As Congress begins to work on the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (“MAP 21”), the bill to reauthorize highway funding for the next five years, policy makers are confronting the challenge of how to bridge the estimated $400 billion gap in funding between federal revenues and transportation infrastructure investment needs ...
The property industry will have an opportunity to assess the impact of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) when a user guide and a consultation paper are issued by the Government, this month. The CRC is a UK-wide, legally binding scheme designed to reduce energy use, and a key component of the Government's strategy to reduce carbon emissions attributable to property ...
Not something a landlord wants to hear. But what does it mean? Before a landlord can consider what remedial action is available against a defaulting tenant, it needs to understand the reason for the default. Where a tenant is insolvent, the precise nature of that insolvency needs to be established ...
THE FACTS Ezeflow is a company specialized in the manufacturing of pipe fittings intended for refineries, gas pipelines and offshore drilling platforms. in 1998, ezeflow entered into a contract with genoyer to manufacture 142 pipe fittings to be incorporated into drilling platforms belonging to sable. Kvaerner, in turn, was responsible for installing the fittings manufactured by ezeflow ...
Environmental laws sweep broadly, regulating a wide range of business activities. Environmental laws create obligations and liabilities that affect not only ongoing businesses, but business transactions as well. They also may form the basis for, or otherwise be relevant to, litigation ...
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution produced radical transformations not only in technology, including an ever increasing use of fossil fuels, but also in economic policies and social structure ...
In 1996, the case of Hindcastle v Barbara Attenborough Associates settled the effect of disclaimer on a lease guarantee but since then a new leasehold regime has been introduced. A recent case, Shaw v Doleman, has revisited the effect of disclaimer in this context. Original tenants of leasehold property paid a high price in the property crash of the 1990s ...
Things change over time. This is also the case in the timesharing business. The European legislator, who is well aware of this and already dealt with this type of business by adopting a directive on 26 October 1994, has recently adopted a new legislative act dealing with timesharing, thus bringing European legislation up-to-date. It was deemed necessary to modify the former European legislation to the evolutions in the business ...
Companies (listed and unlisted) spinning off real estate at Belgian or at both Belgian and European level is common practice. In comparison to the U.S. market, the trend is only just in its early stages here. Outsourcing often conceals widely varying realities:- a company shareholder may want to divide his corporate assets among his future heirs ...
I. Legal Framework The banking business in the Republic of Panama is regulated by Decree-Law No. 9 of February 26, 1998 and its amendments (the “Banking Law”). The Banking Law created the Superintendency of Banks (the “Superintendency”), which is the government agency in charge of supervising and overseeing banking operations and the exercise of the banking business in the Republic of Panama ...
Technical Resolution 26 – FACPCE Dated March 20, 2009 the FACPCE (Argentine Federation of Economic Sciences Professional Boards) approved Technical Resolution No. 26 “Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards of the Board” effective as from the years commenced after January 1st, 2011, not admitting an earlier application ...
This is the second of a three-part report on “public private partnerships.” Also known as “PPP” or “P3” projects, there is an increasing amount of press regarding these projects, some of which is contradictory and some of which is just plain confusing. The purpose of this three-part report is to provide you with some useful information in identifying and analyzing P3 opportunities. The first part of the primer provided an introduction to the P3 concept ...
On June 17, 2009, the Obama administration issued a "white paper" which proposes a sweeping reorganization of financial-market supervision. The plan would touch almost every corner of banking from how mortgages are underwritten to the way exotic financial instruments are traded. The plan will undoubtedly be modified during the Legislative process. Banks in other countries have already objected to the proposed international effects ...
The British Property Federation (BPF) has published a guide for landlords and tenants explaining the Government's proposed Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), and illustrating how expected additional costs might be shared. Around 5,000 large public and private organisations are likely to be full participants in CRC, and it has been estimated that energy costs will increase between 7% and 15%. The introductory phase is due to start in April 2010 ...
IntroductionAs of 8 January 2009, Belgian listed companies and financial undertakings are required to have an audit committee. The Law of 17 December 2008 on the establishment of an audit committee in listed companies and financial undertakings (the “Law”) then enters into force ...
1. IntroductionThe Royal Decree of 8 October 2008 amending the Belgian Companies Code (“BCC”) has amended the rules on financial assistance. The new rules entered into force on 1 January 2009. The Royal Decree implements European Directive 2006/68/EC amending the Second Company Law Directive. The Belgian rules on financial assistance apply to public limited-liability companies (NV/SA), private limited-liability companies (BVBA/SPRL), partnerships limited by shares (Comm ...
Service charges are going to be a major bone of contention between landlords and tenants during the recession, as landlords seek to maximise returns from property, and tenants seek to count every penny. This could lead to a mountain of litigation, all of it protracted, and all of it destined to sour landlord and tenant relations for many years to come ...
On 15 April 2009, the Law Society published an updated practice note on mortgage fraud ...
Auction sales can raise difficulties when determining whether the transaction is a transfer of a going concern (“TOGC”) as there are two possible situations at which the tax point occurs. If the deposit is being held as agent then the tax point is from the moment the auctioneer's hammer goes down ...
On the 1st June 2009, the major parts of the Insolvency Act 2009 (“the Act”) came into operation. The Act has completely revamped the insolvency regime in Mauritius and new provisions now govern “voidable transactions” following a company liquidation. The “ordinary course of business” test, which was prevailing under the former regime, has now been abandoned and replaced by what is known as the “running account principle” ...
A small measure of relief may be coming to some beleaguered Michigan communities that have been struggling recently with the difficult question of what actions they can realistically take to encourage much-needed local economic development while remaining cognizant of the financial limitations associated with lower revenues, higher costs and uncertain economic projections. The answer for some might be found in recovery zone financings ...
More recently, the Québec Superior Court established that the active participation of a surety in the restructuring of a company under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) was critical to determining whether a surety’s obligations could be reduced under the terms of an arrangement .2 accordingly, in Charles-Auguste Fortier inc ...
AS HIGHLIGHTED BY QUÉBEC COURTS, SURETIES ARE KEY PLAYERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. IN 2002, THE QUÉBEC COURT OF APPEAL ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR IMPORTANCE IN A DISPUTE BETWEEN A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND A SUPPLIER. THE COURT NOTED THAT THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY’S LOSSES HAD BEEN EXACERBATED BY THE WITHDRAWAL OF ITS SURETY FACILITY ...
Renewable energy sources, including wind power, represent 40 percent of the total energy production in Sweden. In order to curb climate change the European Union stated, as a part of the so called 2020-decision of the 23 of January 2009, that Sweden should increase its production of renewable energy to 49 percent by the year 2020 ...
Introduction The term 'climate change' is now common parlance, but what role does green building play within the broader climate change picture? Well, emissions regulations post Kyoto are imminent and buildings are able to offer cost effective emissions cuts – there is therefore a possibility that the building sector may eventually be hit with emissions caps ...
