Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
D-Day for Catalonia. Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is preparing to carry out his threat to impose direct rule on the region, which has until this morning to denounce its secession plans. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has shown no signs he will abandon the idea of independence.
The EU talks Turkey. Meeting in Brussels for two days, EU leaders will discuss—in addition to Brexit—the deteriorated relationship with Turkey, though they won’t likely decide on the country’s EU membership bid. Turkey meanwhile will likely extend its state of emergency, which critics say president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used as an excuse to go after journalists and political opponents.
An unlikely kingmaker is due to decide New Zealand’s next prime minister. Winston Peters—whose party New Zealand First holds the balance of power after last month’s election ended with no clear winner—will announce which party he will form a coalition with, which will determine whether liberal challenger Jacinda Ardern or conservative incumbent Bill English wins the top spot. It’s also possible that Peters will delay the decision.
India celebrates Diwali. The festival of lights kicks off the nation’s longest festival season, which usually corresponds with a huge spending boost. But this year, a new goods and services tax combined with India’s recent demonetization may dampen the festivities.
While you were sleeping
China reported 6.8% third-quarter GDP growth. The result was in line with expectations after last quarter’s 6.9%, though Beijing has a long history of doctoring economic figures and any numbers need to be taken with a few grains of salt. Economic activity was tempered by government efforts to rein in the property market and debt risks.
A Boston man was found guilty in an ISIL beheading plot. David Wright was arrested in 2015 for a plot to behead conservative blogger Pamela Geller, who had organized a “Draw Mohammed” contest. Wright, who claimed the plan was merely role-play, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
A revolutionary gene-modification treatment won approval from US regulators. For certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Yescarta uses a patient’s own genetically modified immune cells to attack cancer. But the treatment, offered by Gilead Sciences, comes at the hefty price of $373,000.
Australia reported its fastest jobs growth since 2008. Last month the annual pace of gains was the best in almost a decade and employment climbed for the 12th straight month, thanks largely to the construction, education, and health-care sectors. Wage growth is near record lows, however, and inflation remains below government targets.
Quartz obsession interlude
Lianna Brinded on the unexpected, paradigm-shifting power of #metoo. “We felt ‘woke’ already—that’s the problem. But instead of addressing it, we worked around it. We moved in packs to protect one another. We warned other women in our industry which men to steer clear of. Over drinks and in women-only office chatrooms, we talked about everyday sexism, about the awful experiences we’d endure, and we helped each other pick up the pieces. We only cried in the women’s bathroom, never gave men the satisfaction of knowing we were rattled.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Nice bull market there / Shame if something happened to / erase all those gains
Matters of debate
Blame Wall Street for fake news. Facebook and Twitter are partly valued by user numbers, which gives social media firms few incentives to get rid of fake accounts.
Uber and Lyft are making traffic worse. Roughly half of US ride-hailing trips would have been otherwise traveled via walking, biking, or public transit—or not at all.
India and China are backing Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya. Both countries are building roads, pipelines, and ports at the epicenter of the ethnic violence.
Surprising discoveries
Eye-drop bottles are designed to release too much medicine. Drug companies profit from expensive prescriptions, so the more quickly each bottle is used up, the better.
Richard Branson was almost conned out of $5 million. A man claiming to be the UK defense secretary asked him for help to ransom a kidnapped British diplomat.
An evangelical school in California is teaching “young saints.” The School of Supernatural Ministry, known as the “Christian Hogwarts,” is part of a larger US movement.
A British neo-Nazi came out as gay and Jewish. Kevin Wilshaw was a well-known member of the National Front.
An Air Berlin plane took a “lap of honor” after its final long-haul flight. The pilot, since suspended, buzzed the runway and circled the terminal building at Düsseldorf Airport.
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