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☆ The market's version of a 'quickie' divorce is getting more complex and costly
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One time-honored corporate M&A prenup strategy, which could become more important going forward, is the use of break-up fees, also known as termination fees. In addition to reverse termination fees, companies are also allowing for longer timelines and more extensions than they were a few years ago, Thomas said. Not all deals include break-up fees for regulatory failures. Meanwhile, Visa's deal for Plaid was scuttled in 2021 due to regulatory snares, with neither of the companies owing break-up fees. A 2022 study by investment bank Houlihan Lokey shows that 57.1% of the 140 transactions reviewed had reverse breakup fees, with median fees of 4.2% as a percentage of transaction value.

Persons: Thomas, Houlihan Lokey, Pitchbook Organizations: Crowell, Moring, Discover Financial, Plaid, Regulators, Federal Trade Commission, Department

☆ Corner Offices Are Out; Collaboration Is In. Say Hello to the New Law Firm.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ellen Rosen | Maansi Srivastava | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In January, the law firm Crowell & Moring traded its New York offices in an early 1980s building in Midtown Manhattan for a newly built space on the West Side, with sweeping views of the Hudson River and New York Harbor. The law firm’s previous office layout was “essentially wasted space,” said Philip T. Inglima, the firm’s chairman. Crowell & Moring makes better use of the square footage in its new location, which includes features like sit-to-stand desks, video technology for hybrid meetings and double-pane glass for soundproofing, Mr. Inglima said. Larger law firms nationwide have been shedding space even as they have added lawyers. “We don’t have everybody in the office all the time, and that’s why we don’t necessarily need that larger footprint,” said Sharis A. Pozen, the law firm Clifford Chance’s regional managing partner, for the Americas.

Persons: Crowell, ”, Philip T, Moring, Inglima, Clifford Organizations: Moring, Crowell Locations: New York, Midtown Manhattan, Hudson, Americas

☆ One of Wall Street's favorite ways to control workers is under attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

One of Wall Street's favorite employee leverage tactics — non-compete agreements — is facing a major threat, and there could be far-reaching implications for how the financial industry does business. But it's also clear that Wall Street firms are under particular attention for the practice. With major Wall Street firms already having among the most unpopular back-to-work policies in the market, "Wall Street is already in a position where they are recognizing they don't have all the hands they had before," Chamberlin said. Shore recommends Wall Street firms undertake a thorough competitive analysis at every level in every department to ensure they are market competitive. Even if the FTC rule goes through, Wall Street firms still have options to protect their business.

Persons: Charles Scharf, Wells, Brian Thomas Moynihan, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Jane Fraser, Ronald O’Hanley, Robin Vince, BNY Mellon, David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, James Gorman, Morgan Stanley, General Mills, —, Wall, it's, Kathy Hochul, that's, Covid, Laurie Chamberlin, Chamberlin, Lina Khan's, Khan, It's, David Fisher, Gilbert, Fisher, Juan A, Crowell, Arteaga, Paul Webster, Matt Shore, Kareem Bakr, Webster, Leslie John, Ballard Spahr, John Organizations: Company, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup, BNY, Google, Apple, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Procter, Gamble, Nike, Economic, Institute, Federal Trade Commission, North America, American College of Emergency Physicians, Davis, FTC, Supreme, Industry, Moring, Wall, Phaidon International, Wall Street Locations: Wells Fargo, Hart, Washington ,, New York, . California, U.S, Gilbert . Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts

☆ The real story behind the suicide of American socialite Ann Woodward in 'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Woodward's suicide is depicted in the first episode of "Feud: Capote vs. Ann Woodward had a run with Truman Capote where she reportedly called him a homophobic slurTom Hollander plays Truman Capote in "Feud: Capote vs. Ann Woodward and William Woodward Jr. at the Embassy Club in the Ambassador Hotel in New York in 1975. According to Montillo, Capote recognized Woodward and approached her table; after a brief conversation, she reportedly called Capote a homophobic slur. Despite the two decades since her husband's death, Woodward's reputation was still in tatters among those who remembered the headline-making incident.

Persons: —, Ryan Murphy's, Truman Capote, Jon Robin Baitz, Laurence Leamer's, Tom Hollander, Capote, Leamer, Ann Woodward, Woodward, Demi Moore, Holly Golightly, Angeline Lucille Crowell, Ann Eden, William Woodward Jr, Susan Braudy, Bettmann, Roseanne Montillo's, Woodward's, Moritz, Montillo, Mrs, Bang, Lady Ina Coolbirth, Jones, Ann Hopkins, David Hopkins, Babe Paley, Naomi Watts, Nancy, Slim, Keith, Diane Lane, Ann Woodward's, Gerald Clarke, Capote's, Elsie Woodward, Truman, BuzzFeed's Alessa Dominguez, Jimmy, William Organizations: Service, Business, FX, Hulu, New York, Embassy Club, Woodward Locations: American, New York, Manhattan, La, Basque, Kansas, New, Europe, St

The three contracts, if approved by 146,000 union members, would dramatically raise pay for autoworkers, with increases and cost-of-living adjustments that would translate into a 33% wage gain. Top assembly plant workers would earn roughly $42 per hour when the contracts expire in April of 2028. Several smaller facilities were still voting, many of them parts warehouses or component factories where workers got big pay raises and were expected to approve the contract. Full-time temporary workers liked the large raises they received and the chance to get top union pay, he said. In the deals with all three companies, longtime workers would get 25% general raises over the life of the contracts with 11% up front.

Persons: Keith Crowell, didn’t, ” Crowell, “, Shawn Fain, Joe Biden Organizations: DETROIT, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Big, GM, Ford, Dodge, Workers, Chrysler, UAW, Biden Locations: Stellantis, Lansing , Michigan, Arlington , Texas, Wentzville , Missouri, Lansing Delta Township , Michigan, Spring Hill , Tennessee, Arlington, Detroit

☆ London gold body aims to create secure global database
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Melted gold flows out of a smelter into a mould of a bar at a plant of gold and silver refiner and bar manufacturer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, Switzerland, July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies The London Bullion Market Association FollowLONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) on Thursday called for proposals from service firms to create a secure global database that would improve trust in the gold market's value chain. Gold refineries must source gold responsibly under the industry body's accreditation requirements, allowing them access to London's bullion market, the world's largest. The group's database of Russian gold bars held by banks in London helps to prevent sanctions evasion by Russian companies. Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Ruth Crowell, Polina Devitt, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Bullion Market, Bullion Market Association, Thomson Locations: Mendrisio, Switzerland, London

☆ Bonds offer risk-free returns of over 5% for the first time in two decades. Here's how capitalize on the easy money without tying up your cash for years at a time.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Short-term interest rates are the highest they've been since the early 2000s. You can plug $1,000 into each of the six Treasury bill durations of one year or under, or whatever combination you prefer. A 5.36% annualized interest rate on a $1,000 bond equals $53.60. Since it's a 1-month bill, you then divide then that by 12 to get the annualized rate. It's unclear where interest rates go from here.

Persons: Andrew Crowell, Davidson, Crowell, Charles Schwab Organizations: Treasury, D.A, Fed, Vanguard

[1/2] A sign indicates the direction to the offices of Progress Software in Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S., July 26, 2023. But more than two months after the breach was first disclosed by Massachusetts-based Progress Software, the parade of victims has scarcely slowed. The tallies show that nearly 40 million people have been affected so far by the hack of Progress' MOVEit Transfer file management program. Now the digital extortionists involved, a group named "cl0p", have become increasingly aggressive about thrusting their data into the public domain. MOVEit is used by organizations to ship large amounts of often sensitive data: pension information, social security numbers, medical records, billing data and the like.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Marc Bleicher, cl0p, Huntress Security's John Hammond, Christopher Budd, Sophos, Eric Goldstein, Nathan Little, Emsisoft, Bert Kondruss, Rowe Price, Maximus, Alexander Urbelis, Crowell, Goldstein, didn't, Surefire's, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Chris Sanders, Grant McCool Organizations: Progress Software, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Software, Insurance, of America, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Tetra Defense, WHO, Pension, California Public Employees, Moring, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Burlington , Massachusetts, U.S, WASHINGTON, American, Massachusetts, York, New York, Louisiana, California, New York City, Oregon

☆ Opinion | Taylor Swift Has Rocked My Psychiatric Practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Suzanne Garfinkle-Crowell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor doesn’t force you to choose, because she is both The Lucky One you want to be, and every bit the Anti-Hero you are inside. Like Taylor, she dresses to be pretty and cool (and sometimes, for revenge), but inside, she is in all kinds of pain. She finds in Taylor Swift an actual hero who meets her where she is but also shows her the badass place she could get to — so intoxicating precisely because it is within reach. “What would Taylor Swift do?” is a refrain among certain patients in my practice. Taylor Swift articulates not only the treachery of bullying but also the cruelty just shy of it that is even more pervasive: meanness, exclusion, intermittent ghosting.

Persons: —, It’s, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Taylor, she’d, Romeo, Taylor Swift

☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

The landlord's filing was posted to the District of Columbia Superior Court docket on Monday. Crowell's lawsuit, filed in March, marked a fresh clash between a law firm and its landlord over pandemic-era rent. TREA said in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the lease's rent abatement provision is "expressly tied to specific events resulting from the loss of certain utilities." The case is Crowell & Moring v. The TREA 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Trust, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. Read more:Law firm Crowell sues to recoup $30 mln in COVID-era rentLaw firm office leasing drops again after reboundJenner, Chicago landlord end lawsuits over unpaid rentOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +50 min

Ensuring Employee Safety and Systems SecurityEmployers may use electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance to protect their:Worksites. Potential Liability for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceEmployers that engage in electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance must comply with various federal and state laws, including:The Wiretap Act. Best Practices for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceTo avoid violating relevant state and federal laws, before conducting workplace monitoring and surveillance, employers should:Consider the purpose and appropriate scope of their monitoring and surveillance activities and what methods will help them achieve their objectives. Determine the Purpose of Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceBefore conducting any workplace monitoring or surveillance, best practice is for employers to identify the purpose and goals of these activities to:Ensure that there is a legitimate business purpose for the planned monitoring and surveillance activities. Determine the scope of monitoring and surveillance necessary to accomplish the business purpose, and conduct only the minimum monitoring and surveillance necessary to meet that business need.

☆ Pro-DeSantis PAC Makes Hires in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Shane Goldmacher | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ron DeSantis of Florida and his allies are expanding his political footprint in key states that will begin the 2024 presidential nominating contest, with the main super PAC backing his bid making hires in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and an operative with recent Iowa experience joining the payroll of the Republican Party of Florida. The party is serving as a way station where Mr. DeSantis has been adding strategists and policy advisers who are expected to eventually work on his likely 2024 run. Mr. DeSantis has not yet declared his bid, but a pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, has acted as something of a campaign-in-waiting, hiring staff members and responding to regular attacks from former President Donald J. Trump. Almost as significantly, it has engaged with mainstream news organizations that Mr. DeSantis instinctively shuns. The super PAC previously announced that it had raised $30 million in its first three weeks, as major donors poured money into the group in a bid to slow the momentum of Mr. Trump, the Republican polling front-runner.

☆ U.S. Launches ‘Strike Force’ to Keep Disruptive Tech Away From Adversaries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Export controls are a set of regulations that restrict the sale of technologies with both commercial and military uses. They are administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which can bring civil penalties against companies that allow such “dual use” items to fall into the wrong hands. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security last year said it was making several changes to give its rules sharper teeth. “Our goal is simple but essential: to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology,” Ms. Monaco said. The committee is also turning its gaze from inbound investment in physical assets to sensitive data and digital innovations that could be used to pose data and cybersecurity risks, she said.

☆ Justice Department to Increase Scrutiny of Technology Exports, Investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Justice Department official on Thursday said the agency would intensify its efforts to block foreign adversaries such as China and Russia from obtaining sensitive data and technologies, including by launching a new partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department. Export controls are a set of regulations that restrict the sale of technologies with both commercial and military uses. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security last year said it was making several changes to give its rules sharper teeth. “Our goal is simple but essential: to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology,” Ms. Monaco said. Although many of the Justice Department’s export controls cases in recent years have focused on individuals, prosecutors in 2021 fined German software company SAP SE for violating export regulations by providing millions of dollars in software to Iran.

☆ Insurers Avoid Picking Up Businesses’ Covid-19 Pandemic Costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

“If they assumed incorrectly, the mom-and-pop restaurants shouldn’t be penalized.”Federal appeals courts so far have rejected cases like Consolidated Restaurant’s. In January, the federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled against a range of businesses. With that decision, businesses had seen losses in 11 federal appeals courts, whose jurisdictions span nearly the entire country. Business interruption insurance policies are typically written to address harm to property: For instance, if a water-main break floods a sales floor, or a fire forces a business to close. In June, a Boston federal appeals court rejected a Covid insurance claim by a group of restaurants.

☆ Fact Check-Video showing Tamil celebration in Waterloo, Canada, does not involve UK government officials and staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It does not involve officials or staff from Britain’s defence ministry or the UK Prime Minister’s office. Rather, the video shows a celebration among officials in the Canadian province of Ontario. The earliest version of the clip Reuters found was in a Facebook group named Tamil Culture Waterloo Region. The caption says it shows a Tamil Thai Pongal celebration involving “region of Waterloo politicians, regional chair city mayors, councilors and police chief and staff” (here). The video shows celebrations taking place in the Canadian city of Waterloo, with no British government officials or staff attending.

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