Quartz Daily Brief—Thai protests heat up, east coast storm brews, New Jersey bets on gambling, Buddhism’s origins
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
New Jersey bets on online gambling. New Jersey becomes the third US state after Nevada and Delaware to legalize internet betting. The market could be worth up to $1.2 billion—but it could also lead to increased addiction and financial struggles.
A birth control debate could go to the Supreme Court. The court could decide Tuesday to take up a suit brought by companies who don’t want to pay for birth control, as mandated by President Obama’s health care law.
Barnes and Noble’s losses widen. The bookseller is set to report a loss of six cents a share, on revenues of $1.38 billion, compared to a loss of four cents a share on revenues of $1.89 billion last year. Its e-reader, the Nook, has been especially hard hit.
The world’s most valuable book goes on sale. The Bay Psalm Book, a 17th-century collection of Puritan-translated psalms, is thought to be the first book printed in what would later become the US. It goes up for auction at Sotheby’s and could sell for as much as $30 million.
Stormy weather on the US’s east coast. The nor’easter/tropical storm hybrid peaks today in the Atlanta and Charlotte areas, with heavy rain, chilly winds and icy road conditions. The storm should then make its way up the east coast on Wednesday.
While you were sleeping
A UK wind park was cancelled. German utility RWE is halting its proposed 1.2 gigawatt Atlantic Array, which would have been built off Southwest England, due to uncertainty over the UK’s renewable energy subsidies.
China will target banks evading lending limits. Beijing is planning regulations that would prevent institutions from skirting loan-to-deposit ratios by using resale or repurchase agreements.
The FAA will caution carriers on 747-8s and Dreamliners. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it will warn airlines flying those jets with General Electric engines that they shouldn’t fly too close to thunderstorms due to a risk of ice building up.
Bayer bid $2.4 billion for Algeta. Bayer wants to buy the Norwegian drug-maker to get control of a prostate cancer drug they developed together.
A UN official warned about the Central African Republic. Jan Eliasson, the body’s deputy secretary general, said a peacekeeping operation is necessary, as the country has descended “into complete chaos” after rebels seized power.
Pressure mounted on the Thai prime minister. Yingluck Shinawatra continues her face-off with huge crowds of protesters who want her to step down over allegations she’s a puppet of her brother, former PM Thaksin. Demonstrators have now surrounded the interior, agriculture, transport, and tourism ministries.
Confusion after Honduras vote. With Juan Orlando Hernández and Xiomara Castro both declaring themselves the new president, election officials and the parties themselves initially went silent. But government authorities now say Hernández has an irreversible lead.
Quartz obsession interlude
John McDuling on why buyers are interested in the US’s least liked cable company, Time Warner Cable. “It’s being circled by rival cable companies including Charter Communications and Comcast. There’s even speculation that, to avoid antitrust concerns, it could be broken up into parts for the rest of the industry to feast on. Why so much interest in a poorly performing business that isn’t very popular with its own customers? The reason is simple: the fragmented nature of America’s cable industry is basically unsustainable, and Time Warner Cable has considerable strategic value.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Russia is running out of money. Vladimir Putin has been sitting pretty, but capital flight and corruption mean the county needs to find new sources of revenue.
Don’t assume all indigenous peoples are dying out. The Māori, for example, continue to thrive.
The period has a new meaning in punctuation. It’s become a symbol of passive aggression.
Goldman Sachs has got a sweet deal out of Venezuela. It’s lending the country money for its gold on terms that look a lot better for the bank than for the country.
Surprising discoveries
Software can digest academic research. IBM and Baylor College of Medicine created a program that scoured more than 60,000 research papers about a protein and suggested new avenues for study.
Buddhism may date from the sixth century B.C. Excavations at a temple in Nepal indicate the religion may have been founded three hundred years earlier than assumed.
Dry cleaning isn’t actually dry. Your delicate garments are immersed in a chemical solution—though it is not water—and then dried.
Only 25% of Yahoo employees use Yahoo email. Read the desperate corporate memo asking them to make the switch.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, passive aggressive punctuation, and dry cleaning revelations to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day.