On February 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded the scope of trade control measures targeting Russia on the one-year anniversary of that country’s invasion of Ukraine. These measures include an expansion of export controls on common industrial and commercial items provided to Russia and Belarus, the addition of nearly 90 Russian and third-country companies to the Entity List,...

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In this week’s Roar: the supply chain’s mark on inflation, U.S. port rankings, falling air cargo demand, more reshoring, and positioning supply chains for success in 2023. In theory, since the supply chain is repairing itself, the benefits of that recovery should be felt downstream. Consumers should be catching a break from all the inflated costs that came with COVID and the snarl it made of logistics and transportation. But not so fast. Because despite an apparent turnaround for the...

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Gone are the days of having cash and other liquid investments on our balance sheets earning a fraction of a percentage point. As many of our readers are experiencing, and an observation we’re noticing with the majority of our clients, is that cash reserves in transportation & logistics businesses are at an all time high. Profitability, government aide, and strong used equipment market has had a tremendous impact on companies’ balance sheets, enabling them to build cash reserves for...

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The landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), which following months of negotiations and debate entered into force on 16 November 2022, is nearing the final phases before being fully implemented. In 2024, the flagship rules will be implemented to regulate the content and governance of digital platforms across the EU. The DSA aims to increase transparency on digital algorithms, stop the spread of illegal posts and disinformation, and protect user privacy. Platforms are subject to different degrees of regulation based...

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L+R is excited to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona. The conference is the largest mobile industry event and our team has selected to exhibit within the 4YFN (4 Years From Now) show at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona. 4YFN promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in the technology sector and provides a platform for startups, investors, and industry experts to come together and share their insights. From February 27th to March 1st, 2023, L+R’s team...

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The period from mid-2020 to the fourth quarter of 2022 was a high-water mark for the container shipping industry, and with it came unprecedented turmoil, disruption, and prosperity. That period was, above all, a period of extremes: extreme rate rises, extreme container and labor shortages, extreme delays, extreme congestion, and extreme chaos for exporters and importers alike. For container ship operators themselves, it was an era of extreme revenues and extreme earnings. Thanks to those earnings, the container shipping industry,...

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This week was a big week for the telecommunications sector in Europe as the Commission presented a package of plans to boost EU connectivity and speed up 5G deployment across the block. The package is in line with EU plans under the Digital Decade, which sets the target to have all European households covered by a Gigabit network and all populated areas covered by networks of at least 5G performance by 2030. Announcing the measures on 23 February, Commissioner Breton,...

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Portugal Golden Visa Program to Expire Soon In a very surprising turn of events, after saying that the Golden Visa program wouldn’t be changed or terminated during 2023, the Portuguese Government held a Ministry Council meeting on February 16 where it approved the termination of the Golden Visa Program under a new legislative package to control the Portuguese Housing Crisis. This decision comes as a surprise, especially after the vote on the National Budget for 2023 determined that the Golden Visa...

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ESG is currently on the rise in the M&A world. ESG stands for Environmental, Social & Governance. Within M&A, this term implies that factors such as energy consumption, the availability of raw materials, the environmental impact of the operations, diversity within the company, compliance with human rights, safe working conditions and good corporate governance are all to be considered in the selection and management of participations. ESG investments cautiously came on the scene in the 1960s under the heading of...

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