“Commercial Awareness Is Global.”
By: Ainsley Brown Judge David Hammerschlag – German for hammer blow – does just that, delivers a hammer blow to the investment bank JP Morgan. In the case of JP Morgan Australia Limited v. Consolidated Minerals Limited, Judge Hammer Blow , sorry I just couldn’t resist, I mean Judge Hammerschlag has ruled that the fees the bank charged Consolidated Minerals
By: Omar Ha- Redeye and posted on Slaw on March 23, 2010. Luxury good maker Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), who produces Moet & Chandon champagne and Dior perfume, claimed that Google’s advertising polices violated their trademark. The practice in question was the use of key words related to brand names by counterfeiters, who would then link to online stores. Based on
By: Ainsley Brown Wachovia bank has agreed to pay $160 million to US authorities in order to settle charges brought against it. The bank was accused by the US Justice Department and banking regulators of not having sufficient controls in place to prevent Mexican drug cartels from laundering millions of dollars through the bank using exchange houses –casas de cambio
By: Ainsley Brown What’s a few million euros between friends, right? SocGen – Sociètè Gènèrale – one of France’s oldest and most respected banks is being sued in the English High Court by one of its former managing directors. Raphael Geys, the investment banker in question, was until November 2007 when his employment was terminated a managing director at SocGen
By: Ainsley Brown Four white farmers who had their farms unlawfully seized under the regime of President Robert Mugabe are to seek by all accounts gain compensation in South Africa. A South African court has ruled recently that the farmers have the right to seek out and seize Zimbabwean government property in South Africa. The North Gauteng High Court ruled
By: Ainsley Brown This forms part of the Middle Passage Law Series on Law Is Cool. American International Group, better know by its acronym AIG, it seems these days can rarely catch a break. It just seems negative news follows negative news for this company. This time the negative news for this too big to fail company – deeply wounded
By: Ainsley Brown The European Union (EU) and Vietnam have now officially stated free trade talks after Karel De Gucht, the EU Trade Commissioner, met with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi. The talks come after the successful conclusion of the 2 year in the making deal signed with South Korea in October of last year. This
By: Ainsley Brown I was sent this video by my cousin Kia and I thought it worthwhile to share it here on Commercial Law International. It is a lecture given by Phillip K. Howard, the author of The Death of Common Sense, and founder of the not-for-profit Common Good. As taken from its website: “Common Good is a non-profit, non-partisan
By: Ainsley Brown Global trade was expected to drop as much as 10% in 2009; instead it fell by 12%. That extra two percent may not seem like much but it represents the largest drop in global commerce since 1945. This greater than expected drop has lead to renewed calls from Pascal Lamy, the Director General of the World Trade
By: Ainsley Brown The stage was for a very interesting court battle in Australia pitting advisor against former client; at stake the fees that the advisor could charge. While the case remains interesting the deep probing spotlight that it promised on investment banking fees alas may not materialize. JP Morgan Chase, the investment bank is suing its former client Consolidated