Facebook monopoly case dismissed

Facebook’s market capitalisation surpassed $1trn on Monday after a US judge threw out two antitrust cases that had potentially threatened a breakup of the firm. The cases, filed by the Federal Trade Commission and several state attorneys general, alleged that Facebook had a monopoly on the social networking market. But the judge ruled that authorities had not shown Facebook was engaged in anti-competitive behaviour. Sources: Bloomberg, Cnet, CNBC, FT, New York Times and Reuters.

Juul to pay $40m settlement

The e-cigarette outfit Juul will pay the US state of North Carolina $40m and promised to change its marketing practices to settle claims that it targeted teenagers. Juul said that is was combatting underage vaping. Sources: BBC, CNBC, FT and NPR.

Brussels OKs press aid scheme

The European Commission approved a revamp of Luxembourg’s press subsidy programme, which is currently pending in parliament. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.

Luxembourg finances less impacted by crisis than previously thought

“The negative effects of the covid-19 crisis are weaker than initially expected and Luxembourg’s economic situation appears very favourable” compared to other European countries, the public finance watchdog CNFP reported. Sources: L’essentiel and Paperjam.

EU disperses first covid recovery funds 

The European Commission handed out the initial €800m tranche of the NextGenerationEU economic stimulus scheme to 16 member states, including France, Germany and the Netherlands (but not Luxembourg). Sources: Euronews, @JHahnEU and Reuters.

EU says UK data rules are adequate 

The European Commission agreed that Britains’s data protection rules are “adequate”, allowing personal data to continue to be exchanged between the EU and UK following Brexit. Brussels can revoke the approval at any time. Sources: CNBC, Euractiv, The Guardian and RTE.

Binance banned in UK

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority told Binance, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, that was not authorised to operate in the UK. The Financial Times reported that customer withdrawals had been blocked. More sources: BBC, CNBC and Quartz.

UK watchdog starts Greensill and Wyelands Bank probes

Britain’s accountancy regulator said it would investigate Saffery Champness’s audit of Greensill, the supply chain finance outfit that collapsed earlier this year, and PWC’s audit of Wyelands Bank, owned by Greensill’s flagship customer. Both auditors said they were fully cooperating with the reviews. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian and Reuters.

UBS adopts hybrid working

The Swiss banking giant UBS will allow around two-thirds of its staff to permanently mix working from home and from the office. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, FT and Reuters.

Bundesbank boss wants ECB to scale back bond buying

Jens Weidmann, the head of Germany’s central bank, called on the European Central Bank to taper its purchases of euro zone bonds, warning of inflationary pressures. Sources: Bloomberg, FT and Reuters.

Deutsche Bank settles Spanish winemaker forex dispute

Deutsche Bank has reportedly paid €10m in compensation to the Spanish winemaker J García-Carrión to close complaints that the German lender had mis-sold exotic foreign exchange derivatives. Sources: Bloomberg, CityAM and FT.

NGOs question Samsung ESG claims

Samsung Electronics is lagging on its renewable energy pledges, according to Greenpeace and Solutions for Our Climate. Samsung did not comment. Sources: AFP and FT.

Ethiopian leaders announce Tigray truce

Ethiopia’s government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the Tigray region after rebel fighters recaptured Mekelle, the regional capital. Sources: DW, The Guardian, NPR and Reuters.

Mexico’s top court rejects cannabis ban

The Mexican supreme court struck down the country’s prohibition on recreational marijuana use. Sources: AFP, BBC, DPA and The Guardian.

Swedish PM resigns

Stefan Löfven, Sweden’s prime minister, submitted his resignation after he was unable to form a new government following a no confidence vote last week. Löfven asked parliamentary leaders to create a new coalition instead of calling a snap election. Sources: CNN, DW, The Guardian and Politico.

Hong Kong bans UK flights

Passenger flights between Hong Kong and the UK will be cut starting on Thursday 1 July, after Hong Kong’s government declared the UK an “extremely high risk” country due to the Delta covid variant. Sources: AFP, AP, Quartz and SCMP.

‘Robust’ results in mix-and-match vaccine study

A UK study found that switching between the Astrazeneca and Pfizer covid jabs for the first and second doses creates a strong immune response. Sources: BBC, CNBC, New York Times and Sky News.

Here are 21 science & technology stories you may have missed

Animals: Researchers are trying to find out why lobsters do not get cancer, per Science magazine. Animals: Biologists discovered brown tree snakes in Guam form a circle to hoist themselves up trees to catch birds, per Smithsonian magazine. Animals: A study of Indian jumping ants found that worker ants in contention to be the next queen shrink their brains by 25% and increase egg capacity by 700%, and the process is reversible, per Popular Science. Animals: Researchers found that corvids did not fall for most sleight-of-hand magic tricks used by magicians to fool humans, per The Register. Archaeology: Researchers in central France found the 2,000-year-old remains of a child buried with what appears to be their pet puppy, per The Guardian. Astronomy: Researchers have identified 2,000 solar systems where aliens could conceivably detect Earth, per Nature. Astronomy: Researchers have identified about 100 celestial objects that have disappeared from the night sky since 1949, which could potentially help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, per Popular Science. Automotive mythbuster: Adding sugar to a gas tank does not in fact destroy a car’s engine, per Popular Mechanics. Biology: While we sleep, our brains get washed by cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid surrounding our brains, possibly to remove toxins, per Popular Science. Biology: “There are a couple of studies that kind of contradict, but my group found that the more meat you consume the more pleasant your BO smells,” a researcher told the BBC. Biology: A microscopic worm has come back to life after being frozen for 24,000 years in Siberia, per CNN and Reuters. Geography: US mapmakers formally said the world has a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, per National Geographic. Health: A trial found that a drug called olaparib greatly improves the survival rate of women with hereditary breast cancer, per the Financial Times and The Guardian. Health: Researchers found that stress does indeed cause hair to turn grey, but, more surprisingly, removing stress can reverse the process, per The Register. Health: The psoas muscles, which connect your lower back and hips, are some of the most important muscles that “no one’s talking about,” per GQ. Medicine: Psilocybin, the hallucinogenic substance found in magic mushrooms, is being used to treat phantom limb pain, per GQ. Nutrition: Researchers found that online grocery shoppers buy less junk food, per The Register. Palaeontology: Researchers in Australia confirmed discovery of a dinosaur that was roughly 25m-30m long (twice the length of Tyrannosaurus rex) and 5m-6m tall, per ABC and NPR. Psychology: Bob Nygaard, a former New York police officer, is “the only person in the [US] investigating psychic fraud full-time,” per GQ. Space: Voyager 1, which was launched in 1977 and left our solar system in 2012, is still providing scientists with valuable data, although it is expected to run out of power in 2025, per CNN and The Register. Space: Nasa plans to rent out the International Space Station to holidaymakers starting next year, with a 2 week stay setting a couple back roughly $15m, per The Register and Space.com.

Football: Swiss surprise French

Switzerland secured a last minute 5-4 upset victory over world champions France in the Euro 2020 round of 16. Sources: AFP, BBC, DW and The Guardian.

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Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald