The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its new immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 15, 2024. Immigration-related violations before the DOL involve these visas: H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B. These increases are pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. Since that time, penalties have been adjusted yearly based on the rate of inflation. Below are the offenses, including regulation citations, with the old and new penalties: Offense Regulation Citation Old Fine New Fine H-1B involving non-willful strike/lockout, displacement of U.S. workers, misrepresentation of...

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Last week the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility remain unchanged at 4.50%, 4.75%, and 4.00% respectively. This did not come as a surprise to market participants who instead are focused on the timing and extent of possible rate cuts over the course of 2024. The ECB is firm on its data-dependent approach where the key...

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In October 2020 we set our ambition to become a net zero bank by 2050. Our first Net Zero Transition Plan provides an overview of our approach to net zero and the actions we are taking to help meet our ambition. It sets out: Our vision and strategic approach – how we intend to use our strengths to make financing, facilitation and investment choices that can have a meaningful impact on decarbonisation in the real economy. Our approach to sector transitions...

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The apparel and textile market continues to be an important contributor to the global economy. The fashion industry experienced over “double the levels of economic profit in 2022 than in all the years between 2010 and 2020”, apart from one, McKinsey & Company reports.  Fiber produced globally also reached a record 116 million tons in 2022.  Rising costs, swings in consumer demand, and geopolitical factors, however, have put pressure on the industry. Tradewind Finance, a financial services firm offering tailor-made trade finance solutions,...

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The coming weeks will likely continue the correction of the trends that began last month. The markets recognize that tightening cycle is over. However, they swung hard, pricing in aggressive easing by most of the G10 central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Official comments and some high-frequency economic data have encouraged participants to rein in their expectations, reducing the odds of a rate cuts in Q1 and paring back the extent of the cuts...

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At the best of times, artificial intelligence terms can be a challenge to understand. When it comes to broader and even deeper AI topics like governance and ethics, it’s even more challenging and we often find ourselves grappling with the distinctions between them. In this article we are going to tackle, at a very high level, some of the key differences between: Data governance AI governance, and Ethical AI Data governance In a corporate setting, data governance involves setting policies and...

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The United States is not the only country currently debating a reform to the law on non-competes. Notably, the UK Government has announced legislation that would limit the duration of non-competes to a period of 3 months after termination of employment. Multi-national employers will want to understand the extent to which these developments mark the start of a global trend. That said, most European and Asian jurisdictions have long-standing restrictions controlling the use of non-competes and, generally, they have not...

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In this Week’s Roar: geopolitics and emissions, adaptable supply chain management, a new trade route put on hold, positive Q1 news for shippers, and improving inventory management. In an era when supply chains around the world are trying to do more to decrease emissions, geopolitical issues in some parts of the world are working against those efforts. Specifically, we’re referring to the impact of the issues on the Red Sea. Diverting ships around the Cape of Good Hope is increasing emissions, as...

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Inter-institutional knowledge sharing and information exchange aims at reducing bottlenecks and improving access to finance for European space companies The European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed today at the Space Conference a collaboration arrangement to join forces to strengthen the European space sector. This will include small and medium businesses (SMEs) and start-ups and enhance Europe's position in space. The collaboration between the three institutions aims to foster cooperation and coordination with a...

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On Wednesday, the EU Commission announced a new approach to economic security, one which aligns the bloc more solidly with Washington’s strategy to counter geopolitical rivals. Five key initiatives are intended to set Europe on a path of “promoting the EU’s competitiveness” while “protecting against risks.”  “Europe must be a player, not a playground. The whole point of our economic security strategy is to de-risk our economic interdependencies,” said EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager while presenting the package. The policy package follows an announcement from June of...

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