What to watch for today
Another wave of stock market declines. Hold tight for a global selloff, after China closed its own markets. At worst, markets are in for a repeat of Monday’s panic; at best, investors will roll their eyes and attempt business-as-usual.
A quarterly checkup for a drugstore giant. Walgreens Boots Alliance has been beating expectations on synergies and cost cuts since its merger a year ago, but analysts will be watching how Boots is dealing with supermarket competition.
Brazil reports industrial output. Production is expected to have decreased for a sixth consecutive month in November due to weak China demand, political turmoil, and a major mining accident.
Russian markets are closed. Orthodox Christmas will give Russian traders a two-day break.
While you were sleeping
China’s stock market hit the floor… again. The CSI 300 quickly fell by 7% in morning trading, triggering a circuit breaker that ended trading for the day. That came after the central bank devalued the yuan by more than anticipated.
Netflix went (almost) global. The video streaming service announced its entry to 130 new markets worldwide, including South Korea, India, Russia, and Indonesia. But China is still off the list, and pricing in developing countries could be an issue.
The UN promised action over North Korea’s bomb test. The Security Council began working on “new measures” to punish Kim Jong-un’s government after it detonated what it says was a hydrogen bomb (it probably wasn’t).
Time Warner Cable warned of a data leak. The telecom giant said that email passwords of up to 320,000 customers may have been stolen, possibly from third-party partners. It added there is no sign that its own systems were breached.
Hyundai released a challenger to the Prius. The South Korean automaker unveiled Ioniq, a gasoline-electric hybrid that makes the company one of just a handful of rivals to challenge Toyota in the market.
Quartz obsession interlude
Mike Murphy on being put in a suit designed to make you feel like an old person. ”Ferren put me on a treadmill, asking me to walk at a slow pace. It was difficult, but I could keep it up for a while. A monitor broadcast my heart rate on a screen next to me for all to see. Then Ferren gave me the legs of a 100-year-old, slowing me down as if I were walking through waist-high mud. My heart rate spiked.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China should just let the market crash. Why prolong the agony? (paywall)
Silicon Valley’s dress code is subtly sexist. Women’s style choices are limited in the land of the hoodie.
Bring back George W. Bush. The former US president could be the best person to take down Donald Trump.
Surprising discoveries
A Siberian tiger became best friends with a goat. He was supposed to be the tiger’s dinner.
Starfish-killing robots could save the Great Barrier Reef. The crown-of-thorns starfish is decimating the reef’s coral.
Rome is getting buried in bird droppings. One million starlings are forcing Romans to carry umbrellas on sunny days.
Thousands of people began watching a live stream of a puddle. Seeing pedestrians try to get around it is, apparently, highly entertaining.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, starfish-killing robots, and umbrellas to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.