CMBS trading activity resumed after the holiday break on Tuesday,  with volume picking up in the latter part of the week. In line with broader market equity gains, CMBS cash spreads narrowed three to 10 basis points up and down the credit stack in the past week. For CMBX indexes, Wednesday’s news of retail earnings and mass of closures appeared to weigh on spreads the following day, although, overall spreads have tightened from a weekly perspective. While CMBX 6/7/8/9 AAA...

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – January 9, 2017 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to announce that it has opened an office in Sacramento, Calif., expanding the firm’s presence in California and bolstering its capabilities for assisting clients with operations on the West Coast. The Sacramento office is the firm’s 50th internationally and its sixth in California. The Sacramento office joins a network of...

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Harry Clark, leader of Orrick’s International Trade & Compliance team, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal for a series of posts on its Risk & Compliance Journal blog about economic sanctions policies under the incoming Trump administration. Harry noted that while many expect sanctions against Russia to be eased by the Trump administration, it is unlikely, in his view, that the new administration will broadly roll back sanctions on Russia. This is due to congressional opposition associated...

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There are, even by the most conservative estimates, billions of objects and devices connected to the Internet. Various estimates place the total number of connected devices between 40 to 50 billion by 2020; and these devices together make up the Internet of Things (IoT).  Companies across a multitude of industries are pioneering this technology and demonstrating its long-term potential. According to one forecast, spending on industrial connected objects this year alone will total nearly $870 billion, compared with $546 billion...

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NEW YORK, NY (January 9, 2016), Empire Global Ventures LLC (EGV LLC) today announced the appointment of three industry leaders to the firm’s team to support EGV’s advanced business directives and to provide greater services to both its domestic and international client base. Helen Allen, Giselle Fernandez, and Liz Leff have been selected to assist EGV in building their clients’ business across various sectors and borders and to build awareness about clients’ brands through earned media and influencer events. Giselle...

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Record-setting delegation of French companies caps milestone year for what is now Europe’s top tech investment market LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--La French Tech is going “all in” in Las Vegas at CES 2017, with a record number of companies participating at the mega tech show. More than 260 French enterprises, ranging from established market leaders to newly minted unicorns and disruptive startups, will showcase their innovations. The contingent will reach into every corner of industry on display at CES and feature...

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The tariffs he promised and the retaliations that would ensue could unravel the global trading system. Donald Trump’s picks for commerce secretary, U.S. trade representative and head of a new National Trade Council suggest that he is serious about his campaign promise to raise tariffs. His transition team says these could be as high as 10% on all imports. So how might this play out, at home and abroad? The U.S. president is surprisingly free under U.S. law to take trade...

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Apparently yesterday was Store-Closing Wednesday. Shortly after 4 pm yesterday, Macy's revealed a list of stores that will be closing in the near future. Just a short time later, Sears announced it will close 150 Sears and K-Mart stores. Almost 50 of the Sears and K-Mart store closings had leaked out over the previous week, and we wrote about them as the corresponding local stories emerged. Yesterday's list came from Sears and included 100 more names that were previously not revealed. The properties...

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U.S. Ambassador to Portugal and the Portuguese Minister of Economy discuss transatlantic cooperation with Europe in the biotechnology sector. Robert Sherman, the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, and Manuel Caldeira Cabral, the Portuguese Minister of Economy, traveled to Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Dec. 19 and 20 to discuss transatlantic synergies with Europe in the biotechnology sector. They were joined by a first-class group of representatives from Portuguese biotech companies and investors in a visit co-organized by AICEP-Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency, Portugal Ventures,...

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The key questions for the FX markets in 2017 are: 1) what impact the Trump presidency will have on the US and world economy, and 2) whether the populist movements that had such an impact on the politics of the developed world in 2016 will continue to have an influence via the French, German Dutch and possibly Italian elections in 2017. The issue of Brexit and the triggering of Article 50 will also come into sharper relief in Q1, and...

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