On 30 November 2023, Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 of 22 November 2023 on European Green Bonds and optional disclosures for bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable and for sustainability-linked bonds (EuGBs Regulation) was published in the Official Journal of the EU. The EuGBs Regulation will apply from 21 December 2024, but the market is expected to take it into account sooner. Notably, the recitals highlight that the European Investment Bank will gradually align its green bond programme with the European Green Bond...

Sika has significantly expanded its research and development capacities in the Asia/Pacific region and opened a new, state-of-the-art Technology Center in Suzhou, China. The primary focus of this center is the development of sustainable and high-performance technologies with which Sika makes a significant contribution to the transformation of the construction and automotive industries. The new center of excellence will play a key role in tapping market potential throughout the Asia/Pacific region. The investment volume is in the double-digit millions...

Several employment-related provisions have been introduced by the Act of 5 November 2023, one of which is to strengthen the presence of a person of trust ("vertrouwenspersoon" / "personne de confiance") within the company as a preventive and supportive measure to deal with psychosocial risks at work. From 1 December 2023:  For employers with 50 or more employees, the appointment of a person of trust is mandatory. For employers with less than 50 employees the appointment of a person of trust is...

PwC’s knowledge of AI’s value and how to manage the risks comes from first-hand experience: We’re deploying generative AI at scale for our clients and our people, including our tax professionals. Generative AI (GenAI) is likely provoking some big questions for you and the rest of your company’s leadership. What can it do for me? How can I trust what it does? How will it impact my workforce? How do I get started? And, critically, how can GenAI safeguard  my data, intellectual...

Originally published on The Frontier Hub The widespread dispersion and adoption of digital devices and applications has put businesses of nearly every sector on the path towards maximizing their efficiency and productivity by leveraging the abundance of new technology. For most enterprises, this has been done mainly using new automation tools, which not only help optimize daily processes for increased efficiency, but also negates a myriad of human error mistakes as well. The rise of home automation is currently underway in...

The major mortgage REITs continued to see loans get repaid during the third quarter, but their lending activity, while up sharply from the second quarter, remained anemic. The 14 companies tracked reported receiving a collective $3.83 billion of loan repayments during the latest period while originating $1.15 billion of loans. That resulted in a nearly 4% reduction in the companies' collective loan portfolios, to $89.09 billion. So far this year through September, the companies have originated only $3.07 billion of...

Notice 2023-80 describes rules that would address the treatment of certain taxes, including Income Inclusion Rules (IIRs), Undertaxed Profit Rules (UTPRs), and Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes (QDMTTs). GloBE Model Rules and the FTC Treasury and the IRS intend to issue proposed regulations consistent with the guidance regarding the following: Creditability and deductibility of GloBE Top-up Taxes that, in computing the amount of tax, consider the amount of tax that other countries (including the United States) impose on the direct or...

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a plan to provide resources and incentives for the healthcare industry to adopt cybersecurity measures and to increase potential regulatory penalties for cybersecurity breaches amid growing data security risks to hospitals and health systems. On December 6, 2023, HHS released a “concept paper,” “Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity: Introduction to the Strategy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” outlining four new and ongoing steps HHS will take to...