Category: Economy

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with Thailand

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    February 20, 2025

    Washington, DC: On February 11, The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with Thailand and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.

    Thailand’s economy is gradually recovering, but at a slower pace than peers. Economic activity expanded modestly by 1.9 percent in 2023 and 2.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, driven by private consumption growth and a rebound in tourism. Inflation remained subdued, averaging 0.4 percent (y/y) annually in 2024, well below the Bank of Thailand’s target range of 1 to 3 percent. External factors such as the decline in global energy and food prices, lower import prices have played a role, but domestic factors such as energy subsidies, price controls, and the unwinding of pandemic-related fiscal support have also contributed to the lower inflation. The current account balance strengthened to 1.4 percent of GDP in 2023, from -3.5 percent of GDP in 2022, and continues to register a moderate surplus as of November 2024, supported by the continued recovery in tourism and higher exports.

    A gradual cyclical recovery is expected to continue. Real GDP is projected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2024 and to increase to 2.9 percent in 2025. This is underpinned by the expansionary fiscal stance envisaged under the 2025 budget, which includes additional cash transfers of 1.0 percent of GDP and a rebound in public investment. Tourism-related sectors are expected to continue to support growth, as well as private consumption that will be further boosted by the authorities’ cash transfers. As growth continues to firm up, inflation is expected to pick up but remain in the bottom half of the target range in 2025. The current account balance is expected to improve further in 2024 and 2025, driven by the ongoing recovery in tourist arrivals.

    Risks to Thailand’s economic outlook are tilted to the downside. On the external front, an escalation of global trade tensions or deepening geoeconomic fragmentation could disrupt Thailand’s export recovery and dampen FDI inflows, while increased commodity price volatility could affect growth and lead to inflation spikes, and potentially tighter-for-longer global financial conditions. The intensification of regional conflicts could disrupt trade and travel flows while more frequent extreme climate events would adversely impact growth prospects. On the domestic front, the private sector debt overhang could impair financial institutions’ balance sheets and further decrease credit supply, negatively affecting growth. Renewed political uncertainty could hinder policy implementation and undermine confidence.

    Executive Board Assessment[2]

    In concluding the 2024 Article IV consultation with Thailand, Executive Directors endorsed the staff’s appraisal, as follows:

    Thailand’s economic recovery is ongoing, but it has been relatively slow and uneven. Economic activity expanded modestly in 2024, driven by private consumption and a rebound in tourism-related activities, while delayed budget implementation slowed the pace of public investment. The slow recovery, compared to ASEAN peers, is also rooted in Thailand’s longstanding structural weaknesses, while emerging external and domestic headwinds have also contributed to subdued inflation. The outlook remains highly uncertain with significant downside risks.

    As economic slack narrows, the focus should shift to rebuilding fiscal space. A less expansionary fiscal stance than envisaged under the FY25 budget would still provide impulse to support the recovery while helping to preserve policy space. Alternatively, reallocating part of the planned cash transfers toward productivity-enhancing investments or social protection would enable stronger inclusive growth and help reduce the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Starting in FY26, a revenue-based medium-term fiscal consolidation is needed to bring down public debt and rebuild buffers.

    Thailand’s fiscal framework can be further strengthened. This would require strengthening fiscal rules to better support the debt anchor by introducing a risk-based rules approach. Costs associated with quasi-fiscal operations such as energy price caps should be adequately accounted for, and fiscal risks closely monitored. Improving data provision for government finance statistics and SOEs is important.

    Staff welcomes the BOT’s decision to cut the policy rate in October and recommends a further reduction in the policy rate to support inflation and also translate into improvements in borrowers’ debt-servicing capacity with limited risk of additional leverage amid tight lending. Given remaining high uncertainty in the outlook, the authorities should stand ready to adjust their monetary policy stance in a data and outlook-dependent manner. Central bank independence with clear communication of policy moves is key to maintaining the credibility and effectiveness of monetary policy in anchoring inflation expectations.

    Effective coordination across policy tools, underpinned by adequate buffers, is essential for managing adverse scenarios. While the flexible exchange rate should continue to act as a shock absorber, the complementary use of FXI might alleviate policy trade-offs by smoothing destabilizing premia when large non-fundamental shocks render the FX market dysfunctional. Further liberalization of the FX ecosystem and phasing out of remaining capital flow management measures would help deepen the FX market and limit the need for FXI over time.

    A comprehensive package of prudential and legal measures needs to be deployed to facilitate an orderly private deleveraging. Staff welcomes the measures already implemented to address both the existing household debt stock and the buildup of new leverage. However, simultaneous and forceful implementation of personal debt workouts via more effective bankruptcy proceedings is essential to lower the existing household debt stock.

    The external position in 2024 was moderately stronger than warranted by fundamentals and desirable policy settings. Policies aimed at promoting investment, enhancing social safety nets, liberalizing the services sector, and minimizing tax incentives and subsidies that distort competition would facilitate external rebalancing.

    Resolute structural reforms are needed to boost productivity and competitiveness. Reform priorities include facilitating competition and openness, upgrading physical and ICT infrastructure, upskilling/reskilling the labor force, increasing export sophistication by leveraging digitalization, and strengthening governance. Providing an adequate social protection floor to vulnerable households could help enhance their resilience to shocks and address structural drivers of household debt accumulation.

    Table 1. Thailand: Selected Economic Indicators, 2019–30

    Per capita GDP (2023): US$7,338

    Exchange Rate (2023): 34.8 Baht/USD

    Unemployment rate (2023): 1 percent

    Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (2021): 6.3 percent

    Net FDI (2023): US$ -7.16 billion

    Population (2023): 70.18 million

                       

    Actual

    Projections

    2019

    2020

    2021

    2022

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    2027

    2028

    2029

    2030

    Real GDP growth (y/y percent change) 1/

    2.1

    -6.1

    1.6

    2.5

    1.9

    2.7

    2.9

    2.6

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    Consumption

    3.4

    -0.3

    1.3

    4.8

    4.6

    4.3

    4.0

    2.9

    2.1

    2.3

    2.6

    2.6

    Gross fixed investment

    2.0

    -4.8

    3.1

    2.3

    1.2

    0.1

    4.1

    2.1

    1.8

    2.3

    2.4

    2.5

    Inflation (y/y percent change)

                           

    Headline CPI (end of period)

    0.9

    -0.3

    2.2

    5.9

    -0.8

    1.2

    1.3

    1.5

    1.5

    1.7

    1.7

    1.8

    Headline CPI (period average)

    0.7

    -0.8

    1.2

    6.1

    1.2

    0.4

    1.0

    1.3

    1.5

    1.6

    1.7

    1.8

    Core CPI (end of period)

    0.5

    0.2

    0.3

    3.2

    0.6

    0.8

    1.3

    1.0

    1.2

    1.4

    1.4

    1.6

    Core CPI (period average)

    0.5

    0.3

    0.2

    2.5

    1.3

    0.6

    1.1

    1.2

    1.1

    1.3

    1.4

    1.5

    Saving and investment (percent of GDP)

                           

    Gross domestic investment

    23.8

    23.8

    28.6

    27.8

    22.5

    20.8

    21.9

    22.2

    22.0

    21.8

    21.8

    21.6

    Private

    16.9

    16.8

    16.9

    17.3

    17.3

    16.7

    16.6

    16.4

    16.3

    16.1

    16.1

    16.0

    Public

    5.7

    6.4

    6.5

    6.1

    5.6

    5.6

    5.9

    5.8

    5.7

    5.7

    5.7

    5.7

    Change in stocks

    1.2

    0.5

    5.1

    4.5

    -0.4

    -1.5

    -0.6

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Gross national saving

    30.8

    27.9

    26.5

    24.4

    24.0

    22.6

    24.0

    24.5

    24.4

    24.4

    24.5

    24.4

    Private, including statistical discrepancy

    25.8

    26.2

    26.8

    22.6

    21.0

    19.8

    21.8

    21.9

    21.7

    21.7

    21.8

    21.6

    Public

    5.0

    1.8

    -0.3

    1.7

    3.0

    2.8

    2.2

    2.5

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.8

    Foreign saving

    -7.0

    -4.2

    2.1

    3.5

    -1.4

    -1.8

    -2.2

    -2.3

    -2.4

    -2.6

    -2.7

    -2.8

    Fiscal accounts (percent of GDP) 2/

                           

    General government balance 3/

    0.4

    -4.5

    -6.7

    -4.5

    -2.0

    -2.2

    -3.6

    -3.2

    -2.9

    -2.8

    -2.8

    -2.8

      SOEs balance

    0.4

    0.6

    -0.3

    -0.6

    -0.7

    -0.1

    -0.2

    -0.1

    -0.1

    -0.1

    -0.1

    0.0

    Public sector balance 4/

    0.8

    -3.9

    -7.1

    -5.1

    -2.7

    -2.3

    -3.8

    -3.3

    -3.0

    -2.9

    -2.9

    -2.8

    Public sector debt (end of period) 4/

    41.1

    49.4

    58.3

    60.5

    62.4

    63.3

    64.7

    65.4

    66.0

    66.1

    66.4

    66.4

    Monetary accounts (end of period, y/y percent change)

               

    Broad money growth

    3.6

    10.2

    4.8

    3.9

    1.9

    2.3

    3.7

    3.5

    3.2

    3.8

    3.2

    3.7

    Narrow money growth

    5.7

    14.2

    14.0

    3.1

    4.2

    5.9

    3.2

    4.7

    4.2

    5.1

    4.3

    4.9

    Credit to the private sector (by other depository corporations)

    2.4

    4.5

    4.5

    2.5

    1.5

    0.1

    1.0

    1.6

    1.8

    2.1

    2.3

    2.5

    Balance of payments (billions of U.S. dollars)

                           

    Current account balance

    38.3

    20.9

    -10.7

    -17.2

    7.4

    9.5

    11.9

    13.2

    14.6

    16.5

    18.2

    19.4

    (In percent of GDP)

    7.0

    4.2

    -2.1

    -3.5

    1.4

    1.8

    2.2

    2.3

    2.4

    2.6

    2.7

    2.8

    Exports of goods, f.o.b.

    242.7

    227.0

    270.6

    285.2

    280.7

    293.6

    301.8

    312.5

    327.2

    343.1

    359.0

    375.5

    Growth rate (dollar terms)

    -3.3

    -6.5

    19.2

    5.4

    -1.5

    4.6

    2.8

    3.6

    4.7

    4.9

    4.6

    4.6

            Growth rate (volume terms)

    -3.7

    -5.8

    15.4

    1.2

    -2.7

    2.1

    1.9

    2.7

    3.5

    3.6

    3.2

    3.2

    Imports of goods, f.o.b.

    216.0

    186.6

    238.6

    271.6

    261.4

    274.9

    284.6

    295.1

    309.1

    324.1

    339.1

    354.9

    Growth rate (dollar terms)

    -5.6

    -13.6

    27.9

    13.8

    -3.8

    5.2

    3.5

    3.7

    4.7

    4.9

    4.6

    4.7

            Growth rate (volume terms)

    -5.8

    -10.4

    18.0

    1.0

    -4.1

    3.7

    3.5

    3.3

    3.4

    3.3

    3.3

    3.3

    Capital and financial account balance 5/

    -24.7

    -2.6

    3.6

    6.9

    -4.9

    -9.5

    -11.9

    -13.2

    -14.6

    -16.5

    -18.2

    -19.4

    Overall balance

    13.6

    18.4

    -7.1

    -10.2

    2.6

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Gross official reserves (including net forward position, end of period) (billions of U.S. dollars)

    259.0

    286.5

    279.2

    245.8

    254.6

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    (Months of following year’s imports)

    16.7

    14.4

    12.3

    11.3

    11.1

    11.1

    10.7

    10.2

    9.7

    9.3

    8.9

    8.5

    (Percent of short-term debt) 6/

    338.0

    315.3

    291.2

    236.3

    242.7

    239.6

    231.7

    222.5

    213.7

    206.2

    199.6

    252.3

    (Percent of ARA metric)

    252.5

    278.3

    263.3

    222.3

    233.2

    231.8

    226.4

    219.2

    212.3

    205.4

    199.3

    200.0

    Exchange rate (baht/U.S. dollar)

    31.0

    31.3

    32.0

    35.1

    34.8

    35.3

    NEER appreciation (annual average)

    7.2

    -0.3

    -4.5

    -1.8

    3.9

    REER appreciation (annual average)

    5.8

    -2.6

    -5.7

    -1.1

    1.2

    External debt

                           

    (In percent of GDP)

    31.7

    38.0

    38.9

    40.6

    38.2

    38.4

    38.5

    38.6

    38.7

    38.7

    38.8

    38.8

    (In billions of U.S. dollars)

    172.7

    190.1

    196.9

    201.4

    196.5

    202.4

    213.1

    223.8

    233.8

    245.9

    257.0

    270.0

    Public sector 7/

    38.0

    37.2

    41.5

    41.2

    35.8

    38.4

    40.8

    43.3

    45.6

    48.1

    50.8

    53.7

    Private sector

    134.0

    152.9

    155.4

    160.3

    160.7

    164.5

    172.9

    181.1

    188.8

    198.3

    206.8

    217.0

    Medium- and long-term

    74.6

    79.4

    82.3

    82.3

    80.3

    80.7

    86.5

    91.1

    95.3

    101.5

    107.1

    114.0

    Short-term (including portfolio flows)

    59.4

    73.5

    73.1

    78.0

    80.4

    83.8

    86.4

    90.0

    93.5

    96.8

    99.7

    103.0

    Debt service ratio 8/

    7.8

    7.5

    6.3

    7.3

    7.9

    7.8

    7.8

    7.3

    8.3

    9.3

    10.3

    10.3

    Memorandum items:

                           

    Nominal GDP (billions of baht)

    16889.2

    15661.3

    16188.6

    17378.0

    17922.0

    18603.0

    19371.2

    20282.2

    21143.0

    22211.7

    23164.5

    24307.8

    (In billions of U.S. dollars)

    544.0

    500.5

    506.3

    495.6

    515.0

    527.1

    553.9

    580.2

    604.8

    635.4

    662.7

    695.4

    Output Gap (in percent of potential output)

    0.2

    -4.2

    -4.1

    -2.0

    -1.5

    -0.7

    0.0

    0.1

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Sources: Thai authorities; CEIC Data Co. Ltd.; and IMF staff estimates and projections.

    1/ This series reflects the new GDP data based on the chain volume measure methodology, introduced by the Thai authorities in May 2015.

    2/ On a fiscal year basis. The fiscal year ends on September 30.

    3/ Includes budgetary central government, extrabudgetary funds, and local governments.

    4/ Includes general government and SOEs.

    5/ Includes errors and omissions.

    6/ With remaining maturity of one year or less.

    7/ Excludes debt of state enterprises.

    8/ Percent of exports of goods and services.

                                                             

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

    [2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Pavis Devahasadin

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

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-Evening Report: Deepfakes can ruin lives and livelihoods – would owning the ‘rights’ to our own faces and voices help?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Austin, Chair of Private Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    Getty Images

    Not that long ago, the term “deepfake” wasn’t in most people’s vocabularies. Now, it is not only commonplace, but is also the focus of intense legal scrutiny around the world.

    Known in legal documents as “digital replicas”, deepfakes are created by artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate the visual and vocal appearance of real people, living or dead.

    Unregulated, they can do a lot of damage, including financial fraud (already a problem in New Zealand), political disinformation, fake news, and the creation and dissemination of AI-generated pornography and child sexual abuse material.

    For professional performers and entertainers, the proliferation and increasing sophistication of deepfake technology could demolish their ability to control and derive income from their images and voices.

    And deepfakes might soon take away jobs: why employ a professional actor when a digital replica will do?

    One possible solution to this involves giving individuals the ability to enforce intellectual property (IP) rights to their own image and voice. The United States is currently debating such a move, and New Zealand lawmakers should be watching closely.

    Owning your own likeness

    Remedies already being discussed in New Zealand include extending prohibitions in the Harmful Digital Communications Act to cover digital replicas that do not depict a victim’s actual body.

    Using (or amending) the Crimes Act, the Fair Trading Act and the Electoral Act would also be helpful.

    At the same time, there will be political pressure to ensure regulation does not stymie investment in AI technologies – a concern raised in a 2024 cabinet paper.

    Legislation introduced to the US Congress last year – the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Bill – proposes a new federal intellectual property right that individual victims can use against creators and disseminators of deepfakes.

    Known informally as the “No Fakes Bill”, the legislation has bipartisan and industry support, including from leading entertainment worker unions. The US Copyright Office examined the current state of US law and concluded that enforceable rights were “urgently needed”.

    From the New Zealand perspective, the No Fakes Bill contains both helpful ideas and possible pitfalls. As we discuss in a forthcoming paper, its innovations include expanding IP protections to “everyday” individuals – not just celebrities.

    All individuals would have the right to seek damages and injunctions against unlicensed digital replicas, whether they’re in video games, pornographic videos, TikTok posts or remakes of movies and television shows.

    But these protections may prove illusory because the threshold for protection is so high. The digital replica must be “readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual”, but it’s not clear how identifiable the individual victim of a deepfake needs to be.

    Well known New Zealand actors such as Anna Paquin and Cliff Curtis would certainly qualify. But would a New Zealand version of the bill protect an everyday person, “readily identifiable” only to family, friends and workmates?

    Can you license a digital replica?

    Under the US bill, the new IP rights can be licensed. The bill does not ban deepfakes altogether, but gives individuals more control over the use of their likenesses. An actor could, for example, license an advertising company to make a digital replica to appear in a television commercial.

    Licences must be in writing and signed, and the permitted uses must be specified. For living individuals, this can last only ten years.

    So far, so good. But New Zealand policy analysts should look carefully at the scope of any licensing provisions. The proposed IP right is “licensable in whole or in part”. Depending on courts’ interpretation of “in whole”, individuals could unknowingly sign away all uses of their images and voice.

    The No Fakes Bill is also silent on the reputational interests of individuals who license others to use their digital replicas.

    Suppose a performing artist licensed their digital replica for use in AI-generated musical performances. They should not, for example, have to put up with being depicted singing a white supremacist anthem, or other unsanctioned uses that would impugn their dignity and standing.

    Protectng parody and satire

    On the other side of the ledger, the No Fakes Bill contains freedom of expression safeguards for good faith commentary, criticism, scholarship, satire and parody.

    The bill also protects internet service providers (ISPs) from liability if they quickly remove “all instances” of infringing material once notified about it.

    This is useful language that might be adopted in any New Zealand legislation. Also, the parody and satire defence would be an advance on New Zealand’s copyright law, which currently contains no equivalent exception.

    But the US bill contains no measures empowering victims to require ISPs to block local subscribers’ access to online locations that peddle in deepfakes. Known as “site-blocking orders”, these injunctions are available in at least 50 countries, including Australia. But New Zealand and the US remain holdouts.

    For individual victims of deepfakes circulating on foreign websites that are accessible in New Zealand, site-blocking orders could offer the only practical relief.

    The No Fakes Bill is by no means a perfect or comprehensive solution to the deepfakes problem. Many different weapons will be needed in the legal and policy armoury – including obligations to disclose when digital replicas are used.

    Even so, creating an IP right could be a useful addition to a suite of measures aimed at reducing the economic, reputational and emotional harms deepfakes can inflict.

    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. Deepfakes can ruin lives and livelihoods – would owning the ‘rights’ to our own faces and voices help? – https://theconversation.com/deepfakes-can-ruin-lives-and-livelihoods-would-owning-the-rights-to-our-own-faces-and-voices-help-249929

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s central bank to promote cross-border RMB use

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, Feb. 20 — The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will promote the use of renminbi (RMB) in cross-border payments, pricing, investment and financing, with an aim to facilitate international trade, investment and financing, according to a statement published Thursday.

    The central bank said it would develop the offshore RMB market, leverage the roles of currency swaps and RMB clearing banks, and pledged to accelerate the construction of Shanghai’s status as an international financial center and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center.

    By the end of 2024, the RMB’s share in global payments ranked fourth, while its share in global trade financing stood at third, indicating a steady rise in the internationalization of the RMB, according to data released at a conference held by the central bank from Monday to Tuesday.

    In 2025, efforts will be made to expand the functions of the central bank in macro-prudential management and financial stability, improve the macro-prudential policy framework, and innovate relevant tools, the PBOC said during the meeting.

    The PBOC will also improve financial management in the real estate sector to help reverse the market downturn and stabilize the sector.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Restoring Public Trust in New York City’s Leadership

    Source: US State of New York

    February 20, 2025

    Albany, NY

    Creates Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs To Support and Protect Independence of City Investigations

    Gives Independently-Elected City Officials Powers To Litigate Against the Federal Government and Defend the Rights of Constituents

    Strengthens New York State Comptroller Oversight of New York City’s Finances

    Special Authorities Designed To Expire at the End of 2025

    Governor Kathy Hochul today proposed new actions to restore public trust in New York City government with a sweeping expansion of state oversight and new guardrails to ensure accountability and protect New Yorkers. These actions will require legislative action and would take effect immediately upon passage.

    “To move this city forward, I am undertaking the implementation of certain guardrails that I believe are a first start toward re-establishing trust for New York City residents,” Governor Hochul said. “These proposed guardrails will help ensure that all decisions out of City Hall are in the clear interests of the people of New York City and not at the behest of the President.”

    [embedded content]

    [embedded content]

    Governor Hochul announced the following actions:

    New Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs and Protection of City Commissioner of Investigation
    A new Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will be established within the Office of the New York State Inspector General. The Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will receive updates and information directly from the New York City Department of Investigations (NYCDOI) about corruption investigations, and also be able to direct NYCDOI to commence investigations across city government.

    To ensure her continued independence, the New York City Charter will be revised to provide that the Mayor of New York City will not be able to terminate the New York City Commissioner of Investigation without approval by the State Inspector General.

    To move this city forward, I am undertaking the implementation of certain guardrails that I believe are a first start toward re-establishing trust for New York City residents.

    Governor Kathy Hochul

    This new structure will ensure that state officials have access to information about any current or future investigations. It will also allow the State to closely monitor or advance any such investigations into potential corruption within city government.

    Empowering Citywide Elected Leaders To Utilize Federal Litigation
    Under the Governor’s plan, the City Comptroller, Council and Public Advocate will be given explicit authority to bring litigation against the federal government using outside counsel if the City’s Law Department declines to do so promptly after a request. Such litigation could be filed against any federal government agency or entity.

    This action will ensure that New Yorkers have multiple avenues to initiate legal action in cases where the rights or freedoms of New York City residents are under attack by the federal government.

    Embedded Flickr Album

    Strengthens State Oversight of New York City’s Finances
    Given the unprecedented breadth and number of executive orders and other policy documents and notices issued by the Trump Administration, the Governor is proposing additional funds for the Office of the State Comptroller of the City to support the State’s existing ability to continue to monitor the City and its finances in this complex environment.

    The State will expand the Office of the Deputy State Comptroller for City Oversight. The new funding will be paid for using New York City tax receipts.

    These new resources will enable state officials to more closely monitor New York City’s fiscal operations, and to take any actions needed based on such review.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Cassidy reintroduce the Retirement Security for American Hostages Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) reintroduced the Retirement Security for American Hostages Act to ensure American hostages and wrongful detainees don’t see reduced Social Security earnings as a result of being unlawfully held abroad. In addition to Senators Coons and Cassidy, this legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). This legislation was previously introduced in the 118th Congress.
    “The financial impact of wrongful detention doesn’t end when Americans come home – the damage can last into their years of retirement,” said Senator Coons. “Americans like Paul Whelan – unjustly held in a Russian prison for six years until the Biden Administration secured his release – see severely reduced Social Security benefits for the rest of their lives and have precious little time to make those earnings back. The Retirement Security for American Hostages Act provides a straightforward and practical solution so that years spent in foreign detention don’t translate into permanently reduced retirement benefits for these Americans who have already suffered so much.”
    “Losing one’s freedom is enough to endure. Americans held hostage should not also lose their Social Security benefits,” said Senator Cassidy. “Ensuring their benefits are protected makes a difference in someone’s life.” 
    “Hostage US strongly supports the Retirement Security for American Hostages Act. As the leading organization providing reintegration support, guidance, and resources to Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, we see firsthand the long-term impact captivity has on individuals and their loved ones. This critical piece of legislation prevents reduced retirement security when hostages return home and means former captives can rebuild their lives without additional hardship. Americans who have endured captivity should have financial protections and this commonsense legislation will provide much-needed relief to those who have already suffered so much,” said Liz Cathcart, Executive Director of Hostage US.
    “The lives of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained are forever altered in damaging ways that can continue upon their release and return home,” said Diane Foley, President, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. “This bill provides an important measure of relief to reduce the burdens faced by those who are lucky enough to be freed.” 
    Last summer, several Americans were released from wrongful detention in Russia as part of a historic prisoner exchange, and additional Americans have been released from hostage situations since then. These individuals now face financial obstacles resulting from their captivity, including diminished Social Security benefits when they reach retirement. Because they may not have received a paycheck or paid payroll taxes while in captivity, their Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), which determines their Social Security benefit upon retirement, may have diminished by a meaningful amount.
    The Retirement Security for American Hostages Act would amend the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) calculation of benefits for individuals identified as wrongful detainees by the federal government. The bill ensures that when calculating Social Security benefits, the SSA would assume “deemed wages” equal to the national average for each month a former hostage or detainee was held, preventing unjust reductions in their retirement benefits.
    Senator Coons has led numerous bills supporting American hostages and wrongful detainees and addressing financial hardships they often face upon their return. He reintroduced the Retirement Security for American Hostages Act alongside two other hostage bills today–– the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act and the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. The first is a bill with Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) that would empower former hostages and detainees to restore credit scores that may have been negatively impacted during their detention. The latter is with Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and would stop the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on American hostages and wrongful detainees for late tax payments while they are held abroad. Both of those bills unanimously cleared the Senate last year.
    A one-pager is available here.
    The full text of the legislation can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Tillis reintroduce the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) reintroduced the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act today to protect the credit scores of Americans who have been held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. In addition to Senators Coons and Tillis, this legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). This legislation was originally introduced in the 118th Congress, and passed the Senate unanimously in December.
    “When you’re held hostage or wrongfully detained in a foreign prison for months or years on end, you’re not thinking about whether there’s enough money coming into your bank account to pay your utility bill—but right now, financial institutions just see someone who’s not paying their bills. Americans who’ve already endured the trauma of wrongful detention abroad shouldn’t come home to find their credit score ruined,” said Senator Coons. “The Fair Credit for American Hostages Act addresses this injustice, providing crucial protection for these heroic Americans and their families who have already endured far too much, so that time spent in foreign detention doesn’t harm their financial futures long after they’re home.”
    “No one should ever have to fear returning home to financial ruin and a damaged credit history due to their inability to make timely payments while being held hostage in a foreign country,” said Senator Tillis. “This commonsense legislation ensures that Americans held captive abroad won’t have to grapple with the financial distress of a ruined credit score, so they can focus on rebuilding their lives.”
    “Hostage US strongly supports the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act. As the leading organization providing reintegration support, guidance, and resources to Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, we see firsthand the long-term impact captivity has on individuals and their loved ones. This critical piece of legislation prevents damaged credit when hostages return home and means former captives can rebuild their lives without additional hardship. Americans who have endured captivity should have financial protections and this commonsense legislation will provide much-needed relief to those who have already suffered so much,” said Liz Cathcart, Executive Director of Hostage US.
    “The Foley Foundation appreciates Senator Coons’ consistent, bipartisan leadership to address the often profound challenges faced by Americans who survive unjust captivity abroad. These bills offer common sense solutions to the financial issues former hostages face as they seek to restore their lives and livelihoods,” said Benjamin Gray, Executive Director of the Foley Foundation.
    Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad often cannot pay their bills while in detention. Upon their release and return to the United States, many find that their credit scores have suffered due to missed payments. This bipartisan legislation would prevent credit rating agencies from considering payments missed during the detention of Americans who have been held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.
    Senator Coons has led numerous bills supporting American hostages and wrongful detainees and addressing financial hardships they often face upon their return. He reintroduced the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act alongside two other hostage bills today––the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act and Retirement Security for American Hostages Act. The first is a bill with Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) that would stop the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on American hostages and wrongful detainees for late tax payments while they are held abroad. This bill unanimously cleared the Senate last year. The latter is a bill with Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) that would ensure that hostages and wrongful detainees are not penalized in calculating their Social Security benefits. 
    A one-pager is available here.
    The full text of the legislation can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo on Extension of Trump Tax Cuts: Failure is Not an Option

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–Ahead of debate on the Senate FY2025 Budget Resolution, U.S. Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) set the record straight on the pro-growth Trump tax cuts, which lowered rates for Americans across the board and benefitted middle-income Americans the most.  He warned that, if the tax cuts are allowed to lapse at the end of the year, American families and businesses will face the largest tax hike in U.S. history.

    Full remarks as delivered:
    “Today, we are debating the narrow Senate FY2025 Budget Resolution that fulfills promises to secure America’s borders, increase our national defense, unleash our energy potential and finally start to get our fiscal house in order. 
    “In the near future, I expect us to move forward with a Budget Resolution that allows us to prevent a more than $4 trillion tax hike on American households–the largest tax hike in history of America–that will be felt by virtually every American if the tax cuts expire at the end of this year.
    “Because the other side has filed a litany of tax amendments that rehash various false narratives and each side will only have one minute to debate, I’m going to spend some time right now explaining why we can’t afford a $4 trillion-plus tax increase; the positive impact the Trump tax cuts had on the economy; and some of the key provisions that expire at the end of year. 
    “At the end of this year, many key provisions of President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire, triggering an over-$4 trillion tax hike on American families and businesses.
    “While taxes will increase on Americans of all income levels, the majority of this tax hike, about $2.6 trillion, will fall on those making less than $400,000 per year.
    “An average family of four making about $80,000 per year would see a $1,700 tax hike in 2026.
    “Another $600 billion plus will hit millions of small business owners, who could see federal tax rates skyrocket up to 43.4 percent.
    “Tens of millions of families will see their child tax credit cut in half from $2,000 to $1,000.
    “The list goes on, but first I’ll talk about what the Trump tax cuts actually did, and why failing to extend key provisions would be economically devastating for millions of hardworking taxpayers.
    “So, what did the Trump tax cuts do?
    “There’s been a lot of talk recently about how extending these expiring tax cuts are all for billionaires and corporations, but the facts show otherwise.
    “The 2017 tax bill increased take-home pay and powered a growing economy. 
    “Individuals across all income brackets received a tax cut, not just–as opponents suggest–for the uber wealthy.
    “In fact, the Trump tax cuts made the tax code more progressive, meaning the highest income earners now pay a greater share of all income taxes than they did before 2017.
    “The majority of benefits accrued to working middle-class families.
    “Between the bill’s passage in 2017 and 2021, the bottom 50 percent of earners received the largest reduction in average tax rates at 17.3 percent. 
    “In addition to lowering tax rates across the board, the Trump tax cuts doubled the standard deduction and the child tax credit and provided tax relief to America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.
    “The effects of pro-growth tax reform were almost immediate. 
    “Not only did taxpayers get to keep more of their hard-earned money, but a growing economy helped median household income reach an all-time high.
    “The labor market improved, workers saw wage growth and the unemployment rate fell dramatically to 3.5 percent–the lowest in 50 years. 
    “And the lowest-income workers experienced the largest wage growth.
    “Corporate inversions became a thing of the past, and America became the place to do business. 
    “All Americans reaped the benefits of a booming economy. 
    “Extending this current, proven tax policy–and building on it–is the best way to restore economic prosperity and opportunity for working families, many of whom are still struggling to recover from the historic inflation of the last four years.
    “As American families contend with increased costs of everyday living, the last thing they need is another massive tax hike on top of that inflation.
    “Failure is simply not an option.
    “So, what happens if the Trump tax cuts expire?
    “As I’ve said, if we do not extend these tax policies, Americans will be hit with an over-$4 trillion tax increase.
    “More than $2.6 trillion will fall on households earning less than $400,000 per year.
    “An average family of four making $80,000 will be saddled with a $1,700 tax increase.  This is the equivalent of six to eight weeks’ worth of groceries for a family of four.
    “Tens of millions of families will see their child tax credit cut in half to $1,000, and
    90 percent of taxpayers would see their standard deduction cut in half.
    “Owners of over 20 million small businesses will face a massive tax hike, with tax rates up to 43.4 percent.
    “7 million taxpayers will be impacted by the Alternative Minimum Tax, up from just 200,000 taxpayers currently.
    “Many more small businesses and farms will have their death tax exemption cut in half.
    “The National Association of Manufacturers recently highlighted that if we allow the Trump tax cuts to expire, 6 million jobs would be at risk; $540 billion in employee compensation will be lost, and U.S. GDP will be reduced by $1.1 trillion.
    “So, while we aren’t considering tax policy as part of this reconciliation package, it is important to set the record straight on what’s at stake in the upcoming tax debate. 
    “And the stakes couldn’t be higher.
    “Tonight, you’re going to hear dozens and dozens of tax amendments, and we’re going to respond to each of those by explaining that that debate is not this budget.
    “The budget that we’re debating today is on the border, national defense, and increasing our oil and gas production to strengthen our economy.
    “And Senate and House Republicans are working together to act as quickly as possible to make the Trump tax cuts permanent, but that will be in the next step. 
    “We must prevent a massive tax hike and provide relief and certainty to families and businesses across America.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Urges Lutnick to Protect Critical Work at National Weather Service & NOAA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    02.20.25
    Cantwell Urges Lutnick to Protect Critical Work at National Weather Service & NOAA
    “American lives depend on it,” writes Cantwell
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, calling on him to exempt the National Weather Service (NWS) from the federal hiring freeze, and protect all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) workers from firings “that would jeopardize the safety of the American public.”
    “Without NOAA’s workforce, communities will not be prepared for the next big Nor’easter, hurricane, wildfire, or drought,” wrote Sen. Cantwell. “Ships will not be able to safely navigate through our waterways. Farmers will not have the data they need to manage their crops. NOAA’s workforce keeps people alive and provides communities with the scientific support tools to protect their families and grow their businesses. I urge you to appreciate these critical government functions and reverse the hiring freeze and refrain from mass firings of these invaluable public servants—American lives depend on it.”
    Sen. Cantwell has spoken out forcefully against the firings of federal workers.
    “The Trump Administration is trying to illegally cut the federal workforce in an attempt to come up with a budget and tax increases on middle class Americans, all while giving $4 trillion in tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest individuals,” Sen. Cantwell said in a statement released Saturday. “Our deficit and essential programs like Medicaid can’t take the Trump hack job.”
    On Sunday, Sen. Cantwell sounded the alarm about reports that safety-critical Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workers had been fired. “Now is not the time to fire technicians who fix and operate more than 74,000 safety-critical pieces of equipment like radars, navigational aids, and communications technology,” Sen. Cantwell said in a statement. “The FAA is already short 800 technicians and these firings inject unnecessary risk into the airspace — in the aftermath of four deadly crashes in the last month. The FAA’s safety workforce needs to be a priority for this Administration.”
    On Tuesday, speaking in opposition to the nomination of now-Secretary Lutnick on the Senate floor, Sen. Cantwell cited his “tepid support” for NOAA as a key reason for her decision to vote against his confirmation.
    “When asked for the record, ‘Should NOAA be dismantled, as called for in Project 2025?’, Mr. Lutnick would only say he’ll figure it out once he’s confirmed,” Sen. Cantwell said. “We needed a bigger commitment to NOAA. NOAA already supplies a big, important aspect of what we deal with, with weather forecasting, tracking extreme weather, hurricanes, wildfires, managing our fisheries, operating ships that conduct important charting for national security. Mr. Lutnick gave very tepid support for NOAA.”
    Project 2025 calls for NOAA to be “dismantled and many of its functions eliminated,” calling it part of the “climate change alarm industry.” NOAA provides critical services to the nation including weather forecasts, extreme storm tracking and monitoring, tools to enable communities to adapt to sea level rise and climate change, supporting fisheries management, and conserving marine mammals and other protected species including salmon and orcas.
    Sen. Cantwell is a champion of NOAA and helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Commerce committee unanimously earlier this month and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
    The full text of last night’s letter is HERE and below.
    Dear Secretary Lutnick,
    I urge the Administration to protect the critical workforce of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”). NOAA’s National Weather Service (“NWS”) should be exempt from the January 20th executive order titled “Hiring Freeze”, which instituted a hiring freeze for all federal civilian employees, due to the critical role the agency plays in public safety and supporting our economy. In light of highly publicized firings at other agencies, all NOAA employees, including probationary or temporary employees, should be protected from firing or reduction in force initiatives that would jeopardize the safety of the American public.
    NOAA is the nation’s leading scientific agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring our oceans and atmosphere, managing our fisheries, restoring our coasts, and supporting maritime commerce. NOAA products and services, such as forecasts, are crucial to the U.S. economy and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.
    Within NOAA, the NWS is responsible for protecting public safety and property and supporting the economy by providing timely and accurate weather forecasts and warnings. Our communities are extremely reliant on the data and research that NOAA and NWS scientists make available for decision-makers, emergency responders, and the public. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, last year there were 27 weather disaster events that cost over $1 billion each and resulted in 568 deaths. NWS meteorologists, using a network of satellites, buoys, balloon launches, ships, aircraft, and weather stations, collect data and develop forecasts and warnings on which communities rely for preparedness for hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, tornadoes, blizzards, drought, and other extreme weather events.
    The NWS also supports real-time forecasts and services needed to protect the safety of the traveling public. The NWS Center Weather Service Units embed meteorologists at 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers to provide tailored forecasts that ensure it is safe for aircraft to fly. The meteorologists identify, forecast, and communicate weather hazards, such as thunderstorms, turbulence, and icing, to help pilots and air traffic controllers make informed decisions that minimize risks to flights and delays.
    When a hurricane approaches our coasts, the National Hurricane Center sends Hurricane Hunters into the eye of the storm to give forecasters a better idea of the storm’s intensity and when it’s likely to make landfall. The Storm Prediction Center warns communities when a tornado or severe storm is developing to give them time to protect property and get to safety. The NWS also creates forecasts for emergency responders to plan for wildfire season, issues warnings to help communities prepare when fire conditions are severe, deploys specially trained forecasters to provide real-time lifesaving forecasts on the frontlines to keep firefighters safe, and models how smoke will move and impact air quality across the country.
    And far beyond our atmosphere, the NWS monitors space weather, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms, to protect satellite systems, communication networks, and power grids. The Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts and helps mitigate the worst impacts of space weather including the potential for widespread and long-lasting blackouts, significant disruption of satellite and radio communication networks that are essential for safe air travel and military operations, and unreliable GPS signals that hamper navigation for ships, planes, and farm equipment.
    In addition to the NWS, NOAA provides a host of other life-saving data and services. The NOAA Office of Coast Survey ensures safe shipping routes in our waters by charting 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of waters, providing more than $2.4 billion in annual benefits to the U.S. economy. NOAA manages the nation’s fisheries, which support 1.7 million jobs across the United States. The two Tsunami Warning Centers monitor seismic activity and ocean conditions to detect potential tsunamis, issuing timely warnings and advisories to protect coastal communities from disaster. And finally, NOAA plays a vital role in monitoring, forecasting, and researching harmful algal blooms (“HABs”) that produce toxins that can be deadly. NOAA scientists track HAB events using satellite imagery, water samples, and oceanographic data to provide early warnings to coastal communities, fisheries, and public health officials, helping to ensure commercially harvested fish and shellfish are safe to eat.
    Without NOAA’s workforce, communities will not be prepared for the next big Nor’easter, hurricane, wildfire, or drought. Ships will not be able to safely navigate through our waterways. Farmers will not have the data they need to manage their crops. NOAA’s workforce keeps people alive and provides communities with the scientific support tools to protect their families and grow their businesses. I urge you to appreciate these critical government functions and reverse the hiring freeze and refrain from mass firings of these invaluable public servants—American lives depend on it.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lee introduces DEFUND Act to Pull USA from UN

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee
    WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act, which calls for the United States’ complete withdrawal from the United Nations (UN). This legislation addresses grave issues of national sovereignty and fiscal accountability which have plagued US involvement in the UN. The DEFUND Act is co-sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) . House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) are introducing the companion bill in the House of Representatives.
    “No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans’ hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values, enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry,” said Sen. Mike Lee. “With the DEFUND Act, we’re stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the UN in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause.”
    “The United Nations has betrayed our trust time and time again, and we cannot continue to be their cash cow and undermine our own national security and interests,” said Senator Blackburn. “The DEFUND Act would stop all forms of U.S. financial support to the UN and hold this wayward organization accountable for placating Hamas terrorists and the Chinese Communist Party.”
    “From UNRWA actively protecting Hamas and acting against our ally Israel, delayed condemning Hamas, to China being elected to the “Human Rights Council,” to the propagation of climate hysteria, covering for China’s forced abortion and sterilization programs, the UN’s decades-old, internal rot once again raises the questions of why the United States is even still a member or why we’re wasting billions — indeed, $12.5 billion in 2021 — every year on it,” said Rep. Chip Roy.  “The UN doesn’t deserve one single dime of American taxpayer money or one bit of our support; we should defund it and leave immediately. I am proud to lead this critical effort alongside Mike Lee and Mike Rogers.”
    Key Elements of the DEFUND Act:
    Repeals critical acts that bind the U.S. to the UN, such as the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act.
    Ceases all forms of U.S. financial support to the UN, including assessed and voluntary contributions.
    Prohibits any U.S. involvement in UN peacekeeping operations.
    Revokes diplomatic immunity for UN officials within the United States.
    Formalizes withdrawal from the World Health Organization and other UN conventions.
    Sets stringent conditions for any future engagement with the UN, requiring Senate approval with explicit withdrawal provisions.
     The introduction of the DEFUND Act comes in response to years of unchecked bureaucratic expansion and financial misuse by the UN at the expense of American taxpayers. Senator Lee’s legislation reflects his commitment to upholding the ideals of fiscal responsibility and self-determination that are the bedrock of the United States.
    You can read the one-pager by clicking HERE. 
    You can read the bill text by clicking HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barrasso: Senate GOP Will Secure the Border, Restore Peace Through Strength, and Unleash American Energy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor about the Senate Budget Resolution.

    Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.

    Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:

    “The Democrat Leader has a lot to say about the Senate Budget Resolution. None of it is accurate.

    “I have the budget resolution with me. The key section is five pages long. That’s it. Every American can read it for themselves.

    “This resolution focuses on three things.

    “First, securing the border.

    “Second, restoring peace through strength.

    “Third, unleashing American energy.

    “It’s not complicated. It’s common sense. Americans overwhelmingly support these goals.

    “Senate Republicans are moving forward.

    “Let’s talk about border security.

    “This budget allocates $175 billion to secure our border. That includes funding for President Trump’s successful executive orders to deport criminal illegal immigrants.

    “Border Patrol Agents and ICE Agents need more resources.

    “There are currently more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records in our country.

    “President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are moving at lightning speed to deport them. That makes our communities safer.

    “Their strong actions have led to double the number of arrests of illegal immigrants compared to arrests under President Biden.

    “These arrests are making our communities safer and sending a message to would-be illegal immigrants around the world. They are turning around and going home.

    “Illegal border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico are at their lowest in 5 years.

    “President Trump’s actions are working.

    “They are working so well that the Trump administration says it is running out of money for deportations.

    “Border Czar Tom Homan told us that. Secretary Noem told us that. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told us that. Attorney General Pam Bondi told us that.

    “Senate Republicans will act quickly to get the administration the resources they requested and need.

    “This budget will allow us to finish the wall.

    “It is a step towards hiring more border agents.

    “It means more detention beds so dangerous criminals are off the streets.

    “It means more deportation flights so dangerous criminals are out of our country.

    “Now, let’s talk about our national security.

    “This bill allocates $150 billion to restore peace through strength.

    “We live in a dangerous world. The threats against the United States are higher than we’ve seen in decades.

    “There is the threat of terrorism. You saw the danger of terrorism in New Orleans this year.

    “There is the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. They are rapidly building up their military. Meanwhile, over the past four years, weak leadership undermined our military.

    “There is the threat of Iran. They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. They are also racing towards a nuclear bomb.

    “Weakness invites conflict. Strength deters war.

    “This budget is a big step towards rebuilding our military and protecting our nation after four years of weakness.

    “We are already seeing a surge of young people who want to join the military.

    “Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, recruitment is at its highest levels in 15 years.

    “With this budget, America will be stronger. Our military will be more lethal.

    “Now let’s talk about American energy dominance.

    “This bill would take the handcuffs off of American energy production.

    “The previous administration caused painfully high prices with its energy blunders. It locked up affordable, reliable, American-made energy.

    “Families suffered from soaring prices. Our economy struggled.

    “Passing this budget allows us to reject the energy failures of the past four years. It puts a premium on affordable, reliable American energy.

    “The federal government would also see its revenue increase as we produce more American energy.

    “If you listen to Senate Democrats, it’s abundantly clear that they do not support these goals.

    “Democrats are opposed to securing our border, rebuilding our military, and unleashing American energy.

    “Democrats are standing in the way of common-sense priorities that Americans overwhelmingly support.

    “Democrats are a party in panic mode. Their high prices and open border agenda
    are out of touch with the American people.

    “Democrats used this very process a few years ago to raise taxes and pass trillions of dollars in Wasteful Washington Spending.

    “They wasted taxpayer money to subsidize electric vehicles for the rich. They sent stimulus checks to criminals like the Boston Marathon Bomber.

    “The federal government is too big and spends too much.

    “Republicans will end the Wasteful Washington Spending and get America back on track.

    “After 4 years of high prices and open borders, Americans deserve a path to safety and prosperity.

    “Starting with the Republican budget, they will finally get it.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Mullin Introduces Labor Secretary Nominee Lori Chavez-Deremer at Confirmation Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    ICYMI: Senator Mullin Introduces Labor Secretary Nominee Lori Chavez-Deremer at Confirmation Hearing

    Washington, D.C. – At the request of President Trump, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced Lori Chavez-DeRemer at yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.

    “President Trump assembled a historic coalition for the American people. Lori represents that coalition as she can speak to both businesses and labor,” said Senator Mullin. “I will fight to confirm every one of his nominees.”    

    Watch the senator’s full remarks here.

    Highlights below:

    “Regardless of what you might think about the President, understand that this is someone that everybody should represent and should respect. If you’re looking for a bipartisan, independent, thinker… You would think this is someone you’d be very happy with… She is directly, uniquely, positioned in the center.”

    “One thing that both sides of the aisle agree on is supporting working class Americans that power our country’s economy.” 

    “No company can survive without employees and no employee is hired without a company. It takes both sides to be in the boat rowing together in the same direction to be successful.”


    “I’m only moderately successful because I’ve been very fortunate to have employees that were willing to get in the boat with me and row in the same direction.”

    “With Lori’s unique background as a small business owner, public servant, and through her relationship with union leaders, she has the ability to bridge the gap between businesses and workers.”

    “Oklahoma is a proud right-to-work state and yet, we still support Lori.”

    “But as both sides of the table continue to work together for hard working Americans… I don’t think we have to look any further than understanding Lori is the independent nonpartisan perspective who will always keep the work force top of mind.”

    Senator Mullin Also Called Out the Hypocrisy from the Democrats, the So-Called Party of “Inclusion”

    Watch the senator’s full remarks here.

     “I just kind of wanted to point out some interesting things that’s going on. The Senator from New Hampshire was complaining about a contract that was awarded by the Biden administration, and somehow, you’re tying it to the Trump administration for Tesla.”

    “You’re concerned about Mark and Jeff and Elon, it wasn’t too long ago, you guys were happy to take all their money. It’s just the party that’s supposed to be of inclusion. Now, all of a sudden, if you don’t agree with this, you’re the enemy.”

    “Yet what we do is we spend all of our time complaining and making reckless accusations about something that is absolutely false. And when you guys don’t want to hear it, you guys just accuse everybody else of being a criminal and for some reason being compromised.” 

    “It’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. It’s the same thing we heard in 2017 and yet you guys are just recycling. You guys are doing nothing but trying to stir up your base by fear when it’s absolutely one hundred percent wrong and shouldn’t even exist.”

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Carbon capture one step closer

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government has made key decisions on a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) framework to enable businesses to benefit from storing carbon underground will support New Zealand’s businesses to continue operating while reducing net carbon emissions, Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.
    “Economic growth is a key focus for this Government, and we want the energy sector to be the engine for our economy – driving electrification and unlocking economic growth,” Mr Watts says.
    “The Government is committed to removing regulatory barriers to enable the supply of abundant, affordable energy to power our homes and businesses – and to reduce net carbon emissions.”
    The Government has made decisions on the key elements of a CCUS framework, designed to enable carbon capture and storage in New Zealand, with legislation expected to be introduced this year.
    “Under our CCUS framework, businesses that capture and store CO2   will be rewarded through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), our Government’s key tool to reducing net emissions. This will help reduce emissions obligations for New Zealand businesses as we progress towards a low-emissions economy,” Mr Watts says.
    “By making these decisions, we are aligning New Zealand with other countries that are successfully utilising CCUS to drive economic growth and attract investment. Our framework not only supports innovation but also provides a pathway for businesses to remain competitive while reducing net emissions.
    “Ensuring safe and effective storage of CO2 is critically important. That’s why our framework will require any CCUS project to undertake a thorough assessment of storage site suitability and proposed operations, followed by ongoing monitoring.
    “CCUS is gaining momentum internationally as a way to reduce net emissions and support economic growth. In New Zealand, this innovative approach has significant untapped potential of capturing CO2 emissions that would not otherwise benefit Kiwis to create valuable products and materials.
    “Our Government’s second emissions reduction plan, which was released at the end of last year, highlighted carbon capture and storage as a key tool to meeting the second and third emissions budgets.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Bradford Exchange in Court over alleged misleading representations about subscriptions

    Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

    The ACCC has instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court against The Bradford Exchange Ltd (Bradford) for allegedly making false or misleading representations in its advertising of collectable coins and ingots in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

    A global retailer of coins and memorabilia, Bradford allegedly made misleading representations to consumers in over 300 newspaper and magazine advertisements for collectable coins and ingots across Australia.

    It is alleged that, in many cases, Bradford represented that it would send consumers a single advertised item, when in fact Bradford sent consumers multiple items subject to a subscription (in some cases up to 24 items) and charged them for those items.

    Bradford also allegedly represented that, if consumers responded to the relevant advertisements, they would be treated as only agreeing to purchase the single item identified in the advertisement, when this was not the case.

    Subsequent items in these collections were typically far more expensive than the originally advertised item, for example, costing $79.99 after the first item was priced at $29.99.

    The ACCC alleges that Bradford applied direct debits, or invoiced consumers for these subsequent items. Consumers who did not pay an invoice were sent follow up invoices, some of which incurred a ‘reminder charge’. If the invoice remained unpaid, consumers would ultimately be referred to a debt collection agency which charged additional fees.

    “We are alleging Bradford’s actions amounted to a ‘subscription trap’ for consumers who thought they were buying one coin or ingot but were treated as if they had agreed to subscribe to receive an entire series and be charged accordingly,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.

    Subscription traps occur when businesses mislead consumers into signing up for a subscription by representing that the consumer is only making a one-off purchase, or by making cancellation of a subscription difficult.

    The ACCC action relates to alleged misleading representations between 1 January 2021 and 26 June 2023 in advertisements by Bradford for collectable commemorative coins and ingots in various print newspapers and magazines across Australia such as the Herald Sun, the Courier Mail, Woman’s Day magazine and New Idea magazine.

    The advertisements featured a large image of a single coin or ingot, often with historical or nostalgic themes such as Queen Elizabeth II, World War 1, Phar Lap, and the 1971 Ford Falcon.

    In addition, the ACCC alleges Bradford’s advertisements prominently stated a single price for that item and did not state the total price of all the items in each collection.

    “Businesses must be open and transparent when signing consumers up to subscriptions, including by stating the total price of goods or services being purchased,” Ms Carver said.

    “There have been a large number of complaints about this company from consumers who purchased a single item from Bradford but were then sent and charged for additional items.”

    “We consider Bradford’s actions deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice about whether to buy an entire collection of items. As a result, many consumers are likely to have paid for subsequent items they did not want or intend to buy and some are likely to have experienced distress and financial loss when Bradford charged them for items they did not intend to purchase,” Ms Carver said.

    The ACCC is seeking penalties, declarations, injunctions, costs and other orders for Bradford’s alleged contraventions.

    Example of Bradford advertisements:

    Bradford exchange platinum jubilee coin ( PDF 2.71 MB )

    Background

    Bradford is a US-based, retailer of limited-edition memorabilia and collectables including coins and ingots, jewellery, prints, model cars, ornaments and figurines. A significant proportion of Bradford’s revenue comes from the sale of collections. Bradford advertises its products through mainstream newspapers and magazines, as well as on its website and social media accounts.

    The Bradford Exchange Group operates globally across fifteen countries including the US, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Germany. Bradford has operated in Australia for 34 years.

    Concise Statement

    ACCC v Bradford Exchange – Concise Statement ( PDF 3.75 MB )

    This document contains the ACCC’s initiating court document in relation to this matter. We will not be uploading further documents in the event these initial documents are subsequently amended.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI: Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Announces Annual and Fourth Quarter 2024 Operating Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (Bank) today announced its unaudited annual and fourth quarter 2024 operating results.

    • Net income for the full year of 2024 totaled $402 million.
    • Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $90 million.
    • In 2024, the Bank allocated $93 million to its Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and voluntary housing and community development initiatives.

    “The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco continues to be a vital force for economic growth and stability across our three-state region, providing steadfast support to our members and communities in all market conditions,” said Joseph E. Amato, interim president and chief executive officer of the Bank. “Throughout 2024, we delivered on-demand, low-cost liquidity to our members, empowering them to strengthen local economies and support community lending. Our collaboration with members to drive impactful affordable housing and economic development projects through our grant programs reflects our unwavering commitment to addressing housing affordability and enhancing the financial well-being of the communities we serve. Furthermore, our Bank responds to the urgent needs of our communities including those created by natural disasters. We recently committed $2 million to aid wildfire recovery efforts in Southern California, comprised of $1.4 million in matching funds from member financial institutions for local relief organizations, and $600 thousand in donations for nonprofit organizations to bolster both immediate and long-term disaster response efforts. Together with our members, we will ensure our communities have the resources needed to recover from these devastating wildfires.”

    Financial Results

    Net income for 2024 was $402 million, a decrease of $137 million compared with 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in net interest income of $219 million and an increase in other expense of $19 million, partially offset by an increase in other income of $86 million.

    • The $219 million decrease in net interest income was attributable to lower average balances of advances and short-term investments and higher costs of interest-bearing liabilities. The decrease was also attributable to $106 million of higher net advance prepayment fees in the prior year. These decreases to net interest income were partially offset by lower average balances of consolidated obligation bonds and discount notes, an increase in the average balances of available-for-sale securities, and higher yields on interest-earning assets.
    • The $86 million increase in other income was primarily driven by $33 million in net realized losses recognized in the prior year from derivatives economically hedging prepaid advances, along with $30 million of other income recognized in 2024 in connection with the termination of a long-term funding arrangement entered into with a member borrower in 2017.
    • The $19 million increase in other expense was attributable to a $25 million increase in the Bank’s charitable, “mission-oriented” contributions in the current year, mainly to fund downpayment assistance grants to middle-income homebuyers (delivered by participating member financial institutions).

    For the fourth quarter of 2024, net income was $90 million, a decrease of $30 million compared to the same period during the prior year. This decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in net interest income of $14 million, mainly driven by lower average balances of advances and short-term investments. The decrease in net income was also attributable to an $8 million increase in the Bank’s charitable, “mission-oriented” contributions relative to the prior-year period, mainly to fund the Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development (AHEAD) Program. Additionally, the provision for credit losses increased by $8 million which was largely attributable to decreases in the fair values and the present value of expected cash flows of certain private-label residential mortgage-backed securities.

    Balance Sheet and Capital

    At December 31, 2024, total assets were $81.7 billion, a decrease of $11.1 billion from $92.8 billion at December 31, 2023. This decline was primarily driven by a reduction in advances of $15.7 billion, from $61.3 billion at December 31, 2023, to $45.6 billion at December 31, 2024. Advances declined primarily due to maturities of advances acquired by nonmembers in connection with certain Bank member acquisitions. Investments at December 31, 2024, were $35.0 billion, a net increase of $4.7 billion from $30.3 billion at December 31, 2023, attributable to net purchases of $2.7 billion in short-term investments and $2.0 billion in U.S. Treasury securities.

    As of December 31, 2024, the Bank exceeded all regulatory capital requirements. The Bank exceeded its 4.0% regulatory requirement with a regulatory capital ratio of 8.9% at December 31, 2024. The increase in the regulatory capital ratio from 8.0% at December 31, 2023 mainly resulted from the decrease in total assets during 2024. The Bank also exceeded its risk-based capital requirement of $1.1 billion with $7.3 billion in permanent capital. Total retained earnings increased to $4.5 billion at December 31, 2024, from $4.3 billion at December 31, 2023.

    On February 19, 2025, the Bank’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the average capital stock outstanding during the fourth quarter of 2024 at an annualized rate of 8.75%. The quarterly dividend rate is consistent with the Bank’s dividend philosophy of endeavoring to pay a quarterly dividend rate that is equal to or greater than the current market rate for highly rated investments and that is sustainable under current and projected earnings while maintaining appropriate levels of capital. The quarterly dividend will total $63 million, and the Bank expects to pay the dividend on March 11, 2025.

    Affordable Housing Program and Voluntary Housing and Community Commitments

    The Bank’s community programs and targeted initiatives address the unique affordable housing and economic development needs of communities across its district of Arizona, California, and Nevada. The AHP is an annual statutory grant program that supports the creation, preservation, or purchase of affordable housing and is funded with 10% of the Bank’s previous year’s net income. Since its inception in 1990, the Bank awarded over $1.35 billion in grants to aid the purchase, development, or rehabilitation of over 154,600 affordable homes in the regions the Bank’s members serve.

    In addition, early in 2024, the Bank’s board of directors approved plans to voluntarily allocate an additional 5% of its 2023 annual net earnings (income before interest expense related to dividends paid on mandatorily redeemable capital stock and the assessment for the AHP) to fund affordable housing and economic development initiatives.

    To meet these commitments, the Bank recorded a total allocation of $93 million in 2024, an increase of $14 million compared to 2023. The $93 million allocation included $52 million related to the statutory AHP program and $41 million related to voluntary housing and economic development initiatives. The Bank’s voluntary contributions were disbursed through multiple initiatives during 2024, including, but not limited to:

    • $20 million in downpayment assistance grants delivered by Bank members to over 400 homebuyers,
    • $7 million awarded to 84 organizations across Arizona, California, and Nevada through the AHEAD Program,
    • $2 million benefiting Native American communities for essential infrastructure and affordable housing development, and
    • $1 million delivered through a targeted matching grant program distributed across 45 grants for local housing counseling agencies to expand homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income prospective homebuyers.

    Financial Highlights
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in millions)

    Selected Balance Sheet Items
      at Period End
      Dec 31, 2024     Dec 31, 2023  
    Total Assets $ 81,735     $ 92,828  
    Advances   45,637       61,335  
    Mortgage Loans Held for Portfolio, Net   693       754  
    Investments, Net1   34,961       30,294  
    Consolidated Obligations:      
    Bonds   58,174       64,297  
    Discount Notes   14,378       19,187  
    Mandatorily Redeemable Capital Stock   331       706  
    Capital Stock – Class B – Putable   2,458       2,450  
    Retained Earnings   4,483       4,290  
    Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss)   63       (72 )
    Total Capital   7,004       6,668  
           
    Selected Other Data at Period End   Dec 31, 2024       Dec 31, 2023  
    Regulatory Capital Ratio2   8.90 %     8.02 %
      Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended  
    Selected Operating Results for the Period Dec 31, 2024     Dec 31, 2023   Dec 31, 2024   Dec 31, 2023  
    Net Interest Income $ 148   $ 162   $ 580   $ 799  
    Provision for/(Reversal of) Credit Losses   5     (3)         4  
    Other Income/(Loss)   15     22     93     7  
    Other Expense   57     52     219     200  
    Affordable Housing Program Assessment   11     15     52     63  
    Net Income/(Loss) $ 90   $ 120   $ 402   $ 539  
                     
      Three Months Ended   Twelve Months Ended  
    Selected Other Data for the Period Dec 31, 2024     Dec 31, 2023   Dec 31, 2024   Dec 31, 2023  
    Net Interest Margin3   0.72 %   0.72 %   0.69 %   0.71 %
    Return on Average Assets   0.43     0.52     0.47     0.47  
    Return on Average Equity   5.15     7.29     5.89     7.60  
    Annualized Dividend Rate4   8.75     8.25     8.75     7.49  
    Average Equity to Average Assets Ratio   8.36     7.15     8.02     6.23  
     
    1. Investments consist of federal funds sold, interest-bearing deposits, trading securities, available-for-sale securities, held-to-maturity securities, and securities purchased under agreements to resell.
    2. The regulatory capital ratio is calculated as regulatory capital divided by total assets. Regulatory capital includes retained earnings, Class B capital stock, and mandatorily redeemable capital stock (which is classified as a liability) but excludes accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss). Total regulatory capital as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, was $7.3 billion and $7.4 billion, respectively.
    3. Net interest margin is calculated as net interest income (annualized) divided by average interest-earning assets.
    4. Cash dividends are declared, recorded, and paid during the period, on the average capital stock outstanding during the previous quarter.
     

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

    Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the Bank’s dividend philosophy and dividend rates. These statements are based on our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. These statements may use forward-looking terms, such as “endeavoring,” “will,” and “expects,” or their negatives or other variations on these terms. The Bank cautions that by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk or uncertainty and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements or could affect the extent to which a particular objective, projection, estimate, or prediction is realized, including future dividends. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the Risk Factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic and current reports that we may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as regulatory and accounting rule adjustments or requirements; the application of accounting standards relating to, among other things, hedge accounting of derivatives and underlying financial instruments, along with related fair values; future operating results; the withdrawal of one or more large members; high inflation and interest rates that may adversely affect our members and their customers; and our ability to pay a quarterly dividend rate that is equal to or greater than similar current rates for highly rated investments. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

    The MIL Network

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

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    February 20, 2025

    Washington, DC: On February 11, The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with Thailand and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.

    Thailand’s economy is gradually recovering, but at a slower pace than peers. Economic activity expanded modestly by 1.9 percent in 2023 and 2.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, driven by private consumption growth and a rebound in tourism. Inflation remained subdued, averaging 0.4 percent (y/y) annually in 2024, well below the Bank of Thailand’s target range of 1 to 3 percent. External factors such as the decline in global energy and food prices, lower import prices have played a role, but domestic factors such as energy subsidies, price controls, and the unwinding of pandemic-related fiscal support have also contributed to the lower inflation. The current account balance strengthened to 1.4 percent of GDP in 2023, from -3.5 percent of GDP in 2022, and continues to register a moderate surplus as of November 2024, supported by the continued recovery in tourism and higher exports.

    A gradual cyclical recovery is expected to continue. Real GDP is projected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2024 and to increase to 2.9 percent in 2025. This is underpinned by the expansionary fiscal stance envisaged under the 2025 budget, which includes additional cash transfers of 1.0 percent of GDP and a rebound in public investment. Tourism-related sectors are expected to continue to support growth, as well as private consumption that will be further boosted by the authorities’ cash transfers. As growth continues to firm up, inflation is expected to pick up but remain in the bottom half of the target range in 2025. The current account balance is expected to improve further in 2024 and 2025, driven by the ongoing recovery in tourist arrivals.

    Risks to Thailand’s economic outlook are tilted to the downside. On the external front, an escalation of global trade tensions or deepening geoeconomic fragmentation could disrupt Thailand’s export recovery and dampen FDI inflows, while increased commodity price volatility could affect growth and lead to inflation spikes, and potentially tighter-for-longer global financial conditions. The intensification of regional conflicts could disrupt trade and travel flows while more frequent extreme climate events would adversely impact growth prospects. On the domestic front, the private sector debt overhang could impair financial institutions’ balance sheets and further decrease credit supply, negatively affecting growth. Renewed political uncertainty could hinder policy implementation and undermine confidence.

    Executive Board Assessment[2]

    In concluding the 2024 Article IV consultation with Thailand, Executive Directors endorsed the staff’s appraisal, as follows:

    Thailand’s economic recovery is ongoing, but it has been relatively slow and uneven. Economic activity expanded modestly in 2024, driven by private consumption and a rebound in tourism-related activities, while delayed budget implementation slowed the pace of public investment. The slow recovery, compared to ASEAN peers, is also rooted in Thailand’s longstanding structural weaknesses, while emerging external and domestic headwinds have also contributed to subdued inflation. The outlook remains highly uncertain with significant downside risks.

    As economic slack narrows, the focus should shift to rebuilding fiscal space. A less expansionary fiscal stance than envisaged under the FY25 budget would still provide impulse to support the recovery while helping to preserve policy space. Alternatively, reallocating part of the planned cash transfers toward productivity-enhancing investments or social protection would enable stronger inclusive growth and help reduce the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Starting in FY26, a revenue-based medium-term fiscal consolidation is needed to bring down public debt and rebuild buffers.

    Thailand’s fiscal framework can be further strengthened. This would require strengthening fiscal rules to better support the debt anchor by introducing a risk-based rules approach. Costs associated with quasi-fiscal operations such as energy price caps should be adequately accounted for, and fiscal risks closely monitored. Improving data provision for government finance statistics and SOEs is important.

    Staff welcomes the BOT’s decision to cut the policy rate in October and recommends a further reduction in the policy rate to support inflation and also translate into improvements in borrowers’ debt-servicing capacity with limited risk of additional leverage amid tight lending. Given remaining high uncertainty in the outlook, the authorities should stand ready to adjust their monetary policy stance in a data and outlook-dependent manner. Central bank independence with clear communication of policy moves is key to maintaining the credibility and effectiveness of monetary policy in anchoring inflation expectations.

    Effective coordination across policy tools, underpinned by adequate buffers, is essential for managing adverse scenarios. While the flexible exchange rate should continue to act as a shock absorber, the complementary use of FXI might alleviate policy trade-offs by smoothing destabilizing premia when large non-fundamental shocks render the FX market dysfunctional. Further liberalization of the FX ecosystem and phasing out of remaining capital flow management measures would help deepen the FX market and limit the need for FXI over time.

    A comprehensive package of prudential and legal measures needs to be deployed to facilitate an orderly private deleveraging. Staff welcomes the measures already implemented to address both the existing household debt stock and the buildup of new leverage. However, simultaneous and forceful implementation of personal debt workouts via more effective bankruptcy proceedings is essential to lower the existing household debt stock.

    The external position in 2024 was moderately stronger than warranted by fundamentals and desirable policy settings. Policies aimed at promoting investment, enhancing social safety nets, liberalizing the services sector, and minimizing tax incentives and subsidies that distort competition would facilitate external rebalancing.

    Resolute structural reforms are needed to boost productivity and competitiveness. Reform priorities include facilitating competition and openness, upgrading physical and ICT infrastructure, upskilling/reskilling the labor force, increasing export sophistication by leveraging digitalization, and strengthening governance. Providing an adequate social protection floor to vulnerable households could help enhance their resilience to shocks and address structural drivers of household debt accumulation.

    Table 1. Thailand: Selected Economic Indicators, 2019–30

    Per capita GDP (2023): US$7,338

    Exchange Rate (2023): 34.8 Baht/USD

    Unemployment rate (2023): 1 percent

    Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (2021): 6.3 percent

    Net FDI (2023): US$ -7.16 billion

    Population (2023): 70.18 million

                       

    Actual

    Projections

    2019

    2020

    2021

    2022

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    2027

    2028

    2029

    2030

    Real GDP growth (y/y percent change) 1/

    2.1

    -6.1

    1.6

    2.5

    1.9

    2.7

    2.9

    2.6

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    Consumption

    3.4

    -0.3

    1.3

    4.8

    4.6

    4.3

    4.0

    2.9

    2.1

    2.3

    2.6

    2.6

    Gross fixed investment

    2.0

    -4.8

    3.1

    2.3

    1.2

    0.1

    4.1

    2.1

    1.8

    2.3

    2.4

    2.5

    Inflation (y/y percent change)

                           

    Headline CPI (end of period)

    0.9

    -0.3

    2.2

    5.9

    -0.8

    1.2

    1.3

    1.5

    1.5

    1.7

    1.7

    1.8

    Headline CPI (period average)

    0.7

    -0.8

    1.2

    6.1

    1.2

    0.4

    1.0

    1.3

    1.5

    1.6

    1.7

    1.8

    Core CPI (end of period)

    0.5

    0.2

    0.3

    3.2

    0.6

    0.8

    1.3

    1.0

    1.2

    1.4

    1.4

    1.6

    Core CPI (period average)

    0.5

    0.3

    0.2

    2.5

    1.3

    0.6

    1.1

    1.2

    1.1

    1.3

    1.4

    1.5

    Saving and investment (percent of GDP)

                           

    Gross domestic investment

    23.8

    23.8

    28.6

    27.8

    22.5

    20.8

    21.9

    22.2

    22.0

    21.8

    21.8

    21.6

    Private

    16.9

    16.8

    16.9

    17.3

    17.3

    16.7

    16.6

    16.4

    16.3

    16.1

    16.1

    16.0

    Public

    5.7

    6.4

    6.5

    6.1

    5.6

    5.6

    5.9

    5.8

    5.7

    5.7

    5.7

    5.7

    Change in stocks

    1.2

    0.5

    5.1

    4.5

    -0.4

    -1.5

    -0.6

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Gross national saving

    30.8

    27.9

    26.5

    24.4

    24.0

    22.6

    24.0

    24.5

    24.4

    24.4

    24.5

    24.4

    Private, including statistical discrepancy

    25.8

    26.2

    26.8

    22.6

    21.0

    19.8

    21.8

    21.9

    21.7

    21.7

    21.8

    21.6

    Public

    5.0

    1.8

    -0.3

    1.7

    3.0

    2.8

    2.2

    2.5

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.8

    Foreign saving

    -7.0

    -4.2

    2.1

    3.5

    -1.4

    -1.8

    -2.2

    -2.3

    -2.4

    -2.6

    -2.7

    -2.8

    Fiscal accounts (percent of GDP) 2/

                           

    General government balance 3/

    0.4

    -4.5

    -6.7

    -4.5

    -2.0

    -2.2

    -3.6

    -3.2

    -2.9

    -2.8

    -2.8

    -2.8

      SOEs balance

    0.4

    0.6

    -0.3

    -0.6

    -0.7

    -0.1

    -0.2

    -0.1

    -0.1

    -0.1

    -0.1

    0.0

    Public sector balance 4/

    0.8

    -3.9

    -7.1

    -5.1

    -2.7

    -2.3

    -3.8

    -3.3

    -3.0

    -2.9

    -2.9

    -2.8

    Public sector debt (end of period) 4/

    41.1

    49.4

    58.3

    60.5

    62.4

    63.3

    64.7

    65.4

    66.0

    66.1

    66.4

    66.4

    Monetary accounts (end of period, y/y percent change)

               

    Broad money growth

    3.6

    10.2

    4.8

    3.9

    1.9

    2.3

    3.7

    3.5

    3.2

    3.8

    3.2

    3.7

    Narrow money growth

    5.7

    14.2

    14.0

    3.1

    4.2

    5.9

    3.2

    4.7

    4.2

    5.1

    4.3

    4.9

    Credit to the private sector (by other depository corporations)

    2.4

    4.5

    4.5

    2.5

    1.5

    0.1

    1.0

    1.6

    1.8

    2.1

    2.3

    2.5

    Balance of payments (billions of U.S. dollars)

                           

    Current account balance

    38.3

    20.9

    -10.7

    -17.2

    7.4

    9.5

    11.9

    13.2

    14.6

    16.5

    18.2

    19.4

    (In percent of GDP)

    7.0

    4.2

    -2.1

    -3.5

    1.4

    1.8

    2.2

    2.3

    2.4

    2.6

    2.7

    2.8

    Exports of goods, f.o.b.

    242.7

    227.0

    270.6

    285.2

    280.7

    293.6

    301.8

    312.5

    327.2

    343.1

    359.0

    375.5

    Growth rate (dollar terms)

    -3.3

    -6.5

    19.2

    5.4

    -1.5

    4.6

    2.8

    3.6

    4.7

    4.9

    4.6

    4.6

            Growth rate (volume terms)

    -3.7

    -5.8

    15.4

    1.2

    -2.7

    2.1

    1.9

    2.7

    3.5

    3.6

    3.2

    3.2

    Imports of goods, f.o.b.

    216.0

    186.6

    238.6

    271.6

    261.4

    274.9

    284.6

    295.1

    309.1

    324.1

    339.1

    354.9

    Growth rate (dollar terms)

    -5.6

    -13.6

    27.9

    13.8

    -3.8

    5.2

    3.5

    3.7

    4.7

    4.9

    4.6

    4.7

            Growth rate (volume terms)

    -5.8

    -10.4

    18.0

    1.0

    -4.1

    3.7

    3.5

    3.3

    3.4

    3.3

    3.3

    3.3

    Capital and financial account balance 5/

    -24.7

    -2.6

    3.6

    6.9

    -4.9

    -9.5

    -11.9

    -13.2

    -14.6

    -16.5

    -18.2

    -19.4

    Overall balance

    13.6

    18.4

    -7.1

    -10.2

    2.6

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Gross official reserves (including net forward position, end of period) (billions of U.S. dollars)

    259.0

    286.5

    279.2

    245.8

    254.6

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    262.5

    (Months of following year’s imports)

    16.7

    14.4

    12.3

    11.3

    11.1

    11.1

    10.7

    10.2

    9.7

    9.3

    8.9

    8.5

    (Percent of short-term debt) 6/

    338.0

    315.3

    291.2

    236.3

    242.7

    239.6

    231.7

    222.5

    213.7

    206.2

    199.6

    252.3

    (Percent of ARA metric)

    252.5

    278.3

    263.3

    222.3

    233.2

    231.8

    226.4

    219.2

    212.3

    205.4

    199.3

    200.0

    Exchange rate (baht/U.S. dollar)

    31.0

    31.3

    32.0

    35.1

    34.8

    35.3

    NEER appreciation (annual average)

    7.2

    -0.3

    -4.5

    -1.8

    3.9

    REER appreciation (annual average)

    5.8

    -2.6

    -5.7

    -1.1

    1.2

    External debt

                           

    (In percent of GDP)

    31.7

    38.0

    38.9

    40.6

    38.2

    38.4

    38.5

    38.6

    38.7

    38.7

    38.8

    38.8

    (In billions of U.S. dollars)

    172.7

    190.1

    196.9

    201.4

    196.5

    202.4

    213.1

    223.8

    233.8

    245.9

    257.0

    270.0

    Public sector 7/

    38.0

    37.2

    41.5

    41.2

    35.8

    38.4

    40.8

    43.3

    45.6

    48.1

    50.8

    53.7

    Private sector

    134.0

    152.9

    155.4

    160.3

    160.7

    164.5

    172.9

    181.1

    188.8

    198.3

    206.8

    217.0

    Medium- and long-term

    74.6

    79.4

    82.3

    82.3

    80.3

    80.7

    86.5

    91.1

    95.3

    101.5

    107.1

    114.0

    Short-term (including portfolio flows)

    59.4

    73.5

    73.1

    78.0

    80.4

    83.8

    86.4

    90.0

    93.5

    96.8

    99.7

    103.0

    Debt service ratio 8/

    7.8

    7.5

    6.3

    7.3

    7.9

    7.8

    7.8

    7.3

    8.3

    9.3

    10.3

    10.3

    Memorandum items:

                           

    Nominal GDP (billions of baht)

    16889.2

    15661.3

    16188.6

    17378.0

    17922.0

    18603.0

    19371.2

    20282.2

    21143.0

    22211.7

    23164.5

    24307.8

    (In billions of U.S. dollars)

    544.0

    500.5

    506.3

    495.6

    515.0

    527.1

    553.9

    580.2

    604.8

    635.4

    662.7

    695.4

    Output Gap (in percent of potential output)

    0.2

    -4.2

    -4.1

    -2.0

    -1.5

    -0.7

    0.0

    0.1

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    0.0

    Sources: Thai authorities; CEIC Data Co. Ltd.; and IMF staff estimates and projections.

    1/ This series reflects the new GDP data based on the chain volume measure methodology, introduced by the Thai authorities in May 2015.

    2/ On a fiscal year basis. The fiscal year ends on September 30.

    3/ Includes budgetary central government, extrabudgetary funds, and local governments.

    4/ Includes general government and SOEs.

    5/ Includes errors and omissions.

    6/ With remaining maturity of one year or less.

    7/ Excludes debt of state enterprises.

    8/ Percent of exports of goods and services.

                                                             

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

    [2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Pavis Devahasadin

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/20/pr25040-thailand-imf-executive-board-concludes-2024-article-iv-consultation-with-thailand

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Baltimore Department Of Finance Employee Sentenced To Four Years In Connection With Bribery And Covid-19 Cares Act Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Baltimore Department of Finance employee took more than $250,000 in bribes and obtained more than $143,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief benefits

    Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett, today, sentenced Joseph Gillespie, age 35, of Baltimore City, Maryland, to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release in connection with a bribery scheme and conspiracy to commit wire fraud scheme involving COVID-19 CARES Act relief benefits.

    Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office.

    “Defendant Gillespie abused the public trust through a bribery scheme and took advantage of money meant to help during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Acting United States Attorney Selden. “When government employees take bribes and public funds, it harms the very communities they are meant to serve. The District of Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office will relentlessly pursue those who try to compromise the public trust.”

    “Gillespie’s extensive schemes and lies ultimately cost hardworking taxpayers. Instead of performing his job with honesty, he looked for illicit ways to line his own pockets. This sentence proves that corruption never pays,” said FBI Baltimore SAC William J. DelBagno. “The FBI and our partners remain committed to holding accountable those who try to cheat the system for their own benefit and profit.”

    According to Gillespie’s plea agreement, beginning in 2016, and continuing to 2023, the Defendant engaged in a bribery scheme in which he abused his position of trust as a public official within the Baltimore City Department of Finance for his own personal gain.

    As an employee of the Baltimore City Department of Finance, Revenue Collections Department, Gillespie routinely accepted bribes from various property owners in Baltimore City (“the City”) whose property was subject to certain financial obligations, and if the obligations remained unpaid, to a tax sale.  He accepted these bribes — typically 10-15 percent of the amount owed to the City — in exchange for removing or extinguishing these financial obligations, including for citations, tax obligations, and water obligations – thereby causing losses to the City.  Gillespie also accepted bribes in exchange for delaying or postponing — without approval or permission from other City officials — due dates for the payment of outstanding financial obligations, fines, and payments owed to the City, thus forestalling the placement of a lien on the property by the City.

    Once Gillespie received the bribe payment, he would extinguish the financial obligation owed to the City by marking the obligations as paid in the City’s online records.  After removing the obligation, the Defendant would, at times, send a photograph of a cashier slip from his office reflecting that a payment was made towards a financial obligation owed to the City when, in fact, no such payment was made.

    Gillespie engaged in multiple covertly recorded telephone and video conversations with an FBI undercover agent (UC), in which the Defendant and the UC discussed the specifics of the bribery scheme outlined above.

    For example, in a recorded phone conversation with the UC, the UC confirmed the size of the bribe payment with the Defendant: “[S]o you want 100 for each property?” Defendant said, “yeah that’s basically how I do.”  Gillespie then informed the UC that he (Gillespie) had a “girl” in “water”— i.e., the Baltimore City Department of Public Works — that could “wipe some s*** out,” referring to financial obligations owed to the City.

    During a covert video recording of the conversation with the UC, Gillespie told the UC that he had the ability to “wipe a bill off” the City’s record of outstanding obligations tied to a particular property or to “put paid next to ‘em,” even though the financial obligation had not in fact been paid.  The Defendant further stated that he removed certain financial obligations linked to the properties that the UC told the Defendant were his, stating “[t]here was a couple, extra miscellaneous bills that y’all had that I wiped off . . . . That s*** gone now.”

    Gillespie also extended the deadline for payment of financial obligations owed to the City on eight properties by three months.  Gillespie asked for $800 in bribes in return — $100 for each of the eight properties, and, during the recorded meeting, the UC provided Gillespie $800 cash.  Gillespie also stated that he had the ability to wipe out overdue water bills owed to the City, “Once I let you know [about a big water bill], I’ll give it to my girl, and I’ll tell you what you need to give me for her to knock it off.”  Gillespie then stated:

    “Going forward, I’m just your inside man . . . That’s what I do for a lot of different people around the City.  You know what I mean – manage their s*** for them a little bit. . . .  I’m gonna go look at your s***.  Anyone with a high water bill I’m gonna text you the address, and I’m gonna tell you what I need, and we can knock them out going forward with that . . . . Any water bill that’s too high, I’ll get my girl to take care of that.”

    Gillespie’s bribery scheme continued for years thereafter, and he admitted that he enlisted the help of multiple co-conspirators in connection with his scheme.  According to the plea agreement, Gillespie received more than $250,000 in connection with the bribery scheme and caused losses to the City in excess of $1,250,000.

    Further, Gillespie also engaged in a scheme to fraudulent COVID-19 CARES relief funds.  Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), administered through the United States Small Business Administration (SBA).

    For example, in 2021, Gillespie and co-defendant Ahmed (“Adam”) Sary submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application to Cross River Bank to obtain a PPP loan for JAG Investments (“JAG”), a company the Defendant owned.  The PPP loan application contained numerous material misrepresentations, including that JAG, in 2019, had 19 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $55,000. In support of the loan application, a fabricated 2019 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form 940 – Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return – was submitted, which falsely stated that JAG’s total payments to employees, in 2019, was more than $275,000.

    Based on the false representations and fraudulent submissions made on behalf of Gillespie as the owner of JAG, the PPP loan was funded on March 6, 2021, and approximately $138,000 was distributed to a bank account controlled by Gillespie. Gillespie agreed to pay Sary kickbacks totaling $38,000 for his work in submitting the false application and obtaining the fraudulent PPP loan.  In addition, after receipt of the PPP loan, Gillespie established payroll services for JAG to facilitate documentation that would later be used to substantiate a request for the PPP loan to be forgiven.

    The District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

    For more information about the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    Acting United States Attorney Phil Selden commended the FBI for their work in the investigation, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General and the Baltimore City Inspector General for assistance as well.  Mr. Selden thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Evelyn L. Cusson who are prosecuting the federal case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Statement on SecDef Hegseth’s Call to Slash Defense Spending by Eight Percent Annually

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – This week, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a directive ordering senior military officials to submit plans to slash defense spending by 8 percent annually, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that Hegseth’s arbitrary cuts coupled with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) potential firings of Defense Department personnel could make America less safe and dramatically reduce military readiness.

    Reed stated: “These types of hasty, indiscriminate budget cuts would betray our military forces and their families and make America less safe. I’m all for cutting programs that don’t work, but this proposal is deeply misguided. Secretary Hegseth’s rushed, arbitrary strategy would have negative impacts on our security, economy, and industrial base.”

    The bipartisan FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized a Pentagon budget of roughly $850 billion.  If the Trump Administration implements an annual 8 percent cut over the next five years it could mean approximately $300 billion less in military spending through fiscal year 2030. 

    If Secretary Hegseth’s dramatic 8 percent cut to the annual defense budget is enforced, it would also mean the U.S. would fall short of President Trump’s call for all NATO countries to spend at least 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.  In order for the U.S. to meet that level of defense spending it would have to allocate about $1 trillion annually on the U.S. military budget.

    The move also comes less than a year after China raised its annual defense budget by 7.2 percent for 2024 and amidst constant and repeated warning from bipartisan Congressional leaders that the world is more dangerous today and letting America’s national defense atrophy would weaken the nation and invite aggression instead of deterring conflict.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed: Federal Government Must Assist Flood Victims, Invest in Flood Resilience & Reauthorize National Flood Insurance Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – After severe winter storms over the weekend caused major flooding and wind damage across several states, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and West Virginia, causing multiple deaths and leaving communities in disrepair, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations Committee, said it is important for the federal government to help states recover and assist flood victims and those directly impacted.  

    “When Rhode Island has been hit by major flooding in the past, the federal government has stepped in with real relief and it needs to do the same for people in Kentucky and other states impacted by climate change and severe weather.  These devastating floods are further proof that Congress must act swiftly to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, invest in flood resilience, and double down on clean energy,” said Senator Reed.  “Ordinary Americans can see and feel the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise for themselves.  Climate change is real and is having a widespread, devastating impact.  The federal government can’t bury its head in the sand or drill its way out of this problem, it needs to invest wisely and help communities adapt.”  

    The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was originally established in 1968 and is the principal provider of flood insurance across the United States. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages the flood-insurance program and pays NFIP claims.  

    NFIP’s authorization is set to expire on March 14, 2025 unless Congress and President Trump take action.  Project 2025 calls for abolishing the NFIP, which could cause major economic upheaval, disrupting home sales and property insurance nationwide.  

    All fifty states have been or are currently going through a federal-state assessment process with FEMA for how states conduct floodplain management programs for all state-owned properties and state-development projects that are in Special Flood Hazard Areas to determine compliance with the minimum requirements of the NFIP.  

    “Higher seas and stronger storms are already in the forecast and homeowners, renters, businesses, and communities nationwide are at risk of substantial losses due to flooding.  Insurance companies are abandoning entire states due to the risk of climate change driven weather. The National Flood Insurance Program provides a way to protect against such risk and the program should be reauthorized and improved to better protect the public,” said Senator Reed.  “We also need coordinated national action and global leadership on climate change.  President Trump is irresponsibly undoing long-term environmental investments in order to generate bigger tax windfalls for the wealthy.  Instead, we should be focusing on improving the resilience of American communities and our economy by strengthening our infrastructure and protecting natural resources.”  

    Reed noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plays a key role monitoring extreme weather, tracking water levels, and informing communities and residents when life-threatening flooding may occur and prompting evacuations.  

    But despite the critical roles that both FEMA and NOAA play, the Trump Administration continues to target these federal agencies for mass-firings and funding cuts that could undercut their ability to protect Americans in future emergencies.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: 21 February 2025 30 new homes for Wairoa in construction The first new state homes in Wairoa in many years are now being built. Thirty single-storey homes will be built on a two-hectare site, Tihitihi Pā. The development will see a mix of two, three, four and six-bedroom homes built.

    Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

    Whakamanamana Ltd is the development company behind the project. After two devastating floods in 2023 and 2024, Director of Operations Benji King wanted to come home and build on his involvement in the Wairoa community.

    “It’s clear that Wairoa has a dire need for more homes. I was happy to get stuck in to make sure the 30 homes that were proposed some time ago, get built.” Once completed, Kāinga Ora will purchase the homes for use as social housing.

    “It is rewarding to see siteworks progressing well. They should be completed in the next three months. Framing for the first homes has been erected and it is full steam ahead to get more homes started.”

    “We have contracted PCS Projects to build and manage the project. Fred van der Sande has been involved in this development for the last couple of years and he is the project manager.

    “A big focus for Fred and the PCS team has been to ensure local labour is used on the project. They have worked with the Wairoa Young Achievers Trust (WYAT) to recruit local rangatahi and ensure they have the opportunity to work towards a qualification. This has resulted in more Wairoa people taking on apprenticeships. It also means that 85% of the people working on the development are locals.

    Naomi Whitewood, Kāinga Ora Regional Director East North Island says Kāinga Ora is focused on delivering social housing in areas where it is most needed. “Wairoa is definitely one of those areas and we are happy to be a partner to this development. Seeing progress made on the site means that mokopuna and whānau will be moving into warm, dry, safe homes by the end of the year.”

    Wairoa District Council Deputy Mayor Denise Eaglesome. “The good that comes from this project is endless. A housing development of this size bounces our economy by giving local people work. We know that Wairoa needs more housing, there are too many people in this region that don’t have a home. Having a nice place to live is so important for whanau wellbeing.”

    The first homes on Tihitihi Pa are expected to be completed late this year with more following in 2026. They will be low maintenance and fully insulated with carpets, curtains, double glazing and heat pumps.

    Some of the new state homes being built in Wairoa

    Page updated: 21 February 2025

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI: E Split Corp. Renews At-The-Market Equity Program

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (TSX: ENS, ENS.PR.A) E Split Corp. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has renewed its at-the-market equity program (“ATM Program”) that allows the Company to issue Class A and Preferred Shares (the “Class A Shares” and “Preferred Shares”, respectively) to the public from time to time, at the Company’s discretion. Any Class A Shares or Preferred Shares sold in the ATM Program will be sold through the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) or any other marketplace in Canada on which the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares are listed, quoted or otherwise traded at the prevailing market price at the time of sale.

    Sales of Class A Shares and Preferred Shares through the ATM Program will be made pursuant to the terms of an equity distribution agreement dated February 14, 2025 (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”) with National Bank Financial Inc. (the “Agent”). Sales of Class A Shares and Preferred Shares will be made by way of “at-the-market distributions” as defined in National Instrument 44-102 Shelf Distributions on the TSX or on any marketplace for the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares in Canada. Since the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares will be distributed at the prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, prices may vary among purchasers during the period of distribution.

    The ATM Program is being offered pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated February 14, 2025 to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated February 12, 2025. The maximum gross proceeds from the issuance of the shares will be $200,000,000 for each of the Class A and Preferred Shares. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the short form base shelf prospectus may be obtained from your registered financial advisor or from representatives of the Agent and are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.. The volume and timing of distributions under the ATM Program, if any, will be determined at the Company’s sole discretion. The ATM Program will be effective until March 13, 2027, unless terminated prior to such date by the Company.

    The Company intends to use the proceeds from the ATM Program in accordance with the investment objectives and investment strategies of the Company, subject to the investment restrictions of the Company. E Split Corp. invests in a portfolio comprised primarily of common shares of Enbridge Inc. (“Enbridge”), a leading North American oil and gas pipeline, gas processing, and natural gas distribution company. Middlefield Capital Corporation provides investment management advice to the Company.

    The investment objectives for the Class A Shares are to provide holders with non-cumulative monthly cash distributions and to provide holders with the opportunity for capital appreciation potential. The investment objectives for the Preferred Shares are to provide holders with fixed cumulative preferential quarterly cash distributions, currently in the amount of $0.1750 per Preferred Share, and to return the original issue price to holders of Preferred Shares on June 30, 2028.

    For further information, please visit our website at www.middlefield.com or contact Nancy Tham in our Sales and Marketing Department at 1.888.890.1868.

    You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell shares of the investment funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an “exchange”). If the shares are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying shares of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the funds. You can find more detailed information about the fund in the public filings available at www.sedar.com. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in share value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

    Certain statements in this press release may be viewed as forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects”, “is expected”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates” or “intends” (or negative or grammatical variations thereof), or stating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including as a result of changes in the general economic and political environment, changes in applicable legislation, and the performance of each fund. There are no assurances the funds can fulfill such forward-looking statements and the funds do not undertake any obligation to update such statements. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing one or more of the funds, many of which are beyond the control of the funds. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Real Estate Split Corp. Renews At-The-Market Equity Program

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States.

    TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (TSX: RS, RS.PR.A) Real Estate Split Corp. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has renewed its at-the-market equity program (“ATM Program”) that allows the Company to issue Class A and Preferred Shares (the “Class A Shares” and “Preferred Shares”, respectively) to the public from time to time, at the Company’s discretion. Any Class A Shares or Preferred Shares sold in the ATM Program will be sold through the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) or any other marketplace in Canada on which the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares are listed, quoted or otherwise traded at the prevailing market price at the time of sale.

    Sales of Class A Shares and Preferred Shares through the ATM Program will be made pursuant to the terms of an equity distribution agreement dated February 14, 2025 (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”) with National Bank Financial Inc. (the “Agent”). Sales of Class A Shares and Preferred Shares will be made by way of “at-the-market distributions” as defined in National Instrument 44-102 Shelf Distributions on the TSX or on any marketplace for the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares in Canada. Since the Class A Shares and Preferred Shares will be distributed at the prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, prices may vary among purchasers during the period of distribution.

    The ATM Program is being offered pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated February 14, 2025 to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated February 12, 2025. The maximum gross proceeds from the issuance of the shares will be $75,000,000 for each of the Class A and Preferred Shares. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the short form base shelf prospectus may be obtained from your registered financial advisor or from representatives of the Agent and are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The volume and timing of distributions under the ATM Program, if any, will be determined at the Company’s sole discretion. The ATM Program will be effective until March 13, 2027, unless terminated prior to such date by the Company.

    The Company intends to use the proceeds from the ATM Program in accordance with the investment objectives and investment strategies of the Company, subject to the investment restrictions of the Company. Real Estate Split Corp. has been designed to provide investors with a diversified, actively managed, high conviction portfolio comprised of issuers operating in the real estate or related sectors, including real estate investment trusts, that are engaged in E-Commerce, data infrastructure as well as the multi-family, retail, office and healthcare sectors. Middlefield Capital Corporation provides investment management advice to the Company.

    The investment objectives for the Class A Shares are to provide holders with non-cumulative monthly cash distributions and to provide holders with the opportunity for capital appreciation potential. On August 17, 2021, the monthly cash distribution was increased to $0.13 per Class A Share from $0.10 per Class A Share. The investment objectives for the Preferred Shares are to provide holders with fixed cumulative preferential quarterly cash distributions, currently in the amount of $0.13125 per Preferred Share, and to return the original issue price to holders of Preferred Shares on December 31, 2025.

    For further information, please visit our website at www.middlefield.com or contact Nancy Tham in our Sales and Marketing Department at 1.888.890.1868.

    You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell shares of the investment funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an “exchange”). If the shares are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying shares of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the funds. You can find more detailed information about the fund in the public filings available at www.sedar.com. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in share value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

    Certain statements in this press release may be viewed as forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as “expects”, “is expected”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates” or “intends” (or negative or grammatical variations thereof), or stating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including as a result of changes in the general economic and political environment, changes in applicable legislation, and the performance of each fund. There are no assurances the funds can fulfill such forward-looking statements and the funds do not undertake any obligation to update such statements. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing one or more of the funds, many of which are beyond the control of the funds. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Tom Geisel to Join Dime’s Senior Executive Leadership Team

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCOM) (the “Company” or “Dime”), the parent company of Dime Community Bank (the “Bank”), announced today that Thomas X. Geisel will join Dime as Senior Executive Vice President of Commercial Lending. Mr. Geisel will be responsible for the continued buildout and diversification of Dime’s commercial lending business.

    Stuart H. Lubow, President and CEO said, “Dime has had tremendous success growing core deposits and business loans over the past two years by taking advantage of the significant disruption in our marketplace and adding talent to our organization. Recruiting Tom to our organization is the next logical step in the execution of our business plan. Tom has a proven track record as a business leader and he was instrumental in the growth and transformation of Sterling National Bank into a highly profitable $30 billion institution. Tom is an experienced leader and well-known brand name in the New York Metropolitan market. I look forward to working with him closely as we advance Dime’s mission of being the best business bank in New York.”

    Mr. Geisel stated, “I’m very pleased to join Dime and be part of the growth story. Dime’s entrepreneurial culture and customer first mindset attracted me to the institution.  Its strong balance sheet and best-in-class capital strength provides an attractive foundation for talented commercial bankers. I look forward to working with Stu and the management team to leverage its positive momentum in creating a high performing, local champion.” 

    Mr. Geisel has a diverse financial services background, including leadership experience growing regional banks for more than twenty years. He was President of Corporate Banking, at Webster Bank (formally known as Sterling National Bank). Prior to Sterling National Bank, Mr. Geisel was President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Sun Bancorp. Prior to Sun Bancorp, Mr. Geisel was at KeyCorp, including serving as President of the Northeast Region where he was responsible for $20 billion of assets within seven states, including commercial, consumer and private banking. He also helped to build the company’s general M&A investment banking practice in the East and West regions. Most recently, he was recruited to lead a turnaround of Republic First, which culminated in an assisted transaction.

    ABOUT DIME COMMUNITY BANCSHARES, INC.

    Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for Dime Community Bank, a New York State-chartered trust company with over $14 billion in assets and the number one deposit market share among community banks on Greater Long Island (1).

    Dime Community Bancshares, Inc.
    Investor Relations Contact:
    Avinash Reddy
    Senior Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer
    Phone: 718-782-6200; Ext. 5909
    Email: avinash.reddy@dime.com

    1 Aggregate deposit market share for Kings, Queens, Nassau & Suffolk counties for community banks with less than $20 billion in assets.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Questions Steven Bradbury at Confirmation Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
    Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, questioned Steven Bradbury at the confirmation hearing on his nomination to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation.  
    During the hearing, Senator Fischer asked Bradbury about his commitment to supporting rural America, specifically citing small, rural Nebraska communities, by maintaining the Essential Air Service (EAS) program for smaller to medium-sized airports. She also questioned him on his plans to ensure that all state Departments of Transportation receive clear, consistent guidance from the Federal Highway Administration over funding requests. Finally, Senator Fischer asked Bradbury how he plans to hold companies like Amtrak accountable for using their grants efficiently and effectively.
    Click the image above to watch a video of Senator Fischer’s questioning
    Click here to download audio
    Click here to download video
    Senator Fischer questions Steven Bradbury:
    Senator Fischer: Mr. Bradbury, as you know, rural communities rely heavily on the Essential Air Service program. It provides them with connectivity and access to critical services. In my home state of Nebraska, we have seven communities that are served by Essential Air Service. It provides these communities not just with an increased opportunity to connect with the outside world, but it serves to help them attract business, attract visitors, and it drives local economies.
    Yesterday, in our meeting to get to know each other and have a good conversation—thank you for coming—you mentioned looking at potential reforms to Essential Air Service, and you said, including examining the subsidies that airports receive. Are you willing to commit to me and the committee today that you stand with rural America, and ensure that our airports are able to maintain the Essential Air Service that meets those needs?
    Steven Bradbury: Yes, Senator, I appreciated our chance to meet together. Thank you very much for being available to meet with me. I appreciated that. The Secretary, I think, in his hearing, made it very clear he’s a strong supporter of Essential Air Service, and I certainly know how important it is to small and medium communities across the country, and clearly it has very strong support in Congress. And whatever proposals may have been made to reconsider that or phase it out, I don’t think that’s realistic, and I don’t expect to be pushing for anything approaching sunsetting or eliminating Essential Air Service. There are still decisions that the department makes in implementing the program and examining whether communities are meeting the metrics stated for the program. And that’s a process that happens periodically, and it’s a very important process. And sometimes new communities come into the program, and that’s something the Secretary will look at. And I expect to assist him in that with an eye to preserving the effectiveness of the program. Senator Fischer: Thank you. I also appreciated the opportunity yesterday to show you my frustration with FHWA. They seem to be struggling to provide any kind of clear, consistent guidance across their division offices. And as I stated yesterday, I’ve heard from state Departments of Transportation that there is a lack of that consistent guidance from U.S. DOT regarding the requirements needed for states, such as to justify building back better after a disaster. If confirmed, how would you work across the Federal Highway Administration to ensure that division offices are consistent, that they are clear in their guidance to our state DOTs?
    Steven Bradbury: Well, thank you, Senator, it really requires strong leadership from the head of FHWA and the Secretary out to those field offices. Consistency is critical, but also making clear that the states have a strong role in deciding the use of the funds that come into them from the Highway Trust Fund, but we need a focus on safety, efficiency, capacity, and resilience of our infrastructure—and not to be distracted by other goals, policy goals that may not be necessary and that may divert from those central, important goals of safety and efficiency. So, I think that consistency is critical and working closely with the state and the state DOTs is absolutely essential.
    Senator Fischer: I hope we can work together on that. It is extremely important, and we can certainly see cost savings when things are more streamlined and made available to the states, so they can get those projects out there and get them going. On rail service, Americans, they want safe and reliable rail service. With Amtrak, that’s not always been fiscally responsible, I believe, nor have they been cooperative with their state rail partners, who are operating profitable rail service across the network. I have some legislation on that, the Amtrak Transparency Act. It would require them to have open board meetings to state partners and requires disclosure of executive bonuses. I’m sure you recall the articles that came out about those bonuses several months ago, totally indefensible that they were given. As the DOT Deputy Secretary, how will you address concerns over Amtrak’s fiscal responsibility and ensure that they work well with their state rail partners?
    Steven Bradbury: Well, thank you. I appreciate those goals and definitely would look forward to working with you and this committee on any legislation that would address that. But with regard to the current situation with Amtrak, there’s so much additional funding that has been provided to Amtrak. There’s so much money in the system. We really need to take a careful look and ensure that it’s being used efficiently and effectively. And there shouldn’t be any wasteful spending, unnecessary bonuses that don’t make sense, and certainly they need to cooperate closely with states and local interests on their passenger service. You know, just before COVID hit, Amtrak was on the brink of finally being in the black for the first time across their network. Of course, that still assumes a lot of grant money coming from Congress. Real tragedy for Amtrak what COVID did in terms of hitting it. And it’s still coming back, but we really need to take a hard look at the economics.
    Senator Fischer: Thank you.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Politico Pro: Senate Dems press RFK Jr. for more ethics pledges ahead of floor vote

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    February 06, 2025
    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent ethics concessions aren’t assuaging two Senate Democrats on the panels charged with vetting his nomination to be HHS secretary.
    Senate Finance member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions member Tim Kaine (D-Va.) demanded additional commitments from Kennedy on Wednesday ahead of his confirmation vote – which could occur as soon as next week – to mitigate what they say are continued conflicts of interest.
    In a letter shared first with POLITICO, the pair asked Kennedy to either forfeit his financial interest in all cases he’s referred to Wisner Baum that involve HHS-regulated entities or accept a lump sum unrelated to their outcomes. That law firm is leading litigation against Merck’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil.
    They also called for Kennedy to recuse himself from matters involving former clients and employers for four years and to commit to not lobbying the department or litigating cases against pharma companies for at least four years after he leaves office. The senators requested a response by Friday.

    Read the full article here.
    By:  Lauren GardnerSource: Politico Pro

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: New York Times: Senate Democrats Demand Clarity About Musk’s Efforts at Education Dept.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    February 07, 2025
    Senate Democrats demanded answers from the Education Department on Thursday about the scope of Elon Musk’s data collection efforts at the agency, which appears to be a focus of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting initiative.
    The letter, by a coalition of 15 lawmakers, reflected growing concern about the aggressive incursions that members of Mr. Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency have made into an array of federal agencies, including the Education Department.
    It came as the White House has been discussing the possibility of issuing an executive order to effectively shut down the Education Department, according to people familiar with the conversations.
    Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader; and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland were among those urging for clarity on whether members of Mr. Musk’s team had sought confidential data on students. Such information could be as granular as demographic, financial and family details given what the department routinely collects in its work to disburse student aid.

    Read the full article here.
    By:  Zach MontagueSource: New York Times
    Previous Article

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine Files Amendments to Republican Budget Resolution

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, filed amendments to the Senate Republicans’ budget resolution in an attempt to improve the bill, which currently tees up tax cuts for billionaires by cutting critical funding for programs that Virginians rely on. Republicans are using a legislative process known as “reconciliation,” which allows certain legislation to be expedited and passed in the Senate by a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold needed for most other legislation. The Senate will begin consideration of the budget resolution later today.
    “I’d like to focus on cutting taxes for the middle-class. Unfortunately, Republicans disagree. Instead, they are coming after your Medicaid and Medicare benefits, your health care, education programs, and other critical funding that Virginians rely on so that they can tee up their tax cuts for billionaires. I’m filing several amendments to safeguard Virginians from President Trump’s proposed tariffs, which would raise costs; protect federal employees who provide essential services to millions of Americans; prevent cuts in funding for community health centers and national security programs; and more. I will be pushing to get votes on my amendments and will do everything I can to stop Republicans from passing policies that hurt Virginians and our economy and make us less safe,” Kaine said.
    Kaine filed a series of amendments, including:
    To cut taxes for middle-class Americans.
    To protect Americans from new, senseless taxes by preventing abuse of emergency authorities to launch trade wars with Canada and Mexico.
    To prevent cuts to federal funding for air traffic safety.
    To prevent the Department of Veterans’ Affairs from reducing its workforce below levels needed to staff and provide services at new or remodeled facilities.
    To prohibit funding for agency efforts to reclassify federal employees in the civil service outside of any schedule not currently in the competitive service.
    To prevent federal agencies and departments from terminating, rescheduling, or furloughing federal workers who are also veterans.
    To prevent federal employees in harm’s way overseas from losing critical protections.
    To protect Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and federal prosecutors from political retribution.
    To deny access to classified materials to anyone without a proper security clearance.
    To protect Virginians who receive health insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion.
    To protect rural hospitals from cuts that would threaten rural communities’ access to health care.
    To protect access to health care services provided by Federally Qualified Health Centers.
    To ensure working families are able to access affordable and high-quality child care.
    To prevent a reduction of programs that support high-quality teacher and school leader preparation.
    To protect seniors and people with disabilities who use long-term services and supports.
    To prevent reductions in staff at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, who ensure miners do not get hurt or die on the job.
    To undo the harm that the January federal funding freeze did to Head Start programs.
    To protect the Pell Grant program from facing cuts or changes to the program that will hurt low- and middle-income students most.
    To prohibit termination of national security programming implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
    To prohibit termination of foreign assistance contracts with U.S. farmers or with faith-based organizations.
    To prohibit funding for a new Middle East war in Gaza or appeasement of Russia in Ukraine.
    To prevent cuts to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
    To prevent cuts to voluntary conservation agriculture programs.
    To ensure that much-needed funding comes to Virginia to repair federally maintained trails—such as the Virginia Creeper Trail—impacted by natural disasters in 2024.
    To prohibit any efforts to privatize or defund the United States Postal Service.
    Kaine has spoken out against Republicans’ proposal on the Senate floor and during a Senate Budget Committee markup.
    President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are currently negotiating an extension to Trump’s 2017 tax law, which cut taxes for large corporations and the highest-income earners and substantially increased the federal deficit. They are now proposing broad-based tariffs and massive, across-the-board cuts to federal programs like Medicaid to fund these tax cuts for billionaires. Tax estimates have shown that if fully enacted, Trump’s tariffs could raise costs by $2,500 to nearly $4,000 per household, and American consumers could lose between $46 billion to $78 billion in spending power each year.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Michigan Man Indicted on Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MINNEAPOLIS – A Michigan man has been indicted on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges after purchasing nearly 2,500 stolen login credentials from a malicious dark web marketplace and using them to make fraudulent financial transactions and offering some for sale on other internet sites, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to court documents, from approximately February 2020 to November 2020, Andrew Shenkosky, 29, devised and executed a scheme while residing in Minnesota to defraud and obtain money through false pretenses. Shenkosky accomplished his scheme by purchasing and accessing stolen account information from the Genesis Market, an illicit online marketplace that was ultimately taken down by the FBI in or about April 2023. Genesis Market compiled hundreds of thousands of stolen login credentials, including cell phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, and passwords from malware-infected computers of victims across the world, and offered that stolen information for sale on the dark web. 

    According to court documents, Shenkosky purchased an invite code to Genesis Market using a cryptocurrency Coinbase account he fraudulently created in the name of one of his victims. In furtherance of his scheme, Shenkosky purchased 2,468 stolen credentials of various victims on Genesis Market. Shenkosky then used the stolen data to, among other things, make an unauthorized withdrawal from another victim’s bank account without their knowledge or authorization and transferred the funds to a PayPal account under his control. Shenkosky also offered and attempted to sell some of the victims’ stolen account data on a now-defunct cybercriminal forum named Raid Forums. 

    In January 2025, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Shenkosky with three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of possession of unauthorized access devices, and one count of trafficking computer access information. He made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on February 11, 2025, and his arraignment hearing is scheduled in the District of Minnesota for February 25, 2025. 

    This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Cybercrime Unit and the FBI Minneapolis and Detroit Field Offices. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Bejar and Robert Lewis are prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Media release: Australian gas industry’s $105 billion boost to the economy – Australian Energy Producers

    Source: Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association

    Headline: Media release: Australian gas industry’s $105 billion boost to the economy – Australian Energy Producers

    New economic analysis by KPMG reaffirms the critical role of the Australian gas industry in powering the national economy, contributing $105 billion annually and supporting 215,000 jobs.

    The ‘Economic Contribution of the Gas Industry’ report, commissioned by Australian Energy Producers, provides a snapshot of the gas industry’s economic contribution using the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

    The analysis shows the Australian gas industry is the most productive sector in Australia, delivering $2.8 million in value-add to the economy per full time equivalent (FTE) worker. It also found the sector contributes $85 billion directly to the economy annually, which represents 3.7 per cent of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the analysis underscored the importance of a strong Australian gas industry for a strong economy.

    “As well as having a critical role in Australia’s energy mix, natural gas is powering the Australian economy through high levels of employment and productivity, spending billions with Australian businesses, and delivering significant state and federal government revenue through taxes and royalties,” Ms McCulloch said.

    In addition to the estimated $17.1 billion paid in taxes and royalties to governments in 2023-‑24, the gas industry contributed $105 billion to Australia’s GDP and supported 215,000 ongoing jobs across the economy in 2021-22.

    The analysis also modelled the flow-on economic returns from additional private sector investment in gas projects, finding that a 5 per cent increase in Australia’s gas production would boost the Australian economy by $10.5 billion and add 1,150 jobs.

    “Supporting private sector investment in new gas projects is not only essential for our energy security, it also delivers significant economic benefits through the economy and a further uplift in Australia’s lagging productivity.

    “With Australia facing gas shortfalls as soon as 2027 on the east coast, removing barriers to gas supply and encouraging investment in new gas projects should be a national priority,” Ms McCulloch said.

    The analysis also found that the industry purchased $33 billion in goods and services from Australian businesses and paid $6 billion in employee salaries.

    Read the KPMG report at energyproducers.au/economiccontribution

    Media Contact: 0434 631 511

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler Issues Statement

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    WASHINGTON — Today, former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler issued the following statement after she was sworn in to serve as the 28th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration:

    “I am grateful to President Trump for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility of serving America’s 34 million small businesses, who are the backbone of our nation’s economy. For four years, Main Street has borne the burden of inflation, unaccountable bureaucracy, excessive regulation, and unchecked fraud, waste, and abuse. It is a new day at the SBA as we begin immediate work to restore the agency to its founding mission of growing small business, fueling free enterprise, and driving economic resilience.

    “There’s no greater honor than to work with President Trump to advance the America First agenda by empowering our entrepreneurs. With a focus on Main Street, Made in America, and accountability, the SBA will help unleash a new golden era for job creators and the communities that rely on them.”

    SBA Administrator Loeffler was sworn in at the SBA headquarters this afternoon in Washington, D.C. A ceremonial swearing-in ceremony will be held at a later date. Follow SBA Administrator Loeffler on X and Instagram.

    # # #

     

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration
    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kugler, Navigating Inflation Waves: A Phillips Curve Perspective

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Tom, and thank you for the invitation to give the Whittington Lecture.1 It is humbling to be here giving this lecture to honor the memory and legacy of Leslie Whittington. While I did not cross paths with Leslie here at Georgetown University, when I arrived, I heard so many stories about her contributions to the school, the university, and the students. She worked on research about the effects of economic policies on children and families, so I know that if I had had the good fortune to overlap with her as a colleague, I would have benefited greatly from her work and presence. It is also an honor to be giving this lecture, because so many dynamic leaders have previously stood before you, including some who have been inspirations to me in my career, such as Alice Rivlin and Cecilia Rouse.
    Today I will be discussing a topic that has certainly captured the attention of central bankers, and the public at large, in recent years: inflation and the relationship between inflation and unemployment. But before I talk about a lens through which to think about the inflation experienced in the pandemic period, I want to update you with my views on the current outlook for the U.S. economy and the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) efforts to sustainably return inflation to our 2 percent objective while maintaining a strong labor market.
    Economic OutlookThe overall picture is that the U.S. economy remains on a firm footing, with output growing at a solid pace. Real gross domestic product grew 2.5 percent in 2024. Consumer spending continued to drive this solid pace last year. While retail sales posted a decline last month, January data are often difficult to interpret. Bad weather and seasonal adjustment difficulties may have affected the release, and it should be noted the slowdown came after a strong pace of sales in the second half of last year. That said, as usual, I pay attention to many indicators to gauge the state of the economy. Employment readings show that the labor market is healthy and stable. Payroll job gains have been solid recently, averaging 189,000 per month over the past four months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). After touching 4.2 percent as recently as November, the unemployment rate has flattened to 4 percent since then, consistent with a labor market that is neither weakening nor showing signs of overheating.
    Inflation has fallen significantly since its peak in the middle of 2022, though the path continues to be bumpy and inflation remains somewhat elevated. Readings last week from the BLS showed price pressures persisted in the economy in January. Our preferred inflation gauge at the Fed, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, will be released next week. Based on the consumer price index and producer price index data for January, it is estimated that the PCE index advanced about 2.4 percent on a 12-month basis in January. Excluding food and energy costs, core prices are estimated to have risen 2.6 percent. Those readings show there is still some way to go before achieving the FOMC’s 2 percent objective.
    Regarding monetary policy, the FOMC judged in September that it was time to begin reducing our policy interest rate from levels that were strongly restrictive on aggregate demand and putting downward pressure on inflation. We reduced that rate 100 basis points through December, leaving our policy rate at moderately restrictive levels. At our latest meeting in January, I supported the decision to hold the policy rate steady. I see this as appropriate, given that the downward risks to employment have diminished but upside risks to inflation remain. The potential net effect of new economic policies also remains highly uncertain and will depend on the breadth, duration, reactions to, and, importantly, specifics of the measures adopted.
    Going forward, in considering the appropriate federal funds rate, we will watch these developments closely and continue to carefully assess the incoming data and evolving outlook.
    Now, turning back to the main topic of my speech, I will start with the core mission of the Federal Reserve: to pursue the dual mandate, given to us by Congress, of promoting maximum employment and stable prices. We saw firsthand during the pandemic period why the price-stability portion of the mandate is so important. High inflation imposes significant hardship and erodes Americans’ purchasing power, especially for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. As a policymaker and economist, I think it is vitally important to have a good understanding of inflation dynamics and how those dynamics may have evolved over time. This knowledge allows me to pursue the best policies to deliver stable prices while maintaining a solid labor market.
    Waves of InflationFive years after the pandemic took hold suddenly and with little warning, there is a tendency to remember the inflation buildup as a fast and uniform phenomenon. But that was not the case. Inflation stemming from the pandemic shock came in waves. Today I will first describe the different waves of inflation experienced in the pandemic period. Then I invite you aboard the sailboat that we will use to navigate those waves: You could call it the SS Phillips Curve. The Phillips curve is a model that has been used for a long time to try to explain inflation dynamics and the tradeoffs between inflation and unemployment. Finally, I will discuss with you how this voyage may have changed the charts for policymakers.
    Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S., and much of the world’s developed economies, experienced a prolonged period of low inflation. Then, when the economy broadly shut down in March and April 2020, the U.S. experienced a brief period of deflation. But by the middle of that year, we saw that the first of several waves of inflation began hitting the economy’s shores.
    The first notable wave of inflation came from food prices. With many restaurants closed and people fearful of gathering, consumers pivoted their spending to grocery stores and online grocery delivery to meet their families’ needs, with some stockpiling essential items because they feared future shortages. This jump in demand was met with snarled supply chains for food processing and groceries. Annual food inflation reached a first peak of 5 percent in June 2020. There was a second food inflation wave with the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the middle of 2022. Beyond the cost alone, grocery prices are an important determinant of inflation expectations for consumers since food is purchased so frequently.2 Another wave of inflation came from goods other than food and energy—what economists call “core goods.” In the years immediately before the pandemic, goods prices were not a significant source of inflation. During the expansion from 2009 until 2020, core goods inflation declined 0.5 percent annually on average. However, once the pandemic took hold, consumer demand rotated from services to goods. At the same time, additional supply chain issues arose, including closed factories and disrupted ports. As consumption rapidly shifted toward goods, their prices rose sharply.3 Core goods inflation picked up markedly in the spring of 2021 and reached a peak of 7.6 percent on a 12-month basis in February 2022. This was a notable development because, during most of this century, goods price deflation offset price increases in other categories and thus kept a lid on overall inflation.
    A third wave of inflation came from services costs, excluding housing. Near the start of the pandemic, millions of Americans lost their jobs, and many left the labor market, with some retiring and others fearful of being exposed to the virus. When the economy began to reopen from shutdowns, demand for workers rose faster than the supply. As a result, the labor market quickly became very tight. To attract workers, employers raised wages. And to offset that expense, many raised prices. Given that labor is the most important input into the production of services, core services inflation ensued, reaching a peak of 5.2 percent on a 12-month basis in December 2021. Core services inflation stayed persistently high until it began to turn down in February 2023.
    The final wave of inflation I will discuss came from PCE housing services inflation. During the pandemic, many Americans reassessed housing choices, including those who preferred to move to detached homes in the suburbs from multifamily dwellings in cities. The supply of housing has long been constrained, so when a further increase in demand met limited supply, prices rose. Housing inflation rose to a peak of 8.27 percent on a 12-month basis in April 2023 and has moved lower since then. The run-up in housing inflation came more slowly, but it is also the component most slowly to abate. This is an area that experienced catch-up inflation, as housing inflation rises and falls slowly because rents are reset infrequently, usually only once a year for most renters.
    For the remainder of this discussion, I will focus on core inflation, and specifically core goods and core services inflation. My objective is to discuss several additions to an augmented Phillips curve model that allow us to capture the dynamics of those waves we encountered on our journey.
    The Traditional Phillips CurveSince price stability and maximum employment are the two components of the Fed’s dual-mandate goal, it is important for policymakers to be able to interpret the inflation process and relate it to macroeconomic conditions, including unemployment. One traditional way of understanding the usual tradeoff between inflation and unemployment is the use of the Phillips curve. It was first employed by New Zealand economist A.W. Phillips in 1958 to describe a simple relationship between wage growth and unemployment. Basically, it demonstrates that wage inflation is lower when unemployment is high, and higher when unemployment is low. Since then, several variants and updates have been offered to the Phillips curve model, and I will offer updates, too.
    One of the most notable updates came from Milton Friedman in 1967 in his presidential address to the American Economic Association.4 In that speech, he argued that there is only a temporary tradeoff between inflation and unemployment, because inflation depends on both the unemployment rate relative to a natural rate (the unemployment gap) and expectations of future inflation.
    The unemployment gap measures how much unemployment is above or below some reference level such as the natural rate of unemployment, or NAIRU (non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment), which is thought to be the normal level of unemployment absent cyclical forces. An unemployment rate that is above the reference level indicates that there is slack in the economy. Conversely, if the unemployment rate is below the reference level, the economy is tight. The unemployment gap has an inverse relation to wage and price inflation, because slack in the economy means that there are excess resources to meet demand while tightness in the labor market means there is little room to expand demand without putting upward pressure on prices. Let’s turn now to the other ingredient in Friedman’s Phillips curve: inflation expectations. Inflation expectations represent the rate at which people expect prices to rise in the future. A Phillips curve model that includes inflation expectations is called an “expectations-augmented Phillips curve.”
    The idea behind adding inflation expectations to a Phillips curve is that workers care about their inflation-adjusted wage, rather than nominal wages, over the course of a period of employment when bargaining their pay. Meanwhile, price-setting firms care about their relative price in pricing their products. Both sets of agents must forecast as best as possible the future path of inflation to efficiently bargain their wages or set their prices. In other words, both parties form expectations about the general price level, and these expectations will feed back into the inflation process.5 Friedman assumed that inflation expectations respond to lagged observed inflation—or what are called “adaptive expectations”—and when that is so, it provides a mechanism for inflation to be persistent.
    This view captured inflation dynamics in the 1970s and early 1980s fairly well; however, it was not broadly applicable to the period from the late 1980s through 2019, often called the “Great Moderation.” Rather, regarding inflation dynamics over an extended period, inflation appears to be more strongly related to long-run inflation expectations than to lagged inflation or short-run inflation expectations measures. Monetary policy can play an important role in setting long-run inflation expectations. Both wage seekers and price setters form their inflation expectations, in part, from their beliefs about the central bank’s inflation goal. When long-run inflation expectations stay close to the central bank’s goal, we say that inflation expectations are anchored at that goal. That goal is currently set at 2 percent, and long-run inflation expectations have indeed been in a tight range around that target.6
    The empirical literature on the Phillips curve has considered additional variables that may affect inflation and used those variables to create new versions of a Phillips curve. For example, Phillips curves have long included measures of “cost-push” pressures such as core import prices. These cost pressures more fully capture shocks to firms’ costs coming from global price pressures and not captured by other measures of slack. Other Phillips curves also include lags of inflation to capture persistence in the inflation process.7
    To summarize, the empirical literature has come to the conclusion that inflation dynamics can best be captured by a Phillips curve that includes lags of inflation, long-run inflation expectations, and a measure of slack, as well as import and energy prices as cost-push shocks. An instance of that formulation of a Phillips curve is included in former Chair Janet Yellen’s speech from 2015.8 Next, I would like to assess the accuracy of this baseline model during the recent run-up of inflation and consider how to augment the Phillips curve model with some new variables that may be able to capture some of the shocks experienced during the pandemic and post-pandemic period. A large literature has emerged on how to interpret the recent run-up in inflation, and more research is needed to fully understand this complicated episode. The Phillips curve model that I will use is another approach to consider. This is a simple approach, but it is possible to consider more complex models, such as models that consider the joint dynamics of inflation and other variables or models that explicitly consider nonlinearities.9 However, I still see value in starting from this simple framework, seeing what it can and cannot explain about pandemic inflation, and then seeing whether the addition of certain variables can help the model more fully account for inflation during the pandemic.
    Estimation of the Phillips Curve TodayAs I just explained, the Phillips curve model allows flexibility in the choice of variables, but economists employing the model must decide how to weight these variables. And those weights must be chosen in some way. Economists choose weights by examining available data and deciding which capture the inflation process in the best possible way. This decision is called “estimation.” The modern way to undertake such an estimation is called “training.” Economists train a model on a specific set of data and consider different cuts of the data set to determine different ways to compute those weights.
    I will consider quarterly data that have been consistently produced since 1964, allowing us to include the periods of the Great Inflation, the Great Moderation, and the most recent inflation run-up. We could use this entire data set to train the model. However, subsample analysis also serves to prove some valuable points.
    First Result: Examining the Great ModerationLet’s start by updating former Fed Chair Yellen’s results. She estimated the model using the data during the so-called Great Moderation; I will update her results by training the model through 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S. As the term “moderation” implies, this was a period in which both inflation and output became much less volatile. We do not know exactly what brought about the Great Moderation. Hypotheses include the effects of better inventory management or better monetary policy. We do know, however, that inflation settled into a trend near to or slightly below 2 percent during that period. We estimate the model with data from this period, and we decompose how much of inflation is explained by the variables and how much is left unexplained, which economists call the “residual.” As it turns out, this model does a good job of capturing the inflation process over that period before the pandemic, and my results are similar to Yellen’s. The model explains 70 percent of the variation in inflation, meaning that only 30 percent of the variation in inflation is attributed to unexplained residuals. An alternative way to understand the unexplained part is as the standard deviation of the residual or the unexplained portion of the model, which was 0.50 percentage point for the period from 2010 to 2019, compared with the standard deviation of inflation of about 0.8 percentage point.
    This model, however, struggles to explain the run-up in inflation in the years immediately after the pandemic took hold. The unexplained portion of inflation, the residual, rises dramatically in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, the unexplained portion is almost 2 percentage points, and the following year, it is about 1.5 percentage points. Perhaps we should not be surprised by the outcome. These years saw inflation reach a four-decade peak, but the model has been trained on a Great Moderation sample that saw relatively quiet inflation.10
    Second Result: Using a Longer SampleThe results are more encouraging if, instead, we also include data from the previous period of significant inflation and train the model on data starting in 1964. Intuitively, it makes sense that including a period with persistent inflation, like the 1970s, might help us better understand another inflationary episode. I stop at 2019 because I want to see if training on data from the previous 55-year period can explain the post-2020 inflation.
    The model captures more of the most recent run-up in inflation when using the longer period of analysis. The unexplained residual drops to about 1.5 percentage points in 2021 and to a bit above 0.5 percentage point in 2022. Allowing for greater persistence in inflation allows an inflation equation to fit the pandemic period better, though it does not settle the question of whether the pandemic inflation was caused by large and persistent shocks or by large shocks and a persistent inflation process—for example, because of greater feedback between wages and prices.
    To improve the model further, it would be useful to include additional explanatory variables that could better capture the overheating of the economy. In what follows, I include variables that might account for factors experienced in the most recent bout of inflation, such as a very tight labor market and supply chain snarls.
    Third Result: Alternative Measure of SlackAs I mentioned before, the very tight labor market was an important contributor to inflation in recent years, especially to services inflation, yet the weight on the unemployment gap in the Phillips curve for the more recent period is very small. This measure of slack has become less and less important over time in explaining inflation, except during selected episodes such as in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, which was characterized by a very sluggish recovery. Outside of that episode, and very few others, the Phillips curve places little weight on that measure of slack in explaining inflation over the Great Moderation, including during the recent run-up. This is also a reflection of training the model over the Great Moderation, in which inflation moved fairly tightly around a very flat trend. Notice that this would suggest a “flat Phillips curve” or a big penalty in terms of unemployment needed to reduce inflation. Instead, I focus on another very promising alternative measure that I have paid a lot of attention to since I was chief economist at the Department of Labor—and again since I joined the Board of Governors—and that I am very familiar with as a scholar of labor markets. The measure is the ratio of vacancies to the level of unemployment.11 In effect, this ratio measures how much competition there is for a given job, or the “tightness” of the labor market. Labor is an important input into most production processes, and, thus, tightness in the labor market is closely related to price pressures. I use the standard version of this ratio that measures job openings from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey as the numerator and the unemployment level from the Current Population Survey as the denominator. This allows me to use data back to the 1960s.12 The vacancy-to-unemployment ratio as a measure of slack is more effective at explaining inflation than the unemployment gap. This represents an interesting result because it offers a larger role to heated labor markets in explaining the run-up in inflation. My results echo research that finds the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio is a helpful measure of slack to consider in out-of-sample forecasting exercises.13
    Fourth Result: Supply Chain SnarlsAlthough the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio offers a promising measure of slack and supply chain pressures due to labor shortages, that measure does not necessarily capture supply chain snarls whose roots lie outside of the labor market. As I mentioned earlier, there were substantial supply chain disruptions during the past few years that came at the same time as strong demand. That resulted in material and labor shortages. Attempts at quantifying supply-side disruptions have been around for some decades now.14 I rely on a new monthly shortages index created by a team of Fed Board economists, which relies on textual analysis to scan news articles for sentences that include the word pairs “labor shortages,” “material shortages,” or “food shortages.”15 The Shortage Index allows us to better measure cost-push pressures from different sources and is constructed all the way back to the beginning of the previous century. Thus, it makes a difference to have access to advances in natural language processing.16 When I add the Shortage Index to the baseline Phillips curve or to the vacancy-to-unemployment–based Phillips curve, I obtain that the Shortage Index explains an even larger portion of the inflation run-up during and after the pandemic. The residual for 2020 is cut in half, the residual for 2021 is about 1 percentage point, and the residual is effectively eliminated in 2022. I judge this a noteworthy result and a proof of concept that with additional augmentation, the Phillips curve model can better capture inflation dynamics during the recent period. Through the lens of this model, supply shortages played an important role in 2022 in constraining output to grow at an anemic rate and in pushing up inflation. Moreover, the model is also able to capture the decline in inflation in 2023 and 2024 despite the strong expansion in real activity. I view the Shortage Index as a powerful indicator of the nonlinear effects stemming from a compounding of the contemporaneous interaction of demand and supply bottlenecks.
    I have offered additional variables to account for a measure of slack as it relates to labor supply and material supply. This exercise could be extended further to better account for some of the subcategories of inflation that caused the waves I discussed earlier. For example, food inflation, which is characterized by two distinct waves, can mostly be explained by the Food Shortage Index, which captures a large portion of the residual in the baseline model.
    Lessons for the PolicymakerToday I have discussed the waves of inflation the country faced starting five years ago. I also talked about how the vessel we use to navigate those choppy waters can be improved upon. As I conclude, I want to discuss with you how central bankers might recalibrate their compasses, based on what we learned from considering these augmentations to Phillips curve models. I think a clear lesson is that no single model alone can give a policymaker an understanding of every possible state of the economy. Policymakers must be open to various options, models, and frameworks—and not be afraid to experiment in search of more accurate answers. Policymakers must be very attentive to the most recent contributions from academia and empirical practitioners. Broadly, that is the approach I take, and why I apply the same rigor I did as an academic researcher to the monetary policy decisions that I confront.
    The recent run-up in inflation in many ways was a rather unique period, spurred, at least initially, by the first onset of a global pandemic in more than a century. Fully understanding the dynamics at play has provided a tough test for economists. The models I described today have had some success in capturing salient features of the inflation process during the pandemic period. I hope this illustrative analysis helps you see the difficulties of forecasting inflation in real time.
    Another lesson to be learned from this experience is that the feared harsh tradeoff between unemployment and inflation, one that requires large costs in terms of job loss and reduction in incomes in order to reduce inflation, did not materialize in the years immediately after the 2022 inflation peak. Inflation has been significantly reduced while the labor market has remained solid. This is a historically unusual, but most welcome, outcome. While this outcome is in part due to the actions of Fed policymakers, it is also possible to explain that remarkable result through the lens of the models that I have presented today. A large fraction of the rise in inflation, most specifically core goods inflation, can be explained by supply chain snarls. The untangling of supply chains contributed to a decline in inflation with little cost in terms of unemployment. Likewise, labor markets were very tight in this period. As workers returned to the labor force, labor markets became less tight, and the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio declined. That corresponded with a subsequent decline in inflation. That is a consistent result because services inflation is closely connected to the cost of labor.
    Thank you for your time today. Once again, it is humbling to be asked to give the Whittington Lecture to honor the memory of fellow educator Leslie Whittington. I look forward to your questions.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. D’Acunto, Malmendier, Ospina, and Weber (2021) show that consumers disproportionately rely on the price changes of goods in their grocery bundles when forming expectations about aggregate inflation; see Francesco D’Acunto, Ulrike Malmendier, Juan Ospina, and Michael Weber (2021), “Exposure to Grocery Prices and Inflation Expectations,” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 129 (May), pp. 1615–39. Return to text
    3. Ferrante, Graves, and Iacoviello (2020) show that a sharp reallocation of demand from one sector to another can exacerbate supply chain disruption and cause aggregate inflation; see Francesco Ferrante, Sebastian Graves, and Matteo Iacoviello (2023), “The Inflationary Effects of Sectoral Reallocation,” Journal of Monetary Economics, supp., vol. 140 (November), pp. S64–81. Return to text
    4. See Milton Friedman (1968), “The Role of Monetary Policy,” American Economic Review, vol. 58 (March), pp. 1–17; and Edmund S. Phelps (1967), “Phillips Curves, Expectations of Inflation and Optimal Unemployment over Time,” Economica, vol. 34 (135), pp. 254–81. Return to text
    5. Friedman did not consider forward-looking price-setting firms, but more recent advances in macroeconomics do, such as New Keynesian models; see Jordi Galí (2015), Monetary Policy, Inflation, and the Business Cycle: An Introduction to the New Keynesian Framework and Its Applications (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press). Return to text
    6. In an earlier speech, I have sketched a model in which agents infer the central bank target by observing inflation, interest rates, and unemployment data; see Adriana D. Kugler (2024), “Central Bank Independence and the Conduct of Monetary Policy,” speech delivered at the Albert Hirschman Lecture, 2024 Annual Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association and the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the Econometric Society, Montevideo, Uruguay, November 14. Return to text
    7. For a review of Phillips curve formulations, see Robert J. Gordon (2018), “Friedman and Phelps on the Phillips Curve Viewed from a Half Century’s Perspective,” Review of Keynesian Economics, vol. 6 (4), pp. 425–36. Return to text
    8. The model that I will use is similar to the one described by Janet Yellen in her famous speech at the University of Massachusetts in 2015; see Janet L. Yellen (2015), “Inflation Dynamics and Monetary Policy,” speech delivered at the Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, September 24. Return to text
    9. See Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti B. Eggertsson (2023), “It’s Baaack: The Surge in Inflation in the 2020s and the Return of the Non-Linear Phillips Curve,” NBER Working Paper Series 31197 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, April). Return to text
    10. The results that I obtain for the 1990–2019 period are similar to those that Yellen reports for the 1990–2014 period. Return to text
    11. The ratio of job openings to unemployment has attracted the attention of many researchers. See, for instance, Olivier J. Blanchard and Ben S. Bernanke (2023), “What Caused the US Pandemic-Era Inflation?” NBER Working Paper Series 31417 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, June). Return to text
    12. Although job openings from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) go back only as far as the early 2000s, I use here the extended series from Barnichon that pieces together JOLTS data for the more recent period with a corrected version of the help-wanted index originally from the Conference Board for the period before 2001. See Regis Barnichon (2010), “Building a Composite Help-Wanted Index,” Economics Letters, vol. 109 (December), pp. 175–78. Return to text
    13. See Regis Barnichon and Adam Shapiro (2022), “What’s the Best Measure of Economic Slack?” FRBSF Economic Letter 2022-04 (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, February); and Régis Barnichon and Adam Hale Shapiro (2024), “Phillips Meets Beveridge,” Journal of Monetary Economics, supp., vol. 148 (November), 103660. Return to text
    14. The Institute for Supply Management’s Supplier Deliveries Index has been around since the 1950s, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index since 1998, and the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization since 2008. Return to text
    15. See Dario Caldara, Matteo Iacoviello, and David Yu (2024), “Measuring Shortages since 1900,” working paper. Their index is available at https://www.matteoiacoviello.com/shortages.html. Return to text
    16. Other authors have used natural language processing in an attempt to produce a measure of shortages. For instance, see Paul E. Soto (2023), “Measurement and Effects of Supply Chain Bottlenecks Using Natural Language Processing,” FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 6). Blanchard and Bernanke use Google searches for the word “shortage” as an indicator of sectoral supply constraints in a Phillips curve equation; see Blanchard and Bernanke, “What Caused the US Pandemic-Era Inflation?” in note 11. For an early-attempt, hand-coded shortage index, see Owen Lamont (1997), “Do ‘Shortages’ Cause Inflation?” in Christina D. Romer and David H. Romer, eds., Reducing Inflation: Motivation and Strategy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 281–306. Return to text

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