On 11 May 2010, the Australian Investments and Securities Commission (ASIC) issued Class Order [CO 10/321] 'Offers of Vanilla Bonds' together with Regulatory Guide 213 (Facilitating Debt Raising) relating to the Class Order. This Class Order provides relief from certain prospectus requirements, so that offers of quoted Vanilla Bonds can be made under a simplified prospectus regime. Read more.

The Australian Government has announced that it proposes to introduce a new resource super profits tax (RSPT) on all profitable resource projects in Australia. This article describes how the new tax will work and explains what its implications are for financiers. Read more.

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In the immediate aftermath of the 19 May 2010 bans on naked short selling, on 21 May 2010 the German Ministry of Finance published a draft act to strengthen the stability of the financial markets which included certain prohibitions on naked short selling (Initial Draft). This Initial Draft was subject to debate which resulted in the publication of a revised draft on 31 May 2010 called the Act to Prevent Abusive Securities and Derivative Trades. Under the Draft, the general prohibitions on naked short selling in relation to equity derivatives and currency derivatives have been dropped and replaced with provisions which give BaFin the power to ban such trades in extraordinary market circumstances. Read more.

Under the terms of the draft bill, debtors who face compulsory enforcement by seizure of their income, would only be allowed to keep the same amounts as those granted to welfare recipients (ALG II Empfänger). However, the source of income (for example, whether rental payments received, salary, pensions, and so on) in respect of these amounts will no longer matter. Read more.

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A bill to amend the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act was promulgated on 19 May 2010 by the Japanese Parliament and will enter into force within one year. One of the most important amendments is to introduce supervision of securities companies on a consolidated basis. Read more.

At the end of 2008, new turnaround ADR procedures and corporate reorganisation proceedings were introduced into Japanese law and in September 2009 the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC) commenced operations. This article looks at how these have worked in practice since their launch and considers, in particular, the ongoing cases of WILLCOM and Japan Air Lines. Read more.

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The Central Bank has decreased the refinancing rate from 8% to 7.75% per annum. The new rate applies as of 1 June 2010. Read more.

The State Duma has adopted in first reading a draft law seeking to encourage the development of small and medium businesses. It suggests establishing a legal framework for microfinance activities of non-banking entities. Read more.

Order No. 54 regarding a public sale of a debtor's assets in electronic form was issued in February 2010 by the Ministry of Economic Development and entered into force (except for certain provisions) on 13 June 2010. The Order sets out various implementing regulations, including rules on the procedure of public sales and requirements for websites where sales may be conducted, as well as for the operators of such websites. Read more.

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On 17 May 2010, the Monetary Authority of Singapore released a consultation paper on proposed amendments to the Code on Collective Investment Schemes. The proposed amendments aim to "provide clarity and increase the flexibility for managers in managing their funds, and enhance protection for investors" and ensure that the regulatory regime for collective investment schemes keeps pace with product innovation and industry developments. This article outlines some of the key amendments proposed. Read more.

On 16 July 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, announced fundamental changes to the UK regulatory system in his annual speech at Mansion House, London. The Chancellor confirmed that the Government will abolish the tripartite regime, and that the FSA would cease to exist in its current form. In its place would be a form of "twin peaks" regulation involving a new prudential regulator (which would operate as a subsidiary of the Bank of England) and a new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority. Read more.

In its statement (entitled "Understanding employer support for DB schemes"), the Regulator outlines its expectations of final salary defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees in terms of their responsibility to examine and monitor the 'employer covenant', which is the sponsoring employer's legal obligation to fund such a scheme. This article summarises the key points in the statement, as well as outlining the issues covered by a related guidance paper published by the Regulator for consultation. Read more.

Despite considerable efforts to reach agreement to introduce an international banking tax, or at least a European one, the UK, France and Germany have issued a joint statement announcing that each of them will unilaterally introduce a banking levy. To date only details of the UK tax have been published. The French and German taxes may differ from the UK proposal. Read more.

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The House-Senate conference committee meetings on US financial regulatory reform legislation commenced on 10 June 2010. The Representatives and Senators appointed to serve on the committee are tasked with reconciling differences between the Senate's "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010" (Senate Bill) and the House's "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009" (House Bill) and arriving at a single piece of reform legislation in the form of a "conference report" which would need to be signed by a majority of Senate conferees and House conferees. This article explains the process and outlines the focal points of the debate. Read more.

On 20 May 2010, the US Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (Senate Bill). While the Senate Bill is primarily aimed at financial regulatory reform, it contains several compensation-related reforms that would apply to all US public companies. The Senate Bill also incorporates many elements of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 passed by the House of Representatives on 11 December 2009 (House Bill). This article provides a summary of the compensation-related terms of the Senate Bill and comparisons to the House Bill. Read more.

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