France bolsters domestic security; the start of the Silk Road trial; the regulation of yoga

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times:

The French government said it would deploy 10,000 troops to bolster security around the country but cracks are already beginning to appear in the united political front that was on display at rallies on Sunday. Opposition politicians are pressing for an inquiry into the attacks and the authorities’ failure to prevent them. (FT)

In the US, Barack Obama unveiled a new plan to boost cyber security just as hackers claiming to be Islamist militants broke into the Pentagon’s social media accounts. (FT)

Meanwhile, conspiracy theories that blame the murders on foreign intelligence agencies rather than radical Islamists have been swirling around Russia and Turkey. (FT)

In the news:

Oil slip

Brent crude, the international oil marker, dropped below $50 a barrel to a near six-year low as concerns grew over a bigger oil surplus in the next few months. (FT)

The fall in oil prices has prompted demand for onshore storage facilities and supertankers that can hold oil offshore for up to 12 months as companies buy up cheap oil in the hope of profiting from future sales at higher prices. (FT)

Boko Haram’s cross-border assault

The jihadi group, which has escalated its violent attacks in Nigeria, moved into Cameroon to attack a military base. After the solidarity shown with France following the attacks in Paris, Nigerians are questioning why they have been so isolated in their fight against terrorism. (FT)

Fighting flares in Ukraine

A surge in violence in eastern Ukraine after a month-long lull cast doubt on possible peace talks between European leaders and Vladimir Putin. Interpol also issued a global arrest warrant for Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia after being ousted in February. (FT)

Macau prostitution ring bust

Police arrested six people suspected of running a major prostitution ring out of the SJM Lisboa hotel. One was Alan Ho, a senior executive at SJMholdings and the nephew of gambling mogul Stanley Ho. (WSJ$)

It’s a big day for:

Ross Ulbricht, whose trial starts today. He is accused of creating the Silk Road black market bazaar and faces charges that include narcotics trafficking and money laundering. The case will expose the workings of virtual crime and test the limits of online privacy. (FT, Wired)

Wm Morrison, the last of the UK’s listed supermarket chains to report on Christmas trading. After a disastrous Christmas in 2013, Morrison invested GBP300m in lowering prices and introduced a loyalty card in its efforts to take on discounters Aldi and Lidl. (FT)

UK inflation Consumer prices fell 0.3 per cent month on month in November, pushing annual inflation to a 12-year low of 1 per cent. Analysts expect December prices to be even lower, which would oblige BoE governor Mark Carney to write to chancellor George Osborne explaining why. (Guardian)

Food for thought:

Facebook knows you better than your spouse

A computer analysis of questionnaires and 300 Facebook “likes” was able to judge personality more accurately than a user’s spouse. This means computers may eventually understand and react to humans, so the film Her, in which a man falls in love with an operating system, is not that far off reality. (FT)

Data mining for Medicare scams

Fraudulent billings are estimated to make up as much as 10 per cent of spending for Medicare, the US taxpayer-funded healthcare programme for the elderly and disabled. Now investigators are embracing big-data analysis and have collected $19.2bn over five years from recoveries, asset seizures and fines. (FT)

Regulating yoga

Narendra Modi has appointed a minister of yoga and the Indian government is trying to establish correct ways to strike a pose . The Atlantic examines whether yoga, like champagne, can be given a geographic indication and whether India can claim a slice of the industry, worth $10m in the US.

The cancer threat to China’s economy

Asia’s biggest economy has the world’s largest number of cancer cases and deaths, driven by an ageing population, environmental pollution and lifestyle changes. If current trends continue, cancer could cost China about $5.6tn in lost output from 2012 to 2030. (Bloomberg)

Video of the day:

Dr Copper’s guide to the oil glut

Cheap oil is being treated as mainly supply-driven and good news for developed economies but copper has been sliding for several years at a much more sedate pace, suggesting demand shortage and underlying weakness in the global economy. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Amie Tsang is a Journalist at Financial Times.

Image: Soldiers stand by tourists as they patrol near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, May 8, 2013. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes.