TrendHunter.com’s latest free monthly report for Toy Association members provides fodder for toy companies to consider whether a partnership with an online influencer makes sense for their brand.  “The report provides a better understanding of how online and social influencers are using their platforms for successful marketing and takes a deep dive into fresh ways influencers are producing content,” said Anne McConnell, senior director of market research & data strategy at The Toy Association.  The following trends are highlighted in the report: Artsy...

By Kristan Gross | Global Executive Director | Vision Impact Institute Before our children are even born, we’re making the best efforts to set them up for success – from ensuring we take in the proper nourishment for our developing babies to selecting the best doctors for their childhood. In some cases, we already have their futures mapped out before we even know their gender or see their hair color. Yet when those same children go to school, many find themselves at...

By Floris ten Have | Senior Associate | Amsterdam | Stibbe On 7 March 2018, the president of the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) together with two colleagues published a paper concerning the application of the competition rules in the pharmaceutical industry. The paper specifically explains that they see a role for competition law enforcement if the owners of patented drugs engage in excessive pricing. In its agenda 2018-2019 publishedearlier this year, the ACM indicated that it will focus on four topics, one of...

By Manokia Musonge | TD Bank  Interactive educational platform meets the unique needs of individuals with diverse abilities and their caregivers In honor of Financial Literacy Month, TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank™, is announcing the launch of its Adaptive Financial Education program, which offers a variety of on-site seminars along with online, interactive tools, tutorials and games that empower individuals with diverse abilities and their caregivers to navigate their financial lives more independently and successfully. TD's new program is designed to improve...

This article was published in ACG New York 2017 Private Equity in Review. It is reprinted here with permission. By Johanna R. Collins-Wood | Associate | Pepper Hamilton  According to PitchBook, 23 M&A deals in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space closed in 2017. Within the first month of 2018, five more deals closed. While most of the 2017 transactions occurred between industry participants due to consolidation, increasingly, other companies are evaluating the many potential benefits of blockchain technology,  particularly companies that engage in extensive...

By Roderik Bouwman | Illya Sverdlov On 12 March 2018, Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed the Protocol (Protocol) amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Property (Convention). It is expected that the Protocol will enter into force not earlier than 1 January 2019 after finalization of the ratification procedures. MAIN CHANGES  The official text of the Protocol has not been published yet. According to the Ministry...

KEY EVENTS THIS WEEK: BREXIT UK eyes alignment with subset of EU single market in effort to solve Irish border questionAs Brexit negotiations set to resume next week in Brussels, British officials are planning to present a plan to their EU counterparts that would propose an entirely new EU-UK customs agreement which would keep the whole of the UK remaining aligned with a subset of the EU’s single market rules. Leaked reports from Downing Street suggest that the plan is intended...

By Greetje van Heezik | Murat Duman | Eline Groen | Marinela Vieira  At the beginning of March 2018, the Court of Justice of the EU ("CJEU") clarified the limits of the private investor principle, also known as the "market economy operator criterion" ("MEO criterion") in two fundamental rulings. In SNCF Mobilités v Commission (case C-127/16) the CJEU clarified the limitations of the applicability of the MEO criterion. The CJEU ruled that the MEO criterion is not applicable to the implementation of a compensatory measure (the forced sale of favoured activities)...