Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
SpaceX launches a top-secret US government satellite. A Falcon 9 rocket is slated to lift off between 8pm and 10pm local time Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying Zuma to a low-earth orbit. The launch will also include a landing attempt of the rocket’s first stage; SpaceX has completed the maneuver 20 times to date.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in China. Starting today Chinese moviegoers will finally be able to see the latest in the series, marking the film’s last major market release. Disney has pulled out all the marketing stops in hopes of raking in more box-office revenue. The movie has already grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, placing it 19th in the lineup of biggest moneymakers.
China and South Korea discuss the future of the Korean Peninsula. Officials are meeting in Seoul today and tomorrow to exchange views, with Beijing pleased by South Korea’s recent diplomatic breakthroughs with Pyongyang. Both sides are nervous about Kim Jong-un’s threats to continue improving the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
While you were sleeping
Marijuana stocks plunged in the US. Investors reacted to attorney general Jeff Sessions reversing an Obama-era stance to keep federal hands off state regulations. The move lets prosecutors decide how aggressively to enforce weed’s federal prohibition in states where it’s legal. Australia meanwhile opted yesterday to allow medical pot exports, causing shares there to surge.
North Korea accepted South Korea’s offer to hold high-level talks. They’ll meet on Jan. 9, with a key topic being the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics, to be held in South Korea. The White House said it hoped Seoul wouldn’t “go off freelancing” on other issues, while Donald Trump took credit on Twitter for the diplomatic breakthrough.
The Trump administration froze security aid to Pakistan. The move retaliates against the country’s alleged refusal to confront the terrorist networks operating there. The suspended aid includes Coalition Support Funds intended to help support Pakistan’s counter-terror operations. The US state department did not disclose the amount of aid affected but said it was significant.
Travis Kalanick plans to sell nearly a third of his Uber shares. The ride-sharing giant’s co-founder and former CEO will sell equity worth about $1.4 billion to a SoftBank-led consortium of investors. The group is taking a 17.5% stake in the company, mostly by buying shares from early investors and employees. Kalanick owns 10% of the company.
Saudi Arabia moved closer to taking its national oil company public. It officially announced that it had changed Aramco to a joint-stock company, a key step ahead of an initial public offering expected sometime this year. The IPO could be the biggest in history, with officials expecting to raise as much as $100 billion.
Quartz obsession interlude
Echo Huang and Tripti Lahiri on who will suffer as China greens its economy. “China, a major global importer of many recyclable materials, will stop taking 24 kinds of solid waste from other countries… China took over half of the world’s waste plastic in 2016. The move to reject plastic waste could have a ‘devastating impact’ on recycling worldwide.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Trump’s “nuclear button” tweet is nothing new. The rhetoric may be childish, but other US presidents have been making the same threats for decades.
Getting climate change support by provoking fear doesn’t work. What does is talking about the subject a lot more.
Ordering delivery in a treacherous snowstorm is unethical. It may provide income to employees, but it encourages employers to require staff to come to work to meet demand.
Surprising discoveries
This year’s must-see art shows are in Bangkok and Ohio—not Venice and Paris. Biennials and triennials are becoming more diverse and global than ever.
Employees at socially conscious companies are more likely to lie. People tend to give themselves permission to do something “bad” after they’ve done something “good.”
SpaceX’s new rockets can now self-destruct safely. The technology gives the company more access to routes deemed too dangerous for traditional, remotely destructible rockets.
“Slow smokers” compete by making cigars last. A Polish aficionado set the record by keeping his stogie lit for 3 hours and 26 minutes (paywall).
Apple app developers brought in more sales than McDonald’s in 2017. They earned $26.5 billion in revenue, an increase of 30% over 2016.
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