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☆ What Home Depot's billion-dollar pay raise may help prove about workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"We are confident we can make the investments needed to remain competitive in a tight labor market while also growing our profitability." "The [home improvement] environment seems to be weakening, not accelerating, and therefore incremental wage investments at this time would open the door to more questions and surprise. "They're behaving as they should given the tight labor market, showing leadership and not just thinking about a 12-month timeframe. And in a tight labor market, it's getting increasingly difficult to keep talent [if] you pay unlivable wages and [offer] few opportunities for growth and success." It's hard to say when, and if, Home Depot will see a demonstrable return on the monumental expenditure for its frontline workers.

☆ So Many Ways to Communicate at Work, So Many Ways to Misfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lisa Donovan was juggling pings from multiple Slack channels and email windows when she inadvertently sent a sensitive company document to the wrong person. The part-time accountant for a Virginia-based academic coaching firm toggles between 30 instant-messaging channels, four client-email accounts and at least a dozen phone or video calls a day, she says.

☆ Orville Redenbacher Maker’s Margins Pop in Good Sign for Food Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aaron Back | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Conagra, which makes Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, said organic sales in its fiscal third quarter rose 6.1% from a year earlier. Conagra Brands posted lukewarm results on Wednesday that should nonetheless be reassuring to investors in it and other packaged food companies. The maker of Marie Callender’s pies and Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn said Wednesday that organic sales in its fiscal third quarter rose 6.1% from a year earlier. That was a significant slowdown from 8.6% in the second quarter, and a tad less than the 6.3% growth that analysts had penciled in, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha.

☆ Conagra Earnings, Sales Climb as Food Prices Rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Dia Gill | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Conagra , which makes Hunt’s tomato products, attributed its most recent quarterly results to inflation-driven price increases. Conagra Brands Inc. raised its guidance for the second consecutive quarter as the food manufacturer posted a nearly 60% profit increase. For the quarter ended Feb. 26, the Chicago-based maker of Slim Jim meat sticks, Reddi-wip and Marie Callender frozen meals reported a net income of $341.7 million, up from $218.4 million in the same quarter a year prior. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected net income of $303 million.

☆ It’s the End of the Weekend as We Know It
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Once relished as the reward after five days of hard work, weekends are dwindling as employees move fluidly between work and personal time all of the time. When the pandemic began, many professionals stuck at home opened their laptops on Saturday mornings. They just never stopped: Saturdays and Sundays are starting to resemble Monday through Friday, with hours of emailing and stretches of catch-up time. Some find the spillover of work into the weekend to be invasive, with kids’ soccer games to date nights to religious services to attend. But employees acknowledge that work-filled weekends are the trade-off for hybrid office time and flexible schedules that allow for midmorning gym workouts, afternoon school pickups, dog walks and grocery-store runs.

☆ Corporate Sustainability Becomes a Team Sport
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Chief sustainability officers have historically been technical experts focused on helping companies decode their carbon footprint. Today’s CSOs are business-transformation specialists who run point for companies in their sustainability efforts, supported by a team of experts. “You have to start thinking in 2022 about the demands that are going to be a trending topic in 2025.”Judith Wiese, chief people and sustainability officer at Siemens. His team includes experts in technology, industrial processes, financial markets, sustainability frameworks and reporting standards. Agustin Delgado Martin, chief innovation and sustainability officer at Iberdrola.

☆ Here's a look at how work-life balance compares in the US, France, Australia, and the UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Jordan Hart | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Insider compared the work-life balance of the US, France, Australia, and the UK. The clip prompted Insider to look into how work-life balance in the US compares to other developed countries like the UK, France, and Australia. In the US, employees worked more than in the UK, France, and Australia at an average of 1,750 hours per year, the report found. UKGetty ImagesIn a 2023 worldwide work-life balance index by Forbes, the UK claimed five spots in the top 25 cities with the best work-life balance. "I'm among those who think it's important to have a work-life balance," Culleron told Insider.

☆ The Perk-Cession Is Under Way at Some Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The ping-pong tables have turned. Companies are cutting back on prized employee perks from fancy coffee to free cab rides as they vow to trim costs and prioritize efficiency. These extras, above and beyond traditional healthcare and retirement plans, were meant to make workers want to join companies and stay there. They’ve grown to be seen by some as a form of compensation, so the cuts can sting.

☆ Food is getting cheaper. But not for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When food producers started raising prices a few years ago, they blamed their own costs, including higher ingredient prices. Many food companies are forecasting that they might slow down or pause price increases — but not lower them. But ingredients typically make up a small portion of overall food costs. Companies are maintaining elevated prices, or continuing to increase them, at a time when many Americans are already struggling to pay for food, especially as pandemic-era food stamp benefits expire. So people keep buying food at the grocery store, despite higher prices — giving producers an opportunity to convince retailers that those higher prices won’t drive customers away.

☆ What’s Missing From Office Life? It May Be Your Work Spouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

You’re back in the office. Now it’s time to get back with your office spouse. Like a real spouse, a work husband or work wife can be a significant other. It’s that someone who joins you on coffee runs, rolls eyes at you in meetings and agrees that your idea was way better than the boss’s. Most of all, it’s that person who inhabits the day-to-day language, deadlines and cast of characters in your personal office sitcom—and helps you do your job better.

☆ How a 27-year-old raised over $1 million to build a platform for African designers: 'We know our problems better than anybody else'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For Amira Rasool, fashion is a lifelong passion. "I was always the person that laid out my first day of school outfit, like, two weeks before school," she says. That same year, she also traveled to South Africa, discovering local clothing brands she'd never heard of in the States. Many brands didn't have the technology, infrastructure to ship internationally or access to U.S. retailers to get their apparel outside of African borders. 'My mom would just ship the products from her place'After that initial visit to South Africa, Rasool sought out ways to return to the country to found her company.

[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. Food makers tend to cull products without much fanfare. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Eliminating less popular products is part of a "decomplexity program" underway at Kraft Heinz, its executives said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference this week. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

☆ As Home Sales Slow, Realtors Go Back to Their Other Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | Nicole Friedman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dave Parker has quit trying to sell houses. Last spring, the 46-year-old father of three joined a real-estate brokerage in Silver Spring, Md., hoping to make money on the booming housing market. Less than a year later, mortgage rates have climbed and many would-be clients have backed out. Mr. Parker recently took on more hours at a Giant Food supermarket where he already worked part time as a dairy manager.

In an interview with Allure magazine, Stefani, 53, who is Italian American, cited the influence of Japanese culture in her home when she was growing up. "I said, 'My God, I'm Japanese and I didn't know it,'" Stefani told Allure. She later insisted, "I am, you know," calling herself a "super fan" of Japanese culture. A representative for Stefani told Calaor that she had "misunderstood what Stefani was trying to convey" but declined to provide an on-the-record statement. Even before the interview, Stefani had defended her "Harajuku" era.

Known for its Birds Eye, Chef Boyardee and Slim Jim brands, Conagra is increasing some of its prices in its current fiscal 2023 third quarter. "We don't currently have any plans to take additional pricing beyond that," Connolly said, noting the plans could change if inflation persists. The price of groceries eaten at home rose an estimated 11%-12% in 2022, versus a 7%-8% increase in restaurant menu prices, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "If you're going to spend your day at home instead of in the office, odds are the breakfast and the lunch that you're going to have is going to be a product like a Healthy Choice Power Bowl," Connolly said. "We've now moved it to just about everything we sell in our frozen meals business," he said.

☆ Rep. Jimmy Gomez takes his baby to the Capitol during House speaker votes: ‘We have to normalize Dads'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Danielle Campoamor | Danielle Campoamor Has Been Published In Teen Vogue | Harper'S Bazaar | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., knew things could go awry during the House speaker vote on Tuesday. It was new for Gomez’s family members, who had plans to watch Gomez be sworn in for a fourth term and then tour the nation’s capital. “But that took another 30 minutes.”Gomez had planned on being on the House floor at 11:30 in the morning. “In the end, we have to normalize dads taking their kids with them, be it stay-at-home dads or working dads,” Gomez says. I mean, babywearing is cool now!”On Wednesday, Gomez and his family, along with Hodge, returned to the House floor as Republican members tried again to elect a speaker.

☆ The 24-Hour Tuneup: Improve Your Day With the WSJ’s Email Challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Anne Marie Chaker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Now is a great time to improve your health and habits, and The Wall Street Journal is here to guide you. Although many of us begin January with a pledge to make grand reforms, resolutions often fade fast. So, this year, focus instead on implementing simple science-based strategies to make each part of your day a little better.

The U.S. House’s Jan. 6 committee has performed its task with a dignity that verges on parody. They are doing criminal referrals while Rome burns. I think the criminal referrals are completely appropriate and, if anything, fail to capture the true scope of his malfeasance. He said as much himself in response to the Jan. 6 committee referral. One of the strongest grounds for prosecuting Trump for Jan. 6 is that only accountability will prevent something like it from happening again.

Single leg Romanian dead lift for balanceStanding on one leg, hinge your torso down while raising the opposite leg, pointed down to the floor. Keep your standing knee slightly bent and keep the hips square to the ground. Hold cans in each hand for added weight. Switch and repeat.

☆ How did Democrats make it so close in the House midterm elections?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +18 min

While the GOP did still take the House, the close margin of victory was a performance well below what was possible. Here are eight perspectives from across the ideological spectrum on why the Democrats were able to make it so close. And this reality was essential given the defection of Black and Latino voters to the Republican Party and its candidates. America can credit Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s obstruction of a democracy bill and an economic bill for the narrow Republican House majority. But now, America needs to deal with a Republican House, thanks in good part to Manchin’s obstruction.

Officials in Philadelphia voted at an emergency meeting Tuesday morning to reinstate a security measure that could dramatically slow vote counting in Pennsylvania's most populous city. The procedure, known as poll book reconciliation, requires temporarily halting vote counting to scan poll books into the voting system to ensure those who've voted in person did not also vote by mail. Philadelphia is the only one of the 67 counties in the battleground state that will use the procedure during the count. Turnout is expected to be much higher Tuesday, with the hotly-contested Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz. He also said his group had been trying to work with Philadelphia election officials for weeks, and "if there are delays, only the commissioners are to blame."

☆ How an OnlyFans star built her income to over $100K a month — and the different platforms she uses
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Jp Mangalindan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When Nita Marie joined OnlyFans in 2019, she was experiencing financial difficulties. But the OnlyFans creator was also wise to invest 20% of her monthly earnings back into buying "shoutouts." Many content creators rely on the cross-promotional practice for follower and income growth. While other OnlyFans creators have experimented with their pricing, Nita Marie's pricing hasn't changed since she joined the platform. For personalized videos, the OnlyFans creator charges $75 for one-minute videos and $175 for videos ranging from five to seven minutes.

☆ See the presentations that hot healthcare startups used to raise millions from top VCs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the presentations obtained by Insider that healthcare startups have used to raise millions. Even so, healthcare startups raised $15.8 billion in the first half of the year, according to Silicon Valley Bank. Insider rounded up all the presentations we've published that healthcare startups have used to raise cash from investors. For instance, check out the 13-slide presentation heart-health startup Miga Health used to raise $12 million in seed funding. Brightside used this presentation to break through a crowded field of mental health startups and convince VCs to invest $24 million.

☆ ‘My Aching Heart Is Shattered Into Little Pieces’
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-24 | by ( Patricia Mazzei | Rose Marie Cromwell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

‘My Aching Heart Is Shattered Into Little Pieces’A year ago, Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside, Fla. The lives of those who lost loved ones and homes have never been the same. Leer en españolJune 24, 2022SURFSIDE, Fla. — A year later, the shock of the collapse of Champlain Towers South has not worn off. Not for the people whose loved ones died crushed in the rubble. “My aching heart is shattered into little pieces and beyond repair,” Eileen Rosenberg, whose daughter, Malky Weisz, was killed, said in court on Thursday.

Persons: Miamians, Heirlooms, ” Eileen Rosenberg, Malky Weisz Locations: Champlain Towers, Surfside, Fla, Leer, SURFSIDE, —, South Florida

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