To address this, retrofit programs that improve home energy efficiency have become one of Canada’s main strategies to cut emissions in the housing sector. These programs focus on upgrades like air sealing, enhanced insulation, upgrading heating and cooling systems and installing energy-efficient windows and doors.
But do these programs deliver on their promises of lower bills and reduced carbon emissions? Our recent study, forthcoming in Energy Economics, examined the outcomes of the federal ecoENERGY home retrofit program, a predecessor to the Greener Homes Initiative.
Our findings shed light on where the program succeeded, where it fell short and what this all means for Canadian families and policymakers moving forward.
Real-world energy savings
Our study analyzed a decade of monthly electricity and natural gas consumption data from Medicine Hat, Alta., where residents participated in the federal ecoENERGY retrofit program that was in place between 2008 to 2012.
We found that households undertaking comprehensive envelope retrofits — which includes insulation and air sealing — reduced their total energy use by an average of 25 per cent per household. Natural gas usage dropped by 35 per cent on average for these same households, and these savings lasted for at least 10 years after the retrofit.
However, our study found that homes achieved only about 60 per cent of the predicted savings projected in pre-retrofit estimates. While measures like air sealing and attic and wall insulation were relatively effective, other upgrades, such as basement insulation and energy-efficient windows, showed zero effect on energy use.
This gap between projected and actual savings suggests that the estimates shown to households during pre-retrofit audits might be overestimating the benefits. This could leave families with lower-than-expected savings on their energy bills after making significant financial investments. These findings align with similar studies in the United States and Europe, where realized energy savings hover at around 60 per cent of pre-retrofit projections.
Despite this gap, there are promising opportunities for low-cost, high-return investments. Our research suggests that relatively cheap measures like air sealing generate high returns. Adopting electric heat pumps and fuel switching also show promise for delivering both energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The need for broader participation
Our study also revealed significant gaps in program access and the distribution of benefits. Although the ecoENERGY program was available to all Canadian households, participation was highest among families of mid-valued houses.
Participation among families in lower-valued houses was disappointingly low: about four per cent of the families in lowest-valued houses took part, even though they stood to benefit the most from reduced energy bills. Homes in our study saw bill savings ranging from eight to 17 per cent, based on a comparison of their actual consumption before and after the retrofit. The highest savings were observed in homes with assessed values of $100,000.
Middle-valued homes with the highest retrofit program participant rate tended to save the least amount of money; this group had average gas bill reductions of approximately 10.5 per cent.
The maximum amount that could be claimed under the ecoENERGY program was $5,000, yet the average rebate received was $1,100. This disparity not only limited the program’s potential to reduce emissions on a large scale, but also means Canada’s current approach to energy retrofits may be missing an opportunity to improve energy affordability for those who need it most.
Room for improvement
Energy-saving retrofits have significant potential, but current prediction models often overestimate the savings homeowners can achieve. Improving these models could allow homeowners to make better-informed choices, leading to greater efficiency and improved household welfare.
Upfront costs also remain a significant barrier, particularly for lower-income families. Many cannot afford the upfront expenses associated with retrofitting their homes. Expanded financial support, such as rebates or no-interest loans, may provide much-needed support necessary to allow more households to participate, and more research is needed to evaluate how best to incentivize household participation.
Another major challenge is a lack of awareness. Many Canadians are unaware of the benefits of deep retrofits. Public awareness campaigns, possibly delivered in collaboration with community organizations, may also help educate homeowners on the long-term value of retrofits and make the process more accessible and appealing.
Our project is the first in Canada to use detailed household-level data to assess energy savings from retrofits in houses of various values. We were able to achieve this through partnerships between academia, utilities and the federal government. Such collaborations are crucial for advancing research that informs effective policies and programs.
As Canada advances toward net-zero emissions by 2050, energy-efficient housing should remain central to its climate strategy. Achieving sustainable progress in this area will require retrofit programs that deliver on their promises by enhancing household welfare, addressing energy affordability and ensuring continued public support.
Maya Papineau receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the National Science and Engineering Research Council and the National Research Council of Canada.
Nicholas Rivers receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the National Science and Engineering Research Council. He is affiliated with the Canadian Climate Institute.
Kareman Yassin 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.
United States Vice President JD Vance made headlines this week by refusing to sign a declaration at a global summit in Paris on artificial intelligence.
In his first appearance on the world stage, Vance made clear that the U.S. wouldn’t be playing ball. The Donald Trump administration believes that “excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off,” he said. “We’ll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies.”
But upon a closer look, events this week point to signs that just the opposite may be unfolding. A host of nations took notable steps towards address growing safety and environmental concerns about AI, indicating that a regulatory tipping point has been reached.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered the keynote address at the AI Action Summit in Paris, France.
The Paris communiqué calls for an “inclusive approach” to AI, seeking to “narrow inequalities” in AI capabilities among countries. It encourages “avoiding market concentration” and affirms the need for openness and transparency in building and sharing technology and expertise.
The document is not binding. It does little more than tout principles, or affirm a collective sentiment among the parties. One of these — perhaps the most important — is to keep talking, meeting and working together on the common concerns that AI raises.
While nothing is binding on the parties, the goals are notably specific. They include coming up with standards for measuring AI’s environmental impact and more effective ways for companies to report on the impact. Parties also aim to “optimize algorithms to reduce computational complexity and minimize data usage.”
Even if most of this turns out to be merely aspirational, it’s important that the coalition offers a platform for collaboration on these initiatives. At the very least, it signals a likelihood that sustainability will be at the forefront of debate about AI moving forward.
The convention commits parties to pass domestic laws on AI that deal with privacy, bias and discrimination, safety, transparency and environmental sustainability.
The treaty has been criticized for containing no more than “broad affirmations” and imposing few clear obligations. But it does show that countries are committed to passing law to ensure that AI development unfolds within boundaries — and they’re eager to see more countries do the same.
If Canada were to ratify the treaty, Parliament would likely revive Bill C-27, which contained the AI and Data Act.
The act aimed to do much of what Canada agrees to do under the convention: impose greater oversight of the development and use of AI. This includes transparency and disclosure requirements on AI companies, and stiff penalties for failure to comply.
What does this really mean?
While the U.S. signed the convention on AI and human rights, democracy and rule of law in the fall of 2024, it likely won’t be implemented by a Republican Congress. The same might happen in Canada under a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre. He could also decide not to fulfil commitments made under other agreements about AI.
The Trump administration may have ushered in a period of more lax tech regulation in the U.S., and Silicon Valley is indeed a key player in tech — especially AI. But it’s a wide world, with many other important players in this space, including China, Europe and Canada.
The events in Paris have revealed a strong interest among nations around the globe to regulate AI, and specifically to foster ideas about inclusion and sustainability. If the Paris summit was any indication, the hope of sheltering AI from effective regulation won’t last long.
Robert Diab 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.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), February 12, 2025/APO Group/ —
As part of the Republic of Congo’s strategy to double its oil production, the government is encouraging independent operators to revitalize mature fields and boost output. Companies like AMMAT – participating as a Platinum Sponsor at the inaugural Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) 2025 – are playing a key role in this effort. In an in-depth conversation with Energy Capital & Power (https://EnergyCapitalPower.com), AMMAT CEO Massimiliano Mignacca outlines the company’s approach to technological innovations, a focus on sustainability and optimizing oil and gas operations in mature fields in Congo.
Can you provide an overview of AMMAT’s activities in Congo?
When we began exploring opportunities in 2021, we focused on West Africa and found promising prospects in the Republic of Congo. The Congolese authorities recognized our potential and supported our asset management approach. By the end of 2022, we had officially established our presence in the country. In March 2023, we secured exploration and production permits for the Zatchi and Loango fields – mature assets previously operated by a joint venture between Eni and Total until 2021 – followed by a transition period under SNPC [Congo’s national oil company Société nationale des pétroles du Congo]. We commenced operations in July 2023, applying our proven asset management strategies from Italy to optimize production in Congo.
How does your partnership with SNPC contribute to Congo’s plan to double oil production?
We operate under a joint venture framework, where SNPC plays a key role alongside two Congolese companies that collectively hold a 25% stake. Managing mature fields presents significant challenges, requiring close coordination with SNPC at all levels. We conduct regular meetings to align on work plans, performance, and projects that enhance safety, boost production and improve asset management. Our close collaboration with SNPC’s leadership ensures that our initiatives contribute directly to Congo’s production growth targets.
AMMAT employs a data-driven approach to reservoir management. What technologies and methodologies are you using?
One major initiative is the modernization of the sea pipeline linking our Loango treatment platform to peripheral platforms. We are also implementing an environmental risk mitigation program in partnership with other operators. Additionally, we have launched a campaign to replace outdated pumps and reactivate wells, utilizing advanced workover techniques such as ESP pump upgrades to enhance production. In 2024, we successfully revamped three platforms in Loango and are currently rehabilitating two more in the Zatchi field. We remain committed to integrating cutting-edge technology into our operations to maximize efficiency and sustainability.
What sustainable practices does AMMAT implement in its operations?
Sustainability is at the core of our asset management approach. The [oil and gas] sector has been central to Congo’s economy since the 1970s, producing a strong engineering workforce. Recognizing this, we have initiated partnerships with local universities and currently host three graduates in our maintenance, IT and HSE [health, safety and environment] divisions. This initiative strengthens local talent and ensures the long-term sustainability of our operations.
AMMAT will be a Platinum Sponsor at the Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) in March 2025. What do you aim to achieve at this event?
Our primary objective [at CEIF 2025] is to showcase AMMAT as a reliable and committed partner in Congo. The country entrusted us with two crucial production fields, and we want to demonstrate how our asset management expertise adds value. Additionally, we are looking to expand our upstream presence in Congo and other markets. Being a Platinum Sponsor allows us to make a strong impact, emphasizing our commitment to compliance with local regulations, collaboration and sustainable operations. This event provides an excellent platform to engage with stakeholders and reinforce our role in driving growth in Congo’s oil and gas industry.
CORAL GABLES, Fla., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MarketGrader, a leader in smart beta investment solutions, today announced the vast majority of the firm’s MarketGrader Indexes beat their passive equity benchmarks and actively managed peers1 in 2024. The outperformance of MarketGrader’s Indexes relative to both their stock market benchmarks and active peers was even more pronounced over the recent three- and five-year windows.
“2024 was another great year for MarketGrader Indexes when compared to both widely-followed passive benchmarks and peer groups of active managers. Our strategies were again rewarded for identifying consistent creators of economic value and unemotionally selling those companies whose fundamentals no longer held up. The level of outperformance persistence that MarketGrader Indexes demonstrate over multi-year windows is rare in the world of asset management and speaks to the efficacy of our proprietary growth at a reasonable price (GARP) + Quality methodology,” said Carlos Diez, Founder and CEO of MarketGrader.
Some statistical highlights of MarketGrader’s fundamentals-based stock selection indexes relative to market capitalization weighted indexes include:
68% of MarketGrader Indexes outperformed their benchmarks across global markets in 2024.
18 out of 19 (95%) MarketGrader Core U.S. Indexes outpaced their benchmark in 2024, and over the recent three-, five- and ten-year windows.
Nine out of every 10 MarketGrader Indexes lead their bogey on an annualized basis over the last decade. In contrast, over the recent 10-year period, 96% of Large-Cap Core active funds underperformed the S&P 500, while 90% of All Domestic active funds, 81% of active International funds and 86% of active Emerging Markets funds underperformed their benchmarks, according to SPIVA.
When comparing MarketGrader Indexes to active managers, some notable highlights include:
80% of MarketGrader Indexes ranked in the top half of their peer group in 2024 (77% of U.S. indexes and 83% of international indexes).
92% of MarketGrader Indexes ranked in the top half of their peer group over five years (89% of domestic and 95% international indexes).
Top decile: Over five years, 73% of MarketGrader Indexes ranked in the top 10% of their active manager peer group (55% of U.S. indexes and 81% of international indexes).
The market cap weighted version of the Barron’s 400 Index (B400X), live since 2007, ranked in the top 6% among 1,911 active managers in Morningstar’s All Cap U.S. Equity Category in 2024, and top 5% over five years.
“It’s been over twenty years since we launched our first index using our fundamentals-based GARP + Quality framework to picking index constituents. These results show that our unique rules-based approach to indexing transcends geographies, market cycles, interest rate regimes, and stock market sector, size and style segments. Index investors can be stock selectors, harnessing the underlying market return (beta) while adding excess returns (alpha) by systematically choosing only the best companies. The persistence of alpha in our indexes makes them an attractive alternative to actively managed funds, for whom consistent outperformance is famously elusive,” continued Diez.
MarketGrader currently publishes 89 indexes, 47 across domestic U.S. equities and 42 on foreign / ex-U.S. stocks. The indexes cover regions, countries, sectors, styles and income. All MarketGrader’s indexes are fully replicable, transparent and rules-based with screens for constituent liquidity to ensure tradability. Further index product development plans are in the works, including an expansion of the company’s U.S. sectors lineup, new Middle East-focused indexes and single country indexes for Asia Pacific and Europe.
Asset managers, wealth managers, institutions and investment platforms can license MarketGrader’s indexes for the basis of ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, model portfolios or more custom delivery like direct indexing. For more information on the index library and for index licensing opportunities, please write the MarketGrader team.
ABOUT MARKETGRADER MarketGrader.com Corp. (“MarketGrader”) founded in 1999, is a Miami-based provider of global equity research and index-based solutions. The company’s mission is to become the leading provider of next generation Smart Beta investment solutions, helping investors achieve superior risk-adjusted returns by identifying and owning the highest quality companies in the world. MarketGrader’s proprietary “GARP + Quality” methodology is used to screen over 41,000 publicly traded companies across 92 countries, representing over $127 trillion in market capitalization. Over 100 Smart Beta indexes have been created using MarketGrader’s methodology. MarketGrader delivers smart beta solutions in three ways; 1) licensing its indexes to investment management firms; 2) offering smart beta portfolio solutions to wealth managers; and 3) providing access to their proprietary GARP + Quality ratings to retail and institutional clients. Institutional clients include Dow Jones, SS&C ALPS, VanEck and BMO. In 2007, MarketGrader created the Barron’s 400 Index in partnership with Barron’s, America’s premier financial magazine. Follow MarketGrader on X @MarketGrader and connect on LinkedIn. For more information, please visit www.marketgrader.com.
_______________ 1 Performance for all actively managed funds was gross of fees, providing a fair comparison against MarketGrader Indexes, which do not have management fees or trading costs. Source: Morningstar Direct.
Media Contact Paul Damon for MarketGrader +1 802.999.5526 paul@keramas.net
Check against delivery.
1 Introduction
Ladies and gentlemen, It’s a pleasure and an honour for me to speak here before such a distinguished audience.
Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. This was advice from Stephen Hawking, the famous English physicist and author of numerous books on the cosmos. And who would want to contradict the genius?
So today I invite you to join me on a stargazing tour. If you don’t have a telescope with you, no worries. However, I should add a disclaimer here: When a couple look up at the stars, things could get romantic. When astronomers observe the stars, impressive images can come into view. When economists talk about stars, it usually gets complicated. Now you know what you’re getting into!
I’m sure you’ve already guessed what topic I have in mind: the natural rate of interest – also known as r-star. It is a concept that economists have been grappling with for more than 125 years.[1] And it has perhaps never received more attention than in the current era of monetary policy.
From a central banker’s perspective, I would like to discuss what role r-star can and should play in the monetary policy universe. I will structure my lecture around four key questions: What is r-star and why is it of interest for monetary policy? How have estimates for r-star evolved over the past decades? What drives uncertainty about current estimates and the future evolution of r-star? What conclusions should monetary policy draw from this?
2 Definition of r-star and use for monetary policy
Let’s start with the definition. The natural rate is the real interest rate that would prevail if the economy were operating at its potential and prices were stable. R-star is commonly thought to be driven by real forces that structurally affect the balance between saving and investment. Think of technological progress and demographics, for example. This also means that r-star should, by definition, be independent of monetary policy. The latter follows from the widely held belief that monetary policy can affect real variables only temporarily, but is neutral in the long term.
At first glance, the natural rate could be a guiding star for the conduct of monetary policy. If a central bank sets its policy rates so that the real interest rate is above r-star, monetary policy is restrictive or “tight”. Consequently, economic activity slows and the inflation rate should decrease. If the real rate is below r-star, monetary policy is expansionary or “loose”. It provides incentives for consumers to purchase more and for enterprises to step up investment and output. Hence, this should result in more economic activity and a higher inflation rate.
However, the idea of the natural rate serving as a guiding star for monetary policy comes with profound challenges. Perhaps the name r-star evokes associations with astronomy and navigation. But these would be misleading. If r-star were like a star in the sky, it would be relatively easy to locate. Stars emit light and are therefore observable.
The natural rate is a theoretical concept. It is based on a hypothetical state of the world. That means the natural rate is, by nature, unobservable. It can only be estimated. For example, models use assumptions about the relationship between measurable variables and r-star. In this respect, the natural rate is not so much like a star shining brightly in the sky. It is more a case of dark matter. As it is invisible, astronomers infer dark matter indirectly by observing its gravitational effects.
If something is hard to find, it only spurs researchers to look even harder – whether they are astronomers or economists. Therefore, we can draw on a variety of estimation methods for the evolution of the natural rate.
3 Estimates for r-star over time
Since around the 1980s various estimates of different types have been pointing to a downward trend for r-star over several decades and across many advanced economies.[2] In the wake of the global financial crisis, the estimates slumped to exceptionally low levels.[3] This development was roughly in line with the observed trajectory of actual real interest rates of short- and long-term government bonds during this period. And no wonder: In the long run, both should be driven by the same fundamental forces affecting the balance between saving and investment.
So the question is this: what has lifted saving and depressed investment? A simple answer would be: in the long term, the most important driver is potential growth. But this finding is not very enlightening. Potential growth is also not observable. It is determined by underlying forces such as demographics and technological progress. This is where we need to look for the causes.
Indeed, according to a number of recent studies, waning productivity growth and population ageing were the key factors in pushing saving up and investment down.[4] Lower productivity reduces the return on investment, so people are less willing to invest. As they expect to live longer, they are more willing to save.
In addition, inequality, risk aversion and fiscal policy could be other factors. For example, growing inequality raises saving, as richer households save a larger share of their income. Similarly, higher risk aversion leads to higher saving, especially in safe assets, while lowering investment.[5]
Many of the estimates for r-star reached their lowest point in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. After that, there were signs of a partial reversal. A recent analysis by Eurosystem economists across a suite of models and data up to the end of 2024 suggests that estimates of r-star range from − ½ % to ½ % in real terms. In nominal terms, they find that it ranges between 1¾ % and 2¼ %.[6]
It is clear that these ranges depend on the estimating approaches considered. Taking into account an even wider array of measures, Bundesbank staff calculations using data up to the end of 2024 reveal a range of 1.8 % to 2.5 %.[7] And the ECB found for the third quarter of 2024: When three estimates derived from versions of the Holston-Laubach-Williams model are factored in, the range of real r-star is − ½ % to 1 % and the nominal range is 1¾ % to 3 %.
All in all, the results suggest that the range of r-star estimates most likely increased by about one percentage point from their lows. The latest estimates by economists from the Bank for International Settlements come to similar findings.[8]
The reasons for the increase after the pandemic are not yet fully clear. For example, high fiscal spending with rising public debt levels could play a role. Or higher needs for capital, as companies make their value chains more resilient by duplicating structures and increasing stock levels.
4 Uncertainties around r-star estimates
Stargazing tours in economics are a journey into the uncertain. This is also and especially true for r-star. Estimates of the natural rate of interest are subject to major uncertainties, shaped by three M’s: megatrends, methodology and monetary policy.
First, we are facing a number of megatrends. Think of climate change, ageing societies, digitalisation, and the risks of de-globalisation and increasing geopolitical divisions. The effects of these megatrends on natural rates are difficult to gauge and may change over time.
On the one hand, they could contribute to a higher natural rate. Here are some examples: The widespread uptake of artificial intelligence could boost productivity growth. The green transition could lead to higher investment. Fiscal deficits could persist at an elevated level due to higher defence spending given geopolitical tensions. The entry of the baby boomer generation into retirement could reduce savings.
On the other hand, life expectancy is predicted to keep rising; the high hopes for the productivity-enhancing effect of AI could turn out to be too optimistic; and given high public debt levels, fiscal space for additional spending is limited in many countries. Overall, it is virtually impossible to predict which developments will prevail in affecting r-star.
The second factor of uncertainty is methodology. The methods used to define and estimate r-star differ in important ways, especially in terms of time and risk.
Ricardo Reis demonstrates this impressively in a recent paper.[9] He presents four different “r-stars”. They are based on four different conceptual approaches. And they developed quite differently between 1995 and 2019.
One major difference is the risk dimension. Knut Wicksell’s original definition of the natural rate was the rate of return on physical capital in equilibrium.[10] The rate of return on physical capital is the return on investment in the real economy. And this rate is very much associated with risks.
However, this perspective has been lost in virtually all of the model approaches. Generally, they use rather secure government bond yields as a starting point. Again, with regard to the real economy, a risky return on capital would be a more appropriate yardstick. When we look at measures for the return on private capital, we see a strong contrast with risk-free rates. Returns on private capital have remained broadly stable over the last decades in the US,[11] Germany[12] and the euro area as a whole.[13]
From these observations, Ricardo Reis draws the following conclusion: focusing exclusively on the return on government bonds as the measure of r-star, while neglecting the return on private capital, leads to the wrong policy advice.[14]
Another case in point is the time horizon that is considered. Commonly cited estimates seek to assess the real rate that prevails in the longer run, when all shocks have dissipated. Most of these estimates are highly imprecise. Many methods simply project the current or the historical level of real rates into the future. This may confound permanent trends with cyclical factors, which may not be representative for the future. As a result, such methods could miss important turning points in real rate trends.
Other approaches characterise a short-run real rate in a hypothetical world without frictions. While interesting, this concept is of limited value for actual policymaking in the real world. Methods based on a short-term equilibrium tend to produce more volatile estimates of r-star.
There is a third reason for caution: monetary policy itself may play a role in shaping the natural rate or its estimates. A number of studies challenge the view that money is neutral in the long run.[15]
There are different channels through which monetary policy could have lasting effects on real interest rates. Prolonged tight monetary policy, for example, may lower investment, innovation and productivity growth.[16] By contrast, persistent monetary easing could fuel financial imbalances and contribute to zombification.[17]
Moreover, recent research suggests that central bank announcements provide guidance about the trend in real rates. For instance, a narrow window around Fed meetings captures most of the trend decline in US real long-term yields since 1980.[18] This could mean: when central banks look for r-star in financial market prices, they might actually be looking in a mirror.[19] Feedback loops between monetary policy and markets could unduly reinforce their perceptions about r-star. And shifts in perceived r-star could affect actual r-star as it influences saving and investment decisions.
5 Conclusions for monetary policy
Against the backdrop of these major uncertainties, the final key question of my speech is this: what role can and should r-star play for monetary policy in practice?
Let’s approach the answer with a thought experiment: Put yourself in the shoes of a monetary policymaker who only looks at r-star. The relevant interest rate with which you steer the monetary policy stance is currently 2.75 %. After a previous series of interest rate cuts, you consider whether a further cut would be appropriate.
Your staff inform you that various point estimates of r-star range from around 1.8 % to 2.5 % in nominal terms. If r-star were at the upper end of the estimates, the policy rate would become neutral with the next rate cut. Things would be different if r-star were at the lower end of the estimates: Monetary policy would continue to be restrictive, even after several further rate cuts.
So how would you proceed, given a certain stance you want to achieve? Beware: If you rely on a wrong estimate, your decision may have a different effect on inflation than you intended. Simply choosing the middle of the range might not be a happy medium. Around the point estimates, there are often uncertainty bands of different sizes and with asymmetries.
As you have probably guessed: It is no coincidence that I have described this particular decision-making situation. It looks similar in the euro area ahead of the next monetary policy meeting of the ECB Governing Council at the beginning of March. After several rate cuts, the neutral rate could already be near – or there may still be some way to go.
The President of the New York Fed, John Williams, put the problem in a nutshell when he said: as we have gotten closer to the range of estimates of neutral, what appeared to be a bright point of light is really a fuzzy blur.[20]
The bottom line here is this: The closer we get to the neutral rate, the more appropriate it becomes to take a gradual approach. For this purpose, r-star is a helpful concept: it indicates when we need to be more cautious with policy rate moves so that we don’t take a wrong step.
At the same time, the limits of the concept are also clear: it would be risky to base decisions mainly on r-star estimates. Much more is needed to assess the current monetary policy stance and the optimal policy path for the near future.
That is why the Eurosystem uses a variety of financial, real economic and other indicators along the monetary policy transmission mechanism. We want the fullest picture possible. And, of course, r-star also has a place in this picture. For instance, r-star is included in model-based optimal policy projections that we use in the decision-making process.
In my opinion, proceeding in a data-driven and gradual manner has served the ECB Governing Council well. There is no reason to act hastily in the present uncertain environment. The data will tell us where we need to go.
Away from day-to-day monetary policymaking, the concept of the natural rate of interest provides a useful framework. This is also exemplified in the policy scenarios that Ricardo Reis presented last week in Brussels.[21]
He works with the assumption that government bond rates remain around current levels. I would add the assumption that inflation stays on target – actually, that is what I am in office for and committed to. Assuming output is at capacity, policy rates would be persistently higher than in the past. But the recommendations on actual monetary policy depend on the driving forces: is the new setting caused by less demand for safe and liquid assets or by an increase in productivity? And he has two more scenarios in his paper!
That provides a good example of why we should take a close look at the factors behind r-star estimates. Here it is important to even better understand the forces that are shifting real interest rate trends. We need to find out how these forces and trends affect our work to ensure price stability.
Reviewing our monetary policy strategy from time to time is therefore vital. That is precisely what we are doing right now in the Eurosystem. And, of course, in this process, we look at all the questions I mentioned about r-star.
Our stargazing tour is drawing to a close. It turns out we were dealing more with dark matter than with a shining star. Just as dark matter is an exciting field for astronomers, r-star is a rewarding topic for economists.
Using r-star alone to navigate the monetary policy universe could be like flying almost blind. But having it as one of many instruments in your cockpit is highly useful.
I would like to end by quoting Stephen Hawking again: Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking.
Footnotes:
Wicksell, K. (1898), Geldzins und Güterpreise: eine Studie über die den Tauschwert des Geldes bestimmenden Ursachen, Jena, G. Fischer (English version as ibid. (1936), Interest and prices: a study of the causes regulating the value of money, London, Macmillan).
Obstfeld, M., Natural and Neutral Real Interest Rates: Past and Future, NBER Working Paper, No 31949, December 2023.
Brand, C., M. Bielecki and A. Penalver (2018), The natural rate of interest: estimates, drivers, and challenges to monetary policy, ECB Occasional Paper, No 217.
Cesa-Bianchi, A., R. Harrison and R. Sajedi (2023), Global R*, CEPR Discussion Paper No 18518; Davis, J., C. Fuenzalida, L. Huetsch, B. Mills and A. M. Taylor (2024), Global natural rates in the long run: Postwar macro trends and the market-implied r* in 10 advanced economies, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 149; International Monetary Fund (2023), The natural rate of interest: drivers and implications for policy, World Economic Outlook, April, Chapter 2.
On the development of risk appetite in financial markets, see Deutsche Bundesbank, Risk appetite in financial markets and monetary policy, Monthly Report, January 2025.
Brand, C., N. Lisack and F. Mazelis (2025), Natural rate estimates for the euro area: insights, uncertainties and shortcomings, ECB Economic Bulletin, 1/2025.
Additional models would also provide values outside this range, but are currently not deemed sufficiently robust.
Benigno, G., B. Hofmann, G. Nuño and D. Sandri (2024), Quo vadis, r*? The natural rate of interest after the pandemic, BIS Quarterly Review, March.
Reis, R. (2025), The Four R-stars: From Interest Rates to Inflation and Back, draft working paper.
Wicksell, K. (1898), op. cit.
Caballero, R., E. Farhi and P.-O. Gourinchas (2017), Rents, Technical Change, and Risk Premia Accounting for Secular Trends in Interest Rates, Returns on Capital, Earning Yields, and Factor Shares, American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 107(5), pp. 614‑620.
Deutsche Bundesbank, The natural rate of interest, Monthly Report, October 2017.
Brand, C., M. Bielecki and A. Penalver (2018), The natural rate of interest: estimates, drivers, and challenges to monetary policy, ECB Occasional Paper, No 217.
Reis, R., Which r-star, public bonds or private investment? Measurement and policy implications, Unpublished manuscript, September 2022.
Jordà, Ò., S. Singh and A. Taylor, The long-run effects of monetary policy, NBER Working Papers, No 26666, January 2020, revised September 2024; Benigno, G., B. Hofmann, G. Nuño and D. Sandri (2024), Quo vadis, r*? The natural rate of interest after the pandemic, BIS Quarterly Review, March.
Baqaee, D., E. Farhi and K. Sangani, The supply-side effects of monetary policy, NBER Working Paper, No 28345, January 2021, revised March 2023; Ma, Y. and K. Zimmermann, Monetary Policy and Innovation, NBER Working Paper, No 31698, September 2023.
Borio, C., P. Disyatat, M. Juselius and P. Rungcharoenkitkul (2022), Why so low for so long? A long-term view of real interest rates, International Journal of Central Banking, Vol. 18, No 3.
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Williams, J. C. (2017), Comment on “Safety, Liquidity, and the Natural Rate of Interest”, by M. Del Negro, M. P. Giannoni, D. Giannone, and A. Tambalotti, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Vol. 1, pp. 235‑316; Rungcharoenkitkul, P. and F. Winkler, The natural rate of interest through a hall of mirrors, BIS Working Paper No 974, November 2021.
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Reis, R. (2025), op. cit.
Professor Ian Graham will rejoin the Board for a second term.
Professor Ian Graham has been reappointed to the board of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for a second term of three years.
His term will run from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2028.
The reappointment has been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Biography
Professor Graham is currently based at the University of York, in the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products and holds the Weston Chair in Biochemical Genetics. He has previously held roles in the University of Glasgow, University of Oxford, and Stanford University.
Professor Ian Graham completed his PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh. His research interests now focus on plant natural products such as noscapine (anti-cancer), codeine (analgesic), and artemisinin (antimalarial).
Ian was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016 and won the Biochemical Society’s 2017 Heatley Medal and Prize for “exceptional work in applying advances in biochemistry, and especially for developing practical uses that have created widespread benefits and value for society”.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding collections as well as its scientific expertise in plant and fungal diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world.
Kew Gardens is a major international and a top London visitor attraction. Kew Gardens’ 132 hectares of landscaped gardens, and Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, attract over 2.5 million visits every year. Kew Gardens was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2003 and celebrated its 260th anniversary in 2019. Wakehurst is home to Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world, as well as over 500 acres of designed landscapes, wild woodlands, ornamental gardens and a nature reserve.
The Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre is Kew’s third research centre and only overseas office. RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from government through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and research councils. Further funding needed to support RBG Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Blane Savage, Lecturer in MA Creative Media Practice and BA(Hons) Graphic Art & Moving Image, University of the West of Scotland
The exhibition curator James Knox is to be congratulated on bringing together an impressive collection of work that tells the story of a diverse group of artists who helped transform and modernise British art in the early 20th century and contains work held in private collections not seen by the public before.
The Scottish colourists, as they were known, all visited and lived in Paris and were heavily influenced by the burgeoning avant-garde movement there in the early years of the 20th century. This was during its most dynamic and transformative stages, when cubism, post-impressionism and fauvism movements were evolving.
The exhibition highlights and contrasts the work produced by the colourists to that of Roger Fry’s Bloomsbury group members, Vanessa Bell and her amour Duncan Grant. It also includes work by the Fitzroy Street Group and several distinguished Welsh artists of that time, Augustus John and James Dickson Innes, as well as fauvist artists Andre Derain and Kees van Dongen.
The colourists’ paintings stand out in the exhibition through the maturity and confidence of their artworks, the tonal qualities and vibrancy of their colour palettes consistently rising above the more muted works surrounding them.
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The capacity of the colourists to study, travel and seek inspiration internationally, away from a grey Scottish Presbyterian climate, and particularly, embedding themselves in the Paris art scene in the early 20th century is impressive.
These artists stood shoulder to shoulder with their European contemporaries, inspired by the post-impressionist work of Cezanne, Matisse, Van Gogh and Derain. They delivered consistent and highly sophisticated artworks throughout their careers exploring light, shape and dynamic colour ranges, and often painted outdoors.
Each of the Scottish colourists returned to Scotland bringing new approaches to art with them. Peploe experimented with Cezanne-like geometric forms, whereas Fergusson’s practice was heavily influenced by the fauves. Hunter experimented with simplified post-impressionist blocks of colour to create dynamic shapes, while Cadell often focused on bold shapes and stylish impressionistic compositions.
Peploe, Hunter and Cadell exhibited in London’s Leicester Gallery in 1923 where they were first described as the “three colourists” by critic P.G. Konody.
Peploe, Fergusson and Hunter’s reputations were enhanced in 1924 when their work was bought by the French state after an exhibition organised by one of the most influential art dealers in Europe, Glaswegian Alexander Reid. He represented the four artists at the Galerie Barbazanges in Paris entitled Les Peintres de L’Ecosse Moderne, and turned their loose affiliation into an art movement.
Reid had also been responsible for developing the profile of The Glasgow Boys – a group of radical young painters whose disillusionment with academic painting signalled the birth of modernism in Scotland in the late 19th century. Reid was also a central figure in developing Sir William Burrell’s art collection. This was closely followed by a further exhibition in London’s Leicester Gallery in 1925 and then in Paris in 1931.
Peploe was the most commercially successful of the four artists, having a still life purchased by the Tate in 1927. His painting of Paris Plage captures the atmospherically startling white light of that French region. His studio work with a still life of flowers and fruit had the hallmarks of Cezanne’s style.
His love of outdoor landscapes, as shown in Kirkcudbright, painted in south-west Scotland, also resemble Cezanne’s primary geometric forms. He visited the island of Iona on a number of occasions with Cadell and other painters, revealing his love of the white sands, rocks and water which can be seen in Green Sea, Iona.
Cadell was known for his powerful still lifes, stylish portraits of elegant women in hats, and for his landscape painting on Iona. Cadell’s Green Sea on Iona and Ben More on Mull on show are part of a series of paintings of the white sands he produced on his regular visits there.
J.D. Fergusson‘s The Blue Hat, Closerie de Lilas is an outstanding piece on show which dazzles with the vibrancy of Parisian cafe life. He was attracted to fauve-like expressive colours and strong outlines in his work. The one piece of sculpture on display is by Fergusson, whose foray into sculptural medium in the Eastre, Hymn to the Sun is striking in its modernist aesthetic – like the female robot character in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Having no art training like the others, Lesley Hunter’s Still Life with White Jug and Peonies in a Chinese vase highlight his developing skills as a still life painter and they have a striking vibrancy to them. His outdoor scenes use loosely styled daubs of colour in a post-impressionistic style often in vibrant colours.
All the Scottish colourists were recognised for their influence and contribution to the development of Scottish art during their lifetimes, combining aspects of The Glasgow School and cutting-edge Parisian avant garde. But they fell out of fashion due to economic decline before the second world war.
They were rediscovered and packaged as a collective in the 1950s initially by art historian T.J. Honeyman in his book Three Scottish Colourists and were brought together with the inclusion of J.D. Fergusson in the 1980s. Although their key role in the development of Scottish art history is assured, interestingly their appreciation in France is even greater than in Britain.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is on at the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh until June 28.
Blane Savage 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.
We are in the early days of a seismic shift in the global AI industry. DeepSeek, a previously little-known Chinese artificial intelligence company, has produced a “game changing”“ large language model that promises to reshape the AI landscape almost overnight.
But DeepSeek’s breakthrough also has wider implications for the technological arms race between the US and China, having apparently caught even the best-known US tech firms off guard. Its launch has been predicted to start a “slow unwinding of the AI bet” in the west, amid a new era of “AI efficiency wars”.
In fact, industry experts have been speculating for years about China’s rapid advancements in AI. While the supposedly free-market US has often prioritised proprietary models, China has built a thriving AI ecosystem by leveraging open-source technology, fostering collaboration between government-backed research institutions and major tech firms.
This strategy has enabled China to scale its AI innovation rapidly while the US – despite all the tub-thumping from Silicon Valley – remains limited by restrictive corporate structures. Companies such as Google and Meta, despite promoting open-sourceinitiatives, still rely heavily on closed-source strategies that limit broader access and collaboration.
What makes DeepSeek particularly disruptive is its ability to achieve cutting-edge performance while reducing computing costs – an area where US firms have struggled due to their dependence on training models that demand very expensive processing hardware.
Where once Silicon Valley was the epicentre of global digital innovation, its corporate behemoths now appear vulnerable to more innovative, “scrappy” startup competitors – albeit ones enabled by major state investment in AI infrastructure. By leveraging China’s industrial approach to AI, DeepSeek has crystallised a reality that many in Silicon Valley have long ignored: AI’s centre of power is shifting away from the US and the west.
It highlights the failure of US attempts to preserve its technological hegemony through tight export controls on cutting-edge AI chips to China. According to research fellow Dean Ball: “You can keep [computing resources] away from China, but you can’t export-control the ideas that everyone in the world is hunting for.”
DeepSeek’s success has forced Silicon Valley and large western tech companies to “take stock”, realising that their once-unquestioned dominance is suddenly at risk. Even the US president, Donald Trump, has proclaimed that this should be a “wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing”.
But this story is not just about technological prowess – it could mark an important shift in global power. Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has framed DeepSeek’s emergence as a “shot across America’s bow”, urging US policymakers and tech executives to take immediate action.
DeepSeek’s rapid rise underscores a growing realisation: globally, we are entering a potentially new AI paradigm, one where China’s model of open-source innovation and state-backed development is proving more effective than Silicon Valley’s corporate-driven approach.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
I’ve spent much of my career analysing the transformative role of AI on the global digital landscape – examining how AI shapes governance, market structures and public discourse, and exploring its geopolitical and ethical dimensions, now and far in the future.
I also have personal connections with China, having lived there while teaching at Jiangsu University, then written my PhD thesis on the country’s state-led marketisation programme. Over the years, I have studied China’s evolving tech landscape, observing firsthand how its unique blend of state-driven industrial policy and private-sector innovation has fuelled rapid AI development.
I believe this moment may come to be seen as a turning point not just for AI, but for the geopolitical order. If China’s AI dominance continues, what could this mean for the future of digital governance, democracy, and the global balance of power?
China’s open-source AI takeover
Even in the early days of China’s digital transformation, analysts predicted the country’s open-source focus could lead to a major AI breakthrough. In 2018, China was integrating open-source collaboration into its broader digitisation strategy, recognising that fostering shared development efforts could accelerate its AI capabilities.
Unlike the US, where proprietary AI models dominated, China embraced open-source ecosystems to bypass western gatekeeping, scale innovation faster, and embed itself in global AI collaboration. China’s open-source activity surged dramatically in 2020, laying the foundation for the kind of innovation seen today. By actively fostering an open-source culture, China ensured that a broad range of developers had access to AI tools, rather than restricting them to a handful of dominant companies.
The trend has continued in recent years, with China even launching its own state-backed open-source operating systems and platforms in 2023, to further reduce its dependence on western technology. This move was widely seen as an effort to cement its AI leadership and create an independent, self-sustaining digital ecosystem.
Video: BBC.
While China has been steadily positioning itself as a leader in open-source AI, Silicon Valley firms remained focused on closed, proprietary models – allowing China to catch up fast. While companies like Google and Meta promoted open-source initiatives in name, they still locked key AI capabilities behind paywalls and restrictive licenses.
In contrast, China’s government-backed initiatives have treated open-source AI as a national resource, rather than a corporate asset. This has resulted in China becoming one of the world’s largest contributors to open-source AI development, surpassing many western firms in collaborative projects. Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent are driving open-source AI forward with frameworks like PaddlePaddle, X-Deep Learning (X-DL) and MindSpore — all now core to China’s machine learning ecosystem.
But they’re also making major contributions to global AI projects, from Alibaba’s Dragonfly, which streamlines large-scale data distribution, to Baidu’s Apollo, an open-source platform accelerating autonomous vehicle development. These efforts don’t just strengthen China’s AI industry, they embed it deeper into the global AI landscape.
This shift had been years in the making, as Chinese firms (with state backing) pushed open-source AI forward and made their models publicly available, creating a feedback loop that western companies have also – quietly – tapped into. A year ago, for example, US firm Abicus.AI released Smaug-72B, an AI model designed for enterprises that built directly upon Alibaba’s Qwen-72B and outperformed proprietary models like OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and Mistral’s Medium. But the potential for US companies to further build on Chinese open-source technology may be limited by political as well as corporate barriers.
In 2023, US lawmakers highlighted growing concerns that China’s aggressive investment in open-source AI and semiconductor technologies would eventually erode western leadership in AI. Some policymakers called for bans on certain open-source chip technologies, due to fears they could further accelerate China’s AI advancements.
But by then, China’s AI horse had already bolted.
AI with Chinese characteristics
DeepSeek’s rise should have been obvious to anyone familiar with management theory and the history of technological breakthroughs linked to “disruptive innovation”. Latecomers to an industry rarely compete by playing the same game as incumbents – they have to be disruptive.
China, facing restrictions on cutting-edge western AI chips and lagging behind in proprietary AI infrastructure, had no choice but to innovate differently. Open-source AI provided the perfect vehicle: a way to scale innovation rapidly, lower costs and tap into global research while bypassing Silicon Valley’s resource-heavy, closed-source model.
From a western and traditional human rights perspective, China’s embrace of open-source AI may appear paradoxical, given the country’s strict information controls. Its AI development strategy prioritises both technological advancement and strict alignment with the Chinese Communist party’s ideological framework, ensuring AI models adhere to “core socialist values” and state-approved narratives. AI research in China has thrived not only despite these constraints but, in many ways, because of them.
Video: CNBC.
China’s success goes beyond traditional authoritarianism; it embodies what Harvard economist David Yang calls “Autocracy 2.0”. Rather than relying solely on fear-based control, it uses economic incentives, bureaucratic efficiency, and technology to manage information and maintain regime stability.
The Chinese government has strategically encouraged open-source development while maintaining tight control over AI’s domestic applications, particularly in surveillance and censorship. Indeed, authoritarian regimes may have a significant advantage in developing facial-recognition technology due to their extensive surveillance systems. The vast amounts of data collected through these networks enable private AI companies to create advanced algorithms, which can then be adapted for commercial uses, potentially accelerating economic growth.
China’s AI strategy is built on a dual foundation of state-led initiatives and private-sector innovation. The country’s AI roadmap, first outlined in the 2017 new generation artificial intelligence development plan, follows a three-phase timeline: achieving global competitiveness by 2020, making major AI breakthroughs by 2025, and securing world leadership in AI by 2030. In parallel, the government has emphasised data governance, regulatory frameworks and ethical oversight to guide AI development “responsibly”.
A defining feature of China’s AI expansion has been the massive infusion of state-backed investment. Over the past decade, government venture capital funds have injected approximately US$912 billion (£737bn) into early-stage firms, with 23% of that funding directed toward AI-related companies. A significant portion has targeted China’s less-developed regions, following local investment mandates.
Compared with private venture capital, government-backed firms often lag in software development but demonstrate rapid growth post-investment. Moreover, state funding often serves as a signal for subsequent private-sector investment, reinforcing the country’s AI ecosystem.
China’s AI strategy represents a departure from its traditional industrial policies, which historically emphasised self-sufficiency, support for a handful of national champions, and military-driven research. Instead, the government has embraced a more flexible and collaborative approach that encourages open-source software adoption, a diverse network of AI firms, and public-private partnerships to accelerate innovation. This model prioritises research funding, state-backed AI laboratories, and AI integration across key industries including security, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Despite strong state involvement, China’s AI boom is equally driven by private-sector innovation. The country is home to an estimated 4,500 AI companies, accounting for 15% of the world’s total.
As economist Liu Gang told the Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper: “The development of AI is fast in China – for example, for AI-empowered large language models. Aided with government spending, private capital is flowing to the new sector. Increased capital inflow is anticipated to further enhance the sector in 2025.”
China’s tech giants including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and SenseTime have all benefited from substantial government support while remaining competitive on the global stage. But unlike in the US, China’s AI ecosystem thrives on a complex interplay between state support, corporate investment and academic collaboration.
Recognising the potential of open-source AI early on, Tsinghua University in Beijing has emerged as a key innovation hub, producing leading AI startups such as Zhipu AI, Baichuan AI, Moonshot AI and MiniMax — all founded by its faculty and alumni. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has similarly played a crucial role in advancing research in deep learning and natural language processing.
Unlike the west, where companies like Google and Meta promote open-source models for strategic business gains, China sees them as a means of national technological self-sufficiency. To this end, the National AI Team, composed of 23 leading private enterprises, has developed the National AI Open Innovation Platform, which provides open access to AI datasets, toolkits, libraries and other computing resources.
DeepSeek is a prime example of China’s AI strategy in action. The company’s rise embodies the government’s push for open-source collaboration while remaining deeply embedded within a state-guided AI ecosystem. Chinese developers have long been major contributors to open-source platforms, ranking as the second-largest group on GitHub by 2021.
Founded by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng in 2023, DeepSeek has positioned itself as an AI leader while benefiting from China’s state-driven AI ecosystem. Liang, who also established the hedge fund High-Flyer, has maintained full ownership of DeepSeek and avoided external venture capital funding.
Though there is no direct evidence of government financial backing, DeepSeek has reaped the rewards of China’s AI talent pipeline, state-sponsored education programs, and research funding. Liang has engaged with top government officials including China’s premier, Li Qiang, reflecting the company’s strategic importance to the country’s broader AI ambitions.
In this way, DeepSeek perfectly encapsulates “AI with Chinese characteristics” – a fusion of state guidance, private-sector ingenuity, and open-source collaboration, all carefully managed to serve the country’s long-term technological and geopolitical objectives.
Recognising the strategic value of open-source innovation, the government has actively promoted domestic open-source code platforms like Gitee to foster self-reliance and insulate China’s AI ecosystem from external disruptions. However, this also exposes the limits of China’s open-source ambitions. The government pushes collaboration, but only within a tightly controlled system where state-backed firms and tech giants call the shots.
Reports of censorship on Gitee reveal how Beijing carefully manages innovation, ensuring AI advances stay in line with national priorities. Independent developers can contribute, but the real power remains concentrated in companies that operate within the government’s strategic framework.
The conflicted reactions of US big tech
DeepSeek’s emergence has sparked intense debate across the AI industry, drawing a range of reactions from leading Silicon Valley executives, policymakers and researchers. While some view it as an expected evolution of open-source AI, others see it as a direct challenge to western AI leadership.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, emphasised its technical efficiency. “It’s super-impressive in terms of both how they have really effectively done an open-source model that does this inference-time compute, and is super-compute efficient,” Nadella told CNBC. “We should take the developments out of China very, very seriously”.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, a prominent advisor to Trump, was similarly effusive. “DeepSeek R1 is one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs I’ve ever seen – and as open source, a profound gift to the world,” he wrote on X.
For Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist, DeepSeek is less about China’s AI capabilities and more about the broader power of open-source innovation. He argued that the situation should be read not as China’s AI surpassing the US, but rather as open-source models surpassing proprietary ones. “DeepSeek has profited from open research and open source (e.g. PyTorch and Llama from Meta),” he wrote on Threads. “They came up with new ideas and built them on top of other people’s work. Because their work is published and open source, everyone can profit from it. That is the power of open research and open source.”
Not all responses were so measured. Alexander Wang, CEO of Scale AI – a US firm specialising in AI data labelling and model training – framed DeepSeek as a competitive threat that demands an aggressive response. He wrote on X: “DeepSeek is a wake-up call for America, but it doesn’t change the strategy: USA must out-innovate & race faster, as we have done in the entire history of AI. Tighten export controls on chips so that we can maintain future leads. Every major breakthrough in AI has been American.”
Elon Musk added fuel to speculation about DeepSeek’s hardware access when he responded with a simple “obviously” to Wang’s earlier claims on CNBC that DeepSeek had secretly acquired 50,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, despite US export restrictions.
Beyond the tech world, US policymakers have taken a more adversarial stance. House speaker Mike Johnson accused China of leveraging DeepSeek to erode American AI leadership. “They abuse the system, they steal our intellectual property. They’re now trying to get a leg up on us in AI.”
For his part, Trump took a more pragmatic view, seeing DeepSeek’s efficiency as a validation of cost-cutting approaches. “I view that as a positive, as an asset … You won’t be spending as much, and you’ll get the same result, hopefully.”
The rise of DeepSeek may have helped jolt the Trump administration into action, leading to sweeping policy shifts aimed at securing US dominance in AI. In his first week back in the White House, the US president announced a series of aggressive measures, including massive federal investments in AI research, closer partnerships between the government and private tech firms, and the rollback of regulations seen as slowing US innovation.
The administration’s framing of AI as a critical national interest reflects a broader urgency sparked by China’s rapid advancements, particularly DeepSeek’s ability to produce cutting-edge models at a fraction of the cost traditionally associated with AI development. But this response is not just about national competitiveness – it is also deeply entangled with private industry.
Musk’s growing closeness to Trump, for example, can be viewed as a calculated move to protect his own dominance at home and abroad. By aligning with the administration, Musk ensures that US policy tilts in favour of his AI ventures, securing access to government backing, computing power, and regulatory control over AI exports.
At the same time, Musk’s public criticism of Trump’s US$500 billion AI infrastructure plan – claiming the companies involved lack the necessary funding – was as much a warning as a dismissal, signalling his intent to shape policy in a way that benefits his empire while keeping potential challengers at bay.
Not unrelated, Musk and a group of investors have just launched a US$97.4 billion (£78.7bn) bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, a move that escalates his feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and seeks to strengthen his grip on the AI industry. Altman has dismissed the bid as a “desperate power grab”, insisting that OpenAI will not be swayed by Musk’s attempts to reclaim control. The spat reflects how DeepSeek’s emergence has thrown US tech giants into what could be all-out war, fuelling bitter corporate rivalries and reshaping the fight for AI dominance.
And while the US and China escalate their AI competition, other global leaders are pushing for a coordinated response. The Paris AI Action Summit, held on February 10 and 11, has become a focal point for efforts to prevent AI from descending into an uncontrolled power struggle. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, warned delegates that without international oversight, AI risks becoming “the wild west”, where unchecked technological development creates instability rather than progress.
But at the end of the two-day summit, the UK and US refused to sign an international commitment to “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy … making AI sustainable for people and the planet”. China was among the 61 countries to sign this declaration.
Concerns have also been raised at the summit about how AI-powered surveillance and control are enabling authoritarian regimes to strengthen repression and reshape the citizen-state relationship. This highlights the fast-growing global industry of digital repression, driven by an emerging “authoritarian-financial complex” that may exacerbate China’s strategic advancement in AI.
Equally, DeepSeek’s cost-effective AI solutions have created an opening for European firms to challenge the traditional AI hierarchy. As AI development shifts from being solely about compute power to strategic efficiency and accessibility, European firms now have an opportunity to compete more aggressively against their US and Chinese counterparts.
Whether this marks a true rebalancing of the AI landscape remains to be seen. But DeepSeek’s emergence has certainly upended traditional assumptions about who will lead the next wave of AI innovation – and how global powers will respond to it.
End of the ‘Silicon Valley effect’?
DeepSeek’s emergence has forced US tech leaders to confront an uncomfortable reality: they underestimated China’s AI capabilities. Confident in their perceived lead, companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI prioritised incremental improvements over anticipating disruptive competition, leaving them vulnerable to a rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
In response, the US tech giants are now scrambling to defend their dominance, pledging over US$400 billion in AI investment. DeepSeek’s rise, fuelled by open-source collaboration, has reignited fierce debates over innovation versus security, while its energy-efficient model has intensified scrutiny on AI’s sustainability.
Yet Silicon Valley continues to cling to what many view as outdated economic theories such as the Jevons paradox to downplay China’s AI surge, insisting that greater efficiency will only fuel demand for computing power and reinforce their dominance. Companies like Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft remain fixated on scaling computational power, betting that expensive hardware will secure their lead. But this assumption blinds them to a shifting reality.
DeepSeek’s rise as the potential “Walmart of AI” is shaking Silicon Valley’s foundation, proving that high-quality AI models can be built at a fraction of the cost. By prioritising efficiency over brute-force computing power, DeepSeek is challenging the US tech industry’s reliance on expensive hardware like Nvidia’s high-end chips.
This shift has already rattled markets, driving down the stock prices of major US firms and forcing a reassessment of AI dominance. Nvidia, whose business depends on supplying high-performance processors, appears particularly vulnerable as DeepSeek’s cost-effective approach threatens to reduce demand for premium chips.
Video: CBS News.
The growing divide between the US and China in AI, however, is more than just competition – it’s a clash of governance models. While US firms remain fixated on protecting market dominance, China is accelerating AI innovation with a model that is proving more adaptable to global competition.
If Silicon Valley resists structural change, it risks falling further behind. We may witness the unravelling of the “Silicon Valley effect”, through which tech giants have long manipulated AI regulations to entrench their dominance. For years, Google, Meta,and OpenAI shaped policies that favoured proprietary models and costly infrastructure, ensuring AI development remained under their control.
More than a policy-driven rise, China’s AI surge reflects a fundamentally different innovation model – fast, collaborative and market-driven – while Silicon Valley holds on to expensive infrastructure and rigid proprietary control. If US firms refuse to adapt, they risk losing the future of AI to a more agile and cost-efficient competitor.
A new era of geotechnopolitics
But China is not just disrupting Silicon Valley. It is expanding “geotechnopolitics”, where AI is a battleground for global power. With AI projected to add US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, China and the US are racing to control the technology that will define economic, military and political dominance.
DeepSeek’s advancement has raised national security concerns in the US. Trump’s government is considering stricter export controls on AI-related technologies to prevent them from bolstering China’s military and intelligence capabilities.
As AI-driven defence systems, intelligence operations and cyber warfare redefine national security, governments must confront a new reality: AI leadership is not just about technological superiority, but about who controls the intelligence that will shape the next era of global power.
China’s AI ambitions extend beyond technology, driving a broader strategy for economic and geopolitical dominance. But with over 50 state-backed companies developing large-scale AI models, its rapid expansion faces growing challenges, including soaring energy demands and US semiconductor restrictions.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, remains resolute, stating: “Whoever can grasp the opportunities of new economic development such as big data and artificial intelligence will have the pulse of our times.” He sees AI driving “new quality productivity” and modernising China’s manufacturing base, calling its “head goose effect” a catalyst for broader innovation.
To counter western containment, China has embraced a “guerrilla” economic strategy, bypassing restrictions through alternative trade networks, deepening ties with the global south, and exploiting weaknesses in global supply chains. Instead of direct confrontation, this decentralised approach uses economic coercion to weaken adversaries while securing China’s own industrial base.
Video: AP.
China is also leveraging open-source AI as an ideological tool, presenting its model as more collaborative and accessible than western alternatives. This narrative strengthens its global influence, aligning with nations seeking alternatives to western digital control. While strict state oversight remains, China’s embrace of open-source AI reinforces its claim to a future where innovation is driven not by corporate interests but through shared collaboration and global cooperation.
But while DeepSeek claims to be open access, its secrecy tells a different story. Key details on training data and fine-tuning remain hidden, and its compliance with China’s AI laws has sparked global scrutiny. Italy has banned the platform over data-transfer risks, while Belgium and Ireland launched privacy probes.
Under Chinese regulations, DeepSeek’s outputs must align with state-approved narratives, clashing with the EU’s AI Act, which demands transparency and protects political speech. Such “controlled openness” raises many red flags, casting doubt on China’s place in markets that value data security and free expression.
Many western commentators are seizing on reports of Chinese AI censorship to frame other models as freer and more politically open. The revelation that a leading Chinese chatbot actively modifies or censors responses in real time has fuelled a broader narrative that western AI operates without such restrictions, reinforcing the idea that democratic systems produce more transparent and unbiased technology. This framing serves to bolster the argument that free societies will ultimately lead the global AI race.
But at its heart, the “AI arms race” is driven by technological dominance. The US, China, and the EU are charting different paths, weighing security risks against the need for global collaboration. How this competition is framed will shape policy: lock AI behind restrictions, or push for open innovation.
DeepSeek, for all its transformational qualities, continues to exemplify a model of AI where innovation prioritises scale, speed and efficiency over societal impact. This drive to optimise computation and expand capabilities overshadows the need to design AI as a truly public good. In doing so, it eclipses this technology’s genuine potential to transform governance, public services and social institutions in ways that prioritise collective wellbeing, equity and sustainability over corporate and state control.
A truly global AI framework requires more than political or technological openness. It demands structured cooperation that prioritises shared governance, equitable access, and responsible development. Following a workshop in Shanghai hosted by the Chinese government last September, the UN’s general secretary, António Guterres, outlined his vision for AI beyond corporate or state control: “We must seize this historic opportunity to lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI – for the benefit of all humanity. As we build AI capacity, we must also develop shared knowledge and digital public goods.”
Both the west and China frame their AI ambitions through competing notions of “openness” – each aligning with their strategic interests and reinforcing existing power structures.
Western tech giants claim AI drives democratisation, yet they often dominate digital infrastructure in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, exporting models based on “corporate imperialism” that extract value while disregarding local needs. China, by contrast, positions itself as a technological partner for the rest of the global south; however, its AI remains tightly controlled, reinforcing state ideology.
China’s proclaimed view on international AI collaboration emphasises that AI should not be “a game of rich countries”“, as President Xi stated during the 2024 G20 summit. By advocating for inclusive global AI development, China positions itself as a leader in shaping international AI governance, especially via initiatives like the UN AI resolution and its AI capacity-building action plan. These efforts help promote a more balanced technological landscape while allowing China to strengthen its influence in global AI standards and frameworks.
However, beneath all these narratives, both China and the US share a strategy of AI expansion that relies on exploited human labour, from data annotation to moderation, exposing a system driven less by innovation than by economic and political control.
Seeing AI as a connected race for influence highlights the need for ethical deployment, cross-border cooperation, and a balance between security and progress. And this is where China may face its greatest challenge – balancing the power of open-source innovation with the constraints of a tightly controlled, authoritarian system that thrives on restriction, rather than openness.
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Peter Bloom 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.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ivo Vlaev, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Sir Keir Starmer has become the first sitting UK prime minister to publicly take an HIV test to reduce stigma around Aids and encourage more people to get tested.
There are historical parallels. In 1956, when Elvis Presley, at the height of his fame, was filmed receiving his polio vaccine on US television.
Do these high-profile gestures really change attitudes and behaviour, or are they just headline-grabbing stunts?
A closer look at the behavioural science behind celebrity endorsements suggests that, under the right conditions, public demonstrations by famous figures can indeed shift social norms, reduce stigma and influence health outcomes. However, the effects depend a lot on the credibility of the endorser, the authenticity of the act and the presence of sustained, follow-up campaigns.
Elvis Presley’s polio jab is one of the most iconic examples of celebrity-led health campaigns. But many other well-known figures have encouraged the public to adopt protective health measures, from actors promoting annual flu jabs to footballers advocating organ donation drives.
The premise is that a celebrity’s endorsement can normalise certain behaviour by tapping into the principles of “social learning theory”, particularly observational learning. That is, when we see someone we admire or trust do something, we are more likely to follow suit.
In the 1950s, polio was a serious threat, capable of causing paralysis or death. After witnessing Elvis roll up his sleeve on national television, many teenagers – previously sceptical or apathetic – became far more willing to accept the polio vaccine. That event is now hailed as a masterclass in leveraging popular culture to address a public health crisis.
A masterclass in leveraging popular culture.
A cornerstone of behavioural science is the recognition that who delivers a message can be as important as – or sometimes more important than – what the message contains. The so-called “messenger effect” highlights how we are often more persuaded by people we perceive to be credible, relatable or high status.
In the case of Elvis, he was already idolised by millions. He was the perfect conduit to promote vaccination among teenagers who might otherwise dismiss appeals from older authority figures.
Starmer occupies a different kind of influence. Supporters of the Labour party may see him as a trustworthy figure, while others could be sceptical of a politician’s motives. This underscores a key aspect of the messenger effect: if a large segment of the target audience views the figure as partisan or self-serving, the endorsement can backfire or simply fail to register.
Another powerful effect identified in behavioural science is social norms – our shared understandings of what is typical or appropriate – which strongly influence whether we take certain actions.
Stigma around HIV remains a major barrier to testing and treatment. Even though medical advances have changed the landscape of HIV/Aids care, many people still fear the societal consequences of a positive diagnosis. According to the UK Health Security Agency, around 5,000 people in the UK are unaware they are living with HIV, partly because they hesitate to test in the first place.
By publicly taking an HIV test, Starmer aimed to shift perceptions and normalise testing. In terms of social identity theory, seeing a prominent figure within the national community – especially one involved in shaping policies – undergo testing can communicate that “people like us” view HIV testing as a routine, responsible health measure. This may be particularly powerful for people who identify politically with Starmer or who respect his leadership position.
Despite the potential of celebrity or high-profile endorsements, behavioural science also points to authenticity as a vital ingredient. Audiences are more likely to change their behaviour if they believe the celebrity genuinely cares about the issue rather than simply seeking publicity. If endorsements are perceived as insincere or politically opportunistic, their effect can be muted or even counterproductive.
In Elvis’s case, he was known for engaging with young fans and had a track record of public good works, which helped bolster the sense that his polio vaccination was done for more than just a publicity boost.
For Starmer, sustaining the momentum beyond a single test – through continued advocacy, support of free testing programmes, and visibility in HIV-awareness campaigns – could reinforce the perception of a real commitment rather than a fleeting photo opportunity.
Nudges
Behavioural scientists also often talk about “nudges” – small interventions that change people’s choices without forbidding options or significantly changing incentives. A celebrity endorsement can serve as a nudge by making a desirable health behaviour (like getting tested) more top-of-mind or socially acceptable.
However, historically, Elvis’s vaccination was not a standalone act. It was part of a broader public health strategy involving schools, local campaigns and continued outreach. Those elements ensured that once people were motivated to get the polio jab, they could do so easily.
For HIV testing, the same principle applies: visible leadership from Starmer may spark initial interest, but practical measures – such as pop-up testing centres, free home-test kits and confidential testing support – are vital to maintain engagement.
Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? In reality, the two scenarios differ in time and context. A 21st-century political leader raising awareness about HIV testing in the UK operates within a more complex media landscape than a 1950s rock ’n’ roll icon on American primetime television. Yet, there is a parallel: both used their public status to tackle a widespread health concern, hoping to overcome stigma and promote an important preventative measure.
Ultimately, celebrity moments can open the door, but only a sustained, evidence-based strategy will keep it open – and encourage people to walk through.
Anyone in England can order a free and confidential HIV test from www.freetesting.hiv to do the test at home.
Ivo Vlaev 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.
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
02.12.25
WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after President Donald Trump nominated North Dakota’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED).Hoeven worked with incoming Education Secretary Linda McMahon during her time as the Director of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and recommended to McMahon both in person and over the phone that Baesler be nominated to this position.
“We appreciate President Trump and Department of Education Secretary-elect McMahon nominating Kirsten to this position. Kirsten has done a tremendous job overseeing the education of students in North Dakota and will be a great asset to the Trump administration,” said Hoeven. “Kirsten has spent her career focused on education and has experience ranging from teaching in a classroom to leading the NDPPI. We congratulate her on her nomination and will work with our colleagues to ensure she is confirmed by the Senate as quickly as possible.”
Baesler has served as state school superintendent since January 2013, where she leads the 86-person team responsible for overseeing the education of both public and nonpublic school students in North Dakota. Prior to her election as superintendent, Baesler spent 24 years working in the Bismarck Public School System including as a vice principal, classroom teacher and library media specialist. She spent nine years on the Mandan School Board, serving as president of the board for seven years. Baesler is a native of Flasher and graduated from Bismarck State College, Minot State University and Valley City State University.
SHREVEPORT, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Shaquaila Lewis a/k/a Shaquaila Lewis-Chatman, 36, of Gibsland, Louisiana, has been sentenced on one count of wire fraud. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Lewis to 27 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
In March 2020 Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provided Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), which were low-interest financing to small businesses, renters and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act also provided authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
Lewis devised a scheme to defraud the SBA and various financial institutions by falsifying PPP and EIDL Program loan applications, forms, and other documents, and submitting fraudulent loan applications. At the sentencing hearing, the court found that Lewis was responsible for over $1.1 million in loss as a result of multiple fraudulent loans involving herself and others.
As an example, in February 2021, Lewis electronically submitted a false and fraudulent PPP application to Square Capital in the name of Perfect Memories Travel seeking approximately $20,833 in PPP funds. Lewis signed the application and falsely certified that the application and all information provided was true and accurate. Lewis falsely certified that the funds would be used “to retain workers and maintain payroll.” She also falsely certified that she had used the full loan amount from a prior PPP application submitted on behalf of Perfect Memories Travel only for eligible expenses. A few days later, Square Capital disbursed approximately $20,583 in loan benefits to a bank account held by Lewis, and she used those funds for personal expenses.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg and Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard of the Department of Justice Criminal Division – Fraud Section.
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $6 million judgment against the owner of Big Chief Smoke Shop (Big Chief), an unlicensed cannabis store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Big Chief sold cannabis for more than a year without a license and ignored repeated orders by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and other law enforcement authorities to stop operating without a license. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and OCM obtained a judicial closing order that shut down Big Chief in December 2023. This judgment requires Big Chief’s owner to pay nearly $5.9 million in penalties for selling cannabis without a license and continuing to do so after being ordered by OCM to stop, $121,000 in disgorgement of illegal profits, and $44K in costs and attorney’s fees.
“Rules and regulations, especially over the cannabis industry, are designed to protect New York consumers and keep neighborhoods safe,” said Attorney General James. “Big Chief Smoke Shop ignored repeated warnings to stop operating without a license and instead they kept their doors open, putting New Yorkers at risk. My office secured a $6 million judgment against the owners of Big Chief Smoke Shop for brazenly violating the law and disrupting the local community. Hopefully this judgment will serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can ignore our laws and endanger our communities.”
“New Yorkers need and expect a safe, regulated cannabis market where business owners play by the rules,” said Senator Andrew Gounardes. “By repeatedly refusing to do the right thing, Big Chief did an immense disservice to our community in Bay Ridge and to all the licensed retailers operating in New York. I’m grateful to Attorney General James for holding Big Chief accountable. Let this be a message to all other retailers trying to skirt the law: New York will shut you down.”
“Of all the unlicensed cannabis operators who worked to undermine the rollout of the legalized cannabis industry in New York, Big Chief was one of the worst bad actors I’ve seen,” said New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan. “Beyond endangering their customers and our community by selling untaxed, unregulated, and illegal products, they were bad neighbors who hosted illegal activity, frequently trashed the area outside their premises, and blatantly mocked and provoked residents, elected officials, and law enforcement in the press. People in Bay Ridge took notice – Big Chief was certainly not the only illegal cannabis store in our neighborhood, but they generated more complaints to my office, in the one-plus year they were open, than any other single legal or illegal establishment in my district since I took office in 2018. I am grateful to Attorney General James for making sure Big Chief must now pay for the price.”
New York’s Cannabis Law requires any person who cultivates, processes, or sells any cannabis product to be registered and licensed by the New York State Cannabis Control Board. The law imposes a penalty of up to $10,000 for each day an individual sells cannabis without a license, and a penalty of up to $20,000 for each day an individual continues to sell cannabis after receiving an order to cease operating from OCM. Additional revenue-based civil penalties may also be imposed based on the amount of the unlicensed sales. The $6 million judgment against Big Chief Smoke Shop resulted from a combination of disgorgement, administrative fines, daily penalties, and revenue-based penalties for Big Chief’s unlicensed activities.
Big Chief Smoke Shop had been selling cannabis without a license since at least November 2022. In August 2023, OCM and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) investigators conducted an inspection of Big Chief, confirmed Big Chief was selling cannabis without a license, and seized more than 400 pounds of cannabis and cannabis products. At the inspection, OCM served Big Chief with an order to stop operating without a license and posted the violation, cease order, and warning notices informing the public of the dangers of illicit cannabis on the front windows of the store.
In a follow-up inspection in October 2023, OCM investigators observed that the violation, cease order, and warning documents OCM posted on the front windows of Big Chief were removed or covered over and that the store was still actively selling cannabis without a license. During the inspection, investigators seized more than 200 pounds of illicit cannabis and issued another violation notice and order to stop operating. OAG and OCM obtained a court order mandating the closure of Big Chief in December 2023.
Cannabis products sold by unlicensed businesses are not lab tested by OCM-licensed facilities, can be unsafe to consume, and are not taxed. The OAG is authorized upon request by OCM to bring a proceeding against any person who violates the Cannabis Law.
Attorney General James thanks OCM, DTF, and the governor for their collaboration.
This is the latest judgment secured by Attorney General James against unlicensed cannabis stores in New York. In October 2024, Attorney General James and OCM secured a $9.5 million judgment against an unlicensed cannabis store owner in Ontario County. In May 2024, Attorney General James and OCM secured a $15.2 million judgment against the owner of seven unlicensed cannabis stores in upstate New York.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Deborah Diamant of the Brooklyn Regional Office, under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General in Charge Michael Barbosa with support from Investigators Crystal Combs and Crystal John. Assistant Attorney General Rudolph Baptiste of the Suffolk Regional Office also assisted with this matter. The Division of Regional Affairs is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Jill Faber and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
At a recent summit in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, leaders of eight African states released a statement calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The statement comes after a flareup in fighting in eastern DRC that has killed hundred and wounded thousands.
On Jan. 31, 2025 the rebel group known as the March 23 Movement (M23) captured the city of Goma in the eastern DRC. At a news conference, Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes M23, declared that they were there to stay and would march to the DRC’s capital of Kinshasa.
The World Health Organization reported 900 bodies had been recovered from the streets of Goma, with about 3,000 people injured and thousands forced to flee. The Congolese government said that it had started burying more than 2,000 people and thousands had been displaced.
On Feb. 4, 2025, the Congo River Alliance declared a ceasefire. This isn’t the first time M23 attacked Goma and then declared a ceasefire. The renewed violence is the latest in a long-running conflict in the region that has grown to involve local militias, regional countries and foreign companies seeking to exploit Congo’s mineral wealth.
However, a faction within the CNDP disapproved of the Goma agreement and created a militia group in 2012 that came to be known as M23. A United Nations group has said senior government officials from Rwanda and Uganda have provided M23 with weapons, intelligence and military support.
The roots of the conflict lie in the history of Belgium’s colonial rule of the region that pitted the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups against each other. In 1956, ethnic tensions in Rwanda forced many Tutsis to seek refuge in Congo (then Zaire), Uganda, Tanzania and beyond.
Tutsis who fled to Congo and Uganda were not accorded full citizenship rights, and this led to resentment.
In the mid-1990s, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni collaborated with Congolese rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila to create the AFDL. The group waged the First Congo War from October 1996 to May 1997 that ended with the overthrow of the DRC’s long-time ruler, Mobutu Sese Seko. Kabila became president.
Kagame and Museveni fought along with Congolese Tutsis to assert their citizenship once the war ended. However, when Kabila turned against his backers, it led to the waged Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, with Rwandan and Ugandan-backed militas fighting against the DRC government.
The FDLR was implicated in orchestrating the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 people, most of whom were Tutsi. The FDLR has been based in eastern Congo since 1996, after the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by Kagame and others, pushed them out of Rwanda.
Fear of the FDLR was one of the drivers for the First Congo War. In a recent interview with CNN, Kagame said:
“If you want to ask me, is there a problem in Congo that concerns Rwanda? And that Rwanda would do anything to protect itself? I’d say 100 per cent.”
Control of minerals
Before the fall of Goma in February 2025, M23 captured mineral-rich areas like Rubaya, the largest coltan mine in the Great Lakes region; Kasika and Walikale, where there are numerous gold mines; Numbi, which is rich with tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold; and Minova, which is a trade hub.
In December 2024, a UN expert group noted that M23 exported about 150 tonnes of coltan to Rwanda, and was involved with Rwanda’s production, leading to “the largest contamination of mineral supply chain.”
One of the central dynamics of this conflict is the control and profit from natural resources. The DRC is rich in minerals and metals needed around the world, including the critical minerals used in the technology and renewable energy industries.
The World Bank has noted that the “DRC is endowed with exceptional mineral resources.” However, administration of the sector is dysfunctional and handicapped by insufficient institutional capacity.
Ending the M23 insurgency requires taking Tutsi citizenship seriously. Politics researcher Filip Reyntjens has argued that any peaceful transition in the DRC needed to take regional countries seriously. He emphasized:
“By turning a blind eye to Rwanda’s hegemonic claims in eastern Congo, the future stability of the region remains in doubt. Rwanda may once again, in the not too distant future, become the focal point of regional violence.”
A factor contributing to the violence is the lack of measures to ensure ceasefires are respected by different parties engaged in conflicts. In addition, armed groups and their backers have not been effectively prosecuted. A 2010 UN mapping report describes 617 alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights between March 1993 and June 2003. No perpetrators have never been prosecuted.
Furthermore, there must be strong international efforts to prevent conflict minerals from getting into international supply chains. M23 and other militias smuggle Congo’s minerals through regional neighbours, where they are considered conflict-free.
Tech giants that rely on these minerals must do more to scrutinize where they come from. Equally, all of us, as consumers of products made from the DRC’s minerals, must demand accountability.
It’s usually only men who participate in such talks. Women, who endure the brutality of sexual violence and other human rights violations, must be represented in peace and security talks.
In his 2018 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Congolese physician and human rights activist Dr. Dennis Mukwege noted that:
“What is the world waiting for before taking this into account? There is no lasting peace without justice. Yet, justice in not negotiable. Let us have the courage to take a critical and impartial look at what has been going on for too long in the Great Lakes region.”
To effectively respond to the plight of the people of eastern Congo will take more than situational and short-term intervention. National, regional and international parties must negotiate peaceful and just access to minerals. Peace and security in Congo will happen when sectarian and partisan politics is replaced with commitment to democracy, sovereignty and peoples’ well-being.
Evelyn Namakula Mayanja receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada and Carleton University.
How might you make your mark on the world forever? Write a play more timeless than Shakespeare, or compose music to out-do Mozart, or score the winning goal in the next World Cup final, perhaps?
There’s an easier way of leaving an indelible mark on our planet. Just finish a soft drink and toss the can (and the remains of the chicken dinner that went with it), ditch last year’s impulse purchases from your wardrobe, resurface that old patio, upgrade your mobile phone … simply carry on with everyday life, that is, and you’ll likely leave a fascinating legacy. It might last a billion years.
We’re palaeontologists, and have spent our careers looking at the fossil record of the deep past, puzzling out how those magnificent animal and plant relics have been preserved as dinosaur bones, the carapaces of ancient crustaceans, lustrous spiralled ammonites, petrified flower petals and many more. Often they still have exquisite detail intact after millions of years.
We’ve now turned our attention to the myriad everyday objects that we make and use, to see what kind of future fossils – we call them technofossils – they will make. We’ve written about this in our new book, Discarded: how technofossils will be our ultimate legacy. Here are some key messages:
The first things that’ll catch the eye of any far-future palaeontologist are our manufactured objects – buildings, roads, machines and so on. In recent decades, they have rocketed in amount to over a trillion tonnes, to now outweigh all living things on Earth. That’s a lot of raw material for generating future fossils.
Then, most things we make are designed to be durable, to resist corrosion and decay, and are significantly tougher than the average bone or shell. Just from that they have a head start in the fossilisation stakes.
Many are new to the Earth. Discarded aluminium cans are everywhere, for instance, but to our planet, they’re a wondrous novelty, as pure aluminium metal is almost unknown in nature. In the past 70 years we’ve made more than 500 million tonnes of the stuff, enough to coat all of the US (and part of Canada) in standard aluminium kitchen foil.
What’s going to happen to it? Aluminium resists corrosion, but not forever. Buried underground in layers of mud and sand, a can will slowly break down, but often not before there’s a can-shaped impression in these new rocks, lined with microscopic clay crystals newly-grown out of the corroding aluminium.
Everyday items can be flushed onto a floodplain and be quickly buried under sediments. As they slowly degrade they may leave an impression on the soft muds and silts for future palaeontologists to puzzle over. Sarah Gabbott
Having been shielded from ultraviolet light, the thin plastic liner inside the can may endure too. (Oil-based plastic is even more novel in geological terms, being entirely non-existent until the 20th century). These two materials compressed side-by-side represent future fossil signatures of our time on Earth.
Billions of fossilised chicken thighs
But what about bones – the archetypal fossil relic? There will be many of these as future fossils, stark evidence of our species’ domination over others.
The standard supermarket chicken seems mundane. But it’s now by far the most common bird of all, making up about two-thirds of all bird biomass on Earth, and its abundance in life increases its fossilisation chances after death.
We stack the odds further by tossing the bones into a plastic bin-bag, that’s then carted to the landfill site to join countless more bones for burial in neatly engineered compartments – also plastic-lined. There, the bones will begin to mummify, another useful step in the road to petrifaction. Our landfills are giant middens of the future and will be stuffed full of the bones of this one species.
Geologists of the far future may conclude that chickens could only have existed thanks to a more intelligent species. dba87 / shutterstock
These bones – super-sized but weak, riddled with osteoporosis, sometimes fractured and deformed – will tell their own grisly story. Future geologists will puzzle over a suddenly-evolved bird so abundant yet so physically helpless. Will they figure out the story of a broiler chicken genetically
engineered to feed relentlessly to maximise weight gain, for slaughter just five or six weeks after hatching? We suspect the fossil evidence will be damning.
Fossilised fleeces
Fossilizeable fashion is also new. Humans have worn clothes for thousands of years, but archaeological clothes discoveries are rare, because made of natural fibres they are feasted on by clothes moths, microbes and other scavengers. Fossil fur and feathers are rare too, for the same reasons.
But cheap, cheerful and hyper-abundant polyester fashion is quite different. There’s no need for mothballs with these garments because synthetic plastics are indigestible to most microbes. How long might they last? Some ancient fossil algae have coats of plastic-like polymers, and these have lasted, beautifully preserved, for many millions of years.
Fossil clothes will surely perplex far-future palaeonologists, though: first to work out their shape from the crumpled and flattened remains, and then to work out what purpose they served. With throwaway fashion, we’re making some eternal puzzles.
Concrete and computers
The lumps of concrete from your old patio are not any old rocks. The recipe for concrete, involving furnace-baked lime, is rare on Earth (the minerals involved occasionally form in magma-baked rock), but humans have made it hyper-abundant. There are now more than half a trillion tonnes of concrete on Earth, mostly made since the 1950s – that’s a kilo per square metre averaged over the Earth. And concrete is hard-wearing even by geological standards: most of its bulk is sand and gravel, which have been survivors throughout our planet’s history.
There’s nothing old about computers and mobile phones, but they are based on the same element – silicon – that makes up the quartz (silicon dioxide) of sand and gravel. A fossilised silicon chip will be tricky to decipher, though: the semiconductors now packed on to them are just nanometres across, tinier than most mineral forms geologists analyse today.
But the associated paraphernalia, the burgeoning waste of keyboards, monitors, wiring, will form more obvious fossils. The patterns on these, like the QWERTY keyboard, resemble the fossil patterns seized upon by today’s palaeontologists as clues to ancient function. That would depend on the excavators, though: fossil keyboards would make more sense to hyper-evolved rats with five-fingered paws, say, than superintelligent octopuses of the far future.
It’s fun to conceptualise like this, and set the human story within the grand perspective of Earth’s history. But there’s a wider meaning. Tomorrow’s future fossils are today’s pollution: unsightly, damaging, often toxic, and ever more of a costly problem. One only has to look at the state of Britain’s rivers and beaches.
Understanding how fossilisation starts now helps us ask the right questions. When plastic trash is washed out to sea, will it keep travelling or become safely buried, covered by marine sediments? Will the waste in coastal landfill sites stay put, or be exhumed by the waves as sea level rises? The answers will be found in future rocks – but it would help us all to work them out now.
Sarah Gabbott is affiliated with Green Circle Nature Regeneration Community Interest Company 13084569.
Jan Zalasiewicz 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.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. MarkR. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and a number of their Senate colleagues in a letter demanding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) perform its essential work supervising and investigating violations of consumer financial protection laws and taking forceful enforcement actions against scammers and payday lenders. This letter comes on the heels of an ill-advised move by the Trump administration to shutter the CFPB, which collects, investigates, and monitors consumer complaints about financial products and services, and provides relief to consumers who have been wronged by unscrupulous financial providers.
As a consumer watchdog, the CFPB looks out for Americans’ financial wellbeing, preventing scams and holding offenders accountable. This is especially true for servicemembers, veterans, and their families, Since the agency’s inception, the CFPB has returned over $21 billion back to consumers who have fallen victim to abusive and illegal activity.
“This morning, in your capacity as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), you issued a directive to employees to cease all work without your express written approval. This includes investigations, supervision, enforcement, and litigation activities, as well as all stakeholder engagement and public communications. This decision leaves all Americans susceptible to predatory lending and other abusive practices, but in particular, it eliminates protections that prevent servicemembers from being exploited,” wrote the senators.
In this letter, the Senators also express The Trump Administration’s decision to stop supervision, enforcement, and litigation eliminates key protections enacted by Congress through the Military Lending Act (MLA) and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to protect servicemembers, who are disproportionally targeted by predatory lenders and schemes, and often face greater financial risks than civilian borrowers due to the nature of their military service. The financial and legal protections in these bipartisan laws – most notably a temporary reduction in interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans – are critical to national defense and military readiness.
“Nullifying the MLA and imperiling servicemembers’ rights under the SCRA will degrade military readiness, cost taxpayers money, and tarnish servicemembers’ records. The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that ‘high-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.’ Morale suffers when servicemembers and their families are trapped in cycles of debt. And taxpayers are on the hook when our servicemembers leave the military due to avoidable personal issues like financial insecurity. According to DOD, each separated servicemember costs the Pentagon more than $58,000,” they continued.
“Accordingly, we request that the CFPB continue to supervise and investigate violations of the consumer financial protection laws and take forceful enforcement actions against lenders that violate the law, especially when it comes to predatory lending that harms our military readiness. We also request that the CFPB continue to make public communications to consumers, especially to servicemembers regarding the rights that they are owed under the SCRA,” the letter concluded.
In addition to Sens. Warner and Reed, the letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Edward Markey (D-MA).
A copy of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Director Vought:
This morning, in your capacity as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), you issued a directive to employees to cease all work without your express written approval. This includes investigations, supervision, enforcement, and litigation activities, as well as all stakeholder engagement and public communications. This decision leaves all Americans susceptible to predatory lending and other abusive practices, but in particular, it eliminates protections that prevent servicemembers from being exploited.
This funding, supervision, enforcement, and communications freeze will hit military families especially hard. Without a functional CFPB, military families will be stripped of their financial protections under the bipartisan Military Lending Act (MLA) that they have earned and deserve by serving our Nation. The CFPB is the primary agency responsible for supervising and enforcing the MLA against nonbank financial companies, including payday lenders, pawnshops, and debt collectors who have charged servicemembers interest rates as high as 600% and who have threatened to derail their careers if they do not pay up.
The agency’s supervision and enforcement program has delivered concrete results for the military. The CFPB has resolved 39 cases involving harm to servicemembers and veterans, returning $363 million to victims, including six enforcement actions for violations of the MLA. Two additional MLA cases are currently pending in court, alleging that a pawn shop and an installment lender charged sky high interest rates to military families and engaged in deceptive practices to illegally harvest fees. With these cases frozen, no supervision, staff locked out, and additional enforcement off the table, unscrupulous lenders will exploit these circumstances to engage in additional predatory lending. The actions that you have taken since being installed as Acting Director betray our servicemembers and empower scammers who want to rip them off.
Further, recent CFPB research identified a long-running pattern of lenders failing to decrease servicemembers’ interest rates while on active duty as required by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). These failures cost servicemembers thousands of dollars per year. The CFPB’s public communications have held lenders accountable and helped servicemembers exercise their rights under Federal law.
Nullifying the MLA and imperiling servicemembers’ rights under the SCRA will degrade military readiness, cost taxpayers money, and tarnish servicemembers’ records. The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that “high-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.” Morale suffers when servicemembers and their families are trapped in cycles of debt. And taxpayers are on the hook when our servicemembers leave the military due to avoidable personal issues like financial insecurity. According to DOD, each separated servicemember costs the Pentagon more than $58,000.
Accordingly, we request that the CFPB continue to supervise and investigate violations of the consumer financial protection laws and take forceful enforcement actions against lenders that violate the law, especially when it comes to predatory lending that harms our military readiness. We also request that the CFPB continue to make public communications to consumers, especially to servicemembers regarding the rights that they are owed under the SCRA.
We request your commitment no later than February 12, 2025. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
A public consultation for a potential visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen which would raise revenue to be used for improvements for the visitor economy in the city has been agreed.
Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee today approved the move which would see the scheme charge a percentage fee on overnight stays in accommodation.
Convener of Finance and Resources Councillor Alex McLellan said: “Aberdeen City Council has developed the visitor levy scheme with key stakeholders which will now go out to consultation.
“There is the potential for the scheme to raise significant funds to help support our ambition to be a leading visitor destination.
“Our decision around whether or not to introduce a visitor levy will be informed by the consultation as it is important to consider the views of the trade, and a key part of that discussion will be around how the council could use the funds to boost the city’s economy, increase visitor numbers, and, in turn, fill hotel rooms.”
Chair of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association Frank Whitaker said “It is fair to say that the hotel sector lobbied hard against legislation for a visitor levy. However, the law now enables local authorities across Scotland to implement a visitor levy, so it is incumbent on industry to work with local authorities to develop effective schemes that support local economic growth.
“The introduction of a visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen City has the potential to be a positive economic growth lever if correctly invested, benefitting not just all types of visitors to Aberdeen but also local residents.”
The report to committee said The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee or tax on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. The levy would be calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation, after deducting any commission costs.
The main purpose of the bill is to invest more in the local economy in ways that will benefit business and leisure visitors as well as residents.
The local authority has the discretion to set what the rate is and the legislation allows for local authorities to set different rates for different purposes or areas meaning that different rates can be set for particular events, such as arts festivals or special conferences and that local authorities can vary the area in which the levy applies within their boundary.
Local authorities cannot vary the type of accommodation that the levy would apply to and that includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, camping sites, caravan parks, accommodation in a vehicle, or on board a vessel which is permanently or predominantly situated in one place.
Cruise ships and motor homes are not subject to the levy. The levy is not payable where the visitor or any other person utilising the right to reside in the overnight accommodation is in receipt of benefits, payments, or allowances for a disability.
The report said if it goes ahead, the absolute earliest a visitor levy scheme can come into effect in Aberdeen is 1 April 2027. For public consultation, a rate of 7% is proposed which would produce a levy of £5 per night on an average hotel room of £70 a night.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson alongside fleet colleagues at Bankhead Depot.
Safety is at the heart of the Council’s fleet, with our entire fleet of new Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) along with our welfare buses all equipped with enhanced safety features.
We’ve taken inspiration from the Progressive Safe System (PSS) which was implemented by Transport for London (TfL) in October 2024 to enhance vehicle awareness and reduce the likelihood of collisions. There are seven key requirements under PSS:
Camera monitoring system fitted to the vehicle’s nearside
Class V and VI mirrors
Blind spot sensors fitted to the vehicles nearside
Moving off sensors fitted to the front of the vehicle
Side under-run protection on both sides of the vehicle
Audible warning alerts when vehicles turn left
Prominent visual warning signage
In addition to adhering to PSS requirements, all our new vehicles are fitted with an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS). AEBS uses sensors to monitor a vehicle’s surroundings and automatically apply the brakes if a collision is likely.
Whilst there are no such safety requirement anywhere else in the UK outside of London, we took the decision to ensure all HGVs purchased as part of the replacement programme were equipped with the technology to meet this standard.
Our 152 strong HGV fleet is comprised of refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, road gritters, mobile library uses, construction vehicles in roads services, and utility trucks for maintaining streets and greenspace.
Whilst our 27 welfare buses, which transport children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), are not classed as HGV we took the decision to order these buses with the new safety features. These vehicles operate in and around schools and built-up areas during peak travel times so it’s important they are as safe as possible for everyone.
We’ve now taken delivery of over 70 of our new HGVs, with all new refuse collection vehicles due to arrive by the end of March 2025 and all other HGVs due to be in service this year.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said:
I was delighted to go down to Bankhead this morning to see some of these new vehicles firsthand and talk to our colleagues who operate them. We have a responsibility to our colleagues and our residents to make sure our fleet is as safe as possible. This is why we’re investing tens of millions of pounds into our fleet.
With these changes I’m confident that we have the most advanced local authority fleet in Scotland when it comes to safety features. I hope that other parts of Scotland and the UK will look to London and Edinburgh’s example and follow suit.
Safety is an absolute priority for us when delivering our services and I have no doubt that these new features will have a positive impact.
A public consultation has been launched asking businesses and residents to comment on a vision to grow Liverpool’s multi-billion-pound economy over the next 15 years.
The Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy will set the framework for growth up to 2040 and the eight-week consultation, hosted by Liverpool City Council, aims to inform the development of the resulting action plan.
The vision for Liverpool 2040 is to create a strong and inclusive economy that leaves no one behind.
The strategy focuses on strengthening foundations to build a fairer, more prosperous, and sustainable city that creates opportunities for a good life for all its residents.
The draft strategy focuses on several key themes, including:
Strengthening key sectors to drive growth, innovation, investment and productivity Key sectors include: Health & Life Sciences, Creative and Digital industries, Advanced Manufacturing and Maritime.
Build a vibrant, productive and resilient business base
Ensure access to skills development, employment opportunities and career building
Place people at the heart of growth activity and supporting aspirations and networks
Several public engagement events will be staged over the coming months to gather views from the public. People can also go online at www.liverpool.gov.uk/growthstrategyconsultation to find out more and give their feedback.
Liverpool currently powers a £16.7 billion economy, with over 14,000 businesses and around 230,000 people in employment.
However, significant challenges remain, including low productivity and investment, financial pressures on public services, inequality of opportunity in some communities, and health challenges.
In light of these challenges, the Council, which recently submitted a New Town bid to Government to regenerate a huge part of North Liverpool, is committed to supporting businesses and residents. Delivering an inclusive economy a core pillar for Liverpool’s Strategic Partnership plan for 2040.
To further underline the Council’s commitment, since June 2023, its Business Support Service has provided advice and guidance to over 1,000 Liverpool businesses and supported 300+ residents with direct advice on starting up a new business.
The Adult Learning and Skills team has also supported over 4,500 residents to develop essential workplace skills, and the Ways to Work team has supported 1,708 economically inactive and unemployed residents with employment and skills services.
Councillor Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Growth, said: “This draft Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy is a vital piece of work and one which will come to define the conditions that support our businesses to grow.
“Feedback to this draft strategy is crucial, it needs to reflects the views and needs of our businesses, non-profit organizations, charities, and voluntary organization – be it education, transport, housing or digital connectivity.
“We also want to hear residents’ views to ensure we create a strong, relevant and deliverable strategy, one that will inform the initiatives, interventions and investment into the infrastructure the city needs to underpin our future economy.
“All of this feedback will help us strengthen the strategy, ensure we deliver the right action for economic growth, and best placing us to build inclusivity so residents and communities thrive.”
Councillor Lila Bennett, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Employment, Educational Attainment and Skills, said “The success of this strategy will be deeply rooted in the strength and diversity of our partnerships and our collective commitment and action. All our partners have a key role in driving economic growth and ensuring benefits are felt across all communities.
“We also want our partners, including the business community, to embrace and deliver for our residents by realising opportunities and addressing challenges, from climate change to AI, to train and upskill their workforce to be ready for the economy of the future.”
CSL Behring’s Gene Therapy HEMGENIX® (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) Four Years Post-Infusion Data Continue to Show Sustained Efficacy and Safety in Adults with Hemophilia B
94 percent of patients eliminated factor IX prophylaxis and remained free of continuous prophylaxis through four years post-treatment
Mean factor IX activity levels were sustained at near normal levels of 37% through four years post-treatment, reinforcing the efficacy of HEMGENIX in the treatment of hemophilia B
Phase 3 HOPE-B data showed that a one-time treatment with HEMGENIX provided long-term bleed protection as mean adjusted annualized bleeding rate (ABR) for all bleeds was reduced by approximately 90% from lead-in as compared to year four
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Global biotechnology leader CSL (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) today announced the four-year results from the pivotal HOPE-B study confirming the long-term durability and safety of a one-time infusion of HEMGENIX® (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) for adults living with hemophilia B. In an oral presentation at the 18th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD), data showed that through four years, HEMGENIX continues to deliver elevated and sustained factor IX activity levels, can offer long-term and greater bleed protection compared to prophylactic treatment, can eliminate the need for routine factor IX prophylaxis, and maintains a favorable safety profile. Approved in 2022 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), HEMGENIX is the first gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who currently use factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes. It is also the only approved gene therapy for hemophilia B that can treat adult patients with and without AAV5 neutralizing antibodies thereby providing the potential for a greater number of eligible patients to be treated.
“Hemophilia B can cause spontaneous bleeds into the joints, resulting in extreme pain and progressive, arthritis-like damage, which can lead to permanent physical debility,” said Steven Pipe, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Laurence A. Boxer Research Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Pediatric Medical Director, Hemophilia and Coagulation Disorders Program Director, Special Coagulation Laboratory University of Michigan. “These results underscore the ability of HEMGENIX to offer long-term bleed protection with a one-time treatment, resulting in dramatic decreases in all annual bleed rates, including joint bleeds, and sustained independence from regular prophylactic infusions.”
In the Phase III, open-label, single-dose, single-arm HOPE-B trial, 54 adult male participants with severe or moderately severe hemophilia B, with or without preexisting AAV5 neutralizing antibodies, were infused with a single dose of HEMGENIX. Of the 54 participants who received HEMGENIX, 51 completed four years of follow-up. HEMGENIX produced mean factor IX levels of 41.5 IU/dL (n=50) at year one, 36.7 IU/dL (n=50) at year two, 38.6 IU/dL (n=48) at year three and 37.4 IU/dL (n=47) at year four post-infusion. In addition, mean adjusted annualized bleeding rate (ABR) for all bleeds was reduced by approximately 90% from lead-in (4.16, n=54) as compared to year four (0.40, n=51). Furthermore, joint bleeds were reduced from a mean ABR of 2.34 at lead-in to 0.09 during year four. In year four, 94% of patients remained free of continuous prophylaxis treatment. No patients returned to continuous prophylaxis between year three and year four.
There were no serious adverse events related to treatment with HEMGENIX. HEMGENIX was generally well-tolerated, with a total of 96 treatment-related adverse events (AEs), 92 (96%) of which occurred in the first six months post-treatment. The most common adverse events were an increase in alanine transaminase (ALT), for which nine (16.7%) participants received supportive care with reactive corticosteroids for a mean duration of 81.4 days (standard deviation: 28.6; range: 51-130 days).
“These data continue to instill confidence in the clinical benefits of HEMGENIX, highlighting the remarkable impact of this one-time treatment to reduce the frequency of bleeds in people with hemophilia B and improve quality of life by alleviating the burden of ongoing factor IX prophylactic treatment,” said Andres Brainsky, Vice President R&D Hematology at CSL. “CSL is committed to continuing to provide ongoing data analyses of HEMGENIX, ensuring that healthcare providers and patients have the necessary information to make informed decisions about treatment options. We are proud to continue to provide life-changing treatment options to the hemophilia community.”
The multi-year clinical development of HEMGENIX was led by uniQure (Nasdaq: QURE) and sponsorship of the clinical trials transitioned to CSL after it licensed global rights to commercialize the treatment. Additionally, CSL established a post-marketing registry, which will be informative to all stakeholders and will generate additional evidence on the long-term safety, efficacy, and durability of gene therapy. HEMGENIX has also been granted conditional marketing authorization by the European Commission (EC) for the European Union and European Economic Area, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as authorization by Health Canada, Switzerland’s Swissmedic and provisional approval by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
For more information on HEMGENIX, please visit www.Hemgenix.com.
About the Pivotal HOPE-B Trial The pivotal Phase III HOPE-B trial is an ongoing, multinational, open-label, single-arm study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HEMGENIX. Fifty-four adult hemophilia B patients classified as having moderately severe to severe hemophilia B and requiring prophylactic factor IX replacement therapy were enrolled in a prospective, six-month or longer observational period during which time they continued to use their current standard of care therapy to establish a baseline Annual Bleeding Rate (ABR). After at least the six-month lead-in period, patients received a single intravenous administration of HEMGENIX at a 2×10^13 gc/kg dose. Patients were not excluded from the trial based on pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to AAV5.
A total of 54 patients received a single dose of HEMGENIX in the pivotal trial, with 51 patients completing at least four years of follow-up. The primary endpoint in the pivotal HOPE-B study was ABR 52 weeks after achievement of stable factor IX expression (months 7 to 18) compared with the six-month lead-in period. For this endpoint, ABR was measured from month seven to month 18 after infusion, ensuring the observation period represented a steady-state factor IX transgene expression. Secondary endpoints included assessment of factor IX activity.
No serious treatment-related adverse reactions were reported. One death resulting from urosepsis and cardiogenic shock in a 77-year-old patient at 65 weeks following dosing was considered unrelated to treatment by investigators and the sponsor company. A serious adverse event of hepatocellular carcinoma was determined to be unrelated to treatment with HEMGENIX by independent molecular tumor characterization and vector integration analysis. No inhibitors to factor IX were reported.
About Hemophilia B Hemophilia B is a life-threatening rare disease caused by a mutation on the F9 gene, resulting in low levels of functional clotting factor IX. People with the condition are particularly vulnerable to bleeds in their joints, muscles, and internal organs, leading to pain, swelling, and joint damage. Treatments for moderate to severe hemophilia B typically include life-long prophylactic infusions of factor IX to temporarily replace or supplement low levels of the blood-clotting factor.
About HEMGENIX® HEMGENIX is a gene therapy that reduces the rate of abnormal bleeding in eligible people with hemophilia B by enabling the body to continuously produce factor IX, the deficient protein in hemophilia B. It uses AAV5, a non-infectious viral vector, called an adeno-associated virus (AAV). The AAV5 vector carries the Padua gene variant of Factor IX (FIX-Padua) to the target cells in the liver, generating factor IX proteins that are 5x-8x more active than normal. These genetic instructions remain in the target cells, but generally do not become a part of a person’s own DNA. Once delivered, the new genetic instructions allow the cellular machinery to produce stable levels of factor IX.
Important Safety Information(ISI)
What is HEMGENIX®? HEMGENIX®, etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb, is a one-time gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who:
Currently use Factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or
Have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or
Have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes.
HEMGENIX is administered as a single intravenous infusion and can be administered only once.
What medical testing can I expect to be given before and after administration of HEMGENIX? To determine your eligibility to receive HEMGENIX, you will be tested for Factor IX inhibitors. If this test result is positive, a retest will be performed 2 weeks later. If both tests are positive for Factor IX inhibitors, your doctor will not administer HEMGENIX to you. If, after administration of HEMGENIX, increased Factor IX activity is not achieved, or bleeding is not controlled, a post-dose test for Factor IX inhibitors will be performed.
HEMGENIX may lead to elevations of liver enzymes in the blood; therefore, ultrasound and other testing will be performed to check on liver health before HEMGENIX can be administered. Following administration of HEMGENIX, your doctor will monitor your liver enzyme levels weekly for at least 3 months. If you have preexisting risk factors for liver cancer, regular liver health testing will continue for 5 years post-administration. Treatment for elevated liver enzymes could include corticosteroids.
What were the most common side effects of HEMGENIX in clinical trials? In clinical trials for HEMGENIX, the most common side effects reported in more than 5% of patients were liver enzyme elevations, headache, elevated levels of a certain blood enzyme, flu-like symptoms, infusion-related reactions, fatigue, nausea, and feeling unwell. These are not the only side effects possible. Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect you may experience.
What should I watch for during infusion with HEMGENIX? Your doctor will monitor you for infusion-related reactions during administration of HEMGENIX, as well as for at least 3 hours after the infusion is complete. Symptoms may include chest tightness, headaches, abdominal pain, lightheadedness, flu-like symptoms, shivering, flushing, rash, and elevated blood pressure. If an infusion-related reaction occurs, the doctor may slow or stop the HEMGENIX infusion, resuming at a lower infusion rate once symptoms resolve.
What should I avoid after receiving HEMGENIX? Small amounts of HEMGENIX may be present in your blood, semen, and other excreted/secreted materials, and it is not known how long this continues. You should not donate blood, organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation after receiving HEMGENIX.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
You can also report side effects to CSL Behring’s Pharmacovigilance Department at 1-866-915-6958.
About CSL CSL (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) is a global biotechnology company with a dynamic portfolio of lifesaving medicines, including those that treat haemophilia and immune deficiencies, vaccines to prevent influenza, and therapies in iron deficiency and nephrology. Since our start in 1916, we have been driven by our promise to save lives using the latest technologies. Today, CSL – including our three businesses: CSL Behring, CSL Seqirus and CSL Vifor – provides lifesaving products to patients in more than 100 countries and employs 32,000 people. Our unique combination of commercial strength, R&D focus and operational excellence enables us to identify, develop and deliver innovations so our patients can live life to the fullest. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit CSL.com/Vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSL.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI, welcomed Tom Brady as a guest speaker during the company’s annual Sales Kick Off, ELEVATE26, on February 11. Brady—interviewed onstage by Cloudera CEO Charles Sansbury and CRO Frank O’Dowd—offered attendees his advice on leadership, perseverance, teamwork, and what it takes to win.
Taking place February 10-13 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Cloudera’s ELEVATE26 marks the beginning of a new fiscal year for the data and AI leader. Brady’s perspective on his personal and professional journey set the tone as the company plans for another successful year. In particular, his advice on how to stay motivated, maintain a solution-first mindset, and excel beyond expectations aligned with the business strategies and goals that Cloudera delivered to its more than 700 staff in attendance.
“As one of the undisputed greatest athletes of all time, Tom was the perfect keynote speaker for our team this week,” said O’Dowd. “Cloudera has an unwavering commitment to being the best at what we do. We’ve had an incredibly successful year and are prepared to continue to lead the AI and data space and model the way into the future.”
“The success we achieved last year is just the beginning,” said Sansbury. “Tom said it best: never settle. That’s exactly the mantra we’re going to bring into 2025 as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible for our customers by delivering on the promise of supporting true hybrid, enabling modern data architectures, and accelerating enterprise AI.”
Cloudera is the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI. With 100x more data under management than other cloud-only vendors, Cloudera empowers global enterprises to transform data of all types, on any public or private cloud, into valuable, trusted insights. Our open data lakehouse delivers scalable and secure data management with portable cloud-native analytics, enabling customers to bring GenAI models to their data while maintaining privacy and ensuring responsible, reliable AI deployments. The world’s largest brands in financial services, insurance, media, manufacturing, and government rely on Cloudera to use their data to solve what seemed impossible—today and in the future.
To learn more, visit Cloudera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
NUMBER OF SHARES COMPOSING CURRENT SHARE CAPITAL AND TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTING RIGHTS AS OF 31 JANUARY 2025
Regulated Information
Paris, 12 February 2025
Information about the total number of voting rights and shares pursuant to Article L.233-8 II of the French Commercial Code and Article 223-16 of the AMF General Regulations.
Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with more than 126,000 employees serving about 25 million clients in 65 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective – to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.
The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:
French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.
Global Banking and Investor Solutions, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.
Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.
Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe). For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com.
CLAYMONT, Del., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. (the “Company”) today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 23,000,000 units, which includes 3,000,000 units issued pursuant to the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option. The offering was priced at $10.00 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of $230,000,000, before deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses.
The Company’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) on February 11, 2025 under the ticker symbol “ATIIU.” Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “ATII” and “ATIIW,” respectively.
BTIG, LLC is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.
The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from: BTIG, LLC, 65 East 55th Street, New York, New York 10022, or by email at ProspectusDelivery@btig.comProspectusDelivery@btig.com. The registration statements relating to the securities were declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 10, 2025.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co.
Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. is a blank check company, also commonly referred to as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue a business combination target in any business, industry or geographical location, the Company intends to focus its search for businesses in the technology industry, and its focus will be on the artificial intelligence, cloud services and automotive technology sectors.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to the anticipated use of the net proceeds of the offering and the Company’s search for an initial business combination. No assurance can be given that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and prospectus for the Company’s offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
Contacts
Long Long Chief Executive Officer Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. (725) 312-2430
Raleigh, NC, Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RegEd, the leading provider of regulatory compliance and credentialing solutions for the financial services industry, today announced the expansion of its Xchange Producer Management platform to support insurance licensing and securities registration in Canada. This expansion enables financial services firms to harmonize their US and Canadian licensing and registration processes, leveraging Xchange’s advanced automation to improve efficiency, enhance compliance, and accelerate time-to-market for financial professionals operating across both regions. The move comes as part of a new agreement with one of the largest wealth management firms in the US, who will partner with RegEd to launch the new capabilities.
As financial services firms continue to focus on digital transformation, many are seeking to modernize outdated licensing and registration systems. U.S.-based firms with operations in Canada, in particular, require a single, unified platform to support licensing and registration processes in both countries. The expansion of Xchange enables these firms to streamline operational workflows, reduce administrative overhead, and ensure compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
“As firms look to replace aging licensing and registration systems, they need a solution that can support their entire North American footprint,” said Frank Brienzi, CEO of RegEd. “With Xchange’s expansion into Canada, we are meeting that need—offering a comprehensive, automated solution that simplifies compliance for firms operating in both the U.S. and Canada.”
HowXchangeWill Deliver More Value for Firms Who Operate in Canada
Seamless U.S.-Canada Integration – Extends Xchange’s advanced automation capabilities to Canadian licensing and registration processes, enabling firms to manage both U.S. and Canadian compliance in a single system.
Integration with the National Registration Database (NRD) – Synchronizes registration data in real time and enables electronic filings for Canadian securities registrants.
Localization Capabilities – Provides support for both English and French-language interfaces and documentation, ensuring a seamless experience for Canadian users in their preferred language.
By investing in localization capabilities and NRD integration, RegEd is reinforcing its commitment to delivering best-in-class compliance technology to global financial services firms.
“Xchange has long been the industry’s most trusted licensing and registration solution in the U.S.,” said Ethan Floyd, Chief Product Officer of RegEd. “Now, we’re bringing that same automation, efficiency, and compliance-driven innovation to the Canadian market, helping firms retire legacy systems and unify their licensing and registration functions.”
About RegEd
RegEd is the market-leading provider of RegTech enterprise solutions with relationships with more than 200 enterprise clients, including 80% of the top 25 financial services firms.
Established in 2000 by former regulators, the company is recognized for continuous regulatory technology innovation with solutions hallmarked by workflow-directed processes, data integration, regulatory intelligence, automated validations, business process automation and compliance dashboards. The aggregate drives the highest levels of operational efficiency and enables our clients to cost-effectively comply with regulations and continuously mitigate risk.
Trusted by the nation’s top financial services firms, RegEd’s proven, holistic approach to RegTech meets firms where they are on the compliance and risk management continuum, scaling as their needs evolve and amplifying the value proposition delivered to clients. For more information, please visit www.reged.com.
2024: improved financial results in what remains a degraded environment
Revenues: 526.7 million euros (+10%)*
EBITDA before non-recurring items: 91.1 million euros (+15%)*
Net income: 29.6 million euros (-9%)*
Free cash flow before non-recurring items: 72.1 million euros (+59%)*
Dividend**: €0.40 per share (+11%)
* Change at actual exchange rates (%) ** Proposed to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on April 25, 2025
In millions of euros
October 1 – December 31
January 1 – December 31
2024(1)
2023
2024(1)
2023
Revenues
132.5
119.3
526.7
477.6
Change at actual exchange rates (%)
11%
10%
EBITDA before non-recurring items(2)
22.6
19.8
91.1
79.0
Change at actual exchange rates (%)
14%
15%
EBITDA margin before non-recurring items (in % of revenues)
17.1%
16.6%
17.3%
16.5%
Income from operations before non-recurring items(2)
11.9
12.3
49.3
49.1
Change at actual exchange rates (%)
-3%
0%
Net income
8.4
7.7
29.6
32.6
Free cash flow before non-recurring items(2)
22.2
13.2
72.1
45.3
(1) 2024 figures include Launchmetrics since January 23,2024 (2) The definition for performance indicators appears in the Management Discussion of December 31, 2024
Paris, February 12, 2025. Today, Lectra’s Board of Directors, chaired by Daniel Harari, reviewed the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2024. Audit procedures have been performed by the Statutory Auditors. The certification report will be issued at the end of the Board of Director’s meeting of February 27, 2025.
To facilitate analysis of the Group’s results, the accounts of Lectra excluding Launchmetrics (the “Lectra 2023 scope”) are analyzed separately from the Launchmetrics accounts. The detailed 2024 vs 2023 comparisons for the Lectra 2024 scope and for Launchmetrics are based on actual exchange rates, whereas the comparisons for the Lectra 2023 scope are stated on a like-for-like basis.
1. SUMMARY OF THE YEAR 2024
The year 2024 was marked by a severely degraded macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, prompting the Group’s customers to exercise prudence in their investment decisions, though situations varied across geographies and market sectors.
Under these conditions, for the Lectra 2023 scope, orders for new systems were stable, and new SaaS subscriptions grew by 8%, confirming their success and increasing adoption by the Group’s customers.
2024 earnings in line with recent estimates
On October 30, the Group reported that revenues and EBITDA before non-recurring items were expected to be near the lower end of the ranges indicated on February 14, i.e., revenues of 480 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items of 85 million euros for the Lectra 2023 scope; and 42 million euros in revenues and EBITDA margin before non-recurring items of over 15% for Launchmetrics, i.e., revenues of 522 million and 91.3 million euros of EBITDA margin before non-recurring items for the Lectra 2024 scope.
In total, full-year 2024 revenues grew 10% to 526.7 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items increased 15% to 91.1 million euros.
Successful integration of Launchmetrics
Launchmetrics achieved revenues of 41.2 million euros and an EBITDA before recurring items of 7.0 million euros, and exceeded the Group’s profitability expectations with an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items of 16.9%.
What’s more, this acquisition has considerably expanded Lectra’s SaaS activity, providing the basis for a twofold increase in SaaS revenues to 77.4 million euros at end-2024 and strengthening SaaS’s future potential.
The integration — in terms of processes, teams and products — is already a proven success and enables Lectra to form a coherent set of SaaS activities. Launchmetrics has also contributed its top-level practices in the area of SaaS, thus enriching the customer experience across the Group.
Continuing improvement in the fundamentals of the Group’s business model
The fundamentals of the Group’s business model were substantially improved, notably on the basis of the strict cost control policy implemented since May 2023, and the contribution of Launchmetrics. Recurring revenues increased by 18%, with margins covering nearly all fixed costs. The EBITDA margin before non-recurring items rose 0.8 percentage point, to 17.3%. Free cash flow before non-recurring items generated in 2024 came to 72.1 million euros (+59%) and the Group’s net debt was brought down to 20.6 million euros at December 31, 2024.
2. Q4 2024
Q4 2024 revenues were up 11% compared to Q4 2023, at 132.5 million euros, with Launchmetrics contributing 11.0 million euros.
EBITDA before non-recurring items (22.6 million euros) was up 14% and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items came to 17.1% (+0.5 percentage points).
Free cash flow before non-recurring items rose sharply to 22.2 million euros (+68%).
Lectra 2023 scope
Currency changes had only a limited impact on revenues and results.
Orders for new systems were stable compared to Q4, 2023, at 38.6 million euros, and new SaaS subscriptions came up to 3.6 million euros (+17%).
Revenues came to 121.5 million euros, up 1%: revenues for new systems were down 6%, while recurring revenues were 5% higher.
EBITDA before non-recurring items was 21.0 million euros and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items came to 17.3%, up 0.3 percentage point.
3.2024
Full-year 2024 revenues came to 526.7 million euros, up 10% with the following breakdown: 28% of total revenues for new systems, down 5%, 72% of total revenues in recurring revenues, up 18%, including Saas revenues of 77.4 million euros (x2.5).
Launchmetrics, which has been consolidated since January 23, 2024, contributed 41.2 million euros to 2024 revenues.
Gross profit came to 376.9 million euros, up 13%, and the gross profit margin was 71.6%, up 1.8 percentage points over 2023.
EBITDA before non-recurring items came to 91.1 million euros, up 15%, and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items rose 0.8 point to 17.3%.
Income from operations before non-recurring items amounted to 49.3 million euros, stable compared to 2023. This included a 22.7-million-euro charge for amortization of intangible assets arising from the acquisitions carried out since 2021.
Research and development costs, which were fully expensed in the period and included in fixed overhead costs, represented 12.8% of revenues (11.7% in 2023).
Financial income and expenses represented a net charge of 6.0 million euros (2.8 million euros in 2023) due to higher interest rates and the financing of the Launchmetrics acquisition.
Foreign exchange gains and losses generated a net loss of 2.2 million euros.
Taking into account the amortization of intangible assets, the increase in financial expenses, and an income tax expense of 10.9 million euros, net income amounted to 29.6 million euros, down 9% compared to 2023.
Free cash flow before non-recurring items was significantly higher, at 72.1 million euros (+59%).
A particularly robust balance sheet
At December 31, 2024, the Group had a particularly robust balance sheet with a consolidated shareholders’ equity of 374.4 million euros, a negative working capital requirement of 25.2 million euros and net debt of 20.6 million euros. The net debt consisted of financial debt of 102.5 million euros and cash of 81.9 million euros.
Lectra 2023 scope
Currency changes had only a limited impact on revenues and results.
Orders for new systems (144,9 million euros) were stable compared to 2023.
Orders for perpetual software licenses (11.4 million euros) fell by 18% — as most new software is now sold in SaaS mode— while orders for equipment and accompanying software (113.0 million euros), and for training and consulting (17.3 million euros) rose by 2% and 9%, respectively.
Revenues were up 2% at 485.5 million euros, and recurring EBITDA was up 7% at 84.2 million Euros.
4.DIVIDEND
The Company maintained its attractive shareholder compensation policy with dividends representing a payout ratio of about 40% of net income in 2023 and, as a result of the strong increase in free cash flow, the company has decided on a payout ratio of 50% of net income for the year 2024.
The Board of Directors will propose to the Shareholders’ Meeting of April 25, 2025 the payment of a dividend at €0.40 per share in respect of fiscal year 2024.
5.CHANGES IN GOVERNANCE
Following a disagreement with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer regarding the role of the Lead Director, Ross McInnes has decided to resign from his position as Director, effective April 24, 2025. The Board of Directors thanks him for his contribution over the past three years.
As of April 25, 2025, the Board of Directors of Lectra will consist of 7 members: Daniel Harari (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Nathalie Rossiensky (Lead Director, Independent Director), Céline Abecassis-Moedas (Independent Director), Karine Calvet (Independent Director), Pierre-Yves Roussel (Independent Director), Jérôme Viala (non-Independent Director) and Hélène Viot-Poirier (Independent Director).
6.ASSESSMENT OF THE 2023-2025 STRATEGIC ROADMAP – SECOND PROGRESS REPORT
Launched in 2017, the Lectra 4.0 strategy aims to position the Group as a key Industry 4.0 player in its three strategic market sectors: fashion, automotive and furniture, before 2030. The strategy has been implemented up to now through three strategic roadmaps.
The first strategic roadmap, which covered the 2017-2019 period, established the key fundamentals for the future of the Group.
The second roadmap, which ran from 2020 through 2022, achieved a new dimension for the Group – primarily through the acquisition of Gerber in June 2021 – and opened new perspectives, with a financial position stronger than ever before, an extended worldwide presence, a broader customer base, a powerful product portfolio, a growing number of customers using its new offers for Industry 4.0, and a new brand image.
The Group’s ambition over the 2023-2025 period is to take full advantage of its change in dimension to accelerate growth, to significantly increase the volume of SaaS in revenues, and to seize acquisition opportunities.
Despite the unstable economic and geopolitical climate, Lectra successfully maintained its long-term strategic orientations. Further, all the fundamentals of the Group’s business model improved significantly and customer adoption of the SaaS model accelerated. The Group acquired Launchmetrics and strategic partnerships were concluded with Six Atomic and AQC.
With the commitment of employees and recognition by customers, Lectra stands at the forefront in building a more sustainable future. The Group has taken numerous steps to enhance its offering to reduce environmental impact for its customers, notably through material traceability for fashion, thanks to the acquisition of a majority stake in TextileGenesis in early 2023.
Details of the second progress report on this 2023-2025 strategic roadmap can be found in the December 31, 2024 “Management Discussion and Analysis” document, available on Lectra.com.
7.OUTLOOK
In the challenging environment of 2024, Lectra proved to be highly resilient, confirming the relevance of its strategy and the quality of its fundamentals—crucial assets for the Group’s continued development.
Outlook for 2025
While initial positive signs can be detected, the lack of visibility in what remains an uncertain economic and geopolitical context, could continue to weigh on investment decisions by the Group’s customers going forward.
In this context, the Group has begun the year 2025 with confidence and will pursue its strategy by meeting the needs of its customers as closely as possible via the quality of its offers for Industry 4.0 and by developing its SaaS activity.
As in the previous two years, visibility regarding orders for new systems remains low, with no way of anticipating the timing or magnitude of a possible rebound, which could nevertheless occur during the course of the year.
Recurring revenues, which accounted for 72% of total revenues in 2024, are expected to grow further in 2025, largely on the strength of expanding SaaS activity.
Furthermore, the Group will maintain strict cost controls and anticipates a mix of orders that will favorably impact the gross margin.
In light of the above, Lectra has set the 2025 objective of achieving recurring revenues of over 400 million euros, including 90 million euros of SaaS revenues.
Overall, revenues are expected to be between 550 and 600 million euros, with an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items close to 20%, based on exchange rates at December 31st, 2024, particularly of $1.04/€1.
The Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations and the financial statements for Q4 and the fiscal year 2024 are available on lectra.com. First quarter earnings for 2025 will be published on April 24. The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will take place on April 25, 2025.
About Lectra
As a major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the Industry 4.0 revolution with boldness and passion by providing best-in-class technologies.The Group offers industrial intelligence solutions – software, equipment, data and services – that facilitate the digital transformation of the companies it serves. In doing so, Lectra helps its customers push boundaries and unlock their potential. The Group is proud to state that its 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators.Founded in 1973, Lectra reported revenues of 527 million euros in 2024. The company is listed on Euronext, where it is included in the following indices: CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEA-PME 150.
Lectra – World Headquarters: 16–18, rue Chalgrin • 75016 Paris • France Tel. +33 (0)1 53 64 42 00 – www.lectra.com A French Société Anonyme with capital of €37,966,274 • RCS Paris B 300 702 305
Paris, February 12, 2025 – Lectra informs its shareholders, in compliance with article 221-4-IV of the General Regulation of the Autorité des marchés financiers, that the Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations for the fourth quarter and the full year 2024 is available on the company’s website: www.lectra.com
It is also available, upon request, at the company’s headquarters 16-18 rue Chalgrin, 75016 Paris (email: investor.relations@lectra.com)
About Lectra
A major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the development of Industry 4.0 with boldness and passion, fully integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into its global strategy.The Group offers industrial intelligence solutions – software, cutting equipment, data analysis solutions and associated services – that facilitate the digital transformation of the companies it serves. In doing so, Lectra helps its customers push boundaries and unlock their potential. The Group is proud to state that its 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators.Founded in 1973, Lectra reported revenues of 527 million euros in 2024. The company is listed on Euronext, where it is included in the following indices: CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEA-PME 150.For more information, visitlectra.com.
Lectra – World Headquarters: 16–18, rue Chalgrin • 75016 Paris • France Tel. +33 (0)1 53 64 42 00 – www.lectra.com A French Société Anonyme with capital of €37,966,274• RCS Paris B 300 702 305
Today, under the direction of the Acting Chairman, Staff Legal Bulletin 14L is now rescinded by the issuance of Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (“SLB 14M”). SLB 14M moves the goalposts smack dab in the middle of this year’s shareholder proposal process. Doing so at this hour creates undue costs and uncertainty for investors and corporations alike. This type of political policy shifting mid-season serves to undercut capital formation, not facilitate it.
SLB 14M implements different rules of the road for the process of excluding shareholder proposals from issuers’ proxy statements.[1] Such proposals include topics relating to poison pills, compensation, emerging issues such as AI, political and lobbying expenditures, and environmental or other issues that shareholders have identified as materially impacting the firm’s financial value.[2] The fact that the change is taking place at this time is significant. As anyone familiar with the shareholder proposal process knows, excluding a proposal from the proxy statement all but guarantees it will never make it to a shareholder vote.
The rescission comes as no surprise given that the shareholder proposal process has become the target of politicized messaging and a preferred punching bag of those who wish to diminish corporate democracy. This is the case even though there are already numerous other mechanisms in place to limit the availability of the proxy ballot to shareholders.[3] Though the shareholder proposal process is designed merely to facilitate a dialogue with investors, today’s actions drowns out investor voices and facilitates corporate monologues instead.[4]
Even though the rescission may not be a surprise, the timing of this action is arbitrary and inequitable. Shareholders have already crafted and submitted their proposals for this season. Corporations and shareholders will incur costs to supplement or alter no-action requests and responses. Further, SEC staff have already issued no-action letter responses related to proposals for this proxy season. Even for those stakeholders and observers who prefer a different approach to this process, the end result is quite possibly disparate treatment not just for shareholders, but for issuers as well. We are so focused on undoing the prior Commission’s agenda that we sow chaos now. By choosing this path, we forsake all consistency, and perhaps even the legitimacy, of the independent, historically staff-governed process to the detriment of all parties.
While costly and confusing, corporations will still have a chance to revise their no-action requests to exclude proposals. Shareholders, of course, will have no such opportunity. The 14a-8 no-action process is fact-intensive, and exactly how a proposal is crafted is often determinative of its exclusion or inclusion. It is now too late for most shareholders to design proposals in line with SLB 14M.
Instead of taking a measured approach that would ensure market stability and a meaningful consideration of cost and benefit, this leadership has rushed out staff guidance for the sake of political expediency, and at significant cost to shareholders, corporations, and SEC staff resources.
[1] SLB 14M rescinds Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L and, in large part, reinstates previous guidance on staff views relating to the (i)(5) and (i)(7) substantive bases for exclusion. See Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M. It is important to note that (i)(7) was the most often used exclusion in the 2024 proxy season. See Merel Spierings, the Conference Board, 2024 Proxy Season Review: Corporate Resilience in a Polarized Landscape, H. L. School Forum on Corp. Gov. (Oct. 12, 2024).
[3] For example, shareholders must meet certain ownership and resubmission thresholds to submit a proposal, and proposals are subject to a 500 word limit. See CFR 240.14a-8(b)(1), (d), & (i)(12).
[4] Additionally, shareholder proposals are precatory, or merely advisory, in nature. See CFR 240.14a-8(i)(1).
PRESS INFORMATION Heading: 2024 annual revenues Nanterre, February 12, 2025 (after trading)
8.6% organic growth in 2024
(being audited, in € millions)
2023
2024
Growth
of which organic
Revenues
741.2
810.4
+ 9.3%
+ 8.6%
Achievements
Forecasts for the year were exceeded, both in terms of activity and operating profit:
revenues totaled €810.4 million, up 9.3% (with 8.1% growth in Q4 );
operating profit represented 9.6% of revenues (€77.9 million *).
With double-digit growth, the Group’s expansion is driven by digital projects, data, cybersecurity, public clouds, sovereign ans trusted clouds (SecNumCloud).
The Group’s net increase in the payroll of 340 by 2024 has been supplemented by greater use of subcontracting.
The full final annual results will be published on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 after the stock exchange closes.
Outlook
As usual, the forecasts for 2025 will be posted along with the Group’s Q1 revenues.
* being audited.
About NEURONES With 7,100 experts, and ranking among the French leaders in consulting and digital services, NEURONES helps large companies and organizations implement their digital projects, transform their IT infrastructures and adopt new uses.
Euronext Paris (compartment B – NRO) – Euronext Tech Leaders – DSS mid-caps – ‘PEA-PME’ eligible www.neurones.net
The Management Board, at its meeting of 2 January 2025, decided to launch an employee shareholding plan “Rubis Avenir 2025” by way of the sale by the Company of treasury shares reserved for eligible employees of companies participating in the Rubis Avenir Company Savings Plan (Group companies based in France) under the conditions described below.
The shares offered are existing treasury shares previously repurchased by the Company pursuant to the share buyback programme authorised by the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting on 11 June 2024 (22th resolution).
The shares offer, established under Articles L. 3332-18 et seq. of the French Labor Code, will cover a maximum of 400,000 shares.
The acquisition price, set at €17.15, corresponds, in accordance with Article L. 3332-19 of the French Labor Code, to 75% of the average share price over the 20 trading days preceding the decision of the Management Board.
The subscription period will run from 17 March to 4 April 2025.
The funds invested in Rubis shares through the “Rubis Avenir” mutual fund will be available at the end of a five-year lock-up period, except in cases where early release is allowed in accordance with Article R. 3324-22 of the French Labor Code.
The acquired shares under the offer are existing ordinary shares fully assimilated with the existing shares comprising Rubis’ share capital.
The “Rubis Avenir” mutual fund was set up in 2002 to allow employees to invest in Rubis’ capital, and thereby to strengthen the link between employees and the company. Rubis has performed an employees shareholding plan each year since the fund’s establishment.
As of 31 December 2024, employees of the Group held 2.17% of Rubis’ share capital through the “Rubis Avenir” mutual fund.
Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today announced the launch of Galaxy F06 5G, its most affordable 5G smartphone in India. Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize the 5G segment with the perfect blend of high-performance and style. Galaxy F06 5G will provide a complete 5G experience at an affordable price, making 5G technology accessible for more consumers and accelerating its widespread adoption across the country. Galaxy F06 5G supports 12 5G bands across all telecom operators.
“We are proud to announce our most affordable 5G smartphone, designed to make next-generation connectivity accessible to everyone. The launch of Galaxy F06 5G reflects our commitment to bridging the digital divide and empowering millions of consumers with a complete 5G experience, superior performance, and an all-new stylish design at an introductory price starting INR 9499. With Galaxy F06 5G, we are not just launching a smartphone, but new possibilities for every Indian,” said Akshay S Rao, General Manager, MX Business, Samsung India.
Full 5G Experience
Galaxy F06 5G is built to deliver unmatched connectivity, supporting 12 5G bands across all telecom operators. It comes with Carrier Aggregation to deliver faster download and upload speeds. Galaxy F06 5G is also enabled to provide a smoother live streaming and video calling experience.
All-New Design and Display
Galaxy F06 5G features a ‘Ripple Glow’ finish that shimmers with every movement exuding elegance and sophistication. Featuring a 6.7” large HD+ display with 800 Nits brightness, Galaxy F06 5G offers consumers stunning visuals and an elevated viewing experience. The smartphone is 8mm sleek and weighs only 191 grams, making it incredibly ergonomic to use. Galaxy F06 5G will be available in two strikingly bold and mesmerizing colours – Bahama Blue and Lit Violet.
Camera
Galaxy F06 5G houses a striking new camera deco. The high-resolution 50MP wide-angle lens with F1.8 aperture captures vibrant, detailed photos, while the 2MP depth-sensing camera delivers pictures with enhanced clarity. The 8MP front camera ensures your selfies are crisp and clear.
Multitasking & Gaming
Galaxy F06 5G is powered by MediaTek D6300, one of the segment’s best processor having an AnTuTu score of upto 416K making it fast and power-efficient, allowing you to multi-task smoothly. Galaxy F06 5G delivers a swift mobile gaming experience with high-speed connectivity along with high-quality audio and visuals.
Battery & Fast Charging
Galaxy F06 5G packs in 5000mAh battery that enables long sessions of browsing, gaming and binge watching. Galaxy F06 5G allows users to stay connected, entertained and productive without interruption. Galaxy F06 5G supports segment-leading 25W fast charging, giving more power in less time.
Galaxy Foundation
Samsung is reaffirming its commitment to customer satisfaction by providing best-in-segment 4 generations of OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates with Galaxy F06 5G, ensuring users can enjoy the latest features and enhanced security for years to come.
Galaxy F06 5G will feature one of Samsung’s most innovative security features: Samsung Knox Vault. The hardware-based security system offers comprehensive protection against both hardware and software attacks. Additionally, Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize consumer experience with innovations such as Voice Focus that cuts the ambient noise for a clear calling experience and the Quick Share feature which enables users to instantly share files, photos and documents with any other device, even if they are faraway, including your laptop and tab, privately.
Product
Variant
Introductory Price
Offers
DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
Fourth Quarter2024Highlights
Net income of $206 million
Affordable Housing Program (AHP) assessments of $23 million
Voluntary community and housing contributions of $19 million
Advances totaled $100.0 billion
Mortgage loans held for portfolio, net totaled $11.9 billion
Letters of credit totaled $20.1 billion
Retained earnings totaled $3.5 billion
Dividend
The Board of Directors approved a fourth quarter 2024 dividend to be paid at an annualized rate of 9.75% on average activity-based stock, an increase of 0.25% from prior quarter, and 6.00% on average membership stock, unchanged from the prior quarter. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (the Bank) expects to make dividend payments totaling $138 million on February 19, 2025.
Liquidity Mission
The Bank provides liquidity to its members to support the housing, business, and economic development needs of the communities they serve. Members pledge collateral to access our core liquidity products of advances, letters of credit, and purchased mortgage loans under the Mortgage Partnership Finance® Program. During 2024, advance balances averaged $107.4 billion, and purchased mortgage loan balances averaged $10.9 billion. The liquidity provided through these products allows our members to:
meet mortgage and other loan demand in their communities when deposits alone are insufficient;
originate mortgage loans without holding them on their balance sheet; and
reduce interest rate risk by structuring advances to match their assets.
In addition, the Bank provides a reliable source of contingent liquidity for its members. During 2024, the Bank held an average of $28.1 billion of short-term assets as a source of liquidity for this purpose.
Affordable Housing and Community Impact
The Bank’s housing and community development programs are central to its mission by providing reliable liquidity and funding to help its members build strong communities and support their affordable housing needs. The Bank contributes 10% of its net income each year to its AHP, an annual grant program that supports the creation, preservation, or purchase of affordable housing. This program includes a competitive AHP and two down payment products called Home$tart and the Native American Homeownership Initiative. During 2024, the Bank accrued statutory AHP assessments of $102 million to be awarded in 2025 through this program. In addition to the statutory assessment, the Bank voluntarily accrued $13 million for use in the AHP during 2024.
In addition to its AHP, the Bank offers its members voluntary programs to further its housing mission and provide support for affordable housing initiatives. During 2024, the Habitat for Humanity® Advance Rate Discount program provided $100 million in 0% rate advances to members that originated or purchased mortgage loans from a Habitat for Humanity® affiliate and recorded $22 million in subsidy expense. This source of low cost funding enables members to partner with Habitat for Humanity® affiliates to offer lower-rate mortgages to homeowners and support the construction of affordable housing. In 2024, the Bank funded $310 million of loans under the Mortgage Rate Relief program, which provided $29 million in grants to those seeking affordable homeownership. Mortgage Rate Relief is designed to make homeownership attainable for borrowers at or below 80% of the area median income by providing them an interest rate that is lower than the current market rate. The Bank also recorded a $4 million contribution to its Member Impact Fund during 2024. The Member Impact Fund is a discretionary program in which the Bank matches member donations to local housing and community development organizations. Through these programs and our voluntary AHP contributions, the Bank recorded a total of $68 million in voluntary community and housing contributions during 2024.
2024 Financial Results Discussion
Net Income – The Bank recorded net income of $914 million in 2024 compared to $962 million in the prior year.
Net Interest Income – The Bank recorded net interest income of $1.2 billion in 2024, a decrease of $70 million when compared to the prior year, primarily due to lower average advance balances, decreases in market value adjustments on the Bank’s fair value hedge relationships, and lower prepayment fee income on advances. The decline was offset in part by improved asset-liability spreads on investments, driven by higher-yielding mortgage-backed security purchases.
Other Income (Loss) – The Bank recorded other income of $37 million in 2024, an improvement of $52 million when compared to the prior year, primarily due to the net changes in fair value on the Bank’s trading securities, fair value option instruments, and economic derivatives. During 2024, the improvement in other income was also driven by increased fees on standby letters of credit and net gains recorded on litigation settlements.
Other Expense – The Bank recorded other expense of $258 million in 2024, an increase of $37 million when compared to the prior year. The increase during 2024 was primarily driven by an increase in voluntary community and housing contributions of $21 million when compared to the prior year. Additionally, the increase during 2024 was driven by higher contract labor and consultant costs.
Assets – The Bank’s total assets decreased to $165.3 billion at December 31, 2024, from $184.4 billion at December 31, 2023, driven primarily by a decline in advances. Advances decreased $22.6 billion due mainly to a decline in borrowings by large depository institution members, offset in part by an increase in borrowings by insurance companies.
Capital – Total capital decreased to $9.5 billion at December 31, 2024, from $9.8 billion at December 31, 2023, primarily due to a decrease in activity-based capital stock resulting from a decline in advance balances.
Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Financial Highlights (preliminary and unaudited) Dollars in millions
Selected Balance Sheet Items
December 31, 2024
December 31, 2023
Advances
$
99,951
$
122,530
Investments
52,032
49,828
Mortgage loans held for portfolio, net
11,896
9,967
Total assets
165,253
184,406
Consolidated obligations
153,251
171,498
Capital stock – Class B putable
5,989
6,873
Retained earnings
3,491
3,138
Total capital
9,451
9,831
Total regulatory capital1
9,489
10,023
Regulatory capital ratio
5.74
%
5.44
%
1 Total regulatory capital includes capital stock, mandatorily redeemable capital stock, and retained earnings. The regulatory capital ratio is calculated as regulatory capital as a percentage of period end assets.
For the Three Months Ended
For the Year Ended
December 31,
December 31,
Operating Results
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net interest income
$
241
$
347
$
1,236
$
1,306
Provision (reversal) for credit losses on mortgage loans
1
—
(1
)
1
Other income (loss)
56
14
37
(15
)
Other expense
67
77
258
221
Affordable Housing Program assessments
23
28
102
107
Net income
$
206
$
256
$
914
$
962
Performance Ratios
Net interest spread
0.26
%
0.45
%
0.41
%
0.43
%
Net interest margin
0.56
0.74
0.70
0.72
Return on average equity (annualized)
8.76
10.36
9.52
10.30
Return on average assets (annualized)
0.47
0.53
0.51
0.52
The financial results reported in this earnings release for 2024 are preliminary until the Bank announces audited financial results in its 2024 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, expected to be available next month at www.fhlbdm.com and www.sec.gov.
The Bank is a member-owned cooperative whose mission is to be a reliable provider of funding, liquidity, and services for its members so that they can meet the housing, business, and economic development needs of the communities they serve. The Bank is wholly owned by nearly1,250 members,including commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions. The Bank serves Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the U.S. Pacific territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Bank is one of 11 regional banks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
Statements contained in this announcement, including statements describing the objectives, projections, estimates, or future predictions in the Bank’s operations, may be forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as believes, projects, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, strategy, plan, could, should, may, and will or their negatives or other variations on these terms. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk or uncertainty, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied or could affect the extent to which a particular objective, projection, estimate, or prediction is realized. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. A detailed discussion of the more important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ from such forward-looking statements can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of the Bank’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date they are made, and the Bank undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
