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The Revised Securities Act (RSA) Full Disclosure Rules (the Rules) became effective on October 7 1996. The Rules establish an integrated disclosure system for registration statements (RS) and other reports which must be filed with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and distributed to the investing public.

The Hungarian Ministry of Justice has introduced a bill for a new Law on Economic Associations (Companies Act). The planned law would serve the purpose of further harmonizing Hungarian company law with EU rules by establishing western standards. Furthermore, the experience of the past few years has confirmed the need for a new law. Since the Companies Act came into force on January 1 1989, the law has been shown to have numerous loopholes and to be wide open to abuse. The bill attempts to address these faults.

In 1994, the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, after consultations with the Bankers' Association, issued ethical guidelines for financial institutions' advice to individual customers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Argentina (the CNV) enacted General Resolution No. 291/97. This authorizes the trading in Argentina of depositary receipts representing securities issued by foreign entities not qualified by the CNV to offer their securities directly to the general public in Argentina. The new regime — which comes into force on September 1 1997 — attempts to introduce new financial products in the local markets and to attract foreign investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has bought Celebrity Cruise Lines in an amicable takeover worth US$1.3 billion. This deal makes the company the second largest US- based cruise line.

New guidelines for market participants on management and internal control have been welcomed but the Securities and Futures Commission has also published suggested control techniques which have been less well received. By James Walker and Kenneth Leung of Clifford Chance, Hong Kong

US partners' compensation increased by 3.56% in 1996, and associates compensation was boosted by 4.4%, in an economy where inflation was only 2.7%. These are the most striking results of the latest annual survey of law firm economics published by law firm consultants Altman Weil Pensa.

Mid-sized Singapore firm Colin Ng & Partners is adding to its international links. The firm already has a foreign office in Shanghai, and is soon to add offices in both Jakarta, Indonesia and one in Beijing.

The short-term prospects for foreign lawyers in the Japanese legal market are addressed in an official report due out this year. Rob Dwyer listens to both sides of an increasingly acrimonious debate about the place of international firms in a Japan undergoing its financial ‘big bang’

Deeth Williams Wall, Toronto