The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force on July 1, 2020 replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that has been in force since 1994. The USMCA has a sunset provision providing that investors may continue using NAFTA’s dispute resolution mechanism for NAFTA legacy investments for up to three years after NAFTA’s termination, i.e., until June 30, 2023 ...
HSR Notice Thresholds Have Increased. On January 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its revised annual threshold that determines whether companies may be required to notify federal antitrust authorities about a proposed merger or acquisition due to the size and value of the transaction. The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act (Section 7A of the Clayton Act) requires parties to certain mergers and acquisitions to notify the FTC and U.S ...
With cybersecurity risks increasing and evolving moving into 2023, the federal government is taking steps to help secure our cyber infrastructure. The recent passing of the 2023 omnibus spending agreement included additional funds for a variety of federal agencies in order to strengthen our cybersecurity apparatus. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (“CISA”) received $1.3 billion for its cybersecurity programs. This is a $230 million increase over last year ...
On September 16, 2022, the DOLE issuedDepartment Order No. 237, series of 2022, or the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11165or the Telecommuting Act (“Revised Telecommuting Rules”). New Definitions The Revised Telecommuting Rules clarified the definition of an “alternative workplace” and a “regular workplace” ...
BigTech has kept information about advertising (who is seeing the adverts, who is clicking on the adverts...) largely in a safe under lock and key. This is about to change and advertising agencies could be a major beneficiary. Advertising agencies likely need to invest in capabilities to analyse huge volumes of data, or engage external advisors to do this work ...
Pensions analysis: On 16 December 2022, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) published its consultation on the new defined benefit (DB) funding code of practice together with a response to its first consultation and a consultation on its proposed twin track regulatory approach to assessing valuations including its proposed Fast Track design. Suzanne Burrell, partner at Shoosmiths examines the consultation and its implications ...
Overview If you are thinking about outsourcing manufacturing but have no idea where to start, or if you are already sourcing your product overseas but running into complications, this book, So You Need To OutSource A Product?, will provide some helpful guidelines on navigating the process. You probably already know this, but it bears repeating: Manufacturing outsourcing raises profit margins, improves inventory management, and gets new products to market faster ...
As the stock exchange market in the country develops, in addition to the regular auction trading method, block trades or special crossings (via the NTM) are also permitted, whereby the buyer and seller of listed shares can directly negotiate and agree upon the conditions of their transaction ...
On January 5, 2023 the SEC announced a settled Administrative Proceeding with Randy Robertson. Mr. Robertson previously served as the co-portfolio manager for the BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (“BIT”). While serving as the co-portfolio manager for BIT, Mr. Robertson explored the possibility of a BlackRock investment opportunity regarding a potential secured lending investment relating to print and advertising expenses associated with film distribution. Mr ...
Gone are the days when marketing campaigns are relegated to just hard copy printed materials. They are more often than not found, promoted and run online, and increasingly through social media which offers a speedy and an efficient method of an organisation speaking to its audience. It also offers the audience the opportunity to like, share and comment on the campaign, providing a unique and ‘in the moment’ conversation between a business and its customers ...
The Charity Commission has today (17 January) begun a public consultation on proposed new guidance for charities’ use of social media. It encourages charities to adopt a social media policy which is right for them. Social media presents charities with great opportunities to campaign and comment, to communicate the value they create and to fundraise. But these channels also present serious risks for charities ...
Matters of cross-border company mobility are addressed at European Union level by means of Directive (EU) 2017/1132 (the “2017 Directive”) which provides for cross-border mergers and domestic divisions of public limited liability companies ...
With the well-known challenges of the last ten months or so, market conditions deteriorated substantially over 2022 and the venture capital (VC) market became a far more challenging one in which to agree a valuation and raise money. While those challenges are not over, from speaking to VC clients and others, there's a cautious optimism that as 2023 progresses the market will slowly improve ...
With little regulation, controlling children's access to online content has been left to parents and carers to manage. But now lawmakers around the world are trying to put responsibility into the hands of websites and internet-based service providers. Recent years have seen concerted action aimed at controlling the collection and use of children’s personal data online ...
On January 11, 2023 the SEC Division of Investment Management issued an additional Marketing Rule FAQ. The newly issued FAQ addresses gross and net performance requirements applicable to private fund case studies, single investments and/or groups of investments, i.e. extracted performance. Specifically, the Question provides as follows: Q. When an adviser displays the gross performance of one investment (e.g ...
Broad scope of application The FSR targets any undertaking engaged in an economic activity in the internal market that has received a foreign subsidy distorting the internal market. A foreign subsidy is any financial contribution provided by a third country (non-EU Member State) which confers a benefit on an undertaking engaging in an economic activity in the internal market and which is limited to one or more undertakings or industries ...
Most commentators agree that the equity capital markets are not in robust health as we enter 2023. Investors have sustained significant losses in recent months and the combination of war, inflation and recession mean that investor confidence is at a definite low. There are however some signs that the outlook for 2023 may not be as bleak as the headlines might suggest ...
In recent months we have seen a significant rise in industrial action across multiple sectors, including public transport; postal workers; nursing and ambulance staff; university employees; Border Force staff and civil servants. Strikes look set to continue into 2023; the British Medical Association is currently balloting junior doctors on potential strike action for March 2023 and disruption is also likely to hit schools in Scotland as teacher strikes are planned for January 2023 ...
After a several year long investigation into the marketing practice of Facebook and Instagram, both of whom are owned by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Meta), the Irish Data Protection Authority have concluded that both platforms are fundamentally in breach of the GDPR ...
On December 30, 2022, the Asset Management Association of China ("AMAC") issued a consultation draft of the Measures for Registration and Filing of Private Investment Funds (《私募投资基金登记备案办法 (征求意见稿)》) (the "Draft Measures") and the ancillary Guidelines No. 1-3 on private fund manager registration〔i.e. Guideline on Basic Operational Requirements ("Guideline No. 1"), Guideline on Shareholders, Partners and Actual Controllers ("Guideline No ...
Overview On 4 November 2022, Sub-Decree 232 on the Management of Commercial Advertisements of Goods and Services (“Sub-Decree 232”) was enacted by the Royal Government of Cambodia. Sub-Decree 232 is one of 31 measures to promote fair trade and practices in business in line with the Five-Year Action Plan (2022-2026) prepared by the National Commission for Consumer Protection (“NCCP”) ...
Kudun and Partners has successfully represented Thanulux Public Company Limited (“TNL”), the biggest market leader in the manufacturing and sale of ready-made clothes and leather goods in Thailand, on the listed company’s major restructuring and expansion of its investment with a highly significant total value of THB 8.8 billion ...
Where is my order? I’m sure most of us have asked this question many times and probably more so recently as the recent postal strikes have left customers waiting for delayed Christmas gifts to arrive. The postal strikes have undoubtedly had a huge impact on businesses in the lead up to Christmas, especially given the dramatic increase in online sales, costing businesses money and time in navigating through customer queries, complaints and providing solutions ...
