On June 2, 2020, Resolution No. 36 was published in the Official Gazette, by means of which the National Mining Agency ("ANM") has changed Resolution No. 28/2020, which suspended the deadlines of certain procedural and material acts under its competence, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic ...
By a near-unanimous 417-1 vote, the House has passed the PPP Flexibility Act, which if enacted would, among other things, extend the time to utilize Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds and obtain forgiveness, allow more time to rehire employees, and allow more of the proceeds to be used for other forgivable costs besides payroll costs. The Senate will now consider the bill and may vote on it next week. A copy of the bill may be found here: https://docs ...
Industry solutions relying on artificial intelligence (AI)are growing faster than many had predicted. In addition to the important personal data protection considerations, another important question which this new and emerging technology is raising relates to the AI safety problems and their legal response. So far, the European Union and Bulgaria have not adopted legislation specifically tackling the AI phenomenon and in particular – the safety concerns associated with AI ...
As a complement to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection guide for the reduction of the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the Energy and mining industry, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (“MME”) together with the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection issued Joint Memorandum 01 of 2020 (the “Memorandum”) ...
As we have learned through our ghosts of recessions past, the vast majority of those who become unable to pay their debts in economic downturns are honest, but unfortunate, debtors. That said, we also have learned that an appreciable number of debtors start taking drastic measures to preserve their assets and associated lifestyles during these times, sometimes engaging in a shell game designed to conceal or otherwise understate their assets when creditors start knocking on their door ...
With the expectation that bankruptcy filings will increase over the next few months, this might be a good time to revisit the documents filed with a bankruptcy filing and the information they provide. The focus today is on the Notice of Bankruptcy, Petition, Schedules and Statement of Financial Affairs, which are always filed. There are several other papers that may be filed (required or not), depending on the bankruptcy case ...
Over a year ago, Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code to create Subchapter V, with the intent of encouraging small businesses (defined as those with less than $2,725,625.00 in debt) to file reorganization plans more often by saving certain costs of a routine Chapter 11. Congress then passed the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the debt limit to $7,500,000.00 ...
Much of the bankruptcy chatter arising from the pandemic world in which we find ourselves is now focusing on the cascade of new bankruptcy cases that are predicted to arrive soon. We have already seen the effects of closed stores and no foot traffic on some of the big names in retail (J.C. Penney, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Pier 1, etc.), but many consumer cases are sure to follow, the result of the staggering number of layoffs and lost jobs that the pandemic has caused ...
On 25 May 2020, the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") has been applied for two years. A few days prior to the GDPR's anniversary, the first administrative fines for violations of data protection were imposed in Finland. In Finland, an administrative fine under the GDPR may be imposed by the Sanctions Board formed jointly by the Data Protection Ombudsman and two Deputy Data Protection Ombudsmen ...
On May 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued as new final rule updating various aspects of the requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The rule is effective on October 1, 2020. Banks regulated by the OCC must comply with the final amendments by October 1, 2020, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, as applicable ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unique challenges and causing operational and financial disruptions for many governmental issuers and other borrowers (obligated persons), who are subject to the continuing disclosure requirements of Rule 15c2-12 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One of these challenges is the determination of whether and what to disclose to bondholders under existing continuing disclosure undertakings or in the context of voluntary disclosure ...
The SBA issued anInterim Final Rule(“IFR”) regarding PPP loan forgiveness on May 22, 2020, to supplement thePPP Loan Forgiveness Applicationand instructions issued one week earlier. While the new IFR did not provide a great deal of new guidance, below is a list of our key observations, which supplements our prior observations on the application itself, which are repeated at the end of this Alert ...
On May 25th, 2020, as per publicly available information, an administrative court in Mexico issued definitive suspensions against the resolution published on April 29th, 2020 by the National Center of Energy Control (“CENACE”) to guarantee the efficiency, quality, continuity and safety of the National Electric System, as part of the constitutional appeals filed by companies involved in renewable energy projects from wind and photovoltaic projects ...
The historically low interest rates recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the depressed value of certain assets offer opportunities for estate planning techniques that can reduce the cost of transferring wealth to younger generations. The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is $11,580,000 per person ($23,160,000 for a married couple) ...
On May 15, 2020, the Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) published a Policy on Reliability, Safety, Continuity, and Quality for the National Electric System (the “Policy”) in the evening edition of the Federal Registry (“DOF”). The purpose of the Policy is to promote the sustainable development of the power industry and guarantee its continuous, efficient, and safe operation for the benefit of users under the principle of Reliability ...
On May 21, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Offices of Energy Policy and Innovation and Electric Reliability jointly published and released their 2020 Summer Energy Market and Reliability Assessment. The report provides an overview of key market events and data for the nation’s ISOs/RTOs as well as a discussion on reliability in the various power regions for summer 2020. The report includes the following key items that are summarized below ...
On May 13, 2020, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations under Section 385 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), T.D. 9897 (“Final Regulations”), which address the classification of certain related party debt as stock or equity for U.S. Federal income tax purposes ...
The last two years have seen an expansion of regulations related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), both in the United States and abroad. COVID-19 is driving further expansion of FDI in the U.S. and elsewhere. Owners and investors need to know — expansion of regulations gaps closed in national security reviews new inclusion of medical supplies and food non-controlling investments also scrutinized Whether by intent or coincidence, the U.S ...
On May 22, Treasury issued a new Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) regarding Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Payroll Protection Program (”PPP”) loan forgiveness. Much of the IFR repeats information previously published by Treasury and SBA in the loan forgiveness form application and accompanying instructions. See March 19, 2020 Buchalter Client Alert COVID-19: Treasury Issues Application for SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness ...
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the State Banking Regulators released a joint statement announcing increased flexibility in the agencies’ regulation and enforcement of certain mortgage servicing rules governing borrower communications in response to the
The SBA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Treasury, issued the Paycheck Protection Program Loan ForgivenessApplicationand related instructions on May 15, 2020. While the application and instructions answer many of our questions about PPP loan forgiveness, it leaves many others open. Treasury has promised that the SBA also will soon issue regulations and guidance that we hope will address these questions ...
Section 29 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) allows a trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the Courts for orders compelling disclosure of material documents and/or information of the bankrupt in order for the trustee to carry out his/her duties under the bankruptcy. For the authors’ previous article on Section 29, please see here ...
Section 29 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) allows a trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the Courts for orders compelling disclosure of material documents and/or information of the bankrupt in order for the trustee to carry out his/her duties under the bankruptcy. For the authors’ previous article on Section 29, please see here ...
