The USD rose strongly in November after the unexpected Trump victory, despite most commentators and pre-election price action suggesting a Trump victory would be negative for the USD. In practice, expectations of looser fiscal policy have “trumped” concerns about the potential negative impact of protectionist policies or other more general worries about Trump’s suitability. The Fed is now fully expected to raise rates in December, and the focus has shifted towards European political risk and the Italian referendum on December...

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Tearing Up Trade Agreements Won't Help Workers A More Responsible Approach Just May In a new report published by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University, Blue Star Strategies' Karen Tramontano argues that the current heated debate over international trade is the outcome of a flawed public policy and political framework. With growing public sentiment against trade and political leaders on both the left and right opposing international trade agreements, the United States needs a...

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The intrigue and allure of discovering new parts of the world is one reason many people list travel at the top of their bucket lists. It is also huge draw for career opportunities, especially for millennials entering the workforce seeking adventure and new challenges with global companies. And even for those who don’t seek positions abroad, the demand for international competencies at all firms is growing. According to U.S. Census data, one in three U.S. mid- and large-size companies have...

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The federal council of ministers has approved a new Interfederal Space Agency of Belgium (Isab), which will unite all federal funding and staff concerning space activities. Flanders will be involved in the federal agency, which the government hopes will make decision-making processes more flexible and improve co-operation. According to state secretary for science policy Elke Sleurs, communications is becoming increasingly important in the space sector, with the evolution of communication, navigation and observation satellites. As the regions are responsible for...

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It's a common issue: a US venture capitalist and a European company agree on the commercial terms of an investment transaction and think that the hard work is done but quickly find themselves at an impasse over the way the transaction will be documented. With the increase in cross-border venture capital transactions, particularly US investors taking stakes in European companies, this is an issue that companies and investors are dealing with more regularly than ever before. From a commercial perspective,...

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This past Summer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced two settlements in which the SEC adopted a strict interpretation of the whistleblower protections afforded under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In doing so, the SEC imposed monetary sanctions on companies for including language in employment-related agreements that it asserts deters employees from reporting securities law violations to the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower (and other agencies). The SEC imposed a variety of remedial measures...

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Peter Lindbergh lays bare the souls of a celebrity Hollywood cast - from Uma Thurman to Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Charlotte Rampling - in his "Emotional" titled-calendar. The 2017 calendar “conveys personality, sensitivity and the guts to be yourself”, Peter Lindbergh explained at the international press launch of the new calendar in Paris. The German photographer has called the creation "Emotional", emphasizing how his aim was "not shoot a calendar about perfect bodies but to capture sensitivity and emotion,...

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This is the fourth in an ongoing series of Dashboard Insights blog posts on the implications of the June 23, 2016 voter referendum in the United Kingdom (“UK”) to exit the European Union (“EU”) (“Brexit”). Prior articles reviewed: 1) developments leading up to the Brexit vote, likely competition law as well as procedural implications; 2) risks/uncertainties for standardization and innovation; and 3) possible alternative outcomes posed by Brexit – a hard landing, a soft landing or never-never land. This article...

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Data and analytics are starting to transform retail banking as standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) and data-enabled product comparisons become mainstream. The impact on banks that fail to react could be huge, but customers will benefit from a range of new services that could transform the way they manage—and even think about—their money. This article looks at how the transformation is progressing. The first financial technology (fintech) boom, from which few start-ups other than PayPal survived, is now being succeeded...

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Bank shares rose for a third week, although rates were slower than in previous weeks. Regional bank shares rose by 1.5%, while the largest banks gained a collective 1.9% for the week. Among the largest banks, Bank of America stood out with a 4.3% weekly gain. Higher interest rates are helping to propel bank shares as the 10-year Treasury yield picked up 4 basis points to end the week at 2.372%. The Fed is anticipated to raise rates at its next meeting in...

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