On 1 November 2015 the Accounting Directive Implementation Act entered into effect. This legislation implements Directive 2013/34/EU in Dutch law. The most important changes under this Act are higher thresholds for determining the "size" of legal entities (and hence the applicable rules regarding annual accounts) and shorter deadlines for the filing of annual accounts and annual reports. Thresholds for "size" of legal entities The size of a legal entity in terms of (a) the value of its assets according to its...

Read more

A Guide for International Students and Professionals The Institute of International Education (IIE) has just published the 2016 edition of its annual print directory Funding for United States Study: A Guide for International Students and Professionals, the print companion to IIE's online search engine www.fundingusstudy.org. With over 800 grant and scholarship listings, Funding for United States Study is the most comprehensive directory on finding funding for study in the United States, making it an invaluable resource for advisers and international students worldwide. Funding for...

Read more

1.   U.S. Tightens Eligibility for Visa Waiver Program In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, the White House announced immediate changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which permits visa-free travel to the U.S. for citizens of 38 program partner countries around the world. Most notably, the U.S. will bar from the VWP anyone who has traveled to a country that State Department officials consider a “terrorist safe haven”, such as Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon or Libya. Citizens...

Read more

New York/New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Assn., PO Box 8217, Red Bank, NJ 07701, and Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP, one of the nation’s leading law firms specializing in Customs law, is offering courses in preparation for the April 2016 Custom House Broker License Exam.  The Firm has held highly successful Broker’s License exam courses in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York.  This course also provides an excellent overview of customs law and compliance for importers...

Read more

GRANITO is pleased to announce the furtherance of its expansion into France with the collaboration of Christina M. Halstead, Attorney at Law and Avocat à la Cour de Paris.  Ms. Halstead, also admitted to the California and Washington DC bars, will be working out of offices located at 159, rue de Rome, 75017 Paris France. A graduate of the University of California at Irvine, and Pepperdine University School of Law, Ms. Halstead is an active member of the International Association of Collaborative Practitioners  in Paris, with...

Read more

The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) has partnered with Bannockburn Global Forex, LLC, in order to enable World Trade Centers (WTCs) to deliver a comprehensive foreign exchange service program at significant cost savings to their members, business partners and clients. Benefits for WTCs include: Being able to offer members a differentiated foreign exchange program at highly discounted prices A unique business development and member retention tool Simple referral structure with no up-front costs Benefits for Members and Partners include: Potential savings of up to 80%...

Read more

By Caroline Fagard, Director at Forensic Risk Alliance and Jesica Lindgren, General Counsel at Blue Star Strategies, LLC On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka (Bangladesh) collapsed, killing more than 1,000 workers and wounding more than 1,500. Thirty-two U.S., Canadian and European labels and retailers were outsourcing garments to Rana Plaza factories, including a number of French ones. Following the tragedy, French members of parliament are proposing to implement a “Duty of Vigilance” or “Duty of Care” on...

Read more

By Edward Ellis, Earl (Chip) M. Jones III, and Whitney Caldwell of Littler Mendelson P.C. on November 18, 2015 Compliance professionals and attorneys received confirmation on Tuesday of what many have long expected:  the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower program is steadily growing in scope and impact, and the SEC is taking more aggressive positions to obtain information from whistleblowers and protect informants from retaliation.  These developments have profound implications for corporate business conduct and the compliance industry. On November 16, the...

Read more

The $37.2 million Prince George Center II loan was recently put into special servicing according to an email alert from Fitch late last week. The loan makes up 3.89% of MLCFC 2006-1 and is backed by a 394,578 square-foot suburban office property in Hyattsville, Maryland. While the note is scheduled to mature in December 2015, the borrower may face refinancing difficulties due to the upcoming lease expiration of lead tenant GSA. Occupying over 99% of the building, the Government Services Agency has been the main tenant in the building since...

Read more

By Philip Gordon and Morgan Matson of Littler Mendelson P.C. on November 11, 2015 In the wake of last month's landmark decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) invalidating the U.S.-European Union (EU) Safe Harbor framework, hundreds of U.S. multinationals, no longer able to rely on the Safe Harbor to lawfully transfer employees' personal data from the EU to the United States, are scrambling to answer the question, "What next?"  On November 6, 2015, in a "Communication" to the...

Read more