This article is part of Portolano Cavallo’s “INFORM@ Life Sciences” Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. | Healthcare services provided remotely are officially a part of the National Healthcare Service (“NHS”), now that the State-Regions Conference has approved the document entitled “National guidelines for the provision of telemedicine services,” drafted by the Ministry of Health (hereinafter the “Guidelines”). Henceforth, the Guidelines shall serve as the national reference for provision of telemedicine services, with this updated version replacing the previous guidelines of 2014. Italian regions...

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The investment climate is changing.  The reflation trade has gained traction.  Bond yields rose sharply, and curves steepened.  The dollar value of the negative-yielding bonds in the world fell from a peak last December of around $18.4 trillion to $12.6 trillion, the least since last July. Commodity prices continue to move higher.  The CRB Index rose nearly 9.5% in February and brings the gain to almost 32% since the end of October.  Equities rallied strongly in the first half of...

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It’s cliche, but we have to ask. Is this the new normal? In this week’s global freight updates, we’ve got hidden post-Brexit costs, shippers on the prowl for boxes, the current state of ocean freight – in pictures, CMA CGM branching out, and plunging air cargo rates. According to The Loadstar, EU consumers are starting to become “more reluctant to order UK brands due to longer transit times and additional costs linked to duty and VAT.” Despite attempts to avoid disruptions, the uncertainty...

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President Joe Biden was sworn into office on January 20, 2021. As with any incoming administration, new policies will be pursued while those of the previous administration are furthered, abandoned, or undone. The federal government is an enormous bureaucracy with several layers and, therefore, converting policies into quantifiable results takes months or even years. Early indicators of policies' prioritization, implementation, or their likelihood of success can provide a head start to regulated businesses scanning the horizon. It is in...

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urges employers to take advantage of the newly-extended employee retention credit, designed to make it easier for businesses that, despite challenges posed by COVID-19, choose to keep their employees on the payroll. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, made a number of changes to the employee retention tax credits previously made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including modifying and extending...

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When Ursula von der Leyen presented her Agenda for Europe as a European Commission presidential candidate advocating a ‘Union that strives for more’, she singled out the fact that “digital transformation brings fast change that affects our labour markets.” She committed at that time to “look at ways of improving the labour conditions of platform workers.” Since then, gig economy workers have played an increasingly crucial role in the provision of services across the EU as the pandemic has...

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