George Floyd memorial service
Hundreds mourned George Floyd during a memorial service. Rev Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, called on White America to “get your knee off our necks” in his eulogy. Floyd’s killing on 25 May caused sometimes violent and sometimes peaceful protests in cities across the US. Four police officers have been charged. They have not entered pleas; three have been released on bail. Sources: Associated Press, BBC, The Guardian, NPR, Reuters and RTE.
US jobless claims grow, but slightly slower
Nearly 1.9m Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, down from 2.1m the previous week, bringing the total since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak to more than 42.6m. The US unemployment rate, which will be released later today, is expected to hit 20%. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, Marketwatch and NPR.
ECB expands pandemic bond buying
The European Central Bank said it would buy €600bn more in bonds in a bid to boost the Eurozone’s virus-hit economy, bringing the total to €1.35trn this year. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian.
Luxembourg covid-19 economic aid
The grand duchy’s government granted short-time employment support to 14,473 companies, representing 351,561 employees, amounting to €780m, as of 4 June. It has granted €122m in various business support schemes, as of 3 June. Source: Economy ministry.
Berlin details economic recovery plan
The German government announced a €130bn economic stimulus package, including a €300 per child cash grant to families, lower VAT and higher subsidies for electric cars. Sources: BBC, CNN, Financial Times and Politico.
Merkel says she’s not running again
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, squashed speculation that she would stand for a 5th term in 2021. Sources: AFP, Associated Press and Deutsche Welle.
Google data centre document still secret
Luxembourg’s government gave parliament a copy of the previously confidential memorandum of understanding between the state, Bissen commune and Google for the construction of a data centre. But the document will not be released to the public. Sources: Paperjam and Radio 100,7.
Trump and Biden campaigns targeted by hackers
Google said hackers from China targeted Joe Biden’s US presidential campaign team and hackers from Iran went after Donald Trump’s campaign. The Chinese embassy in Washington and Iranian mission in New York did not reply to media requests for comment. Sources: Financial Times, NPR, Reuters and Techcrunch.
Musk calls for Amazon breakup
The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, called for Amazon to be split up, calling it a monopoly, after Amazon temporarily blocked Musk’s self-published book about covid-19. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Seeking Alpha and Wall Street Journal.
Mixed news from Slack
Earnings: First quarter revenue grew by 50%, but shares in the workplace messaging app Slack fell by 15% after the pandemic lockdown left it outpaced by rival Zoom. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times and Marketwatch. Deals: Amazon employees will switch to Slack and Slack will resell Amazon calling services as part of a new partnership struck on Thursday. Sources: CNBC, CNN and Seeking Alpha.
Tiananmen vigil in HK despite ban
Thousands of Hongkongers attended the annual memorial service to mark the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown despite police blocking the event due to covid-19. Sources: CNN, Hong Kong Free Press, RTE and South China Morning Post.
Banks support HK security law
HSBC and Standard Chartered, two of the three big banks that issue Hong Kong’s currency, publicly backed Beijing’s controversial national security law for the territory. Sources: BBC, CNN, Financial Times and Hong Kong Free Press.
Bike subsidies boosted
Luxembourg’s government has double subsidies for bicycles and electric bikes. The “Clever Fueren” scheme will cover up to 50% of the purchase price up to €600 until 31 March 2021. Source: Environment ministry.
Car body objects to electric car goal
The House of Automobile, an industry group, criticised the proposal by Claude Turmes, the energy minister (Green party), that company vehicle fleets should go 100% electric. The association called the plan “cavalier” and proposed a progressive switch to electric vehicles. Source: Press release (link not available).
Study on controversial drug retracted
The Lancet medical journal has withdrawn a paper that questioned the safety of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, malaria drugs, when treating covid-19, citing issues with the data used in the study. Sources: Associated Press, Euronews, Marketwatch and Stat News.
Luxembourg latest covid-19 situation
Just 3 out of 2,893 people tested for covid-19 during the 24 hours to Thursday evening in Luxembourg have been positive, per the health ministry. The number of active infections fell by a fifth, to 43. More: Delano.
National Day celebrations to be scaled back
The annual military parade to mark National Day, celebrated on 22-23 June, has been cancelled due to covid-19. Source: Paperjam.
Agenda
Friday 5 June, 2pm: Demonstration for justice in front of the US embassy. Monday 8 June, 12:00noon-1:30pm: Amcham’s “Digital workplace culture – the future is now!” luncheon webinar. Tuesday 9 June, 5pm-5:30pm: ING and TEDxLuxembourgCity’s online “Coffee with Tessy Antony de Nassau”, a social entrepreneurship advocate and former Luxembourg royal. Wednesday 10 June, 9:30am-11:30am: Luxflag sustainable finance webinar on “Navigating through the complex world of ESG data: what is reliable, correct and meets investor demand?” Wednesday 10 June, 5pm-5:30pm: The EIB Institute’s financial management training series continues with a session on developing a business model.
Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed
Archaeology: A 3000 year old Mayan structure was discovered in Mexico using lidar (laser measurement) technology, per National Geographic. Geology: The magnetic North Pole has shifted from Canada towards Siberia, probably due to movement of molten iron in Earth’s outer core, per Popular Mechanics. Space exploration: The Register has video of the Hayabusa 2 probe landing on the asteroid Ryugu (which is mysteriously red); the spacecraft will return to Earth with samples in December. Space exploration: In a new book, “Alien Oceans”, a Nasa astrobiologist explains how and why scientists are searching for extraterrestrial life, per Observer.com. Thermodynamics: A theoretical physicist explains the new field called “quantum steampunk” (really) in Scientific American.
Feline furnishings
People are buying Ikea doll beds for their cats, per Bored Panda.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald