Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require “large” employers to offer their full-time employees healthcare coverage that meets certain standards or pay a penalty.  Whether an employer opts to “play-or-pay” is a critical business decision that impacts both their benefits and workforce strategies.  With the effective date of the ACA play-or-pay penalty just months away, employers must understand how the mandate works and what it means for their business. The following are key questions employers must ask...

Austria has moved ahead and is now second in the EU ranking for per capita gross domestic product (GDP), and is surpassed only by Luxembourg. According to Eurostat, 2012 GDP per capita of the EU member states in the year 2012 ranged from 47 to 271 percent of the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) of the EU-27 average. Austria was the second most prosperous country in the EU behind Luxembourg, and moved up from third place in the previous year to...

New York, NY, June 28, 2013 – The Foreign Policy Association (FPA) has awarded Pirelli Chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera the 2013 Social Responsibility Award for his ongoing endeavors in sustainability. Under Mr. Tronchetti’s leadership, Pirelli, one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world, has become a frontrunner in corporate social responsibility. In addition to a perfect score in the FTSE Global and European sustainability indexes, Pirelli has maintained a global sustainability leadership position for the sixth year...

Access to the U.S. Capital Markets by Foreign Issuers: A Guide to Rule 144A and Regulation S Offerings Public and private entities can access the U.S. capital markets without registering the offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by issuing securities under Rule 144A and/or Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). Rule 144A offerings are typically used to offer non-convertible or convertible debt and preferred stock. Rule 144A and Regulation S...

We are pleased to announce the inclusion of Joseph V. DeMarco in the 2013 edition of the Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide as a leading lawyer nationwide for Privacy & Data Security (Band 2). Interviewees described Joseph as being “the real deal,” and noted “his ability to condense complex legal terminology into business-focused advice.”  The Chambers' directories are highly respected, competitive and prestigious rankings of law firms and individual lawyers worldwide. The rankings are assessed through an extensive...

Some 60 people gathered at the residence of the Consul General of Finland in New York Jukka Pietikäinen for Finnish Growth Company Showcase on Thursday, May 23. The evening reception was organized by Commercial Attaché Silve Parviainen together with Tero Kuittinen from Alekstra and Miikka Lehtonen from Aalto University. The program included presentations from seven growth companies interested in reinforcing their presence in the US market. In fact, the program was so interesting that the guests were willing to brave a...

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade program is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2013. Under GSP, thousands of products originating in over 100 developing countries are eligible for duty-free entry into the United States. Since its inception in 1976, GSP has been renewed periodically by Congress. However, there have been a number of instances in which the program has been allowed to lapse, meaning that Congress failed to renew the program prior to the expiration date. Most recently,...

At its Twenty-Ninth Meeting to consider rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2012 (Dodd-Frank) on May 16, 2013, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) adopted three final rules that make significant progress towards completing its rulemaking agenda. CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler commented, "Today the CFTC is voting on reforms that will make public transparency in the swaps market a reality ... Though many of the 52 rules we have completed before today have...