Member News

U.S. Business Visitors Using the Visa Waiver Program May Soon Be Asked for Social Media Information

The federal government has proposed a new rule requiring that applicants for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)—which allows citizens of certain countries to enter the United States without visas—be asked to voluntarily disclose their social media accounts in order to allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to further investigate their backgrounds before allowing them to use the program. The VWP allows citizens or nationals of the following countries to enter the United States without visas for the purposes of...

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Member News

Federal Circuit Finds Software Patent Claims Eligible Under Step One of the Alice Framework

McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., et al2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16703 (Fed. Cir. Sep. 13, 2016) (opinion by Judge Reyna, joined by Judges Taranto and Stoll) On September 13, 2016, the Federal Circuit held that McRO’s patent claims are subject matter eligible for protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Notably, the Federal Circuit found that the challenged claims, which define a "method for automatically animating lip synchronization and facial expression of three-dimensional characters" to a spoken-word audio...

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Member News

The missing link to successful expatriation

Expanding globally? Get full Value! You and perhaps your family will explore many new adventures, and you are all, for good reason, excited. You know that life is not a smooth ride, but you are a high performer and a troubleshooter so you will, of course, also manage whatever comes your way the next couple of years you are in ‘foreign territory.' So, with all those skills and all that willpower why is it that up to 20% of US managers...

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Member News

Big Data: the end of causality and the beginning of correlation

Data are not a new technology, but a new mentality. The involved fields? Business, health care, education, mobility and transports To Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Big Data is not a just a new technology, but, in his own words, “a shift in mindset”: humans, he says, are gradually shifting from thinking in terms of causality to thinking in terms of correlation, from analysing small amounts of ordered data to processing huge amounts of messy data. A professor of Internet Governance and Regulation...

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Member News

Top 100 Aerospace and Defence companies posted record profits, but a slowdown in commercial aircraft orders and macro-drivers may create new headwinds

Sector to face continued disruption from combination of new players and digitalization, according to annual AlixPartners study The global Aerospace and Defence (‘A&D’) industry has seen record profits of 10.1% EBIT for the top 100 companies and sales up 3%, according to the most recent annual outlook for the industry by AlixPartners, the global business advisory firm.  AlixPartners warns that some parts of the sector may face new headwinds from the combination of a tense commercial aircraft supply chain, potential...

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Member News

Houlihan Lokey Advises AmeriMark Holdings, LLC

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the successful placement of $140 million senior secured credit facility for AmeriMark Holdings, LLC, a catalog and e-commerce portfolio company of Prudential Capital Partners. The financing consisted of a $75 million ABL revolver and a $65 million senior secured term loan. Proceeds were used to refinance the company's existing indebtedness ahead of a maturity, as well as to pay related fees and expenses. The transaction closed on September 8, 2016. Founded in 1969, AmeriMark...

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New York Related News

Governor Cuomo Announces Loans of Up to $2 Million are Available to Support Small Businesses Affected by the Drought

Loans Are Available In Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York and Southern Tier Following Federal Disaster Declaration Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that at his request, the U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is now offering assistance to eligible small businesses and other entities affected by this summer's drought in the Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York and Southern Tier regions. Loan amounts of up to $2 million are being offered to...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

15th Round Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations

The 15th round of EU-US trade talks will take place in New York from Monday 3 to Friday 7 October 2016. NEGOTIATIONS The fifteenth round of EU-US negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement will take place in New York, from 3 – 7 October. Both EU and US Chief Negotiators will take a break from the talks to brief the stakeholders on the update of negotiations. The event will take place on Wednesday, 5 October. CHIEF NEGOTIATORS BRIEFING The...

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Chapter News

The next steps in the evolution of the Eurosystem’s market infrastructure

Opening remarks by Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Eurosystem community session at Sibos, Geneva, 26 September 2016 Introduction One year ago, the Eurosystem shared some initial reflections on the strategy for the future development of its market infrastructure. The rationale behind these strategic reflections was the need to keep pace with technological developments in line with the mandate of our Treaty to promote the smooth operation of payment systems. Digitalisation of financial services The digitalisation of financial services...

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Member News

New Philanthropy Will Support Universal Education for Neediest Children and Youth Worldwide

Catalyst Trust will join with the Institute of International Education to create PEER - the Platform for Education in Emergencies Response John Sexton To Announce Formation of Catalyst Trust, supported by Gordon Brown New web-based clearinghouse will connect refugee and internally displaced students to scholarships and educational opportunities around the world Students and scholars in Syria and many other parts of the world have been abruptly cut off from educational opportunities by war, persecution, and violence engulfing their homes. More than...

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