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Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI Economics: RBI imposes monetary penalty on The Kosamba Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dist. Surat, Gujarat

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated January 28, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.00 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh only) on The Kosamba Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dist. Surat, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’ and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred in RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

    The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:

    The bank had failed to:

    1. adhere to the prudential inter-bank (gross) and counterparty exposure limits;

    2. upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed time; and

    3. carry out periodic review of risk categorisation of accounts at least once in six months.

    This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.

    (Puneet Pancholy)  
    Chief General Manager

    Press Release: 2024-2025/2044

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: RBI imposes monetary penalty on Shree Savli Nagrik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dist. Vadodara, Gujarat

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated January 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.10 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh Ten Thousand only) on Shree Savli Nagrik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dist. Vadodara, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention of provisions of Section 26A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Investment by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’, ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ and ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs) by Co-operative Banks’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the BR Act and Section 25 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.

    The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions/non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said provisions and directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, oral submissions made during the personal hearing and examination of additional submissions made by it, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:

    The bank had:

    1. failed to transfer eligible unclaimed amounts to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund within the prescribed time;

    2. breached the ceiling of total investments held under Held to Maturity (HTM) category;

    3. failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed time; and

    4. failed to submit credit information of its borrowers to three CICs.

    This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.

    (Puneet Pancholy)  
    Chief General Manager

    Press Release: 2024-2025/2045

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Parker Reports Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CLEVELAND, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today reported results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, that included the following highlights (compared with the prior year quarter):

    Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Highlights:

    • Sales were $4.7 billion; organic sales growth was 1%
    • Net income was $949 million, an increase of 39%, or $853 million adjusted, an increase of 6%
    • EPS were $7.25, an increase of 39%, or $6.53 adjusted, an increase of 6%
    • Segment operating margin was 22.1%, an increase of 100 bps, or 25.6% adjusted, an increase of 110 bps
    • YTD cash flow from operations increased 24% to $1.7 billion, or 17.4% of sales

    “Our performance this quarter reflects our focus on operational excellence and the strength of our balanced portfolio,” said Jenny Parmentier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We delivered record segment operating margin across all businesses, record earnings per share and year-to-date cash flow from operations. Strong cash flow from operations coupled with proceeds from previously announced divestitures allowed us to substantially reduce debt by $1.1 billion this quarter. We are encouraged to see industrial orders turn positive mainly in our longer-cycle businesses. Looking ahead, we have updated our outlook for fiscal year 2025 to reflect stronger Aerospace growth, currency headwinds and a continued delay in the expected industrial recovery. Our strong cash generation creates capital deployment optionality, and we remain committed to our strategy of actively deploying capital to drive shareholder value.”

    This news release contains non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of adjusted numbers and certain non-GAAP financial measures are included in the financial tables of this press release.

    Outlook

    Guidance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 has been updated. The company expects:

    • Sales growth in fiscal 2025 of (2%) to 1%, with organic sales growth of approximately 2%; divestitures of (1.5%) and unfavorable currency of (1.0%)
    • Total segment operating margin of approximately 22.7%, or approximately 25.8% on an adjusted basis
    • EPS of $24.46 to $25.06, or $26.40 to $27.00 on an adjusted basis

    Segment Results

    Diversified Industrial Segment

    North America Businesses              
    $ in mm FY25 Q2   FY24 Q2   Change   Organic Growth
    Sales $ 1,928     $ 2,110       -8.6 %     -5.0 %
    Segment Operating Income $ 427     $ 462       -7.6 %    
    Segment Operating Margin   22.1 %     21.9 %   20 bps    
    Adjusted Segment Operating Income $ 473     $ 510       -7.2 %    
    Adjusted Segment Operating Margin   24.6 %     24.2 %   40 bps    
    • Achieved record adjusted segment operating margin
    • Continued softness in transportation and off-highway markets
    • Delayed industrial recovery
    International Businesses      
    $ in mm FY25 Q2   FY24 Q2   Change   Organic Growth
    Sales $ 1,325     $ 1,404       -5.7 %     -3.0 %
    Segment Operating Income $ 284     $ 290       -2.2 %        
    Segment Operating Margin   21.4 %     20.7 %   70 bps        
    Adjusted Segment Operating Income $ 320     $ 323       -1.2 %        
    Adjusted Segment Operating Margin   24.1 %     23.0 %   110 bps        
    • Achieved record adjusted segment operating margin
    • Broad-based softness continued in Europe
    • Gradual recovery continued in Asia

    Aerospace Systems Segment

    $ in mm FY25 Q2   FY24 Q2   Change   Organic Growth
    Sales $ 1,490     $ 1,306       14.0 %     14.0 %
    Segment Operating Income $ 338     $ 263       28.5 %    
    Segment Operating Margin   22.7 %     20.1 %   260 bps    
    Adjusted Segment Operating Income $ 420     $ 347       21.2 %    
    Adjusted Segment Operating Margin   28.2 %     26.5 %   170 bps    
    • Achieved record sales and adjusted segment operating margin
    • Achieved 14% organic sales growth
    • 20%+ aftermarket and mid-single digit OEM sales growth

    Order Rates

      FY25 Q2
    Parker +5 %
    Diversified Industrial Segment – North America Businesses +3 %
    Diversified Industrial Segment – International Businesses +4 %
    Aerospace Systems Segment +9 %
    • Company order rates increased across all reported businesses
    • North America orders turned positive on long-cycle strength
    • International order growth continued, led by Asia
    • Aerospace orders accelerated against a tough prior year comparison

    About Parker Hannifin
    Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow. Learn more at www.parker.com or @parkerhannifin.

    Contacts:  
    Media: Financial Analysts:
    Aidan Gormley Jeff Miller
    216-896-3258 216-896-2708
    aidan.gormley@parker.com jeffrey.miller@parker.com
       

    Notice of Webcast
    Parker Hannifin’s conference call and slide presentation to discuss its fiscal 2025 second quarter results are available to all interested parties via live webcast today at 11:00 a.m. ET, at investors.parker.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the site approximately one hour after the completion of the call and will remain available for one year. To register for e-mail notification of future events please visit investors.parker.com.

    Note on Orders The company reported orders for the quarter ending December 31, 2024, compared with the same quarter a year ago. All comparisons are at constant currency exchange rates, with the prior year quarter restated to the current-year rates, and exclude divestitures. Diversified Industrial comparisons are on 3-month average computations and Aerospace Systems comparisons are on rolling 12-month average computations.

    Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    This press release contains references to non-GAAP financial information including (a) adjusted net income; (b) adjusted earnings per share; (c) adjusted operating margin and segment operating margins; (d) adjusted operating income and segment operating income and (e) organic sales growth. The adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted operating margin, adjusted segment operating margin, adjusted operating income, adjusted segment operating income and organic sales measures are presented to allow investors and the company to meaningfully evaluate changes in net income, earnings per share and segment operating margins on a comparable basis from period to period. Although adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted operating margin and segment operating margins, adjusted operating income and segment operating income, and organic sales growth are not measures of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, we believe that they are useful to an investor in evaluating the results of this quarter versus the prior period. Comparable descriptions of record adjusted results in this release refer only to the period from the first quarter of FY2011 to the periods presented in this release. This period coincides with recast historical financial results provided in association with our FY2014 change in segment reporting. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures is included in the financial tables of this press release.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    Forward-looking statements contained in this and other written and oral reports are made based on known events and circumstances at the time of release, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen uncertainties and risks. Often but not always, these statements may be identified from the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “targets,” “is likely,” “will,” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions, and may also include statements regarding future performance, orders, earnings projections, events or developments. Parker cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. It is possible that the future performance may differ materially from expectations, including those based on past performance.

    Among other factors that may affect future performance are: changes in business relationships with and orders by or from major customers, suppliers or distributors, including delays or cancellations in shipments; disputes regarding contract terms, changes in contract costs and revenue estimates for new development programs; changes in product mix; ability to identify acceptable strategic acquisition targets; uncertainties surrounding timing, successful completion or integration of acquisitions and similar transactions; ability to successfully divest businesses planned for divestiture and realize the anticipated benefits of such divestitures; the determination and ability to successfully undertake business realignment activities and the expected costs, including cost savings, thereof; ability to implement successfully business and operating initiatives, including the timing, price and execution of share repurchases and other capital initiatives; availability, cost increases of or other limitations on our access to raw materials, component products and/or commodities if associated costs cannot be recovered in product pricing; ability to manage costs related to insurance and employee retirement and health care benefits; legal and regulatory developments and other government actions, including related to environmental protection, and associated compliance costs; supply chain and labor disruptions, including as a result of tariffs and labor shortages; threats associated with international conflicts and cybersecurity risks and risks associated with protecting our intellectual property; uncertainties surrounding the ultimate resolution of outstanding legal proceedings, including the outcome of any appeals; effects on market conditions, including sales and pricing, resulting from global reactions to U.S. trade policies; manufacturing activity, air travel trends, currency exchange rates, difficulties entering new markets and economic conditions such as inflation, deflation, interest rates and credit availability; inability to obtain, or meet conditions imposed for, required governmental and regulatory approvals; changes in the tax laws in the United States and foreign jurisdictions and judicial or regulatory interpretations thereof; and large scale disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, industrial accidents and pandemics. Readers should also consider forward-looking statements in light of risk factors discussed in Parker’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 and other periodic filings made with the SEC.

    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net sales $ 4,742,593     $ 4,820,947     $ 9,646,577     $ 9,668,435  
    Cost of sales   3,022,229       3,101,962       6,119,948       6,199,311  
    Selling, general and administrative expenses   782,421       806,802       1,631,210       1,680,493  
    Interest expense   100,802       129,029       213,893       263,497  
    Other income, net   (328,716 )     (85,011 )     (359,517 )     (163,466 )
    Income before income taxes   1,165,857       868,165       2,041,043       1,688,600  
    Income taxes   217,208       186,108       393,866       355,471  
    Net income   948,649       682,057       1,647,177       1,333,129  
    Less: Noncontrolling interests   107       206       215       451  
    Net income attributable to common shareholders $ 948,542     $ 681,851     $ 1,646,962     $ 1,332,678  
                   
    Earnings per share attributable to common shareholders:              
    Basic earnings per share $ 7.37     $ 5.31     $ 12.80     $ 10.38  
    Diluted earnings per share $ 7.25     $ 5.23     $ 12.60     $ 10.23  
                   
    Average shares outstanding during period – Basic   128,752,836       128,426,247       128,707,962       128,449,398  
    Average shares outstanding during period – Diluted   130,758,808       130,367,351       130,716,482       130,314,326  
                   
                   
    CASH DIVIDENDS PER COMMON SHARE              
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Amounts in dollars)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Cash dividends per common share $ 1.63     $ 1.48     $ 3.26     $ 2.96  
                   
    RECONCILIATION OF ORGANIC GROWTH
    (Unaudited) Three Months Ended
      As Reported           Adjusted
      December 31, 2024   Currency   Divestitures   December 31, 2024
    Diversified Industrial Segment   (7.4 )%     (1.3 )%     (1.9 )%     (4.2 )%
    Aerospace Systems Segment   14.0 %     — %     — %     14.0 %
    Total   (1.6 )%     (0.9 )%     (1.4 )%     0.7 %
                   
    (Unaudited) Six Months Ended
      As Reported           Adjusted
      December 31, 2024   Currency   Divestitures   December 31, 2024
    Diversified Industrial Segment   (5.9 )%     (0.8 )%     (1.0 )%     (4.1 )%
    Aerospace Systems Segment   15.9 %     0.3 %     — %     15.6 %
    Total   (0.2 )%     (0.5 )%     (0.8 )%     1.1 %
    RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS TO ADJUSTED NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net income attributable to common shareholders $ 948,542     $ 681,851     $ 1,646,962     $ 1,332,678  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization expense   138,126       142,027       278,247       297,547  
    Business realignment charges   20,855       14,354       30,361       27,446  
    Integration costs to achieve   6,893       10,014       13,304       16,420  
    Gain on sale of building   —       —       (10,461 )     —  
    Gain on divestitures   (249,748 )     (12,391 )     (249,748 )     (25,651 )
    Tax effect of adjustments1   (11,437 )     (33,476 )     (45,648 )     (69,624 )
    Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders $ 853,231     $ 802,379     $ 1,663,017     $ 1,578,816  
                   
    RECONCILIATION OF EARNINGS PER DILUTED SHARE TO ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER DILUTED SHARE
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Amounts in dollars)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Earnings per diluted share $ 7.25     $ 5.23     $ 12.60     $ 10.23  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization expense   1.06       1.09       2.13       2.28  
    Business realignment charges   0.16       0.11       0.23       0.21  
    Integration costs to achieve   0.05       0.08       0.10       0.13  
    Gain on sale of building   —       —       (0.08 )     —  
    Gain on divestitures   (1.91 )     (0.10 )     (1.91 )     (0.20 )
    Tax effect of adjustments1   (0.08 )     (0.26 )     (0.33 )     (0.53 )
    Adjusted earnings per diluted share $ 6.53     $ 6.15     $ 12.74     $ 12.12  
                   
    1This line item reflects the aggregate tax effect of all non-tax adjustments reflected in the preceding line items of the table. We estimate the tax effect of each adjustment item by applying our overall effective tax rate for continuing operations to the pre-tax amount, unless the nature of the item and/or the tax jurisdiction in which the item has been recorded requires application of a specific tax rate or tax treatment, in which case the tax effect of such item is estimated by applying such specific tax rate or tax treatment.
    BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION              
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net sales              
    Diversified Industrial $ 3,252,806     $ 3,514,473     $ 6,708,964     $ 7,133,001  
    Aerospace Systems   1,489,787       1,306,474       2,937,613       2,535,434  
    Total net sales $ 4,742,593     $ 4,820,947     $ 9,646,577     $ 9,668,435  
    Segment operating income              
    Diversified Industrial $ 710,562     $ 752,334     $ 1,494,108     $ 1,559,088  
    Aerospace Systems   338,184       263,112       661,170       489,372  
    Total segment operating income   1,048,746       1,015,446       2,155,278       2,048,460  
    Corporate general and administrative expenses   56,264       49,902       105,058       105,558  
    Income before interest expense and other income, net   992,482       965,544       2,050,220       1,942,902  
    Interest expense   100,802       129,029       213,893       263,497  
    Other income, net   (274,177 )     (31,650 )     (204,716 )     (9,195 )
    Income before income taxes $ 1,165,857     $ 868,165     $ 2,041,043     $ 1,688,600  
    RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS TO ADJUSTED SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Diversified Industrial Segment sales $ 3,252,806     $ 3,514,473     $ 6,708,964     $ 7,133,001  
                   
    Diversified Industrial Segment operating income $ 710,562     $ 752,334     $ 1,494,108     $ 1,559,088  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization   62,570       67,309       127,834       135,260  
    Business realignment charges   19,343       13,285       28,243       25,924  
    Integration costs to achieve   627       871       1,405       2,010  
    Adjusted Diversified Industrial Segment operating income $ 793,102     $ 833,799     $ 1,651,590     $ 1,722,282  
                   
    Diversified Industrial Segment operating margin   21.8 %     21.4 %     22.3 %     21.9 %
    Adjusted Diversified Industrial Segment operating margin   24.4 %     23.7 %     24.6 %     24.1 %
                   
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Aerospace Systems Segment sales $ 1,489,787     $ 1,306,474     $ 2,937,613     $ 2,535,434  
                   
    Aerospace Systems Segment operating income $ 338,184     $ 263,112     $ 661,170     $ 489,372  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization   75,556       74,718       150,413       162,287  
    Business realignment charges   386       (123 )     394       330  
    Integration costs to achieve   6,266       9,143       11,899       14,410  
    Adjusted Aerospace Systems Segment operating income $ 420,392     $ 346,850     $ 823,876     $ 666,399  
                   
    Aerospace Systems Segment operating margin   22.7 %     20.1 %     22.5 %     19.3 %
    Adjusted Aerospace Systems Segment operating margin   28.2 %     26.5 %     28.0 %     26.3 %
                   
    RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS TO ADJUSTED SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total net sales $ 4,742,593     $ 4,820,947     $ 9,646,577     $ 9,668,435  
                   
    Total segment operating income $ 1,048,746     $ 1,015,446     $ 2,155,278     $ 2,048,460  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization   138,126       142,027       278,247       297,547  
    Business realignment charges   19,729       13,162       28,637       26,254  
    Integration costs to achieve   6,893       10,014       13,304       16,420  
    Adjusted total segment operating income $ 1,213,494     $ 1,180,649     $ 2,475,466     $ 2,388,681  
                   
    Total segment operating margin   22.1 %     21.1 %     22.3 %     21.2 %
    Adjusted total segment operating margin   25.6 %     24.5 %     25.7 %     24.7 %
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET      
    (Unaudited) December 31,   June 30,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2024  
    Assets      
    Current assets:      
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 395,507     $ 422,027  
    Trade accounts receivable, net   2,445,845       2,865,546  
    Non-trade and notes receivable   304,829       331,429  
    Inventories   2,806,983       2,786,800  
    Prepaid expenses   246,467       252,618  
    Other current assets   148,831       140,204  
    Total current assets   6,348,462       6,798,624  
    Property, plant and equipment, net   2,800,992       2,875,668  
    Deferred income taxes   87,400       92,704  
    Investments and other assets   1,232,636       1,207,232  
    Intangible assets, net   7,444,670       7,816,181  
    Goodwill   10,357,303       10,507,433  
    Total assets $ 28,271,463     $ 29,297,842  
           
    Liabilities and equity      
    Current liabilities:      
    Notes payable and long-term debt payable within one year $ 2,373,286     $ 3,403,065  
    Accounts payable, trade   1,794,884       1,991,639  
    Accrued payrolls and other compensation   420,477       581,251  
    Accrued domestic and foreign taxes   364,143       354,659  
    Other accrued liabilities   1,034,501       982,695  
    Total current liabilities   5,987,291       7,313,309  
    Long-term debt   6,667,955       7,157,034  
    Pensions and other postretirement benefits   409,873       437,490  
    Deferred income taxes   1,394,882       1,583,923  
    Other liabilities   684,401       725,193  
    Shareholders’ equity   13,118,553       12,071,972  
    Noncontrolling interests   8,508       8,921  
    Total liabilities and equity $ 28,271,463     $ 29,297,842  
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS      
      Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023  
    Cash flows from operating activities:      
    Net income $ 1,647,177     $ 1,333,129  
    Depreciation and amortization   454,869       468,165  
    Stock incentive plan compensation   106,472       108,061  
    Gain on sale of businesses   (250,373 )     (25,964 )
    (Gain) loss on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets   (6,975 )     5,097  
    Net change in receivables, inventories and trade payables   70,981       (42,804 )
    Net change in other assets and liabilities   (405,002 )     (407,366 )
    Other, net   61,584       (86,331 )
    Net cash provided by operating activities   1,678,733       1,351,987  
    Cash flows from investing activities:      
    Capital expenditures   (216,493 )     (204,117 )
    Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment   13,259       1,360  
    Proceeds from sale of businesses   622,182       74,595  
    Other, net   (6,941 )     (2,954 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities   412,007       (131,116 )
    Cash flows from financing activities:      
    Net payments for common stock activity   (189,681 )     (136,394 )
    Acquisition of noncontrolling interests   —       (2,883 )
    Net payments for debt   (1,494,484 )     (784,847 )
    Dividends paid   (420,061 )     (381,115 )
    Net cash used in financing activities   (2,104,226 )     (1,305,239 )
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash   (13,034 )     (7,999 )
    Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents   (26,520 )     (92,367 )
    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year   422,027       475,182  
    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 395,507     $ 382,815  
           
    RECONCILIATION OF FORECASTED ORGANIC GROWTH  
    (Unaudited)  
    (Amounts in percentages) Fiscal Year 2025
    Forecasted net sales (2%) to 1%
    Adjustments:  
    Currency 1.0%
    Divestitures 1.5%
    Adjusted forecasted net sales 0.5% to 3.5%
       
    RECONCILIATION OF FORECASTED SEGMENT OPERATING MARGIN TO ADJUSTED FORECASTED SEGMENT OPERATING MARGIN
       
    (Unaudited)  
    (Amounts in percentages) Fiscal Year 2025
    Forecasted segment operating margin ~ 22.7%
    Adjustments:  
    Business realignment charges 0.2%
    Costs to achieve 0.1%
    Acquisition-related intangible asset amortization expense 2.8%
    Adjusted forecasted segment operating margin ~ 25.8%
       
     
    RECONCILIATION OF FORECASTED EARNINGS PER DILUTED SHARE TO ADJUSTED FORECASTED EARNINGS PER DILUTED SHARE
       
    (Unaudited)  
    (Amounts in dollars) Fiscal Year 2025
    Forecasted earnings per diluted share $24.46 to $25.06
    Adjustments:  
    Business realignment charges 0.39
    Costs to achieve 0.15
    Acquisition-related intangible asset amortization expense 4.22
    Net gain on divestitures (1.91)
    Gain on sale of building (0.08)
    Tax effect of adjustments1 (0.83)
    Adjusted forecasted earnings per diluted share $26.40 to $27.00
       
       
    1This line item reflects the aggregate tax effect of all non-tax adjustments reflected in the preceding line items of the table. We estimate the tax effect of each adjustment item by applying our overall effective tax rate for continuing operations to the pre-tax amount, unless the nature of the item and/or the tax jurisdiction in which the item has been recorded requires application of a specific tax rate or tax treatment, in which case the tax effect of such item is estimated by applying such specific tax rate or tax treatment.
       
    Note: Totals may not foot due to rounding
    SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
                   
    BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION              
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net sales              
    Diversified Industrial:              
    North America businesses $ 1,928,008     $ 2,110,203     $ 4,028,332     $ 4,340,109  
    International businesses   1,324,798       1,404,270       2,680,632       2,792,892  
                   
    Segment operating income              
    Diversified Industrial:              
    North America businesses $ 426,567     $ 461,850     $ 911,130     $ 967,903  
    International businesses   283,995       290,484       582,978       591,185  
    RECONCILIATION OF ORGANIC GROWTH            
    (Unaudited) Three Months Ended
      As Reported               Adjusted
      December 31, 2024     Currency     Divestitures   December 31, 2024
    Diversified Industrial Segment:                          
    North America businesses   (8.6 )%     (0.4 )%     (3.2 )%     (5.0 )%
    International businesses   (5.7 )%     (2.7 )%     — %     (3.0 )%
                               
    (Unaudited) Six Months Ended
        As Reported                   Adjusted  
        December 31, 2024       Currency     Divestitures     December 31, 2024  
    Diversified Industrial Segment:                          
    North America businesses   (7.2 )%     (0.5 )%     (1.7 )%     (5.0 )%
    International businesses   (4.0 )%     (1.3 )%     — %     (2.7 )%
    RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS TO ADJUSTED SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Diversified Industrial Segment:              
    North America businesses sales $ 1,928,008     $ 2,110,203     $ 4,028,332     $ 4,340,109  
                   
    North America businesses operating income $ 426,567     $ 461,850     $ 911,130     $ 967,903  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization   40,985       44,699       83,960       89,382  
    Business realignment charges   5,444       3,250       8,888       5,834  
    Integration costs to achieve   445       562       1,050       1,507  
    Adjusted North America businesses operating income $ 473,441     $ 510,361     $ 1,005,028     $ 1,064,626  
                   
    North America businesses operating margin   22.1 %     21.9 %     22.6 %     22.3 %
    Adjusted North America businesses operating margin   24.6 %     24.2 %     24.9 %     24.5 %
                   
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    (Unaudited) December 31,   December 31,
    (Dollars in thousands)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Diversified Industrial Segment:              
    International businesses sales $ 1,324,798     $ 1,404,270     $ 2,680,632     $ 2,792,892  
                   
    International businesses operating income $ 283,995     $ 290,484     $ 582,978     $ 591,185  
    Adjustments:              
    Acquired intangible asset amortization   21,585       22,610       43,874       45,878  
    Business realignment charges   13,899       10,035       19,355       20,090  
    Integration costs to achieve   182       309       355       503  
    Adjusted International businesses operating income $ 319,661     $ 323,438     $ 646,562     $ 657,656  
                   
    International businesses operating margin   21.4 %     20.7 %     21.7 %     21.2 %
    Adjusted International businesses operating margin   24.1 %     23.0 %     24.1 %     23.5 %

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Special Senior Officials Meeting on Energy discusses ASEAN energy cooperation

    Source: ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations

    The Special Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) 2025 and its Associated Meetings were held from January 22-24, 2025, in Langkawi, Malaysia. Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), Dato’ Mad Zaidi bin Mohd Karli, as the SOME Chair, led the discussion on the planning of the work plan of ASEAN energy cooperation for the year ahead.

    The Meeting endorsed the Priority Economic Deliverable (PED) and Priorities of the energy sector to be implemented in 2025 under Malaysia Chairmanship. Notably, the Meeting endorsed the text of ASEAN Power Grid (APG) Enhanced MoU including its Term of Reference (ToR) APG Related Bodies, as well as the ASEAN Framework Agreement for Petroleum Security, which are planned to be signed this year.

    The post Special Senior Officials Meeting on Energy discusses ASEAN energy cooperation appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: RBI imposes monetary penalty on The Odisha State Co-operative Bank Ltd

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated January 28, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹4.00 lakh (Rupees Four Lakh only) on The Odisha State Co-operative Bank Ltd., (the bank) for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 9 and Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act). This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) and 56 of BR Act.

    The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for contravention of provisions of the BR Act. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:

    The bank had:

    1. failed to dispose of certain Non-Banking Assets within the prescribed period; and

    2. failed to transfer eligible unclaimed amounts to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund within the prescribed time.

    This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.

    (Puneet Pancholy)  
    Chief General Manager

    Press Release: 2024-2025/2042

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘All I wanted was to bid my daughter a final farewell’ – Gaza hostages, mainstream media and truth

    Palestinian politician, MP and activist Khalida Jarrar . . . AFTER being jailed by the Israeli military and released last Sunday as part of the ceasefire deal. Image: www.solidarity.co.nz

    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle

    Watching footage of Palestinian parliamentarian and hostage Khalida Jarrar emerge from Israeli captivity was jarring — a far, muffled cry from the sense of happiness and relief most of us felt seeing the young female Israeli soldiers released by Hamas around the same time.

    What a study in contrast.

    Khalida was clearly emaciated, traumatised and had turned, in the same period of time, from a powerful dynamic woman into a fragile, elderly human being who moved with difficulty.

    What a difference it makes who holds you captive. It goes without saying I didn’t see this on any mainstream news outlet.

    In a previous period of imprisonment — for being a member of the PFLP, a proscribed organisation — the Israelis wouldn’t even allow Khalida Jarrar to attend the funeral of her own daughter.

    Instead she sent a message that was read at Suha’s funeral in 2021:

    I am in so much pain, my child, only because I miss you.
    I am in so much pain, my child, only because I miss you.

    From the depths of my agony, I reached out and
    embraced the sky of our homeland through the window
    of my prison cell in Damon Prison, Haifa.
    Worry not, my child.
    I stand tall, and steadfast, despite the shackles and the jailer.
    I am a mother in sorrow, from yearning to see you one last time.

    Suha, my precious.

    They have stripped me from bidding you a final goodbye kiss.
    I bid you farewell with a flower.
    Your absence is searingly painful, excruciatingly painful.
    But I remain steadfast and strong,
    Like the mountains of beloved Palestine.

    No mainstream coverage
    I searched online and found no mainstream outlet had covered Khalida’s release amid the flood of stories about the Israeli hostages. A search to see if Australian or New Zealand MPs had called for the release of their fellow legislator netted zero results.

    To them, she is no doubt a non-person. Yet, Khalida Jarrar is a leading political activist and one of dozens of legislators imprisoned by the Israelis. She endured. She remained steadfast.

    “The entire system of political imprisonment is based on suppressing Palestinian organising,” said Charlotte Kates, coordinator of Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Support Network.

    The four female Israeli “Offence” Force (IDF) soldiers, according to all the many images and reports, were fit, happy and well-fed after their 15 months in Hamas captivity.

    The four female IDF soldiers, according to all the many images and reports, were fit, happy and well-fed after their 15 months in Hamas captivity. Images: Al Jazeera/www.solidarity.co.nz

    In contrast Palestinian prisoners typically had lost 16kg by the time they were freed. The Israelis with all the food and resources in the world made a policy — an actual policy — of mistreating prisoners, reducing food to a minimum, often beating them, finding perverse ways to humiliate them and on many occasions sexually assaulting men, women, boys and girls who had been dragged into their custody without charge.

    Many, an unknown number, died at their hands.

    Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called months ago for legislation to allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners “with a shot in the head” and said he would provide minimal food to them until the law was enacted. I couldn’t find a single Western leader who called for him to be arrested.

    Israeli human rights report
    These crimes are filling compendia being compiled by the United Nations, the ICC and multiple organisations worldwide. You can read some of it here in an Israeli human rights report, “Welcome to Hell, the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps”.

    Our media has a lot to answer for — for what was done to the thousands of Palestinian hostages because of its starring role in silencing Palestinian voices and hiding from view the realities of the Israeli prison system. Thousands were never charged with any crime — other than being Palestinian.

    Entire congregations in mosques, groups of people in refugee centres, were indiscriminately swept up and tossed into Israeli concentration camps.

    Were future historians to look back on these times and only have the mainstream media to go by, they would have lots of wonderful photos of the Israeli hostages, know them by name, see family hugs, biographical details, and listen to interviews with friends and relatives. In contrast, the Palestinians would turn towards History and we would see blank faces, erased of personality, all the detail of their stories rubbed out.

    That’s why it is imperative to find better sources of news and information, like Middle East Eye, Palestine Chronicle, Electronic Intifada and Pearls & Irritations, that can enrich our understanding of our times and the experience of the victims of Western genocidal violence.

    In his excellent article “The Other Hostages”, human rights lawyer Jonathan Kuttab says: “From the Palestinian perspective: there are about 13,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails who are just as worthy of our concern and also merit our sympathy, and whose families will rejoice at their long-awaited release.”

    Turning a blind eye to Israeli mistreatment of prisoners — and the mainstream media bias in favour of all things Israeli — goes back decades. But let’s look at the months since October 7th.

    No fact-checking
    All the mainstream media and servile politicians raced to report without fact-checking the lies the Israelis and Americans, including President Biden, told about beheaded babies and mass rapes. Few had the decency to walk back the calumnies even after official retractions and international investigations disproved them.

    In October 2023 I wrote one of my first stories post-October 7th on this very topic.

    Within a month of October 7, eight BBC journalists wrote to Al Jazeera saying “the corporation is failing to humanise Palestinians . . .  investing greater effort in humanising Israeli victims compared with Palestinians, and omitting key historical context in coverage.”

    CNN staff told British colleagues last year that their network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to “journalistic malpractice”.

    Hats off to Novara Media, one of the larger alternative news and analysis platforms for its exposure of bias. What they found was that Palestinians are “killed” whereas Israelis are “massacred” or “slaughtered”.

    Checking over 1000 articles by the UK’s supposedly progressive, left-leaning outlets — The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mirror – Novara found that “all three publications favoured Israeli lives, narratives and voices.”

    Taking a list of emotive words they cross-checked and found that 77 percent were about violence against Israelis and only 23 percent about Palestinians. Well over 95 percent of victims of violence are Palestinians, 100 percent of land thefts are by Israelis. Facts matter.

    Journalism ‘used’ for racist war crimes
     This is journalism being used in the service of racist war crimes, used to normalise the mistreatment of prisoners and other Palestinian untermenschen.

    In the case of The Independent, it ran 70 stories on Israeli hostages (who at peak numbered about 250) and just one story on a Palestinian hostage (they number over 10,000).

    British journalist Owen Jones deserves a medal for reports like: “BBC in Civil War over Gaza.” The report details the efforts of journalists within the organisation to deliver more balanced coverage but the extent to which those efforts are thwarted by powerful pro-Israel operatives within the corporation who ensure “systematic pro-Israel propaganda at the corporation.”

    Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar (centre) with her daughter Suha. This story appeared in Electronic Intifada. Its author Ali Abunimah was arrested in Switzerland this week to prevent him giving a speech. Image: www.solidarity.co.nz

    “This unprecedented slaughter could not have happened without powerful cheerleaders,” Jones said in a recent piece about media co-conspirators with Israel in the genocide. “Hold them to account.”

    Damn right. I pray to whatever gods may be that justice will one day be served on all those who by their actions or by their “journalism” allowed these crimes to be committed.

    I’ll give the last word to Khalida Jarrar as I wish her a full and speedy recovery:

    “All I wanted was to bid my daughter a final farewell – with a kiss on her forehead and to tell her I love her as much as I love Palestine.”

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Video: DR Congo, Palestine & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (29 January)

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

    Highlights:
    Senior Personnel Appointment
    Democratic Republic of the Congo/Peacekeeping
    Democratic Republic of the Congo/Security Council
    Democratic Republic of the Congo/Humanitarian
    Occupied Palestinian Territory
    Syria
    Peace Operations
    Ukraine
    Myanmar
    Lunar New Year

    SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
    Yesterday, the Secretary-General appointed Lt. Gen. Ulisses De Mesquita Gomes of Brazil as the new Force Commander for the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

    DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / PEACEKEEPING
    The peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – MONUSCO- say that the situation in Goma remains tense today, but it is also calmer. But there is, however, continued sporadic shooting but an overall reduction in exchanges of fire within the city.
    Continued clashes have been reported in surrounding areas, including in Sake, Northwest of Goma.
    The Mission’s priority right now remains the protection of its personnel, its assets and the many civilians sheltering within UN premises. UN peacekeepers are planning on sending patrols today in Goma to assess the situation, to conduct resupplies and assess routes.
    In the capital, Kinshasa, the situation is also calm today despite calls for protests that we have seen. The main roads are reported to be empty, and supermarkets are closed due to high risk of looting. That is what the peacekeeping mission is reporting.
    You will also remember that a few days ago, we paid tribute to three UN peacekeepers who were killed in the last few days. We are now able to share their names : They were Private Rodolpho Cipriano Alverez Suarez from Uruguay, who was 39; Private Mokote Joseph Mobe, aged 33, and Private Andries Tshidiso Mabele, aged 30. The latter two were from South Africa. We send our deepest condolences to their families, their friends, governments and to all members of the peacekeeping mission.
    The total number of UN peacekeepers injured since the most recent assault by the M23 now stands at 22. We reiterate that attacks against UN peacekeepers are not only unacceptable but may also constitute a war crime.

    DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / SECURITY COUNCIL
    Yesterday afternoon, the Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations for the Peacekeeping Mission in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – MONUSCO, Vivian van de Perre, briefed Council members.
    She reiterated that the violence in the eastern part of the country has resulted in massive displacement and worsened an already dire humanitarian and protection situation. The degree of suffering that the population in Goma and neighbouring areas is enduring is truly unimaginable, she said.
    In the past few days, Ms. Van de Perre told Council members that the peacekeeping mission has received a large number of people seeking refuge.
    She called on all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians, open humanitarian corridors, and work towards a sustainable and peaceful resolution to this conflict.
    Resuming the Luanda Process is of the utmost urgency to ensure a path toward de-escalation and to avert the looming threat of a third Congo war, she added. Military action cannot resolve this conflict, she told council members

    Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=29+January+2025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIIzMCZYkkw

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI: YieldMax™ Launches Option Income Strategy ETF on CARVANA CO. (CVNA)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO and MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax™ announced the launch today of the following ETF:

    YieldMax™ CARVANA Option Income Strategy ETF (NYSE Arca: CVNY)

    CVNY seeks to generate current income by pursuing options-based strategies on CARVANA CO. (CVNA). CVNY is actively managed by Tidal Financial Group. CNVY does not invest directly in CVNA.

    CVNY is the newest member of the YieldMax™ ETF family and like all YieldMax™ ETFs, aims to deliver current income to investors. With respect to distributions, CVNY will be a Group C ETF and its first distribution is expected to be announced on March 5, 2025. Please see table below for distribution information for all outstanding YieldMax™ ETFs as of January 29, 2025.

    ETF Ticker1 ETF Name Reference Asset Distribution per Share2
    TSLY YieldMax™ TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF TSLA $ 0.7170
    OARK YieldMax™ Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF ARKK $ 0.3298
    APLY YieldMax™ AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF AAPL $ 0.2841
    NVDY YieldMax™ NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF NVDA $ 0.8294
    AMZY YieldMax™ AMZN Option Income Strategy ETF AMZN $ 0.4005
    FBY YieldMax™ META Option Income Strategy ETF META $ 0.6390
    GOOY YieldMax™ GOOGL Option Income Strategy ETF GOOGL $ 0.3324
    NFLY YieldMax™ NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF NFLX $ 0.5830
    CONY YieldMax™ COIN Option Income Strategy ETF COIN $ 0.8339
    MSFO YieldMax™ MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF MSFT $ 0.3667
    DISO YieldMax™ DIS Option Income Strategy ETF DIS $ 0.2782
    XOMO YieldMax™ XOM Option Income Strategy ETF XOM $ 0.3485
    JPMO YieldMax™ JPM Option Income Strategy ETF JPM $ 0.6929
    AMDY YieldMax™ AMD Option Income Strategy ETF AMD $ 0.3404
    PYPY YieldMax™ PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF PYPL $ 0.4264
    SQY YieldMax™ SQ Option Income Strategy ETF SQ $ 0.6338
    MRNY YieldMax™ MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF MRNA $ 0.2730
    AIYY YieldMax™ AI Option Income Strategy ETF AI $ 0.3763
    YMAX YieldMax™ Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs Multiple $ 0.1469
    YMAG YieldMax™ Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs Multiple $ 0.1898
    MSTY YieldMax™ MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF MSTR $ 2.2792
    ULTY YieldMax™ Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Multiple $ 0.5715
    YBIT YieldMax™ Bitcoin Option Income Strategy ETF Bitcoin ETP $ 0.7893
    CRSH YieldMax™ Short TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF TSLA $ 0.2862
    GDXY YieldMax™ Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF GDX® $ 0.5937
    SNOY YieldMax™ SNOW Option Income Strategy ETF SNOW $ 0.7392
    ABNY YieldMax™ ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF ABNB $ 0.4220
    FIAT YieldMax™ Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF COIN $ 0.6530
    DIPS YieldMax™ Short NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF NVDA $ 0.5026
    BABO YieldMax™ BABA Option Income Strategy ETF BABA $ 0.4693
    YQQQ YieldMax™ Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF N100 $ 0.3873
    TSMY YieldMax™ TSM Option Income Strategy ETF TSM $ 0.6449
    SMCY YieldMax™ SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF SMCI $ 1.7215
    PLTY YieldMax™ PLTR Option Income Strategy ETF PLTR $ 2.9826
    BIGY YieldMax™ Target 12™ Big 50 Option Income ETF Multiple $ 0.5130
    SOXY YieldMax™ Target 12™ Semiconductor Option Income ETF Multiple $ 0.5256
    MARO YieldMax™ MARA Option Income Strategy ETF MARA $ 2.1002
    FEAT YieldMax™ Dorsey Wright Featured 5 Income ETF Multiple $ 2.1944
    FIVY YieldMax™ Dorsey Wright Hybrid 5 Income ETF Multiple $ 1.6771
    LFGY YieldMax™ Crypto Industry & Tech Option Income ETF Multiple $ 0.6294
    GPTY* YieldMax™ AI & Tech Option Income ETF Multiple   –

    Note: DIPS, FIAT, CRSH and YQQQ are hereinafter referred to as the “Short ETFs” and “ADR” stands for American Depositary Receipt.

    You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from period to period and may be zero.

    Investors in the Funds will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions with respect to the underlying reference asset(s).

    *The inception date for GPTY is January 22, 2025.

    1Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.

    2 The Distribution per Share is the most recently declared such amount as of close on January 29, 2025.

    Each Fund has a limited operating history and while each Fund’s objective is to provide current income, there is no guarantee the Fund will make a distribution. Distributions are likely to vary greatly in amount.

    Important Information

    Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about each Fund, visit our website at www.YieldMaxETFs.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

    There is no guarantee that any Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment in any such Fund.

    Tidal Financial Group is the adviser for all YieldMax™ ETFs.

    THE FUND, TRUST, AND ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY UNDERLYING REFERENCE ASSET.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable to all YieldMax ETFs referenced above, except the Short ETFs)

    YMAX, YMAG, FEAT and FIVY generally invest in other YieldMax™ ETFs. As such, these two Funds are subject to the risks listed in this section, which apply to all the YieldMax™ ETFs they may hold from time to time.

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Call Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer time periods.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Call Period.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (ARKK, TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOGL, NFLX, COIN, MSFT, DIS, XOM, JPM, AMD, PYPL, SQ, MRNA, AI, MSTR, Bitcoin ETP, GDX®, SNOW, ABNB, BABA, TSM, SMCI, PLTR, MARA, CVNA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)

    Artificial Intelligence Risk. Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence typically have high research and capital expenditures and, as a result, their profitability can vary widely, if they are profitable at all. The space in which they are engaged is highly competitive and issuers’ products and services may become obsolete very quickly. These companies are heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. The issuers are also subject to legal, regulatory and political changes that may have a large impact on their profitability. A failure in an issuer’s product or even questions about the safety of the product could be devastating to the issuer, especially if it is the marquee product of the issuer. It can be difficult to accurately capture what qualifies as an artificial intelligence company.

    Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to MARO)

    Digital Assets Risk: The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund. Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)

    Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

    Depositary Receipts Risk: Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.

    Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight.

    Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)

    Risk of Investing in Foreign Securities. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the securities of foreign issuers selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities.

    Risk of Investing in Gold and Silver Mining Companies. The Fund is exposed indirectly to gold and silver mining companies selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies.

    The Fund invests in options contracts based on the value of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX®), which subjects the Fund to some of the same risks as if it owned GDX®, as well as the risks associated with Canadian, Australian and Emerging Market Issuers, and Small-and Medium-Capitalization companies.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)

    YBIT does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than YBIT.

    Bitcoin Investment Risk: The Fund’s indirect investment in Bitcoin, through holdings in one or more Underlying ETPs, exposes it to the unique risks of this emerging innovation. Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its market is influenced by the changing Bitcoin network, fluctuating acceptance levels, and unpredictable usage trends.

    Digital Assets Risk: Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility. Potentially No 1940 Act Protections. As of the date of this Prospectus, there is only a single eligible Underlying ETP, and it is an investment company subject to the 1940 Act.

    Bitcoin ETP Risk: The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Bitcoin ETP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the Bitcoin ETP, even though it does not. Bitcoin ETPs are subject, but not limited, to significant risk and heightened volatility. An investor in a Bitcoin ETP may lose their entire investment. Bitcoin ETPs are not suitable for all investors. In addition, not all Bitcoin ETPs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Those Bitcoin ETPs that are not registered under such statute are therefore not subject to the same regulations as exchange traded products that are so registered.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Price Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the underlying reference asset. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the underlying reference asset, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the underlying reference asset increases. If the value of the underlying reference asset increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses.

    Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing (selling) strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in decreases in the value of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer time periods.

    Purchased OTM Call Options Risk. The Fund’s strategy is subject to potential losses if the underlying reference asset increases in value, which may not be offset by the purchase of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The Fund purchases OTM calls to seek to manage (cap) the Fund’s potential losses from the Fund’s short exposure to the underlying reference asset if it appreciates significantly in value. However, the OTM call options will cap the Fund’s losses only to the extent that the value of the underlying reference asset increases to a level that is at or above the strike level of the purchased OTM call options. Any increase in the value of the underlying reference asset to a level that is below the strike level of the purchased OTM call options will result in a corresponding loss for the Fund. For example, if the OTM call options have a strike level that is approximately 100% above the then-current value of the underlying reference asset at the time of the call option purchase, and the value of the underlying reference asset increases by at least 100% during the term of the purchased OTM call options, the Fund will lose all its value. Since the Fund bears the costs of purchasing the OTM calls, such costs will decrease the Fund’s value and/or any income otherwise generated by the Fund’s investment strategy.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in decreases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Put Period.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)

    Index Overview. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization.

    Index Level Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the Index level. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the Index level, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Index level increases. If the Index level increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses. The Fund may also be subject to the following risks: innovation and technological advancement; strong market presence of Index constituent companies; adaptability to global market trends; and resilience and recovery potential.

    Index Level Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will benefit from decreases in the Index level experienced over the Put Period. This means that if the Index level experiences a decrease in value below the strike level of the sold put options during a Put Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and any Fund gains may significantly differ from the level of the Index losses over the Put Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in decreases in value experienced by the Index level over each Put Period, but has significant negative exposure to any increases in value experienced by the Index level over the Put Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the inverse of the performance of the Index level. The Fund’s ability to benefit from the Index level decreases will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Put Period to Put Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of component companies that comprise the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the Index level changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Put Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly inversely correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index level. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact that the value of the options contracts has on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the Index level will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than the inverse of the changes experienced by the Index level.

    Holdings

    As of January 29, 2025, the YieldMax™ CARVANA Option Income Strategy ETF did not hold any shares of CARVANA CO. (CVNA). As of such date, the holdings of CVNA in such fund were 0.00%.

    YieldMax™ ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with Tidal Financial Group, YieldMax™ ETFs.

    © 2025 YieldMax™ ETFs

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Allegro MicroSystems Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MANCHESTER, N.H., Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. (“Allegro” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ALGM), a global leader in power and sensing semiconductor solutions for motion control and energy efficient systems, today announced financial results for its third quarter ended December 27, 2024.  

    “We delivered on our commitments with third quarter sales of $178 million and non-GAAP EPS of $0.07, both above the midpoint of our guidance,” said Vineet Nargolwala, President and CEO of Allegro. “During the quarter, we introduced a record number of new magnetic sensing and power products to the market, further expanding our differentiated portfolios. This increasing velocity further solidifies our market leadership and positions us well for above market growth.”

    Third Quarter Financial Highlights:

    In thousands, except per share data   Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)  
    Net Sales                              
    Automotive   $ 130,066     $ 141,893     $ 194,764     $ 403,143     $ 577,515  
    Industrial and other     47,806       45,498       60,220       129,039       231,271  
    Total net sales   $ 177,872     $ 187,391     $ 254,984     $ 532,182     $ 808,786  
    GAAP Financial Measures                              
    Gross margin %     45.7 %     45.7 %     52.5 %     45.4 %     55.8 %
    Operating margin %     — %     2.2 %     14.4 %     (1.2 )%     22.3 %
    Diluted EPS   $ (0.04 )   $ (0.18 )   $ 0.17     $ (0.31 )   $ 0.82  
    Non-GAAP Financial Measures                              
    Gross margin %     49.1 %     48.8 %     54.6 %     48.9 %     57.0 %
    Operating margin %     10.8 %     11.7 %     27.2 %     9.6 %     29.8 %
    Diluted EPS   $ 0.07     $ 0.08     $ 0.32     $ 0.18     $ 1.11  
                                             

    Business Outlook

    For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 ending March 28, 2025, the Company expects total net sales to be in the range of $180 million to $190 million.

    The Company also estimates the following results on a non-GAAP basis:

    • Gross Margin is expected to be between 46% and 48%, which contemplates the impact of annual pricing agreements ahead of cost reductions, as well as higher capacity charges resulting from adjusted production levels in the quarter,
    • Operating expenses are expected to increase by approximately 5% sequentially to $72 million, primarily  due to annual payroll tax resets,
    • As a result of the expected repricing of the term loan and anticipated $30 million Q4 debt repayment, the Company now expects Interest Expense to be approximately $6 million, and
    • Diluted Earnings per Share are expected to be between $0.03 and $0.07.

    Allegro has not provided a reconciliation of its fourth fiscal quarter outlook for non-GAAP Gross Margin, non-GAAP Operating Expenses, non-GAAP Interest Expense, and non-GAAP Diluted Earnings per Share because estimates of all of the reconciling items cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts. It is difficult to reasonably provide a forward-looking estimate between such forward-looking non-GAAP measures and the comparable forward-looking U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures. Certain factors that are materially significant to Allegro’s ability to estimate these items are out of its control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted.

    Earnings Webcast

    A webcast will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time. Vineet Nargolwala, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Derek P. D’Antilio, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss Allegro’s business and financial results.

    The webcast will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investors.allegromicro.com. A recording of the webcast will be posted in the same location shortly after the call concludes and will be available for at least 90 days.

    About Allegro MicroSystems

    Allegro MicroSystems is a leading global designer, developer, fabless manufacturer and marketer of sensor integrated circuits (“ICs”) and application-specific analog power ICs enabling emerging technologies in the automotive and industrial markets. Allegro’s diverse product portfolio provides efficient and reliable solutions for the electrification of vehicles, automotive ADAS safety features, automation for Industry 4.0 and power saving technologies for data centers and clean energy applications.

    Forward-Looking Statements         

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, prospective products and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, including, among others, statements regarding the liquidity, growth and profitability strategies and factors affecting our business are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

    Without limiting the foregoing, in some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “aim,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “exploring,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “would,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results, performance or achievements, and one should avoid placing undue reliance on such statements.

    Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s current expectations, beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. Such beliefs and assumptions may or may not prove to be correct. Additionally, such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 29, 2024, as any such factors may be updated from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: downturns or volatility in general economic conditions; our ability to compete effectively, expand our market share and increase our net sales and profitability; our reliance on a limited number of third-party semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities and suppliers of other materials; any failure to adjust purchase commitments and inventory management based on changing market conditions or customer demand; shifts in our product mix, customer mix or channel mix, which could negatively impact our gross margin; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, including the analog segment in which we compete; any downturn or disruption in the automotive market or industry; our ability to successfully integrate the acquisition of other companies or technologies and products into our business; our ability to compensate for decreases in average selling prices of our products and increases in input costs; our ability to manage any sustained yield problems or other delays at our third-party wafer fabrication facilities or in the final assembly and test of our products; our ability to accurately predict our quarterly net sales and operating results and meet the expectations of investors; our dependence on manufacturing operations in the Philippines; our reliance on distributors to generate sales; events beyond our control impacting us, our key suppliers or our manufacturing partners; our ability to develop new product features or new products in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to manage growth; any slowdown in the growth of our end markets; the loss of one or more significant customers; our ability to meet customers’ quality requirements; uncertainties related to the design win process and our ability to recover design and development expenses and to generate timely or sufficient net sales or margins; changes in government trade policies, including the imposition of export restrictions and tariffs; our exposures to warranty claims, product liability claims and product recalls; our dependence on international customers and operations; the availability of rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives on end-user demands for certain products; risks, liabilities, costs and obligations related to governmental regulations and other legal obligations, including export/trade control, privacy, data protection, information security, cybersecurity, consumer protection, environmental and occupational health and safety, antitrust, anti-corruption and anti-bribery, product safety, environmental protection, employment matters and tax; the volatility of currency exchange rates; our ability to raise capital to support our growth strategy; our indebtedness may limit our flexibility to operate our business; our ability to effectively manage our growth and to retain key and highly skilled personnel; our ability to protect our proprietary technology and inventions through patents or trade secrets; our ability to commercialize our products without infringing third-party intellectual property rights; disruptions or breaches of our information technology systems or confidential information or those of our third-party service providers; our principal stockholder continues to have influence over us; anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware; any failure to design, implement or maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; changes in tax rates or the adoption of new tax legislation; the negative impacts of sustained inflation on our business; the physical, transition and litigation risks presented by climate change; and other events beyond our control. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties.

    You should read this press release and the documents that we reference completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

    This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the SEC rules. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to measures of, financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures versus their most directly comparable GAAP equivalents. For example, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of the presented non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison.

    This press release may not be reproduced, forwarded to any person or published, in whole or in part.

    ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
    (Unaudited)
     
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
    Net sales   $ 177,872     $ 254,984     $ 532,182     $ 808,786  
    Cost of goods sold     96,657       121,156       290,534       357,505  
    Gross profit     81,215       133,828       241,648       451,281  
    Operating expenses:                        
    Research and development     43,317       44,396       132,031       130,799  
    Selling, general and administrative     37,939       52,746       116,221       140,135  
    Total operating expenses     81,256       97,142       248,252       270,934  
    Operating (loss) income     (41 )     36,686       (6,604 )     180,347  
    Interest and other (expense) income     (7,561 )     (315 )     (25,902 )     (2,801 )
    Loss on change in fair value of forward repurchase contract     —       —       (34,752 )     —  
    (Loss) income before income taxes     (7,602 )     36,371       (67,258 )     177,546  
    Income tax (benefit) provision     (803 )     2,969       (9,233 )     17,584  
    Net (loss) income     (6,799 )     33,402       (58,025 )     159,962  
    Net income attributable to non-controlling interests     61       57       185       150  
    Net (loss) income attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.   $ (6,860 )   $ 33,345     $ (58,210 )   $ 159,812  
    Net (loss) income per common share attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.:                        
    Basic   $ (0.04 )   $ 0.17     $ (0.31 )   $ 0.83  
    Diluted   $ (0.04 )   $ 0.17     $ (0.31 )   $ 0.82  
    Weighted average shares outstanding:                        
    Basic     184,011,189       192,724,541       188,886,583       192,384,315  
    Diluted     184,011,189       194,570,380       188,886,583       194,925,040  
     

    Supplemental Schedule of Total Net Sales

    The following table summarizes total net sales by market within the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations:

        Three-Month Period Ended     Change     Nine-Month Period Ended     Change  
        December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     Amount     %     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     Amount     %  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    Automotive   $ 130,066     $ 194,764     $ (64,698 )     (33 )%   $ 403,143     $ 577,515     $ (174,372 )     (30 )%
    Industrial and other     47,806       60,220       (12,414 )     (21 )%     129,039       231,271       (102,232 )     (44 )%
    Total net sales   $ 177,872     $ 254,984     $ (77,112 )     (30 )%   $ 532,182     $ 808,786     $ (276,604 )     (34 )%
     
    ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (in thousands)
     
        December 27,     March 29,  
        2024
    (Unaudited)    		     2024  
    Assets            
    Current assets:            
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 138,452     $ 212,143  
    Restricted cash     10,510       10,018  
    Trade accounts receivable, net     83,805       118,508  
    Inventories     193,140       162,302  
    Prepaid income taxes     36,037       31,908  
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets     33,683       33,584  
    Current portion of related party notes receivable     —       3,750  
    Total current assets     495,627       572,213  
    Property, plant and equipment, net     320,975       321,175  
    Deferred income tax assets     65,398       54,496  
    Goodwill     202,101       202,425  
    Intangible assets, net     261,553       276,854  
    Related party notes receivable, less current portion     —       4,688  
    Equity investment in related party     30,914       26,727  
    Other assets     65,172       72,025  
    Total assets   $ 1,441,740     $ 1,530,603  
    Liabilities, Non-Controlling Interests and Stockholders’ Equity            
    Current liabilities:            
    Trade accounts payable   $ 39,685     $ 35,964  
    Amounts due to related party     2,102       1,626  
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities     57,751       76,389  
    Current portion of long-term debt     1,374       3,929  
    Total current liabilities     100,912       117,908  
    Long-term debt     374,729       249,611  
    Other long-term liabilities     31,673       31,368  
    Total liabilities     507,314       398,887  
    Commitments and contingencies            
    Stockholders’ Equity:            
    Preferred stock     —       —  
    Common stock     1,840       1,932  
    Additional paid-in capital     1,004,080       694,332  
    (Accumulated deficit) retained earnings     (38,791 )     463,012  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (34,084 )     (28,841 )
    Equity attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.     933,045       1,130,435  
    Non-controlling interests     1,381       1,281  
    Total stockholders’ equity     934,426       1,131,716  
    Total liabilities, non-controlling interests and stockholders’ equity   $ 1,441,740     $ 1,530,603  
    ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (in thousands)
    (Unaudited)
     
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
    Cash flows from operating activities:                        
    Net (loss) income   $ (6,799 )   $ 33,402     $ (58,025 )   $ 159,962  
    Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating activities:                        
    Depreciation and amortization     16,123       20,195       48,578       49,548  
    Amortization of deferred financing costs     694       185       1,781       292  
    Deferred income taxes     (3,751 )     (10,119 )     (11,546 )     (28,253 )
    Stock-based compensation     10,588       10,920       32,251       32,839  
    Loss on change in fair value of forward repurchase contract     —       —       34,752       —  
    Provisions for inventory and expected credit losses     3,031       429       7,519       9,851  
    Change in fair value of marketable securities     —       —       —       3,579  
    Other non-cash reconciling items     68       (25 )     6,645       18  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                        
    Trade accounts receivable     (7,061 )     5,081       34,356       (2,564 )
    Inventories     (19,243 )     11,312       (38,074 )     (19,909 )
    Prepaid expenses and other assets     14,407       7,368       (1,401 )     (13,085 )
    Trade accounts payable     (8,203 )     (12,299 )     5,467       (9,604 )
    Due to and from related parties     (3,568 )     705       564       6,817  
    Accrued expenses and other current and long-term liabilities     (4,469 )     9,404       (21,307 )     (20,540 )
    Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities     (8,183 )     76,558       41,560       168,951  
    Cash flows from investing activities:                        
    Purchases of property, plant and equipment     (13,615 )     (34,399 )     (34,564 )     (110,500 )
    Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired     319       (408,119 )     319       (408,119 )
    Sales of marketable securities     —       —       —       16,175  
    Net cash used in investing activities     (13,296 )     (442,518 )     (34,245 )     (502,444 )
    Cash flows from financing activities:                        
    Net proceeds from Refinanced 2023 Term Loan Facility     —       —       193,483       —  
    Repayment of 2023 Term Loan Facility     (25,000 )     —       (75,000 )     —  
    Borrowings of senior secured debt, net of deferred financing costs     —       245,452       —       245,452  
    Repayment of 2020 Term Loan Facility     —       (25,000 )     —       (25,000 )
    Repayments of other debt     —       (743 )     —       (743 )
    Finance lease payments     (318 )     —       (703 )     —  
    Receipts on related party notes receivable     —       938       1,875       2,813  
    Payments for taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards     (483 )     (10,732 )     (12,780 )     (24,823 )
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan     —       —       1,987       1,899  
    Repurchases of common stock     (116 )     —       (853,921 )     —  
    Net proceeds from issuance of common stock     —       —       665,850       —  
    Payment of debt issuance costs     —       —       —       (1,450 )
    Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities     (25,917 )     209,915       (79,209 )     198,148  
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash     (2,680 )     1,349       (1,305 )     375  
    Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash     (50,076 )     (154,696 )     (73,199 )     (134,970 )
    Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period     199,038       378,431       222,161       358,705  
    Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period:   $ 148,962     $ 223,735     $ 148,962     $ 223,735  
     

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    In addition to the measures presented in our condensed consolidated financial statements, we regularly review other measures, defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends, prepare financial forecasts and make strategic decisions. The key measures we consider are non-GAAP Gross Profit, non-GAAP Gross Margin, non-GAAP Operating Expenses, non-GAAP Operating Income, non-GAAP Operating Margin, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP Profit before Tax, non-GAAP Income Tax Provision, non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate, non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc, non-GAAP Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share, non-GAAP Free Cash Flow, and non-GAAP Free Cash Flow as percentage of net sales (collectively, the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”). These Non-GAAP Financial Measures provide supplemental information regarding our operating performance on a non-GAAP basis that excludes certain gains, losses and charges of a non-cash nature or that occur relatively infrequently and/or that management considers to be unrelated to our core operations, and in the case of non-GAAP Income Tax Provision, management believes that this non-GAAP measure of income taxes provides it with the ability to evaluate the non-GAAP Income Tax Provision across different reporting periods on a consistent basis, independent of special items and discrete items, which may vary in size and frequency. These Non-GAAP Financial Measures are used by both management and our board of directors, together with the comparable GAAP information, in evaluating our current performance and planning our future business activities.

    The Non-GAAP Financial Measures are supplemental measures of our performance that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, GAAP. These Non-GAAP Financial Measures should not be considered as substitutes for GAAP financial measures, such as gross profit, gross margin, net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Also, in the future we may incur expenses or charges, such as those being adjusted in the calculation of these Non-GAAP Financial Measures. Our presentation of these Non-GAAP Financial Measures should not be construed as an inference that future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items. These Non-GAAP Financial Measures exclude costs related to acquisition and related integration expenses, amortization of acquired intangible assets, stock-based compensation, restructuring actions, related-party activities and other non-operational costs.

    Non-GAAP Income Tax Provision

    In calculating non-GAAP Income Tax Provision, we have added back the following to GAAP Income Tax Provision:

    • Tax effect of adjustments to GAAP results—Represents the estimated income tax effect of the adjustments to non-GAAP Profit before Tax described below and elimination of discrete tax adjustments.
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Gross Profit and Non-GAAP Gross Margin  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Gross Profit   $ 81,215     $ 85,662     $ 133,828     $ 241,648     $ 451,281  
    GAAP Gross Margin (% of net sales)     45.7 %     45.7 %     52.5 %     45.4 %     55.8 %
                                   
    Non-GAAP adjustments                              
    Transaction-related costs     5       10       523       14       523  
    Purchased intangible amortization     4,875       4,875       3,648       14,625       4,323  
    Restructuring costs     522       16       166       1,738       166  
    Stock-based compensation     802       817       1,073       2,180       4,625  
    Total Non-GAAP Adjustments   $ 6,204     $ 5,718     $ 5,410     $ 18,557     $ 9,637  
                                   
    Non-GAAP Gross Profit   $ 87,419     $ 91,380     $ 139,238     $ 260,205     $ 460,918  
    Non-GAAP Gross Margin (% of net sales)     49.1 %     48.8 %     54.6 %     48.9 %     57.0 %
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Operating Expenses  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Operating Expenses   $ 81,256     $ 81,595     $ 97,142     $ 248,252     $ 270,934  
                                   
    Research and Development Expenses                              
    GAAP Research and Development Expenses     43,317       43,510       44,396       132,031       130,799  
    Non-GAAP adjustments                              
    Transaction-related costs     333       206       343       1,568       352  
    Restructuring costs     568       260       908       997       908  
    Stock-based compensation     3,960       3,523       3,870       11,218       10,340  
    Other costs(1)     —       3       —       3       —  
    Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses     38,456       39,518       39,275       118,245       119,199  
                                   
    Selling, General and Administrative Expenses                              
    GAAP Selling, General and Administrative Expenses     37,939       38,085       52,746       116,221       140,135  
    Non-GAAP adjustments                              
    Transaction-related costs     148       275       9,543       1,237       14,419  
    Purchased intangible amortization     535       535       495       1,605       1,210  
    Restructuring costs     1,264       2,046       5,795       4,355       5,795  
    Stock-based compensation     5,826       7,205       5,977       18,853       17,874  
    Other costs(1)     391       (1,820 )     283       (618 )     383  
    Non-GAAP Selling, General and Administrative Expenses     29,775       29,844       30,653       90,789       100,454  
                                   
    Total Non-GAAP Adjustments     13,025       12,233       27,214       39,218       51,281  
                                   
    Non-GAAP Operating Expenses   $ 68,231     $ 69,362     $ 69,928     $ 209,034     $ 219,653  
                                   
    (1) Included in non-GAAP other costs are non-recurring charges that are individually immaterial for separate disclosure, such as project evaluation costs, which consist of costs and estimated costs incurred in connection with debt and equity financings or other non-recurring transactions.  
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Operating Income and Non-GAAP Operating Margin  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Operating (Loss) Income   $ (41 )   $ 4,067     $ 36,686     $ (6,604 )   $ 180,347  
    GAAP Operating Margin (% of net sales)     — %     2.2 %     14.4 %     (1.2 )%     22.3 %
                                   
    Transaction-related costs     486       491       10,409       2,819       15,294  
    Purchased intangible amortization     5,410       5,410       4,143       16,230       5,533  
    Restructuring costs     2,354       2,322       6,869       7,090       6,869  
    Stock-based compensation     10,588       11,545       10,920       32,251       32,839  
    Other costs(1)     391       (1,817 )     283       (615 )     383  
    Total Non-GAAP Adjustments   $ 19,229     $ 17,951     $ 32,624     $ 57,775     $ 60,918  
                                   
    Non-GAAP Operating Income   $ 19,188     $ 22,018     $ 69,310     $ 51,171     $ 241,265  
    Non-GAAP Operating Margin (% of net sales)     10.8 %     11.7 %     27.2 %     9.6 %     29.8 %
                                   
    (1) Included in non-GAAP other costs are non-recurring charges that are individually immaterial for separate disclosure, such as project evaluation costs, which consist of costs and estimated costs incurred in connection with debt and equity financings or other non-recurring transactions.  
    Reconciliation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Net (Loss) Income   $ (6,799 )   $ (33,613 )   $ 33,402     $ (58,025 )   $ 159,962  
    GAAP Net (Loss) Income Margin (% of net sales)     (3.8 )%     (17.9 )%     13.1 %     (10.9 )%     19.8 %
                                   
    Interest expense     7,762       10,353       3,854       23,492       5,381  
    Interest income     (388 )     (420 )     (857 )     (1,302 )     (2,550 )
    Income tax (benefit) provision     (803 )     (9,470 )     2,969       (9,233 )     17,584  
    Depreciation & amortization     16,123       15,997       20,227       48,578       49,645  
    EBITDA   $ 15,895     $ (17,153 )   $ 59,595     $ 3,510     $ 230,022  
                                   
    Transaction-related costs     486       3,295       10,409       5,623       15,294  
    Restructuring costs     2,354       2,067       6,869       6,835       6,869  
    Stock-based compensation     10,588       11,545       10,920       32,251       32,839  
    Loss on change in fair value of forward repurchase contract     —       34,752       —       34,752       —  
    Other costs(1)     998       (2,195 )     (551 )     1,610       5,339  
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 30,321     $ 32,311     $ 87,242     $ 84,581     $ 290,363  
    Adjusted EBITDA Margin (% of net sales)     17.0 %     17.2 %     34.2 %     15.9 %     35.9 %
                                   
    (1) Included in non-GAAP other costs are non-recurring charges that are individually immaterial for separate disclosure, such as project evaluation costs, which consist of costs and estimated costs incurred in connection with debt and equity financings or other non-recurring transactions, and income (loss) in earnings of equity investments.  
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Profit before Tax  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP (Loss) Income before Income Taxes   $ (7,602 )   $ (43,083 )   $ 36,371     $ (67,258 )   $ 177,546  
                                   
    Transaction-related costs     486       3,295       10,409       5,623       15,294  
    Transaction-related interest     192       141       162       1,042       162  
    Purchased intangible amortization     5,410       5,410       4,143       16,230       5,533  
    Restructuring costs     2,354       2,067       6,869       6,835       6,869  
    Stock-based compensation     10,588       11,545       10,920       32,251       32,839  
    Loss on change in fair value of forward repurchase contract     —       34,752       —       34,752       —  
    Other costs(1)     1,427       1,428       (551 )     5,662       5,339  
    Total Non-GAAP Adjustments   $ 20,457     $ 58,638     $ 31,952     $ 102,395     $ 66,036  
                                   
    Non-GAAP Profit before Tax   $ 12,855     $ 15,555     $ 68,323     $ 35,137     $ 243,582  
                                   
    (1) Included in non-GAAP other costs are non-recurring charges that are individually immaterial for separate disclosure, such as project evaluation costs, which consist of costs and estimated costs incurred in connection with debt and equity financings or other non-recurring transactions, and income (loss) in earnings of equity investments.  
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Income Tax Provision and Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Income Tax (Benefit) Provision   $ (803 )   $ (9,470 )   $ 2,969     $ (9,233 )   $ 17,584  
    GAAP effective tax rate     10.6 %     22.0 %     8.2 %     13.7 %     9.9 %
                                   
    Tax effect of adjustments to GAAP results     398       10,071       3,748       10,074       10,128  
                                   
    Non-GAAP Income Tax (Benefit) Provision   $ (405 )   $ 601     $ 6,717     $ 841     $ 27,712  
    Non-GAAP effective tax rate     (3.2 )%     3.9 %     9.8 %     2.4 %     11.4 %
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. and Non-GAAP Earnings per Share  
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Net (Loss) Income Attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.(1)   $ (6,860 )   $ (33,675 )   $ 33,345     $ (58,210 )   $ 159,812  
    GAAP Basic weighted average common shares     184,011,189       189,182,850       192,724,541       188,886,583       192,384,315  
    GAAP Diluted weighted average common shares     184,011,189       189,182,850       194,570,380       188,886,583       194,925,040  
    GAAP Basic (Loss) Earnings per Share   $ (0.04 )   $ (0.18 )   $ 0.17     $ (0.31 )   $ 0.83  
    GAAP Diluted (Loss) Earnings per Share   $ (0.04 )   $ (0.18 )   $ 0.17     $ (0.31 )   $ 0.82  
                                   
    Transaction-related costs     486       3,295       10,409       5,623       15,294  
    Transaction-related interest     192       141       162       1,042       162  
    Purchased intangible amortization     5,410       5,410       4,143       16,230       5,533  
    Restructuring costs     2,354       2,067       6,869       6,835       6,869  
    Stock-based compensation     10,588       11,545       10,920       32,251       32,839  
    Loss on change in fair value of forward repurchase contract     —       34,752       —       34,752       —  
    Other costs(2)     1,427       1,428       (551 )     5,662       5,339  
    Total Non-GAAP Adjustments     20,457       58,638       31,952       102,395       66,036  
    Tax effect of adjustments to GAAP results(3)     (398 )     (10,071 )     (3,748 )     (10,074 )     (10,128 )
    Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.   $ 13,199     $ 14,892     $ 61,549     $ 34,111     $ 215,720  
    Basic weighted average common shares     184,011,189       189,182,850       192,724,541       188,886,583       192,384,315  
    Diluted weighted average common shares     184,485,792       189,710,595       194,570,380       189,577,693       194,925,040  
    Non-GAAP Basic Earnings per Share   $ 0.07     $ 0.08     $ 0.32     $ 0.18     $ 1.12  
    Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings per Share   $ 0.07     $ 0.08     $ 0.32     $ 0.18     $ 1.11  
                                   
    (1) GAAP Net (Loss) Income Attributable to Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. represents GAAP Net (Loss) Income adjusted for Net Income Attributable to non-controlling interests.  
    (2) Included in non-GAAP other costs are non-recurring charges that are individually immaterial for separate disclosure, such as project evaluation costs, which consists of costs and estimated costs incurred in connection with debt and equity financings or other non-recurring transactions, income (loss) in earnings of equity investments, and unrealized losses (gains) on investments.  
    (3) To calculate the tax effect of adjustments to GAAP results, the Company considers each non-GAAP adjustment by tax jurisdiction and reverses all discrete items to calculate an annual non-GAAP effective tax rate (“NG ETR”).  This NG ETR is then applied to Non-GAAP Profit Before Tax to arrive at the tax effect of adjustments to GAAP results.  
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow and Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow as Percentage of Net Sales        
                                   
        Three-Month Period Ended     Nine-Month Period Ended  
        December 27, 2024     September 27, 2024     December 29, 2023     December 27, 2024     December 29, 2023  
        (Dollars in thousands)     (Dollars in thousands)  
    GAAP Operating Cash Flow   $ (8,183 )   $ 15,547     $ 76,558     $ 41,560     $ 168,951  
    GAAP Operating Cash Flow (% of net sales)     -4.6 %     8.3 %     30.0 %     7.8 %     20.9 %
    Non-GAAP adjustments                              
    Purchases of property, plant and equipment     (13,615 )     (9,972 )     (34,399 )     (34,564 )     (110,500 )
                                   
    Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow   $ (21,798 )   $ 5,575     $ 42,159     $ 6,996     $ 58,451  
    Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow (% of net sales)     (12.3 )%     3.0 %     16.5 %     1.3 %     7.2 %

    Investor Contact:
    Jalene Hoover
    VP of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
    +1 (512) 751-6526
    jhoover@allegromicro.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: ‘Gujarat Governance Model’ offers several best practices to be replicated elsewhere too, says Dr Jitendra Singh

    Source: Government of India (2)

    ‘Gujarat Governance Model’ offers several best practices to be replicated elsewhere too, says Dr Jitendra Singh

    Highlights Modi’s ‘ Maximum governance, minimum government ‘ mantra;

    Advocates for Central-State Collaboration to Propel India as a Global Governance Model

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:56PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, speaking at the National Conference on Good Governance at the capital township of Gandhinagar here, observed that the “Gujarat Governance Model” offers several best practices which can be successfully replicated elsewhere too.

    The Minister recalled that many of the governance innovations successfully implemented at the Central level were first introduced in Gujarat under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as Chief Minister.

    Addressing a pan-India audience of policymakers, senior bureaucrats, and governance experts, Dr. Jitendra Singh praised the transformation in governance over the last decade. “This transformation did not happen overnight. Many of the reforms introduced at the national level were first tested and perfected in Gujarat, and today they are being replicated across the country,” he remarked.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh underscored the fundamental shift in governance culture under Prime Minister Modi, which has taken policymaking beyond the traditional administrative strongholds of Delhi and into various regions of the country. He cited the Prime Minister’s directive to decentralize governance by ensuring that major policy discussions, conferences and outreach programs are held in different parts of the country and not necessarily in New Delhi. “By moving governance dialogues beyond Delhi, we are ensuring that reforms are more inclusive and reflective of the aspirations of people from all corners of the country,” he said.

    Union Minister of State,  Dr.Jitendra Singh speaking after inaugurating two-day “National Conference on Good Governance” at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

    The Minister also referred to the evolution of India’s administrative framework, recalling how Sardar Patel envisioned a robust bureaucracy as the ‘steel frame’ of India, a vision that has been further refined through the Modi government’s approach of ‘Maximum Governance, Minimum Government.’ He pointed to landmark reforms, such as the scrapping of nearly 2,000 obsolete laws, the elimination of the requirement for attested documents and the removal of interviews for junior-level government jobs as measures that have streamlined bureaucracy and enhanced transparency.

    One of the standout examples of governance innovation, Dr. Jitendra Singh noted, was Gujarat’s early implementation of the 24-hour rural electrification scheme in the early 2000s. “At a time when electricity supply was erratic across the country, Gujarat pioneered uninterrupted rural electrification, a model that was later scaled up at the national level,” he said. Recounting the scale of transformation, Dr. Jitendra Singh spoke about how electricity shortages used to be commonplace in many parts of India. “There was a time when people clapped when the lights came back on after an outage. Today, power cuts are rare, and uninterrupted electricity is an expectation, not a luxury. This is the scale of governance transformation achieved,” he remarked.

    The Minister also outlined India’s progress in digital governance, emphasizing major technological interventions in public administration. Initiatives such as online RTI applications, digital life certificates for pensioners using facial recognition technology, and AI-driven administrative decision-making have positioned India as a leader in governance innovation. He stated that the use of emerging technologies will be central to governance in the coming years, making administration more efficient, transparent, and citizen-friendly.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also spoke about the impressive strides made in grievance redressal mechanisms, particularly the CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System), which has now become a model for citizen-centric governance worldwide. He highlighted CPGRAMS 7.0 as a transformative leap in public grievance redressal, showcasing the power of technology and citizen-centric policies in governance. He emphasized that AI-driven reforms, including semantic search and predictive analytics, have made governance more responsive, bridging the gap between the administration and citizens. With over 19 lakh feedbacks collected and a 50% rise in satisfaction levels, CPGRAMS reflects growing public trust. He urged stakeholders to further strengthen the system, positioning it as a global model of innovation, transparency, and efficient grievance redressal.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted that between 2019 and 2024, India has witnessed a transformative shift in governance, with e-governance streamlining citizen-government interactions and enhancing transparency. He noted that the widespread adoption of e-Office version 7.0 has enabled paperless administration across Ministries, ensuring efficiency and accountability in governance. The Minister emphasized that India’s commitment to e-governance has been reinforced through platforms like the National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG), which has fostered collaboration between the Centre and States since 1997.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the success of the fourth Sushasan Saptah—Good Governance Week—held from December 19 to 25, 2024, as a significant step toward transformative governance. He emphasized the Prashasan Gaon ki Ore campaign, which aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of next-generation reforms by bringing governance closer to citizens through streamlined procedures and technology-driven service delivery. With over 36,000 camps organized across 700+ districts, resolving nearly 2.89 crore service applications, the campaign demonstrated the government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and citizen empowerment at every level.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh further highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring that governance is responsive and attuned to the needs of the people. He reiterated that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the emphasis remains on making government services more accessible, accountable, and technology-driven. He praised Gujarat for setting a benchmark in administrative efficiency and urged other states to adopt similar governance models to enhance service delivery and public administration.

    The National Conference on Good Governance, attended by senior officials and experts, provided a platform to discuss best practices and develop strategies for further strengthening governance mechanisms across India.

    While addressing the conference, Secretary, DAR&PG, Shri V. Srinivas described the Gandhinagar Conference as a milestone moment. He emphasized that the conference aligns with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of leveraging Artificial Intelligence to enhance service delivery and explore emerging technologies in governance. Highlighting the transformative role of technology in bridging the gap between the government and citizens, he informed the gathering that the Gandhinagar event marks the 28th conference since 2014, held under the guidance of MoS Dr. Jitendra Singh.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed confidence that continued collaboration between the central and state governments would lead to more impactful reforms, ultimately driving India towards becoming a global model of effective governance.

    ****

    NKR /PSM

    (Release ID: 2097631) Visitor Counter : 60

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of Vice-President’s address to students from North-East India participating in the Rashtriya Ekatmata Yatra 2025 and Winners of Mann Ki Baat Quiz Competition (Season 4) (Excerpts)

    Source: Government of India

    The ground impact of Mann Ki Baat is amazing, it’s a great learning for young boys and girls, for politicians, for bureaucrats, for entrepreneurs and it dotes every part of this country. Mann Ki Baat concept is motivational, inspirational and highly informative.

    I would urge every young person to seriously go into the earlier episodes of Mann Ki Baat, you’ll find your knowledge level will go up. You will be stead to believe in nationalism. You will be fired by the zeal to always keep nation first.

    Mann Ki Baat, when it was a concept, there was no realization of its impact. Now, people wait for Mann Ki Baat and Mann Ki Baat has gone beyond politics. It has become a platform to connect with the executive head of the country, who for the first time in 60 years has created history to be third term Prime Minister in continuation after Pandit Nehru.

    Therefore I appeal to all of you, examine the information you have in Mann Ki Baat. Examine the inspirational quotes in Mann Ki Baat. Examine the people, historical figures whom we had forgotten. He rekindled in us an urge of nationalism to really worship our real heroes.

    Shri Ashish Chauhan, National Organising Secretary ABVP, I have had the occasion to interact with Sunil Ambekar Ji before I became Governor, State of West Bengal, and I know their commitment, passion, mission and execution is all driven by only one facet, and facet is national welfare, inclusivity, togetherness promulgating brotherhood and sisterhood. 

    As a matter of fact, this reminds me of what Vivekananda Ji said at Chicago address.

    A greatest message to the world at large at that point of time at a conference of Congress of Religions and India’s rich heritage, inclusivity was declared there. I congratulate him but I would say, आपके लंबे चौड़े परिवार में आशीष जी उपराष्ट्रपति का परिवार भी जुड़ गया है और कुछ लोगों को, आप बच्चों को, हमें भी सौभाग्य दो कि हमारे साथ भी चार दिन बिताएं, and this can be a continous program every month.

    As Chairman Rajya Sabha, I have developed a mechanism to train young people to handhold members of Parliament. I have a concept of teenage interns who for seven days have the occasion to keep their eyes open, ears open, mouth shut and see what I do and they look around and gain their way. It is heartening together from Muraleedharan ji, Republic Day and Independence Day. I would make a suggestion to both of you at two more days. We now have for last about a decade celebration of Constitution Day, 26th November, when India go to the Constitution, a very important milestone, make that day also the third day.

    Then our constitution was challenged. Young boys and girls, you do not know, Indira Gandhi as a Prime Minister imposed emergency. The constitution was shut down, people had no fundamental rights. Lakhs of people were sent to jail, many of them have become Prime Ministers, they spent 18 months in jail.

    The doors of judiciary were shut down, for you it is history, but imagine and look around what happened during that period and therefore, I urge both of them, V. Muraleedharan and Ashish Chauhan to add Samvidhan Hatya Divas of 25th June, 1975. Because unless you read history, unless you know the perils we have suffered, unless you know the dangers that are there. Therefore, we have to ensure how democratic roots go deep and democratic roots go deep only when people interact, people communicate, people have occasion to have expression with others and meaningful dialogue

    This is a unique gathering of young boys and girls of 9 states, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam-Ashtalakshmi !

    I have been to each of the states. I have seen your rich culture, cuisine, tribal traditions and the talent which is there. I have had the occasion to spend time both as governor the state of West Bengal because I was heading Eastern Zone Cultural Centre.

    All these are absolutely amazing states, they are gold mine for tourism, they are treasure of culture, ethnicity, variety and imaginable on the planet. We must decide to travel East, receive people from the East.

    That interaction has to take a very high level of interaction. I have had the occasion to invite artists and students from North-East to Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas.

    In early 1990s, the government thought wisely, Look East but Prime Minister Modi has taken it to the next level ‘Act East’ and that ‘Act East’ is being conversed, furthered by Ashish Chauhan and his worthy team.

    Rashtriya Ekatmata Yatra is not an expression, it is our tribute to those who made supreme sacrifice to gain freedom to us. It is our tribute to founding fathers of the Constitution who brought about this nation into existence. It is our tribute to Sardar Patel that he could integrate the princely states and this teaches us one thing, no matter what the challenges are, we will always keep nation first.

    Our nationalism can never be compromised, no gain whatsoever can be a justifiable ground to overlook national interest. The spirit of nationalism should be 24×7 in us.

    The nation for the first time is having an atmosphere of hope and possibility. No nation in the world has grown as fast as exponentially in economic terms, in infrastructure terms, in digitalisation terms, in technological penetration as Bharat. India today, the youth are bubbling with aspiration because they have tested everything is achievable.

    When there will be celebration of Independence centenary at 2047, you will be in your prime, you will be driving the engine, you will be feeling the progress. It is your time, you are the greatest system, stakeholders.

    I’m reminded what Vajpayee Ji said, mark what he says he was a great poet a great prime minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. He was the first non-congress prime minister of this country, “निज हाथों में हँसते-हँसते, आग लगाकर जलना होगा, कदम मिलाकर चलना होगा|” Understand the meaning of it that you will face all trials and tribulations, but we’ll be marching ahead in togetherness for our nation and we must march together.

    Act East policy has done wonders.

    ●     Airports have gone to 17 from , five states of North East are connected by air. There are three international airports.

    ●     Digital connectivity, I gather 95% is by 4G so far.

    ●     Road connectivity and efforts are for rail connectivity.

    The number of visits the Prime Minister has made there is remarkable. All I am suggesting is, and through you to every Indian, there is no more attractive tourist destination in the world than the Northeast. We Indians, all of us in togetherness must make it a habit to travel east, tour east and contribute for development of the east.

    The number of tourists going to the North-East every year is now over 1.25 crores, it’s a great development.

    India is changing and the world is changing because the world is recognizing India as a power. In 1990, when I was a minister, as Lok Sabha member and went to Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar not 20 people were on street, and mind you, for the last 2-3 years, more than two crore tourists are going to Jammu and Kashmir, look at the big change.

    India in the world because of the seminal cultural contribution of the North East is a place unrivaled in the world. Let us share our thoughts, I commend to Mr. Chauhan, you must expand now not arithmetically but geometrically.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Data Informatics and Innovation Division, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Delhi) on 30.01.2025

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:31PM by PIB Delhi

    A Memorandum of Understanding was signed under the Data Innovation lab initiative between Data Informatics and Innovation Division, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Delhi) on 30.01.2025. 

    The Ministry has initiated several reforms to modernise the National Statistical System in the last one year. In July 2024, MoSPI embarked on the scheme for Data Innovation (DI) Lab initiative as to infuse innovation, and build an ecosystem for research-driven solutions. The DI Lab is designed to serve as a platform to harness emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data Analytics to enhance data collection, processing, and dissemination.

    As part of the Outreach Activities, the Lab has been engaging with premier academic institutions. More than 100 academic institutions have been approached. MoU with several reputed institutions including IITs and IIMs have been signed.

    A key objective of this partnership is to leverage academic expertise to tackle real-world challenges in official statistics by creating a link between academia and practitioners.. The statistical landscape is evolving, and new methodologies are needed to address issues like data integration, real-time analytics, and predictive modeling.

    In this collective endeavour and collaborative approach towards improving Official Statistics, the partnership was formalised through this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MoSPI and IIIT Delhi. Collaboration with IIIT Delhi is a crucial step in creating an ecosystem for innovation. With the signing of this MoU, MoSPI is reinforcing its commitment to fostering long-term collaboration between Government and Academia and infusing fresh ideas in the system. This is expected to lead to impactful innovations that will significantly enhance the functioning of MoSPI and strengthen the statistical ecosystem of the country.

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    Samrat/Dheeraj : @pibmospi[at]gmail[dot]com

    (Release ID: 2097621) Visitor Counter : 25

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Ministry of Rural Development announces major infrastructure boost for Maharashtra under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Ministry of Rural Development announces major infrastructure boost for Maharashtra under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)

    Ministry of Rural Development sanctions 27 roads measuring 50.13 km of roads with an estimated investment of Rs. 50.35 crore

    PM-JANMAN projects set to boost growth and prosperity in Maharashtra

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:16PM by PIB Delhi

    In a significant move to strengthen rural connectivity and accelerate economic growth in the Maharashtra, the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned 27 roads measuring 50.13 km under Connectivity component of PM-JANMAN, with an estimated investment of Rs. 50.35 crore, to the State of Maharashtra.

    This landmark initiative will:

    – Provide all weather road connectivity to 27 PVTG habitations in the State.

    – Improve socio-economic condition of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in the State.

    – Enhance connectivity in rural areas, bridging the gap between remote villages and urban centers.

    – Foster economic development, trade and commerce in the region

    – Improve access to essential services like healthcare, education and markets

    – Create employment opportunities and stimulate local economies

    The projects under PM-JANMAN will have a transformative impact on the region, contributing to the growth and prosperity of the Tribal Groups in Maharashtra and cementing the government’s commitment to inclusive development.

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    MG/KSR

    (Release ID: 2097617) Visitor Counter : 30

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chairs a review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chairs a review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel in New Delhi

    Gujarat government should ensure the implementation of the new criminal laws in all commissionerates by April 30, 2025, and across the entire state at the earliest

    Gujarat has done a commendable job by timely filing charge sheets in over 92 per cent of cases involving sentences of more than 10 years

    There should be a video conferencing cubicle for every court in the prisons

    Other states should also adopt Gujarat’s initiative of the Forensic Crime Manager

    Gujarat government has done a commendable job in converting Zero FIRs into 100 per cent regular FIRs

    Gujarat High Court has made a great initiative by issuing directives to all subordinate courts to implement e-processes

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:16PM by PIB Delhi

    The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on the implementation of the three new criminal laws in Gujarat in the presence of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, in New Delhi today. The meeting reviewed the implementation and present status of various new provisions relating to police, jail, courts, prosecution and forensics in Gujarat. The meeting was attended by Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home, the Union Home Secretary, Gujarat’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and several senior officials from the Union Home Ministry and the State Government.

    During the discussion, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister said that the essence of the three new criminal laws introduced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lies in the provision of delivering justice within three years, from the filing of an FIR till the Supreme Court’s verdict in any case. Appreciating the work done so far by the Gujarat government in implementing the new criminal laws, Shri Shah said that the Gujarat government should ensure the implementation of the new criminal laws in all commissionerates by April 30, 2025, and across the entire state at the earliest. He said it should be reviewed monthly by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, fortnightly by the State Home Minister and weekly at the level of Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police.

    Shri Amit Shah stated that Gujarat has commendably achieved timely filing of charge sheets in over 92 per cent of cases involving sentences of more than 10 years. He emphasized that for the remaining cases, a review should be conducted to ensure the utilization of the provision in the Act that allows seeking permission from the court. The Home Minister said that Gujarat has done a commendable job in converting Zero FIRs into 100 per cent regular FIRs. He emphasized the need to establish a system where FIRs can be transferred between two states through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). He also suggested that Gujarat should adopt CCTNS 2.0.

    Regarding the provision of electronic evidence in the new laws, the Home Minister mentioned that the state’s Home and Health Departments should hold meetings to ensure that post-mortem and other medical reports from hospitals are received electronically. Shri Shah also emphasized the need to establish a system for recording evidence via video conferencing in prisons, government hospitals, banks, forensic science laboratories (FSL), and other premises. He said that there should be a video conferencing cubicle for every court in the prisons.

    The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the police should provide the details of people detained for questioning on the electronic dashboard, along with the seizure list and the cases to be forwarded to the courts. He also directed the state Director General of Police for continuous monitoring of these cases. Shri Shah asked to increase the network connectivity speed in police stations to 30 mbps over the prescribed standards.

    Shri Amit Shah said that the state government should issue circulars to ensure that provisions of organised crime, terrorism, mob lynching, are not misused. For this, strict provisions should be made for permission from the highest level. He highlighted that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) includes a provision for Trial in Absentia, which allows legal action against absconding criminals. He emphasized that Trial in Absentia should be initiated against fugitives who have been evading the country for a long time in cases related to national security.

    The Home Minister emphasized ensuring the availability of at least two forensic science mobile vans in every district. He also stated that efforts should be made to ensure that all 12 kits used in mobile forensic vans are manufactured in India. Shri Shah said that other states should also adopt Gujarat’s initiative of Forensic Crime Manager. He emphasized the need to clear pending forensic cases through a special campaign. Highlighting the importance of forensic experts, he urged for the prompt recruitment of vacant positions in the forensic department.

    The Union Home Minister stated that the Gujarat High Court has issued directives on January 22, 2025, for all subordinate courts to implement e-processes, which is a commendable initiative. He emphasized that other states should also make efforts in this direction. Shri Shah urged for the prompt recruitment of vacant positions in the Directorate of Prosecution. He also stressed that judicial officers should be included in training programs, and training sessions should be conducted in coordination with Judicial Academies.

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    Raj Kumar/Vivek/Ashutosh/Priyabhanshu/Pankaj

    (Release ID: 2097618) Visitor Counter : 18

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The Two-Day National Conference with Labour Ministers and Secretaries of States & UTs in New Delhi, chaired by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports Concluded Today

    Source: Government of India (2)

    The Two-Day National Conference with Labour Ministers and Secretaries of States & UTs in New Delhi, chaired by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports Concluded Today

    Labour Welfare for Building & Construction Workers, along with Gig & Platform Workers, is a Top Priority for the Government of India, said Dr. Mandaviya

    Chintin Shivir Provides Collaborative Platform for Cross-Learning and Sharing Best Practices Demonstrated by States/UTs

    Three Committees Formed to Develop Sustainable Model for Comprehensive Social Security Coverage

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 3:53PM by PIB Delhi

    The two-day Workshop with Hon’ble Labour Ministers and Labour Secretaries of States & UTs, concluded today under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports. Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Hon’ble Minister of State for the Ministry of Labour and Employment, along with Hon’ble Labour Ministers from various States/UTs, Ms. Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, and senior officials from States/UTs, were present during the workshop. These meetings marked a successful culmination of the six regional workshops and several other consultations, held over the last year with all 36 States and UTs. Over ten subjects during the five sessions spread over two days, were extensively discussed and inputs gathered, with the objective to design targeted action items. Three Committees comprising five States each were formed. Building on the discussions during the workshop, these Committees will hold consultations and develop a sustainable model for comprehensive social security coverage for workers, to be presented in March 2025.

    Taking note of the deliberations and suggestions made during the two-day workshop, the Union Minister during his address laid out a comprehensive action plan for all stakeholders. He urged States to assess the feasibility of adopting best practices showcased by different States/UTs during the last two days. He emphasized that the Ministry is committed and would continue to work closely with State Governments to design various reforms and initiatives to ensure welfare of organized and unorganized workers. Holistic and sustainable welfare programmes providing pension, healthcare, life and accident insurance, etc. are being discussed.

    Social security for unorganized sector workers, such as the ones in Building and Construction work, in the gig & platform economy, and other sectors was extensively discussed. The Union Minister emphasized developing sustainable social security models for these workers. Further, the welfare of contract labour and the transformation of the role of the inspector to inspector-cum-facilitator were the other main agenda items for day two.  

    States showcased the progress made in utilizing BOCW cess funds in giving social security coverage, besides developing education and skill development institutions for children of Building and Construction Workers. Innovative ways of utilizing these resources for providing various social welfare initiatives like pension were widely deliberated.  

    Progress made in onboarding unorganized workers onto the eShram portal showcased the Government’s efforts towards strengthening the last-mile delivery of benefits to these workers. So far over 30 crore unorganized workers are registered on the eShram portal. The Ministry is also working on designing a dedicated Social Security and Welfare Scheme for Gig & Platform workers. Modalities of funding, data collection, and administration of the Scheme were discussed and States were urged to prioritize the sharing of data of unorganized workers, with a focus on gig & platform workers and support in their registration on eShram on mission mode. Integration of eShram and Government portals like NCS, and SIDH are contributing to promoting employment generation, employability, skill development, etc.

    Shift from inspector to inspector-cum-facilitator model was another major reform discussed with State/UT administrators. The overall objective of this reform is to reduce the compliance burden and promote ease of doing business, along with ensuring decent working conditions, equal opportunities at work and improved employee-employer relationships.

    Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Hon’ble Minister of State for Ministry of Labour and Employment during her closing remarks, underscored the important contribution made by India’s workforce in achieving the goal of becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Maximizing social security coverage and ensuring labour welfare of both organized and unorganized workers was the main goal of all the consultations held over last year and this two-day Chintin Shivir. She reiterated the whole-of-Government approach needed to take all the initiatives to a logical conclusion in a time-bound manner.

    Engaged in the spirit of cooperative federalism, the two-day meetings displayed the Government’s commitment towards promoting labour welfare and facilitating ease of doing business and promoting industrial growth across States/UTs. 

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    Himanshu Pathak

     

    (Release ID: 2097602) Visitor Counter : 87

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 2:48PM by PIB Delhi

    The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary at Rajghat.

    The Prime Minister posted on X;

    “Paid homage to Pujya Bapu at Rajghat earlier today. We reiterate our commitment towards realising his vision for our nation.”

     

     

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    MJPS/ST

    (Release ID: 2097579) Visitor Counter : 35

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: National Critical Minerals Mission aims to reduce import dependence, strengthen domestic value chains and support India’s ‘Net Zero by 2070’ goal: Prime Minister

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 1:12PM by PIB Delhi

    The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said that National Critical Minerals Mission aims to reduce import dependence, strengthen domestic value chains and support India’s ‘Net Zero by 2070’ goal.

    Responding to an article written by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), Shri Modi wrote;

    “Union Minister Shri @kishanreddybjp elaborates on how the National Critical Minerals Mission aims to reduce import dependence, strengthen domestic value chains and support India’s ‘Net Zero by 2070’ goal.”

     

     

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    MJPS/ST

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Non-conventional approach to measure the radial dimension of CMEs can help predict adverse effects on Earth

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 3:44PM by PIB Delhi

    A novel method has been found to determine the instantaneous expansion speed and radial size of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from the Sun when it passes over a spacecraft at a single-point in the interplanetary medium.

    The radial dimension of CMEs governs the longevity of the CMEs and their associated geomagnetic storms on the Earth and hence it is important to determine it, to predict the influence of the CMEs on the Earth’s communication system.

    CMEs are magnetized plasma bubbles ejected from the Sun and evolve in the interplanetary medium. They are the major drivers of perturbations in the Earth’s magnetic field, known as geomagnetic storms. Such storms can cause severe impacts on ground and space-based technological systems, such as communication disruptions, deorbiting satellites, and power grid failures.

    The duration over which the Earth experiences such a magnetic perturbation is influenced by the radial dimension of a CME, along with other parameters, during its passage over the Earth. The changes in the radial dimension of CME depend on its expansion in the interplanetary medium, which has yet to be adequately understood. CMEs expand during their journey due to the pressure difference between CME and ambient solar wind. Limited efforts have been made to investigate the evolution of radial sizes of CMEs so far.  

    The measurements of expansion speeds of CMEs have been done mostly utilizing single-point in situ measurements, which are known to be insufficient to estimate the instantaneous expansion speed of CMEs. 

    In order to overcome this challenge, Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), devised a novel method to estimate a CME’s instantaneous expansion speed even using a single-point in situ spacecraft and will be helpful for sub-L1 monitors.

    They found a method to first infer the accelerations of CME substructures (leading edge, center, and trailing edge) even from single-point in situ observations that are used to estimate their propagation speeds at an instant. This can be used for estimating the instantaneous expansion speed. 

    “Our non-conventional approach utilizes the propagation speed of any two CME substructures at the same instance to determine the instantaneous expansion speed,” said Wageesh Mishra, a faculty at IIA and a co-author of the study.

    This approach also computes the radial size and the distance traveled by the CME substructures at various instances as well.

    “This study has implications for understanding the longevity of perturbations on the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by CMEs,” said Anjali Agarwal, a Ph.D. student at IIA and the first author of the paper published on this work.

    The novel method is demonstrated in a case study of a CME that erupted from the Sun on 2010 April 3, using remote and in situ observations from the NASA and ESA SOHO (SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory), STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElation Observatory), and Wind spacecraft. The researchers noted that the accurate estimation of CME’s expansion speed is essential for predicting its arrival time at Earth, especially its substructures such as center and TE, which are crucial for space weather.

    “The instantaneous expansion speed of a CME derived from our proposed non-conventional approach using a single-point in situ spacecraft provides a substantial outcome — CME substructures evolve differently in the ambient medium, possibly because of different forces acting on them,” said Wageesh Mishra IIA.

    Unlike earlier studies, the authors suggest, a CME, during its journey, experiences a change in the aspect ratio — a measure of the radial dimension of CME with respect to its increasing distance from the Sun. They found that the aspect ratio of CME first increases and then remains constant up to a certain height, followed by a systematic decrease in the IP medium.

    Wageesh Mishra said, “We are looking forward to utilizing single-point in situ observations from the Aditya Solar wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) onboard the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, India’s first space-based solar observatory, with implementing our non-conventional approach, to understand CMEs expansion.”

     

    Figure caption: The left panel shows the CME observed in STEREO/HI-1 (top) and the evolution of its kinematics and the dimension (bottom). The right panel shows the in situ measured speed of CME substructures across their identified thickness (top) and the evolution of its size and expansion speed corresponding to different aspect ratios, compared with that measured from in situ observations near the Earth (bottom).

    ***
     

    NKR/PSM

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister pays tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 9:06AM by PIB Delhi

    The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary. Shri Modi also paid tributes to all those martyred for our nation and recalled their service as well as sacrifices.

    The Prime Minister posted on X;

    “Tributes to Pujya Bapu on his Punya Tithi. His ideals motivate us to build a developed India. I also pay tributes to all those martyred for our nation and recall their service as well as sacrifices.” 

     **********

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Non-discrimination of diabetic pilots in the EU – E-000259/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000259/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Peter Agius (PPE)

    For many commercial pilots in the EU, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes leads to the loss of their pilot licence, and hence their flying careers. This is not the case in the United States, Canada and Australia. It should not be in the EU, either!

    The medical assessment protocol of the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for pilots with diabetes, ARA.MED.330, provides for well-controlled diabetics to obtain aero-medical certification. This has, however, been adopted by only a few of the Member States and relies on outdated technology like finger-prick glucose monitoring.

    Beyond the EU, several countries have adopted updated protocols enabling diabetic pilots to fly safely. Advances in diabetes management, such as continuous glucose monitoring and insulin-delivering technology have transformed the lives of diabetics globally. Yet EU pilots remain unfairly grounded, facing barriers and discrimination.

    With the EASA’s research due in October 2025, action is urgently needed to update the protocol, integrate modern tools and ensure equal opportunities for diabetic pilots across the EU.

    Could the Commission:

    • 1.Provide an update on the EASA’s research and how it plans to incorporate technological advancements on diabetes into the protocol?
    • 2.Explain the steps taken to ensure all of the Member States adopt a standardised approach?
    • 3.Address how it will tackle the professional and emotional toll on diabetic pilots and ensure fair treatment across the EU?

    Submitted: 22.1.2025

    Last updated: 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EIB Group achieves record results in 2024, targets €95 billion in investments for 2025

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • The EIB Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024.
    • A record of nearly 60% of all EIB Group financing supported the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability.
    • There was a sharp increase in higher-risk activities, with a record €8 billion committed for equity and quasi-equity investment.
    • Financing for security and defence projects doubled to €1 billion in 2024, with a further doubling planned in 2025.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group signed €89 billion in new financing last year. The Group made more investments than ever before to strengthen EU energy security, mobilising over €100 billion for projects in new and upgraded infrastructure such as grids and interconnectors, renewables, net-zero industries, efficiency and storage. Nearly 60% of the total financing supported the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability.

    Our preliminary results once again signal robust profitability. At the same time, higher-risk EIB operations to back Europe’s most innovative companies have sharply increased. A record €8 billion in equity and quasi-equity investment from the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) is expected to mobilise €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers.

    Eligible security and defence investment doubled in 2024, and the goal is to double this figure again this year. Furthermore, the EIB Group significantly extended its eligible investments in dual-use projects, which now include border protection, military mobility, de-mining and de-contamination, space, cybersecurity, anti-jamming equipment, seabed and critical infrastructure protection, research and development, and drones.  

    Looking ahead, the EIB Group plans to increase its overall investments to €95 billion in 2025, with flagship initiatives to support European tech champions and a dedicated TechEU programme, critical raw materials, water management, the energy efficiency of small and medium-sized companies, and a dedicated platform to promote sustainable and affordable housing.

    In parallel with increasing its investment capacity and impact, the EIB Group is making significant progress in cutting red tape for clients and has shortened the time to market required to approve and deploy new investments. During 2024, it introduced simplified appraisal procedures covering more than 40% of its operations.

    “We have broken records with our financing in 2024. We have made ourselves ready to support EU priorities in this new political mandate. And we will play an even more relevant role in 2025 – building on the excellent performance of the EIB Group to increase our impact, bolstering Europe’s security and competitiveness with strategic and ambitious investments,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño as she presented the annual operational results of the EIB Group in Brussels.

    Making records

    The EIB Group financing committed in 2024 is expected to power almost 15 million households with clean energy, create up to 1.5 million new jobs in Europe over the next few years, advance therapies against cancer, and help secure affordable housing from Croatia to Latvia.

    In more detail, highlights from last year include:

    • Stepped up higher-risk activities, expected to mobilise about €110 billion in new investments. This includes a record €7.2 billion of investments by the EIF in the equity funds ecosystem, and €1 billion in venture debt by the EIB.
    • More than €14 billion in total investment deployed by the EIF to support Europe’s small businesses and innovators, including in 102 venture capital funds, such as a dedicated fund to back women-owned and gender-balanced startups in space and deep tech.
    • A record €51 billion – around 60% of last year’s investments – to support the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability, from the world’s first zero-emissions tyre factory in Romania to support for sustainable mobility in Valencia, keeping the EIB Group well on track to meet its target of supporting €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the critical decade to 2030.
    • A record €31 billion to back EU energy security, including for efficiency, renewables, storage and electricity grids, which is expected to support over €100 billion in investment. Flagship initiatives include counter-guarantees to bolster European wind manufacturers, electric vehicle battery manufacturing in France and the Princess Elisabeth Island in Belgium. For grids and storage, financing rose to a record €8.5 billion, mobilising 40% of Europe’s total investment in that sector in 2024, including transmission network upgrades and interconnectors in Spain, Czechia and Germany.
    • Support for eligible security and defence projects doubled to €1 billion, including the deployment of dual-use satellites in Poland, port upgrades to meet the needs of NATO vessels in Denmark and investment by the EIF in dedicated private investment funds. A further doubling of annual investments to €2 billion is expected this year.
    • A record €38 billion to accelerate social and territorial cohesion, including credit lines for farmers in Romania, innovative startups in Greece and just transition projects in Estonia.
    • The EIB Group has also provided financial support to boost climate resilience and adaptation from post-landslide reconstruction in Italy to recovery investments in European regions affected by devastating floods.
    • With more than €2.2 billion disbursed since 2022, EIB Group investments in Ukraine are helping to repair schools, kindergartens and hospitals, upgrade transport and protect energy infrastructure, as well as support the private sector.

    Beyond Ukraine, the EIB Group’s operations outside the European Union are supporting stability in the EU neighbourhood and partner countries on their path to EU membership, including with rail upgrades in countries such as Albania and Montenegro.

    Supporting EU global priorities and helping strengthen Europe’s voice in the world, EIB Group financing also helps drought-stricken countries like Jordan to manage water supplies. Thanks to reinforced partnerships inside and outside the European Union, EIB investments are helping eliminate diseases like polio and support sustainable infrastructure around the world from Vietnam to India.

    Ready for the challenges ahead

    Under President Calviño, who took office in January 2024, the EIB Group has updated its internal policies and investment strategy to maximise impact and scale up support for shared European priorities.

    Changes include:

    • A Strategic Roadmap, aligned with EU policies and agreed by the EU 27 Member States (the EIB’s shareholders) to focus resources on impactful investment on eight core priorities.
    • A revamped framework expanding the EIB Group’s activity in the areas of security and defence, with streamlined internal procedures and new partnerships with external stakeholders, such as the NATO Innovation Fund and the European Defence Agency.
    • EIB governors approved the increase of the gearing ratio, an outdated limit on EIB Group’s investments.[1] This will enable the EIB Group to make the necessary strategic investments to deliver on EU policy goals while preserving its leverage and capital ratios.
    • An action plan with building blocks for a deeper capital markets union.
    • Actions and proposals to cut red tape, improve the usability of EU sustainability reporting rules and optimise the use of EU budget instruments.
    • A stepped up time to market initiative to simplify internal processes and boost efficiency, enabling much faster approvals for new financing.
    • An action plan to improve transparency, accountability and well-being in the workplace, including the appointment of an ombudsperson to swiftly address common workplace issues and improve the working environment.

    More relevant than ever in 2025

    Looking ahead, the EIB Group Operational Plan covers up to €95 billion in new investment in 2025, supported by the Group’s stellar credit rating and strong capital position.

    New initiatives aligned with the priorities of the new European Commission expected to be rolled out in 2025 include:

    • Maintaining a 60% green finance target.
    • Scaling up support for leading technologies, including clean-tech, artificial intelligence, chips, high-performance and quantum computing, health sciences and medical technologies, and Europe’s cutting-edge industrial capacity.
    • An exit platform to facilitate the listing of European scale-ups in EU markets or the acquisition of these promising innovators by European companies.
    • An extension of the highly successful European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) as part of the broader goal to boost equity and venture debt investments to scale up Europe’s innovative startups.
    • Further doubling of support for Europe’s security and defence industry
    • A pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing, together with the European Commission and increased financing for the housing sector.
    • Increasing investment for critical raw materials projects, such as the Keliber lithium production facility in Finland agreed last year.
    • A dedicated water programme of about €4.5 billion to focus investment on flood resilience, and to address water scarcity amid intensifying droughts.
    • New support for Europe’s farmers through agricultural insurance and other de-risking schemes, building on a €3 billion facility to improve access to financing for young farmers and women.
    • A €2.5 billion programme to scale up energy efficiency investments by small and medium-sized companies so they can lower their CO2 emissions and electricity bills.

    EIB Group press conference on annual results

    Background information

    The EIB Group is the financing institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It supports investment contributing toward EU policy goals, including sustainable growth, social and territorial cohesion, innovation and security. It finances its operations in global capital markets and has been consistently profitable in its operations since its inception. The EIB Group is the pioneer and one of the largest issuers of green bonds, while all of its operations are aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.

    [1] Subject to final approval by the Council of the European Union.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alan Hirsch, Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

    Donald Trump, America’s new president, has cut back massively on US commitments to asylum seekers, blocked all asylum processes and started to remove irregular immigrants.

    Trump’s new measures are far reaching. They include the suspension of the US refugee admissions programme. Flights booked for refugees to the US have been cancelled. Arrests and deportations have begun.

    Strongly anti-immigrant policies were also pursued under the Biden administration, though Trump’s dramatic steps take them much further. Other countries in the global north have also introduced tougher policies. The 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum sets out tougher border controls, quicker assessment of asylum seekers and swifter removal of those who did not qualify. In the UK, Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to bring down the net migration rate and treat people-smugglers like terrorists.

    Based on my research into migration over the past 30 years I believe that these measures are unlikely to last. There are two linked trends that make closing the borders of the global north impractical and destined for revision.

    The first is that populations in most of the global north are ageing fast (on average) and the fertility rate, or natural population growth rate, has plummeted. There are many more older people as a percentage of the population.

    Secondly, with a workforce shrinking and the dependency ratio (the proportion of non-working to working people) rising rapidly, closing borders to potential labourers from other countries, without any other change, would lead to declining living standards in the global north. Economic growth and government revenues would slow or stagnate, undermining infrastructure maintenance and social service provision.

    There are several possible strategies that could be alternatives to anti-immigration measures. Some older people could migrate south, robots and AI could do more work, workers in the global south could perform remote work for the north, and arrangements could be made to allow migrants into the north either permanently or as circulating migrants.

    All these strategies are already in use, if modestly. Their application would have to expand considerably.

    Misplaced panic

    The responses of governments in the global north are exaggerated. Governments putting in place tough anti-immigrant measures have done so on the back of a narrative that there’s been a significant rise in the number of migrants worldwide.

    This isn’t true. Some countries, such as the US, Germany and Colombia, have seen a spike in refugees and other migrants. But for the rest of the world the picture remains much the same as it has done for decades.

    Foreign-born residents (the most widely used definition of migrants) rose as a proportion of residents worldwide from 2.3% in 1970 to 3.6% in 2020. But in 1960 the number was over 3%, and in the late 1800s migrants made up somewhere between 3% and 5% of the global population.

    So, 3.6% is nothing new.

    As for refugees, in 2023 there were about 38 million, of whom 69% sought refuge in neighbouring countries and 75% in middle- and low-income countries.

    In general, therefore, rich countries have not been carrying the greatest burden.

    The real reason behind these tougher measures is that living standards have stagnated in many countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The cost and availability of housing have worsened; inequality has grown since the 1980s; the quality and availability of public services have deteriorated since the global financial crisis of 2008 and COVID-19; and the quality of employment has shifted to precarious work and poorly paid service sector occupations.

    This has contributed to the rise of populism, including anti-foreigner sentiment and even xenophobia.

    Trump’s actions are the most extreme yet. They include an order to block “aliens involved in the invasion” using “appropriate measures” that give the security forces further powers. The prohibition of southern border asylum hearings in the US and the instruction to “remain in Mexico” means that prospective asylum seekers from third countries may not cross the border to make their applications at the port of entry. They must apply remotely.

    Trump has also ordered that birthright citizenship must be limited to the children of certain categories of residents, essentially citizens or those with residence rights in the form of a “green card”. This move has been temporarily blocked in some states by judges as unconstitutional.

    In addition, the acting head of the Homeland Security Department gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to deport migrants admitted temporarily into the US under several programmes of the Biden administration, targeting refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, and possibly Afghan and Ukrainian refugees too.

    The very first bill to receive final approval from the US Congress under Trump’s second term, the Laken-Riley Act, would require the detention and deportation of migrants who enter the country without authorisation and are charged with certain crimes. This bill was passed with 263 votes and 156 votes against, meaning that 46 House Democrats supported the Republican bill.

    In contrast, in the global south, as I have discussed elsewhere, the trend has been in the opposite direction. South American regional communities liberalised migration most extensively in recent decades, but African regional communities have made progress too, as has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

    The way forward

    Some alternative strategies are leading the way.

    In Canada, the Temporary Foreign Worker programme has expanded steadily since 1973, increasingly including long-term circulating migrating lower-skilled workers for key occupations like catering, care, construction and agriculture. Though it is currently under political scrutiny because of the panic in the north over migration, and because of housing shortages in Canada, it is likely to survive and evolve. Similar systems are emerging across the global north.

    In the EU, Talent Partnerships are now encouraged. Germany, for example, has talent partnerships with Kenya and Morocco, where they train health workers and IT technicians in those countries to work and live in Germany. Spain has various partnerships in Latin America and Africa. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has chosen to be upfront on the choices. In October last year he told the Spanish people:

    Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed off poor country.

    The current fashion for population protectionism in the global north is increasingly nasty, but it is unlikely to stand the test of time. Several constructive responses to the rising dependency ratio are feasible, but being open to more migration, possibly in new forms and through new channels. is an inevitable part of the solution.

    New formal pathways for working migrants and reasonable systems for asylum seekers, along with full enforcement of rules against irregular migrants, could be the combination that works politically and economically.

    – Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last
    – https://theconversation.com/anti-immigration-policies-why-harsh-new-rules-put-in-place-by-trump-and-other-rich-countries-wont-last-248359

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alan Hirsch, Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

    Donald Trump, America’s new president, has cut back massively on US commitments to asylum seekers, blocked all asylum processes and started to remove irregular immigrants.

    Trump’s new measures are far reaching. They include the suspension of the US refugee admissions programme. Flights booked for refugees to the US have been cancelled. Arrests and deportations have begun.

    Strongly anti-immigrant policies were also pursued under the Biden administration, though Trump’s dramatic steps take them much further. Other countries in the global north have also introduced tougher policies. The 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum sets out tougher border controls, quicker assessment of asylum seekers and swifter removal of those who did not qualify. In the UK, Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to bring down the net migration rate and treat people-smugglers like terrorists.

    Based on my research into migration over the past 30 years I believe that these measures are unlikely to last. There are two linked trends that make closing the borders of the global north impractical and destined for revision.

    The first is that populations in most of the global north are ageing fast (on average) and the fertility rate, or natural population growth rate, has plummeted. There are many more older people as a percentage of the population.

    Secondly, with a workforce shrinking and the dependency ratio (the proportion of non-working to working people) rising rapidly, closing borders to potential labourers from other countries, without any other change, would lead to declining living standards in the global north. Economic growth and government revenues would slow or stagnate, undermining infrastructure maintenance and social service provision.

    There are several possible strategies that could be alternatives to anti-immigration measures. Some older people could migrate south, robots and AI could do more work, workers in the global south could perform remote work for the north, and arrangements could be made to allow migrants into the north either permanently or as circulating migrants.

    All these strategies are already in use, if modestly. Their application would have to expand considerably.

    Misplaced panic

    The responses of governments in the global north are exaggerated. Governments putting in place tough anti-immigrant measures have done so on the back of a narrative that there’s been a significant rise in the number of migrants worldwide.

    This isn’t true. Some countries, such as the US, Germany and Colombia, have seen a spike in refugees and other migrants. But for the rest of the world the picture remains much the same as it has done for decades.

    Foreign-born residents (the most widely used definition of migrants) rose as a proportion of residents worldwide from 2.3% in 1970 to 3.6% in 2020. But in 1960 the number was over 3%, and in the late 1800s migrants made up somewhere between 3% and 5% of the global population.

    So, 3.6% is nothing new.

    As for refugees, in 2023 there were about 38 million, of whom 69% sought refuge in neighbouring countries and 75% in middle- and low-income countries.

    In general, therefore, rich countries have not been carrying the greatest burden.

    The real reason behind these tougher measures is that living standards have stagnated in many countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The cost and availability of housing have worsened; inequality has grown since the 1980s; the quality and availability of public services have deteriorated since the global financial crisis of 2008 and COVID-19; and the quality of employment has shifted to precarious work and poorly paid service sector occupations.

    This has contributed to the rise of populism, including anti-foreigner sentiment and even xenophobia.

    Trump’s actions are the most extreme yet. They include an order to block “aliens involved in the invasion” using “appropriate measures” that give the security forces further powers. The prohibition of southern border asylum hearings in the US and the instruction to “remain in Mexico” means that prospective asylum seekers from third countries may not cross the border to make their applications at the port of entry. They must apply remotely.

    Trump has also ordered that birthright citizenship must be limited to the children of certain categories of residents, essentially citizens or those with residence rights in the form of a “green card”. This move has been temporarily blocked in some states by judges as unconstitutional.

    In addition, the acting head of the Homeland Security Department gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to deport migrants admitted temporarily into the US under several programmes of the Biden administration, targeting refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, and possibly Afghan and Ukrainian refugees too.

    The very first bill to receive final approval from the US Congress under Trump’s second term, the Laken-Riley Act, would require the detention and deportation of migrants who enter the country without authorisation and are charged with certain crimes. This bill was passed with 263 votes and 156 votes against, meaning that 46 House Democrats supported the Republican bill.

    In contrast, in the global south, as I have discussed elsewhere, the trend has been in the opposite direction. South American regional communities liberalised migration most extensively in recent decades, but African regional communities have made progress too, as has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

    The way forward

    Some alternative strategies are leading the way.

    In Canada, the Temporary Foreign Worker programme has expanded steadily since 1973, increasingly including long-term circulating migrating lower-skilled workers for key occupations like catering, care, construction and agriculture. Though it is currently under political scrutiny because of the panic in the north over migration, and because of housing shortages in Canada, it is likely to survive and evolve. Similar systems are emerging across the global north.

    In the EU, Talent Partnerships are now encouraged. Germany, for example, has talent partnerships with Kenya and Morocco, where they train health workers and IT technicians in those countries to work and live in Germany. Spain has various partnerships in Latin America and Africa. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has chosen to be upfront on the choices. In October last year he told the Spanish people:

    Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed off poor country.

    The current fashion for population protectionism in the global north is increasingly nasty, but it is unlikely to stand the test of time. Several constructive responses to the rising dependency ratio are feasible, but being open to more migration, possibly in new forms and through new channels. is an inevitable part of the solution.

    New formal pathways for working migrants and reasonable systems for asylum seekers, along with full enforcement of rules against irregular migrants, could be the combination that works politically and economically.

    Alan Hirsch receives funding from the New South Institute for research and the University of Cape Town for advice and supervision.

    – ref. Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last – https://theconversation.com/anti-immigration-policies-why-harsh-new-rules-put-in-place-by-trump-and-other-rich-countries-wont-last-248359

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Baroness Hazarika: Lord Speaker’s Corner | House of Lords | Episode 25

    Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)

    From politics to comedy to campaigning against anti-social behaviour, broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner.

    Baroness Hazarika grew up in Coatbridge, Scotland and is the first person of Indian Assamese heritage to join the House of Lords. She rose to become a senior adviser to Labour figures including Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband, playing a crucial role preparing them for PMQs:

    ‘I think Prime Minister’s Questions gets a very bad rap, because it does often become quite Punch and Judy, but I think it’s a really important function of our democracy. There are not many democracies around the world where the principal politician in the land is called to the same spot week in, week out, and faces questions on any topic from any Member of Parliament across the country.’

    In this episode, Baroness Hazarika talks about her unlikely career path from politics to stand-up comedy and broadcasting, and back to politics. She also explains to Lord McFall how she will use her new political platform to campaign against anti-social behaviour and crime:

    ‘I don’t like calling this low-level crime, because I don’t think it’s low-level crime. But I think this stuff is not easy, but the more we talk about it and the more we press government ministers, that puts the pressure on them to keep on keeping this a priority.’

    Finally, Baroness Hazarika tells Lord McFall about receiving the phone call to offer her a place in the Lords, explaining ‘I really couldn’t believe it, because if you’re somebody like me from my background and you’ve loved politics your whole life, it’s a real honour to be asked to join the House of Lords for the party that you have served and the party you love.’

    She shares that this wasn’t the first thought that went through her head though, saying ‘The person said, “I’m calling on behalf of Keir Starmer. This is really serious. Are you by yourself? I think you better sit down.” And the first thing I thought was, “Oh my goodness, what have I been saying on my social media? Am I about to get cancelled, or am I about to get suspended from the Labour Party? Have I said something terrible?’

    See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/

    #HouseOfLords #UKParliament #LordSpeakersCorner #LordsMembers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlYFCKWBnCo

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI China: Defense Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on Recent Media Queries Concerning the Military on January 17, 2025 2025-01-21 The Lai Ching-te administration, in collusion with foreign forces, has been making constant provocations for “Taiwan independence”.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense 2

    On the morning of January 17, 2025, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, Director General of the Information Office of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and Spokesperson for the MND, answered recent media queries concerning the military.

    Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), answers recent media queries concerning the military on January 17, 2025. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)

    (The following English text is for reference. In case of any divergence of interpretation, the Chinese text shall prevail.)

    I have one piece of information at the top.

    According to the cooperation plan between the Chinese and French militaries, General Wu Yanan, Commander of the PLA Southern Theatre Command and Rear Admiral Guillaume Pinget, Joint Commander of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific had a video phone call on the morning of January 17. They had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common interest.

    Question: After an earthquake struck the city of Rikaze in Xizang, President Xi Jinping made important instructions. The PLA and the PAP are actively involved in rescue and disaster relief efforts. Please share more information on it.

    Wu Qian: On January 7, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in the city of Rikaze in Xizang Autonomous Region and caused heavy casualties. President Xi Jinping attached great importance to the disaster relief work and gave important instructions. He emphasized that every effort be made to search for and rescue survivors, treat the injured, and minimize fatalities.

    Military organs and troops at all levels resolutely implemented the important instructions of President Xi and the CMC, making all out efforts to protect the safety of people’s lives and property and ensure social stability. The CMC Joint Operations Command Center promptly activated the emergency response mechanism and guided the PLA Western Theater Command and PAP troops to organize ground and air forces to effectively carry out rescue operations. As of January 15, the PLA and the PAP had all together deployed 2,055 service members and 869 militia personnel, 20 transport aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as 297 sets of vehicles and engineering equipment. They have rescued 27 people, relocated 2,756 people, set up 21 field medical support stations, treated and provided medical service to 22,359 injured, constructed 2,812 tents or portable houses, provided more than 95,000 portions of hot meals, transported disaster relief supplies of over 4,300 tons, and cleared more than 4,700 cubic meters of debris.

    When the people are affected by disasters, the military will come to their rescue. When the military and the people unite, there is no challenge we cannot overcome. The Tibetan for “Hello, PLA” echoing through the earthquake-stricken area reflects the profound bond between the military and the people. Standing together with the people in earthquake-stricken areas, the people’s military put into practice the fundamental mission of serving the people wholeheartedly with concrete actions, and built an unbreakable great wall of steel to protect the people.

    Question: Since the beginning of 2025, the PLA and the PAP have commenced their annual military training, making an all out effort to meet the military’s centenary goal. Please provide more information about this.

    Wu Qian: In 2025, military training will focus on responding to real security threats, enhance training under real combat scenarios, strengthen exercises on joint operations system, and fully leverage the deterring and conflict-preventing functions of military training. We will implement the arrangements made at the on-site meeting on basic training and the on-site meeting on combined training, conduct training in accordance with the new basic training outline, and address challenging issues by extensively conducting cross-service mixed formations training. We will give priority to training on new equipment such as new-type fighter jets, vessels and missiles, actively explore training in emerging fields such as unmanned systems and intelligent technologies, and create new growth points for combat capabilities. We will use more “technology+” and “cyber+” methods to solve training problems and advance innovations in technology-enhanced training. We will continue to carry out joint exercises and training with the armed forces of relevant countries and regions on more subjects, expand the scale of forces, increase joint training time, actively participate in international military sports competitions, and promote in-depth and practical training exchanges and cooperation between China and foreign countries.

    Question: General Liu Zhenli, Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC, led a delegation to visit Malaysia and Indonesia. Please brief us more on the bilateral military relations between China and these two countries.

    Wu Qian: General Liu Zhenli, member of the CMC and Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC, visited Malaysia and Indonesia from January 6 to 12. During the visit, the two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, such as the relations between the two countries and militaries, and international and regional situation. The visit aimed at implementing the important consensus reached between the leaders of China and these two countries, enhance strategic communication, deepen cooperation, and elevate the mil-to-mil relationship to new heights.

    Both Malaysia and Indonesia are friendly neighbors of China across the sea. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of these two countries, China-Malaysia and China-Indonesia relations have witnessed rapid and comprehensive growth, and started a new chapter of building a community with a shared future. As an important part of bilateral relationship, the mil-to-mil relations have also made positive progress. Sound exchanges and cooperation have been realized in high-level exchanges, joint training and exercises, maritime security, and multilateral coordination under the ASEAN framework. We stand ready to work together with the two militaries to further consolidate strategic mutual trust, strengthen personnel exchanges, extend substantive cooperation, jointly uphold international fairness and justice, work together to implement the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and make joint contributions to peace, stability and prosperity of the region and beyond.

    Question: The first Type 076 amphibious assault ship PLANS Sichuan had its launching and commissioning ceremony recently in Shanghai, which received wide media coverage around the world. According to media of the Taiwan region, the ship has astonishing capabilities for three-dimensional landing operations, and the deployment of the ship would be the most dangerous moment for Taiwan. Some foreign news outlets also claimed that the ship will break regional balance of military power and bring unstable factors. What’s your comment?

    Wu Qian: It is a common practice for countries around the world to develop weapons and equipment in accordance with their national defense requirements. China’s independent development and construction of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship is a normal arrangement consistent with China’s national security needs and the overall development of the PLA Navy. The goal is to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and better protect peace and stability in the region and beyond. The vessel is a new-type amphibious assault ship independently developed by China. It applies electromagnetic catapult and arresting technology, and can carry fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and amphibious equipment. The ship has strong capabilities for amphibious and far-seas operations. After its launching, the ship will conduct equipment adjustments, mooring trials and sea trials.

    China stays committed to the path of peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature. The launching of the ship is a normal arrangement in the development of the PLA Navy. It is not targeted at any specific entity, region or country.

    Question: According to media reports, China’s military exchanges with foreign countries witnessed solid progress with many highlights in the year 2024. Please brief us more information.

    Wu Qian: In 2024, officers, soldiers and civilian personnel engaged in military diplomacy carried forward our fine traditions and made innovative efforts in our undertaking, and continued to improve the quality and efficiency of international military cooperation. First, shaping a favorable strategic environment. Staying in line with the directions set by head-of-state diplomacy, the Chinese military maintained close and practical military cooperation with Russia; progressively restored strategic communications and institutionalized dialogues with the US; deepened strategic communications with European countries, and engaged in exchanges with defense authorities and militaries from dozens of other countries. Second, safeguarding national sovereignty and security. We lodged diplomatic representations and released information in a timely way to respond to provocations and violations made by certain countries on the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue, refuting the wrong words and deeds of relevant parties. Third, expanding multilateral diplomacy. As the host, the Chinese military successfully held the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum and the West Pacific Naval Symposium. We also actively participated in multilateral events like the Shangri-La Dialogue and the Defense Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to make our voice heard on multilateral stages. Fourth, deepening cooperation on joint training and exercises. For the first time, our troops participated in Exercise Peace Unity in Africa and Exercise Formosa in Brazil, which contributed to regional peace and stability. Fifth, fulfilling the responsibilities of a major country. China’s Blue Helmets (peacekeepers) stayed on their combat posts in war zones; Channel 16 (of the PLAN vessel-protection task forces) remains a code for peace in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia; the Ark Peace, the PLAN hospital ship provided medical services to people of 13 countries in Asia and Africa; and humanitarian demining courses were organized for Cambodia and Laos. The Chinese military has been taking concrete actions to deliver hope, warmth and strength.

    In the new year, staff for military diplomacy will continuously act on Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military and Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in promoting military diplomacy. We will uphold the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and go all out to achieve the centenary goal of the PLA.

    Question: According to media reports, the Chinese military’s oxygen supply support system for plateau units has achieved initial results in recent years, effectively meeting the oxygen needs of troops stationed at high altitudes. Please provide more information about this.

    Wu Qian: President Xi and the CMC have always cared for the well-being and health of officers and soldiers stationed on the plateau regions, and have paid close attention to the issue of providing them with adequate oxygen supply. In recent years, we have developed a plateau oxygen supply support system covering large areas, establishing permanent storage points and a tiered distribution network. This system ensures that our troops on the plateau have access to oxygen during routine duties and can carry portable oxygen supplies during mobile operations. The transition from using oxygen solely for life-saving purposes to using it for improving health and conducting operations has significantly decreased the incidence of plateau-related diseases and acute altitude sickness among military personnel.

    First, we have constructed more permanent oxygen production and supply stations, and equipped more oxygen generators to high-altitude units, making oxygen supply available at the soldiers’ bedside. Second, mobile oxygen production facilities, like oxygen-generating cabins, have been deployed to mission areas, effectively overcoming the challenge of sustaining oxygen supply in remote locations. Third, portable individual oxygen supply devices have been issued to to troops, allowing for flexible utilization based on mission requirements. Fourth, we have intensified our efforts in technological innovation, initiating multiple projects for the development of new oxygen production and supply equipment.

    It is cold in the border areas, yet the troops there are full of passion. For a long time, border defense troops stationed on the plateau have guarded the borders in extremely harsh conditions, making great sacrifices for the country and the people. Their dedication to the country will never be forgotten, and their well-being always tugs at the heartstrings of the people.

    Question: It is reported that a naval vessel recently rescued a sick fisherman while performing a mission in the waters of Huangyan Dao. Could you please give us more details about it?

    Wu Qian: Recently, a Chinese fisherman on Qiongqionghai 03003, who was fishing near Huangyan Dao, suddenly suffered from gastric bleeding. The replenishment ship Qinghaihu of the PLA Navy, which was operating in the vicinity, promptly responded and transferred the ailing fisherman aboard for initial medical treatment. It then navigated to waters east of Yongxing Dao, where a rescue helicopter from the Sansha Maritime Search and Rescue Sub-center airlifted the fisherman to the People’s Hospital of Sansha City for further treatment. The fisherman has now been discharged from the hospital and is in stable condition. The Chinese military will continue to protect the safety of the people’s lives and property and contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

    Question: According to the “Taiwan Central News Agency”, Lai Ching-te, leader of the Taiwan region recently said that countries like China and Russia threaten the rule-based international order and undermine peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Therefore, Taiwan needs to continue to raise “defense budget” and enhance “defense capabilities.” What’s your comment?

    Wu Qian: Lai Ching-te and his kind have betrayed their ancestors and what he said was far away from the truth. International documents including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation have confirmed that the Taiwan region should be returned to China. Such fact is an important part of the post-WWII international order. The victory and outcome of the WWII must be respected and safeguarded. There is no other status of the Taiwan region in the international law than being a part of China.

    The Lai Ching-te administration, in collusion with foreign forces, has been making constant provocations for “Taiwan independence”. It is now the biggest source of chaos that undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Asia Pacific. We warn the Lai Ching-te administration and separatists for “Taiwan independence” that any attempt to seek independence by force is just like holding back the tide with a broom, and will eventually lead to self-destruction. Those seeking “Taiwan independence” will never have a good end. The PLA will spare no effort to fight separatism and promote national reunification. We have full confidence that the Taiwan region will return to the motherland and will have a better future after its return.

    Wu Qian: The Chinese Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake is just around the corner. In Chinese tradition, the snake is a symbol of wisdom and vitality It also implies adapability and the conquering of the unyielding with the yielding. As families reunite to bid farewell to the past and embrace the future, I would like to extend warm New Year wishes to you all on behalf of my colleagues. Rest assured that the Chinese military will continue to stand by your side, offering warmth and protection. We will always be the sturdy support you can count on. May our country prosper and our people live in harmony.

    Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), answers recent media queries concerning the military on January 17, 2025. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Xiaowei)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: Forbes Lists Bitget Amongst The World’s Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company was announced in the list of Top 25 most trusted crypto exchanges by Forbes. Ranking eight on the list, Bitget has reported an influx of users in the last year along with a multitude of upgrades and collaborations which has supported its position in entering the club. With top players such as Coinbase, Binance and Robinhood, the list highlights crypto exchanges from all over the globe.

    Recently in its transparency report, Bitget recorded a 400% increase in its userbase surpassing 100M users in December and Spot trading volume increased from $160 billion in Q1 to $600 billion in Q4. Right from collaborating with Turkish national athletes, to legendary football league LALIGA to having new chiefs joining the company and the establishment of multiple licenses, Bitget has strengthened its position as a global leader, becoming the second largest crypto exchange ecosystem.

    Bitget is focusing in its expansion markets via localized marketing, partnerships, and educational initiatives. The exchange offers simplified onboarding, fiat gateways, and localized customer support to ease access. Bitget also invests in blockchain education, strategic sponsorships, and incentive programs to retain users in high-growth regions. With the joining of Hon NG, CLO at Bitget, the team is heavily invested in compliance. Recently, Bitget achieved UK approval, a BSP license in El Salvador and even opened a new exchange in Vietnam to run it as per local requirements.

    A recent report from CCData highlights Bitget’s success as the market share rose to 4.25%, surpassing its previous all-time high recorded in April 2024. Comparing the change in market share of the combined spot and derivatives market, Bitget, Coinbase and Crypto(dot)com were the biggest beneficiaries of 2024, increasing their market share by 4.05%, 3.89% and 3.39% to 10.5%, 5.43%, and 4.71% respectively.

    Previously, Bitget Token (BGB) was ranked as one of the top 10 best-performing cryptocurrencies by Forbes for H1 2024. Since then, BGB has surpassed all expectations with a surge of over 1000% last year. By reducing BGB’s supply, enhancing utility, and expanding real-world applications, Bitget plans to strengthen more functionalities and products in the Bitget ecosystem driving sustainable growth and long-term value for holders.

    Bitget’s debut on Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s most trustworthy crypto exchanges highlights its remarkable growth and increasing credibility in the industry. With a strong BTC-ETH holding score and a focus on transparency, Bitget stands as one of the most secure crypto exchanges in the world. With transparent proof of reserves insuring 100% of its assets and a $600M Protection Fund safeguarding users, the exchange has accelerated its growth worldwide. The inclusion in the Forbes ranking list shows the exchange’s rising influence in the cryptospace.

    About Bitget

    Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 100 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.

    Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM market, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.

    For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet
    For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com

    Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bbcc6417-899e-4a61-92b8-900a237e68f3

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Grattan on Friday: Dutton walks more softly on China, with election in mind

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    When Peter Dutton was asked this week  whether a Coalition government would continue  to foster trade relations with China, he declared unequivocally that “the relationship with China will be much stronger  than it is under the Albanese government”.

    Two points stood out: Dutton’s own positive rhetoric, and his apparent confidence about the future of Australia-China relations.

    It’s not unusual for opposition leaders to undertake a makeover, to their person or policy, as an election approaches. Anthony Albanese lost weight and acquired new glasses. Earlier, he’d made Labor a small policy target.

    Dutton is simultaneously attempting a softening on some fronts – while retaining the “hard man” image on others.

    Mid-last year Dutton said: “I’m pro-China and the relationship that we have with them. I want that trading relationship to increase. […] We need to make sure we strengthen the trading relationship because there are many businesses here who rely on it. But we have to be realistic about working to keep peace […] we live in a very uncertain time. The Prime Minister also says that we live in the most precarious period since the Second World War, and he’s right, and we need to work hard at peace as well.”

    Contrast Dutton as defence minister in 2021. “Does the Chinese government wish to occupy other countries? Not in my judgement. But they do see us as tributary states. And that surrender of sovereignty and abandonment of any adherence to the international rule of law is what our country has fought against since Federation.”

    It’s not that Dutton has changed his views on China. Rather, he’s camouflaged them with a softer tone, and in what he chooses to emphasise. Of course circumstances have changed – Australia now has a much better relationship with China. But significantly, Dutton needs to appeal to the local Chinese-Australian voters.

    At the 2022 election, the Liberals took a big hit among voters of Chinese heritage.

    The party’s review of its election performance, undertaken by former party director Brian Loughnane and frontbencher Jane Hume, said: “In the top 15 seats by Chinese ancestry the swing against the Party (on a 2PP basis) was 6.6%, compared to 3.7% in other seats. There are more than 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage living in Australia today. Rebuilding the Party’s relationship with the Chinese community must be a priority during this term of Parliament.”

    Marginal Labor seats that are targets for the Liberals, where the Chinese vote is significant, include Reid and Bennelong in NSW and Chisholm and Aston in Victoria.

    Dutton (and the PM) will attend a Lunar New Year celebration in Box Hill in Melbourne this weekend.

    It’s notable that David Coleman, named by Dutton last weekend as the opposition’s new spokesman on foreign affairs, has worked extensively with the Chinese community. One of the contenders for the post was the high-performing James Paterson. There may have been stronger arguments for keeping Paterson in home affairs, but his very hawkish stand on China might have been in the mix.

    Talking up the positive side of the Coalition’s record on China, Dutton harked back to the signing of the free trade agreement under the Abbott government, and said “we want there to be mutual respect in the relationship”.

    Over its years in government the Coalition’s relationship with China has varied between pragmatic friendship and suspicious negativity. After relatively smooth sailing in the Abbott period, things soured when the Turnbull government called China out over foreign interference, introducing legislation, and banned Huawei from the 5G network. Then relations plunged dramatically when the Morrison government demanded an inquiry into the origins and handling of the outbreak of COVID in Wuhan.

    Despite Dutton’s confidence, it’s more than possible that managing the China relationship after the election could be trickier than it has been during this one, no matter who is in power.

    The Albanese government can claim the greatly-improved bilateral relationship as one of its major foreign policy achievements. China has brought Australia out of the deep freeze, lifting the $20 billion worth of trade barriers it had imposed. Dialogue and ministerial exchanges have resumed. Anthony Albanese has been welcomed in China.

    But this week’s speculation relating to the new Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek is just the latest reminder of perennial security suspicions about the penetration of Chinese technology.(Incidentally, Dutton has an account on the Chinese-owned TikTok – despite it being banned from official government devices – in part to engage with the local Chinese community, as well as with younger people generally.)

    Australia’s minerals industry is potentially vulnerable to Chinese displeasure. The Senate in the next fortnight will consider the government’s Future Made in Australia legislation, that provides a tax incentive for processing critical minerals. The Chinese have a global stranglehold on this processing – and have shown a willingness to weaponise it, for example against Japan. China’s multi-billion dollar funding of nickel processing in Indonesia has had a dire impact on producers here in Australia.

    The change of government in Australia certainly facilitated the improvement in the bilateral relationship, but that improvement was also strongly driven by China’s own interests. Similarly, the future of the relationship is more in China’s hands than in Australia’s.

    China expert Richard McGregor, from the Lowy Institute, says:“ Relations with China are inherently volatile.

    “The day-by-day relationships have returned to  a degree of normality. But all of the structural stresses which created antagonism are still there.”

    These include China’s “military assertiveness in the region, competition between  the US and China, Australia’s concern about foreign interference and hacking, China’s efforts to build their power in the Pacific at the expense of Australia. None of that has gone away,” McGregor says. The single biggest change of recent years “is that “China has become much more powerful and is far more willing to throw its weight around”.

    Separate to any hiccups in the bilateral relationship, Australia could find itself caught in the crossfire if there is a serious deterioration in the US-China relationship under Donald Trump – notably if his tariff policy leads to a trade war. Simon Jackman, from the University of Sydney, warns that if US policy hit the (already struggling) Chinese economy, that would affect Australian exporters.

    “US tariffs or import bans that slowed China’s economy would cause some short to medium headaches for Australian exporters,” Jackman says. “As in Trump Mark 1 and COVID, Australian export industries would find themselves looking for opportunities elsewhere, if global supply chains had to re-equilibrate in response to an upheaval in the US-China trade relationship.”

    Ironically, the earlier search for diversified markets when the Chinese imposed their restrictions on Australian producers would have helped prepare exporters for such a contingency.

    Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Grattan on Friday: Dutton walks more softly on China, with election in mind – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-dutton-walks-more-softly-on-china-with-election-in-mind-248561

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Four diseases you have probably never heard of

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    In the most remote places in the world, people are daily battling diseases that many people may never have heard of. Called neglected tropical diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognises 20 such conditions. They’re called neglected diseases because diagnostics and treatments for them are overlooked by governments, pharmaceutical companies, and philanthropists.

    In Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) projects, from South Sudan to Nigeria, and Ethiopia to Honduras, these diseases are hard to neglect. Our teams see how they are distressing, disfiguring, and stigmatising for people who are infected. Here are four neglected tropical diseases we see in communities we serve, and what can be done to prevent, control, eliminate, and eradicate them.

    1. Noma

    In the extreme northwest of Nigeria, an MSF team works with the Ministry of Health at the Sokoto noma hospital – a place where noma patients can receive treatment, reconstructive surgery, and mental health support away from stigma. Noma is a disease that disfigures the people it infects, and it can be fatal for 90 per cent of children who contract it.

    Noma begins as ulcers in the mouth that quickly turn gangrenous, eating away at facial tissue. If antibiotics are used early enough, noma is completely treatable. That’s why our project also focuses on community outreach activities, as awareness and prevention measures.

    Noma is the newest neglected tropical disease recognised by WHO. It was added to the official list in December 2023 after years of advocacy from noma survivors and people who support them. While we hope that the addition of noma to the list will mean more investment into understanding, preventing, and treating the disease, new developments are yet to be seen. Insights into noma will be a game changer for the estimated 140,000 people who are infected every year. 

    2. Schistosomiasis

    Schistosomiasis gets its common name, snail fever, because it is caused by a parasite in snails. These snails live in freshwater, making people who live near lakes and rivers susceptible to the disease. Schistosomiasis is found in tropical and subtropical countries around the world, but in South Sudan, the highest prevalence of the disease is in Jonglei state, where MSF runs a hospital in the remote town of Old Fangak.

    Old Fangak is subject to frequent and extreme flooding, and our teams suspect that many women and girls there are suffering from an advanced form of schistosomiasis, female genital schistosomiasis. Many of the interventions for the disease are preventive, and a vaccine is even in the early stages of development. But this is little comfort for people who have already been infected. People with female genital schistosomiasis have debilitating inflammation, and the disease can turn into cancer. In Old Fangak, we are working to ensure women and girls are accurately diagnosed and provided with the best treatment. 

    3. Visceral leishmaniasis

    Visceral leishmaniasis is also called kala azar (‘black fever’ in Hindi), and is most commonly found in Brazil, across East Africa, and in India. We’ve been treating visceral leishmaniasis for decades in Ethiopia. People infected with this neglected tropical disease will have their tissue attacked by a parasite, which is transmitted through the bites of sandflies. Initial mild symptoms – often mistaken for other diseases – develop into a prolonged fever, enlarged spleen, anaemia, and substantial weight loss. Without treatment, it can quickly become fatal.

    Thankfully, there is a cure. A combination of two drugs injected daily for 17 days can save an infected person’s life. Timely diagnosis and access to the drugs remain a challenge in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa, but continued advocacy has made progress in the last few years.

    4. Sleeping sickness

    In the last 25 years, there has been a 97 per cent reduction in the number of people suffering from sleeping sickness, also known as human African trypanosomiasis. This neglected disease, caused by parasites from tsetse fly bites, was eliminated in Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Uganda, and Chad in 2024. Now, Guinea also joins the list of countries that have eliminated sleeping sickness.

    The parasites that cause sleeping sickness attack the brain and spinal cord, leaving infected people to eventually fall into a coma. Without treatment, it’s fatal. Before the 1970s, the only available treatment, derived from arsenic, killed one in 20 people. Today, thanks to the work of our partner organisation Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, there is a simple and safe oral treatment. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Doorstop interview, Shellharbour

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    Stephen Jones:

    Well, after 15 years and 5 elections, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to hand the baton on to somebody else and this will be my last term of office as the member for Whitlam. I want to start by thanking this fantastic community for the trust and the faith that they’ve placed in me over 15 years, together we’ve done lots of great things. I want to thank the members of the Australian Labor Party who supported me over 5 elections. I’ve held our values dearly and always have had those values in the forefront as I’ve made the decisions that I’ve made as a local member and as a Minister in the Albanese government.

    I want to thank the Prime Minister who’s been a friend of mine for many decades. I want to thank him for the faith that he’s placed in me and allowing me to be the Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Financial Services in his government. The toughest job and the best job that I’ve ever had and it’s been an enormous honour. I want to thank all the amazing staff who are standing behind you, who are working for me and the staff that have worked with me over the last 15 years. Everything that I’ve done has been a group effort and in large part, it’s been a result of the amazing commitment, the loyalty, the dedication, and the brilliance of the people who’ve worked for them from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for everything that you’ve done for me.

    I want to thank my family, my wife Brooke, Jess is with me here today, my daughter, my son, Patty. For the love and affection and my huge friendship network, for the support that they’ve given me over those 15 years. It’s been a long journey, but a great one. And an enormous honour. Together, we’ve done lots of things. I have had the pleasure of growing up in this fantastic region. And lived most of my life here and I’ve seen enormous changes over those years. We still make steel here and we still mine coal, but as a region, we’re much, much more.

    We’ve got a world‑class university, which is on a yearly basis, graduating thousands of students, many of whom are the first in their generation ever go to university. And it’s giving them a great opportunity in life. We’re rebuilding the TAFE system, which is actually the reason I first came to the Illawarra when my father moved down here to be a TAFE teacher at Wollongong TAFE and its a sense of great pride to me that my government is prioritising TAFE and apprenticeships and fee‑free TAFE to ensure that whether you go to university or whether you take up a trade, you’ve got a path in life, which is going to give you a secure and decent job.

    There’s new infrastructure for new suburbs. Anyone who has lived down here in the southern part of the Illawarra or up in the Southern Highlands will know where once there was farmland, there are now suburbs. Large parts of the electorate that I represent weren’t actually there when I was first to elected to parliament. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and representing a diverse and vibrant community from the coast to the Hume Highway, and all the challenges that has entailed.

    We’re building new infrastructure. More needs to be done in that area. I look with pride at the fact that we’re investing in social housing. There are kids who are down the road living in social and supported housing in Warilla because of the investments that we’ve put into this region. We’ve connected every house and business to the NBN. It was a big feature of my first campaign back in 2010 to connect the region and connect the businesses, and the things we now take for granted had to be fought for and had to be delivered. More to come in that area.

    The National Disability Insurance Scheme, I worked in the disability sector here in the Illawarra before I was elected and I have a sense of great pride that I belong to a government that said, now’s the time and we’re going to make this second. Not perfect, more needs to be done, but we’ve got a scheme and people’s lives are immeasurably better because it took the courage and the conviction of the government that I was a part of back in 2010 to put that in place.

    We’re rebuilding Medicare. It’s a huge priority. GP services are stretched here in the Illawarra, both the availability and the affordability, so Medicare, which I believe will be a key feature of the campaign, is more important now than ever and rebuilding Medicare after years of neglect, is a national priority.

    I have also had the great honour of being a member of the government’s economic team. When we came into government, inflation was double what it is today, so we put a lot of work into bringing inflation down while supporting people. Many people who are saying we should just slash and burn. Australia would be in a recession today if we followed their advice and that would mean instead of millions of people being in work, there’d be millions of people who are out of work.

    I left school in 1983 in this region. Some of you might remember, I remember what it was like when people were leaving school and couldn’t get a job and didn’t have hope for their future. So people will criticise the decisions we’ve made, but they were right. It means Australians, particularly young Australians are in jobs today and I’m proud of that. We’ve balanced our budgets, but we’ve done that in a responsible way. We’ve got full employment, something that I haven’t seen in my adult lifetime.

    And as a minister, I’ve been really proud to prioritise consumer protections, new rights, and new methods for consumers to ensure that whether it’s at the supermarket or online, their rights are protected and their money is kept safe. I’ve got a bill in parliament next week, which I want to get passed. The Scams Prevention Framework, I’ve put a lot of work into that over the last 5 or 6 years when I started talking about it nobody was. Now everyone’s talking about it. I want to ensure that Australia is the safest place for Australians to do their business and the hardest place for criminals to rip Australians off. So my job is not done. I’ve got some work to do. I want to get legislation through parliament. The Prime Minister has asked that I stay on until the election in the role as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, I’ll continue to do that.

    I’ll continue to fight for something I started as a scruffy union official in the mid‑80s. To fight for superannuation. I feel passionate about that. I want to ensure that this great national institution that started from zero is now the fourth largest pool of private savings anywhere in the world, tenth largest economy, fourth largest pool of superannuation savings. That’s an amazing achievement. A lot of people want to pull it apart, I’ve put a lot of work into saving it and ensuring that as of July this year, every worker gets 12 per cent of their salary on a fortnightly basis going into their pay. Nobody at the age of sixty thinks ‘I’ve got too much money in super’, nobody and that’s because of the great system that we have built.

    We’re building financial advice so that people who retire and have access to the information and advice that they need. Now in a moment I’ll take some questions, and my media advisors will hate when I say this, people sometimes ask you into moments like this, what’s your legacy? I’ve always thought that people in my position they brag about their legacy, they’re Wallys. This is always a collective and a group effort and I strongly believe that we’re custodians. We look after something while we’re here. The truly greats have a legacy and the rest of us, we’re custodians and we do our best, we ensure that the system we inherited is looked after and improved along the way. And that’s where I put myself and it has been one of the great honours of my life to be the member for this amazing area, and a Minister in this fantastic government. Happy to take your questions.

    Journalist:

    I guess the big question is what has prompted the decision to call it quits?

    Jones:

    Thanks Glen. Fifteen years is a long time. The average length of time for a member of Parliament is 5 and a bit years. I’ve done 15. I’ve just reached the stage in my life where I think, it’s time for me to do something else, I don’t know what that is yet, frankly. I don’t know what that is yet. I’m taking a decision which some people might describe as courageous. I’m going to do something different, and I’m confident that the Labor party will select a candidate who’ll run in this election and uphold the values and stand for the things that people in this region need. Whether it’s free TAFE, better infrastructure, the future for our steel industry, rebuilding Medicare, I didn’t say enough about the steel industry by the way. There were times over my 15 years where it was touch and go. I remember in that first term of one between 2010 and 2013, it was direct intervention by the Gillard government which ensured that Port Kembla Steelworks continued to exist and if it didn’t make those interventions, which I was involved in, it wouldn’t have. It’s going from strength to strength today, it’s turning a profit and that’s a great thing and I’m proud to have been a part of that. Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, I’ll be fighting for the future of manufacturing in this country and this region, that’s really important.

    Journalist:

    What achievements are you most proud of Stephen?

    Jones:

    Proud of being a part of a government that delivered the NDIS, delivered the National Broadband Network. I’m proud of a bunch of the conversations that I’ve either been a part of or lead or been a leader in. When I first stood up in, if you look back through your archives, Glen, you’ll see some front pages of the Illawarra Mercury, saying perhaps some unfavourable things about me for standing up on marriage equality. It was controversial then it’s the law of the land today. It was a part about trying to make that a mainstream issue. It’s about equality. I was proud of how an issue that’s on the agenda again today.

    Some you might remember a bloke by the name of Robbie Waterhouse who was on our TV screens every 15 seconds back in 2012/13. I was annoyed that I’d take my kids to the sport and they’d hear more about the odds than the rules of the game and there weren’t a lot of voices jumping up then and saying, yeah, we’ve got knock this gambling advertising on the head and we reformed it and it’ll fall to others to do more in that space down the track.

    Really proud of protecting superannuation, the former government tried to cancel the superannuation guarantee levy increases from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent. I was proud back then when a lot of people thought that was a campaign that couldn’t be won, I said, this is a campaign that must be won. Worked with my good mate, Paul Keating, who I was talking to this morning and we agree this is a campaign that must be won, this is a Labor story, that must be protected for generations to come. Proud of that. We’ll continue to fight for superannuation.

    Almost 3 years to the day. I was talking to my sister a couple days ago, the anniversary of the death of my nephew almost 3 years to the day, I got up in parliament and gave a speech which was very heartfelt as a father and an uncle about the conversation that the country was headed down. I don’t think it’s the role of parliament to be telling individuals who their identity is or parents how they should be parenting, and I felt that very personally, and more than that, I thought the conversation that the nation was involved in about people’s sexual identity and gender identity was not only wrong, it was incredibly harmful because this was sending a very clear message to people that they weren’t right and they weren’t loved. I thought that was not only wrong, I thought it was dangerous. What we say in parliament matters, the tone with which we use our voice matters and it was important to me. So, when you talk about legacy, I think some of it is how we set the public conversation and how we talk about things that matter and I’ve always tried to use my voice responsibly and that way to ensure, the people’s rights and values and dignity and individualism is protected.

    Journalist:

    And when did you use your voice to tell the prime minister that you were going to step down and what was his response for hearing that news?

    Jones:

    Anthony, the Prime Minister is a very old mate of mine and a great Australian and a great Prime Minister. I had the first conversation with him about 6 months ago just thinking about this, I love what I’m doing but I don’t know if I’ve another 3 years in me, I had the conversation again before Christmas and went away on leave to see whether it was going to pass, it didn’t. Anyone – some of you have – worked alongside me for many years know, I chuck everything at it. There’s no off button and you can only do that for so long. These people behind me deserve a bit more time. I’m not going to use that cliche line. But I actually do want my weekends back. And I want to spend a bit more time with the people I love. It’s true. It’s a bit hacky, but more than anything, I want to hand the baton over, I want to leave well, and I want to ensure that I go on and lead a new chapter in my life.

    Journalist:

    Are you confident that Whitlam will remain Labor heartland?

    Jones:

    I’ve never taken this seat for granted. I’ve always treated it as a seat that is marginal, and if you act like that the people will see that you’re not taking them or their issues for granted and they’ll respect that. And that’s the advice I will give to whoever succeeds me.

    Journalist:

    Any regrets? Anything you wish you could re‑do?

    Jones:

    There’s always things you thought you might have gone harder at, you might have gone, maybe I shouldn’t have said that this way, but, I always look forward, not backwards again, Liv, it’s been an honour of my life to represent a region that I love and that I grew up in and that has given so much to me. I hope people reflect on my time here and agree that I’ve given everything I could to it.

    Journalist:

    Are you going to remain here?

    Jones:

    I love this region and I’ll always be attached to it. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do next. In large part that’ll be driven by that. But frankly, if you had a choice between spending a summer afternoon on a beach in Sydney or a summer afternoon on any of the beaches around here, you wouldn’t linger too long on which place you’d go to, would you?

    Journalist:

    And in terms of the replacement, will the branches get to preselect their own candidate, or is that going to be something parachuted in by the Prime Minister?

    Jones:

    That’ll be a matter for the party to work through and I deeply respect the views and aspirations of the members in that respect, but I’m only one voice in that. I will continue to serve with all my heart, energy and strength until the election is determined. But matters of succession will be dealt with by others, I’m just one just one voice in it.

    Journalist:

    What does Labor need to do to stay in government given the polls are suggesting we’re heading towards a minority government?

    Jones:

    I think if people look at the bare facts and ask themselves, who’s got the better plan for the future, there is only one answer to that. If your concern is energy, then ensuring that you vote for the party that backed you in and gave you energy relief, instead of the party that voted against energy relief is a rational decision. If your concern is about having a new energy generation system, which is fit for the future, has got the best technology and is online over the next year or 2. You’ll go with Labor’s plan, not this nuclear fantasy which won’t generate one new watt of power for another 20 years. That is a recipe to provide every Australian household with an increase in their power bills of $1,200 a year. That’s nuts.

    I think we’ve done a lot in the last 2 and a half years. We’ve restored workers rights, we’re rebuilding Medicare, we’ve balanced the budget twice, paid down $80 billion worth of debt, we’ve got a million Australians who are in work who wouldn’t otherwise be. We need another term to finish the job to ensure that we rebuild manufacturing in this region in this country through a Future Made in Australia. We rebuilt Medicare, we fixed the National Disability Insurance Scheme. And more than anything can I say this to you?

    Australia’s got to have a big story. Australia is a great country and a big continent, it’s got to have a big story and there’s got to be a place in it for everyone. We don’t want to have a prime minister and a government that goes down the route of saying, my path to government is by dividing Australians and saying to some Australians there is no place in our national conversation for you and you’ve got to be invisible because I’ve got this view about Australia looks like and that’s the only view of Australia that I’m comfortable with and I think we’re better than that. I think the story of Australia, as I said once before, it’s the story of Breaker Morant, It’s the story of Puberty Blues, it’s the story Priscilla Queen of the Desert, it’s the story of Jedda, it’s the story of The Chant of Jimmie – it’s all of these stories. And to ignore one or some of them and say the only way to be Australian is the one that looks like me is un‑Australian.

    Journalist:

    And what’s it been like to be serving in an electorate named for perhaps the party’s greatest leader?

    Jones:

    He’s a great man. And it’s a great honour. As you can see I’ve got some of his key photos on the wall. He was a great man. Australia’s largest trading partner is China. You talk about economic management, Scott Morrison and the Liberals left our trading relationship with China in tatters. Over 3 years we’ve rebuilt it. It means farmers are selling produce into China that they were locked out of. It means iron ore is flowing into Chinese ports. It means our traded goods are moving into China and Australians are wealthier for it. That started with Gough Whitlam. That started with the Labor government when it was controversial to say we need to trade with every country in Asia, a Labor government did it and we are immeasurably wealthier as a country to today and we will be immeasurably wealthier as a country, over the next 3 years if we back in the Albanese government, the Future Made in Australia and a plan to build a better future that has a place in it for every Australian. Unless there’s any further questions.

    Journalist:

    Just one last one Stephen. I just want to ask one just about the news bargaining code. Who would you like to see take up the work negotiating with the tech giants?

    Jones:

    I will continue the work until the election on the news media bargaining code. I’ve been working closely with my colleague Michelle Roland on this, we will continue that work. I want to see a unity ticket across the parliament on this because when we are talking to the rest of the world, we should talk with one voice. Not as the blue team, or the red team or the green team or the brown team, or whatever, we should be talking with one voice. So I want a unity ticket across the parliament and I’ll continue to put as much energy over the next few months into that as I did over the last 6 months. Thanks so much.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Taranaki Maunga Granted Legal Personhood

    Source: Te Pati Maori

    Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament.

    “Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. Its mana and mauri will forever be protected”, said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

    “For over 150 years, the grief of the Maunga’s confiscation in 1865 has carried through our whānau and iwi.

    “This harm was not only an injustice but a deliberate act by the Crown to strip us of our connection, our taonga, and our mana. The impact of this muru raupatu has been felt across generations, and its mamae remain with us today.

    “This Bill is a step towards restoring the balance that was lost. It reaffirms the enduring relationship between Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and our whenua, ensuring our culture, sovereignty, and identity are honoured in perpetuity.

    “The Crown must now acknowledge the living, ongoing relationship we have with our whenua, with our Maunga. This is not just about the past- it is about the present and the future.

    “While we celebrate this significant victory, we must not overlook the continued threats to undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the ongoing attacks on te iwi Māori.

    “We will not be passive in the face of these threats. Just as we have fought for the recognition of our Maunga, we will stand firm and defend our rights, our whenua, and our people with unwavering strength and conviction.

    “This victory is for our tūpuna who have watched over us, for our whānau who have carried the pain, and for our mokopuna who will continue this legacy and walk in the light of our restored identity. While there is much restoration to happen, our journey of healing begins.

    “Kua hoki mai te mouri o tō tātou tūpuna a Taranaki. Hoki mai e Koro, hoki mai rā e”, concluded Ngarewa-Packer.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –