Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)
THE TRUMP EFFECT IS REAL
139K Jobs
$2.8T Deficit Cut via Tariffs
Trade Deficit Halved
FOP Backs Trump’s Bill
Egg Prices Down 61%
ICE’s Largest Operation
Army Hits Goal
13M Acres for Drilling
Calls with Putin & Xi
$9.4B DOGE Cuts Proposed
Watch Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s MAGA Minute!
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the top of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to India this weekend.
Bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the top of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to India this weekend.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will travel to New Delhi to further advance an ambitious UK-India relationship during talks with the Indian Government, including Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, alongside government officials.
The visit follows the historic Free Trade Agreement signed between the two countries and will deliver on this government’s commitment to boost jobs and prosperity back in the UK, as part of the government’s Plan for Change. The new deal with India is expected to increase bilateral trade by over £25 billion every year, UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and wages by £2.2 billion each year in the long run, putting money back in the pockets of working people.
The Foreign Secretary will also welcome progress in our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries. Addressing migration remains a top priority for the government – the Foreign Secretary is focused on working internationally with global partners to secure the UK’s borders at home.
India was one of my first visits as Foreign Secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our Plan for Change. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength – securing our future technologies, adding over £25bn in trade every year between our countries and deepening the strong links between our cultures and people.
Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions – we’re building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people.
The Foreign Secretary will also meet with leading figures in Indian business to discuss how we can unlock even greater investment by Indian business in the UK. Our investment relationship supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries, with over 950 Indian-owned companies in the UK and over 650 UK companies in India. In 2023-24, India was the UK’s second largest source of investments in terms of number of projects for the fifth consecutive year.
Talks will also take stock of progress, following a commitment by the UK and Indian Prime Ministers to take forward an ambitious UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The trade deal is a key example of the progress being made since the last meeting between the Foreign Secretary and his Indian counterpart. It follows the signing of the UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation Agreement in May and £400m of trade and investment wins boosting the British and the Indian economy at the Economic and Financial Dialogue in April.
The Foreign Secretary is also expected to address the recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how the welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region.
The visit comes as some of India’s top business leaders endorsed the trade deal which will increase opportunities for trade and investment between the UK and India. It also comes ahead of the launch of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy, which will make it quicker, easier and cheaper to do business in the UK.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Watch: Markey, labor leaders, workers slam clean energy investment cuts
Markey joined by labor leaders, workers in Dorchester at IBEW Local 103
Boston (June 6, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee, today hosted a press conference at IBEW Local 103 with labor union leaders and workers to highlight how Congressional Republicans’ proposed budget reconciliation cuts to climate and clean energy investments from the Inflation Reduction Act would hurt workers in Massachusetts.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the House-passed Republican bill would cut more than $500 billion in investments for environment, energy, and climate, which could lead to 830,000 jobs lost by 2030 and shrink the national economy by $1.1 trillion over the next decade.
“In Massachusetts, we have over 115,000 workers in the clean energy sector. Thousands of union jobs will be at risk. Trump and Republicans are selling out the livelihoods of working people and the future of our children, all to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. The Trump agenda is clear: steal from the workers to give to the wealthy. But if Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans think that union workers are going to roll over as their jobs, families, and livelihoods are threatened—they have another thing coming,” said Senator Markey. “Together, we are going to make clear how Republicans are hurting people in their own states; slow and stop this bill—defending our jobs, our future, and our way of life; and put Republicans on the record. The fight ahead of us is hard, but the harder the fight, the more important it is that we take it on. We fight until we win. For every worker. For every American. For a livable future.”
“We need more energy, and we need more jobs in Massachusetts, plain and simple. Working families shouldn’t have to purchase energy from billionaire oil tycoons and foreign governments or let them set the price of our energy bills. We can generate massive amounts of energy right here in Massachusetts and we can create thousands of union jobs for Massachusetts residents while we do it. Over the last few years, thousands of our neighbors and our friends have been put to work on electric grid upgrades, battery storage facilities, and manufacturing plants. They’re building our clean energy future and we’re all benefiting: the family that these workers support, the homes, the schools, the businesses that need a reliable supply of energy, and every one of us that will live on a cleaner, safer planet because of it.” said Chrissy Lynch, President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
“Repealing clean energy tax credits is a union job killer. These tax credits help level the playing field, they drive investment, and they put IBW electricians, laborers, ironworkers, and pipe fitters to work building America’s energy future. If you take those tax credits away, you’re not just pulling funding: you’re pulling paychecks from working families, you’re pulling apprentices out of training facilities, you’re pulling opportunity straight out of our communities. Every solar panel installed, every wind turbine wired, every EV charger connected, that’s a job with wages, healthcare, and a pension that stands for dignity for the American worker. You don’t kill that kind of progress: you build on it.” said Lou Antonellis, Business Manager/Financial Secretary, IBEW Local 103.
“Hundreds of thousands of lives will be affected if these tax credits are repealed. Our members are the ones out here in the freezing cold and the blazing heat; laying foundations, wiring schools, setting steel, climbing wind turbines, and putting up solar panels. I’m here today representing those skilled union workers who build the schools our kids learn in, the bridges we drive on, and because of smart, clean energy investments, the solar and wind farms that will power our future. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we saw national investment in clean energy that wasn’t about corporate tax breaks. It was about people. It meant workers having access to construction projects that benefit communities and families and taking part in building a clean economy. But now the Republican Reconciliation package threatens to undo all of that. said Chaton Green, Business Agent, Greater Boston Building Trades Union.
“We need long-term, sustained investment in renewable energy to ensure this work continues well beyond the current round of offshore wind projects. Major solar and hydroelectric projects must also move forward to deliver clean power to our communities and meaningful, local jobs to our members. These are more than just jobs—they’re life-changing careers, especially for people who have historically been left out of economic opportunity. This is exactly the kind of progress we need to protect and expand for the future,”said Andy Benedetto, Business Representative, Local 1121 Millwrights.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
June 06, 2025
New Fidelity analysis found average 401(k) balances fell 3%, IRA balances fell 4%, due to market volatility
“The Trump Administration must answer for the damage it is inflicting on America’s seniors.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, pressed top Trump administration officials on how President Trump’s chaotic tariffs — paired with his efforts to dismantle the Social Security Administration — are harming America’s seniors. The letter follows a new analysis released by Fidelity Investments, the largest provider of 401(k) plans in the U.S., finding that average 401(k) balances fell 3% even as savings rates rose, and the average individual retirement account (IRA) balance fell 4%.
The lawmakers wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano with their concerns.
“The economic chaos triggered by President Trump’s disastrous tariff policy has the potential to decimate retirees’ savings. Simultaneously, the Trump Administration has taken a wrecking ball to the Social Security Administration, limiting seniors’ access to their hard-earned benefits,” wrote the lawmakers. “In doing this, the Trump Administration is making it harder for seniors across the country to make ends meet.”
President Trump’s trade policy has created economic chaos for Americans. The Department of Commerce recently released data showing that the nation’s economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 — the first decline in over three years. At the same time, Trump’s red-light, green-light approach to tariffs is “rain[ing] volatility on markets.”
“Higher inflation reduces consumers’ purchasing power and reduces the value of Americans’ hard-earned financial savings. Consumers, businesses, and professional economic forecasters are all in agreement that President Trump’s tariffs have the economy teetering on a cliff,” wrote the lawmakers.
America’s seniors are particularly hurt by President Trump’s chaotic economic policy. 77% of the 57 million retirees in the U.S. rely on a combination of their savings and Social Security benefits. Some retirees are reporting that if stock market volatility continues, they “can’t stay retired.” Consumer confidence among Americans 55 years and older has plummeted since the start of the Trump administration.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is also hollowing out the Social Security Administration as a backdoor means of cutting benefits. DOGE is closing offices, cutting the workforce, and destroying the IT infrastructure that Americans rely on to access benefits. As a result, wait times have increased on the national 1-800 help number, and Americans have been forced to deal with long service blackouts and glitches.
“More than half of Americans over the age of 50 worry they do not have enough savings to support them in retirement. Further reducing the value of these savings while limiting access to Social Security benefits means putting seniors at risk of having to choose between putting food on the table and paying rent,” concluded the lawmakers. “The Trump Administration must answer for the damage it is inflicting on America’s seniors.”
Senate Dems’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
HAINING, China, June 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Broadway Technology Inc (“Gaokai”), a leading manufacturer of high-quality PET (polyethylene terephthalate) cups and lids through its operating subsidiary Zhejiang Gaokai New Materials Co., Ltd., announced the execution of an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) for a business combination with Quartzsea Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: QSEAU, QSEA, QSEAR) (“Quartzsea”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.
Upon consummation of the transaction contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (i) Quartzsea will be merged with and into Cuisine Universal Packaging Solution, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of Quartzsea (“Cuisine Universal”) (the “SPAC Merger”), and (ii) concurrently with the SPAC merger, CUPS Sub Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of Cuisine Universal, will be merged with and into Gaokai, resulting in Gaokai being a wholly owned subsidiary of Cuisine Universal (the “Business Combination” and the transactions in connection with the Business Combination collectively, the “Transaction”). Upon the closing of the Transaction, the combined company Cuisine Universal expects to be Nasdaq-listed under the ticker symbol “CUPS.”
Gaokai Overview
Gaokai, through its operating subsidiary Zhejiang Gaokai New Materials Co., Ltd., is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the manufacture of high quality customized PET (polyethylene terephthalate) cups and PET lids, with products widely used in packaging markets of aviation, yogurt, juice, fruit tea, coffee, and cold beverage markets. Established in 2021 and located in Haining Jianshan New District, Zhejiang Province, the company operates within the PET industrial park in convenience for sourcing and developing advanced PET raw material.
Gaokai’s core competitive advantages include stable and high-performance raw PET materials, comprehensive upstream sheet manufacturing capabilities, advanced equipment and automated production lines, and high-transparency, innovative product designs. The company offers comprehensive PET cup customization services, including advanced cup printing technology for custom logos, sizes, and shapes.
With the comprehensive capabilities of material R&D, innovative design, advanced manufacturing and efficient operation, Gaokai has established itself as a professional PET cup manufacturing base managed by experienced cup manufacturing professionals.
Key Transaction Terms
Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Quartzsea’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cuisine Universal, will acquire Gaokai, resulting in Cuisine Universal being a listed company on the Nasdaq Global Market. At the effective time of the Transaction, Gaokai’s shareholders will receive ordinary shares of Cuisine Universal. The shares held by certain Gaokai shareholders will be subject to lock-up agreements for a period of 180 days following the closing of the Transaction, subject to certain exceptions.
The Transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Quartzsea and Gaokai, is subject to regulatory approvals, the approvals by the shareholders of Quartzsea and Gaokai, respectively, and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions, including, among others, a registration statement, of which the proxy statement/prospectus forms a part, being declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the approval by Nasdaq of the listing application of the combined company.
The description of the Business Combination contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement relating to the Business Combination. A more detailed description of the Transaction and a copy of the Merger Agreement will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Quartzsea with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Advisors
Celine & Partners, PLLC, Ogier Global (Cayman) Limited, and B&D Law Firm serve as legal counsel to Quartzsea. Pryor Cashman LLP, Harney Westwood & Riegels, and Jingtian & Gongcheng, PLLC serve as legal counsel to Gaokai. Chain Stone Capital Limited (CTM) serves as the financial advisor to Gaokai.
About Quartzsea Acquisition Corporation
Quartzsea Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company’s efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region.
Participants in the Solicitation
Cuisine Universal Packaging Solution, Quartzsea Acquisition Corporation, and their respective directors, executive officers and employees and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of Quartzsea ordinary shares in respect of the proposed Transaction. Information about Quartzsea’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Quartzsea’s ordinary shares is currently set forth in Quartzsea’s prospectus related to its initial public offering dated March 18, 2025, as modified or supplemented by any Form 10-K, Form 3 or Form 4 filed with the SEC since the date of such filing. Other information regarding the interests of the participants in the proxy solicitation will be included in a registration statement on Form F-4 (as may be amended from time to time) that will include a proxy statement and a registration statement/preliminary prospectus (the “Registration Statement”) pertaining to the proposed Transaction when it becomes available. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated below.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Transaction and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Quartzsea or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Important Information about the Proposed Business Combination and Where to Find It
In connection with the Transaction, Cuisine Universal will file relevant materials with the SEC, including the Registration Statement. Promptly after the Registration Statement is declared effective, the proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all Quartzsea shareholders entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the Transaction. Before making any voting decision, securities holders of Quartzsea are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the Transaction and the parties to the Transaction.
Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC through Quartzsea through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to the contacts mentioned below.
Contact Information:
Quartzsea Acquisition Corporation:
Qi Gong
Chief Executive Officer
M: +1(212) 612-1400
E: qgong@quartzsea.com
Zhejiang Gaokai New Materials Co., Ltd.:
Chengji Zhang
E: chengjizhang8@gmail.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Quartzsea’s and Gaokai’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Quartzsea’s and Gaokai’s expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the Business Combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the Business Combination and the timing of the completion of the Business Combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Most of these factors are outside the control of Quartzsea or Gaokai and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement relating to the proposed Business Combination; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Quartzsea or Gaokai following the announcement of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the Business Combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Quartzsea or other conditions to closing in the Merger Agreement; (4) delays in obtaining or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (including approval from PRC regulators) required to complete the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; (5) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (6) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the post-acquisition company’s ordinary shares on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; (7) the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; (8) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (9) costs related to the Business Combination; (10) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (11) the possibility that Gaokai or the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (12) other risks and uncertainties to be identified in the Registration Statement filed by Quartzsea and Cuisine Universal (when available) relating to the Business Combination, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in other filings with the SEC made by Quartzsea and Gaokai. Quartzsea and Gaokai caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Quartzsea and Gaokai caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither Quartzsea nor Gaokai undertakes or accepts any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, subject to applicable law. The information contained in any website referenced herein is not, and shall not be deemed to be, part of or incorporated into this press release.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) — China’s international influence in maritime arbitration continues to grow steadily, with a marked increase in the number of cases involving other countries and regions and a growing degree of internationalization, said Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
Ren Hongbin, also head of the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC), made the remarks during a high-level dialogue on maritime and commercial arbitration held in Beijing on Friday.
In 2024, CMAC ranked among the world’s leading maritime arbitration institutions in terms of caseload. According to Ren Hongbin, the number of disputes it handled involving other countries and regions increased by 55 percent compared with 2023, accounting for 39 percent of its total cases, with disputes covering 40 countries and regions.
There are currently 284 arbitration institutions in China, which have handled more than 5 million cases with a total value of over 9 trillion yuan (about 1.25 trillion US dollars) involving parties from more than 100 countries and regions.
Looking to the future, Ren Hongbin called for the development of arbitration services based on innovation and urged arbitration institutions to actively explore the application of scientific and technological methods such as digital technology and artificial intelligence.
According to him, the use of information technology will reduce costs and increase efficiency and transparency, which will contribute to the continuous increase in the authority and competitiveness of arbitration services in the global arena. –0–
Now in its 46th year, Alberta’s government is solidifying its ongoing support for the Banff World Media Festival as a key platform to showcase Alberta’s state-of-the-art studios, competitive production incentives, beautiful landscapes and skilled talent to the world.
Alberta’s government is proud to invest in the future of the provincial film industry with more than $1 million, over three years, in sponsorship support for the Banff World Media Festival. The funding is part of the government’s continued commitment to creating jobs, attracting investment and growing cultural industries across Alberta, including film, television and music.
“Our film and television industry is a creative force and a major contributor to Alberta’s economy. By continuing to invest in the Banff World Media Festival, we bring global industry leaders right to Alberta’s doorstep, giving the world a front-row seat to everything that makes our province a top-tier destination for film and television production.”
The Banff World Media Festival welcomes to Alberta almost 1,600 key industry representatives from over 50 countries, all set against the breathtaking backdrop of Banff National Park.
It opens doors for Alberta creators to connect with global partners and investors. Building on last year’s success, the Alberta “Fill Yer Boots” Music Showcase returns to shine a spotlight on Alberta’s talented homegrown musicians and highlight more opportunities to feature local music in film and television productions.
“We are incredibly grateful for the Government of Alberta’s continued investment in the Banff World Media Festival. This support strengthens our ability to convene global industry leaders in Alberta, foster creative and economic partnerships, and spotlight the province’s world-class talent, locations and production capabilities on an international stage.”
“This funding is a meaningful commitment to the future of Canada’s and Alberta’s screen industries. The Banff World Media Festival is a vital platform where global deal making, talent discovery and innovation thrive. Alberta’s support ensures the festival continues to deliver economic and creative impact across the province and around the world.”
Previous investment in the film and television industry has already put Alberta centre stage, capturing global attention with several high-profile productions. With over sixty per cent of all Alberta-made projects filmed or planning to film in small cities, towns and rural locations across the province, investment in this growing industry is boosting the economy in every corner of Alberta.
“Alberta has a growing film and television industry that is putting our talent and landscapes on the big screen for the world to see. Our government continues to prioritize increased jobs, investment and economic diversification, which we are achieving in part through film and television. To all those attending this year’s Banff World Media Festival, thank you for helping put Alberta on the map.”
Le gouvernement de l’Alberta renforce son soutien continu au Festival mondial des médias de Banff, qui en est à sa 46e année d’existence. Le Festival constitue une plateforme essentielle pour présenter au monde entier les studios ultramodernes, les incitatifs à la production concurrentiels, les paysages magnifiques et la richesse des talents de la province.
Le gouvernement de l’Alberta est fier d’investir dans l’avenir de l’industrie cinématographique provinciale en affectant plus d’un million de dollars, sur trois ans, au parrainage du Festival mondial des médias de Banff. Ce financement s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’engagement continu du gouvernement à créer des emplois, à attirer des investissements et à développer les industries culturelles de l’Alberta, notamment le cinéma, la télévision et la musique.
« Notre industrie cinématographique et télévisuelle est une force créatrice et une contributrice majeure à l’économie de l’Alberta. En continuant d’investir dans le Festival mondial des médias de Banff, nous invitons les chefs de file de l’industrie à découvrir l’Alberta et offrons ainsi au monde entier une place de choix pour se familiariser avec tout ce qui fait de notre province une destination de premier plan pour la production cinématographique et télévisuelle. »
Le Festival mondial des médias de Banff accueille en Alberta près de 1 600 représentants clés de l’industrie venus de plus de 50 pays, dans le cadre époustouflant du parc national Banff.
Il permet aux créateurs albertains d’entrer en contact avec des partenaires et des investisseurs du monde entier. Forte du succès de l’année dernière, la vitrine musicale albertaine « Fill Yer Boots » est de retour pour attirer l’attention des participants sur les talentueux musiciens albertains et multiplier les occasions de mettre en valeur la musique locale dans les productions cinématographiques et télévisuelles.
« Nous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants au gouvernement de l’Alberta pour son investissement continu dans le Festival mondial des médias de Banff. Ce soutien renforce notre capacité à réunir les chefs de file de l’industrie mondiale en Alberta, à favoriser les partenariats créatifs et économiques et à mettre en avant les talents, les sites et les capacités de production de calibre mondiale de la province sur la scène internationale. »
« Ce financement constitue un engagement important envers l’avenir des industries cinématographiques du Canada et de l’Alberta. Le Festival mondial des médias de Banff est une plateforme essentielle qui permet de conclure des accords à l’échelle mondiale, de découvrir des talents et d’innover. Le soutien de l’Alberta permet au festival de continuer à avoir des retombées économiques et créatives dans la province et dans le monde entier. »
Les investissements antérieurs dans l’industrie du cinéma et de la télévision ont déjà permis à l’Alberta d’occuper le devant de la scène et d’attirer l’attention du monde entier grâce à plusieurs productions de premier plan. Plus de 60 % de tous les projets réalisés en Alberta ont été tournés ou prévoient de l’être dans des petites villes, des villages et des zones rurales de la province; l’investissement dans cette industrie en plein essor stimule ainsi l’économie dans tous les coins de la province.
« L’Alberta possède une industrie cinématographique et télévisuelle en plein essor qui met nos talents et nos paysages sur le grand écran pour que le monde entier puisse les voir. Notre gouvernement continue d’accorder la priorité à la création d’emplois, à l’investissement et à la diversification économique, ce que nous réalisons en partie grâce au cinéma et à la télévision. Je remercie tous les participantes et participants au Festival mondial des médias de Banff de contribuer à faire connaître l’Alberta. »
Source: WTO
Headline: WTO members focus on TFA implementation, transit issues and capacity-building
The TFA — which contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit — is the first WTO agreement in which developing and LDC members can determine their own implementation schedules, in accordance with their national priorities and capacities, and seek to acquire implementation capacity through the provision of related assistance and support.
The WTO Secretariat reported that 80 per cent of implementation commitments by developing and LDC members have been reached, with 65 members committed to implementing Category C measures requiring technical assistance and capacity-building over the next two years. Developed members were required to implement all provisions of the TFA from its entry into force. More information is available in the TFA database.
Developing greater transparency on TFA implementation
The WTO Secretariat reported on member notifications related to TFA implementation efforts and requests for extensions of implementation schedules. While member notifications on donor arrangements and their progress currently contain limited information and may not reflect the present situation, the TFA Facility (TFAF) is collecting survey data on capacity-building partners and assistance gaps at the member level. Members also supported several tools the WTO Secretariat has deployed through the TFA Database to enable them to track deadlines and to request extensions for implementation dates, where needed.
The Committee also took note of the WTO Secretariat report “Notification Status of Regular/Period and One-Time Only Notifications in the Goods Area (1995-2024)” (G/C/W/859 ). The document found that while the overall membership had a submission rate of TFA transparency notifications of over 80 per cent, this figure was less than 60 per cent for LDCs. The Chair signalled his availability for consultations on this matter.
Improving transit corridors and technical assistance coordination
The Committee held a dedicated session on transit, with the WTO Secretariat presenting preliminary findings from a study on transit corridors serving landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). Coordinated by Botswana as the LLDC coordinator, the study examines how corridors efficiently implement TFA measures to lower trade costs in landlocked countries which face trade costs 1.4 times higher than coastal economies.
The study covers 19 corridors across Africa, Asia, Eurasia and South America, showing transit time reductions of 20-40 per cent through digital tools and coordination mechanisms. As an example, the Northern Corridor connecting Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan through Mombasa reduced transit times from 11 to 5 days. The updated report will be circulated before the October Committee meeting, with the WTO Secretariat organizing a side event at the UN LLDC-3 Conference in Turkmenistan (5-8 August 2025).
The African Group also issued a call for strengthened coordination mechanisms to address technical assistance and capacity-building challenges in implementing Category C measures (measures for which members have identified the need for assistance and capacity building), particularly amidst reduced development aid budgets. The Chair signalled a willingness to hold consultations ahead of the October 2025 dedicated session on technical assistance and capacity building to prepare for comprehensive discussions on strengthening coordination mechanisms.
Experience sharing showcases digital innovations
Members conducted productive experience-sharing sessions covering digitalization and Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs). China shared a presentation on “Cross-Border E-Commerce,” while the European Union highlighted the importance of digital trust-building through customs “single windows” and electronic identification systems. The United States and the OECD made a presentation on “The digitalization of trade documents and processes: going paperless today, going paperless tomorrow”.
Japan, Moldova, Mongolia and Paraguay shared national and regional AEO experiences, and Bangladesh shared a presentation on Time Release Study effectiveness, while the United Kingdom and UNCTAD discussed forthcoming publications on National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs).
During the dedicated transit session, Mozambique shared its experience on transit issues while the European Union explained how corridor and transit issues are integrated into a strategy to support developing and least developed members strengthen connectivity and trade facilitation.
All presentations are available here.
Other Committee work
The Committee continued its exchanges on customs procedures, with several members maintaining engagement with Indonesia on two measures regarding customs procedures for intangible products. The United States also raised a new specific trade concern regarding Indonesia’s customs penalty regime.
Capacity building and learning sessions
Several learning sessions also took place alongside the Committee meeting. The World Bank and the World Customs Organization, in collaboration with TFAF, organized a Time Release Study methodology session on 4 June, covering measurement techniques and resource requirements.
The TFAF and certain Annex D+ organisations (consisting of ITC, OECD, UNCTAD, the World Bank, and the WCO) held an in-person training session on 2-3 June on mobilizing technical assistance and capacity building for TFA implementation. The training activity brought together 15 capital-based delegates from LDC and developing members to discuss how to better coordinate resource mobilization and to be more effective when engaging with development partners. Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF)/German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and TradeMark Africa also participated in the training session on 3 June.
If you would like to receive news on trade facilitation, subscribe to the TFA Newsbytes here.
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Source: WTO
Headline: WTO Fish Fund launches Call for Proposals for implementing Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Developing and LDC members that have ratified the Agreement are eligible to submit proposals for technical assistance and capacity-building activities to support their implementation of the Agreement. These fall into two categories: project preparation grants of up to USD 50,000 for activities such as studies and needs assessments to prepare for implementation of the Agreement, and project grants of up to USD 300,000 for specific projects to implement the Agreement.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “A vital feature of this historic Agreement is that it provides funding for developing and least-developed country members to receive technical assistance and capacity building support to implement the new disciplines and improve fisheries management. Delivering this support is essential to realizing the Agreement’s benefits for people, oceans, and the planet. This Call for Proposals represents a first but significant step towards turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into lasting, transformative change for livelihoods and marine fisheries. I am deeply grateful to our current and future donors to the Fish Fund!”
WTO members can access the application portal here. Proposals must be submitted by 9 September. However, if the Agreement enters into force before this date, the deadline will be extended by one month. The Steering Committee of the Fish Fund will review and evaluate all submissions.
So far, 101 WTO members have formally accepted the Agreement. Funds may be disbursed once the WTO receives the 111 instruments of acceptance needed for the Agreement to enter into force.
The contributions and pledges received by the Fund thus far amount to approximately CHF 14.5 million (just over USD 17.5 million), with commitments made by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
The Fish Fund was established under Article 7 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which ministers adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022. Housed at the WTO, the Fund operates in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank.
For more information, please visit the WTO Fish Fund website here and download the fact sheet titled “How to Access Funding — Opening the Call for Proposals” available here.
The list of all WTO members that have submitted their instrument of acceptance is available here.
More information on the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism is available here.
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US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke about the importance of protecting Alabama’s family farms during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing. During the hearing, Sen. Tuberville spoke with Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Jim Alderman, Owner of Alderman Farms, and Aaron Locker, Managing Director of Kincannon & Reed.
Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on Youtube or Rumble.
ON HIGH COSTS IMPACTING AMERICAN FARMERS:
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for having and holding this hearing. In addition to being on the Aging Committee, gentlemen, I’m also on the Ag Committee. Let me tell you, the state of our agriculture economy, it’s in dire straits. We’re in trouble. We’ve lost 150,000 farms, [and] 25,000 farmers just in the last five years. Producers have lost over $40 billion dollars in net farm income since 2022 and the current agriculture trade deficit has grown to $49 billion dollars. Despite [this], in my state of Alabama, the producers [are] making bumper crops, they can’t even break even, much less make a profit due to the low commodity prices, high input costs, interest rates and inflation. We can’t keep this up. We can’t do it. The only way we’re going to help our farmers survive is to extend President Trump’s tax cuts, increase references prices, and hammer the heck out of foreign countries on tariffs. It is way out of control, way out of balance. We cannot continue this direction.”
ON FARM LABOR:
TUBERVILLE: “It’s concerning that one-third of our farmers are over the age of 65. And this creates a significant workforce problem for our ag industry as young people are not entering farming. Mr. Duvall and Mr. Alderman, this labor problem increases the need for reforms in H-2A programs. Can you two speak of the struggles of keeping up with H-2A’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) that is over $16 dollars an hour in my state of Alabama—that is double the minimum wage. Can y’all address that, please?”
ALDERMAN: “Yes, sir. I can.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you.”
ALDERMAN: “It costs me between $22 to $24 dollars an hour from my H-2A labor. Okay? Minimum wage in Florida, I think, is $12.50. I’m from Florida. And with the rates going up higher—next year they’re going up and they’re talking about going up another dollar—we still have to pay for their housing. We’d like some relief at least we could get the housing back from the people, the H-2A workers who we are bringing in. We spend, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars every year just for housing for the labor. Plus, we have to bring them in here, pay for their visas, pay for their ride here, their ride back. They’re great labor. They’re good. Without them, we couldn’t harvest our crops. But we can’t compete with the cheap prices of tomatoes coming from Mexico against us. They undercut the price—it’s so cheap. […] The tariffs that we’re talking about is not enough to make any difference. 20%, 17%, that’s not enough to help it. They need a floor of at least what our minimum growing cost is and then put a tariff above that. But try to protect the Florida farmers, the few that are left, not only just in Florida, because at first, it was just Mexico was coming after Florida tomato farmers right after NAFTA. Well, 20 years later, they’re growing pepper and squash and corn and beans and every vegetable we grow all the way up the East Coast, all the way to Jersey and past. They’re going to be competing with all of them, Mexico with all those products. And their labor is, I don’t know, what are they paying $10 dollars a day and we’re paying $25 dollars an hour? There’s got to be some help with the balance of trade. We don’t want the government to give us anything, but get us on a level playing field with Mexico and Canada.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Mr. Duvall, you want to add to that?”
DUVALL: “Yes, sir. First thing we need to do is for Congress to freeze the AEWR wage rate so that farmers don’t have to take another increase and give us time to work on this H-2A program so that we can make it a workable program for our employees and for the farmer there. If the way we’re going now with the wage rate going up, we’re gonna price ourselves out of farming. We’re not gonna be able to pay the wage rate and stay in the farming and provide those jobs. And it’s gotta be done, it’s gotta be done quickly. And then we gotta work on creating an H-2A program or a program that speaks to all of agriculture. All of agriculture is suffering for the lack of labor, and we need to have year-round workers that’s not capped. We need to be able to control it, but we need to be able to fill those jobs, whether a small, medium, or large-sized farm, and we need to have those year-round workers in those areas like dairy and other places where the work never stops. And then, of course, the regulations that go along with those programs are just so burdensome. You heard him talk about the requirement of having housing—the liabilities that come along with that and the difficulty it is for our farmers to continue to abide by all these regulations because every regulation costs a lot of money to a farmer. And if we’re gonna continue to be able to compete with the world, we gotta be able to make sure that we have a workable program, bring reliable labor here so that we can get the job done. […] How can a young farmer come back to the farm and bring his expertise that he learned in college [and] expand that farm without having the labor force to do it with? That’s one of the biggest limiting factors we have. And that AEWR rate is set by a survey done by USDA that was created over 60 years ago to count employees, not to set a wage rate. The formula is totally […] unworkable, and we need to redo that formula and set a fair wage rate that encourages farmers to hire people and be able to still stay in business and to treat their employees right.”
ON IMPORTANCE OF REPEALING THE DEATH TAX:
TUBERVILLE: “I got one question, Mr. Locker, we’ll start with you. All of you can answer if you want—your thoughts on this. As long as I’ve been up here, I’ve been advocating to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, which is often called the ‘death tax.’ I know it means a lot to farmers. So, Mr. Locker, we’ll start with you—your thoughts?”
LOCKER: “Well, Senator, I think, obviously, you look at modern agriculture today, I mean, it is a massive investment. Even small farms, I mean, if you add up all the assets. And, so, anytime that you want to pass that along to the next generation, it comes at a significant cost and in many cases is cost prohibitive. And so, yeah, doing away with the death tax. And I think we get, you know, bottled in with, you know, other businesses and it couldn’t be farther from the truth in terms of comparable that, you know, when you’re passing along a farm business, it comes with, like I said, a lot of costs, a lot of assets, it takes a lot to run a farm today. And so doing away with the estate, the death tax is the right thing to do. To be able to continue to pass it down to the next generation—otherwise it becomes cost prohibitive.”
TUBERVILLE: “Mr. Duvall, you got it.”
DUVALL: “It’s absolutely one of the necessary things that we need to do. [A farmer] works all his life. I’ve spent my whole life buying back my farm—my daddy had to sell part of it off—my whole life. And if we don’t fix that problem, if we don’t get rid of the inheritance tax, other generations will have to sell a farm and that farm will go out of production, and we will not enjoy the production from those farms. And it has to be done. You know, it’s just like people say, ‘Well, you got a lot of land, you got a lot of wealth.’ You have to have land to farm. It’s just like having a tractor. It’s just like having a car to go to work in every day, even if you’re not farming. It’s something you have to have to do that job. But, show me a farmer that has a retirement plan. It’s tied up in his land. It’s tied up in his land. And when he retires, he’s either got to sell his land or sell it to his children. And then if you pile inheritance tax on top of that, they have to sell part of the farm to be able to continue it. And it is one of the biggest devastating things that can happen to a family farm when you have a death and have to go through that difficult time.”
TUBERVILLE: “Mr. Alderman?”
ALDERMAN: “I agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s double taxation. It shouldn’t be there. You’ve already paid the taxes once. Why are you going to just put somebody out of business or make them sell their business or the farm? It shouldn’t be there. I agree with you.” […]
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Ontario RCMP have arrested a Canadian businessman for violating Canadian sanctions that prohibit technology trade and exports to Russia.
Following a three-year investigation, the Ontario RCMP’s Sanctions Unit has obtained Attorney General of Canada consent to commence a criminal prosecution under the Special Economic Measures Act, S.C. 1992, c. 17, and the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, SOR/2014-58.
Anton Trofimov (43) of Toronto, Ontario, is facing the following charges for sanctions evasion:
Trofimov made a first appearance in the Ontario Court of Justice at Toronto on May 22, 2025.
“Canada’s sanctions are a critical component to our economic security, and these types of violations pose serious risks in maintaining international peace and global security. Individuals and businesses are responsible for ensuring the end destination of all exports do not fall under these sanctions. The RCMP will continue to pursue individuals or groups who attempt to profit from illegal trade.”- Chief Superintendent Chris Leather Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations, RCMP Central Region
The RCMP works closely with domestic and international partners, including the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Global Affairs Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to prevent and disrupt the illicit trade of technologies with sanctioned states.
“This arrest is an example of how close collaboration with our Canadian partners can result in significant impact such as disruptions to Russia’s attempts to evade U.S. and Canadian sanctions.” – Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office.
“This arrest demonstrates both the importance of the CBSA’s ongoing work to interdict the proliferation of strategic Canadian technology and the crucial cooperation between the CBSA and RCMP in identifying exporters intent on violating sanctions. The CBSA’s Counter Proliferation Operations Section examines more than 1 million export declarations per year and collaborates with external and internal partners to meet Canada’s commitment to enforcing sanctions on strategic exports to Russia.” – Daniel Anson, Director General, Intelligence and Investigations, Canada Border Services Agency
Prosecutions under the Special Economic Measures Act are conducted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
Fast facts
If you have any information related to violation of Canada’s sanctions legislation, you can contact the RCMP at Federal_Policing_Intake_Unit@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Source: European Investment Bank
The national promotional institutions of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB) will cooperate to bolster Europe’s security and defence industry. The six long term investors – Caisse des Depôts, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) and the EIB – agreed to further explore cooperation opportunities.
The cooperation will focus on areas of investment and on potential joint financing in sectors such as research and development, industrial capacity, and infrastructure.
The agreement reached today in Warsaw – in the margins of the European Association of Long-Term Investors (ELTI) CEO meeting hosted by BGK – marks a significant step to further boost and reinforce the collaboration between the national promotional institutions and the EIB in supporting Europe’s security and defence infrastructures, technologies and industrial capabilities.
The initiative, which may also explore the development of potential joint collaborations, including on financial products and advisory services, is a pan-European approach to strengthening European security and defence. It is open to additional European long-term public investors, in particular national promotional institutions all over Europe, and it is part of increased efforts to strengthen the EU and tackle evolving security threats amid significant geopolitical shifts.
Background information
About the Caisse des Dépôts Group
Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries form a public long-term investor group serving the general interest and economic development of local areas.
It combines five areas of expertise: social policy (pensions, professional training, disability, old age, health), asset management, monitoring subsidiaries and strategic shareholdings, business financing (with Bpifrance) and Banque des Territoires.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is the National Promotional Institution which has been supporting the Italian economy since 1850. The main goal of CDP is to accelerate the industrial and infrastructural development of Italy to boost its economic and social growth. CDP focuses its activities on sustainable development at local level, supporting the innovation and growth of Italian enterprises, also in the international arena. It partners local authorities, in a financing and advisory capacity, to create infrastructures and improve services of public value. CDP also participates actively in international cooperation initiatives to realize projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is entirely financed by private capital, through the issuing of Postal Savings Bonds and Postal Savings Passbooks, and through issues on national and international financial markets.
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The EIB finances investments in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.
About ICO
Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) is the national promotional bank of Spain, attached to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise. ICO has become a benchmark in financing both SMEs and large investment projects and contributes to sustainable growth by promoting economic activities that, due to their social, cultural, innovative or environmental importance, are worthy of promotion and development. www.ico.es
About KfW
KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks. With its decades of experience, KfW is committed to improving economic, social and environmental living conditions across the globe on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal states. To do this, it provided funds totalling EUR 112.8 billion in 2024 alone. Its financing and promotional activities are aligned with the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and contribute to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world.
About Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego
Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) is a Polish development bank, the only such institution in Poland. BGK supports the sustainable social and economic development of the country. Its activities influence job creation, housing construction, infrastructure development and air quality improvement. The bank cares about future generations – it builds social capital, develops entrepreneurship and provides responsible financing. It is present in every region of Poland, as well as abroad – it has representative offices in Brussels, Frankfurt am Main and Kyiv. The bank is involved in the implementation of European Funds in Poland, as well as products financed by the National Recovery and Reconstruction Plan. BGK supports exports and foreign expansion of Polish companies. Through cooperation with business, the public sector and financial institutions, it responds to economic needs.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins
| District/Circuit | Case Name | Conduct/Statute(s) |
|---|---|---|
| District of Alaska | United States v. Corey Potter, et al. | Crab Harvesting; Lacey Act |
| Southern District of California | United States v. Ruben Montes, et al. | Pesticide and Veterinary Drug Smuggling; Conspiracy |
| United States v. Ricardo Alonzo | Exotic Bird Smuggling | |
| Northern District of Florida | United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield | Dolphin Killing; Marine Mammal Protection Act; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act |
| Southern District of Florida | United States v. Liza Hash | Discharging Oil; Clean Water Act |
| Middle District of Georgia | United States v. Tamichael Elijah, et al. | Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy |
| Eastern District of Kentucky | United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker | Animal Torture Videos; Animal Crush Statute |
| District of Maine | United States v. Isaac Allen | Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice |
| Southern District of Mississippi | United States v. Thomas W. Douglas, Jr., et al. | Wastewater Discharges; Clean Water Act |
| District of New Jersey | United States v. Tommy Watson, et al. | Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy, Felon-in-Possession |
| Northern District of Texas | United States v. Phillip D. Waddell, et al. | Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Conspiracy |
| Southern District of Texas | United States v. Jocelyn Castilleja | Refrigerant Smuggling |
| Eastern District of Virginia | United States v. Charles Reginald McDougald, et al. | Dog Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture, Conspiracy |
| United States v. Jonathan Long | Tampering with a Monitoring Device; Clean Air Act, Accessory-After-the-Fact |
On May 8, 2025, prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Jocelyn Castilleja with smuggling (18 U.S.C. § 545).
On June 15, 2024, Castilleja attempted to smuggle three 25pound containers of 410A hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant from Mexico into the United States in her personal vehicle. The refrigerants were discovered during a routine inspection by Customs and Border Protection agents at the Brownsville, Texas, border crossing. Castilleja failed to declare the containers to customs authorities, as required by law.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On May 20, 2025, prosecutors charged Ricardo Alonzo with smuggling 17 exotic birds into the United States from Mexico under the seat of his car (18 U.S.C. § 545).
On May 4, 2025, authorities intercepted Alonzo as he drove over the border from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Officers found four bags containing 10 burrowing parakeets, five yellow-crowned Amazon parrots, and two red-lored Amazon parrot chicks under the rear seat. The two red-lored Amazon parrot chicks did not survive; the remaining birds were transferred to a quarantine facility managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Amazon parrots are native to Mexico, the West Indies, and northern South America, while burrowing parakeets are native to Chile and Argentina. All species of Amazon parrots, as well as burrowing parakeets, are listed on either Appendix I or Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
Smuggled birds that are not subject to quarantine can prove dangerous as they may carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and death in humans and other birds including those housed on poultry farms.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Red-lored Amazon parrots rescued by border officials.
Related Press Release: Southern District of California | San Diego Man Charged with Smuggling Exotic Live Birds | United States Department of Justice
On May 16, 2025, Tommy Watson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess, train, and transport dogs for an animal fighting venture, sponsoring and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture, and being a felon-in-possession of ammunition (7 U.S.C. §§ 2156(a)(1), 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)). Watson is scheduled for sentencing on October 2, 2025.
The case began when officers responded to an emergency call at an auto body garage in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey. They found a fighting pit in the garage, along with two pit bull-type dogs, still fighting, that had been placed into an inoperable car on a lift in the garage as the participants fled on foot. The dogs later died from injuries they sustained while fighting. Officers also found an uninjured pit bull-type dog in a car near the garage, along with a rudimentary veterinary suture and skin staple kit.
Evidence revealed that Watson organized the fight, and that his dog was scheduled for the next fight on deck. He jointly possessed and trained the dog for this particular fight, as shown by cell phone video evidence. Watson participated in a dog fighting operation called “From Da Bottom Kennels.” From Da Bottom Kennels and others live-streamed dog fight videos from the garage via the Telegram app.
Co-defendant Johnnie Lee Nelson was sentenced in April 2025 to complete a two-year term of probation to include one year of home confinement. Nelson will also perform 100 hours of community service.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
On May 22, 2025, Phillip Waddell pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Waddell is one of ten defendants charged for tampering with pollution control equipment software in diesel trucks. The other co-defendants are Philip Matthew Ormand, Kolby Douglas Huneycutt, Kyle Kris Kizer, Jonathan Joseph Lohrmeyer, Justin Loutoyama Pasamonte, Archie George Sims, and Adam Marsh Stanley, along with auto dealership James Hodge Motors, Inc. (doing business as Jay Hodge Dodge), and its Chief Operating Officer Curtis Kevin Poore. They are scheduled for trial to begin on December 15, 2025.
Between June 2019 and November 2021, Waddell sold aftermarket diesel exhaust components, tuners, and so-called “delete tunes” that allowed vehicles to override on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems. Operating normally, OBDs monitor vehicle emissions to ensure they fall below the limits set by the CAA. When an OBD detects excess emissions, it sends input to the vehicle’s on-board computer, which may activate an indicator light and place the vehicle in “limp mode,” capping its speed as low as five miles per hour. With delete tunes installed, diesel exhaust systems can be modified so that OBDs are prevented from detecting emission changes.
Waddell purchased delete tunes from Ormand to customize them for specific vehicles. From August 2018 to April 2021, Waddell paid Ormand more than $2 million for delete tunes and sold them for between $300 and $1,350 each. Waddell’s customers included James Hodge Motors and several individuals who operated their own diesel repair and customization businesses.
Huneycutt, Kizer, Lohrmeyer, Pasamonte, Sims, and Stanley purchased tuners and delete tunes from Waddell and installed them on their customers’ vehicles, a process called “tuning” or “reflashing.” James Hodge Motors, acting under Poore’s supervision, falsified invoices to conceal the nature of the work it performed on customers’ trucks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
On May 1, 2025, a court sentenced Thomas W. Douglas, Jr., to pay a $50,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation, which includes nine months’ home confinement. Co-defendant John S. Welch, Sr., was sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Following an almost two-week trial, a jury found Douglas guilty of two negligent Clean Water Act (CWA) counts and Welch guilty of one negligent CWA count (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(1)(A)).
Douglas was the president and co-owner of Gold Coast Commodities, Inc. (GCC), based in Brandon, Mississippi, and Welch was GCC’s plant manager. The company processes fats, oils, and grease into feedstock for animal food and biofuels. GCC applied for and received pretreatment permits that limited the quantity of treated waste it could discharge to the Jackson area wastewater treatment system (JWTS). GCC never activated the permits, claiming that it trucked all its waste offsite for treatment and disposal. State and local regulatory officials later discovered discharges of industrial waste downstream from GCC that vastly exceeded numerous pollutant limits.
After officials placed monitors into GCC’s sewer outfall, the defendants trucked GCC’s process waste to three other illegal discharge locations, two of which led to the JWTS. They hired two sewage haulers to transport GCC’s industrial waste to JWTS’s treatment plant in tanker trucks falsely marked as “sewage” to conceal the nature of the waste. The plant does not accept industrial waste. When that became too risky, they hired a trucking company to transport GCC’s waste to a small sewer service company owned by co-defendant Andrew Walker. There they excavated a JWTS sewer pipe and discharged another 3.4 million gallons of GCC’s industrial waste until they were again caught and ordered to stop.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brandon Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Cities of Brandon and Jackson municipal governments.
On May 6, 2025, a court sentenced Charles Reginald McDougald to 27 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release.
From March 2015 through December 2022, McDougald, aka “Luke” and “Bottom Boy—along with other conspirators from Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina—used a messaging app private group referred to as “The DMV Board” or “The Board,” to discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dog fighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights.
Members of the DMV Board used the app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement, and discuss ways to avoid being caught. McDougald posted multiple offers to arrange dog fights for thousands of dollars per fight. McDougald pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the animal fighting venture statute (7 U.S.C. § 2156; 18 U.S.C. §§ 49, 371).
McDougald’s sentencing follows the convictions of 19 others who used the DMV Board. Those other defendants received sentences ranging between 10 days and 30 months in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
On May 7, 2025, a court sentenced Isaac Allen to pay a $40,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation. Allen, the owner of a diesel repair shop called Red Barn Diesel Performance in Windham, Maine, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to tamper with Clean Air Act (CAA) monitoring devices and obstructing an agency proceeding (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1505; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between January 2017 and September 2020, Allen conspired with a local truck sales business to reprogram the on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems of diesel trucks by downloading software, or “tunes,” which disabled the systems’ ability to detect emissions control malfunctions. Disabling emissions controls or tampering with the OBD system of a diesel truck causes its emissions to increase significantly.
In June 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Allen a CAA Information Request, seeking details on the vehicles serviced by Red Barn, including the impact of the engine tunes on emissions systems and OBD functions. Allen underreported the number of vehicles affected.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with support from the Maine State Police.
On May 12, 2025, a court sentenced Kendall Glenn Hacker to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The participants in this group funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: District of Kentucky | Richmond Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Create and Distribute Animal Crush Videos
On May 13, 2025, a court sentenced fisherman Corey Potter to 12 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release for illegally transporting crab from Alaska to Washington in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Potter also is banned from commercial fishing while under supervision.
In February and March 2024, Corey Potter owned and operated two crab catcher vessels and harvested Tanner and golden king crab in Southeast Alaska waters. The vessels were captained and operated by co-defendants Kyle Potter (Corey’s son) and Justin Welch. Corey Potter directed Kyle Potter and Welch to transport their harvest of live crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it for a higher price than they would receive in Alaska. Before leaving Alaska, neither vessel landed their harvest at a port nor reported the harvest on a fish ticket, which all three defendants knew was required under state law.
At the time, one vessel held more than 4,200 pounds of live Tanner crab aboard, while the other had close to 3,000 pounds of live golden king crab. A portion of the Tanner crab was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease that is fatal to crustaceans. Several crab fishermen who knew about their plans contacted Corey and Kyle Potter expressing concern that the Potters’ harvest would infect other crabs with BCS. Despite the other fishermen’s concerns, Corey Potter moved forward with his plan to transport the catch.
Following the multi-day trip from Alaska, roughly 40 percent the king crab died and was unmarketable. Since the other vessel had BCS-contaminated crabs, the entire catch of Tanner crab was transferred to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to dispose of in a landfill.
In March 2024, law enforcement served a search warrant on Welch and one of the fishing vessels. Welch told Corey and Kyle Potter about the search, and both deleted text messages before law enforcement could seize their phones. Those messages described their awareness of BCS and their plans to sell the crab for better prices.
Kyle Potter was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Welch was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: District of Alaska | Kodiak fisherman sentenced to prison for directing illegal transport of crab from Alaska | United States Department of Justice
On May 13 and 14, 2025, the court sentenced the final 11 defendants in this case arising from a large-scale dog fighting event in 2022. All defendants were ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Marshals Service for the costs of caring for the seized animals.
The final two defendants, Brandon Baker and Marvin Pulley, III, are scheduled for sentencing on June 4 and 5, 2025, respectively. Defendant Willie Russell was previously sentenced to 24 months’ incarceration followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371).
On April 24, 2022, the defendants held a dog fighting event in Donalsonville, Georgia, that authorities disrupted while in progress. The defendants brought 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend.
The participants used their cars to store dogs that fought previously, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Dogs found in cars bore recent injuries and scars. Additional dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later died from its injuries.
All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting a dog in a dog fight. Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog to use in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.
On May 14, 2025, a court sentenced Ruben Montes to 16 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Montes will pay $12,710 in forfeiture for his part in a scheme to smuggle and distribute more than $3 million worth of Mexican pesticides and veterinary drugs that are not approved for use in the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371).
Since 2020, Montes coordinated the smuggling of pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. The primary pesticides involved were Taktic and Bovitraz, which are not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in the United States. The smuggled veterinary drugs included Tylocet, Terramicina, Tetragent Ares, and Catarrol, which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Montes requested that his co-conspirators bring these pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. They then hid the pesticides and veterinary drugs in storage units in Calexico and retrieved them for distribution throughout the United States. Montes and Hugo Gutierrez (who remains at large) supplied most of the pesticides and veterinary drugs to individuals charged in another case, United States v. Toledo, et al., No. 22-CR-01965, (S.D. Calif.). Montes was also involved in shipping about 150 packages of unapproved products to another co-conspirator in Texas.
According to the EPA, the active ingredient in Taktic and Bovitraz is amitraz, which is toxic to bees if released into hives, and then ultimately to humans when it ends up in honey, honeycomb, and beeswax. Misuse of amitraz-containing products in beehives can therefore result in exposures that could cause neurological effects and possibly reproductive effects in humans.
Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted the investigation.
On May 16, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Long to pay a $88,514 fine and complete a 12-month term of probation to include three months of home confinement. Long pleaded guilty to being an accessory after-the-fact to falsifying, tampering with, and rendering inaccurate a monitoring device required by the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C); 18 U.S.C. § 3).
Long owned and operated Open Wide Performance, LLC, which sold aftermarket defeat devices for diesel trucks. Long works as a diesel technician and is an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.
Between 2019 and 2020, Long sold “delete kits,” including delete pipes, software, cables, and tunes. Long also helped his customers use this equipment to manipulate their diesel trucks’ onboard diagnostic system. Long earned approximately $300,000 from this criminal enterprise.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On May 21, 2025, a court sentenced Zachary Brandon Barfield to 30 days’ incarceration followed by one year of supervised release. Barfield also will pay a $51,000 fine. Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)).
Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield began placing a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.
While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield shot at a dolphin that surfaced near his clients’ fishing lines.
The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Related Press Release: Northern District of Florida | Panama City Commercial Fisherman Sentenced for Killing Dolphins in the Gulf of America
On May 23, 2025, a court sentenced Liza Hash to complete a one-year term of probation to include 60 days of home confinement. Hash also will pay a $5,000 fine. She pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, in violating of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)).
Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of about six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.
On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.
During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge it overboard.
Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.
The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper: “We’re sustaining losses here that are needless, and they’re going to be long lasting, and they affect every aspect of our country.”
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently chaired a field hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Denver to underline the strain the outdoor recreation industry is facing under the Trump administration’s chaotic tariffs.
Watch the full field hearing HERE
During the hearing, Hickenlooper emphasized that the Trump administration’s blanket tariffs are disproportionally hurting working people across the country:
“Certainly, the people that are going to elegant dinners in Mar-a-Lago or anywhere, this isn’t as much of an issue for them,” Hickenlooper said at the hearing. “But many small businesses are really caught up in this storm and struggling to survive.”
Hickenlooper was joined by witnesses representing three Colorado outdoor recreation businesses including Travis Campbell, the owner and CEO of Eagle Creek, an adventure travel gear company based in Steamboat Springs; Mike Mojica, the Founder of Outdoor Element, an adventure gear company based in Englewood; and Trent Bush, Founder and Co-CEO of ARTILECT Studio, a performance apparel studio based in Boulder.
“In our 50th year of operations we could be possibly put out of business through these ill-conceived tariff plans,” said Campbell. “Eagle Creek immediately took dramatic steps to stay afloat. We froze salary increases that we had just implemented to our teams, we halted the hiring of two exceptional new people that we planned to bring on board, we cut spending across the board…”
“We just came off our best year ever. And then, a couple months ago happened. Overnight, tariffs on our core products jumped to 145%…What I thought was an approachable path to the American dream has suddenly turned into quicksand,” said Mojica. “We had to pause production — tell factories to hold the goods and not ship them…I’ve lost a wholesale account, I had to lay off team members, I’ve asked others to work less hours…”
“I held on to producing in the U.S. as long as I possibly could. And I feel I’ve done everything I was asked to do since, including moving production out of China six years ago,” said Bush. “Now even those staggering high tariffs outside China may force my business to close. This just isn’t the American dream I’ve believed in and I’ve tried so hard over all those years to achieve.”
Check out the coverage below:
Colorado Sun: Colorado outdoor companies limping through uncertainty in trade war
Hickenlooper’s committee hearing — held at History Colorado and titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy” — included Mike Mojica, the founder and CEO of Outdoor Element, which designs adventure survival equipment in Englewood, and outdoor apparel veteran Trent Bush, the founder and co-CEO the new Artilect Studio in Boulder.
Mojica, a mechanical engineer who fine-tuned his survival gear business in theMoosejaw Business Accelerator program in 2022, said his company posted a record year in 2024.
“What I thought was a path to the American dream has become quicksand,” he said of tariffs that have forced him to sell his gear for zero profit. “Trade policy is supposed to provide business with the certainty we need to make long-term decisions and right now that certainty is missing. I’m no longer trying to thrive. I’m trying to survive.”
AXIOS Denver: Colorado’s outdoor industry suffering from trade war
Travis Campbell shelled out an additional $580,000. Mike Mojica raised prices and laid off workers. Trent Bush is worried he may go out of business.
What they’re saying: “When you add that all up, the [impacts of tariffs] mean lower wages, fewer jobs and less spending in the economy,” Campbell said at a congressional hearing Friday in Denver hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. “I don’t think that’s what we’re aiming for.”
E&E News: Outdoor recreation field hearing to focus on tariff impacts
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing in Colorado on Friday focused on the outdoor recreation economy in tough times.
Titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy,” the hearing will focus on ways Congress can support the outdoor recreation industry, which is valued at more than $1 trillion and has grown significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The field hearing, hosted by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), will hear testimony from three outdoor recreation retailers that have been saddled by the Trump administration’s tariff regime.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Noam Vogt-Vincent, Postdoctoral Fellow in Marine Biology, University of Hawaii
Although tropical reefs might look like inanimate rock, these colorful seascapes are built by tiny jellyfish-like animals called corals. While adult corals build solid structures that are firmly attached to the sea floor, baby corals are not confined to their reefs. They can drift with ocean currents over great distances to new locations that might give them a better chance of survival.
The underwater cities that corals construct are home to about a quarter of all known marine species. They are incredibly important for humans, too, contributing at least a trillion dollars per year in ecosystem services, such as protecting coastlines from wave damage and supporting fisheries and tourism.
Unfortunately, coral reefs are among the most vulnerable environments on the planet to climate change.
Since 2023, exceptionally warm ocean water has been fueling the planet’s fourth mass coral bleaching event on record, causing widespread mortality in corals around the world. This kind of harm is projected to worsen considerably over the coming decades as ocean temperatures rise.
I am a marine scientist in Hawaii. My colleagues and I are trying to understand how coral reefs might change in the future, and whether new coral reefs might form at higher latitudes as the tropics become too warm and temperate regions become more hospitable. The results lead us to both good and bad news.
Baby corals can drift freely with ocean currents, potentially traveling hundreds of miles before settling in new locations. That allows the distribution of corals to shift over time.
Major ocean currents can carry baby corals to temperate seas. If new coral reefs form there as the waters warm, these areas might act as refuges for tropical corals, reducing the corals’ risk of extinction.
Scientists know from the fossil record that coral reef expansions have occurred before. However, a big question remains: Can corals migrate fast enough to keep pace with climate change caused by humans? We developed a cutting-edge simulation to find the answer.
Field and laboratory studies have measured how coral growth depends on temperature, acidity and light intensity. We combined this information with data on ocean currents to create a global simulation that represents how corals respond to a changing environment – including their ability to adapt through evolution and shift their ranges.
Then, we used future climate projections to predict how coral reefs may respond to climate change.
We found that it will take centuries for coral reefs to shift away from the tropics. This is far too slow for temperate seas to save tropical coral species – they are facing severe threats right now and in the coming decades.
Under countries’ current greenhouse gas emissions policies, our simulations suggest that coral reefs will decline globally by a further 70% this century as ocean temperatures continue to rise. As bad as that sounds, it’s actually slightly more optimistic than previous studies that predicted losses as high as 99%.
Our simulations suggest that coral populations could expand in a few locations this century, primarily southern Australia, but these expansions may only amount to around 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares). While that might sound a lot, we expect to lose around 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of coral over the same period.
In other words, we are unlikely to see significant new tropical-style coral reefs forming in temperate waters within our lifetimes, so most tropical corals will not find refuge in higher latitude seas.
Even though the suitable water temperatures for corals are forecast to expand poleward by about 25 miles (40 kilometers) per decade, corals would face other challenges in new environments.
Our research suggests that coral range expansion is mainly limited by slower coral growth at higher latitudes, not by dispersal. Away from the equator, light intensity falls and temperature becomes more variable, reducing growth, and therefore the rate of range expansion, for many coral species.
It is likely that new coral reefs will eventually form beyond their current range, as history shows, but our results suggest this may take centuries.
Some coral species are adapted to the more challenging environmental conditions at higher latitudes, and these corals are increasing in abundance, but they are much less diverse and structurally complex than their tropical counterparts.
Scientists have used human-assisted migration to try to restore damaged coral reefs by transplanting live corals. However, coral restoration is controversial, as it is expensive and cannot be scaled up globally. Since coral range expansion appears to be limited by challenging environmental conditions at higher latitudes rather than by dispersal, human-assisted migration is also unlikely to help them expand more quickly.
Importantly, these potential higher latitude refuges already have rich, distinct ecosystems. Establishing tropical corals within those ecosystems might disrupt existing species, so rapid expansions might not be a good thing in the first place.
Despite enthusiasm for coral restoration, there is little evidence to suggest that methods like this can mitigate the global decline of coral reefs.
As our study shows, migration would take centuries, while the most severe climate change harm for corals will occur within decades, making it unlikely that subtropical and temperate seas can act as coral refuges.
What can help corals is reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global warming. Our study suggests that reducing emissions at a faster pace, in accordance with the Paris climate agreement, could cut the coral loss by half compared with current policies. That could boost reef health for centuries to come.
This means that there is still hope for these irreplaceable coral ecosystems, but time is running out.
Noam Vogt-Vincent receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
– ref. Coral reefs face an uncertain recovery from the 4th global mass bleaching event – can climate refuges help? – https://theconversation.com/coral-reefs-face-an-uncertain-recovery-from-the-4th-global-mass-bleaching-event-can-climate-refuges-help-255804
Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Thank you for the invitation to speak at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Trading Conference.[1] I’m honored to be asked to provide the keynote address here today during a time of rapid innovation and transformation of market structure—both in new products and new markets.
When I became acting Chairman this year, I said we have to get back to basics. For the past half century, the CFTC has proudly served our mission to promote market integrity and liquidity in U.S. derivatives markets—markets that are critical to the real economy and global trade—ensuring American farmers, producers, merchants and other commercial end-users can mitigate risks to their business and support strong U.S. economic growth. You—this audience in this room—are the leaders of those markets who ensure that they are deep, liquid, and well-functioning each and every day. Our markets work best because there is a partnership between the regulator and our self-regulatory organizations (SROs): National Futures Association (NFA) and CFTC-registered designated contract markets (DCMs), derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs), and swap execution facilities (SEFs) for the derivatives markets, and Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA) and SEC-registered national securities exchanges and clearing agencies.
Today, I will discuss how the CFTC is promoting regulatory policy that supports U.S. economic growth and American competition, and approaching innovation and market structure. First, I will highlight the CFTC’s regulatory agenda that was submitted pursuant to the President’s executive orders. Next, I will discuss the work of our operating divisions and questions about the self-certification process for new or changed contracts or rules. Finally, I will share some observations on the CFTC’s recent requests for comment on 24/7 trading and perpetual derivatives, and direct access and non-intermediated clearing.
Unified Regulatory Agenda
I am pleased to announce the CFTC has submitted its 2025 Spring Unified Regulatory Agenda and will highlight a few items. In accordance with Executive Order 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,[2] I have identified the following rulemaking initiatives to provide regulatory certainty, eliminate unnecessary cost burdens, and unleash a golden age for markets:
Improving the SEF “Made Available to Trade” (MAT) process for swaps
Expanding access to markets for insured depository institutions by broadening the scope of products excluded from the swap dealer de minimis threshold calculation
Expanding access to markets by no longer requiring associated person registration for personnel of introducing brokers that only refer swaps to a wholly owned affiliate de minimis dealer
Codifying foreign exchange product interpretation that window FX forwards and package spot FX transactions are not FX swaps
Codifying no-action relief from both the pre-trade mid-market mark disclosure requirement and certain documentation requirements for cleared swaps and prime brokerage transactions for swap dealers
Codifying no-action relief from the clearing requirement for legacy swaps resulting from multilateral portfolio compression exercises
Codifying no-action relief from ownership and control reporting under Parts 17, 18, and 20 of CFTC regulations
Codifying no-action relief for DCMs and DCOs from duplicative reporting of fully collateralized binary options to swap data repositories (SDRs) under Parts 43 and 45 of CFTC regulations
Sunsetting duplicative and burdensome Part 20 large trader reporting obligations for physical commodity swaps, as required under Regulation 20.9
Eliminating the burdensome and costly cotton-on-call reporting requirements and related CFTC Cotton-on-Call Report
These items have been longstanding issues regarding CFTC regulatory overreach and administrative burden, some for over a decade.
New or Amended Product and Rule Submissions
I want to commend CFTC staff in the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) for the day-to-day work that supports growth and innovation in our markets. Under my leadership in my first 100 days as acting Chairman (even without a majority on the Commission), and the leadership of acting DMO Director Rahul Varma, acting DCR Director Richard Haynes, and former acting DMO Director Amanda Olear, our hard working and dedicated DMO and DCR staff have engaged in the following activities, in addition to performing examinations and ongoing monitoring:
DMO
670 new products filed by exchanges
43 product filings submitted by foreign boards of trade (FBOTs)
315 rule filings submitted by exchanges (211 market rules, 104 product related rules)
Issued 3 certification letters to FBOTs under Regulation 30.13
DCR
This is a snapshot of our dynamic and vibrant derivatives markets, which serve the national public interest mandated in our statute by providing price risk mitigation, price discovery, and price dissemination.[3]
These day-to-day activities are in addition to the over 20 CFTC staff letters and other guidance, issued in just four months, to provide regulatory clarity and reduce regulatory burden. DMO and DCR were involved in over half of those, and I want to commend the Market Participants Division (MPD) staff for all of their tremendous efforts as well. This level of productivity from CFTC staff has not been seen since the first Trump Administration.
Self-Certification Process for Exchanges and Clearinghouses
As I have said before, our system of self-regulation works because our SROs take their role seriously in upholding the CFTC’s regulatory framework and ensuring market integrity.[4] Self-regulation is effective when it is cooperative. I commend DCMs, SEFs, DCOs, and SDRs (registered entities) that recognize and support the efforts of our DMO and DCR staff, and I urge these registered entities to do their best to assist staff and make the review process as efficient as possible.
But even more important is that our registered entities must be committed to the rule of law, the public interest, and doing what’s right. As you know, the CFTC has a principles-based regulatory framework that is designed to provide maximum autonomy and flexibility to our exchanges and clearinghouses. This enables exchanges to launch self-certified new contracts and issue new rules one business day after submission to the CFTC. In fact, the CFTC cannot stay or halt trading of a self-certified contract,[5] or suspend or revoke the registration of an exchange or clearinghouse,[6] without conducting an adjudicatory hearing—an in-house trial before the Commission as an administrative tribunal exercising our quasi-judicial authority. In our entire history, the CFTC has never done so. And we cannot force compliance with the law and CFTC regulations without obtaining a court order in litigation, whether by an enforcement action or otherwise.
In the past, registered entities have ignored and failed to comply with Commission orders with impunity[7]—presumably because they know that the CFTC has much more limited authority to take action against exchanges and clearinghouses, in contrast to our authority over registered futures commission merchants (FCMs) and other intermediaries.
That means that the self-certification process is built on trust, and it is bad for our markets, for market participants, and for the American people when this trust is broken. For the CFTC’s hands-off self-certification process to work, registered entities must commit to operate in a “no surprises” environment and work through issues in partnership with CFTC staff. On our part, the CFTC must commit to engaging in good faith with registered entities and be transparent about our processes. Nobody should be playing games.
Part 40 regulations
I will provide some background in response to questions that have been raised about the CFTC’s self-certification process. Part 40 was established pursuant to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and has been in place since 2001. Part 40 created a new framework for the certification and approval of new products, rules, and rule amendments that are submitted to the CFTC by registered entities such as DCMs, SEFs, DCOs, and SDRs. It was again amended in 2011 pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. The Part 40 Proposal preamble states that Part 40 “govern[s] how registered entities submit self-certifications, and requests for approval, of their rules, rule amendments, and new products for trading and clearing, as well as the CFTC’s review and processing of such submissions.”[8]
As I have noted before, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act) mandates that the Commission serve the public interest through our oversight of “a system of effective self-regulation of trading facilities, clearing systems, market participants and market professionals.” Part 40 is the cornerstone of effective self-regulation in our derivatives markets because it sets forth the standards for listing new contracts and issuing or amending rules for registered entities, including those that are SROs and have rulebooks that are enforceable against SRO members. The penalties for violating SRO rules can be severe, including fines, suspension, or revocation of membership.[9]
Stay of self-certification or extension of review period
For example, regarding new products, under Regulation 40.2 the Commission can stay the self-certification of a new product only in circumstances involving a false certification, or a petition to alter or amend the contract terms and conditions pursuant to Section 8a(7) of the CEA. The self-certification process does not involve Commission approval. However, under Regulation 40.3, new products can be submitted to the Commission for review and approval, and the review period can be extended if the product raises novel or complex issues.[10]
Similarly, regarding new rules or rule amendments submitted under Regulation 40.5 for Commission review and approval, the Commission can extend the review period for (1) novel or complex issues, (2) major economic significance, (3) incomplete submissions, and (4) not responding completely to CFTC questions in a timely manner. And under Regulation 40.6, the Commission can stay the self-certification of new rule or rule amendment filings involving (1) novel or complex issues, (2) inadequate explanation, or (3) potential inconsistency with the CEA or CFTC regulations.[11]
These checks and balances are integral to the CFTC’s oversight of registered entities, and I support DMO and DCR staff’s use of all these provisions to extend or stay the review period if any of these criteria have been met—especially if there are, as applicable, incomplete submissions, inadequate explanation, or for not responding completely to CFTC questions in a timely manner. As I said two years ago, registered entities must ensure that they dot their i’s and cross their t’s, and show their work, when submitting product or rule filings.[12]
Non-approval of new products or new rule or rule amendments
I want to emphasize that the existing Part 40 regulations provide for Commission non-approval of new products, or new rule or rule amendments, only if submitted for review under Regulation 40.3 or 40.5, respectively. Obviously, a product or rule will not be approved if it violates or is inconsistent, respectively, with the CEA or CFTC regulations. The Commission can determine that “it will not, or is unable to approve” the product or rule, including for form and content requirements for submission, because the product “violates, appears to violate or potentially violates but which cannot be ascertained from the submission,” or the rule or rule amendment “is inconsistent or appears to be inconsistent” with the CEA and CFTC regulations.[13]
These standards and criteria under Regulations 40.3 or 40.5 grant the Commission and CFTC staff considerable discretion in conducting reviews of product and rule filings for approval or non-approval. Again, I support the Commission issuing a notice of non-approval if any of these criteria have been met.
However, the Commission’s approval process does not apply to self-certified product or rule filings. If an exchange or clearinghouse ignores a Commission order or notice of non-approval, the Commission cannot enforce compliance without either conducting an in-house trial or going to federal court to obtain a court order.[14]
Requests for Public Comment on Innovation and Market Structure
There is a line, often not very bright, between what is “business as usual” done in a new way and a truly different and innovative market practice. The CFTC’s current regulations for DCMs and DCOs are very flexible—they allow for expansion into new ways of trading and clearing without major regulatory changes, but this is coupled with the need to use that flexibility responsibly. Because our regulations are flexible, the CFTC is typically not focused on writing new regulations. Instead, the CFTC is focused on how current regulations should best apply to actual proposals that have been submitted to us in a few innovative, but complex, areas. To inform and assist the CFTC with its regulatory approach to innovation and market structure, we want to make sure to gather, and consider, the expertise and wisdom of the marketplace through requests for public comment.
24/7 Trading
Many of the main issues raised by 24/7 trading and clearing that will need to be addressed are already clear. No changes to CFTC regulations are necessary to enable 24/7 trading, which recently went live on Coinbase Derivatives (a DCM) and Nodal Clear (a DCO) in May 2025. CFTC staff appreciate the firms that engaged with us for over a year to work through these issues, in a great example of the partnership in our markets.
Nonetheless, because of the broader implications for market structure, the CFTC issued a request for comment in April 2025 on the uses, benefits, and risks of derivatives trading and clearing on a 24/7 (or almost 24/7) basis.[15] That comment period recently closed and CFTC staff are currently evaluating the many helpful responses.
Collateral exchange
To an extent, derivatives are already trading during low activity time periods and positions are already being held over weekends absent collateral exchange, so a more comprehensive move to 24/7 trading and clearing would bring with it both known and novel characteristics. The novelties are, in part, related to the different schedules of specific market operations. For example, trading may be continuous, but parts of the clearing process, such as exchange of collateral, require point-in-time calculations and periodic finality while risk continues to accrue. This risk may be mitigated where client clearing takes place through FCMs that are highly capitalized and thus central counterparties (CCPs) can accept short-term credit exposure.
Practices must be adapted for trading over weekends where (at least for the moment) collateral exchange is not possible. Without on-call collateral, CCPs need pre-funded collateral to address credit and related liquidity risks that arise over a weekend. This raises questions about calibrating the possible exposures, such as the appropriate “margin period of risk” (MPOR) where collateral access is lost for more than one trading day. Related, other risks like those associated with market liquidity may be mitigated if other similar markets are also open during the weekend, emphasizing the value and need for 24/7 spot market access for a broader liquidity pool.
Operational challenges
Many commenters to the CFTC’s request for information make a related but much broader point—24/7 trading must be evaluated holistically due to the effects not only on trading platforms and clearing houses but also the changes that would be required of FCMs, market participants, asset managers, third-party service providers, and others to account for changes in liquidity, price transparency, collateral access, and default management during non-traditional business hours. These commenters stress that significantly increased costs would likely be borne by all market participants, not just those that choose to trade (or intermediate) 24/7. For example, they note that these changes in market structure may also require renegotiation and redocumentation of relationships between market participants, such as between asset managers and FCMs.
Many commenters point out that trading on a 24/7 basis may require CCPs, exchanges, intermediaries, their third-party service providers, asset managers, and others to have staffing virtually 24/7. It will be important to maintain focus and resources on platform maintenance while markets are open, including dealing with unplanned outages, patch management, live change deployments, and rollback mechanisms, though some commenters suggested that some of these difficulties could be mitigated by having a maintenance window each day (such as 24/6 or 24/5 trading instead of true 24/7 trading).
Market conditions, liquidity risk, and credit risk
Concerns have been raised that low volume periods during weekends will cause diminished liquidity, wider spreads, increased volatility, and reduced price transparency, raising risk coverage questions similar to those noted above. CFTC staff will need to address whether, on a product-by-product basis, other markets (cash markets, repo markets) will be available to make derivative pricing practicable. In sum, there are concerns that risk management will be significantly challenged when high volatility and low liquidity paired with limited collateral asset mobility leads to increased defaults during a period when there may be limited ability of FCMs and CCPs to close-out positions or hedge associated risks.
Solutions to these issues are always informed by anticipated benefits and costs of paths ahead. The liquidity and credit risk concerns noted above drive the need for additional collateral or other measures to protect against weekend market moves, and a need to reduce or mitigate the effects of auto or manual liquidations. This, of course, comes at a cost; posting excess margin, potentially at multiple exchanges, may have a negative impact on the efficient use of capital by market participants. Moreover, some commenters expressed fears that, in times of high volatility, additional costs could rise to the fore. For instance, elevated volatility could erode posted collateral to such an extent that positions may be unexpectedly auto-liquidated, leaving end-users without critical hedges.
One view to consider, if sufficient data allows, would be to limit trading to only specified contracts that have sufficient customer demand for weekend trading to help ensure liquidity and appropriate pricing. A number of commenters suggested that some products would be more appropriate for weekend trading than others. I have previously noted the value of having already existing spot markets that trade 24/7, broadening the liquidity pool over the weekend period. Consistent with this view, the proposals that the CFTC staff have seen so far have only focused on crypto asset products, where spot markets exist with continuous trading and sufficient depth of liquidity. The CFTC is not aware of any plans to offer 24/7 trading beyond the crypto asset class at this time.
For more traditional commodities, like agricultural commodities, liquidity and pricing concerns would likely need much deeper review, since the listing of contracts with limited open interest or trading volume for weekend trading may distort pricing and increase the risk of liquidations over the weekend—a fear expressed by many commentors who rely on the ability to maintain carefully constructed portfolios to achieve success in their trading strategies.
CFTC staff are starting to get some informative data on market innovation towards more continuous trading hours. Last month, 24/7 trading started on Coinbase Derivatives for a few crypto asset derivatives contracts, where the spot market is already open 24/7. These first few weeks of trading have provided a useful window into the level of interest and viability. In the last few weeks, weekend trading has been averaging over a thousand individual traders, across volumes that fall in the hundreds of thousands of lots, similar to an average (or even somewhat active weekday). So, it may be the case that for markets already used to 24/7 trading, the extension to futures is less unbridgeable than it may be for other contracts.
While there is a natural tendency to focus on the risks created by 24/7 trading, CFTC staff is also aware that weekend trading may allow for more real-time risk-reducing trades in response to unexpected events. These events—whether geopolitical, weather-related, or otherwise—can happen over the weekend, and forcing market participants to wait until Sunday afternoon in the U.S. to deal with them creates risks of its own. That is why it is imperative to consider the benefits of market innovation, and not to only focus on the downsides.
Other regulatory changes that CFTC staff may consider to address clearing member credit risk might allow for the use of tokenized assets such as non-cash collateral[16] or stablecoins, or other forms of margin that are not dependent on banks being open.
Other considerations
On the regulatory side, CFTC staff is also aware of other open questions such as existing definitions, like CFTC regulations that reference a “business day” that does not include weekends and holidays. In addressing these cases, we would need to identify ways to both maintain the regulatory status quo for non-continuous markets and find flexible but effective procedures for 24/7 markets.
Perpetual Derivatives
A key trend in derivatives markets is an increase in retail trading. In addition to the exponential growth in non-intermediated direct access retail trading and clearing, markets are keen to launch new retail-focused products.
There has been much confusion about perpetual derivatives in CFTC-regulated markets. Contrary to public reports, perpetual derivatives have already been trading in our markets for several months. In April 2025, Bitnomial Perpetual Bitcoin USD Centi Futures went live and started trading.
Since the beginning of this year, a number of DCMs have self-certified the listing of perpetual derivatives. (Again, under the CFTC’s self-certification process, no Commission approval is needed.) CFTC staff appreciates the ongoing and active engagement with exchanges seeking to self-certify perpetual derivatives and their assistance in responding to questions and providing information. To benefit from public input, CFTC staff also issued a request for comment on the potential uses, benefits, and risks of trading and clearing of perpetual derivatives contracts in CFTC-regulated markets (Perpetuals RFC).[17] That comment period recently closed and CFTC staff are currently evaluating the many helpful responses.
Comments in response to the Perpetuals RFC included a variety of viewpoints, reflecting the complexity of introducing a very different product type into markets that remain conceptually organized around intermediated, margined trading in physical delivery commodities. Nonetheless, the comments received reflect several themes that may be helpful in organizing market and regulatory perspectives going forward.
A number of commenters were supportive of perpetual derivatives in the context of crypto asset markets. They noted that perpetuals provide a continuous, lower cost spot-like exposure that does not need to roll out of an expiring futures contract to retain a position. Commenters also noted potential advantages to bringing crypto asset perpetual derivatives to the U.S. market and under the U.S. regulatory umbrella.
At the same time, several commenters raised concerns around the suitability of perpetual derivatives involving traditional physical commodities. They expressed concern about a potential lack of convergence with the physical market given the absence of expiration, potentially making perpetuals ineffective for hedging longer term price risk. Some thus see perpetuals as inconsistent with the risk management and price discovery function of futures markets. Some commenters also argue that perpetual derivatives may present increased risk relative to traditional futures, including increased volatility, funding rates, leverage risk, and heightened potential for manipulation.
Basis risk
As a spot-market substitute, there is the usual risk management question around basis risk: perpetual prices vs. spot prices, perpetual prices vs. futures prices. Many major market events in the last few decades involved mismanagement of basis risk, often due to liquidity differences leading to divergence. Basis risk can rapidly increase when liquidity providers are different across two similar products or when the balance of buyers and sellers are significantly different across two similar products. Accordingly, CFTC staff are interested in how the participant mix for perpetuals will be similar or different from that for related spot or traditional futures, especially if one market is dominated by institutional investors and the other dominated by retail. Will we see a “tail wagging the dog” phenomenon, with retail investors driving the price movements of institutional positions?
What the CFTC usually sees in traditional futures markets is that there is balance between institutional hedgers and institutional speculators in a primary market, with related retail markets (i.e., mini and micro futures) much smaller than the institutional market. What happens in a case where the retail contract (perpetuals) becomes much larger than the related institutional product (traditional futures)? Should there be concern that this may harm traditional roles of risk transfer and price discovery?
Direct Access and Non-Intermediated Clearing
Many of these same issues may also apply to non-intermediation in derivatives markets—providing direct access to market participants (particularly to retail traders) and clearing by CCPs of such direct access customers’ positions in individual accounts.
In intermediated markets, FCMs clear customer positions as DCO clearing members and guarantee their customers’ positions to the DCO. Those DCOs build trust in their clearing members by setting and monitoring membership requirements, including capital requirements that match capital to risk, and requiring the review of their members’ risk management procedures. This trust is enhanced because clearing members protect not only their own and their customers’ positions but also, through mutualization, provide a backstop for the positions of all other clearing members—a defense-in-depth approach that has served the U.S. derivatives markets almost flawlessly for decades.
FCMs clearing for their customers provide a check on the appropriate setting of margin by CCPs through their own risk management processes. FCMs know their customers, their businesses, and their resources, and will often call for additional margin from specific customers based on their independent credit risk assessments.
In a case where a CCP has thousands of direct participants, many of them retail, this detailed knowledge and associated trust is much more challenging. As a result, all presently operating direct clearing retail DCOs are clearing only fully collateralized contracts where there is no need to accept credit exposure (or to call for additional collateral).
Auto-liquidation and tear-ups
CFTC staff are now being asked to consider whether this low trust/no trust model can be extended to a leveraged world where risk management will need to look very different. In a world like this, the “heartbeat” of CCP risk management will likely need to match that same cadence in trading, at least implying the need for real-time posting of collateral—a “pay in cash, not in credit” model. When the cash is insufficient—for example, when a customer’s margin has eroded below maintenance margin level as the market moves against them—the account will need to be closed, leading at first to a rules-based liquidation process.
Unfortunately, this process to protect the CCP from individual participants may, in certain severe circumstances, harm the system as a whole. Some commenters pointed out the possibility that auto-liquidations in volatile or illiquid weekend markets could be procyclical, leading to additional liquidations, and broader market instability. These feedback effects may be especially pronounced during times of extraordinary stress, when liquidation is paired with unusually low available liquidity.
A number of questions are yet to be answered for risk management in a leveraged, direct model: What should the default waterfall look like in a direct access world? Should the risk of one retail trader be mutualized by other retail traders? If not, are there other resources that can play the role of the traditional mutualized resource tranche? What is the equivalent of the key “Cover 2” requirement in a world of direct access retail trading, where a CCP’s clearing members number in the thousands rather than the dozens? How does one define “extreme but plausible” in such a world? Many fundamental principles need to be re-analyzed where the credit risk and capital structure of clearing members is much different than today’s intermediated model.
If traditional protections like prefunded mutualization are not feasible, or feasible only to a reduced extent, then it appears CCPs may need to shift more quickly to other default solutions like “variation margin gains haircutting” (VMGH) and tear-ups. This might leave markets to grapple with a situation where solvent market participants may not get money they are expecting or find that they don’t hold the positions that are expecting.
While these tools are already baked into the rules of most existing CCPs, they’ve not been used during this century. If they are invoked at one direct-access CCP, what would that do to market confidence at other CCPs? All of which leads to the most important question—can these markets still reliably play a role for hedgers who need position continuity? Will the value of futures markets be fundamentally changed, and not for the better?
Technology innovation
Given the pace of innovation, it’s clear that direct clearing models will also be impacted by impending changes, like 24/7 trading and clearing. CFTC staff are now contemplating whether 24/7 trading and a direct clearing model where collateral needs to be exchanged in real time is even possible without the creation and adoption of new forms of collateral, like tokenization, which are not limited by banking hours.
Here, CFTC staff think operational resiliency will be essential because market downtime will result in the loss of the needed real-time exchange of collateral. There will also need to be an extensive customer engagement and education process to deal with large numbers of relatively small traders, paired with robust surveillance and operational and volatility controls to handle potentially highly disruptive activities like gamification, meme-ification, and other digital engagement practices likely to follow on to thousands of retail participants in these markets.
Customer protection
On the regulatory side, CFTC staff are tasked with determining where, in non-intermediated markets, the crucial obligations traditionally handled by intermediaries will be fulfilled. I proposed last year that a captive FCM model would achieve the direct clearing market structure for DCMs/DCOs while preserving the important regulatory obligations that intermediaries perform, such as the laborious task of creating and disseminating risk disclosures, trade confirmations, and monthly account statements, complying with AML/KYC obligations, and of course, the bedrock of customer protections: segregation of customer funds, limited investments, acknowledgements from depositories, and daily seg reporting.[18] Because a CCP is already an SRO, it does not make sense for it to be a member of an SRO such as NFA, FINRA, or similar organization, which are designed to be member organizations for intermediaries such as FCMs or broker-dealers and their personnel.
Partnership and Trust
I would like to share a message from CFTC staff to those seeking to innovate or significantly improve the traditional way of operating a market or CCP:
We are open to ideas, open to changes that will help the processes of price discovery and risk management. But, please, engage the CFTC early in the development of novel and innovative products and market operations. Too often, the CFTC is brought into the conversation long after crucial decisions have been made and resources expended, only to face regulatory obstacles that could have been avoided. Self-certification should be the end of a dialogue with the CFTC, not the beginning. Come talk to us. Get a preliminary view before you commit to a particular course of action. We are here not as an opponent or enemy, but as a sounding-board, someone who can help identify how innovations can be made consistent with our regulations or point to open questions that need to be answered.
The CFTC staff have the expertise and knowledge to assist in identifying the challenges of innovations like the ones I have discussed. CFTC staff can help, often even at early stages, noting requirements that need to be accounted for in product and operational designs.
Most importantly: Help us, help you. CFTC staff are happy to discuss and provide preliminary views. But this is often most helpful when innovators come to these discussions prepared, having reviewed CFTC regulatory requirements with knowledgeable professionals and thus ready to offer helpful solutions or alternatives. Have answers to the questions you know we’ll ask. Consider and develop your trading, clearing, product, staffing, system, and operational plans early in the process. Engage with all relevant CFTC offices and divisions. Don’t surprise us—don’t wait until the last minute to approach us before submitting an application, product, or rule filing.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by saying that the innovation and market structure that I have discussed appears to be just the beginning. The pace is likely to increase in the coming years. We can only imagine the future of the derivatives markets and the business processes used in today’s trading and clearing systems. That’s why it is critical that the CFTC must engage in smart regulation that is balanced with input from all stakeholders. I believe that we can work cooperatively with both new entrants and traditional markets to incorporate innovation while maintaining market integrity.
Markets operated smoothly throughout the recent volatility and all-time high volumes, and that’s a testament to the strength of U.S. capital markets and our regulatory framework that has been in place for almost a hundred years. Since the 1930s, both derivatives and securities markets have gone through many transformative changes, from open outcry trading in the pits, to all-electronic trading on screens in fractions of a second. Each transformation has resulted in the continuing dominance of U.S. capital markets and American innovation. I look forward to seeing what’s next as we transform our markets again to create greater efficiencies and drive prosperity for American businesses and the American people.
[1] I would like to thank Frank Fisanich, Richard Haynes, Sebastian Pujol Scott, Tom Smith, Rahul Varna, and Bob Wasserman for their contributions and assistance.
[3] Section 3(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. § 5(a).
[5] 17 C.F.R. § 40.2.
[6] CEA section 5e, 7 U.S.C. § 7b.
[7] This does not refer to situations involving litigation where Commission actions have been contested.
Source: Government of Canada News (2)
Ottawa, Ontario, (June 6, 2025) – Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy, introduced new legislation to build a stronger, more competitive, and more resilient Canadian economy.
One Canadian Economy: An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, will remove federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility, and advance nation-building projects crucial for driving Canadian productivity growth, energy security, and economic competitiveness.
The proposed legislation will accelerate the realization of major, nation-building projects that will help Canada become the strongest economy in the G7, deepen our trade relationships with reliable partners, and create good Canadian jobs. The federal government will determine whether a major project is in the national interest based on consultations with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples.
Projects will be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:
Projects will only be designated following full consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples.
When a project is designated, it is conditionally approved upfront. The project will go through existing review processes, with a focus on “how” the project will be built as opposed to “whether” it can be. The federal major projects office will coordinate and expedite these reviews.
The results, along with consultation with Indigenous Peoples, will inform a single set of binding federal conditions for the project. These conditions would include mitigation and accommodation measures to protect the environment and to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The federal major projects office will include an Indigenous Advisory Council with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis representatives. The federal government will also allocate capacity funding to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ participation in this process.
This legislation aligns with the Government of Canada’s commitment to a ‘one project, one review’ approach, which means realizing a single assessment for projects and better coordination of permitting processes with the provinces and territories. The ultimate objective is to reduce decision timelines on major projects from five years down to two years.
Canada will uphold its constitutional obligations to consult Indigenous groups to ensure projects proceed in ways that respect and protect Indigenous rights. We are committed to working in a way that respects our commitments to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the principles of reconciliation, including economic reconciliation.
This new legislation builds one economy out of thirteen. It removes federal barriers to free trade within our borders while protecting workers, the environment and the health and safety of all Canadians.
In cases where there is a federal barrier, the legislation will allow a good or service that meets comparable provincial or territorial rules to be considered to have met federal requirements for internal trade. For Canadian businesses, this will make it easier to buy, sell and transport goods and services across the country.
On labour mobility, the new legislation will provide a framework to recognize provincial and territorial licenses and certifications for workers. This means that a worker authorized in provincial or territorial jurisdiction can more quickly and easily work in the same occupation in federal jurisdiction.
This new legislation will make it easier to do business across Canada by removing regulatory duplication and cutting federal red tape. It will also reduce costs or delays for Canadian businesses who follow comparable provincial and territorial rules.
Source: US Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)
Stadium and Airport Concessions Charge New York Captive Audiences Double the Street Price, Despite Receiving Tens of Millions in Public Subsidies Every Year
Washington, D.C – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) led nine House Democrats in urging the House Appropriations Committee to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate stadium and airport concession prices to increase transparency and prevent potential price gouging practices.
New Yorkers are paying some of the highest concession prices in the country at publicly subsidized sports venues. At Madison Square Garden, the average price of a beer is $16—more than twice the citywide average—making it the third most expensive among NBA arenas. At Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, beer costs $10 on average, double the price fans would pay elsewhere. These costs come despite substantial public support. Madison Square Garden receives an estimated $42 million annually from New York City through a property tax exemption, while 60% of the Bills’ new stadium is being financed with public funds from the state.
“Despite the significant public investment into airports and sports venues, through direct grants, state and local tax credits, economic development incentives, and tax-exempt bonds, the cost of concessions at a ballgame or an airport remains unaffordable for the average American family,” the Members wrote.
Some stadiums have seen great success in implementing so-called “street pricing”, which pegs concessions prices to the average cost of food and drink to the average cost in the surrounding area. The Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz stadium specifically lowered concession costs by 50% and saw a 30% increase in sales after implementing street pricing. The members request that the FTC survey stadiums across the country to determine what sustainable, affordable practices work best.
“A nationwide survey of concession prices and street pricing practices at these venues would allow the FTC, lawmakers, and most importantly, fans and travelers, to gain more transparency into potential price gouging by venues and determine what sustainable, affordable practices work best. We urge you to include the report language below to direct the FTC conduct such a survey and provide a report to Congress on its findings,” the Members wrote.
Dear Chairman Joyce and Ranking Member Hoyer,
As you begin to work on the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Financial Services and General
Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill, we write to request that you include report language to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a survey of concession prices and affordable pricing practices across major airports and sports stadiums.
In 1985, the average fan at the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game in Minneapolis spent about $5 on beer and other concessions (a little less than $15 in 2025 dollars). Today, this does not even cover the cost of a single beer at Nationals Park. Inside the stadium, fans across major sports, including at National Basketball League (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL) games, face exorbitant prices for concessions after paying high ticket fees. While serving very different purposes, airports share many of the same dynamics as sports stadiums. Travelers often arrive at airports hours before departure and face
restrictions on bringing in outside food and beverages. With few options, travelers face extreme markups for drinks and food before their flights. Despite the significant public investment into airports and sports venues, through direct grants, state and local tax credits, economic development incentives, and tax-exempt bonds, the cost of concessions at a ballgame or an airport remains unaffordable for the average American family.
According to a recent report by the Groundwork Collaborative, most large U.S. airports
implement some policies to seek to curb excessive pricing. Even then, the most common approach, known as “street pricing plus,” allows vendors to charge 10 to 18 percent more than off-airport prices. Set by state and local transit authorities, these policies vary widely across airports and leave high prices to compound the already high costs of air travel. Similarly, several individual sports teams have begun introducing “value deals,” offering a handful of basic items (such as bottled water, pretzels, and hot dogs) at lower prices. Following their move to Mercedes-Benz stadium in 2017, the Atlanta Falcons implemented significant concession price cuts – about 50 percent – aligning their prices with what fans may pay on the street. After this cut, the Falcons saw a 30 percent increase in overall transactions, a 20 percent increase in merchandise sales, and a 20 percent increase in the number of items per transaction. The Falcons’ move and other case studies, including Portland International Airport and Salt Lake City Airport, reveal that these “street pricing” practices can be a win-win for businesses and consumers.
With housing, food, and other everyday costs already so high, families visiting airports or sports stadiums – venues supported by their tax dollars – should not have to worry about drastic price markups. It’s clear that some form of street pricing is effective to make concessions more affordable while remaining sensible for businesses at these venues.
A nationwide survey of concession prices and street pricing practices at these venues would allow the FTC, lawmakers, and most importantly, fans and travelers, to gain more transparency into potential price gouging by venues and determine what sustainable, affordable practices work best. We urge you to include the report language below to direct the FTC conduct such a survey and provide a report to Congress on its findings.
“Airport and Sports Stadium Concessions.–The Committee is concerned about the high cost of concessions at airports and sports stadiums that receive public financing. While the Committee is pleased to see some venues make certain concessions more affordable through street pricing practices (i.e. aligning vendor prices inside the venue with prices that one may pay across the street), travel and sports remain unaffordable for most families. The Committee directs the FTC to conduct a survey of concession prices and street pricing practices across airports and major stadiums. The FTC shall provide a report to the Committee no later than 180 days of enactment of this act on its findings.”
Thank you for your consideration of this important request.
###
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Reference is made to the stock exchange notice from IDEX Biometrics ASA (the “Company”) on 11 April 2025 regarding key information relating to share consolidation and change of ISIN as resolved by the 11 April 2025 Extraordinary General Meeting in the Company (the “EGM”). The effective date of the share consolidation was stated to be 11 June 2025 or such later date as determined by the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”).
Reference is also made to the subsequent offering resolved by the EGM (the “Subsequent Offering”), which is ongoing and will not be completed prior to 11 June 2025. For technical reasons, the Board wishes to complete the Subsequent Offering prior to implementing the share consolidation.
Therefore, the Board has resolved to move the effective date of the share consolidation (and the date of the associated ISIN change of the Company’s shares) to 20 June 2025.
For further information, please contact:
Kristian Flaten, CFO, Tel: +47 95092322
E-mail: ir@idexbiometrics.com
About IDEX Biometrics:
IDEX Biometrics ASA (IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market. For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com
About this notice:
This notice was issued by Kristian Flaten, CFO, on 6 June 2025 at 18:30 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The information shall be disclosed according to section 5-8 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act (STA) and released in accordance with section 5-12 of the STA.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA-12)
This week, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of his colleagues in sending letters to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Chair Amy Karpel in support of the American low-speed personal transportation vehicle (LSPTV) industry.
In the letter to Secretary Lutnick, Congressman Allen, Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) write: “We commend the U.S. Department of Commerce for its hard work in conducting the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on Low Speed Personal Transportation Vehicles from the People’s Republic of China. These investigations are critical to ensuring the unfairly traded Chinese imports do not continue to injure the American LSPTV industry.”
The Members continue: “We are very concerned, however, by the actions being taken by Chinese LSPTV producers to circumvent and evade the trade relief needed by the domestic industry. It is clear to us that, since the Department’s preliminary determinations, Chinese LSPTV producers have responded, not by abiding U.S. trade rules, but rather by re-labeling and re-organizing their supply chains in an effort to skirt those very trade disciplines… We ask the Department to take all steps necessary to ensure that Chinese producers do not continue to erode U.S. trade measures, especially given the significant levels of dumping and subsidization that the agency has already found to exist among LSPTV imports from China.”
In the letter to Chair Karpel, Congressman Allen and 24 of his colleagues write: “Facing large and increasing volumes of dumped and subsidized imports from China, the American LSPTV industry filed antidumping and countervailing duty cases in June 2024… With the aid of substantial Chinese government subsidies, these imported vehicles are being sold below U.S. market prices, taking sales and revenue from domestic producers and underselling and depressing U.S. prices.”
The Members conclude: “In short, it is critical that our trade remedy laws accurately address unfair trade practices so that U.S. workers and businesses can compete on a level playing field. Domestic LSPTV manufacturers represent a quintessential American industry, and trade relief is crucial to ensuring that they do not continue to be injured by unfair Chinese import competition.”
To read the full letter to Secretary Lutnick, CLICK HERE.
To read the full letter to Chair Karpel, CLICK HERE.
BACKGROUND: The Central Savannah River Area, encompassing Georgia and South Carolina, has long been the epicenter of U.S. golf cart manufacturing. It is home to two large producers that deliver electric vehicle models for personal and recreational transportation – PTVs, LSVs, and golf carts. Congressman Allen has been at the forefront of this issue since June 2024 and continues to seek relief for domestic LSPTV producers:
Source: US State of North Carolina
Headline: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program
NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program
hejones1
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai is traveling to western North Carolina to learn about recovery efforts and highlight mental health resources available to people impacted by Hurricane Helene. The Secretary will also visit a Healthy Opportunities Pilot program providing essential services to people recovering from the storm. Credentialed media are invited to attend the visit at Love and Respect Community for Recovery and Wellness in Hendersonville on June 12, 2025, at 12:45 p.m., and the visit at Caja Solidaria in Hendersonville on June 12, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. Together, Love and Respect and Caja Solidaria have served as a hub of recovery efforts following Helene.
Leaders will first give an update on the Hope4NC program, a $12.4 million investment that supports crisis outreach in 25 counties hit hardest by Helene. Trained crisis counselors have been going door-to-door to provide education, assist in recovery efforts, link people with critical behavioral health services and provide counseling where people need it most.
Love and Respect Community for Recovery and Wellness is a “no barriers” shelter run by peer support specialists. It has seen a significant increase in people in need of services following Hurricane Helene. The shelter’s expanded location opened just before Helene and is open to anyone in the community and can help people at no cost with mental health care, Healthy Opportunities Pilot enrollment and NC Medicaid enrollment and assistance.
Hope4NC also offers a free, confidential 24/7 helpline to anyone in distress. Since Sept. 28, 2024, Hope4NC has delivered more than 11,300 individual or group counseling services and supportive contacts, more than 200,000 assessments, referrals and media outreach contacts and answered more than 7,300 helpline calls.
Additionally, NCDHHS received a generous $25 million appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly to further support mental health crisis response in the affected areas, including support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Funds are being used to:
What: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western NC and Highlights Mental Health Resources
Who: Dr. Dev Sangvai, Secretary, NCDHHS
Tracy Hayes, Vaya Health Area Director and CEO
Lexie Wilkins, Founder, Love and Respect Community for Recovery
Alivea Turner, Director of Operations, Love and Respect Community for Recovery
Richard Dudley, Hope4NC crisis counselor
Hope4NC participant
When: Thursday, June 12, 12:45-1:25 p.m.
Where: Love & Respect, 350 Chadwick Ave., Hendersonville, NC 28792
***
After the event at Love and Respect, Secretary Sangvai will tour Caja Solidaria, a human service organization serving Henderson and Transylvania Counties that is a provider for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program. HOP addresses social needs by providing housing, food, transportation and interpersonal violence/toxic stress services to qualifying Medicaid members.
In just under three years, the first-of-its kind innovative program has been described as a “life changer” for thousands of North Carolina families. Healthy Opportunities proves the best way to lower health care costs and create healthier communities is to reduce the need for medical care in the first place. HOP participants are healthier and visit the emergency room less often, which reduces the total cost of needed medical care for enrollees by $85 per person, per month.
Caja Solidaria currently provides fresh food to more than 1,500 people per week in western NC.
At present, proposed House and Senate budgets put forward by the North Carolina General Assembly do not include funding for the Healthy Opportunities Pilots program’s ongoing operations or statewide scaling beyond the current fiscal year (June 30, 2025). Without funding, Healthy Opportunities Pilots will end on July 1, putting services at-risk for thousands of people in North Carolina.
What: NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Highlights Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot program
Who: Dr. Dev Sangvai, Secretary, NCDHHS
Amy Landers, Interim Executive Director, Caja Solidaria
Participant served by Caja Solidaria
When: Thursday, June 12, 1:30-2:15 p.m.
Where: Caja Solidaria, 316 Chadwick Ave., Hendersonville, NC 28792
RSVP: Credentialed media should RSVP to news@dhhs.nc.gov if they plan to attend.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
ABC arbitrage
Report on the General meeting of 6 June 2025
and update on the pace of activity
The Combined General Meeting of ABC Arbitrage shareholders, chaired by Dominique Ceolin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, was held on Friday June 6, 2025, and adopted all the resolutions submitted to it. The documents detailing the voting results, resolution by resolution, for both the ordinary and extraordinary general meetings, as well as the presentation, have been published on the company’s website (abc-arbitrage.com).
Nomination – Among the adopted resolutions, shareholders decided to reappoint Sophie GUIEYSSE as an independent director, for a term of 4 years, until the close of the Annual General Meeting to be held to approve the financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2028.
Dividend – The company’s General Meeting held today approved a balance to be distributed in respect of the year ended 31 December 2024 of €0.04 net per ordinary share. Payment will be made entirely in cash, according to the following schedule: detachment on Tuesday 8 July 2025 and payment on Thursday 10 July 2025.
This distribution is in addition to two interim dividends of €0.10 per share, paid in October 2024 and December 2024 respectively, and a third interim dividend of €0.10 per share, also paid in April 2025. Distributions for the 2024 financial year amount to €0.34 per share.
ABC arbitrage intends to pay interim dividends of €0.10 per share in October 2025, December 2025, and April 2026. These distributions will be subject to approval by the upcoming Board of Directors meetings, in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Group’s Activity – The Trading Update, the webinar and the Annual General Meeting provided an opportunity to review the Group’s activities and answer shareholders’ questions.
This year, in accordance with article R22-10-29-1 of the French Commercial Code, the Annual General Meeting was broadcast live in its entirety, and the full recording will be available for consultation on the company’s website (abc-arbitrage.com) no later than seven (7) business days following the date of the meeting and will remain accessible for at least two years from the date of posting.
As a reminder, a webinar hosted by Dominique CEOLIN was also held on Monday, June 2, 2025. The presentation and replay are available on the company’s website (abc-arbitrage.com).
The company did not receive any written questions prior to this year’s AGM. As mentioned above, the replays of the webinar and the AGM are available to view the answers to oral questions.
| Contacts : abc-arbitrage.com Relations actionnaires : actionnaires@abc-arbitrage.com Relations presse: VERBATEE / v.sabineu@verbatee.com |
EURONEXT Paris – Compartiment B ISIN : FR0004040608 Reuters BITI.PA / Bloomberg ABCA FP |
Attachment
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Exercise of employee share options
BW Offshore has completed an exercise window under its Long-Term Incentive Program (LTIP), during which a total of 400,852 vested options were exercised. The company’s obligation under the program was settled using existing treasury shares. A third-party conducted sale process has now concluded, with the shares sold at a price of NOK 32.73 each.
No primary insiders of the Company have exercised any options in this exercise window.
BW Offshore holds 3,740,585 treasury shares following the option exercise.
For further information, please contact:
Ståle Andreassen, CFO, +47 91 71 86 55
IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com
About BW Offshore:
BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 1,100 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo stock exchange.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
| Siili Solutions Plc | Announcement 6.6.2025 | |
| Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase 6.6.2025 | ||
| In the Helsinki Stock Exchange | ||
| Trade date | 6.6.2025 | |
| Bourse trade | Buy | |
| Share | SIILI | |
| Amount | 1 000 | Shares |
| Average price/ share | 6,3400 | EUR |
| Total cost | 6 340,00 | EUR |
| Siili Solutions Plc now holds a total of 6 098 shares | ||
| including the shares repurchased on 6.6.2025 | ||
| The share buybacks are executed in compliance with Regulation | ||
| No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council (MAR) Article 5 | ||
| and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052. | ||
| On behalf of Siili Solutions Plc | ||
| Nordea Bank Oyj | ||
| Sami Huttunen | Ilari Isomäki | |
| Further information: | ||
| CFO Aleksi Kankainen | ||
| Email: aleksi.kankainen@siili.com | ||
| Tel. +358 50 584 2029 | ||
| www.siili.com | ||
Attachment
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)
Read his remarks as delivered below:
H.R. 1949, Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act, is commonsense. And when you look at section three of the Natural Gas Act, it requires that natural gas exports to countries that have a free trade agreement with the United States be approved without delay. For countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the U.S., the energy secretary is required to approve export requests unless they find that such exports will not be consistent with the public interest.
Therefore, the Natural Gas Act includes a rebuttable presumption in favor of authorizing U.S. LNG exports in early 2024, after succumbing to political pressure from environmental activists. The previous administration announced a ban on issuing export permits to non-FTA countries while it reviewed the climate impacts of U.S. LNG.
During this ban, America’s energy dominance took a major hit. Russia overtook the U.S. as the leading gas supplier to Europe. Long-term American contracts were not only jeopardized, but they were actually damaged – some of them irreparably – and globally, buyers were forced to look toward less clean sources. Thankfully, the Trump administration quickly reversed this ban, and just last week, the DOE issued its first LNG export approval.
My legislation is simple. The Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act would ensure that a ban is never placed on U.S. LNG exports again. By removing DOE from the process, export restrictions would be repealed, and LNG exports would have equal treatment with other commodities. LNG exports unequivocally benefit our economy, domestic prices, our security, and partners and allies around the world that want our product.
Congress needs to act to remove the politics from these exports, just as this committee did when it lifted the crude oil export ban in 2015. The IEA expects global gas demand to reach record highs in the coming years, underscoring the need for new LNG supply. It must be the United States, not Iran, not Russia, not any other adversary, who meets this demand and supplies affordable, clean, and abundant LNG to the world.
I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation and to vote in favor of H.R. 1949. I yield back.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) — China’s foreign trade in services grew rapidly in the first four months of 2025, with travel-related services registering a sharp uptick, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Friday.
According to the agency, the volume of foreign trade in services in the country during the reporting period exceeded 2.63 trillion yuan (about 366.1 billion US dollars), increasing by 8.2 percent year-on-year.
In particular, service exports reached nearly 1.13 trillion yuan, up 14.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports grew 3.9 percent to exceed 1.5 trillion yuan, leaving a trade deficit of 375.02 billion yuan.
Trade in tourism-related services continued its rapid growth momentum, rising 14.7 percent year on year to 756.78 billion yuan, the data showed.
At the same time, the volume of trade in knowledge-intensive services showed a 5.5 percent increase year-on-year and approached the mark of about 1.02 trillion yuan. –0–
Source: Government of Canada regional news
Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, has issued the following statement on the release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for May 2025:
“Now, more than ever, it’s critical for B.C. to focus on diversifying our economy and protecting jobs for British Columbians, and we are doing that work.
“This week, we announced the launch of our ease-of-doing-business review, to continue the work to cut red tape, modernize our regulatory and permitting systems, and foster innovation, as we secure B.C.’s position as the engine of Canada’s new economy. Businesses are invited to share their ideas, challenges and suggestions through an online website portal until fall 2025. Information gathered will help us to make it easier for companies and organizations of all sizes and sectors to do business in B.C., and to create more jobs so people can find stable full-time work in their home communities.
“Today’s Labour Force Survey data shows that despite the economic challenges posed by the U.S., in May, B.C. led across the country with a gain of 13,000 jobs compared to last month. So far this year, B.C. has gained 67,000 full-time jobs, the highest increase among provinces.
“In May, private-sector employment has increased by 8,900 jobs compared to last month. Since July 2017, B.C. has gained 183,300 private-sector jobs. So far this year, we have the second-highest increase in private-sector employment among provinces at 14,700 jobs.
“B.C. leads in women’s employment, an increase of 11,000 this month. So far this year, B.C. has the highest increase in women’s full-time employment among provinces at 32,900. Youth employment also increased in May by 1,400 jobs.
“Our unemployment rate is 6.4%, below the national average of 7.0%. And B.C. continues to lead the country with an average hourly wage of $38.07, with our average wage increased by 2.9% compared to this time last year, the fourth-highest growth among provinces.
“The data this morning shows that in May, B.C. had employment increases in the construction sector at 23,800 jobs compared to this time last year. Professional, scientific and technical services continue to show strong and steady growth overall with gains of 11,100 in May.
“Next week, I will be leading a B.C. delegation to Europe to meet with investors, key government officials and stakeholders to build connections and showcase our world-class, made-in-B.C. technology. This mission will build on the work underway on Premier David Eby’s trade mission focused on key markets in Asia, as we work to create trade opportunities for businesses in the province and good-paying jobs for British Columbians.
“Growing a stronger and more diverse economy will help protect people in B.C. from instability outside our borders, with investments that will bring good-paying jobs to the province as part of robust and sustainable industries.”
Learn More:
To learn more about B.C.’s Response to Tariffs, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/tariffs
To learn more about the European Union Trade Mission, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/32442
To learn more about the Ease-of-doing-business Review, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025JEDI0022-000544
Source: US State of Connecticut
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed into law legislation recently approved by the Connecticut General Assembly requiring the establishment of the Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission.
“Economic growth cannot happen in a bubble, and there remains untapped potential to mutually benefit economic and business partnerships between Connecticut and Puerto Rico,” Governor Lamont said. “By collaborating with the business community and those in Connecticut’s strong Puerto Rican community, this commission has the potential to develop the forward-thinking steps that improve trade and investment between our state and Puerto Rico.”
The 23-member commission, which will begin meeting this fall, will be responsible for developing and recommending policy and legislative changes that advance bilateral trade and investment between Connecticut and Puerto Rico, while also promoting business and academic exchanges, encouraging mutual economic support and infrastructure investment, and initiating joint action on policy issues of mutual interest. The group will be required to submit a report to the governor and the legislature annually.
House Deputy Speaker Chris Rosario (D-Bridgeport) championed passage of the legislation.
“I want to sincerely thank Governor Ned Lamont for signing this legislation I introduced to establish the Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission,” Representative Rosario said. “With nearly 300,000 Puerto Ricans calling Connecticut home, this is a natural partnership that promises new opportunities for collaboration and shared prosperity.”
“Establishing a Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission is a powerful opportunity to strengthen our trades and manufacturing sector,” State Representative Geraldo Reyes Jr. (D-Waterbury) said. “By building direct partnerships with Puerto Rico, we can expand skilled workforce pipelines, increase the flow of goods and materials, and open new markets for Connecticut-made products. This collaboration will drive innovation, economic growth, and good-paying jobs for both regions.”
Appointments to the commission will be made by the top six bipartisan legislative leaders, the co-chairs and ranking members of the legislature’s Commerce Committee, and the governor. The commission will serve as a function of the General Assembly, and the chairperson of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, in consultation with the Office of Legislative Management, will be responsible for appointing administrative staff to support the commission’s work.
The members serve as volunteers and are not compensated for their service.
The legislation is Public Act 25-13, An Act Establishing the Connecticut-Puerto Rican Trade Commission. It went into effect immediately upon receiving Governor Lamont’s signature.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, HONG KONG OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
Reference is made to the stock exchange notice from IDEX Biometrics ASA (the “Company”) on 21 May 2025 regarding the commencement of the subscription period (the “Subscription Period”) in the subsequent offering (the “Subsequent Offering”) consisting of up to 600,000,000 new shares (the “Offer Shares”) in the Company at a subscription price of NOK 0.01 per share (“Offer Price”). The Subscription Period commenced on 22 May 2025 and expired on 5 June 2025.
By the end of the Subscription Period, the Subsequent Offering was 8x oversubscribed. Pursuant to the resolution by the Extraordinary General Meeting dated 11 April 2025, the Company’s board of directors has today resolved to allocate and issue a total of 600,000,000 Offer Shares at the Offer Price in accordance with the allocation criteria set out in the prospectus dated 21 May 2025, raising gross proceeds of NOK 6 million.
Investors that are allocated Offer Shares can access information on the number of Offer Shares allocated to them through VPS on or about 6 June 2025. The due date for payment of the Offer Shares is on 11 June 2025.
Subject to duly and timely payment of the Offer Shares, the share capital increase pertaining to the Subsequent Offering is expected to be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises (“NRBE”) on or about 13 June 2025. Following registration of the share capital increase associated with the Subsequent Offering in the NRBE, the Company’s share capital will be NOK 44,316,309.99 consisting of 4,431,630,999 shares, each having a par value of NOK 0.01.
The Offer Shares will be delivered to the VPS accounts of the subscribers shortly thereafter, expected on or about 13 June 2025. A separate announcement will be made when the share capital increase has been registered. The Offer Shares will have equal rights and rank pari passu with the Company’s other shares.
Arctic Securities AS is acting as manager in connection with the Subsequent Offering (the “Manager”). Ræder Bing advokatfirma AS is acting as the Company’s legal advisor.
For further information, please contact:
Kristian Flaten, CFO, Tel: +47 95092322
E-mail: ir@idexbiometrics.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the Company. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.
The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any part of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.
In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures) in any Member State. This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”).
This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.
The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “strategy”, “intends”, “estimate”, “will”, “may”, “continue”, “should” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond their control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not make any guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this announcement. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this announcement. This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company. The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation as implemented in any Member State.
About IDEX Biometrics:
IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market. For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com
About this notice:
This notice was issued by Kristian Flaten, CFO, on 6 June 2025 at 17:20 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The information is published in accordance with section 5-8 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act (STA) and released in accordance with section 5-12 of the STA.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The TRA has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea.
The Trade Remedies Authority has today (6 June 2025) opened a new investigation into imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea.
Hot-rolled steel plates are flat steel products often used in bridge construction, machine manufacturing and shipbuilding.
The new investigation is in response to an application by UK producer Spartan UK Ltd, which has alleged that imports of hot-rolled steel plate products from South Korea are being dumped into the UK and that these dumped imports are causing injury to domestic industry.
According to the TRA’s initial analysis, imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea have grown from 14 million tonnes in 2021 to more than 40 million tonnes last year.
Where the TRA recommends a remedy is necessary, it will conduct an Economic Interest Test to assess whether the implementation of the remedy is in the UK’s economic interest.
Interested parties can contribute to this investigation by visiting the TRA’s public file.
