Good morning, Quartz readers!
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What to watch for today and over the weekend
India closes a demonetization loophole. Gas stations and airline counters, which were given a temporary exemption, will no longer recognize the discontinued 500-rupee notes, as the government continues its attempt to squelch the shadow economy.
High stakes in Italy and Austria. Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has gambled his career on a referendum that would make it easier to pass government reforms—especially his plan to rescue the country’s banking system. In Austria, a far-right, anti-immigrant presidential candidate is running neck-and-neck (paywall) against a former Green Party leader. Both votes are on Sunday.
The US jobs report. The closely watched November figures are expected to show the economy added 181,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump kicked off his post-election victory tour in Ohio… The president-elect returned to his campaign form—and rhetoric—bashing Hillary Clinton and the media (paywall) and attacking “globalism.” He also linked the Somalian refugee who attacked people with a knife at Ohio State University this week with a failure of the US’s refugee admission programs.
… and announced ”Mad Dog” Mattis as his defense-secretary pick. James Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, aged 66, oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013 as the head of US Central Command. Among his controversial statements: ”It’s fun to shoot some people,” made in reference to fighting the Taliban. He’s also on the board of scandal-ridden blood-testing company Theranos.
Switzerland unexpectedly stalled. The country’s economy confounded analysts’ predictions by stagnating in the third quarter, thanks to sluggish consumption and an export slowdown. Switzerland’s luxury watchmakers have had a tough year: watch exports are down 12% overall this year compared to last.
Thailand welcomed its new king. Civil servants dressed in mourning colors lined the streets to the palace as King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun made his first public appearance after being anointed on Thursday. The 64-year-old, known for his playboy lifestyle, is not nearly as popular as his deeply revered father, King Bhumibol, who died on Oct. 13.
Twitter bought Yes and put its CEO in charge of Twitter’s product team. Keith Coleman, a former Google product lead, will shut down his (relatively obscure) social apps and tackle one of the toughest jobs in Silicon Valley. Coleman’s appointment marks Twitter’s third new head of its product division in a year.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on why Donald Trump’s deal-making to save American jobs doesn’t stack up. ”To solve the US jobs problem, broader solutions will be needed, from education to infrastructure to, yes, sensible corporate tax reform. So far, Trump’s deal-making skills in this arena appear to be mostly giving corporations what they want; in this case, cash out of the public coffers.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The fear of AI is actually a fear of human irrelevance. We’re not really worried about robots killing us—we’re scared of each other.
The antidote to fake news is good design. People made these systems, and people can correct them.
Forcing people to stand up for a national anthem isn’t patriotism. Especially when it comes at the cost of individual expression.
Surprising discoveries
Mushrooms are magic at treating depression and anxiety. One dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin helped distressed cancer patients for months.
US maternity-leave policies hurt high-paid white women the most. They lose 10% of their wages per child, compared with 4.7% for those with lower incomes.
There’s a beauty pageant for new banknotes. One of the contenders for this year’s contest is Australia’s “clown puke” $5 bill, which Aussies don’t like much.
Trees may actually increase urban pollution. Leaves and branches can slow air currents and cause pollutants to settle.
In Alaska, small children are learning to butcher moose. Students from kindergarten on up are being equipped with life skills to survive in the wilderness.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, banknotes, and moose steaks to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our app for iPhone (and, as of today, for Android!).