Chapter News

Latvia: Staff Concluding Statement of an IMF Staff Visit

Latvia continues to make steady progress. Unemployment continues to fall, and now stands at just under 10 percent, half its crisis peak. The current account deficit remains modest, and inflation is picking up slowly towards the euro area target. While overall economic sentiment shows little change, consumer confidence has reached levels not seen since the crisis. The supply of bank lending, though still shrinking, shows some signs of stabilizing. Growth appears to be accelerating. This is despite somewhat softer growth...

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Chapter News

EU Commission proposes modern digital contract rules to simplify and promote access to digital content and online sales across the EU

Delivering on its Digital Single Market strategy, the Commission today presents two proposals to better protect consumers who shop online across the EU and help businesses expand their online sales. One of the Digital Market Strategy's pillars is to ensure better access for consumers and businesses to online goods and services across Europe. E-commerce is growing, but its full potential remains untapped both for businesses and consumers in Europe: only 12% of EU retailers sell online to consumers in other...

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Chapter News

Council conclusions on corporate taxation – Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)

The Council:   NOTES that effective corporate taxation can be undermined by base erosion and profit shifting; STRESSES that unfair tax competition between Member States as well as between the latter and third countries could affect the functioning of the Single Market, whilst acknowledging the importance of taxation for competitiveness; RECALLS and CONFIRMS the European Council conclusions of 18 December 2014 stating the urgent need to advance efforts in the fight against tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, both at the global...

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Member News

Ushering in a New Year of Labor and Employment Legislation

With the new year less than one month away, the compliance countdown for new laws has begun. Limited time remains in 2015 for employers to ensure policies and practices are developed or revised to meet 2016 obligations. Time is of the essence, particularly as key management personnel are more likely to be absent this time of year because of upcoming holidays and planned vacations. Companies must make the most of what remains of 2015 to ensure they are prepared when...

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Member News

New Metropolitan Life Loan to Defease Manhattan Office Loan

According to an article from Commercial Real Estate Direct, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has provided a loan for 255 Greenwich St. for $145 million. The loan will defease an $85 million mortgage that makes up 5.04% of MSC 2006-IQ12. With a scheduled maturity date in October 2016, the loan is currently in prepayment lockout until July of next year. Formerly known as 75 Park Place until the name was changed to 255 Greenwich St. three years ago, the building is a 14-story, 623,748 square-foot office located next to the...

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Chapter News

Fighting tax evasion: EU and the Republic of San Marino sign new tax transparency agreement

The EU and San Marino signed today a landmark tax transparency agreement, constituting an important step forward in the fight against tax evasion. The new agreement marks the end of bank secrecy between San Marino and the EU. As of 2017, San Marino and EU Member States will automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of one another's residents. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: "This agreement between the EU and San Marino is an...

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Member News

Pennsylvania Office Depot to Close

An article from Pennsylvania newspaper Centre Daily Times recently reported that the Office Depot in State College, Pennsylvania will be closing. The location backs the $2.4 million Office Depot-State College loan, which makes up 0.21% of the remaining collateral behind MSC 2007-T25. Office Depot is the sole tenant in the 32,150 square-foot property. The loan matures January 2017 and the Office Depot lease ends in March 2016. © Compliments of Trepp, LLC - A member of the EACCNY  

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Chapter News, Uncategorized

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation in the biofuels sector concerning ethanol benchmarks

The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to scrutinise whether three ethanol producers have, in breach of EU antitrust rules, manipulated ethanol benchmarks published by a price reporting agency. The companies concerned are Abengoa S.A. of Spain, Alcogroup SA of Belgium and Lantmännen ek för of Sweden, together with their relevant subsidiaries. They produce, distribute and trade ethanol. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, stated:"Competitive biofuels markets are crucial to promote cleaner transport and to cut greenhouse...

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Member News

New York’s New Women’s Equality Laws

On October 21, 2015, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a number of bills intended to advance women’s equality in the workplace. The bills address pay equality, sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of sex, family status discrimination, and pregnancy discrimination. Employers should familiarize themselves with these bills before they become effective on January 19, 2016. Moreover, employers should review their relevant employment policies and pay practices to ensure compliance and decrease their risk of exposure....

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Chapter News

Remarks by J. Dijsselbloem following the Eurogroup meeting of 7 December 2015

Good evening everyone and welcome to this press conference. I was going to say that we've had busier turnouts - looking at the audience tonight - but it makes sense, because we also had a short Eurogroup meeting.  Let me first make a couple of remarks on Greece, which was one of the countries discussed today. After successful implementation of the first set of milestones last month, today we took stock of the implementation of the second set of milestones....

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