U.K. Agency Issues Highest Civil Sanction to Date Using Expanded Enforcement Powers
July 29, 2011 in International Environment Reporter
Issuing the highest civil sanction to date by a U.K. agency for an environmental offense, the Environment Agency July 22 fined engineering and information technology company Invensys PLC £21,000 ($34,342) for breaching packaging waste rules…
Trade Officials Say WTO Unlikely to Deliver Deal in December, Doha Heading for Shelf
July 29, 2011 in WTO Reporter
Trade officials in Geneva said July 21 they see little chance that World Trade Organization members will reach an agreement on a “deliverables” package for the trade body’s December ministerial conference and predicted the stalled Doha Round of trade talks could go into several years of hibernation following the meeting…
European Commission Seeks Major Overhaul of Bank Capital Rules to Implement Basel III
July 29, 2011 in BNA's Banking Report
The European Commission proposed multifaceted banking reform legislation that would require 8,200 banks in the European Union to adopt the Basel III capital adequacy standards that would require them to boost capital buffers and liquidity cushions and leverage backstops…
Basel Committee’s ‘Too Big to Fail’ Proposed Rule Unveiled Targeting 28 Banks
July 29, 2011 in BNA's Banking Report
An initial 28 major financial institutions would be deemed global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and targeted for additional capital charges under proposed “too big to fail” rules made public July 19 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision…
ANALYSIS: Listing Options in the Global Capital Markets
July 29, 2011 in Securities Regulation & Law Report
The pace of recovery of the global initial public offering (“IPO”) market has continued to accelerate in 2011, driven by a combination of privatizations, an increase in issuers from emerging markets, the lack of m&a exits, a robust pipeline following the financial crisis, and investor demand for financial sector and energy sector issuers…
ANALYSIS: How to Monitor Workplace E-Mail and Internet Use in Europe: The Polish Perspective
July 29, 2011 in Privacy & Security Law Report
Noting that employee monitoring is an everyday reality in many countries, the authors describe the key approaches to monitoring across Europe and in Poland, and recommend how organizations with personnel in Poland might comply with local laws…
ANALYSIS: New EU Rules Regarding Cookies: Member States’ Different Approaches To Implementation
July 29, 2011 in World Data Protection Report
Today’s electronic information and communication services are highly interactive, convenient to use and adjustable to personal needs…
European Commission Backs Seven Biofuel Certifying Schemes to Ensure Sustainability
July 22, 2011 in International Environment Reporter
To ensure that production and supply chains for biofuels both inside and outside the European Union conform to EU sustainability criteria, the European Commission July 19 approved seven certification schemes that will be recognized throughout the 27 EU member states…
U.S., EU Fault Chinese Move to Add to Tight Export Quotas on Rare Earths
July 22, 2011 in International Trade Reporter
The United States and the European Union both criticized China’s July 14 announcement regarding new export quotas on rare earths, arguing the quotas will further reduce China’s already restrictive access to minerals used in a variety of high-tech products…
WTO Appellate Body Sides With China in Challenges to EU Dumping Rules
July 22, 2011 in WTO Reporter
The World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body sided with China July 15 in its challenge to European Union antidumping rules targeting imports from China and other countries deemed to have non-market economies…