Are there turbulent waters to be left in LIBOR’s wake?

What is LIBOR?

The London Interbank Offered Rate is a benchmark interest rate that forms the basis of trillions of pounds’ worth of financial instruments across the world.  It is derived from the interest rates at which banks are willing to lend money to each other and is calculated with reference to the pool of rates submitted daily by panel banks.  However, the well-publicised rigging scandal that occurred following the 2008 financial crash has in-part contributed to the growing feeling of discontent with the current system and led to the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, Andrew Bailey, announcing in 2017 that LIBOR would be phased out and replaced in 2021.  However, LIBOR is an ingrained reference point throughout the financial world and is not something that can be amended without consequence.

Zombie companies – be very afraid

The acclaimed comedy film Shaun of the Dead featured Simon Pegg and Nick Frost trying to keep hordes of zombies at bay, as they infiltrated a leafy suburb. The humans sought refuge in a pub called The Winchester Tavern, where the final grisly showdown takes place.

In the business world, there is no shortage of zombies. Whilst there is no set definition, a regular symptom of such a business will be that is getting by through paying interest due on its debts, but not the underlying debts. Absent parental company or third party support, the business may only be surviving courtesy of the continuing low interest rates in the UK. Its viability in the future may therefore be questionable.

Cybercrime – you can’t stop it, but can you minimise it?

In the wake of the GDPR coming into force we have seen a heightened awareness of cyber risk.  We are seeing the news carry stories around the latest high-profile “hack”, a word rarely mentioned in the business news until recently. Now, however, cybercrime has moved up the risk agenda of businesses all over the world, who could find themselves targeted by a malicious actor, every computing milli-second of every working day. It’s a term that covers a multitude of evils, from the compromise of customer data to bullying and harassment. This article focuses on cyberattacks that seek to damage or drain a business of financial or information assets.

New laws bolster powers for prosecuting authorities

In September 2018, we reported on the Crime (Overseas Production Order) Bill (“Bill”) – which was the UK’s attempt at expediting the cumbersome process that UK law enforcement agencies (“LEAs”) navigate when seeking to obtain data that is held overseas as part of a criminal investigation and/or prosecution. It was the case that in order to obtain overseas data, the only route available to gather such evidence would be via the Mutual Legal Assistance channel, which was seen as sluggish, and potentially riddled with red tape.

Litigation funding – is your business getting enough information to make the right choices?

Stuart Evans, partner and head of commercial litigation, London examines different litigation funding options.

So, you are a manager in an SME and you have been dealing with an important claim relating to your business. You have worked hard to prepare a case which has strong merits, to calculate a range of settlement options that work for you and, vitally, establish that your opponent has sufficient asset value to meet any judgment in your favour should the case have to go to trial. You have, therefore, a viable asset that your business can utilise as an investment to get a substantial return and properly compensated for the problems your opponent has created.

Defamatory and offensive comments on social media – why employers and delegators are being drawn into the liability trap

In what seems like no time at all, we now see the incredible speed, reach and influence of online postings. Quick tweets, retweets, backlashes and the “wisdom of the crowd” in the world of social media are a daily news item. Some postings can be defamatory or give rise to other civil or criminal liability. More and more, it is not only those who have hit the keyboard that can find themselves in the firing line, it can also be those who employ them, hire them or delegate tasks to them, with serious consequences for their individual and corporate reputation and, importantly, their bank balance.