The European Commission can continue its investigation into the alleged State aid granted by the Netherlands to Nike in the form of several tax rulings. On 14 July 2021, the General Court (the "Court") dismissed the appeal of Nike European Operations Netherlands BV ("NEON") and Converse Netherlands BV ("CN"), part of the Nike Group ("Nike"), against the European Commission's ("Commission") decision to initiate a formal investigation into the alleged State aid granted by the Netherlands to Nike in the form...

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Vice-Presidents of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Lilyana Pavlova and Kris Peeters spoke in separate panels at the Seventh Prague European Summit (PES) and shared the EIB’s views on COVID-19 recovery, the green transition and the future of sustainable mobility in the European Union. Since its inception in 2015, the Prague European Summit advances strategic discussions about pan-European topics from a Central-Eastern European perspective. The EIB is working with the PES for the second year in a row to contribute towards high...

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On June 11, the Biden administration’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or Commission) rulemaking agenda (Rulemaking Agenda) as part of the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Rulemaking Agenda outlines a panoply of items that, taken together, summarize the SEC’s plan for near- and long-term regulatory action for the upcoming year. This is, of course, not the industry’s first glimpse into what we can expect from...

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"Fit for 55" aims to radically transform Europe's transportation Earlier this year, the European Union legally committed itself to reducing its carbon emissions by 55%, compared to 1990, by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050. The Commission’s new “Fit for 55” package has now proposed far-reaching legislation to radically transform Europe’s transport system. Among the many initiatives put forward by the European Commission, its proposed phasing out of the internal combustion engine by 2035 is surely Commission President von der Leyen’s landmark proposal. While...

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Stout's Automotive Recall Accelerator brings together unique and important news, analysis, and insights related to automotive recall and vehicle safety. Recent Developments A dangerous defect arising from a suspected supplier quality deviation that can cause short-circuits and vehicle fires was identified by a vehicle manufacturer in September 2020. The defect is caused by brake fluid leaking into the hydraulic electronic control units (HECUs). The remedy involved replacement of the HECU if brake fluid is found within it. In May 2021, the...

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Public companies should proceed with caution when receiving and investigating anonymous whistleblower complaints. Several public companies recently received whistleblower complaints from an anonymous source – each with identical or similar wording – purporting to concern alleged insider trading by employees at the recipient company. These complaints, which have been submitted to the third-party ethics or whistleblower e-mail hotlines at a number of public companies, allege that unidentified company employees made statements suggesting that the employees traded in the company’s...

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An article on the impact of the Biden Administration.  Doing business in the U.S. Many European companies realized a healthy year-over-year increase in their U.S. revenues for fiscal year  2020. This was especially the case for E-commerce companies that saw  sharp increases, often as a direct result of Covid-19. European companies have benefited from the strong recovery in the U.S. in the later part of 2020 which appears to be carrying over into 2021; the U.S. economy grew by 6.5% in...

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Cities are investing in new technology that makes planning, managing, and scheduling a fully electrified fleet — or a mixed fleet — easier than ever before. Ask any city leader or transportation expert to talk about their vision for a low-carbon future, and electric vehicles (EVs) will be prominently featured. Transportation generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions, so EVs are a critical piece of the transportation decarbonization puzzle. Transit fleets are especially well suited for vehicle electrification, for a number of reasons. Because...

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After reversing lower despite a robust jobs report on July 2, the greenback saw limited follow-through selling at the start of last week and instead recovered fully. The major currencies that bore the brunt of the dollar's gain were those currencies that are understood to be ahead of the Fed in normalizing policy.  The Norwegian krone and dollar-bloc currencies bore the bulk of the greenback's adjustment, while clear laggards, like the yen and Swiss franc, posted moderate gains (0.8% and...

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In this News Update, we discuss the AFM publications on advisory software and personalising insurance premiums and conditions. We also look at a DNB report on BigTech, the Investment Firm Regulation that entered into force on 26 June 2021 and the ECB's consultation on its revised Guide to fit and proper assessments. Finally, we highlight some other financial regulatory publications. AFM – POINTS OF ATTENTION WHEN USING ADVISORY SOFTWARE Because advisory software is an important tool in the financial advice process,...

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