Member News

Volker Rule Development As It Applies to Foreign Funds

The Volcker Rule was enacted into law as Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”). The Volcker Rule generally prohibits banking entities1 and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading and acquiring or retaining any equity, partnership, or other ownership interest in a “covered fund.” The ban on investing in and owning “covered funds” exempts certain types of funds, under specified conditions, and permits de minimis investment in any such funds. Click Here for an update...

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Chapter News

EU Prize for Women Innovators

The contest is on! Apply now to get a chance to win one of the three prizes! With the EU Prize for Women Innovators, the European Commission wants to give public recognition to outstanding women entrepreneurs who brought their innovative ideas to the market. The aim is to inspire other women to follow in their footsteps. After two successful editions in 2011 and 2014, the European Commission has launched the third edition of the prize. Three prizes will be awarded in Spring...

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Chapter News

Are Europeans Ready for Artificial Intelligence Up Close and Personal?

Eurobarometer Survey on Autonomous Systems  Drones delivering packages, driverless cars, robots vacuuming your house: these high tech devices already exist. The question is whether all members of society are ready to live alongside them and their artificial intelligence. A recent Eurobarometer Survey on “Autonomous Systems” took a sampling of Europeans’ opinions on how they feel about these new technological developments…from a consumer’s perspective. A majority of respondents agreed that civil drones are an efficient way of transporting and delivering goods, but two-thirds...

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Member News

ESMA Consults on UCITS Remuneration Guidelines and AIFMD

Directive 2014/91/EU (the “UCITS V”) is due to come into effect on 18 March, 2016 and will amend Directive 2009/65/EC (the “UCITS Directive”). Amongst other matters, it sets down rules which a UCITS Management Company must comply with when establishing and applying a remuneration policy for certain categories of its staff. UCITS V also provides that the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) shall issue guidelines addressed to competent authorities or financial market participants concerning the application of the...

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Chapter News

IMF Publishes Worldwide Government Revenue Database

The IMF today published for the first time the World Revenue Longitudinal Dataset (WoRLD), which provides data on tax and non-tax revenues for 186 countries over the period 1990-2013. The database includes broad country coverage and time periods, and it is the result of combining in a consistent manner data from two other IMF publications -- the IMF Government Finance Statistics and World Economic Outlook (WEO)-- and drawing on the OECD’s Revenue Statistics and Revenue Statistics in Latin America...

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Member News

DC Loan to Watch After EY Signs New Lease in Virginia

The following can be placed in the category of early speculation. Over the last week or so, several news outlets have published reports on Ernst & Young signing a lease for 125,000 square feet at The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II in Fairfax County in Virginia. We've been looking high and low for indications as to whether this represents new, incremental EY space, or a relocation from other space in the DC area. At this point, we've been unable to definitely answer...

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Member News

Ogletree Deakins Welcomes New Immigration Attorneys: Austin and Greenville

Ogletree Deakins is pleased to announce the addition of the following business immigration attorneys: Chad Li joined the Austin office as an associate. His practice focuses on employment-based immigration matters, including assisting companies in managing non-immigrant visa matters, such as H-1B, E, L, and TN employees, and immigrant visa matters covering all aspects of the permanent residency process. He has spent his career representing multinational corporations sponsoring foreign national employees, with a focus in the software, technology, and engineering industries....

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Member News

Didit Adds Bridge Global Strategies to Growing PR Services Group

Didit, an integrated marketing communications firm based in Mineola, N.Y., has acquired public relations firm Bridge Global Strategies LLC in Manhattan, Didit’s second PR agency acquisition within a year. Bridge Global Strategies is known for its PR services for startups, and for help to overseas companies with U.S. market entry. The acquisition adds additional heft and capabilities to Didit’s growing public relations services. “Bridge Global Strategies brings us international PR expertise and connections with companies around the world,” said David Pasternack,...

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Chapter News

IMF Executive Board Concludes Second Post-Program Monitoring with Portugal

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Second Post-Program Monitoring with Portugal,1 and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.2 Portugal’s economic recovery remains on track in 2015, boosted by rising exports and consumption, together with a recent upturn in investment. Real GDP expanded by 1.5 percent (year-on-year) in the first quarter, and is projected to increase 1.6 percent for the full year. Fiscal adjustment has slowed, meanwhile, with a structural loosening likely this...

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Chapter News

Financial stability: new Commission rules on central clearing for interest rate derivatives

The European Commission has today adopted new rules that make it mandatory for certain over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivative contracts to be cleared through central counterparties. Mandatory central clearing is a vital part of the response to the financial crisis; it follows commitments made by world leaders at the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, to improve transparency and mitigate risks. Jonathan Hill, EU Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: "Today we take a significant step...

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