Before Virgin Galactic can send private individuals into space, it must emerge from a complex regulatory web.  The company, led by Richard Branson, has made significant progress on this front in 2020, receiving the majority of the approvals it needs for its commercial license to go into effect. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a commercial […]

Surveillance is a powerful tool in the fight against the COVID-19, but such techniques can infringe on privacy.  Throughout the world, countries have implemented aggressive surveillance programs to combat the disease.  But for now, the United States has resisted taking this approach, choosing instead to only gather anonymized data. Outside of the United States, countries […]

Coronavirus is at the top of the news around the globe. For most it means buying some more masks and hand sanitizer, getting groceries delivered, and recently, staying home. For some regions and groups of people the impact is higher. But for those who are under contractual obligations to provide manufactured goods, the impact of […]

The California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) recently announced a temporary relaxation of regulations that allow bars and restaurants to sell alcohol for takeout, delivery, and drive-thru. This move is intended to help to make up some of the revenue lost due to mandatory coronavirus closures. California isn’t the only one; in the same week, states […]

The notion of cars driving themselves from point to point has its appeal; if widely used, the technology can reduce accidents, decrease carbon emissions, and make life easier for commuters and those who are unable to drive. While still very much in the research and development phase, driverless cars have a future for which regulators […]

March 2020 will live in infamy in the history of the financial markets. The New York Times recently reported that the financial world witnessed the following within a span of thirty-one days: the S&P 500 suffering its worst one-day drop since 1987 before recording its best three-day run since 1933, a crash in oil prices, […]

Unlike in the stock markets, where highly volatile public equities respond to a financial crisis in a matter of hours, in the venture capital (“VC”) industry such a response is typically reflected over time. This is because VC’s deals and financing rounds are typically closed after weeks or months of negotiations. Regardless, the economic slowdown […]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health and Human Services Department issued a temporary rule requiring airlines to pass on contact information of exposed international passengers to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rule will be in effect until the end of the pandemic, and enables the CDC to “require […]

Around the world, economic catastrophe has shaken up governments and they have resorted on economists to flip through the pages of the 2008 global financial crisis playbook. To keep afloat the sinking economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, governments are pumping liquidity into the banking system to prevent the stock market from crashing. It is unclear […]

Across the globe, the spread of the coronavirus is suspending international travel, rattling financial markets, and forcing businesses and schools to close. And its impact will likely outlive its containment. With more than 1000 active cases at the time of writing, Japan is among the countries most heavily hit by the disease. And while much […]