Although dogged by delays and uncertainties, the Affordable Care Act is already shaping how companies provide healthcare to their employees. The sweeping healthcare reform package, signed into law March 23, 2010, is a mélange of requirements. The Obama Administration just announced that the employer mandate—the so called “pay-or-play” rule requiring any company with more than […]
Roberta Holland
Posted inEurope
Effort to Boost Ranks of Women on Boards Moves Forward
Members of European Parliament this week backed a European Commission proposal for gender quotas on company boards. The commission’s proposal calls on listed companies to ensure that at least 40 percent of their non-executive board members are women by 2018 or 2020. The earlier deadline would apply to listed companies owned in whole or part […]
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European Commission Eyeing Whether Crowdfunding Should Be Regulated
The European Commission is weighing whether a common framework is needed to regulate crowdfunding, the growing trend of raising small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals typically via the Internet. The commission opened a consultation last week to get opinions regarding the potential benefits and risks of crowdfunding, and how to design […]
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Most Nations Do Little to Control Foreign Business Corruption, Report Says
More than half of the largest exporting nations are doing little to nothing to prevent multinational companies from using bribery to gain access to overseas markets, according to a study released this week. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International surveyed the 40 nations signed onto the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Anti-Bribery Convention. The convention, signed […]
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Sources Say New Charges Looming in Libor Scandal
More charges in the Libor benchmark rigging scandal may be in the offing later this month. Lawyers familiar with the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation told Bloomberg the agency is likely to file additional charges against traders and brokers involved in the scandal when investigators go to court later this month for hearings involving three defendants […]
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Germany Picks Up Allies in CO2 Emissions Battle
Opponents to new vehicle emissions standards in the European Union are picking up additional support from the auto industry. Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel and luxury car makers BMW and Daimler, has been leading the opposition to the emissions caps on passenger vehicles. Now their efforts are being backed by French car makers Renault […]
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Watchdog Survey Shows Defense Sector Vulnerable to Corruption
A new report by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International revealed that two-thirds of parliaments and legislatures fail to properly police their defense sectors. The survey, released last week, was conducted by the group’s U.K.-based Defence and Security Programme. Linked to TI’s Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index 2013, the survey covered 82 countries and looked at seven different […]
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MEPs Using Budget to Attack Global Accounting Standards
Controversy around global accounting standards continued this week as members of European Parliament, unhappy with the regulations, targeted the accounting board’s funding. According to a report published in The Daily Telegraph, members of parliament are expected to vote this week to attach conditions to the budget for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the […]
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Senior Managers Could Face Criminal Liability for Lapses Under New German Law
Senior managers could face criminal sanctions for failing to perform due diligence under new banking and insurance regulations taking effect in January in Germany. The German Ringfencing Act, which amends the country’s Banking Act and Insurance Supervision Act, includes detailed requirements senior managers must meet in order to establish “a proper system of business organization.” […]
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Court Official Sides with U.K. in Short-Selling Dispute with EU
In a victory for the United Kingdom, a top court official this week agreed that an EU regulation banning short-selling was based on faulty legal grounds. In March 2012, the European Union adopted a regulation on short-selling, giving the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) the power to intervene in member states’ financial markets to […]