MOSCOW, RUSSIA – MARCH 11: Apple Pay logo is displayed on a smartphone in Moscow, Russia on March … [+] Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them? 1 – Bank of America, JPMorgan, and other banks are reportedly teaming up on a digital wallet to rival Apple Pay. According to recent reports, Bank of America , JPMorgan Chase , and Wells Fargo are among some of the big banks reportedly developing a digital wallet to link with credit and debit cards in an effort to rival PayPal and Apple Pay. The digital wallet would first launch with Mastercard and Visa , which have already agreed to the partnership. It has been confirmed that the wallet product will launch sometime this year. (Source: CNBC ). Why this is important for your business: Quietly but increasingly, mobile payments are becoming more common, particularly amongst younger shoppers. It took a while, but it’s happen. Clearly the banks are noticing this and are jumping on board. As business owners, we need to make sure our customers can easily pay for our products and services […]

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

Texas Utility Help program receives more energy bill assistance funding, expands water bill assistance with future payments AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) announced it is directing an additional $48 million from the Federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act to the Texas Utility Help program to support homeowners and renters who need help paying energy bills. Through Texas Utility Help, homeowners and renters can pay off total past due utility bills for electricity, natural gas, propane, water, and wastewater, plus get up to $2,400 in prospective payments. All approved payments are issued directly to the utility company on the applicant’s behalf. Applicants must meet the following criteria to qualify: Household income must be at or below 150% of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines. At least one occupant in the household must be a United States citizen or Qualified Alien. Texas Utility Help also introduced a program change that adds future payments for water and wastewater assistance at $85 per month, through Sept. 30, 2023. Going forward, Texas Utility Help will send a payment to the approved applicant’s water and wastewater provider as one lump sum equal to the applicant’s past-due balance (if any), plus $85 […]

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

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here . New York CNN — The Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates again on Wednesday. But will it be another half-point hike or just a quarter-point increase? And what about the rest of the year? The Fed’s actions beyond this week’s meeting will depend primarily on whether inflation is truly slowing. Investors will get another clue when the January jobs report is released on Friday. Economists predict that 185,000 jobs were added last month, a slowdown from the gain of 223,000 jobs in December and 263,000 in November. A further deceleration in the labor market would likely please the Fed, as it would show that last year’s rate hikes are successfully taking some air out of the economy. The Fed knows it’s in a tough situation. Inflation pressures are partly fueled by wage gains for workers. In an environment where the unemployment rate is at a half-century low of 3.5%, employees have been able to command big increases in pay to keep up with rising prices of consumer goods and services. Along those lines, […]

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

HARTFORD — More than 200 members and supporters of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce gathered Thursday evening at the Chandelier Ballroom to celebrate 50 years of commitment and involvement to the city. The evening’s theme was “Hollywood Walk of Fame” and included a red carpet into the room. The Chamber of Commerce was created in 1922 with a mission to support and nurture growth in the community. The 12-member board of directors is elected annually from its membership. The organization is operated by a full-time staff and supported with efforts from a variety of volunteers, including members of the Chamber’s Ambassador Club and committee members, who help sustain and support programs and services. The evening was sponsored by O’Meara Law Offices, Forte Financial Advisors and the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce. Additional sponsors included the Hartford Business Improvement District, Keller Inc., Creations 101 and HED Controls Inc. The program was led by outgoing Executive Director Dana Osmanski and WTKM Radio’s Dave Stout was master of ceremonies. “I’m humbled by so many who have expressed thoughts, enabling me to do the job well. I’m looking forward to working with the board and staff, who is amazing and so highly spoken […]

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

Business team having meeting getty Things are tough out there for many businesses right now, and they may be getting tougher. The “R word” is on everyone’s lips, although many are reluctant to speak it. Not the World Bank, though: It started 2023 with the dire prediction that a global recession is at hand. It doesn’t matter whether you occupy a B2B, B2C, DTC, or any other business category. When consumers pull back on spending, companies are forced to do so as well. There’s a tendency to draw inward during hard times with the hope that you can simply ride them out. Yet history has shown that the intrepid can not only survive uncertain economic times, but thrive. Instead of tucking themselves away, they tuck and roll. Think Airbnb and Warby Parker. Just trying to survive isn’t good enough. Neither is forging ahead with a strategic plan developed when the economy was growing at a fast clip and global pandemics were events you read about in history books. Companies that hit the sweet spot between the two extremes may surprise themselves with their performance. Here are a few ways you can be a risk-taker in a hunker-down economy. Understand […]

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

You always have to start somewhere. In the case of many a successful startup founder, that means working a day job before they’re ready to strike out and start their own new business. So, where are the best places to work for future founders? Multiple big-name companies top the list, according to a new report from small-business lending platform OnDeck, which examined large U.S. companies with high rates of former employees launching their own businesses. Those big names include like management consulting giant Bain & Company, financial services behemoth Goldman Sachs and even Twitter, the social media platform recently acquired by Elon Musk. Boston-based Bain tops the list with 8.13% of former employees going on to become founders, the highest of any company in OnDeck’s analysis. Notable alumni of Bain & Co. who went on to entrepreneurial success include Zynga founder Mark Pincus and Intuit co-founder Scott Cook. Here’s the top five: Bain & Company: 8.13% of former employees have gone on to found their own business. Oliver Wyman: 7.93% McKinsey & Company: 7.75% Strategy&: 7.44% Universal Music Group: 7.39% To determine its rankings, OnDeck started with a list of the 100 biggest employers in each state, based on […]

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

Matt Simmons, managing partner of Maxwell Hendry and Simmons, a local real estate appraisal firm, recently shared his views on how Lee County is responding to the economic impact of Hurricane Ian. "Anytime you go through something like this, you kind of look for some level of past experience to reference back to," Simmons said. "We don’t really have territory to measure this on." Simmons then addressed other factors that impact this region’s recovery. "We can be, you know, performing really well as an economy, and have all the right things in place," he continued. "But a lot of what drives our tax dollars is what’s happening at a macroeconomic level outside of our market. And so I think it’s reasonable to say we were seeing already for a few months prior to storm, some of the macroeconomic factors that have already been taking place in other areas." So, could Lee County have been better prepared economically to absorb the blow thrown by Hurricane Ian? "If there was ever a county that you would look at and say, ‘gosh, you know, there as great as they can be’. I think it’s the Lee County, based on what just happened. […]

Click here to view original web page at news.wgcu.org

Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council The Governor’s Annual Business Plan Contest tries to help start-up entrepreneurs in technology connect with mentors and possible sources of money. The deadline for entering this year’s contest is coming up fast—Tuesday night, January 31st. The Wisconsin Technology Council, official advisors to the Governor and legislature on science and tech issues, runs the contest. Council President Tom Still says the tech sector in the state has its challenges, but continues to grow. Still told WUWM’s Chuck Quirmbach that what’s defined as a technology job, is changing. The deadline for entering the Governor’s Annual Business Plan Contest is Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 11:59pm.

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

Heavenly team members were busy digging out Tamarack lift and others following heavy snowfall. SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Lift lines are long and businesses are reaping the benefits of abundant snowfall at Lake Tahoe. With plenty of snow falling in the basin from a series of storms in December and January, resorts are seeing tons of skiers and riders while dealing head-on with difficulties. Palisades Tahoe is reporting great business since the slow down of the recent storms, and are trying to push people to come up midweek in order to avoid longer lines and delayed wait times. “Now that the storms have kind of calmed down, people are able to get up here,” said Palisades PR Manager Patrick Lacey. “We really want to push people to be skiing midweek. Take a sick day here and there, because obviously, parking can be an issue here … or, if they do come on the weekend, come early and stay late. Stay in the Village, come early, grab breakfast here, you know, you’re going to have a much more enjoyable day if you do that.” Heavenly Mountain Resort Director of Communications Sara Roston reported that Vail Resorts are working tirelessly […]

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

887×225 image ad Jasper County Precinct 1 Constable Jimmy Hensarling warned over the weekend that a scammer is posing as a local business, and he says the scammer tried to target him along with other people. According to Hensarling, he and others received a Facebook message claiming to be from Pop’s Kajun Kitchen and saying that they were the winner of a weekly giveaway. However, Hensarling said the food outlet’s Facebook page had been hacked and the scammer was sending out the erroneous messages. According to Hensarling, if you clicked on the link in the message, it would take you to a website that wanted you to register your personal information, including credit card information. Hensarling said Pop’s Kajun Kitchen is aware of the problem and they were working to correct it. He also warned those who receive the message to not click on it, and definitely do not enter your personal details or credit card information. 300×206 image ad

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