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Justin Trudeau (seen campaigning on 18 October 2019) is expected to be returned as Canada’s prime minister. Photo: Justin Trudeau on Facebook 

Trudeau on track for second term

Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party are expected to form a minority government, according to CBC projections. Trudeau, Canada’s PM since 2015, faced a tough reelection campaign, touched by scandal. The Liberals are on track to take roughly 170 seats and the Conservatives 117 seats out of the 338 seat House of Commons. Sources: Deutsche Welle and Reuters. Live blogs: BBC, CBC and the Guardian.

Netanyahu fails to form new coalition

Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, admitted that he was unable to reach a coalition agreement after inconclusive elections in September. Israel’s president is expected to give Netanyahu’s centrist rival, Benny Gantz, a mandate to form a new government. Sources: Deutsche Welle, the Guardian, Haaretz and New York Times.

Bercow rules out second Brexit vote, calling it “repetitive”

John Bercow, speaker of the UK’s House of Commons, blocked a second “yes or no” vote on the government’s EU withdrawal bill, ruling the “motion is in substance the same as Saturday's motion and the House [of Commons] has decided the matter.” The bill now faces the normal parliamentary process, which can take weeks. Sources: BBC, NBC News and Sky News.

Fund manager quits after BBC probe

Mark Denning, a fund manager at Capital Group, resigned after a BBC Panorama investigation alleged that he broke conflict of interest rules. Denning has denied wrongdoing. Sources: BBC, Financial Times and Wealth Manager.

Softbank to inject $5bn in Wework

The investment group Softbank will reportedly take majority control of Wework, an office sharing company that is fast running out of cash. Co-founder Adam Neumann is expected to take a $200m payout in exchange for giving up his board chairmanship and shares. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times and Reuters.

Opioid settlement in Ohio

Four drugs companies, including Teva, have agreed to pay $260m to settle claims by two countries in the US state of Ohio over their alleged role in America’s opioid addiction crisis. The case against Walgreens Boots Alliance will continue. All of the companies deny wrongdoing. Sources: BBC, NPR and Reuters.

China surpasses US on rich list

The number of wealthy Chinese has overtaken the number of wealthy Americans for the first time, according to a report by Credit Suisse, a bank. Sources: CNBC, the Guardian and Reuters.

No Serbian fans allowed at Euro match against Luxembourg

Europe’s football body, Uefa, ordered Serbia to play Luxembourg behind closed doors due to the “racist behaviour” of their supporters after Serbia lost to Portugal in Belgrade on 7 September. Luxembourg face Serbia in the Euro 2020 qualifier on 14 November. Sources: BBC, Reuters and Sky News.

Agenda

Tuesday 22 October: UBS earnings announcement. Tuesday 22 October, 6:30pm: Luxembourg School of Finance alumni networking event. Wednesday 23 October: Northern Trust earnings announcement. Wednesday 23 October, 7pm: Free guided tour of the Mudam contemporary art museum (in English). Thursday 24 October, 6:30pm: Luxembourg-Poland Chamber of Commerce’s logistics meetup at The Office. Friday 25 October, 5pm: Romanian wine tasting in Contern.

Here are 5 finance & economy stories you may have missed

Sustainable finance: The European Investment Bank “stopped short of agreeing a strategy to limit funding for fossil fuels” and postponed a decision on new green energy funding till its 14 November board meeting, per Bloomberg. Shareholder stewardship: In recent proxy votes, managers of the Blackrock Impact US Equity fund voted “against proposals to create reports on sexual harassment, climate change, gender pay gap and human rights to water,” per Citywire Selector. Asian financial capitals: Singapore stands to gain from Hong Kong’s troubles, reckoned The Economist; Hong Kong’s status as a global financial centre is “secure”, a business academic argues in the South China Morning Post. Brexit: So many UK financial outfits have created EU hubs that a future financial services trade agreement between Britain and bloc may not matter all that much, said a thinktank, per Reuters.

Ceremonies for new Japanese emperor

Emperor Naruhito formally ascends the Japanese throne today. Sources: AFP, BBC, CNN and NHK World.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald