Member News

What convenience stores should know—and do—in 2017

Convenience stores (c-stores) have expanded their food service offerings with an eye towards boosting profitability. In doing so, they are going head-to-head with traditional restaurant players and find themselves dealing with trends such as increased operating costs, fuel price volatility, and technology innovations. Findings from AlixPartners’ 2016 North American convenience store consumer study point to the need for c-stores to master four imperatives to succeed in this space and sharpen their competitive edge. Read the full article here Compliments of AlixPartners -...

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Chapter News

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness. Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies in the EU followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, the UK and Ireland. Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy have the lowest scores on the DESI. In 2016, all Member States improved on the DESI. Slovakia and Slovenia progressed the most (more than...

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Chapter News

To Make the Best of Brexit, the European Union Needs to Beef Up ESMA

Given London’s current central role in the European financial system, Brexit will generate significant risks and opportunities for the financial system of the remaining members of the European Union (EU-27). With Britain’s departure from the EU single market nearly certain to occur before mid-2019, the EU-27 should not wait to adapt its financial regulatory structure to successfully manage the resulting shifts. The main risks relate to the supervision of wholesale activities of financial firms and capital markets. To address...

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Chapter News

How digital is your country? Europe improves but still needs to close digital gap

The 2017 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) shows that the EU is making progress but the gap between top digital players and lower-performing countries is still too wide. More efforts and investments are needed to make the most of the Digital Single Market. Today the European Commission published the results of the 2017 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), a tool presenting the performance of the 28 Member States in a wide range of areas, from connectivity and digital...

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Chapter News

The Office of the United States Trade Representative releases President Trump’s 2017 Trade Policy Agenda

The new Trade Agenda reinforces the Administration’s commitment to defend American interests through the promotion of truly free and fair trade. Washington, D.C. – Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ("USTR") released President Trump's 2017 Trade Policy Agenda, as required by Congress. The 2017 Agenda outlines the new Administration’s four trade priorities: promoting U.S. sovereignty, enforcing U.S. trade laws, leveraging American economic strength to expand our goods and services exports, and protecting U.S. intellectual property rights. USTR leads development and...

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Member News

March FX Outlook – Trump, the Fed and European politics

The FX market continues to wait for more detail on Trump’s economic proposals, which may well be outlined more clearly by the end of the month.  There was no significant new detail supplied in his February 28th speech to Congress. Regardless of the timing of the Trump proposals, March will have an important Fed meeting and potentially impactful European political developments, discussed in more detail below.The USD was little changed in February as the market awaited news from Trump,...

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Chapter News

White Paper on the Future of Europe

The European Commission just published its White Paper on the Future of Europe. The White Paper is the European Commission contribution to the upcoming Rome Summit, the moment when the EU will discuss its achievements of the past 60 years but also its future at 27. It maps out the drivers of change in the next decade and presents a range of five scenarios for how Europe could evolve by 2025. It marks the beginning of a process for...

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Member News

Hiring for Culture Fit: Three Favorite Interview Questions

I’m often asked how to determine cultural fit during an interview. My answer partially depends on how you define culture. If you want to determine whether a candidate will be successful in your physical work environment, you can ask a candidate to describe the work environment or culture in which he believes he’s the most productive. If you want to determine whether s/he will fit in with a particular team or work well with a certain manager, you can...

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Chapter News

EU’s O’Sullivan on Future of US Relations, Upcoming Elections, Russia & Security

Amb. David O’Sullivan, ambassador of the European Union’s Delegation to the United States, discusses the future of EU relations with the Trump administration, upcoming European elections, policy on Russia, Iran and Syria during a wide-ranging interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.  Compliments of the Delegation of the EU to the US

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