Continental Breakfast — Saturday, February 7, 2026 (Weekend Edition)
Continental Breakfast
What Europe is reading this morning
Saturday, February 07, 2026
Weekend Edition
📅 What Defined the Week
|
Reckoning Epstein files exposed a transatlantic elite culture |
Stalemate Abu Dhabi talks ended with the gap unchanged |
|
Disruption A trillion dollars wiped off software stocks |
Void NEW START expired; no limits on nuclear arsenals |
Story 1
The Transatlantic Reckoning: What the Epstein Files Revealed
The files weren't just about one predator. They exposed a culture of impunity that stretched from London to New York, where a certain class believed the rules simply did not apply to them.
Peter Mandelson, once the most powerful unelected figure in British politics, now faces criminal investigation. But the files suggest he was part of a broader ecosystem: emails show market-sensitive government information shared casually, holiday homes offered for unnamed "guests," and a relationship with Epstein that persisted long after warning signs were obvious.
| 🇬🇧 |
UK · BBC News Mandelson suggested holiday home for 'privacy' of Epstein 'guests' → The email that changed everything |
| 🇬🇧 |
UK · The Guardian How the Epstein scandal has shaken the British government to its core → Full accounting of Labour's crisis |
| 🇩🇪 |
Germany · Der Spiegel Peter-Mandelson-Affäre erschüttert Großbritanniens Regierung → "Explosive reach into Starmer's inner circle" |
| 🇫🇷 |
France · Le Monde Starmer fragilisé par les révélations sur Epstein et Mandelson → Crisis for "la caste transatlantique" |
Story 2
Abu Dhabi: A Week of Talks, a Prisoner Swap, and Nothing Else
The second round of US-Russia-Ukraine talks ended Friday as they began: with the gap on territory unchanged, and a single prisoner exchange as the only concrete result.
| 🇬🇧 |
UK · The Guardian Peace talks end without breakthrough → Senior military officials sent; gap remains vast |
| 🇬🇧 |
UK · BBC News Russian general Alexeyev shot several times in Moscow → GRU deputy chief shot in apartment building Friday |
| 🇪🇺 |
EU · Politico EU Russia breaks Trump-brokered energy ceasefire → Barrage timed for -20°C to maximize civilian harm |
Story 3
End of an Era: Nuclear Arms Control Enters the Void
At midnight Thursday, NEW START expired. For the first time since 1972, no treaty limits what the world's two largest nuclear powers can deploy.
World Nuclear Arsenals
Total warheads by country
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 5,459 |
| 🇺🇸 USA | 5,177 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 600 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 290 |
| 🇬🇧 UK | 240 |
| 🇬🇧 |
UK · The Guardian Expiry of nuclear weapons pact risks new arms race → Obama: lapse "pointlessly wipes out decades of diplomacy" |
| 🇺🇸 |
US · NPR Why New START's expiration matters → 15 years of mutual monitoring now gone |
Story 4
A Fistful of Dollars for a Folder of Text Files
On Tuesday, Anthropic released example instructions for AI to perform routine corporate legal tasks. Within 48 hours, nearly a trillion dollars had been wiped off software stocks worldwide.
The trigger was almost comically mundane: a collection of prompts showing how an AI agent could draft contracts and handle due diligence. No new technology, just better packaging. But investors saw it as a template for replacing entire categories of professional software.
The SaaS Selloff
6-month stock price change
| 🇺🇸 ServiceNow | −43% |
| 🇩🇪 SAP | −32% |
| 🇺🇸 Salesforce | −32% |
| 🇫🇷 Dassault | −19% |
| 🇺🇸 Nvidia | +42% |
Source: TradingView, 6-month returns as of Feb 7, 2026. Nvidia (AI infrastructure) rises while SaaS falls.
| 🇩🇪 |
Germany · Handelsblatt Neue KI-Anwendungen lassen Software-Aktien abstürzen → "Frontal assault" on classic software business model |
| 🇪🇺 |
EU · TrendingTopics Claude Cowork triggers tech stock selloff as AI threatens SaaS → "Picks and shovels" thesis holds—for now |
| 🇺🇸 |
US · Futurism Anthropic sent shockwaves through the stock market → "Tech workers worried for years; now their bosses are too" |
Story 5
Europe vs Musk: The Regulatory Counteroffensive
While Washington cozies up to its richest citizen, Europe's regulators took a different approach this week. France raided X's offices. Spain announced an under-16 ban. The battle lines are being drawn.
| 🇫🇷 |
France · Le Monde Paris prosecutors raid French offices of Elon Musk's X → Grok AI deepfakes, Holocaust denial, child safety failures |
| 🇪🇸 |
Spain · El País Spain set to ban children under 16 from social media → Musk calls PM Sánchez a "tyrant" |
Also Noted
- Milan-Cortina 2026: Winter Olympics opened Friday. Italy's athletes shine in biathlon; the real competition is infrastructure projects racing to finish.
- Germany: Election campaign enters final stretch. Merz leads polls but coalition math remains murky.
- Vatican: Pope Leo XIV named Élisabeth de Portzamparc to redesign St. Peter's Square accessibility.