Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Nationwide protests against India’s demonetization. The opposition Congress party will highlight the policy’s impact on the poor, and allege “personal corruption” by prime minister Narendra Modi. Nearly all of the country’s discontinued bills were returned to banks, dashing hopes that “black money” would be flushed out of the system.
Buyer’s remorse peaks in the US. United Parcel Service says 1.3 million packages will be sent back on “National Returns Day.” That’s up from about 1 million packages the previous years, as more retailers offer free returns and pre-printed return labels.
The show floor opens at the Consumer Electronics Show. Tech geeks will flock to see to futuristic cars, smart speakers and a veritable army of drones. A $9000 gaming laptop with a curved screen from Acer is also expected to be a major draw.
While you were sleeping
Trump picked a prominent Wall Street attorney to police Wall Street. Jay Clayton, who worked on the $25 billion Alibaba IPO and the emergency response to the financial crisis, would be the first financial industry lawyer to lead Securities and Exchange Commission since 2002.
Exxon paid ex-CEO Rex Tillerson $180 million to go work for Donald Trump. The proceeds from 2 million deferred shares the Treasury secretary nominee was due to receive will be put in a blind trust. His contentious confirmation hearing is scheduled for next week.
The Federal Reserve braced for higher inflation. The US central bank’s policymakers are unanimous in expecting a surge in spending during the Trump administration. The bank, which has a mandate to keep the economy from overheating, could find itself at odds with a president who is rapid economic growth.
Elon Musk fired up Tesla’s battery gigafactory. The electric carmaker announced that the first lithium-ion battery cells at its Reno, Nevada facility were produced in December, in partnership with Japan’s Panasonic. By 2018, the gigafactory will employ 6,500 full-time workers.
A mysterious online Go champion was unmasked. The player who has been trouncing the world’s masters was revealed to be Google’s AlphaGo artificial intelligence system, which was testing a software update. The revelation seems to have confirmed that humans are no match for robots in the complex board game.
Quartz obsession interlude
Joon Ian Wong on how America’s No. 2 app would be nothing without No. 1: “Facebook’s mobile app has long occupied the top slot, but the social network has now underlined its dominance with the Facebook Messenger ascension to No. 2. Of course, it’s easier to dominate when you force your existing users onto a new app. Facebook in August started to warn its users to install Messenger or lose access to the messaging feature.” Read more here.
Quartz haiku interlude
Remember that talk
of a future without cars?
Don’t tell truck buyers.
Matters of debate
The world’s first cyberwar is already underway. Nation states, whistleblowers, and hackers all pose unconventional threats.
With Alexa, Amazon is building an operating system for the home. The clever voice assistant will soon be in lamps, refrigerators, TVs, and more.
Beijing can’t keep North Korea in check. Despite Trump’s tweets, China is vulnerable to regional instability and an influx of refugees.
Surprising discoveries
Mark Zuckerberg’s 2017 resolution is to meet people IRL. The social media king wants to meet Americans from all 50 states to see where Facebook falls short.
Amazon is getting into stretch pants. The e-commerce giant is hiring for an in-house activewear line.
A 105-year-old man set a new cycling record. Frenchman Robert Marchand, who completed 92 laps at a velodrome, is “waiting for a rival.”
Humans may have one more organ than previously thought. The contender is a gut membrane called the mesentery.
The US Navy’s dolphins are on a mission to save their endangered cousins. They are being trained to locate the last remaining vaquita porpoises in Mexico.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, undiscovered organs, and rescue dolphins to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android.