Final nail in coffin for Federal Reserve, central bank independence | Business Insider

November 28, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One of the central tenets of the Federal Reserve and most central banks throughout the developed world in the modern era has been their ability to stay above the political fray.

With a few notable — and fairly disastrous — exceptions, the Fed has acted without fear of political retribution from the executive branch, although the chair still has to testify to Congress and the president periodically.

The assumption of independence, however, has come under fire in recent months. After President-elect Donald Trump floated the conspiracy theory that the Fed was intentionally manipulating interest rates to help President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a hostile congressional questioning of Board Chair Janet Yellen in September, and the possibility of Trump packing the Board of Governors with sympathetic members, it no longer is a given that the Fed will be able to maintain its freedom going forward.

The Key to Ranking Your Local Business in Google | Duct Tape Marketing

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For local businesses, showing up on page one is a must – showing up in the Google 3-pack (or whatever it is called this week.) can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

All Google products evolve as they find ways to make search better and, let’s face it, make more money from that fact.

There are a handful of factors that Google uses to decide what sites to show when a person searches for a local business.

While we have previously shared our thoughts on reviews, schema markup, and citations, today I want to talk about the linchpin of the local listing game – your Google My Business Page.

10 Misused Words That Make Smart People Look Stupid | Entrepreneur

November 23, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We’re all tempted to use words that we’re not too familiar with. We throw them around in meetings, e-mails and important documents (such as resumes and client proposals), and they land, like fingernails across a chalkboard, on everyone who has to hear or read them.

No matter how talented you are or what you’ve accomplished, using words incorrectly can change the way people see you and forever cast you in a negative light. You may not think it’s a big deal, but if your language is driving people up the wall you need to do something about it.

Frequent Flier Miles Don’t Matter Anymore—Get Some New Credit Cards | WIRED

November 23, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

OH, THANKSGIVING: A time for turkey, a time for uncomfortable political discussions, a time for the most nightmarish airplane trips imaginable. Nearly 30 million Americans will fly with US airlines this week, and a lot of them will be thinking: Hey, at least I’ll come out of this misery with some frequent flier miles for that solo kayaking trip to New Zealand.

Except, not so much. For the first time since frequent flier programs got their start in the 1980s, most American airline passengers are earning rewards in a new way. To put it bluntly, the frequent flier mile is dead.

Financial Success and Ethical Consumption | The Simple Dollar

November 22, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Donna writes in with a great question:

Hi Trent!

I am really struggling with balancing ethical consumption with my dreams of financial success. Quite often, getting the most “bang for the buck” for a product involves buying from a company that cuts a lot of ethical corners in terms of their products. […] Looking for some insights into how to balance those concerns.

First of all, let’s look at what ethical consumption actually is. From Wikipedia:

15 Simple Tips For Storing Your Produce and Keeping It Fresh | Life Hack

November 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Food expenses form a major part of monthly family budgets, so it is important to buy smartly and to store them properly. If you want to reduce the food wastage, the answer is not just buying less, you also need to make sure that you store it properly. Sometimes it may be more budget friendly to buy in bulk, especially when an item is available at discount offers.

Though refrigerators have made the storage of food products much easier, you do not always need to rely on a fridge to increase the shelf span of food products. Here are some useful tips for storing foods and making sure that the food stays fresh for a long time.

Business Travelers Will Pay Less To Fly In 2017 Despite Airlines’ Efforts To Limit Capacity Growth | Forbes

November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The biggest U.S. airlines finally are getting serious about reversing the steady decline in recent years of the average price of their fares, but the smart folks at American Express Global Business Travel – part of the world’s largest travel services company – say that’s not enough to keep fare prices from falling again in 2017.

AmEx, the parent of the world’s largest travel agency and a major player in corporate travel cost management through its American Express charge card business, said Wednesday that it expects the kind of fares purchased by business travelers for short haul travel with North America to decline, on average, by 2.5% to 5.5% next year. Average long haul fares for travel both within North America and to/from North America should fall between 0.2% and 4.6%, according to AmEx’s annual Global Travel Forecast, released Wednesday.

How Companies Are Using Software to Predict Their Customers’ Ethnicities | Inc.com

November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Ethnic Technologies, a 19-year-old company based in South Hackensack, New Jersey, develops software that helps businesses target different ethnic groups. Its algorithms are designed to identify a person’s ethnicity on the basis of his or her full name, address, and ZIP code.

The company, whose software considers 158 distinct ethnicities–including more segmentation for Hispanics and African Americans–claims it has an accuracy rate of 90 percent. This could lend a huge hand in marketing: With minorities expected to account for more than half of the population by 2044, the ability to target those customers is key to driving sales growth.

How Entrepreneurs Can Beat the Odds: 7 Strategies for Business Success | AllBusiness.com

November 17, 2016November 16, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There are enough statistics available to scare any would-be entrepreneur from going into business. Although over 99 percent of all businesses with employees in the U.S. are considered to be small, the staggering statistic is the expected lifespan of a new business. It is estimated that only 70 percent of new businesses will still be operating in two years, and only 50 percent will still be operating in five years. Wow, pretty gruesome if you’re thinking about opening a business or already own a fairly new business.

Rather than simply operating day-to-day hoping for better results tomorrow, successful small business and SME owners practice many of the same principles. There’s no need to be a statistic of failure when you can be a statistic of success by implementing the following seven strategies:

What This Ad Agency Hopes to Learn by Living With an Ordinary Family for a Week | Adweek

November 17, 2016November 16, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

David Ogilvy once said, “The customer is not a moron. She’s your wife.”

It’s easy to say, but how many agencies live by the notion that consumers are people we know and love? Italian agency Le Balene is about to find out whether it meets the bar … and it’s looking for someone to join them.

Creatives in Italy have a similar saying to Ogilvy’s. Developed by writer Alberto Arbasino in the ’60s, it’s become a compass for pitches and brainstorms: “This should be understandable for the Voghera housewife”—Voghera being a small town in Lombardy, and the Voghera housewife being the average person.