Astrazeneca to re-release trial data
Pharmaceutical giant Astrazenca said it would publish complete data on a US clinical trial of its covid-19 vaccine by Thursday. The move came after an independent advisory board warned the pharmaceutical firm’s 79% efficacy claim, made on Monday, “may have included outdated information”. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, Marketwatch, Reuters and RTE.
EU preparing to tighten vaccine export rules
The European Commission is expected to outline wider restrictions on covid-19 vaccine exports today. The proposed rules would give Brussels the power to block shipments to countries that import vaccines from the EU but do not ship their own production to the bloc. Sources: Financial Times, The Guardian, Politico and Reuters.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
Out of 10,145 PCR tests conducted on 22 March, 165 Luxembourg residents were positive. That is a rate of 26.35 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 29.55 on 15 March). The reproduction rate was 1.11, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 1.04). There were 130 covid-19 patients in hospital (compared to 128), including 21 in intensive care (compared to 26). Seven people died due to the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the national total to 726. A cumulative 75,532 vaccine doses have been administered, including 18,126 people who have received two doses. Source: health ministry.
Re-opening terraces on cabinet agenda
Luxembourg’s cabinet will debate re-opening outdoor seating areas when it meets this afternoon. Xavier Bettel, the prime minister (DP), and Paulette Lenert, the health minister (LSAP), will hold a press conference following the cabinet meeting, sometime after 3:30pm. Sources: Paperjam and RTL.
Fast school tests in pilot phase
Rapid antigen tests, that can be self-administered by students, will be trialled soon in four primary and two high schools in the grand duchy. Sources: 100,7 and Delano.
Israel deadlocked again after elections
Exit polls show another stalemate after Israelis voted for the fourth time in two years. On present course, PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies will have between 52 and 54 out of the 61 seats needed to form a government. Final results will be available later this week. Sources: BBC, DW, Financial Times and Haaretz.
Blinken wants to boost Nato
Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, pledge to strengthen transatlantic ties during his first official visit to Brussels. Blinken said: “The US wants to rebuild our partnerships, first and foremost with our Nato allies. We want to revitalise the alliance.” Sources: DW, Euractiv, Financial Times and Reuters.
EU-China trade deal under pressure
Increasing tensions between Beijing and Brussels could threaten passage of the new EU-China investment deal, European Commission officials and MEPs have warned. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, Politico and Reuters.
Suez Canal blocked
The Ever Given--a 220,000-tonne, 400 metre-long container ship--ran aground in the Suez Canal, causing a massive traffic jam as ships wait to pass through one of the world’s major shipping arteries. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times and The Guardian.
BA owner mortgages Heathrow slots
IAG, which owns British Airways, has pledged its Heathrow and Gatwick take-off and landing slots in order to secure $1.8bn in financing. Sources: CityAM, Financial Times, Irish Times and the Telegraph.
Zoom-free Fridays at Citi
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser banned internal video calls on Fridays and encouraged staff to set better work-life balance boundaries. The bank employs 210,000 worldwide. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and the Telegraph.
Amazon rehires exec to lead AWS
Adam Selipsky has been named head of Amazon Web Services. Selipsky was the unit’s number two under Andy Jassy until leaving the firm in 2016. Selipsky replaces Jassy, who will become Amazon CEO after Jeff Bezos steps aside. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and Reuters.
Music industry records record-breaking revenue
Total revenue in the global music industry rose by 7.4% last year, to $21.6bn, according to the IFPI trade group. Sources: BBC, Billboard, Financial Times and Variety.
Intel to invest $20bn on new chip plants
Chipmaker Intel will spend $20bn to build a pair of new factories in the US, as it aims to compete in the foundry (outsourced chip manufacturing) business with world leaders TSMC and Samsung. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters and The Verge.
Robinhood plans IPO
The stock trading app Robinhood filed confidential papers for an initial public offering in the US. Terms were not disclosed. Robinhood offers free trades and has been at the centre of a market volatility controversy driven by retail investor chatter on social media. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and Reuters.
Prince Harry joins Silicon Valley startup
Betterup, a San Francisco-based outfit which provides “proactive coaching” and mental health services, has appointed the Duke of Sussex as its new chief impact officer. Sources: CNBC, CNN, The Guardian, and Wall Street Journal.
Partial unemployment down only slightly
More than 30,000 Luxembourg employees will be on the short-time working scheme next month. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.
British export figures show sharp drop
Imports of British food and drink products into Luxembourg (and the entire EU) cratered in January 2021, according to the UK Food and Drink Federation. Sources: Bloomberg, Delano, Euractiv and The Guardian.
Brussels OKs Vietnamese insect-based food imports
Vietnam has been granted authorisation to export edible insects into the EU, the fifth country to get such permission. Sources: The Independent and Voice of Vietnam.
Agenda
Wednesday 24 March, 12noon-2pm: House of Entrepreneurship workshop on Amazon, Shopfiy and other e-commerce platforms. Wednesday 24 March, 6pm: British Chamber of Commerce’s “Post-Brexit, continuing pandemic” legal webinar. Thursday 25 March, 10am-12noon: Cluster for Logistics’ “Clean fuels in transportation: Is the use of hydrogen a priority” hybrid conference. Saturday 27-Sunday 28 March: Luxembourg’s annual young scientists competition. Tuesday 30 March, 4pm-5:15pm: Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s “Luxembourg for Swiss fund managers? Yes or no?” online panel.
It’s K-K-K-Ken! C-c-c-coming to s-s-s-sell me the blockchain!
The actor John Cleese has joined the non-fungible token craze, offering to sell a (what Delano would describe as hastily drawn) sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge for $69,346,250.50. Bidding ends on 2 April. Sources: The Register, Vanity Fair and The Verge.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald