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The possibility of governments disclaiming debts incurred by past regimes is more relevant than ever. The answer lies in salt bonds, revolution and war

Germany’s latest legislation has calmed fears of a ban on credit and currency derivatives, but naked short sales will still be prohibited

Greece’s sovereign debt could still need to be restructured. Lawyers must learn the lessons of previous national crises if they are to succeed

On March 18 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the Hire Act). The Hire Act includes provisions that effectively shut down certain dividend washing transactions. As discussed in our prior columns, the US imposes a 30% (or lower treaty rate) tax on US source dividends paid to foreign persons. Historically, it appears that foreign counterparties attempted to avoid US withholding tax on dividends paid on US stock through certain equity swap or securities-lending transactions entered into with investment banks. These transactions were perceived abusive by US authorities because, according to the US Senate report on this issue, the counterparties had no purpose for entering into the transactions other than to avoid US withholding taxes on dividends. The merit of the tax positions of the parties involved in these transactions is under scrutiny by the US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service.

Sovereign issuers can no longer rely on reputation alone when selling bonds. They must face up to industry disclosure standards, and investors should demand more too. Plus, why the FSA is better than the Bank of England and predictions on the overdue IPO boom

Esra Okçuoglu Asl¦ Orhon Back in 2007, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (Emra) received more than 700 applications for wind power plants – a clear indication of wind energy companies' keenness to invest in Turkey. By contrast, the last two years have been less profitable, as deficiencies in prevailing legislation combined with the global economic crisis interrupted the trend. Yet regulations are still evolving to please investors, and in turn, investors continue to announce new projects in Turkey.

On February 11 2010, the Law of Ukraine On the Procedure for Settlements in Foreign Currency No.185/94-BP, dated September 23 1994 (the Settlements Law), was amended to restore the previously existing 180 Day Rule. This Rule provides that (1) the receipt of payment by a Ukrainian exporter for its delivery abroad of goods (defined to include works, services and intellectual property rights) in advance of payment, and (2) the receipt of goods from abroad by a Ukrainian importer where payment has been made in advance of the delivery of the goods, is required to occur within 180 days from the corresponding advance delivery or advance payment. This 180 day timeframe may only be extended pursuant to a special decision of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

Mafalda Monteiro The Payment Services Directive (PSD) was transposed into Portuguese law last November and was received with criticism by consumers associations and other civil society groups in Portugal. Their concerns were mainly related to the fact that the PSD expressly provides for the possibility of merchants to collect charges from consumers on purchases made through point-of-sale terminals. The issue became so important that it was raised in the Parliament by some opposition parties only a few days after the PSD was implemented into Portuguese law.

Ingrid de Wilde All Dutch banks apply the same set of general banking conditions (GBC), drawn up by the Netherlands Bankers' Association in consultation with consumer and corporate organisations, setting out a number of basic contractual provisions which regulate the relationship between the bank and its customer.

On April 1 2010, an amendment to Article 6 (the special provisions) of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation of Japan (Law No. 26 of 1957) became effective. The special provisions removed the time period limitation on the exemption from income tax imposed on interest payable outside Japan to non-resident individuals or foreign corporations, in respect of bonds issued by Japanese corporations outside Japan (minkan kokugaisai, or Japanese Eurobonds). Accordingly, such interest will no longer be subject to Japanese taxation (the exemption) so long as certain statutory requirements for the exemption are met.