Chapter News

Coronavirus: Commission proposes to ease restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU while addressing variants through new ‘emergency brake’ mechanism

Today, the Commission is proposing that Member States ease the current restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU to take into account the progress of vaccination campaigns and developments in the epidemiological situation worldwide. The Commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine. This could be extended to vaccines having completed...

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Chapter News

ECB | What is driving the recent surge in shipping costs?

In the second half of 2020 global economic activity and trade staged a sharp rebound driven mainly by the manufacturing sector, while services sector activity was and has remained subdued. In the third quarter of 2020 global economic activity recovered swiftly as a result of the easing of the pandemic and associated containment measures as well as the significant policy support deployed at the peak of the crisis. Despite a slowdown in the last quarter of the year, reflecting a...

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Member News

Jaguar Freight | Happy Birthday To Container Shipping!

With MSC’s recent launch of a global electronic bill of lading, containers falling overboard everywhere you turn, EU’s approval of the post-Brexit trade treaty, container shipping turning 65, and the mess that is O’Hare airport, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover in this week’s global freight updates. But first, let us toot our own horn as Jaguar Freight is proud to be receiving the Global Supply Chain Award at the World Trade Week NYC. The World Trade Week...

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Member News

BBGFX | May 2021 FX Outlook

After generally trending higher in the first quarter, the dollar slumped in April.  An important leg of support was cut, as interest rates fell.  The 10-year yield slid by more than 20 bp at one point despite the unambiguous evidence that the economy was strengthening, and input prices were rising, not just stemming from comparisons with last year's depressed levels.  The implied yield of the December 2022 Eurodollar futures contract is lower than at the end of February. Yet,...

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Chapter News, Financing for Development/UN SDG's

IMF | Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Will Require Extraordinary Effort by All

The pandemic’s impact on the world’s poor has been especially harsh. COVID-19 may have pushed about 100 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 alone, while the UN warns that in some regions poverty could rise to levels not seen in 30 years. The current crisis has derailed progress toward basic development goals, as low-income developing countries must now balance urgent spending to protect lives and livelihoods with longer-term investments in health, education, physical infrastructure, and other essential needs. In a new study, we propose...

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Member News

Troutman Pepper | SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund Begins Taking Applications May 3

Prompt Attention Necessary for Registrations Which Begin April 30 Congress created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (Fund) as a part of the larger American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) (Act), which President Biden signed into law last month with $28.6 billion allocated to the Fund under the Act. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) grant program, created under the Act’s authority, will begin accepting applications on May 3, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST. In anticipation of the application window...

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Member News

Vulcan Insight | EU economic powerhouse present their economic recovery plans

With days before the 30 April “orientation date” for national capitals to submit their economic recovery plans to the European Commission for assessment, the EU’s economic powerhouses this week submitted their national reform and spending plans in order to get a share of the mammoth €800 billion post-COVID Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).  As the initial brains behind the landmark Recovery Fund, which, for the first time in EU history, will be funded by Member States’ joint debt, German Finance Minister...

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Chapter News

IMF | COVID-19: The Moms’ Emergency

A year ago, the world changed. While the pandemic’s effect on workers has varied worldwide, the new reality has left many mothers scrambling. With schools and daycares closed, many were forced to leave their jobs or cut the hours they worked. New IMF estimates confirm the outsized impact on working mothers, and on the economy as a whole. In short, within the world of work, women with young children have been among the biggest casualties of the economic lockdowns. 'Mothers of young children...

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Chapter News

OECD | Labour market disruption & COVID-19 support measures contribute to widespread falls in taxes on wages in 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in the largest decrease in taxes on wages since the global financial crisis of 2008-09, according to a new OECD report. Taxing Wages 2021 shows that declining household incomes coupled with tax reforms linked to the pandemic are driving widespread declines in effective taxes on wages across the OECD. The report highlights record falls across the OECD during 2020 in the tax wedge – the total taxes on labour paid by both employees and employers, minus...

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Member News

Portolano Cavallo | Italian Competition Authority fines Telepass for alleged misleading information on the use of personal data: is it the fall of all boundaries between consumer protection and privacy protection in the digital world?

This article is part of Portolano Cavallo’s “INFORM@Digital & IP” Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. | With a recent decision, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM or “ICA”) brought renewed focus to the increasing intersection between consumer protection rules and personal data protection rules. Specifically, the ICA fined Telepass (a company providing payment systems and toll services to drivers) and its subsidiary, Telepass Broker, EUR 2 million for having received information about users from car insurance companies and brokers without adequately informing users...

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