The period from mid-2020 to the fourth quarter of 2022 was a high-water mark for the container shipping industry, and with it came unprecedented turmoil, disruption, and prosperity. That period was, above all, a period of extremes: extreme rate rises, extreme container and labor shortages, extreme delays, extreme congestion, and extreme chaos for exporters and importers alike. For container ship operators themselves, it was an era of extreme revenues and extreme earnings. Thanks to those earnings, the container shipping industry,...

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This week was a big week for the telecommunications sector in Europe as the Commission presented a package of plans to boost EU connectivity and speed up 5G deployment across the block. The package is in line with EU plans under the Digital Decade, which sets the target to have all European households covered by a Gigabit network and all populated areas covered by networks of at least 5G performance by 2030. Announcing the measures on 23 February, Commissioner Breton,...

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Portugal Golden Visa Program to Expire Soon In a very surprising turn of events, after saying that the Golden Visa program wouldn’t be changed or terminated during 2023, the Portuguese Government held a Ministry Council meeting on February 16 where it approved the termination of the Golden Visa Program under a new legislative package to control the Portuguese Housing Crisis. This decision comes as a surprise, especially after the vote on the National Budget for 2023 determined that the Golden Visa...

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ESG is currently on the rise in the M&A world. ESG stands for Environmental, Social & Governance. Within M&A, this term implies that factors such as energy consumption, the availability of raw materials, the environmental impact of the operations, diversity within the company, compliance with human rights, safe working conditions and good corporate governance are all to be considered in the selection and management of participations. ESG investments cautiously came on the scene in the 1960s under the heading of...

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Many CFOs are reluctant to get involved in the supply chain management process, leaving that area to the COO and his or her team of experts. But in the current environment, it should be all-hands-on-deck as businesses continue to grapple with supply chain disruption and the uncertainty it brings to the entire company. Best practices for a manufacturer are different than those for a distributor, and both are different than those for a retailer. The challenge of finding the right best...

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A growing number of fintech companies are providing services to traditional financial institutions, coming together to modernize our financial infrastructure. As these business models continue to grow and gain popularity, they raise important legal and regulatory questions: What regulations apply to the fintech company’s activities? Where does the fintech company end and the regulated financial institution begin? Do the answers change if the services are customer-facing versus behind the scenes? Can fintech companies better manage their legal and compliance...

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The EACC, in partnership with the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI), wants to keep its members up to date with the latest developments in property taxes in the USA and Europe. IPTI has put together below a selection of articles from IPTI Xtracts; more articles can be found on its website (www.ipti.org). United States Work-from-Home Trend Leads to Property Tax Turmoil in Office Sector Of all the property types, office buildings may wrestle with the pandemic’s damaging consequences the longest. The fallout...

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The Philadelphia intellectual property law firm of Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP, is pleased to announce that partner Jeffrey W. Gluck, Ph.D. has been named among IAM’s Strategy 300 Global Leaders for 2023, which honors the world’s leading intellectual property strategists. IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders identifies individuals who are leading the way in developing and implementing strategies that maximize the value of IP portfolios. The guide features interviews with these leaders in which they discuss their careers in...

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Across the digital health sphere, connected medical devices allow patients to leave hospital sooner and provide remote monitoring features which can be powerful tools for healthcare professionals. This is highly beneficial to patients who can often continue treatment in their own home and can cut costs for healthcare providers seeking to conserve crucial resources. Appropriate collection of patient data may even aid care elsewhere, improving outcomes as a result. Connectedness can bring a third dimension of functionality to digital...

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On 14 February, the European Parliament approved the European Union’s plans for new CO2 emissions reduction targets for cars and vans by 2035. This new regulation effectively bans internal combustion engines, incentivising the production of more electric passenger cars and small commercial vans. Coined “CO2 Emission Standards for Cars and Vans”, the proposed regulation was first presented in July 2021 as part of the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package, aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in the EU by 55%...

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