April 9, 2020 | $2.3 trillion in liquidity provided to support economy. The Federal Reserve made history on Thursday by moving aggressively to provide up to $2.3 trillion in liquidity commitments to support the economy. This policy intends to bolster households, small and medium-sized firms, and the ability of state and local governments to float debt to ensure critical services during the pandemic. But the liquidity commitment put forward by the Fed strongly suggests that this is the latest in a series...

April 15, 2020 | CAA Clarificaitons on the impact of a hard Brexit on the rules governing investments and deposits of tied assets of insurance undertakings. In two information notices dated April 2 and April 8, 2020, the Commissariat Aux Assurances (“CAA”) clarified the impact of a hard Brexit and the related loss of the UK’s status as a member of the European Economic Area on the application of the rules governing: • the investment of the assets underlying unit-linked life-insurance contracts (Note d’information 20/11...

April 17, 2020 | The Toy Association is alerting members to the launch of the Save Small Business Fund, a new grant-making initiative launched by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Vistaprint. The initiative seeks to provide short-term relief in for small employers in the form of a four-part campaign that includes financial aid, resources and guidance, advocacy, and polling, as well as a call to action for the larger business community and government to help small businesses, according...

April 17, 2020 | With the World Health Organisation warning that Europe is now in ‘the eye of the storm’ during the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic, the EU’s leadership in Brussels has this week begun charting the course to economic recovery. On Wednesday, the European Commission and European Council jointly published an exit strategy to coordinate the roll-back of national public health measures implemented to contain the spread of Coronavirus. To ensure confinement measures are lifted in a gradual and orderly...

April 7, 2020 | Recent media coverage has focused on the effect of COVID-19 on the emergence of cyber related frauds, including social engineering and phishing schemes. Employers would also be wise to consider the unique opportunities for fraud detection arising from government-mandated shutdowns, social distancing and the prevalence of employees working remotely. The recent work from home phenomenon may enhance the effectiveness of internal controls designed to detect any previously well-tended fraudulent employee schemes, including secret commission or kickback...

April 16, 2020 | • Extraordinary Board of Directors meeting approves the EIB Group’s response to economic effects of COVID-19 crisis: a €25 billion European guarantee which aims to deliver up to €200 billion for the European economy • Board decision follows 9 April recommendation by Eurogroup to include EIB proposal into joint EU response package The EIB Group is set to play a key role in the fight against the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a recommendation by the...

April 15, 2020 | These days, most companies are focused on the myriad of legal, health and safety, and financial issues caused by COVID-19. While the firm is actively monitoring these issues,1 we also want to keep you abreast of other developments that may be relevant to your business. Here, we provide an overview of guidance recently offered by Andrew Smith, the director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection, on how to manage consumer protection risks associated...

April 15, 2020 | As reported in March, the COVID-19 pandemic is being leveraged by malicious cyber actors to make various cybersecurity attacks. In a joint alert issued on April 8 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the agencies provided information on exploitation of the pandemic by cybercriminals and advanced persistent threat groups and provided guidance to help mitigate these threats. The alert identified several observed threats: •...