With the recent escalation of military tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the governments of NATO states (including Canada, the United States, UK and the EU) have made statements in recent weeks confirming their intentions to impose sweeping new economic sanctions against Russia in the event that Russia proceeds with a military invasion of Ukraine. The nature of the potential new sanctions has not been publicly confirmed, but could include some combination of: expanded restrictions on dealings with Russian banks,...

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Previously published in Reuters Breakingviews | By William R. Rhodes & Stuart Mackintosh | The U.S. Federal Reserve is belatedly reacting to high inflation. Whether or not Chair Jerome Powell manages to tame worrying price pressures, his rhetoric and actions are pushing up interest rates in poorer countries at a speed not seen in more than a decade. That spells real trouble for emerging markets and lower-income countries, which are already groaning under the weight of large sovereign debts. The 1980s...

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On January 18, 2022, Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), held a joint press conference to announce that the agencies would be requesting comments on considerations for new horizontal and vertical merger guidelines. The comments will help inform the agencies in drafting new guidelines for vertical and horizontal mergers. Once the new guidelines are drafted, the...

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In this News Update, we discuss the ESRB's recommendation for establishing a pan-European systemic cyber incident coordination framework, the AFM's overview on the special purpose acquisition companies market in the Netherlands, including how it is supervised and the risks involved with investing in it and regulatory publications regarding stress testing on climate risks in the banking and insurance sector. We further highlight some other financial regulatory publications issued last month. ESRB | Recommendation for establishing a systemic cyber incident coordination...

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On Jan. 24, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release in conjunction with a Federal Register Notice regarding the public comment period for the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The UFLPA, signed into law Dec. 23, 2021, requires the federal Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to develop a strategy to prevent the importation of forced labor goods from China, and this comment period allows importers the opportunity to impact that strategy....

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Previously published in the Wall Street Journal | By William R. Rhodes and John Lipsky | Rising interest rates and slow economic growth will spur restructuring, but the procedures are inadequate for borrowers and lenders. Rising interest rates and slowing global economic growth likely will spur many low­ income countries to try to restructure their sovereign debt. This is troubling because recent restructuring cases have produced extended stalemates between borrowers and lenders rather than resolution. Existing international mechanisms for dealing with...

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