Sat. Jul 31st, 2021

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Opinion | Visa Is Doing What Big American Companies Do to ‘Protect This Business’ 1 min read

Opinion | Visa Is Doing What Big American Companies Do to ‘Protect This Business’

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

Visa dominates the lucrative business of processing debit card transactions. Merchants must choose between paying the financial services company’s fees or foregoing sales to the millions of Americans who carry cards emblazoned with Visa’s logo.

A San Francisco technology start-up named Plaid threatened that dominance. The company planned to debut a rival service next year that would charge half as much as Visa.

So Visa did what big American companies have learned to do: It agreed to buy the smaller company, pledging a king’s ransom to eliminate the threat of competition.

Last month, the Justice Department sued to block the deal as a violation of antitrust law. The intervention is necessary to protect the interests of merchants and consumers, and the health of the broader economy. The federal government has been far too permissive in allowing large companies to swallow potential rivals, particularly in the rapidly evolving technology sector.

The

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Opening a 401(k) in my 20s was a big retirement savings mistake 1 min read

Opening a 401(k) in my 20s was a big retirement savings mistake

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

  • In my 20s, I thought a 401(k) was my only option to save for retirement — so I opened one.
  • I didn’t realize my employer didn’t match contributions at all, and that I could have opened a lower-fee IRA instead.
  • I didn’t contribute much anyway, and when I forgot about the account after leaving that job I realized I probably shouldn’t have opened it in the first place.
  • A 401(k) is a useful tool for many people to save for retirement, but it wasn’t the best choice for me at the time.
  • Use Blooom to analyze your 401(k) today and see how you can grow your retirement savings »

In my mid-20s, I was too stubborn to care about building a retirement fund, and too obsessed with being able to afford my current bills to worry about saving for the future.

When I finally decided to open up a 401(k),

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Dallas life insurance startup Bestow makes big push into 47 states with online platform 1 min read

Dallas life insurance startup Bestow makes big push into 47 states with online platform

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

When Melbourne O’Banion had to lie down behind his office desk for an electrocardiogram test, he knew there had to be a better way to buy a life insurance policy.

The EKG was only one part of the process, which took six weeks for the necessary medical exams and policy underwriting.

Fast-forward eight years, and O’Banion’s online startup Bestow is about to go national as a life insurance carrier.

Bestow’s acquisition of Iowa-based Centurion Life Insurance Co. will enable it to be its own carrier in 47 states and the District of Columbia, rather than just serving as an agent. Terms of the deal announced Tuesday weren’t disclosed.

“We’ve known that becoming our own carrier would be necessary to scale life insurance products and protection the way that we’ve envisioned,” O’Banion said.

Last year, Bestow became a carrier in Texas, and O’Banion said the company’s growth plan was to expand

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7 Keys to Keeping Business Creativity Flowing After the Big Bang 1 min read

7 Keys to Keeping Business Creativity Flowing After the Big Bang

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that many of you have your most creative ideas for your company’s first big bang, but often get bogged down with details as the company grows.

You rely on your team for the continuing creativity required to thrive in a today’s rapidly changing business landscape. Yet building and maintaining a creative team is a tough challenge.

On your part, it takes a totally different focus and skill to foster a creative team, compared to designing and building that first innovative product or solution. But I believe the necessary skills can be learned, and it isn’t rocket science.

If you are struggling to build and maintain a creative culture in your organization, I recommend an ongoing focus on the following key strategies:

1. Keep your teams and infrastructure small. 

Small teams are inherently more agile, and tend to work in

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Sharing big ideas to drive sustainability in business 1 min read

Sharing big ideas to drive sustainability in business

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

Communication and collaboration will be crucial in the push for a greener growth agenda. David Lee reports on The Scotsman’s Leadership for a Sustainable Future webinar



a hand holding a coin

© The webinar panel held forth on the development of a virtuous circle, whereby organisations and empl…


Leaders must be brave, communicate clearly and work effectively with others to help create a thriving future, a webinar hosted by The Scotsman in association with law firm CMS heard.

The 25th November panel discussion, Leadership for a Sustainable Future, also discussed the emerging “virtuous circle” as organisations, their clients, employees and supply chains all push each other towards a more sustainable approach.

Zoë Arden, a Fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, laid out very clearly why business leaders were grasping this agenda with increasing enthusiasm.

“We cannot live on a dying planet, let alone do business on it,” she said. “A thriving future

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E-learning in Business Market May See a Big Move | Major Giants Oracle, Adobe systems, Cisco Systems 1 min read

E-learning in Business Market May See a Big Move | Major Giants Oracle, Adobe systems, Cisco Systems

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

(MENAFN – GetNews) Stay up-to-date with E-learning in Business Market research offered by HTF MI. Check how key trends and emerging drivers are shaping this industry growth.

The E-learning in Business Market study is a perfect mix of qualitative and quantitative information and to get better understanding on how stats relates to growth, market sizing and share, the study is started with market overview and further detailed commentary is showcased on changing market dynamics that includes Influencing trends by regions, growth drivers, long term opportunities and short term challenges that industry players are facing. Furthermore, Market Factor Analysis gives insights on how various regulatory affairs, economic factors and policy action are factored in the past and future growth scenarios by various business segments and applications. The Competitive Landscape provides detailed company profiling of players and draws attention on development activities, swot, financial outlook and major business strategic action taken by

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SBS Language | This ‘big’ visa incentive for Australia’s international students will come into effect in 2021 1 min read

SBS Language | This ‘big’ visa incentive for Australia’s international students will come into effect in 2021

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

From 2021, the post-study work stream Temporary Graduate visa (TGV) holders (Subclass 485) who have acquired their degrees from a regional educational institution and have lived in regional Australia on their first TGV will be eligible for a second TGV.

Highlights:

  • Temporary Graduate visa holders studying and living in regional Australia will be eligible for a second TGV
  • Those eligible for a second TGV will be required to remain in a regional area for the duration of their new visa
  • Temporary Graduate Visa incentives will come into effect in 2021

In a statement to SBS Punjabi, a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said the incentive will provide the necessary support to universities and communities in regional areas, currently buckling under the financial pressure and massive job loss in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To provide a further incentive for international students to study in regional Australia, post-study visa

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Obama criticizes Americans for liking ‘cheap gas and big cars’ more than ‘the environment’ 1 min read

Obama criticizes Americans for liking ‘cheap gas and big cars’ more than ‘the environment’

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

Former President Barack Obama, in his latest memoir, criticized Americans for liking “cheap gas and big cars” more than they care about “the environment” – even during a catastrophic event like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The comments came during a section in Obama’s 700-page book, “A Promised Land,” released earlier this month.

On page 570, the former commander in chief recounts a press conference he gave more than a month into the oil spill – now considered one of the largest in history – saying his comments did not adequately express the frustration he truly felt.

FILE: Former President Barack Obama speaking at the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Summit in Oakland, Calif.  (AP)

“Reading the transcript now, a decade later, I’m struck by how calm and cogent I sound,” Obama writes in his book. “Maybe

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Ribbon Named “Company of the Year” in the 2020 Big Business Awards’ Telecommunications Category 1 min read

Ribbon Named “Company of the Year” in the 2020 Big Business Awards’ Telecommunications Category

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

Award program rewards the companies, products and people that are leading their respective industries

WESTFORD, Mass., Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN), a global provider of real time communications software and network solutions to service providers, enterprises, and critical infrastructure sectors, today announced that it has received the “Company of the Year (Telecommunications)” distinction in the Business Intelligence Group’s 2020 BIG Awards for Business. The organization’s annual industry awards program relies on industry leaders who volunteer to read, score and judge nominations.

“This has been an extraordinary year. The Ribbon – ECI merger doubled the size of our company and significantly expanded our solutions portfolio to help address the needs of our customers during an unprecedented global pandemic and beyond,” said Patrick Joggerst, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Development, Ribbon. “I’m so proud of our team for the hard work

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Jacksonville owners hope for big turnout on Small Business Saturday 1 min read

Jacksonville owners hope for big turnout on Small Business Saturday

[email protected]_84 8 months ago

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many business owners have been forced to close this year because of the pandemic.

Now, this holiday season, there’s a big push to shop locally to support those small businesses that have been able to stay afloat and open.

Small retailers said they really have no idea what to expect on Small Business Saturday.

Following the Black Friday rush, Saturday is all about encouraging shoppers to support local shops, especially since many small businesses are relying on holiday sales to keep their doors open.

The owner of Indigo Apparel and Accessories in Avondale had to close temporarily. The owner said at least 130 small businesses have closed in the Jacksonville area. According to American Express, 75% of shoppers want to shop local this holiday season after the hard year.

Other local owners say they know the hardships first hand.

“Small business accounts for 70-plus percent of the

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[email protected]_84 8 months ago