Despite the delay to level II announced by the European Commission ("EC") at the beginning of the summer 2021, the last few months have been busy for sustainable finance! The market was given plenty of valuable information on the direction of travel of the EU sustainable finance agenda – from the EC’s announcement of the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy on 6 July 2021, to its answers later that same month to the Q&A raised earlier this year by the ESAs...

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The long-running tension between the European Union and Poland over judicial reforms and the independence of the judiciary in the central European country took a fresh turn this week. As requested by the European Commission on 7 September, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) this week moved to take the unprecedented step and ordered Poland to pay €1million per day in fines until it responded and implemented the CJEU’s July ruling on the subject. The fine is the highest...

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On October 21, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (the rule) implementing expanded export controls on cybersecurity items based on the belief that these items “could be used for surveillance, espionage, or other actions that disrupt, deny or degrade the network or devices on it.” The new controls on cybersecurity items stem from the 2013 addition by the Wassenaar Arrangement1 (WA) of cybersecurity items, including intrusion software to Wassenaar’s list...

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The life sciences industry is expanding at an unprecedented rate, and the development of related technologies requires a great deal of commercial real estate space. This presents an opportunity for investors to capitalize on the development of spaces for the evergreen life sciences industry. Life sciences companies were once found primarily in New England. Newer companies are currently exploring other locations on the east coast, particularly New York City and the Tri-State area. Life sciences companies seek locations with robust...

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Nowadays, a company that wants to be successful will almost always need to deal with the challenge of innovation and sustainability.  Innovation and sustainability typically involve the business model or the services or products offered by the company. However, they can also have impact on a company’s operations and organization. Indeed, a flexible and forward-looking corporate structure can be crucial to the growth and development of a startup. Below are ten tips for managing and developing a new business in an...

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to return to a policy, requiring companies to admit wrongdoing to settle certain enforcement actions, according to the SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal. Grewal, speaking at the Practising Law Institute’s October 13 SEC Speaks conference, said the agency will require “admissions in cases ‘where heightened accountability and acceptance of responsibility are in the public interest.’” Grewal told attendees that “hen it comes to accountability, few things rival the magnitude of wrongdoers admitting that they...

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As employers across the country are facing critical labor shortages, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stepped in, attempting to help by removing barriers that may have previously stopped employers from rehiring retirees and dissuaded many workers from continuing to work after reaching retirement age. The IRS recently provided guidance in the form of answers to two new frequently asked questions (FAQs) on its website to alleviate two common concerns relating to the payment of retirement benefits to employees who are still...

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A bad hire can be a costly, frustrating, and time-consuming mistake. The US Department of Labor has estimated that the cost of a single bad hire equals up to 30% of the employee’s first-year salary. The time and money spent to find, hire, and train these bad hires will all be for naught, and what’s worse is that you will still be on the hook to repeat the process when you inevitably must replace the employee who didn’t work...

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We are delighted to announce that PSNGR1 won the Business Travel Innovator 2021 People's Choice Award at the BTN (Business Travel News) Group 8th Annual Innovate Faceoff on October 22. PSNGR1 is an end-to-end corporate travel platform that provides preferred content, a layer of smart policies/administration, and the convenience of booking everything in one place. No financial commitments. No subscriptions. No booking fees. Just savings of up to 35%. Content Preferred discounts from air, hotel and car suppliers to drive savings! Convenience Employees can book...

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This month’s newsletter provides an overview of recent changes in Canadian and American immigration including all measures directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the most recent news since the beginning of the pandemic and travel restrictions as of October 22, 2021 The U.S. land border will be open to fully vaccinated Canadian travellers starting on November 8 Vaccinated Canadians will be able to travel to the U.S. by land or ferry starting on November 8, 2021 for non-essential purposes (tourism, family travel,...

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