Militia group wanted to abduct Michigan governor
Prosecutors in Michigan have charged 13 white supremacists with allegedly conspiring to kidnap the state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, before next month’s general election. Whitmer has introduced relatively strict restrictions to reduce coronavirus transmission. Members of the group allegedly called Whitmer a tyrant and planned to try her for ‘treason’. Whitmer called the men “depraved” and linked the conspiracy with Donald Trump’s rhetoric. Only 5 of the defendants appeared before a judge on Thursday, when they asked for court-appointed attorneys. Sources: BBC, CNN, Detroit Free Press, NPR and Reuters.
Trump to boycott virtual debate
Donald Trump has refused to participate in a second presidential election debate against Joe Biden, which organisers wanted to hold via videoconferencing as a covid-19 precaution. Trump said, “I’m not gonna waste my time on a virtual debate,” and plans to hold a rally instead. Biden said he would still show up and take questions from voters. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, NPR and Reuters.
Coronavirus rate rises across Europe
European countries reported roughly 100,000 new covid-19 cases on Thursday, with large spikes recorded in France and Germany, among others. Europe now has more daily infections than Brazil, India or the US. Sources: BBC, The Guardian and Reuters.
Latest Luxembourg coronavirus status
One person died from covid-19 in Luxembourg on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 129. Out of 6,845 tests performed, 97 were positive. There were 31 patients in hospital, including 2 in intensive care. Sources: 100,7 and Paperjam.
Ladurée to reopen in Luxembourg
The French bakery and tearoom chain Ladurée will restart operations in Luxembourg with a new local owner. The former franchisee filed for bankruptcy in June. Source: Delano.
Luxembourg union blasts new Delphi owner
The trade union OGBL criticised Borgwarner, an American automotive supplier, for enacting a redundancy scheme, frozen during the covid-19 crisis, on “day one” as the new owner of Delphi Technologies, which currently employs about 500 staff in Bascharage. Borgwarner acquired Delphi in a €3.3bn deal announced earlier this year that closed on 2 October. Sources: Paperjam and OGBL press release.
Arson possible in car fire
Several vehicles were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a parking lot in Luxembourg-Beggen on Thursday morning. “A total of six cars were completely burned and another car was badly damaged,” the police force stated. Arson “could not be ruled out”. The public prosecutor’s office ordered a police investigation. Source: Luxembourg Police statement.
US steps up pressure on Iran’s financial sector
The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions against 18 Iranian banks, essentially blacklisting the country’s entire financial sector. Sources: Associated Press, Financial Times and Reuters.
Morgan Stanley snaps up Eaton Vance
The banking giant Morgan Stanley said it would acquire Eaton Vance, an asset manager, for $7bn. After the deal (and its planned $13bn acquisition of the online brokerage Etrade) is completed, Morgan Stanley’s fund business will have $1.2trn in assets under management. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and Seeking Alpha.
Easyjet pleads for aid as it sinks into the red
The budget airline Easyjet called for UK government support for the airline industry after warning that it would post its first loss (which it estimated would be -£815m to -£845m) in 25 year history. Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Marketwatch and Seeking Alpha.
IBM to spinoff unit as part of shift to cloud
The tech giant IBM said it would spin off its managed services business into a separate company, so it could continue its focus on cloud computing. IBM shares rose in afterhours trading. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters and Seeking Alpha.
WTO likely to be led by a women for first time
The shortlist of candidates to be the new head of the World Trade Organization has been narrowed down to two women: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Nigerian finance minister, and Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean trade minister. Sources: Associated Press, BBC and CityAM.
Poet wins Nobel literature prize
The American poet Louise Glück has received this year’s Nobel prize for literature. Sources: BBC, New York Times and NPR.
Agenda
Tuesday 13 October, 11am-12:30pm: Luxembourg for Finance’s “Focus on Brexit” digital roundtable. Tuesday 13 October, 6:30pm-7:30pm: Irish chamber’s online conference on the impact of covid-19 on the hotel sector. Wednesday 14 October, 12noon-1pm: Delano Live Chat on “Company culture playbook: what changed during covid?” Thursday 15 October, 2pm-5:15pm: Paperjam Club workshop for women looking to develop their professional style. Monday 19-Friday 23 October: The British chamber’s annual leadership forum tackles covid-19.
Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed
Archaeology: Evidence suggest that some Ancient Greek buildings had ramps for disabled people to use, per Science magazine. Astronomy: The moon is moving about 3.8cm further away from the Earth each year and the reflectors astronauts placed on the moon that measure the drift need to be replaced, per New York Times. Astronomy: Researchers found WASP-189b, an exoplanet 322 light years from Earth that orbits its sun in 2.7 days and has temperatures reaching 3200°C, hot enough to turn iron into gas, per Popular Science. Public health: “Restaurants are among the higher-risk activities” for coronavirus transmission, researchers told Elemental. Public health: To understand covid-19 transmission, we should examine the k (dispersion) rate, meaning super-spreading events, and the not R or R0 average reproduction rate, argues The Atlantic.
Sweet destinations
The world’s largest chocolate museum opened last month in Kilchberg, Switzerland, per Smithsonian magazine.
Fair play
Ireland’s national lacrosse team has dropped out of the 2022 world championships, ceding their place to the Iroquois Nationals, the team representing the Native American tribe that invented the sport. Sources: NPR and RTE.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald