Insights

With the onset of covid-19 and the lockdowns across Europe, it might feel like policymakers are out of reach. However, there are currently a number of public consultations which companies can respond to, providing formal feedback to the various policy proposal that have been put forward by the European Institutions. Practice Lead, Conan D'Arcy, Practice Lead Ermenegilda…

Senior Director Stephen Adams speaks to Trade Practice Lead Daniel Capparelli about the wave of trade policy measures we have seen in response to covid-19.

“It’s the first time tech companies act in such a strong way. They reacted immediately, and made very important, practically spontaneous, decisions. The crisis will without doubt accelerate this.” This intervention from Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, marks a major change in tone from the European Commission which has spent the past five years locked…

This US election cycle, GC team members in the Washington, DC and London offices are holding a series of conversations on the elections and wider US policy issues, and how each might impact investors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Below is a brief extract from the fourth conversation in the series, which began by analysing the $2.2tr stimulus package signed…

Along with many of our clients, family and friends, GC staff have found themselves under varying levels of quarantine this week, in some cases far from home. Here some of the team consider the covid-19 politics and policies playing out around them.

In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

Global Counsel Director, Tom White, Energy Practice Lead, Ermenegilda Boccabella and Senior Associate Ana Martínez discuss the first 100 days of the von der Leyen Commission, and what the outbreak of covid-19 might mean for the future.

Like many government institutions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) normally goes about its business in relative obscurity, tasked in its case with reviewing proposed investments by foreign entities in US assets important to national security. Chaired by the US Treasury Department, CFIUS is comprised of representatives of other federal…

The accelerating spread of Covid-19 in the UK has raised concerns around the vulnerability of self-employed workers in the gig economy, who among other entitlements lack the statutory sick pay available to employees. If suspected of having the virus, many will be forced to choose between losing pay by self-isolating themselves or continuing to work while ill – putting…

The 2020 UK budget was a major shakeup of the presentational landscape around the UK’s public finances. By adopting more public spending, and more borrowing to pay for it, the Conservatives have muscled in on Labour’s territory, rendering the opposition’s favourite dividing line moot.

President Trump and his two remaining rivals for the White House do not agree on much. But even these bitter political opponents concur that US drug prices are just too darn high.

There are three main channels through which coronavirus will impact on economies: disruption, threats to resilience and confidence. Disruption may mean that some markets do not function normally and require quantity rationing, creating unfamiliar dilemmas for businesses and governments. Threats to resilience may be compounded as businesses seek to protect themselves from…

This US election cycle, GC team members in the Washington, DC and London offices are holding a series of conversations on the elections and wider US policy issues, and how each might impact investors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Below is a brief extract from the third conversation in the series, which begins by looking at Super Tuesday and what the results…

US Senator Bernie Sanders’ emergence a strong prospect to win the Democratic presidential race has led to intense hand-wringing of the political class in recent weeks. Republicans claim to be aghast that Democrats would nominate a self-proclaimed socialist. Mainstream Democrats are concerned Sanders is too liberal to beat Trump. Wall Street firms are busy making a list of…

This US election cycle, GC team members in the Washington, DC and London offices are holding a series of conversations on the elections and wider US policy issues, and how each might impact investors and companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Below is a brief extract from the second conversation in the series, which begins by looking at the recent Sanders surge in the…

In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

Britain’s new chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, will give his first budget on March 11th, less than four weeks after he was appointed, following the unexpected resignation of Sajid Javid. All budgets are important, but this one more than most, as Sunak must demonstrate that he is delivering on the commitment made by the Conservatives in the 2019 election to “level…

This week’s extraordinary European Council will again highlight the lack of common ground between national governments dealing with their own Eurosceptic pressures. As Charles Michel looks for a leader to articulate the European, rather than national interest, he may find an ally in the EU’s smallest member state and newest head of government.