Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams have become increasingly commonplace and financially destructive. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 2019 was the worst year on record for BEC scams — both in terms of the number of attacks and the financial losses incurred because of the scams. 2020 figures to be even worse, as businesses have increasingly been victimized by attackers seeking to exploit companies whose employees are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the risk...

The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on the way we live, interact and work. As government policy over the last number of months has advised (1) working from home where possible and (2) against non-essential local and international travel, working from home (WFH) has become the norm for many employees. For most employees, WFH has meant confining themselves to the desk or kitchen table from their house/apartment/flat-share a few miles from the office, always on the basis that...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this morning confirmed her intention to nominate Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness for the Financial Services, Stability and Capital Markets portfolio in a small reshuffle of the Commission’s political leadership. In the reshuffle announced today, Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, currently in charge of the financial services portfolio will take over as EU Trade Commissioner. The position was vacated when Phil Hogan resigned on 26 August over a political scandal in Ireland over his...

As of 1 September 2020, the usual rules for temporary unemployment due to force majeure or for economic reasons will apply again, with the exception of the following nuances and deviations: Application of transitional measures until 31 December 2020 if the temporary unemployment regime for economic reasons is invoked; Keeping the simplified procedure for temporary unemployment due to force majeure (corona) for sectors or companies that have been particularly affected by the crisis. Keeping of the simplified procedure for sectors...

The US dollar's rally in the initial phases of the pandemic has been unwound, and sentiment appears to be the most negative since the Great Financial Crisis.  New lows for the year against the euro, Swiss franc, the British pound, Swedish krona, and the Australian dollar were recorded in recent weeks. The Dollar Index (DXY), which is heavily weighted toward Europe, fell by over 4% in July, the largest monthly decline in a decade, and another 1.25% in August. ...

Key insights The deferral does not appear to be mandatory. The employer is ultimately responsible for withholding and depositing the deferred tax. Employees will see higher wages paid throughout the end of the year, but there may be challenges in administering the deferral. On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the secretary of the treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll tax obligations. Employees can defer paying their share of Social Security tax on...

As well as granting companies leeway on certain COVID-19 initiated collaborations (see our May 2020 newsletter), the coronavirus outbreak has also led competition authorities to take a more lenient stance towards fine calculations and payments. The European Commission has extended the due date for fine payments by an additional three months in response to potential short-term liquidity issues brought about by the pandemic. Similar reasons led the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeal Tribunal to reduce a EUR 1 million cartel fine...