About a month ago, I spoke at Lilly School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis about millennials ― people born roughly between 1980-2000 ― and their sizable impact on the social sector. Some stats I mentioned that day have stuck with me.
The first was this: an astounding 9 out of 10 millennials would switch brands to businesses associated with a good cause. (That translates to 91 percent of millennials vs. 85 percent of the general U.S. population).
The data for millennial moms was equally impressive. A whopping 94 percent of them were “very or somewhat likely” to switch brands based on the cause it supported, as reported in the 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study.
These findings give me hope in the many ways that this younger generation is changing our world for the better. Those of you working at nonprofits, foundations, or B-Corps might should tap into these powerful trends around consumer purchasing power, if you haven’t already.
A final stat warrants mention. A resounding 85 percent of females control their family’s shopping budget. This fact underscores the idea that women have substantial leverage to advocate for causes they strongly believe in.
Mother’s Day, May 13, is just around the corner. That day, millions of families across America will find themselves without enough food to eat. Why not honor your own mom by helping other mom whose families may be food insecure? You can donate to my organization, Feeding America, or volunteer at one of our member food banks across the nation. However you celebrate the day, remember the power of the purse strings. Next time you’re at the grocery store, take a few minutes to closely examine what you’re buying. Make this holiday a chance to support whatever good cause your mother believes in.
Jan Fichtner, University of Amsterdam; Eelke Heemskerk, University of Amsterdam, and Javier Garcia-Bernardo, University of Amsterdam
A fundamental change is underway in stock market investing, and the spin-off effects are poised to dramatically impact corporate America.
In the past, individuals and large institutions mostly invested in actively managed mutual funds, such as Fidelity, in which fund managers pick stocks with the aim of beating the market. But since the financial crisis of 2008, investors have shifted to index funds, which replicate established stock indices, such as the S&P 500.
The magnitude of the change is astounding: from 2007 to 2016, actively managed funds have recorded outflows of roughly US$1,200 billion, while index funds had inflows of over US$1,400 billion.
In the first quarter of 2017, index funds brought in more than US$200 billion – the highest quarterly value on record.
Democratising the market?
This shift, arguably the biggest investment swing in history, is due in large part to index funds’ much lower costs.
Actively managed funds analyse the market, and their managers are well paid for their labour. But the vast majority are not able to consistently beat the index.
So why pay 1% to 2% in fees every year for active funds when index funds cost a tenth of that and deliver the same performance?
Some observers have lauded this development as the “democratisation of investing”, because it has significantly lowered investor expenses.
But other impacts of this seismic shift are far from democratising. One crucial difference between the active fund and the index fund industries is that the former is fragmented, consisting of hundreds of different asset managers both small and large.
The fast-growing index sector, on the other hand, is highly concentrated. It is dominated by just three giant American asset managers: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street – what we call the Big Three.
Lower fees aside, the rise of index funds has entailed a massive concentration of corporate ownership. Together, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have nearly US$11 trillion in assets under management. That’s more than all sovereign wealth funds combined and over three times the global hedge fund industry.
In a recently published paper, our CORPNET research project comprehensively mapped the ownership of the Big Three. We found that the Big Three, taken together, have become the largest shareholder in 40% of all publicly listed firms in the United States.
Figure 1: Network of ownership by the Big Three in listed US firms. (See our paper for explanation of colours).
Fichtner, Heemskerk & Garcia-Bernardo (2017)
In 2015, these 1,600 American firms had combined revenues of about US$9.1 trillion, a market capitalisation of more than US$17 trillion, and employed more than 23.5 million people.
In the S&P 500 – the benchmark index of America’s largest corporations – the situation is even more extreme. Together, the Big Three are the largest single shareholder in almost 90% of S&P 500 firms, including Apple, Microsoft, ExxonMobil, General Electric and Coca-Cola. This is the index in which most people invest.
Figure 2: Statistics about the ownership of the Big Three in listed US firms.
Fichtner, Heemskerk & Garcia-Bernardo (2017)
The power of passive investors
With corporate ownership comes shareholder power. BlackRock recently argued that legally it was not the “owner” of the shares it holds but rather acts as a kind of custodian for their investors.
That’s a technicality for lawyers to sort. What is undeniable is that the Big Three do exert the voting rights attached to these shares. Therefore, they have to be perceived as de facto owners by corporate executives.
These companies have, in fact, publicly declared that they seek to exert influence. William McNabb, chairman and CEO of Vanguard, said in 2015 that, “In the past, some have mistakenly assumed that our predominantly passive management style suggests a passive attitude with respect to corporate governance. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
When we analysed the voting behaviour of the Big Three, we found that they coordinate it through centralised corporate governance departments. This requires significant efforts because technically the shares are held by many different individual funds.
Hence, just three companies wield an enormous potential power over corporate America. Interestingly, though, we found that the Big Three vote for management in about 90% of all votes at annual general meetings, while mostly voting against proposals sponsored by shareholders (such as calls for independent board chairmen).
One interpretation is that BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street are reluctant to exert their power over corporate America. Others question whether the Big Three really want this voting power, as they primarily seek to minimise costs.
Corporate American monopoly
What are the future consequences of the Big Three’s unprecedented common ownership position?
Research is still nascent, but some economists are already arguing that this concentration of shareholder power could have negative effects on competition.
Over the past decade, numerous US industries have become dominated by only a handful of companies, from aviation to banking. The Big Three – seen together – are virtually always the largest shareholder in the few competitors that remain in these sectors.
This is the case for American Airlines, Delta, and United Continental, as it is for the banks JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup. All of these corporations are part of the S&P 500, the index in which most people invest.
Their CEOs are likely well aware that the Big Three are their firm’s dominant shareholder and would take that into account when making decisions. So, arguably, airlines have less incentive to lower prices because doing so would reduce overall returns for the Big Three, their common owner.
In this way, the Big Three may be exerting a kind of emergent “structural power” over much of corporate America.
Whether or not they sought to, the Big Three have accumulated extraordinary shareholder power, and they continue to do so. Index funds are a business of scale, which means that at this point competitors will find it very difficult to gain market shares.
In many respects, the index fund boom is turning BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street into something resembling low-cost public utilities with a quasi-monopolistic position. Facing such a concentration of ownership and thus potential power, we can expect demands for increased regulatory scrutiny of corporate America’s new “de facto permanent governing board” to increase in coming years.
Jan Fichtner, Postdoctoral Researcher in Political Science, University of Amsterdam; Eelke Heemskerk, Associate Professor Political Science , University of Amsterdam, and Javier Garcia-Bernardo, PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Designing anything, let alone a massive building, is not a simple task. It requires pragmatic decision-making coupled with bold creativity. As with any form of art, the designer ultimately strives to make something striking and original. Sometimes this effort pays off in the form of a lasting structure — a work that transcends time and place. While other times, well, not so much. Of course, it’s not always the architect’s fault. In some instances, like Tour Montparnasse in Paris, the designers are a bit unlucky. Had they erected their work in any other location other than the City of Light, maybe it wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. But, alas, architecture, like all creative endeavors, is a cruel venture. As such, AD rounds up the 23 ugliest skyscrapers from around the world, ones that began with high intentions but eventually didn’t quite meet the mark.
Located in Bangkok, the Elephant Building was completed in 1997 by architect Sumet Jumsai. While playful in design, the structure does little to push the integrity of Thai architecture.
When the Žižkov Television Tower was completed in 1992, Prague's skyline forever changed. The project, designed by Václav Aulický, took seven years of construction, stretching some 708 feet in the air.
Located in central Hong Kong, the Lippo Center is a twin-tower skyscraper completed in 1988 by American architect Paul Rudolph.
The Tianzi Hotel, in China’s Hebei province, is a series of colorful building depicts Fu, Lu, and Shou, the Chinese gods of good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. Guinness World Records named the hotel the world’s "biggest image building."
Another structure located in Bangkok designed by architect Sumet Jumsai, the Robot Building was completed in 1986 for roughly $10 million.
More: 10 Hotels with Unbelievably High-End Amenities
Completed in 1997 and located in Newark, Ohio, Longaberger's former headquarters building, modeled on a Longaberger Medium Market Basket, was designed by American architecture firm NBBJ.
No matter that North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel is, after three decades, still under construction, we can already tell this skyscraper won't be the most beautiful on the planet. Designed by Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers, the 1,083-foot-tall structure has continuously remained vacant.
Located in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and designed by the Lebanese-based firm MZ Architects, the Aldar headquarters building was opened in 2010.
The Fangyuan Mansion, which was completed in 2001, was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners. Located in Shenyang, China, the structure cost nearly $500 million to build.
New York City's Verizon Building, which was designed by Rose, Beaton & Rose and completed in 1975, is not only aesthetically displeasing but it's located in downtown Manhattan, near the Brooklyn Bridge and East River. Which is to say, it's wasting a great opportunity in a prime New York real estate space.
More: The 10 Best New Luxury Cruises
Located in London and completed in 2010 for roughly $146 million, the Strata SE1 (which is also referred to as the "Razor" or "Electric Razor") was designed by the U.K.-based firm BFLS.
Although the National Library of Belarus was founded in 1922, the current structure, which houses all its books, wasn't completed until 2006. The building was designed by architects Mihail Vinogradov and Viktor Kramarenko.
Designed by Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man, the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macau was built in 2008, nearly one decade after the region was no longer a Portuguese territory.
The Slovak Radio Building in Bratislava was completed in 1983, after 16 years of construction. The structure, which looks like an inverted pyramid, was designed by Štefan Svetko, Štefan Ďurkovič, and Barnabáš Kissling.
Designed by the Dutch-based firm MVRDV, the Mirador Building in Madrid is a collection of different neighborhoods stacked vertically around a public sky-plaza. The structure was completed in 2005, after four years of construction.
More: The World’s Best Oceanfront Hotels
The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, which was designed by architects Frederick Gibberd and Edwin Lutyens, was completed in 1967.
Completed in 2012, the National Fisheries Development Board Building is located in Hyderabad, India, in the southcentral part of the country.
The Russian Embassy in Havan, which was designed by Soviet architect Aleksandr Rochegov, was completed in 1985.
The National Library of Kosovo was designed by Croatian architect Andrija Mutnjaković and completed in 1982.
It certainly doesn't help Tour Montparnasse's cause that it was built in one of the most architecturally significant cities in the world. But the structure, which was completed in 1969, is currently the third-tallest building in Paris, and possibly the ugliest.
More: 22 Incredible Indian Palaces (You Can Stay At)
With its 7,351 rooms, Malaysia's First World Hotel & Plaza, which was completed in 2008, is the world largest hotel. But for all it has in size, it certainly lacks in beauty.
The 1,535-foot-tall Oriental Pearl Tower is the second-tallest skyscraper in Shanghai. Designed by architects Jia Huan Cheng, Zhang Xiulin, and Lin Benlin, the structure was completed in 1994.
Not everything beautiful needs to flash like gold. The Trump Tower in Las Vegas is a perfect example of that. Completed in 2008, the 620-foot-tall structure is an eyesore even in a city filled with over-the-top architecture.
More from Architectural Digest:
See What's Inside Donald Trump's Former Superyacht
It goes without saying that the first time ― for anything ― rarely ever reaches perfection. I am the classic ride-the-train-for-as-long-as-possible “first” kind of person. In college, when a professor spoke about anything beyond the syllabus on the first day of school, it was like I’d been wronged. Did they not get the memo? It’s the FIRST day of school!
So when I embarked on my first year of business, I went in giving myself a little bit of grace, knowing perfection wouldn’t be in the cards anytime soon (or ever, for that matter). I’m a creature of having to make the mistakes to actually learn from them.
And boy, learn from them, I did.
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1. Thoughtfully decide when to “go big.”
Making your business stand out is what will make you thrive. But test before you invest. If your ideal customer is someone like you, or people you might know, or people in a specific market, ask them their real thoughts on what you’re planning to offer.
I’m not saying spend money on focus groups or even hours reading industry books (which, side note, can’t hurt). I’m talking walk out your front door and ask people what they like. What they need. What will they actually spend money on.
This winter, our store made a holiday doormat, the first product that we solely created, and it was downright exciting. After convincing myself this was the best thing ever, I immediately jumped to, “How many should we make? 500? 350? 200?” This was going to be BIG.
After chatting with friends, friends of friends, and my husband (who was crossing his fingers this silly doormat would work), I quickly went from 500 in production to 70, ensuring all factors were met in order to make it sellable. The design had to be right, the product had to be quality, and the price had to be fair.
Had I jumped the gun at first glance and placed an order for 500, this post may have been titled, “Why You Should Buy A Holiday Doormat In February.” But really, while our costs to produce 70 were higher than what they would have been to produce 500, the experience allowed us to test a new product and see its selling potential. This in turn will allow us to leap a little farther on our next go around.
Whatever your business may be, find a way to test your market ahead of time and thoughtfully decide when the “go big” time strikes. It may take longer in the beginning, but whatever you’re offering will benefit in the end. This is your marathon ― not sprint ― moment.
Friday par-tay starts NOW! 🎉🙌🏻🌺 New arrivals are up and our office dancing has commenced! 💃🏼 Now through Monday, take 15% off your entire order with code SUNVIBES. ☀️ Happy shopping, #prettyfunthings! // 📸: @codyhunterphotography
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2. Do it for the “loves” and not the “likes.”
Starting an online business, I knew social media would be something I’d rely heavily upon to grow the company. Yet in a world so dependent on what each of us are individually doing on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, it can be hard to carve out space to get customer attention. I typically pride myself on a positive outlook, but for some reason seeing other companies do social media well ― flawlessly, even ― used to be an instant intimidation factor.
When I started to create content of my own, my outlook for our business was based on the amount of engagement my most recent post had received. If a post did well, we were thriving. If a post did terribly, I wasn’t meant for this life, and I must not be able to hack it. It sounds a little crazy to say that. Whether I deemed myself successful in my own business or not was based on the amount of “likes” I got from total strangers!
Social media can and should be used to grow your business, but it shouldn’t be used to define what you do well. You could be a phenomenal stylist, designer, photographer, event planner or, heck, accountant. Creating a big following takes time and investment, just like any other aspect of your business. You might need to work on finding your target market, making more connections with your customers or participating in more (gasp!) in-person events to really make am impact on your followers online. But remember: Getting all the engagement in the world doesn’t do much if it’s not turning into sales.
At the end of the day, you’ve opened a business to generate revenue doing something you’re passionate about. Take your favorite online influencer, for instance. They are a model, a stylist, a chef, a fitness guru, a foodie, or maybe all the things. That is their craft that defines them. And while they’ve become amazing at showcasing their talents through brightly colored images and beautiful words, their business started at the root of the same thing yours and mine did: that one thing they were passionate about.
Social media can and should be used to grow your business, but it shouldn’t be used to define what you do well.
In your business, make sure whatever you’re doing is the absolutely best it can be instead of focusing so much on how it appears online. Marketing is incredibly important, but the needle doesn’t move without a quality product or offering behind it. In a world where quantity is king, be the business that knows the value of quality customers. The customers who are excited to watch you grow. The ones who dig what you do so much, they can’t help but tell their friends. The girl who loves you, which means she’ll come back to “like” you.
K I L L I N' I T. Boom, Wednesday. 👊🏻 (PS: it's 8:30pm in China and we're still chugging coffee. Because that's the American, addicted to caffeine, way. 🤗) #prettyfunthings // New arrivals hit the site next week! In the meantime, grab this guy ☝🏻 in the shop this weekend! 🎉 📸: @ironandhoney
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3. Build a brand that’s bigger than you.
When asked who Alice & Wonder was and what we do, my initial reaction was to say, “Alice & Wonder is for girls like me, and we sell things girls like me would like.”
Convincing, catchy, draws you in ― right?
Nope.
My tone on social media was predicated by what I felt that day. The items I chose to carry were more about what my eye was drawn to than what we, as a brand, should carry. The more I moved forward, the more I figured our brand would formalize itself and customers would just “get it.” I knew who we were. The world would catch on.
It’s these thoughts that make me want to go back and say to myself, “Oh, girl. Stop right there. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 (or any, because you may not have customers).” Being a brand doesn’t just “happen.” It’s established and built upon. I, the PR girl, knew this was true for my big clients but somehow had forgotten my Marketing 101 when it came to building my own small brand.
Being a brand doesn’t just 'happen.' It’s established and built upon.
Establishing the foundation of your brand doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems. Figure out a way to eloquently say who you, as a brand, are in one sentence. Then, define brand characteristics ― e.g., smart, quirky, elegant, passionate. These will give your brand a personality. And finally, give one sentence to who your customer is. Even if it’s someone like you, describe that person. Who is she? What does she value? Where does she spend her time? Create a voice that embodies that tone and those characteristics.
I had a hilarious manager back in my agency days who always told me our projects should be so buttoned up at all times that I could be hit by a bus the next day and another team member could step in and execute seamlessly.
Morbid? Yes. But the point being, there may come a day that you aren’t executing every move your company makes. A day where you will, dare I say, grow, and your company will become so much more than you. So when that day comes, make sure you’ve built a foundation that tells the world who you are, instead of just hoping the world catches on.
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4. Have absolutely no shame in your game.
I sat with girlfriends the other day, chatting about what makes an entrepreneur successful, and we came to this stunning, yet extremely obvious, conclusion: The people who will go far in business have literally no shame. They see an opportunity? They go for it. There’s a chance an idea could work? They take it. They get shot down 10 times? They ask 10 more. Something fails? They move on. Zero shames given (PG version of that phrase, I know).
I, on the other hand, have always landed myself somewhere between the area of “no shames” and “shame city.” I rarely walk into a networking event solo. I’m into talking about my business, but only quickly, for fear of being too self-promoting. After gathering the courage the ask someone for help, I’ve been known to quickly follow up with word vomit ― something like, “But it’s totally not a big deal if you don’t want to. I shouldn’t have asked. I mean, if you want to, that would be great, but seriously, NBD.”
Giving off that Monica vibe is my specialty. Breezy.
Over the last year, though, it’s been made clear to me that as a business owner, you’ll hear “no” a whole lot more than you’ll hear “yes.” And short of locking the office door and dwelling on all the rejection, a thick skin has to become second nature in order to survive.
When you start a new business, you’re constantly in the realm of asking people for things, which has always been an uneasy spot for me. When you start from scratch, it’s easy to feel like you’re always asking for things and rarely have something to offer back.
The trick I’ve discovered is an easy one: Give them a reason ― a good reason, in fact ― to say “yes.” Can you provide a service for free? Give them an experience they may not otherwise get? Allocate just a little budget to not pay them directly but pay for something they may need? Bring someone else into the offer that they might be interested in working with? The more creative the request, the more I find people appreciate the offer.
As aforementioned, I still receive my fair share of “no,” or worse, no response at all. But as a whole, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, learn from, and even create friendships with ― all because I didn’t give them a reason to say “no.” Maybe you land in the realm of 10 requests sent and only one offer accepted. But as along as you end up with zero shames given, you’ll be just fine.
Ali Reff is the owner of Chicago-based apparel and gifts shop Alice & Wonder. Nicknamed “Alice” by her family, Ali started Alice & Wonder in 2015 after leaving her job managing influencer relations and real-time engagement for McDonald’s. The inspiration to start a small business began after Ali moved to Chicago and quickly discovered the city lifestyle can come with a price tag, and budget-friendly style shouldn’t be so hard to find. Since the company’s inception, Ali began writing pieces on her small business journey in hopes of inspiring other strong female leaders to pursue their passions and share her learnings along the way. Ali lives with her husband in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and can best be found over on Instagram @aliceandwonder or via email: ali@aliceandwonder.com.
There is a generally-unspoken, but well-understood rule of the workplace: keep your emotions, unless they are positive, tightly held. What does this look like in practice? Don’t show vulnerability or weakness. Don’t get down, upset, or express discomfort or unhappiness. Be grateful for the opportunities that you have been given, be a good team player, maintain a positive attitude. If you’re going to cry or complain, do it somewhere where you can’t be seen or heard, and don’t come back until you get it in check.
Nobody cares for the colleague who is constantly negative and seeing the glass as half-empty. But as this interview with psychologist Susan David in The Atlantic points out, there is value in acknowledging and making room for these emotions in the workplace. Humans aren’t robots (not yet, anyway), and we bring to work a whole range of emotions and experiences that are equally valuable.
There is critical data to be found in people’s emotional responses to what is happening at work. Ignoring those responses or encouraging people to suppress them only hides that data, which can have serious ramifications on the functioning of the workplace and individual well-being, particularly during times of change or high stress.
This is just one aspect of emotional labor at work: the burden that people feel not only to do their jobs and to do them well, but also to do them with a constant sunny disposition. Emotional labor is when we feel pressured to act like “everything’s fine” to make other people feel better.
Emotional labor is also when we feel obligated to do emotional care-taking for others at work. For women, especially, this sort of labor hits particularly hard. Women are assumed to be better at this sort of work due to their “soft” personalities; therefore, they are more frequently burdened with roles like mentorship. But these roles typically aren’t valued by organizational measures of success, which makes those who do them less able to achieve that success.
How can you better navigate these sometimes tricky waters?
As a new employee: Pay attention to how people interact with one another and how they treat one another in times of stress. What happens when someone questions authority? What happens when someone complains or gets frustrated? What happens when someone expresses fear or anxiety? And, if you don’t see anyone expressing any of these emotions, what does that mean? Find a trusted mentor or wise counselor who can help to walk you through what you are seeing and experiencing, and who can advise you on the best way to share your emotions with others. If it does not seem like a safe environment to express less-than-positive feelings, find a trusted friend with whom you can periodically confide. Even if the organization doesn’t support it, constantly suppressing your emotions is not productive to your long-term health and well-being.
As a seasoned employee: Pay attention to the emotional labor that you carry on a daily basis. Do you routinely suppress your true feelings in order to “toe the party line”? Do you find yourself sitting in meetings and questioning decisions but keeping silent out of fear of retribution? Do you have a trusted colleague or mentor with whom you can discuss these feelings? Also, how do you support the vulnerability of others? The next time that a colleague expresses anxiety, fear, or unhappiness, first thank them for sharing it and acknowledge that what they are feeling is real. Then ask if and how you can be helpful.
As a leader or manager: Pay attention to the culture of your organization and how your employees interact. Does everyone always enthusiastically support ideas? When someone offers a criticism, is your immediate reaction to defend your stance and tell them why they are wrong? Before your start a new project or implement a change, take the time to take everyone’s temperature on it, and do so again at various points throughout. Unearth the hidden data that will make your organization stronger. Pay attention to who does the emotional care-taking of others, and make sure that burden is fairly shared among employees. Give everyone the tools that they need to be successful, both personally and professionally.
Employees aren’t robots, nor are they just numbers on a spreadsheet. Employee engagement, we know, has a profound impact on organizational success. And most of today’s employees are not engaged. As the folks at Gallup, who study employee engagement, remind us, “Employees don't check their personalities at the door when they come to work. Knowing that they are respected as individuals at work can have a significant impact on how employees view their overall lives.” Emotional labor, just like the day-to-day tasks that occupy us, impacts every employee’s ability to feel valued and engaged at work. We all must take ownership for creating organizations that value individuals for the full spectrum of who they truly are.
LOS ANGELES, May 8 (Reuters) - The owners of a giant rabbit named Simon who was found dead after a United Airlines flight demanded on Monday that the airline pay damages, order an outside investigation and re-evaluate how it handles animals on flights.
Attorneys for Simon’s owners, who purchased him in hopes of winning the title of world’s largest rabbit at the Iowa State Fair this summer, said they would take legal action if United failed to respond within seven days.
The lawyers say it is possible the 3-foot-long (1-meter) hare died after being placed in a freezer for 16 hours upon landing in Chicago on a flight from London. They say the airline then destroyed his remains without permission.
“United Airlines can issue any statement they like but their company’s credibility is under question when they immediately cremate the giant rabbit Simon without anyone’s consent,” said Guy Cook, lead attorney for the three-person investment group that owned the rabbit. “They destroyed the proof.”
United Airlines spokesman Charles Hobart denied Simon died in a freezer. He said in a written statement the company was reviewing a letter outlining the claims, was saddened by Simon’s death and takes its responsibilities for transporting pets seriously. The statement did not say how much the owners were seeking in damages.
EXCLUSIVE: Valuable giant rabbit dies on United Airlines plane https://t.co/CGQJKjnPCS pic.twitter.com/86Xa5EX32T
— The Sun (@TheSun) April 25, 2017
Hobart said the hare arrived in Chicago in apparent good condition and was seen moving around his kennel some 35 minutes later.
“Shortly thereafter, a kennel representative noticed Simon was motionless and that he had passed away,” Hobart said. He did not address the cremation allegations.
Cook said it would be difficult to establish a cause of death because the rabbit’s remains had been destroyed but, in the letter, demanded that United turn over all records of its investigation, including closed-circuit television footage.
The attorney also requested an independent investigation as well as compensatory and economic and punitive damages.
Cook said that Simon, a Continental rabbit whose father is considered the world’s largest hare, was expected to exceed his father’s size to claim that title and that his owners should be compensated for their potential economic losses from exhibiting him.
The investment group purchased Simon from a breeder in England and was flying him to the United States, where he would have been displayed at the Iowa State Fair in August and ultimately crowned world’s largest rabbit, Cook said.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Trott)
(Reuters) - Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc is nearing a deal to acquire Tribune Media Co for close to $4 billion after prevailing in an auction for one of the largest U.S. television station operators, according to people familiar with the matter.
A potential deal for Tribune, first reported by Reuters, could come as soon as Monday, just weeks after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to reverse a 2016 decision that limits the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, named by President Donald Trump in January, is planning to take a new look at the current overall limit on companies owning stations serving no more than 39 percent of U.S. television households.
Still, a combined Tribune and Sinclair could surpass this cap and face some regulatory challenges which could result in divestitures, analysts said.
The combination of Sinclair and Tribune would be a competitive blow to Fox because the added scale would give Sinclair more leverage in negotiations to carry Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s local networks. Together the companies would own a large chunk of Fox broadcast affiliates around the country.
Fox Networks Group Chairman Peter Rice said at the Milken Institute Global Conference last week that Fox was looking to buy Tribune Media because “having more scale and more control of distribution is important.”
Twenty-First Century Fox was in talks with Blackstone Group LP last week about submitting an offer to buy Tribune Media, sources said at the time. Nexstar Media Group Inc also considered an acquisition of Tribune Media, sources have previously said.
Fox never submitted a bid, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Representatives for Fox and Blackstone both declined to comment.
Sinclair’s offer values Tribune Media at around $44 per share, the sources said on Sunday. That would represent a premium of close to 30 percent of the price of Tribune Media shares on Feb. 28, the day before Reuters broke the news that Sinclair had approached Tribune Media to discuss an acquisition.
Tribune Media shares ended trading on Friday at $40.29, giving it a market capitalization of $3.5 billion.
Negotiations between Sinclair and Tribune Media have not yet been finalized, and there is still a possibility the deal will not be reached, the sources cautioned.
The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Tribune Media declined to comment. Sinclair did not respond for comment.
Tribune Media has 42 owned or operated broadcast stations, as well as cable network WGN America, Tribune Studios and WGN-Radio. Sinclair, which has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, owns, operates or provides services to 173 television stations in 81 markets.
Sinclair branched out into cable networks last year when it bought the Tennis Channel for $350 million.
Tribune Media said last year it was working with financial advisers Moelis & Co and Guggenheim Securities on a strategic review. It subsequently sold its media data unit Gracenote to Nielsen Holdings Plc for $560 million.
Activist investor Starboard Value LP, led by Jeffrey Smith, cut its stake in March to 4.4 percent from 6.6 percent.
Tribune CEO Peter Liguori, who joined Tribune in 2013, stepped down in March and a permanent replacement has not yet been named.
(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Additional reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Sandra Maler)
This two-word question can summarily improve a brand. Think about it: the inquiry shows an interest in how someone is feeling while also demonstrating concern about his or her feelings. It is easy for businesses, thousands of employees strong, to disregard how emotions are integrated in its nature. Brands, however, like governments and institutions, are at their core made of people. Every type of organization, faceless or warm and fuzzy, is at its core a human enterprise. With people inhabiting brands, emotions are woven into the very fabric.
Studies show employees are 12 percent more productive when they feel valued at work. Having a sense of the emotional literacy of a brand and its relationship with its consumer is invaluable. Sometimes, knowing that you cared can rectify a variety of problems. Brands leaders can follow some steps to elevate their emotional literacy.
Think: Why?
When an obstacle is presented to brands there will most likely be a process in place to resolve it. The sheer volume of problems or complaints can sometimes be lost in the ether.
United recently was beleaguered by negative press and criticism on social media following a brand crisis. The now-infamous video of a passenger being dragged off a plane went viral and the incident created an emotional response on a national scale. When the CEO released an apology that only addressed the problems of the incident, the statement was received as callous and inauthentic. This incident is a perfect example of how thinking of why the response was so severe could have helped their problem.
It is important when facing an emotional problem to consider the “why” of the situation. Put aside how this problem affects your business and understand why this problem is being presented. This will allow for the problem to be understood in its entirety and find the best solution. It is likely to be solved more quickly and with both sides walking away satisfied.
Stay Vigilant
As we’ve discussed before, one of the reasons American Apparel went bankrupt was its failure to listen to its employee complaints and the changing demand of its consumer. It is critical for a brand to understand in our ever-changing world it needs to respond accordingly.
Now, it is not enough to be responsive but proactive. Proactivity can entail expending more effort to take a pulse of your brand. How are customers responding to their experience? How satisfied are employees in their workplace? How can you improve your brand through its interactions?
A brand must take an emotional pulse of how its relationships are being maintained. This can be done through social listening, surveys or leadership-led conferences. Whichever way is decided, it is important to have these periodically. Staying on top of these questions can prevent your brand from being swept away.
Be a Public Figure
In this era of globalization, brands have been thrust onto the front pages and scrutinized for everything it does, fairly or not. As such, business leaders from Wall Street to Silicon Valley have gained more notoriety than ever before. Some leaders blanch under this spotlight. Many insulate themselves with subordinates to face the public; others eschew all media and outside attention, preferring to focus on what’s happening inside the organization.
Whatever a brand leader’s inclination, it is important to connect on a deep and profound level with two key audiences: employees and consumers. If a brand leader can forge a strong bond, based on mutual emotional understanding, other public-facing perceptions will fall in lockstep.
A business is no longer simply the provider of a product or service. In our culture, with its new expectations and consumption habits, they have become role models, scapegoats and aspirational examples. To truly embrace your consumers, be the leader that you would want to see and follow. Embrace the vaguely cliché inspirational poster quote, “be the change you want to see.”
The most important factor in any emotional equation is honesty. Transparency is a necessary component of your public face and can be one way you earn buy-in agenda. It can save you from unwanted moments of crisis and communicate to your consumers you consider them in your decisions. Honesty—with your workforce and your customers—will foment trust and a following. Ultimately, only when emotional literacy is wholly embraced will your brand transcend, maybe even to a human level.
A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could put Uber’s self-driving car development on hiatus, based on claims from rival Waymo that Uber stole some of its trade secrets.
Waymo, a Google-spinoff, is seeking an injunction against Uber’s program, effectively halting it for the duration of the trial. Self-driving vehicles are central to Uber’s long-term business strategy, so halting work on them could have severe financial repercussions for the company.
At the heart of the case is a technology called LiDAR that helps an autonomous vehicle map out and navigate its surroundings as it’s driving.
Waymo lawyers presented evidence that a former executive named Anthony Levandowski downloaded Waymo’s LiDAR designs, along with some 14,000 other documents, before he left the company in January 2016. Soon after Levandowski left, he started a competitor company named “Otto” that was purchased by Uber for $680 million less than a year later.
Waymo lawyer Charles Verhoeven portrayed Otto as little more than a shell company, founded by Levandowski for no other purpose than selling valuable, confidential technology to Uber.
And while U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup conceded, speaking of Waymo’s evidence, that he’s “never seen a record this strong in 42 years,” ultimately the company struggled to prove that Uber asked Levandowski to steal Waymo’s files on Uber’s behalf.
That matters, since Waymo is suing Uber ― not Levandowski.
“I’m listening very carefully to see the proof that shows that Uber was aware that he downloaded information,” Alsup told Charles Verhoeven. “That would be pretty damning if you had that.”
Verhoeven maintained that proof does exist, but it’s among 3,500 or so documents, which Uber says contain confidential information that it refused to release. Complicating matters, Levandowski has asserted his fifth amendment rights and refused to testify. (He also stepped away from Uber’s LiDAR-related research for the duration of the case).
In lieu of the “smoking gun” Alsup sought, Verhoeven presented evidence claiming Levandowski conspired with Uber before he left Waymo.
“There was this clandestine plan all along that Uber and Levandowski had a deal,” he said.
That evidence includes emails Levandowski exchanged with Uber while he still worked at Waymo, and 5.3 million shares of stock (worth approximately $250 million) Uber granted Levandowski on Jan. 28, 2016, the day after he left Google. Uber responded by clarifying it actually awarded Levandowski the stock months later during the Otto acquisition, but set the vesting date earlier as a courtesy.
Uber, represented by outside lawyer Arturo Gonzalez, denied any wrongdoing, as it always has.
“We are adamant that we did not use any of their secrets,” he said.
Notably, however, Uber also hasn’t gone out of its way to defend Levandowski.
Gonzalez said Uber “didn’t have any basis” to dispute that Levandowski downloaded the 14,000 files. While it’s conceivable he brought them into work on a personal laptop and consulted them, Gonzalez said, “There’s no evidence that it happened.”
Uber’s ultimate goal is to move the case out of the public spotlight and into arbitration, where this could all be settled privately.
The judge is expected to make a decision on the injunction sometime in the next couple weeks. A trial ― should it come to that ― would likely begin sometime in October.
If you listened to my podcast or have been following my social media accounts this week then you know I’ve been talking a lot this week about the importance and value of investing in yourself. Whether you’re climbing the corporate ladder or are an entrepreneur the more you invest in yourself, your skills, and your knowledge base the more marketable you make yourself.
If you work in corporate America and are working your way up to success then you are already aware that at the very least you need some sort of college degree just to get your foot in the door. If you want to be an executive or lead an organization then you definitely have to invest in a post graduate degree and you have to have years of experience under your belt. No matter which way you look at it, education is the key to that corporate gateway which is why post-secondary education is such big business.
I, for one, have spent tens of thousands of dollars to work at a corporation that neither motivates me or speaks to the things I am most passionate about. To date, I have amassed almost $90,000 dollars in student loan debt to work at a job that is not aligned with my dreams and passions. Yet and still, when I was unclear about my future and the direction I wanted my life to take, I invested in my education. Why? Because even though at the time I did not know what my purpose in life was I knew I wanted a “good” job
Fast forward some years later, I am now in my late 30s and I am very clear about what my future looks like. I am no longer wasting time or money on things that are not directly aligned with my dreams and passions. I live in my purpose every single day and I’m very aware of the things I am investing in. I am very intentional on what I spend my money on and am now investing in workshops, residencies, classes, books, and conferences that will not only increase my knowledge base and improve my skills, but also allow me to network with individuals doing the same things. Putting myself in the same room with those who are doing what I’m doing or are interested in hiring people with my skills and knowledge, is key to growing my business and it should be what you’re doing too.
Many entrepreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers/consultants don’t invest in themselves as much as they should. We all have our reasons as to why we don’t. Sometimes we have competing priorities (I talk about that also in my podcast) that won’t allow us to invest in ourselves, and I know when you’re first starting out and haven’t made a profit from your business it may hinder your ability to invest in yourself.
However, never allow not having something stop you from getting what you know you need. There are many creative and inexpensive ways that you can invest in yourself (listen to my podcast here for inexpensive self-investment options). When you invest in yourself, especially if you’re a freelancer/consultant like myself, you’re not only gaining knowledge you’re also setting the value of your services. Not only are you now more marketable, but you also show potential clients/customers why they should purchase your services versus that person doing the same thing who may not have the same level of expertise.
Far too many people out here are either giving away their services for free or undervaluing themselves. Don’t short change yourself because you think people aren’t willing to pay. They are and they will if they see that you’re worth it. I very rarely do things for free because I know what I bring as far as expertise, years of experience, and knowledge. I am constantly investing in myself so that I can give my customers the absolute best. Additionally, time is money. So if I’m taking time from my busy schedule that could be better spent with my family, or on another activity that is valuable to me, I expect to be paid.
Don’t get me wrong, there are occasions where I’ll donate my time if I truly believe the project or event’s purpose is community based and is aligned with my own personal commitment of giving back, but that’s the exception, not the rule. The thing about charging for your services is that people will respect your time more if they have to pay for it. They won’t waste your time if they’ve had to dig in their pockets. Remember that. People don’t respect free work that’s why you have to charge them. In the infamous words of Birdman, “Make ’em put some respek on your name”.
The point I’m trying to make is if you are in business for yourself then you have to start acting like it. Nothing of real value is free and that includes your time, expertise, and knowledge. Below are some tips to make sure you are getting paid and not getting played!
Have a services/product price list.
Be prepared to show potential clients/customers your price list as soon as they inquire about your services. Be transparent and include all fees so that your potential client/customer isn’t surprised later on in the transaction process. If you don’t have a price list, create one. NOW! Let potential customers know exactly what they’re paying for (show them your credentials if you have to). Your price should consider not only your time, but also everything you’ve invested into making you the right person for the job.
Collect deposits.
Start charging deposits in order to secure the date and time. This one is so important because if you block out a date for someone and they end up canceling the event or deciding they don’t want to hire you, you now have potentially lost income for any other events you could have booked that day and didn’t. The non-refundable deposit at least offsets some of the potential income that has been lost.
Always remain professional.
Your reputation is what’s going to make or break your brand and how you present yourself is crucial to creating a great business relationship with your customers. Some things to consider that will add value to your business is:
· Having clients sign a contract that clearly outlines the services they are paying for. This ensures that there is no miscommunication by either party.
· Always do what you say you’re going to do. Be a person who stands by their word.
· Establish a cancellation/refund policy and inform the customer (even if it’s a no refund policy) let the customer know what they’re getting themselves into.
Navigating the world of entrepreneurship can be tricky and overwhelming, but if you’re well prepared it doesn’t have to be. As long as you stay committed to your mission and your vision, know what you bring to the table, and don’t undervalue yourself you will always come out on top.
Nafis Alam, Sunway University and Graham Kendall, University of Nottingham
The history of gold trading can be traced back hundreds of years while bitcoin, a digital currency that uses encryption and works independently of central banks, has been around for less than ten.
But the cryptocurrency is now starting to challenge gold as the investment of choice. Its meteoric rise is such that on March 3, 2017, bitcoin overtook gold for the first time, trading at US$1,290 compared to US$1,228 for an ounce of gold.
All the gold that has ever been mined would easily fit under the legs of the Eiffel Tower – in fact, multiple times. Gold’s scarcity is one reason for its value. Another reason is that it’s a very nonreactive metal so it doesn’t tarnish, which is important if you’ve invested millions and don’t want it to slowly deteriorate.
Most governments keep some of their funds in gold (as the video below explains). But although gold is seen as a safe haven in times of crisis, it is still subject to the usual market fluctuations of any commodity. Once the bitcoin reaches its full potential (all bitcoins are mined) the value will be much more stable.
What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a virtual currency used for electronic purchases and transfers. It has recently been gaining popularity and a growing number of businesses, including WordPress, Overstock.com, and Reddit, now accept it as a form of payment. Microsoft already accepts bitcoin payments through its Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile platforms, while those shopping online at Shopify may use bitcoin as payment.
Bitcoin is also moving outside the virtual space; what may be the world’s first bitcoin store, House of Nakamoto, opened early this year in Vienna. There, people can buy bitcoins for euros, and vice versa, from a dedicated bitcoin ATM. Drinkers in Cambridge can pay for beers at a pub called The Haymakers.
The number of bitcoins is capped at 21 million. As of March 2017, there were almost 16.2 million circulating. The supply of coins grows steadily because of the way bitcoin is programmed. Each “miner” (“mining” is lingo for the discovery of new bitcoins – anyone with computer knowledge and access to blockchain software can act as a miner) introduces new coins to the supply at a rate of around 12.5 coins every ten minutes.
Mining is the process of adding transaction records to bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions (blockchain). The blockchain confirms transactions as having taken place to the rest of the network.
Even as far back as 2013, bitcoin was worth almost as much as gold. And, at the end of 2016, the total value of bitcoins in circulation was US$14bn.
A good investment opportunity?
Investment in digital currencies, such as bitcoin, has emerged as an alternative to traditional forms of money and created a niche that’s driving major innovations in the financial sector, such as peer-to-peer lending, and digital wallets. As traders gain confidence in alternative forms of money and payment mechanisms, bitcoin is seen as a possible investment alternative.
In fact, bitcoin exhibits similar features to gold – limited global supply, maintaining value and hedging against global market volatility. Such is the exuberance in bitcoin investment that it actually outperforms the precious metal, generating an annual return of 155% compared to gold’s annual loss of 6% during the same time period.
Even though Bitcoin seems a profitable investment tool, its value can be as volatile as the value of the gold, depending on the perceived risk of owning bitcoin as a commodity. Bitcoins are encrypted for security purposes, but while the coding identifies the currency itself, it does not identify its owner. If someone hacks the miner system and gets a secret bitcoin code they will eventually become the rightful owner.
Even though Bitcoin seems a profitable investment tool, its value can be as volatile as the value of the gold, depending on the perceived risk of owning bitcoin as a commodity.
What, then, is pushing the investment value of bitcoin? One driver is increasing demand from developing countries, especially Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries are experiencing economic distress and weakening currencies, making their local currencies unpredictable and volatile. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly popular to use bitcoin as a natural hedge against paper currency.
Another contributing factor to the rise of bitcoin is the possibility of a trade war between US and China. US President Donald Trump has indicated that he may impose 45% tariff on Chinese imports. This may lead to a weakening yuan, and capital outflow from China as investors will resort to more stable currencies such as euros.
The hike in bitcoin’s price during financial troubles is also a testament to its increasing attraction as a hedging tool.
When Cyprus’s economy crashed in 2013, the price of bitcoins spiked as people resorted to other forms of payment than the national currency. In 2015, when the Chinese currency was in free fall, people in the country turned to bitcoin alongside gold.
And after the Brexit vote in the UK, when global currencies and stock markets tanked, bitcoin’s value rose more than US$100 compared to the previous day. This was mainly due to some of the speculative money flowing out of the pound and yuan making its way to bitcoin.
Increased government support
Bitcoin is not just getting increased interest from tech-savvy individuals and banks such as Barclays, BBVA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, State Street, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS. Governments are also lending support to the cryptocurrency.
The Australian government plans to reduce tax on bitcoin transactions. Current treatment of the digital currency under the goods and services tax (GST) law means that consumers are “double taxed” when using it to buy anything already subject to GST. The government plans to change this.
Meanwhile, the UK’s chief scientific adviser has said that governments should use bitcoin’s underlying technology – blockchains – to help with taxes, benefits and passports.
Taking its cue from bitcoin, the US government is planning to launch a legalized cryptocurrency called Fedcoin, which can be exchanged for a physical dollar. Bitcoin is not considered legal tender because it is not backed by any government.
What we can say with certainty is that we cannot use gold to buy bitcoin directly but bitcoin can be used to buy gold.
Bitcoin pricing is also motivating the much-anticipated establishment of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. An ETF is an investment company that has no restrictions on the amount of shares it can issue.
The approval of a bitcoin ETF would make the cryptocurrency more attractive to risk-averse institutional investors as it would allow an easier way to gain access to bitcoin than buying it directly.
Such is the dominance of bitcoin that the Bank of England issued a white paper on the subject, investigating the possibility of central banks minting their own cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s appeal, compared to gold, comes from two factors. First, it can be used as an easy medium for payments (for a limited but growing number of transactions), which gold cannot replicate. And with their limited supply of 21 million, bitcoins are likely to attract higher demand compared to gold.
The debate over the supremacy of gold versus bitcoin will continue. What we can say with certainty is that we cannot use gold to buy bitcoin directly but bitcoin can be used to buy gold. You can decide which you prefer.
Nafis Alam, Professor of Finance, Sunway University and Graham Kendall, Professor of Computer Science and Provost/CEO/PVC, University of Nottingham
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.
The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.
General Wireless, which acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.
RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.
Sprint will convert several hundred locations into Sprint corporate-owned stores, the wireless provider said in a separate statement.
RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing and subsequent store closings are not material to Sprint’s overall sales results, Sprint added.
RadioShack, a nearly 100-year-old chain that captured the heart of electronics enthusiasts for its specialty products such as “walkie talkies,” first filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after the rise of mobile phones caught it off-guard and customers abandoned its stores for big box competitors including Best Buy Co Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
In an attempt to keep the doors open on 1,740 stores, RadioShack struck a partnership with Sprint during its bankruptcy, inviting the mobile carrier to co-brand with the company and set up smaller stores within its own. At the time, Sprint viewed RadioShack’s retail footprint as a way to quickly scale up its own business.
But, in the years since RadioShack has emerged, both Sprint and RadioShack have been challenged.
Sprint, whose network is viewed as inferior to the country’s largest carriers, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc, has been forced to offer heavy discounts to grow its business.
RadioShack meanwhile has struggled to compete against internet behemoth Amazon.com Inc and for the attention of shoppers who increasingly wait for deep discounts before making a purchase.
The influx of cheaper copycat consumer products manufactured abroad has also hurt the business.
Still, in the years since its first bankruptcy, RadioShack has focused on expanding its private label offerings, which include drones, radios and adapters, and now makes up the majority of its business.
The shift away from selling other retailers’ products to its own has helped it reduce operating expenses and increase gross profit.
SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - China has granted preliminary approval for at least 35 trademarks linked to Donald Trump, documents on China’s state trademark office show, giving the U.S. President and his family protection were they to develop the “Trump” brand in the market.
The trademarks, all variations in English and Chinese on the name “Donald Trump,” were given preliminary approval in two lists published on the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Feb. 27 and Monday.
The approvals underline the complexities and potential concerns over conflicts of interest facing President Trump, who has a sprawling business empire from hotels to apparel using the Trump name around the world.
Trump, a wealthy real estate developer, has previously said he has handed over his business interests to a trust overseen by one of his sons and a Trump Organization executive. He can, however, revoke the trust at will and, as its sole beneficiary, remains linked to it financially.
The new trademark approvals cover such businesses as branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars and bodyguard and escort services.
The 35 trademarks, which Trump’s lawyers applied for in April last year, are registered to “Donald J. Trump” and listed to the address of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York.
The Associated Press earlier reported the approvals of the trademarks, which it said also included three further trademarks not directly registered in the President’s name. These related to Scion, a hotel brand Trump’s sons want to expand in the United States. Reuters could not immediately confirm the three further approvals.
Representatives for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s personal ties between politics and business have prompted concern from politicians and rights groups who say the President could face potential conflicts of interest related to the extensive business affairs of his family.
Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the Departments of State, Commerce and Justice to brief Congress on the Chinese trademark approvals and on “the potential constitutional dangers that they present.”
“This is an astonishing development ... It’s clear to me that officials in Beijing have come to appreciate the potential return on investments for China in having a positive, personal business relationship with the President of the United States,” Cardin said in a statement.
Cardin has previously introduced a resolution demanding Trump cut his ties with the Trump Organization or risk violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which bars public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress.
The preliminary approvals are open to be challenged for around a 90-day period from the date of approval. If no objections they will be formally registered in late May and early June respectively.
Trump received a single trademark approval last month in China for Trump-branded construction services, following a 10-year legal battle. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Eric Walsh in WASHINGTON; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lincoln Feast)
The City of New Orleans is launching a new bike-sharing program this coming fall, according to the Uptown Messenger. The Brooklyn-based Social Bicycles will run the new public transportation program, which is currently set to launch in October 2017. The bike-sharing program will operate out of 70 stations located throughout the city.
The bike-sharing program partners New Orleans’ Transportation Department with Social Bicycles, a company that uses mobile and wireless technology to make renting bikes easy and accessible. The partnership is part of Mayor Landrieu’s efforts to make NOLA public and alternative transportation options more reliable and accessible.
According to an American Community Survey, New Orleans boasts the 10th highest percentage of residents who cycle to work each day. In the last decade alone, New Orleans has paved more than 100 miles of bike lanes throughout the city. Social bike tours, bike parades, and bicycle valets are now common events in city programming. With so many bike commuters, NOLA is developing its own culture around biking.
Let’s take a closer look at New Orleans’ burgeoning bike community:
Dashing Bicycles & Accessories
Dashing Bicycles & Accessories strives to foster and empower women and families to be part of NOLA’s active bicycle network. Follow Dashing Bicycles on social media to stay apprised of local bike news and events.
Marin Tockman, Owner of Dashing Bicycles & Accessories. [Photo via goinvade.com]
Gerken’s
Gerken’s on St. Claude in Bywater offers full-service bike repairs and rentals. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff can recommend great places in the city to explore on your bike.
Buzz NOLA
Buzz Nola Rentals & Tours has a large fleet of cruisers available to rent. Buzz Nola also offers bike tours which are popular among New Orleanians who enjoy connecting with fellow riders.
Bike Easy
Bike Easy, a local advocacy group for cycling enthusiasts, hosts a variety of community events which aim to make biking in New Orleans easier and safer.
This article was originally posted on Naveen Kailas’ website http://naveenkailas.com
For more New Orleans updates and news, follow Naveen Kailas on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NaveenKailas
Here’s a fun exercise: Type “top entrepreneurs” into Google and watch which names show up on your screen. Any guesses? You probably won’t be surprised to see Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos and Larry Page atop the list. All, of course, are savvy, well-known entrepreneurs. But you have to scroll a long way down before the first women — maybe Vera Wang and Sara Blakely — appear.
Why is this?
It’s certainly not because women are in any way less smart or capable than men. But in addition to the standard challenges of growing a business, women are often faced with stereotypes, discrimination and their own self-doubts. As Salesforce’s vice president of SMB marketing, I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of startups and growing businesses, plus meet hundreds of successful female entrepreneurs along the way. It’s always interesting to share our wins and failures.
So, in honor of Women’s Day, I’d like to offer some of the strategies that have worked for me and the women I’ve met.
Fail fast and often. It’s a fact of life: women are more risk-averse than men. According to the Harvard Business Review, when faced with a risky decision, men will think more about the strategic implications of a choice, while women will think more about the people affected by the outcome of the choice — which makes them less likely to take the risky decision. While it’s true that at any business you can’t just wait around for someone else to come up with the next big idea, this is especially true at small companies with limited resources and a small customer base. When you have an idea, don’t wait for permission. Run with it! If you don’t risk failing, you’ll never have the opportunity for success. It’s an oft-heard Silicon Valley mantra, but we also use it for our team at Salesforce: “Fail fast and often.”
Embrace your inner bulldog. A senior executive at our company recently told me that although he doesn’t always agree with me, he always trusts me. He said, “That’s because you’re not afraid to be a bulldog about the things you care about.” I wondered to myself, “Is that a good thing?” Ultimately, I’ve decided that it’s a good thing to have strong opinions and stick with them. My coworkers know that I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Many women worry about being perceived as being too pushy or too aggressive. But the reality is that if you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will. To be successful at a business of any size — but especially a small one with limited resources — you need to have a clear point of view and be laser-focused on getting there.
Make your own “boy’s club.” The days of doing business over a three-martini lunch and a round of golf are mostly gone, but you can still reap the benefits of being in a “club” of like-minded people. For me, this happened organically when I was invited into a program designed to help high-potential women develop the skills they needed to move up at Salesforce. As it turned out, the most important things that I got out of the program were the relationships I built with the other attendees. It wasn’t just learning that there were other women facing the same problems I face; rather, it was building a mini-community of people I can trust to give me honest advice when I need it. You don’t have to work at a big company like Salesforce to create this kind of trust circle. In fact, it may work best when your “club” includes people from other companies. Visit the SBA website to find local groups for women entrepreneurs that can give you the support you need along the way.
Make work fit your schedule. For as long as women have been in the workplace, they’ve been challenged to balance their work and home lives. Many have struggled with the myth of “having it all,” but today it’s easier than ever to be fully engaged in both. Many businesses do their work in the cloud, so you have the flexibility to access mission-critical applications from almost anywhere. And tools like Google Hangouts make it easy to keep the lines of communication open. But being totally connected doesn’t mean that you should be working 24-hours-a-day. It means that you can intermingle your work and professional lives in ways that let you hit all the important moments. I can spend the morning working at my daughter’s school, and the afternoon running a team meeting from my laptop. (And at night I can take a spin class from my Pelaton bike). This lets me focus on the activities that matter — both personally and professionally — and not just the ones that fit in my schedule.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Most parents — especially moms — will tell you that they don’t have enough hours in their day. Many learn to be terrific jugglers, but from time to time they’ll drop the ball on something important. Not having enough time is also one of the top things that keeps small business owners up at night. It’s no wonder, because they and their employees are often stuck doing menial, repetitive tasks — like paperwork — that take them away from more strategic, customer-oriented work. New automation and artificial intelligence tools are now available that let every business — even small ones — automate repetitive tasks and work smarter than ever. Focusing on what moves the needle is also a helpful philosophy in your home life.
Try out these tips and see if they can help you be more successful, not just on Women’s Day but all year long. Please let me know how it goes, or if there are other tips that work for you.
As a kid growing up in the ‘90s, all I wanted was to be a rockstar, have my music played on the radio, and make killer music videos for MTV.
That’s what the music industry promised to provide the lucky artists and bands who got signed. My how things have changed.
If you’re an artist or band trying to get your music out to the world (or even make a living) then you need to play by the new rules.
Gone are the old days of the music industry where you would hope to get signed to a label and then become a star (i.e. everything would be done for you).
Today you need to view yourself (and your music) through the lens of three very important truths. I call them the new rules of the music industry, and those who play by them will succeed.
Rule #1 - You Are A Brand
No longer are you simply a musician or artist. You are a brand. Knowing this distinction is critical to gaining traction and growing your fanbase.
The word “brand” can come with a negative connotation for all the creatives and artists reading this but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Being a brand as an artist simply means that you need to learn the art of promotion and entrepreneurship. You basically have to become a business person.
Because music is still a business. Always has been. Always will be.
It’s just that in the “old days” the business was handled for you by other people. Namely your label and their team.
Someone still has to promote your music - these days that someone is you!
Rule #2 - You Are A Content Creator
The key to good promotion is to remember that we live in an age of content consumption.
Whether it’s binge watching on Netflix or reading blog after blog, people these days want to consume content and they want lots of it.
Your job as an artist is to give your fans a steady diet of content related to you and your brand.
What could this content be?
For starters, your music. This is the obvious one. Share your latest single or music video. Great.
But there is so much more you can do.
Why not share videos of you in the songwriting process? Or in the studio recording your latest album? Or snap some footage from your phone on stage?
Do live Q&As with your fans. Talk about what you do for fun OTHER than music.
Whatever it is, share something about you, your music, and your life. Your fans will love it and appreciate it.
And here’s the key - to stay relevant in today’s world you must stay top of mind. You do this by creating regular bits of content - rather than only releasing an album or EP once a year or every other year.
View yourself as a content creator and not just a musician and you’ll be in good shape.
Rule #3 - Don’t Try To Be Perfect
When I was growing up, all the bands I loved had perfect everything. Perfect-sounding albums, perfect-looking music videos, and perfect writeups in magazines.
They were always presented as polished and untouchable.
The problem with perfect though is that it holds many artists back from simply finishing new music or sharing a piece of content. This is a big no-no.
Granted we don’t want to share crap - not at all. We simply want to be authentic and real, sharing our best stuff as best as we can.
There’s a point at which your recordings as an artist will only be but so good. They won’t be perfect. Release them anyway and move on to the next project.
Ironically this is how you improve as an artist!
The age of glossy perfection is coming to an end for most artists. My generation (the millennials) prefer the raw, authentic you - so give it to them!
Will You Play By The Rules?
I still love the idea of becoming a rockstar and being able to focus purely on the art and craft of my music while other people do all the hard work of promoting me and growing my fan base.
Who doesn’t?
But the old rules don’t apply anymore. It’s a brave new world and those who play be these new rules will be the ones who build longevity and be rewarded with the chance to continue to make the music they love
Are you an artist or musician looking to make your music sound as good as the stuff you hear on the radio? Check out all the free resources here to take the quality of your recordings up a few notches!
On this, International Women’s Day, I want to give some insight into the day-to-day lives of women working in the humanitarian aid sector by sharing some of the murmurs I overhear from many women working in some of the toughest places in the world.
I prefer working with men – said more women than I can count.
I’m pregnant, they’re not going to renew my contract – said one woman about a month before her contract was, in fact, not renewed.
I don’t think I should ask for a promotion. I don’t want to seem too pushy. – said more women than I can count.
And then there are the harmful things that women say to and about each other.
She’s so bossy. She thinks she knows everything – said a woman on a team managed by another woman.
You’re so ambitious – said malignly by a female manager to a female staff.
What did you do? - asked a female supervisor to a recently assaulted female staff member, minutes after the attack.
If we don’t see these words as poison, as the vitriol choking our advancement, then we are lost. Listening to such things over the years, I’m reminded of three elements of Buddhism’s eight-fold path: right thoughts, rights words, right actions. Our actions begin with our thoughts that then turn into words that then become the manifestation of our ideas into the material world. If we keep hearing negative things about each other and thinking negative thoughts about ourselves, what will naturally follow from our actions towards women will be negative. And that is exactly what the Humanitarian Women’s Network survey shows about our status in the humanitarian aid sector: systemic discrimination, and harassment and assault of women in the humanitarian workspace. Wrong thoughts, wrong words, wrong actions.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #BeBoldForChange. I challenge every woman and man reading this article to take 5 bold steps today towards right thoughts, right words, and right actions.
1. Think Positively: Start your day with a positive thought about one woman that you work with. Pick a new woman everyday. Think of one good quality about her and try to remember that she is someone’s sister, mother, daughter, and friend.
2. Stop Gossiping about each Other: Ladies, this has got to stop. Before you trash talk about that female colleague, before you speak disparagingly about a woman who you know or don’t know or heard of, stop yourself. Women gossiping about each other is one of the most dangerous forms of subversion that has us kept us from claiming our throne as the majority sex at 51% of the world’s population. Stop talking badly about one another immediately.
3. Be a Mentor or a Mentee to a Woman Today: The Humanitarian Women’s Network is setting up a roster of senior mentors in the aid industry for willing mentees. We believe that by networking women at the top with women who are just getting into the field, we can help women navigate our profession to build strong and healthy careers. To sign up as a mentor or request a mentor, contact us as womeninaidwork@gmail.com.
4. Hire Women: If HR comes back and says that the only person in the entire universe qualified to fill a particular role is a man, kindly request that they try harder in their search to bring about a more ‘diverse’ candidate pool. I strongly encourage women to start hiring more among their ranks and support one another’s career progress.
5. If You See Something, Say Something: if you hear any negative thoughts or see any negative actions towards a fellow woman, don’t let it slide. Interrupt someone saying negative things about women— even if they’re speaking negatively about themselves—and repeat after me: right thoughts, right words, right action.
These simple steps, when done at scale, will prompt serious cultural shifts in favor of women in the humanitarian aid sector― because we will be collectively embodying the change we want to see in the world. On this International Women’s Day let’s #BeBoldForChange by making the boldest change: the one within.
Be part of the movement: to learn more about the Humanitarian Women’s Network, visit www.humanitarianwomensnetwork.org. To set up your own HWN network in your area, contact us at womeninaidwork@gmail.com
Snap Inc’s shares tumbled 11 percent on Tuesday and traders raced to position themselves to cash in on further declines after analysts gave the company a lukewarm reception following its red-hot market debut.
Snap’s $3.4 billion public listing on Thursday was the hottest technology offering in three years, but its lofty valuation and slowing user growth have raised eyebrows on Wall Street and attracted traders who expect its shares to fall.
Institutional traders were paying annualized interest rates between 20 percent and 40 percent to be among the first to short-sell the stock, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm.
The owner of messaging app Snapchat is not profitable and has warned it may never be.
Much of last week’s frenetic trading in Snap has yet to settle, making it difficult for brokers to estimate how many shares are available to lend to short sellers.
But early data suggests brokers are facing a “chaotic” lending environment, with early short interest approaching $200 million, said S3 Partners Managing Director of Research Ihor Dusaniwsky.
“This is the first couple of days of shorting data to show up, so I’m sure this is going to get bigger quickly,” Dusaniwsky said.
Short-sellers borrow and then sell stocks they think will fall in value, hoping to profit by buying the stock back more cheaply later on and then returning it to its owner.
The interest rates brokers charged for Snap shares on Tuesday suggest demand is extremely high and that those borrowing the stock expect its price to fall steeply.
By comparison, brokers lend out shares of Facebook Inc at an annualized rate of less than 1 percent, reflecting an ample supply available for lending and low demand from short sellers, according to data from Astec Analytics.
In its market debut Snap surged 44 percent from its $17 initial public offering price to close at $24.48. Since then it has fallen 22 percent.
At mid-day on Tuesday Snap was down 10.8 percent at $21.20.
Snap has been heavily traded since its market debut, rolling over the number of shares sold in the IPO more than twice.
Options trading in Snap is expected to start on Friday, once regulatory requirements are met.
At about $27 billion, Snap’s market capitalization remains a little larger than Kellogg Co and slightly smaller than HP Inc.
So far, no analysts have initiated the stock with a “buy” rating.
Of six analysts who have launched coverage of Snap, four recommend selling and two have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Globally, shares of most of the 25 largest tech IPOs have languished in their first year on the public market, with 16 notching a hefty decline from their debut day closing price, according to a Reuters analysis of market performance.
(Additional reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Being an entrepreneur is rough. Things never go as planned and take 10 times longer than intended. There are highs and lows, and many times it feels easier just to give up and throw in the towel. These 11 driven entrepreneurs, and members of The Oracles, share the No. 1 tip they use to stay motivated, persevere and achieve smashing success.
1. Find your purpose and work on it.
The secret of the most successful people I know is that they can stay motivated, activated, inspired and moving no matter what happens around them. Motivation is that inner drive to move toward or away from something. To get and stay motivated, you must find your purpose. So many people are going to work doing something they don’t believe in. You don’t get burnt out from work. You burn out because you aren’t working on your purpose. Get motivated, get on purpose, and you won’t feel like giving up.
—Grant Cardone, top sales expert who has built a $500 million real estate empire, New York Times best-selling author of Be Obsessed or Be Average, and founder of 10X Growth Con 2017; follow Grant on Facebook or YouTube
2. Don’t feel sorry for yourself—ever.
All of my best successes came on the heels of a failure, so I’ve learned to look at each belly flop as the beginning of something good. If you just hang in there, you’ll find that something is right around the corner. It’s that belief that keeps me motivated. I’ve learned not to feel sorry for myself, ever. Just five minutes of feeling sorry for yourself takes your power away and makes you unable to see the next opportunity.
—Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and Shark on Shark Tank
3. Achieve your goals, no matter what’s going on around you.
I always focus my mindset on achieving my goals no matter what’s going on around me. Every savvy entrepreneur understands we solve problems for a profit. If you can’t handle getting punched in the throat by market conditions, changes in consumer behavior, teammates quitting, losing clients or working 100 hours per week, get out.
Once you’re past that, it’s easy. You create a compelling vision of what you really want. You get crystal clear on why it’s an absolute must for you. You create your personal motive to act. You create your action plan. Then you work.
—Tom Ferry, founder and CEO of Tom Ferry International, ranked the No. 1 real estate coach by the Swanepoel Power 200, and New York Times best-selling author of Life! By Design
4. Remember that it’s supposed to be hard.
Understand that if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. That keeps me going when I encounter struggles. It’s OK to fail, make mistakes and get frustrated, but it’s never OK to get discouraged. I accept my failures, learn from them and persevere with a positive attitude. But persevering with a maniacal Type-A drive is highly overrated. My first ambition is to enjoy the heck out of life. Business should never get in the way of that. If it does, then I’ve compromised my values for the sake of a buck.
—Mark Sisson, founder of Primal Blueprint, best-selling author of The New Primal Blueprint, and publisher of MarksDailyApple.com, the world’s most visited blog on paleo, primal and ancestral health
5. Stop viewing problems as accidents.
Fixing problems is part of your job as a business owner, so you should stop seeing problems as accidents to be afraid of. Problems don’t go away as you grow and make more money. They actually become bigger. Once I changed that perspective and stopped labeling problems as negative accidents, I developed a thicker skin and focused my energy on fixing them more effectively.
—Yuli Ziv, founder and CEO of Style Coalition, influencer marketing pioneer, and sole female founder immigrant who bootstrapped her business from zero to millions
6. Look to the obstacles others had to face.
In my first business, it took me three months of getting kicked in the teeth every day to land my first paying client. In my latest venture, it took nine months to get my first signed contract. I always look to the backstories of successful entrepreneurs. I study their successful actions, but I get really motivated by the massive barriers they had to overcome. There are hundreds of examples of wildly successful people who had to go through worse problems than I have. This reminds me that I can do it, too.
—Jim Mathers, CEO of North American Energy Advisory, Inc.
7. Remember yourwhyandwhy not.
With little experience, I started a video production studio focused on helping businesses tell their story—in the middle of Hollywood! The competition was seemingly insurmountable. Studio producers, cable companies and directors were all taking any opportunities. But I remembered why I was doing this in the first place: to help people and to make a living as a creator. Just as motivating was the why not: I did not want to work for someone or be a person who couldn’t truly take care of himself. Today, we are regularly voted the top video and animation studio as a result of that motivation.
—Maury Rogow, CEO of Rip Media Group
8. Relentlessly focus on your mission.
Entrepreneurs are extremely passionate about their company or current project. That passion is born out of the end-result desired, which is the why or mission of what you’re doing. We believe that people will be better off with our product, solution or service than without it. For me, I want to help 1 million families avoid the experience I personally dealt with when a loved one died. I simply focus on that, and it provides massive motivation.
—Jon Braddock, founder and CEO of My Life & Wishes
9. Keep your vision clearly on the top 1 percent.
When your vision is clear, nothing can stop you from accomplishing your goal. If the feedback you receive is not as planned, then don’t waste time labeling it and allowing yourself to be distracted. Stay focused and persevere, because there is very little competition in the top 1 percent.
—Craig Lack, CEO of ENERGI and creator of Performance-Based Health Plans®
10. Take time to reset.
I believe that true motivation only comes from within and that passion is the best motivator. I love what I do, and that gets me through the days I don’t like. When things get tough, I remember that my clients chose me to be their gladiator. I take time away to meditate, train or even jump in a float tank to clear my mind and reset.
—Nafisé Nina Hodjat, founder and managing attorney of The SLS Firm
11. Realize your life is not your own.
When I reflect upon the greater purpose of my existence, it never fails to motivate me to keep moving forward. I think of my three beautiful children and my role as a living example of play, courage and commitment. I think of my wife and all the marvelous things that she dreamt of as a little girl; I think of my ambition to make that a reality. I think of my parents and brothers, what we’ve had to sacrifice and overcome as an immigrant family, and my quest to make them proud. I think of my hardworking employees, and how my business decisions directly impact their families.
—Tom Shieh, CVO of Crimcheck
Want to share your insights like those above in a future column?If you’re an experienced entrepreneur, please get in touch here.
Want to suggest a future topic for these entrepreneurs to answer?Email suggestion@theoracles.com and it’s very possible we’ll make your suggestion the focus of a future article!
