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Efforts to hollow out the federal workforce by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resulted in a dramatic rise in layoff announcements. The latest monthly data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that employers in the United States announced more than 172,000 layoffs during February, which was an increase of 245% from January and the highest monthly total since mid-2020, during the pandemic. Further, it was the highest number of layoffs for the month of February since 2009, in the middle of the financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession, when more than 186,000 layoffs were announced. So far, through the first two months of the year, employers have cut a total of 222,000 jobs, an increase of 33% over last year. Which industries have been hardest hit? DOGE’s slashing of the federal government’s headcount meant a huge increase in government layoffs. In fact, through February, the report notes that 62,530 government jobs have been eliminated, which was an increase of 41,311% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the retail and technology sectors continue to see significant cuts. Further, almost 39,000 jobs were lost in the retail sector, 14,554 in technology, and 13,804 in the services and consumer products sector during February. “Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in Retail and Technology," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement included with the report. "With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February." Interestingly, the report also notes that hiring plans are on an uptick for many employers, too. “So far this year, companies plan to hire 40,669 workers, an increase of 159% from the 15,693 hiring plans announced during the same period last year,” the report reads. “This is the highest number for February since 2022, when companies announced 215,127 new hires.” View the full article

The company first entered the Canadian market in 2020 through an investment in an Ontario-based brokerage, which later rebranded to Rocket Mortgage Canada. View the full article

Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe In psychology, an internal locus of control is a key predictor of life satisfaction. People who see themselves – not external forces – as in charge of their life outcomes feel more grounded, fulfilled, and empowered. This principle applies to our professional lives, too. But as an employee, it might feel like you don’t have much power to control what you spend your days working on. In her new book Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge, Melody Wilding demonstrates that we often have more self-determination than we think we do. Managing Up gives readers a map for shaping their career by building a strong relationship with their boss or manager. Part of that strategy is taking ownership: seizing projects and opportunities that can move your career forward. We sat down with Melody to unpack what it means to take ownership, what it can do for your career, and how to do it in an impactful way. What does it mean to take ownership at work? Related Article How to advocate for yourself at work By Lauren Parker In Productivity In Managing Up, taking ownership is the act of declaring that you’ll step in to resolve an issue or seize an opportunity – then following through on your claim. “Ownership is the courage to raise your hand and say you’ll take something on to make work better for everyone – even if it’s not in your job description,” says Melody. Does this sound scary? Well, pivoting to a more proactive approach to work can be intimidating! But today, we’re explaining how to take ownership in exactly the right way. By taking ownership of initiatives that interest you, you can take a more active role in building the career you want. You don’t need to wait around for someone to hand you that perfect project – you can start proving your abilities in the areas you’d like to expand into. If you’ve ever heard the saying ‘dress for the job you want,’ taking ownership is like a more powerful version of that same strategy because you’re doing the work, not just dressing for it. Not to mention it’s better suited for 2025, when plenty of talented people log on to work in their pajamas. Finding an ownership-ready challenge Melody has a simple rubric for identifying opportunities that are ripe for the taking: look for a triple win. “What’s something that has a career benefit to you, will feel important to your boss, and will also have a positive impact on the organization as a whole?” she asks. “Ideally, you’ll take ownership of a challenge that’s at the intersection of these three things.” You should also account for the working environment you’re in. For example, if you’re a new hire or your company is financially risk-averse, you may want to start by taking ownership of a project that would have fewer negative outcomes if you don’t succeed. Not sure where to look? Consider starting with: Things colleagues consistently complain about or seem drained by Areas where people are using inefficient workarounds What leadership discussions are focusing on and where future budget is being allocated 5 challenges and opportunities to own Related Article 7 sneaky ways friction is making your work life harder By Genevieve Michaels In Productivity Bothersome bottlenecks: Inefficiencies that stress people out and slow down productivity It’s taking forever to onboard new hires, so you propose and lead the creation of a centralized knowledge base with self-serve onboarding workflows Neglected needs: Unmet needs, projects, and priorities that are consistently being overlooked Your industry landscape has changed, and your company has spent months discussing new features that could help you stay competitive. You plan a series of cross-team prioritization discussions to start bringing them out of the theoretical stage Feedback patterns: What do colleagues, customers, and stakeholders keep saying they need more or less of? Customers keep coming to the support team with the same kinds of issues over and over. You propose a new service management tool that will let you create automated responses to these persistent issues, and oversee its implementation Upcoming projects: What priorities are coming up in the pipeline, and how can you proactively address them? Your organization is launching a full, rebranded website. You propose a launch strategy with industry influencers to get the word out and give your community context for this new direction Innovation opportunities: How can your organization reimagine or evolve its work to create better results? You notice a skills gap in your organization, so you develop a training program or partner with a local university to train interns 4 steps to taking ownership Storming into the CEO’s office unannounced with a bold new cost-cutting or money-making plan is unlikely to go over well. As you prepare to take ownership, here are four steps to build momentum around your idea, get stakeholders on board, and set yourself up for success. Build buy-in with pre-suasion You don’t want your boss or manager to be hearing about your project for the first time when you’re trying to get it approved. “Change makes people nervous,” explains Melody. “You’re likely to get immediate pushback if you haven’t tested the waters for your idea.” That’s why she recommends using a technique called pre-suasion, a term coined by psychologist Robert Cialdini. “This isn’t about manipulation or planting an idea in someone’s head,” she says. “The goal is to lay the groundwork so when you make a request to move forward, it feels like a natural next step.” Here’s how pre-suasion could sound in practice: Ask for feedback on how your organization is currently addressing (or not addressing) the problem, before bringing up your new solution Build urgency by talking about results competitors have created in the area you’re focused on, or why now might be the right time to act Mention that you’ve been researching potential solutions or strategies, even before you have something concrete to share Present your idea with the SCQA framework (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) It’s important to be concise and focus on value when you’re ready to present your idea. “Very often, people either lead with too much backstory, or they problem-dump and focus on the issue and not their solution,” says Melody. “Either way, you risk stressing out leadership and losing their attention.” Instead, use the SCQA framework as an easy tool to make sure you’re sharing your idea convincingly. Here’s what it looks like in action: Situation: Context to help your listener understand the problem or opportunity “It’s been years since we’ve had a healthy talent pipeline. Everyone feels like they don’t have the headcount to get things done, even though there’s budget to hire.” Complication: Challenges or obstacles that stand in the way of taking action “Every department is doing whatever they can to find people – everything from posting multiple job boards to tapping personal networks to managers acting as informal recruiters. There’s no cohesion between job postings, and candidates we do attract are often unqualified.” Question: Your hypothesis for a worthwhile solution “I think we need a more organized, centralized strategy that makes connecting with incredible talent an ongoing business process.” Answer: How you propose putting that hypothesis into action to solve the problem “I’ve compiled this list of specialized recruiting firms that focus on our industry. Many are connected to local universities and other firms in our field. I think we should build a stable, long-term partnership with one of them and take finding candidates off managers’ plates.” Bring others along Even though you’re taking ownership, other collaborators will need to be involved to some degree. Taking ownership effectively is about striking a balance between individual initiative and maintaining a team player spirit. “The goal is to include the right people, in the right ways, without creating extra work or adding to their cognitive load,” says Melody. That will look different at different stages of the ownership process. As you work on your idea, consider bringing others along by: Asking for input on initial strategy via surveys or brainstorming sessions Inviting other perspectives with informal coffee chats as you develop the idea Keeping stakeholders in the loop on outcomes via regular Slack updates or 1:1s Pre-plan for challenges Very few great ideas become reality without any unforeseen challenges. Hurdles and uncertainty shouldn’t be a dealbreaker – especially if you anticipate them. Melody recommends planning for both internal resistance and less-than-ideal project outcomes. Reframe resistance and respond strategically “Don’t take resistance personally. It’s usually related to peoples’ natural fear response, not the quality of your idea,” Melody says. “You can even reframe resistance as a form of engagement. People have opinions, and are actively pressure-testing your idea.” Here are some possible ways you might respond to resistance: Try opening the discussion with an even more ambitious idea, so you can find common ground together that’s closer to your original plan Highlight how resistors’ own skills and talents could actually contribute to the outcomes you want Don’t be afraid to keep bringing up your idea (tactfully), even if your manager didn’t seem open to discussing it at first Play out and plan for the worst-case scenario “What would happen in the absolute worst-case scenario, like your plans totally flop and you embarrass yourself?” asks Melody. “If you play this out, you can come up with a bounce-back plan. You’ll likely also get a reality check that a negative outcome isn’t as bad as you fear.” Here are a few worst-case scenarios, and how you could plan for them: Your manager is completely unreceptive and won’t even listen to your idea, let alone give you the green light This could indicate you may need to apply for other internal or external roles to get the growth you want, if that option is available to you. Your initiative doesn’t get the results or ROI you promise, and you’ve wasted company resources You suggest easing into the project, and scaling up depending on initial outcomes. For example, you could start with a smaller budget or use freelancers instead of making a new hire As soon as you launch a new feature, your competitor comes out with a similar but more comprehensive version Plan ahead for the new feature to be reassessed and improved after four months based on user and stakeholder feedback Managing Up is available now. Connect with Melody Wilding on LinkedIn, and learn more about her books, programs, coaching, and speaking on her website. Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe The post How to take ownership of your work (and why you should) appeared first on Work Life by Atlassian. View the full article

For the four weeks ended March 2, pending sales were down 6.4% annually as prices continued to rise, pushing borrower monthly payments near their all-time high. View the full article

Intuit Mailchimp has announced a series of product enhancements, including a completely redesigned popup forms experience, now in beta. The new popup forms aim to help marketers effectively target and engage site visitors using branded, interactive forms for improved lead generation and customer growth. The feature allows businesses to leverage customizable, mobile-first designs to collect data directly from prospects, supporting AI-powered personalized marketing strategies. According to Mailchimp, the refreshed popup forms provide a seamless way for businesses to drive conversions with eight different offer types, including discount promotions, free shipping, newsletter signups, contests, and more. “Marketers are increasingly prioritizing ownership of their customer relationships and data, with lead generation as a crucial step toward long-term success,” said Fay Kallel, VP of Product and Design at Intuit Mailchimp. “Popup forms solve a top pain point for marketers and SMBs, allowing them to collect data directly from customers, creating a frictionless way to capture leads, grow their customers, and build deeper, more meaningful relationships. Compelling data capture provides the foundation for how marketers can leverage AI for more effective personalization, and we’re making it easier than ever for them to integrate this effective tool into their strategies.” A Revamped Approach to Lead Generation Mailchimp’s new popup forms feature unlimited design customization, providing access to over 80 fully-designed templates that businesses can modify to match their brand identity. The forms also include dynamic visitor targeting with custom filters and triggers, seamless zero-party data capture for customer profiling, and opt-in lead generation capabilities that can help businesses reduce acquisition costs and accelerate list growth. New Campaign and Upcoming Enhancements To promote the refreshed popup forms, Mailchimp has launched the “Popup Like It’s Hot” campaign. The campaign, developed by Mailchimp’s in-house creative agency, Wink Creative, includes a remixed version of an early 2000s hip-hop track to highlight the ease and effectiveness of popup forms. “Bringing this campaign to life over the iconic early 2000s hip-hop beat was an exciting challenge that pushed our creative boundaries,” said Jeremy Jones, Executive Creative at Wink Creative. “Our team, in collaboration with Breakfast for Dinner, leveraged a blend of still imagery and emerging AI technologies to produce something truly unique. This approach not only increased flexibility and efficiency in our creative process but also reimagined how we bring Mailchimp’s popup forms to market—delivering an innovative campaign that excites marketers about this powerful reinvention.” Mailchimp has also announced upcoming improvements to its integration with Meta’s lead ads portfolio. The update will allow for automatic syncing of new leads from Meta Business Suite—including Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram—directly into Mailchimp. Additionally, new features will include a simplified Customer Journey Builder, improved audience management with .xlsx Microsoft Excel file imports, and access to promo codes in the SMS editor for customers with SMS marketing plans. Image: Intuit Mailchimp This article, "Mailchimp Introduces Enhanced Popup Forms and New Marketing Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Intuit Mailchimp has announced a series of product enhancements, including a completely redesigned popup forms experience, now in beta. The new popup forms aim to help marketers effectively target and engage site visitors using branded, interactive forms for improved lead generation and customer growth. The feature allows businesses to leverage customizable, mobile-first designs to collect data directly from prospects, supporting AI-powered personalized marketing strategies. According to Mailchimp, the refreshed popup forms provide a seamless way for businesses to drive conversions with eight different offer types, including discount promotions, free shipping, newsletter signups, contests, and more. “Marketers are increasingly prioritizing ownership of their customer relationships and data, with lead generation as a crucial step toward long-term success,” said Fay Kallel, VP of Product and Design at Intuit Mailchimp. “Popup forms solve a top pain point for marketers and SMBs, allowing them to collect data directly from customers, creating a frictionless way to capture leads, grow their customers, and build deeper, more meaningful relationships. Compelling data capture provides the foundation for how marketers can leverage AI for more effective personalization, and we’re making it easier than ever for them to integrate this effective tool into their strategies.” A Revamped Approach to Lead Generation Mailchimp’s new popup forms feature unlimited design customization, providing access to over 80 fully-designed templates that businesses can modify to match their brand identity. The forms also include dynamic visitor targeting with custom filters and triggers, seamless zero-party data capture for customer profiling, and opt-in lead generation capabilities that can help businesses reduce acquisition costs and accelerate list growth. New Campaign and Upcoming Enhancements To promote the refreshed popup forms, Mailchimp has launched the “Popup Like It’s Hot” campaign. The campaign, developed by Mailchimp’s in-house creative agency, Wink Creative, includes a remixed version of an early 2000s hip-hop track to highlight the ease and effectiveness of popup forms. “Bringing this campaign to life over the iconic early 2000s hip-hop beat was an exciting challenge that pushed our creative boundaries,” said Jeremy Jones, Executive Creative at Wink Creative. “Our team, in collaboration with Breakfast for Dinner, leveraged a blend of still imagery and emerging AI technologies to produce something truly unique. This approach not only increased flexibility and efficiency in our creative process but also reimagined how we bring Mailchimp’s popup forms to market—delivering an innovative campaign that excites marketers about this powerful reinvention.” Mailchimp has also announced upcoming improvements to its integration with Meta’s lead ads portfolio. The update will allow for automatic syncing of new leads from Meta Business Suite—including Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram—directly into Mailchimp. Additionally, new features will include a simplified Customer Journey Builder, improved audience management with .xlsx Microsoft Excel file imports, and access to promo codes in the SMS editor for customers with SMS marketing plans. Image: Intuit Mailchimp This article, "Mailchimp Introduces Enhanced Popup Forms and New Marketing Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

There are nearly two million apps on the iOS App Store, and a lot of them aren't worth your time. That's why many of us, when considering a new app, turn to reviews: You want to see what other users' experiences were like with the app—whether they loved it, liked it, or loathed it. Personally, the current review system works fine for me. I scan some reviews, and generally get a sense of whether the app is right for me. If I'm feeling particularly analytical, I'll even adjust the filters, perhaps to see which reviews are most critical (so it's not just a bunch of fluff) or ones that are most recent, to see what customers thought of the latest version of the app. But it's 2025, which means one thing: AI. We can't continue to live in the past. We must embrace the future of artificial intelligence, so say the tech companies. Why do 30 seconds of scanning, when the AI can cut that work down to 20 seconds? Perhaps even 15? Apple's AI App Store review summariesWith iOS 18.4, currently in beta, Apple is testing AI-generated summaries for reviews in the App Store. According to Apple, these summaries pull from "highlights and key information" from reviews for apps and games and are updated at least once a week, if the app or game has enough reviews to support it. These summaries will appear directly beneath the rating for the app or game, under the heading "Reviews Summary." Apple says review summaries are currently only available in English for a "limited number of apps and games" in the United States. The company plans to expand the feature to more countries and languages over the year. Here's the thing about features like this: they're largely ignorable. If you love them, great! You can take a peek at the AI-generated summary and decide for yourself whether you'd like to read the reviews further. If you don't like them, also great! Scroll right past to the reviews. That latter approach is likely the one I'd take. For one, I don't trust AI to get the gist right, even if the situation is relatively low-stakes. But, like I alluded to earlier, I also don't think it saves that much time to read an AI summary versus scanning the reviews yourself. You might even miss some interesting insights the AI thought wasn't important enough to make the review, or see some nuance that went over the AI's, uh, "head." Apple is far from the only company to summarize reviews with AI. Google, Amazon, even NewEgg have all dabbled in this practice, so it's not like Apple is breaking the mold here. But it does slightly rub me the wrong way—if we start relying on AI to summarize content like this, who is the original content being written for? Hundreds if not thousands of people are writing reviews of their experience, but if you only read the summary, those people are really writing their reviews for the AI—not other human beings. iOS 18.4 is due out sometime in April. You can experience these summaries now if you install the beta, but if you'd prefer not to risk running temperamental software on your iPhone, you can simply wait until next month. View the full article

As an app designed to facilitate gay hookups, popular site Sniffies has had a limitation since it started in 2018—it was only accessible via web browser. Until Monday, when the map-based cruising site debuted its Apple-approved iOS app. Building an app that complies with Apple’s notoriously stringent content moderation—and total ban on apps that directly serve adult content—was a challenge for Sniffies, which wears its sexuality proudly. Its users, which it calls “cruisers,” do, too. Many users put nude images as their cover photos, meaning adult content is visible from the second the platform is opened in a browser. The company needed to tame the experience for Apple to get on board, without losing what most users come to Sniffies for: sex. “We needed to be very strategic about this, to get around Apple’s strict not safe for work content policies, but also keep the magic of Sniffies,” says Eli Martin, Sniffies’ chief marketing officer. “The key was giving cruisers control of the experience.” How Sniffies met Apple’s content safety standards Sniffies leadership weren’t begging to get on the App Store. Its web app format worked well, particularly for the men who aren’t out or are exploring their sexuality, who Martin says make up a core—and growing—part of its user base. But fans wanted a native app, and it was difficult to compete with the market’s heavyweights like Grindr without the App Store’s discovery tools. When they finally decided to make the move, the Sniffies team looked to bigger apps like Reddit and X, both of which host explicit content, as models. Similar to those sites’ apps, when you download the new Sniffies app, it is in “Vanilla mode” (internally, the company calls this “deep safe”). Anything explicit is blurred; to unblur the photos, users must follow a link to the browser version, where they can change their settings. Then, the app will respond to the changed settings and allow users to see graphic content. [Photo: Sniffies] “There was certainly back-and-forth with the App Store and figuring out how to make it work on both ends,” Martin says, estimating the process lasted about a year and a half. “It took way longer than we thought, but it seems like Apple was very open to us being a part of the store as long as we could meet the guidelines.” They had to make some concessions. Sniffies’ anonymous log-in function, which allowed users to enter with only a birthdate, won’t be accessible through the iOS app.(This anonymous log-in feature has left the door open to the abuse of minors, per The Information.) There’s a “friction” to the process of creating an account that will be necessary in the App Store, Martin says; users can’t just download and see the map. But there are also benefits: Some users report the map being faster, and the app’s notification system is now more robust than it was just with the web version. Preserving the cruising spirit While the company doesn’t yet know which audiences will gravitate towards which mediums, Martin has his suspicions. Those “DL and curious” guys, as he describes them, will likely stay on the webapp, not wanting to download something to their phone. (This is a problem with Grindr, he points out: Users download and delete the app, over and over.) But the iOS launch opens them up to a new audience: the users that were never going to navigate to the Sniffies link. This audience was loud. Martin recounts years of comments across the Sniffies social media, begging them to get in the App Store. His team is now going through each and every one of these comments, telling them to download. App users are also privvy to the larger brand world that Sniffies has built around its main offering. The company has invested deeply in its (often explicit) marketing, which spans an apparel shop, its Hush lifestyle blog, and its Cruising Confessions podcast. The company has also sponsors in-person events and parties, echoing the pushes from other dating apps. Even in the app store, Sniffies proclaims that it is “for cruisers, by cruisers.” Martin points out that the company’s marketing strategy is based on “foreplay,” teasing the app’s sexuality without being completely blatant with it. They can do that in the app store, too. But does Martin see access to a mainstream audience as a threat to the more clandestine nature of the web app that made Sniffies unique? “I personally am not too worried about that,” Martin says. “We’ve only seen better results for cruisers the larger we’ve gotten. The important thing is the culture. We’ve already set the groundwork.” View the full article

As the spring gets closer and closer, I was excited to see a new trend on TikTok that claims you can easily clean fans—a pretty tedious chore—just by spritzing the machine and covering it with a plastic bag. I tried it out on two different fans today and the results weren't great. Here's what happened and what you can (and should) do instead. My attempt at the TikTok fan-cleaning hackFirst of all, here's how it's supposed to look and work when you use a cleaning solution and garbage or plastic bag to "clean" your fan: There are tons of videos like this on TikTok and they all look pretty effective, so I gave it a real try. Different creators recommend different cleaning solutions, like rubbing alcohol or dish soap, but I decided to fill my spray bottle with diluted Fabuloso, the same thing I'd clean the fan with if I were doing it manually. First, I saturated my tower fan with some heavy-handed spray, then put the bag over it. Nothing happened. No dust or dirt came out into the bag whatsoever. I decided to take this as a personal win, honestly, and chalk it up to my fan simply not being disgusting and dirty enough. The goal here is ostensibly to dampen the dust within the fan to the point that it becomes heavy and dense enough to actually be blown out of the vents. I simply didn't have enough dirt! Useless. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson My small table fan, however, definitely did; it was gross to even look at. I sprayed that one down, put the bag over it for a full 10 minutes, and... nothing. All the dirt was still visible when I removed the bag. None—and I mean none—came off. But worse, my fan got too wet and malfunctioned. It wouldn't turn off. That, I think is the primary problem with this supposed hack: You can't unplug the device like you normally would when cleaning something with electrical components, since you need it to be able to blow air in order to complete the trick. Unfortunately for me, my fan charges while it's plugged in, so even unplugging it did nothing. It had to run for an hour with water inside before it regained the ability to be turned off. I unquestionably damaged and/or broke it by doing this. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson In short, not only does this hack not clean the fan vents or blades, but it has the potential to damage your fan. I don't care how many videos you see of people appearing to pull this off successfully. It's not worth attempting. How to clean a fan insteadIn this case, it's best to do things the old-school way. Unplug your fan. On larger box fans, you should be able to unscrew and detach the front plate, giving you access to the interior parts while you plop the front plate into soapy water (your tub works great for this). From there, wipe down the blades with soapy water. If you can't do that or don't want to, just use a vacuum with a brush attachment to suck dirt and grime out through the vents and slats. Use soapy water to wipe down the exterior, including the cord, but don't get any moisture near where the cord connects or any of the buttons. They can be wiped with a plain microfiber cloth. Here's a more comprehensive breakdown. While I am sad that the nifty trick didn't work, I'm glad for two reasons: I can dissuade you from trying it, first of all, and my apartment smells great now that two of my fans have dispersed Fabuloso water through the air. It's the little things. View the full article

The nomination of Jonathan McKernan to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moves to the full Senate, where he's likely to be confirmed along party lines. View the full article

Macy’s announced in its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2024 earnings report on Thursday that it expects another year of declining sales as the department store chain continues reshaping its footprint to focus on better-performing locations. The retailer projected fiscal 2025 sales between $21 billion and $21.4 billion, down from $22.3 billion last year—closely aligning with analyst expectations of $21.34 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Macy’s net sales in the latest quarter fell 4.3% to $7.8 billion. Across the company’s brands—Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury—comparable sales in the fourth quarter declined 1.1%. However, in owned and licensed businesses as well as its online marketplace, comparable sales inched up 0.2%, the highest increase since early 2022. For the full year, comparable sales were expected to decline between 0.5% and 2% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings projected between $2.05 and $2.25 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated slight comparable sales growth and earnings of $2.29 per share, the Wall Street Journal reported. Closing stores, selling assets Despite the mixed results, Macy’s said it saw progress with its “Bold New Chapter” strategy. The company previously announced plans to shutter 150 stores by the end of fiscal 2026 (January 31, 2027), leaving it with 350 locations. These remaining stores are Macy’s “go-forward” locations, in which the retailer said it would be prioritizing investment. As part of this plan, Macy’s said it closed 64 stores in fiscal 2024, which it described as “non-go-forward” locations. The closures helped Macy’s bring in more money from real estate. For fiscal 2024, Macy’s made $144 million in “asset sale gains,” more than double the figure from last year, when asset sale gains were $61 million. The company noted in the earnings report that removing non-go-forward Macy’s locations contributed to current year asset sale gains. Additionally, Macy’s delivered an update on its “First 50 locations” strategy. As outlined in a company earnings presentation, the strategy involved selecting the top 50 performing stores across its network to implement new retail initiatives. Its goal was to improve staffing, product displays, and customer experience enhancements. So far, these stores have performed better than the bulk of the chain. Macy’s First 50 locations delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, up 0.8% on an owned basis and up 1.2% on an owned-plus-licensed basis, the company said. “As we enter the second year of our strategy, we plan to scale initiatives that are resonating with our customers to drive long-term profitable growth and further unlock shareholder value,” said Tony Spring in Thursday’s earnings report. Macy’s stock (NYSE: M) was flat at about $13.28 in midday trading. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When my wife and I bought our house two decades ago, one of the most exciting things about the process was finally having in-house laundry after spending our whole lives (almost literally) sitting in laundromats. The laundry center in the house wasn’t fancy—and it was small—but it represented freedom and we were excited. Of course, upon moving in, the laundry machine was instantly non-functional, so we had to scrape out the bottom of our bank account and buy a new one. And that machine has been humming along for 20 years, and might still be running when the sun swells into a red giant and destroys the planet. Considering that most washers and dryers last 10-14 years on average, that’s pretty good. This wasn’t pure luck, however—I’ve been single-handedly keeping our laundry center going with a combination of regular maintenance and some light repairs. What I’ve learned is that you can keep your washer and dryer operational much longer if you do some pretty basic stuff. Make sure the machines are levelYour washer and dryer are pretty active appliances—they generate a lot of motion and momentum while spinning heavy, wet clothes around. It’s essential that they be properly balanced and level, otherwise the drums will be off-kilter, causing increased wear and tear on the whole machine. When the machines are installed, their feet should be adjusted to ensure they’re sitting level and don’t rock from side to side. But you should also be checking your machines on a regular basis with a level—if the appliances aren’t level, it’s time to adjust them until they are. This only takes a few minutes and can really add to the lifespan of the machines. Read the maintenance instructionsYour washer and dryer came with a user’s manual, and your clothes generally come with basic cleaning instructions. You should read through both to know stuff like Detergent amounts. Using too much detergent can damage your washer over time as residue builds up inside the machine, leading to mold and other damage. Your user manual will give you a guide on how much detergent to use. Detergent type. Check if your washer is a high-efficiency model. If so, you’ll want to use a high-efficiency detergent. Otherwise your washer will struggle to clear out all those suds and the extra wear and tear will shorten its lifespan. The location of all the filters, drains, and dispensers—the stuff you’re going to need to clean and inspect going forward. Error codes and other maintenance and troubleshooting information that can go a long way to keeping your appliance functioning longer, because you’ll have some clue as to how to resolve basic problems. Clean the insidesA disturbing number of people I’ve spoken to believe your washer and dryer are self-cleaning because they are appliances used to clean things. While it might seem reasonable that a machine like your washer—which regularly soaks itself in soapy water—doesn’t need to be cleaned, this isn’t true. Cleaning your washer and dryer regularly will greatly increase both their effectiveness and their lifespan: For your washer, you can simply use some vinegar and baking soda in an empty load to clean it. You can also purchase cleaning products if the DIY approach doesn’t seem to be working. You should also clean out the filter and agitator and give the whole machine a good scrub, inside and out. For your dryer, you should clean the lint screen, the exterior vent and duct (you can buy drill-powered duct cleaners for this), and wipe down the interior drum. Clear the drain hosesThe hoses that drain out of your washer can become clogged with what scientists call gunk over the years. Believe me, the first time I took a look inside my washer’s drain hose my life changed, and not for the better. You can usually remove the drain hose without needing to open up the machine—it’s probably just clamped in place. Take it off and use your garden hose to blast clogs out of it with some water pressure, and your washer will have an easier time draining—resulting in dryer clothes and less wear and tear on the machine. Check your pocketsEveryone occasionally washes something they forgot in their pockets, and it might seem harmless (unless it’s your phone or something else allergic to water). But metal objects like coins, keys, or screws left over from your last DIY project can scratch drums, break stuff, and clog up your filters and drains. As a result, one of the easiest ways to keep your old washer and dryer humming is to always, always check your pockets before dumping stuff in the wash. And while we’re discussing metal objects, you should also probably not wash clothing with metal in it, like underwires—or even zippers. If you have to wash something with a zipper, you can minimize the danger by making sure it’s fully zipped-up. Don't over- or under-do itWashers and dryers are designed for specific amounts of laundry, and overloading or under-loading can cause damage to the machine: Washers should be run with full loads, but not overloaded. You can weigh your laundry and compare it to your washer’s capacity, which would be very accurate—but you’re probably OK just eye-balling things. Generally speaking, if you fill the washer up three-fourths of the way, you’re not overloading it. Anything less than half full is under-loading it, and both scenarios can cause damage and wear-and-tear to the machine. Dryers, on the other hand, are usually best run lighter. Keeping your dryer loads to about half the capacity of the dryer is a good practice—it’ll ensure your clothes dry more evenly and more quickly, and won’t stress the dryer as much (overloading a modern dryer can also mess with the sensors it uses to tell when clothes are dry). View the full article

The president’s chaotic policies are squandering a decent inheritanceView the full article

Elon Musk ally Michael Grimes has overseen shake-up of office doling out billions of dollars in semiconductor subsidiesView the full article

Scott Turner, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, extended borrowers more leeway after he toured the region with a local official. View the full article

The national average for a gallon of gasoline has declined slightly, dropping one cent from last week to $3.11, according to AAA. The decrease is attributed in part to lower crude oil prices, though market fluctuations and the seasonal transition to summer-grade gasoline may impact prices at the pump in the coming weeks. AAA also noted that the national average per kilowatt hour of electricity at public EV charging stations remained unchanged at 34 cents. Fuel Supply and Demand Trends According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand rose from 8.45 million barrels per day (b/d) last week to 8.87 million b/d. Total domestic gasoline supply declined from 248.3 million barrels to 246.8 million barrels. Meanwhile, gasoline production increased, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day. As of today, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.11, reflecting a decrease of two cents from a month ago and a decline of 27 cents compared to this time last year. Oil Market Update At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped $1.95, settling at $66.31 per barrel. The EIA reported a 3.6 million-barrel increase in crude oil inventories from the previous week, bringing total U.S. crude oil inventories to 433.8 million barrels—approximately 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. Gasoline and Electricity Price Rankings Most Expensive Gas Markets: California: $4.74 Hawaii: $4.54 Washington: $4.11 Nevada: $3.79 Oregon: $3.73 Alaska: $3.43 Arizona: $3.38 Pennsylvania: $3.28 Illinois: $3.21 Washington, DC: $3.21 Least Expensive Gas Markets: Mississippi: $2.64 Kentucky: $2.69 South Carolina: $2.70 Tennessee: $2.71 Louisiana: $2.71 Texas: $2.73 Alabama: $2.74 Oklahoma: $2.76 North Carolina: $2.76 Arkansas: $2.77 Electricity Costs at Public Charging Stations Most Expensive States for Public EV Charging (per kWh): Hawaii: 56 cents West Virginia: 47 cents Montana: 45 cents Idaho: 42 cents Tennessee: 42 cents Arkansas: 42 cents New Hampshire: 42 cents South Carolina: 42 cents Kentucky: 41 cents Alaska: 41 cents Least Expensive States for Public EV Charging (per kWh): Kansas: 22 cents Maryland: 25 cents Missouri: 25 cents Nebraska: 26 cents Delaware: 29 cents Iowa: 29 cents Michigan: 29 cents Utah: 29 cents Texas: 30 cents North Dakota: 31 cents With fluctuations in oil prices and the seasonal transition to summer-grade gasoline, fuel costs may vary in the coming weeks. This article, "Gas Prices Hold Steady as Oil Costs Decline" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The national average for a gallon of gasoline has declined slightly, dropping one cent from last week to $3.11, according to AAA. The decrease is attributed in part to lower crude oil prices, though market fluctuations and the seasonal transition to summer-grade gasoline may impact prices at the pump in the coming weeks. AAA also noted that the national average per kilowatt hour of electricity at public EV charging stations remained unchanged at 34 cents. Fuel Supply and Demand Trends According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand rose from 8.45 million barrels per day (b/d) last week to 8.87 million b/d. Total domestic gasoline supply declined from 248.3 million barrels to 246.8 million barrels. Meanwhile, gasoline production increased, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day. As of today, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.11, reflecting a decrease of two cents from a month ago and a decline of 27 cents compared to this time last year. Oil Market Update At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped $1.95, settling at $66.31 per barrel. The EIA reported a 3.6 million-barrel increase in crude oil inventories from the previous week, bringing total U.S. crude oil inventories to 433.8 million barrels—approximately 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. Gasoline and Electricity Price Rankings Most Expensive Gas Markets: California: $4.74 Hawaii: $4.54 Washington: $4.11 Nevada: $3.79 Oregon: $3.73 Alaska: $3.43 Arizona: $3.38 Pennsylvania: $3.28 Illinois: $3.21 Washington, DC: $3.21 Least Expensive Gas Markets: Mississippi: $2.64 Kentucky: $2.69 South Carolina: $2.70 Tennessee: $2.71 Louisiana: $2.71 Texas: $2.73 Alabama: $2.74 Oklahoma: $2.76 North Carolina: $2.76 Arkansas: $2.77 Electricity Costs at Public Charging Stations Most Expensive States for Public EV Charging (per kWh): Hawaii: 56 cents West Virginia: 47 cents Montana: 45 cents Idaho: 42 cents Tennessee: 42 cents Arkansas: 42 cents New Hampshire: 42 cents South Carolina: 42 cents Kentucky: 41 cents Alaska: 41 cents Least Expensive States for Public EV Charging (per kWh): Kansas: 22 cents Maryland: 25 cents Missouri: 25 cents Nebraska: 26 cents Delaware: 29 cents Iowa: 29 cents Michigan: 29 cents Utah: 29 cents Texas: 30 cents North Dakota: 31 cents With fluctuations in oil prices and the seasonal transition to summer-grade gasoline, fuel costs may vary in the coming weeks. This article, "Gas Prices Hold Steady as Oil Costs Decline" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

What if extreme heat not only leaves you feeling exhausted but actually makes you age faster? Scientists already know that extreme heat increases the risk of heat stroke, cardiovascular disease, kidney dysfunction and even death. I see these effects often in my work as a researcher studying how environmental stressors influence the aging process. But until now, little research has explored how heat affects biological aging: the gradual deterioration of cells and tissues that increases the risk of age-related diseases. New research my team and I published in the journal Science Advances suggests that long-term exposure to extreme heat may speed up biological aging at the molecular level, raising concerns about the long-term health risks posed by a warming climate. Extreme heat’s hidden toll on the body My colleagues and I examined blood samples from over 3,600 older adults across the United States. We measured their biological age using epigenetic clocks, which capture DNA modification patterns – methylation – that change with age. DNA methylation refers to chemical modifications to DNA that act like switches to turn genes on and off. Environmental factors can influence these switches and change how genes function, affecting aging and disease risk over time. Measuring these changes through epigenetic clocks can strongly predict age-related disease risk and lifespan. Research in animal models has shown that extreme heat can trigger what’s known as a maladaptive epigenetic memory, or lasting changes in DNA methylation patterns. Studies indicate that a single episode of extreme heat stress can cause long-term shifts in DNA methylation across different tissue types in mice. To test the effects of heat stress on people, we linked epigenetic clock data to climate records to assess whether people living in hotter environments exhibited faster biological aging. We found that older adults residing in areas with frequent very hot days showed significantly faster epigenetic aging compared with those living in cooler regions. For example, participants living in locations with at least 140 extreme heat days per year – classified as days when the heat index exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.33 degrees Celcius) – experienced up to 14 months of additional biological aging compared with those in areas with fewer than 10 such days annually. This link between biological age and extreme heat remained even after accounting for a wide range of individual and community factors such as physical activity levels and socioeconomic status. This means that even among people with similar lifestyles, those living in hotter environments may still be aging faster at the biological level. Even more surprising was the magnitude of the effect – extreme heat has a comparable impact on speeding up aging as smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. This suggests that heat exposure may be silently accelerating aging, at a level on par with other major known environmental and lifestyle stressors. Long-term public health consequences While our study sheds light on the connection between heat and biological aging, many unanswered questions remain. It’s important to clarify that our findings don’t mean every additional year in extreme heat translates directly to 14 extra months of biological aging. Instead, our research reflects population-level differences between groups based on their local heat exposure. In other words, we took a snapshot of whole populations at a moment in time; it wasn’t designed to look at effects on individual people. Our study also doesn’t fully capture all the ways people might protect themselves from extreme heat. Factors such as access to air conditioning, time spent outdoors and occupational exposure all play a role in shaping personal heat exposure and its effects. Some individuals may be more resilient, while others may face greater risks due to preexisting health conditions or socioeconomic barriers. This is an area where more research is needed. What is clear, however, is that extreme heat is more than just an immediate health hazard – it may be silently accelerating the aging process, with long-term consequences for public health. Large swaths of the U.S. population are experiencing long stretches of extreme heat, as this map of cumulative heat days from 2010 to 2016 shows. [Image: Eunyoung Choi, CC BY-ND] Older adults are especially vulnerable because aging reduces the body’s ability to regulate temperature effectively. Many older individuals also take medications such as beta-blockers and diuretics that can impair their heat tolerance, making it even harder for their bodies to cope with high temperatures. So even moderately hot days, such as those reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.67 degrees Celcius), can pose health risks for older adults. As the U.S. population rapidly ages and climate change intensifies heat waves worldwide, I believe simply telling people to move to cooler regions isn’t realistic. Developing age-appropriate solutions that allow older adults to safely remain in their communities and protect the most vulnerable populations could help address the hidden yet significant effects of extreme heat. Eunyoung Choi is a postdoctoral associate in gerontology at the University of Southern California. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

Other trackers like Zillow and Lender Price on Thursday morning have the 30-year fixed moving higher, following a jump in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield. View the full article

Leaders’ summit also aimed at endorsing increased defence spending View the full article

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, it's important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to preparing your returns. "Tax laws are often summarized for [the] sake of quickly explaining a potential benefit—or conflict," says Andy Phillips, Vice President of H&R Block’s Tax Institute. "When details are omitted, it’s easy to misinterpret law or consider the advice of a trusted friend versus taking time to do firsthand research." Blindly following someone else’s bad tax advice could cost you precious time and money. "I can file my tax return with the details from my last paycheck stub." The figures listed on your last paycheck stub may be close to what will be released on your W-2, but it’s not guaranteed that the numbers are always right. Plus, as Phillips explains, this is technically not allowed. "Your last pay stub is not considered an IRS-recognized document for filing. It’s common for calculations to be slightly off throughout the year and not be accounted for until end of year. Payments such as bonuses and commissions can easily be forgotten, and no one enjoys the process of filing an amended return." Phillips' advice: Wait for your employer-prepared W-2. He adds that you should "be wary of return preparers who advertise paystub filing, which is against the rules." The employer should have issued your W-2 by Jan. 31 at the latest. "Being unemployed means I don’t have to pay taxes." If you receive any form of unemployment benefits either from the city, state, or federal level, then that’s considered income. All income should be reported on your tax return. Unemployment benefits paid are typically reported with a Form 1099-G. This form functions similarly as a W-2, outlining how much you were paid and if taxes were withheld. "Any money that I give counts as a charitable contribution." Of course, giving without the expectation of repayment is an admirable gesture. However, Phillips notes that only charitable gifts and donations made to IRS-qualified tax-exempt institutions are tax-deductible. Typically, a receipt is provided when a tax-deductible gift is received. If you recently made a donation and are unsure if your donation was made to a qualifying organization, use the Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool located on the IRS website. Furthermore, you must itemize to deduct charitable contributions, meaning those claiming the standard deduction are not able to deduct those donations even if made to a qualified organization. “If I work from home I can take a deduction for my home office.” With the rise of remote work in the last few years those that work from home may think they can claim the home office deduction. Unfortunately, as Phillips explains, if you are an employee, you cannot claim the deduction—the deduction for employee business expenses was suspended beginning in 2018. On the other hand, if you are self-employed and have a home office it is likely that you can claim the home office deduction. “This social media post told me that I can claim ...” As I wrote last week, certain tax "loopholes" may go viral, but that doesn't mean they're good for your specific tax situation. All across social media, I see creators telling people they can claim tax benefits that are either nonexistent or that they’re not eligible for. Philips concurs: Taxpayers should exercise caution when relying on claims made on social media and should ensure they only use reliable sources when making tax decisions. "A tax filing extension gives me more time to pay my balance due." Unfortunately, an extension of time to file does not give you more time to pay. Phillips says that "you should try your best to pay your estimated balance due when you request an extension." If you can’t pay, filing a tax return is the first crucial step to determine your eligibility to enroll in an IRS-approved installment payment plan. As Phillips explains, neglecting to file on time subjects you to a failure-to-file penalty, which starts at 5% of your unpaid taxes per month, up to five months. If the return is more than 60 days late, a minimum penalty applies. For this year, the minimum penalty is the lesser of 100% of the unpaid tax or $510. On the other hand, the penalty for just failing to pay is only 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid. "This is why it’s so important to file a return, even if you cannot pay the full amount due," Phillips urges. As long as you file, these penalties combined won’t exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes. Phillips also notes that interest also begins to accrue after the due date on the amount you owe IRS. By steering clear of these common tax myths, you can avoid costly mistakes and headaches this filing season. As always, it's best to consult a qualified tax professional who can look at your specific situation and give you legitimate, tailored advice. View the full article

UK prime minister talks to around 20 countries about joining ‘coalition of the willing’View the full article

Crisis meeting called after £6.6bn NHS England deficit predicted and national medical director resigns View the full article

The National Flood Insurance Program, estimated to cover over 4 million homeowners, is set to lapse next Friday along with the federal budget. View the full article

With tax season in full swing, it's prime time for married couples to maximize all the tax breaks available to them. One strategy that you don't want to leave on the table: making spousal IRA contributions. If one spouse isn't employed, they might be missing out on putting retirement assets in their name—not to mention reducing the tax-deferred growth possibilities as a couple. Spousal IRA contributions can double your retirement tax breaksThe IRA contribution limits for 2024 are $7,000 for those under age 50, and $8,000 for those age 50 or older. To clarify: You can make 2024 IRA contributions until the tax deadline on April 15, 2025. Generally, you can only contribute up to these limits for your own IRA, meaning you must have an income that will allow you to do so. And as always, you can and should max out these limits, if possible. However, with a spousal IRA, your spouse can also contribute up to the limit in an IRA under your name. That effectively doubles the amount your household can sock away in IRAs (pre-tax or Roth) each year. The only requirement is that the spouse who owns the IRA must have enough earned income to cover both contributions. For example, let's say Alex earns $100,000 per year and her husband Kevin is a stay-at-home dad with no income. Alex can contribute $7,000 to her own IRA. She can also contribute $7,000 to an IRA that is under Kevin's name. That's $14,000 total that the household can now save in IRAs, rather than just Alex's $7,000 limit. How spousal IRAs workA spousal IRA isn’t actually a separate type of IRA account—rather, it’s just a traditional IRA or Roth IRA set up in the name of a spouse who has little to no income. This may include those who are caregivers for children or other family members, workers who have returned to school, or people who have left the workforce for another reason. To be eligible for a spousal IRA, you have to meet a few requirements: You must file taxes as “married filing jointly.” The earning/contributing spouse must make enough to cover the contributions to both their own IRA and the spousal account. There are income-based contribution limits for Roth IRAs and tax deduction limits for traditional IRAs based on your tax filing status. These may affect which type of account you select. One key to a spousal IRA is that ownership stays with the person named on the account, no matter which spouse is contributing the funds. This also means that an existing IRA—funded while the owner of the account was in the workforce—can function as a spousal IRA if that person is no longer earning income and their partner simply contributes to the account on their behalf. The bottom lineEligible couples can use a spousal IRA to double their contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) even if only one partner has an income, and deduct a total of $14,000 (rather than $7,000 for the individual income earner) for 2024, as long as they do so by April 15. So there is still time for married couples to make spousal IRA contributions and double their tax-advantaged retirement savings—just be sure to specify which spouse the contribution is for when sending funds to your IRA provider. With a little planning, a spousal IRA strategy can significantly boost your households' retirement funds. And you can get an immediate tax deduction on your taxes if you make the contributions prior to tax day—so don't leave this tax break on the table. View the full article