Astrazeneca must “catch up” warns EU
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said Astrazeneca “has to honour the contract” with the EU before it exports covid-19 vaccines outside of the bloc. “The company has to catch up”, she said following a video meeting of EU leaders. Von der Leyen said the slow pace of vaccination in the EU was due to manufacturer delays. However, her statement was a warning, as EU leaders did not take any formal action. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, later replied that an export ban would not be “sensible”. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, Courthouse News Service, ITV News and Reuters.
Juncker blasts potential export ban
Jean-Claude Juncker, the former Luxembourg prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen’s predecessor as European Commission president, said the EU should avoid a “stupid vaccine war” with the UK. A covid-19 jab export ban would “create major reputation damage” for the bloc, Juncker said ahead of EU leader talks. Interview: BBC. Summaries: The Guardian, Press Association and Telegraph.
Biden issues new vaccination goal
The US president, Joe Biden, doubled his covid-19 jab objective to 200m inoculations by his 100th day in office. (Biden met his original objective of 100m doses on his 58th day in office.) Speaking at his debut White House press conference, Biden also denied there was a migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border and said he would run for re-election in 2024. Sources: BBC, DW, Financial Times and NPR.
No vacation tests for Luxembourg residents
The health department told doctors not to prescribe PCR tests to patients planning their holidays. Pre-travel covid-19 tests will no longer be available through the large-scale testing system either. Instead, travellers will have to pay for their own tests at a private lab. Sources: Paperjam, RTL and 100,7.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
Out of 11,753 PCR tests conducted on 24 March, 298 Luxembourg residents were positive. That is a rate of 47.60 per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 42.48 on 17 March). The reproduction rate was 1.09, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 1.13). There were 124 covid-19 patients in hospital (compared to 120), including 20 in intensive care (compared to 23). Eight people died due to the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the national total to 736. A cumulative 80,328 vaccine doses have been administered, including 19,302 people who have received two doses. Sources: Delano and health ministry.
Lenert released from hospital
Luxembourg’s health minister, Paulette Lenert (LSAP), is resting at home after a brief stay in hospital. Lenert was found unwell by police after her driver could not locate her. Sources: Delano, Paperjam and 100,7.
Navalny says he’s being tortured
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said he’s suffering from sleep deprivation, as prison guards wake him up every hour during the night. The prison service said his health was satisfactory. Sources: DW, Financial Times, France 24 and Reuters.
Cotton concerns lead to China backlash
Western clothing and footwear brands including Burberry, H&M and Nike are being boycotted in China after the firms said they were “concerned” about using cotton from the Chinese region of Xinjiang because of alleged human rights abuse. Sources: BBC, CNN, Financial Times and NPR.
NZ passes miscarriage bereavement leave
New Zealand’s parliament approved paid leave following a miscarriage or stillbirth for working mothers and their partners. Sources: BBC, CNBC, Radio New Zealand and RTE.
“It might take weeks” to reopen Suez Canal
Experts have warned the Suez Canal--currently blocked by the Ever Given, a massive container ship which ran aground--could remain shut for weeks. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and NPR.
Bil sells its fund administration unit
Banque Internationale à Luxembourg has sold its BIL Fund & Corporate Services business to the fund and corporate services outfit Zedra. Sources: Paperjam and Wealth Briefing.
Esma issues fund liquidity report
Following a lengthy review of retail investment funds, the European Securities and Markets Authority found “scope for improvement in liquidity management”. Sources: Financial Times and Funds Europe.
KKR & BMG to pursue music deals together
Private equity outfit KKR and German music publisher BMG are forming an ‘alliance’ to purchase the back catalogues of music stars, such the separate deals that BMG struck with Mick Fleetwood and KKR with Ryan Tedder earlier this year. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Telegraph and Variety.
Agenda
Saturday 27-Sunday 28 March: Relais pour la vie (relay race for life) in support of cancer survivors and those close to them. Tuesday 30 March, 10am: Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry’s “Why diversity matters” conference. Tuesday 30 March, 4pm-5:30pm: “Luxembourg and Wisconsin: The Future of Banking” online conference. Wednesday 31 March, 6pm-7pm: Amcham’s “Post-Brexit implications” for the financial sector conference. Thursday 2 April, 10am-11am: Luxinnovation webinar to present the “Meet the zebras” campaign, which promotes the creative services industry.
Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed
Environment: A study found that fishing fleets trawling ocean floors release as much carbon into the atmosphere as the entire aviation industry, per The Guardian. Psychology: This Scientific American article, headlined “People Literally Don’t Know When to Shut Up—or Keep Talking—Science Confirms”, describes studies that “found that conversations almost never end when both parties want them to” and participants would have preferred a conversation that was “about half of its actual length.” Scientific ethics: “Camille Noûs”, a fake scientist created to protest French research funding rules, has co-authored 180 papers published in academic journals (in topics ranging from astrophysics to molecular biology), per Science magazine. Space exploration: Three previously unknown strains of bacteria have been found growing on the International Space Station, per CNN. Space exploration: A recent paper posits that 30%-99% of original water on Mars can still be found in its crust (as opposed to the prevailing theory that it mostly evaporated), per The Register.
Bertrand Tavernier
The French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier--best known for directing The Watchmaker of St. Paul, A Sunday in the Country and Round Midnight--died at the age of 79. Sources: AFP, BBC, The Guardian and Variety.
Why Netflix renews or cancels a show
Netflix apparently looks at how many viewers watch and complete episodes during the first 28 days after release to determine which shows get picked up, particularly after the second season, according to Wired.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald