Sky Blog
On Wednesday, August 2, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (the Act). The Act significantly expands and codifies US sanctions targeting Russia, and it adds several measures to the already comprehensive US …
The May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 200,000 computers spread across 150 nations. The results of the attack made clear that computers whose software is not up to date can hurt not only the computers’ owners, but ultimately …
Brexit has set the stage for a retaliatory trade war that neither the U.K. nor the E.U. wants and that will injure consumers (and others) on both sides. Moreover, it could threaten the U.S. as well, if it leads the …
Although a bedrock of the financial markets for over 30 years, LIBOR has been under pressure ever since the Wheatley Review, and a speech given by Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on July 27th …
Following the recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, most financial systems around the world have imposed new capital requirements for banks in recent years. These moves seem to be justified on two powerful economic grounds. First, better capitalized …
It has been well documented that in the U.S. and other countries with developed stock markets, sound public disclosure practices strengthen the reputation and credibility of firms. However, it’s unclear whether good disclosure practices are also beneficial in emerging markets …
With trillions of dollars in assets, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play a major role in financial markets around the world. With billions (and perhaps trillions) of dollars’ worth of equity investments around the world, the investment behavior of SWFs is …
The corporate governance literature has shown a strong link between good governance practices and firm value. The mechanisms, however, that determine the choice of effective corporate governance and board arrangements in a changing global market are not well studied. In …
The fluidity of labor markets depends on the ease with which one side of the market can fulfill the needs of the other: whether workers can find employment that suits their skills and firms can find adequate substitutes for workers …
After a period of public consultation, the European Central Bank (the “ECB”) published its final Guidance on Leveraged Transactions (the “Guidance”) on May 16, 2017[1]. Twenty-four organisations (comprising credit institutions and market associations) commented directly on the ECB’s …
Tax planning by multinational enterprises (MNEs) is estimated to generate a worldwide loss of corporate tax revenues of between $100 billion and $240 billion. U.S.-based MNEs alone are believed to retain a total of $2 trillion in earnings outside the …
The United States has long offered its domestic industrial base preferential treatment in the Federal government marketplace through laws and regulations requiring agencies to prefer purchase of American-made products and contracts with American companies, and only resort to other sources …
In late March, the Trump administration took several steps to begin implementation of its “America First” international trade agenda. We note three actions in particular:
First, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. …
The UK Government triggered on March 29, 2017, Article 50 TEU. As a result, the UK is likely to have exited the EU by March 2019.
In a speech delivered on January 17, Prime Minister (“PM”) May explained …
The world of Harry Potter is divided into wizards and muggles, those who can work magic, and those who (sadly) cannot. In the world of US federal securities laws, the division between domestic US companies and foreign private issuers, or …
On March 1, 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) released its National Trade Policy Agenda for 2017 (“Trade Agenda”) describing the President’s trade policy objectives. The Trade Agenda is consistent with President Trump’s campaign promises to fundamentally …
2017 has started with a bang on the data protection front. The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is intended to harmonise data protection legislation across the EU, was adopted in April last year and is due to …
On January 26 the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) released its first set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB). The BCBS published the FRTB in January 2016 with the intent to …
The House Republicans have proposed sweeping changes to the U.S. tax system, specifically that income from the export of goods, services and intangibles will not be subject to federal income tax, and that the cost of such imports into the …