Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Germany plans for Brexit. A committee led by chancellor Angela Merkel will address preparations “within the federal government as well as by European institutions” ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU. The meeting comes a day after British prime minister Theresa May laid out a 12-point list of objectives for Brexit, bringing some much-needed clarity on what it will entail.
More confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet. The Senate grills health secretary nominee Tom Price about potential conflicts of interest. Scott Pruitt, tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will face questions on his climate-change denial. UN ambassador nominee Nikki Haley and commerce secretary pick Wilbur Ross will also be in the hot seat.
Netflix shows off its numbers. Its stock has risen by a dazzling 35% in the past six months and it’s expected to have hit 92 million subscribers in the fourth quarter. Investors will be examining its plans to grow beyond 100 million, compete with other movie-streaming competitors, and, as promised, make a profit in 2017.
The US economy gets a report card. The Labor department will release new data (paywall) on the consumer price index, which rose 1.7% in November from a year ago. The Federal Reserve publishes its industrial production index—economists are expecting an 0.6% increase in December.
While you were sleeping
Thomas Cook began evacuating tourists from Gambia. Around 1,000 holidaymakers are being flown out of the West African country after president Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency. Jammeh, who has ruled for 22 years, refused to accept he had lost the recent election to Adama Barrow. The National Assembly has agreed to let him stay in power three more months.
Pearson looked to sell its stake in Random House. The venerable British education publisher’s shares fell more than 20% after sales of its courseware in North America plummeted. More people are renting course books or buying them secondhand and, in the recovering US economy, are getting jobs rather than enrolling in college. Bertelsmann, which co-owns Random House, might buy up Pearson’s share.
Russia extended Edward Snowden’s asylum. The former US intelligence contractor can stay ”for a couple more years,” said a foreign ministry spokeswoman. He has been in Russia since 2013, when he blew the whistle on the US National Security Agency’s vast surveillance program. Recent pleas by human-rights groups for Barack Obama to pardon him have so far been unsuccessful.
The Brexit-battered pound was good for Burberry. The iconic but troubled British fashion house celebrated a 3% increase in like-for-like third-quarter sales, as tourists flocked to snap up its suddenly cheaper luxury products (paywall). Burberry’s sales also returned to growth in Asia-Pacific, although Hong Kong stores are missing the hordes of mainland Chinese tourists now opting to shop at home or in other countries.
Former president George H.W. Bush was taken into hospital. It’s not clear what’s wrong with him, but according to his chief of staff, the 92-year-old is “doing fine” and expected to be released in a few days.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on Quartz’s geopolitical forecasts for 2017: “The anti-elite uprisings all around us appear to signal the close of one era, and the advent of a new, unknown one… But we are in a void at the moment—the dangerous period before a new age fully takes hold, and systems, nations and movements are up for grabs.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The rules that have kept the world together since 1945 are under attack. Outgoing US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power had some stern words for Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump is reviving the “Great Man” theory of history. The president-elect “resists analysis as a predictable, impersonal force.”
African mobile operators and startups should work together. Large telcos can financially support smaller firms and draw talent from them in return.
Surprising discoveries
A self-piloted flying car from Airbus is on the way. CEO Tom Enders said a prototype will take to the skies by the end of this year.
Australians send generous but useless donations to disaster areas. Aid agencies would rather people send cash instead of chainsaws, high heels, and carpets.
Vampire bats drink human blood. Scientists in Brazil found human DNA in fecal samples from the hairy-legged winged mammals.
The world’s second “three-parent baby” was born. Scientists used a new method, called pronuclear transfer.
Fake news may lead to genocide in South Sudan. Falsehoods spread on social media are causing massacres in the world’s youngest country.
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