Pedro Ferreira

BNP Paribas has entered into a strategic payments partnership with Ant International.

Discover how the EU AI Act impacts the payments industry, focusing on new regulations, transparency, and innovation in financial technology.

In a strategic move influenced by upcoming general elections, South Korea has decided to delay the implementation of taxes on crypto gains until 2028.

How Indonesia and South Korea's recent Memorandum of Understanding enhances QR code-based payment systems.

Abstract: Explanation regularisation (ER) has been introduced as a way to guide models to make their predictions in a manner more akin to humans, i.e., making their attributions "plausible".

ACI Worldwide and Worldpay have extended their strategic partnership, aiming to enhance the robustness and efficiency of global payment processing.

This paper analyzes the influence of social responsibility practices on the development of tax planning activities in companies listed on Euronext Lisbon. Although scientific research into social responsibility and tax planning is not new, scientific studies into the relationship between these two themes is a developing area of research that still raises many questions. This study was carried out on a sample of 30 companies listed on Euronext Lisbon, using data for the 2018 and 2019 periods. The hypotheses were formulated based on a literature review on this subject. A multiple linear regression model was developed to validate the hypotheses. The results show that the social, corporate governance, environmental, or economic components of corporate social responsibility do not influence tax planning. However, the results show that company size negatively impacts tax planning, i.e., larger companies have lower effective tax rates. In the sample studied, larger companies implemented more tax planning strategies. In this way, this study can complement the understanding of the relationship between social responsibility practices and tax planning activities in Portugal and internationally.

Europe is set to roll out Wero, a payment system poised to challenge the dominance of Visa and Mastercard.

Immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) is a rare form of inflammatory myopathy characterized by severe muscle weakness, elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, and myofiber necrosis with minimal inflammatory infiltrates. IMNM is frequently associated with autoantibodies, particularly anti-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), and is often linked to statin use. However, it can also develop in statin-naïve patients, especially following viral infections. We present the case of a 47-year-old woman who developed anti-HMGCR-positive IMNM without prior statin exposure, following a viral respiratory infection and subsequent dengue fever. She initially presented with proximal muscle weakness and elevated CK levels, which worsened after contracting dengue. Diagnostic testing confirmed the presence of anti-HMGCR antibodies, and a muscle biopsy revealed necrotizing myopathy. Treatment with methylprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin, and rituximab resulted in significant clinical improvement. This case underscores the need to consider IMNM in patients with unexplained muscle weakness and elevated CK levels, even in the absence of statin use. Viral infections may trigger IMNM, highlighting the importance of early recognition and aggressive immunosuppressive therapy to prevent severe complications. Further research is required to better understand the pathophysiology of IMNM and optimize treatment approaches.

Abstract Background Mozambique is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of schistosomiasis, although there is little data