Americas

Headlines

Quebec wants to ban public servants from wearing religious clothing

A LARGE CRUCIFIX has long hung above the speaker’s chair in Quebec’s legislature. The first one was installed in 1936 to acknowledge the bond between the Catholic church and the government of Canada’s French-speaking province. It survived the “quiet revolution” of the 1960s against the church’s grip on public and private life. The church...

The wisdom of José Carlos Mariátegui

HE DIED AGED just 35, disabled for his last six years by the amputation of a leg. But in his short life José Carlos Mariátegui managed to become Latin America’s most influential Marxist thinker, at least until Che Guevara came along. Barely known today outside Peru, he also played a significant role in Latin American culture in the late 1920s, a...

Jamaica’s cannabis gamble

WHEN JAMAICAN children catch a cold, mothers rub cannabis oil on their chests. Rastafarians smoke cannabis as a religious custom. Some believe that it grew on King Solomon’s tomb. Encouraged by the tropical climate, cannabis grows in many household gardens. Until now, Jamaica’s connection to cannabis has mainly been a problem for the Caribbean country....

The stratolaunch

LOOK BURT RUTAN up on Wikipedia and it will claim he has retired. This aeroplane casts doubt on that statement. Mr Rutan is probably the most original aircraft designer in the world, and Stratolaunch, as the craft is known, is perhaps his pièce de résistance. It made its maiden flight on April 13th from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California....

New York’s measles outbreak puts vaccination rules on the spot

SIGNS WARNING people to stay away if they have fever and rash are posted at medical practices and pharmacies in parts of Brooklyn, a borough of New York City where health authorities have struggled to stop a measles outbreak that began in October. More than 320 people have contracted the disease so far and new cases show no sign of abating. With outbreaks...

Finance

Pendo Systems name Ruth Wandhöfer, a globally recognized banking expert, to their Board of Directors

Pendo Systems is proud to announce that Ruth Wandhöfer, Global Head of Regulatory and Market Strategy at Citi, has joined their board. Ms. Wandhöfer is a banking regulatory expert and one of the foremost authorities on transaction banking regulatory matters. Her reputation has been built around her ability to drive regulatory and industry dialogue...

Implications of the money laundering law reform

The amendment to the money laundering law approved in the first debate requires accountants, lawyers and real estate agents to report suspicious transactions made by their clients.Bill 19.951 reforming the Law on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Drugs of Unauthorized Use, Related Activities, Legalization of Capital and Financing of Terrorism...

Wall Street finishes flat ahead of earnings season, key US-China meeting

It was a fairly flat session on Wall Street overnight, as investors exercised caution ahead of the first-quarter earnings season and a meeting between the US and Chinese presidents later this week. Investors will be focussed on the potentially tense meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday, after Mr Trump held out the possibility...

GLC Advisors Strengthens Advisory and M&A Expertise with Addition of Senior Bankers

Addition of Several Industry Bankers Including Former St. Charles Capital Professionals Deepens Firm’s Expertise and Relationships Across Technology, FIG, Consumer, Retail and Energy IndustriesGLC Advisors & Co., LLC (“GLC Advisors”) is pleased to welcome nine seasoned M&A professionals, including former Partners and professionals of Denver based...

Columbia Threadneedle opens office in Chile

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has opened its first Latin American office in Santiago, Chile. As its first proprietary distribution hub for the Andes (Chile, Peru and Colombia), the new office will serve the asset manager’s institutional and wholesale clients in the region. Columbia Threadneedle has also appointed Santiago Zarauza Riestra...

Legal

Building the health systems of tomorrow: dealmaking and the future of the life sciences sector

EY has recently published a year-in-review report for deal making in the global life sciences industry.  The publication features some interesting statistics about deal activity in the past year, and makes predictions about which trends will carry forward into the 2019 and beyond. The total value of life sciences deals in 2018 was US $198...…...

Cannabis and corporate governance: time for grow ops to grow up?

Since the legalization of recreational cannabis on October 17, 2018, the Canadian cannabis industry has experienced a significant boom. In its 2018 Cannabis Report, Deloitte predicted that legal sales of marijuana are expected to generate up to $4.34 billion in 2019. Moreover, and as previously discussed, Health Canada has introduced draft regulations...

Fintech is thriving! Global investment more than doubles in 2018

KPMG recently published its “Pulse of Fintech” report on global investment in fintech for H2 2018. Here’s what you need to know: Global investment in fintech companies hit $111.8B in 2018 (with 2,196 deals), more than doubling global fintech investment in 2017. This was partly due to a small number of mega deals. In the...… Continue reading The...

Continued robust VC investment and PE mega-deals take the spotlight in a review of the 2018 VC & PE Canadian market

A recent report released by the Canadian Venture Capital Private Equity Association (CVCA) entitled “VC & PE Canadian Market Overview 2018” (the Report) reviews the current strength of Canadian venture capital (VC) investment and very recent mega-deal trend in Canadian private equity (PE). Highlights of the Report Total VC investment remains...

blogs

By A Timeshare You Can Never Use? Lawsuit Claims Resort Is a Rip-off The Great Smoky Mountains are gorgeous. So, of course the prospect of a dream vacation in the Smokies is going to appeal to quite a few people. And if you pay for that dream vacation by, say, investing in a Gatlinburg timeshare, you'd like to actually go on that...

Deals

Bain considers options for Waystar: Bloomberg

Bain Capital is weighing options, including a sale, of Waystar, a healthcare technology company, Bloomberg reported. Bain has held early stage discussions about a potential sale that could value Waystar at more than $3 billion, the story said.Read More

Wynnchurch to buy Alliance Designer Products

Wynnchurch Capital LLC said April 23 that it acquired Alliance Designer Products Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Alliance Designer makes polymeric sand and related installation products used in residential and commercial hardscaping projects.Read More

Deskforce raises Series A round

Deskforce said April 23 that raised a Series A financing round from Cornerstone Venture Partners. Financial terms weren’t announced. Deskforce, of Jerusalem, aims to help businesses with a full ecosystem of software that consolidate the business process and strengthen their business intelligence efforts.Read More

AIB, First Data to buy majority of Payzone for 100 mln euros

AIB Group plc and First Data Corp have acquired a majority Payzone via a joint venture. The deal is valued at up to 100 million euros ($113 million). Carlyle Cardinal Ireland is the seller. Arma Partners provided financial advice to Carlyle Cardinal.Read More

KeepTruckin raises $149 mln

KeepTruckin said April 23 that it raised $149 million in a Series D investment led by Greenoaks Capital. Existing investors IVP, GV, Index Ventures and Scale Venture Partners participated in the round. KeepTruckin provides fleet management solutions to connect trucks.Read More

Acq Lite

Eni deal a testament to Abu Dhabi's attraction

March 12 (UPI) -- In what's nearly a $1 billion commitment, Italian energy company Eni said it made its Emirati debut in an agreement with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.Eni signed agreements to acquire minority shares in the Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore fields from state-run ADNOC for a total fee of $875 million."The stakes in the two...

Statoil using mega-rig to tap frontier North Sea area

March 12 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil will move a deepwater drilling rig to the North Sea to tap a prospect awarded more than 30 years ago, a regulator said Monday.The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate gave Statoil consent to move the Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig to a section of the North Sea to tap into a prospect awarded to the company...

German green energy segment Innogy divvied up

March 12 (UPI) -- German utility company E.ON is now in control of the renewable energy segment created by its rival, RWE, in a landmark, multi-billion dollar deal, they said.In a joint statement, E.ON said it reached an agreement in principle with RWE to acquire more than three quarters of the stakes in renewable energy entity Innogy, an offshoot from...

Russia test-fires Kinzhal hypersonic missile

March 11 (UPI) -- A Russian jet successfully test-lauched a hypersonic missile Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was launched from an MiG-31 interceptor jet, which departed from an airfield in the Southern Military District, Russia's TASS News Agency reported."A MiG-31 fighter crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces...

Huntington Ingalls contracted for further repairs on USS Fitzgerald

March 9 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to continue repairs on the USS Fitzgerald.The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $77.5 million under the terms of a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, which is a modification to a previous award.The modified contract between the U.S. Navy...