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  • MIL-OSI Global: The Quarter Life Glow-up: a new email course from The Conversation

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Avery Anapol, Commissioning Editor, Politics + Society

    Many of us feel pressure to transform ourselves. Just spend a few minutes scrolling social media, and you’re likely to come across several videos telling you about various challenges and tips to help you have a “glow-up”. Most of these tips are about physical appearance – drinking more water to clear your skin, or spending 75 days doing hardcore workouts.

    The Quarter Life Glow-up is a little different. This six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions will suggest ways you might be able to improve your social life, relationships, mental health and career – without breaking a sweat, spending money or revamping your skincare routine.

    The course is aimed at readers in their 20s and 30s. This is a period of life where many of us make big decisions that will affect us the rest of our lives – from careers, to relationships, to parenthood. The tips in the course will hopefully help you make some of those decisions, but they’ll remain helpful for many years to come.


    When you sign up for the course, you’ll get six weeks of research-backed analysis, expert advice and challenges delivered straight to your inbox. Each week will bring you two new articles, a note from our editors and a bite-size activity to help you try it at home.

    Click here to sign up for The Quarter Life Glow-up.

    Here are some of the topics you’ll read about:

    • how to set healthy boundaries
    • how to finally do that thing you’ve been putting off
    • how to stop comparing yourself to others
    • how to find joy in new hobbies.

    The Glow-up takes what The Conversation does best – accessible, rigorous content – and shows you how to apply it in your own life. You can start your glow-up at any time. And like all our content, it’s free to access and has no ads or subscriptions.

    What are you waiting for? Start your glow-up today.

    – ref. The Quarter Life Glow-up: a new email course from The Conversation – https://theconversation.com/the-quarter-life-glow-up-a-new-email-course-from-the-conversation-248585

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Suspending private refugee sponsorship will trap refugees in war zones and keep families apart

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Biftu Yousuf, Research Associate, Refugee Centre, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    As Canada heads toward an election this year, immigration and refugee resettlement are key themes.

    Amid growing skepticism about immigration, it remains critical to remember one thing: private refugee sponsorship is a modest immigration stream that works, bringing people at risk to safety and allowing them to make new lives in Canada.

    With political support historically from all parties and civil society — including faith organizations and community groups — private sponsorship is an affordable, sustainable and effective way to protect and support people whose lives are at risk.

    Safe haven for refugees

    For 45 years, Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program has provided safety to refugees from around the world, bringing together Canadian individuals and communities who volunteer their time and raise funds to support refugee newcomers to Canada.

    Everyday Canadians have stepped up to provide funds for newcomers’ basic expenses, to help find housing and to connect people to health, education and language services. More than 327,000 refugees have come to Canada through the program, supported by citizen action from coast to coast.

    In November 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a pause on new applications from certain cohorts — groups of five (G5) and community sponsors (CS) — under the program.

    The pause, in place until Dec. 31, 2025, was cited as “preventing further growth of the application inventory” that far exceeds the current spaces allotted for privately sponsored refugees in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which is 23,000 for 2025.

    This pause does not apply to all sponsorship applications, like those submitted by sponsorship agreement holders, the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program or the one-year window provision. However, data from 2022 indicate that the G5 and CS groups represented 60 per cent of private refugee sponsorships, meaning these streams are significant contributors to the program.

    The inevitable result of this action will be longer wait times for applicants at risk, and longer periods of separation for refugees who have landed as permanent residents and urgently want to bring family or community members who remain in danger to safety — and have no other pathway to do so.

    Putting refugees at risk

    As a group of researchers with experience in sponsorship, we join other advocates, such as the Private Refugee Sponsor Network and Canadian Council for Refugees, in expressing our concerns about the moratorium’s impact on sponsorship.

    Between 2017 and 2020, our research team (led by geography professor Jennifer Hyndman) interviewed more than 100 people in five provinces across Canada, with participants from both urban and rural settings. Our focus was on long-term sponsors — people who had participated in sponsorship programs several times over a minimum of five years, often decades. Many of these had been part of the G5 group, which allows private citizens to collectively resettle refugees from abroad.

    Our findings revealed that many G5 sponsors are driven by deep commitment to global solidarity with refugees. G5 sponsors are often in diaspora communities and former refugees themselves who want to help family members or close kin in dangerous circumstances to safety.

    The program’s ability to facilitate these connections and the protection they afford is vital, driving the sustainability of private refugee sponsorship. The suspension of new applications for G5 will not only prolong family separation but also extend the wait times for refugees trapped in war zones.

    Our research shows that a large proportion of former refugees and sponsors knew specific individuals still at risk whom they wished to sponsor. This process of “naming,” which allows sponsors to nominate individuals for resettlement, is a unique and integral feature of the PSR program.

    Undermining refugee protection

    As government-led initiatives provide only limited resettlement pathways, civil society has relied on the full range of sponsorship categories, including private sponsorship by G5, to ensure equitable refugee protection.

    The pause on G5 and CS streams narrow the possibilities for pathways to protection, which in turn threatens to make refugee protection more inequitable. This is especially the case for refugees displaced by conflicts that have historically not aligned with Canadian government priorities but still drive high numbers of displacement, including those in Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

    In the United Nations Global Refugee Compact, released in 2018, Canadian sponsorship was cited as a promising practice for expanding refugee protection across the world.

    A recent Senate report, Ripped From Home: The Global Crisis of Forced Displacement, praises the PSR program for providing individuals and organizations with the opportunity to sponsor refugees. It also recommends the federal government increase private sponsorship.

    The recent announcement to cut this program is at odds with these recommendations and undercuts Canada’s reputation as a leader in the protection of refugees internationally.

    Call to action

    The pause on new intake of G5 and CS applications for sponsorship disrupts a system that has successfully empowered communities in Canada and across the world to come together and save lives.

    Since its inception in the 1970s, Canada used this system during the first large-scale sponsorship and resettlement of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian refugees in 1979.

    We urge the government to reconsider its decision and explore alternative solutions, such as allocating additional resources to clear backlogs, rather than halting applications.

    Anna Lise Purkey is affiliated with the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.

    The authors were part of a SSHRC-funded research project, “Exploring Private Refugee Sponsorship”(https://jhyndman.info.yorku.ca/exploring-private-refugee-sponsorship/)” led by PI: Dr. Jennifer Hyndman from 2017-2023.

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

    – ref. Suspending private refugee sponsorship will trap refugees in war zones and keep families apart – https://theconversation.com/suspending-private-refugee-sponsorship-will-trap-refugees-in-war-zones-and-keep-families-apart-246754

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: President Carter had to balance employers’ demands for foreign workers with pressure to restrict immigration – and so does Trump

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Gabrielle Clark, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Law, California State University, Los Angeles

    Jimmy Carter shakes riders’ hands in a Mexican American parade while campaigning in Southern California in 1976. AP Photo

    President Donald Trump promised during his three presidential campaigns to deport as many immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization as possible.

    His second administration got underway less than one month after former President Jimmy Carter died in December 2024. This sequence of events brings to mind, for me – a public law scholar who studies the historical role of foreign workers in the U.S. – the legacy of Carter’s immigration policy and its stark contrast with Trump’s agenda.

    Carter left several lasting markers on immigration policy. Among them was that he reformed the H-2 visa, a permit that allows foreigners to legally and temporarily work in the United States for one employer for one year. He did so by striking a new balance between satisfying the needs of employers and protecting American workers from foreign labor competition.

    Trump, by contrast, intends to undertake mass deportations. He has stated that his administration will remove millions of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization.

    I’m writing a book about the long-standing conflict between employers and workers over allowing foreigners to legally work in the U.S. Despite Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, I won’t be surprised if Republicans follow in Carter’s footsteps by making it easier for more low-wage migrants to get short-term authorization to hold U.S. jobs.

    Replacing the Bracero Program

    When Carter became president in January 1977, 13 years had passed since the end of the Bracero Program, which let Mexican men legally get short-term jobs on U.S. farms. Demand for that labor persisted after the Bracero program ended, so large farms hired Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. illegally instead.

    The AFL-CIO, an umbrella group that most U.S. unions belong to, and the United Farm Workers, a labor union, pressured the Carter administration for immigration enforcement. They were engaged in heated organization campaigns in the fields and wanted to reduce competition from foreign workers.

    Carter, a former peanut farmer and a pragmatist, had the Immigration Naturalization Service authorize 5,000 new H-2 foreign labor visas in June 1977. Over 800 of the visas went to onion, melon, pepper and cotton farms in south Texas.

    Congress had created the H-2 guest worker visa in 1952 on behalf of owners of large farms and other employers who wanted a path around immigration restrictions and access to a seasonal labor force. In 1965, however, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s secretary of labor, W. Willard Wirtz, had limited H-2 certifications to Florida sugar farms and East Coast fruit orchards.

    The total number of foreigners with H-2 visas who were employed in U.S. agriculture fell from 13,578 in 1967 to 11,661 in 1977.

    Carter saw things differently than Johnson and Wirtz.

    “I believe it is possible to structure this program so that it responds to the legitimate needs of both employees, by protecting domestic employment opportunities, and of employers, by providing a needed workforce,” he told Congress on Aug. 4, 1977.

    Mexican migrant workers, employed under the Bracero Program to harvest crops on California farms, are shown working in a field in 1964.
    AP Photo

    Striking a new compromise

    By 1978, the Labor Department had issued H-2 visa regulations that balanced the interests of business and workers.

    For employers, they were a boon: For the first time, agricultural employers were entitled to hire foreign workers under the law.

    The secretary of labor could no longer eliminate whole crop areas from the program, as Wirtz had done. The reasoning behind the change was simple: The Carter administration wanted to help farms switch from workers living in the U.S. without legal authorization to migrants holding H-2 visas.

    Yet, the Carter administration also expanded protections for migrant farmworkers. Their employers now needed to offer them higher wages and better working conditions. The regulations also mandated that employers seeking authority to use the H-2 program try harder to recruit Americans.

    Under Carter, the Labor Department also extended the rules to Maine’s lumber industry and western wool producers.

    These industries had relied on French Canadians and Spanish Basques to handle much of their work through the H-2 program since the 1950s without having to pay minimum wage rates or recruit American workers first. The Maine Woodcutter’s Association and the Navajo Indian Council had lobbied Carter to address poverty and underemployment in their regions.

    United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez, seen here at a rally in 1985, played a key role in immigration reform efforts over several decades.
    Bettmann/Getty Images

    Carter and the immigration Reform and Control Act

    In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. While that immigration reform law is best known for providing immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization a path to citizenship, it also split the H-2 visa program into two parts. From then on, foreign workers could obtain an H-2A visa for agriculture work or an H-2B visa for other kinds of jobs.

    The new law kept Carter’s employer obligations in place for H-2As. The AFL-CIO and several civil rights organizations had objected to guest workers having to depend on their employer for their immigration status, which could make them more vulnerable to exploitation.

    It is a historical irony that President Ronald Reagan, who signed the bill into law, is associated with the reform because the measure originated with Carter.

    President Ronald Reagan prepares to sign a landmark immigration reform bill in 1986. Behind him were members of Congress and Vice President George H.W. Bush.
    Bettmann/Getty Images

    Reforming immigration policies vs. mass deportations

    The population of foreign laborers working on U.S. farms with H-2A visas soared from around 26,000 in 1989 to more than 340,000 in 2023. Because the number of H-2A visas the government can issue is unlimited, this arrangement has become an alternative to employing workers living in the U.S. without legal authorization.

    The number of foreign workers with H-2B visas is much smaller.

    This is because Congress limited the number of people who could get them to 66,000 per year in 1990 as a way to limit competition for American workers seeking or holding down low-wage jobs. In 2017, Congress gave the president the authority to double the maximum number of H-2B visas.

    As Trump’s deportations get underway in 2025, I believe that the maximum number of H-2B visas available is likely to become a point of contention among Republicans as Trump and many GOP members of Congress face Carter’s dilemma.

    Many Americans, perhaps a majority, want immigration laws enforced. But employers will continue to demand low-wage labor for jobs that U.S. citizens may be reluctant or unwilling to do.

    Maintaining a compromise

    This time, the mismatch between the government’s efforts to deport foreigners living in the U.S. without authorization and employers’ desires for low-cost labor will be greatest outside of agriculture: 69% of those workers without papers today are employed in construction, food services and other parts of the hospitality industry.

    Jason Miller, one of Trump’s senior advisers, has conceded that Republicans will need to take a “second look” at the visa.

    In my view, guest worker visas, like the H-2A and H-2B, are never ideal. They can displace American workers and make migrants vulnerable to exploitation by their employers.

    However, the U.S. is likely to continue to expand employer access to the visas because they provide an alternative to foreign workers seeking to get jobs in the U.S. without authorization. In this way, Trump’s presidency may end up having something in common with Carter’s time in the White House.

    Gabrielle Clark receives funding from the National Endowment of Humanities for her immigration research.

    – ref. President Carter had to balance employers’ demands for foreign workers with pressure to restrict immigration – and so does Trump – https://theconversation.com/president-carter-had-to-balance-employers-demands-for-foreign-workers-with-pressure-to-restrict-immigration-and-so-does-trump-247187

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Rest, reorientation and hope – the pillars of 2025’s Catholic Jubilee year

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions, University of Dayton

    A cardinal opens the Holy Door of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome on Jan. 1, 2025, one of the events starting the Jubilee year. AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

    Pope Francis has proclaimed a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church, which began on Dec. 24, 2024, and will continue through Jan. 6, 2026. But what is a Jubilee, and what is this year’s about?

    Biblical roots

    The Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament, offers instructions about celebrating a Jubilee every 50 years. The Jubilee has roots in the Jewish practice of Sabbath rest every seven days, connected to the creation story in which God created the world in six days and rested on the next.

    This rest is not merely about “taking a break,” but orienting life to what is most important. The prohibition of work on the Sabbath prompts people to look beyond productive work, helping them to see all activity in light of the eternal.

    The biblical books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy outline what’s called a “sabbatical year,” extending that practice of periodic rest to every seventh year. During that sabbatical, the texts call for forgiving debts and freeing enslaved people. Even the land is supposed to get rest, since farmers are told to let their fields lie fallow – a check against unfettered, and destructive, desires for productivity.

    The Jubilee extends this logic. Held every 50 years, the Holy Year follows a Sabbath of Sabbaths, “seven times seven years.” During the Jubilee, the Book of Leviticus instructs, “you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” Again, even the land must be freed. Each plot bought and sold over the previous 49 years must be returned to the tribe with which it was originally associated.

    Like all the other forms of Sabbath rest, the overriding emphasis is that everyone and everything belongs to God: that the Earth is not simply for humans to do with as they please, especially if it creates injustice. People inhabit the Earth like wayfarers. Indeed, the Bible regularly reminds the Israelites that they were once enslaved in Egypt and, once freed, were wanderers.

    Medieval traditions

    Scholars are not quite sure if and how Jubilees were actually put into practice in the ancient world, though they are referred to in the New Testament. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sums up his mission with verses about the Jubilee from the Book of Isaiah: “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

    Some of the practices of the church’s modern Jubilees, however, come from the late Middle Ages, a time when Christian grassroots efforts promoted pilgrimages to Rome. As much political as religious and recreational, these pilgrimages demonstrated to power-hungry monarchs that the eternal city was beyond royal control and, by implication, that pilgrims’ identity was more than subjects of a crown.

    In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII endorsed these initiatives by instituting a 13th centennial celebration of Christ’s birth. Central to the celebration were pilgrimages to Roman basilicas. Boniface promised that pilgrims could receive an “indulgence”: reparation for their sins.

    A fresco in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, depicting Pope Boniface VIII proclaiming the Jubilee in 1300.
    Sailko/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    Often misunderstood, an indulgence is distinct from forgiveness. The Catholic tradition teaches that people who sincerely repent of their sins are forgiven and reconciled to God. Ordinarily, this happens through rites such as the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which involves confession to a priest.

    Once a sin is forgiven, however, reparation remains. Suppose you’ve thrown a ball through a neighbor’s window. Even if they forgive you, you’re still responsible for the window’s repair. In other words, there’s still a consequence for your action.

    Catholics believe that indulgences remit the repair, removing the temporal punishment. In the analogy, you might not have fixed the window, but instead you completed another holy and satisfactory act in its place. Indulgences can be granted to Catholics for actions like completing specific prayers, making a pilgrimage or performing acts of charity.

    Boniface’s decree included no reference to the biblical Jubilee. Over time, however, the link between the biblical Jubilee and these Roman celebrations was articulated and strengthened. The intervening time between Jubilees was reduced to 50 years to resonate with the ancient text. Eventually, Jubilees came to be inaugurated every 25 years to increase the opportunity for participation.

    As they developed, Jubilee celebrations kept their link to pilgrimages and reparation. Both are meant to be reminders that human beings are made for the eternal, not merely the productive.

    Two pilgrims arrive at St. Peter’s Basilica in December 1949 in anticipation of 1950’s Jubilee.
    Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

    Pilgrims of hope

    The Catholic Church’s last ordinary Jubilee celebration, which took place in 2000, was deemed a “Great Jubilee” by then-Pope John Paul II, commemorating two millennia since the birth of Christ. Famously, during a Mass that year, he sought forgiveness of the church for atrocities committed across its history, including injustice toward Jews, Indigenous peoples and women, among others.

    The 2000 Jubilee continued the practice of indulgences for making a pilgrimage, emphasizing that “a pilgrimage evokes the believer’s personal journey” of faith, following in Christ’s footsteps.

    On Christmas Eve 2024, Pope Francis inaugurated the current Jubilee by walking through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. This ceremony was instituted by Pope Alexander VI for the Jubilee in 1500, evoking Jesus’ description of himself in the Gospel of John as the door to salvation.

    Catholics in Mexico City take part in a ceremony marking the beginning of the Jubilee year at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Dec. 29, 2024.
    AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme

    In addition to the typical emphases on pilgrimage and indulgences, Francis has identified hope as a particular focus for this Jubilee year. In Christian theology, hope is not optimism. It is an insistence to seek the good, anchored in God: to see difficulties clearly, yet to pursue action rather than despair.

    Thus, Francis has called for several specific acts of hope throughout the Jubilee year. The papal bull proclaiming the Jubilee urges peacemaking, a spirit of welcome toward migrants, and openness toward having children. Francis also issues a call for affluent nations to forgive debts, and a general call for both repentance and mercy.

    Jubilees ask people to reorient life toward the eternal – a theme that might seem to minimize attention to the specific social ills of our moment. In tune with the long tradition of Jubilees, however, Francis emphasizes that the more people see the world as God sees it, the more people will act against injustice.

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

    – ref. Rest, reorientation and hope – the pillars of 2025’s Catholic Jubilee year – https://theconversation.com/rest-reorientation-and-hope-the-pillars-of-2025s-catholic-jubilee-year-245999

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Almost half of evicted women and families in metro Detroit say they were illegally pushed out of their homes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson, Associate Professor of Social Epidemiology, The Ohio State University

    Every year, 2.7 million households nationwide face a court-ordered eviction filing.

    Michigan has one of the highest eviction filing rates in the country, tied with Mississippi. Fourteen percent of all Michiganders who rent homes were threatened with eviction between 2006 and 2016.

    Due to historical and contemporary structural racism in the U.S., Black renters and their children are affected the most. For example, 20% of Black adult renters compared with 4% of white adult renters lived in a household that received an eviction filing.

    I am a Black woman, proud native and resident Detroiter, and tenured social epidemiology professor.

    Social epidemiologists like me are interested in naming specifically who and what is accountable for inequities in the health of different population groups. I’m interested in documenting root causes of community ill health to provide data-driven analysis to inform policy change, interventions and social activism.

    My project on evictions in metro Detroit is called the SECURE Study. Contributing to the study is a team of trainees, early-career researchers and a multigenerational community advisory board of Black women. Members of the board are local and international leaders from multiple sectors, including some who have lived experience with evictions.

    My intention for convening the board was to center the expertise and creativity of Black women in service of reproductive justice for Black communities.

    Reproductive justice is focused on a set of interconnected human rights. It includes the ability to choose whether to have children. And for parents it protects the right to raise your children in safe and sustainable communities. Evictions can undermine reproductive justice.

    My research uses numbers and stories to document, for the first time, the scope and impact of court-ordered and illegal residential evictions among Black women, families and communities in metro Detroit.

    The available court-ordered eviction data, while alarming, underestimates the true extent of the housing crisis caused by eviction. In fact, my study shows only 55% of the evictions experienced by Black women in metro Detroit were court-ordered, which means the other 45% were illegal.

    How the process works legally

    Residential evictions are not events that unfold in easily predictable ways. Rather, they are complicated processes that often drag out.

    Eviction policy varies by jurisdiction, but in Michigan it is illegal for a landlord to take any action to force the removal from or prevent the entry into or the use of a rental property by a tenant without a court order.

    Even legal evictions can involve some illegal activity by landlords or property managers. For example, landlords may repeatedly threaten to evict tenants through the courts and force residents out of their home before a formal eviction judgment occurs.

    Court-ordered evictions usually start with a landlord notifying a tenant of a lease violation – but this can happen only if a formal lease exists. As part of our work, we collected data about how prevalent renting without a lease or formal agreement is for our participants, and we plan to release this data in the coming months.

    Illegal evictions are forced residential moves and can include – but are not limited to – a landlord’s use of strong-arm lockouts or threats to force a tenant to leave a rental property.

    Focusing on those most impacted

    Here’s how my study worked. My team and I recruited 1,470 reproductive-age Black women, most of whom have biological children, from July 2021 to July 2024 and asked them to share their experiences. Women completed surveys, participated in focus groups and in-depth interviews, and answered questions about both individual and neighborhood-level impacts of court-ordered and illegal evictions.

    After the surveys were complete, I conducted 55 in-depth interviews in 21 days with survey participants who experienced an illegal eviction.

    We focused on Black women between the ages of 18 and 45 because this group is disproportionately impacted by eviction, yet their unique experiences are understudied and therefore insufficiently understood.

    More than 50% of our survey participants reported being evicted in their lifetime.

    What’s missing from this stat and much of the official data are recent numbers and in-depth accounts of how people experience illegal evictions.

    I know of only one other quantitative study examining illegal evictions, and it is over a decade old. It was based on limited evidence collected in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between 2009 and 2011. The researchers looked at a group of 1,086 low-income adults of all racial, ethnic or age groups and found that 48% of all evictions in their study were illegal. The study concluded that illegal evictions are significantly less expensive and more efficient than court-ordered evictions for landlords.

    Preliminary data from our own study, which included women from all socioeconomic groups – unlike the work done in Wisconsin – found that 45% of all evictions experienced by SECURE Study participants were illegal.

    Problem bigger than it seems

    While the data tells part of the story, the stories of those who have experienced an illegal eviction tell a much richer tale.

    One woman I interviewed told me how it felt to lose her home after an illegal eviction. “My God, a whole house worth of stuff: kids’ beds, clothes, toys, my stuff,” she said. “It’s material, yes, but when you have to literally walk away and like, close the door and leave everything you own … you leave a piece of yourself.”

    Research ethics do not allow me to name the SECURE Study participants.

    Some of the most frequently reported ways Black women told us they experienced illegal evictions were having their belongings removed from the property, being illegally locked out or having utilities shut off, and being forced to relocate because their landlord failed to provide a habitable residence.

    Female renters face sexual harassment

    Many of the women who participated in our study experienced threats or actual violence and sexual harassment.

    “Me being a single female, they go to the threatening tactics,” one study participant told me. “I think they know … I can’t fight against … a man, I can’t beat you.”

    “Me and my children got to pack up and move out of the house to avoid my house being shot up or somebody tells me they gonna drag me and my children out of the house by gunpoint,” one participant said. “Now I gotta stress. I’ll move my children.”

    “He would ask me personal questions,” another said. “Am I dating, or, where’s my kid’s father? And then, that kind of escalated into him, OK, well, if we do this, then you don’t have to give me the money for the rent.”

    “I feel like they’re preying on people like, they know you’re a single mom,” another woman said. “Oh, yeah. Come on in here with that Section 8. So, we can not fix nothing to get this guaranteed money. Come on in here with you working three jobs and your kids is at home all the time, and you got that teenage daughter, she kinda cute.”

    “I couldn’t afford for my children to be homeless, so he took advantage,” said another participant.

    The role that discrimination plays in evictions is not well understood, so we collected data on this. Forty percent of our participants reported experiencing housing discrimination. These experiences were connected to multiple factors, including their race, economic status, family size, ethnicity, age and relationship status.

    In my assessment, misogynoir – or contempt for Black women – is a major yet unacknowledged factor in the eviction crisis.

    Six months after completing those interviews, with the help of weekly therapy and various other self-care and self-soothing interventions, I am finally beginning to feel my nervous system restabilize after hearing so many violent stories.

    I see the current eviction crisis as a human rights issue and a clear example of the disrespect, lack of protection and neglect of Black women in America that Malcolm X drew attention to more than 60 years ago.

    Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson receives funding from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Almost half of evicted women and families in metro Detroit say they were illegally pushed out of their homes – https://theconversation.com/almost-half-of-evicted-women-and-families-in-metro-detroit-say-they-were-illegally-pushed-out-of-their-homes-244386

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Aliens’ and ‘animals’ – language of hate used by Trump and others can be part of a violent design

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ronald Niezen, Professor of Practice in Sociology, University of San Diego

    Asylum seekers wait at Catholic Charities in McAllen, Texas, for humanitarian aid on Jan. 18, 2025. Associated Press/Eric Gay

    “Animals,” “aliens” and “people with bad genes” – President Donald Trump and his supporters often use this kind of dehumanizing language to describe immigrants.

    In the 2024 presidential debate between Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Trump falsely referred to Haitian refugees in Springfield, Ohio, as “eating the pets of the people that live there.” And in his Jan. 20, 2025, inaugural address, Trump spoke of “dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions,” who have illegally entered the U.S. “from all over the world.”

    Using hateful, polarizing language to gain a political advantage or make an argument against a group of people, like immigrants, is not unique to the U.S.

    The use of this language is associated with populist shifts in many parts of the world.

    I am a scholar of international human rights who has studied the language associated with mass atrocities. I have also written about how social media can amplify misinformation and hate speech.

    Some observers and analysts who follow Trump dismiss his hateful language against immigrants as empty bluster or performance art.

    The implication is that Trump will not act on his most extreme promises and follow through on what he has called “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”

    In the first few days of the new Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began raids to detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and increased their number of arrests and deportations of immigrants, including those without violent criminal records.

    Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, has said that the government’s mass immigration deportation plans – which he said could include raids on schools, churches and other places previously considered havens – is “all for the good of this nation.”

    My hate speech research shows that, as the world has seen to its horror again and again, words that slander and strip people of their voices and humanity are often a first step toward discriminatory and violent policies. At its most extreme, speaking of people as dirty and polluting and saying they lack humanity makes it easier to kill them.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handcuff a detained immigrant in Maryland on Jan. 25, 2025.
    Associated Press/Alex Brandon

    Echoes from the fascist past

    There is nothing new about the hateful political rhetoric that has become common today.

    In the lead-up to and during World War II, fascist leaders in Europe targeted Jews, Roma, gay people and other groups as sources of “social pollution,” as beyond being human, while describing themselves as noble and decent, embodying a pure, uncorrupted nation.

    In 1920, well before the German Nazi Party came to power in 1933, its platform declared that “Only someone of German blood, regardless of faith, can be a citizen.”

    Viktor Klemperer, a literary scholar who was a close observer of Nazism, wrote in a diary published posthumously in 1995 that the Third Reich’s demonizing language against Jews and other marginalized groups helped create its culture and justify its mass killings. Nazis consequently assumed the mantle of liberators as they killed those whom they saw as corrupting the “pure race,” in accordance with ideas of “racial hygiene.”

    The Nazis murdered more than 12 million people.

    The Nazis’ hateful language was not limited to Europe. Fritz Kuhn, a German Nazi activist, served in the late 1930s and early 1940s as leader of the German American Bund, an organization of ethnic Germans and Nazi sympathizers living in the U.S. He addressed a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1939.

    Kuhn said during his speech that American citizens with American ideals are “determined to protect ourselves, our homes, our wives and children against the slimy conspirators who would change this glorious republic into the inferno of a Bolshevik paradise.”

    The U.S. government stripped Kuhn of his U.S. citizenship in 1943 and deported him to Germany in 1945 because of his pro-Nazi allegiance.

    Italy’s far right shifts from words to violence

    Italy offers another example of how hateful speech can lead to discriminatory or violent policies. Right-wing politicians and policies have grown more popular and powerful in the past few years in Italy.

    In 2018, Matteo Salvini, then the deputy prime minister who now holds the same position, denounced the Roma people, an ethnic minority. He called for their removal through a “mass cleansing street by street, piazza by piazza, neighborhood by neighborhood.”

    These were not empty words.

    Salvini’s call was accompanied by mob violence, mass evictions and demolition of Roma informal camps set up in the streets. The Roma people continue to face discrimination and racial profiling.

    Salvini has directed his most virulent language, however, toward the tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, mostly from Africa, who attempt to reach Italy via the Mediterranean Sea.

    Salvini has frequently called the arrival of migrants a “flood” or “surge”. This kind of dehumanizing language makes it easier to provoke alarm about an abstract, unwanted mass of people.

    The claims behind Salvini’s alarmism, however, are not borne out by facts. Since the peak of migrant sea crossings, when a few hundred thousand migrants entered Italy from 2014 through 2017, the country’s crime rate has fallen significantly.

    Salvini, perhaps more than any other populist leader in the world, has turned his hateful language and use of misinformation into action. Italian authorities under Salvini’s direction have detained ships working to help rescue migrants who are in danger at sea, preventing them from carrying out those rescues.

    This obstruction violates European Union law, which ensures the legal right to help anyone found in distress at sea.

    In September 2024, an Italian prosecutor requested a six-year jail term for Salvini, accusing him of kidnapping 147 migrants by preventing them from landing at a port in Italy for several weeks.

    Salvini said he was defending Italian borders by keeping the migrants aboard a Spanish migrant rescue ship.

    Salvini was acquitted of kidnapping and dereliction of duty charges in December 2024.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing on Jan. 28, 2025, alongside an image of an alleged criminal detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    What to expect

    We can’t be certain at this point what Trump’s and his supporters’ hateful language against immigrants, minorities and political opponents will yield.

    Judging by Italy’s example and other instances, it’s possible that laws will be broken in implementing Trump’s immigration and asylum policies.

    A federal judge temporarily halted Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that told federal agencies to not process identification documents for babies born to parents who are living in the country illegally, among other scenarios.

    It’s not clear how these policies will continue to unfold. What is clear is that words of hate have been used in many times and places as a justification for illegal arrests and, in some cases, as a prelude to state-sanctioned mass violence.

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

    – ref. ‘Aliens’ and ‘animals’ – language of hate used by Trump and others can be part of a violent design – https://theconversation.com/aliens-and-animals-language-of-hate-used-by-trump-and-others-can-be-part-of-a-violent-design-245524

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination signals a new era of anti-intellectualism in American politics

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Dominik Stecuła, Assistant Professor of Communication and Political Science, The Ohio State University

    Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr., on Capitol Hill on Jan. 9, 2025. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

    The many controversial people appointed to the Trump administration, from Elon Musk to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have at least one thing in common: They dislike and distrust experts.

    While anti-intellectualism and populism are nothing new in American life, there has hardly been an administration as seemingly committed to these worldviews.

    Take President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy, whose Senate confirmation hearing is Jan. 29, 2025, epitomizes the new American political ethos of populism and anti-intellectualism, or the idea that people hold negative feelings toward not just scientific research but those who produce it.

    Anti-intellectual attacks on the scientific community have been increasing, and have become more partisan, in recent years.

    For instance, Trump denigrated scientific experts on the campaign trail and in his first term in office. He called climate science a “hoax” and public health officials in his administration “idiots.”

    Skepticism, false assertions

    This rhetoric filtered into public discussion, as seen in viral social media posts mocking and attacking scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci, or anti-mask protesters confronting health officials at public meetings and elsewhere.

    Trump and Kennedy have cast doubt on vaccine safety and the medical scientific establishment. As far back as the Republican primary debates in 2016, Trump falsely asserted that childhood vaccines cause autism, in defiance of scientific consensus on the issue.

    Kennedy’s long-term vaccine skepticism has also been well documented, though he himself denies it. More recently, he has been presenting himself as “pro-vaccine safety,” as one Republican senator put it, on the eve of Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.

    A researcher works in the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
    National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health

    Kennedy has mirrored Trump’s anti-intellectual rhetoric by referring to government health agency culture as “corrupt” and the agencies themselves as “sock puppets.”

    If confirmed, Kennedy has vowed to turn this anti-intellectual rhetoric into action. He wants to replace over 600 employees in the National Institutes of Health with his own hires. He has also suggested cutting entire departments.

    During one interview, Kennedy said, “In some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA, that are – that have to go.”

    Populism across political spectrum

    In lockstep with this anti-intellectual movement is a version of populism that people like RFK Jr. and Trump both espouse.

    Populism is a worldview that pits average citizens against “the elites.” Who the elites are varies depending on the context, but in the contemporary political climate in the U.S., establishment politicians, scientists and organizations like pharmaceutical companies or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are frequently portrayed as such.

    For instance, right-wing populists often portray government health agencies as colluding with multinational pharmaceutical companies to impose excessive regulations, mandate medical interventions and restrict personal freedoms.

    Left-wing populists expose how Big Pharma manipulates the health care system, using their immense wealth and political influence to put profits over people, deliberately keeping lifesaving medications overpriced and out of reach – all of which has been said by politicians like Bernie Sanders.

    The goal of a populist is to portray these elites as the enemy of the people and to root out the perceived “corruption” of the elites.

    This worldview doesn’t just appeal to the far right. Historically in the United States, populism has been more of a force on the political left. To this day, it is present on the left through Sanders and similar politicians who rail against wealth inequality and the interests of the “millionaire class.”

    In short, the Trump administration’s populist and anti-intellectual worldview does not map cleanly onto the liberal-conservative ideological divide in the U.S. That is why Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat and nephew of a Democratic president, might become a Cabinet member for a Republican president.

    The cross-ideological appeal of populism and anti-intellectualism also partly explains why praise for Trump’s selection of Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services came from all corners of society. Republican senators Ron Johnson and Josh Hawley lauded the move, as did basketball star Rudy Gobert and Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis.

    Even former President Barack Obama once considered Kennedy for a Cabinet post in 2008.

    Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is greeted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage during a campaign event on Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.
    Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Anger at elites

    Why, then, is disdain for scientific experts appealing to so many Americans?

    Much of the public supports this worldview because of perceived ineffectiveness and moral wrongs made by the elites. Factors such as the opioid crisis encouraged by predatory pharmaceutical companies, public confusion and dissatisfaction with changing health guidance in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the frequently prohibitive cost of health care and medicine have given some Americans reason to question their trust in science and medicine.

    Populists have embraced popular and science-backed policies that align with an anti-elite stance. Kennedy, for example, supports decreasing the amount of ultra-processed foods in public school lunches and reducing toxic chemicals in the food supply and natural environment. These stances are backed by scientific evidence about how to improve public health. At the same time, they point to the harmful actions of a perceived corrupt elite – the profit-driven food industry.

    It is, of course, reasonable to want to hold accountable both public officials for their policy decisions and scientists and pharmaceutical companies who engage in unethical behavior. Scientists should by no means be immune from scrutiny.

    Examining, for example, what public health experts got wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic would be tremendously helpful from the standpoint of preparing for future public health crises, but also from the standpoint of rebuilding public trust in science, experts and institutions.

    However, the Trump administration does not appear to be interested in pursuing good faith assessments. And Trump’s victory means he gets to implement his vision and appoint people he wants to carry it out. But words have consequences, and we have seen the impact of anti-vaccine rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic, where “red” counties and states had significantly lower vaccine intent and uptake compared with the “blue” counterparts.

    Therefore, despite sounding appealing, Kennedy’s signature slogan, “Make America Healthy Again,” could – in discouraging policies and behaviors that have been proven effective against diseases and their crippling or deadly outcomes – bring about a true public health crisis.

    Dominik Stecuła receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    Kristin Lunz Trujillo receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    Matt Motta receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination signals a new era of anti-intellectualism in American politics – https://theconversation.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-nomination-signals-a-new-era-of-anti-intellectualism-in-american-politics-246016

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Skin phantoms help researchers improve wearable devices without people wearing them

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Krittika Goyal, Assistant Professor of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Skin ‘phantoms’ are an inexpensive alternative to testing on people. Diana Bachu/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Wearable devices have become a big part of modern health care, helping track a patient’s heart rate, stress levels and brain activity. These devices rely on electrodes, sensors that touch the skin to pick up electrical signals from the body.

    Creating these electrodes isn’t as easy as it might seem. Human skin is complex. Its properties, such as how well it conducts electricity, can change depending on how hydrated it is, how old you are or even the weather. These changes can make it hard to test how well a wearable device works.

    Additionally, testing electrodes often involves human volunteers, which can be tricky and unpredictable. Everyone’s skin is different, meaning results aren’t always consistent. Testing also takes time and money. Plus, there are ethical concerns about asking people to participate in these experiments, including making sure they are informed about the risks and benefits and can voluntarily participate.

    Scientists have tried to create artificial skin models to avoid some of these problems, but existing ones haven’t been able to fully mimic the way skin behaves when interacting with wearable sensors. To address these limitations, my colleagues and I have developed a tool called a biomimetic skin phantom – a model that mimics the electrical behavior of human skin, making testing wearable sensors easier, cheaper and more reliable.

    What is a skin phantom?

    Our biomimetic skin phantom is made of two layers that capture the nuances of both the skin’s surface and deeper tissues. “Biomimetic” means it imitates something from nature – in this case, human skin. “Phantom” refers to a physical model or device made to mimic the properties of something real, like human tissues, so it can be used for research instead of relying on actual people.

    Your skin is made up of multiple layers of cells.
    OpenStax, CC BY-SA

    The bottom layer mimics the deeper tissues under the skin. It is made from a gel-like substance called polyvinyl alcohol cryogel, which can be adjusted to have similar softness and electrical conductivity to real biological tissues. We chose this material because these qualities, along with its durability and wide use in biomedical research, make it a good stand-in for the deeper layers of skin.

    The top layer mimics the outermost part of the skin, known as the stratum corneum. It is made from a silicone-like material called PDMS, which is mixed with special additives to match the skin’s electrical properties. Also widely used in biomedical research, PDMS is flexible and easy to shape to closely replicate the skin’s outer layer.

    One unique feature of our skin phantom is its ability to mimic different levels of skin hydration. Hydration affects how well skin conducts electricity. Dry skin has higher resistance, meaning it opposes the flow of electricity. This makes it harder for wearable devices to pick up signals. Hydrated skin conducts electricity more easily because water improves the movement of charged particles, leading to better signal quality. Improving how dry skin is modeled and tested can lead to better electrode designs.

    To replicate the effects of skin hydration, we introduced adjustable pores into the top PDMS layer of the skin phantom. By precisely changing the size and density of the pores, the model can mimic dry or hydrated skin conditions.

    Testing the skin phantom

    My team and I tested our skin phantom in several ways to see whether it could truly replace human skin in experiments.

    First, we used a method called impedance spectroscopy to study the phantom’s electrical properties. This technique applies alternating electrical signals at different frequencies and measures the material’s resistance to electrical flow, providing a detailed profile of its electrical behavior. Results from the experiments we conducted on five volunteers showed that the phantom’s impedance response closely mirrored that of human skin across both dry and hydrated conditions, with a difference of less than 20% between real skin and the phantom.

    Moist skin behaves differently from dry skin.
    Frederic Cirou/PhotoAlto via Getty Images

    We also tested whether wearable devices could pick up signals from the skin phantom and how signal quality changed with different skin conditions. To do this, we recorded eletrocardiogram signals on phantoms designed to mimic dry and hydrated skin. The results showed clear differences in signal quality: The phantom simulating dry skin had a lower signal-to-noise ratio, while the hydrated skin phantom showed better signal clarity. These findings are consistent with previous studies from other researchers.

    Together, our skin phantom closely replicates the way human skin responds to wearable sensors across a range of conditions, including dry and hydrated states. This accuracy makes it an optimal stand-in for real skin in the lab.

    Wearable technology

    The skin phantom is more than just a testing tool – it’s a step forward for wearable health technology.

    By removing the unpredictability of human testing, scientists can design and improve wearable devices more quickly and effectively. They can also use it to study how skin interacts with medical devices, such as patches that deliver medicine or advanced diagnostic tools.

    Our skin phantom is also simple and inexpensive. Each phantom costs less than US$3 and can be made with standard lab materials and tools. It can be reused multiple times within the same day without significant changes in its electrical properties, though extended use over several days may require adjustments, such as rehydration, to maintain stable performance. This affordability and reusability make the phantom more accessible for labs with limited budgets or resources.

    As wearable technology becomes more common in health care, tools such as the skin phantom can help make devices more reliable, accessible and personalized for everyone.

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

    – ref. Skin phantoms help researchers improve wearable devices without people wearing them – https://theconversation.com/skin-phantoms-help-researchers-improve-wearable-devices-without-people-wearing-them-243766

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Frederik Joelving, Contributing editor, Retraction Watch

    Assistant professor Frank Cackowski, left, and researcher Steven Zielske at Wayne State University in Detroit became suspicious of a paper on cancer research that was eventually retracted. Amy Sacka, CC BY-ND

    Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research, undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives.

    It is exceedingly difficult to get a handle on exactly how big the problem is. Around 55,000 scholarly papers have been retracted to date, for a variety of reasons, but scientists and companies who screen the scientific literature for telltale signs of fraud estimate that there are many more fake papers circulating – possibly as many as several hundred thousand. This fake research can confound legitimate researchers who must wade through dense equations, evidence, images and methodologies only to find that they were made up.

    Even when the bogus papers are spotted – usually by amateur sleuths on their own time – academic journals are often slow to retract the papers, allowing the articles to taint what many consider sacrosanct: the vast global library of scholarly work that introduces new ideas, reviews other research and discusses findings.

    These fake papers are slowing down research that has helped millions of people with lifesaving medicine and therapies from cancer to COVID-19. Analysts’ data shows that fields related to cancer and medicine are particularly hard hit, while areas like philosophy and art are less affected. Some scientists have abandoned their life’s work because they cannot keep pace given the number of fake papers they must bat down.

    The problem reflects a worldwide commodification of science. Universities, and their research funders, have long used regular publication in academic journals as requirements for promotions and job security, spawning the mantra “publish or perish.”

    But now, fraudsters have infiltrated the academic publishing industry to prioritize profits over scholarship. Equipped with technological prowess, agility and vast networks of corrupt researchers, they are churning out papers on everything from obscure genes to artificial intelligence in medicine.

    These papers are absorbed into the worldwide library of research faster than they can be weeded out. About 119,000 scholarly journal articles and conference papers are published globally every week, or more than 6 million a year. Publishers estimate that, at most journals, about 2% of the papers submitted – but not necessarily published – are likely fake, although this number can be much higher at some publications.

    While no country is immune to this practice, it is particularly pronounced in emerging economies where resources to do bona fide science are limited – and where governments, eager to compete on a global scale, push particularly strong “publish or perish” incentives.

    As a result, there is a bustling online underground economy for all things scholarly publishing. Authorship, citations, even academic journal editors, are up for sale. This fraud is so prevalent that it has its own name: paper mills, a phrase that harks back to “term-paper mills”, where students cheat by getting someone else to write a class paper for them.

    The impact on publishers is profound. In high-profile cases, fake articles can hurt a journal’s bottom line. Important scientific indexes – databases of academic publications that many researchers rely on to do their work – may delist journals that publish too many compromised papers. There is growing criticism that legitimate publishers could do more to track and blacklist journals and authors who regularly publish fake papers that are sometimes little more than artificial intelligence-generated phrases strung together.

    To better understand the scope, ramifications and potential solutions of this metastasizing assault on science, we – a contributing editor at Retraction Watch, a website that reports on retractions of scientific papers and related topics, and two computer scientists at France’s Université Toulouse III–Paul Sabatier and Université Grenoble Alpes who specialize in detecting bogus publications – spent six months investigating paper mills.

    This included, by some of us at different times, trawling websites and social media posts, interviewing publishers, editors, research-integrity experts, scientists, doctors, sociologists and scientific sleuths engaged in the Sisyphean task of cleaning up the literature. It also involved, by some of us, screening scientific articles looking for signs of fakery.

    Problematic Paper Screener: Trawling for fraud in the scientific literature

    What emerged is a deep-rooted crisis that has many researchers and policymakers calling for a new way for universities and many governments to evaluate and reward academics and health professionals across the globe.

    Just as highly biased websites dressed up to look like objective reporting are gnawing away at evidence-based journalism and threatening elections, fake science is grinding down the knowledge base on which modern society rests.

    As part of our work detecting these bogus publications, co-author Guillaume Cabanac developed the Problematic Paper Screener, which filters 130 million new and old scholarly papers every week looking for nine types of clues that a paper might be fake or contain errors. A key clue is a tortured phrase – an awkward wording generated by software that replaces common scientific terms with synonyms to avoid direct plagiarism from a legitimate paper.

    Problematic Paper Screener: Trawling for fraud in the scientific literature

    An obscure molecule

    Frank Cackowski at Detroit’s Wayne State University was confused.

    The oncologist was studying a sequence of chemical reactions in cells to see if they could be a target for drugs against prostate cancer. A paper from 2018 from 2018 in the American Journal of Cancer Research piqued his interest when he read that a little-known molecule called SNHG1 might interact with the chemical reactions he was exploring. He and fellow Wayne State researcher Steven Zielske began a series of experiments to learn more about the link. Surprisingly, they found there wasn’t a link.

    Meanwhile, Zielske had grown suspicious of the paper. Two graphs showing results for different cell lines were identical, he noticed, which “would be like pouring water into two glasses with your eyes closed and the levels coming out exactly the same.” Another graph and a table in the article also inexplicably contained identical data.

    Zielske described his misgivings in an anonymous post in 2020 at PubPeer, an online forum where many scientists report potential research misconduct, and also contacted the journal’s editor. Shortly thereafter, the journal pulled the paper, citing “falsified materials and/or data.”

    “Science is hard enough as it is if people are actually being genuine and trying to do real work,” says Cackowski, who also works at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Michigan. “And it’s just really frustrating to waste your time based on somebody’s fraudulent publications.”

    Wayne State scientists Frank Cackowski and Steven Zielske carried out experiments based on a paper they later found to contain false data.
    Amy Sacka, CC BY-ND

    He worries that the bogus publications are slowing down “legitimate research that down the road is going to impact patient care and drug development.”

    The two researchers eventually found that SNHG1 did appear to play a part in prostate cancer, though not in the way the suspect paper suggested. But it was a tough topic to study. Zielske combed through all the studies on SNHG1 and cancer – some 150 papers, nearly all from Chinese hospitals – and concluded that “a majority” of them looked fake. Some reported using experimental reagents known as primers that were “just gibberish,” for instance, or targeted a different gene than what the study said, according to Zielske. He contacted several of the journals, he said, but received little response. “I just stopped following up.”

    The many questionable articles also made it harder to get funding, Zielske said. The first time he submitted a grant application to study SNHG1, it was rejected, with one reviewer saying “the field was crowded,” Zielske recalled. The following year, he explained in his application how most of the literature likely came from paper mills. He got the grant.

    Today, Zielske said, he approaches new research differently than he used to: “You can’t just read an abstract and have any faith in it. I kind of assume everything’s wrong.”

    Legitimate academic journals evaluate papers before they are published by having other researchers in the field carefully read them over. This peer review process is designed to stop flawed research from being disseminated, but is far from perfect.

    Reviewers volunteer their time, typically assume research is real and so don’t look for signs of fraud. And some publishers may try to pick reviewers they deem more likely to accept papers, because rejecting a manuscript can mean losing out on thousands of dollars in publication fees.

    “Even good, honest reviewers have become apathetic” because of “the volume of poor research coming through the system,” said Adam Day, who directs Clear Skies, a company in London that develops data-based methods to help spot falsified papers and academic journals. “Any editor can recount seeing reports where it’s obvious the reviewer hasn’t read the paper.”

    With AI, they don’t have to: New research shows that many reviews are now written by ChatGPT and similar tools.

    To expedite the publication of one another’s work, some corrupt scientists form peer review rings. Paper mills may even create fake peer reviewers impersonating real scientists to ensure their manuscripts make it through to publication. Others bribe editors or plant agents on journal editorial boards.

    María de los Ángeles Oviedo-García, a professor of marketing at the University of Seville in Spain, spends her spare time hunting for suspect peer reviews from all areas of science, hundreds of which she has flagged on PubPeer. Some of these reviews are the length of a tweet, others ask authors to cite the reviewer’s work even if it has nothing to do with the science at hand, and many closely resemble other peer reviews for very different studies – evidence, in her eyes, of what she calls “review mills.”

    PubPeer comment from María de los Ángeles Oviedo-García pointing out that a peer review report is very similar to two other reports. She also points out that authors and citations for all three are either anonymous or the same person – both hallmarks of fake papers.
    Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND

    “One of the demanding fights for me is to keep faith in science,” says Oviedo-García, who tells her students to look up papers on PubPeer before relying on them too heavily. Her research has been slowed down, she adds, because she now feels compelled to look for peer review reports for studies she uses in her work. Often there aren’t any, because “very few journals publish those review reports,” Oviedo-García says.

    An ‘absolutely huge’ problem

    It is unclear when paper mills began to operate at scale. The earliest article retracted due to suspected involvement of such agencies was published in 2004, according to the Retraction Watch Database, which contains details about tens of thousands of retractions. (The database is operated by The Center for Scientific Integrity, the parent nonprofit of Retraction Watch.) Nor is it clear exactly how many low-quality, plagiarized or made-up articles paper mills have spawned.

    But the number is likely to be significant and growing, experts say. One Russia-linked paper mill in Latvia, for instance, claims on its website to have published “more than 12,650 articles” since 2012.

    An analysis of 53,000 papers submitted to six publishers – but not necessarily published – found the proportion of suspect papers ranged from 2% to 46% across journals. And the American publisher Wiley, which has retracted more than 11,300 compromised articles and closed 19 heavily affected journals in its erstwhile Hindawi division, recently said its new paper-mill detection tool flags up to 1 in 7 submissions.

    Day, of Clear Skies, estimates that as many as 2% of the several million scientific works published in 2022 were milled. Some fields are more problematic than others. The number is closer to 3% in biology and medicine, and in some subfields, like cancer, it may be much larger, according to Day. Despite increased awareness today, “I do not see any significant change in the trend,” he said. With improved methods of detection, “any estimate I put out now will be higher.”

    The paper-mill problem is “absolutely huge,” said Sabina Alam, director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity at Taylor & Francis, a major academic publisher. In 2019, none of the 175 ethics cases that editors escalated to her team was about paper mills, Alam said. Ethics cases include submissions and already published papers. In 2023, “we had almost 4,000 cases,” she said. “And half of those were paper mills.”

    Jennifer Byrne, an Australian scientist who now heads up a research group to improve the reliability of medical research, submitted testimony for a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in July 2022. She noted that 700, or nearly 6%, of 12,000 cancer research papers screened had errors that could signal paper mill involvement. Byrne shuttered her cancer research lab in 2017 because the genes she had spent two decades researching and writing about became the target of an enormous number of fake papers. A rogue scientist fudging data is one thing, she said, but a paper mill could churn out dozens of fake studies in the time it took her team to publish a single legitimate one.

    “The threat of paper mills to scientific publishing and integrity has no parallel over my 30-year scientific career …. In the field of human gene science alone, the number of potentially fraudulent articles could exceed 100,000 original papers,” she wrote to lawmakers, adding, “This estimate may seem shocking but is likely to be conservative.”

    In one area of genetics research – the study of noncoding RNA in different types of cancer – “We’re talking about more than 50% of papers published are from mills,” Byrne said. “It’s like swimming in garbage.”

    In 2022, Byrne and colleagues, including two of us, found that suspect genetics research, despite not having an immediate impact on patient care, still informs the work of other scientists, including those running clinical trials. Publishers, however, are often slow to retract tainted papers, even when alerted to obvious signs of fraud. We found that 97% of the 712 problematic genetics research articles we identified remained uncorrected within the literature.

    When retractions do happen, it is often thanks to the efforts of a small international community of amateur sleuths like Oviedo-García and those who post on PubPeer.

    Jillian Goldfarb, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University and a former editor of the Elsevier journal Fuel, laments the publisher’s handling of the threat from paper mills.

    “I was assessing upwards of 50 papers every day,” she said in an email interview. While she had technology to detect plagiarism, duplicate submissions and suspicious author changes, it was not enough. “It’s unreasonable to think that an editor – for whom this is not usually their full-time job – can catch these things reading 50 papers at a time. The time crunch, plus pressure from publishers to increase submission rates and citations and decrease review time, puts editors in an impossible situation.”

    In October 2023, Goldfarb resigned from her position as editor of Fuel. In a LinkedIn post about her decision, she cited the company’s failure to move on dozens of potential paper-mill articles she had flagged; its hiring of a principal editor who reportedly “engaged in paper and citation milling”; and its proposal of candidates for editorial positions “with longer PubPeer profiles and more retractions than most people have articles on their CVs, and whose names appear as authors on papers-for-sale websites.”

    “This tells me, our community, and the public, that they value article quantity and profit over science,” Goldfarb wrote.

    In response to questions about Goldfarb’s resignation, an Elsevier spokesperson told The Conversation that it “takes all claims about research misconduct in our journals very seriously” and is investigating Goldfarb’s claims. The spokesperson added that Fuel’s editorial team has “been working to make other changes to the journal to benefit authors and readers.”

    That’s not how it works, buddy

    Business proposals had been piling up for years in the inbox of João de Deus Barreto Segundo, managing editor of six journals published by the Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health in Salvador, Brazil. Several came from suspect publishers on the prowl for new journals to add to their portfolios. Others came from academics suggesting fishy deals or offering bribes to publish their paper.

    In one email from February 2024, an assistant professor of economics in Poland explained that he ran a company that worked with European universities. “Would you be interested in collaboration on the publication of scientific articles by scientists who collaborate with me?” Artur Borcuch inquired. “We will then discuss possible details and financial conditions.”

    A university administrator in Iraq was more candid: “As an incentive, I am prepared to offer a grant of $500 for each accepted paper submitted to your esteemed journal,” wrote Ahmed Alkhayyat, head of the Islamic University Centre for Scientific Research, in Najaf, and manager of the school’s “world ranking.”

    “That’s not how it works, buddy,” Barreto Segundo shot back.

    In email to The Conversation, Borcuch denied any improper intent. “My role is to mediate in the technical and procedural aspects of publishing an article,” Borcuch said, adding that, when working with multiple scientists, he would “request a discount from the editorial office on their behalf.” Informed that the Brazilian publisher had no publication fees, Borcuch said a “mistake” had occurred because an “employee” sent the email for him “to different journals.”

    Academic journals have different payment models. Many are subscription-based and don’t charge authors for publishing, but have hefty fees for reading articles. Libraries and universities also pay large sums for access.

    A fast-growing open-access model – where anyone can read the paper – includes expensive publication fees levied on authors to make up for the loss of revenue in selling the articles. These payments are not meant to influence whether or not a manuscript is accepted.

    The Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health, among others, doesn’t charge authors or readers, but Barreto Segundo’s employer is a small player in the scholarly publishing business, which brings in close to $30 billion a year on profit margins as high as 40%. Academic publishers make money largely from subscription fees from institutions like libraries and universities, individual payments to access paywalled articles, and open-access fees paid by authors to ensure their articles are free for anyone to read.

    The industry is lucrative enough that it has attracted unscrupulous actors eager to find a way to siphon off some of that revenue.

    Ahmed Torad, a lecturer at Kafr El Sheikh University in Egypt and editor-in-chief of the Egyptian Journal of Physiotherapy, asked for a 30% kickback for every article he passed along to the Brazilian publisher. “This commission will be calculated based on the publication fees generated by the manuscripts I submit,” Torad wrote, noting that he specialized “in connecting researchers and authors with suitable journals for publication.”

    Excerpt from Ahmed Torad’s email suggesting a kickback.
    Screenshot by The Conversation, CC BY-ND

    Apparently, he failed to notice that Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health doesn’t charge author fees.

    Like Borcuch, Alkhayyat denied any improper intent. He said there had been a “misunderstanding” on the editor’s part, explaining that the payment he offered was meant to cover presumed article-processing charges. “Some journals ask for money. So this is normal,” Alkhayyat said.

    Torad explained that he had sent his offer to source papers in exchange for a commission to some 280 journals, but had not forced anyone to accept the manuscripts. Some had balked at his proposition, he said, despite regularly charging authors thousands of dollars to publish. He suggested that the scientific community wasn’t comfortable admitting that scholarly publishing has become a business like any other, even if it’s “obvious to many scientists.”

    The unwelcome advances all targeted one of the journals Barreto Segundo managed, The Journal of Physiotherapy Research, soon after it was indexed in Scopus, a database of abstracts and citations owned by the publisher Elsevier.

    Along with Clarivate’s Web of Science, Scopus has become an important quality stamp for scholarly publications globally. Articles in indexed journals are money in the bank for their authors: They help secure jobs, promotions, funding and, in some countries, even trigger cash rewards. For academics or physicians in poorer countries, they can be a ticket to the global north.

    Consider Egypt, a country plagued by dubious clinical trials. Universities there commonly pay employees large sums for international publications, with the amount depending on the journal’s impact factor. A similar incentive structure is hardwired into national regulations: To earn the rank of full professor, for example, candidates must have at least five publications in two years, according to Egypt’s Supreme Council of Universities. Studies in journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science not only receive extra points, but they also are exempt from further scrutiny when applicants are evaluated. The higher a publication’s impact factor, the more points the studies get.

    With such a focus on metrics, it has become common for Egyptian researchers to cut corners, according to a physician in Cairo who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. Authorship is frequently gifted to colleagues who then return the favor later, or studies may be created out of whole cloth. Sometimes an existing legitimate paper is chosen from the literature, and key details such as the type of disease or surgery are then changed and the numbers slightly modified, the source explained.

    It affects clinical guidelines and medical care, “so it’s a shame,” the physician said.

    Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals and humans, is a case in point. When some studies showed that it was effective against COVID-19, ivermectin was hailed as a “miracle drug” early in the pandemic. Prescriptions surged, and along with them calls to U.S. poison centers; one man spent nine days in the hospital after downing an injectable formulation of the drug that was meant for cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As it turned out, nearly all of the research that showed a positive effect on COVID-19 had indications of fakery, the BBC and others reported – including a now-withdrawn Egyptian study. With no apparent benefit, patients were left with just side effects.

    Research misconduct isn’t limited to emerging economies, having recently felled university presidents and top scientists at government agencies in the United States. Neither is the emphasis on publications. In Norway, for example, the government allocates funding to research institutes, hospitals and universities based on how many scholarly works employees publish, and in which journals. The country has decided to partly halt this practice starting in 2025.

    “There’s a huge academic incentive and profit motive,” says Lisa Bero, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the senior research-integrity editor at the Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization that produces evidence reviews about medical treatments. “I see it at every institution I’ve worked at.”

    But in the global south, the publish-or-perish edict runs up against underdeveloped research infrastructures and education systems, leaving scientists in a bind. For a Ph.D., the Cairo physician who requested anonymity conducted an entire clinical trial single-handedly – from purchasing study medication to randomizing patients, collecting and analyzing data and paying article-processing fees. In wealthier nations, entire teams work on such studies, with the tab easily running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    “Research is quite challenging here,” the physician said. That’s why scientists “try to manipulate and find easier ways so they get the job done.”

    Institutions, too, have gamed the system with an eye to international rankings. In 2011, the journal Science described how prolific researchers in the United States and Europe were offered hefty payments for listing Saudi universities as secondary affiliations on papers. And in 2023, the magazine, in collaboration with Retraction Watch, uncovered a massive self-citation ploy by a top-ranked dental school in India that forced undergraduate students to publish papers referencing faculty work.

    The root – and solutions

    Such unsavory schemes can be traced back to the introduction of performance-based metrics in academia, a development driven by the New Public Management movement that swept across the Western world in the 1980s, according to Canadian sociologist of science Yves Gingras of the Université du Québec à Montréal. When universities and public institutions adopted corporate management, scientific papers became “accounting units” used to evaluate and reward scientific productivity rather than “knowledge units” advancing our insight into the world around us, Gingras wrote.

    This transformation led many researchers to compete on numbers instead of content, which made publication metrics poor measures of academic prowess. As Gingras has shown, the controversial French microbiologist Didier Raoult, who now has more than a dozen retractions to his name, has an h-index – a measure combining publication and citation numbers – that is twice as high as that of Albert Einstein – “proof that the index is absurd,” Gingras said.

    Worse, a sort of scientific inflation, or “scientometric bubble,” has ensued, with each new publication representing an increasingly small increment in knowledge. “We publish more and more superficial papers, we publish papers that have to be corrected, and we push people to do fraud,” said Gingras.

    In terms of career prospects of individual academics, too, the average value of a publication has plummeted, triggering a rise in the number of hyperprolific authors. One of the most notorious cases is Spanish chemist Rafael Luque, who in 2023 reportedly published a study every 37 hours.

    In 2024, Landon Halloran, a geoscientist at the University of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland, received an unusual job application for an opening in his lab. A researcher with a Ph.D. from China had sent him his CV. At 31, the applicant had amassed 160 publications in Scopus-indexed journals, 62 of them in 2022 alone, the same year he obtained his doctorate. Although the applicant was not the only one “with a suspiciously high output,” according to Halloran, he stuck out. “My colleagues and I have never come across anything quite like it in the geosciences,” he said.

    According to industry insiders and publishers, there is more awareness now of threats from paper mills and other bad actors. Some journals routinely check for image fraud. A bad AI-generated image showing up in a paper can either be a sign of a scientist taking an ill-advised shortcut, or a paper mill.

    The Cochrane Collaboration has a policy excluding suspect studies from its analyses of medical evidence. The organization also has been developing a tool to help its reviewers spot problematic medical trials, just as publishers have begun to screen submissions and share data and technologies among themselves to combat fraud.

    This image, generated by AI, is a visual gobbledygook of concepts around transporting and delivering drugs in the body. For instance, the upper left figure is a nonsensical mix of a syringe, an inhaler and pills. And the pH-sensitive carrier molecule on the lower left is huge, rivaling the size of the lungs. After scientist sleuths pointed out that the published image made no sense, the journal issued a correction.
    Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND
    This graphic is the corrected image that replaced the AI image above. In this case, according to the correction, the journal determined that the paper was legitimate but the scientists had used AI to generate the image describing it.
    Screen capture by The Conversation, CC BY-ND

    “People are realizing like, wow, this is happening in my field, it’s happening in your field,” said the Cochrane Collaboration’s Bero”. “So we really need to get coordinated and, you know, develop a method and a plan overall for stamping these things out.”

    What jolted Taylor & Francis into paying attention, according to Alam, the director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity, was a 2020 investigation of a Chinese paper mill by sleuth Elisabeth Bik and three of her peers who go by the pseudonyms Smut Clyde, Morty and Tiger BB8. With 76 compromised papers, the U.K.-based company’s Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology was the most affected journal identified in the probe.

    “It opened up a minefield,” says Alam, who also co-chairs United2Act, a project launched in 2023 that brings together publishers, researchers and sleuths in the fight against paper mills. “It was the first time we realized that stock images essentially were being used to represent experiments.”

    Taylor & Francis decided to audit the hundreds of articles in its portfolio that contained similar types of images. It doubled Alam’s team, which now has 14.5 positions dedicated to doing investigations, and also began monitoring submission rates. Paper mills, it seemed, weren’t picky customers.

    “What they’re trying to do is find a gate, and if they get in, then they just start kind of slamming in the submissions,” Alam said. Seventy-six fake papers suddenly seemed like a drop in the ocean. At one Taylor & Francis journal, for instance, Alam’s team identified nearly 1,000 manuscripts that bore all the marks of coming from a mill, she said.

    And in 2023, it rejected about 300 dodgy proposals for special issues. “We’ve blocked a hell of a lot from coming through,” Alam said.

    Fraud checkers

    A small industry of technology startups has sprung up to help publishers, researchers and institutions spot potential fraud. The website Argos, launched in September 2024 by Scitility, an alert service based in Sparks, Nevada, allows authors to check if new collaborators are trailed by retractions or misconduct concerns. It has flagged tens of thousands of “high-risk” papers, according to the journal Nature.

    Fraud-checker tools sift through papers to point to those that should be manually checked and possibly rejected.
    solidcolours/iStock via Getty Images

    Morressier, a scientific conference and communications company based in Berlin, “aims to restore trust in science by improving the way scientific research is published”, according to its website. It offers integrity tools that target the entire research life cycle. Other new paper-checking tools include Signals, by London-based Research Signals, and Clear Skies’ Papermill Alarm.

    The fraudsters have not been idle, either. In 2022, when Clear Skies released the Papermill Alarm, the first academic to inquire about the new tool was a paper miller, according to Day. The person wanted access so he could check his papers before firing them off to publishers, Day said. “Paper mills have proven to be adaptive and also quite quick off the mark.”

    Given the ongoing arms race, Alam acknowledges that the fight against paper mills won’t be won as long as the booming demand for their products remains.

    According to a Nature analysis, the retraction rate tripled from 2012 to 2022 to close to .02%, or around 1 in 5,000 papers. It then nearly doubled in 2023, in large part because of Wiley’s Hindawi debacle. Today’s commercial publishing is part of the problem, Byrne said. For one, cleaning up the literature is a vast and expensive undertaking with no direct financial upside. “Journals and publishers will never, at the moment, be able to correct the literature at the scale and in the timeliness that’s required to solve the paper-mill problem,” Byrne said. “Either we have to monetize corrections such that publishers are paid for their work, or forget the publishers and do it ourselves.”

    But that still wouldn’t fix the fundamental bias built into for-profit publishing: Journals don’t get paid for rejecting papers. “We pay them for accepting papers,” said Bodo Stern, a former editor of the journal Cell and chief of Strategic Initiatives at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit research organization and major funder in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “I mean, what do you think journals are going to do? They’re going to accept papers.”

    With more than 50,000 journals on the market, even if some are trying hard to get it right, bad papers that are shopped around long enough eventually find a home, Stern added. “That system cannot function as a quality-control mechanism,” he said. “We have so many journals that everything can get published.”

    In Stern’s view, the way to go is to stop paying journals for accepting papers and begin looking at them as public utilities that serve a greater good. “We should pay for transparent and rigorous quality-control mechanisms,” he said.

    Peer review, meanwhile, “should be recognized as a true scholarly product, just like the original article, because the authors of the article and the peer reviewers are using the same skills,” Stern said. By the same token, journals should make all peer-review reports publicly available, even for manuscripts they turn down. “When they do quality control, they can’t just reject the paper and then let it be published somewhere else,” Stern said. “That’s not a good service.”

    Better measures

    Stern isn’t the first scientist to bemoan the excessive focus on bibliometrics. “We need less research, better research, and research done for the right reasons,” wrote the late statistician Douglas G. Altman in a much-cited editorial from 1994. “Abandoning using the number of publications as a measure of ability would be a start.”

    Nearly two decades later, a group of some 150 scientists and 75 science organizations released the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, or DORA, discouraging the use of the journal impact factor and other measures as proxies for quality. The 2013 declaration has since been signed by more than 25,000 individuals and organizations in 165 countries.

    Despite the declaration, metrics remain in wide use today, and scientists say there is a new sense of urgency.

    “We’re getting to the point where people really do feel they have to do something” because of the vast number of fake papers, said Richard Sever, assistant director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, in New York, and co-founder of the preprint servers bioRxiv and medRxiv.

    Stern and his colleagues have tried to make improvements at their institution. Researchers who wish to renew their seven-year contract have long been required to write a short paragraph describing the importance of their major results. Since the end of 2023, they also have been asked to remove journal names from their applications.

    That way, “you can never do what all reviewers do – I’ve done it – look at the bibliography and in just one second decide, ‘Oh, this person has been productive because they have published many papers and they’re published in the right journals,’” says Stern. “What matters is, did it really make a difference?”

    Shifting the focus away from convenient performance metrics seems possible not just for wealthy private institutions like Howard Hughes Medical Institute, but also for large government funders. In Australia, for example, the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2022 launched the “top 10 in 10” policy, aiming, in part, to “value research quality rather than quantity of publications.”

    Rather than providing their entire bibliography, the agency, which assesses thousands of grant applications every year, asked researchers to list no more than 10 publications from the past decade and explain the contribution each had made to science. According to an evaluation report from April, 2024 close to three-quarters of grant reviewers said the new policy allowed them to concentrate more on research quality than quantity. And more than half said it reduced the time they spent on each application.

    Gingras, the Canadian sociologist, advocates giving scientists the time they need to produce work that matters, rather than a gushing stream of publications. He is a signatory to the Slow Science Manifesto: “Once you get slow science, I can predict that the number of corrigenda, the number of retractions, will go down,” he says.

    At one point, Gingras was involved in evaluating a research organization whose mission was to improve workplace security. An employee presented his work. “He had a sentence I will never forget,” Gingras recalls. The employee began by saying, “‘You know, I’m proud of one thing: My h-index is zero.’ And it was brilliant.” The scientist had developed a technology that prevented fatal falls among construction workers. “He said, ‘That’s useful, and that’s my job.’ I said, ‘Bravo!’”

    Learn more about how the Problematic Paper Screener uncovers compromised papers.

    Labbé receives funding from the European Research Council.
    He has also received funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR), and the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.
    Labbé has been in touch with most of the major publishers and their integrity officers, offering pro-bono consulting regarding detection tools to various actors in the field including STM-Hub and Morressier.

    Cabanac receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) and the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). He is the administrator of the Problematic Paper Screener, a public platform that uses metadata from Digital Science and PubPeer via no-cost agreements. Cabanac has been in touch with most of the major publishers and their integrity officers, offering pro bono consulting regarding detection tools to various actors in the field including ClearSkies, Morressier, River Valley, Signals, and STM.

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

    – ref. Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research – https://theconversation.com/fake-papers-are-contaminating-the-worlds-scientific-literature-fueling-a-corrupt-industry-and-slowing-legitimate-lifesaving-medical-research-246224

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: Work has begun to expand the overpass on the Adler bypass

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Marat Khusnullin: Work has begun to expand the overpass on the Adler bypass

    January 29, 2025

    Marat Khusnullin: Work has begun to expand the overpass on the Adler bypass

    January 29, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Marat Khusnullin: Work has begun to expand the overpass on the Adler bypass

    A developed road network is the most important factor in the sustainable socio-economic growth of the country. In this regard, large-scale infrastructure projects are being implemented, including the construction of the Adler bypass. It will be part of the prospective highway from the federal highway M-4 “Don” to the city of Sochi. Currently, builders have begun to expand the dimensions of the existing overpass at the 6th km of the A-149 Adler – Krasnaya Polyana road, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported.

    “The megaproject for the construction of the M-4 Don-Sochi highway will give a powerful impetus to the development of the economy of the southern regions of Russia and will help to significantly improve the transport situation on the Black Sea coast. We will implement it in stages. And among the priority sections is the Adler bypass, about 10 km long. The road will connect the village of Kudepsta and the village of Vysokoye. The construction of the new section will increase the tourist potential of this direction, reduce travel time to the Sochi airport and Krasnaya Polyana, ensure the withdrawal of transit transport from the resort area of Adler and improve the environmental situation of the coastal territory. As part of this project, the overpass at the 6th km of the A-149 Adler-Krasnaya Polyana highway is being reconstructed. By now, work has begun to increase its dimensions. The artificial structure and its approaches will be expanded to two traffic lanes, one in the forward and reverse directions. We plan to put the overpass into operation before the start of the resort season, so that this summer Sochi residents and its guests will have the opportunity to travel along it in both directions, both towards Adler and towards Krasnaya Polyana,” said Marat Khusnullin.

    The reconstruction of the overpass started in November last year. Before its expansion, a large complex of works was completed. In particular, specialists removed the fencing elements, noise protection screens, layers of the bridge deck from the existing bridge structure, dismantled the utility networks and side consoles of the overpass.

    According to the Chairman of the Board of the state company Avtodor, Vyacheslav Petushenko, work at the site is currently being carried out in two shifts.

    “These days, the builders are using powerful jacks to lift the overpass sections by several centimeters and transfer them to temporary supports, the so-called bridge structures, erected earlier. Then, new metal consoles will be mounted on both sides of the overpass to expand the overpass dimensions. In total, 95 people and 15 units of equipment are involved in the work. Upon completion, the builders will be able to begin preparing and assembling tunnel boring machines at the construction site to begin tunneling the Adler bypass,” Vyacheslav Petushenko noted.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: U.S. propane prices have traded higher so far this winter compared with last winter

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    January 28, 2025

    Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Heating Oil and Propane Program; Bloomberg, L.P.
    Note: Wholesale prices are U.S. benchmark spot prices from Mont Belvieu, Texas.

    U.S. wholesale and retail propane prices have been higher so far this winter heating season (October–March) than during the same period a year ago, largely because of colder weather in January and higher exports, according to data from our State Heating Oil and Propane Program. Prices have been higher despite relatively strong propane inventories heading into this winter heating season.

    U.S. wholesale propane prices
    Wholesale propane spot prices at the U.S. benchmark at Mont Belvieu, Texas, have averaged $0.81 per gallon (gal) so far during the winter heating season (Oct 2024–Jan 2025), or $0.13/gal higher than year-ago prices. For the week ending January 20, 2025, U.S. wholesale propane prices were $0.97/gal, slightly higher than at this time last year when they were $0.79/gal.

    Because the United States exports more propane than it consumes, exports can affect wholesale propane prices. More exports reduce domestic supply and generally mean higher U.S. wholesale prices. The United States is exporting record amounts of propane, averaging 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024, a 9% increase compared with 2023 and the highest weekly average on record.

    U.S. retail propane prices
    U.S. retail propane prices typically follow wholesale propane prices and supply and demand dynamics. Typically, propane prices rise during the winter, when demand for propane as a winter heating fuel grows and propane inventories are drawn down.

    U.S. retail propane prices have averaged $2.51/gal so far this winter heating season, just $0.07/gal higher than during the same time last year. U.S. average retail propane prices have increased 5% from the beginning of this winter heating season to the week ending December 30, 2024.

    Retail propane prices for the four U.S. regions for which we publish data—the East Coast (PADD 1), Midwest (PADD 2), Gulf Coast (PADD 3), and Rocky Mountain (PADD 4)—are higher this winter compared with this time last winter. Similar to last winter’s heating season, retail prices in all four regions stayed relatively flat until mid-January, when wholesale Mont Belvieu prices began to increase as temperatures dropped. In January 2024 and 2025, winter heating needs peaked, as measured by heating degree days, which indicate how cold the temperature was on a given day or during a period of days. December 2024 had more heating degree days than December 2023, and we expect more of them throughout this winter compared with last winter, according to our December Short-Term Energy Outlook.

    Principal contributor: Josh Eiermann

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Electric power sector has driven rising Pennsylvania natural gas consumption since 2013

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    January 29, 2025

    Natural gas-fired electric power generation has increased in Pennsylvania since 2013 as the state has shifted toward natural gas as its main fuel source for electric power generation. In October 2024, natural gas-fired generation accounted for 57% of the electricity generated in Pennsylvania, more than twice the share in October 2013 (26%). Over the past decade, natural gas has become the primary fuel source for electricity generation in the state, surpassing coal-fired generation in 2016 on an annual basis and nuclear-powered generation in 2019. Natural gas-fired generation reached an all-time monthly peak in Pennsylvania of 15.3 million megawatthours (MWh) in July 2024, as hourly electricity demand peaked across multiple regions of the Lower 48 states due to widespread heatwaves.

    From 2013 to 2023, fuel consumption for electricity generation in Pennsylvania shifted from mostly coal to natural gas. Pennsylvania sits on top of the Marcellus shale play within the Appalachian Basin where dry natural gas production has more than doubled in the past decade. Dry natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased from 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2013 to 20.8 Bcf/d in 2023, as the cost of natural gas fell compared with other energy sources. In addition, power generators in the state made investments in new technologies that increased the efficiency of natural gas as a source of power generation such as combined-cycle gas turbines, which use heat from natural gas turbines to run steam turbines to generate power from both.

    More power is now generated in Pennsylvania than is consumed, prompting generators to send surplus electricity to other states. In 2023, power companies in Pennsylvania sent more electricity outside state borders than companies in any other state in the country, moving 83.4 million MWh to neighboring states.

    Rising natural gas consumption in the electric power sector was the primary driver of increased use in Pennsylvania over the past decade. In 2013, natural gas consumption for power generation averaged 1.0 Bcf/d. Natural gas use in the electric power sector more than doubled since then, reaching 2.6 Bcf/d in 2023, while use in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors remained relatively stable. Total natural gas delivered to all consumers in Pennsylvania averaged 4.8 Bcf/d in 2024 through October, up from 2.6 Bcf/d during all of 2013.

    Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Monthly
    Note: PA=Pennsylvania, FL=Florida, TX=Texas, LA=Louisiana, CA=California

    Between 2013 and 2023, natural gas consumption in Pennsylvania increased by 64% (1.7 Bcf/d), the largest percentage increase among the top five natural gas consuming states in the United States in 2023. In 2013, Pennsylvania ranked as the seventh-largest consuming state of natural gas in the United States, behind Illinois, Florida, New York, Louisiana, California, and Texas; in 2019, Pennsylvania ranked as the fifth-largest consuming state and has remained at that rank since then. From 2013 to 2023, natural gas consumption increased in all of the top five consuming states except California, where natural gas as a share of power generation has decreased by 15% since 2013 as the state has increased its share of renewables in its electricity generation mix.

    Principal contributors: Grace Wheaton, Andrew Iraola

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Blue Foundry Bancorp Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RUTHERFORD, N.J., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blue Foundry Bancorp (NASDAQ:BLFY) (the “Company”), the holding company for Blue Foundry Bank (the “Bank”), reported a net loss of $11.9 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to a net loss of $7.4 million, or $0.31 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2023.

    The Company reported a net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.13 per diluted common share, for the three months ended December 31, 2024 compared to a net loss of $4.0 million, or $0.19 per diluted common share for the three months ended September 30, 2024, and a net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted common share for the three months ended December 31, 2023.

    James D. Nesci, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are very pleased with both the deposit and loan growth achieved in the fourth quarter and look to carry this positive momentum into 2025.”

    Mr. Nesci also noted, “Credit quality remained strong and we continue to experience very low charge-offs. Our allowance to credit losses to total loans is 83 basis points and covers non-performing loans by over 2.5 times.”

    Highlights for the fourth quarter of 2024:

    • Loans totaled $1.58 billion, an increase of $32.5 million from the prior quarter end.
    • Deposits increased $24.7 million to $1.34 billion compared to the prior quarter.
    • Uninsured deposits to third-party customers totaled approximately 11% of total deposits at December 31, 2024.
    • Interest income for the quarter was $21.8 million, an increase of $253 thousand, or 1.2%, compared to the prior quarter.
    • Interest expense for the quarter was $12.3 million, a decrease of $133 thousand, or 1.1%, compared to the prior quarter.
    • Net interest margin increased seven basis points from the prior quarter to 1.89%.
    • The release of provision for credit losses of $301 thousand was primarily due to the decrease in unused lines of credit and releases of provision for loans of $37 thousand and for securities of $24 thousand.
    • Tangible book value per share was $14.74. See the “Supplemental Information – Non-GAAP Financial Measures” tables below for additional information regarding our non-GAAP measures.
    • 480,851 shares were repurchased under our share repurchase plans at a weighted average share price of $10.49 per share.
    • Credit metrics remained favorable with non-performing loans to total loans of 0.33%.

    Loans

    The Company continues to diversify its lending portfolio by focusing on growing the higher-yielding commercial portfolio. Gross loans increased $22.8 million during 2024 with increases in commercial real estate loans, construction loans, consumer and other loans, commercial and industrial loans and junior liens of $27.1 million, $25.1 million, $7.2 million, $4.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively, offset in part by reductions in the residential portfolio of $32.7 million and multifamily portfolio of $11.4 million.

    The details of the loan portfolio are below:

        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   June 30,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
        (Unaudited)   (Audited)
        (In thousands)
    Residential   $ 518,243   $ 516,754   $ 526,453   $ 540,427   $ 550,929
    Multifamily     671,116     666,304     671,185     671,011     682,564
    Commercial real estate     259,633     241,711     241,867     244,207     232,505
    Construction and land     85,546     80,081     71,882     63,052     60,414
    Junior liens     25,422     24,174     23,653     22,052     22,503
    Commercial and industrial     16,311     14,228     12,261     13,372     11,768
    Consumer and other     7,211     7,731     83     56     47
    Total loans     1,583,482     1,550,983     1,547,384     1,554,177     1,560,730
    Allowance for credit losses on loans     12,965     13,012     13,027     13,749     14,154
    Loans receivable, net   $ 1,570,517   $ 1,537,971   $ 1,534,357   $ 1,540,428   $ 1,546,576


    Deposits

    At December 31, 2024, total deposits were $1.34 billion, an increase of $98.4 million or 7.91% from December 31, 2023, mostly due to the increases of $110.7 million and $8.4 million in time deposits and NOW and demand accounts, partially offset by decreases in savings and non-interest bearing deposits of $19.0 million and $1.7 million, respectively. The Company’s strategy is to focus on attracting the full banking relationship of small- to medium-sized businesses through an extensive suite of deposit products. While there is strong competition for deposits in the northern New Jersey market, we were able to increase customer deposits by $78.0 million, or 7.0%, during the year. Brokered deposits increased $30.0 million since year end 2023.

    The details of deposits are below:

        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   June 30,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
        (Unaudited)   (Audited)
        (In thousands)
    Non-interest bearing deposits   $ 26,001   $ 22,254   $ 24,733   $ 25,342   $ 27,739
    NOW and demand accounts     369,554     357,503     368,386     373,172     361,139
    Savings     240,426     237,651     246,559     250,298     259,402
    Core deposits     635,981     617,408     639,678     648,812     648,280
    Time deposits     707,339     701,262     671,478     642,372     596,624
    Total deposits   $ 1,343,320   $ 1,318,670   $ 1,311,156   $ 1,291,184   $ 1,244,904


    Financial Performance Overview:            

    Fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2024

    Net interest income compared to the third quarter of 2024:

    • Net interest income was $9.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $9.1 million for the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $386 thousand.
    • Net interest margin increased by seven basis points to 1.89%.
    • The yield on average interest-earning assets increased five basis points to 4.37%, while the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities decreased six basis points to 2.97% due to a decrease in rates paid on time deposits.
    • Average interest-earning assets increased by $10.1 million and average interest-bearing liabilities increased by $15.4 million.

    Non-interest income compared to the third quarter of 2024:

    • Non-interest income increased $33 thousand primarily due to increase in fees and service charges.

    Non-interest expense compared to the third quarter of 2024:

    • Non-interest expense decreased $386 thousand primarily driven by decreases of $363 thousand in compensation and benefits expenses, $76 thousand in professional fees and $36 thousand in occupancy and equipment, partially offset by an increase in data processing expense of $102 thousand.

    Income tax expense compared to the third quarter of 2024:

    • The Company did not record a tax benefit for the losses incurred during the third or fourth quarter of 2024 due to the full valuation allowance required on its deferred tax assets.
    • The Company’s current tax position reflects the full valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2024, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets was $25.1 million.

    Fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023

    Net interest income compared to the fourth quarter of 2023:

    • Net interest income was $9.5 million, an increase of $277 thousand.
    • Net interest margin increased five basis point to 1.89%.
    • Yield on average interest-earning assets increased 31 basis points to 4.37%.
    • Cost of average interest-bearing deposits increased 38 basis points to 2.90%, reflecting the competitive rate environment in our primary market.
    • Average loans increased by $7.5 million and average interest-bearing deposits increased by $94.2 million.

    Non-interest income compared to the fourth quarter of 2023:

    • Non-interest income decreased $152 thousand, or 26.57%. The prior year period included gains on sales of loans and securities that were not present in the current period. In addition, there was a decline in fees and service charges from the prior period.

    Non-interest expense compared to the fourth quarter of 2023:

    • Non-interest expense was $12.9 million, an increase of $338 thousand driven by increases in professional services expense, compensation and benefit costs and occupancy and equipment expense of $106 thousand, $56 thousand and $54 thousand, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in advertising expense of $39 thousand. In addition, other expense increased $131 thousand when compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 due in part to increases in business development and postage expenses.

    Income tax expense compared to the fourth quarter of 2023:

    • The Company did not record a tax benefit for the loss incurred during the fourth quarter of 2024 or 2023 due to the full valuation allowance required on its deferred tax assets.
    • The Company’s current tax position reflects the full valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2024, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets was $25.1 million.

    Year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023

    Net interest income compared to the year ended December 31, 2023:

    • Net interest income was $37.6 million, a decrease of $4.4 million.
    • Net interest margin decreased by 19 basis points to 1.90%.
    • Yield on average interest-earning assets increased 38 basis points to 4.32%.
    • Cost of average interest-bearing deposits increased 92 basis points to 2.89%, due to an increase in higher-cost time deposits and the competitive rate environment in our primary market.
    • Average loans decreased by $16.4 million and average interest-bearing deposits increased by $52.6 million.

    Non-interest income compared to the year ended December 31, 2023:

    • Non-interest income decreased $11 thousand, or 0.61%, largely due to the lack of gain on sale of loans and securities, offset in part by a gain on sale of an REO property in 2024.

    Non-interest expense compared to the year ended December 31, 2023:

    • Non-interest expense was $52.6 million, an increase of $1.0 million, primarily driven by increases in compensation and benefits of $994 thousand, occupancy and equipment of $528 thousand and FDIC premiums of $56 thousand, offset in part by decreases in data processing expense and professional services of $471 thousand and $118 thousand, respectively.

    Income tax expense compared to the year ended December 31, 2023:

    • The Company did not record a tax benefit for the loss incurred during 2024 or 2023 due to the full valuation allowance required on its deferred tax assets.
    • The Company’s current tax position reflects the previously established full valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2024, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets was $25.1 million.

    Balance Sheet Summary:

    December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023

    Securities available-for-sale:

    • Securities available-for-sale increased $13.3 million to $297.0 million due to purchases and a $3.3 million improvement in the unrealized loss position on the portfolio, partially offset by amortization, maturities and calls during the year.

    Other investments:

    • Other investments decreased during 2024 by $2.6 million due to a decrease in FHLB stock as a result of a reduction in FHLB borrowings.

    Total loans:

    • Gross loans held for investment increased $22.8 million to $1.58 billion.
    • Commercial real estate loans increased $27.1 million, construction loans increased $25.1 million, consumer and other category increased $7.2 million and commercial and industrial loans increased $4.5 million, while residential and multifamily loans decreased $32.7 million and $11.4 million, respectively.
    • Loan fundings totaled $108.4 million, including fundings of $35.7 million in commercial real estate loans, $33.7 million in construction loans, $12.2 million in multifamily loans and $11.2 million in commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the Company purchased $21.6 million of conforming residential mortgages in New Jersey and participated in a consumer loan participation of $8.0 million during the year.

    Deposits:

    • Deposits totaled $1.34 billion, an increase of $98.4 million since December 31, 2023, largely the result of increases in customer deposits.
    • Core deposits (defined as non-interest bearing checking, NOW and demand accounts and savings accounts) represented 47.3% of total deposits compared to 48.8% at December 31, 2023, as time deposits increased $110.7 million.
    • The increase in time deposits include $30.0 million in brokered deposits, bringing our total brokered deposit balance to $155.0 million at December 31, 2024.
    • Uninsured and uncollateralized deposits to third-party customers were $147.6 million, or 11% of total deposits, at the end of the fourth quarter.

    Borrowings:

    • FHLB borrowings decreased by $58.0 million to $339.5 million as we were able to pay off short-term borrowings with deposit growth that outpaced asset growth.
    • As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $270.6 million of additional borrowing capacity at the FHLB, $107.7 million in secured lines of credit at the Federal Reserve Bank and $30.0 million of other unsecured lines of credit.

    Capital:

    • Shareholders’ equity decreased by $23.4 million to $332.2 million. The decrease was primarily driven by the repurchase of shares at a cost of $19.4 million. Additionally, the year-to-date loss, partially offset by favorable changes in accumulated other comprehensive income, also contributed to the decrease.
    • Tangible equity to tangible assets was 16.11% and 17.37% at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
    • Tangible common equity per share outstanding was $14.74 at December 31, 2024 and $14.49 at December 31, 2023.
    • The Bank’s capital ratios remain above the FDIC’s “well capitalized” standards.

    Asset quality:

    • The allowance for credit losses on loans represented 0.83% of total loans at December 31, 2024 compared to 0.91% at December 31, 2023. The allowance for credit losses on loans was 254.02% of non-performing loans compared to 239.98% at December 31, 2023.
    • The Company recorded a release of provision for credit losses of $301 thousand for the fourth quarter of 2024 and a release of provision for credit losses of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. For the fourth quarter of 2024, there was a release of provision of $240 thousand, $37 thousand and $24 thousand in the ACL for off-balance-sheet commitments, loans and held-to-maturity securities, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2024, there was a release of $1.1 million in the ACL for loans, $146 thousand in the ACL for off-balance-sheet commitments and $60 thousand in the ACL for held-to-maturity securities. The release was driven by the impact of the economic forecasts for the key drivers of our loan segments as well as a decrease in off-balance-sheet commitments.
    • Non-performing loans totaled $5.1 million, or 0.33% of total loans at December 31, 2024 compared to $5.9 million, or 0.38% of total loans at December 31, 2023.
    • Net charge-offs were $10 thousand and $46 thousand for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2024, respectively.

    About Blue Foundry

    Blue Foundry Bancorp is the holding company for Blue Foundry Bank, a place where things are made, purpose is formed, and ideas are crafted. Headquartered in Rutherford NJ, with a presence in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Union counties, Blue Foundry Bank is a full-service, innovative bank serving the doers, movers, and shakers in our communities. We offer individuals and businesses alike the tailored products and services they need to build their futures. With a rich history dating back more than 145 years, Blue Foundry Bank has a longstanding commitment to its customers and communities. To learn more about Blue Foundry Bank visit BlueFoundryBank.com or call (888) 931-BLUE. Member FDIC.

    Conference Call Information

    A conference call discussing Blue Foundry’s fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024 financial results will be held today, Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. (EST). To listen to the live call, please dial 1-833-470-1428 (toll free) or +1-404-975-4839 (international) and use access code 168429. Participants are encouraged to preregister to listen via webcast at https://events/q4inc.com/attendee/980680589. The conference call will be recorded and will be available on the Company’s website for one month.

    Contact:

    James D. Nesci
    President and Chief Executive Officer
    jnesci@bluefoundrybank.com
    201-972-8900

    Forward Looking Statements

    Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which are based on certain current assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “potential,” “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “target” and similar expressions.

    Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: inflation and changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins and yields, the fair value of financial instruments or our level of loan originations, or increase in the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans we have made and make; general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas, that are worse than expected; changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses; our ability to access cost-effective funding; fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions; demand for loans and deposits in our market area; our ability to implement and change our business strategies; competition among depository and other financial institutions; adverse changes in the securities or secondary mortgage markets; changes in laws or government regulations or policies affecting financial institutions, including changes in regulatory fees, capital requirements and insurance premiums; changes in monetary or fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board; changes in the quality or composition of our loan or investment portfolios; technological changes that may be more difficult or expensive than expected; a failure or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, including cyber-attacks; the inability of third party providers to perform as expected; our ability to manage market risk, credit risk and operational risk in the current economic environment; our ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth opportunities; our ability to successfully integrate into our operations any assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management personnel we may acquire and our ability to realize related revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames and any goodwill charges related there to; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the bank regulatory agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; our ability to retain key employees; the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events; the ability of the U.S. Government to manage federal debt limits; and changes in the financial condition, results of operations or future prospects of issuers of securities that we own.

    Because of these and other uncertainties, our actual future results may be materially different from the results indicated by these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we do not undertake, and we specifically disclaim any obligation, to release publicly the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
     
        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
        (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)   (Audited)
        (In thousands)
    ASSETS            
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 42,502   $ 76,109   $ 46,025
    Securities available for sale, at fair value     297,028     290,806     283,766
    Securities held to maturity     33,076     33,119     33,254
    Other investments     17,791     18,203     20,346
    Loans, net     1,570,517     1,537,971     1,546,576
    Real estate owned, net     —     —     593
    Interest and dividends receivable     8,014     8,386     7,595
    Premises and equipment, net     29,486     30,161     32,475
    Right-of-use assets     23,470     24,190     25,172
    Bank owned life insurance     22,519     22,399     22,034
    Other assets     16,280     13,749     27,127
    Total assets   $ 2,060,683   $ 2,055,093   $ 2,044,963
                 
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY            
    Liabilities            
    Deposits   $ 1,343,320   $ 1,318,670   $ 1,244,904
    Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank     339,500     348,500     397,500
    Advances by borrowers for taxes and insurance     9,356     9,909     8,929
    Lease liabilities     25,168     25,870     26,777
    Other liabilities     11,141     12,845     11,213
    Total liabilities     1,728,485     1,715,794     1,689,323
    Shareholders’ equity     332,198     339,299     355,640
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,060,683   $ 2,055,093   $ 2,044,963
    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (Dollars in thousands except per share data)
     
        Three months ended   Year Ended December 31,
        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023    		     2024       2023  
        (unaudited)   (Unaudited)   (Audited)
    Interest income:                    
    Loans   $ 17,777     $ 17,646     $ 16,907     $ 70,185     $ 65,685  
    Taxable investment income     3,972       3,850       3,327       15,122       12,990  
    Non-taxable investment income     36       36       101       144       430  
    Total interest income     21,785       21,532       20,335       85,451       79,105  
    Interest expense:                    
    Deposits     9,573       9,712       7,755       36,830       24,116  
    Borrowed funds     2,739       2,733       3,384       11,071       13,070  
    Total interest expense     12,312       12,445       11,139       47,901       37,186  
    Net interest income     9,473       9,087       9,196       37,550       41,919  
    (Release of ) provision for credit losses     (301 )     248       156       (1,350 )     (441 )
    Net interest income after (release of ) provision for credit losses     9,774       8,839       9,040       38,900       42,360  
    Non-interest income:                    
    Fees and service charges     306       272       331       1,203       1,164  
    Gain on securities, net     —       —       20       —       20  
    Gain on sale of loans     —       —       72       36       231  
    Other income     114       115       149       555       390  
    Total non-interest income     420       387       572       1,794       1,805  
    Non-interest expense:                    
    Compensation and benefits     6,943       7,306       6,887       29,433       28,439  
    Occupancy and equipment     2,194       2,230       2,140       8,878       8,350  
    Data processing     1,514       1,412       1,510       5,648       6,119  
    Advertising     81       87       120       292       354  
    Professional services     737       813       631       2,903       3,021  
    Federal deposit insurance premiums     226       236       200       855       799  
    Other expense     1,186       1,183       1,055       4,596       4,480  
    Total non-interest expenses     12,881       13,267       12,543       52,605       51,562  
    Loss before income tax expense     (2,687 )     (4,041 )     (2,931 )     (11,911 )     (7,397 )
    Income tax expense     —       —       —       —       —  
    Net loss   $ (2,687 )   $ (4,041 )   $ (2,931 )   $ (11,911 )   $ (7,397 )
    Basic loss per share   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.19 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.55 )   $ (0.31 )
    Diluted loss per share   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.19 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.55 )   $ (0.31 )
    Weighted average shares outstanding-basic     20,826,845       21,263,482       22,845,252       21,477,429       23,925,724  
    Weighted average shares outstanding-diluted     20,826,845       21,263,482       22,845,252       21,477,429       23,925,724  
    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Financial Highlights
    (Dollars in thousands except for share data) (Unaudited)
     
        Three months ended
        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   June 30,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
    Performance Ratios (%)                    
    Loss on average assets     (0.52 )     (0.79 )     (0.47 )     (0.56 )     (0.57 )
    Loss on average equity     (3.17 )     (4.68 )     (2.71 )     (3.23 )     (3.25 )
    Interest rate spread (1)     1.40       1.29       1.43       1.40       1.33  
    Net interest margin (2)     1.89       1.82       1.96       1.92       1.84  
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP) (3)     130.20       140.04       130.73       134.19       128.41  
    Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities     120.84       121.37       122.28       122.50       122.93  
    Tangible equity to tangible assets (4)     16.11       16.50       16.88       17.25       17.37  
    Book value per share (5)   $ 14.75     $ 14.76     $ 14.70     $ 14.61     $ 14.51  
    Tangible book value per share (5)   $ 14.74     $ 14.74     $ 14.69     $ 14.60     $ 14.49  
                         
    Asset Quality                    
    Non-performing loans   $ 5,104     $ 5,146     $ 6,208     $ 6,691     $ 5,898  
    Real estate owned, net     —       —       —       593       593  
    Non-performing assets   $ 5,104     $ 5,146     $ 6,208     $ 7,284     $ 6,491  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans to total loans (%)     0.83       0.84       0.84       0.88       0.91  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans to non-performing loans (%)     254.02       252.86       209.84       205.48       239.98  
    Non-performing loans to total loans (%)     0.33       0.33       0.40       0.43       0.38  
    Non-performing assets to total assets (%)     0.25       0.25       0.30       0.36       0.32  
    Net charge-offs to average outstanding loans during the period (%)     —       —       —       —       —  

    (1) Interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on interest-earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
    (2) Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.
    (3) Efficiency ratio represents adjusted non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income plus non-interest income.
    (4) Tangible equity equals $332.0 million, which excludes intangible assets ($244 thousand of capitalized software). Tangible assets equal $2.06 billion and exclude intangible assets.
    (5) Per share metrics are computed using 22,522,626 total shares outstanding.

    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Analysis of Net Interest Income
    (Unaudited)
     
        Three Months Ended
        December 31, 2024   September 30, 2024   December 31, 2023
        Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost    		   Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost    		   Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost
        (Dollars in thousands)
    Assets:                                    
    Loans (1)   $ 1,557,342   $ 17,777   4.57 %   $ 1,548,962   $ 17,646   4.53 %   $ 1,564,800   $ 16,907   4.29 %
    Mortgage-backed securities     185,382     1,254   2.71 %     181,596     1,186   2.60 %     165,471     904   2.17 %
    Other investment securities     164,392     1,573   3.83 %     173,008     1,527   3.51 %     190,507     1,486   3.09 %
    FHLB stock     17,153     411   9.58 %     17,666     406   9.15 %     20,970     477   9.02 %
    Cash and cash equivalents     68,536     770   4.50 %     61,507     767   4.96 %     45,895     561   4.85 %
    Total interest-bearing assets     1,992,805     21,785   4.37 %     1,982,739     21,532   4.32 %     1,987,643     20,335   4.06 %
    Non-interest earning assets     61,586             61,787             54,918        
    Total assets   $ 2,054,391           $ 2,044,526           $ 2,042,561        
    Liabilities and shareholders’ equity:                                    
    NOW, savings, and money market deposits   $ 614,623     1,988   1.29 %   $ 598,048     1,925   1.28 %   $ 634,257     1,989   1.24 %
    Time deposits     698,801     7,585   4.32 %     688,570     7,787   4.50 %     584,977     5,766   3.91 %
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,313,424     9,573   2.90 %     1,286,618     9,712   3.00 %     1,219,234     7,755   2.52 %
    FHLB advances     335,686     2,739   3.26 %     347,076     2,733   3.13 %     397,643     3,384   3.38 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     1,649,110     12,312   2.97 %     1,633,694     12,445   3.03 %     1,616,877     11,139   2.73 %
    Non-interest bearing deposits     24,945             23,421             26,629        
    Non-interest bearing other     43,016             43,713             41,780        
    Total liabilities     1,717,071             1,700,828             1,685,286        
    Total shareholders’ equity     337,320             343,698             357,275        
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,054,391           $ 2,044,526           $ 2,042,561        
    Net interest income       $ 9,473           $ 9,087           $ 9,196    
    Net interest rate spread (2)           1.40 %           1.29 %           1.33 %
    Net interest margin (3)           1.89 %           1.82 %           1.84 %

    (1) Average loan balances are net of deferred loan fees and costs, and premiums and discounts, and include non-accrual loans.
    (2) Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on interest-earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
    (3) Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.

    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Analysis of Net Interest Income continued
    (Unaudited)
     
        Year Ended December 31,
          2024       2023  
        Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost    		   Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost
        (Dollar in thousands)
    Assets:                        
    Loans (1)   $ 1,553,143   $ 70,185   4.52 %   $ 1,569,590   $ 65,685   4.18 %
    Mortgage-backed securities     173,691     4,276   2.46 %     172,405     3,693   2.14 %
    Other investment securities     174,172     6,440   3.70 %     195,754     6,010   3.07 %
    FHLB stock     18,038     1,756   9.73 %     21,249     1,582   7.45 %
    Cash and cash equivalents     58,261     2,794   4.80 %     46,245     2,135   4.62 %
    Total interest-bearing assets     1,977,305     85,451   4.32 %     2,005,243     79,105   3.94 %
    Non-interest earning assets     59,832             56,297        
    Total assets   $ 2,037,137           $ 2,061,540        
    Liabilities and shareholders’ equity:                        
    NOW, savings, and money market deposits   $ 610,172     7,803   1.28 %   $ 722,149     8,339   1.15 %
    Time deposits     665,740     29,027   4.36 %     501,124     15,777   3.15 %
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,275,912     36,830   2.89 %     1,223,273     24,116   1.97 %
    FHLB advances     348,306     11,071   3.18 %     396,265     13,070   3.30 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     1,624,218     47,901   2.95 %     1,619,538     37,186   2.30 %
    Non-interest bearing deposits     24,980             25,227        
    Non-interest bearing other     42,345             43,868        
    Total liabilities     1,691,543             1,688,633        
    Total shareholders’ equity     345,594             372,907        
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,037,137           $ 2,061,540        
    Net interest income       $ 37,550           $ 41,919    
    Net interest rate spread (2)           1.37 %           1.64 %
    Net interest margin (3)           1.90 %           2.09 %

    (1) Average loan balances are net of deferred loan fees and costs, and premiums and discounts, and include non-accrual loans.
    (2) Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the yield on interest-earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
    (3) Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.

    BLUE FOUNDRY BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
    Adjusted Pre-Provision Net Loss (Non-GAAP)
    (Dollars in thousands except per share data) (Unaudited)

    This press release contains certain supplemental financial information, described in the table below, which has been determined by methods other than U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) that management uses in its analysis of Blue Foundry’s performance. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding Blue Foundry’s financial results. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP basis measures and results and Blue Foundry strongly encourages investors to review its consolidated financial statements in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies’ non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names.

    Net loss, as presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, includes the provision for credit losses and income tax expense while pre-provision net loss does not.

        Three months ended
        December 31,
    2024    		   September 30,
    2024    		   June 30,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
    Pre-provision net loss and efficiency ratio, as adjusted:                
    Net interest income   $ 9,473     $ 9,087     $ 9,573     $ 9,417     $ 9,196  
    Other income     420       387       536       451       572  
          9,893       9,474       10,109       9,868       9,768  
    Operating expenses, as reported     12,881       13,267       13,215       13,242       12,543  
    Pre-provision net loss, as adjusted   $ (2,988 )   $ (3,793 )   $ (3,106 )   $ (3,374 )   $ (2,775 )
    Efficiency ratio     130.2 %     140.0 %     130.7 %     134.2 %     128.4 %
                         
    Core deposits:                    
    Total deposits   $ 1,343,320     $ 1,318,670     $ 1,311,156     $ 1,291,184     $ 1,244,904  
    Less: time deposits     707,339       701,262       671,478       642,372       596,624  
    Core deposits   $ 635,981     $ 617,408     $ 639,678     $ 648,812     $ 648,280  
    Core deposits to total deposits     47.3 %     46.8 %     48.8 %     50.2 %     52.1 %
                         
    Total assets   $ 2,060,683     $ 2,055,093     $ 2,045,452     $ 2,027,787     $ 2,044,963  
    Less: intangible assets     244       300       386       473       557  
    Tangible assets   $ 2,060,439     $ 2,054,793     $ 2,045,066     $ 2,027,314     $ 2,044,406  
                         
    Tangible equity:                    
    Shareholders’ equity   $ 332,198     $ 339,299     $ 345,597     $ 350,156     $ 355,640  
    Less: intangible assets     244       300       386       473       557  
    Tangible equity   $ 331,954     $ 338,999     $ 345,211     $ 349,683     $ 355,083  
                         
    Tangible equity to tangible assets     16.11 %     16.50 %     16.88 %     17.25 %     17.37 %
                         
    Tangible book value per share:                    
    Tangible equity   $ 331,954     $ 338,999     $ 345,211     $ 349,683     $ 355,083  
    Shares outstanding     22,522,626       22,990,908       23,505,357       23,958,888       24,509,950  
    Tangible book value per share   $ 14.74     $ 14.74     $ 14.69     $ 14.60     $ 14.49  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Expansion of London Airport ‘a disaster for future generations’

    Source: Scottish Greens

    29 Jan 2025 Climate Transport

    Scottish Greens condemn Heathrow Airport expansion plans

    More in Climate

    The Scottish Greens have slammed the Chancellor’s decision to extend Heathrow airport, with Transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell calling the expansion “a disaster for future generations.”

    Rachel Reeves announced her support for a third runway at Heathrow in a speech in Oxfordshire on Wednesday morning. In it, she pushed the concept of funding economic growth by handing billionaire private companies government funding to increase their profits.

    The expansion has previously been opposed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Secretary of State for Climate Change, Ed Miliband.

    Estimates from Heathrow Airport in 2018 speculated that the cost of a third runway would be over £14bn, with inflation now likely increasing that figure even further.

    Scottish Greens Transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said:

    “This is yet another climate-wrecking decision from a Labour government that is determined to fund so-called ‘economic growth’ by pouring billions of taxpayers money into the pockets of private companies.

    “A third runway will be a disaster for future generations; increasing carbon emissions at this crucial time for our planet’s future is nothing but climate vandalism. Transport emissions across the UK are still far too high; we need to invest in reducing them through cheap and efficient public transport.

    “Instead of forcing an unnecessary new runway, we could connect cities across the UK with cheap and effective high-speed rail, cutting the cost of commutes and our national carbon emissions, whilst also funding regional-rail expansion, restoring rail connectivity to communities across Scotland.

    “Scotland desperately needs investment in new transport initiatives to make commuting cheaper and more efficient. That must come from every level of government, but that won’t happen whilst billions are poured into the pockets of London Airport executives.

    “It’s time for real change in Scotland, not more of the same from Starmer and Reeves.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Teeside Airport Boosted with £173m Government Defence Investment

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A £173 million Ministry of Defence training contract with British business Draken will boost Teesside International Airport and support jobs across Teesside, Bournemouth and the Midlands – delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.

    A £173 million Ministry of Defence training contract with British business Draken will boost Teesside International Airport and support jobs across Teesside, Bournemouth and the Midlands – delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.

    In addition to strengthening our national security, the deal will maintain vital infrastructure in the North East and support more than 200 UK jobs. The new contract will deliver Armed Forces training for responding to a range of threats – including air-to-air combat, electronic warfare and missile attacks.

    Using a fleet of aircraft, Draken will simulate threats for UK personnel, including:

    • Air-to-air combat.
    • Missile attacks.
    • Attacks on ships from aircraft.

    Defence Minister Maria Eagle announced the deal today on a visit to Teesside International Airport. The Minister spoke with staff and apprentices, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to boosting national security and economic growth.

    The project will help deliver the government’s Plan for Change by strengthening national security and supporting the mission to kickstart economic growth. It also follows the launch of the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will ensure the defence sector is an engine for growth in every region and nation of the UK.

    Through live exercises with UK personnel over the North Sea, Draken private pilots will replicate the tactics and techniques of a range of adversaries.

    Using the latest electronic warfare technology, Draken will also train Royal Naval personnel to protect Carrier Strike Group assets from air and missile attacks and train Army personnel to quickly receive reconnaissance and intelligence information on enemy forces from the air.

    Altogether, this training will ensure that our Armed Forces receive demanding and realistic training, meeting NATO standards.

    Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle MP, said:

    This investment will deliver world-class training for our Armed Forces and boost British business, jobs and national security.

    In line with our Plan for Change and upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, this deal with Draken will support 200 UK jobs and ensure the future of Teesside International Airport.

    We are showing defence can be an engine for growth, in every region and nation.

    To deliver the training, Draken will use 14 Dassault Falcon 20, one Diamond DA42 and eight L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ fighter jets based at Teesside and Bournemouth. Draken will enrol a minimum of 12 apprentices at both sites.

    Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Air Vice Marshal Mark Flewin said:

    Our partnership with Draken is of fundamental importance as we continue to train and prepare all of our front-line forces to meet emerging threats across the globe.

    The training delivered to date, simulating adversary threats while also allowing us to train in a representative and contested electro-magnetic environment, has never been more important to ensure the Royal Air Force is ready and able to support NATO and meet the threats of tomorrow.

    The contract will allow us to continue to evolve the high-end training available for all of our front-line forces, as we look to out-compete our potential adversaries.

    Nic Anderson, CEO at Draken, said:

    We are proud to continue serving the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Army through the Interim Medium Speed Operational Readiness Training Services.

    Our purpose is to provide leading edge operational training to help the warfighter to be ready to fight and win. Through this ground-breaking contract we will continually innovate to improve their training experience. 

    Thank you to the whole Draken team who work relentlessly to support our customers, it is the high performance that the Draken team delivers every day that has enabled this contract win.

    Updates to this page

    Published 29 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mayor hosts reception to honour long-serving Ambulance Service staff

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Mayor hosts reception to honour long-serving Ambulance Service staff

    29 January 2025

    The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr, recently hosted a special reception in honour of local man Ciaran Gallagher who is a long-serving member of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).

    Ciaran who works as an Emergency Medical Technician, was hosted by Mayor Barr at the Guildhall to receive his Queen’s (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal from Ian Crowe, Lord Lieutenant for the County Borough of Londonderry.

    The medal is presented to staff who have served 20 years on frontline duties within the Ambulance Service.

    Colleagues who have worked alongside Ciaran requested that this special presentation take place due to Ciaran’s current ill health. He was joined at the event by his long-term colleague Ian Duncan, and both men were presented with the King’s Coronation Medal and commemorative coin. 

    Welcoming Ciaran and his family to the Guildhall, Mayor Barr said: “I was honoured to host this reception for Ciaran in recognition of his dedication for more than two decades to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Thank you Ciaran for all you have done for the people of the Northwest over your tenure.”

    A spokesperson for the NIAS explained: “Ciaran joined NIAS in 2001 as a member of the Patient Care Service, before undertaking, and successfully completing, the Emergency Medical Technician course in 2003. In 2004, Ciaran crewed up with Ian Duncan, who by that stage had already completed 20 years’ service.

    “They remained crewed together until Ciaran’s own illness intervened. Together, and it is not an exaggeration to say, they have touched the lives of thousands of people across the region. They have been known for their willingness to go the extra mile and always brought empathy and respect to those patients whose care was entrusted to them.”

    They were joined at the presentation by colleagues and family. Michael Bloomfield, NIAS Chief Executive, said he was honoured to have attended the ceremony and thanked Ciaran and Ian for their commitment to the people of Derry and beyond.

    Area Manager, Jason Rosborough, also praised both men saying they always set an example to others in terms of dedication and care for patients.

    Ciaran and Ian were each presented with the King’s Coronation Medal and commemorative coin. In recognition of 40 years’ service to the NIAS, Ian was also presented with a framed certificate and piece of crystal.

    Ciaran, humbled by the experience, said: “I want to pass on my thanks to all those who played a part in organising this event, particularly my frontline colleagues. Working for the ambulance service and with patients, has been an absolute honour and I know that whilst I may no longer be able to do it, the staff in Altnagelvin Station will continue to do so, in the manner in which they have always done.  I want to say a special thanks to my mentor, colleague and friend, Ian. Thank you, it really has been an honour.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Derg Valley LC open to support rural community

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Derg Valley LC open to support rural community

    29 January 2025

    A representative from NI Networks will be at the Derg Valley Leisure Centre today, Wednesday, 29 January 2025 from 11am to 7pm.

    The Centre is being used as a community support facility for members of the community who are without power.

    The public are asked to note that all our Leisure Centres are open and available to anyone who needs a warm space to charge their devices, get a shower or hot drink.

    Bottled water is also available at Derg Valley.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Temporary road restrictions for Spectra Festival

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Spectra, Scotland’s Festival of Light, returns to Aberdeen next week (6-9 February 2025) and to safely accommodate the audience and art installations, a number of temporary parking restrictions and road closures will be in place in the city centre.

    Now in its 11th year Spectra will once again see the Granite City’s winter nights illuminated with eye-catching projections, interactive sculptures, and magical installations for all ages from Thursday 6 February until Sunday 11 February.

    Audiences to the free festival can look forward to seeing some of Aberdeen’s most iconic buildings and locations transformed as part of Spectra.  The festival includes a wide-range of supporting activities from stilt walkers to dancers and musicians.

    Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s Culture spokesperson said: “Spectra is a hugely popular event so Aberdeen City Council is keen to minimise disruption to those who are working, visiting or living near the event sites in the city centre.

    “The temporary traffic restrictions will help keep everyone safe before, during and after the festival. Spectra is a major feature in Scotland’s culture calendar. Over 100,000 people are expected to visit and enjoy the amazing displays. The traffic arrangements also help people to access the festival sites, which makes the experience more attractive and safer for all.”

    Road closures

    The following road closures will be in place:

    From 11.50pm on Sunday 2 February until 11.59pm on Tuesday 11 February 2025:

    • Broad Street from Queen Street to Upperkirkgate.

    From 3.45pm until 11pm on Thursday 6 February, Friday 7 February, Saturday 8 February and Sunday 9 February:

    • Union Terrace from Union Street to Rosemount Viaduct.
    • Rosemount Viaduct from Skene Street to Blackfriars Street.
    • Blackfriars Street and St Andrew Street from Schoohill to Charlotte Street.
    • Schoolhill including Pocket Park from Blackfriars Street to Upperkirkgate.
    • Harriet Street from Schoolhill to Loch Street.
    • Back Wynd from Schoolhill to Gaelic Lane.
    • Upperkirkgate/Gallowgate from Schoolhill to Gallowgate/Littlejohn Street.
    • Queen Street from Broad Street to Shoe Lane.
    • Broad Street from Queen Street to Union Street.
    • Netherkirkgate from Broad Street to St Catherine’s Wynd.

    Parking restrictions

    The following parking restrictions will be in place from 11pm on Wednesday 5 February until 11.59pm on Sunday 9 February 2025:

    • Schoolhill including Pocket Park the full length of Schoolhill.
    • St Catherine’s Wynd from Netherkirkgate to Union Street.
    • Upperkirkgate from Flourmill Lane to Broad Street.
    • Back Wynd from Schoolhill to Gaelic Lane.
    • Union Terrace from Union Street to Rosemount Viaduct.
    • Littlejohn Street (Accessible parking only) from Gallowgate to West North Street.
    • Queen Street (Accessible parking only) from Broad Street.

    Maps have been created for road users ahead of the festival to show the diversions and to highlight alternative city centre northbound and southbound routes.

    More information on how to plan your journey, the full festival programme and details of special offers can be found at www.spectrafestival.com

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Patrushev and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune discussed bilateral cooperation

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Patrushev held talks with President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune as part of a working visit. Dmitry Patrushev conveyed best wishes from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the head of state.

    “We highly value the strategic nature of relations between our countries. This is evidenced, among other things, by the closeness of positions on most points of the international and regional agenda. And we are determined to maintain close coordination between our countries,” said Dmitry Patrushev.

    At the meeting, issues of cooperation in the financial and banking sectors, industry, energy and agriculture were discussed.

    As part of the working visit, a meeting of the Mixed Intergovernmental Russian-Algerian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation will also be held.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Myanmar on the brink as conflict fuels hunger

    Source: World Food Programme

    YANGON – Hunger has reached alarming levels in Myanmar with the situation set to worsen in 2025, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. A staggering 15 million people are expected to face hunger in 2025, up from 13.3 million last year.

    Those living in active conflict areas, particularly in Chin, Kachin and Rakhine states, as well as Sagaing Region, are experiencing the highest levels of food insecurity in the country.  Almost 20 million people – 1 in 3 – will need humanitarian assistance this year, according to the Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.

    “Growing conflict across the country, access restrictions, a crumbling economy and successive weather-related crises are driving record levels of hunger,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Representative and Country Director. 

    More than 3.5 million people are displaced in Myanmar due to armed conflict and violence,  a number projected to increase to 4.5 million in 2025 as conflict takes root and spreads to new areas. 

    Food is the biggest need for displaced people but spiraling costs and rapid inflation have made it unaffordable for many. The cost of basic staples – including rice, beans, oil and salt – has increased by 30 percent in the past year. 

    “Food prices in Myanmar continue to rise each and every month. Even if some food is available in local markets, people simply don’t have the resources to buy the basics, which means they are eating less and going hungry,” said Dunford. 

    The rapid escalation in humanitarian and food security needs in Myanmar has been overshadowed by international political turmoil and a surge in global crises, which have drawn public attention away from Myanmar.

    “The world cannot afford to overlook Myanmar’s escalating crisis. Without immediate and increased international support, hundreds of thousands more will be pushed to the brink,” said Dunford. 

    WFP aims to reach at least 1.6 million people in Myanmar with life-saving food, nutrition, and resilience-building support in 2025. WFP is engaging with all parties to the conflict and expanding partnerships with local organizations to ensure its life-saving assistance effectively reaches those who depend on WFP for vital support. 

    #                 #                   #

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media, @wfp_asiapacific

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Chad’s meteorological agency partner to modernize weather forecasting and enhance climate response in Chad

    Source: World Food Programme

    N’DJAMENA –The World Meteorological Organization’s Systemic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a five-year project aiming to modernise Chad’s meteorological network, improve weather forecasts, and anticipate the consequences of climate events in Chad.

    The US$ 6.98 million project, led by WFP in collaboration with Chad’s National Meteorological Agency (ANAM) with technical support from GeoSphere Austria, involves installing six new surface stations and four upper-air stations, while renovating 27 existing stations across the country. The project prioritizes national capacity-building to enhance synergies between development programmes and maximize the SOFF project’s impact.

    “Strengthening ANAM’s capacities through the SOFF project aligns perfectly with the government’s vision and policies, providing users with high-quality forecasts to anticipate climate extremes and mitigate disaster risks affecting populations and natural resources” said Fatima Goukouni Weddeye, Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, and National Meteorology.

    Upgraded meteorological infrastructure will improve the anticipation and management of climate extremes like droughts and floods, while strengthening national capacities through sustainable data management.

    “Collaborating along the meteorological value chain is key to leveraging weather and climate data” said Markus Repnik, Director of the SOFF Secretariat. “Closing Chad’s data gap significantly improves weather and climate forecasts for Chad, Africa, and the world, as forecasts beyond three days require global data, including from Chad. SOFF’s investments support Chad’s objectives of increasing climate resilience, protecting communities, and the agricultural sector”

    Sarah Gordon-Gibson, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Chad, noted, “The people of Chad are among the hardest hit by the current climate crisis and face some of the highest levels of food insecurity globally. Reliable meteorological data is essential to anticipate, alert, and respond to crises and their impact on people’s food security”.

    The latest Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis indicates that over 2.4 million people in Chad will face food insecurity by 2025, potentially rising to 3.7 million during the June-August lean season. Food insecurity in Chad is primarily driven by conflicts and a decline in agricultural production, particularly due to recent floods in the south, the country’s breadbasket.

    #                 #                   #

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @wfp_media @wfp_wafrica @wfp_chad

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by CE at 2025 International Chinese New Year Night Parade (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the 2025 International Chinese New Year Night Parade tonight (January 29):

    (Cantonese)
     
    ��嘉賓���市民：
     
    　　今日是乙巳蛇年大年�一，我首先和大家拜年，���新一年身體�康��事���
     
    　　我很高興今晚跟��市民和來自海內外的旅客，一起歡�在璀璨奪目的維多利亞港地標，�與一年一度由香港旅�發展局舉辦的「新春國際匯演之夜�。
     
    　　今年匯演的主題是「如�新春　喜樂連連�，由�架�入了節慶和香港地�元素的特色花車，連�來自香港�內地和世界�地的表演隊�，一共55個表演團體組�。「新春國際匯演之夜�是香港在�年新春期間的首項盛事，展�香港作為盛事之都的澎湃活力，將新年的喜悅和��帶給�場�一�朋�，並��電視和網上直播傳�給全�觀眾。
     
    　　去年，訪港旅客數字接近4 500�，按年大�超�三�，香港市�更添熱鬧。新一年，香港會繼續好事連連�喜樂連連���連連，譜寫更多香港好故事�

    　　�蛇�瑞�滿城。蛇象徵堅韌機智�蛻變�新，寓�新一年香港�象更新，�活識變。我�願香港在蛇年�榮昌盛，百業興旺，大家幸��康，生活美滿� 我�在用普通話歡迎內地的朋�。
     
    (Putonghua)
     
    　　��朋�，大家新年好�我代表香港特別行政�政府，歡迎��在香港共慶春節，��大家蛇年�祥�身體�康�
     
    　　今年是國家申報的「春節——中國人慶ç¥�傳統新年的社會實è¸�ã€�，列入è�¯å�ˆåœ‹æ•™ç§‘文組織「é�žé�ºä»£è¡¨ä½œå��錄ã€�的第一個春節，為節慶活動更添姿彩。
     
    　　香港是全�慶�春節氣氛最濃厚的地方之一，今晚的匯演更是香港在蛇年的第一項盛事。今晚的主題是「如�新春　喜樂連連�，特色花車與來自香港�內地和世界�地的隊�，將為大家呈��麗繽紛的匯演，�全世界展�香港這個盛事之都的無�活力�
     
    　　香港全年「盛事連連�，新春慶�活動精彩紛呈。今晚演出後，花車和匯演將轉到大埔林�許願廣場，讓大家�許願樹祈願的�時，更�以跟花車「打��。明天大年�二晚上，維港兩岸將上演煙花匯演，加上大年�三的新年賽馬日�大年�四的足�賀歲盃，以�全港����特色的節慶活動，��玩樂，應有盡有�我邀請大家新春�期在香港多留幾天，體驗春節在這個國際都會的「正確打開方��，享�香港的�特魅力和特色景點，「沉浸��感�連連的喜樂和��。�在我用英語歡迎從外國來的朋�。
     
    　　Let me now say a few words in English to welcome our friends from different parts of the world. Hello, Hong Kong! Hello, friends from different parts of the world!
    　　 
    　　Welcome to the annual Hong Kong International Chinese New Year Night Parade, on this, the first fabulous day of the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Snake.
    　　 
    　　There’s no better way, anywhere on earth, to welcome in the New Year than by following – and revelling in – Hong Kong’s magnificent Chinese New Year Night Parade.
    　　 
    　　This year’s celebration is led by 55 performing groups and floats from 14 countries and regions. Here in the world city of Hong Kong, to dance, sing and perform, skip, juggle, cheerlead and otherwise amaze and delight you, on this most auspicious of days.
    　　 
    　　And the Night Parade is just the start of our New Year’s festivities. Tomorrow night, a 23-minute fireworks display will light up our world-renowned Victoria Harbour. Our sky will be filled with auspicious symbols, as well as adorable pandas – showcasing Hong Kong’s giant panda family, now counting six and readying for their first full public appearance at the same time in mid-February.
    　　 
    　　And, alongside the horses at Chinese New Year Raceday, in Sha Tin on January 31, you’ll want to catch the lions – and lion dancers – on show, part of a fun-filled day at the track.
    　　 
    　　The Night Parade floats you see tonight, together with some of our performers, will find their way to Lam Tsuen, from tomorrow night, for the Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival. This year, the floats are on display there until February 13.
    　　 
    　　Only in Hong Kong, the world’s East-meets-West centre for cultural exchange – and day-and-night entertainment. All around town, you’ll be greeted by the magnificent spectacle of our festivities, and the warm hospitality of the people of Hong Kong, as we share the joy of the New Year with all of you.
    　　 
    　　I wish you all a happy, healthy and eventful Year of the Snake. Kung Hei Fat Choi! Thank you and enjoy the evening.
    　　 
    (Cantonese/Putonghua)
     
    　　å†�次歡迎大家，共å�Œåˆ†äº«ä»Šæ™šçš„歡樂時刻。         

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Cousins Sentenced for Pandemic-Related Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Johnny Narcisse, and his cousin Johnson Dieujuste, have been sentenced to prison for their scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program of more than $2 million. 

    “These defendants brazenly stole funds from programs designed to help individuals and businesses suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for identifying and investigating these individuals which led to their successful prosecution.”

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, Jr., the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2021, federal agents investigating a Florida resident for suspected tax crimes obtained and executed a search warrant for the home, computer and cellular phone of Johnny Narcisse in Georgia. The search of the computer and phone revealed a large volume of evidence showing that Narcisse and his cousin, Johnson Dieujuste, had been engaged in an extensive conspiracy with each other to recruit small business owners and then file fraudulent applications for COVID-19 relief loans, including both PPP and EIDL loans, on their behalf.

    Narcisse and Dieujuste, after obtaining the names, business names, and employer identification numbers from the would-be borrowers, simply invented the rest of the information needed to apply for the fraudulent loans. If the loan was approved, the borrowers kicked back a percentage of the loan proceeds to Narcisse and/or Dieujuste. Dozens of loans were applied for as part of the scheme, with over $2 million dispersed.

    Johnny Narcisse, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross to two years, four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000,332. Narcisse was convicted on October 21, 2024, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    Johnson Dieujuste, 37, of Loganville, Georgia, was sentenced by Judge Ross on January 8, 2025, to two years, eight months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,081,559. Dieujuste was convicted on September 24, 2024, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    In addition to their conspiracy to file fraudulent loan applications on behalf of others, the evidence showed that Narcisse and Diejuste each independently filed for fraudulent COVID-19 loans for themselves. Both men were held accountable for those loans as well during the sentencing process, and the losses that resulted from this additional conduct were included in each defendant’s restitution order.

    This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General.

    Assistant U.S Attorney Alana R. Black, and Trial Attorneys Jennifer Bilinkas and David A. Peters of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, prosecuted the case.

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

    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.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ESFA Update: 29 January 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    ESFA Update further education: 29 January 2025

    HTML

    ESFA Update academies: 29 January 2025

    HTML

    ESFA Update local authorities: 29 January 2025

    HTML

    Details

    Latest for further education

    Article Title
    Information Roundtables for managing public money

    Latest information for academies

    Article Title
    Action Academies national non-domestic rates – new claims for 2024 to 2025 by Friday 31 January 2025
    Action Submit your school resource management self-assessment checklist
    Action 2025 to 2026 academic year general annual grant allocations
    Information Schools commercial team’s spring webinars
    Events and webinars DfE energy for schools service – simplified buying of gas and electricity
    Events and webinars Risk protection arrangement (RPA) members only – mock trial
    Events and webinars Risk protection arrangement (RPA) members only – property management (including prevention of water damage and vacant buildings)

    Latest information for local authorities

    Article Title
    Information Schools commercial team’s spring webinars
    Information Update to dedicated schools grant allocations for 2024 to 2025
    Events and webinars DfE energy for schools service – simplified buying of gas and electricity
    Events and webinars Risk protection arrangement (RPA) members only – mock trial
    Events and webinars Risk protection arrangement (RPA) members only – property management (including prevention of water damage and vacant buildings)

    Updates to this page

    Published 29 January 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Chancellor vows to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves spoke at Siemens Healthineers in Oxfordshire on 29 January 2025.

    Thank you everyone. 

    It’s fantastic to be here at Siemens at this amazing facility.  

    Today, I want to talk about economic growth. 

    Why it matters.  

    How we achieve it.  

    And what we are going to do further and faster to deliver it. 

    Before we came into office… 

    … the Prime Minister and I have said loud and clear:  

    Economic growth is the number one mission of this government.  

    Without growth, we cannot cut hospital waiting lists or put more police on the streets.  

    Without growth, we cannot meet our climate goals… 

    … or give the next generation the opportunities that they need to thrive. 

    But most of all… 

    … without economic growth… 

    … we cannot improve the lives of ordinary working people.  

    Because growth isn’t simply about lines on a graph. 

    It’s about the pounds in people’s pockets. 

    The vibrancy of our high streets. 

    And the thriving businesses that create wealth, jobs and new opportunities for us, for our children, and grandchildren.  

    We will have succeeded in our mission when working people are better off. 

    I know that the cost of living crisis is still very real for many families across Britain.  

    The sky high inflation and interest rates of the past few years have left a deep mark… 

    … with too many people still making sacrifices to pay the bills and to pay their mortgages.   

    But we have begun to turn this around.  

    Everything I see as I travel around the country gives me more belief in Britain. 

    And more optimism about our future. 

    Because we as a country have huge potential.  

    A country of strong communities, with small and local businesses at their heart.  

    We are at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in the world… 

    … like artificial intelligence and life sciences…  

    … with great companies like DeepMind, AstraZeneca, Rolls Royce… and of course Siemens…  

    … delivering jobs and investment across Britain. 

    We have fundamental strengths – in our history, in our language, and in our legal system – to compete in a global economy.  

    But for too long, that potential has been held back.  

    For too long, we have accepted low expectations and accepted decline. 

    We no longer have to do that.  

    We can do so much better. 

    Low growth is not our destiny.  

    But growth will not come without a fight.  

    Without a government willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s future for the better. 

    That’s what our Plan for Change is all about. 

    That is what drives me as Chancellor.  

    In my Mais lecture in March last year, I set out my approach to achieving economic growth… 

    … and identified the fundamental barriers to realising our full potential.  

    The productive capacity of the UK economy has become far too weak.  

    Productivity, the driver of living standards…   

    …has grown more slowly here than in countries like Germany and the US.  

    The supply side of our economy has suffered due to chronic underinvestment… 

    … and stifling and unpredictable regulation…  

    … not helped by the shocks we have faced in recent years. 

    [redacted political content]

    The strategy that I have consistently set out… 

    … is to grow the supply-side of our economy… 

    … recognising that first and foremost… 

    … it is businesses, investors and entrepreneurs who drive economic growth… 

    … a government that systematically removes the barriers that they face – one by one and has their back 

    This strategy has three essential elements: 

    First, stability in our politics, our public finances and our economy – the basic condition for secure economic growth. 

    Second, reform – reform which makes it easier for businesses to trade, to raise finance and to build.  

    And third, investment, the lifeblood of economic growth. 

    Let me explain each of those in turn.  

    Stability – the first line of our manifesto was a promise to bring stability to the public finances.  

    It is the rock upon which everything else is built. 

    And it is the essential foundation of our Plan for Change.  

    Because economic stability is the precondition for economic growth. 

    That’s why the first piece of legislation that we passed as a government was the Budget Responsibility Act… 

    … so never again will we see our independent forecaster sidelined.

    [redacted political content]

    At my first Budget in October… 

    … it was my duty as Chancellor… 

    … to fix the foundations of our economy, and repair the public finances that we inherited. 

    To restore stability and create the conditions for growth and investment.  

    I set out new fiscal rules which are non-negotiable, and will always be met. 

    We began to rebuild our NHS and our schools – the start of a programme of public service reform.  

    I capped the rate of corporation tax – and I extended our generous capital allowances for the duration of this parliament – as the CBI and the BCC have long called for.  

    And I protected working people after a cost of living crisis… 

    … by freezing fuel duty… 

    … and with no increases in their National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT. 

    But taking the right decisions and the responsible decisions does not always mean taking the easy decisions. 

    The increase in Employers’ National Insurance contributions has consequences on business and beyond.   

    I said that up front in my Budget speech. 

    I accept that there are costs to responsibility. 

    But the costs of irresponsibility would have been far higher. 

    Those who oppose my Budget know that too. 

    That is why, since October, I have seen no alternative put forward [redacted political content].

    No alternatives to deal with the challenges we face.  

    No alternatives to restoring economic stability… 

    … and therefore no plan for driving economic growth. 

    Alongside stability, we need to drive forward the reform which makes investment more likely… 

    … by removing the constraints on the supply side of our economy… 

    … making it easier for businesses to trade… 

    … to raise finance… 

    … and to build.  

    Let me first address our approach to trade.  

    We stand at a moment of global change.  

    In that context, we should be guided by one clear principle above all.  

    To act in the national interest… 

    … for our economy… 

    … for our businesses… 

    … and for the British people. 

    That means building on our special relationship with the United States under President Trump. 

    The Prime Minister discussed the vital importance of growth with the President last weekend…  

    … and I look forward to working with the new Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent… 

    … to deepen our economic relationship in the months and the years ahead. 

    Acting in our national interest also means resetting our relationship with the EU – our nearest and our largest trading partner – to drive growth and support business.  

    We are pragmatic about the challenges that we have inherited from the last government’s failed Brexit deal.  

    But we are also ambitious in our goals.  

    [redacted political content]

    … we will prioritise proposals that are consistent with our manifesto commitments… 

    … and which contribute to British growth and British prosperity… 

    … because that is what the national interest demands.  

    Our approach to trade also means building stronger relationships with fast-growing economies all around the world. 

    That is why I led a delegation to China for the first Economic and Financial Dialogue since 2019… 

    … alongside world-leading financial service businesses, including HSBC, Standard Chartered and Schroders…  

    … unlocking £600 million of tangible benefits for the UK economy. 

    And I am pleased to confirm that the Business and Trade Secretary will shortly visit India … 

    … to restart talks on the free trade agreement and bilateral investment treaty [redacted political content].  

    Our businesses can only realise these opportunities if they can recruit the skilled staff that they need. 

    So we are reforming our employment system to create a national jobs and careers service. 

    We have created Skills England to meet the skills of the next decade in sectors like construction and engineering.  

    And we will deliver fundamental reform of our welfare system.  

    That includes looking at areas that have been ducked for too long… 

    … like the rising cost of health and disability benefits… 

    … and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will set out our plans to address this ahead of the Spring Statement.  

    Next, the Immigration White Paper, that will bring forward concrete proposals to bring the overall levels of net migration down. 

    But we know that the UK is in an international competition for talent in vital growth sectors.    

    That is why last week, I set out plans for attracting global talent. 

    We will look at the visa routes for very highly skilled people…  

    … so the best people in the world choose the UK to live, work and create wealth… 

    … bringing jobs and investment to Britain. 

    To help businesses access the finance and support they need to grow…  

    … we have delivered significant reforms to provide greater flexibility for firms and founders to raise finance on UK capital markets, by rewriting the UK’s listing rules.  

    In my Mansion House speech, I announced a series of reforms to our pensions system…  

    … including the creation of larger, consolidated funds… 

    … which have much greater capacity to invest in high growth British companies at the scale that we need them to.  

    The consultation on these reforms is already complete and the final report will be published in the Spring. 

    Yesterday we confirmed that we have plans to go further, whilst always protecting the important role that pension funds play in the gilt market. 

    We will introduce new flexibilities for well-funded Defined Benefit schemes… 

    … to release surplus funds where it is safe to do so… 

    … generating even more investment into some of our fastest growing industries. 

    I know too that businesses are held back by a complex and unpredictable regulatory system… 

    … and that is a drag on investment and innovation. 

    We have already provided new growth-focused remits to our financial services regulators… 

    … we have announced a new interim Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority…  

    … and we have established the Regulatory Innovation Office, with an initial focus on synthetic biology, space, AI, and connected and autonomous vehicles.  

    But we need to go further and we need to go faster.  

    So earlier this month, I met the Heads of some of our largest regulators. 

    They have already provided a range of options to drive growth in their sectors… 

    … and proposals for how they can be more agile and responsive to businesses… 

    … and we will publish that final action plan in March to make regulation work much better for our economy. 

    To get Britain building again… 

    … we have delivered the most significant reforms to our planning system in a generation.  

    I have been genuinely shocked about how slow our planning system is. 

    By how long it takes to get things done.  

    Take the decision to build a solar farm in Cambridgeshire – a decision the Energy Secretary took only a few weeks into the job in July… 

    [redacted political content]

    The Deputy Prime Minister has already driven significant progress across government in addressing these issues.   

    My colleagues have determined 13 major planning decisions in just six months… 

    … including for airports, data centres and major housing developments.   

    We have significantly raised housing targets across our country and made them mandatory, so that we can build one-and-a-half million homes in this parliament.  

    We have reformed decades-old “green belt” policies, making it easier to build on the “grey belt” land around our major cities. 

    And we have opened up our planning system to build new infrastructure – like onshore wind farms or data centres driving the AI revolution. 

    Having listened closely to calls from business groups like the Institute of Directors… 

    … and businesses across our economy about the need to speed up infrastructure delivery… 

    … including Mace, Skanska and Arup who are here today… 

    … and members of our British Infrastructure Taskforce like Lloyds, Blackrock and Phoenix… 

    … we have now set out plans to go even further. 

    Last week we confirmed our priorities for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill … 

    … to rapidly streamline the process for determining applications… 

    … to make the consultation process far less burdensome… 

    … and to fundamentally reform our approach to environmental regulation. 

    The problems in our economy… 

    … the lack of bold reform that we have seen over decades… 

    … can be summed up by a £100 million bat tunnel built for HS2… 

    … the type of decision that has made delivering major infrastructure in our country far too expensive and far too slow. 

    So we are reducing the environmental requirements placed on developers when they pay into the nature restoration fund that we have created… 

    …so they can focus on getting things built, and stop worrying about bats and newts.  

    And to build our new infrastructure like nuclear power plants, trainlines and windfarms more quickly… 

    … we are changing the rules to stop blockers getting in the way of development… 

    … through excessive use of Judicial Review. 

    This Bill, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, is a priority for this government. 

    It will be introduced in the Spring… 

    … and we will work tirelessly in parliament to ensure its smooth, and speedy and rapid delivery.  

    By providing a foundation of economic stability… 

    … and by delivering the reforms needed to make it easier for businesses to succeed and grow… 

    … we will create the right conditions to increase investment in our economy – the final key element of our strategy. 

    Investment and innovation go hand in hand.  

    I want to see the sounds and the sights of the future arriving.    

    Delivered by amazing businesses like Wayve and Oxford Nanopore. 

    They are the future. 

    And Britain should be the best place in the world to be an entrepreneur. 

    That is why we protected funding for research and development… 

    … and it is why one of the first decisions I made as Chancellor… 

    … was to extend the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Venture Capital Trust schemes for a further 10 years… 

    … to get more investment into new companies, driving their innovation and growth.  

    I am determined to make Britain the best place in the world to invest.  

    That was my message in Davos last week.  

    That ambition demands action. 

    The International Investment Summit that we hosted in October delivered £63 billion of investment right across our country… 

    … from Iberdrola doubling its investment in clean energy in places like Suffolk… 

    … Blackstone investing £10 billion in a data centre in Northumberland… 

    … and Eren Holdings investing £1 billion in advanced manufacturing in North Wales.  

    While the lifeblood of growth is business investment, a strategic state has a crucial role to play. 

    That is why we established the National Wealth Fund… 

    … to create that partnership between business, private investors and government to invest in the industries of the future…  

    … like clean energy. 

    Today I can announce two further investments by the National Wealth Fund. 

    First, a £65 million investment for Connected Kerb, to expand their electric vehicle charging network across the UK. 

    And second, a £28 million equity investment in Cornish Metals… 

    … providing the raw materials to be used in solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles… 

    … supporting growth and jobs in the South-West of England.  

    There is no trade-off between economic growth and net zero. 

    Quite the opposite. 

    Net zero is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century, and Britain must lead the way. 

    That is why we will publish a refreshed Carbon Budget Delivery Plan later this year, which alongside the Spending Review, will set out our plans to deliver Carbon Budget 6. 

    Today, I can also announce that we are removing barriers to deliver 16 gigawatts of offshore wind…   

    … by designating new Marine Protected Areas to enable the development of this technology in areas like East Anglia and Yorkshire… 

    … crowding in up to £30 billion of investment in homegrown clean power. 

    And there’s more. 

    Our industrial and manufacturing base, brilliantly represented by Make UK, have been banging their heads against the wall for years at the lack of a proper industrial strategy from government. 

    That is why we have launched our modern industrial strategy… 

    … to drive investment into the industries that will define our success in the years ahead. 

    We have already provided funding to unlock investment in sectors like aerospace, automotives and life sciences… 

    … and we have set out reforms to boost financial services, the AI sector and creative industries. 

    We are not wasting any time, and we will move forward with the next stages of the Industrial Strategy ahead of its publication in the Spring.  

    We will work with the private sector to deliver the infrastructure that our country desperately needs.  

    This includes the Lower Thames Crossing, which will improve connectivity at Port of Tilbury and Dover, London Gateway and Medway… 

    … alleviating severe congestion… 

    … as goods destined for export come from the North, and the Midlands and across the country to markets overseas.   

    To drive growth and deliver value for money for taxpayers, we are exploring options to privately finance this important project.  

    And we have changed course on public investment, too… 

    … with a new Investment Rule to ensure that we don’t just count the costs of investment – we count the benefits too.    

    We are now investing 2.6% of GDP on average over the next five years, compared to 1.9% planned by the previous government..  

    … delivering an additional £100 billion of growth-enhancing capital spending… 

    … which catalyses private sector investment… 

    … in more housing… 

    … better transport links… 

    … and clean energy.  

    These are significant steps in just six months… 

    … and we are seeing some encouraging signs in the British economy. 

    The IMF have upgraded our growth prospects for 2025… 

    … the only G7 country outside the US to see this happen.  

    This gives us the fastest growth of any major European economy this year.  

    And a global survey of CEOs by PWC, has shown Britain is now the second most attractive country in the world for businesses looking to invest.  

    The first time the UK has been in that position for 28 years.  

    This is all welcome news.  

    But there is still more that we can and will do.  

    I am not satisfied with the position we are in. 

    While we have huge amounts of potential, the structural problems in our economy run deep. 

    And the low growth of the last 14 years cannot just be turned around overnight. 

    This has to be our focus for the duration of the parliament.  

    Because the situation demands us to do more. 

    And today I will go further and faster in kickstarting economic growth. 

    Our mission to grow our economy is about raising living standards in every single part of the United Kingdom.  

    Manchester is home to the UK’s fastest growing tech sector.  

    Leeds is one of the largest financial services centres outside of London.  

    These great northern cities have so much potential and promise… 

    …which our brilliant metro mayors, Andy Burnham and Tracy Brabin, are working hard to realise…  

    … just like our other metro mayors are doing to deliver new opportunities in their areas.  

    And there is so much more that government can do to support our city regions.    

    To achieve this requires greater focus on two key areas: infrastructure and investment.  

    If we can improve connectivity between towns and cities across the North of England, we can unlock their true growth potential… 

    … by making it easier for people to live, travel and work across the area.  

    At the Budget, I set out funding for the Transpennine Route Upgrade… 

    … a multi-billion-pound programme of improvements that will connect towns and cities from Manchester to York via Stalybridge, Leeds and Huddersfield. 

    We are delivering railway schemes to improve journeys for people across the North… 

    … including upgrades at Bradford Forster Square and by electrifying the Wigan-Bolton line. 

    We have committed to supporting the delivery of a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire.  

    And in Spring, we will publish the Spending Review and a 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy… 

    … which will set out further detail of our plans for infrastructure right across the UK. 

    New transport infrastructure can also act as a catalyst for new housing. 

    We have already seen the benefits that unlocking untapped land around stations can deliver in places like Stockport… 

    … where joint work spearheaded by Andy Burnham and council leaders has delivered new housing and wider commercial opportunities. 

    We will introduce a new approach to planning decisions on land around stations, changing the default answer to yes. 

    We are working with the devolved governments to ensure the benefits of growth can be felt across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland… 

    … including by partnering with them on the Industrial Strategy to support their considerable sectoral strengths. 

    And in December, I met with Metro Mayors from across England.  

    They told me that more opportunities for investment are vital if their local economies are to grow in the years ahead. 

    We are listening closely to them. 

    As the Metro Mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotherham, has called for… 

    … we will review the Green Book and how it is being used to provide objective, transparent advice on public investment across the country, including outside London and the Southeast.  

    This means that investment in all regions is given a fair hearing by the Treasury that I lead. 

    The Office for Investment is going to be working hand in hand with local areas… 

    … to develop a commercially attractive pipeline of investment opportunities for a global audience… 

    … starting with the Liverpool City Region and the North East Combined Authority, led by Kim McGuinness. 

    The National Wealth Fund is establishing strategic partnerships to provide deeper, more focused support for city regions, starting in Glasgow, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and Greater Manchester. 

    We are supporting key investment opportunities across the UK. 

    The government is backing Andy Burnham’s plans for the redevelopment of Old Trafford, which promises to create new housing and commercial development around a new stadium… 

    … to drive regeneration and growth in the area. 

    We are moving forward with the Wrexham and Flintshire Investment Zone… 

    … focusing on the area’s strengths in advanced manufacturing… 

    … backed by major businesses like Airbus and JCB… 

    … to leverage £1 billion of private investment in the next ten years… 

    … creating up to 6,000 jobs. 

    [redacted political content]

    So I can announce today that we will work with Doncaster Council and the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard… 

    … to support their efforts to recreate South Yorkshire Airport City as a thriving regional airport.  

    And finally, I am pleased to announce a partnership between Prologis and Manchester Airport Group in the East Midlands, where the Metro Mayor Claire Ward is doing an excellent job growing the local economy there. 

    Prologis and MAG will work together to build a new advanced manufacturing and logistics park at East Midlands Airport … 

    … unlocking up to £1 billion of investment and 2,000 jobs at the site… 

    … a major investment from a global business into our country… 

    … representing a huge vote of confidence in the East Midlands and in the UK. 

    This is just the start of our work to get more investment into every nation and region of Britain. 

    Next, I want to set out further detail for plans for the area we are in today.  

    Oxford and Cambridge offer huge potential for our nation’s growth prospects. 

    Only 66 miles apart… 

    … these cities are home to two of the best universities in the world… 

    … and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology firms. 

    This area has the potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley.  

    To make that a reality, we need a systematic approach to attract businesses to come here and to grow here. 

    At the moment, it takes over two and a half hours to travel between Oxford and Cambridge by train.  

    There is no way to commute directly by rail from places like Bedford and Milton Keynes to Cambridge. 

    And there is a lack of affordable housing right across the region.  

    In other words, the demand is there… 

    … but there are far too many supply side constraints on economic growth here.  

    We are going to fix that.  

    The Ox Cam arc was initially launched in 2003 – over 20 years ago.  

    [redacted political content]

    We are not prepared to miss out on the opportunities here any longer.  

    So working with the Deputy Prime Minister… 

    … who is already driving forward vital work in the region…  

    … we are going further and faster to unlock the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.   

    First, we are funding the transport links needed to make the Oxford Cambridge growth corridor a success… 

    … including East-West Rail, with new services between Oxford and Milton Keynes starting this year… 

    … and road upgrades to reduce journey times between Milton Keynes and Cambridge. 

    East West Rail will also support vibrant new and expanded communities along the route. 

    We have already received proposals for New Towns along the new railway… 

    … with 18 submissions for sizeable new developments. 

    At Tempsford – the nexus of the East Coast Mainline, the A1 and East West Rail… 

    …we will move quicker to deliver a mainline station, meaning journey times to London of under an hour…  

    … and to Cambridge in under 30 minutes when East West Rail is operational. 

     Second, we are ensuring that the area has the right infrastructure and public services in place to support the growth corridor as it expands. 

    A new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital is being prioritised for investment as part of wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme.  

    Water infrastructure has also been a major hindrance to development. 

    So we have now agreed water resources management plans, unlocking £7.9 billion of investment in the next 5 years…  

    …including plans for the new Fens Reservoir serving Cambridge and the South East Strategic Reservoir near Oxford.  

    And I can confirm today that the Environment Agency have now lifted their objections to new development in Cambridge, following this government’s intervention to address water scarcity… 

    … which means 4,500 additional homes, new schools, and new office, retail and laboratory space can be built.  

    Third, I am delighted that Cambridge University have come forward with plans for a new flagship innovation hub at the centre of Cambridge… 

    … to attract global investment and foster a community that catalyses innovation, as other cities around the world like Boston and Paris have done.  

    Just yesterday, Moderna completed the build for their new vaccine production and R&D site in Harwell, right here in Oxfordshire, alongside a commitment to invest a further £1 billion in the UK.  

    And we are creating a new AI Growth Zone in Culham to speed up planning approvals for the rapid build-out of data centres.  

    And finally, to take this project forward at real pace… 

    … and catalyse private sector investment into the region… 

    … I am pleased to announce that the Deputy Prime Minister and I have asked Lord Patrick Vallance to be the champion for the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor.  

    Lord Vallance has extensive experience across the sciences, academia, and government. 

    He will work with local leaders and with the Housing and Planning Minister to deliver this exciting project… 

    … including with Peter Freeman, who is already doing excellent work in Cambridge… 

    … and a new Growth Commission for Oxford, which will help to accelerate growth in the city and its surrounding area.   

    This is the government’s modern Industrial Strategy in action. 

    With central government, local leaders and business working together… 

    … the Oxford and Cambridge Growth Corridor could add up to £78 billion to the UK economy by 2035 … 

    … driving investment, innovation and growth. 

    Finally, I come to the decision that perhaps more than any other… 

    … has been delayed… 

    … has been avoided… 

    … has been ducked. 

    The question of whether to give Heathrow … 

    … our only hub airport… 

    … a third runway… 

    … has run on for decades. 

    The last full length runway in Britain was built in the 1940s. 

    No progress in eighty years.  

    Why is this so damaging?  

    It’s because Heathrow is at the heart of the UK’s openness as a country.   

    It connects us to emerging markets all over the world, opening up new opportunities for growth. 

    Around three-quarters of all long-haul flights in the UK go from Heathrow. 

    Over 60% of UK air freight comes through Heathrow. 

    And about 15 million business travellers used Heathrow in 2023. 

    But for decades, its growth has been constrained.  

    Successive studies have shown that this really matters for our economy. 

    According to the most recent study from Frontier Economics, a third runway could increase potential GDP by 0.43% by 2050. 

    Over half – 60% of that boost, would go to areas outside London and the South-East. 

    … increasing trade opportunities for products like Scotch whiskey and Scottish salmon – already two of the biggest British exports out of Heathrow.  

    And a third runway could create over 100,000 jobs. 

    For international investors, persistent delays have cast doubt about our seriousness towards improving our economic prospects. 

    Business groups, like the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Chambers of Commerce right across the UK… 

    …as well trade unions like GMB and Unite are clear… 

    … a third runway is badly needed. 

    In 2018, the previous government steered its Airports National Policy Statement through parliament.  

    But no action was taken. 

    It simply sat on the shelf. 

    We are taking a totally different approach to airport expansion.  

    This Government has already given its support to expansion at City Airport and at Stansted.  

    And there are two live decisions on Luton and Gatwick which will be made by the Transport Secretary shortly.  

    But as our only hub airport, Heathrow is in a unique position – and we cannot duck the decision any longer.   

    I have always been clear that a third runway at Heathrow would unlock further growth… 

    … boost investment… 

    … increase exports… 

    … and make the UK more open and more connected.   

    And now, the case is stronger than ever… 

    … because our reforms to the economy… 

    … like speeding up the planning system… 

    … and our plans for modernised UK airspace…  

    … mean the delivery of this project is set up for success.  

    So I can confirm today that this Government supports a third runway at Heathrow… 

    … and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer.  

    We will then take forward a full assessment through the Airport National Policy Statement. 

    That will ensure that the project is value for money – and our clear expectation is that any associated surface transport costs will be financed through private funding. 

    And it will ensure that a third runway is delivered in line with our legal, environmental and climate obligations.  

    Heathrow themselves are clear that their proposal for expansion will meet strict rules on noise, air quality and carbon emissions. 

    And we are already making great strides in transitioning to cleaner and greener aviation.  

    Sustainable Aviation Fuel reduces CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuel by around 70%. 

    At the start of this month, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate became law.  

    And today I can announce that we are investing £63 million into the Advanced Fuels Fund over the next year… 

    … and we have today set out the details of how we will deliver a Revenue Certainty Mechanism to encourage investment into this growing industry. 

    These measures will encourage more investors to back production in the UK, bringing good, high-skilled jobs to areas like Teesside… 

    … demonstrating that investment in the right technology can help us deliver both our growth and our clean energy missions. 

    Now is the moment to grasp the opportunity in front of us. 

    By backing a third runway at Heathrow, we can make Britain the world’s best connected place to do business. 

    That is what it takes to make bold decisions in the national interest. 

    That is what I mean by going further and faster to kickstart economic growth. 

    The work of change has begun.  

    We have already made great progress.  

    But I am not satisfied.  

    And I know that there is more to be done.  

    We must go further and faster if we are to build a brighter future.  

    The prize on offer is immense.  

    The next generation with more opportunities than the last. 

    An engineer in Teesside, working in some of the most exciting industries of the future – from carbon capture to sustainable aviation fuel. 

    A scientist in Milton Keynes or Bedford, working in our life sciences industry to solve some of the most important medical challenges in the world.  

    A small business owner in Scotland, knowing that they can expand and export to new markets right across the globe.   

    Wealth created, and wealth shared, in every part of Britain.    

    This is a Government on the side of working people. 

    Taking the right decisions to secure their future, to secure our future. 

    Stepping up to the challenges we face. 

    Ending the era of low expectations. 

    Putting Britain on a different path. 

    Delivering for the British people. 

    And I am determined, this Government is determined, to do just that.  

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 29 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Inspectors praise school where pupils ‘thrive’

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Inspectors visited Heath Park School in November and, in their report published recently, described it as a ‘harmonious community’ which lives up to its values to ensure that every pupil is ‘always in focus’.

    Staff ‘work together effectively to enable pupils to excel and to give them high quality experiences’, with pupil achievement ‘strong’ because teachers know them well and have designed a ‘broad and ambitious curriculum’.

    Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) achieve well with teachers knowing ‘in detail the support needed to help these pupils succeed’.

    Meanwhile, students in the sixth form ‘thrive’ on an ‘ambitious and well embedded’ curriculum – and ‘consistently achieve very highly’ as a result. An increasing number of students from the sixth form have accessed courses at top universities in recent years.

    Pupils show ‘considerable understanding and kindness’ to one another and are happy because the school is ‘underpinned by warm and positive relationships’.

    The school, which is part of Central Learning Partnership Trust, also ‘puts the interests of pupils first in all of its work’. Leaders check the quality of provision and its impact ‘regularly and diligently’, meaning there is a ‘deep understanding’ of the quality of the school’s work, and how it can be developed.

    Meanwhile, pupils’ personal development is a ‘significant strength’ of provision, with students of all ages ‘rightly proud of the many leadership opportunities on offer to them’.

    Overall, the inspectors judged the quality of education at Heath Park to be Good, and behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and sixth form provision to all be Outstanding.

    Heath Park was also recently ranked top in the city for pupils’ Progress 8 score, based on results in subjects including English, Maths, and English Baccalaureate qualifications.

    Head of School Adrian Rollins said: “The report reflects the hard work and collaboration of staff, students and parents to ensure that Heath Park continues to succeed at the highest level in the city, the region and on a national level.

    “We are incredibly proud of our students and proud that our hard work has been recognised. There are many references to exemplary provision, learning and positive behaviours which typifies what we do on a daily basis at Heath Park.”

    Georgetta Holloway OBE, Chief Executive of the Central Learning Partnership Trust, said: “We are all rightly proud of our latest Ofsted report as it highlights the positive ethos that has been a hallmark of the school for many years. We are all privileged to serve such a vibrant and culturally diverse community, which underpins the positivity and drive for excellence that unites all our stakeholders: students, staff, parents and our wider community.  

    “Heath Park benefits from having an incredibly outstanding staff, many of whom are long standing members of the school and many who are former students. This sense of family, and of belonging, make every day spent in school a privilege and a rewarding experience.”

    Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, added: “I would like to congratulate the staff, leadership team, pupils and parents on this brilliant report which outlines the outstanding provision that is on offer at Heath Park.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: illumin Partners with Adsquare to Deliver Advanced Footfall Attribution, Bridging Online Advertising with Real-World Impact

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO and NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — illumin Holdings Inc. (TSX: ILLM) (OTCQB: ILLMF) (“illumin” or “Company”), a leader in digital marketing technology, is excited to unveil its latest in-platform integration with Adsquare’s Measurement solution, delivering store visit data directly to the illumin platform to enable advanced footfall attribution. This collaboration further empowers marketers with daily insights into how digital campaigns drive in-store visits, seamlessly connecting online engagement with offline outcomes.

    This integration marks a significant milestone in illumin’s mission to simplify and enhance the consumer journey. By leveraging Adsquare’s privacy-first location intelligence, marketers can now access unmatched transparency and actionable foot traffic data to optimize their campaigns with precision.

    Key benefits for advertisers:

    • Enhance campaign measurement: Accurately track in-store foot traffic to better understand consumer behavior.
    • Comprehensive footfall attribution: Link foot traffic insights to specific campaigns or customer journey stages within the illumin platform.
    • Robust performance insights: Leverage daily performance insights to make agile, data-driven optimizations.
    • Unified views: Seamlessly integrate store visit data into illumin’s intuitive platform to attribute campaign tactics and creatives to performance for a complete omnichannel overview.
    • Privacy-first design: Fully compliant with global privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), ensuring consumer trust while delivering actionable insights.

    “By integrating Adsquare’s Measurement solution, we’re equipping advertisers with a more complete picture of their customer’s journey,” said Rachel Kapcan, Chief Product Officer at illumin. “This partnership enhances our ability to deliver actionable insights, enabling marketers to optimize their strategies with confidence and clarity. It’s a powerful step forward in bridging the gap between digital engagement and in-store impact.”

    “At Adsquare, we are dedicated to redefining marketing through our privacy-first location intelligence, enabling platforms like illumin to offer clients robust, data-driven solutions,” said Maria Botelho, VP of Global Partnerships at Adsquare. “This partnership exemplifies how our Measurement solution fuels leading platforms with precise, actionable footfall insights, connecting online campaigns to in-store visits with unmatched accuracy. Together with illumin, we’re empowering marketers to optimize their strategies with confidence, bridging the gap between digital engagement and real-world impact.”

    This collaboration further cements illumin’s position as a transformative force in programmatic advertising. From campaign planning and execution to robust attribution, illumin’s platform offers a seamless solution for marketers across industries, including retail, automotive, quick-service restaurants (QSR), and more.

    For more information, please contact:

    Bridget Westerholz
    SVP, Marketing
    illumin Holdings Inc.
    416-218-9888
    bridget.westerholz@illumin.com

    Steve Hosein
    Investor Relations
    illumin Holdings Inc.
    416-218-9888 x5313
    investors@illumin.com

    David Hanover
    Investor Relations – U.S.
    KCSA Strategic Communications
    212-896-1220
    dhanover@kcsa.com

    About illumin
    illumin is evolving the digital advertising landscape by empowering marketers to achieve transformative results through its customer-centric approach. Featuring a unified canvas built around the open web, illumin lets brands and agencies seamlessly plan, build, and execute campaigns across the entire marketing funnel—connecting programmatic channels, email, and social media within a single platform. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, illumin serves clients across North America, Latin America, and Europe. For more information, visit illumin.com.

    About Adsquare
    Adsquare is redefining marketing with cutting-edge location intelligence, empowering advertisers to deliver and optimize impactful, data-driven campaigns with precision. The Adsquare solution suite includes advanced Analytics to uncover deep customer insights, precise Activation tools for targeted audience engagement, real-time Measurement for connecting digital ad exposure to real-world consumer behavior, and transparent Attribution to credit the effectiveness of your marketing strategies.

    Disclaimer in regards to Forward-looking Statements
    Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

    For more complete information about the Company, please read our disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Asset Entities Passes Milestone of 9,000 Members on its TikTok Shop Creator Discord Community

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DALLAS, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Asset Entities Inc. (“Asset Entities” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ASST), a provider of digital marketing and content delivery services across Discord and other social media platforms, and a Ternary Payment Platform company, today announced it has passed a total of 9,000 Members on its TikTok Shop Creator Discord community within their ecosystem.

    Asset Entities announced that it had become an official TikTok Shop partner on December 11, 2024. The partnership with TikTok Shop brought Asset Entities to the forefront in signing up creators, executing campaigns with brands, connecting creators with products to sell, and utilizing the TikTok platform. Just over 30 days after announcing this pivotal partnership with TikTok Shop, the Company has now exceeded the milestone of 9,000 members on its creator community who are learning how to use TikTok Shop through the Company’s platform. This incredible achievement allows Asset Entities to collaborate with more brands simultaneously, while also increasing the GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) for brands. The TikTok Shop creators earn commissions by producing UGC content featuring products, and brands that benefit from increased revenue, as more content is shared and sales are driven by content. As a TAP (or TikTok Affiliate), Asset Entities receives a fixed negotiated commission on each sale the creators make for the brands. Increasing the TikTok shop creator community has a strong correlation with higher GMV potential for brands, thus bringing more potential revenue to the Company.

    We are excited to highlight one of our members, Kimberly, who generated over $195,000 in GMV to the brands for which she produces content, earning a commission payout of over $35,000. This is just one creator of the more than 9,000 members in our ecosystem utilizing the power of TikTok Shop and the education provided in the Company’s digital community. Kimberly works with many of the brands that are connected with Asset Entities, and we are excited for more creators in our ecosystem to see similar success.

    Image: Analytic Screenshot sent in by Kimberly within the discord community teaching our members how to grow and make money using TikTok Shop. Source: Asset Entities

    “As more brands start to realize the importance of UGC content, Asset Entities has positioned itself with its recent acquisition and through becoming an official partner of TikTok Shop to seek out additional brands for our ecosystem to increase their sales on the ever-growing market on TikTok. We are excited to see the growth in our TikTok creator numbers as we expand marketing efforts,” commented Asset Entities’ Chief Executive Officer, Arshia Sarkhani.

    To learn about Asset Entities, please go to www.assetentities.com. To learn about the Ternary payment platform, please go to www.ternarydev.com. To learn about Asset Entities 360 suite of discord services, go to https://www.ae360ddm.com/ and https://discord.gg/ae360ddm.

    About Asset Entities, Inc. 

    Asset Entities Inc. is a technology company providing social media marketing, management, and content delivery across Discord, TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and other social media platforms. Asset Entities is believed to be the first publicly traded Company based on the Discord platform, where it hosts some of Discord’s largest social community-based education and entertainment servers. The Company’s AE.360.DDM suite of services is believed to be the first of its kind for the Design, Development, and Management of Discord community servers. Asset Entities’ initial AE.360.DDM customers have included businesses and celebrities. The Company also has its Ternary payment platform that is a Stripe-verified partner and CRM for Discord communities. The Company’s Social Influencer Network (SiN) service offers white-label marketing, content creation, content management, TikTok promotions, and TikTok consulting to clients in all industries and markets. The Company’s SiN influencers can increase the social media reach of client Discord servers and drives traffic to their businesses. Learn more at assetentities.com, and follow the Company on X at $ASST and @assetentities.

    Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, representatives of the Company may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. These forward-looking statements are based on expectations and projections about future events, which are derived from the information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or the Company’s future performance, including its financial performance and projections, growth in revenue and earnings, and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements can be identified by those statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “plans,” “projected,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “hopes” or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors including those that are described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s periodic reports which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release, except in accordance with applicable law.

    Company Contacts:

    Arshia Sarkhani, President and Chief Executive Officer
    Michael Gaubert, Executive Chairman
    Asset Entities Inc.
    Tel +1 (214) 459-3117 
    Email Contact

    Investor Contact:

    Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC
    Scott Powell, President
    1177 Avenue of the Americas, 5th Floor
    New York, NY 10036
    Office: (646) 893-5835
    Email: info@skylineccg.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9dfd2c85-c5c2-4aea-840d-0bcdac04cecc

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: CALIFORNIA BANCORP REPORTS NET INCOME OF $16.8 MILLION FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND $5.4 MILLION FOR THE FULL YEAR OF 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    San Diego, Calif., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — California BanCorp (“us,” “we,” “our,” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BCAL), the holding company for California Bank of Commerce, N.A. (the “Bank”) announces its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.

    The Company reported net income of $16.8 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a net loss of $16.5 million, or $0.59 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2024, and net income of $4.4 million, or $0.24 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2023. The Company reported net income of $5.4 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the full year of 2024, compared to net income of $25.9 million, or $1.39 per diluted share for the full year of 2023.

    “I’m pleased to report our strong fourth quarter earnings of $16.8 million, the result of a full quarter of combined operations after our July 31, 2024, merger close,” said David Rainer, Executive Chairman of the Company and Bank. “We continue to derisk our consolidated balance sheet and are making significant headway in reducing our exposure in the Sponsor Finance portfolio. Additionally, we are rapidly reducing our reliance on brokered deposits, which despite the reduction of the high-yielding Sponsor Finance product, has allowed us to maintain a consistent, strong net interest margin. We are focused on building tangible book value, which increased to $11.71 in the fourth quarter, up $0.43 from the prior quarter, and up $0.79 in the five months since the merger close. While we are pleased to report these strong financial results, we, along with all our fellow Southern California residents, have been through a very difficult period due to the recent wildfires and we are working with all our constituents to assist them in any way we can.”

    “On behalf of the Company and the Bank, I want to express our condolences to all our neighbors, clients and employees that have been affected by the recent Southern California wildfires,” said Steven Shelton, CEO of the Company and the Bank. “You are in our thoughts and prayers and will remain so as we work to rebuild and recover going forward. Except for the one-day closure of one branch as a precautionary measure for the safety of our employees, I’m pleased to report there were no other disruptions to our operations and all other offices remained open. We are fortunate to report that the fires are expected to have a minimal impact on our loan portfolio, and we continue to focus on providing outstanding service to our combined client base throughout California, and on building shareholder value.”

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights

    • Net income of $16.8 million or $0.51 diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter; adjusted net income (non-GAAP1) was $17.2 million or $0.53 per share for the fourth quarter.
    • Net interest margin of 4.61%, compared with 4.43% in the prior quarter; average total loan yield of 6.84% compared with 6.79% in the prior quarter.
    • Reversal of provision for credit losses of $3.8 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a provision for credit losses of $23.0 million for the prior quarter, of which $21.3 million was due to the day one provision for credit losses on non-purchased credit deteriorated (“non-PCD”) loans and unfunded loan commitments related to the merger with California BanCorp (the “Merger”).
    • Return on average assets of 1.60%, compared with (1.82)% in the prior quarter.
    • Return on average common equity of 13.21%, compared with (15.28)% in the prior quarter.
    • Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP1) of 57.4% compared with 98.9% in the prior quarter; excluding Merger related expenses the efficiency ratio was 55.9%, compared with 60.5% in the prior quarter.
    • Tangible book value per common share (“TBV”) (non-GAAP1) of $11.71 at December 31, 2024, up $0.43 from $11.28 at September 30, 2024.
    • Total assets of $4.03 billion at December 31, 2024, compared with $4.36 billion at September 30, 2024.
    • Total loans, including loans held for sale of $3.16 billion at December 31, 2024, compared with $3.23 billion at September 30, 2024.
    • Nonperforming assets to total assets ratio of 0.76% at December 31, 2024, compared with 0.68% at September 30, 2024.
    • Allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) was 1.71% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2024; allowance for loan losses (“ALL”) was 1.61% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2024.
    • Total deposits of $3.40 billion at December 31, 2024, decreased $342.2 million or 9.1% compared with $3.74 billion at September 30, 2024.
    • Noninterest-bearing demand deposits of $1.26 billion at December 31, 2024, a decrease of $111.3 million or 8.1% from September 30, 2024; noninterest bearing deposits represented 37.0% of total deposits, compared with $1.37 billion, or 36.6% of total deposits at September 30, 2024.
    • Total brokered deposits of $121.1 million, a decrease of $101.5 million from September 30, 2024.
    • Cost of deposits was 1.87%, compared with 2.09% in the prior quarter.
    • Cost of funds was 1.99%, compared with 2.19% in the prior quarter.
    • The Company’s preliminary capital exceeds minimums required to be “well-capitalized,” the highest regulatory capital category.

    Full Year 2024 Highlights

    • Merger closed on July 31, 2024, whereby predecessor California BanCorp (“CALB”) merged with and into the Company and California Bank of Commerce merged with and into the Bank. CALB had total loans of $1.43 billion, total assets of $1.91 billion, and total deposits of $1.64 billion. The Merger created a bank holding company with approximately $4.25 billion in assets and 14 branches across California, with approximately 300 employees serving our communities. Total aggregate consideration paid for the Merger was approximately $216.6 million and resulted in approximately $74.7 million of preliminary goodwill, subject to adjustment in accordance with ASC 805.
    • Net income of $5.4 million, down $20.5 million, or 79.0% from the prior year largely due to the after-tax one-time day one provision for credit losses related to non-PCD loans and unfunded loan commitments of $15.0 million and merger related expenses of $12.0 million; adjusted net income (non-GAAP1) was $32.4 million or $1.32 per share for the year.
    • Diluted earnings per share of $0.22, down $1.17, or 84.2% from the prior year.
    • Total loan interest income increased to $160.0 million, up $46.0 million or 40.4% from the prior year largely due to the Merger.
    • Net interest margin of 4.28% for 2024, compared with 4.33% in the prior year; average loan yield was 6.55%, up from 5.94% in the prior year.
    • Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP1) of 76.6%, compared to 61.3% in the prior year; excluding merger related expenses the efficiency ratio was 63.8%, compared with 61.3% in the prior year.
    • Provision for credit losses of $21.7 million, of which $21.3 million was due to the day one provision for credit losses on non-PCD loans and unfunded loan commitments in connection with the Merger, compared to $915 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2023.
    • Total assets of $4.03 billion, up $1.7 billion or 70.8% from December 31, 2023, largely due to the Merger.
    • Total loans, including loans held for sale, increased to $3.16 billion, up $1.2 billion from December 31, 2023, largely due to the Merger, with the fair value of the acquired loans totaling $1.36 billion.
    • Total deposits of $3.40 billion, up $1.46 billion from December 31, 2023, largely due to the $1.64 billion of deposits acquired in the Merger.
    • Noninterest-bearing demand deposits were $1.26 billion, representing 37.0% of total deposits, compared to $675.1 million, or 34.7% of total deposits at December 31, 2023.
    • Cost of deposits was 2.01%, up from 1.37% in the prior year.
    • Tangible book value per common share (“TBV”) (non-GAAP1) of $11.71 at December 31, 2024, down $1.85 from December 31, 2023.

    Fourth Quarter Operating Results

    Net Income

    Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $16.8 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $16.5 million, or a loss of $0.59 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2024. Our third quarter results were negatively impacted by a day one $15.0 million after-tax current expected credit losses (“CECL”)-related provision for credit losses on non-PCD loans and unfunded loan commitments related to the merger, or $0.54 loss per diluted share, and $10.6 million of after-tax merger expenses, or $0.38 loss per diluted share. Pre-tax, pre-provision income (non-GAAP1) for the fourth quarter was $19.4 million, an increase of $19.0 million from the prior quarter. Excluding the merger and related expenses, the adjusted pre-tax, pre-provision income (non-GAAP1) for the fourth quarter was $20.1 million, an increase of $5.0 million from the prior quarter. The net income and diluted earnings per share increases for all of the periods presented were largely driven by the Merger and the operating results since the closing date of the Merger.

    Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

    Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $44.5 million, compared with $36.9 million in the prior quarter. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to an $8.4 million increase in total interest and dividend income, partially offset by an $832 thousand increase in total interest expense in the fourth quarter of 2024, as compared to the prior quarter. During the fourth quarter of 2024, loan interest income increased $7.3 million, of which $6.1 million was related to accretion income from the net purchase accounting discounts on acquired loans, total debt securities income increased $10 thousand, and interest and dividend income from other financial institutions increased $1.2 million. The increase in interest income was mainly due to reporting a full quarter of combined operations for the fourth quarter of 2024 and primarily driven by the mix of interest-earning assets added by the Merger and the impact of the accretion and amortization of fair value interest rate marks. Average total interest-earning assets increased $526.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, the result of a $401.3 million increase in average total loans, a $260.4 million increase in average deposits in other financial institutions and a $5.8 million increase in average restricted stock investments and other bank stock, partially offset by a $1.3 million decrease in average total debt securities and a $139.8 million decrease in average Fed funds sold/resale agreements. The increase in interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to a $466 thousand increase in interest expense on interest-bearing deposits, the result of a $217.9 million increase in average interest-bearing deposits, coupled with a $17.2 million increase in average subordinated debt, partially offset by a 22 basis point decrease in average interest-bearing deposit costs, and a $9 thousand decrease in interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) borrowings, the result of a $611 thousand decrease in average FHLB borrowings in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 4.61%, compared with 4.43% in the prior quarter. The increase was primarily related to a 20 basis point decrease in the cost of funds, partially offset by a one basis point decrease in the total interest-earning assets yield. The yield on total average interest-earning assets in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 6.48%, compared with 6.49% in the prior quarter. The yield on average total loans in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 6.84%, an increase of five basis points from 6.79% in the prior quarter. Accretion income from the net purchase accounting discounts on acquired loans was $6.1 million, increasing the yield on average total loans by 76 basis points; the net amortization expense from the purchase accounting discounts on acquired subordinated debt and acquired time deposits premium increased the interest expense by $467 thousand, the combination of which increased the net interest margin by 58 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Cost of funds for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 1.99%, a decrease of 20 basis points from 2.19% in the prior quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by a 22 basis point decrease in the cost of average interest-bearing deposits, and an increase in average noninterest-bearing deposits, partially offset by an increase of 26 basis points in the cost of total borrowings, which was driven primarily by the amortization expense of $559 thousand from the purchase accounting discounts on acquired subordinated debt which increased the cost on total borrowing by 320 basis points. Average noninterest-bearing demand deposits increased $251.7 million to $1.28 billion and represented 36.3% of total average deposits for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $1.03 billion and 33.6%, respectively, in the prior quarter; average interest-bearing deposits increased $217.9 million to $2.26 billion during the fourth quarter of 2024. The total cost of deposits in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 1.87%, a decrease of 22 basis points from 2.09% in the prior quarter. The cost of total interest-bearing deposits decreased primarily due to the Company’s deposit repricing strategy and the ongoing pay off of high cost brokered deposits and California State certificates of deposit in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Average total borrowings increased $16.6 million to $69.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to an increase of $17.2 million in average subordinated debt acquired in the Merger, partially offset by a decrease of $611 thousand in average FHLB borrowings during the fourth quarter of 2024. The average cost of total borrowings was 7.97% for the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 7.71% in the prior quarter.

    (Reversal of) Provision for Credit Losses

    The Company recorded a reversal of provision for credit losses of $3.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a provision for credit losses of $23.0 million in the prior quarter. The decrease was largely related to the third quarter provision for credit losses including the effects of the Merger, and the resulting one-time initial provision for credit losses on acquired non-PCD loans of $18.5 million and unfunded loan commitments of $2.7 million. Total net charge-offs were $154.0 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2024, which included $103 thousand from an acquired consumer solar loan portfolio and $51 thousand from a commercial real-estate loan. The provision for credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2024 included a $1.0 million reversal of provision for unfunded loan commitments related to the decrease in unfunded loan commitments during the fourth quarter of 2024, coupled with lower loss rates, offset by higher average funding rates used to estimate the allowance for credit losses on unfunded commitments. Total unfunded loan commitments decreased $108.6 million to $925.3 million at December 31, 2024, compared to $1.03 billion in unfunded loan commitments at September 30, 2024.

    The reversal of provision for credit losses for loans held for investment in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.9 million, a decrease of $22.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 from a provision for credit losses of $19.7 million in the prior quarter. The decrease was driven primarily by the third quarter amount including the one-time initial provision for credit losses on acquired non-PCD loans and decreases in legacy special mention loans and loans held for investment. Additionally, qualitative factors, coupled with changes in the portfolio mix and in the reasonable and supportable forecast, primarily related to the economic outlook for California, which were partially offset by an increase in legacy substandard accruing loans, were factors related to the decrease in the provision for credit losses. The Company’s management continues to monitor macroeconomic variables related to increasing interest rates, inflation and the concerns of an economic downturn, and believes it has appropriately provisioned for the current environment.

    Noninterest Income

    The Company recorded noninterest income of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $170 thousand compared to $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2024. The Company reported a loss on sale of loans of $1.1 million, related to the sale of certain Sponsor Finance loans, in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a gain on sale of loans of $8 thousand in the prior quarter. There was no gain on SBA 7A loan sales in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. Bank owned life insurance income of $823 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased $425 thousand from the prior quarter. Service charges and fees on deposit accounts of $911 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2024 decreased $225 thousand from the prior quarter, related to the one-time waiver of analysis charges for certain deposit accounts in light of the core system conversion. Other charges and fees income increased to $208 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a loss of $450 thousand in the prior quarter, primarily related to a $614 thousand valuation allowance on other real estate owned (“OREO”) due to a decline in the fair value of the underlying property in the third quarter of 2024. No comparable valuation allowance on OREO was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    Noninterest Expense

    Total noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $26.1 million, a decrease of $11.6 million from total noninterest expense of $37.7 million in the prior quarter, which was largely due to the decrease in merger related expenses.

    Salaries and employee benefits increased $689 thousand during the quarter to $16.1 million. The increase in salaries and employee benefits was primarily related to the growth in headcount due to the Merger, partially offset by the third quarter amount including the one-time costs associated with non-continuing directors, executives and employees of $1.4 million. Merger and related expenses in connection with the Merger decreased $14.0 million during the quarter to $643 thousand. Data processing and communications of $2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by $424 thousand, due primarily to increases in transaction volume from both organic growth and the Merger. Intangible assets amortization of $1.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by $373 thousand, due primarily to a full quarter of amortization of the core deposit intangible asset acquired in the Merger, compared with only two months of amortization of the asset in the prior quarter. Other expenses of $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by $443 thousand, due primarily to higher loan related expenses, customer service related expenses, travel expenses and insurance expenses.

    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP1) for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 57.4%, compared to 98.9% in the prior quarter. Excluding the merger and related expenses of $643 thousand and $14.6 million, the efficiency ratio (non-GAAP1) for the fourth and third quarters of 2024 would have been 55.9% and 60.5%, respectively.

    Income Tax

    In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company’s income tax expense was $6.5 million, compared with a $6.1 million income tax benefit in the third quarter of 2024. The effective rate was 27.9% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 26.9% for the third quarter of 2024. The increase in the effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily attributable to the impact of the non-tax deductible portion of the merger expenses and the vesting and exercise of equity awards combined with changes in the Company’s stock price over time, partially offset by the impact of the tax on the excess executive compensation.

    Balance Sheet

    Assets

    Total assets at December 31, 2024 were $4.03 billion, a decrease of $331.1 million or 7.6% from September 30, 2024. The decrease in total assets from the prior quarter was primarily related to a decrease in cash and cash equivalents of $226.3 million and a decrease in loans, including loans held for sale, of $77.1 million as compared to the prior quarter. These decreases primarily relate to the decreases in wholesale funding sources and the Sponsor Finance portfolio from loan sales and payoffs.

    Loans

    Total loans held for investment were $3.14 billion at December 31, 2024, a decrease of $60.5 million, compared to September 30, 2024, primarily the result of Sponsor Finance loans sales and loan payoffs in the amount of $90.8 million. During the fourth quarter of 2024, there were new originations of $128.5 million and net advances of $25.6 million, offset by loan sales and payoffs of $214.5 million, and the partial charge-off of loans in the amount of $154 thousand. Total loans secured by real estate decreased by $5.1 million, construction and land development loans decreased by $20.6 million, commercial real estate and other loans increased by $11.8 million, 1-4 family residential loans increased by $11.9 million and multifamily loans decreased by $8.1 million. Commercial and industrial loans decreased by $54.5 million, and consumer loans decreased by $1.0 million. The Company had $17.2 million in loans held for sale at December 31, 2024, compared to $33.7 million at September 30, 2024.

    Deposits

    Total deposits at December 31, 2024 were $3.40 billion, a decrease of $342.2 million from September 30, 2024. The decrease primarily consisted of $111.3 million noninterest-bearing demand deposits, $73.9 million interest-bearing non-maturity deposits, and $157.0 million time deposits. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits at December 31, 2024, were $1.26 billion, or 37.0% of total deposits, compared with $1.37 billion, or 36.6% of total deposits at September 30, 2024. At December 31, 2024, total interest-bearing deposits were $2.14 billion, compared to $2.37 billion at September 30, 2024. At December 31, 2024, total brokered time deposits were $121.1 million, compared to $222.6 million at September 30, 2024. The Company offers the Insured Cash Sweep (ICS) product, Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS), and Reich & Tang Deposit Solutions (R&T) network, all of which provide reciprocal deposit placement services to fully qualified large customer deposits for FDIC insurance among other participating banks. At December 31, 2024, total reciprocal deposits were $754.4 million, or 22.2% of total deposits at December 31, 2024, compared to $839.7 million , or 22.4% of total deposits at September 30, 2024.

    Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) and Liquidity

    At December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, the Company had no overnight FHLB borrowings. There were no outstanding Federal Reserve Discount Window borrowings at December 31, 2024 or September 30, 2024.

    At December 31, 2024, the Company had available borrowing capacity from an FHLB secured line of credit of approximately $753.9 million and available borrowing capacity from the Federal Reserve Discount Window of approximately $318.5 million. The Company also had available borrowing capacity from four unsecured credit lines from correspondent banks of approximately $90.5 million at December 31, 2024, with no outstanding borrowings. Total available borrowing capacity was $1.16 billion at December 31, 2024. Additionally, the Company had unpledged liquid securities at fair value of approximately $129.4 million and cash and cash equivalents of $388.2 million at December 31, 2024.

    Asset Quality

    Total non-performing assets increased slightly to $30.6 million, or 0.76% of total assets at December 31, 2024, compared with $29.8 million, or 0.68% of total assets at September 30, 2024.

    There were no loans downgraded to nonaccrual during the fourth quarter of 2024. Non-performing assets in the fourth quarter of 2024 included OREO, net of valuation allowance, of $4.1 million related to a multifamily building, the same balance as the prior quarter.

    Total non-performing loans increased slightly to $26.5 million, or 0.85% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2024, compared with $25.7 million, or 0.80% of total loans held for investment at September 30, 2024.

    Special mention loans decreased by $24.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2024 to $69.3 million, including $25.5 million of non-PCD loans and $10.1 million of purchase credit deteriorated (“PCD”) loans, at December 31, 2024. The decrease in the special mention loans was due mostly to a $9.0 million payoff, $24.5 million in downgrades to substandard accruing loans and $8.4 million in upgrades to Pass loans, partially offset by $18.1 million in downgrades from Pass loans. Substandard loans increased by $13.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2024 to $117.9 million, including $11.0 million of non-PCD loans, $55.9 million PCD loans and $14.1 million nonaccrual PCD loans, at December 31, 2024. The increase in the substandard loans was due primarily to $29.8 million in downgrades and $2.9 million in net advances, partially offset by a $17.3 million in payoffs, $1.7 million in upgrades to Pass and $103 thousand in charge-offs.

    The Company had $150 thousand in consumer solar loans that were over 90 days past due and still accruing interest at December 31, 2024, compared to $37 thousand in such delinquencies at September 30, 2024.

    There were $12.2 million in loan delinquencies (30-89 days past due, excluding nonaccrual loans) at December 31, 2024, compared to $19.1 million in such loan delinquencies at September 30, 2024.

    The allowance for credit losses, which is comprised of the allowance for loan losses (“ALL”) and reserve for unfunded loan commitments, totaled $53.6 million at December 31, 2024, compared to $57.6 million at September 30, 2024. The $4.0 million decrease in the allowance for credit losses included a $2.9 million and $968 thousand reversal of provision for credit losses for the loan portfolio and reserve for unfunded loan commitments, respectively, partially offset by total net charge-offs of $145 thousand for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

    The ALL was $50.5 million, or 1.61% of total loans held for investment at December 31, 2024, compared with $53.6 million, or 1.67% at September 30, 2024.

    Capital

    Tangible book value (non-GAAP1) per common share at December 31, 2024, was $11.71, compared with $11.28 at September 30, 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2024, tangible book value was primarily impacted by net income of $16.8 million for the fourth quarter, stock-based compensation expense, and an increase in net of tax unrealized losses on available-for-sale debt securities. Other comprehensive losses related to unrealized losses, net of taxes, on available-for-sale debt securities increased by $3.8 million to $6.6 million at December 31, 2024, from $2.9 million at September 30, 2024. The increase in the unrealized losses, net of taxes, on available-for-sale debt securities was attributable to non-credit related factors , including an increase in bond prices at the long end of the yield curve, even as the Federal Reserve decreased the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points in December 2024. Tangible common equity (non-GAAP1) as a percentage of total tangible assets (non-GAAP1) at December 31, 2024, increased to 9.69% from 8.58% in the prior quarter, and unrealized losses, net of taxes, on available-for-sale debt securities as a percentage of tangible common equity (non-GAAP1) at December 31, 2024 increased to 1.8% from 0.8% in the prior quarter.

    The Company’s preliminary capital exceeds minimums required to be “well-capitalized” at December 31, 2024.

    ABOUT CALIFORNIA BANCORP

    California BanCorp (NASDAQ: BCAL) is a registered bank holding company headquartered in San Diego, California. California Bank of Commerce, N.A., a national banking association chartered under the laws of the United States (the “Bank”) and regulated by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, is a wholly owned subsidiary of California BanCorp. Established in 2001 and headquartered in San Diego, California, the Bank offers a range of financial products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses through its 14 branch offices and four loan production offices serving Northern and Southern California. The Bank’s solutions-driven, relationship-based approach to banking provides accessibility to decision makers and enhances value through strong partnerships with its clients. Additional information is available at www.bankcbc.com.

    CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

    In addition to historical information, this release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding expectations, plans or objectives for future operations, products or services, loan recoveries, projections, expectations regarding the adequacy of reserves for credit losses and statements about the benefits of the Merger, as well as forecasts relating to financial and operating results or other measures of economic performance. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current view about future events and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed in the forward-looking statement or historical results. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and often include the words or phrases such as “aim,” “can,” “may,” “could,” “predict,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hope,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “will likely result,” “continue,” “seek,” “shall,” “possible,” “projection,” “optimistic,” and “outlook,” and variations of these words and similar expressions.

    Factors that could cause or contribute to results differing from those in or implied in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to risk related to the Merger, including the risks that costs may be greater than anticipated, cost savings may be less than anticipated, and difficulties in retaining senior management, employees or customers, the impact of bank failures or other adverse developments at other banks on general investor sentiment regarding the stability and liquidity of banks, changes in real estate markets and valuations; the impact on financial markets from geopolitical conflicts; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations and general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in the areas in which the Company conducts business; increases in competitive pressures among financial institutions and businesses offering similar products and services; general credit risks related to lending, including changes in the value of real estate or other collateral, the financial condition of borrowers, the effectiveness of our underwriting practices and the risk of fraud; higher than anticipated defaults in the Company’s loan portfolio; changes in management’s estimate of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses or the factors the Company uses to determine the allowance for credit losses; changes in demand for loans and other products and services offered by the Company; the
    costs and outcomes of litigation; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines and other risk factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and other documents the Company may file with the SEC from time to time.

    Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties to which our business and future financial performance are subject is contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other documents the Company files with the SEC from time to time.

    Any forward-looking statement made in this release is based only on information currently available to management and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to conform such forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its opinions or expectations, except as required by law.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

        At or for the
    Three Months Ended    		     At or for the
    Year Ended    		  
        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		     December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands except share and per share data)  
    EARNINGS      
    Net interest income   $ 44,541     $ 36,942     $ 22,559     $ 122,984     $ 94,138  
    (Reversal of) provision for credit losses   $ (3,835 )   $ 22,963     $ 824     $ 21,690     $ 915  
    Noninterest income (expense)   $ 1,004     $ 1,174     $ (102 )   $ 4,760     $ 3,379  
    Noninterest expense   $ 26,125     $ 37,680     $ 15,339     $ 97,791     $ 59,746  
    Income tax expense (benefit)   $ 6,483     $ (6,063 )   $ 1,882     $ 2,830     $ 10,946  
    Net income (loss)   $ 16,772     $ (16,464 )   $ 4,412     $ 5,433     $ 25,910  
    Pre-tax pre-provision income (1)   $ 19,420     $ 436     $ 7,118     $ 29,953     $ 37,771  
    Adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income (1)   $ 20,063     $ 15,041     $ 7,118     $ 46,241     $ 37,771  
    Diluted earnings (loss) per share   $ 0.51     $ (0.59 )   $ 0.24     $ 0.22     $ 1.39  
    Shares outstanding at period end     32,265,935       32,142,427       18,369,115       32,265,935       18,369,115  
                                             
    PERFORMANCE RATIOS                                        
    Return on average assets     1.60 %     (1.82 )%     0.75 %     0.18 %     1.12 %
    Adjusted return on average assets (1)     1.64 %     1.01 %     0.75 %     1.05 %     1.12 %
    Return on average common equity     13.21 %     (15.28 )%     6.21 %     1.43 %     9.48 %
    Adjusted return on average common equity (1)     13.57 %     8.44 %     6.21 %     8.53 %     9.48 %
    Yield on total loans     6.84 %     6.79 %     6.08 %     6.55 %     5.94 %
    Yield on interest earning assets     6.48 %     6.49 %     5.85 %     6.26 %     5.69 %
    Cost of deposits     1.87 %     2.09 %     1.81 %     2.01 %     1.37 %
    Cost of funds     1.99 %     2.19 %     1.95 %     2.12 %     1.46 %
    Net interest margin     4.61 %     4.43 %     4.05 %     4.28 %     4.33 %
    Efficiency ratio (1)     57.36 %     98.86 %     68.30 %     76.55 %     61.27 %
    Adjusted efficiency ratio (1)     55.95 %     60.54 %     68.30 %     63.80 %     61.27 %
        As of  
        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands except share and per share data)  
    CAPITAL      
    Tangible equity to tangible assets (1)     9.69 %     8.58 %     10.73 %
    Book value (BV) per common share   $ 15.86     $ 15.50     $ 15.69  
    Tangible BV per common share (1)   $ 11.71     $ 11.28     $ 13.56  
                             
    ASSET QUALITY                        
    Allowance for loan losses (ALL)   $ 50,540     $ 53,552     $ 22,569  
    Reserve for unfunded loan commitments   $ 3,103     $ 4,071     $ 933  
    Allowance for credit losses (ACL)   $ 53,643     $ 57,623     $ 23,502  
    Allowance for loan losses to nonperforming loans     1.90 x     2.08 x     1.74 x
    ALL to total loans held for investment     1.61 %     1.67 %     1.15 %
    ACL to total loans held for investment     1.71 %     1.80 %     1.20 %
    30-89 days past due, excluding nonaccrual loans   $ 12,232     $ 19,110     $ 19  
    Over 90 days past due, excluding nonaccrual loans   $ 150     $ 37     $ —  
    Special mention loans   $ 69,339     $ 93,448     $ 2,996  
    Special mention loans to total loans held for investment     2.21 %     2.92 %     0.15 %
    Substandard loans   $ 117,926     $ 104,298     $ 19,502  
    Substandard loans to total loans held for investment     3.76 %     3.26 %     1.00 %
    Nonperforming loans   $ 26,536     $ 25,698     $ 13,004  
    Nonperforming loans to total loans held for investment     0.85 %     0.80 %     0.66 %
    Other real estate owned, net   $ 4,083     $ 4,083     $ —  
    Nonperforming assets   $ 30,619     $ 29,781     $ 13,004  
    Nonperforming assets to total assets     0.76 %     0.68 %     0.55 %
                             
    END OF PERIOD BALANCES                        
    Total loans, including loans held for sale   $ 3,156,345     $ 3,233,418     $ 1,964,791  
    Total assets   $ 4,031,654     $ 4,362,767     $ 2,360,252  
    Deposits   $ 3,398,760     $ 3,740,915     $ 1,943,556  
    Loans to deposits     92.9 %     86.4 %     101.1 %
    Shareholders’ equity   $ 511,836     $ 498,064     $ 288,152  
    (1 ) Non-GAAP measure. See – GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

        At or for the
    Three Months Ended    		     At or for the
    Year Ended    		  
    ALLOWANCE for CREDIT LOSSES   December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		     December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    Allowance for loan losses                                        
    Balance at beginning of period   $ 53,552     $ 23,788     $ 22,705     $ 22,569     $ 17,099  
    Adoption of ASU 2016-13 (1)     —       —       —       —       5,027  
    Initial Allowance for PCD loans     —       11,216       —       11,216       —  
    (Reversal of) provision for credit losses (2)     (2,867 )     19,711       1,131       19,520       1,731  
    Charge-offs     (154 )     (1,163 )     (1,267 )     (2,774 )     (1,303 )
    Recoveries     9       —       —       9       15  
    Net charge-offs     (145 )     (1,163 )     (1,267 )     (2,765 )     (1,288 )
    Balance, end of period   $ 50,540     $ 53,552     $ 22,569     $ 50,540     $ 22,569  
    Reserve for unfunded loan commitments (3)                                        
    Balance, beginning of period   $ 4,071     $ 819     $ 1,240     $ 933     $ 1,310  
    Adoption of ASU 2016-13 (1)     —       —       —       —       439  
    (Reversal of) provision for credit losses (4)     (968 )     3,252       (307 )     2,170       (816 )
    Balance, end of period     3,103       4,071       933       3,103       933  
    Allowance for credit losses   $ 53,643     $ 57,623     $ 23,502     $ 53,643     $ 23,502  
                                             
    ALL to total loans held for investment     1.61 %     1.67 %     1.15 %     1.61 %     1.15 %
    ACL to total loans held for investment     1.71 %     1.80 %     1.20 %     1.71 %     1.20 %
    Net charge-offs to average total loans     (0.02 )%     (0.17 )%     (0.26 )%     (0.11 )%     (0.07 )%
    (1 ) Represents the impact of adopting ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses on January 1, 2023. As a result of adopting ASU 2016-13, our methodology to compute our allowance for credit losses is based on a current expected credit loss methodology, rather than the previously applied incurred loss methodology.
    (2 ) Includes $18.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and year ended December 31, 2024 related to the initial provision for credit losses for non-PCD loans acquired in the Merger.
    (3 ) Included in “Accrued interest and other liabilities” on the consolidated balance sheet.
    (4 ) Includes $2.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and year ended December 31, 2024 related to the initial provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments acquired in the Merger.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    ASSETS                  
    Cash and due from banks   $ 60,471     $ 115,165     $ 33,008  
    Federal funds sold & interest-bearing balances     327,691       499,258       53,785  
    Total cash and cash equivalents     388,162       614,423       86,793  
                             
    Debt securities available-for-sale, at fair value (amortized cost of $151,429, $163,384 and $136,366 at December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)     142,001       159,330       130,035  
    Debt securities held-to-maturity, at cost (fair value of $47,823, $49,487 and $50,432 at December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)     53,280       53,364       53,616  
    Loans held for sale     17,180       33,704       7,349  
    Loans held for investment:                        
    Construction & land development     227,325       247,934       243,521  
    1-4 family residential     164,401       152,540       143,903  
    Multifamily     243,993       252,134       221,247  
    Other commercial real estate     1,767,727       1,755,908       1,024,243  
    Commercial & industrial     710,970       765,472       320,142  
    Other consumer     24,749       25,726       4,386  
    Total loans held for investment     3,139,165       3,199,714       1,957,442  
    Allowance for credit losses – loans     (50,540 )     (53,552 )     (22,569 )
    Total loans held for investment, net     3,088,625       3,146,162       1,934,873  
                             
    Restricted stock at cost     30,829       27,394       16,055  
    Premises and equipment     13,595       13,996       13,270  
    Right of use asset     14,350       15,310       9,291  
    Other real estate owned, net     4,083       4,083       —  
    Goodwill     111,787       112,515       37,803  
    Intangible assets     22,271       23,031       1,195  
    Bank owned life insurance     66,636       66,180       38,918  
    Deferred taxes, net     43,127       45,644       11,137  
    Accrued interest and other assets     35,728       47,631       19,917  
    Total assets   $ 4,031,654     $ 4,362,767     $ 2,360,252  
                             
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY                        
    Deposits:                        
    Noninterest-bearing demand   $ 1,257,007     $ 1,368,303     $ 675,098  
    Interest-bearing NOW accounts     673,589       781,125       381,943  
    Money market and savings accounts     1,182,927       1,149,268       636,685  
    Time deposits     285,237       442,219       249,830  
    Total deposits     3,398,760       3,740,915       1,943,556  
                             
    Borrowings     69,725       69,142       102,865  
    Operating lease liability     18,310       19,211       12,117  
    Accrued interest and other liabilities     33,023       35,435       13,562  
    Total liabilities     3,519,818       3,864,703       2,072,100  
                             
    Shareholders’ Equity:                        
    Common stock – 50,000,000 shares authorized, no par value; issued and outstanding 32,265,935, 32,142,427 and 18,369,115 at December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)     442,469       441,684       222,036  
    Retained earnings     76,008       59,236       70,575  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss – net of taxes     (6,641 )     (2,856 )     (4,459 )
    Total shareholders’ equity     511,836       498,064       288,152  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 4,031,654     $ 4,362,767     $ 2,360,252  

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Income Statements – Quarterly and Year-to-Date (Unaudited)

        Three Months Ended     Year Ended  
        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		     December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands except share and per share data)  
    INTEREST AND DIVIDEND INCOME                                        
    Interest and fees on loans   $ 54,791     $ 47,528     $ 29,968     $ 159,960     $ 113,951  
    Interest on debt securities     1,698       1,687       991       5,827       3,497  
    Interest on tax-exempted debt securities     305       306       353       1,223       1,655  
    Interest and dividends from other institutions     5,764       4,606       1,257       12,788       4,419  
    Total interest and dividend income     62,558       54,127       32,569       179,798       123,522  
                                             
    INTEREST EXPENSE                                        
    Interest on NOW, savings, and money market accounts     12,447       11,073       6,606       37,329       20,161  
    Interest on time deposits     4,179       5,087       2,331       15,432       6,704  
    Interest on borrowings     1,391       1,025       1,073       4,053       2,519  
    Total interest expense     18,017       17,185       10,010       56,814       29,384  
    Net interest income     44,541       36,942       22,559       122,984       94,138  
                                             
    (Reversal of) provisions for credit losses (1)     (3,835 )     22,963       824       21,690       915  
    Net interest income after (reversal of) provision for credit losses     48,376       13,979       21,735       101,294       93,223  
                                             
    NONINTEREST INCOME                                        
    Service charges and fees on deposit accounts     911       1,136       507       3,140       1,946  
    (Loss) gain on sale of loans     (1,095 )     8       —       (672 )     831  
    Bank owned life insurance income     823       398       253       1,748       946  
    Servicing and related income on loans     157       82       17       307       240  
    Loss on sale of debt securities     —       —       (1,008 )     —       (974 )
    Loss on sale of building and related fixed assets     —       —       —       (19 )     —  
    Other charges and fees     208       (450 )     129       256       390  
    Total noninterest income (expense)     1,004       1,174       (102 )     4,760       3,379  
                                             
    NONINTEREST EXPENSE                                        
    Salaries and employee benefits     16,074       15,385       9,598       49,845       39,249  
    Occupancy and equipment expenses     2,314       2,031       1,678       7,242       6,231  
    Data processing     1,960       1,536       1,158       5,832       4,534  
    Legal, audit and professional     817       669       1,161       2,559       3,211  
    Regulatory assessments     436       544       320       1,714       1,508  
    Director and shareholder expenses     458       520       207       1,410       849  
    Merger and related expenses     643       14,605       —       16,288       —  
    Intangible assets amortization     1,060       687       80       1,877       389  
    Other real estate owned expense     220       3       —       5,246       —  
    Other expense     2,143       1,700       1,137       5,778       3,775  
    Total noninterest expense     26,125       37,680       15,339       97,791       59,746  
    Income (loss) before income taxes     23,255       (22,527 )     6,294       8,263       36,856  
    Income tax expense (benefit)     6,483       (6,063 )     1,882       2,830       10,946  
    Net income (loss)   $ 16,772     $ (16,464 )   $ 4,412     $ 5,433     $ 25,910  
                                             
    Net income (loss) per share – basic   $ 0.52     $ (0.59 )   $ 0.24     $ 0.22     $ 1.42  
    Net income (loss) per share – diluted   $ 0.51     $ (0.59 )   $ 0.24     $ 0.22     $ 1.39  
    Weighted average common shares-diluted     32,698,714       27,705,844       18,727,519       24,623,397       18,656,742  
    Pre-tax, pre-provision income (2)   $ 19,420     $ 436     $ 7,118     $ 29,953     $ 37,771  
    (1 ) Included (reversal of) provision for unfunded loan commitments of $(1.0) million, $3.3 million and $(307) thousand for the three months ended December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, and $2.2 million and $(816) thousand for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively
    (2 ) Non-GAAP measure. See – GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Average Balance Sheets and Yield Analysis
    (Unaudited)

        Three Months Ended  
        December 31, 2024     September 30, 2024     December 31, 2023  
        Average Balance     Income/
    Expense    		     Yield/
    Cost    		     Average Balance     Income/
    Expense    		     Yield/
    Cost    		     Average Balance     Income/
    Expense    		     Yield/
    Cost    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    Assets                                                      
    Interest-earning assets:                                                                        
    Total loans   $ 3,184,918     $ 54,791       6.84   %   $ 2,783,581     $ 47,528       6.79 %   $ 1,954,396     $ 29,968       6.08 %
    Taxable debt securities     147,895       1,698       4.57   %     149,080       1,687       4.50 %     113,375       991       3.47 %
    Tax-exempt debt securities (1)     53,607       305       2.87   %     53,682       306       2.87 %     58,644       353       3.02 %
    Deposits in other financial institutions     422,032       5,123       4.83   %     161,616       2,215       5.45 %     56,313       759       5.35 %
    Fed funds sold/resale agreements     3,353       38       4.51   %     143,140       1,886       5.24 %     9,008       125       5.51 %
    Restricted stock investments and other bank stock     30,341       603       7.91   %     24,587       505       8.17 %     16,394       373       9.03 %
    Total interest-earning assets     3,842,146       62,558       6.48   %     3,315,686       54,127       6.49 %     2,208,130       32,569       5.85 %
    Total noninterest-earning assets     326,601                       277,471                       137,193                  
    Total assets   $ 4,168,747                     $ 3,593,157                     $ 2,345,323                  
                                                                             
    Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity                                                                        
    Interest-bearing liabilities:                                                                        
    Interest-bearing NOW accounts   $ 704,017     $ 3,784       2.14   %   $ 617,373     $ 2,681       1.73 %   $ 362,579     $ 1,860       2.04 %
    Money market and savings accounts     1,192,692       8,663       2.89   %     999,322       8,392       3.34 %     669,391       4,746       2.81 %
    Time deposits     359,111       4,179       4.63   %     421,241       5,087       4.80 %     208,700       2,331       4.43 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits     2,255,820       16,626       2.93   %     2,037,936       16,160       3.15 %     1,240,670       8,937       2.86 %
    Borrowings:                                                                        
    FHLB advances     —       —       — %       611       9       5.86 %     56,380       802       5.64 %
    Subordinated debt     69,420       1,391       7.97   %     52,246       1,016       7.74 %     17,854       271       6.02 %
    Total borrowings     69,420       1,391       7.97   %     52,857       1,025       7.71 %     74,234       1,073       5.73 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     2,325,240       18,017       3.08   %     2,090,793       17,185       3.27 %     1,314,904       10,010       3.02 %
                                                                             
    Noninterest-bearing liabilities:                                                                        
    Noninterest-bearing deposits (2)     1,283,591                       1,031,844                       721,169                  
    Other liabilities     55,007                       41,962                       27,178                  
    Shareholders’ equity     504,909                       428,558                       282,072                  
    Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity   $ 4,168,747                     $ 3,593,157                     $ 2,345,323                  
                                                                             
    Net interest spread                     3.40   %                     3.22 %                     2.83 %
    Net interest income and margin           $ 44,541       4.61   %           $ 36,942       4.43 %           $ 22,559       4.05 %
    Cost of deposits   $ 3,539,411     $ 16,626       1.87   %   $ 3,069,780     $ 16,160       2.09 %   $ 1,961,839     $ 8,937       1.81 %
    Cost of funds   $ 3,608,831     $ 18,017       1.99   %   $ 3,122,637     $ 17,185       2.19 %   $ 2,036,073     $ 10,010       1.95 %
    (1 ) Tax-exempt debt securities yields are presented on a tax equivalent basis using a 21% tax rate.
    (2 ) Average noninterest-bearing deposits represent 36.27%, 33.61% and 36.76% of average total deposits for the three months ended December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    Average Balance Sheets and Yield Analysis
    (Unaudited)

        Year Ended  
        December 31, 2024     December 31, 2023  
        Average Balance     Income/
    Expense    		     Yield/
    Cost    		     Average Balance     Income/
    Expense    		     Yield/
    Cost    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    Assets                                    
    Interest-earning assets:                                                
    Total loans   $ 2,443,127     $ 159,960       6.55 %   $ 1,918,443     $ 113,951       5.94 %
    Taxable debt securities     136,984       5,827       4.25 %     107,021       3,497       3.27 %
    Tax-exempt debt securities (1)     53,721       1,223       2.88 %     65,674       1,655       3.19 %
    Deposits in other financial institutions     171,939       8,692       5.06 %     46,826       2,434       5.20 %
    Fed funds sold/resale agreements     43,990       2,319       5.27 %     18,114       923       5.10 %
    Restricted stock investments and other bank stock     22,137       1,777       8.03 %     15,930       1,062       6.67 %
    Total interest-earning assets     2,871,898       179,798       6.26 %     2,172,008       123,522       5.69 %
    Total noninterest-earning assets     224,018                       134,225                  
    Total assets   $ 3,095,916                     $ 2,306,233                  
                                                     
    Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity                                                
    Interest-bearing liabilities:                                                
    Interest-bearing NOW accounts   $ 511,425     $ 10,644       2.08 %   $ 308,537     $ 5,161       1.67 %
    Money market and savings accounts     911,684       26,685       2.93 %     673,176       15,000       2.23 %
    Time deposits     324,249       15,432       4.76 %     180,219       6,704       3.72 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits     1,747,358       52,761       3.02 %     1,161,932       26,865       2.31 %
    Borrowings:                                                
    FHLB advances     19,543       1,103       5.64 %     26,390       1,434       5.43 %
    Subordinated debt     39,479       2,950       7.47 %     17,818       1,085       6.09 %
    Total borrowings     59,022       4,053       6.87 %     44,208       2,519       5.70 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     1,806,380       56,814       3.15 %     1,206,140       29,384       2.44 %
                                                     
    Noninterest-bearing liabilities:                                                
    Noninterest-bearing deposits (2)     873,043                       801,882                  
    Other liabilities     36,677                       24,865                  
    Shareholders’ equity     379,816                       273,346                  
    Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity   $ 3,095,916                     $ 2,306,233                  
                                                     
    Net interest spread                     3.11 %                     3.25 %
    Net interest income and margin           $ 122,984       4.28 %           $ 94,138       4.33 %
    Cost of deposits   $ 2,620,401     $ 52,761       2.01 %   $ 1,963,814     $ 26,865       1.37 %
    Cost of funds   $ 2,679,423     $ 56,814       2.12 %   $ 2,008,022     $ 29,384       1.46 %
    (1 ) Tax-exempt debt securities yields are presented on a tax equivalent basis using a 21% tax rate.
    (2 ) Average noninterest-bearing deposits represent 33.32%, and 40.83% of average total deposits for the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

    California BanCorp and Subsidiary
    GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
    (Unaudited)

    The following tables present a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures for: (1) adjusted net income (loss), (2) efficiency ratio, (3) adjusted efficiency ratio, (4) pre-tax pre-provision income, (5) adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income, (6) average tangible common equity, (7) adjusted return on average assets, (8) adjusted return on average equity, (9) return on average tangible common equity, (10) adjusted return on average tangible common equity, (11) tangible common equity, (12) tangible assets, (13) tangible common equity to tangible asset ratio, and (14) tangible book value per share. We believe the presentation of certain non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to assess our consolidated financial condition and consolidated results of operations and to assist investors in evaluating our financial results relative to our peers. These non-GAAP financial measures complement our GAAP reporting and are presented below to provide investors and others with information that we use to manage the business each period. Because not all companies use identical calculations, the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures should be taken together with the corresponding GAAP measures and should not be considered a substitute of the GAAP measures.

        Three Months Ended     Year Ended  
        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		     December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    Adjusted net income                                        
    Net income (loss)   $ 16,772     $ (16,464 )   $ 4,412     $ 5,433     $ 25,910  
    Add: After-tax Day1 provision for non PCD loans and unfunded loan commitments (1)     —       14,978       —       14,978       —  
    Add: After-tax merger and related expenses (1)     453       10,576       —       11,988       —  
    Adjusted net income (non-GAAP)   $ 17,225     $ 9,090     $ 4,412     $ 32,399     $ 25,910  
                                             
    Efficiency Ratio                                        
    Noninterest expense   $ 26,125     $ 37,680     $ 15,339     $ 97,791     $ 59,746  
    Deduct: Merger and related expenses     643       14,605       —       16,288       —  
    Adjusted noninterest expense     25,482       23,075       15,339       81,503       59,746  
                                             
    Net interest income     44,541       36,942       22,559       122,984       94,138  
    Noninterest income (expense)     1,004       1,174       (102 )     4,760       3,379  
    Total net interest income and noninterest income   $ 45,545     $ 38,116     $ 22,457     $ 127,744     $ 97,517  
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)     57.4 %     98.9 %     68.3 %     76.6 %     61.3 %
    Adjusted efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)     55.9 %     60.5 %     68.3 %     63.8 %     61.3 %
                                             
    Pre-tax pre-provision income                                        
    Net interest income   $ 44,541     $ 36,942     $ 22,559     $ 122,984     $ 94,138  
    Noninterest income (expense)     1,004       1,174       (102 )     4,760       3,379  
    Total net interest income and noninterest income     45,545       38,116       22,457       127,744       97,517  
    Less: Noninterest expense     26,125       37,680       15,339       97,791       59,746  
    Pre-tax pre-provision income (non-GAAP)     19,420       436       7,118       29,953       37,771  
    Add: Merger and related expenses     643       14,605       —       16,288       —  
    Adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income (non-GAAP)   $ 20,063     $ 15,041     $ 7,118     $ 46,241     $ 37,771  
    (1 ) After-tax Day 1 provision for non-PCD loans and unfunded commitments and merger and related expenses are presented using a 29.56% tax rate.
        Three Months Ended     Year Ended  
        December 31,
    2024    		     September 30,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		     December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands)  
    Return on Average Assets, Equity, and Tangible Equity                              
    Net income (loss)   $ 16,772     $ (16,464 )   $ 4,412     $ 5,433     $ 25,910  
    Adjusted net income (non-GAAP)   $ 17,225     $ 9,090     $ 4,412     $ 32,399     $ 25,910  
                                             
    Average assets   $ 4,168,747     $ 3,593,157     $ 2,345,323     $ 3,095,916     $ 2,306,233  
    Average shareholders’ equity     504,909       428,558       282,072       379,816       273,346  
    Less: Average intangible assets     135,073       104,409       39,035       79,366       39,195  
    Average tangible common equity (non-GAAP)   $ 369,836     $ 324,149     $ 243,037     $ 300,450     $ 234,151  
                                             
    Return on average assets     1.60 %     (1.82 %)     0.75 %     0.18 %     1.12 %
    Adjusted return on average assets (non-GAAP)     1.64 %     1.01 %     0.75 %     1.05 %     1.12 %
    Return on average equity     13.21 %     (15.28 %)     6.21 %     1.43 %     9.48 %
    Adjusted return on average equity (non-GAAP)     13.57 %     8.44 %     6.21 %     8.53 %     9.48 %
    Return on average tangible common equity (non-GAAP)     18.04 %     (20.21 %)     7.20 %     1.81 %     11.07 %
    Adjusted return on average tangible common equity (non-GAAP)     18.53 %     11.16 %     7.20 %     10.78 %     11.07 %
        December 31,
    2024    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
        ($ in thousands except share and per share data)  
    Tangible Common Equity Ratio/Tangible Book Value Per Share                
    Shareholders’ equity   $ 511,836     $ 288,152  
    Less: Intangible assets     134,058       38,998  
    Tangible common equity (non-GAAP)   $ 377,778     $ 249,154  
                     
    Total assets   $ 4,031,654     $ 2,360,252  
    Less: Intangible assets     134,058       38,998  
    Tangible assets (non-GAAP)   $ 3,897,596     $ 2,321,254  
                     
    Equity to asset ratio     12.70 %     12.21 %
    Tangible common equity to tangible asset ratio (non-GAAP)     9.69 %     10.73 %
    Book value per share   $ 15.86     $ 15.69  
    Tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)   $ 11.71     $ 13.56  
    Shares outstanding     32,265,935       18,369,115  

    INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT
    Kevin Mc Cabe
    California Bank of Commerce, N.A.
    kmccabe@bankcbc.com
    818.637.7065

    1 Reconciliations of non–U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures are set forth at the end of this press release.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: GCM Grosvenor to Present at the Bank of America Securities Financial Services Conference on February 12, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GCM Grosvenor (Nasdaq: GCMG), a global alternative asset management solutions provider, will present at the Bank of America Securities Financial Services Conference on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 2:40 p.m. ET.  

    A link to the live audio webcast of the presentation is available on GCM Grosvenor’s public shareholders website and the event website. For those unable to listen to the live audio webcast, a replay will be available within 24 hours after the conclusion of the live event. 

    About GCM Grosvenor 
    GCM Grosvenor (Nasdaq: GCMG) is a global alternative asset management solutions provider with approximately $80 billion in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and absolute return investment strategies. The firm has specialized in alternatives for more than 50 years and is dedicated to delivering value for clients by leveraging its cross-asset class and flexible investment platform. GCM Grosvenor’s experienced team of approximately 550 professionals serves a global client base of institutional and individual investors. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney. For more information, visit: gcmgrosvenor.com. 

    Source: GCM Grosvenor  

    Public Shareholders Contact 
    Stacie Selinger 
    sselinger@gcmlp.com 
    312-506-6583 

    Media Contact 
    Tom Johnson and Abigail Ruck
    H/Advisors Abernathy 
    tom.johnson@h-advisors.global / abigail.ruck@h-advisors.global 
    212-371-5999 

    The MIL Network –