New ecodesign for sustainable products rules enter into force As of this week, new EU rules on ecodesign for sustainable products, setting out strict requirements and consumer information to almost all categories of physical goods have entered into force. The cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more sustainable goods, it aims to significantly improve these products’ circularity, energy performance, and other environmental sustainability aspects. It will replace the existing Ecodesign Directive and is part of a package of measures to...

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Littler published their Q2 Global Guide newsletter on July 24. Select US and European highlights are below. You can read the full guide here.   Austria New Teleworking Law New Legislation Enacted Authors: Patricia Dasch, Associate, and Armin Popp, Attorney-at-Law – Littler Austria During the COVID-19 pandemic the conditions for home offices were regulated by law for the first time. Austria’s Parliament has now passed the Teleworking Act intended to improve conditions for working from home, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025....

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M&A will continue to be a critical tool to unlock value and drive innovation across health industries as dealmakers gear up for a busy second half of 2024. By Christian K. Moldt, Global Health Industries Deals Leader, Partner, PwC Germany | Dealmakers in pharmaceuticals and life sciences and in healthcare services are eager to get deals done in 2024 as they grow more comfortable navigating an environment of elevated interest rates and regulatory pressure. Competition for truly innovative assets remains...

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(New York, New York) – Tradewind Finance, an international trade finance firm specializing in cash flow solutions that enable business growth and seamless cross-border trade, is expanding its footprint in Mexico with two new hires. The company’s growing team in the region comes at a time when Mexico has become a major trading partner for countries including the United States, making trade finance an attractive tool for facilitating export and import transactions.   Rafael Marin Mattozzi joins the Tradewind Americas sales...

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What’s in store for von der Leyen’s second term in the Berlaymont European Commission President was elected for a second term on Thursday (18 July) in Strasbourg. Although it was expected to be a very close call, von der Leyen received 401 votes, well above the 361-vote threshold. The vote shows that 284 lawmakers voted against her re-election, while there were 15 abstentions and 7 void. Her vote was successful following the Greens’ announcing just before the vote that they would...

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Jury duty assignment prevents a more comprehensive note, but here is a snapshot.  Overview: The US dollar enjoys a firmer bias today, in mostly quiet turnover in narrow ranges. The Australian dollar is a noted exception, and the better than expected jobs growth may have lent it some resilience today. The greenback initially was sold to almost JPY155.35, a new low (since June 7) before recovering to nearly JPY156.60 in Europe. The UK's employment report saw the first payroll growth in...

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BBVA’s takeover bid for Sabadell would ultimately impact existing bancassurance partnerships with Allianz and Zurich respectively In early May, the Spanish bank BBVA made an initial all-share offer for Sabadell to merge, which was rejected by Sabadell’s board, prompting BBVA to turn hostile and take the offer directly to Sabadell’s shareholders. BBVA’s bid is subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50.01% of Sabadell’s shareholders in addition to the relevant regulatory approvals required for both the takeover bid and the...

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Welcome to the first edition of the Neural Network. The Neural Network is Stephenson Harwood's monthly round-up of developments in AI, covering three key areas relevant to professionals working in the AI space: New regulation and public body updates; Enforcement and litigation; and Updates and case studies on the use of AI technology. In this edition, we look at key AI developments from June and July 2024. We examine the final text of the EU AI Act that was recently...

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