In late 2013, the administration of then-President Goodluck Jonathan made a bold bet: that it could jumpstart the country’s ailing automotive industry through a comprehensive—and controversial— industrial policy, known as the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP). Although the policy is still young, there are now promising signs that these efforts to revive the once-vibrant
January 2016
UN Secretary-General Election
After ten years in office, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General (UNSG), will retire from the UN at the end of 2016. The race for his successor is already underway. Last December, the Presidents of the Security Council (UNSC) and of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) sent out a joint letter soliciting candidates from member…
Senate Committee Passes Judicial Redress Act, May Assist Safe Harbor Negotiations
The Senate Judiciary Committee today successfully reported H.R. 1428, the Judicial Redress Act of 2015. However, the bill included an amendment to the House-passed version that has the potential to influence current negotiations between the United States and the European Union to reach a new Safe Harbor agreement.
As we previously reported, the Judicial…
U.S. Supreme Court Confirms FERC’s Broad Jurisdictional Reach over Demand Response and other Activities that Affect Wholesale Electricity Markets
By Mark Perlis
In FERC v. EPSA, issued on January 25, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-2 decision, that FERC has jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act (FPA) to regulate demand response transactions in wholesale electricity markets administered by independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs). The Court also upheld, as reasoned…
AfDB President Launches “New Deal on Energy in Africa”
By Cov Africa
New African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina chose last week’s World Economic Forum at Davos for the official launch of the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa, along with a Transformative Partnership for Energy in Africa (TPEA). While a candidate for the AfDB president position a year ago, Adesina placed energy at the top…
Poland under scrutiny in the European Union
By Jean De Ruyt
On January 13, the European Commission applied for the first time a mechanism aimed at addressing threats to the rule of law in a Member State of the Union.
This mechanism had been adopted in 2014 having in mind certain measures taken by Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. But the dubious honor to inaugurate…
Supreme Court Reiterates High Pleading Bar for Stock Drop Cases
As noted in our earlier blog post, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer made clear that participants bringing stock-drop cases are subject to heightened pleading standards to help “divide the plausible sheep from the meritless goats.”
In its first substantive ruling in a post-Dudenhoeffer stock-drop case, the U.S. Supreme…
This Week in Congress – January 25, 2016
What was going already to be a shortened week on Capitol Hill due to the Democrats’ annual conference became even shorter when Washington was hit by a major snow storm on Friday evening and all day Saturday. On Friday, the House preemptively canceled Monday votes and several committees postponed hearings based on the forecast; on…
CMS Commits to Investing in Medicaid Technology Systems
On January 11, 2016, Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), Andy Slavitt, highlighted investment in Medicaid as one of the “single biggest opportunities in the health care sector.” …
SEC Issues Fines for Pay-to-Play Violations That Predate Its Pay-to-Play Rule
A $12 million settlement announced last week by the Securities & Exchange Commission suggests that the SEC will aggressively pursue alleged schemes connecting political contributions to government contracts even if the political contributions do not violate its 2010 pay-to-play rule. According to the settlement order, in 2010, the head of Public Funds at State Street…