03 Jul
Chapter News, News

Have your say on the future of science: public consultation on Science 2.0

The European Commission has today launched a public consultation on ‘Science 2.0’, in order to gauge the trend towards a more open, data-driven and people-focused way of doing research and innovation. Researchers are using digital tools to get thousands of people participating in research, for example by asking them to report if they catch flu in order to monitor outbreaks and predict possible epidemics. Scientists are being more open too: sharing their findings online at an early stage, comparing...

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03 Jul
Chapter News, News

Commission urges governments to embrace potential of Big Data

Data collection and exploitation is a growing phenomenon; in response to industry and grassroots demands the European Commission is today calling on national governments to wake-up to this “big data” revolution. Vice President Neelie Kroes said "It’s about time we focus on the positive aspects of big data. Big data sounds negative and scary, and for the most part it isn’t. Leaders need to embrace big data.” The main problems identified in public consultations on big data are: Lack of cross-border coordination Insufficient...

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02 Jul
Member News, News

Pepper Hamilton Client Alert: Observation 1.0.1 on the Volcker Rule: With Summer Comes the First Wave — Of Guidance

As we predicted in Observation 1.0, the inevitable waves of Volcker Rule guidance and interpretation have begun. A set of frequently asked questions, developed jointly and adopted in substantively identical form by the federal banking agencies (the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), (the “Interagency FAQs”) has just been published. Since we understand that...

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02 Jul
Member News, News

Foreign Tax-Exempt Organizations Exempt from Withholding Tax

Investment funds, including private equity funds, often receive capital contributions from tax-exempt organizations. These tax-exempt institutions may include U.S. and foreign pension funds, as well as U.S. and foreign charities and college and university endowment funds. This article addresses some of the U.S. withholding tax exemptions and obligations as they relate to foreign tax-exempt organizations invested in investment funds. Taxation of Foreign Investors on U.S.-Source Investment Income Private equity, venture capital and domestic hedge funds typically are formed as partnerships for...

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02 Jul
Member News, News

June and 2014 Year to Date CMBS Trading in Review

The CMBS market saw an impressive finish to the first half of 2014 with spreads tightening sharply across the board in June. Those gains came after a disappointing May in which performance was largely flat. In 2012 and 2013, the spring and early summer turned out to be hazardous times for CMBS investors with meaningful spread widening during those stretches. There was no such drama this year as CMBS investors saw big gains over the last 30 days. Legacy Paper Legacy super...

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01 Jul
Chapter News, News

Italian Presidency of EU Council Starts Today

Each six months, according to a pre-established order, a new Member State takes the helm of the Council of the EU. The Presidency's role encompasses chairing Council meetings, taking charge of the agenda, promoting legislative and political decisions, and brokering compromises among Member States. Starting today, July 1st 2014, Italy holds this position through December 31. The presidency trio programme is on line Italy, Latvia and Luxemburg: from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2015 Member states holding the six-month presidency work...

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01 Jul
Chapter News, News

Eurozone countries in favor of Lithuania euro accession

At a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council today the euro area member states adopted a recommendation approving a proposal that would enable Lithuania to become the 19th member of the currency union on 1 January 2015. They agreed with the Commission’s assessment that Lithuania has achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence with the euro area, and that it therefore fulfils the conditions for adopting the euro as its currency. The proposal will be referred to the European...

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30 Jun
Chapter News, News

Albania Becomes EU Candidate Country

The EU promoted Albania from “potential candidate” to full “candidate” status last week, reflecting Albania’s progress toward implementing necessary reforms. The enlargement process is one of the EU’s most powerful policy tools, having helped many countries over the years transform into functioning democracies and prosperous societies. From the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EU has promoted democratic transitions and market-oriented reforms to former communist states in Europe, offering EU access once applicant countries meet the required political and economic...

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26 Jun
Member News, News

Getting your Digital House in Order: A Checklist of Website Legal Requirements

Nearly every business has a website, whether just for information purposes or for selling goods or services. Yet, how many businesses are aware of the legislation which applies to websites and e-commerce transactions? Is your website designed to comply with WEEE, e-commerce, equality and data protection legislation?  It is a criminal offence not to comply with some of this legislation.  The way in which you commission and design your website also has significant implications for your business. Over the next...

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26 Jun
Chapter News, News

New guidelines to help EU businesses use the Cloud

Guidelines to help business users save money and get the most out of cloud computing services are being presented to the European Commission today. Cloud computing allows individuals, businesses and the public sector to store their data and carry out data processing in remote data centres, saving on average 10-20%. The guidelines have been developed by a Cloud Select Industry Group as part of the Commission’s European Cloud Strategy to increase trust in these services. Contributors to the guidelines include...

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