On Nov. 9, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding investment advisers providing automated digital investment advisory services to clients (robo-advisory services and robo-advisers). These robo-advisers either exclusively provide online services or supplement their traditional investment advisory services by using proprietary software, third-party software, or a combination thereof ...
We have been asked whether businesses should cancel or severely limit business meetings and social engagements due to the Coronavirus pandemic crisis. It is admittedly difficult to run a business while essentially sheltering in place until such time, as the country achieves some sort of reliable testing program and medical treatment availability. Our recommendation is to cancel all but the most critical of meetings and gatherings ...
We have been asked whether businesses should cancel or severely limit business meetings and social engagements due to the Coronavirus pandemic crisis. It is admittedly difficult to run a business while essentially sheltering in place until such time, as the country achieves some sort of reliable testing program and medical treatment availability. Our recommendation is to cancel all but the most critical of meetings and gatherings ...
On January 27, 2016, the Obama Administration took the latest in its continuing steps to ease restrictions on trade and travel between the United States and Cuba. Amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”) administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) will authorize additional U.S ...
The Comoro Islands, situated off the south-east coast of Africa, has ratified the Bangui Agreement, thereby becoming one of the 17 member countries of The African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI). The Bangui Agreement, once consented to, requires that the member states accede to the international treaties and conventions listed in the Agreement ...
To Our NYSE-Listed Clients: The New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed changes to its listing standards aimed at helping to restore investor confidence by adopting new corporate governance rules ...
To Our Public Company Clients: On June 6, 2002, the Corporate Accountability and Listing Standards Committee (the “Committee”) of the New York Stock Exchange released a report (the “Report”) recommending reform of its listing standards. In the Report, the Committee expressed concern over recent failures by companies to exercise diligence, ethics and controls and welcomed the opportunity to raise corporate governance and disclosure standards ...
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq) recently granted temporary relief and issued guidance to assist companies that are in imminent danger of immediate delisting and/or that are experiencing urgent liquidity needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic ...
As required pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the final rule issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in June 2012, the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NASDAQ each issued proposed rules on the independence of compensation committees and their advisers on September 25, 2012. The proposed rules are subject to approval by the SEC ...
The UK Government published last month its annual report on the application of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA). The NSIA came into force on 4 January 2022. The report covers the period commencing from that date to 31 March 2022, though future annual reports will cover a full calendar year. The NSIA is already having a significant effect ...
The SEC has published its final rule for the recovery of erroneously awarded compensation (“final rule”) ...
On 29 May 2014, INTELEKTIV 2014, an international conference on intellectual property was held in Zagreb. The event gathered leading intellectual property experts from Croatia and Europe to discuss their challenges in dealing with the protection of IP rights in business. Public officers, customs officers, state attorneys and SEE enforcement protection officers assembled to create an open platform for open dialogue ...
The decision in R. (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court has confirmed that an administrator can be prosecuted and potentially incur personal liability for a failure to notify the Insolvency Service of proposed collective redundancies ...
Corporate documents provided to the government as part of an investigation of the company are not excepted from disclosure for “personal privacy” purposes under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In Federal Communications Comm. v. AT&T Inc., the Supreme Court held AT&T did not have a personal privacy interest in documents the company provided to the FCC during an investigation ...
It is not uncommon in class actions for parties to reach a settlement that provides non-monetary relief to the plaintiffs and a payment of attorneys’ fees to class counsel. In August, however, a California federal court denied preliminary approval of such a settlement ...
Some are just donkeys with a horn.I will remember 2019 as the year when many unicorns were exposed as donkeys in disguise.Invoking the rarity and mystique of the mythical creature, a “unicorn” is the term the financial market coined for companies worth US$1 billion or more. The year opened with high hopes for such companies that sought an initial public offering (IPO) in the following months ...
On June 12, 2013, the Quebec Court of Appeal rendered a decision in the case of Fers et Métaux Américains S.E.C. et als v. Picard et als1 (“Fers et Métaux Américains S.E.C.”) confirming that the courts can issue Norwich-type orders in Quebec. This decision is consistent with the judgment rendered by the Quebec Court of Appeal, in 2002, in Raymond Chabot SST inc. v. Groupe AST (1993) inc.,2 which recognized that Anton Piller-type orders could be validly issued in Quebec ...
What is to come: new ESG reporting requirements Norway introduced legislation presenting social reporting requirements already in 2013 through the introduction of section 3-3 of the Norwegian Accounting Act in anticipation of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95 (NFRD) ...
Inflation and increasing interest rates continued to dominate headlines in financial markets in 2023. As central banks struggled to combat inflation and interest rates continued to increase, borrowers’ borrowing costs increased throughout the year. Increased borrowing costs caused some borrowers to default on their loans, requesting waivers and amendments or initiating a restructuring of their debt ...
Mergers – recent cases On 15 December 2023, Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer portfolio was unconditionally cleared after a phase II investigation. The market for banking services holds great significance for Norwegian consumers, prompting a thorough examination of Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer operations by the NCA ...
The dispute relates to MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of 42,000 metric tons of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident off Gran Canaria, during a voyage from Norway to Thailand. The fertiliser was completely damaged and the vessel was declared a total loss. The cargo owners held the ship owners jointly liable for the cargo damage. Bibby Transport Ltd and a number of H&M insurers held the fertiliser producer liable for the damaged vessel ...
Maritime activities a natural habitat for Norwegians Norway is a maritime nation with an extensive coastline. A coastline dotted with towns and hamlets form where the inhabitants for generations have ventured onto the high seas to trade and exploit its natural resources. Today several hundred thousands of Norwegians work in ocean related industries, traditional once such as coastal and high seas fisheries and transportation, newer once such as aquaculture and oil & gas activities ...
A pair of recent rulings involving the economic loss doctrine from North Carolina serve as a timely reminder to carefully consider the extent of contractual remedies in negotiation of construction agreements – lest a later breach of contract remedy prove insufficient, and further recovery barred by the economic loss doctrine ...
