IRS tax refund update: Recovery rebate error notices sent | Fast Company

August 12, 2021August 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Remember what it felt like when your teacher marked something as “incorrect” on your homework, but then the correction itself turned out to be incorrect? Well, millions of American taxpayers may feel like they’re in that very situation right now.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued some 5 million “math error notices” that neglected to inform people of their full legal rights, according to an update from the Taxpayer Advocate Service this week. The letters, sent as a result of corrections the IRS made to people’s tax returns, made no mention of a key detail: that taxpayers only have 60 days to dispute the error in question.

Coming Soon For The Unvaccinated: A $50 Monthly Paycheck Deduction From Your Employer | Forbes

August 12, 2021August 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Employers are beginning to tack on a special surcharge of $20 to $50 a month to their unvaccinated workers, according to one of the nation’s largest health benefits consultancies.

To date, employers have offered gift cards, a day off from work, cash and other financial incentives to convince their workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

But the carrot approach is about to be joined by a stick that could cost employees up to $50 a month, according to Mercer, the large employee benefits consultancy that works with thousands of employers around the world.

NASA Wants You to Live In a Simulated Mars Environment | Digital Trends

August 10, 2021August 8, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live on Mars, now is your chance to find out. NASA is recruiting crew members for a simulation mission who will live on a Mars-like environment on Earth for one year.

Simulated missions help agencies figure out what the psychological response to a year of isolation and potentially stressful tasks will be. This is particularly important for a future mission to Mars, which will be farther away from Earth than any human has traveled before.

Planted raises another $21M to expand its growing plant-based meat empire (and add schnitzel) | TechCrunch

August 5, 2021August 2, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Swiss alternative protein company Planted has raised its second round of the year, a CHF 19 million (about $21 million at present) “pre-B” fundraise that will help it continue its growth and debut new products. A U.S. launch is in the cards eventually, but for now Planted’s exclusively European customers will be able to give its new veggie schnitzel a shot.

Planted appeared in 2019 as a spinoff from Swiss research university ETH Zurich, where the founders developed the original technique of extruding plant proteins and water into fibrous structures similar to real meat’s. Since then the company has diversified its protein sources, adding oat and sunflower to the mix, and developed pulled pork and kebab alternative products as well.

Campbell’s soup cans get the first redesign in 50 years | CNN

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The labels on Campbell’s soup cans are getting their first redesign in about 50 years.

Eagled-eyed customers will notice that the famed red and white design remains, but the Campbell’s logo is receiving a “modernized logo scripture,” which includes eliminating the shadow and a slightly changed font that is based on founder Joseph Campbell’s original signature.

Other changes include the word “soup” printed in a new font, along with a slanted “O” as a nod to the brand’s original label from 1898. Also, the “C” from the redesigned Campbell’s signature is used in the fleur de lis next to the word soup. Varieties receiving the redesigned labels include tomato, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom and chicken noodle. The redesigned cans are currently rolling out to store shelves.

Poll: Millennials are most likely to have unused gift cards | Fast Company

July 29, 2021July 27, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Millennials have been blamed for killing cereal, cable TV, and so many other things, but what if they’re really killing gift cards?

Bankrate.com has discovered that 51% of U.S. adults forget to use gift cards, vouchers, and store credits, to the tune of $15.3 billion. That’s an average per-person value of $116. Among gift-card delinquents, 56% are millennials with an average per-person value of $139, versus 52% of baby boomers ($113), 47% of Gen Xers ($112), and 46% of Gen Zers ($81).

But millennials aren’t the biggest cohort planning to spend those suckers. Baby boomers are No. 1 on that list, with 63% saying they planned to utilize their outstanding gift cards, vouchers, and store credits, followed by Gen Xers at 54%. Millennials come in at 42% and Gen Zers at 32%.

Bitcoin Suddenly Gives Up Its Price Gains After Amazon Shock, Sending Ethereum, BNB, Cardano, XRP And Dogecoin Sharply Lower | Forbes

July 28, 2021July 27, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have moved sharply lower after charging into the week yesterday (subscribe now to Forbes’ CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor and discover crypto blockbusters poised for 1,000% gains).

The bitcoin price, which briefly touched $40,000 per bitcoin yesterday, has dropped more than 7%, falling back to $36,000 after retail giant Amazon AMZN -2% denied reports it was poised to add bitcoin and cryptocurrency support.

Tesla And SpaceX Billionaire Elon Musk Doubles Down On Dogecoin And Ethereum Plan To Beat Bitcoin Amid Crypto Price Bounce | Forbes

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors were yesterday glued to one of the most hotly-anticipated events in the crypto calendar so far this year—a live discussion between Tesla and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and major Tesla and bitcoin investor Cathie Wood.

The bitcoin price jumped in anticipation of the virtual event, climbing back from under $30,000 per bitcoin to over $32,000, and finding fresh support after Musk revealed that his rocket company SpaceX has joined Tesla TSLA -0.9% in holding bitcoin.

Are prices increasing in 2021? Stock up on groceries now | Fast Company

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Now is the time to stock up on your favorite nonperishables—before prices rise even more. What’s happening? Consumer product companies are pointing to increased costs for things like packaging, ingredients, transport, and labor, noting that these costs must be offset by jacking up consumer prices. Here’s a rundown of the eyebrow-raising price tags you can expect to see this August: