In 2012 global budgets for research and development climbed by 5.8 percent to USD 638 billion, a clear continuation of the growth trend in recent years following the economic crisis of 2009. This is the conclusion of the "Global Innovation 1000" study of the strategic consulting company Booz & Company. For the ninth straight year, the company analyzed the budgets of the 1,000 companies with the highest R&D expenditures in the world. Due to the crisis, European investments in research and...

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The Trepp CMBS delinquency rate continued its impressive turnaround in November, which marked the sixth consecutive month of improvement. With a rate decrease of 32 basis points in November, the delinquency rate for US commercial real estate loans in CMBS is 7.66%. The Trepp delinquency rate has dropped 268 basis points since reaching an all-time high of 10.34% in the summer of 2012. As we noted last month, with only one month of data remaining in 2013, there could still be...

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Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna succeeded in developing a biological imaging process with an in-depth effect. This new technology is particularly suitable for sensitive and dynamic samples. The new microscopy technique developed by IMP in cooperation with the Vienna University of Technology enables a three dimensional image of the analyzed sample to be created with a single measurement. The new light microscopy method is based on converting the position information of fluorescent markets into color...

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The Cayman Islands Government signed a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement with US Government on 29 November 2013. The intergovernmental agreement provides the framework for automatic exchange of tax information under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA"). The Model 1 intergovernmental agreement and associated Cayman Islands Legislation will provide for Cayman domiciled foreign financial institutions to disclose information to the Cayman Tax Information Authority. The Cayman Tax Information Authority will implement the data-reporting framework for the automatic exchange of...

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After two months of relatively low liquidation volume, November brought a return to average levels. Liquidation volume came in at $1.2 billion in November, up from $960 million in October and $870 million in September. Volume registered on par with the 12-month moving average of $1.18 billion. Further, the majority of loans liquidated fell into the greater than 2% loss severity category. November loss severity landed at 48.10%, up considerably from October's 38.58% and above the 12-month moving average of...

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