Trump punishes Turkey
Donald Trump placed sanctions on several top Turkish government officials, doubled tariffs on Turkish steel to 50% and froze talks on “a $100bn trade deal” between the two countries. The US president called for an immediate ceasefire after Turkey launched an incursion into Syria following a pull out of American troops. Sources: AFP, BBC, Financial Times, the Guardian and Reuters.
EU limits Turkey arms sales, but no ban
EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg suspended arms sales to Turkey in response to Ankara’s offensive into Syria, but stopped short of a formal weapons embargo, citing Turkey’s membership in Nato. Sources: AFP, Deutsche Welle, Politico and Reuters.
Catalonia protests
Demonstrators disrupted Barcelona’s airport and other transport links after a Spanish court handed out sentences of between 9 and 13 years to 9 Catalonian separatist politicians over a failed independence push for the region in 2017. Sources: AFP, BBC, El País (in English) and the Guardian.
Brexit timeline
Antti Rinne, Finland’s prime minister, said “we need more time” for Brexit negotiations, which could continue past the EU meeting set for Thursday and Friday this week. The Irish border remains the main sticking point. Sources: BBC, Deutsche Welle and the Guardian.
China-US trade: Talks continue, but tariffs still on table
Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, said high level trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington will continue next week, but warned punitive US tariffs on Chinese imports, currently paused, could take effect if no final deal is reached by 15 December. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times and South China Morning Post.
China lifting financial sector limits
China’s financial regulator said restrictions on foreign ownership of investment fund firms in the mainland would be scrapped next April and on brokerages in December 2020. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times and South China Morning Post.
Saudi Aramco to IPO “very, very soon”
The chairman of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state energy company, said its long awaited stock market listing “will take place sooner than you think”. Sources: Financial Times, Reuters and S&P Global Platts.
Vale Q3 production bounces back
Production at the Brazilian iron mining giant Vale has rebounded after a deadly dam accident in January shut down operations at its largest site. Sources: Financial Times, Reuters and Seeking Alpha.
Libra: Facebook announces board & latest member loss
Facebook said it would continue with its Libra cryptocurrency project despite several major partners dropping out. Sources: Cnet, Financial Times and Reuters.
Booker Prize awarded to Atwood and Evaristo
The £50,000 Booker Prize for Fiction was shared by Margaret Atwood, for “The Testaments”, and Bernardine Evaristo, for “Girl, Woman, Other”. Sources: Associated Press/CBC, BBC and the Guardian.
Later today
Green finance: The European Investment Bank’s board of directors votes on a proposal to freeze lending for fossil fuel-based projects (background: Delano and Reuters). Earnings announcements: Blackrock, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. State visit: The king and queen of Belgium are in Luxembourg for an official visit through Thursday.
Looking ahead
Wednesday 16 October, 6pm: British Chamber of Commerce forum on business ethics. Wednesday 16 October, 7pm: The International Bazaar’s Irish stand hosts a table quiz in Hollerich. Sunday 20 October, 10am: Think Pink Lux holds a “Race for the cure” in Echternach. Tuesday 22-Thursday 24 October: Luxflag’s “Sustainable Investment Week”.
Here are 4 finance & economy stories you may have missed
ETF marketshare: Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and ABN Amro together handle half of the $5.5trn in gross flows into and out of exchange-traded funds, according to a Blackrock study, per Seeking Alpha. Responsible investing: Blackrock and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation have started a circular economy fund, per Citywire Selector. Active shareholders: The number of investor meetings with company management is not a quality metric, argues Drew Dickson at Albert Bridge Capital via Marketwatch. Shareholder lawsuit: Investors in a frozen Luxembourg-domiciled fine wine fund are planning to take managers and the custodian to court over claims that some investors were allowed to sell their stakes in the suspended fund, per the Financial Times.
Is he cheating?
This poker player has a won a suspiciously high amount during live-streamed games. The Ringer investigated.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald