Russia recalls its US ambassador
Moscow has recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations following the release of a US intelligence report that claimed the Russian government tried to influence last November’s presidential election, which the Kremlin has denied, and comments by Joe Biden that he thought Vladimir Putin was a killer. Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman stated: “We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks.” Sources: AP, BBC, Financial Times, France 24 and Reuters.
Fed to keep interest rates low for next 2 years
America’s central bank said it expects the US economy to grow by 6.5% this year and promised to keep interest rates at near zero until at least 2024. Jay Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, stated: “At the Fed, we will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes.” Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Marketwatch and New York Times.
EU plans ‘covid passport’ for summer travel
The European Commission outlined plans for a “digital green certificate” that would permit travel across the EU (and to some non-member countries such as the UK), based on vaccination or negative test results. Sources: CNBC, Delano, The Guardian and NPR.
EU could block vaccine shipments to UK
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, warned the EU could impose export controls on covid vaccines if supplies did not improve. Sources: AFP, BBC, Euractiv and Financial Times.
Paris to announce new restrictions today
The French government is expected to announce fresh covid-fighting measures this evening, including a possible weekend lockdown in the Paris region. Sources: AFP, Bloomberg, Reuters and RFI.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
Out of 11,412 PCR tests conducted on 16 March, 297 Luxembourg residents were positive. That is a rate of 47.44 per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 37.37 on 9 March). The reproduction rate was 1.08, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 0.97). There were 113 covid-19 patients in hospital (compared to 122), including 25 in intensive care (compared to 24). Seven people died due to the coronavirus, bringing the national total to 704. A cumulative 64,068 vaccination doses have been administered, including 16,470 people who have received two doses. Sources: Delano, health ministry and Paperjam.
Arcelormittal introduces ‘green steel’ programme
Luxembourg steel giant Arcelormittal outlined plans to provide green certificates to customers who want to pay for low-carbon steel. The company hopes to certify 600,000 tonnes (less than 10% of its annual production) by the end of 2022. Sources: Delano, Paperjam, Reuters and Seeking Alpha.
Luxembourg issues more negative interest rate bonds
The grand duchy’s treasury raised €2.5bn by selling 10-year bonds at -0.045%. Sources: Delano, finance ministry and Paperjam.
Greece returns to long-term bond market
Athens raised €2.5bn in its first 30-year bond sales since the 2008 financial crisis (which attracted €26bn in investor orders), with a yield of 1.956%. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and the Telegraph.
IMF calls for Luxembourg housing changes
The International Monetary Fund has recommended further reform of Luxembourg’s urban planning rules, while pointing to positive developments such as increased construction of social housing units. Source: Delano.
Union chief warns of finance sector redundancies
Roberto Mendolia, head of the Aleba trade union, said this week that more than 100 financial sector jobs were in jeopardy. Sources: Delano and Wort.
HSBC could sell French unit
HSBC is reportedly in talks to sell its French retail banking subsidiary to the private equity outfit Cerberus. Sources: CityAM, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
Apple wins French privacy victory, for now
France’s competition authority declined to block Apple’s new privacy rules, but said it would continue to monitor the tech firm’s app tracking tools. Sources: Cnet, Euractiv, Politico and Techcrunch.
Eurostar faces cash crunch
Eurostar is in “advanced discussions” with London and Paris for a bailout, with the boss of its largest shareholder, the French national railway, saying Eurostar is quickly running out of cash. Sources: CityAM, Financial Times and the Telegraph.
Pinduoduo founder leaves firm
Company founder Colin Huang abruptly stepped down as chair of Pinduoduo, just as the Chinese e-commerce giant surpassed Alibaba as the country’s largest online seller. Sources: BBC, CNBC and Marketwatch.
Rutte on track for reelection in the Netherlands
Polls indicate that Mark Rutte will win a fourth term as Dutch prime minister. Sources: AFP, DPA, The Guardian and Politico.
John Magufuli
The president of Tanzania, John Magufuli, has died due to covid-19 at the age of 61. Magufuli had been a coronavirus sceptic and promoted herbal remedies. Sources: BBC, DW, NPR and Reuters.
James Levine
Conductor James Levine, who led New York’s Metropolitan Opera for more than four decades before being pushed out for sexual misconduct (which he denied), died of natural causes at the age of 77. Sources: AP, BBC, New York Times and Washington Post.
Sabine Schmitz
Former racing driver and Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz died after battling cancer at the age of 51. Schmitz was widely known as the Queen of the Nürburgring. Sources: CNN, Press Association, Top Gear and Variety.
Hot take on restaurant service
A traditional hotpot restaurant in Xi’an, in central China, is spicing up its service by employing shirtless “muscly male models” as waiters, per DPA.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald