The Texas Legislature has a record amount of money to spend as it writes the next two-year state budget – but will it? In May 2022 file photo, a Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse rises over the Goddess of Liberty atop the Texas State Capitol in Austin. AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers have a stunning — some say unprecedented — opportunity to improve state residents’ well-being and educational attainment by tapping some of the nearly $70 billion that’s available this year for new initiatives. But will they? Why do they seem to loathe, at least initially, to propose much new state spending — other than to again buy down local school property taxes? As Senate hearings on the next two-year state budget kicked off last week, Comptroller Glenn Hegar spoke of a “historic and unprecedented” flow of money into the treasury since Texas emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. When the current budget cycle ends on Aug. 31, Hegar expects a $32.7 billion balance in the state’s general fund. But in addition to the whopping “revenue surplus,” as some call it, Hegar projects that $155.5 billion of general-purpose revenue will be collected in 2024-25. Compared with current spending of $119.2 billion, […]

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Despite difficult January 1st renewals, the outlook for agriculture business looks very promising for 2023, with growth opportunities for reinsurers, according to Aon’s January Reinsurance Market Dynamics report. Historically profitable markets saw only minor changes, but territories with recent losses experienced hardening terms, Aon analysts observed. These changes were driven by the outsized Brazil loss of 2021 – which developed and was quantifiable in 2022 -, the continued increase in commodity prices and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. A shortage of capacity, along with the withdrawal of a major reinsurer and others having to reduce their agriculture portfolios, has also fuelled the hardening terms. Pro-rata capacity has been in short supply, as some reinsurers only offered pro-rata capacity in limited territories. Those continuing to support pro-rata were often able to improve terms and would only commit capacity if modelled margins showed a reasonable increase year-over- year. Despite these improvements, Aon noted, pro-rata treaties were difficult to fill out, and in certain territories, clients had to reduce their EPI to ensure full placement. On top of this, the strong dollar has meant that 40 percent more capacity is required over last year for the U.S., the world’s largest crop […]

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NYC Mayor’s Office | Flickr New York City launched applications for small businesses to receive pandemic relief funding through a new loan program called the “NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund” on Jan. 23. Through the city’s Department of Small Business Services, $75 million will be distributed to approximately 1,500 local businesses in the five boroughs.The Small Business Opportunity Fund is a part of a public-private partnership between Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Additionally, eight different community development financial institutions are also a part of the partnership, according to Small Business Services Commissioner Kevin Kim in a news conference .Small businesses may apply for loans up to $250,000 at a market-leading rate of 4%. Businesses must make a revenue of less than $5 million and will be allowed to use the loan to refinance higher-interest debts. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the financial help arrives at a time when the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is reaching a crucial point in time. He added that the loan fund is the city’s way of “giving back” to the small businesses that kept the city going. “Our efforts to cut red tape and jumpstart our recovery are […]

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Twitter is reportedly planning to charge businesses $1,000 to keep gold checks. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first reported that Twitter is reaching out to businesses about the plan. There is reportedly no timeline for when non-paying accounts will lose their checks. Elon Musk also tweeted about other changes this week, such as removing "legacy" blue checks. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — 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 . In the latest revenue generating effort for Elon Musk’s Twitter, the social media giant is reportedly set to make businesses pay $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification check. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first reported the new charge, along with screenshots allegedly showing Twitter employees offering the price to businesses looking to sign up as a "Verified Organization." The Information confirmed the report Friday, adding that it is currently unclear when the […]

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Scientists at Auburn University injected alligator DNA into farm-raised catfish. The scientists found that the fish were more resistant to disease and less likely to reproduce. They hope the new and less disease-prone catfish will one day be sold for human consumption. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. 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 . Life finds a way: Geneticists have created disease-resistant catfish using alligator DNA — and they may one day become a part of our diet. A group of scientists at Auburn University published a paper in January detailing their efforts to genetically modify catfish with the cathelicidin gene of an alligator. Cathelicidin, found in the intestines, is an antimicrobial peptide responsible for helping organisms fight diseases. The gene, which was added using CRISPR, heightened disease resistance among the catfish in comparison to wild catfish. Researchers noted that the survival rates of the […]

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OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) – An uprising trend of economic activity began last year as the nation came off the heels of the pandemic. One of those cities which have benefitted is Ocean Springs. Earlier this past week, we took a look at the new Bacchus on the Bayou restaurant, which opens this month. However, there are many more businesses that are preparing to open their doors this year in the City of Discovery. “2022 was a busy year,” said Daryll Stringfellow, an Ocean Springs building official. “It was surprising with the way the interest way was going. It was a very active year. We have several new businesses come into town and several new developments. One across from CVS will be a restaurant, and we’ll have four other businesses in there, one being a spa.” A quick dive around the city and you’ll see construction sites that will soon house new businesses. From Zaxby’s Chicken to the much anticipated return of Chef Scott’s, the city is more than happy to see this strong economic outlook. “In 2022, we actually brought in $378k in business permits,” said Stringfellow. “It show the growth of residential and business. It’s a big […]

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The Museum of the Future in Dubai The time is ripe for forward-looking Israeli start-ups to seek new markets for vertical growth, exports and expansion Since signing the historic Abraham Accords in 2020, we have seen a dramatic increase in bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE. We expect this new era of cooperation to see trade soaring to US$10 billion by 2027. The Middle East has long been renowned for trade, for innovation and as a center for global deals. Intra-nation trade reached $2.56 billion in 2022 – despite the pandemic – up from $1.19b. in 2021. That year also saw Dubai imports from Israel almost double, and Dubai re-exports to Israel grow significantly. Israel is known across the world as “ The start-up nation ”, a well-deserved title considering it now has around 100 ‘unicorn’ start-ups , with 42 new unicorns in 2021 and 23 in 2022. While innovation is firmly local, we know the vision of Israeli start-ups is global, with new market growth built into their business plans from the outset. How can Israeli start-ups achieve their global vision? While venture capital funding in Israel increased gradually toward 2021 – reaching a record of some […]

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For Mike Larsen , owner of Grand Blanc, Michigan-based Larsen Roofing, staying competitive online is important. He has a new weapon to assist with that effort: ChatGPT. The artificial intelligence chatbot has been rapidly adopted since being launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It’s been met with a mix of both fandom and fear in the business world as executives and entrepreneurs ponder its potential applications, risks and rewards. Larsen is using it to assist with blog posts, but he doesn’t simply take what ChatGPT. “It is important that the use is solely for research, as the content can come across as unoriginal if you simply copy and paste it,” Larsen told The Playbook . “But by researching the topic through Chat GPT rather than doing a search and combing through the results on Google, you can more quickly create content." Stories of the ChatGPT passing business degree exam questions and writing code — and more disturbingly, malware — are also contrasted with the same platform getting key details wrong , accusations of potential bias and a style of writing that critics have called bland and only surface level . You can access the platform yourself here. How businesses […]

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Is the U.S. ready for a four-day work week? 00:00 00:0001:47GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Some companies are figuring out whether a four-day workweek is realistic in the US , as new research shows it could benefit both employees and employers alike. The nation is still seeing low unemployment numbers, and many businesses say it remains difficult to find people to hire. Therefore, they’re being forced to develop new ways to attract and retain people. "It’s nice to actually feel like we do have off time, and that we are protective of that time," said Nate Jones, an experienced analyst and head of research at CX Pilots, a business consulting company that’s trying out a four-day, ten-hour schedule. Jones says his weekends now feel a little more like a weekend because he tries to make the most of that extra free day. Steven Keith is the founder of CX Pilots. "I’m meal prepping, I’m doing laundry, catching up with family ," he said. "The pandemic made me think more about what I care about," said CX Pilots founder Steven Keith. He says the new schedule is working well, and the company has not […]

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This is part of a series of stories about the challenges small businesses face. The No. 1 challenge facing the retail industry in recent years has been crime, according to Rachel Michelin , CEO of the California Retailers Association. The most common issue has revolved around theft, which she said has been heightened since the 2014 passage of Proposition 47 in California, which reclassified certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. “Prior to that, retail theft was an intervention point where you’d see someone struggling who could then get into diversion programs. We saw drug courts and shoplifting diversion programs that were there to help try and stop the behaviors,” Michelin said. “We don’t see that happening anymore because there’s no intervention point." FBI crime statistics don’t appear to show the trend that business leaders describe. In 2014, the year Proposition 47 was approved by voters, the rate of property crimes in California was 2,441.7 per 100,000 population. In 2020, the most recent year available, that rate had declined to 2,138.9 per 100,000. FBI statistics during that period showed similar downtrends for other reported property crimes that could be associated with businesses, including larceny and burglaries. […]

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