What to watch for today
France is holding a memorial for the Paris attacks. President François Hollande is speaking at a ceremony with an audience of around 1,000 people including the families of the victims, in Paris, though not all family members agreed to participate. Separately, France and Russia agreed to share intelligence and coordinate strikes against ISIL.
US shoppers turn out for Black Friday. Crowds are expected to be smaller than last year as more people hit the stores earlier or go online.
Protesters march in Chicago against police brutality. Organizers, including Jesse Jackson, say they hope to shift the focus away from shopping this year. Protests have been ongoing in Chicago over the police killing of an unarmed 17-year-old.
Brazil releases its closely-watched inflation data. Prices are expected to have gone up (pdf) again in November as the country struggles to balance rising costs with deflation.
While you were sleeping
Turkey vowed to work with Russia to calm tensions. Prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it would also cooperate with other allies to move past its downing of a Russian jet on Tuesday. The PM reiterated that fighting ISIL was Turkey’s priority, but that it would continue to protect its airspace.
LG announced a major investment in a screen factory. The South Korean manufacturer and supplier to Apple said it will spend over 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion) to increase output of OLED screens, which are thinner and more power-efficient than current LCD versions.
British consumer sentiment hit a six-month low. The GfK monthly indicator dropped to 1 in November, from 2 in October, despite expectations it would remain flat. Inflation is low and wages have been rising in the UK, but GfK suggested wider events were to blame.
Global support for climate action is waning. Only in four countries out of 20 surveyed did the majority of respondents favor “ambitious” climate targets, according to research conducted for the BBC. That’s down from eight in 2009. Fewer than half the respondents think climate change is “very serious,” from almost two-thirds earlier.
Shinzo Abe ordered an extra budget… The Japanese prime minister called for as much as 3.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) to be redistributed to the country’s low-income pensioners, to spur domestic spending. The extraordinary budget is part of “Abenomics 2.0,” which also aims to increase Japan’s birthrate.
…as Japan’s economy showed mixed messages. Unemployment fell to 3.1% in October, a 20-year low, but household spending dropped 2.4% in the month (paywall) from a year earlier, far worse than expected.
Quartz obsession interlude
Zheping Huang goes to a 4,000-person matchmaking event for singles in Shanghai. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to girls at the expo. But it was awkward in crowded places with interference either from matchmakers who preferred any communication to happen via them, or from the girls’ parents, who would probably question me for not having property.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Mass immigration will do to the EU what it did to the Roman empire. It will cause its downfall, says Mark Rutte, the EU’s next president (paywall).
Don’t set your expectations too high for your kids. Your unrealistic aspirations will actually make them perform worse.
Donald Trump’s disability-mocking isn’t so shocking to disabled people. To many, it goes on daily, unnoticed by most.
Self-knowledge is not all it’s cracked up to be. Those who worry about being useless are the best at their jobs (paywall).
The Paris attacks could unite the EU. It should spur European leaders to create common asylum laws and a united army.
Surprising discoveries
China barred a human rights activist from the Miss World competition. That gained her global media coverage instead.
Waiting for your phone to charge could soon be history. This chip can help fully charge your device in less than 10 minutes.
Tanzanians are taking to Twitter to mock the country’s new austerity rules. The new president even banned public spending on Christmas cards.
Centurions were just banned from Rome’s Colosseum.
The gladiator impersonators, who make a living posing for photos with tourists, are “
.”
A North Korean man took a virtual reality trip home. He hasn’t been to his village since 1947.
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