Category: Business

MIL-OSI Economics: Panasonic Leaps “Well into the future” with AI and Data-Driven Innovations at CES 2025 Exhibition Space

Source: Panasonic

Headline: Panasonic Leaps “Well into the future” with AI and Data-Driven Innovations at CES 2025 Exhibition Space

Marking a 58th consecutive year as an exhibitor at one of the world’s most influential consumer electronics events, Panasonic Group was on hand at CES 2025 (January 7–10 in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.) to engage with audiences about its strategic shift toward AI and data-driven businesses. This year’s CES was host to more than 141,000 visitors and 4,500 exhibitors from more than 150 countries and regions, but not everyone had the opportunity to attend. If you missed out, here are some key highlights from the Panasonic Group exhibition space.

Theme Signals Strategic Shift toward AI, Data-Driven Solutions

The theme for Panasonic Group’s exhibition space was “Well into the future.” Announced by Panasonic Holdings Corporation Co., Ltd. (Panasonic HD) Group CEO Yuki Kusumi during his opening keynote, this year’s theme signified the organization’s strategic shift toward AI and data-driven businesses in pursuit of an ideal society with affluence both in matter and mind.
“Well into the future” embodies the idea that, through innovations and a commitment to addressing social issues, Panasonic will lead the development of cutting-edge solutions to help achieve its core mission to inspire a healthy society and enrich the lives of people around the world.
“This year’s theme is a reference to Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita’s vision of contributing to the well-being of people and the progress of society,” said Mike King, Director, Brand Marketing & Creative Services, Marketing & Communications, Panasonic Operational Excellence of North America. “And you can see that theme throughout the exhibit—with technologies that support the well-being of individuals, of families and all of society, with our focus on green energy transformation and decarbonization, but also the use of AI-powered solutions to help families to experience greater connection, connectivity, comfort, and well-being.”

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Located in Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC)’s Central Hall, the exhibition space was an enclosed environment divided into four areas: Panasonic Go, Home, Carbon Neutral, and Circular Economy. The design was a departure from the open layouts of previous years, allowing visitors to experience the complete Panasonic story—from its history and vision for the future to technologies they can use today and solutions that will contribute to a sustainable tomorrow.

Growth Initiative Links Past and Future under “Panasonic Go”

Panasonic Go is a global corporate growth initiative that will drive transformation through AI-powered, software-led investments across Panasonic Group and create new experiences for customers and partners.
This area of the exhibition space welcomed visitors with a look back over the storied history of the Panasonic Group, illustrating historical milestones and introducing home appliances that have enriched lives since the company’s founding in 1918. Moving further into the exhibition space, a video explained Matsushita’s ambitious 10-stage, 250-year plan to contribute to solving social issues and improving people’s lives through technology and the role that Panasonic Go will play in driving the transformation to an AI-powered business model towards the plan’s fifth stage (2032–2056).
* The name Panasonic Go was also inspired by the Japanese word for “five”
Panasonic Group products have already changed the lives of more than one billion people. Looking ahead, the Group will leverage AI and data platforms—from Blue Yonder’s supply chain management solutions to Panasonic Well’s family wellness platform—to make new contributions for current and future generations.
Speaking of wellness, the final section of the Panasonic Go area gave visitors a chance to get a sneak peek of Umi, a new consumer offering from the Panasonic Well portfolio that will be available in the United States market in 2025. Umi is an innovative digital wellness platform and personalized family wellness coach that uses AI and a community of experts to help people build healthy habits and routines. Umi will be the first Panasonic Well consumer brand to use Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant known for its reasoning capabilities, deep understanding of complex topics, and ability to engage in natural conversations. Claude excels at analyzing data, writing and editing content, and helping solve complex problems—all while maintaining the highest standards of safety and security.

Carbon Neutral & Circular Economy Exhibits Highlight Sustainability Efforts

Panasonic HD took the stage at CES 2022 to announce its long-term environmental vision, Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI), and since then the Group has been engaged in a variety of activities to expand its impact toward achieving carbon neutrality and a circular economy. These areas in the exhibition space, Carbon Neutral and Circular Economy, introduced solutions and technologies that will be contributing to achieving the goals established under PGI.

Visitors also had the opportunity to learn more about how the Panasonic Group is tackling Carbon Neutral challenges and promoting Circular Economy initiatives in its products and solutions as it advances toward the broader goal of contributing to realizing sustainable lifestyles and society.
The Carbon Neutral display was organized into three main technologies/approaches: “Updating,” “Electrifying,” and “Harnessing.”
“Updating” means replacing existing methods with low environmental impact alternatives to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Hussmann display cases for refrigerated and frozen goods use natural refrigerant R290 to greatly reduce environmental impact compared to traditional CFC refrigerant alternatives currently in use.
“Electrifying” represents the transition from fossil fuels to electric power and making the most of renewable energy. Panasonic Group is a leader in automotive battery cells, having delivered more than 15 billion units to date—enough to power three million EVs worldwide. Visitors were able to check out the Panasonic 2170 cell, which features the world’s highest energy density, as well as the new Panasonic 4680 cell, which has a capacity around five times greater than the 2170 cell. The company’s efforts with Redwood Materials, Inc. and Nouveau Monde Graphite, Inc. to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve a sustainable society were also available for visitors to explore. Finally, they could learn more about Panasonic HX, an advanced energy management system that coordinates pure hydrogen fuel cells, solar cells, and storage batteries to efficiently supply renewable energy in response to changes in electricity demand and weather conditions.
“Harnessing” is an approach that uses natural resources to produce cleaner resources, leading to CO2 reduction and absorption. One technology aiding the approach is the anion exchange membrane water electrolysis, a device enabling highly efficient and low-cost green hydrogen production. A fully developed anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrode made of iron and nickel was on display in the area. Visitors could also see a life-size mockup of window-mounted perovskite solar cells which demonstrated the transparency and design flexibility of this unique power-generating technology. Also on display was the growth stimulant Novitek®, a technology that uses ambient CO2 in combination with cyanobacteria, a type of photosynthetic microorganism, to increase food productivity.

The Panasonic Group is committed to the Circular Economy under the three principles of “Maximizing,” “Minimizing,” and “Partnering.” In this area, the Group introduced its efforts to efficiently use resources and reduce consumption of the Earth’s limited natural resources.
Extending the effective use period while maintaining and improving the value of resources across a product’s lifecycle is known as “Maximizing.” Panasonic displayed a concept model based on the principle of Design for Circular Economy (DfCE); DfCE products are easy to assemble/disassemble (ease of repair), have fewer connectors/fasteners (ease of assembly), and can be grouped for reuse and recycling (ease of recycling).
“Minimizing” means using fewer new materials and more recycled and renewable materials. For example, approximately 45 percent of the plastic used in the Technics EAH-AZ80 earphones and charging case is made of plant-derived DURABIO , while the Lamdash Palm In ES-PV6A shaver uses NAGORI®, an innovative composite material derived from minerals extracted from seawater, reducing plastic use by approximately 40%1. A second exhibit showcased lighting that incorporates kinari , a sustainable material composed primarily of plant fibers that offers the moldability of conventional petroleum-based resins.
Designing products and systems for a circular economy is a challenge that Panasonic Group cannot tackle alone, so it emphasizes “Partnering” with customers and partners promote a new style of recycling-oriented management, information sharing, and product use. One outcome of these collaborative efforts is Tracephere , a traceability solution for product recycling and recycled resource processes based on blockchain technology.

OASYS and Home Appliances Supporting People’s Health, Comfort, and Safety

The center of the space introduced the Group’s next generation of residential solutions for comfortable, healthy, economical, sustainable, and secure living. Grabbing center stage was the new OASYS solution—a residential central air conditioning system being introduced in the U.S. market that uses a combination of existing products to heat, cool, and ventilate the home while reducing energy consumption by over 50% compared to conventional systems in the U.S.2 In addition to maximizing air volume while minimizing temperature differences and noise, OASYS paves the way for homes powered by 100 percent renewable energy based on high-efficiency water heaters and a lifestyle-adaptive home energy management system.
Complementing OASYS were displays for home appliances that enrich people’s lives. These included the Technics EAH-AZ100 true wireless earbuds, the Panasonic TV lineup, SoundSlayer Wireless Wearable Gaming Speaker System SC-GNW10, CV88QS multi-oven, LUMIX Full Frame and Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses, ARC5 PALM-sized 5-Blade Electric Luxury Razor, Panasonic MultiShape, and nanoe hair dryers.

New Technologies Strengthen Commitment to a Better Tomorrow

“Our hope is that people will understand that Panasonic’s commitment has not changed in over 100 years—it has always been about making people’s lives better and making the world a better place. The only difference is that today we are doing it with new technologies like AI and software,” said King. “From the individual to all of society, our hope is that people understand our commitment to helping people live healthier, happier lives.”
King continued: “We hope that people were surprised and excited about some of the new technologies that Panasonic is introducing. A lot of people are concerned about the environment, and we remain committed to sustainability, to green energy transformation, and to new initiatives that will be important for the health of the planet overall.”

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1: Compared to Lamdash PRO 5-blade ES-LV9W released in 2023
2: Conventional home air conditioning system using a heat pump cooling system (14.2 SEER2) and gas furnace (80% AFUE) compliant with IECC 2015; OASYS system using Panasonic Mini Split AC and transfer fans for both cooling and heating functions in houses compliant with OASYS-required specifications. (Estimate based on the conversion of gas energy consumption to electricity)

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MIL OSI Economics –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Panasonic AV-HSW10 Compact Live Switcher’s Firmware Release to Add NDI(R) High Bandwidth Mode

Source: Panasonic

Headline: Panasonic AV-HSW10 Compact Live Switcher’s Firmware Release to Add NDI(R) High Bandwidth Mode

Osaka, Japan – January 29, 2025 – Panasonic Entertainment & Communication today announced an upcoming new firmware, V3.0 for its AV-HSW10 compact live switcher, which will add new features such as NDI® High Bandwidth capability for more flexible operation to meet the needs of a wider range of production sites and systems, scheduled for release in January 2025. Also, a new firmware, V1.7 for the Panasonic AV-UHS500 live switcher will be released simultaneously. Both updates will enable Panasonic’s live switchers to offer increased flexibility in response to the growing demand for video production and distribution in live entertainment, seminars, events, and more.
Note: For the latest information on firmware availability, please refer to the website shown below.

●AV-HSW10 Firmware Upgrade

1. New NDI® High Bandwidth mode (NDI HB mode) for enhanced I/O flexibility

In addition to Normal mode, which combines various IP inputs and outputs, the new firmware will add NDI® High Bandwidth mode.*1 This mode will provide four respective inputs, doubling existing capacity, and one output. When combined with Panasonic’s NDI®certified PTZ cameras and other compatible devices, NDI® High Bandwidth mode will simplify the operation of NDI®centric systems. Existing baseband inputs and outputs will remain available for seamless use in hybrid baseband- and IP-based video production and distribution environments, as before.

Pre-update (current) I/O

Video input

3G-SDI

4 / 3

HDMI

1 / 2

NDI® High Bandwidth

2 (α ch. Support)

SRT

2

NDI® HX1/NDI® HX2

Video output

3G-SDI

2

HDMI

1

NDI® High Bandwidth

2

SRT

RTMP

UVC

1

Post-update I/O

Modes

Normal

NDI® High Bandwidth

Video input

3G-SDI

4 / 3

4/ 3

HDMI

1 / 2

1 / 2

NDI® High Bandwidth

2 (α ch. Support)

4 (α ch. Support)

SRT

2

–

NDI® HX1/NDI® HX2

Video output

3G-SDI

2

2

HDMI

1

1

NDI® High Bandwidth

2

1

SRT

–

RTMP/RTMPS

UVC

1

1

*1: Firmware for each mode must be selected and rewritten using a USB memory device. Switching from Normal to NDI HB mode will require a firmware rewrite and device reboot each time.

2. Improved Operational Convenience with Function Updates

Audio Input Selection Mode: Any audio can be assigned to video input. In addition, audio multiplex input can be toggled on/off when KEY is activated.
Enhanced Video Compatibility: Supports 1080i with NDI® High Bandwidth, USB output for 1080i system format (conversion to 1080p for UVC output), and RTMPS.
Improved Compatibility with Panasonic PTZ Cameras: Enables tally linking with Panasonic AW-UE30W/K PTZ camera and AW-UE150AW/K PTZ camera, and yellow tally with certain other Panasonic PTZ cameras.

●AV-UHS500 Firmware Upgrade

The upcoming firmware upgrade for the AV-UHS500 will enhance the functionality and convenience, both within systems and when integrating the camera with other Panasonic products.

1. Compatibility with Panasonic Media Production Suite Software

In the Media Production Suite, Device View will display devices in a list and allow IP address to be configured.

2. Other Updates

The AV-UHS500 will newly offer additional Audio Input selections and enhanced compatibility with Panasonic PTZ cameras.

To complement the company’s comprehensive video production ecosystem, including cameras and software, Panasonic continuously upgrades its AV-HSW10 compact live switcher and AV-UHS500 live switcher in response to user feedback, including for increased hardware stability and software expandability, striving to offer diverse content creators and other users enhanced video production capability.
For more details on these products:AV-HSW10: https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/products/av-hsw10/AV-UHS500: https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/products/av-uhs500/
Firmware download site:https://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/p2ui/guest/TopLogin.do?lang=en&category=pav
Note: Firmware specifications, etc. subject to change without notice
Broadcast and Professional Video Systems Global Webpagehttps://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/

Media Contact:

For more information about this topic, please contactpro-av.ad@gg.jp.panasonic.com

About Panasonic Entertainment & Communication Co., Ltd.
Panasonic Entertainment & Communication Co., Ltd. established in April 2022 as part of the Panasonic Group’s switch to an operating company system, is strengthening the bonds among people and enriching our customers’ lives by providing consumer electronics, including AVC products such as OLED TVs, Lumix digital cameras, headphones, phones, intercoms, and more, as well as business products and solutions including for broadcast, professional AV, and sound systems globally. Our mission is to offer people new emotion and relaxation through our entertainment and communication solutions. To fulfill this mission, we strive to act with professionalism to continuously recreate the future by connecting people. For more details, please visit https://www.panasonic.com/global/peac.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 29, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: DeepSeek’s success challenges assumptions about Chinese tech companies – and the US-China competition

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology Sydney

The release of the new DeepSeek-R1 artificial intelligence (AI) model has shocked the tech world.

Launched on January 20 with little fanfare, the Chinese AI model was reportedly developed at only a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s GPT-4o, and over a much shorter period of time. One Chinese commentator has called its release a “Pearl Harbor attack” on the AI world.

Though the reference to an “attack” may be a strong word, it alludes to the growing competition between the United States and China over dominance in the AI sphere, which the US had been leading thus far.

Indeed, people across China were celebrating a homegrown success story on Wednesday, as DeepSeek’s AI app soared to the top of the Apple and Google stores in the US.

So, what does the emergence of DeepSeek’s model say about US-China competition in this space?

Chinese government control

First, DeepSeek’s success is undoubtedly sending a message to the Chinese government that excessive control kills innovation.

Until mid-2023, enthusiasm for innovation in China’s tech companies had been stifled by increasingly restrictive regulations. The Chinese government had embarked on a sweeping crackdown of tech companies like Alibaba and others in order to prevent the spread of rampant entrepreneurial capitalism in China.

The launch of ChatGPT in 2023 promised to open up exciting new frontiers for the development of AI in the West. But it must have come as a rude shock to China’s tech companies. The Chinese government changed tact and reassured them that it recognised the crucial role of the digital economy as a key driver of economic growth. It soon began to relax its tight grip over the sector.

But the elephant in the room is how DeepSeek – and China’s AI companies in general – will deal with censorship.

As it stands, politically sensitive words and questions seem to be no-go areas for DeepSeek. When asked what happened on June 4 1989 in Tiananmen Square (the site of the government’s crackdown on democracy protesters), the chatbot’s answer was along the lines of, “Sorry, that’s beyond my current scope. Let’s talk about something else.”

This raises the question: can a Chinese AI tool be truly competitive in the global tech race without a solution to the challenge of censorship?

US efforts to contain Chinese tech development

Meanwhile, the US has adopted a wide array of measures aiming at curbing China’s AI development over the past few years. These included the Biden administration’s attempts to restrict China’s access to the advanced chips needed for AI, as well as the export of chip-making equipment and other technology to China.

The US has also blacklisted a large number of Chinese entities that it has identified as having both military and commercial technology.

The launch of DeepSeek raises questions over the effectiveness of these US attempts to “de-risk” from China in relation to scientific and academic collaboration.

For one, DeepSeek was able to evade US restrictions on advanced chips by stockpiling downgraded chips made by Nvidia before the Biden administration moved to ban them.

Western observers have often portrayed China’s AI initiatives as limited due to these US controls. However, these observers have somehow failed to take seriously the emergence of a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs who prioritise foundational research and long-term technological advancement over quick profits.

DeepSeek is a good example of this approach. It has embraced open-source methods, pooling collective expertise and fostering collaborative innovation. This approach not only mitigates resource constraints, but also accelerates the development of cutting-edge technologies.

Another common assumption in the West is that Chinese companies are mere followers or imitators. DeepSeek’s achievements likewise challenge this perception. As the company’s chief executive, Liang Wenfeng, said to one Chinese media outlet:

Innovation such as ours happens all the time in the US. The Americans are surprised by us, mainly because we are a Chinese company, and we are entering their game as an innovator with original contribution, not as followers.

DeepSeek’s success also calls into question the legislation supported by both the Biden and Trump administrations that aims to prevent Chinese graduate students from attending universities in the US.

The assumption behind what researchers call “STEM talent de-coupling” is that the Chinese government may use some of these students to engage in knowledge and technology transfer when they return to China.

Liang, however, never studied outside China. And he recruited graduates and students from top Chinese universities to staff his research team. None studied overseas.

These developers belong to a generation of young, patriotic Chinese who harbour personal ambition, as well as a broader commitment to advancing China’s position as a global innovation leader.

What does this mean for Australia?

In Australia, the initial reaction to DeepSeek’s AI chatbot has been one of
caution, even concern. Clare O’Neil, the former cyber security minister, said the government would examine more closely how the app works before providing guidance to Australians on potential data security concerns.

But DeepSeek may also be a reminder that Australia’s scientific collaborations should be guided primarily by research excellence rather than geopolitical considerations. To stay competitive and reduce its reliance on external technology providers, Australia needs to invest in its own AI research infrastructure and build its own talent pool.

A narrow focus on political alignments and a growing paranoia about partnering with Chinese researchers means that Australia risks missing out on the next wave of breakthrough technologies.

The authors 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.

– ref. DeepSeek’s success challenges assumptions about Chinese tech companies – and the US-China competition – https://theconversation.com/deepseeks-success-challenges-assumptions-about-chinese-tech-companies-and-the-us-china-competition-248531

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Murphy: Donald Trump Is Throwing Law And Order Out The Window

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
[embedded content]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to condemn President Trump’s recent actions—including pardoning violent January 6th rioters and announcing a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans—as a direct threat to democracy and public safety. Murphy warned these moves send a dangerous signal that political violence will be excused if it serves Trump’s interests, undermining the rule of law and putting the country’s democratic institutions at risk.
“Today you are fundamentally less likely to be attacked, to be murdered, by a neighbor, by somebody that you have a contest with, than you were centuries ago. Donald Trump is throwing that out the window,” said Murphy. “Donald Trump is throwing out the window the idea that we only advance ourselves politically or economically or socially through nonviolent means. Because what happened last week is that Donald Trump said to this country, ‘If you use violence on my behalf, you’re off the hook. If you beat the hell out of police officers, if you pound them over the head with metal poles, if you yank them by the neck and drag them into a crowd, hold them down so that people can stomp on them, if you taser police officers to the point that they suffer a heart attack, as long as you are doing that to advance my political power, you’re off the hook.’”
Murphy slammed Trump’s illegal freeze on federal grants and loans as a corrupt attack on American democracy: “What happened last night is part of a story. The president can’t be the only person in charge of who gets money or not in this country. That’s corrupt because then the president can dole out money to his political friends or the friends of his billionaire friends, can dole out money to states with senators that are loyal to him and can punish companies that are competitors with his billionaire friends or punish states represented by people who are disloyal to him. That’s not how our democracy works. We’re in charge of making sure that taxpayer money is spread out evenly, that it has nothing to do with loyalty or disloyalty to the leader.”
He continued: “A couple of days ago, all the inspectors general got fired. That’s illegal, but they all got fired. Why? Because if you’re going to engage in corruption inside these agencies, you don’t want anybody to be watching. And so you’ve got to put this next to each other. You’ve got to understand the story. If you’re trying to transition our democracy to a government in which only one person is in charge, you permit people to engage in violence on your behalf so as to intimidate the opposition into being silent, and I’m just going to tell you, if you don’t believe this, there are a lot of folks who don’t support Donald Trump who are not going to show up to rallies, who are not going to participate in politics because they just learned that if they do and somebody hurts them, that person might be let off the hook. You excuse violence, you arrange government so that you can operate in darkness, and you rig the rules so that nobody is in charge of dispensing money except for you. Violence is a legitimate tool of politics. One person in charge of doling out money. Government decisions made in secret. That’s not a democracy. That is a recipe for corruption.”
Murphy concluded: “And so, yes, I am fuming mad about how my Republican colleagues talk about law and order and then mostly, with a few exceptions, either remain silent when the most violent January 6 protesters get pardoned or celebrate those pardons. But I also want to be clear that it stands in a context, a context of actions taken during this first week, that are undermining our democracy to the point of putting it on the brink of possible extinction as a means for fundamental corruption to take place inside our government. That should be unacceptable. That is unacceptable. And I’m thankful to Senator Murray and others for bringing us down to the floor to raise this alarm bell. I yield the floor.”
A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
MURPHY: “Thank you Mr. President. You know, the murder rate in the United States, the global murder rate, today, is infinitesimal; a fraction of what it was 200 years ago, 400 years ago, 600 years ago; a fraction of what it likely was in the bronze age or in the days when native tribes patrolled this land. What we’ve seen over the course of global history is that human beings have decided that instead of advancing our social power or our economic power or our political power through violence, instead we are going to have law and order. We’re going to have economies that reward merit. We’re going to punish people who disobey those laws to protect the rest of us.
“And that served us really, really well. Today you are fundamentally less likely to be attacked, to be murdered, by a neighbor, by somebody that you have a contest with, than you were centuries ago. Donald Trump is throwing that out the window. Donald Trump is throwing out the window the idea that we only advance ourselves politically or economically or socially through nonviolent means. Because what happened last week is that Donald Trump said to this country, ‘If you use violence on my behalf, you’re off the hook. If you beat the hell out of police officers, if you pound them over the head with metal poles, if you yank them by the neck and drag them into a crowd, hold them down so that people can stomp on them, if you taser police officers to the point that they suffer a heart attack, as long as you are doing that to advance my political power, you’re off the hook.’
“The people that walked out of jail last week were convicted of viciously violent crimes. And, yes, there were plenty of people who were convicted who didn’t engage in that horrific violence, but I was here in this chamber that day. I remember all of my Republican colleagues running out the door just like Democrats did. I don’t remember any of my Republican colleagues staying in the chamber to greet the tourists. Everybody knew that our safety was in jeopardy. Democrats certainly knew our safety was in jeopardy because as we found out, many of those protesters were looking for Democrats. One of the most violent protesters who was let out of jail last week in the middle of his sentence, after he had beaten up police officers, went to the gallows, went to the noose that was constructed, and posted on social media, “Too bad no Democrats here.’
“If you beat up a police officer for reasons other than perpetuating Donald Trump’s power, you’re still in jail. The only people who beat up police officers in the year 2021 that got let out of jail last week—the only ones—were the ones that beat up police officers to help Donald Trump. That sends a clear signal: that your violence is excused if it’s for Donald Trump’s political purposes. And that puts all of our lives in jeopardy. That puts our democracy in jeopardy, when violence is excused.
“What we are learning in the days following that unconscionable executive order, pardoning the rioters— not some of the rioters, everybody— is that it’s part of a plan. Listen, I have done a lot of work across the aisle. I have such respect for my Republican colleagues. I spent hours, weeks, days sitting in rooms negotiating immigration bills and voting bills and public safety bills. But, man, you are watching this president try to seize power right now, try to make us irrelevant, try to suppress political dissent.
“What happened last night is part of a story. The president can’t be the only person in charge of who gets money or not in this country. That’s corrupt because then the president can dole out money to his political friends or the friends of his billionaire friends, can dole out money to states with senators that are loyal to him and can punish companies that are competitors with his billionaire friends or punish states represented by people who are disloyal to him.
“That’s not how our democracy works. We’re in charge of making sure that taxpayer money is spread out evenly, that it has nothing to do with loyalty or disloyalty to the leader. A couple of days ago, all the inspectors general got fired. That’s illegal, but they all got fired. Why? Because if you’re going to engage in corruption inside these agencies, you don’t want anybody to be watching. And so you’ve got to put this next to each other. You’ve got to understand the story. If you’re trying to transition our democracy to a government in which only one person is in charge, you permit people to engage in violence on your behalf so as to intimidate the opposition into being silent, and I’m just going to tell you, if you don’t believe this, there are a lot of folks who don’t support Donald Trump who are not going to show up to rallies, who are not going to participate in politics because they just learned that if they do and somebody hurts them, that person might be let off the hook.
“You excuse violence, you arrange government so that you can operate in darkness, and you rig the rules so that nobody is in charge of dispensing money except for you. Violence is a legitimate tool of politics. One person in charge of doling out money. Government decisions made in secret. That’s not a democracy. That is a recipe for corruption. For corruption.
“And so, yes, I am fuming mad about how my Republican colleagues talk about law and order and then mostly, with a few exceptions, either remain silent when the most violent January 6 protesters get pardoned or celebrate those pardons. But I also want to be clear that it stands in a context, a context of actions taken during this first week, that are undermining our democracy to the point of putting it on the brink of possible extinction as a means for fundamental corruption to take place inside our government. That should be unacceptable. That is unacceptable. And I’m thankful to Senator Murray and others for bringing us down to the floor to raise this alarm bell. I yield the floor.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: What services of the flagship My Documents in the South-East Administrative District are most in demand

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Over the four years of operation, city residents have contacted the flagship office of “My Documents” of the South-Eastern Administrative District more than a million times. It opened in January 2021 on the first floor of the shopping and entertainment center “Gorod” at the address: Ryazansky Prospekt, Building 2, Building 3 and became the fifth flagship in Moscow.

During this time, the most popular service was the registration of vehicles (TS) and trailers to them – more than 110 thousand requests were recorded. The second most popular service is cadastral registration and (or) registration of rights to real estate objects, more than 70 thousand applications were received for it. The third place in the rating was taken by the service of registration of citizens of the Russian Federation – over 60 thousand requests.

The flagship offices of My Documents offer unique services that are not available in district centers, such as out-of-court bankruptcy. Young Muscovites can receive their first passport in a ceremonial setting, and Moscow entrepreneurs can use the services of the state budgetary institution Small Business of Moscow, as well as register a legal entity, a peasant (farming) enterprise, and the status of an individual entrepreneur. City residents also have access to vehicle registration services, making changes to registration data, or deregistering a vehicle. This can be done conveniently by prior appointment on the portal Mos.ru or Internet portal of public services.

At the flagship of the South-Eastern Administrative District, Muscovites can apply for a foreign passport for children under 14 years of age, submit a birth certificate or marriage registration certificate, extracts from the register of legal entities and other documents for legalization, and also enter information about foreign certificates of registration of civil status acts into the Unified State Register of Civil Registry Offices within 24 hours.

In addition, residents of the capital are provided with two of the most popular services of the guardianship service, related to the issuance of permission for transactions with property and the management of money in the accounts of minors, incapacitated or partially incapacitated citizens.

On the territory of the flagship office of the South-East Administrative District, newlyweds can register their marriage in a separate hall equipped with a bright photo zone.

Muscovites are also offered additional services, such as booking a tour in the “My Travels” zone, visiting the “My Photo” photo studio, or visiting the “Moscow – Caring for History” exhibition. The current exhibition is dedicated to the dynasties of Moscow confectioners. In addition, the flagship has a “My Notary” legal bureau, which has become the most popular additional service. Over four years, residents have contacted this bureau more than 40 thousand times.

The flagship centers are equipped with everything necessary for the convenience and comfort of visitors and are decorated in a modern design. There are spacious waiting areas with soft sofas, USB ports for charging phones and portable lamps, a large children’s area with interactive games and modern cartoons, a mother and child room. You can also charge your mobile device using a portable power bank. All My Documents flagship offices host exhibitions about outstanding cultural figures. The current exhibition is dedicated to Arkady Gaidar.

The flagship office of “My Documents” in the South-East Administrative District is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/149366073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: How Technopolis Moscow SEZ Enterprises Support People in the SVO Zone

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Students and staff of the National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET), the flagship university of the Technopolis Moscow special economic zone (SEZ), collected more than 150 kilograms of humanitarian aid for the participants of the special military operation (SMO).

“The enterprises of the Technopolis Moscow special economic zone actively participate in humanitarian actions. Assistance and support are provided not only to participants in the special military operation and residents of border regions, but also to children’s shelters and centers for keeping homeless animals. Another action to collect humanitarian aid was held at the National Research University of Electronic Technology. In two weeks, employees and students collected 150 kilograms of warm clothes, various household chemicals and special equipment, which have already been transferred to the front lines,” said Gennady Degtyarev, CEO of the SEZ.

The university staff and students collected sets of thermal underwear, tools, catalytic heaters, fleece clothing and much more. The students wove camouflage nets, which are so necessary for the fighters, themselves. This is not the first such action of the university – in August 2024, the institution’s employees handed over 250 kilograms of humanitarian aid to residents of the Kursk region, and in September they collected things for residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Collections of humanitarian aid for residents of border regions were held at the sites of the special economic zone “Technopolis Moscow”. Employees of the management company and workers of over 50 enterprises brought more than 2.5 tons of various products.

Other capital enterprises also provide support to the SVO participants and residents of border territories. For example, a manufacturer of ATMs and other high-tech products donated a number of devices it made to help the military. Among them are metal storage boxes, entrenching hooks, heating stoves, and transport equipment.

The capital’s coffee and sweets factory has shipped more than one ton of its products since 2022. In addition, the company delivered 4.5 thousand coffee bean bags to the special military operation zone, which are used by military personnel to equip flooring.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/149441073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Burning Hearts: Stories of Those Who Received the Moscow Volunteer Badge

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

These people represent different generations: some have recently graduated from school, while others have already retired. But they are united by a common cause – volunteering. They help organize and hold the Victory Parade, are on duty at major events and collect humanitarian aid, and Resource center “Mosvolonter” — preparation and coordination of concerned Muscovites. The unofficial motto of such enthusiasts is “No other way!” On January 21, Sergei Sobyanin presented the “Volunteer of Moscow” badge of distinction 30 residents of the capital.

About what merits can lead to receiving an honorary award, how kindness leads to the profession of dreams and helps to create a family – in the material mos.ru.

A smile as a reward

One of the youngest volunteers to earn the badge was 18-year-old Yuri Potolokov. He studies at the Moscow City Pedagogical University and plans to teach geography in the future. But even after graduating and getting a job, Yuri plans to participate in public events.

The young man joined the volunteer movement in 2022, while still at school. “One day I went to a concert at VDNKh and saw guys handing out raincoats to the audience because it was raining. That’s when I noticed that people were smiling at the volunteers. And I realized that I wanted to receive such smiles too. After all, this is the best gratitude for your work! After the concert, I told my mother: “I’m going to volunteer!” She happily accepted my choice,” our interlocutor recalls.

Yuri Potolokov is a graduate of a cadet school and has been interested in Russian history since childhood. That is why patriotic events are closest to him, for example, meeting veterans who came to Moscow from different cities for Victory Day at train stations. However, over the past two years, the young man has had the opportunity to volunteer at other events. For example, he helped participants National Championship “Abilympics”in 2022 and 2023, navigate the site and get to the competitions on time, coordinated guests at the World Youth Festival in 2024. And recently, I sorted out New Year’s decorations at the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology: I twisted the branches of artificial trees with insulating tape, packed the toys and sent them to the warehouse. Moreover, I was already performing the duties of a team leader, managing a team of five people.

In total, he has over three thousand volunteer hours to his credit. Nevertheless, the mos.ru interviewee did not expect to be among those awarded.

“I can imagine how many people applied for the badge! And they chose me. Now I want to try even harder than before. In the near future, I hope to hold a master class on creating eco-paintings from recycled materials in the “Good Place” space in the South-Eastern Administrative District,” says Yuri Potolokov, holder of the “Volunteer of Moscow” badge.

From the veterans’ meeting to the registry office

Kirill Kononaev is 21 years old. The volunteer is a final-year student at the Moscow Institute of Economics. He joined the “club of caring people” three years ago: first, he headed the student council, and soon he wanted to do good deeds outside the university. “The opportunity presented itself: the pandemic began, and I went to deliver food to the elderly,” recalls the mos.ru source.

Then there were other events, for example the International Forum of Civic Participation “Moscow helps”The young man devoted more than 1,700 hours to volunteer work. He personally liked patriotic events.

“Once I was distributing water in the center of the capital during the Immortal Regiment march. It was an amazing feeling: we were met by participants carrying portraits of their fathers and grandfathers who fought for their country in the Great Patriotic War. And it was in our power to make sure that they did not feel thirsty. Another time I was processing applications for the “Faces of Victory” campaign: relatives sent touching stories about their ancestors, battle heroes,” says Kirill Kononaev, holder of the “Moscow Volunteer” badge.

At one of these events at the headquarters, organized to meet veterans, our interlocutor met his future wife: Taisiya Borisova, a student at the Moscow State Pedagogical University, also a volunteer. They got married in February 2024 and now come to help together.

“It was very nice to receive a badge of distinction this year. And although I have less and less free time, I will continue to volunteer. So, soon it will be time to distribute St. George ribbons to Moscow residents. Even when I feel tired, helping people and the city allows me to switch off, charges me with positive energy,” smiles Kirill Kononaev.

Dream job

Margarita Buchina teaches English at school #2075In 2018, when the capital hosted the World Cup, her students enthusiastically and delightedly told how they rooted for the teams and interacted with foreign guests on the city streets.

“I thought it was good language practice and a new experience. And soon I signed up through the website Mosvolonter.ruto her first large-scale event — the Moscow Urban Forum — 2019, where guests from different countries came. She successfully passed the interview and became part of the team of volunteers with knowledge of foreign languages, who help at the information desks,” recalls the mos.ru interlocutor.

Already at the event, Margarita Buchina realized that applying her knowledge for the benefit of the city is her calling. In addition to her teaching profession, she is also a photographer and journalist. Therefore, she offered her help as a media volunteer.

“Every year on June 22, I go to the Krymskaya Embankment to collect material for a report on the “Candle of Memory” campaign: I get amazing emotional portraits of volunteers in military uniform from the Great Patriotic War, who came to light the lights in honor of those who died in 1941-1945. I was the manager of the volunteer corps at the International Exhibition and Forum “Russia” at VDNKh and supervised media volunteers, photographed Christmas trees decorated with balls with children’s wishes, as part of the “Kind Christmas Tree” charity campaign at festival venues, photographed artists performing at the International Military Music Festival “Spasskaya Tower”. In addition, I am a volunteer editor of the “Good News” magazine, which tells about the lives of active and caring city residents,” says Margarita Buchina, holder of the “Volunteer of Moscow” badge.

Now she is trying to find her dream job and realize herself as a journalist. But she does not plan to leave volunteering.

“When I was awarded the “Moscow Volunteer” badge for my services, I once again realized how important and useful my good deeds are for the city. And you can do them in different ways, for example, by helping to collect humanitarian aid. If you were born with a kind heart, then it is not difficult for you to share kindness with others, volunteering is forever!” our interlocutor believes.

Six thousand hours of good deeds

Elena Akhtyrskaia is a “silver” volunteer, she is 56 years old. “In 2015, I began to actively attend excursions organized Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow. Once I was asked to help a guide gather a group and make sure no one was left behind during a walk around the capital. It turned out to be much more interesting than just listening! So I joined the ranks of cultural volunteers. Now I also help organize events for Mosconcert,” she says.

During the winter holidays, Elena Akhtyrskaya was on duty at the New Year’s game-journey through Russian fairy tales in the Petrovsky Travel Palace, and after the performance she gave gifts to the young spectators.

However, our interlocutor participates not only in cultural programs. For example, she had the opportunity to accompany the Victory Parade in 2024. “This is the highest honor for a volunteer!” she admits. Elena Akhtyrskaya met visitors at the entrance to Red Square and explained where to go next, and then seated veterans in the stands and watched the procession from a place of honor.

“I have dedicated almost six thousand hours to good deeds. But when I was awarded the “Volunteer of Moscow” badge, I was surprised. After all, there are many worthy candidates, including “silver” ones, and they are older than me. Of course, it is very nice to receive such an award. However, something else is more important to me: the emotional response of those whom I helped, eyes full of joy and gratitude!” – summarizes the holder of the “Volunteer of Moscow” badge Elena Akhtyrskaya.

A Holiday for Everyone: How the Mosconcert Cultural Brigade Congratulated Soldiers and Children on the New Year “Moscow Helps”: Sobyanin Told How Muscovites Support SVO Participants Over a thousand events were held in 2024 in the Dobroe Mesto centers in Moscow The number of events in Moscow involving cultural heritage volunteers has almost doubled What dreams does the “Kind Tree” of the “Winter in Moscow” project fulfill?

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/149440073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Global wildlife trade is an enormous market – the US imports billions of animals from nearly 30,000 species

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michael Tlusty, Professor of Sustainability and Food Solutions, UMass Boston

U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents inspect a shipment of reptiles at the Port of Miami. U.S. GAO

When people think of wildlife trade, they often picture smugglers sneaking in rare and endangered species from far-off countries. Yet most wildlife trade is actually legal, and the United States is one of the world’s biggest wildlife importers.

New research that we and a team of colleagues published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that, over the last 22 years, people in the U.S. legally imported nearly 2.85 billion individual animals representing almost 30,000 species.

Some of these wild animals become pets, such as reptiles, spiders, clownfish, chimpanzees and even tigers. Thousands end up in zoos and aquariums, where many species on display come directly from the wild.

Medical research uses macaque monkeys and imports up to 39,000 of them every year. The fashion trade imports around 1 million to 2 million crocodile skins every year. Hunting trophies are also included in wildlife.

How many species are legally traded worldwide?
Benjamin Marshall, et al., 2024, PNAS, CC BY-SA

The largest number of imported species are birds – 4,985 different species are imported each year, led by Muscovy ducks, with over 6 million imported. Reptiles are next, with 3,048 species, led by iguanas and royal pythons. These largely become pets.

Not all wildlife are wild

We found that just over half of the animals imported into the U.S. come from the wild.

Capturing wildlife to sell to exporters can be an important income source for rural communities around the world, especially in Africa. However, wild imported species can also spread diseases or parasites or become invasive. In fact, these risks are so worrying that many imported animals are classed as “injurious wildlife” due to their potential role in transmitting diseases to native species.

Captive breeding has played an increasingly dominant role in recent years as a way to limit the impact on wild populations and to try to reduce disease spread.

However over half the individual animals from most groups of species, such as amphibians or mammals, still come from the wild, and there is no data on the impact of the wildlife trade on most wild populations.

Trade may pose a particular risk when species are already rare or have small ranges. Where studies have been done, the wild populations of traded species decreased by an average of 62% across the periods monitored.

Sustainable wildlife trade is possible, but it relies on careful monitoring to balance wild harvest and captive breeding.

Data is thin in many ways

For most species in the wildlife trade, there is still a lot that remains unknown, including even the number of species traded.

With so many species and shipments, wildlife inspectors are overwhelmed. Trade data may not include the full species name for groups like butterflies or fish. The values in many customs databases are reported by companies but never verified.

Macaques, used in medical research, are the most-traded primates globally, according to an analysis of U.S. Fish and Wildlife data.
Davidvraju, CC BY-SA

In our study, we relied on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement Management Information System, a wildlife import-export data collection system. However, few countries collate and release data in such a standardized way; meaning that for the majority of species legally traded around the world there is no available data.

For example, millions of Tokay geckos are imported as pets and for medicine, and are often reported to be bred in captivity. However, investigators cannot confirm that they weren’t actually caught in the wild.

Why tracking the wildlife trade is important

Biodiversity has a great number of economic and ecological benefits. There are also risks to importing wildlife. Understanding the many species and number of animals entering the country, and whether they were once wild or farmed, is important, because imported wildlife can cause health and ecological problems.

Wildlife can spread diseases to humans and to other animals. Wild-caught monkeys imported for medical research may carry diseases, including ones of particular risk to humans. Those with diseases are more likely to be wild than captive-bred.

The most-traded mammals worldwide are minks, which are valued for their fur but can spread viruses to humans and other species. About 48 million minks are legally traded annually, about 2.8% wild-caught and the majority raised, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife data.
Colin Canterbury/USFWS

Species that aren’t native to the U.S. may also escape or be released into the wild. Invasive species can cause billions of dollars in damage by consuming and outcompeting native wildlife and spreading diseases.

We believe better data on the wildlife trade could be used to set management goals, such as harvest quotas or no-take policies for those species in their country of origin.

What’s next

The researchers involved in this study come from institutes around the world and are all interested in improving data systems for wildlife trade.

Some of us focus on how e-commerce platforms such as Etsy and Instagram have become hotspots of wildlife trade and can be challenging to monitor without automation. Esty announced in 2024 that it would remove listings of endangered or threatened species. Others build tools to help wildlife inspectors process the large number of shipments in real time. Many of us examine the problems imported species cause when they become invasive.

In the age of machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data, it’s possible to better understand the wildlife trade. Consumers can help by buying less, and making informed decisions.

Michael Tlusty is a founding member of the Wildlife Detection Partnership and co-developed the Nature Intelligence System, which assists governments in collecting more accurate wildlife data..

Andrew Rhyne is currently on sabbatical funded by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), focused on the wildlife trade data. He is a founding member of the Wildlife Detection Partnership and co-developed the Nature Intelligence System, which assists governments in collecting more accurate wildlife data.

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

– ref. Global wildlife trade is an enormous market – the US imports billions of animals from nearly 30,000 species – https://theconversation.com/global-wildlife-trade-is-an-enormous-market-the-us-imports-billions-of-animals-from-nearly-30-000-species-247197

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI Economics: Money Market Operations as on January 28, 2025

Source: Reserve Bank of India


(Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)

	Volume (One Leg)	Weighted Average Rate	Range
A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV)	5,60,557.39	6.55	5.10-6.90
I. Call Money	14,705.14	6.55	5.10-6.65
II. Triparty Repo	3,91,434.90	6.53	6.40-6.65
III. Market Repo	1,52,590.05	6.58	5.75-6.80
IV. Repo in Corporate Bond	1,827.30	6.73	6.65-6.90
B. Term Segment
I. Notice Money**	156.10	6.28	6.00-6.60
II. Term Money^@@	282.00	–	6.65-7.50
III. Triparty Repo	844.00	6.65	6.60-6.70
IV. Market Repo	873.72	5.94	5.75-6.65
V. Repo in Corporate Bond	0.00	–	–

	Auction Date	Tenor (Days)	Maturity Date	Amount	Current Rate / Cut off Rate
C. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)
I. Today’s Operations
1. Fixed Rate
2. Variable Rate^&
(I) Main Operation
(a) Repo
(b) Reverse Repo
(II) Fine Tuning Operations
(a) Repo	Tue, 28/01/2025	1	Wed, 29/01/2025	1,39,281.00	6.51
(b) Reverse Repo
3. MSF^#	Tue, 28/01/2025	1	Wed, 29/01/2025	1,779.00	6.75
4. SDF^Δ#	Tue, 28/01/2025	1	Wed, 29/01/2025	61,541.00	6.25
5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*				79,519.00
II. Outstanding Operations
1. Fixed Rate
2. Variable Rate^&
(I) Main Operation
(a) Repo	Fri, 24/01/2025	14	Fri, 07/02/2025	1,62,096.00	6.51
(b) Reverse Repo
(II) Fine Tuning Operations
(a) Repo
(b) Reverse Repo
3. MSF^#
4. SDF^Δ#
D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI^$				9,556.71
E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*				1,71,652.71
F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*				2,51,171.71
G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks
(i) Cash balances with RBI as on		January 28, 2025		9,07,883.94
(ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending		February 07, 2025		9,12,544.00
H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on^¥		January 28, 2025		1,39,281.00
I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on		January 10, 2025		-40,102.00
^@ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
– Not Applicable / No Transaction.
** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor.
^@@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor.
^$ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI.
^& As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020.
^Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022.
* Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF.
^¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015.
# As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023.
Ajit Prasad Deputy General Manager (Communications)
Press Release: 2024-2025/2026

MIL OSI Economics –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Demand Hold on Vought Nomination to OMB Amid Order to Halt Federal Grants and Loans

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), members of the Senate Budget Committee, joined Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Democratic Budget Committee members in demanding that Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) postpone a vote on Russell Vought’s nomination to serve as Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until he answers questions regarding his role in the illegal freeze of many federal grants and loans that have already been appropriated by Congress. The freeze has sowed confusion among federal agencies. Since the Trump Administration announced this freeze, the senators have heard concerns from across Virginia—including community health centers, child care centers, community organizations, and more—about how they could be impacted. The Administration’s broad directive has left many Virginians wondering about whether federal support for health care, housing, substance use, transportation, and other critical programs will continue.
“While Mr. Vought stonewalled Committee members, he was already planning on halting programs that feed hungry children, heat the homes of low-income families, support farmers, and bring relief to those suffering from natural disasters. The laws Congress passes are not suggestions, and Mr. Vought willfully ignoring them harms the constituents of every Member of the Committee,” the senators wrote.
The senators continued, “It is simply unconscionable that the Budget Committee could vote to confirm Mr. Vought to be Director of Office of Management and Budget without getting some real answers from him about his ongoing efforts to stymie the will of Congress. Mr. Vought is a clear and present danger to Congress’s Power of the Purse; his outright refusal to discuss his plans that were already in development is a slap in the face to every Member of the Committee, Democrat and Republican alike.”
Last week, Warner and Kaine questioned Mr. Vought during his Budget Committee nomination hearing regarding Vought’s comments to “traumatize the federal workforce” and plans to slash critical federal funding for programs like SNAP.
In addition to Warner, Kaine, Merkley, and Schumer, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Alex Padilla (D-CA).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear Senator Graham:
During the Budget Committee’s hearing on Wednesday, January 22 to examine the nomination of Russell T. Vought to serve as the Director of Office of Management and Budget, Mr. Vought was repeatedly evasive about whether, if confirmed, he would advise the President to impound Congressionally-appropriated funds in clear violation of Article II of the Constitution and the unambiguous text of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
In written responses to questions following the hearing, Mr. Vought continued his refusal to answer direct questions about how executive orders to pause foreign aid funding, as well as funding authorized and appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, complied with the law.
Now, less than a week after the hearing, it is clear that Mr. Vought’s non-answers were an effort to thwart the Committee from getting the truth of the Trump administration’s plan, per OMB memorandum M-25-13, to freeze all funding for “Federal financial assistance programs.” While Mr. Vought stonewalled Committee members, he was already planning on halting programs that feed hungry children, heat the homes of low-income families, support farmers, and bring relief to those suffering from natural disasters. The laws Congress passes are not suggestions, and Mr. Vought willfully ignoring them harms the constituents of every Member of the Committee.
It is simply unconscionable that the Budget Committee could vote to confirm Mr. Vought to be Director of Office of Management and Budget without getting some real answers from him about his ongoing efforts to stymie the will of Congress. Mr. Vought is a clear and present danger to Congress’s Power of the Purse; his outright refusal to discuss his plans that were already in development is a slap in the face to every Member of the Committee, Democrat and Republican alike.
For those reasons, we request that the business meeting to consider Mr. Vought’s nomination, currently scheduled for Thursday, January 30, be postponed for two weeks so the Committee may get full responses to the questions Mr. Vought has thus far refused to answer.
Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall on Newsmax: RFK Jr. Will Make America Healthy Again

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. joined Newsmax’s American Agenda to discuss President Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., ahead of his confirmation hearings this week. As a member of the Senate Finance and HELP Committees, Senator Marshall will participate in both of RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings.
Senator Marshall is the founder and chairman of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Caucus and has been outspoken in his support for RFK, Jr., who will ensure medical transparency so that Americans can make the best decisions for their health.
Additionally, Senator Marshall discussed Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and reaffirmed his support for her.
[embedded content]
You may click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
Highlights from Senator Marshall’s interview include:
On Senator Marshall’s and Mr. Kennedy’s goal to make America healthy again:
“What Bobby and I share is both a passion to make America healthy again. 60% of Americans have a chronic disease right now, and we want to address that.”
On Mr. Kennedy’s stance on vaccine transparency and increasing access to medical information for America’s families:
“What we both agree upon is the sanctity of the patient and the physician relationship – that my daughter deserves to know everything there is about these vaccines, the pros and cons, the good and the bad with them.”
“I’ll let Bobby speak for himself. He’ll get asked this 10 times tomorrow, but what he’s going to say is he wants that family, that mom and dad to be armed with all the information. It needs to be nonbiased information. They need to understand the pros and the cons, risk and benefits.”
On President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard:
“I think the thing about Tulsi is she’s a disrupter, and that scares people up here. They’re used to these insiders, these people that are part of the swamp, and that’s not who Tulsi is. This is a career military officer.”
“She certainly understands the importance of intelligence. I think what Tulsi is going to bring to the table is she errs on the side of transparency – she’s going to err on the side that she believes that Americans can take the truth, and I think you’re going to see that.”
“We’re seeing John Ratcliffe already coming out, letting more information loose. I think Tulsi is going to err on that side as well, and that scares the swamp up here, so we’ll see. I’m optimistic. I do think that she’s going to have a little bit of a challenge, but I’m optimistic.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senators Cortez Masto, Rosen, Booker, Gillibrand, Kelly, Blumenthal, Wyden, Schiff, Peters, and Gallego Issue Statement on ICC Sanctions Procedural Vote

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NEv.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on their opposition to a procedural vote on the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act.
“As pro-Israel members committed to protecting and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, and ensuring Israel has every tool to defend itself, we are deeply troubled by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) outrageous political targeting of Israel and its leaders. The Court’s false equivalence of Israel’s defense of its people with Hamas’s barbaric actions on October 7th is an affront to human conscience, deserving of both condemnation and severe consequences. We believe this judicial overreach must be countered forcefully, including through sanctions on those at the ICC directly responsible.
“Instead of directly punishing those responsible for the ICC’s reckless and irresponsible behavior, the House-passed ICC sanctions bill has overly broad language that would put our allies and U.S. private companies in the crosshairs. While we are eager to support a bill that would swiftly sanction those at the ICC responsible for its anti-Israel actions, in taking up the House bill today, Senate Republicans took a flawed, partisan approach. Despite our efforts, the bill’s sponsors did not allow us to make this bill stronger and more targeted. This is why we made the difficult decision to vote against a procedural motion on their bill, after serious consideration of the far-reaching, unintended consequences it would have. We urge our Republican colleagues to return to the negotiating table and reach a bipartisan agreement so that we can stand together in support of Israel through more targeted and effective legislation.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Schatz, Cruz, Murphy, Britt Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Keep Kids Safe, Healthy, off Social Media

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced bipartisan legislation to keep kids off social media and help protect them from its harmful impacts. The Kids Off Social Media Act would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms and prevent social media companies from feeding algorithmically-targeted content to users under the age of 17. In addition to Schatz, Cruz, Murphy, and Britt, the Kids Off Social Media Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and John Curtis (R-Utah).
“There is no good reason for a nine-year-old to be on Instagram or Snapchat. The growing evidence is clear: social media is making kids more depressed, more anxious, and more suicidal. Yet tech companies refuse to anything about it because it would hurt their bottom line. This is an urgent health crisis, and Congress must act with the boldness and urgency it demands,” said Senator Schatz. “Protecting kids online is not a partisan issue, and our bipartisan coalition – which includes several parents of kids and teenagers – represents the millions of parents across the country who’ve long been asking for help.”
“Every parent I know is concerned about the online threats to kids—from predators to videos promoting self-harm, risky behavior, or low self-esteem. Many families have suffered due to Big Tech’s failure to take responsibility for its products. The Kids Off Social Media Act addresses these issues by supporting families in crisis and empowering teachers to better manage their classrooms. I am proud to work with Senator Schatz on this bipartisan legislation to combat the harms social media poses to children, especially in schools. As Chairman of the Commerce Committee, I am confident we can swiftly move this legislation and similar measures through committee and urge Congress to heed the calls of parents everywhere by delivering this bill to President Trump’s desk to help protect America’s youth,” said Senator Cruz.
“Everyone knows how harmful social media can be to kids. As a parent, I’ve seen firsthand how these platforms use intentionally addictive algorithms to spoon-feed young people horrifying content glorifying everything from suicide to eating disorders. Yet these companies have proven they will choose profits over the wellbeing of our kids unless we force them to do otherwise. This bipartisan legislation will finally hold social media companies accountable,” said Senator Murphy.
“There’s no doubt our country is in the throes of a mental health crisis, and the rise of social media usage among children and teenagers is inextricably tied to this issue,” said Senator Britt. “As a mom, this is something my own kids and their friends have to contend with every day. And as a Senator, I know our nation has to contend with it to safeguard the next generation. Putting in place commonsense guardrails that protect our kids from the dangers of social media is critical for their future and America’s future. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put parents in the driver’s seat and enact commonsense, age-appropriate solutions to tackle this generational challenge.”
No age demographic is more affected by the ongoing mental health crisis in the United States than kids, especially young girls. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 57 percent of high school girls and 29 percent of high school boys felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, with 22 percent of all high school students—and nearly a third of high school girls—reporting they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the preceding year.
Studies have shown a strong relationship between social media use and poor mental health, especially among children. From 2019 to 2021, overall screen use among teens and tweens (ages 8 to 12) increased by 17 percent, with tweens using screens for five hours and 33 minutes per day and teens using screens for eight hours and 39 minutes. Based on the clear and growing evidence, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in 2023, calling for new policies to set and enforce age minimums and highlighting the importance of limiting the use of features, like algorithms, that attempt to maximize time, attention, and engagement.
“Social media can take a serious toll on kids’ mental health and wellbeing, and it’s critical those problems don’t go unaddressed,” said Senator Welch. “I’m proud to partner with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to protect children’s safety, mental health, and wellbeing online.”
“Parents across North Carolina are rightly concerned about the mental health crisis impacting the next generation. I’m proud to join this bipartisan bill to set commonsense limits and help protect children from harmful habits that rob them of their attention and undermine their development. I thank Senators Cruz and Schatz for leading this effort,” said Senator Budd.
“Children in Maine and across the country deserve protection from the potential harm posed by social media – especially during their most vulnerable years,” said Senator King. “The bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act would limit the harmful impacts of social media by establishing reasonable guardrails such as age minimums for new accounts and restrictions on targeting content to children under the age of 17. Our children deserve to grow up in a safe and supportive environment – and that doesn’t define the harsh tone proliferating on online platforms – so this bipartisan legislation will ensure this protection for generations to come.”
“Parents across the country have seen the negative impact of unrestricted social media use on their children’s mental and physical health,” said Senator Warner. “I’m proud join this bipartisan effort to help better protect kids and teens online with simple, commonsense guardrails.”
“As a father and grandfather, I’ve witnessed firsthand how deeply the pressures and challenges of the digital age impact our children’s mental health and well-being,” said Senator Curtis. The Kids Off Social Media Act isn’t about taking something away; it’s about giving our kids back their childhoods and protecting their development during these critical years. By limiting harmful algorithms and enforcing a reasonable age threshold, this legislation is a vital step in fostering an environment where young people can thrive with fewer distractions and healthier minds. Utah has always valued family and community above all, and I’m proud to support bipartisan efforts like this that put kids first,” said Senator Curtis.
Specifically, the Kids Off Social Media Act would:
Prohibit social media platforms from allowing children under the age of 13 to create or maintain social media accounts;
Prohibit social media companies from pushing targeted content using algorithms to users under the age of 17;
Provide the FTC and state attorneys general authority to enforce the provisions of the bill; and
Follow existing CIPA framework, with changes, to require schools to work in good faith to limit social media on their federally-funded networks, which many schools already do.
Parents overwhelmingly support the mission of the Kids Off Social Media Act. A survey conducted by Count on Mothers shows that over 90 percent of mothers agree that there should be a minimum age of 13 for social media. Additionally, 87 percent of mothers agree that social media companies should not be allowed to use personalized recommendation systems to deliver content to children. Pew finds similar levels of concern from parents, reporting that 70 percent or more of parents worry that their teens are being exposed to explicit content or wasting too much time on social media, with two-thirds of parents saying that parenting is harder today compared to 20 years ago—and many of them cited social media as a contributing factor.
The Kids Off Social Media Act is supported by Public Citizen, National Organization for Women, National Association of Social Workers, National League for Nursing, National Association of School Nurses, KidsToo, Count on Mothers, American Federation of Teachers, American Counseling Association, National Federation of Families, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Parents Television and Media Council, Tyler Clementi Foundation, Parents Who Fight, Conservative Ladies of America, David’s Legacy Foundation, Digital Progress, HAS Coalition, Parents Defending Education Action, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
The full text of the bill is available here. For more information on the Kids Off Social Media Act, click here.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Lower inflation in the December quarter boosts chances of an interest rate cut

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra

ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock

Australia’s headline inflation rate dropped to a three-year low of 2.4% in the December quarter, according to the Consumer Price Index, adding to pressure for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank as soon as next month.

Since it peaked at 7.8% in December 2022, inflation has now fallen for seven out of eight quarters.

The closely watched core inflation measure dropped sharply to 3.2% from 3.6%, below market expectations, but the central bank is concerned about how sustainable the fall in inflation will be. Strength in the labour market is also weighing against the need for a cut in interest rates.

The long-running quarterly measure of the CPI is a better indicator than the more volatile monthly version. But the monthly rate is currently very similar; it ended the year at 2.5%.

Why did inflation fall?

A main reason headline inflation fell was the electricity rebates, which led to the price of electricity falling by 25.2% during 2024.

The fall in global oil prices, which led to petrol prices dropping 7.9% during 2024, also contributed to the decline in inflation.

The rental market is easing, with rents slowing from growth of 7.3% during 2023 to 6.4% during 2024. Increases in Commonwealth Rent Assistance contributed to the deceleration. This still leaves a lot of families facing rental stress.

Home builders offering discounts have moderated the “new dwellings” component of the CPI. It increased by only 2.9% during 2024, a marked deceleration from the growth rates of around 20% seen in 2022.

Urban transport fares also fell during 2024.

Working against the downward trend were increases to the tobacco excise, in addition to the standard indexation, which led to tobacco prices rising by 12.2% during 2024.

Insurance costs continue to rise, increasing by 11% during 2024. If the Californian fires lead to insurers revising up their assessment of the risks posed by climate change, insurance premia could rise further.

The decline in the Australian dollar, while not as alarming as some media reports would suggest, would have added to the price of some goods, particularly those imported from the United States or whose price is denominated in US dollars.

Read more:
The Australian dollar has hit a 5 year low. Sounds bad but don’t panic

The decline in inflation may be a pleasant surprise to the half of voters who were expecting inflation to get worse.

The “underlying” rate of inflation, which looks through temporary measures such as the electricity subsidies and is the preferred measure of the central bank, has also declined. It is now 3.2%.

Australia’s inflation performance is similar to that in comparable countries. It is slightly lower than inflation in the United Kingdom (2.5%) and the same as in the euro area. It is higher than in New Zealand (2.2%) and Canada (1.8%).

The fall in inflation to a rate significantly below the 3.5% at which wages are increasing means that the cost of living crisis is abating, although not yet over.

The quarterly increases in the CPI during 2024 were 1.0% in March and June and 0.2% in September and December. As the large increases in the first half of 2024 are replaced, the annual rate should drop further in coming quarters.

What does it mean for interest rates?

The current Reserve Bank board meets next on February 18. By the following meeting, on April 1, the decisions will be taken by the new monetary policy board, which will have two new members.

Read more:
The Reserve Bank will now have a separate board just to set interest rates. Here’s why that’s significant

This is the second consecutive quarter that inflation has been within the Reserve Bank’s medium-term target band of 2–3%. It is now just below the mid-point of the band.

Inflation is also below the Bank’s latest forecasts of 2.6% (and 3.4% for the “underlying” rate).

But the bank has stated it will only cut interest rates when “members are confident that inflation is moving sustainably towards target”.

Inflation that is low just because of temporary electricity subsidies may not be regarded as ‘sustainable’. That is why the Bank places more emphasis on the underlying inflation measure. While not yet within the target band, underlying inflation has been steadily heading there and is now only just above it. This may be enough to give the Bank board members the confidence they seek. Financial markets now think so.

The government would dearly like to see rates coming down before the election, likely to be in April or May. It faces a nervous wait.

John Hawkins was formerly a senior economist at the Reserve Bank and Treasury.

– ref. Lower inflation in the December quarter boosts chances of an interest rate cut – https://theconversation.com/lower-inflation-in-the-december-quarter-boosts-chances-of-an-interest-rate-cut-246987

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: First Savings Financial Group, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the First Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSFG – news) (the “Company”), the holding company for First Savings Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $6.2 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $920,000, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Excluding nonrecurring items, the Company reported net income of $4.3 million (non-GAAP measure)⁽¹⁾ and net income per diluted share of $0.62 (non-GAAP measure)⁽¹⁾ for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 compared to $920,000, or $0.13 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The core banking segment reported net income of $6.4 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to $4.0 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Excluding nonrecurring items, the core banking segment reported net income of $4.5 million, or $0.64 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 (non-GAAP measure)⁽¹⁾ compared to $4.0 million, or $0.59 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Commenting on the Company’s performance, Larry W. Myers, President and CEO, stated “We are pleased with the first fiscal quarter, which included a bulk sale of first lien home equity lines of credit and continued improvement in our net interest margin. The bulk sale is part of a strategic initiative to transition the first lien home equity line of credit business to an originate for sale model during fiscal 2025 in order to enhance noninterest income, moderate the loan to deposit ratio, decrease reliance on noncore funding, and generate capital. The surplus capital generated from the bulk sale and potential future flow sales may be used to retire high-cost subordinated debt and repurchase Company common shares. We are optimistic regarding the remainder of fiscal 2025 as we continue to focus on asset quality, select loan growth opportunities, and capital and liquidity management. We’ll continue to evaluate options and strategies that we believe will maximize shareholder value.”

(1) Non-GAAP net income and net income per diluted share exclude certain nonrecurring items. A reconciliation to GAAP and discussion of the use of non-GAAP measures is included in the table at the end of this release.

Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023

Net interest income increased $1.3 million, or 9.6%, to $15.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The tax equivalent net interest margin for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was 2.75% as compared to 2.69% for the same period in 2023. The increase in net interest income was due to a $3.8 million increase in interest income, partially offset by a $2.4 million increase in interest expense. A table of average balance sheets, including average asset yields and average liability costs, is included at the end of this release.

The Company recognized a reversal of provision for credit losses for loans and securities of $490,000 and $7,000, respectively, and a provision for unfunded lending commitments of $46,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to a provision for credit losses for loans of $470,000 and reversal of provision for unfunded lending commitments of $58,000 for the same period in 2023. The reversal of provisions during the 2024 period was due primarily to the bulk sale of approximately $87.2 million of home equity lines of credit during the quarter ended December 31, 2024, which resulted in the reversals of $980,000 in allowance for credit losses for loans and $129,000 in allowance for unfunded lending commitments. The Company recognized net charge-offs totaling $119,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2024, of which $52,000 was related to unguaranteed portions of SBA loans, compared to net charge-offs of $9,000 in 2023. Nonperforming loans, which consist of nonaccrual loans and loans over 90 days past due and still accruing interest, decreased $374,000 from $16.9 million at September 30, 2024 to $16.6 million at December 31, 2024.

Noninterest income increased $3.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The increase was due primarily to a $2.5 million net gain on sale of loans due to the aforementioned bulk loan sale and $403,000 in net gains on equity securities during the three months ended December 31, 2024 with no corresponding gains for 2023.

Noninterest expense decreased $1.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease was due primarily to decreases in compensation and benefits, occupancy and equipment and professional fee expenses of $487,000, $405,000 and $385,000, respectively. These decreases were primarily due to the cessation of national mortgage banking operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

The Company recognized income tax expense of $848,000 for the three months ended December 30, 2024 as compared to income tax benefit of $476,000 for the same period in 2023. The increase is due primarily to higher taxable income in the 2024 period, due primarily to the aforementioned net gain on sale of loans. The effective tax rate for 2024 was 12.0%. The effective tax rate is well below the statutory tax rate primarily due to the recognition of investment tax credits related to solar projects in both the 2024 and 2023 periods.

Comparison of Financial Condition at December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024

Total assets decreased $61.6 million, from $2.45 billion at September 30, 2024 to $2.39 billion at December 31, 2024. Net loans held for investment decreased $79.3 million during the three months ended December 31, 2024 due primarily to the $87.2 million bulk sale of residential real estate home equity line of credit loans.

Total liabilities decreased $60.5 million due primarily to decreases in total deposits of $48.1 million, which included a decrease in brokered deposits of $72.1 million and a decrease in FHLB borrowings of $6.6 million. The decrease in brokered deposits and FHLB borrowings was due primary to repayments as a result of the aforementioned bulk loan sale. As of December 31, 2024, deposits exceeding the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000 per insured account were 31.1% of total deposits and 13.7% of total deposits when excluding public funds insured by the Indiana Public Deposit Insurance Fund.

Total stockholders’ equity decreased $1.1 million, from $177.1 million at September 30, 2024 to $176.0 million at December 31, 2024, due primarily to a $6.6 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss, partially offset by an increase in retained net income of $5.2 million. The increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss was due primarily to increasing long-term market interest rates during the three months ended December 31, 2024, which resulted in a decrease in the fair value of securities available for sale. At December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, the Bank was considered “well-capitalized” under applicable regulatory capital guidelines.

First Savings Bank is an entrepreneurial community bank headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, and operates fifteen depository branches within Southern Indiana. The Bank also has two national lending programs, including single-tenant net lease commercial real estate and SBA lending, with offices located predominately in the Midwest. The Bank is a recognized leader, both in its local communities and nationally for its lending programs. The employees of First Savings Bank strive daily to achieve the organization’s vision, We Expect To Be The BEST community BANK, which fuels our success. The Company’s common shares trade on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “FSFG.”

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are not historical facts; rather, they are statements based on the Company’s current expectations regarding its business strategies and their intended results and its future performance. Forward-looking statements are preceded by terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends” and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause or contribute to the Company’s actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause or contribute to these differences include, without limitation, changes in general economic conditions; changes in market interest rates; changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; legislative and regulatory changes; and other factors disclosed periodically in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Because of the risks and uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them, whether included in this report or made elsewhere from time to time by the Company or on its behalf. Except as may be required by applicable law or regulation, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact:
Tony A. Schoen, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
812-283-0724

FIRST SAVINGS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Unaudited)


	Three Months Ended
OPERATING DATA:	December 31,
(In thousands, except share and per share data)		2024			2023

Total interest income	$	32,449		$	28,655
Total interest expense		16,987			14,542

Net interest income		15,462			14,113

Provision (credit) for credit losses – loans		(490	)		470
Provision (credit) for unfunded lending commitments		46			(58	)
Credit for credit losses – securities		(7	)		–

Total provision (credit) for credit losses		(451	)		412

Net interest income after provision (credit) for credit losses		15,913			13,701

Total noninterest income		6,103			2,782
Total noninterest expense		14,943			16,039

Income before income taxes		7,073			444
Income tax expense (benefit)		848			(476	)

Net income	$	6,225		$	920

Net income per share, basic	$	0.91		$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic		6,851,153			6,823,948

Net income per share, diluted	$	0.89		$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		6,969,223			6,839,704


Performance ratios (annualized)
Return on average assets		1.02	%		0.16	%
Return on average equity		14.07	%		2.42	%
Return on average common stockholders’ equity		14.07	%		2.42	%
Net interest margin (tax equivalent basis)		2.75	%		2.69	%
Efficiency ratio		69.29	%		94.93	%

							QTD
FINANCIAL CONDITION DATA:	December 31,			September 30,			Increase
(In thousands, except per share data)		2024			2024		(Decrease)

Total assets	$	2,388,735		$	2,450,368		$	(61,633	)
Cash and cash equivalents		76,224			52,142			24,082
Investment securities		242,634			249,719			(7,085	)
Loans held for sale		24,441			25,716			(1,275	)
Gross loans		1,905,199			1,985,146			(79,947	)
Allowance for credit losses		20,685			21,294			(609	)
Interest earning assets		2,234,258			2,277,512			(43,254	)
Goodwill		9,848			9,848			–
Core deposit intangibles		357			398			(41	)
Loan servicing rights		2,661			2,754			(93	)
Noninterest-bearing deposits		183,239			191,528			(8,289	)
Interest-bearing deposits (retail)		1,212,527			1,180,196			32,331
Interest-bearing deposits (brokered)		437,008			509,157			(72,149	)
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings		295,000			301,640			(6,640	)
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		48,642			48,603			39
Total liabilities		2,212,708			2,273,253			(60,545	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(17,789	)		(11,195	)		(6,594	)
Total stockholders’ equity		176,027			177,115			(1,088	)

Book value per share	$	25.48		$	25.72			(0.24	)
Tangible book value per share (non-GAAP) (1)		24.00			24.23			(0.23	)

Non-performing assets:
Nonaccrual loans – SBA guaranteed	$	4,444		$	5,036		$	(592	)
Nonaccrual loans		12,124			11,906			218
Total nonaccrual loans	$	16,568		$	16,942		$	(374	)
Accruing loans past due 90 days		–			–			–
Total non-performing loans		16,568			16,942			(374	)
Foreclosed real estate		444			444			–
Total non-performing assets	$	17,012		$	17,386		$	(374	)

Asset quality ratios:
Allowance for credit losses as a percent of total gross loans		1.09	%		1.07	%		0.01	%
Allowance for credit losses as a percent of nonperforming loans		124.85	%		125.69	%		(0.84	%)
Nonperforming loans as a percent of total gross loans		0.87	%		0.85	%		0.02	%
Nonperforming assets as a percent of total assets		0.71	%		0.71	%		0.00	%

(1) See reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for additional information relating to calculation of this item.

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED):
The following non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company provide information useful to investors in understanding the Company’s performance. The Company believes the financial measures presented below are important because of their widespread use by investors as a means to evaluate capital adequacy and earnings. The following table summarizes the non-GAAP financial measures derived from amounts reported in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and reconciles those non-GAAP financial measures with the comparable GAAP financial measures.

	Three Months Ended
Net Income	December 31,
(In thousands)		2024			2023

Net income attributable to the Company (non-GAAP)	$	4,308		$	920
Plus: Gain on sale of loans, home equity lines of credit, net of tax effect		1,869			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, loans, net of tax effect		735			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, unfunded commitments, net of tax effect		97			–
Plus: Gain on sale of equity securities (Visa Class B-2 shares), net of tax effect		302
Less: Adjustments to sick pay contingent liability, net of tax effect		(296	)
Less: Compensation expense associated with loan sale, net of tax effect		(790	)
Net income attributable to the Company (GAAP)	$	6,225		$	920

Net Income per Share, Diluted

Net income per share attributable to the Company, diluted (non-GAAP)	$	0.62		$	0.13
Plus: Gain on sale of loans, home equity lines of credit, net of tax effect		0.26			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, loans, net of tax effect		0.11			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, unfunded commitments, net of tax effect		0.01			–
Plus: Gain on sale of equity securities (Visa Class B-2 shares), net of tax effect		0.04
Less: Adjustments to sick pay contingent liability, net of tax effect		(0.04	)
Less: Compensation expense associated with loan sale, net of tax effect		(0.11	)
Net income per share, diluted (GAAP)	$	0.89		$	0.13

Core Bank Segment Net Income
(In thousands)

Net income attributable to the Core Bank (non-GAAP)	$	4,452		$	4,048
Plus: Gain on sale of loans, home equity lines of credit, net of tax effect		1,869			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, loans, net of tax effect		735			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, unfunded commitments, net of tax effect		97			–
Plus: Gain on sale of equity securities (Visa Class B-2 shares), net of tax effect		302			–
Less: Adjustments to sick pay contingent liability, net of tax effect		(296	)		–
Less: Compensation expense associated with loan sale, net of tax effect		(790	)		–
Net income attributable to the Core Bank (GAAP)	$	6,369		$	4,048

Core Bank Segment Net Income per Share, Diluted

Core Bank net income per share, diluted (non-GAAP)	$	0.64		$	0.59
Plus: Gain on sale of loans, home equity lines of credit, net of tax effect		0.26			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, loans, net of tax effect		0.11			–
Plus: Reversal of provision for credit losses, unfunded commitments, net of tax effect		0.01			–
Plus: Gain on sale of equity securities (Visa Class B-2 shares), net of tax effect		0.04			–
Less: Adjustments to sick pay contingent liability, net of tax effect		(0.04	)		–
Less: Compensation expense associated with loan sale, net of tax effect		(0.11	)		–
Core Bank net income per share, diluted (GAAP)	$	0.91		$	0.59


RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):	Three Months Ended
Efficiency Ratio		2024
(In thousands)		2024			2023

Net interest income (GAAP)	$	15,462		$	14,113

Noninterest income (GAAP)		6,103			2,782

Noninterest expense (GAAP)		14,943			16,039

Efficiency ratio (GAAP)		69.29	%		94.93	%

Noninterest income (GAAP)	$	6,103		$	2,782
Less: Gain on sale of loans, home equity lines of credit		(2,492	)		–
Less: Gain on sale of equity securities (Visa Class B-2 shares)		(403	)		–
Noninterest income (Non-GAAP)		3,208			2,782

Noninterest expense (GAAP)	$	14,943		$	16,039
Less: Adjustments to sick pay contingent liability		(395	)		–
Less: Compensation expense associated with loan sale		(1,053	)		–
Noninterest expense (Non-GAAP)	$	13,495		$	16,039

Efficiency ratio (excluding nonrecurring items) (non-GAAP)		72.28	%		94.93	%

Tangible Book Value Per Share	December 31,			September 30,			Increase
(In thousands, except share and per share data)		2024			2024		(Decrease)

Stockholders’ equity (GAAP)	$	176,027		$	177,115		$	(1,088	)
Less: goodwill and core deposit intangibles		(10,205	)		(10,246	)		41
Tangible stockholders’ equity (non-GAAP)	$	165,822		$	166,869		$	(1,047	)

Outstanding common shares		6,909,173			6,887,106		$	22,067

Tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)	$	24.00		$	24.23		$	(0.23	)

Book value per share (GAAP)	$	25.48		$	25.72		$	(0.24	)

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED):	As of
Summarized Consolidated Balance Sheets	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Total cash and cash equivalents	$	76,224		$	52,142		$	42,423		$	62,969		$	33,366
Total investment securities		242,634			249,719			238,785			240,142			246,801
Total loans held for sale		24,441			25,716			125,859			19,108			22,866
Total loans, net of allowance for credit losses		1,884,514			1,963,852			1,826,980			1,882,458			1,841,953
Loan servicing rights		2,661			2,754			2,860			3,028			3,711
Total assets		2,388,735			2,450,368			2,393,491			2,364,983			2,308,092

Retail deposits	$	1,395,766		$	1,371,724		$	1,312,997		$	1,239,271		$	1,180,951
Brokered deposits		437,008			509,157			399,151			548,175			502,895
Total deposits		1,832,774			1,880,881			1,712,148			1,787,446			1,683,846
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings		295,000			301,640			425,000			315,000			356,699

Common stock and additional paid-in capital	$	28,382		$	27,725		$	27,592		$	27,475		$	27,397
Retained earnings – substantially restricted		178,526			173,337			170,688			167,648			163,753
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(17,789	)		(11,195	)		(17,415	)		(17,144	)		(13,606	)
Unearned stock compensation		(973	)		(901	)		(999	)		(1,096	)		(1,194	)
Less treasury stock, at cost		(12,119	)		(11,851	)		(11,866	)		(11,827	)		(11,827	)
Total stockholders’ equity		176,027			177,115			168,000			165,056			164,523

Outstanding common shares		6,909,173			6,887,106			6,883,656			6,883,160			6,883,160


	Three Months Ended
Summarized Consolidated Statements of Income	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Total interest income	$	32,449		$	32,223		$	31,094		$	30,016		$	28,655
Total interest expense		16,987			17,146			16,560			15,678			14,542
Net interest income		15,462			15,077			14,534			14,338			14,113
Provision (credit) for credit losses – loans		(490	)		1,808			501			713			470
Provision (credit) for unfunded lending commitments		46			(262	)		158			(259	)		(58	)
Provision (credit) for credit losses – securities		(7	)		(86	)		84			23			–
Total provision (credit) for credit losses		(451	)		1,460			743			477			412

Net interest income after provision for credit losses		15,913			13,617			13,791			13,861			13,701

Total noninterest income		6,103			2,842			3,196			3,710			2,782
Total noninterest expense		14,943			12,642			12,431			11,778			16,039
Income before income taxes		7,073			3,817			4,556			5,793			444
Income tax expense (benefit)		848			145			483			866			(476	)
Net income		6,225			3,672			4,073			4,927			920


Net income per share, basic	$	0.91		$	0.54		$	0.60		$	0.72		$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic		6,851,153			6,832,626			6,832,452			6,832,130			6,823,948

Net income per share, diluted	$	0.89		$	0.53		$	0.60		$	0.72		$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		6,969,223			6,894,532			6,842,336			6,859,611			6,839,704

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):	Three Months Ended
Noninterest Income Detail	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Service charges on deposit accounts	$	567		$	552		$	538		$	387		$	473
ATM and interchange fees		665			642			593			585			449
Net unrealized gain on equity securities		78			28			419			6			38
Net gain on equity securities		403			–			–			–			–
Net gain on sales of loans, Small Business Administration		711			647			581			951			834
Net gain on sales of loans, home equity lines of credit		2,492			–			–			–			–
Mortgage banking income		78			6			49			53			89
Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance		361			363			353			333			329
Gain on life insurance		108			–			–			–			–
Commission income		210			294			220			220			222
Real estate lease income		121			122			154			115			115
Net gain (loss) on premises and equipment		45			(4	)		–			120			–
Other income		264			192			289			940			233
Total noninterest income	$	6,103		$	2,842		$	3,196		$	3,710		$	2,782


	Three Months Ended
	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
Consolidated Performance Ratios (Annualized)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Return on average assets		1.02	%		0.61	%		0.69	%		0.92	%		0.16	%
Return on average equity		14.07	%		8.52	%		9.86	%		13.06	%		2.42	%
Return on average common stockholders’ equity		14.07	%		8.52	%		9.86	%		13.06	%		2.42	%
Net interest margin (tax equivalent basis)		2.75	%		2.72	%		2.67	%		2.66	%		2.69	%
Efficiency ratio		69.29	%		70.55	%		70.11	%		65.26	%		94.93	%


	As of or for the Three Months Ended
	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
Consolidated Asset Quality Ratios		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans		0.87	%		0.85	%		0.91	%		0.82	%		0.83	%
Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets		0.71	%		0.71	%		0.72	%		0.68	%		0.69	%
Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans		1.09	%		1.07	%		1.07	%		1.02	%		1.01	%
Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans		124.85	%		125.69	%		118.12	%		124.01	%		121.16	%
Net charge-offs to average outstanding loans		0.01	%		0.02	%		0.01	%		0.01	%		0.00	%

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):	Three Months Ended
Segmented Statements of Income Information	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Core Banking Segment:
Net interest income	$	13,756		$	14,083		$	13,590		$	13,469		$	13,113
Provision (credit) for credit losses – loans		(745	)		1,339			320			909			(49	)
Provision (credit) for unfunded lending commitments		(75	)		78			64			(259	)		–
Provision (credit) for credit losses – securities		(7	)		(86	)		84			23			–
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		14,583			12,752			13,122			12,796			13,162
Noninterest income		5,253			2,042			2,474			2,537			1,679
Noninterest expense		12,574			10,400			10,192			10,093			10,252
Income before income taxes		7,262			4,394			5,404			5,240			4,589
Income tax expense		893			301			689			729			541
Net income	$	6,369		$	4,093		$	4,715		$	4,511		$	4,048

SBA Lending Segment (Q2):
Net interest income	$	1,706		$	994		$	944		$	869		$	1,003
Provision (credit) for credit losses – loans		255			469			181			(196	)		461
Provision (credit) for unfunded lending commitments		121			(340	)		94			–			–
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		1,330			865			669			1,065			542
Noninterest income		850			800			722			1,173			1,003
Noninterest expense		2,369			2,242			2,239			1,685			2,146
Income (loss) before income taxes		(189	)		(577	)		(848	)		553			(601	)
Income tax expense (benefit)		(45	)		(156	)		(206	)		137			(131	)
Net income (loss)	$	(144	)	$	(421	)	$	(642	)	$	416		$	(470	)

Mortgage Banking Segment: (2)
Net interest income (loss)	$	–		$	–		$	–		$	–		$	(3	)
Provision for credit losses – loans		–			–			–			–			–
Provision for unfunded lending commitments		–			–			–			–			–
Net interest income (loss) after provision for credit losses		–			–			–			–			(3	)
Noninterest income		–			–			–			–			100
Noninterest expense		–			–			–			–			3,641
Loss before income taxes		–			–			–			–			(3,544	)
Income tax benefit		–			–			–			–			(886	)
Net loss	$	–		$	–		$	–		$	–		$	(2,658	)

(2) National mortgage banking operations were ceased in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent immaterial mortgage lending activity is reported within the Core Banking segment.

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):	Three Months Ended
Segmented Statements of Income Information	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands, except percentage data)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Net Income (Loss) Per Share by Segment
Net income per share, basic – Core Banking	$	0.93		$	0.60		$	0.69		$	0.66		$	0.59
Net income (loss) per share, basic – SBA Lending (Q2)		(0.02	)		(0.06	)		(0.09	)		0.06			(0.07	)
Net loss per share, basic – Mortgage Banking		0.00			0.00			0.00			0.00			(0.40	)
Total net income (loss) per share, basic	$	0.91		$	0.54		$	0.60		$	0.72		$	0.12

Net Income (Loss) Per Diluted Share by Segment
Net income per share, diluted – Core Banking	$	0.91		$	0.59		$	0.69		$	0.66		$	0.59
Net income (loss) per share, diluted – SBA Lending (Q2)		(0.02	)		(0.06	)		(0.09	)		0.06			(0.07	)
Net loss per share, diluted – Mortgage Banking		0.00			0.00			0.00			0.00			(0.40	)
Total net income (loss) per share, diluted	$	0.89		$	0.53		$	0.60		$	0.72		$	0.12

Return on Average Assets by Segment (annualized) (3)
Core Banking		1.09	%		0.71	%		0.83	%		0.80	%		0.73	%
SBA Lending		(0.55	%)		(1.71	%)		(2.91	%)		1.81	%		(2.11	%)

Efficiency Ratio by Segment (annualized) (3)
Core Banking		66.15	%		64.50	%		63.45	%		63.06	%		69.31	%
SBA Lending		92.68	%		124.97	%		134.39	%		82.52	%		106.98	%


	Three Months Ended
Noninterest Expense Detail by Segment	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Core Banking Segment:
Compensation	$	7,245		$	5,400		$	5,587		$	5,656		$	5,691
Occupancy		1,577			1,554			1,573			1,615			1,481
Advertising		338			399			253			205			189
Other		3,414			3,047			2,779			2,617			2,891
Total Noninterest Expense	$	12,574		$	10,400		$	10,192		$	10,093		$	10,252

SBA Lending Segment (Q2):
Compensation	$	1,931		$	1,854		$	1,893		$	1,933		$	1,826
Occupancy		59			55			51			58			91
Advertising		14			17			12			7			10
Other		365			316			283			(313	)		219
Total Noninterest Expense	$	2,369		$	2,242		$	2,239		$	1,685		$	2,146

Mortgage Banking Segment: (2)
Compensation	$	–		$	–		$	–		$	–		$	2,146
Occupancy		–			–			–			–			469
Advertising		–			–			–			–			119
Other		–			–			–			–			907
Total Noninterest Expense	$	–		$	–		$	–		$	–		$	3,641

(3) Ratios for Mortgage Banking Segment are not considered meaningful due to cessation of national mortgage banking operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):
	Three Months Ended
SBA Lending (Q2) Data	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands, except percentage data)	2024			2024			2024			2024			2023

Final funded loans guaranteed portion sold, SBA	$	10,785		$	10,880		$	7,515		$	15,144		$	14,098

Gross gain on sales of loans, SBA	$	1,141		$	1,029		$	811		$	1,443		$	1,303
Weighted average gross gain on sales of loans, SBA	10.58		%	9.46		%	10.79		%	9.53		%	9.24		%

Net gain on sales of loans, SBA (4)	$	711		$	647		$	581		$	951		$	834
Weighted average net gain on sales of loans, SBA	6.59		%	5.95		%	7.73		%	6.28		%	5.92		%


(4) Inclusive of gains on servicing assets and net of commissions, referral fees, SBA repair fees and discounts on unguaranteed portions held-for-investment.

SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED):	Three Months Ended
Summarized Consolidated Average Balance Sheets	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands)		2024			2024			2024			2024			2023
Interest-earning assets
Average balances:
Interest-bearing deposits with banks	$	21,102		$	16,841		$	26,100		$	24,587		$	20,350
Loans		2,010,082			1,988,997			1,943,716			1,914,609			1,857,654
Investment securities – taxable		101,960			99,834			101,350			102,699			103,728
Investment securities – nontaxable		160,929			158,917			157,991			157,960			159,907
FRB and FHLB stock		24,986			24,986			24,986			24,986			24,968
Total interest-earning assets	$	2,319,059		$	2,289,575		$	2,254,143		$	2,224,841		$	2,166,607

Interest income (tax equivalent basis):
Interest-bearing deposits with banks	$	210		$	209		$	324		$	261		$	249
Loans		29,617			29,450			28,155			27,133			26,155
Investment securities – taxable		914			910			918			923			942
Investment securities – nontaxable		1,715			1,685			1,665			1,662			1,687
FRB and FHLB stock		493			471			519			499			74
Total interest income (tax equivalent basis)	$	32,949		$	32,725		$	31,581		$	30,478		$	29,107

Weighted average yield (tax equivalent basis, annualized):
Interest-bearing deposits with banks		3.98	%		4.96	%		4.97	%		4.25	%		4.89	%
Loans		5.89	%		5.92	%		5.79	%		5.67	%		5.63	%
Investment securities – taxable		3.59	%		3.65	%		3.62	%		3.59	%		3.63	%
Investment securities – nontaxable		4.26	%		4.24	%		4.22	%		4.21	%		4.22	%
FRB and FHLB stock		7.89	%		7.54	%		8.31	%		7.99	%		1.19	%
Total interest-earning assets		5.68	%		5.72	%		5.60	%		5.48	%		5.37	%

Interest-bearing liabilities
Interest-bearing deposits	$	1,671,156		$	1,563,258		$	1,572,871		$	1,549,012		$	1,389,384
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings		315,583			378,956			351,227			333,275			440,786
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		48,616			48,576			48,537			48,497			48,458
Total interest-bearing liabilities	$	2,035,355		$	1,990,790		$	1,972,635		$	1,930,784		$	1,878,628

Interest expense:
Interest-bearing deposits	$	13,606		$	12,825		$	12,740		$	12,546		$	9,989
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings		2,617			3,521			3,021			2,298			3,769
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		764			800			799			833			784
Total interest expense	$	16,987		$	17,146		$	16,560		$	15,677		$	14,542

Weighted average cost (annualized):
Interest-bearing deposits		3.26	%		3.28	%		3.24	%		3.24	%		2.88	%
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings		3.32	%		3.72	%		3.44	%		2.76	%		3.42	%
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		6.29	%		6.59	%		6.58	%		6.87	%		6.47	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities		3.34	%		3.45	%		3.36	%		3.25	%		3.10	%

Net interest income (taxable equivalent basis)	$	15,962		$	15,579		$	15,021		$	14,801		$	14,565
Less: taxable equivalent adjustment		(500	)		(502	)		(487	)		(463	)		(452	)
Net interest income	$	15,462		$	15,077		$	14,534		$	14,338		$	14,113

Interest rate spread (tax equivalent basis, annualized)		2.34	%		2.27	%		2.24	%		2.23	%		2.27	%

Net interest margin (tax equivalent basis, annualized)		2.75	%		2.72	%		2.67	%		2.66	%		2.69	%

The MIL Network –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Make a splash at these toddler pools this summer
Source: Auckland Council

As Auckland temperatures rise, many tots and toddlers will enjoy cooling off in one of the regions’ pools this summer – even if they haven’t learnt the word pool yet. There are many toddler-friendly pools around Auckland ready to help your child make a splash, helping them to stay cool, learn life-long skills and gain confidence in the water.

Toddler pools and paddling pools are a great way for little ones to get comfortable around water. By having a dedicated pool, toddlers can have fun while learning water skills without the risk of colliding with older children. These pools are especially designed to make the swimming experience more enjoyable for little ones – the shallow water allows them to touch the bottom easily and often these pools are slightly warmer. Make sure to check the opening hours of toddler pools as they may be closed at times when adult pools are open.

Safety first

Toddlers are a handful in or out of the water, and safety is crucial when swimming with small children. Pools for toddlers make it easier for adults to focus their attention on little ones in the pool. Never turn your back on a toddler in the water – our safety rules state that a caregiver 17 years and over must be within arm’s reach of children under four at all times.

Children aged 5-10 must be supervised and adults must be close enough to provide immediate assistance.

Follow the child-to-adult ratios when supervising your children. One adult should accompany no more than two children aged four and under; for children aged 5-10 the ratio is four children to one adult. Please note that for hygiene reasons children under three must wear a waterproof swimming nappy – an easy way to keep the nappy in place is by dressing your child in togs over the top.

Learn a life skill

Babies as young as six months can take part in swimming lessons at Auckland Council’s pool and leisure centres. There is a dedicated babies class for infants aged six months to one year, and for kids aged 1-3 there are three toddler classes, based on your child’s ability to submerge on cue and confidence to swim independently. For kids aged 3-5 there are three dedicated pre-school classes. Unsure which class suits your child? Check out this swim level flow chart or book an assessment.

Unsure of your toddler’s swimming ability? Book an assessment to make sure you enroll your child in the right swimming class.

Six toddler pools to try

There are many toddler pools to choose from around the region, but here are a few of our favourites.

1. Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool and Leisure Centre

Located in Pakuranga, this is the perfect spot for kids and toddlers. The indoor splash pool is 33°C and features a fountain so littlies can play and get used to the feeling of water on their face. The learners’ pool features a wheelchair accessibility ramp and has depth ranges of 0.75m-0.9m. The facility also has an outdoor splashpad, which is another fun way to cool off during summer.

Opening hours:
- Toddler splash pool: 30am-5.15pm
- Splash pad: 10am-6pm (weather dependent, December-March/April)
2. Albany Stadium Pool

Toddlers and young ones are well catered for at Albany Stadium Pool. The dedicated toddler pool is heated to 31°C and features a play centre and slide – it’s wheelchair accessible and water wheelchairs are available. There’s also an indoor splash pad, over-the-pool rock climbing wall and a 20m programmes pool for swimming lessons.

Toddler pool hours:
- Monday-Friday 30am-7pm
- Saturday-Sunday 8am-7pm
Toddlers can enjoy the pool and splash play area at Albany Stadium Pool.

3. Ōtara Pool and Leisure Centre

This fantastic community facility features a toddlers’ pool heated to a comfy temperature of 32°C. A colourful water feature helps kids have fun while learning important water skills. The 15m learners’ pool is a great option for older children advancing with their swimming, and older kids can also enjoy the outdoor pool in the summer months.

Toddler pool hours:

Older children enjoying the learners’ pool at Ōtara Pool and Leisure Centre.

4. Grey Lynn Paddling Pool

This dedicated outdoor toddler pool is popular with tots during the summer months. The hexagonal pool has a maximum depth of 0.75m, is sheltered from the sun by shade sails and is patrolled by a lifeguard during opening hours. It’s right next to a playground so your kids will stay active wet or dry.

Toddler pool hours:

Shade sail offer extra sun protection at the outdoor Grey Lynn Paddling Pool.

5. Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre

This all-ages centre features a toddlers’ splash pool with a fun umbrella fountain. The water is heated to a balmy 32°C. The learners’ pool features three lanes making it great for swim lessons, and it can also be accessed by a ramp.

Toddler pool hours:

Tots will enjoy the toddler splash pool at Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre, heated to a balmy 32°C.

6. Moana Nui-a-Kiwa Pool and Leisure Centre

This facility in Māngere is fun central all year round. Indoors there’s a toddlers’ pool that’s 0.3-0.9m deep, and features a friendly orca sculpture and a splash pool with a bubble pit. The learners’ pool has a depth of 0.75-1.1m, great for lessons. Outdoors there’s a splash pad, and for older kids there’s a hydroslide and a dedicated bombing pool so your kids can learn to pop a manu.

Toddler pool hours:

Click here for a full list of Auckland Council pools and opening hours

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán Joins Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to Address Affordable Housing Crisis in Southern California
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Committed to prioritizing solutions for the affordable housing crisis in Southern California, U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, (CA-44) hosted a roundtable discussion with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) today at The Enclave in Torrance, California. The roundtable brought together affordable housing leaders, community organizations, financial institutions, and other stakeholders throughout the area to discuss how organizations and public-private partnerships could play a pivotal role in solving the housing crisis in Southern California after tens of thousands were displaced by the recent wildfires in the region.

“Many families in my district, and across Los Angeles County, struggle to afford housing,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán. “This roundtable brings together key partners to explore solutions to increase housing supply, reduce costs, and expand opportunities for homeownership. Together, we can make real progress for our communities.”

Rep. Barragán has a history of leading on issues related to affordable housing and has secured millions in federal funding for local projects that support affordable housing development, advance homeownership for first time homebuyers and expand supportive housing options. By teaming up with FHLBank San Francisco and its members, she is working to find local solutions to the housing crisis.

“This roundtable comes at a critical moment for our district, as many families and individuals have been displaced by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. We are proud to partner with Representative Barragán, a dedicated leader and tireless advocate for addressing the housing crisis in Southern California,” said Alanna McCargo, president and chief executive officer of FHLBank San Francisco. “Collaboration is essential to develop innovative solutions that improve affordability, expand housing supply and support the rebuilding of communities impacted by these wildfires. Our Bank is a valuable and trusted community partner that can leverage an extensive network of member financial institutions to help turn these ideas into action.”

In 2024, FHLBank San Francisco awarded $6.75 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants to support a range of projects in Los Angeles. Statewide, more than $49 million in AHP grants were awarded through its member financial institutions to help address and expedite solutions to California’s affordable housing crisis.

Attendees at the roundtable included:
- Dora Leong Gall, A Community of Friends
- Holly Benson, Adobe communities
- Andrea Parker, Farmers and Merchants bank
- Jeremy Empol, FHLBank San Francisco
- Anabel Cuevas, FHLBank San Francisco
- Darrell Simien, Habitat for Humanity LA
- Laura Archuleta, Jamboree
- Suny Lay Chang, LINC Housing
- Michael Ruane, National CORE
- Gerald Phillips, Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County
- Patricia Valladolid, One San Pedro/Century Housing
- Michael Faulwell, SchoolsFirst FCU
- Brent Terecero, SchoolsFirst FCU
FHLBank San Francisco is dedicated to supporting housing initiatives throughout its three-state region, including Arizona, California, and Nevada. Since the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) was created in 1990, FHLBank San Francisco has awarded over $1.35 billion in AHP grants to support the construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of over 154,600 homes affordable to lower-income households, including $61.8 million in 2024 alone. Together, the 11 regional FHLBanks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank System are one of the largest privately capitalized sources of grant funding for affordable housing in the United States.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is a member-owned cooperative supporting local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada to build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. The tools and resources we provide to our member financial institutions — commercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions — propel homeownership, finance quality affordable housing, drive economic vitality, and revitalize neighborhoods. Together with our members and other partners, we are making the communities we serve more vibrant, equitable, and resilient.

Contact:
Tom Flannigan
tom.flannigan@fhlbsf.com
415-616-2695

The MIL Network –
January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: New Leadership at Sony Interactive Entertainment

Source: Sony

San Mateo, Calif., January 28 (PST) /Tokyo, January 29 (JST), 2025 – Sony Group Corporation and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the company behind PlayStation, today announced the appointment of Hideaki Nishino to the role of President and CEO effective April 1, 2025.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senators Rosen, Booker, Gillibrand, Kelly, Blumenthal, Wyden, Schiff, Peters, Cortez Masto, & Gallego Issue Statement on ICC Sanctions Procedural Vote

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released the following statement on their opposition to a procedural vote on the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act.
“As pro-Israel members committed to protecting and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, and ensuring Israel has every tool to defend itself, we are deeply troubled by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) outrageous political targeting of Israel and its leaders. The Court’s false equivalence of Israel’s defense of its people with Hamas’s barbaric actions on October 7th is an affront to human conscience, deserving of both condemnation and severe consequences. We believe this judicial overreach must be countered forcefully, including through sanctions on those at the ICC directly responsible.
“Instead of directly punishing those responsible for the ICC’s reckless and irresponsible behavior, the House-passed ICC sanctions bill has overly broad language that would put our allies and U.S. private companies in the crosshairs. While we are eager to support a bill that would swiftly sanction those at the ICC responsible for its anti-Israel actions, in taking up the House bill today, Senate Republicans took a flawed, partisan approach. Despite our efforts, the bill’s sponsors did not allow us to make this bill stronger and more targeted. This is why we made the difficult decision to vote against a procedural motion on their bill, after serious consideration of the far-reaching, unintended consequences it would have. We urge our Republican colleagues to return to the negotiating table and reach a bipartisan agreement so that we can stand together in support of Israel through more targeted and effective legislation.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Warren Probes Lutnick for Ties to Crypto Firm with Long Record of Financing Terrorists, Illicit Activity

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
January 28, 2025
Ahead of hearing, Sen. Warren wrote to Lutnick about deep ties to Tether, known as “outlaws’ favorite cryptocurrency”
“Your record of support for and financial involvement with Tether…raise significant questions about your own personal judgment and the conflicts of interest that you will have if you are confirmed as Commerce Secretary.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Commerce, ahead of his Wednesday confirmation hearing, probing his serious financial conflicts and personal and professional ties to the scandal-ridden cryptocurrency Tether.
“In particular, your deep involvement with and support for Tether, a known facilitator of criminal activity that has been described as ‘outlaws’ favorite cryptocurrency’ raises concerns about your judgment and ability to put the interests of the American people ahead of your own financial interests,” wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren requested information about Lutnick’s financial stake in Tether, any conversations with Trump administration officials about Tether, and whether his firm performed due diligence to confirm that Tether is in compliance with “Know Your Customer” rules in the Bank Secrecy Act, international sanctions, and anti-money laundering laws.
As CEO of Tether’s asset manager, Cantor Fitzgerald, which also reportedly holds a 5 percent stake in the cryptocurrency company, Lutnick played a significant role in Tether’s rise. Despite Tether’s clear ties to criminal activity — including financing North Korean nuclear weapons programs, Mexican drug cartels, Russian arms companies, Middle Eastern terrorist groups, and Chinese manufacturers of chemicals used to make fentanyl — Lutnick “‘vouched’ for Tether when ‘few others would.’”
Even after Trump’s election win and subsequent decision to nominate Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, Cantor Fitzgerald continued to deepen its ties to Tether, reportedly agreeing to serve as the backbone of Tether’s multi-billion dollar Bitcoin lending program. Lutnick seemingly used his role as Trump Transition co-chair to advance his own interests, including bringing Cantor Fitzgerald lobbyist Jeff Miller to Congressional meetings related to the transition. As Senator Warren noted, “even aides in the Trump administration were questioning [Lutnick’s] continued efforts to mix [his] business interests with [his] duties on the Trump transition team.”
“You cannot serve as a booster for Tether while impartially fulfilling the Department of Commerce’s mission to ‘create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities’ as ‘economic growth has taken on increased importance for national security,’” Senator Warren concluded.
After President Trump announced his decision to nominate Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary in November, Senator Warren said: “Donald Trump’s pick of a Wall Street CEO for Commerce Secretary is a win for the billionaire class at the expense of working people. The across-the-board tariff plan is a distraction from the MAGA scam to extend tax giveaways for giant corporations and billionaires like Howard Lutnick.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Padilla Raises Alarm on Trump Administration Illegally Blocking Hundreds of Billions in Federal Support

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

Padilla Raises Alarm on Trump Administration Illegally Blocking Hundreds of Billions in Federal Support

Urges Budget Committee to Delay OMB Nominee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered federal agencies to freeze all congressionally approved federal grants and loans, including disaster relief for Californians:
“Donald Trump is illegally blocking hundreds of billions of dollars for essential federal programs to support families recovering after catastrophic fires, law enforcement agencies we rely on to keep our communities safe, and children and families who depend on federal child care and nutrition programs. All in his effort to pay for his tax cuts for large corporations and billionaires, like the ones he surrounded himself with during his inauguration. This overreach is unconstitutional and hurts the thousands of Californians who have been devastated by the recent fires. When Congress approves federal funds for programs to help communities, they are not optional: they are legal mandates.
“Americans in every corner of the country will feel the impact of Donald Trump’s unlawful directives. I am calling on my Republican colleagues to not confirm Russell Vought to be OMB Director until Trump reverses this reckless order.”
The sweeping directives in the Trump Administration’s memorandum are set to go into effect at 5 p.m. ET this evening. If implemented as written, the directives could block funding for California and national priorities including:
Disaster Relief: Public assistance and hazard mitigation grants from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and non-profits to help communities quickly respond to, recover from, and prepare for major disasters will be halted — right as so many Southern California communities are struggling amid the recent fires.
Firefighting: Grants to support firefighters across the country will be halted. This includes grants that help states and localities purchase essential firefighting equipment.
Public Safety: Grants for law enforcement and homeland security activities will cease to go out the door, undermining public safety in every state and territory.
Infrastructure Projects: All federally-funded transportation projects — roads, bridges, public transit, and more — will be halted, including projects already under construction.
Homelessness/Housing: In the midst of a homelessness and housing crisis, the Trump Administration is freezing housing and homelessness funding, which will exacerbate our housing crisis.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that Senator Padilla significantly improved, as well as grants for mental health services, will be cut off.
Nutrition Assistance: Millions of American citizens who rely on nutrition assistance programs like school lunch programs will be left hungry as funding is cut off and non-profits who provide additional assistance lose federal funding.
Combating the Fentanyl Crisis: Funding for communities to address the substance use disorder crisis and combat the fentanyl crisis will be cut off.
Emergency Preparedness: Critical preparedness and response capability funding used to prepare for disasters, public health emergencies, and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear events will be frozen.
Child Care: Child care programs across the country will not be able to access the funding they rely on to keep their doors open.
K-12 Schools: Federal funding for K-12 schools will be halted. School districts may not be able to access key formula grant funding including Title I, IDEA, Impact Aid, and Career and Technical Education, which would pose tremendous financial burdens on schools in the middle of the school year.
Biomedical Research: There will be immediate pauses on all funding for critical health research, including research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes, as well as clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center and all across the country — disrupting lifesaving and often time-sensitive research.
Higher Education and Job Training: Millions of students relying on federal student loans and federal work study will have their plans to pursue postsecondary education and further their careers thrown into chaos as federal financial aid disbursements are paused.
Health Services: Federal funding for community health centers that provide health care for over 30 million Americans will be immediately frozen, creating chaos for patients trying get their prescriptions, a regular checkup, and more.
Small Businesses: The Small Business Administration will have to halt loans to small businesses — including those in disaster-ravaged California communities.
Veterans Care: Federal grants to help veterans in rural areas access health care and grants to help veterans get other critical services, including suicide prevention resources, transition assistance, and housing for homeless veterans, will be cut off.
Tribes: Funding to tribes for basic government services like health care, public safety, programs, tribal schools, and food assistance will be halted.
Preventing Violence Against Women: All Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grants, as well as funding for victims assistance and state and local police, will be cut off.
U.S. Competitiveness: Existing grants to support research for Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing will be halted and any new grant funding would be paused — undermining U.S. innovation and competitiveness with China and putting California jobs at risk.
Energy Jobs: Grants for critical energy projects nationwide will be cut off — halting billions of dollars in investment nationwide and jeopardizing good-paying American jobs. The Department of Energy Loan Program Office will halt loans in 28 states, impacting hundreds of thousands of construction and operations jobs.
Food Inspections: Some states will have to take on the full financial burden of ensuring the nation’s meat supply is safe if federal cooperative agreements for meat inspection are halted.
Support for Servicemembers: Support for a host of Department of Defense financial assistance and grant programs supporting servicemembers and their families will be halted, including the Fisher House, Impact Aid, community noise mitigation, ROTC language training, STEM programs, and the USO.
Military Readiness: Grants and other assistance appropriated to strengthen military effectiveness and defense capacity will be halted, including Defense Production Act support for the defense industrial base, basic research grants necessary to advance key technologies, and small business support to strengthen supply chains.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: African ministers welcome bold Mission 300 initiative to expand electricity access

Source: African Development Bank Group
African energy and finance ministers welcomed an ambitious new partnership to transform the continent’s power sector at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam on January 27, while highlighting their countries’ distinct paths toward achieving universal access to electricity.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 29, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What is the 90-year-old tax rule Trump could use to double US taxes on foreigners?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miranda Stewart, Professor of Law, The University of Melbourne

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons

US President Donald Trump isn’t happy about the way some countries are taxing American citizens and companies. He has made clear he’s willing to retaliate, threatening to double taxes for their own citizens and companies.

Can Trump really do that, unilaterally, as president? It turns out he can, under a 90-year-old provision of the US tax code – Section 891.

In an executive memo signed on January 20 outlining his “America First Trade Policy”, Trump instructed US Treasury to:

investigate whether any foreign country subjects United States citizens or corporations to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes pursuant to Section 891 of Title 26, United States Code.

A sweeping power

Section 891 of the US Internal Revenue Code is short, but it is in sweeping terms.

If the president finds that US citizens or corporations are being subjected to “discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes” under the laws of any foreign country, he “shall so proclaim” this. US income tax rates on the citizens or corporations of that country are then automatically doubled.

The extra tax that could be collected is capped at 80% of the US taxable income of the taxpayer. The president can revoke a proclamation, if the foreign country reverses its “discriminatory or extraterritorial” taxation.

Section 891 is an extraordinary provision – but it has never been applied. As far as I know, no other country has legislated such a rule. Importantly, it would only apply to a person or business subject to income taxation by the US.

Take, for example, a foreign national earning a wage in the US. If this individual’s home country became subject to a proclamation under Section 891, their individual tax rate in the US would be doubled – to as much as 74%.

A foreign company earning taxable profits in the US would face a doubling of the company tax rate from 21% to 42%.

A bit of history

A version of Section 891 has been in the US tax code since 1934, an earlier troubled time of tax disputes and economic depression.

It was signed into law by Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 10 1934, amid a tax dispute between the US and France.

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Section 891 into law in 1934, putting pressure on France to end a tax dispute.
Vincenzo Laviosa/Wikimedia Commons

According to US tax historian Joseph Thorndike, the move followed attempts by France to levy additional taxes on US companies operating there, beginning in the mid-1920s.

France had tried to use an 1873 law to tax US companies operating in France on profits earned in the parent company back in the US, and in other subsidiaries around the world, not just the French company profits.

The aim was to counter international profit-shifting, which could be used to reduce the tax payable by US subsidiaries operating in France by claiming deductions or shifting income to other group companies outside France.

The dispute was long-standing and France tried to assess taxes going back decades for some US companies. The potentially massive tax bill (it seems the tax was never actually collected) became a geopolitical issue, and the companies asked the US government to intervene on their behalf.

Thorndike explains that a bilateral tax treaty was negotiated between the US and France to remedy this “double tax” situation. But the French legislature refused to ratify it.

In retaliation, US Congress passed Section 891, and six months later, France ratified its bilateral tax treaty with the US.

Parallels with today

In 1934, there were no digital multinational enterprises like Meta or Google. But that tax dispute nevertheless has parallels with modern concerns about taxing companies internationally.

The French government was trying, with a rather heavy hand, to counter international profit-shifting by large US multinationals.

Section 891 was re-enacted in later US tax codes, up to today, with minor amendments and no attempt to invoke it. It has remained in the background as a potential exercise of US fiscal and market power, supported by both sides of US politics.

Tax professor Itai Grinberg, who worked in the Biden administration on the OECD tax deal, suggested it could be applied to the European Union decision that taxes Apple in Ireland.

The US tech giants are only the latest in a long line of powerful American multinational corporations.
Tada Images/Shutterstock

What might Trump do?

President Trump has specifically targeted the OECD global tax negotiations with this threat, just a month after Australia has legislated the global minimum tax under “Pillar Two” of the OECD Global Tax Deal.

The OECD deal aims to ensure large multinational enterprises pay a minimum 15% effective tax rate in all the jurisdictions in which they operate, by applying a top-up tax and under-taxed profit tax.

Trump asserted in a memorandum that the OECD Global Tax Deal is “extraterritorial”, instructing the US Secretary of the Treasury and the US Trade Representative to investigate it.

Could Australia be singled out?

Trump’s memorandum also ordered an investigation into “other discriminatory foreign tax practices” that may harm US companies.

This includes whether any foreign countries are not complying with their US tax treaties or have, or are likely to put in place, any tax rules that “disproportionately affect American companies”.

Notably, this could put Australia’s proposed “news bargaining incentive” in the crosshairs.

Under this proposal, digital platforms (many of which are US-owned) would have to pay a new levy, which could be offset if they negotiate or renew deals with Australian news media publishers to pay for hosting news content.

Section 891 could apply to such taxes if they were found by Trump to be “discriminatory” against US companies. What “discriminatory” means is not clear.

Its been suggested that foreign citizens or companies could be protected from Section 891 by their country’s tax treaty with the US, under the standard approach that a later treaty prevails over an older code section. But Australia’s tax treaty with the US took effect in 1983, before the most recent re-enactment of Section 891 in the US tax code.

Read more:
News bargaining incentive: the latest move in the government’s ‘four-dimensional chess’ battle with Meta

Miranda Stewart receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Miranda is on the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association.

– ref. What is the 90-year-old tax rule Trump could use to double US taxes on foreigners? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-90-year-old-tax-rule-trump-could-use-to-double-us-taxes-on-foreigners-248154

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 29, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What is a ‘crime scene’, really? An expert explains how it’s more than just blue police tape

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Hurley, Lecturer in Criminology. Police and policing. Dept of Security Studies & Criminology, Macquarie University

When you watch the news, one phrase usually comes up as soon as crime is mentioned: “police have established a crime scene”.

If you’re a fan of the forensics crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, it will conjure up images of police waving a blue, fluorescent UV light in a darkened room looking for blood, saliva, fingerprints, footprints or tooth impressions.

CSI has influenced an entire generation – this year, the franchise will celebrate its 25th anniversary. But the reality of crime scene investigation is far more complex.

As a criminology lecturer and ex-police officer, I know a thing or two about crime scenes, having managed hundreds of them. I have even been a crime scene myself. Here’s what they really entail.

There’s usually more than one crime scene

In the early 20th century, French forensic science pioneer Edmond Locard noted it’s impossible for criminals to act “without leaving traces of this presence”. No matter where a criminal steps or what they touch, they leave behind, even unconsciously, evidence that serves as a silent witness against them.

The idea that criminals will leave something behind at the crime scene while taking something with them is known today as Locard’s principle.

Crime scenes are incredibly diverse. They don’t just involve the physical location. A person’s body and any objects found in relation to the crime are also part of a crime scene.

The primary crime scene is where the event took place – for example, where a murder, arson attack or drive-by shooting occurred.

There will be several additional crime scenes, too. In the course of the investigation, a second crime scene might be established where the criminal planned the crime. If they dumped a getaway vehicle, that’s a third crime scene. If they stashed a weapon, clothes or other objects in a safe house after the crime, that’s a fourth crime scene.

A fifth crime scene will be established when the criminal is arrested – they themselves are also a crime scene. Their hair, clothing and fingernails will be tested for various residues, such as the skin or blood of a victim, or even illicit substances if the crime involves drug trafficking.

Lastly, the victim is a crime scene, too. They may have body fluids, skin, hair and other material from the criminal on them.

In my detective career, I myself have been a crime scene when I found a badly injured abduction victim who collapsed in my arms. At that point, traces of the offender’s blood and hair transferred onto my clothing. I had to take the clothes off and they were kept as evidence.

Hair found on a victim’s clothing can serve as evidence.
Sendo Serra/Shutterstock

Crime scenes are confusing

Shows like CSI often portray crime scenes as neat and clear cut, with evidence easily obtained.

In reality, crime scenes are chaotic. They are full of clutter and the police don’t know what’s relevant and what’s not.

During a crime scene search, police have to speculate about what happened, as often there are no eyewitnesses. A bullet casing or a bloody knife would be obvious. But what of the more common household items in the house or room? Who owns the shirt or jumper? Why is the bedroom in disarray, is that normal? What did the criminal touch or not touch? Was there just one criminal or two? What belongs to the victim?

Unlike on TV, police don’t always know what they are looking for because often they don’t know how the crime occurred. The cause of a death can be obvious, but how it unfolded is not.

Crime scenes are fragile

With a murder on a TV show, the CSI team usually arrives at a home or an outdoor crime scene, surrounded by crime scene tape. The first thing they do is lift the tape and walk straight to the body.

This is the worst possible crime scene practice.

The detectives would be walking directly on and over the same entry or exit path the offenders used. This would destroy fragile microscopic residues of blood, dirt or plant vegetation.

In reality, walking in and out of a crime scene this way does not happen. Prior to entering any crime scene, police look around and try to figure out which way the offender may have come and gone.

Once weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of each option, they’ll pick a specific entry and exit point, and stick to that until the scene has been completely examined.

Lifting the police tape and walking straight to the body is bad practice – the tape is there for a reason.
Gordenkoff/Shutterstock

A systematic search – and not just for DNA

Crime scenes are also searched in different ways.

One way to ensure no evidence is missed is with a “grid and height” search. This means searching one square metre at a time. As the police get closer to the walls of the room, they start looking from the floor up to the height of their knees.

Once this is done, they go from their knee to their waist, then from their waist to their shoulder, then their shoulder to the top of their head, and then from the top of their head to a metre above it – until they reach the ceiling. Then they examine the ceiling.

Police don’t look solely for the holy grail of DNA. Rather, they are trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle of what happened, why it happened, and what the criminal unintentionally left behind.

Decades of forensic TV dramas have resulted in the “CSI effect” – the idea that finding, collecting and analysing evidence at a crime scene is straightforward, and that the evidence is infallible. This is not so. But shows like CSI have also spawned a generation of people interested in becoming real crime scene investigators and forensic scientists.

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

– ref. What is a ‘crime scene’, really? An expert explains how it’s more than just blue police tape – https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-crime-scene-really-an-expert-explains-how-its-more-than-just-blue-police-tape-245369

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Moscow enterprises will take part in 30 foreign exhibitions with the support of Mospromtsentr

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Moscow Metro

This year, Moscow-based export-oriented companies will have more opportunities to communicate with foreign partners: the MosProm center will organize 25 international business missions and ensure participation in 5 major international exhibitions. These initiatives, which include both face-to-face and virtual meetings, will provide Moscow manufacturers with important platforms for negotiations with foreign partners, said Maxim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport and Industry.

Tastes of Moscow.

On behalf of Sergei Sobyanin, the city prioritizes supporting export-oriented enterprises in expanding their presence in global markets. Our main task is to increase the volume of exports of industrial goods and agricultural products of Moscow production to friendly countries. Moscow manufacturers will present their products at international exhibitions in China, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. They will also hold direct negotiations with potential buyers and distributors from Mexico, the UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Mongolia, African countries and the CIS, said Maxim Liksutov.

MosProm was established in 2019 with the aim of increasing the recognition and presence of Moscow-made products in foreign markets. One of the most effective programs offered by MosProm is the buyer program. It allows companies to participate in specialized international exhibitions and business missions, where they can negotiate with potential customers of Moscow-made products in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) formats. This enables local industrial companies to expand their export scope and product range, establish new partnerships and customer relationships, and attract valuable investments.

Tastes of Moscow.

MosProm specialists provide comprehensive support to Moscow producers at all stages of their foreign economic activity. Thanks to MosProm’s assistance, Moscow non-raw materials and non-energy producers have successfully reoriented their export flows and found new partners in the markets of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the CIS, – emphasized Anatoly Garbuzov, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Moscow Department of Investment and Industrial Policy.

In addition, Moscow exporters benefit significantly from national support programs. The national project “International Cooperation and Export” is a set of measures of information, financial, insurance and logistics support. The project includes the digital platform “My Export”, which offers a range of business support services. These include free expert consultations, market analytics, assistance in promoting goods on international platforms, online training programs and much more.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with Bolivia

Source: IMF – News in Russian

January 28, 2025

Washington, DC: On March 22^nd, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation1 for Bolivia. This also included a discussion of the findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) exercise for Bolivia.^[1]

Bolivia’s growth momentum moderated in 2023, to 2.5 percent, from declining natural gas production, less public investment, and financial market turmoil. Price controls, food and fuel subsidies, export restrictions, and strong agricultural production held inflation below 2 percent at year-end. However, the combination of lower natural gas exports, high fuel imports, a large fiscal deficit―increasingly financed by the central bank―and an overvalued exchange rate contributed to a wider current account deficit (estimated at 5 percent of GDP for 2023) and near-depletion of international reserves. Public debt increased to nearly 84 percent of GDP by end-2023. Sovereign spreads rose sharply in early 2023 as the foreign exchange (FX) shortage became apparent and a mid-sized bank (Banco Fassil) failed. Consequently, banks were forced to restrict the withdrawal of FX deposits, heightening financial sector stability risks.

Growth is anticipated to decelerate to 1.6 percent in 2024, holding at around 2.2-2.3 percent in the medium term under the continuation of the current policies. Inflation is forecast to reach 4.5 percent in 2024, stabilizing around 4 percent thereafter. The outlook is however predicated on significantly improved access to external financing, without which the risk of disorderly fiscal and/or exchange rate adjustment is elevated. External factors such as reduced demand, intensified global conflicts disrupting trade routes, commodity price volatility, or a renewed tightening of financial conditions could worsen fiscal and external imbalances, impede growth, and destabilize the domestic financial sector.

Additionally, extreme weather events, like the 2023 droughts and recent floods, pose a risk to Bolivia’s agricultural sector and critical infrastructure. Domestically, a faster decline in hydrocarbon production, higher inflation due to FX scarcity, or confidence shocks could further impact growth, hurt real incomes and exacerbate financial stability risks. Social unrest stemming from inequality and security concerns remains a concern, as evidenced by the prolonged road blockages of early 2024. On the upside, Bolivia could potentially benefit from the global shift towards green energy due to its vast lithium resources, although developing the lithium sector and scaling up domestic production capacity will likely take time.

Executive Board Assessment[2]

Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They welcomed Bolivia’s socioeconomic progress over the past several years but expressed concerns about the difficult financial situation Bolivia currently finds itself in, with low reserves, uncertain fiscal financing, and pressures in parallel exchange markets. Directors stressed the urgency of a shift from current unsustainable policies to avoid a disorderly adjustment that would exert significant social and economic hardship.

Directors called for continued constructive engagement on a sustainable policy mix that is likely to require both fiscal adjustment phased in over the next few years and an up front step devaluation to more quickly address the external imbalance and allow for a build up of reserves. They emphasized the importance of improving the social safety net to shield poorer households from inflation pressures following a realignment of the exchange rate. Directors also emphasized the importance of strengthening fiscal institutions to underpin the credibility of the planned adjustment and to improve central bank governance in support of a shift to a crawling peg and, eventually, to inflation targeting.

Directors recommended a strengthening of the central banks’ capacity to conduct sterilization operations and to lift lending rate caps to improve the allocation of capital and enhance monetary policy transmission. They also underscored the need to improve crisis preparedness and contingency planning in line with FSAP recommendations to safeguard financial stability.

Directors recommended a range of supply side reforms to unlock private investment, boost productivity and enhance competitiveness. These should include phasing out export ceilings and price controls and better prioritizing public investment projects. A stronger regulatory framework for hydrocarbon and lithium exploration could be instrumental in increasing investment in those sectors. Directors also called for enhancing AML/CFT framework and ensuring the timely publication of key macroeconomic data.

Table 1. Bolivia: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2022–2026

Population (millions, 2021)	11.8	Poverty rate (percent, 2021)				36.3
Population growth rate (percent, 2021)	1.4	Adult literacy rate (percent, 2021)				94.8
Life expectancy at birth (years, 2021)	72	GDP per capita (US$, 2021)				3,437
Total unemployment rate (2021)	7.0	IMF Quota (SDR, millions)				240.1

	Est.
	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Income and prices
Real GDP	3.6	2.5	1.6	2.2	2.2
Nominal GDP	8.9	4.9	6.2	6.5	6.2
CPI inflation (period average)	1.7	2.6	4.5	4.2	3.9
CPI inflation (end of period)	3.1	2.1	4.8	4.0	3.9

Investment and savings 1/
Total investment	15.1	15.9	16.6	16.3	16.0
Of which: Public sector	5.7	5.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
Gross national savings	12.5	8.6	10.5	10.3	10.5
Of which: Public sector	-1.4	-2.0	-1.9	-1.5	-1.2
Combined public sector
Revenues and grants	28.9	28.3	27.6	27.4	27.1
Of which: Hydrocarbon related revenue	6.0	5.4	4.3	3.9	3.5
Expenditure	36.0	35.3	35.5	34.8	34.3
Current	30.3	30.3	29.5	28.8	28.3
Capital 2/	5.7	5.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
Net lending/borrowing (overall balance)	-7.1	-7.0	-7.9	-7.5	-7.2
Of which: Non-hydrocarbon balance	-12.8	-12.2	-12.0	-11.2	-10.5
Total gross NFPS debt 3/	80.4	83.6	86.7	88.9	90.9

External sector
Current account 1/	-0.4	-5.0	-5.7	-5.8	-5.6
Exports of goods and services	32.6	28.5	27.0	26.9	26.5
Of which: Natural gas	6.7	3.8	3.4	3.0	2.7
Imports of goods and services	32.9	34.4	33.6	33.6	32.7
Capital account	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Financial account (-= net inflow)	-1.5	-0.5	-5.3	-5.8	-5.6
Of which: Direct investment net	-0.8	-0.6	-0.6	-0.9	-0.9
Of which: Other investment, net	-0.3	-0.3	-4.6	-4.7	-5.1
Net errors and omissions	-3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Terms of trade index (percent change)	-1.6	1.2	-0.6	0.0	0.2
Central Bank gross foreign reserves 4/ 5/ 6/
In millions of U.S. dollars	3,796	1,808	1,653	1,555	1,556
In months of imports of goods and services	2.8	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.0
In percent of GDP	8.6	3.9	3.4	3.0	2.8
In percent of ARA	44.5	20.8	18.2	16.2	15.5
Money and credit
Credit to the private sector (percent change)	6.3	-0.4	3.0	4.3	5.1
Credit to the private sector (percent of GDP)	74.2	70.5	68.4	67.0	66.3
Broad money (percent of GDP)	85.2	82.8	81.2	80.0	78.9
*Memorandum items:*
Nominal GDP (in billions of U.S. dollars)	44.3	46.5	49.3	52.5	55.8
Bolivianos/U.S. dollar (end-of-period) 7/	6.9	6.9	…	…	…
REER, period average (percent change) 8/	-0.9	-1.9	…	…	…
Oil prices (in U.S. dollars per barrel)	96.4	80.6	77.7	73.8	70.9
Energy-related subsidies to SOEs (percent of GDP) 9/	4.4	4.0	3.5	2.7	2.4

Sources: Bolivian authorities (MEFP, Ministry of Planning, BCB, INE, UDAPE); IMF; Fund staff calculations.
1/ The discrepancy between the current account and the savings-investment balance reflects methodological differences. For the projection years, the discrepancy is assumed to remain constant in dollar value.
2/ Includes nationalization costs and net lending.
3/ Public debt includes SOE’s borrowing from the BCB (but not from other domestic institutions) and BCB loans to FINPRO and FNDR.
4/ Excludes reserves from the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) and Offshore Liquidity Requirements (RAL).
5/ All foreign assets valued at market prices.
6/ Includes a repurchase line of US$99.2 million maturing in 2025.
7/ Official (buy) exchange rate.
8/ The REER based on authorities’ methodology is different from that of the IMF (see 2018 and 2017 Staff Reports).
9/ Includes the cost of subsidy borne by public enterprises and incentives for hydrocarbon exploration investments in the projection period.

1 Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

[1] The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector. FSAPs provide input for Article IV consultations and thus enhance Fund surveillance. FSAPs are mandatory for the 47 jurisdictions with systemically important financial sectors and otherwise conducted upon request from member countries. The key findings of an FSAP are summarized in a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA).

[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Rosa Hernandez

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/01/28/PR25018-Bolivia-IMF-Executive-Board-Concludes-2024-Article-IV-Consultation-with-Bolivia

MIL OSI

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI Global: DeepSeek shatters beliefs about the cost of AI, leaving US tech giants reeling
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Michael J. Davern, Professor of Accounting & Business Information Systems, The University of Melbourne

Almost A$1 trillion (US$600 billion) was wiped off the value of artificial intelligence microchip maker Nvidia overnight on Monday, when a little-known Chinese startup, DeepSeek, threatened to upend the US tech market.

While Nvidia suffered the biggest one-day loss in sharemarket history, other tech giants – Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, who are investing heavily in competing AI tools including ChatGPT and Gemini – were also hit.

The rout was caused by investors’ shock at the claimed performance of DeepSeek’s new R1 chatbot. The Chinese AI was reported to be more advanced than its competitors and less expensive to develop.

DeepSeek R1 has soared, becoming the top free downloaded app on Apple’s app store, as US technology and related stock prices fell dramatically.

Why tech stocks took a deep dive

The market was surprised by DeepSeek providing what amounts to cheaper technology but comparable performance.

This has dramatically changed the market’s expectations of computing power, showing more can be done for less. It has also compromised the competitiveness of the US tech companies’ existing AI products and developments.

Stock prices are driven by market expectations. The claimed performance of DeepSeek R1 prompted a major revision of expectations about what was technologically possible and about how cheaply AI could be developed and operated.

Investors have rapidly incorporated the news of a low-cost Chinese AI competitor into stock prices, anticipating this new entrant could disrupt the market and erode the competitive advantage of existing leaders.

Who is DeepSeek and what is R1?

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Chinese hedge fund High Flyer, which had been exclusively using AI in trading since 2021.

DeepSeek develops large language models (LLMs) that can underpin chatbots and other AI-based tools. R1 is the latest iteration of DeepSeek’s chatbot and underlying model. It builds on earlier versions of generative AI models developed by DeepSeek, and considerable amounts of data, but is a surprising leap forward in performance and cost.

R1 is the latest version of DeepSeek’s chatbot.
Koshiro K/Shutterstock

Technology investors believe R1 matches or outperforms competitors, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4.o1 on numerous benchmarks.

However, there are some key differences:
1. The model underlying R1 operates in a much less intensive manner. It is much cheaper to develop and run, requiring less data and computing power.
2. The training of the model was possible despite the US export ban preventing Chinese companies such as DeepSeek from accessing chips from US companies such as Nvidia. The Biden administration had introduced laws restricting the sale of certain computer chips and machinery to China, in a move intended to block its rival from accessing some of the world’s most advanced technology.
3. The training data and data uploaded to R1 sit on servers in China. Given concerns about data privacy and intellectual property have already been raised about US-based companies, having data under jurisdiction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is arguably even more concerning.
4. The chatbot program code is free to download, read and modify, unlike ChatGPT. This is however somewhat a false transparency – what matters more is the underlying model, not the Chatbot code.
5. R1 is known to censor its responses in line with Chinese Communist Party values.
The future of AI and tech stocks

It is unknown whether this crash in price of tech stocks is an irrational panic that will reverse, or whether it simply reflects correct pricing. The future costs and benefits of AI are still uncertain.

This is both a technological and an economic question.

In technological terms, it is yet to be seen whether R1 really does require less computing power and less data to train and use.

Economically, there are potential winners and losers. AI users may win with cheaper access to AI, and LLMs in particular, leading to increased adoption and associated productivity gains. Existing producers such as Nvidia may lose out in what was a market with few real competitors.

More broadly, society may benefit from less computationally intensive, and therefore more energy-efficient, AI. However, the geopolitical risk of a single country capturing the market, together with concerns about data privacy, intellectual property and censorship may outweigh the benefits.

Michael J. Davern has previously received funding from CPA Australia for industry research into Artificial Intelligence.

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

– ref. DeepSeek shatters beliefs about the cost of AI, leaving US tech giants reeling – https://theconversation.com/deepseek-shatters-beliefs-about-the-cost-of-ai-leaving-us-tech-giants-reeling-248424
MIL OSI – Global Reports –
January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: When news is stressful, how do you balance staying informed with ‘doomscrolling’?
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Lisa Harrison, Lecturer in Digital Communications, Flinders University

Mart Production/Pexels

It all begins innocently – a late-night peek at your favourite social media site before bed. You catch a headline that grabs your attention with “breaking news” you can’t afford to miss.

Like following digital breadcrumbs, one click leads to another. Before you know it, you’re tumbling down a rabbit hole of endless updates and emotionally charged social media posts. Two hours later, your shoulders are tense, your stomach is in knots, but you can’t put your phone down.

This endless scrolling through bad news – known as “doomscrolling” – sneaks up on us.

It’s important to stay in touch with what’s happening in the world. Being informed helps us make better decisions, engage meaningfully in our communities, and respond effectively to changes that affect our lives and those around us.

But just like a healthy diet, we must be smart about our news consumption to avoid it taking a toll on our health.

The good news is there are proven ways to stay informed without letting it take over your life. Research shows setting clear boundaries around your news consumption can make a huge difference. So, how can you strike the right balance?

How to set boundaries with news consumption

It’s worth considering why you feel compelled to stay constantly informed. Ask yourself: “will this information change what I can do about it?”.

Often, we scroll not because the information is actionable, but because we are trying to gain a sense of control in an uncertain world.

Research shows scrolling through negative news can disrupt your sleep and increase anxiety. To make sure your media consumption is intentional, there are a few steps you can take.

Be picky with the news sources you read. Choose a few trusted outlets instead of letting social media algorithms decide what you see. It’s like sticking to a balanced meal plan, but for your mind.

While engaging with the news, pay close attention to how you’re feeling. When you notice physical signs of anxiety or emotional distress, that is your cue to take a break.

Set aside time earlier in the day with clear boundaries around your news consumption: maybe with your morning coffee or during your lunch break, whatever works for your schedule. Consider implementing a “digital sunset”, too. This is a cut-off time for news and social media, ideally an hour or two before bedtime, to give your mind time to process what you have learned without disrupting your sleep.

The world will always be there, but you will be in a better head space to process what is happening.

You don’t have to feel helpless

Taking breaks from consuming news is not burying your head in the sand – it’s practising self care. Studies have shown that people who set healthy boundaries around news consumption are often better equipped to engage meaningfully on important issues and take constructive action when needed.

When you check the news, be an active consumer. Instead of endless scrolling:
- choose one or two in-depth articles to read thoroughly
- discuss the news with colleagues, friends and family to process your feelings
- look for solution-focused news stories that highlight positive change
- take meaningful action on issues you care about.
There are also various apps and tools that can help you form healthier digital habits. Productivity apps use various approaches to help you stay focused, providing ways to snap you out of mindless scrolling.

News curation apps and apps that allow you to save articles to read later can help you establish a balanced news diet, and remove the urgent need to read everything immediately.

Many smartphones now come equipped with screen time management features, such as Apple’s Screen Time or Android’s Digital Wellbeing. You can use these to monitor your scrolling habits and to manage how much time you spend on social media or news apps.

One useful feature is to block apps from use during certain times of day or after you’ve used them for a set amount of time.

Screen time management features allow you to pause or block apps from use.
The Conversation

Stay mindful, stay engaged

Staying informed doesn’t mean staying constantly connected. By mindfully setting boundaries and using supportive tools, you can keep up with important events while protecting your wellbeing.

If you’re trying productivity apps and other tools, start small. Choose one tool that resonates with you rather than trying everything at once. Set realistic goals that fit your life, and use these apps’ insights to understand your habits better.

Pay attention to what triggers your doomscrolling and adjust your settings accordingly. Remember, these tools work best when combined with offline activities you enjoy.

The goal isn’t to disconnect completely, but to find a sustainable balance between staying informed and maintaining peace of mind. With thoughtful boundaries and the right support tools, you can stay engaged with the world while keeping your mental health intact.

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

– ref. When news is stressful, how do you balance staying informed with ‘doomscrolling’? – https://theconversation.com/when-news-is-stressful-how-do-you-balance-staying-informed-with-doomscrolling-248017
MIL OSI – Global Reports –
January 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial News: Spring Session of Online Financial Literacy Lessons to Begin January 30

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Central Bank of Russia –

This year there will be more broadcasts in the Far East: the region has an increased number of lecturers ready to speak in real time, convenient for schoolchildren.

The program will feature two new lessons that will tell you how not to become a victim of financial fraudsters, what drops do and why it is dangerous. Participants will learn to recognize suspicious calls and messages, protect their accounts from hacking and learn how to avoid financial losses and use bank cards safely.

You can join the online lessons with your class or individually. There are 29 lessons on financial literacy and career guidance in the schedule. For the convenience of students, the classes will be held from 01:00 to 18:00 Moscow time.

The spring session will last until April 18. You can choose a lesson and register for it on the project website.

The Bank of Russia has been conducting online lessons on financial literacy since 2015. During the 2024/2025 academic year, about 29 thousand educational institutions joined them. Over the entire period, they have received almost 26 million views.

Preview photo: Inside Creative House / Shutterstock / Fotodom

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

HTTPS: //vv. KBR.ru/Press/Event/? ID = 23321

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: On holding auctions on January 29, 2025 to place OFZ issues No. 26235RMFS and No. 26238RMFS

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

For bidders

We inform you that, based on the letter of the Bank of Russia and in accordance with Part I. General Part and Part II. Stock Market Section of the Rules for Conducting Trading on the Stock Market, Deposit Market and Credit Market of Moscow Exchange PJSC, the order establishes the form, time, term and procedure for holding auctions for the placement and trading of the following federal loan bonds:

Name of the Issuer	Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
Name of security	federal loan bonds with constant coupon income
State registration number of the issue	26235RMFS from 10/12/2020
Date of the auction	January 29, 2025
Information about the placement (trading mode, placement form)	The placement of Bonds will be carried out in the Trading Mode “Placement: Auction” by holding an Auction to determine the placement price. BoardId: PACT (Settlements: Ruble)
Trade code	SE26235RMFS0
ISIN code	RO000A1028E3
Calculation code	B01
Additional conditions of placement	The share of non-competitive bids in relation to the total volume of bids submitted by the Bidder may not exceed 90%.
Trading time	Trading hours: bid collection period: 12:00 – 12:30; bid execution period: 13:00 – 18:00.

Name of the Issuer	Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
Name of security	federal loan bonds with constant coupon income
State registration number of the issue	26238RMFS from 11.06.2021
Date of the auction	January 29, 2025
Information about the placement (trading mode, placement form)	The placement of Bonds will be carried out in the Trading Mode “Placement: Auction” by holding an Auction to determine the placement price. BoardId: PACT (Settlements: Ruble)
Trade code	SE26238RMFS4
ISIN code	RO000A1038V6
Calculation code	B01
Additional conditions of placement	The share of non-competitive bids in relation to the total volume of bids submitted by the Bidder may not exceed 90%.
Trading time	Trading hours: bid collection period: 14:30 – 15:00; bid execution period: 15:30 – 18:00.

Contact information for media 7 (495) 363-3232Pr@moex.kom

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.M.M.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 29, 2025

Category: Business

Chinese government control

US efforts to contain Chinese tech development

What does this mean for Australia?

A smile as a reward

From the veterans’ meeting to the registry office

Dream job

Six thousand hours of good deeds

Not all wildlife are wild

Data is thin in many ways

Why tracking the wildlife trade is important

What’s next

Why did inflation fall?

What does it mean for interest rates?

Safety first

Learn a life skill

Six toddler pools to try

1. Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool and Leisure Centre

2. Albany Stadium Pool

3. Ōtara Pool and Leisure Centre

4. Grey Lynn Paddling Pool

5. Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre

6. Moana Nui-a-Kiwa Pool and Leisure Centre

A sweeping power

A bit of history

Parallels with today

What might Trump do?

Could Australia be singled out?

There’s usually more than one crime scene

Crime scenes are confusing

Crime scenes are fragile

A systematic search – and not just for DNA

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

Why tech stocks took a deep dive

Who is DeepSeek and what is R1?

The future of AI and tech stocks

How to set boundaries with news consumption

You don’t have to feel helpless

Stay mindful, stay engaged