Market Watch

The mortgage business for this banking giant is struggling right now. Mortgage origination is one of the most cyclical businesses out there. When times are good, the companies do great. When times are bad, they tend to be really bad. This was the case even with the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses in this sector need to be ready for that cyclicality or they need to consider not participating. Wells Fargo ( WFC 3.25%) recently announced it will drastically shrink its mortgage banking business. Why is Wells throwing in the towel? Did the cyclicality become too much? Image source: Getty Images. Mortgage banking is a feast-and-famine business The past year has been downright awful for the mortgage banking business. During 2020 and 2021, mortgage bankers feasted. The Federal Reserve cut the prime lending rate down to the floor to help stimulate the economy in order to offset the economic drag of the COVID-19 pandemic. This kicked off a massive wave of refinancing activity, as borrowers rushed to take advantage of the low rates. Mortgage banking volume ballooned in response. You can see the spike in the chart below. Please note that the chart does not contain […]

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The Big Picture Crowdsource Innovation Social innovators have long been working to build a more just and sustainable world, but the work cannot fall on them alone. For business and corporations, social innovation could be a catalyst to achieve both racial equity and business goals. Scaling up public-private collaboration requires corporations to partner with social innovators. If actions speak louder than words, then corporations, by and large, are currently not sending a great message on racial justice. Despite record commitments from Corporate America to take a more active role in confronting systemic racism after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, progress remains disappointing. According to a McKinsey report released in December 2020 (and updated on the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s murder), more than 1,100 organizations committed $200 billion to racial justice initiatives between June and May 2021. However, almost two years later , there is a lack of clarity on how, if at all, this money is being spent and, more importantly, if anything has really changed. Looking at this, some may say that companies don’t intend to fulfil their commitments. However, a far more likely scenario is that they just don’t know how to. In this, we […]

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‘Please just send me to a mental institution.’ Mom describes daughter’s struggle with social media New York CNN — First, it was disposable cameras. Then it was low-rise jeans. Now, Gen-Z’s latest “vintage” obsession is the flip phone – that mid-1990s era phone that has suddenly become oh so popular with millennials. Today, these smaller, lightweight devices – some available for as little as $20 at big box retailers like Walmart and Amazon – are showing up in TikTok videos of young people unboxing them, bedazzling their cases just as earlier generations did, and filming tutorials on achieving a carefree, blurry aesthetic through the low quality camera. But most importantly, they love the ability to disconnect – or as much as that’s even possible in 2023. “I’m team flip phone revolution,” singer Camila Cabello tweeted Thursday, posing with a TCL flip phone , vintage. “Maybe I can write the theme song.” Actress Dove Cameron, who rose to fame on the Disney Channel’s “Liv and Maddie” show, said in a November interview that she had switched to a flip phone. Spending too much time on her phone and looking at social media “is really bad for me,” she said. “I […]

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Program offers coaching, workshops, consultations Creating big change with few resources isn’t easy, but the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce proved last year that it is possible. In 2022, the chamber received a $75,000 grant from Clark County, which came from the nearly $95 million awarded to the county through the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic assistance package. “When the community was hit with the pandemic, it was very clear there were companies that needed the chamber’s support, but we also realized no company should be threatened with having to close their doors one or two weeks into a pandemic or a crisis of any sort,” said Janet Kenefsky, vice president of membership and operations for the chamber. With the pandemic relief funds in hand, the chamber scaled up its Business Pathways to Opportunity and Development program. “We wanted to make sure that every company had the ability to withstand a pandemic. But also, how do you take those skills and thrive during non-pandemic times, during the good times?” Kenefsky said. The program provides educational workshops, drop-in consultations, individual coaching sessions and cohort coaching sessions to business owners at no charge, to chamber members and non-members alike. Kenefsky said the […]

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LSW Architects recently added Heidi Lynch to its team as Concierge. (Photo contributed by LSW Architects) People in Business LSW recently added Heidi Lynch to its team as concierge. In her new position, Lynch supports the firm by curating the physical space to optimize the best positive experiences for internal and external clientele. Originally from California, Lynch followed her education and career path to Virginia and later moved to the Pacific Northwest with her family to be close to her sister. Since graduating with a degree in literature, she has worked with a variety of industries, allowing her to build on her numerous skill sets and expertise. Gov. Jay Inslee recently appointed Jerry Goodstein of Camas to the Statewide Reentry Council as part of his December boards and commissions appointments. Boards and commissions are designed to give Washingtonians a voice in their government and allow residents to influence decisions that shape the quality of life for all Washingtonians. International Cultural Exchange Services recently welcomed Alex Morasky as a new local coordinator. Morasky will work with international high school students and the local families that host them in Vancouver and in the surrounding area. Morasky is currently looking for families […]

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — On Sunday at 12:18 a.m., officers with the Fayetteville Police Department were dispatched to the Mikotos located along the 7900 block of Raeford Road in reference to a disturbance in the parking lot. The caller said several shots had been fired at a car. Officers determined there were two men that had been in an altercation with other people at Mikotos. Officers said the two men appeared to be under the influence of an impairing substance when they exited the business and got in a white pickup truck in the parking lot. The two men then drove it through the outside seating area at Mikotos, where a few customers were sitting and struck by the car. Shots were fired at the truck, and the men fled the scene. Officers were able to locate the car with one of the men inside of it. Officers located the other man at a Circle K that was close to the location of the incident. Both men were taken into custody without incident. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers at 910-483-8477. Information can also be submitted anonymously at www.fay-nccrimestoppers.org . Copyright 2023 […]

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Washington, UNITED STATES: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building is seen 19 September 2006 in Washington, DC. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images) The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed ban on noncompetes should be welcome news to the business community. Noncompete agreements stifle economic development, limit firms’ ability to hire and depress innovation and growth. A nationwide ban will fuel economic expansion and support competitive markets. Noncompetes are contracts that limit workers’ ability to work for a competitor after leaving their employer. They are extremely common . Research shows that 1 in 5 workers in the United States is currently subject to a noncompete — approximately 30 million workers. Noncompetes are especially prevalent among high-level employees, like executives, and in certain industry sectors, like technology. But they are also found in contracts with low-wage workers and those without a college degree. Surprisingly, such agreements are permissible under most states’ laws. This is because companies and lawmakers once thought noncompete contracts were good for business. The reasoning was that companies would invest in their workforce only if they could feel confident that their workers would not take their knowledge and skill to a competitor. But a decade of empirical research […]

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East Fork Business Center, located at 910 Lila Ave., was sold to PG&A. (COLLIERS via CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER) CINCINNATI ( Cincinnati Business Courier /WKRC) – A retail solutions company bought an expansion facility in Greater Cincinnati for $5 million. Peter Gaietto & Associates purchased the East Fork Business Center from Messer Construction. Chuck Ackerman, Bill Keefer and Jeff Kroeger of Colliers International were the listing brokers. The 122,603-square-foot manufacturing facility is situated on over 11 acres of land in Milford. PG&A specializes in innovative retail solutions with grocer and consumer products. Subscribers to the Cincinnati Business Courier can read the full story. Cincinnati Business Courier is a Local 12 News partner

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No matter what kind of career you go into, chances are good you’ll need at least a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel . But this software isn’t exactly the easiest to figure out on your own. This is why, if you need professional training, you should do yourself a favor and check out Excel Everest before you do anything else. Excel Everest is a web-based training platform that provides a better way to learn this all-encompassing spreadsheet software. Unlike physical classes which can often be boring and expensive, Excel Everest provides students with practical skills training via the web and then offers the opportunity to put those skills to use with fun, hands-on exercises. The end result is you’ll advance from beginner to expert status much faster than you otherwise could. Even better, the training is delivered in stages so there’s practically zero chance you’ll ever feel overwhelmed. And you can start at the level you’re most comfortable with too, which means it’s an ideal resource for virtually everyone. Click here to find out more about how it works. Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used software titles in the world. Don’t know how to use it? […]

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Michael Vi 1. Introduction The current shakeout on the stock market has particularly affected growth stocks – One of them is the cybersecurity company Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS ), which temporarily delivered insane returns of around 2,000% for its investors after its IPO until the end of 2022 (see chart). ZS price % change since IPO vs major indices (YCharts) Although the stock has lost about 72% from its all-time high and has thus underperformed all the major indices, such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq as well as the Russell 2000, it still delivered a whopping return of over 500% to its investors since its IPO (see chart). Price % off high – ZS vs indices (YCharts) Well, is it worth considering an investment in ZS taking into account the current selloff? 2. Valuation In terms of valuation, I have chosen two valuation models: the enterprise value-to-sales ratio (EV/S), which adds debt and preferred shares to the market cap and subtracts cash as well as the rule of 40 by using the revenue growth rate and EBITDA margin. With regard to the EV/S ratio and the quarterly sales trend, it is striking that the EV/S ratio has logically fallen sharply […]

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