The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly lengthened the list of developing and emerging market economies in debt distress. For some, a crisis is imminent. For many more, only exceptionally low global interest rates may be delaying a reckoning. Default rates are rising, and the need for debt restructuring is growing. Yet new challenges may hamper debt workouts unless governments and multilateral lenders provide better tools to navigate a wave of restructuring. The IMF, the World Bank, and other multilaterals acted quickly...

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The American economist Frank Knight theorized about the difference between risk and uncertainty in his classic book Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. Risk is “a quantity susceptible of measurement.” A precise outcome may not be known, but the probability of a few that are most likely can be calculated. Uncertainty means there is not enough information to even narrow down the possibilities. When a situation is “not susceptible to measurement” economists call it Knightian uncertainty. If this sounds familiar, it is because we...

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Tomorrow, the EU Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles will start to apply. Adopted in May 2018, the new Regulation significantly overhauls and tightens the previous type approval and market surveillance system. It improves the quality and independence of vehicle type-approval and testing, increases checks of cars already on the EU market and strengthens the overall system with greater European oversight. Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market said: “Europeans rightly expect to drive the cleanest and safest cars. That presupposes...

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Statement by EU Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen | Good morning, Last night Phil Hogan submitted his resignation from the post as Trade Commissioner. I respect this. I am very grateful to Phil Hogan for his tireless and successful work as a Commissioner and as a member of the College. I thank him warmly for his valuable contribution to the work of the Commission, not only in this mandate, but also in the previous mandate, when he was Commissioner in...

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The Commission today adopted its proposal for fishing opportunities for 2021 for the Baltic Sea. Based on the latest available scientific advice and in order to improve long-term sustainability of fish stocks, the Commission proposes to increase fishing opportunities for herring in the Gulf of Riga and main basin salmon, whilst maintaining the current levels for herring in the Gulf of Bothnia, sprat and plaice. The Commission proposes to decrease fishing opportunities for the remaining stocks covered by the proposal. Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for...

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Together with our members we are creating a Video series of first-hand accounts of the Pandemic’s impact, both personally & professionally. We invite you to join us today for a first-hand look at the impact of the global shutdown following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – Today we are featuring Maciej Minkiewicz, Founder & Owner of therecruitingproject, a Member of the EACCNY. The questions we asked our members for this series are: 1) What are some challenges you, personally and your organization have faced? 2)...

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Blog post by EU High Representative Josep Borrell | 26 August - Foreign policy never stops. But the summer of 2020 has been exceptionally busy, with a seemingly never-ending series of crises: in Lebanon, Belarus, Mali and the Eastern Mediterranean. At the informal Gymnich meeting in Berlin (27-28 August) we must forge a common way forward. It is both urgent and feasible to strengthen Europe’s international clout. "In the EU, what matters is not how a discussion begins, with 27 different...

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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The federal bank regulatory agencies today finalized three rules, which are either identical or substantially similar to interim final rules currently in effect that were issued earlier this year. They include: A final rule that temporarily modifies the community bank leverage ratio, as required by the CARES Act; A final rule that makes more gradual, as intended, the automatic restrictions on distributions if...

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