What to watch for today
Brazil faces some bad GDP news. The economy is expected to contract by more than 1% in the third quarter—its worst performance in nearly two decades and its third consecutive quarterly contraction.
Puerto Rico has to pay up. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla will decide at the last minute whether the US island territory will make a $354 million debt payment, after it defaulted on part of a loan payment in August. Skipping today’s payment could draw lawsuits; the island’s total debt is $70 billion.
US auto sales perk up. Analysts expect a November sales record, contributing to the best year in a decade. With the help of financing options and holiday deals, consumers are expected to have purchased over 1.3 million vehicles during the month.
Japan resumes whaling. After a year of suspended activity, the country will send out its whaling fleet, defying international criticism and a UN court decision. The mission will last until March, and is expected to kill 333 Antarctic minke whales.
While you were sleeping
Investigators blamed a faulty part for last year’s AirAsia crash. Flight QZ8501 crashed because of a technical fault and the pilots’ response to it, Indonesian investigators ruled. The fault that led to the airline crashing en route to Singapore from Indonesia last December had also occurred 23 times in the previous year.
Chinese investors bought a slice of Manchester City Football Club. Citic Capital, part of a state-owned investment conglomerate, and China Media Capital agreed to buy 13% of the Premier League team, valuing the club at $3 billion. The deal is expected to accelerate the team’s exposure to China’s growing soccer market.
Samsung switched its mobile chief. Koh Dong-jin was named the South Korean conglomerate’s new head of mobile business, replacing Shin Jong-kyun. Shin was responsible for growing Samsung’s mobile division but it is now struggling against cheap Chinese handsets and Apple.
UK banks passed their stress tests. All seven major lenders passed an examination into their exposure to emerging market risks. But Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, announced that lenders would soon be required to hold more capital, as a further buffer against rising interest rates in emerging markets.
Brazil sued BHP Billiton and Vale for $5 billion. The national government is demanding 20 billion reais ($5.2 billion) from the two companies for their part in the bursting of a dam earlier this month that killed 13. The government called the incident Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster.
Burkina Faso’s ex-premier was named president. Roch Marc Christian Kabore won 53.5% of the votes in a general election, the electoral commission confirmed. His rival Zephirin Diabre congratulated Kabore after taking just 21.6% of the vote. Kabore served under former strongman president Blaise Compaore, but later challenged him.
Mixed results in global manufacturing. China’s official purchasing manager’s index fell to a three-year low of 49.6 in November, below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. Meanwhile, the euro zone’s Markit PMI rose to 52.8 in November, from 52.3 in October, clocking up positive data in almost every country in the economic bloc. Greece was the only exception.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on the impending bananapocalypse. “It’s clear the strategies for containing the spread of Panama disease, as it’s known, aren’t working. And since the fungus can’t be killed, it’s likely only a matter of time before it lands in Latin America, where more than three-fifths of the planet’s exported bananas are grown. In other words, the days of the iconic yellow fruit are numbered.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Political journalism needs a complete overhaul. All that focus on elections and politicians is too narrow a definition of “politics.”
Inequality leads to helicopter parenting. To do well today requires so much education that wealthy parents just can’t help it.
We need Atheism 3.0. It should strive to better understand religion, unlike today’s vulgar “New Atheism.”
Don’t blame Syria’s civil war on climate change. Attributing violent conflicts to climate patterns is rarely backed up by evidence.
The US heroin crisis was aided and abetted by Big Pharma. Corporations pushed doctors to prescribe painkillers recklessly.
Surprising discoveries
A photo of the pope in Africa has inspired a new hashtag. It looks like the pontiff is spitting rhymes. #PopeBars.
The taser is named after a racist book. Its name is derived from Tom Swift And His Electric Rifle.
A man dressed as Santa stole a rental helicopter in Brazil. He forced the hired pilot to land and left him tied up.
Saudi Arabia is building a 1km-tall tower. The 3,280-foot structure will have 200 floors, and cost $2.2 billion to build.
A UK town is painting yellow stripes on its ponies. To protect them from dangerous drivers, of course.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Papal poetry, and painted ponies to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.