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Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI: Ingersoll Rand Accelerates Value Creation Through Continued M&A, Announces New Acquisition

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Continues the company’s disciplined capital allocation strategy of targeted bolt-on acquisitions and proven ability to build trusted, proprietary partnerships with family-owned businesses
    • Acquisition expands Ingersoll Rand competencies and capabilities in high-growth end markets
    • Purchase made at an attractive low-double-digit multiple with expected post-synergy multiple in the mid-to-high single digits

    DAVIDSON, N.C., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ingersoll Rand Inc., (NYSE: IR) a global provider of mission-critical flow creation and life science and industrial solutions, has acquired Termomeccanica Industrial Compressors S.p.A. (“TMIC”) and its subsidiary Adicomp S.p.A. (“Adicomp”) (collectively “TMIC/Adicomp”) with a purchase price of approximately €160 million.

    TMIC is an international leader in the design and production of air and gas compressors with over 100 years of experience and innovation. Its subsidiary Adicomp provides engineered-to-order (ETO) solutions in the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry. TMIC/Adicomp are based in Italy, with an existing presence in North America and recent expansion into Brazil and India, and improve the company’s RNG gas-ends and packaging presence. The businesses will join the Industrial Technologies and Services (IT&S) segment.

    “TMIC/Adicomp are leading businesses in their respective industries, and today we welcome them to Ingersoll Rand,” said Vicente Reynal, chairman and chief executive officer of Ingersoll Rand. “These companies strengthen our core capabilities and broaden our service offerings, enabling us to deliver greater value to our customers while advancing our long-term growth strategy for shareholders. Additionally, these companies reflect the strength of our M&A flywheel and reaffirm our ability to partner with family-owned businesses on a proprietary basis.”

    About Ingersoll Rand Inc.

    Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR), driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and ownership mindset, is dedicated to Making Life Better for our employees, customers, shareholders, and planet. Customers lean on us for exceptional performance and durability in mission-critical flow creation and life science and industrial solutions. Supported by over 80+ respected brands, our products and services excel in the most complex and harsh conditions. Our employees develop customers for life through their daily commitment to expertise, productivity, and efficiency. For more information, visit www.IRCO.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to Ingersoll Rand Inc.’s (the “Company” or “Ingersoll Rand”) expectations regarding the performance of its business, its financial results, its liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “target,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “predict,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “on track to,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “guidance” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical facts are forward-looking statements.

    These forward-looking statements are based on Ingersoll Rand’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from these current expectations. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include, among others, (1) adverse impact on our operations and financial performance due to natural disaster, catastrophe, global pandemics (including COVID-19), geopolitical tensions, cyber events, or other events outside of our control; (2) unexpected costs, charges, or expenses resulting from completed and proposed business combinations; (3) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of the Company; (4) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of completed and proposed business combinations; (5) the ability of the Company to implement its business strategy; (6) difficulties and delays in achieving revenue and cost synergies; (7) inability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel; (8) evolving legal, regulatory, and tax regimes; (9) changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions; (10) actions by third parties, including government agencies; and (11) other risk factors detailed in Ingersoll Rand’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as such factors may be updated from time to time in its periodic filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive.

    Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Ingersoll Rand undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or development, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: July 1st, 2025 Heinrich Votes Against Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Betrayal of New Mexico Families to Give Tax Handouts to Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) stood up for New Mexico families by voting against Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation that funds Republicans’ tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people.
    For over 27 hours, Heinrich pushed to amend Republicans’ reconciliation legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs for families, block cuts to Medicaid, protect rural hospitals in New Mexico, extend tax credits for health care premiums, and prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance.
    “The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The largest transfer of wealth to the rich in American history. The largest cut to food assistance in American history. The largest increase to the national deficit in American history: That’s what this bill represents. And it has one effect — billionaires win, American families lose. It’s a betrayal of working families masquerading as legislation.
    “If signed into law, this bill will hike electricity bills, leave tens of millions uninsured, cut food assistance for millions more, shutter hundreds of nursing homes, force rural hospitals to close, and send health insurance premiums soaring. The consequences of this bill will be deadly — and Republicans will own every single one.
    “Senate Republicans had a choice: stand with working families or bend to billionaires. They chose greed, cruelty, and a callous disregard for the people they represent. New Mexicans and all Americans will suffer for it. I urge all Americans to raise their voices and call on their elected leaders in the House of Representatives to stop this disaster before it becomes law.”
    Last night, Senate Republicans blocked Heinrich’s efforts to:
    Fight Increasing Costs
    Senate Republicans voted against:
    Lowering health care costs for working families and small businesses and ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
    Protecting food assistance for kids, veterans, and seniors, including 223,000 New Mexicans from losing all or part of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in just the first year this bill is enacted into law.
    Preventing cuts to Medicaid that could lead to increased costs for people with private insurance.
    Increasing the Child Tax Credit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
    Lower energy prices for families and small businesses by preserving the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits.
    Providing permanent tax relief for overtime wages for working class Americans.
    Protect families and small businesses from cost increases by ending the trade war with Canada.
    Preventing any policy changes that raise the cost of electricity prices.

    Protect Rural Hospitals
    Senate Republicans voted against:
    Preventing rural hospitals from closing, converting, reducing, or stopping services, including emergency care, mental health care, and labor and delivery services.
    As a result, this bill could cause 6 to 8 rural hospitals to close in New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Hospital Association.

    Protect Medicaid
    Senate Republicans voted against:
    Stopping cuts to Medicaid and preventing over 90,000 New Mexicans from losing their coverage within the first year alone.
    Stopping cuts to Medicaid that put 4 four nursing homes in New Mexico at risk of closure.
    Stopping cuts to Medicaid that help fund substance use disorder treatment.
    Protecting millions of Americans from losing their health care as a result of new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements.
    Extending the health care premium tax credits created in the Affordable Care Act to prevent millions of people from losing health insurance.
    Keeping labor and delivery units open by stopping cuts to Medicaid that fund 40% of births nationwide and nearly 50% of births in rural communities.
    Ensuring access to reproductive care — including cancer screenings and birth control – by keeping Planned Parenthood funded.
    Expanding Medicaid to cover dental, vision, and hearing and to cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half.

    Protect Our National Security
    Senate Republicans voted against:
    The financial, health, and well-being of our nation’s veterans by prohibiting any federal agency from carrying out mass firings of veterans.

    Prioritize Working Families Over Billionaires
    Senate Republicans voted against:
    Preventing tax handouts for people making over $10 million a year.
    Preventing tax handouts for people and corporations making over $100 million a year.
    Preventing tax handouts for people making over $500 million a year.
    Preventing tax handouts for people making over $1 billion a year.
    Preventing tax handouts for corporations making over $1 billion a year.
    Preventing more than $37 trillion from being added to the debt in 30 years—more debt than has accumulated over the past 249 years.

    Below is a list of amendments that Heinrich filed to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
    Amendment to stop a new burdensome requirement that could strip health care from 64,000 New Mexicans on Medicaid.
    Amendment to stop a $268 million cost shift that could force New Mexico to cut SNAP benefits and kick families off their food assistance.
    Amendment to protect food assistance for hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans by stopping harsh, burdensome work requirements that would cut SNAP benefits for families, including 39,790 New Mexicans who could lose their benefits altogether.
    Amendment to expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing and cut prescription drug prices under Medicare by 50%.
    Amendment to ensure no increase in cost for middle class families or individuals using Medicaid, CHIP, or private insurance marketplaces established by the ACA.
    Amendment to lower student loan payments by blocking a plan to force borrowers into a more expensive repayment option.
    Amendment to protect students from losing their Pell Grants to cover the cost of rising tuition costs.
    Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families keep energy costs low by incentivizing clean energy upgrades like installing home heat pumps.
    Amendment to protect a tax credit that helps families save on energy bills and make their homes more comfortable and energy efficient.
    Amendment to protect a tax credit that incentivizes developers and home builders to build energy-efficient homes.
    Amendment to remove a provision in the bill that bars workers providing Medicaid home- and community-based services from obtaining job-based health insurance, retirement benefits, skills training, and the option to have a voice on the job through a union.
    Amendment to save the Inflation Reduction Act’s EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles grant program that makes our air cleaner, improves public health, spurs important energy and fuel savings for public school districts, and creates high-quality jobs.
    Amendment to protect funding for air pollution reductions, greenhouse gas corporate reporting, methane emissions and waste reduction, environmental and climate justice block grants.
    Amendment to protect the $7,500 clean vehicle tax credit to help Americans with the upfront cost of electric vehicles.
    Amendment to provide $200 million in economic assistance for facilities and businesses harmed by the New World screwworm outbreak.
    Amendment to provide $500 million to combat the spread of and eradicate the New World screwworm through surveillance, training, biosecurity, research, and the construction of sterile fly production and dispersal facilities.
    Amendment to protect mixed-status families by removing unjust new vetting rules that discourage adults from sponsoring unaccompanied children in need of care.
    Amendment to eliminate $2 billion in wasteful spending for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would fund unjust, extreme immigration enforcement measures that target vulnerable migrants and expand deportation efforts.
    Amendment to block nearly $30 billion from funding U.S. Immigration and Customs’ (ICE) extreme and unconstitutional immigration enforcement agenda.
    Amendment to stop steep new immigration fees that would block immigrants from applying for legal status and push more strain onto New Mexico border communities and law enforcement.
    Amendment to stop $46 billion in wasteful spending on President Trump’s border wall, which bypasses environmental regulations and threatens important wildlife habitats for dozens of endangered species, including Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona.
    Amendment to shift funding away from unproductive, invasive background checks on immigrant families and instead invest in child welfare professionals at DHS to ensure unaccompanied kids receive safe, supportive care.
    Amendment to ban the President, Vice President, Senate-appointed Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, Special Government Employees, and their spouses and children from directly or indirectly issuing or profiting from cryptocurrencies.
    Below is a total list of amendments that Heinrich filed in his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people:
    Amendment to ensure meaningful Tribal consultation occurs on federal oil and gas leasing projects.
    Amendment that decouples Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) oil and gas leasing from renewable energy approvals.
    Amendment to protect clean energy manufacturing jobs.
    Amendment striking metallurgical coal from 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit, which has no phase out.
    Amendment prohibiting companies from receiving a royalty rate reduction authorized under OBBB if the price of oil rises above the price at the time of enactment, protecting taxpayers from high oil prices and pain at the pump.
    Amendment to strike provisions that would increase electricity prices on American households and force a debate on how OBBB raises costs.
    Amendment to strike the new Loan Program Office (LPO) title named “Energy Dominance Financing, which will give $1 billion to fund only coal, oil and gas projects, instead of opening financing to cleaner, cheaper energy options.
    Amendment reserving $100 million for Tribal Energy Projects from the $1 billion provided for “Energy Dominance Financing” program.
    Amendment to strike $1 billion from “Energy Dominance Financing,” which primarily finance coal, oil, and gas projects.
    Amendment grandfathering LPO pipeline projects in “Energy Dominance Financing,” ensuring that projects currently in LPO’s pipeline are still considered under the new program.
    Amendment eliminating Inflation Reduction Act recissions.
    Amendment to strike provision that expands oil and gas leasing in the National Preserve in Alaska, to protect Alaskan lands from additional leases.
    In February, Heinrich attempted to amend Republicans’ resolution by offering an amendment to reinstate blocked grants for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and ensure law enforcement can hold predators and abusers accountable. Republicans voted against his amendment. Watch Heinrich’s video here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Releases Bombshell Records Showing FBI Headquarters Interfered with Alleged Chinese Election Interference Probe to Shield Christopher Wray from Political Blowback

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released internal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) emails revealing the FBI suppressed intelligence of alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election to insulate then-FBI Director Christopher Wray from criticism, after Wray provided inaccurate and contradictory testimony to Congress.
    The FBI declassified and provided the requested records to Grassley, along with an accompanying cover letter, after Grassley initially received some information from whistleblower disclosures. The FBI emails offer an inside look at the Bureau’s decision to recall and suppress an Intelligence Information Report (IIR) from the FBI’s Albany Field Office on September 25, 2020. The IIR contained information from an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS) alleging the Chinese government was producing “tens of thousands” of fraudulent drivers’ licenses to manufacture mail-in votes for then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election. 
    According to the FBI, these allegations, despite showing initial signs of credibility, were allegedly never fully investigated due to the FBI’s sudden and “abnormal” decision to halt the investigation and bury the IIR’s existence, preventing any additional FBI field offices, as well as other Intelligence Community elements, from accessing or studying the document. The FBI’s stated reason for doing so was because “the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony.” 
    “These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution. Ahead of a high-stakes election happening amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the FBI turned its back on its national security mission,” Grassley said. “One way or the other, intelligence must be fully investigated to determine whether it’s true, or if it’s just smoke and mirrors. Chris Wray’s FBI wasn’t looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image. Now’s the time to rebuild the FBI’s trust. Director Patel’s willingness to work with me to establish renewed transparency and accountability is a critical part of that process, and I applaud him for his efforts.” 
    Political ReasoningFollowing the IIR’s recall, an FBI Albany intelligence analyst summarized the concerning series of events that led to the suppression:
    “Most concerning to me, is stating the reporting would contradict with Director Wray’s testimony. I found this troubling because it implied to me that one of the reasons we aren’t putting this out is for a political reason, which goes directly against our organization’s mission to remain apolitical and simply state what we know. Likewise, at the field operational level, I do not feel it is our job to assess whether or not our intelligence aligns with the Director…. My concern is that I think it gets dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information.” 
    Source CredibilityAn FBI Albany official noted “the IIR was coordinated and disseminated in textbook fashion.” Further, a re-interview of the FBI CHS yielded additional context that supported the initial IIR’s findings. An FBI Albany official described the CHS as “competent” and “authentic in his/her reporting.” The CHS described the confidence in his/her sub-sourcing as a “9-10 range. [V]ery, very confident.”
    Decision for RecallAccording to an Assistant Section Chief in the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, the IIR immediately generated “a lot of attention from all [Headquarter] divisions.” 
    Upon receiving the IIR, an FBI Albany official stated, “We have no reason to recall at this point.” Minutes later, the Albany Field Office was commanded to recall the IIR at the direct request of officials at FBI Headquarters, including Nikki Floris, then-Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. Months before dismissing the IIR, Floris provided an unnecessary briefing to Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) regarding their investigation into the Biden family. The briefing – though classified – was later leaked to the press in an effort to falsely smear the senators’ investigation as Russian disinformation.
    Following the IIR’s recall, FBI Headquarters informed field offices that “all raw reporting concerning the election will now require [Headquarters] coordination,” which had not been previously required. 
    Contradictory TestimonyDuring sworn testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) on September 24, 2020, Wray stated: 
    “I think what I would say is this: We take all election-related threats seriously, whether it is voter fraud, voter suppression, whether it is in person, whether it is by mail. And our role is to investigate the threat actors. Now, we have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it is by mail or otherwise… [B]ut people should make no mistake we are vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully, because we are in uncharted new territory.” 
    Wray doubled down on his assertion in response to further questioning from HSGAC Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
    Peters: “Right, but your answer is clear. You have not seen any widespread fraud by mail. It is something the FBI watches continuously to make sure that that is not happening.” 
    Wray: “That is something that we would investigate seriously.” 
    Peters: “Absolutely.” 
    Wray: “And aggressively.” 
    FITF-China Prevents Further Follow-upOn October 8, 2020, an official with the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF)-China division confirmed FITF-China had still not approved a reissue of the IIR. Despite FITF-China offering to “discuss next steps” for the IIR, the FBI on June 27, 2025 confirmed to Grassley that they had “found no information to indicate that FITF-China aggressively investigated the reported information, despite corroborating intergovernmental reporting and logical investigative leads.” 
    Wray established FITF with the stated goal to “identify and counteract malign foreign influence operations targeting the United States.” Grassley called the Trump administration’s recent decision to close FITF “a positive step, given what the task force had been twisted into,” noting specifically its conduct against his and Senator Johnson’s Biden family investigation.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoeven: Senate Passes One Big Beautiful Bill, Providing Permanent Tax Relief for American Families and Small Businesses

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

    07.01.25

    Legislation Will Grow Economy, Bolster Border Security, Rebuild Military, Empower Energy Dominance and Support Farmers and Ranchers

    WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today helped secure passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, legislation to provide permanent tax relief for American families and small businesses, while delivering on key promises, including:

    • Securing the border. 
    • Rebuilding our military.
    • Supporting farmers and ranchers.
    • Unleashing American energy dominance.

    At the same time, the legislation finds savings of $1.6 trillion through common sense reforms and reducing waste, fraud and abuse, ultimately reducing the deficit by $507 billion.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will provide permanent tax relief, ensuring that Americans can keep more of their hard-earned dollars,” said Hoeven. “This legislation delivers on promises made by President Trump, including securing the border, investing in our military, empowering American energy dominance and supporting our farmers and ranchers. These are the priorities that will make our nation more prosperous and more secure.”

    Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses

    The legislation permanently extends current individual tax rates and bracket changes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preserving $2.6 trillion in tax breaks for those earning under $400,000 per year, and preventing a $1,700 tax hike on the average family of four.

    The bill provides new and expanded tax deductions and credits for individuals, families and seniors, including:

    • No taxes on tips or overtime for millions of American workers.
    • Increasing and making permanent the enhanced child tax credit at $2,200, with $1,700 of that amount being refundable, adjusted for inflation.
    • Permanent relief from the death tax by setting the exemption to $15 million or $30 million for those married filing jointly, adjusted for inflation.
    • Savings accounts for newborns to help build financial security.
    • A new $6,000 tax deduction for millions of low- and middle-income seniors. Combined with other deductions, this will result in the average beneficiary paying zero taxes on Social Security. 

    The legislation helps small businesses, including agricultural producers and manufacturers invest in their operations by:

    • Permanently extending the Section 199A pass-through deduction for small businesses, farmers and ranchers.
      • Permanently extending the Section 199A(g) deduction used by agricultural cooperatives.
    • Increasing the Section 179 expensing amount to $2.5 million and increasing the phaseout for qualified property at $4 million.
    • Establishing a 100 percent accelerated depreciation for new industrial and manufacturing facilities that begin construction between 2025-2028.
    • Making permanent the 30 percent interest expense allowance.
    • Permanently extending the 100 percent domestic research and development deduction.
    • Making permanent 100 percent bonus depreciation.

    Support for Farmers and Ranchers

    The legislation provides strong support for the nation’s farmers and ranchers, and improves the farm-safety net to meet today’s markets and input costs by:

    • Increasing reference prices for ARC and PLC by 10% to 20% (specific increase varies by commodity).
    • Providing built-in future reference price increases with an inflation adjuster and improved price escalator formula to prevent reference prices from becoming outdated when market and input costs change.
    • New safety net begins right away – producers can receive the higher of the ARC or PLC payment for this crop year, 2025, with the new updated reference prices. North Dakota farmers will see tens of millions of dollars in relief in 2025 alone thanks to these updates.
    • Includes key provisions of Hoeven’s FARMER Act to strengthen and expand access to affordable crop insurance
      • Increases premium support for individual-based coverage across nearly all levels – starting at 55% — by an additional 3-5%.
      • Enhances the Supplemental Coverage Option by raising the coverage level from 86% to 90%, and boosts premium support from 65% to 80%.
    • Extends the sugar program through 2031, while increasing the sugar loan rate to meet current market conditions.
    • Improves livestock disaster programs
      • Sets Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payments at 100% of market value for losses from federally protected predators and 75% for weather and disease losses.
      • Improves the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) to provide one monthly payment to eligible producers with grazing land in counties rated D2 (severe drought) for at least four consecutive weeks and two payments if D2 persists during any seven of eight consecutive weeks within the normal grazing period.

    Unleashing U.S. Energy Dominance

    The One Big Beautiful Bill will help restore American energy dominance by rolling back burdensome Green New Deal policies and empowering domestic energy production, including:

    • Increasing the value of the 45Q tax credit for captured carbon used in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and utilization to match that of sequestration.
    • Requiring the Interior Department to hold regular oil and gas lease sales across federal lands and waters.
    • Requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act timely on coal lease applications.
    • Reducing the royalty rate for oil, gas and coal produced on federal land to their levels prior to the Biden administration’s tax-and-spend legislation.
    • Stopping the Biden-era natural gas tax.
    • Investing in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
    • Providing regulatory relief for energy producers and repeals Biden-era Green New Deal policies and programs.

    Bolstering the Military

    • $25 billion to support the Golden Dome initiative, with investments in hypersonic testing, ground-based radars, and space-based sensors that support North Dakota-based missions and capabilities.
    • $15 billion to enhance nuclear deterrence, including the nuclear missions based at Minot Air Force Base:
      •  $2.5 billion for the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.
      • $500 million to sustain the existing Minuteman III ICBM.
      • $200 million for additional MH-1139 Grey Wolf helicopters.
    • Improves servicemembers’ quality of life through increased allowances and special pays, as well as improvements to housing, health care, childcare, and education.

    Securing the Border

    • Completes construction of the border wall, and upgrades barrier systems including access roads, cameras, lights, and sensors.
    • Improves border screening technology to help prevent drug trafficking and human smuggling.
    • Strong funding to hire and train more border security personnel.
    • Funds the Operation Stonegarden grant program to equip state and local law enforcements to cooperate with Border Patrol.
    • Invests in state and local capabilities to detect threats from unmanned aerial systems.

    Supporting Water Infrastructure

    • Provides $1 billion in funding for Bureau of Reclamation Water Conveyance Projects, including for eligible projects like the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply Project (ENDAWS).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Trump escalates feud with Musk, threatens Tesla, SpaceX support

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk’s companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words between the president and the world’s richest man, one-time allies who have since fallen out.

    The feud reignited on Monday when Musk, who spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s re-election, renewed his criticism of Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill, which would eliminate subsidies for electric vehicle purchases that have benefited Tesla, the leading U.S. EV maker. That bill passed the Senate by a narrow margin midday Tuesday.

    “He’s upset that he’s losing his EV mandate and … he’s very upset about things but he can lose a lot more than that,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

    Though Musk has often said government subsidies should be eliminated, Tesla has historically benefited from billions of dollars in tax credits and other policy benefits because of its business in clean transportation and renewable energy. The Trump administration has control over many of those programs, some of which are targeted in the tax bill, including a $7,500 consumer tax credit that has made buying or leasing EVs more attractive for consumers.

    Tesla shares dropped more than 5.5% Tuesday.

    The Tesla CEO renewed threats to start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who support the tax bill, despite campaigning on limiting government spending. Republicans have expressed concern that Musk’s on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back on Musk’s criticism that the bill would balloon the deficit, saying, “I’ll take care of” the country’s finances.

    Musk spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at cutting government spending, before he pulled back his involvement in late May. Trump on Truth Social on Tuesday suggested Musk might receive more subsidies “than any human being in history, by far,” adding: “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.”

    Trump later doubled down, telling reporters with a smile, “DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

    In response to Trump’s threats, Musk said on his own social media platform X, “I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now.” He later added that he could escalate the exchange with Trump but said, “I will refrain for now.”

    CHALLENGES TO TESLA

    The feud could create new challenges for Musk’s business empire, particularly as the electric automaker — his primary source of wealth — bets heavily on the success of its robotaxi program currently being tested in Austin, Texas. The speed of Tesla’s robotaxi expansion depends heavily on state and federal regulation of self-driving vehicles.

    “The substance of Tesla’s valuation right now is based on progress towards autonomy. I don’t think anything is going to happen on that front, but that is the risk,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at Tesla investor Deepwater Asset Management.

    Analysts expect another rough quarter when the EV maker reports second-quarter delivery figures on Wednesday. Sales in major European markets were mixed, data showed Tuesday, as Musk’s embrace of hard-right politics has alienated potential buyers in several markets worldwide. The elimination of the EV credit could hit Tesla’s earnings by as much as $1.2 billion, about 17% of its 2024 operating income, J.P. Morgan analysts estimated earlier this year.

    Gary Black, a longtime Tesla investor who manages money for the Future Fund LLC, sold his shares recently as car sales declined. He told Reuters he is considering when to reinvest and that eliminating electric vehicle credits would harm Tesla. In a separate post on X, Black said: “Not sure why @elonmusk didn’t see this coming as a result of him speaking out against passage of President Trump’s big beautiful bill.”

    The U.S. Transportation Department regulates vehicle design and will play a key role in deciding if Tesla can mass-produce robotaxis without pedals and steering wheels, while Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX has about $22 billion in federal contracts.

    Tesla also gets regulatory credits for selling electric vehicles, and has reaped nearly $11 billion by selling those credits to other automakers who are unable to comply with increasingly strict vehicle emissions rules. Without those sales, the company would have posted a first-quarter loss in April.

    Trump had in early June threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts when their relationship erupted into an all-out social media brawl over the tax-cut bill, which non-partisan analysts estimate would add about $3 trillion to the U.S. debt.

    Asked if he was going to deport Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen, Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Tuesday: “I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look.”

    -Reuters

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crypto Asset Exchange-Traded Products

    Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

    As part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets,[1] the Division of Corporation Finance is providing its views[2] on the application of certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws to offerings and registrations of securities by issuers of crypto asset exchange-traded products (“crypto asset ETPs”). Crypto asset ETPs are investment products that are listed and traded on national securities exchanges. They are typically structured as trusts that hold assets which consist of spot crypto assets or derivative instruments that reference crypto assets. These trusts are issuers of securities who must register their offerings and classes of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), respectively. Issuers of crypto asset ETPs[3] are also subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. However, the crypto asset ETPs addressed in this statement are not registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940.[4]

    The disclosures required in connection with offerings and registrations under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and promote fair, orderly, and efficient markets. In recent years, issuers have registered offerings of crypto asset ETPs under the Securities Act and registered classes of these securities under the Exchange Act. This statement reflects our observations regarding disclosure practices in our reviews of crypto asset ETP filings. It also addresses our views about certain specific questions that market participants have presented to the staff. While disclosures should be based on an issuer’s specific facts and circumstances, we believe that issuers may benefit from the identification of common issues we have observed during our reviews.

    This statement addresses our views about certain disclosure requirements set forth in Regulation S-K and Regulation S-X as they apply to Securities Act registration forms (such as Form S-1). This statement does not address all material disclosure items, and the disclosure topics addressed below may not be relevant for all issuers. Each issuer should consider its own facts and circumstances when preparing its disclosures. Each issuer also should consider whether it is permitted to provide “scaled disclosure” with respect to any applicable disclosure requirements.[5] Moreover, issuers should note that disclosure is not required where a particular disclosure requirement is not applicable.[6]

    Cover Page

    SEC rules require issuers to provide information on the outside front cover page of the prospectus related to the offering, including the offering price of the securities, the nature of any underwriting arrangements and the name(s) of the underwriter(s).[7] Crypto asset ETPs are required to disclose on the cover page the initial offering price of the securities. We have observed cover page disclosure identifying the initial authorized participant (“AP”)[8] or the initial purchaser as a statutory underwriter.

    Prospectus Summary

    SEC rules require issuers to provide a summary in plain English of the information in the prospectus where the length or complexity of the prospectus makes a summary useful.[9] In this summary, we have observed issuers that have identified those aspects of the offering that are the most significant and highlighted those points in clear, plain language, avoiding merely repeating the text of the prospectus.[10] Examples of disclosure we have observed in the prospectus summary include:

    • An overview of the trust, including a clear description of the investment objective of the trust and the tracking index or benchmark it plans to reference;
    • A description of the underlying crypto asset(s) and the associated network(s);
    • The issuer’s policies regarding the management of the underlying crypto asset(s), including any limitations on how they are held or used;
    • The issuer’s policies regarding any incidental rights associated with the underlying crypto assets(s), including forks, airdrops, or similar events; and
    • That the amount of underlying crypto assets per share held by the trust will decline over time as the crypto assets are sold to pay the trust’s fees and expenses.

    Risk Factors

    SEC rules require a discussion of the material factors that make an investment in the issuer and product speculative or risky.[11] The content and scope of an issuer’s risk disclosure will depend on the nature of the security, the issuer’s business, the underlying crypto asset(s), the tracking index or benchmark, and, if material, may include factors such as the characteristics of the security, limited rights of holders, insurance coverage, valuation and liquidity risks, technological risks, cybersecurity risks, and legal, regulatory and tax risks. Discussion of risks that could apply generically to any issuer is discouraged.[12] The following are examples of risks that have been disclosed:

    • Risks related to the underlying crypto asset(s) and crypto asset markets that pose a risk of investor losses, including price volatility, theft of private keys and other hacking incidents, and the risk of price volatility from other parts of the crypto asset markets;
    • Risks of fraud, manipulation, front-running, wash-trading, security failures or operational problems on crypto asset trading platforms;
    • Risks of attacks on the associated network(s) by malicious actors;
    • Risks of concentration of ownership in the underlying crypto asset(s);
    • Risks from loss of incentives for miners and validators of the underlying crypto asset(s);
    • Risks from other competing products that have already entered the market or that charge lower fees; and
    • Risks from APs and other service providers or counterparties providing services for competitors.

    Description of Business

    The Trust, Crypto Asset Prices, and Calculation of NAV

    SEC rules require issuers to provide a narrative description of the material aspects of their business.[13] Crypto asset ETPs generally provide disclosure regarding the trust’s assets, including the characteristics of the underlying crypto asset(s), and describe the applicable index or benchmark methodology, as well as the methodology to calculate net asset value (“NAV”).[14] Disclosure should be presented in clear, concise, and understandable language, without overly relying on technical terminology or jargon.[15] For example, to the extent applicable, we have observed disclosure that:

    Underlying Crypto Asset(s) and Associated Network(s)

    • Provides material information about the underlying crypto asset(s) and associated network(s), including information about the launch of the crypto asset(s) and the initial development team, the method of generating, minting or mining the crypto asset(s), the process for staking, locking and burning the crypto asset(s), the process for validating transactions, the consensus mechanism, use cases, and any fees associated with use of the crypto network(s) or applications;
    • Includes a discussion regarding the total supply of the underlying crypto asset(s) covering the amounts outstanding, issued and burned, the market capitalization for the crypto asset(s), whether there is a cap on supply and what the minting and burning schedule is, as well as material events impacting the supply of the crypto asset(s), such as halving events, modifications to the protocol, and any recent or planned forks; and
    • Describes the spot and/or futures markets for the underlying crypto asset(s), including how those markets are regulated.

    Index or Benchmark

    • Identifies and provides tabular disclosure for each constituent trading platform used to calculate the index or benchmark price, including market share and volume information;
    • Describes how the constituent trading platforms are selected and how the index or benchmark price is calculated;
    • Includes the composition and operation of any oversight committee; and
    • Specifies whether the sponsor has discretion to select a different index or benchmark and discusses whether and how the sponsor will notify investors of material changes to the index or benchmark.

    Calculation of NAV

    • Describes the methodology the trust will use to calculate NAV and the policies and procedures if the index or benchmark is unavailable or the sponsor elects not to rely on it;
    • If the methodology used to calculate NAV differs from the methodology used to determine the fair value of crypto asset holdings for GAAP purposes, provides a discussion of the differences between the two methodologies; and
    • Discloses whether the sponsor has agreements with any third parties for use of their valuation methodologies and whether the sponsor has a license to use a secondary index or benchmark.

    The Trust’s Service Providers, Custody of the Trust’s Assets, and Fees and Expenses

    SEC rules require disclosure of information material to an understanding of the issuer’s business,[16] which may include the extent to which the issuer’s business is materially reliant on third parties. Issuers generally rely on the services of a sponsor and several third-party service providers, including one or more crypto asset custodians. Issuers generally pay a fee to the sponsor of the trust that typically covers the issuer’s operating expenses. Issuers generally disclose the various fees and expenses payable to the sponsor and third-party service providers. Additionally, issuers are required to file as exhibits to the registration statement material contracts not made in the ordinary course of their business, or in the case of ordinary course contracts, those on which they are substantially dependent, except where immaterial in amount or significance.[17] In this regard, we have observed issuers providing the following to the extent applicable:

    The Trust’s Service Providers

    • Identifying the APs, describing the material terms of the AP agreement, and filing the agreement as an exhibit to the registration statement;
    • Identifying any counterparties contracted to assist in the purchase and sale of the underlying crypto asset(s), describing the material terms of any agreement with such parties, disclosing the extent of any affiliations or material relationships between the counterparties and the APs, discussing the criteria for engaging the counterparties, and filing any material agreements as exhibits to the registration statement; and
    • To the extent the trust has an agreement with a counterparty to provide financing for purchases and sales of the underlying crypto asset(s), disclosing the material terms of that arrangement, including the rate of interest, describing the mechanics of financing in connection with creation and redemption orders, and filing any material agreements as exhibits to the registration statement.

    Custody of the Trust’s Assets

    • Identifying and describing the material terms of their agreement(s) with the custodian(s);
    • Storage policies for private keys, including the use of cold, warm or hot storage, whether the issuer’s crypto assets are commingled or held in wallets with assets of other customers, and how transfers of crypto assets from cold, warm or hot storage occur;
    • Who will have access to the private key information and whether any entity will be responsible for verifying the existence of the crypto assets; and
    • Whether and to what extent the custodian carries insurance for any losses of the crypto asset(s) that it custodies for the issuer and to what extent insurance coverage is shared among the custodian’s customers and not specific to the issuer.

    Fees and Expenses

    • How the sponsor fee is calculated, which fees and expenses are assumed by the sponsor, and which fees are capped or otherwise not assumed by the sponsor;
    • The fee arrangements with third parties, including transaction fees and other expenses; and
    • Any arrangements for the sponsor fee or other fees to be paid using the trust’s underlying crypto asset holdings.

    Description of Securities

    SEC rules require a description of the issuer’s securities.[18] In describing the securities offered by the trust, issuers are required to disclose the circumstances under which shareholders have voting rights.[19] Examples of disclosure we have observed in this context include the following:

    • Any limitations or restrictions on voting rights;
    • Whether the rights of holders may be modified other than by a vote of a majority or more of the shares outstanding; and
    • How shareholders will be notified of material amendments to or termination of the trust agreement.

    Plan of Distribution

    SEC rules require disclosure of the plan of distribution of securities offered and sold in a registered offering.[20] Additionally, issuers conducting delayed or continuous offerings under Securities Act Rule 415 undertake to include in a post-effective amendment to the registration statement material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed or any material change to that information included in the effective registration statement.[21] Among other information, issuers have provided the following information regarding the plan of distribution:

    • The mechanics of the creation and redemption process between the trust, the APs, the custodian(s), and any other third-party service providers, whether and to what extent creation and redemption orders will be settled onchain or offchain, and any risks associated with the settlement process;
    • The potential impact on the arbitrage mechanism from price volatility, trading volume, and price differentials across crypto asset trading platforms, and in the event crypto asset trading platforms are closed or otherwise unavailable; and
    • Whether and under what circumstances the sponsor may suspend creation and redemption orders and how the trust will notify shareholders if it has suspended creation and redemption orders.

    Directors, Executive Officers, and Significant Employees

    Management

    SEC rules require disclosure of information relating to the identity and experience of those entrusted with the management of the issuer, including executive officers, directors, and certain significant employees who make (or are expected to make) a significant contribution to the issuer’s business.[22] SEC rules also require such disclosure for persons who do not hold formal titles or positions as executive officers or directors but who perform policy-making functions typically performed by executive officers or perform similar functions as directors.[23] Crypto asset ETPs typically have a sponsor whose directors and executive officers perform functions similar to a board of directors and executive officers for the trust. To the extent that a sponsor performs policy-making functions, disclosure has been provided with respect to the directors, executive officers, or other employees of the sponsor performing such functions. Although disclosure regarding executive compensation of the issuer would not be applicable in this situation,[24] we have observed disclosure of the fees paid to the sponsor or third party for performing such functions, as discussed in “The Trust’s Service Providers, Custody of the Trust’s Assets, and Fees and Expenses” above.[25]

    Conflicts of Interest

    SEC rules require disclosure of material information about transactions with related persons and policies and procedures related to the review, approval, or ratification of transactions with related persons.[26] Issuers have disclosed existing and potential conflicts of interest between the sponsor and its affiliates and the trust, including the following:

    • Whether the sponsor or any insiders hold the underlying crypto asset(s) or have crypto asset-related exposure that could create conflicts of interest;
    • Whether the trust has a code of conduct or other requirements for pre-clearance of transactions in the underlying crypto asset(s) that apply to its employees, the sponsor, or any of its affiliates; and
    • The sponsor’s experience sponsoring other exchange-traded products and its specific experience in crypto asset markets.

    Financial Statements

    We have observed that some issuers are organized as statutory trusts or limited partnerships that are registering the offer and sale of beneficial units or limited partnership interests in multiple series. In these instances, for purposes of SEC reporting, the staff has taken the position that the trust or partnership should be treated as the sole registrant, not the individual series.[27] However, the staff has also taken the position that in addition to providing financial statements of the trust or partnership, issuers should provide separate financial statements of each individual series. Issuers have separately provided, prepared, or evaluated, as applicable, the following for the sole registrant and for each series:

    • Separate financial statements and audit reports;
    • Separate interim financial statements; and
    • Separate assessments of materiality for Regulation S-K and Regulation S-X purposes, including Regulation S-X Rules 3-05, 3-09 and 4-08.

    Filing Fee Tables

    Issuers electing to register the offering of an indeterminate number of exchange-traded vehicle securities[28] in reliance on Securities Act Rules 456(d) and 457(u) should be aware that the EDGAR fee tag for “Type of payment” is “2” and the EDGAR “Security type” is “Exchange-Traded Vehicle Securities.” Failure to include these tags may prevent the issuer from being able to file a form of prospectus under Securities Act Rule 424(i) and pay its registration fee not later than 90 days after the end of any fiscal year during which it has publicly offered securities.

    Contacting the Division

    The Division welcomes questions about the application of the SEC’s disclosure rules to offerings and registrations of crypto asset ETPs, as well as any ongoing reporting obligations. We also welcome requests for other assistance (including requests for interpretive or no-action letters) relating to these issues and questions. Information about how to contact the Division is available on our website.[29]

    [1] For purposes of this statement, a “crypto asset” is an asset that is generated, issued, and/or transferred using a blockchain or similar distributed ledger technology network (“crypto network”), including, but not limited to, assets known as “tokens,” “digital assets,” “virtual currencies,” and “coins,” and that relies on cryptographic protocols. References in this statement to “network” refer to a crypto network, and references to “application” refer to an application running on such a crypto network.

    [2] This statement represents the views of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”). It is not a rule, regulation, exemption, guidance, or statement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”), and the Commission has neither approved nor disapproved its content. This statement, like all staff statements, has no legal force or effect: it does not alter or amend applicable law, and it creates no new or additional obligations for any person.

    [3] For brevity, we refer to crypto asset ETP issuers as “issuers” in this statement.

    [4] As a result, these crypto asset ETPs are not subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940, such as the legal requirements related to valuation and custody of fund assets.

    [5] Scaled disclosure refers to disclosure accommodations that the federal securities laws sometimes provide for smaller or newly public companies, such as smaller reporting companies, non-accelerated filers, or emerging growth companies. These accommodations apply to a qualifying company’s registered offerings and its ongoing public company reporting. Scaled disclosure permits these companies to provide less extensive disclosure than other companies.

    [6] See, e.g., Rule 404(c) under the Securities Act and General Instruction II.B. of Form S-1. For example, disclosure regarding properties only is required where issuers have material physical properties. See Item 102 of Regulation S-K.

    [7] See Item 501(b) of Regulation S-K.

    [8] APs are financial intermediaries that provide liquidity for crypto asset ETPs by facilitating the creation and redemption of shares (often referred to as creation and redemption units or creation and redemption baskets). APs place orders to create and redeem baskets.

    [9] See Item 503 of Regulation S-K.

    [10] See Instruction to paragraph 503(a) of Item 503 of Regulation S-K.

    [11] See Item 105 of Regulation S-K.

    [13] See Item 101 of Regulation S-K.

    [14] NAV of a crypto asset ETP is the trust’s total assets minus its total liabilities.

    [15] See Securities Act Rule 421(b).

    [16] See, e.g., Items 101(c) and 101(h) of Regulation S-K.

    [17] See Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K.

    [18] See Item 202 of Regulation S-K.

    [19] See Item 202(d) of Regulation S-K.

    [20] See Item 508 of Regulation S-K.

    [21] See Securities Act Rule 415(a)(3); Item 512(a)(1) of Regulation S-K; and Part II, Item 17 to Form S-1 and Part II, Item 17 to Form S-3.

    [22] See Item 401 of Regulation S-K.

    [23] See Securities Act Rule 405. Disclosure is not required where a particular disclosure requirement is not applicable, or the issuer otherwise does not have responsive information. For example, crypto asset ETPs do not have a board of directors and, therefore, do not provide disclosure regarding members of a board of directors.

    [24] See Item 402 of Regulation S-K.

    [25] See Item 404 of Regulation S-K.

    [26] See Item 404 of Regulation S-K.

    [27] See Securities Act Sections Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations, Question 104.01. Compliance and disclosure interpretations reflect the views of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance. They are not rules, regulations, or statements of the Commission. The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved these interpretations.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: BigCommerce Appoints Former Adobe Fellow and Vice President of Technology Anil Kamath to its Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AUSTIN, Texas, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BigCommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC), a leading open SaaS ecommerce platform for B2C and B2B businesses, announced today that former Adobe Fellow and Vice President of Technology Anil Kamath has joined the BigCommerce Board of Directors.

    “Joining the Board of BigCommerce is an exciting opportunity to support BigCommerce’s innovation agenda through strategic guidance on data and AI,” Kamath said. “I see immense potential to leverage predictive analytics, personalization and intelligent automation to drive transformative growth for merchants. Ecommerce is one of the most dynamic frontiers for applied AI, and I’m thrilled to contribute to a vision that empowers businesses to scale smarter, serve customers better and innovate faster.”

    Over his 30-year career as a technology entrepreneur, advisor and leader, Kamath has developed expertise in business strategy, scaling companies, strategic oversight, governance and corporate development that, combined with his industry perspective, will enable him to provide BigCommerce with critical strategic guidance.

    During his 13 years at Adobe, Kamath was responsible for data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence for the Adobe Experience Cloud. Prior to joining Adobe, he was the founder and primary architect of Efficient Frontier, a digital ad buying platform that managed more than $2 billion in advertising spend until its acquisition by Adobe. He led the integration of Efficient Frontier into Adobe Marketing Cloud and developed data science-driven solutions that optimized customer acquisition, engagement, retention and growth across B2C and B2B businesses. More recently, he spearheaded the generative AI transformation for enterprise marketing, leading to the launch of Gen Studio for Performance Marketing.

    After a successful 13-year tenure at Adobe, Kamath transitioned earlier this year to focus on mentoring and supporting early-stage innovation. He is a longtime member of the Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, as well as lead mentor and advisor at StartX, a non-profit accelerator for Stanford University startups.

    “Anil brings an extensive blend of strong leadership and valuable technological expertise to BigCommerce at a time when our industry and our business are going through some exciting changes,” said Travis Hess, CEO of BigCommerce. “His addition to our Board will help strengthen BigCommerce’s core offerings as well as inform the innovations we are building to drive business outcomes for merchants. We are excited to leverage his experience and look forward to Anil’s perspectives and contributions.”

    Kamath was appointed to the vacancy created upon the departure of BigCommerce board member Lawrence Bohn who had served since 2011, when he became BigCommerce’s first investor through General Catalyst’s Series A investment in the company.

    “I want to personally thank Larry for his many significant contributions to the growth and success of BigCommerce,” Hess said. “Since the earliest days of the company, Larry has been invaluable to BigCommerce, and throughout his tenure, he has championed a deep belief in our mission and strategy.”

    About BigCommerce
    BigCommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC) is a leading open SaaS and composable ecommerce platform that empowers brands, retailers, manufacturers and distributors of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their businesses online. BigCommerce provides its customers sophisticated professional-grade functionality, customization and performance with simplicity and ease-of-use. Tens of thousands of B2C and B2B companies across 150 countries and numerous industries rely on BigCommerce, including Coldwater Creek, Harvey Nichols, King Arthur Baking Co., MKM Building Supplies, United Aqua Group and Uplift Desk. For more information, please visit www.bigcommerce.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “outlook,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “predict,” “potential,” “strategy,” “target,” “explore,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These assumptions, uncertainties and risks include that, among others, our expectations regarding our revenue, expenses, sales, and operations; anticipated trends and challenges in our business and the markets in which we operate; the war involving Russia and Ukraine and the potential impact on our operations, global economic and geopolitical conditions; the impacts of changes in U.S. trade policy and global tariffs; our anticipated areas of investments and expectations relating to such investments; our anticipated cash needs and our estimates regarding our capital requirements and refinancing; our ability to compete in our industry and innovation by our competitors; our ability to anticipate market needs or develop new or enhanced services to meet those needs; our ability to manage growth and to expand our infrastructure; our ability to establish and maintain intellectual property rights; our ability to manage expansion into international markets and new industries; our ability to hire and retain key personnel; our ability to successfully identify, manage, and integrate any existing and potential acquisitions; our ability to adapt to emerging regulatory developments, technological changes, and cybersecurity needs; the anticipated effect on our business of litigation to which we are or may become a party; the anticipated benefits and opportunities related to past and ongoing restructuring may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; our ability to manage key executive succession and retention or continue to attract qualified personnel; our ability to implement a go-to-market strategy that focuses on efficient profitable revenue growth, operating leverage, and healthy cash flow, may be impacted by unforeseen challenges in streamlining our organization and adapting to market dynamics; and our ability to remediate the material weakness could negatively affect our business. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, our Quarterly Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, and the future quarterly and current reports that we file with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to BigCommerce at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. BigCommerce assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, except as required by law.

    BigCommerce® is a registered trademark of BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

    Media Contact:
    Brad Hem
    pr@bigcommerce.com

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Tyler Duncan
    investorrelations@bigcommerce.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Timing Is Everything: DRML Miner Launches Scalable Cloud Mining and Opens the Smartest Way to Mine Bitcoin

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    London, UK, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitcoin has once again proven it plays by its own rules. While traditional markets struggle under inflation and uncertainty, BTC keeps shattering resistance levels. Investors who waited on the sidelines now watch as prices climb, wishing they’d acted sooner. Those who took a chance when everyone else was cautious are now celebrating hefty returns.

    This breakout is not just luck — it’s a testament to Bitcoin’s growing global acceptance. The question now is simple: how can you capitalize on this new surge without the stress of running your own mining operation? The answer lies with a powerful ally in the crypto space — DRML Miner.

    Introducing DRML Miner: The Future of Effortless Cloud Mining

    DRML Miner is more than just another mining platform. It’s a complete ecosystem built to let you profit from the crypto boom without the massive costs of traditional mining. Their platform was designed for both newcomers and serious investors who want a seamless, secure, and scalable way to mine Bitcoin and altcoins.

    Here’s why DRML Miner is transforming cloud mining:

    Instant Start: No bulky rigs. No tech headaches. Register, choose a plan, and start mining immediately.

    Affordable Entry: Get started with as little as $100. Scale your investment as your earnings grow.

    Daily Payouts: Enjoy stable, daily returns directly to your account.

    Ironclad Security: Advanced encryption protects every transaction.

    24/7 Support: A dedicated team ready to guide you whenever you need.

    No Surprise Fees: What you see is exactly what you pay.

    Breaking Away from the Crowd: Why It Pays to Go Against the Trend

    Many investors still fear entering the crypto market, burned by past volatility or confused by its complexity. But history favors those who move while others freeze. By the time the masses pile in, the biggest gains are often already gone.

    Partnering with DRML Miner means you’re positioning yourself at the forefront of this new wave. As Bitcoin continues to break new ground, your mining profits stand to grow in parallel. Instead of worrying about buying hardware, managing power bills, or figuring out mining pools, DRML does all the heavy lifting.

    Advanced Technology Means More Profits for You

    Unlike many old-school operations, DRML Miner uses cutting-edge algorithms and smart mining systems. Their tech team constantly upgrades their infrastructure, ensuring mining stays efficient even as network difficulty rises. This approach maximizes hash power and minimizes wasted energy, translating to more consistent earnings for you.

    Their online dashboard is equally powerful. It gives you a transparent, real-time view of your mining activity, your returns, and your wallet balance. Withdraw your earnings anytime — your money, your control.

    Why Bitcoin’s Surge Makes Now the Perfect Time

    With Bitcoin breaking through long-held barriers, there’s never been a better moment to get involved. Traditional markets are plagued by rising interest rates and unpredictable swings. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues attracting institutional investors, solidifying its reputation as digital gold.

    Cloud mining through DRML Miner lets you ride this momentum without the steep barriers of traditional mining. No need for warehouse space, no hardware troubleshooting, no noise, no heat. Just sign up, fund your plan, and watch your crypto grow.

    Multiple Plans for Every Investor

    Whether you’re a cautious beginner or a seasoned whale, DRML Miner offers flexible plans tailored to your goals. Start small to get comfortable, then upgrade as you see steady returns. This flexibility is crucial in a rapidly changing market.

    Their minimum plan starts at just $100, making it accessible to almost anyone serious about building crypto wealth. From there, the sky’s the limit.

    Security and Transparency at Every Step

    In crypto, trust is everything. DRML Miner backs this up with airtight security protocols and transparent operations. All transactions use high-grade encryption. Your account is protected by multi-layer verification. And with no hidden fees, your payouts are exactly what you expect.

    Plus, their friendly support team is available around the clock, ready to answer any questions or solve any concerns. That’s true peace of mind.

    Step Boldly Into the New Era of Mining

    Going against the trend is how real wealth is built. While others stay cautious or wait for “the perfect time,” savvy investors are already mining, already earning, already building their digital futures.

    By partnering with DRML Miner, you join a platform that combines smart technology, real security, and a proven record of daily payouts. It’s your chance to lead — not follow — in the new era of cloud mining.

    Ready to Get Started?

    Don’t watch from the sidelines as Bitcoin continues to surge. Take action now. Visit https://drmlminers.com/ today, explore their mining plans, and set your financial future in motion. The new era of crypto wealth is here. Will you seize it?

     

    Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release does not constitute an investment solicitation, nor does it constitute investment advice, financial advice, or trading recommendations. Cryptocurrency mining and staking involve risks and the possibility of losing funds. It is strongly recommended that you perform due diligence before investing or trading in cryptocurrencies and securities, including consulting a professional financial advisor.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Provident Financial Services, Inc. Schedules Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ISELIN, N.J., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFS) announced that it expects to release financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 8:00am. A copy of the earnings release will be immediately available on the Company’s website, www.Provident.Bank, by going to Investor Relations and clicking on Press Releases.

    Representatives of the Company will hold a conference call for investors on July 24, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. (ET) to discuss the Company’s second quarter financial results. Information about the conference call is as follows:

    PARTICIPANT DIAL-IN NUMBERS:
    North America Toll-Free: (888) 412-4131
    International Toll: +1(646) 960-0134
    Conference ID 3610756
       

    Internet access to the call will be available (listen only) at www.Provident.Bank by going to Investor Relations and clicking on Webcast.

    A replay of the call will be available beginning at 12:00 noon (ET) on July 24, 2025 until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on August 7, 2025.

    Toll Free Dial in Number: 1-800-770-2030
    Toll Dial in Number: 1-609-800-9909
    Playback ID: 3610756 followed by # key
       

    The call will also be archived on the Company’s website for a period of one year.

    Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for Provident Bank. As of March 31, 2025, the Company reported assets of $24.22 billion. The Bank currently operates a network of full-service branches throughout New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and Orange, Queens, and Nassau Counties, New York. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company, and insurance services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Provident Protection Plus, Inc.

    SOURCE: Provident Financial Services, Inc.
    CONTACT: Investor Relations, 1-732-590-9300
    Web Site: http://www.Provident.Bank

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What did ancient Rome smell like? Honestly, often pretty rank

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas J. Derrick, Gale Research Fellow in Ancient Glass and Material Culture, Macquarie University

    minoandriani/Getty Images

    The roar of the arena crowd, the bustle of the Roman forum, the grand temples, the Roman army in red with glistening shields and armour – when people imagine ancient Rome, they often think of its sights and sounds. We know less, however, about the scents of ancient Rome.

    We cannot, of course, go back and sniff to find out. But the literary texts, physical remains of structures, objects, and environmental evidence (such as plants and animals) can offer clues.

    So what might ancient Rome have smelled like?

    Honestly, often pretty rank

    In describing the smells of plants, author and naturalist Pliny the Elder uses words such as iucundus (agreeable), acutus (pungent), vis (strong), or dilutus (weak).

    None of that language is particularly evocative in its power to transport us back in time, unfortunately.

    But we can probably safely assume that, in many areas, Rome was likely pretty dirty and rank-smelling. Property owners did not commonly connect their toilets to the sewers in large Roman towns and cities – perhaps fearing rodent incursions or odours.

    Roman sewers were more like storm drains, and served to take standing water away from public areas.

    Professionals collected faeces for fertiliser and urine for cloth processing from domestic and public latrines and cesspits. Chamber pots were also used, which could later be dumped in cesspits.

    This waste disposal process was just for those who could afford to live in houses; many lived in small, non-domestic spaces, barely furnished apartments, or on the streets.

    A common whiff in the Roman city would have come from the animals and the waste they created. Roman bakeries frequently used large lava stone mills (or “querns”) turned by mules or donkeys. Then there was the smell of pack animals and livestock being brought into town for slaughter or sale.

    Animals were part of life in the Roman empire.
    Marco_Piunti/Getty Images

    The large “stepping-stones” still seen in the streets of Pompeii were likely so people could cross streets and avoid the assorted feculence that covered the paving stones.

    Disposal of corpses (animals and human) was not formulaic. Depending on the class of the person who had died, people might well have been left out in the open without cremation or burial.

    Bodies, potentially decaying, were a more common sight in ancient Rome than now.

    Suetonius, writing in the first century CE, famously wrote of a dog carrying a severed human hand to the dining table of the Emperor Vespasian.

    Deodorants and toothpastes

    In a world devoid of today’s modern scented products – and daily bathing by most of the population – ancient Roman settlements would have smelt of body odour.

    Classical literature has some recipes for toothpaste and even deodorants.

    However, many of the deodorants were to be used orally (chewed or swallowed) to stop one’s armpits smelling.

    One was made by boiling golden thistle root in fine wine to induce urination (which was thought to flush out odour).

    The Roman baths would likely not have been as hygienic as they may appear to tourists visiting today. A small tub in a public bath could hold between eight and 12 bathers.

    The Romans had soap, but it wasn’t commonly used for personal hygiene. Olive oil (including scented oil) was preferred. It was scraped off the skin with a strigil (a bronze curved tool).

    This oil and skin combination was then discarded (maybe even slung at a wall). Baths had drains – but as oil and water don’t mix, it was likely pretty grimy.

    Scented perfumes

    The Romans did have perfumes and incense.

    The invention of glassblowing in the late first century BCE (likely in Roman-controlled Jerusalem) made glass readily available, and glass perfume bottles are a common archaeological find.

    Animal and plant fats were infused with scents – such as rose, cinnamon, iris, frankincense and saffron – and were mixed with medicinal ingredients and pigments.

    The roses of Paestum in Campania (southern Italy) were particularly prized, and a perfume shop has even been excavated in the city’s Roman forum.

    The trading power of the vast Roman empire meant spices could be sourced from India and the surrounding regions.

    There were warehouses for storing spices such as pepper, cinnamon and myrrh in the centre of Rome.

    In a recent Oxford Journal of Archaeology article, researcher Cecilie Brøns writes that even ancient statues could be perfumed with scented oils.

    Sources frequently do not describe the smell of perfumes used to anoint the statues, but a predominantly rose-based perfume is specifically mentioned for this purpose in inscriptions from the Greek city of Delos (at which archaeologists have also identified perfume workshops). Beeswax was likely added to perfumes as a stabiliser.

    Enhancing the scent of statues (particularly those of gods and goddesses) with perfumes and garlands was important in their veneration and worship.

    An olfactory onslaught

    The ancient city would have smelt like human waste, wood smoke, rotting and decay, cremating flesh, cooking food, perfumes and incense, and many other things.

    It sounds awful to a modern person, but it seems the Romans did not complain about the smell of the ancient city that much.

    Perhaps, as historian Neville Morley has suggested, to them these were the smells of home or even of the height of civilisation.

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

    – ref. What did ancient Rome smell like? Honestly, often pretty rank – https://theconversation.com/what-did-ancient-rome-smell-like-honestly-often-pretty-rank-257111

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology

    The Conversation, CC BY

    The beginning of the financial year means for the first time in Australia the public will see previously unreleased tax reports produced by multinational taxpayers.

    These documents, known as country-by-country reports, or CbCR for short, contain information about the tax practices of large Australian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Australia. This information, previously only available to the taxpayer and the Australian Tax Office, will be made public.

    Country-by-country reports, announced in the October 2022-2023 budget, were introduced with other measures designed to improve corporate tax behaviour. The reports will be released from this week as part of corporate reporting practices. Multinationals have 12 months to comply.

    A fairer tax system

    Country-by-country reporting forms part of the government’s multinational tax integrity election commitment package. The aim is to ensure a fairer and more sustainable tax system. Large firms will be required to publish a statement on their global activities plus tax information for each jurisdiction in which they operate.

    Until now, large multinationals only had to prepare annual consolidated financial statements under international financial reporting standards. The traditional reports aggregate results and provide limited geographic reporting information.

    Traditional high-level reporting allows multinationals to conceal their country-level activities. This hides questionable tax practices.

    Country-by-country reporting allows us to better see where a multinational operates. More importantly, the amount of activity in each jurisdiction is reported. The information provides clues as to whether artificial profit shifting has occurred.

    Anyone interested can uncover details about how multinationals structure their global operations. Information may reveal a misalignment between the company’s real economic presence in a country, the profits they book and taxes they pay in that country.

    Bringing Australia into line with the EU

    Country-by-country reporting is not new. It is the requirement that the information be made public that has changed.

    Australian firms have been required to provide such reports to the Australian Tax Office since 2016. However, the information has been confidential.

    The new public disclosure law brings Australia in line with large firms operating in the European Union which brought in the change last year.

    How country-by-country reporting works

    A taxpayer with annual global income above A$1 billion and at least A$10 million of its turnover Australian-sourced will need to produce a report. The obligation to disclose rests with the parent entity no matter where they are located.

    Australia’s largest companies, including mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, biotech firm CSL, and investment bank Macquarie Group, will be among those expected to report, as will foreign tech behemoths such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.

    These tech giants are the same US firms likely to be excluded from the global minimum tax rules under a G7 agreement reached last week. Under the agreement, US multinationals were exempted from paying more corporate tax overseas. Other G7 members gave in to protect their own companies from the US’s threat of retaliation.

    Under the law change in Australia, a parent entity will provide its name, the names of all members of the group, a description of their approach to tax, and information about operations in certain countries. Included on the list are countries that attract multinationals due to reduced tax obligations, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and the Bahamas.

    Everyone will be able to see where a multinational is operating. They will also see the types of business activities conducted, number of employees, assets, revenue, and taxes paid. Large profits in a country but little business activity and very few employees may raise questions, especially if a country has a low tax rate.

    Benefits of better transparency

    Access to the extra information will help investors assess the tax and reputational risk of a firm. A multinational that shifts profits to low tax countries may be audited and pay extra tax and penalties.

    Increased transparency allows greater scrutiny. In turn, it is hoped multinationals will reduce aggressive tax planning due to potential risk to their reputation.

    If multinationals shift less taxable profits out of Australia to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, this will lead to Australia receiving a greater share of much needed corporate tax revenue.

    Reducing profit shifting

    Recent academic research on public country-by-country reporting reveals it provides additional information to better identify tax haven activity. However, it does not result in a significant drop in corporate tax avoidance.

    Increased tax transparency helps investors and tax authorities to better understand a multinational’s economic and tax geographic footprint. It is also important when it seems that US giants will be excluded from the 15% global minimum tax rules. Transparency by itself, however, does not lead to multinationals paying more corporate taxes.

    By its very nature, tax avoidance is legal but pushes the boundaries by going against the spirit of the law. Indeed, many large multinationals argue tax is a legal obligation and is not voluntary. They maintain they pay the tax required of them according to the law.

    Undoubtedly, Australia’s new public country-by-country regime is a positive step for tax transparency. As a country initiative, it has been applauded as groundbreaking and world leading. However, it is not a panacea to corporate tax avoidance.

    To limit corporate tax avoidance and have multinationals pay more corporate taxes, we must get to the heart of the problem. We must change the law that dictates the way multinationals are taxed.

    Kerrie Sadiq currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.

    Rodney Brown has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.

    – ref. News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax – https://theconversation.com/news-laws-to-make-it-harder-for-large-australian-and-foreign-companies-to-avoid-paying-tax-260004

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology

    The Conversation, CC BY

    The beginning of the financial year means for the first time in Australia the public will see previously unreleased tax reports produced by multinational taxpayers.

    These documents, known as country-by-country reports, or CbCR for short, contain information about the tax practices of large Australian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Australia. This information, previously only available to the taxpayer and the Australian Tax Office, will be made public.

    Country-by-country reports, announced in the October 2022-2023 budget, were introduced with other measures designed to improve corporate tax behaviour. The reports will be released from this week as part of corporate reporting practices. Multinationals have 12 months to comply.

    A fairer tax system

    Country-by-country reporting forms part of the government’s multinational tax integrity election commitment package. The aim is to ensure a fairer and more sustainable tax system. Large firms will be required to publish a statement on their global activities plus tax information for each jurisdiction in which they operate.

    Until now, large multinationals only had to prepare annual consolidated financial statements under international financial reporting standards. The traditional reports aggregate results and provide limited geographic reporting information.

    Traditional high-level reporting allows multinationals to conceal their country-level activities. This hides questionable tax practices.

    Country-by-country reporting allows us to better see where a multinational operates. More importantly, the amount of activity in each jurisdiction is reported. The information provides clues as to whether artificial profit shifting has occurred.

    Anyone interested can uncover details about how multinationals structure their global operations. Information may reveal a misalignment between the company’s real economic presence in a country, the profits they book and taxes they pay in that country.

    Bringing Australia into line with the EU

    Country-by-country reporting is not new. It is the requirement that the information be made public that has changed.

    Australian firms have been required to provide such reports to the Australian Tax Office since 2016. However, the information has been confidential.

    The new public disclosure law brings Australia in line with large firms operating in the European Union which brought in the change last year.

    How country-by-country reporting works

    A taxpayer with annual global income above A$1 billion and at least A$10 million of its turnover Australian-sourced will need to produce a report. The obligation to disclose rests with the parent entity no matter where they are located.

    Australia’s largest companies, including mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, biotech firm CSL, and investment bank Macquarie Group, will be among those expected to report, as will foreign tech behemoths such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.

    These tech giants are the same US firms likely to be excluded from the global minimum tax rules under a G7 agreement reached last week. Under the agreement, US multinationals were exempted from paying more corporate tax overseas. Other G7 members gave in to protect their own companies from the US’s threat of retaliation.

    Under the law change in Australia, a parent entity will provide its name, the names of all members of the group, a description of their approach to tax, and information about operations in certain countries. Included on the list are countries that attract multinationals due to reduced tax obligations, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and the Bahamas.

    Everyone will be able to see where a multinational is operating. They will also see the types of business activities conducted, number of employees, assets, revenue, and taxes paid. Large profits in a country but little business activity and very few employees may raise questions, especially if a country has a low tax rate.

    Benefits of better transparency

    Access to the extra information will help investors assess the tax and reputational risk of a firm. A multinational that shifts profits to low tax countries may be audited and pay extra tax and penalties.

    Increased transparency allows greater scrutiny. In turn, it is hoped multinationals will reduce aggressive tax planning due to potential risk to their reputation.

    If multinationals shift less taxable profits out of Australia to low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, this will lead to Australia receiving a greater share of much needed corporate tax revenue.

    Reducing profit shifting

    Recent academic research on public country-by-country reporting reveals it provides additional information to better identify tax haven activity. However, it does not result in a significant drop in corporate tax avoidance.

    Increased tax transparency helps investors and tax authorities to better understand a multinational’s economic and tax geographic footprint. It is also important when it seems that US giants will be excluded from the 15% global minimum tax rules. Transparency by itself, however, does not lead to multinationals paying more corporate taxes.

    By its very nature, tax avoidance is legal but pushes the boundaries by going against the spirit of the law. Indeed, many large multinationals argue tax is a legal obligation and is not voluntary. They maintain they pay the tax required of them according to the law.

    Undoubtedly, Australia’s new public country-by-country regime is a positive step for tax transparency. As a country initiative, it has been applauded as groundbreaking and world leading. However, it is not a panacea to corporate tax avoidance.

    To limit corporate tax avoidance and have multinationals pay more corporate taxes, we must get to the heart of the problem. We must change the law that dictates the way multinationals are taxed.

    Kerrie Sadiq currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.

    Rodney Brown has previously received research grants from CPA Australia and CAANZ.

    – ref. News laws to make it harder for large Australian and foreign companies to avoid paying tax – https://theconversation.com/news-laws-to-make-it-harder-for-large-australian-and-foreign-companies-to-avoid-paying-tax-260004

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Farming within Earth’s limits is still possible – but it will take a Herculean effort

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michalis Hadjikakou, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sustainability, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University

    Patrick Pleul/Getty

    The way we currently produce and consume food takes a big toll on the environment.

    Worldwide, farming is responsible for more than 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and uses more than 70% of all fresh water taken from rivers, lakes and groundwater. It’s the leading driver of deforestation and nutrient pollution, largely from fertiliser run-off. All of these pose a serious threat to ecosystems.

    If this sounds serious, it’s because it is. If emissions and land clearing trends continue, the world’s food system alone could make it impossible to meet climate targets. If we continue eating and producing food in the same way we are now, we will almost certainly exceed crucial environmental limits by 2050.

    What can be done? In our new research, we looked for ways to keep the food system within environmental limits by 2050. We found only one approach worked: combine high-impact changes such as shifting to flexitarian (low meat) diets, improving farming practices and reducing food waste.

    Why will farming take us past environmental limits?

    Environmental limits are also known as planetary boundaries. These nine boundaries are Earth’s natural safety limits. They range from freshwater resources to the biosphere to the climate. Human activities have pushed past six out of nine safe boundaries through clearing too much land, overusing water for irrigation, overapplying fertilisers or emitting more than our shrinking carbon budget permits.

    If we cross these thresholds, we risk dangerous and irreversible changes to the conditions supporting a stable planet.

    Transforming the way we farm and eat is essential if we are to keep humanity in a safe operating space within environmental limits.

    The 2021 documentary Breaking Boundaries focused on the very real dangers of breaching planetary limits.

    What does this transformation look like?

    The challenge of making food production sustainable is long-running. Previous research has compared the effectiveness of different changes authorities and consumers could make. But most studies used different models, making it hard to compare changes.

    To overcome this problem, we synthesised information from previous studies and built a database of thousands of future food system scenarios and possible changes. Then we performed a meta-analysis to combine data from multiple studies and draw more robust conclusions.

    This approach allows policymakers and researchers to compare apples and apples, as well as see which combination of changes would let us stay within crucial safety limits by 2050.

    We focused on four vital indicators: how much land and water is used for farming; the amount of greenhouse gases emitted; and the flows of two key nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus.

    What works best?

    What stood out was the sheer variation in effectiveness. Some changes would work very well across several areas, while others would take a lot of effort for not enough result.

    Two changes punch well above their weight on land, water and emissions.

    The first is shifting to a flexitarian diet with fewer foods sourced from animals. This is similar to traditional regional diets such as the Mediterranean and Okinawan diets, where meat and dairy are eaten in much smaller proportions compared to whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.

    Returning to this diet could shrink how much land we use for farming by almost a quarter (24%), cut water demand by 14% and slash greenhouse gas emissions by 47%.

    Traditional diets such as the Mediterranean diet rely less on animal products and more on plants, nuts, oils and legumes.
    monticello/Shutterstock

    The second is breeding better livestock. Livestock today are much better at converting their feed into meat or milk than their precursors. But this could be better still. More productive animals could enable an 18% reduction in land use, a 10% drop in water use and a 34% cut to emissions.

    Modern fertilisers have made it possible to produce many more crops and fodder. But if too much fertiliser is applied, it can wash off after rain and pollute waterways.

    Better timed and more precise application of fertiliser is by far the best way to cut nutrient pollution. Major improvements here could cut nitrogen pollution by 39% and phosphorus pollution by 42%. As a side benefit, it could save farmers money.

    Increasing crop yields, lowering agricultural emissions through better soil management and other practices, and taking up technologies such as methane-reducing supplements can significantly reduce our risk of exceeding environmental limits. So too can cutting food waste and using water more wisely in farming. Our extended results show the relative benefits of ten possible interventions.

    There is no silver bullet

    We found no single change was up to the task of making food production and consumption sustainable.

    We considered over a million possible combinations of changes. Of these combinations, only a tiny fraction – 0.02% – give us a fighting chance of staying within all environmental limits.

    In almost all successful combinations, the world would need to make significant cuts to how many calories come from animals, make big improvements to fertiliser use and nutrient management, and focus research and development on finding ways to farm land and livestock with less resources and emissions.

    Most successful combinations also rely on halving food waste and reducing overconsumption.

    Is it still possible?

    Farming within the limits of Earth’s systems will be hard. But it is possible.

    Some work is already being done. Global organisations such as the United Nations are making a concerted effort to accelerate changes to food systems across many countries.

    Research like ours can make people feel powerless. But individual change is always worthwhile. Reducing your intake of animal products benefits your health and the planet.

    Properly addressing these very real issues will take concerted, collective work. If we don’t succeed, we risk triggering ecological collapse – and threatening the foundation for human civilisation.

    The knowledge and tools are at hand. What’s needed now is ambition – and a sense of what’s at stake.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Farming within Earth’s limits is still possible – but it will take a Herculean effort – https://theconversation.com/farming-within-earths-limits-is-still-possible-but-it-will-take-a-herculean-effort-259901

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Gum disease, decay, missing teeth: why people with mental illness have poorer oral health

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bonnie Clough, Senior Lecturer, School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University

    mihailomilovanovic/Getty Images

    People with poor mental health face many challenges. One that’s perhaps lesser known is that they’re more likely than the overall population to have poor oral health.

    Research has shown people with serious mental illness are four times more likely than the general population to have gum disease. They’re nearly three times more likely to have lost all their teeth due to problems such as gum disease and tooth decay.

    Serious mental illnesses include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. These conditions affect about 800,000 Australians.

    People living with schizophrenia have, on average, eight more teeth that are decayed, missing or filled than the general population.

    So why does this link exist? And what can we do to address the problem?

    Why is this a problem?

    Oral health problems are expensive to fix and can make it hard for people to eat, socialise, work or even just smile.

    What’s more, dental issues can land people in hospital. Our research shows dental conditions are the third most common reason for preventable hospital admissions among people with serious mental illness.

    Meanwhile, poor oral health is linked with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and even cognitive problems. This is because the bacteria associated with gum diseases can cause inflammation throughout the body, which affects other systems in the body.

    Why are mental health and oral health linked?

    Poor mental and oral health share common risk factors. Social factors such as isolation, unemployment and housing insecurity can worsen both oral and mental health.

    For example, unemployment increases the risk of oral disease. This can be due to financial difficulties, reduced access to oral health care, or potential changes to diet and hygiene practices.

    At the same time, oral disease can increase barriers to finding employment, due to stigma, discrimination, dental pain and associated long-term health conditions.

    It’s clear the relationship between oral health and mental health goes both ways. Dental disease can reduce self-esteem and increase psychological distress. Meanwhile, symptoms of mental health conditions, such as low motivation, can make engaging in good oral health practices, including brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist, more difficult.

    And like many people, those with serious mental illness can experience significant anxiety about going to the dentist. They may also have experienced trauma in the past, which can make visiting a dental clinic a frightening experience.

    Separately, poor oral health can be made worse by some medications for mental health conditions. Certain medications can interfere with saliva production, reducing the protective barrier that covers the teeth. Some may also increase sugar cravings, which heightens the risk of tooth decay.

    Some medications people take for mental health conditions can affect oral health.
    Gladskikh Tatiana/Shutterstock

    Our research

    In a recent study, we interviewed young people with mental illness. Our findings show the significant personal costs of dental disease among people with mental illness, and highlight the relationship between oral and mental health.

    Smiling is one of our best ways to communicate, but we found people with serious mental illness were sometimes embarrassed and ashamed to smile due to poor oral health.

    One participant told us:

    [poor oral health is] not only [about] the physical aspects of restricting how you eat, but it’s also about your mental health in terms of your self-esteem, your self-confidence, and basic wellbeing, which sort of drives me to become more isolated.

    Another said:

    for me, it was that serious fear of – God my teeth are looking really crap, and in the past they’ve [dental practitioners] asked, “Hey, you’ve missed this spot; what’s happening?”. How do I explain to them, hey, I’ve had some really shitty stuff happening and I have a very serious episode of depression?

    What can we do?

    Another of our recent studies focused on improving oral health awareness and behaviours among young adults experiencing mental health difficulties. We found a brief online oral health education program improved participants’ oral health knowledge and attitudes.

    Improving oral health can result in improved mental wellbeing, self-esteem and quality of life. But achieving this isn’t always easy.

    Limited Medicare coverage for dental care means oral diseases are frequently treated late, particularly among people with mental illness. By this time, more invasive treatments, such as removal of teeth, are often required.

    It’s crucial the health system takes a holistic approach to caring for people experiencing serious mental illness. That means we have mental health staff who ask questions about oral health, and dental practitioners who are trained to manage the unique oral health needs of people with serious mental illness.

    It also means increasing government funding for oral health services – promotion, prevention and improved interdisciplinary care. This includes better collaboration between oral health, mental health, and peer and informal support sectors.

    Amanda Wheeler is an investigator on a MetroSouth Health 2025 grant exploring use of Queensland Emergency Departments for people with mental ill-health seeking acute care for oral health problems.

    Steve Kisely has received a grant on oral health from Metro South Research Foundation and one from the Medical Research Future Fund.

    Bonnie Clough, Caroline Victoria Robertson, and Santosh Tadakamadla 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. Gum disease, decay, missing teeth: why people with mental illness have poorer oral health – https://theconversation.com/gum-disease-decay-missing-teeth-why-people-with-mental-illness-have-poorer-oral-health-258403

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Gum disease, decay, missing teeth: why people with mental illness have poorer oral health

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bonnie Clough, Senior Lecturer, School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University

    mihailomilovanovic/Getty Images

    People with poor mental health face many challenges. One that’s perhaps lesser known is that they’re more likely than the overall population to have poor oral health.

    Research has shown people with serious mental illness are four times more likely than the general population to have gum disease. They’re nearly three times more likely to have lost all their teeth due to problems such as gum disease and tooth decay.

    Serious mental illnesses include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. These conditions affect about 800,000 Australians.

    People living with schizophrenia have, on average, eight more teeth that are decayed, missing or filled than the general population.

    So why does this link exist? And what can we do to address the problem?

    Why is this a problem?

    Oral health problems are expensive to fix and can make it hard for people to eat, socialise, work or even just smile.

    What’s more, dental issues can land people in hospital. Our research shows dental conditions are the third most common reason for preventable hospital admissions among people with serious mental illness.

    Meanwhile, poor oral health is linked with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and even cognitive problems. This is because the bacteria associated with gum diseases can cause inflammation throughout the body, which affects other systems in the body.

    Why are mental health and oral health linked?

    Poor mental and oral health share common risk factors. Social factors such as isolation, unemployment and housing insecurity can worsen both oral and mental health.

    For example, unemployment increases the risk of oral disease. This can be due to financial difficulties, reduced access to oral health care, or potential changes to diet and hygiene practices.

    At the same time, oral disease can increase barriers to finding employment, due to stigma, discrimination, dental pain and associated long-term health conditions.

    It’s clear the relationship between oral health and mental health goes both ways. Dental disease can reduce self-esteem and increase psychological distress. Meanwhile, symptoms of mental health conditions, such as low motivation, can make engaging in good oral health practices, including brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist, more difficult.

    And like many people, those with serious mental illness can experience significant anxiety about going to the dentist. They may also have experienced trauma in the past, which can make visiting a dental clinic a frightening experience.

    Separately, poor oral health can be made worse by some medications for mental health conditions. Certain medications can interfere with saliva production, reducing the protective barrier that covers the teeth. Some may also increase sugar cravings, which heightens the risk of tooth decay.

    Some medications people take for mental health conditions can affect oral health.
    Gladskikh Tatiana/Shutterstock

    Our research

    In a recent study, we interviewed young people with mental illness. Our findings show the significant personal costs of dental disease among people with mental illness, and highlight the relationship between oral and mental health.

    Smiling is one of our best ways to communicate, but we found people with serious mental illness were sometimes embarrassed and ashamed to smile due to poor oral health.

    One participant told us:

    [poor oral health is] not only [about] the physical aspects of restricting how you eat, but it’s also about your mental health in terms of your self-esteem, your self-confidence, and basic wellbeing, which sort of drives me to become more isolated.

    Another said:

    for me, it was that serious fear of – God my teeth are looking really crap, and in the past they’ve [dental practitioners] asked, “Hey, you’ve missed this spot; what’s happening?”. How do I explain to them, hey, I’ve had some really shitty stuff happening and I have a very serious episode of depression?

    What can we do?

    Another of our recent studies focused on improving oral health awareness and behaviours among young adults experiencing mental health difficulties. We found a brief online oral health education program improved participants’ oral health knowledge and attitudes.

    Improving oral health can result in improved mental wellbeing, self-esteem and quality of life. But achieving this isn’t always easy.

    Limited Medicare coverage for dental care means oral diseases are frequently treated late, particularly among people with mental illness. By this time, more invasive treatments, such as removal of teeth, are often required.

    It’s crucial the health system takes a holistic approach to caring for people experiencing serious mental illness. That means we have mental health staff who ask questions about oral health, and dental practitioners who are trained to manage the unique oral health needs of people with serious mental illness.

    It also means increasing government funding for oral health services – promotion, prevention and improved interdisciplinary care. This includes better collaboration between oral health, mental health, and peer and informal support sectors.

    Amanda Wheeler is an investigator on a MetroSouth Health 2025 grant exploring use of Queensland Emergency Departments for people with mental ill-health seeking acute care for oral health problems.

    Steve Kisely has received a grant on oral health from Metro South Research Foundation and one from the Medical Research Future Fund.

    Bonnie Clough, Caroline Victoria Robertson, and Santosh Tadakamadla 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. Gum disease, decay, missing teeth: why people with mental illness have poorer oral health – https://theconversation.com/gum-disease-decay-missing-teeth-why-people-with-mental-illness-have-poorer-oral-health-258403

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Shit in, shit out’: AI is coming for agriculture, but farmers aren’t convinced

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Lee, Senior Lecturer, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

    David Gray / AFP / Getty Images

    Australian farms are at the forefront of a wave of technological change coming to agriculture. Over the past decade, more than US$200 billion (A$305 billion) has been invested globally into the likes of pollination robots, smart soil sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to help make decisions.

    What do the people working the land make of it all? We interviewed dozens of Australian farmers about AI and digital technology, and found they had a sophisticated understanding of their own needs and how technology might help – as well as a wariness of tech companies’ utopian promises.

    The future of farming

    The supposed revolution coming to agriculture goes by several names: “precision agriculture”, “smart farming”, and “agriculture 4.0” are some of the more common ones.

    These names all gesture towards a future in which the relationship between humans, computing and nature have been significantly reconfigured. Perhaps remote sensing technology will monitor ever more of a farm system, autonomous vehicles will patrol it, and AI will predict crop growth or cattle weight gain.

    But there’s another story to tell about the way technological change happens. It involves people and communities creating their own future, their own sense of important change from the past.

    AI, country style

    Our research team conducted more than 35 interviews with farmers, specifically livestock producers, from across Australia.

    The dominant themes of their responses were captured in two pithy quotes: “shit in, shit out” and “more automation, less features”.

    “Shit in, shit out” is an earthier version of the “garbage in, garbage out” adage in computer science. If the data going into a model is unreliable or overly abstract, then the outputs will be shaped by those errors.

    This captured a real concern for many farmers. They didn’t feel they could trust new technologies if they didn’t understand what knowledge and information they had been built with.

    A different kind of automation

    On the other hand, “more automation, less features” is what farmers want: technologies that may not have a lot of bells and whistles, but can reliably take a task off their hands.

    Australian farmers have a ready appetite for labour-saving technologies. When human bodies are scarce, as they often are in rural Australia, machines are created to fill the void.

    Windmills, wire fences, and even the iconic Australian sheepdog have been a crucial part of the technological narrative of settler colonial farming. These things are not “autonomous” in the same way as computer-powered vehicles and drones, but they offer similar advantages to farmers.

    What these classic farm technologies have in common is a simplicity that derives from a clarity of purpose. They are the opposite of the “everything apps” that fuel the dreams of many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

    “More automation, less features” is in this sense a farmer envisaging a digital product that fits with their image of a useful technology: transparent in its operations, and a reliable replacement for or an addition to human labour.

    The lesson of the Suzuki Sierra Stockman

    When speaking with one farmer about favoured technologies of her lifetime, she mentioned the Suzuki Sierra Stockman. These small, no-frills, four-wheel-drive vehicles became something of an icon on Australian sheep and cattle farms through the 1970s, ‘80s and ’90s.

    By the 1990s, the Suzuki Sierra Stockman had an iconic status among Australian farmers.
    Turbo_J / Flickr

    Reflecting on her memories of first using the vehicle, the farmer said:

    Once I learnt that I could actually draft cattle out with the Suzuki, that changed everything. You could do exactly what you did on a horse with a vehicle.

    It seems unlikely that Suzuki’s engineers in Japan envisaged their little jeep chasing cattle in the paddocks of Central West of NSW. The Suzuki was in a sense remade by farmers who found innovative uses for it.

    Future technology must be simple, adaptable and reliable

    The combustion engine was a key technological change on farms in the 20th century. Computers may play a similar role in the 21st.

    We are perhaps yet to see a digital product as iconic as wire fences, windmills, sheepdogs and the Suzuki Stockman. Computers are still largely technologies of the office, not the paddock.

    However, this is changing as computers get smaller and are wired into water tanks, soil monitors and in-paddock scales. More data input from these sensors means AI systems have more scope to help farmers make decisions.

    AI may well become a much-loved tool for farmers. But that journey to iconic status will depend as much on how farmers adapt the technology as on how the developers build it. And we can guess at what it will look like: simple, adaptable and reliable.

    This article is based on research conducted by the Foragecaster project, led by AgriWebb and supported by funding from Food Agility CRC Ltd, funded under the Commonwealth Government CRC Program. The CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. This project was also supported by funding from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

    – ref. ‘Shit in, shit out’: AI is coming for agriculture, but farmers aren’t convinced – https://theconversation.com/shit-in-shit-out-ai-is-coming-for-agriculture-but-farmers-arent-convinced-259997

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Shit in, shit out’: AI is coming for agriculture, but farmers aren’t convinced

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Lee, Senior Lecturer, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

    David Gray / AFP / Getty Images

    Australian farms are at the forefront of a wave of technological change coming to agriculture. Over the past decade, more than US$200 billion (A$305 billion) has been invested globally into the likes of pollination robots, smart soil sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to help make decisions.

    What do the people working the land make of it all? We interviewed dozens of Australian farmers about AI and digital technology, and found they had a sophisticated understanding of their own needs and how technology might help – as well as a wariness of tech companies’ utopian promises.

    The future of farming

    The supposed revolution coming to agriculture goes by several names: “precision agriculture”, “smart farming”, and “agriculture 4.0” are some of the more common ones.

    These names all gesture towards a future in which the relationship between humans, computing and nature have been significantly reconfigured. Perhaps remote sensing technology will monitor ever more of a farm system, autonomous vehicles will patrol it, and AI will predict crop growth or cattle weight gain.

    But there’s another story to tell about the way technological change happens. It involves people and communities creating their own future, their own sense of important change from the past.

    AI, country style

    Our research team conducted more than 35 interviews with farmers, specifically livestock producers, from across Australia.

    The dominant themes of their responses were captured in two pithy quotes: “shit in, shit out” and “more automation, less features”.

    “Shit in, shit out” is an earthier version of the “garbage in, garbage out” adage in computer science. If the data going into a model is unreliable or overly abstract, then the outputs will be shaped by those errors.

    This captured a real concern for many farmers. They didn’t feel they could trust new technologies if they didn’t understand what knowledge and information they had been built with.

    A different kind of automation

    On the other hand, “more automation, less features” is what farmers want: technologies that may not have a lot of bells and whistles, but can reliably take a task off their hands.

    Australian farmers have a ready appetite for labour-saving technologies. When human bodies are scarce, as they often are in rural Australia, machines are created to fill the void.

    Windmills, wire fences, and even the iconic Australian sheepdog have been a crucial part of the technological narrative of settler colonial farming. These things are not “autonomous” in the same way as computer-powered vehicles and drones, but they offer similar advantages to farmers.

    What these classic farm technologies have in common is a simplicity that derives from a clarity of purpose. They are the opposite of the “everything apps” that fuel the dreams of many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

    “More automation, less features” is in this sense a farmer envisaging a digital product that fits with their image of a useful technology: transparent in its operations, and a reliable replacement for or an addition to human labour.

    The lesson of the Suzuki Sierra Stockman

    When speaking with one farmer about favoured technologies of her lifetime, she mentioned the Suzuki Sierra Stockman. These small, no-frills, four-wheel-drive vehicles became something of an icon on Australian sheep and cattle farms through the 1970s, ‘80s and ’90s.

    By the 1990s, the Suzuki Sierra Stockman had an iconic status among Australian farmers.
    Turbo_J / Flickr

    Reflecting on her memories of first using the vehicle, the farmer said:

    Once I learnt that I could actually draft cattle out with the Suzuki, that changed everything. You could do exactly what you did on a horse with a vehicle.

    It seems unlikely that Suzuki’s engineers in Japan envisaged their little jeep chasing cattle in the paddocks of Central West of NSW. The Suzuki was in a sense remade by farmers who found innovative uses for it.

    Future technology must be simple, adaptable and reliable

    The combustion engine was a key technological change on farms in the 20th century. Computers may play a similar role in the 21st.

    We are perhaps yet to see a digital product as iconic as wire fences, windmills, sheepdogs and the Suzuki Stockman. Computers are still largely technologies of the office, not the paddock.

    However, this is changing as computers get smaller and are wired into water tanks, soil monitors and in-paddock scales. More data input from these sensors means AI systems have more scope to help farmers make decisions.

    AI may well become a much-loved tool for farmers. But that journey to iconic status will depend as much on how farmers adapt the technology as on how the developers build it. And we can guess at what it will look like: simple, adaptable and reliable.

    This article is based on research conducted by the Foragecaster project, led by AgriWebb and supported by funding from Food Agility CRC Ltd, funded under the Commonwealth Government CRC Program. The CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. This project was also supported by funding from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

    – ref. ‘Shit in, shit out’: AI is coming for agriculture, but farmers aren’t convinced – https://theconversation.com/shit-in-shit-out-ai-is-coming-for-agriculture-but-farmers-arent-convinced-259997

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Detroit restaurants identified as ‘Black-owned’ on Yelp saw a slight drop in business ratings

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Bui, Assistant Professor of Information and Digital Studies, University of Michigan

    Yelp’s Black-owned tag was designed to help business owners like Don Studvent attract more customers. His restaurant closed in 2018 after nine years in business. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

    When the online review platform Yelp added a “Black-owned” tag in 2020, it boosted the visibility of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit. It also caused their ratings to drop, according to our recent study.

    Both local and nonlocal reviewers who showed awareness of a restaurant’s Black ownership rated restaurants 3.03 stars on average. Those who did not acknowledge Black ownership gave a rating of 3.78 stars on average. The tag seems to have caused the average rating to drop by attracting more reviewers who were aware of Black ownership.

    Why it matters

    Technology companies often introduce new features and tools to influence user behavior and make their platforms more usable.

    Although Yelp intended to support Black communities with the Black-owned tag, the design intervention was harmful to Black restaurant owners in Detroit because Yelp failed to consider platform and community-based factors that significantly shape user interactions.

    Yelp’s user base is predominantly white, educated and affluent. Making Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants more visible to Yelp users may have amplified cross-cultural interactions and frictions. For example, non-Black users sometimes mentioned “slower” and “rude” service as justifications for lower ratings. Close readings of these reviews hinted at intercultural and communicative clashes.

    Even if Black-owned restaurants businesses didn’t select the tag, they appeared in searches for “Black-owned restaurants,” in 2022 when we conducted the study and as recently as 2025. Businesses can remove the “Black-owned” tag, but Yelp doesn’t provide a way for them to opt out of search results.

    How we did our work

    To examine the local impacts of Yelp’s Black-owned tag, we collected over 250,000 Yelp reviews of Black- and non-Black-owned restaurants in Detroit and Los Angeles.

    We identified Black-owned restaurants through community-sourced lists for Detroit and Los Angeles and then generated a random sample for the non-Black-owned restaurants.

    We then identified reviews that explicitly noted “Black ownership” for closer analysis.

    Detroit’s Black-owned businesses saw a greater loss in business compared with “ownership-unreported” restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means they also potentially had more to gain from the new tag.

    We found the awareness of Black ownership on Yelp significantly increased following Yelp’s addition of the Black-owned tag in June 2020. A year after the tag was added, reviews in Detroit mentioned Black ownership 4.3% more often than a year before it was rolled out.

    Detroit Black-owned restaurants also saw a small temporary spike in their number of reviews, largely around the time Yelp added the Black-owned tag. At the same time, the restaurants’ average star ratings dropped from 3.91 to 3.88. In contrast, non-Black-owned restaurants’ ratings stayed relatively steady at 3.90.

    This metric is an aggregate of all Detroit restaurants’ Yelp reviews over their entire existence, so a .03-star rating change is small but significant.

    Even minor changes to star ratings affect the number of diners restaurants attract, their earning potential and the likelihood they will sell out of food.

    Adding obstacles in digital platforms serves to reproduce and amplify inequalities these businesses already face, rather than alleviate them. For example, Black-owned businesses have a harder time getting loans and are relatively underrepresented in Michigan as a whole.

    These findings may seem surprising given that Detroit is a majority Black city. However, Black users on Yelp are a minority. Keeping in mind the skewed user base of Yelp, we hypothesize the lower reviews for businesses featuring a Black-owned tag reflect existing racial and digital divides in the city.

    Generally, our study provides additional evidence that digital interventions are not “one-size-fits-all,” nor is digital visibility inherently positive for all businesses.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    _This article was updated to clarify how labels are added to profiles.

    This research was supported by a research grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

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

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

    – ref. Detroit restaurants identified as ‘Black-owned’ on Yelp saw a slight drop in business ratings – https://theconversation.com/detroit-restaurants-identified-as-black-owned-on-yelp-saw-a-slight-drop-in-business-ratings-256306

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Staff Concluding Statement for the 2025 Article IV Consultation Mission

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    July 1, 2025

    A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

    The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    Sarajevo:

    Growth has proven resilient supported by expansionary fiscal policies, but inflation has picked up, and risks are elevated due to external shocks and domestic political tensions. Progress towards EU accession could boost confidence, but political hurdles persist. Fiscal policy should focus on restoring buffers and improving spending quality. The authorities should refrain from further discretionary measures that widen the deficit and strengthen contingency planning. Both entities face large financing needs that are expected to be met through external borrowing, with a Eurobond issuance in FBiH and bilateral loans in the RS, along with some domestic issuances. The authorities should prepare contingency plans in case of financing shortfalls. Reforms, including a review of public employment, wages, and social benefits are needed to achieve a debt-stabilizing primary balance.

    To safeguard monetary stability, it is essential to maintain the currency board and uphold the independence of the central bank. The authorities should continue to closely monitor financial sector risks and enhance crisis preparedness. The establishment of a country-wide financial stability fund, which would facilitate bank restructuring and provide liquidity on an exceptional basis, would substantially strengthen the financial safety net. To accelerate growth, the authorities need to speed up reforms to improve fiscal governance, protect financial integrity, fight corruption, and step up digitalization. Transitioning from coal to green energy along with preparing for the introduction of EU carbon taxes are major challenges ahead. Placing BiH on a higher growth path and providing its people with more opportunities will speed up income convergence with the EU and reduce emigration.

    Recent developments and outlook

    Despite a challenging environment, the economy has been resilient. Growth accelerated to 2.5 percent in 2024 from 2 percent in 2023, with strong domestic demand outweighing a decline in net exports. Household consumption was supported by strong growth in credit and remittances; private investment accelerated. The unemployment rate declined to 11.7 percent in Q4:2024, with real wages growing at an annual rate of 8 percent. The current account deficit widened to 4.0 percent of GDP in 2024 from 2¼ percent in 2023, reflecting a drought-induced decline in electricity exports, weaker demand for exports, and higher imports associated with strong domestic demand. Inflation fell to 1.7 percent in 2024 from 6¼ percent in 2023, owing to a slowdown in fuel and utilities prices. However, since end-2024, inflation has been rising again to 3.7 percent (yoy) in May, driven mainly by higher food prices.

    The economic outlook remains uncertain amid elevated downside risks. Real GDP is projected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2025 supported by an improvement in net exports, a stronger fiscal impulse, and private consumption. However, the outlook is vulnerable to both domestic and external shocks. A worsening in geopolitical tensions and a resulting slowdown in Europe, or increased commodity price volatility could raise food and energy prices, lower BiH exports and remittances, and dampen domestic demand. An escalation of political tensions could further increase economic fragmentation and weigh on investor confidence and growth. In the absence of faster reform progress, medium-term growth is expected to remain around 3 percent—insufficient for rapid income convergence with the EU. Inflation is expected to remain elevated during 2025, and as food inflation eases, gradually decline from 2026, approaching the ECB target of 2 percent.  

    Fiscal policy and reforms

    Fiscal performance in 2024 was stronger than expected. The general government deficit turned out to be 1¾ percent of GDP, the same as in 2023, but better than anticipated at the time of the 2024 AIV Consultation. The authorities leveraged a large increase in tax revenues to boost spending on wages, goods and services, social benefits, and public investments.

    With fiscal policy expected to ease in 2025, the authorities should avoid further discretionary measures and strengthen contingency planning. Entity budgets and subsequently-adopted measures envisage increases in public wages and pensions, reflecting both legally-mandated indexation and discretionary changes. The widening deficit, which could reach 2.6 percent of GDP, is expected to be mainly financed mostly through foreign borrowing, as well as domestic banks. The authorities should avoid policies that further expand the deficit as this would likely put upward pressure on rising prices and widen external imbalances. Moreover, given mounting downside risks, the authorities should aim to build cash buffers and develop contingency plans. Depending on the severity of a potential shock the authorities should use the available buffers and activate contingency plans.

    Over the medium term, the authorities are advised to place fiscal deficits on a firmly declining path starting from 2026, build fiscal buffers, and enhance the economy’s growth potential. Persistently high deficits risk placing public debt on an upward trajectory and may worsen financing terms. Fiscal consolidation should begin in 2026, with the goal of reducing the primary deficit to its debt-stabilizing level, while improving the quality of spending and rebuilding treasury balances. Priority should be given to spending measures that enhance efficiency—particularly by rationalizing the public wage bill through functional reviews and improving the targeting of social assistance programs. These measures should be complemented by revenue mobilization efforts, including broadening the tax base through the reduction of exemptions and development of new revenue sources, such as taxing dividends. Any fiscally costly policies should be strictly avoided or offset. Given significant infrastructure gaps, increasing both the level and quality of public investment should be a key objective.

    Fiscal consolidation efforts should be accompanied by institutional and structural fiscal reforms. Strengthening fiscal discipline will require a review of existing fiscal rules to assess whether they are appropriately designed to meet macroeconomic management and developmental needs and whether there are sufficient institutional arrangements in place to ensure that they are met. The recent materialization of contingent liabilities related to international arbitration cases underscores the urgency of enhancing fiscal risk management. This includes timely identification of all sources of fiscal risks, assessment of risk magnitude and likelihood, development of mitigation strategies, and reinforcement of the institutional framework. In this context, improving the oversight and governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is crucial. Reducing inefficiencies in public investment management remains a priority. This involves better project selection, rigorous appraisal processes, efficient and transparency procurement, and stronger portfolio management and oversight. Finally, implementing robust beneficiary registries would improve the targeting of social assistance programs by reducing inclusion and exclusion errors, improving efficiency, and enhancing transparency and accountability.

    Currency board arrangement and financial sector policies and reforms

    For three decades, the currency board arrangement (CBA) has been a cornerstone of macroeconomic stability and must be preserved. The CBA has ensured the stability of the domestic currency, while reinforcing policy credibility and fiscal discipline. Benefiting from strong institutional independence, the Central Bank (CBBH), has consistently maintained net foreign exchange reserves well above the level of its monetary liabilities. Safeguarding the CBBH’s independence is critical to preserving the credibility and effectiveness of the CBA.

    The CBBH should further strengthen the reserve requirement framework. In line with IMF advice, the CBBH applies differentiated remuneration rates on reserve requirements for foreign and domestic currency liabilities. Falling euro area interest rates offer an opportunity to reduce the gap with CBBH remuneration rates on required reserves and the opportunity costs for holding reserves. A further comprehensive review of the reserve requirement framework, with technical assistance from the IMF, and implementation of previous recommendations would further strengthen the CBBH’s capacity to achieve its policy objectives.  

    Sustained strong credit growth calls for close monitoring of systemic risks and continued efforts to safeguard banking sector resilience. Credit expansion has been driven by rising wages, declining lending rates, and a booming real estate market. Despite this rapid growth, banks remain well capitalized, liquid, and profitable, while the share of non-performing loans continues to decline. Nonetheless, vigilance is warranted. The authorities should closely monitor financial sector developments and be prepared to deploy macroprudential tools to address risks from credit growth and rising real estate prices. Following introduction of additional capital buffers for systemic risk (SyRB) and domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), the macroprudential toolkit should be expanded to include a countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) and borrower-based measures such as limits on loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and debt-service to income (DSTI) ratios. To preserve resilience, reducing the regulatory capital requirement from 12 to 10 percent as planned from end-2026 should be avoided. The authorities are also advised to avoid further extensions of temporary regulatory measures that aim to contain lending rate increases and to remove limits on bank exposures to foreign governments and central banks.

    Progress made on coordination on financial sector issues, under the leadership of the CBBH, should be maintained. Regular financial sector coordination meetings strengthen inter-agency cooperation and help ensure smooth information exchange. Additionally, the authorities are encouraged to establish a country-wide Financial Stability Fund to support orderly bank resolution and to cooperate across state-level institutions and both entities to request a new IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)—already requested by the CBBH—to comprehensively assess resilience and outline a roadmap for further reform, including in the context of EU accession.

    We commend the CBBH and the other relevant authorities for their strong efforts to integrate BiH with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). SEPA integration will enable faster and more convenient euro payments across borders within the SEPA area, lower transaction costs, and foster deeper trade and economic integration within Europe. It is crucial that the relevant legislative amendments are adopted in a timely manner to pave the way for the submission of the application for SEPA membership. In addition, the development of the TIPS Clone—the project implemented by the CBBH in cooperation with the Bank of Italy—will provide infrastructure for instant payments.

    Structural reforms

    Advancing toward EU membership will require a stronger, more coordinated, and results-driven approach. Persistent political fragmentation, lack of consensus among governing bodies, and limited administrative capacity continue to obstruct the adoption and execution of key reforms. In this context, timely adoption and implementation of the EU Growth Plan offers a valuable opportunity. Reforms under the growth plan will align BiH more closely with the EU single market, advance EU accession, and unlock €1 billion in additional financing over 2025–27 period.

    The authorities should accelerate energy sector reforms to reduce fiscal risks and prepare for implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Key reforms include phasing out electricity subsidies over the medium term—while protecting vulnerable households—and advancing efficiency improvements in energy SOEs. CBAM charges are set to take effect from 2026, with the largest anticipated impact on the BiH electricity sector. To mitigate this, it is essential to establish a domestic power exchange system and an agreed roadmap and legislative framework for introduction of carbon pricing at the state level. These steps would enable BiH to unlock new investment in renewable electricity generation, reducing the overall burden of CBAM. Implementation of carbon pricing will allow BiH to retain carbon-related revenues domestically and potentially secure a CBAM exemption for electricity exports to the EU.

    Reforms that tackle the labor market, governance, and digitalization are also crucial. The authorities should take a structured approach to minimum wage increases that avoids high, frequent, and ad hoc adjustments. Complementary reforms are needed to address low labor market participation (particularly among women) and high youth unemployment. The authorities should urgently implement MONEYVAL priority actions to avoid being grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in early 2026. Grey listing could impose significant economic costs through reduced investment, delays in international payments, and increased transaction costs. Finally, developing digital identity and trust services, and providing government e-services, would strengthen the business environment.

    *   *   *   *   *

    The mission thanks the authorities and all other counterparts for their hospitality and for the constructive and insightful discussions in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Camila Perez

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/07/01/cs-070125-bosnia-and-herzegovina-staff-concluding-statement-for-2025-aiv-consultation-mission

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Serial Bank Robber Arrested for Allegedly Robbing Weymouth Bank at Gunpoint

    Source: US FBI

    Defendant previously convicted of robbing five banks across four separate cities and towns

    BOSTON – A Quincy man has been arrested and charged in connection with the December 2024 armed robbery of a Santander Bank in Weymouth.

    Glenn Legere, 46, of Quincy, was charged with one count of armed bank robbery. The defendant was arrested this morning and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston today, was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.

    According to the charging document, at approximately 4:52 p.m. on Dec. 17, 2024, local law enforcement was dispatched to a Santander bank branch in Weymouth for a reported bank robbery. There, it is alleged that a bank teller told law enforcement that as employees were preparing to close the bank, a man wearing a sweatshirt, baseball hat, face covering and gloves entered the bank through the main entrance. It is alleged that the suspect approached the victim teller’s window, removed a black firearm from the front pocket of his sweatshirt, opened a black cloth bag and demanded all the money. As the bank teller handed the suspect money from the cash box, the suspect allegedly yelled words to the effect of “I need money,” “I want the money” and “I don’t play.” At various times, the suspect allegedly pointed the firearm directly at the victim teller. It is further alleged that the suspect ran towards other teller windows, gesturing d towards the cash box areas and demanding more money, but the victim teller explained that there was no more money and displayed an empty cash drawer. The suspect allegedly then left the bank with approximately $947 in stolen cash.

    According to court documents, a subsequent review of surveillance video footage from nearby locations determined that the suspect drove to and from the robbery location in a silver or grey Jeep Grand Cherokee. A vehicle matching the description was captured on cameras in Quincy immediately before and after the robbery. It is alleged that the vehicle was registered to Legere. 
        
    Legere has multiple prior convictions for committing armed and unarmed robberies, including a 2011 conviction of armed robbery in Norfolk Superior Court for which he was sentenced to three to five years in state prison, as well as a 2010 conviction for armed and unarmed robbery of banks in Braintree, Hanover, Duxbury and Plymouth for which he was sentenced to three years in state prison.

    As stated in open court at the defendant’s initial appearance today, when Legere was arrested, a firearm and some of the clothing believed to be used by Legere during the robbery were recovered.

    The charge of armed bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Weymouth Police Chief Richard M. Fuller made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Wellesley Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Michigan Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Drug Distribution and Loan Fraud

    Source: US FBI

    BOSTON – A Michigan man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a conspiracy to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals, including opioids, and to fund the operation of the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan.

    Donald Nchamukong, 37, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to two years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Nchamukong was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. In March 2025, Nchamukong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, committing loan fraud and distributing controlled substances.

    Starting in 2019 and continuing to 2022, Nchamukong and co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, conspired to distribute drugs to persons in the United States over the internet and using call centers in India. Nchamukong used shell companies, including a purported dietary supplements company and an auto parts supplier, and associated bank and merchant accounts to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol. Nchamukong and Kalita also received shipments of tramadol from India and reshipped the drug to customers across the United States, including in Massachusetts. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Nchamukong and Kalita fraudulently obtained a $200,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan to fund their illegal drug scheme.  

    In June 2024, Kalita was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the online drug distribution scheme, a technical support fraud scheme and related money laundering.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in New York, the Small Business Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit  prosecuted the case.

    On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.

    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud  Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: 38/2025・Trifork Group: Weekly report on share buyback

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company announcement no. 38 / 2025
    Schindellegi, Switzerland – 1 July 2025

    Trifork Group: Weekly report on share buyback

    On 28 February 2025, Trifork initiated a share buyback program in accordance with Regulation No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (MAR) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, (Safe Harbour regulation). The share buyback program runs from 4 March 2025 up to and including no later than 30 June 2025. For details, please see company announcement no. 7 of 28 February 2025.

    Under the share buyback program, Trifork will purchase shares for up to a total of DKK 14.92 million (approximately EUR 2 million). Prior to the launch of the share buyback, Trifork held 256,329 treasury shares, corresponding to 1.3% of the share capital. Under the program, the following transactions have been made:

            Number of shares        Average purchase price (DKK)        Transaction value (DKK)
    Total beginning 131,724 89.36 11,771,127
    30 June 2025 1,800 92.95 167,310
    Accumulated 133,524 89.41 11,938,437
           

    A detailed overview of the daily transactions can be found here: https://investor.trifork.com/trifork-shares/. The number of shares bought back on 12 June 2025 was corrected from 1,900 to 1,800.

    Since the share buyback program was started on 4 March 2025, the total number of repurchased shares is 133,524 at a total amount of DKK 11,938,437.
    On 25 March, 25 April, 23 May and 25 June 2025, 5,739 shares acquired through the share buyback program were utilized for the Executive Management’s monthly fixed salary, representing a change from cash payment to payment partly in shares (refer to company announcement no. 1 of 21 January 2025). On 1 April and 30 June 2025, 20,306 shares acquired through the share buyback program were utilized to serve the RSU plan of Executive Management and certain employees.

    With the transactions stated above, Trifork holds a total of 363,808 treasury shares, corresponding to 1.8%. The total number of registered shares in Trifork is 19,744,899. Adjusted for treasury shares, the number of outstanding shares is 19,381,091.

    This concludes the share buyback program.

    Investor and media contact
    Frederik Svanholm, Group Investment Director, frsv@trifork.com, +41 79 357 73 17

    About Trifork
    Trifork (Nasdaq Copenhagen: TRIFOR) is a pioneering global technology company, empowering enterprise and public sector customers with innovative digital products and solutions. With 1,215 professionals across 71 business units in 16 countries, Trifork specializes in designing, building, and operating advanced software across sectors such as public administration, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, energy, financial services, retail, and real estate. The Group’s R&D arm, Trifork Labs, drives innovation by investing in and developing synergistic, high-potential technology companies. Learn more at trifork.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Abacus Global Management Sues Coventry and its Chairman Alan Buerger for Defamation and Anticompetitive Conduct

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Coventry and Chairman Alan Buerger Engaged in Years-Long Campaign to Systematically Disseminate False and Misleading Information About the Publicly-Traded Company

    Coventry and Buerger Found a Key Partner and Megaphone for its Defamatory Statements: Short Seller Morpheus Research

    ORLANDO, Fla., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abacus Global Management, Inc. (“Abacus” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ABL), a leader in the alternative asset management space, today provided the following statement:

    Coventry First LLC, parent company of life settlements provider Coventry Direct (“Coventry”), and its Chairman Alan Buerger engaged in a concentrated effort to manipulate market sentiment about its biggest competitor, Abacus Global Management, through a systematic campaign to disseminate false and misleading statements about Abacus to regulators, auditors, market analysts, customers, investors and the public, causing confusion, concern, and financial injury to Abacus, its clients, and its shareholders, according to a lawsuit filed last night by Abacus in Florida’s Ninth Circuit Court.

    The lawsuit alleges that a short report published by Morpheus Research on June 4, 2025 was Coventry’s latest attack on Abacus. Coventry will be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages should Abacus prove that Morpheus was acting as Coventry and Buerger’s willing partner and megaphone for the same defamatory statements Coventry was circulating about Abacus’ valuation methodology, statements regulators and market makers had ignored for months.

    The lawsuit details a multi-year effort by Coventry and its Chairman and founder, Alan Buerger, to cast doubt on Abacus’ valuation practices and stock price. Unable to compete with Abacus’ transparent pricing model and performance, Coventry and Buerger devised a scheme to undermine Abacus through false and misleading statements to convince the market that Abacus pays policyholders too much for their policies, causing an overvaluation of Abacus’ assets. This is more than idle talk: they have tried to convince anyone who will listen that the biggest threat to Coventry’s business is in fact illegitimate. 

    “This isn’t about competitive practices or even good faith criticism of a competitor’s business model – they clearly crossed the line into tortious interference and defamation,” said Abacus Global Management CEO Jay Jackson. “They’re losing market share to Abacus because we offer policyholders better terms and more transparent pricing, so instead of competing on product, they chose to try to manipulate markets by damaging Abacus’ reputation, confusing its customers, and undermining investor confidence with false statements. We’ve built a successful business through our fierce commitment to transparency – and we are going to fight back.”

    The lawsuit details the fundamental flaw at the center of Coventry’s false claims: Abacus buys policies from individuals​​ and sells them to investors. When the policies are sold to investors, who conduct their own evaluation of the policies’ value, the sale price consistently exceeds Abacus’ valuations. In short, the market is thoroughly and indisputably corroborating the value of Abacus’ assets and debunking Coventry’s central premise.

    “Coventry’s core claim is that top-tier investors like KKR are overpaying for life insurance policies—policies they’ve purchased from Abacus repeatedly over many years,” continued Abacus CEO Jackson. “Coventry essentially argues that they and Alan Buerger, with their less than sterling reputation, are more sophisticated investors than these major institutional firms. This claim is clearly absurd.”

    Coventry’s claim “deliberately ignores Abacus’ consistent and legally mandated disclosures that its publicly-traded balance sheet is valued ‘under the fair value method’ – that is, market price,” according to the filing.

    To convince the market that Abacus is not properly valuing its policies, Coventry targeted one of the six life expectancy estimate organizations Abacus uses, Lapetus Solutions. Coventry, and in particular Buerger, have “intentionally made false and misleading statements about Lapetus” through “purportedly independent but paid studies” that claim to show Lapetus systematically underestimates life expectancy. Coventry spread these false claims “across a wide range of audiences, each deliberately chosen to inflict maximum harm on Abacus,” including presenting its lies to: Abacus’s auditor, Grant Thornton; TD Securities, a market analyst tracking Abacus’ stock; the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and included the defamatory claims about Abacus in a lawsuit against the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”).

    Coventry claims Abacus is using Lapetus to value the policies it holds on its balance sheet, thereby inflating the value of each policy based on inaccurate life expectancy estimates. But as the lawsuit explains, quoting public filings, Abacus has repeatedly disclosed that it “does not use a life expectancy valuation model to value the policies,” rendering the entire accusation meritless. Separately, Abacus uses Lapetus as one of six life expectancy provider inputs when determining the price it will pay seniors for their policies, and not to derive its balance sheet valuations. If Coventry is correct that Lapetus is underestimating life expectancy, then it means Abacus is simply overpaying senior citizens for their policies.

    Abacus alleges that Coventry and Buerger recently “took these insinuations to the next level” when Buerger gave an interview, on the Tegus expert network platform, in which he accused Abacus of “manufactur[ing] earnings,” said that its “stockholders…will be subordinated to the asset-backed debt, which is to say they will all be wiped out when this thing goes upside down,” falsely repeating that Abacus, was “us[ing] Lapetus…primarily,” and predicting, “it’s just a matter of time before [Abacus] implodes.”

    The reality, found in the lawsuit filed today, is Abacus’s financial statements and internal controls over financial reporting have been found “in compliance with GAAP by a respected public company auditor in every annual audit,” that Abacus “has zero asset-backed debt” that can layer other investors in its capital structure, and that Abacus does not use Lapetus “to value the assets on its balance sheet, nor has it ever done so.”

    Coventry and Buerger also solicited “multiple short sellers to write a hit piece on Abacus, regurgitating the same false claims about Lapetus and Abacus’s valuation” with at least one prominent short seller who turned them down, noting “that senior citizens are making too much money off of selling their insurance policies is not a compelling story.”

    But eventually, Coventry and Buerger found a willing partner and megaphone for its defamatory statements: short seller Morpheus Research.

    Buerger’s interview was released to investors for the first time on June 4, 2025, 90 minutes before markets opened. Three hours later, Morpheus Research issued a short report that quoted Buerger’s most inflammatory accusations and heavily cited Coventry’s “research” on Lapetus.

    Within minutes, Abacus stock (NASDAQ: ABL) dropped more than 21%, erasing more than $200 million in market capitalization, based on well-trafficked lies.

    The lawsuit alleges Morpheus was acting as Coventry’s and Buerger’s willing partner and megaphone for the same defamatory statements about the Abacus valuation methodology, which regulators and market makers had ignored for months. The short report from Morpheus “parrots the same or similar false and misleading statements that Coventry had previously peddled.” As Morpheus acknowledges, one of its “sources” for the report includes “Abacus competitors,” a.k.a. Coventry, and ​​Morpheus timed the report to coincide with the release of Buerger’s Tegus interview.

    In the wake of Buerger’s interview and the report from Morpheus Research, Abacus is fielding questions from investors “parroting the points Coventry has been shilling for over a year,” and Buerger is “communicating directly with Abacus investors, and disseminating his misleading study of Lapetus.”

    The filing notes: “Coventry’s relentless campaign against Abacus has caused substantial harm to the company and its shareholders. Coventry’s false narrative attempts to project its own financial vulnerabilities onto Abacus, but the facts demonstrate otherwise. The market analysts who came to Abacus’ defense after the short report recognize the truth: Abacus’ transparent approach is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise beleaguered industry, and that explains its rapid rise.”

    Further, the lawsuit details how Coventry is “the poster child” for unsavory behavior in the industry, including:

    • Bid-rigging charges from the New York Attorney General;
    • Settling a multi-billion-dollar fraud case brought by AIG;
    • A Florida Office of Insurance Regulation investigation and a subsequent consent order requiring Coventry to adopt a remedial business plan;
    • A federal Court of Appeals characterized Coventry’s policy origination practices as “illegal”; and how
    • Coventry has been a leading player in Stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI), a practice widely viewed as illegal, and the SEC has noted the practice “​​may encourage fraud”, and multiple states have banned the practice.

    Abacus is represented in the lawsuit by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. Abacus is seeking hundreds of millions in damages, some of which are still accruing, from the harms to its reputation, its customer base, and its relationships with current and potential investors.

    The full filing can be read here.

    Contacts:
    Investor Relations
    Robert F. Phillips – SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs
    rob@abacusgm.com
    (321) 290-1198

    David Jackson – Director of IR/Capital Markets
    david@abacusgm.com
    (321) 299-0716

    Abacus Global Management Public Relations
    press@abacusgm.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust Declares its Monthly Common Shares Distribution and Quarterly Preferred Shares Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (the “Trust”) has declared its regular monthly distribution of $0.070 per share of the Trust’s common shares (NYSE: XFLT). The Trust also declared preferred dividends for the quarter of $0.40625 per share of the Trust’s 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares (NYSE: XFLTPRA).

    The following dates apply to each declaration:

    Share Class Ex-Dividend Date Record Date Payable Date Amount Change
    from
    Previous
    Declaration
    XFLT July 15, 2025 July 15, 2025 August 1, 2025 $0.070 No Change
    XFLTPRA July 15, 2025 July 15, 2025 July 31, 2025 $0.40625 No Change1

    Common share distributions may be paid from net investment income (regular interest and dividends), capital gains and/or a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of the distributions will be reported to the Trust’s common shareholders on Form 1099 after the end of the 2025 calendar year. Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Trust is net income or profit. For further information regarding the Trust’s distributions, please visit www.xainvestments.com.

    The Trust’s net investment income and capital gain can vary significantly over time; however, the Trust seeks to maintain more stable common share monthly distributions over time. The Trust’s investments in CLOs are subject to complex tax rules and the calculation of taxable income attributed to an investment in CLO subordinated notes can be dramatically different from the calculation of income for financial reporting purposes under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), and, as a result, there may be significant differences between the Trust’s GAAP income and its taxable income. The Trust’s final taxable income for the current fiscal year will not be known until the Trust’s tax returns are filed.

    As a registered investment company, the Trust is subject to a 4% excise tax that is imposed if the Trust does not distribute to common shareholders by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gain or loss) for the calendar year and (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain in excess of its capital loss (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for a one-year period generally ending on January 31 of the calendar year (unless an election is made to use the Trust’s fiscal year). In certain circumstances, the Trust may elect to retain income or capital gain to the extent that the Board of Trustees, in consultation with Trust management, determines it to be in the interest of shareholders to do so.

    The common share distributions paid by the Trust for any particular period may be more than the amount of net investment income from that period. As a result, all or a portion of a distribution may be a return of capital, which is in effect a partial return of the amount a common shareholder invested in the Trust, up to the amount of the common shareholder’s tax basis in their common shares, which would reduce such tax basis. Although a return of capital may not be taxable, it will generally increase the common shareholder’s potential gain, or reduce the common shareholder’s potential loss, on any subsequent sale or other disposition of common shares.

    Preferred shareholders are entitled to receive cumulative cash dividends and distributions on the Trust’s 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares, when, as and if declared by, or under authority granted by, the Board of Trustees of the Trust out of funds legally available for distribution and in preference to dividends and distributions on common shares. If the Trust is unable to distribute the full dividend amount due in a dividend period on the Trust’s 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares, the dividends will be distributed on a pro rata basis among the preferred shareholders.

    Distributions and dividends shall be paid on the Payable Date listed above unless the payment of such distribution or dividend is deferred by the Board of Trustees upon a determination that such deferral is required in order to comply with applicable law, to ensure that the Trust remains solvent and able to pay its debts as they become due and continue as a going concern or, with regard to the Trust’s regular monthly distribution to common shareholders, to comply with the applicable terms or financial covenants of the Trust’s senior securities.

    Future common share distributions will be made if and when declared by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, after the evaluation of several factors, including the Trust’s continued compliance with terms and financial covenants of its senior securities, the Trust’s net investment income, financial performance and available cash. There can be no assurance that the amount or timing of common share distributions in the future will be equal or similar to that described herein or that the Board of Trustees will not decide to suspend or discontinue the payment of common share distributions in the future.

    The investment objective of the Trust is to seek attractive total return with an emphasis on income generation across multiple stages of the credit cycle. The Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a dynamically managed portfolio of opportunities primarily within the private credit markets. Under normal market conditions, the Trust will invest at least 80% of its Managed Assets in floating rate credit instruments and other structured credit investments. There can be no assurance that the Trust will achieve its investment objective.

    The Trust’s common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “XFLT,” and the Trust’s 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “XFLTPRA.”

    About XA Investments
    XA Investments LLC (“XAI”) serves as the Trust’s investment adviser. XAI is a Chicago-based firm founded by XMS Capital Partners in 2016. XAI serves as the investment adviser for two listed closed-end funds and an interval closed-end fund. The listed closed-end funds, the XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust and XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund both trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the interval fund, Octagon XAI CLO Income Fund is available via direct subscription and through select broker/dealers and wealth management platforms.

    In addition to investment advisory services, the firm also provides investment fund structuring and consulting services focused on registered closed-end funds to meet institutional client needs. XAI offers custom product build and consulting services, including development and market research, sales, marketing, and fund management.

    XAI believes that the investing public can benefit from new vehicles to access a broad range of alternative investment strategies and managers. XAI provides individual investors with access to institutional-caliber alternative managers. For more information, please visit www.xainvestments.com.

    About XMS Capital Partners

    XMS Capital Partners, LLC, established in 2006, is a global, independent, financial services firm providing M&A, corporate advisory and asset management services to clients. It has offices in Chicago, Boston and London. For more information, please visit www.xmscapital.com.

    About Octagon Credit Investors
    Octagon Credit Investors, LLC (“Octagon”) serves as the Trust’s investment sub-adviser. Octagon is a 25+ year old, $32.1B below-investment grade corporate credit investment adviser focused on leveraged loan, high yield bond and structured credit (CLO debt and equity) investments. Through fundamental credit analysis and active portfolio management, Octagon’s investment team identifies attractive relative value opportunities across below-investment grade asset classes, sectors and issuers. Octagon’s investment philosophy and methodology encourage and rely upon dynamic internal communication to manage portfolio risk. Over its history, the firm has applied a disciplined, repeatable and scalable approach in its effort to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For more information, please visit www.octagoncredit.com.

    XAI does not provide tax advice; please consult a professional tax advisor regarding your specific tax situation. Income may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as the federal alternative minimum tax.

    Investors should consider the investment objectives and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses of the Trust carefully before investing. For more information on the Trust, please visit the Trust’s webpage at www.xainvestments.com.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the laws of such state or jurisdiction.

             
    NOT FDIC INSURED    NO BANK GUARANTEE    MAY LOSE VALUE
             
    Paralel Distributors, LLC – Distributor


    Media Contact:

    Kimberly Flynn, President

    XA Investments LLC
    Phone: 888-903-3358
    Email: KFlynn@XAInvestments.com
    www.xainvestments.com

    1 The Trust’s 6.50% Series 2026 Term Preferred Shares dividend is calculated based on the preferred shares Liquidation Preference of $25.00 per share and the fixed dividend rate of 6.50%.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund Declares its Monthly Distribution of $0.060 per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund (the “Fund”), has declared its regular monthly distribution of $0.060 per share on the Fund’s common shares (NYSE: MCN) payable on August 1, 2025. The amount represents no change from the previous month’s distribution amount.

    As mentioned in previous distribution declarations, the Fund has changed its distribution frequency from quarterly to monthly, which went into effect with the April 1, 2025 declaration.

    Ex-Dividend Date   July 15, 2025
       
    Record Date   July 15, 2025
       
    Payable Date   August 1, 2025
       
    Amount   $0.060 per share
       
    Change from Previous Month   No Change

    The following dates apply to the declaration:

    Common share distributions may be paid from net investment income (regular interest and dividends), capital gains and/or a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of the distributions will be reported to the Fund’s common shareholders on Form 1099 after the end of the 2025 calendar year. Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Fund is net income or profit. For further information regarding the Fund’s distributions, please visit www.xainvestments.com.

    The Fund’s net investment income and capital gain can vary significantly over time; however, the Fund seeks to maintain more stable common share quarterly distributions over time. The Fund’s final taxable income for the current fiscal year will not be known until the Fund’s tax returns are filed.

    As a registered investment company, the Fund is subject to a 4% excise tax that is imposed if the Fund does not distribute to common shareholders by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gain or loss) for the calendar year and (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain in excess of its capital loss (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for a one-year period generally ending on December 31 of the calendar year (unless an election is made to use the Fund’s fiscal year). In certain circumstances, the Fund may elect to retain income or capital gain to the extent that the Board of Trustees, in consultation with Fund management, determines it to be in the interest of shareholders to do so.

    The common share distributions paid by the Fund for any particular period may be more than the amount of net investment income from that period. As a result, all or a portion of a distribution may be a return of capital, which is in effect a partial return of the amount a common shareholder invested in the Fund, up to the amount of the common shareholder’s tax basis in their common shares, which would reduce such tax basis. Although a return of capital may not be taxable, it will generally increase the common shareholder’s potential gain, or reduce the common shareholder’s potential loss, on any subsequent sale or other disposition of common shares.

    Future common share distributions will be made if and when declared by the Fund’s Board of Trustees, after the evaluation of several factors, including the Fund’s net investment income, financial performance and available cash. There can be no assurance that the amount or timing of common share distributions in the future will be equal or similar to that described herein or that the Board of Trustees will not decide to suspend or discontinue the payment of common share distributions in the future.

    The Fund’s objective is to achieve a high level of current income and current capital gains, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective. The Fund intends to pursue its objective by investing in a portfolio of common stocks and utilizing an option strategy, primarily by writing (selling) covered call options on a substantial portion of the common stocks in the portfolio in order to generate current income and gains from option writing premiums and, to a lesser extent, from dividends. Market action can impact dividend issuance as the Fund’s total assets affect the Fund’s future dividend prospects. The Fund provides additional information on its website at www.xainvestments.com.

    About XA Investments

    XA Investments LLC (“XAI”) serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. XAI is a Chicago-based firm founded by XMS Capital Partners in 2016. XAI serves as the investment adviser for two listed closed-end funds and an interval closed-end fund. The listed closed-end funds, the XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust and XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund both trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the interval fund, Octagon XAI CLO Income Fund is available via direct subscription and through select broker/dealers and wealth management platforms.

    In addition to investment advisory services, the firm also provides investment fund structuring and consulting services focused on registered closed-end funds to meet institutional client needs. XAI offers custom product build and consulting services, including development and market research, sales, marketing, and fund management.

    XAI believes that the investing public can benefit from new vehicles to access a broad range of alternative investment strategies and managers. XAI provides individual investors with access to institutional-caliber alternative managers. For more information, please visit www.xainvestments.com.

    About XMS Capital Partners
    XMS Capital Partners, LLC, established in 2006, is a global, independent, financial services firm providing M&A, corporate advisory and asset management services to clients. It has offices in Chicago, Boston and London. For more information, please visit www.xmscapital.com.

    About Madison Investments
    Madison Investments is an independent investment management firm based in Madison, WI. The firm was founded in 1974, has approximately $28.3 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025, and is recognized as one of the nation’s top investment firms. Madison offers domestic fixed income, U.S. and international equity, covered call, multi-asset, insurance and credit union investment management strategies. For more information, please visit www.madisoninvestments.com.

    Madison and/or Madison Investments is the unifying tradename of Madison Investment Holdings, Inc., Madison Asset Management, LLC, and Madison Investment Advisors, LLC. Madison Funds are distributed by MFD Distributor, LLC. Madison is registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. MFD Distributor, LLC is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer and is a member firm of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority www.finra.org.

    XAI does not provide tax advice; please consult a professional tax advisor regarding your specific tax situation. Income may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as the federal alternative minimum tax.

    Investors should consider the investment objectives and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. For more information on the Fund, please visit the Fund’s webpage at www.xainvestments.com.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the laws of such state or jurisdiction.

             
    NOT FDIC INSURED    NO BANK GUARANTEE    MAY LOSE VALUE

    Media Contact:

    Kimberly Flynn, President
    XA Investments LLC
    Phone: 888-903-3358
    Email: KFlynn@XAInvestments.com
    www.xainvestments.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: GAMCO Expects to Report Diluted EPS for the Second Quarter 2025 of $0.89 to $0.94 Per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    GREENWICH, Conn., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“Gabelli”) (OTCQX: GAMI) announced today that assets under management (“AUM”) were $33.3 billion at June 30, 2025 as compared to $30.7 billion at June 30, 2024.

    Gabelli expects to report second quarter 2025 diluted earnings in the range of $0.89 to $0.94 per share versus $0.61 per share for the second quarter of 2024.

    These results include the investment management services business of Keeley acquired from Teton Advisors, Inc. (OTC Pink: TETAA) on May 1, 2025. Keeley consists of four mutual funds and approximately 500 separately managed accounts (SMAs) with AUM of close to $1.0 billion.

    Gabelli plans to review further details with its financial results in early August.

    About GAMCO Investors, Inc.

    Gabelli (OTCQX: GAMI), established in 1977, is a widely-recognized provider of investment advisory services to 27 open-end funds, 13 United States closed-end funds and one United Kingdom limited investment company, 5 actively managed exchange traded funds, one société d’investissement à capital variable, and approximately 1,900 institutional and private wealth management investors principally in the U.S. The Company’s revenues are based primarily on the levels of assets under management and fees associated with the various investment products.

    In 1977, Gabelli launched its well-known All Cap Value equity strategy, Gabelli Value, in a separate account format and in 1986 entered the mutual fund business. Today, Gabelli offers a diverse set of client solutions across asset classes (e.g. Equities, Debt Instruments, Convertibles, non-market correlated Merger Arbitrage), regions, market capitalizations, sectors (e.g. Gold, Utilities) and investment styles (e.g. Value, Growth). Gabelli serves a broad client base, including institutions, intermediaries, offshore investors, private wealth, and direct retail investors.

    CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

    The financial results set forth in this press release are preliminary. Our disclosure and analysis in this press release, which do not present historical information, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements convey our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements because they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. They also appear in any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, future performance of our products, expenses, the outcome of any legal proceedings, and financial results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know about our business and operations, the economy, and other conditions, there can be no assurance that our actual results will not differ materially from what we expect or believe. Therefore, you should proceed with caution in relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance.

    Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are listed below, that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may cause our actual results to differ from our expectations include risks associated with a decline in the securities markets that adversely affect our assets under management, negative performance of our products, the failure to perform as required under our investment management agreements, and a general downturn in the economy that negatively impacts our operations. We also direct your attention to the more specific discussions of these and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors contained in our Annual Report and other public filings. Other factors that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We do not undertake to update publicly any forward-looking statements if we subsequently learn that we are unlikely to achieve our expectations whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

    Contact: Kieran Caterina
      SVP, Chief Accounting Officer
      (914) 921-5149
       
      For further information please visit
      www.gabelli.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Occidental to Announce Second Quarter Results Wednesday, August 6, 2025; Hold Conference Call Thursday, August 7, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Occidental (NYSE: OXY) will announce its second quarter 2025 financial results after close of market on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, and will hold a conference call to discuss the results on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at 1 p.m. Eastern/12 p.m. Central.

    The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-866-871-6512 (international callers dial 1-412-317-5417) or via webcast at oxy.com/investors. Participants may pre-register for the conference call at https://dpregister.com/sreg/10200631/ff63fe0694.

    Second quarter 2025 financial results will be available through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website. A recording of the webcast will be posted on the website within several hours after the call is completed.

    About Occidental

    Occidental is an international energy company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa. We are one of the largest oil and gas producers in the U.S., including a leading producer in the Permian and DJ basins, and offshore Gulf of America. Our midstream and marketing segment provides flow assurance and maximizes the value of our oil and gas, and includes our Oxy Low Carbon Ventures subsidiary, which is advancing leading-edge technologies and business solutions that economically grow our business while reducing emissions. Our chemical subsidiary OxyChem manufactures the building blocks for life-enhancing products. We are dedicated to using our global leadership in carbon management to advance a lower-carbon world. Visit Oxy.com for more information.

    Contacts

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, Wyden, Sanders, Gillibrand Demand Answers on “Reckless” AI Tool Rollout at SSA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    July 01, 2025

    Reporting revealed AI program delayed Social Security retirement claims processing by 25 percent

    “We are concerned that SSA will make even bigger mistakes in incorporating AI into higher-risk tasks, particularly in roles that could jeopardize Americans’ financial security.”

    Text of Letter (PDF)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to  Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano, demanding answers on the reckless installation of artificial intelligence (AI) into SSA’s phone systems, which have blocked people from accessing their earned Social Security benefits—all while leaving Congress, advocates, and the American people in the dark.  

    “This lack of communication from your agency undermines its efforts to improve services by sowing chaos and confusion, which breeds distrust in the agency and its leadership,” wrote the senators.

    SSA is rushing to incorporate a new AI tool into its national 1-800 number and the phone systems of 1,200 field offices—without having sought input from advocates, Congress, or the American people. SSA made this rash decision just a month after it was forced to abandon its fraud-detection AI chatbot, which slowed claims processing by 25%—and found that fraud is essentially non-existent. 

    The senators emphasized that the Trump administration failed to develop comprehensive AI policies and follow basic IT guidelines. Under previous SSA Commissioner O’Malley, the agency developed policies that would foster Americans’ trust in SSA’s use of AI. 

    “As the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Social Security and SSI programs, we have a responsibility to ensure SSA pays the right benefit amount to the right person at the right time, provides the public with the level of customer service they expect, and is a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, including overseeing SSA’s development and adoption of emerging technology like AI,” concluded the senators.

    To further understand how SSA will change its reckless actions of implementing AI systems without consultation, the senators requested answers to the following questions by July 18, 2025:

    1. Please provide a detailed description of the new AI-based chatbot, including how it determines whether it has successfully answered a caller’s questions before hanging up? 

    2. What metrics is SSA using to determine whether this AI-based chatbot is successful at improving service delivery at the national 1-800 number?

    3. What metrics did SSA use to evaluate the successes or challenges of this AI-based chatbot before rolling it out nationwide to field offices?

    4. What stakeholders, especially those who represent beneficiaries and employees, were consulted pre- and post-deployment of this AI-based chatbot?

    5. Is SSA planning to procure, develop, or implement any new AI systems this year? If so, please list and provide a detailed description of these AI systems, their expected implementation dates, how they are expected to improve service delivery, and what steps SSA will be taking to prevent disruptions to services during the transition. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Nasdaq Announces the Board of Directors of its U.S. Exchanges

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the election of all nominated directors to the boards of the U.S. exchanges operated by the company, which include The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Nasdaq PHLX LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, and Nasdaq GEMX, LLC:

    • Kathlyn Card Beckles, Chief Legal Officer, Verisk Analytics, Inc.
    • Michael J. Curran, Retired Chairman and CEO, Boston Stock Exchange
    • Anne Marie Darling, Group Co-Chief Operating Officer and Barclays Execution Services Co-Chief Executive Officer, Barclays
    • Kevin Kennedy, EVP, North American Markets, Nasdaq
    • Thomas A. Kloet, Retired CEO and Executive Director, TMX Group Limited
    • Anita Lynch, Former Chief Data Officer, New Relic, Inc.
    • David Rosato, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, Eastern Bancshares
    • Andrew J. Schultz, Head of Strategic Options Business, The Susquehanna International Group of Companies
    • Elizabeth Wideman, SVP and Senior Deputy General Counsel, Comcast Corporation
    • Thomas A. Wittman, Retired EVP and Head of Global Trading and Market Services, Nasdaq

    For further governance information, visit: http://ir.nasdaq.com/corporate-governance/nasdaq-stock-market/board-of-directors.

    About Nasdaq

    Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

    Media Relations Contact:

    Chris Hayden
    +1.301.523.5829
    Christopher.Hayden@nasdaq.com

    Investor Relations Contact

    Ato Garrett
    +1.212.401.8737
    Ato.Garrett@Nasdaq.com

    -NDAQF-

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Nasdaq Announces the Board of Directors of its U.S. Exchanges

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the election of all nominated directors to the boards of the U.S. exchanges operated by the company, which include The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Nasdaq PHLX LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, and Nasdaq GEMX, LLC:

    • Kathlyn Card Beckles, Chief Legal Officer, Verisk Analytics, Inc.
    • Michael J. Curran, Retired Chairman and CEO, Boston Stock Exchange
    • Anne Marie Darling, Group Co-Chief Operating Officer and Barclays Execution Services Co-Chief Executive Officer, Barclays
    • Kevin Kennedy, EVP, North American Markets, Nasdaq
    • Thomas A. Kloet, Retired CEO and Executive Director, TMX Group Limited
    • Anita Lynch, Former Chief Data Officer, New Relic, Inc.
    • David Rosato, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, Eastern Bancshares
    • Andrew J. Schultz, Head of Strategic Options Business, The Susquehanna International Group of Companies
    • Elizabeth Wideman, SVP and Senior Deputy General Counsel, Comcast Corporation
    • Thomas A. Wittman, Retired EVP and Head of Global Trading and Market Services, Nasdaq

    For further governance information, visit: http://ir.nasdaq.com/corporate-governance/nasdaq-stock-market/board-of-directors.

    About Nasdaq

    Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

    Media Relations Contact:

    Chris Hayden
    +1.301.523.5829
    Christopher.Hayden@nasdaq.com

    Investor Relations Contact

    Ato Garrett
    +1.212.401.8737
    Ato.Garrett@Nasdaq.com

    -NDAQF-

    The MIL Network –