Quartz Daily Brief—Paris shooter manhunt, Beijing’s Uber ban, Tesco’s turnaround plan, toxic disco clams

Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Sri Lanka chooses its next president. Incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa, in office since 2005, is facing off against Maithripala Sirisena, the country’s former health minister. Sirisena has proposed a more pro-US foreign policy, which would be problematic for Sri Lanka’s Chinese allies. Ukraine begs the IMF for mercy. Kyiv is hoping the international lender will grant access to another $15 billion as it faces the prospect of financial collapse. The additional aid would come on top of the $30 billion already promised from international creditors, including $17 billion from the IMF. Constellation Brands gets a bump from beer sales. The world’s biggest wine seller is expected to report a solid fiscal third quarter due in large part to beer sales; it distributes Corona, Modelo, and Tsingtao in the United States. Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stockfrom “neutral” to “buy” this week, sending its shares higher. More US jobs data. New filings for unemployment benefits areexpected to drop by 8,000 to 290,000 for the week ending Jan. 3. That would be a welcome second round of good news after ADP publishedbetter-than-expected private payroll data yesterday. While you were sleeping A police officer was killed and a city worker wounded  near Paris. A gunman opened fire with an automatic rifle in Montrouge, just south of the city, and remains at large, according to AFP. No link has been established with yesterday’s attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. French police arrested seven in the manhunt for the Charlie Hebdo gunmen. Two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, are suspected of killing 12 people in an attack on the Paris-based magazine. They remain at large, but a third suspect—18-year-old Hamyd Mourad—turned himself in to police, claiming innocence and saying he had been at school all day. Standard Chartered fled the equities business. Over 4,000 jobs will be cut when the Asia-focused bank dismantles its stock brokering, equity research, and equity listing desks, Reuters reports, citing an internal memo. Struggling with rising bad loans and regulatory fines, the bank promised last year to cut $400 million in costs. Uber was hit with a setback in Beijing. City authorities threatened tofine unlicensed drivers who use taxi-hailing apps like Uber and its domestic rivals Didi Dache and Kuadi Dache, saying they discriminate against older people who don’t have smartphones. Uber and the Dache apps also happen to compete against Chinese state-owned taxi companies. Separately, Uber launched a cargo service in Hong Kong that allows users to hire vans for deliveries. Tesco unveiled a turnaround strategy. Britain’s biggest retailer said it would slash spending by more than half, close 43 unprofitable stores, and sell other assets. The company has been reeling from an accounting scandal and a series of profit warnings. German factory orders were unexpectedly grim, dropping 2.4% in November, compared with an expected fall of 0.8%. The first decline in three months comes after Germany narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter. Samsung confirmed a very bad year. The electronics giant said its full-year operating profits would be down more than 30%, but hinted at a pick-up in the fourth quarter due to strong demand for memory chips and improvements in its struggling smartphone business. The introduction of the Galaxy Note 4 appears to have helped, although overall smartphone sales fell, according to Reuters. Quartz obsession interlude Devjyot Ghoshal and Manu Balachandran on India’s impending energy crisis. “‘It is time for coal workers to do or die,’ a veteran union leader declared on Jan. 6, as some 500,000 Indian coal workers launched a massive, five-day strike that has already cut coal production by more than half—and pushed India’s power sector to the brink of a crisis.” Read more here. Matters of debate The right to blaspheme must be protected. And one cannot defend the right without defending the practice. The Charlie Hebdo attack was an al Qaeda PR coup. The group is competing with the Islamic State for attention. Don’t blame the West, or Islam, for the Charlie Hebdo atrocity.Blame the “ideology that has sought to achieve power through terror.” Should a man serving life in prison for murder be allowed euthanasia? Two academics and a lawyer say yes, no, and maybe. Lawmakers can’t control oil prices. Forget the impact of Keystone XL or OPEC—prices are being driven by supply and demand. Surprising discoveries The “toxic disco clam” isn’t much fun at parties. It uses snotty strobe lights to fend off predators. Manila police will wear diapers during the pope’s visit. There aren’t enough portable toilets at next week’s open-air mass for 6 million people. Fidgeting is proof of lying. Scientists say $12,000 motion capture suits are the new polygraph. Cars don’t need to be “warmed up” in the cold. Idling does nothing for your car, and causes huge greenhouse gas emissions. Endurance sports fans are paying to be tear gassed. Tough Mudder, an adult obstacle course, is adding to its list of grueling challenges. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, adult diapers, and shifty body language to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day. 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