Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
The UK imposed a new, strict lockdown. Prime minister Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools and instructed Britons to stay home as a new Covid-19 variant continues to cause concern.
Julian Assange will stay where he is. A UK judge denied the US’s request to extradite the WikiLeaks founder due to concerns about his mental state.
The US stock market slid into 2021. After setting records, the S&P 500 and Dow both stumbled out of the gate into the new year.
Moderna says it will produce more of its vaccine… 600 million doses are coming in 2021, with an overall goal of 1 billion doses.
…And concerns are growing about India’s. Developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research, Covaxin was approved before it completed phase 3 trials.
Google employees started their own union. The Alphabet Workers Union culminates years of activism by Google employees. While unions are rare in Silicon Valley, that could change.
India farm talks didn’t go anywhere. Both sides stuck to their demands ahead of the next round of talks, scheduled for Jan. 8. Meanwhile, Reliance insists it’s not competing with established farmers.
What to watch for
Today, Tokyo’s famous Toyosu market holds its first auctions of 2021, at which Japan’s fish industry—and the world that relies upon it—may get a sense of how it is weathering Covid-19.
45,461 kg: Amount of fresh bluefin tuna sold at Toyosu market on Dec. 14, 2020, the same day the Japanese government announced new restaurant restrictions. Toyosu traditionally supplies restaurants, but many wholesalers are shifting towards direct-to-consumer sales because of the pandemic.
8.4%: Drop in tuna prices in Aug. 2020, year over year—significantly more dire than the overall drop in fish prices
$15.7 billion: Net worth of global tuna imports, with Japan accounting for the largest share
¥333 million ($3.2 million): Highest price in Toyosu history, set in 2019, for one bluefin tuna
3-5 minutes: Amount of time a human must “work” a tuna tail to evaluate quality. AI-based apps like Tuna Scope are attempting to disrupt a highly prized, high-touch industry by determining quality based on a snapshot.
Charting the fear gauge
While the S&P 500 index of large US stocks closed out 2020 at a record-high, the VIX index, often called the market’s “fear gauge,” has yet to return to levels seen before the pandemic erupted. The VIX tracks stock options tied to the S&P 500 index; it’s a gauge of traders’ expectations for the range of prices they expect the index to trade in over the coming month.
The benchmark is hovering at nearly double last year’s level—suggesting a new normal relative to the placid expectations of recent years, and compared with the exuberance in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 that soared more than 45% in 2020.
Ethiopia’s multi-billion dollar near miss
Senior officials at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum say the government is set to rescind an agreement with a US-based self-described energy firm after an investigation by Quartz Africa revealed the company had no petroleum industry expertise or technical credentials.
After the story was published, one local social media user drove to the company’s listed address in Virginia, and found empty office space, with no sign of an extraction company in the area.
When probed about the agreement earlier this year, Ethiopia’s minister of Mines Takele Uma told Quartz Africa he was unaware of GreenComm’s existence, saying he had “no clue.” His predecessor, Samuel Urkato, who has since gone on to become Ethiopia’s minister of Science and Higher Education, acknowledged the existence of the deal when reached by phone, but refused to speak any further, hanging up and ending the call. Zecharias Zelalem brings you the latest on the Ethiopian oil scandal.
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Surprising discoveries
The Vagina Dialogues. Diva, a new 107-foot sculpture from sculptor Juliana Notari was meant to start a conversation. Mission accomplished.
An all-digital economy for Venezuela. With a worthless bolivar, president Nicolás Maduro says paper money will eventually disappear.
He said yes. A nurse administering vaccines was surprised to see his boyfriend come in for his first dosage with an even sweeter surprise up his sleeve.
A shiny new world record. A ring with more than 12,000 diamonds has set a new Guinness record.
A US House rep will have to leave her Glock at home. DC police insist Lauren Boebert will be held to the same strict gun laws as everyone else after she revealed her plan to carry a handgun on Capitol Hill.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, outlandish diamond rings, and nurses to wear them to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by John Detrixhe, Zecharias Zelalem, Susan Howson, and Jordan LeBeau.