An audio webcast of the fireside chat will be available via the Investors section of the
About
Contacts:
Investors:
InvestorInfo@jazzpharma.com
Media:
CorporateAffairsMediaInfo@jazzpharma.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jazz-pharmaceuticals-to-participate-in-citis-2025-global-healthcare-conference-302619149.html
SOURCE
Serena Tang: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I’m Serena Tang, Morgan Stanley’s Chief Global Cross-Asset Strategist.
Seth Carpenter: And I’m Seth Carpenter, Morgan Stanley’s Global Chief Economist.
Serena Tang: So today and tomorrow, a two-part conversation on Morgan Stanley’s year ahead outlook. Today, we’ll focus on the all-important macroeconomic backdrop. And tomorrow, we’ll be back with our views on investing across asset classes and markets.
Serena Tang: It’s Monday, November 17th at 10am in New York.
So, Seth, 2025 has been a year of transition. Global growth slowed under the weight of tariffs and policy uncertainty. Yet resilience in consumer spending and AI driven investments kept recession fears at bay. Your team has published its economic outlook for 2026. So, what’s your view on global growth for the year ahead?
Seth Carpenter: We really think next year is going to be the global economy slowing down a little bit more just like it did this year, settling into a slower growth rate. But at the same time, we think inflation is going to keep drifting down in most of the world. Now that anodyne view, though, masks some heterogeneity around the world; and importantly, some real uncertainty about different ways things could possibly go.
Here in the U.S., we think there is more slowing to come in the near term, especially the fourth quarter of this year and the beginning of next year. But once the economy works its way through the tariffs, maybe some of the lagged effects of monetary policy, we’ll start to see things pick up a bit in the second half of the year.
China’s a different story. We see the really tepid growth there pushed down by the deflationary spiral they’ve been in. We think that continues for next year, and so they’re probably not quite going to get to their 5 percent growth target. And in Europe, there’s this push and pull of fiscal policy across the continent. There’s a central bank that thinks they’ve achieved their job in terms of inflation, but overall, we think growth there is, kind of, unremarkable, a little bit over 1 percent. Not bad, but nothing to write home about at all.
So that’s where we think things are going in general. But I have to say next year, may well be a year for surprises.
Serena Tang: Right. So where do you see the biggest drivers of global growth in 2026, and what are some of the key downside risks?
Seth Carpenter: That’s a great question. I really do think that the U.S. is going to be a real key driver of the story here. And in fact – and maybe we’ll talk about this later – if we’re wrong, there’s some upside scenarios, there’s some downside scenarios. But most of them around the world are going to come from the U.S.
Two things are going on right now in the U.S. We’ve had strong spending data. We’ve also had very, very weak employment data. That usually doesn’t last for very long. And so that’s why we think in the near term there’s some slowdown in the U.S. and then over time things recover. We could be wrong in either direction.
And so, if we’re wrong and the labor market sending the real signal, then the downside risk to the U.S. economy – and by extension the global economy – really is a recession in the U.S. Now, given the starting point, given how low unemployment is, given the spending businesses are doing for AI, if we did get that recession, it would be mild.
On the other hand, like I said, spending is strong. Business spending, especially CapEx for AI; household spending, especially at the top end of the income distribution where wealth is rising from stocks, where the liability side of the balance sheet is insulated with fixed rate mortgages. That spending could just stay strong, and we might see this upside surprise where the spending really dominates the scene. And again, that would spill over for the rest of the world.
What I don’t see is a lot of reason to suspect that you’re going to get a big breakout next year to the upside or the downside from either Europe or China, relative to our baseline scenarios. It could happen, but I really think most of the story is going to be driven in the U.S.
Serena Tang: So, Seth, markets have been focused on the Fed, as it should. What is the likely path in 2026 and how are you thinking about central bank policy in general in other regions?
Seth Carpenter: Absolutely. The Fed is always of central importance to most people in markets. Our view – and the market’s view, I have to say, has been evolving here. Our view is that the Fed’s actually got a few more rate cuts to get through, and that by the time we get to the middle of next year, the middle of 2026, they’re going to have their policy rate down just a little bit above 3 percent. So roughly where the committee thinks neutral is.
Why do we think that? I think the slowing in the labor market that we talked about before, we think there’s something kind of durable there. And now that the government shutdown has ended and we’re going to start to get regular data prints again, we think the data are going to show that job creation has been below 50,000 per month on average, and maybe even a few of them are going to get to be negative over the next several months. In that situation, we think the Fed’s going to get more inclination to guard against further deterioration in the labor market by keeping cutting rates and making sure that the central bank is not putting any restraint on the economy.
That’s similar, I would say, to a lot of other developed markets’ central banks. But the tension for the ECB, for example, is that President Lagarde has said she thinks; she thinks the disinflationary process is over. She thinks sitting at 2 percent for the policy rate, which the ECB thinks of as neutral, then that’s the right place for them to be.
Our take though is that the data are going to push them in a different direction. We think there is clearly growth in Europe, but we think it’s tepid. And as a result, the disinflationary process has really still got some more room to run and that inflation will undershoot their 2 percent target, and as a result, the ECB is probably going to cut again. And in our view, down to about 1.5 percent.
Big difference is in Japan. Japan is the developed market central bank that’s hiking. Now, when does that happen? Our best guess is next month in December at the policy meeting. We’ve seen this shift towards reflation. It hasn’t been smooth, hasn’t been perfectly linear. But the BoJ looks like they’re set to raise rates again in December. But the path for inflation is going to be a bit rocky, and so, they’re probably on hold for most of 2026. But we do think eventually, maybe not till 2027, they get back to hiking again – so that Governor Ueda can get the policy rate back close to neutral before he steps down.
Serena Tang: So, one of the main investor debates is on AI. Whether it’s CapEx, productivity, the future of work. How is that factoring into your team’s view on growth and inflation for the next year?
Seth Carpenter: Yeah, I mean that is absolutely a key question that we get all the time from investors around the world. When I think about AI and how it’s affecting the economy, I think about the demand side of the economy, and that’s where you think about this CapEx spending – building data centers, buying semiconductors, that sort of thing. That’s demand in the economy. It’s using up current resources in the economy, and it’s got to be somewhat inflationary. It’s part of what has kept the U.S. economy buoyant and resilient this year – is that CapEx spending.
Now you also mentioned productivity, and for me, that’s on the supply side of the economy. That’s after the technology is in place. After firms have started to adopt the technology, they’re able to produce either the same amount with fewer workers, or they’re able to produce more with the same amount of workers. Either way, that’s what productivity means, and it’s on the supply side. It can mean faster growth and less inflation.
I think where we are for 2026, and it’s important that we focus it on the near term, is the demand side is much more important than the supply side. So, we think growth continues. It’s supported by this business investment spending. But we still think inflation ends 2026, notably above the Fed’s inflation target. And it’s going to make five, five and a half years that we’ve been above target. Productivity should kick in. And we’ve written down something close to a quarter percentage point of extra productivity growth for 2026, but not enough to really be super disinflationary. We think that builds over time, probably takes a couple of years.
And for example, if we think about some of the announcements about these data centers that are being built, where they’re really going to unleash the potential of AI, those aren’t going to be completed for a couple of years anyway. So, I think for now, AI is dominating the demand side of the economy. Over the next few years, it’s going to be a real boost to the supply side of the economy.
Serena Tang: So that makes a lot of sense to me, Seth. But can you put those into numbers?
Seth Carpenter: Sure, Serena totally. In numbers, that’s about 3 percent growth. A little bit more than that for global GDP growth on like a Q4-over-Q4 basis. But for the U.S. in particular, we’ve got about 1.75 percent. So that’s not appreciably different from what we’re looking for this year in 2025.
But the number really, kind of, masks the evolution over time. We think the front part of the year is going to be much weaker. And only once we get into the second half of next year will things start to pick up. That said, compared to where we were when we did the midyear outlook, it’s actually a notable upgrade. We’ve taken real signal from the fact that business spending, household spending have both been stronger than we think. And we’ve tried to add in just a little bit more in terms of productivity growth from AI. Layer on top of that, the Fed who’s been clearly willing to start to ease interest rates sooner than we thought at the time of the mid-year outlook – all comes together for a little bit better outlook for growth for 2026 in the U.S.
Serena Tang: Seth thanks so much for taking the time to talk.
Seth Carpenter: Serena, it is always my pleasure to get to talk to you.
Serena Tang: And thanks for listening. Please be sure to tune into the second half of our conversation tomorrow to hear how we’re thinking about investment strategy in the year ahead. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.
SYDNEY, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Kazia Therapeutics Limited (Nasdaq: KZIA), an oncology-focused drug development company, today announced that a patient with stage IV triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated under an FDA-authorized single-patient expanded access protocol combining paxalisib with pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) and standard chemotherapy has achieved an initial immune-complete response (iCR) per iRECIST criteria. This outcome suggests a profound radiologic response in a highly aggressive metastatic cancer subtype.
This development builds upon Kazia’s October 2, 2025 announcement reporting an 86% reduction in tumor burden after only three weeks of treatment in the same patient. A PET/CT scan performed after approximately three months of therapy demonstrated complete metabolic resolution of all previously identified lesions, consistent with an initial iCR. The patient remains on therapy and under active clinical monitoring. A follow-up scan will be conducted in accordance with immune-based response assessment guidelines to confirm the initial scan.
Complete responses in stage IV metastatic TNBC are exceedingly uncommon across many therapeutic classes, including immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and antibody–drug conjugates. For example, pembrolizumab monotherapy has demonstrated complete response rates of approximately 0.6–4% in metastatic TNBC across KEYNOTE studies, and even the most active approved agents—such as sacituzumab govitecan—have reported complete response rates of only ~2–4% in large Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials.
In this setting, any radiologic finding consistent with an immune-complete response (iCR), even prior to confirmatory imaging, represents a highly unusual event which stands out relative to historical benchmarks for metastatic TNBC. These data may suggest enhanced biological activity of the combination regimen and warrant continued follow-up under iRECIST guidelines.
“Observing an initial complete response in a patient with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is an extremely encouraging clinical finding,” said Dr. John Friend, Chief Executive Officer of Kazia Therapeutics. “Although this is a single expanded-access case and requires confirmatory imaging, the depth of response aligns closely with our mechanistic hypothesis that paxalisib may meaningfully enhance anti-tumor immunity when combined with checkpoint blockade. This outcome further energizes our Phase 1b program in advanced breast cancer and complements significant progress across our broader pipeline.”
Q4 BUSINESS UPDATE
1. Kazia Announces upcoming presentations related to paxalisib and NDL2 programs
Kazia is pleased to announce the acceptance of two scientific presentations at the 2025 Brisbane Cancer Conference, scheduled to take place on 27–28 November 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.
The Brisbane Cancer Conference is a premier oncology meeting that brings together leading international researchers, clinicians and industry experts working in the fields of translational oncology, molecular medicine and cellular therapeutics.
The following presentations will take on November 27, 2025:
“From bench to bedside: targeting epigenetic pathways to overcome metastasis and immunotherapy resistance in TNBC” – Sudha Rao, PhD, QIMR Berghofer (Australia)
Epigenetic checkpoint blockade: A new booster to enhance immunogenicity” Sherry Tu, PhD, QIMR Berghofer (Australia)
Kazia is proud to announce acceptance of two scientific presentations at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) to be held December 10–14, 2025. SABCS is the largest and most influential breast cancer meeting globally, drawing more than 10,000 international experts in clinical oncology, translational science, immunotherapy, and molecular diagnostics.
December 10, 2025 — PS2-10-02
“Liquid Biopsy Tracking of PI3K-mTOR Residual Disease Signatures in Metastatic Breast Cancer”, Presenter: Prof. Sudha Rao, QIMR Berghofer (Australia)
December 12, 2025 — PS5-08-04
“A Phase 1b, Multi-Centre, Open-Label, Randomized Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Clinical Activity of Combining Paxalisib with Olaparib or Pembrolizumab/Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer”, Presenter: Dr. Michelle Nottage, The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (Australia)
“SABCS is the pinnacle global meeting for breast cancer research. Being selected for two presentations is both an honor and a strong validation of our scientific direction,” stated Dr. Friend.
2. NDL2 PD-L1 Degrader Program: Advancing Toward IND-Enabling Studies anticipated in Early 2026
As announced in September 2025, Kazia entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with QIMR Berghofer covering the first in class NDL2 PD-L1 degrader program. PD-L1 degraders represent the next frontier in immuno-oncology, using a dual-mechanism approach is designed to specifically recognize and degrade the resistant, post-translationally modified forms of the PD-L1 protein. This strategy may address resistance mechanisms that limit current checkpoint inhibitors. Kazia expects to initiate IND-enabling preclinical studies in early 2026.
3. GBM Program: Advancing Toward a FDA Type C Meeting Request Following Strong Overall Survival Signals
As detailed in the October 24, 2025 press release, Kazia intends to request a follow-up Type C meeting with the FDA to discuss the overall survival paxalisib findings from our completed clinical studies, alignment with the Project FrontRunner framework, potential requirements for a confirmatory study, and elements needed for a possible NDA submission pathway for paxalisib in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.
“We believe paxalisib’s OS data strongly justify continued engagement with the FDA and may support a more efficient regulatory strategy under Project FrontRunner,” stated Dr. Friend.
4. As previously disclosed, Kazia received a notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications department (the “Staff”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) on May 12, 2025 notifying the Company that from March 28, 2025 to May 9, 2025, the Company’s Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) was below the minimum of $35 million required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (the “MVLS Requirement”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(C), Nasdaq provided the Company with 180 calendar days, or until November 10, 2025 to regain compliance with the MVLS Requirement.
On November 12, 2025, Kazia received a staff determination letter (“Staff Letter”) from the Staff of Nasdaq indicating that the Company had not regained compliance with the MVLS Requirement by November 10, 2025. Pursuant to the Nasdaq Listing Rules and the Staff Letter, unless the Company timely requests a hearing before a Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), the Company’s American Depositary Shares would be subject to suspension/delisting . The Staff Letter has no immediate effect on listing or trading, and the Company intends to timely request a hearing before the Panel, which will automatically stay any suspension or delisting action pending the outcome of the hearing. The Company believes there are remedies available to potentially stop the proceedings and is evaluating corporate and market-based options, including alternative Nasdaq equity requirements to regain compliance.
For investor and media, please contact Alex Star, Managing Director LifeSci Advisors LLC, [email protected], +1-201-786-8795.
About Kazia Therapeutics
Kazia Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA) is an oncology-focused drug development company, based in Sydney, Australia. Our lead program is paxalisib, an investigational brain penetrant inhibitor of the PI3K / Akt / mTOR pathway, which is being developed to treat multiple forms of cancer. Licensed from Genentech in late 2016, paxalisib is or has been the subject of ten clinical trials in this disease. A completed Phase 2/3 study in glioblastoma (GBM-Agile) was reported in 2024 and discussions are ongoing for designing and executing a pivotal registrational study in pursuit of a standard approval. Other clinical trials involving paxalisib are ongoing in advanced breast cancer, brain metastases, diffuse midline gliomas, and primary central nervous system lymphoma, with several of these trials having reported encouraging interim data. Paxalisib was granted Orphan Drug Designation for glioblastoma by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2018, and Fast Track Designation (FTD) for glioblastoma by the FDA in August 2020. Paxalisib was also granted FTD in July 2023 for the treatment of solid tumor brain metastases harboring PI3K pathway mutations in combination with radiation therapy. In addition, paxalisib was granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in August 2020, and for atypical teratoid / rhabdoid tumors in June 2022 and July 2022, respectively. Kazia is also developing EVT801, a small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR3, which was licensed from Evotec SE in April 2021. Preclinical data has shown EVT801 to be active against a broad range of tumor types and has provided evidence of synergy with immuno-oncology agents. A Phase I study has been completed and preliminary data was presented at 15th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium in September 2024. For more information, please visit www.kaziatherapeutics.com or follow us on X @KaziaTx.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements, which can generally be identified as such by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “future,” “forward,” “potential,” “anticipate,” or other similar words. Any statement describing Kazia’s future plans, strategies, intentions, expectations, objectives, goals or prospects, and other statements that are not historical facts, are also forward looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: additional confirmatory imaging and analysis to be performed on the TNBC patient treated with paxalisib and pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), the potential benefits of NDL2 and the plans and goals of developing NDL2 formulation, the anticipated development pathways and combinations of NDL2, the timing for results and data related to Kazia’s clinical and preclinical trials, the upcoming scientific presentations, Kazia’s intention to request and hold a Type C meeting with the FDA to discuss OS findings in GBM patients treated with paxalisib and to seek agency feedback on a potential regulatory pathway, the plan to propose initiation of the post-approval, randomized Phase 3 confirmatory study prior to submission of the NDA, the intention to present survival analyses, supporting clinical safety and planned confirmatory trial design for FDA discussion, Kazia’s intention to reference Project FrontRunner principles in its Type C briefing package, the objective to work collaboratively with the FDA under the guiding principles of Project FrontRunner, the plan to pursue a conditional approval in the front-line treatment setting of GBM, the plan to initiate the post-approval, randomized Phase 3 study prior to filing the NDA, the goal of ensuring that Kazia’s development plan and regulatory strategy fully reflects and aligns with the FDA’s framework and emphasis, the timing for results and data related to Kazia’s clinical and preclinical trials, Kazia’s strategy and plans with respect to its paxalisib program, the potential benefits of paxalisib, timing for any regulatory submissions or discussions with regulatory agencies and the potential market opportunity for paxalisib, regaining compliance with the MVLS Requirement and any other Nasdaq listing requirements, the timing and likelihood of requesting and successfully completing a hearing before the Panel and maintaining Kazia’s listing on Nasdaq. Such statements are based on Kazia’s current expectations and projections about future events and future trends affecting its business and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties associated with clinical and preclinical trials and product development, including the risk that interim or early data may not be consistent with final data, risks related to regulatory approvals, risks related to the impact of global economic conditions, and risks related to Kazia’s ability to regain and/or maintain compliance with the applicable Nasdaq continued listing requirements and standards. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Kazia’s most recent Annual Report on form 20-F filed with the SEC, and in subsequent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Kazia undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this announcement.
SOURCE Kazia Therapeutics Limited
More than $1tn (£760bn) has been wiped off the value of the cryptocurrency market in the past six weeks amid fears of a tech bubble and fading expectations for a US rate cut next month.
Tracking more than 18,500 coins, the value of the crypto market has fallen by a quarter since a high in early October, according to the data company CoinGecko.
Bitcoin has fallen by 27% over the same period to $91,212, its lowest level since April.
Investors around the world are on edge as fears mount over an artificial intelligence bubble in the stock market, with even the boss of Google’s parent company warning that “no company” will be immune if the bubble bursts.
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.3% on Tuesday, its fourth day in the red in a row and the worst day since April. The Stoxx Europe 600, which tracks the biggest companies on the continent, fell 1.8%. Wall Street was also trading lower, with the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all down about 1% on Tuesday.
It followed steeper falls in Asia, where in the Japan the Nikkei 225 index shed 3.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.7%.
Sundar Pichai, the head of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said in an interview with the BBC that there was “irrationality” in the current AI boom. He warned that in the event that the AI bubble bursts, “no company is going to be immune, including us”.
Meanwhile JP Morgan Chase vice chairman, Daniel Pinto, said that booming AI valuations are due for a reassessment. “There is probably a correction there,” he said at the Bloomberg Africa Business Summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “That correction will also create a correction in the rest of the segment, the S&P and in the industry.”
The chief executive of Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, also sounded the alarm this week, warning that huge sums being poured into computing infrastructure made him “nervous”.
He told the Financial Times: “I think [OpenAI] can be very successful as a company but at the same time I’m very nervous about the size of these investments in these datacentres. That’s the particular thing that I am concerned about.”
The Klarna co-founder added that the rising valuation of AI companies, including the chipmaker Nvidia, was also a source of concern. Nvidia became the first company to hit a market value of $4tn this year, later followed by Apple and Microsoft.
after newsletter promotion
“That makes me nervous, because of the amount of wealth that is currently automatically allocated into this trend, without some more thoughtful thinking,” Siemiatkowski said.
“You can say, ‘I disagree with the fact that Nvidia is worth that much and I don’t care, some rich people are going to lose some money.’ But the truth is, because of the index funds and how this works, your pension right now is going into that theory that it is a good investment.”
An AI bubble is now seen as one of the most serious risks in the stock market, and a survey by the Bank of America found that 45% of its polled fund managers believe it is the biggest tail risk.
The price of gold, which is traditionally seen as a safe haven asset, is also falling. The spot price fell by 0.3% to $4,033.29 an ounce on Tuesday morning, after earlier hitting its lowest level in a week.
The drop comes amid fading expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Higher interest rates make gold relatively less appealing as the metal does not pay a yield.
However, Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at the Swiss investment bank UBS, said the gold price was likely to fall further but would soon recover.
“I would expect gold prices to bottom out soon, as I still see the Fed cutting rates several times over the coming quarters, and central banks’ diversification into gold remains strong,” he said.
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Article IV Consultation for the Dominican Republic[1] on November 12, 2025. The authorities need more time to consider the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation.[2]
The Dominican Republic’s (DR) growth slowed in late 2024 and the first half of 2025 largely due to increased uncertainty and tighter financial conditions. There are preliminary signs that economic activity is reviving, with credit, exports, and tourism growth all picking up in recent months, underpinned by supportive monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation remains close to target and is expected to average 3.7 percent in 2025. External balances are in line with fundamentals and desirable policies. The current account deficit is expected to narrow further this year to 2.5 percent of GDP, on the back of robust exports and remittances, and is fully financed by foreign direct investment (FDI).
Growth is expected to accelerate to 4.5 percent in 2026 then converge to its long-term trend of 5 percent, while inflation is forecast to remain around the 4 percent ± 1p.p target. The current account deficit is expected to remain around 2½ percent and continue to be fully financed by FDI. The government’s deficit and debt are projected to gradually decline, in part due to the expected reduction of electricity sector losses and improved targeting of energy subsidies. This will also help to create space for planned increases in public investment.
The balance of risks is tilted to the downside, but the DR is well-positioned to weather them. External risks from global financial conditions and heightened uncertainty remain, as does the DR’s vulnerability to natural disasters. But the DR has strong economic fundamentals and policy space to respond should these risks materialize. On the upside, the DR could benefit from trade diversion and FDI inflows stemming from changes in global trade policies. Domestically, delays in implementing the authorities’ reform and public investment plans could pose a downside risk to growth, while robust implementation would create upside “risks” to growth.
Executive Board Assessment[3]
Executive Directors commended the Dominican Republic’s sustained efforts to strengthen policies and institutions and advance business‑friendly reforms, driving the strong macroeconomic performance over the past two decades. Directors welcomed that growth is expected to accelerate and inflation remain well‑anchored. They agreed that while downside risks persist, the country is well positioned to absorb shocks, given its strong fundamentals and policy space. Notwithstanding the strong fundamentals, Directors encouraged the authorities to continue with their prudent policies and steadfast implementation of the reform agenda to accelerate growth and enhance resilience.
Directors encouraged the authorities to maintain prudent fiscal policies and support increased public investment, in line with the medium‑term fiscal framework and Fiscal Responsibility Law. They welcomed the planned consolidation, focused on revenue mobilization and improving spending efficiency, including by removing generalized subsidies while safeguarding necessary social spending. A well‑communicated medium‑term revenue strategy could help lay the groundwork for broader fiscal reform. Directors noted that full implementation of the Electricity Pact is essential to limit fiscal risks and ensure resilience.
Directors concurred that the monetary policy stance is broadly appropriate. They underscored that strengthening the monetary transmission mechanism would help to reinforce the effectiveness of the inflation targeting framework. Accordingly, Directors encouraged efforts to advance a comprehensive and clearly communicated strategy to gradually wind down exceptional liquidity measures. Furthering domestic financial markets development would also support policy transmission. Directors highlighted the need for continued exchange rate flexibility, with interventions focused on smoothing large shocks and rebuilding buffers to bolster external stability.
Directors noted that the banking system remains healthy and systemic risks are limited. They commended the progress on enhancing the financial sector supervisory and regulatory framework. The adoption of Basel II and III standards, development of a macroprudential policy toolkit, and strengthening of the AML/CFT framework remain key priorities.
Directors welcomed the ambitious structural reform agenda, aimed at boosting the country’s potential growth and achieving high‑income status as envisioned in the Meta2036 Plan. They noted that efforts to further improve governance, advance labor and social security reforms, and efficiently invest in infrastructure, education, and health are essential to achieve these goals. Noting the progress made, Directors concurred that the Dominican Republic’s high vulnerability to natural disasters requires a comprehensive approach to mitigating risks and building resilience. Important measures include enhancing the disaster risk management frameworks and deepening natural disaster considerations in fiscal policy.
|
Dominican Republic: Selected Economic Indicators |
|||||||
|
Population (millions, 2024) 10.8 |
|
GDP per capita (2024, U.S. dollars) 11,542 |
|||||
|
Quota 477.4 millions SDRs / 0.10% of total |
|
Poverty (2023, share of population) 23.0 |
|||||
|
Main exports tourism, gold, tobacco |
|
Extreme poverty (2023, share of population) 3.2 |
|||||
|
Key export markets U.S., Switzerland, Haiti |
|
Adult literacy rate (2021, percent) 95.5 |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Projection |
|
|
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
|
Output |
(Annual percentage change, unless otherwise stated) |
||||||
|
Real GDP |
-7.9 |
14.0 |
5.2 |
2.2 |
5.0 |
3.0 |
4.5 |
|
Nominal GDP (RD$ billion) |
4,440 |
5,427 |
6,257 |
6,765 |
7,403 |
7,977 |
8,701 |
|
Nominal GDP (US$ billion) |
78.6 |
95.1 |
113.8 |
120.8 |
124.6 |
… |
… |
|
Output gap (in percent of potential output) |
-6.7 |
-1.9 |
-0.8 |
-1.8 |
-0.8 |
-1.7 |
-0.9 |
|
Prices |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consumer price inflation (end of period) |
5.6 |
8.5 |
7.8 |
3.6 |
3.3 |
3.7 |
4.0 |
|
Exchange Rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exchange rate (RD$/US$ – period average) 1/ |
56.5 |
57.1 |
55.0 |
56.0 |
59.4 |
… |
… |
|
Exchange rate (RD$/US$ – eop) 1/ |
58.2 |
57.3 |
56.2 |
58.0 |
61.1 |
… |
… |
|
Real effective exchange rate (eop, – depreciation) 1/ |
-8.1 |
6.5 |
6.3 |
-1.9 |
-0.4 |
-1.7 |
0.0 |
|
Government Finances |
(In percent of GDP) |
||||||
|
Consolidated public sector debt 2/ |
71.4 |
61.8 |
58.8 |
59.7 |
58.1 |
59.2 |
58.2 |
|
Consolidated public sector overall balance 2/ |
-9.0 |
-3.7 |
-3.6 |
-4.1 |
-3.9 |
-4.5 |
-3.8 |
|
Consolidated public sector primary balance |
-4.3 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
1.1 |
0.5 |
1.0 |
|
Non-Financial Public Sector (NFPS) balance |
-7.6 |
-2.5 |
-2.7 |
-3.1 |
-3.2 |
-3.9 |
-3.2 |
|
Central government balance |
-7.9 |
-2.9 |
-3.2 |
-3.3 |
-3.1 |
-3.4 |
-3.2 |
|
Revenues and grants |
14.2 |
15.5 |
15.3 |
15.8 |
16.4 |
16.0 |
15.5 |
|
Primary spending |
18.9 |
15.3 |
15.7 |
16.0 |
16.1 |
15.8 |
15.1 |
|
Interest expenditure |
3.3 |
3.1 |
2.8 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
3.6 |
3.7 |
|
Rest of NFPS |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
-0.1 |
-0.5 |
0.0 |
|
Financial Sector |
(Annual percentage change, unless otherwise stated) |
||||||
|
Broad money (M3) |
21.2 |
13.4 |
6.3 |
14.4 |
11.3 |
10.3 |
9.5 |
|
Credit to the private sector |
5.3 |
11.6 |
16.6 |
19.7 |
13.5 |
12.3 |
12.6 |
|
Net domestic assets of the banking system |
2.5 |
11.2 |
9.9 |
13.5 |
19.0 |
9.2 |
10.2 |
|
Policy interest rate (in percent) 1/ |
3.0 |
3.5 |
8.5 |
7.0 |
6.0 |
… |
… |
|
Average bank deposit rate (1-year; in percent) 1/ |
3.1 |
2.3 |
9.9 |
8.6 |
9.8 |
… |
… |
|
Average bank lending rate (1-year; in percent) 1/ |
9.9 |
9.2 |
13.5 |
13.6 |
15.1 |
… |
… |
|
Balance of Payments |
(In percent of GDP) |
||||||
|
Current account |
-1.7 |
-2.8 |
-5.8 |
-3.7 |
-3.3 |
-2.5 |
-2.5 |
|
Goods, net |
-8.7 |
-12.4 |
-15.1 |
-13.1 |
-12.8 |
-12.0 |
-11.4 |
|
Services, net |
1.8 |
3.9 |
4.8 |
6.0 |
6.7 |
6.6 |
6.4 |
|
Income, net |
5.2 |
5.7 |
4.5 |
3.5 |
2.7 |
2.9 |
2.6 |
|
Capital account |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Financial account 3/ |
5.3 |
5.7 |
6.7 |
5.2 |
2.4 |
3.3 |
2.8 |
|
Foreign direct investment, net |
3.3 |
3.4 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
|
Portfolio investment, net |
7.1 |
2.2 |
2.9 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
3.0 |
1.1 |
|
Financial derivatives, net |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Other investment, net |
-5.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
-0.4 |
-3.1 |
-3.2 |
-1.8 |
|
Change in reserves (-increase) |
-2.5 |
-2.4 |
-1.3 |
-0.9 |
1.7 |
-0.8 |
-0.4 |
|
GIR (in millions of US dollars) |
10,752 |
13,033 |
14,408 |
15,464 |
13,388 |
14,448 |
14,973 |
|
Total external debt (in percent of GDP) |
56.6 |
47.8 |
39.9 |
43.2 |
43.7 |
45.7 |
45.2 |
|
of which: Consolidated public sector |
40.4 |
35.3 |
33.2 |
34.2 |
34.6 |
36.0 |
35.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sources: National authorities; World Bank; and IMF staff calculations. 3/ Excluding reserves. |
|||||||
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] Under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, publication of documents that pertain to member countries is voluntary and requires the member consent. The authorities have not yet communicated their decision on the publication of the staff report.
[3] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chair of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
The Trent XWB-84 is the best widebody engine in the world. It’s designed, engineered, and optimised specifically for the Airbus A350 – delivering the lowest fuel consumption of any widebody engine and chosen by the world’s most profitable airlines.
Rolls-Royce is investing £1 billion across our modern Trent engines to increase their durability by an average of 80%, with a significant portion being delivered in 2025.
The value of online grocer Ocado has fallen sharply after Kroger, it’s major partner in the US, announced the closure of three warehouses using the UK company’s high-tech equipment.
Ocado signed a deal to build 20 automated warehouses – known as customer fulfilment centres – for Kroger, the US’s fourth largest retailer, in 2018. Eight of those facilities are currently operating with two more planned for next year. The deal was seen as a major part of Ocado’s plan to sell its online grocery delivery technology internationally.
However, on Tuesday, Kroger said sites in Frederick in Maryland, Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin, and Groveland in Florida would close in January. Shares in Ocado were down more than 17% on Tuesday after the announcement, wiping about £350m off the value of the company.
Kroger said that after reviewing its set-up it had “identified opportunities to optimise its fulfilment network”.
It added that it would now move towards a “hybrid fulfilment network” testing out “capital-light, store-based automation in high-volume geographies” while continuing to use automated warehouse processing of online orders where it sees “higher density of demand”. It noted that it had recently expanded its relationship with quick delivery service providers DoorDash, Instacart and Uber Eats, which take goods directly from stores on bikes, mopeds and other small vehicles.
Clive Black, a retail analyst at Shore Capital, described Kroger’s announcement as a “near knockout punch” for Ocado, prompting the share price to fall below the 180p price at which it debuted on the London stock market in 2018.
He said the online grocery technology supplier “is being marginalised as most of its customer fulfilment centres do not work economically in the USA or the mass-market first world in truth.”.
While centralised, automated warehouses may work effectively to manage home deliveries of groceries in densely populated and affluent urban locations, according to Black, he said Kroger’s actions suggested that the size of Ocado’s total potential market “has been blitzed”.
“We had expected Kroger to trundle on, not close [warehouses], as part of its ongoing review, a dreadful acclamation of what Morrison, Waitrose and others already knew: capital intensive, centralised fulfilment of food to a dispersed mass-market customer does not financially work.”
Ocado said it expected to receive more than $250m (£190m) in compensation for fees related to the early closure of the sites but its fee revenue would take a $50m hit in the financial year to December 2026.
after newsletter promotion
“Ocado continues to support Kroger to optimise logistics operations and drive profitable volume growth in these remaining sites, with constructive ongoing discussions around further use of Ocado’s technology to support Kroger,” the British company said in a statement.
It added that it “expects significant growth in the US market, both with [warehousing] and store based automation.”
Like many successful researchers, Jorgensen has been guided by scientific pursuits his entire life.
As a kid growing up in Port Washington, a hamlet on the western side of Long Island, and later in Sherman, Connecticut, he conducted scores of experiments with his trusty A.C. Gilbert chemistry set, tromping off to the local drug store regularly to replenish his supply of potassium nitrate. In high school, at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, he took AP Chemistry and taught himself how to write computer code in BASIC.
He went on to graduate from Princeton in three years, learning the computer language FORTRAN in the basement of the Frick Lab and conducting work for his first co-authored study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Then it was on to Harvard for graduate school (where he worked with eventual Nobel winner EJ Corey), and to Purdue to begin his teaching and independent research career.
He soon came to focus his research on the need for better simulations of systems in solution.
“I realized very quickly that I wanted to study reactions in liquids and investigate the way molecules recognize each other in solution, which can lead eventually to drug design,” Jorgensen said. “In drug design you typically have an inhibitor, a small molecule that is binding to a disease-causing protein, which then disrupts the function of that protein.”
To do this work, he needed computing know-how and processing muscle. So, he taught himself statistical mechanics to go with his working knowledge of programming, and he got together funding for a research computer.
In the late 1970s, Purdue had two CDC 6400s (an early mainframe computer built by the Control Data Corporation) in its computer center. That meant two processors for 40,000 students and faculty, compared to today when the average laptop computer has eight processors. But times were changing.
“Fortunately, I was in the right place at the right time, because by the early 1980s computer resources became more available,” Jorgensen said. “You could have your own computer in your lab, if you could find the money to buy it.”
He and his research group purchased a Harris 80 — a tall cabinet computer that occupied its own room with an air conditioner and a printer. Much of the funding for it came from a 1978 grant to Jorgensen from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“NSF was essential to the early work I did, including the water models,” Jorgensen said. “NSF funded basic science research that led to many of the technologies and therapeutics we take for granted today.”
Meanwhile, the older guard of scientists, who’d previously held computer modeling at arm’s length began to see the value of adapting to changing technology. “In the late 1970s you had people still trying to do paper-and-pencil theory work, but you also had the new people coming in with their computers,” Jorgensen said. “There was some difficulty in my being accepted by some of the theoretical chemists at the time, who were rather dismissive of what I was doing. I had to prove I could do something useful.”
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a pioneer and global leader of cyber security solutions, today announced it is collaborating with Microsoft to deliver enterprise-grade AI security for Microsoft Copilot Studio. The collaboration enables enterprises to safely build and deploy generative-AI agents with continuous protection, compliance, and governance integrated directly into their development workflows.
The integration with Copilot Studio brings together Check Point’s AI Guardrails, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and Threat Prevention technologies, extending its end-to-end AI security stack to safeguard Copilot Studio during agent runtime. The result is continuous protection for every AI agent, ensuring safe and compliant innovation.
As enterprises rapidly adopt AI agents to drive productivity, new risks emerge, from prompt injection and data leakage, to model misuse and compliance drift. These agents connect to sensitive data and third-party tools, expanding the attack surface beyond traditional controls. By using Check Point’s runtime security and governance capabilities to extend Copilot Studio’s protections, organizations gain full visibility and control to innovate confidently and securely.
“The rapid adoption of AI agents brings not only innovation and efficiency, but also new security challenges, particularly around maintaining data integrity and preventing misuse of sensitive information,” said Nataly Kremer, Chief Product Officer at Check Point. “Together with Microsoft, we’re providing advanced continuous protection and governance directly into Microsoft Copilot Studio, ensuring that every AI interaction, including autonomous actions within the enterprise, remains secure, compliant, and aligned with enterprise policies.”
Key capabilities include:
“As organizations embrace Microsoft Copilot Studio to build AI agents tailored to their business, security and compliance are paramount,” said David Blyth, VP Engineering, Copilot Studio, Microsoft. “Our relationship with Check Point helps customers innovate confidently, combining Microsoft’s trusted Copilot platform with Check Point’s prevention-first AI security to keep sensitive data and AI workflows protected by design.”
This collaboration reinforces Check Point’s leadership in securing the AI-powered enterprise and marks another milestone in its mission to protect the full AI lifecycle – from model development to runtime execution, and from organizational applications to employee usage across the workspace.
For more information about Check Point’s AI security and its integration with Copilot Studio, visit our website.
Follow Check Point on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and our blog.
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading protector of digital trust, utilizing AI-powered cyber security solutions to safeguard over 100,000 organizations globally. Through its Infinity Platform and an open garden ecosystem, Check Point’s prevention-first approach delivers industry-leading security efficacy while reducing risk. Employing a hybrid mesh network architecture with SASE at its core, the Infinity Platform unifies the management of on-premises, cloud, and workspace environments to offer flexibility, simplicity and scale for enterprises and service providers.
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding our products and solutions, our expectations regarding future growth, the expansion of Check Point’s industry leadership, the enhancement of shareholder value and the delivery of an industry-leading cyber security platform to customers worldwide. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results or events in the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 2025. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Check Point as of the date hereof, and Check Point disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
James RobinsonLocal Democracy Reporting Service
Iain Buist/NCJ MediaA school will open on Wednesday after one of the two main teachers’ unions agreed to pause strike action.
Union bosses said teachers and support staff at Haydon Bridge High School in Northumberland would walk out for two days – on 19 and 25 November – over what they say is a “failure” to tackle “disruptive behaviour”.
In a letter to parents, the school said it would remain open as the NASUWT agreed to pause the strike. It has previously said officials had “deemed behaviour to be as good as what is seen in most high schools”.
The National Education Union (NEU) said its members remained committed to the walkout.
The unions said employees had repeatedly raised fears about pupil behaviour and the impact it was having on safety, teaching and learning.
A letter from the school, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, described Haydon Bridge High School as a “brilliant” school that was “small” and “caring”, adding that it “truly aims to serve its local community”.
It read: “Both the school and the unions are keen to bring this dispute to an end. The best way to judge a school’s behaviour is by looking at the data and seeing it in action.”
It said Ofsted “rightly identified” suspensions were too high but since the introduction of new systems, suspensions were down by more than 30% compared to this time last year.
The school says referrals to its restart room are also down, and invited parents to pay a visit to “view our wonderful students engaged in their learning”.
NASUWT declined to issue any further comment but Sean Kelly, branch secretary of Northumberland NEU, said members remained committed to taking strike action.
He said he had written to the school and Northumberland County Council to reiterate the NEU remained on strike on Wednesday.
“We have a meeting with our members this evening to speak to them and see if they are still willing to take strike action, but the overwhelming message last night was that they were,” he said.
“They were not impressed at all with more promises, we have had this for 13 months and nothing has changed. Employers don’t call off a strike, workers do.”