Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A financial health notice to improve issued to The City Literary Institute by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
This notice to improve is now closed.
This letter and its annex serves as a notice to improve financial health at The City Literary Institute.
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements
Individual parts from retired Tornado aircraft have been ground down and 3D printed into new components suitable for next generation Tempest fighter jets.
A Tempest Jet flying over London.
First-of-its-kind initiative shows how defence is an engine for growth and supports the government’s Plan for Change.
Development could save money, support the UK defence industry and producer higher quality components.
Individual parts from retired fighter jets have been ground down and 3D printed into new components suitable for the UK’s next generation of military aircraft – a first of its kind initiative for the Royal Air Force.
The innovative recycling project has seen parts from old Tornado aircraft turned into powered metal and used to 3D print new components suitable for Tempest jets. This is a great example of UK-developed technology of the future, and demonstrates UK defence industry as an engine for growth and a key part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
The development could save taxpayer money, reduce the UK’s reliance on global supply chains of critical and high value metals and produce components that are lighter, stronger, and longer lasting than those made through traditional forging techniques.
Many of the Ministry of Defence’s surplus assets contain strategic metals, including high quality steel, aluminum, and titanium, and the Tornado 2 Tempest project team have been identifying whether some of these components could be atomised into powders – known as “feedstock” – for additive manufacturing to make new parts.
Tornado parts containing titanium, including jet engine compressor blades from a low-pressure air compressor, were selected. They were cleaned, successfully atomised and recycled into a 3D printed nose cone and compressor blades by Additive Manufacturing Solutions Limited (AMS) for Orpheus – Rolls-Royce’s small engine concept that is part of the MOD’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme delivering Tempest.
The nose cone was fitted onto an Orpheus test engine and passed suitability and safety checks – demonstrating the technique has potential use in the sixth-generation jet.
The Tornado 2 Tempest project highlights the creativity, ingenuity and innovation defence employs in our approach to national security.
By working with key industry partners, we can deliver savings, reduce reliance on global supply chains and ensure our Armed Forces have the very best kit to keep our country safe.
Not only does this initiative have a positive impact on the environment and national security, it supports the domestic defence industry acting as an engine for growth, which is at the heart of Plan for Change.
The project was led by Defence Equipment and Support’s (DE&S) Defence Recycling & Disposals Team (DRDT) in partnership with the MOD FCAS team, Rolls-Royce and AMS based in Burscough, Lancashire.
The initiative also led to the creation of three jobs and sustained two at Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME), AMS. The business now expects to create 25 new jobs by offering the innovation to other suppliers.
A team of more than 80 people participated in the project, including DRDT’s commercial graduates and Rolls-Royce graduate apprentices, combining current skills and innovative technologies to deliver and maintain future capabilities.
Funded by UK Strategic Command’s Defence Support Organisation in relation to its Circular Economics for Defence Concept Note, the feat shows that turning old parts into new is viable and could bring huge benefits to the MOD and wider Defence, especially through increasing the accessibility of strategic metals to the UK Defence industry and suppliers.
The MOD’s Chief of Defence Logistics and Support (CDLS) recently awarded the Tornado 2 Tempest Rolls-Royce Team a CDLS Commendation in recognition of their commitment and dedication to the delivery and improvement of support to the front line.
The team also demonstrated a Digital Product Passport (DPP) by capturing and recording material provenance and lifecycle data. This can potentially enable more informed decisions around material allocation and protect against the use of counterfeit materials.
The Tornado 2 Tempest project exemplifies the forward-thinking sustainability principles embedded in the FCAS Sustainability Strategy and MoD Defence Support Strategy.
This project is bold, exciting and innovative, and a demonstration of exemplary collaboration between the MoD, industry and SME, furthering the drive for circular economy practices and innovative digital enablers in Defence.
At AMS our tagline is ‘Innovative Solutions for a Sustainable Future’ and we were confident our innovations and ideas would have a great bearing on the future of a resilient supply.
This project turned our proposed solutions into a reality, and we have been very humbled and grateful to the MOD and Rolls Royce, for allowing us to showcase our capability to deliver game-changing circular economy processes and parts in Defence.
Published 5 February 2025
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Draganfly Confirms Its Strategic & Tactical Positioning and Preparedness for Growing Border Security Demand Amid Global Trade and Security Initiatives
Saskatoon, SK., Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an award‑winning leader in drone solutions and systems development, today confirms through recent sales activities its positioning and preparedness to support the enhancement of border security amid evolving global trade and security uncertainties and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Highlighting recent sales activities with policing agencies, Draganfly continues to strengthen its position to support border security with advanced drone technology solutions.
“Recent global trade challenges, tariff uncertainties, and security concerns underscore the critical importance of secure borders and resilient supply chains,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly Inc. “Our recent sales activities with policing agencies is a testament to our ability and readiness to provide drone technology and services in support of border security solutions.”
Draganfly’s comprehensive product portfolio—featuring high‑resolution, electro-optical/infra-red and low-light sensors with real‑time data processing capabilities available in multiple tactical communication and control configurations—is designed to deliver multi-mission capabilities for challenging mission profiles. With an emphasis on North American‑made innovation, the Company is committed to supporting the security needs of government agencies and border authorities, ensuring that technology remains at the forefront of national security and economic stability.
“As we continue to navigate an era of rapid geopolitical change, it is essential that both the public and private sectors collaborate to safeguard borders,” added Chell. “Draganfly is proud to be at the leading edge of this effort, leveraging our technological expertise to help create a more secure and resilient border.”
About Draganfly
Draganfly Inc. is the creator of quality, cutting-edge drone solutions, software, and AI systems that revolutionize how organizations operate and serve their stakeholders. With over 24 years of innovation, Draganfly is recognized as a leader in the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, security, mapping, and surveying markets. The Company’s commitment to ingenuity and first-class services drives its goal to save time, money, and lives across the globe.
For more information on Draganfly, please visit Draganfly’s website. For additional investor information, visit:
The CSE Listing
NASDAQ Listing
Frankfurt Listing
Media Contact Erika Racicot Email: media@draganfly.com
Company Contact Email: info@draganfly.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain “forward looking statements” and certain “forward-looking information” as defined under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans” or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Draganfly’s comprehensive product portfolio’s ability to deliver multi-mission capabilities for challenging mission profiles. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out here in, including but not limited to: the potential impact of epidemics, pandemics or other public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, on the Company’s business, operations and financial condition; the successful integration of technology; the inherent risks involved in the general securities markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates; the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions; and liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors“ in the Company’s most recent filings filed with securities regulators in Canada on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on EDGAR through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents managements’ best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.
| Article | Title |
|---|---|
| Action | Mid-year funding claim for 2024 to 2025 |
| Information | Changes to the administration of the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund (defined vulnerable bursary) schemes from the academic year 2025 to 2026 |
| Information | Department for Education recruitment for professional conduct panellists to support the Teaching Regulation Agency |
| Information | College and local authority accountability agreements and local needs duty |
| Your feedback | ESFA funding contracts and agreements – redesign |
| Article | Title |
|---|---|
| Information | Mid-year funding claim for 2024 to 2025 |
| Information | Changes to the administration of the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund (defined vulnerable bursary) schemes from the academic year 2025 to 2026 |
| Information | Department for Education recruitment for professional conduct panellists to support the Teaching Regulation Agency |
| Events and webinars | Risk protection arrangement (RPA) |
| Events and webinars | Academy finance professionals February power hour – counter fraud |
| Article | Title |
|---|---|
| Action | Mid-year funding claim for 2024 to 2025 |
| Information | Changes to the administration of the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund (defined vulnerable bursary) schemes from the academic year 2025 to 2026 |
| Information | Updated high needs funding and local authorities’ schools funding document collection pages |
| Information | Department for Education recruitment for professional conduct panellists to support the Teaching Regulation Agency |
| Information | College and local authority accountability agreements and local needs duty |
| Your feedback | ESFA funding contracts and agreements – redesign |
| Events and webinars | Risk protection arrangement (RPA) |
Published 5 February 2025
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Environment Agency has opened a second consultation into a permit variation application from Drax Power Limited in Yorkshire.
The operator first applied for the variation in May 2023 to request permission to incorporate carbon capture at its bioenergy plant near Selby.
At the time, the Environment Agency held a public consultation to offer people the opportunity to comment on the application.
During the Environment Agency’s review of this 2023 application, it considered the applicant had not included sufficient information, so it requested a more detailed assessment.
Drax has now provided the potential substances that could be formed in the carbon capture plant and with a more detailed justification for the substances it considers could be emitted to air.
Tim Shaw, Installations Team Leader, said:
We have now received updated information from the applicant and this can be found in a revised air emissions risk assessment.
It’s important to hold a second consultation so the public have the opportunity to view the new documents and provide their views on environmental factors they feel are important.
We are committed to carrying out a detailed and rigorous assessment of this permit variation application.
Carbon capture is the removal of carbon dioxide from waste gases (usually by absorbing the carbon dioxide in a special solvent) and either using it or storing it underground, reducing the amount of emissions into the atmosphere.
Drax Power Ltd wants to capture the carbon dioxide emitted during electricity generation, to prevent the majority of it from entering the atmosphere.
The carbon dioxide captured will be transported via a pipeline for permanent storage under the North Sea.
To capture carbon dioxide from the combustion process, Drax will need to vary its existing environmental permit.
The Environment Agency assesses applications for environmental permits, or to vary existing environmental permits, under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR).
Its role is to assess the application and decide if it meets all requirements under relevant environmental legislation and provides a high level of protection to the environment and human health.
It will only vary the environmental permit if it is satisfied this would be the case.
After the consultation has closed, the Environment Agency will review the comments received from the consultation process and take them into account in the determination of the application.
The documentation can be found on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space page
Background
More information about Drax’s permit application can be found on the application pages on Citizen Space.
Published 5 February 2025
Source: US State of Connecticut
Smiles, singing, and spirits soared at the 2025 Dr. Marting Luther King Living Legacy Convocation last Friday at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. The event featured performances from UConn’s gospel choir, Voices of Freedom, and special guest Grammy-nominated Gospel artist, Todd Dulaney.
MLK Legacy Awardees also received recognition during the event. The Living Legacy Convocation was organized by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
The convocation has grown since last year, with a full awardee selection committee, more submitted nominations, and a ceremony in a bigger space with a pre-event reception.
Jonelle Reynolds, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, served as co-chair of the awardee selection committee and emcee for the evening.
Reynolds says she hoped the event would give attendees a chance to breathe and to take a break from stressful news around the world.
“Anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, hopelessness – those are negative feelings that have been impacting some of our communities,” she says. “This is really an opportunity for people to put all of that aside and just be present in the room with each other.”
Guest poet Nadia Sims performed a new piece, “Reclaiming My Slice,” that was inspired by her wanting to live and prosper freely as a Black woman and as an American, she says.
“I want to get to a place where being American is enough to secure and pursue happiness and liberty and life,” Sims says. “Martin Luther King had a dream and that is my dream – to just do what I need to do as a citizen and have that be enough.”
After recipients received their awards, Voices of Freedom took the stage and brought energy to the audience. Directed by Lisa Clayton, attendees united with the voices on stage as a giant choir with all voices tuned in the right key.
“I am excited that Voices of Freedom was asked to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our amazing students shared their melodious voices to help create an incredible night,” Clayton says.
The highlight of the evening was Todd Dulaney’s performance. He performed many of his gospel hits and had everyone in the Jorgensen Center on their feet dancing and singing along. Members of Voices of Freedom even had the opportunity to display their vocal talent when several members had solo moments during Dulaney’s set.
“I’m so glad I came,” one smiling audience member said. “It really was great way to end the week and it way good way to kick off Black History Month.”
Award winners included a mix of students, staff & faculty, alumni, and community members:
Undergraduate Student: Andy Zhang
Graduate Student: Adanma Akoma
Faculty: Kate Capshaw
Staff: Alexis Monteiro
Team: CAHNR Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Strategic Vision Implementation Committee
Alum: N. Chineye (Chi) Anako
Community Member: Nelson Merchan
Based on the crowd’s response, the celebration will continue to grow and be a highlight for many.
“I want it to be not just something that people are excited about in the UConn community but the entire Connecticut community,” Reynolds says.” “My hope is that five years from now it’s even bigger and the Jorgensen Center will be packed.”
Source: US State of South Carolina
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced a court victory in fighting government overreach and Biden-era woke policies. The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota ruling in favor of a 21-state coalition, including South Carolina, stopped a federal agency from making any more regulations and threw out an agency rule that was based on ideology instead of science.
“This is one of the many examples of woke bureaucrats making rules they didn’t have the authority to make, and with no accountability to the American people,” Attorney General Wilson said. “Now, we’ve gone back to upholding the rule of law.”
Besides exceeding the agency’s authority, this unlawful rule would have delayed essential construction projects in South Carolina and all states by requiring reevaluation of potential environmental impact of those projects.
The case challenged a regulation written by the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”), which was itself created by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (“NEPA”). That act requires all federal agencies to analyze what kinds of environmental effects are likely to result from federal action. NEPA set up the CEQ to “make recommendations to the President” and “develop and recommend to the President national policies that foster and promote the improvement of environmental quality.”
However, CEQ exceeded its authority by going from giving “recommendations to the President” to setting regulations on its own. The Court ruled, “The plain text of the statute does not give CEQ authority to issue binding regulations.”
U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor concluded his ruling by writing, “The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. The truth is that for the past forty years all three branches of government operated under the erroneous assumption that CEQ had authority. But now everyone knows the state of the emperor’s clothing and it is something we cannot unsee.”
Joining South Carolina in the case, led by Iowa and North Dakota, were the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
You can read the ruling here.
Source: Government of India
The ecosystem of terrorism in J&K has been weakened due to the sustained and coordinated efforts of the Modi government
Union Home Minister directed all security agencies to step up the fight against terrorism with the goal of ‘zero infiltration’
Our goal should be to uproot the existence of terrorists
Terror funding from the proceeds of the narcotics trade has to be curbed with alacrity and rigour
Posted On: 05 FEB 2025 3:40PM by PIB Delhi
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired a high-level review meeting on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi today. The meeting was attended by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, along with senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir administration. Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, yesterday also held an important review meeting on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which was attended by the Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, the Home Secretary and other senior officers of MHA and Army.
Addressing the meeting, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is committed to completely wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir. He said that due to the sustained and coordinated efforts of the Modi government, the terrorism ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir has been significantly weakened. The Home Minister directed all security agencies to step up the fight against terrorism by aiming for the ‘zero infiltration’ goal. He asked all security agencies to take more stringent action on infiltration and acts of terror with a ruthless approach. He said that it should be our goal to uproot the existence of terrorists.
Shri Amit Shah said that the narco network is providing support to infiltrators and terrorists to carry out their activities. He said that there is a need to take prompt action against terror funding from the proceeds of the narcotics trade with alacrity and rigour.
Shri Amit Shah directed the agencies to make new appointments in the posts of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in view of the timely implementation of the new criminal laws.
Shri Amit Shah emphasised the Modi government’s ‘policy of zero tolerance’ against terrorism to achieve the goal of a terrorism-free Jammu and Kashmir. He directed all security agencies to remain vigilant and continue to work in synergy to eliminate terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Home Minister appreciated the efforts of the security agencies for significant improvement in all parameters of the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir.
******
Raj Kumar/Vivek/Ashutosh/Pankaj
(Release ID: 2099997) Visitor Counter : 87
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
New York ETO welcomes Year of Snake (with photos)
New York ETO welcomes Year of Snake (with photos)
*************************************************
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York (HKETONY) hosted its annual Hong Kong Spring Reception on February 4 (New York time), welcoming close to 400 guests (tbc) from government agencies, businesses, think tanks, non-profits, academic institutions, cultural organisations and the media to usher in the Year of the Snake. The Director of the HKETONY, Ms Maisie Ho, extended a warm welcome to attendees and highlighted Hong Kong’s resilience and recent accomplishments amid global challenges. “This year, we welcome the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac – a symbol of wisdom, adaptability, and transformation. The snake sheds its skin to embrace new beginnings, reminding us that change, though sometimes challenging, is essential for growth. In many ways, this symbolism resonates deeply with Hong Kong’s journey. We have always been a city that adapts, innovates, and thrives in the face of change.” “In 2024, Hong Kong maintained its position as one of the world’s top four IPO venues, raising a total of US$10.6 billion. Invest Hong Kong also had a record-breaking year, assisting 539 overseas and Mainland companies – including 24 from the United States – to set up operations in Hong Kong. We also saw an all-time high of 15 126 non-Hong Kong companies registering in the city,” she shared. Ms Ho further emphasised the strength of Hong Kong’s economic ties with the US, noting that Hong Kong is home to 1 390 US firms, the highest in recent history. “The US is one of Hong Kong’s leading trading partners and consistently enjoys trade surplus with Hong Kong over the years. Over the past decade, there has been a trade surplus amounting to US$270 billion,” she said. During her address, Ms Ho expressed gratitude to the “Hong Kong Family” – the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), and the Hong Kong Association of New York – for their on-going support. The evening was further enriched by a special performance featuring three talented Hong Kong musicians: violinist Ding Yijie, erhu player Yang Enhua (both from the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong), and professional pianist Laurina Hong. Sponsored by the HKETONY and Cathay Pacific, the trio presented a captivating selection of music blending Eastern and Western traditions, showcasing Hong Kong’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Hong Kong’s creativity was also celebrated with two striking inflatable art installations by local creative brand Chocolate Rain. These pieces were part of the “Hong Kong Meets America – Pop Art Exhibition” at the American Dream Mall last October, adding a unique touch to the evening’s festive atmosphere. Additionally, the HKTB featured renowned wine and spirits expert Anthony Giglio, who shared his insights into Hong Kong’s bar scene and introduced the evening’s signature cocktail, “The Cloud Nine”, which added a distinctive and flavourful touch to the celebration.
Ends/Wednesday, February 5, 2025Issued at HKT 16:45
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Source: Government of India (2)
CoE to boost VLSI & Chip design skills by offering state-of-the-art facilities for research, innovation, & training of talent pool to meet global semiconductor demands
CoE Project Lab to act as hub for innovation & collaboration in chip design; Smart Classroom to transform semiconductor education with advanced learning tools
Posted On: 05 FEB 2025 1:54PM by PIB Delhi
Shri. S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, inaugurated the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Chip Design at its Noida campus yesterday. This initiative, established in association with SoCTeamup Semiconductors Pvt Ltd, a DPIIT-recognized startup, marks a significant step toward advancing India’s semiconductor design and development capabilities.
The launch of the NIELIT Centre of Excellence in Chip Design is in line with the government of India’s vision of s semiconductor technology capabilities and furthering India’s emergence as a global leader in Electronics and IT.
The new Centre of Excellence is poised to address the growing demand for skilled professionals in the semiconductor and chip design industries by offering state-of-the-art facilities for research, innovation, and training in VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integration) and Chip Design.
Fostering Research, Innovation, and Training in VLSI and Chip Design
With a vision to become a global leader in semiconductor innovation, it aims to advance VLSI and chip design while empowering India as a hub for cutting-edge electronics and IT. By fostering world-class education, research, and industry collaboration, the Centre seeks to drive innovation and develop a highly skilled talent pool to meet global semiconductor demands, strengthening India’s position in the global electronics and IT sectors.
During the inauguration, Shri. S. Krishnan toured the Centre’s cutting-edge facilities, including the Project Lab and Smart Classroom. The Project Lab will serve as a hub for collaboration on innovative chip design projects among students, professionals and researchers. Meanwhile, the Smart Classroom, equipped with advanced teaching aids, will provide an immersive learning experience for students.
A special demonstration of VLSI-based Intellectual Property (IP) was also conducted, underscoring the Centre’s commitment to advancing the design and development of intellectual properties in the semiconductor sector. The demonstration highlighted the Centre’s role in building a strong knowledge base in VLSI and cultivating a pool of talent to meet the growing needs of the industry.
About NIELIT:
The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. NIELIT focuses on promoting Education, Training and Research in Electronics, IT and related technologies. The Centre of Excellence in Chip Design, established in collaboration with SoCTeamup Semiconductors Pvt Ltd, is the latest initiative in NIELIT’s commitment to innovation and technological excellence.
About SoCTeamup Semiconductors Pvt Ltd:
SoCTeamup Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd. is a DPIIT-recognized startup that specializes in technology solutions in the domain of VLSI and SoC Design. With a focus on innovation and excellence, SoCTeamup is committed to advancing the semiconductor ecosystem in India.
*****
Dharmendra Tewari/Kshitij Singha
(Release ID: 2099967) Visitor Counter : 63
Source: Government of India
Posted On: 05 FEB 2025 1:38PM by PIB Delhi
The cargo volumes handled by Indian Ports in FY 2024 and trend over the last three years is as under:
|
Year |
Cargo handled by Major Ports (Million Tonnes) |
Cargo handled by Non- Major Ports (Million Tonnes) |
Total (Million Tonnes) |
|
2020-21 |
672.68 |
575.04 |
1247.72 |
|
2021-22 |
720.05 |
598.63 |
1318.68 |
|
2022-23 |
784.31 |
650.00 |
1434.31 |
|
2023-24 |
819.23 |
721.00 |
1540.23 |
The government has taken various steps to streamline logistics for export-oriented industries such as the construction of new berths, terminals and parking plazas, mechanization / modernisation / optimisation of existing berths and terminals, streamlining of processes through digitalisation, expansion of hinterland connectivity through rail and road, etc.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarabananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
*****
G.D. Hallikeri/Henry
(Release ID: 2099964) Visitor Counter : 79
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) hosted a reception in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (February 4) to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Over 300 guests from various sectors including political and business circles, media, academic and community groups as well as government representatives attended the Sydney reception. Among them was the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Sydney, Mr Wang Yu. The Chairman of the M+ Board, Chairman of the Tai Kwun Culture and Arts Company Limited and Vice Chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Board, Mr Bernard Chan, was invited as the keynote speaker to share with the guests the vibrant arts and cultural scenes in Hong Kong.
The Director of the Sydney ETO, Mr Ricky Chong, said in his welcoming remarks that both Hong Kong and Australia embrace free trade, rule of law, and multiculturalism as core values, under which Hong Kong and Australia’s bilateral trade, investment situation and people-to-people ties flourish. New South Wales, in particular, has long been a significant partner for Hong Kong in the finance, trade, tourism, and education sectors.
“As we celebrate Chinese New Year, let us also reflect on how our collaboration can grow even stronger. With Hong Kong serving as the ‘super connector’ with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Mainland China, the opportunities for Australian businesses are unprecedented. Together, we can explore new horizons and ensure our partnership continues to thrive,” Mr Chong added.
In his keynote speech, Mr Chan introduced to guests the various world class venues in the West Kowloon Cultural District, including M+ museum, the Hong Kong Palace Museum and Xiqu Centre, as well as their partnerships with over 20 of the top arts and cultural institutions in the world. He also shared about the vibrant activations and inspiring exhibitions in Tai Kwun – a centre for arts, culture and heritage. Mr Chan will also speak at the Chinese New Year reception to be hosted by the Sydney ETO in Melbourne tomorrow (February 6).
In addition to the Sydney and Melbourne receptions, the Sydney ETO will also host Chinese New Year receptions in Brisbane (February 13), Perth (February 18) and Adelaide (February 20) in Australia, and Auckland (February 25) in New Zealand, to celebrate the Year of the Snake with local communities.
Source: Government of Western Samoa
In an extraordinary display of goodwill and international friendship, representatives from the village of Vaiala in the Vaimauga district, Samoa, will travel to Nauru on January 29,2025, to attend the country’s Independence Day celebrations on January 31, 2025.The trip marks the strengthening of the sister city relationship or So’o , between Vaiala and Nauru, which was born out of the meaningful interactions during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Apia in October 2024.
The President of Nauru, His Excellency David Adeang, alongside his delegates, were warmly welcomed by the people of Vaiala during their visit to Samoa, where they were entertained by the Autalavou -youth group of Vaiala EFKS church.This heartfelt exchange paved the way for the establishment of the So’o relationship which has now blossomed into a special invitation for the Vaiala representatives to visit Nauru for their Independence celebrations.
The Vaiala delegation will include paramount Chiefs Tofaeono Leavasa and Patu Dr Paniani and wife Minerva, Reverend Iese Uele and wife Siaea, as well as Manogiamanu Etuale and the Vaiala Autalavou .
The youth will participate in performances showcasing Samoan culture, contributing to the vibrant celebrations in Nauru. This visit is not only a milestone for Vaiala, but also a rare and unprecedented occasion for a Pacific Island village to be invited to participate in the national festivities of another Pacific Island nation.
A total of 37 will be travelling to Nauru. Some have already departed last Saturday and the final group will leave this Wednesday evening. The whole group will return to Samoa on 7th February.
“We are truly honoured and privileged to receive the invitation from the President and the people of Nauru,” said Patu Dr Paniani Patu , one of the Paramount chiefs of Vaiala.”This marks a new chapter of friendship and collaboration between our communities, and we are excited to share our culture and traditions with Nauru as part of their Independence celebrations.”
The Nauru government has graciously covered all travel and accomodation costs for the Vaiala representatives, further cementing the deep bond between the two communities.This gesture of goodwill reflects the strong diplomatic ties and the shared commitment to fostering friendship and unity within the Pacific region.
The historic trip to Nauru is expected to strengthen cultural exchanges, deepen the So’o relationship, and serve as a model for future collaborations between Pacific island nations and villages.The Vaiala village delegation is eager to represent Samoa and uphold the spirit of friendship and unity during this significant
End of Release.
Source: Government of India (2)
Under the agreement, CMAI and IICA will collaborate on Training Programmes, Joint Research, Conferences and Policy Advocacy on Carbon markets, low-carbon industrial solutions, and sustainable finance
Posted On: 05 FEB 2025 5:10PM by PIB Delhi
In a significant step towards strengthening India’s carbon markets and advancing decarbonisation efforts, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and Carbon Market Association of India (CMAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi. The landmark agreement was announced on the inaugural day of the IICA-CMAI Masterclass on Global & Indian Carbon Markets on 4th February, graced by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road, Transport & Highways, Government of India, who emphasized the pivotal role of biofuels and green hydrogen in shaping India’s economic and environmental future.
He shared pilot projects related to Bio Bitumin, Bio Aviation-fuel, Bio CNG and highlighted that “Conversion of Knowledge into wealth is the future and No Material is waste”. While emphasizing the importance of PPP, he shared that “Hydrogen is fuel for the future”. The Minister also shared his vision for the cost of hydrogen to be 1 dollar per kg, which he is confident India will be the pioneering nation to achieve due to its state-of-the-art research and development initiatives in this field. While citing landmark initiatives being undertaken related to the biofuels and alternative fuels, he also mentioned that though the initial cost of capital and technology seems high but significant research is currently underway which will eventually unleash as well as lead to the realisation of its true potential. He further highlighted the government’s commitment to developing a diversified biofuels sector, acknowledging the vast potential of various fuels to create a cleaner, more sustainable energy landscape and soon India will become a Green Hydrogen exporting country. At the end, he congratulated the organisation for launching the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Alliance and the capacity building initiatives in this domain.
Dr. Garima Dadhich, Head, School of Business Environment, IICA, stated that the IICA Certificate Programme in Decarbonisation will be focused on creating a pool of corporates with advanced expertise to develop carbon offset mechanisms for climate mitigation, as well as integrate long-term strategy to decarbonise their operations.
Mr Manish Dabkara, President, CMAI remarked that the MoU with IICA marks a significant step towards building a robust ecosystem for carbon markets in India. Training programs, research opportunities, workshops, and conferences are a huge part of accelerating sustainable business initiatives. CMAI is looking forward to a successful partnership in this area. Mr. Rohit Kumar, Secretary General, CMAI remarked that awareness has been a major challenge in this area. By combining CMAI’s industry expertise with IICA’s institutional strength, the collaboration will aim to create impactful learning opportunities that will help accelerate India’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
This strategic partnership aims to equip industry professionals, policymakers and academicians with the necessary knowledge and expertise to navigate India’s evolving carbon markets. CMAI, a leading industry association focused on accelerating sustainable business initiatives, will serve as the knowledge partner to IICA, a think tank under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, to support the growth and development of the corporate sector in India.
Under the agreement, CMAI and IICA will collaborate on:
The Day 1 of the Masterclass witnessed the participation of more than 70 professionals from leading corporates, PSUs as well as delegations from governmental bodies, embassies and international organisations. The Masterclass on Global and Indian Carbon Markets is being organised by IICA as part of the India Climate Week. Ms. Shivangi Vashishta, Senior Research Associate, School of Business Environment, IICA, led a case-study based discussion which led to enhanced delegate engagement. The Day 1 of the Masterclass concluded with an insightful session from Managing Partner, ERM India. The Day 2 of the Masterclass will witness a series of sessions on International Carbon Markets.
About Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA):
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), is an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. School of Business Environment (SBE) is a specialised vertical within IICA promoting the responsible business conduct focusing on the forward-looking areas of Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Finance, Business & Biodiversity Conservation, Business and Human Rights, Responsible Trade, ESG Audit & Assurance and other aligned areas.
Contact: https://iica.nic.in/, sobe@iica.in or 0124-2640044
About Carbon Market Association of India (CMAI):
The Carbon Markets Association of India (CMAI) is a leading not-for-profit industry group driving India’s transition to a net-zero future by decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors. Collaborating with key ministries like MoEFCC, MoP, MNRE, and NITI Aayog, CMAI provides policy advocacy, capacity building, and knowledge support.
Contact: https://cma-india.in/, secretary@cma-india.in or +91 98117 79580
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NB/AD
(Release ID: 2100046) Visitor Counter : 65
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (February 5) announced that the overall number of visitors to Hong Kong reached around 1.4 million following the conclusion of the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland (January 28 to February 4) yesterday, with various arrangements for receiving visitors rolling out smoothly.
Mr Chan said, “During this Chinese New Year Golden Week, the wide range of celebration events held in Hong Kong, including the Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade on the first day of Chinese New Year, the fireworks display on the second day, the Chinse New Year Raceday on the third day and the Chinese New Year Cup football match on the fourth day, were well received by the public and visitors from the Mainland and different parts of the world, allowing them to immerse themselves in a vibrant festive atmosphere.”
Visitor flow and situation of boundary control points
During the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 1.4 million inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 1.2 million, representing around 85 per cent of the total arrivals. The daily average of Mainland visitors was around 150 000.
The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on January 30 (the second day of Chinese New Year) with around 190 000 Mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point. The overall operation of the control points and transport services ran smoothly.
Major tourist attractions, inbound tour groups and hotel occupancy rate
Visitors went to different parts of Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week, with high visitor flow observed at major tourist attractions including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented. In addition, according to the information provided by the hotel industry, the hotel occupancy rate during the Chinese New Year Golden Week reached 90 per cent in general.
In terms of Mainland inbound tour groups, according to the Travel Industry Authority’s information, over 2 200 Mainland inbound tour groups visited Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week, with around 83 per cent engaged in overnight itineraries. These tour groups involved around 79 000 visitors, accounting for around 7 per cent of all Mainland visitors, and they were orderly in general.
Cross-boundary traffic
Throughout the Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Transport Department had been steering public transport operators to enhance their service capacity with a view to meeting the cross-boundary passenger demand. The traffic conditions at various boundary control points were mostly smooth.
Mr Chan said, “Thanks to the close collaboration of all relevant government departments, organisations and the trade in making comprehensive preparations and responses, as well as the co-operation of the public and tourists, the various reception arrangements during the Chinese New Year Golden Week operated smoothly this year, enabling citizens and tourists to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong in a joyous and festive manner.”
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCSD to present “Multi-arts of making-do” lecture series in March
LCSD to present “Multi-arts of making-do” lecture series in March
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The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present a lecture series, the “Multi-arts of making-do”, in March. By covering topics of art, design, performances, culture, literature and more, this series of four lectures hosted by cultural researcher Dr Ian Fong investigates how multi-arts embody the spirit of making-do that opens up flexibility and possibilities in the art creative process to give new life to artifacts and everyday objects, and enriches the meanings of aesthetics. This lecture series also presents how everyday wisdom of making-do inspires multi-arts, and every ordinary person can be an artist. Details of each lecture are as follows: Lecture 1: Poetry, Prose, Short Stories, and Novels——————————————————————Date: March 3 (Monday)Content: Through an intertextual reading of a selection of local and French literary works by renowned authors, links and connections of texts are portrayed across time and space, thus demonstrating the flexibility and imagination of the art of making-do, as well as the importance of creativity in reading a text, turning a reader into a writer. Lecture 2: Visual Art, Film, and Musical Performances——————————————————————Date: March 10 (Monday)Content: Drawing on visual art, film and musical performances to discuss the artistic reflection of making-do that make art more possible, this lecture thereby challenges the boundary of art and the identity of an artist. Lecture 3: Performance Art, “Wing Chun”, and “Jeet Kune Do”—————————————————————————–Date: March 24 (Monday)Content: The bodies of artists are very important to performance art. By appreciating the dexterity of artists’ body movements through works of performance art, and through the enactment of Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do, the speaker presents how the art of making-do stresses the importance of the body, and explores how bodies show the artistic possibility of making-do and its vitality. Lecture 4: Street and Home as Gallery, Museum, Cinema, Theatre, and Concert Hall——————————————————————————————————Date: March 31 (Monday)Content: Any place that gives life to an artwork could be a place for art. By citing various art pieces to appreciate the art of “poverty” and of “going with the flow”, the speaker illustrates how the wisdom of living nurtures the art of making-do, and thereby illustrates the importance of everyday streets and homes to create and exhibit multi-arts. Dr Fong received his PhD degree in comparative literature at the University of Hong Kong. He is currently teaching literary and cultural studies in various tertiary institutions. His research interests lie in urban studies, film and literary studies, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, as well as Nietzsche studies. All lectures will be conducted in Cantonese and will start at 7.30pm at AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Free-seating tickets priced at $70 for each lecture and $224 for all four lectures are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/multi_arts/programs_1820.html.
Ends/Wednesday, February 5, 2025Issued at HKT 11:00
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax™ today announced distributions for the YieldMax™ Weekly Payers and Group C ETFs listed in the table below.
| ETF Ticker1 | ETF Name | Reference Asset | Distribution per Share | Distribution Frequency | Ex-Date & Record Date | Payment Date | |
| GPTY* | YieldMax™ AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF | Multiple | $0.3353 | Weekly | 2/7/2025 | 2/10/2025 | |
| LFGY | YieldMax™ Crypto Industry & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF | Multiple | $0.6280 | Weekly | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| YMAX | YieldMax™ Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs | Multiple | $0.1944 | Weekly | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| YMAG | YieldMax™ Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs | Multiple | $0.1862 | Weekly | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| CONY | YieldMax™ COIN Option Income Strategy ETF | COIN | $1.0468 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| FIAT | YieldMax™ Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF | COIN | $0.5498 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| MSFO | YieldMax™ MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF | MSFT | $0.3615 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| AMDY | YieldMax™ AMD Option Income Strategy ETF | AMD | $0.3812 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| NFLY | YieldMax™ NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF | NFLX | $1.0705 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| ABNY | YieldMax™ ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF | ABNB | $0.4033 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| PYPY | YieldMax™ PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF | PYPL | $0.6665 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| ULTY | YieldMax™ Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF | Multiple | $0.5369 | Every 4 Weeks | 2/6/2025 | 2/7/2025 | |
| CVNY** | YieldMax™ CVNA Option Income Strategy ETF | CVNA | – | Every 4 Weeks | – | – | |
| Weekly Payers & Group D ETFs scheduled for next week: GPTY LFGY YMAX YMAG MSTY YQQQ AMZY APLY AIYY DISO SQY SMCY | |||||||
Note: DIPS, FIAT, CRSH and YQQQ are hereinafter referred to as the “Short ETFs”.
You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from period to period and may be zero.
Investors in the Funds will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions with respect to the underlying reference asset(s).
*GPTY’s nonstandard dates are for this distribution only. The dates for GPTY’s future distributions will be those set forth in the YieldMax Distribution Schedule.
**The inception date for CVNY is January 29, 2025.
1Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.
Each Fund has a limited operating history and while each Fund’s objective is to provide current income, there is no guarantee the Fund will make a distribution. Distributions are likely to vary greatly in amount.
Important Information
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about each Fund, visit our website at www.YieldMaxETFs.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.
There is no guarantee that any Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment in any such Fund.
Tidal Financial Group is the adviser for all YieldMax™ ETFs.
THE FUND, TRUST, AND ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY UNDERLYING REFERENCE ASSET.
Risk Disclosures (applicable to all YieldMax ETFs referenced above, except the Short ETFs)
YMAX, YMAG, FEAT and FIVY generally invest in other YieldMax™ ETFs. As such, these two Funds are subject to the risks listed in this section, which apply to all the YieldMax™ ETFs they may hold from time to time.
Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
Call Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer periods.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Call Period.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (ARKK, TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOGL, NFLX, COIN, MSFT, DIS, XOM, JPM, AMD, PYPL, SQ, MRNA, AI, MSTR, Bitcoin ETP, GDX®, SNOW, ABNB, BABA, TSM, SMCI, PLTR, MARA, CVNA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)
Artificial Intelligence Risk. Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence typically have high research and capital expenditures and, as a result, their profitability can vary widely, if they are profitable at all. The space in which they are engaged is highly competitive and issuers’ products and services may become obsolete very quickly. These companies are heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. The issuers are also subject to legal, regulatory and political changes that may have a large impact on their profitability. A failure in an issuer’s product or even questions about the safety of the product could be devastating to the issuer, especially if it is the marquee product of the issuer. It can be difficult to accurately capture what qualifies as an artificial intelligence company.
Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.
Risk Disclosure (applicable only to MARO)
Digital Assets Risk: The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund. Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)
Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.
Depositary Receipts Risk: The securities underlying BABO and TSMY are American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight.
Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)
Risk of Investing in Foreign Securities. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the securities of foreign issuers selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities.
Risk of Investing in Gold and Silver Mining Companies. The Fund is exposed indirectly to gold and silver mining companies selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies.
The Fund invests in options contracts based on the value of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX®), which subjects the Fund to some of the same risks as if it owned GDX®, as well as the risks associated with Canadian, Australian and Emerging Market Issuers, and Small-and Medium-Capitalization companies.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)
YBIT does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than YBIT.
Bitcoin Investment Risk: The Fund’s indirect investment in Bitcoin, through holdings in one or more Underlying ETPs, exposes it to the unique risks of this emerging innovation. Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its market is influenced by the changing Bitcoin network, fluctuating acceptance levels, and unpredictable usage trends.
Digital Assets Risk: Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility. Potentially No 1940 Act Protections. As of the date of this Prospectus, there is only a single eligible Underlying ETP, and it is an investment company subject to the 1940 Act.
Bitcoin ETP Risk: The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Bitcoin ETP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the Bitcoin ETP, even though it does not. Bitcoin ETPs are subject, but not limited, to significant risk and heightened volatility. An investor in a Bitcoin ETP may lose their entire investment. Bitcoin ETPs are not suitable for all investors. In addition, not all Bitcoin ETPs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Those Bitcoin ETPs that are not registered under such statute are therefore not subject to the same regulations as exchange traded products that are so registered.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)
Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
Price Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the underlying reference asset. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the underlying reference asset, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the underlying reference asset increases. If the value of the underlying reference asset increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses.
Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing (selling) strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in decreases in the value of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer periods.
Purchased OTM Call Options Risk. The Fund’s strategy is subject to potential losses if the underlying reference asset increases in value, which may not be offset by the purchase of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The Fund purchases OTM calls to seek to manage (cap) the Fund’s potential losses from the Fund’s short exposure to the underlying reference asset if it appreciates significantly in value. However, the OTM call options will cap the Fund’s losses only to the extent that the value of the underlying reference asset increases to a level that is at or above the strike level of the purchased OTM call options. Any increase in the value of the underlying reference asset to a level that is below the strike level of the purchased OTM call options will result in a corresponding loss for the Fund. For example, if the OTM call options have a strike level that is approximately 100% above the then-current value of the underlying reference asset at the time of the call option purchase, and the value of the underlying reference asset increases by at least 100% during the term of the purchased OTM call options, the Fund will lose all its value. Since the Fund bears the costs of purchasing the OTM calls, such costs will decrease the Fund’s value and/or any income otherwise generated by the Fund’s investment strategy.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.
Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in decreases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Put Period.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.
Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)
Index Overview. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization.
Index Level Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the Index level. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the Index level, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Index level increases. If the Index level increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses. The Fund may also be subject to the following risks: innovation and technological advancement; strong market presence of Index constituent companies; adaptability to global market trends; and resilience and recovery potential.
Index Level Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will benefit from decreases in the Index level experienced over the Put Period. This means that if the Index level experiences a decrease in value below the strike level of the sold put options during a Put Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and any Fund gains may significantly differ from the level of the Index losses over the Put Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in decreases in value experienced by the Index level over each Put Period, but has significant negative exposure to any increases in value experienced by the Index level over the Put Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the inverse of the performance of the Index level. The Fund’s ability to benefit from the Index level decreases will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Put Period to Put Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of component companies that comprise the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the Index level changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Put Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly inversely correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index level. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact that the value of the options contracts has on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the Index level will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than the inverse of the changes experienced by the Index level.
YieldMax™ ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with Tidal Financial Group, YieldMax™ ETFs.
© 2025 YieldMax™ ETFs
Source: European Central Bank
5 February 2025
The ECB lowered its interest rates by 25 basis points last week. How low can rates go given the current inflation and growth outlook?
We have been very clear that we are not following any predetermined path and will decide meeting by meeting, based on the incoming economic data. This is because the level of uncertainty is huge. Now that we see inflation approaching our 2% target, we have been reducing the restriction of our monetary policy. How much lower rates will go depends on the data confirming that inflation is converging towards our target in a sustainable manner. We are confident that this will happen this year, but there are still a number of uncertainties, particularly surrounding the geopolitical situation, that we need to take into account. So, even if our current trajectory under the current circumstances is clear, nobody knows the level at which interest rates will end up.
At the press conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde described the current level of interest rates as being in restrictive territory. Národná banka Slovenska Governor Peter Kažimír recently suggested that rates would decline to a neutral level close to 2%. Do you agree?
I usually agree with my friend Peter Kažimír on a lot of things [laughs]. The neutral rate is an interesting concept from an academic standpoint. However, using it as a reference for monetary policy decisions is not the right approach, in my view. The range of the neutral rate, based on different models, can be very ample. Our bank lending surveys provide a much better indicator of the restrictiveness of our monetary policy, by showing how banks are easing or tightening financing conditions. For policy decisions we need to consider all relevant incoming data and a vast range of indicators to form our assessment of the inflation outlook, underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. So while the neutral rate makes for an interesting academic concept, it is not very useful from a policymaking standpoint.
Why don’t academic concepts hold up? Are we living through unusual times?
Academic research is crucial for the conceptual framework of the things we do. But the high level of uncertainty we are now dealing with potentially calls for a more pragmatic approach, placing less weight on unobservable variables or model-based estimates with shortcomings and results expressed in wide ranges.
Services inflation is double the target level and wage growth is near 5%. How confident are you that the projected moderation in inflation will actually materialise?
As we can clearly see at the moment, not all the components of inflation evolve in parallel. You are right that while goods inflation stands at 0.5%, services inflation is at 4%. It is important that services inflation starts to decelerate. We believe this will happen because services are very wage-sensitive, and we expect wage growth to start to decelerate. We also see our corporate surveys confirming our belief that wage dynamics will start to slow down, so we expect this to help bring down services inflation.
How is inflation expected to evolve over the next few months?
On average, we may see an increase in headline inflation over the next couple of months because of base effects, mostly due to energy prices. Nevertheless, we are convinced that headline inflation will start to decelerate later on in the spring and converge towards our 2% target on a sustainable basis.
Is there any time lag between the projected moderation in wage growth and services inflation?
There is always a certain delay in that respect. But looking only at wage growth data is like looking into a rear-view mirror. Looking ahead, we pay attention to expectations about inflation, which are firmly anchored. At the same time, there is the crucial “catch-up” process, which is almost complete. While the purchasing power of workers’ wages in the euro area fell during the period of high inflation, it has now recovered. These two elements lead us to believe that wage increases will start to decelerate.
Eurostat released data on GDP growth in the euro area, which has been stagnating. Forward-looking indicators point to an economic slowdown, affecting wages and, in turn, consumer demand. Is that the reason why you are expecting weak growth in household consumption?
You raised a very important issue. In order to understand what will happen to the economy, consumer behaviour is key. Right now, we don’t see consumption picking up even though the moderation in inflation has restored households’ purchasing power. It is likely that this is related to consumer confidence. The impact of past shocks like the pandemic, the post-pandemic period and the energy shock, as well as the current geopolitical situation and the general level of uncertainty worldwide, is moderating consumption. But we believe that confidence will be restored over time, as real wages recover.
A recovery in consumption will be key for a rebound of euro area economic growth. The lack of consumer confidence is one of the reasons why this has not been the case yet.
What would happen if the war in Ukraine were to end tomorrow? Would it change everything we think about the economy and the course of monetary policy?
From a human standpoint, a peace agreement would obviously be very positive. And generally speaking, an end to the war would also benefit the economy. But this would depend on how the war is resolved and whether the terms of the settlement are good for Ukraine and for the rest of Europe.
In its pursuit of price stability, the ECB targets inflation, but what role did weak economic growth play in your decision to lower interest rates?
Even though we target inflation, our decision-making of course involves a broader perspective. We consider a wide range of indicators, such as consumer demand, investment, energy prices and exchange rate developments, as well as actual and potential economic growth. We calibrate all of these components on an ongoing basis to produce the most accurate projection of inflation over time in order to support our decisions.
Slovakia is an automotive power. However, the car sector has been struggling in the wake of the green transition. After your dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, how do you see the green transition evolving?
This question would be better put to the European Commission. Ms von der Leyen explained the main features of the Competitiveness Compass, with simplification and flexibility being major drivers. This means looking at decarbonisation targets also through the lens of the competitiveness of European industries.
Slovakia is one of Europe’s fiscal sinners, but it has implemented consolidation measures, including income tax and VAT hikes and the introduction of a transaction tax. Do you think it will be enough if small euro area countries take action while large countries do not?
Every country needs to do their part to comply with the new fiscal framework. The new rules need to be implemented fully, faithfully and by all countries, because the credibility of fiscal policy is crucial. This does not apply to Europe alone, but to other countries in the world too. Markets are monitoring each country’s fiscal position very closely, and any doubts about the sustainability of public finances are quickly reflected in increased government bond yields, as we have seen in the United States and the United Kingdom. An increase in government bond yields is detrimental to growth and financial stability. That is why we must maintain the credibility of the new fiscal framework, as this a prerequsite for keeping long-term yields at a low level, which is vital for the economic recovery. The new fiscal rules are flexible to allow sustainable deficit cuts and they will not jeopardise efforts to invest in areas such as climate change or defence.
Global debt is on track to hit 100% of world GDP this year. Is this alarming? And who is the biggest debt sinner?
I won’t name any countries, because the figures are already out there. In general, the policy response to the pandemic played a big part in increasing sovereign debt, as there was a combination of very loose fiscal and monetary policy. But this was an exceptional situation – extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.
That being said, many countries have seen their fiscal positions deteriorate. Public debt ratios are now high, and a number of countries have increased their structural deficits. This is why it is so important to implement the new fiscal governance framework in its entirety. This means not only reducing the fiscal deficit and the public debt-to-GDP ratio, but also implementing structural reforms.
Do you view the consolidation measures adopted by the Slovak Government as positive?
It is not for us to assess the fiscal measures of individual countries. Looking at Slovakia’s fiscal profile, we see that its debt is below the euro area average, at around 60% of GDP. The budget deficit is higher, which means that Slovakia is subject to an excessive deficit procedure. In general, it’s important to reduce the deficit in a way that ensures the sustainability of public finances. This can be done through a combination of cutting expenditure and increasing tax revenue. But how to do that, and by how much, is for each country to decide.
12 years ago, Italy’s fiscal sustainability triggered a crisis. Today, France is under the spotlight of the markets and its government bond yields are on the rise. Does this pose a threat to the stability of the euro area?
We have seen an increase in yields in several countries. In the case of France, this may have been somewhat stronger, mainly because of the political situation. But the plans submitted to the European Commission are fully compliant with the new fiscal framework. So what I hope for France, and for other euro area countries, is political stability, and for them to be able to implement the plans approved by the European Commission.
Mortgages are very important for people in Slovakia, as Slovaks prefer to live in their own homes. But interest rates went from levels below 1% all the way up to 5.3% in November 2023. In view of the monetary policy easing cycle, is the ECB a messenger of good news for Slovaks?
We are trying to do our job. When inflation was high, we increased interest rates, and now that it is falling, we are reducing them. On average, inflation peaked at above 10% in October 2022 and it now stands at 2.5%, which is why we have cut interest rates by 125 basis points since June last year. This has an impact on financing conditions and on mortgage rates, but the structure of the mortgage market is also important in determining how quickly our monetary policy is transmitted. In countries where most of the mortgage market is at variable rates, interest rate cuts are rapidly reflected in household mortgage payments. In countries where there are more fixed-rate mortgages, this process is slower. But the transmission of monetary policy easing will eventually be reflected in mortgages across the board, and people will feel that they are less costly than before we started to reduce rates.
So monetary policy is a bit of a bittersweet symphony? Bitter in bad times and sweet in good times?
Yes, bitter when inflation is high and we need to tighten financing conditions, and sweet when it is low. Now that inflation is declining, and if it continues to do so, we will adjust our monetary policy accordingly. If inflation had not declined, we would not have cut rates.
How big a threat are Donald Trump’s economic policies to the ECB’s inflation target?
With regard to tariffs, our analyses suggest that the main impact will be on growth. If the world embarks on the path towards a trade war, this will have an extremely negative impact on the growth prospects of the global economy. Increases in tariffs and quotas are a negative supply shock, especially if accompanied by retaliation. This vicious circle should be avoided. Estimating the impact on inflation is more difficult owing to the dampening effect of tariffs on demand and growth, as well as the fact that selective tariffs can lead to trade being redirected and diverted.
Are you concerned about stagflation, i.e. a stagnation in growth accompanied by rising prices, which the ECB’s monetary policy cannot reach? Could it lead to a reversal of the monetary policy stance?
If inflation moves according to our projections, the path of our monetary policy is clear. Although there are always some external factors affecting the economy, and potentially shocks, our baseline scenario sees inflation on track to converge towards our target this year, with a slight recovery in economic growth. We expect euro area GDP growth to reach 1.1% this year, following 0.7% last year.
To support the economic recovery, we will need a growth-oriented fiscal policy that also guarantees the fiscal sustainability of public finances, as well as structural reforms. This is where the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass will play a key role. To achieve real unity, we need to simplify processes and integrate markets in Europe. That means the Single Market, the capital markets union and the banking union. These will be key elements in improving the growth prospects and growth potential of the euro area.
Source: International Monetary Fund
February 5, 2025
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
An IMF team led by Jean-François Dauphin visited Brussels to conduct the 2025 Article IV consultation with Belgium. The mission’s discussions (January 22-February 3) took place before the formation of the new government and the present statement, which summarizes the mission’s findings and recommendations, does not reflect the new government’s policy intentions.
The IMF team thanks the Belgium authorities andother counterpartsfor the constructive dialogue and productive collaboration. It congratulates the new government on its nomination and looks forward to future engagement.
******
The Belgian economy has been resilient to a series of shocks, but growth has slowed, and disinflation has faced headwinds. The labor market has been strong but shows signs of cooling. Labor-cost competitiveness has declined with wage growth outpacing sluggish productivity growth. Absent policy change, pressures from an aging population will weigh on Belgium’s social model and further increase the fiscal deficit and public debt, heightening vulnerability to changes in market sentiment. The outlook is subject to high uncertainty, amid risks that could push growth down and inflation up, including deepening geoeconomic and trade fragmentation, and adverse energy price developments.
Economic outlook and risks
Growth is expected to be stable in 2025 and inflation to slowly return to target. Output is expected to grow by 1.1 percent in 2025 and slightly increase by 2027 supported by monetary policy easing and a higher contribution from net exports. Inflation is projected to gradually decline as wage growth moderates and the projected drop in international energy prices passes through to retail prices. The external current account is expected to return to small surpluses over the medium term as energy prices ease and external demand increases. Under unchanged policies, pressures from the aging population would further increase the fiscal deficit to about 7 percent and public debt about 125 percent of GDP in 2030, heightening vulnerabilities.
The baseline outlook is subject to sizeable risks, tilted down for growth and up for inflation. Growth could be weaker if the expected recovery in external demand falters amid escalating geoeconomic tensions and trade fragmentation. Inflation could be higher than projected due to adverse energy price developments, or if persistently-high core inflation affects expectations. Fiscal sustainability concerns could arise and lead to a sharp increase in borrowing costs—especially if global risk aversion increases—, necessitating abrupt fiscal consolidation with negative consequences for growth and potentially financial stability.
Rebuilding Fiscal Buffers Despite Pressures
Significant fiscal consolidation is needed to address large structural deficits and rising public debt that were exacerbated by the pandemic and energy crisis. In the short term, consolidation will help further reduce inflation, notwithstanding still-high wage growth and looser monetary policy. This would also help address significant upside risks to inflation. Critically, a sustained reduction in fiscal deficits is needed to reduce vulnerability to changes in market sentiment, rebuild space to address potential future shocks, address long-term spending pressures, and ultimately, preserve the core of Belgium’s social model, which places a high premium on solidarity and equity.
Consolidation under the new EU economic governance framework (EGF) would significantly improve fiscal sustainability. Given the magnitude of the needed adjustment, the medium-term fiscal structural plan (MTFSP) under the EGF would benefit from a seven-year rather than a four-year adjustment path, accompanied by credible and front-loaded growth-enhancing reforms. Under such an adjustment, an annual reduction in the structural primary balance of about 0.5 percentage points of GDP until 2031 will be necessary to reach an overall deficit below 3 percent of GDP by 2031 and maintain it until 2041, per the EGF.
Fiscal adjustment should center on rationalizing current spending, while making room for public investment. Rationalizing social benefits and the public wage bill is crucial for achieving budgetary savings. Public investment should be preserved, or ideally, increased to mitigate the growth impact of fiscal consolidation, support green transition, and bolster the economy’s productive capacity.
Improving the efficiency of public investment is critical amid competing demands for resources. This includes laying out clear infrastructure investment strategies, strengthening project appraisal, selection, and governance, and improving coordination within and among the federal and federated entities. In healthcare, increasing the focus on preventive care and reforming the organization and role of hospitals would help absorb part of the projected increase in spending due to aging and better prepare the system to the evolving need of an older population. Education reforms can help achieve the same education outcomes at lower costs or improve outcomes without increasing spending.
Pension reforms are essential to address cost pressures from aging. The focus should be on raising the effective retirement age in line with healthy-life expectancy and facilitating longer employment through life-long learning and upskilling. Additionally, reviewing eligibility criteria for specific pension regimes (e.g., disability pensions) and limiting increases in pension benefits by reviewing automatic indexation are necessary steps. A review of special provisions (e.g., arduous jobs) could inform reforms to balance fairness and costs.
Tax reforms should aim to shift part of the tax burden from labor to capital, without revenue loss, and to reduce tax exemptions. Belgium has the highest labor-tax wedge in the OECD. Reducing labor taxation will help increase the employment rate. All revenue from capital (e.g., interests, dividends, and capital gains) should be taxed in the same way to ensure neutrality in investment decisions, ideally by incorporating these revenues into the overall taxable income subject to personal income tax. Reducing preferential regimes and treatments in the tax system, a significant source of foregone revenue, also needs to be part of the reform package. Tax reforms should be coordinated among the federal and federated entities for their revenue and distributional impacts.
The new EGF provides an opportunity to strengthen Belgian’s fiscal framework through a revitalized fiscal council and greater accountability among federated entities. The implementation of the 2013 federal-regional coordination agreement has proved challenging, given the complexities of Belgium’s fiscal federalism. The new EGF provides a renewed opportunity to introduce binding rules for burden sharing the fiscal adjustment, with clear accountability for the federal and all federated entities. A strengthened fiscal council (e.g., with enhanced staffing and direct reporting to parliaments) would help ensure that the federal and each federated entity’s fiscal behavior is consistent with Belgium’s European commitments.
Preserving Macrofinancial Stability
Overall systemic risks in the financial sector remain moderate but are evolving due to changing macroeconomic and market conditions. While the economy is slowing and real estate markets cooling, interest rates are now decreasing. Household indebtedness has stabilized, and corporate indebtedness has declined due to substantial investments being largely cash financed. Corporate bankruptcies have been increasing but remain aligned with pre-pandemic trends. Risks from residential real estate have moderated, but commercial real estate market activity has dropped sharply, and vacancies have risen, reflecting low demand for office space. Overall, exposures to real estate remain broadly stable.
With the level of financial stability risks expected to remain unchanged, capital buffers and prudential limits on residential mortgages should be maintained . Since last year, macroprudential policies have tightened, with capital buffers significantly raised. The NBB also appropriately encouraged banks to lengthen new mortgage maturities to ease the debt servicing burden of households and pre-empt borrower distress. Progress has been made in implementing the 2023 Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) recommendations and this effort should be accelerated now that a new government is in place and the required legislative changes can be pushed forward.
Strengthening Labor Markets
Labor market fragmentation and rigidity in Belgium are impeding growth potential. The coexistence of local or sectoral pockets of high vacancies and pockets of high unemployment highlights inefficiencies in labor allocation that hinder potential growth. Employment gaps for low-skilled workers, older workers, women, and individuals with an immigration background or disabilities remain high. Fostering a more inclusive labor market will enhance overall economic performance and mitigate fiscal pressures.
Enhancing labor market incentives is essential. Labor market, tax, and social benefit reforms should consistently aim to increase the income gap between work and nonwork and reduce the cost of hiring and dismissal. Reducing the duration of unemployment benefits and linking social benefits to income levels would incentivize re-entry into the labor force. Policy efforts should also focus on facilitating re-integration of workers from long-term sick leave.
Reforming the wage-setting mechanism will help increase labor market efficiency, improve competitiveness, and reduce fiscal costs. Automatic wage and social benefit indexation protected household purchasing power during the inflation shock. However, it also increased structural fiscal deficits and led to labor-cost increases exceeding those of major trading partners when accounting for productivity differential, weighing on competitiveness. Consideration should be given to abolishing the automatic indexation and the 1996 wage law which, together, define a floor and a ceiling for wage growth, that do not allow for an optimal allocation of labor and increased employment. At a minimum, the labor market would already benefit from reforms including adjusting the basis for indexation to exclude volatile prices, broadening the group of comparator countries in the wage law, using productivity-adjusted wage growth as the basis for comparison, and allowing firms to partially index wages considering specific local and sectoral labor market conditions.
Reforms in education and life-long training are necessary to upskill the labor force, enhance employment rates, and promote growth. While educational outcomes in Belgium are comparable to peers, they are achieved at a higher cost. Addressing teacher shortages, reducing grade repetition rates, and achieving greater equality of educational outcomes irrespective of backgrounds will require a comprehensive reform of the educational system. Actions should seek to align education with the needs of Belgian companies, better leverage teachers’ time, and strengthen support provided to students who face difficulties. These reforms would help increase employment, productivity, and the creation and diffusion of innovation.
Boosting Productivity
Boosting productivity will require further product market reforms to improve firm dynamics and the diffusion of innovation. Despite significant investment in innovation, Belgium’s long-term productivity slowdown is worse than peers, suggesting room to improve the transmission of innovation to productivity gains. Lagging productivity is linked to insufficient firm dynamics—the entry, growth, and exit of firms—, with Belgium experiencing some of the lowest firm entry and exit rates in the EU. To enhance productivity and dynamics, further product market reforms are necessary to reduce regulatory and administrative barriers and improve the insolvency regime.
Deepening the European single market and advancing the capital market union would benefit firms in Belgium. Removing remaining barriers to trade within the EU and harmonizing regulations and bankruptcy frameworks would enhance Belgian firms’ access to a much larger customer base, improve competition and firm dynamics, and provide buffers against risks from geo-fragmentation. Moreover, developing venture capital within an EU-wide push toward capital market union would help widen Belgian firms’ options to finance growth.
Sustaining the Green Transition
Despite progress, much effort remains needed to achieve climate objectives. The expansion of the EU emissions trading system should be complemented by timely implementation of carbon taxation and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, while ensuring support for vulnerable population. The consolidation of federal and regional climate efforts into a coherent and cohesive national strategy is essential. Improved coordination and accountability among the federal and regional governments will facilitate the design, execution, and evaluation of climate policies. Adequate investments in the green transition are necessary to ensure Belgium meets its climate goals and contributes to the European Green Deal.
PRESS OFFICER: Camila Perez
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
Source: Securelist – Kaspersky
Headline: Investors, Trump and the Illuminati: What the “Nigerian prince” scams became in 2024
“Nigerian” spam is a collective term for messages designed to entice victims with alluring offers and draw them into an email exchange with scammers, who will try to defraud them of their money. The original “Nigerian” spam emails were sent in the name of influential and wealthy individuals from Nigeria, hence the name of the scam.
The themes of these phishing emails evolved over time, with cybercriminals leveraging contemporary events and popular trends to pique the interest of their targets. However, the distinctive characteristics of the messages that placed them in the “Nigerian” scam category remained unchanged:
A fairly common tactic that has superseded the original “Nigerian” scam involves messages purportedly from wealthy individuals suffering from a terminal illness and facing imminent death. They claim to have no heirs, and therefore wish to bequeath their vast fortune to the recipient, whom they deem worthy.
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Subject: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY From: “Judith Peters”> Reply-To: Dearest One I’m Mrs Judith Peters a Successful business Woman dealing with Exportation, I got your mail contact through search in order to let you know my Ugly Situation. Am a dying Woman here in Los Angeles California Hospital Bed in (USA),I Lost my Husband and my only Daughter for Covid-19 in March 2020 I’m dying with a cancer disease at the moment. My Doctor open-up to me that he is Afraid to tell me my Condition and inside me, I already know that I’m not going to survive and I can’t live alone without my Family on Earth. I have a project that I am about to hand over to you. and I already instructed the Heritage Bank to transfer my fund sum of $50,000.000.00usd to you, so as to enable you to give 50% to Charitable Home and take 50% for yourself. Don’t think otherwise and why would anybody send someone you barely know to help you deliver a message, help me do this for the happiness of my soul. Please, do as I said there was someone from your State that I deeply love so very very much and I miss her so badly I have no means to reach any Charitable Home there,that is why I go for a personal search of the Country and State and I got your mail contact through search to let you know my Bitterness and the situation that i am passing through. Please help me accomplish my goal,ask my Attorney to help me keep you notice failure for me to reach you in person. The Doctor said I have a few days to live, please contact my attorney with the following email address and phone number as soon as possible, I am finding it difficult to breathe now and I am not sure if I can stay up to two week. Name Attorney Chaplain Upright Email:attorneycchplain@… Please hurry up to contact my attorney so that he can direct you on how you will hand over 50% of the $50,000,000.00 to Charity, i really want to achieve that goal by helping the Charity organization before I die. My Regards. Mrs Judith Peters |
The narrative may change slightly from one email to the next. For example, a “wealthy benefactor” might ask the recipient to act as a go-between for a monetary transfer to a third party in exchange for a reward, as described in the email above, or simply offer a valuable gift. The message can claim to be written by either a dying millionaire or, as in the example below, a legal representative of the deceased.
Alternatively, the “millionaires” may be in good health and supposedly donating their money purely out of the goodness of their hearts. To enhance credibility, attackers can embed links to publicly available data about the individual they’re posing as.
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Subject: DONATION From: Maria Elizabeth Schaeffler Dear [Recipient Name], My name is Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler. I am a German business magnate, investor and philanthropist. I am the owner of the Schaeffler Group at Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG at Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG. I spend 25% of my wealth for charitable causes. Also, I have pledged to give away the remaining 25% this year to private individuals. I have decided to donate €4,500,000 to you. If you are interested in accepting this donation, please contact me for details. Send an email to: …@gmail.com You can learn more about me by visiting the link below https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria-Elisabeth_Schaeffler Greetings, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, Managing Director, Wipro Limited …@gmail.com |
Beyond the “millionaire giveaway” scam, fraudsters frequently use the lure of compensations from governments, banks and other trusted entities. By doing so, they exploit the victim’s vulnerability rather than their greed. Scammers sometimes take their victims on an emotional rollercoaster ride. They start by frightening people with bad news, then calm them down by saying the problem has been fixed, and finally surprise them with a generous offer of compensation.
For example, in the email screenshot below, the attackers, posing as high-ranking officials at a major bank, claim that “corrupt employees” were attempting to steal the recipient’s money. The bank claims to have taken action and is offering an exorbitant amount as damage compensation. To get it, the recipient is urged to contact a correspondent bank as soon as possible at an email address, which is, unsurprisingly, registered with a free email service.
Scammers have another trick up their sleeve when it comes to compensations: they pretend to be from the police or some international organization and promise to give victims of “Nigerian” scams or other rip-offs their money back. In the example below, scammers, posing as the Financial Stability Council and the United Bank for Africa (UBA), promise the victim a payout from a so-called “fraud victims compensation fund”.
Attention My Dear,
After the Global Financial Pact Summit, Monday, November 11, 2024 in Paris we have come to the conclusion to pay
Scammed victim compensation fund. You are in the badge B category that are going to benefit from the world’s largest
humanitarian aid budgets. With due regards to the instruction from the Financial Stability Board (FSB). We want to
inform you that (The Financial Stability Board (FSB)) have arranged with UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA to
immediately effect your payment through the online transfer of your $1.750.000.00usd via UBA BANK online
transfers. The transfer of your fund will be processed and completed within 3 working days, within which the fund
will safely reflect into any designated bank account of your choice.
To this effect, you’re required to contact
Sir.Joseph Warfel Mandy
Online Banking Services, UBA BANK
Email : …@gmail.com
Deposit And Fund Details
Fund Ref: 110/XX/236/OB/2024
Fund Value .. $1.750.000.00
Fund Origin ..Financial Stability Board (FSB)
Paying Formula.. UBA BANK Online Transfer!
Contact Sir.Joseph Warfel Mandy with your
Full names
Direct telephone number
Your identification Number
Current Address
He will furnish you with all necessary online information to carry out the online transfer of your fund by yourself.
Please note that F.S.B mobilization and efficiency sum of $125 is the only payable/required sum to effectively
complete your online transfer without any delay.
Thanks and best regards
Dr.John Schindler (Secretary General)
Copyright @The Financial Stability Board (FSB)
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Subject: Fund Ref: 110/XX/236/OB/2024 From: “Dr.John Schindler (Secretary General)” Attention My Dear, After the Global Financial Pact Summit, Monday, November 11, 2024 in Paris we have come to the conclusion to pay Scammed victim compensation fund. You are in the badge B category that are going to benefit from the world’s largest humanitarian aid budgets. With due regards to the instruction from the Financial Stability Board (FSB). We want to inform you that (The Financial Stability Board (FSB)) have arranged with UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA to immediately effect your payment through the online transfer of your $1.750.000.00usd via UBA BANK online transfers. The transfer of your fund will be processed and completed within 3 working days, within which the fund will safely reflect into any designated bank account of your choice. To this effect, you’re required to contact Sir.Joseph Warfel Mandy Online Banking Services, UBA BANK Email : …@gmail.com Deposit And Fund Details Fund Ref: 110/XX/236/OB/2024 Fund Value .. $1.750.000.00 Fund Origin ..Financial Stability Board (FSB) Paying Formula.. UBA BANK Online Transfer! Contact Sir.Joseph Warfel Mandy with your Full names Direct telephone number Your identification Number Current Address He will furnish you with all necessary online information to carry out the online transfer of your fund by yourself. Please note that F.S.B mobilization and efficiency sum of $125 is the only payable/required sum to effectively complete your online transfer without any delay. Thanks and best regards Dr.John Schindler (Secretary General) Copyright @The Financial Stability Board (FSB) |
Sometimes scammers pretend to be “victims of fraud” themselves. The screenshot below shows a common example: scammers masquerade as victims of cryptocurrency fraud, offering help from “noble hackers” who they claim helped them recover their losses.
Lottery win notification scams share many similarities with “Nigerian” scams. Fraudsters promise recipients large sums of money and provide their contact details for further communication. It’s likely that the victim has never heard of the lottery they’ve supposedly won.
In some cases, scammers employ unusual tactics. For example, in a message claiming to be from a European lottery director, the email body is all but empty. All the “win” details and next steps are in a PDF attachment. The file includes a free email address, which is typical of “Nigerian” scams, and asks you to send fairly detailed personal information, such as your full name, address, and both your mobile and landline phone numbers. They even ask for your job position.
In other similar emails, we noticed image attachments that included all the details about the supposed “win” and contact information.
Another lottery scam tactic combines two types of bait: a lottery win (fraudsters pretend to be someone else who has won and is now offering you money) and offering a donation from a wealthy elderly person.
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Subject: Spende von €1,500,000.00 From: Theodorus Struyck Reply-To: Theodorus Struyck <...> Wir freuen uns, Ihnen mitteilen zu können, dass Ihnen und Ihrer Familie eine Spende von €1,500,000..00 von Theodorus Struyck, 65, geschenkt wurde und der Gewinner des zweitgrößten Jackpot-Preises der kalifornischen Lotterie Powerball im Wert von 1,765 Mrd. 11, 2023 , ein Teil dieser Spende ist für Sie und Ihre Familie. und diese Spende wird auch zur Armutsbekämpfung beitragen, für arme und ältere Menschen in Ihrer Gemeinde, indem sie der Menschheit helfen. Bitte kontaktieren Sie uns für weitere Informationen, um das Geld per E-Mail zu erhalten: …@gmail.com, …@outlook.com |
In some cases, to make their scams more convincing, scammers attach photos of documents to their emails that supposedly confirm the sender’s identity or their winnings.
Some “Nigerian” scams are so sophisticated that they can be hard to spot right away. These include offers of friendship that often develop into romantic conversations, which can be almost indistinguishable from real-life interactions. We’ve seen examples of really long email exchanges where a whole drama played out. A man and a woman met online and hit it off, chatting for hours about everything under the sun. Now, one of them is finally ready to meet the other in person. However, they can’t afford the ticket or visa, and they’re pleading with their partner for financial help so they can meet.
In a different scenario, the scammer pretends to send an expensive gift to their partner. Eventually, they claim they can’t afford the postage and ask the victim to cover the costs. If the victim agrees, they’ll be hit with a series of additional fees, and the package will never materialize.
While “Nigerian” scams are often targeted at individual users, similar spam can also be found in the B2B sector. Cybercriminals claim to be seeking businesses to invest in, and the recipient’s company may be their target. To arrange a “partnership”, they ask the recipient to reply to the email.
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Subject: Potential Investment Opportunities in Russia From: Grigorii Iuvchenko Dear [Recipient’s Name], I hope this email catches you off guard. I am a business development professional at Sovereign Wealth Portfolio Limited. We operate on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund. As you may be aware, Saudi Arabia is in the process of applying for membership in the BRICS economic bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. As part of this process, Saudi Arabia is required to invest a certain amount in each of these member countries. I have been tasked with identifying potential investment opportunities in Russia, and I believe that you or your organization could be a suitable candidate. Whether it is a new venture, a project, or an existing business, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on possible partnership opportunities. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Alexander Maksakov Business Development Director Sovereign Wealth Portfolio Limited |
Some of the spam samples above reference recent or current real-world events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Saudi Arabia’s possible BRICS membership. This is typical of “Nigerian” scams. There are countless ways scammers exploit various global or local, significant or ordinary, positive or negative events, news, incidents, and activities to pursue their selfish goals.
The most talked-about event of 2024, the US presidential election, significantly influenced the types of scams we saw. Emails that took advantage of this topic were sent to users around the globe. For instance, in the following message, the scammers claimed that the recipient, who uses a German email address, was lucky enough to win millions of dollars from the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
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Subject: DONALD TRUMP FOUNDATION From: MR Donald trump Reply-To: …@gmail.com Hello., this email is from Donald J. Trump Foundation, American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. , The Trump Foundation is a charitable organization formed in 1988. As we happily celebrate Mr Donald J. Trump as 47th President of the United States. It gives me great joy to announce to you that after the winning of election, Donald J. Trump has called for the reopening of the Trump foundation which was closed years ago. The Trump foundation is giving out $15,000,000.00 each to 50 lucky people around the world to unknown randomly selected individual Emails online,the foundation simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful Price is what you pay, Value is what you get, Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. You have been selected to receive this $15,000,000.00, as a lucky one confirm back to me that this selected unknown email is valid,Visit the web page to know more about the Donald J. Trump Foundation, https://… Contact. This email below (…@gmail.com) Best Regards Donald J. Trump Foundation |
While most spam fits into well-known categories, scammers can come up with some very surprising offers. We’ve seen quite a few messages from people claiming they’re giving away a piano because they’re moving or because the previous owner has passed away, as is often the case.
Sometimes you find some really unusual specimens. For example, in the screenshot below, there’s an email allegedly sent from a secret society of Illuminati who claim to be ready to share their wealth and power, as well as make the lucky recipient famous if they agree to become part of their grand brotherhood.
“Nigerian” spam has existed for a long time and is characterized by its diversity. Fraudsters can pose as both real and fictitious individuals: bank employees, lawyers, businesspeople, magnates, bankers, ambassadors, company executives, law enforcement officers, presidents or even members of secret societies. They use a variety of stories to hook the user: compensations and reimbursements, donations and charity, winnings, inheritances, investments, and much more. Messages can be anything from short and captivating to long and persuasive, filled with numerous convincing claims designed to lull the victim into a false sense of security. The main danger of such emails lies in the fact that at first glance, there is nothing harmful in them: no links to phishing sites and no suspicious attachments. Scammers exclusively rely on social engineering and are willing to correspond with the victim for an extended period, increasing the credibility of their fabricated story.
To avoid falling victim to such scams, it’s important to understand the dangers of tempting offers and to be critical of emails allegedly sent from influential individuals. If possible, it’s best to avoid responding to messages from unverified senders altogether. If for some reason you can’t avoid corresponding with a stranger, before responding to even an innocent message about finding a new owner for a piano, it’s worth double-checking the information in it, paying attention to inconsistencies, grammatical errors, etc. If the reply-to address is different from the sender’s address, or if you see a different address in the email body, this may be a sign of fraud.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Four Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) members travelled to Andalucia to visit the El Cabril low and intermediate level nuclear waste disposal facility.
The true extent of the 29 October floods on the Spanish regions of Valencia and Andalucia did not become immediately apparent, but the flood waters caused the death of over 230 people and was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spanish history. On what became one of the most devastating weeks in history for Valencia and Andalucia, 4 CoRWM members travelled to Andalucia to visit the El Cabril low and intermediate level nuclear waste disposal facility. These sobering statistics added a pertinence to our visit.
Flooding events and ‘extreme’ weather – the torrential rain in Spain on 29 October brought a years’ worth of precipitation in a single day– are increasing in frequency and highlight the pressing need for robust, zero carbon energy systems that can sustain our energy needs without causing environmental and human disaster. This contextual framing of our visit to the nuclear waste disposal site at El Cabril is important. We need to securely dispose of our nuclear waste without leaving a burden for future generations. Disposal must be safe in the short and long term from environmental change. This becomes increasingly pertinent if we are to use nuclear in a portfolio of energy choices to meet out net zero targets.
CoRWM were welcomed to Spain and the El Cabril site by Nuria Prieto Serrano from ENRESA (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos S.A.). Nuria is Senior Technician working in the department of International Co-operation and Research and Development at ENRESA. She is a philologist and lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in radioactive waste management and was an excellent guide and source of knowledge. We started our visit by sharing information on the countries respective nuclear waste disposal strategies and current progress.
Spain is currently decommissioning all their nuclear energy plants in the wake of a decision to discontinue nuclear energy production. Wastes described as very low, low and intermediate level wastes, in the Spanish categorisation of radioactive waste as described on the ENRESA website, can be disposed of at El Cabril. These wastes are similar to low and intermediate level wastes in the UK, but high-level wastes and some special wastes will need to be disposed of in a geological facility. Therefore, the process of designing and delivering a geological disposal facility is now starting in Spain.
Penny Harvey (CoRWM Deputy Chair) spoke about the work of CoRWM, and CoRWM’s role in the management and disposal of nuclear wastes in the UK. The role of a body such as CoRWM was of interest to ENRESA, as Spain progresses towards developing its strategy for and delivery of a deep geological disposal facility.
Visitors centre displays showing the site layout (left) and canister types (right)
El Cabril is on a former uranium mine and it is this legacy that led to the first wastes being stored here. The old mining cottages are still on site. Now empty, they appear like a row of little white teeth in the landscape evidence of the complex nature of human involvement on the site and the ties between geology, energy, people and landscape. Nuria describes how a future siting of a deep geological disposal facility would be open and transparent with community engagement in the process. We reflect on the importance of the community engagement process in the UK and the time and effort it takes to do it well and to gain trust and respect. Aspects of heritage, place, peoples, combined with the geology and other logistics all need to come together to create the right environment for a geological disposal facility.
As ever, with such visits, time was short and there was much to discuss and see. We had a quick tour of the visitor’s centre, which receives a staggering c.3,000 visitors/year; despite being many hours’ drive from any centre of major population. The visitor’s centre is a simple, clear and informative space with great views out onto the site. Our next stop was the watch tower, which affords fabulous views across the rolling Spanish countryside in which the El Cabril site is embedded. The watch tower is, as its name suggests, a security post; but not focused on risks such as terrorism threats that might first come to mind as a UK citizen. The watch tower’s main function is fire watch, as forest fire is deemed the biggest risk to site safety, and there are helicopter pads and reservoirs built into the landscape ready for firefighting. This simple fact provokes thoughts of climate change, shifting weather patterns and the increased frequency of extreme events. Much of Spain had temperatures over 40 degrees in the summer of 2024. Risks to infrastructure are changing as weather patterns destabilise. In a region where fire is the highest risk to a nuclear waste disposal site, but has also just seen the worst floods in its history, managing waste carefully and predicting future scenarios is a must.
The view from the Watch Tower across the El Cabril site (left), and the Handling and Operations area (right).
The central operations room provided an insight into the control systems and monitoring. Viewed through a one-way window that cleverly can be come two-way if the operators allow, we glimpsed the complexities of the monitoring and evaluation systems. Here we also learnt the operational workflow from delivery of waste at the site through to disposal, with graphics and text combined with real site photography. Then Nuria walked us through the loading, handling, testing and monitoring areas. We also saw the transportation truck systems that bring waste to the site from different nuclear operators. Despite being only 4 members from CoRWM we brought expertise in siting and engagement, in geology, regulation, risk management, transport and disposal logistics, so there was much to discuss and see.
The fluid draining and sampling pipes beneath the El Cabril low and intermediate level waste vaults (left), and Nuria Prieto Serrano explaining the fluid sampling system (right)
The highlight was the disposal vaults themselves. Firstly, we were taken into the passageways below the completed low and intermediate level waste vaults to see the water sampling and analysis system. Although dry the system and monitoring is designed so that any fluid collected in the base of the silos can be drained and tested. The system allows testing of fluid from individual silos so that any issues can be isolated. Above ground large tents cover the operational very low-level waste disposal sites and layers of waste and barriers are stacked up to create the stores within each concrete silo. It is possible to walk out on top of these very low-level wastes and to see the waste and back-fill up close. Eventually the disposal areas will be landscaped. The tops of the rolling hills were removed to create the disposal areas, and these will be recreated when the vaults are full, returning the landscape to its past form. Or at least how it was most recently.
These aspects of time, change and expectation are interesting, always framed in the human timescale and often within a single generation or two, rather than anything close to geological (millions and billions of years) or even timescales of some radioactive decay (tens of thousands of years). The Valencia floods and the environmental and human disaster that ensued signal potentially rapid change on relatively short (human) timescales. We will need to learn to adapt and be resilient, and act collectively for the common good. Sharing best practice and understanding internationally is key, learning from each other’s challenges and solutions. The timescales are both long and short and change is inevitable as we navigate our way to optimal nuclear waste disposal solutions.
With special thanks to Nuria Prieto Serrano, and ENRESA for hosting CoRWM’s visit.
Published 5 February 2025
Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
In 2024, thanks to federal mechanisms for restoring the rights of defrauded equity holders after completion of construction, 53 apartment buildings that were previously considered problematic were put into operation. The Supervisory Board of the Territorial Development Fund made decisions on them in 2019–2022.
“Not so long ago, the issue of equity holders who suffered in Russia was acute. The government has done a lot of work to reduce the severity of this social problem. At present, we continue to implement the decisions that were previously made by the FRT Supervisory Board. Last year, 53 buildings were completed with the help of federal mechanisms. About 10.7 thousand people will receive the keys to new apartments in them. In total, since 2019, the rights of about 254 thousand citizens who suffered from the actions of unscrupulous developers have been restored,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the FRT Supervisory Board Marat Khusnullin.
Completed long-term construction projects are located in 14 regions: Krasnodar, Perm, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk Krais, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Tambov and Ulyanovsk Oblasts, the Republics of Khakassia and North Ossetia, as well as in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.
“The largest volume of work over the past year was completed in the Leningrad Region, where 10 houses were delivered for 3 thousand defrauded equity holders, in the Krasnoyarsk Region, where the construction of 9 houses for 1880 equity holders was completed, and in the Krasnodar Region, where 5 houses are ready, the keys to which will be received by 1254 people. In addition, 6 houses were erected in the Perm Region, in which 1167 equity holders will move in, and in the Novosibirsk Region 3 houses for 741 people were completed,” noted the General Director of the Territorial Development Fund Ilshat Shagiakhmetov.
Federal and regional mechanisms are used to help affected equity holders. Federal mechanisms include completing the construction of the problematic facility and paying compensation based on the decision of the FRT supervisory board.
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: IMF – News in Russian
February 5, 2025
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
An IMF team led by Jean-François Dauphin visited Brussels to conduct the 2025 Article IV consultation with Belgium. The mission’s discussions (January 22-February 3) took place before the formation of the new government and the present statement, which summarizes the mission’s findings and recommendations, does not reflect the new government’s policy intentions.
The IMF team thanks the Belgium authorities andother counterpartsfor the constructive dialogue and productive collaboration. It congratulates the new government on its nomination and looks forward to future engagement.
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The Belgian economy has been resilient to a series of shocks, but growth has slowed, and disinflation has faced headwinds. The labor market has been strong but shows signs of cooling. Labor-cost competitiveness has declined with wage growth outpacing sluggish productivity growth. Absent policy change, pressures from an aging population will weigh on Belgium’s social model and further increase the fiscal deficit and public debt, heightening vulnerability to changes in market sentiment. The outlook is subject to high uncertainty, amid risks that could push growth down and inflation up, including deepening geoeconomic and trade fragmentation, and adverse energy price developments.
Economic outlook and risks
Growth is expected to be stable in 2025 and inflation to slowly return to target. Output is expected to grow by 1.1 percent in 2025 and slightly increase by 2027 supported by monetary policy easing and a higher contribution from net exports. Inflation is projected to gradually decline as wage growth moderates and the projected drop in international energy prices passes through to retail prices. The external current account is expected to return to small surpluses over the medium term as energy prices ease and external demand increases. Under unchanged policies, pressures from the aging population would further increase the fiscal deficit to about 7 percent and public debt about 125 percent of GDP in 2030, heightening vulnerabilities.
The baseline outlook is subject to sizeable risks, tilted down for growth and up for inflation. Growth could be weaker if the expected recovery in external demand falters amid escalating geoeconomic tensions and trade fragmentation. Inflation could be higher than projected due to adverse energy price developments, or if persistently-high core inflation affects expectations. Fiscal sustainability concerns could arise and lead to a sharp increase in borrowing costs—especially if global risk aversion increases—, necessitating abrupt fiscal consolidation with negative consequences for growth and potentially financial stability.
Rebuilding Fiscal Buffers Despite Pressures
Significant fiscal consolidation is needed to address large structural deficits and rising public debt that were exacerbated by the pandemic and energy crisis. In the short term, consolidation will help further reduce inflation, notwithstanding still-high wage growth and looser monetary policy. This would also help address significant upside risks to inflation. Critically, a sustained reduction in fiscal deficits is needed to reduce vulnerability to changes in market sentiment, rebuild space to address potential future shocks, address long-term spending pressures, and ultimately, preserve the core of Belgium’s social model, which places a high premium on solidarity and equity.
Consolidation under the new EU economic governance framework (EGF) would significantly improve fiscal sustainability. Given the magnitude of the needed adjustment, the medium-term fiscal structural plan (MTFSP) under the EGF would benefit from a seven-year rather than a four-year adjustment path, accompanied by credible and front-loaded growth-enhancing reforms. Under such an adjustment, an annual reduction in the structural primary balance of about 0.5 percentage points of GDP until 2031 will be necessary to reach an overall deficit below 3 percent of GDP by 2031 and maintain it until 2041, per the EGF.
Fiscal adjustment should center on rationalizing current spending, while making room for public investment. Rationalizing social benefits and the public wage bill is crucial for achieving budgetary savings. Public investment should be preserved, or ideally, increased to mitigate the growth impact of fiscal consolidation, support green transition, and bolster the economy’s productive capacity.
Improving the efficiency of public investment is critical amid competing demands for resources. This includes laying out clear infrastructure investment strategies, strengthening project appraisal, selection, and governance, and improving coordination within and among the federal and federated entities. In healthcare, increasing the focus on preventive care and reforming the organization and role of hospitals would help absorb part of the projected increase in spending due to aging and better prepare the system to the evolving need of an older population. Education reforms can help achieve the same education outcomes at lower costs or improve outcomes without increasing spending.
Pension reforms are essential to address cost pressures from aging. The focus should be on raising the effective retirement age in line with healthy-life expectancy and facilitating longer employment through life-long learning and upskilling. Additionally, reviewing eligibility criteria for specific pension regimes (e.g., disability pensions) and limiting increases in pension benefits by reviewing automatic indexation are necessary steps. A review of special provisions (e.g., arduous jobs) could inform reforms to balance fairness and costs.
Tax reforms should aim to shift part of the tax burden from labor to capital, without revenue loss, and to reduce tax exemptions. Belgium has the highest labor-tax wedge in the OECD. Reducing labor taxation will help increase the employment rate. All revenue from capital (e.g., interests, dividends, and capital gains) should be taxed in the same way to ensure neutrality in investment decisions, ideally by incorporating these revenues into the overall taxable income subject to personal income tax. Reducing preferential regimes and treatments in the tax system, a significant source of foregone revenue, also needs to be part of the reform package. Tax reforms should be coordinated among the federal and federated entities for their revenue and distributional impacts.
The new EGF provides an opportunity to strengthen Belgian’s fiscal framework through a revitalized fiscal council and greater accountability among federated entities. The implementation of the 2013 federal-regional coordination agreement has proved challenging, given the complexities of Belgium’s fiscal federalism. The new EGF provides a renewed opportunity to introduce binding rules for burden sharing the fiscal adjustment, with clear accountability for the federal and all federated entities. A strengthened fiscal council (e.g., with enhanced staffing and direct reporting to parliaments) would help ensure that the federal and each federated entity’s fiscal behavior is consistent with Belgium’s European commitments.
Preserving Macrofinancial Stability
Overall systemic risks in the financial sector remain moderate but are evolving due to changing macroeconomic and market conditions. While the economy is slowing and real estate markets cooling, interest rates are now decreasing. Household indebtedness has stabilized, and corporate indebtedness has declined due to substantial investments being largely cash financed. Corporate bankruptcies have been increasing but remain aligned with pre-pandemic trends. Risks from residential real estate have moderated, but commercial real estate market activity has dropped sharply, and vacancies have risen, reflecting low demand for office space. Overall, exposures to real estate remain broadly stable.
With the level of financial stability risks expected to remain unchanged, capital buffers and prudential limits on residential mortgages should be maintained . Since last year, macroprudential policies have tightened, with capital buffers significantly raised. The NBB also appropriately encouraged banks to lengthen new mortgage maturities to ease the debt servicing burden of households and pre-empt borrower distress. Progress has been made in implementing the 2023 Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) recommendations and this effort should be accelerated now that a new government is in place and the required legislative changes can be pushed forward.
Strengthening Labor Markets
Labor market fragmentation and rigidity in Belgium are impeding growth potential. The coexistence of local or sectoral pockets of high vacancies and pockets of high unemployment highlights inefficiencies in labor allocation that hinder potential growth. Employment gaps for low-skilled workers, older workers, women, and individuals with an immigration background or disabilities remain high. Fostering a more inclusive labor market will enhance overall economic performance and mitigate fiscal pressures.
Enhancing labor market incentives is essential. Labor market, tax, and social benefit reforms should consistently aim to increase the income gap between work and nonwork and reduce the cost of hiring and dismissal. Reducing the duration of unemployment benefits and linking social benefits to income levels would incentivize re-entry into the labor force. Policy efforts should also focus on facilitating re-integration of workers from long-term sick leave.
Reforming the wage-setting mechanism will help increase labor market efficiency, improve competitiveness, and reduce fiscal costs. Automatic wage and social benefit indexation protected household purchasing power during the inflation shock. However, it also increased structural fiscal deficits and led to labor-cost increases exceeding those of major trading partners when accounting for productivity differential, weighing on competitiveness. Consideration should be given to abolishing the automatic indexation and the 1996 wage law which, together, define a floor and a ceiling for wage growth, that do not allow for an optimal allocation of labor and increased employment. At a minimum, the labor market would already benefit from reforms including adjusting the basis for indexation to exclude volatile prices, broadening the group of comparator countries in the wage law, using productivity-adjusted wage growth as the basis for comparison, and allowing firms to partially index wages considering specific local and sectoral labor market conditions.
Reforms in education and life-long training are necessary to upskill the labor force, enhance employment rates, and promote growth. While educational outcomes in Belgium are comparable to peers, they are achieved at a higher cost. Addressing teacher shortages, reducing grade repetition rates, and achieving greater equality of educational outcomes irrespective of backgrounds will require a comprehensive reform of the educational system. Actions should seek to align education with the needs of Belgian companies, better leverage teachers’ time, and strengthen support provided to students who face difficulties. These reforms would help increase employment, productivity, and the creation and diffusion of innovation.
Boosting Productivity
Boosting productivity will require further product market reforms to improve firm dynamics and the diffusion of innovation. Despite significant investment in innovation, Belgium’s long-term productivity slowdown is worse than peers, suggesting room to improve the transmission of innovation to productivity gains. Lagging productivity is linked to insufficient firm dynamics—the entry, growth, and exit of firms—, with Belgium experiencing some of the lowest firm entry and exit rates in the EU. To enhance productivity and dynamics, further product market reforms are necessary to reduce regulatory and administrative barriers and improve the insolvency regime.
Deepening the European single market and advancing the capital market union would benefit firms in Belgium. Removing remaining barriers to trade within the EU and harmonizing regulations and bankruptcy frameworks would enhance Belgian firms’ access to a much larger customer base, improve competition and firm dynamics, and provide buffers against risks from geo-fragmentation. Moreover, developing venture capital within an EU-wide push toward capital market union would help widen Belgian firms’ options to finance growth.
Sustaining the Green Transition
Despite progress, much effort remains needed to achieve climate objectives. The expansion of the EU emissions trading system should be complemented by timely implementation of carbon taxation and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, while ensuring support for vulnerable population. The consolidation of federal and regional climate efforts into a coherent and cohesive national strategy is essential. Improved coordination and accountability among the federal and regional governments will facilitate the design, execution, and evaluation of climate policies. Adequate investments in the green transition are necessary to ensure Belgium meets its climate goals and contributes to the European Green Deal.
PRESS OFFICER: Camila Perez
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/05/CS-Belgium-2025
Source: European Parliament
On Wednesday 5 February, Development Committee MEPs will participate in an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly on the topic of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The discussion will focus on the humanitarian aspects of the crisis following the M23 offensive in North Kivu and the subsequently soaring displacement and humanitarian needs in the area.
The meeting will feature contributions from:
• Dr Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize 2018 and Sakharov Prize 2014 laureate (remotely),
• Ms Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Democratic Republic of Congo,
• Ms Nathalie-Aziza Munana, Minister of Social Affairs and Solidarity, Democratic Republic of Congo (remotely),
• Mr Maciej Popowski, Director-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission.
The meeting can be followed via the following link.
Source: European Parliament
Members of the Delegation to the EU-North Macedonia JPC met on 3 February 2025, from 16:00 to 17:00.
They have exchange views on the political and economic situation in North Macedonia, and on the status of EU relations with the country, with
· Ms Sigrid BRETTEL, Head of the Albania/North Macedonia Unit, DG NEAR, European Commission
· Mr Ivo SCHUTTE, Deputy Head of Division of the ‘Western Balkans’, European External Action Service
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000339/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Sandro Ruotolo (S&D)
On Friday 24 January, the CEO of RAI – whose top managers are appointed by the Government, an arrangement at odds with Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) – sent out a circular announcing the designation of ‘editorial managers’ for all of the national broadcaster’s programmes.
The decision has been met with strong criticism, especially by the Union of RAI Journalists, USIGRAI, which labelled the move an attempt to control the state broadcaster’s editorial line by curbing the autonomy of its presenters and directors.
We cannot let RAI become a tool in the hands of whichever government is in office, especially given the existence of EU regulations like the EMFA.
The decision to directly manage Italy’s public broadcaster will compromise its editorial independence and impartiality and is a blatant violation of Article 3 of the EMFA. Having come into force on 8 November 2024, Article 3 obliges Member States to ensure that recipients of media services in the Union have ‘the right to receive a plurality of news and current affairs content, produced with respect for editorial freedom of media service providers’.
In the light of the above:
Submitted: 27.1.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000299/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Dan-Ştefan Motreanu (PPE)
EU companies could become more competitive in comparison with their United States and Chinese counterparts by reducing energy costs, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Achieving this goal requires governments to cooperate in investing in and integrating the EU’s fragmented energy market.
The report estimates that integrating energy markets across the 27 EU Member States could save approximately EUR 40 billion annually, while attracting investors to the region. However, energy policy decisions remain largely within the jurisdiction of national governments rather than being part of a unified EU strategy. The IMF warns that this fragmented approach increases the risk of uncoordinated and more expensive solutions.
What short- and medium-term measures does the Commission plan to implement to enhance energy interconnection among the Member States, and facilitate the integration of their energy markets?
Submitted: 23.1.2025
Source: European Parliament
On 6 February, ENVI members will hold an exchange of views with the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the European Research Council (ERC) on their recent assessment reports.
The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) performs regular assessments of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services. During the meeting, IPBES will present its two latest reports. The “Nexus Assessment” brings about a thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health in the context of climate change. The “Transformative Change Assessment” focus on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
The European Research Council (ERC), founded in 2007, is the leading European funding organisation for frontier research. The ERC will present its report on “Transformative Change for a Sustainable Future”, which analysed over 300 ERC funded projects to address the concept of transformative change and how to meet the pressing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development.
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000390/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Merja Kyllönen (The Left)
The EU Care Strategy was welcomed and adopted in 2022, explicitly recognising the huge and indispensable contribution of informal carers and proposing specific support measures to enable the provision of this care. Indeed, as indicated by the Commission, 80 % of long-term care across the EU is provided by informal carers.
During her recent parliamentary hearing, Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu announced her plan to come forward with a ‘European care deal’, ensuring that professional as well as informal carers are paid and protected.
Can the Commission clarify:
How this future care deal will relate to the 2022 EU Care Strategy?
Submitted: 29.1.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000295/2025
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Nikolas Farantouris (The Left)
Developments in Syria, which have seen the overthrow of the Assad regime and the emergence of a transitional Islamic government, have raised concerns about the future of the country and the wider region. At the same time, the actions of Türkiye and other non-EU countries in the territory of Syria, competition for and tensions over the region[1] and talk of possible larger scale intervention[2] compound the risks and geopolitical instability in the region. Against this backdrop, concerns are growing about the protection of the rule of law and respect for the rights of ethnic minorities and religious communities in Syria. Given the current geopolitical instability in the region and the need to ensure a smooth and inclusive political transition, based on democratic legitimacy and free from foreign interference, in the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254[3], will the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy say:
Submitted: 23.1.2025
