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☆ Europe is trying to regulate AI. That could backfire.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One AI expert said it risks creating "AI policy tax havens" as countries try to attract investment. "Europe is NOW a global standard-setter in AI," Thierry Breton, the European internal market commissioner, said on X. Other countries, including China, have already brought in rules around specific uses of AI. AdvertisementThe legislation has been questioned by some commentators, such as AI and deepfakes expert Henry Ajder, who called it "very ambitious." The EU legislation plans to assign the risks of AI applications into three categories, with applications that cause unacceptable risk set to be banned.

Persons: —, Thierry Breton, Henry Ajder, Neil Serebryany, Avani Desai, Schellman, Marcus Evans, Norton Rose Fulbright Organizations: EU, Intelligence, Service Locations: Europe, China, EU, California

☆ Man Arrested on 77 Counts of Murder in Johannesburg Building Fire
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The South African police have arrested a man who confessed to having caused a fire that killed 77 people in a derelict building in downtown Johannesburg last year after a drug dispute led him to strangle a man and set the body alight, a police spokeswoman and a victims’ advocate said on Wednesday. The man, a 29-year-old whose name has not been released, was arrested on Tuesday on 77 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder, said Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, a spokeswoman for the police in Gauteng Province, which includes Johannesburg. Colonel Nevhuhulwi initially gave the figure as 76 counts, but then clarified that it was 77. The man made his confession during a hearing of a special commission investigating the fire, which tore through an overcrowded four-story building in the early hours of Aug. 31. The commission was later told that the exact death toll was unclear because of how badly some of the bodies were burned.

Persons: Dimakatso, Nevhuhulwi, incriminated, ”, Andy Chinnah, Norton Rose Fulbright Organizations: South, Norton Rose Locations: Johannesburg, Gauteng Province

Sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which were first used in 2017, offer slightly cheaper borrowing, typically around 2.5-10 basis points less, if companies meet goals such as cutting their carbon emissions or improving board diversity. These let banks strip the sustainability-linked label from the loans if targets are no longer deemed appropriate. The banks' tougher standards are discouraging some borrowers from using SLLs entirely, bankers and lawyers told Reuters. The Engie spokesman said the utility would not agree to linking an event of default to sustainability targets. "We have stated our willingness to walk away when sustainability targets were too soft," said Brittany Agostino, vice president in the environmental, social and governance group at Los Angeles-based Ares.

Persons: Toby Melville, Banks, Constance Chalchat, Pascale Forde Maurice, Elliot Beard, Simmons, Beard, I've, David Milligan, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gemma Lawrence, Pardew, Brittany Agostino, Fredrik Altmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Isla Binnie, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Simon Jessop, Alexander Smith Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, LONDON, BNP, Corporate, Institutional Banking, Reuters, JPMorgan, Ford Motors, SLLs, CIB's, European, Sustainable Investment Banking, Simmons, Norton Rose, Market Association, BMW, Porsche, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, North America, Asia, Los Angeles, New York

☆ Apple, Amazon, and Meta among 6 tech giants deemed 'gatekeepers' set to face strict competition rules under new EU law
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The European Union named six tech giants as "gatekeepers" that have to comply with new laws. The Digital Markets Act aims to give more choice to users and open up the market for competitors. A TikTok spokesperson said the company "fundamentally disagrees" with the designation. The six tech giants have six months to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims at improving competition in the tech sector. In a statement shared with Insider, a TikTok spokesperson said: "We support the DMA's goal of creating a competitive playing field in Europe but fundamentally disagree with this decision."

Persons: Thierry Breton, Miranda Cole, Norton Rose Fulbright Organizations: European Union, Service, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, EU's, Google, Norton Rose, EU, European Commission Locations: Wall, Silicon, Europe

☆ UK markets watchdog ready to pounce as new consumer power comes into force
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new duty is particularly significant for being more granular, requiring "good outcomes" and no "forseeable harm" for customers across products and services, price and value. The duty will help the FCA tackle harms pre-emptively to stop a mis-selling scandal in the first place, she added. Firms will have to demonstrate to the FCA how they are providing good outcomes, a step the watchdog hopes will improve on the low trust in financial services. It says it will help ensure that banks pass on higher interest rates to savers, and provide help to those struggling to pay a mortgage. ($1 = 0.7770 pounds)Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nisha Arora, Arora, Philip Deeks, James's, Jonathan Herbst, Herbst, KPMG's Deeks, Deeks, Huw Jones, Conor Humphries Organizations: Financial, Authority, FCA, Reuters, Norton Rose, Thomson

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - UK law can accommodate crypto assets by creating a new category of personal property that would include digital assets, independent body the Law Commission said on Wednesday. The group also said the government should create a panel of experts to advise courts on legal issues involving digital assets. These steps would support the UK government's aim of becoming a global hub for crypto assets, the Law Commission said in a statement. “The use and importance of digital assets has grown significantly in the last few years," said Sarah Green, law commissioner for commercial and common law. He asked the Law Commission to review whether current laws can accommodate digital assets.

Persons: Sarah Green, Rishi Sunak, Adam Sanitt, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sanitt, Elizabeth Howcroft, Mark Potter Organizations: Commission, Norton Rose, Thomson Locations: England, Wales

SummarySummary Law Firms Naomi Moore joins from Akin Gump to head DLA Piper's APAC restructuring practiceMoore will split her time between the firm's Hong Kong and Sydney officesMay 2 (Reuters) - Law firm DLA Piper has hired a partner from U.S.-founded rival Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Hong Kong to serve as its new restructuring practice leader for the Asia Pacific region, the firm said Tuesday. Naomi Moore, who has been on sabbatical since she left Akin Gump in January, will divide her time between DLA Piper’s Sydney and Hong Kong offices, the firm said in a statement. In Hong Kong, Moore joins Trinh Hoang, DLA Piper’s only other restructuring-focused partner in the office, who joined the firm from Linklaters in October last year. Linklaters added a restructuring head in Hong Kong from Allen & Overy in October. An Akin Gump spokesperson wished Moore well on her new role.

☆ What would a federal expansion of deposit insurance look like?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That’s the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s standard limit, meaning any bank deposits up to that amount are protected by the independent government agency. But now there’s growing support for raising that insurance cap. A higher insurance cap doesn’t automatically mean banks will be subject to tighter regulations, Dollar noted, but there could be some call for it. The FDIC insurance limit has been raised seven times since 1950 — and $250,000 also isn’t a calculated number, Collins said. In 2008, the FDIC used the same system for temporary unlimited deposit insurance guarantee on certain accounts.

☆ Rise in Canadian shareholder activism faces test next month with new rules in place
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country has lagged the rising trend of activism seen globally, but that could be about to change, lawyers say. Some 53 Canadian companies faced activism campaigns in 2022, a 17.8% rise over the previous year, compared with a 10.6% rise in the U.S to 511, showed data from Insightia, a Diligent brand. Previously, shareholders could only vote 'for' a candidate or 'withhold' their vote, meaning a majority was not legally a necessity. While not enshrined in law, majority voting was often adopted by companies in their policy, prior to the change. And oil and mining companies could continue to be the sector that faces activism, say market participants.

☆ Sale jumpstarts floating, offshore wind power in U.S. waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The cost of developing offshore wind has dropped 60% since 2010 according to a July report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. Offshore wind is well established in the U.K. and some other countries but is just beginning to ramp up off America’s coasts, and this is the nation’s first foray into floating wind turbines. Europe has some floating offshore wind — a project in the North Sea has been operating since 2017 — but the potential for the technology is huge in areas of strong wind off America’s coasts, said Josh Kaplowitz, vice president of offshore wind at the American Clean Power Association. President Joe Biden set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 using traditional technology that secures wind turbines to the ocean floor, enough to power 10 million homes. Then the administration announced plans in September to develop floating platforms that could vastly expand offshore wind in the United States.

☆ Nexperia and Elmos cases show how the US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Last week, the new owner of Britain’s biggest chipmaker was ordered to unwind its takeover, just days after another chip factory sale was blocked in Germany. “These decisions mark a shift towards tougher stances regarding Chinese investment in critical industries in Europe,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo‑technology at Eurasia Group. A worker in a clean room for silicon semiconductor wafer manufacturing at the Newport Wafer Fab, owned by Nexperia, in Newport, Wales on Aug. 18. A company sign of Elmos Semiconductor, seen on Nov. 9 in the German city of Dortmund. Both Britain and Germany have recently added rules that expand government oversight over such decisions, making outcomes harder to predict.

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