Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The world keeps asking, ”What the hell just happened?” Expect reactions to continue pouring in from global leaders and the media, and markets to continue reeling (we’re tracking them here) as investors digest the shock news of Trump winning the White House.
The EU and China meet to discuss a trade proposal. The European Commission in Brussels is pushing legislation that ensures European countries are protected from aggressive Chinese competitors. China wants to be designated a market economy, which could lower its tariffs on sending goods to the EU.
The European Commission releases economic growth forecasts. In its first report since the Brexit vote, the body is expected to revise down its growth projections for 2017—they’re currently a feeble 1.8%.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States. Despite steady projections of a Hillary Clinton victory, Trump won state after state. Clinton conceded the election to her rival at around 2.45am US eastern time. In his acceptance speech, Trump was unusually magnanimous, pledging to be “a president for all Americans,” but was light on specifics about his goals. The Republican Party maintained its grip on the House, and control of the Senate (paywall).
Global markets went into a tailspin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 700 points in futures trading, while futures in the S&P 500 index fell as much as 5%, the limit outside of US trading hours. The Mexican peso fell to a record low. European markets moderated some of their early losses: the Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down less than half a percentage point by mid-morning. Anxious investors are still buying up haven assets, causing gold prices to surge as much as 5%, and the Swiss franc, Japanese yen and the euro all rose against the dollar. (Here’s Quartz’s own guide on how to trade a Trump victory, and you can follow our markets live-blog for updates during the day.)
Progressive world leaders gasped. Germany’s defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, called Trump’s win a “huge shock,” while France’s foreign minister worried what it will mean for the West’s foreign policy. Former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt called it a “year of double disaster of the West,” referring to the Brexit vote too.
Right-wingers and autocrats rejoiced. Russian president Vladimir Putin sent Trump a telegram (link in Russian) saying he hoped for “a constructive dialog… based on principles of parity, mutual respect, and real consideration for one another’s positions,” and right-wing populists everywhere hailed the victory as a blow to the establishment.
Marijuana won big. Massachusetts and California legalized recreational marijuana, while several other states approved the drug for medicinal use. California has the word’s fifth-largest economy, so the victory there is seen as a game-changer for the industry.
A deadly shooting took place near a California polling station. A man armed with a military-style rifle opened fire in a residential area of Azusa, near Los Angeles, killing one and injuring three. Authorities closed nearby polling places, though the shooting appeared unrelated to the elections. Police said the alleged gunman was found dead after a standoff.
Quartz obsession interlude
Anne Quito on the terrible design of the US electoral system. “In my voting experience, the only thing that seemed obsessively designed were those ‘I Voted’ stickers, that, as persuasive as they can be, are essentially just flair. We need designers to tackle the hairball, not just put on a bow.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
America was never ready for a woman president. Had she been male, her accomplishments, not her likeability, would have been the focus.
Americans are giving up on democracy. Regardless of the election’s outcome, many on the left and right have lost faith.
Twitter must be saved. It’s the only antidote to the misinformation spread by Facebook’s algorithm.
Surprising discoveries
Toblerone downsized its UK chocolate bars, and Brits are irate. They’re blaming the Brexit vote.
There’s a bubble-bath powder that smells like ramen. Noodles and pork belly are presumably sold separately.
It’s possible to have emotions without feeling them. Some reactions occur outside our awareness.
AOL’s “You’ve got mail” guy is now a driver for Uber. Elwood Edwards recorded the famous snippet way back in 1989.
McDonald’s sued the city of Florence for €18 million ($20.3 million). It’s claiming discrimination after being denied a location in one of the Italian city’s most historic plazas.
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