“Commercial Awareness Is Global.”
By: Ainsley Brown A potential GreenTech war is brewing between Japan and China, location Bolivia. The salt flats of Bolivia´s Salar De Uyuni, where most recent James Bond movie was shot (Quantum of Solace) seems like the most unlikely place for a green technology war, much less one between Japan and China. However, it very much is. Both countries through
By: Ainsley Brown The question that faces Australian securities regulators is what to do about two or more Chinese state owned enterprises together owing substantial shareholdings in an Australian company? At first blush it would appear that this is a case of China take over fear, however there is much more to the story than this. Indeed, there is a
By: Ainsley Brown The world economic down turn has had many knock on effects, many of which unexpected. It seems that bad times has the uncanny effect of making the once unthinkable, unsayable and undoable all very much possible. The Swiss banking model can be best characterized with one word: Secrecy. This don’t ask don’t tell attitude is more than
By: Ainsley Brown The world´s largest purchaser of hazelnuts and the maker of a very tasty treat, Ferrero Rocher, has been cleared in the English courts of a £20 million fraud. The suit was brought against the Italian chocolate company by the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and others alleging that deceit, negligent misrepresentation and conspiracy for a deal involving the
By: Ainsley Brown McKenna v. Gammon Gold Inc. This is case that has the potential to redefine the very cozy relationship law firms have with their banker clients. No longer will bankers be given blanket coverage under conflict of interest rules to prevent law firms from being representatives in claims brought against them. The operative word here being potential, as
By: Ainsley Brown This is an update to Shareholders Fail in Human Rights Cases Against UK Government. The Northern Rock shareholder group, lead by the Hedge Funds SRM Global and RAB Capital, last week launched their appeal of the decision reach in the High Court about the UK government’s nationalization compensations scheme. The appeal comes in the form of judicial
By: Ainsley Brown The new plan by the Brazilian government, rolled out early this year, to combat deforestation shows great promise. However, it does also face great obstacles. It is easy to dismiss this latest scheme as at best fool hardy and at worst as going to have the opposite effect by encouraging deforestation. These are legitimate concerns given the
By: Ainsley Brown In Canada an Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling (McKenna v. Gammon Gold Inc.) has the potential to go viral like the latest YouTube sensation and challenge what can only be called one of the most incestuous relationships in the commercial world. What am I talking about? Well I am referring to the relationship, the very close
By: Ainsley Brown First France, now the UK. The L´Oreal v eBay counterfeiting war goes on with yet another victory for eBay, this time in the English High Court. In L´Oreal Takes eBay To Court I mused: While I will admit that I do not have the full particulars of the case, I just have a feeling that L’Orèal is
By: Ainsley Brown As the popular Jamie Fox song goes: Blame It On The Alcohol. Well no says the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK financial sector watchdog, as it handed down a ban on a trader for “a lack of honesty and integrity.” Apparently the FSA frowns on making $10 million dollar trades and concealing it from superiors and