Quartz Daily Brief—Snowden speaks, Christmas Eve rush, bloody M&A, ancient tsunamis
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A blockbuster blood deal. Private equity firm Carlyle is reportedly in talks to buy Johnson & Johnson’s blood testing unit for about $4 billion.
A last-minute test for online retailers. The last-minute scramble to secure Christmas presents reaches a fever pitch. Amazon allows same-day delivery in the US, for a price, and UPS delivered 132 million packages last week—but up to a third of online purchases eventually get returned.
The last day for Obamacare sign-ups. The deadline for Americans to sign up for health-care plans under the new law has been extended until 11:59pm on December 24. On Monday, the original deadline, the glitch-prone healthcare.gov site was experiencing five times its usual traffic.
While you were sleeping
Edward Snowden: mission accomplished. In his first lengthy interview since arriving in Russia, the former National Security Agency contractor told the Washington Post: ”I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.”
A bomb scare delayed Musharraf’s trial. The former Pakistan leader was due to go before a special court on treason charges, but the appearance was delayed after authorities found an explosive device and two pistols near his house.
French consumer spending rose 1.4% in November after dropping 0.1% in October. Household outlays on food and durable goods declined, but energy spending increased 7.5% because of high winter heating bills.
China injected more funds. The central bank sold 29 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) of seven-day reverse repurchase agreements to ease a year-end cash crunch, an aggressive open-market operation that finally brought sky-high interbank interest rates.
Abe said Japan is beating deflation. The prime minister secured approval for a draft budget that cuts back on borrowing while also spending a record amount on stimulus—and for the first time in four years, the government’s monthly economic report did not use the word “deflation.”
The UK pardoned Alan Turing. Queen Elizabeth II granted the computer pioneer a posthumous pardon half a century after he was convicted of “gross indecency” for his relationship with another man.
Ban Ki-moon wants more troops in South Sudan. The UN head is pressing the Security Council to add 5,500 troops to the 7,000 already in South Sudan, where fighting has killed as many as 1,000 people.
A blast in Egypt killed 12. An explosion thought to be caused by a car bomb hit a police headquarters in a city north of Cairo; the interim government says the Muslim Brotherhood was responsible.
Quartz obsession interlude
Roberto A. Ferdman on why legal pot in Uruguay is great news for Paraguay’s drug lords. “Drug lords in neighboring Paraguay, one of the region’s largest producers of marijuana (pdf). and heavy contributors to South America’s budding underground drug trade, may be capable of producing and selling it for a lot less. A kilo of marijuana grown in Paraguay currently sells for $60 in the country and $300 across the border in Uruguay, according to the head of Paraguay’s National Anti-drugs Secretariat Luis Rojas (link in Spanish). That’s $0.06 a gram and $0.30 a gram, respectively.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Cash makes the best gift. Unless you know the recipient well, data shows you’re better off giving cash than a hand-picked present.
The NSA’s phone records program is worthless. But officials are invoking a classic War on Terror tactic, falsely claiming the surveillance is needed to thwart attacks.
Kim Jong-il’s sister runs North Korea. Kim Kyong-hui may be calling the shots now, and her eventual death could usher in the regime’s downfall.
Blackberry (the fruit, not the phone) will be the flavor of 2014. Its abundance of antioxidants and unpredictability make it ripe for marketing.
Surprising discoveries
Christmas is huge in Asia—minus the whole Christ thing. No matter their religion, people in India, Thailand, Hong Kong and elsewhere seem to love the holiday.
A cave provides evidence of ancient tsunamis. The cave, located in Indonesia, contains signs of massive waves dating back 7,500 years.
What does fox taste like? Ask the Chinese Walmart customer who is accusing the company of trying to pass off fox meat as donkey meat.
How to steal bitcoins, live on TV. A Bloomberg anchor bought the digital currency on-air and was promptly robbed by a viewer.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, blackberry recipes, and plans for creative bitcoin heists to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.