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BEIJING (AP) — For four hours every day, for 100 days, Chinese artist Wang Renzheng held up the attachment of an industrial vacuum cleaner to suck in Beijing’s notoriously polluted air at various landmarks.

Passers-by were intrigued, inquiring if he was an air sanitation worker, or if he was taking air samples, or if he could be hired to do air sweeps of their apartments, Wang recalled.

The 34-year-old artist hopes the performance art — dubbed the Dust Project — can sharpen the public’s sense of China’s air quality.

“Have you ever thought how much dust there is in the air, as Chinese cities are growing at high speeds?” Wang said Tuesday.

Although the public has come to realize the severity of China’s air pollution, Wang said he feels the change has been painfully slow.

“This is not an issue to be ignored, and I want to magnify it so much that you cannot ignore it,” he said.

Coincidentally, the project’s 100-day phase of dust-collecting ended Sunday — right in the middle of this year’s worst pollution spell in Beijing, when its landmark buildings disappeared into thick smog and residents were asked to stay indoors. Monitoring sites reported that the density of the tiny, poisonous PM2.5 particles had reached more than 40 times the safe level set by the World Health Organization.

Local media reports of Wang’s performance art went viral this week with the headline that his efforts had gathered enough dust to make a normal-size brick.

Wang said that his 400 hours of air-sucking had netted 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of dust, which has been added to a mixture to make a brick at a factory in the northern city of Tangshan.

The 100 grams were more than he expected when he first embarked on the project on July 24 with the $1,100 vacuum cleaner.

Wang said that after three days, the machine collected little dust. “I checked again after 100 days, and the dirt was far more obvious. It was black and dirty, and it crumbled upon touch,” he said.

Once the brick is made, it will be used in construction along with other bricks. “It should just disappear like a drop of water going into the sea,” Wang said.

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Thousands of people lined Harare’s roads and welcomed Chinese president Xi Jinping, whose visit has raised hopes that China will help stabilize Zimbabwe’s faltering economy.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe greeted Xi at the airport.

Xi inspected a guard of honor at the airport but did not speak on his arrival. He is expected to address a joint press conference with Mugabe after signing economic deals later on Tuesday.

Chinese ambassador to Harare Huang Ping said that China is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign investor, pumping in $600 million in 2013. He said Mugabe and Xi are expected to sign several economic deals.

Xi is in Zimbabwe until Wednesday before heading to South Africa for a forum on cooperation between Africa and China.

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Good morning! Here are the plays everybody will be talking about Monday morning.

Another team wins on a block-6. The Monday Night Football game was not the best matchup ever, featuring two teams with losing records and most of the stars plays not in action. Still, the Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens in stunning fashion. The Ravens actually had the ball with the game tied and less than a minute left when they threw an ugly interception in their own end of the field. That led to what looked like it was going to be a last-second game-winning field goal. Instead, the Ravens blocked the kick and Will Hill returned it 65 yards for a game-winning touchdown for the Ravens. Here is the play with the Browns radio call (via Fox Sports 1).

The Warriors did it again and so did Stephen Curry. The Warriors improved to 19-0, but this 106-103 win over the Utah Jazz was anything but easy, going down to the final seconds. Curry finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and none of the assists were prettier than his hook-alley-oop to Festus Ezeli with less five minutes to go.

Maple Leafs goalie makes great save in NHL debut. Garret Sparks is a 22-year-old rookie goal who made his NHL debut on Monday and became the first player Toronto Maple Leafs history to record a shutout in his first NHL game. Sparks was tested early and made a couple of nice saves in the first period, but it was his save late in the second period that he’ll always remember. After making an initial save on a breakaway, he fell to the ice and had an Oilers player on top of him when he kept his cool and swatted away the loose puck. The Leafs went on to win 3-0.

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Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp is blocking outbound links to Telegram, the secure messaging service that has grown in popularity since the Edward Snowden leaks. 

Reddit user Shlagger noticed the problem, which affects anyone trying to send a link a Telegram domain — such as telegram.me or telegram.org — resulting in a dead link that cannot be copied and pasted out of the app. 

It’s unclear why WhatsApp has taken this step, which effectively blocks anyone who wants to use the service to facilitate a conversation on Telegram. 

The feud has been a long time coming, however. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on-stage that he was “not … a big fan of WhatsApp about three years ago, and I’m not sure I am now.” 

The Verge confirmed with Telegram that change was a result of a silent update which downloaded to user’s phones yesterday morning. The update also blocked Telegram.com, an unrelated domain owned by a newspaper in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Facebook has a history of blocking links, including those to torrenting site Pirate Bay and the social network Tsu.co. These links are blocked within Facebook’s main app, not WhatsApp, however.

Business Insider has reached out to Facebook to clarify why Telegram is blocked. We will update the post when we hear back.  

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Kinshasa (AFP) – Fierce fighting between UN peacekeepers and Ugandan rebels raged in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, a day after a deadly attack by the rebel group.

UN General Jean Baillaud, acting commander of the UN’s MONUSCO force, told AFP that the peacekeepers had tracked down the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and attacked them at dawn using combat helicopters.

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Samsung is making some big changes at the top of its smartphone business as growth continues to stall — despite the release of several well-received new handsets in 2015.

By: Michael Rundle,

Continue reading…

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Via Dave Lutz at JonesTrading, here’s a quick guide to what traders are talking about on Tuesday morning:

Good Morning!   December Seasonality helping equities, as the S&P finds itself marked 40bp higher to start this Tuesday.   Expectations of more stimulus from the European Central Bank had propelled EU equities higher early, but the DAX finds itself just under water on a sharp retreat in the materials sector.   Euro Stoxx are mixed, torn between higher Tech and Fins, but Energy and Industrials weigh.   In London, the FTSE is climbing 60bp as those Fins leap after positive stress-test results, but the Mining complex continues to lag.    Over in Asia, Data from China’s manufacturing sector disappointed, causing doves to bid up Shanghai 1% off lows with China property outperforming on news of price increases for 4th straight month, helping Hong Kong climb 1.8%.   The Nikkei ended up 1.3%, closing above 20,000 for the first time since August, KOSPI rebounded 1.6% from yesterday’s smackdown, and Aussie jumped nearly 2% on the back of heavy covering in the Miners as the RBA left rates unchanged.   Emerging Markets all managed a solid close into the Green across Asia as India stays unchanged, as expected. 

The US 10YY is adding 3bp and nearing a challenge of yesterday’s peaks as November Pension rebalancing abates, while those Fed Funds are moving slightly dovish, “only” projecting a 74% chance of liftoff in 2 weeks.  That “Policy Sensitive” 2YY continues to climb however, breaking towards its highest close since 2010.    The DXY is retreating from a 8month peak with the Euro popping upside 1.06 as EU Manufacturing improved and Eurozone unemployment pushes to 3-year low – while that $/Y whipped around on reports that the GPIF was hedging currency.  With the lower $, we have tailwinds for Commodities, and the Metals complex continues yesterday’s rally – led by a 1.2%+ pop in Copper and Platinum.   The Oil complex is holding a tentative bid into Inventory data later today, while Gasoline is jumping 3%+ as traders dissect yesterday’s renewable fuels headlines which should buoy the complex.   

We get Light vehicle sales for November throughout the session, and expect headlines about Puerto Rico’s $355mln payment due today.  At 8:30 we get Canadian GDP, followed by Markit US Manufacturing PMI at 9:45.  10am brings us ISM Manufacturing and Construction Spending, and at 12:45 Fed’s Evans (2015 Voter) Speaks on the Economy and Policy.  At 4:30 tonight we get the API data for Crude, and at 6pm Fed’s Brainard (voter) Speaks.   Down in Washington, the Senate meets at 10am; may begin consideration of budget reconciliation legislation to repeal key parts of Obamacare, and the Senate Natural Resources Cmte holds hearing on Well Control Rule, other regulations affecting offshore oil and gas.  At 4pm, Zhu Guangyao, China’s vice finance minister, speaks at Peterson Institute for International Economics on China, global economy.

SEE ALSO: 10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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There was a bounty of brilliant ads in 2015. 

From viral campaigns to Super Bowl classics, we have picked out the 10 best ads of the year. If there was a theme to be woven between the top ads of 2015, it would seem that the advertising trend of the year was tugging on the heartstrings of viewers or promoting the idea of empowerment.

As with last year, some of the ads in our rankings will be familiar, but others you may not have seen.

Our ranking is entirely subjective: We looked at originality, entertainment value, and success stories. These were the brands and the campaigns that stood out. Congratulations to everyone whose work made the list.

Learn how to improve your mobile marketing strategy by listening to the podcast below.

NOW SEE: A Google TV commercial starring fluffy animals has become the most shared ad of all time

10. Women’s Aid — “Look At Me.” This digital billboard used facial recognition technology to recognize when people were looking at the ad. The more people paid attention, the more the bruises and cuts on her face appeared to heal.

9. Extra Gum — “The story of Sarah and Juan.” This touching love story set to a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” showed the romance between a young couple as they grew older. The romantic 2-minute spot reduced people to tears.

8. Chevy — Super Bowl. The automaker’s TV spot, which ran right ahead of the Big Game was evil genius. Chevy successfully made millions of people think their TV had died right before the Super Bowl was about to kick off in order to promote the chevy Colorado’s in-built 4G WiFi capabilities.

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Good morning. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Chinese manufacturing activity was below expectations in November. The official purchasing manager’s index (PMI) was 49.6, missing expectations for an unchanged print of 49.8. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. The non-official Caixin-Markit reading rose 0.3 points to 48.6 (48.3 expected). A stabilization of output volumes, and export orders expanding at the fastest pace in 13 years, inched up the index, although domestic demand was still weak according to Markit. The services sector was more robust, with the non-manufacturing PMI at 53.6, the highest level since July.
2. Germany’s unemployment rate fell to a record low last month. The rate fell to 6.3% from 6.4%. The Bundesbank said Germany’s economic momentum was “quite strong”, and the labor market was driving domestic demand even though exports were slowing down, according to Bloomberg. 
3. South Korean exports dropped 4.7% in November year-on-year. This was better than the expected 9% plunge. Korean exports essentially represent the world’s imports, and the data are based on hard transactions instead of surveys. The headline bump was boosted by a jump in exports of shipping vessels (totaling $2.19 billion of $44.4 billion), which Barclays economists speculated was because of a large order from a European country. 
4. Barring a major drop in December, US auto sales are set for a record year. The latest data from the big carmakers are due today, and the forecast is for growth at an annualized pace of 18.10 million vehicles, according to Bloomberg. The prior annual peak was set in 2000 at 17.4 million. Sales are being driven by an aging fleet that needs replacement, cheap gas, easier credit, and the availability of jobs, among other things. 
5. The Chinese yuan is now a global reserve currency. The International Monetary Fund made it official on Monday, placing the yuan alongside the dollar, yen, euro, and pound in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. It will make up 10.92% of the basket, slightly lower than the 14% to 16% estimate previously made by IMF staff. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said the yuan’s inclusion was “a clear indication of the reforms” China has implemented. This could benefit the yuan, as big money managers move their holdings to the currency.
6. Morgan Stanley may layoff a quarter of its fixed-income trading staff within the next two weeks, according to Bloomberg. The investment bank’s bond-trading revenues fell 42% year-on-year in the third quarter, and CEO James Gorman described it as the worst three months for fixed income, currencies, and commodities since he took the position in 2010. 
7. Mattress Firm is buying its rival Sleepy’s for $780 million. The deal would make the new company the country’s largest specialty retailer of mattresses, and is expected to close during the first half of fiscal 2016. The combined company would operate about 3,500 stores in 48 states, and achieve cost savings of about $40 million by the third year from the deal, Reuters reported. 
8. The Cyber Monday sales estimates are trickling in, and they’re looking good. Adobe Digital Index estimated that sales were up 12% year-on-year to $2.98 billion. The websites of Target, PayPal, Walmart, and Victoria Secret, among a few others, experienced periodic outages or slow checkout times. In a press release, Amazon said the holiday weekend was the best ever for its own devices.  
9. Global stock markets are mostly green. At 7:00 a.m. ET, China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.36%, or 12 points, while the Euro Stoxx 50 was up 0.1%, or 5.5 points. Germany’s Dax was down 7 points, or 0.08%. Dow futures were up 72 points. 
10. Besides auto sales, US manufacturing PMIs from ISM and Markit, and construction spending numbers, are due this morning. The American Petroleum Institute’s weekly inventories data are expected after the close. 

SEE ALSO: The most creative thing central banks have done since the financial crisis has had ‘unspectacular’ results

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