The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
Sustained biodiversity loss since the industrial revolution has resulted in Britain being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. One response to this enduring problem are proposals to use the planning system to mandate biodiversity net gain (BNG) through the development management process. The aim of the requirements is to secure a minimum 10 per cent biodiversity net gain from new developments, with effect from November 2023 ...
Recent proposed amendments to the rules of Strate, South Africa’s central securities depository (the “Strate Rules”) will effect a significant change to how uncertificated securities are pledged, but will not solve all of the problems that market participants hoped would be addressed ...
Insolvency that stems from the obligations assumed by a joint venture may concern any of the associates. Such proceeding, especially when it has an international dimension, requires a broader perspective on some of the requirements set forth by law with respect to the initiation and application of the proceeding. Through its effects on the debtor, creditors and on the socioeconomic environment in general, insolvency is more than a mere legal procedure ...
The South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) recently delivered judgment in the matter of FirstRand Bank Limited v The Spar Group Limited. The SCA held that: A customer with no entitlement to money deposited into its account and who knows that it enjoys no such entitlement, may not pay out money against the credit to the account. Doing so amounts to theft ...
The March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) contains a number of provisions that help borrowers with federally backed mortgage loans. Among these are forbearance protections for borrowers with single-family loans and multifamily loans. However, only one of the forbearance provisions has a clearly defined period when the rights are available ...
When parents separate one question that is often asked is how long will I or my ex have to pay child maintenance for. Child maintenance Child maintenance is a regular, usually monthly payment, made by the parent with whom the children do not live (commonly known as the non-resident parent (NRP)) to the other parent (commonly known as parent with care (PWC)) ...
A child arrangements order is a court order which states where a child will live, how they will be cared for and how they will spend their time with one or both of their parents. A question which often goes unasked, however, is how long will the order last? The contact arrangements set out within a child arrangements order, i.e ...
How Wirecard skirted regulatory scrutiny by jurisdiction-shopping and canny intra-group structuring. It would have been the quintessential business success story. Founded in Munich in 1999, this small payment processor for online gambling and pornography sites grew so massive that, by 2018, it had displaced Commerzbank from Germany’s prestigious Dax 30 index. At its peak, the juggernaut was valued at more than €24 billion (S$38.6 billion) ...
In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit issued a decision that has potentially substantial impact on the banking community at large, especially as it relates to decisions on whether to extend credit to a debtor after he or she receives a discharge in bankruptcy. In Maryland v. Ciotti (In re Ciotti), 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4492 (4th Cir. Mar ...
When a bankruptcy occurs, the creditors play a central role in the administrative control of the bankrupt's estate. In this regard, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act 1 (The "BIA") provides that, at the first meeting of creditors, the creditors must, among other things, affirm the appointment of the trustee and give such directions to the trustee as they see fit with reference to the administration of the estate ...
Key Points The FDA will exercise enforcement discretion when Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels (a) exclude allulose from Total Sugars and Added Sugars declarations, and (b) use as low as 0.4 kcal/g for allulose calorie count; but allulose must be included as a Total Carbohydrate. Allulose is a basic form of carbohydrate that is naturally occurring in a variety of sweet foods, such as raisins, maple syrup, and brown sugar ...
Americans have increasingly accepted meat and dairy alternatives as staples in their daily diets. For example, recent market research shows that two out of every five U.S. consumers plan to purchase plant-based meat products in 2023. The prevalence of these forms of alternative protein has set the stage for a semantic — and potentially paradigm-shifting — dispute over the very meaning of the terms "meat," "milk" and "dairy ...
A recent parliamentary report, the last to be published before the upcoming UK general election, says that we need to “fundamentally change the way we think” about AI ...
The Chancellor’s statement on 8 July 2024 stated that mandatory housing targets will be restored as part of the reform of the National Planning Policy Framework in England and Wales. This is expected to be included in the King’s speech on 17 July. The planning regime in Scotland is devolved and it is the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) that applies. Challenges and court cases followed the publication of NPF4 in February 2023 ...
In the second instalment of The Fintech Times' ‘Where to Relocate’ series, we turn the spotlight to the Cayman Islands as a VASP-friendly jurisdiction. Situated in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands offer a unique blend of regulatory excellence, technological innovation, and a commitment to fostering the growth of digital assets ...
Belgium is a complex country and many authorities have jurisdiction The Federal government is in charge of emergency planning. It can activate a federal stage emergency planning in which case the Federal Minister of the Interior has exceptional authority and can coordinate the emergency activities. As announced at a press conference on Thursday 12 March 2020, at about 10 pm, this federal stage has been activated ...
Facilitating whistleblowing and supporting those who do raise concerns is a very important health check for charities, who are judged not just on the basis of what they do, but also how they do it, and who need to remain mindful of “walking the talk ...
Blowing a whistle remains the most effective means of being heard above the crowd and drawing attention to an issue. Speaking up can help charities to do their work even better. The relevance of whistleblowing to charities A private member’s bill is wending its way through Parliament at the moment, looking to establish an Office of the Whistleblower ...
On October 7, 2022, the White House released its National Strategy for the Arctic Region, further developing the federal government’s approach to the northernmost region, which is under intergovernmental purview. The document is an update to a policy released in 2013, and is intended to express the federal government’s “affirmative U.S ...
Introduction: Lawyers as Stewards of a Noble Profession In the final scenes of the movie “A Few Good Men” – one of the great classics of legal cinema – under dramatic, but extremely risky cross-examination by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise), Col. Nathan Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) admitted to directing the kind of “Code Red” discipline which led to the unintentional death of a Marine stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ...
