Tesla supercharges bitcoin
Bitcoin hit a record high of $44,100 on Monday and shot past $47,000 early Tuesday after Tesla disclosed that it had bought $1.5bn of the cryptocurrency and would start accepting payment in it. Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk, has a history of backing bitcoin. Tesla’s bitcoin position represents about 8% of its cash and liquid assets. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, DW, Financial Times, The Guardian and Seeking Alpha.
Apple cryptocurrency speculation
RBC Capital Markets said Apple could make $40bn in revenue if it added bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to its digital wallet. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Coindesk and Reuters.
Openlux revelations
The Openlux investigation of the grand duchy’s beneficial ownership registry garnered international attention on Monday. Seventeen media outlets concluded that Luxembourg’s €4.5trn investment industry is a “black box” that facilities financial crime. Sources: Delano, International Tax Review, Miami Herald and Reuters.
Openlux reactions
Luxembourg’s government said it “rejects the claims” made by the Openlux consortium and actively combats money laundering and terrorist financing, per the AP and Politico. Gilles Baum, the DP parliamentary bloc leader, said Luxembourg’s legislation complied with all international and EU standards and that the media attack was unjustified, per 100,7. Nicolas Mackel of Luxembourg for Finance (a state-backed promotion body) rebutted the Openlux charges and commented, “in people’s minds, how do you explain the success of this little country if it’s not a tax haven?” via Paperjam (in French) and Delano (in English).
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
There were 65 coronavirus patients in hospital on Sunday 7 February (the same figure as on Sunday 31 January), including 14 in intensive care (compared to 11). The reproduction rate was 1.06, above the 1.00 target threshold (compared to 1.10). Four people died due to covid-19, bringing the national total to 597. There were no vaccinations (the national total remained 17,628 doses administered, including 3,688 second doses). Sources: Delano and health ministry.
Pandemic leads to Eurest layoffs
160 out of 700 employees at Eurest, an institutional caterer that is part of the Compass Group, will be made redundant. Source: Paperjam.
Circular economy plan
Luxembourg’s government outlined its new circular economy strategy. Claude Turmes, the energy minister (Green party), said: “The word demolition will be deleted from the dictionary. It will be replaced by deconstructed.” Source: Delano.
KLM sustainable fuel flight
The Dutch airline KLM said it successfully operated the first flight (from Amsterdam to Madrid) powered by synthetic kerosene. Sources: Bloomberg, Flight Global and Reuters.
Offshore wind picks up speed
European offshore wind projects attracted a record €26bn in investment last year. Sources: CNBC and REVE.
Carbon trading to move from UK following Brexit
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said it would relocate its European carbon trading hub from London to Amsterdam. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and Reuters.
UK gov wants to revise Northern Ireland terms with EU
Britain’s cabinet minister, Michael Gove, called for a “reset” on the Brexit deal covering Northern Ireland after recent EU vaccine export tensions. Sources: Financial Times, Politico, Reuters and Sky News.
Bumble plans IPO
The dating app Bumble aims to raise $1.6bn-$1.8bn in a listing that would value the firm at more than $7bn. Sources: Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Insider and Marketwatch.
China apparently clubs Clubhouse
Users of Clubhouse, an audio-based social media network, said it’s been blocked by Beijing. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, DW and Financial Times.
Hacker attempts to poison water supply
The water management system of a small city in Florida was hacked, with the intruder unsuccessfully trying to add a dangerous level of chemicals to the water supply. Sources: BBC, The Guardian, The Register and Tampa Bay Times.
Trump faces second senate trial
Ex-US president Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial starts later today. Previews: CNBC, New York Times and NPR.
Agenda
Tuesday 9 February, 4pm: Luxembourg Bankers Association’s “Private banking: Digital benchmark in Luxembourg” webinar. Tuesday 9 February, 6:30pm: Make your online life more securing during this Privacy Salon. Thursday 11 February, 10:30am: Luxembourg for Finance’s “Focus on tokenisation” roundtable. Thursday 11 February, 7pm: British Ladies Club afterwork cocktail social. Monday 15 February, 2:30pm: British Chamber of Commerce’s EU-UK trade webinar.
First draft
Popular Science has practical advice for writing effective emails.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald