The IRS issued new rules designed to make it easier to refinance some commercial real estate loans in an effort to curb the number of defaults. The rules would allow commercial loans that are part of investment pools known as Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits to be refinanced without triggering tax penalties for investors. More than 90 U.S. banks have already failed this year. The changes will not affect commercial mortgage loans held by investment trusts. (Source: The Associated Press)

Private tenants are to be given more support in disputes with landlords over the repayment of deposits. The government want to reduce the number of delayed and unfairly withheld deposits at the end of a tenancy. Many private landlords insist on tenants paying a month's rental as a returnable deposit. They can withhold part or all of the deposit if they believe the conditions of the tenancy has been broken. There can be as many as 19,000 such disputes each year, involving up to £6m. Disputes often involve student tenancies, lower income households and migrant workers. (Source: BBC)

As of September 15, this year 1.005 million applications for trademark registration in China have been reviewed, up 153 percent year-on-year. The figure, covering eight and a half months, equals that of the previous three years and three months. The volume of China's trademark applications has ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years from 2002 to 2008. The number of trademark applications is expected to exceed 700,000 this year, ranking first in the world. (Source: People's Daily Online)

Luxury jewellery chain Tiffany & Co. has been unsuccessful in an attempt to prevent fashion designer Tiffany Koury from registering her name as a trademark. Australian Trademarks Office hearing officer Frances Aarnio ruled in favour of Tiffany Koury as there could be no "danger of deception" between the two brands. As the two companies market different products, and the name 'Koury' appears alongside 'Tiffany', Aarnio ruled "any connotation of the opponent would be neutralised". (Source: Smart Company)

Australian has released draft legislation which means wealthy individuals could no longer pass assets from one family trust to another without incurring capital gains tax. Transferring assets between trusts normally incurs capital gains tax, but the tax is avoided with the trust cloning exception if the beneficiaries and terms of both trusts are the same. The proposed new law contains a provision allowing for a limited capital gains tax rollover when assets are transferred between fixed trusts. (Source: The Australian)

HMRC is to crack down on businesses that pay benefits to employees or their families via an intermediary trust in order to avoid income tax and National Insurance contributions. Moreover, if the business is a "close company", HMRC intends to impose an inheritance tax charge on the company's owners every time they pay into the employee benefits trust. The only exception will be if the company's owners (or "participators") cannot receive any benefits from the trust. The company will also not be allowed to claim tax relief on subsequent payments from the trust to the employees. (Source: STEP)

China's US$337bil fund industry may triple in size in the next five years as new products attract money away from banks. China's fund industry is stepping up innovations under Beijing's financial reforms, preparing for products such as global exchange-traded funds, overseas index-tracking products and real estate investment trusts. A more mature fund industry can bring much needed stability to China's volatile stock markets, and help fund growth of Chinese companies that traditionally rely on bank lending. (Source: Reuters)

According to Open Europe's study, the directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, which is set to be adopted in 2012, would radically reduce European investors' choice of funds by as much as 80pc. Meanwhile, managers' ability to deliver returns for their investors could be reduced by as much as 5pc to 10pc. The directive stipulates that only funds domiciled in Europe can be marketed in the EU. An estimated 90pc of hedge funds are domiciled offshore, while the industry is also dominated by US players. The study surveyed hedge funds and private equity managers. (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

Brazilian pension funds that manage more than $250 million will be able to put as much as 70 percent of their assets in equity investments. Pension funds were previously allowed to invest only 50 percent of their assets in equity. Pension funds will also be able to put up to 20 percent in structured funds that invest in areas such as infrastructure or real estate; 10 percent in international funds approved by the securities regulator or that trade on the Sao Paulo exchange; and, 8 percent in real estate. (Source: Bloomberg)

Divorcing and separating couples could be compelled to consider mediation before going to court under plans being examined by the Ministry of Justice. At present, only parties who are funded by legal aid are obliged to consider mediating. Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said that mediation will lead to better outcomes for individuals and for their children, but the challenge is to get the message to people at the earliest possible stage. (Source: The Law Gazette)

The Taxation Laws Amendment Bill contains new tax relief in all cases where a surviving spouse inherits from a pre- deceased spouse. The bill dealt with two aspects of estate duty. First, the "portable spousal deduction" which allows for the estate of the first-dying spouse to enjoy a total cumulative tax deduction of up to R7m for estate duty purposes. Second, a more technical amendment proposed in the act related to the "usufructuary estate planning scheme", which had come under scrutiny by the authorities for potential estate duty avoidance. (Source: BusinessDay)

HMRC says individuals "misled" by financial professionals will not have to pay fines as part of the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO), designed to claw back unpaid taxes by savers with money and assets offshore. The tax man will also not fine those who can point to a bereavement or serious illness as an "innocent error" in failing to settle their tax affairs with HMRC. Individuals who come forward before the NDO's deadline on 12 March 2010 will face a 10% fine on any unpaid tax. (Source: International Investment)

Companies that have set up shop in India to take advantage of the economy's rapid growth face big new taxes under proposals tabled by the Government. A proposal that would mean a foreign company with any management presence in India would be considered a tax resident of the country-and so have its global revenue deemed taxable there at a rate of 25 per cent. The Government has also proposed that the new code would supersede existing bilateral tax treaties. (Source: The Times)

Netherlands has announced plans to change participation exemptions rules in a bid to improve the country's investment climate. Under the new rules the participation exemption will not apply to domestic and foreign subsidiaries which are held as passive investments. The corporate income tax rate is reduced to 20% for the first $293,000 of taxable profit. However, the rate remains at 25.5% for the remainder. Loss carry forward rules will now go back three years. The new measures are expected to come into force on January 1 2010. (Source: International Tax Review)

In a step to encourage inflows into its recently-hit stock market, China will increase the amount of money that foreign funds can invest in stocks by 25 per cent to $1 billion. The limit on individual quotas will rise from $800 million. Combined investments under the so-called qualified foreign institutional investor programme will remain capped at $30 billion. As of August, 87 qualified foreign institutional investors including UBS and Morgan Stanley were permitted to invest a combined $15 billion in local-currency stocks and bonds. (Source: WealthBriefingAsia)

Spain's share of the total European market has risen from around 3% in 2005/06, to 7.5% in the first half of 2009. This growth indicates that investors are already spotting value in the Spanish market. An important factor in terms of investor interest in Spain is the relative speed with which the market has repriced, as well as the availability of good quality investment product at those prices. Since the peak of the market in mid-2007, prime yields in Spain have increased by between 200 and 225 basis points. This compares to a European average rise of 136 bps for the same period. (Source: Property Wire)

China issues its first yuan-backed sovereign bonds in Hong Kong to build a market for the currency in the global financial hub. China offers 6 billion yuan (US$878 million) of the bonds to retail and institutional investors. Hong Kong is considered a key platform from which China will launch a raft of new deals aiding the globalization of the domestic currency. China allowed domestically incorporated subsidiaries of foreign banks to issue yuan bonds in Hong Kong this year, expanding the field from the big state-owned banks. (Source: Shanghai Daily)

To help cash-strapped micro and small enterprises (MSE) attract higher overseas investment, the government liberalised the FDI norms for the sector replacing the current 24% ceiling on foreign holding with the sectoral caps. However, if non-medium and small enterprises manufacture any of the 21 items, including pickles, aluminium utensils, reserved for MSEs, any FDI above 24% will require the approval. The Act defined MSEs solely on the basis of investment in plant and machinery for units engaged in manufacturing and equipment for those engaged in services. (Source: The Times of India)

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released World Investment Report 2009, pointing out that, in the first half of 2009, global FDI is expected to fall 40 percent. In the long run, multinational companies take China as the world's most attractive place for investment. While the global foreign direct investment fell 13.5 percent, China's overseas investment increased by 111 percent, reaching $55.9 billion and China's ratio of overseas investment and foreign capital has risen to 1:2. (Source: People's Daily Online)

Singapore is the best place to start a company, for the fourth year running, according to the annual World Bank report. New Zealand (No. 2), Hong Kong (No. 3), the U.S. (No. 4) and the U.K. (No. 5) are all scored highly on simple business start-up rules, strong property rights and clear, well-enforced bankruptcy regulations. The report measured business-friendliness and looked at reforms enacted in the last year that make it easier to run a company. However "security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, skill level and the strength of financial systems" are not factored in to the ranking. (Source: Forbes.com)

The World Economic Forum's global competitiveness report 2009/2010 showed that Switzerland knocked the U.S. off the position as the world's most competitive economy. The Swiss economy is holding up better than many peers and most banks are relatively unscathed by the crisis, which drove U.S. banks into bankruptcy. Leading emerging markets Brazil, India and China improved their competitiveness. The study named Zimbabwe and Burundi as the world's least competitive economies. (Source: Reuters)

China will gradually reduce limits on equity stake proportion in investment from overseas companies, allowing qualified foreign-invested enterprises to list in the country's stock market. The move aims at expanding cooperation fields between China and foreign countries, innovating investment avenues and optimizing foreign investment structures. The country's FDI dropped by 20.4 percent year-on-year to US$48.4 billion in the first seven months this year. (Source: Xinhua)

Asset manager Henderson Group is looking to tap the US$15 trillion retirement savings market in Japan for new business. The Japanese retirement savings market is estimated to be five times the size of Australia's. Henderson looks for a partner to break into that market, given that it is now tightly controlled by domestic lenders. Already there are several foreign players eyeing the market. And Singapore's UOB Asset Management has opened a branch in Tokyo. (Source: channelnewsasia.com)

China issued rules to allow auto financing and financial leasing companies to raise money by issuing bonds. Auto leasing companies must have registered capital of at least 800 million yuan and financial leasing companies must have capital of at least 500 million yuan. Companies will be required to have a three consecutive years of profit and profit must be no less than the industry average. The companies' net assets must be at the minimum the same as the industry average. They must also have a capital adequacy ratio of 8 percent after the bond issuance. (Source: Bloomberg)

Medium and small accounting firms are going head-to-head with industry heavyweights PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, and winning jobs that were once beyond their reach. It could be an emerging shakeup of the audit industry. The firms claim cost pressure combined with a growing ambivalence from the Big Four towards its smaller audit clients has created the opportunity for smaller firms to win new work. And a fall in companies wanting to go public was one reason why the Big Four were suffering. (Source: Accountancy Age)

【Chief Editors: Cynthia & Lillian 】

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