The Volcker Rule was enacted into law as Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”). The Volcker Rule generally prohibits banking entities1 and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading and acquiring or retaining any equity, partnership, or other ownership interest in a “covered fund.” The ban on investing in and owning “covered funds” exempts certain types of funds, under specified conditions, and permits de minimis investment in any such funds. Click Here for an update...

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Directive 2014/91/EU (the “UCITS V”) is due to come into effect on 18 March, 2016 and will amend Directive 2009/65/EC (the “UCITS Directive”). Amongst other matters, it sets down rules which a UCITS Management Company must comply with when establishing and applying a remuneration policy for certain categories of its staff. UCITS V also provides that the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) shall issue guidelines addressed to competent authorities or financial market participants concerning the application of the...

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The following can be placed in the category of early speculation. Over the last week or so, several news outlets have published reports on Ernst & Young signing a lease for 125,000 square feet at The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II in Fairfax County in Virginia. We've been looking high and low for indications as to whether this represents new, incremental EY space, or a relocation from other space in the DC area. At this point, we've been unable to definitely answer...

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Ogletree Deakins is pleased to announce the addition of the following business immigration attorneys: Chad Li joined the Austin office as an associate. His practice focuses on employment-based immigration matters, including assisting companies in managing non-immigrant visa matters, such as H-1B, E, L, and TN employees, and immigrant visa matters covering all aspects of the permanent residency process. He has spent his career representing multinational corporations sponsoring foreign national employees, with a focus in the software, technology, and engineering industries....

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Didit, an integrated marketing communications firm based in Mineola, N.Y., has acquired public relations firm Bridge Global Strategies LLC in Manhattan, Didit’s second PR agency acquisition within a year. Bridge Global Strategies is known for its PR services for startups, and for help to overseas companies with U.S. market entry. The acquisition adds additional heft and capabilities to Didit’s growing public relations services. “Bridge Global Strategies brings us international PR expertise and connections with companies around the world,” said David Pasternack,...

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INSIDE SELF-STORAGE BEST OF BUSINESS 2015 The Inside Self-Storage "Best of Business" reader-choice poll, launched in 2011, solicits online votes from industry professionals who elect their favorite suppliers in approximately 30 categories. Awards include Best Builder, Best Management Software, Most Innovative Product and Best Customer Service among many others. Winners are honored through profile pages in ISS magazine as well as during a special ceremony at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. The results are published online year-round for ISS...

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Increasingly, foreign nationals who want to visit the U.S. temporarily – for business, to visit an ill relative, or for vacation – are unable to secure a U.S. visa. In some cases, their visa request is denied; in others, their existing visa is revoked. The applicant is typically seeking a B-1 (for business) and/or B-2 (for pleasure, tourism and / or medical treatment). And in the context of recent U.S. sanctions on Russians and Venezuelans, foreign nationals must also...

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Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), are not new. Indeed, drones were first developed in the '50s and have been used by the military for years. However, drones have only recently come on the civilian market. There are many possible commercial applications for drones, ranging from leisure, photography and logistics to the surveillance of infrastructures and crops. As with all new technologies, it is expected that the development of RPA technology will create new...

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Historically, national currencies were based on a gold standard, then gradually on the belief that the State which issues the currency will be able to guarantee its value and its stability. With the emergence of multiple financial and economic crises, the reliance on States and confidence in the financial industry have declined and virtual currencies, which were initially confined to a very few initiated people, gained the interest of an ever growing part of the population. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies...

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Trepp's July loss analysis showed a second straight month-over-month drop in CMBS loans resolved with losses. Four loans took losses of 100% or more and two B notes were written off in full. Another two B notes were resolved with less than 100% loss. The $65.00 million Philips at Sunrise Shopping Center loan was disposed with a 20.88% loss and the $33.00 million Goodwin Square office loan in Hartford, CT took an 83.60% loss. Ignoring one small manufactured housing loan that took a 150% loss,...

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