Cuomo was ahead of his time. His “tale of two cities” speech about inequality is more relevant now than ever.
The NYPD’s work stoppage is a good thing. It means fewer people are locked up unnecessarily.
China’s Gmail ban is a shot in the foot. Even in an authoritarian state, business still needs to get done.
Prepare for a Grexit. Greece will leave the euro zone—if not this year, then soon after.
Surprising discoveries
Forget the smart watch—try a smart strap. Montblanc’s “e-Strap” features a metal band for notifications.
Unfaithful men are afraid of round numbers. They’re most likely to cheat at ages 29, 39, 49, and 59 (and 33, for some reason).
Switzerland’s border-crossing bridges were wired to explode. The Cold War-era defense system is being dismantled.
Nobody knows what a ”flat white” coffee is. Starbucks’ latest US offering is going to cause controversy.
Even monks get enraged by airline customer service. “I will pray for you. But you have not been helpful.“
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, flat white definitions, and unused gym memberships to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.