Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg Businesses that rely on Amazon.com Inc. to sell their goods are beginning to band together against the e-commerce retail behemoth. A trio of well-connected antitrust advocates on Thursday launched the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition, which represents a group of small businesses and large brands that will push for the US government to pare back Amazon’s power over the online shopping ecosystem. “We believe Amazon’s been given a pass to a large extent,” said Damien Geradin, one of the advocates spearheading the coalition. He’s a founding partner with Geradin Partners , an antitrust law firm that specializes in opposing large tech companies and other corporations. The group will help solidify political power among companies that have struggled due to Amazon’s actions, proponents say. Amanda Lewis, a coalition co-founder and former staffer with the House Judiciary Committee ’s antitrust panel, said that the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition will work to bring its stories directly to policy makers overseeing the tech companies. “I found that policy makers were moved much more by a small business owner telling their story than five touches from an Amazon lobbyist,” said Lewis, who helped to lead the House Judiciary Committee’s work on Amazon […]

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March 2, 2023 These State Small Business Credit Initiative funds are awarded to New Jersey, Texas, and Washington to support local small business financing and investment programs WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of three additional state plans for up to $890.7 million in funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan: New Jersey, Texas, and Washington. Treasury has now announced the approval of state and territory plans corresponding to over $8 billion in SSBCI funding to support small business and entrepreneurship and expand access to capital. “Advancing equity has been a key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration since day one, including through its implementation of American Rescue Plan programs. This includes efforts to support small business growth and expand access to capital in communities across the country,” said Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo. “The State Small Business Credit Initiative is helping to unlock the potential of entrepreneurs in underserved communities across the nation who may have otherwise never had the support needed to pursue their business ideas and ambitions.” The American Rescue Plan reauthorized and expanded SSBCI, which was originally established in 2010 and was highly […]

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(r. nial bradshaw / CC BY 2.0 via MGN) PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) – Two suspects have been arrested following a burglary at a business on Hickory Hill Road in Pineville. According to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, the victims claimed they arrived in the morning at the business on February 13 and discovered a burglary had occurred. Video footage showed four suspects entering the business, two of which had firearms. On February 14, RPSO deputies made a traffic stop on a black Nissan Versa for an improper display of a license plate. The vehicle was associated with the burglary of the business the day before. The driver, Cheyenne Bernice Tyler, 20, of Pineville, was in possession of illegal narcotics and was taken into custody. There were also items in the vehicle that were consistent with the reported items taken in the burglary. Nearly all of the stolen property from the business was recovered. Tyler was charged with possession CDS II < two grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal carrying of a firearm with drugs, two counts contributing to the delinquency of juveniles and criminal conspiracy. Bond was set at $11,000 and Tyler was released on February 17. The other […]

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Nearly 70 tribal leaders from across the state attended a workforce and economic development Tribal Summit on Feb. 28 on the Stillwater campus. Media Contact: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2703 | terry.tush@okstate.edu Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business and the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association hosted nearly 70 tribal leaders for a workforce and economic development Tribal Summit on Feb. 28 on the Stillwater campus. The summit’s purpose was for tribal leaders and tribal casino leaders to discuss how Spears Business is able to provide assistance in workforce development and enhancing the state’s economy. There were 17 tribes represented and 29 different entities from 26 cities in Oklahoma. Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association chairman Matt Morgan (shown in the photo on the right) helped recruit tribal leaders to attend the summit, and he was impressed with what was accomplished in one day. Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association chairman Matt Morgan speaks during the workforce and economic development Tribal Summit. “We believe the Spears School can assist our industry in providing degrees, credit and non-credit certificates, leadership programming, marketing and data analytics assistance, hotel and service quality education, finance and accounting assistance among other topic areas that will […]

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Silvergate Capital headquarters in La Jolla. San Diego’s crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank has disclosed that its financial health has taken a turn for the worse amid continued troubles plaguing the digital currency industry — raising questions about its ability to remain a going concern. Silvergate, which tailored its business toward providing deposit accounts, fund transfers, a real-time payments network and other banking infrastructure to the cryptocurrency industry, revealed that it has suffered additional losses in January and February from sales of debt securities that backstopped its crypto-related deposits. This story is for subscribers We offer subscribers exclusive access to our best journalism. Thank you for your support. Those losses will put pressure on the FDIC-insured bank’s regulatory capital reserves and “could result in the company and the bank being less than well-capitalized,” said Silvergate in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Under these conditions, Silvergate said it is evaluating “the impact that these subsequent events have on its ability to continue as a going concern for the twelve months following the issuance of its financial statements.” Silvergate said that it likely would be unable to file its annual report with the SEC by the March […]

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WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Meta Platforms Inc. , will soon allow users in Brazil to make payments to businesses through the app. “The Central Bank just authorized the launch of our new payment feature so people will be able to pay small businesses right on WhatsApp,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted Thursday on Instagram. “Excited to roll this out soon.” Regulators had previously halted the feature. Zuckerberg has said that WhatsApp payments could be a big business for Meta, especially in countries like Brazil and India where the app has dominant market share.

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Briefly The Mid-America Business Conditions Index, which is a barometer of economic health, shown in blue line. Red trend line is U.S. (Courtesy of Creighton University) OMAHA — The latest business conditions survey led by Creighton University signals growing economic optimism among Nebraska manufacturing managers. February results for the Husker business climate come from a broader nine-state Mid-America Business Conditions Index, which is a barometer of economic health based on monthly surveys of manufacturing supply managers analyzed by Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group. For Nebraska specifically, the state index reading climbed above neutral growth for a second month in a row. That turn follows four consecutive months of readings below the neutral-growth threshold. Using a range of zero to 100, a reading of 50 represents neutral growth. Recent rebound Similar to Nebraska, the regional index also reflected a more positive outlook, relative to previous months. The overall business index that gauges economic health from Minnesota to Arkansas rebounded in February to its highest level since July of last year. Creighton economist Ernie Goss, who heads the forecasting group, said he was “shocked” about the regional reading, expecting a downturn. “While it’s too early to tell if this is an […]

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Crowdsource Innovation Since 1970, there has been a 69% decline in species populations; this human-driven loss is at such a scale that it puts every species at risk. The private sector has a critical role to play in bringing in innovative solutions to achieve large-scale and long-term success in wildlife conservation. Biodiversity credits – among other novel financial instruments – have the potential to increase conservation funding with measurable outcomes without serving as a corporate offset. Today is the United Nations World Wildlife Day . This has been celebrated on 3rd March annually since 2013 to highlight the importance and contribution of wild animals and plants to our lives and the health of the Earth. This year’s theme is Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation , underlining the role of business and finance in securing our wildlife and biodiversity-based resources. According to WWF’s Living Planet report , we have seen an average decline of 69% in species populations since 1970. Although we have made huge progress in wildlife conservation and protection over the past century, we still face severe challenges, such as land-use change, ocean plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trading, climate change and habitat loss caused by unsustainable production and consumption […]

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Michael Mazzeo, a professor of strategy at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, will be the next dean of Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, effective Jan. 1, according to Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. Mazzeo will succeed Anjan V. Thakor, the John E. Simon Professor of Finance and director of doctoral programs and the Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Finance and Accounting Research, who has served as interim dean since July. Mazzeo “I am thrilled that Mike Mazzeo accepted our offer to be the next dean of the Olin Business School,” Martin said. “Mike stood out as an impressive candidate from the beginning of the search process. We’re fortunate to have found such a talented leader and scholar to assume this role and build upon Olin’s global reputation as a leader in business education and scholarship.” “I also want to take this opportunity to recognize and express my gratitude to Anjan Thakor for his service as interim dean. He has been a strong and steady presence during the past seven months and has been invaluable in ensuring a seamless transition for the Olin community. I’m especially grateful to Dean Thakor for continuing to serve […]

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SEFFNER, Fla. — There’s a husband and wife team living in Seffner that decided to go all in on a new business that is catching the attention and taste buds of family, friends, and neighbors throughout the community. From cute animals to popular movies and even your favorite mouse, there isn’t a cake request that Elizabeth Smith can’t design. “Everyone in the neighborhood started asking, ‘Hey can you do this,’ or ‘Can you do that,’ so I thought, ‘Ok, let me experiment,’” said Elizabeth. What started as just a hobby turned into a flourishing business during the pandemic. Elizabeth found herself baking upwards of eight cakes a week. “Everyone was at home, everyone was on social media, so I’m baking, I’m posting pictures, ‘Where are you located,’ ‘Where can I come get this,’” said Elizabeth. They call the business Baby Kakes Confectionery, and no, that’s not a misprint. “When you look at the word cake everybody has the C; we wanted to be different and go with the K,” said husband Darrell Smith. Darrell is in charge of the pies and deliveries. “My favorite part would be delivering and seeing the smiling faces once they see the cakes,” said […]

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