With ‘No Buy January’ now behind us, it is a good time to examine the performance of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans against regional and superregional malls; not that anyone one month would severely impact the performance. Malls were designed and built around their anchors. The idea: draw shoppers and line the way to the large anchor store with smaller, inline retailers. Those would generate the bulk of malls' rental revenue. CMBS Mall Loan Distress, But Not a Collapse  The $53.23 billion universe...

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff issued a joint statement on Jan. 28, 2026, providing greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to the category of crypto assets commonly referred to as tokenized securities. The staff introduced the statement as guidance on the taxonomies of tokenized securities to assist market participants in complying with federal securities laws and preparing registration statements, proposals, or requests for submission to the staff or the SEC. The statement generally categorizes...

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Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, spoke at the European Banking Summit in Brussels, on 28 January, 2026. Thank you, Wim, for your kind words, and for this invitation to share a few thoughts on the main theme of this summit - how European banks can support growth, innovation and security. There are three reasons that I really feel at home discussing this topic here today: First of all, because these goals are at the core of the EIB Group’s investment strategy....

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Welcome to the latest, bumper, edition of the Stephenson Harwood Data and Cyber Update, covering the key developments in data protection and cyber security law during both December 2025 and January 2026. In data regulation news, the European Commission and Brazil adopt mutual adequacy decisions; the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) provides a series of updates for the year ahead; and new Commencement Regulations set the commencement date for Section 138 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (the “DUAA”). In...

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Raising capital in the U.S. can accelerate a startup’s growth, but only with the right preparation. Raising funds in the United States can transform a startup’s trajectory. But scaling in America requires operational and strategic rigor that French entrepreneurs often underestimate. Two experts share their advice. With larger checks, sophisticated investors, and a market more open to innovation, the United States represents a powerful accelerator for French startups. But U.S. expansion is not something that can be improvised. “It’s counterproductive to try...

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If the CJEU follows Advocate General Kokott's opinion in the Stellantis case (C-603/24), delivered on 15 January 2026, this will have significant implications for intragroup VAT practices. Background The VAT treatment of transfer pricing (TP) adjustments continues to present difficult challenges, as discussed in our previous newsflash. Two recent rulings (C-808/23 and C-726/23) of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) addressed this issue but did not provide a principled answer on the VAT consequences of TP adjustments. Stellantis: Advocate General proposes VAT treatment for common...

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Financing for energy security rose to a record in 2025, with €11.6 billion invested in European grids, and mobilising around a third of the total energy transition investment Biggest ever financing programme for startups, scale-ups and tech infrastructure consolidates EIB Group’s position as cornerstone of EU’s venture capital ecosystem Scope of security and defence investments expanded, financing quadruples to reach nearly 5% of EIB Group’s annual EU business, in milestone year of historic decisions Financing for housing innovation,...

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Some U.S. employers are facing a complicated situation: a foreign national employee on a work visa, such as an H-1B, travels abroad for what should be a short trip, with the goal of renewing the visa stamp travel document, only to become stranded due to unforeseen visa processing delays. With some consular appointments being rescheduled several months after the original intended return dates, employers are left in a practical “Catch-22.” This article outlines the primary legal risks and strategic...

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