Power and water projects to receive €2.2 billion in financing. Urban and educational initiatives allocated €1.8 billion. Transport sector projects of €1.1 billion approved. EIB Board seminar with Civil Society discussed the impact of Group financing. The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a total of €5.8 billion of fresh financing for projects ranging from clean energy in Poland and schools in France to post-disaster reconstruction in Italy and railway safety in Croatia. The Board...

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Proposals around unfair dismissal and probationary periods not planned to come into force until autumn 2026 The government has today "unveiled" its Employment Rights Bill, as it looks to deliver "economic security and growth to businesses, workers and communities across the UK". Many of the proposed reforms have been heavily trailed in Labour's Make Work Pay plan and in the media after the government's election, but there has been increasing speculation as to what may or may not be included in...

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In this week’s Roar: Dealing with the Red Sea crisis, strong U.S. import volumes, the ILA’s stance on automation, stricter regulations in China, and a Port of Montreal update. The ongoing crisis in the Red Sea has led to an 80% decrease in volumes through the Suez Canal since May. This has put supply chain leaders in a position of needing to balance a number of priorities, such as cost management and operational efficiency, sustainability goals and business continuity, and short-term gains...

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Cilcare is proud to announce that its breakthrough compound, CIL001, has been named the winner in the Therapeutics category at the 5th Annual Hearing Technology Innovator Awards™, hosted by Hearing Health & Technology Matters. This prestigious recognition celebrates the innovative potential of CIL001, a first-in-class drug candidate designed to treat cochlear synaptopathy, a leading cause of age-related hearing loss, often referred to as “hidden hearing loss.” This condition affects millions worldwide and is characterized by difficulty hearing in noisy environments—an issue for which there is currently...

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Ireland’s infrastructure deficit: Less bureaucracy, more solutions In an environment where maintaining competitiveness is paramount to economic success, Ireland is suffering from a chronic infrastructure deficit. This is attributed to inadequate investment, short-term planning and a lack of ambition. In July 2024, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council launched a report on Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge. The report highlighted that the global competition to attract Foreign Direct Investment is intensifying. The report also specified the key challenges facing Ireland in relation to...

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Plans discussed with European Finance ministers in Luxembourg will broaden financing options and tools available to scale up European innovative companies and unicorns. The instruments to be deployed by the EIB Group include expanding the successful European Tech Champions Initiative Fund-of-Funds, equity and venture capital investments for scale-ups, and a new Exit platform to facilitate purchases and listing of tech start-ups. European Union Finance ministers have welcomed an Action Plan to be deployed by the European Investment Bank (EIB)...

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Teresa Ribera: the competition Vice-President set to shake up Brussels Spain’s Teresa Ribera is poised to become the second most influential person in the upcoming European Commission, surpassed only by President Von der Leyen. As the newly appointed Executive Vice-President for a “Clean, Just and Competitive Transition”, Ribera will wield significant power over environmental policy implementation and the crucial competition portfolio. With a distinguished career spanning law, academia, and civil service, Ribera brings a wealth of experience to her new role....

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Editor’s Note: News broke late Thursday 10/3/2024 that the ILA strike was suspended with an extension of their existing contract through Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. Trepp will continue to monitor the situation and the impact on CRE. Amid what many cautiously believe to be a soft landing, the U.S. economy is now facing a strike by the nation’s largest maritime workers union that could shut down key East and Gulf Coast ports, from Maine...

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Headlines for Q4 2024 Geopolitics, Ocean Rate Volatility, and a Focus on Supply Chain Resiliency.   Global Ports The Headlines: Global ports continue to face issues related to geopolitical tensions, labor unrest, aging infrastructure, and climate change. Port congestion in Asia is the worst it’s been since the pandemic, and while large carriers like Maersk report stability in N. Europe, they continue to face global network challenges. The Red Sea Crisis continues disrupting ocean shipping from rates to transit times to port...

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On October 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the addition of two companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Consolidated Entity List and a technical correction to modify the name of one already listed entity. By statute, goods, mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR or produced by an entity on one of the UFLPA lists are subject to a rebuttable presumption that they were made using forced labor and are...

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