Americas

Headlines

What Rahm Emanuel has done for Chicago

RAHM EMANUEL is restless. He swallows an indigestion tablet, buttons a blue cardigan, then paces his office on the fifth floor of City Hall. On February 26th voters will choose between 14 candidates vying to replace him as mayor of Chicago. How does he think his two terms will be remembered? Predecessors let problems fester, he says, but “there wasn’t...

The surprising revival of the Hawaiian language

Ma uka, ma uka ka ua,Ma kai, ma kai ka ua SO SING THE children at Hawaii’s Punana Leo O Hilo kindergarten on the Big Island of Hawaii. “It is raining on the uplands, it is raining by the sea.” The chant is much like any other “Rain, rain, go away” nursery rhyme, but it has an unusual power: it is one of the tools that has brought about the...

America’s cops take an interest in social media

SHOULD THE police monitor social media? The question seems to have an obvious answer. Social media, says Joe Giacalone, a retired New York Police Department detective who now teaches at John Jay College, is “a treasure trove for investigators. People post stuff they shouldn’t…vehicles, weapons, you name it. If you’re dumb enough to post something...

Donald Trump’s real target is not illegal immigration but diversity

WHEN JUAN GARCIA started work as an urban planner for the government of Gaston County in 1997, he reckons he was the only Latino among its 1,400 employees. Hub of a dying textiles industry, on the western edge of Charlotte, the county was missing out on the boom already rippling through the periphery of North Carolina’s most dynamic city. For that...

Will the courts let Donald Trump build his wall?

A FEW HOURS after Donald Trump tweeted about “the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country”, Carmen sat in a church office in suburban Maryland, quietly sobbing. Five years ago she and her son, who was then three, fled from El Salvador and her violent husband. “It’s difficult to leave your country,”...

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

Another Reason Your Expert Witness Cannot Use Fake Research

Every trial lawyer knows that a good expert witness can win a case. It often comes down to a battle of the experts, and their credentials are critical. A strong curriculum vitae, backed by research, is the calling card of a qualified expert. That's why one thing always kills a lawyer's expert witness: fake research....

Major Advertisers Flee YouTube Over Pedophile Comments

While YouTube may be the most popular free online video platform, advertisers are jumping ship and suspending their ads because it has been discovered that pedophiles have been exploiting the platform to exploit videos of children. In response, YouTube has announced that it has already taken some action to combat...

Roger Stone Avoids Jail, Gets Tight Gag Order Instead

At one point, a Celtic occult symbol became key to Roger Stone's freedom. Stone told Judge Amy Berman Jackson that crosshairs, which appeared in his Instagram post behind a photo of the judge, were a Celtic occult symbol. The judge asked him what it meant. "I don't know your honor, I'm not into the occult,"...

Know your worth: should you disclose undisclosed intangibles on financial statements?

Intangible assets are the non-monetary, non-physical assets of a business, including its rights, goodwill, overarching brand, and other intellectual property (IP) (i.e., patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets). These types of assets represented 52% of the global enterprise value in 2018; however, 80% of that value went wholly undisclosed on...

NAACP Prison Gerrymandering Case Heating Up

Last summer, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the state of Connecticut over prison gerrymandering, and recently, the federal district court rejected the state's motion to dismiss, allowing the case to move forward towards summary judgment. As the court explained, based upon the allegations, the NAACP and the...

Deals

Jerusalem Venture Partners raises $220 mln eighth venture-capital fund

Jerusalem Venture Partners has raised a $220 million eighth venture-capital fund, according to a tweet.Read More

PE-backed Gerber Technology hires global marketing VP

Gerber Technology, which is backed by AIP, has named Ketty Pillet as vice president of global marketing. Previously, she worked at Lectra. Based in Tolland, Connecticut, Gerber is a provider of software and automation solutions to various industries that include fashion and apparel, transportation and packaging.Read More

Panda Selected rakes in $50 mln Series C

China-based Panda Selected, a shared kitchen provider, has raised $50 million in Series C financing. Tiger Global led the round with participation from return backers DCM and Glenridge Capital.Read More

Clareto lands Series A funding

Clareto, a health data network, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding. Health Catalyst Capital Management LLC led the round.Read More

PE-backed Red Collar acquires Hampshire Pet

Red Collar Pet Foods, which is backed by Arbor Investments, has acquired Joplin, Missouri-based Hampshire Pet Products LLC, a provider of baked and cold formed pet products. No financial terms were disclosed. Duff & Phelps Securities was sell-side financial adviser to Hampshire Pet on the transaction.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...