Changes in consumer behaviour and attitudes may be around for some time, what can retailers do to address them? The reopening of the UK’s “non-essential” retail cohort in towns, cities and shopping centres this month feels like a confident, if carefully managed, step forward into a brave new world. Hindered by the immense initial disruption and subsequent false dawns in 2020, this is a watershed moment for the retailers who have battened down the hatches for 12 months and counted down...

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In this News Update, we discuss some important developments concerning the IFR and IFD, sustainable finance and the EU Taxonomy, and the IDD Single Rulebook. We also look at the 2021 legislative letters of the AFM and DNB, and highlight some other financial regulatory publications. If you wish to stay informed, you can subscribe to the News Update Financial Regulatory. DNB – IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING IFR/IFD The Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, "DNB") has drawn attention to developments related to the new...

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Introduction The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) estimates that there are 34 million defined benefit plan participants in private pension plans and 106 million defined contribution plan participants with combined assets of $9.3 trillion. Participants increasingly access their plan accounts and take actions on their plan benefits through online tools made available by plan sponsors and service providers. In fact, in 2020, the DOL finalized rules encouraging electronic delivery and disclosures of plan information. As a...

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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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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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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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