Americas
Headlines
Mexico’s president-elect puts the capital’s new airport to a vote
AT ELSA RíOS GONZÁLEZ’S hair salon in Atenco, east of Mexico City, the chatter turns to the most controversial issue in town, the construction of an international airport. Mexico’s biggest infrastructure project, known as NAICM, is being built just a few kilometres away. Opinion in Atenco is divided. Some of Ms Ríos’s clients fret...
The only man who can stop Jair Bolsonaro from becoming Brazil’s president
Can you hear the drums, Fernando? PERSONALITIES USUALLY matter more in Brazilian politics than parties do. But if Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist, wins the presidential election on October 28th, it will be largely because voters despise the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) of his run-off rival, Fernando Haddad (pictured). Dislike of the PT,...
El Salvador’s most famous martyr, Óscar Romero, is canonised
HE WAS ALREADY a popular saint. For years the faithful have congregated every Sunday for mass by his tomb in the crypt of the cathedral in San Salvador, inspired by the man they called San Óscar or San Romero de América. Now it is official. On October 14th in Rome, Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero was canonised, almost 40 years after he fell...
Wisconsin is twice as likely to imprison people as Minnesota
A BROKEN TOOTH sent Antonio Amphy, an engaging 42-year-old with a grey goatee, behind bars for six months. After taking a pill to ease his pain, he failed a drugs test and broke the terms of his parole. (He is completing a 24-year sentence for a murder in 1994.) Mr Amphy has been sent back inside other times, he says, for smoking marijuana or failing...
Measuring the #MeToo backlash
ONE YEAR ago Alyssa Milano, an American actress, posted on Twitter: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Within 24 hours she had received more than 500,000 responses using the hashtag “#MeToo”. In the past 12 months, the hashtag has been tweeted 18m times according to Keyhole, a...
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
Amazon Poached eBay Sellers?
Poaching was not always bad. In the 1700s, food was so scare in some countries that many people poached just to survive. Poachers were practically a protected class because they also fed the poor. Times change. Now eBay is suing Amazon for poaching its top sellers, but nobody in this story is poor. ...
Justice Sotomayor Prefers Bourbon Over Beer
Making it abundantly clear that on the High Court, Justice Sotomayor is unquestionably the coolest Justice, she explained to an audience at Cornell that she prefers bourbon over beer, and jazz over opera. Sadly, she also explained that none of her SCOTUS colleagues will go listen to jazz with her. And along...
BigLaw Partner Falsified Docs to IRS
Attorney Adam Wiensch meant well, but did it wrong. Wiensch was trying to help clients transfer wealth to their children free of estate and gift taxes, which is possible in estate planning. But he crossed the line when he falsified documents and sent them to the Internal Revenue Service. He should have known...
Joe Arpaio Sues New York Times for Libel
Joe Arpaio -- the sheriff most famous for being convicted and then pardoned -- is suing the New York Times for libel. The former Arizona sheriff says the newspaper has ruined his chances of winning political office. The suit is based on a Times opinion piece about Arpaio's failed run for the U.S. Senate. The...
Most Small Firm Challenges Don't Involve the Law
In the course of a year, small firm lawyers are working for free after mid-July. That's because they spend about 40 percent of their time doing non-billable work. It is one of the tough realities of small-firm practice. According to a new report, the biggest challenges have nothing to do with the law. It's just...
Deals
Next Century Spirits inks $3.6 mln
Next Century Spirits, a spin-off of Anavo Technologies, has raised $3.6 million in funding. Blue Hill Group led the round. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Next Century Spirits specializes in custom distilled spirits, brand and label development and bulk liquors.Read More
Blockchain security company BitGo pulls in $57.5 mln Series B
Palo Alto, California-based BitGo, a blockchain security company, has raised $57.5 million in Series B funding. The company's investors include Goldman Sachs, Galaxy Digital Ventures Valor Equity Partners, Craft Ventures, DRW and Redpoint Ventures.Read More
BelHealth-backed Beach House names ex-Pennsylvania Governor Ridge to board
Beach House Center for Recovery, a portfolio company of BelHealth Investment Partners, has named Thomas Ridge and Dr. Steven Levin to its board of directors. Ridge is the former governor of Pennsylvania, a five-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. And, Levin is the medical...
Hamilton Lane rakes in $755.15 mln for fourth co-investment fund
Hamilton Lane has raised $755.15 million for its fourth co-investment fund, according to an SEC filing. No target was listed on the document.Read More
Matchstick Ventures gathers over $12 mln for sophomore fund
Matchstick Ventures has raised over $12 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. The target is $25 million. The Minnesota-based venture firm invests in early-stage tech companies.Read More
Acq Lite
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...
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...
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...