Source: New South Wales – News
Police are on the scene of a serious crash at Ethelton.
Just after 5pm today emergency services were called to the intersection of Maud Street and Carlisle Street after reports of a crash involving a motorbike.
Carlisle Road is currently closed to traffic.
Major Crash Investigators are attending the scene.
Please avoid the area.
Source: New South Wales – News
A man has been arrested following a fatal crash last week.
A pedestrian was struck by a Honda sedan on Glynburn Road, near Richardson Avenue, Tranmere, just before 6am on Friday 25 July.
Sadly, the 53-year-old Tranmere woman died at the scene.
Neither the driver, a 21-year-old Hectorville man, nor his 24-year-old passenger were physically injured in the collision.
Today, Thursday 31 July, Major Crash Investigators arrested the driver of the Honda. He has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
He was granted police bail to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on 15 October.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) — The Philippines is a troublemaker and a source of danger in the South China Sea (SCS), Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said.
Zhang Xiaogang made the remarks at a press conference on Wednesday, commenting on the Philippine defense minister’s statement that the Philippine military will resolutely respond to China’s “aggressive” actions in the South China Sea and reports that the Philippines is strengthening defense cooperation with the United States, Australia, Japan and India.
The official representative called such statements a complete distortion of the facts and an attempt to shift the blame.
The territorial boundaries of the Philippines have long been defined by a number of international treaties, and the islands in the South China Sea are outside these boundaries, Zhang Xiaogang noted.
He noted that the Philippine side, however, illegally occupies individual reefs and islands of the Nansha Archipelago, which belongs to China, often provokes and creates obstacles for China at sea, and even condones extra-regional forces in escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
China remains steadfast in safeguarding its territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests, and will continue to resolutely oppose the Philippines’ encroachments and provocative actions in accordance with laws and regulations, Zhang Xiaogang concluded. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
CANBERRA, July 31 (Xinhua) — For the Australian federal government, recognizing Palestine is a matter of “when, not if,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC on Thursday.
“There are still a number of obstacles to recognizing a Palestinian state. For example, the treatment of hostages, their release, ensuring that Hamas plays absolutely no role,” Chalmers said.
He made the statement shortly before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his country’s intention to recognize Palestinian statehood at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September.
On Tuesday, foreign ministers from 15 countries, including Australia and Canada, issued a joint statement reaffirming their “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution for Palestine.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under pressure from his fellow party members to recognize Palestinian statehood, ABC reported Thursday. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Donald Trump’s lawyers are pushing to get Rupert Murdoch deposed, and quickly.
The US president is suing the billionaire media owner, alongside the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones and others, for libel after it published an article alleging that Trump once wrote a “bawdy” birthday letter to the convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump is seeking US$10 billion in damages. In a court filing in late July, his lawyers asked the court to order a swift deposition, citing Murdoch’s age at 94.
Trump and Murdoch have a transactional friendship that goes back decades. Despite past tensions, this rupture is something new in a relationship that has continued to serve both men’s interests.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, professor of journalism Andrew Dodd at the University of Melbourne takes us back to where their relationship began in 1970s New York, to understand how Murdoch helped to build brand Trump.
Murdoch was already a very successful media magnate in Australia and the UK before he made his move to America. In 1976, after dabbling in two newspapers in Texas, he bought the New York Post.
“ Murdoch wanted to make it big in the US and to do that he really needed to break into New York,” says Dodd. US television networks were all based in US, he explains, “so by influencing what was going on in Manhattan, he was influencing the entire country’s media.”
Meanwhile, Trump was a young property developer from Queens. “ He’s wanting to develop and build, and he’s also wanting a profile because the profile will help him along the way,” says Dodd. “But he’s also an egomaniac. He needs publicity for its own sake, and so he’s attracted to the media.” Trump became easy and frequent fodder for the new Page Six gossip column of Murdoch’s New York Post.
Dodd says that both men saw in each other “opportunities for their own advancement”. For Trump, it was about access to notoriety. For Murdoch, a newcomer and foreigner in New York, he needed to make friends quickly and start establishing relationships. “He’s becoming ingratiated with power in the city, and so they’re all using one another,” he says.
Listen to the conversation with Andrew Dodd about Trump and Murdoch and the power they now wield over each other, on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware with assistance from Ashlynne McGhee. Mixing and sound design by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl.
Newclips in this episode from ITV News, MSNBC and The Independent.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript of this episode is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Andrew Dodd 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. How Rupert Murdoch helped to build brand Trump – podcast – https://theconversation.com/how-rupert-murdoch-helped-to-build-brand-trump-podcast-262158
MIL OSI –
Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen
Parks, gardens, and allotments all over Aberdeen have retained accolades in a world-wide awards which rewards well managed spaces – just before the city is judged in Britain in Bloom.
Hazlehead Park, Seaton Park, Westfield Park, Victoria Park, Johnstone Gardens, Garthdee Field Allotments, and Slopefield Allotments have been given the Green Flag Award which sets the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the UK and around the world. Duthie Park has been awarded Green Heritage Site from the awards which celebrates its historical and cultural significance alongside environmental beauty.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “Aberdeen is famous for its parks and green spaces. They offer a splendid array of beautiful and peaceful environments for all to enjoy. The Green Flag award is welcome recognition of the high quality of these open places. It is important to maintain them to high standards because of the recreational and health benefits that they offer to residents and to the environment.”
Aberdeen City Council Net Zero, Environment and Transport vice convener Councillor Miranda Radley said: “The Green Flag and Green Heritage Site accolades are thanks to the great work carried out by our enthusiastic gardeners and greenkeepers as well as all the amazing community organisations, groups and individuals who help to continue make Aberdeen’s green spaces beautiful.”
The purpose and aim of The Green Flag Award is:
The Green Heritage Site accreditation acknowledges parks which excel as guardians of history, bring history to life, a place for exploration, preserving authenticity, and understanding the past while inspiring the future.
Aberdeen is in the 2025 finals of the prestigious Britain in Bloom competition after winning the overall best in Scotland award – the Rosebowl – along with the City Trophy, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Award, the VisitScotland Award for Tourism and a Gold Medal Certificate, at the Beautiful Scotland Awards. Britain in Bloom judges will be in Aberdeen next month.
Aberdeen has won a medal in either Britain in Bloom or Beautiful Scotland every year since 2008 and has been award-winning in the competitions since 1964. Aberdeen City Council this year is also celebrating 61 years competing in Britain in Bloom and Beautiful Scotland.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
Labor is well-placed to win three seats in the electorate of Bass at the Tasmanian election, although its party totals imply it deserves only two. This would give left-leaning MPs a total of 20 of 35 seats. Interstate, New South Wales Labor has surged to a large lead in a Resolve poll.
The postal receipt deadline for the July 19 Tasmanian state election passed at 10am Tuesday. Final statewide vote shares
were 39.9% Liberals (up 3.2% since the March 2024 election), 25.9% Labor (down 3.2%), 14.4% Greens (up 0.5%), 2.9% Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (up 0.6%), 1.6% Nationals (new) and 15.3% independents (up 5.7%).
Tasmania uses the proportional Hare-Clark system to elect its lower house. There are five electorates corresponding to Tasmania’s five federal seats, and each electorate returns seven members, for a total of 35 lower house MPs.
Under this system, a quota for election is one-eighth of the vote or 12.5%, but half of this (6.2%) is usually enough to give a reasonable chance of election. There’s no above the line section like for the federal Senate. Instead, people vote for candidates not parties, with at least seven preferences required for a formal vote.
Robson rotation means that candidates for each party are randomised across ballot papers for that electorate, so that on some ballot papers a candidate will appear at the top of their party’s ticket and on others at the bottom.
This means parties can’t control the ordering of their candidates. Independents can be listed in single-candidate columns.
Leakage occurs when party candidates with more than one quota are elected and their surplus distributed, or when minor candidates are excluded and their preferences distributed. In the federal Senate, the large majority of votes are cast above the line, and these votes cannot leak from the party that received a first preference vote.
The consequence of leakage is that parties will lose votes from their totals during the distribution of preferences when their own candidates are elected or excluded. Single-candidate tickets can’t lose votes, and will only gain as other candidates are excluded.
Unlike other states and federally, the Tasmanian distribution of preferences is done manually. Before the distributions, analyst Kevin Bonham had called 14 of the 35 seats for the Liberals, ten for Labor, five for the Greens and four for left-leaning independents, leaving two undecided (the final seats in Bass and Lyons).
Final primary votes in Bass gave the Liberals 3.34 quotas, Labor 2.20, the Greens 1.32, the Shooters 0.32 and independent George Razay 0.27. The Shooters and Razay had single-candidate tickets that can’t leak votes.
After three days of preference distributions, vote shares in Bass are 3.30 quotas for the Liberals, 2.25 for Labor, 1.31 for the Greens, 0.40 for the Shooters and 0.37 for Razay.
On quota fractions, the final seat in Bass looks as if it should go to the Shooters or Razay. However, with one Labor candidate already elected, the two leading Labor candidates (Jess Greene and Geoff Lyons) each have about 0.37 quotas with two Labor candidates still to be excluded.
If the remaining Labor votes divide roughly evenly between Greene and Lyons, they would each have about 0.62 quotas. Greens preferences will then favour Labor whether their final opponent is the Shooters or the Liberals. So Labor is well-placed to win three seats in Bass despite their party total implying they only deserve two.
If Labor wins the final Bass seat, Labor, the Greens and left-leaning independents would have a total of 20 of the 35 seats, making any Labor attempt to form government easier.
In Lyons, final primary votes gave the Liberals 3.36 quotas, Labor 2.27, the Greens 1.08, the Shooters 0.53 and the Nationals 0.33. The Shooters had a single-candidate ticket.
The Liberals now have 3.36 quotas, Labor 2.44, the Greens one, the Shooters 0.68 and the Nationals 0.34. Neither Labor nor the Liberals have any chance of pulling off an even split across candidates, so the Shooters will win the final Lyons seat.
A New South Wales state Resolve poll for The Sydney Morning Herald, conducted July 13–18 from a sample of 1,054, gave Labor 38% of the primary vote (up five since April), the Coalition 32% (down four), the Greens 13% (up two), independents 8% (down six) and others 10% (up four).
Resolve does not usually give a two-party estimate for its state polls, but The Poll Bludger estimated a Labor lead by 57–43. Despite the strong voting intentions for Labor, Labor incumbent Chris Minns’ lead over Liberal Mark Speakman as preferred premier narrowed from 40–15 to 35–16. This indicates that Labor’s surge is due to the federal election result.
Resolve polls taken well before an election have overstated the independent vote as they give independent as an option in all seats, when many seats don’t have viable independents. The six-point drop for independents in this poll suggests a different method is now being used.
By 32–25, respondents expected their personal outlook in the next year to get better rather than worse, but by 25–21 they expected the NSW state outlook to get worse.
I previously covered a national Resolve poll for Nine newspapers that gave Labor a 56–44 lead. On reforms, 36% thought the government should take the opportunity from its landslide re-election to undertake reforms, while 32% thought it should restrict itself to policies put forward at the election.
By 47–20, respondents opposed raising the GST rate even if it would reduce other taxes. By 31–26, they supported reducing or ditching negative gearing concessions. By 36–27, they supported reducing or ditching capital gains tax concessions on properties.
By 57–18, respondents thought the opposition should work with the government to negotiate changes, rather than just oppose major reforms.
By 53–18, respondents thought Donald Trump’s election as United States president last November a bad outcome for Australia (68–11 bad in April, after Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs).
By 46–22, they thought Australia becoming more independent from the US on foreign policy and national security would be good. By 38–26, voters blamed Trump more than Albanese for the lack of a meeting.
Adrian Beaumont 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. Labor well-placed to win three Bass seats in Tasmanian election, giving left a total of 20 of 35 MPs – https://theconversation.com/labor-well-placed-to-win-three-bass-seats-in-tasmanian-election-giving-left-a-total-of-20-of-35-mps-261751
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Espionage cost Australia $12.5 billion in 2023-24, according to a study by ASIO and the Australian Institute of Criminology.
The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, including state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding.
Details of the Cost of Espionage report were released by the head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, in delivering the annual Hawke Lecture on Thursday night. Espionage is defined as “the theft of Australian information by another country that is seeking an advantage over Australia”.
Burgess said the Institute estimated foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2 billion from Australian companies and businesses in trade secrets and intellectual property in 2023-24.
In one instance, spies hacked into a major Australian exporters computer network, stealing commercially sensitive information.
“The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Burgess pointed to another espionage incident several years ago when an overseas delegation visited a sensitive Australian horticultural facility.
A delegation member entered a restricted area and photographed a rare, valuable variety of fruit tree. A staff member intervened and deleted the image but it later turned out several of the tree’s branches had been stolen and smuggled out of Australia.
“Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development.”
In another instance, an Australian defence contractor invented and sold a world-leading innovation.
At first sales boomed but then they collapsed, and “customers began flooding the company’s repair centre with faulty products. While the returns looked genuine, closer examination revealed they were cheap and nasty knock offs.
“An investigation uncovered what happened.
“One year earlier, a company representative attended a defence industry event overseas and was approached by an enthusiastic local. She insisted on sharing some content via a USB, which was inserted into a company laptop. The USB infected the system with malware allowing hackers to steal the blueprints for the product.
“Almost certainly, the ‘enthusiastic local’ worked for a foreign intelligence service. The blueprints were given to a state-owned enterprise which mass-produced the knock-offs and deprived the Australian company millions of dollars in lost revenue – the tangible cost of espionage.”
Burgess said many entities do not realise their secrets have been stolen by espionage.
He stressed the institute was deliberately conservative, only modelling costs it could confirm and calculate.
“That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the 12.5 billion dollar figure. The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.”
“The Institute estimates Australia prevented tens of billions of dollars of additional costs by stopping or deterring spying,” Burgess said.
He said ASIO estimated the espionage threat “will only intensify. It is already more serious and sophisticated than ever before, so our response must also be more serious and sophisticated than ever before.”
Burgess confirmed that in 2022 a number of “undeclared Russian intelligence officers” were removed from Australia.
“The decision followed a lengthy ASIO investigation that found the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities.”
Last year, two Russian born Australian citizens were charged with an espionage related offence.
Russian remained a persistent and aggressive espionage threat, Burgess said. “But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with.
“You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets.
“The obvious candidates are very active – I’ve previously named China, Russia and Iran – but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.”
Burgess said increasingly foreign intelligence services were broadening their collection efforts beyond traditional categories. They were aggressively targeting science and technology, and public and private sector projects, negotiations and investments. This includes Antarctic research, green technology, critical minerals and rare earths extraction and processing.
Burgess said foreign intelligence services were “taking a very unhealthy interest in AUKUS and its associated capabilities.”
“Australia’s defence sector is a top intelligence collection priority for foreign governments seeking to blunt our operational edge, gain insights into our operational readiness and tactics, and better understand our allies’ capabilities.
“Targets include maritime and aviation-related military capabilities, but also innovations with both commercial and military applications.
“And with AUKUS, we are not just defending our sovereign capability. We are also defending critical capability shared by and with our partners.”
He said foreign intelligence services were “proactive, creative and opportunistic” in targeting present and former defence employees.
There was relentless cyber espionage, in-person targeting and technical collection.
“In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices.”
Burgess said that ASIO had detected and disrupted 24 major cases of foreign interference in the last three years alone.
This was more than in the previous eight years combined. They were just the major disruptions – there were many other cases. Among the examples he gave were:
spies recruited a security clearance holder who handed over official documents on free trade negotiations
foreign companies connected to intelligence services sought to buy access to personal data sets; sought to buy land near sensitive military sites, and sought to collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technologies
foreign intelligence services tried to get someone employed as a researcher in a media outlet, aiming to shape reporting and receive early warning of critical stories
spies convinced a state bureaucrat to login to a database to obtain details of people considered dissidents by a foreign regime
nation state hackers compromised a peak industry body’s network getting sensitive information
a foreign intelligence service had multiple agents and their family members apply for Australian government jobs to get access to classified information.
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. Espionage cost Australia $12.5 billion in 2023-24, ASIO boss Mike Burgess says – https://theconversation.com/espionage-cost-australia-12-5-billion-in-2023-24-asio-boss-mike-burgess-says-262349
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LONDON, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) (the “Company”), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025.
“Our strong second quarter results demonstrate the meaningful progress we’ve made towards advancing our strategy, helping deliver solid topline results, along with margin and earnings growth,” said Carl Hess, WTW’s Chief Executive Officer. “I’m pleased with how our businesses continued to prove their value and resilience this quarter, providing our clients with critical solutions to help manage people, risk and capital amidst economic uncertainty. Building on our strong first-half performance and continued momentum, we enter the second half of 2025 on track to deliver on our financial framework, including mid-single digit organic revenue growth, operating margin expansion, adjusted earnings per share growth, and free-cash-flow margin expansion. I’d like to thank our colleagues for their consistent execution and dedication to delivering for our clients.”
Consolidated Results
As reported, USD millions, except %
| Key Metrics | Q2-25 | Q2-242 | Y/Y Change |
| Revenue1 | $2,261 | $2,265 | Reported (0)% | CC (1)% | Organic 5% |
| Income from Operations | $368 | $212 | 74% |
| Operating Margin % | 16.3% | 9.4% | 690 bps |
| Adjusted Operating Income | $419 | $385 | 9% |
| Adjusted Operating Margin % | 18.5% | 17.0% | 150 bps |
| Net Income | $332 | $142 | 134% |
| Adjusted Net Income | $285 | $247 | 15% |
| Diluted EPS | $3.32 | $1.36 | 144% |
| Adjusted Diluted EPS | $2.86 | $2.39 | 20% |
| 1 | The revenue amounts included in this release are presented on a U.S. GAAP basis except where stated otherwise. The segment discussion is on an organic basis. |
| 2 | Refer to “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below and the Q2-25 Supplemental Slides for recast of historical Non-GAAP measures. |
Revenue was $2.26 billion for the second quarter of 2025, which was flat compared to $2.27 billion for the same period in the prior year due to the sale of TRANZACT. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, revenue decreased 1%. On an organic basis, revenue increased 5%. See Supplemental Segment Information for additional detail on book-of-business settlements and interest income included in revenue.
Net Income for the second quarter of 2025 was $332 million compared to Net Income of $142 million in the prior-year second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $470 million, or 20.8% of revenue, an increase of 6%, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $445 million, or 19.6% of revenue, in the prior-year second quarter. The U.S. GAAP tax rate for the second quarter was (6.8)%, and the adjusted income tax rate for the second quarter used in calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share was 18.0%.
Cash Flow and Capital Allocation
Cash flows from operating activities were $326 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to cash flows from operating activities of $431 million for the same prior-year period. Free cash flow for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 was $217 million and $305 million, respectively, a decrease of $88 million. The decline was primarily due to increased compensation and cash tax payments as well as the absence of cash inflows from TRANZACT following its sale on December 31, 2024, partly offset by lower Transformation program spending and operational improvements. During the quarter ended June 30, 2025, the Company repurchased 1,614,427 of its outstanding shares for $500 million.
Second Quarter 2025 Segment Highlights
Health, Wealth & Career (“HWC”)
As reported, USD millions, except %
| Health, Wealth & Career | Q2-25 | Q2-24 | Y/Y Change |
| Total Revenue | $1,180 | $1,260 | Reported (6)% | CC (8)% | Organic 4% |
| Operating Income | $280 | $276 | 1% |
| Operating Margin % | 23.8% | 21.9% | 190 bps |
The HWC segment had revenue of $1.18 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 6% (8% decrease constant currency and organic growth of 4%) from $1.26 billion in the prior year due to the sale of TRANZACT. Health delivered organic revenue growth driven by double-digit increases outside North America and solid performance in North America. Wealth generated organic revenue growth from higher levels of Retirement work globally alongside growth in our Investments business from new business wins and product launches. Career had modest revenue growth as healthy demand for advisory project work outside North America was offset by North America client postponement decisions made earlier in the year. Benefits Delivery & Outsourcing revenue was materially flat, as increased project and core administration work within Europe was tempered by lower commission revenue in the Individual Marketplace business compared to the prior year.
Operating margins in the HWC segment increased 190 basis points from the prior-year second quarter to 23.8%, primarily due to the sale of TRANZACT. Excluding TRANZACT operating margins increased 20 basis points. Please refer to the Supplemental Slides for TRANZACT’s standalone historical financial results.
Risk & Broking (“R&B”)
As reported, USD millions, except %
| Risk & Broking | Q2-25 | Q2-24 | Y/Y Change |
| Total Revenue | $1,047 | $979 | Reported 7% | CC 6% | Organic 6% |
| Operating Income | $222 | $202 | 10% |
| Operating Margin % | 21.2% | 20.6% | 60 bps |
The R&B segment had revenue of $1.05 billion in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 7% (6% increase constant currency and organic) from $979 million in the prior year. Corporate Risk & Broking (CRB) had organic revenue growth driven by higher levels of new business activity and strong client retention globally. Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT) revenue was flat for the quarter as clients managed spend more cautiously amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Operating margins in the R&B segment increased 60 basis points from the prior-year second quarter to 21.2%, due primarily to operating leverage driven by strong organic revenue growth and savings from the Transformation program which were partially offset by headwinds from decreased interest income and foreign currency fluctuations.
Select 2025 Financial Considerations
Changes to Non-GAAP financial measures:
Business mix:
Free cash flow:
Capital allocation:
Foreign exchange:
Adjusted operating margin outlook:
The 2025 Financial Considerations above include Non-GAAP financial measures. We do not reconcile forward-looking Non-GAAP measures for reasons explained under “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call to discuss the financial results for the second quarter 2025. It will be held on Thursday, July 31, 2025, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available on WTW’s website. Analysts and institutional investors may participate in the conference call’s question-and-answer session by registering in advance here. An online replay will be available at investors.wtwco.com shortly after the call concludes.
About WTW
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance. Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you. Learn more at www.wtwco.com.
WTW Non-GAAP Measures
In order to assist readers of our consolidated financial statements in understanding the core operating results that WTW’s management uses to evaluate the business and for financial planning, we present the following non-GAAP measures: (1) Constant Currency Change, (2) Organic Change, (3) Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, (4) Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, (5) Adjusted Net Income, (6) Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, (7) Adjusted Income Before Taxes, (8) Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate, (9) Free Cash Flow and (10) Free Cash Flow Margin.
We believe that those measures are relevant and provide pertinent information widely used by analysts, investors and other interested parties in our industry to provide a baseline for evaluating and comparing our operating performance, and in the case of free cash flow, our liquidity results.
Within the measures referred to as ‘adjusted’, we adjust for significant items which will not be settled in cash, or which we believe to be items that are not core to our current or future operations. Some of these items may not be applicable for the current quarter, however they may be part of our full-year results. Additionally, we have historically adjusted for certain items which are not described below, but for which we may adjust in a future period when applicable. Items applicable to the quarter or full year results, or the comparable periods, include the following:
We evaluate our revenue on an as reported (U.S. GAAP), constant currency and organic basis. We believe presenting constant currency and organic information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our comparable results, consistent with how we evaluate our performance internally.
We consider Constant Currency Change, Organic Change, Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Adjusted Income Before Taxes, Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate and Free Cash Flow to be important financial measures, which are used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating and liquidity results against our competitors. These non-GAAP measures are important in illustrating what our comparable operating and liquidity results would have been had we not incurred transaction-related and non-recurring items. Reconciliations of these measures are included in the accompanying tables with the following exception: The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or accessible; and because not all of the information, such as foreign currency impacts necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is available to the Company without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. The Company provides non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations and the U.S. GAAP measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP measures.
Our non-GAAP measures and their accompanying definitions are presented as follows:
Constant Currency Change – Represents the year-over-year change in revenue excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. To calculate this impact, the prior year local currency results are first translated using the current year monthly average exchange rates. The change is calculated by comparing the prior year revenue, translated at the current year monthly average exchange rates, to the current year as reported revenue, for the same period. We believe constant currency measures provide useful information to investors because they provide transparency to performance by excluding the effects that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations have on period-over-period comparability given volatility in foreign currency exchange markets.
Organic Change – Excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, as described above and the period-over-period impact of acquisitions and divestitures on current-year revenue. We believe that excluding transaction-related items from our U.S. GAAP financial measures provides useful supplemental information to our investors, and it is important in illustrating what our core operating results would have been had we not included these transaction-related items, since the nature, size and number of these transaction-related items can vary from period to period.
Adjusted Operating Income/Margin – Income from operations adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted operating income margin is calculated by dividing adjusted operating income by revenue. We consider adjusted operating income/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.
Adjusted EBITDA/Margin – Net Income adjusted for provision for income taxes, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenue. We consider adjusted EBITDA/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations, to benchmark our operating results against our competitors and to evaluate and measure our performance-based compensation plans.
Adjusted Net Income – Net Income Attributable to WTW adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results and the related tax effect of those adjustments and the tax effects of internal reorganizations. This measure is used solely for the purpose of calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share.
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share – Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares, diluted. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.
Adjusted Income Before Taxes – Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted income before taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate.
Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate – Provision for income taxes adjusted for taxes on certain items of amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, the tax effects of significant adjustments and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results, divided by adjusted income before taxes. Adjusted income taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate. Management believes that the adjusted income tax rate presents a rate that is more closely aligned to the rate that we would incur if not for the reduction of pre-tax income for the adjusted items and the tax effects of internal reorganizations, which are not core to our current and future operations.
Free Cash Flow – Cash flows from operating activities less cash used to purchase fixed assets and software. Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure and is not meant to represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. Management believes that free cash flow presents the core operating performance and cash-generating capabilities of our business operations. As a result of our change in presentation, free cash flow for the prior period has been adjusted to conform to the current period, which includes the deduction of our capitalized software costs.
Free Cash Flow Margin – Free Cash Flow as a percentage of revenue, which represents how much of revenue would be realized on a cash basis. We consider this measure to be a meaningful metric for tracking cash conversion on a year-over-year basis due to the non-cash nature of our pension income, which is included in our GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings metrics presented herein.
These non-GAAP measures are not defined in the same manner by all companies and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the information contained within our condensed consolidated financial statements.
WTW Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as: our outlook; the potential impact of natural or man-made disasters like health pandemics and other world health crises; future capital expenditures; ongoing working capital efforts; future share repurchases; financial results (including our revenue, costs or margins) and the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial results; existing and evolving business strategies including those related to acquisitions and dispositions; demand for our services and competitive strengths; strategic goals; the benefits of new initiatives; growth of our business and operations; the sustained health of our product, service, transaction, client, and talent assessment and management pipelines; our ability to successfully manage ongoing leadership, organizational and technology changes, including investments in improving systems and processes; our ability to implement and realize anticipated benefits of any cost-savings initiatives generated from our completed multi-year operational transformation program or other expense savings initiatives; our recognition of future impairment charges; and plans and references to future performance, including our future financial and operating results, short-term and long-term financial goals, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, including with respect to free cash flow generation, adjusted net revenue, adjusted operating margin and adjusted earnings per share, are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use words such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘continues’, ‘seek’, ‘target’, ‘goal’, ‘focus’, ‘probably’, or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature.
There are important risks, uncertainties, events and factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the following: our ability to successfully establish, execute and achieve our global business strategy as it evolves; our ability to fully realize the anticipated benefits of our growth strategy, including inorganic growth through acquisitions; our ability to achieve our short-term and long-term financial goals, such as with respect to our cash flow generation, and the timing with respect to such achievement; the risks related to changes in general economic conditions, business and political conditions, changes in the financial markets, inflation, credit availability, increased interest rates, changes in trade policies, increased tariffs and retaliatory actions; the risks to our short-term and long-term financial goals from any of the risks or uncertainties set forth herein; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of macroeconomic trends, including those relating to changes in trade policies and tariffs, as well as political events, war, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, and other international disputes, terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues and other business interruptions on the global economy and capital markets, such as uncertainty in the global markets, inflation, changes in interest rates and recessionary trends, changes in spending by government agencies and contractors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and long-term goals; our ability to successfully hedge against fluctuations in foreign currency rates; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of natural or man-made disasters such as health pandemics and other world health crises on the demand for our products and services, our cash flows and our business operations; material interruptions to or loss of our information processing capabilities, or failure to effectively maintain and upgrade our information technology resources and systems and related risks of cybersecurity breaches or incidents; our ability to comply with complex and evolving regulations related to data privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; the risks relating to the transitional arrangements in effect subsequent to our completed sale of TRANZACT; significant competition that we face and the potential for loss of market share and/or profitability; the impact of seasonality and differences in timing of renewals and non-recurring revenue increases from disposals and book-of-business sales; the insufficiency of client data protection, potential breaches of information systems or insufficient safeguards against cybersecurity breaches or incidents; the risk of increased liability or new legal claims arising from our new and existing products and services, and expectations, intentions and outcomes relating to outstanding litigation; the risk of substantial negative outcomes on existing or potential future litigation or investigation matters; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including, among other risks, the impacts of pending competition law and regulatory investigations; various claims, government inquiries or investigations or the potential for regulatory action; our ability to make divestitures or acquisitions, including our ability to integrate or manage acquired businesses or carve-out businesses to be disposed, as well as our ability to identify and successfully execute on opportunities for strategic collaboration; our ability to integrate direct-to-consumer sales and marketing solutions with our existing offerings and solutions; our ability to successfully manage ongoing organizational changes, including as a result of our recently-completed multi-year operational transformation program, investments in improving systems and processes, and in connection with our acquisition and divestiture activities; disasters or business continuity problems; our ability to successfully enhance our billing, collection and other working capital efforts, and thereby increase our free cash flow; our ability to properly identify and manage conflicts of interest; reputational damage, including from association with third parties; reliance on third-party service providers and suppliers; risks relating to changes in our management structures and in senior leadership; the loss of key employees or a large number of employees and rehiring rates; our ability to maintain our corporate culture; doing business internationally, including the impact of global trade policies and retaliatory considerations as well as foreign currency exchange rates; compliance with extensive government regulation; the risk of sanctions imposed by governments, or changes to associated sanction regulations (such as sanctions imposed on Russia) and related counter-sanctions; our ability to effectively apply technology, data and analytics solutions, including through the use of artificial intelligence, for internal operations, maintaining industry standards, meeting client preferences and gaining competitive advantage, among other things; changes and developments in the insurance industry or the U.S. healthcare system, including those related to Medicare, and any other changes and developments in legal, regulatory, economic, business or operational conditions that could impact our businesses; the inability to protect our intellectual property rights, or the potential infringement upon the intellectual property rights of others; fluctuations in our pension assets and liabilities and related changes in pension income, including as a result of, related to, or derived from movements in the interest rate environment, investment returns, inflation, or changes in other assumptions that are used to estimate our benefit obligations and their effect on adjusted earnings per share; our capital structure, including indebtedness amounts, the limitations imposed by the covenants in the documents governing such indebtedness and the maintenance of the financial and disclosure controls and procedures of each; our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all; adverse changes in our credit ratings; the impact of recent or potential changes to U.S. or foreign laws, and the enactment of additional, or the revision of existing, state, federal, and/or foreign laws and regulations, recent judicial decisions and development of case law, other regulations and any policy changes and legislative actions, including those that may impose additional excise taxes or impact our effective tax rate; U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. persons owning at least 10% of our shares; changes in accounting principles, estimates or assumptions; our recognition of future impairment charges; risks relating to or arising from environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) practices; fluctuation in revenue against our relatively fixed or higher-than-expected expenses; the risk that investment levels increase; the laws of Ireland being different from the laws of the U.S. and potentially affording less protections to the holders of our securities; and our holding company structure potentially preventing us from being able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and new factors may emerge from time to time that could also affect actual performance and results. For more information, please see Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Copies are available online at http://www.sec.gov or www.wtwco.com.
Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. Given the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this document, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved.
Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. With regard to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.
Contact
INVESTORS
Claudia De La Hoz | Claudia.Delahoz@wtwco.com
| WTW Supplemental Segment Information (In millions of U.S. dollars) (Unaudited) |
||||||||||||||||||
| REVENUE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Components of Revenue Change(i) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | Less: | |||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
As Reported | Currency | Constant Currency | Acquisitions/ | Organic | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | Impact | Change | Divestitures | Change | ||||||||||||
| Health, Wealth & Career | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue excluding interest income | $ | 1,173 | $ | 1,251 | (6)% | 1% | (7)% | (12)% | 4% | |||||||||
| Interest income | 7 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 1,180 | 1,260 | (6)% | 1% | (8)% | (12)% | 4% | |||||||||||
| Risk & Broking | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue excluding interest income | $ | 1,024 | $ | 950 | 8% | 1% | 6% | 0% | 6% | |||||||||
| Interest income | 23 | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 1,047 | 979 | 7% | 1% | 6% | 0% | 6% | |||||||||||
| Segment Revenue | $ | 2,227 | $ | 2,239 | (1)% | 1% | (2)% | (7)% | 5% | |||||||||
| Corporate, reimbursable expenses and other | 24 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 10 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,261 | $ | 2,265 | 0% | 1% | (1)% | (6)% | 5%(ii) | |||||||||
| Components of Revenue Change(i) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | Less: | |||||||||||||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | As Reported | Currency | Constant Currency | Acquisitions/ | Organic | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | % Change | Impact | Change | Divestitures | Change | ||||||||||||
| Health, Wealth & Career | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue excluding interest income | $ | 2,331 | $ | 2,578 | (10)% | 0% | (10)% | (13)% | 3% | |||||||||
| Interest income | 14 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2,345 | 2,596 | (10)% | 0% | (10)% | (13)% | 3% | |||||||||||
| Risk & Broking | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue excluding interest income | $ | 2,029 | $ | 1,900 | 7% | 0% | 7% | 0% | 7% | |||||||||
| Interest income | 45 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2,074 | 1,957 | 6% | 0% | 6% | 0% | 6% | |||||||||||
| Segment Revenue | $ | 4,419 | $ | 4,553 | (3)% | 0% | (3)% | (7)% | 5% | |||||||||
| Corporate, reimbursable expenses and other | 45 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 20 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 4,484 | $ | 4,606 | (3)% | 0% | (3)% | (7)% | 5%(ii) | |||||||||
| (i) | Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding. |
| (ii) | Interest income did not contribute to organic change for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. |
BOOK-OF-BUSINESS SETTLEMENTS AND INTEREST INCOME
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HWC | R&B | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book-of-business settlements | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3 | $ | 2 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3 | $ | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 7 | 9 | 23 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 40 | 44 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 7 | $ | 9 | $ | 26 | $ | 31 | $ | 10 | $ | 6 | $ | 43 | $ | 46 | ||||||||||||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HWC | R&B | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book-of-business settlements | $ | 2 | $ | — | $ | 3 | $ | 4 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 5 | $ | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 14 | 18 | 45 | 57 | 20 | 12 | 79 | 87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 16 | $ | 18 | $ | 48 | $ | 61 | $ | 20 | $ | 12 | $ | 84 | $ | 91 | ||||||||||||||||
SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME (i)
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Health, Wealth & Career | $ | 280 | $ | 276 | ||||
| Risk & Broking | 222 | 202 | ||||||
| Segment Operating Income | $ | 502 | $ | 478 | ||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Health, Wealth & Career | $ | 591 | $ | 612 | ||||
| Risk & Broking | 448 | 405 | ||||||
| Segment Operating Income | $ | 1,039 | $ | 1,017 | ||||
| (i) | Segment operating income excludes certain costs, including amortization of intangibles, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation expenses, certain litigation provisions, and to the extent that the actual expense based upon which allocations are made differs from the forecast/budget amount, a reconciling item will be created between internally-allocated expenses and the actual expenses reported for U.S. GAAP purposes. |
SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Health, Wealth & Career | 23.8% | 21.9% | ||
| Risk & Broking | 21.2% | 20.6% | ||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Health, Wealth & Career | 25.2% | 23.6% | ||
| Risk & Broking | 21.6% | 20.7% | ||
RECONCILIATIONS OF SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME TO INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Segment Operating Income | $ | 502 | $ | 478 | ||||
| Amortization | (49 | ) | (60 | ) | ||||
| Restructuring costs | — | (3 | ) | |||||
| Transaction and transformation(i) | (2 | ) | (97 | ) | ||||
| Unallocated, net(ii) | (83 | ) | (106 | ) | ||||
| Income from Operations | 368 | 212 | ||||||
| Interest expense | (64 | ) | (68 | ) | ||||
| Other income, net | 9 | 23 | ||||||
| Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates | $ | 313 | $ | 167 | ||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Segment Operating Income | $ | 1,039 | $ | 1,017 | ||||
| Amortization | (97 | ) | (120 | ) | ||||
| Restructuring costs | — | (21 | ) | |||||
| Transaction and transformation(i) | (2 | ) | (222 | ) | ||||
| Unallocated, net(ii) | (140 | ) | (162 | ) | ||||
| Income from Operations | 800 | 492 | ||||||
| Interest expense | (129 | ) | (132 | ) | ||||
| Other (loss)/income, net | (55 | ) | 49 | |||||
| Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates | $ | 616 | $ | 409 | ||||
| (i) | In addition to legal fees and other transaction costs, includes primarily consulting fees and compensation costs related to the Transformation program. |
| (ii) | Includes certain costs, primarily related to corporate functions which are not directly related to the segments, and certain differences between budgeted expenses determined at the beginning of the year and actual expenses that we report for U.S. GAAP purposes. |
| WTW Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) |
||||||||
| RECONCILIATIONS OF NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW TO ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE | ||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Net income attributable to WTW | $ | 331 | $ | 141 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items: | ||||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 60 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 3 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 97 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter (i) | — | 13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | (13 | ) | (21 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | (10 | ) | (39 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | (74 | ) | (7 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted Net Income | $ | 285 | $ | 247 | ||||
| Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted | 100 | 103 | ||||||
| Diluted Earnings Per Share | $ | 3.32 | $ | 1.36 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items:(iii) | ||||||||
| Amortization | 0.49 | 0.58 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 0.03 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 0.02 | 0.94 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter (i) | — | 0.13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | (0.13 | ) | (0.20 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | (0.10 | ) | (0.38 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | (0.74 | ) | (0.07 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share(iii) | $ | 2.86 | $ | 2.39 | ||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Net income attributable to WTW | $ | 566 | $ | 331 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items: | ||||||||
| Amortization | 97 | 120 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 21 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 222 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | 62 | (43 | ) | |||||
| Gain on disposal of operations | (14 | ) | — | |||||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | (38 | ) | (85 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | (74 | ) | (7 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted Net Income | $ | 601 | $ | 572 | ||||
| Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted | 100 | 104 | ||||||
| Diluted Earnings Per Share | $ | 5.64 | $ | 3.20 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items:(iii) | ||||||||
| Amortization | 0.97 | 1.16 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 0.20 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 0.02 | 2.14 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 0.13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | 0.62 | (0.42 | ) | |||||
| Gain on disposal of operations | (0.14 | ) | — | |||||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | (0.38 | ) | (0.82 | ) | ||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | (0.74 | ) | (0.07 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share(iii) | $ | 5.99 | $ | 5.53 | ||||
| (i) | Represents a provision related to potential litigation arising out of a structured insurance program originally placed for a client over 15 years ago. The program is of a type and complexity that was highly bespoke to the client and for that reason is unlikely to be exactly replicated elsewhere. Because of this, while we do not believe the potential litigation is material, we believe excluding this matter from adjusted results makes results more comparable from period to period and more representative of our core business operations. |
| (ii) | The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item. |
| (iii) | Per share values and totals may differ due to rounding. |
RECONCILIATIONS OF NET INCOME TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
| Three Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 332 | 14.7% | $ | 142 | 6.3% | |||
| (Benefit from)/provision for income taxes | (21 | ) | 26 | ||||||
| Interest expense | 64 | 68 | |||||||
| Depreciation | 57 | 57 | |||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 60 | |||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 3 | |||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 97 | |||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | |||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | (13 | ) | (21 | ) | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin | $ | 470 | 20.8% | $ | 445 | 19.6% | |||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 571 | 12.7% | $ | 336 | 7.3% | |||
| Provision for income taxes | 44 | 74 | |||||||
| Interest expense | 129 | 132 | |||||||
| Depreciation | 111 | 116 | |||||||
| Amortization | 97 | 120 | |||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 21 | |||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 222 | |||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | |||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | 62 | (43 | ) | ||||||
| Gain on disposal of operations | (14 | ) | — | ||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin | $ | 1,002 | 22.3% | $ | 991 | 21.5% | |||
| (i) | Represents a provision related to potential litigation arising out of a structured insurance program originally placed for a client over 15 years ago. The program is of a type and complexity that was highly bespoke to the client and for that reason is unlikely to be exactly replicated elsewhere. Because of this, while we do not believe the potential litigation is material, we believe excluding this matter from adjusted results makes results more comparable from period to period and more representative of our core business operations. |
RECONCILIATIONS OF INCOME FROM OPERATIONS TO ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME
| Three Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||
| Income from operations and Operating margin | $ | 368 | 16.3% | $ | 212 | 9.4% | |||
| Adjusted for certain items: | |||||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 60 | |||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 3 | |||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 97 | |||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | |||||||
| Adjusted operating income and Adjusted operating income margin | $ | 419 | 18.5% | $ | 385 | 17.0% | |||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||
| Income from operations and Operating margin | $ | 800 | 17.8% | $ | 492 | 10.7% | |||
| Adjusted for certain items: | |||||||||
| Amortization | 97 | 120 | |||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 21 | |||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 222 | |||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | |||||||
| Adjusted operating income and Adjusted operating income margin | $ | 899 | 20.0% | $ | 868 | 18.8% | |||
| (i) | Represents a provision related to potential litigation arising out of a structured insurance program originally placed for a client over 15 years ago. The program is of a type and complexity that was highly bespoke to the client and for that reason is unlikely to be exactly replicated elsewhere. Because of this, while we do not believe the potential litigation is material, we believe excluding this matter from adjusted results makes results more comparable from period to period and more representative of our core business operations. |
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE TO ADJUSTED INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates | $ | 313 | $ | 167 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items: | ||||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 60 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 3 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 97 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | (13 | ) | (21 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted income before taxes | $ | 351 | $ | 319 | ||||
| (Benefit from)/provision for income taxes | $ | (21 | ) | $ | 26 | |||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | 10 | 39 | ||||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | 74 | 7 | ||||||
| Adjusted income taxes | $ | 63 | $ | 72 | ||||
| U.S. GAAP tax rate | (6.8 | )% | 15.6 | % | ||||
| Adjusted income tax rate | 18.0 | % | 22.4 | % | ||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates | $ | 616 | $ | 409 | ||||
| Adjusted for certain items: | ||||||||
| Amortization | 97 | 120 | ||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 21 | ||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 222 | ||||||
| Provision for specified litigation matter(i) | — | 13 | ||||||
| Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits | 62 | (43 | ) | |||||
| Gain on disposal of operations | (14 | ) | — | |||||
| Adjusted income before taxes | $ | 763 | $ | 742 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 44 | $ | 74 | ||||
| Tax effect on certain items listed above(ii) | 38 | 85 | ||||||
| Tax effect of significant adjustments | 74 | 7 | ||||||
| Adjusted income taxes | $ | 156 | $ | 166 | ||||
| U.S. GAAP tax rate | 7.1 | % | 18.1 | % | ||||
| Adjusted income tax rate | 20.5 | % | 22.3 | % | ||||
| (i) | Represents a provision related to potential litigation arising out of a structured insurance program originally placed for a client over 15 years ago. The program is of a type and complexity that was highly bespoke to the client and for that reason is unlikely to be exactly replicated elsewhere. Because of this, while we do not believe the potential litigation is material, we believe excluding this matter from adjusted results makes results more comparable from period to period and more representative of our core business operations. |
| (ii) | The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item. |
RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES TO FREE CASH FLOW
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities | $ | 326 | $ | 431 | ||||
| Less: Additions to fixed assets and software | (109 | ) | (126 | ) | ||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 217 | $ | 305 | ||||
| WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) |
||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,261 | $ | 2,265 | $ | 4,484 | $ | 4,606 | ||||||||
| Costs of providing services | ||||||||||||||||
| Salaries and benefits | 1,449 | 1,397 | 2,773 | 2,739 | ||||||||||||
| Other operating expenses | 336 | 439 | 701 | 896 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 57 | 57 | 111 | 116 | ||||||||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 60 | 97 | 120 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring costs | — | 3 | — | 21 | ||||||||||||
| Transaction and transformation | 2 | 97 | 2 | 222 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs of providing services | 1,893 | 2,053 | 3,684 | 4,114 | ||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 368 | 212 | 800 | 492 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (64 | ) | (68 | ) | (129 | ) | (132 | ) | ||||||||
| Other income/(loss), net | 9 | 23 | (55 | ) | 49 | |||||||||||
| INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES | 313 | 167 | 616 | 409 | ||||||||||||
| Benefit from/(provision for) income taxes | 21 | (26 | ) | (44 | ) | (74 | ) | |||||||||
| INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES | 334 | 141 | 572 | 335 | ||||||||||||
| Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax | (2 | ) | 1 | (1 | ) | 1 | ||||||||||
| NET INCOME | 332 | 142 | 571 | 336 | ||||||||||||
| Income attributable to non-controlling interests | (1 | ) | (1 | ) | (5 | ) | (5 | ) | ||||||||
| NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW | $ | 331 | $ | 141 | $ | 566 | $ | 331 | ||||||||
| EARNINGS PER SHARE | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic earnings per share | $ | 3.34 | $ | 1.37 | $ | 5.68 | $ | 3.22 | ||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 3.32 | $ | 1.36 | $ | 5.64 | $ | 3.20 | ||||||||
| Weighted-average ordinary shares, basic | 99 | 103 | 100 | 103 | ||||||||||||
| Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted | 100 | 103 | 100 | 104 | ||||||||||||
| WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data) (Unaudited) |
||||||||
| June 30, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 1,963 | $ | 1,890 | ||||
| Fiduciary assets | 10,720 | 9,504 | ||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 2,364 | 2,494 | ||||||
| Prepaid and other current assets | 558 | 1,217 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 15,605 | 15,105 | ||||||
| Fixed assets, net | 696 | 661 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 8,938 | 8,799 | ||||||
| Other intangible assets, net | 1,232 | 1,295 | ||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 495 | 485 | ||||||
| Pension benefits assets | 578 | 530 | ||||||
| Other non-current assets | 934 | 806 | ||||||
| Total non-current assets | 12,873 | 12,576 | ||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 28,478 | $ | 27,681 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | ||||||||
| Fiduciary liabilities | $ | 10,720 | $ | 9,504 | ||||
| Deferred revenue and accrued expenses | 1,726 | 2,211 | ||||||
| Current debt | 549 | — | ||||||
| Current lease liabilities | 124 | 118 | ||||||
| Other current liabilities | 752 | 765 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 13,871 | 12,598 | ||||||
| Long-term debt | 4,762 | 5,309 | ||||||
| Liability for pension benefits | 550 | 615 | ||||||
| Provision for liabilities | 369 | 341 | ||||||
| Long-term lease liabilities | 500 | 502 | ||||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 246 | 299 | ||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 6,427 | 7,066 | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | 20,298 | 19,664 | ||||||
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | ||||||||
| EQUITY(i) | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 11,012 | 10,989 | ||||||
| (Accumulated deficit)/retained earnings | (206 | ) | 109 | |||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax | (2,706 | ) | (3,158 | ) | ||||
| Total WTW shareholders’ equity | 8,100 | 7,940 | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 80 | 77 | ||||||
| Total Equity | 8,180 | 8,017 | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | $ | 28,478 | $ | 27,681 | ||||
| (i) | Equity includes (a) Ordinary shares $0.000304635 nominal value; Authorized 1,510,003,775; Issued 97,853,208 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024); Outstanding 97,853,208 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024) and (b) Preference shares, $0.000115 nominal value; Authorized 1,000,000,000 and Issued none in 2025 and 2024. | |
| WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In millions of U.S. dollars) (Unaudited) |
||||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| NET INCOME | $ | 571 | $ | 336 | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to total net cash from operating activities: | ||||||||
| Depreciation | 111 | 116 | ||||||
| Amortization | 97 | 120 | ||||||
| Non-cash restructuring charges | — | 12 | ||||||
| Non-cash lease expense | 47 | 49 | ||||||
| Net periodic cost/(benefit) of defined benefit pension plans | 94 | (11 | ) | |||||
| Provision for doubtful receivables from clients | 7 | 10 | ||||||
| Benefit from deferred income taxes | (70 | ) | (25 | ) | ||||
| Share-based compensation | 68 | 54 | ||||||
| Net gain on disposal of operations | (14 | ) | — | |||||
| Non-cash foreign exchange loss/(gain) | 30 | (12 | ) | |||||
| Other, net | 18 | 22 | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from purchase of subsidiaries: | ||||||||
| Accounts receivable | 225 | 118 | ||||||
| Other assets | (99 | ) | (161 | ) | ||||
| Other liabilities | (778 | ) | (242 | ) | ||||
| Provisions | 19 | 45 | ||||||
| Net cash from operating activities | 326 | 431 | ||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM/(USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Additions to fixed assets and software | (109 | ) | (126 | ) | ||||
| Acquisitions of operations, net of cash acquired | (14 | ) | (18 | ) | ||||
| Contributions to investments in associates | (8 | ) | — | |||||
| Net proceeds from sale of operations | 836 | — | ||||||
| Net purchases of held-to-maturity securities | (50 | ) | — | |||||
| Net purchases of available-for-sale securities | (43 | ) | (14 | ) | ||||
| Net cash from/(used in) investing activities | 612 | (158 | ) | |||||
| CASH FLOWS (USED IN)/FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Senior notes issued | — | 746 | ||||||
| Debt issuance costs | — | (9 | ) | |||||
| Repayments of debt | (2 | ) | (652 | ) | ||||
| Repurchase of shares | (700 | ) | (301 | ) | ||||
| Net proceeds from fiduciary funds held for clients | 141 | 783 | ||||||
| Payments of deferred and contingent consideration related to acquisitions | (15 | ) | — | |||||
| Cash paid for employee taxes on withholding shares | (43 | ) | (24 | ) | ||||
| Dividends paid | (179 | ) | (176 | ) | ||||
| Acquisitions of and dividends paid to non-controlling interests | (2 | ) | (3 | ) | ||||
| Net cash (used in)/from financing activities | (800 | ) | 364 | |||||
| INCREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH | 138 | 637 | ||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 207 | (53 | ) | |||||
| CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD (i) | 4,998 | 3,792 | ||||||
| CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, END OF PERIOD (i) | $ | 5,343 | $ | 4,376 | ||||
| (i) | The amounts of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, their respective classification on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, as well as their respective portions of the increase or decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for each of the periods presented have been included in the Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information section. | |
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 1,963 | $ | 1,247 | ||||
| Fiduciary funds (included in fiduciary assets) | 3,380 | 3,129 | ||||||
| Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 5,343 | $ | 4,376 | ||||
| Decrease in cash, cash equivalents and other restricted cash | $ | (3 | ) | $ | (154 | ) | ||
| Increase in fiduciary funds | 141 | 791 | ||||||
| Total (i) | $ | 138 | $ | 637 | ||||
| (i) | Does not include the effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash. |
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SYDNEY, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Axi, an industry-leading global broker, has been recognised with five awards* from the World Business Outlook Awards for 2025, marking a significant milestone in its continued growth and commitment to excellence:
Best CFD Provider Australia
Best Forex Trading Platform Australia
Best 24/7 Customer Service Provider Australia
Best Forex Broker Australia
Most User-Friendly Trading Experience Australia
“We are beyond proud and humbled to receive five awards from World Business Outlook Awards,” said Louis Cooper, CCO at Axi. “This recognition reflects and reinforces our mission to help our traders and partners gain the edge they need to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving industry. From providing the best-in-class trading platform and backing it up with top-tier customer service, we’re incredibly excited to see our efforts reaffirmed.”
The latest accolade follows a series of other notable achievements for Axi. Earlier this year, Global Business and Finance Magazine Awards recognised Axi with the ‘Best Financial Institution 2025’ award for the UK, Middle East, and LatAm markets. In 2024, the broker received widespread industry acclaim with the ‘Innovator of the Year’ award at the 2024 Dubai Forex Expo. That same year, Axi was named Best Broker (MENA), Most Trusted Broker (LatAm), Most Reliable Broker (Europe), and Best Introducing Broker Program (Asia) by Global Forex Awards.
About Axi
Axi is a global online FX and CFD trading company, with thousands of customers in 100+ countries worldwide. Axi offers CFDs for several asset classes including Forex, Shares, Gold, Oil, Coffee, and more.
For more information or additional comments from Axi, please contact: mediaenquiries@axi.com
*These awards are granted to the Axi group of companies.
Source: Verizon
Headline: Verizon to redeem debt securities on September 3, 2025
NEW YORK – Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon”) (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) today announced that it will redeem, in whole, the following notes on September 3, 2025 (the “Redemption Date”):
|
I.D. Number |
Title of Security |
NYSE Trading Symbol |
Principal Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
|
CUSIP: 92343V BW3 ISIN: XS1030900242 Common Code: 103090024 |
3.25% Notes due 2026 (the “Notes”) |
VZ 26 |
€842,980,000 |
The redemption price for the Notes will be equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed, or (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Notes (exclusive of interest accrued to the Redemption Date), as the case may be, discounted to the Redemption Date on an annual basis (ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA)) at the Comparable Government Bond Rate (as defined in the Notes) plus 25 basis points (the “Redemption Price”), plus accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. The Redemption Price will be calculated in accordance with the terms of the Notes on the third Business Day (as defined in the Notes) preceding the Redemption Date.
Questions relating to the notice of redemption and related materials should be directed to the paying agent: U.S. Bank Trust Company, Trust Company, National Association, 333 Thornall Street, Edison, New Jersey 08837, United States of America, or via telephone at 1-800-934-6802.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
As any leader of a political party knows, when you demote people they can become difficult, or worse.
Among Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s multiple problems are two very unhappy former frontbenchers. Sarah Henderson, who was opposition education spokeswoman last term, and Jane Hume, who had a high profile in finance, were dumped to the backbench in Ley’s reshuffle.
There were mixed views about Ley’s judgement. But it was clear neither would take the relegation lying down.
Henderson at the time declared she found it regrettable that “a number of high-performing Liberal women have been overlooked or demoted”. Hume said, ominously, “there is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line and without having to stick to talking points”.
This week, both women used their freedom to freelance.
On the government’s student debt legislation, Henderson made her presence felt by moving an amendment designed to cap indexation. It got only a handful of votes from the crossbench. The opposition abstained.
Also in the Senate, Hume put down her marker, on a motion moved by One Nation repudiating the net zero target. Predictably, Matt Canavan (Nationals) and Alex Antic (right-wing South Australian Liberal) voted for the motion. The Liberals’ official position – given they’re in no-man’s land, reviewing their policy – was to abstain. But Hume and Andrew McLachlan (a moderate from South Australia), voted against the motion.
Hume has kept a regular spot on Sky News Australia, an opportunity to use her “liberated” voice.
Then there’s Andrew Hastie who, despite being a frontbencher, doesn’t feel under collective discipline. Hastie, whom some see as a possible future leader, didn’t get his wish for a non-security portfolio in the reshuffle. Instead, the former defence spokesman was moved to home affairs, a broad job that presents many opportunities.
When the Western Australian Liberal council passed a motion rejecting net zero at the weekend, Hastie gave his enthusiastic backing.
He then got stuck into state Liberal leader Basil Zempilas, who had said the WA parliamentary party supported “the status quo on the net zero targets”.
Hastie fired off a newsletter to supporters declaring, “This motion – moved and supported by my division of Canning – reflects a growing concern from mainstream Australians about our expensive energy bills, unreliable supply, and the erosion of our national sovereignty.
“I was therefore disappointed to see [Zempilas] publicly dismiss those concerns.”
The government was quick to exploit this, with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen telling parliament on Thursday Hastie “will undermine any opposition leader he can find. He’s taking a practice run in Perth for what he intends to do in Canberra, some time in the next 12 months as we all know. He loves undermining leaders of the opposition.”
Peter Dutton was a disaster for the Liberals, as the election drubbing showed. But he was (mostly) able to impose substantial unity on the parliamentary party.
That was seen as a big achievement. But it had two downsides. At the time, it stifled what might have been useful internal debate, or warnings, that could have helped the opposition. And now it has left some Liberals who felt they held their tongues last time determined not to do so again. Even those not aggrieved for specific reasons are likely to be more inclined to be outspoken this term.
Ley will not be able to impose the degree of discipline that Dutton did.
Meanwhile, as the aggrieved Liberals were stamping their feet, their colleague James Paterson, new to his post of finance spokesman, was seeking to repair some of the political damage the opposition did by its attacks on the public service.
The hostility to the public service goes back a long way – some might argue it’s ingrained in the Liberals’ DNA. It was strong during Scott Morrison’s prime ministership.
Dutton promised massive cuts to the Canberra-based public service, which even the Liberals admit would have been unattainable. Hume’s plan to force public servants back into the office five days a week, a policy the opposition had to drop midway through the election campaign, has also left deep suspicion.
For the Liberals, attacking the public service has always appeared a ready road to savings. But the political dangers are obvious. It is not the seats directly affected – the ACT always votes Labor. But assaults on the public service can be readily segued by the Coalition’s opponents into code for attacks on government services.
Paterson, who’s also shadow minister for the public service, told an Australian Financial Review summit on government services, “It is not lost on me that promising significant cuts to the size of the APS or changing the way public servants work from home was poorly received and not just here in Canberra.”
Paterson said, “I have great respect for public servants, and I recognise the significant contributions they make to our democracy.
“The Coalition aspires to have a respectful, constructive relationship with the APS. We want a motivated, high-performing public service that works in genuine partnership with government to deliver the services Australians rely on. And we want it to do so as a trusted steward of taxpayer dollars.”
On the basis of history, the public servants will remain suspicious of the Liberals; Paterson’s aim will be to mitigate that as much as possible.
In a twist on the working-from-home debate, the secretary of the health department, Blair Comley, this week expressed some concern about the implications of the trend.
“I don’t think anyone is suggesting we go back to a rigid five days a week and no flexibility,” Comley told the AFR summit. But he was worried about what was happening to “learning, development, mentoring, and what’s happening to the social capital”.
Knowing the sensitivities of the issue, Comley was extremely careful with his words. Hume, having been burned once, was not putting her hand into this particular fire again. “That is not a policy that the Coalition has now, not a policy that we took to the election”, she said. There is a limit to being liberated.
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: Aggrieved Liberals stamp their feet, testing Sussan Ley’s authority – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-aggrieved-liberals-stamp-their-feet-testing-sussan-leys-authority-262026
Source: United Nations secretary general
Download the video:
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/video/evergreen/MSG+SG+/SG+26+Jun+25/3418332_MSG+SG+HELSINKI+FINAL+ACT+50TH+26+JUN+25.mp4
Excellencies, Dear Friends,
I am pleased to send my warm greetings as you gather to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.
I commend OSCE Chair, Finland, for its leadership in convening this anniversary event.
Half a century ago, the Helsinki Final Act charted a bold and visionary course for peace – rooted in dialogue, grounded in international law, and anchored in the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people.
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter. The principles of our Charter and the OSCE are a shared foundation for peace and cooperation.
But today those principles are under grave strain.
War continues to rage in the European continent.
Trust between states is fraying.
Human rights are under assault.
Democratic space is shrinking.
And disinformation is fueling division and fear.
We are witnessing a dangerous drift away from commitments that have safeguarded peace for generations.
Yet, in this moment of peril, the values enshrined in the UN Charter and echoed in the Helsinki Final Act – sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence – remain our moral and strategic compass.
The role of the OSCE as a platform for dialogue and a guardian of these principles is more vital than ever.
The United Nations stands firmly with the OSCE in defending shared values: dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation, and dignity for all.
Let us recommit to the spirit of Helsinki.
By strengthening regional partnerships to renew multilateralism.
By principled leadership to uphold international law.
And by forging unity of purpose to build a future of mutual respect, resilience, and shared prosperity.
Let us honour this milestone by renewing our commitment to a world anchored in peace, justice, and human rights.
Thank you — and my very best wishes for a successful meeting.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TOKYO, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — If you have ever thought about visiting Japan’s fast-growing crypto ecosystem, this is the year and this is the moment. From August 22 to September 15, 2025, Tokyo will host Japan Blockchain Week 2025 (JBW 2025)—a four-week festival that bundles the country’s flagship Web3 gatherings into one seamless schedule.
Launched in 2022 to connect Japan’s builders and community with the global community, JBW has become the annual rendez-vous for investors, founders, developers, and policymakers who want to see where crypto meets the real world. This summer, one JBW AI summit and 6 headline partner events will create an unparalleled density of talent, capital, and cutting-edge ideas:
Event Schedule
| Date | Headline Event | What to Expect |
| Aug 23 | JBW summit AI edition | A deep dive into AI × Web3 and the coming ASI era—governance, privacy, and value creation on a planetary scale.This is a futuristic conference where experts from the AI and web3 industries gather to discuss the updates of society around the world in preparation for the ASI era. |
| Aug 24 | Solana SuperTokyo | SuperTokyo2025 is the largest Solana conference in Japan, organized by the Solana Foundation-certified community “SuperTeam Japan” to promote the growth of the Solana ecosystem in Japan. Once a year, Solana entrepreneurs, users, and fans from Japan and abroad will gather in Tokyo to create useful opportunities, and sessions by famous experts and startup camp programs will be held. |
| Aug 25-26 | WebX | WebX2025 is produced by CoinPost, Japan’s largest Web3 media. The event will take place on August 25th and 26th, 2025 at The Prince Park Tower in Tokyo. WebX2025 is Asia’s largest global conference gathering professionals related to crypto assets, blockchain, and other Web3 technologies, offering visitors a direct interaction with companies, experts, entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, and media from Japan and abroad. |
| Aug 27 | Blockchain Leaders Summit | Unified community: Bridge between Japan and the globe Participants will have an extraordinary opportunity to gain valuable insights directly from esteemed industry leaders and emerging powerhouses actively shaping the future landscape. |
| Sep 11 |
Web3privacy now | Web3Privacy Now is a think-and-Do-tank of hundreds of people, projects, and organizations committed to protecting and advancing civil liberties, decentralization, and open-source software. We facilitate cross-stack and cross-community collaboration to drive meaningful impact. We challenge standardization and maximalism, avoid abstractions and stereotypes. We work on the forefront of technology with a poly-disciplinary approach, togetherness, and care, assiting each other in clarifying paths toward effective progress. |
| Sep 12-15 | ETH Tokyo | ETHTokyo is an engaging conference and hackathon for the global Ethereum community where people with all sorts of backgrounds, ideas, and skills come together to share their love for Ethereum and its world.. |
| Sep 16-19 |
EDCON | Once a year, the most impactful speakers, mentors and projects from around the world are invited to attend and share their message. Prior years include: Paris 2017, Toronto 2018, Sydney 2019, Online 2020-21, San Francisco 2022, Montenegro 2023, Tokyo 2024. EDCON is committed to serving the Ethereum ecosystem by boosting communication and engagement between Ethereum communities worldwide. |
Why Plan Your Trip Around JBW 2025?
Quick Facts
About Japan Blockchain Week
Japan Blockchain Week is a not-for-profit movement launched in 2022 to bridge the Japanese and global blockchain industries. By clustering independent conferences and hackathons under a single seasonal banner, JBW lowers friction for overseas participation and accelerates cross-border collaboration.CoinDesk Japan has joined as an special media partner.
Comment from Mai Fujimoto
Co-organizer of Japan Blockchain Week / Co-founder of INTMAX
“Japan Blockchain Week is more than just a series of events — it has evolved into a platform that bridges Japan and the global Web3 community.This year, JBW brings together seven distinct blockchain events across just one month in Japan. Each event has its own theme and character, offering a completely different perspective on the future every week — an unprecedented format.
There are few other occasions where such a diverse group of people from across borders and industries gathers in a single city.Join us this summer in Tokyo and Osaka, and let’s shape the future together!”
Book your flights. Pack your dev laptop. We’ll see you in Tokyo for the most condensed month of Web3 I innovation anywhere in 2025.
Contact:
Mio Nanase
staff@japanblockchainweek.jp
Disclaimer: This content is provided by Japan Blockchain Week. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Banco Santander Chile (NYSE: BSAC; SSE: Bsantander) announced today its results1 for the six-month period ended June 30, 2025, and second quarter 2025 (2Q25).
Solid financial performance with a ROAE2of 24.5% in 2Q253, the fifth consecutive quarter with a ROAE above 20%.
As of June 30, 2025, the Bank’s net income attributable to shareholders totaled $550 billion ($2.92 per share and $1.25 per ADR), representing an increase of 62.8% YoY4 and with an ROAE of 25.1% in 6M255 compared to an ROAE of 15.8% in 6M246. The increase in results is explained by an increase in the Bank’s main revenue lines. Operating income increased 22.0% YoY and 12.6% compared to the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24), driven by a better net interest and readjustment income and higher fees and results from financial transactions.
Compared to the previous quarter (1Q25), net income attributable to shareholders decreased slightly by 0.5%. The UF variation in 2Q25 was lower than in 1Q25, which reduced QoQ7 adjustment gains. The quarter also saw lower results from financial transactions and higher loan loss provisions. This was offset by higher interest income and cost controls. This marked the ROAE of 24.5% in 2Q25, the fifth consecutive quarter with ROAEs above 20%.
Strong recovery of NIM8, reaching 4.1% in 2Q25
Accumulated net interest and readjustment income (NII) as of June 30, 2025, increased 26.0% compared to the same period in 2024. This increase in NII was due to higher net interest income due to the effect of a lower monetary policy rate on our funding cost, which fell from 5.0% to 3.9% in 6M25. The increase is also explained by higher readjustment income, resulting from a greater variation in the UF during the period.
Compared to 1Q25, net interest and readjustment income increased 1.2% QoQ due to a 2.0% increase in average interest earning assets, offset by lower readjustment income due to lower inflation in 2Q25 compared to the previous quarter.
Given the above, the NIM increased from 3.1% in 2Q24 to 4.1% in 1Q25 and remained at 4.1% in 2Q25.
The customer base continues to expand, with total customers increasing by 11.5% YoY and digital customers increasing by 7.9% YoY.
Our strategy of strengthening digital products has led to continued growth in our customer base, reaching approximately 4.5 million customers, of which nearly 2.3 million are digital customers (87% of our active customers).
The Bank’s market share in checking accounts remains strong at 22.4% through April 2025, driven by increased customer demand for US dollar checking accounts, as customers can open these types of accounts digitally through our platform in a few easy steps. This also demonstrates the success of Getnet’s strategy to encourage cross-selling of other products, such as checking accounts, to SMEs.
Net commissions increased by 13.2% in 6M25, reaching recurrence levels9of 61.9%.
Net commissions increased 13.2% in the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, driven by increased customer numbers and greater product usage. As a result, the recurrence ratio (total net commissions divided by core support expenses) increased from 58.3% as of June 2024 to 61.9% as of June 2025, demonstrating that more than half of the Bank’s expenses are funded by commissions generated by our customers.
Best in Class efficiency10of 35.3% in 6M25.
The Bank’s efficiency ratio reached 35.3% as of June 30, 2025, better than the 42.1% recorded in the same period last year. Total operating expenses (which include other expenses) increased 2.3% in 6M25 compared to 6M24, driven by administrative expenses primarily related to higher technology expenses in the first quarter, as well as other expenses related to the restructuring of our branch network and the transformation to Work/Café.
In the first quarter of 2025, the Bank celebrated the major milestone of the Gravity project, the migration from the Mainframe to the Cloud. In January, we transitioned processing to our new Cloud, which resulted in higher transitional technology expenses related to the change and write-downs and impairments related to legacy systems.
Solid CET1 ratio11of 10.9%.
Our CET1 ratio rose to 10.9% by the end of June 2025, and the overall Basel III ratio12 will reach 17.0%. The Bank’s capital includes a provision for 60% of 2025 earnings to date.
Banco Santander Chile is one of the companies with the highest risk ratings in Latin America, with an A2 rating from Moody’s, A- from Standard & Poor’s, A+ from the Japan Credit Rating Agency, AA- from HR Ratings, and A from KBRA. All of our ratings have a stable outlook as of the date of this report.
As of June 30, 2025, the bank had total assets of Ch$66,188,442 million (US$69,371 million), total gross loans (including those owed by banks) at amortized cost of Ch$40,942,542 million (US$42,911 million), total deposits of Ch$29,614,613 million (US$31,039 million), and shareholders’ equity was $4,514,322 million (US$4,731 million). The BIS capital ratio was 17.0%, with a core capital ratio of 10.9%. As of June 30, 2025, Santander Chile employed 8,660 people and had 231 branches throughout Chile.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cristian Vicuña
Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Investor Relations
Banco Santander Chile
Bandera 140, Floor 20
Santiago, Chile
Email: irelations@santander.cl Website: www.santander.cl
__________________________________________
1 The information contained in this report is presented in accordance with Chilean Bank GAAP as defined by the Financial Markets Commission (FMC).
2 Annualized net income attributable to owners of the Bank divided by the average equity attributable to equity holders.
3 The second quarter of 2025.
4 Year over year.
5 The six months ending June 30, 2025.
6 The six months ending June 30, 2024.
7 Quarter over quarter.
8 NIM: Net interest margin. Annualized net interest and readjustment income divided by average interest-earning assets.
9 Recurrence: net commissions divided by core support costs.
10 Operating expenses including impairment and other operating expenses/margin+fees+financial trx and other net operating income.
11 Common Equity Tier 1 divided by risk-weighted assets under Chilean regulation.
12 Effective equity divided by risk-weighted assets under Chilean regulation.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
RESTON, Va., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ACTFORE, a leading provider of AI-powered breach response and data mining solutions, announced today the company has been granted a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its proprietary technology enabling targeted data extraction from unstructured document sets, a first-of-its kind patent in the data mining industry.
Unlike many industries, the data mining and breach response fields have historically lacked patentable innovations due to their reliance on human-driven workflows and off-the-shelf automation. ACTFORE’s achievement represents a major advancement in automated breach response workflows: the first recognized patent for precision data extraction designed specifically to efficiently and accurately extract sensitive data from massive, unstructured information environments following a breach.
“This patent isn’t just a milestone for ACTFORE, but for the entire industry,” said CEO Christian Geyer. “In a space where most work is still done manually or through tedious and inaccurate workflows, we’ve introduced a scalable, intelligent solution that truly learns and adapts and can work alongside our team of onshore experts to create an approach that merges manual precision with deep learning to create a hybrid workflow that is both fast and legally defensible.”
The patent, “Techniques for Targeted Data Extraction from Unstructured Sets of Documents”, refers to ACTFORE’S dynamic interface that allows operators to define “visual boxes” around regions of interest on a document page, then automatically propagate those selections across structurally similar files using deep learning and FAISS-based clustering. Paired with advanced optical character recognition (OCR), the system can extract high-fidelity text, even from scanned or non-machine-readable documents. This allows for targeted, scalable parsing with minimal redundancy and dramatically reduced review time.
“We’ve essentially built a facial recognition system, but for document layouts,” said Yumna Zaidi, Innovations Team Lead at ACTFORE and Lead Inventor on the patent. “Our tech creates unique embedding vectors for each document structure, letting us match and process them with unprecedented speed and accuracy.”
This combination of automation and expert-driven human review ensures that sensitive information such as names, account numbers, or health data can be extracted quickly, accurately, and consistently, even across large and messy data sets.
“Data breaches happen in chaotic, inconsistent environments and ACTFORE is built to handle the complexity,” added Dhiraj Sharma, Senior Data Scientist and Co-Inventor. “By integrating the latest automation and data mining tools with human judgment, we’re able to respond more efficiently and accurately than traditional methods. That’s where this patent truly delivers value.”
The platform supports a wide range of document types—including unstructured and semi-structured PDFs, images, and text files—and automatically preserves selected coordinates for batch processing at scale. This not only accelerates review but also ensures consistent, defensible results across complex, multi-jurisdictional engagements.
“We didn’t just apply automation for the sake of speed. We designed a product that understands the complexity of each task and empowers humans to make better decisions, faster,” said Sanskriti Shivhare, Team Lead and Co-Inventor.
This newly issued patent strengthens ACTFORE’s growing intellectual property portfolio and reflects its continued investment in transforming breach response through applied AI. As data breach volumes rise and regulatory timelines tighten, ACTFORE’s patented technology sets a new industry benchmark for intelligent, scalable remediation.
About ACTFORE
ACTFORE delivers advanced AI/ML-powered data mining solutions for legal counsel, insurance carriers, and corporations, specializing in swiftly detecting and uncovering compromised sensitive information in cyber breaches. Capable of processing over 1 million files per hour, ACTFORE’s on-premises, on-shore, technology-first approach offers the fastest and most accurate assessments, enabling clients to quickly understand the scope of exfiltration, mitigate risk, and make informed decisions about ransom payments. Clients maintain full control of their data through ACTFORE’s secure lab or local deployment options. Trusted by over 25 insurance carriers and 35 law firms, including premier Am Law 100 firms, ACTFORE sets the new standard in incident response and data forensics. For more information, please visit www.actfore.com.
Press Contact:
Gilda Safowaa
Communications & Content Strategist
240-482-9570
Gilda.Safowaa@actfore.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ab26563-863e-4323-9b45-45a6c178bd92
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NEW YORK, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QuestionPro announces the launch of the QuestionPro Partnerships Ecosystem, a comprehensive ecosystem designed to push the traditional boundaries of speed, intelligence, and depth of research norms. This ecosystem positions itself as the definitive platform for next-generation research capabilities.
The future of research will be powered by three forces. Faster research turnaround, smarter research processes, and deeper insights.The goal of the QuestionPro Partnerships Ecosystem is to foster a new culture of collaboration to enable our clients to successfully embrace the future of research. Where the future of insights isn’t siloed but collaborative.
“The question isn’t whether organizations need faster, smarter, deeper research capabilities – it’s whether any single organization can solve all these emerging challenges alone,” said Vivek Bhaskaran, CEO of QuestionPro. “The answer is no. That is at the core of why we built this curated ecosystem.”
“The future of insights will be powered by ecosystems,” said Sumair Sayani, Global Lead AI Programs & Strategic Partnerships. “The QuestionPro Partner Ecosystem democratizes advanced research capabilities, allowing businesses of all sizes to access enterprise-grade tools without complexity.”
The QuestionPro Partnerships Ecosystem is now available worldwide. Special offers are available for early adopters, with broader availability throughout Q3 2025. Offering ready-to-launch solutions for every research need, with AI and automation capabilities that reduce time organizing data while increasing time acting on insights.
About QuestionPro
Founded in 2006, QuestionPro is a global provider of online survey and research services that help companies make better decisions through data. Our fully integrated online platform includes surveys, research & insights, customer experience (CX) and workforce/employee experience software. We additionally offer polling, journey mapping, employee 360s, and data visualization. Our clientele ranges from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, who rely on us for insights about customers, employees, and the partnerships. With offices in the US, Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, Japan, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and India, we offer customers 24-7 access to highly trained support specialists and engineers. More information is available at https://www.questionpro.com/us/
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TORONTO, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Firm Capital Property Trust (“FCPT” or the “Trust”), (TSX: FCD.UN) announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) has accepted a notice filed by FCPT of its intention to make a normal course issuer bid (the “NCIB”) with respect to its outstanding trust units.
The notice provides that FCPT may, during the 12 month period commencing August 5, 2025 and ending no later than August 4, 2026, purchase through the facilities of the TSX and/or alternative Canadian Trading Systems up to 3,266,775 trust units in total, being 10% of the “public float” of trust units as of July 28, 2025. The price which FCPT will pay for any trust units will be the market price at the time of acquisition. During the period of this NCIB, FCPT may make purchases under the NCIB by means of open market transactions. The actual number of trust units which may be purchased pursuant to the NCIB and the timing of any such purchases will be determined by senior management of FCPT. The average daily trading volume on the TSX from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 was 24,867 trust units. Daily purchases under the NCIB will be limited to 6,216 trust units, other than block purchases. All trust units purchased by FCPT under the NCIB will be cancelled.
As of July 28, 2025, there were 36,925,682 trust units of FCPT outstanding, and the public float was 32,667,751 trust units.
FCPT believes that its trust units may from time to time trade in a price range that does not adequately reflect the value of such units in relation to the business of FCPT and its future business prospects. As a result, depending upon future price movements and other factors, FCPT believes that the outstanding trust units may represent an attractive investment to FCPT. Furthermore, purchases of trust units are expected to benefit all persons who continue to hold trust units by increasing their equity interest in FCPT.
Pursuant to a previous notice of intention to conduct a NCIB, FCPT sought and received approval from the TSX to purchase up to 3,281,995 trust units through open market purchases on the TSX and alternative Canadian trading systems for the period of July 18, 2024 to July 17, 2025. FCPT did not purchase for cancellation any of its trust units under this prior normal course issuer bid.
ABOUT FIRM CAPITAL PROPERTY TRUST (TSX : FCD.UN)
Firm Capital Property Trust is focused on creating long-term value for Unitholders, through capital preservation and disciplined investing to achieve stable distributable income. In partnership with management and industry leaders, the Trust’s plan is to own as well as to co-own a diversified property portfolio of multi-residential, flex industrial and net lease convenience retail. In addition to stand alone accretive acquisitions, the Trust will make joint acquisitions with strong financial partners and acquisitions of partial interests from existing ownership groups, in a manner that provides liquidity to those selling owners and professional management for those remaining as partners. Firm Capital Realty Partners Inc., through a structure focused on an alignment of interests with the Trust sources, syndicates and property and asset manages investments on behalf of the Trust.
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws including, among others, statements relating to future purchases of trust units under the NCIB. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue”, and by discussions of strategies that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Trust. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and various future events will not occur. Although management of the Trust believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements will occur as anticipated. These statements are not guarantees and are based on our estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the Trust’s financial condition and prospects; the stability of general economic and market conditions; interest rates; the underlying value of the Trust and its trust units; the ability of the Trust to complete purchases under the NCIB; the availability of cash for repurchases of outstanding trust units under the NCIB; the existence of alternative uses for the Trust’s cash resources which may be superior to effecting repurchases under the NCIB; compliance by third parties with their contractual obligations; compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to the NCIB; and other risks related to the Trust’s business, including those described in the Trust’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2024 under “Risks and Uncertainties” (a copy of which can be obtained at www.sedar.com). Neither the Trust nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking statements, and no one has any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or such other factors which affect this information, except as required by law.
Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Additional information about the Trust is available at www.firmcapital.com or www.sedarplus.ca.
| For further information, please contact: | |
| Robert McKee President & Chief Executive Officer (416) 635-0221 |
Sandy Poklar Chief Financial Officer (416) 635-0221 |
| For Investor Relations information, please contact: | |
| Victoria Moayedi Director, Investor Relations (416) 635-0221 |
|
Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell
Since Oct. 7, 2023, as Israel’s war against Hamas drags on in the Gaza Strip, a quieter but escalating war has unfolded in the West Bank between Israelis and Palestinians.
While precise figures are elusive, United Nations estimates indicate that Jewish settlers have carried out around 2,000 attacks against Palestinians since the war in Gaza began. That number represents a dramatic surge compared with any previous period during the nearly six decades Israel has controlled the West Bank.
Attacks include harassment of Palestinian villagers trying to access their crops or work outside their villages, as well as more extreme and organized violence, such as raiding villages to vandalize property. While many of the attacks are unprovoked, some are what settlers call “price tag” actions: retaliation for Palestinian violence against Israelis, such as car-rammings, rock-throwing and stabbings.
Settlers’ attacks displaced more than 1,500 Palestinians in the first year of the war in Gaza, and gun violence is increasingly common. Since October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed. While most of these fatalities resulted from military operations, some were killed by settlers.
As a scholar who has studied Jewish religious extremism for over two decades, I contend this campaign is not merely a result of rising tension between the settlers and their Palestinian neighbors amid the Gaza conflict. Rather, it is fueled by a confluence of ideological fervor, opportunism and far-right Israelis’ political vision for the region.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967’s Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, transforming this small region of around 2,000 square miles (5,200 square kilometers) to an amalgam of Jewish and Palestinian enclaves. Most countries other than Israel consider Jewish settlements illegal, but they have rapidly expanded in recent decades, becoming a major challenge for any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The ideological roots of violence lie within religious Zionism: a worldview embraced by about 20% of Israel’s Jewish population, including most West Bank settlers.
The great majority of the leaders of the early Zionist movement held strong secular views. They pushed for the creation of a Jewish state over the objections of Orthodox figures, who argued that it should be a divine creation rather than a human-made polity.
Religious Zionists, on the other hand, view the creation of modern-day Israel and its military victories as steps in a divine redemption, which will culminate in a Jewish kingdom led by a heaven-sent Messiah. Adherents believe contemporary events, particularly those asserting Jewish control over the entire historical land of Israel, can accelerate this process.
In recent decades, influential religious Zionist leaders have argued that final redemption requires Israel’s total military triumph and the annihilation of its enemies, particularly the Palestinian national movement. From this perspective, the devastation of Oct. 7 and the subsequent war are a divine test – one the nation can only pass by achieving a complete victory.
This belief system fuels most religious Zionists’ opposition to ending the war, as well as their advocacy for scorched-earth policies in Gaza. Some hope to rebuild the Jewish settlements in the strip that Israel evacuated in 2005.
The violence in the West Bank reflects an extension of the same beliefs. Extreme groups within the settler population aim to solidify Jewish control by making Palestinian communities’ lives in the region unsustainable.
Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, traumatized the nation. It also hardened many Jewish Israelis’ conviction that a Palestinian state would be an existential threat, and thus Palestinians cannot be partners for peace.
This shift in sentiment created a permissive environment for violence. While settler attacks previously drew criticism from across the political spectrum, extremist violence faces less public condemnation today – as does the government’s lack of effort to curb it.
This increase in violence is also enabled by a climate of impunity. Israeli security forces have been stretched thin by operations in Gaza, Syria, Iran and beyond. In the West Bank, the military increasingly relies on settler militias known as “Emergency Squads,” which are armed by the Israeli military for self-defense, and army units composed primarily of religious Zionist settlers, such as the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Such groups have little incentive to stop attacks on Palestinians, and at times, they have participated.
This dynamic has dangerously blurred the line between the state military and militant settlers. The Israeli police, meanwhile, under the command of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, appear focused on protecting settlers. Police leadership has been accused of ignoring intelligence about planned attacks and failing to arrest violent settlers or enforce restraining orders. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, asserts that just 3% of attacks have resulted in a conviction.
In June 2025, military attempts to curb settler militancy triggered a violent backlash, as extremist settlers attacked military commanders and tried to set fire to military facilities. Settlers view efforts to restrict their actions as illegitimate and a betrayal of Jewish interests in the West Bank.
Violence by extremist settlers is not random; it is one arm of a coordinated pincer strategy to entrench Jewish control over the West Bank.
While militant settlers create a climate of fear, Israeli authorities have undermined legal efforts to stop the violence – ending administrative detention for settler suspects, for example. Meanwhile, the government has intensified policies that undermine Palestinians’ economic development, freedom of movement and land use. In May, finance minister and far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich approved 22 new settlements, calling it a “historic decision” that signaled a return to “construction, Zionism, and vision.”
Together, violence from below and policy from above advance a clear strategic goal: the coerced depopulation of Palestinians from rural areas to solidify Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank.
The militant elements of the settler movement constitute a fractional segment of Israeli society. When it comes to improving the situation in the West Bank, broad punitive measures against the entire country, such as economic boycotting and divestment, or blocking access to scientific, economic and cultural programs and organizations, have historically proved ineffective.
Instead, such policies seem to entrench many Israelis’ perception of international bias and double standards: the sense that critics are antisemitic, or that few outsiders understand the country’s challenges – particularly in light of threats from entitles like Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, which openly seek Israel’s elimination.
More targeted policies aim specifically at the Israeli far right, including sanctions – economic, political or cultural – directed at settler communities and their infrastructure. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K. have imposed travel bans on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and frozen their assets in those countries. Similarly, I believe decisions to ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements, as Ireland has recently debated, would be more effective than banning all Israeli products.
This targeted approach, I would argue, would allow the international community to cultivate stronger alliances with the many Israelis concerned about the settlements and Palestinians’ rights in the West Bank.
Arie Perliger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. The quiet war: What’s fueling Israel’s surge of settler violence – and the lack of state response – https://theconversation.com/the-quiet-war-whats-fueling-israels-surge-of-settler-violence-and-the-lack-of-state-response-261990
MIL OSI –
Source: US Whitehouse
ADDRESSING DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES AT BROWN: The Trump Administration took action to address concerns about violations of federal civil rights laws, protecting students and upholding fairness in higher education.
ADVANCING REFORMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: President Trump is holding elite universities accountable, ensuring they prioritize fairness, merit, and American values.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Robson, Deputy Chair, Productivity Commission, and Adjunct Professor, Queensland University of Technology
Productivity growth is a key driver of improvements in living standards. But in Australia over the last decade, output per hour worked grew by less than a quarter of its 60-year average.
We urgently need to turn this around.
That’s why the government has asked the Productivity Commission – where I am deputy chair – to conduct five inquiries and identify priority reforms.
As a first step to boost productivity growth, we need business to expand and invest in the tools and technology that help us get the most out of our work.
Unfortunately, some of our most important policy settings are holding us back.
Capital expenditure by all non-mining firms is down 3.2 percentage points as a share of the economy since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009.
And the ever-growing thicket of rules and regulations faced by business is a significant handbrake on growth.
The Productivity Commission’s first interim report, Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy, focuses on two big policy levers: tax and regulation.
Lower company tax rates are likely to attract more overseas firms to invest in Australia and help people start and grow businesses. They may strengthen the ability of smaller firms, which contribute the bulk of capital investment, to compete with larger ones.
Our draft recommendations include:
Cutting the company tax rate to 20% from 25% or 30% for businesses with revenue under A$1 billion – the vast majority of companies
Introducing a new 5% net cash-flow tax on all firms. This supports companies’ capital expenditure by allowing them to immediately deduct the full value of their investments.
The company tax rate would remain at 30% for firms earning over $1 billion. This would affect about 500 companies.
The reduction in Australia’s headline company tax rate would move Australia from having one of the highest to one of the lowest rates for small and medium-sized firms among developed economies.
And if the net cashflow tax is effective, it could be expanded over time and fund broader reductions in company income tax.
Our modelling indicates these two changes would increase investment in the economy by $8 billion and boost Australia’s GDP by $14 billion, with no net cost to the budget over the medium term.
The interim report also notes regulation can enhance productivity and protect against harms. But too much, or inappropriate, regulation can disproportionately inhibit economic dynamism and resilience.
Australia’s regulatory burden has grown. Businesses report spending more and more on regulatory compliance.
Regulators and policymakers have a broad mandate to further the public interest. But they can face incentives to be overly risk-averse and to downplay the burden that regulations place on businesses. They may pursue narrow goals at the expense of broader economy-wide goals.
There are many practical examples that illustrate the problem.
In the Australian Capital Territory, for example, the average time a house builder must wait for a planning decision is nearly six months. In New South Wales, it takes an average of nine years to get approval to build a wind farm.
This kind of unnecessary and costly over-regulation ultimately benefits nobody.
Simply put: Australia’s regulatory culture needs to change. And cultural change starts at the top.
As a first step, the government needs to make a clear, whole-of-government public commitment to reducing regulatory burdens, and ensure new regulatory proposals face greater cabinet and parliamentary scrutiny.
Regulators need to look for ways to promote economic growth, while continuing to ensure Australians are protected against avoidable harms.
Ministers could issue statements of expectations to regulators and regulatory policymakers that clearly indicate how much risk they should tolerate in pursuit of business dynamism.
To improve the evaluation of cumulative regulatory burdens, the Productivity Commission should be tasked with a regular and systematic stream of reviews. These would focus on sectors or regulatory systems where complex and enduring thickets of regulation have emerged.
The draft recommendations on tax and regulation set out in the interim report are clear, actionable and ambitious reforms. They will support governments in delivering a meaningful and measurable boost to Australia’s lagging productivity.
Alex Robson is deputy chair of the Productivity Commission.
– ref. The company tax regime is a roadblock to business investment. Here’s what needs to change – https://theconversation.com/the-company-tax-regime-is-a-roadblock-to-business-investment-heres-what-needs-to-change-261652
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin
A new vision for Middle East peace emerged this week which proposes the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, the disarming and disbanding of Hamas and the creation of a unified Palestinian state. The plan emerged from a “high-level conference” in New York on July 29, which assembled representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League.
The resulting proposal is “a comprehensive and actionable framework for the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of peace and security for all”.
Signatories include Turkey and the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan. Europe was represented by France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Indonesia was there for Asia, Senegal for Africa, and Brazil, Canada and Mexico for the Americas. Neither the US nor Israel were present.
Significantly, it is the first time the Arab states have called for Hamas to disarm and disband. But, while condemning Hamas’s attack on Israel of October 7 2023 and recalling that the taking of hostages is a violation of international law, the document is unsparing in its connection between a state of Palestine and an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza’s civilians.
It says: “Absent decisive measures toward the two-state solution and robust international guarantees, the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive.”
A plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will be developed by the Arab states and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – a Jeddah-based group which aims to be the collective voice of the Muslim world – supported by an international fund. The details will be hammered out at a Gaza Reconstruction and Recovery Conference, to be held in Cairo.
It is a bold initiative. In theory, it could end the Israeli mass killing in Gaza, remove Hamas from power and begin the implementation of a process for a state of Palestine. The question is whether it has any chance of success.
First, there appears to be growing momentum to press ahead with recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a comprehensive peace plan leading to a two-state solution. France, the UK and, most recently, Canada have announced they would take that step at the UN general assembly in September. The UK stated that it would do so unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the commencement of a substantive peace process.
These announcements follow those made in May 2024 by Spain, Ireland and Norway, three of the other European signatories. By the end of September at least 150 of the UN’s 193 members will recognise Palestinian statehood. Recognition is largely symbolic without a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from both Gaza and the West Bank. But it is essential symbolism.
For years, many European countries, Canada, Australia and the US have said that recognition could not be declared if there was the prospect of Israel-Palestine negotiations. Now the sequence is reversed: recognition is necessary as pressure for a ceasefire and the necessary talks to ensure the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel accelerated that reversal at the start of March, when it rejected the scheduled move to phase two of the six-week ceasefire negotiated with the help of the US, and imposed a blockade on aid coming into the Strip.
The Netanyahu government continues to hold out against the ceasefire. But its loud blame of Hamas is becoming harder to accept. The images of the starvation in Gaza and warnings by doctors, humanitarian organisations and the UN of an effective famine with the deaths of thousands can no longer be denied.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, behind the scenes and through their embassies, have been encouraging European countries to make the jump to recognition. Their efforts at the UN conference in New York this week are another front of that campaign.
But in the short term, there is little prospect of the Netanyahu government giving way with its mass killing, let alone entering talks for two states. Notably neither Israel nor the US took part in the conference.
Trump has criticised the scenes of starvation in Gaza. But his administration has joined Netanyahu in vitriolic denunciation of France and the UK over their intentions to recognise Palestine. And the US president has warned the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, that recognition of Palestinian statehood would threaten Canada’s trade deal with the US.
In response to Trump’s concern over the images of starving children and his exhortation “We’ve got to get the kids fed,” Israel has airdropped a few pallets of aid – less than a truck’s worth. Yet this appears more of a public relations exercise directed at Washington than a genuine attempt to ease the terrible condition on the Strip.
A small number of lorries with supplies from UN and humanitarian organisations have also crossed the border, but only after lengthy delays and with half still held up. There is no security for transport and delivery of the aid inside Gaza.
So the conference declaration is not relief for Gaza. Instead, it is yet another marker of Israel’s increasing isolation.
After France’s announcement, the Netanyahu government thundered: “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy … A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel.”
But while recognising Hamas’s mass killing of October 7 2023, most governments and their populations do not perceive Israel as attacking Hamas and its fighters. They see the Netanyahu government and Israeli military slaying and starving civilians.
Even in the US, where the Trump administration is trying to crush sympathy for Palestine and Gazans in universities, non-governmental organisations and the public sphere, opinion is shifting.
In a Gallup poll taken in the US and released on July 29, only 32% of respondents supported Israel’s actions in Gaza – an all-time low – and 60% opposed them. Netanyahu was viewed unfavourably by 52% and favourably by only 29%.
Israel has lost its moment of “normalisation” with Arab states. Its economic links are strained and its oft-repeated claim to being the “Middle East’s only democracy” is bloodstained beyond recognition.
This will be of no comfort to the people of Gaza facing death. But in the longer term, there is the prospect that this sacrifice will be the catalyst to recognise Palestine that disappeared in 1948.
Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.
Scott Lucas 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. New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood – https://theconversation.com/new-peace-plan-increases-pressure-on-israel-and-us-as-momentum-grows-for-palestinian-statehood-262259
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin
A new vision for Middle East peace emerged this week which proposes the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the West Bank, the disarming and disbanding of Hamas and the creation of a unified Palestinian state. The plan emerged from a “high-level conference” in New York on July 29, which assembled representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League.
The resulting proposal is “a comprehensive and actionable framework for the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of peace and security for all”.
Signatories include Turkey and the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan. Europe was represented by France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Indonesia was there for Asia, Senegal for Africa, and Brazil, Canada and Mexico for the Americas. Neither the US nor Israel were present.
Significantly, it is the first time the Arab states have called for Hamas to disarm and disband. But, while condemning Hamas’s attack on Israel of October 7 2023 and recalling that the taking of hostages is a violation of international law, the document is unsparing in its connection between a state of Palestine and an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza’s civilians.
It says: “Absent decisive measures toward the two-state solution and robust international guarantees, the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive.”
A plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will be developed by the Arab states and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – a Jeddah-based group which aims to be the collective voice of the Muslim world – supported by an international fund. The details will be hammered out at a Gaza Reconstruction and Recovery Conference, to be held in Cairo.
It is a bold initiative. In theory, it could end the Israeli mass killing in Gaza, remove Hamas from power and begin the implementation of a process for a state of Palestine. The question is whether it has any chance of success.
First, there appears to be growing momentum to press ahead with recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a comprehensive peace plan leading to a two-state solution. France, the UK and, most recently, Canada have announced they would take that step at the UN general assembly in September. The UK stated that it would do so unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the commencement of a substantive peace process.
These announcements follow those made in May 2024 by Spain, Ireland and Norway, three of the other European signatories. By the end of September at least 150 of the UN’s 193 members will recognise Palestinian statehood. Recognition is largely symbolic without a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from both Gaza and the West Bank. But it is essential symbolism.
For years, many European countries, Canada, Australia and the US have said that recognition could not be declared if there was the prospect of Israel-Palestine negotiations. Now the sequence is reversed: recognition is necessary as pressure for a ceasefire and the necessary talks to ensure the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel accelerated that reversal at the start of March, when it rejected the scheduled move to phase two of the six-week ceasefire negotiated with the help of the US, and imposed a blockade on aid coming into the Strip.
The Netanyahu government continues to hold out against the ceasefire. But its loud blame of Hamas is becoming harder to accept. The images of the starvation in Gaza and warnings by doctors, humanitarian organisations and the UN of an effective famine with the deaths of thousands can no longer be denied.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, behind the scenes and through their embassies, have been encouraging European countries to make the jump to recognition. Their efforts at the UN conference in New York this week are another front of that campaign.
But in the short term, there is little prospect of the Netanyahu government giving way with its mass killing, let alone entering talks for two states. Notably neither Israel nor the US took part in the conference.
Trump has criticised the scenes of starvation in Gaza. But his administration has joined Netanyahu in vitriolic denunciation of France and the UK over their intentions to recognise Palestine. And the US president has warned the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, that recognition of Palestinian statehood would threaten Canada’s trade deal with the US.
In response to Trump’s concern over the images of starving children and his exhortation “We’ve got to get the kids fed,” Israel has airdropped a few pallets of aid – less than a truck’s worth. Yet this appears more of a public relations exercise directed at Washington than a genuine attempt to ease the terrible condition on the Strip.
A small number of lorries with supplies from UN and humanitarian organisations have also crossed the border, but only after lengthy delays and with half still held up. There is no security for transport and delivery of the aid inside Gaza.
So the conference declaration is not relief for Gaza. Instead, it is yet another marker of Israel’s increasing isolation.
After France’s announcement, the Netanyahu government thundered: “Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy … A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel.”
But while recognising Hamas’s mass killing of October 7 2023, most governments and their populations do not perceive Israel as attacking Hamas and its fighters. They see the Netanyahu government and Israeli military slaying and starving civilians.
Even in the US, where the Trump administration is trying to crush sympathy for Palestine and Gazans in universities, non-governmental organisations and the public sphere, opinion is shifting.
In a Gallup poll taken in the US and released on July 29, only 32% of respondents supported Israel’s actions in Gaza – an all-time low – and 60% opposed them. Netanyahu was viewed unfavourably by 52% and favourably by only 29%.
Israel has lost its moment of “normalisation” with Arab states. Its economic links are strained and its oft-repeated claim to being the “Middle East’s only democracy” is bloodstained beyond recognition.
This will be of no comfort to the people of Gaza facing death. But in the longer term, there is the prospect that this sacrifice will be the catalyst to recognise Palestine that disappeared in 1948.
Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.
Scott Lucas 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. New peace plan increases pressure on Israel and US as momentum grows for Palestinian statehood – https://theconversation.com/new-peace-plan-increases-pressure-on-israel-and-us-as-momentum-grows-for-palestinian-statehood-262259
Source: Republic of China Taiwan
irector General David Cheng-Wei Wu was honoured to attend the opening ceremony of O-Bank’s Sydney Representative Office, alongside distinguished guests including the Hon. Anthony Roberts MP, the Hon. Rod Roberts MLC, Dr. Hugh McDermott MP, President of the Australia-Taiwan Business Council John Toigo, President of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Australia Peter Huang, as well as leaders from the Taiwanese banking, business, and community sectors.
O-Bank President Elton Lee envisions the Sydney Representative Office as a pivotal hub in the bank’s roadmap for global expansion. The bank aims not only to upgrade the office to a full branch but also to establish additional locations across Australia. By collaborating with fellow Taiwanese financial institutions in Australia, O-Bank seeks to deepen financial, trade, and cultural ties between Taiwan and Australia.
Director General Wu began his remarks by thanking the three members of the New South Wales Parliament for their presence, which demonstrated bipartisan support for the Taiwanese community, the Representative Office, and O-Bank. He noted that, as Taiwan’s first native digital bank, O-Bank’s presence marks the ninth Taiwanese bank in Sydney and the twelfth in Australia — a clear indication of growing financial ties between Taiwan and New South Wales. He further emphasized Taiwan’s active pursuit of membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with the support of Australia. Taiwan’s inclusion would strengthen supply chain integration among like-minded democracies and generate concrete economic benefits at both bilateral and multilateral levels. In short, the CPTPP will be stronger with Taiwan on board.
Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority
The Albanese Labor Government has today cut all student debts by 20 per cent.
We are wiping more than $16 billion in debt for more than three million Australians.
Our number one focus is continuing to deliver cost of living relief for the Australian people.
Cutting student debt by 20 per cent will ease pressure on workers and students across the country.
For someone with the average debt of $27,600, this will see $5,520 wiped from their outstanding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans.
Backdated to 1 June, this is lifting the burden for Australians with a student debt – including all HELP, Vocational Education and Training (VET) Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, Student Startup Loans, and other student loans.
In addition to cutting student debt by 20 per cent, we are raising the minimum amount before people have to start making repayments from $54,435 to $67,000 and reduces minimum repayments.
For someone earning $70,000 it will reduce the minimum repayments they have to make by $1,300 a year.
This builds on our reforms to fix the indexation formula, which has already cut more than $3 billion in student debt.
This means, all up, the Albanese Labor Government will cut close to $20 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians.
The ATO will now begin the work of processing the cut.
This will take a little while but the 20 per cent cut to student debt is guaranteed.
Most people will see their balance reduced before the end of the year, backdated to June.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
“This is another way my Government is continuing to deliver cost of living relief to Australians.
“We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in Parliament – and that’s exactly what we’ve done.
“Getting an education shouldn’t mean a lifetime of debt.
“No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, my Government will work to ensure the doors of opportunity are open for you.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
“We promised we would cut your student debt by 20 per cent and we have delivered.
“This is a big deal for 3 million Australians.
“This will save millions of Australians thousands of dollars.
“The average student debt today is $27,600, this will cut that debt by $5,520.
“Just out of uni, just getting started, this will take a weight off their back.
“We are also cutting annual repayments. For someone earning $70,000 a year, it will cut the amount they have to repay every year by $1,300.
“That’s real help with the cost of living. It means more money in your pocket, not the government’s.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles:
“At the election, students and apprentices sent a resounding message of support for our Government’s plan to cut student debt by 20 per cent.
“Now, we’ve delivered on this commitment, making a real difference to the lives of students and apprentices – including nearly 300,000 TAFE students and apprentices.
“The Albanese Government is backing Australians with cost of living relief, and backing them to pursue an apprenticeship or qualification that sets them up for their future.”
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Police investigating serious motorbike crash at Herdsmans Cove
Thursday, 31 July 2025 – 11:32 am.
Police are investigating a motorbike crash in Herdsmans Cove last night where two people sustained serious injuries.
About 11pm, two trail bikes were travelling in opposite directions on a walkway near Zena Drive. The area is poorly lit, the bikes did not have headlights, and one of the riders was not wearing a helmet.
The bikes collided, and both riders, a 19-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man, were transported to hospital in serious but stable conditions.
“Police remind all road users, particular motorcyclists, to prioritise their safety,” said Inspector Luke Horne.
“Please – if you’re a rider – protect your safety and the safety of others every time you ride.”
Anyone with information in relation to the crash is asked to contact Bridgewater Police on 131 444.
Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperstas.com.au.
Source: Government of Sweden
On Monday 11 March, Sweden’s flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Together with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, a number of Ministers of the Swedish Government also took part. HRH Crown Princess Victoria, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Micael Bydén and the leaders of the Social Democrats, Sweden Democrats and Centre Party were in attendance as well.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force, in partnership with the Department of Housing, Larrakia Nation and the City of Darwin are continuing with Operation Home Safe following the 2025 Royal Darwin Show.
Over the first three days, the multi-agency operation has engaged with 222 individuals and achieved the following outcomes:
The operation is supporting community members in safely returning home and reconnecting with vital services and promoting wellbeing following the event.
Our combined message was to enjoy the show but make plans to return home. Sleeping rough, or in over-crowded conditions, is not safe for anyone.
NT Police Force thanks our partner agencies for their ongoing support and commitment to community safety.
Source: New places to play in Gungahlin
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is encouraging taxpayers to take advantage of the range of support services available to the community during tax time.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson encouraged the community to reach out for help and assistance in managing their tax affairs if needed.
‘The ATO’s priority is assisting taxpayers to get their lodgments right the first time, and we have programs and services available to assist you,’ said Mr Thomson.
The Tax Help program is a free and confidential service that has been helping eligible individuals with simple tax affairs lodge their tax return for more than 35 years. Appointments are available in person at tax help centres around the country, by phone, or online. Tax Help volunteers can also assist with creating a myGov account, lodging an amendment to your tax return, claiming a refund of franking credits, and informing the ATO if you don’t need to lodge a tax return.
‘This year we have increased the income eligibility criteria to support those earning $70,000 or less per year, up from $60,000 last year,’ said Mr Thomson.
The National Tax Clinic programExternal Link is a government-funded initiative that supports eligible individuals, including small businesses, who are unable to access tax advice and assistance. Tax clinics operate independently through various TAFE and university campuses located in every Australian state and territory, and many clinics offer phone, web conferencing and face-to-face services.
The ATO’s Indigenous helpline is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and provides specialised tax and super assistance.
‘This can include things like getting a TFN, lodging your tax return, finding your super, or locating your nearest Tax Help centre if you’d prefer face-to-face support,’ said Mr Thomson.
The Indigenous Helpline is available on 13 10 30, Monday – Friday between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm (excluding public holidays).
The ATO has a range of translated information to help people better understand tax and superannuation in their preferred language.
Taxpayers can find tax time resources in over 20 languages, and a range of other tax and superannuation information including guidance about lodgment, how to lodge and what deductions you may be able to claim.
The ATO’s digital self-help tools are the easiest and quickest way to get help this tax time, with a range of online services available for individuals and businesses.
Specialised help and support is available on the ATO website for taxpayers, including tailored tax and super information for those with a disability.
The ATO app, myTax and ATO CommunityExternal Link are also helpful in managing your tax affairs online, without needing to call the ATO.
You can check on the progress of your return by using ATO online services through myGovExternal Link or the ATO app.
‘The ATO app has new security features to help protect your account. Setting up a strong digital identity on the app also allows you to protect yourself this tax time to ensure your interactions online are safe and secure, including notifying you of any suspicious activity on your account,’ said Mr Thomson.
If you’d like assistance in lodging a tax return, you can lodge through a registered tax agent. To check a tax agent is registered, see the Tax Practitioners Board’s Public RegisterExternal Link.
Be cautious about how you use artificial intelligence (AI) tools for tax and super information. You may get false or inaccurate information from AI tools. Always check the information you get with a trusted source like the ATO website or your registered tax agent.
The ATO Charter outlines the relationship we seek with the community – a relationship based on mutual trust and respect.
The Charter provides taxpayers with an understanding of what we expect when they interact with us, including courtesy and respect, meeting their obligations and being responsive to us.
‘The Charter explains our commitments to all taxpayers, including fair and reasonable treatment, professional service, support and assistance where required, the security of their data and privacy and being transparent and accountable in our interactions with the community,’ said Mr Thomson.
Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson is available for interviews on request.
A high-resolution headshot of ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson (JPEG, 3.5MB) This link will download a file is available for download from our media centre.
ATO stock footage and images are available for use in news bulletins from our media centre.
Source: New South Wales Ministerial News
The City of Greater Bendigo is holding a free webinar to provide local hospitality and retail businesses with energy saving advice.
The Smart Energy Solutions for Hospitality and Retail Businesses webinar will take place from 4 to 5pm on Wednesday August 6 as part of the City’s Beat the Power Bills program.
City of Greater Bendigo Climate Change and Environment Acting Manager Ian McBurney said the session is tailored specifically for small to medium operators in cafes, restaurants, bars, shops, and service-based retail.
“It will provide practical advice on understanding energy bills, identifying costly inefficiencies in day-to-day operations, and assessing the value of upgrades like solar, batteries, or switching off gas,” Mr McBurney said.
“The webinar will be presented by the City’s Zero Emissions Business Officer Tim Drylie and will cut through the jargon and provide hospitality and retail owners with the facts they need to make informed, cost-saving decisions.”
The webinar is free to attend.
