Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Black small-business owners feel more optimistic about this year than their peers, Goldman Sachs’ latest 10,000 Small Businesses Voices survey shows. Why it matters: Despite higher operating costs and systemically greater financing obstacles, some Black small-business owners surveyed in late January say they’ve emerged from the last few years more confident in their ability to manage through challenges and that they see more growth opportunities than they have in the past. “Not only having to face the business challenges, but the health challenges and then the societal challenges …whatever we face next, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what we’ve been through from 2020 to late 2021,” Jessica Johnson-Cope, owner of Johnson Security Bureau in New York, tells Axios. By the numbers: 81% of Black small-business owners are optimistic about the financial trajectory of their business in 2023, compared to 68% of the overall surveyed population, according to results shared first with Axios. 78% of Black business owners expect their business to increase profits, compared to 60% overall. 67% expect their business to create new jobs, compared to 51% overall. 67% are currently hiring full-time or part-time employees, compared to 59% overall. Yes, but: […]

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

New York CNN — AMC Theaters is changing the way it charges for seats. America’s largest movie chain announced that the prices of a ticket will now be based on seat location, meaning seats in the front will be cheaper while more desirable seats in the middle will now cost more. The ticket pricing initiative, called Sightline at AMC, will roll out at all of its roughly 1,000 movie theaters by the end of the year. Regal Cinemas is closing 39 more movie theaters. See the list Three pricing tiers will soon be offered. For example, the highest-end “Preferred” tier are in the middle of the theaters and will be priced at a “slight premium” compared to its “Standard” tier, which the theater chains says will remain the most common choice and will be sold for the “traditional cost of a ticket.” The third tier is called “Value,” which are seats in the front row of theaters and will cost less than than its “Standard” tier. “Sightline at AMC more closely aligns AMC’s seat pricing approach to that of many other entertainment venues, offering experience-based pricing and another way for moviegoers to find value at the movies,” said Eliot […]

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

California-based Berkley International , which designs, manufactures and assembles retail displays and packaging, is investing in its Northwest Arkansas operations with new office space and new equipment. Co-founder and CEO Eric Berkley said the family-owned business recently signed two new leases in Benton County — a two-person office inside the Ledger in downtown Bentonville (140 square feet) and design space inside a 41,510-square-foot building at 1001 S. 52nd St. in Rogers (9,896 square feet). Berkley said the company spent more than $250,000 on two pieces of new equipment it will use in the Rogers design center, which will come online this spring. Those two offices will complement a 78,000-square-foot Lowell warehouse at 316 Commercial Ave. Berkley, who splits time between southern California and Northwest Arkansas, said the region’s entrepreneurial spirit influenced the company’s investment. He said the Los Angeles-based company first opened a Northwest Arkansas office in 2016. Approximately half of its 51 employees work in the region. Eric Berkley “[Entrepreneurial spirit] is one of our core values, so we love the talent and opportunities in Northwest Arkansas,” Berkley said. “I’ve traveled the world and never seen a town like Bentonville. It gives you a small-town vibe that is […]

Click here to view original web page at talkbusiness.net

Copy This Embed Code: Ad CORPUS CHRISTI — The Corpus Christi Downtown Management said they’ve got a good momentum going when it comes to attracting business to the area. “The key word is potential,” Richard Lomax, the president of Water Street Restaurants, said. “Everyone is always like. God downtown has so much potential. But you and I are standing right here, and there’s a marina and a sunrise. Where else in the U.S. can you find cheap real estate on the water?” Between the mid 2022 and the beginning of February 2023, businesses like Cafe Calypso, Hype Bike, Hybrid Records, All Good Fitness, Pharmacy Grill, Produce and V.N.P. Gallery opened. Alyssa Barrera Mason, the director of the Downtown Management District, said most of them are owned by locals. “People just wanting to make an impact on the way that Corpus Christi looks and realizing that they have an opportunity to do it here in their hometown,” Mason said. Business owners said the increase in foot traffic is welcome. “It was crazy just seeing, like, more people walking up and down the block,” Carlos Cooper, the owner Hybrid Records, said. “Especially people that we haven’t seen before.” Hybrid Records opened […]

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

Highlighting the plastic industry’s infamous track record on recycling, London-based Recycleye says it raised $17 million in new funding led by “deep tech” investor DCVC . The startup claims its recycling-picking robots can identify materials “at an unrivaled 60 frames per second” and sort them more accurately than humans can. Ultimately, the startup says its tech cuts the “cost of sorting materials.” TechCrunch has reached out to the company for information on its projected cost savings. Based in Palo Alto, DCVC says its mission is to “multiply the benefits of capitalism for everyone while reducing its costs.” Climate tech is one of its focuses, and one lens through which we can see capitalism’s environmental toll. In the case of plastics, the oil industry has long preached the virtues of plastic recycling, while doubting its economic viability , in order to sell more virgin plastic. Every stage of plastic production disrupts the climate and natural world, from “the extraction and transport of the fossil fuels that are the primary feedstocks for plastic, to refining and manufacturing, to waste management, to the plastic that enters the environment,” the Center for International Environmental Law wrote in 2019. Plastic pollution — a major […]

Click here to view original web page at techcrunch.com

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — In honor of Black History Month, city and community leaders are taking action to invest in minority-owned businesses. Vision View Business Formation Center in Fresno’s Airport District hit a new milestone, receiving more than a million dollars in funding to build generational wealth for communities of color. The Center’s Founder and CEO, Lynisha Senegal, walked through the area slated to be remodeled. She said, "We provide the services that minority businesses might not otherwise have the opportunity to access." Last week, city and community leaders held a press conference announcing more than a million dollars in funding to strengthen the business center. The California Endowment provided $800,000 toward the Capital Project and Central Valley Community Foundation provided $200,000 in ‘gap-funding’ to stabilize the capital project and additional funding through the D.R.I.V.E. Initiative. City of Fresno Council President Tyler Maxwell provide $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding after the devastation of the COVID Pandemic to small minority-owned businesses. "You got thousands of people coming in and out of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport every single day, that is the economic hub of our city. Those were the people that were truly impacted during […]

Click here to view original web page at abc30.com

Kim Kardashian’s Skims campaign includes two "The White Lotus" actresses. Kim Kardashian was a speaker at a hedge fund conference in Miami on January 31. She reportedly made around $1 million for speaking at the event, an unnamed source told Page Six. Kardashian spoke about her private equity firm SKKY partners. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest stories in hedge funds, PE, fintech, and banking — 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 . Kim Kardashian reportedly made around $1 million speaking at a hedge fund event in Miami, an unnamed source told Page Six. The reality star turned business mogul spoke at the iConnections Global conference on January 31 about her private equity firm, SKKY Partners, which launched in October. Kardashian launched the firm with former Carlyle Group partner Jay Sammons, known for investing in Beats By Dre and Supreme. Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, is also a partner. […]

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

ELLINWOOD, Kan. (KWCH) – In Ellinwood, a new local business, Crazy Wolf Coffee, is serving up drinks in a unique way and quickly finding success in doing so. When it comes to getting coffee, customers normally have to drive to get it. With Crazy Wolf Coffee, co-owner Donita Zamarripa is helping to lead the charge in changing that by serving coffee from a food truck. “Everywhere you see a lot of food places, you never see a coffee place at events, carnivals, things like that,” Zamarripa said. “…On weekends, we would travel to different areas and bring our coffee to them. We wanted to make it to where we could go to local events like the After Harvest Festival.” She said the idea for the new business began with encouragement to sell the coffee she and her partner made for a family member’s birthday party. You can learn more about Crazy Wolf Coffee on the business’s Facebook page . Copyright 2023 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

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

In 2022, BBVA channeled €50 billion into sustainable business, up 41% from the €35.4 billion mobilized in 2021. The bank has now channeled a total of €135.9 billion since 2018, when it announced its sustainable business mobilization target through 2025. That target, set initially at €100 billion, was trebled in October 2022 to €300 billion , thanks to the reinforcement of the product offering in the wholesale and retail segments. "Investments in sustainability are highly attractive economically for both companies and individuals. This enables us at BBVA to undertake this effort, which is critical for society and the planet, as a business opportunity, with strong growth and high returns," said Javier Rodríguez Soler, BBVA’s Global Head of Sustainability. The €135.9 billion in sustainable finance between 2018 and 2022 has been allocated to the two vectors that guide BBVA’s purpose in the field of sustainability: climate action and inclusive growth . This amount includes project and corporate finance, transactional banking, bond distributed and investment products managed or marketed by BBVA. BBVA’s sustainable business in 2022 Of the €50 billion that BBVA channeled into sustainable business in 2022, 81% was allocated to climate change and 19% to inclusive growth. The breakdown […]

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

After a decade of research and development, PXG is moving into the direct-to-consumer golf ball … [+] PXG In a relatively short time, PXG has become the most successful and well-known direct-to-consumer club manufacturer in the golf business. The approach — bypassing the retail store middlemen to engage directly with golfers, through specialized, appointment fittings or in their own branded stores – has helped PXG build a very loyal following and earn recognition as one of the Top 100 golf businesses in the U.S. Now, PXG is venturing into the crowded direct-to-consumer golf ball market. For PXG founder and billionaire Bob Parsons, everything the company does starts with the question of whether they can create a better product. “For a long time, despite our best efforts, we weren’t sure if we could make a better golf ball. But we didn’t stop trying,” Parsons said. The PXG Xtreme golf balls, officially released today, are the culmination of almost a decade of research and development. Early patents floated around years ago, but PXG’s R&D team didn’t have a product they were willing to bring to market until they were able to add a new partner to expand engineering capabilities and leverage […]

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