Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the New Year
Syria tries another ceasefire. The Russia-Turkey brokered truce between the Syrian government and rebel groups went into effect at midnight local time and appears to be largely holding for now. If, unlike previous truces, this one endures, peace talks will be held in Kazakhstan some time next month; the US won’t participate.
Indians get rid of their last rupees. They have until the end of the day to deposit discontinued 500 and 1,000 rupee notes at banks. The decision in November to withdraw the notes—86% of the cash in circulation—to combat the shadow economy has caused chaos, hardship, and assorted unexpected consequences. Indians living abroad have until March 31 to exchange the notes.
World leaders bid 2016 adieu. France’s François Hollande and Germany’s Angela Merkel will make televised speeches to close out the year; the latter is expected to discuss her policy agenda for 2017. On New Year’s Eve, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, in part about his demonetization scheme. While US president Barack Obama has no plans for an end-of-year speech, he is expected to make an end-of-presidency speech on Jan. 10, 2017.
We take another break. There’ll be no Quartz Daily Brief on Monday, Jan. 2, which will be an official holiday this year in many countries.
While you were sleeping
Fallout from the US-Russia spat continued. Russia’s prime minister described the Obama administration’s decision to expand sanctions and eject 35 Russian alleged spies as “anti-Russian death throes.” Meanwhile, US president-elect Donald Trump, who previously dismissed findings by US intelligence services that the Russians meddled in the elections, has agreed to take an intelligence briefing next week on the issue.
China tried to downplay the dollar. With the yuan headed for its biggest full-year loss against the US dollar in 22 years, the central bank said it will expand the basket of currencies against which it values the yuan, reducing the dollar’s importance. Still, that won’t make Chinese want fewer dollars, so pressure on the yuan will likely continue in 2017.
Huawei warned of a slowdown. CEO Eric Xu said 2016 revenue growth was expected to dip to 32%, compared to 35% in 2015, and warned of a tumultuous year ahead. The Chinese telecom equipment giant has done well in the US and Europe, becoming the world’s largest smartphone maker after Apple and Samsung, but is facing mounting pressure from competitors at home.
Oil rounded off a great year. Prices for both Brent (about $57 per barrel) and WTI ($54) looked set to close 2016 at 18-month highs, and up around 50% this year, the biggest jump in seven years. Next year is another matter: Few serious analysts expect prices to go much above $60, as OPEC struggles to maintain unity. Look out for a more aggressive Russia as a result.
Poland bought a da Vinci on the cheap. The government acquired a 200-year-old, 300,000-piece art collection from the Czartoryski family foundation, worth an estimated €2 billion ($2.1 billion), for just €100 million. It includes Leonardo da Vinci’s 1490 masterpiece Lady With an Ermine. The family head said it was a “donation” to the state to help it preserve Polish culture, but his foundation’s board quit in protest.
Quartz obsession interlude
Neha Thirani Bagri on the scary, unimpeachable evidence that climate change is already here. “According to Pew Research, less than half of all American adults believe that the Earth is warming mostly due to human activity. They are wrong, though, and 2016 was the year that news from around the world made climate change undeniable to anyone paying attention.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Netanyahu is just mad that the UN called his bluff. Israel’s prime minister has long assumed that the international community would overlook the plight of Palestinians.
High CEO pay doesn’t help companies’ bottom line. There’s a “material disconnect” between what bosses are paid and a company’s financial performance.
Mobile-app games teach bad economics. In-app purchases manipulate children into buying things they don’t need.
Surprising discoveries
Nine species have been named after Barack Obama. That’s more than any other president—though Teddy Roosevelt comes close with seven.
Half the planet will have to endure 2016 for an extra moment. On Dec. 31, the world will experience its 28th “leap second.”
Netflix is helping parents get kids to bed early on New Year’s Eve. The streaming service offers 10 different countdown videos to be played, well, whenever you want.
Henry Kissinger really, really liked Margaret Thatcher. He told her private secretary in 1990 that her decision to resign as prime minister was “worse than a death in the family.”
The CIA refuses to sell a calendar of its official paintings. Produced by the nephew of a CIA contractor, the Secret Ops of the CIA calendar isn’t available at the agency’s gift shop.
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