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Suspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News - Information Today Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/suspected-drug-dealer-arrested-for-homicide-in-overdose-death-news/?feed_id=74470&_unique_id=66831478076c6 Suspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News | kxly.com Source link Suspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News #Suspected #drug #dealer #arrested #homicide #overdose #death #NewsSource link Google News Source Link: https://www.kxly.com/news/suspected-drug-dealer-arrested-for-homicide-in-overdose-death/article_fe3706d2-358e-11ef-bbaa-0f8032bc667f.htmlSuspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News:Suspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News … http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Suspected-drug-dealer-arrested-for-homicide-in-overdose-death.png Suspected drug dealer arrested for homicide in overdose death | News - Information Today Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Ice cream recalls, a Boeing plane's scary drop, and China's warning: Business news roundup - Information Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/ice-cream-recalls-a-boeing-planes-scary-drop-and-chinas-warning-business-news-roundup/?feed_id=74364&_unique_id=66830d20774b1 Digital ProductsImage: The Washington Post / Contributor (Getty Images), Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography (Getty Images), Photo: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group (Getty Images), Scott Olson (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Getty Images), Illustration: Wong Yu Liang (Getty Images)In total, 60 products including ice cream cakes, sandwiches, and pints are affected by the recall.Image: The Washington Post / Contributor (Getty Images)Photo: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group (Getty Images)Nearly 300 canned coffee products manufactured by Snapchill are being recalled.Image: Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography (Getty Images)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a national recall of certain coffee products over the risk of a potentially deadly contamination.Read MoreIllustration: Wong Yu Liang (Getty Images)Photo: Scott Olson (Getty Images)A man sued CDK Global after it suffered massive cyberattacks, claiming the auto software company neglected to safeguard his private information.Yuriy Loginov filed a potential class-action suit in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois on Saturday, claiming CDK failed “to implement reasonable and industry standard data security practices to properly secure, safeguard, and adequately destroy Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ sensitive personal identifiable information.”Read MorePhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)If you aren’t hearing back from a job you applied to, it might be because it’s not real.A new survey from Resume Builder revealed that 39% of hiring managers said their company posted a fake job listing in the past year.The disheartening results show that among those who posted fake jobs, “approximately 26% posted one to three fake job listings, 19% posted five, 19% posted 10, 11% posted 50, 10% posted 25, and 13% posted 75 or more.”Read MoreThe Boeing CST-100 Starliner preparing for launchPhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, its long-awaited spacecraft designed to go back and forth to orbit like the space shuttle used to, is stuck at the International Space Station (ISS). After it was supposed to launch its first crewed mission on May 6, a number of delays saw it remain earthbound until early June, when it successfully left the atmosphere on its way to docking at the ISS. But now its return has also been delayed a number of times: On Friday, NASA officials said the Starliner would not be coming back from space until July 2 at the earliest, more than two weeks after its original expected return date.Read MoreAmerican Airlines planesPhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)American Airlines just became the latest carrier to join a trend sweeping the airline industry.Bloomberg reports that the company is suspending pilot training through the rest of the year. The aviation magazine Flying notes that American is joining a list of carriers that include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Spirit Airlines for reasons that are both sector-wide and particular to the company.Read MoreWegovy approved for use in ChinaOzempic maker Novo Nordisk just got access to one of the world’s largest weight loss marketsPhoto: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Getty Images)Source of this programme “These items are clever.”“Less than a week into summer, the Food and Drug Administration has announced a national recall of certain ice cream products. Read more…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://qz.com/ice-cream-recalls-boeing-china-us-cdk-car-dealer-hack-1851566638#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pexels-photo-21296405.jpeg

Ice cream recalls, a Boeing plane's scary drop, and China's warning: Business news roundup - Information Global Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Ice cream recalls, a Boeing plane's scary drop, and China's warning: Business news roundup - Notice Important Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/ice-cream-recalls-a-boeing-planes-scary-drop-and-chinas-warning-business-news-roundup/?feed_id=74258&_unique_id=668304e9a91c8 Digital ProductsImage: The Washington Post / Contributor (Getty Images), Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography (Getty Images), Photo: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group (Getty Images), Scott Olson (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), Joe Raedle (Getty Images), AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Getty Images), Illustration: Wong Yu Liang (Getty Images)In total, 60 products including ice cream cakes, sandwiches, and pints are affected by the recall.Image: The Washington Post / Contributor (Getty Images)Photo: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group (Getty Images)Nearly 300 canned coffee products manufactured by Snapchill are being recalled.Image: Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography (Getty Images)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a national recall of certain coffee products over the risk of a potentially deadly contamination.Read MoreIllustration: Wong Yu Liang (Getty Images)Photo: Scott Olson (Getty Images)A man sued CDK Global after it suffered massive cyberattacks, claiming the auto software company neglected to safeguard his private information.Yuriy Loginov filed a potential class-action suit in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois on Saturday, claiming CDK failed “to implement reasonable and industry standard data security practices to properly secure, safeguard, and adequately destroy Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ sensitive personal identifiable information.”Read MorePhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)If you aren’t hearing back from a job you applied to, it might be because it’s not real.A new survey from Resume Builder revealed that 39% of hiring managers said their company posted a fake job listing in the past year.The disheartening results show that among those who posted fake jobs, “approximately 26% posted one to three fake job listings, 19% posted five, 19% posted 10, 11% posted 50, 10% posted 25, and 13% posted 75 or more.”Read MoreThe Boeing CST-100 Starliner preparing for launchPhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, its long-awaited spacecraft designed to go back and forth to orbit like the space shuttle used to, is stuck at the International Space Station (ISS). After it was supposed to launch its first crewed mission on May 6, a number of delays saw it remain earthbound until early June, when it successfully left the atmosphere on its way to docking at the ISS. But now its return has also been delayed a number of times: On Friday, NASA officials said the Starliner would not be coming back from space until July 2 at the earliest, more than two weeks after its original expected return date.Read MoreAmerican Airlines planesPhoto: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)American Airlines just became the latest carrier to join a trend sweeping the airline industry.Bloomberg reports that the company is suspending pilot training through the rest of the year. The aviation magazine Flying notes that American is joining a list of carriers that include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Spirit Airlines for reasons that are both sector-wide and particular to the company.Read MoreWegovy approved for use in ChinaOzempic maker Novo Nordisk just got access to one of the world’s largest weight loss marketsPhoto: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) (Getty Images)Source of this programme “These items are clever.”“Less than a week into summer, the Food and Drug Administration has announced a national recall of certain ice cream products. Read more…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://qz.com/ice-cream-recalls-boeing-china-us-cdk-car-dealer-hack-1851566638#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pexels-photo-21296405.jpeg

Ice cream recalls, a Boeing plane's scary drop, and China's warning: Business news roundup - Notice Important Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Huge Amazon Book Sale - Free Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions, $2 Ebooks, Ereader Deals, And More - Notice Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/huge-amazon-book-sale-free-kindle-unlimited-subscriptions-2-ebooks-ereader-deals-and-more/?feed_id=74152&_unique_id=6682fcb935f87 Amazon is running a huge book sale through May 20, giving you a chance to score physical and digital books for some of the lowest prices of the year. Along with books, you’ll find a free 3-month trial to Kindle Unlimited, as well as a variety of ereader and tablet deals. The catalog is packed with hundreds of great books and devices, so we’ve pulled together a handy roundup of notable price cuts to help you navigate the event.Quick look: Amazon Book Sale – $2 ebooksFrom digital books for $2 and popular paperbacks for 50% off to tablets and more, here are the best Amazon Book Sale deals.Kindle Unlimited 3-Month TrialBefore checking out all the other great deals, it’s worth noting that Amazon is offering a three-month trial of Kindle Unlimited. You’d typically pay $36 for three months, so getting to check it out for free is pretty enticing. Along with unlimited access to over four million digital titles, you’ll get to enjoy thousands of audiobooks and a variety of magazine subscriptions.Amazon Kindle Device DealsA handful of Amazon’s Kindle devices are on sale during this event, though the most notable discount is for the Kindle Scribe. Along with letting you read ebooks, the device lets you draw on the screen with an included stylus, making it great for doodling or taking notes in the margins. Typically available for $340, you can pick up the premium gadget for just $240. You’ll also find a bunch of Fire tablets on sale–including several that are built just for kids.Kindle ebook DealsJ.R.R. Tolkien — The Hobbit for only $2Kindle ebooks are a huge part of this event, with dozens of titles listed for just $2. That makes it easy to cross off titles on your wishlist without breaking your budget. This includes The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and multiple other Tolkien books focused on Middle-earth. Science fiction fans can pick up several of Neal Stephenson’s stellar novels for only $2 as well, including Reamde and Anathem. You’ll also find Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for $6 (down from $14), which follows two game developers as they find success and grow more entwined over the years.Amazon Editors PicksRed Rising by Pierce BrownIf you’re searching for a physical book for your bookshelf, consider taking a gander at the sales hubs pulled together by Amazon’s book editors. Dozens of well-regarded books are included in the savings, though some of our favorites are Red Rising, The Maid, and The Mystery Guest. All three are on sale for at least 50% off their usual prices, making this a great time to check them out. You should also check outPopular on GoodreadsSnow Crash by Neal StephensonNot sold on any of the picks above? You’ll find plenty more deals on physical books in this collection, which includes the books that a lot of Goodreads users have added to their virtual shelves. Notable discounts include Gareth Brown’s 2024 fantasy hit The Book of Doors and Neal Stephenson’s modern sci-fi classic Snow Crash.Huge Amazon Book Sale – Free Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions, $2 Ebooks, Ereader Deals, And More #Huge #Amazon #Book #Sale #Free #Kindle #Unlimited #Subscriptions #Ebooks #Ereader #DealsSource Link: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/huge-amazon-book-sale-free-kindle-unlimited-subscriptions-2-ebooks-ereader-deals-and-more/1100-6523486/Huge Amazon Book Sale – Free Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions, $2 Ebooks, Ereader Deals, And More:Amazon is running a huge book sale through May 20, giving you a chance to score phy… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Huge-Amazon-Book-Sale-Free-Kindle-Unlimited-Subscriptions-2.jpg Huge Amazon Book Sale - Free Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions, $2 Ebooks, Ereader Deals, And More - Notice Today Internet - #GLOBAL

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Kanye West begs Kim Kardashian for money amid financial crisis: Report - Notice Important Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/kanye-west-begs-kim-kardashian-for-money-amid-financial-crisis-report/?feed_id=74046&_unique_id=6682f5ada8ecf Kanye West has found himself in deep waters as popular brands continue to cut him off. Amid his growing financial crisis, the 47-year-old rapper has reportedly reached out to his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, seeking help. Following his fallout with Adidas over antisemitism row, the Praise God hitmaker’s earnings have taken a toll.Kanye West reportedly begs Kim Kardashian for money Kanye West is reportedly begging Kim Kardashian for money amid financial woes ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed In October 2022, the German company dropped West after he made anti-Semitic comments on social media. “Kanye’s been burning through his savings at an alarming rate, and it’s starting to have a very real impact on his bank balance,” a source told In Touch.Your wishes helped India win- Relive India’s epic journey in the T20 World Cup. Click hereThe insider continued, “He’s still got some money coming in, but ever since he lost that deal with Adidas, he’s seen many, many zeros drop off his net worth.” West recently raised eyebrows after he was seen flying economy with his wife, Bianca Censori.ALSO READ: TikToker slams ESPN for filming her eating ice cream after ‘creeps’ compare her to ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’“At first, he didn’t let it affect his spending habits, if anything he spent more to prove he could, but it’s now gotten to the point where he’s got no choice but to make some cutbacks, like flying coach instead of private jets,” the source added. ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed Earlier this month, a TikTok user shared a video of the Heartless rapper and the Australian native taking a commercial flight. “Was not expecting to see Kanye when I walked out of the bathroom, to say the least,” TikToker Brandon Doggett wrote in the caption.“Reigning in his spending is not something he’s used to doing and it’s been a huge blow to his ego,” the source explained, adding, “Meanwhile Kim couldn’t be doing better. She’s been very smart with her money and business is booming, so she’s able to spoil the kids in a way Kanye can’t.”ALSO READ: World champion diver goes on ‘no female’ extreme slide, waterpark responds after sexism accusationsHighlighting the financial differences between the once-power couple, the source said, “She [Kim] can charter a private jet or stretch limo service at the snap of a finger. He’s still on the hook for custody payments, which is also something he’s finding difficult to sustain.” ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed ^userSubscribed /userSubscribed “So, it’s put him in the humiliating position of needing to actually ask Kim to give him a break and help him out,” the insider revealed, adding, “Having to admit to her that things are not as great as he likes to pretend is rock bottom for him, the only thing lower is going broke, so he’s had to humble himself and ask her for help.”Explore now!.Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.Kanye West begs Kim Kardashian for money amid financial crisis: Report #Kanye #West #begs #Kim #Kardashian #money #financial #crisis #ReportSource Link: https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/music/kanye-west-begs-ex-wife-kim-kardashian-for-money-amid-financial-crisis-report-101719596403729-amp.htmlKanye West has found himself in deep waters as popular brands continue to cut him off. Amid his … http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kanye-West-begs-Kim-Kardashian-for-money-amid-financial-crisis.jpg Kanye West begs Kim Kardashian for money amid financial crisis: Report - Notice Important Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Ventura County Deputies Arrest Suspected Assault Weapon Dealer in Los Angeles - Notice Global Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/ventura-county-deputies-arrest-suspected-assault-weapon-dealer-in-los-angeles/?feed_id=73940&_unique_id=6682ed762ce9b Assault Weapon Dealer Arrested June 29, 2024 –  Ventura County Sheriff’s Office officials report that on June 26th, 2024, detectives from local and federal law enforcement agencies concluded an investigation into Adan Bernardino, who was identified as a source of supply for unlawful firearms transfers, including offering to sell assault weapons to Ventura County residents.On the afternoon of June 26th, 2024, a team of detectives comprised of local and federal law enforcement officers executed a signed search warrant at Bernardino’s residence, in the 12000 Block of Buckeye Avenue in the city of Los Angeles. Detectives located a privately manufactured short-barreled rifle bearing no serial number, a Micro-Draco pistol which was an assault weapon, and two additional firearms which were not registered to Bernardino. Additionally, detectives also located numerous cases of ammunition and high-capacity magazines. Based on Bernardino’s criminal history, he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.Bernardino was arrested for violations of PC 30600(a) – Offer for Sale of an Assault Weapon, PC 33215 – Possess a Short-Barreled Rifle, PC 30605(a) – Possession of an Assault Weapon, PC 29800(a)- Felon in Possession of a Firearm, PC 30305(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of Ammunition, PC 27545 – Unlawful Firearms Transfers, and PC 182(a)(1) – Conspiracy to Commit a Crime. Bernardino was booked into Ventura County Sheriff’s custody and was released from custody after posting a bond in the amount of $100,000.00.The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Gun Violence Reduction Program is an investigative unit funded by a grant from the California Department of Justice. The grant funding supports the efforts of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office to reduce gun violence by conducting investigations related to the seizure of firearms and ammunition from persons who are prohibited from possessing them. This investigation was made possible due to the collaborative effort of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Oxnard Police Department, Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Members of the public with information related to the illegal manufacture and sale of firearms are encouraged to contact the Gun Violence Reduction Program at [email protected].Nature of Incident:Assault Weapon Dealer ArrestedReport Number:24-77668Location:12000 Block Buckeye Avenue, Sylmar, CADate & Time:June 26th, 2024 @ 1:00 PMUnit(s) Responsible:Ventura County Sheriff’s Gun Violence Reduction ProgramVentura County Sheriff’s Special Crimes UnitOxnard Police Department Special Enforcement UnitOxnard Police Department Violent Crimes UnitVentura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of InvestigationsBureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedentCity of ResidenceAge(S) Adan BernardinoSylmar27Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime.  The caller may remain anonymous.  The call is not recorded.  Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).Source & photo: Ventura County Sheriff’s OfficeVentura County Deputies Arrest Suspected Assault Weapon Dealer in Los Angeles #Ventura #County #Deputies #Arrest #Suspected #Assault #Weapon #Dealer #Los #AngelesSource Link: https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/california/57936-ventura-county-deputies-arrest-suspected-assault-weapon-dealer-in-los-angelesAssault Weapon Dealer Arrested June 29, 2024 –  Ventura County Sheriff’s Office official… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ventura-County-Deputies-Arrest-Suspected-Assault-Weapon-Dealer-in-Los.jpg

Ventura County Deputies Arrest Suspected Assault Weapon Dealer in Los Angeles - Notice Global Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Lumber prices are plunging. Blame the record drop in U.S. housing affordability and a post-pandemic double bubble ‘hangover’ - Information Global Online - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/lumber-prices-are-plunging-blame-the-record-drop-in-u-s-housing-affordability-and-a-post-pandemic-double-bubble-hangover/?feed_id=73834&_unique_id=6682e4257f56f The twin-peaked lumber bubble of 2021 and 2022 that once drove home building costs through the roof and exacerbated inflation is now nothing more than a memory.Spot lumber prices have plummeted 75% from their May 2021 record high of $1,514 per thousand board feet to just $366 this week, roughly matching pre-pandemic levels, according to Random Lengths’ Framing Lumber Composite Price Index. Lumber’s price drop has been particularly dramatic in just the last 90 days in the futures market, with contract prices for July falling 28% to $466 per thousand board feet (futures prices are around $100 above spot prices due to a delivery fee).Industry experts blame the record drop in U.S. housing affordability and a slowdown in home renovations for quashing lumber demand. It’s just too expensive for consumers to buy new homes or renovate their current ones. That’s led to fewer construction projects, and slowing lumber sales. Meanwhile, overly optimistic industry demand forecasts amid hopes for plunging interest rates and rising home sales have led lumber mills to increase supply at the worst possible moment. Put it all together and “it’s an ugly scenario” for the lumber market, Ashley Boeckholt, director of lumber and risk management at Sitka Forest Products USA, told Fortune. “We’re kind of having a hangover from a great three years.”Digital Products The demand side: A record deterioration in housing affordability and a renovation slowdownThe factors behind lumber’s price moves are varied and complex, but, as always, it all comes down to supply and demand. On the demand side, sky-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates have led to a record drop in U.S. housing affordability over the past few years. The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM) Index is now at its lowest level since before the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.As a result, even with an ongoing housing shortage, demand for new homes has remained subdued, leading to similarly weak demand for lumber to build them. “Housing affordability is just really offsides right now,” Dustin Jalbert, a senior economist who leads Fastmarkets’ Wood Products team, told Fortune. “It’s one of the least affordable times to buy a house in decades and the pool of qualified buyers is starting to kind of dwindle a bit, too. So high interest rates eventually do start to bite.”Weak demand for new homes led home builder confidence to drop to a five-month low last month, and housing starts fell 19% from a year ago. Most of that drop was the result of the 52% year-over-year plunge in multi-family housing starts. For a while, steady single-family home starts kept lumber prices from dropping significantly, because single-family homes use more wood than multi-family projects. But now that trend has flipped as well, with single-family housing starts down 2% year-over-year in May.What’s more, the critical home-renovation market, which boomed during the pandemic helping to lift lumber prices, is also showing signs of weakness. HomeDepot saw its U.S. comparable sales sink 3.2% in the first quarter, for example. One of the reasons for the drop was “softer engagement in larger discretionary projects…such as kitchen and bath remodels,” Billy Bastek, the retailer’s executive vice president of merchandising, noted on its May earnings call.Boeckholt, a veteran lumber trader who also hosts the weekly “Lumber Word” podcast, said he is seeing evidence of declining lumber demand from retail buyers as well. Traders like him are starting to receive “premium” lumber that is typically reserved for the Home Depots and Lowes of the world. “That generally means there’s pushback” from retail buyers at home goods centers, he noted.

This home renovation slowdown, when combined with the U.S.’ long-running housing affordability challenges, has led to a serious lack of demand for wood products, particularly when compared to what was forecast just a year ago.Digital Products The supply-side: A hope-driven ‘bullwhip’ effectWhile the demand side of the lumber market is ailing, the supply side may be in an even worse position. After lumber prices surged in 2021 and 2022, the lumber industry responded by investing to increase production. Many lumber veterans saw a long-term opportunity for increased demand for their products due to the housing shortage; and like many Americans, they also anticipated imminent interest-rate cuts which tend to drive more near-term lumber demand.The only issue with this plan, as Fastmarkets’ Jalbert explained, is that it takes years to create new sawmills and increase lumber supply. This means that a lot of the new lumber supply that was commissioned during the pandemic is just now coming to market—at a time when added supply is the last thing the industry needs. “It’s a classic bullwhip,” Jalbert noted. “The supply side [responds] in a like manner to demand, and by the time it comes to the market that demand picture is already changed—and in this case in a negative way.”Boeckholt backed up Jalbet’s argument, saying it’s an example of the “hangover” the lumber market is experiencing after its highly profitable pandemic years led to too much “hope” for more demand. That’s especially true “down in the southern U.S., where there have been mills in a pipeline to build for three or four years that have finally been coming on over the last year,” he said, adding that there was also a lot of investment into older mills to increase production in many regions nationwide.Digital Products What to expect from lumber prices through year-end 2024When it comes to what to expect for the rest of this year, Boeckholt warned that lumber prices may languish near their current, pre-pandemic levels, with the potential for a minor—roughly $50—price increase in the fourth quarter. “There was a lot of hope out there, so when we wash all that hope out—which we will, eventually—that’s when we’ll bottom,” he said. Jalbert also believes lumber prices will likely stagnate through year-end 2024, but in 2025, he argues things could turn around. Some sawmills will be forced to slow or shut down production due to depressed lumber prices in the second half of this year, lowering lumber supply—“the bullwhip in the opposite direction.” That, coupled with interest rate cuts that could stoke lumber demand, will likely lead lumber futures prices to a range between $500 and $600, or slightly above pre-pandemic levels, according to Jalbert. “Supply is going to be cut and demand will recover,” he said. “But that’s going to take time.”Subscribe to the Fortune Next to Lead newsletter to get weekly strategies on how to make it to the corner office. Sign up for free.““It’s an ugly scenario” for the lumber market, Sitka Forest Products’ Ashley Boeckholt told Fortune. “We’re kind of having a hangover from a great three years.”…”Source Link: https://fortune.com/2024/06/30/lumber-prices-housing-post-pandemic-double-bubble-hangover/ http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6ttojaipk48a1.jpg Lumber prices are plunging. Blame the record drop in U.S. housing affordability and a post-pandemic double bubble ‘hangover’ - Information Global Online - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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Busting Myths About Library eBooks - Journal Today Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/busting-myths-about-library-ebooks/?feed_id=73728&_unique_id=6682dbf86106a Think you know how the world of digital library materials works? Think again!It seems reasonable to assume that eBooks are the same as books — just electronic. It’s in the name, after all. But when it comes to how libraries acquire, lend and maintain digital materials versus physical items, the difference is considerable and complicated. To shed some light on the matter, FCPL Technical Operations Division Director Dianne Coan and collection services staff break down nine of the most common myths about eBooks.MYTH #1: Because they are less expensive to distribute, eBooks and eAudiobooks cost less.BUSTED! Consumers may be able to get great deals on eMaterials, but libraries generally cannot. EBooks and eAudiobooks can cost libraries up to six times more than a printed book.MYTH #2: Anything published nowadays is also published in digital formats.BUSTED! Not all new titles are available in all formats. Titles are more commonly released as eBooks, rather than eAudiobooks, for various reasons. For most people, an eAudiobook cookbook doesn’t make a lot of sense. Highly technical nonfiction titles also don’t translate well to audio. Those are generalities, but the important takeaway is that not every book that is published is available in all formats. Library users may access the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled’s Talking Book program through our Access Services branch.MYTH #3: The library chooses to limit the number of people who can read an eBook at one time. There shouldn’t be holds queues on eBooks; they’re digital — we can share!IT’S COMPLICATED. EBooks and eAudiobooks are licensed, just like computer software such as Microsoft Office is licensed. In most cases, libraries legally are allowed to lend them to only one cardholder at a time, the same as print books. It’s important to understand that eMaterials aren’t otherwise treated as books under print copyright laws; instead, they have user licenses as though they were software.  Occasionally, libraries negotiate deals where multiple users can enjoy digital books at the same time. FCPL advertises these eMaterials as “Always Available.” Our eBook of the Month is an example of how we negotiate a special deal for our cardholders. MYTH #4: Libraries can purchase all published eBooks and eAudiobooks.BUSTED! Not all publishers, including self-published authors, make their work available to libraries.  Audible Exclusives, for example, are available only on that platform and not to libraries. The number one book we are asked for but cannot access is Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime, an Audible Exclusive. Some self-publishing platforms also contain exclusivity clauses, which means those titles are only available on those platforms.Sometimes publishers embargo new titles (placing a hold on their distribution), and libraries cannot access those books until the embargo is lifted. The timeframe varies by publisher. So, while we can eventually offer those books, our cardholders won’t be among the first people to read them unless they choose to purchase them independent of the library.MYTH #5: An author holds the copyright to his or her work. IT’S COMPLICATED. Publishers usually license the rights to a book. In years past, print, digital and audio were negotiated under separate licenses. With a handful of larger publishers, terms for author contracts — excepting the very famous authors’ — have become fairly standardized over time and now include both digital and audio rights. Some authors may have had previous digital publication rights revert back to them while their print books are still under contract with a publisher.The important takeaway is that eBooks and eAudiobooks legally are treated differently than print books at every step of the publishing process, which impacts both creators and consumers.

MYTH #6: EBooks are forever (or at least for as long as the internet exists).BUSTED! Unlike print books, an eBook you purchase may or may not be available to you perpetually (more on that next!). Right now, the five major publishers offer books to libraries via “metered access,” which means that after a certain number of checkouts or a set amount of time the book must be repurchased by the library for the title to remain in its digital collection.MYTH #7: I don’t need to return my eBook, because it just expires at the end of the borrowing period.IT’S COMPLICATED. Yes, it’s true that your eBook and eAudiobook downloads from the library will expire automatically at the end of the borrowing period. But we are all sharing the same resources (and, like we talked about, we can’t all use them simultaneously), so when you’re done reading or listening, click that “return now” button so your fellow cardholders can enjoy that book!MYTH #8: EMaterials are treated the same everywhere.BUSTED! Laws are evolving as eBooks and eAudiobooks gain popularity. Beginning in January 2022, library cardholders in Maryland may have access to materials that those in every other state do not. According to Publisher’s Weekly, Maryland is the first state to pass a law that ensures public libraries the right to license and lend eBooks that are available to consumers. International laws and rights also factor in, so your friends in England and Canada may have access to different versions of your favorite titles than what you have in Virginia, and vice versa.MYTH #9: I own my eBook so I can donate it to the library.BUSTED! Not only do you not own a digital eBook or eAudiobook the same way you own the print books on your bookshelf, but you also cannot donate them. What you purchased is not an eBook, but a license to use a copy of that eBook. That license prevents you from reselling it or donating it as you could with a physical book. With physical books, you hold what’s known as the right of first resale, which does not exist with licenses. Go read the license agreement on your favorite eBook for the specifics. Source Link: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branch-out/busting-myths-about-library-ebooks http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Busting-Myths-About-Library-eBooks.jpg Busting Myths About Library eBooks - Journal Today Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

Crack dealer who kept cash in Gucci bag jailed - Information Important Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/crack-dealer-who-kept-cash-in-gucci-bag-jailed/?feed_id=73622&_unique_id=6682d3b95c36e A drug dealer who kept his cash in a Gucci handbag has been jailed.Kevin Campbell, 44, of George Street, Reading, was chased down by police who spotted him dealing drugs on April 4 last year.He was chased into a flat in George Street, where officers found a package containing 29 wraps of crack cocaine and 22 wraps of heroin.Two burners phones, a cutting agent and weighing scales were also recovered – as was a Gucci bag containing a large amount of cash.Campbell appeared at Reading Crown Court on June 28, where he pleaded guilty on two counts of supplying Class A drugs.A judge jailed him for three years and three months.PC Russell Morbey said: “Our Stronghold team will proactively target and prosecute anyone who is involved in the supply of drugs, which are a blight on our communities and cause misery to so many different people.“Our activity will be visible to the public, as well as covert, and is all designed to disrupt those supplying drugs.“Information received from the public around the sale of drugs plays a vital role in developing the intelligence to bring those responsible to justice.“If you have any information about drug supply in your community, we would encourage you to report it by calling 101, or by using our online reporting system.”Crack dealer who kept cash in Gucci bag jailed #Crack #dealer #cash #Gucci #bag #jailedSource Link: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/crack-dealer-kept-cash-gucci-113525630.htmlA drug dealer who kept his cash in a Gucci handbag has been jailed.Kevin Campbell, 44, of George Str… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Crack-dealer-who-kept-cash-in-Gucci-bag-jailed.jpeg Crack dealer who kept cash in Gucci bag jailed - Information Important Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

Aging Systems Challenge Hynes Convention Center - Notice Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/aging-systems-challenge-hynes-convention-center/?feed_id=73516&_unique_id=6682ccae64535 Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman StaffThe quasi-public authority that runs the state’s convention centers has a five-year plan to “keep the lights on” at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston’s Back Bay, as it stares down over $100 million in deferred maintenance costs and work to bring the building up to the most recent standards of code compliance.But some members of the board still seem to be questioning whether it makes sense to pump money into the convention center when there’s another one across town that’s newer and bigger — and the sale of the Hynes would free up about six acres of prime real estate in the middle of Boston.The board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority voted last year to invest $50 million into deferred maintenance at the Hynes for critical mechanical and electrical systems that had become outdated. The authority anticipates they will need another $70 million to $80 million to complete the work currently outlined in the five-year plan.Over the next five years, the MCCA is planning nine closures of the building, each about 13 or 14 weeks long, for major construction, John Donahue, chief of operations and capital projects, said at an authority board meeting on Thursday.“The $50 million authorization [will] just keep the lights on and to keep the air moving in the facility,” Donahue said.He was seeking the board’s approval to move forward in a regulatory process to get a construction manager who can oversee additional improvements to the building alongside the necessary electrical work.“Can we utilize those nine closures and handle what we know are inherent issues with the Hynes? We have a multitude of reports that show that we have deficiencies not only from deferred maintenance – that we’ve kicked the can so many years down the road and we have systems that need to be replaced – but we also have some compliance issues that once we begin spending this level of funding on the Hynes, would trigger us to be required to do that,” Donahue said.A 2019 presentation from the authority identified $25 million to $30 million that the Hynes needed in system upgrades over two years, and $200 million in other capital needs over the next decade. It also noted that the convention center “substantially underperforms peer facilities in comparable markets.”The issues of deferred maintenance and underperformance led former Gov. Charlie Baker to propose selling the Hynes in 2019 to generate money to pay for an expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston — which is about three times the size of the Back Bay center and 40 years newer.That plan ran into roadblocks before lawmakers ultimately spiked it with a study order as the pandemic took over almost all attention on Beacon Hill. Another attempt in 2022 again fell flat.Gov. Maura Healey, who replaced the majority of the MCCA’s board last summer, seems focused on keeping both Boston convention centers running for now.But board member Michael Donavan questioned the move Thursday. Donavan was appointed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and represents the South Boston community on the board – where the BCEC is, which would have benefited from the Hynes’ sale.“We keep doing short-term, must-do improvements down there at the Hynes,” he said. “Who would, how does somebody call for the sale of it? That would make a statement we’re not putting any more money in. What person, the legislature or the board itself? How do we run that risk of saying, ‘Hold up, it’s not feasible anymore, let’s sell it.’”Donahue replied that the board already approved the $50 million project last year, but ultimately the land is owned by the authority and would be responsible for putting it up for sale.“The directive I have is that

we’re going to continue to make the facility viable and occupiable and this begins that process,” Donahue said.The capital projects chief said that these projects would just bring the building up to date and up to compliance, what he called “necessary repairs.” Other improvements to make the convention center more competitive against other cities would require further investment, he said.“The deferred maintenance at the Hynes Convention Center has created an environment where at a certain point, there would be literally no electricity throughout the entire building. So no matter what long or short-term planning might happen, it would not be helpful for the commonwealth to have an asset – 6 acres – with no electricity,” said board member Meg Mainzer-Cohen.She added that the upcoming five-year project was necessarily to “protect the value” of the building.The board voted unanimously to start the process to hire a construction manager to oversee deferred maintenance at the Hynes.Aging Systems Challenge Hynes Convention Center #Aging #Systems #Challenge #Hynes #Convention #CenterSource Link: https://bankerandtradesman.com/aging-systems-challenge-hynes-convention-center/Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff … http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/original_994cdcb8-6246-4a92-9991-d6ce9674d149_PXL_20230218_224507706.MP_-300x230.jpg Aging Systems Challenge Hynes Convention Center - Notice Today Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

Replace state money with New College endowment - Information Important Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/replace-state-money-with-new-college-endowment/?feed_id=73410&_unique_id=6682c48193f8b NCF endowment could replace state funds The only hope for New College is to create an endowment sufficient for divorce from state funds.Warren Buffett, in his recent annual shareholder meeting, told about an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway who had just given $1 billion to the Albert Einstein School of Medicine so students would no longer have to pay tuition.If the alums cannot raise enough through donations, they should hire a professional fundraiser to approach the Bill Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates, Steve Jobs widow, Jeff Bezos ex-wife or Warren Buffett.  Any one of those could create a large enough endowment to eliminate the need for state funds and it would be pocket change. Then the college could say goodbye to President Richard Corcoran, Christopher Rufo and the other jerks on the board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.  Name a few buildings after whoever creates the endowment.Bruce W. Pitzer, SarasotaEthics law restricts our freedomSo let’s be clear.When the media does an exhaustive investigation into alleged wrongdoing by a public official, the state is not required to investigate the alleged wrongdoing, corruption or misbehavior, as stated in a new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Whom is he protecting in political office? Almost everyone, under this outrageous new law.This governor feels he has the right to limit the freedoms that Floridians have always had. The new law makes it nearly impossible for the average citizen, and even the media, to question the actions of public officials. Think of all the scandals that were uncovered by hearsay and reporting, and then investigated.The new law takes away the freedom of the people. The question is why?Rich Unger, SarasotaLetter all wrong about TrumpThe critical letter June 26 concerning former President Donald Trump begs a reply (“Trump’s beliefs contrary to rule of law”). The letter chastised Trump’s “exhortations of violence.” But Trump’s tweets to thousands on Jan. 6, 2021, as revealed by Elon Musk, called for people to respect law enforcement and avoid violence – and to ensure their voices were heard in a peaceful and patriotic manner.The letter also accused Trump of antisemitism: Please see the Abraham Accords – and note that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared, is Jewish and his daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism. The letter disparaged Trump’s supporters as naive and working-class with no knowledge of NATO. Many presidents have politely asked all NATO countries to contribute their pledged amounts for their defense without compliance by several. Trump simply let it be known if you don’t fulfill your defense pledge, don’t expect the U.S. to be there if you are besieged. Finally, Trump did acknowledge Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un as intelligent, tough leaders; it is foolhardy and unacceptable to disregard the assets of your opposition. Richard Paolillo, NokomisBiden has energy, ability for second termI moved into an independent senior facility (it also provides assisted living and nursing) two and a half years ago. The average age of the residents was about 88 years old.The mental acuity of most residents is still at a high level. The level of activities that stimulates their minds and their bodies certainly helps. In my opinion, a man 81 years old is certainly capable of being president. President Joe Biden has shown that he has the ability and the energy through his experience and accomplishments to serve another term.Howard Bloom, SarasotaWrite to us: How to send a letter to the editor Replace state money with New College endowment #Replace #state #money #College #endowmentSource Link: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/letters/2024/06/29/replace-state-money-with-new-college-endowment/74185790007/NCF endowment could replace state fundsThe only hope for New College is to create an endowment suffi…

http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Replace-state-money-with-New-College-endowment.jpg Replace state money with New College endowment - Information Important Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

Visual Merchandising Specialist for Nike - Notice Global Online - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/visual-merchandising-specialist-for-nike/?feed_id=73304&_unique_id=6682bc4677b2f Become a Part of the NIKE, Inc. TeamNIKE, Inc. does more than outfit the world’s best athletes. It is a place to explore potential, obliterate boundaries and push out the edges of what can be. The company looks for people who can grow, think, dream and create. Its culture thrives by embracing diversity and rewarding imagination. The brand seeks achievers, leaders and visionaries. At NIKE, Inc. it’s about each person bringing skills and passion to a challenging and constantly evolving game.NIKE, Inc.’s storytellers, Marketing and Communication sets the brand tone. A creative force of specialists tell Nike’s stories of innovation and sport through advertising, brand strategy, digital engagement and product presentation. Using channels ranging from retail stores to social media, Marketing & Communication teams connect the science and art of Nike innovations to the hearts and minds of athletes around the world.WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON– Know and understand brand strategy in VM tactics and directive, on-site visit and communicate with retailers to ensure the holistic application throughout all concept stores.– Program and execute the planning to meet standards with brand presentation. – Drive retail excellence via VM insight and thoughts, maintain high standard store environment.– Collaborate with cross function for routine meeting, feedback, and business tracking.– Work with Geo team closely by seasonal and campaign download, new store opening and key city moment’s presentation.– Provide valuable input from frontline to support excellent brand and retail experience direction and development.– Retailer VM team management– Coach and cultivate in-store VM talent through store practice and experience.– Support training team for seasonal training session.WHAT YOU BRING– Associate degree holder or above with good English skill in both speaking and writing.– 3~5 year’s related experience of visual merchandising and graphic design, or fashion/sport-brand company working experience.– Strong analytical skill and insight with retail presentation.– Strong communication and mature interpersonal skills.– Have market trends and styling insights and understanding China consumer.– Skillful to use office software and graphics editor.NIKE, Inc. is a growth company that looks for team members to grow with it. Nike offers a generous total rewards package, casual work environment, a diverse and inclusive culture, and an electric atmosphere for professional development. No matter the location, or the role, every Nike employee shares one galvanizing mission: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.NIKE, Inc. is committed to employing a diverse workforce.For more details and/or to apply, go here:https://jobs.nike.com/job/R-31875Visual Merchandising Specialist for Nike #Visual #Merchandising #Specialist #NikeSource Link: https://www.thebeijinger.com/classifieds/employment/2024/06/30/visual-merchandising-specialist-nikeBecome a Part of the NIKE, Inc. TeamNIKE, Inc. does more than outfit the world’s best athletes. It i… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Visual-Merchandising-Specialist-for-Nike.jpg Visual Merchandising Specialist for Nike - Notice Global Online - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

'Shadow Stand-Ins': How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs - Notice Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/shadow-stand-ins-how-workers-secretly-outsource-their-jobs/?feed_id=73147&_unique_id=6682b088921d3 Remi never intended to secretly outsource her job. It sort of just happened.After graduating from college in 2019 with a degree in education, the Gen Zer found work at a Chicago publishing company. She did not love it. Most of her colleagues were decades older than her, and their struggles to use basic software forced her to become a one-woman IT operation. The work itself was uninspiring and relentless: On most days she juggled presentation slides, managed spreadsheets and databases, and formatted page layouts.The pandemic provided a respite from the tedium of in-office interactions. But it didn’t lessen her workload, and she quietly began asking her boyfriend, a STEM major working in a lab, for occasional help. Certain she’d be fired for it, she didn’t tell her employer.Then her mother died.Remi was appointed executor of the estate, and settling her mother’s affairs was a never-ending nightmare: wading through countless gambling debts, maintaining the crumbling family home, and distributing the few remaining assets. Though she took a leave of absence from work and continued to rely on her boyfriend when she returned, she couldn’t keep up. Soon, she also turned to a childhood friend, who was unemployed and needed money. Remi proposed a plan: She’d pay her friend $100 a book to help with editing and formatting, saving her hours of work every week. The friend eagerly accepted. Her colleagues, meanwhile, remained clueless.And just like that — although she didn’t know it — Remi had become part of a hidden movement that went far beyond her Chicago publishing company.Across the globe, a wave of workers are secretly outsourcing parts or all of their jobs. Labor has never been easier to invisibly offload, thanks to a perfect storm of factors: globalized social networks, ubiquitous software tools, and the pandemic. An inadvertent byproduct of the rapacious, profit-seeking impulse that drives our global economy, this corporate subterfuge stretches from high-powered Silicon Valley techies to legions of low-paid helpers in India and Pakistan.Welcome to the world of shadow stand-ins.Stories about covert outsourcing are nothing new. Essay mills and faux test-taking have become perennial problems in academia, and gig-economy workers are occasionally caught lending their accounts to friends. Walter Keane gained notoriety in the 1960s for passing off “big eyes” paintings by his wife, Margaret, as his own. In 2012, a Verizon engineer was caught farming out his work to a team in China so he could browse Reddit all day. But in most workplaces, the idea of hiring someone to do your job for you seemed so outlandish that The Onion satirized it in 2009 as the natural endpoint to globalization and American laziness.No longer.I talked to dozens of players in the shadow stand-in economy, including people like Remi, hired helpers, and those who have watched colleagues or friends partake. (Citing reputational or professional risks, most spoke on condition of anonymity or asked to be identified only by their first or middle name.) Given its clandestine nature, it’s difficult to know just how many people the network scoops up. But providers told me they had seen a surge in popularity since 2020, a consequence of the pandemic and its attendant remote-work revolution. The past four years have transformed workplace norms, liberating millions from commutes and precipitating a wave of alienation from professional life — while providing eye-watering opportunities for the hungry or unscrupulous.“It becomes very easy for people to take the support when working from home,” said one shadow stand-in who lives in India and who has been in business since 2019. “After the pandemic,” said another from Pakistan, the industry “boomed.”There’s no one model

for how shadow stand-ins work, and practitioners use different terms: outsourcing, delegating, proxy work, subcontracting, virtual assistants, offshoring, or the delightfully euphemistic “job support.” It ranges from doling out small tasks to providing someone login credentials for full remote access. Some people want a mentor, some want a crutch after using “proxy interview” services to cheat their way through the hiring process, and some just want the productivity guru Tim Ferriss’ “4-Hour Workweek” on steroids. Others use the free time to rake in cash by working multiple jobs, a twist on the concept of overemployment.Though Remi recruited people she knew, shadow stand-ins are often sourced from a complex online web of faceless providers. Sites like Fiverr and Upwork are common conduits; a designer in the Southwestern US told me he would periodically hire two freelancers for the same job and discard the inferior work. Platforms like Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp are full of job support groups with thousands of members each. dedicated to matching providers and users. In one recent Facebook post, an Atlanta man struggling with his Salesforce-related job offered half his salary to anyone willing to quietly hold his hand through tasks and meetings. In another, a woman in San Jose, California, working for a major tech firm asked for help with a short programming assignment. Facebook Groups are a popular forum for recruiting shadow stand-ins, providing a two-sided marketplace where workers and providers can connect to one another.Facebook“Job support is nothing bad,” Raj Kumar, the Bengaluru, India-based cofounder of Onlinejobsupport.net, told me. He simply sees it as an “advanced version of training.” Like many professional job-support firms, his team often acts as a kind of black-market IT helpdesk, using screen-sharing software to dial in to their clients’ computers for a few hours a day to give pointers as they work — or completing the work themselves if the client would rather be elsewhere.You could hire shadow stand-ins in many workplaces, assuming your boss isn’t looking too closely. But it’s much more common in jobs in technology and IT. SaaS tools and tech services like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Amazon Web Services have become the plumbing for our global economy, used by everyone from fast-fashion retailers to nonprofits, and their cookie-cutter systems make it easy for anyone with the right skills to quietly step in.For the past few years, an American Java developer named Kevin has been living in Southeast Asia and outsourcing his jobs — all three of them. With the help of a Filipino friend acting as a recruiter, he brought on three local “virtual assistants,” offloading nearly all of his technical work. He writes formal assignment sheets for each worker; “Implement a test for valid JSON in POST content,” reads a typical directive.Needless to say, none of his employers — finance and construction firms — know about one another, and his workers are similarly in the dark. Even his location is a secret: He told his bosses he was based in the United States, and he works nights to avoid detection. “It’s low-cost labor or low cost of living, mostly,” Kevin explained. “I’m making three American incomes, but I’m paying Filipino rates to live.”He’s an extreme example of a user of shadow stand-ins. But whether they’re juggling multiple jobs or outsourcing the odd task, they tend to have one thing in common: a deep skepticism of traditional corporate values.Some believe if the work gets done, no matter how unconventionally, there’s no problem. “​​Everybody has a different moral compass and a different thing that they say: ‘This crosses the line for me,'” said Andrew, a consultant in Colorado who has outsourced work to freelancers and family members. He views “quiet quitting” — deliberately coasting at work — as far more odious. “I don’t believe somebody hires me for my time. They hire me to get results for them,” he said. For many

devotees, using shadow stand-ins isn’t just a preferred way of working — it’s a renegade professional philosophy.Lorenzo Matteucci for BIOthers, like the Southern California developer Brandon Nowak, have contemplated dipping their toe in the water. He told me that shadow stand-ins are an inevitable outcome to our system of making money. “Companies themselves are taking advantage of you, by hiring you to do work which they reap more value from you than they give to you. That is the basis of capitalism,” he said. “I’m not an anti-capitalist necessarily, but I don’t fault anyone — myself included — for looking to turn those tables on the companies themselves.”There is one wrinkle to this line of thinking. Some shadow stand-in connoisseurs — particularly those who ship their work to offshore helpers earning much less — are arguably replicating the same structures they’re trying to rebel against.“For-profit corporations are government-sanctioned psychopaths, existing only to predatorily and parasitically earn profit,” Kevin said. “Corporations are owed no moral obligation whatsoever, any more than a hen owes a fox moral consideration. The only rational response is to extract as much as possible.”But, he conceded, “I readily admit I can’t provide a consistent response to the problem of pushing predator-parasite further down the line.”Soon after hiring her friend, Remi had an awkward realization: They were bad at the job.Sometimes, they made glaring errors. Reformatted manuscripts came back with page numbers inserted into paragraphs, or charts were missing data. Remi effectively demoted them, adjusting the arrangement to pay $10 for each individual chapter, but that created new problems: Since they took hours to complete what usually took her 30 minutes, she was effectively paying them less than minimum wage.Their friendship suffered, too. “I’d give soft corrections on how I would like the work to be done, and they would be a little defensive about it, or wouldn’t take the note,” Remi said.After two months, Remi decided to fire them, fibbing that she simply no longer needed help. She turned back to her boyfriend, who began working for her more consistently.The dustup highlighted a key drawback to shadow stand-ins: While alluring, things can go horribly wrong.Half a dozen workers at different companies in the US and India told me they knew of colleagues who had secretly outsourced work. Problems invariably piled up, they said: The work was inadequate; there were inconsistencies in communication; and organizational chaos abounded.“If you can’t trust your employee — if they’re dishonest and they’re not telling you the truth about one thing — that could mean that they’re not telling you the truth about other things,” said Amber Clayton, a senior director at the Society for Human Resource Management, an HR industry body. “I wouldn’t want that individual within the organization, because who knows what they would do?” Facebook’s anonymous posting tools in Goups have made it easy and low-risk for shadow stand-in seekers to advertise their needs.FacebookEven when it goes right, managing a secret helper or two can be laborious. Your conventional workload may be lightened, but it’s replaced with finding and vetting helpers, delegating tasks, reviewing the completed work, and living in constant fear of being found out. “It required a lot of micromanaging,” said a backend engineer in Pennsylvania who hired shadow stand-ins to help him juggle multiple jobs. “It’s like you were working — but then on top of that, it became another task of just managing them.”Occasionally, the problems can have implications far beyond the workplace.In December, Tim Woodruff, a ServiceNow developer in Washington state, got a curious LinkedIn message from a “consulting” firm. “We will send job applications to remote jobs and schedule job interviews for you,” the message read. If he got the job, the firm promised to “attend everything related to programming.” All he had to do for whatever role he landed was attend meetings, and give the firm half of his salary.

Woodruff despised workplace deception, even joining job support and proxy interview-focused Telegram groups to disrupt them in his spare time. “I’m autistic, and rules help me make sense of the world, and I don’t like it when they’re just ignored and no one seems to care,” he told me. He decided to go along with the chicanery to see where it led.He joined the firm’s Slack channel and let it apply for jobs on his behalf, even attending some job interviews. He said he noticed a disquieting trend: Many of the jobs he was interviewing for had national security implications, including tech consultancies working with the Secret Service and the Department of the Treasury. Other applications were to financial institutions. Woodruff said he reported the firm to the FBI. (A bureau spokesperson said they couldn’t confirm the existence of any investigations.)Ranjan, a software engineer from Bengaluru, is regularly approached by job-support firms trying to hire him to work for their clients. “We will keep your name, all data confidential. We do not deduct tax from your salary,” one recruiter wrote to him on LinkedIn. “Your package will be Beautiful, trust me.”The pitch hints at the stark economic power disparity that underpins shadow stand-ins, he told me: Most job support comes from countries like India and Pakistan, where wages are low and “desperate” workers will provide cheap labor. Pay rates for shadow stand-ins are “definitely more than what people earn in their regular payday, that’s for sure,” he said.Despite mixed feelings about the practice, Kiran, a shadow stand-in based in Bengaluru, has continued to provide help because of the money he earns. “They are faking,” he said of clients. He has watched, frustrated, as clients coast through high-paying jobs, lying about skills and taking job opportunities “which are supposed to be for honest people who are actually experienced.” The same economic disparities that underpin much of our globalized economy power the shadow stand-in trade, which stretches from tech workers in the US to low-paid helpers in India.Lorenzo Matteucci for BIStill, Western pay remains an alluring prospect to many. “I think it’s a win-win situation,” said Rahul, an Indian developer whose friends have provided job support and who is interested in doing it himself. “We get paid peanuts anyway, so this is an extra source of income. It usually pays better, too.” Andrew, the Colorado consultant, argued that both parties agree on a price they’re happy with. “I feel like I pay people fairly,” he told me.Peter Steele, a Michigan developer, has an Upwork account and receives unsolicited pitches several times a year offering to apply for and complete jobs using his name in return for a slice of salary. “They talk about how getting clients is extremely difficult when you’re not based out of the United States,” he said.High demand has paved the way for intermediaries who match clients and helpers — a veritable nesting doll of outsourced hustle. Many of them aren’t shy about their businesses: Kumar’s job support firm Onlinejobsupport.net, for example, claims on its website to have more than 500 happy clients across 25 countries — focusing on popular systems or tools like Java, AWS, Hadoop, and React. (It might be wise to be skeptical of any one provider’s marketing claims, but there’s clearly a bustling ecosystem.)Many of these intermediaries aren’t shy about their business, either. You can even find some marketing their services on LinkedIn.The pandemic years were a boom time for shadow stand-ins. Now the winds are shifting.Return-to-office has forced some delegators to give it up — it’s harder to screen-share and outsource tasks if you’re sitting in a cubicle — while others are reduced to huddling with helpers after returning home. Providers told me they’re feeling the pinch, but there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle.The model has been proved, the global supply chain is there, and worker attitudes have shifted. “If

I died at my desk tomorrow, my job would be posted online before my funeral,” said one Oregon worker whose colleague tried to outsource their job.Others question why secret delegating might be stigmatized more than other tactics. “Assuming you are not sharing proprietary data,” Andrew, the Colorado consultant, asked, “what is the difference from outsourcing your work vs using an AI or software tool to automate your work?”And while shadow stand-ins feel like a uniquely modern, internet-enabled phenomenon, its roots run much deeper. “Historically, at least in certain trades, both in the US and other countries, the household unit was the unit employed to do the work,” said Michel Anteby, a professor of management and sociology at Boston University. He offered up the New England spinning industry as an example. “No one really cared or tracked if it was the husband, the wife, the kids who are doing the job.”Remi fits neatly within that framework.Her boyfriend, it turned out, was a great worker. He could swiftly complete technical tasks that usually took her all day, and she didn’t pay him; they had already merged finances when her mother died. They continued the arrangement until she quit a year later. But even after she left, Remi received intermittent texts from old coworkers asking for help. She never replied. She had no interest in letting the company exploit her labor.Today, the Chicagoan has no regrets. “I personally come from a background where I am very anti-corporation,” she told me. “I don’t personally see the harm in it — especially because if my company isn’t going to do its best to keep me happy and healthy, and have my best interests in mind, then that falls upon me to ensure that that’s happening for myself.”Remi now works in an education-related field. Her boyfriend is employed as a remedial tutor at a school, and she sometimes lends him a hand, formatting his presentation slides and doing other miscellaneous work.His employer doesn’t know, and the couple have no plans to stop.Rob Price is a senior correspondent for Business Insider and writes features and investigations about the technology industry. If you have experience with shadow stand-ins, you can contact him via Signal/WhatsApp at +1 650-636-6268 or email at [email protected].‘Shadow Stand-Ins’: How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs #Shadow #StandIns #Workers #Secretly #Outsource #JobsSource Link: https://www.businessinsider.com/shadow-stand-ins-workers-secretly-outsourcing-their-jobs-2024-6Remi never intended to secretly outsource her job. It sort of just happened.After graduating from co… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Shadow-Stand-Ins-How-Workers-Secretly-Outsource-Their-Jobs.jpeg 'Shadow Stand-Ins': How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs - Notice Global Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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'Shadow Stand-Ins': How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs - Journal Important Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/shadow-stand-ins-how-workers-secretly-outsource-their-jobs/?feed_id=73104&_unique_id=6682ad07e8846 Remi never intended to secretly outsource her job. It sort of just happened.After graduating from college in 2019 with a degree in education, the Gen Zer found work at a Chicago publishing company. She did not love it. Most of her colleagues were decades older than her, and their struggles to use basic software forced her to become a one-woman IT operation. The work itself was uninspiring and relentless: On most days she juggled presentation slides, managed spreadsheets and databases, and formatted page layouts.The pandemic provided a respite from the tedium of in-office interactions. But it didn’t lessen her workload, and she quietly began asking her boyfriend, a STEM major working in a lab, for occasional help. Certain she’d be fired for it, she didn’t tell her employer.Then her mother died.Remi was appointed executor of the estate, and settling her mother’s affairs was a never-ending nightmare: wading through countless gambling debts, maintaining the crumbling family home, and distributing the few remaining assets. Though she took a leave of absence from work and continued to rely on her boyfriend when she returned, she couldn’t keep up. Soon, she also turned to a childhood friend, who was unemployed and needed money. Remi proposed a plan: She’d pay her friend $100 a book to help with editing and formatting, saving her hours of work every week. The friend eagerly accepted. Her colleagues, meanwhile, remained clueless.And just like that — although she didn’t know it — Remi had become part of a hidden movement that went far beyond her Chicago publishing company.Across the globe, a wave of workers are secretly outsourcing parts or all of their jobs. Labor has never been easier to invisibly offload, thanks to a perfect storm of factors: globalized social networks, ubiquitous software tools, and the pandemic. An inadvertent byproduct of the rapacious, profit-seeking impulse that drives our global economy, this corporate subterfuge stretches from high-powered Silicon Valley techies to legions of low-paid helpers in India and Pakistan.Welcome to the world of shadow stand-ins.Stories about covert outsourcing are nothing new. Essay mills and faux test-taking have become perennial problems in academia, and gig-economy workers are occasionally caught lending their accounts to friends. Walter Keane gained notoriety in the 1960s for passing off “big eyes” paintings by his wife, Margaret, as his own. In 2012, a Verizon engineer was caught farming out his work to a team in China so he could browse Reddit all day. But in most workplaces, the idea of hiring someone to do your job for you seemed so outlandish that The Onion satirized it in 2009 as the natural endpoint to globalization and American laziness.No longer.I talked to dozens of players in the shadow stand-in economy, including people like Remi, hired helpers, and those who have watched colleagues or friends partake. (Citing reputational or professional risks, most spoke on condition of anonymity or asked to be identified only by their first or middle name.) Given its clandestine nature, it’s difficult to know just how many people the network scoops up. But providers told me they had seen a surge in popularity since 2020, a consequence of the pandemic and its attendant remote-work revolution. The past four years have transformed workplace norms, liberating millions from commutes and precipitating a wave of alienation from professional life — while providing eye-watering opportunities for the hungry or unscrupulous.“It becomes very easy for people to take the support when working from home,” said one shadow stand-in who lives in India and who has been in business since 2019. “After the pandemic,” said another from Pakistan, the industry “boomed.”There’s

no one model for how shadow stand-ins work, and practitioners use different terms: outsourcing, delegating, proxy work, subcontracting, virtual assistants, offshoring, or the delightfully euphemistic “job support.” It ranges from doling out small tasks to providing someone login credentials for full remote access. Some people want a mentor, some want a crutch after using “proxy interview” services to cheat their way through the hiring process, and some just want the productivity guru Tim Ferriss’ “4-Hour Workweek” on steroids. Others use the free time to rake in cash by working multiple jobs, a twist on the concept of overemployment.Though Remi recruited people she knew, shadow stand-ins are often sourced from a complex online web of faceless providers. Sites like Fiverr and Upwork are common conduits; a designer in the Southwestern US told me he would periodically hire two freelancers for the same job and discard the inferior work. Platforms like Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp are full of job support groups with thousands of members each. dedicated to matching providers and users. In one recent Facebook post, an Atlanta man struggling with his Salesforce-related job offered half his salary to anyone willing to quietly hold his hand through tasks and meetings. In another, a woman in San Jose, California, working for a major tech firm asked for help with a short programming assignment. Facebook Groups are a popular forum for recruiting shadow stand-ins, providing a two-sided marketplace where workers and providers can connect to one another.Facebook“Job support is nothing bad,” Raj Kumar, the Bengaluru, India-based cofounder of Onlinejobsupport.net, told me. He simply sees it as an “advanced version of training.” Like many professional job-support firms, his team often acts as a kind of black-market IT helpdesk, using screen-sharing software to dial in to their clients’ computers for a few hours a day to give pointers as they work — or completing the work themselves if the client would rather be elsewhere.You could hire shadow stand-ins in many workplaces, assuming your boss isn’t looking too closely. But it’s much more common in jobs in technology and IT. SaaS tools and tech services like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Amazon Web Services have become the plumbing for our global economy, used by everyone from fast-fashion retailers to nonprofits, and their cookie-cutter systems make it easy for anyone with the right skills to quietly step in.For the past few years, an American Java developer named Kevin has been living in Southeast Asia and outsourcing his jobs — all three of them. With the help of a Filipino friend acting as a recruiter, he brought on three local “virtual assistants,” offloading nearly all of his technical work. He writes formal assignment sheets for each worker; “Implement a test for valid JSON in POST content,” reads a typical directive.Needless to say, none of his employers — finance and construction firms — know about one another, and his workers are similarly in the dark. Even his location is a secret: He told his bosses he was based in the United States, and he works nights to avoid detection. “It’s low-cost labor or low cost of living, mostly,” Kevin explained. “I’m making three American incomes, but I’m paying Filipino rates to live.”He’s an extreme example of a user of shadow stand-ins. But whether they’re juggling multiple jobs or outsourcing the odd task, they tend to have one thing in common: a deep skepticism of traditional corporate values.Some believe if the work gets done, no matter how unconventionally, there’s no problem. “​​Everybody has a different moral compass and a different thing that they say: ‘This crosses the line for me,'” said Andrew, a consultant in Colorado who has outsourced work to freelancers and family members. He views “quiet quitting” — deliberately coasting at work — as far more odious. “I don’t believe somebody hires me for my time. They hire me to get results for them,” he said.

For many devotees, using shadow stand-ins isn’t just a preferred way of working — it’s a renegade professional philosophy.Lorenzo Matteucci for BIOthers, like the Southern California developer Brandon Nowak, have contemplated dipping their toe in the water. He told me that shadow stand-ins are an inevitable outcome to our system of making money. “Companies themselves are taking advantage of you, by hiring you to do work which they reap more value from you than they give to you. That is the basis of capitalism,” he said. “I’m not an anti-capitalist necessarily, but I don’t fault anyone — myself included — for looking to turn those tables on the companies themselves.”There is one wrinkle to this line of thinking. Some shadow stand-in connoisseurs — particularly those who ship their work to offshore helpers earning much less — are arguably replicating the same structures they’re trying to rebel against.“For-profit corporations are government-sanctioned psychopaths, existing only to predatorily and parasitically earn profit,” Kevin said. “Corporations are owed no moral obligation whatsoever, any more than a hen owes a fox moral consideration. The only rational response is to extract as much as possible.”But, he conceded, “I readily admit I can’t provide a consistent response to the problem of pushing predator-parasite further down the line.”Soon after hiring her friend, Remi had an awkward realization: They were bad at the job.Sometimes, they made glaring errors. Reformatted manuscripts came back with page numbers inserted into paragraphs, or charts were missing data. Remi effectively demoted them, adjusting the arrangement to pay $10 for each individual chapter, but that created new problems: Since they took hours to complete what usually took her 30 minutes, she was effectively paying them less than minimum wage.Their friendship suffered, too. “I’d give soft corrections on how I would like the work to be done, and they would be a little defensive about it, or wouldn’t take the note,” Remi said.After two months, Remi decided to fire them, fibbing that she simply no longer needed help. She turned back to her boyfriend, who began working for her more consistently.The dustup highlighted a key drawback to shadow stand-ins: While alluring, things can go horribly wrong.Half a dozen workers at different companies in the US and India told me they knew of colleagues who had secretly outsourced work. Problems invariably piled up, they said: The work was inadequate; there were inconsistencies in communication; and organizational chaos abounded.“If you can’t trust your employee — if they’re dishonest and they’re not telling you the truth about one thing — that could mean that they’re not telling you the truth about other things,” said Amber Clayton, a senior director at the Society for Human Resource Management, an HR industry body. “I wouldn’t want that individual within the organization, because who knows what they would do?” Facebook’s anonymous posting tools in Goups have made it easy and low-risk for shadow stand-in seekers to advertise their needs.FacebookEven when it goes right, managing a secret helper or two can be laborious. Your conventional workload may be lightened, but it’s replaced with finding and vetting helpers, delegating tasks, reviewing the completed work, and living in constant fear of being found out. “It required a lot of micromanaging,” said a backend engineer in Pennsylvania who hired shadow stand-ins to help him juggle multiple jobs. “It’s like you were working — but then on top of that, it became another task of just managing them.”Occasionally, the problems can have implications far beyond the workplace.In December, Tim Woodruff, a ServiceNow developer in Washington state, got a curious LinkedIn message from a “consulting” firm. “We will send job applications to remote jobs and schedule job interviews for you,” the message read. If he got the job, the firm promised to “attend everything related to programming.” All

he had to do for whatever role he landed was attend meetings, and give the firm half of his salary.Woodruff despised workplace deception, even joining job support and proxy interview-focused Telegram groups to disrupt them in his spare time. “I’m autistic, and rules help me make sense of the world, and I don’t like it when they’re just ignored and no one seems to care,” he told me. He decided to go along with the chicanery to see where it led.He joined the firm’s Slack channel and let it apply for jobs on his behalf, even attending some job interviews. He said he noticed a disquieting trend: Many of the jobs he was interviewing for had national security implications, including tech consultancies working with the Secret Service and the Department of the Treasury. Other applications were to financial institutions. Woodruff said he reported the firm to the FBI. (A bureau spokesperson said they couldn’t confirm the existence of any investigations.)Ranjan, a software engineer from Bengaluru, is regularly approached by job-support firms trying to hire him to work for their clients. “We will keep your name, all data confidential. We do not deduct tax from your salary,” one recruiter wrote to him on LinkedIn. “Your package will be Beautiful, trust me.”The pitch hints at the stark economic power disparity that underpins shadow stand-ins, he told me: Most job support comes from countries like India and Pakistan, where wages are low and “desperate” workers will provide cheap labor. Pay rates for shadow stand-ins are “definitely more than what people earn in their regular payday, that’s for sure,” he said.Despite mixed feelings about the practice, Kiran, a shadow stand-in based in Bengaluru, has continued to provide help because of the money he earns. “They are faking,” he said of clients. He has watched, frustrated, as clients coast through high-paying jobs, lying about skills and taking job opportunities “which are supposed to be for honest people who are actually experienced.” The same economic disparities that underpin much of our globalized economy power the shadow stand-in trade, which stretches from tech workers in the US to low-paid helpers in India.Lorenzo Matteucci for BIStill, Western pay remains an alluring prospect to many. “I think it’s a win-win situation,” said Rahul, an Indian developer whose friends have provided job support and who is interested in doing it himself. “We get paid peanuts anyway, so this is an extra source of income. It usually pays better, too.” Andrew, the Colorado consultant, argued that both parties agree on a price they’re happy with. “I feel like I pay people fairly,” he told me.Peter Steele, a Michigan developer, has an Upwork account and receives unsolicited pitches several times a year offering to apply for and complete jobs using his name in return for a slice of salary. “They talk about how getting clients is extremely difficult when you’re not based out of the United States,” he said.High demand has paved the way for intermediaries who match clients and helpers — a veritable nesting doll of outsourced hustle. Many of them aren’t shy about their businesses: Kumar’s job support firm Onlinejobsupport.net, for example, claims on its website to have more than 500 happy clients across 25 countries — focusing on popular systems or tools like Java, AWS, Hadoop, and React. (It might be wise to be skeptical of any one provider’s marketing claims, but there’s clearly a bustling ecosystem.)Many of these intermediaries aren’t shy about their business, either. You can even find some marketing their services on LinkedIn.The pandemic years were a boom time for shadow stand-ins. Now the winds are shifting.Return-to-office has forced some delegators to give it up — it’s harder to screen-share and outsource tasks if you’re sitting in a cubicle — while others are reduced to huddling with helpers after returning home. Providers told me they’re feeling the pinch, but there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle.

The model has been proved, the global supply chain is there, and worker attitudes have shifted. “If I died at my desk tomorrow, my job would be posted online before my funeral,” said one Oregon worker whose colleague tried to outsource their job.Others question why secret delegating might be stigmatized more than other tactics. “Assuming you are not sharing proprietary data,” Andrew, the Colorado consultant, asked, “what is the difference from outsourcing your work vs using an AI or software tool to automate your work?”And while shadow stand-ins feel like a uniquely modern, internet-enabled phenomenon, its roots run much deeper. “Historically, at least in certain trades, both in the US and other countries, the household unit was the unit employed to do the work,” said Michel Anteby, a professor of management and sociology at Boston University. He offered up the New England spinning industry as an example. “No one really cared or tracked if it was the husband, the wife, the kids who are doing the job.”Remi fits neatly within that framework.Her boyfriend, it turned out, was a great worker. He could swiftly complete technical tasks that usually took her all day, and she didn’t pay him; they had already merged finances when her mother died. They continued the arrangement until she quit a year later. But even after she left, Remi received intermittent texts from old coworkers asking for help. She never replied. She had no interest in letting the company exploit her labor.Today, the Chicagoan has no regrets. “I personally come from a background where I am very anti-corporation,” she told me. “I don’t personally see the harm in it — especially because if my company isn’t going to do its best to keep me happy and healthy, and have my best interests in mind, then that falls upon me to ensure that that’s happening for myself.”Remi now works in an education-related field. Her boyfriend is employed as a remedial tutor at a school, and she sometimes lends him a hand, formatting his presentation slides and doing other miscellaneous work.His employer doesn’t know, and the couple have no plans to stop.Rob Price is a senior correspondent for Business Insider and writes features and investigations about the technology industry. If you have experience with shadow stand-ins, you can contact him via Signal/WhatsApp at +1 650-636-6268 or email at [email protected].‘Shadow Stand-Ins’: How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs #Shadow #StandIns #Workers #Secretly #Outsource #JobsSource Link: https://www.businessinsider.com/shadow-stand-ins-workers-secretly-outsourcing-their-jobs-2024-6Remi never intended to secretly outsource her job. It sort of just happened.After graduating from co… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1719750005_258_Shadow-Stand-Ins-How-Workers-Secretly-Outsource-Their-Jobs.jpeg 'Shadow Stand-Ins': How Workers Secretly Outsource Their Jobs - Journal Important Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

Risks To Markets And Your Money - Information Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/risks-to-markets-and-your-money/?feed_id=72986&_unique_id=6682a3a9717bb A concept image showing a regular US Dollar banknote that is half melted and liquified dripping on … [+] an isolated studdio backgroundgettyBig Tech looms big across the vast expanse of Silicon Valley, often deciding the destiny of many bright businesses with its overpowering impact. Consider the narrative of Vine, the six-second video platform that gained popularity for its original content approach—only to be eclipsed and finally swallowed by Twitter, a software giant with more general social media goals. Vine’s creative idea and fast expanding user base were no match for the strategic realignments and competitive pressure its big tech parent applied, which resulted in its early 2017 collapse. In the digital economy of today, when the giants not only gatekeep the main resources but also establish the rules of the game, this example best captures the difficult obstacles experienced by entrepreneurs. Deeper exploration of the mechanics of Big Tech’s dominance reveals a complex interaction of innovation suppression, strategic acquisitions, and market monopolization that sometimes stifles the very creativity it wishes to inspire.The Landscape Of Tech DominanceA small number of businesses in the digital era have not only altered the technology scene but also taken the stage. The term ‘Big Tech’ appeared around 2113. The companies, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, have grown to be major players in international business, society, and media. Their explosive rise over the past ten years has radically changed consumer behavior and sectors of industry all around.In addition to internet search and digital advertising, Google has been spreading into mobile technologies, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI). Google’s impact is felt everywhere in the digital ecosystem since its Android operating system drives more than 70% of the cellphones worldwide. The corporation has also made major breakthroughs into future-facing technology such as smart cities and self-driving automobiles, therefore guaranteeing its ongoing relevance and control.Apart from its e-commerce platform, Amazon has transformed retail by means of its supremacy in cloud computing via Amazon Web Services (AWS), which commands a sizable portion of the industry. Along with making Amazon vital to both customers and companies, this double dominance has given it unheard-of insight into consumer behavior and market trends.Owning four of the most often used platforms—Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger—Facebook has shaped the social media terrain. With over a billion members per site, each of these sites offers Facebook unmatched control over worldwide social interactions and information flow. Facebook’s ventures into virtual reality and digital money also point to its goals to influence immersive technology and financial systems going forward.With its array of iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers, Apple has established itself as the benchmark for mobile and personal technologies. Beyond hardware, Apple’s ecosystem comprises services including the App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud, so maintaining a closely integrated user experience that promotes brand loyalty and helps to sustain revenue growth. Apple’s adoption of privacy-centric elements has helped to further establish it as a guardian of user data, therefore contrasting with the policies of the larger IT sector.These firms’ combined market share in their respective fields shows not only economic strength but also a capacity to shape cultural standards and legal systems. Aggressive innovation and strategic acquisitions have driven their expansion over the past ten years, therefore securing their leadership in technological development.Looking ahead, the issue is whether the power of these giants will remain unquestioned or whether market forces and regulations will reshape the scene.

Understanding these dynamics is essential for both industry watchers and investors since the activities of these companies will probably determine the pace of worldwide tech innovation and market competitiveness for years to come.The Challenges Faced By Secondary Tech CompaniesSmaller tech companies and startups have great difficulties navigating their road to success under the towering shadow of Big Tech’s supremacy. The great resources at hand of giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, as well as their strategic policies, help to create severe obstacles to entrance in areas under their control.Starting a business in a sector where one or more of these giants are in control can feel like exploring a fortification. Big Tech’s large financial resources, thorough customer data, and developed brand loyalty combine to create a competitive environment that is quite challenging for younger, smaller businesses to enter. Moreover, the technology infrastructure—which includes servers, platforms, and software—often demands large investment, which can be prohibitive for businesses without enough cash.Allegations of anti-competitive practices by big tech corporations expose yet another harsh reality for little tech enterprises. For instance, these giants are not unusual in using their platform power to promote their own goods above those of rivals. This is evident in how businesses such as Amazon rank their products in search results or how Google might advertise its offerings inside its search engine, therefore undermining rivals. Furthermore, Apple and Google’s control over app ecosystems enables them to impose rules that can be financially taxing or constrictive for smaller software companies trying to use these systems.Trends In AcquisitionsAlthough being bought by a Big Tech corporation might occasionally provide a rich exit for investors and startup founders, this method usually stifles creativity. Not just to absorb their creative innovations, but occasionally Big Tech companies purchase out rising rivals to stifle their ability to upset the market. Because startups are taken out of the competitive scene, often before their ideas are completely developed or reach the market, this trend can compromise the general innovative environment.These dynamics show the challenging surroundings that tiny technology businesses must negotiate. They are not only attempting to carve out a position in the market, but also competing on a playing field that is far from level and shaped by entities whose influence can change market dynamics at will. For startups, living and succeeding in this ecosystem requires not only creative ideas but also strategic acumen to negotiate the obstacles created by the most powerful names in technology.Data Dominance And Platform DependencyData is both a currency and a compass in the digital economy, directing consumer interactions and company decisions. Smaller tech companies, generally at a disadvantage, face great difficulty under Big Tech corporations’ ownership over this vital asset. Furthermore, complicating their operational scene is the reliance of these smaller companies on dominant platforms.Big firms such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon have hitherto unheard-of access to enormous volumes of data covering user behaviors, preferences, and interactions across worldwide platforms. Not only is this data vast, but it is also varied, which helps these businesses improve algorithms, customize marketing plans, and create goods that are very sensitive to consumer needs. The volume of data collection and analysis Big Tech can accomplish is sometimes unaffordable for small businesses. This difference influences the competitive balance as well as the capacity of the smaller businesses to develop and properly customize. Larger companies’ data dominance allows them to typically foreshadow consumer trends and industry changes long before smaller rivals even know about them.Platform ReliabilityThe presence of small

tech companies on major platforms run by Big Tech, such as Google’s search engine, Apple’s App Store, or Amazon’s marketplace, is closely related to their success. Platform policy or algorithm changes can immediately and significantly impact these companies. A little change in Facebook’s news feed algorithm, for example, might greatly affect the exposure of material from a small business, therefore lowering consumer interaction overnight. Likewise, Google’s search algorithm tweaks can quickly make a once top-ranked site invisible, therefore substantially lowering traffic and sales. The standards for including apps on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store might also change, therefore influencing user acquisition and income sources for app creators.Small tech companies must negotiate not only the usual commercial challenges but also the whims of platform gatekeepers, whose actions can significantly change the market environment without notice. These dependencies make their life unstable. Big Tech uses the combination of data control and platform dependency to create strong leverage that often ignores smaller businesses lacking the means or tactics to properly address these obstacles. This dynamic emphasizes the vital requirement of regulatory control and maybe more favorable environments to guarantee more fair competition in the tech sector.Impact On Innovation And Consumer ChoiceBig Tech corporations’ overwhelming hegemony begs serious issues regarding their influence on innovation in the tech industry as well as on consumer choice and pricing. Although these giants propel major technological developments and frequently provide user-centric products, their market power may ironically inhibit more general innovation and limit real consumer choices.Companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple have the means to commit significantly to research and development. Through the use of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and augmented reality, this investment propels the whole sector ahead. On the other hand, the sheer size and scope of big businesses can discourage startups and hinder new competitors, therefore negating this innovation. Smaller businesses may be reluctant to innovate in areas dominated by giants out of concern that their technology could be copied or eclipsed. Furthermore, Big Tech’s acquisition inclinations sometimes mean that possibly disruptive ideas are absorbed and then shelved or merged under the direction of the bigger business, therefore lessening their impact.Big Tech’s predominance also has complex effects on pricing and consumer choice. Because of their scale and efficiency, which helps to cut prices, these businesses may offer items at which customers may benefit. Less options in the market, though, can result from their capacity to edge out or purchase rivals. Amazon’s dominance in online retail and its impact on local companies, for example, are a moving illustration of how customer decisions could be slanted toward one provider, therefore fostering a reliance that reduces exposure to other goods or services. In digital advertising, too, Google and Facebook’s duopoly not only limits market possibilities but may also boost company advertising budgets, therefore affecting consumers.Regulatory Responses And Future DirectionsThe United States and the European Union have increased their regulatory scrutiny as Big Tech’s impact spans world markets. These initiatives herald important changes that might change the tech scene by addressing issues on market dominance, privacy, and competitiveness.Antitrust actions in the US have targeted Google and Facebook, respectively, for their dominant positions in search, advertising, and social networking. One of the biggest lawsuits, the 2020 Google antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, claims that Google illegally kept monopolies by means of exclusive agreements and other activities, thereby suppressing competition.

Likewise, Facebook has come under fire for acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, with authorities claiming that these actions were part of a strategy meant to eradicate rivals.Within the European Union, control has become significantly stricter. Along with imposing heavy fines on businesses like Google for anti-competitive behavior, the EU has instituted thorough rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to govern the way personal data is gathered and handled. More recently, proposals to control digital gatekeepers and guarantee more equitable market conditions have come from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA).Looking forward, possible future policies may include stronger data protection laws, more antitrust enforcement, and restrictions meant especially to stifle Big Tech’s monopolistic inclinations. These rules could compel adjustments in company structures, including restrictions on data-sharing methods or division of their companies to improve competitiveness.Viewpoints And Arguments From StakeholdersThe debate on these rules is varied. Strong rules could, according to IT leaders, limit creativity and lower economic competitiveness. Policymakers, on the other hand, support these steps as necessary to safeguard consumer rights and preserve fair competition. Emphasizing privacy protection and the risks of market concentration, consumer advocacy organizations mostly advocate more strict rules.The combined demand of several stakeholders for more control points to a time when Big Tech would be subject to more limitations than it has ever experienced. The continuous evolution of these rules will be essential to striking a balance between responsibility and creativity so that the tech sector stays fair and lively.Looking ahead, the tech sector would experience less dynamism if present consolidation and aggressive strategic acquisitions continue. With market control mostly in the hands of a small number, the possibility for revolutionary innovation could decline. This future, though, is not fixed in concrete. A balanced tech environment will depend heavily on legislation and control. Policies meant to guarantee fair play, privacy rules, and more rigorous antitrust enforcement could help to create an environment in which invention blossoms and rivalry is abundant.Whether we are consumers, business owners, or legislators, stakeholders in this digital era must think about the kind of technology we want to produce. Should governmental actions seek to reduce Big Tech’s influence, guaranteeing a fairer market? Alternatively, should the mechanics of the market continue to benefit those who innovate and scale well, even if it implies more concentration of power? The responses to these questions will determine the direction of the tech sector and control the speed at which inclusion and innovation can coexist in this always changing digital sphere.Source Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2024/06/30/big-techs-overpowering-influence-risks-to-markets-and-your-money/A concept image showing a regular US Dollar banknote that is half melted and liquified dripping on …. http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Risks-To-Markets-And-Your-Money.jpg Risks To Markets And Your Money - Information Global Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[businessmarketblogweb]

21shares files for Solana ETF in the US, calls a necessary step - Journal Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/21shares-files-for-solana-etf-in-the-us-calls-a-necessary-step/?feed_id=72880&_unique_id=66829b72cf458 Digital ProductsJun 29, 8:14 AM SEC sends back Ethereum ETF S-1 forms for additional filingsJun 28, 8:15 PM IRS finalizes crypto broker tax rules for 2025, delays decisions on DeFi and unhosted walletsJun 28, 5:03 PM SEC sues ConsenSys over MetaMask staking tokens and swapsJun 28, 4:59 PM VanEck and 21Shares file for Solana ETFs, betting on a Trump victoryJun 28, 7:03 AM Ether expected to hit $6,500 later this year, driven by ETF inflowsJun 28, 6:13 AM Animoca Brands eyes public listing in second half of 2025Jun 28, 2:55 AM Crypto sidelined in first 2024 US presidential debateJun 28, 2:55 AM 21Shares submits 8-A12B filing for its spot Ethereum ETFJun 28, 2:37 AM Bolivia’s central bank lifts ban on BitcoinJun 27, 9:16 PM Coinbase and Stripe partner to enhance crypto payments globallyJun 27, 9:15 PM Worldcoin Foundation backs Wormhole to integrate WorldID on Solana blockchainJun 27, 4:00 PM VanEck proposes first US Solana ETF as SOL price surgesJun 27, 3:59 PM Vitalik backs MegaETH in $20m seed round for 100k TPS Ethereum-compatible chainJun 27, 3:44 PM Supreme Court rules against SEC’s use of in-house tribunalsJun 27, 3:05 PM Biden and Trump set for presidential debate potentially featuring crypto discussionSource of this programme “I be mad for plug-ins, because they are interesting.”“21Shares files for a Solana ETF, following VanEck’s lead, marking a significant development in crypto products. The post 21shares files for Solana ETF in the US, calls a necessary step…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://cryptobriefing.com/solana-etf-filing-update/#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/promo-tip-upload-share-files.jpg 21shares files for Solana ETF in the US, calls a necessary step - Journal Global Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

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How institutions are investing in digital assets | EY - Information Global Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/how-institutions-are-investing-in-digital-assets-ey/?feed_id=72774&_unique_id=66829343af8e7 Institutions are moving forward with their plans to invest optimistically and cautiously, with the majority of those that are currently invested allocating 1% to 5% of their portfolios to digital assets or related products. Seventy‑six percent of respondents who have invested in digital assets suggest portfolio allocations below 5%, with only 3% of respondents allocating above 20% of their portfolios. Given their risk-on nature, hedge funds are a notable exception, with 36% of respondents allocating above 5% of their portfolios to the asset class. In addition, 71% of respondents with AUM/AUAs 1% of their portfolio to digital assets vs. 60% of all respondents, while only 45% of institutions with >$500b in AUM/AUA indicated they allocate more than 1% of their portfolio. Looking to the future, institutions overwhelmingly expect to increase their allocations, with consistent growth expected in 2024 or 2025, aligning with the generally cautious but optimistic approach. Spot cryptocurrency represents the most common investment, with bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) being the most prevalent. It is important to note, however, that 60% of institutions invested in spot cryptocurrency currently are also invested in cryptocurrencies beyond BTC and ETH. Going forward, spot cryptocurrency remains the most popular method for exposure, but as we look toward 2025, institutions expect to allocate more to other vehicles, notably “funds that are tracked to crypto” and “private equity/venture capital (PE/VC)-style investments” in digital asset firms.How institutions are investing in digital assets | EY #institutions #investing #digital #assetsSource Link: https://www.ey.com/en_us/insights/financial-services/how-institutions-are-investing-in-digital-assetsInstitutions are moving forward with their plans to invest optimistically and cautiously, wit… http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-institutions-are-investing-in-digital-assets-EY-scaled-1.jpg How institutions are investing in digital assets | EY - Information Global Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL