International
Headlines
Sources and acknowledgments
In addition to those quoted in this report, the author would also like to thank the following people: Daisuke Adachi, Abigail Adams-Prassl, Jeremias Adams-Prassl, Julian Baggini, Erik Brynjolfsson, Tyler Cowen, Richard Freeman, Peter Ganong, Linda Hynes, Niels Johannesen, Arend Kapteyn, Akira Kawamoto, Bridget Loudon, the Independent Workers’ Union...
The decline of established American retailing threatens jobs
IT DOESN’T look like much but Staten Island Mall is optimism in a cement box. Like all such retail spaces the temperature is carefully calibrated. Bland pop music wafts down beige halls. Its biggest tenants are America’s unholy trinity of struggling retailers: Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Sears, all of which are closing stores. This mall, however,...
The history of central banks
TWENTY years ago next month, the British government gave the Bank of England the freedom to set interest rates. That decision was part of a trend that made central bankers the most powerful financial actors on the planet, not only setting rates but also buying trillions of dollars’ worth of assets, targeting exchange rates and managing the economic...
Averting a Chinese-American trade war
IN 1784 the Empress of China set sail from New York, on the first American trade mission to China. Carrying ginseng, lead and woollen cloth, the merchants aboard dreamed of cracking open the vast Asian market. But the real profit, they found, came on their return, when they brought Chinese teas and porcelain to America. As other ships...
Iran ship said to be Red Sea troop base off Yemen attacked
An Iranian ship believed to be a base for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen has been attacked, Tehran acknowledged Wednesday. Read More
Finance
Argentina: Congress Passes New Law Requiring Congressional Approval for Public Debt
(Mar. 11, 2021) On March 3, 2021, Argentina’s Congress passed Law 27612 on Public Debt Sustainability, which provides that financing agreements with any international organization must be approved by law. The General Budget Law of the National Administration for each fiscal year is now required to provide a maximum percentage amount assigned to...
Italy: Workers’ Income, Wine and Textile Industries Part of 2021 Budget Focus
(Mar. 8, 2021) On December 30, 2020, Italy’s Parliament passed Law No. 178 approving the annual budget for fiscal year 2021 (January 1 to December 31). This vast legislation touches upon many aspects of the Italian government and society. This article provides a broad overview of certain important areas of this legislation. Appropriations to Tackle...
Brazil: Chamber of Deputies Approves Autonomy of Brazilian Central Bank
(Mar. 2, 2021) On February 10, 2021, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved Draft Law No. 19/2019, which grants autonomy to the Brazilian Central Bank (Banco Central do Brasil). The law defines the period for the mandates of the president and directors of the Central Bank, which must not coincide with that of the president […]Read More
United Kingdom: Government Publishes Public Consultation on Environmental Impact of Commercial Spaceflight
(Mar. 2, 2021) On February 10, 2021, the United Kingdom’s government published a consultation (survey) seeking the public’s opinion about the environmental objectives the U.K.’s spaceflight regulator must consider when determining whether to grant a spaceport or launch operator license, along with guidance on how the regulator must...
Italy: Miscellany of Measures Enacted to Fight Covid-19 Pandemic
(Jan. 28, 2021) On October 28, 2020, Italy’s government issued Decree Law No. 137, which introduced additional measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the topics these measures address are financial assistance for businesses and workers, tax and judicial proceedings, and public health surveillance. Financial Aid for Business, Sports, and...
Legal
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England: “Nightingale Courts” Aim to Relieve Pandemic Backlog of Court Cases
(Mar. 29, 2021) England’s court administration agency, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), has introduced additional venues to be used as temporary courts to ease pressure on the courts and clear a backlog of cases. The backlog was caused in part by the closure of half the courts across England in March 2020 in […]Read...
International: New ICSID Caseload Statistics Reveal Trends in Arbitral Appointments and Case Distribution
(Feb. 22, 2021) On January 28, 2021, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published its caseload statistics for the first six months of 2020 (FY2020). Some had predicted that disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic would have a significant impact on the number and type of investment disputes brought to ICSID […]Read...
Beware: The Report Expressly Prepared for Trial Counsel May Not Be Privileged After All
In this article for the Consumer Privacy World Blog, John Burlingame and Kristin Bryan discuss a recent federal district court decision which calls into question the application of attorney work-product privilege to work-product prepared by consultants in anticipation of litigation.… Continue Reading The post Beware: The Report Expressly Prepared...
Israel: Supreme Court Voids Law Legalizing Settlements Built on Unauthorized and Privately Owned Land in West Bank
(July 14, 2020) On June 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of Israel, sitting as a High Court of Justice, ruled 8–1 to accept a petition against the constitutionality of the Law on the Regulation of Settlement in Judea and Samaria, 5777-2017 (Feb. 13, 2017). The majority opinion was rendered by Court President Justice Esther Hayut, […]Read More
Deals
Tomorrow’s Webcast: “ESG Considerations in M&A”
Tune in tomorrow for the webcast – “ESG Considerations in M&A” – to hear the Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Richard Massony, Seyfarth’s Andrew Sherman and K&L Gates’ Bella Zaslavsky discuss the ESG considerations that are increasingly “front and center” for both buyers and sellers in M&A transactions. – John...
Blank Check Reverse Mergers: Del. Chancery Hits Pause On Reviving Zombie Corp.
I’ve been aware of the somewhat sketchy practice of using public shells as vehicles for going public via reverse mergers for a long time, but I guess I’ve never focused on the fact that a lot of those companies are defunct Delaware corporations that are reincarnated by promoters to serve as public shells. In In […]Read More
Transactional Insurance: The Year in Review
This Marsh report reviews the transactional risk insurance market in the U.S. & Canada during 2020. The report notes that despite the challenges created by the pandemic, the marketplace for RWI & other transactional risk insurance remained strong, with new entrants to the market and existing insurers continuing to deploy capital. The report...
Antitrust: FTC Challenges Vertical Merger
On Tuesday, the FTC announced that had filed an administrative complaint & authorized a federal lawsuit to stop Illumina’s $7.1 billion proposed acquisition of Grail, which is developing an early stage cancer detection test. What makes this challenge particularly interesting is that involves a vertical merger, not a merger between competitors....
Comparability Provisions: Treatment of Employees in M&A Agreements
Acquisition agreements often include language under which the buyer promises that the target’s will continue to receive compensation & benefits comparable to those they received before closing, at least for a specified period of time. This Willis Towers Watson memo discusses the reasons for including comparability provisions in acquisition...