Procurement’s sustainable (r)evolution

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:21 mins read

New opportunities are coming for organizations to use procurement to gain a competitive edge and drive sustainability impact through innovation and strategic partnerships. However, the complexities of global supply chains and rapidly changing market conditions can make it hard to capture the available value. In this episode of McKinsey Talks…

A national effort seeks to advance semiconductor research

Your car, your cell phone, your LED holiday lights, even your credit card – all of them contain electronic chips made of semiconductors. These materials manipulate the flow of electricity and provide the foundation for modern electronics.Over the years, American investment in this essential technology has lagged, but the federal…

The Emerging Law on Women’s Advancement Programs and Transgender Rights: A Cross-Border Perspective

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:10 mins read

The landscape of transgender employment laws is evolving globally, with various jurisdictions adopting laws that ensure inclusivity and non-discrimination in the workplace. This area is one of the most complex issues in employment law systems and has generated much controversy. Notwithstanding this, many global companies seek to support and promote…

Race to the Finish: DHS to Publish Part Two of H-1B Modernization Rule

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:12 mins read

Quick Hits DHS’s new final rule amends and updates the regulatory definition and criteria governing “specialty occupation” adjudication, codifies existing policies related to deference to prior adjudications, and clarifies circumstances requiring the filing of a new or amended H-1B petition. The final rule expands H-1B cap exemption benefits by updating…

The Day After the Houthis

Eurasia is abuzz. With the exceptions of Turkey’s Berlin—Baghdad railway and India’s Cotton Road, whose progress is being hindered by the Great Middle Eastern War, the Arctic route, the INSTC and the Middle Corridor all proceed at breakneck speed, against the backdrop of the EU’s derisking-framed friendshoring and of China’s investments in creating an integrated China-Southeast ecosystem. The Houthis…

The battery chemistries powering the future of electric vehicles

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:14 mins read

Battery technology has evolved significantly in recent years. Thirty years ago, when the first lithium ion (Li-ion) cells were commercialized, they mainly included lithium cobalt oxide as cathode material. Numerous other options have emerged since that time. Today’s batteries, including those used in electric vehicles (EVs), generally rely on one…

7 leadership lessons to power your 2025

  • Post category:Q5 Partners
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Insights from Q5 Australia to help you lead with impact in 2025 Start 2025 strong with 7 key leadership lessons from Q5’s Australian team. From co-designing solutions and clear communication to embracing change and fostering team culture, these insights help leaders innovate, adapt, and empower their teams for success in…

DHS Announces Permanent Increase of Automatic EAD Extensions

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a permanent increase in the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) up to 540 days. The final rule will take effect on January 13, 2025. Background on the History of Automatic EAD Extensions The automatic extension of EADs was first…

Blackstone’s Gilles Dellaert on private credit and insurance

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:18 mins read

Gilles Dellaert is the global head of Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI), which was created to bring together Blackstone’s corporate credit, asset-based finance, and insurance groups. BXCI now manages more than $350 billion in assets, accounting for the bulk of Blackstone’s total credit assets and a substantial part of the…

No Longer a Standard? The Electoral Failure of the EU Track in Moldova

This includes the shutting down of Russian-language media, illegal detentions and searches of representatives of opposition parties and movements, the removal of opposition candidates from elections, the violation of the law by the authorities themselves (which has become commonplace), as well as the active and massive use of public resources,…

Payroll Deductions for Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program Will Start on January 1, 2025

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits On December 4, 2024, the Maine Department of Labor released final regulations for the state’s paid family and medical leave program. Employers must start payroll withholdings for the state’s paid family and medical leave program on January 1, 2025. Employers can apply for a private plan substitution after…

Breaking the mold: Five behaviors of leading growth transformers

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:14 mins read

Today’s business leaders recognize transformation as the courageous choice required to deliver an ambitious business agenda. As we reported earlier this year, companies pursue transformation to reset the business, venture into areas of greater ambition, deliver bold growth, enable operating-model change, build new and competitive capabilities, and evolve their culture…

Five Hybrid Work Trends to Watch in 2025

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Just a few months ago, many people thought the battles over the value of the hybrid work model — and,…

Catching Up on 401(k) Catch-Up Changes for 2025

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Starting in 2025, the SECURE 2.0 Act allows participants ages sixty to sixty-three to make “super-catch-up contributions” of up to $10,000 or 150 percent of the regular catch-up limit. Employers may need to amend their retirement plans by the end of 2024 to accommodate the new super-catch-up contributions…

What Will the Return of Trump Mean for Connecticut’s Economy?

This commentary originally appeared in the Hartford Courant. The return of President Trump portends sweeping changes across many areas of economic policy, and those impacts will be felt by virtually every business sector and every region of the state. In fact, even beyond Trump’s broad economic pledges of tax cuts,…

The economic state of Latinos in America: Building up small businesses

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:25 mins read

From bustling urban centers to small towns across the United States, the economic power and business potential of Latino communities is immense. Today, 19 percent of the US population identifies as Latino or Hispanic. According to the US Census Bureau, Latinos are expected to comprise approximately 28 percent of the…

New device produces critical fertilizer ingredient from thin air

The air around us contains a powerful solution for making agriculture more sustainable. Researchers at Stanford University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia have developed a prototype device that can produce ammonia – a key fertilizer ingredient – using wind energy to draw air through…

The End of the Assad Era: The Middle East on the Brink of a ‘Persian Autumn’

What caused the fall of the Assad government? The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government and the opposition’s rise to power were the result of many years of internal and external contradictions that had intertwined into a complex knot, leading to devastating consequences for Syria. These events cannot be called sudden…

Our Most-Read Stories of 2024

January 02, 2024 Harness your own creativity, learn to leverage ChatGPT, and have some fun are three of the suggestions from our faculty to help you make your new year healthier, more rewarding, and more prosperous. January 19, 2024 The door plug that plunged from an Alaska Airlines aircraft in…

OSC’s Investment Management Division Report focused on AI, crypto and ESG

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:8 mins read

Investment Management Division Report On Nov. 5, 2024, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published OSC Staff Notice 81-736 (the Staff Notice), summarizing the activities and regulatory focus of the OSC’s Investment Management Division (IM Division), formerly known as the Investment Funds and Structured Products Branch, for the fiscal year ended…

INSEAD Insights: December 2024 Research Picks

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Why do we resist trusting AI recommendations? How can we improve the pricing and approval process for new health technologies? In what ways does board risk oversight impact environmental and social performance? What effect do career transitions and frictions have on performance? And how do past negative experiences with creativity…

What drives domestic inflation? The triangle of wages, profits and productivity

16 December 2024By Stefan Gebauer, Thomas McGregor and Sebastiaan PoolThough overall inflation has come down a lot, domestic inflation remains stubbornly high. This is typical for monetary policy tightening cycles. To understand why, The ECB Blog looks at how monetary policy is transmitted to wages, profits and productivity.In response to…

Trade impacts of Canada’s leadership in reducing emissions: Federal standing committee presentation

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:7 mins read

BLG senior counsel, Rambod Behboodi, was invited to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade on Dec. 9, 2024, to share his thoughts on the potential trade impact of Canada’s leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The following is his presentation, with French sections translated into…

Connecticut Court Ruling Clarifies ‘Recent Graduate’ Language in Job Ads: What Employers Need to Know

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled that phrases like “recent college graduates” in job postings are not inherently age-discriminatory under Connecticut law, providing clarity for employers while underscoring the value of careful drafting to avoid litigation risks. The court rejected the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities’ argument…

Patent term adjustment in Canada: More of a unicorn than a safety net

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:6 mins read

The legislation to implement Canada’s new system of Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) has been registered with the Privy Counsel and has published. The system will come into effect on January 1, 2025. Canada is required to implement PTA in 2025 to offset administrative delay in granting patents under the terms…

2024 Holiday Shopping Trends: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Beyond

The holiday shopping season has arrived, and we are already seeing some fascinating shifts in consumer behavior and spending habits. From Thanksgiving weekend to Cyber Monday and beyond, the landscape of retail continues to evolve, blending in-store and online experiences with new trends in consumer preferences.   2024 Holiday Shopping Trends …

Understanding the New Exchange Visitor Skills List Update

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read

By: Andrea Davis The U.S. Department of State announced a significant update to the Exchange Visitor Skills List, effective as of December 9, 2024.  This action is in response to an Executive Order issued last year, in which the Biden Administration gave instructions to “consider initiating a rulemaking to establish…

January 2025 Visa Bulletin Shows Some Movement for EB-2 and EB-3 Final Action Dates

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits The January 2025 Visa Bulletin shows no change from last month’s bulletin for employment-based categories for dates for filing. Final action dates show slight advancement for EB-2 and EB-3 for some countries/categories. USCIS will honor dates for filing for I-485 adjustment of status applications filed in January 2025.…

Failure to launch: CIPO’s modernization efforts cause patent delays

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:3 mins read

On July 17, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) launched the new MyCIPO Patents online portal for filing, tracking, and managing patents files, as part of their modernization effort and alignment with the World Intellectual Property Office’s ST.27 standard for the Exchange of Patent Legal Status Data. Significant problems began…

What’s in a (Band) Name? Why Bands Need Trademark Registrations

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

We’ve moved into winter and that means many bands and artists are taking a breather after summer and fall tours. Some seemed to go on for eras. For me, that means waiting a few months to catch some favorite acts. But I’ve got plenty of music to digest in the meantime. To my…

State Department Updates J-1 Exchange Visitor Skills List, Revising the Countries Subject to Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits On December 9, 2024, the State Department updated the J-1 Exchange Visitor Skills List, revising the countries subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. J-1 visa holders from China, India, and other countries may see a significant reduction in restrictions depending on the changes in their respective skills…

Paul Yacoubian on product-led growth in AI-native companies

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:15 mins read

In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh speaks with Paul Yacoubian, co-founder and CEO of Copy.ai. They explore how an AI-native company such as Copy.ai leverages product-led growth (PLG), the pivotal role of analytics in the company’s customer outreach strategy, and how start-ups can scale…

The six habits of highly successful chief risk officers

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:23 mins read

In just the past few years, a series of unprecedented and fast-moving threats have disrupted organizations. How companies, particularly financial institutions, respond to these complex risks has profound implications. The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on credit models, and social media has played a leading role in accelerating bank runs to…

Imminent Employment Law Changes for Illinois Employers

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:13 mins read

By: Erin Dougherty Foley, Sara Eber Fowler, Taylor Iaculla, Ridhima Bhalla, and Hannah Sosenko Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 1, 2025, employers in Illinois must be poised to comply with the looming changes to a host of existing and newly enacted employment laws. The changes reflect the state’s ongoing expansion of…

Finding a route to fiscal stability for US transit agencies

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:16 mins read

Transit agencies in the United States are at an inflection point. Ridership—along with revenue generated from fares—remains, on average, significantly below prepandemic levels. Costs continue to rise as agencies (which manage state and local public-transit systems, including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, trolleys, and ferries) pay more to expand…

Farewell to Utopia? Elections in Georgia and Moldova as a Marker of Public Demand for Stability

Euro-Atlantic utopia The post-Soviet space is currently experiencing the largest transformations since the collapse of the USSR. They include not only the armed confrontation in Ukraine, the struggle to create an alternative financial and logistical architecture, and the growing activity of extra-regional players. There is also a third dimension, a…