Trump’s appointments, Samsung buys Harman, electric corsets

[Quartz - qz.com] Daily Brief sponsored by What to watch for today Barack Obama tries to explain the US election to the world’s oldest democracy. The outgoing US president is starting his final scheduled overseas trip. First stop: Greece, where he is expected to [deliver a major speech on globalization]. Later in the week he’s in Germany for meetings with European leaders, and then Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. EU foreign ministers talk Turkey. The European Council sit-down in Brussels will focus on recent [developments in Turkey], where president Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his harsh crackdown on his opponents and the media. Security and defense plans under the EU global strategy are also on the agenda. Investing heavyweights share their picks. Carl Icahn, David Tepper, and George Soros are among the hundreds of investors who will disclose what US stocks they owned in their [quarterly 13F filings] (pdf). The billionaires’ reports are closely watched for insights into investment trends and strategies. Sponsor content by The Government of Japan Japan is looking on the bright side. Rather than a threat to sustainable economic growth, Prime Minister Abe points to the declining population as an opportunity for innovative growth: “Japan may be ageing. Japan may be losing its population. But these are incentives for us.” Abe's positivity stems from confidence in [a three-pillar plan] for economic growth that will boost productivity, drive innovation and trade, and energize corporate investment. Over the weekend Trump brought the alt-right into the White House. He [appointed Stephen Bannon], head of the [often-bigoted Breitbart News], as chief strategist. Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican Party Committee, will be chief of staff. The president-elect told CBS he would deport or jail up to 3 million illegal immigrants with criminal records. He also said he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would let individual states [decide their own abortion laws]. France and the UK went their own way on Donald Trump. Both countries opted out of the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Sunday aimed at coordinating a common EU response to Trump’s election. UK foreign minister Boris Johnson called it a “[collective whinge-o-rama].” After the meeting, ministers said they expect a “[very strong partnership” with the US]. Samsung agreed to buy Harman for $8 billion. The acquisition of [the US auto-parts supplier] (paywall) will make Samsung a major player in automotive technology. Samsung also owns a stake in Chinese electric car maker BYD, and plans to move into car tech to reduce its reliance on the slowing smartphone market, where it has also been bruised by the mass recall of the Galaxy Note 7. American Apparel filed for bankruptcy again. Canada’s Gildan Activewear has offered to [buy the troubled retailer for $66 million] and, if it has to go to auction, said the offer would constitute its first bid. The troubled clothing company first filed for bankruptcy last year, emerging in February after former bondholders took it over. Demonstrations against South Korea’s president intensifed. An estimated 1 million people surrounded Park Geun-hye’s presidential compound on Saturday, [demanding she step down] amid allegations that she let her spiritual advisor, Choi Soon-sil, meddle in state affairs. Prosecutors said they plan to question Park as a witness no later than Wednesday. Colombia and FARC announced a new peace deal. Six weeks after Colombian voters rejected a peace deal with FARC rebels, the government and the rebels [announced a revised pact]. Reportedly, it [requires the rebels] (paywall) to hand over their assets to compensate victims of the conflict, and president Juan Manuel Santos plans [not to hold a referendum] (paywall) this time. Quartz obsession interlude Chase Purdy on how one progressive movement found a way to make change. “A 2001 schism splintered the vegan community into two camps: absolutists who tout veganism as an all-or-nothing moral imperative, and pragmatists who quietly advocate for incremental change. The vegan movement’s brain finally outgrew its heart, and in less than two decades the pragmatic vein of the movement has morphed into one of the biggest disruptors of the American food system.” [Read more here]. Matters of debate Facebook has no excuse for forgoing fact-checking. The social network should [hire professionals to weed out] the worst of the fake stories infecting its news feeds. Angela Merkel is the last defender of European liberalism. The German chancellor is now the [only leader embracing globalization] (or holding back populism?) on the continent. Sundays are for doodling. The [mind-freeing ritual] of drawing abstract shapes is the only kind of creative exertion fit for the end of the weekend. Surprising discoveries Your immune system “imprints” on the first strain of influenza it encounters. Everyone [born before 1968] is immune to some forms of flu that younger generations are not. Electric corsets and belts were the FitBits of the 19th century. Doctors thought people could [literally zap themselves] into better health. The average Netflix subscriber streams 600 hours of video a year. Individual Netflix-watching [has nearly doubled] since 2011. The moon will look bigger and brighter tonight. It’s going to be the [largest full moon since 1948]. The US government preserves the genes of more than 31,000 “agriculturally important” species. Honeybee sperm [was just added] to the bank. 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