Market Watch

Marc Piasecki The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS ) has had a 2-year-long streak of significant underperformance when compared to other Dow Jones companies and main indices. After being the worst of 30 leading blue chips in 2021 with a -13.9% annual return, Disney managed to place 3rd among the poorest Dow Jones performers with a -44.25% price decline in 2022. The Worst Performing Dow Components in 2022 (statmuse) The company posted dissatisfactory earnings for the 2022 fiscal year, its Direct-to-Consumer [DTC] segment is as unprofitable as it has ever been, and the board called the company’s CEO Bob Chapek away in an overnight move that shocked the public. These are just a few factors that has shaken up the sentiment around the company. Global aspects such as high inflation, macro headwinds, or increasing interest rates have only made things worse. The sentiment around Disney has deteriorated with its market cap declining and the stock repeatedly hitting 52-week-lows. However, these circumstances may create a chance for value investors to acquire Disney at a discount and keep on adding if the price drops further. The business is exceptional, growth is robust, the old/new CEO – Bob Iger has a fabulous […]

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There were 4.76 million job openings in November at businesses with 1 to 49 employees. Despite layoffs at major companies, small private companies are adding jobs. Robust job numbers are one reason that we’re not in a recession yet. Data shows a boom in small businesses likely to employ workers, suggesting job growth could keep going well into the future. Sign up for our weekday newsletter, packed with original analysis, news, and trends — delivered right 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 . Small businesses are keeping the economy strong. While large companies like Goldman Sachs, Amazon, and Salesforce are cutting staff this year, private firms with fewer employees are still hiring. Additionally, layoffs overall in the US are very low. Robust job numbers are one reason that we’re not in a recession yet, as economists previously told Insider . The US added 223,000 jobs this past December and the unemployment rate shrank […]

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The pandemic has brought a boom in entrepreneurship, but higher interest rates, a chill in venture capital and fears of recession now pose obstacles. Paws ‘n’ Rec, a business started during the pandemic, offers dog day care in the Tampa, Fla., area.Zack Wittman for The New York Times An unexpected result of the pandemic era has been a surge in entrepreneurial activity. Since 2020, applications to start new businesses have skyrocketed, reversing a decades-long slump. The reasons for the boom are manifold. Millions of people were suddenly laid off, giving them the time, and inclination, to start new businesses. Personal savings jumped, buoyed partly by a frothy stock market and government stimulus payments, providing would-be entrepreneurs with the means to fulfill their visions. Rock-bottom interest rates made money cheap and widely available. But the ebullient economic environment that helped foster this entrepreneurial spirit has given way to high inflation, rising interest rates and dwindling savings. That has left these nascent businesses to navigate challenging financial crosscurrents — and a possible recession — at a moment when they are at their most fragile. Even under normal conditions, roughly half of new businesses fail within five years. “Young businesses are inherently […]

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JERUSALEM, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association on Sunday proposed tax cuts on food along with a host of other measures aimed at strengthening Israeli economic competitiveness and dealing with the country’s high cost of living. The Association’s economic plan, submitted to Israel’s prime minister and ministers of finance and economy, proposed cutting the value added tax (VAT) on food to 9%, the average for OECD countries, from 17%. The group, which represents some 1,500 firms and 400,000 workers, also proposed increasing state funding for research and development to 0.5% of business output and reducing excess regulation by 25%, along with vocational training to increase labour productivity. If implemented, the Association said the measures would allow the manufacturing industry to invest in innovation and workforce development, drive sustainable growth and maintain Israel’s global competitiveness. Association president Ron Tomer said the economy had begun to slow while employment levels were declining and production costs were on the rise. But he noted inflation and economic activity were better in Israel than in countries Israel competes with in foreign trade. "We must take advantage of these relative advantages in order to lead the Israeli economy to growth already this year," he […]

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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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