In response to a lawsuit filed by the State of New York, a judge in the Southern District of New York considered and invalidated parts of the Department of Labor's (“DOL”) Final Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The ruling, while currently only applying to employers in the Southern District of New York (i.e., New York City), could be instructive on how other courts consider the same provisions ...
On 27 July 2020, the Centre for Health Protection reported a large-scale outbreak cluster on a construction site at the Peak with 13 workers of Kin Shing (Leung’s) General Contractors Limited being infected with COVID-19. Over 100 people work in the same construction site on a daily basis ...
Panama, 24 July 2020. By means of Rule JD-01-2020, published in the Official Gazette No. 29076 of 24 July 2020, the Superintendence of Non-Financial Regulated Persons (SNFR) has established a set of rules and obligations imposed to attorneys and accountants whenever they incur in any of the regulated activities under Law 23 of 2015, which relates to prevention of money laundering, financing of arms of mass destruction and financing of terrorism ...
This is a briefing of the latest COVID-19 related issuances of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as of 8 July 2020: A.1. Filing of General Information Sheet (“GIS”) and Audited Financial Statements (“AFS”) A.2. Extension of Deadline for Filing of AFS of Corporations within the Jurisdiction of SEC Cebu Extension Office B ...
In a typical consumer bankruptcy, a debtor seeks the benefit of two concepts. First, the debtor seeks the breathing room afforded that debtor by the automatic stay. Second, the debtor seeks to discharge all debt obligations adjudicated in the bankruptcy case. Absent these protections, a bankruptcy filing serves little purpose. As a result, a creditor who can attack the debtor's entitlement to a discharge threatens the very heart of any filing ...
On July 31st the Federal Reserve posted amended versions of a number of Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) transaction documents, including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Term Sheets for MSLP. Many of the changes reflect recent announcements, such as the expansion of the program to include the Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility (NONLF) and the Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility (NOELF). Other changes, particularly to the FAQs, provide new guidance ...
It is no secret that business bankruptcies are surging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, chapter 11 filings increased 26% in the first half of 2020,[1] and some expect the number of cases to increase even more in the coming months.[2] From retailers to airlines to telecommunications companies, few sectors of the economy are immune. As a result, more and more businesses will face the prospect of one or more of their customers filing chapter 11 ...
The real estate sector is facing numerous economic challenges. The property and casualty markets are hardening, while tenants are looking for rent concessions. Meanwhile, moves by some businesses to allow more working from home could significantly reduce demand for office space. When insurance expenses are increasing, a captive may be used to stabilise premium costs by increasing deductibles and insuring the deductibles in the captive ...
How Wirecard skirted regulatory scrutiny by jurisdiction-shopping and canny intra-group structuring. It would have been the quintessential business success story. Founded in Munich in 1999, this small payment processor for online gambling and pornography sites grew so massive that, by 2018, it had displaced Commerzbank from Germany’s prestigious Dax 30 index. At its peak, the juggernaut was valued at more than €24 billion (S$38.6 billion) ...
On 24 July 2020, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Exchange) published a consultation paper seeking public feedback on proposals to introduce a paperless listing and subscription regime, online display of documents and a reduction of the types of documents on display ...
The Insurance Commission (“IC”) of the Philippines has issued a circular letter dated June 14, 2020 on the adoption of a regulatory sandbox framework for the experimentation and testing of insurance technology innovations (IC Circular Letter No. 2020-73 (“ICL 2020-73”): “Guidelines on the Adoption of a Regulatory Sandbox Framework for Insurance Technology (InsurTech) Innovations).” The full text of Circular Letter No ...
The Federal Reserve ’s Main Street Lending Program has recently been expanded to add two potential loan options, which will enable nonprofit organizations such as educational institutions, social service organizations and hospitals to receive financial support in addition to the previously announced programs benefiting for-profit entities ...
On July 28, the Federal Reserve announced that many of its emergency lending facilities, including the Main Street Lending Program’s New Loan Facility, Priority Loan Facility, Expanded Loan Facility, Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility and Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility, are being extended to December 31, 2020. The facilities were previously scheduled to be available until on or about September 30, 2020 ...
For a long time, we have heard in different social media, for various reasons, some more positive than others, information related to Turnkey Contracts and the State indebtedness resulting from the Partial Payment Accounts (in Spanish, “Cuentas de Pago Parcial”) and Certificates of No Objection (in Spanish, “Certificados de No Objeción”) ...
Extension on short-selling banThe Securities Commission Malaysia (“SCM”) and Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia”) announced a further extension, until 31 December 2020, of the existing suspension for the suspension of all short selling, other than permitted short selling, on the stock exchange of Bursa Malaysia. The scope of the ban remains the same ...
This is a briefing on the issuances as of July 29, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Further Extends until August 4 the Deadline for Filings and Payments Due for the Period of July 20-30, 2020 B. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Discourages Physical Filing of Mandatory Disclosure Form (MDF) which is Due on July 31, 2020 C ...
This is a briefing on the CIAC Memorandum Circular No. 01-2020 dated June 10, 2020,1 a COVID-19 related issuance. A. Authority to Hold Virtual Proceedings B. No Change in the Deadline for the Issuance of Final Awards C. In-Person Proceedings D. Conduct of Virtual Proceedings ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CIAC’s Memorandum Circular No ...
Key Points If finalized as proposed, a Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rule would require plan fiduciaries to select investments based solely on pecuniary factors. The proposed rule would also tighten conditions for treating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors as pecuniary factors plan fiduciaries may consider in selecting investments ...
This article first appeared on the website of the Corporate and M&A Law Committee of the Legal Practice Division of the International Bar Association (here), and is reproduced by kind permission of the International Bar Association, London, UK. © International Bar Association. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed countries across the world into an unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis ...
On July 23, SBA announced that lenders may begin submitting PPP loan forgiveness requests to SBA on August 10. To assist lenders, SBA issued a Procedural Notice with new guidance regarding lenders’ reviews of forgiveness applications. The Notice may be found here: https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/5000-20038.pdf The Notice reaffirmed forgiveness guidance and rules previously issued ...
Key Points New proposal would allow investment advisors to provide advice to ERISA retirement plan participants for a fee, despite potential conflicts of interest. Reinstates five-part test from 1975 for determining when an investment advisor provides investment advice as a fiduciary to a plan participant. The U.S ...
The Federal Reserve has announced that the Main Street Lending Program will now be available to non-profits such as educational institutions, hospitals, and social service organizations, and has issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the new Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility and Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility ...
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local municipalities and state governments throughout the country have implemented stay-at-home orders and mandated closures of businesses and restaurants to lower the spread of the disease. California, after having permitted much of the state to reopen businesses, has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and on July 13th implemented a new statewide order to curb the increase, reimposing certain business closures ...
The San Francisco Emergency Ordinance on cleaning commercial office buildings larger than 50,000 square feet and tourist hotels was signed by the Mayor on July 17th, becoming effective immediately upon her signature. As noted in a prior Buchalter Client Alert, there are many problems with this Ordinance and, unfortunately, none of those problems were corrected before it was signed into law ...
Unfortunately, financial exploitation is a significant and growing area of concern, particularly with elderly investors or those with diminished capacity. Investment advisers are facing a client base who is increasingly older, and with that comes the increased likelihood of an investment adviser encountering possible financial exploitation ...
