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Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to make sure the budget secures the investment Britain needs

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics/Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    Growth won’t happen without greater investment. I Wei Huang/Shutterstock

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to “rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment” in the UK. He was speaking at his government’s first international investment summit, an attempt to encourage the finance and business worlds to put more money into the country.

    But the government will need much more investment – by both the private and public sectors – than can be drummed up with one summit and an intent to slash red tape if it is to meet its economic goals. So Labour’s upcoming first budget on October 30 presents a vital opportunity to lay the foundations for an investment boost over the coming years.

    A major, long-term aim is to get the UK’s annual growth back to its pre-2008 banking crisis rate, when it was around 2% a year. The UK has been growing at about half that rate since then.

    This slower economic growth has damaged people’s living standards as well as the tax receipts the government needs to fund public services, particularly since the pressures of the COVID pandemic.

    Slow growth could be turned around by increasing investment in things like infrastructure. The UK has lagged behind comparable economies in this regard – it has had the lowest rate of investment in the G7 group of major economies for 24 of the last 30 years.

    Last year, the UK’s GDP per capita (a measure of the average income) was nearly £11,000 lower than it would have been had the economy continued to grow at its pre-2008 rate.

    Rather unusually, despite the UK’s debt recently reaching 100% of GDP – the highest amount in more than half a century – the usually fiscally conservative International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the UK should consider focusing on investment. This, it says, could potentially boost GDP growth and thus stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio.

    And the UK’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), believes it is possible to raise economic growth through more investment. The OBR estimates that a sustained 1% of GDP increase in public investment could increase the level of potential national output by just under 0.5% after five years, and around 2.5% in 50 years.

    So, there will undoubtedly be a number of investment measures in the Budget. But how many depends, in part, on whether the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, revises some restrictions on borrowing, known as the fiscal rules. There could be adjustments such as offsetting government debt with its assets, including student loans. Reeves is reportedly looking at this possibility – which could create as much as £50 billion of additional fiscal headroom.



    Read more:
    The chancellor has tied her own hands with her fiscal rules – here’s why she should change them

    She could also re-institute the previous Labour government’s golden rule: only borrow to invest. This could separate out capital investment (spending on things like roads and other infrastructure), which is needed to support long-term growth, from day-to-day spending on public services. It would also increase the transparency of what the borrowing is for, and whether it can deliver growth that can help stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio.

    These changes would prevent public investment from being cut in order to meet one of the current fiscal rules Reeves is adhering to. That is, that debt must be falling as a percentage of GDP over a rolling five-year period. As it stands, this rule restricts how much Reeves can borrow – even if that is what the country needs to grow economically.

    A change to this rule could help the government fund its two new initiatives to promote public investment: the National Wealth Fund, which requires just over £7 billion over the parliament, and GB Energy, which needs about £8 billion.

    Convincing investors

    Investments in the National Wealth Fund and GB Energy could further raise economic growth by “crowding in” private investment. For example, investing in infrastructure like a road entices private firms to invest too, perhaps in new premises or more staff, because a better transport link will make these firms’ investments more profitable.

    The government’s aim is to bring in three times the public investment in the National Wealth Fund to invest in infrastructure and key sectors. GB Energy likewise intends to bring in private investors to support the green transition that can generate new output and jobs.

    But targeting growth will take more than just finding the money. It also requires a regulatory approach and planning system that generates confidence among private investors to put their money in alongside the government.

    The impending Budget won’t set out all of the details that investors are looking for, but they will expect to see the growth strategy and assess whether it is credible. For instance, successive governments have struggled with planning reform, so investors will be justified in wondering what will be different this time.

    Rachel Reeves could potentially give herself an extra £50 billion to spend if she changes the fiscal rules.
    Fred Duval/Shutterstock

    Investors will also be on the lookout for a more certain regulatory regime over several years. The main impediments to investment tend to be uncertainty, including over regulation and planning, as well as being able to find workers with the right skills. This Budget is an opportunity to set out what the government plans to do in both areas over its five-year parliament.

    One positive signal to investors would be if the Budget sets out a broad definition of “capital”. For physical capital like a factory to be properly used, it requires people (human capital). And we hear a lot about green assets and digital assets, which essentially means that capital can be physical, human or green, as well as digital.

    By outlining its policies around infrastructure and skills, as well as its environmental and digital policies, any proposed growth strategy would be more holistic and likelier to have a positive impact on growth.

    But the difference between a strategy and a great strategy is in its execution. The Budget will almost certainly set out various fiscal policies to support growth. But the ability to deliver this strategy will determine whether it is truly a budget for growth.

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

    – ref. How to make sure the budget secures the investment Britain needs – https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-sure-the-budget-secures-the-investment-britain-needs-241074

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Chamber pulse: Global markets, local landscapes

    Source: International Chamber of Commerce

    Headline: Chamber pulse: Global markets, local landscapes

    The survey at a glance

    200

    Over 200 chambers of commerce surveyed

    96

    Respondents from 96 countries spanning five continents

    90

    Representing 90% of global GPD

    Global business environment, constraints and outlook: The chamber view

    While chambers generally hold a positive view of the current business environment, there are significant regional differences. Negative perceptions are concentrated in countries facing political and economic instability. Nearly half of respondents believe that the global trade environment has hampered business operations.

    At the aggregate level, the main constraints for businesses are

    • shortage of labour or skilled labour,
    • inflation,
    • geopolitical tensions,
    • taxation, and
    • financial problems.

    But the hurdles businesses face tend to vary depending on the region.

    The global outlook remains largely positive. Nevertheless, some regions, notably MENA and South Asia, anticipate a more pessimistic future, with 20% of respondents in these areas expecting a bleak business outlook.

    Artificial intelligence continues to spark debate

    Seven out of 10 respondents see AI as both a risk and an opportunity. The uncertainty around the future prospects of AI is linked to its limited application to certain sectors with high innovation.

    Inflation and limited access to finance still weigh heavily on businesses

    Over 80% of respondents expect inflation to rise, affecting operating costs, wages, supply chains and competitiveness, with concerns especially pronounced in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

    The economic environment and tight financial conditions hinder access to finance.

    Businesses and the climate transition: what is at stake?

    Businesses are adapting to climate change policies by adopting green technologies, developing sustainable products, and diversifying energy sources. In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, diversifying energy sources is the primary solution for more than 80% of respondents. In Latin America, Europe and Central Asia, the focus is on developing sustainable products or services.

    The main challenges in addressing climate change centre on how much funding is available and how to implement changes. Opportunities for businesses include gaining a competitive advantage through green practices and creating jobs in green industries.

    To support small- and medium-sized enterprises in the climate transition, chambers insist on the need to provide fiscal support, promote the adoption of digital technologies, and enhance collaboration within supply chains.

    For further information please contact Melanie Laloum, ICC Lead Economist, or Leonardo Barbosa, Lead, ICC WCF Governance and Operations.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: SoFi Announces Monthly Distributions on $THTA (12.00%)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SoFi, a leading provider of thematic and income ETFs, today announced monthly distributions on the SoFi Enhanced Yield ETF (THTA).

    Distribution as of 10/14/2024

    ETF
    Ticker    		 Distribution
    per Share    		 Distribution
    Rate *    		 30-Day
    SEC Yield**    		 Ex-Date Record
    Date    		 Payment
    Date
    THTA $0.1904 12.00% 4.04% 10/15/2024 10/15/2024 10/16/2024

    Inception date: 11/15/2023
    Click here to view standardized performance for THTA.

    THTA, launched in partnership with Tidal Investments LLC and ZEGA Financial LLC, seeks current income by combining a strategy of holding U.S. government securities, including U.S. Treasury Bills and U.S. Treasury Bonds, with a “credit spread” option strategy to seek to generate enhanced yield.

    About SoFi
    Our mission is to help people reach financial independence to realize their ambitions. And financial independence doesn’t just mean being rich—it means getting to a point where your money works for the life you want to live. Everything we do is geared toward helping our members get their money right. We’re constantly innovating and building ways to give our members what they need to make that happen.

    About Tidal Investments LLC 
    Formed by ETF industry pioneers and thought leaders, Tidal Investments LLC sets out to revolutionize the way ETFs have historically been developed, launched, marketed, and sold. With a focus on growing AUM, Tidal offers a comprehensive suite of services, proprietary tools, and methodologies designed to bring lasting ideas to market. Tidal is an advocate for ETF innovation. The firm is on a mission to provide issuers with the intelligence and tools needed to efficiently and to effectively launch ETFs and to optimize growth potential in a highly competitive space. For more information, visit https://www.tidalfinancialgroup.com/.  

    ABOUT ZEGA Financial LLC
    Founded in 2011, ZEGA Financial LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser and investment manager that specializes in derivatives. The firm leverages technology, data, experience, and proprietary strategies to craft products and services for advisors and individual investors. ZEGA Financial helps investors successfully navigate volatile and uncertain markets through innovative hedging strategies. The firm’s founding principles grew out of the bestselling book co-authored by Jay Pestrichelli, ZEGA’s CEO and Co-Founder, entitled “Buy and Hedge, the Five Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term.” His book highlights how to bridge the complicated nature of options investing with the needs of the everyday investor.

    Performance is historical and does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than quoted. Investment returns and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance data for the most recent month-end is available above. Returns less than one year are cumulative. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and may trade at a discount or premium to NAV. Shares are not individually redeemable from the Fund and may only be acquired or redeemed from the fund in creation units. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Short term performance, in particular, is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance, and an investment should not be made based solely on returns.

    * The Distribution Rate is the annual yield an investor would receive if the most recently declared distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by multiplying an ETF’s Distribution per Share by twelve (12), and dividing the resulting amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions are not guaranteed.

    ** The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income, which excludes option income, earned by such ETF over the 30-Day period ended September 30, 2024, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on such ETF’s share price at the end of the 30-Day period.

    The Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield is not indicative of future distributions, if any, on the ETFs. In particular, future distributions on any ETF may differ significantly from its Distribution Rate or 30-Day SEC Yield. You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from month to month and may be zero. Accordingly, the Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield will change over time, and such change may be significant. The distribution may include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease a fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These distribution rates caused by unusually favorable market conditions may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future. Additional fund risks can be found below.

    Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus. A prospectus may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Written Options Risk. The Fund will incur a loss as a result of writing (selling) options (also referred to as a short position) if the price of the written option instrument increases in value between the date the Fund writes the option and the date on which the Fund purchases an offsetting position. The Fund’s losses are potentially large in a written put transaction and potentially unlimited in a written call transaction.). Because of the fund’s strategy of coupling written and purchased puts and call options with the same expiration date and different strike prices, the Fund expects that the maximum potential loss for the Fund for any given credit spread is equal to the difference between the strike prices minus any net premium received. Nonetheless, because up to 90% of the Fund’s portfolio may be subject to this risk – the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning, including to zero.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include options. Depending on how the Fund uses derivatives and the relationship between the market value of the derivative and the underlying instrument, the use of derivatives could increase or decrease the Fund’s exposure to the risks of the underlying instrument. Using derivatives can have a leveraging effect if the Sub-Adviser is unable to set an appropriate spread between two options held by the Fund and increase Fund volatility. In that event, a small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the Fund’s performance. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. Financial reform laws have changed many aspects of financial regulation applicable to derivatives. Once implemented, new regulations, including margin, clearing, and trade execution requirements, may make derivatives more costly, may limit their availability, may present different risks or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of these instruments. The extent and impact of these regulations are not yet fully known and may not be known for some time.

    Interest Rate Risk. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, with longer-term securities being more sensitive than shorter-term securities. For example, the price of a security with a one-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 1% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity and duration of a bond or fixed rate loan, the more sensitive it is to this risk. Falling interest rates also create the potential for a decline in the Fund’s income. These risks are greater during periods of rising inflation.

    Leveraging Risk. Derivative instruments held by the Fund involve inherent leverage, whereby small cash deposits allow the Fund to hold contracts with greater face value, which may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. Adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate or index can result in loss of an amount substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative. In addition, the use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy redemption obligations.

    Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments of the Fund would be difficult to purchase or sell, possibly preventing the Fund from selling such illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price, or possibly requiring the Fund to dispose of other investments at unfavorable times or prices in order to satisfy its obligations.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. The Fund will generally have up to 15 credit spreads at any given time, with up to 25% exposure to a single equity index credit spread. Investment in a limited number of equity indexes exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among a greater number of indexes.

    Median 30 Day Spread is a calculation of Fund’s median bid-ask spread, expressed as a percentage rounded to the nearest hundredth, computed by: identifying the Fund’s national best bid and national best offer as of the end of each 10 second interval during each trading day of the last 30 calendar days; dividing the difference between each such bid and offer by the midpoint of the national best bid and national best offer; and identifying the median of those values.

    The S&P 500 Index, or Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, is a market-capitalization-weighted index of 500 leading publicly traded companies in the U.S. The index actually has 503 components because three of them have two share classes listed.

    SoFi ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Coming Oct. 17: See the latest games from Xbox partners

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Coming Oct. 17: See the latest games from Xbox partners

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Fannie Mae Reminds Homeowners, Renters, and Mortgage Servicers of Disaster Relief Options for Those Affected by Hurricane Milton

    Source: Fannie Mae

    WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) is reminding homeowners and renters impacted by natural disasters, including those affected by Hurricane Milton, of available mortgage assistance and disaster relief options. Mortgage servicers also are reminded of options to assist homeowners under Fannie Mae’s guidelines during these circumstances.

    “This is a devastating time for many homeowners and renters impacted by Hurricane Milton, especially as some are still feeling the impacts of Hurricane Helene,” said Cyndi Danko, Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer, Single-Family, Fannie Mae. “Once recovery efforts begin, we encourage homeowners experiencing hardship because of the storm(s) to contact their mortgage servicer about payment relief options as soon as possible. Homeowners and renters alike can learn more about disaster relief resources, including personalized support, by contacting Fannie Mae’s free disaster recovery counseling services.” 

    Homeowners and renters should call 855-HERE2HELP (855-437-3243) to access Fannie Mae’s disaster recovery counseling* or visit the Fannie Mae website for more information.

    Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines for single-family mortgages impacted by a disaster:

    • Homeowners may request mortgage assistance by contacting their mortgage servicer (the company listed on their mortgage statement) following a disaster.
    • Homeowners affected by a disaster are often eligible to reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 12 months by entering into a forbearance plan with their mortgage servicer. During this temporary reduction or pause in payments, homeowners will not incur late fees, and foreclosure along with other legal proceedings are suspended.
    • In instances where contact with the homeowner has not been established, mortgage servicers are authorized to offer a forbearance plan for up to 90 days if the servicer believes the home was affected by a disaster.
    • In addition, homeowners on a COVID-19-related forbearance plan who are subsequently impacted by a disaster may still be eligible for assistance and should contact their mortgage servicer to discuss options.

    Homeowners and renters looking for disaster recovery resources may visit the Fannie Mae website to learn more about addressing immediate needs. Fannie Mae also offers help navigating the broader financial effects of a disaster to homeowners and renters through disaster recovery counseling at 855-HERE2HELP (855-437-3243).* Assistance is provided free of charge by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counselors who are trained disaster-recovery experts that provide:

    • A needs assessment and personalized recovery plan.
    • Help requesting financial relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), insurance companies, and other sources.
    • Web resources and ongoing guidance for up to 18 months.
    • Services available in multiple languages.

    *Operated by Money Management International/MMI

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We’ve bred corals to better tolerate lethal heatwaves, but rapid climate action is still needed to save reefs

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Liam Lachs, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Climate Change Ecology and Evolution, Newcastle University

    The authors working in their ‘coral nursery’ in the Pacific. Liam Lachs

    Our research group has bred corals able to better survive marine heatwaves. Our work, now published in Nature Communications, shows that it is possible to improve coral heat tolerance even within a single generation.

    We did this using selective breeding: a technique used by humans for thousands of years to produce animals and plants with desirable characteristics. Selective breeding is how humans turned wolf-like dogs into St Bernards, chihuahuas and everything in between.

    Now, selective breeding is being considered as a tool for nature conservation, particularly for coral reefs. The Coralassist Lab (of which we are part) and the Palau International Coral Reef Center have been working on coral heatwave survival specifically. Our latest results are the culmination of seven years’ work.

    Marine heatwaves trigger mass coral bleaching and mortality, with 2023-2024 declared as the fourth global mass bleaching event. Assisted evolution methods — like selective breeding — aim to boost natural adaptation to buy time for corals under climate change.

    Yet the improvement in heat tolerance in our selectively bred corals was modest compared to the intensity of marine heatwaves expected in the future. While selective breeding is feasible, it is likely not a panacea. We’ll still need to tackle the cause of mass coral bleaching by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate warming and give assisted evolution programmes time to take effect.

    How to breed corals for heat tolerance

    The first step was to determine the heat tolerance of many potential parent corals on the reef. Then, we chose specific individuals to breed two separate families of offspring, selected for either high or low heat tolerance. We reared these offspring for three to four years until they reached reproductive maturity, and then tested their heat tolerance.

    Some of the selectively-bred coral at the nursery in the Pacific island nation Palau.
    Jesse Alpert

    We conducted selective breeding trials for two different traits, either the tolerance to a short, intense heat exposure (temperatures 3.5°C above normal for ten days) or a less intense but long-term exposure more typical of natural marine heatwaves (2.5°C above average for a month). This enabled us to estimate the heritability of each trait, the response to selective breeding, and whether both traits have a shared genetic basis.

    Selecting parents for high- rather than low-heat tolerance enhanced the tolerance of their adult offspring for both traits tested.

    a) Overview of the experimental design and examples of (b) Acropora digitifera parents and (c) their offspring at the nursery in Palau.
    Coralassist lab

    Heritability was roughly 0.2 to 0.3 on a scale of 0 to 1, which means about a quarter of the variability in offspring heat tolerance was due to genes passed from their parents. In other words, these traits have a substantial genetic basis on which natural and artificial selection can act.

    We measure cumulative heat stress and tolerance in terms of degree-heating weeks (°C-weeks), which reflects both how hot it gets and for how long. Given the trait variability identified in these particular corals, heat tolerance could in theory be enhanced by about 1°C-week within one generation.

    However, even this level of enhancement may not be enough to keep pace with ever more intense heatwaves. Depending on climate action, the intensity of heatwaves is expected to rise in the coming decades by around 3°C-weeks per decade, faster than the enhancement achieved in our study.

    Interestingly, corals selectively bred for high- rather than low, short-stress tolerance were no better at surviving the long heat stress exposure. With no genetic correlation detected, it is plausible that these traits are driven by independent sets of genes, and corals that are good at surviving the short sharp heat stress aren’t necessarily the best at surviving longer term marine heatwaves.

    This would have important implications, as work like this would benefit from cheap and rapid tests that can effectively identify heat tolerant colonies for breeding. However, if these tests can’t predict which coral colonies will survive month-long heatwaves, it presents a serious challenge.

    Coral fragments during a long-term simulated marine heatwave, with some remaining relatively healthy throughout (upper) and others bleaching (lower) or dying (not shown).
    Liam Lachs

    Scaling up selective breeding

    Since it is possible to selectively breed corals for increased heat tolerance, the next step is to conduct large-scale trials in the wild. This will likely require considerable numbers of selectively bred corals to be deployed, perhaps by directly seeding coral larvae on reefs, or planting corals reared in an aquaculture facility.

    For this to work, outplanted corals must become reproductive themselves and contribute to the wild population gene pool. Doing this at very large scales will be challenging, but it may not be necessary to replenish the coral coverage of large areas.

    Instead, it may be sufficient to create a network of fewer strategically located larval production hubs, containing selectively bred corals at high densities to maximise fertilisation success. These hubs would serve to seed other reefs and could provide further broodstock for targeted actions.

    A lot more research and development is still needed, with many critical questions remaining unanswered. How many corals need to be outplanted to have the desired effect? Can we ensure there are no trade-offs that could compromise populations (evidence so far suggests this is not a large risk)? How can we avoid dilution of selected traits once added to the wild? How can we maximise responses to selection?

    Given the pace of ocean warming, optimisation and implementation of assisted evolution will need to happen soon for them to have a chance at success, even if only on small scales. Above all, the survival of coral reefs still depends on urgent climate action.

    Liam Lachs received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council ONE Planet Doctoral Training Partnership (NE/S007512/1).

    James Guest received funding from European Research Council Horizon 2020 project CORALASSIST (725848). He is affiliated with SECORE International as a science advisory board member.

    Adriana Humanes 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. We’ve bred corals to better tolerate lethal heatwaves, but rapid climate action is still needed to save reefs – https://theconversation.com/weve-bred-corals-to-better-tolerate-lethal-heatwaves-but-rapid-climate-action-is-still-needed-to-save-reefs-241298

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Waller, Thoughts on the Economy and Policy Rules at the Federal Open Market Committee

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Athanasios, and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this very worthy celebration.1 In support of the theme of this conference, I do have some thoughts on the Shadow Open Market Committee’s contributions to the policy debate, in particular its advocacy for policy rules. But before I get to that, I am going to exercise the keynote speaker’s freedom to talk about whatever I want. To that end, I want to take a few minutes to offer my views on the economic outlook and its implications for monetary policy. So let me start there, and afterward I will discuss the role that policy rules play in my decision making and in the deliberations of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
    In the three weeks or so since the most recent FOMC meeting, data we have received has been uneven, as it sometimes has been over the past year. I continue to judge that the U.S. economy is on a solid footing, with employment near the FOMC’s maximum employment objective and inflation in the vicinity of our target, even though the latest inflation data was disappointing.
    Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first half of 2024, and I expect it to grow a bit faster in the third quarter. The Blue Chip consensus of private sector forecasters predicts 2.3 percent, while the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model, based on up-to-the moment data, is predicting real growth of 3.2 percent.
    Earlier, there were concerns that GDP in the first half of this year was overstating the strength of the economy, since gross domestic income (GDI) was estimated to have grown a mere 1.3 percent in the first half of this year, suggesting a big downward revision to GDP was coming. But revisions received after our most recent FOMC meeting showed the opposite—GDI growth was revised up substantially to 3.2 percent. This change in turn led to an upward revision in the personal saving rate of about 2 percentage points in the second quarter, leaving it at 5.2 percent in June. This revision suggests that household resources for future consumption are actually in good shape, although data and anecdotal evidence suggests lower-income groups are struggling. These revisions suggest that the economy is much stronger than previously thought, with little indication of a major slowdown in economic activity.
    That outlook is supported by consumer spending that has been and continues to be strong. Though the growth in personal consumption expenditures (PCE) has moderated since the second half of 2023, it has continued at an average pace of close to 2.5 percent so far this year. Also, my business contacts believe that there is considerable pent-up demand for durable goods, home improvements, and other big-ticket items, demand that built up due to high interest rates for credit cards and home equity loans. Now that rates have started to come down and are expected to come down more, consumers will be eager to make those purchases. For business spending, purchasing managers for manufacturers describe ongoing weakness in that sector, but those for the large majority of businesses outside of manufacturing continue to report a solid expansion of activity.
    Now let’s talk about the labor market. Only a couple months ago, it appeared that the labor market was cooling too quickly. Low numbers for job creation and a jump in the unemployment rate from 4.1 percent in June to 4.3 percent in July raised risks that the labor market was deteriorating. To remind you of how bad the markets viewed the July data, some Fed watchers were calling for an emergency FOMC meeting to discuss a rate cut. While the unemployment rate ticked down in August, job growth was once again well below expectations. Many were arguing that the labor market was on the verge of a serious deterioration and that the Fed was behind the curve even after a 50 basis point cut in the policy rate at the September FOMC meeting.
    Then we got the September employment report. Job creation in September was unexpectedly strong at 254,000 and the unemployment rate fell back down to 4.1 percent, which is where it was in June. The report also showed big upward revisions to payroll gains for the previous two months. Together, the message was loud and clear: While job creation has moderated and the unemployment rate has risen over the past year, the labor market remains quite healthy.
    Along with other new data on the labor market, the evidence is that labor supply and demand have come into balance. The number of job vacancies, a sign of strength in the labor market, has fallen gradually since the beginning of the year. The ratio of vacancies to unemployed is at 1.2, about the level in 2019, which was a pretty strong labor market. To put this number into perspective, recent research has shown that this ratio has been above 1 only three times since 1960.2 The quits rate, another sign of labor market strength, has fallen lower than it was in 2019, a decrease which partly reflects that the hiring rate has fallen as labor supply and demand have come into better balance.
    In sum, based on payrolls, the unemployment rate and job revisions, there has been a very gradual moderation in labor demand relative to supply, but not a deterioration. The stability of the labor market, as reflected in these two measures as well as the other metrics I mentioned, bolsters my confidence that we can achieve further progress toward the FOMC’s inflation goal while supporting a healthy labor market that adds jobs and boosts wages and living standards for workers.
    I will be looking for more evidence to support this outlook in the weeks and months to come. But, unfortunately, it won’t be easy to interpret the October jobs report to be released just before the next FOMC meeting. This report will most likely show a significant but temporary loss of jobs from the two recent hurricanes and the strike at Boeing. I expect these factors may reduce employment growth by more than 100,000 this month, and there may be a small effect on the unemployment rate, but I’m not sure it will be that visible. Since the jobs report will come during the usual blackout period for policymakers commenting on the economy, you won’t have any of us trying to put this low reading into perspective, though I hope others will.
    Looking ahead, I expect payroll gains to moderate from their current pace but continue at a solid rate. The unemployment rate may drift a bit higher but is likely to remain quite low in historical terms. While I believe the labor market is on a solid footing, I will continue to watch the full range of data for signs of weakness.
    Meanwhile, inflation, after showing considerable progress for several months toward the FOMC’s 2 percent target, likely moved up in September. The consumer price index grew 0.2 percent over the past month, 2.1 percent over the past three months, 1.6 percent over six months and 2.4 percent in the past year. Oil prices fell over most of the summer but then more recently have surged. Excluding energy and also food prices that likewise tend to be volatile, and just as it did in August, core CPI inflation printed at 0.3 percent in September and 3.3 percent over the past year.
    Private-sector forecasts are predicting that PCE inflation, the FOMC’s preferred measure, will also move up in September. Core PCE prices are expected to have risen around 0.25 percent last month. While not a welcome development, if the monthly core PCE inflation number comes in around this level, over the last 5 months it is still running very close to 2 percent on an annualized basis. We have made a lot of progress on inflation over the course of the last year and half, but that progress has clearly been uneven—at times it feels like being on a rollercoaster. Whether or not this month’s inflation reading is just noise or if it signals ongoing increases, is yet to be seen. I will be watching the data carefully to see how persistent this recent uptick is.
    The FOMC’s inflation goal is an average of 2 percent over the longer run and there are some good reasons to think that price increases will be modest going forward. I am hearing reports from firms that their pricing power seems to have waned as consumers have become more sensitive to price changes. There has also been a steady slowing in the growth of labor compensation. It is true that average hourly earnings growth in September ticked up to 4 percent over the past year. And though it might seem like wage increases of 4 percent a year would put upward pressure on inflation that is near 2 percent, that might not be true if one considers productivity, which has grown at an average annual rate of 2.9 percent for the past five quarters. Some of this strength was making up for productivity that shrank due to the pandemic, but the longer it continues—up 2.5 percent for the second quarter—the better productivity supports wage growth of 4 percent, or even higher, without driving up inflation. All that said, I will be watching all the data related to inflation closely.
    With the labor market in rough balance, employment near its maximum level, and inflation generally running close to our target over the past several months, I want to do what I can as a policymaker to keep the economy on this path. For me, the central question is how much and how fast to reduce the target for the federal funds rate, which I believe is currently set at a restrictive level. To help answer questions like this, I often look at various monetary policy rules to assess the appropriate setting of policy. Policy rules have long been of serious interest to the Shadow Open Market Committee. So before I turn to my views on the future path of policy, I thought I would talk about monetary policy rules versus discretion and begin with some background about the use of rules at the FOMC.
    For a brief overview of the history of the advent of rules at the Board, I have been directed to the second chapter of The Taylor Rule and the Transformation of Monetary Policy written by George Kahn, and I have also consulted the memories of longtime members of the Board staff.3 Rules came along in the 1990s as the Fed was moving away from monetary targeting, focusing more on interest-rate policy, and taking its first major steps toward increased transparency. There was immediate interest in Taylor-type rules among Fed staff, and even some contributions of research.4 There was a presentation to the FOMC on rules in 1995, and that was the same year that John Taylor’s Bay Area colleague, Janet Yellen, was apparently the first policymaker to mention the Taylor rule at an FOMC meeting. While FOMC decisions mimicked a Taylor rule much of the time under Chairman Alan Greenspan, he was famously an advocate of “constructive ambiguity” in communication, and he and other central bankers since have resisted the suggestion that decisions could be handed over to strict rules. Today, of course, a number of rules-based analyses are included in the material submitted to policymakers ahead of every FOMC meeting, and we publish the policy prescriptions of different rules as part of the Board’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report. Rules have become part of the furniture in modern policymaking.
    As everyone here knows, but for the benefit of other listeners, Taylor rules relate the level of the policy interest rate to a limited number of other economic variables, most often including the deviation of inflation from a target value and a measure of resource use in the economy relative to some long-run trend.5 There are numerous forms of the Taylor rule, but they generally fall into two categories.
    The first of these, an inertial rule, has the property that the policy rate changes only slowly over time. I tend to think of it as an approach that captures the reaction function of a policymaker in a stable economy where the forces that would tend to change the economy and policy build over time. When change does occur, a gradual response may give policymakers time to assess the true state of the economy and the possible effects of their decision. One example I can use is the steadfastness of policymakers in the latter part of 2023, when inflation fell more rapidly than was widely expected, and again in early 2024, when it briefly escalated. The FOMC did not change course either time, an approach validated by inertial rules.
    A non-inertial rule, on the other hand, allows and in fact calls for relatively quick adjustments to policy. The guidance from these rules is more useful when there is a turning point in the economy, and policymakers need to stay ahead of events. One saw these non-inertial rules prescribe a sharper rise in the policy rate above the effective lower bound starting in 2021 as inflation began climbing above the FOMC’s 2 percent target. Non-inertial rules are also more useful in the face of major shocks to the economy such as the 2008 financial crisis and the start of the pandemic.
    The great promise of rules is that they provide a simple and reliable guide to policy, but what should one do when different rules recommend different policy actions given the same economic conditions? Right now, inertial rules tell us to move slowly in reducing policy rates toward a neutral stance that neither restricts nor stimulates the economy. On the other hand, non-inertial rules tell us to cut the policy rate more aggressively, subject to the caveat that one is certain of the values of all the ‘star’ variables: U*, Y* and r*. I think the answer is that while rules are valuable in helping analyze policy options, they have limitations. Among these are the limits of the data considered, which is typically narrower than the range of data that policymakers use to make decisions, and also the fact that simple policy rules do not take into account risk management, which is often a critical consideration in policy decisions. So, while policy rules serve as a good check on discretionary policy, there are times when discretion is needed. As a result, I prefer to think of them as “policy rules of thumb”.
    Turning to my view for the path for policy, let me discuss three scenarios that I have had in mind to manage the risks of upcoming decisions in the medium term.
    The first scenario is one where the overall strong economic developments that I have described today continue, with inflation nearing the FOMC’s target and the unemployment rate moving up only slightly. This scenario implies to me that we can proceed with moving policy toward a neutral stance at a deliberate pace. This path would be based on the judgment that the risks to both sides of our dual mandate are balanced. In this circumstance, our job is to keep inflation near 2 percent and not slow the economy unnecessarily.
    Another scenario, less likely in light of recent data, is that inflation falls materially below 2 percent for some time, and/or the labor market significantly deteriorates. The message here is that demand is falling, the FOMC may suddenly be behind the curve, and that message would argue for moving to neutral more quickly by front-loading cuts to the policy rate.
    The third scenario applies if inflation unexpectedly escalates either because of stronger-than-expected consumer demand or wage pressure, or because of some shock to supply that pushes up inflation. As we learned in the recovery from the pandemic recession, when demand was stronger and supply weaker than initially expected, such surprises do occur. In this circumstance, as long as the labor market isn’t deteriorating, we can pause rate cuts until progress resumes and uncertainty diminishes.
    Most recently, we have seen upward revisions to GDI, an increase in job vacancies, high GDP growth forecasts, a strong jobs report and a hotter than expected CPI report. This data is signaling that the economy may not be slowing as much as desired. While we do not want to overreact to this data or look through it, I view the totality of the data as saying monetary policy should proceed with more caution on the pace of rate cuts than was needed at the September meeting. I will be watching to see whether data, due out before our next meeting, on inflation, the labor market and economic activity confirms or undercuts my inclination to be more cautious about loosening monetary policy.
    Whatever happens in the near term, my baseline still calls for reducing the policy rate gradually over the next year. The median rate for FOMC participants at the end of 2025 is 3.4 percent, so most of my colleagues likewise expect to reduce policy over the next year. There is less certainty about the final destination. The median estimated longer-run level of the federal funds rate in the Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) is 2.9 percent, but with quite a wide dispersion, ranging from 2.4 percent to 3.8 percent. While much attention is given to the size of cuts over the next meeting or two, I think the larger message of the SEP is that there is a considerable extent of policy accommodation to remove, and if the economy continues in its current sweet spot, this will happen gradually.
    Thank you again, for the opportunity to be part of today’s conference, and for allowing me to share some thoughts, relevant to monetary policy rules and my day job back in Washington. The Shadow Committee has elevated the public debate about monetary policy. May you continue to play that role for many years to come.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti B. Eggertsson (2024), “Revisiting the Phillips and Beveridge Curves: Insights from the 2020s Inflation Surge (PDF),” paper presented at “Reassessing the Effectiveness and Transmission of Monetary Policy,” a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, held in Jackson Hole, Wyo., August 23. Return to text
    3. See Evan F. Koenig, Robert Leeson, and George A. Kahn, eds. (2012), The Taylor Rule and the Transformation of Monetary Policy (Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution Press). I was assisted in this brief history by Board economists James Clouse and Edward Nelson. Return to text
    4. See Dale W. Henderson and Warwick J. McKibbin (1993), “A Comparison of Some Basic Monetary Policy Regimes for Open Economies: Implications of Different Degrees of Instrument Adjustment and Wage Persistence,” Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, vol. 39 (December), pp. 221–317). This paper was also published in the International Finance Discussion Papers series and is available on the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/ifdp/1993/458/ifdp458.pdf. Return to text
    5. For a variety of Taylor rules and their implication for policy, see the Monetary Policy Report, available on the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/publications/mpr_default.htm. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bybit Elevates WSOT Rewards Experience with Fiat x WSOT Challenge

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is pleased to announce a new World Series of Trading (WSOT) side challenge with two new prize pools for fiat users. In addition to the 10,000,000 USDT total prize pool of WOST 2024, new joiners and traders of Bybit Fiat can now sign up to divide up rewards up to 28,800 USDT.

    From now to Nov. 4, 10AM UTC, Bybit users may register for one or both of the following challenges:

    Event 1: Beginner Fiat Deposit

    Bybit is giving away 20,000 USDT to new users of its fiat offerings. The first 2,000 users who make a first-time deposit of at least $100 via Bybit’s One-Click Pay, P2P, or Fiat Deposit will be rewarded with a bonus 10 USDT. 

    Event 2: Fiat Trading Competition

    Users may also step up their game in the Fiat Trading Competition to turn their trading skills into bonuses. Based on performance, the top 50 traders will share a 8,800 USDT prize pool.

    “Whether you are a sole trader or a squad member, WSOT 2024 promises to create a rewarding experience for crypto enthusiasts and for the Bybit community. Bybit is devoted to its mission to craft a rewarding, exciting, and community-first platform and WSOT 2024 marks the perfect occasion to level up our rewards. We encourage users to diversify their investments and balance their assets across products, and this is a great opportunity to try out fiat and test your trading skills,” said Joan Han, Sales and Marketing Director at Bybit. 

    This year’s WSOT offers multiple bonus tracks for participants to maximize their chance at rewards, including traders and depositors of Bybit who are not competing in the WSOT main event. From trading tasks, lucky draws, to livestreaming with airdrops, there is not a dull moment throughout the WSOT 2024 season. The longest-running and largest trading competition of its kind, Bybit’s WSOT has evolved from a community event to a benchmark for trading excellence since 2020.

    Check out the Fiat x WSOT Challenge event page for details and terms and conditions. 

    #Bybit / #TheCryptoArk / #WSOT2024

    About Bybit

    Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving over 50 million users. Established in 2018, Bybit provides a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

    For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press 

    For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com

    For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com

    For updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social Media

    Discord | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Reddit | Telegram | TikTok | X | Youtube

    Contact

    Head of PR

    Tony Au

    Bybit

    tony.au@bybit.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Dr Jitendra Singh addresses 11th India Sweden Innovation Day;

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Dr Jitendra Singh addresses 11th India Sweden Innovation Day;

    Calls for bilateral collaboration at multiple levels, including Govt to Govt, industry to industry and academia to academia

    India climbing rapidly on innovation indices; In GII 2024, India ranks 1st among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia and 39th among the 133 economies: the Minister

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 4:51PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (I/C) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh has called for bilateral collaboration between India and Sweden at multiple levels. He said, Sweden is one of the global leaders in innovation. In Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Sweden ranks 2nd among the 39 economies in Europe and among the 133 global economies featured in the GII 2024.

    Dr Jitendra Singh was addressing the 11th India Sweden Innovation Day (ISID) function. The theme for 2024 is “Accelerating Green Growth for Inclusive Transition”.

    Informing the audience about the growth of the country in the field of innovation, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “India is climbing rapidly on innovation indices. In GII 2024, India ranks 1st among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia and 39th among the 133 economies, he said.

    Similarly, on the other hand, the Union Minister noted that Sweden too is one of the global leaders in innovation. In Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Sweden ranks 2nd among the 39 economies in Europe and among the 133 global economies featured in the GII 2024, he said. He expressed hope that the country will certainly catch the top echelons of the world in the years to come.

    Speaking about the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi aiming at global benchmarks in research and innovation, the Minister said, “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has already announced the net zero carbon footprint target of 2070 and therefore I think India and Sweden can cooperate and collaborate at different levels both government as well as non-government sector.” There is a bundle of scope for the two nations for joint research calls to collaborate on deliverable research, academia, innovation and industrial entrepreneurship, including startups.

    Speaking about strides in the sector, Dr Jitendra Singh mentioned, “I am also proud to note that over the last ten years, under the patronage of Prime Minister Shi Narendra Modi, there has been a special impetus and high prioritisation as far as science technology innovation is concerned. India Today is it in a position to claim to be a frontline nation in different areas, for example the space sector we plan to send a human being next year, the first human mission indigenously developed by India, and at the same time next year we hope to send on Indian human 6,000 metre deep as a part of the deep-sea mission.

    Research & Innovation have been the important aspect of the flourishing India Sweden partnership. The 11th edition of ISID reflects the ongoing importance & success of our ongoing partnerships. The continued presence of the Minister at the ISID inauguration since 2021 is a strong signal of the importance attached by India to its innovation partnership with Sweden.

    Several Indian and Swedish government agencies partnering and jointly funding these calls (eg. DST, DBT). That includes extensive and growing research cooperation between Indian and Swedish universities. Leading Swedish universities like Karolinska, KTH, Chalmers and others have ongoing cooperation with leading Indian universities. This can be further strengthened by involving the private sector also.

    In addition, several Swedish companies carry out R&D and innovation in India. Alkem Laboratories, which is pioneering the high-tech medical devices segment, has partnered with Swedish company Biosergen for clinical trials of fungal diseases. There is also growing cooperation between research, education, government and private sector in India, including vaccines, digital public infrastructure and defence.

    Use of Technology & innovative solutions scaling up Development interventions in the country, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “India and Sweden are strengthening partnership in green technology through initiatives like LeadIT 2.0, focusing on low-carbon industrial transitions, sustainable energy, and smart transport.” This collaboration, highlighted at COP28, supports green innovations in sectors like steel, cement, and aviation, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

    Venus Mission – Sweden has officially joined ISRO’s Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM). The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are collaborating on a Venus mission. The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) will provide ISRO with the Venusian Neutrals Analyser (VNA), a lightweight and low-power yet highly effective energetic neutral atom (ENA) analyser.

    India’s active participation in several international Mega Science projects – capabilities of Indian scientists, engineers and companies. Going forward, the Minister said, “India, an unmatched source for Innovation, R&D and Talent and there is huge scope for bilateral collaboration for scalable, cost-effective development solutions for energy and health challenges.”

    The event was well attended by senior officials, innovators, industry leaders and academia of the both countries, which was also addressed by Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Energy and Enterprise of Sweden Ms Ebba Busch. Ambassador of Sweden to India, Mr Jan Thesleff also took part through video conferencing.

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    NKR/DK/AG

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PM to inaugurate ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 in New Delhi on 15th October

    Source: Government of India

    PM to inaugurate ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 in New Delhi on 15th October

    PM to also inaugurate 8th edition of India Mobile Congress 2024

    For the first time the ITU-WTSA will be hosted in India and the Asia-Pacific

    3,000 industry leaders, policy-makers and tech experts from over 190 countries to participate in ITU-WTSA

    Theme of the 8th edition of India Mobile Congress is “The Future is now”

    India Mobile Congress 2024 will showcase over 400 exhibitors, about 900 startups, and participation from over 120 countries

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 5:31PM by PIB Delhi

    Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the International Telecommunication Union – World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 15th October at 10 AM.

    Prime Minister will also inaugurate the 8th edition of India Mobile Congress 2024 during the programme.

    WTSA is the governing conference for the standardization work of International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies, organised every four years. It is for the first time that the ITU-WTSA will be hosted in India and the Asia-Pacific. It is a pivotal global event that will bring together more than 3,000 industry leaders, policy-makers and tech experts from over 190 countries, representing telecom, digital, and ICT sectors.

    WTSA 2024 will provide a platform for countries to discuss and decide the future of standards of next-generation critical technologies like 6G, AI, IoT, Big Data, cybersecurity, etc. Hosting this event in India will provide the country an opportunity to play a key role in shaping the global telecom agenda and to set the course for future technologies. Indian startups and research institutions are set to gain critical insights into developing Intellectual Property Rights and Standard Essential Patents.

    India Mobile Congress 2024 will showcase India’s innovation ecosystem, where leading telecom companies and innovators will highlight advancements in  Quantum technology and Circular Economy along with spotlight on 6G, 5G use-case showcase, cloud & edge computing, IoT, semiconductors, cybersecurity, green tech, satcom and electronics manufacturing.

    India Mobile Congress, Asia’s largest digital technology forum, has become a well-known platform across the globe for showcasing innovative solutions, services and state-of-the-art use cases for industry, government, academics, startups and other key stakeholders in the technology and telecom ecosystem. The India Mobile Congress 2024 will showcase over 400 exhibitors, about 900 startups, and participation from over 120 countries. The event also aims to showcase more than 900 technology use case scenarios, host more than 100 sessions and discussion with over 600 global and Indian speakers.

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    MJPS/SS/VJ/SR/BM/SKS

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 38 companies apply for PLI Scheme for White Goods (ACs and LED Lights) in the 3rd Round of Application Window

    Source: Government of India

    38 companies apply for PLI Scheme for White Goods (ACs and LED Lights) in the 3rd Round of Application Window 

    Major global and domestic companies commit investments worth Rs 4,121 Crore.

    43% of the new applicants are in the MSME sector

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 5:50PM by PIB Delhi

    The 3rd Round of on-line application window for PLI Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights) has attracted 38 responses with a  net committed investment of Rs 4121 crore ended on 12th October 2024 after being open for 90 days from 15th July, 2024. 43% of the new applicants are in the MSME sector which shows the confidence among MSMEs to become part of the value chain of manufacturing of components of ACs and LED Lights. The PLI scheme was launched by the Department for  Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT).

    The applicants include 8 existing beneficiaries of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for White Goods (PLIWG) committing net incremental investment of Rs 1,285 crore. 30 new applicants have committed investment of Rs 2,836 crore proposing to manufacture varieties of critical components of ACs and LED Lights across India. Investments have been proposed across India spanning in 13 States including Jammu & Kashmir and Odisha and 49 new locations. Altogether, investments will be spread across 54 Districts in 18 States, at 174 locations. Manufacturing clusters are coming up at Noida-Greater Noida in UP, Neemrana and Bhiwari in Rajasthan, Aurangabad-Pune in Maharashtra, Sanad, Gujarat and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. 6 AC manufacturers and 12 component manufacturers are in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, also  nicknamed as  the Cooling City. The Scheme has a healthy mix of multinational and domestic Companies. Five additional Foreign Companies are investing Rs 245 Crore apart form 15 existing companies investing Rs 2,287 Crore

    Altogether, the scheme is expected to bring in investment in the component manufacturing ecosystem of ACs and LED Lights industry to the tune of Rs 11,083 crore. and generate approx. 80,486 direct employment. The Scheme is expected to lead to total production of components of ACs and LEDs in India of about Rs 1,81,975 crore. 

    As regards to bifurcation between two segments of PLIWG Scheme i.e. ACs and LED Lights, 21 applicants have applied for manufacturing components of ACs with a committed investment of Rs 3,679 crore and 18 applicants for components of LED Lights with a committed investment of Rs 442 crore. In ACs segment, several investments have been proposed to manufacture High value intermediates of ACs i.e. Copper Tubes (Plain / Grooved), Aluminium Stock for Foils or Fins for heat exchangers and Compressors which account for almost 50% of Bill of material (BoM) for room Air conditioners. In addition to that applicants have proposed to manufacture control assemblies for IDU or ODU, Heat Exchangers, motors, and Sheet metal components and plastic moulded goods etc. Similarly, LED Lights, LED Chip packaging, LED Drivers, Heat Sinks, LED Engines, and LED Light Management Systems etc. will be manufactured in India.  Applications have been filed for production of components which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient capacity.

    Several applicants are vendors for large manufacturers such as Daikin, Voltas, Blue Star and LG Electronics in the ACs sector. Similarly, several applicants are suppliers of LED components for large LED Lights manufacturers like Surya, Orient, Crompton Greaves, Signify and Halonix etc.

    The overwhelming response from the Industry to participate under the PLIWG Scheme is also attributed to several factors namely:

    • continuous interactions with the Industry through one-to-one meetings,

    • physical meetings with vendors at Sri City,

    • connect with the selected Ambassadors of India in foreign countries and

    • weekly meeting with PLI beneficiary jointly organised by DPIIT and Project management Agency of the Scheme M/s IFCI Ltd.

    The application window for the PLI Scheme for White Goods was reopened based on the appetite of the Industry to invest more under the Scheme, which is an outcome of the growing market and confidence generated due to manufacturing of key components of ACs and LED Lights in India under the PLIWG Scheme. The application window was opened on the same terms & conditions stipulated in PLIWG Scheme notified on 16.04.2021 and PLIWG Scheme Guidelines issued on 04.06.2021, as amended from time to time. In order to avoid any discrimination, both new applicants as well as existing beneficiaries of PLIWG who propose to invest more by way of switching over to higher target segment or their group companies applying under different target segment were eligible to apply subject to fulfilling the eligibility conditions as mentioned in the Para 5.6 of the Scheme Guidelines and adhering to investment schedule as mentioned in the Scheme Guidelines.

    In terms of Para 6.4 of the PLIWG Scheme and Para 9.2 of the Scheme Guidelines, applicants shall only be eligible for incentives for the remainder of the Scheme’s tenure. The applicant approved in the proposed third round would be eligible for PLI for maximum three years only in the case of new applicants and existing beneficiaries opting for investment period upto March 2023 seeking to move to higher investment category. For existing beneficiaries opting for investment period upto March 2022 seeking to move to higher investment category in the proposed third round would be eligible for PLI for maximum two years only. Existing beneficiaries opting for the above, in case they are not able to achieve the threshold investment or sales in a given year will be eligible for submitting the claims as per their original investment plan. However, this flexibility will be provided only once during the Scheme period.

    The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi had given approval to the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights) to be implemented over FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29 with an outlay of Rs 6238 Crore on 7th April 2021. The Scheme was notified by DPIIT on 16.04.2021. The Scheme Guidelines were published on 4th June 2021.  The PLI Scheme on White Goods is designed to create a complete component ecosystem for Air Conditioners and LED Lights Industry in India and make India an integral part of the global supply chains. Domestic Value Addition is expected to grow from the initial level of 15-20% to 75-80%.

    So far, 66 applicants with committed investment of Rs 6,962 crore have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme. For manufacturing components of Air conditioners (ACs) companies like Daikin, Voltas, Hindalco, Amber, Pg Technoplast, Epack, Mettube, Lg, Blue Star, Johnson Hitachi, Panasonic, Haier, Midea, Havells, Ifb, Nidec, Lucas, Swaminathan, And Triton Valves etc. have invested. Similarly, in manufacturing components of LED lights, companies like Dixon, R K Lighting, Radhika Opto, Surya, Orient, Signify, Crompton Greaves, Stove Kraft, Cosmo Films, Halonix, Chenfeng, Fulham, Adsun, Inventronix And Luker etc. have invested. These investments will lead to manufacturing of components of Air Conditioners and LED Lights across the complete value chain including components which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient quantity.

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    AD/VN/CNAN

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah says, the Narendra Modi government is committed to building a drug-free Bharat by protecting our youth from the scourge of drugs

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah says, the Narendra Modi government is committed to building a drug-free Bharat by protecting our youth from the scourge of drugs

    The hunt against drugs & narco trade will continue with no laxity

    Union Home Minister congratulates Delhi Police for the series of successful operations seizing drugs worth ₹13,000 crore, including the recent one with Gujarat Police recovering cocaine worth ₹5,000 crore

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 5:57PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the government is committed to building a drug-free Bharat by protecting our youth from the scourge of drugs. 

    In a post on X platform, Shri Amit Shah said that the hunt against drugs & narco trade will continue with no laxity. Shri Shah congratulated the Delhi Police for the series of successful operations seizing drugs worth ₹13,000 crore, including the recent one with Gujarat Police recovering cocaine worth ₹5,000 crore.

    In recent crackdown on drugs trade, Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat Police, on 13th October 2024, recovered 518 kilogram cocaine during a search operation at a company based in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The value of the seized cocaine in the international market is around Rs 5,000 crore.

    Earlier, on 01st October, 2024, Special Cell of Delhi Police raided a warehouse in Mahipalpur and seized a consignment of 562 kilogram cocaine and 40 kilogram hydroponic marijuana. During the investigation, on 10th October 2024, about 208 kilogram of additional cocaine was recovered from a shop in Ramesh Nagar, Delhi. During the investigation, it was found that the recovered drug belonged to a company based in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.

    In this case, a total of 1,289 kilogram of cocaine and 40 kilogram of hydroponic Thailand marijuana have been recovered so far, which is worth Rs 13,000 crore in international market.

    *****

    RK / VV / ASH / RR

     

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    Read this release in: Hindi

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Civil Society Organizations Brief the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the Situation of Women in Chile, Canada, Japan, Cuba and Benin

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was this afternoon briefed by representatives of civil society organizations on the situation of women’s rights in Chile, Canada, Japan, Cuba and Benin, whose reports will be considered during the second and third weeks of the session.

    In relation to Chile, speakers raised concerns regarding gender-based violence, abortion, and the treatment of trans people.

    Those speaking on Canada raised topics including the treatment of indigenous women and girls, femicide, and harassment of migrant workers. 

    On Japan, speakers addressed the selective surname system, Japan’s military sexual slavery, and women’s pensions.

    Speakers for Cuba raised issues including legislation on femicide, women in poverty, and the treatment of lesbians. 

    In relation to Benin, speakers addressed human trafficking, attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, queer and transgender people, and discrimination of sex workers. 

    The National Rights Institute of Chile and the Children’s Rights Ombudsperson of Chile spoke on Chile, as did the following non-governmental organizations: Corporation of Opportunity and Jointly Action Opcion – OPCION; Federación Luterana Mundial; and CIMUNIDIS – Círculo Emancipados de Mujeres y Niñas con Discapacidad de Chile.

    The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Canada: Union of BC Indian Chiefs; South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario and Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change; Justice for Girls and Just Planet; Cecile Kazatchkine, on behalf of HIV Legal Network, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic; Bout du monde; Amnesty International Canada; Aysha Khan, on behalf of International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Global Human Rights Clinic (GHRC) at the University of Chicago Law School, and a coalition of almost 50 organizations; Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN); International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada (IPPNWC); and Amnesty International Canada. 

    The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Japan: Family Association of the Missing Persons Probably Related to the DPRK; Association to Preserve the Family Bond; People’s Alliance for Protection of Imperial Lineage by Paternal Male Succession to the Imperial Throne; Global Alliance for Anti-Discrimination (GAAD); JNNC (Japan NGO Network for CEDAW); JFBA (Japan Federation of Bar Associations); Be the Change Okinawa, and on behalf of Action Okinawa, Ginowan Churamizu Kai (Clean Water Protection Committee), AIPR, and ACSILs; Warriors Japan; Lawyers and DV Thrivers against Violence and Abuse Japan (LVAJ) and Safe Parents Japan (SPJ); Women’s Political Empowerment; Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM): and Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG).

    The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Cuba: Red de Juristas por los Derechos Sexuales, Unión Nacional de Juristas de Cuba, Asociación Cubana de las Naciones Unidas, Museo Virtual de la Memoria contra la violencia basada en Género Iniciativa para la Investigación y la Incidencia; Cuido 60; Red de Mujeres Lesbianas y Bisexuales; CUBALEX; Justicia 11J; FMC; Prisoners Defenders; Mesa de Diálogo de la Juventud Cubana; and Observatorio de Género de Alas Tensas y Museo de la Disidencia en Cuba.

    The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Benin: Right here Right Now 2 and CFMPDH; Synergie Trans Bénin; Association Solidarité; Changement Social Bénin; and Plurielles.

    The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s eighty-ninth session is being held from 7 to 25 October.  All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

    The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 15 October, to  consider the eighth periodic report of Chile (CEDAW/C/CHL/8).

    Opening Remarks by the Committee Chair

    ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chairperson, said this was the second opportunity during the session for non-governmental organizations to provide information on States parties that were having their reports reviewed during the second and third weeks of the session, namely Chile, Canada, Japan, Cuba and Benin.

    Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations 

    Chile

    Non-governmental organizations speaking on Chile said sexual violations had increased drastically between 2019 and 2023.  Protection measures continued to be deficient.  It was concerning that violence against girls and adolescents was increasing. As of June 2023, there were 42 pregnant women and 100 children living with their mothers in prison systems. There needed to be a cultural change in the community, whereby gender-based violence was no longer acceptable. There needed to be a comprehensive sexual education law to ensure rights for women and adolescents.  The abortion regime based on legal grounds was insufficient and there were barriers to accessing contraceptives in primary health care.  Warnings had been issued about six defective contraceptive pills with no steps taken to investigate or provide reparations to those affected.  In Chile, around 800,000 migrant women faced violence and hate speech, especially those with irregular migration status.  The humanitarian visa for migrants was not implemented well in practice. 

    Since 2019, there had been a Constitutional Legal Reform Act, establishing the State’s duty to fight gender equality.  The State’s anti-discrimination law had been in congress for five years and was in danger of being rejected.  Chile had yet to fulfil its obligation to repeal laws discriminating against married women or subordinating them to their husbands.  The comprehensive law on violence against women did not include protection measures for women in penitentiary institutions who had suffered violence.  Violence against trans-people had increased by 145 per cent, and trans-femicide was not recognised as a crime.  The State showed no willingness to address issues faced by trans-people.  Women and girls with disabilities in Chile experienced discrimination.  A report by the Office of the High Commissioner found that there were 163 suspicious deaths in short-stay mental health facilities.  There had been reports of electro-shock therapy on girls with disabilities. 

    Canada

    Speakers on Canada said there were genocidal consequences for indigenous women and girls in the country.  These violations were tied to colonial policies. In its 2015 inquiry, the Committee found that indigenous women and girls suffered from the worst socio-economic conditions, as well as systemic racism and violence, which manifested as pervasive poverty, lack of access to housing, high rates of child apprehension, and disproportionate criminalisation.  The Committee had found that sex discrimination in Canada’s Indian Act was a root of violence, marginalising women and their descendants, excluding them from their lands, cultures and communities, and disentitling them to full personhood.  The 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls issued 231 Calls for Justice.  To-date, only two were complete, and more than half had not been started. Colonialism and the legacy of Residential Schools continued to impact indigenous girls’ access to education. Racialised communities faced oppression in Canada, with Black femicide and forced sterilisations of Black and indigenous women erased due to data gaps and under-reporting. 

    Canada was failing to take serious action on gender-based violence.  Femicides were increasing, with a woman killed every 2.5 days.  But this was not taken into account in the national action plan. Survivors of gender-based violence needed stronger protections and support services.  Law enforcement and judicial officers must receive proper training on these violence dynamics.  Canada needed to ensure survivors were not criminalised for self-defence, and strengthen protections against coercive control and litigation abuse.  In Canada, women who used drugs and indigenous women were disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS and faced increased risk of violence and barriers to healthcare.  Migrant workers and migrant sex workers in Canada faced significant oppression due to restrictive work permits, increasing their vulnerability to workplace abuse, harassment and sexual violence. Canada must remove these restrictions, decriminalise these groups, and establish policies that ensured safe working conditions.

    Canada was also implicated in exploitative deep-sea mining, as Canadian companies sought financial gains through predatory partnerships with some Pacific Island States.  These companies must be investigated.  Pacific women and Canadian indigenous women deeply opposed these projects, as they threatened the ocean and marine life.  Canadian resource extraction projects had also increased violence in Ecuador against indigenous women, which would be exacerbated by a proposed free trade agreement.

    Japan

    Speakers on Japan raised issues including objecting to separate surnames after marriages, which could destroy family unity and have negative impacts on children.  The immediate adoption of a selective surname system for married couples was needed.  The ruling party’s promotion of expanding the use of maiden names did not address gender discrimination.  Half of single-mother households lived in relative poverty, as 70 per cent of them did not receive child support and were unable to escape poverty, due to the significant wage gap between men and women. 

    The issue of Japan’s military sexual slavery had been raised 30 years ago before the Committee in 1994. Measures taken by the State were not victim-centred, and therefore failed.  The Government of Japan was called on to recognise that the “comfort women” issue remained unresolved and to fully implement the previous Committee recommendations.  The Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States should be revised to eliminate violence against women linked to United States’ military bases in Okinawa and elsewhere.  There had been seven cases of gender-based violence against women and girls by the United States’ military within the past 11 months.  Since 1954, over 210,000 crimes and accidents by the military had occurred.  There needed to be comprehensive actions taken to end the culture of impunity. Japan needed to accept that the “comfort women” system was one of sexual slavery, and that it had a legal responsibility to provide reparations to all victims. 

    The ratification of the Optional Protocol should be expedited, and there should be a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.  Japan was also urged to create a permanent gender equality committee, to monitor the implementation of the Convention’s concluding observations.  There was an urgent need for the establishment of an independent, national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles. It was crucial to eliminate low wages and pensions for women due to the gender wage gap, non-regular employment, and unpaid work.  The Japanese Government was also urged to rescue all abductees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The Committee was urged to recommend that Japan stop dumping radioactive wastewater in the Pacific Ocean and take immediate steps towards safely disposing the waste on land. 

    Cuba

    Those speaking on Cuba said Cuban women were calling for a robust legislative change of gender-based violence. The State needed to work to coordinate actors on gender issues.  The State should systematically assess the impact of legislation and public policies on gender equality.  The Committee was urged to pay special attention to the devastating impacts of the embargo which had a detrimental impact on women’s organizations. 

    There was a comprehensive law against gender-based violence, but the act of femicide should be defined.  The rate of femicide was occurring in Cuba more than 10 times that which was occurring in Spain.  Cuba had serious deficiencies in the reparation system of gender-based violence.  The legislation should be reformed to establish provisional payments which provided immediate support, particularly to women of African descent or those with low income.  The State should strengthen mechanisms for the prevention and punishment of gender-based violence, and redouble efforts to deconstruct gender stereotypes. 

    Poverty in Cuba today had the face of a woman, particularly that of an Afro-descendent, elderly woman.  Social rights had been cut by the State and women were further exposed to food insecurity and poverty.  The health care system lacked regulations to protect lesbians from phobic treatment.  There needed to be training and awareness raising for health professionals to provide care, free of stigma and phobia. 

    Benin

    Organizations speaking on Benin said women were economically and sexually exploited in Benin as part of human trafficking.  Legislation on this was vague.  Benin was a country of origin, transit and destination of women and children for human trafficking.  It was recommended that the definition of procuring be outlined in the Criminal Code. 

    In Benin, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, queer and transgender people underwent verbal, physical and sexual attacks. Discrimination undergone by these women worsened their economic positioning.  No specific healthcare programme took these people into account, despite their vulnerability.  Lesbian women were not seen as key members of the population.  Religious beliefs and fear of side effects prohibited access to abortion, despite it being decriminalised in 2020.   It was recommended that Benin set up mobile clinics all over the country to facilitate access to sexual and reproductive services. Safe abortion should be accessible without the need for authorisation from a third party. 

    Sex workers continued to be discriminated against in Benin.  The only existing instruments were oppressive in nature.  The national health development plan excluded the healthcare of sex workers.  Today, some services did not cover the medicine for sexually transmitted diseases for sex workers.   If a sex worker underwent an act of violence, victims were required to submit a medical certificate which came at a cost that was prohibitive for these women. 

    Questions by Committee Experts

    A Committee Expert said since there had been a reshuffle in the cabinet in Japan, what was the status of the Gender Ministry?  Who was heading it?  Was there a COVID-19 response plan that covered gender-based violence?  On Canada, was female genital mutilation still an issue?  What was the gravity of the occurrence of femicide? 

    Another Expert asked if the Japanese organizations had information around restricted access to abortion, including that permission was required from a spouse or partner?  Could information on the lack of sexual reproductive education for young people be provided?

    An Expert asked Cuba what services were available for persons deprived of liberty, which were not available to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons?  What were the rules related to internal migration in Cuba? 

    A Committee Expert asked Chile if the benefits of the Judicial Academy, which aimed to avoid bias and victimisation of women, were being reaped? 

    Another Expert asked Benin about the medical forms for victims of gender-based violence; were these free? What had the Government done to make birth registration free?  Was there a law on legal aid?  If so, what crimes or rights violations qualified for legal aid?  Was there a court to handle family disputes? 

    An Expert asked Cuba whether the labour law included issues of sexual harassment?

    Another Expert asked Canada how many recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been met?

    A Committee Expert asked Cuba about the situation of human rights defenders who were women?  In Chile, following the 2017 reform, was abortion still practiced illegally?  Could more information be provided about the extractive and mining industries and their impact on women and communities? 

    An Expert asked Cuba for information around issues pertaining to education? 

    A Committee Expert asked how challenging it was to be a female politician in Benin?

    Statements by the National Human Rights Institution of Chile and the Children’s Rights Ombudsman of Chile

    CONSUELO CONTRERAS LARGO, National Director, National Human Rights Institute of Chile, began by referring to gender-based violence.  According to figures from the National Service for Women and Gender Equity, in the last 10 years, there had been 423 femicides in Chile, with figures per year that fluctuated between 34 and 46 femicides.  In 2024, there were already 29 femicides.  In the last two years, there had been a sharp increase in attempted femicides.  In its 2018 and 2021 Annual Reports, the Institution indicated statistical difficulties in recognising violence that affected women in different contexts, since the State did not disaggregate the information into characterisation variables. Consequently, the treatment of violence against women was addressed in a uniform manner, which homogenised the situation of discrimination and violence, preventing the design of public policies capable of responding to different needs.  The State should implement disaggregation of data, particularly for rural women, women with disabilities, and other groups. 

    The Programme for the Comprehensive Prevention of Violence against Women had a budget which was 2.38 per cent of the budget of the ministerial portfolio, which was limited considering the magnitude of the task.  For the 2024 budget, the authorities announced a growth of 5.2 per cent, as part of their programmatic redesign.  The institution remained concerned at the main task defined in the programme.  The programme did not involve any kind of follow-up and it was not possible to discern if those who received the training continued to develop prevention activities. The programme also did not have a territorial focus without taking into account the different realities of women. It was concerning that the courts did not recognise the identity of trans-women in their sentences, according to current gender identity law. 

    The regulatory framework for violence against women had been bolstered.  On 4 March 2020, law no. 21,212 came into force, which redefined and expanded the concept of femicide in Chile.  On 9 May 2023, law 21,565 was published, which established a regime of protection and comprehensive reparation in favour of victims of femicide and their families; and on 14 June, law 21,675 came into force, which established measures to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women, based on their gender.  There were other legal bodies that had been approved and had entered into force in the country.  Draft bills were moving slowly through the legislature.   Discussions were underway on the bill to reform conjugal partnership and the bill to combat discrimination.  In 2019, a bill was presented that sought to establish the mandatory nature of comprehensive sex education in schools.  This draft was rejected in October 2020 and archived, with no plans for it to be brough back into legislation. 

    As of August 2024, the National Human Rights Institution had registered 19 complaints for human trafficking. During a visit to border regions, the Institute was able to verify the low number of resources of the police units destined to combat trafficking in persons.  The Institute had established the duty of the executive branch to develop and implement a public policy to combat trafficking in persons.  It should also continuously and systematically monitor and evaluate the implementation of new legislation through data collection and analysis and research on internal and cross-border trafficking. 

    ANUAR QUESILLE VERA, Children’s Rights Ombudsperson of Chile, underscored that sexual violence against children and adolescents continued to be one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing the country.  Despite efforts and progress in other areas, the data showed that girls and adolescents continued to be the main victims of this problem.  Between January and June 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Chile reported a total of 25,352 victims entered into its registries for sexual crimes, of which 59.40 per cent were females under 18.  The State addressed sexual exploitation in a disconnected way, with gaps in areas of prevention, criminal prosecution, punishment and reparation for victims.  It was alarming that, despite the growing incidence of this phenomenon, the State had not prioritised this problem in a systemic manner, which reflected in the limitations faced by the different services and institutions.

    The fate of children in the care of the State was concerning.  There were also new challenges in relation to the security of digital environments. Online platforms and digital spaces had become fertile grounds for the perpetration of sexual violence and abuse. Comprehensive regulation that protected children and adolescents in these spaces was essential.  In view of these challenges, since the beginning of 2024, the Children’s Ombudsman’s Office had urged the Government to adhere to the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention, which was seen as a key tool to protect children and adolescents against sexual exploitation and abuse. Unfortunately, no significant progress had been reported in this regard. 

    In terms of sexual and reproductive rights, the limited perspective on the progressive autonomy, ownership of rights, and agency of girls and adolescents continued to affect their access to the benefits of the law on abortion.    Adolescents were mostly seeking abortion due to being raped.  The Committee was called on to prioritise legislative strengthening and intersectoral coordination of State institutions, with a focus on increasing resources and adequate training to respond effectively to the challenges posed.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    A Committee Expert asked if the Ombudsperson had any specific information on early marriage, which continued to be a problem?

    Another Expert asked if light could be shed on the issue of comprehensive sexual education in Chile? What were the obstacles?  What should the Committee look at to allow adolescents to access this information? 

    An Expert asked if there were any statistics on how many women who had suffered rape in Chile had then resorted to abortion, and how often was this denied? 

    A Committee Expert asked about the pension gap in Chile? 

    Another Committee Expert asked about the anti-discrimination bill which was presented to amend the Constitution in regard to multiple discrimination?  What were the social and political drivers which did not allow this bill to pass? 

    An Expert asked about global supply chains which were growing in importance in Chile, which was exporting agricultural products to neighbouring countries.  Had any gender-based violence been identified in the supply chains? 

    Responses by the National Human Rights Institution of Chile and the Children’s Rights Ombudsman of Chile

    In response, JUAN ENRIQUE PI, International Adviser, said the Anti-Discrimination Act did not reform the Constitution; the Constitution of 1980 still prevailed.  There seemed to be no movement to further prohibit discrimination. In 2020, there had been an attempt to bring about an act on comprehensive education, to prevent sexual violence against girls and boys.  However, this bill was rejected by a majority and had been shelved.  There was currently no bill in Chile to address sex education in schools.  There was no initiative under discussion. 

    ANUAR QUESILLE VERA, Children’s Rights Ombudsperson of Chile, said Chile had raised the age of marriage to 18.  However, one of the key problems being faced by the country had to do with informal unions in rural areas.  It was difficult to obtain figures on these. 

    JAVIERA SCHWEITZER GONZÁLEZ, International Affairs Coordinator, said when it came to the law on abortion, there was an information gap.  Almost 99 per cent of cases of young girls and adolescents undergoing abortion did have some support.  When it came to conscientious objection, this was of particular concern.  There was no protocol providing for a lack of equipment and there were no available teams. Civil society said the law enforced did not cover training and guidelines and the rights which should protect medical teams.  Furthermore, in the case of rape, few people went to health centres because of revictimisation.  Some headway had been made in comprehensive sex education, however, there were restrictions in terms of its effective implementation.  There had been a drop in the number of teenage pregnancies, but this was due to a use of contraceptives and not comprehensive sexual education. Teenagers had also identified a gap in comprehensive sexual education. 

     

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

    CEDAW24.027E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The AI sexbot industry is just getting started. It brings strange new questions – and risks

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raffaele F Ciriello, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney

    DALL-E via Shutterstock

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting personal. Chatbots are designed to imitate human interactions, and the rise of realistic voice chat is leading many users to form emotional attachments or laugh along with virtual podcast hosts.

    And that’s before we get to the really intimate stuff. Research has shown that sexual roleplaying is one of the most common uses of ChatGPT, and millions of people interact with AI-powered systems designed as virtual companions, such as such as Character.AI, Replika, and Chai.AI.

    What does this mean for the future of (human) romance? The prospects are alarming.

    Better be nice to your AI overlord

    The most prominent AI companion service is Replika, which allows some 30 million users to create custom digital girlfriends (or boyfriends).

    While early studies indicate most Replika users are male, Caucasian and under 30, other demographics are catching up. Male sex robots have been in the making for some years. And they’re more than just vibrators with integrated jar openers.

    For a subscription fee, users can exchange intimate messages or pictures with their AI partners. Over half a million users had subscribed before Replika temporarily disabled its “erotic roleplay” module in early 2023, fearing regulatory backlash — a move that users dubbed “The Lobotomy.”

    The Replika “lobotomy” highlights a key feature of virtual companions: their creators have complete control over their behaviour. The makers of apps can modify or shut down a user’s “partner” – and millions of others – at any moment. These systems also read everything users say, to tailor future interactions and, of course, ads.

    AI is coming to the physical sexbot industry too.
    Shutterstock

    However, these caveats don’t appear to be holding the industry back. New products are proliferating. One company, Kindroid, now offers voice chats with up to ten virtual companions simultaneously.

    The digital world isn’t the limit either. Sex doll vendors such as Joy Love Dolls offer interactive real-life sexbots, with not only customisable skin colour and breast size, but also “complete control” of features including movement, heating, and AI-enabled “moans, squeals, and even flirting from your doll, making her a great companion”.

    For now, virtual companions and AI sexbots remain a much smaller market than social media, with millions of users rather than billions. But as the history of the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon has taught us, today’s digital quirks could become tomorrow’s global giants.

    Towards ethically sourced AI girlfriends?

    The availability of AI-driven relationships is likely to usher in all manner of ethically dubious behaviour from users who won’t have to face the real-world consequences.

    Soon, you might satisfy any kink with your AI girlfriend for an extra fee. If your AI wife becomes troublesome, just ask the corporate overlord to deactivate her envy module — for a price, of course. Or simply delete her and start fresh with as many AI mistresses as you like in parallel.

    The way people form relationships has already been disrupted by dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble.

    What will happen if, in the future, people looking for love are competing against perfect synthetic lovers that are always available and horny? Well, at least they’ll be able to create virtual replicas of those hot dates they didn’t land.

    And for those who lack the skills to create their own virtual companions, there will be plenty of off-the-shelf alternatives.

    An ABC investigation revealed the use of generative AI to create fake influencers by manipulating women’s social media images is already widespread. This is generally done without consent to sell pornographic content. Much of this content depicts unattainable body ideals, and some depicts people who appear to be at best barely of consenting age.

    Another likely application? Using AI sexbot technology to bring celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Clara Bow back to life. After all, dead people cannot deny consent anymore.

    Replika itself was inspired by its founder’s desire to recreate her late best friend through a chatbot. Many use the app to keep deceased loved ones around. What a time to be alive (or dead)!

    The potential for emotional manipulation by inventive catfishers and dictators is alarming. Imagine the havoc if figures like Russia’s Vladimir Putin or North Korea’s Kim Jong-un harness this technology to complement their nations’ already extensive cyber-espionage operations.

    Perhaps before long we will see corporations offering “responsibly sourced” AI girlfriends for the more ethical consumer – organically grown from consensually harvested content, promoting socially acceptable smut.

    Society and the state must act now

    With loneliness rising to epidemic levels — surveys suggest up to one in four people in OECD countries lack human connection — the demand for sexbots is only going to grow. Corporations will meet this demand unless society and the state set clear boundaries on what’s acceptable.

    Sex and technology have always co-evolved. Just as prostitution is “the oldest profession”, porn sites are some of the oldest corners of the internet. However, the dystopian potential of sexbots for mass-customised, corporate-controlled monetisation of our most intimate sphere is unprecedented.

    Users aren’t entirely blameless, either. There’s something vicious about replacing a real human being with a totally submissive lust machine.

    Early studies suggest narcissism is prevalent among users of this technology. Normalising harmful sexual behaviours such as rape, sadism or paedophilia is bad news for society.

    However, going after users isn’t likely to be the best way to tackle the issue. We should treat sexbot use like other potentially problematic behaviours, such as gambling.

    As with other problematic behaviours where the issue lies more with providers than users, it’s time to hold sexbot providers accountable. As our links to AI are growing ever more intimate, there’s not much time to waste.

    Raffaele F Ciriello 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. The AI sexbot industry is just getting started. It brings strange new questions – and risks – https://theconversation.com/the-ai-sexbot-industry-is-just-getting-started-it-brings-strange-new-questions-and-risks-238998

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Two decades after decriminalisation, NZ’s sex workers still need protection from discrimination

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynzi Armstrong, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    It has been two decades since New Zealand decriminalised sex work. And while sex workers have workplace rights, they still worry about the risks of discrimination in everyday life.

    In my recent research, local sex workers explained the benefits of decriminalisation – and what still needs to change. Their experiences highlight that while much has changed for the better, stigma remains an issue. Further change is needed to better protect sex workers from it.

    New Zealand’s experience is relevant right now, as a number of governments elsewhere are reviewing their laws around sex work.

    Scotland, for example, is considering a proposal that would criminalise the purchase of sex – known as the Nordic model due to its initial adoption in some Nordic countries.

    Supporters argue this will help sex workers and extend gender equality. But evidence suggests the Nordic model actually harms sex workers: it impedes safety strategies, increases the risk of violence, limits access to justice, and enables discrimination.

    What is decriminalisation?

    The other options are decriminalisation and legalisation. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are different. Legalisation of sex work (in Germany and the Netherlands, for example) means legalising an act that was previously against the law.

    For sex workers, this means restrictive government regulation and control, which may include mandatory registration with authorities, compulsory sexual health checks, and permission to work in specific areas only.

    Decriminalisation, on the other hand, means repealing laws that make an act or behaviour a crime, but not necessarily introducing restrictive regulations specific to the sex industry.

    That said, decriminalisation does not mean there is no regulation. Instead, regulations are comparable to other businesses. The focus is not on regulating sex workers, but providing them with rights.

    Under New Zealand’s Prostitution Reform Act (2003) it is an offence to induce or compel a person to do sex work. Sex workers have the right to refuse to see clients for any reason at any time. If a sex worker wishes to stop doing sex work, they can access unemployment benefits immediately (rather than having the normal stand down period ).

    Impacts of decriminalisation in New Zealand

    Research three years after the law came into force found a majority of participants felt they had more rights and were more able to refuse to see clients than before. Several participants felt police attitudes towards them had improved.

    Subsequent research found relationships between street-based sex workers and police had improved. Decriminalisation supported the safety strategies of these sex workers better.

    There have also been several high-profile cases where sex workers have exercised their legal rights. Brothel-based sex workers won sexual harassment cases against business owners, and convictions of rape against two clients who covertly removed condoms during their bookings.

    Among the 26 sex workers we interviewed in New Zealand, participants described feeling fortunate to work in the decriminalised context. They also felt working conditions for sex workers were better than in other countries.

    One participant said:

    I also feel that we shouldn’t have to say “oh we’re so lucky” but we are compared to other people in other countries.

    Another felt decriminalisation gave sex workers a “protective layer”.

    This meant, as one participant put it, “we have rights, full stop”.

    Participants appreciated sex work being defined as work and the rights that accompany this. Decriminalisation was considered both ideal and normalised. As another explained,

    it’s been decriminalised for a long time now, like it’s part of our reality.

    Room for improvement?

    While participants felt grateful to work in the decriminalised context, this doesn’t mean there weren’t issues.

    Decriminalisation in New Zealand doesn’t include legal protection from discrimination. Sex workers have little recourse if they are treated unfairly because of their job.

    The sex workers we spoke with believed the social stigma of sex work was gradually fading, and instances of discrimination described by participants were rare. But they still feared the consequences of discrimination (such as being denied accommodation or premises to work from if their work became known to a landlord).

    They supported further legal protection from discrimination. For one participant this meant,

    I could tell people my job without […] any fear of backlash, and that would be fantastic.

    Participants also wanted the protections of decriminalisation extended to temporary migrants. People who hold temporary visas face deportation if they are found to be working in the sex industry, making them vulnerable to exploitation.

    Falling behind

    After two decades of decriminalisation, New Zealand risks falling behind as more jurisdictions (such as Victoria and Queensland in Australia) adopt decriminalised frameworks that build in protection from discrimination.

    Such protections mean it is no longer legal to deny a person accommodation or a job based on their sex work experience, or deny them a bank loan or mortgage.

    To keep up, New Zealand needs to follow suit. The next step is therefore to strengthen and expand the rights sex workers have.

    Perhaps then, in another 20 years, the country will still be seen as one that put the human rights of sex workers first and showed the rest of the world what equality really looks like.

    Lynzi Armstrong received funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund (2019-2024)

    – ref. Two decades after decriminalisation, NZ’s sex workers still need protection from discrimination – https://theconversation.com/two-decades-after-decriminalisation-nzs-sex-workers-still-need-protection-from-discrimination-240787

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lessons for the next pandemic: where did Australia go right and wrong in responding to COVID?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia

    Igor Corovic/Shutterstock

    With COVID still classified as an ongoing pandemic, it’s difficult to contemplate the next one. But we need to be prepared. We’ve seen several pandemics in recent decades and it’s fair to expect we’ll see more.

    For the final part in a series of articles on the next pandemic, we’ve asked a range of experts what Australia got right and wrong it its response to COVID. Here they share their thoughts on the country’s COVID response – and what we can learn for the next pandemic.

    Quarantine

    The federal government mandated 14 days of quarantine for all international arrivals between March 2020 and November 2021. During that period, 452,550 people passed through the system.

    The states and Northern Territory were given just 48 hours to set up their quarantine systems. The states chose hotel quarantine, while the Northern Territory repurposed an old miner’s camp, Howard Springs, which had individual cabins with outdoor verandas. The ACT had very few international arrivals, while Tasmania only had hotel quarantine for domestic travellers.

    During the first 15 months of the program, at least 22 breaches occurred in five states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia). An inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine found the lack of warning and planning to set up the complex system resulted in breaches that caused Victoria’s second COVID wave of 2020, leading to almost 800 deaths. A breach at Sydney airport led to the introduction of the Delta variant into Australia.

    In the next pandemic, mistakes from COVID need to be avoided. They included failure to protect hotel residents and staff from airborne transmission through ventilation and mask usage. Protocols need to be consistent across the country, such as the type of security staff used, N95 masks for staff and testing frequency.

    These protocols need to be included in a national pandemic preparedness plan, which is frequently reviewed and tested through simulations. This did not occur with the pre-COVID preparedness plan.

    Dedicated quarantine centres like Howard Springs already exist in Victoria and Queensland. Ideally, they should be constructed in every jurisdiction.

    Michael Toole

    Treatments

    Scientists had to move quickly after COVID was discovered to find effective treatments.

    Many COVID treatments involved repurposing existing drugs designed for other viruses. For example, the HIV drug ritonavir is a key element of the antiviral Paxlovid, while remdesivir was originally developed to treat hepatitis C.

    At the outset of the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty about COVID treatment among Australian health professionals. To keep up with the rapidly developing science, the National Clinical Evidence Taskforce was established in March 2020. We were involved in its COVID response with more than 250 clinicians, consumers and researchers.

    Unusually for evidence-based guidelines, which are often updated only every five years or so, the taskforce’s guidelines were designed to be “living” – updated as new research became available. In April 2020 we released the first guidelines for care of people with COVID, and over the next three years these were updated more than 100 times.

    While health-care professionals always had access to up-to-date guidance on COVID treatments, this same information was not as accessible for the public. This may partly explain why many people turned to unproven treatments. The taskforce’s benefits could have been increased with funding to help the community understand COVID treatments.

    COVID drugs faced other obstacles too. For example, changes to the virus itself meant some treatments became less effective as new variants emerged. Meanwhile, provision of antiviral treatments has not been equitable across the country.

    COVID drugs have had important, though not game-changing, impacts. Ultimately, effective vaccines played a much greater role in shifting the course of the pandemic. But we might not be so fortunate next time.

    In any future pandemic it will be crucial to have a clear pathway for rapid, reliable methods to develop and evaluate new treatments, disseminate that research to clinicians, policymakers and the public, and ensure all Australians can access the treatments they need.

    Steven McGloughlin and Tari Turner, Monash University

    Vaccine rollout

    COVID vaccines were developed in record time, but rolling them out quickly and seamlessly proved to be a challenge. In Australia, there were several missteps along the way.

    First, there was poor preparation and execution. Detailed planning was not finalised until after the rollout had begun.

    Then the federal government had overly ambitious targets. For example, the goal of vaccinating four million people by the end of March 2021 fell drastically short, with less than one-fifth of that number actually vaccinated by that time.

    There were also supply issues, with the European Union blocking some deliveries to Australia.

    Unfortunately, the government was heavily reliant on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was found, in rare cases, to lead to blood clots in younger people.

    Despite all this, Australia ultimately achieved high vaccination rates. By the end of December 2021, more than 94% of the population aged 16 and over had received at least one dose.

    This was a significant public health achievement and saved thousands of lives.

    But over the past couple of years, Australia’s initially strong vaccine uptake has been waning.

    The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends booster doses for vulnerable groups annually or twice annually. However, only 30% of people aged 75 and over (for whom a booster is recommended every six months) have had a booster dose in the past six months.

    There are several lessons to be learned from the COVID vaccine rollout for any future pandemic, though it’s not entirely clear whether they are being heeded.

    For example, several manufacturers have developed updated COVID vaccines based on the JN.1 subvariant. But reports indicate the government will only be purchasing the Pfizer JN.1 booster. This doesn’t seem like the best approach to shore up vaccine supply.

    Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia

    Mode of transmission

    Nearly five years since SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) first emerged, we now know airborne transmission plays a far greater role than we originally thought.

    In contrast, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 being transmitted via surfaces is likely to be low, and perhaps effectively non-existent in many situations.

    Early in the pandemic, the role contaminated surfaces and inanimate objects played in COVID transmission was overestimated. The main reason we got this wrong, at least initially, was that in the absence of any direct experience with SARS-CoV-2, we extrapolated what we believed to be true for other respiratory viruses. This was understandable, but it proved to be inadequate for predicting how SARS-CoV-2 would behave.

    One of the main consequences of overestimating the role of surface transmission was that it resulted in a lot of unnecessary anxiety and the adoption of what can only be viewed in retrospect as over-the-top cleaning practices. Remember the teams of people who walked the streets wiping down traffic light poles? How about the concern over reusable coffee cups?

    Considerable resources that could have been better invested elsewhere were directed towards disinfecting surfaces. This also potentially distracted our focus from other preventive measures that were likely to have been more effective, such as wearing masks.

    We now understand COVID spreads predominantly through the air.
    Kate Trifo/Pexels

    The focus on surface transmission was amplified by a number of studies published early in the pandemic that documented the survival of SARS-CoV-2 for long periods on surfaces. However, these were conducted in the lab with little similarity to real-world conditions. In particular, the amounts of virus placed on surfaces were greater than what people would likely encounter outside the lab. This inflated viral survival times and therefore the perception of risk.

    The emphasis on surface transmission early in the pandemic ultimately proved to be a miscalculation. It highlights the challenges in understanding how a new virus spreads.

    Hassan Vally, Deakin University

    National unity

    Initially, Commonwealth, state and territory leaders were relatively united in their response to the COVID pandemic. The establishment of the National Cabinet in March 2020 indicated a commitment to consensus-based public health policy. Meanwhile, different jurisdictions came together to deliver a range of measures aimed at supporting businesses and workers affected by COVID restrictions.

    But as the pandemic continued, tensions gave way to deeper ideological fractures between jurisdictions and individuals. The issues of vaccine mandates, border closures and lockdowns all created fragmentation between governments, and among experts.

    The blame game began between and within jurisdictions. For example, the politicisation of quarantine regulations on cruise ships revealed disunity. School closures, on which the Commonwealth and state and territory governments took different positions, also generated controversy.

    These and other instances of polarisation undermined the intent of the newly established National Cabinet.

    The COVID pandemic showed us that disunity across the country threatens the collective work needed for an effective response in the face of emergencies.

    The COVID response inquiry, due to release its results soon, will hopefully help us work toward national uniform legislation that may benefit Australia in the event of any future pandemics.

    This doesn’t necessarily mean identical legislation across the country – this won’t always be appropriate. But a cohesive, long-term approach is crucial to ensure the best outcomes for the Australian federation in its entirety.

    Guzyal Hill and Kim M Caudwell, Charles Darwin University

    This article is part of a series on the next pandemic.

    Adrian Esterman receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF and ARC.

    Michael Toole receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

    Steven McGloughlin works with the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration and is a consultant for the World Health Organisation Health Emergencies Program.

    Tari Turner receives funding from MRFF; NHMRC; the Victorian, WA and Commonwealth governments; and philanthropy.

    Guzyal Hill, Hassan Vally, and Kim M Caudwell 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. Lessons for the next pandemic: where did Australia go right and wrong in responding to COVID? – https://theconversation.com/lessons-for-the-next-pandemic-where-did-australia-go-right-and-wrong-in-responding-to-covid-239819

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The government spent twice what it needed to on economic support during COVID, modelling shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Murphy, Visiting Fellow, Economics (modelling), Australian National University

    ChristieCooper/Shutterstock

    The independent inquiry into the government’s COVID response is due to report on October 25.

    As part of its investigation into the government’s economic responses, I briefed it on the findings of my economic modelling, using the sort of model I helped design for the Australian Treasury and consulting firms including Econtech and Independent Economics, specially customised for this study.

    I found that government responses such as JobKeeper and the Jobseeker Supplement were initially successful. They reduced the peak rate of unemployment by two percentage points, or by more if we count workers who are stood down as employed.

    But they lingered too long, ultimately providing $2 of compensation for every $1 of private income lost to COVID.

    Government support was essential

    Some parts of the economy were deeply affected by the COVID shutdowns which began in early 2020, others much less so.

    It is widely accepted that the best response to that (unusual) circumstance is to replace the income those workers and businesses lose. This means, for example, when movie theatres close, the government should replace the incomes of their workers.

    This has two benefits. The first is to allow movie theatre workers to maintain their normal spending, stopping the downturn spreading to unrestricted industries. The second is to ensure movie theatre workers don’t have to bear an unfair share of the cost of measures put in place to protect everyone’s health.

    Around one sixth of the Australian economy was severely restricted by government measures in the early months of COVID.

    This made measures such as JobKeeper, the Boosting Cash Flow for Employers program and the JobSeeker Supplement appropriate.

    Too much support for some, too little for others

    The government spent $144 billion on these three programs, and my modelling finds the total was about right to compensate for the early losses of income.
    But the pattern of compensation was wide of the mark, with a mix of overcompensation and undercompensation.

    JobKeeper was designed to guarantee workers a minimum income rather than compensate them for lost income. This meant typical full-time workers were undercompensated while typical part-time workers were overcompensated.

    For businesses, the compensation for lost profits depended on workers being active, which meant the firms that lost the most because they had suspended their entire operations got no compensation for losing their entire profits even though some of their expenses continued.

    Better programs were put in place in 2021 when the Delta wave of COVID struck. A COVID disaster payment more accurately compensated workers for lost hours, and programs such as NSW JobSaver more accurately targeted lost profits.

    Extra support for the entire economy wasn’t needed

    In principle, well-designed compensation for the parts of the economy that were actually shut down would have been enough to support the rest of the economy, but despite this, the government also announced broader supports aimed at the entire economy.

    Among them were bringing forward the so-called Stage 2 tax cuts and allowing businesses to immediately expense equipment.

    These general stimulus measures almost doubled the size of stimulus from $219 billion to $428 billion. Besides being large and unnecessary, most of the general stimulus was delivered late, after the worst of the pandemic was over.

    How it could have been done better

    I have modelled what could have happened if the government had only spent on the health measures that were clearly warranted and had limited its compensation to income actually lost at the time it was lost.

    This so-called shorter stimulus scenario also includes a more usual response to economic recovery by the Reserve Bank in which it began lifting interest rates one year earlier, in May 2021 instead of May 2022.

    In the shorter stimulus scenario, the Reserve Bank’s cash rate would by now be 2.85% instead of 4.35% because of lower inflation. Equally, in two or three years interest rates are similar in both scenarios once the economy has stabilised.

    Australia’s unemployment rate would be higher than it is now at about 5.1% instead of 4.2% as it glides towards a sustainable equilibrium rather than having been pushed below it.

    This glide path keeps inflation lower by avoiding a boom and bust and results in the same endpoint for unemployment.

    Inflation would have peaked much lower at about 5% instead of about 7%.

    About 1.4% percentage points of the reduction would have been due to better fiscal (spending and taxing) policy and about 0.7 points due to better management of interest rates.

    In addition, the government would have saved about $209 billion in avoidable spending and government debt.

    Nevertheless, even if the government had limited its response to the more targeted measures modelled in the shorter stimulus scenario, inflation would have reached 5% and interest rates and government debt would have still climbed, but by less.

    Hindsight can help

    The government’s responses to COVID were developed quickly at a time when no one knew what was going to happen, which makes some overcompensation understandable.

    But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t examine what happened in order to work out how it could have been done better.

    Australia will be hit by future pandemics and pandemic-like crises, which means it’s important to learn from our mistakes. Next time the government should concentrate on replacing income where and when it is lost.

    Chris Murphy assisted the COVID-19 Response Inquiry.

    – ref. The government spent twice what it needed to on economic support during COVID, modelling shows – https://theconversation.com/the-government-spent-twice-what-it-needed-to-on-economic-support-during-covid-modelling-shows-240999

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 100 years of surrealism: how a French writer inspired by the avant-garde changed the world forever

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney

    Andre Breton

    A century ago, French writer André Breton published a manifesto that would go on to become one of the most influential artistic texts of the 20th century. Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism launched a movement that transformed not only visual art, but also literature, theatre and film.

    Surrealism drew on developments in psychology to herald a revolutionary new way of doing, seeing and being. It is, as art critic Jonathan Jones once noted, “the only modern movement that changed the way we talk and think about life”.

    Surrealism also fundamentally changed the way we make art. Its cultural impact and legacy can be felt in, to pluck three random examples, the cinematic dreamscapes of David Lynch, the lyrical cut-ups of Bob Dylan and the monumental sculptures of Louise Bourgeois.

    The term itself has entered our everyday lexicon. By the same token, some question its significance and aesthetic merits. Moreover, to borrow a couple of rhetorical questions posed by Mark Polizzotti in a book marking the movement’s centenary: “Does Surrealism still matter? Has it ever mattered?”

    These questions are hardly new. They’ve been around since the movement’s inception – and continue to be asked in our historical moment of catastrophe. As Polizzotti writes:

    young people of the 21st century could hardly be faulted for wondering what a bunch of eccentric writers and artists showing off their dream states could have to do with such pressing concerns as social and racial injustice, a faltering job market, gross economic inequities, the decimation of our civil liberties, questions of gender identity and equality, environmental devastation, education reform, or, once again […] the spectre of world war.

    The answer, Polizzotti points out, is simple: “Surrealism engaged with all of these crises.”

    While Surrealism started as a literary movement, it quickly evolved into a formidable platform for critiquing dominant sociopolitical inequalities and systems of oppression.

    In both word and deed, the surrealists opposed warmongering and colonial expansion. They railed against religious dogma and championed the freedom of sexual expression.

    Breton perhaps put it best in 1935. “From where we stand,” he said, while tipping his hat to Karl Marx, “we maintain that the activity of interpreting the world must continue to be linked with the activity of changing the world.”

    WWI and meeting Jacques Vaché

    Born in Normandy in 1896, André Breton was the only child of a policeman and a seamstress.

    While studying medicine, Breton developed an interest in mental illness. He also had a passion for poetry. At an early age, he started exchanging letters with the prominent avant-gardist Guillaume Apollinaire, who coined the term “surrealism” in 1917.

    André Breton, a founder of the surrealist movement, died in Paris in 1966.
    Wikimedia

    Breton’s interests were disrupted when he was conscripted into the French army in 1914. During World War I, he served as a stretcher bearer, dealing firsthand with shellshocked soldiers. He also worked as a nurse in Nantes, France, where he met a wounded Jacques Vaché.

    According to art historian Susan Laxton, the dandyish Vaché was in equal measure “disdainful and deeply cynical”, seeming to live “in a perpetual state of insubordination”. His unconventional approach to life and creativity had a profound impact on Breton’s thinking about Surrealism.

    Vaché had little patience for most writers and artists. He was, however, a big fan of Alfred Jarry – best known for his scandalous drama Ubu Roi (1896). Jarry is frequently cited as an influence on Dadaism, an anarchic art movement that was developed in Europe in 1915 and led by Tristan Tzara.

    The Dadaists thumbed their noses at convention and embraced chaos, irrationality and spontaneity. As Tzara explained, Dadaism was vehemently opposed to “greasy objectivity, and harmony, the science that finds everything in order”.

    Breton was impressed. Keen to establish his credentials as an artist, he set out to build his own avant-garde coalition.

    The rise of automatism

    Enlisting Louis Aragon and Philippe Soupault, Breton set up Littérature. Running from 1919 to 1924, this review published many key surrealist works, including excerpts of Breton and Soupault’s book The Magnetic Fields (1920).

    Drawing on Sigmund Freud’s concept of the unconscious, this groundbreaking collaboration marked the first sustained use of a practice called surrealist automatism.

    The Magnetic Fields was written in secret over the course of a single spring week in 1919. The guidelines Breton and Soupault established for themselves were simple. They would engage in writing sessions that could last for several hours at a time – often inducing a state of shared euphoria – without any chance for reflection or correction.

    The aim was to bypass rational modes of thinking and tap directly into the imagination, thereby producing a revolutionary new kind of poetry. In the words of art historian David Hopkins, this practice “was predicated on the conviction that the speed of writing is equivalent to the speed of thought”.

    Following this breakthrough, Breton and the surrealists continued to refine the technique, pushing it further into new, untrammelled realms of creative possibility. With the subsequent publication of the Manifesto of Surrealism, Breton solidified the movement’s core principles. In it, he offers a definition:

    Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dreams, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for all all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principle problems of life.

    In other words, Surrealism was not just an artistic endeavour, but a philosophical stance that sought to radically rethink experience and existence.

    One example of early surrealist filmmaking.

    Elsewhere in the manifesto, Breton introduces the key surrealist concept of “the marvellous”. For the surrealists, the marvellous could be found in poems, paintings, photographs and everyday objects. It was experienced as a shock or jolt, a moment of recognition that allowed one to transcend the ordinary and glimpse the sublime hidden within the apparently mundane.

    By rejecting traditional modes of understanding and embracing the unconscious, the surrealists attempted to upend the established order of things. They viewed automatism and the marvellous as ways to access deeper truths, free from the constraints of rationality which they believed had long dominated Western thought.

    A movement transcending borders

    The events that followed the publication of Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism supported his claim, made during a 1934 lecture, that the movement had “spread like wildfire, on pursuing its course, not only in art but in life”.

    Surrealism’s public profile expanded internationally, along with its adherents. Luis Buñuel, Frida Kahlo, Aimé Césaire, Lee Miller, Salvador Dalí and Leonor Fini are just some of the important figures who embraced the movement.

    Salvador Dalí’s 1931 painting The Persistence of Memory is one of the most famous surrealist artworks.
    Salvador Dali

    And as the raft of high-profile exhibitions currently taking place confirms, the surrealist spirit lives on, decades after the movement wound down. Unabated, the search for the marvellous continues.

    Alexander Howard 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. 100 years of surrealism: how a French writer inspired by the avant-garde changed the world forever – https://theconversation.com/100-years-of-surrealism-how-a-french-writer-inspired-by-the-avant-garde-changed-the-world-forever-237464

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ESPRIT module for Lunar Gateway orbital outpost set for a significant upgrade

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: ESPRIT module for Lunar Gateway orbital outpost set for a significant upgrade

    Thales Alenia Space and ESA sign contract amendment to extend and optimize ESPRIT module

    Milan, October 14, 2024 – Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed an amendment to its contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop the ESPRIT[1] communications and refueling module for the future Lunar Gateway orbital outpost. Worth €164 million, the amendment provides for extending and optimizing the ESPRIT module for which Thales Alenia Space in France is the prime contractor, in collaboration with OHB, alongside Thales Alenia Space in Italy and in the UK.

    ESPRIT module on the Gateway ©Thales Alenia Space

    The ESPRIT module is composed of two main elements: Lunar Link[2] will ensure communications between the Gateway and the Moon, while Lunar View[3] will supply the station with xenon and chemical propellants to extend its lifetime. Lunar View features a pressurized volume with six large windows, offering a 360° view on the outside of the Gateway and the Moon, and will include a logistics area for storing cargo and supplies intended for the crew.

    This amendment to the ESPRIT contract provides for a significant increase in the size of Lunar View, which will now span 4.6 meters and be 6.4 meters long, with a total mass of 10 metric tons (versus 3.4 meters, 3 meters and 6 metric tons initially). This evolution is the result of NASA’s choice to launch Lunar View alongside a crewed Orion vehicle aboard the SLS Block 1B launcher, which offers more lift capacity than the launch vehicle previously planned.

    In particular, the extended Lunar View will:

    • Provide more storage space (6.5 m3) on-orbit and accommodate up to 1.5 metric tons of cargo at launch, thus reducing resupply flights to the Lunar Gateway;

    • Enable installation of two attachment points to accommodate the Canadarm3 mobile robotic arm system, supplied by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), for operations such as inspecting, maintaining or repairing the Gateway, assisting astronauts during spacewalks, handling science experiments in lunar orbit, or catching spacecraft visiting the Gateway;

    • House the avionics suite equipment (computer, etc.) inside the module for easier maintenance and to avoid extravehicular activities if repairs are required.

    These upgrades will require all of Lunar View’s subsystems to be adapted, especially the electrical power and avionics subsystems and the software and crew interface equipment.

    Lunar Link is scheduled to launch in 2026 with the HALO module, while Lunar View is planned for delivery in 2029 for launch a year later, on the Artemis V mission.

    “I would like to thank ESA for supporting our industry and renewing its trust in our company’s expertise,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “Thanks to the perfect complementarity of our competences in Italy and in France, we are proud to be contributing our know-how to the Artemis program and to the Lunar Gateway orbital outpost, which are set to push the boundaries of lunar exploration and pave the way for future crewed deep-space exploration missions, with Mars in sight.”

    This contract consolidates Thales Alenia Space’s key role in crewed and robotic exploration of the Moon and deep space. The company is supplying critical systems for the Orion capsule’s European Service Module (ESM) and is currently developing two more pressurized modules for the Lunar Gateway: the Lunar International Habitat module (I-HAB) for ESA and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) for Northrop Grumman. Thales Alenia Space has also signed a major contract with the Italian space agency ASI to launch the project to build the very first lunar Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH).

    Industrial contributions to the ESPRIT module

    Thales Alenia Space in France is the program prime contractor. Thales Alenia Space in Italy is supplying the pressurized tunnel and windows and Thales Alenia Space in the UK is contributing to the chemical propellant refueling system, while OHB – as a main team member – is in charge of the mechanical and thermal subsystems for the non-pressurized parts of the module and the xenon refueling system. Thales Alenia Space in Belgium was selected after competitive bidding to supply the Remote Interface & Distribution Unit for Lunar Link and the Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers. Thales Alenia Space in Spain will develop the S-band communication transponder and Thales Alenia Space in Italy the K-band transponder.

    A cislunar orbital station

    The Lunar Gateway orbital outpost is one of the pillars of NASA’s Artemis program to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon as a staging post for future interplanetary exploration missions. This program is an international collaboration between NASA (United States), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan) and CSA (Canada). The 40-metric-ton station will be assembled in space and placed in an elliptical lunar orbit. It will be equipped with a robotic arm and docking ports, and made up of habitation modules to accommodate long-duration crewed missions and provide electrical power, propulsion, logistics and communications. While not designed to be manned permanently, it will be able to support up to four astronauts for one to three months. Acquiring new experience on and around the Moon will prepare NASA to send the first humans to Mars in the years ahead, and the Lunar Gateway is set to play a vital role in this endeavor.

    ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE

    Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2023. Thales Alenia Space has around 8,600 employees in 9 countries, with 16 sites in Europe and a plant in the US.

    http://www.thalesaleniaspace.com

    THALES ALENIA SPACE – PRESS CONTACTS

    Tarik Lahlou
    Tel: +33 (0)6 87 95 89 56
    tarik.lahlou@thalesaleniaspace.com

    Catherine des Arcis
    Tel: +33 (0)6 78 64 63 97
    catherine.des-arcis@thalesaleniaspace.com

    Cinzia Marcanio

    Tel.: +39 (0)6 415 126 85
    cinzia.marcanio@thalesaleniaspace.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: EBM Avenue LLC: A New Eco-Friendly Approach to DeFi and Crypto Adoption

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Kingstown, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Oct. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  EBM Avenue LLC, a groundbreaking blockchain startup, has officially launched with a steadfast commitment to eco-friendly and sustainable practices within the cryptocurrency industry. As a proud supporter and ally of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), EBM Avenue seeks to integrate the principles of sustainability, innovation, and transparency into its operations, setting a new benchmark for responsible business practices in the decentralized finance sector.

    Innovative DeFi Solutions for a Greener Tomorrow

    Rather than engaging in traditional cryptocurrency mining, which is often criticized for its high energy consumption and environmental impact, EBM Avenue is focused on offering decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. These include crypto discounts, staking rewards, and interest-free crypto loans, all designed to promote financial inclusivity while supporting environmentally conscious practices. By leveraging renewable energy sources and implementing sustainable blockchain technologies, EBM Avenue distinguishes itself from conventional operations, paving the way for a more sustainable future in the crypto space.

    Commitment to Global Sustainability Goals

    EBM Avenue’s dedication to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and its support for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflects its broader focus on ethical business practices. These include commitments to human rights, anti-corruption measures, and fostering global economic inclusion. By aligning its operations with these global priorities, EBM Avenue aims to inspire others in the cryptocurrency space to adopt sustainable models, contributing to a greener and more responsible future for blockchain technology.

    Leadership and Vision

    “With the rising concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining, EBM Avenue is dedicated to setting a new standard for sustainability in the industry,” said Chand B. Shaik, CEO of EBM Avenue LLC. “Our goal is to foster the adoption of cryptocurrency in a way that aligns with global environmental priorities, making a positive impact on both finance and the planet.”

    Under the visionary leadership of Chand B. Shaik, EBM Avenue is poised to revolutionize the cryptocurrency industry by demonstrating that financial innovation and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand. The company’s strategic initiatives are designed to not only enhance the value of digital assets but also to ensure that these advancements contribute positively to the global community.

    Building a Community and Expanding Reach

    In addition to its innovative financial solutions, EBM Avenue is committed to building a strong community and expanding its reach through strategic digital engagement. The company has just established their social media presence on platforms like Twitter, where it will be actively engaging with followers and sharing the updates on its initiatives. EBM Avenue has also applied for verified organization status, underscoring its commitment to transparency and credibility from the very start.

    Furthermore, EBM Avenue has also launched a business page on Facebook to foster community interaction and broaden its audience. These platforms serve as vital channels for EBM Avenue to connect with stakeholders, share insights, and promote its mission of sustainable cryptocurrency practices.

    Join the Movement

    EBM Avenue’s journey is just beginning, and the company is eager to welcome partners, investors, and community members who share its vision for a sustainable future. By participating in EBM Avenue’s innovative DeFi solutions, stakeholders can contribute to a movement that prioritizes both financial growth and environmental stewardship.

    For more information about EBM Avenue and its mission, please visit Website: https://ebmavenue.io or stay updated on X: https://x.com/ebmavenuellc or join the conversation on Facebook https://facebook.com/ebmavenuellc and Telegram https://t.me/ebmavenuellc  

    About EBM Avenue LLC

    EBM Avenue LLC is a pioneering web3 startup dedicated to integrating sustainability, innovation, and transparency into the cryptocurrency industry. As a supporter and ally of the United Nations Global Compact, EBM Avenue is committed to promoting eco-friendly practices and supporting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Through its decentralized finance solutions, EBM Avenue aims to revolutionize the industry and inspire a more responsible approach to digital finance.

    Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency mining can involve risk. There is potential for loss of funds. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: UXLINK Governance Tokens Secure Listings on Major Exchanges, Cementing Its Position as a Leading Web3 Asset

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SINGAPORE, Oct. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UXLINK is pleased to announce that its governance tokens are now listed on top-tier exchanges, including OKX, BYBIT, and UPBIT, with a current daily trading volume exceeding $200 million. These listings are a critical step in enhancing liquidity, visibility, and accessibility for the UXLINK community.

    “Being listed on these renowned exchanges is a testament to UXLINK’s credibility and the growing confidence of the broader Web3 market in our platform,” said Sean, Founder, at UXLINK. “Our focus on legitimacy, compliance, and transparency sets us apart from many projects whose momentum wanes post-ICO. UXLINK, however, has consistently strengthened its market cap and business operations, reaching new heights.”

    A High-Standard, Trusted Asset

    The compliance and transparency of UXLINK’s business model have made it a preferred choice for compliant exchanges and institutional investors. Unlike many projects that peak during their ICO phase, UXLINK has managed to sustain growth and attract continuous community support, reinforcing its reputation as a reliable and robust investment option.

    With this achievement, UXLINK governance tokens will now be more accessible to a broader audience, empowering more users and investors to participate in the platform’s growth.

    For trading details and to learn more about UXLINK’s governance tokens, visit http://www.uxlink.io.

    About UXLINK:

    UXLINK is the world’s largest Web3 social platform and infrastructure provider, connecting a wide array of ecosystem partners and users through a seamless and interactive digital experience. By leveraging blockchain technology, UXLINK aims to redefine social networking, ensuring a secure, transparent, and rewarding environment for its global community.

    Contact Details:

    UXLINK: https://www.uxlink.io/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/UXLINKofficial
    Telegram: https://t.me/uxlinkofficial, https://t.me/uxlinkofficial2
    CMC: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/uxlink/  

    Contact Information:

    UXLINK
    admin@uxlink.io

    Media Contact:

    Rachita Chettri
    MediaX Agency
    contact@mediax.agency

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by “UXLINK”. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3869cae3-6525-488c-ad2e-c0d2d8202857

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 14.10.2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nokia Corporation
    Stock Exchange Release
    14 October 2024 at 22:30 EET

    Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 14.10.2024

    Espoo, Finland – On 14 October 2024 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:

    Trading venue (MIC Code) Number of shares Weighted average price / share, EUR*
    XHEL 1,318,062 4.01
    CEUX 791,646 4.01
    BATE – –
    AQEU – –
    TQEX – –
    Total 2,109,708 4.01

    * Rounded to two decimals

    On 25 January 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to return up to EUR 600 million of cash to shareholders in tranches over a period of two years. The first phase of the share buyback program started on 20 March 2024. On 19 July 2024, Nokia decided to accelerate the share buybacks by increasing the number of shares to be repurchased during the year 2024. The post-increase repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 22 July 2024 and end by 31 December 2024 with a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 600 million for all purchases during 2024.

    Total cost of transactions executed on 14 October 2024 was EUR 8,460,351. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 167,654,631 treasury shares.

    Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.

    On behalf of Nokia Corporation

    BofA Securities Europe SA

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

    Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    Inquiries:

    Nokia Communications
    Phone: +358 10 448 4900
    Email: press.services@nokia.com
    Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

    Nokia Investor Relations
    Phone: +358 40 803 4080
    Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Shri Jual Oram’s Visit to Nagaland: Strengthening Tribal Empowerment and Development

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 7:40PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram, is on a three-day visit to Nagaland from 13th to 15th October 2024. This visit is part of the Prime Minister’s initiative to send ministers to every corner of the country, with a special focus on the Northeast, to engage with citizens, understand their concerns, and contribute towards building a Vikasit Bharat (Developed India).

    On 13th October, Shri Oram met with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Nagaland, Shri Neiphiu Rio, at his residence in Sovima. The meeting focused on key developmental projects, including the effective utilization of funds for Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation. Shri Oram emphasized the importance of developing world-class EMRS schools and promoting an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the state.

    On 14th October, Shri Oram addressed local tribal communities at an event held in the Multi-purpose Hall in Zunheboto. He highlighted that the primary objective of his visit was to ensure that government schemes are effectively reaching the people of Nagaland at the grassroots level. Shri Oram listened to the concerns of the communities and reassured them of the central government’s unwavering commitment to fostering development and empowerment in the region.

     Shri Oram also visited the Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Diphupar, accompanied by the Advisor for Tribal Affairs, Nagaland, Shri H. Tovihoto Ayemi. Following this, he interacted with vendors and artisans at Adi Bazar, engaging with the local community to discuss challenges and explore ways to support their economic growth through government initiatives.

    Explaining the significance of his visit, Shri Oram remarked that it aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision for ministers to directly engage with citizens across the country, particularly in the Northeast, and to advance the nation’s goal of becoming a developed nation.

    On 15th October, Shri Oram will attend the inauguration of a new community hall at Indisen village in Dimapur, further demonstrating the government’s commitment to empowering and uplifting local communities through robust infrastructure development.

    Explaining the significance of his visit, Shri Oram remarked that it aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision for ministers to directly engage with citizens across the country, particularly in the Northeast, and to advance the nation’s goal of becoming a developed nation.

    On 15th October, Shri Oram will attend the inauguration of a new community hall at Indisen village in Dimapur, further demonstrating the government’s commitment to empowering and uplifting local communities through robust infrastructure development.

    *****

    PSF

     

    (Release ID: 2064802) Visitor Counter : 46

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DRI busts a factory illegally manufacturing Mephedrone in Meghnagar, Jhabua, MP; 112 kg Mephedrone worth Rs. 168 crore seized; four persons arrested

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 7:59PM by PIB Delhi

    Acting on specific intelligence, officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a factory which was engaged in illegal manufacture of Mephedrone (a psychotropic substance under NDPS Act, 1985) located in the Industrial Area of Meghnagar, Dist. Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of 12-10-2024.

    The operation resulted in the seizure of 36 kg of Mephedrone in powder form and 76 kg of liquid Mephedrone, worth Rs. 168 crore, and other raw materials and equipment. The factory, which was being illegally used for the manufacture of drugs, was also sealed.

    Four individuals, including the director of the factory, have been arrested for illegal manufacturing and storing of Mephedrone.

    The representative samples drawn out of manufactured drugs were sent to Forensics Science Laboratory for preliminary testing. The lab confirmed the presence of Mephedrone in the samples.

    ****

    NB/KMN

    (Release ID: 2064816) Visitor Counter : 36

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Health Secretary addresses Annual India Leadership Summit organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Health Secretary addresses Annual India Leadership Summit organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in New Delhi

    The medicines from Indian companies provided 219 billion USD savings to the US healthcare system in 2022 and a total 1.3 Trillion USD savings between 2013 – 2022: Union Health Secretary

    “50% of all vaccines manufactured in the world are from India. In the last one year alone, of the 8 billion vaccine doses manufactured and distributed across the world, 4 billion doses were manufactured in India”

    “India appreciates the NCDC and ICMR Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) organized in collaboration with the U.S CDC which has trained over 200 Epidemic Intelligence Services Officers so far with another 50 currently undergoing training through various programs”

    “U.S.-India Cancer Moonshot Dialogue launched in August aims to enhance U.S.-India biomedical research cooperation, particularly focusing on cervical cancer”

    “Initiatives like the Indo-U.S. Health Dialogue have yielded tangible results in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. Joint efforts, such as the recent U.S.-India Cancer Dialogue, focus on enhancing biomedical research and cancer prevention in the Indo-Pacific region”

    “India and the U.S. can further strengthen global health security by prioritizing research, technology transfer, and capacity building”

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 8:04PM by PIB Delhi

    Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, addressed the annual India Leadership Summit 2024, organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, here today.

    Addressing the gathering, Smt. Punya said that India has emerged as a global leader in pharmaceuticals, being the third-largest producer and a key supplier of generic medicines. This sector’s success has resulted in substantial savings for healthcare systems worldwide, including a notable contribution to the U.S. healthcare system. “The contribution of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is evidenced by the fact that India has the highest number of US FDA-approved pharmaceutical plants outside of the United States. This is 25% of the total number of US FDA-approved pants outside of the US. The medicines from Indian companies, I am told, provided 219 billion USD savings to the US healthcare system in 2022 and a total 1.3 Trillion USD savings between 2013 – 2022”, she stated.

    The country also leads in vaccine production, with a significant share of global manufacturing, underscoring its role as the “pharmacy of the world”. “50% of all vaccines manufactured in the world are from India. In the last one year alone, of the 8 billion vaccine doses manufactured and distributed across the world, 4 billion doses were manufactured in India”, she said.

    To ensure a robust healthcare system, the Union Health Secretary noted that India has reformed medical education, replacing outdated regulatory frameworks with the National Medical Commission Act and related laws. This has led to a significant increase in medical and nursing college numbers and enrolment, addressing disparities in healthcare professional availability”. Consequently, India is poised to produce a competent health workforce that meets both national and global needs.

    Smt. Punya emphasized that government efforts have progressively improved the quality, scale, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare in India. “It is a testament to our expanded healthcare services that the Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), which is borne entirely by the households, has declined by 25 percentage points as a share of Total Health Expenditure between 2013-2014 and 2021-22.

    On the strong Indo-US Partnership in the health sector, the Union Health Secretary stated that “our mutual and shared priorities in the field of surveillance, pandemic preparedness and anti-microbial resistance are underscored in the deep partnership between National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the US Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)”. “India appreciates the NCDC and ICMR Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) organized in collaboration with the U.S CDC. We are happy to inform that over 200 Epidemic Intelligence Services (EIS) Officers have been trained so far with another 50 currently undergoing training through various programs”, she added.

    India and US have also agreed to initiate a joint strategic framework for optimizing the biopharmaceutical supply chain, for optimizing and strengthening global supply chains and to reduce dependencies on single-source suppliers, through the Bio- 5 alliance. 

    In 2023, Prime Minister, India and President, USA committed to accelerating the fight against cancer, leading to the inaugural U.S.-India Cancer Moonshot Dialogue launched in August. Smt. Punya highlighted that this initiative aims to enhance U.S.-India biomedical research cooperation, particularly focusing on cervical cancer. It includes partnerships with institutions like AIIMS and Tata Memorial Hospital and has evolved into the Quad Cancer Moonshot Initiative. She said that “reflecting India’s vision of ‘One World, One Health,’ a grant of $7.5 million has been dedicated to cancer testing and diagnostics in the Indo-Pacific region. India will also support radiotherapy and cancer prevention efforts in the region, contributing 40 million vaccine doses under GAVI and Quad programs to assist several countries in need of these services.”

    Smt. Punya noted that the India-U.S. partnership in healthcare exemplifies collaborative efforts to address shared health challenges. Initiatives like the Indo-U.S. Health Dialogue have yielded tangible results in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. Joint efforts, such as the recent U.S.-India Cancer Dialogue, focus on enhancing biomedical research and cancer prevention in the Indo-Pacific region”.

    She concluded her address by stating that “looking ahead, India and the U.S. can further strengthen global health security by prioritizing research, technology transfer, and capacity building. By fostering public-private partnerships and expanding collaborative vaccine initiatives, both nations can improve health outcomes”. Guided by the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ India emphasizes that global security depends on collective efforts, aiming for inclusive growth and shared well-being, she further added.

    ***

    MV

    HFW/ Secy addresses Annual India Leadership Summit /14th October 2024/2

     

    (Release ID: 2064818) Visitor Counter : 63

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Auction for Sale (re-issue) of (i) ‘7.02% GS 2031’, (ii) ‘7.23% GS 2039’ and (iii) ‘7.09% GS 2054’

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 8:06PM by PIB Delhi

    The Government of India (GoI) has announced the sale (re-issue) of (i) “7.02% Government Security 2031” for a notified amount of ₹10,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction using multiple price method, (ii) “7.23% Government Security 2039” for a notified amount of ₹13,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction using multiple price method and (iii) “7.09% Government Security 2054” for a notified amount of ₹10,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction using multiple price method. GoI will have the option to retain additional subscription up to ₹2,000 crore against each security mentioned above. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on October 18, 2024 (Friday).

    Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the securities will be allotted to eligible individuals and institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.

    Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on October 18, 2024. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

    The result of the auctions will be announced on October 18, 2024 (Friday) and payment by successful bidders will be on October 21, 2024 (Monday).    

    The Securities will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the guidelines on ‘When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular No. RBI/2018-19/25 dated July 24, 2018 as amended from time to time.

    ****

    NB/KMN

    (Release ID: 2064819) Visitor Counter : 56

    Read this release in: Hindi

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Rwanda: EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development

    Source: European Investment Bank

    EIB

    • €2 million support unlocks early-stage development of vaccine manufacturing.
    • Investment to accelerate development of vaccines against tuberculosis, HIV, Ebola and other diseases

    Early-stage vaccine development in Rwanda by Akagera Medicines Africa Limited will be supported by €2 million financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB Global). The new backing will accelerate research and development as well as manufacturing of new vaccines to treat infectious diseases including tuberculosis, HIV, Lassa fever, and Ebola.

    The new financing will also be used to strengthen technical skills and expertise of Rwanda based teams to support home-grown discovery, manufacturing, and development of vaccine delivery systems within Rwanda.

    The latest health financing from the EIB Global is part of the wider EU Global Gateway initiative for Africa and is designed to unlock crucial investment to improve access to public healthcare. EIB Global supports high impact investment to enhance healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing across Africa, strengthen health resilience on the continent, and support equitable access to healthcare in Africa.

    Africa bears the highest disease burden globally and more home-grown or continent based solutions need to be supported. Vaccination is a critical activity to ensure and guide investments in universal health and has a crucial role to play in achieving 14 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

    Akagera Medicines, Africa was established in Rwanda in July 2022 to develop the pharmaceutical sector in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa. The company is majority-owned by the Republic of Rwanda through the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB).

    Speaking at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, where the financing announcement was made, Michael Fairbanks, Chief Executive Officer of Akagera Medicines said: “We are a public private partnership and enjoy the support of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in Norway, the Gates Foundation, and the National Institute of Health in Washington. With the significant support of the European Investment Bank, we are now a clinical company and moving faster to build human capacity and specialized infrastructure in Africa to support vaccine development. “

    RSSB CEO, Regis Rugemanshuro said: “European Investment Bank’s financial support to Akagera Medicines represents an important contribution to the realization of Rwanda’s vision to become a biotech hub, and to the vision of Africa becoming self-reliant in vaccine and medicine manufacturing. RSSB is looking forward to deepening partnerships with EIB and other international institutions to build resilient healthcare ecosystems in Rwanda and in Africa.”

    EIB Vice President, Thomas Ostros said: “The partnership with Akagera demonstrates the European Investment Bank’s close cooperation with public and private partners to accelerate development of innovative solutions for combating deadly diseases and scaling up healthcare financing and delivery. The EIB is committed to further strengthening our partnership with local and international players, to scale up investment and support innovative technology together.”

    EU Ambassador to Rwanda Belen Calvo Uyarra, said: “Through Global Gateway, the EU is focused on advancing equitable access to health products and local manufacturing in Africa. This investment by EIB with Akagera Medicines marks another important milestone on this journey.”

    The financing to Akagera complements other EU initiatives in Rwanda and the region under the Global Gateway Flagship – Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies (MAV+), which focus mainly on supporting the necessary ecosystem for vaccine manufacturing.

    This is supported by the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-AITF), established to increase investment in infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to projects in Africa with the aim of reducing poverty and fostering economic growth in the region.

    Background information

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

    EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner in Global Gateway. We aim to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027, around one third of the overall target of this EU initiative. With Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships, alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices around the world.

    About Akagera:

    Akagera Medicines develops novel liposomal formulations of drugs to treat tuberculosis, RSV, influenza, avian flu, and HIV. The clinical stage company was founded in 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda. It is well-funded, majority-owned by the people of Rwanda through the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), registered as a Delaware corporation, and has laboratories in Boston and San Francisco. Akagera registered a 100%-owned subsidiary in Kigali in 2022 to do manufacturing and clinical trials. Founding board members include Ambassador Dr. Albrecht Conze, Dr. Paul Farmer, and Dr. Donald Kaberuka. Dr. Daryl Drummond and Dr. Dimitri Kirpotin are cofounders who translate their successful delivery system from oncology to infectious diseases.

    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
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    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
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    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
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    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
    EIB Global Backs Akagera Vaccine Development in Rwanda
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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Contempt for the Prespa Agreement shown towards 12 EU ambassadors and four representatives of European bodies – E-001967/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001967/2024
    to the Council
    Rule 144
    Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI)

    From the date when she was sworn in on 12 May 2024 until the present, President Gordana Siljanovska, as ‘President of Macedonia’, has been engaged in violating the Prespa Agreement. From the very first of her meetings in the city of Skopje with ambassadors of Member States (Czechia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Croatia and Sweden) and representatives of European bodies [the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the OSCΕ and the European External Action Service (EEAS)], among others, she issued official communications that referred to the country as ‘Macedonia’.

    Five hundred incidents of this kind have been recorded; they are not merely violations, but constitute systematic ‘material breaches’, according to the international terminology[1]. It should be borne in mind that, pursuant to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, for a bilateral treaty, when one party is in ‘material breach’ of the treaty the other party is entitled to request the suspension and termination of that treaty (Article 60(1)).

    In view of the above:

    • 1.Is the Council aware of the contempt for the Prespa Agreement, the Member States and the European institutions shown by President Siljanovska, who is a head of state, and what is more, of a country that is a candidate for accession?
    • 2.How does it intend to formally express its displeasure?

    Submitted: 4.10.2024

    • [1] https://www.epitropiellinismou.gr/post/3080
    Last updated: 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Contempt for the Prespa Agreement shown towards 12 EU ambassadors and four representatives of European bodies – E-001966/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001966/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI)

    From the date when she was sworn in on 12 May 2024 until the present, President Gordana Siljanovska, as ‘President of Macedonia’, has been engaged in violating the Prespa Agreement. From the very first of her meetings in the city of Skopje with ambassadors of Member States (Czechia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Croatia and Sweden) and representatives of European bodies [the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the OSCΕ and the European External Action Service (EEAS)], among others, she issued official communications that referred to the country as ‘Macedonia’.

    Five hundred incidents of this kind have been recorded; they are not merely violations, but constitute systematic ‘material breaches’, according to the international terminology[1]. It should be borne in mind that, pursuant to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, for a bilateral treaty, when one party is in ‘material breach’ of the treaty the other party is entitled to request the suspension and termination of that treaty (Article 60(1)).

    In view of this:

    • 1.Is the Commission aware of the contempt shown by President Siljanovska for the Prespa Agreement, the Member States and the European institutions, despite the fact that she is a head of state, and what is more, of a country that is a candidate for accession?
    • 2.How does it intend to formally express its displeasure?

    Submitted: 4.10.2024

    • [1] https://www.epitropiellinismou.gr/post/3080
    Last updated: 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Israel’s murderous operations in the West Bank – E-001939/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001939/2024
    to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
    Rule 144
    Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos (NI)

    A new cycle of barbarous attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank has been launched by the occupying state, Israel, in conjunction with the massacre and genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, using tanks, drones and helicopters.

    The Israeli army attack has left a large number of Palestinians in the West Bank dead and wounded, while Israeli settlers are carrying out murderous attacks. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Army has killed more than 40 000 Palestinians, and the number of those wounded has risen to more than 94 000. Incalculable damage has been done to buildings. In many cases, it has not even been possible to provide health care, and the population are stricken by hunger, thirst and disease.

    Israel’s aggression is supported by the EU, the United States and NATO, which defend Israel’s so-called ‘right to defend itself’, equating the perpetrator with the victim.

    Israel’s aim is to expel the Palestinians from their territories by force and maintain the barbaric occupation.

    Will the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy state what his position is on the following matters:

    • 1.the unacceptable escalation of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians following the recent military operations in the West Bank aimed at permanently expelling the Palestinians from their territories;
    • 2.the call for condemnation of the criminal policy of Israel, which has murdered thousands of Palestinians, and for the ending of the EU’s economic, political and military cooperation with it?

    Submitted: 3.10.2024

    Last updated: 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –