Washington to ban US investments in more Chinese firms

Joe Biden extended an executive order, originally issued by Donald Trump, to block Americans from investing in 59 Chinese companies involved in defence and surveillance technologies, starting on 2 August. The list includes telecommunications firms like Huawei. Trump originally banned investment in 31 outfits, which Washington claimed helped aid human rights violations. Beijing has previously denied such allegations. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, New York Times and South China Morning Post.

Cyprus could block Biden’s global corporate tax plan

The Cypriot finance minister said his government would block EU participation in Joe Biden’s proposal that multinational firms pay a minimum 15% tax rate worldwide. Cyprus (and Ireland) have a 12.5% corporate tax rate. Sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian and Law360.

Biden could drop part of his own corporate tax plan

Joe Biden reportedly told Republicans that he would drop the minimum US corporate tax rate to 15% in order to gain support for his $1trn infrastructure spending plans. Biden originally proposed raising the rate on domestic profits from the current rate of 21% to 28%. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, Reuters and Washington Post.

ECJ rejects Budapest request to overrule MEPs

The European Court of Justice dismissed a Hungarian government challenge to a European Parliament resolution charging that Budapest violated EU rule of law standards. Hungary could potentially lose its EU voting rights. Sources: DW, Euronews, The Guardian and Politico.

ECJ reprimands Berlin for air pollution

The EU’s top court said Germany broke European law by “systematically and persistently” permitting excessive NO2 emissions in several cities. Sources: AP, DW, Euractiv and Financial Times.

ECJ rules in favour of Tesco staff in equal pay case

Europe’s top court said the (mostly female) shop workers at the British supermarket chain Tesco could proceed with their £2.5bn claim that they are unfairly paid less than (mostly male) distribution centre employees. Tesco has argued that the roles are different. The EU’s employment equality laws still apply in the UK. Sources: BBC, CityAM, Financial Times and Sky News.

Biltgen officially gets new term at ECJ

François Biltgen has been formally reappointed as Luxembourg’s judge at the European Court of Justice. The former justice minister’s current six-year term expires in October. Source: Paperjam.

EU and UK agree on fishing rights

Brussels and London have inked a deal on post-Brexit management of fish stocks, although it does not include the contentious issue of fishing rights around Jersey. Sources: Bloomberg, Express, Financial Times and Telegraph.

Macron drops pension reform

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, took his controversial pension overhaul--which led to months of protests and strikes--off the table, at least in its current form, citing the coronavirus crisis. Sources: Reuters and RFI.

Copenhagen to send asylum seekers outside of Europe

The Danish parliament passed a bill allowing asylum centres to be set up outside of the EU, earning criticism from the European Commission, UN and NGOs. Sources: BBC, DW, Financial Times and France 24.

Global food prices jump

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said its food price index for May recorded the highest increase since 2011. Sources: AFP, Bloomberg, Financial Times and Reuters.

AMC stock sinks by 18% after share sale

The American cinema chain AMC, which was teetering on bankruptcy a few months ago, raised more than $500m from a fresh share sale. Its shares have surged on the back of social media chatter. AMC also offered shareholders free popcorn. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian.

Amundi exec blasts bitcoin bubble

Pascal Blanque, chief investment officer of the asset manager Amundi, called cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin a “farce”. Source: Reuters.

Ant Group gets Chinese consumer finance license 

Chinese regulators approved a plan by Ant Group, part of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, to set up a consumer finance unit, apparently marking an end to the conglomerate’s problems with officialdom. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and South China Morning Post.

Natixis/H2O splitup pushed back

Natixis Investment Managers said it would delay the disposal of its 50% stake in H2O Asset Management and revise the terms of the deal following a meeting with French financial regulators. Source: Citywire.

Ackman could take Universal Music public via Spac deal

Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, the billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman’s blanque-cheque firm, is reportedly close to buying a 10% stake in Universal Music. The Spac transaction would value Universal Music at $40bn. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and Reuters.

Spire gets more Lux gov business

Luxembourg’s government has awarded three new contracts to Spire, the nano- and microsatellite operator. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.

Twitter adds paid features

Twitter has introduced its first subscription product, which includes an almost (but not quite) tweet editing tool. Initially it will only be available in Australia and Canada. Sources: AFP, BBC, CNBC and Reuters.

Zalando staff get 5 extra days off as pandemic thanks

The online retailer Zalando is granting paid leave to all employees (from 2-6 August) as a reward for their performance during the covid crisis. Source: Reuters.

Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update

Out of 6,881 PCR tests conducted on 2 June, 61 Luxembourg residents were positive. That is a rate of 9.61 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 12.60 on 26 May). The effective reproduction rate was 0.88, below the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 0.60). There were 16 covid-19 patients in hospital (compared to 32), including 3 in intensive care (compared to 15). No one died due to the coronavirus on Wednesday, leaving the national total at 818 deaths. A cumulative 364,909 jabs have been administered in the grand duchy, including 138,830 people who have received all required doses. Source: Luxembourg health ministry. More: Delano.

Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed

Animal behaviour: Researchers found that primates adapt the “accent” in their calls when they want to communicate with neighbouring species, per The Guardian. Cross-discipline research: Geomythologists are investigating how ancient folk tales might contain scientifically significant observations, per the BBC. Psychology: Cognitive science explains why novelty makes us happy, per GQ. Psychology: A study found that, when problem solving, people prefer adding things even though removing things would be better, per Nature. Space junk: The Canadian Space Agency said a piece of orbiting debris punctured the International Space Station’s titanium robotic arm, although it was still operational, per CNN.

Luxembourg’s Cannes entry

Luxembourg co-production “The Restless” will represent the grand duchy’s film industry at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in July. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.

Now boarding...

Easyjet said it is “investigating” how a passenger who thought she was flying from Manchester to Belfast ended up on a flight that landed in Gibraltar. Source: BBC.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald