Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Super Mario Run bolts from the starting line. The highly anticipated game app—Nintendo’s first true foray onto Apple’s iPhones—has already boosted the company’s stock price as investors salivate over pre-orders and pre-release hype.
Theresa May reports to Brussels. The British prime minister will attend an EU summit and update ministers on the country’s plans to begin exit talks with the bloc in March 2017. Then the 27 other EU leaders will go for dinner to discuss Brexit—but May’s not invited.
An interest-rate announcement from the Bank of England. The central bank is expected to keep rates at their current record low of 0.25%.
While you were sleeping
A medical convoy evacuating people from Aleppo was attacked. The head of the ambulance service said Syrian government forces fired on the vehicles, wounding three people, and forcing the convoy to turn back. Rebel sources said a new ceasefire was holding, and evacuations from eastern Aleppo, now under Syrian army control, would begin on Thursday.
Yahoo revealed another enormous data breach. The tech giant announced that hackers stole personal data associated with more than 1 billion accounts in August 2013. A 2014 hack, made public last September, compromised half a billion. The company’s latest disclosure could affect the terms of its sale to Verizon, agreed in July.
Vladimir Putin kept Shinzo Abe waiting. The Russian president (who uses delays as a diplomatic weapon) was almost three hours late for his meeting with Japan’s prime minister in the hot-springs resort area of Nagato. It’s Putin’s first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea two years ago. The leaders are expected to discuss a peace treaty formally ending World War 2.
Lonza swallowed Capsugel. The Swiss pharma group will pay $5.5 billion cash (paywall) for the New Jersey-based company, which sells capsules and drug-delivery products in over 100 countries. Lonza expects the deal—which should be completed by mid-2017—to boost its earnings within 12 months after closing.
The euro-zone economy ended 2016 on a good note. Markit’s December PMI for the euro zone held steady at 53.9 (paywall)—anything over 50 indicates growth. The manufacturing PMI rose to its highest level in two and a half years, thanks to a weak euro boosting exports.
Philippine senators called for Rodrigo Duterte’s impeachment. Two politicians said the president’s statement this week that he personally killed suspected criminals while mayor of Davao was an admission of “high crimes.” Duterte’s justice minister shrugged the comments off as exaggeration. Duterte enjoys enormous popular and congressional support.
Quartz obsession interlude
Johnny Simon on what Americans ate 100 years ago during the holiday season. “Old-school crudités (especially celery) are common on most menus shown, as are oysters (preparation unknown). The tried and true roasts of turkey, beef or fowl are well represented, though the clear turtle consommé may be harder to find these days.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Cash isn’t dead yet. Despite bitcoin and mobile pay, the number of dollar and euro notes has doubled since 2005.
You can beat climate change and get rich at the same time. But investors need better data to put money into the low-carbon economy.
There are no big lessons from the US election. Ideologues are using the results to “prove” whatever they believed beforehand.
Surprising discoveries
The secret to eating insects is better utensils. A Japanese designer has created new tools including fingertip pincers and spear-ended chopsticks.
Google’s top “Holocaust” search result is to a neo-Nazi group. The company refuses to tweak its algorithm to remove Holocaust denier Stormfront.
An 18th-century Chinese seal sold for $22 million at auction. Emperor Qianlong’s seal beat the previous record of $14 million for such an item.
Africa will soon have to import half its grains. Despite being home to a quarter of the world’s arable land, the continent is becoming less self-sufficient.
China’s middle class is funding gentrification in Brooklyn. Investors are getting their money out of China and into New York’s outer boroughs.
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