On January 5, 2023 the SEC announced a settled Administrative Proceeding with Randy Robertson. Mr. Robertson previously served as the co-portfolio manager for the BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (“BIT”). While serving as the co-portfolio manager for BIT, Mr. Robertson explored the possibility of a BlackRock investment opportunity regarding a potential secured lending investment relating to print and advertising expenses associated with film distribution. Mr ...
Gone are the days when marketing campaigns are relegated to just hard copy printed materials. They are more often than not found, promoted and run online, and increasingly through social media which offers a speedy and an efficient method of an organisation speaking to its audience. It also offers the audience the opportunity to like, share and comment on the campaign, providing a unique and ‘in the moment’ conversation between a business and its customers ...
The Charity Commission has today (17 January) begun a public consultation on proposed new guidance for charities’ use of social media. It encourages charities to adopt a social media policy which is right for them. Social media presents charities with great opportunities to campaign and comment, to communicate the value they create and to fundraise. But these channels also present serious risks for charities ...
Matters of cross-border company mobility are addressed at European Union level by means of Directive (EU) 2017/1132 (the “2017 Directive”) which provides for cross-border mergers and domestic divisions of public limited liability companies ...
With the well-known challenges of the last ten months or so, market conditions deteriorated substantially over 2022 and the venture capital (VC) market became a far more challenging one in which to agree a valuation and raise money. While those challenges are not over, from speaking to VC clients and others, there's a cautious optimism that as 2023 progresses the market will slowly improve ...
With little regulation, controlling children's access to online content has been left to parents and carers to manage. But now lawmakers around the world are trying to put responsibility into the hands of websites and internet-based service providers. Recent years have seen concerted action aimed at controlling the collection and use of children’s personal data online ...
On January 11, 2023 the SEC Division of Investment Management issued an additional Marketing Rule FAQ. The newly issued FAQ addresses gross and net performance requirements applicable to private fund case studies, single investments and/or groups of investments, i.e. extracted performance. Specifically, the Question provides as follows: Q. When an adviser displays the gross performance of one investment (e.g ...
Broad scope of application The FSR targets any undertaking engaged in an economic activity in the internal market that has received a foreign subsidy distorting the internal market. A foreign subsidy is any financial contribution provided by a third country (non-EU Member State) which confers a benefit on an undertaking engaging in an economic activity in the internal market and which is limited to one or more undertakings or industries ...
Most commentators agree that the equity capital markets are not in robust health as we enter 2023. Investors have sustained significant losses in recent months and the combination of war, inflation and recession mean that investor confidence is at a definite low. There are however some signs that the outlook for 2023 may not be as bleak as the headlines might suggest ...
In recent months we have seen a significant rise in industrial action across multiple sectors, including public transport; postal workers; nursing and ambulance staff; university employees; Border Force staff and civil servants. Strikes look set to continue into 2023; the British Medical Association is currently balloting junior doctors on potential strike action for March 2023 and disruption is also likely to hit schools in Scotland as teacher strikes are planned for January 2023 ...
After a several year long investigation into the marketing practice of Facebook and Instagram, both of whom are owned by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Meta), the Irish Data Protection Authority have concluded that both platforms are fundamentally in breach of the GDPR ...
On December 30, 2022, the Asset Management Association of China ("AMAC") issued a consultation draft of the Measures for Registration and Filing of Private Investment Funds (《私募投资基金登记备案办法 (征求意见稿)》) (the "Draft Measures") and the ancillary Guidelines No. 1-3 on private fund manager registration〔i.e. Guideline on Basic Operational Requirements ("Guideline No. 1"), Guideline on Shareholders, Partners and Actual Controllers ("Guideline No ...
Overview On 4 November 2022, Sub-Decree 232 on the Management of Commercial Advertisements of Goods and Services (“Sub-Decree 232”) was enacted by the Royal Government of Cambodia. Sub-Decree 232 is one of 31 measures to promote fair trade and practices in business in line with the Five-Year Action Plan (2022-2026) prepared by the National Commission for Consumer Protection (“NCCP”) ...
Kudun and Partners has successfully represented Thanulux Public Company Limited (“TNL”), the biggest market leader in the manufacturing and sale of ready-made clothes and leather goods in Thailand, on the listed company’s major restructuring and expansion of its investment with a highly significant total value of THB 8.8 billion ...
Where is my order? I’m sure most of us have asked this question many times and probably more so recently as the recent postal strikes have left customers waiting for delayed Christmas gifts to arrive. The postal strikes have undoubtedly had a huge impact on businesses in the lead up to Christmas, especially given the dramatic increase in online sales, costing businesses money and time in navigating through customer queries, complaints and providing solutions ...
A picture is worth a thousand words, but what about a drone video? To construction firms and the lawyers who represent them, drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”), enable firms to capture large amounts of high-quality information in a quick and efficient manner ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on December 5, 2022 detailing observations from examinations of investment advisers and broker-dealers related to compliance with Regulation S-ID ...
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) [1] entered into force on 1 November 2022. A business that considers the platform it uses will likely be designated as a ‘gatekeeper’ and that the platform’s rules/behaviour are unfair can take certain steps now [2]. Q1 2023 to Q2 2023 - Engage with the platform to change its rules/behaviour ...
The UK data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), has released a statement warning organisations to assess the public risks of using emotion analysis technologies, with those failing to do so risking investigation and enforcement action ...
As 2022 draws to a close we are provided with an opportunity to reflect on what has been and what is still yet to come. The UK tech sector has grown substantially since Brexit took effect in 2020, the real effects having been masked until now by the ensuing global pandemic. It has only really been in 2022 that the business community has been able to properly see the opportunities, and the challenges, that the sector faces ...
As previously discussed, the federal district court deciding Christian Bruckner’s lawsuit to enjoin the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s set-aside of 10% (around $37 billion) of transportation funding for “small business concerns” owned and controlled by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” issued an order directing (1) the parties to submit supplemental briefing describing the “administrative and implementation of the DBE p
How can investors, developers and the public sector find value in an ever-changing environment? This was the big central question forming the basis for EG’s recent Scottish Cities Live event, of which Shoosmiths was a sponsor ...
Given the ubiquitous nature of end-user license agreements, terms of service, and similar agreements for websites and other software,[1] it is unsurprising that a company has filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Supreme Court this term (in Genius v. Google) asking the Court to consider the extent to which the Copyright Act preempts private contracts involving a promise not to copy digital content ...
As we discussed in prior updates, on July 13, 2022, Christian Bruckner filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Tampa, Florida, seeking to enjoin the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s set-aside of 10% (around $37 billion) of transportation funding for “small business concerns” owned and controlled by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals ...
