At the start of 2023, many industry participants were expecting more stable market conditions in the year ahead, in anticipation of an easing of the pressures applied by soaring inflation. However, continued interest rate rises by central banks to mitigate inflation has ensured a continuation of an uncertain – and in many cases, extremely challenging – outlook for businesses. This has also significantly muted M&A (and therefore LBO lending) activity for a longer period, driven by overall macroeconomic uncertainty and...

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Starting Oct. 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it will implement expedited processing of some Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications and begin issuing some EADs with longer validity times in an effort to help qualified immigrants gain access to work authorization more quickly. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will prioritize EAD applications filed by parolees who have scheduled an appointment through the CBP One mobile app in an effort to reduce the processing time for these...

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On September 21, 2023, the UK Government announced the establishment of the “UK-US data bridge” (the Bridge), also known as the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (the DPF). The announcement promises to simplify compliance issues surrounding the transfer of personal data from the UK to the U.S. Key Facts With effect from October 12, 2023, businesses in the UK will be able to rely on the Bridge to transfer personal data to U.S. organizations that have self-certified...

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Economic pressures are forcing consumers to make difficult decisions and budget carefully. As fall arrives, retailers preparing for the holidays should expect an underwhelming season. We are projecting only a 3 to 6% increase in sales over last year, down from 2022’s 6.6% growth. On September 15, we released our annual AlixPartners Holiday Outlook Survey of more than 1,000 American consumers. According to the survey, 26% of consumers plan to spend less this holiday season than last year—a figure that rises to...

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E-commerce marketplaces in the EU will soon be subject to specific product safety laws. The new General Product Safety Regulation, or GPSR, entered into force in June 2023 and will apply to products placed or made available across the EU market from 13 December 2024. As well as economic operators like product manufacturers, importers, distributors, authorised representatives and fulfilment service providers, it will require ‘providers of online marketplaces’ to comply with new product safety obligations. We cover what these...

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HSBC today announced that it plans to make available $1bn of financing to early-stage climate tech companies around the world. The financing is expected to support start-ups to create a range of new solutions, including EV charging, battery storage, sustainable food and agriculture, and carbon removal technologies. This announcement also follows the launch of HSBC Innovation Banking1 and of HSBC Asset Management's Climate Tech Venture Capital strategy.2 Barry O’Byrne, CEO of Global Commercial Banking at HSBC said: “Access to finance is critical...

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The European Union (EU) and its Member States have underwritten both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The EU has consequently set itself the ambitious target to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. To achieve these targets, the government of the EU, the European Commission, has proposed the EU...

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Foreign persons1 are generally not subject to Federal income tax on gains from the sale of a capital asset located in the United States, unless the capital gains are effectively connected with the conduct of a United States trade or business.  Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 897, which came online with the passing of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA), created a special rule for a gain derived by a foreign person from the disposition...

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The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it is developing the capability to issue digital visa authorizations (DVA) instead of the traditional visas that are printed and placed in applicants’ passports. This development would streamline the travel authorization process by automating the transfer of data from visa application, to airline verification, to border inspection, and U.S. admission. Following unprecedented backlogs for visa interviews at U.S. consulates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DVA pilot program appears to...

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