Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that GE Vernova has committed to investing at least $96 million into the company’s Advanced Research Center in Niskayuna, Schenectady County. The company plans to create 75 new jobs on-site, strengthening the Center’s electrification and decarbonization efforts, while advancing transformative technologies including carbon dioxide removal, alternative fuels for power generation and developing the grid of the future. Today’s announcement will support technological advancements that reduce emissions and drive New York State toward a future where clean energy not only boosts the state’s economy, but also reflects the State’s shared commitment to sustainability and opportunity.
“The clean energy future is bringing new investments, good-paying jobs and a cleaner environment to our state, and we’re proud to work alongside GE Vernova as we further our shared vision in Niskayuna and beyond,” Governor Hochul said. “New York is becoming a leading manufacturing and R&D hub for clean energy; bringing us closer to achieving our climate agenda and building a better, cleaner future for generations to come.”
The company has committed to investing at least $96 million and plans to build two new state-of-the-art laboratories focused on electrification and decarbonization, expand existing facilities, and rehabilitate two other buildings at the on-site Renewable Learning Center in support of its clean energy research and development efforts. The company has committed to creating at least 75 new full-time jobs at the Advanced Research Center. Empire State Development has agreed to provide up to $9.635 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits to support GE Vernova’s job creation effort. Additionally, Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority has been invited to pursue FAST NY grant funding to support future on-site infrastructure projects.
GE Vernova Advanced Research Vice President David Vernooysaid, “GE Vernova is committed to strengthening its world class research and development center designed to advance the world’s progress in the energy transition, continuing our long history of innovation here in the Capital Region. This investment aims to enable game changing technologies through state-of-the-art labs, a new customer experience center, and collaboration space to advance partnerships with governments, customers, thought leaders and innovators alike. We are ready to lead, and excited about the breakthroughs this investment will bring forward.”
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State continues to invest in the companies, technologies and jobs of the future to promote sustainable economic growth. GE Vernova’s Advanced Research Center has a rich history of next-generation developments, and the investments announced today will create new jobs and support new solutions to complex challenges that further the Capital Region’s legacy of innovation.”
GE Vernova’s Advanced Research Center in Niskayuna has a legacy of developing game-changing technologies, from gas turbines designed to be the world’s most efficient, to advanced algorithms for efficient and resilient grid planning, operations and maintenance, to small modular nuclear reactors and 100 percent hydrogen combustion for carbon-free power generation.
This project will support research and development efforts that advance new innovations and technologies in clean, sustainable and alternative fuels. GE Vernova will build a cutting-edge, premier laboratory space designed to drive down the energy use and capital expenditure of carbon capture, while developing and delivering fuels that will allow combustion without carbon. The company’s investment will also prioritize research into multi-terminal high-voltage direct current, a key to expanding the capabilities and functionality of the United States power grid of the future. It will also strengthen the ability to connect multiple sources of power generation to the grid. By driving advancements in clean energy technology, this investment will help reduce the cost of renewable power, making sustainable energy more affordable and accessible for both consumers and businesses.
Through the New York Power Authority’s RechargeNY low-cost power program, GE Vernova has been awarded 9,440 kW in return for its commitments to the State.
New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “General Electric’s legacy of innovation is closely tied to Schenectady County, and this $96 million investment will help ensure that clean energy jobs of the future remain here in New York State. With support from NYPA low-cost hydropower, GE Vernova’s expansion will help develop and explore new, transformative technologies that will help decarbonize our state and others, and strengthen our electric grid.”
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Innovation, research and technology are the cornerstones of New York State’s transition to a sustainable and affordable clean energy transition. The GE Vernova Advanced Research Center innovation investments will help further the State’s climate and energy priorities while spurring additional economic development as part of our growing green economy.”
Schenectady County Legislature Chair Gary Hughes said, “We are grateful to Governor Hochul and Empire State Development for their dedicated efforts that have resulted in this historic investment in GE Vernova’s Advanced Research Center. These transformative investments will create high-tech jobs, fuel economic growth, and strengthen our position as a hub for innovation. We thank our Metroplexteam for collaborating with ESD and we are proud that GE continues to make substantial investments in Schenectady County.”
Niskayuna Supervisor Erin Cassady-Dorion said, “We thank GE Vernova for making this investment and commitment to Niskayuna’s Advanced Research Center. The Town will continue to work with State and County partners to move this project forward, and we thank Governor Hochul and Empire State Development for their efforts that were key in making this happen.”
New York State’s Climate Agenda
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation and waste sectors.
South African poetry, rich with history, has long been an underappreciated cornerstone of the country’s cultural landscape. But a new free-to-access digital archive is helping change that.
Focused on the poets published by a small but important press in a town called Makhanda in the Eastern Cape province, the Deep South Books and Archive initiative seeks to elevate their voices by offering an archive of background information about their work and lives as well as extensive excerpts from their books. It’s a rare window into a vital but overlooked tradition of South African literature.
Robert Berold, after spending a decade as editor for New Coin journal, set up Deep South in 1995. For decades he has had a quiet influence on the South African poetry scene. His impulse to publish emerged from a place of need and outrage that some of the talented young black poets he was publishing in New Coin couldn’t get their books published in the new, democratic South Africa.
Many of these poets had been using their words to fight for freedom, while a new generation of young poets was emerging with democracy. Ever since, Deep South has been an important arena where South African poets and their poems could speak to one another.
My work on African literary production shows the importance of small presses in creating local literary ecologies.
To publish what was considered to be innovative and risk-taking South African poetry, regardless of market limitations.
His many endeavours as a publisher, editor and teacher have been linked by the effort to rescue from oblivion, to supply context, to indicate points of continuity while insisting on the diversity of the South African experience.
After 30 years of publishing, Berold is now sharing a vast catalogue and archive that would otherwise remain unknown. Even though the African Poetry Digital Portal, hosted by the University of Nebraska in the US, was created as a resource for the study of the history of African poetry from antiquity to the present, it does not give direct reference to particular communities.
In bringing this archive to the internet, Berold is revealing the process and method of how contemporary South African poetry has been shaped into being.
Behind the poems
Much of the archive material is what Berold accumulated in dealing with the poets – correspondence, manuscripts, reviews. This is also physically deposited at the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature. He explains:
I got into correspondence with everyone who sent in poems, trying to give helpful criticism, recommending poets for them to read. There was a certain inappropriateness about this at times, and some arrogance too on my part, but mostly people appreciated the feedback.
The “difficult miracle of Black poetry”, as US poet June Jordan once remarked, is that it persists, published or not, loved or unloved. In racially segregated South Africa during apartheid, publishing spaces were few and far between.
Black poets were often censored, banned or exiled as their work confronted the injustices of a racist system. This digital archive recasts the story of South African poetry as insurgent, independent and driven to define a distinct aesthetic.
Deep South has, furthermore, made a particular impression by fostering a unique aesthetic in South African poetry through its investments in typography and design. As a small, independent press situated away from culture capitals – Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg – it has had the freedom to experiment.
Deep South Books and Archive is therefore a significant tribute to the persistence of South African poetry, despite many historical and structural inequalities. It is a catalogue and a digital archive that provides a unique entry point into modern South African poetry.
Clicking through the carousel of finely designed book covers leads one to excerpts, book reviews, interviews available as PDF files, as well as links to other multimedia resources.
Rampolokeng’s work may be iconoclastic, experimental, unclassifiable but he found a home with this press. He has publishedseveral of his groundbreaking collections with them. Defying category, they bend and shift, and culminate into a remarkable linguistic virtuoso. His interviews are an extension of his art, reflexive, autobiographical, and works in themselves.
Unrecognised poets
Then there are poets like Motadinyane and Zhuwao who died far too early, leaving behind only single collections. Luckily, even if their portraits and writings are fragmentary, we’re at least witness to the poetic geniuses that might have been. This is the superpower of this archive, to serve as a memorial for a canon (or collection of literary texts) that wasn’t even close to being fully blossomed.
Historically, canon construction is the work of the few, foremost among them academics who edit anthologies and design syllabuses. Most of these poets do not feature in scholarly journals. As a result they almost exist in the underground, unremarked. Berold, now in his 70s and approaching retirement, has decided to do something about that with a digital archive that surfaces the voices of lesser-known poets.
The lack of recognition for these poets is bothersome for him:
Why nobody in academe has registered the importance of these poets is beyond me. It really makes me wonder whether these professional literary people are able to read.
This is mostly an indictment of systems that undervalue black expression.
This project may be for preservation, but there is another lesson: African literature demands constant acts of recovery. In this case, the internet serves as a kind of rear view mirror, which allows us a backward glance at poets and their works that have been overlooked or underappreciated, forgotten or misunderstood.
Tinashe Mushakavanhu 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 – Africa – By Helga Dickow, Senior Researcher at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institut, Freiburg Germany, University of Freiburg
Chad held parliamentary elections in late December 2024. The final results released on 21 January 2025 gave the well-established former ruling party, the Movement Patriotique du Salut (MPS), 124 seats out of 188.
The result has meant that Mahamat Déby has given himself a degree of legitimacy as president through elections. He can comfortably remain in power for at least another five or even ten years.
I have been following Chad’s politics from inside and outside the country for more than 15 years. In my view, Mahamat Déby’s actions during the transition, with the help of the transitional authorities and his late father’s old teams, were aimed at keeping him in power. The December 2024 parliamentary elections were a formality. The poll was not won on polling day. It was clear from the run-up that, as was the case with the May 2024 presidential elections, every effort was being made to minimise the success of the opposition.
Four factors stand out. They are the composition of the electoral authorities, lack of an up-to-date electoral register, violence against dissenting voices, and high costs of participation in the election.
In my view Chadians’ trust in the democratic process has ceased completely. This bodes ill for a country that ranks as one of the poorest. It is also one of the most corrupt. The consolidation of Mahamat Déby’s power could widen the social divide and lead to violent conflict between different groups in Chad, which is highly stratified along ethnic and religious lines.
Dissatisfaction with his decades of autocratic rule characterised Idriss Déby’s reign. Political-military movements challenged him regularly, and the last attack led to his death.
This dissatisfaction will continue and could once again lead to violent conflicts.
Mahamat Déby and the Movement Patriotique du Salut took a number of steps to secure victory in the election.
Firstly, the presidents of the electoral authority ANGE (Agence Nationale de Gestion des Élections) and of the constitutional court nominated by Mahamat Déby were responsible for organising and for validating elections (and will continue to be responsible until 2031). Having been loyal to Idriss Déby and now to his son, they cannot be trusted to be objective and independent in their pronouncements and final decisions.
Secondly, the electoral register was last updated in August 2024. Therefore, young people who had just turned 18 could not vote. In Chad, the majority of the population is under 25. Young people in particular in the south support the opposition.
Thirdly, the transitional regime’s violent crackdown on opposing voices played a role in the final outcome of the election.
The transition was initially characterised by peace talks with the political-military movements and by expanding the security sector to secure its rule. In October 2022, several hundred mainly young people were killed by security forces while demonstrating against the extension of the transition and Mahamat Déby’s candidacy for presidency.
In February 2024 Yaya Dillo, a cousin of Mahamat Deby and a potential rival in the presidential elections, was shot dead by security forces.
In May 2024, Mahamat Déby was elected president. In December 2024 he took on the title of marshal – previously held only by his father.
The opposition was also hampered in participating in the poll for financial reasons. Taking part in the elections is expensive. Each candidate in the parliamentary election had to pay 500,000 CFA (US$785) to the treasury. Candidates for the provincial election paid 200,000 CFA (US$314). In poverty-stricken Chad, without regular funding for political parties, it was particularly difficult for smaller parties to meet these criteria.
The situation was different for the ruling party, founded by Idriss Déby. For decades it has benefited from state resources. It is the only party with a nationwide presence. Other parties are mainly active in the regions of their founders.
Opposition parties called for a boycott. The Groupe de Concertation des Acteurs Politiques, a coalition of nine parties, criticised the new electoral law and the lack of transparency of the count at the polling stations.
Succès Masra, leader of Les Transformateurs, a former prime minister who came second in the 2024 presidential elections, also called for a boycott. He accused the government of falsifying the results of the parliamentary election beforehand and of having the final lists saved in a computer. His party did not participate in the poll.
The results of the parliamentary elections presented on 11 January 2025 by Ahmed Barticheret, president of the electoral commission, and confirmed by the constitutional court on 21 January, therefore revealed no surprises.
Alongside the huge victory of the Movement Patriotique du Salut, two other parties not really in opposition won 12 and 7 seats respectively. The other successful parties won just one seat each. Chad has over 300 political parties, of which 38 are represented in the new parliament.
Movement Patriotique du Salut has an overwhelming majority in parliament. This means that there are no checks and balances. Like his father, Mahamat Déby can continue to rule without any parliamentary control.
He is already used to that. Since 2021, he has appointed members of the transitional parliament by presidential decree. The few voices of individual members of parliament belonging to the “real” opposition have no influence.
As the low turnout – put at 40% on election day – shows, the majority of voters did not expect the election result to change the political situation. On the other hand, supporters of the ruling party continue to benefit from proximity to power and state resources.
As dissatisfaction continues, the possibility of renewed attacks by dissidents cannot be ruled out. If it is not a military attack, frustrated individuals might try to target the presidency or other symbols of the regime.
In early January 2025 a group of unidentified young people reportedly attacked the presidency. The incident was played down by the government spokesman, leaving plenty of room for speculation.
But it was a reminder that a peaceful future is not assured.
Helga Dickow 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.
DeepSeek burst on the scene – and may be bursting some bubbles.AP Photo/Andy Wong
State-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude have captured the public imagination by producing fluent text in multiple languages in response to user prompts. Those companies have also captured headlines with the huge sums they’ve invested to build ever more powerful models.
An AI startup from China, DeepSeek, has upset expectations about how much money is needed to build the latest and greatest AIs. In the process, they’ve cast doubt on the billions of dollars of investment by the big AI players.
I study machine learning. DeepSeek’s disruptive debut comes down not to any stunning technological breakthrough but to a time-honored practice: finding efficiencies. In a field that consumes vast computing resources, that has proved to be significant.
Where the costs are
Developing such powerful AI systems begins with building a large language model. A large language model predicts the next word given previous words. For example, if the beginning of a sentence is “The theory of relativity was discovered by Albert,” a large language model might predict that the next word is “Einstein.” Large language models are trained to become good at such predictions in a process called pretraining.
Pretraining requires a lot of data and computing power. The companies collect data by crawling the web and scanning books. Computing is usually powered by graphics processing units, or GPUs. Why graphics? It turns out that both computer graphics and the artificial neural networks that underlie large language models rely on the same area of mathematics known as linear algebra. Large language models internally store hundreds of billions of numbers called parameters or weights. It is these weights that are modified during pretraining.
Large language models consume huge amounts of computing resources, which in turn means lots of energy.
Pretraining is, however, not enough to yield a consumer product like ChatGPT. A pretrained large language model is usually not good at following human instructions. It might also not be aligned with human preferences. For example, it might output harmful or abusive language, both of which are present in text on the web.
The pretrained model therefore usually goes through additional stages of training. One such stage is instruction tuning where the model is shown examples of human instructions and expected responses. After instruction tuning comes a stage called reinforcement learning from human feedback. In this stage, human annotators are shown multiple large language model responses to the same prompt. The annotators are then asked to point out which response they prefer.
It is easy to see how costs add up when building an AI model: hiring top-quality AI talent, building a data center with thousands of GPUs, collecting data for pretraining, and running pretraining on GPUs. Additionally, there are costs involved in data collection and computation in the instruction tuning and reinforcement learning from human feedback stages.
All included, costs for building a cutting edge AI model can soar up to US$100 million. GPU training is a significant component of the total cost.
The expenditure does not stop when the model is ready. When the model is deployed and responds to user prompts, it uses more computation known as test time or inference time compute. Test time compute also needs GPUs. In December 2024, OpenAI announced a new phenomenon they saw with their latest model o1: as test time compute increased, the model got better at logical reasoning tasks such as math olympiad and competitive coding problems.
Slimming down resource consumption
Thus it seemed that the path to building the best AI models in the world was to invest in more computation during both training and inference. But then DeepSeek entered the fray and bucked this trend.
DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the tech financial ecosystem.
Their V-series models, culminating in the V3 model, used a series of optimizations to make training cutting edge AI models significantly more economical. Their technical report states that it took them less than $6 million dollars to train V3. They admit that this cost does not include costs of hiring the team, doing the research, trying out various ideas and data collection. But $6 million is still an impressively small figure for training a model that rivals leading AI models developed with much higher costs.
The reduction in costs was not due to a single magic bullet. It was a combination of many smart engineering choices including using fewer bits to represent model weights, innovation in the neural network architecture, and reducing communication overhead as data is passed around between GPUs.
It is interesting to note that due to U.S. export restrictions on China, the DeepSeek team did not have access to high performance GPUs like the Nvidia H100. Instead they used Nvidia H800 GPUs, which Nvidia designed to be lower performance so that they comply with U.S. export restrictions. Working with this limitation seems to have unleashed even more ingenuity from the DeepSeek team.
DeepSeek also innovated to make inference cheaper, reducing the cost of running the model. Moreover, they released a model called R1 that is comparable to OpenAI’s o1 model on reasoning tasks.
They released all the model weights for V3 and R1 publicly. Anyone can download and further improve or customize their models. Furthermore, DeepSeek released their models under the permissive MIT license, which allows others to use the models for personal, academic or commercial purposes with minimal restrictions.
Resetting expectations
DeepSeek has fundamentally altered the landscape of large AI models. An open weights model trained economically is now on par with more expensive and closed models that require paid subscription plans.
The research community and the stock market will need some time to adjust to this new reality.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On January 29, 2024, a ceremonial signing of a cooperation agreement between the State University of Management and the Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin took place.
On behalf of our university, the signature was put by Rector Vladimir Stroyev, on behalf of KubSAU – by Rector Alexander Trubilin. In addition to them, the meeting was attended by Advisor to the Rector’s Office of the State University of Management Nikolay Mikhailov and Head of the Department for Coordination of Scientific Research of the State University of Management Maxim Pletnev, as well as Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Credit of KubSAU Alexander Adamenko.
The first step in implementing the agreement will be the opening of a network educational program for bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Business Management. The new educational program provides the opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s degree in economics and management within the framework of one diploma. It provides for alternating study locations: Krasnodar (first and second years) – Moscow (third year) – Krasnodar (fourth year).
Welcoming the guests, Vladimir Stroyev noted that the meeting had been planned for quite a long time and had finally taken place. The rector briefly spoke about the history of the State University of Management, which is noticeably longer than the official 105 years. During this time, the university has participated and continues to participate in many global state transformations.
Vladimir Vitalievich spoke in more detail about the main historical areas of the university’s work. He spoke about the first department of personnel management in the country. He shared the successes of the department of state and municipal management. And he placed special emphasis on the approach to management that has changed over time. Fortunately, the State University of Management managed to preserve some areas of industry management, which is again in great demand in the labor market today.
The rector also particularly noted that GUU has taken the path of developing network programs. In this regard, our university is a leader in Russia. At the moment, eight such programs are being implemented and three more are in development.
Rector of KubSAU Alexander Trubilin admitted that they also have a task to develop network programs, but so far only one is being implemented, with MGIMO. And since the State University of Management has gone so far ahead, it makes even more sense to cooperate in this direction and adopt experience.
Aleksandr Ivanovich also spoke about the specifics of working in the Krasnodar Region, a region with the highest population growth in the country and a 50/50 urban-rural ratio. The region’s universities are faced with the task of maintaining this ratio, that is, helping to retain young specialists in the field. For the comprehensive development of rural areas, KubSAU is expanding the range of educational programs and seeking cooperation with other universities.
In response to this, Vladimir Stroyev spoke about the activities of the Eurasian Network University, which has already gone beyond not only the Eurasian Economic Union, but also the geographical boundaries of Eurasia. The rector invited his colleague to join the consortium if he wished.
Maxim Pletnev, Head of the Scientific Research Coordination Department of the State University of Management, told the guests about the university’s scientific work, in particular about the digital estate project, which is a core project for KubSAU and is being implemented jointly with the Omsk Agricultural Research Center and the Udmurt State University. He reported on the trip of young scientists from the State University of Management to an internship at the largest agricultural holding company, STEPPE, as a result of which the university received an order to develop import-substituted parts for agricultural machinery. He also mentioned joint projects within the framework of the RosGeoTech Advanced Engineering School.
The final part of the visit was the excursion program, within the framework of which the guests visited the Pre-University of the State University of Management, asking with interest about the number of students, the conditions for admission, the academic performance of schoolchildren and the number of those entering our university after that. Representatives of KubSAU looked into the Sports Complex and the Information Technology Center. They also visited the Media Center, which they were completely delighted with. They lingered for a long time in the laboratory of the Director of the Engineering Project Management Center Vladimir Filatov, who spoke about the work of the inter-university design bureau, clarified the details of the digital village project and gave examples of joint developments with TMH Engineering. Also, the head of engineering projects of the State University of Management showed on the screen of the work computer a project of an unmanned aerial vehicle, which is currently at the exhibition, and said that flight tests will take place this year. The guests were interested in the development and offered to use their test site for the first flights of the drone from the State University of Management.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 01/29/2025
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Financial results reflect the second full quarter following the completed merger of Main Street Financial Services Corp. (Main Street) and Wayne Savings Bancshares, Inc. (Wayne) on May 31, 2024.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $3.2 million, or $0.41 per common share
Annualized deposit growth of 19.7% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024
Reduced reliance on wholesale funding by $40 million during the fourth quarter of 2024
Declared cash dividend of $0.14 per share on January 10, 2025
WOOSTER, Ohio, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Main Street Financial Services Corp. (OTCQX: MSWV), (the “Company”), the holding company parent of Main Street Bank Corp. reported a net income of $3.2 million, or $0.41 per common share, for the three months ended December 31, 2024. The return on average equity and return on average assets for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 11.69% and 0.90%, compared to 16.90% and 1.02%, for the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Company announced a merger of equals transaction with Wayne Savings Bancshares, Inc. (“Legacy Wayne”) on February 23, 2023. On May 31, 2024 (the “Merger Date”), the Company completed the transaction, forming a financial holding company with assets of $1.4 billion. On the Merger Date, Legacy Wayne merged with and into Main Street, with Main Street surviving the merger (the “Merger”). Immediately following the Merger, Main Street’s wholly owned bank subsidiary, Main Street Bank Corp., merged with and into Wayne Savings Community Bank, with Wayne Savings Community Bank surviving the merger. Upon completion of the Merger, Wayne Savings Community Bank was renamed Main Street Bank Corp.
The Merger was accounted for as a reverse merger using the acquisition method of accounting, therefore, Legacy Wayne was deemed the acquirer for financial reporting purposes, even though Main Street was the legal acquirer. Accordingly, Legacy Wayne’s historical financial statements are the historical financial statements of the combined company for all periods before the Merger Date. Our consolidated statements of income for the quarters ended June 30, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2024, include the results from Main Street on and after May 31, 2024. Results for periods before May 31, 2024, reflect only those of Legacy Wayne and do not include the consolidated statements of income of Main Street. Accordingly, comparisons of our results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, with those of prior periods may not be meaningful. The number of shares issued and outstanding, earnings per share, dividends paid and all references to share quantities of Main Street have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect the equivalent number of shares issued in the Merger.
President and CEO James R. VanSickle commented, “I am proud of the dedication and hard work displayed by Main Street Bank’s team of community bankers throughout 2024. They have been instrumental in the improvement of our operational efficiencies, enhancement of our customer experience and delivering long-term value for our shareholders. I would like to thank our customers, shareholders and our communities for their confidence in Main Street Bank.”
Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Net interest income was $10.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, an increase of 103.4% from $5.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The net interest margin of 3.19% for the fourth quarter of 2024 increased 46 basis points from 2.73% for the fourth quarter of 2023. Loan yields were 6.12% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, an increase of 82 basis points when compared to 5.30% for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The loan yield increase is the result of variable rate loan repricing, new loan originations at current markets rates and purchase accounting accretion on acquired loans. Investment yields increased 122 basis points to 3.59% as of December 31, 2024 when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The cost of funds for the fourth quarter of 2024, was 2.66%, an increase of 33 basis points when compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The cost of funds increase is largely due to shifting deposit composition to higher-yielding product offerings and utilizing higher-cost wholesale funding, such FHLB advances. The cost of total deposits was 2.25% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, a 21 basis point increase when compared to 2.04% for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The cost of borrowings for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 totaled 5.64%, an increase of 94 basis points when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023.
A provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments of $79,000 was recorded for the quarter ended December 30, 2024. During the quarter, the Company recognized $20,000 in charge-offs and $5,000 in recoveries, reflecting relatively stable asset quality.
Noninterest income totaled $1.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $148,000, or 14.6%, when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Noninterest income declined by $435,000 when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2024. During the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the Company recognized a gain on the sale of investments totaling $702,000.
Noninterest expense totaled $8.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $4.2 million when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Noninterest expense increased by $87,000 when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2024 due to increased incentive compensation and a charge related to the disposition of an REO property. The increase reflects a full quarter of combined expenses after completion of the merger.
The provision for income taxes for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, decreased by $246,000 compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2024. This reduction was primarily driven by the Company’s reassessment of the West Virginia state income tax impact.
December 31, 2024 Financial Condition
At December 31, 2024, the Company had total assets of $1.41 billion with net loan balances totaling $1.11 billion. Loan balances remained relatively unchanged for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. As part of the merger, the Company acquired $430.8 million in loans.
The allowance for credit losses was $11.8 million at December 31, 2024, compared to $7.3 million at December 31, 2023. The increase is a result of establishing an allowance for credit losses on the acquired non-PCD loan portfolio during the second quarter of 2024. The allowance for credit losses as a percent of total loans was 1.05%, compared to 1.09% as of December 31, 2023. The allowance for credit losses and the related provision for credit losses is based on management’s judgment and evaluation of the loan portfolio. Management believes the current allowance for credit losses is adequate, however, changing economic and other conditions may require future adjustments to the allowance for credit losses.
Total nonperforming loans (NPLs) was $6.1 million at December 31, 2024, an increase from $0.6 million at December 31, 2023. The NPL to net loan receivable ratio was 0.55% as of December 31, 2024. Past due loan balances of 30 days and more increased from $2.8 million at December 31, 2023, to $13.8 million, or 1.24% of net loans outstanding, at December 31, 2024. The increase in nonperforming and past due loans is due to the impact of the acquired loan portfolio.
Improvement in Asset Quality Since Merger Announcement: The combined level of classified loans and loans past due 30 or more days for Legacy Wayne and Main Street was $24.4 million and $19.1 as of December 31, 2022. Since the merger announcement on February 23, 2023, the management teams of both Main Street and Wayne invested a great deal of time ensuring our combined organization utilizes strong underwriting standards and proactively monitors credit quality. Main Street sold approximately $15.2 million of loans in August 2023 and April 2024, of which approximately $12.7 million were classified loans. As of December 31, 2024, the resultant Company has $14.8 of classified loans and $13.8 of loans past due 30 or more days.
Total liabilities increased to $1.30 billion at December 31, 2024 with deposits totaling $1.16 billion and FHLB advances totaling $100.0 million. Deposits grew by $54.3 million, or 19.7% annualized, during the fourth quarter of 2024. As part of the merger, the Company acquired $487.4 million in deposits. As of December 31, 2024, the Company held no brokered deposits compared to $116.7 million at December 31, 2023. The Company leverages FHLB advances for short-term funding needs due to their accessibility and alignment with prevailing market rates. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company reduced the reliance on FHLB advances by $40 million.
Total stockholders’ equity was $110.6 million at December 31, 2024, an increase of $57.7 million when compared to the December 31, 2023 balance. The increase was primarily driven by the merger between Main Street and Wayne. Total stockholders’ equity decreased during the fourth quarter of 2024 primarily from a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income of $4.7 million and dividends of $1.1 million, partially offset by net income of $3.2 million.
Main Street Financial Services Corp. is a holding company headquartered in Wooster, Ohio. Its primary subsidiary, Main Street Bank Corp. was founded in 1899 and provides full-service banking, commercial lending, and mortgage services across its branch infrastructure. Today, Main Street Bank Corp. operates 19 branch locations in Wooster, Ohio, Wheeling, West Virginia and other surrounding communities in Ohio and West Virginia. Additional information about Main Street Bank Corp. is available at www.mymainstreetbank.bank.
Non-GAAP Disclosure This press release includes disclosures of the Company’s return on average equity, return on average assets, net income, and efficiency ratios which are excluding costs related to merger activities which are financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flow that excludes or includes amounts that are required to be disclosed by GAAP. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide both management and investors a more complete understanding of the underlying operational results and trends and the Company’s marketplace performance. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the numbers prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Forward-Looking–Statements This release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts and that are intended to be “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts and pertain to the Company’s future operating results. When used in this release, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements, because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company’s control. These include but are not limited to: the possibility of adverse economic developments that may, among other things, increase default and delinquency risks in the Company’s loan portfolios; shifts in interest rates; shifts in the rate of inflation; shifts in the demand for the Company’s loan and other products; unforeseen increases in costs and expenses; lower-than-expected revenue or cost savings in connection with acquisitions; changes in accounting policies; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; and changes in laws, regulations and the competitive environment. Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
COLUMBIA, Md., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tenable Holdings, Inc., (“Tenable”) (Nasdaq: TENB) the exposure management company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vulcan Cyber Ltd. (“Vulcan Cyber”), a leading innovator in exposure management. Vulcan Cyber’s capabilities will augment Tenable’s industry-leading Exposure Management platform, enhancing customers’ ability to consolidate exposures across their security stack, prioritize risks and streamline remediation efforts across the entire attack surface.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tenable will acquire Vulcan Cyber for approximately $147 million in cash and $3 million of restricted stock units (RSUs) that vest over a future period. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.
“CISOs are overwhelmed with scattered security products, siloed tools and disjointed teams which makes protecting their organizations from exposure a massive undertaking. As the pioneer behind Exposure Management, we are driven to solve this central challenge of modern security — a fragmented approach to identifying and combating cyber risk,” said Steve Vintz, Co-CEO and CFO, Tenable. “That is what this acquisition is all about. With Vulcan, we’re accelerating our Tenable One vision to radically unify security visibility, insight and action across the attack surface – from the data center to the cloud – to rapidly expose and close the gaps that put businesses at risk.”
Tenable plans to expand the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform with Vulcan Cyber’s robust capabilities, including enhanced visibility, extended third-party data flows, superior risk prioritization, and optimized remediation. By consolidating and aggregating vast amounts of data into the most comprehensive Exposure Management platform, Tenable is empowering organizations to confidently reduce risk across their entire environment.
“These capabilities aren’t just technical enhancements – they represent a fundamental shift in how organizations will manage cyber risks holistically into the future. For example, while having a cloud security platform is critical on its own, its power is exponentially amplified when treated as part of a comprehensive exposure management approach,” said Mark Thurmond, Co-CEO and COO, Tenable. “By uniting disparate tools and data under one roof, we’re providing security teams with a full-spectrum view of their attack surface, enabling them to prioritize what matters most and act decisively to address vulnerabilities.”
A Unified Vision for Exposure Management
With the addition of Vulcan Cyber, Tenable One customers will gain:
Expanded Third-Party Ecosystem Data: By integrating with more than 100 security products across vulnerability assessment, endpoint security, cloud security, application security, and threat intelligence, Tenable will ingest, normalize, and unify data across the security stack. This streamlined approach centralizes critical data and empowers security teams to operate more efficiently and proactively across the entire attack surface.
AI-Powered Risk Prioritization: Siloed security products create blind spots where attackers thrive, leaving critical gaps across the attack surface. Enhanced risk prioritization closes these gaps by integrating enriched threat intelligence and context, helping organizations focus on the most critical vulnerabilities while optimizing the use of their security tools and technology.
Automated Remediation Workflows: Optimized remediation with automated campaigns, advanced tagging and ticketing ensure that security issues, along with corrective guidance, get into the hands of the right security team members to automatically fix exposures quickly, wherever they might exist in their environment.
Advanced AI capabilities: Leveraging a single unified risk data set, Tenable is laying the foundation for advanced exposure AI capabilities that will revolutionize how customers manage and mitigate risk across the security stack.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with Tenable. Integrating Vulcan Cyber’s capabilities into the Tenable One platform will uniquely address all exposure management use cases across the entire attack surface,” said Yaniv Bar-Dayan, Co-Founder and CEO, Vulcan Cyber. “For the first time at scale, security teams will be able to consolidate exposure findings from multiple sources into a single, actionable interface. We are excited to start working with Tenable and their customers to remediate exposure risk.”
About Vulcan Cyber Vulcan Cyber is a pioneer in cyber risk management. Its flagship ExposureOS platform helps businesses reduce vulnerabilities and asset risk through measurable and efficient attack surface security. Investors include YL Ventures, TenEleven Ventures, Dawn Capital, Maor Investments and Wipro Ventures. Learn more at https://vulcan.io.
About Tenable Tenable® is the exposure management company, exposing and closing the cybersecurity gaps that erode business value, reputation and trust. The company’s AI-powered exposure management platform radically unifies security visibility, insight and action across the attack surface, equipping modern organizations to protect against attacks from IT infrastructure to cloud environments to critical infrastructure and everywhere in between. By protecting enterprises from security exposure, Tenable reduces business risk for approximately 44,000 customers around the globe. Learn more at tenable.com.
Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information related to Tenable, and its potential acquisition of Vulcan Cyber Ltd. that involves substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words: “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “explore,” “evaluate,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” or “will,” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on Tenable’s current plans, objectives, estimates, expectations and intentions and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Tenable’s control. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, among other things, statements about the potential benefits of the acquisition and product developments and other possible or assumed business strategies, potential growth opportunities, new products, potential market opportunities, and the anticipated timing of the closing of the acquisition. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to successfully integrate Vulcan Cyber’s operations; our ability to implement our plans, expectations with respect to Vulcan Cyber’s business; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition, including the possibility that the expected benefits from the acquisition will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; disruption from the acquisition making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; the inability to retain key employees; the negative effects of the consummation of the acquisition on the market price of our common stock or on our operating results; unknown liabilities; attracting new customers and maintaining and expanding our existing customer base; our ability to scale and update our platform to respond to customers’ needs and rapid technological change, increased competition on our market and our ability to compete effectively, and expansion of our operations and increased adoption of our platform internationally.
Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect our financial results are included in the section titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 and other filings that we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this communication are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LPL Financial LLC announced today that financial advisors John P. Schlatter, CFP®, Robert Rojano, Alec Hoag, CFP®, and Michael Madden, CFA®, have joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. They reported serving approximately $1 billion in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets* and join LPL from Osaic.
Based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Schlatter founded Salient Wealth Planning Group to provide clients with customized investment strategies, financial planning and wealth preservation services emphasizing tax efficiency and wealth transfer through multiple generations. The advisors take an interdisciplinary approach to help ensure all aspects of each client’s financial situation are coordinated and reviewed.
“We take a holistic process to build on the foundations that clients have already laid, and we believe good planning helps the right choices reveal themselves,” Schlatter said, noting they primarily work with high-net-worth clients. “Our services are rooted in developing deep personal relationships to help families navigate the challenges and opportunities of managing generational wealth.”
The Salient team selected LPL for its advanced capabilities and commitment to providing exceptional customer service experiences.
“The foundation of our business is built on value-added consulting and meticulous planning,” Schlatter said. “To perpetuate this legacy, we require a stable partner to meet this standard through superior customer service and technology. With LPL, we have a dedicated service team and access to a wide range of innovative capabilities, strategic business solutions and research.”
Schlatter said he appreciates LPL’s significant technology investment, including approximately $500 million in 2024 for innovation and infrastructure enhancements. He said, “As a Fortune 500 company, LPL is a leading wealth management firm that puts our business and clients in a better position for a more successful future. Most of our clients have been with us for more than 20 years, and we are excited to continue enhancing their experiences over the next 20 years.”
Scott Posner, LPL Executive Vice President, Business Development, said, “We welcome John, Robert, Alec and Michael to the LPL community. We look forward to supporting their vision by providing elevated services and integrated technology to help them remain competitive in the evolving wealth management landscape. LPL’s sophisticated wealth management platform and robust business tools are designed with advisors in mind, to help them run thriving practices and be successful in serving the needs of their clients.”
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) is among the fastest growing wealth management firms in the U.S. As a leader in the financial advisor-mediated marketplace, LPL supports more than 28,000 financial advisors and the wealth management practices of approximately 1,200 financial institutions, servicing and custodying approximately $1.8 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets on behalf of 6 million Americans. The firm provides a wide range of advisor affiliation models, investment solutions, fintech tools and practice management services, ensuring that advisors and institutions have the flexibility to choose the business model, services, and technology resources they need to run thriving businesses. For further information about LPL, please visit www.lpl.com.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial (LPL), a registered investment advisor and broker dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. LPL Financial and its affiliated companies provide financial services only from the United States. Salient Wealth Planning Group and LPL are separate entities.
Throughout this communication, the terms “financial advisors” and “advisors” are used to refer to registered representatives and/or investment advisor representatives affiliated with LPL Financial.
We routinely disclose information that may be important to shareholders in the “Investor Relations” or “Press Releases” section of our website.
*Value approximated based on asset and holding details provided to LPL from end of year, 2024.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CBE Customer Solutions is excited to announce Rachel Rybicki as the new Chief Client Success Officer. Bringing 25 years of BPO experience and a reputation for innovation, Rachel joins CBE ready to take client success to a new level with expanded outsourcing services and go-to-market strategies.
Rybicki’s career spans industries from healthcare and insurance to fintech and high-tech. She has managed a $250 million portfolio, designed game-changing client growth strategies, and led high-touch service delivery for global brands. Her expertise combines digital CX, right-shoring and cost efficiency with AI-driven solutions and transformative tech. Rybicki knows how to optimize processes from global labor models to interaction analytics, and she’s always looking for opportunities to drive growth and value for clients.
“Rachel brings a wealth of experience in client success management and a deep understanding of the BPO landscape,” said Erica Parks, CBE’s President and CEO. “Her strategic mindset and proven track record in building strong client relationships make her an excellent fit for this pivotal role within our organization!”
As CBE’s Chief Client Success Officer, Rybicki will lead our efforts to ensure the success and satisfaction of our valued clients in the BPO sector and drive strategic growth for our organization. She will work closely with our teams to develop and implement innovative strategies that deliver exceptional service and tangible results for our strategic global partners.
Rybicki shared her thoughts on CBE’s mission and future: “CBE is a special place, starting 90+ years ago as a family-owned company, doing very good work with very good people to run large, complex collections contracts. Our mission now is to accelerate growth in the BPO / Customer Solutions space. Everything we do is centered around integrity and trust, and the best client and customer experiences. I’m surrounded by an entrepreneurial executive team, and an energized sales & marketing team. We have such a solid foundation of people and capabilities, more than ready to make 2025 a year of continued growth and expansion. I’m really proud and excited.”
When she is not creating impactful client and customer solutions, you can find Rachel cheering for the Buffalo Bills, hosting friends and family, or supporting her kids from the bleachers at their football, basketball, baseball/softball, and volleyball games. Based in Buffalo, NY, Rachel balances her fast-paced career with family and community connections. Join us in welcoming Rachel Rybicki to the CBE family!
About CBE Customer Solutions
CBE Customer Solutions is a leading provider of business process outsourcing and customer experience solutions. With a focus on delivering exceptional service, CBE is committed to helping clients across industries optimize their operations, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. For more information about how we’re shaking up the BPO industry, visit https://cbecustomersolutions.com or connect with us on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
For media inquiries or to learn more about CBE’s innovative BPO solutions, please contact CBE Marketing Director at casey.cipoletti@cbecompanies.com.
RENO, Nev., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plumas Bancorp (“Plumas”) (Nasdaq: PLBC) and Cornerstone Community Bancorp (“Cornerstone”) (OTCPK: CRSB) jointly announce the signing of a definitive merger agreement (the “Agreement”) whereby Plumas will acquire Cornerstone in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $64.6 million (the “Transaction”) based on the closing price of $47.76 for Plumas shares on January 28, 2025. On a pro forma consolidated basis, the combined company would have approximately $2.3 billion in assets, $2.0 billion in deposits, $1.5 billion in loans, and operate 19 branches throughout Northern California and Western Nevada.
Cornerstone, headquartered in Red Bluff, California, is the parent company of Cornerstone Community Bank, a 19-year-old bank with approximately $658 million in assets as of December 31, 2024. Cornerstone Community Bank operates through four branches throughout the Northern California counties of Shasta and Tehama.
“We are thrilled to announce our merger agreement with Cornerstone,” said Andrew J. Ryback, President and Chief Executive Officer, Plumas Bancorp. “Our companies share a connection to the people and businesses who have built their livelihoods throughout Northern California. Bringing together the team of local experts at Cornerstone Community Bank with Plumas Bank’s technology and small business expertise offers even greater services for the markets we serve. We look forward to providing long-term value to our combined shareholders, clients, team members, and the communities we serve.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to join forces with Plumas, bringing our banks together to carry on our focus of providing our customers, employees and all of our stakeholders with superior products, services and support,” said Matthew B. Moseley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cornerstone, who will continue with Plumas following the acquisition. “Gaining access to Plumas’ network of offices and extensive product lines allows us to expand our footprint and offerings beyond the Shasta and Tehama communities we have served for the past 19 years. There are many similarities in our institutions and the small communities we serve. This combination will afford the two organizations the opportunity to utilize our combined years of experience to continue to deliver the outstanding experience our customers have come to expect.”
Under the terms of the Agreement, each issued and outstanding share of common stock of Cornerstone will be converted into the right to receive 0.6608 shares of common stock of Plumas and $9.75 in cash (subject to adjustment under certain circumstances). Based on the closing price of $47.76 for Plumas shares on January 28, 2025, the Transaction would result in an aggregate consideration of $64.6 million (inclusive of the value to Cornerstone stock option holders) and value of $41.31 per Cornerstone share.
Giving effect to the merger, Cornerstone shareholders will hold, in the aggregate, approximately 14% of Plumas’ outstanding common stock based on December 31, 2024 data. One current member of the Cornerstone board of directors will join the Plumas board of directors upon the merger.
Plumas expects the acquisition to be approximately 9% accretive to earnings per share in 2025 and 23% accretive in 2026. Plumas expects dilution to tangible book value per share of approximately 13% at close with a tangible book value earn-back period of less than three years. The boards of directors of Plumas and Cornerstone have approved the proposed merger, which is expected to occur in the second half of 2025 and remains subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining approval by Cornerstone’s shareholders and bank regulatory authorities.
Plumas was advised in the Transaction by Raymond James & Associates, Inc. as financial advisor and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as legal counsel. Cornerstone was advised by Performance Trust Capital Partners as financial advisor and Gary Steven Findley & Associates as legal counsel.
AboutPlumasBancorp
Plumas Bancorp is headquartered in Reno, Nevada. Plumas Bancorp’s principal subsidiary is Plumas Bank, which was founded in 1980. Plumas Bank is a full-service community bank headquartered in Quincy, California. The bank operates fifteen branches: thirteen located in the California counties of Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta and Sutter and two branches located in Nevada in the counties of Carson City and Washoe. The bank also operates two loan production offices located in Auburn, California and Klamath Falls, Oregon. Plumas Bank offers a wide range of financial and investment services to consumers and businesses and has received nationwide Preferred Lender status with the United States Small Business Administration. For more information on Plumas Bancorp and Plumas Bank, please visit our website at www.plumasbank.com.
AboutCornerstoneCommunityBancorp
Cornerstone Community Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Red Bluff, California and is the parent company for Cornerstone Community Bank, a California state-chartered bank with four locations across the Northern California counties of Shasta and Tehama. Founded in 2006, Cornerstone Community Bank has a proven track record of contributing to the success of the local economies they serve, contributing to the success of the people who live, work, and play in Shasta and Tehama.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval.
Investors and security holders are urged to carefully review and consider each of Plumas’s public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, its Proxy Statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The documents filed by Plumas with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at Plumas’s website at www.plumasbank.com or at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents may also be obtained free of charge from Plumas by requesting them in writing to Plumas Bancorp, 5050 Meadowood Mall Circle, Reno, Nevada 89502; Attention: Shareholder Relations, or by telephone at (775) 786-0907.
Plumas intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC which will include a proxy statement /prospectus which will be distributed to the shareholders of Cornerstone in connection with their vote on the Transaction. Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders of Cornerstone are urged to carefully read the entire proxy statement/prospectus, when it becomes available, as well as any amendments or supplements, because it will contain important information about the proposed Transaction. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain the proxy statement/prospectus free of charge from the SEC’s website or from Plumas by writing to the address provided in the preceding paragraph.
The directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees at Cornerstone and Plumas may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies in favor of the Transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Cornerstone will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed Transaction. Information regarding Plumas’s directors and executive officers is available in Plumas’s definitive proxy statement for its 2024 annual meeting of shareholders filed with the SEC on April 4, 2024, which is available free of charge from Plumas upon request as described above.
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding Plumas Bancorp (“Plumas”), Cornerstone Community Bancorp (“Cornerstone”) and the combined company and the proposed merger that are forward-looking statements subject to the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to plans, expectations, projections and statements about the benefits of the proposed merger, the timing of completion of the merger, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause or contribute to results differing from those in or implied in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of Plumas or Cornerstone to terminate the merger agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Plumas or Cornerstone; delays in completing the merger; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (and the risk that such approvals impose conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the merger); the failure of Cornerstone to obtain shareholder approval or Plumas or Cornerstone to satisfy any of the other conditions to the merger on a timely basis or at all; the ability to complete the merger and integration of Plumas and Cornerstone successfully; costs being greater than anticipated; cost savings being less than anticipated; changes in economic conditions; the risk that the merger disrupts the business of the Plumas, Cornerstone or both; difficulties in retaining senior management, employees or customers; and other factors that may affect the future results of Plumas or Cornerstone. Further information regarding Plumas’s risk factors is contained in Plumas’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Forward-looking statement made in this release speak only as of the date of this release. Neither Plumas nor Cornerstone undertake any obligation to revise or publicly release any revision or update to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.
Investor Relations Contact:
Jamie Huynh AVP, Assistant Corporate Secretary and Investor Relations Coordinator Plumas Bank Phone: 530.283.7305 ext. 8908 Email: jamie.huynh@plumasbank.com
NASHUA, N.H., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Accounting firm leaders, staff and SMB finance professionals will gather en masse in Nashville, TN for RightNOW 2025. The annual event, hosted by Rightworks, the only intelligent cloud services provider purpose-built for accounting firms and professionals, will bring together some of the brightest minds in accounting on May 19, 2025. The two-day conference will feature top-tier influencer keynotes, engaging breakout sessions on security, generative AI integration and building a modern firm, and offer a networking forum for attendees to tackle the profession’s persisting challenges head-on.
“The accounting profession is at a critical turning point where modernization is not optional. Firms need to uplevel their businesses with the technical innovations and strategies that enhance client service and drive greater efficiency in their everyday business,” said Joel Hughes, CEO of Rightworks. “We are excited to gather professionals at all stages of growth so they can walk away with a strategic action plan that will make an immediate impact on their business in the second half of the year and beyond.”
Renowned entrepreneurs and CEOs Gary Vaynerchuk and Josh Linkner to deliver opening keynotes
RightNOW 2025 will kick off each day with keynotes from major industry trailblazers exploring harnessing the power of generative AI, creating powerful brands and strengthening the workplace. Day one features a fireside chat with Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO, author, serial entrepreneur and chairman of VaynerX. Day two begins with Josh Linkner, serial entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and venture capital investor.
Following the keynotes is an exceptional lineup of breakout sessions, including:
The future of the accounting profession: Navigating emerging challenges and opportunities for firms
Buying & selling accounting firms: Insider tips from a broker, banker and lawyer
The nuts and bolts of AI: A workshop for practical application
Think like a hacker: How to protect yourself, your family and your firm from being breached
Late night lounge: Evening on AI
Cultivating credibility: The path to becoming a trusted advisor
Key tactics for successfully leading through change
Roundtable: Top trends and tactics you need to know about
Unpacking NPAG’s accounting talent strategy report: A plan to overcome the talent shortage
Why culture matters and how to build one that empowers
Great job! Building a great place to work
Purposely invest in yourself through lifelong learning
Getting strategic with AI
Staying compliant and secure in the cloud
Innovation station
Early Bird registration ends soon
RightNOW 2025 will take place May 19-21, 2025, at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Early access pricing is available through January 31. Attendees are eligible to receive up to 14 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Visit the RightNOW page for more information.
About Rightworks Rightworks enables accounting firms and businesses to significantly simplify operations and expand their value to clients via our award-winning intelligent cloud and learning resources. This is possible with Rightworks OneSpace, the only secure cloud environment purpose-built for the accounting and tax profession, and Rightworks Academy, the premier community for firm optimization, growth and professional development. The Academy offers access to thought leadership, events, peer communities and extensive learning resources. Founded in 2002, we’ve grown to serve over 10,000 accounting firms in the US—from single practitioners to Top 10 firms. For more information, please visit rightworks.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
Image asset:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
Total proceeds of $530 million on $300 million original 2022 investment
Proceeds strengthen balance sheet and provide added flexibility to pursue disciplined capital allocation strategy, including significant share repurchases and royalty acquisitions
NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Royalty Pharma plc (Nasdaq: RPRX) today announced the closing of a transaction to monetize the remaining fixed payments on the MorphoSys Development Funding Bonds for $511 million in upfront cash. This payment, combined with payments previously received, results in total cash proceeds of $530 million on the $300 million investment that was made in September 2022. The company generated an attractive return by monetizing these future fixed payments at a low discount rate of 5.35% and will redeploy these proceeds into higher returning investment opportunities, including repurchasing its shares and acquiring attractive new royalties.
“While Royalty Pharma does not generally sell royalty investments, Novartis’ acquisition of MorphoSys created a unique opportunity to convert a fixed stream of long-term payments with no potential for outperformance into a large cash inflow today at an attractive return for shareholders,” said Pablo Legorreta, Royalty Pharma founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Earlier this year, we updated our capital allocation framework, seeking to generate attractive returns through a blend of royalty investments and share repurchases. Royalty Pharma will benefit from enhanced flexibility to pursue our disciplined capital allocation strategy.”
Transaction Details
Royalty Pharma entered into a long-term strategic funding partnership with MorphoSys in 2021 to provide up to $2.025 billion as part of MorphoSys’ acquisition of Constellation Pharmaceuticals. Through that transaction, Royalty Pharma acquired royalties on Tremfya and other development stage assets including trontinemab. In connection with that transaction, Royalty Pharma purchased $300 million of Development Funding Bonds from MorphoSys in September 2022. In 2024, Novartis acquired MorphoSys.
Prior to the monetization transaction announced today, Royalty Pharma received the first two quarterly repayments on the Development Funding Bonds, amounting to $9.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $9.7 million in January 2025. These payments will be recorded in Portfolio Receipts. The $511 million monetization proceeds will be treated as an asset sale and will not be recorded as Portfolio Receipts. Following this sale to a syndicate of investors, Royalty Pharma will no longer receive Development Funding Bond payments over the remainder of 2025 and beyond.
BofA Securities, Inc. acted as placement agent on behalf of Royalty Pharma plc.
About Royalty Pharma
Founded in 1996, Royalty Pharma is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a leading funder of innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry, collaborating with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and non-profits through small and mid-cap biotechnology companies to leading global pharmaceutical companies. Royalty Pharma has assembled a portfolio of royalties which entitles it to payments based directly on the top-line sales of many of the industry’s leading therapies. Royalty Pharma funds innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry both directly and indirectly – directly when it partners with companies to co-fund late-stage clinical trials and new product launches in exchange for future royalties, and indirectly when it acquires existing royalties from the original innovators. Royalty Pharma’s current portfolio includes royalties on more than 35 commercial products, including Vertex’s Trikafta, GSK’s Trelegy, Roche’s Evrysdi, Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, Biogen’s Tysabri and Spinraza, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica, Astellas and Pfizer’s Xtandi, Novartis’ Promacta, Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT and Gilead’s Trodelvy, and 14 development-stage product candidates. For more information, visit www.royaltypharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information set forth herein does not purport to be complete or to contain all of the information you may desire. Statements contained herein are made as of the date of this document unless stated otherwise, and neither the delivery of this document at any time, nor any sale of securities, shall under any circumstances create an implication that the information contained herein is correct as of any time after such date or that information will be updated or revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available or changes occurring after the date hereof. This document contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that express the company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results, in contrast with statements that reflect historical facts. Examples include discussion of Royalty Pharma’s strategies, financing plans, growth opportunities, market growth, and plans for capital deployment. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “target,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “goal,” “predicts,” “project,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the company. However, these forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of Royalty Pharma’s performance, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and other variable circumstances, and other factors. Such risks and uncertainties may cause the statements to be inaccurate and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Many of these risks are outside of Royalty Pharma’s control and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those it thought would occur. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date hereof. Royalty Pharma does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law. For further information, please reference Royalty Pharma’s reports and documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Royalty Pharma Investor Relations and Communications
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Signing Day Sports, Inc. (“Signing Day Sports” or the “Company”) (NYSE American: SGN), the developer of the Signing Day Sports app and platform to aid high school athletes in the recruitment process, today announced the signing of a Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire 99.13% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Dear Cashmere Group Holding Company (OTC: DRCR), doing business as Swifty Global.
Swifty Global is a global online sports and casino technologies company with a track record of revenue growth and profitability.
Swifty Global’s strengths and growth strategies are expected to contribute significantly to the Company’s growth potential, including:
Strong Financial Performance: Swifty Global achieved revenues of over $128 million and a net profit of approximately $2.44 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, despite significant investments of nearly $3.1 million in software development and licensing.
Global Expansion Targeting High Growth Markets: Swifty Global continues to expand its international gambling operations with significant growth opportunities on the horizon. This strategy aligns with the shared vision of both companies to target high-growth markets as a core component of our long-term strategy.
Rapid Development of New Revenue Generating Technologies: Swifty Global plans to offer data feed services for the online sports gambling industry in the near future. These services are currently expensive and limited in choice, as many sports, such as boxing, have until recently had limited or no live data feed available to allow real-time betting. The Signing Day Sports team has significant experience working with critical sports datapoints and creating sports measurement technologies, which could assist Swifty Global in developing this revenue stream.
Daniel Nelson, CEO of Signing Day Sports, commented, “We are thrilled to announce the signing of the SPA with Swifty Global, which reflects the shared vision and collaboration between our organizations. I extend my sincere appreciation to James Gibbons and Nick Link for their exceptional efforts throughout this process. We see the SPA as a significant step toward accelerated expansion, enabling us to leverage Swifty Global’s cutting-edge SaaS technology to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs by over 50%, and accelerate product development. Together, we expect to increase user growth, retention, and new revenue opportunities while expanding into emerging markets across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Together, we are confident in our ability to build a stronger company, committed to innovation, positioned for global expansion, and powered by cutting-edge technology—delivering exceptional value to our shareholders and clients.”
“Following the closing of the SPA, Swifty Global will operate as a subsidiary of Signing Day Sports, with its financial results fully integrated into our operations. Signing Day Sports’ pre-closing business will likewise operate within a subsidiary of Signing Day Sports.”
James Gibbons, CEO of Swifty Global commented, “The Swifty Global team has worked extremely hard, demonstrating exceptional diligence and discipline in building an outstanding business with a solid foundation. We are excited about the future and look forward to working together to achieve great things.”
Terms of the Transaction
At the closing of the acquisition under the SPA, Signing Day Sports will acquire from James Gibbons and Nicolas Link (the “Sellers”) the common stock and preferred stock of Swifty Global held by them constituting 99.13% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Swifty Global. Additional sellers holding Swifty Global common stock or preferred stock may enter into substantially identical agreements with Signing Day Sports and also sell their Swifty Global capital stock to Signing Day Sports, which would increase the aggregate percentage of Swifty Global acquired by Signing Day Sports.
At the closing, the Sellers will receive a number of shares of Signing Day Sports common stock that is equal to 19.99% of the issued and outstanding common stock of Signing Day Sports as of the date of the SPA. The balance of the shares that Signing Day Sports must issue to the sellers will be in the form of convertible preferred stock that will have no voting or dividend rights until shareholder approval of conversion and the clearance of an initial listing application with The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”). Signing Day Sports legacy shareholders are expected to retain approximately 8.24% of the post-transaction company’s shares, with the remaining approximately 91.76% being issued to the sellers and the other stockholders of DRCR, based on the number of shares of Signing Day Sports common stock outstanding as of the date of the SPA, subject to adjustment as described below.
At the closing, James Gibbons will become the Chief Executive Officer of Signing Day Sports and remain the Chief Executive Officer of Swifty Global. Signing Day Sports management will remain the management of the Signing Day Sports subsidiary that will be established in connection with the acquisition. One Signing Day Sports executive director will resign, and Mr. Gibbons will be elected to the Signing Day Sports board.
After the closing, Signing Day Sports will consolidate Swifty Global’s financial statements and operate Swifty Global as a subsidiary. Signing Day Sports’ existing assets will be contributed into a newly formed subsidiary.
After the closing, Signing Day Sports will hold a shareholder meeting to, among other things, approve the conversion of the preferred stock issued to the Sellers into common stock, and elect a new board of directors of Signing Day Sports. If the stockholders approve the proposals, the Sellers’ Signing Day Sports preferred stock will convert into 19,782,720 shares of Signing Day Sports common stock. In addition, the board will continue to consist of five members, consisting of one board member nominated by Signing Day Sports, two independent directors and one executive director nominated by Swifty Global’s pre-closing board, and one independent director jointly nominated by both Signing Day Sports and Swifty Global jointly.
Signing Day Sports and Swifty Global will also seek all necessary stockholder, regulatory, and stock exchange consents or approvals, in order for Signing Day Sports to acquire the remaining outstanding equity ownership of Swifty Global not acquired from the Sellers under the SPA or additional stock purchase agreements through a merger of Swifty Global into Signing Day Sports or a wholly-owned subsidiary of Signing Day Sports (the “Merger”). Signing Day Sports will file a registration statement on Form S-4 relating to, among other things, the registration of the offer and sale of the shares of Signing Day Sports common stock to be issued to the stockholders of Swifty Global in the Merger.
Both Signing Day Sports and Swifty Global will collectively seek to raise at least $2.0 million in financing as soon as possible, with the proceeds split equally. These funds will be used for the operations of each of Signing Day Sports and Swifty Global, and the payment of outstanding liabilities of Signing Day Sports, such that there will be no material liabilities of Signing Day Sports remaining at the time of the conversion of the preferred stock. If, at the effective time of the Merger, Signing Day Sports has any indebtedness for borrowed money or liabilities in excess of $150,000 relating to the period prior to the closing, then Signing Day Sports will issue to the legacy stockholders of Swifty Global, including the Sellers, as soon as practicable following the closing of the Merger, a number of shares of Signing Day Sports common stock equal to the aggregate Signing Day Sports liabilities divided by the Applicable Price Per Share (as defined in the SPA).
Both Signing Day Sports and Swifty Global will complete due diligence before the closing under the SPA. The closing is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions, including, without limitation, conditional approval from Nasdaq of an initial listing application that has been filed with such exchange, and no assurance can be given that the closing will occur, or that post-closing requirements for the acquisition will be met. From and after the closing, Signing Day Sports is expected to commence trading on the Nasdaq.
The sellers and the officers and directors of Signing Day Sports will be subject to a three-month lock-up period following the closing.
The SPA contains provisions for termination, representations, warranties, covenants, and mutual indemnification provisions.
Advisors to the transaction include Maxim Group LLC, which is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Swifty Global. Lucosky Brookman LLP is serving as counsel to Swifty Global. Bevilacqua PLLC is serving as counsel to Signing Day Sports.
A copy of the SPA will be filed as an exhibit to a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Signing Day Sports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on or about the date of this press release. All parties desiring details regarding the terms and conditions of the proposed acquisition are urged to review that Form 8-K and the exhibits attached thereto, which will be available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Signing Day Sports
Signing Day Sports’ mission is to help student-athletes achieve their goal of playing college sports. Signing Day Sports’ app allows student-athletes to build their Signing Day Sports’ recruitment profile, which includes information college coaches need to evaluate and verify them through video technology. The Signing Day Sports app includes a platform to upload a comprehensive data set including video-verified measurables (such as height, weight, 40-yard dash, wingspan, and hand size), academic information (such as official transcripts and SAT/ACT scores), and technical skill videos (such as drills and mechanics that exemplify player mechanics, coordination, and development). For more information about Signing Day Sports, go to https://bit.ly/SigningDaySports.
Swifty Global
Swifty Global is a technology company operating out of London, New York and Dubai developing ground-breaking technology solutions in the gambling and betting sector. Swifty Global aims to drive shareholder value through accelerated innovation and enhanced usability of the products it develops. With licenses spanning several jurisdictions, Swifty Global has successfully brought to market a suite of offerings. This includes the company’s proprietary swipe betting sports prediction application, as well as its traditional sportsbook and casino gaming platform. For more information about Swifty Global, go to https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/DRCR/profile.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “project” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including without limitation, the Company’s ability to complete the acquisition of Swifty Global and integrate its business, the ability of the Company, the Sellers, and Swifty Global to obtain all necessary consents and approvals in connection with the acquisition, including Nasdaq clearance of an initial listing application in connection with the acquisition, obtain stockholder approval of the matters to be voted on at a stockholders’ meeting to approve matters required to be approved in connection with the SPA, the Company’s ability to obtain sufficient funding to maintain operations and develop additional services and offerings, market acceptance of the Company’s current products and services and planned offerings, competition from existing online and retail offerings or new offerings that may emerge, impacts from strategic changes to the Company’s business on its net sales, revenues, income from continuing operations, or other results of operations, the Company’s ability to attract new users and customers, increase the rate of subscription renewals, and slow the rate of user attrition, the Company’s ability to retain or obtain intellectual property rights, the Company’s ability to adequately support future growth, the Company’s ability to comply with user data privacy laws and other current or anticipated legal requirements, and the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel to manage its business effectively. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s periodic reports which are filed with the SEC. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are, in some cases, beyond our control and could materially affect results. If one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors become applicable, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual events or results may vary significantly from those implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ES Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: ESBS) (the “Company”) the holding company for Empire State Bank, (the “Bank”) today reported net income of $466 thousand, or $0.03 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to a net income of $582 thousand or $0.08 per diluted common share for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Key Quarterly Financial Data
2024 Highlights
Performance Metrics
4Q24
3Q24
4Q23
•The Cost of Funds for the three months ended December 31, 2024, improved to 3.02% from 3.02% in the prior linked quarter.
•For 3 months ended December 31, 2024, the Company’s net interest margin increased to 2.50% compared to 2.30% for the 3 months ended September 30, 2024.
•The Company sold $3 million in SBA 7a loan during the quarter, resulting in a gain on loan sale.
•The Company has replaced $56 million of higher-costing wholesale funding with lower cost organic deposits over the nine-months in 2024.
•Total Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, totaled $8.4 million increasing for a second consecutive quarter.
Return on average assets (%)
0.29
0.36
0.05
Return on average equity (%)
3.94
4.98
0.73
Return on average tangible equity (%)
3.99
5.04
0.74
Net interest margin (%)
2.50
2.30
2.28
Income Statement (a)
4Q24
3Q24
4Q23
Net interest income
$
3,876
$
3,567
$
3,454
Non-interest income
$
372
$
609
$
322
Net income
$
466
$
582
$
84
Earnings per diluted common share
$
0.03
$
0.08
$
0.01
Balance Sheet (a)
4Q24
3Q24
4Q23
Average total loans
$
566,031
$
566,031
$
569,515
Average total deposits
$
512,120
$
512,120
$
470,394
Book value per share
$
6.89
$
6.85
$
6.83
Tangible book value per share
$
6.81
$
6.77
$
6.74
(a) In thousands except for per share amounts
Phil Guarnieri, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of ES Bancshares said, “We ended 2024 with positive trends over the last two quarters. The downward turn in interest rates has bolstered our net interest income. The Company’s net interest margin increased by twenty basis points, demonstrating growth for the past three quarters. This coupled with our cost containment program has bolstered our core earnings. The Company’s balance sheet and capital position remain a strength for our Company.”
Selected Balance Sheet Information:
December 31, 2024 vs. December 31, 2023
As of December 31, 2024, total assets were $636.6 million, a decrease of $2.1 million, or 0.3%, as compared to total assets of $638.7 million on December 31, 2023. The decrease can be attributed to a slightly smaller loan portfolio.
Loans receivable, net of Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans totaled $559.3 million, a decrease of 0.8% from December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024, the Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans as a percentage of gross loans was 0.91%.
Nonperforming assets, which includes nonaccrual loans and foreclosed real estate were $5.3 million or 0.84% of total assets, as of December 31, 2024, increasing from $1.4 million or 0.22% of total assets at December 31, 2023. The ratio of nonaccrual loans to loans receivable was 0.94%, as of December 31, 2024, and 0.22% for December 31, 2023. The increase from December 31, 2023, was primarily due to one Commercial Real Estate and one 1-4 family investor loan being placed on non-accrual status. Both loans are deemed to be well collateralized and in total amount to $4.0 million.
Total liabilities decreased $3.8 million to $589.1 million at December 31, 2024 from $592.9 million at December 31, 2023. The decrease can be attributed to repayments of brokered deposits and Federal Home Loan (FHLB) borrowings partially offset by growth in core deposits. The growth in deposits was driven by an increase in interest-bearing, non-maturity deposit accounts, as well as interest-bearing deposits.
As of December 31, 2024, the Bank’s Tier 1 capital leverage ratio, common equity tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratios were 9.31%, 13.68%, 13.68% and 14.93%, respectively, all in excess of the ratios required to be deemed “well-capitalized.” During the Fourth quarter 2024 the Company did not repurchase shares under its stock repurchase program. Book value per common share was $6.89 at December 31, 2024 compared to $6.83 at December 31, 2023. Tangible common book value per share (which represents common equity less goodwill, divided by the number of shares outstanding) was $6.81 at December 31, 2024 compared to $6.74 at December 31, 2023.
Financial Performance Overview:
Three Months Ended December 31, 2024, vs. September 30, 2024
For the three months ended December 31, 2024, the Company net income totaled $466 thousand compared to a net income of $582 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease can be attributed to lower non-interest income and non-interest expense, partially offset by higher net interest income quarter over quarter.
Net interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2024, increased $309 thousand, to $3.9 million from $3.6 million at three months ended September 30, 2024. The Company’s net interest margin widened by nine basis points to 2.50% for the three months ended December 31, 2024, as compared to 2.30% for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The increase in margin can be attributed to a reduction in the Company’s average cost for its interest-bearing liabilities.
There was a $2 thousand provision for credit losses taken for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to a reversal for credit losses of $38 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024.
Non-interest income decreased $237 thousand, to $372 thousand for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared with non-interest income of $609 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The majority of the decrease can be attributed to lower service charges and fees and no gain on extinguishment of the Company’s subordinated debt, partially offset by the gain on loan sales.
Non-interest expenses totaled $3.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $3.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The largest fluctuations quarter over quarter were due to a $154 thousand increase in other expenses, due to a lack of a recovery of collection expenses that we realized in the September 2024 quarter, an increase in employment search fees, and other expenses. The $92 thousand increase in professional fees, due to higher legal and consulting fees as compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Twelve months ended December 31, 2024 vs. December 31, 2023
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, net income totaled $1.1 million in comparison to $1.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease can mainly be attributed to higher costs paid on deposits which increased $5.1 million year over year.
Net interest income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, decreased 11% or $1.8 million, to $14.1 million from $15.9 million at December 31, 2023. The decrease can be attributed to increased interest expense for deposits, partially offset by increased interest income earned on the loan portfolio.
Provision for credit losses totaled $12 thousand for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to a $20 thousand provision for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.
Non-interest income totaled $1.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared with noninterest income of $758 thousand for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. The increase can be attributed to the gain recorded on extinguishment of sub-debt which is partially offset by decreased in gain on sale of loans period over period.
Operating expenses totaled $14.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $15.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, or a decrease of 7.1%. The decrease in non-interest expense can be attributed to initiatives taking effect from the cost-cutting program launched in 2024.
About ES Bancshares Inc. ES Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) is incorporated under Maryland law and serves as the holding company for Empire State Bank (the “Bank”). The Company is subject to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System while the Bank is primarily subject to regulation and supervision by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Currently, the Company does not transact any material business other than through the Bank, its subsidiary.
The Bank was organized under federal law in 2004 as a national bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Bank’s deposits are insured up to legal limits by the FDIC. In March 2009, the Bank converted its charter to a New York State commercial bank charter. The Bank’s principal business is attracting commercial and retail deposits in New York and investing those deposits primarily in loans, consisting of commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans including SBA and mortgage loans secured by one-to-four-family residences. In addition, the Bank invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies thereof, corporate securities and other investments permitted by applicable law and regulations.
We operate from our five Banking Center locations, a Loan Production Office and our Corporate Headquarters located in Staten Island, New York. The Company’s website address is www.esbna.com. The Company’s annual report, quarterly earnings releases and all press releases are available free of charge through its website, as soon as reasonably practicable.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” or “continue” or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, many of which are not within ES Bancshares, Inc’s. control. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release. We have no intention, and do not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ibex (NASDAQ: IBEX), a leading global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and AI-powered customer engagement technology solutions, is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place to Work® in Nicaragua for the fifth time overall. This prestigious certification recognizes employers who create an outstanding employee experience and is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at ibex.
The past year has been transformative for ibex Nicaragua, with the business experiencing strong growth. ibex Nicaragua has expanded to more than 2,100 seats and is poised to surpass 2,200 employees. This growth is accompanied by strategic vertical diversification, including ongoing client expansion in the technology sector and new client wins in the utilities, gaming, and waste management sectors.
“We are proud to earn the Great Place to Work® Certification™ for the fifth time and continue to grow our amazing team in Nicaragua,” said David Afdahl, Chief Operating Officer at ibex. “ibex’s inclusive and engaging culture is a clear differentiator among BPOs in Nicaragua and around the world. We respect and value diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which is critical to unlocking the extraordinary potential across our team to deliver the best customer service. By combining the best talent, training, and technology, we are redefining customer experience.”
ibex’s success in Nicaragua is rooted in its comprehensive approach to employee development and workplace culture. The company offers modern facilities featuring dedicated learning centers and open collaboration spaces. ibex is also recognized in the region for its positive and supportive work environment, as well as for its competitive compensation and opportunities for employees to advance their careers through training and development programs.
“This recognition is a powerful affirmation of our incredible team’s passion and unwavering dedication to excellence,” said Henry Bermudez, Senior Vice President of Operations – Nicaragua at ibex. “At ibex, we believe that a better employee experience leads to a better customer experience and we are laser-focused on creating meaningful career opportunities that empower individuals to excel. This certification is a celebration of their hard work and a promise of even greater achievements ahead.”
With successful operations in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Jamaica, ibex continues to demonstrate its position as a global leader in business process outsourcing in the region. The company remains committed to investing in its people, driving innovation, and creating meaningful opportunities for professional growth.
About Great Place To Work®
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work-Certified or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About ibex ibex delivers innovative business process outsourcing (BPO), smart digital marketing, online acquisition technology, and end-to-end customer engagement solutions to help companies acquire, engage and retain valuable customers. Today, ibex operates a global CX delivery center model consisting of 31 operations facilities around the world, while deploying next generation technology to drive superior customer experiences for many of the world’s leading companies across retail, e-commerce, healthcare, fintech, utilities and logistics.
ibex leverages its diverse global team of approximately 31,000 employees together with industry-leading technology, including the AI-powered ibex Wave iX solutions suite, to manage nearly 175 million critical customer interactions, adding over $2.2B in lifetime customer revenue each year and driving a truly differentiated customer experience. To learn more, visit our website at ibex.co and connect with us on LinkedIn.
The Aurora, Ill.,, Fire Department had help from the IAM this year, delivering toys to deserving children around Aurora, Il. As part of its annual toy drive, firefighters collect toys around the holidays and deliver them to homes, surprising many deserving children.
Every year, firefighters receive donated toys from several individuals and organizations, including the Aurora-based IAM Local 1202 and IAM District 8. In the days before Christmas, Santa makes his deliveries with firefighters in a firetruck.
“This is what the holiday season is all about,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President SamCicinelli. “The true spirit of the holidays is in giving back, and it’s incredible to see so many people come together to make a difference for local families.”
“We’re proud to partner with Local 1202 in Aurora for our annual toy drive,” said IAM District 8 Directing Business Representative Ryan Kelly. “This year, we gathered thousands of dollars worth of toys from 17 of our District 8-affiliated locals across the state, bringing joy to many local families. My sincere thanks go out to all the volunteers, as well as District 8 staff for their help in making this the huge success it was.”
“I’m extremely proud of the efforts of our membership,” said IAM Local 1202 President Dave Dady. “I’m also proud of the efforts of our brothers and sisters from across the IAM Locals in District 8 whose efforts ensured our success.”
This year, IAM Local 1202 was also featured on thefront pageof Labor News for their efforts.
Sundie Seefried to Immediately Become Co-CEO and Retire in 30 Days; Will Remain on Board of Directors Post-Transition
Business Transformation Expert, Terry Mendez, Appointed Co-CEO; Will Become CEO Upon Retirement of Seefried
GOLDEN, Colo., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SHF Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Safe Harbor Financial (“Safe Harbor” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SHFS), a fintech leader in facilitating financial services and credit facilities to the regulated cannabis industry, announced today that its current CEO, Sundie Seefried, plans to retire in 30 days. Karl A. Racine, chair of the Safe Harbor’s Nominating and Governance Committee, has been overseeing due diligence activities and advising the executive team and the Governance Committee to evaluate both internal and external candidates as part of the process. This strategic approach and review are part of the Company’s long-term growth strategy, ensuring that Safe Harbor continues to maximize shareholder value and executes its strategic vision.
Sundie Seefried will serve as co-CEO throughout this transition period. The Company signed a three-year executive employment agreement with Terry Mendez to serve as co-CEO and will be appointed CEO upon Seefried’s retirement. Post-transition, Seefried will remain on the Board of Directors.
During the transition, Mendez will work closely with Safe Harbor’s leadership team and Board of Directors to capture opportunities for innovation and growth, while Seefried will focus on achieving operational continuity. Seefried and Mendez will be the key decision-makers, ensuring that all strategic recommendations are evaluated and presented to the Board, as needed, for approval.
“We remain committed to thoughtful succession planning and long-term strategic growth, with the goal of capitalizing on optimizing our market position,” said Sundie Seefried, co-CEO of Safe Harbor Financial. “Terry’s experience in business expansion, transformation and strategic advisory will provide a valuable perspective as we explore ways to enhance our operations and maximize shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with him.”
“At a time when most financial institutions were unwilling to work with the cannabis industry, Safe Harbor emerged as a pioneer, providing essential banking and financial services to the sector for the past decade. We are now looking at the challenges currently facing the industry and determining how we can leverage our people to develop technology that delivers trusted solutions to the marketplace,” said Terry Mendez, co-CEO of Safe Harbor Financial. “I look forward to diving into the business, learning from Sundie and partnering with my fellow operators to deliver value for our shareholders.”
Terry Mendez brings extensive experience in strategic planning and operational transformation within the information technology and cannabis industries. In his role as founder of Amos Advisory Solutions, Mr. Mendez served as the CEO of both single-state and multi-state cannabis operators successfully leading turnaround efforts. Terry began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche. Previously, he served as the vice president of Finance and global chief accounting officer for Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Hitachi, overseeing 52 countries.
About Safe Harbor Safe Harbor is among the first service providers to offer compliance, monitoring and validation services to financial institutions, providing traditional banking services to cannabis, hemp, CBD, and ancillary operators, making communities safer, driving growth in local economies, and fostering long-term partnerships. Safe Harbor, through its financial institution clients, implements high standards of accountability, transparency, monitoring, reporting and risk mitigation measures while meeting Bank Secrecy Act obligations in line with FinCEN guidance on cannabis-related businesses. Over the past decade, Safe Harbor has facilitated more than $25 billion in deposit transactions for businesses with operations spanning over 41 states and US territories with regulated cannabis markets. For more information, visit www.shfinancial.org.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included herein may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to trends in the cannabis industry, including proposed changes in U.S and state laws, rules, regulations and guidance relating to Safe Harbor’s services; Safe Harbor’s growth prospects and Safe Harbor’s market size; Safe Harbor’s projected financial and operational performance, including relative to its competitors and historical performance; new product and service offerings Safe Harbor may introduce in the future; the impact volatility in the capital markets, which may adversely affect the price of Safe Harbor’s securities; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Safe Harbor; and other statements regarding Safe Harbor’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “outlook,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Safe Harbor’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Safe Harbor undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
These ETFs are designed to provide investors with the opportunity over a limited period (the “Outcome Period”) to benefit up to a certain extent (the “Cap”) from increases in the total return of the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (Ticker: KWEB) with a defined level of protection (the “Buffer”). The current Outcome Period for the Funds is from January 27, 2025 to January 22, 2027.
The new performance Cap for KPRO over the Outcome Period will be 20.01% and the new Cap for KBUF will be 40.01%. The new Caps stem from a decision earlier this month to extend the Outcome Period for both Funds due to strong China Internet momentum.
The Funds will retain the same buffers of 100% and 90%, respectively, based on KWEB’s price on January 25, 2025.
“KWEB has exceeded performance expectations since KPRO and KBUF were launched in February 2024,” said Jonathan Shelon, KraneShares COO. “We believe that resetting the downside protection and increasing the upside potential by extending the outcome period, is a benefit to existing and new investors. We are extremely pleased with the results of these strategies and are excited to introduce these enhancements.”
KPRO and KBUF have characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. The caps and buffers mentioned above do not reflect the effect of fees and assume the Funds are held from launch to the end of the outcome period (2 years). For more information regarding whether an investment in the Funds is right for you, please read each Fund’s prospectus, including “Investor Suitability Considerations.
About KraneShares
KraneShares is a specialist investment manager focused on China, Climate, and Uncorrelated Assets. KraneShares seeks to provide innovative, high-conviction, and first-to-market strategies based on the firm and its partners’ deep investing knowledge. KraneShares identifies and delivers groundbreaking capital market opportunities and believes investors should have cost-effective and transparent tools for attaining exposure to various asset classes. The firm was founded in 2013 and serves institutions and financial professionals globally. The firm is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).
Carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds’ full and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting: www.kraneshares.com/kweb,www.kraneshares.com/kproand www.kraneshares.com/kbuf. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Risk Disclosures:
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that any of the Funds will achieve their stated objectives. Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.
This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Certain content represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results; material is as of the dates noted and is subject to change without notice.
A-Shares are issued by companies in mainland China and traded on local exchanges. They are available to domestic and certain foreign investors, including QFIs and those participating in Stock Connect Programs like Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong. Foreign investments in A-Shares face various regulations and restrictions, including limits on asset repatriation. A-Shares may experience frequent trading halts and illiquidity, which can lead to volatility in the Funds’ share prices and increased trading halt risks. The Chinese economy is an emerging market, vulnerable to domestic and regional economic and political changes, often showing more volatility than developed markets. Companies face risks from potential government interventions, and the export-driven economy is sensitive to downturns in key trading partners, impacting the Funds. U.S.-China tensions raise concerns over tariffs and trade restrictions, which could harm China’s exports and the Funds. China’s regulatory standards are less stringent than in the U.S., resulting in limited information about issuers. Tax laws are unclear and subject to change, potentially impacting the Funds and leading to unexpected liabilities for foreign investors. Fluctuations in currency of foreign countries may have an adverse effect on domestic currency values.
KPRO and KBUF have characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. An investment in any of the Funds may not be appropriate for investors who do not intend to hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the beginning of the Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the end of the Outcome Period, the returns realized by the investor may not match those that the Funds seek to provide. The Funds may not fully protect against KWEB losses if their share prices drop during the Outcome Period. Buying or selling shares during this time may affect the Buffer’s availability. Even if KWEB’s value rises, the Buffer won’t guard against any subsequent decrease.
A new Cap is set at the start of each Outcome Period and depends on current market conditions. Therefore, the Cap may change between Outcome Periods and is unlikely to stay constant. Investors should keep track of Cap changes for each Outcome Period, details of which will be provided according to the process outlined in each Fund’s prospectus. The Funds aim to provide returns subject to a Cap, but there is no guarantee of success. If any Fund’s gains exceed the Cap, that Fund won’t appreciate beyond the Cap and will underperform. Due to the Cap, the Funds may significantly underperform KWEB. Buying shares after the Outcome Period starts may limit gains, exposing investors to potential losses. Selling shares before the Outcome Period ends may result in underperformance.
The Funds may invest in derivatives, which are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify the Funds’ gains or losses. A derivative (i.e., futures/forward contracts, swaps, and options) is a contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying asset. The primary risk of derivatives is that changes in the asset’s market value and the derivative may not be proportionate, and some derivatives can have the potential for unlimited losses. Derivatives are also subject to liquidity and counterparty risk. The Funds are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that certain investments may become difficult to purchase or sell at a reasonable time and price. If a transaction for these securities is large, it may not be possible to initiate, which may cause the Funds to suffer losses. Counterparty risk is the risk of loss in the event that the counterparty to an agreement fails to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the derivative. KPRO and KBUF will use FLEX options from the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). There’s a risk of the OCC failing to meet its obligations. The Funds may face challenges in less liquid FLEX options markets and have difficulty closing positions at desired times and prices. If the unlikely event the OCC becomes insolvent, the Funds could suffer losses. Failure by market participants to enter into FLEX options transactions that reflect market value could result in losses. Some FLEX options may expire worthless. The value of these options is associated with KWEB and influenced by factors such as market fluctuations and time until expiration.
KPRO and KBUF are new and do not yet have a significant number of shares outstanding. If the Funds do not grow in size, they will be at greater risk than larger funds of wider bid-ask spreads for their shares, trading at a greater premium or discount to NAV, liquidation and/or a trading halt. Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. The Funds’ assets are expected to be concentrated in a sector, industry, market, or group of concentrations to the extent that the Underlying Index has such concentrations. The securities or futures in that concentration could react similarly to market developments. Thus, the Funds are subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that affect that concentration. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, investments in smaller companies typically exhibit higher volatility. KWEB, KPRO and KBUF are non-diversified.
ETF shares are bought and sold on an exchange at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. However, shares may be redeemed at NAV directly by certain authorized broker-dealers (Authorized Participants) in very large creation/redemption units. The returns shown do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Beginning 12/23/2020, market price returns are based on the official closing price of an ETF share or, if the official closing price isn’t available, the midpoint between the national best bid and national best offer (“NBBO”) as of the time the ETF calculates the current NAV per share. Prior to that date, market price returns were based on the midpoint between the Bid and Ask price. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time.
The KraneShares ETFs and KFA Funds ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Company (SIDCO), 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, which is not affiliated with Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, the Investment Adviser for the Funds, or any sub-advisers for the Funds.
KEARNY, N.J., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Thea Energy, Inc., a fusion technology company advancing the stellarator for the commercialization of a carbon-free and abundant source of energy, today announced four peer-reviewed publications in the journal Nuclear Fusion. These papers together support the planar coil stellarator as a scalable, maintainable, and simpler approach to commercial fusion energy, with an additional real-world use case as a neutron source. The articles are accessible on the Company’s website under “Presentations & Publications” and via Nuclear Fusion.
These papers detail the practical advantages of the planar coil stellarator as well as the methods used to design the planar (i.e. flat) magnetic coils, allowing for a commercial maintenance scheme. Thea Energy also shares new results in the papers on the simulated and optimized performance of Eos, the Company’s first integrated fusion system that will be constructed and operated later this decade. Thea Energy is designing Eos, based on the same planar coil stellarator architecture, to produce tritium, a vital fusion fuel isotope. The papers also discuss the ability of the Eos stellarator magnetic field to confine energetic plasma particles, heating the plasma and sustaining fusion.
“Complex, 3D magnet coils have limited prior generations of stellarators, making them extremely difficult to build and maintain,” said David Gates, Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer of Thea Energy. “These results are a part of a new era for stellarator systems. Eos will serve as an important technology test bed that will also breed tritium for commercial use. Eos will leverage simpler coils as well as a software control layer, allowing future fusion power plants to be built and deployed on-the-grid at scale. As the team starts to construct Eos, we look forward to further expanding these findings, while at the same time increasing the fidelity of our models.”
Brian Berzin, co-founder and chief executive officer of Thea Energy, added, “Thea Energy is advancing a system architecture that from the beginning focused on real-world use and practicality, further outlined in these papers. The team’s hard work to complete this cohort of publications is a major milestone, motivated by the opportunity to share details with the broader scientific community on what makes the planar coil stellarator such a transformative approach. Peer-reviewed research is fundamental to the rapidly advancing fusion industry, and it is our intention to continue to publish our results.”
Key takeaways from “Stellarator fusion systems enabled by arrays of planar coils”:
Planar coil stellarators can use systems of simpler coils to produce the magnetic fields required to confine plasmas while leveraging key advantages in terms of manufacturability, controllability, and maintainability. These benefits are crucial to a commercial fusion power plant architecture.
Thea Energy will build and utilize the first planar coil stellarator system as a neutron source, named Eos. The Company will scale and deploy a subsequent planar coil stellarator system as a fusion pilot plant, named Helios. Helios is approximately twice the linear dimension of the Eos neutron source stellarator and is being designed to generate net electric power in steady state.
Key takeaways from “Coil optimization methods for a planar coil stellarator”:
The planar coil stellarator architecture uses two types of coils, encircling coils and shaping coils. These simpler coils can produce a specific stellarator magnetic field with sufficient precision to confine a fusion plasma in the same way as a set of more complex, 3D stellarator coils for an equivalent equilibrium, subject to realistic engineering constraints.
The planar coil stellarator approach enables large system sectors designed for removal between the encircling coils, providing a sector maintenance capability.
Key takeaways from “The scoping, design, and plasma physics optimization of the Eos neutron source stellarator”:
The Thea Energy team utilized coupled plasma physics models to downselect an optimal design for Eos to a medium-sized facility with required electric power of less than 40 MW.
Eos will have the ability to produce tritium at a rate in line with current commercial methods of production, approximately 0.2 grams/day or 70 grams/year.
Key takeaways from “Fast ion confinement in quasi-axisymmetric stellarator equilibria”:
The Company’s electromagnetic coils are designed to confine energetic plasma particles. High-fidelity supercomputer simulation verifies that the intended Eos magnetic field is efficient at this confinement, and that the Eos system will be capable of producing tritium using deuterium-deuterium fusion.
The analysis also validates that the Helios design will confine enough fusion products to produce net energy, and the simulation work points to future analysis for further improving this confinement, increasing the efficiency of the power plant.
The simulations presented in “Coil optimization methods for a planar coil stellarator” and “Fast ion confinement in quasi-axisymmetric stellarator equilibria” were performed on computational resources managed and supported by Princeton Research Computing, a consortium of groups including the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (“PICSciE”) and the Office of Information Technology’s High Performance Computing Center and Visualization Laboratory at Princeton University.
Work highlighted in “The scoping, design, and plasma physics optimization of the Eos neutron source stellarator” and “Fast ion confinement in quasi-axisymmetric stellarator equilibria” was partially funded by an INFUSE award given in round 2022b and carried out in collaboration with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, which is managed by Princeton University.
About Thea Energy, Inc. Thea Energy, Inc. is building an economical and scalable fusion energy system utilizing arrays of mass-manufacturable magnets and dynamic software controls. Commercial fusion energy can uniquely provide an abundant source of zero-emission power for a sustainable future. Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in computation and controls to reinvent the stellarator, a scientifically mature form of magnetic fusion technology. Thea Energy was founded in 2022 as a spin-out of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Princeton University, where the stellarator was originally invented. Thea Energy is currently designing its first integrated fusion system, Eos, based on its planar coil stellarator architecture which will produce fusion neutrons at scale and in steady state. To learn more about Thea Energy’s mission to create a limitless source of zero-emission energy for a sustainable future, visit https://thea.energy/ and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
BOSTON and EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Acquia, the leader in open digital experience software, today announced a strategic partnership with SearchStax, the Search Experience Company, to elevate the search experience of Drupal-based websites with advanced AI-driven search capabilities. The partnership will replace Acquia’s existing Solr site search service with a comprehensive new solution, Acquia Search powered by SearchStax, that significantly improves website engagement, user satisfaction, and conversions.
“Search has evolved into critical infrastructure that provides website visitors with an intuitive, accurate, and contextually relevant experience that drives customer satisfaction and boosts conversions,” said Jim Shaw, Chief Product Officer at Acquia. “Likewise, marketing teams want to be able to configure and manage intelligent search experiences without developer involvement. Our partnership with SearchStax allows us to provide easy-to-use tools that enable marketers to configure sophisticated search features without complex coding, so they can ensure the right content is easy to find and can be served faster to their website visitors.”
Acquia Search powered by SearchStax gives marketers the agility they need to optimize search outcomes with key features and benefits including:
Surface Content Quickly Across Sites: define facets and filters based on categories, tags, and other fields that follow your site’s content structure, while multi-site search breaks down silos to help visitors discover the exact information they need, regardless of where your content lives.
Drive Content Discoverability: go beyond basic search with AI-driven features that provide automatic search improvements including intelligent search suggestions and auto-completion, related keywords based on search history, and natural language processing to eliminate ‘no result’ searches.
No-code Analytics and Actionable Insights: robust analytics tools provide full visibility into search behavior and trends. A customizable dashboard provides a quick view of KPIs, and users can dive deep into the details to analyze site engagement, uncover content gaps, and identify specific areas of improvement.
Make Frictionless Adjustments: optimize content with tools that give marketers the ability to promote key content, boost fields to improve relevance and conversions, include/exclude content, and customize the search experience to different personas with just a few clicks.
Enterprise Availability and Security: protect your data with built-in compliance for HIPAA, SOC2, ISO 27001, WCAG, and GDPR industry standards, and confidently scale to handle large volumes of data, complex search queries, and demanding performance expectations so visitors can perform fast, reliable searches even during traffic spikes.
“Integrating Acquia Search powered by SearchStax into our Acquia-hosted website was a seamless process, and we’re excited to implement the latest features,” said Barry Crowley, Web Content Lead Developer at Sensata Technologies, Inc. “We anticipate a substantial improvement in our site’s search functionality that will enable our visitors to find the information they need more quickly and effortlessly, boosting user engagement and driving higher conversions.”
“Site search is key to boosting website conversions and elevating customer experiences. With SearchStax’s advanced search capabilities, Acquia’s customers can maximize their content’s value. This partnership empowers marketing teams to deliver highly relevant website search results, driving engagement and helping them achieve key business objectives,” said Sameer Maggon, CEO at SearchStax.
Availability Acquia Search powered by SearchStax is generally available beginning in February 2025, with three tiered plans available. The Basic plan will be included at no cost in Acquia Cloud Platform and Site Factory subscriptions; paid Premier and Premier Plus plans will offer additional functionality AI search capabilities, advanced analytics, search management tools, and more. For more on Acquia Search powered by SearchStax, visit https://www.acquia.com/products/acquia-cloud-platform/acquia-search.
About SearchStax: SearchStax, the Search Experience Company, enables marketers and developers to deliver fast, relevant website search experiences. SearchStax powers search for more than 700 customers worldwide, including leading brands in higher education, healthcare, government, manufacturing, and financial services such as Roche, University of Arkansas, KPMG, Banner Health, Canon, and Fidelity. Learn more at www.searchstax.com.
About Acquia: Acquia empowers ambitious digital innovators to craft the most productive, frictionless digital experiences that make a difference to their customers, employees, and communities. We provide the world’s leading open digital experience platform (DXP), built on open source Drupal, as part of our commitment to shaping a digital future that is safe, accessible, and available to all. With Acquia Open DXP, you can unlock the potential of your customer data and content, accelerating time to market and increasing engagement, conversion, and revenue. Learn more at https://acquia.com.
Media Contacts:
For SearchStax Tom Humbarger Senior Marketing Programs Manager press@searchstax.com +1.844.973.2724
For Acquia Matt Krebsbach SVP, Thought Leadership & Brand Awareness pr@acquia.com
All logos, company, and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
OGDEN, Utah, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TAB Bank announces the addition of Steel Capital Management, a New York City-based finance company specializing in e-commerce solutions, to its portfolio of Lender Finance clients. TAB Bank has extended a $12 million credit facility to support Steel Capital Management as they provide capital solutions to accelerate growth for Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) companies.
Steel Capital Management selected TAB Bank because of its expertise in lender finance, flexible financing structures, competitive cost of capital and scalability. The $12 million credit facility will provide Steel Capital Management with the working capital to continue scaling its business and supporting its clients.
“TAB Bank is looking forward to helping Steel Capital Management continue driving growth and innovation in the e-commerce space by providing a flexible and scalable financing structure,” said Jerry Clinton, Managing Director of Corporate Underwriting at TAB Bank. “Our ability to tailor loans to fit a company’s market and unique needs demonstrates our mission—unlocking dreams with bold financial solutions that lift and empower.”
Based in New York City, Steel Capital Management was born out of the necessity to help early to mid-stage consumer brands grow by providing alternative financing options. The firm understands recurring industry problems—seasonality, stale inventory, shipping and fulfillment backlogs, and marketing channels changing how they operate—and aims to tailor its investments to address them.
“TAB Bank has been a pleasure to work with throughout the due diligence, documentation and closing process,” said Michael Hoffman, co-CEO of Steel Capital Management. “The TAB Bank team’s willingness to fit our flexible financing needs demonstrated their commitment to building a long and successful partnership with Steel Capital. We’re confident we’ve found the right partner to continue Steel’s growth.”
TAB Bank is committed to empowering businesses with innovative financial solutions, including term loans, lines of credit and accounts receivable financing. By tailoring its offerings to fit each client’s specific needs, TAB Bank ensures consistent cash flow and growth opportunities for small and midsize businesses nationwide.
About TAB Bank At TAB Bank, our mission is to unlock dreams with bold financial solutions that empower individuals and businesses nationwide. We are committed to making financial success accessible to everyone through our innovative banking products. Our dedication drives us to continuously improve, ensuring that we meet the evolving needs of our clients with excellence and agility. For over 25 years, we have remained steadfast in offering tailored, technology-enabled solutions designed to simplify and enhance the banking experience.
For more information about how we can help you achieve your financial dreams, visit www.TABBank.com.
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) today reported the following results for the month and quarter ended December 31, 2024:
December
Quarter
(millions, except per share amounts and ratios; unaudited)
2024
2023
Change
2024
2023
Change
Net premiums written
$
5,964
$
4,876
22
%
$
18,105
$
15,130
20
%
Net premiums earned
$
6,717
$
5,310
26
%
$
19,144
$
15,773
21
%
Net income
$
942
$
901
5
%
$
2,356
$
1,988
19
%
Per share available to common shareholders
$
1.60
$
1.53
5
%
$
4.01
$
3.37
19
%
Total pretax net realized gains (losses) on securities
$
(140
)
$
144
(197
)
%
$
(53
)
$
303
(117
)
%
Combined ratio
84.1
83.4
0.7
pts.
87.9
88.7
(0.8
)
pts.
Average diluted equivalent common shares
587.7
587.4
0
%
587.7
587.5
0
%
December 31,
(thousands; unaudited)
2024
2023
% Change
Policies in Force
Personal Lines
Agency – auto
9,778
8,336
17
Direct – auto
13,996
11,190
25
Special lines
6,520
5,969
9
Property
3,517
3,096
14
Total Personal Lines
33,811
28,591
18
Commercial Lines
1,141
1,099
4
Companywide
34,952
29,690
18
See Progressive’s complete monthly earnings release for additional information.
About Progressive
Progressive Insurance® makes it easy to understand, buy and use car insurance, home insurance, and other protection needs. Progressive offers choices so consumers can reach us however it’s most convenient for them — online at progressive.com, by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE, via the Progressive mobile app, or in-person with a local agent.
Progressive provides insurance for personal and commercial autos and trucks, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, and homes; it is the second largest personal auto insurer in the country, a leading seller of commercial auto, motorcycle, and boat insurance, and one of the top 15 homeowners insurance carriers.
Founded in 1937, Progressive continues its long history of offering shopping tools and services that save customers time and money, like Name Your Price®, Snapshot®, and HomeQuote Explorer®.
The Common Shares of The Progressive Corporation, the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based holding company, trade publicly at NYSE: PGR.
NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXLS), a global data and AI company, will release financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2024, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, after the market closes. An earnings news release, investor fact sheet and presentation will be published on the company’s investor relations website offering an overview of the financial results.
The company will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. EST the following day, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2024, with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rohit Kapoor and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Maurizio Nicolelli, who will provide insights into the company’s operational and financial results.
To listen to video live webcast or to participate in the call, please register here. A replay of the webcast will be available for approximately one year.
EXL [NASDAQ: EXLS] is a global data and AI company that offers services and solutions to reinvent client business models, drive better outcomes and unlock growth with speed. EXL harnesses the power of data, AI, and deep industry knowledge to transform businesses, including the world’s leading corporations in industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and capital markets, retail, communications and media, and energy and infrastructure, among others. EXL was founded in 1999 with the core values of innovation, collaboration, excellence, integrity and respect. We are headquartered in New York and have approximately 57,000 employees spanning six continents. For more information, visit www.exlservice.com.
Contact: John Kristoff Vice President, Head of Investor Relations +1 212 209 4613
Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English
The financial supervisory authority BaFin warns offers from the website kersten-anlageberatung.de. The website is almost identical to kersten-anlageberatung.com, which BaFin already warned against on 17 January 2025. BaFin expressly points out that the licensed securities institution Kersten Anlageberatung GmbH contrary to the information in the imprint does not operate the website kersten-anlageberatung.de either. This is yet another case of identity theft.
Anyone providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation.
The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).
Please be aware:
BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.
With political support historically from all parties and civil society — including faith organizations and community groups — private sponsorship is an affordable, sustainable and effective way to protect and support people whose lives are at risk.
Safe haven for refugees
For 45 years, Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program has provided safety to refugees from around the world, bringing together Canadian individuals and communities who volunteer their time and raise funds to support refugee newcomers to Canada.
Everyday Canadians have stepped up to provide funds for newcomers’ basic expenses, to help find housing and to connect people to health, education and language services. More than 327,000 refugees have come to Canada through the program, supported by citizen action from coast to coast.
The pause, in place until Dec. 31, 2025, was cited as “preventing further growth of the application inventory” that far exceeds the current spaces allotted for privately sponsored refugees in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which is 23,000 for 2025.
This pause does not apply to all sponsorship applications, like those submitted by sponsorship agreement holders, the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program or the one-year window provision. However, data from 2022 indicate that the G5 and CS groups represented 60 per cent of private refugee sponsorships, meaning these streams are significant contributors to the program.
The inevitable result of this action will be longer wait times for applicants at risk, and longer periods of separation for refugees who have landed as permanent residents and urgently want to bring family or community members who remain in danger to safety — and have no other pathway to do so.
Between 2017 and 2020, our research team (led by geography professor Jennifer Hyndman) interviewed more than 100 people in five provinces across Canada, with participants from both urban and rural settings. Our focus was on long-term sponsors — people who had participated in sponsorship programs several times over a minimum of five years, often decades. Many of these had been part of the G5 group, which allows private citizens to collectively resettle refugees from abroad.
Our findings revealed that many G5 sponsors are driven by deep commitment to global solidarity with refugees. G5 sponsors are often in diaspora communities and former refugees themselves who want to help family members or close kin in dangerous circumstances to safety.
The program’s ability to facilitate these connections and the protection they afford is vital, driving the sustainability of private refugee sponsorship. The suspension of new applications for G5 will not only prolong family separation but also extend the wait times for refugees trapped in war zones.
Our research shows that a large proportion of former refugees and sponsors knew specific individuals still at risk whom they wished to sponsor. This process of “naming,” which allows sponsors to nominate individuals for resettlement, is a unique and integral feature of the PSR program.
Undermining refugee protection
As government-led initiatives provide only limited resettlement pathways, civil society has relied on the full range of sponsorship categories, including private sponsorship by G5, to ensure equitable refugee protection.
The pause on G5 and CS streams narrow the possibilities for pathways to protection, which in turn threatens to make refugee protection more inequitable. This is especially the case for refugees displaced by conflicts that have historically not aligned with Canadian government priorities but still drive high numbers of displacement, including those in Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
In the United Nations Global Refugee Compact, released in 2018, Canadian sponsorship was cited as a promising practice for expanding refugee protection across the world.
A recent Senate report, Ripped From Home: The Global Crisis of Forced Displacement, praises the PSR program for providing individuals and organizations with the opportunity to sponsor refugees. It also recommends the federal government increase private sponsorship.
The recent announcement to cut this program is at odds with these recommendations and undercuts Canada’s reputation as a leader in the protection of refugees internationally.
Call to action
The pause on new intake of G5 and CS applications for sponsorship disrupts a system that has successfully empowered communities in Canada and across the world to come together and save lives.
We urge the government to reconsider its decision and explore alternative solutions, such as allocating additional resources to clear backlogs, rather than halting applications.
Anna Lise Purkey is affiliated with the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.
Biftu Yousuf and Dawit Demoz do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions, University of Dayton
A cardinal opens the Holy Door of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome on Jan. 1, 2025, one of the events starting the Jubilee year.AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
Pope Francis has proclaimed a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church, which began on Dec. 24, 2024, and will continue through Jan. 6, 2026. But what is a Jubilee, and what is this year’s about?
Biblical roots
The Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament, offers instructions about celebrating a Jubilee every 50 years. The Jubilee has roots in the Jewish practice of Sabbath rest every seven days, connected to the creation story in which God created the world in six days and rested on the next.
This rest is not merely about “taking a break,” but orienting life to what is most important. The prohibition of work on the Sabbath prompts people to look beyond productive work, helping them to see all activity in light of the eternal.
The biblical books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy outline what’s called a “sabbatical year,” extending that practice of periodic rest to every seventh year. During that sabbatical, the texts call for forgiving debts and freeing enslaved people. Even the land is supposed to get rest, since farmers are told to let their fields lie fallow – a check against unfettered, and destructive, desires for productivity.
The Jubilee extends this logic. Held every 50 years, the Holy Year follows a Sabbath of Sabbaths, “seven times seven years.” During the Jubilee, the Book of Leviticus instructs, “you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” Again, even the land must be freed. Each plot bought and sold over the previous 49 years must be returned to the tribe with which it was originally associated.
Like all the other forms of Sabbath rest, the overriding emphasis is that everyone and everything belongs to God: that the Earth is not simply for humans to do with as they please, especially if it creates injustice. People inhabit the Earth like wayfarers. Indeed, the Bible regularly reminds the Israelites that they were once enslaved in Egypt and, once freed, were wanderers.
Medieval traditions
Scholars are not quite sure if and how Jubilees were actually put into practice in the ancient world, though they are referred to in the New Testament. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sums up his mission with verses about the Jubilee from the Book of Isaiah: “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Some of the practices of the church’s modern Jubilees, however, come from the late Middle Ages, a time when Christian grassroots efforts promoted pilgrimages to Rome. As much political as religious and recreational, these pilgrimages demonstrated to power-hungry monarchs that the eternal city was beyond royal control and, by implication, that pilgrims’ identity was more than subjects of a crown.
In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII endorsed these initiatives by instituting a 13th centennial celebration of Christ’s birth. Central to the celebration were pilgrimages to Roman basilicas. Boniface promised that pilgrims could receive an “indulgence”: reparation for their sins.
A fresco in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, depicting Pope Boniface VIII proclaiming the Jubilee in 1300. Sailko/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
Often misunderstood, an indulgence is distinct from forgiveness. The Catholic tradition teaches that people who sincerely repent of their sins are forgiven and reconciled to God. Ordinarily, this happens through rites such as the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which involves confession to a priest.
Once a sin is forgiven, however, reparation remains. Suppose you’ve thrown a ball through a neighbor’s window. Even if they forgive you, you’re still responsible for the window’s repair. In other words, there’s still a consequence for your action.
Catholics believe that indulgences remit the repair, removing the temporal punishment. In the analogy, you might not have fixed the window, but instead you completed another holy and satisfactory act in its place. Indulgences can be granted to Catholics for actions like completing specific prayers, making a pilgrimage or performing acts of charity.
Boniface’s decree included no reference to the biblical Jubilee. Over time, however, the link between the biblical Jubilee and these Roman celebrations was articulated and strengthened. The intervening time between Jubilees was reduced to 50 years to resonate with the ancient text. Eventually, Jubilees came to be inaugurated every 25 years to increase the opportunity for participation.
As they developed, Jubilee celebrations kept their link to pilgrimages and reparation. Both are meant to be reminders that human beings are made for the eternal, not merely the productive.
The Catholic Church’s last ordinary Jubilee celebration, which took place in 2000, was deemed a “Great Jubilee” by then-Pope John Paul II, commemorating two millennia since the birth of Christ. Famously, during a Mass that year, he sought forgiveness of the church for atrocities committed across its history, including injustice toward Jews, Indigenous peoples and women, among others.
The 2000 Jubilee continued the practice of indulgences for making a pilgrimage, emphasizing that “a pilgrimage evokes the believer’s personal journey” of faith, following in Christ’s footsteps.
Catholics in Mexico City take part in a ceremony marking the beginning of the Jubilee year at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Dec. 29, 2024. AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme
In addition to the typical emphases on pilgrimage and indulgences, Francis has identified hope as a particular focus for this Jubilee year. In Christian theology, hope is not optimism. It is an insistence to seek the good, anchored in God: to see difficulties clearly, yet to pursue action rather than despair.
Thus, Francis has called for several specific acts of hope throughout the Jubilee year. The papal bull proclaiming the Jubilee urges peacemaking, a spirit of welcome toward migrants, and openness toward having children. Francis also issues a call for affluent nations to forgive debts, and a general call for both repentance and mercy.
Jubilees ask people to reorient life toward the eternal – a theme that might seem to minimize attention to the specific social ills of our moment. In tune with the long tradition of Jubilees, however, Francis emphasizes that the more people see the world as God sees it, the more people will act against injustice.
Timothy Gabrielli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Asylum seekers wait at Catholic Charities in McAllen, Texas, for humanitarian aid on Jan. 18, 2025. Associated Press/Eric Gay
“Animals,” “aliens” and “people with bad genes” – President Donald Trump and his supporters often use this kind of dehumanizing language to describe immigrants.
In the 2024 presidential debate between Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Trump falsely referred to Haitian refugees in Springfield, Ohio, as “eating the pets of the people that live there.” And in his Jan. 20, 2025, inaugural address, Trump spoke of “dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions,” who have illegally entered the U.S. “from all over the world.”
Using hateful, polarizing language to gain a political advantage or make an argument against a group of people, like immigrants, is not unique to the U.S.
The use of this language is associated with populist shifts in many parts of the world.
In the first few days of the new Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began raids to detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and increased their number of arrests and deportations of immigrants, including those without violent criminal records.
Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, has said that the government’s mass immigration deportation plans – which he said could include raids on schools, churches and other places previously considered havens – is “all for the good of this nation.”
My hate speech research shows that, as the world has seen to its horror again and again, words that slander and strip people of their voices and humanity are often a first step toward discriminatory and violent policies. At its most extreme, speaking of people as dirty and polluting and saying they lack humanity makes it easier to kill them.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handcuff a detained immigrant in Maryland on Jan. 25, 2025. Associated Press/Alex Brandon
Echoes from the fascist past
There is nothing new about the hateful political rhetoric that has become common today.
In the lead-up to and during World War II, fascist leaders in Europe targeted Jews, Roma, gay people and other groups as sources of “social pollution,” as beyond being human, while describing themselves as noble and decent, embodying a pure, uncorrupted nation.
In 1920, well before the German Nazi Party came to power in 1933, its platform declared that “Only someone of German blood, regardless of faith, can be a citizen.”
Viktor Klemperer, a literary scholar who was a close observer of Nazism, wrote in a diary published posthumously in 1995 that the Third Reich’s demonizing language against Jews and other marginalized groups helped create its culture and justify its mass killings. Nazis consequently assumed the mantle of liberators as they killed those whom they saw as corrupting the “pure race,” in accordance with ideas of “racial hygiene.”
The Nazis’ hateful language was not limited to Europe. Fritz Kuhn, a German Nazi activist, served in the late 1930s and early 1940s as leader of the German American Bund, an organization of ethnic Germans and Nazi sympathizers living in the U.S. He addressed a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1939.
Kuhn said during his speech that American citizens with American ideals are “determined to protect ourselves, our homes, our wives and children against the slimy conspirators who would change this glorious republic into the inferno of a Bolshevik paradise.”
The U.S. government stripped Kuhn of his U.S. citizenship in 1943 and deported him to Germany in 1945 because of his pro-Nazi allegiance.
In 2018, Matteo Salvini, then the deputy prime minister who now holds the same position, denounced the Roma people, an ethnic minority. He called for their removal through a “mass cleansing street by street, piazza by piazza, neighborhood by neighborhood.”
Salvini has directed his most virulent language, however, toward the tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, mostly from Africa, who attempt to reach Italy via the Mediterranean Sea.
Salvini, perhaps more than any other populist leader in the world, has turned his hateful language and use of misinformation into action. Italian authorities under Salvini’s direction have detained ships working to help rescue migrants who are in danger at sea, preventing them from carrying out those rescues.
In September 2024, an Italian prosecutor requested a six-year jail term for Salvini, accusing him of kidnapping 147 migrants by preventing them from landing at a port in Italy for several weeks.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing on Jan. 28, 2025, alongside an image of an alleged criminal detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
What to expect
We can’t be certain at this point what Trump’s and his supporters’ hateful language against immigrants, minorities and political opponents will yield.
Judging by Italy’s example and other instances, it’s possible that laws will be broken in implementing Trump’s immigration and asylum policies.
A federal judge temporarily halted Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that told federal agencies to not process identification documents for babies born to parents who are living in the country illegally, among other scenarios.
It’s not clear how these policies will continue to unfold. What is clear is that words of hate have been used in many times and places as a justification for illegal arrests and, in some cases, as a prelude to state-sanctioned mass violence.
Ronald Niezen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Dominik Stecuła, Assistant Professor of Communication and Political Science, The Ohio State University
Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr., on Capitol Hill on Jan. 9, 2025. Jon Cherry/Getty Images
The many controversial people appointed to the Trump administration, from Elon Muskto Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have at least one thing in common: They dislike and distrust experts.
While anti-intellectualism and populism are nothing new in American life, there has hardly been an administration as seemingly committed to these worldviews.
Take President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy, whose Senate confirmation hearing is Jan. 29, 2025, epitomizes the new American political ethos of populismand anti-intellectualism, or the idea that people hold negative feelings toward not just scientific research but those who produce it.
For instance, Trump denigrated scientific experts on the campaign trail and in his first term in office. He called climate science a “hoax” and public health officials in his administration “idiots.”
Trump and Kennedy have cast doubt on vaccine safety and the medical scientific establishment. As far back as the Republican primary debates in 2016, Trump falsely asserted that childhood vaccines cause autism, in defiance of scientific consensus on the issue.
Kennedy’s long-term vaccine skepticism has also been well documented, though he himself denies it. More recently, he has been presenting himself as “pro-vaccine safety,” as one Republican senator put it, on the eve of Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.
If confirmed, Kennedy has vowed to turn this anti-intellectual rhetoric into action. He wants to replace over 600 employees in the National Institutes of Health with his own hires. He has also suggested cutting entire departments.
During one interview, Kennedy said, “In some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA, that are – that have to go.”
Populism across political spectrum
In lockstep with this anti-intellectual movement is a version of populism that people like RFK Jr. and Trump both espouse.
Populism is a worldview that pits average citizens against “the elites.” Who the elites are varies depending on the context, but in the contemporary political climate in the U.S., establishment politicians, scientists and organizations like pharmaceutical companies or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are frequently portrayed as such.
For instance, right-wing populists often portray government health agencies as colluding with multinational pharmaceutical companies to impose excessive regulations, mandate medical interventions and restrict personal freedoms.
Left-wing populists expose how Big Pharma manipulates the health care system, using their immense wealth and political influence to put profits over people, deliberately keeping lifesaving medications overpriced and out of reach – all of which has been said by politicians like Bernie Sanders.
The goal of a populist is to portray these elites as the enemy of the people and to root out the perceived “corruption” of the elites.
This worldview doesn’t just appeal to the far right. Historically in the United States, populism has been more of a force on the political left. To this day, it is present on the left through Sanders and similar politicians who rail against wealth inequality and the interests of the “millionaire class.”
In short, the Trump administration’s populist and anti-intellectual worldview does not map cleanly onto the liberal-conservative ideological divide in the U.S. That is why Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat and nephew of a Democratic president, might become a Cabinet member for a Republican president.
The cross-ideological appeal of populism and anti-intellectualism also partly explains why praise for Trump’s selection of Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services came from all corners of society. Republican senators Ron Johnson and Josh Hawley lauded the move, as did basketball star Rudy Gobert and Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis.
Why, then, is disdain for scientific experts appealing to so many Americans?
Much of the public supports this worldview because of perceived ineffectiveness and moral wrongs made by the elites. Factors such as the opioid crisis encouraged by predatory pharmaceutical companies, public confusion and dissatisfaction with changing health guidance in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the frequently prohibitive cost of health care and medicine have given some Americans reason to question their trust in science and medicine.
Populists have embraced popular and science-backed policies that align with an anti-elite stance. Kennedy, for example, supports decreasing the amount of ultra-processed foods in public school lunches and reducing toxic chemicals in the food supply and natural environment. These stances are backed by scientific evidence about how to improve public health. At the same time, they point to the harmful actions of a perceived corrupt elite – the profit-driven food industry.
It is, of course, reasonable to want to hold accountable both public officials for their policy decisions and scientists and pharmaceutical companies who engage in unethical behavior. Scientists should by no means be immune from scrutiny.
Examining, for example, what public health experts got wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic would be tremendously helpful from the standpoint of preparing for future public health crises, but also from the standpoint of rebuilding public trust in science, experts and institutions.
However, the Trump administration does not appear to be interested in pursuing good faith assessments. And Trump’s victory means he gets to implement his vision and appoint people he wants to carry it out. But words have consequences, and we have seen the impact of anti-vaccine rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic, where “red” counties and states had significantly lower vaccine intent and uptake compared with the “blue” counterparts.
Therefore, despite sounding appealing, Kennedy’s signature slogan, “Make America Healthy Again,” could – in discouraging policies and behaviors that have been proven effective against diseases and their crippling or deadly outcomes – bring about a true public health crisis.
Dominik Stecuła receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
Kristin Lunz Trujillo receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
Matt Motta receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Krittika Goyal, Assistant Professor of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
Wearable devices have become a big part of modern health care, helping track a patient’s heart rate, stress levels and brain activity. These devices rely on electrodes, sensors that touch the skin to pick up electrical signals from the body.
Creating these electrodes isn’t as easy as it might seem. Human skin is complex. Its properties, such as how well it conducts electricity, can change depending on how hydrated it is, how old you are or even the weather. These changes can make it hard to test how well a wearable device works.
Additionally, testing electrodes often involves human volunteers, which can be tricky and unpredictable. Everyone’s skin is different, meaning results aren’t always consistent. Testing also takes time and money. Plus, there are ethical concerns about asking people to participate in these experiments, including making sure they are informed about the risks and benefits and can voluntarily participate.
Scientists have tried to create artificial skin models to avoid some of these problems, but existing ones haven’t been able to fully mimic the way skin behaves when interacting with wearable sensors. To address these limitations, my colleagues and I have developed a tool called a biomimetic skin phantom – a model that mimics the electrical behavior of human skin, making testing wearable sensors easier, cheaper and more reliable.
What is a skin phantom?
Our biomimetic skin phantom is made of two layers that capture the nuances of both the skin’s surface and deeper tissues. “Biomimetic” means it imitates something from nature – in this case, human skin. “Phantom” refers to a physical model or device made to mimic the properties of something real, like human tissues, so it can be used for research instead of relying on actual people.
Your skin is made up of multiple layers of cells. OpenStax, CC BY-SA
The bottom layer mimics the deeper tissues under the skin. It is made from a gel-like substance called polyvinyl alcohol cryogel, which can be adjusted to have similar softness and electrical conductivity to real biological tissues. We chose this material because these qualities, along with its durability and wide use in biomedical research, make it a good stand-in for the deeper layers of skin.
The top layer mimics the outermost part of the skin, known as the stratum corneum. It is made from a silicone-like materialcalled PDMS, which is mixed with special additives to match the skin’s electrical properties. Also widely used in biomedical research, PDMS is flexible and easy to shape to closely replicate the skin’s outer layer.
One unique feature of our skin phantom is its ability to mimic different levels of skin hydration. Hydration affects how well skin conducts electricity. Dry skin has higher resistance, meaning it opposes the flow of electricity. This makes it harder for wearable devices to pick up signals. Hydrated skin conducts electricity more easily because water improves the movement of charged particles, leading to better signal quality. Improving how dry skin is modeled and tested can lead to better electrode designs.
To replicate the effects of skin hydration, we introduced adjustable pores into the top PDMS layer of the skin phantom. By precisely changing the size and density of the pores, the model can mimic dry or hydrated skin conditions.
Testing the skin phantom
My team and I tested our skin phantom in several ways to see whether it could truly replace human skin in experiments.
First, we used a method called impedance spectroscopy to study the phantom’s electrical properties. This technique applies alternating electrical signals at different frequencies and measures the material’s resistance to electrical flow, providing a detailed profile of its electrical behavior. Results from the experiments we conducted on five volunteers showed that the phantom’s impedance response closely mirrored that of human skin across both dry and hydrated conditions, with a difference of less than 20% between real skin and the phantom.
We also tested whether wearable devices could pick up signals from the skin phantom and how signal quality changed with different skin conditions. To do this, we recorded eletrocardiogram signals on phantoms designed to mimic dry and hydrated skin. The results showed clear differences in signal quality: The phantom simulating dry skin had a lower signal-to-noise ratio, while the hydrated skin phantom showed better signal clarity. These findings are consistent with previous studies from other researchers.
Together, our skin phantom closely replicates the way human skin responds to wearable sensors across a range of conditions, including dry and hydrated states. This accuracy makes it an optimal stand-in for real skin in the lab.
Wearable technology
The skin phantom is more than just a testing tool – it’s a step forward for wearable health technology.
By removing the unpredictability of human testing, scientists can design and improve wearable devices more quickly and effectively. They can also use it to study how skin interacts with medical devices, such as patches that deliver medicine or advanced diagnostic tools.
Our skin phantom is also simple and inexpensive. Each phantom costs less than US$3 and can be made with standard lab materials and tools. It can be reused multiple times within the same day without significant changes in its electrical properties, though extended use over several days may require adjustments, such as rehydration, to maintain stable performance. This affordability and reusability make the phantom more accessible for labs with limited budgets or resources.
As wearable technology becomes more common in health care, tools such as the skin phantom can help make devices more reliable, accessible and personalized for everyone.
Krittika Goyal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Assistant professor Frank Cackowski, left, and researcher Steven Zielske at Wayne State University in Detroit became suspicious of a paper on cancer research that was eventually retracted.Amy Sacka, CC BY-ND
Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research, undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives.
It is exceedingly difficult to get a handle on exactly how big the problem is. Around 55,000 scholarly papers have been retracted to date, for a variety of reasons, but scientists and companies who screen the scientific literature for telltale signs of fraud estimate that there are many more fake papers circulating – possibly as many as several hundred thousand. This fake research can confound legitimate researchers who must wade through dense equations, evidence, images and methodologies only to find that they were made up.
Even when the bogus papers are spotted – usually by amateur sleuths on their own time – academic journals are often slow to retract the papers, allowing the articles to taint what many consider sacrosanct: the vast global library of scholarly work that introduces new ideas, reviews other research and discusses findings.
These fake papers are slowing down research that has helped millions of people with lifesaving medicine and therapies from cancer to COVID-19. Analysts’ data shows that fields related to cancer and medicine are particularly hard hit, while areas like philosophy and art are less affected. Some scientists have abandoned their life’s work because they cannot keep pace given the number of fake papers they must bat down.
The problem reflects a worldwide commodification of science. Universities, and their research funders, have long used regular publication in academic journals as requirements for promotions and job security, spawning the mantra “publish or perish.”
But now, fraudsters have infiltrated the academic publishing industry to prioritize profits over scholarship. Equipped with technological prowess, agility and vast networks of corrupt researchers, they are churning out papers on everything from obscure genes to artificial intelligence in medicine.
These papers are absorbed into the worldwide library of research faster than they can be weeded out. About 119,000 scholarly journal articles and conference papers are published globally every week, or more than 6 million a year. Publishers estimate that, at most journals, about 2% of the papers submitted – but not necessarily published – are likely fake, although this number can be much higher at some publications.
While no country is immune to this practice, it is particularly pronounced in emerging economies where resources to do bona fide science are limited – and where governments, eager to compete on a global scale, push particularly strong “publish or perish” incentives.
As a result, there is a bustling online underground economy for all things scholarly publishing. Authorship, citations, even academic journal editors, are up for sale. This fraud is so prevalent that it has its own name: paper mills, a phrase that harks back to “term-paper mills”, where students cheat by getting someone else to write a class paper for them.
The impact on publishers is profound. In high-profile cases, fake articles can hurt a journal’s bottom line. Important scientific indexes – databases of academic publications that many researchers rely on to do their work – may delist journals that publish too many compromised papers. There is growing criticism that legitimate publishers could do more to track and blacklist journals and authors who regularly publish fake papers that are sometimes little more than artificial intelligence-generated phrases strung together.
To better understand the scope, ramifications and potential solutions of this metastasizing assault on science, we – a contributing editor at Retraction Watch, a website that reports on retractions of scientific papers and related topics, and two computer scientists at France’s Université Toulouse III–Paul Sabatier and Université Grenoble Alpes who specialize in detecting bogus publications – spent six months investigating paper mills.
This included, by some of us at different times, trawling websites and social media posts, interviewing publishers, editors, research-integrity experts, scientists, doctors, sociologists and scientific sleuths engaged in the Sisyphean task of cleaning up the literature. It also involved, by some of us, screening scientific articles looking for signs of fakery.
What emerged is a deep-rooted crisis that has many researchers and policymakers calling for a new way for universities and many governments to evaluate and reward academics and health professionals across the globe.
Just as highly biased websites dressed up to look like objective reporting are gnawing away at evidence-based journalism and threatening elections, fake science is grinding down the knowledge base on which modern society rests.
As part of our work detecting these bogus publications, co-author Guillaume Cabanac developed the Problematic Paper Screener, which filters 130 million new and old scholarly papers every week looking for nine types of clues that a paper might be fake or contain errors. A key clue is a tortured phrase – an awkward wording generated by software that replaces common scientific terms with synonyms to avoid direct plagiarism from a legitimate paper.
Frank Cackowski at Detroit’s Wayne State University was confused.
The oncologist was studying a sequence of chemical reactions in cells to see if they could be a target for drugs against prostate cancer. A paper from 2018 from 2018 in the American Journal of Cancer Research piqued his interest when he read that a little-known molecule called SNHG1 might interact with the chemical reactions he was exploring. He and fellow Wayne State researcher Steven Zielske began a series of experiments to learn more about the link. Surprisingly, they found there wasn’t a link.
Meanwhile, Zielske had grown suspicious of the paper. Two graphs showing results for different cell lines were identical, he noticed, which “would be like pouring water into two glasses with your eyes closed and the levels coming out exactly the same.” Another graph and a table in the article also inexplicably contained identical data.
Zielske described his misgivings in an anonymous post in 2020 at PubPeer, an online forum where many scientists report potential research misconduct, and also contacted the journal’s editor. Shortly thereafter, the journal pulled the paper, citing “falsified materials and/or data.”
“Science is hard enough as it is if people are actually being genuine and trying to do real work,” says Cackowski, who also works at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Michigan. “And it’s just really frustrating to waste your time based on somebody’s fraudulent publications.”
Wayne State scientists Frank Cackowski and Steven Zielske carried out experiments based on a paper they later found to contain false data. Amy Sacka, CC BY-ND
He worries that the bogus publications are slowing down “legitimate research that down the road is going to impact patient care and drug development.”
The two researchers eventually found that SNHG1 did appear to play a part in prostate cancer, though not in the way the suspect paper suggested. But it was a tough topic to study. Zielske combed through all the studies on SNHG1 and cancer – some 150 papers, nearly all from Chinese hospitals – and concluded that “a majority” of them looked fake. Some reported using experimental reagents known as primers that were “just gibberish,” for instance, or targeted a different gene than what the study said, according to Zielske. He contacted several of the journals, he said, but received little response. “I just stopped following up.”
The many questionable articles also made it harder to get funding, Zielske said. The first time he submitted a grant application to study SNHG1, it was rejected, with one reviewer saying “the field was crowded,” Zielske recalled. The following year, he explained in his application how most of the literature likely came from paper mills. He got the grant.
Today, Zielske said, he approaches new research differently than he used to: “You can’t just read an abstract and have any faith in it. I kind of assume everything’s wrong.”
Legitimate academic journals evaluate papers before they are published by having other researchers in the field carefully read them over. This peer review process is designed to stop flawed research from being disseminated, but is far from perfect.
Reviewers volunteer their time, typically assume research is real and so don’t look for signs of fraud. And some publishers may try to pick reviewers they deem more likely to accept papers, because rejecting a manuscript can mean losing out on thousands of dollars in publication fees.
“Even good, honest reviewers have become apathetic” because of “the volume of poor research coming through the system,” said Adam Day, who directs Clear Skies, a company in London that develops data-based methods to help spot falsified papers and academic journals. “Any editor can recount seeing reports where it’s obvious the reviewer hasn’t read the paper.”
With AI, they don’t have to: New research shows that many reviews are now written by ChatGPT and similar tools.
María de los Ángeles Oviedo-García, a professor of marketing at the University of Seville in Spain, spends her spare time hunting for suspect peer reviews from all areas of science, hundreds of which she has flagged on PubPeer. Some of these reviews are the length of a tweet, others ask authors to cite the reviewer’s work even if it has nothing to do with the science at hand, and many closely resemble other peer reviews for very different studies – evidence, in her eyes, of what she calls “review mills.”
PubPeer comment from María de los Ángeles Oviedo-García pointing out that a peer review report is very similar to two other reports. She also points out that authors and citations for all three are either anonymous or the same person – both hallmarks of fake papers. Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND
“One of the demanding fights for me is to keep faith in science,” says Oviedo-García, who tells her students to look up papers on PubPeer before relying on them too heavily. Her research has been slowed down, she adds, because she now feels compelled to look for peer review reports for studies she uses in her work. Often there aren’t any, because “very few journals publish those review reports,” Oviedo-García says.
An ‘absolutely huge’ problem
It is unclear when paper mills began to operate at scale. The earliest article retracted due to suspected involvement of such agencies was published in 2004, according to the Retraction Watch Database, which contains details about tens of thousands of retractions. (The database is operated by The Center for Scientific Integrity, the parent nonprofit of Retraction Watch.) Nor is it clear exactly how many low-quality, plagiarized or made-up articles paper mills have spawned.
But the number is likely to be significant and growing, experts say. One Russia-linked paper mill in Latvia, for instance, claims on its website to have published “more than 12,650 articles” since 2012.
An analysis of 53,000 papers submitted to six publishers – but not necessarily published – found the proportion of suspect papers ranged from 2% to 46% across journals. And the American publisher Wiley, which has retracted more than 11,300 compromised articles and closed 19 heavily affected journals in its erstwhile Hindawi division, recently said its new paper-mill detection tool flags up to 1 in 7 submissions.
Day, of Clear Skies, estimates that as many as 2% of the several million scientific works published in 2022 were milled. Some fields are more problematic than others. The number is closer to 3% in biology and medicine, and in some subfields, like cancer, it may be much larger, according to Day. Despite increased awareness today, “I do not see any significant change in the trend,” he said. With improved methods of detection, “any estimate I put out now will be higher.”
The paper-mill problem is “absolutely huge,” said Sabina Alam, director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity at Taylor & Francis, a major academic publisher. In 2019, none of the 175 ethics cases that editors escalated to her team was about paper mills, Alam said. Ethics cases include submissions and already published papers. In 2023, “we had almost 4,000 cases,” she said. “And half of those were paper mills.”
Jennifer Byrne, an Australian scientist who now heads up a research group to improve the reliability of medical research, submitted testimony for a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in July 2022. She noted that 700, or nearly 6%, of 12,000 cancer research papers screened had errors that could signal paper mill involvement. Byrne shuttered her cancer research lab in 2017 because the genes she had spent two decades researching and writing about became the target of an enormous number of fake papers. A rogue scientist fudging data is one thing, she said, but a paper mill could churn out dozens of fake studies in the time it took her team to publish a single legitimate one.
“The threat of paper mills to scientific publishing and integrity has no parallel over my 30-year scientific career …. In the field of human gene science alone, the number of potentially fraudulent articles could exceed 100,000 original papers,” she wrote to lawmakers, adding, “This estimate may seem shocking but is likely to be conservative.”
In one area of genetics research – the study of noncoding RNA in different types of cancer – “We’re talking about more than 50% of papers published are from mills,” Byrne said. “It’s like swimming in garbage.”
When retractions do happen, it is often thanks to the efforts of a small international community of amateur sleuths like Oviedo-García and those who post on PubPeer.
Jillian Goldfarb, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University and a former editor of the Elsevier journal Fuel, laments the publisher’s handling of the threat from paper mills.
“I was assessing upwards of 50 papers every day,” she said in an email interview. While she had technology to detect plagiarism, duplicate submissions and suspicious author changes, it was not enough. “It’s unreasonable to think that an editor – for whom this is not usually their full-time job – can catch these things reading 50 papers at a time. The time crunch, plus pressure from publishers to increase submission rates and citations and decrease review time, puts editors in an impossible situation.”
In October 2023, Goldfarb resigned from her position as editor of Fuel. In a LinkedIn post about her decision, she cited the company’s failure to move on dozens of potential paper-mill articles she had flagged; its hiring of a principal editor who reportedly “engaged in paper and citation milling”; and its proposal of candidates for editorial positions “with longer PubPeer profiles and more retractions than most people have articles on their CVs, and whose names appear as authors on papers-for-sale websites.”
“This tells me, our community, and the public, that they value article quantity and profit over science,” Goldfarb wrote.
In response to questions about Goldfarb’s resignation, an Elsevier spokesperson told The Conversation that it “takes all claims about research misconduct in our journals very seriously” and is investigating Goldfarb’s claims. The spokesperson added that Fuel’s editorial team has “been working to make other changes to the journal to benefit authors and readers.”
That’s not how it works, buddy
Business proposals had been piling up for years in the inbox of João de Deus Barreto Segundo, managing editor of six journals published by the Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health in Salvador, Brazil. Several came from suspect publishers on the prowl for new journals to add to their portfolios. Others came from academics suggesting fishy deals or offering bribes to publish their paper.
In one email from February 2024, an assistant professor of economics in Poland explained that he ran a company that worked with European universities. “Would you be interested in collaboration on the publication of scientific articles by scientists who collaborate with me?” Artur Borcuch inquired. “We will then discuss possible details and financial conditions.”
A university administrator in Iraq was more candid: “As an incentive, I am prepared to offer a grant of $500 for each accepted paper submitted to your esteemed journal,” wrote Ahmed Alkhayyat, head of the Islamic University Centre for Scientific Research, in Najaf, and manager of the school’s “world ranking.”
“That’s not how it works, buddy,” Barreto Segundo shot back.
In email to The Conversation, Borcuch denied any improper intent. “My role is to mediate in the technical and procedural aspects of publishing an article,” Borcuch said, adding that, when working with multiple scientists, he would “request a discount from the editorial office on their behalf.” Informed that the Brazilian publisher had no publication fees, Borcuch said a “mistake” had occurred because an “employee” sent the email for him “to different journals.”
Academic journals have different payment models. Many are subscription-based and don’t charge authors for publishing, but have hefty fees for reading articles. Libraries and universities also pay large sums for access.
A fast-growing open-access model – where anyone can read the paper – includes expensive publication fees levied on authors to make up for the loss of revenue in selling the articles. These payments are not meant to influence whether or not a manuscript is accepted.
The Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health, among others, doesn’t charge authors or readers, but Barreto Segundo’s employer is a small player in the scholarly publishing business, which brings in close to $30 billion a year on profit margins as high as 40%. Academic publishers make money largely from subscription fees from institutions like libraries and universities, individual payments to access paywalled articles, and open-access fees paid by authors to ensure their articles are free for anyone to read.
The industry is lucrative enough that it has attracted unscrupulous actors eager to find a way to siphon off some of that revenue.
Ahmed Torad, a lecturer at Kafr El Sheikh University in Egypt and editor-in-chief of the Egyptian Journal of Physiotherapy, asked for a 30% kickback for every article he passed along to the Brazilian publisher. “This commission will be calculated based on the publication fees generated by the manuscripts I submit,” Torad wrote, noting that he specialized “in connecting researchers and authors with suitable journals for publication.”
Apparently, he failed to notice that Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health doesn’t charge author fees.
Like Borcuch, Alkhayyat denied any improper intent. He said there had been a “misunderstanding” on the editor’s part, explaining that the payment he offered was meant to cover presumed article-processing charges. “Some journals ask for money. So this is normal,” Alkhayyat said.
Torad explained that he had sent his offer to source papers in exchange for a commission to some 280 journals, but had not forced anyone to accept the manuscripts. Some had balked at his proposition, he said, despite regularly charging authors thousands of dollars to publish. He suggested that the scientific community wasn’t comfortable admitting that scholarly publishing has become a business like any other, even if it’s “obvious to many scientists.”
The unwelcome advances all targeted one of the journals Barreto Segundo managed, The Journal of Physiotherapy Research, soon after it was indexed in Scopus, a database of abstracts and citations owned by the publisher Elsevier.
Along with Clarivate’s Web of Science, Scopus has become an important quality stamp for scholarly publications globally. Articles in indexed journals are money in the bank for their authors: They help secure jobs, promotions, funding and, in some countries, even trigger cash rewards. For academics or physicians in poorer countries, they can be a ticket to the global north.
Consider Egypt, a country plaguedbydubiousclinical trials. Universities there commonly pay employees large sums for international publications, with the amount depending on the journal’s impact factor. A similar incentive structure is hardwired into national regulations: To earn the rank of full professor, for example, candidates must have at least five publications in two years, according to Egypt’s Supreme Council of Universities. Studies in journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science not only receive extra points, but they also are exempt from further scrutiny when applicants are evaluated. The higher a publication’s impact factor, the more points the studies get.
With such a focus on metrics, it has become common for Egyptian researchers to cut corners, according to a physician in Cairo who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. Authorship is frequently gifted to colleagues who then return the favor later, or studies may be created out of whole cloth. Sometimes an existing legitimate paper is chosen from the literature, and key details such as the type of disease or surgery are then changed and the numbers slightly modified, the source explained.
It affects clinical guidelines and medical care, “so it’s a shame,” the physician said.
Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals and humans, is a case in point. When some studies showed that it was effective against COVID-19, ivermectin was hailed as a “miracle drug” early in the pandemic. Prescriptions surged, and along with them calls to U.S. poison centers; one man spent nine days in the hospital after downing an injectable formulation of the drug that was meant for cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As it turned out, nearly all of the research that showed a positive effect on COVID-19 had indications of fakery, the BBC and others reported – including a now-withdrawn Egyptian study. With no apparent benefit, patients were left with just side effects.
“There’s a huge academic incentive and profit motive,” says Lisa Bero, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the senior research-integrity editor at the Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization that produces evidence reviews about medical treatments. “I see it at every institution I’ve worked at.”
But in the global south, the publish-or-perish edict runs up against underdeveloped research infrastructures and education systems, leaving scientists in a bind. For a Ph.D., the Cairo physician who requested anonymity conducted an entire clinical trial single-handedly – from purchasing study medication to randomizing patients, collecting and analyzing data and paying article-processing fees. In wealthier nations, entire teams work on such studies, with the tab easily running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Research is quite challenging here,” the physician said. That’s why scientists “try to manipulate and find easier ways so they get the job done.”
Institutions, too, have gamed the system with an eye to international rankings. In 2011, the journal Science described how prolific researchers in the United States and Europe were offered hefty payments for listing Saudi universities as secondary affiliations on papers. And in 2023, the magazine, in collaboration with Retraction Watch, uncovered a massive self-citation ploy by a top-ranked dental school in India that forced undergraduate students to publish papers referencing faculty work.
The root – and solutions
Such unsavory schemes can be traced back to the introduction of performance-based metrics in academia, a development driven by the New Public Management movement that swept across the Western world in the 1980s, according to Canadian sociologist of science Yves Gingras of the Université du Québec à Montréal. When universities and public institutions adopted corporate management, scientific papers became “accounting units” used to evaluate and reward scientific productivity rather than “knowledge units” advancing our insight into the world around us, Gingras wrote.
This transformation led many researchers to compete on numbers instead of content, which made publication metrics poor measures of academic prowess. As Gingras has shown, the controversial French microbiologist Didier Raoult, who now has more than a dozen retractions to his name, has an h-index – a measure combining publication and citation numbers – that is twice as high as that of Albert Einstein – “proof that the index is absurd,” Gingras said.
Worse, a sort of scientific inflation, or “scientometric bubble,” has ensued, with each new publication representing an increasingly small increment in knowledge. “We publish more and more superficial papers, we publish papers that have to be corrected, and we push people to do fraud,” said Gingras.
In 2024, Landon Halloran, a geoscientist at the University of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland, received an unusual job application for an opening in his lab. A researcher with a Ph.D. from China had sent him his CV. At 31, the applicant had amassed 160 publications in Scopus-indexed journals, 62 of them in 2022 alone, the same year he obtained his doctorate. Although the applicant was not the only one “with a suspiciously high output,” according to Halloran, he stuck out. “My colleagues and I have never come across anything quite like it in the geosciences,” he said.
According to industry insiders and publishers, there is more awareness now of threats from paper mills and other bad actors. Some journals routinely check for image fraud. A bad AI-generated image showing up in a paper can either be a sign of a scientist taking an ill-advised shortcut, or a paper mill.
The Cochrane Collaboration has a policy excluding suspect studies from its analyses of medical evidence. The organization also has been developing a tool to help its reviewers spot problematic medical trials, just as publishers have begun to screen submissions and share data and technologies among themselves to combat fraud.
This image, generated by AI, is a visual gobbledygook of concepts around transporting and delivering drugs in the body. For instance, the upper left figure is a nonsensical mix of a syringe, an inhaler and pills. And the pH-sensitive carrier molecule on the lower left is huge, rivaling the size of the lungs. After scientist sleuths pointed out that the published image made no sense, the journal issued a correction. Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND This graphic is the corrected image that replaced the AI image above. In this case, according to the correction, the journal determined that the paper was legitimate but the scientists had used AI to generate the image describing it. Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND
“People are realizing like, wow, this is happening in my field, it’s happening in your field,” said the Cochrane Collaboration’s Bero”. “So we really need to get coordinated and, you know, develop a method and a plan overall for stamping these things out.”
What jolted Taylor & Francis into paying attention, according to Alam, the director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity, was a 2020 investigation of a Chinese paper mill by sleuth Elisabeth Bik and three of her peers who go by the pseudonyms Smut Clyde, Morty and Tiger BB8. With 76 compromised papers, the U.K.-based company’s Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology was the most affected journal identified in the probe.
“It opened up a minefield,” says Alam, who also co-chairs United2Act, a project launched in 2023 that brings together publishers, researchers and sleuths in the fight against paper mills. “It was the first time we realized that stock images essentially were being used to represent experiments.”
Taylor & Francis decided to audit the hundreds of articles in its portfolio that contained similar types of images. It doubled Alam’s team, which now has 14.5 positions dedicated to doing investigations, and also began monitoring submission rates. Paper mills, it seemed, weren’t picky customers.
“What they’re trying to do is find a gate, and if they get in, then they just start kind of slamming in the submissions,” Alam said. Seventy-six fake papers suddenly seemed like a drop in the ocean. At one Taylor & Francis journal, for instance, Alam’s team identified nearly 1,000 manuscripts that bore all the marks of coming from a mill, she said.
And in 2023, it rejected about 300 dodgy proposals for special issues. “We’ve blocked a hell of a lot from coming through,” Alam said.
Fraud checkers
A small industry of technology startups has sprung up to help publishers, researchers and institutions spot potential fraud. The website Argos, launched in September 2024 by Scitility, an alert service based in Sparks, Nevada, allows authors to check if new collaborators are trailed by retractions or misconduct concerns. It has flagged tens of thousands of “high-risk” papers, according to the journal Nature.
Fraud-checker tools sift through papers to point to those that should be manually checked and possibly rejected. solidcolours/iStock via Getty Images
The fraudsters have not been idle, either. In 2022, when Clear Skies released the Papermill Alarm, the first academic to inquire about the new tool was a paper miller, according to Day. The person wanted access so he could check his papers before firing them off to publishers, Day said. “Paper mills have proven to be adaptive and also quite quick off the mark.”
Given the ongoing arms race, Alam acknowledges that the fight against paper mills won’t be won as long as the booming demand for their products remains.
According to a Nature analysis, the retraction rate tripled from 2012 to 2022 to close to .02%, or around 1 in 5,000 papers. It then nearly doubled in 2023, in large part because of Wiley’s Hindawi debacle. Today’s commercial publishing is part of the problem, Byrne said. For one, cleaning up the literature is a vast and expensive undertaking with no direct financial upside. “Journals and publishers will never, at the moment, be able to correct the literature at the scale and in the timeliness that’s required to solve the paper-mill problem,” Byrne said. “Either we have to monetize corrections such that publishers are paid for their work, or forget the publishers and do it ourselves.”
But that still wouldn’t fix the fundamental bias built into for-profit publishing: Journals don’t get paid for rejecting papers. “We pay them for accepting papers,” said Bodo Stern, a former editor of the journal Cell and chief of Strategic Initiatives at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit research organization and major funder in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “I mean, what do you think journals are going to do? They’re going to accept papers.”
With more than 50,000 journals on the market, even if some are trying hard to get it right, bad papers that are shopped around long enough eventually find a home, Stern added. “That system cannot function as a quality-control mechanism,” he said. “We have so many journals that everything can get published.”
In Stern’s view, the way to go is to stop paying journals for accepting papers and begin looking at them as public utilities that serve a greater good. “We should pay for transparent and rigorous quality-control mechanisms,” he said.
Peer review, meanwhile, “should be recognized as a true scholarly product, just like the original article, because the authors of the article and the peer reviewers are using the same skills,” Stern said. By the same token, journals should make all peer-review reports publicly available, even for manuscripts they turn down. “When they do quality control, they can’t just reject the paper and then let it be published somewhere else,” Stern said. “That’s not a good service.”
Better measures
Stern isn’t the first scientist to bemoan the excessive focus on bibliometrics. “We need less research, better research, and research done for the right reasons,” wrote the late statistician Douglas G. Altman in a much-cited editorial from 1994. “Abandoning using the number of publications as a measure of ability would be a start.”
Despite the declaration, metrics remain in wide use today, and scientists say there is a new sense of urgency.
“We’re getting to the point where people really do feel they have to do something” because of the vast number of fake papers, said Richard Sever, assistant director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, in New York, and co-founder of the preprint servers bioRxiv and medRxiv.
Stern and his colleagues have tried to make improvements at their institution. Researchers who wish to renew their seven-year contract have long been required to write a short paragraph describing the importance of their major results. Since the end of 2023, they also have been asked to remove journal names from their applications.
That way, “you can never do what all reviewers do – I’ve done it – look at the bibliography and in just one second decide, ‘Oh, this person has been productive because they have published many papers and they’re published in the right journals,’” says Stern. “What matters is, did it really make a difference?”
Shifting the focus away from convenient performance metrics seems possible not just for wealthy private institutions like Howard Hughes Medical Institute, but also for large government funders. In Australia, for example, the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2022 launched the “top 10 in 10” policy, aiming, in part, to “value research quality rather than quantity of publications.”
Rather than providing their entire bibliography, the agency, which assesses thousands of grant applications every year, asked researchers to list no more than 10 publications from the past decade and explain the contribution each had made to science. According to an evaluation report from April, 2024 close to three-quarters of grant reviewers said the new policy allowed them to concentrate more on research quality than quantity. And more than half said it reduced the time they spent on each application.
Gingras, the Canadian sociologist, advocates giving scientists the time they need to produce work that matters, rather than a gushing stream of publications. He is a signatory to the Slow Science Manifesto: “Once you get slow science, I can predict that the number of corrigenda, the number of retractions, will go down,” he says.
At one point, Gingras was involved in evaluating a research organization whose mission was to improve workplace security. An employee presented his work. “He had a sentence I will never forget,” Gingras recalls. The employee began by saying, “‘You know, I’m proud of one thing: My h-index is zero.’ And it was brilliant.” The scientist had developed a technology that prevented fatal falls among construction workers. “He said, ‘That’s useful, and that’s my job.’ I said, ‘Bravo!’”
Labbé receives funding from the European Research Council.
He has also received funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR), and the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.
Labbé has been in touch with most of the major publishers and their integrity officers, offering pro-bono consulting regarding detection tools to various actors in the field including STM-Hub and Morressier.
Cabanac receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) and the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). He is the administrator of the Problematic Paper Screener, a public platform that uses metadata from Digital Science and PubPeer via no-cost agreements. Cabanac has been in touch with most of the major publishers and their integrity officers, offering pro bono consulting regarding detection tools to various actors in the field including ClearSkies, Morressier, River Valley, Signals, and STM.
Frederik Joelving does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
