With President Biden announcing that all adults in the United States should be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine by April 19 and Covid-19 restrictions being lifted or eased throughout much of the country, many businesses that had remained shuttered or remote throughout the pandemic are considering the return of their workforce to the workplace. Along with such considerations, there is one question on many employers’ minds: can they mandate employees get the Covid-19 vaccine? EEOC Guidance Regarding Mandatory Vaccination The...

Read more

Key insights Trillions of dollars in government stimulus saved markets from a liquidity crisis; sitting in cash and fixed-income assets generates a negative real return. Government support will likely continue in 2021, which presents opportunities to put your cash to work. Recent short-term market volatility and political transition exemplify the value of a long-term investment plan in all economic cycles. For investors, 2020 was a rollercoaster of epic proportions. Between a pandemic, a market crash, a rebound to record highs,...

Read more

Stout's Automotive Recall Accelerator brings together unique and important news, analysis, and insights related to automotive recall and vehicle safety for stakeholders across the industry. Recent Developments A vehicle manufacturer is recalling nearly 82,000 electric vehicles worldwide (4,700 in the U.S.) after fires were reported in vehicles that were parked and in operation. The fires were caused by electrical short circuits in fully charged lithium-ion batteries. No incidents have been reported in the U.S. to date. “An electrical short internally within...

Read more

This week, COVID restrictions in the UK have loosened once again, with the UK taking the next step in its "roadmap" out of lockdown. In England, hairdressers, gyms, non-essential retail, and outdoor dining are now open. In Wales, non-essential shops can now open and travel is allowed from England, but the re-opening date for outdoor dining has not yet been announced. Northern Ireland will be reviewing lockdown restrictions this week, and in Scotland, rules remain the same after their...

Read more

On April 5, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade issued an opinion declaring the Section 232 steel and aluminum “derivative” tariffs unlawful, and ordered the government to refund any duties to the plaintiff.  Prime Source Building Products v. United States, Slip Op. 21-36. The Section 232 “derivative” tariffs were imposed beginning January 24, 2020 on certain articles of steel and aluminum such as nails, tacks, stranded wire (of aluminum), and bumper stampings.  A complete list of affected products can be...

Read more

Have you considered rethinking your business model with a more sustainable mindset? In the ESG era, this is the mission of many managers. The Product-Service System represents a new way of relating to products. How about the fact that the energy efficiency of many processes domestic and industrial does not reach 50%? A large part of the resources we use ends up as garbage, without reuse. The key factor to this problem is in the way we deal with our...

Read more

Previously published in Bloomberg Politics & Policy | Scandals and failures will continue to plague the sector until it completes the unified regulation it promised more than a decade ago, including deposit insurance similar to that of the U.S. Europe’s banking sector continues to be shaken by scandals and failures. German public prosecutors are facing demands to bring charges against the German banking arm of Greensill Capital. Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, has been humiliated by the 3.5 billion euro Wirecard scandal. Serious...

Read more

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that, at least in the short run, is likely to dramatically reduce litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, the Court held that only a narrow set of telephone equipment meets the definition of “an automatic telephone dialing system” (“ATDS”) for purposes of the statute’s ban on making certain types of calls with an ATDS.  The TCPA’s prohibition on using an ATDS to call a cell...

Read more

SPACs — short for “special purpose acquisition companies” — recently have drawn significant interest by companies and executives as a more seamless method to conduct an initial public offering. Often referred to as “blank check” companies, SPACs provide a vehicle by which companies may raise funds from public markets through initial public offerings (IPOs) that take a company from private to publicly listed. Unlike traditional IPOs, which often involve private companies that have developed over time, SPACs are shell...

Read more