Democrats must quickly appoint Trump opponent, says Luxembourg chair
As the second presidency of Donald Trump picks up steam – with trade war threats, immigration crackdowns and a defiant stance against traditional allies – the Democrats must move to put up an opposition, the party branch’s chairman in Luxembourg has said.
The Democratic party has been left without an obvious leader since President Joe Biden exited the campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris failed to defeat Trump, said Patrick Canning, the chairman of the Democrats Abroad in Luxembourg, in an interview on Wednesday.
“There is no larger-than-life personality like Trump on the Democratic side,” said Canning. He believes, however, that US Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (known as AOC) will be “the kingmakers” to choosing the next presidential candidate, even if he does not think either of them would be able to win.
Cargolux collects cash while it waits for price-fixing case decision
Luxembourg freight airline Cargolux recouped more than €9 million in interest on EU fines against its anti-competitive behaviour that were reduced or annulled, but the company is waiting for the bloc’s top court to decide on whether it should pay €80 million for joining a worldwide price-gouging cartel.
The EU’s €9 million repayment last year to the Grand Duchy’s global air freight carrier settles a dispute over who keeps the interest on fines the European Commission wrongly imposed and collected in competition matters.
Cargolux did not respond on Thursday when asked by the Luxembourg Times if the recovery relates to the cartel case now being considered by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) or another competition violation.
Come to Dubai! Realtors set sights on Luxembourg buyers looking for better deals
Dubai has long been a destination for foreign investment in its property market, and while Luxembourg so far holds only a small share in that portfolio developers and real estate brokers are actively pursuing potential buyers with promises of higher return on investment than at home.
Foreign nationals hold around 43% of the total value of all Dubai’s residential property, according to the EU Tax Observatory. Luxembourg’s share in that market – as of 2022 – included 72 properties worth €25 million owned by 45 Luxembourg residents. The median value of these properties was, at the time, around €240,000.
What keeps Luxembourg financial CEOs up at night
Competitiveness, consolidation and cost pressures are weighing on the minds of Luxembourg’s financial services CEOs, with banks and fund firms investing heavily in technology while facing a tangle of sometimes contradictory regulations, industry leaders have said.
The comments came in response to a survey published by the consultancy PwC earlier this month that found “Luxembourg CEOs have expressed considerably more concern over their companies’ economic viability over the long-term.”
According to the PwC survey, 38% of Luxembourg CEOs “believed their companies would remain viable for the next ten years” compared to 51% two years ago. That is a noticeable drop and lower than the global average (55% this year and 59% in 2023).
Luxembourg’s SES paid its new CEO €5.2 million last year
State-backed Luxembourg satellite pioneer SES last year paid its chief executive more than €5 million – twice his predecessor’s last annual payout, the Luxembourg Times has found.
The vast majority of the €5.2 million the company paid its top executive in 2024 went to Adel Al-Saleh, who took over the job on 1 February 2024 from interim CEO Ruy Pinto. He ran the company temporarily after the sudden June 2023 departure of former CEO Steve Collar, who made €2.38 million during his last full year in charge in 2022.