Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US hands over 9,909 acres to Japan… In the largest return of US-occupied land since 1972, the American military will give back a portion of the Northern Training Ground in Okinawa to the Japanese government. In exchange, Japan is building helipads nearby for the use of US armed forces. Japanese activists have long fought to remove American military bases from Okinawa altogether.
…as Japan approves its fiscal-2017 budget. A draft seen by Reuters shows plans for a record Y97.45 trillion budget ($8.3 trillion) next year, a test of prime minister Shinzo Abe’s plans to realize a surplus by fiscal 2020. The Thursday cabinet meeting will also lock in a third extra budget for the current fiscal year.
The US Commerce Department releases data. The economy is expected to have expanded at a 3.3% annualized rate in the third quarter. Analysts anticipate a decline in durable goods orders for November, and an increase in Americans’ spending for the month. An improved economic outlook could encourage the Fed to boost interest rates again next year.
While you were sleeping
Trump named a China hawk to lead a US trade council. The president-elect announced the formation of the National White House Trade Council (NTC), led by economist Peter Navarro, to “advise the president on innovative strategies in trade negotiations,” coordinate US manufacturing capabilities, and lead a “Buy American, Hire American” program. Navarro is a strong critic of US/China trade relations, and authored a book called The Coming China Wars.
The search for Berlin’s truck terrorist continued. Three days after an attack at a Christmas market killed 12 and injured dozens, local police were searching for 24-year-old Tunisia native Anis Amri, who is suspected of involvement. Authorities offered a 100,000 euro ($104,000) bounty for capturing the “violent and armed” man.
The death toll rose in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations asked local authorities to maintain order amid anti-government protests that killed at least 32 people this week, a number the opposition argues is closer to 100. US and European powers imposed travel bans and froze the assets of individuals close to president Joseph Kabila, who has hedged on stepping down after serving two 5-year terms.
Nokia sued Apple. The Finnish company alleges that Apple infringed on 32 patents covering displays, user interfaces, software, antennas, chipsets, and video coding. Apple has accused Nokia and Acacia Research Corp. of colluding to “extract and extort exorbitant revenues.” The suit is the latest in the smartphone patent wars, which began in 2011 when Apple filed a host of lawsuits against Samsung.
Vladimir Putin pushed back his Q&A session. The Russian president postponed an annual press conference to attend the funeral of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated at a photo exhibit in Ankara on Dec. 19. Putin is now expected to respond to questions on Friday.
Quartz obsession interlude
Aimee Groth on Zappos’ “Holacracy” fail. “As it turns out, eliminating ‘the human element’ doesn’t make it go away. Worse, it leads to an undercurrent of resentment. At Zappos, dissatisfaction with Holacracy played a role in nearly a third of the company walking out the door in 2015. That same year, Zappos dropped off of Fortune’s ‘Best Companies to Work for list’ for the first time in years.” Read more here.
Quartz haiku interlude
Alas! Another
Day below Dow twenty K
The wait pains us so
Matters of debate
The Federal Reserve has China in a bind. Chinese monetary policy is caught in what economists call the “impossible trinity.”
Ambition and marriage don’t mix. In families where someone has a big job, all of the career ambition gets allocated to one person.
Latkes shouldn’t be Hanukkah’s “it” food. The potato pancake’s ubiquity leaves no room for other, more innovative, holiday dishes.
Surprising discoveries
Cape Town is using drones to warn beachgoers about sharks. South Africa has the third-highest number of shark attacks in the world, after the US and Australia.
Illegal gold mining is more profitable than drug smuggling in Latin America. Colombia’s drug cartels make $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year from heroin and cocaine, while gold smugglers make between $1.9 billion and $2.6 billion.
A meat-and-potato pie was sent into space. The pastry froze as it made its 100,000-foot ascent, before being cooked as it came back to Earth.
Turkey’s ripoff of Star Wars was almost lost to history. Çetin İnanç’s The Man Who Saves the World lifts footage from the George Lucas film to tell the story of two Turkish space adventurers.
There’s a subscription service for luxury weed. Club M subscribers—60% of whom are women—fork over at minimum $100 a month.
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