Americas

Headlines

Brazilian prosecutors go after Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist

LAST JUNE the Intercept, a news site, published hacked messages that showed improper collaboration between Brazilian prosecutors and judges conducting the anti-corruption investigation known as Lava Jato (Car Wash). The leaks tarnished the image of Sergio Moro, the justice minister, who had been the judge in charge. They enraged Brazil’s nationalist...

Learning from Carlos Denegri, a crooked Mexican newsman

IN 1939 CARLOS DENEGRI, a young reporter, investigated a murder by gunmen working for Maximino Ávila Camacho, the governor of the state of Puebla and brother of the next president of Mexico. Denegri delivered a detailed account of Ávila’s crimes to the editor of Excélsior, the country’s most important newspaper. The editor did not publish it,...

The current calm in Bolivia is fragile

ON A RECENT afternoon, workmen were repairing the wall around the Senkata gas plant in El Alto, a working-class city in the mountains above La Paz, Bolivia’s administrative capital. Backers of Evo Morales, the left-wing president who quit on November 10th, had blocked lorries from leaving the plant and knocked down the wall. On November 19th...

Shrinking states offer perks for new residents

IT STARTED AS a joke. Beth Dow received an article from her husband about Vermont paying workers to move to the state. But the jest soon became reality. Within a few months, Mrs Dow and her husband had left their home in Denver for Bennington, a town of 15,000 in southern Vermont, and were paid $5,000 to cover their move. Vermont is one of many states...

Michigan plans to overhaul its jail system

WHEN CRIME rates were last as low as they are today in Michigan, the Beatles topped the charts with “Hey Jude”. Half a century on, Michigan’s police arrest fewer people with each passing year. In the decade to 2018 arrests fell by one-fifth. One might expect, in turn, the state’s jails to be eerily empty. Quite the opposite. A new study by Pew...

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

NAFTA 2.1: Bringing certainty to an uncertain time

If there is anything that Canadian dealmakers are all too familiar with in 2019, it’s the concept of uncertainty. Raging trade wars, geopolitical tensions, elections, and a forecasted economic downturn are all pervasive in everyday conversation. Despite this, deal flow has remained robust throughout the first three quarters of 2019, as summarized...

Parties to M&A must be diligent about climate change

Climate change has become a high profile issue that is expected to have significant implications for M&A transactions going forward. As public awareness and scientific understanding of climate change continues to evolve, we are more informed about the climate change-related risks that businesses must grapple with and get ahead of. As a result, businesses...

Location, location, location: Where’s your chief executive office?

In the context of cross-border secured financing transactions involving Canada and the United States, the rules relating to perfection and priority of personal property pledged in favour of a lender or agent are similar. In the U.S., Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs while each Canadian jurisdiction has its own personal property security...…...

Cybersecurity in M&A Transactions: Friend or Foe?

The heavy reliance on technology in today’s data driven world means that cybersecurity threats must be taken seriously. More specifically, with respect to M&A transactions, a target’s cybersecurity mechanisms has become an important part of the due diligence consideration. Indeed, it is important to have a firm grasp on the nature and extent...

Canadian M&A Q3 2019 Review: Canadian M&A activity remains strong despite a slight decline in transaction volume

Crosbie & Company’s “Crosbie & Company Canadian Mergers & Acquisitions Report for Q3 2019” (the Report) reviews the minor slowdown in Canadian M&A activity in Q3 2019 following a record-breaking second quarter. While deal activity declined slightly in Q3 (776 announced transactions compared to 886 in Q2), the Canadian M&A market...

Deals

PIMJ will change its name to PGIM Japan Co

Prudential Investment Management Japan Co. Ltd will rebrand to PGIM Japan Co. The name change takes effect on October 1, 2017. Prudential first opened its Tokyo office in 1998. Read More

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs top Canadian M&A rankings as activity rises: Reuters

Canadian mergers and acquisitions got off to their strongest start in 17 years in 2017 as cross-border deal activity picked up pace, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and RBC taking the top three spots in the advisory rankings, Reuters reported. Foreign banks further consolidated their position in Canadian deal-making as companies looked beyond borders for...

Dyal Capital buys minority stake in credit investor Sound Point: Reuters

Dyal Capital Partners, the Neuberger Berman Group unit that takes minority stakes in hedge and private equity fund firms, has bought into credit investor Sound Point Capital LP, Reuters reported. Read More

PE-backed Cross MediaWorks launches One2oneMedia

Cross MediaWorks, a portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners LLC, has formed One2oneMedia. No financial terms were disclosed. One2onemedia will provide an addressable video business for agencies and advertisers in partnership with Multichannel Video Programming Distributors. Read More

Volatility drives Canadian companies to unload non-core assets: EY

Canadian companies are looking to sell non-core assets as a result of macroeconomic volatility, according to a new study by Ernst & Young (EY). A survey conducted for EY's 2017 Corporate Divestment Study found 73 percent of respondents were likely to pursue divestment strategies. Once divested, 51 percent reported the initiative led to valuations...

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...