France parliament passes digital tax anyway
The French senate passed a controversial 3% turnover tax on big digital firms on Thursday, despite the US saying on Wednesday it would start an investigation that could lead to retaliation. The tax applies to around 30 companies, mainly US giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, and one French online advertising firm. Paris says the tax complies with its international agreements. Amazon “applauded” the Trump administration for taking action. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and the Guardian.
Dow passes 27,000 mark and S&P hits 2,999.91
US stock markets closed on record highs, after the Trump administration cancelled plans to force pharmaceutical companies to give discounts to American patients and the US Federal Reserve chair hinted at interest rate cuts. Sources: CNBC, CNN and the Wall Street Journal.
Opioid maker agrees to settlement
The pharmaceutical firm Reckitt Benckiser will pay $1.4bn in fines to US authorities to settle claims over how it marketed highly addictive painkillers. The company has denied wrongdoing. Sources: Financial Times, Guardian and NPR.
Deutsche Bank faces 1MDB inquiry
The US justice department is investigating Deutsche Bank over its work for the scandal-ridden Malaysian development fund 1MDB. Sources: Guardian, Reuters and Wall Street Journal.
Boeing replaces head of grounded jet project
The manager of Boeing’s troubled 737 Max programme has retired after 34 years with the aircraft maker. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and Reuters.
Sweet appointment
Julie Sweet has been named the first female CEO of the consulting giant Accenture. Sources: Financial Times, Fortune and the New York Times.
British ships in Gulf on alert after Iran incident
The Royal Navy said Iranian boats attempted to block a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s foreign minister called the allegations “worthless”. Sources: BBC, Guardian and Reuters.
Man in French right-to-die case passes away
Vincent Lambert, the French man at the centre of a years-long legal battle over removing him from life support, has died. He had been in a vegetative state since a motorcycle accident 11 years ago. Sources: CBS News, France 24 and RFI.
Cathedral reconstruction funds slow to arrive
The Catholic church said it has only received €38m of the €850m promised to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris. Sources: CBS News, Observer and RFI.
Later today
Luxembourg was the first European country to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and will be the first outside Asia to host its annual meeting, starting today at 9am (and continuing on Saturday). Previews by the South China Morning Post published last month and by Delano in March. Attendees will be met by climate action protesters. Despite the “Asian” part of the name, the AIIB’s corporate secretary recently said “we’re a European institution too.”
Looking ahead
Saturday 13 July: Tours of the Grand Ducale Palace start today and run till Thursday 5 September. Monday 15 July: Citigroup earnings. Tuesday 16 July: JP Morgan earnings. Tuesday 16 July: Mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at this Space Café event. Wednesday 17 July: Bank of New York Mellon earnings.
Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed
AI: A new California law requires chatbots to disclose that they are chatbots, per the New Yorker. Data protection: The UK Information Commissioner’s Office will fine the Marriott hotel group £99,200,396 (roughly €110,200) for the hack of 383m guest records discovered last year, per ZDnet. E-commerce and beyond: Buzzfeed compiled an extensive list of Amazon brands and services. Biology: Parrots are pretty much the only animal aside from humans that dance in sync with the beat, a researcher told The Atlantic. Thermal dynamics: Wired asked if you should wear white or black clothes when it’s hot outside (answer: it depends).
Natural wine
GQ has a primer on selecting “natural wine”.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald