On January 18, 2022, Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), held a joint press conference to announce that the agencies would be requesting comments on considerations for new horizontal and vertical merger guidelines. The comments will help inform the agencies in drafting new guidelines for vertical and horizontal mergers. Once the new guidelines are drafted, the...

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In this News Update, we discuss the ESRB's recommendation for establishing a pan-European systemic cyber incident coordination framework, the AFM's overview on the special purpose acquisition companies market in the Netherlands, including how it is supervised and the risks involved with investing in it and regulatory publications regarding stress testing on climate risks in the banking and insurance sector. We further highlight some other financial regulatory publications issued last month. ESRB | Recommendation for establishing a systemic cyber incident coordination...

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On Jan. 24, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release in conjunction with a Federal Register Notice regarding the public comment period for the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The UFLPA, signed into law Dec. 23, 2021, requires the federal Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to develop a strategy to prevent the importation of forced labor goods from China, and this comment period allows importers the opportunity to impact that strategy....

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Previously published in the Wall Street Journal | By William R. Rhodes and John Lipsky | Rising interest rates and slow economic growth will spur restructuring, but the procedures are inadequate for borrowers and lenders. Rising interest rates and slowing global economic growth likely will spur many low­ income countries to try to restructure their sovereign debt. This is troubling because recent restructuring cases have produced extended stalemates between borrowers and lenders rather than resolution. Existing international mechanisms for dealing with...

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Speaking to EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers ahead of Wednesday’s informal Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) in the French city of Lille, President Macron called on Ministers to further develop the EU’s free movement Schengen area to ensure it remains fit for the challenges of today. A reform of the Schengen area has been the agenda of EU JHA Ministers for several years, with little to no progress achieved so far. Together with the EU’s Single Market and...

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Highlights: The dollar is paring this week’s losses against most of the major currencies ahead of the US employment report, where all signs point to a weak report. The rate adjustment in Europe, which began before yesterday’s ECB meeting, was further encouraged by it.  The German two-year yield is rising for the ninth consecutive session, jumping more than 35 bp, and narrowing the fx-sensitive spread with the US. UK employees are seeing a large drop in real incomes due...

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