By Vulcan Consulting KEY EVENTS THIS WEEK: GERMANY Brief coalition breakthrough reached as remaining hurdles mount Berlin experienced a temporary reprieve early last week when the Social Democrats (SPD) voted on Sunday in favour of formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CSU-CDU bloc. The centre-left party has grown exceedingly divided over whether to re-enter another grand coalition with Ms. Merkel or spend a term rebuilding the party in the opposition benches.   As anticipated, the vote was extremely...

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By Edward Holman, Beth George and Bastiaan Suurmond | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 2018 promises to be an interesting year in the world of privacy and cybersecurity. In this article, we highlight a few of the most notable developments we expect this year, including major developments in Europe, changes and pending cases at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), notable U.S. Supreme Court cases scheduled to be decided this year, and some areas of legislation that actually may...

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By William R. Rhodes – President & CEO | William R. Rhodes Global Advisors, LLC | Remarks given on January 19th at the Lotos Club Let me give you a brief rundown of how I see the world economy, concentrating ON the US and China.  First of all, let me give you the Good News. The world economy is likely to continue in 2018 to display the significant economic growth that emerged in 2017. This results from improved investment, strengthened world...

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By Alix Partners We are delighted to report that our colleague, Derek Holt, has been promoted to Managing Director in our European economics consulting practice. Derek’s promotion reflects his substantial contribution across a range of competition and regulatory cases.   In 2017 alone, Derek acted as an independent expert for: Visa Inc. in relation to various interchange fee Court litigation (where the Court decided that Article 101(1) had not been infringed); Visa Inc. in relation to the European Commission’s investigation of inter-regional interchange...

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By Alexia M. Fishman | Member | Cozen O'Connor |(800) 523-2900  |afishmancozen.com The new tax law represents the most comprehensive overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code since 1986 and includes important changes to the estate and gift tax rules that likely will have an impact on your estate plan, the state you may choose to be your residence, or your charitable giving.  We want to highlight these important changes: Annual Gift Amount Increased. For 2018, the annual gift tax exclusion amount for gifts...

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By DS-Concept DS-Concept has provided a $30 million credit facility to a trading company specializing in chemicals that are widely used in coatings, adhesives, X-ray films, and refinery. The company, based in China and exporting to the U.S., Europe, and South America, is applying the facility to finance open account terms with buyers overseas, fill more orders, and pursue additional commodity opportunities with larger clients, furthering its coveted position as a leading chemicals supplier. As the US and Europe phase out...

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