German Grocer Aldi Opens 180 Stores — Should Walmart Worry? | Entrepreneur

January 16, 2026January 13, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Aldi plans to open more than 180 stores in the U.S. this year, expanding onto the traditional turf of rival supermarkets. The German grocery chain is now the third-largest grocer in the country by store count, with 2,614 locations as of December 31, trailing only Walmart and Kroger. Last year was its biggest expansion since opening its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976, with nearly 200 new locations.

Aldi’s growth comes as shoppers are ditching traditional grocery stores for discounters. Store traffic at Aldi rose 8% in 2025 compared to Costco’s 5.9%, Kroger’s 0.8% and Walmart’s 0.5%, according to Placer.ai. Even wealthy households are choosing cheaper options. The percentage of shoppers earning over $100,000 annually who spend most of their grocery budget at traditional stores dropped 7% year over year.

I Own a Small Business — and I’d Still Choose a Big Company for This Job | Entrepreneur

January 16, 2026January 13, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Key Takeaways

One routine purchase made me rethink where small businesses shine — and where they don’t.
I didn’t expect to side with the bigger player, but the experience left little room for nostalgia.

I own a small business. I write about small businesses. My clients are small businesses. And yet, I would never go to a small business to have my car serviced. Small businesses are great — but not for everything.

I’m not saying this without experience. I’ve owned Hondas all my life. I’ve taken my cars to local repair shops countless times. And the experience has been, well, inconsistent at best. I’ve certainly saved money on repairs. But I’ve paid for it elsewhere.

Take, for example, a recent experience I had at a Honda dealership in Philadelphia. I made my maintenance appointment with an AI receptionist, which understood me flawlessly. I received a text confirmation. I then received a call from a human verifying the details. Professional. Courteous. Efficient.

eharmony review (2026): Is the dating app worth the high cost? | Mashable

January 15, 2026January 12, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been testing dating apps for a long time now, and the question my friends ask me most isn’t “how does the algorithm work?” but rather “which app is actually the best?”

Lately, as we’ve all gotten older (and more willing to settle down), eharmony has snuck into the conversation more often than I’d like to admit. It’s known for being the go-to for the over-50 crowd, but its “hip” new commercials suggest the company is desperate to attract a younger user base.

Whatever their marketing strategy, the claim that “every 14 minutes, someone finds love on eharmony” piqued my interest. So, I decided to give it a real college try to see whether its infamous questionnaire and algorithm-based matching system actually work. Below is my detailed experience with eharmony, from sign-up to connecting with other users.

How to tell if an Instagram password reset email is real | Mashable

January 15, 2026January 12, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Instagram users had a scare over the weekend after many users were sent mysterious password reset emails that seemed to come directly from Instagram. Some users thought this might be a phishing email, but as Mashable reported earlier today, many of the emails are legitimate.

Instagram said in a weekend statement that it had fixed a bug that allowed an external party to trigger unnecessary password reset emails. The good news: no one’s accounts were actually impacted. The social media giant urged people to simply delete the emails and move on.

Paramount files lawsuit in pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery and threatens proxy fight | CNN Business

January 14, 2026January 12, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Paramount is taking its pursuit of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, to court.

On Monday, Paramount CEO David Ellison announced a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court, where shareholders typically bring corporate disputes, as it attempts a hostile takeover of the iconic entertainment company.

Ellison criticized Warner Bros. Discovery, also known as WBD, for a “lack of transparency” around its decision to favor Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. and HBO.

Trump ‘immediately’ imposes 25% tariffs on countries that do business with Iran. China’s on the list | CNN Business

January 14, 2026January 12, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

President Donald Trump said countries that do business with Iran will face a new 25% tariff. The announcement appears to mean goods from China, a major trading partner of both Iran and the United States, would become significantly more expensive to import.

“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “This Order is final and conclusive,” he added.

Jupiter at opposition: See the ‘king of the planets’ outshine every star in the sky this weekend | Live Science

January 13, 2026January 11, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

This weekend brings a prime opportunity to see the biggest planet in the solar system shining at its brightest all year.

After dominating the night sky for more than a month, Jupiter will reach opposition this Saturday (Jan. 10). This marks the point when Earth lies directly between Jupiter and the sun, putting the gas giant opposite our star in Earth’s sky. The result is a brilliant, unmissable light in the eastern evening sky that shines all night long. At magnitude -2.7, Jupiter will outshine every star for many weeks.

(In astronomy, a lower magnitude corresponds to a brighter object. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, has an apparent magnitude of about -1.4.)

What’s the oldest river in the world? | Live Science

January 13, 2026January 11, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Rivers may seem as old as the hills, but they have life cycles just like other natural features do. Many grow and make their meandering mark on the landscape, before ultimately drying up. Some rivers last longer than others, however. So which river is the oldest in the world today?

The winner is older than the dinosaurs: The Finke River in Australia, or Larapinta in the Indigenous Arrernte language, is between 300 million and 400 million years old.

4 Steps for Creating a Payroll Budget | Business News Daily

January 12, 2026January 11, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Creating a payroll budget is tricky. It involves breaking down your company’s payroll and calculating the total cost for each person in each role — including their wages, taxes and employee benefits. Creating a payroll budget is critical for businesses to track their overall human resources costs and run their business efficiently.

Below, we’ll explain what’s included in a payroll budget. We’ll also outline four steps for creating and implementing this essential financial forecasting tool.

What does a payroll budget include?

A company’s payroll budget includes all costs directly related to individual employees, including wages, commissions and taxes. It also includes the employer’s employee benefits package costs. When considering different approaches to managing payroll expenses, the size of the company can significantly influence its focus.

“For smaller companies like mine we often focus more on wages, taxes and simpler benefit packages, while larger businesses typically deal with more complex benefits packages and incentive programs,” said Brian Kroeker, president of Little Rock Printing, an e-commerce-based printing solution.

21 of America’s Oldest Companies – businessnewsdaily.com

January 12, 2026January 11, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Some companies seem to weather any storm, including a few that may surprise you. The oldest American company has existed since 1752, before the United States was even founded. Despite wars, depressions, recessions, and slumps, some companies have positioned themselves in the market to stand the test of time.

21 of the oldest companies in America

Here’s a look at some of the oldest businesses still operating in the U.S. today.

1. Caswell-Massey (1752)

Dr. William Hunter started this perfume and soap company as an apothecary shop in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1752, as detailed on the Caswell-Massey official history. Serving distinguished clientele, Hunter supplied medicinals, perfumes, and personal care products. George Washington gave a bottle of Number Six Cologne to the Marquis de Lafayette, and Lewis and Clark took Caswell-Massey products on their cross-country trek. Today, Caswell-Massey is owned by a private investment group and based in New Jersey, selling products exclusively online and through select retailers.