31 Jan
Member News

Status Update 2020: New Company Law Legislation

Last year closed with the entry into force of an important bill implementing the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II). However, most of the associated legislative processes are still ongoing. This newsletter provides an overview of the status of the most important legislative proposals in the field of company law and concludes with a review of the implementation of SRD II. Bill on the management and supervision of legal entities On 20 January 2020, a proposal for an act on the...

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30 Jan
Brexit News, Member News

Brexit to Begin Transition Period for Brand Owners Seeking UK Trademark Protection

Brand owners seeking to do business in Europe are well-advised to apply to register their key brands as trademarks. With the United Kingdom formally leaving the European Union as of January 31, brand owners seeking protection in the UK will have two choices: i) they can wait to extend their trademark registrations from the European Union pursuant to a transition process expected to be finalized in the year ahead; or ii) they can plan pro-actively to file UK trademark...

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30 Jan
Brexit News, Member News

Brexit Business Brief | The UK Exits: 20 Quick Things You Should Know

We have gathered together for this special edition of Brexit Business Brief 20 quick points you should know as the UK enters the transition phase to negotiate its future relationship and end its 46-year marriage with the EU. The next edition will look at the EU and UK opening positions ahead of the trade negotiations. 1. What changes on 31 January? The United Kingdom leaves the European Union at 11.00 p.m. London time on Friday 31 January 2020. It ceases to...

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29 Jan
Member News

Ogletree Deakins Elects New Managing Director, Two New Board Members

Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to announce that John Gerak, former managing shareholder of the firm’s Cleveland office, has been elected to the position of Managing Director. Austin shareholder Shafeeqa Giarratani and San Francisco shareholder Greg Cheng have been elected to the Board of Directors. Gerak succeeds Chuck Baldwin, who served as Managing Director of Ogletree Deakins from 2016-2020. Gerak will serve alongside Joseph Beachboard as co-Managing Director. In this...

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29 Jan
Brexit News, Member News

Brexit FAQs: Entering the Transition Period – 31 January 2020

On 31 January 2020, the UK will formally leave the European Union, after over 40 years of membership. The UK’s relationship with the EU will no longer be governed by the EU Treaties, but instead by the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the UK and the EU in late 2019. Following that agreement, the UK will be in a “transition” period, which commences the moment the UK leaves the EU and is currently set to end on...

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29 Jan
Chapter News

How ECB Purchases of Corporate Bonds Helped Reduce Firms’ Borrowing Costs

In June 2016, the ECB launched its corporate sector purchase programme, through which it purchased corporate bonds in an effort to improve the financing conditions of euro area firms. In this article, I argue that the programme was successful. In particular, by increasing prices and reducing yields in the targeted bond market segment, the programme encouraged investors to shift their investments towards similar but somewhat riskier bonds. This reduced borrowing costs for many firms, including those whose bonds were...

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29 Jan
Member News

FTC Announces HSR and Interlocking Directors Thresholds for 2020

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced the annual changes to the thresholds contained in section 7A (Hart-Scott-Rodino) and section 8 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 18a, 19) (Interlocking Directors). The new HSR thresholds apply to any transaction that closes 30 days after publication of the new thresholds in the Federal Register, while the new section 8 thresholds take effect immediately. Hart-Scott-Rodino The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, section 7A of the Clayton Act, requires companies proposing a merger or acquisition...

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28 Jan
Chapter News

ECB Launches Review of its Monetary Policy Strategy

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today launched a review of its monetary policy strategy. The monetary policy strategy was adopted in 1998 and some of its elements were clarified in 2003. Since 2003 the euro area and the world economy have been undergoing profound structural changes. Declining trend growth, on the back of slowing productivity and an ageing population, as well as the legacy of the financial crisis, have driven interest rates down, reducing the scope...

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28 Jan
Chapter News

EU Presidents to Discuss the EU’s future at the Jean Monnet House

The Presidents of the three main EU institutions will meet on Thursday in Bazoches to debate the future of the EU as well as current geopolitical challenges. European Parliament President David Sassoli, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (France) at the Jean Monnet House, a symbolic place for the history of European integration. They will discuss the future of the EU, including the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe,...

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