Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street
Letter from the Prime Minister to the Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds MP.
Letter from the Prime Minister to the Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds MP: 28 February 2025
Published 28 February 2025
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
February 28, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Republican Conference Vice Chair, delivered remarks calling out the Biden Administration’s harmful energy regulations that put us in an energy emergency and urging solutions to fix it . Lankford is Chair of the Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure.
CLICK HERE to download Lankford’s remarks on Box.
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s remarks on YouTube.
Excerpt
“Energy policies should be just common sense conversation. It shouldn’t be political. It should be—what do Americans need? And we should look beyond just today that the lights are on. We should at least look two years in the future and to say what’s about to happen in the country with our electric grid? Anticipate the problems that are coming. Make changes in policy here to make sure we don’t have an emergency there. So let’s declare the American Energy Emergency. Let’s fix it before we have the challenges that are coming in just a few short months.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A new working group has been established to provide government with a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia.
It is the first duty of government to keep its citizens safe
New group set to deliver a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia within six months as incidents of anti-Muslim hatred reach the highest number on record in 2024
The definition will provide guidance to government and other bodies to support further action on tackling religiously motivated hate, delivering on the Plan for Change safer streets mission
A new working group has been established to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, supporting a wider stream of work to tackle the unacceptable incidents of anti-Muslim hatred.
It will advise government on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims.
With incidents of anti-Muslim hate crime at record high in England and Wales, the group’s work will support wider and ongoing government-led efforts to tackle religiously motivated hate crime – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change mission for safer streets.
The rise in anti-Muslim hate crime is unacceptable and has no place in our society.
That’s why we’ve committed to defining Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, as a crucial steps forward in tackling it and creating a society where everyone feels safe and welcome.
The group will be chaired by Dominic Grieve KC, bringing his years of legal and government expertise to the role.
We know Islamophobia is as challenging to define as its existence is undoubted. We need to balance addressing the lived experience of those who are victims of it and the right of British Muslims to feel heard and protected as equal citizens of our country, with the unwavering requirement to maintain freedom of thought and expression under law for all.
I welcome the government’s decision to bring forward this needed work and I am hopeful that this commission will come up with principles in defining Islamophobia which are compatible with those requirements and can thus help support positive change in our country.
Alongside drawing on their own expertise, members will engage widely to ensure the definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of Muslim communities across the United Kingdom.
The group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
The group’s proposed definition must be compatible with the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression – which includes the right to criticise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents.
Published 28 February 2025
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The DPM gave the keynote address at the event in Lancashire.
Thank you everyone, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here at the Convention of the North again.
I apologise if I go too Northern for you, but it’s good to be back in this region, and it is great to be here in Preston.
A year ago, I was stood in front of this same Convention at Leeds Dock – talking about the change this country so desperately needs. A lot has changed!
But just like last year, we’re meeting today on the spot of real Northern success.
For two centuries, this university has opened its doors. Not just for students across the country, but for the people of the proud city too.
Over those last two centuries, this mill town – just like the rest of the North – has seen entire industries rise and fall.
Today, as I look out towards our fantastic Northern leaders, businesses and innovators, I want you to know that I am determined to fight for a future that’s brighter and more ambitious.
Just over 6 months ago, this government was elected to deliver change. I know that the North is as impatient as anyone for that change – as I am too.
The gears of change haven’t always been well-oiled, in fact, a decade of decline has seen them rusted. As you work to improve the places you call home, you’re being resisted by a system that hoards power and investment away from where it needs to be – making regional inequalities worse, and not better.
The truth is that for all the promises of levelling up, central government’s first instinct is too often to hoard power and hold our economy back. Too many decisions affecting too many people are made by too few. I’m here to help you break that system, and build a fairer one in its place.
Last year I promised this Convention that I would be a Deputy Prime Minister for the North. And working with many of you sat here today, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far.
We’ve taken a hammer to business-as-usual in Whitehall, and within days of getting into government, Labour Secretaries of State were giving up newly won powers for the sake of our towns and cities, with the Prime Minister leading the charge. It has not been comfortable! But it wasn’t supposed to be. After all, we are undergoing a generational power shift from Whitehall to the town hall.
We’re putting support for business at the heart of this with funding rolled into integrated settlements. An Office for Investment working with mayors to develop funding opportunities and regional innovation funding.
In just six short months we are on track to complete devolution in the North. This means decisions for the North, will be made by the North. So that Northerners will no longer be dictated to from Whitehall. And this change will be irreversible. And that’s important, because I know first-hand that decisions are made best by those with skin in the game.
That’s what our English Devolution White Paper is all about. Nothing less than a total rewiring of power in England. For all the techy talk of devolution, the goal is simple: We will give mayors the power to drive growth, to use new levers over planning, housing and regeneration to Get Britain Building.
We are ending the begging bowl culture and giving local leaders flexibility over their spending. For the first time in British history, we have created a department-style integrated settlement giving Mayor Parker and Mayor Burnham over a billion pounds in flexible funding.
And next year, I am delighted that Liverpool, the North East, and South and West Yorkshire will all follow. This will be a game-changer for families across England, giving mayors the freedom and flexibility to make the right decisions for their place.
And you only need to look at what our Northern mayors are already achieving, to see why this is so important. Just look at Mayor Brabin’s SME Graduate Scheme, keeping homegrown talent in West Yorkshire, and her investment in bus routes getting people to work quicker and cheaper.
Or Mayor Coppard’s Pathways to Work Commission, putting 10,000 residents in South Yorkshire back to work. In York and North Yorkshire, Mayor Skaith is investing millions in high streets, supporting local business to thrive. Mayor Rotherham is bringing award-winning TV and film productions to Liverpool, with investment in new studios.
The success of our Northern mayors doesn’t stop there. In Greater Manchester, Mayor Burnham’s Bee Network is making it simpler and more affordable to get the bus and tram. And further north, Mayor McGuinness has set up the first mayoral child support poverty reduction unit to support families across the North East.
A future for the North, built by those that call it home. Uniting under the banner of Great North and a vision for a new era of Northern cooperation. This isn’t about pitting place against place. This is about understanding what our towns and cities can achieve together. It’s about releasing Britain’s untapped potential.
And don’t underestimate the effect of Cabinet Ministers having mayors at the end of the phone. Let me tell you – not one of them will shy away from telling us how it is.
It isn’t by accident that devolution sits in my department. It is by design. Because mayors aren’t just a helpful tool to unlock housing, transport and infrastructure, they are a critical levers in our mission of growth.
Let me tell you why. All of you in this room are trying – like I am – to get Britain building again. Yes, building houses, but also building your business, building renewable energy, building data centres.
All too often, we are met by a system that says: “don’t bother”. Well, I am determined to break that system. And I am handing mayors the sledgehammer!
Earlier this year we published a new national planning framework to break down the barriers to sustainable growth. And today, I want to share more details on how we will go even further, in our Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Mayors are at the centre of our plans to build 1.5 million homes, by giving them the powers they need, mayors are an army to take on the blockers. We are backing them to work across huge regional geographies to get the job done. It’s why we’re giving them the powers to call in applications on those large, strategic sites that will really turn the wheel on growth.
And it’s why we’re putting grant funding for regeneration and housing in their hands. To enable mayors to deliver on their plans, we will forge a stronger partnership between them and Homes England. Over time, we will move Homes England to a more regionalised model so that the agency is even more responsive to the economic plan of an area.
We’ve already committed to strategic authorities for the entire country – but we can’t waste any time in building the homes we desperately need. That’s why I can confirm that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill I will introduce to Parliament in the weeks ahead will allow councils without a mayor to come together and set spatial development strategies.
This means bringing forward housebuilding powers as soon as we can. I think there is huge potential here. If we can get building, and boost productivity of just 11 city regions, we could add £20.5 billion each year to the Exchequer. Imagine the jobs, opportunities and growth that comes with it.
But devolving powers is only half the plan, if we’re not matching it with investment, we won’t see the results. The history of our Northern towns and cities is one of great industrialists, and workers who grafted for something better. And it’s in that same image, that the North today can provide the growth this country needs.
Here in Preston, people have decent jobs to be proud of – just look at the Eurofighter Typhoon programme. We cannot underestimate the impact that business investment like that can have on an area. This is a sector that is critical for our national security, and economic growth.
Over in West Yorkshire, we’re backing the new Mass Transit Scheme with two hundred million pounds of funding to support its development. Anyone who expects the businesses of Leeds to meet their economic potential without a proper transport network needs to ask themselves why they expect the North to settle for less.
And as we support the recreation of Doncaster-Sheffield Airport it’s the job of this government to ask how we can best support our nation’s regional airports. Teesside has shown that regional airports can prosper, and now it’s time to back South Yorkshire too.
Up in Blyth, plans are also being delivered for Europe’s biggest AI data centre. These projects are not just about driving growth for the sake of it but driving growth in the places where potential is greatest. The places which once built Britain, and once again deserve to be the centres of economic and industrial excellence.
[political content removed] I share the Chancellor’s determination to review the Green Book to properly recognise the potential of places across the country. This means a full review of what it means for a project to be value for money.
Alongside this, our industrial strategy led by the Business Secretary, will see a complete rewiring of the state. The mayors’ local growth plans are the bedrock of our industrial strategy, underpinning how we drive growth in every town and city. And finally, harness the great potential of the North.
These plans are already underway. Every mayor is working with government to align priorities. Time is of the essence, which is why we’re wasting no time in publishing local growth plans, setting out these blueprints to deliver the manufacturing and green jobs of the future.
That’s only part of our efforts to rebalance the economy. My Department and the Treasury are working with all strategic mayors with expert units laser-focused on unlocking devolution opportunities in skills, transport, and business support.
And as we kickstart growth, it is only right that the workers who fuel the economy, get back what they put in. This government’s Employment Rights Bill means the biggest upgrade to rights at work in a generation. A bill that takes the very best standards from the very best businesses – and extends it to millions more workers.
We are clear – better living standards is our number one mission. And we will succeed in our mission when working people can contribute to growth and benefit fairly from it. In some of the most deprived parts of the country – in places across the North – this legislation could save workers up to £600 in lost income.
Giving people a stable income, a chance to get a mortgage, putting more money in people’s pockets which in turn can be spent on the high streets and in local businesses. Boosting town centres and local economies with regenerative effects – this is about building a new route to prosperity from the bottom up, and the middle out, not the top down.
Managers and senior decision-makers agree that this bill will boost productivity. Which is good for workers, and good for business. We all know that treating workers decently is just what good businesses already do. We are backing business to level the playing field so that good employers aren’t undercut. Encouraging businesses to compete on quality and innovation in a race to the top.
Without our bill, more working days will be lost through ill-health, costing businesses money. Inaction isn’t an option. Businesses have everything to gain from this bill but I recognise it will be a big change which is why where businesses have raised concerns we have listened. It’s why we introduced a statutory probation period.
We want businesses to be able to hire with confidence whilst still extending new protections for workers. These are plans which are pro-business, as well as pro-worker, which is why I am hell bent on making work pay.
And just as we’ll leave no worker behind, we’ll also be fighting for every single town, village and estate. Too many neighbourhoods have been underestimated and overlooked for too long.
[political content removed]
When I first stepped into government, we inherited a burnt-out shell that they called levelling up. It promised to rebalance the North and South. But when I got into government, the truth is, the money didn’t exist. There was this warped idea that all places needed was a lick of paint and a chess board in the park.
[political content removed]
We’re doing away with the sticking plaster policies of old and working towards national renewal. To achieve that, we need to start empowering people to drive change in their communities. And to anyone who doubts this ambition, to anyone who doubts the North, I say that our region has been underestimated and overlooked for far too long.
This government is only giving the North what it’s owed, and what it deserves. For too long, our outdated system of council funding has been stacked against the north. The days of Ministers expecting the North to go cap in hand ends now. That’s why with Jim McMahon, our Minister for English Devolution and Local Government, we are making simpler and clearer structures and will fix the foundations of local government. He is already beginning to replace the funding formula to give the North nearly £840 million more this year. That brings the North’s total increase to just over 8 per cent – the biggest rise of all regions in England, by a good distance.
If this new formula had been applied under the last government, the North would’ve seen billions more in funding. Instead, councils saw cuts of 23 per cent. So we’re starting to right that wrong.
And we realise that every council has different needs. That’s why we’ve set aside a cash-terms increase for local government of 6.8 per cent. That’s over £69 billion for local government. All councils are facing pressures, but it’s particularly hard for those that bore the brunt of austerity. And this year’s settlement marks a clear direction of travel for the rest of the Parliament.
But I know that the change this country needs can’t be micromanaged from Whitehall. It’s people in this room today – mayors, councillors, business owners and investors – who will drive us forward. And as that happens, I can promise that the full force of the government will be behind you.
Transferring power out of Westminster, getting Britain building, letting our towns and cities fire on all cylinders, doing whatever it takes to kickstart economic growth and leaving no one behind in that government-defining mission.
Thank you.
Published 28 February 2025
Source: US State of New York
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of 621 West 45th Street, a state-owned parcel in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The site, currently utilized as a surface parking lot, spans approximately 50,584 square feet along the east blockfront of Twelfth Avenue between West 45th and West 46th Streets. This project presents an opportunity to transform one of the largest undeveloped parcels on Manhattan’s far West Side into a vibrant hub of residential and mixed-use development, addressing the critical need for affordable housing in the area. Applicants can view the Request for Proposals document here and submit a proposal to Empire State Development by May 15, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
“The West Side of Manhattan has a storied history as a vibrant, inclusive community, and I’m committed to strengthening that legacy by building for a more affordable future,” Governor Hochul said. “By transforming this underutilized State-owned property into a dynamic mixed-use development with a significant affordable housing component, we’re taking aim at low housing supply in a high-demand area and building a stronger community for residents in Hell’s Kitchen and beyond.”
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “This is an extraordinary opportunity to transform a state-owned asset into a thriving residential and mixed-use development that meets the needs of New Yorkers while enhancing the vibrancy and diversity of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. By repurposing this underutilized site, we can deliver affordable housing, create engaging public spaces, and catalyze economic growth in one of Manhattan’s most dynamic communities. We look forward to reviewing innovative proposals that will bring this vision to life and make a lasting, positive impact on the community.”
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Governor Hochul’s 2025 budget is making historic inroads in our push to make New York more affordable and included a proposal to build up to 15,000 new homes on State-owned land. This announcement is a concrete example of that promise in action. This long underused and distressed site along 12th Avenue on Manhattan’s far West Side is ideal for inclusive mixed use development, and especially affordable homes, that will anchor, diversify and stabilize this area of Hell’s Kitchen, making it even more of a destination than it already is — it will be home for many.”
The parcel offers a unique opportunity to address New York’s housing crisis through innovative redevelopment. Previously used as a surface parking lot supporting the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the site occupies a prominent location in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, adjacent to the Hudson River waterfront. With its proximity to Hudson River Park, transportation hubs and vibrant local amenities, the redevelopment of this underutilized parcel will serve as a cornerstone for inclusive growth, delivering much-needed affordable housing, fostering mixed-use development, and enhancing the quality of life for current and future residents.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) outlines key development objectives designed to maximize the site’s potential and ensure a transformative impact on the community. These include:
Representative Jerry Nadler said, “It is no secret that New Yorkers are facing a housing crisis, and the transformation of a state-owned surface level parking lot on 12th Avenue across from the Intrepid into a mix of residential and commercial development with at least 25% affordable is a win for the entire City. This Hell’s Kitchen property is one of the largest undeveloped parcels on the far west side and its transformation will create a vibrant mixed-use development, while also ensuring that the Intrepid retains its needed parking and access for them and the community to the Hudson River Park with pedestrian bridge access.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said, “I’m pleased to see more affordable housing is coming to the West Side of Manhattan. The plan announced by Governor Hochul and Empire State Development will transform over 50,000 square feet of a state parking lot into new affordable and market rate housing, as well as amenities and support services for the neighborhood. I look forward to working with Community Board 4 and Empire State Development throughout the process to help bring this project to life.”
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal said, “What the world needs now, is a whole lot more housing. Between Donald Trump’s prohibitive steel tariffs and devastating layoffs and cuts at HUD, the federal government is making it incredibly difficult to build housing during a national affordability crisis. That’s why I’m glad to welcome plans for a new residential building in my Assembly district – one that offers both much-needed affordable housing and commercial growth on the far West Side of Manhattan. However, we cannot stop here – I continue to urge the Governor to identify and map potential underutilized or vacant land for housing opportunities across the state.”
Council Member Erik Bottcher said, “It’s exciting to see even more new affordable housing being proposed in our community. Governor Hochul and Empire State Development’s initiative will transform a surface parking lot into desperately needed housing, along with essential services and community resources. I’m eager to work with Community Board 4 and Empire State Development to support this project and help bring it to completion.”
Manhattan Community Board 4 Chair Jessica Chait said, “Manhattan Community Board 4’s Affordable Housing Plan has championed utilizing underdeveloped and unused city- and state-owned land as one of the most effective ways to create the housing New Yorkers desperately need, and we are delighted that the Governor has directed Empire State Development to advance on projects like this. We look forward to working with ESD and its partners to develop a project that produces real homes and community benefits while also respecting the historic neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen.”
Advancing Governor Hochul’s Comprehensive Housing Agenda
The project builds on the Governor’s bold vision to expand the state’s housing supply through innovative measures such as the Pro-Housing Communities Program and Executive Order 30, which promote barrier-breaking solutions to spur much-needed development. As part of the FY25 Enacted Budget, Governor Hochul secured landmark agreements that include new tax incentives for Upstate communities, targeted relief to create additional housing in New York City, and a $500 million capital fund to develop up to 15,000 new homes on state-owned property. An additional $600 million in statewide funding and new protections for renters and homeowners underscore the Governor’s commitment to affordability and equity.
These efforts build upon the Governor’s FY23 five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan aimed at creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes — including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations — and electrifying an additional 50,000 units. To date, more than 55,000 homes have been created or preserved under this initiative. The FY25 Enacted Budget also strengthened the Pro-Housing Community Program, making Pro Housing Certification a prerequisite for municipalities to access up to $650 million in discretionary funding. Currently, 275 communities have been certified, including New York City — reflecting a growing statewide commitment to addressing New York’s critical housing needs.
Source: United States Attorneys General
The Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that it will be visiting 10 university campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023. Created pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, the Task Force set as its first priority to eradicate antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.
Leading Task Force member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell informed the 10 universities yesterday that the Task Force was aware of allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law. Mr. Terrell said he intends for the Task Force to meet with university leadership, impacted students and staff, local law enforcement, and community members as it gathers information about these incidents and considers whether remedial action is warranted.
“The President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the entire Administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” said Mr. Terrell. “The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment.”
The 10 universities identified by the Task Force are: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.
If you have been discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov. President Trump’s Executive Order can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Nokia completes acquisition of Infinera to create innovation powerhouse in optical networks, with the scale to power the data center revolution
28 February 2025
Espoo, Finland — Nokia announced today the closing of the acquisition of Infinera Corporation. The San Jose based company has become part of Nokia effective as of the closing.
The acquisition brings together two innovation leaders with a history of industry firsts. In doing so, it creates an optical networks powerhouse with the scale to accelerate product roadmaps, further expanding Nokia’s ability to help network operators – whether service providers, webscalers or enterprises – unlock the opportunities and meet the network and power demands of the AI era.
“I am delighted we have been able to quickly and successfully complete the acquisition of Infinera. This transaction will significantly improve our scale and profitability in optical networks, and allows us to speed up the pace of innovation to meet the requirements of the AI era. The Infinera acquisition will accelerate our growth strategy in data centers and strengthen our presence both in North America and with webscale customers,” remarked Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia.
“The speed with which the transaction was approved is very positive for Nokia, as is the strong support the deal has received from customers. In welcoming our new colleagues – and the talent and expertise they bring with them – we are creating a new organization that will be a pace-setter in innovation, offering capabilities across a wide range of optical networking technologies, underpinned by the cutting-edge research of Nokia Bell Labs. Innovation benefits from scale, and the expansion offered by the acquisition means that we will be able to bring more to customers, faster,” commented Federico Guillén, President of Network Infrastructure at Nokia.
The Infinera team will join Nokia’s Optical Networks business – headed by its Vice President and General Manager, James Watt. Meanwhile Infinera CEO, David Heard will join Nokia’s Network Infrastructure business group as NI Chief Strategic Growth Officer. In this position he will help to set and oversee the implementation of the business group’s growth plans, including specific customer segment strategies, product and market mix, and go-to-market approach across the business group.
“I am delighted to welcome David to Nokia and to Network Infrastructure. His extensive experience in technology and business strategy implementation will play a leading role in helping our business group seize opportunities in the market and achieve our ambitions across all our markets and business areas,” added Guillén.
“From strong growth in the webscale space to service provider successes spanning metro, long haul and subsea networks, the proven accomplishments of the Infinera team make for an ideal complement to Nokia’s recognized optical network leadership and innovation. I’m excited about the widely expanded opportunities this new chapter opens up and what it means for Nokia and its Network Infrastructure business, and delighted to be joining the team to help accelerate its growth across all customer segments worldwide,” said Heard.
With more than 1,000 customers globally, the combined company’s solutions power some of the biggest operators worldwide, along with leading organizations in verticals including enterprise, utilities, government and research & education.
Meeting the challenges of the AI era
Data centers are at an inflection point as AI and cloud put massive new demands on them. To overcome these challenges requires new ways of thinking about data center technology that emphasizes mission-critical aspects of networking technology.
Nokia’s offerings across the Network Infrastructure portfolio apply the same mission-critical standards to customers in every sector, from service providers to webscalers to organizations in a broad range of industry sectors. Directing innovation power towards topics such as reliability, security and sustainability – as well as capacity, flexibility and manageability – Nokia is strongly placed to bring value to data center builders and users, including in intra-data center for server-to-server connections to support the increasing demands of new AI workloads.
EUR 200 million synergy target reconfirmed
On 28 June 2024, Nokia and Infinera announced the companies had signed a definitive agreement under which Nokia would acquire Infinera for US$6.65 per share with shareholders able to elect cash, Nokia shares or a combination of both with a proration mechanism limiting the Nokia share issuance to approximately 30% of the aggregate consideration paid to Infinera shareholders. All Nokia shares will be issued to Infinera shareholders in the form of American Depositary Shares.
Nokia announced at the time and reconfirms today that it expects the transaction to be accretive to Nokia comparable operating profit and EPS in 2025 and Nokia continues to target over EUR 200 million of net comparable operating profit synergies from the deal by 2027 with the synergies ramping gradually over the three-year period. The transaction is expected to deliver over 10% comparable EPS accretion in 2027.
Multimedia, technical information and related news
Web Page: Nokia Optical Networks
Web Page: Infinera is now part of Nokia
About Nokia
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.
With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.
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Source: The Conversation – USA – By Christine Keiner, Chair, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology
Healthy coastal ecosystems play crucial roles in the U.S. economy, from supporting multibillion-dollar fisheries and tourism industries to protecting coastlines from storms.
They’re also difficult to manage, requiring specialized knowledge and technology.
That’s why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the federal agency best known for collecting and analyzing the data that make weather forecasts and warnings possible – leads most of the government’s work on ocean and coastal health, as well as research into the growing risks posed by climate change.
The government estimates that NOAA’s projects and services support more than one-third of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet, this is one of the agencies that the Trump administration has targeted, with discussions of trying to privatize NOAA’s forecasting operations and disband its crucial climate change research.
As a marine environmental historian who studies relationships among scientists, fishermen and environmentalists, I have seen how NOAA’s work affects American livelihoods, coastal health and the U.S. economy.
Here are a few examples from just NOAA’s coastal work, and what it means to fishing industries and coastal states.
One of the oldest divisions within NOAA is the National Marine Fisheries Service, known as NOAA Fisheries. It dates to 1871, when Congress created the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. At that time, the first generation of conservationists started to worry that America’s natural resources were finite.
By conducting surveys and interviewing fishermen and seafood dealers, the fish commissioners discovered that freshwater and saltwater fisheries across the country were declining.
Oil spills and raw sewage were polluting waterways. Fishermen were using high-tech gear, such as pound nets, to catch more and more of the most valuable fish. In some areas, overfishing was putting the future of the fisheries in jeopardy.
One solution was to promote aquaculture, also known as fish or shellfish farming. Scientists and entrepreneurs reared baby fish in hatcheries and transferred them to rivers, lakes or bays. The Fish Commission even used refrigerated railroad cars to ship fish eggs across the country.
Today, U.S. aquaculture is a US$1.5 billion industry and the world’s fastest-growing food sector. Much of the salmon you see in grocery stores started as farm-raised hatchlings. NOAA provides training, grants and regional data to support the industry.
NOAA Fisheries also helps to regulate commercial and recreational fishing to keep fish populations healthy and prevent them from crashing.
The 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other laws implemented catch limits to prevent overfishing. To develop fair regulations and combat illegal practices, NOAA and its predecessors have worked with fishing organizations through regional fishery management councils for decades.
These industries generate $321 billion in sales and support 2.3 million jobs.
NOAA also benefits U.S. coastal communities by restoring coral reefs.
Corals build up reefs over centuries, creating “cities of the sea.” When they’re healthy, they provide nurseries that protect valuable fish species, like snapper, from predators. Reefs also attract tourism and protect coastlines by breaking up waves that cause storm-driven flooding and erosion.
The corals of Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico and other tropical areas provide over $3 billion a year in benefits – from sustaining marine ecosystems to recreation, including sport fishing.
However, reefs are vulnerable to pollution, acidification, heat stress and other damage. Warming water can cause coral bleaching events, as the world saw in 2023 and 2024.
NOAA monitors reef health. It also works with innovative restoration strategies, such as breeding strains of coral that resist bleaching, so reefs have a better chance of surviving as the planet warms.
A third important aspect of NOAA’s coastal work involves controlling invasive species in America’s waters, including those that have menaced the Great Lakes.
Zebra and quagga mussels, spiny water flea and dozens of other Eurasian organisms colonized the Great Lakes starting in the late 1900s after arriving in ballast water from transoceanic ships. These invaders have disrupted the Great Lakes food web and clogged cities’ water intake systems, causing at least $138 million in damage per year.
In the Northwest Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, invasive lionfish, native to Asia and Australia, have spread, preying on native fish essential to coral reefs. Lionfish have become one of the world’s most damaging marine fish invasions.
NOAA works with the Coast Guard, U.S. Geological Survey and other organizations to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species. Stronger ballast water regulations developed through the agency’s research have helped prevent new invasions in the Great Lakes.
One of NOAA’s most crucial roles is its leadership in global research into understanding the causes and effects of climate change.
The oil industry has known for decades that greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels would raise global temperatures.
Evidence and research from around the world have connected greenhouse gas emissions from human activities to climate change. The data have shown how rising temperatures have increased risks for coastal areas, including worsening heat waves and ocean acidification that harm marine life; raising sea levels, which threaten coastal communities with tidal flooding and higher storm surges; and contributing to more extreme storms.
NOAA conducts U.S. climate research and coordinates international climate research efforts, as well as producing the data and analysis for weather forecasting that coastal states rely on.
When Republican President Richard Nixon proposed consolidating several different agencies into NOAA in 1970, he told Congress that doing so would promote “better protection of life and property from natural hazards,” “better understanding of the total environment” and “exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources.”
The Trump administration is instead discussing tearing down NOAA. The administration has been erasing mentions of climate change from government research, websites and policies – despite the rising risks to communities across the nation. The next federal budget is likely to slash NOAA’s funding.
Commercial meteorologists argue that much of NOAA’s weather data and forecasting, also crucial to coastal areas, couldn’t be duplicated by the private sector.
As NOAA marks its 55th year, I believe it’s in the nation’s and the U.S. economy’s best interest to strengthen rather than dismantle this vital agency.
Christine Keiner conducted research at the NOAA Library for her books “The Oyster Question” and “Deep Cut.”
– ref. Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska – even if they don’t realize it – https://theconversation.com/coastal-economies-rely-on-noaa-from-maine-to-florida-texas-and-alaska-even-if-they-dont-realize-it-250016
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Americans’ trust in government and politicians is at record lows. In a 2022 Pew Research survey, about two-thirds of respondents said that all or most people who run for office want to serve their own personal interests rather than the community’s.
I have taught political ethics to hundreds of public policy students at the Harvard Kennedy School over the past 25 years. One of the most important concepts we discuss is directly tied to that falling faith in government. It’s a term people love to throw around but can’t always define: conflicts of interest.
Conflicts of interest pervade public service and jeopardize the quality of government action by degrading officials’ judgments. Controlling such conflicts is essential to the success of democracy because all citizens rely on millions of officials – from the president down to the person analyzing water quality in your city – to do their jobs conscientiously, using their best judgment. Citizens’ safety depends on government action in countless ways: to keep drinking water, food and medicines safe; to protect everyone from dangerous products and from individual and corporate predators; to keep airplanes, cars and trains from colliding; to ensure access to education, health care and pensions.
But what counts as a conflict of interest? In the public sector, they arise when an official has “secondary,” private interests that may affect their judgment about how best to promote the public good. The more intense these private interests are – such as the promise of great financial gain or the welfare of loved ones – the greater the conflict and risk to public good.
Secondary interests often stem from financial concerns: future employment prospects, corporate positions, stock holdings, real estate and gifts. But secondary interests can also arise from concern for the well-being of family members and friends.
A conflict between primary and secondary interests – public vs. private – threatens the public by clouding the good judgment of officials. They may be tempted, even unconsciously, to make decisions that achieve secondary interests at the cost of not doing their best to advance the public interest.
During his last weeks in office, for example, former President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter and, preventively, many members of his family. The Constitution establishes the president’s pardon power as a mechanism to correct miscarriages of justice in the court system. Did Biden’s concern for the welfare of his family – a secondary, private interest – cloud his judgment about how best to use this extraordinary power to pardon for the sake of justice, a primary, public interest? It is impossible to peer inside his mind, but anyone can see that there was a strong conflict of interest.
Many public officials mistakenly deny that there is a conflict at all. Charlie Wilson, a secretary of defense in the 1950s, was previously president and CEO of General Motors, a defense contractor. “For years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa,” he said during confirmation hearings. “The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country.”
After Trump was elected in 2016, he famously said that “the president can’t have a conflict of interest.” It wasn’t true then, and it’s not true now. Conflict of interest is an ethical principle that applies to everyone acting in a public role. The principal law regulating conflict of interest in the federal government does exempt the president and vice president. However, the emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibits some conflicts of interest.
The president enters his second term with large private assets in social media platform Truth Social and cryptocurrency $Trump – industries that the United States is figuring out how to regulate.
When leaders have a conflict of interest, it doesn’t necessarily mean they make bad judgments or act corruptly. Nevertheless, such conflicts can reduce citizens’ confidence about their leaders’ judgment.
Conflicts of interest create three problems for democracy.
Most important, the public suffers when officials’ judgments are compromised: when they are no longer doing their level best for Americans because they are concerned about various private interests rather than with citizens’ rights and well-being.
Second, conflicts of interest reduce trust and confidence in government and democracy. Even if officials who have large conflicts of interest resist the pull of secondary interests, members of the public may – especially in this time of cynicism about government – still suspect that their leaders are acting corruptly.
Third, when officials use their powers to benefit their private interests rather than the public interests, they profit from their offices: This is corrupt and unfair.
Though conflicts of interest are ubiquitous, there are good strategies to mitigate and manage them.
Federal agencies, as well as many state and local governments, require officials to mitigate their conflicts of interest by divesting from secondary interests, such as shifting from specific stock holdings to general funds and resigning from positions on boards of directors. Most U.S. presidents since Jimmy Carter have put their substantial assets into blind trusts in order to manage their conflicts of interests. In a blind trust, the owner knows the value of the trust but not the particular stocks and other holdings in it.
Transparency and disclosure is another common management tool. When information about officials’ secondary interests is publicly available, citizens can better understand the forces that affect the judgment of those in government. For example, people who have undergone Senate confirmation for high-level positions in the federal government must file extensive disclosures that detail their assets and many of their prior sources of income.
Biden disclosed 22 years of income tax returns. Other presidents have sometimes released several years of tax returns or parts of their tax records – in particular, how much tax they paid.
Finally, it is important to create offices and procedures with staff dedicated to monitoring and mitigating conflicts of interest. In the executive branch, the seventy-some staff at the Office of Government Ethics, and many more ethics officers across the federal government, regulate conflicts of interest and other ethical issues. In February 2025, Trump dismissed the office’s director, who had been confirmed by the Senate two months before.
Many states and cities have ethics commissions that adjudicate conflicts of interest, deciding when officials should recuse themselves from particular decisions in which they are conflicted. In 2002, for example, New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board issued an advisory opinion about how multibillionaire Michael Bloomberg, the mayor at the time, should manage his conflicts of interest. They advised that he should recuse himself from all matters relating to the Bloomberg company, divest from large stock holdings and transfer those assets into professionally managed mutual funds, among other recommendations.
Many conflict of interest measures are formulated with moderately wealthy individuals in mind. For example, the median wealth of a U.S. senator in 2018 was US$1.75 million. At that level, measures such as blind trusts, divestment and recusal are usually very workable.
Hyperwealthy multibillionaires, however, raise unprecedented conflict of interest concerns that are far more difficult to mitigate and manage. Because their financial interests are enormous and range across many parts of the economy, standard conflict of interest measures have proven difficult to implement.
Archon Fung serves on the National Governing Board of Common Cause, whose mission is to “to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest.” The organization has advocated to control conflicts of interest of many public figures, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
He also consults for Apple and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Boston Review.
– ref. What are conflicts of interest and what can be done about them? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-conflicts-of-interest-and-what-can-be-done-about-them-249983
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jeffrey Schmitt, Professor of Law, University of Dayton
In a short few weeks, President Donald Trump has upended many core parts and functions of the U.S. government. He dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and fired thousands of government employees. He has also fired several inspectors general and board members of independent agencies.
Additionally, Trump’s administration has violated court orders to unfreeze federal funding. And Trump has issued an unprecedented number of executive orders, including one that aims to end the practice of birthright citizenship, something that is guaranteed by the plain text of the U.S. Constitution.
Legal experts have said that all of these actions and more are leading up to, or have already sparked, a constitutional crisis.
There is not one clear definition of what a constitutional crisis actually is. And, as constitutional law scholar Jeffrey Schmitt explains in an interview with Amy Lieberman, politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., there is also no comparable historical example for Trump’s exercise of executive power.
Why are some people calling what is currently underway a constitutional crisis?
I think legal experts are concerned that Trump is expanding executive power beyond anything we have known in American history. And as executive power continues to expand, we may eventually hit a tipping point that threatens the structure of the government, as laid out in the Constitution.
If the Constitution has one central feature, it is the separation of powers. The Constitution divides power between the states and the federal government, and federal power is divided between the three branches of government – the executive, judicial and legislative.
Now, Trump appears to be taking over Congress’ core powers, including taxing and spending. Typically, Congress passes a budget, and the president can sign or veto the bill. Once the budget is passed into law, the president cannot refuse to spend the allocated money.
There is some history to this. President Richard Nixon refused in the 1970s to spend money Congress had appropriated, and the U.S. Supreme Court then ordered the federal government to spend the money. Federal law now prohibits what’s called “impoundment.”
How is Trump challenging these laws now?
Trump is freezing spending on things he does not support politically, like foreign aid. He also is trying to place new conditions on the disbursement of federal funds as a way to control state and private institutions. For example, a recent letter from his administration threatens to withhold federal funding from schools that do not abandon DEI programs.
Trump has also fired top officials at independent agencies such as a member of the independent National Labor Relations Board, when federal law and Supreme Court precedent indicate that he has no constitutional authority to do so. He has also fired agency watchdogs without following legal requirements to give Congress 30 days notice. When he fired most USAID employees and froze the agency’s foreign aid payments, he shuttered an entire agency established by Congress.
And his firing of thousands of federal workers isn’t just about who works in government – cuts like this make an agency unable to perform its mission.
The federal courts are intervening in some cases, but they are blocking only a small fraction of the president’s actions.
Are there other times in history the country has come close to a constitutional crisis?
President Abraham Lincoln and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt both led the country during periods of constitutional change, and they both clashed with the Supreme Court.
Slavery in the federal territories was the constitutional crisis that precipitated the Civil War. This issue dominated politics throughout the 1850s because people thought it would determine the future of slavery as new states were admitted to the Union. When Congress was unable to reach an agreement, the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional for Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories in the infamous case of Dred Scott v. Sandford.
But opposition to the expansion of slavery was the unifying principle of the young Republican Party. So, during the election of 1860, Lincoln argued that Dred Scott was not binding on the country because it was not settled precedent. He acknowledged, though, that the court’s decisions are binding in the case before it.
When Lincoln campaigned for president in 1860, he promised to appoint judges who would overrule Dred Scott and to work with Congress to ban slavery in the territories. When Lincoln realized that constitutional change was necessary, he worked tirelessly to get the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, ratified in 1865.
Franklin Roosevelt also worked within the constitutional system to expand the role of the federal government in the New Deal, a series of domestic public works programs in the 1930s. When the Supreme Court ruled against early New Deal programs, FDR complained that the justices were old and out of touch.
So Roosevelt in 1937 proposed packing the Supreme Court with new justices in a transparent attempt to push the court into accepting his broad reading of federal power. This proposed change never became law, but the Supreme Court changed its views on federal power at roughly the same time, ending the crisis. The country overwhelmingly supported the New Deal’s expansion of federal power in several national elections.
How does today’s situation involving Trump differ?
Unlike Lincoln or Roosevelt, Trump is trying to seize the powers of Congress and unilaterally transform the federal government. Roosevelt worked with Congress to pass legislation and eventually convince the Supreme Court to accept his views. And while Lincoln rejected the court’s proslavery reading of the Constitution, Trump may be rejecting its central feature – the structural balance of power.
Can the country resolve this crisis?
Aside from Trump deciding to change course, there is not much that can be done. Courts can issue orders, but they do not have a military and cannot easily enforce them.
Congress has the power to remove the president, via impeachment. As we learned during Trump’s first term, however, impeachment is not easy.
If the president decides to ignore the courts – and Congress continues to do nothing – the final constitutional check on Trump’s power will be the next federal election.
Jeffrey Schmitt 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. What’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers – https://theconversation.com/whats-a-constitutional-crisis-heres-how-trumps-recent-moves-are-challenging-the-constitutions-separation-of-powers-250706
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adam Lenton, Assistant Professor of Politics & International Affairs, Wake Forest University
At face value, the Kremlin has plenty to celebrate after U.S. and Russian officials held high-level bilateral talks on the war in Ukraine for the first time since the full-scale conflict began in 2022.
Russian delegates at the meeting, which took place on Feb. 18 in Saudi Arabia, struck an ebullient tone. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concluded that “the American side has begun to better understand our position,” while Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and an envoy for Moscow, noted that the delegates managed to loosen up enough to laugh and joke. President Vladimir Putin did not attend the meeting, but he characterized it the following day as “very friendly,” going as far as to describe the American delegation as “completely different people” who were “ready to negotiate with an open mind and without any judgment over what was done in the past.”
And the talks are far from the only reason for optimism in Moscow. In statements that echoed Kremlin propaganda, U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for being invaded and described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator.” The U.S. then sided with Russia in two United Nations votes on the conflict and opposed language describing Russia as the aggressor in a draft G7 statement marking the anniversary of the war.
This perceived rapprochement between Washington and Moscow has many critics on both sides of the Atlantic.
Within Russia the reaction has been mixed. And not everybody in Moscow is celebrating the apparent shift in U.S. policy.
Of course, many Russians would welcome a thaw in relations. In January, Russia’s leading independent polling group found that 61% of Russians favored peace talks over continuing the war in Ukraine – the highest level yet. Meanwhile, the number of web searches for “When will the ‘Special Military Operation’ end?” on Yandex, a Russian tech firm, reached its highest-ever weekly total in the wake of the U.S.-Russia talks.
While public opinion is unlikely to shape the Kremlin’s approach given Putin’s sole control over major foreign policy decisions, evidence suggests that a rapprochement with the United States could also be a boon for Putin at home.
In a recently published article in the peer-reviewed journal International Security, my co-author Henry Hale and I found that while most Russians view the U.S. and NATO as threats, they largely prefer a pragmatic, measured response from the Kremlin – an approach they believed Putin delivered prior to the war in 2022.
High-level summits between Russia and the U.S. have tended to be well received, we found. This is because they tap into a widely held preference for cooperation as well as depicting Russia as a geopolitical “equal” to the U.S.
Yet not everyone is pleased with the prospect of closer U.S. ties. Russia’s vocal minority of tub-thumping war supporters is already angry.
This loose community of so-called “Z-patriots” – a reference to the large “Z” letters marking Russian military equipment at the beginning of the war – has been a double-edged sword for the Kremlin.
While they have been helpful in mobilizing grassroots support for the war, they have also lambasted Moscow’s execution and made pointed criticisms of top military brass. Such attacks are, in effect, a way of making veiled attacks on Putin himself.
And we are talking about a sizable minority. Estimates indicate that Z-patriots – the more hawkish and ideologically committed segment of war supporters – represent 13% to 27% of the Russian population.
One of this group’s most prominent ideologues, Zakhar Prilepin, didn’t pull any punches in a recent interview. He described as “humiliating” the fact that “the Russian media community, political scientists and politicians are dancing with joy and telling us how wonderful everything is (now that) Trump has arrived.”
There are reasons to take this group seriously. According to Marlène Laruelle, an expert on nationalism and ideology in Russia, the Z-patriots are emerging as key opinion leaders.
Unlike other ideological camps in Russia, the Z-patriots are very much a product of the war, having emerged from the popular military blogging community and with deep connections to paramilitary and veterans organizations. Indeed, many sympathized with former mercenary Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s anti-elite rants, while Igor Girkin, a former Donbas warlord who claimed to have sparked the initial war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, openly mocked Putin to his almost million-strong Telegram followers.
The Kremlin partially cracked down on some of the Z-patriots in 2023. Prigozhin’s ill-fated mutiny in June was followed by his suspicious death in a plane crash later that summer, while Girkin was jailed and handed a four-year prison sentence for “inciting extremism.”
Yet the Z-patriots remain a force. Girkin, commenting on the U.S.-Russia talks from prison, lamented the “egregious managerial and command failure” over the past three years and sarcastically concluded that Moscow’s political elites, aware of their own weakness, are likely to “‘drag their heels’ in their inimitable style – and with their well-known genius.”
Other pro-war voices expressed skepticism about the information communicated by the Russian delegation and ironically said they expected the Kremlin would pass a law against “discrediting Russia-American relations,” a play on the March 2022 law against “discrediting” Russia’s military.
Some of the sharpest criticisms of the Kremlin have been about the economy.
Recent weeks have seen renewed optimism among many in Russia that sanctions relief is on the horizon and that sought-after Western brands may return. Russia – since 2022 the most sanctioned country in the world – had previously appeared to accept that sanctions would remain for decades to come.
The Russian delegation at the recent talks emphasized the prospect of economic cooperation with the United States, no doubt believing Trump to be receptive to such mercantile framings.
A few days later, Putin announced a willingness to develop Russia’s rare earth minerals with foreign partners, including the United States, in what appeared to be an attempt to outbid Zelenskyy.
This, too, provoked a populist backlash among Z-patriots.
“Grampa’s lost it,” one wrote in a thinly veiled swipe at Putin.
Another displayed dismay that “stealing Russia’s natural resources once again became a prospect for mutually beneficial cooperation with American partners.”
“We’ve barely begun to develop small and medium businesses,” Prilepin noted, deriding the “unbearable” excitement around the possibility of Western brands returning.
These sentiments have struck a chord with other parts of society. After all, some Russian businesses have benefited from Western brands’ exit from the Russian market. The government is attempting to fend off these criticisms with a new bill proposed to Russia’s parliament on Feb. 27 calling to ban Western companies that had financially supported Ukraine.
Perhaps most consequential will be what happens to the hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers currently on the front lines.
While runaway military spending and lavish payouts to soldiers continue to strain the Russian economy, demobilization also poses risks.
A report from the Institute for the Study of War recently concluded that demobilization would be politically risky for the Kremlin, fearful that masses of disgruntled veterans might constitute a potential challenge.
That said, many of the estimated 700,000 Russian troops in Ukraine will eventually return to civilian life and likely become an important constituency in Russian politics moving forward.
The Z-patriots may be a product of war, but they will have an afterlife beyond it. Meanwhile, regardless of any Russian rapprochement with the White House – or perhaps because of it – Russia’s hawks won’t be turning into doves anytime soon.
Adam Lenton 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. As the Kremlin eyes a thaw with the White House, Russia’s pro-war hawks aren’t too happy – https://theconversation.com/as-the-kremlin-eyes-a-thaw-with-the-white-house-russias-pro-war-hawks-arent-too-happy-250716
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Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
UK and French Interior Minister launch new police and enforcement plans including state of the art surveillance technology to disrupt smuggling gangs in France.
New measures to tackle people-smuggling gangs have been agreed by the UK and France, with over £7 million of existing funds redirected towards a stronger law enforcement response on migrant channel crossings, as Yvette Cooper meets with French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, the first Home Secretary visit to Northern France in almost 5 years.
As part of the ongoing Sandhurst agreement and new joint working between the 2 governments, the ministers have agreed a series of new, stronger enforcement plans from spring, including:
The Home Secretary and her French counterpart met in Calais on 27 February to agree new law enforcement action as part of their renewed partnership on tackling small boat crossings in the English Channel.
This builds on renewed efforts to tackle people smuggling from the two countries, which has seen the UK set up the new Border Security Command led by former Police Chief Martin Hewitt, and the French government appoint a new Special Representative on Migration, Patrick Stefanini.
More than €1.3 million in reallocated funds will provide 12 specialist intelligence officers as part of the judicial police unit, the Groupe d’Appui Operationnel, stationed in Dunkirk.
This highly specialised unit will focus on disrupting organised immigration crime activity and the flow of small boats equipment, with dual powers to investigate and prosecute people-smugglers, enabling more convictions at a faster rate and ensuring that those responsible face justice.
Another €2.67 million has been reallocated to mobilise a new policing unit, the Compagnie de Marche. Taking inspiration from the operational response during the Paris Olympics, the unit’s officers have elite public order powers to address increases in violence on French beaches. This will enable more dynamic patrols of the shoreline to apprehend smugglers, intercept crossings and prevent loss of life in the channel.
Additional French reservist officers have been deployed along the coastline since 1 January 2025, showing better co-operation and use of resource between UK and France under the Sandhurst Agreement, which was signed in 2018. In addition, the French Interior Minister has announced police and enforcement presence on transport routes towards the French coast, and €3,980,000 has been reallocated to further increase the number of deployed reservists.
As the Home Secretary has made clear, and as this new funding approach demonstrates, the UK government is determined to increase cooperation to go after the criminal gangs who are undermining border security and putting countless lives at risk.
While visiting Calais and Le Touquet, the first Home Secretary to do so since 2020, Yvette Cooper met with law enforcement officers and local officials to thank them for their work to prevent boat crossings and to deal with the growing disgraceful violence from criminal gangs against police officers along the coast.
As part of these enhanced measures, €326,500 funding will also be reallocated to supplying crucial safety of life at sea (SOLAS) equipment including surveillance cameras, drones and life jackets.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
Criminal smuggler gangs are running an appalling and dangerous trade in people – undermining UK and French border security, causing huge damage and putting lives at risk. The gangs operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too. That is why our joint work with France is so important and we are strengthening our cooperation, with new specialist enforcement teams to go after these dangerous gangs.
These criminal networks operate right across Europe and beyond, and we are determined to increase our joint action working with other countries to stop the gangs and boats before they reach the French coast
I am grateful to my friend and colleague Minister Bruno Retailleau for the close cooperation between our teams and for his continued support and leadership in tackling organised immigration crime. The violence from criminal gangs against French police along the coast is a total disgrace, and I want to thank the French police and authorities for the work they are doing to respond to that violence, to prevent boat crossings and to save lives.
Between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025, both illegal working visits and arrests have soared by around 38% compared to the same 12 months prior. During the same period, the Home Office issued a total of 1,090 civil penalty notices to those employing illegal workers. Employers could face a fine of up to £60,000 per worker if found liable.
In addition, nearly 19,000 foreign criminals and people with no right to be in the UK have now been removed since the government took office.
This renewed co-operation comes amid the introduction of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill under the government’s Plan for Change, which creates a framework of new, enhanced powers and offences to improve UK border security and to strengthen the asylum and immigration system.
It also comes ahead of the government’s Border Security Summit, due to take place in London on 31 March and 1 April, to which France and over 40 other countries are invited to discuss solutions to organised immigration crime.
Published 28 February 2025
Source: Scottish Greens
These cuts undermine claims that the UK government is a force for good.
Keir Starmer should listen to his resigning International Development Minister, Anneliese Dodds, and reverse his cruel cuts to cuts to foreign aid, says Scottish Green Co-leader Patrick Harvie.
Ms Dodds has called for any extra military spending to be funded by fair taxation, rather than through cutting life-saving aid for some of the most marginalised people in our world.
Mr Harvie said:
“I commend Anneliese Dodd’s decision to resign from her role in protest of this shameful decision. The stakes are high and there are people who will die as a result of these cuts.
“I hope that Keir Starmer will listen to her and to the many aid organisations who have condemned these cuts.
“Instead of being a friend to people and nations destroyed by famine and war, the Prime Minister is following in the footsteps of Donald Trump while showing a total disregard for people in need of support.
“These cuts will take support away from some of the world’s most marginalised people. It is a cynical and cruel decision that completely undermines any claims that the UK government has to be a force for good on the world stage.”
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kajeet®, a leading provider of wireless connectivity solutions for education, today celebrates the resounding endorsement from school districts nationwide for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate program expansion to include Wi-Fi hotspots for off-campus use. This support was powerfully highlighted during a recent Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition webinar (recording available here), where education leaders underscored the transformative impact of the program on student access to digital learning resources.
The SHLB webinar, which addressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s initiative to enact a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the FCC’s June 2024 hotspot order, featured persuasive testimony from school district representatives.
Jill Hobson of Gainesville City Schools recounted poignant experiences, stating, “We had students completing homework in McDonald’s parking lots, as it was their only means of accessing the internet.” She further illustrated the program’s impact with a notable example: “One student, previously struggling academically, achieved grades of A’s and B’s after receiving a hotspot, at last able to stay on pace with her peers.” These narratives underscore a widely shared conviction among districts nationwide: dependable internet access has become an essential requirement for education, rather than a mere convenience.
Kajeet has long championed equitable access to education through its innovative connectivity solutions, partnering with schools to deploy secure, filtered Wi-Fi hotspots that meet E-Rate requirements. “We’ve seen firsthand how access to safe internet connectivity empowers students, especially in underserved communities,” said Ben Weintraub, CEO at Kajeet. “The overwhelming support from school districts during the SHLB webinar reinforces what we already know: this program is a lifeline for millions of students and families.”
Critics argue that student connectivity through school-provided hotspots could lead to unrestricted access to platforms like TikTok, but the data tells a different story. In 2024 alone, Kajeet’s advanced filtering technology blocked over 2.7 billion attempts to access TikTok on E-Rate-funded devices, reinforcing the effectiveness of these safeguards. According to Weintraub, “Digital equity shouldn’t come at the cost of student safety—Kajeet’s data-driven approach proves that both can go hand in hand.”
Despite this groundswell of support, the FCC’s Wi-Fi hotspot initiative faces uncertainty as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Ted Cruz lead efforts to overturn the program via the CRA. It was also noted in the webinar recording that the program’s reversal would disproportionately harm rural and low-income students. “School districts are telling us loud and clear: E-Rate hotspots are working,” Weintraub said. Kajeet stands in solidarity with these voices, urging policymakers to preserve a program that has proven its value in closing the homework gap.
As a trusted partner to hundreds of school districts, Kajeet remains committed to supporting educational equity through technology. “We call on Senators to listen to the educators and students who rely on this program,” Weintraub added. “Their success stories are the true measure of E-Rate’s impact.”
For more information about Kajeet’s E-Rate solutions or to schedule an interview, please contact ljennings@kajeet.com.
About Kajeet
Kajeet provides optimized IoT connectivity, software and hardware solutions that deliver safe, reliable, and controlled internet connectivity to nearly 3,000 businesses, schools and districts, state and local governments, and IoT solution providers. Kajeet is the only managed IoT connectivity services provider in the industry to offer a scalable IoT management platform, Sentinel®, that includes complete visibility into real-time data usage, policy control management, custom content filters for added security and multi-network flexibility. To learn more, visit kajeet.com.
Media Contact:
Linda Jennings
248-521-3606
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alternative Ballistics Corporation is proud to announce the appointment of Jags Gill as Chief Revenue Officer, International. With over 12 years of successful experience in global sales, leadership, and channel development, Jags is set to drive the company’s international growth strategy, expanding its presence and revenue across global markets.
In his new role, Jags will leverage his extensive experience in building and leading international teams, while fostering long-term relationships with key stakeholders within law enforcement, military, and government organizations. His proven track record of navigating complex cultural, political, and economic factors in diverse global markets makes him ideally suited to lead Alternative Ballistics’ expansion and strengthen its position as a leader in innovative security solutions.
Jags is deeply passionate about using technology to support those who serve and protect us. His commitment to placing transformative tools into the hands of law enforcement professionals and military personnel aligns perfectly with the mission of Alternative Ballistics Corporation: to enhance public safety and empower professionals with life-saving technologies. With his expertise and vision, Jags is poised to contribute significantly to the company’s growth and success on the global stage.
Jags Gill shared his excitement about the new opportunity:
“I am honored to join Alternative Ballistics Corporation at such an exciting time for the company. The opportunity to work with a team that is committed to providing innovative solutions to those who make a difference every day is truly inspiring. I look forward to building on the company’s strong foundation and leading its international revenue strategy, bringing our transformative technologies to more professionals and organizations around the world.”
Steve Luna, CEO of Alternative Ballistics Corporation, commented on the appointment:
“We are thrilled to welcome Jags Gill to Alternative Ballistics as our new Chief Revenue Officer, International. His exceptional experience in global sales and leadership, combined with his deep understanding of international markets and passion for innovative technology, will be a tremendous asset to our team. Jags shares our commitment to improving public safety, and we are confident that his expertise will help us expand our reach and drive continued growth.”
Alternative Ballistics Corporation continues to lead the way in providing cutting-edge security solutions, with a mission to enhance the safety of professionals in law enforcement, military, and security sectors. With Jags Gill’s leadership, the company is poised for a new era of growth and innovation on the global stage.
About Alternative Ballistics Corp.
Alternative Ballistics Corporation (“ABC”) produces an innovative less-lethal product known as The Alternative® which features patented bullet capture technology. The product is used by law enforcement as a de-escalation tool in critical incidents when encountering a non-compliant subject in crisis, in possession of a weapon other than a firearm, who presents a threat to themselves, to officers, or to bystanders. A lightweight, easy-to-carry docking unit, The Alternative® efficiently attaches to a service weapon to convert a fired bullet into a kinetic impact round that, when deployed from a safe distance, travels downrange with non-penetrating energy, and temporarily incapacitates an individual with low risk of critical injury or death. Once deployed, the service weapon reverts to standard use. The Alternative® may also be available in the future in the commercial market as a self-defense tool for the purpose of protecting life and property. It is the only less-lethal product in either the law enforcement or commercial market that works with a service weapon or semi-automatic handgun for seamless protective cover and doesn’t require transition to a separate device, allowing the user to keep eyes and weapon on the threat at all times.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we or our representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the information currently available to us. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including: our ability to advance the direction of the Company; our ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; and the competitive environment of our business. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement.
Company Contact:
www.alternativeballistics.com
For Investor Inquiries, please contact:
Hanover International, Inc.
Kathy Cusumano, President
ka@hanoverintlinc.com
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tom F. Wright, Reader in Rhetoric, University of Sussex
So, it’s happened. You’re on stage, Oscar statue in hand, facing Hollywood’s finest and millions of viewers. You could keep it simple – thank your agent, your co-stars, your dog. Or you could use this moment to say something that matters.
That’s exactly what Jane Fonda just did at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards, urging the audience “to resist successfully what is coming at us” as Elon Musk’s Doge holds a chainsaw to the US federal government. From the cold war to civil rights to Trump 2.0, award ceremonies have always been stages for activism.
Some of these political speeches have been electrifying. Some have flopped. Some have been drowned out by the orchestra before they even got started. If you’re going to make a political speech at the Oscars, you’d better do it right.
Thankfully, Kenneth Burke — one of the 20th century’s most influential rhetorical scholars — offers a road map. His theories on identification, dramatism and symbolic action explain why some speeches resonate while others fall flat.
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Burke argued in the 1950s that rhetoric isn’t just about persuasion – it’s about identification. A speaker is most persuasive when they convince their audience that they share the same values and concerns. If people feel you’re “one of them”, they’re more likely to listen.
The Oscars create a unique rhetorical challenge. Inside LA’s Dolby Theatre, you might be surrounded by like-minded pampered progressives. But beyond that room, millions of viewers at home may be far less receptive.
Director Michael Moore learned this the hard way in 2003 when, after winning best documentary for his film Bowling for Columbine, he stormed the stage and declared: “Shame on you, Mr Bush! Shame on you!” The result? A mix of cheers and boos. And days of being pilloried on cable news. Instead of drawing people in, Moore’s approach alienated half his audience.
Compare this with Meryl Streep’s speech at the 2017 Golden Globes when collecting her lifetime achievement award. She also criticised her president but framed it differently: “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”
She didn’t need to utter Donald Trump’s name. And because she framed her speech as a universal concern, rather than a partisan attack, it resonated beyond the room.
Burke’s second idea is that all communication is “dramatic” – a performance shaped by setting, characters and conflict. In a political speech, the most compelling “character” is often you, the speaker.
Audiences don’t just respond to abstract arguments. They connect with people who embody the very struggle they’re speaking about.
Lily Gladstone’s 2024 Golden Globes speech worked this way. When she won best actress for Killers of the Flower Moon, she didn’t start with industry statistics or broad calls for change. Instead, she spoke in Blackfeet, honouring her Indigenous roots: “I just spoke a bit of Blackfeet language, a beautiful community – the nation that raised me.”
That one sentence transformed her win into a moment of cultural recognition, making her speech as much an act of representation as a speech about representation.
If you want your audience to engage, you must frame your message in a way that pulls them in. Whereas a speech that just states a problem can feel like noise, one that connects the issue to a larger story can be powerful.
This is where Burke’s idea of symbolic action comes in. He defined it as “the making or construction of social reality through symbols that foster identification”. Put another way: words don’t just describe reality, they shape it.
Take Oprah Winfrey’s 2018 Golden Globes speech picking up the Cecil B. DeMille award. Instead of simply condemning sexism in Hollywood, she tied it to a broader historical movement, from civil rights to #MeToo: “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power [of] those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!”
Winfrey wasn’t just talking about change – she was creating it in real time, rallying the room behind a clear, urgent message. That’s the difference between listing a problem and delivering a message that sticks.
While framing helps persuade an audience, some moments go further, becoming acts of defiance themselves. This is when a speech moves beyond words into symbolic action.
Let’s take perhaps the most famous protest in Oscars history. In 1973, Marlon Brando refused to pick up his best actor statue – sending in his place Sacheen Littlefeather, who explained she was there as a protest for Hollywood’s treatment of Native American people.
“He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” she told the audience. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry … and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”
In under a minute, she transformed what could have been a quiet refusal into a national reckoning. The audience’s reaction – some cheering, some booing – only made it clearer. This wasn’t just a speech, it was a moment.
A speech that merely describes a problem may be forgotten, but one that transforms the moment itself? That’s the stuff of history.
No matter how well you craft your speech, someone is going to be angry. Burke’s final idea for helping us understand this is the “scapegoat mechanism”, by which one figure is cast as the discordant element that must be removed to restore unity.
If you make a political speech at the Oscars, it could be you. Vanessa Redgrave learned this in 1978: after winning best supporting actress for her role in Julia, she defended her pro-Palestine activism against attacks from the Jewish Defence League, who she called a “bunch of Zionist hoodlums”. The reaction was instant – cheers mixed with boos.
Later that night, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky publicly rebuked her, saying: “A simple ‘thank you’ would have sufficed.” The backlash hurt Redgrave’s career, but she stood by her words.
If you’re going to say something political, be prepared to own it. And make sure you beat the orchestra.
Tom F. Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. How to make a political Oscars speech that doesn’t flop – according to rhetorical theory – https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-a-political-oscars-speech-that-doesnt-flop-according-to-rhetorical-theory-250949
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Colleen Murrell, Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City University
A federal judge in the District Court of Columbia will shortly decide if the US president, Donald Trump, is allowed to dictate the terms of service of the Associated Press (AP), the US wire agency that proudly proclaims it is read by 4 billion people every day.
In a (typically for this administration) knee-jerk decision on February 11, White House officials informed AP that its journalists would be barred from entering restricted areas such as the Oval Office and Air Force One until it stops using the geographic term “Gulf of Mexico” – in contravention of an executive order renaming it the “Gulf of America”.
AP’s style guide explains that the Gulf of Mexico has carried this name for more than 400 years, and that Trump’s order only holds authority within the US. It notes that as a global news agency, it “must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences”.
But the style guide adds that, while AP will continue to refer to the body of water by its original name, it will do so “while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen”.
According to AP’s executive editor, Julie Pace: “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the first amendment” – which covers freedom of speech and the press.
In seeking to overturn the ban, AP brought a lawsuit (AP-v-Budowich-Complaint) against the White House chief of staff, Susan Wiles, the deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, and its press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, in their official capacities.
After a short hearing, Judge Trevor N. McFadden – who was appointed by Trump – declined to restore AP’s access immediately, and instead set another hearing date for March 20. According to the Washington Post, the judge was “not sufficiently convinced the situation was ‘dire’ enough to warrant such an intervention” – and therefore was “not inclined to act precipitously on the executive office of the president”.
Following this decision, the White House denied access to Trump’s first cabinet meeting on February 26 to an AP photographer, as well as reporters from Reuters, HuffPost and German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. Instead, officials allowed in cameras from ABC and Newsmax, plus reporters from Axios, the Blaze, Bloomberg and NPR.
But can the president be allowed this pick-and-mix approach to access to the seat of power?
The White House press pool has been in place for more than a century, with the seating allocation in the press briefing room decided by the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association. As the major American news agency, AP has traditionally held the coveted middle front-row seat, which it still retains – even though senior officials have tweeted veiled threats to rescind AP’s entire White House credentials.
The press briefing room holds 49 seats, with some seats shared between two companies on rotation, and a few journalists or photographers permitted to stand in the aisles when there is room. Meanwhile, Air Force One (in reality, two Boeing 747s used on rotation) only has room for 13 people to represent the entire White House press corps. The pool on the plane is ordinarily made up of three agency reporters (AP, Reuters and Bloomberg), four photographers (including from AP), three network TV journalists, a radio reporter and two print reporters.
Trump has an ongoing fight against “legacy” news outlets that dominated coverage before the advent of the internet. These media often have strict editorial guidelines, but the president has regularly dismissed them as “fake news”. During the election campaign, he ignored well-known programmes such as CBS’s Sixty Minutes in favour of Joe Rogan’s podcast.
At the Pentagon, Trump’s new military brooms have also been sweeping legacy media companies out of their briefing rooms. This list includes NBC, the New York Times, Politico, CNN and The Washington Post. In their place will go Trump-friendly outlets such as Newsmax and the Washington Examiner.
Meanwhile, a petition by media companies is calling on the US government to “honor its commitment to freedom of expression” by upholding “a nonpartisan defense of a free press”. Included on this petition are the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Members of the press pool are usually the only reporters that get to throw questions at senior members of the administration. Its members follow the president on important trips both nationally and internationally. AP is a widely trusted non-profit news organisation, and its reports get syndicated to media organisations throughout the world, with any profits used to pay for its staff and its newsgathering.
The White House released a statement on February 24: “As we have said from the beginning, asking the president of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right.”
However, having an independent arbiter making decisions about press pool representation is surely preferable in maintaining a free press and accountability than allowing each administration to pick its own reporters – or even its own facts.
Colleen Murrell received funding from Irish regulator Coimisiún na Meán (2021-4) for research for the annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland.
– ref. White House spat with AP over ‘Gulf of America’ ignites fears for press freedom in second Trump era – https://theconversation.com/white-house-spat-with-ap-over-gulf-of-america-ignites-fears-for-press-freedom-in-second-trump-era-251163
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen Drake, Professor of French and European Studies and Director of Loughborough University London’s Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, Loughborough University
If there was a book of diplomacy, then French president Emmanuel Macron threw it at US president Donald Trump in their joint press conference in Washington DC. Macron delivered quite the masterclass in the diplomatic arts. Unthreatening body language and public displays of affection? Check.
Meeting your interlocutor on any and every inch of common ground? Check. Macron’s willing use of fluent English was a key tactic here. Other than when answering French-language questions (when to have responded in English would have brought Macron yet more domestic grief), he adapted to the language of his hosts.
Recalling shared memories of happier, shared times? Check. It was smart to remind Trump of his time as a guest at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris just a few months previously.
Gently correcting a friend in danger of veering too far from reality (here, regarding the extent and type of European aid to Ukraine) as you would expect from a true ally? Again, check.
These are the soft skills of diplomacy as communication between human beings to which Macron typically brings his heart, body and soul. On this occasion and on this criterion he outperformed even himself, and outclassed his host by some degree.
At times, Trump looked enraptured by this performance from such an interesting specimen of utter Europeanness. At others, the host fidgeted and listened stony-faced to the halting interpretation of Macron’s rapid-fire French. He tried a few gauche niceties of his own (“say hello to your beautiful wife”) and dialled up to the max his personal brand of touchy-feely diplomacy.
Beyond the memorable set pieces of diplomatic theatre lies, of course, the message itself. This must represent the voice, the interests and the concerns of the state or other diplomatic actor. But it may well go against the flow, disrupting the smooth surface of diplomatic pleasantries.
Former French president Charles de Gaulle notoriously ruffled cold-war feathers in the 1960s with rousing speeches to stir non-aligned countries and French-speaking people to contest the existing world order. Former foreign minister Dominique de Villepin will be remembered for his eloquent, impassioned plea to the United Nations security council in 2003 against the allied invasion of Iraq.
Macron has dabbled in free-wheeling diplomacy himself. He claimed in 2019 that Nato was close to “brain death” and maintained a dialogue with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Macron’s account at the press conference with Trump, he closed this line of communication when he learned of the atrocities being perpetrated by Russian forces.
Articulating France’s global, strategic interests is where Macron feels most comfortable and probably where he is best suited (judged by the standards of his domestic political failings). His trip to Washington at such a pivotal moment in Trump’s second presidency, with the fate of Ukraine in the balance, was a natural move for a leader who, since the beginning of his first mandate in 2017, has sought to lead the European conversation about the continent’s security.
His sense of urgency to secure greater European autonomy and capacity in its defence lies behind his willingness to talk to all parties. France does, after all, go by the fiendishly untranslatable label of a “puissance d’équilibres” (which means an actor with the power to strike a balance but also perhaps to bring others into balance or even, simply, to keep the peace).
Macron’s readiness to confront the cold, hard facts of contemporary international relations – he has already told the French they need to put themselves on a wartime footing in economic terms – gives him a track record of sorts in the diplomatic negotiations now to come: between Europeans themselves, and between Europe and the US.
But facing down Macron’s fancy optics is one particularly awkward fact – namely that Trump does not do diplomacy by the book, or at least not the one he was metaphorically gifted by president Macron. Where the point of diplomacy is to establish a common language with shared codes and expectations in order to ease tensions and bridge differences between parties, Trump’s diplomatic how-to guide boasts new chapters on the arts of bullying, harassment, gaslighting and, of course, the deal.
Read more:
Trump and Europe: US ‘transactionalism on steroids’ is the challenge facing leaders now
For now, the US president is tolerating the quaint diplomatic overtures of these curious Europeans and given the ultra-high stakes of what couldn’t be further from a game, that is diplomacy itself.
Helen Drake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Emmanuel Macron used every diplomatic trick in the book at the White House – but Trump writes his own rules – https://theconversation.com/emmanuel-macron-used-every-diplomatic-trick-in-the-book-at-the-white-house-but-trump-writes-his-own-rules-250832
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Benjamin Selwyn, Professor of International Relations and International Development, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex
The UK’s food system was described as broken in a recent parliamentary report – and it’s not hard to see why. High living costs, a health crisis of diet-related chronic disease, farmers’ incomes squeezed and low pay across the agricultural sector all play their parts.
And these elements are underpinned by an environmentally destructive mode of agricultural production – the longer the livestock-intensive system prevails, the greater the environmental, economic and social costs.
The opportunity cost of not dealing with the food crisis is severe. The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission found that the price of the UK’s unhealthy food system is around £268 billion a year – almost equivalent to the government’s entire expenditure on health. And farmers are also worried about the sector as they face an unpredictable climate, smaller profits and changes to tax relief policies.
I have researched how a green new deal for agriculture – namely a food system that complements rather than undermines the environment, while tackling social inequities – could begin to address these problems.
In 2024 the UK’s farming sector experienced its second-worst harvest on record. Huge levels of rain last winter disrupted farmers’ ability to grow crops and reduced yields.
The UK’s population faces a significant health crisis, exacerbated by the high cost of living. In 2022, around two-thirds of the population across all four nations were either overweight or obese.
Retailers, processors and distributors grab an exorbitant share of the final value of many agricultural products. Sometimes farmers make as little as 1p profit for each item they produce. And farm workers’ earnings can sometimes leave them facing absolute poverty.
What’s more, the UK farming sector is systemically inefficient. Dairy and meat products provide about 32% of calories consumed in the UK, and less than half (48%) of the protein. At the same time, livestock and their feed make up 85% of the UK’s total land use for agriculture.
To make matters worse, land ownership is highly concentrated – about 25,000 landowners, typically corporations and members of the aristocracy, own about 50% of England, for example.
A green new deal for agriculture would require a significant reorientation of policy, akin to the 1945 Labour government’s establishment of the welfare state. Critics might decry the costs and difficulties – but the longer the government waits, the greater the economic and environmental costs are likely to be.
The government could introduce compulsory sale orders to spread land ownership more evenly. These would enable public bodies to obtain land that has been left derelict, vacant or that has been used in environmentally damaging ways. These measures could be supported by the establishment of community land trusts – non-profit, democratic organisations that own and work land for the benefit of local people.
And a green new deal for agriculture could start with the government using its ecosystems service payments, where farmers and landowners are paid to manage their land in an environmentally beneficial way, to stimulate a transition to more plant-based proteins. This could combat hardship among farmers and agricultural workers, and tackle food poverty and ill health in the population. It would also establish the basis for a more sustainable agricultural system.
Read more:
Subsidised community restaurants could help tackle the UK’s broken food system – here’s how
The UK think tank Green Alliance has mapped a green protein transition. It would entail an increase in “agro-ecologically” farmed land – that is, methods that bring a more ecological approach to farming. At present, this is about 3% of UK land, and it would have to rise to 60% by 2050. Under the plan, by 2030 10% of farmland would become semi-natural habitat, rising to one-third by 2050. This would protect land and facilitate natural restoration, and would also support agro-ecological farming methods.
In this scenario, Britons would be projected to eat 45% less meat and dairy, replacing them with alternative proteins – plants and synthetic foods such as those made from precision fermentation. This is a revolutionary technology producing proteins that can be used in new alternatives to meat and dairy.
Many conceptions of the protein transition from animal sources to more plant products ignore the necessity of improving farmers’ and agricultural workers’ incomes. But this will be crucial.
Ecosystems service payments should be broadened to include a focus on sustainable incomes. Farms can be paid directly by government for sustainable production to combat farmer poverty. And the real living wage of £12.60 an hour should be compulsory for agricultural workers.
As land use shifts from livestock grazing and feed crop production, more ground could be used for food crops for human consumption. There would then be more scope to change which food crops are produced – from wheat to legumes, for example.
Research has shown that flour made from broad beans is higher in key nutrients – protein, iron and fibre – than wheat flour. Bread, pasta, pizza, cakes and biscuits could increasingly be produced using broad bean flour, underpinning a shift towards more nutritious diets.
A protein transition would also free up land for fruit and vegetable production for domestic consumption, reducing the UK’s heavy import dependence by using polytunnels and environmentally sustainable greenhouses.
Climate breakdown means that the frequency of poor harvests will increase. And the volatile economic and political global picture means that affordable food imports cannot be taken for granted.
A green new deal for agriculture could begin to remedy many of the problems the UK faces due to its broken food system. What’s needed is a coalition including courageous political parties, farmers, and workers within and beyond food production. Working together, these groups would be well placed to withstand the economic, political and environmental shocks that are on the horizon.
Benjamin Selwyn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. The UK’s food system is broken. A green new deal for agriculture could be revolutionary – https://theconversation.com/the-uks-food-system-is-broken-a-green-new-deal-for-agriculture-could-be-revolutionary-250565
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Read, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Nobody likes to wait, and we are willing to pay to avoid it. Expedited shipping, fast food and video streaming are all profitable because they reduce or eliminate that wait. You can test this by asking a group of people to choose between receiving £100 now or £110 in a year. Research shows a significant majority will choose the £100.
But why do many people choose not to wait, when it seems obvious that they would be better off doing so? Sometimes this impatience is just put down to irrationality, impulsivity or short-sightedness, but there is also a long tradition in psychology and economics that views impatience as, at least in part, a rational response to the world.
Perhaps the world of today, or perhaps the world in which we evolved.
Recent research proposes that our evolutionary history shaped our impatience, and uses mathematical models to show how it works.
The key idea is this. Imagine a large population of identical people who can choose between enjoying an early reward, or a larger reward later in time. An example might be choosing between two hunting grounds, one close and one further away.
The closer one is guaranteed to yield a small animal quite quickly, while the farther one is likely to yield a big animal but only after a considerable wait or a gruelling hunt. Another example might be eating the juvenile, smaller fruit on a tree or waiting a few months until the fruit are abundant and ripe.
Of course there is a catch. If the people wait too long for the large reward, there is a chance they won’t live long enough to earn it. And even if they do, the ripe fruit might have vanished before they reached it, perhaps stolen by a rival.
As the authors of the recent study show, the animals (including humans) they model are better off taking the bird in the hand with even relatively small amounts of risk (you might not reach the birds) and uncertainty (there might not be two birds when you get there).
Although models like this are simplifications of the real world, they are valuable for conceptualising how evolution might have produced particular tendencies in humans and other animals. But this model doesn’t do a lot to explain the human impatience we see now.
In most studies of choice over time, people display high levels of impatience even in settings where risk is all but eliminated, and when it is financially beneficial to be patient.
One explanation is that the evolved way of valuing the future is still in place even in modern humans. We act as if the world is uncertain and risky, as it would have been for hunter gatherers, even when it is not.
Another explanation might be that we struggle to think about how the £110 is better than the £100. There is a lot of evidence for this.
Consider, for example, an experiment I carried out in 2012 with psychologists Marc Scholten and Shane Frederick. Participants chose between £700 now or £700 plus £42 in one year.
When given the choice in terms of monetary amounts, people were impatient. But if the £42 was described instead as “plus 6%” they were much more patient.
People know that earning 6% a year is a great interest rate. But many people do not do the calculations and the extra £42 seems paltry compared to the £700.
Another result that does not fit this evolutionary story concerns people’s responses to losses. Take a choice between paying a bill for £100 now or £100 later. A lot of people, often a majority, will prefer to pay the bill now. Indeed, some will prefer to pay £110 now rather than £100 later.
Yet the possibility that you will not have to pay a future bill, or that the bill might have vanished by the time you get to it (the indebted has forgotten or died) should make you want to delay paying bills as long as possible. The more common response is probably partly due to a fundamental aversion to debt, which does not have an obvious evolutionary basis, but it is associated with religiosity.
It remains to be seen if these complex preferences (such as patience for negative outcomes) can be explained by the process of natural selection, or if it is something that came later in human development.
Evolutionary theory is an essential tool for thinking about the foundations of human decision making. The modern world is, however, very different from the environment in which we evolved.
Daniel Read receives funding from the ESRC.
– ref. How evolution might explain impatience – https://theconversation.com/how-evolution-might-explain-impatience-249325
Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)
Big shifts must happen to ready teams for a work future that requires agile thinking and collaborating with emerging tech. Organizational psychologist, best-selling author and Wharton professor Adam Grant shares research-backed strategies that help develop leaders and work relationships across an organization as well as help teams practice critical soft skills like analysis and creativity that are often overlooked and undervalued. He explains why future workers will need to become “job crafters,” and the one trait leaders won’t be able to work without. He’ll also share what a college job as a magician taught him about engaging skeptics (and prompting critical thinking) and why he swears by keeping a “To-Don’t” list.
This interview was recorded in January 2025 at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland
About this episode:
Adam grant: https://www.youtube.com/@adammgrant
Future of Jobs Report: https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/
Related Podcasts:
Meet The Leader – How leaders can prepare teams for the future of work: ADP’s Chief Economist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShvNPomJ4mE&t=508s
Meet The Leader – Upskilling, tapping human talents, and what’s really needed for the future of work: Cognizant CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEfNr3mizBY
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LIS Technologies Inc. (“LIST” or “the Company”), a proprietary developer of advanced laser technology and the only USA-origin and patented laser uranium enrichment company, today announced that it has appointed Professor J. Gary Eden, Ph.D., as its Chairman of the Advisory Board for Laser Engineering and Innovation.
“It is a pleasure to be involved with such an innovative and highly impactful technology,” said Professor J. Gary Eden, Chairman of the Advisory Board for Laser Engineering and Innovation of LIS Technologies Inc. “I am excited to apply my expertise and in-depth knowledge of advanced laser technologies to help advance LIST’s proprietary, patented technology to its next stage of development and eventual commercialization. The technology holds numerous advantages over other enrichment schemes and will be crucial in ensuring that the roll-out of advanced nuclear technologies, such as Generation IV reactors, is successful.”
Professor Eden has authored more than 370 referred, archival publications and 106 awarded patents, is a member of multiple honorary organizations, and is a Fellow of the IEEE, Optica, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and SPIE. In 1975, he was appointed a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Washington, DC). Professor Eden has demonstrated several powerful laser spectroscopic techniques that have resulted in the discovery of (for example) Rydberg series in the rare gas dimer molecules, the first observation of excitation spectra for the photoassociation of thermal atom pairs, and three body photoassociation.
As a research physicist in the Laser Physics Branch (Optical Sciences Division) of NRL from 1976 to 1979, he made several contributions to the area of visible and ultraviolet lasers and laser spectroscopy, including the co-discovery of the KrCl rare gas-halide excimer laser, and received a Research Publication Award (1979) for his work at NRL in which he co-discovered the proton beam pumped laser (Ar-N2, XeF). Since joining the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1979, he has been engaged in research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics, laser spectroscopy, and the discovery and development of ultraviolet and vacuum-ultraviolet lasers and lamps for applications in atomic clocks, laser fusion energy, and photochemical processing.
Figure 1 – LIS Technologies Inc. Appoints J. Gary Eden as its Chairman of the Advisory Board for Laser Engineering and Innovation.
He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, and Editor-in-Chief of Progress in Quantum Electronics. In 1998, Professor Eden served as President of the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS), following earlier service as a member of the LEOS Board of Governors. Professor Eden received the LEOS Distinguished Service Award in 1996, was awarded the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000 and was named a LEOS Distinguished Lecturer for 2003-2005. Between 2015 and 2017, he also served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics.
He was awarded the C.E.K. Mees Medal of the Optical Society of America in 2007 and was the recipient of the Fulbright-Israel Distinguished Chair in the Natural Sciences and Engineering for 2007-2008. J. Gary Eden received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He is a co-founder of Eden Park Illumination and EP Purification.
“LIS Technologies has assembled an outstanding team of researchers and leaders to spearhead the revival of our proprietary technology,” said Jay Yu, Executive Chairman and President of LIS Technologies Inc. “Professor Eden is an ideal addition to this group, and I am delighted to welcome him to the team. His distinguished career sets a benchmark in the laser spectroscopy field, and I am confident that his role on our Advisory Board will allow us to harness his unique expertise. This will be instrumental in driving innovation and positioning the Company to accelerate the deployment of our technology.”
Professor Eden joins LIS Technologies as the Company builds on the growing momentum within the United States nuclear energy industry, having been selected on December 2024 as one of six companies to participate in the Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Enrichment Acquisition Program. This initiative allocates up to $3.4 billion overall, with contracts lasting for up to 10 years. LIST intends to leverage Professor Eden’s unique expertise to further refine and develop its proprietary laser-based technology. Optimized for both Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) and High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), it overcomes the limitations of traditional pulsed 16µm CO2 lasers, featuring a streamlined design due to its lower absorption and shorter wavelength at 5.3µm. Demonstrated in the 1980s and 90s, this technology is protected by a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
“Professor Eden is one of the leading experts in molecular laser spectroscopy, dedicating his life to advancing innovative technologies across multiple disciplines,” said Christo Liebenberg, CEO of LIS Technologies Inc. “His addition is a significant endorsement of our ambitions and long-term strategy, and his decades of experience and extensive network will be invaluable as we continue developing our proprietary technologies. A reliable and abundant supply of enriched uranium is essential to the United States’ nuclear energy objectives, and I am confident Professor Eden will be instrumental in positioning the Company at the forefront of the industry.”
About LIS Technologies Inc.
LIS Technologies Inc. (LIST) is a USA based, proprietary developer of a patented advanced laser technology, making use of infrared lasers to selectively excite the molecules of desired isotopes to separate them from other isotopes. The Laser Isotope Separation Technology (L.I.S.T) has a huge range of applications, including being the only USA-origin (and patented) laser uranium enrichment company, and several major advantages over traditional methods such as gas diffusion, centrifuges, and prior art laser enrichment. The LIST proprietary laser-based process is more energy-efficient and has the potential to be deployed with highly competitive capital and operational costs. L.I.S.T is optimized for LEU (Low Enriched Uranium) for existing civilian nuclear power plants, High-Assay LEU (HALEU) for the next generation of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Microreactors, the production of stable isotopes for medical and scientific research, and applications in quantum computing manufacturing for semiconductor technologies. The Company employs a world class nuclear technical team working alongside leading nuclear entrepreneurs and industry professionals, possessing strong relationships with government and private nuclear industries.
In 2024, LIS Technologies Inc. was selected as one of six domestic companies to participate in the Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Enrichment Acquisition Program. This initiative allocates up to $3.4 billion overall, with contracts lasting for up to 10 years. Each awardee is slated to receive a minimum contract of $2 million.
For more information please visit: LaserIsTech.com
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Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For LIS Technologies Inc., particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following which are, and will be, exacerbated by any worsening of global business and economic environment: (i) risks related to the development of new or advanced technology, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, development of competitive technology, loss of key individuals and uncertainty of success of patent filing, (ii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations and (iii) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to commercially deploy a competitive laser enrichment technology, (iv) risks related to the impact of government regulation and policies including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in this and our other filings with the SEC. Only after successful completion of our Phase 2 Pilot Plant demonstration will LIS Technologies be able to make realistic economic predictions for a Commercial Facility. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.
Attachment
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
VIENNA, Va., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Castellum, Inc. (NYSE-American: CTM) (“Castellum” or “CTM”), a cybersecurity, electronic warfare, and software engineering services company focused on the federal government, announces that its Global Technology and Management Resources, Inc. (“GTMR”) subsidiary has been awarded a $103.3 million, five and one-half year contract for Special Missions Management of On-Site Services (“MOSS”) in support of the Naval Air Systems Command (“NAVAIR”) Program Office 290 (“PMA-290”) Special Missions. The contract consists of multiple Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (“ISR&T”) programs but not limited to, the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force Family of Systems, P-8A Research and Development, SM Platforms, Minotaur Family of Services, P-8A Increment 3, P-8A Foreign Military Sales, MQ-4C Triton Multiple Intelligence, Mobile Quick Look, ground & mission support stations, and future capabilities.
This award represents the largest contract win in Castellum’s history and is expected to start next month. We will provide all aspects of the acquisition life cycle, including material solution analysis, technology development, engineering and manufacturing development, production and deployment, and operations support. This support encompasses engineering analysis and recommendations for technical, logistics, training, and acquisition life-cycle support for the ISR&T platforms and infrastructure, as well as their accompanying Ground Support Stations and classified network(s) entry facilities. With our leading-edge technology services and solutions, we will support the program maturation and integration of electronic warfare and special missions capabilities.
“We are building a strong and enduring foundation and winning culture here at Castellum and this major win and new opportunity reinforce the positive and powerful momentum our CTM Team continues to determinedly drive. As an industry leading technology services and solutions company, our CTM team could not be more proud and excited for this special opportunity to support our NAVAIR PMA-290 Special Missions customer as their trusted ‘go to’ prime contractor We are privileged and honored to be an essential part of their team and to help achieve their crucial mission to ensure our nation’s warfighters are armed with the most technologically advanced capabilities in the world and assure their success. And once again, it’s our remarkable team of outstanding CTM professionals who bring world-class skills, talent, experience, and dedication in these key technological domains, that make a very real and positive difference with their vital contributions to our all-important national security needs. This win reflects our uncompromising commitment to our people, our mission customers and our shareholders in our unrelenting pursuit of growing Castellum better and stronger in every way, for the long term. It also reflects the applied effectiveness of our renewed and re-energized organic growth strategy that we agilely and timely adjust based upon market conditions and the constantly evolving needs and capabilities requirements of our mission customers. I could not be more confident and encouraged for our CTM team as we look ahead,” said Glen Ives, President and Chief Executive Officer of Castellum.
About Castellum, Inc.
Castellum, Inc. (NYSE-American: CTM) is a cybersecurity, electronic warfare, and software engineering services company focused on the federal government – https://castellumus.com/.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events and can generally be identified by the use of statements that include words such as “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “shooting to,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “appears,” “goal,” “target” or similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expectations for revenue growth and new customer opportunities, improvements to cost structure, and profitability. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expectations for revenue growth and new customer opportunities including opportunities arising from its contracts with NAVAIR and other customers, improvements to cost structure, and profitability. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including, among others: the Company’s ability to compete against new and existing competitors; its ability to effectively integrate and grow its acquired companies; its ability to identify additional acquisition targets and close additional acquisitions; the impact on the Company’s revenue due to a delay in the U.S. Congress approving a federal budget, operating under a prolonged continuing resolution, government shutdown, or breach of the debt ceiling, as well as the imposition by the U.S. government of sequestration in the absence of an approved budget; the ability of the U.S. federal government to unilaterally cancel a contract with or without cause, and more specifically, the potential impact of the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization on government spending and terminating contracts for convenience. For a more detailed description of these and other risk factors, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) which can be viewed at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements made in this release or in any of its SEC filings except as may be otherwise stated by the Company.
Contact:
Glen Ives
President and Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (703) 752-6157
info@castellumus.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0bfdbdc0-17de-4f32-a7b1-1494f3d330e5
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
BEIJING, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — KE Holdings Inc. (“Beike” or the “Company”) (NYSE: BEKE and HKEX: 2423), a leading integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services, is pleased to announce today a significant upgrade in its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) from “BBB” to “A.” This achievement marks the second consecutive year of improvement for Beike, reflecting its steadfast commitment to excellence in ESG practices within the industry.
In MSCI’s latest evaluation, Beike earned an impressive overall score of 7.2 in the ESG social category, outperforming the global industry average of 4.3. This accomplishment is attributed to the Company’s continuous efforts in human capital development through tailored vocational training programs and structured career paths for service providers, together with its robust privacy and data security measures. Additionally, Beike made notable strides in exploring opportunities in incorporating green concepts across various business scenarios, such as establishing the “Lianjia Green Store Standard” to regulate eco-friendly renovations, material recycling, and smart energy control installations for the brokerage stores. These efforts contributed to a remarkable 1.8-point increase in the ESG environmental category from the previous year.
The MSCI ESG Rating, developed by a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, MSCI, serves as a benchmark for institutional investors to measure a company’s resilience to financially material ESG risks and to deploy capital in ways that maximize investment return over their time horizon.
With its mission of “admirable service, joyful living,” Beike is dedicated to creating long-term, sustainable value by reshaping China’s residential services industry through its infrastructure transformation and technology-driven innovation. This commitment empowers service providers to enhance their professional growth and deliver exceptional living experiences for consumers.
About KE Holdings Inc.
KE Holdings Inc. is a leading integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services. The Company is a pioneer in building infrastructure and standards to reinvent how service providers and customers efficiently navigate and complete housing transactions and services in China, ranging from existing and new home sales, home rentals, to home renovation and furnishing, and other services. The Company owns and operates Lianjia, China’s leading real estate brokerage brand and an integral part of its Beike platform. With more than 23 years of operating experience through Lianjia since its inception in 2001, the Company believes the success and proven track record of Lianjia pave the way for it to build its infrastructure and standards and drive the rapid and sustainable growth of Beike.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “aims,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “likely to,” and similar statements. Beike may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about KE Holdings Inc.’s beliefs, plans, and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Beike’s goals and strategies; Beike’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; expected changes in the Company’s revenues, costs or expenditures; Beike’s ability to empower services and facilitate transactions on Beike platform; competition in the industry in which Beike operates; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the industry; Beike’s ability to protect the Company’s systems and infrastructures from cyber-attacks; Beike’s dependence on the integrity of brokerage brands, stores and agents on the Company’s platform; general economic and business conditions in China and globally; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in KE Holdings Inc.’s filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and KE Holdings Inc. does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For more information, please visit: https://investors.ke.com.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
KE Holdings Inc.
Investor Relations
Siting Li
E-mail: ir@ke.com
Piacente Financial Communications
Jenny Cai
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: ke@tpg-ir.com
In the United States:
Piacente Financial Communications
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
E-mail: ke@tpg-ir.com
Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Students at a lecture
The Center for Student Entrepreneurship and Career of SPbGASU organized a lecture by representatives of one of the largest Russian developers, Samolet. Senior students were among the audience.
“We hold regular meetings between students and representatives of industry companies. In this way, students get a unique opportunity not only to learn about professions, but also to personally meet the largest construction companies in the country. The dialogue format allows students to ask questions and receive valuable recommendations from professionals, which will certainly help them in their future employment,” noted Veronika Nikiticheva, Deputy Director of the Center for Student Entrepreneurship and Career at SPbGASU.
Director of Human Resources and Sustainable Development of Samolet, Alexandra Gorchakova, spoke about the company’s history and culture, team values and career opportunities.
“In terms of construction volumes and land bank, our company ranks first in the country and has over a hundred projects at various stages in its portfolio. With such indicators, we occupy a leading position not only in the domestic market, but also in the European one. We are focused on constantly improving efficiency, for which we are developing new initiatives, introducing automation tools and new digital solutions. This year, we continue to develop the youth direction. We support special projects for young people: hackathons, excursions, career days,” explained Alexandra Gorchakova.
Maxim Shinkarev, the head of the development project at Samolet, spoke in detail about the development cycle: what stages it includes, what are the responsibilities of each specialist, and what skills are in demand. The presentation allowed students to clearly see the entire cycle, from the selection and registration of land plots to the settlement of new residents.
Fourth-year student of the construction faculty Egor Vinogradov admits that he learned in detail and directly from industry specialists about how a structure is built and put into operation, about possible risks, about the problems that have to be faced at different stages of construction. “Perhaps, I will contact this company for industrial practice,” Egor concluded.
Fifth-year construction student Ekaterina Ponomareva intends to develop professionally now, combining studies with work. It turns out that this is also possible at Samolet.
“I came to the lecture to learn more about construction processes directly from practitioners. I am quite well informed about the company, its large-scale projects and constant development, so I would like to get a job there, especially since I have heard about good salaries,” said Ekaterina.
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.
Source: Government of Canada regional news
The Province wants feedback on the design of a new online mapping tool that will help identify areas for possible aquaculture development.
The new coastal classification mapping tool will screen coastal waters to determine where aquaculture could be possible, based on conditions and needs of farmed salmon, trout, oysters and mussels. The results can then be used to guide and inform the selection of specific areas for further investigation, which would include public input.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for growth for aquaculture that will help meet the increasing demand for seafood, and we are going to do this responsibly,” said Kent Smith, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “The mapping tool will help provide a better understanding of where aquaculture could potentially happen in Nova Scotia – and where it likely will not happen.”
The Centre for Marine Applied Research, a division of Perennia, is providing scientific support for the development of the aquaculture coastal classification system.
More information and the online survey are at: https://novascotia.ca/coastal-classification-system-engagement/. The consultation ends March 15.
Aquaculture – the farming of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants – is the fastest-growing food production method in the world and is essential for meeting a growing demand for seafood. It is a key growth opportunity for Nova Scotia.
“Aquaculture coastal classification serves as a crucial first step to understanding various influences on future aquaculture projects. The process can help identify areas needing more study and areas that could benefit from additional monitoring and data collection. By integrating spatial data into an online map, it becomes a comprehensive tool for understanding where sustainable aquaculture is possible and helping industry, stakeholders, government officials, scientists and the public access detailed information about aquaculture in Nova Scotia.”
— Jenny Weitzman, research scientist, Centre for Marine Applied Research
“We see the coastal classification system as a good tool for people looking to get into Nova Scotia’s aquaculture sector or expanding their farms into new areas. Folks can learn about our dynamic coastline and get base level data to better understand how their farm plans might work in one area over another. Any resource that provides solid data and promotes growth is positive for the sector.”
— Jeff Bishop, Executive Director, Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia
Information about aquaculture and marine plants: https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/
Centre for Marine Applied Research: https://cmar.ca
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SINGAPORE, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Jagat, a rapidly growing location-based social networking app, is redefining how Generation Z connects by integrating gamification with real-world exploration. With its innovative approach, Jagat encourages users to engage with friends in person rather than solely online.
Jagat’s core functionality focuses on strengthening real-world connections. The app’s main interface displays friends’ real-time locations, battery levels, and daily footprints, fostering closer and more meaningful interactions. While reminiscent of the now-discontinued Zenly, Jagat distinguishes itself with original features, such as Jagat Coin Hunt, which enhances social engagement through interactive gameplay.
Jagat Coin Hunt: Gamifying Social Interactions and Real-World Exploration
Jagat Coin Hunt, an interactive geolocation-based game, has quickly gained popularity among young users. The game transforms everyday movement into an engaging treasure hunt, where users collect virtual coins hidden in real-world locations. By blending gaming with location sharing, Jagat Coin Hunt incentivizes users to explore new places and engage more actively with their surroundings.
Since its launch, Jagat has topped social networking and overall app download charts in multiple countries, amassing a global user base of over 22 million. The app has emerged as a leading location-based social platform, resonating with users who seek both entertainment and meaningful connections.
Promoting Social Good in public spaces
Beyond entertainment, Jagat is collaborating with governments and organizations to leverage Coin Hunt as a tool for community engagement. By incorporating public welfare initiatives into gameplay, Jagat aims to encourage young people to spend more time outdoors, explore their local communities, and engage in socially responsible activities.
“Jagat Coin Hunt is more than just a game; it’s a new way of socializing,” said Barry Beagen, Co-founder and President of Jagat. “We want users to discover joy in the real world, create memorable experiences with friends, and foster a sense of community. At the same time, we encourage players to contribute to a safe, sustainable, and inclusive social environment.”
Jagat continues to innovate at the intersection of social networking and real-world interaction, redefining how digital communities engage beyond the screen.
References:
Media Contact
Company: Jagat
Contact: Media Team
Email: marketing@jagat.io
Website: https://www.jagat.io/
SOURCE: Jagat
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today unveiled the highly-anticipated AMD RDNA™ 4 graphics architecture with the launch of the AMD Radeon™ RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards as a part of the Radeon™ RX 9000 Series. The new graphics cards feature 16GB of memory and extensive improvements designed for high-quality gaming graphics, including re-vamped raytracing accelerators and powerful AI accelerators for ultra-fast, cutting-edge performance, and breakthrough gaming experiences.
In a YouTube livestream, David McAfee, CVP and GM, Ryzen CPU and Radeon Graphics AMD, was joined by Andrej Zdravkovic, SVP of GPU Technologies and Engineering and Chief Software Officer, AMD, as well as Andy Pomianowski, CVP of Silicon Design Engineering, AMD, to discuss the outstanding performance and value proposition of the Radeon RX 9000 Series. In a related event in Zhuhai, China, Jack Huynh, SVP of the Client and Graphics Group, AMD, led a regional event for the new products. Huynh was joined by David Wang, SVP of GPU Technology and Engineering, AMD, and Lanzhi Wang, Senior Director of Product Management, AMD. The celebration was also marked by a customer celebration with Darren Grasby, EVP and Chief Sales Officer, AMD; Spencer Pan, President of AMD China, and partners including Asrock, ASUS, Gigabyte, Sapphire, Tul, Vastarmor, Veston, and XFX.
“Today, we’re thrilled to unveil the AMD Radeon™ RX 9000 Series, a significant leap forward in graphics performance powered by our next-generation AMD RDNA™ 4 architecture,” said McAfee. “These GPUs are designed to meet the demands of today’s games, delivering enthusiast-class gaming experiences to gamers everywhere, while ready to support tomorrow’s innovations. Through the power of advanced AI and Raytracing accelerators, we’re not just improving frame rates – we’re fundamentally enhancing the gaming experience. Offering incredible performance, AI-powered features, and next-gen display support at competitive price points, the Radeon RX 9000 Series delivers exceptional value for gamers looking to upgrade their systems.”
The RX 9000 Series, powered by the new AMD RDNA™ 4 architecture, offers gamers and creators a powerful blend of performance, visuals, and value. These advanced graphics cards redefine incredibly fast, high-resolution gaming with third-generation raytracing technology enabling realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections to deliver immersive gaming experiences while integrating a suite of AMD features to maximize hardware utilization. Beyond gaming, the RX 9000 Series GPUs leverage new second-generation AI accelerators with up to 8x INT8 throughput per AI accelerator (for sparse matrices) to enhance creative applications and effectively run generative AI applications (vs. RDNA 3).1 The RX 9000 Series GPUs also implement the newly redesigned AMD Radiance Display™ Engine & Enhanced Media Engine for broad display support and elevated quality in both recording and streaming.
Gaming For Today and Tomorrow
The Radeon RX 9000 Series unlocks new levels of performance while delivering a suite of new and enhanced features that improve the gaming experience. The Radeon RX 9070 Series offers 16GB of GDDR6 memory, allowing gamers to render the most exciting games of today and tomorrow at max settings. Compared to the previous generation RX 7900 GRE, the latest AMD Radeon RX 9070 is able to deliver over 20% more performance on average when gaming at 1440,2 with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT extending that lead to over 40% on average.3
Both graphics cards make smart upgrades for gamers looking to future-proof their systems with a suite of next-gen features that will keep their experiences feeling fresh for years to come. Key features include:
ML-Powered AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 4 (AMD FSR 4) Upgrade
AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series Product Specifications
| Model | Compute Units | GDDR6 | Game Clock (GHz) | Boost Clock6 (GHz) | Memory Interface | Infinity Cache | TBP | Price (USD SEP) |
|
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT | 64 | 16 GB | 2.4 | Up to 3.0 | 256-bit | 64 MB | 304W | $599 | |
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 | 56 | 16 GB | 2.1 | Up to 2.5 | 256-bit | 64 MB | 220W | $549 | |
Pricing and Availability
AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series graphics cards are expected to be available from leading board partners including Acer, ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, PowerColor, Sapphire, Vastarmor, XFX and Yeston beginning March 6th, 2025. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has an SEP of $599 USD, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 has an SEP of $549 USD.
Supporting Resources
About AMD
For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. Billions of people, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research institutions around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees are focused on building leadership high-performance and adaptive products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, LinkedIn and X pages.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) such as the features, functionality, performance, availability, timing and expected benefits of AMD products including the AMD Radeon™ RX 9000 Series graphics cards, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as “would,” “may,” “expects,” “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects” and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond AMD’s control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation’s dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices; Nvidia’s dominance in the graphics processing unit market and its aggressive business practices; competitive markets in which AMD’s products are sold; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; market conditions of the industries in which AMD products are sold; AMD’s ability to introduce products on a timely basis with expected features and performance levels; loss of a significant customer; economic and market uncertainty; quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; AMD’s ability to adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations; ability of third party manufacturers to manufacture AMD’s products on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies; availability of essential equipment, materials, substrates or manufacturing processes; ability to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD’s products; AMD’s ability to generate revenue from its semi-custom SoC products; potential security vulnerabilities; potential security incidents including IT outages, data loss, data breaches and cyberattacks; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party intellectual property to design and introduce new products; AMD’s reliance on third-party companies for design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software, memory and other computer platform components; AMD’s reliance on Microsoft and other software vendors’ support to design and develop software to run on AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party distributors and add-in-board partners; impact of modification or interruption of AMD’s internal business processes and information systems; compatibility of AMD’s products with some or all industry-standard software and hardware; costs related to defective products; efficiency of AMD’s supply chain; AMD’s ability to rely on third party supply-chain logistics functions; AMD’s ability to effectively control sales of its products on the gray market; long-term impact of climate change on AMD’s business; impact of government actions and regulations such as export regulations, tariffs and trade protection measures; AMD’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets; potential tax liabilities; current and future claims and litigation; impact of environmental laws, conflict minerals related provisions and other laws or regulations; evolving expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders regarding corporate responsibility matters; issues related to the responsible use of AI; restrictions imposed by agreements governing AMD’s notes, the guarantees of Xilinx’s notes and the revolving credit agreement; impact of acquisitions, joint ventures and/or strategic investments on AMD’s business and AMD’s ability to integrate acquired businesses; our ability to complete the acquisition of ZT Systems; impact of any impairment of the combined company’s assets; political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters; future impairments of technology license purchases; AMD’s ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; and AMD’s stock price volatility. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD’s most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
© 2025 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, AMD RDNA, FidelityFX, Radeon, Ryzen, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Certain AMD technologies may require third-party enablement or activation. Supported features may vary by operating system. Please confirm with the system manufacturer for specific features. No technology or product can be completely secure.
1 Based on specifications of AMD RDNA 4 architecture compared to AMD RDNA 3 architecture as of December 2024. RX-1143
2 Testing done by AMD performance labs February 2025, on a test system configured with Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, 32 GB DDR5-6000 Memory, Windows 11 Pro and Radeon RX 9070 (Driver 25.3.1 RC 31) vs. a similarly configured system with an RX 7900 GRE (Driver 25.3.1 RC31) comparing gaming performance at 4K in the following applications: Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12, Ultra), Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12, RT Ultra), Assassin’s Creed Mirage (DX12, Ultra High), F1 24 (DX12, Ultra High), F1 24 (DX12, Ultra High RT), Starfield (DX12, Ultra), Far Cry 6 (DX12, Ultra), Far Cry 6 (DX12, Ultra RT), Forza Horizon 5 (DX12, Extreme), Forza Horizon 5 (DX12, RT Extreme), Watch Dogs Legion (DX12, Ultra), Watch Dogs Legion (DX12, RT Ultra), Horizon Forbidden West (DX12, Maxed), Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (DX12, Maxed), God of War: Ragnarok (DX12, Ultra), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (DX12, Extreme), DOOM Eternal (Vulkan, Ultra Nightmare), DOOM Eternal (Vulkan, Ultra Nightmare RT), Total War: Warhammer 3 (DX11, Ultra), Dying Light 2 (DX12, High), Dying Light 2 (DX12, High Raytracing), Alan Wake 2 (DX12, High), Alan Wake 2 (DX12, High w/Med RT), Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (DX12, Ultra), Hitman 3 (DX12, Ultra), Hitman 3 (DX12, Ultra RT), The Witcher 3 (DX12, Ultra+), The Witcher 3 (DX12, RT Ultra), Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (DX12, Extreme), Black Myth: Wukong (DX12, Cinematic), Black Myth: Wukong (DX12, Cinematic RT) Baldur’s Gate 3 (DX11, Ultra), Ghost of Tsushima (DX12, Very High), Star Wars Outlaws (DX12, Ultra RT), Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (DX12, Ultra), Control (DX12, High), Control (DX12, High RT), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DX12, Ultra), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DX12, Ultra RT), Resident Evil 4 (DX12, Max), Resident Evil 4 (DX12, Max RT), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (DX12, Maxed), Marvel’s Spiderman 2 (DX12, Maxed RT), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (DX12, Ultra), The Last of Us: Part 1 (DX12, Ultra), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (DX12, Epic), Final Fantasy XVI Demo (DX12, Ultra). Testing conducted with latest game builds as of February 5, 2025 (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Last of Us: Part 1, and Forza Horizon 5 using latest builds as of February 14th, 2025). System manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. RX-1176.
3 Testing done by AMD performance labs February 2025, on a test system configured with Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, 32 GB DDR5-6000 Memory, Windows 11 Pro and Radeon RX 9070 XT (Driver 25.3.1 RC 31) vs. a similarly configured system with an RX 7900 GRE (Driver 25.3.1 RC31) comparing gaming performance at 4K in the following applications: Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12, Ultra), Cyberpunk 2077 (DX12, RT Ultra), Assassin’s Creed Mirage (DX12, Ultra High), F1 24 (DX12, Ultra High), F1 24 (DX12, Ultra High RT), Starfield (DX12, Ultra), Far Cry 6 (DX12, Ultra), Far Cry 6 (DX12, Ultra RT), Forza Horizon 5 (DX12, Extreme), Forza Horizon 5 (DX12, RT Extreme), Watch Dogs Legion (DX12, Ultra), Watch Dogs Legion (DX12, RT Ultra), Horizon Forbidden West (DX12, Maxed), Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (DX12, Maxed), God of War: Ragnarok (DX12, Ultra), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (DX12, Extreme), DOOM Eternal (Vulkan, Ultra Nightmare), DOOM Eternal (Vulkan, Ultra Nightmare RT), Total War: Warhammer 3 (DX11, Ultra), Dying Light 2 (DX12, High), Dying Light 2 (DX12, High Raytracing), Alan Wake 2 (DX12, High), Alan Wake 2 (DX12, High w/Med RT), Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (DX12, Ultra), Hitman 3 (DX12, Ultra), Hitman 3 (DX12, Ultra RT), The Witcher 3 (DX12, Ultra+), The Witcher 3 (DX12, RT Ultra), Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (DX12, Extreme), Black Myth: Wukong (DX12, Cinematic), Black Myth: Wukong (DX12, Cinematic RT) Baldur’s Gate 3 (DX11, Ultra), Ghost of Tsushima (DX12, Very High), Star Wars Outlaws (DX12, Ultra RT), Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (DX12, Ultra), Control (DX12, High), Control (DX12, High RT), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DX12, Ultra), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DX12, Ultra RT), Resident Evil 4 (DX12, Max), Resident Evil 4 (DX12, Max RT), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (DX12, Maxed), Marvel’s Spiderman 2 (DX12, Maxed RT), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (DX12 Ultra), The Last of Us: Part 1 (DX12, Ultra), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (DX12, Epic), Final Fantasy XVI Demo (DX12, Ultra). Testing conducted with latest game builds as of February 5, 2025 (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Last of Us: Part 1, and Forza Horizon 5 using latest builds as of February 14th, 2025). System manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. RX-1179.
4 Testing by AMD, as of February 2025 using Amuse 2.3.15 and Procyon 2.10.1542 64. Models used: SD 1.5, SDXL, ComputerVision FP16, and FLUX Schnell. System configuration: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32GB 6000 MT/s DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU vs. a similarly configured system with a Radeon RX 7900 GRE GPU. Driver 25.3.1 RC 31. Performance may vary. RX-1168.
5 AMD FreeSync/FreeSync Premium/FreeSync Premium Pro technology requires AMD Radeon graphics and a display certified by AMD. See www.amd.com/freesync for complete details. Confirm capability with your system or display manufacturer before purchase. GD-127.
6 Boost Clock Frequency is the maximum frequency achievable on the GPU running a bursty workload. Boost clock achievability, frequency, and sustainability will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to: thermal conditions and variation in applications and workloads. GD-151.
Contact:
Stacy MacDiarmid
AMD Communications
+1 512-658-2265
Stacy.MacDiarmid@amd.com
Matt Ramsay
AMD Investor Relations
+1 512-496-0197
Matthew.Ramsay@amd.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d4e6957f-0945-483c-9795-cf97039270b9
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT), a commerce media solutions company, today reported unaudited results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. These results are preliminary and subject to ongoing audit procedures.
Donald Patrick, Fluent’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In the fourth quarter and full year 2024 we continued to execute on our strategic pivot into our Commerce Media Solutions business. As part of this repositioning, we discontinued the ACA business in the third quarter of 2024, and due to a change in estimate driven by a higher than anticipated attrition rate partly related to the continuing impacts of regulatory challenges in the marketplace, we recorded a write-down of accounts receivables and an equal offset of revenue of $2.5 million in Q4. The impact of this $2.5 million write-down is reflected equally in consolidated revenue, gross profit, and net loss. Most important, the core driver to our evolving business model – Commerce Media Solutions – is performing exceptionally well, with revenue increasing 139% year-over-year to $17.2 million in the fourth quarter, and 284% over full year 2023 to $41.3 million supported by the addition of top-tier media partners throughout 2024. With our visibility today, we expect to continue the trend of triple-digit year-over-year revenue growth of our Commerce Media Solutions business in 2025.”
Mr. Patrick concluded, “We are pleased with the increasing momentum of our growth strategies this year and are confident about the trajectory of our business as we build a more predictable, profitable and valuable business over time.”
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Unaudited)
Full-Year 2024 Highlights (Unaudited)
Media margin, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income are non-GAAP financial measures, as defined and reconciled below.
Business Outlook & Goals
Update on SLR Credit Facility
On January 30, 2025, we entered into a letter agreement with Crystal Financial LLC D/B/A SLR Credit Solutions, as administrative agent, lead arranger and bookrunner (“SLR”), pursuant to which SLR extended the deadline for delivery of the compliance certificate required under the credit agreement for the fiscal month ended December 31, 2024, and the related notice of default, to March 4, 2025, while the parties negotiate a fourth amendment to the credit agreement.
While we expect to enter into a fourth amendment to the credit agreement, there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into definitive agreements for such amendment prior to March 4, 2025 or that such deadline will be extended if we are unable to enter into any such agreement. We have not always met our projections in recent quarters, and we do not expect to be in compliance with the existing financial covenants during the next twelve months under our current credit agreement. In the near term, we expect we will need to raise additional capital, but there can be no assurance that additional capital will be available when needed.
The financial statements included in our Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2024 contained a note expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern over the subsequent twelve months. This determination will be reevaluated at the issuance date of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 based on the status of the credit agreement, as potentially amended, in place at that time, our anticipated ability to satisfy covenants contained in such agreement, and other factors consistent with GAAP.
Conference Call
Fluent, Inc. will host a conference call on Friday, February 28, 2025, at 9:00 AM ET to discuss its 2024 fourth quarter and full-year financial results. The conference call can be accessed by phone after registering online at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI37035592191f4c689c3ed890713040ab. The call will also be webcast simultaneously on the Fluent website at https://investors.fluentco.com/. Following the completion of the earnings call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available for those unable to participate. To listen to the telephone replay, please connect via https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/rudtccas. The replay will be available for one year, via the Fluent website https://investors.fluentco.com.
About Fluent, Inc.
Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a commerce media solutions provider connecting top-tier brands with highly engaged consumers. Leveraging diverse ad inventory, robust first-party data, and proprietary machine learning, Fluent unlocks additional revenue streams for partners and empowers advertisers to acquire their most valuable customers at scale. Founded in 2010, Fluent uses its deep expertise in performance marketing to drive monetization and increase engagement at key touchpoints across the customer journey. For more insights visit http://www.fluentco.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The matters contained in this press release may be considered to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations or anticipations of Fluent and members of our management team. Factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following:
These and additional factors to be considered are set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fluent undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations.
| FLUENT, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) (unaudited) |
|||||||
| December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||
| ASSETS: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 9,439 | $ | 15,804 | |||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $487 and $231, respectively | 46,532 | 56,531 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 8,729 | 6,071 | |||||
| Restricted cash | 1,255 | — | |||||
| Total current assets | 65,955 | 78,406 | |||||
| Property and equipment, net | 304 | 591 | |||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 1,570 | 3,395 | |||||
| Intangible assets, net | 21,797 | 26,809 | |||||
| Goodwill | — | 1,261 | |||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,991 | 1,405 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 93,617 | $ | 111,867 | |||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY: | |||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 8,776 | $ | 10,954 | |||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 21,905 | 30,534 | |||||
| Deferred revenue | 556 | 430 | |||||
| Current portion of long-term debt | 31,609 | 5,000 | |||||
| Current portion of operating lease liability | 1,836 | 2,296 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 64,682 | 49,214 | |||||
| Long-term debt, net | 250 | 25,488 | |||||
| Convertible Notes, at fair value with related parties | 3,720 | — | |||||
| Operating lease liability, net | 9 | 1,699 | |||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 1 | 1,062 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 68,662 | 77,463 | |||||
| Contingencies | |||||||
| Shareholders’ equity: | |||||||
| Preferred stock — $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 Shares authorized; Shares outstanding — 0 shares for both periods | — | — | |||||
| Common stock — $0.0005 par value, 200,000,000 Shares authorized; Shares issued — 20,791,431 and 14,384,936, respectively; and Shares outstanding — 20,022,836 and 13,616,341, respectively | 47 | 43 | |||||
| Treasury stock, at cost — 768,595 and 768,595 shares, respectively | (11,407 | ) | (11,407 | ) | |||
| Additional paid-in capital | 447,110 | 427,286 | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | (410,795 | ) | (381,518 | ) | |||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 24,955 | 34,404 | |||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | 93,617 | $ | 111,867 | |||
(1) Debt classification conforms to presentation at September 30, 2024, which was based on the Company not expecting to be in compliance with certain financial covenants under its credit agreement during certain quarters in the twelve months following the issuance date of the September 30, 2024 financial statements. This classification will be reevaluated at the issuance date of the Company’s audited financial statements as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 and for fiscal years then ending.
| FLUENT, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) (unaudited) |
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| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 65,407 | $ | 72,761 | $ | 254,623 | $ | 298,399 | ||||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | 51,503 | 51,924 | 193,821 | 219,884 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing (1) | 3,917 | 5,122 | 17,317 | 18,576 | ||||||||||||
| Product development (1) | 3,600 | 4,390 | 17,281 | 18,454 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative (1) | 9,409 | 10,343 | 37,697 | 35,334 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,419 | 2,764 | 9,926 | 10,876 | ||||||||||||
| Goodwill and intangible assets impairment | — | — | 2,241 | 55,405 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 70,848 | 74,543 | 278,283 | 358,529 | ||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (5,441 | ) | (1,782 | ) | (23,660 | ) | (60,130 | ) | ||||||||
| Interest expense, net | (1,038 | ) | (784 | ) | (4,749 | ) | (3,204 | ) | ||||||||
| Fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes, with related parties | 1,140 | — | (1,670 | ) | — | |||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | — | — | (1,009 | ) | — | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (5,339 | ) | (2,566 | ) | (31,088 | ) | (63,334 | ) | ||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | 1,909 | 667 | 1,811 | 116 | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (3,430 | ) | $ | (1,899 | ) | $ | (29,277 | ) | $ | (63,218 | ) | ||||
| Basic and diluted loss per share: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | (0.19 | ) | $ | (0.14 | ) | $ | (1.80 | ) | $ | (4.59 | ) | ||||
| Diluted | $ | (0.19 | ) | $ | (0.14 | ) | $ | (1.80 | ) | $ | (4.59 | ) | ||||
| Weighted average number of shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 18,352,940 | 13,827,339 | 16,259,943 | 13,770,356 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | 18,352,940 | 13,827,339 | 16,259,943 | 13,770,356 | ||||||||||||
| (1) Amounts include share-based compensation expense as follows: | ||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 55 | $ | 124 | $ | 218 | $ | 543 | ||||||||
| Product development | 65 | 141 | 239 | 626 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 360 | 526 | 1,506 | 2,640 | ||||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation expense | $ | 480 | $ | 791 | $ | 1,963 | $ | 3,809 | ||||||||
| FLUENT, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Amounts in thousands) (unaudited) |
|||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (29,277 | ) | $ | (63,218 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 9,926 | 10,876 | |||||
| Non-cash loan amortization expense | 1,371 | 426 | |||||
| Non-cash gain on contingent consideration | (250 | ) | — | ||||
| Non-cash loss on early extinguishment of debt | 1,009 | — | |||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 1,970 | 3,756 | |||||
| Fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes, with related parties | 1,670 | — | |||||
| Goodwill impairment | 1,261 | 55,405 | |||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | 980 | — | |||||
| Allowance for credit losses | 401 | 124 | |||||
| Deferred income taxes | (276 | ) | (145 | ) | |||
| Changes in assets and liabilities, net of business acquisition: | |||||||
| Accounts receivable | 9,473 | 6,509 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | (3,211 | ) | (2,565 | ) | |||
| Other non-current assets | (51 | ) | 325 | ||||
| Operating lease assets and liabilities, net | (325 | ) | (330 | ) | |||
| Accounts payable | (2,178 | ) | 4,764 | ||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | (5,878 | ) | (6,088 | ) | |||
| Deferred revenue | 313 | (584 | ) | ||||
| Other | (1,032 | ) | (1,117 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | (14,104 | ) | 8,138 | ||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||
| Business acquisition/consolidation, net of cash acquired | — | (1,250 | ) | ||||
| Capitalized costs included in intangible assets | (6,198 | ) | (5,838 | ) | |||
| Acquisition of property and equipment | (13 | ) | (25 | ) | |||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (6,211 | ) | (7,113 | ) | |||
| CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net of debt financing costs | 65,440 | — | |||||
| Repayments of long-term debt | (68,228 | ) | (10,000 | ) | |||
| Debt financing costs | (1,875 | ) | (532 | ) | |||
| Proceeds from issuance of warrants | 12,627 | — | |||||
| Proceeds from exercise of warrants | 2 | — | |||||
| Proceeds from Convertible Notes, with related parties | 2,050 | — | |||||
| Proceeds from Direct Offering | 5,189 | — | |||||
| Taxes paid related to net share settlement of vesting of restricted stock units | — | (236 | ) | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 15,205 | (10,768 | ) | ||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (5,110 | ) | (9,743 | ) | |||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | 15,804 | 25,547 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 10,694 | $ | 15,804 | |||
Definitions, Reconciliations and Uses of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The following non-GAAP measures are used in this release:
Media margin is defined as that portion of gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) reflecting variable costs paid for media and related expenses and excluding non-media cost of revenue. Gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) represents revenue minus cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization). Media margin is also presented as a percentage of revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), excluding (1) income taxes, (2) interest expense, net, (3) depreciation and amortization, (4) share-based compensation expense, (5) loss on early extinguishment of debt, (6) accrued compensation expense for Put/Call Consideration, (7) goodwill impairment, (8) impairment of intangible assets, (9) loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment, (10) fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes with related parties, (11) acquisition-related costs, (12) restructuring and other severance costs, and (13) certain litigation and other related costs.
Adjusted net income is defined as net income (loss) excluding (1) Share-based compensation expense, (2) loss on early extinguishment of debt, (3) accrued compensation expense for Put/Call Consideration, (4) goodwill impairment, (5) impairment of intangible assets, (6) loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment, (7) fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes with related parties (8) acquisition-related costs, (9) restructuring and other severance costs, and (10) certain litigation and other related costs. Adjusted net income is also presented on a per share (basic and diluted) basis.
Below is a reconciliation of media margin from gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure.
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 65,407 | $ | 72,761 | $ | 254,623 | $ | 298,399 | |||||||
| Less: Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | 51,503 | 51,924 | 193,821 | 219,884 | |||||||||||
| Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | 13,904 | 20,837 | 60,802 | 78,515 | |||||||||||
| Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) % of revenue | 21 | % | 29 | % | 24 | % | 26 | % | |||||||
| Non-media cost of revenue (1) | 2,644 | 3,275 | 11,710 | 12,785 | |||||||||||
| Media margin | $ | 16,548 | $ | 24,112 | $ | 72,512 | $ | 91,300 | |||||||
| Media margin % of revenue | 25.3 | % | 33.1 | % | 28.5 | % | 30.6 | % | |||||||
(1) Represents the portion of cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) not attributable to variable costs paid for media and related expenses.
Below is a reconciliation of media margin from gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, for Commerce Media Solutions.
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 17,235 | $ | 7,211 | $ | 41,267 | $ | 10,745 | ||||||||
| Less: Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | 10,501 | 5,921 | 26,988 | 9,895 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | $ | 6,734 | $ | 1,290 | $ | 14,279 | $ | 850 | ||||||||
| Gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) % of revenue | 39 | % | 18 | % | 35 | % | 8 | % | ||||||||
| Non-media cost of revenue (1) | 32 | 43 | 193 | 62 | ||||||||||||
| Media margin | $ | 6,766 | $ | 1,333 | $ | 14,472 | $ | 912 | ||||||||
| Media margin % of revenue | 39.3 | % | 18.5 | % | 35.1 | % | 8.5 | % | ||||||||
(1) Represents the portion of cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) not attributable to variable costs paid for media and related expenses.
Below is a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA from net income (loss), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure.
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (3,430 | ) | $ | (1,899 | ) | $ | (29,277 | ) | $ | (63,218 | ) | ||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | (1,909 | ) | (667 | ) | (1,811 | ) | (116 | ) | ||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 1,038 | 784 | 4,749 | 3,204 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,419 | 2,764 | 9,926 | 10,876 | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 480 | 798 | 1,970 | 3,756 | ||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | — | — | 1,009 | — | ||||||||||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | — | 1,261 | 55,405 | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | — | 980 | — | ||||||||||||
| Fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes, with related parties | (1,140 | ) | — | 1,670 | — | |||||||||||
| Acquisition-related costs (1) | 833 | 1,044 | 2,083 | 2,745 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring and certain severance costs | — | — | 1,821 | 456 | ||||||||||||
| Certain litigation and other related costs | — | (329 | ) | — | (6,311 | ) | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (1,709 | ) | $ | 2,495 | $ | (5,619 | ) | $ | 6,797 | ||||||
(1) Balance includes compensation expense related to non-competition agreements and earn-out expense incurred as a result of business combinations. The earn-out expense was ($57) and $345 for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $110 and $434 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Below is a reconciliation of adjusted net income and the related measure of adjusted net income per share from net income (loss), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure.
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except share and per share data) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (3,430 | ) | $ | (1,899 | ) | $ | (29,277 | ) | $ | (63,218 | ) | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 480 | 798 | 1,970 | 3,756 | ||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | — | — | 1,009 | — | ||||||||||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | — | 1,261 | 55,405 | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of intangible assets | — | — | 980 | — | ||||||||||||
| Fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes, with related parties | (1,140 | ) | — | 1,670 | — | |||||||||||
| Acquisition-related costs (1) | 833 | 1,044 | 2,083 | 2,745 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring and certain severance costs | — | — | 1,821 | 456 | ||||||||||||
| Certain litigation and other related costs | — | (329 | ) | — | (6,311 | ) | ||||||||||
| Adjusted net income (loss) | $ | (3,257 | ) | $ | (386 | ) | $ | (18,483 | ) | $ | (7,167 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted net income (loss) per share: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (1.14 | ) | $ | (0.52 | ) | ||||
| Diluted | $ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (1.14 | ) | $ | (0.52 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted weighted average number of shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 18,352,940 | 13,827,339 | 16,259,943 | 13,770,355 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | 18,352,940 | 13,827,339 | 16,259,943 | 13,770,355 | ||||||||||||
(1) Balance includes compensation expense related to non-competition agreements and earn-out expense incurred as a result of business combinations. The earn-out expense was ($57) and $345 for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $110 and $434 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
We present media margin, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income as supplemental measures of our financial and operating performance because we believe they provide useful information to investors. More specifically:
Media margin, as defined above, is a measure of the efficiency of the Company’s operating model. We use media margin and the related measure of media margin as a percentage of revenue as primary metrics to measure the financial return on our media and related costs, specifically to measure the degree by which the revenue generated from our digital marketing services exceeds the cost to attract the consumers to whom offers are made through our services. Media margin is used extensively by our management to manage our operating performance, including evaluating operational performance against budgeted media margin and understanding the efficiency of our media and related expenditures. We also use media margin for performance evaluations and compensation decisions regarding certain personnel.
Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, is another primary metric by which we evaluate the operating performance of our business, on which certain operating expenditures and internal budgets are based and by which, in addition to media margin and other factors, our senior management is compensated. The first three adjustments represent the conventional definition of EBITDA, and the remaining adjustments are items recognized and recorded under U.S. GAAP in particular periods but might be viewed as not necessarily coinciding with the underlying business operations for the periods in which they are so recognized and recorded. These adjustments include certain litigation and other related costs associated with legal matters outside the ordinary course of business. We consider items one-time in nature if they are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual and have not occurred in the past two years or are not expected to recur in the next two years, in accordance with SEC rules. There were no adjustments for one-time items in the periods presented.
Adjusted net income, as defined above, excludes certain items that are recognized and recorded under U.S. GAAP in particular periods but might be viewed as not necessarily coinciding with the underlying business operations for the periods in which they are so recognized and recorded. We believe adjusted net income affords investors a different view of the overall financial performance of the Company than adjusted EBITDA and the U.S. GAAP measure of net (loss) income.
Media margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and adjusted net income per share are non-GAAP financial measures with certain limitations regarding their usefulness. They do not reflect our financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, as they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. Accordingly, these metrics are not indicative of our overall results or indicators of past or future financial performance. Further, they are not financial measures of profitability and are neither intended to be used as a proxy for the profitability of our business nor to imply profitability. The way we measure media margin, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and may not be identical to corresponding measures used in our various agreements.
Annual Revenue Run Rate
Annual Revenue Run Rate is an operational metric that represents the annualized revenue of the Company’s media partnerships at current monetization levels, as of the end of the reporting period. The Company calculates Annual Revenue Run Rate as follows:
The way the Company measures Annual Revenue Run Rate may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and should not be viewed as a projection of future revenue.
Contact Information:
Investor Relations
Fluent, Inc.
InvestorRelations@fluentco.com
