Finland and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding on icebreaker cooperation. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and US President Donald Trump signed the memorandum of understanding at their meeting in Washington on 9 October. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo also attended the meeting. This memorandum of understanding lays the foundation for commercial agreements between the United States Coast Guard and Finnish companies. Finland and the United States are deepening their cooperation in the design and construction of icebreakers....

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In this week’s Roar: A big week of trade deals, the government shutdown and air cargo, major infrastructure projects across the U.S., calls to rebuild American commercial shipping capacity, and uncertainty about manufacturing strategies. Resolution of the U.S.-China trade dispute has always been the elephant in the room since the tariff fights began earlier this year. On Thursday, a breakthrough was announced, which lowers the overall tariff on Chinese goods. However, that was just the latest in a series of announcements from the...

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The Tax Foundation has recently published an article titled “There's No Good Way to Pay for Property Tax Repeal” which is another contribution to the current debate in the USA over whether property taxes can be abolished. Written by Jared Walczak, Vice President of State Projects, the key findings are stated by the author to be: • Property taxes currently generate 70 percent of all local tax revenue, some or all of which would have to be replaced with other...

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• The EIB Group – via its subsidiaries the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund – is investing in a new Santander securitisation transaction to back the competitiveness and investments of small businesses and mid-caps in Spain. • €200 million will go to financing the construction of near-zero emission buildings by small businesses and mid-caps in the real estate sector. • €70 million will also be directed to supporting companies whose shareholders or management teams are mostly women. • Operation...

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EUDR only to be postponed for small enterprises, but simplifications planned for traders The European Commission was recently publicly considering postponing the application of European Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (Deforestation Regulation – “EUDR”) once again until the end of 2026. This idea with the proposed amendments put forward on 21 October 2025 is no longer on the table. The regulation is only to be postponed for small enterprises. Instead, traders can expect significant simplifications. This means that the legal uncertainty...

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Catherine Connolly elected as Irish President amid unprecedented voter protest Catherine Connolly, an independent TD and former Leas-Cheann Comhairle, was elected as Ireland’s 10th President on 24 October with approximately 63.4% of valid first-preference votes. Voter turnout was around 45.8%, one of the lowest in recent decades, while spoiled or invalid ballots totalled roughly 213,738, about 12.9% of votes cast. This presidential election marked the culmination of a campaign defined more by tone and turnout than by controversy. The presidency remains one...

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By: Rachel Szymanski, Chief Economist, TREPP The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points at the October 2025 Federal Open Market Committee meeting,  an expected move that marks a cautious step in the easing cycle. Officials framed the decision as a balance between risks that are shifting in opposite directions: inflation edges up, while labor markets cool. The cut reflected a relative shift towards greater labor market risks, returning closer to the neutral rate, although still leaving policy modestly restrictive. What...

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Mönchengladbach, Germany – International trade finance company Tradewind Finance today announced a USD 3.5 million factoring facility for a Hong Kong subsidiary of a leading family-owned and operated shirt brand based in Germany. The Hong Kong company is utilizing the facility to further improve cash flow and efficiently manage their international operations amid shifting trade policy. With a strong brand legacy for quality shirts, the Hong Kong subsidiary is reengineering their financing options when orders for the brand’s shirts started...

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By now, you've read countless stories and headlines that assure you that the commercial property market has turned the corner. The worst is past. You might have read some of that here. There are numerous data points to indicate that to be true. While CMBS delinquency rates continue to inch higher, albeit at a much slower pace, that metric is a lagging indicator. A loan goes delinquent after its collateral has lost a tenant or otherwise suffered a drop in...

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