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☆ Euro, dollar status should not be taken for granted -ECB's Lagarde
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, April 17 (Reuters) - The United States and the euro zone should not take the international status of their currencies for granted as countries such as China and Russia seek to create their own systems. "These developments do not point to any imminent loss of dominance for the U.S. dollar or the euro," Lagarde said in a speech. "So far, the data do not show substantial changes in the use of international currencies." "But they do suggest that international currency status should no longer be taken for granted," she said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Around 60% of the world's foreign exchange reserves and international debt is denominated in dollars, with the euro a distant second at 20%, according to data compiled by the ECB.

☆ These are the 9 least expensive states to start a business—none of them are in the northeast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Nevada tops this ranking as the least expensive U.S. state to start a small business, due to factors like an abundance of available commercial space and the state's lack of corporate income tax. Small business loans were also widely available in those two states in 2020, the most recent year with complete Small Business Administration data. Arkansas small businesses received nearly $43 million in loans per 100,000 residents that year, the sixth-highest of any state. Some states offer tax credits for businesses in specific industries, which could help some startups and not others. "For entrepreneurs who have the ability to pick and choose where they want to start their business, it's clear that certain states will allow you to save money," the ranking noted.

April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Elite, a vendor of business management software for law firms, from information provider Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) at a valuation of $500 million. Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products, the companies said. Paul Fischer, president of Thomson Reuters' legal professionals division, said that Elite will continue to share many of Thomson Reuters' clients as a standalone company. Elite offers software that helps law firms run their finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing and payments. TPG partner Tim Millikin said that the data and automation that Elite offers are in demand among legal professionals.

"Starting on April 1, Medicare beneficiaries will pay lower coinsurance for Part B drugs that raise prices faster than inflation," White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice told reporters on a press call. Companies that raise prices higher than the inflation rate will be required to pay Medicare the difference in the form of a rebate. The government will start invoicing the companies for the rebates in 2025 but Medicare will start reducing out-pocket-costs for members in April. Medicare began examining the price increases in October 2022 for Medicare Part B drugs, often used in the hospital, that are complicated biologic drugs or drugs with only one manufacturer. Price increases for half of all drugs covered by Medicare outpaced inflation from 2019 to 2020, which averaged 1% that year.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at how startup HeadRace raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock to help headhunters beat the hiring slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marketplace startup HeadRace helps connect recruiters with employers looking to hire. The startup has raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock, Susa Ventures, and Breyer Capital. After going through the exhausting process of hiring dozens of employees while at Uber and Flexport, Korsos was inspired to change the hiring system. Although hiring has slowed in large, public companies, it's actually accelerated in early-stage startups looking to fill a number of specialized roles, Korsos told Insider. Moving forward, the startup plans on using its seed funding to build out its technology offerings and improve its scalability, Korsos told Insider.

☆ A leaked draft of Salesforce's business plan focuses on Slack, Tableau, MuleSoft — and admits it's been too slow to integrate acquisitions into its main products
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A draft of Salesforce's internal business plan discusses integrating Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft with its main products. The draft plan shows how Salesforce aspires to fix "delays in M&A integration" and "siloed priorities." A leaked draft of Salesforce's annual business plan shows the company is focused on better integrating Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft into its core products as it faces criticism about its acquisition strategy. Salesforce is using Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft to help fight off activistsSalesforce appears to want to fix this perception, according to the draft document and recent public moves. Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft — and their integration into Salesforce's other key products — feature heavily in a discussion in the plan on how Salesforce will reach its goal of over 30% margins.

☆ Fintech darling Stripe has first-world problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

When it’s a fintech darling previously valued at $95 billion, the whole industry takes notice. Though a solid business model and rapid growth have allowed Stripe to remain private, it has its share of first-world problems. A lower valuation for Stripe is painful for investors who bought in two years ago, and for employees who dreamed of IPO riches. Stripe is raising $4 billion in fresh capital from investors including Thrive Capital, Reuters reported on Feb. 24. Stripe has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to explore a public listing and to help with its latest fundraising.

☆ Why the dollar keeps winning in the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The outsized role played by the United States in capital markets, trade and debt reinforces the status quo. Unless the global economy undergoes a complete overhaul, the dollar will remain on top. America may have never “run on Dunkin’”, as the donut-maker’s slogan claimed, but the global economy runs on the dollar. The United States has spurred the search for alternatives by wielding its currency as a weapon against its adversaries. The greenback’s function as the lubricant of global economic activity has another important effect: a stronger dollar curbs global trade.

☆ A 27-year-old freelance writer who brought in $115,000 last year working 30 hours a week explains how he uses ChatGPT and other tools to work more efficiently
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Freelance finance writer Tony Dong made about $115,000 last year working 30 hours per week. But he also uses specific tools, including ChatGPT, to work more efficiently. Here are three tools Dong uses to do his job better and more efficiently. But if he's writing about something he's less familiar with he'll ask his AI assistant for help. There's also a premium version for $12 a month, which Dong uses: "It makes your writing more compelling and is worth the money."

☆ An entrepreneur who has used Shopify since it was in beta shares how he built an app to solve the biggest problem he faced on the platform while scaling to $1 million in sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Thomas Bertrand built a Shopify app after years of selling on the e-commerce platform. He launched his Shopify store, Bento&co, where he sells bento boxes and related accessories, in 2008. But he also created an app on Shopify's App Store that was directly inspired by his years as a merchant. Shopify's app store is home to more than 7,000 apps to help merchants with tasks like store design, product sourcing, SEO, marketing, and shipping. Shopify's merchants made $46.2 billion in sales on the platform in the third quarter of 2022 alone.

☆ The 3 biggest reasons startups failed in 2022, according to a poll of almost 500 founders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Knowing the biggest risks that most commonly cause new startups to fail could make the difference between whether your own business sinks or swims. And roughly 20% of new businesses fail within their first year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Luckily, some new research can shed some light on the biggest recent obstacles that have thwarted startups. Skynova, which makes invoicing software for small businesses, surveyed 492 startup founders in November 2022 and analyzed startup data from CB Insights for the new study that looks at the most common reasons behind startup failures in 2022. The study notes that 47% of startup failures in 2022 were due to a lack of financing, nearly double the percentage that failed for the same reason in 2021, based on CB Insight's data.

☆ This startup helps vets spend more time with pets and less time on admin. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Digitail used to raise $11 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Digitail, a Romanian pet care startup, has raised $11 million in Series A funding. Digitail, founded in 2018, helps veterinary clinics automate their management systems. A startup that helps vets automate their often antiquated management systems has raised $11 million in fresh funds. "Today's reality is that there is a massive shortage of vets compared to the number of pets and that means they have less time to split between seeing pets and managing clinics," Digitail CEO Sebastian Gabor told Insider. Digitail, which is based in Romania's Iasi and Florida, provides a vertical, cloud-based SaaS platform to help vets with inventory management, invoicing, appointment calendars, and patient management.

☆ How Kellogg Uses Standardized Benchmarks to Boost Cost Savings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Kellogg Co. is working to reap additional cost savings by relying more heavily on standardized performance benchmarks, a move that could prove particularly useful as the economy slows. Kellogg began using the benchmarks in 2019. WSJ: What led Kellogg to start using standardized benchmarks in 2019? Anytime we have a process change or process improvement, the process happens all over again. WSJ: How have you boosted efficiencies from using benchmarks?

☆ Employees want holiday bonuses this year–but they may be getting pizza parties instead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Many businesses are struggling right now, with inflation woes and mass layoffs making headlines in recent weeks. But that hasn't stopped employees from expecting holiday bonuses. This year, companies that don't offer bonuses may lose talent, says Joe Mercurio, a representative from Skynova. "With job openings outnumbering job seekers 2 to 1, employees have the power and expect to be rewarded for their performance and loyalty." Here's how likely employees are to get holiday bonuses this year — and what they could be receiving instead.

Extreme backwardation implied traders expected the balance to remain tight, with a further drawdown of already depleted inventories, and more upward pressure on oil prices. In late November, after consultations with traders, the U.S. Treasury published regulations signalling a relatively relaxed approach to enforcement (“Guidance on implementation of price cap policy”, OFAC, Nov. 22). Following last-minute discussions, on Dec. 2 the cap was set at $60, with a commitment to review it by mid- January 2023 and every two months thereafter (“G7 agrees oil price cap”, European Commission, Dec. 3). SETTING THE PRICE CAP LEVELIn setting a price cap for Russia’s crude and products, U.S. and EU officials have been confronted by a menu of policy options and other considerations. Related columns:- Investors dumped Brent in anticipation of relaxed oil price cap (Reuters, Dec. 5)- Global recession a bigger risk to Russia’s oil revenue than price cap (Reuters, Nov. 11)- Recession would make tough oil sanctions on Russia more likely (Reuters, July 14)- Oil market confronts U.S. and EU policymakers with unpalatable choices (Reuters, June 29)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

☆ Starboard takes a stake in Splunk. Here’s how the activist investor may help boost margins
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Activist Commentary: Starboard is a very successful activist investor and has extensive experience helping companies focus on operational efficiency and margin improvement. Splunk has a leading market share and is considered the "gold standard" in the log management and security markets. This is a typical Starboard investment – a company with strong top-line growth and enviable market position that needs help with optimizing growth and margins. When an activist takes a position at a company, it puts that company in pseudo-play with potential acquirers often coming out of the woodwork. You would think that their interest level has piqued a little with Splunk now trading at a $12.7 billion market cap.

☆ How to transform your business's payables and receivables to keep up with customer demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Citizens With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

By Matt Richardson, head of treasury product solutions, CitizensFueled by greater connectivity and faster transactions, the digital transformation of the payables and receivables landscape continues to reshape the outlook for treasury management. We've seen many companies embrace faster and easier payments systems. This is set to launch by 2023 and will extend access to real-time payments to more financial institutions and customers nationwide. The dominant force in this area will be cloud-based, intelligent payables and receivables platforms like Citizens' integrated payables solution powered by Paymode-X. Relatedly, payment messaging will be an essential area to keep track of as new digital payment options are becoming increasingly sophisticated and data-intensive.

☆ JPMorgan Chase wants to disrupt the rent check with its payments platform for landlords and tenants
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

JPMorgan Chase is betting that landlords and tenants are finally ready to ditch paper checks and embrace digital payments. The bank is piloting a platform it created for property owners and managers that automates the invoicing and receipt of online rent payments, according to Sam Yen, chief innovation officer of JPMorgan's commercial banking division. That's because the market is highly fragmented, with most of the country's 12 million property owners running smaller portfolios of fewer than 100 units. More than 100 million Americans pay a combined $500 billion annually in rent, the bank said. "The vast majority of rent payments are still done through checks," Yen said in a recent interview.

At the International Monetary Fund's last count in the first quarter of this year, almost 5% of the world's foreign currency reserves were denominated in sterling - a total of $625 billion dollars worth of sterling and sterling assets on a crude calculation from the $12.55 trillion total. The UK has a reserve currency so it can always issue debt – it's just a question of the right price." But what if that reserve currency position is threatened and foreign central banks balk at holding so much sterling in their national savings stashes? Seven of the world's top 10 reserve holding central banks are in Asia or the Middle East. UBS chart on its 2022 survey of world reserve managersThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

When the first round of quarterly taxes was coming due, I quickly realized that doing all my own tracking was taking up way too much of my time. I can even do it from my phone — the QuickBooks Self-Employed app is user-friendly and easy to navigate. I opted for the tax bundle for the convenienceThere are a couple of plans you can pick from with QuickBooks Self-Employed. QuickBooks Self-Employed is simple, not robustIt's not all rainbows and roses when it comes to this cloud-based accounting software. Having my tax summary report, all Schedule C deductions, and my estimated quarterly taxes done is exactly what I need.

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