IDA Ireland secured 246 new investments last year despite Covid-19
RTE

The number of jobs created at IDA Ireland-backed companies continued to grow last year, despite Covid-19.

In its annual statement the agency, which attracts foreign companies to locate in Ireland, said it had secured 246 new investments which created 20,123 new jobs.

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Irish pharma group ICON plc carried out trial of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
The Irish Times

The trial, involving 44,000 participants, was largest trial of a Covid-19 vaccine

Irish clinical trials group Icon has revealed that it carried out the late-stage trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.

The trial, which involved 44,000 participants over a four-month period last year, was the largest trial of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech were the first to announce positive efficacy results from a late-stage study, and the first to receive authorisation for deployment.

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Growth to pick up by spring and latest round of stimulus may not be the last, PNC economist says
Philadelphia Business Journal

The $900 billion stimulus bill is crucial to supporting the U.S. economy “through a very difficult period” into early 2021, positioning economic growth to pick up by spring, the chief economist at one of the Philadelphia region’s largest financial institutions said.

After months of bickering, the House and Senate passed the legislation by early Tuesday.

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A Souderton firm played a key role in testing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
Philadelphia Inquirer

While the fanfare surrounding Pfizer’s recently approved COVID-19 vaccine resounds throughout pandemic-stricken America, a Souderton company that played a key role in its journey from test tube to approval is helping scores of other firms in their quests for successful encores.

Since early summer, Almac has been at the heart of the far-flung and intense search for drugs to combat the coronavirus, facilitating trials for the COVID-related products of at least 80 pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies, most notably the Pfizer vaccine that on Dec. 11 won emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Mazars: Year End Tax Planning for Individuals
December 10, 2020

To say that 2020 has been a year of surprises and the unexpected is to put it lightly. Although we can’t control everything, there are several steps we can take now to create a foundation for the future and to make it less uncertain.

As we head into the holiday season, here are a few things you can do before the end of the year with respect to tax planning. As with most things, it’s better to be proactive with your financial situation and plan not just for the end of the year, but well into the future.

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