Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Dyana Mason, Associate Professor of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon

    Food pantry staff members and volunteers hand out food in Chelsea, Mass., in November 2024. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

    On Jan. 27, 2025, the Trump administration ordered a freeze on federal grants and contracts covering a wide array of aid programs to take effect at 5 p.m. the following day. This freeze was partially prevented when a judge responded to a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits and other organizations. The flow of funds on grants that had already been awarded was at least temporarily protected by the judge’s action. The attorneys general of 22 states and the District of Columbia have also sued to block this funding freeze.

    The Trump administration, which on Jan. 29 rescinded the memo ordering the funding suspension, has made clear that it may again seek to reduce or eliminate much of the money, totaling several hundred billion dollars, that funds many services that nonprofits provide, such as support for foster parents, after-school care and distributing food for free.

    Dyana Mason and Mirae Kim, two scholars of nonprofits, explain the role that federal funding plays in the nonprofit sector.

    How much do nonprofits rely on federal funding?

    Nonprofits partner with the government to deliver social services, such as child care for low-income families, housing for people experiencing homelessness, and job training and placement. These partnerships can form with local or state governments, as well as with the federal government, with this collaboration mostly taking place through grants and contracts.

    Government funding makes up about 33% of the revenue flowing into the nonprofit sector annually, according to the Urban Institute. The institute, a think tank, also found that nearly 40% of all nonprofits in the United States applied for federal grants in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and that about 10% applied for federal contracts. The share of government funding can be far larger for some kinds of social service nonprofits.

    Many other nonprofits applied for local and state grants during that three-year period. Those grants, however, are often themselves funded by the federal government indirectly through grants it makes to state and local government agencies. Those agencies, in turn, then provide grants or maintain contracts with local nonprofits to provide services.

    Although it’s hard to track with absolute precision due to those complex arrangements, government revenue is the second-largest source of income for nonprofits after the money these organizations and institutions earn through commercial activities.

    Also called “fee-for-service,” this revenue includes the money nonprofit hospitals get when patients and insurers pay medical bills, nonprofit theaters receive when they sell tickets to performances, and nonprofit private schools obtain when parents pay tuition.

    Some social service nonprofits charge fees too, typically on a sliding scale. That is, their clients with relatively higher incomes pay more, and those with extremely low incomes pay very little or nothing at all.

    How could freezing federal funding affect nonprofits?

    We have no doubt that a long freeze on federal grants and contracts would be devastating for nonprofits and the communities they serve.

    For example, Meals on Wheels, a program that delivers hot meals to more than 2 million homebound people over 65 and helps them maintain social connections, gets 37% of its funding from the federal government.

    Clackamas Women’s Services, a domestic and sexual violence organization based near Portland, Oregon, is one of the many local organizations that have expressed concern about what to expect. The group says it could lose half of its annual budget if federal funding were to be eliminated.

    Without federal funding, organizations like these – many of which already have waitlists – would have to cut back on the services they provide.

    Nonprofits are confused and concerned about the stability of federal funding, Scripps News reports.

    What’s the role of nonprofits in the US safety net?

    It’s very significant.

    For the past several decades, attempts to scale back the size of the government have led to government agencies essentially hiring nonprofits to do much of their work.

    Through contracts and grants, nonprofits then do such things as assist people who are recovering from fires, hurricanes and other disasters; provide services for veterans and active-duty members of the military; and help people with mental health conditions, including substance use problems, just to name a few.

    This arrangement typically provides nonprofits with a reliable and predictable source of funds that they can use to serve their communities. But it can also leave them vulnerable to policy changes – especially when new administrations take over, as the second Trump administration’s actions illustrate.

    Research we conducted about what happened to nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that volatility in the economy has serious effects on the ability of nonprofits to do their work.

    For example, social service nonprofits struggled in March and April 2020 due to falling revenue at a time of increasing demand. Many of these organizations had to scale back their services. In some cases, they canceled them.

    We followed up with another survey in November and December 2020. By then, we found, 61% of the groups had received forgivable federal loans through the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

    Nearly half of the nonprofits told us that they had, in addition, received other forms of emergency funding from the federal government, including Economic Injury Disaster Loans and emergency food distributions.

    This federal assistance made it possible for thousands of nonprofits to keep their staff employed and continue to provide important services as the economy recovered.

    What happens when nonprofits lose federal funds?

    It’s hard for social service organizations to replace federal funding.

    Nonprofits can, of course, appeal to their donors to help bridge the gap. But donations from individuals, foundations, corporations and bequests only amount to no more than 15% of the funds flowing into the nonprofit sector.

    The outcome of freezing, eliminating or scaling back federal funding for nonprofits would mean that those in need would get fewer services. We would also expect mass layoffs, which could harm the U.S. economy.

    Nonprofits employ more than 12 million people in the United States. That’s more workers than big industries such as construction, transportation and finance employ. Should millions of them suddenly become unemployed, demand would grow further for social services from providers already unable to meet lower levels of demand due to funding cuts.

    Has there ever been upheaval like this before?

    Congress appropriates money to provide for the services that the public needs and demands. These moves have led to great fear and uncertainty among organizations that serve people in need in the United States and abroad.

    Although it’s not unusual for funding priorities to change from one administration to the next, Donald Trump’s executive orders on international aid and nonprofit grants and contracts that underpin the U.S. safety net are unprecedented.

    Dyana Mason has received research funding from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities and the Joint Fire Science Program with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). She is also a volunteer board member of the Southwest Oregon chapter of the American Red Cross.

    Mirae Kim is affiliated with the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) as a non-paid, at-large board member.

    ref. Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money – https://theconversation.com/nonprofits-that-provide-shelter-for-homeless-people-disaster-recovery-help-and-food-for-low-income-americans-rely-heavily-on-federal-funding-they-would-be-reeling-if-trump-froze-that-money-248543

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa’s debt has skyrocketed – new rules are needed to manage it

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Robert Botha, Research Fellow at the Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab. The Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab is a unit of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), Stellenbosch University

    South Africa’s fiscal trajectory paints a concerning picture. Public expenditure exceeds revenue. As a result sovereign debt is building up and interest on this debt is increasing.

    This raises concerns over the South African government’s financial sustainability. The debt-to-GDP ratio has skyrocketed from 23.6% in 2008/09 to a projected 74.7% in 2024/25. The International Monetary Fund has recommended that, over the long term, South Africa should reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio to 60% of GDP, in line with that of peers.

    Arguably more important than the debt level is how quickly debt has accumulated. Debt servicing costs, which consist of the interest on government debt and other costs directly associated with borrowing, have been the fastest-growing line item in the national budget. Rising interest payments have been crowding out critical expenditures on services such as health, education and infrastructure.

    As I argue in a recently published report titled “A fiscal anchor for South Africa: Avoiding the mistakes of the past”, establishing a credible fiscal anchor (or fiscal rule) could be step towards avoiding a debt spiral and regaining fiscal sustainability and credibility.

    Fiscal rules are constraints on fiscal policy, designed to impose numerical limits. For example, a limit on the allowable debt-to-GDP ratio, or the allowable balance after accounting for government expenditure and revenue. Fiscal rules are widely used – 105 countries have adopted them so far.

    Failing to address the country’s fiscal challenges risks plunging South Africa into a debt trap. This happens when a country finds it difficult to escape a cycle of debt and has to borrow more to pay off old debt. If debt-servicing costs continue to rise, essential public services will come under even greater strain.

    Several emerging markets have experienced the severe consequences of unchecked debt accumulation and debt servicing costs. Argentina is one example. Without a credible plan to stabilise and reduce debt and debt servicing costs, the risk of economic stagnation and financial instability grows quickly.

    Fiscal erosion and credibility concerns

    The roots of South Africa’s current predicament lie in years of mistakes. These include:

    • spending beyond its means

    • questionable political decisions like bailing out state-owned entities

    • poor governance and oversight at municipal and local government level, which led to inefficient public spending.

    These factors were underpinned by an underperforming economy, unrealised forecasts and arguably weak institutional checks.

    For the last 15 years South Africa’s National Treasury has undertaken to stabilise the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio. This would have required keeping the ratio constant. But these commitments have consistently been deferred. Debt stabilisation targets have been revised upwards 13 times, from 40% in 2015/16 to the current 75.5%. The stabilisation year has been pushed back 10 times, from the initial year of 2015/16 to the current target of 2025/26. This has created a perception of inconsistent policy.

    Over-optimistic macroeconomic forecasting has undermined credibility. Over the last ten years, GDP growth projections have routinely overshot actual performance by an average of 0.5 percentage points in the first year of forecasts and even more in subsequent years. In defence of the National Treasury, the South African economy has performed worse than more forecasters expected in recent years.

    Adding to the fiscal strain are rising social expenditures, the public sector wage bill and repeated bailouts of state-owned enterprises. This spending relieves short-term political and social pressures, but undermines the country’s long-term fiscal health.

    Without credible mechanisms to constrain spending, South Africa’s fiscal framework lacks the discipline needed to ensure sustainability, and to restore credibility.

    Why fiscal rules matter

    Fiscal rules are there to promote discipline, ensure that debt can be paid and enhance credibility. The experience in the 105 countries that have adopted them suggests that strong, well-designed rules can signal a government’s commitment to fiscal prudence.

    It’s difficult to establish whether there is a causal relationship between fiscal rules and fiscal performance. But there’s at least a correlation. As a practical example of enforcing fiscal rules, in November 2023, the German constitutional court overruled a budget that was passed in the Bundestag but breached Germany’s fiscal rules.

    However, fiscal rules are not a panacea. Poorly designed or inadequately enforced rules can make the problems worse. For South Africa, this risk is acute.

    Political commitment and strong institutional frameworks are needed too. Also, a shift in how fiscal policy is conceived and implemented.

    Designing new rules

    Drawing lessons from global best practices, South Africa’s fiscal rules must be enforceable, flexible and simple. A well-designed rule should:

    • stabilise and eventually reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio

    • target government spending as a share of GDP, emphasising consumption spending like salaries and goods and services, rather than capital expenditure

    • have political buy-in

    • be overseen independently

    • be legally binding and enforceable.

    Context

    South Africa’s low economic growth rate is a complication. Average interest rates on government debt are higher than the nominal GDP growth rate. But reining in spending too much could stifle growth, creating a vicious cycle.

    That’s why stabilising debt first would make more sense than aiming to reduce debt too rapidly.

    South Africa’s fiscal rules must also have some flexibility. For instance, they could allow for shocks such as natural disasters or global economic crises.

    Fiscal rules could follow a phased approach to initially focus on stabilising debt, and then to move towards reducing debt. Both of these phases would entail expenditure rules to guide annual budget processes and to place limits on spending.

    The benefits

    Credible fiscal rules could have a number of benefits.

    Firstly, they could improve South Africa’s credibility by signalling to markets and international institutions that South Africa is committed to fiscal discipline.

    Secondly, fiscal credibility is associated with reduced sovereign risk premiums, which translates into lower debt-servicing costs. In turn this would free up resources for critical development priorities.

    Third, they can foster a more stable economic environment for investment and growth.

    Fourth, they would help coordinate policies. South Africa enjoys rule-based monetary policy in the form of inflation targeting but lacks the same for fiscal policy. This can lead to sub-optimal outcomes. For example, the central bank can keep interest rates too high, not necessarily because it thinks the treasury’s policies are inflationary, but because it cannot predict the treasury’s actions.

    The way forward

    Adopting fiscal rules in South Africa comes with risks. Weak institutional capacity, especially in oversight bodies like the Parliamentary Budget Office, could undermine rule enforcement.

    To shield against these risks, South Africa should have stronger institutions. It could create an independent statutory fiscal council, possibly falling under Parliament, the National Treasury or as an independent constitutional advisory body.

    Oversight bodies would also need to build their capacity.

    – South Africa’s debt has skyrocketed – new rules are needed to manage it
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-debt-has-skyrocketed-new-rules-are-needed-to-manage-it-248355

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI USA: Personal Income and Outlays, December 2024

    Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis

    Personal income increased $92.0 billion (0.4 percent at a monthly rate) in December, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—increased $79.7 billion (0.4 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $133.6 billion (0.7 percent).

    Personal outlays—the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $129.5 billion in December. Personal saving was $843.2 billion in December and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.8 percent.

    The increase in current-dollar personal income in December primarily reflected an increase in compensation.

    The $133.6 billion increase in current-dollar PCE in December reflected an increase of $78.2 billion in spending for services and $55.4 billion in spending for goods.

    From the preceding month, the PCE price index for December increased 0.3 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2 percent.

    From the same month one year ago, the PCE price index for December increased 2.6 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 2.8 percent from one year ago.

    *          *          *

    Next release:  February 28, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. EST
    Personal Income and Outlays, January 2025

    For definitions, statistical conventions, updates to PIO, and more, visit “Additional Information.”

    Technical Notes

    Changes in Personal Income and Outlays for December

    The increase in personal income in December primarily reflected an increase in compensation, led by private wages and salaries, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES).

    • Services-producing industries increased $41.5 billion.
    • Goods-producing industries increased $2.4 billion.

    Revisions to Personal Income

    Estimates have been updated for October and November, reflecting updated BLS CES data.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bowman, Brief Remarks on the Economy, and Perspective on Mutual and Community Banks

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Let me begin by saying my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the passengers and crew who perished in the tragic flight accident in Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening.
    Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today.1 It is a pleasure to be with you virtually for your CEO Summit. I always enjoy the opportunity to meet bankers from across the country, especially New England, to learn about the issues that are important to you. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concluded its January meeting earlier this week, so I will begin by offering some brief remarks on the economy, and then share my views on a number of mutual and community bank issues, before addressing some questions that were submitted by your members in advance of today’s meeting.
    Update on the Most Recent FOMC MeetingAt our FOMC meeting this week, my colleagues and I voted to hold the federal funds rate target range at 4-1/4 to 4‑1/2 percent and to continue to reduce the Federal Reserve’s securities holdings. I supported this action because, after recalibrating the level of the policy rate towards the end of last year to reflect the progress made since 2023 on lowering inflation and cooling the labor market, I think that policy is now in a good place to position the Committee to pay closer attention to the inflation data as it evolves.
    Looking ahead to 2025, in my view, the current policy stance also provides the opportunity to review further indicators of economic activity and get clarity on the administration’s policies and their effects on the economy. It will be very important to have a better sense of the actual policies and how they will be implemented, in addition to greater confidence about how the economy will respond.
    Brief Remarks on the EconomyThe U.S. economy remained strong through the end of last year, with solid growth in economic activity and a labor market near full employment. Core inflation remains elevated, but my expectation is that it will moderate further this year. Even with this outlook, I continue to see upside risks to inflation.
    The rate of inflation declined significantly in 2023, but it slowed by noticeably less last year. Without having seen the December data released this morning, I estimate that the 12-month measure of core personal consumption expenditures inflation—which excludes food and energy prices—likely remained unchanged at 2.8 percent in December, only slightly below its 3.0 percent reading at the end of 2023. Progress has been slow and uneven since the spring of last year mostly due to a slowing in core goods price declines.
    After increasing at a solid pace, on average, over the initial three quarters of last year, gross domestic product appears to have risen a bit more slowly in the fourth quarter, reflecting a large drop in inventory investment, which is a volatile category. In contrast, private domestic final purchases, which provide a better signal about underlying growth in economic activity, maintained its strong momentum from earlier in the year, as personal consumption rose robustly again in the fourth quarter.
    Some measures of consumer sentiment appear to have improved recently but are still well below pre-pandemic levels, likely because of higher prices. And since housing, food, and energy price increases have far outpaced overall inflation since the pandemic, lower-income households have experienced the negative impacts of inflation hardest, especially as these households have limited options to trade down for lower-cost goods and services.
    Payroll employment gains rebounded strongly in December and averaged about 170,000 per month in the fourth quarter, a pace that is somewhat above average gains in the prior two quarters. The unemployment rate edged back down to 4.1 percent in December and has moved sideways since last June, remaining slightly below my estimate of full employment.
    The labor market appears to have stabilized in the second half of last year, after having loosened from extremely tight conditions. The rise in the unemployment rate since mid-2023 largely reflected weaker hiring, as job seekers entering or re-entering the labor force are taking longer to find work, while layoffs have remained low. The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed workers has remained close to the pre-pandemic level in recent months, and there are still more available jobs than available workers. The labor market no longer appears to be especially tight, but wage growth remains somewhat above the pace consistent with our inflation goal.
    I hope the revision of the Bureau of Labor Statistics labor data, which will be released next week, will more accurately capture the changing dynamics of immigration and net business creation and bring more clarity on the underlying pace of job growth. It is crucial that U.S. official data accurately capture structural changes in labor markets in real time, such as those in recent years, so we can more confidently rely on these data for monetary and economic policymaking. In the meantime, given conflicting economic signals, measurement challenges, and significant data revisions, I remain cautious about taking signal from only a limited set of real-time data releases.
    Assuming the economy evolves as I expect, I think that inflation will slow further this year. Its progress may be bumpy and uneven, and the upcoming inflation data for the first quarter will be an important indication of how quickly this will happen. That said, I continue to see greater risks to price stability, especially while the labor market remains near full employment.
    Despite the prospect for some reduction in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia, global supply chains continue to be susceptible to disruptions, which could result in inflationary effects on food, energy, and other commodity markets. In addition, the release of pent-up demand following the election, especially with improving consumer and business sentiment, could lead to stronger economic activity, which could increase inflationary pressures.
    The Path ForwardAs we enter a new phase in the process of moving the federal funds rate toward a more neutral policy stance, I would prefer that future adjustments to the policy rate be gradual. We should take time to carefully assess the progress in achieving our inflation and employment goals and consider changes to the policy rate based on how the data evolves.
    Given the current stance of policy, I continue to be concerned that easier financial conditions over the past year may have contributed to the lack of further progress on slowing inflation. In light of the ongoing strength in the economy and with equity prices substantially higher than a year ago, it seems unlikely that the overall level of interest rates and borrowing costs are exerting meaningful restraint.
    I am also closely watching the increase in longer-term Treasury yields since we started the recalibration of our policy stance at the September meeting. Some have interpreted it as a reflection of investors’ concerns about the possibility of tighter-than-expected policy that may be required to address inflationary pressures. In light of these considerations, I continue to prefer a cautious and gradual approach to adjusting policy.
    There is still more work to be done to bring inflation closer to our 2 percent goal. I would like to see progress in lowering inflation resume before we make further adjustments to the target range. We need to keep inflation in focus while the labor market appears to be in balance and the unemployment rate continues to be at historically low levels. By the time of our March meeting, we will have received two inflation and two employment reports. I look forward to reviewing the first quarter inflation data, which, as I noted earlier, will be key to understanding the path of inflation going forward. I do expect that inflation will begin to decline again and that by year-end it will be lower than where it now stands.
    Looking forward, it is important to note that monetary policy is not on a preset course. At each FOMC meeting, my colleagues and I will make our decisions based on the incoming data and the implications for and risks to the outlook and guided by the Fed’s dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices. I will also continue to meet with a broad range of contacts as I assess the appropriateness of our monetary policy stance.
    Bringing inflation in line with our price stability goal is essential for sustaining a healthy labor market and fostering an economy that works for everyone in the longer run.
    Perspective on Mutual and Community BanksTurning to banking, I will start with a brief discussion of the important role of mutual banks in the banking system before addressing other bank regulatory issues. One of the unique characteristics of the U.S. banking system is the broad scope of institutions it includes and the wide range of customers and communities it serves. Given this institutional diversity, regulators must strive to foster a financial system that enables each and every bank, no matter its size, to thrive, supporting a vibrant economy and financial system.
    Mutual Bank IssuesIn the Northeast, everyone is familiar with mutual banks given their significant presence in this region. Since the early 1800s, these banks have been dedicated to serving their local communities.2 Their ownership structure differs from traditional banks in that mutuals are owned by their depositors, rather than by shareholders. Like other community banks, they focus on local issues that are important to their communities and to their depositors.
    Many of the challenges mutual banks face are similar to those faced by other financial institutions, including competition from other banks, credit unions, and non-banks. But mutual banks also face unique issues that can add cost and expense to their operations. Two issues I would like to discuss are the challenges mutual institutions face raising capital, and unique procedural hurdles mutuals face in managing the dividend process. While these issues are unique to mutuals, both highlight the challenges of a lack of transparency, and insufficient focus on efficiency.3
    Just as with other community banks, a challenge for many mutuals is the difficulty of raising additional capital. This difficulty is exacerbated by their ownership structure, which typically requires mutuals to rely heavily on retained earnings. Although mutual institutions have historically been more highly capitalized relative to their stock-owned peers, if a mutual capital raise is needed, it would be helpful to provide some regulatory flexibility in the process. Recently, some mutuals have issued subordinated debt as a form of capital, but another form of regulatory capital may be preferable: mutual capital certificates.
    To date, it has been unclear whether mutual capital certificates qualify as regulatory capital. These instruments could provide mutual banks an additional way to raise capital without disrupting their mutual structure. In my view, the banking agencies should be receptive to these kinds of instruments to ensure that mutual banks can both raise capital and maintain their depositor-owned structure. Mutuals need clarity and transparency about the regulatory treatment of these instruments and whether they qualify as regulatory capital.
    Another concern for mutuals is the annual requirement to receive regulatory approval for a mutual holding company’s waiver of a dividend issued by its subsidiary bank.4 The Board practice is to require a mutual holding company to submit an application each year to implement a waiver. This prior approval requirement is complex and imposes significant costs on these small institutions, reducing the investment they can make in their communities. Because of the time and expense of these waiver requirements, it is possible that the inefficiencies of the required application process erode the value of a mutual holding company structure, which would further constrain a mutual bank’s ability to raise capital.
    Since the Board has nearly 20 years of experience considering these waiver requests, it seems appropriate to consider whether the applications process for these waivers is efficient. What lessons have we learned? Is the prior approval requirement effective in its review of holding companies waiving receipt of their dividends, or can this be resolved in a more efficient and cost effective manner? In my view, the Board should consider whether this process is effective and efficient in addressing concerns related to dividend waivers.
    Mutual banks, like all community banks, are vital to the economic success of their communities. It is critical that our applications process not act as a limit on a particular type of institution simply due to regulatory inaction or lack of clarity and transparency. Regulators must find efficient and effective ways to support a vibrant and diverse banking system that enables these and other small institutions to thrive while supporting and investing in their local economy.
    TailoringTransparency and efficiency are just two of the necessary components of a regulatory approach that promotes a healthy and vibrant banking system. Another component that I speak about frequently is the use of “tailoring” in the regulatory framework. For those familiar with my philosophy on bank regulation and supervision, my interest and focus on tailoring will come as no surprise.5 In its most basic form, it is difficult to disagree with the virtue of regulatory and supervisory tailoring—calibrating the requirements and expectations imposed on a firm based on its size, business model, risk profile, and complexity—as a reasonable, appropriate and responsible approach for bank regulation and supervision. In fact, tailoring is embedded in the statutory fabric of the Federal Reserve’s bank regulatory responsibilities.6
    The bank regulatory framework inherently includes significant costs—both the cost of operating the banking agencies, and the cost to the banking industry of complying with regulations, the examination process, and supplying information to regulators both through formal information collections and through one-off requests. In the aggregate, these costs can ultimately affect the price and availability of credit, geographic access to banking services, and the broader economy. The cost of this framework—both to regulators and to the industry—reflects layers of policy decisions over many years. But this framework could be more effective in balancing the mandate to promote safety and soundness with the need to have a banking system that promotes economic growth.
    For example, let’s consider costs. As regulatory and supervisory demands grow, there is often parallel growth in the staff and budgets of the banking agencies. We should not only be cognizant of these costs, but we should act in a way that requires efficiency while ensuring safety and soundness. Some degree of elasticity in regulator capacity is necessary to respond to evolving economic and banking conditions, as well as emerging risks, but there must be reasonable constraints on growth. Expansion of the regulatory framework is not a cost-free endeavor, and the costs are shouldered by taxpayers, banks, and, ultimately, bank customers.
    The bank regulatory framework has great potential to provide significant benefits, including supporting an innovative banking system that enhances trust and confidence in our institutions, and promotes safety and soundness. When we consider the benefits and the costs, we can institute greater efficiencies in both banking regulation and in the banking industry itself. The bank regulatory framework is complex, and the various elements of this framework are intended to work in a complementary way. As banks evolve—by growing larger, or by engaging in new activities—tailoring can help us to quickly recalibrate requirements in light of the new risks posed by the firm.
    But the regulatory framework, especially how supervisors prioritize its application to the banking industry, can pose a serious threat to a bank’s viability. For example, imposing the same regulatory requirements on banks with assets of $2 billion to $2 trillion under the new rules implementing the Community Reinvestment Act demonstrated a missed opportunity to promote greater effectiveness and efficiency.7 I question the wisdom of applying the same evaluation standards to banks within such a broad range.
    Likewise, supervisory guidance can provide fertile ground to differentiate supervisory expectations under a more tailored approach. While supervisory guidance is not binding on banks as a legal matter, it can signal how regulators think about particular risks and activities, and often drives community banks to reallocate resources in a way that may not be necessary or appropriate. The Fed’s guidance on third-party risk management is an example of this. Originally, this guidance was published in a way that applied to all banks, including community banks. Yet, it was acknowledged even at the time of publication that it had known shortcomings, particularly in terms of its administration and lack of clarity for community banks.8
    Tailoring is important for all banks, but it is particularly important for community banks. There are real costs not only to banks, but to communities, when the framework is insufficiently tailored, as community banks faced with excessive regulatory burdens may be forced to raise prices or shut their doors completely. These banks often reach unbanked or underbanked corners of the U.S. economy, not only in terms of the customers they serve but also in terms of their geographic footprint. We are all familiar with banking deserts and the challenges many legitimate and law-abiding businesses and consumers have in accessing basic banking services and credit. It is difficult to imagine that a system with far fewer banks would as effectively serve U.S. banking and credit needs and sufficiently to support economic growth.
    It is imperative that we keep the benefits of tailoring in focus as the bank regulatory framework evolves. A tailored regulatory and supervisory approach can help inform our policies on a wide range of industry issues that are likely to emerge in the coming years.
    Problem-Based SolutionsOne of the most difficult challenges on the regulatory front is prioritization, both for banks managing their businesses and for regulators deciding how to fulfill their responsibilities. At a basic level, the role of regulators is dictated by statute. Congress granted the Federal Reserve and other banking agencies broad statutory powers but has constrained how those powers may be directed through the use of statutory mandates, including to promote a safe and sound banking system, and broader U.S. financial stability. In the execution of these responsibilities, the Federal Reserve must also balance the need to act in a way that enables the banking system to serve the U.S. economy and promote economic growth. While these objectives are not incompatible, they do require us to consider tradeoffs when establishing policy.
    How can regulators best meet these responsibilities? As many of you may already know, I strongly believe in a pragmatic approach to policymaking.9 This requires us to identify the problem we are trying to solve, determine whether we are the appropriate regulator to address the problem based on our statutory mandates and authorities, and explore options for addressing the identified issue.
    As a first step, we must be attuned to the banking system and how regulatory actions affect that system. We oversee a wide range of banks of varying sizes, activities, affiliates, and complexity. These banks interact with a range of service providers, financial market utilities, payments providers, and non-bank partners, regularly competing with non-bank financial intermediaries. The banking system can be a key driver of business formation, economic expansion, and opportunity.
    As we look at the banking system, including the regulatory framework, we must focus on those issues that are most important to advancing statutory priorities. There is always the risk of misidentification and mis-prioritization, and that we fail to take appropriately robust action on key issues or focus on issues that are less material to a bank’s safety and soundness. Our goal should be to develop a better filter to promote appropriate and effective prioritization.
    FraudWe have seen several instances where this filter did not produce appropriate results, as we have recently seen with fraud. The incidence of fraud, particularly check fraud, has been rising substantially over the past few years, causing harm to banks, damaging the perceived safety of the banking system, and importantly hurting consumers who are the victims of fraudulent activity. Sometimes these efforts target vulnerable populations, like the elderly, who are particularly susceptible to certain forms of fraud.
    Despite this known problem, efforts by regulators have been frustratingly slow to advance, and seem to have done little to address the underlying root causes of this increase in fraud. Why has this important issue failed to garner greater attention from all of the appropriate regulatory and law enforcement bodies? Different governmental agencies may share an important role in addressing this problem, but the need for a joint and coordinated solution does not excuse collective inaction.
    Climate-Related Financial RiskOf course, not every issue falls within the scope of the Federal Reserve’s responsibilities. Even when policymakers identify an issue or priority that they would like to pursue, it is imperative to ask whether that priority falls within the scope of our mandate and authorities. Statutes and regulations, paired with the “soft” power of examination, can be deployed in ways that may not be primarily directed towards the priorities mandated for banking regulators. I’ve noted previously that the banking agencies’ climate-related financial risk guidance arguably pushes the boundaries of appropriate regulatory responsibilities. Banks have long been required to manage all material risks, including weather- and climate-related risks. And while this additional guidance seemed to do little to advance the goals of promoting the safe and sound operation of banks it, in effect, posed significant risks of influencing credit allocation decisions. Ultimately, banking regulators should not dictate credit allocation decisions, either by rule or through supervision. Bank regulatory policy should be used to address the needs of the unbanked and expand the availability of banking services. It should not be used to limit or exclude access to banking services for legitimate customers and businesses in a way that is meant to further unrelated policy goals, sometimes referred to as “de-banking.”
    Once we have identified problems and determined that they are within the Fed’s responsibility, we must consider alternative approaches to address them, focusing on identifying efficient solutions. New technologies and services often require novel regulatory and supervisory approaches, and we recognize that past approaches may not be effective. Often regulators take a “more is better” approach to regulation and guidance. Over the past several years, the banking industry has faced an onslaught of proposed and final regulations and guidance, materials that require a significant time commitment to review, to comment on, and to implement. Many times, these require changes to policies and procedures or risk management practices.
    It is critical that in our urgency to address issues in the banking system—particularly for community banks—that we consider not just the direct and indirect effects of regulatory action but also this cumulative burden. Community banks are resilient and dedicated to serving their communities, but at some point, the cumulative burden of the bank regulatory framework can adversely affect the availability and pricing of banking services and threaten the ongoing viability of the community bank model. The community banks in this country are important economically and to their communities, and we should strive to support these institutions and their ongoing viability.
    Other Notable Issues and ConcernsIn preparation for today’s event, conference attendees were asked to submit questions in advance. So before concluding my remarks I’d like to address a few of these, since we won’t be able to do a live Q&A session in this virtual format. Thank you for submitting your questions in advance.
    As community bankers, we are deeply invested in supporting the growth and resilience of our local economies. With ongoing regulatory pressures, what specific actions can the Federal Reserve take to ensure smaller institutions like ours remain competitive and capable of delivering the personalized service that our communities depend on?One of the things I think is critical in identifying how to support community banks is listening to the industry—which issues are top-of-mind for you? Being an effective regulator requires a degree of humility, and receptiveness to hearing about issues that affect the business of banking, particularly when there are alternative ways that regulators can better promote safety and soundness, or where regulatory actions have resulted in unintended consequences. At the same time, during my conversations with banks, a few themes have emerged that deserve attention. This will be a non-exclusive list, but hopefully will give you a sense of the types of issues and concerns that I hear about most frequently when talking to community banks.
    First, I think there is room to improve the transparency of regulatory communication. Banks should not be left to guess what regulators think about the permissibility of particular activities, or what parameters and rules should apply to those activities. Uncertainty discourages investments in innovation and the expansion of banking activities, products, and services, and can call into question whether internal processes and procedures are consistent with supervisory expectations. Banks already must confront the challenges of dealing with evolving economic and credit conditions, regulators should not compound these challenges through opaque expectations and standards.
    Second, I think we need to address shortcomings in the processing of banking applications, employing a more nimble and predictable approach specifically in the de novo formation and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) contexts. Today, the process to obtain regulatory approval can be influenced by many factors under a bank’s control—for example, the completeness of the application filed and responsiveness to addressing questions and providing necessary additional information. However, the timeline for application decisions is often uncertain and beyond the bank’s control. This can be due to questions about the minimum amount of capital needed and early-stage supervisory expectations (for a de novo bank), or uncertainty about the competitive effects of a transaction, or the filing of a public comment raising concerns about an application in the M&A context.
    Finally, I think regulatory and supervisory “trickle-down” is real and it has significantly harmed community banks. I am referring to regulators conveying expectations to community banks (for example, during the examination process) that lack a foundation in applicable rules or guidance, or that were designed for larger institutions, or based on a horizontal review of unique banks.
    It is very difficult to insulate community banks from the harmful consequences of “trickle-down,” and broader structural changes may be needed to shield them from inapplicable and unreasonable expectations. At the same time, we must preserve strong supervisory standards as banks cross asset thresholds, so banks that grow larger and riskier are subject to appropriately tailored and calibrated requirements and expectations. I would also note that some degree of “trickle down” has occurred over time because the regulatory asset “line” defining community banks has remained constant at $10 billion in assets for over a decade. During that time, the economy has grown significantly, and inflation has rendered this asset definition obsolete. Many “community banks”—as defined by business model and activities rather than asset size—now exceed the threshold and must comply with broader regulatory requirements that may be excessive.
    What support or guidance can community banks expect from the Federal Reserve as we navigate technological innovation and increased cybersecurity threats?Both innovation and cybersecurity are issues that are top of mind for me. Innovation has always been a priority for banks of all sizes and business models. Banks in the U.S. have a long history of developing and implementing new technologies, and innovation has the potential to make the banking and payments systems faster and more efficient, to bring new products and services to customers, and even to enhance safety and soundness.
    Regulators must be open to innovation in the banking system. Our goal should be to build and support a clear and sensible regulatory framework that anticipates ongoing and evolving innovation—one that allows the private sector to innovate while also maintaining appropriate safeguards. We must promote innovation through transparency and open communication, including demonstrating a willingness to engage during the development process. By providing clarity and consistency, we can encourage long-term business investment, while also continuing to support today’s products and services. A clear regulatory framework would also empower supervisors to focus on safety and soundness, while ensuring a safe and efficient banking and payment system.
    On cybersecurity, banks often note cybersecurity and third-party risk management as areas that raise significant concerns. Cyber-related events, including ransomware attacks and business email compromises, are costly in terms of expense and reputation, and are time-consuming events that pose unique challenges for community banks.
    The maintenance of cyber assets and technology resources required to support a successful cybersecurity program are often difficult for smaller banks. Regulators can promote cybersecurity, and stronger cyber-incident “resilience” and response capabilities by identifying resources and opportunities, such as exercises, for banks to develop “muscle memory” in cyber incident response.
    The Federal Reserve plays an important role in supervising banks and supporting risk management practices. For example, the Federal Reserve hosts the Midwest Cyber Workshop, with the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis.10 Over the past couple of years, this workshop has provided a forum to discuss cyber risk among community bankers, regulators, law enforcement, and other industry stakeholders. Community banks can also turn to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) website, which includes the FFIEC Cybersecurity Resource Guide and links to other external cybersecurity resources.
    We know well that cyber threats pose real risks to the banking system, and we recognize that community banks may have unique needs in preventing, remediating, and responding to cyber threats. Regulators should, therefore, ensure that a range of resources are available to support banks and seek further opportunities to help build bank resilience against these threats.
    Community banks are integral to rural and underserved communities. How can the Federal Reserve support us in maintaining our presence in these areas, particularly amid ongoing consolidation trends?As I noted earlier, it is essential that the U.S. banking system is broad and diverse, including institutions of all sizes serving all the different markets across the country. Community banks play a particularly valuable role in rural and underserved communities, and we need to ensure that the community banking model remains viable into the future.
    To do that, we need to have a regulatory system in which both de novo bank formations and M&A transactions are possible. Viable formation and merger options for banks of all sizes are necessary to avoid creating a “barbell” of the very largest and very smallest banks in the banking system, with the number of community banks continuing to erode over time.
    M&A ensures that banks have a meaningful path to transitioning bank ownership. In the absence of a viable M&A framework, there is potential for additional risks, including limited opportunities for succession planning, especially in smaller or rural communities. Uncertainty related to the M&A process also may act as a deterrent to de novo bank formation, as potential bank founders may stay on the sidelines knowing that future exit strategies—like the strategic acquisition of a de novo bank by a larger peer—may face long odds of success.
    Another challenge particularly in rural markets are the competitive “screens” that are used to evaluate the competitive effects of a proposed merger. Using these screens often results in a finding that M&A transactions in rural markets can have an adverse effect on competition and should therefore be disallowed.11 Even when these transactions are eventually approved, the mechanical approach to analyzing competitive effects often requires additional review or analysis and can lead to extensive delays in the regulatory approval process. Reducing the efficiency of the bank M&A process can be a deterrent to healthy bank transactions—it can reduce the effectiveness of M&A and de novo activity that preserves the presence of community banks in underserved areas, prevent institutions from pursuing prudent growth strategies, and actually undermine competition by preventing firms from growing to a larger scale.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. The first mutual banks in the United States were chartered in 1816. The Provident Institution for Savings and the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society were both chartered that year. See https://www.jstor.org/stable/2123609; https://www.mass.gov/info-details/history-of-the-division-of-banks. Return to text
    3. Michelle W. Bowman, “Reflections on 2024: Monetary Policy, Economic Performance, and Lessons for Banking Regulation” (speech at the California Bankers Association 2025 Bank Presidents Seminar, Laguna Beach, California, January 9, 2025). Return to text
    4. 12 CFR § 239.8(d). Return to text
    5. See, e.g., Michelle W. Bowman, “Tailoring, Fidelity to the Rule of Law, and Unintended Consequences (PDF)” (speech at the Harvard Law School Faculty Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 5, 2024). Return to text
    6. See, Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 115-174, § 401(a)(1) (amending 12 U.S.C. § 5365), 132 Stat. 1296 (2018). Return to text
    7. See dissenting statement, “Statement on the Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule by Governor Michelle W. Bowman,” news release, October 24, 2023. Return to text
    8. See “Statement on Third Party Risk Management Guidance by Governor Michelle W. Bowman,” news release, June 6, 2023. Return to text
    9. Michelle W. Bowman, “Approaching Policymaking Pragmatically (PDF)” (remarks to the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, Florida, November 20, 2024). Return to text
    10. See Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “Midwest Cyber Workshop 2024,” June 25‑26, 2024. Return to text
    11. Michelle W. Bowman, “The Role of Research, Data, and Analysis in Banking Reforms (PDF)” (speech at the 2023 Community Banking Research Conference, St. Louis, MO, October 4, 2023); Michelle W. Bowman, “The New Landscape for Banking Competition (PDF),” (speech at the 2022 Community Banking Research Conference, St. Louis, MO, September 28, 2022). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: Patria Investments Announces Sale of Aguas Pacifico

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Patria Investments Limited (“Patria”) (NASDAQ: PAX), a global alternative asset manager, announced that Patria Infrastructure Fund III (“IS Fund III”) has substantially met the conditions precedent necessary for the sale of Aguas Pacifico, a multi-client water desalination project under construction in Chile, to Patria Infrastructure Fund V (“IS Fund V”) and other investors. The agreement for the transaction was signed in December 2024.

    The sale of this asset is expected to be completed in 1Q25 and will be supported by a number of global investors, including sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors, in addition to IS Fund V, highlighting the long-term attractiveness of this platform.

    The transaction reflects Patria’s long-term commitment to investing across infrastructure sectors in Latin America that address structural bottlenecks and generate positive impact on local economies and populations. Aguas Pacifico is located in Chile’s central region and is positioned for additional growth considering the strong demand and severe water scarcity in the region. It also illustrates the power of Patria’s strategic approach to infrastructure investment in the region, demonstrating our ability to develop and de-risk high-quality assets, partner with global investors, and generate attractive investment returns.

    About Patria Investments
    Crafting attractive returns for its clients and building a legacy in the regions where it operates. Patria is a leading alternative investment firm with over 35 years of history specializing in key resilient sectors. Its unique approach combines the knowledge from macro analysts, investment leaders, operating partners and on the ground team. With over U$44 billion in assets under management and a global presence, it aims to provide consistent returns in attractive long term investment opportunities while creating sustainable value for society.

    Asset Classes: Private Equity, Infrastructure, Credit, Public Equities, Real Estate and Global Private Markets Solutions
    Investment Regions: Latin America, Europe and United States

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “indicator,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “can,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in our periodic filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Media Contact:
    Burson / +44 20 7113 3468 / patria@hillandknowlton.com

    Patria Shareholder Relations:
    +1 917 769 1611 / PatriaShareholderRelations@patria.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Ninepoint Partners Announces Final January 2025 Cash Distribution for Ninepoint Cash Management Fund – ETF Series

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ninepoint Partners LP (“Ninepoint Partners”) today announced the final January 2025 cash distribution for the Ninepoint Cash Management Fund – ETF Series. The record date for the distribution is January 31, 2025. This distribution is payable on February 7, 2025.

    The per-unit final January distribution is detailed below:

    Ninepoint ETF Series Ticker Cash Distribution
    per unit
    Notional Distribution
    per unit
    CUSIP
    Ninepoint Cash Management Fund NSAV $0.14673 $0.00000 65443X105


    About Ninepoint Partners

    Based in Toronto, Ninepoint Partners LP is one of Canada’s leading alternative investment management firms overseeing approximately $7 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set of alternative strategies spanning Equities, Fixed Income, Alternative Income, Real Assets, F/X and Digital Assets

    For more information on Ninepoint Partners LP, please visit www.ninepoint.com or for inquiries regarding the offering, please contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or invest@ninepoint.com.

    Ninepoint Partners LP is the investment manager to the Ninepoint Funds (collectively, the “Funds”). Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, performance fees (if any), and other expenses all may be associated with investing in the Funds. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer or solicitation by anyone in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Prospective investors who are not resident in Canada should contact their financial advisor to determine whether securities of the Fund may be lawfully sold in their jurisdiction.

    Please note that distribution factors (breakdown between income, capital gains and return of capital) can only be calculated when a fund has reached its year-end. Distribution information should not be relied upon for income tax reporting purposes as this is only a component of total distributions for the year. For accurate distribution amounts for the purpose of filing an income tax return, please refer to the appropriate T3/T5 slips for that particular taxation year. Please refer to the prospectus or offering memorandum of each Fund for details of the Fund’s distribution policy.

    The payment of distributions and distribution breakdown, if applicable, is not guaranteed and may fluctuate. The payment of distributions should not be confused with a Fund’s performance, rate of return, or yield. If distributions paid by the Fund are greater than the performance of the Fund, then an investor’s original investment will shrink. Distributions paid as a result of capital gains realized by a Fund and income and dividends earned by a Fund are taxable in the year they are paid. An investor’s adjusted cost base will be reduced by the amount of any returns of capital. If an investor’s adjusted cost base goes below zero, then capital gains tax will have to be paid on the amount below zero.

    Sales Inquiries:

    Ninepoint Partners LP
    Neil Ross
    416-945-6227
    nross@ninepoint.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: South Africa’s debt has skyrocketed – new rules are needed to manage it

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Robert Botha, Research Fellow at the Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab. The Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab is a unit of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), Stellenbosch University

    South Africa’s fiscal trajectory paints a concerning picture. Public expenditure exceeds revenue. As a result sovereign debt is building up and interest on this debt is increasing.

    This raises concerns over the South African government’s financial sustainability. The debt-to-GDP ratio has skyrocketed from 23.6% in 2008/09 to a projected 74.7% in 2024/25. The International Monetary Fund has recommended that, over the long term, South Africa should reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio to 60% of GDP, in line with that of peers.

    Arguably more important than the debt level is how quickly debt has accumulated. Debt servicing costs, which consist of the interest on government debt and other costs directly associated with borrowing, have been the fastest-growing line item in the national budget. Rising interest payments have been crowding out critical expenditures on services such as health, education and infrastructure.

    As I argue in a recently published report titled “A fiscal anchor for South Africa: Avoiding the mistakes of the past”, establishing a credible fiscal anchor (or fiscal rule) could be step towards avoiding a debt spiral and regaining fiscal sustainability and credibility.

    Fiscal rules are constraints on fiscal policy, designed to impose numerical limits. For example, a limit on the allowable debt-to-GDP ratio, or the allowable balance after accounting for government expenditure and revenue. Fiscal rules are widely used – 105 countries have adopted them so far.

    Failing to address the country’s fiscal challenges risks plunging South Africa into a debt trap. This happens when a country finds it difficult to escape a cycle of debt and has to borrow more to pay off old debt. If debt-servicing costs continue to rise, essential public services will come under even greater strain.

    Several emerging markets have experienced the severe consequences of unchecked debt accumulation and debt servicing costs. Argentina is one example. Without a credible plan to stabilise and reduce debt and debt servicing costs, the risk of economic stagnation and financial instability grows quickly.

    Fiscal erosion and credibility concerns

    The roots of South Africa’s current predicament lie in years of mistakes. These include:

    • spending beyond its means

    • questionable political decisions like bailing out state-owned entities

    • poor governance and oversight at municipal and local government level, which led to inefficient public spending.

    These factors were underpinned by an underperforming economy, unrealised forecasts and arguably weak institutional checks.

    For the last 15 years South Africa’s National Treasury has undertaken to stabilise the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio. This would have required keeping the ratio constant. But these commitments have consistently been deferred. Debt stabilisation targets have been revised upwards 13 times, from 40% in 2015/16 to the current 75.5%. The stabilisation year has been pushed back 10 times, from the initial year of 2015/16 to the current target of 2025/26. This has created a perception of inconsistent policy.

    Over-optimistic macroeconomic forecasting has undermined credibility. Over the last ten years, GDP growth projections have routinely overshot actual performance by an average of 0.5 percentage points in the first year of forecasts and even more in subsequent years. In defence of the National Treasury, the South African economy has performed worse than more forecasters expected in recent years.

    Adding to the fiscal strain are rising social expenditures, the public sector wage bill and repeated bailouts of state-owned enterprises. This spending relieves short-term political and social pressures, but undermines the country’s long-term fiscal health.

    Without credible mechanisms to constrain spending, South Africa’s fiscal framework lacks the discipline needed to ensure sustainability, and to restore credibility.

    Why fiscal rules matter

    Fiscal rules are there to promote discipline, ensure that debt can be paid and enhance credibility. The experience in the 105 countries that have adopted them suggests that strong, well-designed rules can signal a government’s commitment to fiscal prudence.

    It’s difficult to establish whether there is a causal relationship between fiscal rules and fiscal performance. But there’s at least a correlation. As a practical example of enforcing fiscal rules, in November 2023, the German constitutional court overruled a budget that was passed in the Bundestag but breached Germany’s fiscal rules.

    However, fiscal rules are not a panacea. Poorly designed or inadequately enforced rules can make the problems worse. For South Africa, this risk is acute.

    Political commitment and strong institutional frameworks are needed too. Also, a shift in how fiscal policy is conceived and implemented.

    Designing new rules

    Drawing lessons from global best practices, South Africa’s fiscal rules must be enforceable, flexible and simple. A well-designed rule should:

    • stabilise and eventually reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio

    • target government spending as a share of GDP, emphasising consumption spending like salaries and goods and services, rather than capital expenditure

    • have political buy-in

    • be overseen independently

    • be legally binding and enforceable.

    Context

    South Africa’s low economic growth rate is a complication. Average interest rates on government debt are higher than the nominal GDP growth rate. But reining in spending too much could stifle growth, creating a vicious cycle.

    That’s why stabilising debt first would make more sense than aiming to reduce debt too rapidly.

    South Africa’s fiscal rules must also have some flexibility. For instance, they could allow for shocks such as natural disasters or global economic crises.

    Fiscal rules could follow a phased approach to initially focus on stabilising debt, and then to move towards reducing debt. Both of these phases would entail expenditure rules to guide annual budget processes and to place limits on spending.

    The benefits

    Credible fiscal rules could have a number of benefits.

    Firstly, they could improve South Africa’s credibility by signalling to markets and international institutions that South Africa is committed to fiscal discipline.

    Secondly, fiscal credibility is associated with reduced sovereign risk premiums, which translates into lower debt-servicing costs. In turn this would free up resources for critical development priorities.

    Third, they can foster a more stable economic environment for investment and growth.

    Fourth, they would help coordinate policies. South Africa enjoys rule-based monetary policy in the form of inflation targeting but lacks the same for fiscal policy. This can lead to sub-optimal outcomes. For example, the central bank can keep interest rates too high, not necessarily because it thinks the treasury’s policies are inflationary, but because it cannot predict the treasury’s actions.

    The way forward

    Adopting fiscal rules in South Africa comes with risks. Weak institutional capacity, especially in oversight bodies like the Parliamentary Budget Office, could undermine rule enforcement.

    To shield against these risks, South Africa should have stronger institutions. It could create an independent statutory fiscal council, possibly falling under Parliament, the National Treasury or as an independent constitutional advisory body.

    Oversight bodies would also need to build their capacity.

    Robert Botha is a Research Fellow at the Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab. The Impumelelo Economic Growth Lab is a unit of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER)

    ref. South Africa’s debt has skyrocketed – new rules are needed to manage it – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-debt-has-skyrocketed-new-rules-are-needed-to-manage-it-248355

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI: POET Engaged by Global Financial Services Leader to Develop Custom Optical Engine

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — POET Technologies Inc. (“POET” or the “Company“) (TSX Venture: PTK; NASDAQ: POET), a leader in the design and implementation of highly-integrated optical engines and light sources for Artificial Intelligence networks, announces that it has signed an agreement to develop a novel optical engine for use in a high-frequency securities trading operation for a global capital markets firm. High-frequency trading (“HFT”) is a type of automated trading that uses powerful computers to execute a large number of trades in fractions of a second.

    The multi-phase project is a pioneering effort to increase the speed and decrease the latency inherent in current transceiver solutions utilized by securities trading operations. The first phase of the project will begin immediately with POET designing prototypes of POET Optical Interposer–based transceiver engines built to meet the customer’s specification. Subsequent phases include building additional prototypes and, if successful, production optical engines customized for this application.

    “We are delighted to have embarked on this ambitious project with a global leader in HFT,” commented Raju Kankipati, Chief Revenue Officer of POET. “This project generates revenue for POET this year and demonstrates the versatility of the POET Optical Interposer and the entry into a new, related market space by the Company.”

    About POET Technologies Inc.
    POET is a design and development company offering high-speed optical modules, optical engines and light source products to the artificial intelligence systems market and to hyperscale data centers. POET’s photonic integration solutions are based on the POET Optical Interposer™, a novel, patented platform that allows the seamless integration of electronic and photonic devices into a single chip using advanced wafer-level semiconductor manufacturing techniques. POET’s Optical Interposer-based products are lower cost, consume less power than comparable products, are smaller in size and are readily scalable to high production volumes. In addition to providing high-speed (800G, 1.6T and above) optical engines and optical modules for AI clusters and hyperscale data centers, POET has designed and produced novel light source products for chip-to-chip data communication within and between AI servers, the next frontier for solving bandwidth and latency problems in AI systems. POET’s Optical Interposer platform also solves device integration challenges in 5G networks, machine-to-machine communication, self-contained “Edge” computing applications and sensing applications, such as LIDAR systems for autonomous vehicles. POET is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with operations in Allentown, PA, Shenzhen, China, and Singapore. More information about POET is available on our website at www.poet-technologies.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This news release contains “forward-looking information” (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws) and “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such statements or information are identified with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “propose”, “project”, “outlook”, “foresee” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding any potential outcome. Such statements include the Company’s expectations with respect to the success of the Company’s product development efforts, the performance of its products, operations, meeting revenue targets, and the expectation of continued success in the financing efforts, the capability, functionality, performance and cost of the Company’s technology as well as the market acceptance, inclusion and timing of the Company’s technology in current and future products and expectations regarding its successful development of high-frequency trading solutions and its penetration of the Artificial Intelligence hardware markets.

    Such forward-looking information or statements are based on a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results or other expectations to differ materially from those anticipated and which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the completion of its development efforts with its securities trading partner, the ability to build working prototypes to the customer’s specifications, and the size, future growth and needs of Artificial Intelligence network suppliers. Actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, the failure to produce working prototypes on time and within budget, the failure of Artificial Intelligence networks to continue to grow as expected, the failure of the Company’s products to meet performance requirements for AI and datacom networks, operational risks in the completion of the Company’s projects, the ability of the Company to generate sales for its products, and the ability of its customers to deploy systems that incorporate the Company’s products. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information or statements are reasonable, prospective investors in the Company’s securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because the Company can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release are as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise this forward-looking information and statements except as required by law.

    Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
    120 Eglinton Avenue, East, Suite 1107, Toronto, ON, M4P 1E2- Tel: 416-368-9411 – Fax: 416-322-5075

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Polish Presidency debriefs EP committees on priorities

    Source: European Parliament

    Poland holds the Presidency of the Council until the end of June 2025. This text will be updated regularly as the hearings take place.

    Environment, Climate and Food Safety

    On 23 January, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Minister of Climate and Environment, highlighted the need for climate adaptation measures, combating climate disinformation, and to advance key legislative files such as the waste framework directive on textiles and food, the European soil monitoring law, and the “One Substance, One Assessment” chemicals package. The Presidency also plans to secure agreement with Parliament on plastic pellet losses, water pollutants, and detergents rules.

    MEPs asked about the Presidency’s stance on the new emissions trading system ETS II, the 2040 emissions target, renewable energy, and soil monitoring. They also debated the impact of climate regulations on competitiveness, and raised concerns about agricultural pollution and the role of genomic technologies.

    Security and defence

    On 27 January, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Paweł Zalewski said the Presidency’s first priority is to strengthen EU support for Ukraine by using all the tools at the EU’s disposal, including the European Peace Facility and the profits from frozen Russian assets or loans guaranteed from Moscow. He also highlighted the need to reinforce the EU’s defence industries by ensuring adequate financing as well as deepening EU-U.S. cooperation, including between the EU and NATO.

    MEPs quizzed Mr Zalewski on several issues, including the EU’s role in possible future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, developing an EU defence pillar, reforming the EU Investment Bank to allow for more investment in the defence sector and establishing viable “European champions” (i.e. large corporations) in the defence sector.

    Women’s rights and gender equality

    On 28 January, Minister for Equality Katarzyna Kotula emphasised enhancing digital security for women and girls, particularly in the context of the rapid development of AI, as a Presidency priority. She pledged to follow up on the Digital Services Act to make sure that AI accelerates rather than undermines gender equality. The Presidency is also determined to advance the work on the Anti-discrimination Directive.

    MEPS welcomed her commitment on strengthening the digital protection of women and girls, particularly concerning deepfakes, revenge porn and hate speech. They also raised women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, the protection of LGBTQI+ communities, the challenges faced by ageing women and the prospect for an EU-wide definition of rape including the notion of consent.

    Internal market and consumer protection

    On 28 January, Economic Development and Technology Minister Krzysztof Paszyk focused on the need to eliminate the remaining barriers in the single market, as well as highlighting issues around security, competitiveness, and reducing red tape. The Presidency will look for a compromise on the e-declaration of posted workers file, on late payments, and on the travel package proposals. They will also, he said, try to reach political agreements on toy safety, the Green Claims Directive and on the alternative dispute resolution file.

    On digital policy, Secretary of State, Ministry of Digitalisation Dariusz Standerski outlined plans for an informal meeting on cybersecurity to focus on defence, the application of the Artificial Intelligence Act, and new initiatives on AI factories and the “AI Apply Strategy”. On customs, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Finance Małgorzata Krok stated the Presidency’s intention was to reach a common position in the Council on the reform of the Union Customs Code.

    MEPs asked about reducing reporting obligations, e-declarations of posted workers, the implementation of digital services act and the AI Act, including in the context of EU-US relations. Several members wanted to hear more about cutting red tape, unblocking progress on late payments, and the need for an AI liability act. Questions also focused on issues around unfair trading practices, single market on defence and climate disinformation.

    Fisheries

    On 28 January, Jacek Czerniak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which includes fisheries, identified improving EU fisheries competitiveness and defending EU interests in regional fisheries organisations and international agreements as Presidency priorities. Poland will also launch discussions on the review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and start negotiations to introduce measures against non-EU countries that allow unsustainable fishing practices.

    MEPs questioned Mr Czerniak on addressing the critical state of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, in addition to issues of security and reducing the complexity of regulations. Others supported a reform of the CFP to better balance the interests of the fishery sector with the EU’s environmental goals. MEPs also argued that trade policies should be aligned with fisheries policies.

    Employment and social affairs

    On 28 January, Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk and Minister of Senior Policy Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz said the Presidency would focus on the future of employment in the digital transformation, a Europe of equality, cohesion and inclusion, and the challenges prompted by the EU’s aging population.

    MEPs quizzed the ministers on their plans for the regulation on the coordination of social security systems, emphasising the importance of finalising negotiations on the file. They also raised the impact of AI in the workplace, and the importance of addressing demographic issues in the EU. MEPs also raised the importance of social dialogue, upcoming negotiations on European Work Councils, and the expected Commission initiative on the “Right to Disconnect”.

    Transport and tourism

    On 29 January, Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure, said the Presidency will focus on resilience and competitiveness in the transport sector, the protection of transport operators, dual use infrastructure, and military mobility. He committed to reaching a deal with Parliament on new railway infrastructure, road and maritime safety rules as well advancing negotiations on air passenger rights rules that have been stalled in the Council since 2013. Piotr Borys, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism added that the Presidency will focus on making Europe a safe and more popular destination for tourism despite Russia’s war in Ukraine and the challenges posed by climate change.

    MEPs asked the Presidency to secure adequate financing for transport policies within the next EU long-term budget, and want them to secure a Council position on the maximum weights and dimensions directive, and address labour shortages and working conditions in all transport modes. Completing Trans-European transport networks, developing high speed rail, and ensuring connectivity for Europe’s islands were also raised.

    Constitutional affairs

    On 29 January, Minister for European Affairs Adam Szłapka said the Presidency wants to promote institutional reforms, stressing at the same time that EU Treaties could prove difficult to revise. The Presidency wants to complete work on the new rules on European political parties and foundations and the electoral rights of mobile citizens. They will work on the transparency of interest representation and on the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Most MEPs asked questions about the need to reform the EU’s institutional architecture, especially in light of imminent enlargement, with many of them highlighting the need to overcome what they saw as the obstacle of unanimity in key policy areas either through Treaty revision or using existing rules. Some called for progress on Parliament’s right of initiative, its right of inquiry, and rules on European elections.

    Agriculture and Rural Development

    On 29 January, Czesław Siekierski, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the Council will discuss the future shape of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) beyond 2027. The Presidency wants to simplify the green architecture of the CAP and assess the impact of current EU trade agreements on agriculture.

    Questions from MEPs focused on ensuring fair income for farmers and adapting the CAP to the future enlargement of the EU. A number of MEPs also asked about the position of the Presidency on the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and stressed the need to invest in European food sovereignty.

    International trade

    On 29 January, Krzysztof Paszyk, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, said the Presidency will continue working on ambitious, sustainable and mutually profitable trade agreements. He hopes to finalise the legislation on the screening of foreign direct investment and resume talks on the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme, the EU’s preferential trade arrangement with developing countries. On Ukraine, Mr Paszyk said support for Ukraine remains steadfast, while the Presidency prefers not to extend the current temporary trade liberalisation measures with the country, but rather reach a new agreement.

    MEPs asked about possible timelines for the adoption of trade deals with Mercosur and Mexico, possible shift in US trade policy as well as on trade with Ukraine and safeguards for the agricultural market. Some MEPs argued that GSP should not be a migration tool, others demanded a clear link between migration and the scheme.

    Industry, Research and Energy

    On 29 January, Minister of Economics, Development and Technology, Krzysztof Paszyk said the Presidency’s priorities include boosting Europe’s industrial competitiveness with a new instrument and advancing the Clean Industry Act to support businesses, address high energy prices, and cut red tape and tax burdens for SMEs. They also plan to maximize the use of spaceimaging and AI algorithms for crisis management, and improve cooperation during natural disasters.

    During the debate, MEPs stressed the need to support innovative businesses through a unified capital market, and to combine environmental policies with industrial policies to achieve the ecological transition. Others focused on the importance of transatlantic relations and the need to secure European tech sovereignty.

    Dariusz Stenderski, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Digital Affairs, said that his key focus areas would be cyber security, with a revised blueprint for coordinated EU response to cyber attacks and an informal Council on its civilian and military aspects.He also referred to the boosting of AI development through shared investment and simplified rules to support startups.

    On 30 January Marcin Kulasek, Minister of Science and Higher Education, outlined three main focus areas: openness and inclusivity, synergies between EU and national programs, and AI and science.He stressed the need to develop EU cooperation networks without losing top talents, and the value of synergies between EU and national research programs.

    MEPs called for the full implementation of the 5G toolbox and for the simplification of administrative procedures to foster innovation. Others highlighted the need to improve EU cooperation in research and innovation, retain top talent, and ensure an inclusive access to funds. The discussions also covered the need for ethical standards in AI, a strong support for scientists, as well as academic freedom and the free flow of scientific knowledge.

    Culture, Education, Youth and Sport

    On 30 January, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said the Presidency wants to include young people – as part of a new cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue – in EU-level debates and projects to strengthen EU values of democracy, freedom and rule of law, thereby making them more resilient against the risk of disinformation and manipulation. Providing better support to teachers is also a priority, she said, and EU education ministers will gather in May to discuss what they can do to improve this.

    The Presidency wants to advance work on the “European degree” – a degree awarded jointly by several universities in different EU countries – by adopting a roadmap to implement it. A European quality assurance system to guarantee trust among universities and improve the recognition of higher education diplomas will also be discussed, Minister of Science and High Education Marcin Kulasek said.

    Culture Minister Hanna Wróblewska said the Presidency will present proposals to support young artists and creators, and will launch discussions on the future of the Creative Europe programme beyond 2027. Audiovisual and intellectual property rights, security and AI, and a possible revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive are also among the Presidency’s priorities, she said.

    Piotr Borys, Secretary of State of Sport, will focus on pushing EU countries to better promote sport in schools, address mental health, and adopt a common methodology to gather statistics on sport.

    MEPs questioned the ministers on countering Russian disinformation under the European Media Freedom Act, as well as on delays in the creation of the European degree, pleading for EU-wide recognition of diplomas, including Erasmus+ and vocational education training. MEPs also raised concerns about possible reductions in Erasmus+ funding, which ensures the financial sustainability of the European Education Area, which in turn is essential for the “Union of Skills”.

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis to visit Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil

    Source: Switzerland – Federal Administration in English

    Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will visit Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil from 3 to 7 February 2025. As part of its Americas Strategy 2022–25, Switzerland aims to strengthen its political relations with the countries of the Americas in the areas of foreign policy, the economy, innovation and culture. The agenda for the trip includes the finalisation of the EFTA-Mercosur free trade agreement, Switzerland’s economic interests, and bilateral relations between Switzerland and these three Latin American countries.

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Nuclear energy in the European Union – E-000320/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000320/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Dolors Montserrat (PPE), Antonio López-Istúriz White (PPE), Raúl de la Hoz Quintano (PPE), Rosa Estaràs Ferragut (PPE), Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez (PPE), Carmen Crespo Díaz (PPE), Maravillas Abadía Jover (PPE), Borja Giménez Larraz (PPE), Adrián Vázquez Lázara (PPE), Susana Solís Pérez (PPE), Pilar del Castillo Vera (PPE), Nicolás Pascual de la Parte (PPE), Esteban González Pons (PPE), Gabriel Mato (PPE), Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE), Isabel Benjumea Benjumea (PPE), Elena Nevado del Campo (PPE), Pablo Arias Echeverría (PPE), Alma Ezcurra Almansa (PPE), Fernando Navarrete Rojas (PPE), Esther Herranz García (PPE), Javier Zarzalejos (PPE)

    There are currently five nuclear power plants in Spain that generate around 20 % of the country’s electricity. Despite the significant contribution of these power plants to the national energy mix, the Spanish Government has adopted measures to gradually decommission all nuclear power plants by 2035. This goal was established in Spain’s national and energy climate plan (NECP) with the aim of halving nuclear generation capacity by 2030.

    In contrast, the European Union has made significant steps in supporting nuclear energy. In February 2022, the Commission included nuclear energy in the green taxonomy and, in February 2024, it described nuclear energy as ‘strategic’. In addition, a recent assessment of the NECPs showed that nine countries will extend the operating life of power plants, eleven will develop new nuclear projects and ten are opting for small modular reactors.

    In light of the above:

    • 1.Does the Commission view nuclear energy as contributing positively to the objectives of decarbonisation and ensuring energy security?
    • 2.Has the Commission recommended that any specific Member State decommission its nuclear power plants?
    • 3.How many Member States have notified the Commission of their intention to decommission their nuclear power plants from 2025?

    Submitted: 24.1.2025

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI: Brookfield Business Partners Reports 2024 Year End Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BROOKFIELD, News, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE: BBU, BBUC; TSX: BBU.UN, BBUC) announced today financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024.

    “Our business had another successful year in 2024. We generated over $2 billion from our capital recycling initiatives, acquired two market-leading operations and achieved solid financial results,” said Anuj Ranjan, CEO of Brookfield Business Partners. “The enhanced strength of our balance sheet and substantial liquidity provides us optionality to meaningfully advance our capital allocation priorities with a focus on increasing the intrinsic value of our business for our unitholders.”

           
      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
    US$ millions (except per unit amounts), unaudited   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net income (loss) attributable to Unitholders1 $ (438 )   $ 1,423     $ (109 )   $ 1,405  
    Net income (loss) per limited partnership unit2 $ (2.02 )   $ 6.57     $ (0.50 )   $ 6.49  
               
    Adjusted EBITDA3 $ 653     $ 608     $ 2,565     $ 2,491  
                                   

    Net loss attributable to Unitholders for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $109 million (loss of $0.50 per limited partnership unit) compared to net income of $1,405 million ($6.49 per limited partnership unit) in the prior year. Net loss attributable to Unitholders includes a one-time non-cash expense at our healthcare services operation, combined with provisions at our construction operation. Prior year included net gains primarily related to the sale of our nuclear technology services operation.

    Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $2,565 million compared to $2,491 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, reflecting improved performance of operations and tax benefits recorded at our advanced energy storage operation. Prior year results included $308 million of contribution from operations which have been sold.

    Operational Update

    The following table presents Adjusted EBITDA by segment:

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
    US$ millions, unaudited   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Industrials $ 306     $ 222     $ 1,247     $ 855  
    Business Services   217       227       832       900  
    Infrastructure Services   160       184       606       853  
    Corporate and Other   (30 )     (25 )     (120 )     (117 )
    Adjusted EBITDA $ 653     $ 608     $ 2,565     $ 2,491  

    Our Industrials segment generated Adjusted EBITDA of $1,247 million in 2024, compared to $855 million in 2023. Current year results included $371 million of tax benefits at our advanced energy storage operation. Strong underlying performance at our advanced energy storage operation and growing contribution from water and wastewater services offset reduced performance at our engineered components manufacturing operation due to weak market conditions. Prior year results included contribution from disposed operations including our Canadian aggregates production operation which was sold in June 2024.

    Our Business Services segment generated Adjusted EBITDA of $832 million in 2024, compared to $900 million in 2023. Strong performance at our residential mortgage insurer was primarily offset by the impact of a cyber incident at our dealer software and technology services operation and reduced performance at our construction and healthcare services operations during the year. Prior year results included contribution from our road fuels operation which was sold in July 2024.

    Our Infrastructure Services segment generated Adjusted EBITDA of $606 million in 2024, compared to $853 million in 2023. Prior year results included $236 million of contribution from our nuclear technology services operation which was sold in November 2023. Current year results benefited from improved performance of offshore oil services, offset by reduced contribution at work access services.

    The following table presents Adjusted EFO4 by segment:

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
    US$ millions, unaudited   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Adjusted EFO          
    Industrials $ 193     $ 115     $ 935     $ 492  
    Business Services   142       181       641       636  
    Infrastructure Services   78       1,790       287       2,070  
    Corporate and Other   (83 )     (77 )     (331 )     (335 )

    Adjusted EFO for the year ended December 31, 2024 included $306 million in net gains primarily related to the dispositions of our road fuels operation and Canadian aggregates production operation, the sale of public securities and the deconsolidation of our payment processing services operation. Infrastructure Services Adjusted EFO reflected the impact of the prior year disposition of our nuclear technology services operation. Prior year results included $2,006 million in after-tax net gains primarily related to the sale of our nuclear technology services operation.

    Strategic Initiatives

    • Advanced Energy Storage Operation
      In January, our advanced energy storage operation raised $5 billion of new first lien debt – $4.5 billion of the proceeds are not required in the business and therefore were used to fund a special distribution to owners, of which Brookfield Business Partners’ share was approximately $1.2 billion. This represented a multiple of 1.5x of our initial equity investment and we still own our entire share of the business.
    • Offshore Oil Services
      In January, we completed the previously announced sale of our offshore oil services’ shuttle tanker operation. Cash proceeds to Brookfield Business Partners for the sale of its interest after the repayment of debt are expected to be approximately $250 million.
    • Unit Repurchase Program and Capital Deployment
      We are allocating up to $250 million of capital to accelerate the repurchase of Brookfield Business Partners’ securities under our existing and future normal course issuer bids (NCIB).

      In January, we completed the acquisition of Chemelex, a leading manufacturer of electric heat tracing systems, through a carve-out from a larger industrial company for total enterprise value of $1.7 billion. Brookfield Business Partners invested $212 million for an approximate 25% economic interest in the business, with the balance funded by institutional partners.

    Liquidity

    We ended the year with approximately $1.3 billion of liquidity at the corporate level including $91 million of cash and liquid securities, $25 million of remaining preferred equity commitment from Brookfield Corporation and $1.2 billion of availability on our corporate credit facilities. Pro forma for announced and recently closed transactions, corporate liquidity is $2.7 billion.

    Distribution

    The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.0625 per unit, payable on March 31, 2025 to unitholders of record as at the close of business on February 28, 2025.

    Additional Information

    The Board has reviewed and approved this news release, including the summarized unaudited consolidated financial statements contained herein.

    Brookfield Business Partners’ Letter to Unitholders and the Supplemental Information are available on our website https://bbu.brookfield.com under Reports & Filings.

       
    Notes:  
    1 Attributable to limited partnership unitholders, general partnership unitholders, redemption-exchange unitholders, special limited partnership unitholders and BBUC exchangeable shareholders.
    2 Net income (loss) per limited partnership unit calculated as net income (loss) attributable to limited partners divided by the average number of limited partnership units outstanding for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 which were 74.3 million and 74.3 million, respectively (December 31, 2023: 74.3 million and 74.5 million, respectively).
    3 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure of operating performance presented as net income and equity accounted income at the partnership’s economic ownership interest in consolidated subsidiaries and equity accounted investments, respectively, excluding the impact of interest income (expense), net, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, gains (losses) on acquisitions/dispositions, net, transaction costs, restructuring charges, revaluation gains or losses, impairment expenses or reversals, other income or expenses, and preferred equity distributions. The partnership’s economic ownership interest in consolidated subsidiaries and equity accounted investments excludes amounts attributable to non-controlling interests consistent with how the partnership determines net income attributable to non-controlling interests in its IFRS consolidated statements of operating results. The partnership believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides a comprehensive understanding of the ability of its businesses to generate recurring earnings which allows users to better understand and evaluate the underlying financial performance of the partnership’s operations and excludes items that the partnership believes do not directly relate to revenue earning activities and are not normal, recurring items necessary for business operations. Please refer to the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA included elsewhere in this news release.
    4 Adjusted EFO is the partnership’s segment measure of profit or loss and is presented as net income and equity accounted income at the partnership’s economic ownership interest in consolidated subsidiaries and equity accounted investments, respectively, excluding the impact of depreciation and amortization expense, deferred income taxes, transaction costs, restructuring charges, unrealized revaluation gains or losses, impairment expenses or reversals and other income or expense items that are not directly related to revenue generating activities. The partnership’s economic ownership interest in consolidated subsidiaries excludes amounts attributable to non-controlling interests consistent with how the partnership determines net income attributable to non-controlling interests in its IFRS consolidated statements of operating results. In order to provide additional insight regarding the partnership’s operating performance over the lifecycle of an investment, Adjusted EFO includes the impact of preferred equity distributions and realized disposition gains or losses recorded in net income, other comprehensive income, or directly in equity, such as ownership changes. Adjusted EFO does not include legal and other provisions that may occur from time to time in the partnership’s operations and that are one-time or non-recurring and not directly tied to the partnership’s operations, such as those for litigation or contingencies. Adjusted EFO includes expected credit losses and bad debt allowances recorded in the normal course of the partnership’s operations. Adjusted EFO allows the partnership to evaluate its segments on the basis of return on invested capital generated by its operations and allows the partnership to evaluate the performance of its segments on a levered basis.
       

    Brookfield Business Partners is a global business services and industrials company focused on owning and operating high-quality businesses that provide essential products and services and benefit from a strong competitive position. Investors have flexibility to invest in our company either through Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU; TSX: BBU.UN), a limited partnership or Brookfield Business Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BBUC), a corporation. For more information, please visit https://bbu.brookfield.com.

    Brookfield Business Partners is the flagship listed vehicle of Brookfield Asset Management’s Private Equity Group. Brookfield Asset Management is a leading global alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion of assets under management.

    Please note that Brookfield Business Partners’ previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports have been filed on SEDAR+ and EDGAR and are available at https://bbu.brookfield.com under Reports & Filings. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.

    For more information, please contact:

    Conference Call and 2024 Earnings Webcast Details

    Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Business Partners’ 2024 results as well as the Letter to Unitholders and Supplemental Information on our website https://bbu.brookfield.com under Reports & Filings.

    The results call can be accessed via webcast on January 31, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time at BBU2024Q4Webcast or participants can pre-register at BBU2024Q4ConferenceCall. Upon registering, participants will be emailed a dial-in number and unique PIN. A replay of the webcast will be available at https://bbu.brookfield.com.

     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
     
      As at
    US$ millions, unaudited December 31, 2024   December 31, 2023
                         
    Assets                    
    Cash and cash equivalents         $ 3,239             $ 3,252  
    Financial assets           12,371               13,176  
    Accounts and other receivable, net           6,279               6,563  
    Inventory and other assets           5,728               5,321  
    Property, plant and equipment           13,232               15,724  
    Deferred income tax assets           1,744               1,220  
    Intangible assets           18,317               20,846  
    Equity accounted investments           2,325               2,154  
    Goodwill           12,239               14,129  
    Total Assets         $ 75,474             $ 82,385  
                         
    Liabilities and Equity                    
    Liabilities                    
    Corporate borrowings         $ 2,142             $ 1,440  
    Accounts payable and other           16,691               18,378  
    Non-recourse borrowings in subsidiaries of Brookfield Business Partners           36,720               40,809  
    Deferred income tax liabilities           2,613               3,226  
                         
    Equity                    
    Limited partners $ 1,752         $ 1,909    
    Non-controlling interests attributable to:          
    Redemption-exchange units   1,644           1,792    
    Special limited partner                
    BBUC exchangeable shares   1,721           1,875    
    Preferred securities   740           740    
    Interest of others in operating subsidiaries   11,451           12,216    
          17,308           18,532  
    Total Liabilities and Equity   $ 75,474         $ 82,385  
     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Consolidated Statements of Operating Results
     
    US$ millions, unaudited Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
      2024       2023       2024       2023  
               
    Revenues $ 7,427     $ 13,405     $ 40,620     $ 55,068  
    Direct operating costs   (6,008 )     (12,209 )     (34,883 )     (50,021 )
    General and administrative expenses   (324 )     (336 )     (1,267 )     (1,538 )
    Interest income (expense), net   (752 )     (858 )     (3,104 )     (3,596 )
    Equity accounted income (loss), net   35       48       90       132  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net   (991 )     (780 )     (981 )     (831 )
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net         4,477       692       4,686  
    Other income (expense), net   (360 )     (344 )     (573 )     (178 )
    Income (loss) before income tax   (973 )     3,403       594       3,722  
    Income tax (expense) recovery          
    Current   (158 )     (171 )     (646 )     (775 )
    Deferred   23       252       947       830  
    Net income (loss) $ (1,108 )   $ 3,484     $ 895     $ 3,777  
    Attributable to:          
    Limited partners $ (150 )   $ 488     $ (37 )   $ 482  
    Non-controlling interests attributable to:          
    Redemption-exchange units   (141 )     457       (35 )     451  
    Special limited partner                      
    BBUC exchangeable shares   (147 )     478       (37 )     472  
    Preferred securities   13       17       52       83  
    Interest of others in operating subsidiaries   (683 )     2,044       952       2,289  
     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
     
    US$ millions, unaudited  Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
        Business Services       Infrastructure Services       Industrials       Corporate and Other       Total  
                         
    Net income (loss)   $ (955 )   $ (72 )   $ (31 )   $ (50 )   $ (1,108 )
                         
    Add or subtract the following:                    
    Depreciation and amortization expense     223       228       328             779  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net     690       1       300             991  
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net                              
    Other income (expense), net1     312       4       47       (3 )     360  
    Income tax (expense) recovery     28       9       115       (17 )     135  
    Equity accounted income (loss), net     (4 )     (12 )     (19 )           (35 )
    Interest income (expense), net     233       166       313       40       752  
    Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA2     25       47       17             89  
    Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests3     (335 )     (211 )     (764 )           (1,310 )
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 217     $ 160     $ 306     $ (30 )   $ 653  
     Notes:  
     1 Other income (expense), net corresponds to amounts that are not directly related to revenue earning activities and are not normal, recurring income or expenses necessary for business operations. The components of other income (expense), net include $407 million related to a provision for payment of a litigation settlement at our dealer software and technology services operation, $116 million of net gains on the sale of property, plant and equipment and other assets, $57 million related to provisions recorded at our construction operation, $52 million of business separation expenses, stand-up costs and restructuring charges, $27 million of net gains on debt modification and extinguishment, $16 million of net revaluation gains and $3 million in transaction costs.
     2 Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA corresponds to the Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the partnership that is generated by its investments in associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method.
     3 Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests are calculated based on the economic ownership interests held by the non-controlling interests in consolidated subsidiaries.
     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
         
    US$ millions, unaudited Year Ended December 31, 2024
        Business Services       Infrastructure Services       Industrials       Corporate and Other       Total  
                         
    Net income (loss)   $ (169 )   $ (347 )   $ 1,654     $ (243 )   $ 895  
                         
    Add or subtract the following:                    
    Depreciation and amortization expense     961       888       1,355             3,204  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net     686       (11 )     306             981  
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net     (608 )           (84 )           (692 )
    Other income (expense), net1     365       32       164       12       573  
    Income tax (expense) recovery     75       6       (341 )     (41 )     (301 )
    Equity accounted income (loss), net     (4 )     (23 )     (63 )           (90 )
    Interest income (expense), net     972       701       1,279       152       3,104  
    Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA2     79       168       61             308  
    Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests3     (1,525 )     (808 )     (3,084 )           (5,417 )
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 832     $ 606     $ 1,247     $ (120 )   $ 2,565  
    Notes:  
    1 Other income (expense), net corresponds to amounts that are not directly related to revenue earning activities and are not normal, recurring income or expenses necessary for business operations. The components of other income (expense), net include $407 million related to a provision for payment of a litigation settlement at our dealer software and technology services operation, $251 million related to provisions recorded at our construction operation, $168 million of net revaluation gains, $158 million of business separation expenses, stand-up costs and restructuring charges, $108 million of net gains on the sale of property, plant and equipment and other assets, $52 million of net gains on debt modification and extinguishment, $50 million of other income related to a distribution at our entertainment operation, $35 million in transaction costs and $100 million of other expenses.
    2 Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA corresponds to the Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the partnership that is generated by its investments in associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method.
    3 Adjusted EBITDA that is attributable to non-controlling interests in consolidated subsidiaries.
     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
     
    US$ millions, unaudited Three Months Ended December 31, 2023
        Business Services       Infrastructure Services       Industrials       Corporate and Other       Total  
                         
    Net income (loss)   $ 51     $ 3,744     $ (264 )   $ (47 )   $ 3,484  
                         
    Add or subtract the following:                    
    Depreciation and amortization expense     287       257       347             891  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net     650       33       97             780  
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net     (566 )     (3,902 )     (9 )           (4,477 )
    Other income (expense), net1     (24 )     46       317       5       344  
    Income tax (expense) recovery     18       (10 )     (68 )     (21 )     (81 )
    Equity accounted income (loss), net     (6 )     (22 )     (20 )           (48 )
    Interest income (expense), net     259       225       336       38       858  
    Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA2     17       51       17             85  
    Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests3     (459 )     (238 )     (531 )           (1,228 )
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 227     $ 184     $ 222     $ (25 )   $ 608  
    Notes:  
    1 Other income (expense), net corresponds to amounts that are not directly related to revenue earning activities and are not normal, recurring income or expenses necessary for business operations. The components of other income (expense), net include $247 million loss related to the reclassification of our graphite electrode operations as a financial asset, $96 million of net gains on debt extinguishment/modifications, $80 million of business separation expenses, stand-up costs and restructuring charges, $37 million in transaction costs and $76 million of other expenses.
    2 Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA corresponds to the Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the partnership that is generated by its investments in associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method.
    3 Adjusted EBITDA that is attributable to non-controlling interests in consolidated subsidiaries.
     
    Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
    Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
     
    US$ millions, unaudited Year Ended December 31, 2023
        Business Services       Infrastructure Services       Industrials       Corporate and Other       Total  
                         
    Net income (loss)   $ 602     $ 3,616     $ (245 )   $ (196 )   $ 3,777  
                         
    Add or subtract the following:                    
    Depreciation and amortization expense     1,045       1,174       1,373             3,592  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net     656       (13 )     188             831  
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net     (720 )     (3,916 )     (50 )           (4,686 )
    Other income (expense), net1     (138 )     (90 )     396       10       178  
    Income tax (expense) recovery     245       (6 )     (218 )     (76 )     (55 )
    Equity accounted income (loss), net     (25 )     (51 )     (56 )           (132 )
    Interest income (expense), net     1,031       1,051       1,369       145       3,596  
    Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA2     61       183       63             307  
    Amounts attributable to non-controlling interests3     (1,857 )     (1,095 )     (1,965 )           (4,917 )
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 900     $ 853     $ 855     $ (117 )   $ 2,491  
    Notes:  
    1 Other income (expense), net corresponds to amounts that are not directly related to revenue earning activities and are not normal, recurring income or expenses necessary for business operations. The components of other income (expense), net include $446 million of net gains on debt modification and extinguishment, $247 million loss related to the reclassification of our graphite electrode operations as a financial asset, $246 million of business separation expenses, stand-up costs and restructuring charges, $116 million in transaction costs, $93 million of net revaluation gains and $108 million of other expenses.
    2 Equity accounted Adjusted EBITDA corresponds to the Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the partnership that is generated by its investments in associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method.
    3 Adjusted EBITDA that is attributable to non-controlling interests in consolidated subsidiaries.
       

    Brookfield Business Corporation Reports 2024 Year End Results

    Brookfield, News, January 31, 2025 – Brookfield Business Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BBUC) announced today its net income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2024.

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
    US$ millions, unaudited   2024       2023       2024       2023  
               
    Net income (loss) attributable to Brookfield Business Partners $ (396 )   $ 454     $ (888 )   $ 519  

    Net loss attributable to Brookfield Business Partners for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $888 million compared to net income of $519 million in 2023 which included net gains primarily related to the sale of our nuclear technology services operation. Current year results included $208 million of remeasurement loss on our exchangeable and class B shares that are classified as liabilities under IFRS. As at December 31, 2024, the exchangeable and class B shares were remeasured to reflect the closing price of $23.42 per unit.

    Dividend

    The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.0625 per share, payable on March 31, 2025 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on February 28, 2025.

    Additional Information

    Each exchangeable share of Brookfield Business Corporation has been structured with the intention of providing an economic return equivalent to one unit of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Each exchangeable share will be exchangeable at the option of the holder for one unit. Brookfield Business Corporation will target that dividends on its exchangeable shares will be declared and paid at the same time as distributions are declared and paid on the Brookfield Business Partners’ units and that dividends on each exchangeable share will be declared and paid in the same amount as distributions are declared and paid on each unit to provide holders of exchangeable shares with an economic return equivalent to holders of units.

    In addition to carefully considering the disclosures made in this news release in its entirety, shareholders are strongly encouraged to carefully review the Letter to Unitholders, Supplemental Information and other continuous disclosure filings which are available at https://bbu.brookfield.com.

    Please note that Brookfield Business Corporation’s previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports have been filed on SEDAR+ and EDGAR and are available at https://bbu.brookfield.com/bbuc under Reports & Filings. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.

     
    Brookfield Business Corporation
    Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
     
      As at
    US$ millions, unaudited December 31, 2024   December 31, 2023
                           
    Assets                      
    Cash and cash equivalents         $ 1,008             $ 772  
    Financial assets           353               224  
    Accounts and other receivable, net           3,229               3,569  
    Inventory, net           52               61  
    Other assets           627               737  
    Property, plant and equipment           2,480               2,743  
    Deferred income tax assets           197               221  
    Intangible assets           5,966               6,931  
    Equity accounted investments           198               222  
    Goodwill           4,988               5,702  
    Total Assets         $ 19,098             $ 21,182  
                           
    Liabilities and Equity                      
    Liabilities                      
    Accounts payable and other         $ 5,276             $ 4,818  
    Non-recourse borrowings in subsidiaries of Brookfield Business Corporation           8,490               8,823  
    Exchangeable and class B shares           1,709               1,501  
    Deferred income tax liabilities           988               1,280  
                           
    Equity                      
    Brookfield Business Partners $ (59 )       $ 880      
    Non-controlling interests   2,694           3,880      
          2,635         4,760  
    Total Liabilities and Equity   $ 19,098       $ 21,182  
     
    Brookfield Business Corporation
    Consolidated Statements of Operating Results
     
    US$ millions, unaudited Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Year Ended
    December 31,
      2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Continuing operations          
    Revenues $ 2,209     $ 1,946     $ 8,208     $ 7,683  
    Direct operating costs   (2,041 )     (1,749 )     (7,568 )     (6,794 )
    General and administrative expenses   (107 )     (78 )     (326 )     (268 )
    Interest income (expense), net   (212 )     (206 )     (832 )     (878 )
    Equity accounted income (loss), net   2       2       8       3  
    Impairment reversal (expense), net   (689 )     (599 )     (691 )     (606 )
    Gain (loss) on acquisitions/dispositions, net                     87  
    Remeasurement of exchangeable and class B shares   (9 )     (392 )     (208 )     (264 )
    Other income (expense), net   (469 )     44       (666 )     126  
    Income (loss) before income tax from continuing operations   (1,316 )     (1,032 )     (2,075 )     (911 )
    Income tax (expense) recovery          
    Current   (8 )     (5 )     (50 )     (167 )
    Deferred   42       1       198       95  
    Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ (1,282 )   $ (1,036 )   $ (1,927 )   $ (983 )
    Discontinued operations          
    Net income (loss) from discontinued operations         3,885             3,812  
    Net income (loss) $ (1,282 )   $ 2,849     $ (1,927 )   $ 2,829  
    Attributable to:          
    Brookfield Business Partners $ (396 )   $ 454     $ (888 )   $ 519  
    Non-controlling interests   (886 )     2,395       (1,039 )     2,310  


    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements and Information

    Note: This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, include statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of Brookfield Business Partners, as well as regarding recently completed and proposed acquisitions, dispositions, and other transactions, and the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods, and include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “seeks”, “intends”, “targets”, “projects”, “forecasts”, “views”, “potential”, “likely” or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”.

    Although we believe that our anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, investors and other readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Brookfield Business Partners to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us or are within our control. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations and our plans and strategies may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information herein.

    Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the cyclical nature of our operating businesses and general economic conditions and risks relating to the economy, including unfavorable changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, inflation and volatility in the financial markets; global equity and capital markets and the availability of equity and debt financing and refinancing within these markets; strategic actions including our ability to complete dispositions and achieve the anticipated benefits therefrom; the ability to complete and effectively integrate acquisitions into existing operations and the ability to attain expected benefits; changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates); the ability to appropriately manage human capital; the effect of applying future accounting changes; business competition; operational and reputational risks; technological change; changes in government regulation and legislation within the countries in which we operate; changes to U.S. laws or policies, including changes in U.S. domestic economic policies and foreign trade policies and tariffs; governmental investigations; litigation; changes in tax laws; ability to collect amounts owed; catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and pandemics/epidemics; cybersecurity incidents; the possible impact of international conflicts, wars and related developments including terrorist acts and cyber terrorism; and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in our documents filed with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States including those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2024 to be filed on Form 20-F.

    Statements relating to “reserves” are deemed to be forward-looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the reserves described herein can be profitably produced in the future. We qualify any and all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary factors.

    We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements and information, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, that may be as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding the Use of a Non-IFRS Measure

    This news release contains references to a Non-IFRS measure. Adjusted EBITDA is not a generally accepted accounting measure under IFRS and therefore may differ from definitions used by other entities. We believe this is a useful supplemental measure that may assist investors in assessing the financial performance of Brookfield Business Partners and its subsidiaries. However, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.

    References to Brookfield Business Partners are to Brookfield Business Partners L.P. together with its subsidiaries, controlled affiliates and operating entities. Unitholders’ results include limited partnership units, redemption-exchange units, general partnership units, BBUC exchangeable shares and special limited partnership units. More detailed information on certain references made in this news release will be available in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2024 to be filed on Form 20-F.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: World Wetlands Day 2025: Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future

    Source: United Nations

    Celebrated annually on 2 February, World Wetlands Day aims to raise global awareness of the vital role of wetlands for people, nature and culture. This year’s theme, ‘Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’, reminds us of the benefits wetlands provide for biodiversity and human wellbeing.

    Wetlands are among the world’s most productive ecosystems and critical for wildlife preservation. Wetlands help us cope with the impacts of climate change and secure critical freshwater recources. Wetlands have also shaped human cultures over centuries, and inspired our creativity. We need healthy wetlands for our future, and for our well-being.

    Wetlands are protected under many conservation instruments, yet they are among the planet’s most theratened ecosystems. UNESCO supports the work of the Ramsar Convention on conservation and wise use of wetlands. Many wetlands have been recognised not only as Ramsar sites but also as UNESCO World Heritage properties and Biosphere Reserves. International designations can support the protection of wetlands and improve access to resources which are often much needed for securing their values.

    Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (France) is one of the dual designations under the Ramsar and World Heritage Conventions. It is a vital coastal wetland that provides essential habitat for migratory birds and supports local fisheries with a unique Gothic-style Benedictine abbey which is a great combination of culture and nature. Conservation efforts have helped maintain the delicate balance between the region’s natural environment and human activities, offering sustainable livelihoods to local communities while preserving cultural heritage.

    Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada) protects one of the world’s largest inland deltas. This wetland plays a critical role in the health of the surrounding ecosystems and provides a source of fresh water for local communities. By conserving the park’s wetlands, indigenous people and local residents benefit from enhanced food security, including access to fish and wildlife.

    Banc d’Arguin National Park (Mauritania) is an important coastal wetland that provides a haven for migratory birds, fish, and other wildlife. Local people benefit from the health of this wetland, which sustains fish stocks and supports their traditional livelihoods.

    Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (Japan) and its surrounding wetlands are crucial for maintaining the natural beauty of the region and has been a holy place of Shintoism. By protecting the wetlands, local communities benefit from the economic boost of tourism, while also preserving the cultural and spiritual significance of the landscape that has shaped their traditions for centuries.

    This year, World Wetlands Day shares the same theme with the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15), which is scheduled for July 2025 in Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia, and has one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world.

    Visit the official World Wetlands Day 2025 website to explore global events, access communication materials and pledge your message for protecting wetlands for our common future.

    Learn more about our efforts to protect wetlands of global importance : here   

     

     

    MIL OSI United Nations News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4439-4440: A Lunar New Year on Mars

    Source: NASA

    Earth planning date: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025
    We’re planning sols 4439 and 4440 on the first day of the Lunar New Year here on Earth, and I’m the Geology/Mineralogy Science Theme Lead for today. The new year is a time for all kinds of abundance and good luck, and we are certainly lucky to be celebrating another new year on Mars with the Curiosity rover!
    The rover’s current position is on the north side of the “Texoli” butte west of the “Rustic Canyon” crater, and we are on our way southwest through the layered sulfate unit toward a possible boxwork structure that we hope to study later this year. Today’s workspace included a couple of representative bedrock blocks with contrasting textures, so we planned an APXS elemental chemistry measurement on one (“Deer Springs”) and a LIBS elemental measurement on another (“Taco Peak”).
    For imaging, there were quite a few targets in view making it possible to advance a variety of science goals. The ChemCam remote imager was used for a mosaic on “Wilkerson Butte” to observe the pattern of resistant and recessive layering. Mastcam mosaics explored some distant landforms (“Sandstone Peak,” “Wella’s Peak”) as well as fractures, block shapes and textures, and aeolian ripples closer to the rover (“Tahquitz Peak,” “Mount Islip,” “Vasquez Rocks,” “Dawson Saddle”). Our regular environmental science measurements were made as well, to track atmospheric opacity and dust activity. So our planning sols include an abundance of targets indeed.
    Fun fact: Today’s name “Vasquez Rocks” comes from a site on Earth in Southern California that has been a popular spot for science fiction filming, appearing in several episodes of “Star Trek” going back to the original series!
    Written by Lucy Lim, Participating Scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: United Natural Trading LLC Announces Allergy Alert for Undeclared Milk in Fresh Direct Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels

    Source: US Food and Drug Administration

    Summary

    Company Announcement Date:
    FDA Publish Date:
    Product Type:
    Food & Beverages
    Snack Food Item
    Allergens
    Reason for Announcement:

    Recall Reason Description

    Undeclared milk

    Company Name:
    United Natural Trading LLC
    Brand Name:

    Brand Name(s)

    Fresh Direct

    Product Description:

    Product Description

    Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels


    Company Announcement

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 29, 2025 – United Natural Trading LLC, Edison, NJ, is voluntarily recalling Fresh Direct Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels due to the presence of an undeclared milk allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

    The date containing products were shipped via online sales via a third-party vendor site, in limited quantities to the Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York areas.

    Description 

    Lot Number 

    Best By Date 

    UPC# 

    Fresh Direct Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels

    24353

    06/30/2025

    811102026276

    The lot numbers are printed on the back of each retail packaging.

    No illnesses or complaints have been reported to date.

    The issue was discovered during an internal review of label management system as an action item from an internal nonconformance.

    Consumers who have any remaining product with this lot number should not consume it, but rather should discard it. Consumers should retain their online receipts, packaging reflecting lot numbers or any other proof of purchase they may have for a refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 732-650-9905, which is open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST) Monday – Friday.


    Company Contact Information

    Consumers:
    732-650-9905

    Product Photos

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fuel for California Fires

    Source: NASA

    When hurricane-force winds whipped through Los Angeles County in early January 2025, the hills had ample fuels available to feed a wildland fire. Back-to-back wet years in California led to grasses and chaparral accumulating in the mountains and foothills. Then, warm, dry weather in Los Angeles during the last eight months of 2024 left the vegetation primed to burn.
    On January 7, blazes spread quickly in the hills of Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon. Santa Ana winds pushed the fires down hills and into neighborhoods, and the two fires eventually covered 37,000 acres (150 square kilometers). Most of the fire spread in the first day after ignition, a characteristic of “fast fires.” These destructive events are usually propelled by strong winds and burn in the autumn or winter when fuels are exceptionally dry.
    Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) noted that several factors contributed to the severity of the fires, including a buildup of vegetation between 2022 and into 2024, followed by very warm and dry conditions in summer 2024. The rapid swing from wet to dry—dubbed “hydroclimate whiplash”—can amplify the risk of wildland fires and has become more common in the 21st century.
    From 2022 to early 2024, Southern California received above-average precipitation, said Gavin Madakumbura, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. The 2022-2023 water year, which runs from October through September, saw unrelenting atmospheric rivers that delivered torrential rain to California. Much of the 2023-2024 water year was also wet, and rainfall totals for both periods, measured in downtown LA, were nearly twice the long-term average (1877-2024).
    The ample rain allowed vegetation to build up, which is apparent in the map above. It shows a satellite-based index of plant health, or “greenness,” over the meteorological summer before the fires. This metric, known as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), is based on data collected by the Landsat satellites.
    The map indicates that many parts of Los Angeles County were 30 percent greener than average in summer 2024 (compared to a record from 1991 to 2020). That July, the National Interagency Fire Center warned that “herbaceous fuel loadings” were above normal throughout California, and in some hilly areas, were twice the normal amount.

    Conditions shifted in the last half of 2024. According to Madakumbura and colleagues, the Los Angeles region received no significant rain between May 2024 and early January 2025, which dried out the accumulated vegetation. On January 4, 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported that the downtown area had only one instance in the previous eight months when rainfall exceeded a tenth of an inch—the threshold considered helpful for reducing wildfire risk by keeping plants from drying out. That made it the second-driest May to January on a record that goes back to 1877.
    The landscape’s dryness was made worse by heatwaves that struck the U.S. Southwest in June and July 2024, either breaking or tying temperature records in several cities in California.
    The map above shows moisture relative to normal in the top 40 inches (100 centimeters) of soil, in the “root zone,” on January 7, 2025, the day the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited. The data are from NASA’s SPoRT (Short-term Prediction Research and Transition) Center at Marshall Space Flight Center. The soil moisture in much of Southern California was in the bottom 2 percent of historical records (1981-2013) for that day.
    “This is historically low soil moisture,” said Jonathan Case, a meteorologist with NASA SPoRT who has studied how moisture conditions can contribute to fire risk.
    SPoRT’s Land Information System (SPoRT-LIS) provides 3-kilometer resolution gridded soil moisture products in near real-time to support regional and local modeling and is used by the U.S. Drought Monitor to track drought conditions across the country.
    NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and soil moisture data from NASA’s Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center. Story by Emily Cassidy.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities with Certain Patient Monitors from Contec and Epsimed: FDA Safety Communication

    Source: US Food and Drug Administration

    Date Issued: January 30, 2025 

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is raising awareness among health care providers, health care facilities, patients, and caregivers that cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Contec CMS8000 patient monitors and Epsimed MN-120 patient monitors (which are Contec CMS8000 patient monitors relabeled as MN-120) may put patients at risk after being connected to the internet.

    Three cybersecurity vulnerabilities have been identified:

    • The patient monitor may be remotely controlled by an unauthorized user or not work as intended.
    • The software on the patient monitors includes a backdoor, which may mean that the device or the network to which the device has been connected may have been or could be compromised.
    • Once the patient monitor is connected to the internet, it begins gathering patient data, including personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI), and exfiltrating (withdrawing) the data outside of the health care delivery environment.

    These cybersecurity vulnerabilities can allow unauthorized actors to bypass cybersecurity controls, gaining access to and potentially manipulating the device.

    The FDA is not aware of any cybersecurity incidents, injuries, or deaths related to these cybersecurity vulnerabilities at this time. 

    Recommendations for Patients and Caregivers  

    • Talk to your health care provider about whether your device relies on remote monitoring features. Remote monitoring means the device uses an internet connection to allow a health care provider to evaluate patient vital signs from another location (such as a remote monitoring system or central monitoring system).
      • If your health care provider confirms that your device relies on remote monitoring features, unplug the device and stop using it. Talk to your health care provider about finding an alternative patient monitor. 
      • If your device does not rely on remote monitoring features, use only the local monitoring features of the patient monitor. This means unplugging the device’s ethernet cable and disabling wireless (that is, WiFi or cellular) capabilities, so that patient vital signs are only observed by a caregiver or health care provider in the physical presence of a patient. 
        • If you cannot disable the wireless capabilities, unplug the device and stop using it. Talk to your health care provider about finding an alternative patient monitor.   
    • Be aware the FDA is not aware of any cybersecurity incidents, injuries, or deaths related to this vulnerability at this time.
    • Report any problems or complications with your Contec CMS8000 patient monitor or Epsimed MN-120 patient monitor to the FDA. 

    Recommendations for Health Care Providers

    • Work with health care facility staff to determine if a patient’s Contec CMS8000 patient monitor or Epsimed MN-120 patient monitor may be affected and how to reduce any associated risk.  
    • Read and follow the recommendations for patients and caregivers in this safety communication. 
    • Check the Contec CMS8000 patient monitors and Epsimed MN-120 patient monitors for any signs of unusual functioning, such as inconsistencies between the displayed patient vitals and the patient’s actual physical state. 
    • Report any problems with your Contec CMS8000 patient monitor or Epsimed MN-120 patient monitor to the FDA. 

    Recommendations for Health Care Facility Staff (including Information Technology (IT) and Cybersecurity Staff)  

    • Use only the local monitoring features of the device.
      • If your patient monitor relies on remote monitoring features, unplug the device and stop using it. 
      • If your device does not rely on remote monitoring features, unplug the device’s ethernet cable and disable wireless (that is, WiFi or cellular) capabilities. If you cannot disable the wireless capabilities, then continuing to use the device will expose the device to the backdoor and possible continued patient data exfiltration.
    • Review the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) “Mitigations” section in the vulnerabilities related advisory.  
    • Be aware, at this time there is no software patch available to help mitigate this risk.
    • Check the Contec CMS8000 patient monitors and Epsimed MN-120 patient monitors for any signs of unusual functioning, such as inconsistencies between the displayed patient vitals and the patient’s actual physical state. 
    • Report any problems with your Contec CMS8000 patient monitor or Epsimed MN-120 patient monitor to the FDA.

    Device Description

    Patient monitors are used in health care and home settings for displaying information, such as the vital signs of a patient, including temperature, heartbeat, and blood pressure.

    Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities May Affect Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 Patient Monitors

    Three cybersecurity vulnerabilities have been identified, whose potential impacts fall into two main categories. A vulnerable device could be exploited to:

    • Deny access to the device, such as cause the device to crash and be unable to work as intended.
    • Take over the device to remotely control it to perform unexpected or undesired actions, such as corrupting the data.

    The vulnerabilities could allow all vulnerable Contec and Epsimed patient monitors on a given network to be exploited at the same time.

    Additionally, the software on the patient monitors includes a backdoor. “Backdoor” is the term used to describe hidden functionality that device users are not told about and can allow unauthorized actors to bypass cybersecurity controls. The unauthorized actors could access and potentially manipulate the device. Given the backdoor, the device and/or the network to which the device has been connected may have been or could be compromised.

    Also, the FDA has authorized these patient monitors only for wired functionality (that is, ethernet connectivity). However, the FDA is aware that some patient monitors may be available with wireless (that is, WiFi or cellular) capabilities without FDA authorization.

    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified that once the patient monitor is connected to the internet, it begins gathering and exfiltrating (withdrawing) patient data outside of the health care delivery environment, including when the device is used in a home setting. The FDA and CISA continue to work with Contec to correct these vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

    Unique Device Identifier (UDI)

    The unique device identifier helps identify individual medical devices, including patient monitors, sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.

    You can identify the devices affected by checking the unique device identifier (UDI), which is a unique numeric or alphanumeric code that generally includes a device identifier (DI) that identifies the labeler and the specific version or model of a device.

    Brand Name Version or Model UDI-DI
    Contec CMS8000  06945040100034
    Epsimed MN-120 N/A

    FDA Actions 

    The FDA takes seriously any reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices and will continue to work with Contec and CISA to correct these vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

    The FDA will continue to assess new information concerning the vulnerabilities and will keep the public informed if significant new information becomes available.

    Read more about medical device cybersecurity.

    Reporting Problems with Your Device

    If you think you had a problem with a Contec CMS8000 or Epsimed MN-120 patient monitors, the FDA encourages you to report the problem through the MedWatch Voluntary Reporting Form.

    Health care personnel employed by facilities that are subject to the FDA’s user facility reporting requirements should follow the reporting procedures established by their facilities.

    Questions?

    If you have questions,

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPHEREx’s Concentric Cones

    Source: NASA

    NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory rests horizontally in this April 2024 image taken at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. This orientation shows the observatory’s three layers of photon shields – the metallic concentric cones.
    Over a two-year planned mission, the SPHEREx Observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe.
    Tune in at 12 p.m. EST Jan. 31, 2025, to hear agency experts preview the mission. SPHEREx is targeted to launch no earlier than Feb. 27, 2025.
    Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces appointments 1.30.25

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jan 30, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

    Jacqueline Yannacci, of Folsom, has been appointed Executive Director of California Volunteers in the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, where she has been Chief Program Officer since 2020. Yannacci was a Consultant at Jacy Consulting from 2018 to 2020. She held several positions at American Red Cross from 2006 to 2018, including Director of Community Mobilization and Partnerships, Program Manager for Community Resilience, Program Manager for Behavioral Health, and Officer of Mental Health. Yannacci was Program Manager for Knowledge Management at NRI, Inc., from 2005 to 2006, where she was previously Research Associate from 2003 to 2005. She was a Research Associate at Drug Strategies from 1993 to 2003. Yannacci earned a Master of Public Policy degree from American University, and Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioral Science and Psychology from Pennsylvania State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $186,792. Yannacci is a Democrat.

    Leticia Palamidessi, of West Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of Communications at the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, where she has been a Supervising Communications Officer since and Lead Communications Officer to the Executive Director at the California Strategic Growth Council since 2024. From 2020 to 2024, Palamidessi was an Executive Marketing Specialist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and prior to that she was an Information Officer for the California Department of Water Resources where she led outreach for the Climate Change Program, Division of Environmental Services, and Division of Engineering. Prior to state service, Palamidessi spent more than a decade elevating community voices and highlighting issues impacting Californians as a member of the media at various new organizations throughout Northern California – including being a General Assignment Reporter and Traffic Anchor for KCRA Channel 3 from 2017 to 2020. She is a California native and product of the state’s junior college and CSU systems, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $141,420. Palamidessi is registered without party preference.

    Carol Dahmen-Eckery, of Carmichael, has been appointed Chief of Strategic Communications at the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Dahmen-Eckery has been Chief Executive Officer of CDE Strategies since 2023. She was Senior Political Manager at Effectv from 2005 to 2022. Dahmen-Eckery was Communications Director at the California Secretary of State’s Office from 2004 to 2005. She was Deputy Communications Director in the Office of Governor Davis from 1999 to 2003. Dahmen-Eckery was Deputy Director of Advance for Gray Davis for Governor from 1998 to 2002. She is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants Board of Directors. Dahmen-Eckery earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Government from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $170,004. Dahmen-Eckery is a Democrat.

    Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Protect Access to Health Care Act Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola has been a Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine and Founder and Director at the Center of Reducing Health Disparities at University of California, Davis School of Medicine since 2005, and Director of the Community Engagement Program at the Clinical and Translational Science Center since 2006. He was Co-Director at the Latino Aging Research and Resource Center from 2012 to 2016. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola was a Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fresno from 1990 to 2005. He is a member of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Clinical-Community Psychology from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Science degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Autonomous University of Guadalajara. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola is a Democrat.

    Tam Ma, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Protect Access to Health Care Act Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Ma has been Associate Vice President for Health Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the University of California Office of the President since 2022. She was a Deputy Legislative Secretary at the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom from 2019 to 2022. Ma was a Lecturer at the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2022. She was an Assistant Secretary at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2018 to 2019. Ma was Legal and Policy Director at Health Access California from 2015 to 2018. She was a Principal Consultant for the Office of Senator Mark Leno at the California State Senate from 2013 to 2015. Ma was a Lecturer at University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2014. She was an Attorney at Legal Services of Northern California from 2011 to 2013. Ma was a California Senate Fellow and Policy Consultant for the Office of Senator Sheila Kuehl at the California State Senate from 2002 to 2008. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Berkeley Law Alumni Association. She earned a Juris Doctor degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Ma is a Democrat.
     
    Amy Moy, of Portola Valley, has been appointed to the Protect Access to Health Care Act Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Moy has been Co-Chief Executive Officer at Essential Access Health since 2022, where she was previously Chief External Affairs Officer from 2019 to 2022 and Vice President of Public Affairs from 2011 to 2019. She was a Public Affairs and Community Engagement Strategist for the Women’s Funding Network from 2009 to 2011. Moy was Associate Vice President of Public Affairs at the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate from 2003 to 2009 and Director of the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate Action Fund from 2004 to 2009. She held several roles at Planned Parenthood of New York City from 1999 to 2003, including Director of Community Affairs, Grassroots Manager, and Media Relations Associate. Moy is a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Planning Councils of America. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Ithaca College. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Moy is a Democrat.

    Kristen Cerf, of Nevada County, has been appointed to the Protect Access to Health Care Act Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Cerf has been President and Chief Executive Officer at Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan since 2020, where she has held several positions there and at Blue Shield of California since 2016, including Vice President of Medi-Cal Growth Strategy, Chief Legal Officer, and Associate General Counsel. She held several roles at Molina Healthcare from 2010 to 2015, including Associate Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Senior Associate General Counsel and Associate General Counsel. Cerf was an Associate Attorney at Locke Lord LLP from 2007 to 2010. She held several roles at the California Department of Managed Care from 2004 to 2006, including Licensing Counsel, Graduate Legal Assistant and Senior Law Clerk. Cerf is a Board Member of Project Angel Food. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Cerf is a Democrat.

    Dr. Irving Ayala-Rodriguez, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the Protect Access to Health Care Act Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Dr. Ayala-Rodriguez has been Chief Medical Officer with Clinica Sierra Vista since 2022, where he previously served as a Walk-In Clinic Director and Associate Medical Director from 2020 to 2022. He was a Family Medicine Resident at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2016 to 2019. Dr. Ayala-Rodriguez has served on the California Medical Board since 2024. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Dr. Ayala-Rodriguez is a Democrat.

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom is deploying resources and thousands of personnel to communities throughout Northern California in anticipation of a potentially major storm system. SACRAMENTO – With an atmospheric river expected to arrive in Northern…

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring January 30, 2025, as Fred Korematsu Day.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATION Fred Korematsu did not set out to become a civil rights hero, but…

    News What you need to know: As part of ongoing actions to help support workers and businesses impacted by the Los Angeles area fires, Governor Newsom is issuing an executive order to defer licensing fees and streamline requirements for certain small businesses. The…

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: California readies for incoming winter storm: Governor Newsom pre-deploys resources to protect communities

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jan 30, 2025

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom is deploying resources and thousands of personnel to communities throughout Northern California in anticipation of a potentially major storm system.

    SACRAMENTO – With an atmospheric river expected to arrive in Northern California this weekend, California is pre-deploying resources – including thousands of personnel – to help protect communities from storm impacts.

    Governor Gavin Newsom has directed the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to coordinate state and local partners to deploy emergency resources to support impacted communities. State officials are urging people to take precautions now before the storm arrives.

    National Weather Service Sacramento is forecasting a moderate to strong atmospheric river to begin Friday and continue into next week. Prolonged periods of rain and mountain snow are expected, with the potential for flash flooding and rising creeks, rivers, and streams. 

    We know from experience that these storms can pack a punch. California is pre-deploying resources and thousands of boots on the ground throughout Northern California so we can be ready at a moment’s notice to protect people. The best thing people can do now is to prepare and stay alert.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Cal OES is monitoring weather impacts and working closely with local areas that are forecasted to be affected. In particular, the state is closely monitoring recent burn scar areas that pose the threat of mudslides and debris flows. Together, the state is preparing:

    • The State-Federal Flood Operations Center is monitoring forecasts and coordinating with partners.
    • In collaboration with the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC), DWR engineers and CNRFC hydrologists are conducting river forecasts up to four times a day.
    • DWR has pre-positioned flood fight materials in Northern and Central California including over 3.7 million burlap sandbags and 162 flood fight material containers across 25 counties.
    • The flood control system is working as intended with flood space available throughout the system. Water can move throughout California’s flood control system including natural weirs overtopping, water in the region’s bypasses, and potential use of spillways at reservoirs.
    • Caltrans has 2,500 personnel and 1,253 pieces of storm equipment including snowplows, backhoes, and storm drain clearing equipment.
    • 133 CAL FIRE engines and 7 CAL FIRE hand crews staffed across the northern region that are ready to respond.

    An atmospheric river could bring an increased risk of power outages, flooding in small streams and low-lying areas, and debris, rocks and mudslides on roadways.

    Cal OES is encouraging residents to reduce injury risks from falling limbs and trees by staying inside, not driving through flooded roadways and preparing in advance for power outages.

    Residents in the affected counties are urged to stay informed and listen to local authorities about actions they should take including evacuation orders or safety recommendations. In burn scar areas, officials recommend preparing for possible sudden debris flows by having a go-bag packed and knowing evacuation routes.

    Go to ready.ca.gov for tips to prepare for the incoming storm.

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring January 30, 2025, as Fred Korematsu Day.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATION Fred Korematsu did not set out to become a civil rights hero, but…

    News What you need to know: As part of ongoing actions to help support workers and businesses impacted by the Los Angeles area fires, Governor Newsom is issuing an executive order to defer licensing fees and streamline requirements for certain small businesses. The…

    News Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring January 29, 2025, as Lunar New Year.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONCalifornia joins people throughout the country and around the world…

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: News release from Dept. of Ag on Honolulu egg price data

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    News release from Dept. of Ag on Honolulu egg price data

    Posted on Jan 30, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

        

         

    STATE OF HAWAIʻI

    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

     

    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

    ʻOIHANA MAHIʻAI

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR

    KE KIAʻĀINA

    SHARON HURD
    CHAIRPERSON

    HAWAIʻI BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

     

    DEAN M. MATSUKAWA
    DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRPERSON

    HAWAIʻI BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

     

    HONOLULU RETAIL EGG PRICE DATA RELEASED

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

    NR25-03

    January 30, 2025

     

    HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA), Market Analysis and News Branch (MANB) has released data on retail egg prices in Honolulu, comparing prices between December 2021 and 2024.

    The data indicates that between 2021 and 2024, the price for a dozen locally produced eggs rose by 28.4% from $6.91 to $8.87 while the price of imported mainland eggs increased by 51.8% from $5.50 to $8.35. The increase in the price of mainland eggs can be mainly attributed to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) which has impacted egg production across the continental U.S.

    The data collected between 2023 and 2024 show that local egg prices rose by 2.7% while mainland eggs prices rose by 6.2%.

    “The increase in local production of eggs has been closing the price gap with imported mainland eggs,” said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture. “The avian influenza outbreak on the mainland is another example of why food security in Hawai‘i is so important. Supporting local farmers and ranchers helps to ensure our food supply.”

    While HPAI was detected in two locations on O‘ahu in early November 2024, no further detections of the virus have been confirmed and no Hawai‘i egg production facilities have been involved. Hawai‘i was the last state in the nation to detect HPAI and the likely route of transmission is migratory birds via the Pacific flyway. HDOA continues to work with the local poultry industry to keep HPAI from infecting flocks.

    # # #

    Attachment:     Honolulu Egg Prices 2021 to 2024

    Media Contact:
    Janelle Saneishi
    Public Information Officer
    Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture
    Phone: 808-973-9560
    Cell: 808-341-5528
    Email:
    [email protected]
    Website:
    http://hdoa.hawaii.gov

    Aloha,

    Janelle Saneishi

    Public Information Officer

    Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture
    ph: (808) 973-9560
    email: [email protected]

    Website: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/

     

     

    Confidentiality Notice:  This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information.  Any review, use, disclosure, or distribution by unintended recipients is prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient(s), please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

     

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Office of the Governor – News Release – ACTING GOVERNOR LUKE SIGNS EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION FOR JANUARY 2025 LOW-PRESSURE WEATHER SYSTEM

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    Office of the Governor – News Release – ACTING GOVERNOR LUKE SIGNS EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION FOR JANUARY 2025 LOW-PRESSURE WEATHER SYSTEM

    Posted on Jan 30, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom, Office of the Governor Press Releases

    STATE OF HAWAIʻI
    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR
    KE KIAʻĀINA

    ACTING GOVERNOR LUKE SIGNS EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION FOR JANUARY 2025 LOW-PRESSURE WEATHER SYSTEM

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    January 30, 2025

    HONOLULU – Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, serving as Acting Governor, has signed an Emergency Proclamation in response to a low-pressure weather system affecting the Hawaiian Islands.

    The Emergency Proclamation will remain in effect through Monday, February 3, unless terminated or superseded. The declaration enables rapid deployment of resources to address potential impacts, including high winds, heavy rainfall and other hazardous conditions associated with the system.

    “This proclamation allows us to respond quickly to changing conditions and provide the necessary resources to protect our communities,” said Acting Governor Luke. “We urge residents to stay informed, exercise caution and prepare for potential impacts from this weather system.”

    The public is advised to take necessary precautions, including securing outdoor objects, avoiding unnecessary travel in affected areas and staying clear of flood-prone locations. Residents should monitor updates from the National Weather Service and county emergency management agencies for the latest official forecasts and safety information.

    The proclamation also suspends certain laws that might delay emergency response efforts, ensuring that state and county agencies can act swiftly to protect public safety.

    An executed copy of the Emergency Proclamation can be found here.

    # # #

    Media Contacts:   

    Shari Nishijima

    Communications Director

    Office of the Lieutenant Governor

    Phone: (808) 978-0867

    Email: [email protected]

    Erika Engle

    Press Secretary

    Office of the Governor, State of Hawai‘i

    Phone: 808-586-0120

    Email: [email protected]

    Makana McClellan

    Director of Communications

    Office of the Governor, State of Hawaiʻi

    Cell: 808-265-0083

    Email: [email protected]

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom proclaims Fred Korematsu Day 2025

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jan 30, 2025

    Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring January 30, 2025, as Fred Korematsu Day.

    The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:

    PROCLAMATION

    Fred Korematsu did not set out to become a civil rights hero, but at the age of 23, he made the bold choice to challenge the policy of Japanese internment – and forever altered the course of history. This year, as we commemorate the 106th anniversary of his birth, we reflect on his courageous crusade for civil rights.

    When the United States entered World War II, Korematsu tried to enlist and fight for his country but was turned away. Not long after, under Executive Order 9066, he was one of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans ordered to report to internment camps. Korematsu defied the order, a brave act of protest that led to his arrest and conviction, which he fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

    Though the Court ultimately ruled against him, Korematsu found vindication forty years later, when a federal court overturned his criminal conviction. In that courtroom, Korematsu said, regarding his case, that “being an American citizen was not enough…you have to look like one, otherwise they say you can’t tell a difference between a loyal and a disloyal American,” asking the government to ensure that such wrongs never happen again.  In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

    Throughout his life, Korematsu worked tirelessly to ensure Americans understood the lessons learned from a dark chapter of our history. Today, as we confront attacks on our fundamental rights and freedoms and hate-fueled violence across the country, it is clear that Korematsu’s extraordinary fight for civil rights is far from over. His legacy is an inspiration and reminder to all of us that we must continue to stand against injustice in our daily lives.

    NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim January 30, 2025, as “Fred Korematsu Day.”

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 30th day of January 2025.

    GAVIN NEWSOM

    Governor of California

    ATTEST:

    SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.

    Secretary of State                     

    Press Releases

    Recent news

    News What you need to know: As part of ongoing actions to help support workers and businesses impacted by the Los Angeles area fires, Governor Newsom is issuing an executive order to defer licensing fees and streamline requirements for certain small businesses. The…

    News Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring January 29, 2025, as Lunar New Year.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONCalifornia joins people throughout the country and around the world…

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Deborah Hoffman, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the Office of Tax Appeals. Hoffman has been Special Advisor at the California Department of Veterans Affairs…

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: Banco Santander-Chile Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Banco Santander Chile (NYSE: BSAC; SSE: Bsantander) announced today its results1 for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2024, and fourth quarter 2024 (4Q24).

    Strong Financial Performance with ROAE2of 26.0% in 4Q243and 20.2% in 12M244.

    As of December 31, 2024, the Bank’s net income attributable to shareholders totaled $858 billion ($4.55 per share and US$1.83 per ADR), marking a 72.8% increase compared to the same period of the previous year and with an ROAE of 20.2%.

    In 4Q24, net income attributable to shareholders of the Bank totaled $277 billion, increasing 13.7% in the quarter with a quarterly ROAE of 26.0%. This marks the third consecutive quarter with an ROAE above 20%.

    The improvement in results is explained by an increase in the Bank’s main revenue lines. Operating income increased by 34.5% YoY, supported by a stronger interest margin and readjustments.

    Robust NIM5recovery, reaching 3.6% in 2024 and 4.2% in 4Q24.

    Net interest and readjustment income (NII) for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by 62.1% compared to the same period in 2023. This growth was primarily due to higher net interest income, resulting from a lower monetary policy rate that reduced our funding costs from 6.8% to 4.7% in 12M24. This was partially offset by lower readjustment income due to a smaller variation in the UF compared to the previous year. Consequently, the NIM improved from 2.2% in 2023 to 3.6% in 2024, and further to 4.2% in 4Q24.

    Continued Expansion of Customer Base with a 6.4% YoY Increase in Total Customers and a 5.9% YoY Increase in Digital Customers

    Our strategy to enhance digital products has led to a continued growth in our customer base reaching approximately 4.3 million customers, with over 2.2 million digital customers (88% of our active customers).

    The Bank’s market share in current accounts remains robust at 23.2% as of October 2024, driven by increased customer demand for US dollar current accounts which can be easily opened digitally by our customers. It also demonstrates the success of Getnet’s strategy in encouraging cross-selling of other products such as the Cuenta Pyme Life.

    Customer funds increased 4.7% QoQ and 12.6% since December 2023.

    Customer funds (demand deposits, time deposits and mutual funds) increased by 4.7% QoQ and 12.6% from December 2023, reflecting client growth and fund accumulation. The Bank’s total deposits increased by 5.7% from December 31, 2023, explained by the 5.3% increase in demand deposits and the 6.0% increase in time deposits. In the quarter, total deposits grew by 5.9%, with demand deposits up by 8.7% and time deposits by 3.7%. The strong growth in the quarter is explained by the seasonality of deposits at the end of the year, especially among corporate clients.

    Our customer’s investments through mutual funds intermediated by the Bank also grew in the quarter, reaching an increase of 2.2% QoQ and 32.6% since December 31, 2023, given the clients’ preference for mutual funds in this scenario of falling rates.

    Net fees and commissions increase 8.8% in 12M24, achieving a recurrence6level of 60.3%.

    Net fees increased 8.8% in the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to increased client numbers and higher product usage. As a result, the recurrence ratio (total net fees divided by structural support expenses) increased from 57.4% YTD as of December 2023 to 60.3% YTD as of December 2024, demonstrating that more than half of the Bank’s expenses are financed by fees generated by our clients.

    Efficiency ratio of 36.5% in 4Q24 and 39.0% in 4Q24

    The Bank’s efficiency ratio reached 39.0% as of December 31, 2024, compared to the 46.6% of the same period last year, with a quarterly efficiency ratio of 36.5%. On the other hand, the cost to assets ratio increased to 1.5% in 12M24 vs. 1.3% in the same period of the previous year.

    Structural support expenses (salaries, administration and amortization) grew 3.5% in 12M24 compared to 12M23, below inflation, and in line with the guidance provided previously and a slight decrease of 1.8% compared to 3Q24 mainly due to lower salary expenses.

    Total operating expenses (which includes other expenses) increased 12.4% in 12M24 compared to 12M23 driven by higher other operating expenses, related to a provision for the restructuring of our branch network and the transformation to Work/Café and also advances in digital banking.

    Cost of credit of 1.29% in 12M24, and NPL coverage at 115.4%

    During the Covid-19 pandemic, asset quality benefited from state aid and pension fund withdrawals, which led to a positive performance in assets during that period, before normalizing in line with the performance of the economy and the drainage of excess liquidity from households. Currently, our clients’ performance is reflecting the state of the economy and the labor market, where delinquency is higher than the levels we saw before the pandemic with the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio increasing to 3.2% and the impaired portfolio to 6.7% at December 2024. Overall the cost of credit remained stable at 1.29% in the quarter.

    Solid capital levels with a BIS7ratio of 17.1% and a CET18of 10.5%.

    Our CET1 (Common Equity Tier 1) ratio remains at solid levels of 10.5% and the total Basel III ratio reaches 17.1% at the end of December 2024, which includes a provision of dividend payment of 70% of 2024 earnings.

    We made significant progress in our Chile First strategy in 2024

    • Largest bank in terms of loans and deposits (16.9% market share according to latest information from the CMF).
    • More than US$ 450 million committed to invest in infrastructure and technology between 2023 and 2026.
    • A total of 99 Workcafés in Chile, serving our clients and the community in their different formats.
    • Recognized by Euromoney as the Best Bank in the Country in the SME and ESG Categories.
    • The only Chilean bank included in the DJSI emerging markets and within the top 3% of the most sustainable banks in the world.
    • Top Employer Certification January 2025 (seventh consecutive year).
    • Recognized as the Best Bank in Chile for SMEs by Global Finance.
    • ALAS20: First place in the category of leading company in sustainability.
    • Institutional Investor: “Most Honored Company.”

    Banco Santander Chile is one of the companies with the highest risk ratings in Latin America, with an A2 rating from Moody’s, A- from Standard and Poor’s, A+ from Japan Credit Rating Agency, AA- from HR Ratings and A from KBRA. All our ratings as of the date of this report have a stable outlook.

    As of December 31, 2024, the Bank has total assets of $68,458,933 million (US$68,865 million), total gross loans (including loans to banks) at amortized cost of $41,323,844 million (US$41,569 million), total deposits of $31,359,234 million (US$31,545 million) and shareholders’ equity of $4,292,440 million (US$4,318 million). The BIS capital ratio was 17.1%, with a core capital ratio of 10.5%. As of December 31, 2024, Santander Chile employs 8,757 people and has 236 branches throughout Chile.

    CONTACT INFORMATION
    Cristian Vicuña
    Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Investor Relations
    Banco Santander Chile
    Bandera 140, Floor 20
    Santiago, Chile
    Email: irelations@santander.cl Website: www.santander.cl


    1 The information contained in this report is presented in accordance with Chilean Bank GAAP as defined by the Financial Markets Commission (FMC).
    2 Annualized net income attributable to shareholders of the Bank divided by the average equity attributable to equity holders
    3 The fourth quarter of 2024
    4 The twelve months accumulated as of December31, 2024
    5 NIM: Net interest margin. Annualized net interest income and annualized readjustments divided by interest-earning assets
    6Recurrence: Net commissions divided by structural operating expenses (excludes other operating expenses).
    7 Regulatory capital divided by risk-weighted assets, according to CMF BIS III definitions
    8 Core capital divided by risk-weighted assets, according to CMF BIS III definitions.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Speakers at Biz2X Frontiers of Digital Finance Conference Kick Off 2025 and Predict What’s Next in Fintech and Business Finance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK and MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Biz2X 2025 Frontiers of Digital Finance (FDF) Conference at University of Miami’s Business School, held on January 14, brought together top global leaders in technology, business and government to examine the rapidly changing digital finance landscape, particularly AI’s transformative impact on small business lending. For video highlights, click here.

    FDF assembled a ‘Who’s Who’ of digital finance experts who delved into major issues, such as potential changes in regulation in the new Trump administration, increased use of AI in lending, and the rise of alternative lenders. Speakers from over 25 organizations were represented, in an invite-only audience of more than 200 delegates. Among the A-List speakers were:

    • Former Congressman Patrick McHenry, who served as Chair of the House Financial Services Committee for the past two years. His keynote address, The Future of Fintech Regulation, drew upon his more than two-decades in Congress. The session was moderated by Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business News.
    • USAA President & CEO Wayne Peacock spoke about Leadership in Fintech in The Next Decade. Under Peacock’s visionary leadership, USAA has become a household name. At FDF, he shared insights from his expertise in mission-driven leadership to navigate the evolving financial services landscape.
    • Jim Esposito, President of Citadel Securities, led a discussion entitled Building the Future: Technology in Financial Markets in which he shared his insights for driving long-term growth and building global client and partner relationships.
    • Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez examined Where Innovation Meets Opportunity – A Legal and Economic Vision, together with legendary litigator Marc Kasowitz from Kasowitz Benson Torres. They shared their perspectives on the legal and economic forces shaping today’s business landscape, and Mayor Suarez explored how cities like Miami can become innovation hubs for the private sector.

    BCG & Biz2X Launch New SMB Finance White Paper at FDF Miami

    Biz2X partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s top business consulting firms, to unveil a brand-new proprietary white paper entitled, The Forthcoming Revolution in Small Business Lending.

    The study examines the rapidly changing dynamics of small business lending. Biz2X and BCG analyzed the reasons why banks — particularly the country’s largest institutions — place limitations on lending to small and medium-sized businesses. BCG identifies a global small business funding gap that exceeds $5 trillion.

    Biz2X and BCG conclude that SMB lending must be fundamentally altered through technology such as digital lending platforms to achieve lower risk, broader access to capital, and a significantly-improved digital experience for both borrowers and lenders. To download the full report, click here.

    Looking Ahead to Future FDF Conferences

    “FDF Miami 2025 was the highest-attended conference yet in our continuing series of these events. Our goal with FDF is to create a platform that drives the finance industry forward by bringing together the right people from all sides of industry and policy,” said Conference Chair and the CEO & Co-Founder of Biz2X, Rohit Arora.

    Future editions of FDF in 2025 are being planned in Riyadh and Mumbai, along with a likely return to Miami, with dates to be announced. For more information about FDF sponsors, speakers, and to see exclusive content from FDF Miami and previous FDF events, visit frontiersofdigitalfinance.com.

    About Frontiers of Digital Finance (FDF)
    FDF is an invitation only, global conference series that assembles global experts in the field. These include top financial institutions, innovative startups, investors, policy makers, technologists, and other leaders to learn about trends in digital finance and build relationships with key executives in the fintech industry.

    Attendees gain valuable insights from distinguished speakers and forge meaningful connections with key industry executives through curated networking events. Previous conferences have been held in some of the world’s most dynamic financial hubs: Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, New York (at Columbia Business School) and Miami. Visit frontiersofdigitalfinance.com and LinkedIn for more information and highlights from the conferences.

    About Biz2X 
    Biz2X® is the digital lending platform chosen by successful business lenders, with more than $10 billion funded globally to businesses through the company’s innovative technology. The platform has been chosen for business lending at banks and financial institutions around the world. Lenders choose the platform because they want to transform their lending practices digitally. Biz2X makes this possible through best-in-class technology and AI-powered underwriting models. Biz2X LLC is a subsidiary of Biz2Credit. Visit Biz2X.com for more information.

    Contact: John Mooney, Over The Moon PR, 908-720-6057, john@overthemoonpr.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Africa: World Health Organization (WHO) delivers critical support to Bugna Woreda and surroundings amid humanitarian needs

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    Download logo

    Bugna woreda, Amhara region, located in Ethiopia’s North Zone, has faced significant challenges due to prolonged conflict, drought, and food insecurity. Home to over 100,000 residents, endured over a year without access to essential commodities, medical supplies, and support, leaving its population in a dire state.  The conflict’s impact was devastating, with farmers unable to access fertilizer for the 2024 farming season, exacerbating food insecurity in an area already grappling with drought.

    Recognizing the urgent need for intervention, WHO mobilized resources and personnel to support Bugna Woreda and provided PED SAM kits, IEHK kits and Trauma kits support from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Union (ECHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The efforts focused on improving access to essential health and nutrition services, providing critical medical supplies, and supporting vaccination campaigns. WHO worked closely with local health authorities to strengthen the capacity of health centers and health posts, ensuring that they can better serve the community despite the challenging conditions.

     WHO donated medical supplies

    Items

    Sum of Total

    (IEHK 2017, BASIC) MODULE, MALARIA

    36

    (IEHK 2017, BASIC) MODULE, MEDICINES

    36

    (IEHK 2017, BASIC) MODULE, RENEWABLE AND EQUIPMENT

    12

    (IEHK 2017, SUPPLEMENTARY) MODULE, MALARIA

    5

    (IEHK 2017, SUPPLEMENTARY) MODULE, RENEWABLE

    7

    (IEHK 2021, SUPPLEMENTARY) MODULE, PEP, treatments for 50 adults + 10 children

    5

    (Kit PED-SAM 2020) MODULE 2, MEDICINES PED ORAL

    12

    (Kit PED-SAM 2020) MODULE 3, MEDICINES PED INJECTABLES

    12

    (Kit PED-SAM 2020) MODULE 6, RENEWABLES

    6

    (TESK 2019 mod 1A) SET 1A5, DRUGS, DANGEROUS GOODS

    4

    (TESK 2019 mod 1A) SET 1A6, DRUGS, INFUSIONS

    2

    (TESK 2019 mod 1A) SET 1A7, DRUGS, DISINFECTANTS

    6

    (TESK 2019 mod 1B) SET 1B3, RENEWABLES, INJECTION MATERIAL

    6

    Despite operational hardships, healthcare workers remained at their posts, showing immense resilience and dedication to their community.

    WHO’s support was crucial in mitigating the impacts of the access challenge. It provided much-needed medical, allowing health facilities to procure essential items and pay their workers. WHO also advocated for sustained humanitarian access to Bugna Woreda, ensuring that the flow of supplies continued uninterrupted.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Ethiopia.

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI: SBM Offshore completes the Share Purchase Agreements with MISC Berhad

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Amsterdam, January 31, 2025

    SBM Offshore confirms it has completed the transactions related to the Share Purchase Agreements announced on September 6, 2024 with its partner MISC Berhad for:

    i)   the acquisition of MISC Berhad’s entire effective equity interest in the lease and operating entities related to the FPSO Espirito Santo in Brazil; and

    ii)   the full divestment to MISC Berhad of SBM Offshore’s effective equity interest in the lease and operating entities of the FPSO Kikeh in Malaysia.

    This transaction furthers SBM Offshore’s efforts to rationalize our portfolio to ‘maintain focus and excellence’ of our operations.        

    Corporate Profile

    SBM Offshore is the world’s deepwater ocean-infrastructure expert. Through the design, construction, installation, and operation of offshore floating facilities, we play a pivotal role in a just transition. By advancing our core, we deliver cleaner, more efficient energy production. By pioneering more, we unlock new markets within the blue economy. 
    More than 7,400 SBMers collaborate worldwide to deliver innovative solutions as a responsible partner towards a sustainable future, balancing ocean protection with progress.
    For further information, please visit our website at www.sbmoffshore.com.

    Financial Calendar   Date Year
    Full Year 2024 Earnings   February 20 2025
    Annual General Meeting   April 9 2025
    First Quarter 2025 Trading Update   May 15 2025
    Half Year 2025 Earnings   August 7 2025
    Third Quarter 2025 Trading Update   November 13 2025

    For further information, please contact:
    Investor Relations

    Wouter Holties
    Corporate Finance & Investor Relations Manager

    Media Relations

    Giampaolo Arghittu
    Head of External Relations

    Market Abuse Regulation
    This press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

    Disclaimer
    Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. These statements may be identified by words such as ‘expect’, ‘should’, ‘could’, ‘shall’ and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The principal risks which could affect the future operations of SBM Offshore N.V. are described in the ‘Impact, Risk and Opportunity Management’ section of the 2023 Annual Report.

    Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and performance of the Company’s business may vary materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements described in this release. SBM Offshore does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

    This release contains certain alternative performance measures (APMs) as defined by the ESMA guidelines which are not defined under IFRS. Further information on these APMs is included in the Half-Year Management Report accompanying the Half Year Earnings 2024 report, available on our website https://www.sbmoffshore.com/investors/financial-disclosures.

    Nothing in this release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release “SBM Offshore” and “SBM” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

    “SBM Offshore®“, the SBM logomark, “Fast4Ward®”, “emissionZERO®” and “F4W®” are proprietary marks owned by SBM Offshore.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus: joint statement to the OSCE

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The UK and other members of the Informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus deliver a joint statement on elections in Belarus and the deteriorating human rights situation.

    I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following participating States, who are members of the Informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus:  Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland,  Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and my own country, Germany.  

    The following participating States are also joining this statement: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bosnia, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino, Switzerland and North Macedonia.    

    At Copenhagen in 1990, all OSCE participating States declared that “the will of the people, freely and fairly expressed through periodic and genuine elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of all government”.  

    The presidential elections in Belarus on 26 January fell far short of this shared standard. Instead of reflecting multi-party democracy, accountability of government to the electorate or the free and fair expression of citizens’ will, this election outcome was pre-determined by the Belarusian government. The poll was carried out in a climate of fear and repression where opposition was silenced. Moreover, Belarusians were denied access to information from independent, pluralistic media.  

    Repression intensified in the pre-election period. While some political prisoners have been released, Belarus continues to detain many more. Over 1,250 people remain incarcerated. Many political prisoners face isolation, mistreatment and lack of medical treatment. The UN Committee against Torture reported that torture in these prisons is systemic, habitual, widespread and deliberate with a pattern of impunity for perpetrators. Last year, four political prisoners died behind bars.   

    The arrest and persecution of journalists and media professionals has also reached an all-time high; the Belarusian Association of Journalists notes that 42 media workers were imprisoned in the run up to election day.  

    We deplore Belarus’ involvement and complicity in Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and condemn the serious, ongoing human rights violations committed by the Belarusian authorities. We reiterate our call for the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, immediately and unconditionally, and to ensure their rehabilitation. 

    No election can be considered as free and fair or meeting international standards when it is held in a climate of ongoing repression, marked by continuous pressure on civil society, arbitrary detentions and widespread human rights violations, as well as restrictions of any genuine political participation and a lack of credible opposition candidates.   

    We recall that ODIHR made efforts in recent months to engage with the Belarusian authorities on election observation, in line with Belarus’ commitment at Copenhagen in 1990.     

    The Belarusian authorities’ late invitation – delivered only ten days before the presidential elections – prevented ODIHR’s access to key stages of the election process, making meaningful observation impossible. It stands as further proof that this electoral process lacked transparency and credibility.     

    Sadly, this approach to OSCE commitments is wholly consistent with earlier decisions by Belarus. As well as preventing meaningful observation of these elections, Belarus failed to invite OSCE observation of the February 2024 parliamentary elections. Nor has Belarus made progress on the recommendations of either the 2020 or 2023 Moscow Mechanism reports, or responded meaningfully to the questions raised in the 2024 Vienna Mechanism.  

    Indeed, since the fraudulent presidential election of 2020, Belarusian authorities have engaged in a brutal crackdown on opposition figures, human rights defenders, civil society representatives, journalists, and other citizens who dare voice any opposition or dissent. Human rights defenders report over 70,000 cases of repression since 2020. These range from interrogations, detentions or searches to legislative amendments, labelling and prosecuting some human rights defenders as so-called “extremists” and closing NGOs as well as forced exile and confiscation of property.   

    In the face of this utter disregard of OSCE principles and commitments by the Belarusian authorities, we underscore the right of Belarusians to determine their own future in a genuinely free and fair manner, and to be able to do so without fear, oppression and external interference. In this Council and beyond, we will continue to support the Belarusian people’s hope for a free, democratic and independent Belarus.

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New Consul-General to Toronto

    Source: Minister for Trade

    Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of Rachelle Jackson to lead an Australian diplomatic post in Canada.

    Ms Jackson has been appointed to the role of Consul-General and Trade and Investment Commissioner in Toronto, Canada.

    Ms Jackson has a wealth of experience in trade and investment policy having held multiple leadership roles at Austrade in Melbourne and Sydney, and as a Trade Commissioner in New York and San Francisco.

    Her appointment underscores the importance of Australia’s relationship with Canada, and will advance our trade and diplomatic interests, and drive opportunities for a continued and strong bilateral trading relationship.

    I congratulate Ms Jackson on her well-deserved appointment.

    I thank the outgoing Consul-General and Trade Commissioner Josh Riley for his time and successful efforts in the role.

    MIL OSI News