May 26, 2020 | Previously published in Reuters - BreakingViews NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Covid-19 pandemic will spark hugely damaging debt defaults in developing countries, hampering rebuilding and recovery. Many emerging markets borrowed heavily both from official governmental lenders, as well as from international private sector investors, mostly in U.S. dollars. Now they are confronted by rising debt service costs at a time of rising economic difficulties and capital flight. We must start planning for this right away.  World Bank...

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May 21, 2020 | • The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the federal fraud convictions of two New Jersey officials who had engineered massive traffic gridlock on the George Washington Bridge in "Bridgegate." • The court determined that obtaining money or property was not the object of the fraudulent schemes charged and that a state's action in modifying traffic flow (even if deceitful) does not create a property right. • The justices also found that the costs of employees' time in Bridgegate were...

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May 26, 2020 | Guidance in accordance with IFRS Update May 2020 As expected, the effects of COVID-19 are evolving rapidly and are creating unique circumstances for each entity. Recent developments by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) aim to alleviate some of the challenges posed to entities as they navigate through financial reporting implications as a result of COVID-19.  We offer the following high-level overview of a few additional financial reporting considerations. Impairment under IFRS 9 Financial Instruments With regards to a significant...

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May 25, 2020 | Today is GDPR Day – two years ago, the GDPR became applicable. When 25 May 2018 came about, the world did not end, nor were there dawn raids by data protection authorities in every corner of the European Union. Instead, what followed was a steady trickle of cases being taken up by data protection authorities, in parallel with the gradual adoption of guidance at both national and EU level. With two years of enforcement and interpretation behind...

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May 26, 2020 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued guidance titled “CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again.” The 60-page document details the initiatives, activities, and tools the CDC is using to support the effort to reopen the country amid the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, as well as interim guidance for child care programs, schools and day camps, employers with high-risk workers, restaurants and bars, and...

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