Under section 53 of the Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018, the Director-General of Health has determined the maximum contribution that applies in each region for long-term aged residential care.
The maximum contribution is the maximum weekly amount (inclusive of GST) that a resident assessed as requiring long-term residential care (through a needs assessment and service coordination agency) is required to pay for contracted care services provided to them in the region in which their rest home or continuing care hospital is located.
The maximum contribution is the same for all residents regardless of the type of contracted care services they receive. It is equivalent to the rest home contract price applying to residential care facilities in each region.
The maximum contribution set by this notice applies from 1 July 2025 and replaces the previous maximum contribution notice published in the New Zealand Gazette, 1 September 2024, Notice No. 2024-go4265.
Description of Regions
The appendix of this notice sets out the maximum contribution rates. The appendix contains two parts:
Part 1, which sets out the rates that apply within Territorial Local Authority (TLA) boundaries; and
Part 2, which sets out the rates that apply within specific Statistical Areas, which are smaller subregions within the TLA boundaries specified in Part 1.
The rate specified for the relevant region in Part 1 applies unless the facility is in a statistical area region set out in Part 2, in which case the rate specified in Part 2 applies. This reflects that a higher maximum contribution rate applies in the isolated rural localities represented by the Statistical Area Regions in Part 2 of the Table.
Statistics New Zealand has a geographic boundary viewer that displays the TLA areas and statistical areas in the appendix on a map of New Zealand. See here for more information: Geographic Boundary Viewer.
Health New Zealand will notify residences of the maximum contribution rate that applies to their facility. The facility will inform residents.
Needs Assessment and Service Coordination (NASC) Agencies, Specialised Processing Services, the Ministry of Social Development and residential care providers will also be able to advise the maximum contribution rate for a facility.
It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to make some remarks this afternoon. This is not just to be able to follow a fascinating and timely lecture, but also because I worked for Andrew Crockett at the Bank of England nearly 40 years ago. Andrew was inspiring to work for, one of the deepest thinkers about international economic policy and central banking. He also had a quite incautious side too. He was a practitioner of one of his favourite phrases – “if you have never missed a plane, you obviously arrive at airports too early”. Andrew was also the creator of the Financial Stability Forum, and its first chair.
I want to spend my time developing a theme that has run though Maury’s lecture, namely what has been the meaning of the term reserve currency, and what does it mean today. My conclusion is that it is best to think of the term as one that has evolved with the times, and continues to do so. Thinking of it as a constant term does not help to understand its meaning.
I will start with the nineteenth century meaning of the term. The monetary regime was the classical gold standard, and convertibility of domestic currency into gold at a fixed price was the nominal anchor of the system. The term reserve therefore referred to the gold reserves that were held to enable convertibility and the promise thereof.
The nineteenth century Bank of England spent time managing that reserve balance to create confidence in the promise of convertibility. Today, our banknotes still carry the words “I promise to pay the bearer on demand, the sum of”. Nowadays, it means that someone can have another banknote, but under the gold standard it meant much more. This system did not put as much emphasis on financial stability, with the consequence that when crises occurred (as they did in that time), they were managed with a certain degree of adhocery. Hence, Walter Bagehot wrote his famous critique of the Bank.
There was rather more to the concept of reserve currency in this period. Sterling was the premier currency of international trade, built on trade with the British Empire, but extending further over time to the countries of the so-called Sterling Area. It is one of the questions in central bank Trivial Pursuit to name countries in the Sterling Area.
The collapse of this system between the wars led to the Bretton Woods system coming into existence and its heyday once full convertibility was restored. This system had the joint dollar-gold anchor in the form of a fixed dollar-gold rate and pegging of the major currencies. The consequence was a substantial growth of official dollar reserves, and the further emergence thus of the dollar as the reserve currency.
The system therefore had a joint anchor. Because Bretton Woods solved the so-called Trilemma by restricting capital flows, the threat of countries exhausting reserves was limited, but not sufficiently so to prevent difficult devaluations at times. Moreover, I tend to think of the Triffin Dilemma as posing the question – what if the bluff of the dollar-gold tie had been called, and what would be the consequence?
From the early 1970s that system broke down. Countries moved to free float, with periodic attempts at management, and a lifting of restrictions on capital controls. Alongside this was the emergence of the domestic anchor of monetary policy, usually an inflation target. The dollar had become the predominant currency of international trade and payments.
The role and nature of reserves had changed. No longer were they a nineteenth century description of the central bank’s balance sheet and its liquidity under the classical gold standard. Rather, they became a description of so-called official reserves typically, but not always, held by governments, though often managed by central banks. Their role was different, reflecting the changes to the solution of the Trilemma. As foreign exchange intervention to influence exchange rates came to an end, the role of reserves in many countries was to act as a bulwark against pressures from capital flows, as seen in the Asian crisis of the late 1990s.
A few numbers help here. The stock of FX reserves relative to global GDP increased from 3% to 11% between 1976 and last year.
During that period, foreign currency reserves as a proportion of global reserve assets including gold increased from 50% to 90%, while the dollar’s share of foreign currency reserves declined from 80% to 57%. I take four points from these figures: the total stock of FX reserves has increased; the share of gold fell; the dollar’s share fell as it moved from being the anchor currency to the largest currency; and the evidence further supports the view that the meaning of the term reserve currency has changed over time.
Today, with domestic monetary anchors, financial stability has become the focus of international co-ordination, the opposite of the gold standard arrangements. The meaning of reserve currency has changed again as a consequence. I would point to two important features of today’s system.
First, the concept of reserve currency has a lot more to do with the supply and denomination of safe assets which act as security in the financial system, and are increasingly at the heart of it. This version of the concept of reserve currency has as much to do with the role of US Treasuries as a safe asset, that is present not just in official reserves but also to provide security and collateral in financial markets.
Second, these arrangements are backed up by the provision of contingent liquidity insurance in the form of central bank swaps and a repo facility. These arrangements underpin the role and primacy of the reserve currency.
I will end with two points which strike me as unfinished or emerging. First, at least for the large economies, it could be asked today, what is the point of official reserves? My view is that today their use is more to do with preserving financial stability in the event of stress. They may be needed to support financial system liquidity in situations of extreme stress.
My second point, as BIS colleagues have emphasised, is that we need to watch carefully the evolution of payments forms and whether innovation here introduces fragility into what I would call the “money system”.
If, for instance, stablecoins emerge as a new form of money, we have to decide how to ensure the singleness of money and therefore trust in money in this world, and what role the notion of reserve currency should play here.
To finish, thank you Maury for such a stimulating lecture. You pushed me to think further about the meaning of reserve currency. The conclusion I draw was that we need to emphasise more its adaptable nature, but thereby be very clear what it means in the world of today and tomorrow.
It is a great honour to address you on the 100th anniversary of the Economics Society of Australia.
It’s an honour because, over that past century, Australian thinkers have helped develop some of the most important building blocks in open economy macroeconomics – the branch of economics that seeks to understand how the global trading economy works.
Those were significant – sometimes world-leading – intellectual achievements.
But they were more than just that. Because they also shaped the policies and institutions that helped Australia navigate the global economy of that period so successfully, delivering wealth and stability for its citizens.
Indeed Australian macroeconomic research has pulled that trick off twice. First, powering the ideas that lifted the country out of the Great Depression to flourish after the Second World War. And, second, helping to design a reform program that rescued the country from the slump of the 1970s, and led to more than a quarter century of recession-free growth.
Two Golden Ages, marshalling thought into action.
But to thrive in the next 100 years, Australia’s researchers will need to go for the hat-trick.
Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. It is an honour to join you today as we celebrate the 8th anniversary of the Bond Connect. The theme today, “Unlocking Value through China’s Resilience,” could not be more timely. The global capital markets are undergoing profound transformation, driven by a host of factors including increasing trade tensions, geopolitical and economic shifts, and changing investment appetite and patterns. These changes are reshaping the way capital flows across the world, creating both new opportunities and challenges for market participants. Now, let me first share some observations about the macro trends.
Macro trends:
The first trend is global diversification. Global capital markets have been on a roller-coaster driven by shifting policies and economic uncertainties. In light of these unpredictable swings, diversification stands out as the most essential investment strategy. Indeed we are now in a world of unprecedented choice and many more institutional investors are looking to further diversifying their portfolios. The strong investor response to the Hong Kong Government’s recent issuance of HK$27 billion in green and infrastructure bonds is telling of the diversifying trend. This multi-currency issuance attracted participation from a wide spectrum of investors from more than 30 markets across Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the Americas, with total order at about 9 times of the issuance size. In particular, the 30-year HKD government bond was offered for the first time, further extending the HKD yield curve. The 20-year and 30-year RMB government bonds, which were first introduced last year, also received overwhelming support, doubling in issuance size from last year.
Against this backdrop of global trend for diversification, China’s bond assets have emerged as a particularly compelling choice.
First, China’s bond market is the second largest in the world. Chinese bonds have the market depth and liquidity to become an increasingly important asset class among global investors.
Secondly, China has a relatively low debt level, with the general government debt-to-GDP ratio at around 84%, which is much lower than some major advanced economies.1
Thirdly, the low correlation between China’s onshore market and major global markets, at just 0.1 over the past 10 years, makes China bonds a very good diversifier.2
Fourthly, the risk-adjusted return of China bonds is relatively attractive. Onshore RMB bonds had an annualised volatility of around 1.3% over the past year, significantly lower than the volatility in other advanced markets during the same period.3
This combination of features of China’s bond market as an attractive asset class for global investors seeking high-quality investments. In fact, according to a recent survey on central banks, over 30% of the respondents expect to increase their RMB holdings in the next five years.
The second trend is Mainland China’s rapid wealth accumulation, particularly in institutional capital, which is creating new opportunities for their outbound investment. For example, China’s national pension reserve fund grew to around USD 400 billion by the end of 2023.4Recent policy discussion also reaffirms that China encourages the national pension fund to cooperate with high-quality overseas investment managers to optimise its investment approach.5The new private pension scheme has already attracted over 60 million participants since its inception in 2022, with this rapidly growing pool of capital projected to reach nearly USD 1 trillion by 2030.6As Mainland institutional investors increasingly seek to diversify their portfolios and expand overseas asset allocation, there is significant potential for future growth in the Southbound Bond Connect, through Hong Kong’s platform to invest overseas.
These two-way trends — global investors’ growing interest in RMB-denominated bonds and Mainland investors’ expanding overseas allocations — underscore the critical role of the Bond Connect as a gateway to facilitate cross-border capital flows between the Mainland and global financial markets. In a rapidly changing global financial landscape, the ability to adapt and innovate is key. Bond Connect exemplifies the power of collaboration and innovation in addressing the changing needs of investors, as it continues to evolve over the years.
Policy work:
In the past year, we have been working closely with relevant Mainland authorities, especially with the People’s Bank of China, to step up efforts to enhance the Bond Connect and its ecosystem. I wish to take the opportunity to make the following three announcements:
First, under the Northbound channel, investors can already use Bond Connect bonds as collateral for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s RMB Liquidity Facility, margin collateral for OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited (OTCC) derivative transactions, and for conducting offshore RMB bond repurchase (repo) transactions. We are expanding the offshore RMB repo business to also support re-hypothecation and cross-currency repo, and the CMU OmniClear will enhance the operational arrangements accordingly. These enhancements will be implemented in late August 2025.
Secondly, the Southbound Bond Connect investor scope is expanded to include securities firms, fund companies, insurance companies and wealth management companies, formally effective from today. This will open up more channels to meet the growing demand from Mainland investors, addressing their needs for diversified asset allocation. It will also bolster the development of Hong Kong’s bond market by widening the investor base and enhancing market liquidity, hence increasing Hong Kong’s attractiveness to bond issuers and global investors.
Thirdly, further to the announcement in May 2025, 30-year interest rate swaps (IRS) contracts have already gone live early last week (on 30 June) under the Swap Connect, and IRS contracts using the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) as reference rate will be launched in the coming months.
Besides, we have been working on strengthening Hong Kong’s financial infrastructure to support greater efficiency in the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese bond markets. For example, the recent signing of a MoU between CMU OmniClear and LCH could facilitate the wider use of CNH bonds as collateral in the international market. This highlights the unparalleled role of Hong Kong’s infrastructure in supporting investment in CNH-denominated debt securities by investors from all over the world.
Looking ahead:
As investors navigate geopolitical changes and search for greater diversification, the Bond Connect will continue to serve as a key platform connecting China’s bond market with the world. The HKMA will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that the platform will meet these changing needs — by enhancing market liquidity (such as cross-border repo in the pipeline), strengthening risk management (with offshore CMOF bond futures under preparation), and further broadening the investment channels. The continuous development of Bond Connect will not only deepen market integration but also reinforce Hong Kong’s unique role as a gateway between China and the international financial market. Thank you!
Good afternoon Chair and Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting us to appear before the Committee today.
I am joined by my colleagues Martin O’Brien, Head of our Irish Economic Analysis Division and Thomas Conefrey, Deputy Head in the same Division. We very much welcome the opportunity to engage with you on the outlook for the economy and the public finances.
In my opening statement, I will cover briefly our latest assessment of the economic outlook, as outlined in our JuneQuarterly Bulletin, as well as our latest economic advice to the Government, as outlined in theGovernor’s pre-Budget letter (PDF 3.04MB), published last week.
The economic outlook
Let me start with the global context, because the key factors shaping the domestic outlook stem from developments abroad, but with important implications for Ireland.
Since the start of the year, we have seen a material shift in trade policy, with rising tariffs between the US and its trading partners, as well as a sharp increase in policy uncertainty.
In light of these developments, the global growth outlook has weakened. Short-term forecasts for world trade and economic activity have been revised downwards. And uncertainty around these forecasts is particularly elevated, given the range of potential outcomes around trade policy.
The openness of the Irish economy and the prominent role that FDI and multinational firms play domestically mean that Ireland is particularly exposed to changes in the global economic outlook as well as shifts in trade policy, and broader economic policy, in the US.
Given uncertainty over the future direction of US trade policy, our June Quarterly Bulletin presented projections for the economy under a baseline and a more adverse scenario.
These were based on different assumptions around the level and coverage of tariffs, the level and persistence of uncertainty and the future path of financing conditions.
In the baseline scenario, we expected Modified Domestic Demand to grow by 2.0 per cent in 2025 and by 2.1 per cent per annum on average in 2026 and 2027.
This is a downward revision to the growth outlook relative to our previous projections – but the central outlook is still consistent with a full-employment economy.
The adverse scenario assumed persistently higher and broader tariffs, including due to retaliation from the EU. It also assumed that policy uncertainty would remain higher for longer and that financing conditions would be tighter.
In this scenario, annual average MDD growth would almost halve compared to the baseline, illustrating the sensitivity of economic activity to an escalation of trade tensions.
The trade-offs facing the public finances
The economy and public finances are entering this period of heightened uncertainty from a strong position. But there are also underlying vulnerabilities that need to be managed carefully.
The exceptional growth in corporation tax receipts since 2015 and the strong pace of economic expansion in recent years have resulted in a marked increase in government revenues.
As a result, even with the substantial rise in government spending and some tax cuts, the headline budget balance has run substantial surpluses in recent years.
However, external developments mean that this benign combination of factors, namely, a rapidly growing economy and exceptional corporate tax receipts, could be at risk in the coming years.
In particular, risks to the fiscal position from lower corporate taxes and other MNE-dependent taxes have increased given recent international developments.
And, excluding estimated “excess” corporation tax (and the impact of the Apple State Aid case), the budget balance has been in a persistent deficit position for 17 consecutive years.
At the same time, in the current juncture, an important public policy priority is the need for higher investment, both to address infrastructure deficits and to support the transition to net zero.
Indeed, these infrastructure deficits have become an increasingly significant factor constraining the supply side of the economy.
Addressing infrastructure deficits will not only help meet important societal and economic needs today, but also enable our economy to remain competitive amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.
Finally, looking further into the future, there are known future funding needs that the State needs to prepare for today.
Given demographic trends, Ireland is expected to see the largest increase in age-related spending, on areas such as pensions, healthcare and long-term care, amongst the EU by 2050.
And we know already that the Future Ireland Fund, the establishment of which has been a very positive public policy intervention, will not be sufficient, on its own, to finance the higher level of public expenditure that will be required to meet the needs of an older population.
Overall, the current environment presents important trade-offs for fiscal policy. Between investing in infrastructure, but not adding excessively to demand in a capacity-constrained economy. Between addressing the funding needs of today, but also preparing for the funding needs of the future.
Managing those trade-offs
While undoubtedly this presents a difficult balancing act, careful management of the public finances can contribute to achieving these multiple aims. So let me finish off by summarising our economic policy advice outlined in the Governor’s pre-budget letter, in light of those trade-offs.
I will focus on three areas in particular.
First, it is important that the Government commits, and adheres to, a credible fiscal anchor that results in sustainable increases in net government expenditure over time. In the current context of the economy operating at capacity, it is important, from a macro-stabilisation perspective, that the overall fiscal policy stance does not add excessively to demand.
Second, within that overall fiscal envelope, the public finances need to prioritise investment. Sustainably achieving the necessary rise in public investment requires creating sufficient economic and fiscal space, through offsetting choices in terms of current spending or taxation. Beyond demand management considerations, broadening the tax base is also important for addressing future funding needs and mitigating the reliance of the public finances on corporate tax receipts.
Third, public investment alone will not be sufficient to address the economy’s infrastructure gaps. Measures that reduce delays, and, therefore, the ultimate costs, in the planning and building of infrastructure are needed to help ensure that the benefits of public investment for long-term growth are realised fully. Measures that incentivise scale and investment in new machinery, equipment and technologies in the construction sector can also help enhance productivity and enable more sustainable delivery of housing and infrastructure. These structural policies can have an outsized impact on strengthening the supply side of the economy, complementing, and adding to the effectiveness of, additional public investment in infrastructure.
Thank you for your attention and we look forward to your questions.
Let me start by conveying my heartfelt thanks for your participation in this important roundtable discussion, co-organized with the Ministry of Finance. This event aims to identify the appropriate pathways and instruments for opening a new chapter regarding credit to the agricultural sector in Albania.
As we have emphasized in many previous discussions and communication platforms, lending to the agricultural sector has been-and continues to be-a structural weakness for both our economy and banking sector.
The comparison of the significant role that agriculture plays in the Albanian economy with the limited level of credit this sector receives from the banking sector, clearly illustrates this weakness. Agriculture accounts for around 20% of GDP of Albania and employs around 1/3 of population, yet it benefits less than 2% of total bank credit. Moreover, recent trends in the agricultural lending have not been encouraging.
The underlying reasons of the low level of credit to the agricultural sector-ranging from property ownership issues and high levels of informality, to the relatively high business risk and low productivity due to the absence of economies of scale-have been consistently discussed. Some of these problems still remain relevant, while others are gradually being addressed.
However, even in this challenging context – credit to the agricultural remains low. This deficiency must be addressed without further delay if we aim at boosting the stable development of this sector that is crucial for the Albanian economy.
Against this backdrop, the Bank of Albania has aligned its Financing Programme to Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises to emphasize the growth of credit to the agricultural sector. This program, that involves all stakeholders in the banking sector, offers a reliable and sustainable source of low-cost funding to support lending of development projects in the agricultural sector, including agrotourism and the agro-food industry.
Last, the Government of Albania has undertaken concrete steps in this regard, by making available a sovereign guarantee scheme for loans granted to the agriculture sector. This guarantee significantly mitigates the credit risk related with this sector, in turn considerably reducing one of the fundamental problems we have discussed, and the collateral.
We deem that both development projects provide a solid platform for progressing further as we make a new qualitative step in lending to the agriculture. Nevertheless, the success of this platform considerably dependents on the involvement and the commitment to utilising its instruments.
In this context, allow me to draw your attention to three important points.
First, from the narrower perspective of the business interests you represent, I would like to highlight that the low level of lending to the agricultural sector should be considered equally both as a reflection of existing structural and operational problems, and as a potential indicator for the high returns you may have from investments in this sector. In light of this, I encourage you to give agricultural sector the attention and expertise it rightly deserves.
Second, from the perspective of the overall economic development, the growth of the agricultural sector-aligned and progressing in parallel with other sectors of the economy-should be regarded as a crucial pillar for the long-term and sustainable development of Albania. From this standpoint, as primary actors in Albania’s economic and financial landscape, you are encouraged to view lending to the agricultural sector as a strategic investment that yields positive returns for the country’s sustainable and inclusive growth.
Third, as key actors in the social life of the country, the support to the agriculture sector should also be viewed as a moral obligation toward Albania, the country where you safely carry out your business and in a profitable manner. Supporting the food supply chain industry remains a factor of vital importance for a country and its population.
Dear representatives of the banking sector,
I kindly invite you to consider the issues addressed above more as an appeal to your rational judgement than to your emotions. The Bank of Albania will not, under no circumstances, take measures that would jeopardise the soundness of your financial positions or undermine the financial stability interests of Albania in the long term.
That said, while safeguarding financial stability, I believe it is appropriate to engage in an open and transparent dialogue aimed at rethinking our approach to lending in the agricultural sector, in line with the long-term interests of the social and economic development of Albania.
Headline: ICC and WCO release trade facilitation recommendations for enhanced integrity at borders
US$1.2 to US$1.5 trillion. That’s the staggering annual cost of bribery alone – equal to roughly 2% of annual global GDP. But bribery represents just one facet of corruption’s devastating impact. The true cost runs far deeper, undermining the very foundations of fair trade and economic growth by eroding institutional trust, distorting competition, and creating artificial barriers that stifle opportunity for businesses worldwide. Corruption thrives precisely where trade facilitation is most needed: in complex, opaque environments where procedures span multiple government agencies and discretionary decision-making creates opportunities for abuse. Micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and women-owned businesses are particularly vulnerable in these settings, as they often lack the resources to navigate burdensome procedures or absorb the added costs of informal payments.
However, trade facilitation – the simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures – can be a powerful lever for combatting corruption, according to a new joint paper from the World Customs Organization (WCO) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
How does trade facilitation limit corrupt practices?
By reducing complexity and increasing transparency, trade facilitation limits opportunities for illicit practices. When properly implemented, these measures create an environment where corruption becomes both harder to carry out and easier to detect.
Digitalising border processes to reduce human intervention and establishing clear and transparent regulatory frameworks that limit discretionary decision-making are concrete trade facilitation measures that strengthen integrity. Public-private partnerships play an essential role by promoting collective action and reinforcing the implementation of integrity-focused reforms.
These efforts must be grounded in the World Trade Organiztion (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement and the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention, which provide a critical foundation for strengthening integrity, promoting transparency, limiting discretion, and supporting more predictable and rules-based border procedures.
However, border practices in many countries remain in urgent need of trade facilitation reforms . Take export licensing, for example: in some cases, companies must visit multiple government offices to have paper documents stamped – a time-consuming and costly process. When officials arbitrarily demand additional documentation, it creates fertile ground for corruption, where officials can demand facilitation payments while businesses feel pressured to comply simply to expedite processes.
While trade facilitation serves as a powerful anti-corruption tool, it is not without risks and limitations. These measures can face challenges including data manipulation in digitalised systems, cybersecurity threats, internal corruption risks, and resistance to technological adoption. To address these vulnerabilities, both Customs authorities and businesses must implement comprehensive approaches that include robust governance structures, regular audits, cybersecurity protections, and training programs. Public-private partnerships through National Trade Facilitation Committees and chambers of commerce are essential for building trust and creating effective enforcement strategies that address both the supply and demand sides of corruption.
Trade facilitation in action
Forward-thinking companies are adopting practices aligned with tra principles as anti-corruption tools. Some firms require their business units to take practical steps to reduce the risk of solicitation, including through digitalising sensitive transactions and engaging legal support when attending meetings with parties that present a higher risk of solicitation.
Other businesses mandate the use of electronic communications or e-government solutions in areas such as licensing, procurement and taxes to reduce face-to-face interactions with public officials and minimise connected risks of bribe solicitation.
Similarly, some countries that embrace digitalisation have seen remarkable outcomes. For example, in Guatemala a project supported by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation digitalised ship arrival and departures procedures through the National Single Window (VUMAR), reducing processing times by 85% and eliminating the need for multiple in-person visits. This reform made all these transactions traceable and verifiable, demonstrating how digital trade facilitation can reduce opportunities for corruption by replacing paper-based processes with more transparent and accountable procedures.
Actionable recommendations for Customs and business
Customs
Digitalise
Enhance legal safeguards
Raise awareness
Address small facilitation payments
Publish on a publicly available website
Foster a transparent zero-tolerance culture
Establish robust feedback mechanisms
Increase cross-border collaboration
Monitor and evaluate
Business
Advocate
Participate in integrity awareness
Apply a risk-based approach
Automate processes
Develop compliance programmes and controls
Prohibit and discourage the use of small facilitation payments
Monitor and evaluate
Foster a transparent zero tolerance for corruption culture
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
£500m Government investment to boost growth and opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs
Underrepresented investors and fund managers will benefit from £500m of Government backing to help high potential new entrants build the track record they need.
£400 million package to back investment fund managers from underrepresented backgrounds and drive growth as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Additional £50 million for female-led venture capital funds, doubling the British Business Bank’s commitment to £100 million and supporting the Invest in Women Taskforce.
New report reveals that angel investors are backing more all-female founding teams than all-male teams in the UK for the first time.
Diverse or underrepresented investors and fund managers will benefit from £500m of Government backing to help high potential new entrants develop the track record they need to become the investors of the future.
Targeted at women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and those from deprived backgrounds, there will be a new £400m package from the British Business Bank starting in 2026, which will operate across three pillars:
Back more diverse fund managers directly through the Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme, the Bank’s scheme to support early-stage businesses with high growth potential.
Invest more in supporting micro-funds, funds with around £10-15m and the first step on the venture capital ladder for new investors
Back partners, such as venture capital funds, to invest smaller amounts in talented individuals to build a track record and to provide training, giving those without personal wealth or connections the opportunity to become investors.
Research shows just 2p of every £1 invested in venture capital funding in the UK goes to female-founded businesses and only 13% of senior individuals on UK venture capital investment teams are women.
The initiative announced today aims to reduce the significant gap in venture capital investment for underrepresented founders and investors. It will target at least 50% of investment going to female fund managers.
By backing diverse and emerging fund managers, the initiative not only strengthens the UK’s venture capital ecosystem but also ensures that entrepreneurial ambition is no longer limited by background, gender, or geography. This targeted support will help build a more dynamic, inclusive economy that works for everyone.
Unlocking the potential of underrepresented entrepreneurs and breaking down barriers to opportunity will help drive growth as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said:
This is exactly what our Plan for Change is about: breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting the growth that creates jobs and puts money into people’s pockets across the UK.
This £500 million investment will back diverse and emerging fund managers, making our economy stronger and more dynamic.
Louis Taylor CBE, Chief Executive Officer, British Business Bank, said:
To deliver the government’s growth mission it is critical that our most promising entrepreneurs can access the finance they need to grow their businesses, no matter who they are or what their background is. The UK equity market currently experiences a significant funding gap for diverse founders, negatively impacting their ability to start a business.
This new £400m Investor Pathways Capital initiative will support diverse and emerging fund managers across the UK, in turn supporting talented entrepreneurs currently underserved by the UK equity market. It has the potential to unlock the UK’s full commercial potential and boost the UK economy.
The initiative comes alongside an additional £50m investment into female-led funds to support the aims of the Invest in Women Taskforce, further expanding access to funding for female investors and entrepreneurs, taking the Bank’s total commitment to £100m.
The news comes alongside the latest Investing in Women Code report out today, which tracks and promotes investment into women-led businesses. It finds that investing in female and ethnic minority-led businesses could add 13% to the value of the UK equity market, underscoring the importance of backing diverse founders. The Code was launched in 2019 in response to the Rose Review’s findings that a lack of funding was one of the most significant barriers to women seeking to effectively scale a business.
There has also been promising progress for angel investment from Code signatories – those investing from their personal wealth – with all female investor teams and mixed-gender teams surpassing all male teams for the first time for investment received. Similarly, across all signatories, more female-only teams received funding than mixed-gender and all male teams.
However, more progress is still needed for investment in women businesses to meet its potential, with the total value of investments going into female led teams much less than that of all-male (15% vs 37%), with the remainder going to mixed teams.
Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson CBE said:
Women entrepreneurs have so much to contribute to economic growth, so it is encouraging to see progress in this year’s Code, with more female-led teams receiving investment than male for the first time.
Our Plan for Change is about boosting growth further and that’s why we’re taking action today to support high-potential female-led funds with an extra £50m of funding.
The report will be launched in a parliamentary reception attended by the Chancellor this afternoon.
Stakeholder quotes:
Hannah Bernard OBE, Head of Barclays Business Bank and Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, said:
It’s heartening to see that once again IWC signatories are recognising the value of backing women-led businesses in the UK and are outperforming the broader market – proving that more diverse decision-making teams deliver better outcomes. We’re seeing real momentum in the number of women now shaping investment decisions, and the data shows this is directly linked to greater backing for female entrepreneurs.
That’s why programmes like the BBB’s new Investor Pathway Capital programme are so important and will help even more women break into Venture Capital. This is a core principle of the Invest in Women Taskforce – when you change who holds the capital, you change who gets funded.
The Investing in Women Code plays a vital role in helping us track progress and drive meaningful change across the wider industry and we urge more LPs to sign up and recognise the proven value of backing women. The Invest in Women Taskforce looks forward to deepening its partnership with the IWC to accelerate momentum and unlock the full potential of female entrepreneurs across the UK.
Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder, Small Business Britain, said:
Our country’s 5.45 million small businesses represent huge opportunity to power the UK’s economy forward, but the truth is that it is not always a level-playing field out there for entrepreneurs for many intersectional reasons.
So it is fantastic to see this new dedicated support package announced to help greater support flow towards under-represented entrepreneurial groups – like women, Disabled founders and those from ethnic minority backgrounds. We really applaud this effort and are keen to see the UK backing the rich diversity of British entrepreneurs as much as possible. It will undoubtedly bridge a big gap and has the potential to unlock tremendous growth and opportunity for us all.
Jenny Tooth OBE, Executive Chair, UK Business Angels Association, said:
We welcome today’s announcements from the British Business Bank. Backing underrepresented fund managers and doubling support for female-led VC funds are vital steps toward a more inclusive investment ecosystem.
This year, we saw that angel groups made more investment deals in all-female teams (42%) than in either mixed-gender or all-male teams – a powerful sign of change. These new initiatives will help build on that momentum, and work alongside more angel-backed innovation across the UK.
Check Warner MBE, Co-founder & Chair, Diversity VC, Co-Founding Partner, Ada Ventures, said:
To ensure the British economy is truly firing on all cylinders, we must find and back entrepreneurial talent from the widest possible pool. But if we don’t have representation at the investor level, the true potential of exceptional founders who don’t fit traditional moulds will continue to go untapped.
Building a more diverse cohort of emerging managers is a vital step en route to finding the best talent and driving outsized performance across a stronger tech ecosystem. At Ada Ventures, we’ve learnt from experience that a diverse investing team spots alpha founders that others miss.
It’s therefore encouraging to see a really meaningful and thoughtful package of interventions being announced by the Government and the British Business Bank today. This will be a key catalyst as Britain strives to become the best place in the world to start, scale and exit a business. I fervently believe that this ambition can go hand-in-hand with an equitable, diverse funding landscape that backs talent from all demographics and walks of life.
Shayan Chowdhury, Interim Managing Director at Newton Venture Program, said:
The most effective and enduring way to broaden access to capital for entrepreneurs of every kind is to cultivate an investor talent pool that reflects the diverse nature of society. That means opening up networks to a wider range of people and giving them the opportunity to participate, and thrive, in the venture capital ecosystem.
This £500m package is a huge step toward that. Allyship matters, but representation is what truly shifts outcomes, and building a more inclusive investor base is the most sustainable route to more equitable entrepreneurship.
Adopt best practices to improve female entrepreneurs’ access to finance needed to start and grow successful businesses
Nominate a member of the senior leadership team responsible for supporting equality in all interactions with entrepreneurs
Provide annual funding data disaggregated by gender to DBT, based on agreed guidelines. Providing data and analysis helps to promote greater transparency across the industry, highlighting where measures are working and where further measures may be needed.
The British Business Bank is the UK Government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK Government.
The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £17.4bn of finance to almost 64,000 smaller businesses.
As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.
The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the Government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4bn in finance to 1.67m businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.
A Trilateral Meeting between Malaysia, as the ASEAN Chair, Switzerland, and the ASEAN Secretariat was convened today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Meeting was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, the Honourable Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan, and was attended by Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, and Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn. The Meeting discussed the ASEAN-Switzerland Sectoral Dialogue Partnership, including ongoing cooperation, and sought untapped opportunities for future collaboration.
The post Trilateral Meeting between Malaysia, Switzerland and the ASEAN Secretariat convenes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Government of India has announced the sale (issue/ re-issue) of Government Securities, as detailed below, through auctions to be held on July 11, 2025 (Friday).
As per the extant scheme of underwriting commitment notified on November 14, 2007, the amounts of Minimum Underwriting Commitment (MUC) and the minimum bidding commitment under Additional Competitive Underwriting (ACU) auction, applicable to each Primary Dealer (PD), are as under:
(₹ crore)
Security
Notified Amount
MUC amount per PD
Minimum bidding commitment per PD under ACU auction
New GS 2032
11,000
262
262
7.09% GS 2074
14,000
334
334
The underwriting auction will be conducted through multiple price-based method on July 11, 2025 (Friday). PDs may submit their bids for ACU auction electronically through Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) System between 09:00 A.M. and 09:30 A.M. on the day of underwriting auction.
The underwriting commission will be credited to the current account of the respective PDs with RBI on the day of issue of securities.
Ajit Prasad Deputy General Manager (Communications)
Announcement on Open Market Operations No.131 [2025]
(Open Market Operations Office, July 10, 2025)
The People’s Bank of China conducted reverse repo operations in the amount of RMB90 billion through quantity bidding at a fixed interest rate on July 10, 2025.
In 2000, Africa had no billionaires. Today it has 23 whose combined wealth has soared by 56% in just the past five years, reaching a staggering $112.6 billion.
Africa’s richest 5% hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth – more than double the combined wealth of the rest of the continent.
Despite soaring poverty, African governments show least commitment to reducing inequality, and that commitment has declined since 2022.
An extra 1% tax on wealth and 10% tax on income of Africa’s richest 1% could raise $66 billion annually, more than enough to close the funding gaps for free quality education and universal access to electricity.
Today, just four of Africa’s richest billionaires hold $57.4 billion in wealth — more than the combined wealth of 750 million people, or half the continent’s population, according to a new Oxfam report.
The report–Africa’s inequality crisis and the rise of the super-rich–launched ahead of theAfrican Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, warns thatthe explosive concentration of wealth is accelerating inequality, driven by policies that enrich elites while starving public services.
Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa, said:
“Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible.’’
Africa is one of the most unequal regions in the world and has some of the highest poverty rates. Nearly half (23) of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are African, while extreme poverty has soared: seven in ten people living in extreme poverty today are in Africa, compared to just one in ten in 1990. Hunger is also worsening, with nearly 850 million Africans experiencing hunger — an increase of 20 million since 2022.
Despite deepening poverty and widening inequalities, African governments remain the least committed globally to narrowing the gap — slashing budgets for public services like education, health and social protection, while imposing some of the world’s lowest wealth taxes on the ultra-rich. On average, the continent collects just 0.3% of GDP in wealth taxes. This is less than any other region and well below Asia (0.6%), Latin America (0.9%), and OECD countries (1.8%). Over the past decade, that already meagre share has dropped by nearly 25%.
For each dollar African countries raise from personal income and wealth taxes, they collect nearly three dollars from indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) — levies that deepen inequality.
The consequences are glaring. Half of Africa’s population live in 19 countries where income inequality has worsened or stagnated over the past decade. The richest 5% in Africa now hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth, more than double the combined wealth of the remaining 95% of the continent’s population.
Fatouma, a mother of 10 children who sells vegetables in El Afweyn, Somalia says:“Meat is a luxury we cannot afford in many homes. I earn about two dollars a day while the price of one kilo of flour has tripled.”
“Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible.’’
Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa
Oxfam International
The report also finds that:
In just three days, someone in Africa’s richest 1% earns what it takes a person in the poorest half an entire year to make.
Even if they lost almost all their wealth (keeping just 0.01%) Africa’s five richest men would still be 56 times richer than the average person on the continent.
Men in Africa own three times more wealth than women, the widest gender wealth gap of all regions in the world.
Over the past five years, African billionaires have increased their wealth by 56%.
As debt burdens mount, governments across the continent are squeezing the poor – gutting essential public services – while shielding the wealthiest from fair taxation. An earlier report by Oxfam and Development Finance International found that 94% of African countries with active World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans (44 out of 47 countries) have slashed spending on education, health and social protection in 2023-2024 to repay debt. This significantly undermines the AU’s goal of reducing inequality by 15% over the next 10 years.
“The solution is not far-fetched: tax the rich and invest in the majority. Anything less is a betrayal. If African leaders are serious about their commitments, they must stop rewarding the few and start building economies that work for everyone,” added N’Zi-Hassane.
Some African governments are already proving that fairer economies are possible. Morocco and South Africa collect 1.5% and 1.2% of their GDP from property taxes, respectively — among the highest in the continent. In Seychelles, the poorest 50% have seen their income share grow by 76% since 2000, while the richest 1% have lost two-thirds of theirs. The government also guarantees universal healthcare, free quality education, along with a robust welfare system for the most vulnerable.
A modest tax on Africa’s richest – just 1% more on wealth and 10% more on income – could generate $66 billion a year for the continent (2.29% of Africa’s GDP), according to the report. This would be more than enough to close the funding gaps needed to deliver free quality education and provide electricity to every home and business still in the dark.
‘‘Every African woman, man and child deserves to live in dignity. When a handful of billionaires are allowed to hoard obscene wealth while millions are trapped in poverty, the system becomes not just broken but morally bankrupt. As leaders meet for AU Summit, delay is indefensible. Taxing the super-rich isn’t just fair — it’s essential for building the Africa we want,’’ said N’Zi-Hassane.
In 2000, Africa had no billionaires. Today it has 23 whose combined wealth has soared by 56% in just the past five years, reaching a staggering $112.6 billion.
Africa’s richest 5% hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth – more than double the combined wealth of the rest of the continent.
Despite soaring poverty, African governments show least commitment to reducing inequality, and that commitment has declined since 2022.
An extra 1% tax on wealth and 10% tax on income of Africa’s richest 1% could raise $66 billion annually, more than enough to close the funding gaps for free quality education and universal access to electricity.
Today, just four of Africa’s richest billionaires hold $57.4 billion in wealth — more than the combined wealth of 750 million people, or half the continent’s population, according to a new Oxfam report.
The report–Africa’s inequality crisis and the rise of the super-rich–launched ahead of theAfrican Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, warns thatthe explosive concentration of wealth is accelerating inequality, driven by policies that enrich elites while starving public services.
Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa, said:
“Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible.’’
Africa is one of the most unequal regions in the world and has some of the highest poverty rates. Nearly half (23) of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are African, while extreme poverty has soared: seven in ten people living in extreme poverty today are in Africa, compared to just one in ten in 1990. Hunger is also worsening, with nearly 850 million Africans experiencing hunger — an increase of 20 million since 2022.
Despite deepening poverty and widening inequalities, African governments remain the least committed globally to narrowing the gap — slashing budgets for public services like education, health and social protection, while imposing some of the world’s lowest wealth taxes on the ultra-rich. On average, the continent collects just 0.3% of GDP in wealth taxes. This is less than any other region and well below Asia (0.6%), Latin America (0.9%), and OECD countries (1.8%). Over the past decade, that already meagre share has dropped by nearly 25%.
For each dollar African countries raise from personal income and wealth taxes, they collect nearly three dollars from indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) — levies that deepen inequality.
The consequences are glaring. Half of Africa’s population live in 19 countries where income inequality has worsened or stagnated over the past decade. The richest 5% in Africa now hold nearly $4 trillion in wealth, more than double the combined wealth of the remaining 95% of the continent’s population.
Fatouma, a mother of 10 children who sells vegetables in El Afweyn, Somalia says:“Meat is a luxury we cannot afford in many homes. I earn about two dollars a day while the price of one kilo of flour has tripled.”
“Africa’s wealth is not missing. It’s being siphoned off by a rigged system that allows a small elite to amass vast fortunes while denying hundreds of millions even the most basic services. This is an utter policy failure —unjust, avoidable and entirely reversible.’’
Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Director, Oxfam in Africa
Oxfam International
The report also finds that:
In just three days, someone in Africa’s richest 1% earns what it takes a person in the poorest half an entire year to make.
Even if they lost almost all their wealth (keeping just 0.01%) Africa’s five richest men would still be 56 times richer than the average person on the continent.
Men in Africa own three times more wealth than women, the widest gender wealth gap of all regions in the world.
Over the past five years, African billionaires have increased their wealth by 56%.
As debt burdens mount, governments across the continent are squeezing the poor – gutting essential public services – while shielding the wealthiest from fair taxation. An earlier report by Oxfam and Development Finance International found that 94% of African countries with active World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans (44 out of 47 countries) have slashed spending on education, health and social protection in 2023-2024 to repay debt. This significantly undermines the AU’s goal of reducing inequality by 15% over the next 10 years.
“The solution is not far-fetched: tax the rich and invest in the majority. Anything less is a betrayal. If African leaders are serious about their commitments, they must stop rewarding the few and start building economies that work for everyone,” added N’Zi-Hassane.
Some African governments are already proving that fairer economies are possible. Morocco and South Africa collect 1.5% and 1.2% of their GDP from property taxes, respectively — among the highest in the continent. In Seychelles, the poorest 50% have seen their income share grow by 76% since 2000, while the richest 1% have lost two-thirds of theirs. The government also guarantees universal healthcare, free quality education, along with a robust welfare system for the most vulnerable.
A modest tax on Africa’s richest – just 1% more on wealth and 10% more on income – could generate $66 billion a year for the continent (2.29% of Africa’s GDP), according to the report. This would be more than enough to close the funding gaps needed to deliver free quality education and provide electricity to every home and business still in the dark.
‘‘Every African woman, man and child deserves to live in dignity. When a handful of billionaires are allowed to hoard obscene wealth while millions are trapped in poverty, the system becomes not just broken but morally bankrupt. As leaders meet for AU Summit, delay is indefensible. Taxing the super-rich isn’t just fair — it’s essential for building the Africa we want,’’ said N’Zi-Hassane.
ASB is welcoming the launch of a comprehensive Anti-Scam Alliance which it says is a positive move in the fight against fraud and scams.
Chief Executive Vittoria Shortt says while the banking sector has invested significantly in fraud and scam prevention, detection and awareness for many years, having a formal alliance between Government, police, consumer groups and a range of impacted industries will make a real difference.
“Banks and telcos have been working very hard, both individually and together, for some time, to tackle fraud and scams. We’ve partnered with others in the industry like consumer groups and police, but the real power comes in a true all of ecosystem approach, as Minister Simpson has announced today.
“We’re pleased to see digital and social media companies join the charge. Each member of the alliance brings unique skills and experience which will improve our collective ability to fight fraud and scams. The formal involvement of Government will also enable stronger collaboration and commitment and more resource and expertise so we can continue to work together to keep New Zealanders safe.”
ASB has spent around $140 million fighting fraud, scams, financial crime and cybercrime this financial year, and has invested in a number of customer initiatives. This includes tools such as Caller Check, which was launched in March and combats bank impersonation scams, and ASB’s 24/7 fraud line, which has received more than 21,000 calls outside of regular bank hours since it was launched in February.
The industry has also been working closely together on Confirmation of Payee and increasing information sharing to better target money mules as part of ongoing collaborative work.
“We know there is still more to be done, but today’s announcement is another step forward and we will continue to build on the work we’re already doing in this space,” says Shortt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally nominated United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. He says the president is “forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other”.
Trump, who has craved the award for years, sees himself as a global peacemaker in a raft of conflicts from Israel and Iran, to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With the conflict in Gaza still raging, we ask five experts – could Trump be rewarded with the world’s most prestigious peace prize?
Emma Shortis
Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University
Nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is like entering a hyena in a dog show.
Of course Trump does not deserve it. That we’re being forced to take this question seriously is yet another indication – as if we needed one – of his extraordinary ability to set and reset the terms of our politics.
There is no peace in Gaza. Even if Trump announced another ceasefire tomorrow, it would not last. And it would not build genuine peace and security.
Trump has neither the interest nor the attention span required to build long term peace. His administration is not willing to bear any of the costs or investments that come with genuine, lasting diplomacy. And he is not anti-war.
There is no peace in Iran. Trump’s bombing of Iran simply exacerbates his decision in 2018 to end nuclear negotiations with Tehran. It pushes the world closer to, not further from, nuclear catastrophe.
Under the Trump administration, there will be no peace in the Middle East. Both the US and Israeli governments’ approach to “security” puts the region on a perpetual war footing. This approach assumes it is possible to bomb your way to peace – a “peace” which both Trump and Netanyahu understand as total dominance and violent oppression.
The Trump administration is deliberately undermining the institutions and principles of international and domestic law.
He has deployed the military against American citizens. He is threatening the United States’ traditional allies with trade wars and annexation. His administration’s dismantling of USAID will result, according to one study, in the deaths of 14 million people, including 4.5 million children, by 2030.
Indulging Trump’s embarrassing desire for trophies might appease him for a short time. It would also strip the Nobel Peace Prize of any and all credibility, while endorsing Trump’s trashing of the international rule of law.
What kind of peace is that?
Ali Mamouri
Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University
The nomination of Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize by a man who is facing charges of war crimes is an unprecedented and deeply dark irony that cannot be overlooked.
Trump’s role in brokering the Abraham Accords was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough. It led to the normalisation of relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
But this achievement came at a significant cost. The accords deliberately sidelined the Palestinian issue, long recognised as the core of regional instability, and disregarded decades of international consensus on a two-state solution.
Israeli soldiers guarding Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Dom Zaran/Shutterstock
His silence in the face of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was equally telling. Perhaps most disturbing was the tacit or explicit endorsement of proposals to forcibly relocate Palestinians to neighbouring Arab countries, a position that evokes ethnic cleansing and fundamentally undermines principles of justice, dignity and international law.
In addition, there is Trump’s unconditional support for Israel’s military campaigns across the region, including his authorisation of attacks on Iranian civilian, military and nuclear infrastructure. The strikes lacked any clear legal basis, contributed further to regional instability and, according to Tehran, killed more than a thousand civilians.
His broader disregard for international norms shattered decades of post-second world war diplomatic order and increased the risk of sustained and expanded conflict.
Against this backdrop, any serious consideration of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize seems fundamentally at odds with its stated mission: to honour efforts that reduce conflict, uphold human rights and promote lasting peace.
Whatever short-term diplomatic gains emerged from Trump’s tenure are eclipsed by the legal, ethical and humanitarian consequences of his actions.
Ian Parmeter
Research Scholar, Middle East Studies, Australian National University
Netanyahu’s nomination of Donald Trump for one of the world’s most coveted awards was clearly aimed at flattering the president.
Trump is clearly angling for the laurel, which his first term predecessor, Barack Obama, won in his first year in office.
Obama was awarded the prize in 2009 for promotion of nuclear non-proliferation and fostering a “new climate” in international relations, particularly in reaching out to the Muslim world.
Given neither of these ambitions have since borne fruit, what claims might Trump reasonably make at this stage of his second term?
Trump has claimed credit for resolving two conflicts this year: the brief India–Pakistan clash that erupted after Pakistani militants killed 25 Indian tourists in Kashmir in May; and the long-running dispute between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi disputes Trump brokered peace. He says the issue was resolved by negotiations between the two countries’ militaries.
With regards to the Rwanda–DRC conflict, the countries signed a peace agreement in the Oval Office in June. But critics argue Qatar played a significant role
which the Trump administration has airbrushed out.
Trump can legitimately argue his pressure on Israel and Iran forced a ceasefire in their 12-day war in June.
But his big test is the Gaza war. For Trump to add this to his Nobel claim, he will need more than a ceasefire.
The Biden administration brokered two ceasefires that enabled the release of significant numbers of hostages, but did not end the conflict.
Trump would have to use his undoubted influence with Netanyahu to achieve more than a temporary pause. He would have to end the war definitively and effect the release of all Israeli hostages.
Beyond that, if Trump could persuade Netanyahu
to take serious steps towards negotiating a two-state solution, that would be a genuine Nobel-worthy achievement.
Trump isn’t there yet.
Jasmine-Kim Westendorf
Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict and Co-Director of the Initiative for Peacebuilding, The University of Melbourne
Although controversial or politicised awards are not new, awardees are generally individuals or groups who’ve made
significant contributions to a range of peace initiatives.
They include reducing armed conflict, enhancing international cooperation, and human rights efforts that contribute to peace.
Inspiring examples include anti-nuclear proliferation organisations and phenomenal women peacemakers. And Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege, who won in 2011 for their work trying to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Trump has declared his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier”. But he is neither.
There has been a concerning trend towards using the Nobel Peace Prize to encourage certain political directions, rather than reward achievements.
Barack Obama’s 2008 Prize helped motivate his moves toward diplomacy and cooperation after the presidency of George W. Bush.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s 2018 award was for efforts to resolve the 20-year war with Eritrea. The peace prize encouraged Ahmed to fulfill his promise of democratic elections in 2020. Embarrassingly, within a year Ahmed launched a civil war that killed over 600,000 people and displaced 3 million more.
This week’s nomination follows efforts by global leaders to flatter Trump in order – they hope – to secure his goodwill.
These motivations explain why Netanyahu has put forward Trump’s name to the Nobel Committee. It comes at the very moment securing Trump’s ongoing support during ceasefire negotiations is critical for Netanyahu’s political survival.
They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize […] It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.
Prizes to genuine peacemakers amplify their work and impact.
1984 winner Desmond Tutu said: “One day no one was listening. The next, I was an oracle.” A Nobel can be a powerful force for peace.
Trump is no peacemaker, he doesn’t deserve one.
Shahram Akbarzadeh
Director, Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), Deakin University
Benjamin Netanyahu would have us believe Donald Trump is a peacemaker.
Nothing could be further from the truth. His record is stained with blood and misery. The fact Trump believes himself to be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize only attests to his illusions of grandeur in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The war in Gaza has gone into its 20th month because Trump did not use the levers at his control to bring the senseless war to a close.
Some estimates put the true Gaza death toll at 100,000 people, and counting. They have been killed by American-made bombs Israel is dropping across the densely populated strip; from starvation because Israel has enforced a blockade of the Gaza Strip and prevented UN food delivery with the blessings of America; and from gunshots at food distribution centres, set up with US private security.
All under Trump’s watch.
Trump could do something about this. Israel is the largest recipient of US aid, most of it military support.
This has multiplied since Israel commenced its attack on Gaza in response to Hamas terrorism on October 7 2023. Trump has approved the transfer of US military hardware to Israel, knowing full well it was being used against a trapped and helpless population.
This is not the act of a peacemaker.
Now the Israeli government is planning to “facilitate” population transfer of Gazans to other countries – a euphemism for ethnic cleansing.
This is the textbook definition of genocide: deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of people. Trump legitimised this travesty of decency and international law by promising a Gaza Riviera.
The outlandish extent of Trump’s ideas would be laughable if their consequences were not so devastating.
When Israel attacked Iran in the middle of nuclear talks, Trump had a momentary pause, before jumping to Netanyahu’s aid and bombing Iran. He then claimed his action paved the way for peace.
Trump’s idea of peace is the peace of the graveyard.
Emma Shortis is Director of International and Security Affairs at The Australia Institute, an independent think tank.
Jasmine-Kim Westendorf has received funding from the Australian Research Council.
Shahram Akbarzadeh receives funding from Australia Research Council.
Ali Mamouri and Ian Parmeter do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday amid mixed global cues, with selling pressure seen in the auto and IT sectors during early trade.
At around 9:29 am, the Sensex was trading 40.96 points or 0.05 per cent lower at 83,495.12, while the Nifty declined 17.70 points or 0.07 per cent to 25,458.40.
Nifty Bank was up 29.50 points or 0.05 per cent at 57,243.05 in early trade. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 59,448, adding 108.40 points or 0.18 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index stood at 19,057.75, up by 50.35 points or 0.26 per cent.
According to analysts, with trade and tariff news becoming more routine, the market is now focusing on the upcoming earnings season.
“The big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, will start reporting next Tuesday. As of now, analysts expect 5.8 per cent earnings growth for the S&P 500 in the second quarter,” said Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital.
Expectations from the IT sector remain muted; however, midcap IT companies are likely to post good results along with positive commentary, experts added.
“Banks, despite strong balance sheets and ample liquidity, are struggling with low credit growth. Outperformers in the banking segment will be those that report healthy credit growth. In autos, M&M and Eicher have the potential to outperform,” they noted.
Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, M&M, ICICI Bank, and Titan were the top gainers. On the other hand, Tata Motors, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Asian Paints, NTPC, and HDFC Bank were among the top losers.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 77 crore on July 9, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers, investing Rs 920 crore on the same day.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong, Seoul, China, and Jakarta were trading in the green, while Japan was trading in the red.
In the previous session, the Dow Jones in the US closed at 44,458.30, up 217.54 points or 0.49 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 37.74 points or 0.61 per cent to end at 6,263.26, while the Nasdaq closed at 20,611.34, up 192.87 points or 0.94 per cent.
The ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with Australia was held today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Meeting reviewed the progress made under ASEAN-Australia cooperation and discussed its future direction. The Ministers explored ways of advancing the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including through the implementation of the Plan of Action (2025–2029), and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern. The Meeting was attended by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers or their representatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, and Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn. Timor-Leste attended as Observer.
The post ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with Australia reviews progress of ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discuss its future direction appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
▲ Galaxy Unpacked 2025 took place at Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn.
On July 9, Samsung Electronics hosted Galaxy Unpacked 2025 in Brooklyn — a borough known for its culture, creativity and spirit of collaboration. Under the theme of “Unfold Ultra,” the event reimagined what’s possible in the era of mobile AI. The all-new Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7, Galaxy Z Flip7 FE and Galaxy Watch8 series showcased seamless integration of Galaxy AI, redefined form factors and transformative performance.
Samsung Newsroom was on the ground at Galaxy Unpacked 2025, where the next chapter of mobile AI innovation unfolded.
Galaxy AI: A True AI Companion
▲ Roh opens the showcase by boldly announcing a new direction for Galaxy AI.
Building on a legacy of human-centered innovation, Samsung’s latest lineup reflects a clear vision — making AI more meaningful, personal and accessible. From slimmer foldables to personalized health-tracking wearables, these devices chart a bold trajectory for how AI companions can support users in every moment.
▲ Roh shares the vision for Galaxy AI as a true AI companion.
“When AI is paired with powerful mobile technology, it opens up a whole new world of opportunities,” said TM Roh, President, Acting Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division and Head of Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics. “The biggest breakthroughs are made when hardware, software and services challenge each other to grow.”
▲ The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 are revealed through a launch video.
One UI 8: Made for Foldables, Powered by AI
▲ Won-Joon Choi, Chief Operating Officer of Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, introduces One UI 8.
At the center of this transformation is One UI 8 — Samsung’s next-generation interface designed specifically for foldables, optimized for AI and built on the principles of multimodal understanding and deep personalization.
Privacy and security are core to One UI 8. The on-device Personal Data Engine learns from user preferences, while Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection secures and isolates information within the app where it’s used.
Android 16 is available on the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 at launch — made possible through close collaboration with Google.
▲ Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Platforms & Devices at Google, discusses ongoing AI collaboration with Samsung.
Galaxy Z Fold7: A Larger Canvas for Galaxy AI
▲ Annika Bizon, Vice President of Product & Marketing at Samsung Electronics, highlights the Galaxy Z Fold7.
Pushing the limits of design, the Galaxy Z Fold7 is the slimmest Z Fold to date.
Features like Writing Assist and Drawing Assist help shape thoughts into polished prose and ideas into visuals. Now Brief displays insights — such as travel advisories, weather updates and exchange rates — by analyzing location, time and schedule.
▲ Circle to Search is demonstrated in a video.
Circle to Search has evolved to recognize in-game elements and provide contextual assistance without breaking immersion. Meanwhile, Vulkan optimizations boost graphics and responsiveness, powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy — engineered for next-level performance.
▲ The Galaxy Z Fold7 delivers next-generation resolution and effortless cropping.
For the first time, a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera headlines the Z Fold series, empowering users to shoot wide and crop tight without compromise. AI-powered editing tools have been optimized for the large display. Generative Edit now includes a new Suggest Erases feature that automatically detects and removes passersby. Audio Eraser offers intelligent sound isolation — with support for adjusting up to four sound types at once.
▲ Audio Eraser is demonstrated in a video.
Galaxy Z Flip7: A Full Experience, Even When Closed
▲ Dale Hogen, Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics, reveals the Galaxy Z Flip7.
Compact yet uncompromising, the Galaxy Z Flip7 is the slimmest Z Flip yet. With a reengineered Flex Hinge and the largest battery in Galaxy Z Flip history, the device features a 6.9-inch bar-type display that delivers vivid visuals through an embedded polarizer.
The redesigned 4.1-inch FlexWindow spans edge to edge and supports a 120Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth interaction. To maximize screen space, the bezel has slimmed to just 1.25 millimeters — nearly a third the thickness of its predecessor. Supporting numerous apps and widgets, One UI 8 brings greater functionality to the cover screen.
▲ The Galaxy Z Flip7 features a newly expanded Flex Window and thinner bezels.
The Galaxy Z Flip7 is a pocket-perfect AI assistant. Timely information — such as the day’s schedule or current playlist — appears on Now Bar. Meanwhile, holding the side button activates Google’s Gemini for hands-free AI. Gemini Live can even analyze outfits via the camera and suggest style tips based on the weather or calendar events.
▲ The Galaxy Z Flip7’s camera has FlexCam that allows users to take selfies in an easier way.
The 50-megapixel camera delivers sharp detail and true-to-life color thanks to the ProVisual Engine, and FlexCam gives users a one-of-a-kind selfie experience.
The revolutionary Galaxy Z Flip design is now even more accessible with the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE — featuring the same iconic foldable form, complete with a 50-megapixel camera, ProVisual Engine and Galaxy AI.
Galaxy Watch8: A New Standard for Personalized Health
▲ John Englehardt, Sales at Samsung Electronics, presents the Galaxy Watch8 series.
The Galaxy Watch8 series is an evolution in Samsung’s design philosophy to create a clearer, more iconic design identity with distinctive cushion design — first introduced on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The slim design, combined with Dynamic Lug System provides an unparalleled all-day comfort. Galaxy Watch’s sleek form is complemented by its exceptional performance, with a new 3-nanometer processor, dual-frequency GPS and the advanced BioActive Sensor.
▲ Running Coach delivers personalized training.
The new Running Coach feature analyzes users’ running level and provides personalized insights to keep users motivated through the tailored coaching program. Simultaneously, Samsung Health informs users when it’s time to wind down via the new Bedtime Guidance feature.
▲ Vascular Load and other advanced health tracking features have been added.
Vascular Load monitors stress levels on the vascular system during sleep. Meanwhile, the Antioxidant Index uses the BioActive Sensor to measure carotenoid levels, delivering lifestyle insights for healthy aging.
The experience of having a true AI companion now comes full circle with the introduction of One UI 8 Watch across the Galaxy Watch8 series. In addition, the Galaxy Watch8 is the first smartwatch to come out of the box with Google’s Gemini and be powered by Wear OS 6.
Sustainability: A Commitment to the Planet
▲ This year’s Galaxy foldable align with Samsung’s sustainability vision.
Sustainability remains central to Galaxy’s design philosophy. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 incorporate nine recycled materials — including recycled lithium and plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets. These efforts align with Samsung’s broader Galaxy for the Planet initiative and reflect an enduring commitment to environmental stewardship.
The Experience Zone: A Galaxy of Possibilities, Unfolded
Attendees from around the world gathered in the product experience zone after the announcement, excited to explore the newly launched Galaxy devices. The Galaxy Z Fold7, in particular, drew attention for its noticeably slimmer, lighter build — with many eager to try it firsthand.
▲ The product experience zone draws a crowd at Galaxy Unpacked 2025.
“When I first saw the Galaxy Z Fold7, I was surprised by how slim and lightweight it is,” said Francisco Javier, a Samsung Member from Spain. “The larger screen makes a big difference.”
▲ Francisco Javier, a Samsung Member from Spain
“I love the Galaxy Z Flip7 because there are so many creative ways to use it,” said Ana Carolina Sandoval Diaz, an influencer from El Salvador. “I’m always making new content, and this gives me more freedom to do that.”
▲ Ana Carolina Sandoval Diaz, an influencer from El Salvador
“Samsung always surprises us — and this year, it’s how thin the Galaxy Z Fold7 is,” said Adi Fida, a journalist from Indonesia. “Despite the larger screen, it still feels easy to use with one hand.”
▲ Adi Fida, a journalist from Indonesia
“I like that the Galaxy Watch8 focuses on health,” said Bilge Suisik, an influencer from Türkiye. “I’ve never been great at sleeping, so I think it’ll help me get back on schedule — I could really use the reminders.”
▲ Bilge Suisik, an influencer from Türkiye
With the Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7, Galaxy Z Flip FE and Galaxy Watch8 series, Samsung has made a groundbreaking leap in delivering personalized, intelligent experiences that adapt, anticipate and empower. Galaxy AI is now more deeply embedded than ever across the Galaxy ecosystem — positioning Samsung at the forefront of a future where mobile technology is both personal and powerful.
Lefteris Arapakis grew up near the Greek port of Piraeus, in a family of fishermen whose connection to the sea spans five generations. He was raised on the belief that the ocean would always provide. But one day, out on the water, he saw something that changed him: plastic tangled in the nets, hauled in, then thrown right back into the sea.
He couldn’t unsee it. And he refused to accept it.
So, he founded Enaleia, an organization that began with a simple idea: collect what doesn’t belong in the sea, and give it a second life.
What started small has grown into a Mediterranean-wide movement. Today, more than 3,000 fishermen are working with Enaleia to remove plastic from the ocean and transform it into something new: raw material, usable products and hope.
Lefteris is doing more than cleaning the ocean. He’s reimagining our relationship with it, turning waste into resources, and skeptics into believers. With a Galaxy device in hand, he documents the fishermen’s progress and opens the story to the wider world — because change, like the sea, belongs to everyone.
The vision Lefteris is pursuing — a cleaner, more sustainable planet — aligns with Samsung’s own commitment to environmental responsibility. That shared purpose is why his story is featured in our Voices of Galaxy series.
He believes the ocean can heal. And he’s showing us how.
Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry
Today I am releasing an updated Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy (SCMP) and the first Statement of Expectations for the RBA’s Governance Board.
The RBA Monetary Policy Board formally agreed the new SCMP at its meeting on 7–8 July.
These new Statements are next steps to strengthen the independence and transparency of the RBA.
They finalise the Government’s implementation of our reforms to the RBA, including the publication of unattributed votes by the Monetary Policy Board.
These reforms are all about reinforcing the Reserve Bank’s independence, clarifying its mandate, modernising its structures and enhancing its accountability.
This is part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to ensuring Australia’s central bank remains world class with a monetary policy and governance framework fit to meet current and future economic challenges.
The Statements are the result of careful consideration and extensive consultation with the RBA, the Bank’s boards, and Treasury.
I thank Governor Bullock, the Bank’s boards and its leadership for their work bedding down the reforms.
The SCMP reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the independence of the RBA and sets out the agreed approach to meeting the Board’s legislated objectives.
Under the new SCMP the RBA publishes an unattributed record of votes.
The RBA Review recommended this change to enhance the transparency and accountability of the RBA.
The new SCMP also implements another key transparency and accountability recommendation for the Monetary Policy Board members to conduct at least one speech or public engagement each year.
The first Statement of Expectations for the newly constituted Governance Board clarifies the Board’s responsibilities when it comes to accountability, transparency and operational matters, as well as reporting on progress in implementing the RBA Review recommendations.
The RBA Governance Board considered the Statement at its meeting on 10 June.
The Statement brings the RBA into line with best practice making the Governance Board’s role clear in overseeing the Bank’s culture and driving institutional change.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
I just heard on Radio New Zealand a claim by a British commentator, Hugo Gye (Political Editor of The i Paper), that the United Kingdom (among other countries) has a major public debt crisis, and that if nothing is done about it (such as what Rachel Reeves – Chancellor of the Exchequer – is wanting to do), then in 2070 the public debt to GDP ratio would reach an ‘extreme’ level of 270% of GDP (gross domestic product). He added for good measure that no country in the world has public debt at a level anything like that. (Refer UK: Macron meets the King, RNZ, 10 July 2025.)
So I checked the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025, and found the following about Japan, the world’s fourth-largest national economy, looking at years from 2010 to 2024, with respect to government gross debt and general government financial deficit:
minimum debt206% (in 2010)
maximum debt 258% (in 2020)
average debt 234%
current debt 237% (in 2024)
projected debt 232% (in 2030)
minimum deficit 2.3% (in 2023)
maximum deficit 9.1% (in 2010)
average deficit 5.3%
current deficit 2.5% (in 2024)
projected deficit 5.3% (in 2030)
Japan does not have a ‘cost of living crisis’. Below is a list of Japan’s interest (source: tradingeconomics.com) and inflation rates (again the reference period is 2010 to 2024):
minimum interest-0.1% (in 2016-2024)
maximum interest 0.25% (in 2024)
average interest 0.0%
current interest 0.5% (in 2025)
minimum inflation -0.7% (in 2010)
maximum inflation 3.3% (in 2023)
average inflation 0.9%
current inflation 2.4% (in 2025)
projected inflation 2.0% (in 2030)
Japan is a prosperous country, with high life expectancy (85, the highest in the world for large economy nations), a very high ratio of retired people to working-age people, low inflation, and low interest rates. It was able to host the Olympic Games in 2021 without any financial fuss, and is about to host World Expo 2025. It has some of the world’s most sophisticated infrastructure.
Despite its high government debt – actually, to a large extent because of its high government debt – Japan’s is a creditor economy. Japan is not in debt to the rest of the world. Japan’s national debt is non-existent. Japan’s government debt is widely acknowledged, however, to be the world’s highest. Too many commentators – using wilful laziness – conflate national debt with government debt.
Japan’s is the world’s most successful twenty-first century large economy. It operates by Japanese savers lending much of their savings to their government at very low interest rates; those savers prefer to lend to their government rather than to pay high taxes to their government. Prosperous Japanese people are not greedy in the way that many rich westerners are. Their mantra is ‘private wealth, public wealth’; not ‘private wealth, public poverty’. Japan’s is not a zero-sum economy; in a zero-sum economy the prosperity of some comes at the expense of the impoverishment of others.
Hugo Jye was negligently dishonest – a case of wilful blindness or ignorance – in claiming that no countries had anything like 270% of GDP government debt. Western economists and financial commentators are likewise wilfully negligent in failing to alert their countries’ governments that there is an alternative – in plain sight – to our woeful policies of financial suffocation.
Note about three other economies
Within the European Union, it is rare for professional commentators to sing the praises of Spain and Italy. Spain, with 101% public debt, is enjoying a low inflation economic boom. It has a life expectancy of 83, higher than all European Union countries other than Malta and Luxembourg. Spain has had only government budget deficits since the surpluses of the years leading up to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (a crisis which hit Spain particularly badly). Despite – no, because of – these accumulated deficits, Spain’s public debt (as a percent of GDP) has been falling since 2020; the deficits stimulated GDP. Spain had one year of high inflation (8.3% in 2022; the next highest since 2020 were 3.05% in 2011 and 3.0% in 2021); it recovered very quickly from that one year. Spain’s current interest rate is 2.15%.
Italy had 135% government debt to GDP in 2024. Its people’s life expectancy is high, marginally lower than Spain’s and slightly higher than New Zealand’s; significantly higher than Germany, Netherlands and the United States. Italy’s economy has been growing faster than the European Union average. Its public debt (compared to GDP) has been falling despite government deficits.
Spain and Italy are doing relatively well despite having among the highest older-person to younger-person age ratios in Europe. Spain is pro-actively utilising immigrant labour, whereas Northern Europe is scapegoating immigrants. And Spain, unlike most of Europe, is not looking to its ‘Defence’ budget to boost future growth.
Türkiye’s public debt has fallen from a high (since 2006) of 40% in 2021 to under 30% in 2023. This is despite double-digit inflation since 2016 and an average budget deficit since 2011 of 5.3%. While high inflation has benefitted Türkiye by bringing about negative real interest rates (meaning interest payments effectively flow from richer to poorer, generally benefitting indebted Turkish businesses and households), current interest rate settings look like suffocating for Türkiye for the remainder of the 2020s. (This monetary policy of suffocation is also true for Australia in 2025, with its particularly hawkish Reserve Bank at present.)
Despite challenging geopolitical and climatic circumstances, Türkiye has, at least until 2024, managed to achieve rising living standards for a substantial majority of its people. Unlike the United Kingdom and some northern European countries, Türkiye has not been a crisis economy despite (or because of) a reputation for unsound public finance.
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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jongkil Jay Jeong, Senior Fellow, School of Computing and Information System, The University of Melbourne
It starts with a call from someone claiming to be your bank. They know your name. They know your bank. They even know your credit card number. There’s been “unusual activity” on your account, they say – and they just sent you a one-time passcode to verify your identity so they can assist.
You read out the code and feel reassured. Moments later, your funds are gone and the bank refuses reimbursement, citing a breach of terms because you voluntarily shared your passcode.
This is not a niche or isolated scam. It’s part of a growing pattern we’re seeing across Australia and beyond: cyber criminals are merging digital and real-world tactics in ways that make these frauds more convincing, harder to stop, and far more damaging.
It starts with stolen data
These scams don’t begin with a phishing email or fake app. They begin with data – your data – stolen in one of countless breaches, such as the latest Qantas incident that exposed the details of up to 5.7 million customers.
Sometimes the personal data has been sold through third-party data brokers. Names, phone numbers, emails, even card details are routinely leaked and traded online.
Once they have this information, scammers get to work. The phone call mimics a real interaction with a bank, perhaps with a spoofed caller ID. Victims are pressured in urgent language to “verify” their identity, often by reading out a one-time passcode that, unbeknownst to them, is authorising a transaction using their own card details.
We refer to this as a “convergence scam” – where online data leaks, psychological manipulation and weak enforcement come together. It’s a sophisticated hybrid of digital theft and physical-world exploitation, and it’s on the rise.
Devastating and personal
These scams are deeply personal and can be financially devastating. But what makes them even more alarming is the system-wide failure surrounding them.
For starters, many credit card fraud insurance policies contain clauses that exclude coverage when the customer “voluntarily” provides account credentials – including one-time passcodes – even if they did so under duress or deception.
One victim we spoke to lost nearly A$6,000 after a scammer posing as their bank prompted them to read out a passcode over the phone. The transaction was verified using that code, and the bank later refused to reimburse the loss.
In a formal response, the bank stated that by voluntarily sharing the one-time passcode, the customer had breached the epayments code, even though they were manipulated into doing so. As a result, the customer was held liable and ineligible for a chargeback.
Law enforcement may not help
Even when the criminals leave a physical trail, follow-up is rare. Law enforcement rarely investigates. In the cases we’ve seen, reports are acknowledged but not pursued. Officers don’t explicitly say the case is too small or not worth the effort, but their inaction suggests it, especially given how resource-intensive most cyber-crime investigations tend to be.
In many instances, particularly when the total loss isn’t deemed significant, victims are simply told to follow up with their bank, based on the assumption they’ll be reimbursed.
In one case we reviewed, stolen card details were used in-store at major Australian retailers such as Woolworths and Coles – indicating that a cloned card had been physically used. These purchases could, in theory, be tracked back to in-store CCTV footage. But no investigation was launched.
This reluctance to act, even when the evidence is tangible, sends a dangerous message: that scammers can operate with near-impunity.
Meanwhile, banks and regulators are slow to update verification systems. One-time passcodes are still widely used, even though scammers now exploit them routinely. There’s little recourse for victims, and minimal accountability for data brokers whose records fuel these scams.
What can we do to protect ourselves?
For individuals, the first line of defence is simple but vital:
never share a one-time passcode or security code over the phone, even if the caller seems legitimate
if in doubt, hang up and call the bank directly using the number on your card
be cautious about where and how you share your personal information, especially online through websites or social media. Only disclose what personally identifiable information you have to.
The true answer is systemic change
Banks and other institutions need to put into place stronger identity verification systems that don’t rely solely on SMS codes. We need greater transparency and regulation of data brokers.
Crucially, we also need active enforcement of cyber-enabled fraud, especially when there’s physical evidence, such as in-store purchases and CCTV footage.
Banks should also reassess their policies and procedures on how they communicate with customers. If scam calls closely mimic real ones, it’s time to change the script. More proactive education, clearer warnings, and redesigned verification processes can all help prevent harm.
The real danger of these convergence scams isn’t just financial loss. It’s the erosion of trust: in our banks, in our security systems, and in the institutions meant to protect us.
Once that trust is gone, it’s not easily recovered.
Jongkil Jay Jeong has received prior research funding from the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DSRI) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Ashish Nanda has received funding from the Australian Government through various research grants, including the Cyber Security CRC and Australia’s Economic Accelerator.
Peter Thomas 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.
Covering period of Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th July 2025 – Yet again, heavy rain and severe gales are on the way.
MetService has issued another boatload of Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings, as well as Strong Wind Watches and Warnings.
Most of the impacts will be felt on Friday as a front moves in from the Tasman Sea. Heavy rain is expected to peak in Auckland during the hours of the afternoon commute.
Orange Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued for Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Nelson and Marlborough regions. Heavy Rain Watches are also in place for remaining parts of the upper North Island. There is a moderate to high chance that warnings for the top of the South Island could be upgraded to a Red Warning – this represents the heightened potential for rain related impacts on Friday.
An Orange Strong Wind Warning has been issued for South Taranaki for severe gale northeasterlies gusting 120 km/h in exposed places. Strong Wind Watches are also in place for Taihape, Whanganui and Banks Peninsula.
MetService Meteorologist Michael Pawley adds, “Heavy rain will be falling in areas that have seen significant rainfall recently. Parts of Nelson have already received an average years’ worth of rain since January. The risk is that already saturated soil and damaged infrastructure will struggle to cope with an additional burst of rain.”
On Saturday morning, the front pushes off to the east. Behind it, northwesterly winds drag in showers to western areas for the remainder of the weekend. The east of both islands will remain drier.
This comes at the end of the school holidays as families are returning to their hometowns. “Take it easy on the roads. Consider timing your journey for when the rain eases if you’re traveling though affected areas” advises Michael. “Keep up to date with the advice of local emergency management services and councils.”
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public in Hong Kong that Chong Sing Heritage Trust Bank as referred to on the website (https://cshtb.com) does not have the authorization of the Monetary Authority (MA) under the Banking Ordinance (the Ordinance) to carry on banking business, or the business of taking deposits, in Hong Kong; and Chong Sing Heritage Trust Bank does not have the approval of the MA to establish a local representative office in Hong Kong under the Ordinance.
Given the global nature of the Internet, members of the public are reminded to verify the status of any organisation making use of the Internet to offer bank accounts to, or to solicit deposits from, the public in Hong Kong prior to transferring any funds to, or providing any personal information to, any such organisation.
A list of authorized institutions is available on the HKMA’s website (www.hkma.gov.hk). Members of the public may also check the status of any entity which appears to be soliciting deposits from the public in Hong Kong, or holding itself out as a bank or deposit-taking company in Hong Kong, by emailing the HKMA’s public enquiry service (publicenquiry@hkma.gov.hk).
New York, NY, July 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —YZi Labs, an investment vehicle fueling impact in Web3, AI, and biotech, today announced its support for 10X Capital, a leading investment firm focused on digital assets & digital asset treasury companies, in establishing the BNB Treasury Company, an independent U.S. initiative for digital asset treasury management on BNB Chain.
The BNB Treasury Company, which intends to pursue a public listing on a major U.S. stock exchange, aims to create a business that will provide investors in the USA with exposure to the growth and benefits of BNB, the world’s 4th largest digital asset token by market cap, and will be focused exclusively on the BNB Chain ecosystem.
The development of the BNB Treasury Company will be led by an accomplished management team, including digital assets veteran David Namdar, Senior Partner at 10X Capital and co-founder of Galaxy Digital (Nasdaq:GLXY), formerly of Millennium Management; institutional investor Russell Read, CIO of 10X Capital and former CIO of CalPERS, the Alaska Permanent Fund, the Gulf Investment Corporation, and former deputy CIO of Deutsche (Bank) Asset Management; and former Kraken director Saad Naja, who sits on the executive board of directors of global retail brokerage firm Exinity.
10X Capital, whose recent track record in digital asset treasury companies includes Nakamoto (Nasdaq:NAKA), has partnered with Cohen & Company Capital Markets, a division of Cohen & Company Securities, LLC, and Clear Street LLC to raise capital to fund its initial acquisition of BNB. 10X Capital will serve as the asset manager of the BNB Treasury Company.
“BNB Chain is one of the most widely adopted blockchain ecosystems. BNB is the gas, the glue, and the governance layer for a scalable, decentralized future — powered by builders, for builders, and we believe expanding its institutional access can deliver meaningful benefits to the broader public,” said Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs. “By supporting this initiative, we aim to combine the strengths of the BNB ecosystem with 10X Capital’s institutional asset management and capital markets expertise. While we advocate for the adoption of BNB as a treasury asset, YZi Labs remains highly selective in formal partnerships and will only communicate any official collaborations through our official channels.”
“BNB Chain is one of the largest, highest performing digital assets ecosystems globally, powering hundreds of millions of users, however institutional and retail investors in the U.S. have limited exposure to the growth of BNB.” added Hans Thomas, Founder & CEO of 10X Capital. “In line with our thesis on the unique ability of US-listed treasury companies to provide investors with access to digital assets opportunities globally, we believe the time is right for a well-capitalized, institutionally managed, pure-play treasury company to emerge as a gateway between U.S. investors and decentralized innovation on BNB Chain.”
The BNB Treasury Company will emphasize transparency and verification of holdings, strong engagement with the BNB ecosystem and community, and expects to announce the closing of its related financing in the coming weeks.
About YZi Labs
YZi Labs manages over $10 billion in assets globally. Our investment philosophy emphasizes impact first—we believe that meaningful returns will naturally follow. We invest in ventures at every stage, prioritizing those with solid fundamentals in Web3, AI, and biotech.
YZi Labs’ portfolio covers over 300 projects from over 25 countries across six continents. More than 65 of YZi Labs’ portfolio companies have gone through our incubation programs. For more information, follow YZi Labs on X.
About 10X Capital
10X Capital is a next-generation investment firm focused on digital transformation, including digital assets and digital infrastructure. 10X brings institutional capital to exceptional opportunities worldwide, via public & private structures, our portfolio companies, treasury business, and our affiliated investment bank.
With capabilities in corporate development, asset management, treasury management, and capital markets, the firm takes a holistic merchant banking approach to building Digital Assets Treasury companies around the world, to help develop disruptive strategies with global reach. For more information, follow 10X Capital on X.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, endorsement, analysis, or recommendations with respect to any financial instruments, investments, or issuers. This article may contain forward-looking statements which are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties. Investment in cryptocurrency and DeFi projects involves substantial risk, including the risk of complete loss. This article does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or specific needs of any particular person and each individual is urged to consult their legal and financial advisors before making any investment decisions.
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) announced 6 additions to his staff in Tennessee and Washington, D.C. Hagerty’s team continues to be fully operational and serving the great state of Tennessee.
Brian McCormack will soon assume the role of Chief of Staff. McCormack is currently serving as the Chief of Staff for the National Security Council at the White House. Previously, he served at the White House Office of Management and Budget responsible for nearly a dozen agencies and as the Chief of Staff at the Department of Energy. The current Chief of Staff, Adam Telle, was nominated in March by President Trump to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works where he will oversee the Corps of Engineers.
“I’m glad to have someone of Brian’s caliber and experience to lead this exceptional team. He brings a set of highly-relevant perspectives to the role where the paramount focus is to serve the people of Tennessee and the interests of our nation,” said Senator Bill Hagerty. “Brian’s background and relationships within the Trump Administration will support my objective of making the federal government work for the American people.”
“I’m thankful for the many years of service Adam has put in leading our team from day one in the Senate, which has helped me build a strong foundation for success here in the U.S. Senate going forward,” said Senator Bill Hagerty. “I’m so proud of the opportunity he’s been given to once again serve as an outstanding member of President Trump’s administration, and his management of the Corps of Engineers will bring the responses we’ve seen in my Senate office to bear on an organization central to Tennessee and our nation.”
Robert Donachie is now serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. Donachie served as Vice President of a Washington, DC-based public relations and literary agency. He spent several years working in the House of Representatives. He also served as the White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner and as a political reporter for The Daily Caller. Donachie has appeared on Fox News Channel, nationally syndicated radio programs, and provided commentary for The New York Times, POLITICO, Newsweek, The Hill, and other outlets.
Tiffany Delgado recently joined as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, replacing Jim Durrett. Delgado served as Senior Vice President of a Washington, DC-based marketing agency specializing in custom targeted voter contact, fundraising and issue advocacy programs, where she was recognized with the Rising Star Award from Campaigns and Elections. Previously she worked at the National Republican Senatorial Committee as the Director of Direct Response. Tiffany holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, and is currently pursuing her MBA from Georgetown University.
Michael Sullivan will become Senior Advisor to Senator Hagerty, where he will continue to be involved in state operations while also providing strategic advice on the Senator’s larger operation, leveraging Sullivan’s experience to benefit Hagerty’s broader mandate.
Alec Richardson will become the State Director for Senator Hagerty. Currently, he serves as Senior Advisor to Governor Bill Lee and Director of External Affairs at the State of Tennessee. In this role, Richardson is responsible for overseeing strategic operations, managing federal relations, and advising on key legislative issues. He formerly served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Personal Aide to the Governor. He resides in Nashville with his wife and their one-year-old son.
Kalleigh Ahern is now serving as Press & Digital Assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty. Prior to joining the Senate, she worked as a Public Relations and Communications Intern at a national PR agency, where she contributed to strategic campaign planning, media monitoring and cross-sector client research. Ahern also gained firsthand experience in federal outreach and constituent services while working in her home congressional district in Tennessee. She graduated summa cum laude from The University of Alabama with a focus in public relations and political science.
Serving in the Trump Administration
Adam Telle has been advanced out of the Armed Services Committee and Environment and Public Works Committee to lead the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Telle has served as Hagerty’s Chief of Staff over the last four years and will continue to serve Hagerty while his nomination is pending before the Senate. Telle served during the first Trump Administration as the White House’s Senate lead in its Office of Legislative Affairs. Prior to that role, Telle served as the top staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security and as the top policy advisor to the late Senator Thad Cochran. Telle holds degrees in computer science and journalism from Mississippi State University.
Jim Durrett is now the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President and Deputy Assistant to the President. Previously, he served as Deputy Chief of Operations for Senator Hagerty. Durrett is a native of Clarksville, Tennessee.
Luke Pettit has been advanced out of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions. Pettit has served as Senator Hagerty’s Senior Policy Advisor and will continue to serve Hagerty while his nomination is pending before the Senate. Previously, he worked at the Senate Banking Committee, Bridgewater Associates, and the Federal Reserve. Luke holds a B.A from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Johns Hopkins University.
Jonathan Greenstein is nominated to be Deputy Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Finance. Previously, he served as Senator Hagerty’s Senior Policy Advisor. Greenstein is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale Law School.
Daniel Zimmerman has been confirmed to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Zimmerman previously served in a Congressional Executive Fellowship in the office of Senator Hagerty. He previously has held many roles in the agency realm, and holds both a bachelor’s degree from Asbury University and a master’s degree from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky.
Julia Hahn is serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department for the Office of Public Affairs. Hahn joins the Department after serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for Senator Hagerty. Prior to the Senate, Hahn served in the first Trump White House over all four years, most recently as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Communications Director. Before that, she served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Rapid Response and Surrogate Operations. Hahn has also worked in media as the Executive Producer of The Laura Ingraham Show and a reporter at Breitbart News. She also worked on Capitol Hill as Press Secretary to former Congressman Dave Brat. Hahn graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in Philosophy.
Clark Milner is serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Policy, focusing primarily on domestic policy. Milner formerly served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Chief Counsel to Senator Bill Hagerty. Milner previously served as Deputy Counsel to Governor Bill Lee.
Natalie McIntyre currently serves as a Special Assistant to the President for the Office of Legislative Affairs where she handles the Healthcare, Education, Labor, Banking, and Agriculture portfolio. Previously, she was Senator Hagerty’s Legislative Director overseeing the legislative team and managing the Health, Education, Labor, Pension, and Veterans portfolio. Prior to her role in Hagerty’s office, she was part of the legislative office at OMB where she managed the Senate offices. She also served as a Senior Policy Advisor and White House liaison at ONDCP.
Jason Hoffman is currently the Executive Secretary at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Hoffman formerly served as a Policy Advisor for Senator Hagerty, focusing on homeland security and judiciary issues. Previously, he worked at the Office of Management and Budget during President Trump’s first term and as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.Nels Nordquist is serving as Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. Nordquist was Senior Fellow for Economic Policy in the office of Senator Hagerty. In addition, his prior service includes as Staff Director for the National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. From 2018-2021, Nordquist worked in the National Security Council and National Economic Council, first as Director for Trade & Investment and later as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Policy. Nordquist graduated from Stanford and earned an MBA from the University of Virginia.
Joel Rayburn is the Trump Administration’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He is a historian, former diplomat, and retired military officer who previously served as special advisor for Middle East affairs in the office of Senator Hagerty. Rayburn is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. In the first Trump Administration, he served as a senior director on the National Security Council staff and, from July 2018 to January 2021, as the U.S. special envoy for Syria. Before joining the State Department, Rayburn served 26 years as a US Army officer and co-authored the Army’s official history of the Iraq War. He holds an MA in history from Texas A&M University and an MS in strategic studies from the National War College.
Kevin Kim serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He previously worked as a National Security Fellow for Senator Hagerty. Kim was also the Senior Advisor to the Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea as part of the U.S. delegation to the 2020 U.S.-Russia arms control negotiations. From 2018 to 2020, he served as the Chief of Staff to the Special Representative for North Korea and the Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and worked closely with then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan Hagerty as he participated in various rounds of U.S.-DPRK nuclear negotiations. Kim received a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Daniel Tirosh now serves on the National Security Council. Tirosh previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Counsel for Senator Hagerty. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz, and graduated from Stanford Law School.
Walton Stivender Mears has taken on a new role as scheduler for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. Mears joined HUD earlier this year after serving as Director of Scheduling for Senator Hagerty. She previously handled scheduling and assisted the chief of staff for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and as a Staff Assistant for Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). Mears is a graduate of Auburn University.
J. Cal Mitchell is serving as Special Advisor for the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury. He joins the Treasury Department after serving as Personal Aide to Senator Hagerty. Mitchell is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College.
Nick Checker, a former national security fellow for Senator Hagerty, currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary on the National Security Council. In that role, Checker provides senior-level review of NSC products for substance, policy relevance, and appropriateness for the President and senior White House officials. Checker has spent the last decade prior to his service on Senator Hagerty’s staff at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a military analyst covering conflicts in the greater Middle East. Most recently, Checker worked in CIA’s office of Congressional Affairs, where he supported the confirmation process for Director John Ratcliffe. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University.
Nicholas Elliot is the Confidential Assistant and Policy Advisor to the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets. Previously, Elliot worked on Senator Hagerty’s 2020 campaign team and spent nearly four years working for Senator Hagerty on the Senator’s financial services and banking portfolio, where he advanced the Senator’s work on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Elliot is a graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he received a BS in Business Administration with a major in Finance and a minor in Mandarin.
Taylor Asher serves as Senior Policy Advisor to Chairman Paul Atkins. From April 2023 to January 2025, Asher served as Policy Advisor and Confidential Assistant to Commissioner Uyeda. Prior to his time at the SEC, Asher was Personal Aide to Senator Hagerty. His tenure in public service began with Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s Office, where he served as Staff Assistant and Intern Manager. Asher is currently pursuing a Master of Economics at George Mason University. He holds a Master of Finance with an Energy Specialization as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from Tulane University. He is originally from Nashville, Tennessee.
Cole Bornefeld will be serving as Director of Correspondence for the Office of the Vice President. He previously served as a Legislative Aide to Hagerty, assisting in the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Rules portfolio. Bornefeld previously served as a Legislative Correspondent, Staff Assistant, and Intern in Senator Hagerty’s office. He graduated from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public relations.
Project Acacia has today reached a significant milestone with a number of industry participants (see below) selected to explore how innovations in digital money and existing settlement infrastructure might support the development of Australian wholesale tokenised asset markets.
Project Acacia is a joint initiative between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). This work is also supported by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and the Australian Treasury. This project is one of the initiatives highlighted in the Government’s March 2025 Statement on Developing an Innovative Australian Digital Asset Industry.
24 innovative use cases from a diverse range of organisations, ranging from local fintechs to major banks, have been conditionally selected for this next stage of the project. There will be:
19 pilot use cases, which will involve real money and real asset transactions, and
5 proof-of-concept use cases involving simulated transactions.
The use cases involve a range of asset classes, including fixed income, private markets, trade receivables and carbon credits.
Proposed settlement assets for the use cases include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.
Issuance of pilot wholesale CBDC for testing use cases will occur on a range of private and public-permissioned DLT platforms, including Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect and other EVM-compatible networks.
ASIC clears way for industry participation
Supporting Project Acacia, ASIC is providing regulatory relief to participants to support and streamline the pilot.
ASIC’s relief will support the responsible testing of tokenised asset transactions, in some cases using CBDCs, between participants and a limited number of financial institutions in the coming months.
ASIC has previously provided individual relief of a similar nature to participants in earlier digital money projects led by the RBA.
Testing of use cases will occur over the next six months, with a report on the findings from the project expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026. The findings of this next stage of the project will support the RBA’s ongoing research into how innovation in the financial system can best support the Australian economy in the digital age.
Lead use case participants
Australian Bond Exchange
Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation
Australian Payments Plus
Canvas
Catena Digital
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Fireblocks
Forte Tech Solutions
Imperium Markets
Northern Trust
NotCentralised
ProspEx Group
Westpac Banking Corporation
Zerocap
Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the RBA said: “Ensuring that Australia’s payments and monetary arrangements are fit-for-purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board. Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration on tokenised asset markets and the future of money by the public and private sectors in Australia.
“The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia.
“We thank all interested parties for their efforts in Project Acacia to date and look forward to reporting back on the findings that will emerge over the reminder of the project.”
ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said: “Innovation is a sign of a vibrant economy and society. ASIC supports the responsible development of new technologies, including tokenisation and distributed ledgers.
“ASIC sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets. The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.
“Importantly, Project Acacia will allow industry and regulators to work together to learn more about how these use cases may reshape the financial services industry, potentially boosting efficiency and foster economic growth.”
Professor Talis Putnins, Chief Scientist at DFCRC said: “It is great to have collaboration from so many parts of the industry, from small fintechs to large banks, alongside the key financial regulators in this forward-looking, innovative project. The real money settlement models being tested, including issuing pilot wholesale CBDC on third party platforms, reflects another world-first for Australia in this rapidly evolving field.
“The project is of strategic importance to the DFCRC because, as a co-operative research centre, our focus is on bringing together key groups to unlock the large economic potential of digital finance innovation in Australia. Recent research suggests potential economic gains in markets and cross border payments could be in the order of AU $19 billion per year. Project Acacia is a significant step towards realising these gains, by providing evidence on the forms of money and settlement models that best enable tokenised real-world asset markets.”
About Project Acacia
Project Acacia is exploring how different forms of digital money and associated infrastructure could support the development of wholesale tokenised asset markets in Australia. The consultation paper initiating Project Acacia was released in November 2024 and called for industry feedback and expressions of interest in participating.
Project Acacia is a joint research project between Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). The project is supported by key stakeholders including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Treasury, which are all represented on the project Steering Committee, along with representatives from the RBA and DFCRC.
Project Acacia has today reached a significant milestone with a number of industry participants (see below) selected to explore how innovations in digital money and existing settlement infrastructure might support the development of Australian wholesale tokenised asset markets.
Project Acacia is a joint initiative between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). This work is also supported by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and the Australian Treasury. This project is one of the initiatives highlighted in the Government’s March 2025 Statement on Developing an Innovative Australian Digital Asset Industry.
24 innovative use cases from a diverse range of organisations, ranging from local fintechs to major banks, have been conditionally selected for this next stage of the project. There will be:
19 pilot use cases, which will involve real money and real asset transactions, and
5 proof-of-concept use cases involving simulated transactions.
The use cases involve a range of asset classes, including fixed income, private markets, trade receivables and carbon credits.
Proposed settlement assets for the use cases include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.
Issuance of pilot wholesale CBDC for testing use cases will occur on a range of private and public-permissioned DLT platforms, including Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect and other EVM-compatible networks.
ASIC clears way for industry participation
Supporting Project Acacia, ASIC is providing regulatory relief to participants to support and streamline the pilot.
ASIC’s relief will support the responsible testing of tokenised asset transactions, in some cases using CBDCs, between participants and a limited number of financial institutions in the coming months.
ASIC has previously provided individual relief of a similar nature to participants in earlier digital money projects led by the RBA.
Testing of use cases will occur over the next six months, with a report on the findings from the project expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026. The findings of this next stage of the project will support the RBA’s ongoing research into how innovation in the financial system can best support the Australian economy in the digital age.
Lead use case participants
Australian Bond Exchange
Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation
Australian Payments Plus
Canvas
Catena Digital
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Fireblocks
Forte Tech Solutions
Imperium Markets
Northern Trust
NotCentralised
ProspEx Group
Westpac Banking Corporation
Zerocap
Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the RBA said: “Ensuring that Australia’s payments and monetary arrangements are fit-for-purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board. Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration on tokenised asset markets and the future of money by the public and private sectors in Australia.
“The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia.
“We thank all interested parties for their efforts in Project Acacia to date and look forward to reporting back on the findings that will emerge over the reminder of the project.”
ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said: “Innovation is a sign of a vibrant economy and society. ASIC supports the responsible development of new technologies, including tokenisation and distributed ledgers.
“ASIC sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets. The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.
“Importantly, Project Acacia will allow industry and regulators to work together to learn more about how these use cases may reshape the financial services industry, potentially boosting efficiency and foster economic growth.”
Professor Talis Putnins, Chief Scientist at DFCRC said: “It is great to have collaboration from so many parts of the industry, from small fintechs to large banks, alongside the key financial regulators in this forward-looking, innovative project. The real money settlement models being tested, including issuing pilot wholesale CBDC on third party platforms, reflects another world-first for Australia in this rapidly evolving field.
“The project is of strategic importance to the DFCRC because, as a co-operative research centre, our focus is on bringing together key groups to unlock the large economic potential of digital finance innovation in Australia. Recent research suggests potential economic gains in markets and cross border payments could be in the order of AU $19 billion per year. Project Acacia is a significant step towards realising these gains, by providing evidence on the forms of money and settlement models that best enable tokenised real-world asset markets.”
About Project Acacia
Project Acacia is exploring how different forms of digital money and associated infrastructure could support the development of wholesale tokenised asset markets in Australia. The consultation paper initiating Project Acacia was released in November 2024 and called for industry feedback and expressions of interest in participating.
Project Acacia is a joint research project between Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). The project is supported by key stakeholders including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Treasury, which are all represented on the project Steering Committee, along with representatives from the RBA and DFCRC.
The CommBank Household Spending Insights (HSI) Index rose for the third month in a row in June, up 0.3 per cent following gains of 0.4 per cent in April and May.
Eight of the twelve HSI categories recorded spending growth for the month, led by Utilities (+2.9 per cent), Education (+1.1 per cent) and Communications & Digital (+1.0 per cent). The timing of the energy rebates has made the utilities category choppy, while the release of Nintendo Switch 2 likely supported sales in the Communications & Digital category.
Three categories saw a fall in the month, led lower by Hospitality (-0.8 per cent), Motor Vehicle (-0.1 per cent) and Recreation (-0.1 per cent). These categories all performed relatively well in May and again show the fickle nature of consumer spending at present.
“Household spending is starting to show signs of consistency month-on-month and should continue to pick up this year as consumers begin to loosen their purse strings. This recovery is taking longer than expected to occur, but there are green shoots emerging. The annual growth rate has picked up, but the recovery is not yet assured. Spending around sales events and new items show consumers are still deliberate on their spending decisions,” said CBA Senior Economist, Belinda Allen.
“At the same time there remains a clear preference to save and pay down debt. Recent data from CBA showed that just 10 per cent of eligible home loan customers chose to reduce their mortgage direct debit payments following the May interest rate cut. This follows a similar trend after the February rate cut when around 10 per cent of eligible customers had adjusted repayments at the same point in time – eventually rising to 14 percent before the May RBA decision.”
Taking the whole of June quarter together, the HSI lifted by 1.4 per cent, just a little above the 1.2 per cent recorded in the March quarter, but still below the 1.6 per cent recorded in the December quarter of 2024.
“The RBA’s decision to hold rates at 3.85 per cent in July was unexpected, but we anticipate the RBA to cut the cash rate in August by 25 basis points, with November the most likely option for a follow up rate cut. While we still anticipate a pickup in household spending in 2025, a slower rate cutting cycle could soften this recovery over the remainder of the year.”
In June, homeowners without a mortgage saw the weakest yearly spending growth per capita at 3.5 per cent, continuing the trend from May. Homeowners with a mortgage saw a shift higher in spending in June, with gains over the past year now tracking at 5.2 per cent. Meanwhile renters saw a lift to 4.2 per cent.
“Homeowners with a mortgage have reduced spending on transport, hospitality, and food and beverage goods over the past year but lower interest rates are expected to boost disposable income in the coming months. Renters continues to spend more following an increase in April and May,” commented Ms Allen.
NSW recorded the strongest household spending growth in June of the states and territories, rising 0.7 per cent. Over the past year, NSW has outperformed nationally, up 8.4 per cent in a change at the top of the state leaderboard. Meanwhile Queensland has grown 7.3 per cent, recovering well from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred in March, when the state posted the softest growth of all states at just 0.2 per cent.
