Biden has “no doubt” and Trump repeats incorrect claims
“We have no doubt that when the count is over Senator [Kamala] Harris and I will be declared the winners,” Joe Biden said on Thursday, per the BBC, Financial Times and The Guardian. “I ask everyone to stay calm. The process is working. Democracy is sometimes messy. It sometimes requires a little patience as well,” Biden stated. Donald Trump repeated what NPR noted were false claims of voter fraud and that he had won the election, even though ballot counting continues. Arizona’s top election official told CNBC that “there is absolutely no merit to any claims of widespread voter fraud”. Legal experts told Reuters that Trump’s court challenges were unlikely to change the election outcome.
More on the US presidential elections
Path to victory: CNBC, the Financial Times and The Guardian outline what Biden and Trump each need in order to win the presidency. Latest vote counts: Financial Times and NPR. Stay updated: Delano’s election ticker.
Denmark imposes lockdown in mink region
The Danish government tightened restrictions in northern Jutland following the outbreak in the region’s mink farms of a mutant form of the covid-19 virus, which can spread to humans. 17m animals will be culled. Sources: AFP/The Local, BBC, Deutsche Welle and The Guardian.
Canadians banned, Singaporeans welcome in Luxembourg
Luxembourg’s government said residents of Canada, Georgia and Tunisia would not be able to enter the grand duchy starting 9 November. At the same time, it added Singapore to the list of authorised countries. The temporary restrictions end on 31 December. Source: Luxembourg foreign ministry.
Latest Luxembourg coronavirus numbers
Six more people have died due to covid-19, bringing the total in the grand duchy to 177 deaths. Out of 11,981 PCR tests performed on Wednesday, 803 Luxembourg residents were positive. That is a rate of 128.25 positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 215 patients in hospital, including 36 in intensive care. The reproduction rate was 1.00 (the benchmark threshold). Source: Luxembourg health ministry.
Possible pandemic measures today
Luxembourg’s cabinet meets later today and could announce further coronavirus restrictions this afternoon. Hospitalisations have been steadily rising since early October. Background: Paperjam.
Hospitals under pressure
Luxembourg hospitals are close to moving to ‘phase 4’ of the government’s covid plan, which means they would not provide non-essential and most non-covid treatment. The health minister, Paulette Lenert (LSAP), said hospital capacity is approaching its “absolute limit”. Sources: 100,7 public radio and RTL.
Coronavirus vaccine data possible within weeks
Astrazeneca said it expects to release trial results for its covid-19 vaccine, which it is developing with Oxford University, “later this year”. Sources: Barron’s, CNBC and Financial Times.
Fed holds steady
The US Federal Reserve said it would keep its benchmark interest rate (0%-0.25%) and government bond buying ($120bn per month) policies unchanged. Fed chair Jay Powell said the global rise in coronavirus cases was “particularly concerning” but the uncertain US election outcome had not been a “central focus” of Fed meetings. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times and Reuters.
BoE steps up purchases
The Bank of England kept its main lending rate at 0.1% and expanded its asset purchase goal to £895bn. Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank would “do everything we can” to support the UK economy. Sources: BBC, CNBC and Reuters.
Kosovo president steps down after indictment
The president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, resigned and has been detained in The Hague, where he will war crimes charges stemming from the country’s war with Serbia in the 1990s. Thaci denies the allegations. Sources: BBC, The Guardian and Politico.
$1bn in bitcoin seized
US authorities have frozen $1bn in bitcoin as part of the investigation into the Silk Road illicit marketplace that it shut down in 2013. Sources: BBC, CNBC and Wired.
Natixis looking to cut H2O links
The French investment bank Natixis will ‘unwind its partnership’ with, and possibly sell its 50% stake in, the controversial asset manager H2O. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial News and Financial Times.
Lufthansa faces “hard and challenging” winter
The German airline Lufthansa said it lost €2bn in the third quarter and plans thousands of redundancies as the pandemic has hit its business hard. Source: AFP, Bloomberg and Deutsche Welle.
Luxair job-saving agreement
Luxembourg’s national carrier Luxair and the LCGB trade union reached a deal to retrain staff instead of making redundancies. Source: Delano.
Agenda
Friday 6 November, 10am-5pm: University of Luxembourg student career fair. Friday 6 November, 9pm: English standup comedy night in the Gare district. Friday 6-Sunday 8 November: Vintage clothing sale at Luxexpo. Monday 9 November, 12noon: American and British chambers hosts a personal tax info session. Wednesday 18 November, 10am-11am: Step Benelux webinar on ultimate beneficial owner register rules.
Here are 5 US elections stories you may have missed
Consumer rights: Voters in Massachusetts said car owners had the right to access their vehicle’s data, per Engadget and Techcrunch. Drugs: Voters in several states eased restrictions on marijuana, per CNBC, and Oregon voters decriminalised all personal drug use, per GQ. Labour law: Voters in California said gig workers like Uber drivers and food deliverers were “independent contractors” and not employees, per CNN and Recode. Privacy, part 1: Californians voted in favour of stricter data protection rules and the creation of a state agency to enforce them, per The Register and Vox. Privacy, part 2: Voters in Portland, Maine, banned the use of facial recognition technology by local police and city agencies, per Cnet and The Verge.
Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed
Health: Apparently size matters, as researchers found that relatively larger droplets were much more likely than finer aerosol particles to successfully carry the coronavirus that causes covid-19 to a new person, per Popular Science. Physics: Researchers successfully prototyped a laser that operates in the terahertz band (between infrared light and microwaves) that potentially could be used for medical scans and security checks, per Science magazine. Physics: There is no “butterfly effect” in quantum mechanical systems, researchers concluded, which is possibly good news for quantum computing and any future time-travellers, per The Economist. Primatology: Chimpanzees, like humans, cut down on their socialising as they get older, per The Guardian. Space exploration: Nasa has reconnected with the Voyager 2 probe, now roughly 18.75bn kilometres away from Earth, after its transmitter was offline for 8 months, per The Register.
This week’s property listing
Sean Connery’s former villa in the Côte d’Azur is on the market for €30m.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald
Correction: This morning, the rate of tests conducted per 100,000 inhabitants was mistakenly used in place of the rate of positive tests. This was updated on Friday at 4pm.