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The Eau Claire novel Native has caused a…

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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THERE SHE STANDS. Eau Claire native Jane Culver (from a 1934 Wisconsin State Journal article) and her novel, published that year by Houghton Mifflin.

As Chippewa Valley residents, we’ve grown accustomed to having a lot of big-name authors around: Nickolas Butler, Michael Perry, John Hildebrand, BJ Hollars, and I could go on and on.

However, this has not always been the case. In 1934, a book came out in New York that caused a stir in the Eau Claire community.

So I stood by Jane Culver was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1934. Culver, known as Mary Jane in Eau Claire circles, spent the first 18 years of her life in the city. His parents were both born in Eau Claire. Jane’s father, Joseph, was a real estate professional. His mother was the former Mary McDonough. Jane grew up in two homes in Eau Claire: 312 Jefferson and 600 Oak Place. Culver also had other relatives still living in Eau Claire, namely the Wickams and the Welches.

Her parents left Eau Claire for Florida, then moved to Akron, Ohio. Jane attended Columbia University. She lived in New York but spent her summers with her parents in Akron.

According to a New York Times review, the book “presents a writer of astonishing maturity and imaginative understanding.”

It took him four years to write So I stood. She said that many Eau Claire residents could recognize themselves in the book, but I could never find any accounts of people who did.

It was her first novel, which she wrote using the stream of consciousness method made famous by James Joyce. The title of the book was taken from one of Emily Brontë’s poems.

According to a New York Times review, the book “presents a writer of astonishing maturity and imaginative understanding. It is a psychological novel, the experiences of a soul’s growth, from childhood, characterized by poetic imagination, vivid emotional values ​​and a cloak of fear – to adolescence, colored by changed fortunes. of the family. The heroine, having a religious conflict with her father and realizing that her mother had a flawed and frivolous temper, turns to her brother for love and understanding.

It sounded so dramatic that I was surprised to read Margaret Cheney Dawson’s article from the New York Herald Tribune that said, “The virtues of her writing are abundant and tangible. He has a great personality, a flair for the newly brilliant and revealing phrase, and frequent passages of delightful humor.

The book was available for sale at the Eau Claire bookstore where it sold very well. Another book that became available at the bookstore was A Mystery by Thomas Polsky in 1939. Culver and Polsky had married in 1936. After attending Harvard and the Sorbonne, he began his career as a newspaper writer in Akron before moving on to writing novels full time. The couple lived in a writers colony in Weaverville, North Carolina, near Asheville. Polsky published his mysteries throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. Culver’s book is available at LE Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire, and Polsky’s books can be found on Amazon and other homes. Sold out, but be prepared to pay $30-$600 for them.

China International Book Trading Corporation’s Reading China Series 1 focuses on the concept of a community of shared future for mankind

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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BEIJING, September 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — China International Book Trading Corporation, has published the first part of While reading China, a premium interview series. This series of interviews focuses on “A Community with a Shared Destiny for Humanity”, “High-Quality Development” and other key issues of concern to the international community, interviewing experts in international relations, politics and economics to explain their understanding of China development pathways and practices.

China International Book Trading Corporation Reading China Series 1

Three honorable guests, namely, Zoon Ahmed Khan, a researcher at the Institute of Belt and Road Strategy, Tsinghua University, Harvey DzodineSenior Research Fellow at the Center for China and globalization and Donatien Niyonzimaformer Editor-in-Chief of the Official Gazette in the Office of the Prime Minister of Rwanda were invited to discuss together on the theme “A community of shared destiny for humanity”.

Faced with a complex international situation and the threat of a Cold War mindset and power politics, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled “Working together to build a community with a shared future for humanity” in January 2017 at the headquarters of the United Nations office in Geneva. President Xi said “WWe should work together to build a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation.“

Zoon Ahmad Khan believed that developed countries should understand that the prosperity of China and other developing countries is inevitable, and it is not the hegemony that these countries seek.

Against the backdrop of a slow recovery of the global economy, complex changes in the international investment and trade landscape as well as the context of multilateral investment and trade, President Xi Jinping in 2013 proposed the initiative ” the Belt and Road” as a major initiative to promote interconnectivity between countries and economic integration across continents.

Harvey Dzodine expressed that it has been proven that the Belt and Road Initiative will lead to a debt trap or that China obliges developing countries to agree to agreements; and he thinks that China does not want to dominate other countries in this way, but rather help participating countries prosper through win-win cooperation.

Donatien Niyonzima said the Belt and Road Initiative has opened up more opportunities for cooperation between China and his country of origin Rwanda in the areas of infrastructure development, education and even e-commerce.

Contact person:

Wei Ting
Such. : 0086-15510715556
E-mail: [email protected]

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/pTK9Gr8WkdA

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTK9Gr8WkdA
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1902806/CIBTC_Logo.jpg

SOURCE China International Book Trading Corporation

Target and Sprouts planned for Arden-Guthrie property in San Bernardino – San Bernardino Sun

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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At Target, Sprouts and Burlington Coat Factory were offered for the Arden-Guthrie property in east San Bernardino by a San Pedro developer the city intends to do business with.

Plans for over 17 acres of vacant land southwest of East Highland and Arden Avenues have come and gone the past two decades as city officials sought to redevelop the site create jobs for low- and middle-income residents.

Dumbarton Avenue and E. 20th Street sign sits on vacant land near the 210 freeway in San Bernardino on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. San Bernardino is in the process of selling the 17-plus-acre lot to the developer of the long- stranded the Arden-Guthrie project. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

San Bernardino executives agreed to sell the Arden-Guthrie property to a Redlands developer two years ago, but the $4.5 million deal was terminated in June 2021.

The 17.4-acre site just south of Highway 210, which at one time had a group of apartments considered one of the city’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods, was later declared surplus land, giving affordable housing developers and public entities the first chance to purchase it.

In the absence of viable responses from these privileged groups, Rich Development finally emerged from a pool of potential developers earlier this year, and city staff and company representatives have been meeting regularly these months to discuss the project site, according to a report prepared for the city council. .

The elected officials will consider entering into an exclusive negotiation agreement with the firm on Wednesday, September 21.

Such a pact is in effect for six months, with two possible extensions of 90 days, if mutually agreed.

An ENA requires a developer to provide a proposed development plan, proposed zoning changes or changes to the general city plan, a list of potential users or tenants, a proposed schedule and cost estimates, and a proposed financing plan, among other documents.

Rich Development, the company behind Marketplace at El Paseo in Fresno, Prospector’s Plaza in Placerville and The Trading Post in Clovis, has launched a sprawling commercial plaza in San Bernardino with a large flagship store, three small flagship stores, four food blocks and a convenience store/gas station.

Tenants will include Target, Sprouts and Burlington, city employees report.

San Bernardino currently has only one target, on Orange Show Road. Its north location on Sterling Avenue closed in 2018 after underperforming for years.

Sprouts Market would be the first in town.

City Council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Feldheym Library, 555 W. Sixth St. in San Bernardino.

PNBA prepares for a season “beyond dynamic” at the opening of the fall show

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association’s fall trade show kicked off Sunday in Tacoma, Wash., with about 200 registered booksellers, 91 exhibitors and 80 authors gathering at the artwork-decorated Murano Hotel. Opening day meant marathon rep-choice sessions, a soft opening of the exhibit hall that gave everyone a chance to mingle, and an evening Nightcapper reception with 17 authors signing works.

“The bookstore front is beyond vibrant right now,” PNBA executive director Brian Juenemann told attendees of the members’ meeting. The organization’s accounting report noted that due to Covid, the organization’s “2021 dues revenue was well below normal”, but the PNBA is “in the dark” and “still in a financial position.” very solid”. Juenemann said independent presses and publishers from the Big Five will be present at PNBA, and he was “delighted to find [while planning the gathering] that there was no hesitation in the industry to support us.

While the PNBA limited Portland’s gathering last year to 75% of pre-pandemic attendance, Juenemann said he allowed 85% to 90% capacity this year. Other budgetary considerations include expanding the PNBA holiday catalog from print to a greater digital presence. While a print version is still available, Juenemann said a drop in small town and neighborhood newspapers means that paper supplements are harder to distribute and direct mail flyers targeted at ZIP codes are more expensive. which makes the digital format more viable for some locations. .

At the membership meeting, ABA Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger urged booksellers to sign the ABFE’s banned books petition, become Indies Introduce contributors and plan well in advance the Winter Institute already on hold. (A hotel block for Wi23 in Seattle opens next week.) Following this season’s trade shows, ABA will compile the results of the ABACUS survey, with data breakdowns by region for the first time. More than 400 bookstores submitted ABACUS data, including 34 PNBA member stores.

Judey Kalchik, communications and project manager for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, provided an update on BINC, which she said receives “10 to 13 calls or emails a week” from booksellers seeking financial assistance for the housing or health care. Hospitals often require a full deposit from franchises before scheduling surgery, Kalchik said, placing a huge burden on bookstore owners and staff. BINC helps people access mental health services and professional development too, and focus groups are underway for “a pilot program to help open bookstores in underserved markets.”

Before the showroom, book reps tossed titles and shared insider tips in a three-hour nonstop book binge. Introducing Alice Oseman’s next novel I was born for this (Scholastic, October 18), Chris Satterlund added that “David Levithan says Heartstopper series two should drop any day now.” Christina Foye boosted Born of legend coming soon from author Tracy Deonn bloodied (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, November 8). “Don’t even think about this one, just buy a carton,” Foye told Everyone.

HBG’s Shaun Donley presented a $29 gold embossed hardcover edition of Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel Truth (Grand Central, September 29), which includes a letter from the author and a bonus chapter. “Most of you ordered a little light on this,” he warned, “but it might fade between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ve never seen reprints as aggressive as what we do. on Hoover. “Order one box, order two, his fans are raving,” agreed S&S rep Megan Manning, praising Hoover. It starts with us (Atria, October 18).

The PNBA organized the show by making Sunday a chance to meet and greet, Monday an exhibition day with a BuzzBooks contest and a party, and Tuesday a conclusion with training sessions.

How Classes Are Hurting Your Wallet Once The Bill Is Paid – Amherst Wire

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Whether you acquire all of your textbooks weeks before the start of the semester, during the first week of class, bit by bit throughout the semester, or not at all, textbook affordability remains a rather concerning hurdle to overcome each year for students. The cost of tuition and fees for a single academic year for a full-time in-state undergraduate student is $16,952 which includes a technology fee and a student activity fee. Depending on a student’s private lessons, additional textbooks and materials are needed to participate and prepare for their lessons. Without these additional documents, a student may already fall behind in their first month of classes or face further setbacks as they progress through the semester.

While some professors send their programs weeks before the start of the semester, many students consult their programs several days before the start of their classes. Then it’s a race against the clock and against the other students to gather all the necessary materials for several courses. Limited copies of textbooks are quickly loaned out to all nearby libraries while independent bookstores are teeming with students trying to find what they need. However, what does a student do when all of these resources fail? When local, online, and major book retailers are out of stock or just too expensive for students, where can a student turn?

According to Education Data Initiativea group of data resources aimed at studying the rising costs of higher education, the average cost a student pays each year for books and supplies is between $628 and $1,471. Although not all students need to purchase multiple textbooks and additional materials for their classes, a single textbook can cost a student $105.37.

In my personal experience as an English major, textbooks add up, regardless of their individual price. Most of the books I’ve had to buy can be found used for less than $10 because they’re often in the public domain, but that makes them pretty much useless to try to resell. Newly published books from the past decade can still be hard to find, and some teachers need specific editions that can be hard to find at an affordable price. It is therefore extremely difficult to access all these books through the library system or to find them in local bookstores.

While a student should be prepared to pay extra for their individual lessons, why is it so expensive to learn in a course that already costs hundreds of dollars? Why are textbooks and teaching resources not affordable for many students, but still needed every year?

At a time when there are so many online resources and databases available and photocopiers in most academic institutions, why is the cost of education still so unreasonably high in institutions that claim to be fighting for the inclusion and equity? Especially when students who depend on financial aidare first generation and/or are members of minority groups may face more barriers than their peers in obtaining such documents.

Although this has been a problem that students have faced for decades, there are things that can be done now to help students in need. Instructors can review the total cost of the materials assigned to them to determine whether or not they are affordable for students. They can also provide online resources and printed materials to ensure that all students have access to the lesson. Teachers can also use Umass Library course reserves to ensure that every student enrolled in their class can use the school’s resources. Students can also contact the Umass Library or visit their acquire help page to review specific questions posed by other peers at any time. Students cannot get the most out of their education until professors change the affordability of their classroom materials.

A trade unionist and a lover of heritage

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Walter Zahra, 1912-2003

by Sergio Grech

published by Wirt iż-Żejtun, 2022

The treasures of Malta’s cities, towns and villages often remain unknown to non-residents. In recent years, organizations such as Wirt iż-Żejtun raise awareness of this “hidden” heritage and present it to a wider audience.

Fortunately, Wirt iż-Żejtun believes that such a heritage is not just limited to aesthetic experience; there are several remarkable lives that deserve to be remembered and celebrated. In recent years he has published several publications recalling the achievements of the architect and military engineer Michele Cachia and the composer Carlo Diacono, among others.

This year, the same organization launched a book by historian Sergio Grech on the life of trade unionist, activist and author Walter Zahra (1912-2003).

Zahra – the father of author Trevor Zahra – lived a remarkable life which coincides with the period when the idea of ​​the Maltese nation was cemented and developed. In this, as Grech amply demonstrates, Zahra was no mere spectator.

Born in December 1912, Walter Zahra showed academic promise from an early age. Some of his high school colleagues will make a name for themselves. Among them were Justice Wallace Gulia and Bishop Emanuel Gerada.

There were some shortcomings in high school. Studying at the height of the “language question” was not easy: Maltese was not taught, so Zahra had to learn Maltese herself.

Likewise, history was a controversial subject – the curriculum veered between British history and Roman history at the expense of Maltese history.

In his day, Zahra was active in the Catholic Social Guild. This whetted his appetite for learning in different fields, including ethics, sociology, and public administration. It also imbued in him an appreciation and love for Catholic social teaching, which ultimately inspired his Catholic-inspired sociology.

His employment in the British services in Malta led to his transfer to Alexandria in Egypt in May 1940. He remained there until 1944.

While in Egypt, Zahra actively participated in the activities of the then large Maltese community. He was secretary of Il-Qawmien Malta – a movement created to promote Maltese culture and publish books in Maltese. He was a representative of the Alexandria base Xirka għat-Tixrid tal-Qari Maltiwhich had the motto:F’Ilsien artna l-għaqda tal-Maltin, Is-saħħa u l-qawwa ta’ nazzjon żagħżugħa(In our mother tongue lies the unity of the Maltese, the strength of a young nation).

This organization combined the promotion of Maltese literature with the encouragement of a national conscience. He was also editor for Il-Qari tal-Malti (based in Port Said) and a correspondent for Il-Ħabbar Malta (based in Cairo).

Zahra is currently not commemorated in her hometown

Upon his return to Malta, Zahra became active in political and trade union circles. He was a close friend of Sir Paul Boffa, whom he had known and admired for some time because of his support for the Maltese language. Zahra was initially also an active member of the General Workers’ Union.

However, he cut off contact with this union when he got involved in non-industrial matters. This did not, however, prevent Zahra from being an active trade unionist, founding unions for artists, fishermen and quarries, among others.

When the Labor Party split in 1949, Zahra followed Boffa rather than Mintoff. He was on the executive of the New Malta Workers’ Party and edited the party’s newspaper Leħen il-Ħaddiem between 1950 and 1951. He also contested the 1950 election, although he only managed to garner 128 votes.

Grech’s book offers some interesting insights into the character of Sir Paul Boffa. As a close associate, Zahra was able to provide some insightful observations. First, Zahra believed the war had helped Boffa mature to the point that his first government had a more Christian-Democratic tone. Second, Zahra thought Boffa was not an extremist.

The encyclical Rerum Novarum deeply inspired him. Unlike other socialists, his concern was not with waging class wars against private property and enterprise, but with ensuring that wealth was properly distributed.

In 1950, there were attempts to reconcile the two parties. In 1951, there was a tacit agreement that the two sides were not to attack each other. However, despite mediation from various quarters, the merger failed.

Walter Zahra wrote several books about Żejtun, including one about St. Catherine’s Parish Church. Photo: Shutterstock.com

His second active period in politics was in the 1960s, at the height of the crisis between the Church and the Labor Party. Zahra was an active member of the Christian Workers’ Party led by Toni Pellegrini. Again, Zahra was a member of the executive and editor of the party newspaper Ca-Tarka. The editorial line was fiercely anti-communist and opposed to Mintoff and Borg Olivier, while being sympathetic to Archbishop Gonzi.

Despite her foray into politics, Zahra’s love for the written word and the Maltese language has never left her. Neither does his passion for his hometown. He was active in heritage circles. He wrote several books about Żejtun, including one about the parish church of St. Catherine, the old parish church of St. Gregory, and a volume about the history of Żejtun until 1798.

He has translated several books into Maltese and has been involved in publishing projects with the Klabb Qari Nisrani. Several of his manuscripts unfortunately remain unpublished. He also maintained a healthy correspondence with various authors, including the national poet Dun Karm Psaila.

He also ensured that many of his fellow citizens were adequately commemorated. Paradoxically, Zahra is currently not commemorated in her hometown. Nevertheless, Grech’s Book helps ensure that this is rectified. His book ensures that this prolific writer and citizen inspired by Catholic social teaching will not be forgotten.

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A transit center for Central Asia and Eurasia

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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The Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Chabahar Port in the inter-regional and Eurasian connectivity architecture, first during the Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Cooperation Organization of Shanghai (OCS), then again during the recent celebration of “Chabahar Day”. . The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for cross-regional trade was proposed by Pakistan’s foreign minister, while India pushed for Chabahar port to serve as a major trade route to Central Asia, during of the recent meeting of SCO foreign ministers.

Jaishankar shared the table with the Chinese Wang Yi, the Pakistani Bilawal Bhutto, the Russian Sergei Lavrov and the leaders of the countries of Central Asia while underlining the potential of the port of Chabahar in Iran for the economic future of the grouping. India also welcomed Iran’s inclusion in the SCO, a process that is expected to start at the Samarkand summit later this year.

Chabahar and India’s connectivity to Eurasia

The Chabahar Agreement, also known as the Trilateral Agreement, was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan in May 2016 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran. Its aim was to develop the Iranian port of Chabahar as a maritime hub with rail links linking India to Afghanistan via Iran, bypassing Pakistan. It was designed as a win-win deal and was meant to benefit countries economically. It has provided landlocked Afghanistan with access to global shipping routes. For Iran, the deal meant investment and economic reintegration, which the country desperately needed after years of harsh international sanctions. Furthermore, it provided India with a way to circumvent Pakistan in its pursuit westward and also control the growing China-Pakistan tie.

The port of Chabahar, on the energy-rich country’s south coast, is easily accessible from India’s west coast and is increasingly seen as a rival to Pakistan’s port of Gwadar, which is just 80 kilometers away. Chabahar. Since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the first phase of Chabahar Port in December 2017, it has become a commercial transit hub for the region and a more stable and economical alternative for landlocked countries to reach India and the market. global.

Asked about India’s interest in the development of Chabahar port, Jaishankar replied that India is interested because if Iran develops more ports, the connectivity of these ports to northern regions of Iran would improve. It makes available more land trade channels, which are more efficient than these sea routes. Being more competitive in the flow of goods is therefore essential for economic progress today. For India, it creates two new trade routes: one to Central Asia and the other to the Caucasus.

After the blocking of the Suez Canal in 2021, the need to establish alternative trade routes between Europe and Asia has become imperative. In the same year, Jaishankar also proposed that Chabahar Port be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to enhance regional connectivity. This gives a clear picture of how India is developing its routes to all of Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as to Europe.

Chabahar Port is a crucial effort for India to provide maritime access to Afghanistan. India’s first cargo of goods to Afghanistan was sent via Chabahar port in 2017, and on February 24, 2019, Afghanistan bypassed Pakistan to send its first cargo of exports to India via the port of Chabahar. As a result, the port has become a more affordable and reliable route as well as a commercial transit hub for the region.

Chabahar’s development was crucial to India’s economic and strategic interests. Access to the port gave India’s West Asia policy a stronger strategic impetus. It also helps to advance India’s soft power diplomacy. A notable example would be the role that the port of Chabahar played in the distribution of humanitarian aid during Covid-19.

India also used it to transport 75,000 tons of wheat as food aid to Afghanistan in 2020. Strategically, the Chabahar project offered India access to a port just 90 kilometers from Gwadar, a port essential to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative and a symbol of China. growing influence in neighboring India. Notably, it was the first time that India started to manage a port outside its borders.

Conclusion

As India prepares to assume the SCO presidency next year, fundamental changes are underway, including the inclusion of Iran as a full member. India and Iran both support connecting South Asia and Europe through INSTC. The SCO framework is expected to put more emphasis on connectivity through Chabahar in the near future. Chabahar Port has shown its potential to become a transit hub for Central Asia and Eurasia at a time when Asian countries, especially landlocked ones, are reinventing their connectivity prospects.

The project has encountered several difficulties, largely due to the international sanctions imposed on Iran because of its nuclear program and the coercive policy adopted by the Trump administration. However, the recent reaffirmation by India and Iran of their commitment to continue working together on the development of Chabahar port as a transit hub for the region, including Central Asia, has revived interest of the general public for what the future holds for Chabahar.

Esha Banerji is majoring in Defense and Strategic Studies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the position of this publication.

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Galway runner recounts his family’s cross-country journey in ‘Better Together’ – The Daily Gazette

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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As he trained on the pavement for ultramarathons and the US Olympic trials, Galway runner and physical therapist Shaun Evans thought he had big goals.

Then his son Shamus raised the bar. Shamus, who has cerebral palsy, floated the idea of ​​a trek of some 3,200 miles across the United States, with Evans running and Shamus in a moving chariot. Along the way, they donated shopping carts to children in need, in conjunction with the national non-profit Ainsley’s Angels.

“I thought I was setting big dreams for myself,” Evans remarked. “Shamus stepped in and came up with something bigger than I ever thought was humanly possible.”

Evans recounts the 2015 trip in her book “Better Together,” published this summer. The story also delves into Evans’ childhood, his years at Notre Dame College and later starting a family with his wife Nichole. Racing vignettes are woven throughout.

Schenectady’s Open Door Bookstore will host a book signing with Evans from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 25.

Evans ran track in high school, but it wasn’t until grad school that he started running long distances. He ran the Philadelphia Marathon on a whim and nearly qualified for the Boston Marathon.

“Then I started to get a little more serious about it and set my goals, not just running the Boston Marathon, which I’ve done eight times, but trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials.” , said Evans.

He came within four minutes of qualifying and for a time his racing career was sidelined by a series of injuries.

Amid all of this, Shamus was born in 2006 and a year later was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which affects his ability to walk. During the first years of Shamus’ life, Evans took him for runs in a baby jogger. As Shamus moved past this, they switched to a Freedom Push chair, which they obtained with the help of Ainsley’s Angels. The organization provides racing wheelchairs to children who need them and promotes a sense of inclusion that many children with disabilities never experience.

“Once he got those wheels he decided he wanted to try racing me,” Evans said.

They started with Firecracker 4 in Saratoga and soon after they held their first ultramarathon, which was a six-hour closed-course timed event.

“I thought Shamus would get tired of going around in circles after a few minutes,” Evans said.

Instead, Shamus was addicted. Throughout the race, he told Evans about one of the “Harry Potter” books he was reading at the time and the father-son duo won the race, covering more than 45 miles.

While Evans was congratulating himself on the victory, Shamus, who was 7 years old at the time, thought of going much further.

He brought up the idea of ​​a summer cross-country run and Shaun and Nichole got the wheels rolling.

“We had about 18 months to train, fundraise and plan logistics. We needed every second of those 18 months,” Evans said.

Evans worked with Shamus to determine the route they would take and how many miles they would need to travel each day for it to happen in one summer. Nichole and the Evans’ youngest son, Simon, planned to follow and act as a pit crew, helping Evans stay hydrated and nourished, which was no small feat when he was burning thousands of calories a day. day.

The family also worked to raise over $100,000 and donate a rolling cart to a child in each of the states they passed through.

They started the trip by dipping Shamus’ toes in the ocean off Seattle. The first half of the trip was scenic as they racked up miles through the Cascade Mountains, the Continental Divide and Mount Rushmore.

“Then it starts turning into cornfields in Iowa. It went on for a long time,” Evans said.

As they traveled dozens of sometimes dreary miles, Shaun and Shamus found inspiration in the people they met along the way. Many knew about the family’s trip and brought them water or snacks.

“Everyone who has helped us along the way has really restored our faith in humanity,” Evans said. “There are so many good people who wanted to be a part of what we were doing.”

By the time they were done – to cap off the trip by dipping Shamus’ toes in the Atlantic Ocean – they had donated 35 rolling tanks.

Shamus wasn’t done dreaming though. Just two years later, the duo raced down the Mississippi River (about 1,700 miles), donating racing chairs and promoting the work Ainsley’s Angels are doing along the way.

With their second big trip down the books, Evans set her sights on a new challenge.

“We would meet people and say, ‘Shaun, you have to write a book about everything you’ve done,'” Evans said.

Writing had long been something Evans loved to do, so he put pen to paper a few years ago and penned “Better Together: A Memoir of Persistence, Inclusion, and a Family’s Power to Overcome.”

The chapters are short, around five or six pages, and the whole book is just over 300 pages. It was published by Mascot Books.

Shamus hopes to write a follow-up book with Evans, telling the story of other feats the family has accomplished since their cross-country run.

“It’s just a matter of finding the time to do it,” Evans said with a laugh.

For more information on the dedication visit bookstore-opendoor.com.

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Categories: Life and Arts, Life and Arts, Saratoga County

Best sellers of the week: September 19, 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Portrait of the author

The portrait of marriage by Maggie O’Farrell debuts at number six on our list of hardcover novels. It’s a “lush and provocative historical one”, according to our star-studded reviewer, which “follows a young woman married at 15 through the complex world of 16th-century Italian city-states”. O’Farrell’s previous novel, 2020s Hamnettook five months to make it to our list and to date has sold nearly 300,000 copies in print.

In the Land of Clubs

by Javier Zamora Lonely, Read with Jenna’s September pick, lands at #9 on our hardcover nonfiction list. It’s “a hugely moving story of despair and hardship” according to our star-studded reviewer, recounting “his childhood migration from El Salvador to the United States” Zamora’s 2017 debut, not accompaniedtransmitted his experiences in verse, but, he recently told the Guardian, he discovered that prose could do what poetry could not. “In poetry, there is a lot of white space. I think it’s a metaphor for how, on the surface, I was coping with what had happened to me. With the help of a therapist and meditation, I really put in a lot of effort to look at my past to understand myself better. And in doing so, I had the time, space, and sanity to fill the page.

What a journey

Mo Willems has the No. 10 book in the country with The Pigeon will ride the roller coaster!, the eighth title featuring his irascible avian persona. “Every Pigeon book is a reaction,” Willems said. TP in an interview ahead of his US Book Show 2022 keynote. “The Pigeon find, wanna, Needs, gets, can not, mustand this time it will be fine Something. It involves planning, expectation, acceptance and readjustment. Pigeon’s new release, Willems suggested, reflects what many readers have been going through lately: “Have your last few years been a roller coaster?

NEW & REMARKABLE

FAIRY TALE
Stephen King
#1 Hardcover Fiction, #1 Overall
A teenager finds a portal to another world in the latest King, “an overly long fantasy likely to appeal to his YA fans,” according to our review. “The illustrations at the start of each chapter, along with descriptions of what they include, convey more of a youthful feel. This attempt to create a sense of wonder and magic fails.

TOWARDS UTOPIA
J. Bradford DeLong
#16 Hardcover Nonfiction
“Dramatic economic growth during the long 20th century [1870–2010] fueled visionary hopes, but never quite realized them, according to this in-depth study” by UC Berkeley economic historian DeLong, according to our star-studded review. “The author imparts a wealth of information in elegant, accessible prose, combining broad period perspectives with compelling discussions of everything from AC electricity to the gender wage gap.”


A version of this article originally appeared in the 09/19/2022 issue of Weekly editors under the title: Behind the bestsellers from September 4 to 10, 2022

Print sales fell 1.6% in early September

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Print book unit sales decreased 1.6% in the week ended September 10, 2022, compared to the comparable week of 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Adult fiction was the only category to increase during the week, with sales jumping 16.1%. Several new titles contributed to the rise, led by Stephen King’s Fairy talewhich sold over 128,000 copies in its first week. A court of silver flames by Sarah Maas sold nearly 42,000 copies, placing it #4 in the category rankings, while JD Robb’s despair in death sold nearly 26,000 copies, placing it in ninth place on the list of adult novels. Adult nonfiction unit sales fell 7.1% from a year ago. At Jennette McCurdy’s I’m happy my mom passed away remained at No. 1, selling just under 30,000 copies. by Jonathan Cahn The return of the gods was in second place, selling over 24,000 copies. Other great new books included Health at a Glance by Danielle Walker (about 16,000 copies sold); dinner in one by Melissa Clark (over 11,000 copies sold); and The leadership crisis by Stuart Scheller (over 8,000 copies sold). Sales of children’s fiction fell by 4.4% despite the good performance of several new releases. The Will of the Pigeon Ride the roller coaster by Mo Willems was the top title in the category, selling over 26,000 copies, while jessy’s secret Tongue (The Babysitters Club Graphic Novel #12) by Ann M. Martin was in second place, selling nearly 17,000 copies. at Tracey West Keep the dragons invisible sold over 13,000 copies, placing it at number five on the category’s bestseller list.


A version of this article originally appeared in the 09/19/2022 issue of Weekly editors under the title: The Weekly Scorecard

Angelo Exarhakos, CEO of Universal Distribution

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

We sat down with CEO Angelo Exarhakos of Universal Distribution, which operates three distribution centers in Canada wholesale comics, games, trading cards and other products, and talked about the Canadian market, lessons of the pandemic, the planned expansion in the United States, and more.

ICv2: For our readers who may not be familiar with Universal Distribution, can you describe your business and the type of business you do, the parts of the business you work in?
Angelo Exarhakos: Sure. We created the Universal Distribution company in 1989 when we were very young, I was 21, with the idea of ​​trying to find our passion, and above all to become a comic book distributor. We started with the comics.

We finally started to add different lines such as sports cards, game cards, Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and board games. The idea was to have a true one-stop source for your typical comics/games store so you could provide them with products and services, and ways to create a better experience for their customers.

We recently learned that you’ve added DC as a direct supplier, expanding your business on the comics side (see “DC opens new direct distributor”). Talk a bit about the comics business in Canada, how it might be different from the US, and how you feel about expanding into this new way of doing business.
In Canada, due to our smaller population base in a large landmass, most of our stores are what we call hybrid stores. They basically offer a combination of comic books, game cards, board games, sports cards, and collectibles.

We don’t have many areas other than the actual metropolitan areas of Montreal, Toronto, maybe Vancouver to some degree that have the population density to support just a comic book store, purely a card store sport. Most places should have a variety of sources of income for these customers.

We like this because you see that a customer can have multiple interests. We see a lot of crossovers. People who read comics usually enjoy playing games. Many of them like to play Dungeons & Dragons when they read comics.

There’s a lot of interrelationship between these categories, and that’s something we’ve tried to focus on as a company. It is an added value for our key partners to be able to present their products to new readers.

It also gives us the opportunity to help customers in stores who may not have the comfort level in a certain category to create a new revenue stream for them and to create a more complete experience for a typical collector. or a player entering their shop.

What is the general state of the comics and games market in Canada?
It’s very good, obviously with the madness of the last three years, the vagaries of COVID, and not only in terms of business. Generally, we have always believed that our business is very resilient to economic downturns and recessions. Recession proof or recession proof is what we’ve always heard of the collectibles industry. We had no idea what it would look like during a pandemic. We never knew what it was going to look like.

Emotionally, it was quite a roller coaster ride for many traders. I know I had conversations at the start of the pandemic, when we had the first lockdowns, with retailers who had invested huge sums of money to open a new store. I had guys literally crying on the phone, literally in tears, sobbing like babies about what happened to their business. These same people, two weeks later, recall in this joy saying: “I can’t believe how much business I am doing. All my clients are calling me, either on the phone or by contacting me via social media. social network that I communicate with them, and they want products.”

|This is critical, because it told me several things, and most importantly, it’s not just that our category is weathering economic downturns. What it is that what we all love about this company is the escape it gives us from the crazy real world.

We all love being able to come home after a hard day at the office, having been bombarded with different stresses in our lives and opening a comic book. All of a sudden, you’re in this moment, you’re in there, and you’re in a different world, and you’re away from that, your normal, crazy life.

It’s what we all like at the end of the day. The pandemic has shown that more than anything, we’re in an escape category, and that’s wonderful. This is what we do. That’s why I love what we do.

The second thing I think it revealed, and the other part of why I love what I do for a living, is the connection that we as an industry have from the top , from the publisher, all the way down to the final consumer.

It’s such a special, close-knit relationship, but above all that between the merchant and the customer. It’s a fantastic relationship that’s extremely strong, and it’s shown throughout the pandemic. How our category was able to convert that in-store purchase and experience through these closures into one that worked through social media platforms was unique.

We haven’t seen this in many other places. It was very unique, because we are involved in a way of life. Even when times are great (there’s no pandemic, there’s no economic downturn), this person (and I was and still am one of them) likes to be constantly engaged. in his hobby.

I’m constantly checking my phone and my feed about new games, new comics, all the new shows coming out, all those things. That’s what we like. That’s what we like to do.

Fans were always connected to this store owner about new comic book releases, new event happening, new Magic preview coming. It was always already there. As a store owner, you had to make sure you were always in touch with your customers, making sure they knew what was coming.

When the pandemic hit and the lockdown happened, they had a way to communicate with those customers; they were already connected; they converted all that demand. Because people were home and needed the escape more than ever, they were able to convert that into sales.

This was one of the biggest issues I saw when Diamond decided to stop shipping products. As a category, we were very conflicted at that time. You close, you obviously have to protect your staff, and the world goes to hell in a hand basket. At the same time, people rely on us for these products.

They need this escape. They want to be able to sit down and read something and not think about the crazy things that just happened in the world that they’ve had enough. They want to escape. They don’t want to turn on the TV. They don’t want to turn on the radio. They just want to sit down and read a comic.

Comics and games are essential business, you say. [laughs]
One hundred percent, really! That’s what we felt. We felt we had to be there for our customers right now. We really needed to be there. I don’t want to sound like I’m exaggerating, but I think our company has emotionally helped people through this. Our category has managed to get people thinking about something else for a while. There was a lot of value in there.

In our coverage of your new deal with DC, we pointed this out when we asked if you were considering expanding your sales beyond Canada, and you said yes. Can you talk a bit about it and what are your plans?
The main driving force behind what we are trying to accomplish in our partnership with DC is to expand the readership of DC Comics. For me, the border does not matter. It means nothing when it comes to this.

We need to make sure that we are able to supply comics to any retailer who wants to sell them and introduce them to their fans. Again, Lunar sells products in Canada, as does Diamond, and we have no problem with that. I don’t think it matters in the end.

If a customer on the block I’m sitting on right now thinks they’re better served by Lunar who’s across the continent, that’s their right, and they should have that right. If they think they are best served by someone next to them, they should have that right as well.

I believe there is a lot of business there. I don’t think we have to worry about taking each other’s market share. Emphasis should be placed on the creation of new businesses. This is where we add value. If we as distributors ever forget that, we don’t need to be there. They can sell directly. They don’t need us.

We need to be able to add value to this equation, and the value we add helps our retailers create a fantastic experience in their stores so they can attract new customers. This is the key.

How would you ship to a customer in the United States? Do you have a shipping location in the United States?
We do, and obviously we have plans to come. You might be able to tell that we have a genuine passion for the business, so we have no intention of holding anything back, no obstacles, to enable us to engage with the fanbase wherever that is. ‘they are.

Do you currently sell games in the United States or do you plan to sell games in the United States?
We currently do not. We are very, very careful, because we have contractual limitations. Every business is a little different. Currently, we do not sell most of our [game] products in the United States If we sell comics to retailers in the United States, it’s a conversation we need to have with our suppliers to see who thinks it would add value to their business.

As I said earlier, at the end of the day, our job is to execute the vision of our key partners. If there is a partner who simply believes that they want to keep the border separate, we will absolutely respect that, because they have their own plan and their own strategy. We must be part of it.

I do think, however, that the comics business is a bit of a unique situation because distribution has remained static for so long. We are evolving. It’s probably unfair to compare it to distribution with board games or CCGs.

They’ve evolved very, very differently over the last 25 years than the comic book distribution industry. Comic book distribution has been static for 25 years, and all of a sudden, now it’s everywhere.

Ultimately when I think about distribution, and when I talk to my team here, the main driving force for us and our mission is, how do we add value for our suppliers, our key partners and execute that vision , and how can we add value for our retailers? If we don’t, we have no reason to exist.

Quite frankly, if we’re just a logistical convenience, we shouldn’t exist. They can do it themselves. Anyone can have a UPS account.

Bi-Weekly Meetup Turns Book Trader Into…

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Bi-weekly gathering at Book Trader.

“I was studying in Paris when the Covid started“, Geneviève Richardson told Larry Hall about her last visit to France.

Geneviève made the remark (translation: ​“I was studying in Paris when Covid hit”) while eating a decidedly un-French chocolate chip cookie on a warm September morning as she sat on the terrace of New Haven’s Book Trader Café on Chapel Street.

She was participating for the first time in a Meetup group called Let’s talk Français [We Speak French]. Parlons Français, sponsored by the Alliance Française of New Haven (AFNH), attracts French students, natives transplanted from French-speaking countries, and those who wish to dust off their French in high school or college.

There is no single theme for these discussions, but the topics naturally turn to travel, French literature and cinema and, of course, French cuisine.

The lively group gathers on the terrace of the Book Trader to converse in French every other Sunday morning for 90 minutes. The group also meets online once a month at the same time on Sunday mornings.

Those who want deeper immersion in French often end up joining AFNH. The Alliance française was founded in July 1883 by a distinguished group of French intellectuals, including scientist Louis Pasteur and author Jules Verne, who wanted to promote the learning of the French language and the appreciation of French culture.

In Paris and throughout France, the group runs large centers for the formal study of French, supported in part by a small grant from the French government, but chapters in the rest of the world are each independently run and funded.

Alberta Conte, the current president of AFNH, recounts that the local group was founded around 1905 and devoted many years to activities as distinguished as tea parties. Conte has been with the band for over 50 years, having joined while in high school in East Haven and winning the AFNHannual book prize. She then majored in French at Albertus Magnus College and had a full career as a high school French teacher.

This journalist is a much newer member of AFNH. Like many people who join the organization, I studied French in high school and college, but haven’t maintained my skills. I took a trip to France in 2015 and found I could barely hold a conversation, so I looked for a place to find some of what I had lost. I had heard of the Alliance Française and was pleased to find that New Haven has an active chapter with monthly book and movie groups, social events, and French classes.

Through AFNH, I signed up for several semesters of classes with the Swiss-born teacher Yvonne Kolodny, who teaches adult beginner classes, and the French Jackie Munk, who teaches advanced levels (and was also my daughter’s middle school teacher ). Both women have had a long career teaching French in schools, businesses and language institutes.

Classes at all levels are immersive, taught entirely in French, using the French in action program developed in the 1980s by the late Yale professor, Pierre J. Capretz. The lively lessons are complemented by French music, games and discussions. Kolodny encourages newcomers who have never studied the language, and she enjoys seeing her students become more fluent over time.

Besides improving my rusty French grammar, my main goal in taking classes was to improve my speaking and listening skills. Although my knowledge of written French was strong enough to read French texts, I was reluctant to converse and felt that I did not even have the verbal skills of a young child. Due to my love of French literature, my ultimate goal was to become confident enough to participate in AFNH‘s monthly book discussion group, the Literary Café, which I finally did in early 2020.

Long-time member Larry Hall also took a keen interest in the Literary Café from his earliest days in the band. He joined AFNH after visiting France in 2003 and discovering that he had lost much of his French in high school and college. When he first started participating in the reading group, it was led by two Yale French teachers, and Hall was one of the few participants. The group facilitators selected all the books and led the discussions.

The Literary Café has grown and meets via Zoom on the second Wednesday of each month. The books of each year are proposed and voted on by all the participants of the groups. This year’s books include those by such well-known authors as Colette and George Simenon. Robert Beech is now the organizer, and his favorite genres are science fiction and detective stories. He led September’s discussion of the 1907 suspense classic Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Burglar [Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Burglar] by Maurice LeBlanc.

Book group selections.

The next meeting will take place on October 12 with a discussion on Hélène Berr Diary 1942 – 1944. Berr was a talented young Parisian writer of Jewish ancestry, often referred to as the Frenchwoman Anne Frank. She lost her life at the Bergen-Bergen concentration camp five days before her release.

The Literary Café also discusses books from all over the Francophonie such as The Beautiful Creole by Maryse Condé, Guadeloupe, or the book by Kauther Adimi, Algerian Our richeswhich tells the true story of a famous Algerian bookstore from the early 20th century, but also depicts France’s brutal repression of Algerian independence fighters.

The connection with French-speaking countries and people around the world is one of the aspects that Choukri Ben Mamoun, a Moroccan-born scientist based at Yale Medical School, appreciates about the Alliance Française. Ben Mamoun learned French while growing up and then went to higher education in Paris.

He explained how the several centuries of French colonization around the world ended up expanding the idea of ​​what it means to be ​“French.” He thinks that the Alliance française could be called the ​“Alliance Francophone” because it brings together people from all over the world who are interested in the vast world of French culture.

Ben Mamoun also likes Apéro, a French-language discussion group that meets every Wednesday on Zoom and is hosted by the Fédération des Alliances Françaises UNITED STATES. Participants from all over the world join this group, and Ben Mamoun enjoys meeting people from countries like India who are also interested in French. He finds that many of these people share his love of learning other languages.

Larry Hall is now the National Group Treasurer, having served as the AFNH in this capacity for many years. He says there are about 100 A F chapters in the United States, as well as 1,100 chapters in 149 countries around the world. There are three groups in Ukraine, and they have received strong support from other members of the organization.

Many activities of AFNH migrated to Zoom when Covid hit and stayed there because of the ease of bringing people together from a wide geographic area. Clay Howe, who organizes the Cine Club for the AFNH, credits digital technology with allowing his band members to pursue their love of French cinema. Howe, a retired French teacher and translator, is passionate about French cinema and admits to often watching two films a day.

Previously, the film group would visit French films playing in different locations in the region and then meet at a local café for a discussion. Now the films discussed are available online and the group meets for a Zoom discussion on the third Thursday of each month. The next meeting, however, is co-hosted with the Alliance Française de Hartford and will take place on Sunday, September 18. The group will discuss the film Under Alice’s Sky [Skies of Lebanon]. Director Chloé Mazlomakes made this film about her family’s life in Lebanon in the years leading up to that country’s civil war in the 1970s.

In addition to Zoom meetings and classes, the AFNH hosts in-person gatherings that often mark French holidays such as July 14, Bastille Day, which commemorates the day the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris. The third Thursday in November is not notable as Thanksgiving but rather as Beaujolais Nouveau Day when the annual bottling of this festive wine is officially published.

Léa Chadun, member of AFNH‘s Board, is a student who grew up in France. She’s helped organize family events like a Halloween party in 2021 (not a French public holiday but a good reason to celebrate), and she also hopes to host a game night in the coming year as well as the traditional French celebration. of ​“La Chandeleur”, or pancake day, on February 2.

People interested in being part of the Alliance Française de New Haven can register on their membership page for a very small annual fee. The next meeting of Let’s speak French is September 26 at the terrace of the Book Trader Café (1140 Chapel St). The Zoom version of this discussion group will meet next on September 18, with registration available here. Other events are planned throughout this year, including a cheese tasting and a tour of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Kuwait set to award Al Surra infrastructure contracts in Q4

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

The Kuwait Ministry of Public Works is expected to award the main construction contract for the Al Surra Area Infrastructure Works (Phase 2) by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The source told Zawya Projects that the deadline for submitting bids for the main contract has been extended to August 7, 2022. He said the award of the main contract is expected in early November 2022.

Completion of the project is expected by the fourth quarter of 2025, he said.

The commercial bidders for the main construction contract are Al Mikhayal United General Trading and Contracting Company ($139 million), Alghanim International General Trading and Contracting Company ($76.5 million), Combined Group Contracting Company ($63 million ), Green Tide General Trading and Contracting Company ($63.3 million), Mubarak Al Anzi General Trading and Contracting Company ($63.1 million), Contractor General Trading & Contracting Company ($92 million), Sabika International General Trading and Contracting Company ($77 million), Kuwait Factory Building and Contracting Company ($76 million), KCC Engineering and Contracting Company ($66.4 million), First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Company ($64, $4 million), Rolla Desert General Trading and Contracting Company ($59.6 million) and United Gulf Construction Company ($83.1 million dollars), officials from seven companies confirmed.

The scope of work includes the construction of roads, sewer lines, underground water lines and other utility facilities, as well as landscaping work.

(Reporting by Senthil Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

([email protected])

The value of good bookstores and “the art of browsing”

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Jeff Deutsch doesn’t mind if you just browse his bookstore; in fact, he wholeheartedly encourages it. In his recently published book Tribute to good bookstoresDeutsch draws on his experiences as a long-time bookseller and director of the Seminary Cooperative Libraries to establish a case for the value of bookstores – and “the art of browsing” to enhance our lives.

“Bookstores have a special way of taking us out and simultaneously bringing us back to ourselves,” Deutsch said. “They have the potential to connect us to the larger world and lead us back to more refined and thoughtful versions of ourselves.”


Since the store’s founding in 1961, the beloved Sem Co-op and the University of Chicago have created a symbiotic relationship in which ideas and books flow freely. One of the few remaining academic bookstores in the country, the co-op’s shelves overflow with scholarly and literary works from all disciplines and eras, with its revered Front Table serving as “an idiosyncratic snapshot of scholarly scholarship from all over the world.” ‘a season “.

Deutsch’s philosophical prose, which reads like a meditative stroll through the shelves and tables of the Co-op, invokes the voices of great readers, writers and salespeople throughout history.

In 2019, Deutsch ushered in a new era when he helped establish the Sem Co-op as a non-profit organization: the first bookstore in the country to do so. This shift, Deutsch argues in his book and the following Q&A, reflects the true value of bookstores today: not as retail operations, but as cultural institutions whose lifeblood is navigation. and connection.

Where does your love of books come from?

I grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community. While Jews are known as the “people of the book,” Jewish religious communities sanctify the book in ways that I continue to find inspiring. We prayed from books, recited books, gathered around books, and studied as a method of self-improvement and attachment to the divine.

What makes a good bookstore? A good bookstore?

I evaluate bookstores by the quality of the browsing and the discernment of the bookseller. And I rate booksellers on their ability to listen to and reflect their customers. And their enthusiasm! These are linked. To practice a good bookstore, you have to avoid the trap of only recommending books that you have read and liked. Our job is to learn what others like and help reflect that when we associate books with readers and readers with books.

Do you have a favorite memory of helping a book find its reader?

A few years into my tenure at the Coop, Professor Harry Davis asked me to recommend titles on friendship. Harry is one of the brightest and most idiosyncratic people I’ve ever met – someone who I think helps define the kind of boundless curiosity that characterizes UChicago’s unique intellectual journey. I recommended a few books, including the great novel by Sándor Márai Ember. Harry read it, loved it, and decided to use it in his Distinguished Fellowship program. It was incredibly rewarding.

Much of your book emphasizes the importance of navigation. In fact, the experience of reading your book is almost like flipping through a bookshelf. How can we use the art of navigation in our daily life?


Thank you for this question! Yes, my book was intended, stylistically, to replicate good bookstore reading. I wrote it for those who may not have daily access to a store like the Seminary Co-op. I was hoping to evoke the experience of browsing in a store like ours, to remind readers that, as you can see, the art of browsing is useful in our daily lives.

Many of our customers compare the bookstore to a religious institution, and I understand why: the contemplation and attention that a good bookshop evokes puts us in touch with our higher self, perhaps the best.

You say that large bookstores “reflect and create” their communities. How do Co-op bookshops ‘reflect and create’ the University community, the Hyde Park community and beyond?

The Coop was founded in 1961. We have done excellent work reflecting the culture of the University – the rigour, the sometimes antidisciplinary interdisciplinary tendency and the pursuit of knowledge for intellectual purposes, but also as an end in itself. But I would dare to say that we have also contributed to creating this culture. Would the unique intellectual culture of the University of Chicago be quite the same without the Seminary Co-op? I can’t imagine it.

What piece of co-op history would you like visitors to know about?

Marshall Sahlins and Jim Chandler separately told me about a friendly competition they had 20 years ago. When Marshall published Culture in practiceand Jim published his Laing Prize-winning England in 1819: the politics of literary culture and the case of romantic historicism, they had bet on who could stay at the head table the longest. Marshall told me he lost, but, as he told Jim, “It was only because mine sold.”

Inflation swirls prices at some SouthCoast Dunkin’ locations

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Don’t look now, but that extra swirl of pumpkin spice syrup just might increase the cost of your favorite drink at some Dunkin-area locations.

Some Dunkin’ spots, including the South Main Street store in Acushnet and the Plaza Way store in Fairhaven, have added a surcharge for extra swirls.

Barry Richard/Townsquare Media

A sign on the door of the Plaza Way location reads, “Due to rising commodity costs, we will charge $0.10 for each additional swirl.”

The South Main Street location further details how much an “additional pump of swirl” will cost you by explaining how many pumps the “standard amount” of swirl is for each drink size: “SM 2 pumps, MD 3 pumps, LG 4 Pumps.” Each additional swirl will cost you a penny.

Barry Richard/Townsquare Media

According to MASHED.com, not all Dunkin’ stores have added the supplement for extra syrup swirls. The decision to charge more rests with the various Dunkin’ locations, many of which are franchises.

MASHED.com cites a Reddit comment, purportedly from a Dunkin employee, which reads, “Corporate messaged us about this a few days ago, they’ve streamlined the process for franchises to do this (via the ‘app, etc.) but still recommend against doing this.”

Google Maps

I haven’t seen any notice of the whirlpool pump increase at all Dunkin’ locations in the area, which seems to support the suggestion that it’s up to the franchise owners to decide what to do.

I couldn’t find anything on the company’s website that addresses the controversy that may be swirling over this markup.

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NeverAwake for PS5, PS4 and Switch will launch on January 19, 2023

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Pull ’em up with two sticks NeverAwake will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch on January 19, 2023, listings reveal at Japanese retailers such as Rakuten Books.

In Japan, the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions will retail in standard 4,180 yen and Premium 7,700 yen editions. The latter includes a soundtrack CD, an art book and a magnetic hook. The PlayStation 4 physical edition will also include a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version.

As previously announced, the PC version will launch via Steam on September 28th. It will retail for $19.99, with a 15% introductory discount at launch, and will support English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language options.

Here is an overview of the game, via the editor Phoenixx:

Discover the grotesque nightmares of a little girl, trapped in her sleep, paralyzed by fear, who never seems to wake up. In the deepest parts of her subconscious, she sees Rem, a fierce fighter armed with a dragon-shaped demonic gun, fighting to defeat the forces that trap her.

Dodge, aim and shoot in 360 degree levels, gather enough power to unleash a wide explosion around Rem when surrounded by enemies as she drifts through beautiful hand-drawn landscapes of scares and fears. monstrosities of girl’s nightmares. Destroy the abominations that haunt his waking hours like dentists, angry dogs and going to school. Other enemies represent terrors more familiar to Japanese youth, such as the first boss, a radish monster representing the acquired taste of wasabi.

Each of the 80 levels loops until Rem collects all the souls, and each loop becomes more difficult if Rem cannot defeat his opponents in time. Fight over a dozen bosses, find out what lies at the heart of the girl’s subconscious and what could free her from this sleep paralysis.

Should I ask to change seats? The Great Airplane Debate.

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Benét J. Wilson isn’t sure what makes her a magnet for seat swap requests.

“I don’t know if I have that face that people think I will,” said the longtime aviation journalist and aisle-seating enthusiast. “But it’s ridiculous. It almost became comical.

Some people want to sit with a spouse or a friend. Some try to stay close to children. Others just don’t want a middle seat. As someone who uses their frequent flyer status — or pays extra — to choose a seat near the front, Wilson is usually unmoved.

Unless it’s a parent-child situation, “because I’ve been there and done that,” Wilson said, his answer is a short, simple “no.”

“I’m sure there are good reasons, but ultimately it’s not my problem,” she said.

No, I won’t switch plane seats with you

The scenario can become a problem, or at least a major annoyance. Social media posts and news reports frequently provide examples of cheeky requests to swap seats and rude responses — or entirely reasonable requests and understandable responses, depending on which side you take.

“It’s a stressful situation for everyone involved in the actual change and for everyone sitting around the people trying to make the change and the crew,” said Bobby Laurie, a former flight attendant and host of the syndicated travel talk show “The Jet Set”.

An Irish model and TV personality made headlines in August after he used profanity on his podcast to describe a man who initially didn’t want to swap so his family could be together after booking a wrong seat . In response, Daily Mail columnist Jaci Stephen wrote that she still refused to give up her seat to families.

“Here’s a simple fact: if you want to travel as a family or in a group, book your seats together in advance,” she wrote. “Your incompetence in not doing so is no one else’s fault and you certainly shouldn’t make others uncomfortable when they want to stick to their probably well-organized plans.”

At least three Reddit threads this year, most recently in early September, explored whether a passenger was wrong for not changing seats for families. (They have all been validated.)

There are clearly strong feelings on both sides of the issue.

When to ask

Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Palm Beach Protocol School and former flight attendant, said an acceptable reason for requesting an exchange is if a traveler is separated from someone who depends on them for his care.

“Unless you have a minor child or maybe even an elderly parent or someone you are caring for who needs special attention… I really don’t see where it’s mandatory or where you should ask to be moved” , she said.

And there are no guarantees, especially since many airlines charge for the selection of certain seats.

“As a family, you have to accept that maybe you’re not going to sit together because the people who paid for those seats don’t want to give them up,” Whitmore said.

When someone has a valid reason to request a new seat, Whitmore said they should ask the airline before boarding.

“You go to the door, say, ‘Here’s the situation, is there anything you can do to help us? “, She said. “When you wait to be on the plane, it puts everyone in a precarious position.

The rules of flight like a decent human

Laurie said if someone is sitting in a bulkhead seat behind a divider, they can be asked to give that up for a passenger traveling with a service animal, as the legroom is more generous.

Many travelers who responded to a query from The Washington Post on Twitter say they generally try to accommodate a family with children – although some included the caveat that they would not be moving forward to rear of the aircraft or would not move to a middle seat. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a notice to airlines in July urging them to “do everything in their power to ensure that children 13 or younger are seated next to an accompanying adult at no additional charge. “.

Despite her strict change policy, Wilson said she was once tricked into voluntarily giving up her seat in the aisle when she noticed an extremely tall man sign.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t in good conscience allow this guy to be crammed into the middle seat for 3 1/2 hours,'” she said.

Several optimistic travelers said they would gladly give up their economy class seat for a business class or first class seat. Some Airmen said it wouldn’t matter to do an equal swap — aisle for aisle, window for window — in the same section, as long as they were flying solo that day.

“I guess it’s always good to ask, but it’s never good to be mad if someone says no,” Laurie said.

No one should expect another passenger to abandon their window or aisle for a dreaded middle seat; don’t even think to ask.

Asking someone to leave the front of the plane for the back is another tough sell. An almost impossible mission: to exchange a free seat in the main cabin for any selection requiring a supplement, in particular one with more legroom or in a higher fare category. And don’t expect another passenger to leave their party so you can be with yours.

Laurie said no one should expect the answer to her request to be “yes”.

“If you go with that assumption, you kind of take on that attitude that you deserve it and that person has to give it to you,” he said. “It’s not a polite way to ask someone to give up what they had planned or expected.”

The worst approach, Whitmore said, is to preemptively sit in a seat that doesn’t belong to you.

“People make mistakes all the time, but if you intentionally sit in someone else’s seat, that’s wrong, that’s rude,” she said. “Then the flight attendant has to get involved. Then the flight attendant should return you to your original seat. This causes delays.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Airport People

She said people who don’t plan their seat selection should be prepared to sit apart from each other, arrive early to speak to a gate agent, or pay for an upgrade when they do. arrive at the airport.

Still, experts agree there may be circumstances in which travelers are separated for reasons that don’t amount to cheap behavior or careless planning. Maybe they booked last minute due to an emergency, or maybe they got re-booked on a plane with a different configuration after a cancellation and lost the seats they had. choose. Sometimes passengers don’t realize they’ve booked the most restrictive fare that doesn’t allow seat selection or ensure that everyone in a group is seated together.

“You don’t know if they’re going on vacation, you don’t know if they’re going to a funeral, you don’t know if they’re going to a wedding,” Laurie said. “It’s always best to remember that we’re all in this together, we should all treat everyone the way you want to be treated.”

How to ask – if you must

Politeness is key, Laurie said.

“Take into account that you know it would be a disadvantage for the person you’re asking, understanding the position you’re putting them in,” he said.

He said it was also acceptable to ask a flight attendant to facilitate if the request is made on the plane; they can sometimes help to facilitate the decision if the need for exchange is extreme.

Laurie said that on a United flight, when asked to change seats, she was offered a $25 credit. He traded. Other travelers told The Post on Twitter that they agreed to change and then were upgraded or given free food or drink for their good deed.

Gary Leff, author of travel blog View from the Wing, said on Twitter that “good business bait” was important.

“Don’t expect to trade a middle seat in the back for an aisle with more legroom,” he wrote. “Offer a compelling reason. Ask politely. Offer cash or gift cards.

Insider Selling: Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM) Insider sells 231 shares

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM – Get a rating) insider Jeffrey A. Bedell sold 231 shares of the company in a trade on Friday, September 9. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $16,401.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 469,282 shares of the company, valued at $33,319,022. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this link.

Alarm.com is trading down 4.2%

ALRM stock traded down $3.02 during Tuesday’s trading, hitting $68.15. The company had a trading volume of 195,273 shares, compared to an average volume of 251,633. Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $90.69 . The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.11, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.47 and a 200-day moving average of $65.12. The company has a debt ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 6.27 and a quick ratio of 5.50.

Alarm.com (NASDAQ:ALRM – Get a rating) last released its quarterly results on Tuesday, August 9. The software maker reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32 for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. Alarm.com had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 10.90%. The company posted revenue of $212.80 million in the quarter, versus a consensus estimate of $207.93 million. In the same period a year earlier, the company earned earnings per share of $0.43. Alarm.com revenue increased 12.7% year over year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. to post earnings per share of 1.16 for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds weigh on Alarm.com

A d Legacy search

The media is right on one point: we are about to witness a huge economic crisis…

We all know mainstream media will say anything for more viewers and clicks… But people who are distracted by this kind of propaganda are about to be left behind. According to renowned economist Nomi Prins, we are about to see a crisis…

A number of institutional investors have been buying and selling stocks recently. Bares Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Alarm.com by 3.2% in the second quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 868,726 shares of the software maker worth $53,739,000 after buying an additional 26,802 shares last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Alarm.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,369,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Alarm.com by 20.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,272 shares of the software maker valued at $2,801,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alarm.com by 8.2% during the second quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 127,929 shares of the software maker valued at $7,914,000 after buying an additional 9,650 shares last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Alarm.com during the second quarter valued at around $92,000. 91.43% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

Several research analysts have recently published reports on ALRM shares. Raymond James raised his target price on Alarm.com shares from $80.00 to $83.00 in a Wednesday, August 10 research report. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alarm.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a Thursday, Aug. 18, research report. William Blair rephrased a “market performance” rating on Alarm.com shares in a Wednesday, August 10 research report. TheStreet downgraded shares of Alarm.com from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a Wednesday, August 10, report. Finally, Barclays raised its price target on Alarm.com shares from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a Wednesday, August 10 report. Three equity research analysts gave the stock a hold rating, three gave the company a buy rating and one gave the company’s stock a strong buy rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.80.

Alarm.com Company Profile

(Get a rating)

Alarm.com Holdings, Inc provides cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties in the United States and around the world. It operates in two segments, Alarm.com and Others. The company provides interactive security solutions to control and monitor their security systems, as well as connected security devices, including door locks, motion detectors, door locks, garage doors, Internet of objects, thermostats and video cameras; and video surveillance solutions, such as video analytics, live streaming, video doorbell, video clips, video alerts, high definition continuous recording and commercial video surveillance solutions.

Read more

Insider buying and selling by quarter for Alarm.com (NASDAQ:ALRM)

This instant news alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

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Royal Family LIVE: Charles fights back tears as he leads an emotional vigil with Anne and Edward | royal | New

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

HER MAJESTY’s final voyage beginning in Scotland was hailed by Neil Oliver on GB News as a “powerful” and “unifying” symbol.

On Monday, thousands of Scots took to the streets of Edinburgh to pay their respects at the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.

The ever-growing crowd was mostly silent as the coffin marched up the Royal Mile with the eerie cry of ‘God save the King’ as the Queen’s children marched behind the hearse, led by the new King Charles III.

A memorial service was held at Saint-Gilles Cathedral where the Queen will remain in state until Tuesday afternoon.

It is estimated that around 20,000 people are waiting in a mile-long queue to file past the coffin to pay their respects to the late monarch.

Speaking to GB News host Dan Wooton, historian and TV presenter Neil Oliver addressed rumors the Queen was the ‘glue’ that held the UK together amid calls for a Scotland independent.

However, for Mr Oliver, the historic reaction of crowds in Edinburgh and across the UK proved that there is something higher than politics at work here and for him, it is the history and a “common bond” shared by the British people.

He said: “My own reaction is that I think there are 300 years of shared history that come together like a cement.

“I think what we see in Scotland is not politics.

“These are people who react in a human way without any incitement to someone’s loss. Some people feel and sense a connection that they want to mark the death of, and I think that in itself is unifying.

Clive Tanner, former MPP and entrepreneur from Sidney, dies aged 88

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Sidney mourns the death of Clive Tanner (right), who along with his wife Christine shaped downtown Sidney in particular and the community in general through their love of books. The couple started Tanner’s Books and Tanner represented the riding of Saanich North and the Islands for BC Liberals between 1991 and 1996. (File photo from Black Press Media)

Communities across the Saanich Peninsula and Greater Victoria are mourning the sudden passing of former MLA Clive Tanner, who helped transform Sidney and the region through his long career in public service and a professional career in the construction industry. sale of books.

“Clive has been a giant in our community for about 40 years,” said Sidney Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith, a close personal friend of Tanner and colleague on countless community boards. “He had a huge passion for Sidney and the region. Although successful in various businesses, he has devoted much of his time to the boards of countless community organizations. I really learned the meaning of community involvement by working with Clive and other community board members. Clive wanted to see individuals succeed to their absolute full potential.

McNeil-Smith said Tanner shows great interest in people from all walks of life. “He could and wanted to cajole and provoke and debate and ultimately inspire people in ways that helped you become a better person,” McNeil-Smith said. “Sidney is a better place thanks to Clive Tanner. I have been a better person in our time together and he will be greatly missed by his family, my wife and I, and many, many, many others.

Tanner died Sept. 9 at the age of 88 at his Sidney home, where he had lived for about four decades. He leaves behind his wife Christine, whom he married in 1961, three children (Rebecca, Peter and Marc Tanner), six grandchildren, countless friends and a legacy of local service which has seen him serve and support multiple organizations whose very presence has come to define the Saanich Peninsula. They include, among others, the Sidney Business Improvement Association, the Shaw Center for the Salish Sea, the Sidney Museum and Archives and the Mary Winspear Centre.

He also spoke on behalf of the people of the region as the first elected Member of Parliament for the newly created riding of Saanich North and the Islands between 1991 and 1996, after serving as Minister of Health for the Yukon Territorial Government in the 1970s.

Tanner, who was born on January 7, 1934 in the Greater London area, first came to Canada as a child evacuee during the Second World War and then on a permanent basis shortly after completing his service in the Royals. Marines in the 1950s.

Tanner made his professional mark in the book selling industry, where he worked for about 50 years. Perhaps his most immediately visible legacy in this industry remains Tanner’s Books, which he and his wife founded in 1982 after moving from the Yukon to Greater Victoria.

“We bought the business when it was just a small corner,” said Christine Tanner. “We always thought Sidney needed a good bookshop because we liked the ones in Victoria. So we thought we were going to get there.

That love lives on through second-hand bookstore Beacon Books and of course, Tanner’s Books, which McNeil-Smith bought in 2001 after working in the industry for a national book retailer.

“It was just a very unique experience to see the community so front and center…and I learned that very early working in the bookstore,” McNeil-Smith said. “It was a great introduction to the community and one thing led to another and that’s how we got involved in community organizations.”

Tanner, for example, lobbied for what would become the Sidney Business Improvement Association in the 1990s, long before it was actually founded in 2012. “He never gave up on a good idea,” McNeil-Smith said. “He had big ideas and always found ways to convey them.”

Perhaps the best idea was the concept of marketing Sidney as Booktown, a concept launched in 1996 and inspired by Hay-on-Wye, England, a town of 1,800 people with 40 bookstores. “They (the tanners) said, ‘why can’t we do this in Sydney? At one time, we had 12 different bookstores under 12 different names under several different owners. Some people thought Clive had most of them.

Local retail expert Richard Talbot, who also knew the Tanners well, said Sidney was really in what he called “slump” before the Tanners arrived.

“The Booktown concept really put a big hit on downtown Sidney’s arm and it kept us focused,” Talbot said. “He has been a driving force and agitator in the revitalization of downtown Sidney and making it attractive not only to the local business area, but far beyond.”

Talbot also remembers Tanner as a passionate person. “You couldn’t walk out of that store (Beacon Books) without having an endless conversation about politics, downtown, military history, whatever,” he said. “He was always very attentive and very interested in everyone and what they were doing.”

McNeil-Smith sees Tanner’s legacy through the stores he created, but perhaps more importantly, his true community involvement that has improved everyone’s quality. “Since Clive and Christine arrived in Sidney in the early 1980s, Sidney has come a long, long, long way.”

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Saanich Peninsula

Comet Ridge (ASX:COI) and Vintage Energy (ASX:VEN) JV awarded potential trading areas in the Galilee Basin – The Market Herald

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

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  • Queensland Department of Resources awards Comet Ridge (COI) and Vintage Energy (VEN) six Prospective Trade Areas (PCAs) for a further 12 years
  • The parties have identified up to 20 tracks and prospects in the deeper part of the basin for future evaluation
  • Commenting on the price, Comet Ridge managing director Tor McCaul said the basin has huge potential to play an important role in Queensland’s gas sector and could be an important producer for the East Coast gas market. .
  • At market close, shares of Comet Ridge were trading at 19.5 cents and shares of Vintage at 8.6 cents.

Comet Ridge (COI) and Vintage Energy (VEN) have been assigned six Prospective Trading Areas (PCAs) by the Queensland Department of Resources (DoR).

The joint venture (JV) has been awarded an additional 12 years for ATP 743 and 744 permits, and has identified up to 20 tracks and prospects in the deeper part of the basin for future evaluation.

Originally awarded in 2009, the company had undertaken exploration that was initially focused on coal seam gas (CSG) with Comet Ridge performing a major 2D seismic survey, the drilling of nine CDG exploration and appraisal wells and a short term production test on the Gunn 2 fine.

In 2018, Vintage mined the “Deeps” section of the blocks by funding the Albany 1 well and an additional 2D seismic survey, which targeted the deeper sandstone reservoir sections of the Permian-aged Galilee Basin sandstone.

In return, Vintage acquired a 30% stake in the “Deeps” while Comet Ridge retained 70%, along with its 100% interest in the CSG Shallows.

As part of the normal process of exploring for natural gas in Queensland, the JV has carried out a technical review to determine which parts of ATP 743 and 744 are considered the most commercially promising.

The joint venture has identified six distinct areas, totaling approximately 4,700 square kilometers, whose tenure is to be secured under Potential Commercial Area (PCA) applications.

Commenting on the price, Comet Ridge managing director Tor McCaul said the basin has huge potential to play an important role in Queensland’s gas sector and could be an important producer for the East Coast gas market.

“The potential jobs and economic benefits this project could bring is something we are very excited about and look forward to the results of our further exploration in this area over time,” he said.

At market close, shares of Comet Ridge were trading at 19.5 cents and shares of Vintage at 8.6 cents.

Local bookstores get a new lifespan

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Before the pandemic, the survival of independent bookstores — and books in general — was in jeopardy. When COVID hit, shipping delays and lockdowns seemed to spell the end of bookstores.

As a well-crafted plot, however, the pandemic ushered in a resurgence of bookstore love instead. Book sales surged and people again invested in local shopping. “The way we read, consume and live has changed during COVID,” says Eileen Dengler, executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting bookstores in the region.

Membership has blossomed over the past two years, and while there have been store closures, like Huntington’s beloved Book Revue, a new generation of new bookstores is bringing new life to many small towns. of the island.

“Owning a bookstore is extremely difficult,” Dengler says. “But it’s also absolutely magical.”

Here are four new bookstores to discover on the island:

Theodore’s books

17 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay

516-636-5550

When former congressman Steve Israel first looked at the space that now houses his boutique, Oyster Bay’s main street was littered with vacancies. By the time he returned a few months later to sign the lease, it was the last available spot in town. “If there’s a silver lining to the pandemic,” Israel says, “it’s that the main streets of the small town have come alive again.”

Theodore’s, which opened in November, is named after Oyster Bay’s most famous resident, former President Theodore Roosevelt, and offers a solid selection of presidential biographies and political nonfiction. The shop’s collection of contemporary literature is equally impressive: best-selling novels, memoirs and classics can be found and a children’s section is tucked away at the back, with a children’s lounge area and teddy bears. stuffed toy. “My grandson thinks it all belongs to him,” Israel says.

The store hosts book clubs, children’s activities and author events like the one with actor Ralph Macchio tied to his memoir at the Madison Theater in Rockville Center on October 17.

Many former Book Revue staffers have taken refuge here, and Israel, a novelist himself, can also be found mostly tidying the shelves. “Even during my days in Congress,” Israel says, “books were my true love.”

A book place

469 Main Street E.

Riverhead

631-405-7902

Jocelyn Maningo Kaleita, a second-generation librarian from East Moriches, had dreamed of owning a bookstore for years. When the owner of the waterfront restaurant, Jerry and the Mermaid, suggested the store next door, Kaleita knew it was perfect. A hallway connects the restaurant and bookstore, and patrons looking for the bathroom sometimes stumble into the book room. “One of them came the other day and was amazed,” Kaleita says. “He said it was like stepping into Narnia!”

In addition to a mix of children’s and adult titles, the store has a section featuring books about books, and it plans to support self-published authors from nearby towns. “I imagine this store will be as local as possible,” says Kaleita.

The Torn Bard’s Bookstore

250 Larkfield Road.

Northport East

631-239-1377

Poet and small-press publisher James Wagner has been hosting poetry readings and book launches across the island for over a dozen years. During the pandemic, many cafes and event spaces that hosted these events have closed. “I’ve wanted to have a place for some time, a permanent place where poets could make their own,” says Wagner, a resident of Northport. “During COVID, half of the stores were vacant. I found this place and fell in love.

The shop’s name is inspired by Wagner’s poetry collective, The Bards, and a bookstore called The Dogeared that was once located in town. Wagner’s shop offers used and antique books, from science fiction and fantasy to mystery and memoirs, with tables dedicated to local poets. The former nail salon also includes a stage for poetry readings and open-mic nights.

In October, the shop celebrates its first anniversary. “We’re anticipating an extravagant week-long sale,” says Wagner. “We are ready to celebrate!”

The next chapter

187 Park Ave, Huntington (moving to 204 New York Ave. expected in November)

631-316-4363, @thenextchaptli

When Book Revue, the Huntington bookstore where Mallory Braun had worked for five years, closed last summer, no one could have imagined that fairy tale ending: After spearheading a hugely successful Kickstarter-backed effort, Braun got a place a few doors down from Book Revue for its new boutique, The Next Chapter.

Braun hopes to have the new location up and running by November. In September, she runs a pop-up bookstore in a cottage in Huntington Harbor. Braun plans to keep the pop-ups around the island going even after The Next Chapter’s permanent home opens.

“Book Revue has been around for 44 years and has left a huge hole in the Long Island bookstore landscape. People have been working from home for a few years now and realize the importance of being involved in their community,” says Braun. “And there’s no better place to find community than your local bookstore.”

‘When the heart speaks’: Cardiologist’s book exposes ‘practice of cuts’ in Indian healthcare

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

PTI, Sep 11, 2022, 12:11 PM IST

Picture for Representation (PTI)

From doctors charging patients for coronary stents without allegedly implanting them to getting lab commissions for their referrals, a new book ‘When the Heart Speaks’ highlights the infamous ‘practice of cutting in the Indian healthcare system.

The book is a memoir by renowned cardiologist Dr. Upendra Kaul. One of its chapters – “Experience in Private Heart Hospitals” – exposes how the “unholy nexus” between doctors and pharmaceutical companies results in patients being subjected to unnecessary surgeries, tests and medications.

Dr Kaul had his first encounter with the ‘cutting practice’ in 1997 when a doctor demanded Rs 30,000 as his share for referring five of his patients to him for angioplasty. At that time, “every case referred for Angiography and Angioplasty got a bribe of Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000, respectively,” he claimed in the book.

“Seeing this trend, doctors went a step further and started paying their referring physicians an advance of Rs 1 lakh and adjusting it as patients arrived – an ingenious move,” writes the Dr Kaul, who has been practicing as a cardiologist in Delhi for about 40 years.

For the uninitiated, the term discount practice refers to giving or receiving money or gifts in the form of professional fees or commissions to encourage or increase patient referrals.

The threat has extended its tentacles throughout the medical field, including radiological diagnostic and biochemical laboratories, according to Dr. Kaul, who is currently chairman and dean, academics and research, at the hospital and medical research center of Batra. So for every medical test ordered, 20% of the bill goes to the referring doctor, leading doctors to recommend “unnecessary tests and drugs” to patients, he writes in the book.

“Pharmaceutical companies have also seen their business flourish. Reputable doctors and specialists received gifts, such as fancy televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners and cars based on prescriptions. “General practitioners prescribed unnecessary drugs, several types of vitamin supplements and specific brands of drugs, and received cash reimbursements,” laureate Padma Shri claims in the book.

Very often, “prescriptions were written in codes that could only be deciphered by specific chemists,” he adds.

Notably, these unnecessary and wasteful procedures are not limited to diagnostic angiograms only, and also include “angioplasties and stenting” in non-critical cases.

For example, one such case reported in the book involves a doctor advising his patient for immediate angioplasty and placing a stent. Then he took the money for the stent and apparently did the procedure in the lab. However, soon news leaked from the lab that no stent had been placed.

Dr. Kaul, to whom the case was referred for verification by a state government, after performing several tests on the patient, confirmed the absence of any stents in his report.

But even 20 years after the incident, no action has been taken against the accused doctor, the Kashmir-born cardiologist alleged.

“These unnecessary procedures are not only ethically wrong but sometimes cost the life of the subjects due to the clotting of the stents. . . and cause a lot of morbidity for these unfortunate subjects,” he warns.

“When the Heart Speaks” is the life story of Dr. Kaul – from his ancestral village in Kashmir to becoming one of the country’s top cardiologists.

(This story has not been edited by Udayavani staff and is posted from a syndicated feed)

‘The Marvels’ Trailer Reveals Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Kevin Feige revealed Wonders trailer at Saturday’s D23 Expo featuring stars Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris, with director Nia DaCosta also on stage.

During the onstage event, Brie Larson said, “I can’t tell you about it, but it’s amazing. It’s such an amazing time with these beautiful women, inside and out, I learned so much and it was really nice to have a team. I have a team!”

Brie Larson also filled Deadline“It’s good. I think that’s where we need to…we just need more. I know I say this a lot, but it’s just like more, more, more. We need to show different ideas of what it means to be strong. What it means to be imperfect. What it means to be a superhero. There are so many different ways to do it, and I think this movie explores that and takes some of the pressure off Captain Marvel for him to be like “Captain Marvel. That’s okay. There are a lot of other really talented special beautiful women who can help make this world a better place too.

THR also asked about the feeling of being there for the trailer reveal and the fan reception: “It’s amazing. The energy is incredible,” Larson said. “It’s a very special and rare experience to be in the room when things like this happen.”

A description of the movie on the panel also offers that the movie is about the three heroes who teleport and swap places every time they use their powers and have to team up to solve their problem, which was something teased in the Ms. Marvel post-credits scene.

It is assumed that the bracelet that allows Ms. Marvel to switch places with Captain Marvel is actually a Nega Band.

Check Wonders trailer description below.

The MCU Marvels
Wonders

Marvels Trailer Description:

IndieWire gives a description of Wonders trailer that features the music of The Beasties Boys with “Intergalactic Planetary”.

Images include Teynoah Parris’ Monica Rambeau in space with Nick Fury’s Samuel L. Jackson where a portal opens and Monica switches places with Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan.

We then see a series of exchanges with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers ending up in Kamla’s room from the Ms. Marvel post-credits scene.

The three realize that they are linked and that their powers can work together to create a team, with the description noting that creating a team really makes Kamala happy.

Another description adds, “Kamala, Carol, and Monica’s light powers are entangled. Captain Rambeau as an astronaut on the SABER space station with Fury. Monica touches a light field, Kamala is now in a space suit, greets Fury. Monica crashes on a moon with Kree warriors.

The villain, played by Zawe Ashton, is also teased, but not much is shown.

Wonders releases July 28, 2023.

Check out the Marvel D23 Expo announcements here.

Chinese, Nigeria boost trade as ENL, Sinoma sign deal

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Sinoma Cargo International Nigeria Limited has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s leading terminal operator, ENL Consortium Limited, to boost maritime trade between China and Nigeria.

The agreement was signed in Lagos on Wednesday during the 5th China-Nigeria Special Line Platform Supply Chain Conference.

The conference, which takes place every year, was organized by Lianyungang Port Holdings Group Co., Ltd, Sinoma International (Nanjing) Engineering Co., Ltd, NJZC International Construction Nig. Ltd and ENL Consortium Ltd.

In his remarks at the event, the Commercial Consul of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, Guo Pengwen, noted that the existing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China has enormous potential, following the volumes of trade between the two countries.

“China-Nigeria special line logistics are also promising. In international trade, logistics is a very important link, which plays a very important role in the cost, safety, convenience and speed of international trade. The superposition of international geopolitical conflicts, the epidemic of the century and the changes of the century have led to violent fluctuations in the global supply chain, and the cost of international logistics and warehousing has risen sharply.

“To build a new pattern of development of domestic and international dual circulation, it is necessary to fill the gaps in international logistics as soon as possible and create a global supply chain logistics system that works for us,” he said. said the trade consul.

In her presentation, the Executive Vice President/CEO of the ENL Consortium, Princess Vicky Haastrup, recounted how trade relations between Nigeria and China have evolved since the 1970s.

“Given these trade relations, the rise of the Chinese economy has shifted the direction of Nigeria’s trade and investment away from its traditional trade and investment partners such as the United States and Western Europe towards China, India and Brazil.

“The recent increase in Chinese investment in Nigeria provides an alternative source of external financing to Nigeria. This is not unrelated to the agreement signed between the two countries on the establishment of the China Center for Investment Development and Trade Promotion in Nigeria and the Nigeria Trade Office in China.

“The operations of Chinese companies in Nigerian territory, especially in the fields of oil and gas, power, construction, real estate and telecommunications, have further strengthened bilateral cooperation between the two countries” , she said.

Haastrup regretted that Nigeria’s efforts to increase exports to China have been limited by a lack of exportable products, coupled with a poor competitive position.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Advisory Board, Otunba Kunle Folarin, expressed his optimism that trade relations between Nigeria and China will continue to grow given the huge economic potentials of the two countries.

The conference brought together representatives of terminal operators, shipping companies, importers, exporters and traders from China and Nigeria.

The Norman bookstore offers derivative products “Read forbidden books”

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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After a Norman High School teacher is placed on administrative leave for sharing a QR code from the Brooklyn library, the community finds a way to collect the code at schools.

Heather Hall is the owner of Green Feather Book Company and has children in Normandy state schools.

A conversation with other parents turned into a popular project to raise funds for t-shirts and pins with the QR code.

“I felt like the idea of ​​a teacher being reprimanded or unsupported over what seemed like a really good solution to having to cover their classroom materials, providing the QR code in the classroom. class, seemed like a great smart solution. It really offended any sense of right and wrong for a lot of us,” Hall said.

The teacher was furloughed before resigning after she covered her class books that were no longer allowed in Oklahoma public schools and shared the QR code of banned books with students.

“It wasn’t the Norman we grew up in, I was like ‘we need the QR code on the students’ if the students want the QR code we have to give it to them.”

Frustration led Hall and other parents to raise enough money to get 150 t-shirts with the Brooklyn Library QR code.

“When the message went out for the t-shirts, they disappeared almost immediately. We’re going to need more t-shirts! she says.

Free pins and stickers in his bookstore are keeping Oklahomans waiting for more shirts.

Normandy State Schools said children are allowed to wear the t-shirts and are ‘free to express themselves in their clothes as long as they follow our district’s dress code and do not distract from the learning environment “.

“Having access to stimulating literature is very important because stimulating literature gives us the opportunity to have important and difficult conversations,” Hall said.

The bookstore owner added that several people are donating to the cause.

“If we ban all books about trans kids, trans kids end up feeling lonely and not encouraged to read. If we ban all books about gay children, gay children are not encouraged to read and feel very lonely. If we ban all books about black children, then black children are left very alone and with their untold, untold stories,” she said.

Hall said they would receive another batch of t-shirts by Monday. They are free, but accept donations to further the project.

Best sellers of the week: September 12, 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Back in style

BookTok has been good for Taylor Jenkins Reid, propelling her novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to over 1.5 million copies sold, according to NPD BookScan. His latest, Carrie Soto Is Back, about an aging tennis star who returns from retirement to try and reclaim his record from a young competitor, got off to a good start itself., pushing 34,427 units in its first week, nearly 8,000 copies more than Reid’s previous book, Malibu Rising, sold in its first week. Despite the TikTok of it all, the increase is actually on trend for Reid: First-week sales for his titles have increased from 8,000 to 16,000 copies steadily between books since the hardcover edition. of Evelyn Hugo sold just over 1,300 copies in its first week.

spooky season

It’s mid-September and the Halloween sale for children’s books has begun. Two books based on the 1993 film Hocus Pocus (starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as three witches who come to life on Halloween) burst onto the children’s fiction list last week. that of Eric Géron The Hocus Pocus Spell Book (#3) sold 12,346 copies, and AJ Jantha’s Hocus Pocus: The Illustrated Novel (#4) sold 10,275. The overall kids list also saw four Halloween titles make the list last week: Aaron Blabey pig the monster (#9), James and Kimberly Dean Pete the Cat: Trick or Pete (#10), that of Sandra Boynton scary pookie (#14), and Hello pop-up! Pumpkin by DK (#15) all reached the top 20, selling nearly 27,000 print copies combined.

Series starter

Arriving at No. 3 on the children’s list was Belladonna by Adalyn Grace, kicking off a YA series of the same name with a print run of 7,227. The story follows 19-year-old Signa Farrow, who forms an alliance with Death in an alternate-world, industrial-age England after a series of near-death experiences and the death of nearly everyone who cared for her. . “While a predictable plot and dropped threads sometimes distract from Grace’s lush, delightfully eerie prose,” our reviewer wrote, “Signa’s budding attraction to death and Sylas lends a heady romance to the ethereal reading.”

NEW & REMARKABLE

THE INKY BLACK HEART
Robert Galbraith
#2 Hardcover Fiction, #9 Overall
JK Rowling’s adult thriller as Robert Galbraith, the latest in her somewhat controversial Cormoran Strike series, follows Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott as they seek to solve the murder of a TV host. after her cartoon was accused of ableism, racism, and transphobia, and she found herself “persecuted by a mysterious online figure.”

THE GREAT RESET
Alex Jones
#2 Hardcover Nonfiction, #11 Overall
The new book by far-right media figure and conspiracy theorist Jones, billed as an analysis of “the global elite’s international conspiracy to enslave humanity and all life on the planet”, has sold at more than 30,000 copies in its first week despite Jones being convicted last month in the libel lawsuit brought against him by parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims.


A version of this article originally appeared in the 12/09/2022 issue of Weekly editors under the title: Behind the best sellers August 28–Sept. 3, 2022

Regal’s Rough Summer – by Sonny Bunch

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
Getty/Scott Olson

Regal Cinemas is the second largest theater circuit in the United States, operation of 505 theaters in 42 states for a total of 6,787 screens. It is owned by the British company Cineworld, which has almost 9,200 screens worldwide in more than 750 cinemas. The company employs approximately 28,000 people worldwide.

And since this week, Cineworld had about $4 million, with an M, in cash.

Like some other cinema chains, including Alamo Drafthouse, Cineworld has filed for bankruptcy in the face of Covid-related setbacks. Things are less dire than they used to be but more dire than hoped: 2020 and 2021 have been horrible years, but 2022 hasn’t seen as steady a recovery as hoped for and a steady lack of product from studios over the past two months has finally sent the company over the edge.

Regal, which I’ve always had a soft spot for as a first theater with stadium seating relatively close to my home growing up, isn’t expected to go away in the immediate future. But bankruptcy filings demonstrate how precarious the business is for exhibitors, largely because theater companies own very little.

To share

They don’t own the movies; they allow them from the studios. That’s why some of the biggest creditors are the studios themselves. As Jill Goldsmith reports to Deadline, Cineworld must Lionsgate $15 million, Universal $20.4 million, Walt Disney $14 million, Warner Bros. $7.6 million, Sony $3.2 million and IMAX $11 million.

Theater companies often do not own the theaters themselves. They are usually rented, either as mall pillars or as part of a mall. And as we learned during the bankruptcy hearing, Regal has approximately 500 leases in the United States totaling approximately $60 million in monthly rent. These rents were not paid last month.

All this to say that the reason theater owners and lovers of the theatrical experience have watched August and September in dread is that theaters depend on a relatively steady infusion of cash via ticket sales and pop -corn to keep the lights on. And maybe this helps people understand why AMC bought a gold mine after their infusion of cash via the meme stocks phenomenon of 2021. On the one hand, that doesn’t seem natural for a movie company. On the other hand: at least it’s something they can own and rely on if the movie stream slows down again.

Because it’s not like the gold mines run dry, is it?

If you’ve ever wanted to understand the bookseller business, you need to listen this week’s BGTH with Eric Nelson. Informative from start to finish, I guarantee.

This week I saw again Barbaric, a movie you should see before reading the reviews. I say go see it, it’s the review, go see it and then come back and read my review. Or read the first part of my review to see if this is your general cup of tea, then go check it out, then read the second part of my review. In both cases.

In Across the Movie Aisle this week, we discussed Three thousand years of nostalgia and wrapped up the summer movie season. Make sure you check our special bonus episode on the work of Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, two of our most interesting actors.

Be sure to read Bill Ryan writing on the books of Jay Cronley. Or rather the Jay Cronley books that became the movies funny farm, Let it rideand Quick change.

leave a comment

The Entertainment Strategy Guy breakdown of the American media consumer is fascinating. I’m not sure what exactly a religious-focused streaming service would look like – Pure Flix already exists; as a pagan, I have no idea what’s on it or who’s watching it, but it definitely looks like an underexplored market in an age of niches.

The arrival of Wall*E to the Criterion collection sounds like a big deal, at least in terms of the potential expansion of titles available for Criterion canonization. Hopefully Disney opens its vaults and those of 20th Century Fox to the folks at the store’s physical media provider.

I unenthusiastically watch the news the Lord of the Rings show on Prime Video (it’s good), but it especially makes me want to see again The Fellowship of the Ring. This film remains the best of the Peter Jackson adaptations, largely because it ends with the show’s most personal – and therefore most relevant – big fight. Boromir’s desperate defense of the hobbits and Aragorn’s against the hordes of Uruk-hai remain the absolute emotional peak of the series as well as being the best and best-edited of all major battles. Just top-tier big-budget films.

Britain is on the wrong track on energy rescue

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Liz Truss’ first statement to Parliament as Prime Minister was one for the books: an energy bailout likely worth 5% of gross domestic product.

Truss on Thursday froze UK retail electricity and gas bills for the next 24 months, so an average household would pay no more than £2,500 ($2,877) a year, instead of the £3,549 which regulators have set for the next three months and well below the £4,000-5,000 expected in 2023. On top of that, she has promised companies the “equivalent” protection for six months.

The task, however, involves more than containing the cost spiral. On all other points, Truss’ policy is insufficient. Does it focus on poor and working class families? Maintain a semblance of a market to curb demand? Identify the cost and a way to pay it? No, no and no. Instead of targeted support for the needy, Downing Street has announced a one-off policy that will benefit households below the poverty line as well as those on Wall Street-sized bonuses. Is it really necessary to subsidize those earning hundreds of thousands of pounds – or more? Instead of nodding to market forces, the government eliminated them. And it made the situation worse by making no attempt to encourage conservation – which is absolutely essential to avoid supply shortages that could lead to blackouts. In a 1,267-word speech, Truss did not once mention the words “demand”, “consumption” or “savings”. Lower energy bills could have been tied to usage, with more frugal families receiving bigger discounts. The result could have been financial relief with price signals still somewhat relevant. Finally, instead of budget clarity, Truss offered uncertainty. In what will likely be one of the largest peacetime budget interventions in history, we don’t know the cost (the Treasury will release an estimate later this month, she said) or the funding sources. We know where it won’t come from: Truss said there will be no windfall tax on energy companies. The implication is that the government will borrow the entire sum and leave the repayment to future generations. How much will it cost? Prior to the announcement, internal government estimates pegged the tab at £130bn, plus a further £40bn if business aid was included. The £170billion is roughly what the country spends on its public health system. There is a catch. This is a potentially very expensive, very risky bet. By freezing energy bills, the UK Treasury effectively took the largest ever short position in the wholesale gas and electricity markets, unhedged. In the jargon of the trade, it is naked shorts.

If wholesale prices increase because a cold winter stimulates demand or Russian President Vladimir Putin further reduces supply, the cost will also increase, with no cap in place. The UK Cabinet Office wrote in a policy note to ministers: “The cost depends on the forward price of gas and electricity […] If a fixed commitment were made, there would be uncapped liability and the overall cost of the program could increase further. Of course, if prices fall, the UK Treasury will spend less money. Downing Street could offset the massive cost to taxpayers in two ways. First, it could intervene in the wholesale market, as planned by the European Union, by capping the profits of producers of renewable energy and nuclear electricity, whose prices are linked to gas costs. Their windfall must be taxed, preferably via a wholesale price cap on their production. Second, it could have taxed the extreme profits made by fossil fuel companies. It could also close some loopholes exploited by the many commodity traders who avoid paying much of their fair share through the use of tax havens. The prime minister is right that consumers are facing exorbitant prices because Putin has weaponized energy since the invasion of Ukraine. But excluding a windfall tax is a mistake, if only because it could help Downing Street in its talks with the energy sector. In any negotiation, a stick is needed with the carrot. The UK government will now try to strike long-term fixed deals, called contracts for difference, with renewable and nuclear power producers to reduce the cost of political intervention. Without the threat of a windfall tax, the government has weakened its own position. And any deal could allow renewable and nuclear companies much higher prices for years to come, in exchange for a slight reduction now. It’s a short-term win for a lot of long-term pain. Truss promised to deliver results. Unfortunately, his first delivery had to be returned to sender.

More from Bloomberg Opinion:

• Commodity traders switch from windfall to bailout demand: Javier Blas

• Time is not on Putin’s side in Ukraine: Leonid Bershidsky

• Windfall taxes are pure economic populism: Andreas Kluth

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editorial Board or of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. A former Bloomberg News reporter and commodities editor at the Financial Times, he is co-author of “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.”

More stories like this are available at bloomberg.com/opinion

What to buy and buy in September

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Spending money is inevitable. We need groceries, gas, and other essentials to get us through — and hopefully enjoy life. Other times when we spend money, we splurge, making a larger purchase on a must-have (or wanted) item.

However, no one is made of money, so it’s important to get the most out of your money when making those larger purchases.

Retailers budget for sales in their monthly forecasts and a savvy buyer can take advantage of the timing. Read below to find out what’s on sale in September (Hello Labor Day!!) and what big buys you might want to wait a few more months.

To buy

It’s finally time to take advantage of all the Labor Day sales. We repeat: all Labor Day sales. Top items for sale include:

  • Major Appliances
  • Mattress
  • iphones and androids
  • Garden furniture

Don’t buy

Wait months before buying the following:

  • TVs: Black Friday sales promise to deliver deep sales
  • Halloween Costumes and Decor: Unless you desperately need to get your Halloween goods now, wait until October when retailers start offering discounts on holiday merchandise.
  • Fall Clothing: Expect to pay top dollar for sweaters, boots, and scarves until mid-fall.
  • Travel plans: Do you want to travel next year? Wait until Black Friday to book for 2023, when discounts abound.
  • Electronics: Black Friday deals are always geared towards electronics. Wait until after Thanksgiving to buy your cameras, cooking utensils and more.

Book Club Picks for September 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Amerie Book Club

The book: What we gave the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri (Tin House)

Our reviewer says: “These nine outstanding stories, centered on a variety of mammal and bird species and set in global locations ranging from the Sundarbans to the open ocean, from the Arctic to Delhi, feel both timeless and urgent. ” Read more.

Read with Jenna, the Jenna Bush Hager Book Club

The book: Solito: a memoir by Javier Zamora (Hogarth)

Our reviewer says: “Poet Zamora…sheds an urgent and compassionate light on the human lives taken in an ongoing humanitarian crisis.” Read more.

Barnes & Noble Book Club

The book: Other birds by Sarah Addison Allen (Saint Martin)

Our reviewer says: “Allen skillfully weaves together the various threads…It will move readers.” Read more.

Belletrist Book Club

The book: If I survive you by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)

Our reviewer says: “The vibrant and varied beginnings of Escoffery, a linked collection, chronicle the turbulent fate of a Jamaican American family in Miami.” Read more.

Books and Boba Book Club

The book: You are invited by Amanda Jayatissa (Berkley)

Our reviewer says: “[A] twisty thriller set among Sri Lanka’s wealthiest circles… Ruth Ware fans will want to check this out.” Read More.

BTS book club

The book: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (Park Row)

Our reviewer says: “Pener’s story starts out strong but falters as the engaging premise becomes muddled up in practical plot twists.” Read more.

Good housekeeping book club and Reese’s Book Club

The book: on the roof by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (Ecco)

Our reviewer says: “Sexton brings undeniable power to his depiction of fragmented and deferred dreams.” Read more.

Good Morning America Book Club

The book: The fortune of jaded women by Carolyn Huynh (Atria)

Our reviewer says: “Huynh paints an admirable portrait of well-meaning mothers and their children. Despite the bumps, it’s worth a watch.” Read more.

Jewish Book Council (Fiction)

The book: The wonderful place by Melissa Bank (Viking)

Our reviewer says: “This isn’t just another chick-lit urban bildungsroman… Captivating, engaging – it’s a wonderful return for Bank.” Read more.

Jewish Book Council (nonfiction)

The book: It’s real and you’re totally unprepared: days of fear as a journey of transformation by Alan Lew (Little, Brown)

Our reviewer says: “[A] powerful yet compassionate cry for spiritual renewal during the high holy days as well as the rest of the year.”

#Readwith™ by Marie Claire

The book: Mike in real life by Emiko Jean (Tomorrow)

Our reviewer says: “[T]Here’s a lot to chew on interracial adoption and the varieties of mother-daughter experiences and conflicts. Aside from the familiar rom-com subplot, it does the job well.” Read More

Mocha Girls Book Club

The book: Not all boys are blue by George M. Johnson (FSG)

Our reviewer says: “In an editorial landscape that needs black queer voices, readers sorting through similar concepts will be grateful to join [Johnson] during the trip.” Read more.

Unnamed Book Club (Fiction)

The book: God help the child by Toni Morrison (Knopf)

Our reviewer says: “[Morrison’s] the literary craft endures with sparse language, precise imagery and even humor. This haunting novel speaks to a deep understanding of American culture and an unwavering sense of justice and forgiveness.” Read more.

Unnamed Book Club (nonfiction)

The book: Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Sense of Freedom by Dorothy Roberts (Vintage)

NYPL/WNYC Book Club

The book: Tomorrow at this time by Emma Straub (Riverhead)

Our reviewer says: “Straub offers a delicious journey through time involving a woman and her famous father.” Learn more here.

Subtle Asian Book Club

The book: Babel or the necessity of violence: an obscure history of the Oxford translators’ revolution by RF Kuang (Harper Voyager)

Our reviewer says: “Kuang disappoints with a didactic, unsubtle take on black academia and imperialism.” Read more.

TikTok book club

The book: Honey and spices by Bolu Babalola

Our reviewer says, “Babalola’s expert handling of young love’s messy vulnerability and joyful exuberance makes him a winner.” Read more.

European markets open at close, data, earnings and news

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Investors await ECB rate decision

With inflation in the Eurozone expected to reach at least 10% in the coming months, a “giant” rate hike of 75 basis points is certainly on the cards.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The euro rose against the dollar and the pound on Wednesday morning as the European Central Bank prepared for a crucial policy meeting on Thursday.

The ECB is expected to anticipate a series of rate hikes and sacrifice growth in the region in an effort to rein in inflation of 9.7%, which is expected to rise further.

A “jumbo” rate hike of 75 basis points is a possibility and has been widely priced in by markets, Berenberg analysts said.

Sterling struggles as new Prime Minister takes office

The pound was down against the US dollar and the euro on Wednesday morning as new Prime Minister Liz Truss began her first full day in office.

The pound traded at $1.1495 at 8.30am London time, down 0.17% from the previous day, keeping it at the lowest level it has traded since the 1980s .

ING analysts said traders would deal with reports on Tuesday that Truss planned to freeze energy bills at a cost of £130billion and provide billions more in business support, which would likely have an impact on the UK’s growth outlook and debt position.

The euro was up 0.17% against the pound at 0.8611, ahead of Thursday’s policy meeting of the European Central Bank, when it is expected to announce a rate hike of 50 or 75 basis points.

The base currency of the EU rose 0.02% against the greenback to $0.9902 after falling below the 99 cent level on Monday.

—Jenni Reid

Nomura cuts Chinese GDP forecast again

Nomura lowered its forecast for China’s full-year GDP to 2.7%, another downward revision from its previous estimate of 2.8% set in August.

The new outlook is based on Nomura’s analysis which found that 12% of China’s GDP is affected by Covid controls on a weighted basis, up from 5.3% last week.

Several cities, including tech hub Shenzhen, have tightened Covid controls in recent weeks after reporting new local infections. Chengdu also ordered people to stay at home while authorities conduct mass virus testing.

Read the full story here.

–Evelyne Cheng

CNBC Pro: Tensions between Russia and Europe could cause a ‘bullish shock’ in oil markets

Oil and gas inventories are expected to be boosted by heightened tensions surrounding Russian gas supplies to Europe, an analyst said.

Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that investors should focus on big U.S. energy names that are also good dividend payers.

One stock he named is up 125% this year, and he says there’s more “wiggle room.”

Pro subscribers can learn more here.

—Weizhen Tan

Oil prices fall on expectations of further rate hikes and weaker demand growth

Oil prices fell on Wednesday following new Covid restrictions in China and expectations of further interest rate hikes around the world.

US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 1.45% to $85.62 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell 1.14% to $91.77 a barrel , erasing earlier gains after the last OPEC+ meeting and its decision to cut production.

A Reuters forecast expects WTI to extend its downtrend to $83.17 a barrel.

—Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: This chip stock has convincingly beaten its peers this year — and analysts think it can go higher

After years of outperforming the market, semiconductor stocks have sold off strongly this year. But one stock emerged relatively unscathed from the market carnage. Not only did it outperform its peers, it beat the S&P 500 by a country mile.

And analysts believe that the title can still go up.

Pro subscribers can learn more here.

— Zavier Ong

US Treasury yields at highest since mid-June

A bond sell-off has propelled U.S. Treasury yields to their highest levels since mid-June as investors weigh what strong economic data means for future Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 3.353%, the highest level since June 16, when the yield hit 3.495%. Returns are inverse to prices.

The 30-year US Treasury yield hit a high of 3.484% and the 5-year US Treasury yield hit 3.334%, also the two highest levels seen since mid-June.

The 2-year yield also hit a daily high of 3.535%, but that’s only the highest yield for the note since Friday.

-Carmen Reinicke

European markets: here are the opening calls

According to IG data.

The data releases include preliminary eurozone unemployment data for the second quarter as well as gross domestic product for the second quarter. The latest UK inflation figures for July will be released along with the preliminary Dutch Q2 GDP.

Revenue comes from Uniper, Carlsberg, Persimmon, Balfour Beatty, BAT and National Grid.

Pop science needs a wider audience – Opinion

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Visitors experience science experiments at a science and technology museum in Kunming, Yunnan province, Aug 17, 2022. [Photo/VCG]

It is not very difficult to find the pop-science library in a library. Just look for the most colorful bookshelf, because national pop-science books are mostly written for kids and teens.

This is also confirmed by the publication of sector data. According to China Science Popping Report 2021, the first pop science book report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2020 alone, China published 98.53 million pop science books plus 258 kinds of pop science journals. However, most of them were aimed at school children; the market and the offer for adults are rather small.

This is a major problem for the burgeoning pop-science industry. For too long, pop science has been seen as a tool to better teach science to schoolchildren and teenagers, but not to adults. On at least three major national book-selling websites, if one searches for “pop-science”, one is automatically prompted with postfix phrases such as “for teens”, “for 0-6 year olds” , “for kids” .

It is absolutely necessary to teach pop science to children, who are the future of the nation and whose sense of science affects the scientific development of the nation. However, this should not be all and the adult need for the study of science should not be overlooked.

There are so many scientific developments adults will need to keep up to date with, especially during a pandemic. How do masks protect against the virus? What other steps should you take to stay healthy? Such questions are not juvenile when one reads about anti-mask movements in the United States. Additionally, there are groups that still insist that the Earth is flat.

To avoid such madness in China, it is necessary to arouse interest in pop science among all age groups, from grassroots to grassroots level. And this is also mutually beneficial, because the more adults develop or sharpen their scientific temperament, the more they can also pay attention to the knowledge of their children.

Contact the writer at @chinadaily.com.cn

Why offshore tax amnesty is unlikely to work

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

The Bangladesh Bank has offered a tax amnesty against the return of offshore assets by paying a 7% tax. On July 18, a circular from the Bank of Bangladesh stated that “any form of undisclosed offshore assets can be brought into the country legally through the banking channel between July 1 and June 30, 2023 by paying a fee of 7% “.

In addition, it was reported that it was not necessary to declare the source of the funds to be transferred.

A plausible intention behind the Central Bank’s move could be to combat turmoil in foreign exchange markets resulting from currency scarcity.

However, the initiative is subject to criticism that it could help legitimize illicit funds and ultimately have a chilling effect on honest taxpayers. On the other hand, the initiative can also be seen as a mechanism to encourage emigrants to bring back their financial assets and savings through legal channels.

However, this may not be effective since income earned through legal channels by Bangladeshi nationals in foreign countries may already be transferred to Bangladesh in the form of tax-free remittances. Therefore, Bangladeshis who have overseas income and assets may not find this 7% tax amnesty to be a lucrative incentive.

Given the sudden decline in foreign exchange reserves, it is imperative to stabilize the foreign exchange market as soon as possible, but the options available to policymakers are limited. In light of this, the tax amnesty granted by the government can still be seen as a well-intentioned move. This is a critical concern at present and it is essential to assess its likely effectiveness, as it is by no means certain, ex-ante, that money launderers will be inclined to return their financial resources illicit from abroad.

Prior to the offshore tax amnesty, the government granted tax amnesty to undeclared domestic income on several occasions since independence, but tax revenue through these programs has not increased significantly.

The percentage of income tax collected from domestic sources as a result of the amnesty compared to overall collection was unsatisfactory: 6.81% in 2007-08, then fell to less than 1% in during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 financial years (0.72%). % and 0.70% respectively) (Ahmed 2020).

Given the dismal outcome of the domestic revenue tax amnesty, the outcome of offshore resource tax amnesty initiatives is unlikely to be effective.

Let’s consider a few facts and questions to assess this concern. It is well known that illicit transfers through illegal channels occur in large quantities. It should be obvious that only high-income individuals and companies can take advantage of these opportunities (cf. Alstadseter et al, 2018).

The Global Financial Integrity Report (GFI, 2021) states that funds are illegally transferred across international borders “to evade taxes and/or customs duties, launder the proceeds of crime, circumvent currency controls and conceal profits in offshore bank accounts”.

If these transfers are indeed intended to evade taxes and trade duties, the likelihood of reversing capital outflows through offshore tax amnesty seems low.

It is difficult to estimate the scale of illicit financial flows due to their secretive nature. GFI did this by reviewing the latest international trade data, officially reported by governments to the United Nations, estimating the scale of trade misinvoicing.

GFI calculated “value gaps” occurring in the global trading system by identifying “mismatches between what two countries had reported about their trade with each other”.

The annual average total value gap identified in Bangladesh’s trade is around $8.3 billion between 2009 and 2018, and amounts to around 17% of Bangladesh’s total trade (GFI 2021 report), which also reveals the extent of capital flight each year.

Trade misinvoicing and balance of payments leakage are two channels of illicit financial flows in the developing world. Illicit financial outflows due to trade misinvoicing and balance of payments leakage account for 12-17% of Bangladesh’s total trade from 2005 to 2015, of which trade misinvoicing accounts for about 7-12% of Bangladesh’s total trade ( GFI, 2017).

Therefore, trade misinvoicing is the major component of illicit financial flows in Bangladesh.

In this context, even if the central bank’s ambitious approach to tax amnesty works as intended, and if there is a substantial inflow of foreign currency leading to a significant increase in the foreign exchange reserve, the shortage of reserve will be resolved to some degree in the short-run, but there is unlikely to be any significant long-term effect.

The currency depreciation has been significant, and in a short period of about six months, it has increased the incentive to return funds that have been transferred since the beginning of this year.

However, the current scenario is somewhat different from previous years. For example, if the funds were transferred when the exchange rate was 87 Tk to the US dollar, they could be reduced to 95 Tk in a short time – a high rate of return.

And, if the benefit of the tax amnesty were included, the return would be even higher. Individuals may have an incentive to use the high returns from these short-term capital inflows largely to make long-term investments in unperforming real estate assets in the absence of well-structured investment opportunities.

A thriving “hundi” or edge market makes Bangladesh’s capital account more open than the political regime suggests. This implies that traders can drive the value of the Taka up by dampening market activity and, at some point, drive it back down, by depreciating it.

While such behavior would normally be expected in an open capital account with a floating exchange rate and market competition, the ups and downs would not disrupt the market given the strong monetary and fiscal policies and regulations. However, with weak policies and regulation, this can cause turbulence and generate windfall gains of the type seen recently.

It is high time for the government to resolutely strengthen regulatory control and take tough action against unscrupulous “money changers”. Otherwise, the ability of a relatively small group of traders to cause large swings in the exchange rate can lead to greater disruption in the future. The stock market crashes of 1996 and 2012 should serve as a reminder.

References

Ahmed, Sams Uddin. “Tax Amnesty Systems in Bangladesh: Some Observations.” Cost and Management 48, no. 3 (2020): 35-40.

Alstadsæter, Annette, Niels Johannesen and Gabriel Zucman. “Tax Evasion and Inequality.” American Economic Review 109, no. 6 (2019): 2073-2103.

Integrity, Global Financial. “Illicit Financial Flows to and from Developing Countries: 2005-2014.” Washington, D.C. (2017).

Integrity, Global Financial. “Illicit Trade-Related Financial Flows in 134 Developing Countries 2009-2018.” Global Financial Integrity, (2021).

Tahreen Tahrima Chowdhury is a researcher at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)

Rebranded Antelope Bookstore Set to Open as Loper Spirit Shop | Local News

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

KEVIN BURD Hub Sports Editor

KEARNEY — The Antelope Bookstore is no more, as the Nebraskan Student Union space is being rebranded as the Loper Spirit Shop.

After creating the UNK Online Bookstore with Akademos, students can purchase their textbooks online, and the university will now oversee clothing, gifts, and merchandise in-house.

With full control over operations, the Loper Spirit Shop hopes to provide a wide variety of options for people looking to show off their UNK pride.

“We want to offer the options and different levels of clothing,” said director of business services Michael Christen. “We are an Under Armor campus, so we still want to offer these products and have them available, but there are different price points there…Customers, community members and students will see a wide variety of prices and selection. We really test the market to see where the demand is.

People also read…




ERIKA PRITCHARD, KEARNEY CENTER


Previously, Barnes and Noble was responsible for both the textbooks and general merchandise side of the store.

The new textbook provider, Akademos, has a comprehensive marketplace for students, so they can not only see options for their service, but also stores on the web.

“Students can see all the options that exist and are not limited to an Akademos selection,” Christen said. “We’re already seeing a lot of student savings and a lot of positive feedback about this affordability and transparency.”

The transition to the Loper Spirit Shop brought several new challenges, but the team was not without direction. The UN already has in-house operations, so it had an easily accessible source of information.

Maintaining leadership was also key to successfully transitioning and rebranding. Current Principal Len Fangmeyer, who has been at the university for about 20 years, and Deputy Principal Dawn Bickford have brought a lot of expertise to the project.

Because the store will no longer be selling textbooks, it was natural to say goodbye to the Antelope Bookstore name.




Loper Spirit Shop

The University of Nebraska at Kearney Loper Spirit Shop will no longer sell textbooks, but the books will be available online through Akademos. The Loper Spirit Shop focuses on affordability for students who want to show off the spirit of the school without breaking the bank.


KEVIN BURD, KEARNEY CENTER


“We had the Antelope Bookstore name there, and we kind of wanted to rename it because we had our new UNK online bookstore with Akademos,” Christen said. “We wanted to rename the Loper Spirit Shop to explain a bit more to individuals, customers and community members what the location really has to offer.”

Affordability has been a key word in the transition to the new Loper Spirit Shop, as the university wants students to be able to show off the spirit of the school without feeling like they’re breaking the bank.

“It’s just about meeting the needs of our alumni and students,” Christen said. “We want affordable prices and we want them to be able to show their school pride. While merchandise may sometimes seem like a small part of campus, it’s a big part of our brand image. It’s a big part of our marketing to students, the community and just showing that pride throughout the region.

Coinciding with the store itself, the university is working on other ways to make its wares more accessible to those around the world.




Loper Spirit Shop

The Loper Spirit Shop sells clothing, gifts, and merchandise internally at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.


KEVIN BURD, KEARNEY CENTER


“We are currently working on a website which we hope to have in the near future which will only enhance the reach we can have with our current students, online students and alumni who are spread across the country and in the world.” Christen said. “At many of our sporting events or events that are in the community, we are looking at some options to put ourselves where we have alumni and students ready to show their pride and buy items. We want to meet them where they are and not just be located in one place on campus.

As the full stock of merchandise and clothing continues to pour in, the Loper Spirit Shop will be open when students arrive on campus for the fall 2022 semester.

Timeless Tales and Other Worlds

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0


I read on AP Wire that nearly 10 million people watched the August 21 premiere of “House of the Dragon,” the prequel to HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones,” making it the most-watched premiere in its history. I was one of 10 million, although I never started watching the original series, but I probably will in the future.

But interest in the genre of epic high fantasy certainly rules out “Game of Thrones” – think “Harry Potter” and “Hunger Games.” But it was JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books that first captured my youthful imagination. I have been avidly reading Tolkien’s beloved trilogy and prequel “The Hobbit”.

I remember one summer, lugging Tolkien books everywhere on my 10-speed Roger Revere bicycle, once finding myself sitting on the low wall of the fountain in front of the church where I had attended the parochial school. I happily settled into my home next to a statue of Jesus on busy Livingston Avenue, engrossed in my book.

Shortly after graduating from college, I started working at B. Dalton Bookseller, the former national chain. Later, I ran a small B. Dalton in a small town in Ohio for several years. It was the era of the box set bookstore. At Christmas, the store shipped boxes and boxes of caskets – “The Lord of the Rings”, “Dune”, collections of Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Robert Ludlum, Danielle Steel, Louis L’amour, “Anne of Green Gables,” “Little House on the Prairie,” etc. Bookstore staff would build towers at least 5 feet tall on the tables—a fun way to get creative with displays.

We were receiving orders placed by the company on a daily basis, supplemented by our own store-generated weekly replenishment orders and customer special orders, which were still booming. All B. Dalton stores had oak ladders with wheels that rolled on tracks along the walls. Employees climbed up to lockers to store excess inventory or create other displays. I like books. I loved my job. I rarely sat down. I was able to climb ladders, build displays, unbox hundreds of boxes of books, and help all kinds of people find the ones they would like or buy for. When I left my job to move to remote Montana, my staff threw me a going away party, sending me off with, among other things, a Rand McNally Road Atlas and a flashlight.

By the time our kids were in school, “Harry Potter” had come out and our daughter had read the entire series (her hardcover set is still on the shelf in her old bedroom). Later she encouraged (challenged) me to read the whole series, so I did and enjoyed them very much.

When the first ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie came out in 2001, I was excited to take the kids to see it. Each film was always released at Christmas time and it became our family tradition to see them, often on Christmas Day after opening the presents, while the ham and au gratin potatoes were cooking in the oven.

Several years ago my daughter and I flew to New Zealand and stayed with my cousin. Talia had visited Hobbiton – the 1,250-acre sheep farm where the movies were filmed and where the film set, complete with hobbit holes, is always there for a tour – on her must-see list. My cousin generously offered to drive us for the five hour round trip (she had never been there and always wanted to go). We arrived on a beautiful day in September – spring in New Zealand – and sheep were lambing in droves through the scenic, pastoral landscape.

Last Friday, Amazon Prime’s new ‘The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’ series launched, taking fans back thousands of years before the era of the original trilogy. For my part, I can’t wait to dive deep again into another place and another time… and return to Middle-earth.

Community Editor Carol Marino can be reached at 406-758-4440 or [email protected]

Jennette McCurdy Guest starred in ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ and thought Frankie Muniz was ‘nice to watch’

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Jennette McCurdy acted out Malcolm in the middle in front of her iCarly role. Here is what she wrote in I’m glad my mother died to work with Frankie Muniz and his crush on the actor.

Jennette McCurdy appeared in the “If Boys Were Girls” episode of “Malcolm in the Middle”

Actress Jennette McCurdy attends Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2009 | Jesse Grant/Getty Images for IMG

Most know this actor from his time with Nickelodeon. McCurdy also appeared on an episode of Malcolm in the middle titled “If Boys Were Girls”. Without knowing the sex of her baby, Has asks Lois if she would rather have a boy or a girl. After raising four boys already, the answer seemed obvious.

“The episodes are about the mom character dreaming of having girls instead of boys. I played the Dewey wife aka Daisy,” McCurdy wrote in her memoir. I’m glad my mother died.

At the end of the episode, Lois realizes how lucky she is to have boys, even though she secretly hopes her next child will be a girl. Years later, McCurdy shared her experience of being on set and portraying the lovable but mischievous Dewey.

“They put hard wax behind my ears to make them stick out more because they said Dewey’s trademark is that he has big ears that stick out and I have small ones,” he said. she noted. “The wax was bulky and really hurt the back of my ears, but I liked the studio where we shot the episode and the producer was really nice to me.”

▶” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/pU-uZztJEcQ?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; automatic reading; clipboard-write; encrypted media; gyroscope; picture in picture” allow full screen >

Jennette McCurdy Said She ‘Loved’ Frankie Muniz From ‘Malcolm in the Middle’

One of the main takeaways of Malcolm in the middle was his experience with Frankie Muniz – the star of the sitcom. Although it was one of the few times these stars worked together, McCurdy said it was a positive experience.

“I thought Frankie Muniz was nice to look at and loved when he said hello to me in the hallways,” McCurdy wrote. “I felt like I was pretty tight-lipped about my feelings until Mom jerked me off. ‘Don’t even think about it. He’s way too old for you. And more importantly, not Mormon .’”

McCurdy even shared a photo of herself Malcolm in the middle days. She captioned an Instagram post, “10 year old me sad to be done filming an episode of Malcolm in the middle. I loved Frankie Muniz and I just wanted him to love me back!!”

Jennette McCurdy Detailed ‘iCarly’ and ‘Sam & Cat’ on ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’

I’m glad my mother died detailed McCurdy’s experience in several TV shows, including its Nickelodeon spin-off sam and cat. The memoir also described the actor’s complicated family life, which became even more strained due to his mother’s cancer diagnosis.

After selling out at most retailers, McCurdy’s book is now in stock at Barnes & Noble and other bookstores. Fans can also purchase physical and digital copies of I’m glad my mother died on Amazon.

RELATED: ‘Breaking Bad’ execs didn’t trust Bryan Cranston to seriously play Heisenberg after his Goofy Hal on ‘Malcolm in the Middle’

Edge of Spider-Verse 2 Land Virgin Exclusive & Turkish Trade Clothing Variants > PARALEL EVREN |

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
Edge of Spider-Verse 2 Land Virgin Exclusive & Turkish Trade Clothing Variants > PARALEL EVREN |

Live now in the Paralel Evren eBay Store head over and get your very own copy of these brand new Marvel Comics exclusives from the Turkish market!!

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Limited to only 600 copies of Land trade dress exclusively from Paralel Evren

Limited to only 300 blank covers!!! This cover has NEVER been available as a blank, get it now from Paralel Evren on Ebay!!

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The 3rd exclusive tribute set we got from PE. This year, Yildray Cinar was commissioned to pay homage to the 1991 classic McFarlane by replacing Peter with Miles. I really dig this cover, Cinar nailed it!
We also got the gold and silver variants of this amazing material that Paralel Evren uses for their shiny covers.

Limited to 500

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Some of them are still available in the Ebay store of Paralel Evren

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2 European stocks with Monster

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

The US dollar strengthened significantly while the euro sold off due to political uncertainties as well as energy and food shortages due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. This has led to the Euro trading at par with the US Dollar, meaning that $1 is now trading at €1 or close to €1. A strong dollar means US. assets are more expensive, but a weak euro means European equities are trading cheaper than historical levels.

In an environment of high inflation and a strengthening US dollar, dividends from European equities could be worth even more than their US counterparts. Therefore, in this article, we’ll look at two of my favorite European stocks that look undervalued and pay monster dividends.

Ruby SCA

Ruby SCA (XPAR:RUI, Financial) is a French multinational specialized in the storage and distribution of oil and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). The company’s share price has fallen 63% from its all-time highs in 2018. This decline is due to the secular trend towards green energy and the fact that many pension funds in Europe have sold fossil fuel stocks. But now we see the tide turn in fossil fuel sentiment, as energy security has become a national priority in many European countries thanks to the war. In addition, Rubis is present in many emerging markets such as Senegal, Kenya and Madagascar, which should offer better long-term potential than developed countries which are in the process of reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Rubis delivered strong financial results for its fiscal first quarter 2022, with record volumes up 10% year-over-year. The business also benefited from a rebound in tourism in the Caribbean region and growth areas in Europe, driven by the use of LPG as a motive gas. Its activity in East Africa also shows strong commercial momentum. Gross margin jumped 7% year over year. This increase is due to a 19% increase in the gross margin of the supply/shipping segment.

The group’s overall sales amounted to 1.47 billion euros, up 49% year-on-year. This was mainly driven by higher oil prices and the aforementioned volume growth. Rubis supplies service stations, manufacturers and commercial customers, so it tends to pass on the majority of oil price variations to these customers. This means that society will not benefit as much from the sharp rise in oil prices. But the good news is that this means earnings should be much more stable in the long run. As a capital-intensive regulated entity, the company also benefits from high barriers to entry. It would be unlikely for a Silicon Valley tech startup to say “I want to invest billions in building containers, terminals and infrastructure” for a “dying” industry like oil.

Rubis operates key terminals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the company is expanding into biofuel production by taking over contracts from oil giant Shell PLC (RDS.B, financial), which further diversifies the activity. The company’s refining and logistics activities generate extremely stable revenues due to its business model, which is a major strength.

The company acquired an 80% stake in Photosol France, which is a major supplier of renewable energy. This company has 313 megawatts of solar capacity and has another 101 megawatts under construction. So, despite being in the fossil fuel industry, Rubis has a foot in both camps.

The company pays out a monstrous 7.88% dividend yield, which seems to be sustainable given the growth in emerging markets. The dividend has averaged an 8% CAGR over the past 10 years. Management also bought back shares, which is a positive sign.

Rubis has 996 million euros in cash and cash equivalents for total debt of 1.6 billion euros. This level of debt is quite high but not surprising for a company in the fossil fuel industry.

Ruby is trading at a price-earnings ratio of 8, which is very cheap relative to the sector and its own historical levels. The GF Value chart shows a fair value of €47.12 per share for the stock, making it significantly undervalued at current levels.

1565733445672484864.png

Unilever APIs

Unilever APIs (LSE:ULVR, Financial) is a premier consumer packaged goods company that manufactures just about every type of consumer goods you can think of. It offers over 400 products across many commodity categories to customers in the UK and overseas. Its brands include Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Hellmans Mayonnaise, Dove, Axe, Pot Noodle, Cif antibacterial spray, Domestos bleach and more. The variety of well-known global brands makes this company a true “recession-proof stock”, as many of its products are things that consumers won’t stop buying, even in recessionary conditions.

Despite its dominant position in European consumer goods, Unilever is not resting on its laurels and is actively pursuing a growth strategy through acquisitions. Driven by the involvement of activist investors, Unilever is selling its slowing brands and acquiring faster growing companies. For example, the company agreed to sell its tea business last year to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for €4.5 billion, but it kept the part of its rapidly growing tea business in India, in Nepal and Indonesia. The company also acquires wellness brands, such as Nutrafol.

Unilever generated strong financial results for the second quarter of 2022. Its revenue was €15.8 billion, up 2% year-on-year, which exceeded analyst estimates of $192 million.

This was driven by strong underlying sales growth (USG), with underlying sales jumping 8.8% year-over-year. The Beauty and Personal Care segment earned the lion’s share of revenue at 6.4 billion euros. This is followed by the Food and Refreshments segment, which generated 6.3 billion euros. Home care generated 3.1 billion euros in turnover. The large number of products and the diversified income distribution make Unilever even more recession-proof.

1565319847653523456.png

Operating income amounted to 4.5 billion euros in the first half of 2022, with a healthy operating margin of 15.2%. Looking ahead, management expects strong underlying sales growth of 6.% and operating margin expansion to 16%.

Unilever pays a healthy dividend yield of 3.72%, which has historically increased at a CAGR of 5%. This is very high for a consumer goods company; while not as impressive as Rubis’ dividend yield, it comes with much greater stability in the underlying business to compensate for it.

Unilever is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7, 7% cheaper than its five-year average. Additionally, the GF Value chart shows a fair value of £38.79 per share, making the stock slightly undervalued at the time of writing.

1565740002439184384.png

Final Thoughts

The European market is scaring away investors right now, which means there is an opportunity for value-oriented investors who have a contrarian style. The two stocks discussed in this article are, in my opinion, solid inflation hedges. They are also undervalued on a GF value basis and pay attractive dividends.

Seaport deserves our support

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

September 02, 2022 11:11 a.m.

Despite Stu Reininger’s good faith and personal disappointments in reconnecting with Mystic Seaport Museum, it’s hard to understand or appreciate The Day’s choice to amp up his ax work on a distinguished and iconic institution among us.

My family members, as longtime residents of Groton and Mystic, have been members of the museum for decades. My mother, now deceased, was a volunteer member for many years, as was my sister in the former art museum, whose magnificent centerpiece sculpture continues to adorn, prominently, the entrance courtyard of the museum. As a member of the museum and a neighbor, I have visited the port many times over the past year after returning to the area, my hometown. Although the upstairs bookstore has long since been moved downstairs and scaled down, the book selection seems to remain quite exceptional, albeit more limited in scope.

It seemed to me and other family members that the new president of the museum has done a wonderful job in many great ways not only to get the port out of its annual million dollar deficit , but to make the place upgraded and embellished quite obviously even for a casual stroll.

Of course, progress is needed, but the evidence of diligent and dynamic renewal and wise investment seems to be everywhere. The Sabino will be back in service once the necessary renovation is complete. (Old ships are in need of refurbishment, and the seaport is known far and wide for its expert work.) Check out the new piers at the other end and the many delightful upgrades along the way.

People come from near and far to visit this beloved and one of a kind place in our region. He deserves our support and admiration!

Doug Roseau

Mystical

Flood renders Pashtun poet bedridden homeless – Newspaper

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

PESHAWAR: Like thousands of others, the recent flood added to the miseries of bedridden senior Pashtun poet Akmal Lewanai as his home was washed away by flood waters.

Akmal Lewanai, 76, once a stockbroker rich in laughter through his humorous and satirical couplets, now looks up to rescuers and his die-hard fans to come to his aid in the twilight of his age. “Old age and frail health forced me to seek help from my fans and government aid workers in these difficult times,” he said in a hushed voice.

The author of more than a dozen books, he has served Pashto for more than five decades with his unique poetic expression and his skills as a mobile bookseller where he used to motivate the public to develop a taste for reading.

The octogenarian poet told this scribe over the phone that despite his efforts, no relief aid was given to his family. Being bedridden, he could not move to approach rescue workers in the area, he added.

About four years ago, the acclaimed poet, once a traveling bookseller, was bedridden following major spinal cord surgery in Islamabad which devoured much of his personal cat. Recent flash floods washed away his two-room mud house, leaving no space for him to rest.

“I need urgent hospitalization because living in the rubble of a collapsed house has become extremely difficult for me. I have also exhausted my cash. As a result, my condition is rapidly deteriorating. I am calling philanthropists and aid workers to provide medical and financial aid in times of destitution,” he said in a sobbing voice.

Mr Lewanai said he had a rare collection of books and pamphlets in Pashto and Urdu that his family could save from being swept away by the roaring floodwaters in a corner of the house. He said the books could be purchased for public libraries who would earn money in return.

“The collection is no longer in my personal use and if the government were able to buy it, a reasonable price would help in return in some way. My only son is a renter without resources to pay for my medical care and take care of me. Relief volunteers should turn their attention to my position of helplessness,” he said.

Posted in Dawn, September 2, 2022

Amid US retail gloom, Uniqlo shines on COVID-triggered overhaul

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

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  • The Fast Retailing brand is set to make its first-ever profit in North America
  • Company has ‘scratched everything’ about pandemic – Uniqlo regional chief
  • No discounts as the company has adopted new logistics, tariff plans
  • Company ‘still has a lot to prove’ in North America – analyst
  • End of the risky analyst update; Supply problems in Xinjiang

TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) – As inflation ravages the big guns of U.S. clothing retail, awash in high inventories and steep discounts to lure shoppers into stores, Japan’s Uniqlo is on poised to have its best year in North America after a COVID-imposed revolution in its business model.

Retailers from Gap (GPS.N) to Kohl’s (KSS.N) are warning of falling profit margins as inflation-conscious customers hold back buying clothes. But flagship Fast Retailing brand (9983.T) said it was on course to deliver its first full-year profit in North America – after 17 years of trying – helped by an overhaul of its logistics and marketing strategy. pricing, introduced during the pandemic, and essentially stopping discounting. Read more

Fast Retailing did not say how much it would make from its 59 Uniqlo stores in the region, including 43 in the United States and 16 in Canada. The number will be small compared to 290 billion yen ($2.1 billion). Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect it to post an overall operating profit for the 12 months ending August at more than 3,500 group stores around the world.

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But his customer base is shrinking in an aging Japan, and worries are growing about how much he can rely on China as a growth engine. Analysts say Fast Retailing’s ability to continue its progress in North America will be a key indicator of how close it can come to its lofty goal of overtaking Spain’s Inditex (ITX.MC) as the top retailer. of clothing in the world, set by founder and CEO Tadashi Yanai.

“Uniqlo has a lot to prove over the next few quarters and years before we can have any confidence that North America can successfully replace China as Uniqlo’s next growth market,” said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, analyst at LightStream Research, which publishes on the Smartkarma platform.

Fast Retailing’s North America chief Daisuke Tsukagoshi, 43 but already a 20-year veteran at the business, told Reuters in an interview that Uniqlo has used the pandemic as a chance to “scratch it all.” and start over in North America. Critically, Uniqlo has stopped almost all discounts, essentially retraining its customers to get used to fixed prices.

“Our competitors are offering 50% or 60% discounts, but we’ve basically stopped that,” Tsukagoshi said.

Instead, the company focused on basic apparel items like loungewear and lean inventory management, implementing an automated warehousing system that linked inventory across its physical stores and its e-commerce stores.

A GOOD DEAL?

Uniqlo has also increased the use of more expensive air freight to reduce lead times for popular items and avoid logistical problems caused by the pandemic. Adidas (ADSGn.DE) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU.O) are among others that have increased the use of air transport to bypass seaport bottlenecks.

“We try to get products into the warehouse as soon as possible, even if we have to use air,” Tsukagoshi said.

It is unclear to what extent the company’s operations have benefited from trading in the yen at its lowest level in decades. US earnings are worth much more in Japanese currency, but the cost of buying materials in Yen is now much higher.

Away from the warehouse, the company’s stores appear brighter and more suited to American tastes than before, said Neil Saunders, retail analyst at GlobalData. But Uniqlo may have misinterpreted the market by waiving the discounts.

“Low prices are great for the American consumer and they work, but sometimes people like these bargains and feel like they’re getting a lot,” he said.

“And Uniqlo doesn’t necessarily offer that.”

XINJIANG A RISK?

Uniqlo, best known for its fleeces and inexpensive basics, first entered North America in 2005 and now plans to open 30 stores a year until it hits 200 in the next five years. branching out to big cities like New York and San Francisco along the way. in larger locations, such as Texas and Florida.

The company estimates the region will produce 300 billion yen in annual sales by 2027 and aims to increase operating profit margins to 20% from more than 5% currently. Regional chief Tsukagoshi said this would be possible by reducing logistics and marketing costs, as well as lowering rents beyond major cities.

Some are skeptical.

The expansion and profitability targets seem “a little too ambitious” because Fast Retailing hasn’t achieved a 20% margin even in its home market of Japan, said Kumarasiri, an analyst at LightStream Research.

One of the risks to the company’s plans could be its reliance on manufacturing in China, where human rights concerns have swirled around labor and labor. cotton produced in the Xinjiang region.

Although there are no signs of a U.S. consumer boycott so far, Fast Retailing has not disavowed the use of Xinjiang cotton, unlike rivals including Sweden’s H&M . A shipment of Uniqlo shirts was held up at the Port of Los Angeles last year on suspicion of violating a ban on the material.

In addition, French prosecutors last year opened an investigation into the company and three other retailers suspected of covering up “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang. Prosecutors did not respond to a request for comment and the status of the investigation was not immediately clear.

The company has denied the allegations and said it does not tolerate human rights abuses among suppliers and vendors. China denies all accusations of abuse in the region.

($1 = 139.5000 yen)

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Reporting by Rocky Swift and Miho Uranaka; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

High school students with part-time jobs save their yen

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Data from Japan

Economy Labor Society

A survey of high school students in Japan found that the most common use of money from a part-time job was to save it.

A survey of high school students across Japan conducted by Line Research found that 10% are currently working part-time jobs, while 8% have done so in the past, less than 20% overall. The frequent declaration of COVID-19 states of emergency from 2020 to 2021 appears to have reduced opportunities for students to find part-time jobs.

When asked how they had spent the income from a first part-time job, 30.5% of girls and 28.6% of boys who had worked said that they had saved it, showing a preference common way of putting money aside rather than using it for entertainment or shopping.

The most positive aspect of part-time work, according to survey respondents, was “understanding the importance of work”, cited by 46.6% of them, followed by 41.8% who said ” understand the importance of money” and the 36.0% who indicated “being able to save money”.

As for the part-time job they would like to do in the future, 48.2% of the women surveyed said they would like to work in a café, while more than 35% mentioned either a bookstore, a bakery or a confectionery. Among male respondents, the top answer, at 28.0%, was a bookstore, followed by work as a tutor for a family or an elementary school, and a job at a convenience store.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner image © Pixta.)

high school
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Judge rejects efforts to ban two books using obscenity law

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Booksellers, publishers and libraries scored a victory in court on Tuesday as a Virginia judge threw out the state’s nearly 75-year-old obscenity law application to two books that have upset people. Virginia Beach Republican politicians.

Under the Abstruse Book Ban Act, citizens are allowed to sue individual books (and other forms of media), ask a court to have those books found to be legally obscene, and then have those books considered their distribution as criminal. The production, sale, or possession of obscene materials is a crime in the Old Dominion State.

“Upon the filing of a motion under this section, the court in term or vacation shall forthwith examine the allegedly obscene book,” the law on the determination of obscenity says. “If the court finds no probable cause to believe the book obscene, the judge thereof will dismiss the petition; but if the court finds probable cause to believe that the book is obscene, the judge of that court will make an order as to why the book should not be found obscene.

The Circuit Court for the City of Virginia Beach denied motions to remove two books from the state: (1) Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; and (2) A court of mist and fury by Sarah JK Maas. The first book is a memoir; the second is young adult fantasy fiction.

“We are satisfied with the outcome of today’s proceedings,” the lead attorney for the ACLU of Virginia said. Matt Callahan said after the judgment. “The First Amendment protects literary expression, even when some people find parts of the works difficult or objectionable. Everyone should be able to choose what they want to read.

The books have been targeted by conservatives for their explicit depictions of sex, which they say are not acceptable content for young readers.

Although the Obscenity Petitions Act has not been used in decades, the State Delegate Tim Andersonan attorney, filed the two lawsuits on behalf of a former GOP congressional candidate and current tattoo shop owner Tommy Altmanarguing that parents should have more control over what their children read and that sexually explicit scenes in books were inappropriate for young readers.

The lawsuits were brought in the larger context of the current conservative culture war on LGBTQ rights and ideas. Anderson, however, says the thematic content of the two books was not the problem.

“There was never any question of trying to ban gay literature or trans literature,” the lawyer said. USA today. “It was just to say that these have really explicit sexual content and it’s not appropriate for children.”

At the end of May, the judge Pamela Baskervill issued a ruling finding that there were “probable grounds to believe” that the books were “obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors” and ordered the authors and publishers of the books to object to the ruling.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Virginia represented four local booksellers as well as various book sales and free expression groups in motions to dismiss the proceeding. National bookstore chain Barnes & Noble has also hired a First Amendment lawyer to fight obscenity petitions. Other free-speech and First Amendment groups have also rallied to defend the books in court.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Baskervill, who is retired but heard the case due to a conflict of interest from all the other justices in the area, said the law was ‘facially invalid’ because it authorizes an unconstitutional “pre-restraint” which plans to authorize the government to police speech before it even happens. The judge also cited jurisdictional reasons for dismissing the obscenity petitions, saying that the state law in question does not really authorize giving a court the power to determine whether the books are obscene for minors in particular. , a point the ACLU pushed in press releases and court documents.

Baskervill also expressed practical concerns about enforcement against people who sold or lent a book deemed obscene.

“It is not for the court to legislate,” wrote the judge.

The ACLU welcomed the court’s decision on Twitter:

Anderson plans to appeal the decision to a higher court, he told the Virginia Mercury.

[image via David Livingston/Getty Images]

Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Independent Bookstore in Miami: Independent Bookstores You Need to Know

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

When it comes to literary delights, there’s nothing more exciting than taking some personal time to hit up a bookstore to browse the shelves in search of the perfect book, then come home ready to snuggle up. under the covers with him until, maybe, daylight comes.

And, while visiting the most well-known bookstores can be fun, there really is something to be said for the cultural environment and excitement of visiting a local, beloved bookstore in your town. They allow readers to discover new authors or meet unknown writers through events where you can mingle with them.

At Books and Books in Coral Gables the New York Times best-selling author Victoria Aveyard of kingdom breaker series presented its sequel, Blade breakerand she had a lot to say about readers and their discovering her through events at independent bookstores, in addition to social media. “I owe so much to my fans, their subscribers and how much they support my novels,” Aveyard said, this summer when she presented at the store. “And the fact that there are independent stores like this supporting us and bringing us closer to readers means so, so much to me.”

Then there’s the local YA fantasy author Lobizona, Romina Garber, who currently resides in Miami near her family. She is of Argentinian origin, her books have obtained a loyal following and she is grateful to the independent bookstores that support her reading and help her grow. “Independent bookstores offer their customers more than just a product,” Garber said. “They create a community. Their concern for their readers leads to an intimate level of attention.

That said, here are the best independent bookstores in South Florida that invite readers to explore, enjoy, and be part of their community.

Aurora Dominguez is a contributor to Thrillist.

Buccaneers-Colts Trade Ranks: Former ‘Mr. Irrelevant ‘Grant Stuard heads to Indy

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
grant-stuard.png
USA today

As the 4 p.m. ET roster cut deadline approaches, the Buccaneers and Colts have completed a trade involving second-year inside linebacker Grant Stuard. Along with Stuard, the Buccaneers sent a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Colts in exchange for Indianapolis’ sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft.

The “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2021 NFL Draft, Stuard recorded 15 tackles and one forced fumble as a rookie while playing mostly on special teams. He received defensive snaps in three games last season while helping the Buccaneers win their Premier League title since 2007.

Stuard played his college football in Houston, where he saw his time as a defensive back and running back before moving into linebacker before his senior season. Named team captain before the start of the 2020 season, Stuard led Houston in tackles while leading the American Athletic Conference in average tackles per game.

headshot-image

Stuard joins a Colts linebacker corps led by Darius Leonard, a three-time All-Pro who last season led the NFL with eight forced fumbles. With Stuard’s departure, the Buccaneers now have five inside linebackers, including starters Lavonte David and Devin White. KJ Britt, a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft, is expected to be David and White’s primary replacement.

How did the two teams fare in this trade? Here’s how the Buccaneers and Colts ranked.

Foals: A

The Colts did not give up much to acquire a 23-year-old player with considerable potential. Stuard is also an accomplished special teams player who can more than defend when asked to play linebacker. He is a nice addition to a team looking to add depth in the middle of their defense.

Buccaneers: B

Pay tribute to the Buccaneers for getting something in return for a player they had no intention of keeping. That being said, it’s somewhat surprising that the Buccaneers have decided to part ways with a player whose best football should be ahead of him.

How Stuard performs in Indianapolis will ultimately determine who wins this trade, but for now, it looks like the Colts got the better end of the deal.

Is China suspending border trade to punish Nepal for its BRI stance?

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

By Santosh Ghimire

New Delhi, August 30: China recently informed the Nepalese government that it would not be able to reopen two main border crossing points with Nepal for bilateral trade until the COVID-19 pandemic is fully contained in its Tibetan Autonomous Region. (RAT), announced the Kathmandu authorities.

Nepal’s trade with China is largely through the border points of Tatopani-Zhangmu and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung. The country’s bilateral trade with China came to a screeching halt after the northern neighbor closed these two border points without notice.

As a result, Nepalese importers who do business with China suffered huge losses as container trucks bound for Nepal carrying their goods ran aground in different towns in Tibet including Nyalam, Kerung and Shigatse.

“The Chinese side has unofficially let us know that they cannot reopen the border points until the coronavirus is under control in Tibet,” an official with Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of China told India Narrative on Sunday. .

The official, referring to the Chinese side, informed that the number of coronavirus infections in Tibet currently stands at 6,000. Likewise, more than 40,000 people are under home quarantine as the number of coronavirus cases is increasing.

In diplomatic correspondence to the Foreign Ministry, the Nepalese consulate office in Tibet’s capital Lhasa said that at least 60 container trucks bound for Nepal carrying goods were stranded in cities across Tibet, including Kerung and Shigatse, over the past three weeks. This is of course not the first time that trucks have been stuck along the border areas between Nepal and China.

Ram Prasad Mainali, chief officer of Nepal’s Rasuwagadhi customs post, bordering the Chinese town of Kerung, said they still do not know when the Chinese side will reopen the border for bilateral trade.

“It has been almost three weeks since container trucks crossing Nepal carrying goods were not allowed to enter Nepal from the Tibetan side, due to the pandemic. We do not know when the border point will reopen. “, Mainali told India Narrative by phone. on Sunday.

Nepal imported goods worth 233.9 billion Nepalese rupees while export of goods was only valued at 1 billion rupees in 2021. China remained Nepal’s second largest trading partner after India.

Some officials are smelling the rat if there is another political reason behind the sudden closure of the border with Nepal.

During a recent meeting between Nepali and Chinese foreign ministers Narayan Khadka and Wang Yi in the city of Qingdo in China, the former reportedly expressed reluctance to speed up development projects already finalized under the Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road (BRI) initiative, fearing the possibility of a “debt trap” similar to that of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“It is our undeclared policy now that we cannot receive commercial loans from China like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We only preferred grants from China. Coming back to the point of closing the borders , we cannot say categorically that the Chinese side is giving us a cold response because of our reservation in receiving commercial loans under BRI projects,” the official said.

On average, every day, 14 container trucks loaded with goods would arrive in Nepal from China via the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border points before the border was closed, officials said.

As the major Hindu festivals Teej and Dashain draw closer, traders from Nepal have already placed their orders in China. Nepal receives most of the goods targeted for the festive season through the Tatopani-Zhangmu and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border points with China.

China last reopened Tatopati-Zhangmu trading point in March 2020 amid the pandemic. But it didn’t last long. China immediately closed the border post due to the rising number of COVID-19 infections in Nepal.

Nepalese traders say some container trucks loaded with goods have been redirected via sea to the city of Kolkata in Indian West Bengal after China recently shut down major trading points.

It takes at least 35 days for re-routed containers to reach Kathmandu via Kolkata while it takes only 15 days from overland.

Nepal shares a 1,414 km border with the Chinese region of Tibet. This is not the first time that China has closed its borders with Nepal. Immediately after the devastating earthquakes of 2015, China closed border points with Nepal for two years. The border points came into operation in March 2017. However, with the onset of the pandemic in 2019, China imposed various restrictions along the border points, which limited trade between the two countries.

Even though Nepal and China agreed to set up a joint pandemic control mechanism at border ports when Nepalese Foreign Minister Khadka met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the second week of August, no work has been done. was made for this purpose.

“The two foreign ministers decided to establish a joint pandemic control mechanism at border ports. They also agreed to open Rasuwagadhi-Kerung and Tatopani-Zhangmu ports for bilateral trade and the port of Hilsa-Purang for one-way trade which will take place as soon as the new wave of COVID-19 pandemic in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region is brought under control,” read a statement released by the Nepalese side after the meeting between the two sides. two foreign ministers.

North Ave. Market in Station North announces closure – Baltimore Sun

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

North Ave. Market is closing, the company announced on Facebook and Instagram on Monday.

The latest iteration of the arcade, bar and music venue combination located in the Station North Arts District opened in early 2020.

the arcade Facebook page, which describes itself as “not your average market!” said the space was permanently closed on Monday.

When the original food market at the corner of North Avenue and Maryland Avenue opened in 1928, a crowd of 50,000 to 75,000 people frequented more than 250 stalls, according to Baltimore Sun records.

After a six-alarm fire in 1968 temporarily shut down the market, affordable seniors’ apartments took its place. North Avenue Market reopened as a supermarket in 1974 and later housed various businesses, including a location of Red Emma’s bookstore and cafe.

The evening sun

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In 2020, Secret Sauce Co. opened a restaurant there as part of a partnership to revitalize the space, but is no longer associated with North Ave.

1972 file photo of North Avenue Market.
(COOK/Check with Baltimore Sun Photo)

North Ave. Market thanked customers on social media on Monday, but clarified when and why the site would shut down. The owners could not be reached for comment.

“North Ave Market and this community have held a special place in our hearts. It is unfortunate that we have to close the doors, but we would like you to know how much we have appreciated your business and your support, ”said a message on Facebook and Instagram on Monday afternoon.

Carrie Wood is a member of the video game cover band Quick Save, which played North Ave. in April. Wood said when she reached out to book another gig in July, the booker told her the venue was changing hands.

“From what I know, it’s not a surprise, but it’s a disappointment. It always sucks to lose a concert hall,” she said.

Wood sings and plays guitar, bass, and “the occasional trombone” to video game songs, including “classics” like tunes from Super Mario 64. As an arcade bar with a stage, North Ave. perfectly suited for Quick Save’s niche audience. Wood said another group she is involved with, the Baltimore Gamers Symphony Orchestra, also held bingo nights there to raise funds.

“It was kind of the perfect place for us,” she said. “I hope whatever fills this space keeps the stage and continues to support the local scene.”

2013 file photo. Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, a worker-owned and community-run business, has moved from Mt. Vernon to the old North Avenue Market. (Kim Hairston / Baltimore Sun / Baltimore Sun)

mcdonald: Did Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos ever work at McDonald’s? Here’s something you might want to know

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
On Sunday, Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos opened up about his first job at McDonald’s on Twitter. His post comes days after an image of his Amazon advertisement surfaced in which he was looking for his first employee. He posted a photo in which he was with a meal from McDonald’s.

A teenager at McDonald’s

He worked at McDonald’s when he was 16 and went to Princeton University later. Jeff Bezos spoke with Golden Opportunity: Extraordinary Businesses That Started at McDonald’s author Cody Teets and said you have to take your job seriously to be responsible.

He said you can learn as a teenager at McDonald’s because it’s different from what you understand in school. He urged people not to underestimate his value.

Amazon Advertising

Jeff Bezos ran a flyer ad in 1994 where he was looking for Unix developers for his Seattle startup, Amazon. He mentioned that the startup was well capitalized and would be willing to offer stock to its employees. Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer and started as a book selling website in 1994.

Jeff Bezos explains how to succeed in business

Jeff Bezos explains how to succeed in business

Jeff Bezos explains how to succeed in business

He added that he needed someone who could build large, complex systems in about a third of the time other capable people possibly could.

He also wanted excellent communication skills, familiarity with HTML (not a deal breaker) and web servers. The candidate also had to have a Ph.D., Masters, or Bachelor’s degree in computer science.

FAQs

Q1. When did Jeff Bezos work at McDonald’s?

A1. Jeff Bezos worked at McDonald’s when he was 16.

Q2. What was Amazon before it became the world’s largest online retailer?

A2. Amazon started out as a book selling website in its early days.

Disclaimer Statement: This content is written by an external agency. The views expressed herein are those of the respective authors/entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its content and is not responsible for it in any way. Please take all necessary steps to ensure that the information and content provided is correct, updated and verified. ET hereby disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to the report and its contents.

Netflix GameStop Docuseries Coming September 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Photo: Getty Images

2021 has been a crazy year for the stock market and GameStop has been one of the many biggest stories. The short squeeze on the struggling game retailer has led to the rise of a new subculture, and Netflix’s first project covering the phenomenon is coming in September 2022.

Arriving September 28, Story Syndicate’s docu-series examines the layers of intrigue, from the supercharged power of digital communities to the gamification of commerce made prolific during the short GameStop squeeze.

Story Syndicate has produced several documentaries for Netflix, including Convergence: Courage in Times of Crisis, The Records of Innocenceand the Oscar winner Icarus and What happened, Miss Simone?.

Here’s how Netflix describes the title:

“This comedy documentary series follows a group of millennial misfits who band together online to save their beloved GameStop from the clutches of Wall Street bigwigs, in a viral David vs. Goliath story for the 21st century.”

The project’s executive producers include Anthony Galloway, Daniel Rosen, Jon Bardin, Dan Cogan, Julie Gaither and Liz Garbus. Amy Hobby produces.

Netflix has yet to release a trailer for the new docuseries, but they have provided us with four first-look images.

Eat the Rich The GameStop Saga S1 E1 00 33 43 01

Picture: Netflix

Eat the Rich The GameStop Saga S1 E1 00 25 07 16

Picture: Netflix

Eat the Rich The GameStop Saga S1 E1 00 17 38 03

Picture: Netflix

Eat the Rich The GameStop Saga S1 E1 00 36 47 14

Picture: Netflix

Remember, this isn’t the only GameStop project Netflix has in the works. Announced in February 2021, Noah Centineo is set to star in a feature film about the stock. At the time, Mark Boal was in negotiations to write the film.

Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga is one of 14 Netflix Original documentaries and docuseries set to arrive throughout the month. Other expected titles include the new spin-off of Chef’s table which will focus on Pizza, the documentary by Georgie Stone, a documentary on the Hollywood heist The real Bling ring, and the final entry into Unspeakable 2nd volume

Netflix isn’t alone in jumping on the bandwagon of GameStop history. Neon released the 94-minute documentary Gamestop: Rise of Gamers to largely positive reviews earlier this year. Vice released a documentary featuring the company called The great pressure. MGM is also looking to get in on the action by buying the rights to a book proposal called GameStop, Reddit and Wall Street. HBO Max also released a docuseries in early 2022.

Are you looking forward to watching Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.

Oil Updates – Crude Up; The United States has had constructive discussions with India on Russian oil; Kurdish regional government says oil trade not affected

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Crypto Moves – Bitcoin, Ether Down; India CoinSwitch says it is cooperating with Financial Crimes Agency investigation

RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Sunday, falling 1.13% to $19,975 at 1:32 p.m. Riyadh time.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $1,483 down 1.55%, according to data from CoinDesk.

Indian CoinSwitch Cooperates With Financial Crimes Agency Investigation: CEO

India’s top crypto app CoinSwitch is cooperating with the national financial crime agency, whose officers searched its offices last week to learn more about its business model and user onboarding processes, it said on Saturday. its CEO at Reuters.

CoinSwitch, worth $1.9 billion, claims to be the largest crypto company in India, with over 18 million registered users. The company is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures.

Ashish Singhal, speaking for the first time publicly about the raid conducted on August 25, said his company was engaging with the Indian Law Enforcement Directorate unit in Bengaluru Technology Hub on the operation of its crypto platform.

“Most of their engagement with us has been to find out what CoinSwitch does,” Singhal said, saying the investigations included crypto exchange operations, how users were onboarded, and details about knowledge of crypto exchanges. standards of your customers.

A person with direct knowledge said the case involved alleged breaches of India’s foreign exchange laws. Officers asked about foreign investments, income and outflows to verify compliance, and seized financial documents, the source said.

The investigation into CoinSwitch comes amid tightening regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry in India.

In a separate case, the agency this month froze $8 million in assets from WazirX, a major virtual currency exchange, as part of an investigation into a possible role in helping app companies instant loan to launder proceeds of crime by converting them into cryptocurrencies on its platform.

The agency said it was conducting money laundering investigations against several shadow banks and their fintech companies for potential violations of central bank standards and predatory lending practices.

The CoinSwitch research was “not about money laundering,” Singhal said.

The agency “has engaged with us regarding the operation of our crypto platform and we are fully cooperating with them,” he added.

Although no official data is available on the size of the Indian crypto market, CoinSwitch puts the number of investors at 20 million, with total holdings of around $6 billion, according to Reuters.

North Beach Street Festival Gives Italophiles a Taste of Homeland – and Aperol

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Even for those who don’t have a series of colliding vowels in their last name, North Beach was open to all comers on Saturday for the Festa Coloniale Italiana, an event showing how San Francisco continues to find its way back from the days of the darkest of the pandemic.

Beyond a chance to spill Aperol spritzes in a crowded Washington Square Park, or watch the red wine and red sauce flow as locals and tourists swirled down Stockton Street for upbeat renditions of “Volare” and “Bella Ciao” by Italian jazz/funk band Sonamó, the festival organized by the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club Foundation, was an opportunity to celebrate the neighborhood’s cultural roots.

“We want to promote the Italian language and create a bridge between cultures,” said Martina Di Biasi, originally from Italy, of Istituto Italiano Sculoa, which offers Italian language classes in San Francisco, as she stood at one of the festival stands.

Di Biasi said the event was also a chance for immigrants from the motherland of San Francisco to mingle with Italian Americans, two groups that can sometimes be divided by cultural barriers. And remain deeply divided over something as simple as grating cheese over any type of seafood dish, which in Italy is heresy.

Besides driving fried calamari and meatballs down their throats, the festival outside the Italian Athletic Club between Filbert and Union streets also drove people to stores like Goorin Bros. Hat Shop on the Stockton Street stretch.

“It just benefits us to spread the word,” said store manager Robyn Del Rosario as she sized a wide-brimmed red pork pie hat for a customer. More people poked their heads in the doorway than made a purchase, Del Rosario conceded, but she still praised the San Francisco-based hatter’s flagship store display.

Walking up Union Street toward Grant Avenue, past the full sidewalk tables of Tony’s Pizza Napolitana, the bits of Italian began to fade. But a sense of Italian culture permeated Libreria Pino, where Pino Carboni sat smiling in the vaulted white interior of his bookstore.

Carboni said the festival has drawn visitors, but not as many as the steady stream that pours in from the North Beach Festival over the years when that gathering fills most streets in the neighborhood.

Libreria Pino is the only Italian-language bookstore in the United States, according to Carboni. Given the specialized nature of the store, many of his customers do not come off the street but come in search of his store to purchase a particular title. But, he said, the festival has brought additional customers through the door.

That wasn’t the only event that enlivened the city’s historic northeast corner on Saturday afternoon.

At around 3:00 p.m., as a tenor on the festival stage sang a gripping rendition of “Con te Départò,” one person could be forgiven for not knowing that just a few blocks from Chinatown, nearly all of Grant Avenue was closed for the much larger Autumn Moon Festival.

Stalls with people smilingly selling everything from ginger to popcorn, or announcing trips to the casino, did great business as flute music filled the air and mingled with snippets of Chinese, English , as well as other languages. Together, they indicated that one of the things San Francisco has been missing for the past two years is coming back: tourists.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]: @ChaseDiFelice

Leading pioneers driving change | Cyprus courier

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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Bookstore Spotlight: White Whale Bookstore

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Despite the obstacles posed by a pandemic that has persisted for more than a third of White Whale Bookstore’s six-year history, by adhering to a motto of “conversation, community, culture”, it has grown to meet the needs Pittsburgh readers and writers—not to mention the two co-owners themselves.

“The first few years we lived here, there weren’t really any bookstores in Pittsburgh selling new books — they only sold used books,” noted Jill Yeomans, owner of White Whale with her husband, Adlai Yeomans. The couple, who met in 2009 while working as a publisher at Hachette Book Group (he at Center Street Books, she at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), moved to Steel City in 2012 because they “really wanted to get out of New York”. York City” and had enjoyed their previous visits to see a friend of Adlai’s who lived in Pittsburgh.

The Yeomans became bookstore owners in 2016 when they acquired the second-hand East End Book Exchange from Lesley Rains. The couple immediately revamped the store’s interior design and inventory and transformed it into White Whale. “We had always hoped to open a bookstore,” Jill said. “Having one that already had all the libraries and was established made it much easier to sell the idea to ourselves, because someone else was already doing it.”

The transition from publishing professionals to booksellers was relatively easy, Adlai recalls. “Having been in this editing environment really educated us on what it takes to run a bookstore,” he said. “And understanding the relationship between the publisher and a new independent bookstore – we had a head start on what it was all about.”

As for the name of the bookstore, a tribute to Moby-Dick“It scores well, looks good and sounds good,” Adlai said, adding that “surprisingly” there were no other indies in the United States with names referencing Herman’s novel. Melville.

“It’s easily recognizable as a literary reference,” Jill pointed out.

Although White Whale is a general bookstore that sells both adult and children’s books, its largest section is, unsurprisingly given its name, literary fiction. “It’s our biggest driver,” Jill remarked, noting that works in translations are also selling well, as are graphic books.

Several independents selling new books have opened in Pittsburgh since 2016, but Adlai said two categories in particular set White Whale apart: it offers a wide selection of LGBTQ titles, as well as books dedicated to local authors and presses. “We do that in a very big way,” Adlai said. “We carry many titles from West Virginia University Press and Westview Press. Our local also celebrates all the writers in town. It’s a vibrant community of writers here, so we try to bring that to light.

Jill said, “We didn’t know this until we moved here, but Pittsburgh has a robust and active poetry scene. People come from other cities to read poetry here. White Whale has supported local writers by “hosting many series which have begun to grow and gain momentum over time”. It also combines in-store events featuring local writers with each other or with touring authors, “to take advantage of both clienteles and introduce people to authors they may not have known through an author who already fascinates them”.

White Whale had a dynamic pre-Covid programming schedule and managed to host around 300 virtual writer events in the first two years of the pandemic. Virtual events, Adlai pointed out, “are a great tool for working with independent presses and smaller presses that don’t have the resources to bring authors to visit Pittsburgh. It’s a great way to connect with those writers and editors. Going forward, White Whale plans to offer a mix of virtual and in-person events, including offsite events in partnership with the Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures series and with the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, as well as other local literary organizations. .

White Whale further engages guests in “conversation, community, culture” with the addition earlier this year of a 1,500 square foot cafe serving coffee, tea and local beer, as well than baked goods. “You can order a cortado, get a book, and walk out,” Adlai said. “It’s nice to walk in and see people hanging out, reading or talking with their friends. We’ve always tried to be the third place, the place where people hang out, and now it is.

Jill added: “We have tried to put the community first in our store through our events, the books we stock and the atmosphere of the store when you are there. When we kicked off the cafe, it felt like it had finally come together; it looked like the store we had always imagined.

A version of this article originally appeared in the 08/29/2022 issue of Weekly editors under the title: Bookstore Spotlight: White Whale Bookstore

Short-term stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) increases 93.7%

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FBMS – Get a rating) benefited from a significant increase in short-term interest in August. As of August 15, there was short interest totaling 746,000 shares, an increase of 93.7% from the total of 385,200 shares as of July 31. Based on an average daily trading volume of 77,900 shares, the short-term interest rate ratio is currently 9.6 days.

First Banc shares trade down 2.0%

The NASDAQ FBMS fell $0.61 on Friday, hitting $30.65. The company’s shares had a trading volume of 2,612 shares, compared to an average volume of 118,469. The company has a market capitalization of $736.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.01. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $26.95 and a 52-week high of $42.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt ratio of 0.26.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS – Get a rating) last announced its quarterly results on Wednesday, July 27. The bank reported EPS of $0.80 for the quarter, missing analyst consensus estimates of $0.82 per ($0.02). First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 29.88%. The company posted revenue of $50.77 million in the quarter, compared to $49.08 million expected by analysts. During the same period of the previous year, the company achieved EPS of $0.74. Research analysts predict that First Bancshares will post an EPS of 3.07 for the current financial year.

First Bancshares increases its dividend

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The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 25. Investors of record on Monday August 8 received a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday August 5th. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.76 and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from First Bancshares’ previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First Bancshares’ payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

Hedge funds weigh on First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings of First Bancshares shares by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,726,796 shares of the bank worth $58,122,000 after acquiring an additional 86,597 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in First Bancshares by 11.4% in the second quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 836,140 shares of the bank worth $23,914,000 after purchasing an additional 85,588 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Bancshares by 5.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 536,145 shares of the bank worth $18,047,000 after purchasing an additional 27,876 shares in the last quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $11,526,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in First Bancshares shares by 216.2% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 189,147 shares of the bank worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 129,326 shares during the period. 65.17% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

Changes to analyst ratings

A number of brokerages have commented on the FBMS. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” to a “hold” rating in a Monday May 23 research note. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a price target of $41.00 for the company. in a report Thursday, July 28. They noted that the move was a review call. Finally, DA Davidson lowered its price target on First Bancshares shares to $4.00 and set an “na” rating for the company in a Monday, May 16 research report.

About First Bancshares

(Get a rating)

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First, a national banking association that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The Company operates through three segments: commercial/retail banking, mortgage banking division and holding company. It offers deposit services including checking, NOW and savings accounts; other term deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and Individual Retirement and Health Savings Accounts.

Read more

This instant news alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

Before you consider First Bancshares, you’ll want to hear this.

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Amazon to back TikTok book club likely to spread Gen Z boycott TikTokers

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Recently, Amazon decided to support TikTok’s Book Club, a collaborative initiative to promote the habit of reading books.

TikTok Book Club is a “healthy” community that will serve as a “virtual space” where content creators and users come together and post content themed around their love of reading books.

Amazon’s support comes with the latest campaign, “That Reading Feeling Awaits”, which aims to instill a love of reading in tech-savvy young people.

As part of the initiative, Amazon will create several free, customizable reading emojis for its social media customers.

Users can apply these stickers to their #BookTok videos. Additionally, the Book Club logo and hubs will be stamped “Featured by Amazon Books.”

Amazon seems to nurture its original business: the bookstore.

What is Tik Tok Book Club?

TikTok Book Club is the latest avatar of the popular #BookTok trend. TikTok user @caitsbooks started the trend, after which he found unprecedented traction among fellow creators and the social media handles of famous publishing houses.

Typically, this involves creators picking books and commenting by posting their reviews, impressions, and discussions. It aspires to be a collaborative community focused on the enjoyment of reading books.

By subject, the books follow a wide range of selections. The choices are inclusive, and many tend to focus on young adult fiction, fantasy, thrillers, and more.

To date, the #Booktok has amassed 64.3 billion views and counting. Taking note of BookTok’s huge popularity, social media platform TikTok seized the opportunity and announced the official Book Club.

How does the TikTok book club work?

As per the official announcement, the book club will serve as a resilient sub-community inviting discussion about new or upcoming titles. Anyone is free to join the club, regardless of their reading habit.

A new book will be announced every month. TikTokers should read and join the ensuing discussion.

The #BookClub hub will make it easier for readers to discover the latest monthly titles. They can also follow trends and find any specific topic on the go.

Not only that, as part of the book club, TikTok has also formed a small community of creators with a huge fan base. They should be called “BookTok Winners”.

The platform hopes the winners can follow the trend as their content emphasizes reading books.

The TikTok book club will remain operational throughout the summer and beyond.

Also Read: Instagram Fullscreen Feed to Combine Stories, Reels and Posts

The Amazon pattern

The bookstore accounts for a large portion of Amazon’s annual revenue these days. It earns up to 280 billion dollars and more, or almost 10% of its income.

Therefore, consolidating its brand on one of the most popular social media platforms comes to a logical conclusion.

However, there could be another possible reason why Amazon is trying to push the trend forward.

The recent boycotts

Not too long ago, 70 prominent Gen Z TikTokers, who are part of an advocacy group, took a politically charged stance against the organization. The total number of their subscribers amounts to 51 million.

They support the Amazon Labor Union, refuse sponsorship from Amazon, and resist monetization of their individual platform.

Their #PeopleOverPrime campaign has also found resonance on Twitter.

Therefore, Amazon’s move can be read as an attempt to diffuse the situation while aligning it with its goals of promoting the bookstore to the younger generation.

Infostor.com (c)

Exclusive news and research on the wine, spirits and beer industry

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Brief August 25, 2022

August 25, 2022

•Atomic Brands has extended Monaco cocktails to the popular fortified lemonade market with two new vodka-based versions. Monaco Hard Lemonade and Monaco Peach Hard Lemonade are both 9% abv and come in individual 12-ounce cans. The cans, now available at convenience store chains across the United States, cost between $2.50 and $3. A “hot brand” of Impact, last year Monaco rose 26% to just over 1.9 million cases in the United States, according to Impact Databank.

•Beam Suntory has announced Little Book Chapter 6: To the Finish, the latest release in the Jim Beam family’s collection of small-batch and experimental whiskeys. This version is assembled from four 4-year-old malt whiskeys finished with cherry staves, in applewood casks, in smoked hickory casks and with maple staves, plus a serving of Kentucky Straight 5 year old bourbon. The final whiskey is bottled at 58.725% abv and carries a suggested price of $125 per 750ml. Little Book Chapter 6 is now available in limited quantities in the United States

•Citadelle Gin has introduced a new offering, Juniper Décadence, a limited edition release created in honor of the 25th anniversary of Citadelle and the new distillery in Cognac, France. Citadelle Gin Juniper Décadence is aged in small juniper barrels. It is now available in select markets across the United States and is bottled at 44.4% alcohol by volume for a suggested retail price of $35 per 700ml. bottle. The new Citadelle Gin Distillery is housed in a stone building of the Château de Bonbonnet which dates from the 18th century. The space had already housed a distillery in the 19th century before being transformed into a stable and then into an aging cellar. It now contains nine stills that previously distilled Cognac and are now dedicated to Citadelle Gin.

• Wolf Spirit, based in Eugene, Oregon, provided national distribution of Bosscal mezcal, most recently adding three states (Maryland, Hawaii and Virginia) through Southern Glazer’s. In addition to adding new states, Wolf Spirit placed Bosscal in retail chains like BevMo!, Whole Foods, and WinCo Foods stores. The brand comes in three varieties: Joven ($45), Damiana ($50), and Conejo de Pechuga ($100).

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Tagged: Atomic Brands, Beam Suntory, Bosscal, Citadelle Gin, Little Book, Maison Ferrand, Monaco, Wolf Spirit

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The surprise protagonists of the film Fair Play by Eve Rodsky, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

It’s never just about dishes, is it? Eve Rodsky’s book Fair play sparked a nationwide movement when it was released in 2019, raising awareness about invisible domestic work and encouraging men in heterosexual relationships to share more of the domestic workload. Rodsky’s original concept was to show how “the smallest arguments over dirty dishes are actually linked to systemic issues affecting millions of families around the world.”⁠”

Fair play started as a way to raise awareness of the burden women face in the home, but it also outlined how this issue prevents these women, primarily mothers and primary caregivers, from achieve equality in the workplace. If the purpose of the book was to call on women to demand more equality in household management, the film is, as Rodsky puts it, “a love letter to men.”

Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom picks up where the book left off, elevating the stories of men working against deep-rooted systemic beliefs and striving for a more equitable distribution of household chores and caregiving. One of the most surprising discoveries of Fair play was that it was men who benefited most from this new, fairer division of domestic labour. Michel Kaufman, author of The Time Has Come: Why Men Need to Join the Gender Equality Revolutionhighlights research that states, “If men do 40% of care at home, or 50 minutes more per day, they are less likely to take prescribed medications or antidepressants.

While the film (and book) focuses on the dynamics of heterosexual and cisgender couples, some of the solutions draw inspiration from LGBTQ+ families. For example, as couples go through the adoption process, they need to have thoughtful conversations about household dynamics and who will be doing what before the kids even come on the scene.

The key, Rodsky says, is that families shouldn’t make decisions based on assumptions. When decisions are made with a thoughtful, collaborative and conscious approach, fairness seems within reach.

I spoke to Eve Rodsky and Jennifer Siebel Newsom about what they hope the film will accomplish, how the household chores of each of their own families are divided, and where the Fair Play movement is heading from from here.

⁠

Amy Shoenthal: Eve, have you always envisioned Fair Play as a documentary, let alone the giant movement it has become?

Eve Rodsky: I couldn’t even get the book published at first! Every agent said no one would want to read a book about chores and chores. I was told that women have it better than men now. People would say things like, “What are you complaining about, you’re getting more college degrees now than men. You rise in the workplace. Why would you revive the 90s?

But I saw the burnout crisis unfold before my eyes. Women told me they couldn’t live like that anymore. They were literally dying under the weight of the stress.

Fair play was the canary in the coal mine.

Shoenthal: Jennifer, tell me about your journey to fair play. How did you get involved in this project?

Jennifer Siebel Newsom: Eve approached me at the end of February 2020. I read the book and fell in love with her voice and perspective. I knew that if we were going to make a movie, it would have to be different from the book.

Our goal was to deconstruct limiting gender norms and ultimately enable more people to be seen as fully realized human beings. We also wanted to demonstrate how care is an integral part of everyone’s life.

Eve had done a lot of interviews for the book, so we went through a lot of rabbit holes trying to turn some of these people into characters in the movie. There was a lot of resistance, especially from high profile couples. Many husbands refused to join.

Shoenthal: This raises a good point. I’ve always been curious, Eve, how did you get Seth (Rodsky’s husband) to agree to participate?

Rodsky: I first had to get Seth’s agreement to write the book. He truly believed the system had helped him, while acknowledging that he might end up the butt of his friends’ jokes. He will never live blueberries text.

newsom: It was really important for me to spend time with Eve’s family because Eve is hysterical and such a good storyteller. She has done an amazing job raising her sons to the value of care. But I really wanted to interview and understand Seth.

Rodsky: He was getting comments from people who had known him all his life saying, you’re a new person. Now, in his private equity work, he challenges companies when their boards are all white men. So it permeated a large part of his life.

You can’t solve systemic problems with communication, but you can create empathetic leaders. What they learn at home translates to the workplace.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. We still have to check in every day. It’s like teeth without the retainer – if you don’t wear it, they become crooked again. These gender norms are so strong that they supersede everything. They serve as the basis for our belief system. To this day, when I tell people to imagine a white man on his knees, not in porn, but on his knees with a toilet brush, people still laugh. They can’t imagine a white man in a suit on his knees cleaning the toilet.

Shoenthal: Wait, why does he clean the toilets in a suit?

Rodsky: Well, I put him in a costume because I wanted to paint a picture of a knowledge worker cleaning a toilet. We accept immigrant labor, but we also have to show white collar workers that they clean the toilets.

newsom: I wanted to make sure that a variety of perspectives and voices were represented in the film. I was in contact with the two farm workers, Lisbeth and José, through another organization I work with, La Familia, in Sacramento. Their story really exposed all of the structural barriers that plague our society, especially for working women.

Rodsky: This is the only problem privilege can’t get you out of. At some point in her life, every woman will be judged on her role.

In 2015, the UN released a groundbreaking report that claimed gender equity would drive billions of dollars in growth. So we need to look at it not just as a women’s issue, but rather ask the question, what’s in it for everyone?

Honestly, men are the protagonists of the film. When men are involved in childcare, their lives are so much better. When Christian talks about how his relationship with his daughter, Winter, was different because he was more involved in her care, it brings me to tears every time I see his little diaper stub walk up to his dad and raise his hands to ask. he takes her upstairs.

newsom: My official title is First California Partner, so I’m all about the partnership, and the partnership is the real focus of the movie. Research shows that when men do 40% of care at home, they are less likely to take antidepressants. They are happier, they have greater longevity, they have a better sex life. Their children have better cognitive development, fewer behavioral problems and better lifelong relationships.

At one point, Eve said, “I want this movie to be a love letter to men.” It was so perfect – we took that line out of the film because we didn’t want the women to feel unseen or unheard. But it really shows why men are such an integral part of this movement.

Rodsky: Jen actually had the most important line in the movie. She asked Seth why he left the jacket and beer bottle on our lawn for so long. And for him to legitimately say, “Because I thought it was somebody else’s job, it was to pick it up,” that’s how I think all the men I initially interviewed for the book would have answered if they had been honest.

I think things are different now. I think the pandemic helped, fair play helped, Jen’s work helped. Ultimately, if you can just trade off those assumptions for structured decision-making, things will improve.

I’m not telling you it has to be 50/50 in your house. I’m not telling you how to live your life. Make the decisions you want. Just make sure decisions aren’t based on assumptions.

newsom: It’s also about educating our sons to take responsibility at home and socializing our daughters to use their voices, hold themselves in their power and set limits. When my 11-year-old daughter offers to take care of the boys’ chores, Gavin and I have to say, “No Brooklyn, stop taking care of everyone.” You don’t have to do everyone else’s job.

Shoenthal: What do you hope the film will accomplish that the book hasn’t?

newsom: My husband was not going to read the book, but he watched the documentary. I think a lot of women can say the same thing. We made a film to inspire partnership and inspire men to get into home care. If we can help partners recognize the benefits of doing more domestic work at home, we will be better off as a society.

It takes a village. This village includes men.

Rodsky: The film also shows how people are watched when they adopt a child, especially LGBTQIA couples. But you give birth to a child in a straight cisgender relationship and the doctors tell you, “Goodbye, go home, good luck!” We should all have more of these difficult conversations before bringing a child into any home.

newsom: This film should be mandatory for anyone in a relationship.

Shoenthal: What is the next step for the Fair Play movement?

Rodsky: We just met with United Health because of one of Fair Play’s secondary findings. Of the 200 women I interviewed who said they were primarily responsible for household planning while working full-time for pay, each is currently being treated for a stress-related illness: insomnia, hair loss, thyroid problems and cancer. They all get information from their clueless OBGYNs saying it’s early menopause. It’s not menopause, it’s “careopause”.

newsom: We are that generation of Wonder Woman/Title IX who were told we could have it all, be it all, do it all. We’re performing so well and we’ve been told to lean, but I think that’s the count. It’s too much. The pandemic should have made us slow down but nothing changed. But with caregiving all over our faces since the pandemic began, people are paying more attention to it. This is why the time has come. The fight appears. And when we’re all struggling, it’s time for systemic change.

The Gathering Volumes bookstore is hosting the Authors’ Fair in September

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Gather Volumes in Perrysburg is set to host its second authors’ fair after large public gatherings were allowed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On September 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gathering Volumes owner Denise Philips and other authors prepare to celebrate reading and the kinds of books they enjoy. The event is sponsored in part by Of Rust and Glass, a Maumee-based publishing house.

Gathering Volumes is an independent community bookstore that uses the power of reading to build relationships in the community.

This year’s fair will feature several activities for attendees, including games, refreshments and food, such as AYZO Heavenly Brew and live painting sessions with artists from northwest Ohio. There will also be author sessions inside the bookstore where authors will read and discuss material from their books.

Parking games like giant Jenga, Connect Four and cornhole will be available and artists such as creative inkwell and Jennifer Sowers will paint in front of the public.

Sowders, owner of Mon Gallery and Art Studio, is based in Fostoria and has won several awards for her artwork, including at the Ohio State Fair and the Ohio Watercolor Society. Christopher Faulkner, or Creative Inkwell, has an Instagram dedicated to showcasing his works.

Food will also be available for attendees, with proceeds from those purchases helping to fund the second Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival. Craft beer samples will be available from Glass City Mashers.

For more information, visit the Facebook page of the Authors’ Fair.

Why Composable Commerce is Critical to Success in the Multi-Billion Dollar Online Grocery Market

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

The online grocery market has been growing steadily for years. People around the world have come to love convenience, choice, speed, service and more. But like many others, it’s a market that’s been supercharged by the pandemic.

Almost overnight, people had no choice but to order their groceries online and did so in astonishing numbers. Since the pandemic subsided, some have returned to supermarkets. Many others, however, preferred to continue ordering groceries online, as globally the online grocery market is one of the largest in commerce.

(Photo: Sakura Communications)

READ ALSO: [VIDEO] Tech Times Exclusives: Spryker Co-Founder and Co-CEO Alexander Graf on How Spryker is Redefining Commerce Software

Customer experience is key to differentiating in this crowded space populated by traditional supermarkets, specialty delivery companies, grocery start-ups, and more. To deliver CX that drives loyalty, the right technology platform is key. And that means deploying a highly customized technology stack – composable commerce – rather than settling for a monolithic, legacy commerce platform.

The online grocery market – where are we now?

A recent study by Spryker revealed that 60% of UK consumers already shop for food online. In addition, within two years, one in four Britons would see themselves buying most of their groceries online. It’s a bit more advanced than other countries, but make no mistake – the US, Germany and other countries will all catch up.

The future of grocery shopping is largely online. Although some shoppers still like to shop in supermarkets, it is not sustainable. Younger generations are very comfortable shopping online, and it’s easy to see a future in which e-commerce will be the most dominant way to shop.

For any grocery store that puts even more emphasis on its physical stores, this is a growing problem that won’t go away. While brick-and-mortar stores aren’t going away overnight, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the main battleground for groceries will be online. Suppliers – whether traditional supermarkets, delivery companies, niche food vendors or otherwise – need to differentiate themselves and provide their customers with the best possible experience.

Technology and customer experience

With so many different types of businesses in the online grocery marketplace, having customer access is extremely important. It is essential for improving CX and an advantage that traditional supermarkets have over pure delivery services. Having customer access presents a huge opportunity for supermarkets to differentiate themselves, focusing on what they sell and how they sell it.

It is possible to achieve this – indeed, some supermarkets are already well advanced in this area – but it is very difficult when trying to use the heavy and aging technological infrastructures still operational at many large food retailers. These platforms are simply not suited to the demands of modern commerce. They are inflexible and make it much more difficult to add additional services and features that really stand out on CX.

A much more effective approach is for online grocers to take a modular route to commerce. This composable commerce methodology involves selecting the best solutions to “compose” a highly customized technology stack. This allows a food retailer to deploy these new features, interact with customers using their preferred medium, and even offer unique pricing based on that customer’s preferences and needs.

Alexander Graf
(Photo: Sakura Communications)

The role of composable commerce

While this is more natural for modern grocery delivery businesses, it might seem like a major shift for supermarkets. While some have adapted reasonably well to the online grocery market, they have mostly relied on legacy systems. For the new order in online grocery, a world of CX, differentiation and agility, these old systems will no longer fit.

It’s a composable approach that greatly enhances a grocer’s ability to deliver first-class CX, and there are many other benefits as well. It’s much easier to take the best applications and replace or move them as business needs change, without affecting the rest of the architecture.

This seamless integration and use of open standards is vital. It simplifies the deployment of out-of-the-box components and ensures that there is no time-consuming and costly vendor lock-in. Additionally, composable commerce offers unparalleled agility and scalability as a grocery retailer’s business evolves – and that will change in such a dynamic market.

Offer unique experiences

Customers in the online grocery market want unique experiences; the only way to provide them is to be flexible enough to embrace modern technologies that drive innovation. The flexibility of composable commerce and a custom technology stack are key to delivering personalized CX and differentiating in a crowded online grocery marketplace.

In the United States and other countries around the world, consumers shop online using multiple channels. This makes omnichannel retail essential, not preferable, and makes differentiation and personalization in CX even more crucial. The key to all of this is composable trading.

Alexander Graf is co-founder and co-CEO of market experts Spryker and author of the bestselling book, The E-Commerce Book.

In our ninth Tech Times exclusive, Tech Times interviews Spryker Co-Founder and Co-CEO Alexander Graf about how Spryker is redefining commerce software.

RELATED ARTICLE: Why PayPal’s Switch to Cryptocurrency Isn’t One You Should Follow

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Key Corporate Tax Aspects of the New Inflation Reduction Law | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Cutting Inflation Act of 2022 (the Act), a sweeping bill with significant tax, energy, and health implications.[1] This alert covers two key aspects of the Corporations Tax Act:

  • the new 15% alternative minimum corporate tax, and
  • the new 1% excise tax on the redemption of shares.

In particular, the Act does not increase the regular tax rates for individuals or corporations. It also does not address the state and municipal $10,000 tax deduction limit. The law also does not modify the taxation of “deferred interest” (as had been proposed in an earlier version of the bill). It does, however, increase IRS enforcement funding by $80 billion over the next 10 years.

Alternative Minimum Corporate Tax

Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, the law imposes an alternative minimum tax (AMT) of 15% on “adjusted financial statement income” (basically, accounting income subject to certain adjustments ) of an “Applicable Company”.

An applicable corporation is generally any corporation — but not an S corporation, real estate investment trust, or regulated investment company — whose average annual adjusted financial statement (or AFSI) revenue exceeds $1 billion for three consecutive years ( without taking into account the net operating losses of the financial statements) . For the purposes of determining whether a company is an applicable company, the ISFA of all companies in a controlled group (usually determined using a 50% threshold) is taken into account.[2] Once a company has met this $1 billion minimum average accounting income test, the company continues to be treated as an applicable company, even if its AFSI falls below the $1 billion threshold, at unless the Treasury specifically decides otherwise.

To calculate the AFSI, the relevant company starts with its net income or net loss on its “applicable financial statement” (or AFS).[3] For a national company, its AFS will often be its accounting financial statements (or more accurately, GAAP) filed with the Security and Exchange Commission. The AFSI is then adjusted to, among other things, use accelerated tax depreciation (instead of accounting depreciation which may not have been taken into account in the accounting result).

In addition, the AFSI is reduced by net operating loss carryforwards after 2019 (and only after 2019), subject to a cap of 80% of the company’s AFSI for the applicable year ( similar to the 80% limit on the use of operating losses for ordinary corporate income tax purposes).

Once the AFSI has been calculated, an applicable company determines its “provisional minimum tax”, which is 15% of the AFSI for the tax year. less the corporation’s “foreign corporate AMT tax credit” for the tax year.[4]

If the company’s applicable “provisional minimum tax” is greater than its regular corporate income tax (plus its “Base erosion and anti-abuse tax” or BEAT, liability), the company pays that excess (reduced by any general corporate credit) as a corporate AMT. Conversely, if the applicable company’s “provisional minimum tax” is less than its normal income tax (plus its BEAT tax), no corporate AMT is generally due.

Significantly, the new corporate AMT does not comply with the so-called “pillar II” minimum taxation rules set out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Therefore, if Pillar II is finally adopted, a company may be subject to this additional Pillar II tax regime (in addition to this new company AMT).

Excise tax on redemption of shares

Effective for “repurchases” of shares by a “covered company” after December 31, 2022, the law imposes a non-deductible annual excise tax (on the repurchasing company, not the redeemed shareholder) equal to 1% of the total fair market value of the shares redeemed. inventory for the tax year less the aggregate fair market value of all shares issued by the company during that tax year (including in connection with capital increases or compensation stock awards).

A “covered company” is generally any domestic company – excluding S corporations, REITs and regulated investment companies – whose stock is traded on an established stock market (such as the NYSE or NASDAQ) .[5] Private companies are generally excluded. However, even where the target company does not redeem the shares directly, the company may still be subject to excise tax if a “specified affiliate” (generally any affiliate controlled by the target company, determined with a vote of 50 % or a value threshold) redeems the shares of the company.

The scope of “buy-backs” under the law is wide, covering not only traditional stock repurchases or repurchases by a corporation, but also any transaction that the Treasury determines to be “economically similar” to a corporate stock buy-back. a society.

In particular, “buyouts” may include cash consideration in certain traditional taxable stock acquisitions or taxable merger transactions to the extent that they are financed by the target company (for example, from the target company’s balance sheet or by as new debt issued or assumed by the target company in connection with the transaction).

Cash payments to dissenting shareholders, cash paid in lieu of fractional shares, certain corporate liquidations, special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) shareholder buyouts in a “deSPAC” transaction, spin-offs and even Boot payment (usually cash or non-stock property) as part of a tax-deferred reorganization can be taken under this new regime. In addition, the law applies to redemptions of preferred (not just common) stock by a target company, even if, for example, that redeemed preferred stock is compulsorily redeemable under its existing pre-law terms.[6] As one can imagine, future guidance from the Treasury on these types of issues will certainly be welcome.

Fortunately, the law provides for certain exceptions, including for share buybacks to the extent that (a) the buybacks are part of a tax-deferred reorganization (other than potentially boot), (b) the redeemed shares are paid to an employer-sponsored corporation pension plan, employee stock purchase plan, or similar plan, (c) the aggregate value of redemptions for the taxation year does not exceed $1 million, (d) the redemptions are made by dealers in the ordinary course, or (e) the redemptions are treated as dividends for US federal income tax purposes.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Future alerts from Sheppard Mullin could focus on the law’s other health, climate and energy tax incentives.

[2] A similar aggregation rule applies to all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under common control. Although the final version of the law has been revised to avoid or minimize the application of AFSI aggregation rules to portfolio companies owned by private equity funds, some uncertainty may remain, less until further guidance is provided.

[3] Special rules apply in the context of consolidated groups, unconsolidated partnerships and interests, foreign subsidiaries and “ignored entities”.

[4] A domestic corporation’s “foreign corporate AMT tax credit” is generally the corporation’s proportionate share of foreign taxes paid or accrued by any “controlled foreign corporation” (or CFC) of that corporation, in the extent to which such foreign taxes are reported on such CFC’s AFS (capped using a 15% rate to reflect the company’s AMT rate), more the company’s foreign tax credits (as reported on the company’s AFS).

[5] Excise tax may also be imposed on share redemptions by certain foreign companies (including certain expatriate listed companies).

[6] The Act expressly grants the Treasury the power to enact regulations governing the application of excise tax to preferred shares. Excise tax may also be imposed on share redemptions by certain foreign companies (including certain expatriate listed companies).

GetSwift First Day orders granted, Chapter 11 proceedings recognized in Canada and sales process underway

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

NEW YORK — GetSwift Technologies Limited (“GetSwift” or the “Company”; NEO: “GSW”), a leading provider of last mile SaaS logistics technology and services, today announced that all orders for the first day sought by the Company in its Subchapter V filing in the Chapter 11 process has been granted by the US court. Day one orders allow the company to maintain normal course operations while still under Chapter 11 protection.

Pursuant to one of the day one orders, GetSwift’s sale of substantially all of the company’s assets is underway. Pursuant to the US court order, SF2 GSW, LLC (“SF2”), an affiliate of Stage Equity LLP, has been approved as a stalking horse bidder for the Company’s SaaS assets. From August 15, 2022 to August 17, 2022, the Company issued a Notice of Bid Procedures outlining the details of the sale process, including a bid deadline of September 14, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). The auction for the Company’s SaaS assets is scheduled for September 20, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT), and a hearing to approve the successful bidder has been scheduled in the U.S. court for September 23, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (EDT).

On August 18, 2022, the Canadian Court recognized the Chapter 11 proceeding as a “main foreign proceeding” under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (“CCAA”), recognized the first-day orders of the United States Court and granted collateral relief. The relief granted includes the appointment of Grant Thornton Limited, an experienced Licensed Insolvency Trustee, as Information Agent in the Canadian Proceedings.

About GetSwift Technologies Limited

Technology to optimize global delivery logistics

GetSwift is a technology and services company that offers a suite of software products and services focused on business and logistics automation, data management and analytics, communications, information security and optimization infrastructure. augmentation, business intelligence, route optimization, cash management, task management team management, asset tracking, real-time alerts, cloud communications and communications infrastructure (collectively, the “GetSwift Offering”). The GetSwift offering is used by public and private sector clients across all industries and jurisdictions for their respective logistics, communications, information security and infrastructure projects and operations.

GetSwift is headquartered in New York and its common stock is listed on the NEO exchange under the symbol “GSW”, although trading has been suspended. For more information, please see the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Company’s website at www.getswift.co.

Forward-looking information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking information”). Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and other matters identified in public documents regarding the Company, the Company’s future prospects and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding financial performance future of the Company. . In some instances, forward-looking information may be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “have the intention to”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information in this press release includes statements relating to (i) the auction of the Company’s assets scheduled for September 20, 2022 and (ii) the sale hearing scheduled in the United States court on September 23 2022.

Forward-looking information involves various risks and uncertainties and is based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, general economic and market conditions, the emergence of other bidders or offers for the assets Company’s software in the sale process, the availability of short and long-term capital resources to the Company, the emergence of any unexpected and/or adverse due diligence results, any adverse decisions by the NEO Exchange or another securities regulator, and the Company’s ability to identify and retain qualified individuals for its board of directors.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. New factors appear from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them, or to assess the impact of each of these factors or the extent to which any one factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.

See the source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220822005756/en/

contacts

Relations with American investors:
chris tyson
Executive Vice President – ​​MZ North America
949-491-8235
[email protected]
www.mzgroup.us

GetSwift Investor Relations:
[email protected]

#distro

Memory: Downtown Stratford business owner, dedicated community supporter

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
Gary O’Connell (Facebook)

A Stratford business owner whose books and toys have delighted children for more than three decades is considered a loving husband, successful retailer and tireless volunteer in the city’s downtown.

Gary O’Connell, co-owner of Fundamentals Books and Toys with his wife, Beth, died last week at Seaforth Community Hospital where he was being treated for a rare disease. His family and friends, including many from his hometown of Montreal, gathered at the WG Young funeral home on Saturday to celebrate his life.

O’Connell got his start in the book industry long before he and Beth moved to Stratford to open their town center business 31 years ago. Previously, he worked as a District Manager for a national book retailer, overseeing its stores in Eastern Canada, from Montreal to St. John’s.

It was at this company that he met Beth, who held the same position on the other side of the country. Their 20 years with the chain intertwined when they both moved to the Toronto headquarters in the early 1980s.

Gary is described in his obituary as Beth’s best friend, kindred spirit and partner, both in business and in life. Beth added on Saturday that it was their shared love of books that brought them together, but their shared love of theater that ultimately brought them to Stratford.

“We’ve always loved theatre,” she says. “Whenever we had the opportunity to go to New York to buy trips, we always tried to include theater, especially musical theater.”

Gary and Beth were also frequent visitors to the Stratford Festival, which helped tip the scales as they made a major decision in 1991.

“We knew for a long time … that we wanted to open a bookstore and we knew we didn’t want it to be in Toronto,” Beth said. “We visited all kinds of places. In the end, we loved this city so much as tourists, we decided to go ahead and give it a try.”

Gary and Beth married in March, moved to Stratford in June and opened Fundamentals in its first location on Ontario Street just after Labor Day. This location, now a cafe, is about 200 yards east of the store’s current location at the corner of Ontario and Erie streets, where the couple have been selling children’s books and toys for about 15 years.

Seeing second- and third-generation customers shop at the store was something Gary was proud of, Beth said. She plans to continue operating the store with her three employees.

“The staff I have now…they’re so wonderful,” she said.

Gary also enjoyed camping, Beth said – the couple often spent Christmas in a yurt at McGregor Point Park, near Port Elgin – but it was his community work in downtown Stratford that many in the community will remember most.

Gary served on the Stratford Town Center Trade Association Board of Directors for nearly 10 years, serving as President and Vice-President during his tenure.

Rob Russell, another downtown business owner and former chairman of the board, described Gary as a dedicated mentor who was always willing to lend a hand.

“He was always there and ready to help and that’s huge,” Russell said. “We have a lot of great volunteers, but it can be difficult for some people to find the time for the commitments we have. Gary always made sure to do that. (He) was just a very nice, amazing guy and so we will absolutely miss him.

Gary was instrumental in planning the downtown association’s Canada Day event and was particularly interested in the idea of ​​offering free weekend horseback riding tours. He could often be found leading the tours himself before the business was halted during the pandemic.

“He did a lot of research on the history of Stratford,” Beth said. “A lot of locals would come down the following Saturdays just to get back on the ride because it was so nice. Of all the things he’s done, he really, really enjoyed doing this.

Gary was considering running for office, Beth added.

“He was interested in what happened in Stratford and the future of Stratford and I think he would have liked to have had a hand in the direction the town is going,” she said. “I’m really (proud of the work he’s done). He was a good guy.

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More Than Invincible: The Grit of Gabby Williams – WNBA.com

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

In part two of a four-part series for the WNBA “More than Undefeatable” campaign, the second edition focuses on Gabby Williams of the Seattle Storm.

Basketball is incredibly alluring for its sheer variance. The movement of the ball and the connectivity of the team at their greatest heights are wonderful. An isolation marker with every move in the book, smooth handles and a silky finish can be just as dazzling. A fully synchronized five-man unit on the defensive end, pre-rotating, moving as one and suffocating in the half court suffocates for the opposition but puts a smile on the fans’ faces.

There is no one way to play basketball that is right. Even with ten players on the pitch, the individualism, flair, style and technique shine through. I’d be hard pressed to find a player who blends the individual and team facets of basketball better than Seattle Storm’s Gabby Williams, a holistic hoop with a penchant for inventive play.

“I just try to mesh myself,” Williams says.

“I don’t like to box myself or describe a certain thing I do or what kind of player I am; I just try to help the team in any way I can. I get the Swiss army knife analogy a lot, and that’s the kind of thing I try to be.

And that’s exactly what the Storm needed and envisioned when they made the trade to Williams this offseason. Filling out the starting lineup at the small forward position, Williams found more stability after constant role changes with the Chicago Sky.

She missed last season in the W after a contract suspension due to her national team commitments and was later traded to the Los Angeles Sparks, one of two teams she was looking to be traded to, the other being Seattle. .

“My few years in Chicago were really tough for me…having to play point guard and then switch positions every other day. It was really tough for me to find a rhythm, but I did it because the he team needed me, and I think I grew and learned a lot.”

Playing in France helped Williams regain his joy of playing, returning to playing more on the wing. She could resume her game and feel comfortable on the court again. She helped France reach the podium at the Tokyo Olympics, winning the bronze medal and a second place at EuroBasket.

Williams was born and raised in the United States, but her mother is French, so France is a home away from home.

“I know a lot of players find it difficult to be abroad, but I have no problem with that. I mean, most of my family is in France. I’m someone who tries to embrace the culture, to enjoy being there, so I feel lucky at 25 to have been able to live in so many different places and experience so many different things that some people cannot live entire lives.

When Williams got the call about another potential trade with the Storm, she was thrilled. She had played at UConn with Breanna Stewart. She played with Briann January in Sopron, her team in Hungary. Jantel Lavender had played in Chicago for one season alongside Williams.

Seattle was a new environment, but there was already an established connection; she was not completely unknown to her teammates.

As the Storm looked to recharge for Sue Bird’s last season, Williams fit the bill for what the Storm sometimes lacked: more athleticism on the wing, some secondary ball handling, good decision-making and a stopper. defensive. As this Seattle team continued to evolve throughout the season, so did Williams’ role.

“I feel like this season it’s been more gradual, I’m just trying to learn from everyone, to learn what I can do, especially coming into a team that was already established. on the other hand, there are things that I can do that you don’t have to teach. Running in transition, playing good defense, rebounding. So you add the other things little by little, and the team has also started to find me.

We’re getting to the point where the question is more about what Williams can’t do.

To start the season, she was mostly off the ball. Williams is a willing shooter, but with a career 25.1% from deep, defenses are ready to help her. Noelle Quinn and the Storm coaching staff turned that into a weapon in a way.

Although not the team’s true primary guard, Williams is used as a hub to launch the offense. She leads the break, brings the ball up out of bounds and creates sets in the half court. It descends quickly and has phenomenal overtaking vision at wing level.

Giving her the power with the ball in her hands and allowing her to pick up the pace and tempo forces defenses to protect her as if she were a shooting threat. That, in turn, allows Seattle’s best shooters to leave the ball and use them as outlets in moves that move the defense. It’s different when Sue Bird or Jewell Loyd, two of the sport’s most dynamic shooters, can come out of a variety of off-ball screens and actions to mask what they’re going to do on the ball.

Look at this.

Sue Bird screens Tina Charles, who screens her, who also gets a pin from Breanna Stewart. Charles clears Alysha Clark, Bird’s defender, Shakira Austin swims over Bird’s screen to stay between Charles and the basket, and Myisha Hines-Allen is attached to Stewart because she is an MVP candidate and her fire green extends to all areas of the pitch.

With his size, vision and ability to make various passes or take his defender out of the dribble, Williams makes this set possible by fully occupying an All-Defensive level player in Natasha Cloud. Get away from Williams to clear safety and clutter the lane, and she’ll perform an impromptu DHO. Maybe she’ll take you off the dribble anyway and force a spin before a quick pass and relocation to the perimeter. His mix of skills on this team is deadly, the perfect addition to a star roster.

Williams loves basketball, but that doesn’t define her. As she mentioned about her acting, you can’t put her in a box. She is a Marvel fanatic, avid manga reader, and anime watcher.

She has a separate Twitter account strictly for the anime (@mochatrapuccino) and loves being able to get away from the hoops when she’s not on the court.

“It was fun to find a weeb community (anime lovers) and post my recs, see what other people were getting, get away from basketball, but not get away from the occasion to speak.”

Williams wanted a place where she could talk about anime without talking about basketball. When she tweeted about what she was watching on her main account, she regularly received questions about basketball or had comments unrelated to what she was talking about. She doesn’t hold that against people, it’s her job and her life, but she wanted a place without her profile picture or name attached where she could find mutuals and communicate not to mention basketball.

“It’s definitely a big part of my identity and one of my biggest hobbies,” Williams says.

She loves Attack on Titan; his profile picture for his secondary account is Captain Levi, a main character in the series.

What’s on Williams’ watch list?

“Of course, Attack on Titan is an all-time GOATed series that everyone must watch, whether you watch anime or not.”

She also highly recommends Dororo; a rehash of the original 1969 series is on Amazon Prime.

Samurai Champloo is also considered a must-have watch, says Williams. “It kinda reminds me of the book the alchemist. It’s about the journey, not the destination. So if you need introspection and inspiration, watch Samurai Champloo.

She grew up on Pokemon, Yugi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z and ended up immersing herself in them more, finding new series outside of the mainstream. She laughs, reminiscing about the 100 anime you must watch list she made on notes.

Williams compared herself to Captain America in an interview during her senior season at UConn. I asked if that had changed in the half-decade since then.

“I would definitely consider myself more of a black widow now. I think she’s so much more low-key, and she does. But you don’t always notice it. Like me too, I like to stay under the radar. Especially since as I get older, I feel more and more introverted (laughs). I mean, I already was, but I was staying more and more under the radar.

It’s an apt description of the character and her own demeanor, but I’d say it understates her game. She’s constantly working the court, always on the move, diving for loose balls, forcing turnovers, causing deflections and doing the details in Storm’s attack to make things click. Even though her playing is understated, it appears consistent, as she does the quiet parts so well that the results can be deafening. His presence and impact helped make the Storm a more complete title contender.

Gabby Williams’ journey has literally taken her all over the world. She is more than invincible for her adaptability. Carving out a spot in the W and becoming an X-Factor on a championship-caliber team didn’t happen overnight. It took changes in the environment and regaining his passion for the game to thrive.

You can’t put Gabby Williams in a box on or off the field. She knows who she is and the Storms have taken advantage of that throughout the season. Although she may have gone under the radar for much of the year, the silent margins of the game that Gabby manipulates amplify in the playoffs. One of the stars of Round 1 opener, eagerly awaits Williams to continue to print his game with defensive slides, deflections and intuitive plays into offense as the Storm look to advance to Round 2 playoffs.

WNBA reporter Mark Schindler writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @MG_Schindler. The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the WNBA or its clubs.

Great Falls author appears on Today Show and gets a book option for the movie

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Great Falls author Jamie Ford says it took him years to emerge from the shadow of his first book, the New York Times bestseller “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.”

Now he’s traded that shadow for an even bigger one.

On August 15, Ford appeared on the Today Show after being cast by co-host Jenna Bush Hager for the Read with Jenna Book Club.

If that wasn’t enough, Bush Hager has announced that his production company has tapped Ford’s new book, “Afong Moy’s Many Daughters,” for a TV series.

The book isn’t Ford’s first that has been opted for the screen, but production on “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” has stalled for years. Ford said Bush Hager’s option seems much more possible.

“I feel like Cinderella and the clock will never strike midnight,” Ford told Bush Hager on the show.

Ford was more excited than nervous to be on Today, he said, but it still wasn’t his usual auteur adventure. He had a driver who took him from the hotel to the studio – a total distance of about five blocks. He was taken to a secret, unmarked entrance to the studio. His dressing room was next to Sheryl Crow, although he couldn’t meet her.

“Everyone, they just take great care of you,” Ford said. “(Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb) are very disarming, and then I realized that if someone wants to be a Today Show personality, they have to be outgoing. You have to be very approachable and genuine.”

Ford followed up the appearance with a longer interview that aired on Xfinity and an evening bookstore event.

Compared to his first book, which was a dormant success, Ford said the immediate momentum of this book was a relief because you never know how a work will fare until it’s released. He said he still had some remaining insecurities after his last book, which was not as well received.

“It wasn’t until I was walking around Times Square looking at the billboard that I turned to my agent and said, ‘I think this book might be OK. I’m starting to believe it now,'” he said.

Ford found he was going to be on Today in an unconventional way. He said he was on Zoom with a library, talking to the librarian and about 40 patrons — a regular gig, in other words.

Afterwards, he received a message from his publicist saying that his book was being considered for the show and that there had been a group of producers listening to the Zoom call.

“And that’s how I found out,” he laughs.

Ford calls his latest book his “epigenetic love story.” He said it’s a book about hereditary trauma that features Afong Moy, the first known Chinese woman in the United States. Ford created ancestors and descendants for Afong Moy to shape an intergenerational story that is both historical and speculative.

“The Many Daughters of Afong Moy,” which features six point-of-view characters in six different time periods, is set around the world and is not written chronologically. It meant a ton of research and juggling on Ford’s part to make it work.

“This one, I really wanted to throw the training wheels on and write a much more complicated book,” Ford said. “If my first book was my freshman book, this is my senior book.”

Ford said he had known Afong Moy since the 1990s and wanted to write about her. However, her story has a tragic ending and not much is known about her life.

Afong Moy has given performances across America giving audiences elements of Chinese culture, including foot binding, the use of chopsticks, and traditional Chinese songs and clothing. She was featured in hundreds of newspapers, Ford said, but never in her own voice. Instead, the people who monetized her spoke for her.

Ford said that Afong Moy was celebrated and had fame, “and yet she had no autonomy, so she really lived in a gilded cage”.

Through his novel, Ford had the chance to extend his story and give his descendants a more redemptive ending. Ford said he is often asked what he does to create authentic female characters.

“The specific thing I did was live my whole life as a very sensitive, overly emotional person,” he said. “Being that proto-emo kid in high school who cries over sad movies isn’t a beneficial high school trait, more about how far you can throw a soccer ball and how hard you can do bench press. But this sensitivity, I thought was my weakness, but it became my super power as an adult.

Ford said he also had an outstanding editor, and he couldn’t imagine a man editing his books.

Continuing today did not make Ford nervous. Instead, it was a four-minute video about him and his life that gave him a sleepless night before his release. He said he hadn’t been able to see it before it went public, so it was a nerve-wracking experience. The end result, however, blew him away. He said he absolutely loved her.

A color issue led to a bunch of Jamie Ford books looking like a pack of Life Savers.

Ford still lives in Great Falls, and he talked a bit about the level of world fame he received. When he went on Today, he signed a copy for Bush Hager’s mother, former First Lady Laura Bush. He calls this feeling “surreal”.

“It’s weird,” he said. “I just like to write books. I like the writing process. It feels good. The fact that someone else wants to read them and they have nice things to say is like the icing on the cake. But the cake itself is quite filling.

Ford has gotten pretty used to his fame in the United States, but he said he was blown away to receive emails from readers in other countries where his books have been translated. He also enjoys getting feedback from people from the same culture as his characters, as they have a deeper level of understanding of his writing.

Some highlights of Ford’s nationwide book tour so far include its launch in Seattle. It was in the same bookstore that his first book was launched, completing this part of Ford’s history.

At a recent engagement in Denver, Ford said he was shown a group of books with misprinted covers because the cyan ink was fading.

“It was like a Life Savers pack,” Ford said. “It was so cool. It’s a silly little thing but I was just thrilled to see it.

Ford has been traveling extensively on this book tour, so he’s excited to be heading home for his August 25 author event at Cassiopeia Books downtown.

“It’s cool to be here, but it’s also cool to do an event in Cassiopeia, see a lot of people in the crowd that I know and then sleep in my own bed,” he said. .

San Antonio’s most popular and best-selling books from July 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

There is nothing better than a good book. They are a chance to escape, an entry into another world or a trip to the past. The San Antonians are like any other readers. Sometimes they read for fun, other times they want to see themselves in the stories. Either way, they’re still reading.

After speaking with the San Antonio Public Library and several booksellers in the city, MySA compiled a list of the best books San Antonians read in the month of July. Take a look at the highlights:

Colleen Hoover has been a top San Antonio author since July 2022.

Pierre Scamardo

Colleen Hoover

As one Barnes & Noble bookseller told me, Colleen Hoover continues to dominate the bookstore market due to her BookTok popularity. His novel It ends with us was the best-selling book at three of San Antonio’s five Barnes & Noble chains. La Cantera stores and Northwoods Shopping Center all ranked Hoover books among their top three bestsellers.

Here are the Hoover books being read in San Antonio right now.

It ends with yous follows flower shop owner Lily Bloom as she strikes up a relationship with surgeon Ryle Kincaid, only to have Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, return to her life. Lily is “forced to make a difficult decision between her two loves and what’s best for her life”.

ugly love tells the story of Tate Collins and airline pilot Miles Archer. Miles “don’t want love” and Tate “don’t have time for love,” so they’re perfect for each other “as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules that Miles has for her”.

November 9 follows Fallon and Ben, who meet every year on the same day, “until the day Fallon is at a loss whether Ben told her the truth or fabricated a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot.”

Truth follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who is hired by Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, to “complete the remaining books in a bestselling series” that Verity is unable to complete due to a wound.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Published in July, tomorrow aand tomorrow and tomorrow is the tenth novel by New York Times bestselling author Gabrielle Levin. It was the best-selling book at San Pedro Barnes & Noble in July.

The story follows the relationship between childhood friends Sam Masur and Sadie Green over 30 years in a story “that examines the multifaceted nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities at play, and above all , of our need to connect: to be loved. and to love.”

The novel is being developed into a feature film by Temple Hill and Paramount Studios, according to Levin’s author biography.

book lovers

book lovers was the second most borrowed book in the San Antonio Public Library and one of San Pedro Barnes & Noble’s top three bestsellers.

Published in May by New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry book lovers follows bibliophiles Nora and Charlie as they cross paths over and over while vacationing in North Carolina.

The girl in her shadow

Audrey Blake The girl in her shadow was published in May 2021, but was the most borrowed book at the San Antonio Public Library last month.

The historical fiction tale follows Nora Beady in London in 1845. An orphan girl, she acts as her uncle’s secret assistant at a time when women were forbidden to study medicine. That is until Nora ‘makes a discovery that could change the field forever’ and she must decide whether to ‘stay unseen and let the men around her take credit for her work, or d ‘to step into the light – even if it means being destroyed by one’s own legacy.

New favorites

You talk like a white girl by Julissa Arce, The light we giveby Simran Jeet Singh, and The keeper of the notebook by Stephen Briseno were Nowhere Bookshop’s three best-selling books.

The silent patient by Alex Michaelides was La Cantera Barnes & Noble’s best-selling book that was not a Colleen Hoover novel.

The last thing he said to me by Laura Dave was the second most borrowed book at the San Antonio Public Library.

The bodyguard by Katherine Center was the #2 best-selling book at The Twig Book Shop.

“Miraflores: San Antonio’s Mexican Garden of Memory,” returned as one of The Twig Book Shop’s best-selling books.

Courtesy of Anne Elise Urrutia

Returning Favorites

Where the Crawdads sing and The summer when I became pretty are a pair of returning bestsellers from last month. Both have seen a spike in popularity due to their respective film and miniseries adaptations released this summer. Where the Crawdads sing was the San Antonio Public Library’s most borrowed audiobook as of July.

Other returning favorites included training partners by John Grisham — the public library’s most borrowed printed book — 22 seconds by James Patterson, The Seven Husbands and Evelyn Hugoand Miraflores. The latter was the best-selling book at The Twig Book Shop.

To read full descriptions of these books, see our article on July’s most popular books.

Bank Of America warns of ‘manual’ bear market rally, predicts new lows for stocks

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Topline

Although stocks have made a stunning comeback from June lows as investors grow more optimistic about slowing inflation and the Federal Reserve may scale back interest rate hikes, the recent rebound is nothing. more than a “classic bearish” rally that is likely to reach new lows. , according to analysts at Bank of America.

Highlights

The stock market’s summer rally appears almost over, according to a recent note from Bank of America chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett, who points to data suggesting the recent gains are a “typical” bearish rally that is poised to unravel. soon run out of steam.

The S&P 500 has jumped more than 15% since hitting a low for the year in mid-June, largely on better-than-expected economic data, including a strong jobs report and a drop in consumer prices in recent weeks.

Despite investors’ hopes that the worst is over after a sharp selloff in the first half of 2022, Bank of America analysts are among the pundits who have ratcheted up warnings in recent weeks that stocks need to fall further.

“Everyone is bearish, but no one has sold stocks,” says Hartnett, pointing to irrational trading activity in meme stocks and adding that after four straight weeks of gains, the market is showing many characteristics of this which is likely to be a “self-destructor”. rally.”

The Bank of America analyst points to the fact that out of 43 bear market rallies since 1929 in which the S&P 500 has gained more than 10%, the average increase is around 17.2% over 39 trading days, which means that the current rally seems to be at its maximum. , based on historical data.

Moreover, even after raising the fed funds rate by 2.25% so far this year, the Federal Reserve is ‘far from done’ with rate hikes to fight inflation, he warns. , which will likely cap recent market gains.

To monitor :

Other analysts at the firm have issued similar warnings in recent days. Bank of America’s head of U.S. equities and quantitative strategy, Savita Subramanian, said in a note to clients on Tuesday that stock market valuations remain far too high for the bear market to be over. A sustained bull market remains “unlikely,” she wrote, citing indicators that instead signal an impending end to the recent bear market rally.

Surprising fact:

A bear market rally tends to “always shrink” in terms of leadership, Hartnett adds, pointing to the fact that companies like Apple, Amazon and Tesla have accounted for outsized portions of the recent market rally. These three stocks have each risen more than 30% since the market low on June 16, far outpacing the benchmark.

Further reading:

Ford, Tesla and Netflix are among the best performing stocks in this summer’s massive rally (Forbes)

The stock market crash is not over, according to the indicator with a “perfect” balance sheet (Forbes)

Fed officials pledge to raise rates further until there is a “significant” drop in inflation (Forbes)

Some Experts Warn of a “Bear Market Rally” – Here’s Why Stocks Could Hit New Lows (Forbes)

Bookstore Romance Day bets on the HEA (Happily Ever After)

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Nearly 400 bookstores plan to participate in Bookstore Romance Day, a combination of virtual programming and national in-store events on August 20.

Bloebaum created BRD after a genre-focused Winter Institute panel led to conversations among independent booksellers who felt romance was stigmatized as unliterary. Bloebaum remembers friends asking him, “Why should romance readers support independent bookstores when independent bookstores don’t support them?”

Several booksellers echoed this sentiment. At Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Washington, owner Annie Carl thinks the romance has a reputation for being “shameful or guilty reading.” People may call it a book candy, but amid the strife, it’s comforting to remember that this book is going to have a HEA, bliss forever. Carl runs “a feminist, activist, gender-specific store, and romance is one of my best sellers” because it “includes diverse identities.”

True Bookstore Romance Day supporters want to introduce the public, and independent bookstores in particular, to the charms of romance. Bloebaum worked with Sarah High, senior partnerships manager at Bookshop.org, to create a BRD-specific bookstore site with links to participating bookstores and curated listings highlighting themes and identities, including novels BIPOC, queer and religious.

Atria Books, St. Martin’s Press and Avon are promising BRD gift cards, and Sourcebooks will give away two BRD prize packs with a $250 bookstore gift card and a Kate Spade tote. Readers become eligible for the swag if, on August 20, they share a romance novel photo with #IndiesLoveRomance while tagging their favorite indie bookstore and Bookstore Romance Day.

The virtual and live events kick off Friday night at Love’s Sweet Arrow: A Romance Bookstore in Tinley Park, Illinois, where Fated Mates romance podcast hosts Jen Prokop and Sarah MacLean chat with Christopher Rice and the author duo known as by Christine Lauren. “Every day is Bookstore Romance Day at Love’s Sweet Arrow,” jokes Roseann Backlin, who opened the store three years ago with her daughter Marissa Backlin. Favorite hand-sellers include Michigan writer Beverly Jenkins, who writes historical fiction with black protagonists, and Sonali Dev, known for her Indian American tales of Jane Austen novels.

Coincidentally, the Astoria Bookstore in Queens celebrates its ninth store anniversary on the same day as BRD, and its Valentine’s Day in August involves treats, family crafts and gifts from recent romantic galleys. “We are owned by queer women and our staff read a lot of queer novels. We try not to be gender elitists! said events coordinator Laura Torlaschi, who favors “all things Ali Hazelwood; Academic stories from friends to lovers are my favorite.

At Ballast Book Company in Bremerton, Washington, bookseller Miracle Hein curated a list of LGBTQ romance novels. “I chose books that I wish I had had access to growing up in my small town in the Midwest where nobody was allowed to be queer,” Hein said. “Some of my favorites include Red, white and royal blue by Casey McQuiston, The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, and All that’s left in the world by Erik J. Brown. Ballast hosts a tea party with Western Washington authors Sheila Roberts and Kate Breslin.

Romance fans “are devoted and deliver buyers. They love the books, buy multiple copies and are repeat customers,” said Linda McLoughlin Figal, owner of {pages} in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Its romantic inventory has grown from a few shelves to its own section over the past three years, catering to customers who seek “lighter, nicer, more comfortable reads.”

For BRD, {pages} will feature a photo booth, a conversation between author Jayci Lee (Reserved on a feeling) and Bookstagrammer Lacey Thach, and an event with author Bridget Morrissey (thousand miles). “We’re lucky to have a backyard” for outdoor events, Figel said. Likewise, Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, Wash., will bring no less than 17 Pacific Northwest authors to its outdoor space, including Dark Olympus series author Katee Robert and The beginning of eternity novelist AE Valdez.

Part of the popcorn appeal of novels may be that “many are paperback originals,” Figel said. Paul Swydan of Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, Mass., agrees. He suspects the romance got a boost “when publishers realized customers would pay $16.99 for a [romance novel] rather than $7.99 for a consumer paperback. The romance is both sweet and addictive. And although some bookstores experience a lull in mid-August, Swydan appreciates BRD’s timing: “At this time of year, if you go to Cape Town or the Jersey Shore, this is what you want to read.

Acorda Therapeutics Announces Resignation of Chief Operating Officer

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

PEARL RIVER, NY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) today announced that Lauren Sabella, Chief Operating Officer, will be stepping down from the company effective September 30, 2022. Ms. Sabella will assume a strategic advisory position for Biotechnology in the start-up phase of companies.

“We are grateful for Lauren’s thirteen years of contribution as a member of Acorda’s leadership team. Initially, she and her team led the commercial launch of AMPYRA, a new treatment for multiple sclerosis. The tremendous success of this product has enabled Acorda to invest in additional clinical development programs, including INBRIJA for Parkinson’s disease,” said Ron Cohen, MD, President and CEO of Acorda. “Lauren has been an outstanding leader at Acorda; We will miss her and wish her a fulfilling next chapter in her career.

“I am honored to have been part of the Acorda team. I am especially proud to know that the FDA-approved products we have brought to market have helped so many people with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease,” said Ms. Sabella. “I am also proud to have groomed outstanding senior executives to help guide Acorda’s success going forward.”

Ms. Sabella’s responsibilities will be assumed by two of her current direct reports, Sofia Ali, Senior Vice President, Operations and Strategic Planning and Susan Way, Senior Vice President, Drug Development and Regulatory Affairs.

About Acorda Therapeutics

Acorda Therapeutics develops therapies to restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. INBRIJA is approved for the intermittent treatment of OFF episodes in adults with Parkinson’s disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. INBRIJA should not be used by patients who are taking or have taken a non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor such as phenelzine or tranylcypromine within the past two weeks. INBRIJA uses Acorda’s innovative ARCUS® pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication by inhalation. Acorda also markets the AMPYRA brand® (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, regarding management’s expectations, beliefs, objectives, plans or prospects should be considered forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including: we may not be able to successfully commercialize AMPYRA, INBRIJA or any other products under development; the COVID-19 pandemic, including related restrictions on in-person interactions and travel, and the potential for illness, quarantines and vaccination mandates affecting our management, employees or consultants or those working for other companies that we rely on, could have a material adverse effect on our business operations or product sales; our ability to attract and retain key executives and other personnel, or maintain access to expert advisors; our ability to raise additional funds to fund our operations, repay outstanding debt or meet other obligations, and our ability to control our costs or reduce planned expenses; the risks associated with trading our common stock, including the potential delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Global Select Market and actions we may take, such as a reverse stock split, to attempt to maintain such listing; risks related to our corporate restructurings, including our ability to outsource certain operations, achieve anticipated cost savings and maintain the workforce necessary to continue operations; risks associated with complex and regulated manufacturing processes for pharmaceuticals, which could affect whether we have sufficient commercial supply of INBRIJA to meet market demand; our reliance on third-party manufacturers for the production of AMPYRA and INBRIJA commercial supplies; third-party payers (including government agencies) may not reimburse for use of INBRIJA at acceptable rates or at all and may impose restrictive pre-authorization requirements that limit or block prescriptions; reliance on collaborators and distributors to market INBRIJA and AMPYRA outside of the United States; competition for INBRIJA and AMPYRA, including increased competition and accompanying loss of revenue in the United States from generic versions of AMPYRA (dalfampridine) following the loss of the exclusivity of the patent; the ability to realize the expected benefits of acquisitions because, among other reasons, acquired development programs are generally subject to all of the risks inherent in the drug development process and our knowledge of the risks specifically associated with acquired programs generally improves with the time ; the risk of adverse results from future studies of INBRIJA (levodopa powder for inhalation) or other research and development programs, or any other programs acquired or licensed; the occurrence of adverse security events with our products; the outcome (whether by judgment or settlement) and costs of judicial, administrative or regulatory proceedings, investigations or inspections, including, without limitation, class, representative or class action litigation; failure to protect our intellectual property, defend against intellectual property claims of others, or obtain third party intellectual property licenses necessary to market our products; and failure to comply with regulatory requirements could result in adverse action by regulators.

These and other risks are described in more detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We may not achieve the objectives or plans described in our forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release, except if it may be required by law.

University offers weekend student activities before school – Iowa State Daily

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Sterling T. Pearcy
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Incoming freshmen play Spikeball on Central Campus after the Destination Iowa State Pancake Breakfast on August 17.

Welcoming returning students to campus and the greater Ames community, Iowa State filled the weekend of August 19-20 with student activities and offerings.

Throughout the weekend, students can find exclusive deals at many local Ames businesses organized by the Ames Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the weekend, Iowa State students will be asked to show identification before receiving offers.

The events begin Friday with a barbecue from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lied Recreation Center, serving hot dogs and hamburgers. The barbecue will also include opportunities to listen to music and interact with classmates through games.

Students can also watch Cyclone Volleyball vs. Missouri Tigers in the final exhibition game before the start of the regular season. The game will take place at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Coliseum.

Finally, Friday will feature a viewing of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” originally scheduled to take place on the South Campanile Lawn. The location was changed to Hoover Hall Room 2055 due to bad weather forecast. Free snacks will be offered to the first 500 students to arrive.

Students can start their Saturday with the “The best breakfast everand morning gymnastics on the North Campanile lawn. Breakfast will be served from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and gym will be from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The Ames Farmer’s Market will also take place on Saturday from 8.30am to 12.30pm on Ames Main Street.

For the afternoon, the Welcome Weekend program announcement the ISU Bookstore Open House, allowing students to stock up on Iowa State merchandise. The open doors of the bookstore will take place from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Furman Aquatic Center will allow students to swim for free from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Students will need their student ID to be admitted.

From 2 to 5:30 p.m., bingo will be offered in Memorial Union’s Sun Room and South Ballroom, along with snacks and prizes.

Chris Jones, a hypnotist and former “America’s Got Talent” contestant will perform from 6-7 p.m. at Durham Hall, Memorial Union.

The weekend ends with another movie viewing, this time of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The viewing will take place on the lawn of the south campanile. Snacks will also be offered to the first 500 students to arrive.

19 Best Books By George RR Martin, Including The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Novels

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

  • Most readers will know George RR Martin from his hit series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
  • It was adapted for television as “Game of Thrones” on HBO, with a new spin-off releasing on August 21.
  • We used Goodreads to rank his best and most popular books.

“Game of Thrones” was a blockbuster hit for HBO, with a record 19.3 million people watching the show’s fiery and highly anticipated conclusion. The show is based on George RR Martin’s epic fantasy novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, where the Seven Kingdoms fight for the Iron Throne through epic, high-fantasy adventures and battles. Such was the success that HBO released “House of the Dragon,” a spin-off series based on Martin’s “Fire & Blood” on August 21.

Although many readers will know George RR Martin for his success in “Game of Thrones,” he was an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer for years before the first “Game of Thrones” novel was published in 1996.

To rank her top novels, stories, and anthologies, we turned to Goodreads where over 125 million readers rate and review their favorite books. From the hit “Game of Thrones” series to early novels and short stories, here are George RR Martin’s best books, according to Goodreads reviews.

The 19 best books by George RR Martin, according to Goodreads:

The Blue-Collar Bookseller’s Critique: Faust’s Secret War | Comments

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Frederick Schiller Faust was born on May 29, 1892 in Seattle, Washington. His parents were poor and life was hard. He will escape his life of hard work thanks to his fertile imagination and his love of medieval literature. His parents died when he was still young.

Orphaned, he was sent to live with a distant relative, Thomas Downey, a high school principal. Downey introduced him to mythology. Greek and Latin literature would continue to fuel his love of storytelling throughout his life.

He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, and wrote for student publications, poetry magazines, and newspapers. He showed promise as a writer and had a natural inclination for poetry. He was not, however, a good student. He was too restless – a maverick – and never graduated.

When the United States entered World War I, Faust attempted to enlist, but was rejected even for the Ambulance Corps, due to an enlarged heart. He then focused on becoming a major poet.

He worked manually until Mark Twain’s sister read a letter he wrote to the New York Times. She was so impressed that she arranged for him to meet the editor of Munsey Publications.

He started writing a lot for pasta magazines. By the time he sold his third story, he had started writing under a pseudonym. It was more than the desire to be anonymous. America was at war with Germany, and using a German name would destroy his career. What name is more German than Faust?

Once he felt his new vocation as a magazine writer was secure, he married his college sweetheart, Dorothy Schillig. He began writing for more upmarket magazines, and many of his stories have inspired films. His character, Dr. Kildare, has been adapted for radio, film and even comics.

He made a small fortune from these adaptations. He also started working as a screenwriter for Hollywood studios. At one point he was making $3,000 a week with Warner Brothers, at a time when most people weren’t even making that in a year. Faust became one of the highest paid writers of his time.

Faust disparaged his commercial success. He only used his real name for his poetry. He spent every morning devoted to the work he considered his literary vocation. He considered three lines designed as a successful day. In the afternoon he could produce thirty pages of a story.

Many Faust characters died heroic deaths in battle. It was perhaps this romantic notion that drove Faust to insist on doing his part when the United States entered World War II. He had missed the Great War, and he wasn’t going to miss another.

He was elderly and suffered from chronic heart disease. So he had to use all his connections to become a frontline war correspondent on the Italian front.

There he lived among men who had grown up reading his stories of heroes and great deeds, and it was there that he died. In 1944 he was mortally wounded by shrapnel in what some historians have called the “bloody conflict of the entire war”. President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally commended him for his bravery.

Often condemned by those who seek realistic detail in fiction, this did not prevent Faust from becoming one of the most popular and prolific storytellers in the world.

His love of mythology and storytelling drove him to write over 500 novels, and almost as many short stories. His literary production is estimated between 25 and 30 million words. He was a poet, author of novels, fairy tales, legends, dreams and dramas, and wrote over 300 Western novels and stories.

Faust wrote under many pseudonyms, including George Owen Baxter, David Manning, Evan Evans, George Evans, John Frederick, George Challis, Peter Morland and Frederick Frost, but you probably know him as Max Brand, the Shakespeare of Western range…

Writing is just one of the hats I wear as a blue collar bookseller, visit me at From My Shelf Books and I’ll find a hat/book to suit me.



Kevin Coolidge is currently a full-time factory worker and part-time bookseller at From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, PA. When he is not working, he writes. He is also a children’s author and creator of The Totally Ninja Raccoons, a children’s series aimed at reluctant readers. Visit his author site at kevincoolidge.org


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HSBC, Citigroup and the end of the World Bank

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Twenty years ago, returning from summer vacation, HSBC Holdings Plc employees began moving into their gleaming new global headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf. Designed by Norman Foster, the building was one of two new towers to sprout to the east of the city. The other housed Citigroup Inc., whose employees had moved out a few months earlier. At the time, they were jointly the second tallest buildings in the UK. They reflected the confidence of their occupants: each vying to be the largest and most imposing bank in the world.

Two decades later, the buildings are now monuments to a bygone era. The global ambitions of HSBC and Citigroup have been reduced, replaced by a closer focus on core markets. HSBC has reduced the number of countries and territories in which it operates to 64 from 88. Its largest shareholder, China’s Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., has campaigned for a spinoff from its operations in Asia. Last year, Citigroup announced its exit from 13 markets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East and is trying to sell its Mexican business, Banamex.

The change in strategy of the two banks follows the arc of globalization.

In 2002, HSBC coined the slogan “the local bank of the world” to describe its strategy. Over the previous 10 years, it had made a series of acquisitions – in the UK, Brazil, the US, France and Mexico – as part of a “three-legged stool” strategy to establish a presence in Asia, North America and Europe.

Founded in Hong Kong in 1865, it outgrew its domestic market and began investing excess capital overseas. The strategy was devised by Michael Sandberg, its chairman between 1977 and 1986. “If you stand still these days, you’re actually stepping back,” he said.

The strategy followed the path set by Citi. In 1967, Citi promoted Walter Wriston, head of its overseas business, to president. Wriston had already made his ambitions clear at a dinner party a few years earlier: “The plan for the overseas division was first to set up a Citibank branch in every commercially important country in the world. The second phase was to start tapping into the local deposit market by setting up satellite branches or mini-branches in a country. The third phase was to export New York’s retail services and know-how.

Like HSBC, the bank has deployed capital all over the world. At its peak, it had operations in over 140 countries. (The United Nations currently has 193 Member States).

By the time they moved into their new offices, HSBC and Citi were the most globally diversified of the major international banks. “We fought like dogs and cats,” said William Purves, who succeeded Sandberg as president, “but in some ways we were pretty close.” As global trade boomed, banks profited as financial intermediaries in the wake of post-Cold War global economic integration.

But with the global financial crisis of 2008, the dominant model of globalization began to break down. As countries became inward-looking and regional trading blocs became more dominant, the expansion of global value chains slowed. After rising in a straight line from 29% of global gross domestic product in 1993, merchandise trade – the sum of merchandise imports and exports – peaked at 51% in 2008. (By 2021, it had fallen to 46%.)

As with many important turning points, the change was not obvious at first. Citi promoted a strategy to become an “urban bank, serving customers in the world’s top 100 cities.” Its post-crisis CEO, Vikram Pandit, argued that “the people of these big cities have a lot more in common as customers than they necessarily have by nationality: from a banking perspective, São Paolo has more in common with London than with San Juan. .” Until 2016, HSBC continued to display its “global local bank” slogan on the jet bridges of major airports.

But as the profitability of their outposts declined and the cost of running remote organizations rose alongside tougher post-crisis regulations, banks began to shed their global aspirations. Pandit’s successor as CEO, Mike Corbat, left a number of markets and his successor, Jane Fraser, doubled down, leaving several others, including Mexico, Citi’s largest self-consumption franchise outside of the United States.

HSBC was also withdrawing from several markets. Last year, he sold his French operations to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for 1 euro. Hong Kong is back to contributing 30% of its loan portfolio, a level not seen in over 20 years.

Now the group faces its biggest test: a call to dismantle what remains of its “three-legged stool”. Ping An estimates that splitting off its Asian business could free up $8 billion in capital and create between $25 billion and $35 billion in additional market value. In its interim results presentation earlier this month, HSBC countered that “structural change risks diluting the economics of our international business model”.

But with declining globalization, the value of an international banking network is diminished. From its global headquarters in Canary Wharf, HSBC’s global strategy is a throwback to another era.

More from Bloomberg Opinion:

• Globalization is not dead, it is just more global now: Wang Huiyao

• Will Western banks move away from Russia? : Mark Rubinstein

• HSBC Split is a surefire way to destroy value: Paul J. Davies

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editorial Board or of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Marc Rubinstein is a former hedge fund manager. He is the author of the weekly financial newsletter Net Interest.

More stories like this are available at bloomberg.com/opinion

CT’s Best Used Bookstores in 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Pours & Passages

103 Main Street, Danielson

As the towns progress, Danielson could be described as small. Which is why spotting Passages & Pourings on the corner of Main Street is a surprise. It’s not small, whatever. Follow its story and it’s obvious – this used bookstore had no intention of staying small, even from the start.

A wandering patron in Pourings & Passages spots owner Jim Weigel and launches into what can only be described as fangirl mode. “My dad used to call me every time the annual book sale was on,” she exclaims. She refers to the beginnings of Pourings & Passages in 1986, when it was part of an annual fundraiser for St. James’s School. The book collection, which drew crowds, eventually overtook St. James.

A nonprofit bookstore was established, and the tomes moved to a store above an insurance company in 2015. “I was a school librarian for 37 years,” Weigel says. “I always wanted to own a bookstore.” The 1,000 square foot space played into his vision. “A bookstore should have coffee,” he says. “There was a kitchen area, so we brought a table and chairs and had a little coffee.”

Five years later, this building was sold and another opportunity arose. The Trinket Shop, for 50 years Danielson’s go-to spot for evening dresses and tuxedos, was available for rent. Just as goldfish grow to accommodate their jars, the books, over 20,000, are well-distributed among Pourings & Passages’ five new rooms and 8,000 square feet. “It keeps raving,” Weigel says of the space they took over in April 2021. And as for St. James’s School, it’s holding a perpetual fundraiser in the store.

Pourings & Passages’ all-volunteer staff sell over 1,000 books a week. DVDs, games, CDs and trinkets are also available. New batches of books, whose condition has been rigorously checked by Weigel, find their residence on the store shelves. Ongoing events keep things lively, including book signings with local authors (Becky Adams and Josh Tate were recent guests), poetry readings, and a children’s story hour.

Visitors come from as far away as Boston, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Waiting to welcome them: Weigel and a cup of coffee. —Bekah Wright

pouringandpassages.com • 860-774-1712

Author David Dean’s Upcoming Horror Novel ‘Ocracoke’ Is Now Available For Pre-Order

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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[Courtesy daviddeanwriter.com]

How much evil will society tolerate in exchange for a good quality of life? This is the underlying question of the new horror novel Ocrakoke now available for pre-order from North Carolina author David Dean.

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Coming out this Halloween, the book tells the story of Thomas White, a 160-year-old vampire posing as an entrepreneur in his 20s, a survivor of a British shipwreck long ago on the bucolic beach of Ocracoke as a benevolent despot. with a combination of economic incentives and fear.

According to Dean, he tried to make an independent film of the same name a few years ago. “We actually shot a lot of scenes in and around Ocracoke, everyone in the village was friendly and welcoming and the plot of the film was very well received locally,” Dean said. “Unfortunately, shortly after leaving the island of North Carolina, we went into lockdown due to the coronavirus, and all of our other filming locations moved back. By the time the restrictions were lifted, the cast and production company had moved on.

“COVID killed my film,” he explained.

Burdened with debt from the failed production, Dean said he walked away from his script and focused on finishing and publishing a novel this summer, his suspense/thriller OBX, which helped him regain his confidence.

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“OBX sales have been much better than I imagined,” Dean explained. “The support from retailers and booksellers up and down the Outer Banks has been tremendous, everyone has been so welcoming and encouraging it has made me want to return to ocracoke.”

The Ocracoke novel is more detailed and nuanced than its original screenplay, Dean said, with the book’s format allowing for increased character development, the incorporation of more of Ocracoke Island’s history, and a in-depth examination of societal issues related to people’s tolerance for evil. as long as it benefits them personally.

“There’s still a ton of action, but with the novel I can dig deeper into White’s backstory, what made him who he is and what drives him, rather than him becoming a angry and vengeful vampire who goes on a rampage killing people,” he said. said.

Dean is currently planning a local book launch. Her novel will be available in paperback via IngramSpark and as an eBook on Amazon.com. A plot summary and more information about the book can be found on the author’s website www.daviddeanwriter.com.

This story originally appeared on OBXToday.com. Read more local stories here.

I use AI technology in my side business – it helped me increase my income to $27,000 in 30 days

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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An online entrepreneur quit his 9am-5pm job to start his own bookstore business which he says earns him thousands of dollars a month.

He goes through Raiken Profit, and the catalyst for this financially lucky decision was his “feeling like an animal locked in a cage.”

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Raiken Profit said it went from feeling ‘trapped in a cage’ with its previous 9-5 to making thousands a month through technologyCredit: TikTok/raikenprofit_official

The businessman explained in a video how he sources his supplies from local thrift stores, searching for valuable books on the online market.

It’s aided by the Amazon scanner app’s AI technology, programmed to instantly gauge the projected profit from its sale on any book it scans.

“$40,000 a month by the end of the year” is his 30-day revenue goal for sales on the site.

Raiken Profit is one of many online entrepreneurs with life changing businesses and side hustles.

I'm a tech pro - you can make up to $200 per hour testing tools online
A tech guru reveals four hidden iPhone hacks you've probably never seen

Technician and user experience researcher Nik Pollina, 29, has shared with her followers a top secret on how anyone can make money straight from their phone.

She explained, “I’m a user experience researcher and in my work I’ve used what’s called usability tools.

“The problem with usability tools is that we need real people to test our products.”

Physical objects, websites, apps and the like all need to be tested by real people, she said.

Tests can be as short as five to 30 minutes, so even those short on time can reap the benefits of usability tools.

Nik has personally recommended these sites:

  • Usertesting.com
  • User Zoom
  • Labyrinth
  • Respondent
  • UserFeel
  • testing time
  • TryMyUI
  • Validate my

All interested testers should be sure to conduct their own research before signing up for testing and providing their information.

Another technology-based opportunity for additional income is selling stock photos.

Shutterstock, Depositphoto and other sites have an insatiable need for photographers to replenish their stock of royalty-free images.

You can earn between $200 and $500 per month depending on the quantity and quality of photos you submit.

Someone’s trash can be your treasure if you decide to help dispose of unwanted items through sites like 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

The site can help you join a team in your area in addition to offering you the possibility of flying solo.

Once you get moving, estimated average earnings are $35 per hour.

Shock twist in bride-to-be's mysterious death after body was brutally stabbed 20 TIMES
Kim Kardashian “targeted by death threats when an unknown person sent 80 letters to her home”

Side-hustle queen and mother-of-three Mona Mejia told The Sun that she tends to make between $8,000 and $9,000 selling clothes online.

And, a TikToker, known as Amzpatharris, claimed he was making thousands of dollars every month from an Amazon side gig.

The bookseller businessman discovers his product in local thrift stores. It uses a Bluetooth scanner to facilitate its selection process

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The bookseller businessman discovers his product in local thrift stores. It uses a Bluetooth scanner to facilitate its selection processCredit: TikTok/raikenprofit_official

China’s NYSE delisting could pave way for audit deal with US, analysts say

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

A trader enters the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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HONG KONG, Aug 15 (Reuters) – The decision to remove five Chinese state-owned enterprises from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) could pave the way for Beijing to strike an audit deal with the United States, ending a more than a decade-old dispute, analysts and advisers said Monday.

The five state-owned companies, including oil major Sinopec (600028.SS) and China Life Insurance (601628.SS), whose audits have been reviewed by the US securities regulator, said on Friday they would withdraw voluntarily of the NYSE listing. Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had reported in May that the five and many others failed to meet U.S. auditing standards, and write-off signals that China could compromise by allowing U.S. auditors to access the accounts of Chinese private companies listed in the United States. , some analysts said.

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Beijing and Washington are in talks to end a dispute that threatened to kick hundreds of Chinese companies off their New York listings if China did not comply with Washington’s demand for full access to the companies’ books Chinese companies listed in the United States.

“The fact that state-owned companies are not listed in the United States allows the Chinese side to compromise in negotiations,” said a Hong Kong capital markets lawyer, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“They were more worried about gaining access to public company accounts,” the lawyer said, referring to authorities in Beijing. “It is believed that many private companies do not have such sensitive data as state-owned companies.”

Some observers, however, were less optimistic about the impact of radiation.

“By taking state-owned companies off the table, it would, in theory, give the Chinese more leeway to make concessions,” said Paul Gillis, a retired professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management.

“But I think the overall political environment between the United States and China being what it is, it’s difficult to come to an agreement.”

FULL ACCESS

U.S. regulators have for years demanded full access to audit working papers of New York-listed Chinese companies, but Chinese authorities have denied the request on national security grounds.

In May, a senior SEC official said China could agree to voluntary delisting of companies deemed “too sensitive” to comply with US requirements, which would ensure that the rest of the companies and law firms audit could comply with US inspection and investigation processes and avoid potential exchanges. prohibitions.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not respond to a query on Monday afternoon.

More than 270 Chinese companies are identified as at risk of being banned from trading, the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which oversees audits of US-listed companies, has ruled it does not have access comprehensive to their audit work.

Concerns about the companies’ future on New York stock exchanges have swirled in recent months, with global fund managers holding U.S.-listed Chinese stocks gradually shifting to their Hong Kong-traded counterparts. Read more

Alibaba Group Holding announced a fortnight ago that it would change its secondary listing in Hong Kong to a dual primary listing, which analysts said would make it easier in the future should the e-commerce giant ever want to delist in the United States.

“As for private companies listed in the United States, whether they may have more leeway to cooperate with the PCAOB will likely depend on the sensitivity of the data in their audit documents,” said Weiheng Chen, head of the audit. of Greater China Practice within the law firm Wilson Sonsini. .

Private companies with large amounts of geographic data and data that tracks the location, movements and social behaviors of individuals and businesses are more likely to be considered sensitive, Chen said.

After the delisting of the five SOEs, only two SOEs will remain listed in the US – China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) and China Southern Airlines (600029.SS).

“China should be motivated to cooperate with the US SEC to ensure that Chinese companies without sensitive information are not cut off from US capital markets,” Jefferies analysts wrote.

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Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Kane Wu, Xie Yu and Samuel Shen; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David Holmes

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

scott murdoch

Thomson Reuters

Scott Murdoch has been a journalist for over two decades and works for Thomson Reuters and News Corp in Australia. He has specialized in financial journalism for most of his career and covers equity and debt markets across Asia from Hong Kong.

Five Point Holdings, LLC (NYSE:FPH) Short Interest Update

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Five Point Holdings, LLC (NYSE: FPH – Get a rating) experienced a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31, there was short interest totaling 406,200 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the July 15 total of 359,300 shares. About 0.6% of the stock’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume of 133,900 shares, the short-term interest rate ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Stock performance in five points

FPH stock traded down $0.08 at noon on Friday, hitting $4.03. 274,381 shares of the company were traded, against an average volume of 106,062. Five Point has a 52-week low of $3.76 and a 52-week high of $8.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.05 and a 200-day moving average of $5.20. The company has a market capitalization of $597.65 million, a price-earnings ratio of -67.17 and a beta of 1.33.

Five points (NYSE: FPH – Get a rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 12. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.03 for the quarter. Five Point posted a positive return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $4.89 million for the quarter.

Wall Street analysts predict growth

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Separately, TheStreet downgraded Five Point from a “c” rating to a “d” rating in a Tuesday, June 7 research note.

Insider Activity at Five Point

In related news, major shareholder Luxor Capital Group, Lp sold 27,200 shares in a deal that took place on Monday, May 16. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $138,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,004 shares of the company, valued at $373,050.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this link. Over the past three months, insiders have sold 87,129 shares of the company valued at $432,926. Insiders hold 4.19% of the company’s shares.

Institutional investors weigh in on five points

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently increased or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in Five Point by 3,242.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 34,265 shares of the company valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 33,240 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new equity stake in Five Point in the fourth quarter worth approximately $159,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its equity stake in Five Point by 10.4% in the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 558,287 shares of the company worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 52,375 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its equity stake in Five Point by 215.2% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,644 shares of the company worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its equity stake in Five Point by 5.5% in the second quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 1,224,298 shares of the company worth $4,787,000 after purchasing an additional 63,920 shares during the period. 34.97% of the shares are currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Five Point Company Profile

(Get a rating)

Five Point Holdings, LLC, through its subsidiary, Five Point Operating Company, LP, owns and develops mixed-use and planned communities in Orange County, Los Angeles County and San Francisco County. The Company operates in four segments: Valencia, San Francisco, Great Park and Commercial. It sells residential and commercial land to homebuilders, commercial developers and commercial buyers; operates and owns a business office, medical campus and other properties; and provides property development and management services.

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Reporter, SUNY Schenectady grad pens “The Power of Plus” – The Daily Gazette

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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In his first book “The Power of Plus”, Gianluca Russo, journalist and graduate of SUNY Schenectady County Community College, recounts the struggle to make fashion more inclusive.

Russo weaves interviews of 80 models, influencers, advocates and more with her own personal experiences to create a compelling narrative that makes the issue accessible to those inside and outside the fashion industry.

The Guilderland native’s path to writing has been a winding one. Growing up, Russo had an interest in the theater arts, but after graduating from Guilderland High School, he decided to pursue paralegal education at SUNY Schenectady. As he graduated in 2017, he knew legal work was not for him and instead felt compelled to write. He started blogging about local theater while studying journalism at the University of Albany. There, Russo turned to fashion journalism.

“What appealed to me at the time was kind of watching Teen Vogue go through this very public revolution from afar, where they changed their content to more accurately reflect their audience, and so that really meant bring identity into the reporting that was being done there, and I resonated with that,” Russo said. “While I have this love for theatrical journalism, I had the impression that at the time it was not ready for difficult conversations. And I wanted to be able to integrate these cultural moments and these identity conversations into the report that I was doing.

Russo discovered he was able to do this through fashion journalism. While taking classes at UAlbany, he began writing for Teen Vogue, GQ, Glamour, Nylon, and other outlets.

“I just felt like I came to journalism at a time when we crave this conversation about size inclusivity and diversity, and that’s what I could comment on,” said Russo, who has since become a columnist for Nylon.

The idea for “The Power of Plus” was born out of an extensive series of articles he wrote about waist inclusion and New York Fashion Week.

“I spoke to over 60 people for each one and approached the issue from every possible angle,” he said.

Russo tweeted each story in a thread and mentioned he hoped to write a book about it. A day later, he signed with an agent and began working on the book proposal.

“I’m going to take everything I’ve done for the past four years now and turn it into a book that celebrates us and also pushes fashion to where it still needs to go,” Russo said.

This is exactly what “The Power of Plus” does. It opens with some history on the movement, including the story of Lane Bryant, a company founded in the early 1900s that became a leader in providing clothing for curvy women.

Russo also talks about how plus-size people have been belittled and criticized over the years. Perhaps one of the most notable examples is told through an interview with trailblazer Emme Aronson, who is considered the first plus-size model. During a photoshoot early in Aronson’s modeling career, a photographer initially refused to photograph her, saying, “I don’t photograph that fat.”

“I was frustrated. I was hurt. I took it personally, but I knew it was wrong. That’s not how you should talk to a woman or a person,” Aronson said. She was later named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and became an advocate for plus size inclusion in the fashion industry.

“It’s so amazing how far she’s come in what she’s been able to do since the 1990s,” Russo said. “She was the first person I interviewed for this book and I felt like that set the tone. That’s why I wanted to open the book with her story, because to me, she m opened my eyes to this.

Another notable interview from the book is with model Hunter McGrady, who, after landing a series in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, was told she would have to lose weight if she wanted to continue working as a plus-size model. .

McGrady, a proponent of body positivity, refused to cater to the idea of ​​”more perfect,” even if it meant losing jobs. During New York Fashion Week in 2019, she turned down more than 30 jobs that she said didn’t include pruning. McGrady’s resolve resonated with Russo, who in the book talks about his struggles with diet culture.

Russo said his own experiences helped him connect with more than 80 people he interviewed while reporting for the book.

“I’m someone who is personally invested in this topic because I’m also affected by these kinds of fashion industry norms, and have been since I was a kid,” Russo said. “It really helped us connect and find that common ground, which allowed them to be more vulnerable and to open up more, and to really understand this project at its core.”

One of the challenges Russo faced early in his reporting on the size inclusion movement was choosing the right label. Russo identified with terms like “plus-size” and “fat.” However, while writing one of the articles that inspired the book, he discovered the controversy behind these labels. Russo wanted to call the feature “Fashion’s Fat Rebels,” but some of the people he hoped to interview refused to be included unless he removed the bold word from the title.

“It was tough because I wanted to include people that I really looked up to and looked up to and they just didn’t want to be lumped into this conversation,” Russo said. “At first, I was put off by that. And I was like, ‘Why wouldn’t you want to support that?’ ”

But while reporting for the book, Russo began to understand where these people were coming from. Some were afraid of losing their jobs, while others just didn’t want to be labeled that way.

“The complexity of understanding how fashion works and why labels matter in the way they currently do was something I had to learn through this process because not everyone wants to be labeled as a plus size. Not everyone wants to be labeled as fat or curvy,” Russo said. “Not all of them want to lend their voice here because at the end of the day it’s putting you in a box. to be put in those boxes, they find a community in those boxes. I’m one of those people. But some people don’t. They want the endless opportunities. They don’t want to be labeled, because being labeled means being limited to them. .

While the book is less than 200 pages, Russo also delves into the complexities of fashion brands like Old Navy and Target expanding their plus-size offerings in ways that make plus-size customers feel supported and included.

“The Power of Plus” covers the struggles of the size inclusion movement as well as the victories with big brands. Those wins notably slowed during the pandemic when Russo wrote the book. With the release slated for Tuesday, Russo, who now lives in Arizona, hopes the book will gain momentum.

“I think after two years of being in this pandemic, the momentum on size inclusivity has unfortunately slowed down a bit in the industry. It’s really sad to see. I wanted this book to remind people: we’ve come this far, let’s celebrate this, but don’t let it die out,” Russo said.

“The Power of Plus” is published by Chicago Review Press. It will be available from Tuesday on BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon and other booksellers.

Russo will be at the Guilderland Public Library for a book signing and discussion from 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7. The conference will be moderated by Times Union journalist Steve Barnes.

More from The Daily Gazette:

Categories: Life and Arts, Life and Arts, Schenectady

Two lives at the face of the grocery store

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Consumer concerns about the “cost of living crisis” have found a ready scapegoat in supermarkets, the greatest retail innovation of the 20th century.

Politicians and civil service regulators have been quick to pick up the vibes, targeting “excess profits” as a distraction from the role of government policies that have dramatically increased the cost of doing business over the past five years.

While the return of inflation should be covered by central bank monetary policies, as most economists have warned, and lockdown policy decisions in response to a global pandemic, rising oil prices groceries didn’t start at the checkout, nor with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Media reports have joined forces against supermarkets, giving advice on where to find groceries and cheaper goods. But the reality is that only supermarkets can offer low prices on a large scale. Otherwise, each small retailer would charge less rather than more.

The way supermarkets have become the source of cost-of-living mythology defies the obvious as to why customers flock there in defiance of other options. The answer does not lie in the Commerce Commission’s investigations, although these have uncovered some questionable business practices unrelated to food production.

The reason for this is demand from suppliers to cover their higher costs, a fact highlighted in a new analysis from Rabobank, which forecasts a further rapid increase in food prices over the rest of the year.

In Australia, the cheapest grocery store, Aldi, complained that it received requests from suppliers for price increases for 1,200 items, five times the normal amount, and agreed to 80%.

Kaz Staples with a gold medal at the NZ Food Awards in 2013.

On the coal front

Two business briefs reflect the face of the rapidly changing consumer goods industry. In The Cereal Entrepreneur, Kaz Staples tells how, in 22 years, she built the Pure Delish gourmet brand from her home oven to a business big enough to be acquired by a consumer manufacturer.

by Brett Ashley The key to unlocking your potential is a career-based guide to self-improvement that took him from apprentice butcher to senior manager at Woolworths New Zealand, which employs 22,000 people and has annual food sales of $7.15 billion.

New Zealand business memoirs have limited value to outsiders due to the authors’ reluctance to reveal unflattering information about themselves, colleagues, friends and enemies. These two are no exception.

The Staples account is unapologetically personal, praising others for what was clearly an uphill struggle waged without access to capital, heavily dependent on the efforts of owner and staff, with most of the hard business lessons learned by trial and error.

Her homemade seasonal Christmas cakes were started to supplement the family income from her husband Dave’s own business. The product was aimed at the luxury end of the food chain.

Gourmet outlets

Gourmet grocers Moore Wilson in Wellington and Farro Fresh and Nosh in Auckland provided initial support, steering Pure Delish into the breakfast market, with unique offerings such as flavored grain-free muesli handcrafted with nuts and imported nuts.

The range expanded to include cereals, snack bars, cookies, slices and snack clusters, with eventual distribution to supermarkets and a small export market. The operation survived without an advertising budget, a risk in the food business if reputation and quality are in question, as was the case when just go did a “hit job” in 2012. He alleged a child fell ill after eating a snack bar.

Pure Delish products in a supermarket.

Staples discovered that the child was that of a friend of one of the TV show’s presenters. The boy had a history of illness and the story was aired as a “guilty before cleared” case, according to Staples. She tried to quit the show after learning the background, saying that even today she was “stripped of my integrity and I felt like everything I had worked for was on about to be destroyed…I was a total wreck, about to fall apart.”

While the company survived this blow, the outcome of a similar story told by Ashley was far more damaging. These were allegations made under parliamentary privilege by an unnamed ‘Opposition MP’ about illegal practices at Countdown. The company was later licensed, but Ashley says this resulted in a massive loss of market share.

“It took over 18 months for the Countdown brand to fully recover financially,” he says. The claims were based on complaints from vendors about Countdown’s desire to cut costs and give consumers a better deal.

Politicians are always happy to demand lower prices from retailers, but not, it seems, at the expense of suppliers or the retailer who loses sales. (For the record, the MP was Labor’s Shane Jones in 2014. The Commerce Commission investigated similar complaints as part of its 2021-22 inquiry.)

Margin Tips

Margins are at the heart of grocery economics. Staples is convinced that its business would not have been viable if it had given in to all of the retailers’ demands for discounts, rebates and promotions. She has a message for small businesses whose margins are under attack: don’t go for scale if it means less profit.

Eventually, after the health pressures of two bouts of cancer and the fatal loss of friends and family, Staples agreed to sell the company in 2019, just months after being recognized in New Year’s honors. , background details are sparse, Tasti Products, based in Te Atatu, founded in 1935, purchasing the Pure Delish brand.

Brett Ashley began his career as an apprentice butcher.

Butcher overcomes a difficult start

Ashley’s journey to business success was punctuated by a single period of business ownership. Angered by Coles Myer’s clumsy takeover of Progressive Enterprises in 1998, he quit and opened an Italian-style butcher shop in Fletcher’s Pakuranga mall.

The mall’s Foodtown began selling chicken breasts for a cheaper dollar a kilo, giving Ashley the chance to buy all the stock for the day and resell it for a profit. The price drop soon stopped and later, when Ashley was lured to Foodtown after Coles Myer sold out to Perth-based Foodland (FAL), he learned that his butcher shop was selling more than the meat division of the supermarket.

Under FAL, the task was to restore Progressive, which owned three supermarket brands, both inside and out. This involved merging three retail cultures, setting new priorities with sourcing at the top, and taking a centralized approach to the meat and seafood division.

A Foodtown outlet in central Auckland before being rebranded as Countdown.

Merge Cultures

FAL then acquired the rival operation of Woolworths, also with three brands and formerly owned by Dairy Farms International. Once again, Ashley was faced with merging store cultures, removing redundant operations, and ensuring that Coles Myer’s top-down experience wouldn’t happen again.

In 2005, FAL was taken over by Woolworths Australia, a company 10 times larger than Progressive and with abundant financial resources. Ashley points out that most of the profits from New Zealand supermarkets go to expanding the business.

When a new chief executive arrives from Australia in 2018, Ashley fears she may fall victim to another corporate shake-up. He doesn’t name her but she persuades him to change his mind and leave for at least two years.

In retirement, Ashley is working on her new business, My Purpose, which offers courses in leadership (“coaching a team on how to generate actions that will produce results”), personal life planning and establishing goals, and creating thriving business cultures and environments. .

These are outlined in the second half of the book, which will primarily appeal only to practitioners and those wishing to pursue a career in business. Ashley reveals a lot about his rocky start in life, but he overcame it with his strong ambition and wide reading.

Three books had a great impact: that of Maxwell Maltz Psycho-Cybernetics (1960), Hit! The Glenn Bland Method (1972) and that of Robin Sharma Life lessons from the monk who sold his Ferrari (1999). He now hopes that his experience can be passed on to prove, as the book’s subtitle says, that “life is not a prison”.

The grain entrepreneur and The key to unlocking your potential.

The Grain Entrepreneur: A Story of Courage, Courage, and Crunchy Goodnessby Kaz Staples (Ultimate World Publishing).

The key to unlocking your potential: life is not a prisonby Brett Ashley (Mary Egan Publishing).

Nevil Gibson is a former editor for NBR. He has contributed film and book reviews to various publications.

This is content provided and not paid for by NBR.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Can innovative industrial properties survive the rest of 2022?

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
-
0

Innovative industrial properties (NYSE: IIPR), a real estate investment trust (REIT) serving the regulated cannabis industry, posted notable gains in the second quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, in the early spring, it raised funds via a sale of common shares , which helped her reduce her debt while continuing to grow the business. But, he’s already spent some of that, has a large debt due in 2026, just defaulted on a lease obligation, and then there’s this pervasive regulatory lag at the state and federal level. All of this leaves investors with the same question: will IIP’s latest investments pay off in these difficult economic times?

The top and bottom lines increased in the second quarter

Total IIP revenue was $70.5 million, up 9.3% sequentially and 44% year-on-year driven by the acquisition and lease of new properties, combined with rent increases. The company owns 110 properties across the country and 80% of those are attributable to multi-state operators (MSOs). Net income increased 98% sequentially to $40.2 million with a net profit margin 57%, a remarkable figure because this is the money left over after the IIP has paid its bills. One thing he did with those funds on July 15 was his shareholders, who had invested as of June 30, a dividend of $1.75 per share, or $7.00 for an annual dividend rate.

Finally, he said in his recent investor call that he had 12% debt to total gross assets, with approximately $2.5 billion in total gross assets, representing a total annual obligation. fixed cash interest of approximately $16.7 million. Luckily for IIP, most of the $300 million in debt — except for $6.5 million in senior exchangeable notes — isn’t due until 2026.

Dwindling cash has prompted the company to raise funds

IIP’s cash has steadily declined throughout 2021, from $156 million in the second quarter of 2021 to just over $43 million, a 72% decline, at year-end and no leaving him with no choice but to borrow more or sell shares to replenish his bank coffers. On April 5, when the stock was trading at $205 per share, the company launched an underwriting offering of approximately 1.5 million shares at $190 apiece, raising approximately $330.9 million. of total net product. Not too shabby a transport for just a 7% stock dilution.

Since April, the stock’s value has fallen 55% – some of that attributable to a major tenant default – to just over $91 per share as of this writing, investors don’t know. were certainly not satisfied. IIP says they will use the money to invest in specialty industrial properties used in the cannabis industry and for business expenses, a promise he has already kept, leaving him with only $45 million in the bank. at the end of the second quarter of 2022.

He quickly invested the money, but will it work?

With its stock sale behind it, Innovative Industrial Properties wasted no time and purchased four new facilities in Arizona (adult and medical use), Maryland (small medical with an adult use initiative on the November ballot ), Massachusetts (medical and adult use), and Texas (very limited medical). Initiate five lease adjustments to fund facility improvements in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania (all medical and adult use, except Pennsylvania, which is medical only and two years or more at adult use), new investments and facility improvements represent a $239.4 million investment for the company.

These investments can help IIP build new relationships and strengthen ties with big companies like curafeuille (OTC: CURVE), Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF), PharmaCann and Sozo Health. This is good news for the company. Unfortunately, not all news was good last quarter for IPI.

One of its tenants, Kings Garden, defaulted on its $2.2 million one month’s rent and management fees on his six properties for the month of July. But if the problem continues for a year, it could result in a loss of more than $26 million. This storyline is still unfolding as Kings Garden and IIP work on a possible new deal. The company said default would represent 8% of total revenue and 7.4% of capital investments, management further explains that the highest risk any of its tenants exposes the company to is 14%, trying to reassure investors that it is protected from the fallout of another potential default by the tenant.

IIP’s finances appear to be in good shape for the remainder of 2022, and with its new partners consisting of some of the biggest MSOs in the country like Green Thumb and Curaleaf, it is ready to leverage these new contracts to begin repay its 2026 debt and increase its cash in the bank. However, the IIP may still be vulnerable if more tenants, 90% of which are production/processing facilities and the most expensive to run, default. And with the cannabis industry slumping from its 2020 peak, federal adult use policy change potentially stalled, states like Pennsylvania and Maryland dragging their feet toward adult use, and just the uncertainty associated with cannabis production, future defects are plausible.

IIP’s cash in the bank is a metric to watch for the next two quarters, as a continued decline may signal that it needs to raise more money. Despite the customer default issues, IIP’s relatively lower valuation and its relationship with some large MSOs could make it a buy for investors who think new investments will take shape and aren’t a bit worried about volatility in their portfolio due to ongoing economic problems. unfold. But for everyone else, the jury is still out.

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National Book Store and Converge enter connectivity partnership – Manila Bulletin

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0
CONNECTIVITY PARTNERSHIP From left to right: Jason Ocampo, Chief Information and Communications Technology Officer, National Book Store; Xandra Ramos-Padilla, General Manager of the National Library; Jesus Romero, COO of Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.; Joffrey Marfil, Head of Enterprise Sales Unit at Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.

The Philippines’ most beloved iconic bookstore – National Book Store – reopened its online store in 2020 due to strong demand for books, stationery and other office essentials for home-based workers at most strong from the pandemic.

With the relaunch of its e-commerce site and the shift to remote working, National Book Store needed a reliable, high-capacity connectivity partner.

This is to ensure that employees can easily work from home and that customers can still access the bookstore’s e-commerce site at any time of the day, anywhere in the country. To be able to scale and deliver a great shopping experience to customers, both in-person and online, as well as ensure continued sales productivity, the company needed connectivity to high speed, reliable and secure.

In order to adapt to these changes to adapt to an always connected digital environment, National Book Store, in partnership with Converge ICT Solutions, Inc with their enterprise level product, Ethernet Cloud Direct Connect, which enables them to connect quickly and secured to Amazon Web Services (AWS) which hosts their SAP and e-Wallet services.

“We chose Converge as our cloud connectivity partner because of their private connection to the public cloud, which allows us to maintain peak performance with secure, dedicated access to AWS,” said Xandra Ramos-Padilla, CEO of National Books Store.

“Converge’s higher data throughput and stable consistency has allowed us to achieve 99% uptime for our systems, helping us perform critical functions quickly and efficiently. Ensuring good connectivity for our business systems helps us fulfill our mission to provide the best shopping experience to every Laking National customer and allows our employees to be always productive,” added Ramos-Padilla.

To further improve branch operations, National Book Store has also made use of Converge’s flexiBIZ Broadband for Business service. As the most innovative fiber-based broadband solution for businesses, it allows National Book Store to not only dramatically increase bandwidth to their major branch offices, but also reduce monthly connectivity costs.

The increased bandwidth capacity of flexiBIZ will also allow National Book Store to roll out more digital services to its stores in the future, helping the company adapt to rapidly changing online needs.

“We are proud to be National Book Store’s connectivity partner, helping them become a leading retailer in the ever-changing digital landscape,” said Jesus C. Romero, Chief Operating Officer of Converge. “As a beloved monolith in the book retail industry, we are honored to provide them with the business tools necessary to ensure that their iconic presence is still felt here in the country and in the online spaces.”

Converge provides businesses and enterprises with secure and dynamic enterprise-grade fiber solutions to help retail businesses like National Book Store keep their business running smoothly. To learn more about Converge Business Solutions, visit https://www.convergeict.com/business/.

Go to Converge ICT Solutions Inc. | Live better

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Best sellers of the week: August 15, 2022

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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queen of all media

The #6 book in the country is Shea Ernshaw’s Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, a YA paranormal romance based on The Nightmare Before Christmas. Three decades after the release of Tim Burton’s film, why does the Halloween Town story live on? Karen Raugust, TP‘s corresponding to the licenses, has some ideas. “Its holiday season lasts almost six months, as it is relevant to both Halloween and Christmas. So it’s never out of the public eye for long, but there’s still a little break,” she said. Plus, “it’s one of the few true all-ages properties, appealing to kids and adults alike and not at all off-putting to tweens and teens, as it’s a bit quirky and a bit dark, as well as sweet.”

In the Land of Clubs

Reese’s Book Club’s Pick for August, Wrong place Wrong time by Gillian McAllister, is an “intriguing time travel mystery”, according to our review, whose “entertaining look at motherhood and memory will resonate with many”. It debuts at No. 3 on our hardcover fiction list, leading the pack of new book club picks. At 10, Mercury Pictures Presentsthe Barnes & Noble Book Club’s pick, is Anthony Marra’s ‘meticulously crafted latest’, according to our reviewer, and ‘follows a host of foreigners as they attempt to traverse pre-WWII Italy and Los Angeles in wartime with some of their morality intact.” Afong Moy’s Many Daughters by Jamie Ford, #11, explores “the connections between seven generations of women,” according to our review, “beginning with the historic Afong Moy, considered the first Chinese woman to immigrate to the United States.” It’s the Read with Jenna selection as well as Amerie’s Book Club pick; the latter, launched by the eponymous singer in 2019, spotlights “diverse and unique perspectives and voices” through his Instagram account.

material world

Alexis Hall lands at number 16 on our paperback list with husband materiala sequel to his beloved 2020 queer romantic comedy boyfriend material. Our reviewer wasn’t wowed (“the frothy, episodic plot has so much filler it’s hard to invest in”) but admitted that the banter between Luke and Oliver “runs stronger than ever, and fans from the first book will be glad to see them again. Seems to be the case, judging by #BookTok’s passionate responses – no spoilers here, but reactions range from “every time I think about the ending, I get mad again” (@a.veryqueerartsclub) to this @mygaybookcase review: “It was
hilarious, it was awesome, it was faded, but that ending really sold me.

New and remarkable

ONE PIECE, VOL. 100
Eichiro Oda
#6 Trading Paperback
When the first volume of Oda’s pirate manga landed on these shores in 2003, our reviewer said, “A play should have no trouble finding an audience in America. Two decades later, single volumes and omnibus editions of the series have sold a combined 2.9 million print copies.

BLEACH, VOL. 1 (20th anniversary ed.)
Tite Kubo
#8 Trade Paperback
Another landmark manga – this one featuring a part-time college student, full-time soul-reaper named Ichigo – lands on our list this week, along with the series’ August 20, 2001 launch cover in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.


A version of this article originally appeared in the 08/15/2022 issue of Weekly editors under the title: Behind the best sales 31 July-August. 6, 2022

Lightning sparks fires in the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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Although campfire bans are in place in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest to prevent fires, nothing prevents nature from starting fires. In fact, recent thunderstorms brought more than 2,700 lightning strikes to the state, and firefighters responded to 12 new wildfires in the forest.

Most fires are small and under control, but more could start

A press release states that “most of the fires are small, averaging 1/10 to 1/4 acre, and the largest is estimated at 45 acres. More fires may appear over the next few days. “.
Forestry officials say so far there have been three fires and two smoke reports in the Wenatchee River Ranger District.
The Irving Peak and Wenatchee Ridge fires are located within a few miles of each other in the Little Wenatchee River watershed; the White River light is about two miles above the crest of them in the White River basin.

1. Irving Peak Fire is estimated at 45 acres and is located on very steep, inaccessible terrain two miles north of Lake Creek Campground. The smoke is very visible. The fire is about 19 miles northwest of Plain, WA.

2. Wenatchee Ridge Fire is ¼ acre in size and located in the Soda Springs area of ​​the Little Wenatchee River watershed and features three abseils.

3. White River Fire spans 6 acres and is located in the Sears Creek area of ​​the White River Watershed, approximately 16 miles northwest of Plain, WA. Firefighting resources include two interagency Hotshot teams, boosters and a bulldozer. The smoke is very visible.

4. There are reports of two smokes near Phelps Ridge and Buck Creek in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, staff are still gathering information on these incidents.

Other fires were started in Cle Elum Ranger District

Firefighters say five fires have occurred in the Cle Elum Ranger District. Crews are either on the scene or on their way to hike in the steep, difficult-to-access terrain where these fires are located 11 and 13 miles northwest of Cle Elum, WA.

1. Thorp Mountain, 5 acres near Jolly Mountain; fire burns in wood and grass. Initially it had 11 smokers, a crew of 14 and two engines, but firefighters deployed to help with the other small fires in the same general area.

2. Lookout Fire, 2 acres, near Thorp Lookout
3. Knox Creek Fire, 2 acres
4. No Name Creek Fire, 1/10-1/4 acre
5. No Name Ridge Fire, 1/10-1/4 acre

Two small fires were also discovered in Entiat Ranger District and Chelan Ranger District, both of which are a quarter acre and are being managed by firefighters.

25 real crime scenes: what do they look like today?

Below, find out where 25 of history’s most infamous crimes took place – and what these places are used for today. (If they remained standing.)

WATCH: These are the 50 largest retailers in America

WATCH: What 25 historic battlefields look like today

What follows is an examination of what happened to the sites where America fought its most important and often brutal war campaigns. Using a variety of sources, Stacker selected 25 historically significant battlefields in American history. For each, Stacker investigated what happened there when the battles raged as well as what happened to those sacred lands when the fighting ceased.

It was the battlefields that defined the course of the American military, from colonial rebels to an invincible global war machine.

Do you like books and social networks? This job in the Maldives has it all

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

A Maldives resort is looking for someone to run their bookstore – and you get free villa accommodation.

Aerial view of a beach in the Maldives/Pexels

When we first heard about this work, it sounded too good to be true.

But now that there’s another position opening two years later, we can confirm it was legit and having your resume speed dialed is always beneficial.

The pop-up bookstore at the Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives has shared a job posting for a barefoot bookseller.

READ: Do you like to sleep? This position is for you!

If you enjoy reading and using social media, this could have been your dream job.

“According to TimeOut, the job pays $750 a month, but the bookseller will live for free in a villa that typically costs $36,500 a night.” The salary is equivalent to R12,155 per month and the villa must be luxurious given that holidaymakers pay over half a million rand per night.

READ: Team building takes a turn

“To be considered, the job application states ‘Excellent written and spoken English skills’ are required. Those interested should have previous experience in book sales or publishing, enjoy reading and know a lot about classical and modern literature.” (Business Insider)

And just when we’re getting excited, we see that Barefoot Booksellers have posted the following to their page.

The original due date for applications was supposed to be August 13, 2022, but due to the overwhelming response, they closed applications early.

In the end, it was too good to be true…

But don’t be discouraged, this employment contract is only for one year, so you can always get it next time.

MORE FROM JACARANDA FM

Miami is becoming the thriving new city for corporate lawyers

By
Sterling T. Pearcy
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0

Ever since US law firm Kirkland & Ellis announced it was setting up shop in Miami, private equity partner Jeremy Liss has found himself very popular with his colleagues.

The 49-year-old is trading the breezy city of Chicago for the heat of South Florida to lead the new Kirkland outpost and has been fielding calls from lawyers wanting to join him ever since.

“Initial demand has been extremely strong. That’s probably even higher demand than we anticipated,” he said. “[Miami] is the hot spot in the United States. . . It becomes Wall Street South.

Kirkland is one of many businesses expanding in Miami to capitalize on mass migration accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. In the year to July 2021, more Americans moved to Florida than any other state — 220,890 of them, according to census data. The influx included billionaires and unmoored hedge funds from their Wall Street offices who flocked to South Florida for its low taxes and year-round sunshine.

In June, billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin said he was moving his company Citadel from Chicago to Miami due to rising crime rates, calling the Florida city “a growing metropolis that embodies the American dream. “. Carl Icahn moved his hedge fund office from New York to Miami during the pandemic, and Blackstone announced it would open an office there in 2020. Venture capitalists David Blumberg and David Sacks are among those who have spent millions for waterfront homes in Miami Beach.

Lawyers quickly followed. In May, Kirkland, the world’s most profitable law firm, announced it was moving to Miami with attorneys moving from Chicago and New York. Winston & Strawn opened its own base in May, and King & Spalding is also expected to move in.

“For the past 10 years, international law firms have dipped their toes in the South Florida pool, but now people are diving in headfirst. . . It’s an irrevocable change,” said Joe Ankus, a Miami-based recruiter with 30 years of experience in the market.

Lawyers once flew to Miami primarily to work on Latin American-focused deals and left. But the city has emerged as a new hub for technology and private equity.

“The economy was doing very well [pre-pandemic] and there has been an increase in developing technologies and private equity groups that have sprung up in South Florida. Then the pandemic created this desire to be out in the open and not locked in concrete,” Ankus said. “This has led many Northeasterners with connections to the tech and venture capital worlds to view Miami as an opportunistic move.”

Enrique Martin, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer from South Florida, hired this year to lead Winston & Strawn’s new office, said: “In the past, Miami was seen as a gateway – a place where you stop on the way to a more important place.

“Now it’s a destination that has attracted significant pools of capital.”

Low tax rate and lifestyle

As a result, the ranks of lawyers are growing rapidly in South Florida, populating Miami’s Brickell neighborhood in the heart of the financial district.

The number of Miami lawyers at the top 200 firms topped 1,800 at the start of 2022, up from about 1,660 at the start of 2019, according to data from Leopard Solutions. Across Florida, top companies added nearly 200 partners to their ranks during this two-year period.

Recent movers include litigation specialist Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which hired attorney and Miami Mayor Frances Suarez to launch its new office last year along with nine other attorneys. The company said the Miami office was its biggest opening.

Suarez is a