Member News

SARIO Newsletter: ECONOMY NEWS

The Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic supported 42 investment plans during this parliamentary term. As the ministry said further, thereof 31 projects were directed to central or eastern Slovakia, where almost 4,500 new jobs will be created. The total volume of supported investments during this parliamentary term should exceed 1 billion euros and create more than 6,700 new jobs. Investment aid exceeded 207 million euros, of which almost 130 million euros represents income tax relief. Last time,...

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Member News

Special Letter : RE: Coronavirus

With over 2,600 new cases of Coronavirus reported this past weekend, more than 37,000 cases have been recorded worldwide, including over 800 deaths. The good news is the number of new cases declined 20 percent, the first drop since Feb 1. But there is also concern there might be an increase in new cases as people return to work after the Lunar New Year. The new respiratory virus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, with the vast majority...

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Member News

U.S. Dollar up as Virus Forces Tough Decisions

The U.S. Dollar is ending the week strengthening against all peers across the board as economic data is providing evidence of much better performance in this region than elsewhere. Indeed, the greenback is up based on releases showing non-Farm Payrolls growing by 225K over the expected 165K, while the Labor Participation Rate and Unemployment Rate both exceeded expectations. The overall health in the labor sector is certainly impressive, yet wages seem to be stuck with Average Hourly Earnings coming in...

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Chapter News

ESMA Issues Opinions on Position Limits under MIFID II

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published seven opinions on position limits  regarding commodity derivatives under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MIFIR) today. ESMA’s opinions agree with the proposed position limits regarding: ICE Endex Dutch TTF Gas contracts EEX Phelix DE Base Power contracts EEX Capesize TC5 Freight contracts EEX Spanish Power Base contracts MEFFPOWER  Baseload contracts ESMA found that the proposed position limits are consistent with the objectives established in MiFID II and with the methodology...

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Member News

Vulcan Insight Analysis of the Latest EU Developments

European Commission presents draft Brexit negotiating directives The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, on Monday 3 February, presented the EU’s draft negotiating directives. The draft mandate will now have to be approved by EU Affairs Ministers on 25 February. On the first full working day since the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union, the European Commission adopted the EU’s draft negotiating directives for the upcoming negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship. Pending any amendments by member...

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Chapter News

A More Credible, Dynamic, Predictable and Political EU Accession Process – Commission Lays out its Proposals

Today, the European Commission put forward a proposal to drive forward the EU accession process, by making it more credible, with a stronger political steer, more dynamic and predictable. Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, commented: “The European Union enlargement to the Western Balkans is a top priority for the Commission. We are working on three tracks: Firstly, today we propose concrete steps on how to enhance the accession process. While we are strengthening and improving the process, the goal remains accession...

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Member News

ING Posts 2019 Net Result of €4,781 Million; 4Q2019 Net Result of €880 Million

A growing number of customers choose ING as their primary bank Primary customer base rises by more than 830,000 in FY2019 to 13.3 million; total retail customer base reaches 38.8 million Net core lending grows by €17.2 billion in 2019, €2.0 billion in 4Q2019; net inflow customer deposits €23.4 billion in 2019, €2.5 billion in 4Q2019 Four-quarter rolling net interest margin holding up on continued pricing discipline and tiering ING full-year 2019 underlying pre-tax result 9.2% lower than last year;...

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Member News

The European Fund for Strategic Investment: A Tool to Bridge the Investment Gap

It was not the fault of the crisis or at least not of the crisis alone. But the economic and financial meltdown of 2007/8 and following years made the European investment gap more visible. In late 2014, when the previous President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker took office, it was obvious that the continent had been living off its capital stock for quite some time and that it was in dire need of modernisation. To spur investment and get...

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Member News

Mason Hayes & Curran Reports 4% Rise in Revenue

Irish business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran last year recorded a 4 per cent rise in revenue to €85 million. The Dublin-based firm, which is 50 years old, said the main drivers for its “solid” growth were demand in technology and data privacy, energy, financial services and litigation. It appointed 12 new partners, to bring the total to 90. Managing partner Declan Black said the firm was optimistic about this year, with a “positive” outlook for its clients given the strength of the Irish economy. Mr Black, who was recently...

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Member News

The Toy Association in Nuremberg: Trend-Tracking & International Meetings

February 3, 2020 | Toy Association staff members traveled to Nuremberg, Germany last week to meet with Spielwarenmesse 2020 exhibitors to track toy and play trends, as well as discuss regulatory issues of international importance with global toy associations. Toy Trends Spielwarenmesse was the latest stop for The Toy Association’s trends team, which travels to trade and consumer events throughout the year, both within the toy industry and beyond, to track new trends, meet with Toy Association members, and preview innovative products impacting...

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