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Here’s what you need to know
Turkey’s lira is back, for now. President Tayyip Erdoğan’s just-announced currency-strengthening measures caused a brief surge, followed by record lows, then another upswing, indicating uncertainty around the plan.
China is no longer represented in the top 10 global companies, by market cap. New data show that the departure of Alibaba and Tencent left room for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to become Asia’s most valuable company.
Countries around the world tighten covid-19 restrictions. Portugal closed bars and restaurants, Germany will limit social contact, and Japan is asking close contacts to quarantine for 14 days in a designated facility.
The EU gave Microsoft the go-ahead to buy Nuance. The $16 billion acquisition of the AI and speech tech company will be Microsoft’s second largest, after LinkedIn in 2016.
The captain of the tanker involved in the Mauritius oil spill was found guilty. He admitted to drinking during an onboard party the night the MV Wakashio ran aground in 2020.
Dubai’s ruler was ordered to pay his ex-wife and children. A British court ruled in favor of princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, who fled to the UK in 2019, in the country’s biggest divorce settlement to date.
What to watch for
El Gordo (the Big One), one of the world’s largest and oldest lotteries, will be drawn today. The 209-year-old Christmas lottery, which takes place in Madrid, Spain, has survived war, a dictatorship, and now two global pandemics.
Sales for the Christmas collection are expected to be a cheery 15% higher than last year, which saw a 11% decrease. In a country that saw its economy sink 10.8% in 2020, many players are hoping for a bit of financial relief.
€20 ($22.50): Cost to participate
24 million: People expected to play
€3.1 billion ($3.5 billion): Total prizes
18%: Tax rate collected on winnings
Omicron vs. the vaccines
In the month since the omicron variant was first detected, preliminary lab research has suggested that its mutations do appear to boost the variant’s ability to infect even fully vaccinated people, as well as those who have previously had covid.
Omicron has raised big questions around the efficacy of the major vaccines distributed worldwide: AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Sinovac. While data is still preliminary and not peer-reviewed, some trends are emerging:
🦠 Mutations in omicron’s spike proteins make it much better at evading vaccine-induced immunity.
💉 Boosters make a big difference. Pfizer said a booster takes protection against omicron back to the levels two doses were providing against the original strain. Researchers say Sinovac recipients could also benefit from a booster.
🏥 Though it’s possible that omicron causes milder symptoms than delta, any highly contagious strain could still overwhelm hospitals.
Handpicked Quartz
🏈 Why the NFL is only testing players who have covid symptoms
💥 Cathie Wood says there’s a stock bubble but it’s not in tech
💉 How big a problem are counterfeit vaccine passes?
👑 China’s livestream queen is being erased from the internet over tax evasion
🌱 Climate tech investment is booming, but not in the right sectors
🍟 McDonald’s Japan is only selling small fries now
Surprising discoveries
The first text message in history was sold as an NFT. Vodafone is donating proceeds from the festive SMS to the UN’s refugee agency.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” made Billboard history… again. Mariah Carey’s holiday anthem nabbed the top spot for the third time in as many years.
Quidditch is getting a new name in the US. Multiple leagues are trying to distance themselves from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling (but there are also some trademark concerns).
5G could disrupt air traffic. Aviation officials are warning of delays caused by equipment interference.
The precursor to the fish stick was the fishbrick. That’s the kind of thing you’ll learn from season two of the Quartz Obsession podcast, coming in February. Subscribe on your favorite podcast provider, and catch up on season one while you wait.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher
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