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d920b2c88038a979e12c7c2e47906aa5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/09/12/salsify-raises-8-million-to-usurp-another-legacy-software-system/ | Salsify Raises $8 Million To Usurp Another Legacy Software System | Salsify Raises $8 Million To Usurp Another Legacy Software System
Another piece of software moves to the Cloud.
It’s not exactly news that the world of enterprise software is shifting away from internally hosted applications to The Cloud. Companies like Salesforce, Workday, Cornerstone OnDemand and a slew of privately held upstarts are taking corporate dollars once reserved for the likes of SAP, IBM and Oracle.
The trend has been obvious for so long that it’s often surprising to discover a corporate niche that hasn’t been taken online. Salsify, a vendor of software that helps e-commerce companies manage product data, has found one such niche. The company announced this morning that it’s raised $8 million in Series A venture funding from Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. The deal was led by David Skok from Matrix and Michael Skok from North Bridge, brothers and longtime venture capitalists who had never previously led a round together.
Both firms have a distinct taste for SaaS companies. Previous cloud investments include HubSpot and Huddle for Matrix, and Paydiant and DemandWare for North Bridge. David Skok is also a prolific blogger on SaaS metrics and strategies.
Salsify, based in Boston, provides cloud-based software that helps ecommerce companies share, manage and clean their inventory data. Large ecommerce companies receive dozens of different data sets from suppliers, providing information like price, color, ingredients, descriptions, specs and other attributes depending on the products. Since no two data sets are alike, companies often face the painstaking process of reconciling these different data sources into one internal databse, then sharing that document with different departments.
Salsify’s software acts as a sort of online hub for such data so that managers can collaborate and track changes to product information. The company targets mid-market and enterprise customers though David Skok points out that any company with more than 1,000 products will find the software useful. “I’d say nearly all e-commerce vendors are likely to be buyers for this," says Skok.
CEO Jason Purcell, who previously led the e-commerce division of Endeca, a Boston-based enterprise software firm that sold to Oracle for $1 billion in 2011, discovered the opportunity for Salsify while selling Endeca’s e-commerce search engine product. “Cleaning up the data was always such manual, laborious, tedious process,” he says. “It seemed like a good opportunity for a cloud-based offering.”
The ten-person company also provides software to suppliers, who can be penalized for submitting improperly formatted data to retailers.
Purcell says the company mostly competes against internally built software solutions at the moment, but he expects to take on legacy solutions from vendors like SAP and Informatica in the coming months.
“It’s analogous to what GitHub has done for source code,” Purcell says. “If we can give that same capability to these product catalgos, that’s a huge opportunity.”
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8d2a7071e9225e40a6750131ed247c02 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/10/14/10-terms-you-must-know-before-raising-startup-capital/ | 10 Terms You Must Know Before Raising Startup Capital | 10 Terms You Must Know Before Raising Startup Capital
There are a lot of ways to get tripped up while building a company. Failing to understand financial jargon shouldn't be one of them.
It's not that investors and venture capitalists are evil or anything. It's just that their interests don't perfectly align with those of entrepreneurs. You want to build a company, keep control and earn a fair share of any windfall. Investors want to profit from your company as much as possible, minimize their financial risk and, often, gain the operating control needed to do so. Balancing these interests is a delicate process that requires a clear-eyed understanding of the terms involved during negotiations.
So in the tsunami of legalese that entrepreneurs face during fundraising discussions, FORBES has uncovered 10 terms that we think are essential to understand. A familiarity with the phrases below will help you avoid needlessly giving up equity, control and profits in the event of a successful exit. This post is no replacement for a lawyer, but it will help you, hopefully, call BS on less-than-forthcoming investors. (For a quick summary of the terms, check out the full list here.)
Pre-money vs. Post-money Valuation
Let's start very simply: valuation is the monetary value of your company. Internally, company shareholders often agree on a formula to determine valuation in the event of a partner’s death or exit. When looking for venture or angel financing, your valuation is, frankly, whatever you can convince investors to agree on.
The difference between pre-money valuation and post-money valuation is also very simple. Pre-money refers to your company’s value before receiving funding. Let’s say a venture firm agrees to a pre-money valuation of $10 million for your company. If they decide to invest $5 million, that makes your company’s post-money valuation $15 million.
Post-money valuation = pre-money valuation + new funding
These terms are important because they determine the equity stake you’ll give up during the funding round. In the above example, the investor’s $5 million stake means he’s left with 33% ownership of the company ($5 million/$15 million).
Let's consider a counterexample. Say the company was valued at $10 million post-money instead, implying a $5 million pre-money valuation. This means that the investor’s $5 million counts as half the company’s valuation. He comes away with 50% of the company in this scenario, rather than 33%. Given the difference in equity, you can see how important it is clarify between pre and post-money valuations when discussing investment terms.
Convertible Debt (Convertible Notes)
When a company is young, quantifying its valuation is often an arbitrary, pointless exercise. There may not even be a product in hand, let alone revenue. But companies at this stage may still need to raise money, and if investors decide on a pre-money valuation of say, $100,000, another $100,000 suddenly buys control.
Convertible debt (also called convertible notes) is a financing vehicle that allows startups to raise money while delaying valuation discussions until the company is more mature. Though technically debt (see this post on convertible equity for a further explanation) convertible notes are meant to convert to equity at a later date, usually a round of funding. (Often notes convert to equity during a Series A round of funding.)
Investors who agree to use convertible notes generally receive warrants or a discount as a reward for putting their money in at the earliest, riskiest stages of the business. In short, this means that their cash converts to equity at a more favorable ratio than investors who come in at the valuation round. I won't go into detail on warrants and discounts here, but Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist at Union Square Ventures, provides a nice explanation of these terms on his blog.
Capped Notes vs. Uncapped Notes
As discussed above, convertible notes delay placing a valuation on a company until a later funding round. But investors often still want a say in the future valuation of the company so their stake doesn't get diluted down the line. When entrepreneurs and investors agree to a “capped” round, this means that they place a ceiling on the valuation at which investors’ notes convert to equity.
So if a company raises $500,000 in convertible notes at a $5 million cap, those investors will own at least 10% of the company after the Series A round ($500,000/$5M).
An uncapped round means that the investors get no guarantee of how much equity their convertible debt investments will purchase, making these kinds of investments most favorable for the entrepreneur. Let's consider a company that raises $500,000 in an uncapped round. If they end up making so much progress that they convince Series A investors to agree to a $10 million, this means that their convertible note investors are left with just 5% of the company, half of what they would get if they capped the round at $5 million. (For the sake of simplicity, we're ignoring discounts and warrants here.)
Again, you can see how important these distinctions are in terms of retaining ownership of your company.
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Gallery: 10 Terms You Must Know Before Raising Venture Capital 10 images View gallery
Preferred Stock
Venture capital firms are issued preferred stock, rather than common stock in a company. Preferred stock comes with certain rights attached, some of which we'll discuss below. The terms Series A, Series B, etc. refer to the class of preferred stock issued at each fundraising round.
Liquidation Preferences
Let’s be very clear: the primary job of venture capitalists is to make money for their investors. Their investments are no good unless they eventually realize a payday. In venture parlance, these paydays are referred to as “liquidity events,” the moments when everyone with an equity stake gets a chance to cash out. These events generally come in the form of acquisitions or an IPO. For less successful companies, a liquidation event could also come in the form of a bankruptcy.
Liquidation preferences determine who gets paid what and when during these events. If the company goes bankrupt, for instance, there often aren't enough assets left to pay every creditor and shareholder the money they're due. In this instance, liquidation preferences determine the order in which everybody gets paid. Generally creditors get paid first, then preferred stockholders, then, if there's anything left, common stockholders.
Liquidation preferences are also relevant during more successful outcomes though. The standard liquidation preference is 1x, meaning that preferred stock owners must get their money back (1 x their money) before common stock holders get anything. More on this below.
Participating Preferred vs. Non-participating Preferred Stock
This is where things start to get a little complicated. You see, there are different types of preferred stock, each giving its holder different rights. For our purposes, the rights of participating and non-participating stockholders are most relevant.
Remember that preferred stock owners often get a 1x liquidation preference, meaning that in the event of a sale or bankruptcy, they get their money back before common stock holders get a chance to recoup anything.
Let’s say instead that the company realizes a more successful exit, and common stock holders are left with equity worth 4x what preferred stock owners paid per share at the time of their investment. In this case, preferred stock owners can still exercise their liquidation preference to get their money back, but if everyone else is making four times that money, it makes more sense to convert those preferred shares into common stock to enjoy the 4x gains. During successful outcomes, preferred stock owners are essentially forced to convert to common stock.
For non-participating stockholders, this is where it ends. They convert their shares to common stock and enjoy the same 4x returns as everyone else. Simple enough.
Participating preferred stock, however, works differently and allows venture investors to essentially double dip in the company's gains. Participating stockholders get to exercise both their liquidation preference and enjoy a pro-rata (see below for an explanation) share of common stock gains simultaneously. So if a participating stockholder owns 25% of the company at the time of a liquidation event, they get their money back plus 25% of the remaining proceeds. Let’s use an example to illustrate the differences:
Say a company sells for $10 million. Investors originally put in $2.5 million at a $5 million post-money valuation, leaving them with 50% of the company. If they have non-participating preferred shares, they’re obligated to convert those shares to common stock, leaving them with $5 million. Simple and fair, right?
Now let’s say instead that these investors own participating preferred stock. The outcome changes significantly. In this scenario investors can exercise their 1x liquidation preference, leaving them with $2.5 million. But it doesn't end there. In addition to getting their money back, they’re entitled to a 50% share of the remaining $7.5 million. This means that they get another $3.75 million, leaving them with $6.25 million. In this case, they capture most of the exit’s value even while owning just half of the company.
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Pro-rata Rights
The term pro-rata gets thrown around a lot during financing discussions, often in different contexts. Pro-rata is Latin for “in proportion." Replacing the Latin with it's English equivalent is generally helpful in deciphering its meaning in legal documents.
Pro-rata rights refer to the right of investors to participate in later funding rounds so they can maintain the amount of equity they own in a company. Let’s say that a company raises a $5 million Series A round from an investor at a $20 million post-money valuation, leaving that investor with 25% of the company. In a later round, the company raises $10 million at a $100 million valuation. In order to maintain a 25% stake, the investor needs to throw in at least 25% of the new funding, or $2.5 million. Otherwise their stake in the company will be reduced.
Pro-rata rights obligate the company to leave space in subsequent funding rounds so investors can avoid such dilution.
Be on the lookout for “super pro rata rights” which allow investors to increase their equity stake in subsequent funding rounds. Mark Suster explains why entrepreneurs should avoid agreeing to such terms in a blog post here.
Option Pool
Option pool is a term used to refer to a chunk of equity reserved for future hires. Sounds harmless right? Unfortunately, the size of your option pool, as determined during a round of funding, has a direct impact on your company’s valuation and hence, your ownership.
This is because the option pool is often included in the pre-money valuation of a company. So let’s say investors agree to invest $2 million at a $10 million pre-money valuation, implying a $12 million post-money valuation. Option pools are expressed as a percentage of post-money valuation, so if the deal includes a 20% option pool, that means the pool is worth $2.4 million. Your $10 million pre-money valuation is now effectively a $7.6 million pre-money valuation. The investor isn't taking a larger percentage as a result—they’ll still own 16.7% of the company in this case—but you will be substantially diluted because the option pool will come directly from management's stake. So if you owned 100% and think you now own 83.3%, you’re wrong. That 20% option pool, reserved for future employees, means you now own 63.3% of company.
In preparing to negotiate the size of an option pool, AngelList founders Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi suggest creating a hiring plan for the next 12-18 months, then adding up the equity you intend to give new hires. Often, this kind of reasoning will leave entrepreneurs with a smaller option pool than investors suggest.
Board Control
Companies are ultimately responsible to their shareholders and to their board. So even if you manage to maintain a controlling stake of the company after a financing round, if you suddenly take on three outside board members you have effectively lost control of the company. Slip up and your board can now fire you at will.
The composition of the board post-funding is then an important point of negotiation in any fundraising discussion. Scott Edward Walker, a lawyer at Walker Corporate Law Group, suggests pushing for neutral board members, agreed upon by both the entrepreneur and investors, as a compromise to investors pushing for board control.
Vesting
This term doesn't directly relate to raising capital, but it’s an important financial term to consider nonetheless and investors will expect to know your employees' vesting schedules. A vesting schedule is imposed on employees who receive equity, and determines when they can access that equity. This is useful because it means that if you give 5% of your company to a partner, that partner can’t just quit a couple of months later and keep the equity.
A typical vesting schedule takes four years and involves a one year cliff. The “cliff” means that none of the employee’s shares vest for at least one year. After that year, typically 25% of the employee’s equity is released, and the rest vests on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Special thanks to the authors of the posts listed below, which were helpful references in putting this piece together:
Yokum Taku, What Is Convertible Equity?
Fred Wilson, Financing Options: Convertible Debt
Sam Wu, Liquidation Preferences
Venture Hacks, The Option Pool Shuffle
Mark Suster, Why Super Pro Rata Rights Are Not A Good Deal
Scott Walker, Demystifying Term Sheet Board Control
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f2a254337fe6007039aaa40ffcb44603 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/11/12/firstmark-capital-closes-its-third-fund-at-225-million/ | FirstMark Capital Closes Its Third Fund At $225 Million | FirstMark Capital Closes Its Third Fund At $225 Million
FirstMark Capital, a New York-based venture firm known for early investments in Pinterest, Aereo and Shopify, has raised its third fund since 2006. According to the firm, FirstMark III was oversubscribed. Amish Jani, a founder and managing director, indicated that the partners prefer to work with smaller funds, so they don't feel pressure to make subpar investments.The firm spun out of Pequot Capital Management to operate independently of the hedge fund in 2008
Notable exits for earlier FirstMark funds include Riot Games, the maker of online game League of Legends, which sold to Tencent for $400 million in 2011. Many of the firm's most high-profile investments, including Pinterest, which recently raised a round of funding at a $3.8 billion valuation, have generated nice IRR for the firm, but not yet any hard exits. Education companies like Lumosity and Knewton, as well as the adtech outfit Tapad, look promising.
In addition to education and ecommerce, which emerged as themes for the firm's second fund, FirstMark will increasingly look at opportunities in healthcare, wearable computing and the so-called "Internet of things," which alludes to the connection of traditional appliances to the internet. The firm added a fifth partner, Matt Turck, in March. His affinity for data and hardware--Turck runs two meetups centered around those topics in New York--will help the fim navigate those opportunities.
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Gallery: Midas List 2013: The Top 10 10 images View gallery
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98b405a796dba10a72d2ba5d4a02954f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/22/suja-juice-the-unlikely-team-thats-building-the-countrys-fastest-growing-beverage-company/ | Suja Juice: The Unlikely Team That's Building The Country's Fastest Growing Beverage Company | Suja Juice: The Unlikely Team That's Building The Country's Fastest Growing Beverage Company
"I was into just making really healthy food, living a pretty relaxed lifestyle, surfing and doing a lot of yoga," says Eric Ethans, 30. Dressed in a wrinkled black T-shirt and gray jeans, he's squeezing lemon over a bowl of freshly scooped avocado, reaching up to brush away a stray lock of hair, bleached by the sun and salty with the tang of the Pacific Ocean. "This one," he says, nodding at his lunch companion Annie Lawless, 26, "really pushed me to make sure I could maybe provide for a family one day." Lawless laughs, "Noooo. No. You can stop talking now."
But it's a nice little story. A surfer dude and self-taught chef teams up with a law-school dropout turned yoga instructor to create one of the fastest-growing organic juice makers ever. In a little more than a year and a half, Suja Juice, tucked away in an office complex among scrubby hills outside of San Diego, has expanded from minimal revenue to $18 million in 2013, its first full year of operation. This year it's poised to do $50 million in sales. "I don't think anyone here thought this was going to be as big as it is," says Ethans.
The Suja quartet—James Brennan, Annie Lawless, Eric Ethans and Jeff Church—started out as a messy... [+] kitchen operation that moved to a nightclub. (Credit: Robert Gallagher For Forbes)
"Or as big as it can be," pipes up another diner in the conference room. He is Jeff Church, 52, a Harvard Business School grad, private equity veteran and, since May 2012, CEO of Suja. Without him there would be little more than a kitchen operation of store-bought produce, a few juicers and repurposed coconut-water bottles. Suja is the tale of two young entrepreneurs who had the good sense to hire some adult supervision. And, even then, it's been a wild, seat-of-the-pants journey.
Today Suja makes three lines of juices from fruit, vegetables and exotic ingredients. The Classic retails for $8.99 a bottle; a set of six different flavors (yes, nearly $54) can replace an entire day's worth of food in a so-called cleanse. The less radical Elements, nine flavors at $4.99 a pop, are snacks or supplements. And the upcoming Essentials, a slight nutritional step-down, will cost $3.99 a bottle. Things have come a long way from Ethans' original concoctions.
Homeschooled for the first half of high school, Ethans lasted two years at Golden West College before opening a raw-food restaurant in Encinitas, Calif. called Raw Food Guy, while living at a pro surfer's house nearby. When that flopped he jetted off to Bali, Indonesia, then followed a loop around surf spots in the Pacific for four years--Australia, Fiji, Hawaii--supporting himself by cooking at restaurants and serving as a private chef for vacationers.
He returned to California in 2007 and launched Blissfull, a restaurant and juice-delivery service in San Diego. It closed after six months. "We were undercapitalized," Ethans says. Another failure, another trip to Bali, another California homecoming. As a permanent fixture at the La Jolla Yoga Center, he met Lawless, a receptionist, yoga teacher and law student at the University of San Diego.
A native of Phoenix, Lawless led a more conventional life, studying philosophy at Arizona State, working at a commercial real estate firm and moving to San Diego. Growing up with celiac disease--an inability to process gluten--she began making homemade juices as a teenager to supplement her nutrition. One day in March 2011 she saw Ethans walk into the center with a bottle of homemade green juice.
Soon they began their own ragtag operation, selling homemade juices to fellow yoga students. Lawless would rattle off the ingredients needed for an ideal nutrient-rich blend while Ethans figured out how to make it palatable with odd ingredients like black walnut husk and lavender. The two bought produce at Whole Foods, then poured the juice into empty coconut-water bottles. Soon they had a team of ten part-timers from Ethans' beach bungalow near La Jolla delivering Igloo coolers full of bottles. "They were literally taking the product into people's homes and putting it into their refrigerators for them," Church marvels. "It was probably breaking a ton of laws."
Ethans and Lawless would never have met Church without James Brennan, a restaurant and nightclub entrepreneur. Even that was a chance encounter. With curly, slicked-back hair Brennan, 40, looks more like a New York City firefighter than a cold-pressed-juice aficionado. A fast-talking transplant from Rockaway, N.Y., he became an avid customer after his pregnant wife began buying the juice in the fall of 2011. When she mentioned how pricey it was, he didn't blanch: "I was pretty intrigued by something that cost 11 bucks and didn't have vodka in it."
He began a ten-day cleanse guided by Ethans, supplementing his diet with the juice for another 30 days. "In two weeks I was totally hooked," he says. Observing their slapdash operation, he offered to help out. "I said, 'Look, if you ever want do something, I have a lot of resources. Cooks and kitchens, whatever.'" (Brennan recently sold a 51% stake of his Enlightened Hospitality Group to Hakkasan.) Ethans and Lawless passed on the offer--until, a month later, exhausted after late nights filling juice bottles and barely eking out a profit, the two reconsidered.
Brennan introduced them to Church, a local entrepreneur and buyout whiz; the two had coinvested in Flank Marketing, a digital marketing startup. A Cleveland native, Church started as an accountant at Ernst & Young, then got an M.B.A. at Harvard. He spent ten years helping to turn around Erico, a Cleveland maker of industrial electrical equipment. His equity stake rocketed in value from $100,000 to a couple million by the time he left in 1998.
Eager to do his own buyout, he moved to L.A. that year and bought Aztec Concrete Accessories, which produces plastic fasteners for concrete construction, for $13 million. When it sold in 2000, investors got a sevenfold return. Lynx Grills he unloaded in 2006, making eight times his initial nut. He had less success with Universal Building Projects, a construction-products company bought in 2006 that filed for bankruptcy four years later.
A self-declared midwestern "meat-and-potatoes" guy, he agreed to meet with Ethans as a mentor but warned he probably wouldn't like the juice. "I tried it, and it just stopped me in my tracks," Church recalls. But dealing with Ethans, not so much. As Church peppered him with questions about the business, asking for administrative passwords for his website, Ethans clammed up. "Annie and I were pretty paranoid at that point," Ethans remembers. Their fears subsided when Church placed a $1,000 order after the meeting.
As the two generations talked regularly, they warmed to each other. Church considered becoming more than a mentor. His wife became a fan, drinking the juice to ease arthritis pain. He and Brennan decided to chip in to a pot that totaled $1.2 million. But they worried about how to ramp up the business.
Cold-pressed juice is prized because no nutrients are lost in the heat of traditional pasteurization. But because it's raw, it has a shelf life of only 3 to 4 days before microbes begin to spoil it. As a result, Ethans and Lawless never considered selling through distributors, since the product would expire before it reached shelves. But Church discovered high-pressure processing (HPP), a method used by rival BluePrint juice, to kill pathogens without heat. With HPP, plastic juice bottles are placed in a machine, then subjected to water pressure of 87,000 pounds per square inch, five times the pressure found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. That kills microbes but leaves the nutrients intact and extends shelf life tenfold.
Ethans fretted that the process would ruin the taste. But when the team put some bottles through an HPP facility in Long Beach, Calif. and he noticed no change in the flavor, he initially refused to believe it had even been processed. "I still can't taste any difference," he admits. Armed with a scalable model, Church became CEO that May.
Next up: rebranding. The juice needed a new bottle design--and name. After a fruitless monthlong search, Ethans struck up a conversation with a woman behind a booth at a local health food store. She introduced herself as Suja, a Hindi name meaning "long, beautiful life." He walked out gleeful; a design firm quickly mocked up a label and logo. (Months later, at a trade show, Suja was shocked to see Ethans manning the booth of an upstart juice company sporting her name. In return, he says, she gets free juice for life.)
Now for the distribution. Thanks to his startup Nika Water, a bottled water company that donates profits to clean water initiatives in developing countries, Church knew local buyers at Whole Foods. "Normally you wait four months for a one-minute meeting if you're lucky," he says. But a rep at Presence Marketing, which hawks natural food brands to retailers around the country, passed samples along to buyers in the Southern California region. "They went gaga," says Church. Smitten, Whole Foods placed an order for 2,500 bottles that September.
Fulfilling that order was hardly a snap. Suja commandeered the third-floor ice closet of Brennan's San Diego nightclub for a makeshift production line. Just before the FDA came by for an inspection, Brennan frantically ordered his own team to paint stairwells and polish the floors, then routed inspectors up a carefully orchestrated route.
"Nightclubs don't look so great in the daytime," Church quips. While he and Lawless took care of sales and marketing, Ethans focused on production deadlines, with family members and friends processing hundreds of bottles a day out of the nightclub. Church ended up trucking the bottles himself to the HPP plant in Long Beach, supervising en route via mobile.
Only after the team finished the initial batch for Whole Foods did Church learn that Suja's label had no varnish to protect it from the water pressure of HPP. The entire shipment had labels that scratched off with the press of a thumb. Whole Foods never noticed, and the problem was fixed by the next shipment. Lawless, who had dropped out of law school the previous spring, didn't mention her new project to her parents until the bottles were on the shelves at Whole Foods. "I wasn't about to tell them that I left law school for juice," she says.
Suja launched in 45 stores in Southern California in the fall of 2012, often selling out within days. "People freaked on it," says Ethans. The company has since launched nationwide with Whole Foods and now produces 250,000 bottles each week for the food retailer, as well as for Kroger and Costco and Safeway. Nearly half of last year's sales, $7.5 million, came in the last quarter. The company isn't yet profitable but claims gross margins of 40% to 50%.
Church has invested $10 million or so in an onsite plant that will soon produce 200,000 bottles a day; a new factory will open later this year in Philadelphia. Fresh fruit and vegetables, sourced from company-owned organic farms, start at one end of the production line and end up as bottled juice on the other end within hours. Chefs trained by the Culinary Institute of America taste each batch, often cutting the produce themselves to test flavor and consistency. This month Suja will install its own HPP machine just down the street.
How to pay for all this? Six months after the seed round in March 2012, Suja raised another $2.5 million from outside investors that September. Last July Boulder Brands, owner of Smart Balance, led a $10 million round. And in December Suja picked up another $17.5 million from Alliance Consumer Growth, a New York City private equity firm, valuing the company at an estimated $150 million. The Suja quartet says it's still holding 50% to 60% of the equity, roughly divided in four.
Suja produces 20 different juices. Flavors for its original Classic brand include Fuel, with carrot, orange, lemon and turmeric, and 12 Essentials, with celery, cucumber, kale, chard and ginger. Among the nine varieties of Elements, a line made exclusively for Whole Foods, are Mango Fuego (apple, banana, mango, baobab, ginger, chili, lime and camu camu, an Amazon rain forest fruit like cherries) and Green Charge (apple, pineapple, banana, mango, kiwi, kale, spinach, chia seeds and flaxseed, among others). The new line, Essentials, has fewer exotic ingredients and is designed for a broader array of palates; you can soon pick it up in chains like Safeway and Costco.
For now Suja is the only major independent making cold-pressed juice. But so do much bigger rivals. Brands like Starbucks' Evolution Fresh and Hain Celestials' BluePrint are keeping a close watch on Suja.
"I would have been happy if this thing were a fraction of its size," says Ethans.
With a history of expanding (and flipping) companies, Church obviously feels otherwise. He insists Suja has a shot at becoming the next Chobani, the independently owned Greek yogurt brand that did $1 billion in sales last year.
Worth remembering that, like Suja, Chobani was a supplier to Whole Foods until it was suddenly cut off last year. The difference is Whole Foods amounted to less than 0.5% of Chobani's retail sales. Suja, on the other hand, has 30% of its business tied up there.
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Gallery: America’s Most Promising Companies: The Top 25 Of 2014 25 images View gallery
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8b99a2eeaf2bc0dbe020ead7354e6c4d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/03/14/exercise-sensor-moov-raises-1-million-in-15-days-without-kickstarter/ | Who Needs Kickstarter? Exercise Sensor Moov Raises $1 Million In 15 Days | Who Needs Kickstarter? Exercise Sensor Moov Raises $1 Million In 15 Days
When Meng Li and Nikola Hu stopped by the FORBES office to demonstrate their wearable sensors last month, Hu spent much of the interview punching the air and running in place. A laptop placed on the table graphed the speed and form of his punches, benchmarking his performance against that of a professional trainer who yelled out encouragement from the screen. (The training video was prerecorded.)
Panting, he then turned to running. He stomped the ground like a child with his heels as a Siri-like voice encouraged him to soften the landing of his feet and speed up his cadence. The robotic voice, he assured me, would sound more human in the final release. As Hu improved his form, the voice responded in kind. “Good job,” it said, with robotic enthusiasm.
Li and Hu, along with their cofounder Tony Yuan, comprise the team behind Moov, a disc-shaped wearable sensor that attaches to the body via a wristwatch-like strap. While devices like the Jawbone Up and Fitbit track step counts and sleeping hours, Moov is more finely-tuned. The device can give qualitative feedback about the form of different exercises, including golf swings, yoga poses and weight training. Eventually, the founders hope to cover nearly every exercise imaginable.
They opened up their custom-built site for pre-orders on February 27th. Fifteen days later, they've sold nearly 20,000 units, or about $1 million worth of product. One Moov sensor, along with a charger, wristband and ankle band, sells for $69.95. It will retail for nearly double, at $120. (The company recently raised the pre-order price by $10.)
At first glance, the Moov seems like a shoo-in for a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter. But the team decided that a custom-built site better served their business. "We have more control this way," says Li. "This is the first time customers interact with our brand and our product. We want to control that."
That control means they can also collect money immediately rather than wait for a Kickstarter campaign to close. Yuan flew to Shenzen to meet up with manufacturing partners the day Moov passed its initial goal of $40,000. The company can now move quickly to scale production as orders pour in. Pre-order customers will get their sensors in July according to the team.
Now with a 10-person team based in Mountain View, Li, Hu and Yuan met at Microsoft Asia in Beijing. Li and Hu, who handle press for the company, still speak with heavy Chinese accents but the team's heritage gives them a distinct advantage in working with Chinese manufacturers. Yuan, who managed the manufacturing process for the Nokia Lumia 720, has deep relationships with electronics makers in the country. Li previously worked as an industrial designer in Beijing before diving into human-computer interaction at Microsoft. She heads design while Hu, who worked as an iOS engineer at Apple, takes care of the software.
During our interview, Li and Hu waxed about the sensor's potential for virtual personal training and ridding the world of easily preventable injuries caused by bad form. A software development kit for outside developers is due for release sometime this year.
Follow me @JJColao and on Facebook.
Gallery: 5 Enterprises Built On Crowdfunding & Input 5 images View gallery
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8f78914c4d5f59ff335df17d76845042 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2016/03/16/fed-reaction-markets-embrace-feds-dovish-tone/ | Fed Reaction: Markets Embrace Fed's Dovish Tone | Fed Reaction: Markets Embrace Fed's Dovish Tone
Once again, the Federal Reserve met expectations on interest rates Wednesday afternoon, leaving the Fed funds rate in a range between 0.25% and 0.5%. But do you hear that tick, tock? The statement tied to the announcement indicates that rate hikes are still firmly on the table this year and the countdown on when they materialize has begun.
Gallery: Stock Performance Under Every Federal Reserve Chairman 16 images View gallery
The stock market reacted predictably, moving solidly into positive territory after meandering just above the flat line for most of the day before heading into negative territory in the hour before the decision. The S&P 500 has nearly totally recovered from its sharp dive in January and February, and was touching two-month highs immediately after the announcement (see figure 1). The dollar dropped slightly after the Fed announcement, while benchmark Treasury yields, which were edging higher ahead of the announcement, lost some momentum.
The Fed’s statement noted that U.S. economic activity has been growing at a “moderate pace despite the global economic and financial developments of recent months.” That’s all good, of course, but the Fed also noted its sensitivity to what’s going on around the rest of the world by adding “global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks.”
To that end, the Fed backed off from its more hawkish expectation to raise rates four times this year to only two hikes. The Fed also cut its long-term rate to 3.3% by 2018, down from 3.5%. The central bank is forecasting a Fed funds rate of 0.9% by the end of the year. For context, back in December, they were forecasting 1.4%.
Figure 1: Two-Month Highs in SPX. The (SPX) rallied to 2-month highs Wednesday afternoon after the... [+] Fed said it would raise rates two times in 2016. Data source: Standard & Poor’s. Image Source: the TD Ameritrade thinkorswim® platform. For illustrative purposes only.
The Fed Challenges
The Fed is trying to balance two risks: raising rates too quickly, which could undermine the tepid economic recovery; or not raising rates fast enough to prevent inflation from taking off. Inflation, at 1.9% as measured by the Dallas Fed, is at its closest range to the Fed’s target of 2% in two-plus years. At the same time, the 4.9% unemployment gauge in February is near the Fed’s level of full employment. However, data such as retail sales declines in January and February, coupled with lukewarm wage growth underscore a jittery consumer. That’s a thin line and the committee noted that it “seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability.”
Today’s statement puts the market on notice that further rate hikes are on the horizon. The last thing the Fed wants to do is surprise the markets and spring them into another relentless wave of volatility. That said, the markets are not the economy, and the Fed is scrutinizing the economy, but what happens in the markets matters.
Hawks Vs. Doves
There’s clearly a push-and-pull going on at the Fed, which has hawks and doves seeing positive data points in the economy but noting that signs of inflation are “stirring.” While Yellen has repeatedly showed signs of intense sensitivity to economic conditions, wages and unemployment, and consumer spending, the Fed does not want to paint itself into a corner.
Further, Yellen told reporters at a press conference after the statement was announced: “Policy is not on a pre-set course.”
Nine of the committee’s 10 members supported the policy action, but Kansas City governor Esther L. George dissented, preferring an aggressive hike of .50% to .75%.
Has the Fed Lost It?
Economists and stock analysts have heavily debated the Fed’s credibility this week, given its pullback from previous guidance and sensitivity to the markets and global matters. Many believe the Fed should finally push interest rates higher and give more weight to the positive data around the U.S. economy and less to what’s happening abroad. “If they are theoretically data dependent, then the data is indicating that they need to move,” Danielle DiMartino Booth, a former Dallas Fed advisor, said on CNBC ahead of the announcement.
And stop with the transparency already, Fed watchers say. Fed members on both sides of the interest-rate hike spectrum speak frequently about what they are thinking about economic signs as they unfold. That leaves traders with uncertainty – and we know the markets detest ambiguity. “They (Fed members) particularly need to be less transparent between meetings,” David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan funds, said on CNBC ahead of the announcement. “That takes the ability to raise rates out of their hands.”
The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, calculated based on pricing in the Fed funds futures market, shows traders are now pricing in about a 46% shot for a rate hike in June -- down nominally from earlier this week -- and a 74% chance for a hike in December, down from 84% earlier today.
Commentary provided by TD Ameritrade® for educational purposes only. TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Past performance is no guarantee of future results or investment success.
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ef9c7ad4e9cf8509d71422bcd3dadf64 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2016/06/22/whos-trading-ahead-of-brexit-volumes-stay-tepid-as-markets-inch-up/ | Who's Trading Ahead of Brexit? Volumes Stay Tepid as Markets Inch Up | Who's Trading Ahead of Brexit? Volumes Stay Tepid as Markets Inch Up
And the holding pattern continues. Investors appeared to huddle on the sidelines in the early going today, a day ahead of the only issue that the markets seem to be fixated on: Britain’s vote on whether to stay in the European Union.
Gallery: Everything You Need To Know About The 'Brexit' 10 images View gallery
Pollsters and pundits in the United Kingdom continue to cast the outcome in a precarious state, meaning it won’t be over until it’s over. Brits vote tomorrow but we won’t see any real results until about 2 a.m. ET Friday, which is 7 a.m. in Britain. Meanwhile, the markets look to continue a slow, low-volume move higher on bets that the do-I-stay-or-do-I-go results will be to stand pat.
Yesterday, Janet Yellen spoke and the markets…did nothing. In her twice-a-year chitchat with the Senate Banking Commission about monetary policy, the Federal Reserve chair repeated what she has said in the last two weeks in a speech and at the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting, though with a slightly more cautious undertone: Economic growth is weak, productivity is “disappointing,” there are headwinds in the U.S. and abroad that the Fed must wait out, and rates will be held steady in the near-term, and maybe, even in the long-term.
“Although I am optimistic about the longer-run prospects for the U.S. economy,” she said, “we cannot rule out the possibility expressed by some prominent economists that the slow productivity growth seen in recent years will continue in the future.” Will she repeat all that again today to the House Financial Services Committee?
Noting that the Brexit vote on Thursday will be “significant for United Kingdom and Europe,” she and the Fed are not taking a stand on this “unique event.”
By the close, all major indexes had managed to hold on to small gains, providing a second straight day of upside trading though it wasn’t monumental. The Dow Jones Industrials (DJIA) added 24.86 points to finish at 17,829.73 while the closely watched S&P 500 (SPX) edged up 5.65 points to settle at 2,088.90. Energy and telecom sectors led the way while materials lagged. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP6) got a little oomph too, higher by 6.55 points to close the session at 4,843.
Crude oil prices are tipping past $50 a barrel in early electronic trading today after the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude-oil supplies tanked by 5.2 million barrels for the week ended June 17, according to published reports. That is well deeper than the 1.4 million barrels analysts were projecting. Yesterday, West Texas Intermediate (CLN6) ended the session at $48.85 but was trading at $50.25 at last glance.
Figure 1: INCHING UP. The S&P 500 (SPX), plotted through Tuesday's close on the TD Ameritrade... [+] thinkorswim platform, advanced by better than 5 points as it works its way back to that important 2,100 level. Data source: Standard & Poor’s. For illustrative purposes only.
Yellen Fires Warning Shot. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is worried about valuation levels in the stock market. Much of that is because of the low-interest environment, which prompts investors to look for better yields in the markets, she intimated. While chatting with the Senate Banking Committee about U.S. monetary policy Tuesday, she said this: “In equity markets, valuation pressures have increased somewhat as expectations for corporate earnings have been revised downward.” The annual monetary policy, released ahead of her testimony on the Hill, noted that “forward price-to-earnings ratios for equities have increased to a level well above their median of the past three decades.” And then she added this about asset bubbles: “I don’t see signs of extreme threats to financial stability at this time…but it is something that can happen in a low-interest environment.” The translation: Stock prices are historically high and could fall because of drops in corporate earnings, and, yes, there are bubbles forming but nothing to worry about. Just yet.
Another No Confidence Vote. We’re fretting more about the economy again, according to Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index. The score dipped to the minus-15 level for the week ending June 19 as our views about the economy’s momentum turned darker. The week before, the index stood at minus-12. That puts the economic index back to where it was in early April, and worse than the average minus-12 for the year so far, Gallup says. What soured? Our confidence in the economic outlook, one of two components Gallup averages to reach the index score. The economic outlook rating plunged to minus-23 from minus-18 the week before, while views on the current economic condition slipped to minus-6 from minus-5. We’re on track for a more dismal outlook on the economy this year than we were in 2015, and certainly than we were a year ago when plummeting gas prices buoyed our confidence and those two measures were minus-2 on conditions and minus-9 on outlook, Gallup says.
All in the Family. Tesla Motors Chair Elon Musk wants to bring SolarCity Corp. under its roof in a $2.8 billion deal that Musk, the largest shareholder of both companies, will not vote on, he said Tuesday. Nor will SolarCity’s Chief Executive Lyndon Rive, Musk’s cousin. (Their mothers are twins, according to the Wall Street Journal.) The deal offers a premium on the SCTY shares of 25% to 35% over Tuesday’s closing price, according to the WSJ. “This is something that we have been thinking about and debated for many years,” WSJ reported that Musk said in a conference call with reporters. “But the timing seemed to be right now” as Tesla ramps up battery production used with solar panels, SolarCity’s main business, he said. The Financial Times called the proposal a “bailout between two Elon Musk companies that shareholders will vote down.” Ahead of the market open Wednesday, TSLA shares were slumping by 11% while SCTY shares surged 15%.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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adb30e4e8b18b8aae76fe9ffaae33a12 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2019/04/22/twitter-and-facebook-social-media-takes-the-earnings-stage/ | Twitter And Facebook: Social Media Takes The Earnings Stage | Twitter And Facebook: Social Media Takes The Earnings Stage
Social media takes center stage Tuesday morning when Twitter (TWTR) releases its Q1 numbers, and it returns to the spotlight Wednesday when Facebook (FB) reports after the close. Here’s a quick snapshot.
Twitter: Focus on the “Health of Public Conversation”
When Twitter (TWTR), one of the most prominent social media platforms on the planet, reports Q1 earnings ahead of the bell Tuesday, many analysts say they will be focused on topline growth.
That’s likely because some analysts have described TWTR’s revenue growth in recent quarters as nothing short of amazing after a disappointingly dismal 2017. Remember Q4’s 24% year-over-year gain, which management said reflected “better-than-expected performance across most products and geographies” and was helped by an advertising revenue boost of 25% on a constant currency basis? One question might be whether that momentum continued into Q1.
The company’s guidance for Q1 then was revenue growth in a range of 8% to 17% on a year-over-year basis. That appeared to disappoint investors, who saw the guidance as soft and pushed the stock down nearly 10% after earnings were announced. The stock has since recovered those losses, but hasn’t advanced much beyond that point. (See figure 1 below).
Some analysts expect Q1’s revenue numbers to ring up on the high end of that guidance. But investors should never consider that gospel—past performance is no guarantee of future success.
Analysts, on average, are projecting earnings of $0.15 per share on revenue of $774 million. If that happens, it would represent a one-cent decline in earnings versus the same quarter last year, but a 16.5% jump in revenues. Margin pressure is likely to come from costs tied to, as Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has prioritized, “improving the health of the public conversation on TWTR.”
SOUTH FOR THE WINTER. At last quarter’s conference call, TWTR’s Q1 guidance disappointed, and the... [+] shares took a southward turn. Since then, the blue bird has recovered a bit of its altitude. Data source: Nasdaq. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. thinkorswim
TWTR Focus: Active Users, “Dunking” and Curtailing Abuse
But there’s far more to TWTR’s performance than revenue gains—though investors typically like to see that.
Also consider watching for the latest figures on TWTR’s daily active users, or DAU—a metric it introduced in Q4 to help put TWTR’s progress into better perspective.
TWTR replaced the monthly average user (MAU) last quarter with DAU because it believes those numbers, which measure how often users are opening the app every day, are easier to digest and better reflect user activity and growth.
But back to Dorsey’s stated focus: Investors are likely to want to know about those measures he started tweeting about last summer. Among other things, he has said he wants to curtail what’s called “dunking” on TWTR. In its best form, it’s a conversation builder of many people taking one tweet and responding to it with their own opinions. As one TWTR follower said about dunking, TWTR “magnifies and rewards strong emotions.”
That led Dorsey last summer to turn his focus to bettering TWTR’s public conversation, according to Q4’s shareholder letter, amid backlash from subscribers and advertisers. His aim is to cut the abuse and sometimes vile and nasty attacks that many dunkfests create.
While there is still much progress to be made, TWTR has been cracking down on dubious accounts. The result was a 9 million decline in year-over-year MAU and a 5 million pullback from Q3, the company said in Q4. That’s part of what prompted TWTR to create DAU, which has been growing as daily users pick up their participation on the app.
Some analysts believe that rooting out harmful accounts will up the usage on the platform, which might in turn feed the advertising platform kitty. Stay tuned.
TWTR Options Activity
Options traders have priced in a 9.5% ($3.27) stock move in either direction around the coming earnings release, according to the Market Maker Move™ indicator on the thinkorswim platform.
Put options have been active at the weekly 34 and 35 strikes, while call option activity has been heaviest at the 35 strike. Implied volatility was at the 42nd percentile as of this morning.
Note: Call options represent the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time. Put options represent the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time.
Can Facebook Continue to Shake Off Privacy, Regulatory Scrutiny?
Despite the barrage of controversy surrounding Facebook’s (FB) user privacy issues and potential ties to interference in U.S. elections, the stock has still performed strongly in Q1, trading well off its December lows to climb nearly 44%. (See figure 2 below).
That kind of stock jump tends to put pressure on performance as investors look for it to continue. As earnings day approaches this Wednesday after the market closes, FB’s revenue gains are likely to interest many, considering that they have mostly slowed in recent quarters from the mid-to high-40% gains to a 30% year-over-year increase in Q4 2018.
Management’s forecast for Q1 is an increase of between 24% to 26% from a year ago.
Analysts say they’ll be watching for margin erosion tied to higher costs. Tightening security around user privacy, for example, looks like it might have come at a steep price tag. We’ve seen some meaningful declines in operating margins in recent quarters. In Q4, for example, expenses surged 61% to $9.1 billion, with management pointing to “continued investment in infrastructure, safety and security, and innovation.”
Facebook told investors then to prepare for another year of extreme expense spending, forecasting a 40% to 50% jump in 2019.
Analysts expect FB’s revenue to leap some 25% to $14.97 billion but earnings are projected to decline by about 3% to $1.63 per share. That, however, is better than expectations in January, which stood at $1.56 per share. As noted, the trigger for the decline appears to be higher costs.
But remember, too, that FB has historically sandbagged guidance, meaning it has set the bar low and then has slammed past it—like it’s done for eight straight quarters. A few quarters ago, it even warned that higher spending could cloud the numbers, but they still came out shimmering.
WHAT’S TRENDING? If possible margin pressures and regulatory overhang remain serious concerns for... [+] Facebook, it may be hard to tell by looking at share performance over the past 6 months. Data source: Nasdaq. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. thinkorswim
Status Check of the Facebook Family
Investors are also likely to check on FB’s user growth across its entire social network family, which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. A year ago, FB said that 2.7 billion users touched at least one of its apps in December. Two billion were active daily.
The conference call after the report could be a weighty one, considering all the headlines around FB in recent months and the overhang of regulatory concerns.
What, for example, might FB see in the way of future regulation? CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in an opinion piece he penned for the Washington Post late last month, all but begged lawmakers to build a regulatory fence around the Internet.
“Lawmakers often tell me we have too much power over speech, and frankly I agree,” he wrote. “I’ve come to believe that we shouldn’t make so many important decisions about speech on our own.”
To that end, he asked lawmakers to take a “more active role” in standardizing Internet regulations related to harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.
“I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators,” he said. “By updating the rules for the Internet, we can preserve what’s best about it—the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things—while also protecting society from broader harms.”
Updating the Internet’s rules of the road won’t be cheap, according to many analyst expectations. How might FB see that impacting margins?
Given that many analysts are projecting revenues to jump by double digits—advertisers don’t appear to be backing off of FB despite these regulatory threats—they will likely be looking for some guidance. Recall that Q4 saw signs of a possible ad performance headwind.
Considering, too, that FB upped the ad load on Instagram in the quarter—one analyst called the increase “dramatic”—and FB Stories has appeared to have gained some traction in Q1, some analysts are calculating another outperformance this quarter. And that’s a wait-and-see moment.
Facebook Options Activity
Options traders have priced in a 5.4% ($9.72) stock move in either direction around the coming earnings release, according to the Market Maker Move indicator.
Put options have been heaviest at the weekly 160, 167.5 and 170 strikes. Call options have been active at the 180 and 185 strikes, but the most active strike of all has been the 190 strike. Implied volatility was at the 46th percentile as of this morning.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC. Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.
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8621240326497b1b47ae4a713c0ff412 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/12/walmart-earnings-covid-19-e-commerce-tiktok-and-other-issues/?sh=3268f38d5781 | Walmart Earnings: COVID-19, E-Commerce, TikTok, And Other Issues | Walmart Earnings: COVID-19, E-Commerce, TikTok, And Other Issues
Key Takeaways>:
As a provider of vaccines, Walmart WMT could see in-store sales tick up A TikTok deal may be dead for now, but Walmart’s love for the shared-video app is still alive Walmart’s plate is full as it faces minimum wage hikes
Remember the old days, when Walmart’s (WMT) earnings were mostly about apparel and food sales and how the world’s largest retailer was juggling its tens of thousands of stores to help consumers “Save Money. Live Better.”?
When WMT opens its books on Feb. 18, it’s likely to include a lot of that—those sales are still the driving forces behind the Bentonville, Arkansas, behemoth’s triple-digit billion-dollar revenues every quarter.
But WMT has so much more on its plate that goes beyond how consumers once stood in long lines at the stores to have their baskets of goods rang up. The COVID-19 pandemic helped catapult WMT and its e-commerce site to top of mind for many consumers who might otherwise not have shopped there, and WMT has said it intends to keep those new customers coming and those faithful standbys loyal.
As it continues its battle against Amazon AMZN (AMZN) on books, apparel, home goods, and, increasingly, groceries, WMT has been unloading a number of new initiatives that are costing it money while adding perks and other efficiencies. Analysts will probably want to hear how all that is shaking out.
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It’s also taxed WMT financially as well as operationally and we’ve seen the mega store make quick technological and logistical adjustments in an effort to smooth out the bumps, step up speed in everything from shelving to home delivery, and convert stores to better meet the omnichannel needs of consumers.
In the time of COVID, it’s gone beyond driving traffic to stores through curbside pickup and buy online, pickup in stores to offering vaccinations at its pharmacies. It might be too soon to tell how well that may or may not work out, but analysts might be expecting an early rundown of what WMT is seeing and whether those shots to the arms are also pumping sales at the checkouts.
FIGURE 1: ROLLBACK. In the early days of the pandemic, Walmart (WMT—candlestick) was one of the ... [+] go-to retailers that thrived while others shifted to lockdown and in some cases "survival" mode. Since then the rest of the S&P Retail Industry ($SPSIRE—purple line) have caught up—and even surpassed—WMT in terms of performance. Data sources: NYSE, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade. Data sources: NYSE, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade.
E-Commerce v. In-Store Sales
WMT’s online sales in the last quarter were ablaze, shooting 79% higher on a year-over year basis, accounting for a greater share of the retailer’s $134.7 billion in revenue. But its in-store transactions slumped 14%. At the same time, average tickets were 24% higher, suggesting consumers were shopping less often but stocking up when they did.
These are potential signals that consumer spending habits may be changed for good—or for a long, long time—that even WMT Chief Executive Doug McMillon acknowledged on the quarterly conference call.
"There were behavioral changes from shoppers that drove our e-commerce business, and pick-up business," McMillon said at the virtual Consumer Electronics Show in January.
"Many of those things won't go back," he added. "Pick-up and delivery are going to grow and be bigger." It’ll be interesting to hear what other steps WMT has taken to keep up with this new trend and the performance of the first few months of Walmart+.
Is Too Much Now Too Much?
Some analysts fear these operational challenges of meeting shifting consumer demand with delivery, curbside pickup, and buy online, pickup in store, or BOPIS, while also presenting as compelling a shopping experience as possible in a Walmart store might have overloaded the system.
Let’s not forget, workers had to quickly adapt to closed stores and an onslaught of online business in Q1 and Q2 that required some folks to take on jobs they had never had before. And WMT had to rush to bring on thousands of workers and train them to handle that initial overflow nearly a year ago.
Not all analysts are down on WMT, but the question of when enough is enough might be a good one for the C-level.
A Shot in the Arm
WMT is joining a handful of others ranging from pharmacies to football stadiums opening their doors to vaccine-seeking consumers. While there might not be much to buy at a football stadium, there are plenty of grab-and-go items at WMT stores, which number more than 4,700 in the U.S.
Not all stores will be in the business of jabbing vials into consumer arms, but of those that are, analysts think some spillover spending could happen, tapping into the “since-I’m-out shopping” mode.
Between federally allocated vaccine doses and state supplies, WMT is poking arms in 33 states. Analysts said they want to know what WMT does with extras or leftovers taken out of refrigeration that need to be used when all the reservations have ended. It can be a tricky issue considering all the different mandates of who is eligible at what levels and who isn’t from state to state.
And There’s TikTok
Let’s not forget that quirky social network of short videos that WMT still wants a piece of. For now, however, it’s willing to stay an enthusiastic outsider by continuing to promote products on it.
“If you’re watching a TikTok video and somebody’s got a piece of apparel or an item on it that you really like, what if you could just quickly purchase that item?” McMillon said on CNBC late last year when WMT emerged as a partner buyer with Oracle ORCL (ORCL) of the service. “That’s what we’re seeing happen in countries around the world. And it’s intriguing to us, and we would like to be part of it.”
You might recall all the ballyhoo about plans to ban TikTok while forcing a sale of video-sharing app to a U.S. based company. ORCL and WMT were two possible buyers, but that’s been put on hold for the moment.
It’ll be interesting to hear if WMT will touch on this when it opens its books.
And Then Some …
There are a number of issues unrelated to store operations and vaccines WMT is managing that could be brought up during the conference call:
· Robotics – WMT has had some mixed results in bringing technology into stores as a means of freeing up workers’ duties and augmenting efficiencies for consumers.
· Double duty for stores – WMT has expanded its test of using back-of-the-store for inventory stocking and online ordering and delivery fulfillment.
· Minimum wage – There’s talk about hiking the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15. Given WMT employs around 1.5 million in the U.S. alone, it’ll be interesting to hear comments on this as it could be a significant cost increase.
Walmart Earnings and Options Activity
When WMT releases results ahead of the bell Thursday, Feb 18, it's expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.50 per share—up from $1.38 in the prior-year quarter, according to third-party consensus analyst estimates. Revenue is projected at $148.1 billion, up 4.5% from a year ago.
The options market has priced in an expected share price move of 3.8% in either direction around the earnings release.
Looking at the Feb 19 options expiration, put activity has been scattered but higher at the 141 and 143 strikes. Calls have seen more activity, with the highest concentration at the 155 strike. Implied volatility was at the 23rd percentile as of Friday morning.
Note: Call options represent the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time. Put options represent the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC. Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.
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bd937b20cdfc3c85ab9f7645944a2543 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/12/with-long-weekend-approaching-wall-streets-record-rally-seems-to-have-cooled/ | With Long Weekend Approaching, Wall Street’s Record Rally Seems To Have Cooled | With Long Weekend Approaching, Wall Street’s Record Rally Seems To Have Cooled
YICHANG, CHINA - FEBRUARY 05: The price tag of Kuaishou Technology on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ... [+] is seen on a smartphone in an arranged photograph on February 5, 2021 in Yichang, Hubei Province of China. (Photo by Liu Junfeng/VCG via Getty Images) VCG via Getty Images
Key Takeaways:
Disney reports profit; a loss had been expected Bitcoin hits fresh record after more institutions announce moves in crypto space Hotel companies report earnings next week, providing glimpse into reopening trade
At this point ahead of a long weekend it doesn’t seem like there’s much appetite to extend record gains.
Normally ahead of a three-day break you’d expect to see some profit taking after record highs. While there might be some of that going on, it seems like a fear of missing out on further gains is keeping downward pressure in check.
The market has been on a record run as earnings season has generally been better than analysts had forecast, and the stronger-than-expected bottom-line performances, expectations of stimulus, decreasing virus counts, and vaccine optimism have helped propel Wall Street to record highs.
Yesterday, the Information Technology sector was the day’s best performer, gaining more than 1% while all the other sectors were either in the red or posted much slighter rises. Chipmakers and payments companies did well.
Disney Surprises
After the closing bell yesterday, Walt Disney DIS DIS (DIS) opened its books to reveal earnings that hit the cover off the ball. Analysts had expected a loss, but the entertainment conglomerate ended up well in the black on revenue of $16.25 billion, which was also above analysts forecasts.
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DIS has been an interesting company to watch during the pandemic because it’s basically a hybrid of the stay-at-home trade and the re-opening trade. The pandemic has hit its legacy businesses that include its flagship theme parks—that went offline for a while last year and have been in "phased reopening" mode ever since. But DIS is also a heavyweight in the entertainment streaming business, meaning that it’s been benefiting as people have entertained themselves at home during lockdowns.
It's this second part—and particularly the strong subscriber growth numbers in the company's streaming division—that helped DIS report a profit of $0.32 per share, vs. consensus that was expecting a loss of $0.41 per share. DIS said that as of the start of 2021, it had almost 95 million paid subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service. Growth there might be helping to make up for weakness in other segments like theme parks and cruises, which have been hurt by the pandemic.
Earnings, Economic Data in Headlights
Today’s earnings schedule looks relatively quiet. After the federal holiday Monday, next week’s earnings include Hilton (HLT), Marriott (MAR), and Hyatt Hotels H H (H). These stocks are ones some analysts believe can do better as travel, along with the economy, recovers. So it could be interesting to hear what their executives are currently thinking about the state of things as the pandemic continues.
On the other end of the spectrum, investors are scheduled to hear from the stay-at-home trade when Shopify (SHOP) opens its books. The company has been helped as the pandemic has accelerated the move toward e-commerce.
Retail giant Walmart WMT WMT (WMT) and equipment manufacturer Deere (DE) are also scheduled to report, likely providing a glimpse into their respective parts of the economy. WMT could shed light on how lower-income shoppers are doing while DE could help investors get a clearer picture of what’s happening with agriculture and manufacturing.
On the economic data front, next week is scheduled to hold some high profile reports. After a relatively light Tuesday, Wednesday’s schedule includes January retail sales figures as well as January producer price data. Later that day, the Fed is scheduled to release the minutes from its January Federal Open Market Committee meeting. (See more on the Fed below.)
We’re also scheduled to get new glimpses into the housing market with the release of January data for housing starts, building permits, and existing home sales. It could be interesting to see how low interest rates as well as higher prices caused by tight supply have continued to affect the housing market.
CHART OF THE DAY: THIS IS A RECORDING: Bitcoin futures (/BTC—candlestick) hit another record high ... [+] after news of moves in the cryptocurrency space by Mastercard (MA) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK). Other Wall Street institutions have also been piling in. As interest continues to grow it seems likely that extreme volatility could continue. Data source: CME Group. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade. Data source: CME Group. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform from TD Ameritrade.
More Support for Crypto: Yesterday, Mastercard MA MA (MA) shares gained nearly 2.6% after the payments company said it has plans to support select cryptocurrencies on its network, jumping on the wagon of other high-profile moves in the space as the market matures. In other crypto news, Bank of New York Mellon BK BK (BK) said it planned to create a digital assets service. The news from both companies helped push bitcoin to a fresh all time high. That comes after the cryptocurrency market has gotten help from other heavyweights such as BlackRock BLK BLK (BLK), CME Group CME CME (CME), and Tesla TSLA TSLA (TSLA). It’s probably worth keeping in mind that the cryptocurrency market tends to be quite volatile. Some see it as the wild west of investing right now, with the potential to win—but also lose—big.
Sentiment Check: The University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment report for February is due out later this morning. The final January reading was 79.0, down from 80.7 in December. Analysts are looking for the first February reading to come in at 80.8, according to research firm Briefing.com. A question is whether recent weak labor market data and the relatively slow start to vaccinations might start weighing on sentiment. Last time around, Briefing.com had this to say about the report: “Sentiment held relatively steady in January despite rising coronavirus cases/deaths, the insurrection, the impeachment … and a deterioration in the labor market.” If consumer sentiment can remain resilient in the face of those problems, maybe things will look up now that virus cases are on the decline and things have calmed down politically.
Counting the Minutes: Investors are scheduled to get another peek into the mind of the Fed next week when it releases the minutes from its January Federal Open Market Committee meeting. If you recall, the central bank left the Fed funds rate at 0%–0.25% last month, and offered reassurances that monetary policy makers will continue to support the economy’s recovery with low rates and bond purchases. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell this week said the Fed remains committed to near-zero interest rates and $120 billion a month in asset purchases. Even with the unsurprising comments about rates remaining near zero and bond-purchase tapering probably not an issue in the near future, it could be interesting for investors to peruse the minutes to try to glean further insight into the Fed’s thinking about the pandemic and the prospects for economic recovery.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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ccd07c8f2a9c653a2f0afa59ccccb080 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/24/after-amazing-comeback-market-looks-around-for-catalysts-ahead-of-more-powell-testimony/ | After Amazing Comeback, Market Looks Around For Catalysts Ahead Of More Powell Testimony | After Amazing Comeback, Market Looks Around For Catalysts Ahead Of More Powell Testimony
Key Takeaways:
Overnight rally loses steam following yesterday’s dramatic comeback Lowe’s shares jump after earnings surpass Wall Street’s estimates Another day of testimony by Fed Chair Powell to Congress ahead
How do you follow up an amazing comeback like Tuesday’s? It’s hard, investors learned this morning.
Overnight, stocks moved higher, then gave up their gains in the hour before the open as the 10-year Treasury yield spiked to 1.42%. This shows how sometimes momentum spills over into the morning after a sharp recovery, but doesn’t always last. There’s some solid earnings news in the mix, but otherwise not a lot of catalysts around to provide another boost.
Volatility eased late yesterday, but this morning finds itself back on the rise. And 10-year Treasury yields look to be continuing their march forward, rising to 1.42% in the early going, This seems to be spooking stocks. It was almost exactly a year ago when we were last at these levels, right before the bottom fell out.
Keep an eye on Tesla TSLA (TSLA) and Apple AAPL (AAPL) shares today. They’ve been bellwethers for the broader market lately, and their moves could have pretty wide influence.
In a bit of late-breaking news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this morning that Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ (JNJ) Covid vaccine has a “favorable safety profile,” The Wall Street Journal reported. FDA authorization could come as soon as this weekend, the newspaper said. We’ll see if that injects any strength into the market.
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Home Improvement Retailers Had Strong Q4
More earnings news, this time from Lowe’s (LOW). Shares rose in pre-market trading after the home improvement company surpassed analysts’ estimates and stuck to its prior guidance. Same-store sales rose more than 28% in Q4.
Meanwhile, Home Depot HD (HD) investors became the latest to fall victim to a stock losing ground even after a company reports solid earnings. This is a trend noted last week by research firm FactSet, with companies reporting positive earnings surprises generally getting punished over the last couple of months.
In a lot of cases, you can chalk it up to stock prices building in strong expectations, but it’s tough to argue that with HD. Its shares have chopped around without much direction most of the last six months. HD’s results were impressive—comparable sales rose 24.5% year-over-year and overall sales rose nearly 20%. However, once again HD declined to give guidance, and that might have disappointed some investors.
After the close, be on the lookout for earnings from chip maker Nvidia (NVDA). The company might be asked to provide an update on the industry-wide chip shortage, and discuss what analysts say has been strong gaming demand thanks to the stay-at-home economy. Shares have doubled over the last year, but recently fell from all-time highs.
Before that, there’s more congressional testimony on tap from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. He sounded pretty dovish yesterday, reinforcing what he’s been saying for weeks about the soft economic picture and low inflation.
Turnaround Tuesday Afternoon
When sports fans talk about comebacks, they might mention the 1986 Mets or the 1978 Yankees.
Well, the stock market staged a phenomenal comeback of its own Tuesday after cratering early on, and that sets the stage for what could be an interesting Wednesday. Yesterday’s rebound, by the way, kept the S&P 500 Index (SPX) from suffering a six-session losing streak just a few weeks after it posted a six-session win streak.
It’s really unbelievable how the Tech and reopening stocks rallied back so significantly in the last three hours of the session Tuesday. Some analysts claimed it had to do with Powell “easing inflation concerns” in his testimony to Congress. That doesn’t quite match what happened, though, because stocks were selling off when he spoke and then rallied when he stopped talking.
That’s not to say Powell caused the early selloff, but he might not deserve credit for the comeback, either. Instead, it might have reflected that there’s so much money sloshing around—with the expectation of more arriving soon with the fiscal stimulus—and people are trying to put that money to work.
Higher fixed income yields might have some people thinking of investing in those products, but at the end of the day the dominant market sentiment seems to be that equities remain the best game in town. As we start approaching the end of Q1, people may be looking around wondering what else they should do with this cash, and that’s why more money might have come in yesterday afternoon following the morning dip.
Getting back to Powell, many investors likely took comfort in his words about keeping policy accommodative, but inflation fears were very possibly a factor helping drive stocks downward earlier this week and shouldn’t be discounted. Tuesday’s late snap to the upside doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. Today could be critical as far as momentum for the rest of the week.
Momentum Change: Can it Continue?
Often when the week begins with a couple of soft days and then momentum shifts higher, you see a strong open on Wednesday before stocks sell off again later in the session. It’s possible any continued move higher today could end up getting slapped back down, if that pattern holds.
It seems like there’s still a lot of money on the sidelines waiting for a bigger selloff, and it would be dangerous to discount chances for one as the market heads into March. These last few days served as a wakeup call to investors about how quickly things can move down, especially seeing the momentum change for TSLA and how that hurt the SPX (see more below). Some people will say, sure, the market fell but continues to bounce on moves lower, and that’s hard to rebut. Buying the dip has worked. It’s hard to bet against that happening again, but you can’t rely on history to always repeat. Like any strategy, buying the dip works...except when it doesn't.
The technical action yesterday was also pretty interesting, with the Nasdaq NDAQ (COMP) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) both briefly dropping below their 50-day moving averages and then coming back to close above those trendlines. The 50-day MA for the SPX is near 3796 and for the COMP is near 13,003, so both of those regions might be worth monitoring if the market gets slammed again. For now, it’s technically positive to see the COMP and SPX manage to claw back from below those levels intraday Tuesday.
It’s also interesting to see how volatility performed, with the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) starting off yesterday much higher (above 26 at one point), and then turning back down to near the 23 level. That’s still above its recent lows just below 20, and the futures complex going out the next few months still builds in a lot of uncertainty. Some outer months trade above 29 (see chart below).
Stay-at-Home Stalwarts Bounce Back - For Now
Getting back to individual stocks for a bit, keep in mind that two of the stocks rebounding yesterday were ones we’ve heard a lot about as “stay at home” ones over the last year: Peloton (PTON) and Zoom Video (ZM). These two rallied back yesterday but have been under some pressure lately as the market psychology seems to be favoring stocks like casinos and airlines that could benefit from reopening. Because PTON and ZM rallied so significantly Tuesday from their early-session lows, it would be good to see them at least tread water the rest of the week. If they move lower after that big recovery, it would probably be a bad sign for them.
Profit-taking might have hurt PTON and ZM early this year, and it’s almost certainly hit the broader Tech sector. The rally in Treasury yields played a role, and the slight step back in the 10-year yield to 1.34% by late Tuesday from highs above 1.38% earlier in the week might have let some of the pressure out of the yield balloon weighing on growth stocks.
Powell’s dovish words about weak employment growth and “soft” inflation certainly could have been behind Tuesday’s yield decline and subsequent Tech rebound, but remember, Powell and company don’t completely control borrowing costs. Many investors anticipate bigger supplies of debt as more stimulus comes on line, meaning maybe more room for yields to rise than fall.
CHART OF THE DAY: MORE VOLATILITY AHEAD? Aside from its brief encounter with the mid-30s during the ... [+] recent short-squeeze scare, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) has been hanging out in the low-to-mid 20s recently—still above its long-term average around 20, but well off levels seen in 2020. But here's something: A month ago the VIX futures (/VX) curve flattened out at 27. As of yesterday's close, however, traders are pricing those deferred-month contracts around 29.5. It could be that the recent runup in Treasury yields has added a new haze to the economic outlook. Data source: Cboe Global Markets. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. Data source: Cboe Global Markets. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Penny for Your Thoughts: If you followed the short-squeeze surge last month, you may be aware of a new craze going on in micro-caps and so-called “penny” stocks. Way-off-exchange venues, where lightly regulated companies have repeatedly been drawn into social media-fueled trading vortexes, saw more than 1 trillion shares change hands in December for the first time in a decade, Bloomberg reported. It happened again in January. This month, daily volume is tracking 64% above those levels, a pace that could push the monthly total toward 2 trillion.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently suspended trading in one firm, saying “social media accounts may be engaged in a coordinated attempt to artificially influence” its share price. Regulatory halts in shares that are traded over-the-counter—which is the case for a lot of these penny stocks—aren’t entirely unusual or unheard of. The SEC is now looking at that because they’re questioning what’s driving some of the behavior.
As a long-term investor, it’s good practice not to get caught up in these types of crazes, or in trading off-exchange products. It can truly be the Wild West out there.
Tech Not Alone: Utilities are taking a big hit along with Tech lately, and surprisingly for pretty much the same reason. as rising bond yields are starting to reach territory where they could potentially compete with dividends for yield seekers. The current S&P 500 dividend yield of 1.5% isn’t far above the 10-year Treasury yield of 1.36%, and some investors prefer getting their yield from fixed income, which tends to have a lower risk profile than stocks (though remember no investment is risk-free).
Utilities have a reputation of being a “bond proxy,” meaning they sometimes trade more like bonds than stocks, and yields are the primary reason some people invest in this sector. That means they’re more vulnerable to interest rates than most other sectors of the S&P 500. Utilities are down 5% in the last three months, by far the worst performance of any sector over that time. Consumer Staples, another interest rate-sensitive category, are the only other sector in the red during that time period.
Tesla Throws its Weight Around: When Tesla (TSLA) joined the S&P 500 Index (SPX) last December, it was the highest initial weighting ever for a new entrant (1.6%). It's also among the highest in terms of price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio (1,100), and it's been among the most volatile stocks in the SPX. Oh—and it's the 6th most valuable public company in the U.S. by market cap. That's part of the dichotomy of TSLA—its fundamental metrics and growth narrative are reminiscent of a start-up, but its sheer size puts it in the company of cash cows such as Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft MSFT (MSFT).
When TSLA was added to the SPX, we suggested it could impact the volatility of the broad-based index. Case in point: At its depths yesterday morning, TSLA was down 20% over two sessions. With its current weighting of 1.65, a back-of-the-napkin calculation suggests TSLA shaved as much as 13 points off the SPX before the midday rally. While that may sound small in the context of yesterday's 90-point range in the index, when you consider the SPX is made up of roughly 500 stocks, it's still quite an impact for one company's shares. In contrast, it's not uncommon for a big move in a single name to have an outsize impact on the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI).
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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910ceb7c85205edc5f3fee437d5f1831 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/25/markets-yielding-to-treasurys-spike-in-10-year-cooling-the-froth-in-thursday-selloff/ | Markets Yielding To Treasurys: Spike In 10-Year Cooling The Froth In Thursday Selloff | Markets Yielding To Treasurys: Spike In 10-Year Cooling The Froth In Thursday Selloff
Key Takeaways:
Steep market drop got worse toward close in ugly finish Nasdaq NDAQ saw fierce selling pace, with semiconductors hurt 10-year yield is up 20 points from a week ago, 60 points since Jan. 1
The Fed has said it won’t raise rates. The market is saying “We may raise rates for you.”
That’s arguably the story of today’s messy selloff. The 10-year Treasury yield flirted with and then finished above 1.5% for the first time in a year. That’s up 60 basis points from the start of 2021 and more than 20 points from a week ago.
As the bond selloff accelerated, investors appeared to discount Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s soothing words about inflation from earlier this week and took things into their own hands. Treasury yields tend to climb when people worry about rising prices. The pace of this yield rally is almost unprecedented.
What was really surprising Thursday was how strong selling was in the Nasdaq (COMP), which is full of growth and Tech stocks that are often seen being more vulnerable to higher rates. You had stocks like Tesla TSLA (TSLA), Nvidia NVDA (NVDA), and Applied Materials AMAT (AMAT) fall sharply. The chip makers got pounded, with some down more than 5%.
You also had the “stay-at-home” stocks like the Zoom Videos (ZM) and DocuSigns (DOCU) of the world getting absolutely smoked. Those stocks had all been down yesterday before staging a late-day comeback. So much for that.
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Meanwhile, GameStop GME (GME) took a wild ride higher, then fell sharply but still finished up 18% for the day. Anyone thinking about buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) should understand what they’re getting into, because many ETFs have volatile companies like GME included.
Ugly Close Could Reflect Yield’s Relentless Rally
Earlier this week, dramatic stock market declines met buying interest down below and stocks bounced back. Not on Thursday.
Instead, things got uglier into the close, suggesting less “buy the dip” enthusiasm. After a 425-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) on Wednesday, we saw it fall nearly 560 points today. The volatility has been dramatic all week, and the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) reflects that, rising nearly 34% today to above 28.
One day isn’t a trend, and there’s no way to predict now if buyers will show up tomorrow. A lot of that depends on what the 10-year yield does overnight. One thing that kept buyers pouring into stocks over the last 10 months was historically low yields. You really can’t say that’s the case anymore.
The 10-year Treasury yield topped 1.55% today for the first time since Feb. 19, 2020. That’s a date that sticks out because it also marked the last all-time high for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) before the pandemic sent it crashing down by about 35% over the following month.
Yields declined then along with stocks, reaching an all-time low of under 0.4% last March for the 10-year. Between then and the start of 2021, the 10-year yield traded in a range of between roughly 0.6% and 0.9%, with few exceptions. Since then, it’s climbed 65 basis points in less than two months.
The Auctioneer's Gavel Was Quite the Hammer
Though the 10-year yield has been on the rise pretty much since the year began, it's really accelerated this week. The catalyst today—and arguably what helped extend stock market losses—was an auction of 7-year Treasury notes that participants have described as "tepid," "awful," and even "brutal" in the words of a Wells Fargo WFC (WFC) analyst.
The equity market seems to have priced in a good deal of dovishness from fiscal and monetary authorities. While that's all well and good, it's predicated on having sufficient demand for the resulting debt. If there's not sufficient demand for that debt, absent additional participation from the Fed, interest rates will need to rise to meet demand.
So if markets have come to expect a continued rise in yields, tepid demand at auction can help make it happen sooner rather than later. And that can impact not only the previously high-flying tech shares, but if it continues, could also start to be felt in other interest rate-sensitive sectors such as housing. This is a trend worth watching.
Yields, the Cost of Money, and the Earnings Connection
That’s a lot to absorb, but it’s important for investors to understand because the 10-year yield often holds the key to stock market trends. When the yield is extremely low, the cost of money is cheap, and that tends to help big growth stocks with high valuations.
Think of how the Tech sector rallied last year. Back then, there was lots of talk about how low yields (and the Fed’s dovish interest rate policy) meant valuations could be higher than normal because the cost of borrowing was cheap and would help strengthen future earnings. That’s a harder argument to make now with yields back at a more normal level, though still low from a historic standpoint.
The other thing that has people nervous is how quickly yields bounced. Typically you don’t see this kind of rapid action in the fixed income market unless there’s fear around, the way it was last year when yields crashed during the first pandemic wave.
It’s harder for companies to make long-term plans when yields fluctuate so much this quickly, and it could ultimately mean companies putting off plans for investment, whether it’s for new products or acquisitions. They may decide to sit back a bit and see where yields go before making big decisions, and that’s not necessarily a positive thing for the stock market.
Leaving the yield discussion behind for a moment, Thursday’s action took the major indices down below some key technical support levels, which probably drove more selling. The SPX fell below its 20-day moving average at around 3873. The 20-day has been a level the SPX bounced off of several times over the last few months, including earlier this week. Now it’s well below that and is close to its 50-day moving average, which is at 3805.
The COMP however, closed below its 50-day moving average and is close to 13,000, a low it hit a couple of times in the recent past. This is a level worth watching as we head into the last trading day of the month.
And if you need one more possible reason for the Thursday selloff, remember that during the runup in stocks, many were pointing to the acronym "TINA" (there is no alternative) to stocks with yields so low. But if yields continue to climb, at some point they become a compelling "A."
Market Dive Comes a Day Before House Stimulus Vote
Could the market be trying to tell Congress and the administration something?
There’s never a single reason why stocks or bonds move in any direction, and there’s a lot going on besides President Biden’s plan to push through another round of fiscal stimulus. That being said, the 10-year yield climbed to above 1.55% today from 1.1% on inauguration day just over a month ago, and tomorrow is when the House is expected to vote on the $1.9 trillion package.
While improved Covid numbers, vaccination progress, and some firm economic data points helped push yields higher, another factor could be investor concern about the stimulus potentially overheating the economy and raising inflation.
This isn’t a political column, but keep an eye out next week for any possible indications of concerns coming up during debate in the Senate. It still seems very likely stimulus will pass, but could its cost get driven down a bit if the bond market keeps ringing bells the way it’s been? That may be something to watch.
CHART OF THE DAY: YIELD RALLY INTERRUPTS TECH PARTY. Over the last month, the Info Tech sector ... [+] (IXT—purple line) rallied and then got clipped by the relentless rise in the 10-year Treasury yield (TNX—candlestick). The yield rose on Thursday to one-year highs above 1.5%, raising worries about possible pressure on future earnings for high-flying and highly-valued growth sectors. Data sources: Cboe Global Markets, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. Data sources: Cboe Global Markets, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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6cd3a5ca1a90933ca9d85c06df010c7e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/25/tech-check-sector-under-pressure-as-yields-climb-but-improved-jobless-claims-lend-wider-support/ | Tech Check: Sector Under Pressure As Yields Climb, But Improved Jobless Claims Lend Wider Support | Tech Check: Sector Under Pressure As Yields Climb, But Improved Jobless Claims Lend Wider Support
Key Takeaways:
10-year Treasury yield climbs to new one-year high above 1.45% Nvidia NVDA shares lower in pre-market despite beating analysts’ earnings estimates Yield rally taking a toll on bond-proxy sectors like Utilities
Nothing can go up forever without stopping. It just seems that way right now in the Treasury market.
The benchmark 10-year yield hit another milestone this morning when it reached 1.45%, a one-year high and about 55 basis points above where it started the year. This relentless surge upward could mean more pressure today on Tech stocks, but might be a boost for Financials. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told us yesterday the economy has a long way to go, but the yield surge suggests some investors might think differently. More on this below.
There’s good news on the data front this morning as new jobless claims fell to 730,000, almost 100,000 below analysts’ estimates and down from 841,000 the prior week. It’s just one number, so maybe don’t get too excited yet. We need to see this go down further and stay down to indicate any serious improvement in the labor market.
Top of the News: Nvidia, Stimulus Talks, Crude Rally
Key earnings news broke after yesterday’s close when chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) easily exceeded analysts’ bottom- and top-line estimates for Q4 and also delivered April quarter guidance that looked pretty impressive. Gaming and data center revenue both came in strong, but shares stepped back in pre-market trading.
The company referred to the industry-wide chip shortage, saying, “Throughout our supply chain, stronger demand globally has limited the availability of capacity and components, particularly in Gaming."
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The sausage making continues in Washington, with the media reporting that the House could vote on a $1.9 trillion stimulus package tomorrow. The Democrats’ goal is for President Biden to sign it before March 14. It’s unclear how much of a life this might give the market, considering that a lot of investor enthusiasm for more federal spending could already be built in. It’s almost certainly one factor behind the yield rally.
Another thing to keep an eye on is commodity inflation. Crude oil is on a four-day winning streak and continues to quietly build momentum. Agricultural commodities have been on a tear. Copper and lumber have also been rolling up gains. It’s interesting to hear Powell say inflation isn’t a threat, but people may be looking at commodities and wondering if there’s something there. Personal consumption expenditure (PCE) prices come out tomorrow morning and could give investors another read on where inflation stands.
Also, GameStop GME (GME) and AMC (AMC) are back in the news with huge gains over the last 24 hours or so. The same thing applies as last time: If you consider trading these, remember that as fast as they went up, they could go down just as quickly. So know the risk and have a plan of where you want to get in and where you want to get out.
Enthusiasm Seems Hard to Sap
Call it what you want: Momentum, resilience, “buying the dip.” Whatever it is, investor sentiment still seems to think of stocks as the best game in town, and we saw more of that play out yesterday.
The momentum from Tuesday’s rally faded at Wednesday’s open, but an early test by the S&P 500 Index (SPX) of territory below its 20-day moving average (now around 3870) failed to find much selling interest, and then it was back to the races. The day ended with the index just 25 points below its all-time high.
The Nasdaq NDAQ (COMP) and the SPX both fell to their 50-day moving averages earlier this week and roared back, so that could provide a nice bit of technical support moving forward. The consolidation many analysts had been talking about now appears to have happened, and there wasn’t much of a push to take things below existing support levels.
That might be inspiring some analysts to expect better things. Research firm CFRA, for instance, on Wednesday raised its 12-month target for the SPX to 4265, implying 10% gains from current levels. They based the move on what they said was “cap-weighted target price growth expectations” adjusted as a result of Q4 2020 earnings reports and forward guidance.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell did what most expected him to on Wednesday, sticking closely to script and pretty much dismissing inflation fears. There’s no change in Powell’s plans to keep up the $120 billion in monthly bond buying and rates at zero. He thinks rising yields reflect an improving economy.
As we said last week, it seems unlikely he’d want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg by even “thinking about thinking about” any tightening at this point, to use an old Powell quote. We’re a few weeks out from the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, but it would probably take some sort of dramatic change of events to hear something different then. Especially considering what Powell said yesterday about it maybe taking another three years for inflation to reach the Fed’s goal.
Fed funds futures now estimate chances of a rate hike by June at around 6%, down from 8% before Powell’s two days of testimony to Congress. That’s hardly different than the chance of a change by the end of the year, which stands at 8%, down from above 10% earlier in the week.
Are We There Yet? Yep!
The Fed may have control over one aspect of borrowing costs, but investors also drive bond yields, and they’re making themselves heard.
Going into 2021, Bloomberg surveyed analysts to see where they thought the 10-year Treasury yield would be by the end of the year. The average estimate was around 1.4%. Well, they were right that it would reach that level, just not on the timing. Less than two months into the year, the 10-year yield hit 1.45% early Thursday.
What’s a little worrisome isn’t the 1.45%, which is still historically low. It’s how rapidly the 10-year rode the elevator up there. It’s risen about 55 basis points since the start of the year, and a swift move like that sometimes gets investors worried about overheating and inflation. On the other hand, the Treasury market might simply be reacting to positive economic news, as Powell explained things yesterday. Analysts say it’s pretty typical to see the long-end of the yield curve lead the way higher during an economic recovery.
Cyclical sectors like Energy and Financials continued to form the vanguard on Wall Street yesterday, with Tech taking more of a backseat. This may be disappointing for people who piled into Tech over the last two years, but it’s arguably a sign of health in the economy (see more below). Word that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ (JNJ) vaccine to be safe and may be close to approving it added to Wall Street’s enthusiasm yesterday.
Meanwhile, the so-called “bond proxy” sectors Utilities and Staples were the only ones in the red yesterday, which isn’t unexpected when you consider that suddenly, Treasury yields are back to levels that may compete with stock dividends. It’s not really something too many predicted would happen so fast, and it’s probably left people who bought the once sizzling Utilities sector last year for those dividends feeling a bit high and dry.
CHART OF THE DAY: AIRLINES SOAR OVER REST OF TRANSPORTS. Airline stocks (XAL—candlestick) have taken ... [+] off over the last month, leaving the broader Dow Jones Transportation Average ($DJT—blue line) far behind. Data sources: NYSE, Dow Jones & Co. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. Data sources: NYSE, Dow Jones & Co. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Airlines Continue Climb: If you haven’t noticed, airline stocks have left the rest of the transport sector on the tarmac over the last month (see chart above) and are approaching levels last seen before the pandemic. Obviously, the sector is rallying off a low base after getting battered by Covid last year, but the recent gains look pretty solid, not like the little ones we saw at times in 2020. As we noted the other day, U.S. passenger traffic recently popped above one million on several weekend dates, but the stock rally reflects longer-term expectations. One way to measure the health of the airline industry? Check fares farther away on the calendar. For instance, Barron’s reported that flights to Orlando from New York in early April cost as low as $89, but over Christmas the price rises to $349. That implies improved pricing power, an important factor for an industry that’s so dependent on variable costs (like fuel and employee salaries).
Airlines generally didn’t do too well in Q4 earnings season, but comparisons start getting easier as 2021 advances. If there’s any ice forming on the runway ahead, it might be fuel prices, which recently hit levels that historically begin to take a toll on margins. Some of that impact might be blunted for airlines that had the foresight to hedge their fuel costs last year when crude fell to all-time lows. If you’re thinking of jumping into an airline stock, consider checking their financial reports to see if they mentioned any hedging activity. The ones that did might have a leg up.
Fresh From the Factory: A week from Friday we’ll get a fresh monthly payrolls report from the Department of Labor. Before that comes a report that may not receive as much attention but definitely deserves a close look: Monday’s February ISM Manufacturing data. Lately, manufacturing has been a hot spot, with the ISM index rising above 60% in December and flirting with that round number again in January with a reading of 58.7%. Strength has been broad-based, with 16 of the 18 industries surveyed by ISM reporting economic growth in January. These included machinery, primary metals, fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, and miscellaneous manufacturing. Two industries reported contraction: printing and petroleum & coal products.
Any reading above 50% indicates expansion, and ISM has been above 50% for eight straight months. Manufacturing comprises only about 12% of the U.S. economy, but its performance often foretells future growth. In the February report, keep an eye on new orders and production, both of which dropped in January. Any continued slide there might raise eyebrows.
See-Saw Gets Some Balance: Last year, we spent a lot of time talking about how the so-called “mega-cap” Techs stocks and their sharp gains helped pump up stock indices even as the vast majority of stocks just treaded water. That sort of action—easy to understand when a handful of stocks compose 25% or more of the value of SPX—made some of the 2020 market gains a little suspect in some peoples’ eyes.
That’s why the current rally might be so significant, because it’s happening without much help from the big gorillas like Amazon AMZN (AMZN), Tesla TSLA (TSLA), Apple AAPL (AAPL), Microsoft MSFT (MSFT) and a few others whose names you can probably guess. Instead, this appears to be a broader-based rally that goes well beyond the same old Info Tech and Communication Services stocks. Consider Wednesday’s comeback rally, where we saw dominance from airlines (mentioned above), along with Energy, Industrials, and Financials. Where were the mega-caps during all this? TSLA jumped more than 6%, but it’s well off recent highs. AAPL and AMZN actually ended lower. Energy stocks like Occidental (OXY), Marathon (MRO), and ConocoPhillips COP (COP) and transport companies like Southwest CSWC (LUV) and American Airlines AAL (AAL) led the way. Other travel-oriented stocks like TripAdvisor (TRIP) and Boeing BA (BA) also surged. That’s the kind of scenario you often see in a rising rate environment where economic optimism lifts most boats, rather than fear lifting just a few.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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815f2c0ed68758626886ce7e2c277af4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/02/26/bonds-hold-the-key-wall-street-feels-calmer-after-harrowing-thursday-with-yields-stepping-back/ | Bonds Hold The Key: Wall Street Feels Calmer After Harrowing Thursday, With Yields Stepping Back | Bonds Hold The Key: Wall Street Feels Calmer After Harrowing Thursday, With Yields Stepping Back
Key Takeaways:
10-year yield steps back slightly but still trades near 1.5% Volatility edges lower, with 30 a key level to watch in the VIX S&P 500 technical support seen near 50-day moving average of 3805
After yesterday’s heart-wrenching finish, the question is whether things can recover a bit before the weekend. It looks like the bleeding has slowed, but a lot depends on what happens in the bond market.
All eyes remain on the 10-year Treasury yield, which rose as high as 1.6% yesterday after starting the year near 0.9%. The rapid rise fueled concerns about possible inflation and economic overheating. Also, the 10-year yield is now roughly equal to the S&P 500 dividend yield, meaning Treasuries could pose more competition to stocks.
The yield ticked down a little to 1.47% early Friday, way below yesterday’s peak but still much higher than a week ago when it was under 1.3%. The slip in yields may weigh on the Financial sector today, but we’ll see if Tech can come back. The Nasdaq NDAQ (COMP), which is heavily weighted toward Tech, dropped 3.5% yesterday.
It’s Friday, which might feel like a relief after the week we’ve had but also could clarify where things stand on Wall Street. During the first wave of the pandemic, when fear stalked the markets, you often saw big drops on Friday because people were worried about holding onto long positions ahead of a two-day break. How this session develops, and how futures trading goes on Sunday night, might offer some clues about investor sentiment. Will people sell into the weekend, or will they feel confident jumping back in?
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Seeking Clues in VIX, PCE, Technical Support Levels
It would be pretty impressive if we bounce back today, but that could depend on more than just yields. For instance, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) had a big day yesterday, finishing above 28. That was up about 34%, a pretty big move for one day. If it keeps rising and goes above 30, that might put people in a more cautious mood. The 30 level is key. VIX slipped just slightly early Friday but remains above the 28 level, well above where it started the week near 21.
Another thing to monitor is whether either the COMP or the S&P 500 Index (SPX) can climb above some levels that got breached yesterday. Technically, some pretty important levels got taken out Thursday, with the COMP falling below its 50-day moving average and the SPX falling below its 20-day moving average. The 50-day of the SPX is near 3805, while a possible support level to watch for the COMP is 13,000. It’s tested that level several times recently.
Then there’s inflation. One thing that’s clipped the market and raised Treasury yields lately is fear that the economy may be overheating. This morning’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) prices report for January showed a 0.3% rise in both core and headline PCE prices, neither of which is likely to strike fear in anyone’s hearts. Household income jumped 10% in January and personal spending grew 2.4%, more evidence of economic recovery but also something that may reinforce concerns about overheating.
If you’re one of those who’s concerned, consider this: The SPX is down about 2% for the week, but remains just 3% away from all-time highs. Let’s keep things in perspective: Overall, the market hasn’t completely fallen out of bed. Stocks are still up more than 70% from the pandemic lows posted last March. While it may not be a good time to go “all in,” so to speak, there’s also no reason to panic.
Over the last week, leading sectors are Energy, Financials, and Industrials, exactly the ones you’d expect to do well in an improving economy. It’s been a tough week for Tech, as you might already know, and Consumer Discretionary is another laggard. That’s mainly due to the plunge in Tesla (TSLA TSLA ) shares.
Whether the market can engineer a quick recovery and get back on its feet depends partly on the path of the 10-year yield, but also on whether last year’s leading stocks like Apple AAPL (AAPL), Microsoft MSFT (MSFT), and TSLA can stop retreating. AAPL is down 17% from its highs, and TSLA is off 24% from its peak. Having said that, it’s not unhealthy to see some other sectors—especially Financials—show some life.
Data Impressive So Far This Week
Earlier this week, economic data looked more than OK. It looked pretty amazing. Durable goods and orders both came in way above expectations, and so did new home sales. Consumer confidence rose in February, and initial unemployment claims fell last week (though some of the decline may have reflected people not being able to file after the storm in Texas).
All this now arguably gets filed in the “good news is bad news” department, because it helps contribute to higher rates and more worry about overheating. Today’s expected stimulus vote in the House of Representatives is another possible touchpoint.
Today is the last trading day of the month, which might be meaningful in some respects. It’s not like the end of a quarter in terms of so-called “position squaring,” but there is some significance and it could possibly mean a little buying interest after the market’s big dip.
If there’s buying interest, we’ll see if it shows up in the battered and bruised Tech sector. Many stocks there got smoked yesterday, particularly semiconductors. The rising Treasury yield environment appears to be having a more substantial impact on Tech stocks, many of which trade at high valuations. Those valuations seemed reasonable to many analysts when yields were below 1%, but maybe not so great with yields at 1.5%. Remember, Tech got a big pushback in late 2018 when the 10-year yield climbed above 3%.
Despite the yield worries, investors don’t appear to have much concern about a rate rise this year. Chances fell to just 2% in the Fed funds futures market by late Thursday, down from above 10% earlier this week. It looks like Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress this week, where he talked about the economy being a long way from normal, might have convinced investors the Fed doesn’t plan to act anytime soon. The question is whether they might take a smaller measure, like cutting back on bond purchases. Honestly, that doesn’t seem likely, either.
CHART OF THE DAY: COPPERTOP? WHAT ABOUT TECH? A rally in technology shares—including the Nasdaq 100 ... [+] Index (NDX—purple line) kicked into high gear last fall but seemed to lead the way down beginning in early February, just as interest rates started climbing. But copper futures (/HG—candlestick)—seen by many as a proxy for industrial production—took off to the upside, reaching levels not seen since the commodity boom in 2011. Yesterday, however, both took a hit. Data sources: Nasdaq, CME Group. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. Data sources: Nasdaq, CME Group. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Sectors Bet on Inflation: The big story this week has been the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to new one-year highs above 1.5% from 0.9% at the start of 2021. This partly reflects hope for improved economic performance with a fiscal stimulus possibly ahead, but also reflects worries about inflation. So one question for investors is how to position themselves for these potential developments.
Financials and Energy have been leaders, and both are typically sectors that benefit from inflation. That said, the Fed continues to sound unworried. “Inflation dynamics do change over time, but they don’t change on a dime,” Powell told Congress this week. “We don’t really see how a burst of fiscal support or spending that doesn’t last for many years would actually change those inflation dynamics.”
If Powell’s right, maybe betting on inflation-driven sectors being helped long-term by the stimulus isn’t a slam dunk. Also, avoiding sectors like Utilities and Consumer Staples that traditionally perform poorly in an inflationary environment isn’t necessarily a “buy and hold” strategy either.
Pieces of a Puzzle: There's a reason stocks, bonds—and all asset classes really—don't move in a straight line. News happens, and markets respond in real time, ebbing and flowing in constant search of equilibrium. That's nothing new. But this market has been a challenge in that the pandemic ravaged the current economy, but the markets arguably began pricing in not only a post-pandemic economic surge, but also had to absorb several rounds of fiscal and monetary stimulus. Meanwhile, the Fed has offered a number of reassurances to the market that it would continue to put the pedal to the metal in terms of ultra-low interest rates, regardless of any potential inflationary headwinds.
But what if the bond market develops its own ideas about the equilibrium level of interest rates? And what about segments of the stock market that may have priced in lower rates than the bond market? If Thursday's selloff is a guide, that question is being asked these days.
Not Jumping on Bandwagon: Bitcoin keeps flirting with $50,000, helped by corporations like Tesla (TSLA) beginning to embrace the cryptocurrency. So with that in mind, it was surprising to see a story that went a little under the radar earlier this week: Mastercard MA (MA) came out and said bitcoin won’t work for its plans because it’s too volatile.
“Bitcoin doesn’t behave like a payment instrument,” Ann Cairns, executive vice chair at MA told the Future of Money conference, according to MarketWatch. “It’s too volatile and it takes too long to transact. So if you and I went for a cup of coffee, and you know, I decided to pay with bitcoin, our coffee might cost me, I don’t know, 40% more by the time it was served—and it takes 10 minutes to actually settle the transaction.”
That’s a bit exaggerated, of course, and it doesn’t mean MA won’t allow cryptocurrencies into its network. It said it would a couple weeks ago. Just not bitcoin. As much as we hear about other companies jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon, it’s interesting to hear another side to the story.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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d4d22cf380fc45bff7ffc268b52f7e2a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/03/02/in-like-a-lion-equities-look-to-be-taking-a-breather-after-broad-based-monday-rally/ | In Like A Lion: Equities Look To Be Taking A Breather After Broad-Based Monday Rally | In Like A Lion: Equities Look To Be Taking A Breather After Broad-Based Monday Rally
Key Takeaways:
Stability in 10-year Treasury continues to encourage equity investors Target reports better-than-expected earnings and revenue, doesn’t issue guidance Lower VIX, higher U.S. crude oil indicate possible risk appetite
There’s a saying about the weather in March: It comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
While we don’t know how the market will end the month, it started off with a roar. Stocks surged Monday as the 10-year Treasury yield seemed to be stabilizing and investor optimism about the vaccine rollout and coronavirus stimulus from Congress brightened the mood considerably from the selling pressure last week.
In a sense, Monday’s trading let investors have their cake and eat it too as equities tied to the economic recovery, those that have been stay-at-home stalwarts, and tech-related stocks that have been hot during the pandemic did well. The calmer 10-year yield also seemed to ease concerns about more-expensive corporate borrowing.
This morning is starting off on a quieter note, which is perhaps to be expected after such a strong rally yesterday. There doesn’t seem to be a strong urge to book profits. It just seems like investors maybe want to take a breather as the session gets going.
One notable pocket of activity, though, is in Zoom (ZM). Its shares are up more than 7% in pre-market trading this morning, and that’s after they surged nearly 10% in regular trading yesterday. The video conferencing software company handily beat expectations on its top and bottom lines and issued strong guidance for its fiscal first quarter and fiscal 2022 year.
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There has been some worry that stay-at-home stocks might begin to fade along with the pandemic, but the ZM results at least show that the company is hanging on to clients pretty well for the moment.
In other earnings news, Target (TGT) reported better than expected earnings and revenue but didn’t give guidance for the year ahead. Its shares were up slightly in premarket trading this morning.
This morning, signs favorable to a risk-on mindset include a Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) that’s under 25 and higher U.S. crude. But it remains to be seen whether stocks will add to yesterday’s incredible rally or whether investors will just take it easy today to try to get the lay of the land.
Broad-Based Rally
During yesterday’s trading, in the camp of companies that would likely be helped as vaccines bolster a recovery, American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) both gained more than 1% while the Energy sector was one of the best performing in the S&P 500 Index (SPX).
Information Technology took the best-performing-sector crown and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) outperformed the other two main U.S. indices as technology names such as Apple (AAPL) did well. Another darling of the lockdown era, Amazon (AMZN), also gained, as did ZM and Peloton (PTON), the poster children of the stay-at-home trade.
Straddling both worlds, shares of Disney (DIS) rose more than 3% yesterday. DIS is a hybrid stock with its strong streaming business that has benefited from people entertaining themselves at home and its theme parks business that would be helped by a more robust vaccine rollout.
Defensive sectors that aren’t as tied to economic growth including Consumer Staples and Health Care were also up, as was every sector in SPX.
That combined with both reopening and stay-at-home stocks being up seems to indicate a broader base of support than just the reopening optimism from the vaccine and stimulus news. It seems that Monday’s rally was helped by a buy-the-dip mentality that extended the buying action in the SPX after its recovery from a brief dip below its 50-day moving average on Friday. Broad support for equities also seemed to come from a continued pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield.
Nothing Secret About These Gains
Monday was also a big day for cryptocurrencies. Although there's been talk of crypto assets being safe-haven investments, at the moment the young market seems to be more of a risk-on trade, and Monday’s risk switch seemed to be definitely flipped to “on.”
It also didn’t hurt the crypto space that Citigroup (C) issued a report noting that bitcoin adoption is growing and institutional interest is accelerating. It said the leading cryptocurrency could “become the currency of choice for international trade.” While the report did say obstacles remain to widespread institutional cryptocurrency adoption, cryptocurrency traders seemed to take the report as generally bullish.
In other bullish crypto news, Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs (GS) has restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk, with the bank to begin dealing bitcoin derivatives next week. GS is also looking at the potential for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the report said.
CHART OF THE DAY: Bitcoin futures (/BTC—candlestick) had a solid day yesterday as the market’s fear ... [+] level subsided substantially, as measured by the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX—purple line). While the risk-on sentiment may have been the primary driver, the cryptocurrency space was also helped by news from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs (see above). Data sources: CME Group, Cboe Global Markets. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Data sources: CME Group, Cboe Global Markets. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Inflation Investigation: Concerns about inflation have reared their head in recent days. But it seems far from a sure thing that the economy will see a prolonged period of problematically rising prices. So we decided to drill down a little deeper into the inflation issue. In broad brush strokes, it seems possible that government stimulus and a vaccine-spurred economic recovery could lead to a spike in demand that pushes up consumer prices. But in addition to that not being certain, there’s also the question about whether the jump in prices would be transitory or prolonged. If it’s the former, then the Fed could probably tolerate it without raising interest rates because yearly inflation at the moment is still below its target of 2%. And remember that the central bank has changed policy to allow inflation to run hot for a bit as long as it averages out to their goal.
Data Dive: Concerns that we’re beginning to see that inflation spike as the economy recovers have ratcheted up along with solid economic data, but all the numbers don’t point to problematic inflation. Data this month showed that retail sales in January were much higher than expected while producer prices in January were also a good bit above expectations. But the January consumer price index rose less than expected for the month, and the rate of increase for core CPI slowed on a yearly basis. The core PCE price index, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, was pretty tame in January, and the yearly reading was well under the central bank’s 2% target. Interestingly, personal income skyrocketed 10% in January and the personal savings rate rose to 20.5% of disposable personal income. That last bit is interesting because it could lead to inflation if that money starts getting spent. But it also might not, if people decide things are still too up in the air and want to keep that money in their savings accounts.
Both Sides: With actual inflation in check but potential inflation a concern, experts remain divided. Peak Capital Management said in a recent note that there are many data points suggesting inflation is rising, such as increases in the Shanghai shipping index, prices paid numbers from the ISM manufacturing index, and the 10-year breakeven inflation rate. But the note also mentions points from economist David Rosenberg that point to the potential for economic growth to languish, including the number of households unable to pay monthly bills, the number of homeowners in some type of loan forbearance, and the amount of government stimulus payments that have been used to pay down debt or bolster savings. Meanwhile, according to investment research firm CFRA, i10Research thinks the 10-year yield will keep rising, with a technical target between 1.67% and 1.97%, but Action Economics thinks the yield peaked in February and projects it to average 1.40% through the middle of this year. “Rates are on the rise but are not likely to corral the bull,” the CFRA note said. “History indicates, but does not guarantee, that rising rates reflect the optimism surrounding an improving economy and will need to move much higher before causing concern by forcing the Fed’s hand in hiking short-term rates sooner than anticipated.”
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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dbd5ce49934a910329244c51719fa3ec | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/03/04/countdown-to-payrolls-focus-remains-on-rates-as-feds-powell-prepares-to-speak/?sh=3b30c4e8698c | Countdown To Payrolls: Focus Remains On Rates As Fed’s Powell Prepares To Speak | Countdown To Payrolls: Focus Remains On Rates As Fed’s Powell Prepares To Speak
Key Takeaways:
Nasdaq on track to post third-straight losing week for first time since September Fed Chairman Powell to speak at midday in conference on U.S. economy Gearing up for payrolls data tomorrow, jobless claims hit 745,000, up a bit from last week
The “tug of war” between investors and the Fed continues, with the Tech sector taking the brunt of the blow. Major indices are in the red again this morning with the Nasdaq (COMP) on pace to post its third-straight losing week for the first time in about six months.
Rising Treasury yields remain the elephant in the room. The 10-year yield recently traded at 1.46%, slightly below yesterday’s highs but still up more than 50 basis points from the start of the year. Investors seem to be struggling with the 1.45% level. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has downplayed inflation worries and continues advocating dovish monetary policy, but those yields suggest investors aren’t completely convinced.
Fed’s Powell on Tap Today
Powell is scheduled to speak as part of a “discussion” on the U.S. economy at 12:05 p.m. ET today. This is part of a “jobs summit” sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. It seems pretty unlikely he’ll say anything new or unique, but when Powell speaks, it’s worth monitoring. Especially with so much focus now on the yield picture. Powell has said rising yields are a sign of the economy recovering, which they certainly can be.
Sentiment remains tepid. The SPX hasn’t been able to hold onto gains for more than a day or two, and failed to re-test its all-time high on the latest leg up. When you keep seeing lower highs, that can tell you something, and it’s not a pleasant story. It doesn’t help today that European and Asian stocks took a beating. News reports of rising virus cases in Europe are another worry.
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Initial jobless claims of 745,000 this morning were up just slightly from the week before and basically in line with expectations. It seems unlikely that they’d move the needle too much for stocks, especially with tomorrow’s payrolls report ahead and mattering more (see below).
Wednesday delivered the second-straight ugly close for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq (COMP). It was especially bad for COMP, which fell below psychological support at 13,000 in the final hour of the session as Tech stocks took it on the chin again.
The SPX closed Wednesday just a tick above its 50-day moving average of 3817 (see chart below), setting up an interesting start for today. Will the SPX manage to hold that level or fall below? The 50-day has been a key support point for weeks.
One thing to remember: The “buy the dip” mentality has taken hold every time it looks like this market is going to crack. In football, if you’re running a sweep and it keeps working, you keep running it until it doesn’t. Investors seem to be following that same playbook. We’re near the bottom of the recent range for the SPX, so today’s a good test of whether the same play will work on third and long, so to speak.
Tech Still on Mat, but Don’t Count it Out
Rising yields spook a lot of investors, especially in sectors like Tech where valuations tend to be high. It implies a tougher path to the kind of earnings growth that could ultimately justify those high valuations, and that’s one reason we’ve seen reassessment and profit-taking across Tech lately. This could also be happening because the end of the quarter is approaching, along with “quadruple witching” on March 19. We often see the big funds adjust around this time, so what’s going on doesn’t seem particularly surprising considering the time of year.
Could a “Tech check” turn into a “Tech wreck?” Some people are already using the “W” word. It’s a bit early to push the panic button, even if things seem rough right now. We’ve just witnessed the worst two-day slip for the COMP in six months, but people were writing Tech’s obituary then, too, and look how the sector came roaring back from November through January. No one’s gotten rich betting against Tech lately. Sentiment seems to be against the sector, but that can flip on a dime, as we’ve seen before.
From a technical perspective, the late January low of 12,985 in COMP could be a level to watch. The COMP, which is heavily weighted toward Tech, finished just a few points above that on Wednesday.
The CMP is now under its 50-day moving average, but it did hold 13,000 last week. We’ll see if it can claw back above that before this week ends, but with semiconductors falling 2.5% by late Wednesday, it’s a hard job. The chip dip was despite Micron (MU) raising its expected earnings per share and revenue outlook. Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Marvell (MRVL) got hammered. This is also happening even with an industry-wide chip shortage.
There were plenty of stocks that did well yesterday, like Citigroup (C) , United (UAL), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), American Express (AXP), and Boeing (BA). Darden Restaurants (DRI) fell Wednesday, but it’s been another “reopening” company that’s been on a roll. Don’t lose track of strong performance from Financials and Energy, because they can reflect reopening optimism just as much as airlines and restaurants. Also, a strong Financial sector often gives a boost to the broader market.
Financials have already come a long way, partly due to rising yields. Still, they could continue to be prime beneficiaries if rates keep rising. Besides that, they’ve done a fantastic job considering everything going against them, including increasing fees and finding other areas where they can charge and bring in more revenue.
OPEC Meets with Hopes for Higher Output Fading
Crude did a quick 180 yesterday and today, charging back above $62 after falling below $60 earlier in the week. Airline stocks and other “reopening” companies generally performed nicely Wednesday, but $60 is typically the level where you start seeing airline executives worry about crude prices cutting into profitability (already under pressure from Covid). Last year, things got about as bad as you can imagine for aviation, but at least Covid kept fuel prices low. This year, passenger traffic is up but still nowhere near normal, and now airlines have to pay more for fuel.
Which brings us to today’s OPEC meeting. The OPEC+ group (OPEC plus Russia) is considering keeping their collective oil production cuts in April, according to Reuters. This report could be helping prop crude prices going into the OPEC gathering, especially when you consider that just a few days ago, there was talk OPEC+ might increase production.
OPEC and its non-OPEC allies led by Russia are keeping around seven million barrels per day off the market to help the market rebalance and prop up prices after the pandemic shock to demand. OPEC’s top producer and the world’s top exporter, Saudi Arabia, is also cutting one million barrels per day in February and March on top of its quota, according to trade site oilprice.com.
CHART OF THE DAY: HEAVY CLOSE. The S&P 500 Index (SPX—candlestick) closed right above its 50-day ... [+] moving average (blue line) Wednesday. If that sounds like familiar territory, it's about where the index was before Monday's monster rally. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX—purple line) fell below its 50-day and closed well below it. Data sources: Nasdaq, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Data sources: Nasdaq, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Payrolls—What to Watch: Everyone tends to focus on the headline number with monthly payrolls, but you can observe a lot just by watching, as baseball great Yogi Berra once said. That’s why tomorrow’s February payrolls data deserves more than a quick glance. It would be great to see a turnaround from January’s downbeat numbers in key sectors like transportation and warehousing, construction, and manufacturing. All of those fell in January, with construction and manufacturing seeing their first losses in eight months.
Unfortunately, it’s possible the terrible weather in Texas might have hurt job growth in some of those industries last month, and that may get picked up by the report. Retail also took a step back in January, and so did Leisure and Hospitality. Any bounce in these categories would be from pretty low levels due to lockdowns, but welcome from the perspective of any reopening they might signal. It was positive to see the manufacturing work week tick up in January. If we get more of that in February, it could tell you something about demand for big-ticket items.
As far as market reaction, keep in mind that we’re now at the point where many “good news” items get treated as bad news by the stock market. A big gain in jobs (analysts predict a 200,000 jump) might get read as feeding an overheated economy, with a corresponding rise in Treasury yields that spooks stocks. Also, the report is almost certainly getting a close look from the Fed, and may be something they discuss at their meeting later this month.
Tech as in Wreck? The market doesn’t actually need a rallying Tech sector to make gains. Sure, it helps a lot, considering mega-cap Tech stocks like Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) both have big weightings in the S&P 500 Index (SPX). The chip market has been influential, too. Tech was the leading sector three of the last four years, and the one year in that stretch where Tech struck out (2018), the SPX also finished lower.
Still, if you go back to 2012 and 2013 (yeah, it’s been a while), Tech got outpaced by the SPX, and both years saw strong SPX gains led by sectors like Financials and Consumer Discretionary. Interestingly, that was also an era where the economy was emerging from recession, yields were rising, and sectors that traditionally do well in a post-recession environment (Financials, Industrials, Discretionary) were helping lead the way. If you’re optimistic, you might look at today’s market and see the same trend shaping up.
Risky Business for Crude Producers: If OPEC+ decides to continue its production cuts, they might risk a couple of things: For one thing they could drive down demand due to the higher prices. For another, they could spark more U.S. production. During the last week of February, U.S. producers added four oil rigs, Baker Hughes reported, and the count now stands at 309. That’s down from 678 a year ago. It’s possible things could have come back more quickly, but the frozen weather in Texas might have caused delays. We’ll be watching Friday for a weekly rig count update.
Major Energy firms like Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) are among market leaders over the last couple of months thanks in part to the incredible rally in oil. One thing to possibly watch for, however, is the impact of bonds. With higher rates, Energy could become less appealing from a yield point of view.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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20bb06160f574c6a07b1288240c7a890 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/03/05/labor-market-throws-a-party-but-stock-market-on-edge-amid-yield-fears/ | Labor Market Throws A Party, But Stock Market On Edge Amid Yield Fears | Labor Market Throws A Party, But Stock Market On Edge Amid Yield Fears
Key Takeaways:
Tech sector under close watch after getting crushed again on Thursday Washington in focus as Senate debates $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus bill Jobs growth of 379,000 comes in way above expectations, but most is in reopening sectors
Typically a big jump in job creation gives the stock market a tailwind. Maybe not so much this time. Instead, Friday’s surprisingly strong February jobs report helped push the 10-year yield to a new one-year high above 1.6%, bringing a mixed response on Wall Street.
February jobs growth of 379,000 easily exceeded the average analyst estimate of 200,000, and jumped from an upwardly revised 166,000 in January. But remember, we seem to be at an inflection point between "good news" being good or bad for the market. Strength in the economy has many investors worried about overheating, especially as the Fed continues to keep monetary policy extremely accommodative.
There's also still some horse-trading going on regarding the House-passed stimulus bill, and strength in the jobs numbers can raise the voices of those suggesting the $1.9 trillion price tag could be dialed back. Arguably, a big round of stimulus is priced into the market.
Thursday saw major indices drop 1% to 2% based on fears that higher Treasury yields might eventually start to squeeze company earnings. In pre-market trading Friday, stocks initially recoiled from the big jobs numbers and accompanying rise in yields, but then began clawing back.
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“Buy the dip” has been the way of the world lately, and we’ll see if that’s the way of the world again today. The Tech sector has been under all kinds of pressure, so it’s very important for the market to have a strong day today and see some buying going into the weekend.
The Numbers Behind the Jobs Numbers
Looking over the jobs report, most of the surge came in the Leisure and Hospitality sector, which swelled by 355,000 jobs as lockdowns eased, the U.S. Department of Labor said. On that note, remember that this sector doesn’t tend to have the highest-paying jobs, so the market’s sudden reaction to the overall report may be a little bit overdone. There’s nothing wrong with jobs as a bartender or waiter, but they’re not necessarily the positions that would overheat the economy if they get filled.
Retail trade—another reopening sector—also did well last month, adding 41,000 jobs. Manufacturing jumped by 21,000. But construction jobs fell for the second month in a row. This partly reflected the severe winter weather, so maybe come back in another month for a better picture of where the construction industry is going.
The average workweek declined by 0.3 hours in February, which also may reflect the weather. Actual unemployment slipped to 6.2% from 6.3%, while there was little change in the long-term unemployment numbers or labor market participation.
So except for the big build in the reopening sectors, this report shows the labor market in a bit of a holding pattern. There’s not much here that would normally raise inflationary fears, but Wall Street is so tense about prices and economic overheating that it seemed geared up to react that way. It was almost reflexive when people saw that big headline number but hadn’t had time to digest the full report.
Other than jobs, it’s a day for watching the Treasury market. The 10-year yield hopped in early action this morning, continuing a rise from around 1.41% at the start of the week. It’s this relentless yield rally that, more than anything else, seems to have stocks on the defensive.
Growth stocks like Tech have taken it on the chin all week, and the yield rise this morning might put that sector on notice again. Investors also could have their eyes on Washington, where the Senate debates today on a proposed $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus.
There’s some earnings news to ponder, too. Broadcom AVGO (AVGO) shares are down a bit. They had good earnings results, but apparently not good enough for the market. And Gap GPS (GPS) had a very nice quarter—with apparel brand Athleta doing really well—and is getting rewarded in early trade, up 5%.
Crude is also getting rewarded, maybe in part by the jobs number that implies more solid footing in the economy. It’s above $65 a barrel now, the highest since early 2020.
Another Thursday to Forget
Wall Street has apparently decided to get ahead of the Fed by staging a “taper tantrum” before any actual taper, judging from the selloff we saw yesterday.
There’s no sign of the Fed rolling back its accommodative monetary policy in any way, but investors seem convinced the day will come. The feeling grew stronger Thursday when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the magic word, “inflation,” in public remarks, noting that reopening could create “upward pressure on prices.” Basically, Powell took everybody by surprise, kind of wobbling on the dovish tone he’d had last week. He sounded like he could see central banks starting to scale back monetary stimulus a little earlier than expected.
Wall Street responded with more selling, discarding bonds and stocks amid worries about economic overheating. Treasury yields boomeranged as high as 1.55%, not far below last week’s one-year peak and close to 15 basis points above this week’s lows. We noted this morning that the stock market has been getting shaky when yields top 1.45%, and that happened pretty quickly today. Keep in mind, however, that 1.5% or so is very low, historically.
Fear seems to be growing that the Fed might get “behind the curve,” as the saying goes, meaning basically it could be waiting too long to tighten policy as the economy emerges from the pandemic. Powell, of course, needs to focus on employment reviving, and that’s not really happening. Meaning the Fed isn’t in a hurry to roll anything back.
There’ve also been some rumblings about the proposed stimulus, which the Senate began voting on Thursday. This isn’t a political column, but some economists say the level of spending in the bill would have made more sense a few months ago but may be more than the economy needs now, according to the Washington Post. That could be playing into market concerns about possible overheating, too, though not all economists necessarily agree with that point of view.
Despite Selloff, Valuations Well Above Average
One more thing: If you were hoping this downturn has taken the S&P 500 Index (SPX) back to a more historically normal valuation, no dice. Even when you factor in Thursday’s losses, the forward price-to-earnings ratio of the SPX—based on analysts’ 12-month forward earnings estimates—remains near 22. The typical P/E is more like 16.
The Tech sector entered Thursday at an even higher valuation than the SPX. It’s up near 27 on a forward basis, according to CFRA. What we’ve seen these last few days is investors reassessing sectors like Tech where valuations are extended, in part because higher yields tend to take a bite out of future earnings growth. The Nasdaq NDAQ (COMP), where so many Tech stocks live, is now down for 2021.
The valuation is also extended in the small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) index, which now trades around 24% above its 200-day moving average. That’s down from 33% the other day, however.
If you’re wondering about technical support for the SPX, it’s changing fast. Going into Thursday, it was near the 50-day moving average of 3817, but that got broken minutes into the session. Now you have to look at 3725, near the early February low. The SPX bounced off of that late in Thursday’s session (see chart below), but look out below if it carves further down tomorrow. The 100-day moving average of 3683 would be in sight. The SPX last traded below its 100-day MA in late October, and bounced off it twice last fall.
Meanwhile, volatility turned slightly lower early Friday but remains elevated, with the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) above 27. It flirted with 30 yesterday. Any move back toward 30 could bring more pressure on stocks. If you’re bullish you’d like to see it under 25 to end the week, because that might mean a strong rally in stocks.
CHART OF THE DAY: OH, THAT 50-DAY. The S&P 500 Index (SPX—candlestick) has flirted with the 50-day ... [+] moving average (blue line) several times in recent days, including a close yesterday right at the level. The session low of 3723 was essentially the same spot where the 50-day figured prominently a little over a month ago. The SPX settled below the 50-day on Jan 29, but on Feb 1 it managed to settle above it, and then took off to the upside (see purple line). Data source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Data source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
Tightrope Walk for Fed: You could argue that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is walking a tightrope. The yield curve keeps steepening as investors worry about chances of an overheating economy. If the Fed stands still, it risks letting the yield curve get to where long-term borrowing costs might sap initial reopening strength. Higher yields on longer-term bonds may clip demand for big-ticket items like mortgages (the 30-year mortgage rate just rose back above 3%).
One way to address that would be to repeat what the Fed did in 2011 and “twist” by purchasing longer-dated Treasuries to keep long-term borrowing rates under control before they sap economic recovery, some economists argue. If the Fed does nothing, stocks could continue to see pressure from rates, and that might sap investor enthusiasm. Making investors happy isn’t one of the Fed’s responsibilities. On the other hand, when investors get depressed, they tend to spend less on stuff like cars, houses, and other items they might buy if they felt flush. Now you can see why Powell might be feeling like the monkey in the middle, so to speak.
Home Builders Seen as Yield “Microcosm:” Whatever the Fed decides, it’s hard to see a scenario where the rate pressure eases significantly over the next year, and one sector that may be a good “canary in the coal mine” for the overall impact of rates is homebuilders. Many of these stocks have been rolling up gains thanks to increased demand as people change their work habits during the pandemic. That’s bolstered demand for bigger houses and has more folks leaving apartments for single family homes with more room to work.
There’s a lot of money still out there creating this kind of demand, but if the 10-year yield gets up toward 2% (it’s just above 1.6% as of this morning), home builders are one of the first areas where you wonder about rising rates’ impact. This industry might give us a microcosm of what we may see overall across the market. So keep an eye on stocks like Lennar LEN (LEN), KB Home (KBH KBH ), and NVR (NVR) for possible clues.
Happy Belated Birthday: Yesterday marked the 64th birthday of the SPX. It was launched in 1957 as an index of the largest 500 U.S. equities, and it's calculated based on a free-floating market-cap-weighted formula. Though even all these decades later many people still judge the market by asking, “How did the Dow do?”—the SPX is really the primary index and should be what investors watch for a broad view of the market. When launched, the SPX was an amazing advancement because although the Dow at its time was revolutionary, it’s only 30 stocks and it's price weighted. That means, in a nutshell, that the SPX provides a much broader idea of what’s actually happening.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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cfcd48d5750319601f6764b06af6fbbe | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/03/08/overnight-momentum-change-early-rally-fizzles-as-treasury-yields-climb-above-16/ | Overnight Momentum Change: Early Rally Fizzles As Treasury Yields Climb Above 1.6% | Overnight Momentum Change: Early Rally Fizzles As Treasury Yields Climb Above 1.6%
Key Takeaways:
Overnight rally fades, pushing Nasdaq NDAQ lower after Friday’s comeback move Lack of major catalysts like earnings, data, could give outside forces more influence 10-year yield starts week with a rally to above 1.6%, bringing pressure
Friday’s momentum melted away like snow in the March sun. Then it appeared to come back, at least for parts of Wall Street. The Nasdaq (COMP) isn’t one of them.
Things didn’t start out all over the place like they are now. Major indices initially rose in sync during the overnight session after the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. The full-service rally didn’t last. Weakness in Asian markets and the 10-year Treasury yield climbing back above 1.6% might have done the trick. The Nasdaq (COMP), home of many Tech stocks, seems to be taking it worst in the early going. Tesla TSLA (TSLA) and Apple AAPL (AAPL) are down in pre-market trading.
One reason we rallied so much Friday was a leveling out in the yield. Now that it’s climbing again (for the moment), Tech stocks may face a headwind from fears that higher yields point to potential higher inflation. The bond market is telling us there’s a lot of money in the system as more people get back to work. And with all this money coming back in, people are concerned, especially with U.S. debt now more than 100% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Finding Some Separation
There may be some bifurcation developing on Wall Street today. Tech stocks are getting whacked, but these higher interest rates may not be the worst thing in the world for banks. That means the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) could be separating themselves a bit from the COMP. The Russell 2000 (RUT) and the $DJI turned slightly higher as the opening bell approached. Remember, the RUT is where many mid-sized banks trade.
We’re in that time between earnings seasons where corporate news sometimes gets thin, meaning the market can get led around by developments outside the financial world. Stimulus is one of those, with the House expected to vote this week. However, most of that appears to be built into stock prices already, so new catalysts might be needed for a sense of direction. Each time we go up, sellers appear, and any downward moves get met by “buy the dippers.” For now, anyway, major indices could be range-bound unless there’s some big outside news.
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Some of that outside news could come from across the pond, so to speak, as the European Central Bank (ECB) meets later this week and faces the question of what to do about rising bond yields over there. This happens with the U.S. dollar recently touching three-month highs. The dollar might be getting some help from last Friday’s strong U.S. jobs report.
Don’t forget another feature: Volatility. It could hold the key to this week’s markets. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) pulled back Friday from its flirtation with 30, but began the week pointing slightly higher. It’s still below 28, but keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, it would be nice to see some buyers in the Nasdaq. That’s probably got to happen for the market to get back on its feet. They’re the ones that led us here, but now the question for them is, what’s next?
Market Diagnosis: A Case of Whiplash
If you saw anyone wearing a neck brace on Friday, you probably understood why if you were watching the markets. Wall Street had whiplash all over the place to end the week, with the COMP ending 1.6% higher after being down 2% in the early part of the session.
If you’re trading these markets, it’s probably safe to say more volatility lies ahead, so buckle up (see below). Keep in mind that if you do jump into and out of markets at times like these (not that you have to feel compelled to), you’re going to have times when you’re dead right and other times when you’re dead wrong. That means have a plan if you’re going to be part of it. It’s not against the rules to sell some on the way up, or to hold on when things go against you—even if it can be tough.
What seemed to happen Friday was another “buy the dip” rally after a surprisingly strong February jobs report. The initial read was bearish because yields zoomed higher in the first minutes after the data. It looked like the 10-year yield might be off to the races, but it stabilized and eventually fell from above 1.6% to the mid 1.5% range. That’s still about 15 basis points above where it was a week ago.
Once it became clear that yields were kind of checked, stocks reversed the early losses. The “buy the dip” mentality has worked for years, which helps explain why many people continue to do it. Friday may have been the ultimate example. There was shocking strength by Friday afternoon, and to see that kind of comeback after a huge selloff is encouraging for this coming week.
The big question is how much higher yields might go from here and if Wall Street can get used to it. A lot of selling hit the high-flying growth stocks last week, with Tech taking a nearly 3% haircut overall despite Friday’s solid comeback. There’s a reassessment going on, with many investors taking profit after the long rally in this neighborhood of the market. More on the Tech and Treasury yield relationship below.
Conversation Starters: Inflation and Volatility
A few months ago almost no one was worried about inflation. The main fear was the chance of the economy cratering again as virus cases surged. Then about three weeks ago it was like someone pushed a button and everyone got worried about inflation. It’s almost funny how fast it started to dominate the market conversation.
Another dominant topic that’s probably not going away anytime soon is volatility. Going into Friday, we’d suggested that a close below 25 in the VIX could probably say good things about where stocks went. That’s exactly how it played out, with VIX falling to 24.8 by the end of the day as stocks made their incredible turnaround. But there’s no reason to believe volatility will slow down, and we could continue to see days like Friday right into next week’s Fed meeting.
It’s actually unclear what the Fed could say to calm things down at this point. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell barely said anything in his remarks last week, but the market sold off when he said the dreaded “I” word, or inflation. The Fed meeting is scheduled for March 16–17, but it’s hard to say what the yield situation will be by then.
One thing we will know more about is inflation, however. This week brings the February consumer price index on Wednesday and producer prices on Friday. These should be two of the more closely watched economic reports of the month, and we’ll discuss expectations tomorrow. Year-over-year CPI rose 1.4% in January, with core CPI rising 1.6%. Both are below the Fed’s 2% target, but the Fed typically looks more closely at personal consumption expenditure (PCE) prices for its inflation read.
There’s not much on the earnings calendar this week, which figures considering the time of year. However, Campbell Soup CPB (CPB) and Oracle ORCL (ORCL) both report on Wednesday, representing very different segments of the economy. Of course, earnings aren’t the only type of company events. The big three U.S. telecom companies all host investor days this week. Verizon VZ (VZ) starts things off on Wednesday, followed by T-Mobile US (TMUS) on Thursday and AT&T T (T) on Friday.
On the economy, it was very encouraging to see a rise in retail jobs in the February payrolls report. That’s seasonally unusual and could speak to a strong reopening trend.
Energy Takes Weekly Prize Again as Supplies Seen Tighter
In the sector watch Friday, Energy powered well ahead of the field; the rest were playing for second place. Energy has gone from C-student last year to the top of the class. What's happening? Crude oil supplies—already expected to tighten in what's expected to be a vibrant post-pandemic economy—may be getting even tighter as, in a surprise move this week, OPEC+ members agreed to keep output steady. That means continuing its January pledge to dial back the spigot.
And remember another thing that may be working in Energy’s favor: Last year’s pandemic had some producers (especially in the U.S.) turning off the taps. You can’t turn those things back on like a light switch. It takes time, money, and effort, so that could put a lid on how fast supplies come back from Texas.
What a turn of events for Energy. It wasn't too long ago that tanks and tankers across the globe were full to the brim, with nowhere to offload it. Prices went from cratered to—dare we say it—eyeing the $70 per barrel mark. Crude hit $66 today before pulling back slightly.
If you're looking for a sign of what the market's expecting, the Energy sector (IXE) might be it.
CHART OF THE DAY: DANCE OF THE TREASURIES AND TECH. This three-year chart shows how the Tech sector ... [+] (IXT—purple line) has twice been hit by higher 10-year yields (TNX—candlestick). First in late 2018 (see left side of chart), and more recently in the last few weeks. However, recent history shows Tech has generally run hot as long as the 10-year stays below around 2.5%. Data Sources: Cboe, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Data Sources: Cboe, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
From the “Good News is Bad” Department: Some analysts expect jobs numbers to keep improving this year thanks to reopening. That would typically be good news for stocks, but right now it’s playing into the hands of the bears. Certainly when you see this kind of employment situation, with 379,000 new jobs in February, and January getting revised higher, it’s a little bit of an arrow in the quiver for those who have inflation fears.
On top of a lot of the other good news we are getting, and on top of the fact it does look like we are closer to a stimulus plan, there’s also a lot of money continuing to slosh around in the economy that could give some credence to these inflation fears. Obviously, inflation doesn’t usually hurt some sectors as much as others. In fact, it can actually help the cyclical sectors that tend to do well in an environment of economic recovery. That could explain why two of the only sectors on the rise last week were Energy and Financials.
Strange Days: Though it’s tempting to try to come away from a big monthly jobs report with a couple of key takeaways, it’s dangerous to make any major conclusions in this strange environment where some states are emerging faster than others from the pandemic. Friday’s February report was a perfect example. For instance, education jobs were lost pretty significantly across the country in February, but the month before almost the same amount of education jobs were gained across the country. It's really tough to figure out as the states open differently what is actually going on. That all said, the trend is positive. Ultimately, reopening and getting back to normal is a good thing, even if we get some hiccups along the way like we are now from rising Treasury yields.
While the more normalized yield situation is taking a bite out of growth stocks, it’s worth remembering that many of these companies now getting dinged did just fine in the 2016–2018 period where yields were much higher than they are now and the Fed was actually raising rates. We’re having some growing pains now, which could last a while longer. Ultimately, if inflation gets back toward the Fed’s 2% goal, it wouldn’t surprise some analysts to see the 10-year yield roughly match inflation.
Comfort Spot for Tech: Does it seem hard to believe Tech can thrive in a rising rate environment? Well, between mid-2016 and mid-2018, shares of Apple (AAPL) basically doubled. In that same period, the 10-year yield rose from 2.36% to 2.84%. Meaning the biggest Tech company and yields rose in conjunction. The Tech sector as a whole didn’t do quite as well as AAPL, but still climbed a very solid 60% over that time frame—which happened to also correspond with regular Fed rate hikes. Now, you could poke holes in this argument by noting that these are cherry-picked dates (AAPL and Tech both got hammered in late 2018 after yields rose above 3%), and that shares of both AAPL and Tech weren’t as highly valued then as now. Points taken.
Over the last 10 years, Tech has typically performed best in years when the 10-year yield stayed below 2.5%. Rising yields corresponded with weakness in Tech back in 2014 and 2015, as well as in the late-2018 decline. However, at this point we’re nowhere near a level for the 10-year where yields have historically hurt the sector. Also, the Fed still has short-term borrowing costs at basically zero, with no rate hikes in the picture. What we’re probably seeing in Tech is a reassessment by a lot of investors wondering if the sky-high valuations are justified in a rising yield environment. Don’t count Tech out, especially if overall weakness in the market continues. That might send people scurrying back into some of the “mega-cap” stocks they’re familiar with. We saw the same thing a year ago when the pandemic hit.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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3608eb1a123ba288c41e9530c4df9570 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2021/04/07/flatlining-volume-volatility-continue-looking-light-as-market-appears-to-take-a-spring-break/ | Flatlining: Volume, Volatility Continue Looking Light As Market Appears To Take A “Spring Break” | Flatlining: Volume, Volatility Continue Looking Light As Market Appears To Take A “Spring Break”
Key Takeaways:
For second straight day, stock indices look flat to begin the session Fed minutes this afternoon awaited for insight into central bank’s strategy Data picks up later this week with initial claims tomorrow, PPI on Friday
It’s been a dull week so far, but things pick up starting today in case you’re falling asleep. The main event comes this afternoon with minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last month. The minutes are being looked at as something that could give the market a catalyst one way or another.
What people really want to see in the minutes is whether there’s any hint of what’s to come over the next six months. You can pretty much bet every word will be parsed closely by market participants. The minutes could provide a good behind-the-scenes look at any debate that went on before Chairman Jerome Powell held his press conference and doubled down on the commitment to stay accommodative even when inflation starts showing up.
Powell comes back into view at noon ET Thursday when he appears at the International Monetary Fund Debate on the Global Economy, participating in a discussion there. It seems unlikely he’d say anything market-moving, but it helps to stay on your toes whenever he speaks.
Another person in the markets people tend to listen to is JP Morgan Chase JPM (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon. That’s why his upbeat comments reported this morning about the U.S. economic comeback might help underpin stock prices a bit today. He said in his annual shareholder letter that the U.S. economy ”will likely boom” coming out of the pandemic, and that the boom could last into 2023.
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For now, we continue to see light volumes, which may reflect spring break and nice weather across parts of the country. Volatility remains low. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) both snapped three-day win streaks yesterday in kind of a disappointing close.
Some of the late weakness might have reflected Financials getting hit by falling Treasury yields. The 10-year yield dropped to 1.66% this morning, and is down more than 10 basis points from the 13-month high it logged in March. The bond rally could reflect some people taking off positions ahead of the Fed minutes.
Will New Jobless Claims Reinforce Last Week’s Bullish Payrolls Data?
Another thing to watch is tomorrow morning’s initial jobless claims, a weekly report that went the wrong way last Thursday, popping up to 719,000. Wall Street consensus for tomorrow’s headline number is 678,000, according to research firm Briefing.com. Remember that last week's monthly jobs report surprised to the upside in terms of positions added, giving markets a lift. So any data point that goes in the wrong direction could certainly raise questions about the speed and sustainability of the recovery.
Consensus for Friday’s March producer price index—a read on inflation—looks a bit elevated at 0.5%, Briefing.com said. If that’s where the number comes in, it would be the second month in a row at that level, and the question with PPI is always if—and how quickly—it might be reflected in consumer prices.
The Fed has been pretty upfront getting people prepared for some inflation, saying any spike in prices will be transitory (that's "temporary" in Fed-speak) over the next few weeks or months. Some of this could be related to supply chains coming back to full levels. Maybe you saw the recent Wall Street Journal article about the Port of Los Angeles having 24 container ships waiting to dock there. Then you have the jump in gas prices caused partly by refinery problems after the February storms in Texas.
One thing to watch for with the inflation data is comparisons to a year ago, when the pandemic first took a big bite out of the economy. We might actually see the Fed’s 2% year-over-year inflation target get hit over the coming months, but it’s unclear if the Fed would consider that a “true” 2% when you consider we’re comparing to an unprecedented time when crude oil actually went below zero one day last April. We’d probably have to see 2% or higher inflation growth for more than a few months to get the Fed feeling like it’s actually a fact on the ground, if you will.
For now, investors appear a bit more calm about inflation prospects than they did a few weeks ago, helped in part, perhaps, by the Fed’s reassurances. Stocks fell Tuesday, but it felt more like people taking a breather from the rally. Selling pressure didn’t appear too heavy, it just seemed like there’s lack of conviction among many investors to chase the rally much higher before they get fresh catalysts.
Beyond Roads and Bridges on Infrastructure
Everyone’s been talking about which sectors potentially benefit if the Biden infrastructure plan becomes reality. Most of the focus is on traditional construction-oriented companies like Vulcan Materials (VMC VMC ), Construction Partners (ROAD), and Caterpillar CAT (CAT). What sometimes gets overlooked is the fact that the plan might also benefit other sectors ranging from semiconductors to renewable energy suppliers.
Companies involved in wind turbines, solar energy, chip-making, electric vehicle batteries, and even water (yes, there are companies that profit off of that rather common resource), could all benefit, Barron’s pointed out recently. The question is how much traction all the bill’s different initiatives can get in Congress, and whether any of those industries ultimately benefit. The bill obviously goes way beyond traditional “roads and bridges” infrastructure, and there’s a debate about whether improved broadband, for instance, now counts as infrastructure.
Good people can disagree, and there’s a lot of water under the bridge (pun intended) before any votes get taken. Just some things to keep in mind as the year unrolls.
The Importance of Differentiation—Even in a Sector
Speaking of sectors, there were a few months there where if you bought a Technology stock you were pretty sure it was going higher—and in most cases it did. Now you have to be a bit more selective, not only about which sector but even within Technology.
For instance, if you’d bought a basket of the biggest cloud-computing stocks back in mid-February, you’d likely still be under water. That sub-sector of Tech fell into correction territory by late February and still hasn’t fully recovered.
On the other hand, if you’d bought a basket of the biggest semiconductor stocks at around the same time, you’d have about a 6% gain to enjoy. Why did the market favor chip makers over cloud computing these last eight weeks or so? Sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on anything exact, but economic reopening might have given chip makers a leg up over the cloud industry. Chips tend to be seen as a more cyclical part of Tech that does better during economic recovery, while cloud was a market darling during the shutdowns because companies were so dependent on it to support remote work.
The lesson here, if there is one, is that every sector has its nooks and crannies, not all marching to the same beat. Even in Materials, gold and copper can move in separate directions, affecting the fortunes of companies there. If you’re thinking of trading a sector, do your research so you know which part of it you’re most exposed to.
Investors are at a bit of a crossroads a week out from earnings season. Many appear to be reassessing valuations after this sharp rally and maybe deciding on next steps. Life moves pretty fast, as the old movie said, and maybe people are stopping to look around before they miss it.
CHART OF THE DAY: IS THE BLOOM COMING OFF THE CLEAN ENERGY ROSE? Clean energy stocks soared last ... [+] year, as you can see in this chart of the S&P Global Clean Energy Index ($SPGTCLEN—candlestick) vs the S&P 500 Index (SPX—purple line). They hit new highs after the election, but have been drifting down ever since. So maybe the clean energy market isn't as slam-dunk exuberant about clean energy as it was when Biden won? Data source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform. Data source: S&P Dow Jones Indices. Chart source: The thinkorswim® platform.
The Perils of Plenty: When people feel flush and frantically search to invest in assets that don't already feel overbought, sometimes you get situations like last week where a large hedge fund apparently found itself over-leveraged (and over-exposed) to a few stocks that took a dive. The result, as we know, was ugly. That’s something investors need to watch out for at times like these in their own trading. It’s tempting to jump at what look like flashy new opportunities, sometimes in untraditional areas. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but like anything else related to investing, it requires research.
When it feels like just about anything is working, that’s when to consider whether you’ve let your emotions overcome your critical thinking. It’s always a mistake to let emotions be your investment guide. Know what you’re getting into and have a plan for getting out. If an investment seems impossible to understand, consider finding something else. Or wait on the sideline until you can figure it out. It’s understandable that many investors want to differentiate their returns as some of the sectors that brought us here lose luster, but remember it’s harder to do that in a bull market when few stocks or other assets that deserved to rise haven’t already.
Race to 4000: The SPX reached 4000 last week for the first time less than two years after first reaching 3000 back in July 2019. It took out 2000 initially in August 2014, so the milestones are coming more quickly, but remember going from 3000 to 4000 is less of a gain than going from 2000 to 3000. If you were wondering, it took more than 16 years to get from 1000 to 2000. So the doubling time is now about half what it was, if that makes any sense. As we noted yesterday when we discussed the swift change in economic cycles, everything tends to move faster now thanks partly to technology and communications improvements, but also due to the rapid response from fiscal and monetary authorities to every crisis.
It probably goes without saying that without the support of global central banks and governments, the market would likely not have recovered so quickly from last year’s Covid selloff. In fact, this quick recovery in and of itself might be inspiring more investor confidence out of the belief that governments can jump in and blunt the impact of future crises. That confidence may be misplaced if we have another major black swan event anytime soon, considering how far central banks have already stretched themselves to fight the Covid impact. There may not be a lot more in the tank.
Millennials Have their Say: The oldest people in the millennial generation are already turning 40, so it’s not like the word “millennial” is necessarily associated with the youngest investors any more. Still, they’re a major force in the markets and it’s worth checking how they invest. Generally, millennial investors have been more aggressive buyers of stocks so far this year than their older counterparts, though the gap narrowed in March, according to the Investor Movement Index® (IMXSM) from TD Ameritrade AMTD . Last month, millennials matched up pretty well with other investor groups monitored by the IMX on the buy-side of the equation, but on the sell-side, it was interesting to see more millennials tapering their exposure to some of the big pharma stocks like Pfizer PFE (PFE) and AstraZeneca (AZN).
The IMX is TD Ameritrade’s proprietary, behavior-based index, aggregating Main Street investor positions and activity to measure what investors actually were doing and how they were positioned in the markets.
TD Ameritrade® commentary for educational purposes only. Member SIPC.
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ec593c5e0ba9f33b03c2942466625481 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjmacnab/2015/04/14/where-are-they-now-the-bundy-supporters/ | Where Are The Cliven Bundy Supporters Now? | Where Are The Cliven Bundy Supporters Now?
One year ago, Cliven Bundy sought help in his stand against the federal government. He believed he owned the right to graze his cattle for free on federal land, and he wanted an army to back him in his self-proclaimed range war.
Bundy’s family has had a long history of encounters with the law, so it’s no surprise that those who responded to his call-to-arms had their own troubles and grudges with the government. During the Bundy Ranch “peaceful” standoff, supporters threatened government employees and officials, pointed firearms at law enforcement officers, harassed the press, called in bomb scares to local businesses, set up roadblocks on public roads, and formed lists (complete with photos and home addresses) of their perceived enemies, fellow Americans they wanted to punish without legal process. Many of these Bundy supporter crimes were caught on camera and braggingly posted on the Internet.
This Wednesday, April 16, 2014 photo shows Jerry DeLemus, of Rochester, N.H., talks, about heading a... [+] group of self-described militia members who have been camping on rancher Cliven Bundy’s ranch near Bunkerville, Nev. Armed backers of embattled rancher Cliven Bundy are still living along a state highway in southern Nevada, almost three weeks after an armed standoff halted U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to round up cattle he grazes on public land. The BLM says Bundy owes $1.1 million in grazing fees and penalties. (AP Photo/Ken Ritter)
The legal repercussions for these acts now depend on the political will of the Department of Justice, an agency that has historically dealt with Bundy-related threats and harassment with all of the backbone and resolve of an over-cooked noodle, leaving twenty years of confrontations and threats against land management employees unpunished. The DOJ’s past inactivity sent a message to these employees that they were expendable, told Bundy and his family that his years of threats were acceptable, and in the end, put a few hundred lives at risk under a freeway last April.
If the DOJ acts responsibly, the Bundy standoff should ultimately result in a very long list of criminal indictments. If the agency shrugs, as it has too many times in the past twenty years, future confrontations involving the militias, sovereign citizens, and other anti-government extremist groups won’t be as “peaceful” as what happened at Bundy Ranch.
Only a few criminal actions have been brought so far. The following list includes the criminal cases filed so far against those who provided support, both physical and online, during Cliven Bundy’s standoff.
Those who have provided physical support:
Richard Lee Cook - Nevada: A Nevada Oath Keeper who participated in the Bundy standoff (using the alias Richard X. Nelson), Cook was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. His prior criminal record includes possession of stolen property, attempted grand larceny, and attempted possession of a controlled substance. Trial is scheduled for May 12, 2015. Jerad Dwain Miller and Amanda Woodruff Miller - Nevada: Ambushed and killed two Las Vegas Metro Police Department officers and one bystander. They both died in the resulting shootout with police. Steven Kurt Brooks - Ohio: left his loaded gun in a convenience store restroom in Texas and was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon at a business that sells alcohol. Brooks was a militia member at Bundy Ranch.
Those who have supported Bundy online:
Will Michael - Pennsylvania: pleaded guilty to threatening a federal law enforcement officer (a BLM law enforcement ranger) and interstate threatening communication. Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2015. Brent Douglas Cole - Alaska: was found guilty of assault on a federal officer (a BLM ranger) with a deadly weapon which inflicted bodily injury, assault which inflicted bodily injury on a person (a CA Highway Patrol officer) assisting a federal officer, and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Sentencing is scheduled for May 1, 2015. Charles Jason Moreland - Oklahoma: pleaded guilty to influencing, impeding, and retaliating against a federal official (U.S. Senator Harry Reid) and was sentenced to one month in prison plus one year of supervised release. Phillip Kay Lyman, Monte Jerome Wells, Shane Morris Marian, and Franklin Trent Holliday - Utah: These organizers of the illegal Recapture Canyon ATV ride in Utah were charged with conspiring to operate off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles, and aiding and abetting operation of off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles. Trial is scheduled for April 28, 2015.
Earlier this week, several militia leaders put out a new call-to-arms against the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon for a potential conflict on April 25, 2015 involving gold miners on the Rogue River. While it is not yet clear how many armed supporters will make the drive, the post-Bundy excitement and recruiting efforts within the anti-government extremist movement have continued to thrive.
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1331b66cf87ca01c2b213f4943ce93f5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlange/2018/07/23/what-is-the-best-way-to-spend-your-money/ | What Is The Best Way To Spend Your Money In Retirement? The Multi-Generational Family Getaway | What Is The Best Way To Spend Your Money In Retirement? The Multi-Generational Family Getaway
Whether it is a family gathering, an annual vacation to a part of the world you’ve always wanted to... [+] visit, buying life experiences for loved ones is probably your best investment. (Photo by: iStockPhoto.com) iStockPhoto.com
One of the best parts of my job is getting to tell couples that they could afford to spend more money. Frequently, that is the positive outcome of saving and investing well over a lifetime of work. And when this news is greeted with “Why would I want to spend more money, I have what I need.” I am quick to clarify that I am not suggesting acquiring more things, but rather upping their happiness quotient by spending money on experiences.
Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University has spent 20 years researching what makes people happy. He has looked closely at the relationship between buying things vs. experiences and happiness. “People often think spending money on an experience is not as wise an investment as spending it on a material possession. They think the experience will come and go in a flash, and they’ll be left with little compared to owning an item. But in reality we remember experiences long afterward, while we soon become used to our possessions.”
According to Dr. Gilovich, one of the enemies of happiness is adaptation. And not only do we adapt to our possessions, they grow old, lose their shine and marketers are very good at making the next shiny object seem much more desirable. In sharp contrast, our remembered experiences grow warmer and better with time. Even that family vacation where everything went wrong becomes a shared memory that generates good stories and laughs in retrospect!
The first time I heard the advice to buy experiences rather than things, I recognized it as the same wisdom that I have seen played out in my own family for years now.
Walter Weinstein, my father-in-law, hosts a family vacation every year and picks up the tab for the entire group. Through his generosity, he has taught us all some incredible life lessons—memories last, family relationships sustain you, and the happiness that comes with experience outlasts any bit of stuff you can buy.
After a lifetime of hard work, good investment, and personal sacrifice, Walter is 93-years-young, and in the enviable position of being able to buy most anything he wants. But, every year, instead of getting flashy jewelry or a new car, he sponsors an expensive family getaway. Why would he do this? Because he knows, deep in his heart that the lasting memories of family time, the reinforced network of extended family relationships, and the sense of “clan” are worth so much more than any thing money could buy now or later.
For four days each year, the extended Weinstein family, including aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren—and even great-grandchildren now—drive or fly in to the Poconos to stay at a wonderful family-style resort. We spend time as a family playing games, relaxing at the “beach,” taking hikes, biking, and just generally getting caught up with each other. The resort has a comedy club, live music and entertainment, parties, festivals, and family games so there is plenty to keep our multi-generational crowd happy. I think the most valuable part of the entire trip is when we all reconvene for family-style meals in the dining room. It can get raucous with ten conversations all going on at once, but the feeling of connectedness is palpable.
Our daughter, Erica, is an only child and while that was absolutely the best choice for our immediate family, thanks to Walter’s generosity, Erica knows what it is to be part of a much larger family. She has strong connections with relatives that she might otherwise only see every few years—if at all. Her connection to her grandfather is especially strong, which is really good for both of them! And the best part, the connections were formed through shared activities and shared events over a prolonged stretch of time, not just for a few hours at Thanksgiving dinner or a wedding celebration.
I am so grateful to Walter. We are all grateful for his wisdom. When my father-in-law passes, he will leave a little less money to his family, but will have provided a priceless legacy. I believe we of the next generation will strive to sustain the tradition for our children and our grandchildren.
So, I offer you this lesson from my father-in-law, Walter, if you are wondering how you can spend your money wisely—and keep it out of Uncle Sam’s hands—spend it on experiences. Whether it is a family gathering, an annual vacation to a part of the world you’ve always wanted to visit, riding lessons for your grandchild, or holiday parties that your great-grandchildren will remember when they have great-grandchildren, buying life experiences for loved ones is probably your best investment.
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51c7420127bbdc0c390e885cc3fbacd4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlange/2019/03/05/new-trump-tax-laws-make-2019-the-best-year-for-millions-of-americans-to-do-a-roth-ira-conversion/ | New Trump Tax Laws Make 2019 The Best Year For Millions Of Americans To Do A Roth IRA Conversion | New Trump Tax Laws Make 2019 The Best Year For Millions Of Americans To Do A Roth IRA Conversion
Ashlea Ebeling, a Forbes Magazine associate editor, contacted me about writing an article featuring a firm that proactively recommends Roth IRA conversions. Having worked with her years ago I knew that she had a strong background in finance, better than the vast majority of financial writers, and that she takes the time to get things right. Seemed like a good fit. And it was.
The article, Thanks to Trump Tax Law, The Time is Ripe for this Roth Conversion Retirement Trick, is one of the articles featured on the cover of this month’s Forbes Magazine (February 28, 2019) in their “Investment Guide 2019—Keep Calm and Carry On.” It has the coolest picture I have ever seen in any article taken by the award-winning photographer, Tim Pannell. You can see the picture and read the article here. The article was one of the editor’s “picks” and it received 50,000 hits the first day it ran.
Ashlea was delighted to learn that I wrote the first peer-reviewed Roth IRA conversion article back in 1997 and that I wrote a bestselling book on Roth IRA conversions, both of which she used for her research. Her article couldn’t cover every detail of converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, so, knowing that I was a Forbes.com contributor, she suggested I write a companion piece to the article.
The Forbes article focuses on Roth IRA conversions. Because of the Trump tax laws, more owners of traditional IRAs need to explore the potential benefits of a conversion—and that also applies to IRA owners who previous to the new tax laws explored the idea and dismissed it. Further, owners of traditional IRAs who were good candidates for a Roth IRA conversion before the tax reform may find that this is the best time for an even larger Roth IRA conversion.
Your traditional IRA has a silent partner named Uncle Sam. Whenever you withdraw money from your IRA, voluntarily or because of minimum required distributions, your partner gets a big bite of every withdrawal. A Roth IRA conversion essentially buys Uncle Sam out of your partnership through an up-front tax payment. The amount you convert is added to your current income and taxed at the appropriate rate, after which the money in the Roth IRA is all yours—no more taxes will be collected on the principal or on the growth.
See where I said the “appropriate rate”? That is the key. Because of today’s lower income tax rates—which are not likely to remain sustainable—now may be the opportune time to make a Roth IRA conversion.
Benefits Of A Roth IRA Conversion
Roth IRA conversions can leave you and your spouse better off by hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars during your own lifetimes, but those benefits pale in comparison to those that your children or grandchildren could enjoy over their own lifetimes. Ashlea’s article ends with a quote from me about how I’d love to see my own Roth IRA grow tax-free for 100 years. Why? Because a hundred years of tax-free compounding could leave my daughter and even my grandchildren millions upon millions of dollars better off.
If you are a long-term investor—particularly if you are someone who sees themselves as responsible for protecting and growing the family wealth, the “family stewards” so to speak, a Roth IRA conversion could benefit your heirs for generations to come. So, let’s get into some of the nitty-gritty numbers that support that claim. My wife, Cindy and I made a $239,000 Roth IRA conversion in 1998. The following chart shows the benefit to my wife and me and our daughter Erica and our grandchildren. This assumes 7% rate of return for actual dollars, and I also show the benefit in inflation adjusted dollars.
The chart above shows the benefit to my wife and I along with our daughter Erica, and our future... [+] grandchildren. James Lange
These numbers are based on the current tax laws, and they also assume no one ever spends my Roth IRA or the income my Roth IRA generates. The point is meant to be dramatic to catch your attention.
You might not think it is realistic nor even advisable that my heirs will not spend any of my Roth IRA. But even if my daughter needs the money after I’m gone, my family will benefit by hundreds of thousands of dollars and, in the long run, could be more than a million dollars better off because of my conversion.
You may also think 7% is an unrealistically high rate of return I actually think you could do better for the reasons given below. Subject to some exceptions, most of my clients plan on spending their Roth IRAs only after they run out of all other funds. Then when they die, they will leave the Roth IRAs to their heirs who will hopefully allow the inherited Roth IRA to grow income-tax free for as long as possible. What this means is that a Roth IRA, for most investors, produces better results if it is invested for the long run.
I like to think of dividing your portfolio in a number of buckets with each bucket invested differently. The first bucket or money that you need to use in the short term for routine expenses should be invested very conservatively – with cash, CDs, maturing bond ladders, etc. On the other end of the spectrum, the longest-term bucket is money that you plan to spend last and probably won’t ever spend unless all of your other resources are completely exhausted. We treat Roth IRAs as part of your longest-term bucket. Given that scenario, a 7% rate of return on a Roth IRA could be a conservative estimate.
The Best Time To Do A Roth IRA Conversion
Ideally, the best time to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is when you are in your lowest tax bracket and when the stock market is down. But no one has consistently predicted market highs and lows, and they don’t ring a bell at the bottom or top. The good news is that you do know your current tax bracket and you can take your best estimate at your future tax brackets. Armed with that information, you can begin to build a Roth IRA conversion plan that is part of your master plan.
What should you do next? How do you know if a Roth IRA conversion would be a good idea for you? How much should you convert? When is the best time to make the conversion? Should you do it all at once or perhaps make a series of smaller Roth IRA conversions over a period of years?
Unfortunately, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to those questions. That’s why I recommend “running the numbers.” “Running the numbers” involves constructing plausible scenarios using reasonable assumptions for your current and future tax brackets, your spending, earning, and investing patterns, and then testing different courses of action. It is a combination of art and science.
The first projection may exclude all Roth conversions, which allows you to see where your finances will stand at the end of your life and what maintaining the status quo will mean for your heirs. A second projection might use the same assumptions but show the outcome if you convert your entire traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in one tax year. A third projection might include a series of partial conversions, perhaps over four years during the years after you retire, but before you turn age 70 when you will have minimum required distributions and will be receiving your full Social Security benefits. Taking the time to construct different scenarios is critical, because the best time to do a Roth IRA conversion is not the same for everyone.
One major consideration that is overlooked by many advisors is Social Security. Ashlea correctly points out that the classic “sweet spot” to make a Roth conversion is after you retire but before age 70. At that point, you won’t have income from your job or minimum required distributions from your retirement plans. But I go so far as to recommend that the primary wage earner of the family delay applying for their full Social Security benefits until age 70—for reasons that I cover in an earlier post. When planned and orchestrated, all of these factors can come together in a perfect symphony of financial opportunity, leaving your income tax bracket at an all-time low, and cued-up for a Roth IRA conversion.
An additional benefit of “running the numbers” is that you may find you are not a good candidate for a Roth IRA conversion. Many IRA owners will have higher Medicare Part B premiums if their taxable income is increased because of a Roth conversion. Other IRA owners will suffer a reduction in the benefits of the qualified dividend exclusion, and others will face additional tax in the investment income area. Many of these disadvantages may pale compared to the benefits, but the only way to know is to run the numbers first.
Ultimately, the new tax laws mean that Roth IRA conversions can benefit many more people even before retirement or who are currently in retirement. This is because, if you are married and file a joint return, you can have up to $315,000 in taxable income and still fall within the expanded 24% tax bracket. Many taxpayers who are still working, or who are over age 70 but previously sat in a high enough tax bracket to make a Roth IRA conversion unprofitable, may now find that this is the best possible time to make the change. This is especially true if you believe tax rates are likely to increase in the future.
So, what is the big take-away? It would be a smart move for many taxpayers to analyze the merits of a Roth IRA conversion. And, if previously you determined that a Roth IRA conversion was not in your best interest, you should probably revisit the idea—times have changed.
Let’s be clear. This isn’t just about dying with the most money—you must also evaluate your priorities. One of the benefits of creating a master plan is to determine how much you can safely spend, and with a very high probability that you will never run out of money. Perhaps it won’t matter to you that your heirs could be a million dollars better off because you want to spend more money yourself. Perhaps you want to buy a second home in your dream location even if, God forbid, you have to use part of your Roth IRA to do it. These are personal decisions and each piece needs to fit into your retirement and estate planning puzzle. Roth IRA conversions, although financially beneficial for many people, are only one piece of puzzle.
This is a complicated topic, but an important one. Watch for a follow-up post from me that will show you how Roth IRA conversions can help you with your long-term estate planning goals.
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8f396ae6bb6292d4ae4ecf52886fc73b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2014/06/10/is-australias-venture-capital-industry-doomed/ | Is Australia's Venture Capital Industry Doomed? | Is Australia's Venture Capital Industry Doomed?
Australia is indeed a blessed country. An abundance of natural resources, an excellent climate and a laid-back lifestyle that is hard to beat. But comfort has led to a sense of complacency that is bad for competitiveness. Too much of Australia’s GDP relies on the service and mining sectors, nearly 70% and 20% respectively. The problem with the service industry is that it is labor and time intensive, and people come and go. The issue with mining is that supplies can’t be regenerated.
For the sake of a sustainable economic future in Australia, technology needs to be a major driver of the economy going forward. It scales higher than anything else and this is vital for our small population to prosper.
Over the past few years, Australia’s tech startups have markedly improved in quality and quantity. Sadly, that has not been the case for Australia’s venture capital industry. For Australia’s startup environment to thrive, a life-blood of smart money needs to be injected into high potential startups.
To get a better understanding of Australia’s venture capital industry, I talked to Kim Heras, a Founder of 25Fifteen – a Bondi based start-up incubator. Heras says, “The VC environment and culture in Australia is very poor. I don’t think there’s anyway to sugarcoat it.” In a post by Freelancer CEO Matt Barrie, he laments that Australia invests more per capita on the Melbourne Cup than into venture capital, highlighting how abysmal the VC situation has been. But how bad is it, really?
No money no pride
In the AVCAL 2013 Yearbook, VC funds raised AU$155 million through three funds in FY2013. This amount was 35% lower than in FY2012. The amount invested by VC managers fell by 20% to AU$111 million, with the number of investments and companies invested in likewise falling to 124 and 69, respectively. To put that in context, it is less than half the US$257 million invested across 242 SEED deals in the U.S. in just the 3rd quarter of 2013. But AVCAL remains positive, stating, “Despite a relatively muted FY2013, there are signs of gathering momentum in clearing the backlog of exits to make way for a new cycle of fundraising and investment.”
An outcome of Australia’s weak venture capital system is a series of horrendous returns, according to Heras. In FY2013, total VC exits only reached AU$91.54 million across 19 companies. Australian entrepreneur turned VC, Ian Maxwell pointed out that “all 37 Australia venture capital funds between 1985 and 2007, many of which included government funds, had an average return on capital of minus 5.4%. Even the upper quartile of funds only averaged 3.3% return.”
So how did Australia’s VC industry find itself in this sad state? The “lack of success has compounded itself. There are [three] core reasons for that.” Says Heras:
Immature market
Although the first Australian VC firm was launched in 1970, the industry really kicked off in 1984 with the handing out of 7 Management and Investment Company (MIC) licenses. By comparison, the first U.S. VC firms emerged in 1946, most notably ARDC.
Yet other countries have similarly young VC industries. Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan established their VC industries in the early 1980’s and look where Singapore is today.
Inexperienced people
Maxwell believes that most Australian VC managers have had no solid experience being a VC before becoming one. They are either former entrepreneurs who are new to the VC game or high level corporate types who have little appreciation for what it takes to build a startup and are too generalist to deeply understand a specific market.
This lack of experience feeds into the low appetite for investing in risky companies, a key ingredient of any new venture. One stat suggests that 85% of returns comes from 10% of investments. VC investors must be willing to take equally large and risky bets to match entrepreneurs.
Over the past few years in Australia, many corporate VC arms have sprouted up including Westpac Reinventure, ANZ Ventures, Tesltra Ventures and Optus Innov8. However, many of these corporate VC arms are still very much attached to the head company and are biased towards investing in companies that can be later rolled up into its main business. It would be better for these VC arms to be more independent and be empowered to make their own decisions, similar to the Google Ventures model.
Bad Timing
Like everything else, VC fundraising comes in cycles. It takes a lot of time for a new fund to raise money from LP’s (limited partners) and then deploy the capital. In Australia, the last major VC funds were raised six-seven years ago in 2007-2008 and spent from 2008 to 2010. But during that period, no Australian VC participated in the fundraising by Atlassian, one of Australia’s hottest tech companies that raised $60 million from Accel in 2010.
Now that Australia’s tech wave is here again, there is little previous generation funds left and very little new funds raised. This misalignment in timing causes many startups to hunt for capital elsewhere, namely Silicon Valley. Maxwell is so jaded by the situation in Australia that he says to internet entrepreneurs “if you really want to make it big then please get on a plane to Silicon Valley and don’t come back.”
So what?
Given the relatively poor VC conditions Australia’s startups are in, does it really matter? At the ‘good startup’ level, Heras argues it doesn’t.
“If you look at the standout startups run by Australian founders, the current environment has not hampered them at all. In fact, compared to those companies that have gone straight over to the U.S., Aussie startups have outperformed. This shows that especially at the VC stage that money is available for those outstanding companies.”
But when it comes to ‘great startups’ that are worth billion dollars or more, Australia’s VC system tends to fail. “Aussie firms are not sufficiently capitalized to ride the big winners all the way,” says Heras. The funding constraint in Australia means VC’s are unable to give the moon-shot ideas enough runway to succeed. Peter Thiel theorizes that mega startups sit at the intersection of ideas that seem bad and those that are actually good. By the power laws of distribution, a VC portfolio is profitable when the best investment is worth more than the rest of the fund combined.
What next?
There are many lessons to be learnt by the history of Australia’s VC industry. Clearly Australia cannot simply mimic Silicon Valley’s ecosystem, but neither has the heavy government-funding model worked out. It will take a concerted effort by all stakeholders to really figure out a VC model that fits Australia.
To be fair, venture capital will flourish when there is a healthy level of quality deal flow to become experienced with. Like start-ups have to validate their ideas and prove a product-market fit, so too VC’s will have to figure out their value. Maxwell points out; Australia’s biggest problem is still a “lack of high quality deal flow.” More deal flow will come from fostering a greater culture of entrepreneurship. Google Engineering Director in Australia, Alan Noble has some ideas on how to do this. What are yours?
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fe66d34a16da7deaedc4ea72e51b2a82 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2014/08/17/aussie-startup-stockspot-seeks-to-shake-up-australias-wealth-management-industry/ | Aussie Startup StockSpot Seeks To Shake Up The Wealth Management Industry | Aussie Startup StockSpot Seeks To Shake Up The Wealth Management Industry
Investing your money can be scary, especially for the young and inexperienced. To do the scary work for you, financial planners, wealth and fund managers have been happily investing for you and charging a handsome sum for it. Although online trading has already shaken the industry up, there is a new wave of financial disruptors looking to take another swing at the financial institution incumbents.
One early stage startup in Australia that has gained some traction is StockSpot. Acting as your online adviser, StockSpot assesses your investment goals, understands your personal situation and risk tolerance, and then recommends an appropriate portfolio for you to invest in. StockSpot has created five portfolios ranging from low to high risk and spreads the money over a mixture of Australian shares, global shares, emerging market shares, fixed income and gold. This diversification strategy is used to balance out the risks of any sharp movements by asset class or geography. StockSpot’s one-year returns over the 2014 financial year ranged from 9.5% to 14.5% after fees.
Founder and CEO of StockSpot and former UBS Portfolio Manager, Chris Brycki was motivated to create StockSpot because he saw how broken Australia’s financial industry is from the inside. “I realized how upside down the world is when it comes to average investors accessing investments.” Said Brycki. He argues that no matter which shares or fund manager you pick, the returns are going to average out at the market rate because these fund managers make up the market. The one consistent theme is that fees are the biggest drain from investment returns. The two key ways StockSpot differs from a traditional financial adviser or fund manager is with low fees and unbiased advice.
Most large fund managers charge 3% of your investment in fees per year, plus entry and exit fees of around 4% and hold your assets with a custodian. Comparatively, StockSpot charges a flat AUD$77 per year plus an investment fee of 7 basis points per month of the value of funds under management, doesn’t charge entry or exit fees and keeps all assets under your name. A study by Stockspot found that 45% of bank-platform managed fund returns were paid in fees over the five years to 2013. That appears to be an unjustifiably inefficient waste of hard-earned investor money, going towards investment managers. “Technology has opened up the ability for a product like ours to go direct to consumer investment product that is in the best interest of the consumer.” Said Brycki.
Unlike many advisers that are incentivized to sell their company’s investment products, StockSpot does not earn money from fund managers or product providers, believing it is a strong conflict of interest. After years of investment experience, Brycki knows that it is extremely difficult to beat the market. “70% of Australian general equity fund managers underperform the market return after you include their fees.” Said Brycki. This is why StockSpot takes a long-term diversified portfolio approach and rebalances asset allocation back in line with your target asset whenever it drifts too far out.
StockSpot’s minimum investment is AUD$2,000. This is much lower when compared to the tens of of thousands of dollars most institutional fund managers want you to invest before they help you. Giving professional investment advice at a lower cost and lower barrier to entry is a strategy to attract and encourage younger Australians to invest in a diversified approach earlier. The typical StockSpot investor profile is someone in their mid-20’s to early 30’s investing between AUD$10-$50,000.
The company is joining an emerging class of wealth management FinTech companies around the world that have seen solid success. WealthFront in the U.S. already has USD$1.2 Billion funds under management within two and half years. Many of their investors are early or highly paid employees of rich Silicon Valley tech companies like Google , Facebook and Linkedin. StockSpot aims to achieve the same scale one day, given the size of Australia’s financial market.
The company has raised AUD$250,000 in seed funding from early stage FinTech venture capital firm AWI.
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faeebd54d02699fdbe918a46c39fb92d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2015/01/05/best-cities-for-startup-founders-investors-and-developers/ | Best Cities for Startup Founders, Investors and Developers | Best Cities for Startup Founders, Investors and Developers
Indeed Silicon Valley’s start-up ecosystem is the most mature and flourishing. But there are many up and coming cities around the world that are forming veins to pump lifeblood into the ecosystem to help entrepreneurs thrive. For example, I recently wrote a series about Melbourne Australia’s buzz. So what are these cities?
Inspired by a series of posts from prolific Venture Capitalist, Mark Suster; Simply Business wanted to see how different cities around the world stacked up versus the Bay Area, to determine which cities offered interesting opportunities for startup founders, investors and developers.
To illustrate these opportunities, Simply Business created an interactive scatter plot of cities by continent that can be filtered by opportunities for:
Startups seeking funding Startups not seeking funding Investors Developers
(via Simply Business).
According to Simply Business:
For startups seeking funding
San Francisco and the Bay Area stands out for startups seeking investment, as does New York. Seattle and Singapore boast strong investor to startup ratios and rich talent pools, making them attractive locations for startups. Hong Kong also looks favourable but with proportionally fewer developers, securing talent may prove tougher.
For startups not seeking funding
With the highest ratio of developers to startups and a low cost of living, Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai could be attractive locations for startups if funding isn’t an issue. In the US - Boston, DC, Seattle, Dallas, and Denver all boast impressive talent pools.
For investors
The sheer volume of startups means San Francisco and the Bay Area remains a favourable environment for investors; but the ratio of startups to investors in Los Angeles and London could make those cities even more attractive to investors. Similarly, Toronto, Bangalore, and New Delhi offer a wealth of investment opportunities.
For developers
The big 4 locations for startups (San Francisco and the Bay Area, New York, LA, and London) are by far the best locations for developers. Other cities in Europe (Paris, Berlin, and Moscow), the US (Chicago, Austin, and Las Vegas) and Canada (Toronto) also look like lucrative job markets for talented developers.
If you’re an entrepreneur, investor or a developer looking for a job with a startup, have a play with the scatter plot. Of course there are many considerations to think about when moving to a new city, but this interesting analysis can give you a good starting point.
If you’re someone who is truly passionate about establishing your city as a world class startup city, have a read of Mark Suster’s blog post titled ‘What Makes a Successful Startup Community? Is it Possible to Build One Where you Live?’ based on Brad Feld’s book and ‘A Few Key People Really Can Make a Huge Difference’. As Simply Business’ analysis shows, not everyone has to move to the Bay Area to be a successful tech startup entrepreneur, investor or worker. But if you’re still curious about what San Francisco’s startup scene is like, read this.
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5122af43f5fc69b74d23b19669e94116 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2016/05/20/galaxy-zega-is-like-real-life-mario-kart/ | Galaxy Zega Is Like Real Life Mario Kart | Galaxy Zega Is Like Real Life Mario Kart
One of Nintendo ’s smash hit games was Mario Kart, a video game that everyone loves. Race around the track, drop some bananas peels and shoot turtle shells to trip up your competition – such fun!
Now imagine taking that idea and injecting the same capabilities into real toy cars that can be driven anywhere. That’s what Chinese game maker; SmartX has done in making Galaxy Zega.
They call it a realistic virtual tank war game because it melds real offline cars with online virtual elements. Players control the real toy tanks with their smartphones by driving and shooting virtual missiles at their opponents to score points.
To start a new game, players first connect their smartphone to the tanks via Bluetooth. The tanks can be driven on a track made up of configurable magnetic tiles that snap together or they can be driven on any surface. There are two game modes: Battle or Capture the Flag. In Battle mode, players must attack each other by shooting each other. In Capture the Flag; players must drive over each other’s specific territory to score a point.
Each box comes with two tanks and a track, but up to four tanks can play together in multi-player mode. Like Mario Kart, each tank has its own personality and skills. For example, Leo the red tank excels at defense while Gondar, the blue tank is superior at attack.
One of the really cool aspects of the game is that there are 30 unique skills that give you special powers. For example, Sidereal Shield makes you invincible for 20 seconds, Magnetic Storm makes your opponent spin in circles for 10 seconds and Uni-Paralyze makes your opponent shut-down for 10 seconds.
Skills can be upgraded by redeeming the virtual gold points accumulated or by buying virtual diamonds with in-app purchase. Of course, this is one of the games revenue streams outside selling the box set itself.
To get a sense of how it really works, check out this video below:
The Shanghai-based SmartX was founded in 2013. Tango, the founder is a veteran of Chinese online gaming companies including Tencent and Netease. He wanted to create a game that parents could play with their kids, motivated by his own desire to play with his own son. The company has raised US$3 million to date.
It’s been rewarding for Tango and his team to see kids around China play Galaxy Zega and make new friends. In an era when detaching kids from smartphones and tablets is like pulling teeth, it’s refreshing to see toys and games reform as real physical toys to build and touch.
Of course SmartX isn’t the only player in this field. San Francisco headquartered Artificial Intelligence company, Anki is the maker of Anki Overdrive. It’s a similar game that is more of a race, rather than a head to head battle. One of the biggest advantages of Galaxy Zega over Anki Overdrive, is that it doesn’t need a track, so the tanks are free to be driven anywhere. You can check out a comprehensive review of Anki here.
The Anki Overdrive Starter Kit sells for $150 while Galaxy Zega sells for 698 yuan or $107. SmartX has sold over 20,000 units of its first version. It’s available for sale in the Apple Store in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
I had a lot of fun playing the game, sprucing up the tanks with specialized stickers and battling for victory. The game makes me feel like a kid again, wanting to keep playing on.
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104114ba4454518cd881a5f707fd7487 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2011/06/29/how-to-be-taken-seriously-at-work/ | How To Be Taken Seriously At Work | How To Be Taken Seriously At Work
Image via Wikipedia
Yesterday, one of my contacts was trying to flirt with me on the phone. I found it funny for two reasons. Firstly, I started imagining that this was my own G-rated mini Wienergate and “mini wiener” made me think of Vienna sausages and dachshund puppies. Secondly, I’m so used to being treated seriously in my job that it doesn’t occur to me that an outsider might dismiss me as just another PYT.
A lot of advice I see about how to govern yourself in a new job or in your first adult, career-oriented position is stupid. In the real world, people care less (if at all) about your personal brand and more about what you can do for them – on their terms. Consider this my highly unscientific but exceedingly pragmatic advice on how to be taken seriously at work:
Realize that your boss is your job
Your job is not planning events, writing code or answering phones, it’s managing your relationship with the person you report to. It’s figuring out what makes him/her tick, how they like to work and what you can do to make their office life easier. You can be a top performer, but if you have a contentious relationship with your own personal higher-up, you’re not going to get the support and credit you need to succeed. Your work will not speak for itself. Your boss will speak for it and for you. It’s up to you to make sure what he/she says is flattering.
Indispensable is indefensible
You know who doesn’t get taken seriously? The guy who takes on every crappy task in the organization in order to prove just how essential he is. Also, he will probably have his first heart attack at 35. Sure, it feels important to have a constant stream of people beating down your door, but it’s much less empowering if they’re queued up because the copier broke/kitchen is out of coffee/they want to sign up for the company softball team you’re organizing. Rather than being the jack-of-all-trades, figure out your company's weakness and exploit it. Find out where there’s a leak in the proverbial dike and plug it. Preferably with your skills and not your finger. Get good at what everyone else isn’t good at.
Treat everything like a test
Having to redo that PowerPoint? It’s a test. Having to stay until 7:30 to run through a presentation? Test. Getting delegated the responsibility to call a supplier to ask why a shipment is three days late and tell ‘em that heads will roll if it hasn’t arrived by 5:00 PM that day? Testy-test-test. And often what you’re being evaluated on isn’t the end result, but how you respond to the assignment. It’s your grace under pressure, unflappability and your ability to handle constructive criticism that’s really being measured, not your finesse with a slide transition.
People will not like you if you make them feel old and out of touch
Not only is being young and bringing a youthful perspective overrated (it’s not as if you’ve got the market cornered on being an 80s baby), staking your value to something so ephemeral (We all get old. Suck it up, Peter Pan) is near-sighted. Eventually, someone even younger and dewier is gonna come along and steal your thunder*. Also, if you make age your distinguishing characteristic and youth issues your chief hobby horse, people are going to pigeon-hole you based on that. The first thing that comes to mind when colleagues think about you should be what a great worker you are, not the fact that you were just going to the prom while they were going through menopause.
* And when you start to get wrinkles, they’ll make you get on a big wheel and that will be the end.
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753e17564ba3fddd4980dc94268b449d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2011/08/17/is-this-scientific-proof-that-women-play-dumb/ | Is This Scientific Proof That Women Play Dumb? | Is This Scientific Proof That Women Play Dumb?
Image by Smithsonian Institution via Flickr
The disheartening news about women in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields just keeps coming. Following on the heels of the Department of Commerce’s report showing that only 25% of STEM jobs are held by women and that women with STEM degrees are much more likely to work outside their fields than are men, a new series of studies out of the University of Buffalo is raising eyebrows. The studies find that when women are trying to appear romantically desirable, their interest and participation in scientific pursuits declines.
According to Lora E. Park, the studies’ lead researcher:
"When the goal to be romantically desirable is activated, even by subtle situational cues, women report less interest in math and science. One reason why this might be is that pursuing intelligence goals in masculine fields, such as STEM conflicts with pursuing romantic goals associated with traditional romantic scripts and gender norms."
Oy vey. And no the research wasn’t sponsored by Mattel:
In the first two studies, more than 350 men and women viewed images or listened to conversations that featured romantic, friendship or intellectual goals. Results showed that women exposed to cues related to romantic goals reported less positive attitudes toward STEM and less of a preference for majoring in math or science fields compared to other disciplines. Their attitudes and preferences remained unaffected when they were exposed to intelligence goals or friendship goals.
The third study is where things get interesting. It featured only women who had expressed an interest in pursuing a degree or career in the sciences and asked them to answer nightly questions related to their romantic or intellectual goals and activities on that day and their feelings about their attractiveness and desirability. On days when women pursued romantic goals, they engaged in fewer science or math related activities and expressed a lower interest in these activities on the following day as well.
But don’t stab yourself in the eye with a protractor just yet.
Marie-Claire Shanahan, an Associate Professor of Science Education at Canada’s University of Alberta takes her UB colleagues to task over their findings in a multi-part methodological critique. For example, she faults the first study for the vagueness of their measurement question, arguing that attempting to gauge “interest in science” as a whole is not granular enough to yield useful results. She further argues that it’s possible that stereotype threat, the term for the anxiety individuals feel when they are in a situation that could confirm a negative stereotype about them, led women to live down to these expectations through their decreased interest in science and increased affinity for romantic pursuits.
“Participating in this study itself might have primed stereotypes. I am speculating here but I would find those images to be stereotypically feminine and the whole idea of being romantically motivated to be a negatively-associated female stereotype within an academic environment (think of the derision associated with stories of women who go to university to find husbands – no such parallel exists for men). It seems at least possible to me that priming women with stereotypical romantic images in an academic setting would elicit stereotype threat, a threat that could possibly be related to decreased motivation and interest for science, another stereotypical characteristic,” she writes.
Shanahan also picks on study three, rightly pointing out that the results of the study can’t be taken to be gender specific because men weren’t included and that the results can’t be deemed exclusive to romantic goals because other goals weren’t considered. How can we say with certainty that any other interpersonal goals would not have trumped academic ones in a head-to-head comparison? Perhaps most damning of all, she notes that days on which women achieved scientific goals, their perception of their desirability was unaffected, undermining Park’s assertion that it’s the pursuit of intellectual goals in STEM fields that interferes with women’s romantic goals and by extension the notion that women sublimate these interests in order to focus more fully on romance.
The Department of Congress report cites a number of factors affecting the low participation rate of women in STEM (a lack of role models, less family-friendly work flexibility among them), but it seems a little rash (and dare I say, dumb?) to rush to add women’s tendency to prioritize their hearts above their heads to that list.
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edbf102519c1d914b00f71340d741eee | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/07/02/shut-up-sheryl-sandberg-millennial-women-reject-role-models-mentors/ | Shut Up, Sheryl Sandberg: Millennial Women Reject Role Models, Mentors | Shut Up, Sheryl Sandberg: Millennial Women Reject Role Models, Mentors
High-profile female executives should save their breath and their advice - Millennial women aren't buying what they're selling.
Only 20% of Gen Y women say that they want to follow in the footsteps of the female leaders in their workplaces, says new research from Bentley University. The survey of 1000 college-educated Millennials found that while 84% of respondents said that they could identify at least one female leader at their job, most didn't want to emulate her career path.
This rejection of the current iteration of female corporate achievement also extends to attitudes toward mentorship; only 5.5% of respondents claimed that a colleague, supervisor or role model was their primary source of career cheerleading, with spouses/partners or parents much more likely to be identified as key career supporters. And only 25% of Millennials of both genders give credit to a manager or supervisor for encouraging them to assume a leadership role at work.
"These Millennials are very clear about what is important in their lives, which may indeed be different than what is important to their leaders. They want to find a different path to leadership that allows time for personal lives. Yes, they are rejecting the current paradigm of the corporate career path along with the way work is done. They will work hard and be loyal, but they want respect for their personal values in return," says Susan Adams, the lead researcher on this project, professor of management at Bentley University and senior director of Bentley's Center for Women and Business.
And indeed, her research points to Millennials who are willing to make certain concessions for on-the-job advancement - for example, 84% would agree to a take a lateral move to gain beneficial work experience and 69% would be willing to travel frequently for work - but who also prioritize the intrinsic satisfaction they expect their careers to provide over the bottom line, with 84% claiming knowing that they're making a difference in the world is more important to them than professional recognition and 79% rating a positive work environment as more important than the size of their pay check.
The research also highlights a breakdown in how corporate leaders are providing guidance and support to female subordinates and how these Millennial subordinates are receiving their overtures and the tangible effects this support has on career development. Only 35% of female survey respondents said they "often" received positive recognition at work, with women more likely to receive verbal praise and men more than twice as likely to say they received recognition in the form of financial compensation and almost twice as likely as women to say they received promotions or special assignments as a form of positive recognition. These findings echo research conducted by Catalyst in 2010 that found that not only did mentored men win more promotions than women, their promotions came with greater financial compensation - 21% increases to women's 2%. Catalyst's research also found that mentoring alone was not sufficient to close the gender wage gap between high-performing white collar workers. Despite these disheartening statistics, Adams believes that the mentoring model can and should be saved.
"Mentorship is not dead. In fact, I believe our findings suggest it needs to be increased. Young women need more models so they have more options to consider. They need mentors who care about their career aspirations to provide honest feedback and support for continuous learning and political navigation. They also need mentors to serve as sponsors who will advocate for the new career experiences they seek. I say career experiences not promotions because they may want to postpone a promotion in favor of a new lateral experience if they feel a promotion would impede on family time. Our data support the idea that women could be more ambitious than men in believing that career and life aspirations can co-exist. Men and women have similarly high career aspirations but women add higher family aspirations to the mix."
But do young women see their ambitions as achievable vs. purely aspirational? While 43% of female survey respondents with children and 33% of those without said they planned to be just successful as the female leaders in their workplaces - albeit by following a different path - 54% of all female Millennials also still believe the gender ambition gap explains the relative lack of female c-suite executives, despite research showing that young women now outpace men when it comes to valuing high-achieving careers. For her part, Adams is confident that Millennial women will be able to surmount the work-life tensions that plague their Baby Boomer predecessors when it comes to structuring their own careers in a way that reflects their priorities and pushing for changes in the workplace to accommodate their values. "Time will tell whether this is the generation that transforms Corporate America. While they may mellow a bit during the family years, there are many signs suggesting that they won’t give up on their dreams to have it all and to help others."
Ask the Sheryl Sandbergs, Anne-Marie Slaughters and Hillary Clintons of the world and it's very likely that they were singing exactly the same tune at 25. It may benefit the kids to start paying attention after all.
Find me. Work with me. Follow me on Twitter.
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c05850da7390600e60423016b874272c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/07/11/is-social-media-destroying-your-self-esteem/?refURL | Is Social Media Destroying Your Self-Esteem? | Is Social Media Destroying Your Self-Esteem?
(Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)
Women are now more active than men across major social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook and have a stronger attachment to social networking than do men, but does time spent online and the aspirational messages they’re bombarded with on these sites actually have a negative effect on their psyches? Considered in light of Newsweek’s recent feature on the mounting evidence that intense internet usage contributes to increased anxiety and depression and even psychosis, it’s a fair and timely question to ask.
Take for example, Pinterest, where 82% of traffic comes from women. Pinterest is now a top driver of traffic to the websites of women’s lifestyle, home décor and cooking mags, including Martha Stewart, Elle Décor and House Beautiful. Jezebel defended Pinterest as allowing women to create an image of their ideal life through collected imagery, but their endorsement reads more like vapid and dated marketing copy than a shrewd assessment of the site’s value to members:
“Women use Pinterest to curate their own domestic and aesthetic fantasies. It's the place to collect their ideas — upholstered headboards; decorating with dress forms; nail art; DIY hopscotch bean bags; rag roil curl tutorial; recipe for brownies that look like burgers; polka dot wrapping paper; elements of a dream wedding — arrange them in a way that's equally stylish, and store them for possible later use as inspiration for making their lives a little prettier, tastier, easier.”
The fact that there’s such a synchronicity between digital preferences and traditional print content – and Jezebel’s summary of Pinterest is indistinguishable from the description of a new Martha Stewart media property - could also point to the fact that messaging aimed at women in the online space simply replicates the offline gender norms that women’s magazines, tv and movies have been preaching for decades and that female consumers have alternately embraced and struggled against. Pinterest itself has acknowledged the potential for pinned content to be damaging to users’ self-images and deemed this a big enough issue to opt for banning thinspiration or ‘thinspo’ pin boards, where members post aspirational images and links related to dieting and extreme weight loss. The Atlantic weighed in on the repetitive and patronizing nature of women-aimed content by citing nine examples of female-friendly stories that journalists should stop writing. More innocuously, but no less gender-normative, BuzzFeed ran 125 Reasons Why Guys Are Scared Of Pinterest a couple of months ago – a listicle round-up of high school level wisdom in the form of relationship quotes, gifs or placards posted on the popular platform that would be right at home in a quote of the month calendar given to you one Christmas by a well-meaning aunt.
But is this cliched content doing real damage?
“Despite there being a large body of research around self-image, social comparison and media images of women, we haven't yet seen meaningful research addressing how social media, blogging, or text-based media influence women's self-perceptions. There has been far more focus on social media behavior, such as behavior of youth on social networks and how this affects self-esteem. But I have not seen any research on social comparison effects of lifestyle blogging,” says San Francisco-based psychologist Dr. Keely Kolmes.
Dr. Kolmes mentions blogs, which, in addition to social media, are another aspect of digital participation in which women outpace men and where the women with the largest audiences are not writing about politics or science, but posting personal anecdotes or marketing their own lifestyle brands. The BlogHer website positions itself as a community for women who blog and boasts over 40 million hits a month. When Heather Armstrong of Dooce fame announced her divorce, it was covered on The Huffington Post among other outlets. Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has parlayed her blog into a bestseller and a tv show. These women and a handful of other like them rule the corner of the internet devoted to modeling the ideal feminine self in the form of lifestyle blogs.
If you want to know how to wear pastels this season, bake a perfect macaron or co-sleep with your baby, that information is out there. And it’s packaged in sepia-tinted Instagram photos, scrawling font and the language of Oprah style empowerment – You too can live your best life and mirroring mine is a good place to start is the implicit message. But dissent is springing up and detractors are becoming quicker to call out such bloggers on content that they believe is less instructional and more self-aggrandizing and narcissistic. While not created out of an explicit intent to address cultural implications of the digital discourse on feminine self-improvement and self-revelation, Get Off My Internets is a popular site for critiquing the flaws of lifestyle blogging and questioning the authenticity of the would-be gurus that it spawns. According to Alice Wright, the site’s founder, GOMI isn’t specifically focused on female lifestyle bloggers, they just happen to dominate this niche.
“GOMI posts about people who are acting like assholes. It has nothing to do with the configuration of their genitalia. GOMI participants are not all women, and when I have posted about men there is just as much commentary as when I post about women. There just isn't a lot of man-blogging to report on is all. You can pull whatever ‘women talk, men play basketball’ generalizations out you want, but the fact is there are simply more women emptying their brains over their keyboards than men. GOMI posts about internet celebs, and there are more female celebs than men. It's not a conscious decision, it's about what's available to dissect for discussion,” she says.
While Wright sees lifestyle blogs as an endless source of eye rolling fodder for her site’s members to snark on, Meghan Murphy, founder of Feminist Current and host of an eponymous podcast, sees online aspirational content such as home décor pin boards or make-up review blogs as serving a more nefarious purpose, namely pulling attention away from larger issues and encouraging a focus on bettering yourself over reducing social inequities.
“I think these kinds of sites and trends are really about distracting women. Like we should be focusing on losing weight constantly - it gives us something to work towards, right? So instead of challenging those ideas and challenging the industries that make women feel constantly inadequate, we just keep right on working - exercising, dieting, shopping, whatever. Most of that kind of aspirational messaging aimed at women is really pretty empty. It tends to really reinforce gender binaries and the idea that there is such thing as some kind of 'natural feminine energy' - that women are meant to be kind, gentle, positive, happy, pleasant people. How oppressive! It's so much pressure. I mean, can't women be angry about the state of the world? Shouldn't they be angry? No one is happy all of the time - it's fine - that's what it is to be human.”
But does consuming content such as this actually result in psychological damage? While research from the University of Buffalo indicates that women who base their self-worth on their appearance are likely to post more pictures of themselves online for validation and to have larger social networks, there is a lack of concrete research data linking consumption of online media and negative adult female self-image. Although, the choice of both Pinterest and Tumblr to ban content that could be seen to encourage self-harm supports the idea that exposure to such text and images could be problematic to those predisposed to find it triggering. This is a view echoed by Dr. Kolmes:
"If women are reading this content for entertainment, it's one thing, but it may be good to notice any negative self-talk that follows or that we you generally engage in. Listen to the voice in your head when you complete a piece of work or look in the mirror. Think about what your own goals or dreams are and whose script you're listening to. Despite the power of media to influence our self-perceptions, many people who are fighting themselves over self-esteem issues have histories in which others have been critical of them, and they have learned to internalize these messages. If you are doing this, engage in self-loving activities such as finding things you appreciate about your life, your accomplishments, or your body as it is. Maybe you feel strong or experience sensual pleasure when moving your body. Maybe you've achieved things and have forgotten to recognize and celebrate these things."
In addition to being critical of messaging to which you’re exposed and its influence on you, there is also a way for women to directly respond to and engage with the content that’s targeted at them. Social media’s immediate and shareable nature allows this dialogue to happen in real-time and via multiple platforms – think of the widespread coverage of and the mounting backlash over the creation of a video game allowing players to punch Anita Sarkeesian, who has been the subject of repeated online attacks since launching a Kickstarter project to examine sexist images of women in video games. Murphy says in the same way that social media can reinforce damaging aspirational messages of ideal womanhood, it can also serve as means of uniting women who want to challenge these tropes:
"Obviously there is a ton of sexist stuff happening online but as far as community building goes and building a feminist movement - I think social media is super-useful. It's a way to interrupt that larger conversation that's happening in the mainstream and to disrupt and challenge those messages. Often, you'll see an ad or a movie or a music video and it will bother you for some reason, but maybe you don't know why- chances are it's bothered someone else too and maybe they've blogged about it and that can help women to feel like, ‘Hey! I'm not crazy for not fitting in in this world or for not being ok with sexism. It isn't just me.’”
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4cd171f28cf2243bd984c47d4b862e62 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/10/26/start-up-aims-to-help-college-grads-volunteer-their-way-out-of-student-debt/ | Startup Aims To Help College Grads Volunteer Their Way Out Of Student Debt | Startup Aims To Help College Grads Volunteer Their Way Out Of Student Debt
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Millennials aren’t much for volunteering, but Kelli Space and Sabrina Norrie think that they’ve found a way to increase Gen Y’s philanthropic participation rate while appealing to their peers’ much maligned sense of self-interest. The two twentysomethings have founded Zero Bound – a platform that allows students and recent grads to pledge hours of service to not-for-profit organizations in exchange for donations toward reducing their debt from sponsors in their communities.
“Today's graduates have a tremendous amount of energy, education, skill, budding expertise and perspective to offer to their communities. The problem is, for the most part, they aren't doing so. I know firsthand that no matter how old, people volunteer for all types of reasons - some are purely altruistic - but other are motivated to get involved socially, earn credits, fulfill required hours, enhance their resumes, stay active - the reasons go on and on. But no matter what the motivations are - within reason - most nonprofits jump at the chance to access skill-based and committed volunteers. Zero Bound understands the motivations of these skilled young professionals and incentivizes their service,” says Norrie.
Zero Bound was inspired in part by the co-founders’ own struggles with student debt - Norrie graduated with $28K in loans while Space borrowed $200K – but both women also hope that their organization and its approach will contribute to the national dialogue that they believe we should be having about the student loan system.
“Student loan debt is a national concern. With one trillion dollars in outstanding student loan debt carried by over 37 million people, with more than one third of current working graduates being underemployed and the unemployment rate for 2011 grads being 8.8%, we need to not only address the root causes, but also the economic and social consequences of this,” says Space.
But it’s not only student borrowers who get to benefit from participation in Zero Bound. James Davis, Director of Program and Marketing at Vanderkamp Center, sees it as a golden opportunity for not-for-profit organizations such as his that may have difficulty attracting volunteers on their own.
"We have no shortage of work that needs to get done, but we often have a shortage of people willing to do it. We have a wide range of opportunities for potential volunteers to come and help with, many of which would likely serve them in the pursuit of other careers, but are unable to provide enough incentives to engage the helpers we need. We think Zero Bound will offer a brilliant way to bring all of these forces together to really help us get where we need to be," he says.
Zero Bound is currently wrapping up its crowdfunding efforts at the end of the month and plans to launch with its first group of users in early 2013. Both Norrie and Space are hoping that fellow students and new grads will be eager trade their free time for a break on their borrowed bottom lines.
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f27b73652d41a399bd61abb359ae01da | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/12/29/3-reasons-you-should-quit-social-media-in-2013/ | 3 Reasons You Should Quit Social Media In 2013 | 3 Reasons You Should Quit Social Media In 2013
Photo credit: vernieman
As an experiment, I quit the internet in September. I started with Twitter (update: I've since rejoined this particular platform), I moved on to Facebook and ended by shuttering my blog. I didn't stop freelancing or responding to emails, but I dropped social media and my participation in it like a hot potato and I haven't looked back. I held a client meeting at Dunkin' Donuts. If I wanted to see adorable pictures of my nieces, I had to email my sister to request them. I had more room in my schedule for the gym. The less time I've spent working on my online brand, the more offline opportunities have come my way. Here are three reasons you too should disentangle yourself from the social web in 2013:
It harms your self-esteem
While evidence for Social Media Anxiety Disorder is largely anecdotal at present, a UK study from the fall found that over 50% of social media users evaluated their participation in social networking as having an overall negative effect on their lives. Specifically, they singled out the blow to their self-esteem that comes from comparing themselves to peers on Facebook and Twitter as the biggest downfall. It seems trite, but you can't feel anxious about the achievements of your old college roommate or your MIT fellow cousin if you don't know about them in the first place. And forget about social media stalking your ex; it's as unhealthy as you'd guess.
Your blood pressure will thank you
Social media a hotbed of bad behavior - flame wars, bragging, bashing and crimes against grammar, among other misdeeds. If you find yourself getting unduly irritated by, say, entitled Millennials tweeting their displeasure at being denied iPhones by Santa, or falling victim to Godwin's Law while arguing with cyber strangers, it might be time to take a timeout. And make sure that break is a legitimate one - none of this downloading an app to manage your social media obligations for you.
Online is no substitute for offline
Almost a quarter of Americans say that they've missed out on important life moments in their quest to capture and memorialize them for social media. Think about that the next time you're Instagraming your anniversary dinner at P.F. Chang's. With the ubiquity of communications technology in our daily lives, it's easy to convince ourselves that the digital world is where all the action is and that the effort we put into building our online empire directly correlates to IRL benefits such as scoring a new job or landing a new mate. In fact, over 90% of job hunters of all ages look for work online, but less than 5% are conducting offline job hunting activities such as attending networking events or setting up information interviews. And guess what? A full 70 - 80% of job vacancies are never posted, so all that job board scouring is likely for naught. If the only benefit you've derived from flexing your social media muscle was free anti-antiperspirant samples from the folks at Klout, it might be time to direct your energy elsewhere.
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084f0288d8962f0e029a345f0a0a0149 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/01/30/the-biggest-money-mistake-you-dont-know-youre-making-and-how-financial-therapy-can-help-you-fix-it/ | Why Your Bank Account Needs Its Own Therapist | Why Your Bank Account Needs Its Own Therapist
Photo credit: 401(K) 2013
When I tell Amanda Mills that I paid off my monthly credit card balance minutes before our call, she laughs. The Toronto-based Mills is a financial therapist. She'll ask you about your parents, but it will be less about whether Mommy and Daddy favored your sister over you and more about whether your mother obsessively clipped coupons or whether your father bought himself a new car every year.
"Money isn’t about money; it’s how we feel about it. You can have two people in exactly the same position and one’s proud of where they are and the other feels like their life is in ruins," she tells me.
Mills is at the forefront of a burgeoning industry. There is a national Financial Therapy Association, which had its third annual conference in September; Mills was a featured speaker. Her own work in this area grew out of her bookkeeping business focused on serving clients in the arts. "I'd tell someone they owed $10 000 in taxes and they'd start crying, not because of the number, but because of how out of control the situation made them feel." In addition to helping clients with financial reporting, she now helps them to understand the links between the figures and their feelings about them.
And she's good at what she does. When the conversation turns personal - I've filled out the intake forms and thought exercises she has clients work through - Mills has my number. "For you, if you don't have money, you're not safe," she tells me, correctly diagnosing my inability to part with a bigger portion of my pay check as an attempt to insulate myself from the dangers of the outside world. "You can't really secure your future. No matter how much money you have, you could still get cancer, a meteor could fall, someone could shoot you on the street," she reminds me. She recommends I think about self-defense classes as a healthier way to feel in control of my environment than pinching every penny in anticipation of rainy days not seen since Noah and his ark.
While my own scrimping ways may seem antithetical to the trope of Millennials being entitled and self-indulgent, Mills says that having grown up in politically and financially tumultuous times has actually been a boon to many twenysomethings when it comes to how they control their spending habits. "They're good with managing their money now, because they're scared to death of it," she says.
When I ask her about student loan debt, Mills is less alarmist than many financial experts. To her, if the choice comes down to education or debt, foregoing the degree you want for the sake of the price tag isn't a smart long-term move. And even after graduation, she says the focus should be on establishing a solid career foundation over simply paying down what you owe as rapidly as possible. "If someone graduates and then starts making all of their life decisions on the basis of money, to me, that's tragic."
A bigger financial evil in Mills' eyes is consumer debt, although she also cautions clients about making digging out of debt their all-consuming priority. When people attempt to stop their overspending and try to pay off past overspending at the same time and in the fastest manner possible, they set themselves up for trouble. "What happens then is that people crash and burn. It's like going on a crash diet." Park the debt somewhere with a reasonable interest rate, figure out why you're overspending and how to live within your means and then start atoning for past financial sins is her slow and steady prescription.
And what about the biggest money mistake that you might be making? Just like cliches about other forms of counseling, in financial therapy, it really does all come back to your parents. The thinking goes that you can't change your current money mentality and habits if you don't know where they originated and aren't able to question their validity.
"One of the most useful exercises I give out is to have people do a financial biography of where they're coming from - mother, father, other caregivers, partner. What you start to see is that so much of what you feel about money comes from other people's experiences of money. The biggest mistake most of us make is assuming our money lives are going to follow our parents'; they usually don't. Take a good look at what your parents thought, believed and experienced around money and then remind yourself that you're probably not going to have the same experience, but that most of what you think is supposed to happen will come from them," Mills says.
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743cd3e0df1bc7778b7e4d2884596075 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/03/26/the-young-and-the-restless-true-tales-from-the-location-independent-labor-force/ | The Young And The Restless: True Tales From The Location-Independent Labor Force | The Young And The Restless: True Tales From The Location-Independent Labor Force
Laptop on beach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When we think about remote work situations, we tend to think of home offices, laptops on couches and, most recently, Yahoo’s ban on the practice. But there’s another model of out-of-office work, in which workers with portable skill sets that can be plied from almost anywhere seek out a blend of client work and world travel. Given predictions that freelancers will make up 50% of the American workforce by 2020 and the recent report from The Boston Consulting Group urging the travel and tourism industry to brace itself for a major inflow of Millennial dollars, conditions are ripe for a future labor market of untethered, location-independent contractors for hire. I caught up with a few Millennials who are ahead of the curve to find out whether location independence really means shuttling between WiFi-offering coffee shops (of course, there are apps to help you find them) and Caribbean beaches and whether they’d consider trading their unstructured work lives for the stability of a 9 -5 position. Here’s what they told me:
Colin Wright, Author and Co-founder of Asymmetrical Press
(Current) location: Texas, but heading out to Iceland in a few days
Location independent for: About four years now, though I suppose I could have been a year longer than that — I just didn't realize it.
What's your current daily work routine?
"The nice thing about this kind of lifestyle is that I don't have a set routine. I don't set alarms unless I have a press event or something else timely to wake up for, I don't have set work hours, I don't have a lot on the calendar. I work when I feel the most inspired — sometimes for days with little sleep, and sometimes not at all for weeks — hang out with people I like spending time with, and travel when it makes sense.
I've found that having a routine kills my motivation, because it's difficult to keep up some habits in different locations - running outside in Kolkata, for example, would be beyond treacherous, and if I had that as a set-in-stone habit, I would have been thrown off completely while there. Far better to have flexible to-dos and fit them in when possible. For me and what I want, at least, that works best."
How has being location independent affected your productivity?
"It's improved my productivity drastically.
I used to work a lot more — well, I would feel like I was working a lot more, anyway — but now I work when I'm feeling most motivated and my resulting output is a lot higher and of a higher quality. The efficiency of such a method is hard to argue with, though I can definitely understand when others need a more structured framework to operate within. I think I would probably need the same if I didn't enjoy what I do so much. It's hard to peel me away from my work sometimes."
Would you consider going back to working 9-5 from an office?
"I suppose anything is possible for enough money or the right kind of work, but it would be an incredibly hard sell, and wouldn't be possible at all if there wasn't an end date. If someone told me, 'Colin, I'll give you a million bucks to work in an office for 6 months,' I would probably go for it. If they said the same, but I would never again be able to work outside the office, I would turn them down flat every time."
What kind of workers do you feel are best suited to location independence? For whom would it be a poor fit?
"Remote working is best for self-starters - people who enjoy their work and don't need much structure to get things done, people who would be working whether or not there's a boss watching them work over their shoulder.
It's certainly not for everyone — I even know people who COULD work remotely, but like the benefits of working in an office, which is totally okay as far as I'm concerned — and I think a lot of people who feel they can make it work probably wouldn't be able to. There are just so many temptations around all the time that can pull you away from the work you should be doing.
Those who are able to focus without anyone cracking a whip, however, stand to benefit from location independence greatly. It's one of the things I love most about what I do."
Gigi Griffis, Content Strategist, Writer and Founder of Content for Do-Gooders
(Current) location: Currently in London and about to head to Central America for some sunshine!
Location independent for: 10 months
What's your current daily work routine?
"It varies a bit day-by-day, but typically I start working between 8 and 9am, tackling my highest priority projects first thing in the morning, as mornings are when I do my best work and have the best focus.
Around noon, I make myself some lunch, which I usually eat at my desk while answering emails, checking social media accounts, and managing blog comments - things that I can do well while my attention is a bit more divided. After lunch on light days, I break for the day and spend the afternoon doing something active - hiking, kayaking, taking a walk around the city, depending where in the world I am - sometimes returning to my computer in the early evenings for client calls and meetings , since my clients are mostly in the US and I'm often in Europe.
On busy days, I usually head back to work for an hour or two after lunch before taking a get-outside-and-enjoy-your-life-girl! break. Then I finish up any remaining work in the evenings as needed.
I try to work short days when possible and usually work a six-day week. Of course, sometimes I get big, tight-timeline projects and just buckle down for a week of long days like any freelancer. But this is the schedule I strive for."
How has being location independent affected your productivity?
"When I took off around the world with my business, two amazing things happened that increased my productivity:
1) Distractions essentially disappeared. I know, not what you'd expect, right?
Because I am often 6 - 8 hours ahead of my clients time zone-wise, I have very few calls, emails, or distractions during my working hours. This has been a huge asset to my productivity, as my attention is rarely divided when I'm in the middle of a big project.
2) I stopped feeling guilty and started playing to my strengths.
Because I work based on deadlines and not on how many hours I'm sitting at a desk, I am able to tailor my schedule to generate the best productivity. My least productive hours are the mid to late afternoon, so I almost never work during those hours, instead choosing to take a walk, go kayaking, or take a mid-afternoon nap to clear my head and re-energize."
Would you consider going back to working 9-5 from an office?
"Never."
What kind of workers do you feel are best suited to location independence? For whom would it be a poor fit?
"Location independence is great for people who are self-motivated problem-solvers. You'll run into challenges on the road that you just don't have to deal with at home, so you have to be able to problem-solve, stay calm, and plan ahead enough so that your clients don't suffer for travel/living abroad dilemmas and delays.
You also have to care a whole heck of a lot about your business. People tell me they could never do what I do because they'd spend all their time enjoying their new city and would never work - and that's a really valid point. In order to be successful and location independent, you need to be passionate enough about your business and the quality of your work to put aside explorations during working hours - whatever those working hours are for you. You have to really care about your clients. And you have to find a good balance between work and play.
It's amazing to travel, working and living abroad. But don't forget that it's the work that enables you to have this lifestyle, so the work always has to be a priority."
Aline Badr, Communications Consultant
(Current) location: Toronto, Canada
Location independent for: Two years
What's your current daily work routine?
"My work includes research, writing, account management and business development. In terms of a schedule, not every day is the same, because I'm the type that requires a change of scenery for stimulation, so I might go to different locations to work or stay at home. But I put in at least five hours of solid work everyday. I always include an hour for working out."
How has being location independent affected your productivity?
"I have never been more productive in my life. What I used to be able to do in an entire week at 'the office', I can do in a five-hour intense work day and not all at once, although it took some time to learn to adjust. For example, I have developed a schedule for myself that I follow 80% of the time. I wake up early, get dressed to either stay at home or leave my condo to sit at either a coffee shop, mostly Starbucks, or the members lounge at an art gallery in Toronto. I work where there is WiFi. I had to teach myself to do this because there are two dangers of working from home all the time: disconnection (feeling lonely) and distraction (laundry/cleaning - thank goodness I don't have TV). My rule of thumb is always if I accomplish five hours of work a day, then I allow myself the distraction. I use headphones to block out loud noises at cafes, although not always successfully."
Would you consider going back to working 9-5 from an office?
"No, unless I have to."
What kind of workers do you feel are best suited to location independence? For whom would it be a poor fit?
"Self-starters are best suited for this type of environment. Also self-awareness plays an important role. Knowing - to a certain degree - your weaknesses and working around them is key to ensure a certain degree of discipline. Anyone requiring approval from peers or bosses can never be suited for this. Neither is the person who needs a clear sense of direction of where their career is going or coaching. There is no such thing when you're independent. You have, to a certain degree, an idea of where you're going, but you're far more flexible to roll up your sleeve and get to work, whatever that work is, without the recognition and the stability. I call it organized chaos, and you have to be okay with it. You have a basic understanding that every day is different and change is ALWAYS lurking. Change is my greatest motivator. And the reason it works for me is that I'm naturally curious. I would also add that this type of work does not have a straight line to the top. In fact, there is no top. And that is perfectly fine for me. The top can be reached within one project, one conversation, one email or not, all in one day."
Kelly O’Brien, Freelance Writer and Editor
Current Location: Eugene, Oregon
Location independent for: 10 months
What's your current daily work routine?
"My daily routine tends to vary based on the kind of projects I happen to be working on. I do a mix of corporate writing, technical writing and magazine writing. If I've got a big documentation project on my plate, I'm usually kind of a homebody because I'm looking for a quiet, distraction-free workspace. If I'm working on blog posts or articles instead, I'll set out in the morning for a coffeehouse and set up shop for the day. That holds true while I'm on the road, too. Technical projects, I usually hide in my hotel/airbnb room. Feature writing, I like to do it surrounded by a little bit of a bustle."
How has being location independent affected your productivity?
"There are pros and cons, I think. Not working in an office means that I don't have to deal with a commute, office politics, or, best of all, meetings. But it also means that it's all on me to resist the temptation to sleep in a little, grab a two-hour lunch with a business associate/girlfriend, or skive off work a bit early for happy hour. Overall, though, I think my productivity has gone and is continuing to go up, mostly because I am acutely aware of the number of actual, productive (and billable) hours I'm getting in, versus time spent at my desk where I'm really just chatting or reading the internet."
Would you consider going back to working 9-5 from an office?
"I might someday. At the moment, though, nope."
What kind of workers do you feel are best suited to location independence? For whom would it be a poor fit?
"Well, as nice as the flexibility is, being location independent is HARD, so it's only going to be a good fit if you know exactly why you're doing it. If you're super-motivated, wicked organized and reasonably self-disciplined, then I think it's a great fit. If you really rely on routine and a group of coworkers to interact with everyday, then working remotely is probably going put you pretty far out of your comfort zone."
Dave Ursillo, Author and Entrepreneur
(Current) location: Waikiki, Hawaii
Location Independent for: Four years as of May 2013
What's your current daily work routine?
"I don't have a particular routine, but what I do is look to feel the flow of each day from the onset. By 'flow of the day,' I mean to say the rhythm and pace of what that particular day feel like; it's kind of a yogi mindset. You take your priorities, obligations and wants into consideration first and then your personal needs - going to yoga, eating well, connecting with friends and family and clients. I like to piece my day together like that. It inspires me to feel in the moment and create from that raw truth."
How has being location independent affected your productivity?
"Being location independent has helped me place more importance on the value of truly living my life, experiencing people and this world. So in that sense, being location independent has helped me be a more productive creative because living life is what inspires my writing and storytelling."
Would you consider going back to working 9-5 from an office?
"I don't want to return to a 9-to-5 job or work space, but I would consider it some day -- if just for the sake of openness! I don't believe that my values, creative needs and personal wants are best served in an office or during certain hours of the workday. I love the openness of working some mornings before dawn, and at other times writing deep into the night. Creativity is a fluid, living creature and neither a cubicle nor specific hours on the clock are what helps you as a writer honor your creative journey."
What kind of workers do you feel are best suited to location independence? For whom would it be a poor fit?
"I feel that the best kinds of location independent workers are very self-motivated and grounded in a set of personal values that keeps them aligned to their core beliefs, wants and walls through all of the uncertainty and unknown. You have to be okay with understanding that the total freedom you seek also has drawbacks. Total freedom is a continual confrontation with fear. If you're afraid of your truth, your fears and even your success, this lifestyle might not be for you."
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24e84f09d06b754a8a4a56b70b7ecefe | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/06/30/meet-the-print-players-keeping-zine-culture-alive-in-the-digital-age/ | Meet The Print Players Keeping Zine Culture Alive In The Digital Age | Meet The Print Players Keeping Zine Culture Alive In The Digital Age
Photo credit: jaredeberhardt
You might be forgiven for assuming that when creatives discuss indie or self-publishing these days that which e-pub format to choose or whether going it alone is better than seeking the Holy Grail of a traditional book deal are the only issues on the table, but you’d be wrong. There's a thriving culture of content creators who edit, bind and market their own print works for whom self-publishing involves manually creating and distributing their physical products to readers who still long to hold a saddle-stitched chapbook in their hands . Zine culture is still alive and well and not just the purview of nostalgic hipsters or fodder for a future Portlandia sketch.
At Quimby’s Bookstore, a Chicago institution, demand for the plethora of zines and other DIY printed works – the last time I was there, I grabbed one on soap-making for a friend - shows no sign of slowing down. “People who say print is dead have clearly not been here when the mail comes in every day," quips Quimby’s Liz Mason. She is hard-pressed to describe the typical zine customer, summing up buyers as, “Folks who like something out of the ordinary, I guess. No particular demographic."
San Francisco’s Alexandra Naughton launched Be About It, her thematic zine of poetry, short stories and illustrations in 2010 during a jobless period.
" I was unemployed and feeling very aimless and decided to start reading a book my parents had given me for a birthday years ago, but that I hadn't picked up until that moment. The book is called How To Be A Famous Writer Before You're Dead by Ariel Gore and it's basically a pick-me-up for people who love writing but aren't sure how to go about using their talent in terms of a career. One chapter was all about zines and the do-it-yourself approach with publishing and I kind of thought, ‘I always wanted to do this and I have a lot of free time right now so I might as well start now,’ and I did."
Naughton does all her own formatting, pretties up the end product, takes it to a print shop and hosts a release party for each issue, where local contributors can share their works with a live audience. She opts for hard copy over digital for both practical and iconoclastic reasons.
“I like books. I like being able to pick something up, touch it, feel the pages and turn them and then put it on my shelf and pick it up whenever I want and read it in bed or on the train. I don't have a smart phone and I don't have an e-reader and I don't think I'm the only person out in the world who lives this way. I like doing things differently and right now printing a zine is that. E-books are a dime a dozen. Not knocking them, I will probably put out an e-book one day, but there are so many out there.”
Author Daniel McCloskey, the founder of Cyberpunk Apocalypse, a Pittsburgh-based writers’ collective and living space that plays host to visiting creatives, agrees that the low-tech aspect of zine creation supports a degree of artistic enfranchisement that isn’t otherwise available to those without sophisticated technological means.
“There are a lot of practical reasons why print zine culture exits right now. For one thing, digital options are still only cheaper and faster for some people. A number of zinesters I know only have access to computers through local libraries and cannot view images on their phones. To them putting a zine online would be slow and frustrating, while crushing out some stuff on a typewriter, cutting it up with photos and cruising to Kinko's is second nature. A run of 200 zines is cheaper than a laptop and InDesign. It's true, however, that the number of individuals in this situation is dwindling.”
McCloskey also suggests that, in a double movement-like phenomenon, digital publishing may actually be supporting and nurturing the continuing relevance of print zine culture.
“You can think about it in relation to independent music if you like. In order to fund something like a tour, musicians need to sell stuff. Their music is free online, so cds often feel irrelevant. In response, bands sell vinyl with elaborate printing and beautiful inserts. The music is part of an art object that acts as a token of support and arguably a fetish object depending on who buys it. Art books and zines may be following the same trajectory, which can explain why there are so many modern art books that are as much about the book as the content.”
For Sarah McCarry, the editor and publisher of Guillotine, what she describes as an “erratically published chapbook series dedicated to publishing revolutionary fiction,” her decision to opt for print over digital as a showcase for her work and that of her contributors was influenced by her familiarity with the production process.
“Most obviously, it's what I know how to do. I've been making zines since 1999 and printing letterpress for a decade or so and I've worked off and on in small-press publishing and independent bookstores for years, so that's definitely where my particular skillset lies. I also love, and have a long history of, making things. I like the physical process of printing the covers, assembling and sewing the books, putting them in envelopes and sending them to people."
McCarry works with a designer who handles formatting, layout and co-design of the covers and a professional printer that produces the interior pages. She letterpresses the covers herself and assembles the books by hand. The fact that Guillotine is a literal labor of love for McCarry is one of the reasons she doesn’t see zine culture and print literature in general disappearing anytime soon.
“I always say - and still believe - that there is something irreplaceable about the experience of the book as an object. And physical books have a literal history, which I think still matters to a lot of people. I have books that I've kept for years because of who gave them to me, the place I was at in my life when I read them, where I found them, things like that. Handmade books and zines have a personality and delight to them that digital books just don't, but I'm also the kind of person who's moved probably fifteen times in the last decade and takes at least twelve boxes of books with me each time, so I'm a little biased.”
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53b46a0bdfdcec47c934671fecd156ce | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/12/11/4-gift-giving-tips-to-keep-you-off-the-office-naughty-list/ | 4 Gift-Giving Tips To Keep You Off The Boss's Naughty List | 4 Gift-Giving Tips To Keep You Off The Boss's Naughty List
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Whether you're new to the corporate world or just new to your particular company, the holiday season can bring about more stress than your annual review - and if handled poorly, could affect it. Yay or nay on gifts? If so, who gets one and what should it be? I tapped a few career and etiquette experts for their words of wisdom on how to navigate present season in the workplace and how best to avoid any faux pas that will land you on the boss's naughty list.
Take a cue from your colleagues
If you're the new kid on the block, follow the example set by seasoned vets when it comes to gifting and don't make any purchases until you've got a firm grasp on office culture. As Lynne Sarikas, director of Northeastern University's MBA Career Center, puts it:
"It is important to know what others do, so you don't stand out on the extreme end - either positively or negatively. If you are the only person to bring the boss a gift, others will think you are 'sucking up.' If you are the only one without a gift for the boss, you will feel conspicuously absent. Go with the flow. Some organizations have official policies prohibiting or limiting gift giving so be sure to know the environment."
Buy for those below you, not above
If you're in a management role, gifting your direct reports is part of your seasonal responsibility as a leader, but don't expect anything from them in return. Take heart, entry-level employees and interns, buying for the boss is not part of your job description. "Unless you and you your boss have an ongoing tradition of gift-giving, I would not go down that road. Just because your boss gives you a gift does not mean you are obligated to give him or her something in return. Accept it gratefully as a thank-you for the work you do. Be sure to give the boss a holiday card, however, and also a thank-you card for the gift," says Mister Manners, Thomas P. Farley, etiquette expert and workshop leader for corporations and universities.
Bigger isn't better
While you might think a lavish gift will win you praise, it could actually undermine your office rep. "Gestures need not be extravagant. When you spend beyond your means, there is the potential for your gift to be viewed either as impractical and a sign of poor judgment or as a way of showing off. It will backfire," says Roy Cohen, career coach and author of The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide. Cohen advises making sure any gifts you give are work-related and that you don't try to match a colleague's caviar tastes on your ramen pay check.
Don't be a grinch about holiday activities
Even if you don't celebrate a particular religious or cultural holiday during December, that doesn't give you a free pass to pout in the corner. You don't have to don a Santa hat and lead the office carol sing, but you do have to be a team player who demonstrates tact, flexibility and respect for the beliefs and practices of others. If the thought of the company holiday party makes you want to drown yourself in a vat of eggnog, Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO and founder of Collegefeed, has a little sage advice for you:
"At larger companies, there are plenty of people you normally would never have the chance of interacting with - and chatting with them can be a surprising perk of attending. Even just getting to know the CEO's admin or the IT guy can pay off later. Try thinking of it as a networking event and take advantage of the setting by introducing yourself to company leaders that you normally wouldn’t run into. And for many young employees, an afternoon or night of free food and drinks can be enough incentive to overlook any differences in your holiday beliefs."
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af79d950ed34715090a0f8e19e633dbb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2014/02/22/the-surprising-and-smart-reason-millennials-love-payday-loans-and-prepaid-debit-cards/ | The Surprising And Smart Reason Millennials Love Payday Loans And Prepaid Debit Cards | The Surprising And Smart Reason Millennials Love Payday Loans And Prepaid Debit Cards
What would tax season be without sobering news about the saving and spending habits of today's twentysomethings? Recent survey results from Think Finance show that Millennials are turning to alternative financial services in large numbers. And we're not talking credit unions or co-ops. Think Finance surveyed 640 underbanked Millennials and found that reliance on convenient, on-the-spot financial products vs. institutionally-backed loans or credit cards is both widespread and independent of economic status. Half of both the highest and lowest earning groups had used prepaid debit cards in the last year. 34% of respondents earning less than $25K had used check cashing services in the last year, while 29% of those earning $50 - $74.9K had done likewise.
At first glance, alternative financial services seem to be a perfect fit with the stereotypical Millennial mindset that prizes convenience and immediate reward. When it comes to instant gratification, payday loans do fit the bill nicely. The appeal of these products runs a little deeper than pat answers about entitlement and lack of financial literacy, though. Having lived through 9/11, multiple wars, the Great Recession and industry bailouts during their formative years, Millennials have become conservative about their money and skeptical about the options at their disposal for investing and saving it. Research from UBS Investor Watch found that Millennial investors have a risk tolerance on par with their grandparents who lived through the Depression. 34% of those Millennials surveyed described themselves as at least somewhat conservative when it came to their approach to managing their money and they keep a staggering 52% of their wealth in good old cash. Further research from Microsoft and KRC Research found that cynicism about the financial system runs bone-deep with Gen Y. As The Globe and Mail reported:
"Of those surveyed, 67% said they're wary of stocks because of the weak economy, and 82% are concerned that more financial institutions will fail. Fifty-one percent said they're unlikely to put money in 401(k) plans or other retirement accounts."
For many Millennials, money management is both a source of anxiety - they worry about having enough set aside for retirement, being able to take care of their parents in old age and avoiding financial mistakes - and a sign of adulthood. The Hartford found that 50% Millennials in their national survey identified "making financial decisions" as a mark having reached grown-up status and 26% prized their paycheck as their greatest asset.
In light of mistrust of traditional financial instruments and a pragmatism about not digging themselves a deeper hole than they already find themselves in due to student loan debt and a weak job market, prepaid debit cards - can't spend more than what you load them with - make a shrewd sort of fiscal sense.
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91192963f256c3185f2164f12647313a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2015/05/15/death-and-the-dad-bod-what-the-latest-internet-meme-says-about-our-deepest-fear/ | Death And The 'Dad Bod': What The Latest Internet Meme Says About Our Deepest Fear | Death And The 'Dad Bod': What The Latest Internet Meme Says About Our Deepest Fear
“We need a dad,” an acquaintance recently remarked about an executive search happening at his company. He went on to explain what he was hoping for was that they’d choose someone for a C-suite role who, when the metaphorical you-know-what hits the fan, has seen enough actual you-know-what to be able to deal with it competently. Of course, he wasn’t directly involved in the hiring process and his company knows better than to flout employment laws with questions on family status, but his valorization of the dad archetype comes at a particularly apt time.
After all, dads and their bodies, the appropriately dubbed “dad bod” or "dadbod" are enjoying a pop cultural moment. If you aren’t familiar with the dad bod phenomenon, all you need to know is that the internet has recently discovered that middle-aged men are corporeal beings and their corpuses might be less toned, fit and manscaped than those of gym-going counterparts in their 20s. The internet cannot make up its mind if we should be celebrating these physical specimens by waxing poetic about their hitherto unacknowledged attractiveness or whether we should be blanching in disapproval at slideshows of the likes of Guy Fieri and Adam Sandler cavorting shirtless on the beach. At present, the former camp is winning.
Photo by Cate Gillon/Getty Images
Dad bod isn’t anything new. Before we idolized the abs of Adam Levine and Channing Tatum, fatherly figures were the norm. Watch clips of wrestlers from the pre-PED 70s and 80s and you’ll see more barrel-chested dad bods than chiseled forms. In a 2010 profile on the late Dino Bravo for DeadSpin, David Shoemaker refers to the squat wrestler’s “my-buddy's-strong-dad physique,” for example. And in a 200o piece for Salon, Kim Morgan bemoaned the fact that movies no longer feature husky leading men, equating a solid, imposing physical presence with a fading strain of traditional masculinity.
What’s interesting about dad bod isn’t necessarily the obvious discussion it has spawned about sexism and male privilege -- of course there’s a double standard in celebrating flabby middle-aged men while shaming women for the same “figure flaws" or rewarding them with MILF status for avoiding this fate. No, what’s interesting is that we’re ogling imperfect, aging bodies in an era when we’re also hyper-focused on beating the clock on that same aging and fighting mortality at every turn.
We see this preoccupation in the tech sector, with companies like Google-backed Calico, which is planning a $500 million research facility to study aging and age-related diseases and has research partnerships with institutions like Harvard and MIT lined up. Speaking of Google and Harvard, Google X, which is the company’s somewhat shadowy research facility focused on large-scale tech innovation, just wooed a rising star cardiologist from Harvard Medical School to head up a major new study on understanding health outcomes at a molecular and cellular level. In March, health startup Alkahest landed a $50 million investment from pharmaceutical multinational Grifolis to fund work in fighting neurodegeneration. That same month, Apple unveiled ResearchKit, essentially enabling crowdsourced medical research, as part of its Apple Watch event. If we're able to achieve singularity by 2030, surely a cure for the common death can't be far behind?
We also see anxiety over physical degeneration and the attempts to combat it at the level of the individual. In the booming wearables industry, we've graduated from the humble pedometer to sophisticated devices that tell us how much we're exercising, how well we're sleeping, how many calories we're burning, when we're due to ovulate and how good our posture is, to name but a few metrics. We can now map our personal genome. We spent a whopping $12 billion on plastic surgery in 2014. And when the knife isn't enough, we can use hormones to stave off the effects of aging and maintain virility. We've moved from the relatively passive data collection focus of the quantified self to the aggressively interventionist paradigm of biohacking championed by the likes of Tim Ferriss and his Four-Hour Body guide. It is no longer enough to understand ourselves body and soul, we must transform ourselves via righteous self-improvement -- in the interests of increasing quality of life, physical stamina, longevity and youthful appearance -- as well.
Unlike a pretty young woman who cheekily experiments with dying her hair gray, dad bod offers a more serious pushback against this new way to be embodied. A man with dad bod is not a man who hacks his sleep habits. He isn't eating Paleo or doing CrossFit. Clearly. He's likely not uploading his picture to Microsoft's age-guessing website and fretfully comparing the results to his chronological age. His body is a testament to his disengagement from or rejection of the fight against physical decline and death, or if he is engaged in the fight, it's proof that he's not winning it. It makes sense that we are both fascinated by the dad bod and fearful of its connotations (Is that me now or in the future? we wonder). We are also envious of it, especially when modeled by celebrities, as it hints at a person who has transcended the appearance pressures the rest of us feel weighed down by. Dad bod breaks the rules and if we are unable to police it into conformity, then it seems like the logical choice is to fetishize it as a way of robbing it of its power -- as we've done to women's bodies for centuries. Deep down, what we know but don't want to face is that the dad bod's spare tire is a sign of our mortality and a confirmation that all the clean living in the world won't help us outrun the ultimate dad himself -- Father Time.
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49ae5d639b5fbb4e1bb5acca6839ca9a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2015/08/17/three-pitfalls-of-remote-work-that-you-probably-arent-thinking-about/ | Three Pitfalls Of Remote Work That You Probably Aren't Thinking About | Three Pitfalls Of Remote Work That You Probably Aren't Thinking About
If the concept of workplace flexibility conjures up happy visions of writing code on the beach in Bali or designing marketing materials on your laptop at a Bushwick coffee shop, you're very likely one of the many, many, young workers who romanticizes remote working as a golden ticket to having your cake and eating it, too -- a steady paycheck and the ability to govern your own daily schedule. Of course, there is a catch. Not all remote work opportunities are created equal. Even though the growth of the gig economy means that teleworking (including contract and permalance roles) is on the rise, many companies don’t excel at managing a dispersed workforce or prioritize career development and cost-cutting equally and not all remote work setups will benefit your own work style or future goals. Before you decide to accept a remote role or to take advantage of your company's new work-from-anywhere policy, it makes sense to ask yourself a few key questions to suss out whether a home office makes more career sense than an open-concept office. You know the conventional wisdom about having a dedicated workspace and avoiding taking conference calls in your PJs, but there are weightier factors you should also be considering.
STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages
How much is face-time valued at my company?
I knew a manager who was very puzzled by the fact that a survey of his team uncovered the fact that many of them thought they were working harder than their teammates. It turned out that having a flexible work schedule and no set policies governing remote work meant that the employees who came to the office every day for 9 a.m. felt that those who came in later or worked from home weren't being as productive. Out of sight, out of mind is a real danger for remote workers , especially in companies that have an old-fashioned more time in the office = more commitment and productivity mindset. Think of Yahoo's decision to halt all remote work in order to improve "speed and quality," for example. The not-so-subtle message there is that remote work is both less productive and of lower quality than what can be achieved in the office.
Not seeing your team every day does mean that you obviously miss out on spontaneous, synergistic conversations, but it also means that no one sees you performing your job and in-the-moment opportunities to display leadership are much rarer -- both factors that affect which employees get recognized and promoted. You might be a valued member of the team, but your ability to be a day-to-day influencer is limited by the fact people don’t see you day to day. If career advancement is one of your goals, understand that moving up the ladder when you aren't in the same room with it is often a tricky proposition.
Am I good at setting boundaries?
The typical corporate workday provides inherent structure. You start. You go for lunch for a predetermined amout of time. You end the day. In between, you may have meetings, do calls with clients or serve customers. How heavily do you rely on this built-in structure and associated norms to keep you on track? If the answer is "a lot," working remotely is going to be a big adjustment for you. If you tend to be an overachiever type, the temptation to work through lunch or to keep answering emails into the evening (after all, there's no commute to worry about) is strong and there's little to check it but your own willpower. By contrast, if you tend to procrastinate by nature, working remotely removes the checks and balances on this tendency that a formal workplace offers. If you were one of those college students who pulled all-nighters to finish papers and you haven't built better habits since then, remote working provides a prime opportunity to slip into your old ways.
How much of my social life revolves around work?
As companies increasingly compete on the basis of amenities and perks, especially when trying to attract young talent, our workplaces are morphing into social hubs. And as we work longer hours and take greater advantage of those offerings, more of our social lives become dependent on the office. Sure, grabbing a beer with colleagues is nothing new, but now you can also play on the corporate dodge ball team, join a group of coworkers training for Tough Mudder or take part in the monthly poker night. If you work for one of these super-social employers and/or this is a facet of your working life that you value, be aware that going remote will limit your opportunities for non-work engagement with your colleagues. If you're a die-hard introvert, you may welcome the free pass this gives you on socializing, but if you've been used to converting coworkers into friends, it might be a rougher transition.
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Also on Forbes:
Gallery: 11 Tips For Being Part Of The Office Team As A Telecommuter 12 images View gallery
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4fed295d2e08464b4285cd7509504930 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2015/09/04/mistress-america-and-the-millennial-search-for-meaning/ | 'Mistress America' And The Millennial Search For Meaning | 'Mistress America' And The Millennial Search For Meaning
Mistress America is a deceptive little film. Based on the trailer, you might expect a fairly pat story in which a young college student idolizes a zany, glamorous older sister type only for her (and for the audience) to realize that this creature is much sadder than she is glamorous. Mistress America takes your assumptions and spins them out into a sharp, observational comedy (critics are fond of making comparisons to Woody Allen’s work) on female relationships, hero worship and how our platonic crushes on those we see as “more” than we are help to inform our own search for identity and meaning.
Tracy (Lola Kirke), a Barnard freshman who is having trouble fitting in, connects with her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig), a 30 year-old social butterfly and seemingly a cool girl cliche. Tracy is captivated by Brooke, while at the same time using snippets from Brooke’s whirlwind life to help refine her own voice as a burgeoning writer. We’re meant to wonder who’s using whom -- Tracy is mining Brooke’s life for story fodder, while Brooke fairly glows at having a mini-me to lap up her wisdom.
Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
The age difference between the two -- about a decade -- is referenced several times and illustrates the sharp contrast in how “finding yourself” as a project, a central theme of the film, changes as you age.
In particular, two scenes throw the emotional and intellectual chasm between older "emerging adults" and newborn ones into stark relief. Tracy confesses to a college friend that she feels she’s the smartest person in the room and that if she could figure out her personal style, she’d be the most beautiful, too. He replies that he believes he’s a genius and just wants to skip ahead to the point in his life where everyone else recognizes that. The scene isn’t played for laughs or scorn (no Lena Dunham “voice of a generation” stuff here). Instead, director Noah Baumbach is subtly reminding us of the monstrous self-absorption of youth and how it can be even more poignant than it is exhausting to behold. You feel for Tracy and her friend while rolling your eyes. Their time will come.
With Brooke, we see how, over the years, the feeling you can do anything has morphed into the feeling you must do something. As she and Tracy wait to see a psychic, she laments that life doesn’t get easier as you get older and ostensibly have more resources to pursue your dreams. Your ambitions don’t go away, but the time you have to achieve them keeps shrinking. Brooke flits from persona to persona, trying vainly to make something stick. She dances on stage with the band, yells platitudes as a SoulCycle instructor, dons glasses and a cardigan to tutor junior high students and charms potential investors as a would-be restaurateur. She is all of these things and none of them. Is her manic nature the reason that she can’t follow through with anything? Or is having to juggle so many options just to keep afloat what’s feeding her frantic ways and her short-sightedness?
It’s absolutely a question worth asking in the current economic climate. What is the psychic toll of balancing multiple jobs, of moving from one role to another every 16 months or so? As I’ve written before, Millennials are starving for meaning in their work. In a culture in which self-worth and identity are tied so closely to how we spend 40 hours/week, does frequently changing roles and employers mean that we must shed and remake our identities along with our job titles? How do you start to build a solid sense of self if your life lacks stability? It’s a question Baumbach has his characters grapple with, but, as in real life, they fail to arrive at any definitive answers.
At the film’s conclusion, when Tracy visits Brooke to try to reconcile after a fallout, we see that Brooke is still grasping at opportunities for reinvention. She’s packing for an impulsive move to LA and declares that she has some sort of unnamed illness that involves staring at the internet or the TV for hours and having great ideas for which she feels so much love and excitement that she doesn’t know how to tackle them, so they never get implemented. For many of us, it’s a familiar feeling. When the possibilities are endless, it’s hard not to become paralyzed by choice. Mistress America ends with Tracy’s voiceover implying that Brooke is already a worthier, more interesting person than the one she’s striving to be. Whether Brooke will ever realize that for herself and whether Tracy is able to apply that wisdom to her own future are things the movie leaves achingly (and smartly) unanswered.
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852cdaaa2b99bbfc46ff8e06652c9326 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2017/02/27/are-emma-stone-and-mahershala-ali-worse-off-for-winning-oscars/ | Are Emma Stone And Mahershala Ali Worse Off For Winning Oscars? | Are Emma Stone And Mahershala Ali Worse Off For Winning Oscars?
MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
We all crave recognition for our achievements and, for actors, there’s no greater recognition than bagging an Oscar statuette. While I’m sure Emma Stone et al. felt on top of the world when delivering their acceptance speeches tonight (OK, not the team from La La Land, obviously), how career-changing is winning an Academy Award for an individual performer?
If you assume that the accolades also automatically bring more money, better roles and a cemented place in the constellation of Hollywood stars, you might be surprised. Or, if you stopped to consider the post-Oscar career trajectory of one Nicholas Cage, perhaps you won’t be.
For male actors, research finds that there is an earnings bump for nabbing an Academy Award. Women, however, don’t enjoy the same benefit. Best Supporting Actress winner Marcia Gay Harden is quoted as calling her win, “disastrous on a professional level. Suddenly the parts you're offered become smaller and the money less." She’s currently starring in Code Black, a CBS medical drama, so Q.E.D., I guess. For Best Actress winners, there’s also the added risk that professional success will come at a personal cost. Although evidence for it is purely anecdotal, the dreaded “Oscar Curse,” is a superstition that posits that these winners are more likely to have their romantic relationships fall apart after accepting an Oscar. Since 2000, Halle Berry, Hillary Swank, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Winslet and Sandra Bullock have all gone through post-win breakups.
Speaking of Halle Berry, she’s a prime example of how unfruitful an Oscar win can be for an actor of color, telling The Guardian in an interview, “If anybody tells you after winning an Oscar they can pick out things that will be hits, they’re lying!” For every Denzel Washington, there is a Cuba Gooding Jr. who, after winning a statuette for Jerry Maguire went on to make such gems as Snow Dogs and Norbit. It’s only a full 20 years later that he found awards redemption with an Emmy nomination for his title turn in 2016’s American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson. Jennifer Hudson was on top of the world with her Best Supporting Actress win for Dreamgirls in 2006. Her latest IMDB entry? Playing the female lead in Sandy Wexler, a straight-to-Netflix Adam Sandler movie. I feel confident in saying that sharing the screen with Hudson is as close as co-stars Rob Schneider and Kevin James will ever get to tasting Oscar gold.
Research has shown that winning the lottery doesn’t necessarily change the winner’s life permanently, with those who score big not ending up much happier than the average person and the majority of them continuing to work in some capacity. We can draw a comparison to winning an Oscar. While it provides a nice endorsement of superior acting ability (looking at you, Viola Davis) it’s unlikely to substantially change the course of tonight’s winners' (or losers') lives. Just ask J. K. Simmons. He bagged an Oscar for Whiplash in 2014 and still appears on TV in ads for Farmers Insurance just as he did pre-win. And some of the biggest box office stars of all time (what’s up, Tom Cruise?) don’t have an Oscar to their name and are doing just fine.
Remember Oscar’s lack of life-altering power the next time you think a little more notice is what you need to really be successful. Making that 40 Under 40 list, getting an industry award or landing a book deal might provide a momentary boost, but it’s unlikely to change the direction of your career permanently. And if it does, it may not be for the better. Speaking of that, has anything spoken to Roberto Benigni lately?
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99ca8f61964daf8da2d061cc1cf06ae5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jnylander/2015/06/24/singapore-blogger-faces-financial-ruin/ | Singapore Blogger Faces 'Financial Ruin' | Singapore Blogger Faces 'Financial Ruin'
Criticizing the leaders of Singapore can come with a high price.
Last year, blogger Roy Ngerng was sued for defamation by Singapore's current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. Ngerng had suggested that the leader had misappropriated funds in a state pension system.
The court ruled in favor of the prime minister, and will be assessing damages on July 1-3. The blogger now fears the court will deal him a financial punishment from which he may not be able to recover, according to a statement by Committee to Protect Journalists.
"In the end, there is no doubt that I will be financially ruined, but my aim is still the hope that Singaporeans will be aware of what is going on in Singapore, so that they will vote for a government that will at least be able to turn things around," Ngerng told the CPJ.
Singaporean blogger and activist Roy Ngerng. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
The case comes as 16-year-old blogger Amos Yee was ordered by a Singapore court to undergo a mental health re-evaluation, and if facing up to three years in prison. His crime: uploading critical images of the late Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, and “insulting" Christianity.
Several human rights groups demanded Amos Yee’s release.
Bloggers play a vital role in Singapore as most local media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government, and self-censorship is rife.
Still, the Amos Yee case raised mixed emotions among Singaporeans.
“Are we the kind of society that condones IMPRISONING a child for talking rubbish?” a Singaporean netizen wrote on Twitter. “I don't care what he said - his punishment is not proportional to the alleged 'crime.'”
Another commentator wrote under my article about the event yesterday: “Human Rights do not give a person the right to spew nonsense and insult a major religion. Human Rights organizations should consider the human rights of the people hurt by Amos and not focus on one silly boy's so-called human rights.”
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447257cdae3ce4680c8f47babbe91db9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joankuhl/2019/06/06/navigating-the-wellnesspalooza-to-prevent-burnout-part-1/?sh=361958836e6a | Navigating The Wellnesspalooza To Prevent Burnout (Part 1) | Navigating The Wellnesspalooza To Prevent Burnout (Part 1)
The wellness industry is a trillion-dollar explosive industry filled with remedies, experiences, adventures, influencers and trends abound. Today’s working woman is already stretched from long unpredictable hours to the still persistent second shift in her home life. And one thing she craves is to have a tool to curate her responsibilities and direct her towards the path of least burden to integrate some semblance of self-care back into her life.
In my experiences working in corporate for fourteen years plus six years as a consultant for global organizations, I have observed a lot of women on the fringe of burnout. Women who worked so hard to get in the door at their company are suffocating from the intensity of the culture and hanging on by a band-aid. This pressure can derail a career as they strive to be this perfect person who nails everything at work and home at 150%. That is an impossible and inauthentic archetype for leadership. It works against everything that makes us happy, healthy and ultimately an effective leader (and human). Therefore, it can cause landmines in our career.
Right now, there is a lot of glamourizing and fantasizing about jumping ship, job hopping and quitting a corporate gig to do your “own thing”. It’s certainly appealing to hit the reset button and take a chance on something new when the current culture is spiraling you downhill on autopilot. But we don’t spend enough time focusing our resources on helping her transform her workplace and build the endurance to lead her career and the company she works for towards a brighter future for all of us.
One of the most crucial tools for being a top performer at work is understanding and investing in Wellness. This should be embraced by women and prioritized by employers so we have the support and resources to ensure it is a priority.
The first stage in this transformation is to have a clear vision. I recently had the opportunity to speak at the "Experience Wellness and Travel Event" hosted by Organic Spa Magazine at the Pierre Hotel where I led the audience through a visualization exercise. “The highest performance is when you are balanced. When you are strong mentally, physically, and emotionally.” Bev Maloney-Fischback, CEO and Founder, Organic Spa Media.
There is substantial scientific evidence to support the use of visualization as a mental technique to improve performance and obtain goals. Some of the most successful people have used brain imagery to inform real life actions, and to inspire personal follow-through. Sports stars like Mia Hamm to legendary trailblazers like Oprah Winfrey use it to inform their actions and keep them accountable to the vision created. As one of the pioneers in this crowded industry of personal care, nutrition, travel, beauty and more, Bev believes we each need to focus on consistency and build rituals into our life that keep us grounded and not just chase the latest trends. Many people have tried visualization for a physical goal like running a marathon or completing an endurance challenge, but this is a great tool for transforming your day to day experiences at work.
As you imagine a world of work where women thrive, try this exercise to imagine the possibilities of working in an environment that brings out the best in you.
Step 1: Asses the current landscape of your company, your business and your industry to get a sense of where women stand in terms of representation and opportunity. This allows you to dream with realistic goals in mind as you gather the data to see what needs to change to fit your ideal world. What percentage of women serve on your board? How many women are executives and in positions at the most senior levels? Are they diverse in background, race and education? How familiar are you with the recruitment process and strategy for your company? Is attracting female talent a priority at every level?
Step 2: What do you want to encounter on a daily basis? Who are you interacting with and how? What activities are you doing that give you energy versus deplete it? Think back to some of your best days at work and reflect on what was happening around you that could be replicated.
Step 3: Break down this vision to identify the specific factors and elements you need to have more “best days”. Get as specific as you can about the environment, the people, the activities that should be in your calendar to move toward a plan that prioritizes what you need. We can’t control everything that will come our way. But, becoming actively engaged in curating our time at work with the elements that refuel our spirit will ignite and integrate more positive changes into our life.
This is a tool that applies to anyone such as a recent graduate who can learn to ask the right questions in an interview to figure out what the culture is really like at that company. It can apply to the leader who says “I’m running on empty, something is wrong. Let me look back on a really good day so I can replicate this for myself, my team and my colleagues.” And for those working moms, one of the smart moves that Lauren Brody, Author of The Fifth Trimester, encourages women to embrace to ignite this cultural change in the workplace is to talk about our kids and home responsibilities openly at work. Same goes for the efforts you are making to prioritize your health which leads to a stronger performance at work and provides a great example at home.
Navigating the massive offerings in the wellness industry requires wisdom and passion which is what Bev Maloney-Fischback brought to the world when she launched Organic Spa Magazine in 2006. “I borrowed $60,000, got the URL and bought the trade mark. I lined up the editor, and my creative director, and we started Organic Spa magazine. That was it, boom!”. The first issue launched in both digital and print in 2008 and currently attracts over 3.8 million readers. Today, Rona Berg is currently the Editorial Director with a formidable background in journalism working with New York Times Magazine and Self. Organic Spa stands as the leading print source for wellness, having helped fuel the growth of this movement and as the only wellness living publication on newsstands despite a climate where print is struggling.
Organic Spa Editorial Director Rona Berg and Founder/CEO Bev Maloney-Fischback at Annual Travel and... [+] Wellness Experience Organic Spa Beverly Mahoney Fischback
Growing up as a global citizen of the world, Bev was born in Asia and had childhood into adulthood experiences in Africa and Canada. Bev built her career inside the publishing industry endlessly energized by her curiosity for the influences of the world.
Bev Maloney-Fischback Bev Maloney-Fischback
Rona’s love for journalism was ignited by reading Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring which fueled her passion for the health of our environment. "As my career launched, I became more obsessed with health and wellness, and with the natural and organic lifestyle. The market has grown increasingly more effective and elegant yet accessible which is exciting."
Rona Berg Rona Berg
Bev's idea for building Organic Spa magazine was rooted in a gap of accessible information in the intersections of what the professional spa community was learning about experiences and sophisticated green living. "So, there were two things, two forces creating this wellness gap. This gap that the consumers weren't getting enough, really concrete wellness information about that they could use in their daily lives." Bev shared that with over a decade in circulation, their leadership is fueled by their endless passion to discover elements, thought leaders and experiences that will connect us all back to what really matters. The mission is to help us feel energized for more than just a fleeting moment.
In part 2, I share Bev and Rona’s rituals for integrating self care and holistic wellness into your life whether you have 15 minutes or 15 days!
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a166f91fc3d4a6312426ca26bfb96eac | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2011/04/20/mcmorans-rocket-science-in-the-ultra-deep/ | McMoran's Rocket Science in the Ultra Deep | McMoran's Rocket Science in the Ultra Deep
Flare Test at McMoran's LaPhroig Well April 2011
As the U.S. space program winds down at Cape Canaveral, one of the major new American tech frontiers is the discovery and production of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas from the “ultra deep.” That is especially so when the drilling is being done underwater and the deeper into the earth, the more difficult it becomes. Investors become impatient with how long it takes to discover oil and gas 6 miles down into the earth and even more annoyed with how long it takes to produce it after it is found.
In January 2010, McMoran (MMR) announced a very major new gas discovery at its Davy Jones prospect offshore Louisiana in just 20 feet of water. In shallow water, the company and its partners are always quick to point out that the Blow-out Preventer sits right on the rig where it can be visually monitored. In the case of Davy Jones, a formerly abandoned dry hole was re-entered and drilled another 12,000 feet deeper and bingo, 200 feet of pay was discovered. Because that well was never intended to go below 20,000 feet, it is a fairly narrow hole before it was drilled deeper. That's why DJ2 started out as a huge hole you probably could have thrown a motorcycle into. Remember that every time you case a new section of a well, like a telescope, the pipe gets smaller so it can fit through the sections that have previously been cased. At last accounting, the well bore was at 8 5/8" even down 30,000 feet or so.
Davy Jones 1 is expected to come online in the fourth calendar quarter 2011, almost two years after the discovery was announced. Production was put on hold as the major oil well equipment producers figured out how to build blow out preventers that can control the massive pressures that exist at such extreme depths. The answer is the same basic design by Cameron (CAM), just built with thicker, stronger metal to withstand the higher pressures. The importance of blow out preventers was highlighted by the recent explosion and loss of life on the BP Macondo well that resulted in the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Even so, we are nearing the start of equipment deliveries for production of Davy Jones 1 which should begin over the summer. McMoran and its partners including Energy XXI (EXXI) are sticking to that year-end timeline. In this week’s conference call, Moffett and Co-Chairman Richard Adkerson stated their expectation that Davy Jones 2, still drilling, logging and completing, will come online just after DJ1, so probably early in 2012.
A good contrast with the ultra deep is McMoran’s more recent LaPhroig #2 deep well, otherwise known as Valentine Pontiff. Drilling began on that well only in September 2010 and has recently been completed in just six months. It is expected to be brought online in the present quarter. Because it is a shallower well and the pressures are lower, the well can be produced with standard off the shelf equipment and it is near existing pipeline infrastructure. This well encountered 140’ of pay. (A really good well is considered to have 50’ of pay.)
There was little new information in this week's earnings report. What is most important is that wells being drilled as much as 90 miles away from Davy Jones are showing matching sands and seismic on wells near LaPhroig imply that there are nearby "twin" with good prospects to become producing wells. The more drilling information MMR gleans in its drilling program, the more it goes back and reprocesses its seismic data looking for more clues and matches with existing wells.
Each new well further confirms the huge area that saw deposition of similar sands millions of years ago from its source, the Mississippi River. It also validates MMR’s Chairman Jim Bob Moffett’s view of the vast potential of this Ultra Deep play in the Gulf of Mexico. The good news at DJ 2 is that after weeks of burning up drill bits getting through the lowest Wilcox sands and a transition zone of rubble, McMoran now believes it has reached the targeted Tuscaloosa sands. Onshore Louisiana, the Tuscaloosa has been a very prolific producing zone for oil and condensates. Wireline log results will apparently be done next to determine whether to drill deeper and to identify what has been found so far.
Elephant hunting takes time and gobs of money. These wells cost hundreds of millions of dollars to drill. Just like the space program, nothing comes cheap. And it isn’t easy for the pioneers. The drilling equipment at Blackbeard East got stuck several weeks ago at a depth of about 32,500 feet. What caused the equipment to get stuck in the hole is rumored to have been a gas kick in the hole that was successfully "controlled." Attempts to fish out the drill string have had some success. Reports are that two thirds of the string have been dislodged but not enough yet so that forward drilling can resume. It’s a month or two later and what we know officially is that there is an ongoing “mechanical issue” in recent press releases. Of course, all of that costs money too when you are working with drilling rigs with very high day rates..
Importantly, McMoran did revise upward its production estimates for the full year and for the current quarter. That was not a surprise because a month ago it announced it would exceed production expectations for the March quarter but did not revise its full year estimates higher at that time. For a company that can burn cash far faster than a fancy lady shopping at a high end designer boutique, that is good news. LaPhroig will be online shortly and Davy Jones 1 and perhpas DJ2 should be producing in the first weeks of 2012. If natural gas prices stay up in the months ahead, that will be a clear positive for cash flow at McMoran.
My great grandmother for whom English was not her native language always used to say: “Rome wasn’t (built) in a day.” The same could be said for the ultra deep play in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a major frontier, just like space exploration, and McMoran and its partners learn something new every day. In a world in which investors seek “instant” gratification and trade like mad, it is frustrating for patient shareholders that the price of this stock has been stuck for years after many rounds of share dilution. On the other hand, as gasoline at the pump approaches $4 per gallon, the importance of major gas and possibly oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, our Gulf of Mexico, increases in importance every day. Turmoil in the Middle East makes it all the more so.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, among others, love particularly to drill for oil and gas on Wall Street. Rest assured they are watching developments at McMoran closely. In a recent presentation at Howard Weil, Chevron (CHV) showed the Gulf of Mexico to be now in its top three areas of drilling focus. Moffett commented on the slides Chevron showed because they very much matched the drilling basins McMoran has previously identified. Nobody else has had the success that MMR has displayed. MMR has shown itself to be the best and most cost efficient operator in the ultra deep.
Once these discoveries come online, they will offer lifting costs, despite these super expensive wells, that the onshore shale folks can only dream about. Jim Bob Moffett is having the time of his life drilling these wells. He wants to prove up the vast potential he is convinced is there within his acreage before he sells out to anybody. When he does, the price will be multiples of present levels. The cat is now out of the bag. Acreage is costing 100 times more than it did just a few years ago when McMoran was busy accumulating its huge acreage position. Then Moffett was among the handful who believed that going deeper would pay off big time as it has.
“Rome wasn’t in a day” and neither is the ultra deep. Freeport Copper and Gold is a good case model. Jim Bob took years to track down the copper in Iryan Jaya but he’s coining money there now for FCX and its shareholders.
Joan E. Lappin CFA
Gramercy Capital Management Corp.
Seeking investment help with your portfolio. Contact us. Don’t let a beginner practice on your retirement funds. Turn Gramercy Capital’s decades of experience to your advantage. We’ve been ranked #1 in the Nelson’s Directory of Registered Investment Advisors. Contact us at info@gramercycapital.com.
Be Sure to Meet Joan Lappin at the Las Vegas Money Show on May 10th or tune in to her interview on the Money Show Network that will be online in May.
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2f1c8e352459d90c2ed7407710895891 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2011/08/28/mcis-bill-mcgowan-proved-that-telephony-competition-is-good-for-consumers/ | MCI's Bill McGowan Proved That Telephony Competition is Good for Consumers | MCI's Bill McGowan Proved That Telephony Competition is Good for Consumers
© Gwendolyn Stewart
Until Bill McGowan came on the scene in 1974, American Telephone and Telegraph had controlled all aspects of telephony in the United States through its monopoly position. It provided the lines into your home or office. It designed at Bell Labs and manufactured at Western Electric the phones and switchboards everybody used. It had a total monopoly on long distance for which it mostly charged about $4 per minute to make a phone call. Service was good but how would you know if it could be better. AT&T’s then Chairman, John deButts, steadfastly insisted that any competition would diminish service and cause rates to go up. Now more than 30 years later, we know that is not true. Competition is good. Monopolies are bad. Duopolies aren’t much better.
Bill McGowan became involved as a private banker with a small Midwestern company, Microwave Communications Inc. that was trying to sell microwave telephony services to truckers. AT&T wanted to block MCI at every turn. Without access to AT&T’s local service into homes and offices, his microwave product wouldn’t work. In a long series of court filings and decisions, it was eventually revealed that AT&T was determined to crush MCI any way it could. Initially the Courts ruled that AT&T had to provide local access but deButts was determined to charge so much for that access that no competitor could ever make a dime carrying traffic on his network. Once a “smoking gun” letter to crush competitors was revealed in court proceedings, the Justice Department joined the case to pursue AT&T for its anti-competitive practices. The result, years later, was an agreement in which AT&T agreed to spin off to its shareholders all of its local Bell operating companies.
I have previously written about why the Justice Dept. should care greatly and oppose the proposed acquisition by AT&T of T Mobile’s cellular operations from Deutsche Telekom. The FCC shouldn't be so thrilled with this deal either.
For historical background on this topic, you might want to tune in during September to a PBS TV production called “Bill McGowan, Long Distance Warrior, the story of the most famous business leader you’ve never heard of.” Bill McGowan was a 3 pack a day, 20 cup of coffee, 15 hour workday dynamo who never went to the gym and ate poorly. He clearly saw the future of communications and set about to change it. Felled by a massive heart attack in 1986, he was an early heart transplant recipient who managed to live another five years with his new heart.
It is now 37 years since McGowan first went after Ma Bell. Over the intervening years, one by one, the so called Baby Bells have either merged with or been acquired by AT&T or Verizon. As consumers move aggressively toward dependence on cell phones, in some cases disconnecting landline service entirely, the irony is that telephony today often has long distance bundled right into a nationwide package for pennies a minute or no additional charge at all. The other irony is that if the FCC allows the T/T Mo merger to go forward, we will have gone from aggressive telephony competition which drove exciting new products and a steady march to lower prices right back to a duopoly which is not likely to serve the American public well.
Sadly, after McGowan died, MCI was merged into Worldcom, the company that devolved into a total accounting fraud. Its CEO, Bernie Ebbers is now serving a 25 year sentence for perpetrating the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history, surpassing Enron and others. The remnants of MCI were eventually acquired by Verizon in its own march to duopoly.
McGowan, truly a visionary, taught others important lessons about the ability for David to take on Goliath in the corporate world. Decades ago, well before Steve Jobs imagined the iPad, or cellular telephony was made cheap enough for everyone to own a cell phone, or before there was an internet as we know it Bill McGowan saw the future we are all living.
“Information is power…and it is being put into electronic form so it’s going to be available to everyone in the form they want. This is the new world… It will have a dramatic effect on my company, on all business, and eventually the way we live.” Imagine that McGowan foresaw that so long ago. This PBS show is worth your watching.
Joan E. Lappin CFA
Gramercy Capital Mgt. Corp.
Mrs. Lappin, Gramercy Capital and its clients do not own any stocks mentioned in this article.
In these turbulent times, put our decades of experience to work for your portfolio. Don’t let a beginner practice on your retirement. Contact us at info@gramercycapital.com
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a32a45305b40c55f60e439255c1d77ae | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2011/12/11/gulf-of-mexico-true-believers-on-pins-and-needles-as-mcmoran-completes-davy-jones/ | Gulf of Mexico True Believers on Pins and Needles as McMoRan completes Davy Jones | Gulf of Mexico True Believers on Pins and Needles as McMoRan completes Davy Jones
Davy Jones Production Platform
A lot is happening in the Shallow Water Ultra Deep drilling program that McMoran and its astute partners, Energy XXI and Tex Moncrief, have been pursuing for the last few years. Now that the U.S. space shuttle program has come to an end, the scientific frontier in this country has moved to drilling miles into the earth’s crust instead of launching men to the moon. Those over 50 are old enough to remember the tension everyone in America felt as the first U.S. spacemen disappeared around the back of the moon and were temporarily out of communication with the Mission Control Center in Houston. Nobody knew if they would continue past the moon and out into space or circle back around into view as planned.
These days the exploration frontier is 30-35,000 feet below the mudline in the Gulf of Mexico. Petroleum engineers are designing tools and rigs to control the 400 degree temperatures and 20,000 and more lbs. of pressure being encountered by drill bits and logging tools working 6 miles into the earth.
On September 2, 2009, BP announced a massive oil discovery at its Tiber well in what was then one of the deepest wells yet drilled to a total vertical depth of 35,055’ in 4132 feet of water in the Wilcox and Tuscaloosa formations 250 miles Southeast of Houston. The discovery was described as having multiple pay zones in the “lower tertiary.” Kaskida, another BP well was announced as having 800’ of hydrocarbon bearing sands about 45 miles SE of Tiber. Neither of these wells is in production and it is likely to be many years and many billions of dollars spent to build pipelines and solve lifting problems before they are.
In contrast, the Davy Jones 1 well was announced as a discovery by McMoRan and its partners in January 2010, just a few months after the Tiber discovery. It is about to come online and into production almost any day now. What’s the difference? DJ1 is in 20 feet of water just off the coast of Louisiana. Drilling for oil and gas in the Louisiana almost swamp land has been going on for decades. There are existing pipelines all over the place. The production platform pictured above is in water that a tall NBA player could almost stand in and wave his arms above the surface.
So everyone is waiting with great anticipation just as for those astronauts circling the moon for the first time decades ago. McMoRan, the operator, had long ago announced expected completion of the well in mid-December 2011 with perforation of the well casing and a flow test to follow shortly thereafter before the end of the year.
Davy Jones and the Ultra Deep wells don’t give up their booty without a fight. This is no exception. It is not certain how fast the reaming of the well will proceed. Might be before year end and it might not. For sure, the goal is to move at the “proper” speed to successfully complete and test the well. No other course would make sense when the well has cost about $170 million so far. Other than satisfying Wall Street, whether the well is completed on December 20th or January 10th is irrelevant. In this case, slow and secure is the way to go.
The real issue since this play began is that for years many of the other oil and gas exploration companies have disparaged the whole idea that anything worth pursuing would ever be found. Once it was, the next group of naysayers were convinced that like BP’s Tiber and Kaskida, it would be impossible to produce them. Earlier this year, in an astounding tip of the hat to a small E&P company like MMR, Chevron complimented MMR’s Jim Bob Moffett and elevated the Gulf of Mexico to its top three exploration zones. Oil folks in the know are no longer putting down this concept that under the exhausted shallow fields in the Gulf and under the salt weld, more hydrocarbons would or could be found. Now it is accepted that massive amounts might still be found altering our nation's energy future.
The expectation for Davy Jones 1 is that once the inside of the hole is smoothed (reamed) new production liner will be placed into the hole. Next the well casing will be perforated to allow production to begin. Gas and hopefully some liquids too, will come surging up the well. There is a range of estimates but some folks believe that as the well is perforated from the bottom up, the initially activated zones will begin producing 20 MMcf per day building to the 50-70 MMcf per day level MMR expects to produce. Because this well is in a hole originally designed years ago to go to only a 20,000’ depth, its small size limits production to a maximum of 75 MMcf per day. Those constraints will not apply to Davy Jones 2, drilled 2.5 miles away which was designed from the outset with much larger pipe and to go to a 30,000’ depth. The second well is due on stream in the second half of 2012, even less time than the two years it has taken to design the equipment needed to bring Davy 1 onstream.
In the world of exploration and production nothing is ever certain. However, MMR expects to have some additional good news to report before year end at either its Lafitte well or at Black Beard East. In all cases, Moffett is looking at both of these wells for the same Wilcox and Tuscaloosa sands such as the Frio which has previously been seen at Blackbeard East and which is a massive producer onshore Louisiana . This zones have also been seen offshore at BP’s Tiber and Kaskida wells. Good things are just around the bend but until then, nervous anticipation is the mood of the week.
Joan E. Lappin CFA Gramercy Capital Mgt. Corp.
In these turbulent times, put our decades of experience to work for your portfolio. Contact us at info@gramercycapital.com
Gramercy Capital, its clients and Mrs. Lappin own shares in McMoRan and Energy XXI. They do not own shares in BP or Chevron, also mentioned in this article.
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69a98794f8972b0a36e3e6e08d55a6a5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2012/10/28/softbanks-brilliant-buy-one-sprint-get-one-free-deal-clearwire/ | Softbank's Brilliant Buy One (Sprint), Get One Free Deal (Clearwire) | Softbank's Brilliant Buy One (Sprint), Get One Free Deal (Clearwire)
Masayoshi Son, Softbank's Billionaire CEO (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)
Whether you own Clearwire's common shares or its bonds, any worry of default or bankruptcy has just been completely erased by the Softbank bid for Sprint. The call is Clear, pun intended . This whole deal is about Clearwire and its V A S T spectrum position. That's the pot of gold and it comes with this deal almost for free, at least so far.
Why would anyone buy Sprint? With 53 million subscribers, it is an also ran third in the U.S. market compared to Verizon and ATT each of which control more than 30% of the U.S. cellular marketplace. Sprint made a ridiculous acquisition some years ago of Nextel for which it grossly overpaid. It is now by necessity winding down that Push-To-Talk network to reuse the spectrum for today's bandwidth hungry smart phones. Sprint was bleeding so many customers each quarter as they kept bolting for the door to other providers who offered iPhones. So, in 2011 it signed a more than $20 billion deal with Apple to pay over $600 per unit, just as Apple's allure was peaking if Apple's third quarter report was any clue. What Sprint does have to offer is just control of Clearwire and its very broad spectrum position..
Into this morass of problems, enter Mr. Masayoshi Son , billionaire Chairman and CEO of Softbank. The ties between Softbank and the various players at Clearwire and Sprint are wide and deep. Bill Morrow, a previous CEO of Clearwire was the man who successfully cleaned up Vodaphone's operations that Mr. Son came to own. Clearwire's Chairman John Stanton was instrumental in forming the Global Consortium to which Softbank belongs that is promoting a global standard for devices employing 2.5 Ghz bandwidth. In addition to Softbank, other members of the consortium include Qualcomm and giant China Mobile which has already announced intentions to expand its network to 200,000 sites.The important advantages from this Consortium are a global ecosystem of low cost phones and network devices that work off a common standard. It also includes the involvement of Qualcomm which has designated 2.5Ghz. as one of the spectrum bands to be included in its new mulitband chipsets.
Son must have no illusions with regard to Sprint management based on a prior poor experience with Dan Hesse in a company called Terabeam. Terabeam raised $525 million in 2000. While Lucent lost almost $400 million in that deal, Softbank also invested money in Terabeam. It was ultimately sold by Hesse for $64 million a few years later , an investment that was surely a dud. Not surprisingly, Hesse's resume glosses over that period . When he went to Terabeam, newspapers reported that Hesse walked away from over $50 million in ATT options accumulated in his 23 years with that company. Apparently that wasn't such a great personal decision. Or maybe it explains why he was determined to negotiate such soft goals with the Sprint Board so as to ensure he earns his bonuses at Sprint no matter what grim results he delivers for shareholders. Janco's Research Prinicpal Gerard Hallaren has written widely about how the Sprint Board has incented its management with bonuses for achieving the wrong goals that don't lead to higher stock prices.
Because of his prior Terabeam relationship with Hesse, Son likely knows he's buying an opportunity to turn around a poorly managed entity and surely not a sought after plum. By just about all measures, Sprint, is an also ran as reflected in its share price. It is far from a technology leader, loses lots of money and is deeply in debt. It also has a "nothing to write home about" spectrum position: about 37 Mhz in the 1.9 Ghz band and some scattered frequencies in the 700-800 bandwidths that were pieced together years ago.
So what is the lure? Sprint's much abused stepchild Clearwire is spectrum rich beyond the grandest dreams of any other U.S. carrier. It has 160 Mhz of spectrum in some markets and an average of 120 Mhz in the big urban markets where it really matters because that is where the traffic is that causes bottlenecks and poor service. The knock on 2.5Ghz is that it doesn't penetrate walls very well. One 800 Mhz cell site can propagate a signal across an extensive geographic area. But when conveying video and data streams in urban locales, what matters most is little interference and cross talk. Higher frequency spectrum is the winner in this battle when combined with lots of pico and nano cell sites. Clearwire can program as many as eight 20Mhz wide channels in an urban center. To be even more spectrally efficient, it doesn't have to offer 10 Mhz in each direction. Sprint is working hard to reclaim from its Nextel system bandwidth that will facilitate one 5x5 channel that can only be used as 5x5. There is simply no comparison in capacity.
By gaining control of Sprint, Softbank is now in the cat bird's seat. The offer is for only 70% of Sprint, an odd number. It is hard to know why 70% was chosen unless there is a plan for some future dilution from a public share sale or to use shares to make acquisitions that would reduce Softbank's share below 50%. Last year, Sprint officers made public statements implying they would be at the negotiating table if Clearwire were to be forced into bankruptcy. They seemed not to know that the spectrum it was after, would go to the bondholders and not to Sprint in a CLWR bankruptcy filing or bond default. At that same time, Sprint did know that a control position in Clearwire would set off cross defaults at Sprint pertaining to covenants on old bonds floated years ago by Nextel. Sprint went to great pains to give shares back to Clearwire's Treasury to reduce its economic interest below 50%. It retained the right, however, to reclaim those shares at a future time. And in about the most confusing set of partnership documents ever seen going back to 2008, Clearwire's various cable partners and founding partner Craig McCaw's Eagle River, have different voting and control rights than the public shareholders. It took Craig McCaw about 72 hours to cough up his shares to Sprint so that they could immediately resume more than 50% ownership after this Softbank Sprint deal was announced.
That one single transaction with McCaw and Eagle River reinforced for me this deal is all about Clearwire's spectrum and not at all about Sprint's better known brand name. That cross default problem has not disappeared in 2012. It is clear now that in no circumstance will Clearwire default on anything, much less go bust. Also, Son has already infused $3.3 billion into Sprint via the convertible offering that has already been completed. That means Sprint has money to do the other things Hesse has fantasized about in terms of rolling up the other smaller players in the cellular space even as it waits for the FCC to rule on this change of control at Sprint.
Last year I publicly called for the the FCC to reject the ATT/T Mobile deal as grossly anticompetitive. Eventually the FCC said NO. My fantasy was a combination of Sprint/T Mo and whatever other smaller players joined to create a viable third 30%competitor to block the duopoly that had developed a strangle hold on the market. That is also Hesse's fantasy. With this new cash infusion, he might have the wherewithal to pull it off. He could also use some of it to bolster Clearwire.
Please note: Softbank and its Vodaphone operation is already operating very efficiently in the 2.5 Ghz spectrum at speeds not yet seen in the United States on any extant 4G network. It is likely that the newly announced delays in the build of the Sprint and now also the Clearwire networks are the result of Son's intervention. He wants a system at least as fast as what he has deployed in Japan. That is probably requiring a redesign of the equipment choices made for Sprint's Network Vision to which Clearwire must interface seamlessly. Clearwire said on its call there is no point spending money to match a build by Sprint that is behind schedule (and we would add, might change). Their contract with Sprint calls for 2000 sites to be up and running by June 2013. CLWR has already built 800. So now they have 8 months to complete the other 1200 sites in time to collect their next progress payments from the no longer cash strapped Sprint. We might look for a change in that contract going forward.
As for burning cash between now and next June, there is little else for which Clearwire has to spend money. It should also reduce its desire or need to sell off spectrum when that is the real prize. Sooner but maybe later, Sprint will absorb Clearwire. The principal benefit is that it would help Clearwire reset its debt with lower interest rates and remove it from junk status bumping up against its credit limits. A debt guarantee would also accomplish that. Craig McCaw sold his shares last week at an average price of $2.97. But Wells Fargo's Jennifer Fritzsche points out that he participates in any upside if they rest of the shares are bought in at a higher price later on. I'm sure other shareholders would love that same deal right now. if the Clearwire Board is to earn its keep, it must make sure that the Clearwire shareholders are properly represented and receive fair value for their assets. Otherwise, expect a lot of law suits to be filed in the weeks ahead.
Joan E. Lappin CFA Gramercy Capital Mgt. Corp.
Mrs. Lappin, Gramercy Capital and its clients own shares in Clearwire at this time.
If you are seeking help with your investment portfolio in these turbulent times, put our decades of experience to work for your portfolio. Contact us at info@gramercycapital.com. Follow Joan on twitter @JoanLappin.
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b0a0d4b5fe71492eb9fa8424f96631f4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2012/12/13/sprints-hesse-underbidding-for-clearwire-still-hopes-shareholders-can-be-duped/ | Sprint's Hesse Underbidding For Clearwire, Still Hopes Shareholders Can Be Duped | Sprint's Hesse Underbidding For Clearwire, Still Hopes Shareholders Can Be Duped
Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel Corp. (Photo credit: @jbtaylor)
Maybe when you are not too clever yourself, you assume that the folks on the other end of the negotiating table are also not so intelligent. That's not always true. A year ago, Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse came to New York, to a long postponed analyst day and tried to tell Sprint shareholders about how he was going to have a seat at the table when Clearwire was in bankruptcy proceedings. He seemed not to know that bondholders and not Sprint, which owned only a small percentage of the bonds, were in the driver’s seat should that have happened.
Fast forward about a year later. Masayoshi Son of Softbank, made a bid for Sprint, most likely to gain control of the vast Clearwire spectrum position almost but not quite controlled by Sprint at that moment.
Within days, on October 18, 2012, Craig McCaw agreed to sell his A and B shares in Clearwire to Sprint for $2.97 a share. The price was a big improvement over the prices between $1 and $2 that have prevailed for much of this year for the cash strapped Clearwire that McCaw founded several years ago. One can argue, however, that it was a pittance compared to the amount those shares should have sold for. Spectrum that broad should fetch a significant premium in today's spectrum starved world. ATT and Verizon are constantly in quest of more spectrum to service well their growing numbers of smartphone customers.
Among the early partners in Clearwire along side McCaw’s Eagle River Holdings were Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Brightpoint who invested at $17 per share. That was long before any systems were built. The initial idea was to build a WiMax network that was rapidly outmoded by the always fast pace of technological advance. The world is now evolving toward 4 G LTE TDD cellular technology. The 2.5 GHz frequency Clearwire controls is especially well suited for that technology and is what Masayoshi Son’s Softbank uses inJapan. The stock has been rising for days as news began leaking of the impending offer. But it has overshot the offering price today because investors know it is a ridiculously low offer.
Included in the deal Craig struck for himself in October was a provision that if Clearwire were to ultimately be sold for a higher price, he would enjoy the benefits of that higher price, too. The initial$2.90 0ffer is below the $2.97 he received. His more valuable shares had the right to one director (currently Erik Prusch CEO) and to various other veto abilities to block events he didn't like regarding Clearwire's future. One could argue, he was in the best position to press for a better price with those particular control shares. However, that isn't what he did. McCaw simply folded his tent and left other shareholders to fend for themselves.
McCaw is a visionary who is addicted to leverage and sometimes it comes home to haunt him. His personal cash needs often override his concern about those who have invested with him. In other words, he doesn't particularly go to bat for the folks who give him equity or bond money to develop his schemes. One never knows, unless highlighted in a feature article in the Wall Street Journal as has happened in the past, whether or not he is getting margin calls at any given moment in time for a divorce or other cash needs like a new airplane or boat.
On 12/12/2012, Texas based Crest Financial, which owns 6.62% of Clearwire, filed a lawsuit alleging that Sprint, Clearwire and its directors and officers have breached their financial obligations to shareholders of Clearwire. From that filing: “In 1996, the Federal Communication Commission awarded to Digital & Wireless, a Crest affiliate, licenses providing rights to frequencies in 19 markets in a BTA auction. Eight years later, in June of 2004, Clearwire, then still a privately-held corporation, acquired these licenses from Digital & Wireless. As part of the consideration for this sale, Crest received a significant number of Clearwire shares.”
The Crest lawsuit continues quoting extensively from an October Forbes.com article I wrote about Softbank’s October 15, 2012 offer to buy Sprint.
“…An October 28, 2012 article in Forbes titled Softbank’s Brilliant Buy One(Sprint), Get One Free Deal (Clearwire), concluded that the actual target of the Softbank Transaction is Clearwire: “That one single transaction with McCaw and Eagle River reinforced for me this deal is all about Clearwire’s spectrum and not at all about Sprint’s better known brand name.” The article goes on to state: “This whole deal is about Clearwire and its V A S T spectrum position. That’s the pot of gold and it comes with this deal almost for free, at least so far. . . .What Sprint does have to offer is just control of Clearwire and its very broad spectrum position. . . . So what is the lure? Sprint’s much abused stepchild Clearwire is spectrum rich beyond the grandest dreams of any other U.S. carrier. It has 160 MHz of spectrum in some markets and an average of 120 MHz in the big urban markets where it really matters because that is where the traffic is that causes bottlenecks and poor service.
* *By gaining control of Sprint, Softbank is now in the catbird’s seat. The offer is for only 70% of Sprint, an odd number. It is hard to know why 70% was chosen unless there is a plan for some future dilution from a public share sale or to use shares to make acquisitions that would reduce Softbank’s share below 50%. Last year, Sprint officers made public statements implying they would be at the negotiating table if Clearwire were to be forced into bankruptcy. They seemed not to know that the spectrum it was after, would go to the bondholders and not to Sprint in a CLWR bankruptcy filing or bond default. At that same time, Sprint did know that a control position in Clearwire would set off cross defaults at Sprint pertaining to covenants on old bonds floated years ago by Nextel. Sprint went to great pains to give shares back to Clearwire’s Treasury to reduce its economic interest below 50%. It retained the right, however, to reclaim those shares at a future time. And in about the most confusing set of partnership documents ever seen going back to 2008, Clearwire’s various cable partners and founding partner Craig McCaw’s Eagle River, have different voting and control rights than the public shareholders. It took Craig McCaw about 72 hours to cough up his shares to Sprint so that they could immediately resume more than 50% ownership after this Softbank Sprint deal was announced.”
Further on in the Crest lawsuit, Crest points out that the excess spectrum beyond what Clearwire needs for an effective build out at 2.5 GHz in the top 100 markets in the U.S. could be sold for as much as $6 to $9 billion, a number floated recently by another filing shareholder Mount Kellett in a public letter to Clearwire management. That means the $2.1 billion Sprint bid for Clearwire is grossly undervaluing its worth to existing shareholders, perhaps by orders of magnitude.
Mr. Hesse has been trying for a year or more, using various tactics and strategies, to diminish the value of Clearwire so he could acquire it at a sub par price. Remember that just a month ago, he was insisting after the Softbank bid for Sprint, that Clearwire wasn’t even part of this picture. Did he really think he was fooling us? Clearwire’s stock price only rose in value.
The fact that Sprint is bidding less than 25% of the Mt.Kellett estimated value of just some of Clearwire’s assets is a sure sign that there is something wrong with the conversations that have been going on here. One wonders if anyone at Clearwire is exercising their fiduciary responsibilities to the shareholders for whom they are supposed to be working…which means all shareholders, majority and minority. One also wonders what was done to try to sell excess assets to one of the major U.S. Telco’s so desperate for additional spectrum.
There is a line in Funny Girl as spoken by Barbra Steisand: “The Dupe is a Dope or the Dope is a Dupe?” We can hope that the minority shareholders are neither dopes nor dupes and will put up the best fight they can. One must believe that this bidding process is just beginning. The $2.90 bid assumes that minority shareholders don’t know the fair value of what they own even if Craig McCaw did nothing to protect their backs and if journalists generally don't understand the true value of this vast spectrum position based on what they are writing.
Crest has filed a lawsuit and Mount Kellett has been airing its views in public for a few weeks. If just the excess spectrum Clearwire will never use can be sold for multiples of the $2.1 billion bid Sprint made today, it is evident that the price for the total company should be far higher than the price offered. One does hope that someone without a conflict of interest will exercise a fiduciary responsibility here. It’s clear that isn’t likely to be Eagle River or any of its present or former associates.
I am not a journalist. I am a portfolio manager. And I am not objective because my firm and I own shares in Clearwire. We understand fully the value of that spectrum position. For sure it is not $2.90. That said, today I spent some time trying to reach the folks at Crest Financial. They acquired their spectrum 16 years ago which they sold to McCaw 8 years ago according to their filing. One would surmise that they didn't expect to wait 8 more years to be paid just $2.90. Their representative sent me the following comment late this afternoon on today's developments:
"Crest Financial, a significant minority shareholder of Clearwire, intends to take whatever actions it can, including petitioning the Federal Communications Commission, to protect the rights of Clearwire shareholders against unfair dealing by Sprint and other parties, and to preserve competition in the market for broadband services."
Joan E. Lappin CFA Gramercy Capital Mgt. Corp.
Mrs. Lappin, Gramercy Capital and its clients own shares in Clearwire at this time.
Contact us at info@gramercycapital.com. Follow Joan on Twitter @joanlappin
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8936c6495c4820a5c45b904b7f81ecf6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/03/05/dont-cry-for-groupons-andrew-mason/ | Don't Cry For Groupon's Andrew Mason | Don't Cry For Groupon's Andrew Mason
Groupon on Times Square
Once the bad news about the latest Groupon failed quarter hit the wires in late February, I asked why Andrew Mason was still running the show. The following day, Mr. Mason announced he had been fired. This story just lurches from absurd to ridiculous. Director Eric Lefkofsky, another founder, and Director Ted Leonsis, it was announced, were going to run the company as the Board BEGAN a search for a successor.
Where has this Board been for the six or so quarters since the company went public and began to struggle from the outset. Frankly, where were they before the IPO? Now they imply that they just began to search for someone else to take on the challenge of this failing company since finally dropping the guillotine on Andrew Mason.
Groupon's original business plan to sell online coupons is not one with a future. Living Social, a competitor, fired 400 employees in December due to lack of business. When Groupon realized its business plan was failing it decided to embark on a new direction. The new scheme to offer discounted merchandise follows a similar business model as the coupon business: it generates revenues but no profits.
From the outset it was clear that offering discount coupons within a particular geographic area was a very easy entry business. It was a terrible deal for the offering vendor. He/she got a pittance compared to their normal fee to deliver a service. If the hope was to create new customers in exchange for a severely discounted price, time proved that most of them got little if any continuing business from the users of the Groupon coupon. So the merchant gave away his service to Groupon's benefit but not in a way that was in any way helpful for his own enterprise.
The founders of Groupon cashed out big time before Groupon ever went public. In two later mezzanine rounds of financings, Groupon raised $135 million in its Series F round of financings and $946 million in the Series G round including $17.2 million from Howard Schultz and affiliates. Of that total of $1,098, 200,000; $946.8 million was paid out to the officers, directors and early stockholders. It is astounding that investors coughed up their dough when such a small percent of the money raised ever went to the company to fund its future growth. The company itself kept only $151 million for its own use as working capital.
That's why at the original IPO offering, the company was so broke that if the offering had not been completed in November 2011, Groupon would have been bankrupt right then. The Groupon business model is that the person buying a Groupon for a discounted service pays Groupon directly. Then the merchant who is offering the service has to wait for Groupon to forward it their share of the money collected.
Groupon showed a 9/30/2011 balance sheet in its original offering documents. They showed total assets of $795.6 million with only $243.9 million of cash on hand. At that moment in time, Groupon had current debts of $505.9 million of which the lion's share, $465.6 million, was money owed to its merchants or almost twice the cash on hand. That means that at the very moment it was going public, it was primarily using the merchants' cash to run its own business. The IPO deal failed several times in 2011 to get by the SEC or the investing public. Had it not been done in November, 2011, the company would have been bankrupt then with liabilities exceeding assets by hundreds of millions.
It's always better to be lucky than smart. Google reportedly offered $6 billion for this ill conceived company. Pigness set in and the founders decided that wasn't enough. Lucky Google. Can you imagine that? But Groupon's founders surely knew that waiting around for a big future payday wasn't as smart as suckering the mezzanine players into cashing them out big time.
Margo Georgiadas was in and out of Groupon in just a matter of months. She walked away from a million restricted shares to return to Google from whence she had come with a bigger and better title. Google has improved in price from about 625 to over 800 since Groupon went public. In contrast, Groupon was priced at 20, opened at 28, rose for about five minutes to 31 and then plummeted to a low of 2.63 in November 2012 when the institutions were through disgorging it as a failed investment. At recent prices of around $5, Groupon has lost 75% of its IPO value. Ms. Georgiadas made a very smart decision to retreat from this catastrophe.
So the amazing part of the announcement by the Board is that after months of will they or won't they fire Andrew Mason for his incompetence in running the company, On February 28, 2013, Andrew D. Mason was 'terminated as Chief Executive Officer of Groupon, Inc. (the "Company"), effective immediately. Also on February 28,2013, Mr. Mason resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board").
The Company established a new "office of the Chief Executive Officer" reporting to the Board to serve the functions of the Chief Executive Office until such time that a new Chief Executive Officer is hired." The office is being held by Mr. Eric Lefkofsky, only 43, who with his wife has already cashed out $63 million from just the Series F offering and another $312 million from the Series G offering. Lefkofsky still owns tons of shares.
Have no pity for Mr. Mason whose humorous "I was fired" letter has become an instant classic. In the Series F financing, Mr. Mason was cashed out of $17, 931,440 and then when the Series G was sold to pre-IPO investors, he received another $10 million. On a post split basis, Mr. Mason received 16.06 for his Series F shares and $15.80 for his Series G shares. The buyers of those shares would certainly prefer that price to the $5 prevailing now. He continues to own 7.1% of Groupon which is worth another $260+ million with the stock valued at $5.44 per share, its closing price on 3/4.
Mr. Mason was trained as a musician. He sure managed to sing a very happy song which turned out to be very off key for anyone who bought the mezzanine shares or the IPO. The only question now is if Groupon has anything to offer to another entity. If I were on a Board evaluating this as a potential buyout, I would seriously ask what Groupon has to sell and what I would be willing to pay for it.
When it became clear that Groupons don't work anymore, Groupon decided to use its lists of bargain hunters and become a retailer of discounted merchandise. The retail business is a dime a dozen proposition with lots of options for the fickle consumer. Retailing isn't easy and even successful companies with management that knows the business don't always succeed. Think Sears and JC Penney on that one.
Amazon is, of course, the big success story knocking off all sorts of competition. Amazon has fulfillment down to a science and actually does make up for small margins with lots of volume.
Joan E. Lappin CFA Gramercy Capital Management Corp.
Neither Mrs. Lappin, Gramercy Capital, nor its clients own any shares mentioned in this article.
Follow Joan by clicking the button above, or on Twitter @JoanLappin. For information about our firm: info@gramercycapital.com
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97a40f8c7614129f003a94b3fac32635 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2014/02/23/groupon-still-groping-for-a-viable-business-plan-as-stock-crashes/?partner=yahootix | Groupon Still Groping For A Viable Business Plan As Stock Crashes | Groupon Still Groping For A Viable Business Plan As Stock Crashes
Groupon has two years of demonstrating that it can never be counted on by shareholders, public or private, to deliver on promises it makes because it never has. It's always inventing funny math to explain its business. Read the transcript of its conference call on Seeking Alpha and see if you can get the numbers bandied about to make any sense at all. I have an MBA in Financial Accounting and just as I couldn't understand their numbers when they went public, they are still trying to spin a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Now they seem not to understand that a business generating $789 million in North American billings ought to be able to produce more than $26 million in segment operating income which you mihgt notice is a fraction of a percent of profit. Mind you that tiny number isn't real net income, just operating income. Since it doesn't generate earnings to speak of, and has more excuses than Carter has pills to explain why not, Groupon is now going to talk in the future about Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). If you remember back before it launched its IPO, Groupon was trying to advance some new metrics by which to inflate results. At that time because when using standard measures results didn't look too good aqnd certainly not good enough to support the IPO price. Eventually, the SEC balked. Also at that time, management was making inappropriate comments during the quiet period and its IPO had to be delayed.
Groupon was pretty much out of money when the IPO finally did make it out the door. By then the founders had already extracted hundreds of millions of dollars in personal wealth with which to line their own pockets from the early round financings. That aspect hasn't changed one iota. Normally, when companies are growing rapidly and they pass through various rounds of venture financing, the money raised goes to the company to fund and accelerate its growth. Not this one. The founders including current CEO Eric Lefkofsky have long since extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from their Groupon holdings . One wonders why the venture capitalists weren't put off by that. That circumstance continues even now that the company is public. .
Julia Boorstin interviewed Lefkofsky on CNBC on 2/21/2014 about the idea of possibly selling Groupon, the company, in the context of Facebook's killer price paid for What'sApp of $19 billion. Lefkofsky's answer was: " We decided not to sell because we believe the opportunity, especially the opportunity to really build THE true local commerce platform was just too big to not go at it."
Then why do the insiders unceasingly sell hundreds of thousands of shares each month? That includes an inclusively long list from Chairman Ted Leonsis, to Lefkofsky, to COO Kal Raman, CFO Child and VP Holden? In part they are paid lots of options each year to replace the ones they sell. That was the Michael Dell trick that went on for years at Dell. Michael became a billionaire owning Dell which paid him options, more options and even more after that. Dell got richer but for a decade preceding his going private, shareholders fared very poorly. There is a lesson here for those who ignore relentless insider selling.
Founder and former CEO Andrew Mason has disgorged almost all of his holdings since he was finally left the company last spring, forced out by the Board. He's now left Chicago and moved to California just in time for the drought. If you really believed the stock was going higher and business was going to improve, you wouldn't walk away from more money by cashing out now . If you believed in this great new opportunity for mobile commerce, and if you already had extracted hundreds of millions from Groupon, why wouldn't you be holding onto your remaining shares for the big ride ahead?
There must be a reason that What'sApp commanded $19 billion this week from Facebook and Groupon sells for a net market value of $7.2 billion, less $2.8 billion in debt for an enterprise value of $4.3 billion. Actually one wonders why that enterprise number is even that high.
Nobody should be surprised that Groupon dropped another bomb when it reported its earnings this quarter and the stock dropped about 22% in the aftermath of that report. What is astounding is the gullibility of the major brokerages who have even recently put out positive recommendations on this company. CEO Eric Lefkofsky has more than a decade long history of becoming a billionaire by saying whatever is necessary to win fans who he then leaves holding the bag. That history goes all the way back more than a decade to the tech bubble and was well documented in an article in Fortune in 2011 (The Checkered Past of Groupon's Chairman). Only the names of the companies have changed.
It is now 2.5 years since Groupon went public. The investing public learned quickly that the "daily deal" business had serious flaws. For one, others from Amazon to the local newspaper company could emulate the product with improvements and they did. It was known early on that Groupon needed an expensive sales force to peddle the Groupon coupon idea to new merchants because customers had to be constantly replaced on an ongoing basis. That's because they do not build much of a new customer base for the merchant. People looking for cheap massages and facials usually go to whomever is offering the cheapest deal this week. And, the merchant usually loses money on the offer which is why they don't repeat to offer Groupons very often, if ever.
To deal with the high cost of salesmen to generate Groupon offers, the company has recently announced a product called Deal Builder which allows merchants to create their own deals online in a self serve manner. However they billed it, it is probably intended to lower the acquisition costs for that business by taking the expensive sales staff out of the mix.
The current quarter demonstrates that any company can generate sales at just about any time by offering things at a cheap enough price point ( except maybe Sears). However, delivering the goods and making a profit are distinctly different considerations. Julia Boorstin went after Mr. Lefkofsky later in her CNBC interview on February 21 when he bragged about how much sales were up. Her question was about the challenge of making money from those sales, not the gross sales number which seems to have little meaning.
Nothing much has changed in this story since the company came public at $20. It wasn't a viable story then and it doesn't appear to be a viable story now. It was forced higher that first morning to a price above $30 for only moments before it came crashing to earth. Years later the stock cannot regain its legs and is selling for well less than half that offering price. I suppose if you bought the stock at the bottom in low single digits you think it is a good thing to have owned. Now management admits the original business model doesn't work and can't support the price of the stock. It is flailing around to find another model. It continues to try to obfuscate with statistics that aren't meaningful hoping that you won't notice the gibberish they are speaking on their conference calls.
What baffles me most is why any self respecting Wall Street analyst has been willing to put his/her stamp of approval on this management. That goes for Legg Mason's Bill Miller, too. Of all people, with his decades of experience, he should have known better.
Joan E. Lappin CFA Gramercy Capital Mgt.
Neither Mrs. Lappin, Gramercy Capital nor its clients own any companies mentioned in this article. To follow Joan on Forbes.com click on the button at the top of this article. To follow Mrs. Lappin on Twitter: @joanlappin . If you'd like information about Gramercy Capital or for help with your investment portfolio in these confusing times, contact us at: info@gramercycapital.com.
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2051cbb04be951d31a6a5c23af2bd01a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2019/11/21/netflix-signs-long-term-partnership-deal-with-cj-enm-and-studio-dragon/ | Netflix Signs Long-Term Partnership Deal With CJ ENM And Studio Dragon | Netflix Signs Long-Term Partnership Deal With CJ ENM And Studio Dragon
Studio Dragon produced 'Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,' starring Gong Yoo. CJ ENM
Korean media entertainment giant CJ ENM and its subsidiary Studio Dragon, have signed a multiyear content production and distribution agreement with Netflix.
As part of a three-year partnership beginning in 2020, Studio Dragon will produce original series available to Netflix subscribers, while Netflix will also receive distribution rights to other select Studio Dragon titles.
Three years ago, when Netflix initially began its expansion into Korean content, major entertainment players such as CJ ENM and SK Telecom, turned down partnerships, but Netflix managed to license content from other broadcasting companies, including JTBC, and eventually moved into producing original content. Creating original content, using local talent, has been a successful move for the company, rapidly increasing the number of South Korean subscribers. That number is expected to reach four million in 2020.
By airing Korean content globally, the streaming service has also helped introduce the Hallyu, the Korean wave of popular cultural content, to a wider international audience.
“As we have continuously focused on strengthening borderless content and expanding global distribution, the partnership with Netflix will introduce Korean content to global audiences, while providing new experiences and values,” said Minheoi Heo, CEO of CJ ENM.
The CJ ENM Group features media, film, and music industries, operating 17 TV channels, including tvN, Mnet, and OCN. Studio Dragon is Korea’s largest scripted television production studio, known for TV dramas such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, and The Legend of the Blue Sea, Signal, and Stranger.
“Today’s announcement is a recognition that Korean storytelling and production capabilities are beloved by global audiences and reaffirms the content creation prowess of both CJ ENM and Studio Dragon. Studio Dragon will try its best to leap forward as a global major studio,” said Jinnie Choi, CEO of Studio Dragon.
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In the U.S. Netflix has already streamed Studio Dragon hits such as Stranger, Mr. Sunshine, Memories of Alhambra, Romance is A Bonus Book, and Arthdal Chronicles.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer, described CJ ENM and Studio Dragon as the gold standard in Korean entertainment.
“This partnership with CJ ENM and Studio Dragon demonstrates our commitment to Korean entertainment and allows us to bring more top-tier Korean drama to Netflix members in Korea and all over the world,” said Sarandos.
As part of the partnership, CJ ENM will have the right to sell up to 4.99% of Studio Dragon shares to Netflix.
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ac195e0e88db4b377ff856fb7632c749 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/01/05/parasite-adds-national-society-of-film-critics-and-golden-globes-wins/?sh=2f8bed2c54bc | ‘Parasite’ Adds National Society of Film Critics And Golden Globe Wins | ‘Parasite’ Adds National Society of Film Critics And Golden Globe Wins
'Parasite,' starring Jo Yeo-jeong and Lee Sun-kyun, added to its awards tally this week. CJ Entertainment
Parasite added even more awards to its tally this week, winning Best Picture and Best Screenplay awards at the National Society of Film Critics Awards. A few days later the film won Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language, at the 77th Golden Globes, the first South Korean film ever to win a Golden Globe. Bong Joon-ho’s genre-bending story of economic inequity was not only the first winner of a Golden Globe but also the first South Korean film to be nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.
The film was also nominated for Best Screenplay, Motion Picture, but lost out to Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Bong was nominated for Best Director, Motion Picture, but lost to Sam Mendes for the film 1917.
Parasite has been making awards history since its release. The film, which stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Jo Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-sik, Park So-dam, and Lee Jung-eun, became the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then the film has earned a bevy of awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the 2019 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and Best Film At Australia’s 9th AACTA International Awards.
The film has a best cast nomination for the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards and is also on the shortlist for Oscar nominations, with the final nominations due to be released on January 13.
Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Jung-eun and Jo Yeo-jeong walked the red carpet at the Golden Globes ceremony, with Jo taking a short break from filming her current TV drama Woman of 9.9 Billion.
When asked on the red carpet what the Golden Globe nomination meant to him, Bong said that for Korea the nominations were a historic event.
Accepting the award for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language, Bong commented that once audiences overcome the “one-inch barrier of subtitles,” they will be introduced to many amazing films.
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0f0d20ffd97400adbb8a9d85889e22ad | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/04/29/director-yoon-sung-hyuns-dystopia-reflects-modern-concerns/ | Director Yoon Sung Hyun’s Dystopian Thriller Reflects Modern Concerns | Director Yoon Sung Hyun’s Dystopian Thriller Reflects Modern Concerns
Yoon Sung-hyun wrote the screenplay for and directed 'Time To Hunt.' Netflix
The fictional world featured in the dystopian thriller Time To Hunt is a hopeless, hellish place, but screenwriter and director Yoon Sung-hyun drew his inspiration from a harsh reality many young people actually face.
“I think the story came to mind as I observed those who had no choice but to become reckless in pursuit of money in a world where only money was worthy,” said Yoon.
In his film, a few friends undertake a dangerous heist as a way to escape their miserable existence. With no skills, no money, and no prospects, their only hope is to commit a major crime. Although they develop a workable plan, the four friends, played by Lee Je-hoon, Choi Woo-sik, Ahn Jae-hong and Park Jung-min, are chased by a ruthless assassin, played by Park Hae-Soo. He is an assassin who never gives up.
While Yoon’s dystopia is grim, he saw some parallels with modern society.
“I wanted to make an allegorical film against a dystopian backdrop of the self-mocking young people of today who refer to their country as hell.”
It is popular among some young people in Korea to refer to their country as Hell Joseon, because of the difficulties involved in finding a worthwhile job and getting ahead. Getting into the right university can help land a person the right job, but it’s difficult to get into the right university, unless that person is born with certain advantages. In any corner of the world, the disadvantaged can find it harder to catch up with those who have a head start.
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Four friends plan a dangerous heist in 'Time To Hunt.' Netflix
For his film Time To Hunt, Yoon created a decaying world where his characters can at best hustle a measly existence, but never move beyond. The hopelessness of their existence is visualized in rusty urban streetscapes, abandoned stores that seem looted, apartment interiors with peeling wallpaper and factory spaces lit with an infernal red glow. To create a decrepit city, Yoon stitched together existing scenes of economic devastation.
“Though it’s a virtual background, I wanted the dystopian space to be as realistic as possible,” said Yoon. “To portray a destroyed economy and a worn-down world, I mostly referenced fallen cities or slums. I took actual streets, stores, and apartments in Korea’s new towns and combined visual images of various slum areas that came about due to deteriorated economies.”
Time To Hunt is only Yoon’s second full-length feature film. His graduation project at the Korean Academy of Film Arts was Bleak Night, a film which received rave reviews and won Best New Director awards for Yoon, as well as Best New Actor awards for his star, Lee Je-hoon. In Bleak Night, a father, played by Jo Sung-ha, searches for answers after the death of his son, a high school student, played by Lee. Although the film won Yoon some early acclaim, the immediate response was not enough to intimidate him.
“It rather slowly gained attention over a few years. I’ve never felt much of a burden, but I do think positive critical feedback influenced me to take a more cautious approach.”
The characters in Yoon’s new cinematic dystopia are desperate people driven to less than admirable actions, but their world is so grim that he wanted audiences to be able to relate to their choices.
“I don’t think that circumstances excuse behavior. But I do think that I can at least understand on an emotional level the reckless actions of those who are in desperate situations.”
Helping to make such choices relatable are the actors that bring the characters to life. For this film, he recruited two actors he previously cast and two more he wanted to work with.
“I thought every role was perfectly cast, and I consider myself very lucky to have worked with each of them. As for Lee Je-hoon and Park Jeong-min, I knew I wanted to work with them again after Bleak Night, and was extremely happy to have been given the chance.”
In the future Yoon hopes one day to work with Lee Byung-hun, an actor he’s admired for a long time, and, among rising actors, Kim Da-mi. Having written the screenplays for both his feature films, Yoon would also be happy to direct the work of another screenwriter.
“It’s not that I always want to write my movies,” said Yoon. “It’s more about wanting to direct a good scenario.”
With its edge-of-the-seat action sequences, his new film offers a tense look into a world with few choices and characters who would risk it all to escape.
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48a8a338f50419a985975a1a75dfad18 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/08/06/youtubes-k-content-covers-korean-cuisine-classic-films-and-celebrity-penguins/?ss=small-business-strategy | From K-Dramas To Cooking Channels, Korean Creators Take To YouTube | From K-Dramas To Cooking Channels, Korean Creators Take To YouTube
Pengsoo is a penguin who wants to be a celebrity and a penguin that celebrities want to be seen ... [+] with. YouTube
YouTube played an essential role in popularizing Korean media—providing a platform for content that ranges from k-pop reaction videos to k-drama review blogs to the latest k-media news. As interest has grown, so has the amount of k-content. Between 2018 and 2019, the hours of content uploaded from YouTube channels in Korea increased by over 50% and more growth is expected.
According to Tu Nguyen, communications manager for YouTube, Asia Pacific, the platform is a leading k-content creator in Korea and the company has invested in several original productions such as Big Bang Boy Scout, BTS: Burn The Stage, Burn The Stage: The Movie; Kwon Ji Yong Act III: Motte; Jay Park: Chosen1; TWICE: Seize the Light, as well as a scripted show Top Management. More original productions are in the works.
“Our ecosystem is robust and diverse, consisting of creators, artists, media partners, broadcasters, music labels, etc who leverage YouTube's global audiences and reach to promote Korean artistry and creativity to the world,” said Nguyen.
K-media fans may already visit the platform to hear music, watch news and previews, but Nguyen suggests some more fun content for fans to discover. For some content, it helps to brush up on your Korean, but plenty is subtitled for an international audience. Here are a few k-channels to explore.
Korea Grandma is a 70-year-old grandma who started on YouTube with her granddaughter as a way to fight dementia and now has amassed over 1.3 million subscribers thanks to her fun and engaging content.
Paik Cuisine features celebrity chef Paik Jong-won preparing fun and classic Korean dishes.
K-Heritage.TV offers videos that explore Korea’s cultural heritage. The series takes viewers from the shimmering lights of Seoul’s modern skyline to the intricate palaces built during the Joseon era.
Pengsoo: Pengsoo is penguin character that appears on Giant Peng TV, run by Korea’s Educational Broadcasting System (EBS). Pengsoo is a ten-year-old trainee at EBS who dreams of being a universal superstar. In the process he meets some real celebrities. Watch his hilarious interactions with Yo Ah-in and Park Shin-hye, stars of the zombie film #ALIVE.
YouTube also uploads the content of Korean broadcasting channels, including SBS World, which offers full length dramas in Europe, Legendary Drama, owned and operated by MBC, and KBS Archive, owned and operated by KBS. There are also k-dramas produced by next-generation media companies, such as KOK TV's Best Mistake, Playlist's Eighteen, and CJ ENM’s Diggle, which mixes different drama characters to create a new story.
Korean Classic Films offers full length Korean classic movies with English subtitles and is operated by Korean Film Archive.
Most of the newer YouTube Originals are ad-supported so users around the world can access them without a premium subscription. They're released periodically whereas YouTube Premium users can binge most shows at launch.
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b771e5e5b6b9d73a6cf07479495f0199 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/12/22/director-kim-jong-kwan-shares-a-tender-love-story-in-new-film-jose/?sh=19cca26514f9 | Director Kim Jong-Kwan Shares A Tender Love Story In New Film ‘Josée’ | Director Kim Jong-Kwan Shares A Tender Love Story In New Film ‘Josée’
Han Ji-min and Nam Joo-hyuk star in 'Josée.' K-Movie Entertainment
When Young-seok first meets Josée in the film Josée, she has fallen out of her wheelchair. Young-seok, played by Nam Joo-hyuk, stops to help her and it might be the first time that Josée, played by Han Ji-min, is ever the recipient of so much concern from a stranger.
Josée is a Korean adaptation of the 1985 Japanese short story Josee, The Tiger and The Fish. Isshin Inudo directed a Japanese film of the same title in 2003, which became a popular coming-of-age movie in Korea. Josée’s director Kim Jong-kwan is a fan.
“I loved its deep insight concerning human beings,” said Kim. “I am also fond of the original short story by Seiko Tanabe, so I tried to create something of my own along those lines.”
Creating a new take on a cinematic favorite is not without its challenges.
“I loved the original movie,” said Kim. “But I didn’t think going down the exact same path would be a good way of showing my respect for it. I wanted to create something of my own without forgetting the emotions the original movie gave me. What was important to me was keeping those emotions alive even while using different strokes to paint the same picture. In this story, Josée finally starts to love herself after meeting someone new, while Young-seok starts to learn more about himself. I wanted to express humanity through the course of their relationship.”
His portrait of their unconventional relationship is set against an urban landscape that continually nudges the viewer’s perception of what constitutes beauty. Derelict objects and neglected buildings glow seductively in richly saturated colors. Josée’s crumbling home is so filled with books that it seems a cozy place to escape. A fairy tale snowfall makes the house seem like an enchanted cottage where anything is briefly possible.
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“Between lights and shadows, we decided to focus more on shadows in terms of the concept of Josée’s story and photography,” said Kim. “There are many abandoned, derelict places in the film, but I wanted them to seem beautiful while also maintaining a sense of realism. I wanted to capture their tenderness, not through artificial filters or lighting, but through the art of cinematography.”
Nam Joo-hyuk and Han Ji-min pose with film director Kim Jong-Kwan. K-Movie Entertainment
The relationship that slowly develops has a lot to offer both characters. Abandoned as a child, Josée interprets the world by reading an odd collection of rescued books. She spins magical stories as a way to cope. She fascinates Young-seok, who has always done what’s expected of him. He’s never met anyone as imaginative as Josée and he might be just the person to tether her imagination to reality.
Kim took a whole year to write and rewrite the screenplay.
“The story was great to begin with, but choosing which path to take wasn’t easy,” he said. “It’s a film remake so the premise is similar, but the story, characters and style are completely different. Compared to the original movie, I spent more time on the process of the two characters falling in love and their break-up is also very different.”
Han and Nam make the characters’ tender relationship seem convincing—both why it works and why it doesn’t. Han, who plays a passive librarian in the drama One Spring Night, but also a jaded ex-con in the film Miss Baek, can sum up a world of feelings in a glance. When playing a woman who lives largely in her imagination, such finely-drawn expressions are even more evocative. Nam, who recently played a likable tech genius in the hit drama Start-Up, creates a sincere and yet mysterious character in Young-Seok. The actors previously worked together in the TV drama The Light In Your Eyes.
“Actors are what makes a movie truly unique,” said Kim. “Nam Joo-hyuk brought something new to the table while Han Ji-min had experience and unexplored potential. We cast the movie after the scenario was finished, but later on the scenario was adapted so that the actors’ individuality could shine through. I think the scenario became richer thanks to the actors’ own gifts. Working together with the actors to create these characters was the most enjoyable part of the process.”
Kim previously directed the Walking at Night segment of Persona, a TV anthology series starring singer-actress IU. In the pensive segment a woman who died has a final conversation with her dreaming boyfriend. Pensive might also be a good word to describe Josée. A film focused on a woman who lives with minimal human connection naturally prompts questions about relationships. What do people want from each other? What can they expect from another person? What do they need? Kim is interested in the human condition.
“I enjoy books and movies that delve into the human condition, perhaps because their creators tend to have a deep understanding of reality,” said Kim. “But they also show compassion and love for humankind, and I think that romantic aspect is beautiful as well.”
If Kim’s Persona episode stresses the importance of saying goodbye, the message of Josée might be that it’s important to let others in. Accepting an invitation into another person’s world can transform your own.
“Like Josée, I have an active imagination. I was drawn to movie making because it allows me to bring my imaginations to life and present them in front of an audience. Now, I aim to tell stories about people and the relationships they have with each other through my movies. I am fascinated whenever my imagination takes on unexpected forms during filming, and when it goes well it’s a very rewarding feeling.”
The film opened mid-December in Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. It should be in theaters in Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong by the end of December. It will be shown digitally in the US, although no release date has yet been announced
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9f8389f0f603df7a3cc7650e266d98a9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/01/singer-actress-yoona-talks-about-her-character-in-the-k-drama-hush/ | Singer-Actress Yoona Talks About Her Character In The K-Drama ‘Hush’ | Singer-Actress Yoona Talks About Her Character In The K-Drama ‘Hush’
Yoona played an outspoken intern reporter in the drama 'Hush.' SM Entertainment
In the Korean drama Hush, Lim Yoon-a, known to fans as Yoona, plays a reporter with no illusions. During the job interview her character Lee Ji-soo describes her motivation for becoming a reporter as simply wanting to put food on the table. Her lack of lofty goals is fine with the journalists who decide to hire her. However, Ji-soo might be more idealistic about the importance of journalism than she realizes.
It’s not the first time Yoona played a reporter. She was also a reporter married to South Korea’s prime minister in the drama Prime Minister and I, with co-star Lee Beom-soo. As a member of the internationally successful k-pop group Girls Generation, a top-selling solo artist and an award-winning actress, she’s had many opportunities to interact with reporters. She learned more about the profession when preparing for those roles.
“It was very meaningful to learn about the job of a reporter through acting in dramas,” said Yoona. “If I were a reporter in real-life, I would probably put a lot of thought into the questions I ask in order to develop a new perspective on the topic that I’m covering.”
Yoona described her Hush character as “charming, confident and persuasive.”
“I would say Lee Ji-soo is cooler than me,” she said with a laugh. “She is not afraid to speak her mind and has a strong aura of confidence that makes her very attractive.”
Alongside her singing and acting career, Yoona is also one of Korea’s most popular commercial models, representing brands such as Innisfree and Michael Kors, and in 2019 she became the first female celebrity to serve as ambassador for the Korean Tourism Organization. She has been busy, but happily so, since her debut with Girls Generation.
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“Since the early days of our debut, we had many opportunities to try various activities from singing to acting, modeling and more, which naturally made me able to juggle different things and be a multi-player,” said Yoona. “Rather than focusing too much on maintaining a balance, my priority is to try my best in everything that I do with no regrets. I think this has helped me build my career to where I am today.”
Yoona describes her character Ji Soo as charming and confident. JTBC
Yoona launched her acting career the same year she debuted with Girls' Generation, playing a minor role in MBC's 2007 drama Two Outs in the Ninth Inning. She had her first leading role in the 2008 drama You Are My Destiny, a role that earned her Best New Actress awards at the 23rd KBS Drama Awards and the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards. She added to her popularity with roles in Love Rain, with co-star Jang Geun-suk in 2012 and The K2 with Ji Chang-wook in 2016.
Yoona has not appeared on the small screen since The King In Love in 2017. She was drawn to Hush for a few reasons, including the chance to work with actor Hwang Jung-min. In the drama Hwang plays her mentor, veteran reporter Han Joon-hyuk. Originally an idealistic reporter Joon-hyuk has sacrificed some of his ideals for more pragmatic goals.
“There was no reason to miss the opportunity to act alongside Hwang Jung-min,” she said. “Also, over the years, I’ve done a lot of bright and cheerful acting but never got to play a serious, heavy-toned character like this before. The drama itself is also different from what I’ve done in the past, so it was a new challenge for me to showcase a different side as an actress.”
During her hiatus from television dramas Yoona appeared in two of South Korea’s highest grossing films: Confidential Assignment, with co-star Hyun Bin, and Exit with co-star Jo Jung-suk. Her role in the action film Confidential Assignment earned her the AFA Next Generation Award at the Asian Film Awards and the Newcomer Award at the Korean Film Shining Star Awards. She will soon reunite with Hyun Bin and actor Yoo Hae-jin in the film’s sequel Confidential Assignment 2.
“Many people loved the character Park Min-young from Confidential Assignment, so I’m very much looking forward to its sequel, Confidential Assignment 2,” she said. “I really enjoyed filming the first movie. The character that I play is very bright and cheerful and there was great chemistry between the actors. In the second film, you can expect a stronger chemistry among the cast and a more mature side of Min-young, so I hope everyone looks forward to it.”
A very different film from Confidential Assignment, Exit has been described as a disaster action comedy. In Exit Yoona’s rock-climber character must survive a sudden disaster with a man who previously had a crush on her. The film demonstrates her talent at comedy, but when choosing roles she does not prefer drama or comedy.
“I don’t prefer one over the other but I definitely don’t want to miss out on both,” she said with a laugh. “But, it seems like many people like seeing me play bright and cheerful roles so when I receive casting inquiries for such characters, there is less pressure when making a final decision.”
Hush is based on the 2018 novel Silence Warning by Jung Jin-young. The JTBC drama was praised for its hard-hitting look at the life of a Korean journalist and Yoona for her portrayal of the bold intern Ji-soo.
“As an actress, I want to try more diverse works, something that I haven’t done before,” she said. “Besides that, living a fulfilling life as a person, as Lim Yoon-a, in good health is also very important and something that I’ll always work towards.”
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2f9266ba15c12857fe4aea2f84592ce9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/05/key-east-and-kbs-respond-to-ji-soo-bullying-allegations/ | Key East And KBS Respond To Ji Soo Bullying Allegations. | Key East And KBS Respond To Ji Soo Bullying Allegations.
Ji Soo attends the 29th High1 Seoul Music Awards Photocall at Gocheok Sky Dome in 2020. (Photo by ... [+] The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images) ImaZins via Getty Images
Actor Ji Soo’s agency and the network airing his latest drama The River Where the Moon Rises have both responded to the recent bullying accusations leveled against him. The Korean actor’s agency KeyEast has issued clarifications of some allegations after investigating them and KBS2 has announced the steps it will take now that the actor has withdrawn from the series.
KeyEast released a statement apologizing for causing discomfort and concern regarding the allegations, which included bullying that took place when the 27-year-old actor was in middle school. The agency checked with the actor and discerned which allegations were exaggerated or distorted. According to Key East, the accusations of sexual violence with coercion are completely false. The agency requests that one-sided claims about unconfirmed information should not be speculated about or written about in articles.
To figure out the truth, they have requested tips from those who claim knowledge of the events. To resolve the situation Ji Soo has contacted, with their permission, the victims of his school violence and apologized. The actor has halted all scheduled activities as an actor and will take the time to reflect on his actions.
Meanwhile, KBS has confirmed that Ji Soo will be leaving the drama and some of the episodes that have already been filmed will be filmed again with actor Na In-woo. The reruns starring actor Ji Soo scheduled for this weekend will not be broadcast.
Upcoming Episodes 7 and 8 will be broadcast without some scenes featuring the actor. Although 18 of the drama’s 20 episodes have already been filmed, starting from Episode 9, the episodes will include newly filmed footage with a different actor.
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Taking into account the seriousness of the accusations, the network considered cancelling the entire drama, but did not want to disappoint fans or hurt staff members and production crew who helped to make the drama.
Na, who will replace Ji Soo, previously appeared in the dramas Mr. Queen and Mystic Pop-Up Bar, as well as the film Twenty.
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05e100559a833ea2f9763b8b3d4578a3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/05/the-drama-mouse-asks-if-psychopaths-are-more-nature-than-nurture/ | The Drama ‘Mouse’ Asks If Psychopaths Are More Nature Than Nurture | The Drama ‘Mouse’ Asks If Psychopaths Are More Nature Than Nurture
Lee Jee-hoon and Lee Seung-gi must work together to find a serial killer. tvN
After a vicious serial killer is imprisoned, two pregnant women sit outside a testing center in a hospital. They came to the hospital for genetic testing to determine if their unborn child inherited a supposed “psychopath gene.” One of the women was married to the serial killer, the other to a kind and gentle man. They must decide what to do now that their tests show both unborn children have this gene.
While this test exists in the Korean drama Mouse, science has yet to find conclusive evidence that any one gene determines psychopathy. A gene has been identified that is associated with general antisocial tendencies, but nature and nurture both play a part in shaping human beings. Both women decide to keep their babies and hope for the best.
Decades later, the same killer is still on death row and a new psychopath is murdering people. Could it possibly be the killer’s son? Is the killer one of the children that was shown in utero to have the psychopath gene? It’s possible, but Mouse wants viewers to figure out who that child grew up to be.
As a child Go Mu-chi, played by Lee Jee-hoon, watched the original serial killer murder his family and now all he wants is revenge. If the killer was not locked up in jail Mu-chi might already have murdered him. Traumatized by what happened to him as a child, Mu-chi drinks too much. His drinking and impulsive behavior threaten his career as a police officer.
Jung Ba-reum, played by Lee Seung-gi, is a rookie police officer, who rescues wounded birds, feeds stray cats and helps senior citizens with their shopping. He is horrified by the misery that the killer inflicts. He finds it hard to relate to the fact that psychopaths don’t feel guilt or compassion.
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Together Mu-chi and Ba-reum will work together to find the new serial killer. Fate ties these characters together, but they must identify the killer before their mysterious connection is revealed.
Mouse is Lee Seung-gi’s first R-rated drama and the drama earns its R for its brutal depictions of violence. Known for his wholesome image, Lee Seung-gi recently appeared in the action drama Vagabond with Bae Suzy and was also seen in the travel reality show Twogether with Jasper Liu. Co-star Lee Jee-hoon appeared in the award-winning film The Man Standing Next, as well as the critically praised films Another Child and Miss Baek.
The gritty police mystery also stars Kyung Soo-jin as Choi Hong-joo, an award-winning news producer who tenaciously follows Mu-chi for a scoop, and Park Ju-hyun as Oh Bong-yi, a troubled high school student with expertise in martial arts.
Is there such a thing as an evil gene and if there is, would it be right to eliminate such gene carriers from the world before they were born? Pondering the answer to this question may require viewers to watch every episode of Mouse.
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18c8038543ef000994bcefc87cd243c9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/06/apple-tv-adds-first-korean-language-series-starring-lee-sun-kyun/ | Apple TV+ Adds First Korean Language Series Starring Lee Sun-Kyun | Apple TV+ Adds First Korean Language Series Starring Lee Sun-Kyun
Lee Sun-gyun attends the photocall for 'Parasite' during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival in ... [+] Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Getty Images
Apple TV+ is making its presence known in the Korean content market with a new series Dr. Brain, which is based on the webtoon of the same name. The sci-fi thriller will be written and directed by Kim Jee-woon, who directed the films A Tale of Two Sisters and I Saw The Devil, as well as The Quiet Family and The Foul King.
The series will star actor Lee Sun-kyun, who appeared in the Academy-Award-winning film Parasite, as well as the popular Korean dramas Coffee Prince, Pasta, My Mister and recently Diary of a Prosecutor.
The series marks the first Korean-language project for Apple TV+. Apple TV+ is already producing Pachinko, based on the award-winning book Pachinko written by Min Jin Lee. That series focuses on the story of four generations of a Korean family living in Japan and the US. Pachinko is being filmed in Japanese, Korean and English and will star popular Korean actor Lee Min-ho.
Currently in production in Korea, Dr. Brain follows the emotional journey of a scientist who is obsessed with figuring out new technologies to access consciousness and memories. His life takes an unexpected turn when his family falls victim to a mysterious accident. He uses his skills to access memories from his wife’s brain to piece together the mystery of what actually happened to his family and why.
'Dr. Brain' is based on the webtoon of the same name. Apple TV+
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Dr. Brain is being produced for Apple TV+ by Korea-based studio, Bound Entertainment, along with Kakao Entertainment, Studioplex and Dark Circle Pictures. Kim Jee-Woon serves as executive producer alongside Samuel Yeunju Ha, executive producer of Kim Jee-Woon’s Illang: The Wolf Brigade and Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja. Ham Jung-yeub and Daniel Han executive produce for Studioplex, and Joy Jinsoo Lee and Min Young Hong serve as executive producers for Kakao Entertainment.
The series will join a growing slate of Apple Original international dramas hailing from global award-winning storytellers.
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0733119408b988f2fd3da4d6e0118481 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/07/jeon-yeo-bin-talks-about-playing-a-pragmatic-lawyer-in-vincenzo/ | Jeon Yeo-Bin Talks About Playing A Pragmatic Lawyer In ‘Vincenzo’ | Jeon Yeo-Bin Talks About Playing A Pragmatic Lawyer In ‘Vincenzo’
Jeon Yeo-bin stars in 'Vincenzo.' Studio Dragon
Lawyer Hong Cha-young works at a firm favored by many rich but morally dubious clients. Played by actress Jeon Yeo-been in the Korean drama Vincenzo, Cha-young has no intention of working for low-rent clients, no matter how worthy the cause. She watched her lawyer father battle on behalf of the poor for too many years.
“She is a person of malice and quirks, has a competitive spirit, and cares more for practicality rather than virtue,” said Jeon. “ She’s more perfect than anyone else in court, but she definitely has her flaws. Her father is also a lawyer, yet she's on a totally different path from him. When faced with change, she focuses on her wants and acts accordingly.”
When it comes to resolve, the actress claims some similarities with her character.
“Hong Cha-young is the type who doesn’t back down but breaks through fear and moves forward without hesitation,” said Jeon. “Her ‘head-on,’ ‘break-through’ attitude in life is similar to mine. But her speech, behavior, and reactions were thoroughly built for the character of Hong Cha-young.”
It has only been six years since Jeon made her feature debut with a supporting role in the film The Treacherous. A few years later she appeared in the film After My Death, playing a young women who considers suicide after an unjust accusation. That role earned her the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival and the Independent Star Award at the 2017 Seoul Independent Film Festival. Since then she’s acted in the drama Be Melodramatic, the historical film Forbidden Dream and the comedy Secret Zoo.
The actress was eager to work on Vincenzo, a Studio Dragon drama airing on Netflix, because of her admiration for both the writer and the director.
“As a viewer, I liked screenwriter Park Jae-bum’s writing and director Kim Hee-won’s directing,” said Jeon. “As an actress, I had a great desire to work with them, and I wanted to get closer to a more diverse public audience. Also, I wanted to know more about the character Hong Cha-young, who has this fascinating vibe, and I wanted to rise to the challenge of bringing this character to life. And so I decided to be on Vincenzo.”
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Her co-stars in the drama—about a Mafia consigliere who returns to Korea—are Song Joong-ki and Ok Taecyeon. Song, who plays Vincenzo Cassano, begins the drama by delivering his lines in Italian and doing some Mafia-style take-downs.
“Vincenzo is a delightfully-refreshing dark hero who repays evil for evil,” said Jeon. “He punishes those who no longer listen to good.”
Although Vincenzo is the central heroic figure, the drama features many interesting characters who play pivotal roles.
“It is a peculiar and unpredictable show that isn’t limited to any particular genre,” said Yeon.
Jeon previously worked with co-star Ok on the drama Save Me.
“The chemistry between everyone is really good, and everyone respects each others’ craft,” said Jeon. “In that respect, our acting becomes infinitely liberating. I met Taecyeon on Save Me, but we interacted very briefly, so I'm finally getting to know him more in this work. Because I’ve worked with him once before, I was very happy to see him again.”
She describes the Vincenzo set as a very happy one.
“I’m spending every day passionately with great staff and actors. I'm already worried that I'll be sad about saying goodbye and crying on the last day of the shoot. Still, I intend to pour everything into the show, so that there will be no regrets in the end.”
Jeon sums up her career goals as simply wanting to be a “good actress.”
“I know that ‘good’ is very generic and abstract, but my goal is to become a good actress,” said Jeon. “I want to encounter roles that break the shell and invite me into a new world.”
Viewers can soon see Jeon in the gangster film Night In Paradise, written and directed by Park Hoon-jung, and co-starring Uhm Tae-goo, and Cha Seung-won. The film premiered in Sept. 2020 at the 77th Venice International Film Festival and will be released through Netflix NFLX in April.
“Night in Paradise is the story of a man targeted by an organization and a woman standing at the end of her life,” said Jeon. “I play a character named Jae-yeon. She is fearless, without any hesitation, and has nothing to lose.”
Fearless could also be used to describe Jeon’s Vincenzo character. Cha-young is a worthy foil—and perhaps one day ally—for Vincenzo Cassano, the ex-mafioso played by Song.
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d5a40fb0724860a39d86aa1a0ecb25e8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/03/23/in-ballet-drama-navillera-two-characters-must-abandon-regret-to-soar/ | In Ballet Drama ‘Navillera’ Two Characters Must Abandon Regret To Soar | In Ballet Drama ‘Navillera’ Two Characters Must Abandon Regret To Soar
Song Kang demonstrates just how strong male ballet dancers must be. Netflix
It’s difficult to soar in life if you are tethered to regret. That’s what happens to both main characters in the Korean drama Navillera—also known as Like A Butterfly. Both characters are so burdened by regrets and unresolved longing that they cannot fully embrace and enjoy life.
Lee Chae-rok, played by Song Kang, is a 23-year-old ballet dancer. He demonstrates great promise, but pursuing his dream is difficult because he also works part time jobs to support himself and suffers due to unresolved family issues. His father went bankrupt, ruining many lives, and, after serving a jail term, disappeared before Chae-rok could see him. Chae-rok is very talented, but so distracted he does not show up at an important audition. At a recent interview, Song described the character as being “torn between his reality and dream.”
At 70, Sim Deok Chool, played by Park In-hwan, has done everything that was expected of him. Everything that is, except what he wanted to do when he was young—study dance. Now that he’s retired his days are long and empty. As his friends begin to die, he regrets the road he did not take.
The characters played by Song and Park have lessons to teach each other that resonate beyond the ... [+] dance studio. Netflix
The characters’ fates first become entwined when Deok-chool sees Chae-rok dancing alone in a studio and it reminds him how much he loves ballet. His spirits soar while watching a performance of Swan Lake and he finds himself drawn back to the studio where he saw Chae-rok dance.
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When Deok-Chool was a boy he was impressed by the beauty of dance, but his father dismissed dance as something a real man would not do. Song, who studied dance for months before the drama began, does a convincing job of showing just how athletic male ballet dancers must be to leap through the air or to support the ballerinas they dance with.
Deok-chool decides life is too short to ignore his heart’s desire and asks for lessons. Although he initially faces rejection, Chae-rok is assigned to be his teacher. They have a lot to teach each other and some of it will resonate beyond the dance studio. Navillera is more than a visually appealing drama for viewers who like ballet. It’s a sweet funny story about the value of human connection.
It’s also the third drama Song appeared in this year, having battled monsters in the horror drama Sweet Home and suffered from love in the second season of Love Alarm. Park, who made his debut in 1990, has appeared in more than two dozen films, including most recently King Maker and Exit. He appeared in more than three dozen dramas, including most recently Brilliant Heritage, Liver or Die and Mad Dog.
The tvN drama is based on webcomic Nabillera, written by Hun and illustrated by Ji-Min.
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c80b8eba8f69a012a554a602c823b2f6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2021/04/03/film-at-lincoln-center-offers-youn-yuh-jung-film-retrospective/ | Film At Lincoln Center Offers Youn Yuh-Jung Retrospective | Film At Lincoln Center Offers Youn Yuh-Jung Retrospective
Youn Yuh-jung was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Minari.' A24
Film at Lincoln Center will reopen its theaters on April 16, following a yearlong closure prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the first programs is a retrospective dedicated to actress Youn Yuh-jung, who plays an unconventional grandmother in Lee Isaac Chung’s film Minari. The program honors her recent Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2021 Academy Awards, the first for a Korean actress.
Youn became the first Korean actress to win an acting award when she won Best Supporting Actress at the 2021 Screen Actors Guild. Her role in the film also earned her nominations for a British Academy Film Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award. Youn is already an award-winning actress in Korea. In more than 50 years as an actress she has garnered over 50 awards—for roles as varied as a deep sea diver and a concubine.
Lincoln Center’s spring programming slate will offer both virtual and in-person screenings, with the in-person screenings following New York State COVID safety guidelines. Youn’s retrospective will be screened virtually from April 9 to 18, including five films and a live, in-depth virtual conversation with Youn.
The featured films are The Housemaid, In Another Country, The Bacchus Lady, Lucky Chan-sil and Minari.
A new nanny disrupts the order maintained by Youn's character in 'The Housemaid.' Sidus
The Housemaid, 2010
Directed by Im Sang-soo, The Housemaid is a psychological thriller about the power a rich man—played by Lee Jung-jae—wields over his wife, his mother-in-law, an older housekeeper and a young nanny. It’s a system that works well for him until he seduces the nanny and upsets the order of his home. Youn plays the efficient housekeeper who hates her employer.
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In Another Country, 2012
In Another Country is directed by Hong Sang-soo. The film features three stories, which involve three different women named Anne, all played by French actress Isabelle Huppert. The stories are all set in a seaside town and in one of the stories, a young film student, played by Jung Yu-mi, and her mother, played by Youn, are hiding there from their debtors.
Youn won multiple awards for role as an elderly prostitute in 'The Bacchus Lady.' CGV Arthouse
The Bacchus Lady, 2016
Directed and written by E J-yong, the film depicts the life of an elderly prostitute called Youn So-young, played by Youn. Bacchus ladies are named after a taurine energy drink they sell to older men, often as a pretext for sex. Youn gives a powerful performance as the elderly sex worker, a performance that won her multiple awards.
Lucky Chan-sil 2019
Lee Chan-sil, played by Kang Mal-geum, is a film producer who runs out of options when the director she has always worked with dies. She gets hired to help an actress and falls for her new employer's French teacher. She also moves to a new place where her sweet landlady, played by Youn, helps boost her confidence. The connections she makes help turn her life around. The film was directed by Kim Cho-hee,
Youn played a supportive landlady in 'Lucky Chansil.' Megabox Plus M
Minari, 2020
Lee Isaac Chung’s heartfelt story recently garnered six Oscar nominations, including the Best Supporting Actress nomination for Youn. Minari tells the story of a Korean-American immigrant family who move to Arkansas to start a farm. It’s not easy and life is complicated when Youn, playing the grandmother from Korea, shows up to watch the children. She’s not the cookie-baking grandmother the children expected, but in her own way she does help them adjust and survive.
As well as appearing in dozens of films, Youn can be seen in the international Wachowski production Sense8, as well as multiple Korean TV dramas, including Dear My Friends, The Queen’s Classroom and King 2 Hearts. She also appears in the reality show Youn’s Stay. The retrospective offers a look into the talent that has earned her so many followers.
Update: This story has been updated to include Youn’s historic win at the SAG Awards.
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0ea81f65bfba357417d4c3843b3cb98f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2019/03/14/7-ways-microsoft-is-challenging-assumptions-to-drive-diversity-and-innovation/ | 7 Ways To Drive Diversity And Innovation From Microsoft | 7 Ways To Drive Diversity And Innovation From Microsoft
Mary Snapp (far r) on panel at U.S. Chamber International Women's Day 2019 Photo by Joan Michelson
Look around the coffee shop or office you’re in right now. I bet you could guess each person’s story. Maybe there’s a recent college grad looking for their first job in a startup, or one about to interview for a job at a law firm. Maybe there’s an entrepreneur negotiating a deal, a struggling musician getting caffeine before their evening bartending job, or two people sharing stories about their kids or recent dates.
Usually those guesses are wrong. The torn jeans and nose-ring could adorn a highly-accomplished lawyer who isn’t in court that day, for example, or the corporate suit might wrap someone working on their startup.
These are also the kind of assumptions that could hinder the development of innovative solutions and that block diversity efforts. That’s why assumptions are one of Microsoft’s “10 Inclusive Behaviors” that need to be addressed to recruit, retain and promote more women and minorities, and those with unusual career backgrounds.
Every Person Has A Role
Every person in the company needs to choose one of the 10 to focus on for themselves, even the top executives, Mary Snapp, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and head of Microsoft Philanthropies, told me when I interviewed her last week at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC at an International Women’s Day event. She chose “assumptions” (she was executive sponsor of the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts and of Women@Microsoft).
The tech industry is perpetually and rapidly innovating, which requires challenging the status quo, and "crazy" ideas, which both come from having new voices and a mix of skillsets at the table. Assumptions can kill those new ideas and discourage those new voices.
Each of us walks into a room carrying assumptions all the time. Some help us prepare and are based on knowledge. Regardless, we need to notice the assumptions we’re making and allow for them to be wrong, especially if we want to drive innovation.
These assumptions can also block promotions and assignments. For example, Patsy Doerr, head of Global Diversity, Sustainability and Inclusion at Thomson Reuters, told me that when she was leaving a performance review one time, she told her boss, “Don’t eliminate me for an overseas assignment because I have small children at home.” A few weeks later he offered her a great opportunity in Hong Kong (which she took).
The Necessity of Diversity to Drive Innovation – How to Get There
Microsoft’s entire workforce of about 90,000 is currently 26.6% women, with women in only 19.9% of tech jobs and 19.7% of leadership roles. These statistics mirror the computer science field, according to 2018 research by Dice and Bustle referenced this week at a National Academy of Sciences conference on women in STEM, and reflect a decline of women in the field from a high of 32% in 1990. That decline is even more surprising considering that “Seven out of the ten largest STEM occupations were computer related,” according to a 2017 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To increase the diversity of their workforce, Microsoft is even challenging their long-held assumption that all jobs there require a college degree, Snapp told me. As long as they show a strong “growth mindset, a “willingness to try new things,” and appropriate training or experience that shows they can do the job, maybe they don’t need a college degree.
Mary Snapp, Microsoft( (l) & Joan Michelson at US Chamber Int Women's Day 2019 - 3.JPG Joan Michelson
Snapp said Microsoft is highly focused on increasing every aspect of diversity in their workforce to maximize the company’s ability to innovate: gender, race, experience, education/training, age, background and skillset. Here are other steps she told me they’re taking:
Encouraging leaders to show their own vulnerabilities and talk about their own failures, to breed a culture where everyone feels comfortable, and is not afraid to experiment and take risks, knowing you’ll fail sometimes. “If you’re not failing, you’re not taking risks. If you’re not taking risks, you’re not innovating, “ Snapp explained.
Training hiring managers in how to make people feel comfortable and how to ask questions.
Helping hiring managers identify attitude and other necessary qualifications, as well as hard skills. Hard skills can often be taught, but initiative, values and attitude cannot. Focusing on seeking that “growth mindset,” rather than on traditional credentials.
“It would be a mistake to think that computer scientists only need to know how to code,” Snapp said, “because…ethics and privacy issues are so important. (Therefore) understanding a little bit about history and humanity will be really important as we move into these new technologies” such as artificial intelligence.
Closely examining exactly what qualifications and language they include in job descriptions, in addition to questioning if every job requires a college degree. For example, they are reducing use of language such as, “must have” and “requires excellent,” or military-oriented language (such as, “conquer” or “ninja”), because it often discourages women from applying.
Requiring that hiring managers have a diverse set of candidates for every job at every level in the process.
Putting hiring managers through unconscious bias training.
Embracing the multi-generational, multicultural nature of their workforce. This is where making each employee commit to dealing with one of the 10 inclusive behaviors in themselves is critical.
There are other steps Microsoft is taking according to their website, including tying executive compensation to diversity goals, and specific recruitment outreach programs.
Maybe now when they go into that coffee shop they’ll see the people there through a new lens. I know I will.
Snapp’s advice to women who want a fulfilling career in innovative companies, including in computer science?
“Be willing to do something where you don’t know what the outcome is going to be….Have confidence in yourself that whatever happens, good or bad, you’ll figure it out.”
That’s good advice for teams innovating new technologies and solutions too.
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848eacdd40f9ee30db8f245a175645c5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2019/04/30/12-tips-on-how-to-maximize-a-networking-opportunity/ | 12 Tips On How To Maximize A Networking Opportunity | 12 Tips On How To Maximize A Networking Opportunity
Alexandria, VA Chamber of Commerce, International Women's Day panel 2019 (l to r): Melonie Johnson,... [+] MGM National Harbor; Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Vice Mayor, City of Alexandria; Dr. Tammy Mann, Campagna Center; Heidi Przybyla, NBC News; Brooke-Sydnor Curran, Running Brooke. Joan Michelson
I could go to events every day these days. With the proliferation of events, conferences and smaller meetings, we seem to live in perpetual networking mode. It’s, frankly, overwhelming.
Women are especially advised to maximize networking to grow their careers and achieve significant, noteworthy accomplishments that make a difference.
On top of that, time is perishable. An hour or a few days spent at an event means that you are not spending that time on another project, or even with your kids or at the gym.
So, how do you choose which events to attend? How do you maximize a networking opportunity?
How do we maximize networking opportunities – and even choose which events and conferences to attend?
Choose strategically: Choose which events to spend your time at deliberately. Why this event? What’s your purpose in attending? What is your agenda for attending the event? Do you want to meet specific people who are speaking there? Learn more about a specific topic? Get a sense of the latest issues and technologies in the field? “Be seen”? Who specifically do you want to meet? Prospects? Media? Potential employers for your next job? Potential recruits for a post in your company? What research do you need to do? Check their biography, their businesses and current publications. Check their LinkedIn profiles, what they have posted there and on Twitter, and on their websites. Book appointments in advance. Reach out to people you want to meet, either through their business email, or invite them to connect on LinkedIn and tell them you want to meet at the conference. What do you intend to talk about? If people ask you what you do, what are you going to say that’s relevant? What do you need to bring with you? Bring plenty of business cards for starters (I keep a back-up stash in my briefcases and suitcases in case I run out). Handouts? Links to videos or media kits? Prepare questions for these people. What do you want to know specifically?
Take lots of notes – in sessions, from conversations, for report, for follow-ups. Get business cards and make notes on them. I put the date and event on them, and what we talked about or follow-ups, such as what I need to send them, or if I want them to be a guest on my show, for example, or if they spoke with me about a project. Seize opportunities. Meal times and breaks between sessions are great times to talk to people briefly. Have something specific to say or ask, or compliment them on something specific in their work, or respond to what they spoke about in their presentation or panel. Keep a list of “follow-ups.” Make a note of who you need to talk to about what, what you need to send them, or who you need to introduce them to, etc. Making this list makes it much easier to do your follow ups.
These events can be great opportunities, if you are strategic about it, come prepared and follow-up in a timely fashion.
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127eece0cd2e48c985475ecbfd4dd9a3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2019/10/08/how-comedy-can-drive-innovation-more-than-market-research/ | How Comedy Can Drive Innovation More Than Market Research | How Comedy Can Drive Innovation More Than Market Research
Courtney Bickert at DC Improv on YouTube Screen shot of Courtney Bickert YouTube video at DC improv
When Courtney Bickert told me that she uses comedy to drive social innovation – and did so to address major international issues at the German Marshall Fund and the UN Foundation – I was skeptical but intrigued.
Then I thought about the similarities in the times I’ve said, “how did they think of that?!” And, I realized that I said it as much watching Mindy Kaling or the late-great Robin Williams as I did about cool new products or business models.
“Creativity goes through different pathways in the brain than reasoning does,” New Mexico neurosurgeon Rex Jung is quoted as saying in Psychology Today. Bickert explained it this way on my podcast Green Connections Radio, “comedy loosens the brain. It generates creativity. There’s something physiological that happens in our brains. We stop thinking linearly and start thinking non-linearly when we hear jokes, when we try to tell jokes.”
Think about when you laugh. For that brief moment, you aren’t thinking about anything else. Bickert described it as, “When you laugh, you’re more free, more open.”
“The improvisational comedians generated 20 percent more ideas than professional product designers did”
Think about this study in Psychology Today: When a study was done with different groups to see which ones would generate the most ideas – not necessarily the best, or the most marketable, just the sheer number of ideas – “the improvisational comedians generated 20 percent more ideas than professional product designers did, and the comedians generated ideas that were also rated 25 percent more creative.”
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Marketing 101 elements image, Pixaby Pixaby
Know your audience, then ignore their advice”
Marketing 101 is “Know your audience,” but when it comes to generating innovative ideas and solutions, brand strategist Paul Valerio wrote in Fast Company that to get breakthrough ideas, “Know Your Audience, Then Ignore Their Advice. When it comes to innovation, the customer is rarely right. At least, they’re rarely right about what they want next…. That doesn’t mean research has no place in innovation development; the key is to use it to understand, not to evaluate.”
Valerio related it to what a comedian does too, adding, “A comedian doesn’t ask the audience what the next joke should be about….They have to be ahead of their audience, but not so far ahead that they baffle us …Similarly, the best market research is aimed at understanding how customers interact with a given product category, not asking them what should come next.” Did you know you wanted an Internet before the Defense Department created it and brought it to the public, or an iPhone before Steve Jobs created and launched it?
Comedy and the Innovators’ DNA
Both good comedy writers/comedians and business or scientific innovators employ the Innovators’ DNA, Bickert explained. Here are the elements of the Innovators’ DNA and how comedy leverage them:
· Questioning: It’s about challenging the status quo and challenging assumptions, including those we make every day.
· Associating: It’s about finding that unexpected connection. “Laughter can help people solve problems that demand creative solutions,” Moses Ma also wrote in Psychology Today, “by making it easier to think more broadly and associate ideas/relationships more freely. Recent research shows that people in a lighter mood experience more eureka! moments and greater inspiration.”
The way Bickert put it to me was, “When you’re experimenting with comedy, your brain starts to open up to new connections….Comedy loosens the brain. It generates creativity. There’s something physiologically that happens in our brains. We stop thinking linearly and start thinking non-linearly when we hear jokes, when we try to tell jokes.”
· Networking: “It’s about creating relationships,” according to Bickert, “with your fellow comedians, with your audience, with another person. Comedy is about trust and groups that trust each other more are more creative.”
· Experimenting: Bickert told me that comedians are always experimenting, “Comedians bomb, that’s part of what’s expected. We fail. We try a new joke, we rewrite it, we fail again,” she lamented with a spark. Then added that a comedian says, “There’s something funny there… holding on to the nugget, but creating something better.” Like in innovation, it’s about letting yourself fail and try again.
How this model might apply to your career
This model also applies to being creative with your career. “Notice what people ask you to do,” Bickert advised.
“For me, what’s really important is to find what it is that you’re really good at…and then fitting that into where you can do good. That can be a company…in a nonprofit setting…in your neighborhood. Build on what you’re good at.”
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8b23e3eb9c0b7749496b1f11137a9a9b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2019/10/14/how-to-have-more-enthusiasm-for-your-job--new-research/?sh=4cec4b9a4d33 | How To Have More “Enthusiasm” For Your Job – New Research | How To Have More “Enthusiasm” For Your Job – New Research
DOHA, QATAR - OCTOBER 13: Mary Louise Hillier of Great Britain celebrates after scoring during the ... [+] Women's match between Great Britain and USA during day two of the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 at Katara Beach on October 13, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) Getty Images
Are you enthusiastic about your job? About your employer? What does that even mean? Does it matter?
We can love our jobs but not like it every day or all our daily tasks. Does that mean we aren’t “enthusiastic” about our job?
When I spoke with Kristin Haffert of Mine The Gap on my podcast Green Connections Radio recently about their new research, conducted with FTI Consulting, it occurred to me that we can get what will make us more fulfilled. In other words, it’s not only your employer’s responsibility to make sure you are fulfilled at work; it’s yours too.
It’s all in how you look at it and what you do to maximize your performance and your fulfillment.
Here are some ways to find your own fulfillment – enthusiasm – for your job:
Identify how you are making a difference in your current work: I’ve heard about a bricklayer who loved his job because he felt he was building the foundation to help someone’s dreams come true, or giving someone a place to call home. What are you helping people do that makes them or the world better, safer, cleaner, more enriching?
Use a skill and/or talent you enjoy doing: What do you really like to do? What do you think you’re good at? I love writing, so I like doing work that has me writing. If you don’t like talking to strangers, then retail is probably not best for you (though you might want to develop some people skills to advance your career).
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Kristin Haffert photo Kristin Haffert
“Own your expertise”: This is a piece of advice from Haffert that’s so important. I remember talking to a woman after a presentation one time and all she kept telling me was what she can’t do. Buried in her monologue were bits about remarkable accomplishments. I interrupted her and said, “Why are you telling me all the things you can’t do? You’re obviously very accomplished having done this, this and this, but you’re dismissing all that great work. Why?”
If you’re dismissive of your accomplishments and expertise, then other people will be too. It’s not about “bragging”; it’s about being confident in your competence. What are you good at?
Listen to how other people see your career: This is valuable insight from another one of my podcast guests, Robin Currey of Prescott College, who suggested that paying attention to what other people think you’re good at, or see as your value or skills, can give you tremendous insights. They might give you words to use in your bios or LinkedIn profile, or how to pitch yourself for a raise or a new job.
Find ways to demonstrate your “toolbox”: Haffert talked about findings in their research that women were frustrated not feeling like their employer was using all they can do, that is, their talent and skill “toolbox.” So, find ways to demonstrate what else you can do. Seek out task forces or special committees that resonate with your other capabilities. Ask your boss for projects that enable you to use those skills. Become active in professional associations in ways that enable you to use and demonstrate those skills.
Ask for specific feedback: One of the findings from Mine The Gap/FTI’s research was that women were frustrated not getting constructive feedback. If you feel you need more feedback and/or more detailed feedback in order to grow, then ask for it. Ask “what do you mean by that? Can you please give me an example?” Or ask for recommendations for how specifically to improve it. A course you can take? A book? A career or executive coach? If they suggest something that has a cost attached, ask if they will pay for it.
Ask for the policies or policy changes you want: You cannot hold management responsible for reading your mind. If you have policy recommendations that would help improve your working life there, then suggest them and offer a specific solution (e.g., a website) to make it easier for them to implement it.
Find mini-mentoring moments: Before you get frustrated that you don’t have a mentor and wonder why, think about it this way: it does not need to be a big formal relationship. I call it creating “mini-mentoring moments.” Find people you respect and trust and ask them a question or two here and there and write down their answers (either on the spot or as soon as you can while it’s fresh in your mind).
When you attend an event or conference, ask the speaker a specific question afterwards and exchange contact information. Then, send a thank you note, and stay in touch with them periodically. Invite them to connect on LinkedIn. Send them articles or videos you think they might find professionally valuable. And ask them how you can help them achieve their goals too.
Create your own “cabinet”: One of Haffert’s great pieces of advice, which I practice and suggest to my coaching clients too, is to have a cadre of advisors/mentors who you turn to about different things. Some are better at financial stuff, some are better at negotiating or at putting partnership deals together, and others are great at brainstorming new ideas. Then there are the people who peel you off the floor when you feel beaten down or just have a bad day.
The bottom line?
Courtney Bickert at DC Improv Courtney Bickert
Be your own best advisor and advocate, even as you continue to ask others for support as well. And, try humor, too. Courtney Bickert says you might get some great ideas that way too.
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2ff4c3d662dd7f996d74ae3586c9266e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2019/10/31/are-sustainable-house-cleaning-products-worth-the-price/?sh=754aad8d7622 | Are ‘Sustainable’ House Cleaning Products Worth The Price? | Are ‘Sustainable’ House Cleaning Products Worth The Price?
Child washing-dishes, pixaby Pixaby
What do you use to clean your house? Do you buy “natural” or “green” cleaning products? These products can have a direct impact on our well-being and on climate change and are a growing market.
The Harvard Business Review studied this issue recently, and reported in June 2019 that, “Products that had a sustainability claim on-pack accounted for 16.6% of the market in 2018, up from 14.3% in 2013, and delivered nearly $114 billion in sales, up 29% from 2013. Most important, products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than… their conventional counterparts.”
Since consumers are indeed reading labels and buying sustainable products, I wanted to find out what these products are made of, how they justify being called “natural” or “green” or “sustainable,” why they are more expensive than standard ones, and how well they clean (my own experience with them is sketchy).
So, I spoke with Kay Gebhardt, Senior Scientist in Sustainability and Authenticity at Seventh Generation, a consumer products company that markets itself as a leader in healthy and sustainable consumer house cleaning products, to find out their methodologies and why their products are more expensive than conventional options.
Here are some of the issues to keep in mind as you shop for cleaning products (listen to our full conversation on my podcast, Green Connections Radio):
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· “Performance first”: Gebhardt said they focus on performance and do extensive testing. For example, she talked about starting the development of laundry detergent with “What are you trying to get that detergent to do?” What are the types of stains you have to eliminate?
Pixaby Pixaby
· Identify eco-friendly chemicals: Then, they figure out a plant-based way to accomplish the goal, working with their pre-screened suppliers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for “bio-based.” She said they eliminate the chemicals they know they do not want to use, and look for biodegradable and nontoxic options, especially since these products are used in our homes and go into the water system.
· How chemicals work together: I asked her about the fact that some of their products did not fare so well in the Working Group ratings of these products (ratings their own website invites you to check), including their multi-surface cleaner, which got a “D.” She explained that by saying the Working Group rates specific ingredients and some of them react differently when they are combined with certain other ingredients, and even with water. I can’t validate either side of this point.
· Why prices for their sustainable products are higher: I pointed out that I had priced a few of their products online and one, for example, cost as much for one bottle as their conventional competitors charged for three. Gebhardt addressed this thorny issue by saying that ingredients from plants are more expensive and, therefore, their products are more expensive to manufacture than conventional ones made from synthetic ingredients. She added that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products, which the market data bears out.
Supermarket shelves, wikipedia Wikipedia
· Packaging matters: Seventh Generation takes packaging very seriously, Gebhardt explained, saying they use “post-consumer recycled material” and focus on their packaging being recyclable as well. She says that’s hard to do, in part because “the recycling infrastructure as not kept pace with the growth of the consumer products industry, which is certainly what I have found in my own reporting on recycling too.
· Innovations coming: I asked Gebhardt about what we consumers should watch for in these products, and she predicted the growth of “concentrates,” such as powders or liquids that we add water to when we use them as home and stronger cleaning power. She said concentrates will reduce packaging, which she said is also going through an evolution. “Plastic packaging is on its way out,” she explained, “and fragrances need to be lighter.”
“Science can do amazing things and answer questions for us,” she told me, “but then we can use that knowledge to do this in a responsible way or in an irresponsible way….Science is good to have. Then, what are you going to use it for and how do you do it responsibly?”
Her advice for consumers? Make the most sustainable choices you can where you are and within your own budget. It’s all about priorities and managing resources.
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27d9b2d0e9ec2f6404785acb01535e94 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2020/01/31/how-to-get-promoted--from-a-top-organizational-psychologist-and-coach/ | How To Get Promoted – From A Top Organizational Psychologist And Coach | How To Get Promoted – From A Top Organizational Psychologist And Coach
Jennifer Wisdom, Ph.D. Jennifer Wisdom, Ph.D.
You want to get ahead. You do a great job and feel more ready than ever for a promotion and yet….you keep getting passed over. Why?
What’s the secret code to land the promotion?
It could boil down to office politics as much as skills and generating results for the company, according to Jennifer P. Wisdom, Ph.D., organizational psychologist who has worked with major healthcare institutions, companies and government agencies (including being a military veteran herself), when I interviewed her on my podcast, Green Connections Radio.
Before you grunt at the thought of having to “play politics,” think about it as positioning yourself for that coveted promotion, she says.
Here are a dozen tips for mastering workplace chess to help you land a promotion:
1. Understand the company’s strategies: What does the CEO focus on? Read the annual report and analyst reports if they are publicly-traded, follow the company’s announcements, look at their stated goals and messaging, even the language.
2. Grasp how your company fits in its industry: Is your company a market leader or a David trying to slay the Goliath? What’s your company’s competitive advantage (really) and what do their ads and messaging say it is? What does the media say about your company?
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3. Notice how resources are allocated: The CEO may say sustainability is important, but you see that only a fraction of their budget is being allocated to those solutions and you see lots of investments and client work that sends a different message. Follow the money, not the rhetoric.
4. Ask your boss what it would take for you to get a promotion: If you can get them to give you direction, then you can hold them accountable when you meet those criterion. Memorialize the conversation in an email afterwards too. Ask about the priorities and specifics, so you leave with a to-do list and clarity. What kind of training would be good for you to get? Will they pay for it? And don’t hesitate to ask follow up questions after you’ve thought about their input a while. This might be best over coffee in the company cafeteria or closest Starbucks, so they are focused.
5. Do a great job!: Sometimes we get so focused on tips for having confidence, we forget to prioritize the basics. In addition to all the extracurricular activities you want to do, make sure you handled your day job masterfully.
IoT-Pixabay - patterns image Pixaby
6. “Look for patterns”: Wisdom suggests we pay attention to decision making patterns, for example, “Who gets the plum assignments, to go to conferences and meetings?” What type of people tend to land the promotions? I suggest charting their backgrounds, skillsets, demographics and relationships against the promotions they get so you can see the patterns more clearly.
7. Observe who hangs out with who: Even in the early days of a new job, pay attention to the undercurrent of relationships, Wisdom said. How often do they seem to hang out, where do they go and how do they talk to each other?
8. Know what your goals are: What is the next job you have your eye on? Why? Where do you want to be in 5 years, 10 years? What do you think you need to know how to do and who do you need to build relationships with to get there?
9. Deconstruct the bios of leadership: This is an exercise I do with my career coaching clients seeking a promotion and it’s very valuable. Who has the job you want and how did they get there? Deconstruct their background and notice the kinds of relationships they seem to have built over time, including who might have recommended them for the job.
10. Know your boss’s goals: Where do they want to get to next? How do they spend most of their time? What do they talk about doing the most? Ask them their goals for themselves in 5 or 10 years and figure out how you can help them.
Multigenerational network from AARP AARP
11. Build a deep network: Build relationships with people both inside your organization and outside of it, from professional associations in your field or function, to those in areas that interest you. These are people who can help you achieve your goals, including in ways you may not have thought about.
12. Get good at tough conversations: Wisdom explained that negotiating, asking for a promotion or a raise, addressing inappropriate behavior, or even disagreeing with a colleague or boss are stressful conversations that are necessary to master in order to be promoted. How? Prepare for them, be genuinely curious about your colleague’s perspectives, focus on the issue at hand and what you want to get out of it, and practice before you go in there if you have time. If you’re asking for a raise and they ay “it’s not in the budget,” then know what your response will be to obtain more insight.
After it, identify what you learned from the conversation, move on from the issue gracefully (don’t dwell on it or talk about it with your other colleagues), and Wisdom reminded us to, “be proud of yourself for even having had the conversation…You were brave, you were courageous and you learned something.”
Women do have a tougher time landing promotions, Wisdom told me. They are more often told they are “not qualified” (even when a less-qualified man gets the job), or given offices in the basement, or are not taken seriously or “given a fair shake.” Companies wonder why women leave sooner than they hoped and why they have a diversity problem. They could look at their promotional practices and patterns for clues.
The key Wisdom emphasized it to, “Keep moving forward.”
Listen to my full interview with Dr. Wisdom on my podcast, Green Connections Radio, here and read my Forbes blog on office politics here.
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23c99216d52c9372a8dfd79352dd8d12 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2020/05/31/black-women-earn-62-of-what-white-men-do-thats-bad-for-all-of-us/?sh=1447be802c5e | Black Women Earn 62% Of What White Men Do—That’s Bad For All Of Us | Black Women Earn 62% Of What White Men Do—That’s Bad For All Of Us
Screen shot of AAUW report on black women's earnings American Association of University Women, AAUW
The streets were eerily quiet, many shops were closed, trains and buses were nearly empty. No, it’s not New York City in the midst of a pandemic-caused shutdown. It was Mexico City on March 9 of this year experiencing a “day without women.”
“A day in Mexico without women would mean they couldn’t go to school, couldn’t go to work, couldn’t buy anything at the supermarket or from their local vendors. They couldn’t post on social media, use public transport, visit their relatives, or go to social gatherings. It was a day for people of all social classes to realize the value of women and young girls in society and their economic impact.” That’s how Karla Martinez described in Vogue magazine the next day.
Imagine if New York, or Chicago, or Louisville or Minneapolis–or any U.S. city– experienced “a day without black people.”
Mexico's day without women, from NPR story 3-6-2020 NPR.org
The entire city would come to a screeching halt. Even the Mayor’s office in 10 of the largest cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. would stop.
Without black women and men, we would not have a country, or any buildings, or any infrastructure, or a functioning economy, or healthcare system, or schools.
Yet, black women continue to work seven more months than a white man to earn the same salary. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, the median salary for black women is 62% of what a white, non-Hispanic male earns. “Even in states with large populations of Black women in the workforce, rampant wage disparities persist, with potentially devastating consequences for Black women and families.” Because women of color earn so much less, they also have less savings to fall back on, which are the resources that might carry them through a crisis, such as a pandemic-economic shutdown.
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Do you think education is the answer? Think again. The median white male who didn’t even finish high school is 70% wealthier than a black adult with some college (see image). That’s unacceptable. Period.
Screen shot of AAUW 2020 report on black women's earnings AAUW report on black women's earnings 2020
Black women experience “intersectional discrimination”
Black women are the cornerstone of their families and communities. Yet, they are being squeezed on all sides economically – and even being killed by police or in their custody, as Breonna Taylor was while she slept in Kentucky.
As the American Association for University Women stated in their recent report, Black Women and the Pay Gap, “Black women and girls live at the intersection of sexism and racism. While sexism and racism are distinct forms of discrimination that manifest differently, their effects are compounded when a person experiences both at the same time. Intersectional discrimination perpetuates the racial and gender wealth gaps, limits Black women’s access to educational opportunities, and impedes their career advancement.”
Add on to that the enormous job losses hitting women due to the pandemic-economic shutdown and the high quantity of black women risking their lives working in hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic.
Center for Am Progress article on pandemic economy, women of color, 4-23,2020 Center for American Progress
The largest gender-unemployment gap in history.”
The largest gender-unemployment gap in history.” Those are the words of Heather Long, economics reporter for the Washington Post in a recent article.
When I spoke with her recently for my podcast, Green Connections Radio, she said unemployment for women is at 16.2% versus 13.5% for men. That means there are ~1 million more unemployed women than men, and it’s much harsher for women because the service sector was hit harder than most and those are dominated by women, especially women of color. Unemployment for blacks is 16.7% and for Latinos, it’s 18.9%
Each of us has a role in this change
The protests erupting across the U.S. over the past few days triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis are due to the systemic discrimination faced by people of color, especially black people, in this country since its founding and even before.
For the sake of all of us, our economy, our health and well-being, and every aspect of our lives, we must each do our own part to stop it, call it out, and implement structural solutions immediately.
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c405edba3b967432508be2048d4c6b61 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2020/06/12/7-questions-to-ask-before-returning-to-your-office-or-school-covid-19/ | 7 Questions To Ask Before Returning To Your Office Or School, COVID-19 | 7 Questions To Ask Before Returning To Your Office Or School, COVID-19
NEW YORK, May 19, 2020, near Hamilton Park with Manhattan skyline in the background (Photo by Wang ... [+] Ying/Xinhua via Getty) Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
As cities reopen, emerging from the pandemic shutdown, many employers are planning to call their teams back to the office and are figuring out the best way to ensure their safety.
To find out what employees or anyone entering those spaces should ask, I spoke with the president of the International WELL-Building Institute (IWBI), Rachel Gutter, on my podcast, because they developed standards, ratings and certifications that assess how well a building or workplace serves the well-being of its occupants. Gutter brought her extensive experience as Senior Vice President of the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that developed the renowned LEED Certifications.
International Well-Building Institute, screen shot of COVID-19 standard International Well-Building Institute
IWBI developed “the first rating system to focus exclusively on the impacts of buildings on human health and wellness,” called the WELL Building Standard and recently adapted it in response to the COVID19 pandemic. This global standard is based on scientifically-validated evidence, as well as “proven” industry best practices, and is designed to be responsive to the health, safety and needs of all stakeholders equitably, as well as to technological and scientific advances, according to IWBI.
A space’s performance is rated by IWBI on a “scorecard” that reflects 11 concepts, including: water, air, movement, light, nourishment, sound, materials, and community. These concepts “are designed to take into account all the different ways the space and places in our lives impact our health, well-being and productivity,” Gutter told me, adding that it, “has to balance quantitative data with qualitative data.”
Rachel Gutter, president International Well-Building Institute International Well-Building Institute
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“We’re really trying to encourage organizations to make practical choices and to prioritize their spends for employee or occupant health and well-being for where they’re going to get the most impact.”
To investigate how they would need to adapt their WELLv2 standard, the latest one, in response to the COVID19 pandemic, IWBI formed the Task Force on COVID 19 and Other Respiratory Infections of over 540 experts in medicine, architecture and construction, facilities management, sustainability, design, cleaning, mental health and fitness. Task Force co-chairs include: “Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., MBA, former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and distinguished professor of population health and health equity at the University of Pennsylvania; Jonathan Fielding, M.D., MPH, MA, MBA, distinguished professor at UCLA in the Fielding School of Public Health and the Geffen School of Medicine and former director and health officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; Richard Carmona, M.D., MPH, FACS, who was 17th Surgeon General of the United States and…Joseph Allen, DSc, MPH, assistant professor of exposure and assessment science and director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.”
7 Questions to Ask
Ask picture by Dean Moriarity for Pixaby Dean Moriarity for Pixaby
“Employers need to be providing re-onboarding to every employee and for that matter for even every guest that comes into the building, “Gutter explained, “because…..it comes down to each and every individual and their commitment to these new protocols and policies.”
Here are seven questions Gutter told me employees should ask before they plan to go into their workspace to take responsibility for their own safety and well-being while the coronavirus is still a threat:
1. “What are the new policies, protocols and provisions that have been put into place?” How are we going to learn about them? What kind of training is everyone getting in this?
2. “How can you prove” that these new policies and protocols are in place?
3. How will these new policies and protocols be enforced? Does everyone have to sign an agreement that they will abide by them? What happens if they don’t?
4. What type of mask should I wear? Is the company/employer going to provide them? Can I expense the cost?
5. How long should I wear it and how should I dispose of a mask safely when I’m done?
6. How is the workspace being adapted to adhere to “social distancing”?
7. If I have a concern about someone I feel is putting my life or someone else’s in jeopardy, how do I report it? How will they be held accountable?
Educate Yourself
It’s up to each of us to take responsibility for our own well-being and to hold employers and educators accountable for making sure we will be as safe as possible in their space.
Gutter suggests that we ask these questions now, before we are expected to show up in the office, school, or space. If you want to educate yourself about what IWBI is recommending building managers and employers do to make their spaces safe, you can go to placesmatter.com.
“We’re living in a moment where our ability to understand some of those technical issues is really in some cases even a matter of life and death,” Gutter emphasized.
“Knowledge is really power when you’re fighting a pandemic.”
You can listen to my full conversation with Rachel Gutter, including her terrific career advice, on my podcast, Green Connections Radio, here or on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.
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e43ed7dae4574d5c28adcaeee7ddc3dc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/02/15/juggling-two-big-career-passions--actor-activist-gloria-reuben-waterkeepers-alliance/ | Juggling Two Big Career Passions—Actor-Activist Gloria Reuben, Waterkeeper Alliance | Juggling Two Big Career Passions—Actor-Activist Gloria Reuben, Waterkeeper Alliance
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, TENERIFE ISLAND, SPAIN - 2020/02/19: A young woman is juggling with 4 discs ... [+] on a road crossing. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images) LightRocket via Getty Images
Gloria Reuben’s activism started when she played an HIV-positive nurse in the blockbuster television series “ER,” and became an activist for HIV-AIDS. She saw the devastating effect it was having on the black community in particular and focused there.
With “ER” came fame, two EMMY nominations, and invitations to various celebrity events. One celebrity ski event she attended shifted her focus. “I heard Bobby Kennedy, Jr. speak about what was going on specifically about factory farming and with mountain coal top mining, dumping waste into the waterways…and people can’t drink the water,” she explained on my podcast, Green Connections Radio, recently. “I thought he was talking about another country,” not the United States, and she felt compelled to find out more.
So, she visited some of these dumping sites with Kennedy’s group, the Waterkeeper Alliance, and the rest, as they say, is history. “When you see what’s going on in person, I can’t help but do something,” that’s the power of personal experience, she emphasized.
Gloria Reuben, President, The Waterkeepers Alliance Waterkeepers, James Reddington
Reuben ended up joining the board of the Waterkeeper Alliance and became an avid environmental activist. She served as an advisor to former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, on the advisory council of the National Wildlife Federation, and on the leadership council for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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Today, Reuben has come full circle. She’s President of the Waterkeeper Alliance – along with her day job as an actor, singer, songwriter and author.
Waterkeeper.org Waterkeeper.org homepage screen shot
The Waterkeepers Alliance was founded by fishermen in New York to protect their livelihoods from industrial polluters that were dumping waste into the Hudson River. Led by Robert Kennedy Jr. for many years, it is a network of 350 grassroots groups around the globe “protecting everyone’s right to clean water,” by “patrolling and protecting over 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and waterways on six continents.”
How does Reuben do two intense full-time careers? Here are 10 insights from our conversation:
1. Feeling compelled is crucial: As Reuben explained, she had to do something to help clean up the waterways once she saw what was happening. When you feel compelled to step up, you find a way to juggle it all.
null Getty
2. Re-evaluate your priorities: Deciding you want to work on two big career passions at once, requires adapting how you spend your time and resources. Having to adjust how we work due to the pandemic has also inspired many of us, including Reuben, to gain a new perspective. “One of the things that’s been kind of positive about covid, if you can think about it that way, is that everything has been realigned,” she told me. “I mean, how many pairs of jeans do I need really?”
3. Leverage what you have: Reuben’s fame can attract attention and resources, so she uses them to support the Waterkeeper Alliance’s goal to bring attention to the dangers to our water supply.
4. Use what you do well: As an accomplished actor, Reuben can articulate a message powerfully. So, she uses it to engage lawmakers on policies that protect clean water and hold polluters accountable for their actions, as well as to encourage potential donors to support the organization’s work.
5. Choose your actions deliberately: Reuben in anxious to hit the road to meet all the Waterkeepers around the world in person, which she can obviously only do virtually while the pandemic still rages. But once she can travel, she will likely absorb lessons from covid about prioritizing time and identifying which meetings can continue to be virtual, saving environmental resources as well as time.
Businesswoman discussing computer program with female colleague at desk in creative office getty
6. Embrace a support system: Everyone has different strengths, which comes in handy when you’re trying to juggle two full-time careers you’re passionate about. Reuben has a team at the Waterkeeper Alliance with operational skills to support her, for example, enabling her to use her strengths without feeling like she needs to know how to do everything. “I’m learning lessons about how to ask for help,” she told me.
7. Protect what you create in one from the other: As I talked about extensively with veteran intellectual property lawyer Christina Martini previously on my podcast, it’s critical to specifically state that your “side hustle” creations are separate from your “other” job. The fine print in employment contracts can be tricky, often stating that anything you create during your time employed by that employer is owned by that employer, unless specifically stated otherwise. So, check with a skilled employment lawyer to be safe. In Reuben’s case, the songs, scripts, and books she writes in her entertainment career are clearly separate.
Pixabay photo by Messan Edoh Pixabay, Messan Edoh
8. Self-care is crucial: As Reuben put it, “self-care, self-care, self-care.” You can’t handle the craziness or help anyone else without first taking care of yourself.
9. Be open to where each road may lead: Reuben never expected to be leading the Waterkeepers, but she was open to it as circumstances evolved and is happy she embraced it. “Especially considering what’s been happening in this country and around the globe, and I know many careers have been halted or stopped and may not return in any ‘normal’ way, at least for a number of years… There’s so much that’s unknown,” Reuben explained.
Therefore, “I think the advice I would give…is to just stay open to possibilities that might surprise you and take a risk in a positive way.” she added.
10. Know you’ll be okay: “When I was in talks about possibly taking on this role as president of this global organization, I was a little terrified….but, here’s the thing: Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and knowing that, even if I fall on my face, I’ll be okay.”
You’ll be okay too. You’ll figure it out.
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b1eeb02d233a9949c227cdbb67bd7b70 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/02/27/texas-proved-groupthink-can-kill-people-the-covid-vaccine-proves-diversity-saves-people/ | Texas Proved Groupthink Can Kill People. The Covid Vaccine Proves Diversity Saves People. | Texas Proved Groupthink Can Kill People. The Covid Vaccine Proves Diversity Saves People.
Vaccines are preloaded for the clergy members at Hartford HealthCare St. Vincent's Medical Center in ... [+] Bridgeport, Connecticut (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Texas leadership didn’t imagine that another storm like the one 10 years ago would come and wipe out their electric grid again.
They ignored analyses by experts, plans for how to prepare their grid, backup systems and community for the next one the experts saw coming around the corner, especially with climate change. Texas leadership apparently also ignored days of weather reports, both national and local, predicting such a massive storm. This Texas leadership is overwhelmingly male. Were they guilty of groupthink, which the IMF blamed for the 2008 financial crisis?
Women are only 27% of the Texas legislature, the Texas governor is Greg Abbot, a white male and staunch Republican, and though three of the 10-member ERCOT senior management team are women, two of them do not have technical roles (human resources and communications). One woman, Betty Day is head of security and compliance, and I wonder if she sounded any alarms, though she apparently drove deregulation in her previous roles, and it’s dedication to deregulation that contributed to this fiasco.
The Covid-19 vaccines that are saving our lives and livelihoods, on the other hand, are the product of innovative thinking, with allegiance only to facts and science. They evolved from research that began in the 1970’s, combining unusual things, applying unusual processes, and using unusual inputs. That is the essence of innovation. They were developed by people who brought novel ways of approaching a challenge and their own varied experiences to the table.
Three innovative thinkers saved us
At least three of the primary innovators responsible for developing these life-saving vaccines are women – and their roads to success were paved with plenty of rejection:
CNN interview with Dr. Katalin Kariko, developer of MRNA, the key to the Pfizer-BioNTech covid ... [+] vaccine. Joan Michelson, screen shot of CNN story
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· Dr. Katalin Karikó, whose innovative work on mRNA began in the 1970’s, became the basis for the first two, highly-effective covid-19 vaccines, suffered ridicule and repeated rejection of her work for decades. As Leah Asmelash and AJ Willingham of CNN described it, “She was demoted, doubted and rejected. At the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990’s, Karikó's work to apply mRNA “to fight disease was deemed too radical, too financially risky to fund. She applied for grant after grant, but kept getting rejections, and in 1995, she was demoted from her position at UPenn,” Asmelash and Willingham explained.
Now, her work is the core of two Covid-19 vaccines, by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
Story on Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, scientist developing the covid vaccine. Joan Michelson, screen shot of ABC7 website story
· Dr. Kizzmekia Corbitt, who is the key scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the vaccine who applied her work in developing a vaccine for the dengue virus to covid-19. As ABC News put it, “Corbett is an expert on the front lines of the global race for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and someone who will go down in history as one of the key players in developing the science that could end the pandemic.”
“The very vaccine that's one of the two that has absolutely exquisite levels — 94 to 95% efficacy against clinical disease and almost 100% efficacy against serious disease that are shown to be clearly safe — that vaccine was actually developed in my institute's vaccine research center by a team of scientists led by Dr. Barney Graham and his close colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett," Dr. Fauci told a National Urban League forum in December, according to ABC News in talking about the Moderna vaccine.
"Kizzy is an African American scientist who is right at the forefront of the development of the vaccine."
Dr.Ozlem Tureci, Cofounder of BioNTech BIoNTech
· Dr. Özlem Türeci, Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech, who partnered with Pfizer on the first and 90%+ effective covid-19 vaccine and was named Persons of the Year by the Financial Times (FT) with her husband and BIoNTech co-founder, Dr. Ugur Sahin. “First and foremost, we are physicians..(focused on) providing solutions for the patient,” Dr. Tureci told the FT. When they first showed their innovative vaccine platform at a conference dedicated to it, only 150 people attended, they told the FT.
Now, it’s saving billions of lives (and they are billionaires).
We can’t risk more groupthink
We can’t get the solutions we need with the same thinking that got us in this mess in the first place, Einstein warned. We can’t risk missing another pandemic or electricity infrastructure crisis – and there will be more of both in the not-too-distant future according to scientists, especially due to climate change.
Women pushed out of STEM in TheNextWeb.com Thenextweb.com screen shot
Yet, innovative female talent continues to be rejected, not promoted, discouraged, harassed and pushed out of science, technology, engineering and math fields (STEM).
We can’t risk more groupthink. We can’t risk another electric power and/or water crisis. We can’t risk more “failures of imagination,” which the 9-11 Commission blamed for missing the warning signs of the 9-11-2001 terrorist attack.
As the success of the covid-19 vaccines shows, we need more people who think creatively at the table. We need more diverse voices, perspectives, ideas and experience – especially women and people of color – at the decision-making tables to address oncoming threats.
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c570a25b67bb538b74228bd46d3134ae | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/02/28/adapting-her-grandmothers-iconic-tea-business-to-climate-change/ | Adapting Her Grandmother’s Iconic Tea Business To Climate Change | Adapting Her Grandmother’s Iconic Tea Business To Climate Change
The late Ruth Campbell Bigelow, Founder and former CEO, Bigelow Tea Company (date unknown) Bigelow Tea Company
Ruth Campbell Bigelow built a highly successful interior design business serving wealthy clientele in the 1920’s in New York City and “often traveled out of town to decorate her clients’ second homes in Palm Beach or summer retreats in Maine.” Then the stock market crashed in 1929, wiping out the disposable income her clientele had for her services, and by the early 1940’s, Ruth and her husband David were starting over from scratch. After building a business in Chinese spices, Ruth, a tea drinker unsatisfied with the options available, decided to try her hand at developing a tea she liked.
Cindi Bigelow, CEO, Bigelow Tea Company Bigelow Tea Company
“She was a real entrepreneur,” her granddaughter Cindi Bigelow told me on my podcast recently. “So, she found an old colonial (tea) recipe, and worked on it in her kitchen, and the next thing you know, she came out with this beautiful tea.…She sent it to a group of ladies and they loved it and continued to drink it and they said it was a source of constant comment,” and that is how the iconic Constant Comment tea came to be, Bigelow explained, now CEO of Bigelow Tea.
Today, the 75-year old tea company has to deal with the challenge of climate change to ensure their product quality and quantity. As an agricultural business and one whose crops come from all over the globe, that’s complicated.
Choosing gardens and people strategically
Generic tea garden, photo by unsplash Unsplash
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Bigelow’s Constant Comment tea, and others like Sweet Dreams, are blends of various botanicals, each of which, like cinnamon, may come from a different garden or country, and have different water and other climate-related needs. Mint, for example, requires careful water management, but crops grown in the wild do not, Bigelow said.
They also want to make sure the gardens they use are treating their people well, “having a more holistic view of the value of that botanical and those that are taking care of that botanical,” is how Bigelow summarized choosing their partners strategically. That includes planning ahead for what may happen to that area and that crop as a result of climate change in 5, 10 or 15 years.
“If we align on strategy, they’re very motivated” to follow Bigelow’s criteria, Bigelow said. “They need their crops to survive. They need to be able to have a quality crop for a value.” Adding, ”with the right people… people who really had that long-term mentality.”
Focusing on sustainability and mitigating climate change
Bigelow Tea became a certified B – or “benefit” – corporation in 2019 under Cindi Bigelow’s leadership. In their announcement, she said, ”Our purpose has always been about much more than making profits. We’re committed to good citizenship, ethical business practices, accountability and transparency, protecting the environment, sustainability and supporting our communities.”
To ensure their gardens are maintaining Bigelow’s sustainability standards and making sure they are treating their people well, she is “asking the difficult questions…making sure they put the right teams in place, and we’re having very serious conversations,” she told me. “It’s really just aligning of values and then aligning the strategy,” building long-term relationships, yet maintaining the freedom to change gardens if their standards are not being met.
Infographic on Bigelow Tea website re: their corporate responsibility Bigelow Tea Company
An infographic about their corporate responsibility actions on their website says that 78 of their teas are “certified sustainable,” which they facilitate by testing, Bigelow said. “You have to test. We get the results of their tests. We also often test the competitors. So, it’s really about using independent labs to ensure what you’re buying is what you’re getting.”
When it comes to managing energy use, they use a combination of solar panels on their buildings and buying wind and water energy offsets. Bigelow says that doing so, combined with “doing everything possible to reduce the energy required,” justifies them stating “100% of their energy use comes from renewable sources,” on their infographic.
Getting employees on board?
Connecticut Food Bank Connecticut Food Bank
Reducing the company’s energy use, recycling and taking other steps to reduce waste going to landfills requires employees making behavioral changes.
“Some people, Joan, just want to do it, they’re into it, they believe in it, they’re willing to do whatever it takes. They’ll take their garbage and they’ll divide it into the right garbage cans and there’s no need to tell ‘em,” Bigelow told me. “There’s others that have no idea why we’re doing this. They see no value. So, you have to role model, you can never take your foot off the pedal, and you really have to constantly share your vision.” She said it’s “not unusual” for her to occasionally pull stuff out of the trash that belongs in recycling herself, in full view of her staff.
Bigelow Tea Company's Charleston Tea Garden Bigelow Tea Company
When people on her team come to her with ideas, she implements those ideas to keep them engaged. Sometimes those ideas score big points with the employees and the community, such as the Bigelow community garden that she said produces 400 pounds of food a year, which is donated to the local food bank (pictured).
Bigelow says it all requires, “listening, believing and honoring,” being consistent in your messages and walking the talk.
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e97edd8bcfc3e0953324dfc365dc9bbd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/03/08/is-our-idea-of-who-is-credible-holding-back-womens-innovations/ | Who Is ‘Credible’? Women Innovators Are Different | Who Is ‘Credible’? Women Innovators Are Different
CNN interview with Dr. Katalin Kariko, developer of MRNA, the key to the Pfizer-BioNTech covid ... [+] vaccine. Joan Michelson, screen shot of CNN story
Katalin Karikó began her innovative work on mRNA in the 1970’s but suffered ridicule and repeated rejection for decades. At the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990’s, Karikó's work to apply mRNA “to fight disease was deemed too radical, too financially risky to fund. She applied for grant after grant, but kept getting rejections, and in 1995, she was demoted from her position at UPenn,” as CNN.com put it. Today, it’s the basis for the first two, highly-effective covid-19 vaccines, by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
Women are natural innovators; they’ve had to be. Because women have not had access to the authority and/or resources to accomplish things in the normal course of business, that is in a “non-dominant role” in the workplace, women have had to find another way. Therefore, women have had to think differently, to connect the dots differently, connect different dots, and keep experimenting. That’s how Dr. Karikó developed her powerful technique for fighting disease that is saving millions, maybe billions, of lives today.
Yet, this International Women’s Day – when the pandemic economy has thrown every aspect of our lives into chaos, kicking open the doors to innovations that could make our society better – women are still being disproportionately held back and rejected.
Screen shot of HBR article on women founders getting only 2.3% of vc funds in 2020 Joan Michelson - Screen shot of HBR article 2-2021
In 2020, women-led startups received a paltry 2.3 % of venture capital funding despite generating stronger returns. “Men are presumed to be capable and (are)…questioned about potential, “ Shelly Porges, Managing Partner and cofounder of The Billion Dollar Fund For Women, told me on my podcast, Green Connections Radio. She explained that, “Women…(hear) challenging questions , like ‘Why are you qualified?’…(Yet), women-owned businesses return on average 63% higher rates of return than male-only founded teams.”
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Holding women back comes at a high price to our economy and society as a whole. As now-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a Brown University audience in 2017, “increasing the female participation rate to that of men would raise our gross domestic product by 5 percent. And… contribute not only to their own well-being but more broadly to the welfare and prosperity of our country.”
It’s about how we define “credible” – and it’s costing lives.
Multigenerational workforce, AARP image AARP
It’s not a “pipeline” issue, because women have been in the workforce for decades. It’s about how we define who is credible or qualified, and it’s costing lives.
The Oxford English dictionary defines “credibility” as: “the quality of being trusted and believed in.” and “the quality of being convincing or believable.” It adds that words associated with credible include, “trustworthiness, reliability, dependability, integrity, character, reputation, standing, status, cachet, kudos, eminence, credit, acceptability.”
Therefore, “credibility” is in the eye of the beholder. That’s the problem.
“Ideology is a key factor in determining how people assess the credibility of scientific researchers,” a 2019 University of British Columbia School of Business study found. A 2009 study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication found that “Gender Cues and Individual Motivations Influence Perceptions of Credibility. It happens in corporations too. Dr. Lisa Brown found based on her recent research that, “Negative gender-based stereotypes regarding ability, emotional state, characteristics, skills and leadership style are sometimes attributed to women.” Maybe that’s why women are still only 6 % of Fortune 500 CEOs, even though women make 85% of the purchasing decisions.
Decision-making positions are still dominated by men, and they tend to go with a “safe” choice, especially in a crisis, and they do not perceive women as a “safe” choice, regardless of their education or accomplishments. This is especially true of women in science, engineering, technology and math fields where we desperately need more innovation.
Texas warned of utility crash, Bloomberg Green Screen shot from Bloomberg.com
The recent Texas electric power and water fiasco, for example – which cost dozens of lives and plunged the state into darkness and bitter cold for a week with continuing to lack clean water – was predicted 10 years ago and yet ignored by the almost entirely male decision makers. A 2019 EY study of leaders in power and utilities found, “that utilities’ innovation strategies may be missing a critical ingredient — gender-equal leadership.” Their Power and Utility Index found that only 6% of utility sector executive board members are women and only 15% of their senior management team members are women.
It’s not about women being “less ambitious” either.
International Women's Day, Discovery Gateway image Discovery Gateway image
Women are ambitious; they just define it and do it differently, which is exactly what makes their ability to innovate and adapt so powerful.
A recent study my firm conducted with IDS Publishing on women achievers and innovators found these women are driven by four things: (1) Status – recognition, social standing and wealth; (2) Power – influence and achievement; (3) Curiosity – problem-solving and learning new ways; and (4) Idealism – making the world a better place.
To solve 21st century challenges – from infrastructure to climate change to inequality to global competition and peace – we desperately need new solutions.
This International Women’s Day, the chaos of this pandemic economy presents an opportunity to broaden our definition of who is “credible” to enable many more potential solutions from female voices.
It just might give us the next miracle vaccine or energy source.
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2b96e710cca969287612d5b506924733 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/03/17/your-money-and-your-values--7-esg-investing-tips-from-a-master/ | Your Money And Your Values—7 ESG Investing Tips From A Master | Your Money And Your Values—7 ESG Investing Tips From A Master
President Joe Biden quote on "show me your budget" AZquotes.com
President Biden famously said, “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value.” That is truer today more than ever, for more and more people, especially women.
Wealth advisor Kathleen McQuiggan, with over 30 years of experience, told me on my podcast recently that women are “where the wealth of the future is going to come from.” She is a wealth advisor at Artemis Advisors, and previously led the Global Women’s Index Fund at Pax World Investments as head of Global Women’s Investing, after many years at Goldman Sachs.
”Women are increasing their wealth faster than men…Women are going to be inheriting the majority of the wealth in the wealth transfer, because they are living longer…(and) they’re starting companies, they’re starting to move up to positions of power and that higher compensation side of things,” McQuiggan explained.
Marketwatch on women paving way for ESG Marketwatch.com
And women are more focused on ESG investing – for Environment, Social and Governance-focused – which is one reason why ESG investing is a rising star. Briefly stated, ESG investing evaluates the financial performance of a company, as well as its impact on the environment, how it treats its employees and stakeholders, and the competence, diversity and transparency of its leadership.
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Here are ESG-related investing tips from my conversation with McQuiggan.
Kathleen McQuiggan, Wealth Advisor, Artemis Advisors Kathleen McQuiggan
To summarize it, she said: “Your money is your power – and women need more of both.”
1. Understand what you’re looking at: Reporting on ESG-related issues is a minefield. Attempts are being made to develop one set of reporting standards – such as by a consortium including the World Economic Forum, GRI and the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board – but companies can still choose what they want to disclose and how. That means, companies are likely to report numbers that make them look good, and not report those that don’t.
2. Use the different ratings systems: Moody’s Sustainalytics, MSCI, S&P Global and other financial institutions have ratings they developed, which can be very useful. Asset managers are using these ratings, often collated and compared by Bloomberg and FactSet for example, or develop their own. Make sure you know the source of the data going into the ratings and their methodology.
3. Watch and leverage shareholder actions: Shareholder activism has risen to an entirely new level. Proxy votes and shareholder resolutions are demanding more diversity on boards of directors and/or more disclosure of climate risk, for example. “The more these actions get taken, the more a board of directors and senior management will realize…(shareholders) think it does have financial materiality,” and will pay attention, McQuiggan explained.
ESG factors from BWFA.com BWFA.com
4. Evaluate each industry separately: “Technology companies, their ESG factors that are important…are different from a retail company, versus an airline,” McQuiggan said. “So, ESG factors need to be scored and ranked based on the impact they have on different industries.”
Screen shot of himforher.org dinner party Screen Shot of himforher.org dinner party
5. Look for various types of diversity on the board and management team: Study after study shows that diversity drives performance across metrics, from financial, to customer and employee satisfaction, to innovation. “It’s not just women, but…do we have the diversity of perspectives and thought around the decision-making table. It’s by gender, it’s by age, it’s by socio-economic experiences, it’s by someone went to an Ivy League school, someone went to a state school.”
6. Plan for longevity, adjust for the wage gap: The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that women live on average of six to eight years longer than men (some live much longer, like my mom who outlived my dad by almost 30 years). Unfortunately, the wage gap women have had to suffer throughout their careers has cost women dearly too, so they tend to have smaller retirement and investment assets as a result. Adapt your risk tolerance accordingly.
UNSDGs UN.org
7. Invest in what matters to you: “What do you want your wealth to do for you? What matters to you?,” is the key piece of advice McQuiggan gives. She has noticed that her female clients want to think about returns and impact and legacy. They want to address a societal problem, such as those reflected in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She said her female clients are asking, “How can I as an individual fix them? How can I as an investor fix them?”
“Develop your own philosophy and approach and then understand the partners you’re using and how they’re integrating and implementing things,” McQuiggan advised.
That means, ask for as much information and as many questions as you want and need to make sure you understand where your money is going and that you get what you want.
It’s your money.
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a9c73d878fcfae5a9511ca3a97df1121 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2014/07/23/5-phases-of-social-media-deployment-for-regulated-firms/ | 5 Phases Of Social Media Deployment For Regulated Firms | 5 Phases Of Social Media Deployment For Regulated Firms
For organizations operating under the watchful eye of industry regulators, getting the social media ball rolling is not always straightforward.
Every stage of deploying social media at a large regulated firm requires a thoughtful approach : making the business case to enable regulated users to use social media, creating a social media working group to identify and mitigate the risks, crafting polices and processes, evaluating and selecting third party vendors.
However, the success of your program will often depend on how your users are initially introduced to social media. First impressions count.
Deploying social media in phases enables organizations to iron out any kinks with policies, process and technology to provide the best possible first experience for your users. Here are some tried-and-tested steps that many regulated organizations take:
Test Pilot Read-only access Early Deployment: Pre-approved library content Mature Deployment: Launching an authentic social voice
Instagram and other Social Media Apps (Photo credit: Jason A. Howie)
Test
Invite no more than 20 people to test your polices, processes and systems. You may want to invite the initial Social Media Working Group that was established define and mitigate risks, key stakeholders, plus one or two end users from each of the businesses who are early adopters. Create scripts to test policies and technology and systematically test these for a fixed period, typically two weeks. Use the key learnings to revamp policies and work with technology vendors to fix any technological issues.
Pilot
The most manageable recipe for a pilot is the use of one social network, with no more than 50 participants, against criteria set by particular lines of businesses. It’s best to not to invite your “Top Producers” at this early stage. Wait until all the wrinkles are ironed out before you invite the highly visible, and often very vocal, financial advisors, the corporate social responsibility team, or the Mayor to participate. You want your most valuable resources, with the ear of management, to have a flawless experience from the day one.
Develop and deliver training that includes your firm’s social media usage policies, as well as best practices on how to use social media effectively. Once everyone in the initial Pilot is up to speed, one approach is to continue with the same group and add additional social networks. Or you could have multiple Pilots with different groups using different social media networks. For pilots, you could allow posting of pre-approved content, or for the most conservative and risk-averse firms, allow read-only mode for participants.
Read-Only Access
For organizations currently blocking social media at work, allowing access to social media (typically LinkedIn ) in a “read-only mode” may be a first good step. Some firms initially allow employees to log on and browse social media networks but prohibit and block all communications from within the network. That means no updates, comments or InMail on LinkedIn.
Even in read-only mode, your employees could use social media to identify opportunities and follow up in-person or other forms of communication.
Early Deployment - Preapproved Content from a Library
For this stage, develop a Content Strategy and Editorial Calendar. Regulatory constraints mean it is good practice to avoid product pitches or recommendations of any type, whether financial or medical. Instead, present general, helpful information that appeals to your target audience. Some firms include more lighthearted, entertaining fare as well. Often, existing corporate content can be re-purposed in ‘snackable’ portions for use on social media. Track and analyze the engagement (clicks, likes, shares, comments), and tweak your Editorial Calendars to create more engaging content going forward.
Mature Deployment – Developing an “Authentic Voice”
As your organization’s use of social media matures, you may allow users to post personal or customized content. This allows your users’ personalities to shine through, honing that elusive ‘authentic voice’, and greatly improving the effectiveness of your social media program.
You may want to test this approach by pre-reviewing all content from a select group of users before it is posted. Of course, this labor-intensive review process will not be possible when this is rolled out on a larger scale. So make sure you put in place an automated monitoring system that looks for ‘trigger words’ or ‘lexicons’ and alerts compliance or supervisors in real-time, and blocks inappropriate posts where necessary.
To sum up, regulated firms need to take a thoughtful approach to deploying social media. A phased rollout gives organizations the assurance that their social media deployment will be compliant while providing the best possible atmosphere for your employees to use social media effectively.
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95c442521bc2fd77a915848aaf29df8b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2015/03/10/9-recordkeeping-challenges-for-regulated-firms/?sh=1925b1bc515d | 9 Recordkeeping Challenges For Regulated Firms | 9 Recordkeeping Challenges For Regulated Firms
As the headlines swirl about Hillary Clinton’s emails, my colleagues in regulated industries are making comments across LinkedIn and Facebook that include:
“At no point while she was Secretary of State did anybody stop to say, "hillary@clintonemail.com? Huh, that's weird."? – former marketer at a technology firm that captures electronic communications
“Stunning lack of governance” – industry analyst
“I know my risk, compliance and legal folks would flip out if I started using personal email, Dropbox or Google Hangouts for work affairs.” – long-time employee of large financial services firms.
For the everyday workers of regulated industries such as financial serves, healthcare, pharma or energy, it’s a startling concept idea that someone would go off the corporate network and set up a personal email server in her home. After all, these industries around the world have stringent recordkeeping (or “books and records”) requirements that all business written communications be actively captured, supervised, stored and made available upon request by regulators or during a lawsuit. Regulators enforce these rules with exams, fines and sanctions when necessary.
Challenges Of Recordkeeping:
As a social media and compliance specialist for a technology firm, I help firms use email alongside of new forms of electronic communications such as social media and collaboration tools, while complying with various global regulations. Over the years, I have had hundreds of detailed conversations around recordkeeping with large regulated firms. Some of the challenges include:
Rising volume: According to a recent study, email is expected to increase from 3.3 billion accounts in 2012 to over 4.3 billion by the end of 2016. In fact business emails look set to grow an average of 13% to reach over 143 billion by the end of 2016. Increasing complexity: The number of electronic communications within the enterprise is exploding. Email is used with collaboration tools (such as Microsoft Sharepoint, Salesforce Chatter, IBM Connections and Jive); unified communications platforms such as Microsoft Lync and Cisco Jabber; public instant messaging networks such as Yahoo! Messenger, AIM; mobile messaging applications such as WhatsApp; public social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter; and industry communities such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Eikon and ICE Chat. Not to mention, newer, transitory communications like Snapchat that appear for a moment then “disappear”. And then there is voice, in some cases, firms are required to capture and retain oral conversations as well. Defining a “business record”: Regulators are only interested in communications that are “business as such”. Or in the language of the regulators, “content is determinative.” In a world where the traditional barriers of personal and professional are increasingly blurred, how do you segment true business conversations from “water cooler” chats? Protecting privacy: Most would agree there is no expectation of privacy when using the employer’s equipment on the employer’s site. But what about when associated persons use social media networking to conduct firm business on sites such as LinkedIn where the terms and conditions prohibit setting up a unique business persona? How does that impact the employee’s ability to look for a new job when all his communications are being captured? Going off network: What about employees who circumvent your systems entirely? This could include the Financial Advisor who uses LinkedIn on his personal iPad because it’s blocked at the office. Or the trader that colludes to set LIBOR rates in chat rooms with other traders. Or even the employee who emails client information to her Gmail account so she can work on the weekend. Employee segmentation: There are more stringent recordkeeping requirements for regulated persons, such a financial advisors, than other employees. What happens when regulated users talk with non-regulated employees? At what point do you capture the conversation? If they are on a collaboration network, do you need to go back to the beginning of the conversation so that one can understand the context? Even when that conversation started 2 years ago? Capturing everything in context: Employees “channel hop” across email, unified communications, instant messages, Bloomberg, ICE, direct messages on Twitter, Whatsapp, VoIP and whatever else comes along. How do you capture all these communications and then quickly produce them in context during eDiscovery or upon request by a regulator? Changing rules and regulations: In Financial Services alone, there’s an alphabet soup of global regulators that have recordkeeping requirements: SEC, FINRA, CFTC, FFIEC, FRCP, CSA, IDA, IIROC, FCA, ESMA, FINMA, IOSCO, SEBI, plus the states in the US and other local municipalities. In the last 3 years, no fewer than 10 regulations pertaining to archiving electronic communications have been issued or updated by regulators around the world. How can firms keep up? Supervision: A universal theme among regulators is that firms must “evidence” (or prove) that they supervise the activities of their regulated employees in order to protect investors, patients, and the general public. That means that firms need to review a portion of these communications on an ongoing basis to look for appropriateness as well as illegal activities. They all face the “Hillary Challenge”: how do you supervise an employee that conducts business off the network?
Frankly, there are more questions than answers.
Email and other electronic communications in the spotlight
In spite of the growing challenges, if you get it wrong, there are consequences such as financial penalties, lawsuits and reputational damage to the individual as well as the firm. Email and other electronic communications are firmly in the spotlight. Regulators are scrutinizing electronic communications more closely than ever before, making it imperative that firms have solid plans in place to capture, retain, supervise and make eDiscoverable, all electronic communications as required, no matter what device or channel your employees uses.
Are any of your employees circumventing your recordkeeping systems?
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ebd85d1db930e141ec7c8442f51896a5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2015/07/15/working-out-loud-better-for-you-better-for-the-firm/ | Working Out Loud: Better For You, Better For The Firm | Working Out Loud: Better For You, Better For The Firm
"'Working out loud' makes work better for both the individual and the firm. I’m trying to help as many people as possible put the ideas into practice” says John Stepper, Managing Director of a large global bank and author of “Working Out Loud”, released in June 2015.
Over a series of conversations, Stepper shared his experiences with internal social communications platforms and how organizations, and the people who work for them, are adopting new ways of working. Here is an edited version of those conversations.
Q: What are enterprise social collaboration platforms?
A: Think of enterprise social communications platforms as a third fabric to connect the firm in addition to email and meetings. Individuals can now leverage trends from the Internet -- search, self-publishing, social and mobile -- inside their firms and change work in fundamental ways.
Q. How were these tools adopted at your firm?
A. There were concentric circles of adoption. The early adopters gravitated to it first. Then came the next wave, and the next, gradually covering more and more of the firm. Adoption was both organic and opportunistic. Rather than a particular location or division taking the lead, early adopters were sprinkled all over the firm. It was up to us to find them, equip them, and connect them. We would share their stories to motivate the next wave of adoption. At some point, we tipped. We were approaching 60,000 regular users and had a growing set of stories, and it was clear our platform was no longer an experiment. That’s when the Communications group made the collaboration platform an official part of the corporate intranet. That was an important step. It placed much more content on the platform and institutionalized it, sending a clear signal it was an official work tool for broad use. Now our approach to adoption is much more systematic and purposeful. We combine a broad set of tools into a digital workplace and help entire divisions leverage it.
Q. What does success look like?
A. The best successes are when people across the firm start working like we do on the Internet, such as searching to tap into the collective intelligence of the firm. Or when they capture their knowledge online in a way that’s useful to other people and can be further developed. And when they form online communities focused on solving problems, improving skills, and advancing a given practice. One of our most active groups is a customer support function. They use the platform as a convenient knowledge base that’s easy to access and build on. Another group is a division which launched a complex transformation program and wanted something other than email and meetings to solicit ideas, collaborate on projects, and engage everyone involved. It’s not so much huge wins, but rather thousands of smaller wins.
Q. As a global firm within a highly regulated industry, are there specials challenges that you face?
A. No matter the industry, it comes down to making people comfortable in Compliance, Legal, Risk, HR, Data Privacy, and Data Security. They may have never seen anything like open collaboration at work and so you have to show them, over time, that you have the right controls in place. That may mean starting with a more conservative set of policies, for example, and opening things up as people get more comfortable.
Q. Any lessons learned?
A. We tried to appeal to too many people too soon. Things may have moved more quickly if we had focused on early adopters, early wins and simple use cases and benefits in the beginning.
Q. How do these platforms benefit employees?
A. Enterprise social communications (or "social business") platforms make it easy to spread and discover ideas. With a simple “mention”, anyone can connect with people and entire networks, something impossible with email or word of mouth. Instead of information flowing up and down the lines of the org chart (in meetings and town halls for example), it flows easily across boundaries based on what people need or find interesting.Using these tools to “work out loud” makes people enjoy work more. When people leverage collaboration platforms to contribute and to build relationships, that appeals to their intrinsic motivators of autonomy, mastery, and relatedness. The relationships they form provide access to learning and opportunities. They have a greater feeling of connection to the firm and people in it, in a way that’s under their control as opposed to that of a manager or, worse, a process.
Q. How can “working out loud” mean a better career and life?
A. More than ever, employees know there’s greater uncertainty – more reorganizations and more managers, both good and bad, in their future. They know they’re responsible for their own career and that the traditional career planning advice no longer applies. And they’re unsure of what to do next.
We’ve found that by adopting a new way of working, people can change their lives. They take charge of their own careers when they deepen relationships instead of playing career roulette, lead with generosity instead on networking to get something, and make their work visible and frame it as a contribution. My book, “Working Out Loud” outlines a twelve-week mastery program that helps people put the approach into practice for themselves. The process is supported by groups, or “circles” that meet for an hour a week for 12 weeks to help each other create new habits and work towards a goal they care about. They are in seven countries so far.
Q. How does “Working Out Loud” benefit the firm?
A. “Working out loud” improves employees’ digital skills. It enhances their ability to access and build on knowledge and make purposeful connections across the firm. That makes people at all levels more effective. We’re even starting to teach new interns how to “work out loud” so they can form meaningful networks at work in the short time they’re there. Beyond the benefits of helping employees build purposeful networks, “working out loud” helps humanize the firm. The focus on contribution combined with the inherent features of social platforms, improves employees’ ability to see and relate to their colleagues as real people. That provides a foundation for positive cultural change, increased engagement and overall benefits to the firm over time.
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082690b6ddbdaed6552f6b538cb2918f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2015/10/31/doctors-using-social-media-to-reach-the-new-consumers-of-healthcare/ | Doctors Using Social Media To Reach The New Consumers Of Healthcare | Doctors Using Social Media To Reach The New Consumers Of Healthcare
Social media has become ubiquitous. Consumers expect to be able to communicate directly with the major brands in their lives, whether it’s their favorite wine, retailer, celebrity, sports figure, or broker. They are using hashtags to actively participate during live sporting events or TV shows (#GoMets, #Scandal) right from their sofa.
But what about one of the most important relationships of all, their doctors and hospitals? Can doctors tweet with their patients? Should they? How can healthcare professionals use social media to attract new patients and educate consumers on health related issues while complying with stringent regulatory requirements? To answer these questions and more, I recently spoke with Dr. Kevin Campbell, MD, FACC, an internationally-recognized cardiologist and social media evangelist. Dr. Campbell is on-air medical expert for WNCN and a national Fox News guest who has written two books, including “Women and Cardiovascular Disease: Addressing Disparities in Care.” Below is an edited version of that conversation.
Q. Dr. Campbell, how is the healthcare landscape changing?
A. Medicine still is about, and should be about, caring for patients and patient-centered activity. However, large healthcare groups or organizations are buying up individual physicians’ practices and there’s more competition now. The Affordable Care Act may limit the choice of doctors and networks, but in general, patients are now consumers of healthcare and have a choice of the hospital or hospital system they use. Consumerism is now important in medicine. Your job as a physician is to create the ultimate experience for patients, from the minute they check into your office to the minute they’re discharged from the hospital. And that doesn’t just include fantastic medical care, it includes how they interact with the front desk staff, what the workflow is to get them into a room and to get them ready for surgery, and then how they’re treated post-operatively.
Q. How can physicians appeal to these new “consumers” of healthcare?
A. As nearly 70 percent of all patients go to the internet either before or after a doctor’s visit, doctors need to set themselves apart from other physicians or other healthcare groups, possibly by using social media. Physicians can use social media to share unique services that they or their groups offer. They can talk about outcomes, such as “we have a wonderful success rate with procedure x, y and z”, or specific services such as “we have an easy screening program for colon cancer that meets all the guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the American College of Gastroenterology”. Share the things that make your hospital better – the people, the activities, your philanthropic activities. See an earlier post, “Can Doctors Improve Patient Outcomes With Social Media” for more details.
Q. What about specialists, such as anesthesiologists?
A. In general, anesthesiologists have very limited interaction with patients. Patients may see an anesthesiologist a few weeks before a procedure to be assessed for anesthesia risks, for an anesthesia plan and to be cleared from a cardiac standpoint for surgery. The next time patients see the anesthesiologist, they are being put to sleep. There’s no real follow-up because patients follow up with their regular doctor. For anesthesiologists, it’s important to recognize that you can help allay patients’ anxiety with more information. For example, produce a series of YouTube videos about what to expect on the day of surgery, the induction process and recovery from anesthesia. As a patient, if you’re partially informed, you have a better idea of the questions to ask, and ultimately, I think your anxiety level is much less. And we know that less anxious patients tend to do better in surgery.
Q. Less anxious patients do better with surgery?
A. Yes, if you come in and you’re really, really nervous about something, your body’s going to release all these fight or flight hormones, you’re going to have higher blood pressure and a higher heart rate. If you come in and you’re more relaxed because you know what to expect, it will be a little bit easier to induce you and your outcomes may be improved.
Q. How can physicians or hospitals manage their “cyber footprint” to better appeal to patients?
A. As a physician or as a hospital group, you already have a cyber-footprint. You need to manage your cyber-reputation rather than just let it take a life of its own, even an anesthesiologist who only sees patients for a brief moment in time. Make sure you understand what’s written about you and create your own cyber-footprint and manage it. That can be through YouTube videos or writing blogs about the patient experience, or talking about what to expect. That will really improve how you’re perceived by patients who are consumers of healthcare.
Q. How does the doctor-patient relationship impact email and social media?
A. Once you develop a doctor-patient relationship (there’s specific legal criteria that describes that) you owe a duty to that patient to provide reasonable standard of care based on whatever disease he or she has. That means if you have an established patient and your practice allows email communications, you have a duty to respond to those emails. These communications are also part of the medical record. Many doctors choose not to use email to communicate with patients because it makes you available 24 hours a day and could result in significant liability if you’re not answering your email in a timely manner. As a physician, you need to decide whether you’re going to accept email or not. If you decide to use email for patient communications, it must be an account where emails are monitored during working hours and answered in a reasonable amount of time. There are systems available where patients can send messages that goes to a repository, usually managed by an administrative assistant, who reads them and routes them appropriately. You need to be careful. Some of my colleagues use email, and they like doing that, but you have to decide what’s best for you and your practice and make your patients aware of that. (Important note from Contributor: Communications between patients and healthcare professionals are highly regulated. A best practice is to work closely with legal counsel and compliance experts before embarking on any electronic communications with patients to make sure you are complying with various regulations and to mitigate risk of liability.)
As for social media, you should never give medical advice, or interact with a patient within a doctor-patient relationship in cyberspace. When people tweet me with issues, I advise them to contact their local emergency room or contact their physician. You need to make it clear that you are not providing treatment advice and you are not engaging in a doctor-patient relationship.
Q. Any advice on the best way to get started with social media?
A. First, before medical professionals use social media professionally, they should have a conversation with their legal counsel to help understand the legal boundaries. Find out the legal dos and don’ts. Secondly, figure out your goals. Are you trying to gain market share in the marketplace? Educate patients about specific diseases? Gain referrals from other physicians? Interaction with colleagues?
Q. What’s the regulatory landscape for physicians on social media?
A. It’s the Wild West right now. The American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards recently came out with common sense guidance. Basically, don’t share anything you wouldn’t want your mother or your patient to see. As physicians, there is a certain standard to uphold. FDA also has started to develop guidance. Overall, if you tweet about a product, you need to include the major risk and a link to every possible adverse side effect. They want balance. You can’t make false claims. From a regulatory perspective, don’t share privileged patient information, don’t say slanderous things about patients online, and don’t share any information that could be used to identify a patient online. And don’t make derogatory comments about other physicians or hospitals either. Be careful to use social media in professional manner.
Q. How do you handle negative comments on social media?
A. As a Fox News contributor, I make political comments on my Twitter (@DrKevinCampbell) account. That’s my brand. I have a significant opinion about the Affordable Care Act, and I’m not afraid to share it. However, there are many people who don’t like what I have to say. As long as they aren’t cursing at me, I respond. This is easier with blogging because of the character limitations on Twitter. I may thank them for taking the time to read my blog, tell them that I appreciate their point of view, and express why I think my point is valid. If you’re a reasonable person, who wants to have a reasonable discussion, I’ll engage anyone. That’s my road map. And finally, never get into a fight in cyberspace.
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d9bad09539b57e498efb8f4bbce32b2a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2015/11/30/7-tips-from-the-fbi-to-prepare-your-firm-for-a-cyber-attack/ | 7 Tips From The FBI To Prepare Your Firm For A Cyber Attack | 7 Tips From The FBI To Prepare Your Firm For A Cyber Attack
“In the past, the FBI wanted to operate in the shadows, but today's Bureau is very different” said Jay F. Kramer, Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cyber Division, New York Office. In an effort to make the FBI more approachable, Kramer recently provided an overview of the cybersecurity activities of the FBI at an event before hundreds of attorneys.
How does the FBI operate?
The Bureau investigates violations of federal law and significant threats to national security, making it uniquely situated to deal with today’s cybersecurity issues. In addition to being a law enforcement agency, the FBI is also a member of the US intelligence community. FBI's mission is primarily domestic with 56 field offices across the United States, but it also has offices in 87 countries and shares intelligence and threats coming from overseas by distilling it down and packaging it at the lowest level classification possible to push it out to victims. These overseas relationships enable the Bureau to quickly respond to cyber threats by gaining access to servers, logs and data to help unravel some of these complicated cyber matters from around the world. “When it comes to cybersecurity, you're never very far from an FBI office and from an actual person that can speak to you about issues that you're having” Kramer said.
Here are some of the cybersecurity issues that the FBI is seeing:
Hacktivists use computers, beyond lawful means, to make political statements. These statements are typically about business practices they disapprove of. For example, “Anonymous”, a well-known hacktivist group, can shut down websites and social media accounts of targeted firms and individuals. The US and businesses are systematically attacked by hackers sponsored by foreign governments for terrorism or to gain a competitive advantage. Criminal enterprises use cyber to perpetuate old schemes, such as extortion. In the old days, organized crime would threaten the business owner directly, "Hey, listen, you're either going to pay me or something's going to happen here. There's going to be a fire, brick going through your window. You're going to be hurt personally”. With the advent of encryption technology, criminals can now gain a compromising foothold to lock down your systems. “The bad guy holds the private key to unlock it” said Kramer. Nowadays, the business owner gets an email that says "If you don’t give me 100 bitcoin, I'm going to delete your data." The FBI doesn’t take a position on whether to pay the money or not, although it's unlikely that the business will be able to defeat the encryption. So, the choice is to either pay or rely on back up data. There are fraudsters who want to steal your personally identifiable information (PII) to empty out your bank account. More and more however, data has a value all of its own. Bad actors will infiltrate databases of client data with email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers of your clients, and use that data to fuel billion dollar criminal enterprises such as spam campaigns, such as pop-up ads for bogus Viagra or heart medication or stock manipulation, such as pump and dump campaigns. There's a whole underground economy of promoters and bad actors, who work in tandem and who need PII as the fuel for those fraudulent campaigns. Industrial espionage for competitive advantage such as stealing product information that requires years of research. “You’d be horrified if you saw how much data is leaving the US every day from scientific firms, research firms, industrial firms, government contractors” said Kramer.
In summary, Kramer provided 7 tips to prepare your firm for a cyber-attack:
Understand what your network looks like, even after all the mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations. Create a map of your networks and prepare a list of devices on the network and users on the network. Back up your data routinely and store it offsite. Know where your most important data is being held. Think about where it should be held and the protocols to gain access to that information. Develop policies for cybersecurity. What policies govern the use of data and networks by employees? Train your employees on use polices. Define where your logs and data are being held. List applications running on the network, including applications developed in house. Be aware that bad actors could be already be in your system right now and have been for a long time. Make sure your IT departments are aware of updates and are patching vulnerabilities in your systems. Develop a response plan in the event of an attack. Have a plan to work with your attorneys, PR firm, your Board of Directors. Have a team of forensic experts and outside firms available. And finally, establish a relationship with your local FBI office today, before there's a cyber-attack .
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a5430006e503caf903ca30f6cbfd1574 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannabelbey/2017/09/06/social-media-and-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-compliance-officer/ | Social Media And A Day In The Life Of A Compliance Officer | Social Media And A Day In The Life Of A Compliance Officer
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The first question that compliance asks when marketing and sales want to use social media is, "How can we use social media while complying with the various rules and regulations that govern our industry?” As an example, although the financial industry received regulatory guidance around social media starting in 2010, many firms hesitated because they were concerned about compliance risks. Instead, financial advisers (or "associated persons") were prohibited from using social media for business. This is slowly changing. But, before it can change at your firm, marketing and sales need to understand some regulatory concerns, so you can better create a social media program that is accepted by compliance and rolled out successfully.
The role of the Compliance officer
Compliance officers at financial services firms are charged with protecting the reputation of their firm. Their job is to make sure their firm doesn’t appear in a scandal on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Depending on the complexity of the firm, there could be tens of thousands of rules and regulations pertaining to electronic communications (which includes social media) that compliance professionals must understand and interpret. And because these rules are not set in stone, compliance officers are continually challenged to stay up to date. Compliance professionals are also responsible for creating and implementing processes to make sure their firms abide by these various regulations and to be able to demonstrate adherence to the requirements during exams conducted by regulators. That’s why many compliance professionals initially shy away from social media. It adds risk and complexity to an already full plate.
Social media guidelines from financial services regulators
There has been guidance from various securities regulators, but essentially, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), there are five areas that firms need to consider before allowing their employees to use social media:
Record-keeping: Firms need to capture, archive and supervise all written business communications. That could include email, text messages, instant messages, industry specific networks, collaboration tools, social media and more. Because firms can’t rely on social networks for recordkeeping, this means that firms need to work with third party vendors. Testimonials: Testimonials are prohibited for Investment Advisers and allowed by Registered Representatives with restrictions. There has been some recent guidance that may allow some testimonials in some cases, so firms need to create social media polices that clearly define what is allowed at your firm (particularly for “Endorsements” and “Skills and Expertise” on LinkedIn). Suitability: General investing or specific product recommendations are prohibited unless you know your customers’ investing criteria and can make suitable recommendations based on their risk profiles and investing objectives. As it’s not possible to know all your followers on social media, that means that many firms prohibit their advisers from making any type of investing recommendations via social media. Advertising: There are a host of existing rules that firms must follow. It’s no surprise that communications with the public need to be appropriate, fair, truthful and disclose risks. FINRA also distinguishes between static advertising and interactive communications on social media. Advertising that is static, such as a profile on LinkedIn, when it includes promotional information about your firm, must be pre-reviewed by a registered principal of your firm. Whereas, interactive communications such as InMail, could be treated as correspondence and be reviewed before or after the fact, depending on its content and the risk profile of the firm. What this means for firms is that they must review social media profiles before they are used to conduct business, as well as, over time when they are updated. Firms also need to have clear work flow processes in place to ensure they are complying with advertising rules. Supervision: In my view, supervision is the most important. Firms need to demonstrate to regulators that they are supervising the activities of their associated persons. That means firms need to create procedures on supervising their associated persons before they are allowed to use social media.
Common themes among regulators
Securities regulators such as FINRA, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) are all focused on protecting the individual investor, the firms themselves and the integrity of the markets. Although each regulator’s guidance around social media is slightly different, there are some common themes. First, content is determinative. That is, regulators aren’t interested in personal communications, only communications pertaining to conducting business. This content, not device nor channel, determines whether firms are responsible for the communications. Secondly, postings must be truthful, not misleading, include risks and have proper disclosures. And finally, firms need to demonstrate to regulators that they are supervising the activities of their people to insure that they are following industry rules. That means that firms must be able to capture and be able to be review social media communications on demand.
Each firm interprets the rules and regulations based on its own risk tolerance, so they all approach social media differently
In many cases, regulators are becoming “principle-based”, that is, instead of giving prescriptive instructions, they convey what they want to achieve. Firms are then advised to use their own risk tolerance when interpreting the rules to create in-house policies. That means that firms may move through various phases when adopting social media. Some firms elect to prohibit its use altogether, other allow employees to view social networks at work, but not post or engage in anyway, others allow limited engagement with pre-approved content. In 2017, more and more firms allow their associated persons to use social media in an "authentic voice" using one’s best judgment, after proper training on what’s allowed and what’s not. In my experience, firms tend to be conservative when they first start using social media and then evolve over time. Not every firm goes through every stage though. Every firm is different because their policies reflect their risk tolerance. At the end of the day, the regulators have provided enough guidance to help you get started. For all you newcomers, show your compliance officers that you understand their concerns and you will be more likely to create programs that are approved for roll-out.
Resources to help your firm stay in compliance:
FINRA:
Regulatory Notice 10-06 Guidance on Blogs and Social Networking Web Sites
Regulatory Notice 11-39 Social Media Websites and the Use of Personal Devices for Business Communications Guidance on Social Networking Websites and Business Communications
Communications Rule 2210-2216
Regulatory Notice 17-18 Guidance on Social Networking Websites and Business Communications
SEC:
National Examination Risk Alert, By the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Investment Adviser Use of Social Media
SEC Issues Guidance Update on Social Media Filings by Investment Companies
SEC Says Social Media OK for Company Announcements if Investors Are Alerted
IM Guidance Update U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Investment Management Guidance on the Testimonial Rule and Social Media
2017: SEC Adopts Rules to Enhance Information Reported by Investment Advisers
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00ffd0e98e0fb646d2864bbc7f798ed4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannasciarrino/2020/09/30/how-to-sign-up-for-amazon-prime-day-2020/ | How To Sign Up For Amazon Prime In Time For Prime Day 2020 | How To Sign Up For Amazon Prime In Time For Prime Day 2020
With Amazon Prime Day right around the corner — October 13 and 14 — it’s probably a good time to start exploring membership options if you're not a Prime member already. Prime Day deals are only available to Amazon Prime members, and in addition to access to the epic two-day sales event, members get fast, free delivery, savings on groceries, and access to stream thousands of movies and TV shows to watch with Prime Entertainment.
In the two weeks leading up to Amazon Prime Day, Prime members also have access to exclusive early Prime Day deals, like a special two-for-one discount on the Echo Dot 3, $100 off the new Toshiba 43-inch Fire Smart TV, and $100 off the Fire TV Recast.
MORE FROM FORBESAmazon Prime Day 2020: Tips For Getting The Best Prime Day Deals & DiscountsBy Cory Baldwin
For those who aren't members yet, signing up for Prime is relatively easy. Just head to the Amazon Prime sign-up page and fill in your details to start your free 30-day trial. Once the 30-day trial period is over, your paid Prime membership begins (for either $12.99 per month or $119 for the year), and from there you'll have access to all the benefits of membership. Here's everything you need to know about joining Amazon Prime, but head over to our FAQ for more details about Amazon Prime Day 2020.
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How do you sign up for Amazon Prime?
Become an Amazon Prime member by going to the Amazon Prime sign-up page and entering your payment details. After a 30-day free trial period, your account will be charged $12.99 monthly for membership.
What does it cost to join Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime membership costs $12.99 per month or $119 for the year. For students, Prime membership is available for $6.49 per month with the first 6 months free for new members. And for those with an EBT or Medicaid card, Prime membership is available for $5.99 per month.
What is Amazon Prime Day and how does it work?
Amazon Prime Day is Amazon’s biggest sale of the year. Originally launched in 2015 as a one day sale to celebrate the online retailer’s 20th anniversary, Prime Day has evolved into an annual two-day event. On those two days, Amazon Prime members have access to limited-time offers on thousands of top products across categories.
MORE FROM FORBESAmazon Prime Day 2020: Everything You Need To Know About The Biggest Shopping Day Of The YearBy Joanna Sciarrino
Can you shop Amazon Prime Day 2020 without a membership?
Because Amazon Prime Day is exclusive to Prime members, you cannot shop Amazon Prime Day without a membership. But if you’re not interested in paying for a full membership, you still have options available to you:
You can sign up for a free 30-day trial to gain access to the sale, and then cancel the membership before the 30 days is up. If you have a family member who is an Amazon Prime member, you can ask them if they’ll add you to their Amazon Household. This would allow you to enjoy all Prime benefits, including access to Amazon Prime Day.
How can I cancel Amazon Prime?
To cancel your Amazon Prime membership, head to the “manage membership” page and select “end membership.” From there, you’ll be prompted to either keep your benefits, cancel your benefits or remind yourself later — select “cancel my benefits” and you’ll be able to cancel your Amazon Prime membership.
What comes with Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime membership comes with the following benefits included:
Fast, free delivery (one-day, two-day and same-day) Streaming access to thousands of movies, TV shows, live events and Amazon Originals Access to an exclusive library of songs from Amazon Music Amazon Fresh and Prime Pantry grocery and household supply delivery Prime Wardrobe Access to a catalog of books and magazines with Prime Reading; Prime Exclusive deals, discounts, promotions and coupons
Amazon
What are the benefits of Amazon Prime membership?
Amazon Prime membership comes with a number of shipping, streaming, shopping and reading benefits. Amazon Prime shipping benefits include free two-day shipping, free same-day delivery, Prime Now (free 2-hour delivery), free release-date delivery on eligible pre-order items, free no-rush shipping and Amazon Day, a weekly delivery day for all items purchased throughout the week.
Amazon Prime streaming benefits include Prime Video unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows, Prime Music unlimited access to millions of songs and hundreds of playlists, and Prime Gaming access to free games and in-game content plus a free channel subscription to Twitch.tv.
Amazon Prime shopping benefits include exclusive savings at Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh free grocery delivery, Prime Wardrobe exclusive try-on fashion program, Prime Pantry for household products in everyday sizes, and Amazon Family deals and discounts on diapers, baby food and more.
Amazon Prime reading benefits include Prime Reading digital catalog access for books, magazines and more, and Amazon First Reads early access to download new books
Amazon Prime membership also includes Amazon Photos, secured unlimited photo storage, as well as membership sharing for other members of your household.
Does Amazon offer any discounted Prime memberships?
Amazon offers special membership options for students and for qualifying customers with an EBT or Medicaid card.
Students can get a 6-month free trial when they join Prime Student and pay $6.49 per month after that. Anyone with a valid student ID can sign up here. EBT or Medicaid card holders can get 50% off membership for just $5.99 per month. Eligible shoppers can sign up here.
How can I get a free Amazon Prime membership?
To get an Amazon Prime membership for free, simply sign up for the 30-day free trial and be sure to cancel before getting charged when the 30 days is up. Alternately, you can access Prime member benefits for free by being added to an Amazon Household.
forbes.comAmazon Promo Codes | 10% Off In November 2020 | Forbes
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d6c3dd98851aa06e69dce66b3831fff0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2017/11/21/discovering-new-designers-at-vancouver-fashion-week-2017/?sh=9d1313a33c19 | Discovering New Designers At Vancouver Fashion Week 2017 | Discovering New Designers At Vancouver Fashion Week 2017
Mexican designer Mónica Xerrano's SS2018 catwalk show at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
I wasn't aware of Vancouver Fashion Week until I attended the Spring Summer 2018 collections in late September this year. In fact, VFW has been showcasing emerging and some established designers twice annually since 2000 and this fall, presented over 80 international and local designers. As I enjoy writing about emerging designers, I found that Vancouver Fashion Week was a great hunting ground for new talent. VFW prides itself on promoting undiscovered designers by providing an accessible and internationally reputable platform. In an effort to introduce as many new designers as possible, Vancouver Fashion Week packs the schedule with ten to twelve designers in a four hour slot each evening. From the four days I attended (of the seven day show), I've attempted to highlight a handful of designers as ones to watch.
Tieler James's SS2018 collection at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
New Orleans based designer Tieler James began working with a sewing machine and designing clothes at age seven. In 2014, at fourteen years old, he was selected to compete on Lifetime’s Project Runway: Threads. James won his episode and followed it as a designer on Lifetime's Project Runway Junior, season two making it into the top five. At fifteen, he presented his first collection at Vancouver Fashion Week. Two years later, already a veteran, his SS2018 designs of funky separates in pinks, blues and beige could easily hold their own among collections from much more established designers.
Port Zienna's first collection on the catwalk in Vancouver Joanne Shurvell
New label Port Zienna's SS2018 collection features monochrome simple pieces that use the haute couture technique of draping. After working with Oscar de la Renta, Tom Ford and Carolina Herrera, New York-based designer Francesca Canepa launched her first collection this year. Canepa's new collection, produced in her native Peru, using sustainable eco-friendly fabrics, includes a striking range of asymmetric skirts, high waisted wide trousers and jumpsuits.
Katherine Tessier's SS2018 collection Joanne Shurvell
French Canadian designer Katherine Tessier showed in Vancouver for the third time this September. While studying at Parsons New School of Design in New York, Tessier started her own business in January 2014. As she continued her studies, Tessier created her second ready-to-wear collection and worked in New York for Zimba Collections. Still only 21, Tessier showed a strong collection of separates in Vancouver.
Chen Chen SS2018 at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
Pleated cuffs and hems add flare to the minimalist designs and simple, clean lines in Vancouver-based made-to-order womenswear label Chen x Chen's Spring Summer 2018 debut collection.
Alice Vaughn SS18 at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
Fashion meets fine art in Alice Vaughan Davis's designs. A recent fashion graduate of the Savannah, Georgia College of Art and Design, Alice Vaughan Davis's women's ready to wear collection features separates and knitwear with Picasso-esque faces and designs.
Mónica Xerrano's embroidered handbag showcased at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
Mexican designer Mónica Xerrano's new collection of womenswear and accessories features textures, fabrics and colors inspired by the designer’s traditional Mexican roots and the Tzotzil community of the highlands of Chiapas. Brightly colored cocktail dresses, blouses and jackets blend modern trends with traditional styles. As a keen supporter of sustainable fashion and fair trade, Xeranno works with indigenous groups from the Chiapas Heights, who embroider and weave the textiles used by the brand.
OLOH at Vancouver Fashion Week SS18 Joanne Shurvell
Korean-born designer Inae Sung, of OLOH, is a recent graduate of the London College of Fashion and definitely one to watch. Ruffles on blouses and jackets and a blue palette characterised her very wearable first collection, shown in Vancouver.
Fiction Tokyo, an independent fashion label created by Monaca Nishi, features sheer fabrics, cool colours and simple textures influenced by street fashion from Tokyo.
Veteran Korean Fashion designer Choiboko has been a key figure on the Korean fashion industry since 1973 and has always tried to incorporate social issues in his designs. He has shown in Europe, including London but this was his first time at Vancouver Fashion Week. His eponymous label is filled with beautifully designed ready to wear pieces, some made with neoprene, all one layer with no lining.
Chae New York at Vancouver Fashion Week Joanne Shurvell
Chae New York is femme fatal meets tomboy with punky street wear in bold reds, yellows and a mixture of fabrics. Chae Yoon Yoo designs and produces her collections in New York and Seoul.
Evan Clayton at Vancouver Fashion Week Vancouver Fashion Week
Injecting a slightly naughty flavor to the catwalk was Evan Clayton's bold, colorful collection which featured vinyl fetish wear, including chaps, worn by flamboyant models. Local favorite, Evan Clayton is a graduate from the Blanche MacDonald Fashion Design program and has been showing at Vancouver Fashion Week since 2014.
Soda Pop, SS 2018 collection by Vancouver based brand Grandi Joanne Shurvell
Jamal Abdourahman, the energetic founder of Vancouver Fashion Week, is passionately committed to continuing to be an international incubator of innovation and talent and from what I saw during my first visit, he's doing just that.
The next edition of Vancouver Fashion Week showing Fall/Winter 2018 collections will be 19-25 March 2018.
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47a7f25c72af8d3d5577c0579ee51dd9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2018/02/21/international-emerging-designers-shine-at-new-york-fashion-week/?sh=56c2d5123918 | International Emerging Designers Shine At New York Fashion Week | International Emerging Designers Shine At New York Fashion Week
Global Fashion Collective Presents Kim Tiziana Rottmüller during New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018... [+] (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)
It's fantastic to discover new creative talent at the leading fashion showcases in New York, London, Paris and Milan and great to find those organisations supporting budding designers. Global Fashion Collective (GFC) is just such an initiative. Led by Vancouver Fashion Week, a semi-annual industry event known for presenting new talent from around the world, the recently formed Global Fashion Collective produces runway shows in various fashion capitals. GFC launched at Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo last October, followed by the first presentation at New York Fashion Week this month. The venue was Industria, an impressive former warehouse in the Meatpacking district where seven international designers at the beginning of their careers displayed their Fall/Winter 2018 collections. Also on show, as part of a CAAFD (Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers) event were three emerging brands, including the standout Port Zienna by Francesca Canepa, a Peruvian designer now based in New York.
Global Fashion Collective Presents MRHUA MRSHUA during New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 (Photo by... [+] Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)
NiuNiu Chou of Chinese brand MRHUA MRSHUA uses a clever combination of vintage military and pop art designs. Fitted tailored pieces adorned with lace, tassels and embroidery, featured unique patterns and vibrant clashing colours. Gold buckles, plaited rope and soldier hats worn by male and female models made for a striking, energetic catwalk show.
Caroline Ann at Global Fashion Collective during New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 (Photo by Slaven... [+] Vlasic/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Caroline Ann is finishing her studies at SCAD in Atlanta while launching her new fashion label. Flowing silks and crepes in bright colours, all produced in Atlanta, featured in Caroline Ann's show. Her collection would work well in mild climates and as stylish cruise wear. Soft ruffles and embellishments evoking seashells and the beach adorned many of the garments and the loose silhouettes would suit all body types. I approve of Caroline Ann's aim to produce fun pieces that "infuse joy" and show that "every day is an occasion worth dressing for."
Kirsten Ley presented by Global Fashion Collective at New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 Joanne Shurvell
Canadian designer Kirsten Ley has shown at Vancouver and Tokyo fashion weeks but this was her first time at New York Fashion Week where she presented her third collection. While Kirsten's previous two collections have focused on bespoke, haute couture art pieces, with this third collection, the designer is clearly expanding into ready-to-wear showing smart, fitted mid-skirts and straight leg trousers. Leather and flowing silks predominated in earthy colors like forest green, burnt orange and camel, some adorned with hand embellishments. Her eco-friendly, organic collection is produced locally without any synthetic materials right down to the threads in silk and cotton. Kirsten's designs have a Gothic feel, no doubt inspired by her love of Victorian romantic poets, Keats and Shelley.
Fiction Tokyo for Global Fashion Collective I during New York Fashion Week. Feb 2018 (Photo by... [+] Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)
Given that Japanese designer Monaca Nishi is already a well-known model and instagram star in her native Japan, her new fashion label Fiction Tokyo, launched in 2017, was a natural progression. Monaca's inspiration for her fall/winter 2018 collection was heroines from favourite childhood movies. I'm guessing she's a fan of Jessica Rabbit as all her models wore black leather rabbit ear masks. The collection featured high-waisted leather shorts, flared trousers and blouses with flared sleeves, in a colour palette of soft pink, khaki, burgundy and yellow.
Wild Fraulein71 represented by Global Fashion Collective at New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 Joanne Shurvell
Wild Fraulein71, is the label of Japanese designer Roop Shimura who is the veteran in this young group of designers, having launched in 2014 and shown in Tokyo and Vancouver. Male and female models showed a range of punky, edgy, unisex fall and winter garments from cardigans and sweaters, coats, vests, hats and mittens, all in earthy autumnal tones and patterns.
Melissa Yin for Global Fashion Collective during New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018. (Photo by Slaven... [+] Vlasic/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)
Chinese-born designer Melissa Yin launched her eponymous label last year in Vancouver where she now lives. Her powerful, leather-based pieces in a collection called "Nine to Five" are aimed at business women wanting a smooth transition from day to night. Red leather contrasted with cream and black. One of the strongest looks was a long black leather dress with short capped sleeves and a cinched in waist. Silver star-shaped zippers and rhinestones were lovely touches.
Kim Tiziana Rottmüller's conceptual collection at New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 Joanne Shurvell
German designer Kim Tiziana Rottmüller is still in her final year of studies at Polimoda in Florence but she has already shown at London and Vancouver last fall. Her theatrical pieces, appearing for the first time on a New York catwalk, featured oversized cylindrical sleeves, dramatic ruffles and cage-like skirts in black and pale pink.
Port Zienna catwalk at CAAFD's showcase for New York Fashion Week, Feb 2018 Joanne Shurvell
I discovered New York-based designer Francesca Canepa's Port Zienna label at Vancouver Fashion Week last September so I was pleased to see the designer make her New York debut this month during a showcase by the Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers. Francesca's collection featured monochrome simple pieces that use the haute couture technique of draping. After working with Oscar de la Renta, Tom Ford and Carolina Herrera, Francesca Canepa launched her first collection last year. Canepa's designs, produced in her native Peru, using sustainable eco-friendly fabrics, include chic black and white separates: asymmetric skirts, high waisted, wide trousers and jumpsuits.
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4cdc77c4803be3bc31b4164a54f0ea77 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2018/12/27/over-2000-musicians-perform-at-londons-annual-jazz-festival/?sh=3e273e454fd6 | Over 2,000 Musicians Perform At London's Annual Jazz Festival | Over 2,000 Musicians Perform At London's Annual Jazz Festival
Saxophone legend Archie Shepp was one of the top acts at this year's EFG London Jazz Festival Getty
Now in its 26th year, EFG London Jazz Festival remains the capital’s largest city-wide festival, with over 2,000 artists in more than 325 performances in concert halls, clubs, at family events, free concerts, films and talks, in over 70 venues across London. I noticed more of a mixed crowd at this year's festival and was thrilled to see jazz veterans such as Archie Shepp and Stanley Clarke continuing to innovate by working with young emerging musicians. I also think that collaborations between young artists working in different musical genres is becoming increasingly common and is helping to shine a light on jazz. When Kendrick Lamar, one of the world's hottest hip-h0p stars, works with brilliant young jazz composers and musicians like Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington, younger audiences are going to notice.
Young Dutch funksters Jungle By Night at London's Jazz Cafe
We were blown away when we first heard Jungle by Night perform on a beach stage in Sines, Portugal at a world music festival in 2014. And four years on, this group of nine energetic young white guys from Amsterdam performed the most remarkable funk, a blend of afrobeat, hip-hop and soul to a packed house at Camden's Jazz Cafe during the London jazz festival. Using sax, trombone,trumpet, guitar,keyboards, bass, drums and percussion, the band creates powerful, infectious and danceable music. Their latest album "Livingstone" was released at the Jazz Cafe that night and they'll continue to tour it in Europe through February.
Sax Ruins performing at Cafe Oto
One of the great aspects of the London jazz festival is the chance to discover experimental music like Sax Ruins. This energetic Japanese duo was brought to Cafe Oto, an east end music venue, by the innovative young promoter Baba Yagas Hut who present the best in avant garde music throughout the capital. Sax Ruins features one of Japan's most innovative drummers Tatsuya Yoshida performing with saxophonist Ono Ryoko and the Cafe Oto gig was a rare live show for the duo who've been performing together since 2006. The big sound they produce from only two instruments is an incredible, enthralling blend of prog rock, free jazz, classical and punk.
Archie Shepp performing at London's Jazz Festival in November 2018 Andfotography.com/Paul Allen
From intimate venues to major halls, this year's jazz festival included legends like Archie Shepp at the Barbican who performed arts songs and spirituals with a brilliant, specially assemble choir featuring Carleen Anderson, joined by singer pianist Amina Claudine Myers. Soulful saxophonist Archie Shepp who is in his eighties has been leading the avant-garde jazz scene since the 1960s when he recorded "Ascension" with John Coltrane and split a record "New Thing at Newport" (the first side featured Coltrane, the reverse, Shepp). Today, Archie Shepp continues to experiment and work with younger musicians to keep things interesting. His admirable support act at the Barbican was Simon Purcell's Red Circle, featuring vocalist Cleveland Watkiss who has been described by London's Evening Standard as the "best male jazz singer in Britain."
Stanley Clarke and the Headhunters at the Royal Festival Hall
Stanley Clarke, the Grammy award winning, legendary bass player and his versatile band, thrilled the audience at the Royal Festival Hall with loved pieces and brand new music. Known for his early work with greats like Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Gil Evans and Stan Getz, Stanley Clarke's versatility enabled him to play with Chick Corea, guitarist Jeff Beck and The Police drummer, Stewart Copeland. His music has also been widely sampled by the likes of Jay-Z and the Beastie Boys and his career in film music includes the soundtrack for "Boyz N The Hood." Stanley Clarke has also been a brilliant mentor for emerging artists like saxophonist Kamasi Washington, as well as his band's current young members, keyboardist Cameron Graves, drummer Mike Mitchell and pianist Beka Gochiashvili, the latter of whom joined the band at 17 and 16 years old respectively. The gig at the Royal Festival Hall was ably supported by jazz-fusion band The Headhunters, the jazz-fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973, with the original members Bill Summers, Paul Jackson and Mike Clark still performing.
Toni Kofi and Byron Wallen in a tribute to Cannonball Adderley at the 606 Club during the London Jazz Festival
Saxophonist Tony Kofi and trumpeter Byron Wallen performed a lively tribute to hard bop legend Cannonball Adderley (also famous for his soul hit single "Mercy, Mercy Mercy") at the 606 Club. Tony Kofi rose to fame with the UK's Jazz Warriors Big Band in the late 1980s, has performed with high profile musicians like Courtney Pine and Harry Connick Jr. and continues to collect accolades and awards, including BBC Jazz Awards' Best Instrumentalist. Versatile trumpeter Byron Wallen has played with top jazz and pop artists including George Benson, Chaka Khan, Style Council and Cleveland Watkiss. Byron Wallen, Tony Kofi and his band were joined by vocalist Deelee Dube to perform an impressive range of Cannonball Adderley's engaging music.
Saxophonist Grant Stewart performing with Nat Steele at Toulouse Lautrec jazz club
In south London at the Toulouse Lautrec jazz club, another tribute to a jazz great was easily one of top gigs of the festival. Canadian jazz saxophonist Grant Stewart was an excellent addition to vibraphonist Nat Steele's quartet who performed a fantastic gig featuring the music of Sonny Rollins. Their take on the classic 1956 Prestige album "Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet" was part of the annual Bopfest, focusing on the best in bebop, running alongside the London Jazz Festival. Grant Stewart’s tenor is tight, rich and his modern interpretation of bebop has often been compared to Sonny Rollins while Nat Steele has been described by Clark Tracey as "one of the best vibes players this country has ever produced." Together, along with the admirable contributions from Gabriel Latchin, Dario di Lecce and Steve Brown, they performed one of the best gigs of London's annual jazz festival.
Rothko + Jazz presented by Maris Briezkalns' Latvian quintet at Kings Place Andfotography.com/Paul Allen
Kings Place, Central London's newest public concert hall, is recognized for featuring experimental jazz. One of the most creative gigs in this year's London jazz festival came from a Latvian quintet led by drummer Maris Briezkalns who presented "Rothko in Jazz." Ten Latvian composers responded to abstract expressionist Mark Rothko's late paintings by creating sometimes intense, sometimes upbeat tunes. While Rothko is known as an American artist, he was actually born and spent his childhood in Latvia. Thus the backdrop of projected Rothko paintings certainly added a fascinating dimension to the quintet's performance.
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bf59f7b751e55294a8ce0b22c95b4200 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2019/01/22/worlds-first-floating-imax-cinema-to-be-installed-on-93-meter-superyacht/ | World's First Floating IMAX Cinema To Be Installed On 93 Meter Superyacht | World's First Floating IMAX Cinema To Be Installed On 93 Meter Superyacht
Superyacht Lady S will be delivered this spring to Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder Feadship
Many superyachts have cinemas on board and demands by yacht buyers for increasingly sophisticated entertainment systems are expected by shipbuilding yards and yacht brokers. However, Spring 2019 will mark the launch of a new level of yacht entertainment technology and what is certain to be the envy of every yacht owner - the world's first certified IMAX movie theatre on a superyacht. Dan Snyder, the American billionaire owner of NFL team, the Washington Redskins, will be the owner of the world's first private IMAX cinema on a vessel called Lady S (Project 814).
Superyacht Lady S due to launch in Spring 2019 will have the world's first certified IMAX cinema Feadship
The state of the art kit installed on Lady S includes a two-deck, 12-seat IMAX cinema that has been estimated to have cost around $3 million, plus 8K televisions in the guest cabins. IMAX has very strict and specific technological requirements so the company was heavily involved in the build and design process. The IMAX specs were so large that Lady S had to be built around the cinema. And adjustments to minimize sound and vibrations coming from the engine were a requirement before IMAX approved the project.
The Highlander built in 1986, previously owned by Malcolm Forbes, now available for hire Feadship
Lady S is being built by Dutch shipyard Feadship. Based in The Netherlands, this luxury yacht shipyard has an excellent pedigree, having created some of the world’s most impressive superyachts. Between 1967 and 1986 Feadship built three yachts, each named The Highlander, for Malcolm Forbes. Today, after major refurbishment, 49.5 meter The Highlander is available for private charter from $150,000 per week. If you do hire The Highlander, you'll be following in the footsteps of Mr. Forbes' famous guests including Liz Taylor, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and HRH Prince Charles.
Roman Abramovic's superyacht, Ecstasea, built by Dutch shipyard Feadship Feadship
Other well-known Feadship yachts are those built for Roman Abramovich and Steve Jobs. In 2004, the 86 meter Ecstasea was built for Roman Abramovich and was the largest yacht from The Netherlands at the time.
Venus, the yacht Steve Jobs ordered but never sailed in, built by Feadship Feadship
In 2012, Feadship delivered the 78 meter yacht Venus to the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Unfortunately Mr Jobs had died not long before delivery of his Philippe Starck designed yacht.
Lady S, built by Feadship, launching in Spring 2019 Feadship
Lady S has taken five years to build by Feadship, with the help of the world's largest yacht brokerage Burgess, who helped bring together an expert team for the design and build. Other special features on Lady S, aside from the IMAX cinema, are a fully certified helipad with Jet A fuel and facilities that cater to a wide range of sports, including golf, basketball, volleyball and football. Yacht designer Michael Leach Design created an elegant exterior with clean lines. Reymond Langton designed the interior that has been described as "a beautiful contemporary jewellery box." According to the Washington Post, Dan Snyder spent more than $70 million on his previous purchase in 2011 of a 68 meter superyacht called The Lady Anne. The Lady S is a step up from this with an estimated purchase price of $100 million.
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5a2b2ed74137337606d2ec5c11fbce36 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2019/05/29/six-of-londons-best-french-restaurants/ | Six Of London's Best French Restaurants | Six Of London's Best French Restaurants
Frenchie Covent Garden, London Nicolas Buisson
No need to go to Paris when the best of French cuisine is available in London. This selection of some of the capital’s top French restaurants includes old favorites and new launches.
Margaux in Kensington Joanne Shurvell
1. Margaux, Kensington
This lovely, bright bistro in Kensington offers French and European classics made from freshly sourced ingredients. The wine list has been carefully chosen too (how could it not be when the restaurant’s name is one of the owner’s favorite wines). The menus at Bar Margaux, created by Executive Chef Zsolt Ferencz, are designed to offer an interesting mix of rustic southern French food and modern international dishes. The menu dominated by fish and shellfish probably because the chef spent ten years at Scott’s. The owners of Margaux are husband-and-wife team Sylvia Kontek and Vittorio Monge, founders of Bandol in Chelsea.
Simple and delicious salad with bitter leaves, walnuts and blue cheese at Noizé Joanne Shurvell
2. Noizé,Fitzrovia
Mathieu Germond, formerly co-owner and manager of nearby Pied à Terre, opened Noizé eighteen months ago, with the intention of creating a “rustic and convivial” restaurant with simply cooked and served food. He has certainly succeeded, both with food and atmosphere. The attractive interior of this 36-cover bistro features wide wooden floorboards and a soothing colour palette of blue and sage. Decor aside, the menu includes seasonal dishes with traditional French flavors, beautifully presented. The restaurant is named after a tiny village called Noizé in the Loire Valley where Germond spent lots of happy days on his grandparents’ farm. The impressive wine list is surely down to Mathieu’s experience as sommelier at Pied à Terre. And unusually for London restaurants, customers are permitted to bring their own wines and pay a modest corkage fee.
Scallops, monkfish and roasted cauliflower at Frenchie, Covent Garden Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
3.Frenchie, Covent Garden
The London outpost of Chef Gregory Marchand’s much loved Paris establishments, Frenchie Rue du Nil, Frenchie Wine Bar and Frenchie Wine Shop. And this year, ten years after opening, Frenchie Rue du Nil won a well-deserved first Michelin star. Marchand has succeeded in bringing a little bit of his Paris to London. Frenchie Covent Garden has a distinctive modern French brasserie feel with a buzzy London atmosphere. Diners are welcome to sit at a table or at the bar. The decor is subtle and chic; sage leather banquet seating, white marble bar top, metal tables. A brilliant choice of music adds to the super chilled vibe. So many restaurants just don’t get this right. They’re too loud and or there’s no music at all. Frenchie succeeds wonderfully. And the food is fantastic too. We knew we were in for a real treat because we’d already experienced Marchand’s masterful cooking last year at Taste of London. At Frenchie, we opted for the five-course tasting menu, very reasonably priced at £65 (or with wine pairing, £115). The fish course was a delightful fusion of flavors with my favorite monkfish cooked in a classic French style accompanied by roasted cauliflower with Asian spices. The lamb course was excellent too.
The famous snails at L'Escargot in Soho, London L'Escargot
4. L'Escargot, Soho
While snails, not surprisingly, are a speciality of the house at L’Escargot (check out the mosaic snail on the doorstep), the menu also includes satisfying French classics like lobster bisque, salade nicoise and coq au vin. L’Escargot, a Soho landmark since 1927, has a fascinating history and over the years has attracted many famous guests from Coco Chanel to Mick Jagger. The restaurant is housed in a Georgian town-house that was once the private residence of the Duke of Portland. The first owner Georges Gaudin opened Le Bienvenue, on Greek Street, in 1896 and became famous as the first restaurant in England to serve snails. In 1927 when Gaudin moved to the larger, current venue, he renamed the restaurant L’Escargot after his most popular dish, harvested from the snail farm in the basement. Since Gaudin’s time, the restaurant was owned in the 1980s by Nick Lander and one of the first female Masters of Wine, Jancis Robinson and in the late 1990s by Chef Marco Pierre White. In February 2014 L’Escargot was acquired by Brian Clivaz (of The Arts Club, Home House and Langan’s Brasserie) and Laurence Isaacson (co-founder of Chez Gérard). The Head Chef is James Terrell (ex Langan’s Brasserie and Claridge’s).
Balthazar in Covent Garden David Loftus
5.Balthazar, Covent Garden
I've had many thrilling late night meals at Balthazar restaurant in New York so I was thrilled when the popular brasserie opened in London on the old site of Covent Garden's theatre museum a couple of years ago. Serving classic French bistro dishes cooked with traditional methods like my winter favorite, onion soup gratinee, roasted cod in a ragu of chorizo, beans and root vegetables, moules frites and steak frites, it’s no wonder that Balthazar quickly became one of London’s most popular brasseries. Red leather banquettes with brass railings, high ceilings and expansive windows add a grand flavor to this Parisian style dining room.
Cafe du Marche in Clerkenwell, London Cafe du Marche
6. Le Café du Marché, Clerkenwell
Le Café du Marché opened in November 1986 in a discreet location down a cobbled street off Charterhouse Square. Historic Smithfield market is nearby and Le Café du Marché, one of the oldest restaurants in the area, remains family run by Sophie Graham-Wood (there’s a photo of the founder Charlie Graham-Wood on the wall). A loyal team of staff, including Head Chef Antonio Pineda, has worked at Le Café du Marché for 20 years. The restaurant is in a converted warehouse that was once a corset factory, then a medical storage warehouse for nearby St. Bart’s hospital. I’ve been dining here since the late 1990s and it has always delivered a classic French bistro experience. The interiors have all the hallmarks of a traditional French bistro; white table cloths, wooden floors and exposed brick walls. A tasty new twist on bistro favorites like salade nicoise replaces tuna with tender grilled squid. A duck salad with endive, apple and hazlenuts is also delicious. While retaining menu favorites like fish soup, daily specials are on offer, with a complete menu change every five weeks. The desserts are almost as good as the savory dishes; a cherry tart with chocolate mint marquise is fantastic.
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d4d01239fd950d4f7e433a21fd67f393 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2019/07/31/five-reasons-to-visit-the-worlds-wine-capital-bordeaux/?sh=3c6ee1653a5a | Five Reasons To Visit The World's Wine Capital, Bordeaux | Five Reasons To Visit The World's Wine Capital, Bordeaux
Place de la Bourse, one of the most famous landmarks in Bordeaux, southwestern France Getty
Located in the world's best known area for wine tourism with 6,000 wine estates, the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France is a certainly an excellent base for vineyard tours, tastings and buying wine. Château Mouton Rothschild in nearby Pauillac offers tours, tastings and access to a fascinating wine museum. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.The Bordeaux city pass, available as 24, 48 or 72 hours, is essential as it provides unlimited access to public transportation, including the marvelous trams, sightseeing tours and cultural attractions. Here are just a few reasons to make Bordeaux part of your travel plans this year.
La Cité du Vin, one of Bordeaux's most popular attractions Andfotography/Paul Allen
1. Museums and galleries
Musee d’art Contemporain, housed over several floors of a former goods warehouse has a superb permanent collection including French and international artists from the 1960s to the present. Superb temporary exhibitions at this museum are alone often a reason to visit Bordeaux. An exhibition featuring 400 works by the by Japanese artist Takako Saito (on until 22 September 2019) represents the first time this Japanese artist has shown outside of her native country. Base sous-marine is one of five bases built by the Germans during the second world war to house their submarines. Today the giant concrete and steel bunker is a cultural base with an annual program of exhibitions, concerts and theatre. One of the city's newest attractions is the high tech wine museum La Cité du Vin, officially opened in 2016 by President Francois Hollande.
La Table Deruelle on the Place St Michel where the weekly flea market takes place Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
2. Entertainment
Housed in the impressive Grand Theatre in the main square is the National Opera of Bordeaux and the Ballet National de Bordeaux. The eighteenth century neo-classical building has often been described as one of the world's most beautiful theatres. The facade includes twelve Corinthian columns plus ornate sculptures of the nine Muses and three goddesses (Juno, Venus and Minerva). For a less opulent night out, jazz and blues fans will enjoy the Thelonius jazz club which has live jazz or blues performances most nights and a congenial vibe. And to stock up on vintage vinyl for your own collection, visit Sunday Flea market in the St Michel square around the cathedral. After securing your vintage finds, stop for coffee of brunch in one of the numerous cafes that hem the square.
Place des Quinconces, Bordeaux Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
3. Historic architecture
Bordeaux has over 350 historic buildings, some of which feature English sections from the 300 year period when the city was under English rule, including the clock tower that dates back to the 15th century. Some buildings date back to Roman times and it has almost as many 18th-century buildings as Paris. Bordeaux is a UNESCO World Heritage site and described as "as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment." Notable squares and buildings include Place de la Bourse, Palais Rohan (the city hall), Allées de Tourny (now filled with smart shops and cafes) and Place des Quinconces (one of the largest squares in Europe).
Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac near Bordeaux Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
4. Wine Tours
Unless you're teetotal, you can't visit Bordeaux without going to at least one wine chateau. Appealing to my twin passions of art and wine is Château Mouton Rothschild. Afterall, as Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) said "a great wine is a work of art." We visited for the primeur, the first wine tasting in April, where we attempted to judge, along with the experts which wines would be worth investing in. Equally fascinating is the wine art museum, overseen by the erudite Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, dedicated to wine artefacts like goblets and the Mouton Rothschild’s artist-designed labels.
Avocado with spider crab at the two Michelin-starred Gordon Ramsay restaurant Le Pressoir d'Argent,... [+] Bordeaux Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
5. Food and Drink
If you’re not on a tight budget, Le Pressoir d’Argent, the two Michelin-starred Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Le Grand Hotel, Bordeaux offers a wonderful dining experience. While you’re not likely to see the famous chef as his other 34 restaurants mean he’s only in the kitchen a few times a year, the chefs running the kitchen at Le Pressoir are superbly skilled. The restaurant takes its name from the Christofle lobster press, an extremely rare piece of kit, with only five existing worldwide. Chef Ramsay's Bordeaux restaurant has one of these. Le Pressoir offers a five-course tasting menu that included lots of other surprises too such as appetisers, an excellent cheese course and pre and post desserts. The menu is seasonal and highlights on our visit included spider crab with avocado and radishes, wild john dory with shellfish mariniere, roast chicken with black truffle and herbs and a gorgeous smooth and crunchy chocolate and hazelnut dessert.
Echoppe des Halles near La Cité du Vin Paul Allen/Andfotography.com
Just up the road from the Le Pressoir is the more casual Brasserie le Noailles, offering a fine selection of classic french bistro dishes like confit of duck, grilled sole and steak frites. Slightly further out of the center but an easy tram ride is the buzzy Les Halles de Bacalan packed with food stalls including Echoppe des Halles where we perched happily on stools at the counter and ate a plate of delicious steak and sauteed potatoes. Combine a visit to this market with the museum La Cité du Vin across the road.
The Botanical Gardens in Bordeaux, southwestern France Andfotography/Paul Allen
How to get there and where to stay:
There are daily direct flights from London Gatwick to Bordeaux on British Airways and on budget airlines Easyjet and Ryanair. Five star luxury hotel, Le Grand Hotel Bordeaux is a top choice, both for its accommodations and for its two Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Pressoir d'Argent. This Inter Continental property, on the Place de la Comédie, offers imposing views of the Opera House across the square, from the balconies of many of its suites and rooms.
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501af9bb3d39a5e5a4afb74a4802a5cd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2019/08/23/six-essential-new-travel-products/?sh=613d4140396e | Seven Essential New Travel Products | Seven Essential New Travel Products
Neon Hope sunglasses come with gold chain and leather case Neon Hope
Recently launched products that will improve or enhance the travel experience range from noise-cancelling headphones to chic but comfortable trousers made from ocean plastic waste to organic hair and beauty products. Here are seven new products to take on your next trip.
1.Neon Hope sunglasses
Neon Hope sunglasses Neon Hope
Sunglasses that double as jewellery is a brilliant idea for a travel accessory. Neon Hope is a new London accessories brand launched this year that is both practical and chic. Their sunglasses come with multi-functional chains and a leather case. So you have high quality sunglasses and a necklace in one. The label’s first collection has three gorgeous sunglass designs alongside a selection of accompanying leather cases and chains. The sunglasses are each named after a goddess of the sun: Bast, Sulis and Eos and each pair includes a matching leather case and gold chain. They're currently available to buy online and will be at three pop up spaces during New York (251 Elizabeth Street, 10012), London (138 Long Acre, WC2) and Milan (Via Dell'Orso 14) fashion weeks in September 2019.
2.Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9 Headphones
The new Beoplay H9 over-ear headphones from Bang & Olufsen Bang & Olufsen
Stylish, comfortable, noise cancelling headphones with great sound are essential when travelling, especially for long-haul. Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9 Headphones launched this year are one of the best on the market. The new Beoplay H9 comes with an over-ear style with a lightweight aluminum headband covered in cowhide leather. The lambskin coated ear cushion is super soft and features adaptive memory foam that forms to the shape of the ear for extra comfort. New features for Bang & Olufsen's latest headphones include: Google Voice Assistant and up to 25 hours of playtime (7 hours longer than H8).
3. Cygnett wireless power pack
Cygnett ChargeUp Swift 10K wireless power pack Cygnett
Day long sightseeing usually results in a dead phone so a portable charger is a must. Cygnett ChargeUp Swift 10K features wireless charging (for iPhone8 and up) from a 10,000mAh portable power bank. You can also use the cable to charge your tablet, camera or drone - any device that uses a USB connection to charge. The pack has 3.8 full charges using the cable or 2.8 wireless charges (based on an iPhone 8) and a digital display shows the percentage of battery life left in the pack. Crucially, the pack charges faster than many competitors as it uses SmartChip technology which charges up to 50% faster than other power banks.
4.Riley Studio trousers
Riley Studio trousers Riley Studio
Dressing comfortably yet stylishly for travel is always a challenge, especially when flying. Riley Studio is a new sustainable lounge wear brand that features a range that works really well for travel. The fabrics are made from upcycled waste products like ocean plastic and fishing nets plus natural fibres. They're made to last a lifetime, not just for one season, so you can see and feel the quality in their garments. The super soft track pants, which come in black or red, are ideal for a long-haul flight and they're unisex. Made from Q-NOVA® by Fulgar recycled nylon, these track pants are created using yarn discards from Fulgar's production cycle, which normally would have been thrown away. The zips at each ankle, plus the weight and feel of the fabric make for a loungewear rather than leisurewear look and a travel wardrobe staple.
5.Wild Source travel size products
The Wild Source travel range Wild Source
Wild Source has just launched a handy new travel-sized range of plant-based 100% vegan products that are both practical and luxurious. This new skincare brand combines botanical, raw ingredients and organic essential oils and tries to remain as close to nature as possible. The range includes four travel-sized products in 15 ml in an attractive organic cotton canvas washbag: miracle oil, a facial oil made of organic thistle, rosehip, geranium and Vitamin E; a multi-purpose cleansing oil made from baobab, calendula and sweet orange that will remove eye makeup too plus a muslin cloth; a lovely smelling harmony oil of marula, blackcurrant and watermelon seed is great on sensitive skin; and night nectar with prickly pear and baobab plus soothing lavender and frankincense. The brand also has excellent sustainability credentials using glass containers for the products.
6.Rahua hair products
Rahua Travel size shampoo and conditioner Rahua
If you're fed up with what hotel shampoos do to your hair, you'll be as delighted as I was to discover top organic brand Rahua has recently launched travel size versions of its most popular products. The brand is the brainchild of New York City hairstylist Fabian Lliguin who after visiting the Amazon rainforest as an environmentalist noticed that the local people had fantastically lustrous hair by using Rahua oil. This oil produced by the Quechua-Shuar tribe is from Rahua nuts from self-sustained trees that the women cook and hand-extract the oil from. After the rainforest trip, Anna Ayer, Fabian’s wife and business partner, came onboard, adding her expertise as a fashion designer and together they launched the Rahua brand to formulate a line of innovative, plant-based products featuring rahua oil. The travel sizes of shampoo and conditioner are sold as duos or individually and there are travel sized versions of their shower gel and palo santo oil perfume too.
7.Glister Mini Adventurist flat iron
Glister travel size flat iron Glister
And to further tame your ruly locks, a petite flat iron called the "Mini Adventurist" made by Glister comes in a chic travel pouch and will occupy very little room in your carry-on. The plates are made from black tourmaline and the irons feature ionic technology to help create smooth and frizz-free hair. This product is dual voltage ( 110-240V, 50/60Hz) so safe to use on your travels.
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650abe56b8e8ba97571513ce1365ad94 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2020/02/26/six-of-the-best-barista-style-milk-alternatives-for-2020/ | Six Of The Best Barista Style Milk Alternatives For 2020 | Six Of The Best Barista Style Milk Alternatives For 2020
The value and volume sales of plant-based milk (coconut, almond, soya, rice and oat milks) in the UK increased by more than 10% from 2016 to 2018 and continues to rise due to consumer demand. People are looking for non-animal based products due to health reasons such as intolerances, animal welfare concerns and increasingly, awareness of the impact of dairy and meat on the planet. The big mover has been oat milk, with UK sales increasing by 80% in two years (£12 million to £36 million from 2016-2018) according to Mintel. Oat milk also happens to be the dairy alternative that baristas seem to prefer. Ishen Paran, UK General Manager at Oatly, says that “we’ve previously seen the success of the plastic bag charge and phasing out of plastic straws and you could argue that 2019 was the year which saw a seismic movement towards being more mindful of the impact of food and drink production, not just what it’s eventually packaged in. Last year, the dairy alternatives category grew by 13.5% globally, which we believe is primarily due to an increase in awareness from consumers that the purchasing decisions they make have a direct impact on the environment.”
Assortment of non dairy vegan milk Getty
So what makes a good milk alternative that professional and amateur baristas are happy to make hot drinks with? The product needs to have a good “stretch” which allows it to produce foam for steamed drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. Protein molecules melt when they are heated, so incorporating air into heated milk or non-dairy milk causes these proteins to trap the air and “stretch” the milk into a foam. The structure of the coffee drink is usually the biggest problem when using dairy-free milks. Big temperature changes, the acidity of coffee and the mechanical impact of frothing can cause a plant milk to curdle. This is due to a change in the natural structure of proteins in the plant milk called denaturation. A milk alternative that delivers froth and doesn’t curdle is a tall order. Here are six milk alternatives, mostly oat based, that have each been tested using a home espresso-based drinks maker and work well.
Swedish company Oatly's Barista oat drink Oatly
It’s no surprise that Oatly's Barista oat drink (£1.99/liter) is a top choice of baristas. Founded in the 1990s, the Swedish-based company is one of the veterans in the dairy substitute market. The company’s patented enzyme technology, based on research from Lund University, converts fiber rich oats into nutritional liquid food that is ideally designed for humans. Oatly’s Ishen Paran explains that “oat drinks are the closest alternatives to dairy, in terms of taste and behavior.” Oatly certainly does have a pleasant creamy texture and taste unlike some other dairy alternatives which can be a bit thin and watery. And as oats are naturally sweet, drinks don't require any added sweeteners. The ingredient list is simple: water, 10% oats, rapeseed oil, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphates, iodised salt and vitamins (D2, riboflavin and B12). Also, while Oatly is plant based and sustainable, it does also include an acidity regulator (dipotassium phosphate) which is key to the super foamability. This ingredient comes from naturally occurring minerals (phosphorus and potassium) and is an approved additive within the EU and the USA.
Barista Oat and Barista Almond organic m*lks from Rude Health Rude Health
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Rude Health, a London-based company, was founded in 2005 by Nick and Camilla Barnard to produce a healthy and delicious muesli with no artificial or refined ingredients. Other cereals and snacks followed, with dairy alternative milks being launched in 2014. And this year they launched two new products, Barista Almond (£3.00/liter) and Barista Oat (£2.50/liter).These two new organic drinks were specifically created to blend well with both coffee and tea with no curdling or “splitting.” Interestingly, Barista Almond includes oats to produce its creamy texture and natural sunflower lecithin which works well with coffee. In the Barista Oat version they’ve added a small amount of seaweed to tone down the acidity.
Minor Figures Oat M*lk Minor Figures
A company that has been specialising in coffee products (cold brew coffee) since 2014 seems well placed to create milk alternatives that work well in hot beverages. London brand Minor Figures released a Barista Organic Oat milk (£2.00/liter) last autumn that is 100% plant based with no added sugar. Ingredients are water, organic oats, organic sunflower oil, salt and acidity regulator (potassium carbonate). It doesn’t split in acidic espresso, making it another good alternative to dairy milk. The company was founded by Stuart Forsyth, who was previously with reusable cup company KeepCup, Jonathan Chiu, a former Managing Director of the tea company Make Mine a Builders and William Rixon a former touring jazz trumpeter.
Oat M*lk by M*lkman is delivered in glass bottles to your door. M*lkman
Harking back to the days of the traditional milkman, Oat M*lk by M*lkman is delivered in returnable glass bottles direct to your door. The company was founded in 2017 by a smoothie stall vendor on London’s Brick Lane who decided that milk alternatives should be supplied in something other than plastic tetrapacks. They offer coconut or oat milks (£2.75/liter) with the latter as a barista version. Ingredients include water, oats, rapeseed oil, pink salt, potassium carbonate, sucrose esters and calcium carbonate. Taste is good as is the foamability.
Barista m*lk made from pea protein from Swedish company Sproud Sproud
Unlike the other companies featured here, Swedish brand Sproud makes dairy alternative Sproud Barista (£1.90/liter) from pea protein. Launched in Malmo, Sweden in 2018 by a group of entrepreneurs who identified the need for new sources of protein with a lower carbon footprint. The modest and healthy-sounding list of ingredients includes water, pea protein, agave syrup, rapeseed oil, gluten-free oat oil, salt, vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), B2 (riboflavin) and B12 (cobalamin). The taste is mild, doesn’t overwhelm the coffee taste and the foamability is good too.
Rebel Kitchen's dairyfree m*lks Rebel Kitchen
UK company Rebel Kitchen launched three milk alternatives late last year (each £2.39/liter). Founders Ben and Tamara Arbib realised that many of the milk substitutes on the market were too watery and weak so they aimed to produce a mylk that more fully replicates dairy milk. The organic mylks are available in skimmed, semi skimmed and whole varieties and each contain six ingredients: spring water, coconut cream, cashew, brown rice, nutritional yeast and himalayan salt. The mylks do have a lovely creamy consistency and the flavor blends nicely without overpowering, in both coffee and tea. The semi-skimmed version is the best to use in barista drinks.
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308959aef6207737f8360562e515a258 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2021/01/20/critic-launches-worlds-smallest-online-wine-store-with-favorite-bottles-under-15/?sh=cd4187714537 | Critic Launches World’s Smallest Online Wine Store, With Favorite Bottles Under £15 | Critic Launches World’s Smallest Online Wine Store, With Favorite Bottles Under £15
Monthly selection of wines from the world's smallest online wine shop Alvin Caudwell
Well-known British food and wine critic William Sitwell launched the world's smallest online wine store in the autumn of 2020, with a monthly changing selection of his favorite wines. William’s House Wines aims to make wine buying easier by offering only three white, four red and one sparkling wine at any one time. He changes the eight-bottle selection in the online store every month so customers are able to sample new wines on a regular basis. The criteria for choosing the wines is based on taste, quality and value for money, with most bottles £10-£12, always well under £15. The shop has actually doubled in size since launching, with the addition of an eight-bottle “cellar” section for fine wine connoisseurs who are happy to spend more. These specially-selected premium range of wines are priced between £20 and £40 per bottle.
Wine critic William Sitwell William Sitwell
As restaurant critic for The Telegraph, a broadcaster and a critic on MasterChef, William Sitwell knows his food and wine well. He was the editor of acclaimed magazine Waitrose Food for 16 years and is the author of four books: A History of Food in 100 Recipes, Eggs or Anarchy, The Really Quite Good British Cookbook and The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out. Like many of us, he explored new business ideas during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. While housebound and searching for a straightforward way to buy wine, he decided to set up an online wine shop himself and stock it with the wines he loves. It’s only been running for a few months but he says he’s already “had such great feedback from my customers. People love the simplicity of what we offer, have really enjoyed the wines they’ve tried and have loved trying bottles they’ve never come across.”
The province of La Rioja in northern Spain is well known for its wines under the brand Denominación ... [+] de Origen Calificada Rioja. Getty Images
William Sitwell says: “I love wine and I love the extraordinary complexities of the grape but sometimes the degree of choice makes buying good wine a nightmare. My shop solves that problem. I taste every wine and only list the best, the ones I would personally recommend to friends and family.” The critic offers excellent advice about buying cheap wines from supermarkets. William’s House Wines are priced between £10 and £15 which is, he says “the sweet spot of wine purchasing. Unless you spend over £7, you’re not investing in actual juice; just the costs of production, glass, transport and tax. So, between £10 and £14 you know you’re getting good wine.”
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Epineuil in Burgundy, France, one of William Sitwell's favorite wine regions. Universal Images Group via Getty Images
William’s House Wines are sourced from all over the world and include familiar and more unusual grapes. His favorite vineyards are in Santorini (Greece), Quinta de Noval (Portugal), Burgundy (France), Rathfinney (Sussex) and Renishaw (Derbyshire). Each bottle is described in an informative and often amusing way, with screwcap bottles described as offering “emergency access.” One of the reds currently in the shop is Front Row Shiraz 2018, which at £10.50 is a “great-value red blend for cold day warmth and comfort.” A white on offer is Picpoul de Pinet St Clair 2019, a dainty, crisp aperitif and great with seafood. And the sparkling wine this month is René Barbier Brut Reserve, that William describes as an “astonishly good cava, a truly great sparkling wine,” one that you could well think is champagne in a blind taste test.
In the more expensive cellar section this month, a “posh, sophisticated” Pinot Noir, the Henri de Villamont Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2018 at £22.50, “punches well above its weight and tastes like a super expensive wine at twice the price.” Drink it on its own or it’s a great accompaniment to roast chicken.
Nationwide delivery of William’s House Wines is also straightforward. The delivery charge is £7.95 nationwide, regardless of quantity, until you spend £120, at which point delivery is free.
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40b5c42acd743b8d010d86fe40e659b4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2021/02/16/braga-portugal-tops-european-best-destinations-2021/ | Braga, Portugal, Tops European Best Destinations 2021 | Braga, Portugal, Tops European Best Destinations 2021
Braga, Portugal, European Best Destination for 2021 Ticiana Giehl
European Best Destinations, an independent organization based in Brussels that promotes tourism in Europe, worked with 300 tourism offices and the European Commission’s sustainable tourism operation, Eden Network, to ask over 600,000 travellers from 192 countries around the world where they would most “like to go on holiday in Europe as soon as it is safe to travel?” Almost 40% of the voters were from outside Europe, indicating a strong desire to visit Europe again this year. Voters were asked to choose their top destination from a list of 20 shortlisted European places: Braga, Cappadocia, Calpe, Canary Islands, Cavtat, Capri, Cornwall, Dordogne Valley, Florence, Ghent, Kefalonia Island, Kotor, Lofoten Islands, Paris, Rome, Sibiu, Soca Valley, Tahiti Islands, Tübingen, and Vienna. The top five for 2021 include Braga, Rome, Cavtat, Florence and Sibiu.
1.Braga,Portugal
The monumental staircase of the Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary, Braga, Portugal De Agostini via Getty Images
Over 100,000 votes went to the northern Portuguese city, putting it in the top spot. As the home of Portugal’s first cathedral and a multitude of churches, shrines and historic monuments, Braga is often referred to as the “Portuguese Rome.” For history and architecture lovers, Braga’s beautiful and well preserved historic center is a major draw. It’s a university town so it’s lively and fun too with modern shopping streets and a reputation for fantastic gastronomy. For history buffs, Vila Gale Collection Braga is a good accommodation choice. Housed within a 16th-century former hospital, the four-star hotel has maintained the building’s historic structure and has carefully restored elements such as the original vaulted ceilings.
2.Rome, Italy
Fontana di Trevi, historic sculpture made by Bernini, Rome, Italy. VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
It’s no surprise that the Italian capital was in the top five. "Roma Caput Mundi" (Rome is the capital of the world) is true for a city that shaped Europe’s culture like no other. Rome is one of the best open-air museums, with the world’s largest amphitheater, The Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. And no visit to Rome would be complete without going to The Vatican Museums, famous for their sculptures, frescoes and paintings, and the main attraction, the Sistine Chapel housing Michelangelo’s glorious ceiling frescoes. If your budget allows, stay at one of Rome’s most luxurious addresses, the Hotel Eden, with a Michelin-starred rooftop restaurant and gorgeous spa.
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3.Cavtat, Croatia
Croatia: Cavtat. Landscape with the quays and the old town of the small seaside resort. Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
For sea, sun and nature lovers, Cavtat, located in Konavle region, has been called the Croatian Tuscany. The Italian influences can easily be spotted in this picturesque charming town. The old town center has plenty of cute cafes and excellent restaurants while the sparkling, palm tree lined waterfront is reminiscent of Saint Tropez. And a short bus or boat ride will bring you to Dubrovnik, another Croatian gem. A great accommodation choice is the 19th-century Villa Pattiera, a cozy, twelve-room family-run boutique hotel on the promenade that also has an excellent seafood restaurant.
4.Florence, Italy
Florence's Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore in the city center AFP via Getty Images
Surely one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Florence has also long been acknowledged as a great art and literary center starting with the Florentine Renaissance. Great artists, thinkers and writers including Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo all come from Florence. Obvious highlights for any visitor include the iconic Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the famous Uffizi Gallery which houses "The Birth of Venus" and the Galleria dell'Accademia with Michelangelo's most famous statue, "David." Florence takes its food seriously too, with its popular Mercato Centrale and renowned gelato in numerous ice cream parlors throughout the city. Stay at the lavish Four Seasons, housed in a stunning Renaissance palazzo formerly owned by an accountant for the Medici family. The hotel is set within the city's largest private park (11 acres) that is filled with fascinating historic statues, fountains, an Ionic temple, flowers and beautiful old trees. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary artworks are often also on show in the gardens. Even if you're not a guest of the hotel, you're welcome to stroll in the gardens and have a drink or pizza in the Pool Tree Bar.
5.Sibiu, Romania
Piata Mare Large Square from Council Tower in Sibiu, Romania showing the famous "houses with eyes." getty
Located in the heart of the province of Transylvania, Sibiu is a brilliant mix of old and new. European Capital of Culture a few years ago, Sibiu is also a first choice destination for foodies with its burgeoning restaurant scene. The magnificent medieval center features houses with eyes, giving it the nickname, “The City with Eyes.” An attractive city to visit any time in the year, in December it’s extra special with a Christmas market that is probably one of the most beautiful in Europe. The charming Noblesse Boutique hotel, on a quiet street in the historic center, near the famous Bridge of Lies, is an excellent accommodation choice.
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b6ea40665596a793873dede65ce79d67 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2021/03/02/best-chocolate-easter-eggs-for-2021/ | Best Chocolate Easter Eggs For 2021 | Best Chocolate Easter Eggs For 2021
Easter eggs from Laduree Laduree
Here’s a selection of some of the most beautiful and best tasting Easter Eggs available for 2021. All of these chocolatiers have good vegan options and most use eco-friendly, plastic-free packaging.
Rococo, 360 g Easter Eggs £32.95
Rococo Easter Eggs Rococo
Much loved London chocolatier Rococo has won plenty of awards from the Academy of Chocolate and the International Chocolate Awards, leading to the award of Chocolatier of the Year and the inaugural Golden Bonbon Award, for the highest-scoring chocolate of the year. All chocolate is handmade in small batches in their London kitchen by Head Chocolatier Mireille Discher and her talented team of chocolatiers. Rococo’s Easter range is always tempting, even more so this year with five fabulous new eggs, including the Ruby Chocolate Egg made from sweet and fruity ruby chocolate, mixed with crumbly shortbread pieces and hidden inside are raspberries encased in ruby chocolate. Rococo’s packaging is always beautiful; the ruby egg is wrapped in bright pink foil, inside the classic blue and white print box. Also new for 2021 are: Rose & Violet Dark Chocolate Egg with violet and rose creams inside; Orange Milk Chocolate Egg containing mini milk chocolate eggs; Moroccan Mint Dark Chocolate Egg and Vegan Milk Chocolate Egg, made from cashew milk chocolate, with roasted hazelnuts dusted in cocoa powder inside.
Melt London, 300 g Strawberry vegan Egg £29.99
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Strawberry vegan Easter Egg from Melt London Melt London
Melt, a chocolatier with chocolate kitchens and shops based in Notting Hill, has won many accolades for a wide range of moreish handmade chocolates and for using plastic free packaging. The brand’s creative and delicious Easter eggs include a sea salt dark chocolate egg, a handpainted “Van Gogh” egg and the very pretty Strawberry vegan egg, made with real strawberries and 70% dark chocolate.
Chococo, 450 g Giant Sea salt caramels Egg £29.50
New Giant Easter Egg filled with sea salt caramels from Chococo Chococo
Award-winning, artisan Dorset-based chocolatier Chococo presents its collection of handcrafted Easter Eggs in 100% plastic-free packaging for the first time this year. There are three different Easter egg collections, the new Giant Collection, the Fine Collection and the Fun Collection. The Chococo team has created four giant versions of their annual best sellers. An obvious choice for adults is the Giant Sea Salt Caramels Egg, made from 45% Venezuela origin milk chocolate with 100g of Dorset Sea Salt Caramel gems inside. The Giant Honeycombe Egg is available in dark or milk chocolate. And, for children, the Giant Dorset Dinosaur milk chocolate Egg includes cute mini dark and white chocolate dinosaurs inside.
Ladurée, 185 g Milk or dark chocolate Egg £28
Milk chocolate Easter Egg from Ladurée Ladurée
French favorite Ladurée partnered with artisan chocolatier Patrice Chapon for this year’s Easter Collection. Exclusively for Ladurée, Chapon has created intense flavors for the range that includes a dark chocolate egg made with 75% Chuao chocolate, encrusted with toasted almonds and a milk chocolate egg of 48% Chuao chocolate and encrusted with toasted almonds. Also available are moreish Sicilian almond and Piedmont hazelnut praline little eggs covered with white chocolate.
Love Cocoa, 500 g Prosecco Easter egg with gin truffles £35
Love Cocoa's Prosecco Easter Egg filled with pink gin truffles Love Cocoa
Love Cocoa, founded by James Cadbury, continues to produce some of the most creative and tasty chocolate products. The star of this year’s Easter range is a giant Prosecco milk chocolate egg with pink gin truffles. The creamy, smooth chocolate egg is inside a gorgeous pink package that is plastic free and 100% recyclable. And boosting its green credentials even further, Love Cocoa’s entire range supports the brand’s “Plant A Tree” commitment, which saw 508,000 trees planted in northern Cameroon in 2020 to fight against climate change. Also new this year is a vegan sea salt 70% dark chocolate egg with hazelnut chocolate truffles.
HiP, 150 g Salted caramel oatmilk Egg £12.50
A vegan salted caramel oat milk Egg from Hip HiP
James Cadbury’s new vegan brand HiP (Happiness in Plants) offers a creamy oat-based alternative to traditional dairy milk chocolate, with 35% less sugar. For Easter, an oat milk chocolate with sea salt and caramel egg is sure to please.
Gava, reusable empty Eggs from £7.50
Eco-friendly refillable Easter Eggs from Gava Gava
Swedish Easter Äggs, from gift company Gåva, are a range of lovely reusable Easter eggs that you can fill with what you like or add Swedish pick n’ mix, chocolate pralines and vegan sweets, sold as optional extras. Available in various sizes and designs (including a DIY Ägg that you decorate yourself), Swedish Easter Äggs are designed to hold any number of surprises, from homemade treats and experience vouchers to jewellery, toys or chocolates. Gåva (pronounced gaw-vah), which means “gift,” was founded by London-based Swedish natives Jessica Dahlin, Annica Wainwright and Linda Nordlund and born out of a desire to bring the Scandinavian art of mindful gifting to the UK.
Charbonnel & Walker, White chocolate Egg and truffles £30
Pink Easter Egg with Marc de Champagne Truffles from Charbonnel and Walker Charbonnel and Walker
One of Britain’s first artisan chocolate shops was founded in 1875 by Mrs Walker and Mme Charbonnel (from Maison Boissier, Paris) and their shop in the elegant Royal Arcade in London’s Mayfair is still serving chocolate treats today. New this Easter is a white chocolate Egg, filled with their legendary pink Marc de Champagne truffles.
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cd55c6522d55bb2ddc8a52fbb4cfafa8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanneshurvell/2021/04/07/uks-best-home-delivery-burger-kits/ | UK’s Best Burger Kits For Home Delivery | UK’s Best Burger Kits For Home Delivery
Ground burger from The Ethical Butcher Ground
Burgers are one home delivery item that are best prepared on arrival. A cooked takeaway burger inevitably requires reheating and ideally taken apart to avoid ruining the fillings. It’s never going to taste as good when reheated. Many burger restaurants have realised this and have created DIY home burger kits with raw patties and all the ingredients to cook and assemble at home. Here are some of the best home delivery kits from the UK’s favorite burger joints, including a vegan burger restaurant and a chicken burger option.
Bleecker, nationwide, from £22 for four burgers
Bleecker at Home's legendary cheeseburgers Bleecker
Zan Kaufman, the American founder of Bleecker burgers left a corporate law job in New York City to sell burgers out of a van in London in 2012 and now has seven permanent locations in the capital. Bleecker uses rare-breed, grass-fed beef from small farms in the UK and last year, they won the UK National Burger Award for their double cheeseburger. Loyal fans have been kept satisfied during the pandemic with home delivery kits that include the same meat, buns, cheese and seasoning that they use in their kitchens, as well as a full bottle of Bleecker house sauce. Nationwide delivery is every Friday.
The Ethical Butcher x Ground burger, nationwide delivery, £37 for four burgers and chips, nationwide
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The Ethical Butcher has partnered with Ground for their burger kits Ground
The Ethical Butcher, renowned for its 100% pasture fed, sustainable meat, has teamed up with Ground Burgers to provide superb quality burgers and home made chips for home delivery. The burgers are made from dry-aged, pasture-fed beef (absolutely no soy or grain feeds are used) from four of The Ethical Butcher’s UK farms. Their meat is good for the planet, better for animal welfare, and crucially, tastes better too. The kit is super easy to use with minimum prep required but the results are outstanding. Simply oven cook the chips and season, cook the burgers, toast the buns and then assemble using as much of the confit chilli, baconnaise and seasonal pickles as you like.
Honest Burgers, £16 for two burgers or £24 for four (delivery £6 nationwide)
Honest Burgers meal kits Honest Burgers
Honest Burgers are one of London’s best gourmet burger chains so it’s no surprise that their DIY burger kits are excellent. Each Honest at Home DIY burger kit comes with everything you need to make their signature burgers at home: chopped British chuck steak and rib cap patties from their Honest Butchery, British Cheddar slices, dry cured smoked bacon rashers, burger buns from The Bread Factory plus carmelised red onion relish, pickles and a cheerful green tote bag. The kits also include rosemary salt to add to your homemade chips, if you’re so inclined.
Burger and Beyond, nationwide delivery, from £25 for four
Burger and Beyond's legendary cheese and bacon burger Justin De Souza
Burger and Beyond offers a range of DIY Kits, including best-selling burgers and signature sides, delivered to your door. Expect the same top-quality ingredients used in their restaurant, including native breed meat from Swaledale Farm in the Yorkshire Dales. A customer favorite is the Bacon Butter Burger with 35 day aged minced beef blend, crispy pancetta bacon, American cheese, burnt butter mayo and pickled onions between two demi brioche buns.
Gaucho, nationwide delivery from £9/burger
Gaucho burger kits Gaucho
Argentinian restaurant chain Gaucho has created a home delivery brand, Meat And Bun, offering ready made burger kits. Choose from Classic with 100% Argentine beef patty served in a brioche bun with bacon, baby gem lettuce, Monterey Jack cheese, mustard onions, pickled cucumber, cherry tomato jam or Bacon Cheese for an even more decadent treat.
Vurger Co, nationwide delivery, vegan kit for two £18.95
Vegan burger kit from The Vurger Co The Vurger Co
The Vurger Co. is one of the best vegan burger restaurants in London. The burgers use a variety of beans and pulses as their base and vary in spiceness, including black beans, chargrilled pepper and corn. Their best selling home delivery kit is the NY Melt Meal Kit, all vegan, with two patties, “cheese” slices, brioche vegan buns, lettuce, gherkins, tomato, burger sauce and a portion of skin on fries.
Chick n’ Sours, nationwide delivery, £50 for four
Chicken burger kits from Chick n' Sours Chick n' Sours
Chick 'n' Sours, the much-loved fried chicken restaurant founded by Carl Clarke and David Wolanski in 2015, has just launched a home DIY kit, featuring the restaurant's famous fried chicken sandwiches, a great alternative to beef burgers. The “All In” kit features the restaurant’s most loved dishes, including the legendary crispy, juicy fried chicken. The kit includes two chicken sandwiches, four kung pao wings, four hot wings, four tenders, plus dips, watermelon salad, green coleslaw and bang bang cucumbers.
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d2d294d8b1cf6785f62fe7ab647b1c52 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2011/02/07/eminems-super-bowl-ad-for-chrysler-had-ceo-worried/ | Eminem's Super Bowl Ad For Chrysler Had CEO Worried | Eminem's Super Bowl Ad For Chrysler Had CEO Worried
The most memorable ad during Sunday's Super Bowl -- Chrysler's two-minute spot featuring rap star Eminem -- was a gut-wrenching decision for the carmaker's chief executive Sergio Marchionne.
"This was not an easy choice...apart from the money involved...and this is pretty expensive stuff, but you know, the choice of the topic, the choice of the characters in the thing were not easy choices. I had to think about this really long and hard," Marchionne said. Why? I asked him. "You know, I love Eminem but ...I also know that some of the choices of language that he has made are things that are not what I would consider to be commonly shared," he said, trying to be delicate about the rapper's hard-core lyrics and profanity.
Video: Chrysler's Super Bowl Ad
But the Italian-born Marchionne, who grew up in Canada and spent two years living across the river from Detroit, in Windsor, Ontario (Canada's car capital), understands the gritty determination of the Motor City better than any politician in Washington or talk show host in Los Angeles or New York. The ad, he believes, addresses the lingering prejudices against domestic cars and the companies that produce them. "A lot of people are underestimating what happened here," he said, a reference to the hell-and-back bankruptcy and restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. "The great thing about this country, it has the ability to learn."
Eminem, one of Detroit's most famous residents, gets it, Marchionne said. "He represents part of America that I think is important as hell. I think it’s at the heart of what we are." OK, not everyone likes the rapper's music, Marchionne conceded, "but a lot of what he is is us, you know? I mean there’s sort of a seriousness about that kid that is – I call him a kid. I mean, he’s not a kid anymore – which is true of us. The fact that we’re coming out of nowhere, right? ...A lot of people last year asked us, you know, are you still going to be here in 12 months? The only thing that held back the execution squad from shooting Chrysler was me."
And so Marchionne, whose Fiat Autos stepped in to run Chrysler after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, decided to tell the world, on the biggest night of television, that Chrysler is not only still alive, but proudly turning itself around. In the past year, Chrysler has introduced 16 new or significantly upgraded vehicles that have managed to turn the minds of even the toughest automotive reviewers, many of whom have said they are surprised at how much Chrysler vehicles have improved in such a short time.
Marchionne kept the contents of the ad a secret even from his own management team until a meeting last Monday when he showed it to them in the conference room across the hall from his office, where a framed Dodge poster offers the rallying cry, "Give a shit." Some of his execs were almost moved to tears, he said. "I think we blew them away. I don’t think that anybody expected this."
The spot by Wieden+Kennedy is the first two-minute Super Bowl commercial in history, which is notable in itself. But aside from the cute Darth Vader kid in the Volkswagen ad, nothing from the eight other car brands (or from Bridgestone, CarMax or cars.com, for that matter) who advertised during the big game could touch Chrysler's goosebump-inducing message.
The ad shows gritty, everyday pictures of Detroit and Detroiters, as the voiceover says: "I got a question for you. What does this city know about luxury, huh? What does a town that's been to hell and back know about the finer things in life? Well I'll tell ya, more than most. You see, it's the hottest fires that make the hardest steel. Add hard work and conviction and a know-how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. That's who we are. That's our story. Now it's probably not the one you been reading in the papers. The one written by folks who've never even been here, and don't know what we're capable of. Because when it comes to luxury it's as much about where it's from as who it's for. Now we're from America. But this isn't New York City. Or the Windy City. Or Sin City. And we're certainly no one's Emerald City." At that point, Eminem drives up in front of Detroit's historic Fox Theatre in a new Chrysler 200. Inside, he walks on stage where a gospel choir is singing, and then turns to the camera with that serious, almost angry look of his and says, "This is the Motor City. This is what we do." It's followed by Chrysler's new tagline, "Imported from Detroit."
Chrysler's marketing chief Olivier Francois, says the new tagline was intended to convey the message that you don't have to cross an ocean to obtain luxury; it's available right here. The brand chose Eminem and his song “Lose Yourself,” Francois says, "because the lyrics tell us we all have the ability to do anything we set our mind to and that failure is not an option." At Chrysler, he said, failure is not an option.
I got a sneak peek of the ad a week ago when I sat down with Marchionne to talk about the progress Chrysler is making and the difficult challenges that still lie ahead. In the middle of our conversation, he stopped and swore me to secrecy--it turns out Eminem hadn't approved the ad yet. Then he pulled a USB flash drive out of his jeans pocket and plugged it into the laptop on the conference room table. With a few keystrokes, he projected the ad on the giant screen at the far end of the room. Other than Chrysler's management team, which had seen it for the first time a few hours earlier that day, I was the first person to view it.
I, too, was blown away by the imagery and the message. As a transplanted East Coaster who made Detroit my adopted hometown 25 years ago, I can say with confidence: This is exactly how Detroiters feel. And since its airing during Sunday night's game, it's the only thing people in Detroit are talking about today.
What about outside Detroit? Will it change any of the negative perceptions about domestic cars or erase any of the hostility toward Chrysler and General Motors after their taxpayer bailouts? That remains to be seen. If so, I think GM ought to pay royalties to Chrysler.
But here's my biggest problem with the ad: It chose to highlight the new Chrysler 200 in an ad that talks about the perception of luxury. The Chrysler 200 is a replacement for the Chrysler Sebring, a car that never was and (even with a new name) never will be mistaken for a luxury car. Priced at $20,000 to $25,000, it competes in the thick of one of the most cutthroat segments of the market: mid-sized sedans. At least now, with the vast improvements to the car, including a new interior, engine and suspension, it can get in the game.
Perhaps Chrysler knew it would be a stretch for people to consider the 200 a luxury car. Maybe all the company can hope for is that Americans stop trash-talking their own country's cars. That must be why it's including this line in other ads: "A car you don't have to own to be proud of."
Selling pride is fine. But if Chrysler is going to survive, it has to sell cars.
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bbbb5147cc5c436528b13721831b3d39 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2011/03/29/my-new-appreciation-for-the-american-auto-worker/ | My New Appreciation For The American Auto Worker | My New Appreciation For The American Auto Worker
Working away on GM's simulated assembly line.
After spending half a day learning how to put together an automobile, I have this to say: it is not as easy as it looks.
General Motors and the United Auto Workers union invited me and 15 other automotive reporters to participate in a simulated work environment training class at GM's Orion assembly plant near Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday. The hands-on training is virtually the same as GM employees receive before they're certified to start building cars for real.
My job was to use a power tool to attach front and rear "bumpers" on a wooden mock-up of a car as it rolled down the assembly line. Then later, I swapped jobs with a coworker and began installing "headlights" and "tail lights."
I was, in a word, terrible at it.
I got so flustered trying to keep up with the moving car that I fumbled with the nuts and kept dropping them on the floor. Each time I messed up, I had to pull a yellow andon chord overhead, triggering a red light and a computerized rendition of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme, which summoned my team leader to clean up my mess (lest I fall further behind).
At least I wasn't alone. The other journalists were just as bad, or worse, at their jobs. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton and I were like Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up in the candy factory. She dropped a "bumper" on the floor, meaning the part had to be scrapped and our team would not meet its cost target. Safety was also lacking: the journalists recorded 22 safety "incidents" in 20 minutes -- including a worker who was hit four times by a car coming down the line. At the end of our first 20-minute shift, we produced only 13 cars (instead of 18, our target), with a total of 25 defects, which meant we would have to return Saturday for unscheduled overtime to fix the faulty cars and meet our production goals. I learned that's a very bad thing.
The good news is that by working together in teams, we could correct each other's mistakes before they made it too far down the assembly line. While installing headlights, I spotted a car that was missing its front bumper, so I notified the team leader who jumped in to complete the installation while the rest of us tried to stay focused on keeping up with the cars coming down the line.
The simulated work environment, created by GM in 1999, is a way for workers to learn the concepts of continuous improvement, quality, workplace organization and standardized work processes. After our first shift, each team discussed ways to boost efficiency, safety and quality. My team felt the distribution of work wasn't equal; it took much longer to install the bumpers than it did the headlights. By redistributing the jobs so that one worker installed the bumper and lights on the front end while another worked on the rear, we could both work more efficiently. I also asked for an apron with pockets to store extra nuts. (I dropped only one nut on the ground after rebalancing the workload.)
Such continuous improvement is one of the goals of the training exercise. After making some adjustments within each team, the journalists managed to produce eight cars in 10 minutes (one short of our goal) and reduced the number of defects from 25 to 7. We also cut the number of safety incidents to just 6. With a little more practice, we might have gotten to our targets of zero defects and zero safety problems.
GM employees are working toward similar goals as they prepare for the launch of the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact and Buick Verano compact later this year. GM is the only manufacturer building subcompacts in the United States. To do so profitably, the carmaker struck a breakthrough deal with the UAW during its bankruptcy reorganization. About 40% of the plant's 1,640 workers will be paid about $14 per hour, about half the hourly rate of their more senior coworkers.
They're worth every penny.
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10f8e06a1179f15e5179cd4642f28bf3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2011/12/25/the-worlds-most-popular-cars-are-changing/ | The World's Most Popular Cars: Some New Faces | The World's Most Popular Cars: Some New Faces
Gallery: The World's Best Selling Cars 13 images View gallery
An earthquake and tsunami, record floods, a strengthening yen -- Japanese automakers endured it all in 2011, making it a year that most of them would rather forget. Toyota Motor's worldwide sales fell a projected 6 percent and the company slipped from its spot as the world's largest automaker. Yet despite all the disruptions to production and the currency squeeze that made its vehicles more expensive outside Japan, Toyota's trusty-but-bland Corolla once again was the world's best-selling car.
Manufactured in 15 countries (including at a new plant in Mississippi) and sold in more than 140 markets, the Corolla is the perfect definition of an economy car: it's small, inexpensive, fuel-efficient and reliable. In 2011, Toyota sold a projected 1.02 million Corollas, down about 2 percent from the prior year, according to IHS Global Insight's year-end forecast. (Official sales figures will be announced in January.)
It was an even tougher year for Honda Motor, which was especially hard hit by parts shortages related to the year's natural disasters. Disappointing reviews for its redesigned Civic compact also hurt. Civic sales fell 12.5 percent from 2010. Two years ago, Civic was the fifth most popular car in the world. This year, with sales of 555,071, it's not even in the Top 10 anymore.
Competitors pounced on the Japanese makers' troubles. Volkswagen of Germany and Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors all surged ahead in the global sales race. The Hyundai Elantra, known as the Avante in Korea, is now nearly as popular as the Corolla, with a projected 1.01 million copies sold. Two years ago, it wasn't even in the Top 10.
"When these natural disasters happened, consumers around the world started to realize, 'Wow, there's other really good product out there besides just Toyota and Honda'," said senior analyst Rebecca Lindland of IHS Global Insight.
Kia's Rio subcompact, newly redesigned, is ranked fifth worldwide, with projected sales of 815,000, but about 500,000 of them are the previous generation Rio, built and sold in Iran by a joint venture partner, SAIPA, which controls half the Iranian market.
Volkswagen, which aims to become the world's largest carmaker by 2018, is picking up momentum. Its redesigned lineup of small- and mid-sized vehicles struck a chord with car buyers around the globe in 2011, with three of them -- the Jetta, the Golf and the Passat -- among the world's best selling cars.
One thing these top sellers have in common is that they are global models. That means they're sold in many countries with only minor modifications to meet local regulations. The benefits are lower costs for development, tooling and production, and stronger brands. Both General Motors and Ford Motor have been moving to copy that strategy, and it's paying off. Ford's Focus and Fiesta rank fourth and sixth, respectively, while GM's all-new Chevrolet Cruze is now the world's ninth best-selling car.
The big question heading into 2012 is whether the market shifts that occurred during the past year are permanent, or whether companies like Toyota Motor and Honda Motor will reassert their industry dominance. Lindland thinks that will be more difficult for the Japanese because other companies have upped their games. "There's no guarantee Toyota and Honda are going to pick up where they left off."
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e43a003804ef8077c360c0f145d073b0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/06/27/covisint-detroits-failed-internet-venture-is-alive-and-well-and-about-to-go-public/ | Covisint Didn't Die; It Just Went To The Cloud | Covisint Didn't Die; It Just Went To The Cloud
Covisint headquarters (Photo credit: Covisint)
In the olden days of the Internet -- way back in 2000, before it was called "the cloud" -- everybody thought they could get rich on the Web, even stodgy Detroit automakers. So General Motors, Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler (still a happy newlywed couple back then) got together with Nissan, Renault and Peugeot and invested $500 million in an online start-up called Covisint. The goal was to develop a secure, online auto parts exchange that would make it easier and less costly for carmakers to manage their complex supply chains.
But Covisint was beset by problems from the get-go -- not the least of which was the failure of big car companies to agree on anything -- and when the dot-com bubble burst, the exchange almost went belly-up. By 2004, Compuware, a large Detroit tech company active in the health care industry, scooped up Covisint's assets for a mere $7 million, a tiny fraction of what the carmakers had invested.
Fast-forward to today, and Covisint finds itself in an enviable position. Its core technology -- helping people and systems to communicate and collaborate securely over the Internet -- is very much in demand, not just by automakers, but also in the healthcare and energy industries, among others.
Covisint's growth is accelerating. Revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31 rose 34 percent, to $74 million, and are expected to grow another 38 percent in the coming year. Operating profit fell to $1 million, from $4 million in fiscal 2011, as the company funneled more of its cash into seeding future growth. Now Compuware is looking to spin it off through an initial public stock offering.
"They really were pioneers in what is now calling cloud computing," said Sally Hudson, an analyst with IDC, a market data research and consulting firm based in Framingham, Mass. "If anything," she added, "they might have been too early."
The timing is right now, she says, because the explosion of internet and distributed computing is changing the way companies talk to each other. In the past, they'd share documents or data using secure electronic data interchange messages. "With everybody online, it became easier and more effective to conduct business with your partners 0ver the internet rather than trying to get your private network to talk to other private networks."
Though no longer the auction site its founders originally envisioned, Covisint still exists today because its basic technology foundation -- federated identity management, which enables users from different organizations to log in once and access secure data in hundreds of locations -- remains relevant. Now, however, that technology is not just allowing auto suppliers to access carmakers' production schedules. It's also enabling doctors to see labwork and X-rays ordered by other physicians, for instance, and allowing oil drillers to collaborate with their joint venture partners in geological engineering.
"There's this idea that we tried something in 2000 and it didn't work so we threw it away and reinvented ourselves," says Dave Miller, who has been Covisint's chief technology officer since its inception. "No. We tried something in 2000, we got rid of the things that didn't work and we kept everything else. It's the same system. The idea of a supplier logging into one place and being able to look at quality data so that he can see a trend because he supplies five or six carmakers is no different than a physician logging into one place because he needs to be able to know that Dave Miller broke his leg and he needs to be able to see all his medical information."
Ironically, it was one of Covisint's early challenges that gave the company its staying power. Just weeks after the company was formed, the Federal Trade Commission, worried about price-fixing, launched an investigation. The probe, said Miller, forced Covisint to verify that carmakers' secure networks wouldn't be compromised by its centralized login procedure. "The FTC said we can't have direct network connectivity back to the mother ship." So Covisint developed a patented technology that lets a person log into one network for the purpose of getting to hundreds of other networks. "There was always this idea of independent, but shared," he said.
It was that core technology that Compuware founder Peter Karmanos spotted in 2004, hoping to incorporate it into the health care industry, notoriously lagging when it came to information technology.
"It's impressive how they were able to leverage their capabilities in health care," said Hudson. "Early on this was not a technology that was easy to sell to people. There was a lot of consumer education in that but I think they were able to demonstrate to the health care industry that they would help them save money and streamline communication." With a single login, doctors can access a patient's complete medical history, even if it's stored at different hospitals or medical labs.
The next frontier for Covisint is providing identity management for connected vehicles. "My interaction with my car doesn't always happen in my car," said Miller, noting that motorists can now control some features of their car from their computer or smartphone. It's important that thieves cannot hack into your car to steal personal information. "The car is the next big device, after your computer, smartphone and tablet."
And so, Covisint is back to where it began -- the auto industry.
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242e859a8de394a75baa148917bf42d8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/08/02/death-by-hubris-the-catastrophic-decision-that-could-bankrupt-a-great-american-manufacturer/ | Death By Hubris? The Catastrophic Decision That Could Bankrupt A Great American Manufacturer | Death By Hubris? The Catastrophic Decision That Could Bankrupt A Great American Manufacturer
Navistar CEO Dan Ustian bet on the wrong technology
This story appears in the Aug. 20, 2012 issue of Forbes magazine:
UPDATE: On Aug. 2, after this story was published, Navistar announced several steps to address its troubles, including new financing. It also said it faces an SEC probe.
This is the story of what happens when you gamble—and lose. When you get reasonable advice—and ignore it. And when one smallish decision cascades into a bet-the-company one.
In 2001 Dan Ustian, then head of Navistar International’s diesel engine unit, faced a slew of new air quality regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. More stringent engine standards were already set to take effect three years hence, and the EPA was now requiring at least a 90% reduction in the amount of nitrogen oxides and soot emanating from diesel engines. Even diesel fuel itself was being reformulated to cut down on its sulfur content.
The new rules meant that Navistar, as well as rivals like Volvo, Mack, Freightliner, Paccar and Cummins , would have to redesign all their engines for American roads, using technologies that were less than perfect or inventing new ones. EPA estimated the cost of compliance, including the new fuel, would be substantial: $4.2 billion. But engine makers would have plenty of time to adapt. The new standards wouldn’t even begin to be phased in until 2007, with full implementation slated for 2010.
Ustian had several engineering paths available, including the use of nitrogen oxide adsorbers (“traps”) or a chemical treatment system called selective catalytic reduction, which European rivals favored. But neither was yet capable of achieving the eventual EPA requirements—they’d need further engineering development.
Ustian, then in his early 50s, was Navistar’s rising star—a professional manager, rather than an engineer, he would soon be promoted to president and then chief executive. Rather than following rivals with SCR, he decided, fatefully, to go with his gut. He figured truckers didn’t want to bother with an extra tank of fluid aftertreatment, so Ustian staked $700 million—and the fate of the company—on further advancing an existing diesel engine technology called exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Rather than eliminate nitrogen oxide via a bulky chemical treatment system that even the EPA questioned initially, EGR would make the motor do all the work by piping exhaust gas back into the cylinders and burning it again—a cleaner, cheaper, lower-maintenance solution, which would set Navistar ahead of the pack. “Our ability to achieve our goals without adding customer cost and inconvenience is a competitive advantage,” Ustian told investors in late 2007.
All his engineers would have to do is perfect it.
That decision is now proving catastrophic. As the project developed and 2007 turned into 2008 and 2009 it became increasingly obvious—to everyone but the CEO, says one former manager who was close to Ustian—that Navistar had done worse than pick the diesel version of Betamax when the rest of the world was going to VHS. It simply couldn’t get its engines to work as hoped. “Dan is telling his technical people, ‘You’ve got to deliver,’ and they’re saying, ‘We don’t know how, but we’ll try,’” says the former executive. “There was a lot of tension in the technical community, from the scientists on up to the managers, about whether we should be agreeing to something we don’t know how to do. Dan didn’t want to hear any of it. ‘You’re going to get it done.’ He’s a positive thinker. He doesn’t like negative thinking.”
Now, two and a half years past the deadline for compliance, Navistar’s engine still isn’t clean enough to pass the EPA’s emissions test. On July 6, after an appeals court rejected an EPA compromise that allowed Navistar to keep selling its noncompliant engines with offsetting penalties, Ustian made an about-face, reluctantly embracing the very technology he had spurned for years.
The strategy reversal was more than just an embarrassment to Ustian, who spent years deriding his competitors’ approach, even suing the EPA and pushing for a recall of their engines (neither of which was successful). It could also mean the collapse of the company.
Its pretax loss in the first half of 2012 was $516 million on revenues of $6.4 billion as new truck sales stalled out and quality problems on its earlier engines required Navistar to boost its warranty reserves by $227 million. More alarming, perhaps, future orders plummeted 40% in the second quarter, making promised market share gains highly unlikely. Navistar shares have been punished, down more than 50% in the last 12 months. The Illinois-based company, which did more than $14 billion in sales last year, now has a market cap of around $1.6 billion.
Liquidity is an issue, too. Navistar drained $390 million from its coffers during the past two quarters, leaving cash in its manufacturing segment at $681 million, down 43% from a year ago, its lowest level since the recession of 2008. The company has already drawn down one-third of a $355 million, five-year revolving credit line it obtained just nine months ago. Long term it owes more than $3 billion to retirees for pensions and health care benefits.
“They are running through money hand over fist,” said Gimme Credit analyst Vicki Bryan. She believes Navistar must raise $500 million in loans or asset sales to stay afloat during the transition, “otherwise, bankruptcy is a credible risk.”
Ustian and Chief Financial Officer A.J. Cederoth told analysts on June 7 that liquidity will be sufficient, as long other parts of Navistar’s business—medium-duty trucks, buses and military vehicles—bounce back in the second half as expected. “Of course, everything is contingent on volume,” said Cederoth.
But that was five days before the court pulled the rug out from under its engine technology. Now Navistar is headed back to the drawing board and must figure out a way to cheaply and quickly redesign its heavy trucks and engines before it runs out of money. Cederoth says Navistar will soon update its earnings guidance. But what will play out over the rest of the year is a race for the company’s life.
***
When Ustian became CEO, he inherited custodianship of one of the great lines of manufacturing DNA in U.S. history, a company whose roots date back to Cyrus McCormick’s 1831 invention of the mechanical reaper. In 1902 his McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. merged with Deering Harvester Co. to form International Harvester. Until the mid-1980s International Harvester was a diversified manufacturer of farming equipment, construction equipment, gas turbines, trucks, buses and related components. During World War II it also supplied military trucks for the U.S. Army and Navy. The company sold many of its farming-related assets in the late 1980s, when times were tough, leaving just its truck and engine divisions. In 1986 it changed its name to Navistar International.
Ustian was climbing the ranks throughout this period. (Through a spokeswoman he declined numerous interview requests. The company declined to make any executives available to FORBES.) Tall and lanky with a full head of graying hair and a salt-and-pepper mustache to match, he was born in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from DePaul University in 1972. A year later he joined the company, working his way through a number of manufacturing and financial positions in its agricultural and truck groups. He was promoted to president of Navistar’s engine group in 1999 and then president of the company in 2002. A year later he became chief executive. In 2004 he added the chairman’s title.
Ask those who work—and golf—with Ustian and they’ll tell you that instincts, above all else, are what drive him. “He’d always take the riskier shot,” pulling out his driver, for instance, when others would choose a 3-wood or iron, says one former insider who occasionally went out for 18 holes with the boss. “But he’s a great golfer. He’d always come through. It was the same thing with work. He’d have everybody scratching their head, but he was usually right.”
For example, Ustian stuck to his guns after the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche, refused to sign off on its 2006 fiscal year results, citing multiple irregularities. The accounting investigation took more than two years and cost $300 million, during which time Navistar failed to file any financial results with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other CEOs might have been shown the door. But Ustian ended up firing Deloitte and hiring KPMG to restate Navistar’s results all the way back to 2002. Last year he sued Deloitte for fraud and malpractice, among other charges. The case is ongoing.
Above all, say those who worked closely with him, Ustian is obsessed with avoiding what happened to companies like Motorola or RIM, which notoriously lost their market leadership to more innovative rivals. In his nine years as chief executive, Ustian has pushed Navistar in new directions: a rapidly growing military vehicle business, for instance, as well as school buses and recreational vehicles. He’s also pursuing overseas growth through strategic joint ventures with Caterpillar, India’s Mahindra & Mahindra and Chinese carmaker JAC. Navistar is also working on natural-gas-powered trucks.
Not every new effort has succeeded. Navistar tried selling pickup trucks in 2004 but couldn’t make a go of it and exited the business four years later. But Ustian was constantly challenging the status quo. Another emphasis: lower costs and boosted efficiency to ensure Navistar stays profitable regardless of the cyclical swings in truck purchases. Long term Ustian’s goal has been $20 billion in revenues, half coming from outside North America, with 9% margins.
These ambitions all fed the diesel engine decision of a decade ago. Navistar started out ahead of the game in the race to develop cleaner engines. An important milestone during the phase-in of the new EPA rules occurred in 2007, when Navistar easily beat the initial threshold, even earning emissions credits for producing engines cleaner than the law required.
Achieving the 2010 milestone, however, has proved far more difficult. Other truckmakers like Volvo Trucks, Paccar and Freightliner hit that target by outfitting their engines with the European-proven model, which uses a catalytic converter and chemicals to break nitrogen oxide into nitrogen and water.
But Ustian saw flaws. He argued that truck drivers could undermine the emissions standards by forgetting or refusing to fill the fluid tank, or by using water rather than the necessary compound. The burden of removing nitrogen oxide from the air, he strongly believed, should be with the engine manufacturer, not the customer.
By stretching the performance of EGR, a technology used to some degree in most engines, Ustian was convinced Navistar could get to the same target with a proprietary advantage. As with any technology, there are tradeoffs. EGR engines require much higher pressure fuel injection, which generates extra heat. Still, Ustian was convinced EGR delivered better “fluid economy” and lower costs for customers.
As 2010 approached, though, Ustian’s vision clashed with reality. Errors of ambition can be corrected, of course. But Ustian, those familiar with his decision making say, compounded his mistake with a healthy dose of stubbornness and hubris that eliminated real dissent. The CEO kept tight counsel, literally. His office was small, as was an adjoining conference room, limiting meetings to four or five people (“He didn’t like having people who he considered extraneous in his meetings,” says the former executive), and since the engine development was done in a facility 45 minutes away, the actual engineers too infrequently had a seat at the table. Senior deputies publicly echoed his endorsement of EGR, but those who broached problems with the 2010 goals did so at their peril. “Dan made it abundantly clear that … anyone who disagreed with him was ‘being negative’ to the point people figured it would be a career killer to point out problems in achieving it,” says the executive.
Navistar submitted its engine for EPA certification several times in the past two years, most recently this May, yet it consistently fell short of the new EPA standard.
***
Washington long ago saw the potential compliance problem for what it called technological laggards. Rather than force them from the marketplace, in 1985 Congress allowed EPA to establish fines that would let a company stay in business while it worked on a solution, without giving an unfair advantage to competitors that did manage to comply.
For Navistar this was a godsend. The company had banked so many credits in earlier years that it could lawfully use them, in lieu of fines, all the way until this year. But rather than buying time for a plan B, Ustian, who was convinced a breakthrough was just around the corner, plowed forward with his EGR plan, full steam ahead.
The EPA seemingly saw Navistar’s approaching problem more clearly than Ustian did. Early this year the agency bypassed the public notices and quickly drafted an interim penalty system, requiring a $1,919 fine for each noncompliant engine sold. Navistar had a reprieve.
But Navistar’s competitors weren’t feeling as altruistic as the EPA. They filed suit against the agency for not giving them a say in the policy, the only purpose of which, they said in court papers, was “to rescue a lone manufacturer from the folly of its own choices,” while they had all developed technologies that were now in compliance. The EPA was reduced to a defense akin to that for the government’s bailouts of GM and Chrysler: “Without credits or noncompliance penalties, Navistar, its employees, customers and suppliers faced significant harm, including potential shut-down of its Class 8 engine production, layoffs of thousands of employees, and devastating financial losses.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. sided with the truckmakers, however, saying the EPA’s action “does not stave off any imminent threat to the environment or safety or national security. It does not remedy any real emergency at all, save the ‘emergency’ facing Navistar’s bottom line.”
As a result the EPA is getting ready to announce a new set of fines, which analysts say could be as much as $5,000 to $10,000 per engine. That would cost Navistar another $100 million to $200 million. In the worst case Navistar could be forced to shut down its entire production of Class 8 engines, worth $3 billion a year, or almost one-quarter of its business.
“There’s a clock ticking here,” says Jefferies & Co. analyst Stephen Volkmann. “They have six months to right the ship, or the ship will get righted for them. That’s when the activists can take over the board.” Gimme Credit’s Bryan is more pessimistic: “That would be the end of the line—Navistar doesn’t have the cash or the borrowing capacity to absorb such a catastrophe.”
The activists that Volkmann refers to are formidable, notably Carl Icahn and his protégé, Mark Rachesky, who have assumed stakes of just under 15% each—a big enough foothold to potentially force a management shakeup ahead of something worse.
In response Navistar recently adopted a poison pill takeover defense that kicks in if anyone acquires more than 15%. And Ustian has finally seen the light, tapping former General Motors executive Troy Clarke as president of Navistar Truck & Engine. Clarke’s humbling first order of business: retrofit the company’s engines and trucks to accept the standard that’s now working for everyone else. Fortunately for him that technology is now proved, and Clarke is also working closely with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board to improve Navistar’s relationship with those agencies.
Ustian, meanwhile, seems to be hanging on. But surely the confident golfer has learned a lesson: If you’re going to hit a tee shot over a giant water hazard, make sure you have a mulligan ball in your pocket, just in case.
***
Read More From The August 20th Issue Of Forbes,
Professor Billionaire: The Stanford Academic Who Wrote Google Its First Check
Running Man: Foot Locker Chief Leading Rare Retail Turnaround
Steve Blank Introduces Scientists To A New Variable: Customers
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53576489840a47c9509c6126f3e5d2b5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/12/19/the-worlds-most-popular-cars-a-new-champ/ | The World's Most Popular Cars: A New Champ | The World's Most Popular Cars: A New Champ
Gallery: World's Most Popular Cars in 2012 10 images View gallery
The Ford Focus isn't the best-selling car in America; it's not even in the Top 10. But around the world, especially in fast-growing markets in Asia, the sporty compact is growing in popularity, so much so that it is about to knock off the venerable Toyota Corolla as the world's most popular car.
Developed in Europe and manufactured in five countries -- the U.S., China, Germany, Russia and Thailand -- the Focus is now ubiquitous in more than 120 markets worldwide. This year, global sales will reach approximately one million units, according to market research firm LMC Automotive.
The Corolla's no slouch, either. LMC forecasts sales of approximately 966,000 Corollas in 2012, one reason Toyota Motor is poised to recapture the title of world’s biggest automaker this year after ceding leadership to General Motors in 2011. GM is now vying with Volkswagen for second place.
It's been a record year for the auto industry, with global sales expected to top 80 million cars and trucks. Although European sales have been weak and China has slowed a bit, sales in the U.S. market have been robust, fed by pent-up demand. Analysts are forecasting U.S. sales of about 14.5 million units.
When it comes to crowning the best-selling cars, though, China, now the world's largest automotive market, has the most clout. And in 2012, Ford and Toyota saw very different outcomes there. Ford has been investing heavily in China, and the Focus is one of 15 new models being introduced there over the next few years. Meanwhile, a long-simmering territorial dispute between Japan and China sparked a boycott of Japanese cars by Chinese consumers in the latter half of the year. As a result, Toyota's sales in China fell about 25 percent below expectations.
All but one of the 10 most popular cars in the world are small, fuel-efficient compacts, which are popular in Europe, Asia and developing countries where affordability is an issue. The exception is the mid-sized Toyota Camry sedan, which is America's most popular car.
The Volkswagen Jetta, also called the Vento or Bora in some markets, is Volkswagen's top-selling vehicle, and the third most popular car in the world, thanks to its acceptance in the U.S. and China, two markets that are key to VW's plan to be the global sales leader by 2018.
The Hyundai Elantra, sold as the Avante in its home market of Korea, was fourth, and the Ford Fiesta, another of Ford's global models, ranked fifth.
Rounding out the Top 10 were the Volkswagen Golf, the Camry, the Volkswagen Polo (not sold in the U.S.), the Chevrolet Cruze and the Honda Civic.
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