Member News

Member News

BBGFX | The Dollar Goes Nowhere Quickly

Overview: The dollar continues to consolidate broadly after the dramatic price swings at the end of last week. For the most part, the greenback remains inside yesterday's ranges, which were inside last Friday's. The G10 currencies are a little heavier today, except the Japanese yen and Norwegian krone, which are posting small gains. Indeed, the greenback is near session highs against most of the major currencies as we go to print. Emerging market currencies are more mixed. Central European...

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Member News

Protiviti | Blind Spots in the Boardroom

A look back at business failures often reveals blind spots that either concealed a dysfunctional culture or led to a lack of understanding, strategic error or missed opportunities. Is the board aware of the organization’s blind spots, and is it addressing them? We’ve all heard the adage that what we don’t know can be more damaging to reputation, brand image, market standing and competitive position than what we do know. This adage gets to the heart of the nature of...

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Jaguar Freight | Important Update: Panama Canal December 15, 2023

The following is an update on the current situation at the Panama Canal. We are sharing this information because importers should be aware that ships navigating the canal continue to face substantial delays and potential fees. You may already know that the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has been restricting vessel traffic for several months as severe drought has limited the water needed to operate its lock system. Presently, only 22 daily transits are authorized, which is down from the 35...

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Member News, Uncategorized

Noerr | Russian Courts Disregard Arbitration Clauses in Favour of Russia-friendly/­Neutral Forums

Western companies contracting with Russian parties should not feel safe relying on arbitration clauses in favour of Russia-friendly or neutral forums. In a number of recent cases Russian courts have disregarded arbitration clauses in favour of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). On 1 December 2023, in the case of VTB Bank PJSC v VTB Bank (Europe) SE (No. А56-84760/2023) the Arbitrazh Court of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region recognized as unenforceable due to anti-Russian...

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Member News

Arendt | Keen to Issue a European Green Bond or a Sustainability-linked Bond? – Here’s What You Need to Know

On 30 November 2023, Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 of 22 November 2023 on European Green Bonds and optional disclosures for bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable and for sustainability-linked bonds (EuGBs Regulation) was published in the Official Journal of the EU. The EuGBs Regulation will apply from 21 December 2024, but the market is expected to take it into account sooner. Notably, the recitals highlight that the European Investment Bank will gradually align its green bond programme with the European Green Bond...

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SIKA Opens a Cutting-Edge Technology Center in China

Sika has significantly expanded its research and development capacities in the Asia/Pacific region and opened a new, state-of-the-art Technology Center in Suzhou, China. The primary focus of this center is the development of sustainable and high-performance technologies with which Sika makes a significant contribution to the transformation of the construction and automotive industries. The new center of excellence will play a key role in tapping market potential throughout the Asia/Pacific region. The investment volume is in the double-digit millions...

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Member News

NautaDutilh | New Legal Obligations Require Employers with 50 Employees or More to Appoint a Person of Trust (Belgium)

Several employment-related provisions have been introduced by the Act of 5 November 2023, one of which is to strengthen the presence of a person of trust ("vertrouwenspersoon" / "personne de confiance") within the company as a preventive and supportive measure to deal with psychosocial risks at work. From 1 December 2023:  For employers with 50 or more employees, the appointment of a person of trust is mandatory. For employers with less than 50 employees the appointment of a person of trust is...

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PwC | Generative AI in Tax: 5 Essential Insights for Leaders

PwC’s knowledge of AI’s value and how to manage the risks comes from first-hand experience: We’re deploying generative AI at scale for our clients and our people, including our tax professionals. Generative AI (GenAI) is likely provoking some big questions for you and the rest of your company’s leadership. What can it do for me? How can I trust what it does? How will it impact my workforce? How do I get started? And, critically, how can GenAI safeguard  my data, intellectual...

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Member News

HubControlls | Advancing AI-Driven Energy Reduction Systems With New Subscription-Based Models With Industrial Scale: A Huge Opportunity For Providers and Consumers

Originally published on The Frontier Hub The widespread dispersion and adoption of digital devices and applications has put businesses of nearly every sector on the path towards maximizing their efficiency and productivity by leveraging the abundance of new technology. For most enterprises, this has been done mainly using new automation tools, which not only help optimize daily processes for increased efficiency, but also negates a myriad of human error mistakes as well. The rise of home automation is currently underway in...

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Trepp| Mortgage REITs See Sharp Increase in Q3 Originations; But Volume Remains Anemic

The major mortgage REITs continued to see loans get repaid during the third quarter, but their lending activity, while up sharply from the second quarter, remained anemic. The 14 companies tracked reported receiving a collective $3.83 billion of loan repayments during the latest period while originating $1.15 billion of loans. That resulted in a nearly 4% reduction in the companies' collective loan portfolios, to $89.09 billion. So far this year through September, the companies have originated only $3.07 billion of...

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