The growing popular trend of labor hoarding is an effort of businesses to pump up benefits to ease … [+] getty Small businesses are facing big challenges due to talks of a recession and layoffs across multiple industries. As a result, job insecurity is looming for both employers and employees as it becomes harder to fill positions. An Insight Global study reported that 77% of the American workforce planned to stay in their current jobs. And in a recent Skynova survey a whopping majority of 1,010 business owners (21% large, 22% medium and 57% small businesses) say they are labor hoarding . That means they are pumping up their investments in employees to keep the status quo and avoid a labor shortage. Labor hoarding usually occurs in a downturn or recession when businesses avoid layoffs at all costs and employees stay put due to job shortages. Sounds like a match made in heaven, according to Sara Jensen, senior vice president of growth and strategy at Innovative Employee Solutions . “This strategy can be a win-win for both companies and talent,” Jensen explained to me. “It is extremely beneficial for companies by offering a strategic way to continue to meet […]

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Sarah Roesler, left, adds caramels and Emily Fletcher adds pens to gift boxes at White Spruce Market headquarters in Duluth on Feb. 6. DULUTH — Bailey Aro Hutchence’s workspace is a pole barn on the outside, and confetti-covered chocolate bars, sparklers and trivia tins on the inside. White Spruce Market is Aro Hutchence’s curated gift box business, which will have new website Feb. 20 and a planned on-location expansion this year. Bailey Aro Hutchence, founder of White Spruce Market, talks about some of her favorite products Feb. 6. Unlike a subscription box with a monthly sprinkling of mailed goodies, her clients can carefully select from a long list of products to build their own token of appreciation for loved ones and associates, or, enlist the help of Aro Hutchence and her team to do it from the ground up. And, with the gift items set, White Spruce Market takes care of everything, right down to the handwritten note. “As the owner of multiple businesses, I know how easy it is to get in the weeds with little tedious projects," Aro Hutchence said. "What you think can be simple and straightforward, ‘I’m going to send gifts to 15 of my […]

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Siemens demonstrated how the enormous potential for optimizing machine tools can be utilized, thanks to the continuous analysis of production data. With the open digital business platform Siemens Xcelerator, IoT-enabled hardware and software, the company demonstrated how the physical world can be connected to the digital world. Such a portfolio accelerates digital transformation and enables flexible and sustainable action both in the building of machine tools and in use. Apps for the machine tool business with Siemens Xcelerator Siemens recently launched an open, digital business platform called Xcelerator. The company seeks to enable customers of all sizes in the fields of industry, buildings, power generation, public utilities and mobility to accelerate their digital transformation and increase value creation. The business platform makes digital transformation easier, faster and scalable. It comprises three cornerstones — a curated portfolio of internet of things (IoT) enabled hardware, software and digital services from across Siemens and certified third-parties; a growing ecosystem of partners; and an evolving marketplace to facilitate interactions and transactions between customers, partners and developers. With applications such as Manage MyResources/Tools, Manage MyResources/Programs, Analyze MyPerformance/OEE, Manage MyMachines, Manage MyMachines/Remote and Analyze MyMachine/Condition, as well as the Industrial Edge for Machine Tools platform, […]

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The Pittsburgh Business Times is bringing together a panel of real estate insiders and experts to provide their insights and perspectives on the future of the Greater Cranberry region at an in-person breakfast scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Woods. Moderated by Business Times Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Beahm, Corridors of Opportunity: Greater Cranberry will give attendees the chance to hear local experts talk about Cranberry and surrounding areas, a part of the region that is becoming more and more of a draw for homebuyers and developers alike. For more details about the event or to register to attend, go to our Corridors of Opportunity: Greater Cranberry event webpage. There is also a Q&A with the event panelists available to read on our website . Ever since Westinghouse Electric Co. first began facing its ups and downs in the middle of the last decade, the subleasing campaign at the nuclear energy firm’s headquarters has served as an informal measure of Cranberry Township’s economy. Today, in the aftermath of all the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, JLL reports its 315,000-square-foot sublease assignment first started in 2017 is now all but finished. Think of it as a fresh […]

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Office of the Premier FREDERICTON (GNB) – Premier Blaine Higgs delivered his annual state of the province address today, highlighting the province’s growth and continued opportunities in health care, education, energy development, and the economy. “From the beginning, we promised to do things differently,” said Higgs. “And now we are seeing the outcomes of our actions – positive results that many thought were impossible just a few years ago.” He said that employment in New Brunswick is rising, as are wages, including the minimum wage. In addition, the population is registering the highest growth since 1867, with Moncton being recognized as the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country. Businesses are expanding and attracting strong private investment across the province, while all exports, manufacturing sales and housing sales are climbing, he said. Higgs said the government remains committed to becoming a leader in energy innovation and development to support growth at home, lead in reducing emissions, and help global allies grapple with an energy crisis. The government is actively supporting a number of clean energy solutions and transition fuels to support a path to net zero, he said. It has invested in small modular reactor technology, is developing a long-term […]

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Nauticus Robotics’ Aquanaut electric subsea robot system. If the Russian invasion of Ukraine has taught us anything it’s that war isn’t now so much a matter of slugging it out hand to hand on the battlefield and firing big lumps of metal at each other, although sadly that still happens, but increasingly about making far greater use of remote controlled and autonomous or semi autonomous weaponry. It’s also not just about using drones as observation platforms, target spotting or dropping a mortar bomb into an unsuspecting Russian tank’s hatch but the intelligent use of data gathering and observation. Here in Scotland we independence supporters often talk about what the shape and size of the Scottish armed forces might be and what opportunities it might present for Scottish industry. A few decades ago myself and a couple of colleagues working on Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) design put forward the idea of a simple, cheap, one shot, battery powered mine demolition vehicle controlled initially by a fibre optic link. But, we also toyed with the idea of making it semi autonomous. The idea being to use acoustic telemetry to guide it close to the target then allow its internal sensors (short […]

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Source: Shutterstock Flowserve Corporation ( NYSE:FLS ), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the NYSE over the last few months. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Flowserve’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists. What Is Flowserve Worth? Flowserve appears to be overvalued by 20% at the moment, based on my discounted cash flow valuation. The stock is currently priced at US$33.77 on the market compared to my intrinsic value of $28.11. This means that the buying opportunity has probably disappeared for now. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since Flowserve’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a […]

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Source: Shutterstock Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company ( NASDAQ:SHEN ) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today’s value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model . The Calculation We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second ‘steady growth’ period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren’t available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last […]

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Employers that maintain overfunded pension plans and are looking for ways to fund retiree health and/or group term life should take a fresh look at Section 420 of the Internal Revenue Code ("Section 420"), as amended by a provision tucked away near the end of the massive package of retirement plan changes in SECURE 2.0. Originally set to expire at the end of 2025, the SECURE 2.0 provision extends Section 420 through the end of 2032 and relaxes one of the key requirements to use surplus pension assets to pay retiree health and life insurance benefits for newly created de minimis transfers. We highlight this new option below. Background Section 420 permits a transfer of assets in an overfunded pension plan to a separate health benefits "401(h) account" or an applicable life insurance account, that is part of that plan, to provide the retiree health and/or group term life insurance benefits reasonably estimated to be incurred over a "transfer period" selected by the plan sponsor. The "transfer period" (1) can be limited to the taxable year of the transfer for plans with surplus assets that exceed 125% of the plan’s Code Section 430 funding target and target normal cost […]

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Over 80 prominent Japanese buyers including and trading companies and retail chains/stores are in India to source their requirement from the 112 odd Indian exhibitors displaying their goods at the Upnext India 2023. Representative Image The decline in exports of apparel items from China to Japan provides a huge opportunity for Indian companies to push their shipments in Tokyo, AEPC said on Friday. To tap this opportunity, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has organised a two-day buyer-seller meet for international players at its Apparel House in Gurugram . Over 80 prominent Japanese buyers including and trading companies and retail chains/stores are in India to source their requirement from the 112 odd Indian exhibitors displaying their goods at the Upnext India 2023, it added. AEPC Chairman Naren Goenka said: "We hold a strong business opportunity in Japan, reflected by the fact that China, which has been a dominant garment supplier to Japan, has witnessed a decline in the past 5 years giving significant advantage to India". Garment fraternity in both the countries have geared up to increase this trade taking advantage of duty-free access for Indian ready-made garments post Indo-Japan free trade pact, he said. The Indian garment industry is […]

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