Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Industrial Automation and Investment Implications

Industrial automation is top-of-mind for manufacturers and logistics companies, especially given the prevailing labor shortage and escalating material and labor expenses.  Key market players, such as Robotics Manufacturers, Distributors, and Systems Integrators (SIs), have been widening their offerings to meet evolving demand, causing a surge in mergers and acquisitions. Consolidation across the value chain is intensifying, and players are now having to compete with current and former partners, in addition…

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CSA guidance on Public Crypto Funds – What fund managers need to know

The number and size of public investment funds in Canada that hold crypto assets (Public Crypto Asset Funds) has grown rapidly since the first Public Crypto Asset Fund was launched in Canada in 2020. On July 6, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published CSA Staff Notice 81-336 Guidance on Crypto Asset Investment Funds that are Reporting Issuers (the Staff Notice) to provide guidance to fund managers regarding the operation…

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Practical Guidance for Economic Operators: Detecting and Preventing Sanctions Evasion and Circumvention in Trade

Economic operators play a vital role in ensuring that the sanctions regime is effective. Non-compliance with the sanctions regime by economic operators will dilute the effectiveness of the sanctions being imposed by the EU, the UN or other competent authorities. It is therefore key that the appropriate measures are adopted by economic operators in order to mitigate and manage sanctions evasion and circumvention risks. Circumvention is the practice through which…

  • Post category:Finance Malta
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6 Common Barriers to Employee Success and How to Remove Them

Employee engagement is a crucial factor in driving organizational success. Effective employee listening reveals the obstacles hindering employees from reaching their full potential. Research from Perceptyx has repeatedly identified six common barriers to engagement:     Recognition and reward Growth and development Continuous improvement and innovation Communication Collaboration and teamwork Empowerment In this article, we’ll discuss these barriers, incorporating recent insights from our research and case studies to provide a…

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Mandatory tax disclosure requirements for taxpayers, promoters and advisors

Bill C-47, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023 (Bill C-47), received royal assent on June 22, 2023. Bill C-47 includes a major expansion of the mandatory disclosure rules for “reportable transactions” and the introduction of disclosure requirements for “notifiable transactions”. These rules require reporting to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of the reportable transaction within 90 days after the earlier…

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Drive profits with dynamic pricing

Dear retailer, let’s talk about pricing. Pricing holds immense power when it comes to driving profits. The better you wield this power, the greater your returns. In the fiercely competitive retail landscape, it is crucial for retailers like you to assess their competition. Understanding where you stand in relation to your main rivals is key to winning over customers. In a previous article, we discussed the importance of competitor intelligence,…

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Solar for All Program Aims to Broaden Access to Residential Solar Energy

Congress approved new investments in clean energy at an unprecedented scale in November 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) and August 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”). These laws expanded or created dozens of tax incentives and grant programs to support investment in established renewable energy technologies, like solar and wind, and in technologies earlier in the adoption curve, like hydrogen and carbon capture & sequestration. While the IIJA and…

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Do HNWIs need to tighten their belts?

One of the most noticeable aspects of the cost of living crisis is how widespread it has become. Nobody seems to be immune, not even the wealthy. Even if you have accumulated a comfortable amount of wealth, you still need to buy groceries, take flights, pay bills and visit restaurants. The sharp intake of breath that comes with price rises can be experienced by anyone. Feeling the pinch appears to…

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How can you measure software developer productivity

Compared with other critical business functions such as sales or customer operations, software development is perennially undermeasured. The long-held belief by many in tech is that it’s not possible to do it correctly—and that, in any case, only trained engineers are knowledgeable enough to assess the performance of their peers. Yet that status quo is no longer sustainable. Now that most companies are becoming (to one degree or another) software…

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How China can Reverse Its Economic Slump

Why did the Chinese central bank cut rates? The modest monetary easing of mid-August—just 10 to 15 basis points off short-term repo rates —is a limited response to a Chinese economy that is under serious downward pressure. Most, including myself, were expecting sustained momentum in the economy in 2023 to be driven by a snapback from the COVID-related lockdowns of late 2022. While there was evidence of such a bounce…

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Who is Winning the Tech Cold War

If world leaders learn only one lesson from the war in Ukraine, it should be that the ability to rapidly innovate—to invent, adopt, and effectively integrate new technologies—can have profound implications for combat outcomes. Outgunned and outnumbered, Ukrainians took a page from the U.S. playbook and turned to technology to gain an advantage over the adversary. They deftly adopted Starlink satellite communications, turned commercial drones into flying bombs, and, quickly…

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Market Entry Strategy: Mastering Business Expansion

Imagine a canvas where businesses paint their aspirations of growth and expansion. Market entry strategies provide the brushes, colors, and strokes required to bring those aspirations to life. These strategies are meticulously crafted blueprints that guide businesses in penetrating new markets, unearthing fresh customer bases, and solidifying their global footprint. A market entry strategy transcends mere market presence—it’s a calculated journey aimed at capitalizing on opportunities, mitigating risks, and achieving…

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This is How you can make a strong start as a CEO

In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, two authors of a recent article on the CEO transition discuss how incoming leaders can make the most of their first 12 months in the role. Carolyn Dewar, who co-leads McKinsey’s CEO excellence work, is a co-author of last year’s bestseller CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. Kurt Strovink is co-leader of McKinsey’s global…

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The seat of the male libido. What?

A team of Stanford Medicine researchers have shown in male mice that a particular neuronal circuit is responsible for sexual arousal and for the actions and pleasure that ensue, opening avenues for treatment in men. The brain’s hardwired housing for male mammalian sex drive, behavior and reward looks to be a one-stop shop. Stanford Medicine investigators have mapped out a dedicated brain circuit in male mice that is tripped off…

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Biden Was Justified to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

The recent White House announcement that it would send cluster munitions to Ukraine was met with both criticism and applause. The administration defended its decision, noting that Russia has been using these munitions to attack Ukraine and that Kyiv has been asking for these munitions for self-defense purposes. They have now begun to arrive. The decision has unsurprisingly proved divisive. The typically conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal…

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The importance of “Allies”

Alliances matter. Not even superpowers can go it alone. Today alliances around the world are shifting, and not always in America’s favor. To be sure, there has been some good news for the United States and its friends. The Ukraine War has revived NATO as an alliance and (largely) unified it in support of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the formerly neutral Finland and Sweden applied for membership in NATO: Finland joined in…

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‘Lockdown Fatigue’ Diminished the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Restrictions

In early 2020, as restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus swept across the world, concerns about “lockdown fatigue” followed closely in their wake. As early as spring and early summer in the U.S., media commentators worried that lockdown policies were chafing, and that a critical mass of weary rule-breakers could render such policies ineffective. But were the fears about the diluting effects of lockdown fatigue warranted? After all, it was…

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EU Adopts Mandatory ESG Reporting Standards

In January 2023, the European Union adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires EU and non-EU companies with activities in the EU to file annual sustainability reports alongside their financial statements. These reports must be prepared in accordance with European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). On July 31, 2023, the European Commission adopted the first set of ESRS. The ESRS soon will become law and will apply directly in…

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Cross border M&A – Tips for international buyers doing deals in Canada

Doing an M&A transaction across borders means increased complexity and risk for the parties involved, but careful planning — guided by experienced advice — can help ensure nothing gets lost in translation. Our first set of 10 tips for U.S. professionals doing private M&A deals in Canada covers everything from why structuring an earn-out clause as a “reverse earn-out” is a good tax strategy to the nuances of procuring representation…

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A new generation of work(ers)

Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Zers are different from previous generations. Unafraid to speak up or break long-established taboos, a Gen Z team member might leave the office at 17.00 (five o’clock) sharp because they have football practice, even if there is more work to do. They might also question the company’s stance on a controversial social issue. More broadly, headlines such as “Generation Disconnected: Data on Gen Z…

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“So Cute!!” – Parenting a 3-Year-Old Robot

“RoboAgent is a critical milestone toward general robotic agents that are efficient learners, effective in novel situations and capable of expanding their behaviors over time,” said Vikash Kumar, adjunct faculty in the School of Computer Science(opens in new window)’s Robotics Institute(opens in new window). “Current robots are highly specialized and trained for individual tasks in isolation. In contrast, we set out to create a single artificial intelligence agent capable of…

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Behind The Secret of the Barbie Movie’s Marketing Success

Many current TV shows and movies are reboots of existing franchises. Why has this one been so culturally omnipresent? The marketers at Warner Bros are being touted as geniuses, credited with the blockbuster success of the Barbie movie. The movie has already grossed $1 billion in box office sales, with a marketing spend estimated at $150 million and a similar cost for the movie. It’s a great ROI but there…

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Access to “Health” – Just the beginning

As anyone with chronic disease knows, access to health care doesn’t always equate with equitable health care outcomes, says guest Alyce Adams, an expert in innovations in health policy. Too often, care delivery breaks down along racial and socioeconomic lines. Our focus should be on better outcomes for all people, she says. Adams now develops interventions to help communities and health systems improve care delivery — and health equity —…

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Employee Analytics – Productivity Dream or Micromanagement Nightmare

With more data available than ever before, why would any executive gamble on a hunch—especially for decisions that involve their own employees? An emerging field that uses data to study human behavior at work, “people analytics” is beginning to transform the workplace and significantly impact hiring and productivity, says Jeffrey T. Polzer, the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management at Harvard Business School. His recent paper probes how organizational…

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Words guide markets – Measuring monetary policy communication

Words matter as much as actions for central banks. Because changes in tone can presage shifts in monetary policy. We have created an index to measure and compare the tone of policy communication by the ECB and the US Fed. This ECB Blog post talks you through the findings. By Jean-François Bouscasse, Daniel Kapp, Danielle Kedan[1], Thomas McGregor and Julian Schumacher What central banks say can influence prices on financial…

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Make Your Case for Communication Upskilling

Companies say they desperately want employees who can communicate effectively — leaders tell me that all the time in workshops — but how many of them really mean it? It’s hard to find a job posting that doesn’t mention the communication skill set as a key requirement. And yet, when faced with the skills that candidates actually have and those that they’re weak in, hiring managers find themselves making trade-offs,…

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Cooley Secures Landmark Victory – Whistleblower Safeguards for Charities

San Diego – August 4, 2023 – The California Supreme Court yesterday issued a landmark decision in Turner v. Victoria et al., which ensures essential whistleblower protections for more than 110,000 charities across California. Cooley represented plaintiff and appellant Debra Turner in successfully petitioning the court to review her case and in achieving a sweeping victory on the merits for Turner and for all California charities. Lawyers Steve Strauss, Erin…

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Thinking the Implications of Generative AI in Retail 

Generative AI, also known as generative adversarial networks (GANs), is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) which has the potential to change the retail industry. This technology uses deep learning algorithms to generate brand new data and content based on user prompts. In contrast, other AI like reinforcement learning is more focused on processing and analyzing existing data. Clarkston’s retail team has enjoyed exploring the implications of generative AI in retail…

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Karel van Wijk: Conquering the world out of his own kitchen

“I can quit whenever I want. That thought gives me peace of mind, joy in my work and certainty” Karel van Wijk embodies the modern-day tale of David and Goliath: he made his company, Advanced Valve Solutions successfully compete with the largest players in the energy industry, with the sale to the Swedish tech giant Addtech as his final achievement. 65 years ago, Karel van Wijk was born with a…

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DOJ Issues Proposed ADA Regulations For State and Local Government Websites

Almost precisely a year after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to begin the rulemaking process to enact website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the DOJ has published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register for publication today, August 4, 2023. We will follow up with another post with more substantive analysis, but here…

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How feed supplements can reduce methane emissions in agriculture

Mark van Nieuwland is the vice president of Bovaer, a methane-reducing feed additive, at Swiss-Dutch nutrition, health, and beauty company dsm-firmenich (DSM). Joshua Katz, a McKinsey partner and leader in the agriculture and private equity space, and Wilson Roen, a McKinsey consultant and sustainability fellow, talked with Mark about the development of Bovaer, how the agriculture industry can encourage further adoption among farmers, and what the world can do to…

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How a CEO’s personality affects corporate culture

Before he became an expert on corporate leadership, Charles O’Reilly spent five years in the U.S. Army. There he witnessed the stark divide between good and bad leaders and realized how much influence they had on the people who worked for them. Now a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, O’Reilly says his time in the military sparked his interest in leadership, particularly his fascination with…

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Robots cause company profits to fall – at least at first

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, studied industry data from the UK and 24 other European countries between 1995 and 2017, and found that at low levels of adoption, robots have a negative effect on profit margins. But at higher levels of adoption, robots can help increase profits. According to the researchers, this U-shaped phenomenon is due to the relationship between reducing costs, developing new processes and innovating new…

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Modern Slavery – A Reminder of Corporate Duties

Recent figures obtained by the BBC’s File on 4 have found that the number of modern slavery cases reported within the UK care sector has more than doubled in the past year. According to the figures, there were 109 potential victims exploited for personal or financial gain between January and March, which was twice as high as the figure recorded during the same period last year. This investigation report has…

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Coherent’s Chuck Mattera on growing a $5 billion company

Chuck Mattera, chair and CEO of Coherent, formerly II-VI, has spent a lifetime building businesses by harnessing breakthrough technologies. At Coherent, he has championed a strategy focused on acquisitions to achieve scale and deliver innovations in the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. McKinsey’s André Andonian and Abhijit Mahindroo sat down with him to discuss the lessons he has learned and his plans for the future. An edited version of…

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Capital Gains Tax – how to avoid main residence relief traps

Main Residence Relief is a valuable Capital Gains Tax allowance which saved taxpayers around £26.7 billion in 2021. But there are some pinch points which it makes sense to be aware of – so you don’t get caught out. Peter Webb, our Head of Tax Advisory, looks at how to avoid some of the tax traps. If your property (legally referred to as “dwelling house”) has been your main residence…

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What did the Romans do for us? Aqueducts and the art of Roman water management

According to the research, published in Science Advances, ancient water management traces are captured in the limescale deposits which built up on the walls and floor of the ancient Roman aqueduct of Divona (Cahors, France). Ancient water management traces are captured in the limescale deposits which built up on the walls and floor of the ancient Roman aqueduct of Divona The evidence shows that these deposits were regularly and partially removed during…

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