BOSTON, Apr 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) —

Marcia Wagner, the Managing Director of The Wagner Law Group, widely recognized as the country’s top ERISA and employee benefits law firm, today announced that Thomas E. Clark Jr., one of the firm’s outstanding ERISA attorneys, has been appointed as a partner.  “Tom is considered one of the country’s foremost ERISA experts, with unique experience previously representing plan participants in leading ERISA fiduciary breach cases including Tibble v. Edison. This experience, combined  with his deep technical ERISA knowledge, has made Tom well known in the industry for providing truly innovative analysis and advice to minimize fiduciary exposure. Tom has contributed significantly to the growth of our firm – we are honored to name him a partner,” says Ms. Wagner.

Mr. Clark leads the firm’s St. Louis office and his expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements.  He also has a robust practice assisting covered service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance needs.  Mr. Clark’s vast litigation experience complements the firm’s strong and growing ERISA and employment litigation department and has included work on landmark ERISA cases involving complicated ERISA fiduciary duty issues. He has been quoted extensively as an ERISA and employee benefits expert by outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Forbes.   Mr. Clark also teaches ERISA fiduciary law as an Adjunct Professor at The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater. He is also a co-author of the forthcoming Second Edition of ERISA: Principles of Employee Benefits Law, the only treatise of its kind that provides an overview of the regulation of employee benefit plans by highlighting the central principles and competing policies of employee benefits law in a compact and accessible format for a broad audience of readers.

The Wagner Law Group:

For more than two decades, The Wagner Law Group has been dedicated to the highest standards of integrity, excellence and thought leadership and is considered to be amongst the nation’s most exceptional ERISA and employee benefits law firms.  The firm’s six offices, located in Boston, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Palm Beach Gardens, San Francisco and Tampa, provide unparalleled legal advice to its clients, including large, small and nonprofit corporations as well as individuals and government entities, in over 45 states and several foreign countries.  Its 27 attorneys combine many years of experience with a variety of backgrounds.  Seven of the attorneys are AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell as having very high to preeminent legal abilities and ethical standards.  Six of the firm’s attorneys are Fellows of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, an invitation-only organization of nationally recognized employee benefits lawyers. 

 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Ari J. Sonneberg asonneberg@wagnerlawgroup.com (617) 357-5200 

Copyright (C) 2017 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Taxi drivers in the Spanish capital have been protesting over ride-hailing apps Uber and Cabify.

Demonstrators claim their rivals are breaking the law and are unfair competition because they do not return to base once they complete a job, opting instead to remain on the streets where they continue to pick up clients. Both firms, however, deny using illegal practices.

The strike cut off traffic in Madrid for two hours.

There were similar scenes in the Romanian capital Bucarest where thousands of drivers taxis and minibuses demonstrated against Uber and other unauthorised transport services.

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NEW YORK, April 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (“Citizens” or the “Company”) (NYSE:CFG) and certain of its officers.   The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Citizens securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants’ violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Citizens securities between March 18, 2016 and March 29, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until June 26, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class.  A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com.   To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. 

[Click here to join this class action]

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania that provide retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:  (1) that Company employees were falsifying information related to the Citizens Checkup program; (2) that, as a result, the Company’s reported Citizens Checkup figures were inflated; and (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ statements about Citizens’ business, operations, and prospects, were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

On March 29, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Company implemented a program that invited customers into branches for a financial checkup (or “Citizens Checkup”) and that the Company claimed 400,000 such meetings occurred in 2016, but that eleven current and former Citizens branch employees in five states claimed that information about some meetings was fabricated by those employees or others as they struggled to meet goals set by the bank.

On this news, the Company’s stock price declined $0.54 per share to close at $34.49 per share on March 29, 2017, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

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by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

26 April 2017

Business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region are placing greater importance on tax certainty, according to an annual survey by Deloitte.

Deloitte’s 2017 Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey asked 331 executives from a range of businesses operating in the Asia-Pacific region for their views regarding tax complexity.

In this year’s report, 39 percent of respondents considered high predictability about future developments of tax law as the most important factor in business decision-making. 32 percent of respondents said consistent interpretation and enforcement of tax law is the most important, followed by simple tax rules (29 percent of respondents).

Almost 80 percent of respondents expressed concern about the implementation of BEPS-related measures, a significant increase from 60 percent three years ago, ahead of the measures’ announcement.

Over 90 percent of respondents indicated that reputational risk is given at least some consideration in their businesses’ tax strategy. Almost half of these respondents suggested they have given “a lot” of weight to reputational risk concerns when considering a tax strategy. 75 percent of respondents said they would not enter into a legal tax planning strategy if it is perceived by some to be aggressive, even if the strategy is legal or the tax law did not specifically consider it illegal.

China, India, Australia, Japan, and Singapore are the top-five jurisdictions in which many companies will spend the most time and resources on tax management in the next three years, says the survey. China and India have been the top two jurisdictions on the list since the first survey in 2010.

The survey also found that India and China are perceived as having the most complex reporting requirements in the region, with Hong Kong and Singapore seen as having the simplest.

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Credit card users mistakenly believe they have a rock solid guarantee they will be reimbursed if there’s a problem with the goods or services they buy or a firm goes bust.

Research from MoneySavingExpert shows that’s not always the case.

Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 when buying goods or services, worth between £100 and £30,000, on a credit card you could have extra protection.

The credit card firm is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer.

But there’s a loophole – when a third party payment processing system is used – meaning the direct link between you and the firm you’re buying from is broken.

It’s complex, especially online when buying via firms such as Amazon and Paypal.

Buy direct from Amazon and you’ll be covered. Buy via Amazon from a third party seller, breaking the direct line between you and the seller, and in theory you’re not covered.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “If you’re buying anything costing over £100 I’ve always suggested you pay for at least some of it on a credit card to get the hugely valuable Section 75 protection.

“Yet we now have the bizzare situation that if yo pay on a company’s website, or get given a machine in a shop, some hidden nebulous details about the way it’s done can invalidate your protection.”

The scale of the problem

Whenever possible try and buy direct from firms as you will have better cover. And that’s what free consumer complaints service Resolver.co.uk recommends.

Martyn James, from free consumer complaints service Resolver.co.uk , said: “We receive hundreds of enquiries from people with section 75 problems and this is one area where the law could do with being a lot clearer.

”We recommend that people do their research for goods and services and then try and deal direct with suppliers.”

If you get a claim turned down by your credit card firm it’s worth taking your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service via financial-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0300 1239 123.

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Three very different North East companies are vying to be named the best for community involvement at the North East Business Awards.

Newcastle law firm Muckle, Hartlepool shopping centre Middleton Grange and Consett’s Elddis Transport are the three finalists in the Heart of the Community Award, having won heats in Northumberland and Tyneside; Teesside; and Durham, Sunderland and South Tyneside .

The award will go to a company that contributes to the wellbeing of its community and works in partnership with neighbours. Judges are also looking for firms that use their influence to “support suppliers and other partners to adopt best environmental, workplace and community practice”.

The winner of the award will be announced at the regional prize at the grand final of the Business Awards taking place at Hardwick Hall in Sedgefield on April 27.

Muckle LLP

Muckle LLP donates 1% of its annual profits to its charitable fund.

The fund has received over £500,000 from Muckle LLP since its inception in 2002 – with the money used to make grants to local charities with which people in the firm or their families have an interest.

It provides pro bono work, the provision of unpaid legal advice to smaller charities, and in the past 12 months that advice had a notional value of more than £70,000.

Everyone in the firm is entitled to an additional two days paid leave a year to undertake voluntary work, and it has an inspiring careers programme and a green team that ensures the business is run in the most environmentally responsible way.

Middleton Grange Shopping Centre

The Hartlepool centre includes more than 100 retailers and a market hall, and attracts 10million shoppers every year.

Every month, it allows a community group or a charitable organisation to use the centre to raise money and or its profile. It also provides information advice and guidance leaflets and documentation to its own team on health and well-being, and all staff have had training in dementia awareness.

The staff also plants vegetables on the premises which they take home and the centre has supported a large number of local charities, including young cancer sufferer Bradley Lowery, for whom Middleton Grange built and manages the fundraising website and runs the family’s social media accounts.

Mark Rycroft, centre manager at Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, said: “We are amazed and humbled. The whole team has pulled together to put something positive back into the community.”

Elddis Transport (Consett) Limited

Elddis is a Consett-based family-owned business that takes pride in supporting the community.

The road haulage, warehousing and distribution operation which covers all of the UK, looks at every aspect of its business to ensure it is a great corporate citizen.

It provides work placements and career opportunities for school leavers in the region; has won an award for its support for ex-forces personnel and reservists; and gives financial and practical help to schools, clubs, organisations and charities.

Elddis also supports Willow Burn Hospice and since 2007 have raised more than £160,000. The managing director is running 50 half -marathons to raise funds – with a target of notching up £50,000.

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