France won’t cut fuel prices in face of protest
Bloomberg reports that French prime minister Edouard Philippe has told French TV that his government will not bow to the so-called gilet jaunes protestors. “We didn’t impose fuel taxes for the pleasure of annoying the French, but because we want to tax carbon more than labour,” Philippe said. He was responding to mass protests on Saturday by the “yellow vests” movement which saw around 287,000 demonstrators block traffic around the country. One woman died and 106 people were injured, five seriously, The Guardian reports. The movement plans further protests on 24 November and maybe in early December according to Le Figaro (in French).
May says leadership challenge would delay Brexit
Theresa May has said that a contest for the leadership of her Conservative Party would “risk that Brexit gets delayed or frustrated.” In an interview with Sky News, May said that the “next seven days are critical” for Brexit, referring to planned meetings in Brussels this week ahead of an EU summit to endorse the deal on 25 November.
CBI to support May deal
The Confederation of British Industry will announce its backing of Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the EU, The Guardian reports. CBI president John Allan is due to address its annual conference in London on Monday. He will acknowledge how hard it has been to reach a deal that “respects the result of the referendum and minimises damage” to the UK economy. Allen will say that the agreement unveiled by May “most importantly…avoids the wrecking ball that would be a no-deal departure.”
Corbyn says Labour has alternative
At the same CBI meeting, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is expected to say that his party has a “good Brexit plan”. According to The Guardian, the opposition leader will claim that this “sensible” approach would be a catalyst for investment and would bring “good jobs and real control to local communities and people.”
APEC leaders fail to agree
In an unprecedented move, leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit did not issue a joint statement at the climax of their meeting. The summit ended in Papua New Guinea on Sunday with China and the United States showing signs of deep divisions, CNBC reports.
EU considers foreign investment alert system
Amid mounting concern about national security risks tied to foreign investment, particularly by China, the EU looks likely to introduce legislation to screen foreign direct investments, Bloomberg reports. The law would create an alert mechanism but wouldn’t remove any sovereign decision-making regarding investment.
Rise in Chinese defaults on US debt
CNBC says that the rising cost of borrowing and a weakening Chinese yuan could see more and more Chinese companies default on their debts issued in U.S. dollars. Defaults on Chinese offshore corporate dollar bonds have already totalled $3.4 billion this year, compared with none in 2017, according to research by Japanese bank Nomura.
Wombats’ cube poo secret unveiled
Wombat intestines stretch unevenly to produce the animal’s unique cube-like faeces, researchers have discovered. “It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process,” said Patricia Yang, a postdoctoral fellow in mechanical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, according to The Guardian.
Sports roundup
After they defeated the All Blacks in Dublin on Saturday, Ireland can claim to have the best rugby team in the world, says the New Zealand Herald, while The Guardian wonders who can stop the Irish winning next year’s World Cup. England and Switzerland produced come from behind victories to progress to the semi-finals of the Nations League. Luxembourg could only draw in Moldova. Germany’s Alexander Zverev beat Novak Djokovic to win the ATP Masters--a significant results says Boris Becker for the BBC.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts.