By Richard P. Eckman | Mark T. Dabertin | Scott D. Samlin | Avinoam D. Erdfarb | Pepper Hamilton LLP This client alert has been updated from its original form to address the GAO opinion issued on Dec. 5, 2017. On December 5, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) essentially invalidated the CFPB’s auto lending guidance by finding that it constitutes a “rule” for purposes of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). As a rule, the guidance was required to be submitted to...

Read more

By Trepp LLC The weakness in US equities that began on Monday afternoon spilled over into Tuesday, as all the major US indexes fell yesterday. The Dow slid 109 points (0.45%) on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 lost 0.37% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.19%. Data published yesterday revealed that the US trade deficit spiked in October, while the Institute of Supply Management's index of service providers slipped. Yields on long-dated Treasuries fell slightly, with the yield on the 10-year ending down one...

Read more

On 5 December 2017, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) determined a list of 17 non-cooperative jurisdictions, i.e. the EU black list. This list was established based on three (screening) criteria: tax transparency, fair taxation (no harmful tax regimes) and implementation of BEPS minimum standards. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland are not included in this black list. The ECOFIN recommends that (but does not oblige) the Member States apply tax sanctions towards the listed jurisdictions. The EU may...

Read more

By Tommaso Foco | Ginevra Sforza |Portolano Cavalo Studio Legale Following the approval by the Parliament of Law No. 155/2017 setting forth the principles for a thorough reform of bankruptcy law, the Italian Government is now working on the delegated law that is bound to replace the more than 70-years old Bankruptcy Act (1942). The new law will consolidate in one single act the various changes to the Bankruptcy Act that have been made since 2005 and will provide a...

Read more

By Onno Bouwmeister | Malcolm Pobjoy | VISTRA If 2017 serves as a window into projections for the year ahead, then next year promises to be one of sustained growth for the private equity community. Mega deals were the order of the day in the first half of this year, and industry experts note that 2018 will likely be more of the same. According to PitchBook Q3 2017 US PE Breakdown, US-based funds raised $62.4 billion in commitments for just 58 vehicles...

Read more

By Rein Wesseling | Christof Swaak | Floris ten Have | Stibbe Today the ECJ rendered its much anticipated judgment in a dispute between a supplier of luxury cosmetics (Coty) and one of its authorised resellers. The central question was whether Coty is allowed under the competition rules to forbid its resellers to sell Coty products over third party internet platforms with visible logo’s (like eBay or Amazon). The ECJ ruled that such an “online platform ban” is not incompatible with EU...

Read more