April 30, 2020 | From 1 May, Estonia will hold the presidency of the UN Security Council for a month. Estonia plans to pay particular attention to the connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and the security environment, cybersecurity, the fundamental principles of international law, including the protection of civilians, and increasing the transparency of the Security Council during the crisis. “The Security Council continues to work through the coronavirus crisis. When we became an elected member of the Security Council in...

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May 12, 2020 | The Houthoff Financial Regulatory team closely monitors the developments on the financial markets and within financial supervision. In this News Update, we have rounded up a few important recent developments. If you wish to stay informed, you can subscribe to these News Updates here. Recently, the first cautious easing of the coronavirus measures was announced. In the meantime, the steady stream of publications by supervisors and legislatures on measures to give financial enterprises operational and financial flexibility continues. Several...

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Exposure of fraud can often be an outcome of erratic stock market behavior. Looking at precedent downturns, economic fraud activity was exposed shortly after the stock market's low points. Once you have addressed the critical efforts to safeguard your family and your people, you must turn to the health and safety of your business. Experience tells us that the risk of economic fraud is high. Regardless of the current scenario, our recommendations remain the same: • Move quickly: Take immediate action to understand the...

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May 7, 2020 | Looking back at the past year’s activity offers a glimpse of the future thanks to stories of financed projects, statistics, financial and sustainability reporting While the EIB Group is focused on the response to COVID-19, it is important to remember what it did last year. The projects it financed and the pledges it made shine a light on the institution’s capacity to respond to the pandemic and to contribute to a sustainable recovery in Europe and beyond. As...

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May 11, 2020 | • By executive order, the secretary of energy is now authorized to review and block any acquisition, importation, transfer or installation of any bulk-power system electric equipment in which a foreign country or foreign person has an interest. • A list of prohibited suppliers of electric equipment may be forthcoming. • In addition, a Section 232 investigation has been initiated into transformers and certain components, which may result in increased tariffs on these items. Two recent federal government actions...

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May 8, 2020 | • The IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury have issued proposed regulations providing guidance on how a tax-exempt organization with unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) determines whether it has more than one unrelated trade or business, and, if so, how the exempt organization should calculate unrelated business taxable income under the "siloing" rules. • The proposed regulations establish the use of only the first two digits of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, describing...

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May 2020 | This article illustrates key considerations on whether a tenant may successfully argue for a reduction or deferral in the rent payable under a lease agreement. A commercial lease agreement may contain specific force majeure clause which would entitle either party to suspend the performance of the contract and, in the event of prolonged impossibility beyond a certain term, terminate the agreement. Alike, the parties may have included a “hardship clause” providing that, in the event of defined hardship,...

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