The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on human health, life and economic activity around the world. The virus has caused severe disruptions to the global economy, including the banning of travel, the cancellation of major events, and schools throughout the United States shifting to online learning. Businesses everywhere — including those of many of you reading this — are “going remote.” What happens to preexisting legal obligations in a pandemic world that nobody could have imagined?...

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Temporary Ban on Net Short Positions in Response to Market Turmoil in the Wake of Covid-19 Outbreak On March 17, 2020, CONSOB, the Italian markets and securities regulator, introduced an outright temporary ban on taking or increasing net short positions in respect of all shares admitted to trading on the Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA), the Italian regulated stock market, pursuant to the terms of EU Regulations 236/2012 and 918/2012. The list of the restricted shares is included in Annex A. The temporary...

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The U.S. Dollar kept climbing to new highs as easing packages around the world are being dished out by governments and central banks acting with all they have to try preventing a health crisis and economic one as well. Overview No faith in markets or guidance on when things can stabilize have stocks at their lowest levels since February 2017 and the energy sector has lost half of its value this month alone. Everything is in the red except for the buck...

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In a notice to be published in the Federal Register of March 19, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced extensions for certain soon to expire exclusions from the China 301 List 1 tariffs (the $34 billion trade action). To date, ten sets of exclusions have been issued in connection with List 1. The second set of exclusions is scheduled to expire on March 25, 2020.  The USTR has announced that the expiring exclusions on the...

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Wilson Sonsini outlines frequent questions regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and your business functions.   The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting all aspects of our clients' businesses, not to mention their personal lives. We are fielding numerous legal and practical questions in many different substantive areas and will continue to monitor developments and best practices as we help our clients navigate through these issues. Do not hesitate to discuss these and other topics with your regular Wilson Sonsini contacts, who can help...

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As local governments seek to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), states, counties and cities have issued executive orders, recommendations and mandatory restrictions that limit business operations and public gatherings. Specific examples appear below. These pronouncements are constantly changing and subject to various, sometimes conflicting “clarifications." In deciding whether your business should close, you should check the following: • Nature of the business: Restaurants and entertainment venues are getting the lion’s share of regulatory attention. • Essential vs. nonessential:...

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With more than 60.000 Europeans infected and European stocks down 30% this year, European and G7 leaders spent the past week in crisis mode imposing drastic and unprecedented measures aimed at containing and slowing the spread of the virus. For the first time since its establishment, countries in the EU’s Schengen area began closing their borders over the weekend to personal travel to tackle further cross-border spread and prevent cross-border shopping for stockpiling. While borders remained open for freight transport,...

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As a crisis communications specialist, I have been talking with nonprofit organizations in the past few days about how to communicate with their constituents in these challenging times. It is a tightrope walk to let your supporters know that you need help without looking like you’re capitalizing on the situation or being insensitive to the economic hardships that many Americans and people around the world are experiencing. Yesterday, I received an email from a beloved nonprofit that I have been...

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Just after midnight on March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” as a broad response to many of the challenges caused by the current and impending spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 (“coronavirus”). H.R. 6201 has eight provisions intended to assist people, and free up the federal government resources to do so, during the public health emergency caused by coronavirus. This GT Alert addresses two of the...

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