VULCAN VIEW - KEY EVENTS THIS WEEK: BREXIT EU appears to soften stance as London calls upon fellow European capitals to intervene Fears that a no-deal Brexit will materialise has led to Brussels signalling some willingness to be more flexible about certain elements on the Brexit negotiations, in particular the tricky issue of the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland. As the EU’s proposed solution for a common regulatory area for goods and customs with the rest of the bloc has been...

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By Len Adams | ACG Resources  On August 2, 2002, after 30 years of working for another firm in the search and staffing industry (and 26 years of my wife trying to convince me to open my own firm) , I established ACG Resources/Adams Consulting Group, LLC. I was like a deer in the headlights, with no idea of what was to come. Although I had over 30 years of experience in the Search, Recruiting and Staffing Industry at the time, it...

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By Andrew C. Collins | Bannockburn Global Forex, LLC The USD was mixed through July seeing little net change against most of the majors in generally quiet summer trading. However, the USD continued to make ground against the CNY while falling back against the MXN. The trade war between the US and China has continued and is the main factor behind the weakness of the CNY, but trade tensions elsewhere have calmed somewhat, with the latest meeting between Trump and EU...

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INEDITENEPTUNE, an InKemia business group company, from Spain, contracted with aicep Global Parques setting up a biorefinery to produce Class A Advanced Biodiesel at ZILS. In recent years InKemia has developed a new biofuel (S-50) with characteristics similar to those of diesel and biodiesel. The S-50 has crude glycerin as one of its main raw materials. The S-50 has been totally developed within the European Union and thoroughly tested, both in laboratory environment and in engines. The company selected Portugal – ZILS, adjacent...

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Design Group Italia is happy to announce that Blue Lagoon Iceland celebrates the completion of a significant expansion with the opening of the Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland. Featuring the subterranean Retreat Spa, geothermal Retreat Lagoon, 62-suite Retreat Hotel, and Moss Restaurant, the Retreat is a place where guests can leave the world behind and enter a timeless realm of relaxation, rejuvenation, and exploration. We designed the experience, interiors (with the collaboration of Basalt Architects), and took care of the overall design strategy, style...

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By Hannes Abraham | Tanguy de Haan | Charles Gielen | Vincent Wellens  In its recent Nestlé v Mondelez decision (C-84/17P, C-85/17P and C-95/17P), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that the acquisition of distinctive character by non-traditional EU trade marks (EUTM) should be established for the entire European Union not just a substantial part thereof. In 2007, Mondelez, which wanted to use the same shape for chocolate bars, filed an application with EUIPO seeking a declaration of invalidity. According to Mondelez, the shape of the...

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By Vincent Wellens  | Carmen Schellekens |NautaDutilh  On 26 July 2018, during its last public session of the legislature, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted the Luxembourg bill implementing and complementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR (Regulation No 2016/679) (click here for our comments on the initial version of the bill). Since the GDPR is a European regulation, its provisions have been directly applicable in Luxembourg since 25 May 2018, the date of applicability of the GDPR. However, the Member States were left a...

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By Ali al Khatib | Associate Amsterdam On 16 July 2018, the European Commission adopted a new Best Practices Code for State aid control. With this code the Commission aims to provide clarity to Member States, businesses and stakeholders about the day-to-day conduct of State aid procedures. State aid and the obligation to notify the Commission Member States can in principle only implement State aid after approval from the Commission. Therefore, Member States must notify the Commission of intended measures if they contain State aid. A state measure...

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By Fred Crawford | Senior Vice Chairman and former CEO of AlixPartners. Close your eyes and conjure up in your mind a central casting CEO. What are they like? Charismatic? Charming? Engaging? Quick witted? Extroverted? Innovative? Creative? For many people, including boards, these descriptors often make the list. And, in my 35-year career working with hundreds of CEOs and boards, I have met many leaders who would fit these criteria. Yet, I have found no correlation between these attributes and CEO or corporate success. What...

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By David Orme-Lynch | Managing Director | TMF Group France has long laid out a welcome mat to international firms looking to grow their business. However, getting used to French working habits can be difficult and cross cultural awareness is essential. France has long laid out a welcome mat to international firms looking to grow their business, more so since the business-friendly President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017. However, getting used to French working habits can be difficult and...

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