International
Headlines
Costs of carbon
SUPPORT FOR solar panels in Georgia came from a surprising point on the American political spectrum. In 2013 Georgia Power, the local electricity monopoly, was reluctant to increase the use of solar panels. That irked Debbie Dooley, a preacher’s daughter and co-founder of Atlanta’s Tea Party, a hard-right Republican faction. She wanted more energy...
The great disrupter
FOR MOST of the world, this year will be remembered mainly for covid-19. Starting in Asia, then spreading across Europe and America before taking hold in the emerging world, the pandemic has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands. And it has devastated economies even more severely than did the global financial crisis which erupted in 2008. But...
Directing the disruption
THE PRINCIPAL message of this special report is that companies everywhere urgently need to step up their action against climate change. Its physical impact is already causing many of them serious damage. Pushed by voters, especially younger ones, governments around the world are introducing ever tougher regulations. Lawsuits could yet make firms’...
Cheap cheats
CARBON OFFSETTING is in vogue. The practice involves giving money to a green charity that takes action, such as planting trees or building solar panels, to stop emissions entering the atmosphere or to remove them from it. In 2018 around $296m was spent buying the equivalent of 98m tonnes of CO2 offsets in the “voluntary” market (ie, outside government-mandated...
Guilty by emission
“MAN HAS A time window of five to ten years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical.” That is a summary of James Black’s research on climate change. He was a scientist at ExxonMobil and shared his findings with his bosses in 1978, while underscoring the scientific consensus on global warming....
Finance
China Is on a Building Binge, and the Global Economy Could Benefit
The coronavirus pandemic forced China to bring industrial activity to a halt earlier this year, but the country is revving its engines again — and global prices of metals are reflecting that renewed appetite for growth.China consumes roughly half of the world’s industrial metals, according to analysts. As the country emerged from the worst of the...
Plight of the ‘Physical Worker’: Worn-Out Bodies and Little Savings
Shawn McCadden began working for his father’s handyman business in Massachusetts in 1970, when he was 11. At 32, he started his own building company. Just three years later, his back told him it was time to find a new line of work.Mr. McCadden, now 61, has sciatica. Both of his legs get weak by the middle of the day, he said, even though he hasn’t...
Alphabet Settles Shareholder Suits Over Sexual Harassment Claims
OAKLAND, Calif. — Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has settled a series of shareholder lawsuits over its handling of sexual harassment claims, agreeing to greater oversight by its board of directors in future cases of sexual misconduct and committing to spend $310 million over the next decade on corporate diversity programs.The settlement, filed...
China Is on a Building Binge, and Metal Prices Are Surging
The coronavirus pandemic forced China to bring industrial activity to a halt earlier this year, but the country is revving its engines again — and global prices of metals are reflecting that renewed appetite for growth.China consumes roughly half of the world’s industrial metals, according to analysts. As the country emerged from the worst of the...
How to Predict Merit Aid in a Strange College Application Season
Untold numbers of high school seniors have had trouble finding convenient places to take standardized tests during the pandemic, while others have health issues that make doing so risky. In the spring, many of them got pass-fail grades or are grappling with other altered academic standards. And plenty of extracurricular activities may be limited or...
Legal
SEC Approves Changes to Its Whistleblower Program
This week, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) approved significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program. The program, established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011, incentivizes those with information about possible securities law violations to report to the SEC. If the...
The White House Directs Federal Agencies to Focus on Fairness in Investigations and Enforcement
On May 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed Executive Order 13924, to provide regulatory relief for entities economically impacted by the pandemic. Section 6 of the Executive Order directed agencies to revise their procedures and practices in administrative investigations and enforcement in light of certain enumerated...
FinCEN’s New Rule Impacts Banks Lacking a Federal Functional Regulator
On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule (“Rule”) requiring the minimum standards for anti-money laundering programs for certain institutions lacking a Federal functional regulator. The Rule applies to banks that lack a Federal functional regulator,...
Executive Responsibilities and Consequences: A Case Study of Uber’s Data Breaches
Every organization is at risk of a data breach, and can learn something from Uber’s data privacy missteps. In an article for Corporate Compliance Insights, Squire Patton Boggs lawyers Colin Jennings, Ericka Johnson, and Dylan Yépez offer key takeaways from the company’s high-profile data breaches and the criminal charges that followed. ...
DOJ and SEC Release Second Edition to FCPA Resource Guide
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly released updated guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) before the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Entitled A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition[1] (“Guide”), the Guide is the first update to the...
Deals
Seequent continues investment in innovative geoscience technology for world’s major resource challenges Minalytix partnership and minority shareholding demonstrates Seequent’s commitment to advancing solutions to help customers solve challenges within mining and applied geosciences
Minalytix partnership and minority shareholding demonstrates Seequent’s commitment to advancing solutions to help customers solve challenges within mining and applied geosciences Seequent, a world leader in the development of geoscience analysis, modelling and collaborative technologies, continues its investment in geoscience technology and innovation...
Qualitest announces investment from Bridgepoint for Majority Stake
World’s largest independent software testing and quality assurance company will use investment to accelerate global acquisition strategy and product development Qualitest, the world’s largest pure-play outsourced software testing and quality assurance specialist, announced today that Bridgepoint, an international private equity group, has...
Accountants reveal how AI will change deal-making - forever
The ability to predict and shape the long term success of global takeovers is often seen as the “holy grail” for CEOs, investors and their advisors. A new report from chartered accountancy body ICAEW and Drooms, a leading data solutions company, reveals that some key decision making may soon be taken away from humans and guided instead by the application...
US dominates global M&A securing nine out of ten of the largest 1H19 deals
Mergermarket publishes its Q2 2019 global report London, United Kingdom 2nd July 2019: Mergermarket, the leading provider of M&A data and intelligence, has published its Q2 2019 report in which all but one of the ten largest deals targeted US-based companies, six of which were the result of domestic consolidation. Amid heightened geopolitical...
Uber to acquire Careem to expand the greater Middle East regional opportunity together
Careem to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, operating as an independent company under the Careem brand and led by Careem foundersOpportunity for both companies to rapidly expand and capitalise on the region’s underpenetrated mobility opportunity and growing digital economy Transaction would be largest-ever technology industry transaction...
Acq Lite
At World’s Biggest Dog Show, Pups That Give New life to Disabled Owners
EDITOR’S NOTE: This news is courtesy of iCopyright, so GNN has no control over the ads. Please remember we do not endorse the advertisements. The post At World’s Biggest Dog Show, Pups That Give New life to Disabled Owners appeared first on Good News Network. Read More
Stranger Sets Off Incredible Chain of Good Deeds That Saved 6 Lives
Six lives were saved at a hospital this week, and it is all thanks to one woman's decision to “be selfless for a day”. The post Stranger Sets Off Incredible Chain of Good Deeds That Saved 6 Lives appeared first on Good News Network. Read More
10 Things I Wish I Would Have Told My Kids
Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to your current experience—both the internal and external—without judgment. Practicing mindfulness allows us to make wiser choices and pursue healthier and more beneficial avenues in life. Had I learned them earlier in life, I would have taught my kids the valuable life lessons that I’ve gleaned from...
DIY or Die: How an Industrious Outback Nurse Diagnosed His Own Heart Attack and Stayed Alive
The nurse was stationed at his medical outpost 100 miles away from the nearest hospital when he realized that he was about to have a heart attack. The post DIY or Die: How an Industrious Outback Nurse Diagnosed His Own Heart Attack and Stayed Alive appeared first on Good News Network. Read More
Daily Dose of Cute: Dachshund Shows Off Skills by Maneuvering Maze of Plastic Water Bottles
If you’re mourning the end of the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, you might like these games of skill involving a long-haired Dachshund. Takao showed off his thinking abilities earlier this week when he successfully maneuvered a maze of plastic water bottles that was erected by his owner. In the videos posted to his Instagram page, the...