As predictably as its cold, dark days, January delivers business closures. This month is no exception, and they are among my least favorite interviews. But the conversations are important. So when I heard Tami Lien was closing Stride Rite after 35 years in Sioux Falls, I knew she deserved to be recognized and that we as a business community needed to know what made her close the doors. “It’s just everything,” she told me in an emotional, candid conversation. “I can’t keep burying myself in debt because I love what I do and can’t walk away.” By “everything,” she really does mean everything. It, of course, was the pandemic, which essentially cut off business overnight. Then, it was the supply chain disruption, forcing her to wait more than 10 months for shoes to arrive. Naturally, she faces the same staffing challenges and overhead increases as anyone. But she also increasingly can’t compete with lower cost e-commerce options and customers who browse her store only to buy online. “Honestly, this is no joke,” she said. “They use us … and take myself or my staff’s time trying all kinds of shoes on, and they’ll come and say they just bought […]

Click here to view original web page at www.siouxfalls.business

New York CNN — In January 2021, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke in lofty terms about how the first year of the pandemic had sparked a staggering shift toward online services, benefiting his company in the process. “What we have witnessed over the past year is the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry,” he said. Two years later, the situation appears much more stark. This week, Microsoft said it planned to lay off 10,000 employees as businesses rethink their pandemic-era digital spending and confront broader economic uncertainty. Microsoft’s customers, Nadella said, are now trying “to do more with less.” Microsoft isn’t the only company experiencing such a dramatic reversal. Days later, Google-parent company Alphabet followed suit, saying it plans to cut around 12,000 jobs , amounting to more than 6% of its staff. Over the past three months, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook-parent Meta have announced plans to cut more than 50,000 employees from their collective ranks, a stunning reversal from the early days of the pandemic when the tech giants were growing rapidly to meet surging demand from countless households living, shopping and working online. At the time, many tech […]

Click here to view original web page at www.cnn.com

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire legislature is back to work at the State House in Concord, and many are keeping a watchful eye on legislation that could hurt or enhance businesses in New Hampshire. With that in mind, the Business and Industry Association of NH has now made a list of priorities that they hope are addressed in the state’s legislature. On the latest installment of NH Business, host Fred Kocher is joined by Michael Skelton, president and CEO of the Business and Industry Association of NH, to walk through New Hampshire’s business priorities moving forward. Recommended

Click here to view original web page at www.wmur.com

Owning or starting a small business is challenging, even in the best financial times. Still, in the uncertain economy of the past few years, small business owners face even more challenges as the nation continues to recover from the fallout of a global pandemic that impacted businesses of all types and sizes. Despite these challenges, there are also market conditions in which savvy business owners can find an opportunity to thrive. Workforce issues have been, and will likely continue to be, hurdles to overcome in 2023. The pandemic served as a flashpoint for what’s become known as the Great Resignation, where many workers were willing to leave one job to try others — sometimes in quick succession — for better pay or conditions. That means there is an increased cost to attain and retain labor, and if you are fortunate enough to find quality talent, you must be willing to pay more today than you would have paid in 2019. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, wage growth has averaged 6.2% since 1960 but reached an all-time high of 14.8% in April 2021. The pandemic also wreaked havoc on supply chains worldwide, driving up the […]

Click here to view original web page at talkbusiness.net

For the past few months, Plumas Arts has been working with the Nevada County Arts Council to promote a new statewide grant program to Plumas County residents. California Creative Corps is a workforce development opportunity for artists and cultural practitioners, arts and social service sector organizations. This grant program aims to employ artists to create awareness around public health, water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery, civic engagement and social justice. This grant is being implemented throughout the entire state, with money for projects in every county. Nevada County Arts Council is the program administrator for the grant in upstate California, and Plumas Arts is partnering with Nevada County Arts Council to disseminate information throughout Plumas County. “The grant monies are specifically for hiring artists, but the project ideas are endless,” says Plumas Arts Executive Director Kara Rockett-Arsenault. “I have been to quite a few brainstorming sessions for the grant and have heard many incredible ideas. Everything from public transportation awareness and health care coverage advocacy to issues dealing with voter awareness, wildfire recovery, the housing crisis, watershed health, and issues facing local tribes. Grants will not be restricted to any medium and can include […]

Click here to view original web page at www.plumasnews.com

PM caught not wearing seatbelt Downing Street will be hoping that once the prime minister has paid up, voters and journalists will move on and forget this rather embarrassing unforced error. To Rishi Sunak ‘s credit, he put his hands up and admitted the error almost immediately. But it is a reminder that in the top job, with a permacrisis of strikes, NHS delays and high inflation, mistakes can slip through the Number 10 net. Failing to wear a seatbelt is illegal, but filming it and publishing the evidence on social media suggests a lack of checks within the PM’s team. Passer-by shouts at PM as he defends levelling up cash – politics latest This is the second police fine Mr Sunak has received in nine months, after the Metropolitan Police punished him for attending a lockdown-busting birthday gathering for Boris Johnson. In recent months Mr Sunak has struggled with contactless payments, had an awkward conversation with a homeless man about financial services, and demonstrated a fondness for using private jets to travel around the UK even for relatively short journeys. Added together, such slip-ups may be exploited by the PM’s enemies to claim he is out of touch. […]

Click here to view original web page at news.sky.com

Details The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG) is soliciting applications for the Women’s Recovery Response Grant to support the existing and emerging needs of women in California who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second round of grant funds administered by the Commission and is available on a rolling basis through fiscal year 2023-2024. Description: As the state entity tasked with assessing gender equity in multiple issue areas including health, safety, employment, education, and others, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is uniquely positioned to support local commissions and the direct service providers they work with to ensure that women’s needs are centered in statewide recovery efforts. The Budget Act of 2022 sustained another year of funding for the Women’s Recovery Response to provide local assistance with $5 million in one-time funds. The investment will insert structural support and resources into a network of local commissions and nonprofit service providers while CCSWG continues to act as a statewide convener, facilitator, and oversight administrator. Goal: Strengthen an existing organization’s systems, operations and impact, which may involve human capacity, developmental skill-building, or structural sustainability to improve an […]

Click here to view original web page at www.grants.ca.gov

Pepsi sodas on display at a Walmart Supercenter in Austin, Texas. The "bubble is about to burst" in consumer staples stocks, says veteran market technician Jeff Bierman. The sector outperformed the S&P 500 last year but now it’s "overbought and overpriced". "The greatest opportunity to short on Wall Street, according to risk/reward, is consumer staples," Bierman said. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Investors sought refuge in consumer staples stocks last year as the broader equity market sank into bear territory, but that group is now in a bubble that’s on the verge of popping, says one veteran chart technician. "The greatest opportunity to short on Wall Street, according to risk/reward, is consumer staples. This is the beginning of the breakdown in consumer staples, for the long term," Jeff Bierman, chief market technician […]

Click here to view original web page at markets.businessinsider.com

Spotify and eight companies and associations have written a letter to the EU Commission’s executive vice president calling Apple a harmful, anti-competitive, and monopolistic company that must be regulated through "urgent action." The letter , signed by the CEOs and heads of Basecamp, Deezer, Proton, Schibsted, Spotify, European Publishers Council (EPC), France Digitale, and News Media Europe, was sent to Margrethe Vestager of the EU. The letter urges the EU to take regulatory action and conclude an ongoing investigation triggered by Spotify against Apple’s app distribution practices. The group claims Apple’s App Store has hindered their businesses and consistently makes it difficult for them to grow due to the platform’s policies and its "capricious changes to terms and conditions." For years, Apple has imposed unfair restrictions on our businesses. These restrictions hamper our development and harm European consumers. They include the tying of the App Store to Apple’s proprietary payment system, with its excessive commissions for app developers; the creation of artificial obstacles that prevent our businesses from freely communicating with our customers; restrictions to developers’ access to data of their own users; and capricious changes to terms and conditions. Apple benefits from a monopoly position over its mobile […]

Click here to view original web page at www.macrumors.com

The Phoenix Business Journal celebrated the release of its latest Book of Lists and the businesses and individuals who made it possible during a Jan. 19 party held at the Arizona Biltmore. Roughly 180 people showed up for cocktails, appetizers and networking in the grand ballroom at the Phoenix resort. Music was provided by the Phoenician Blend. Click through the galley above to see who was in attendance. Published since 1987, the Book of Lists is a comprehensive resource for subscribers and is a compilation of the lists printed weekly throughout the year. The book includes 97 lists in a wide range of industries and business sectors from across the Valley, including the largest law firms and commercial building contractors to the fast-growing and largest private and public companies in the state. The book was mailed to subscribers for delivery on Dec. 23-24. If you didn’t get a copy, click here for more information on how to get one. Event sponsors were Arizona Community Foundation, PNC Bank, and University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. Book of Lists sponsors include PNC Bank, Arizona Community Foundation, University of Arizona Eller of College Management and 72Sold. And fitting with the mural […]

Click here to view original web page at www.bizjournals.com