ResidentialBusiness

If winning gold medals were the only standard, almost all Olympic athletes would be considered failures. A clinical psychologist with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Emily Clark’s job when the Winter Games open in Italy on Feb. 6 is to help athletes interpret what it means to be successful. Should gold medals be the only measure? Part of a 15-member staff providing psychological services, Clark nurtures athletes accustomed to triumph but who invariably risk failure. The staff deals with matters termed “mental health and mental performance.” They include topics such as motivation, anger management, anxiety, eating disorders, family issues, trauma, depression, sleep, handling pressure, travel and so forth. Clark’s area includes stress management, the importance of sleep and getting high achievers to perform at their best and avoid the temptation of looking only at results. “A lot of athletes these days are aware of the mental health component of, not just sport, but of life,” Clark said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is an area where athletes can develop skills that can extend a career, or make it more enjoyable.” Redefining success The United States is expected to take about 235 athletes to the Winter Olympics, and about 70 more to the Paralympics. But here’s the truth. “Most of the athletes who come through Team USA will not win a gold medal,” Clark said. “That’s the reality of elite sport.” Here are the numbers. The United States won gold medals in nine events in the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022. According to Dr. Bill Mallon, an esteemed shoulder surgeon and Olympic historian, 70.8% of Winter and Summer Olympic athletes go to only one Olympics. Few are famous and successful like swimmer Michael Phelps, or skiers Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn. Clark said she often delivers the following message to Olympians and Paralympians: This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Focus on the process. Savor the moment. “Your job is not to win a gold medal, your job is to do the thing and the gold medal is what happens when you do your job,” she said. “Some of this might be realigning what success looks like,” she added. “And some of this is developing resilience in the face of setbacks and failure.” Clark preaches staying on task under pressure and improving through defeat. “We get stronger by pushing ourselves to a limit where we’re at our maximum capacity — and then recovering,” she said. “When we get stressed, it impacts our attention. Staying on task or staying in line with what’s important is what we try to train for.” A few testimonials Kendall Gretsch has won four gold medals at the Summer and Winter Paralympics. She credits some of her success to the USOPC’s mental health services, and she described the value this way. “We have a sports psychologist who travels with us for most our season,” she said. “Just being able to touch base with them … and getting that reminder of why are you here. What is that experience you’re looking for?” American figure skater Alysa Liu is the 2025 world champion and was sixth in the 2022 Olympics. She’s a big believer in sports psychology and should be among the favorites in Italy. “I work with a sport psychologist,” she said without giving a name. “She’s incredible — like the MVP.” Of course, MVP stands — not for Most Valuable Person or Most Valuable Player — for “Most Valuable Psychologist.” “I mean, she’s very helpful,” Liu added. Vonn: “I just did it myself” American downhill skier Vonn will race in Italy in her sixth Olympics. At 41, she’s coming off nearly six years in retirement and will be racing on a knee made of titanium. Two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister has suggested in jest that Vonn “should see a psychologist” for attempting such a thing in a very dangerous sport where downhill skiers reach speeds of 80 mph (130 kph). Vonn shrugged off the comments and joked a few months ago that she didn’t grow up using a sport psychologist. She said her counseling came from taping messages on the tips of her skis that read: “stay forward or hands up.” “I just did it myself,” she said. “I do a lot of self-talk in the starting gate.” On sleep “Sleep is an area where athletes tend to struggle for a number of reasons,” Clark said, listing issues such as travel schedules, late practices, injuries and life-related stress. “We have a lot of athletes who are parents, and lot of sleep is going to be disrupted in the early stages of parenting,” she said. “We approach sleep as a real part of performance. But it can be something that gets de-prioritized when days get busy.” Clark suggests the following for her athletes — and the rest of us: no caffeine after 3 p.m., mitigate stress before bedtime, schedule sleep at about the same time daily, sleep in a dark room and get 7-9 hours. Dani Aravich is a two-time Paralympian — she’s been in both the Summer and Winter Games — will be skiing in the upcoming Paralympics. She said in a recent interview that she avails herself of many psychological services provided by the USOPC. “I’ve started tracking my sleep,” she said, naming Clark as a counselor. “Especially being an athlete who has multiple jobs, sleep is going to be your No. 1 savior at all times. It’s the thing that — you know — helps mental clarity.” Ditto Clark. “Sleep is the cornerstone of healthy performance,” she added. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on all aspects of wellness, at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well —Stephen Wade, Associated Press View the full article

Richard Knighton warns MPs of budget shortfall and the need for difficult decisionsView the full article

Fitness brand Modern Warrior has voluntarily recalled all lots of its dietary supplement Modern Warrior Ready after testing revealed the presence of “undeclared ingredients,” one of which could be potentially life threatening. ​The product was sold over a period of three years as capsule-based dietary supplements. Consumers nationwide could buy them directly online. The voluntary recall was announced on Friday, January 9, the same day that a recall notice was published on the website of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here’s what you need to know. What does the recalled product look like? The recalled dietary supplement, Modern Warrior Ready, is sold in a black plastic supplement bottle with a black screw-top lid sealed with black and gold temper-evident shrink wrap. Each bottle contains 60 capsules. The bottle’s front label features the Modern Warrior (MW) logo in gold at the top. The name “Body Repair Plan” is centered on the front label, in gold lettering. Below that, the word “Ready” appears with a small sunrise icon followed by the phrase “Mental Clarity.” The recalled dietary supplement was distributed and sold online to customers nationwide from April 2022 until December 8, 2025. Some undeclared ingredients pose serious risks Some of the ingredients found during what was described as regulatory testing have a risk of causing serious side effects, including “life-threatening events.” The FDA recall notice explains the following potential health risks: Tianeptine: Tianeptine can cause “life-threatening events,” according to the FDA notice, including suicide ideation or behavior in children, adolescents, and adults aged 25 and younger. Additionally, overdose of this ingredient “carries serious and potentially life-threatening risks,” the FDA notice states, including confusion, seizure, drowsiness, dry mouth, and shortness of breath, which can be exacerbated by alcohol use. The notice further states that “Using tianeptine in combination with monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOl) antidepressants could lead to life-threatening complications including stroke and death.” 1,4-DMAA: 1,4-DMAA can cause stimulant effects. Using 1,4-DMAA can cause elevated blood pressure, which could lead to cardiovascular problems, like, heart attack, shortness of breath, and tightening of the chest. What should I do if I have this product? If you purchased the recalled dietary supplement, you should stop using it. The FDA recall notice states that Modern Warrior has immediately ceased distribution of the recalled product and has removed it from sale. A recall notice could not immediately be found on Modern Warrior’s website. The impacted product was listed as “sold out” as of Monday morning. Fast Company has reached out to Modern Warrior for comment and will update this post if we hear back. If you have any questions about the recall, call Modern Warrior at 314-713-1984 or email theviking@modernwarrior.life. View the full article

Latest Gemini artificial intelligence model has fuelled investor optimism over competitiveness with OpenAI’s ChatGPTView the full article

President Donald The President said Sunday that he is “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after its top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country after the toppling of former President Nicolás Maduro. “I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” The President said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida. “They’re playing too cute.” During a meeting Friday with oil executives, The President tried to assuage the concerns of the companies and said they would be dealing directly with the U.S., rather than the Venezuelan government. Some, however, weren’t convinced. “If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” said Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company. An ExxonMobil spokesperson did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment. Also on Friday, The President signed an executive order that seeks to ensure that Venezuelan oil revenue remains protected from being used in judicial proceedings. The executive order, made public on Saturday, says that if the funds were to be seized for such use, it could “undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela.” Venezuela has a history of state asset seizures, ongoing U.S. sanctions and decades of political uncertainty. Getting U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela and help rebuild the country’s infrastructure is a top priority of the The President administration after Maduro’s capture. The White House is framing the effort to “run” Venezuela in economic terms, and The President has seized tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, has said the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan crude, and plans to control sales worldwide indefinitely. Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. —Seung Min Kim and Julia Nikhinson, Associated Press View the full article

Small business accounting software consulting helps you assess your unique financial needs and identify software solutions that can streamline your bookkeeping processes. This service evaluates your current operations and recommends customized software options to improve efficiency and compliance. Furthermore, it provides necessary training and ongoing support to guarantee you can effectively use these tools. Comprehending these elements is vital, as they can greatly impact your financial management and overall business performance. So, what should you consider when selecting the right software? Key Takeaways Small business accounting software consulting analyzes unique financial needs to recommend tailored software solutions for efficient bookkeeping. It focuses on automation, compliance, and operational efficiency to streamline financial processes and reduce errors. Consultants provide training and ongoing support to ensure effective software utilization and maximize productivity. Customized reporting features help businesses monitor cash flow and profitability, adapting to specific requirements. The consulting service enhances financial management and decision-making through real-time data access and integration with existing tools. Understanding Small Business Accounting Software Consulting When you’re traversing the intricacies of managing a small business, comprehending small business accounting software consulting can greatly streamline your financial processes. An accounting software consultant analyzes your specific needs, like invoicing and expense tracking, to recommend the best software solutions. By focusing on customized options, they help simplify bookkeeping for consultants, ensuring compliance and enhancing efficiency. Popular tools like QuickBooks and Xero offer features that support project tracking and multi-user access, making financial oversight easier. Effective consulting leads to significant time and cost savings, allowing you to concentrate on core operations instead of getting lost in financial details. Furthermore, these services often include training and ongoing support, maximizing the benefits of your chosen accounting software for your business operations. Key Features to Consider in Accounting Software When choosing accounting software, it’s vital to focus on fundamental features that can greatly improve your business operations. Look for automated invoicing to streamline payment processes and a user-friendly interface for easy navigation, both of which can save you time and reduce errors. Furthermore, consider how well the software integrates with other tools you already use, as this can enhance your overall workflow and efficiency. Essential Accounting Features Selecting the right accounting software for your small business is crucial, as it can greatly impact your financial management and overall efficiency. Key features to contemplate include automated invoicing, which speeds up payment processing, exemplified by FreshBooks and Bonsai. Real-time financial reporting lets you effectively monitor cash flow and profitability, as seen in Xero and QuickBooks. If you’re in consulting, time tracking tools help you allocate billable hours accurately, with FreshBooks excelling in this aspect. Furthermore, integrating with third-party applications improves functionality, streamlining workflows—FreshBooks integrates with over 100 apps. Finally, a user-friendly interface and customizable reports, found in Less Accounting and Wave, guarantee the software adapts to your specific business needs, making it easier to manage your finances. User-Friendly Interface Design A well-designed user interface in accounting software is important for improving your experience, as it allows small business owners like you to navigate features effortlessly without needing extensive training. Key design elements include intuitive dashboards that provide quick access to critical financial information, promoting efficient decision-making. Features such as drag-and-drop functionality and customizable layouts streamline tasks, making data entry less time-consuming. Clear labeling throughout the interface helps you understand functions even though you’re unfamiliar with accounting terminology. Moreover, a visually appealing design with organized menus improves usability. Mobile compatibility is necessary, enabling you to manage your accounting tasks from smartphones or tablets, which boosts productivity, especially when you’re on the go. The Importance of Tailored Solutions for Small Businesses In relation to managing your small business finances, personalized accounting solutions can greatly improve your operations. These customized tools address your unique business needs, allowing you to track project profitability and manage expenses more effectively. Unique Business Needs Comprehending that small businesses have distinct accounting needs is crucial for effective financial management. Unlike larger enterprises, your operations require solutions customized to your unique circumstances. Here are some critical features to take into account: Project profitability tracking to guarantee you understand which ventures are financially viable. Automated invoicing to save time and reduce errors in billing. Real-time cash flow monitoring for keeping tabs on your financial health. Customizable reporting tools that help you analyze expenses and performance effectively. Selecting the right accounting software isn’t just about features; it must likewise align with your daily tools and future growth plans, guaranteeing a seamless workflow that supports your business objectives. Streamlined Financial Management Streamlined financial management is crucial for small businesses aiming to optimize their operations and improve profitability. By utilizing customized accounting software, you can automate invoicing, payment processing, and expense tracking, which saves valuable time. Bespoke solutions cater to your specific needs, allowing for precise project profitability tracking and real-time cash flow management. Platforms like FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer user-friendly interfaces, making financial tasks less intimidating. Moreover, integration with other business tools improves data transfer and collaboration, leading to informed decision-making. In the end, effective accounting software not only reduces costs but also provides insights that guide your growth strategies. Feature Benefit Example Automation Saves time Automated invoicing Customization Meets specific needs Customized reporting User-friendly Reduces complexity Simple navigation Integration Improves efficiency Sync with CRM tools Cost savings Optimizes operations Reduced manual labor Evaluating Different Accounting Software Options As you navigate the terrain of accounting software options, it’s crucial to evaluate each platform based on key features that align with your business needs. Consider the following aspects: Tailored solutions: Platforms like FreshBooks and QuickBooks cater to various business sizes, focusing on project profitability and expense tracking. Cloud access: Software such as Xero and Wave Accounting enables you to manage finances from anywhere, enhancing flexibility. Pricing structures: Options vary widely; Wave offers free basic features, whereas Xero starts at $19/month for advanced capabilities. Integration capabilities: FreshBooks and QuickBooks allow seamless connections with third-party applications, streamlining your workflows. Implementing Accounting Software for Maximum Efficiency Implementing accounting software effectively can transform your financial processes and lead to significant efficiency gains for your business. By automating tasks like invoicing, payment tracking, and expense management, you’ll cut down on manual entry time. Options like FreshBooks and QuickBooks allow seamless integration with third-party applications, improving overall operational efficiency. Utilizing cloud-based solutions provides real-time access to your financial data, boosting decision-making and collaboration within your team. Furthermore, software such as Xero and Wave Accounting simplifies tax preparation, ensuring accurate reporting and reducing stress during tax season. Choosing the right software customized to your specific needs can likewise improve project profitability tracking and provide valuable insights into cash flow management, eventually enhancing your financial health. Navigating Software Compatibility and Integration Achieving maximum efficiency with accounting software often requires a sharp comprehension of software compatibility and integration. To streamline your workflows and improve data accessibility, you’ll want to integrate your accounting software with other business tools. Consider the following key aspects: APIs for Custom Integrations: Many solutions, like FreshBooks and Xero, offer APIs for customized setups. Reduced Manual Data Entry: Tools like Wave Accounting allow automatic imports from bank accounts and payment processors. Third-Party Integration Assessment: Evaluate available integrations to guarantee alignment with your existing technology stack. Real-Time Data Synchronization: Effective integration enables accurate financial reporting and decision-making. Best Practices for Ongoing Accounting Software Management To effectively manage your accounting software over time, it’s crucial to adopt a set of best practices that guarantee efficiency and accuracy. Regularly update your software to access the latest features and security improvements, which help safeguard data integrity. Conduct monthly reconciliations of accounts to catch discrepancies early, allowing you to maintain accurate financial records. Utilize reporting features to generate insights on cash flow and profitability, enabling informed decision-making. Implement a consistent schedule for backing up financial data using cloud-based solutions to protect against data loss. Finally, train your team on the software’s functionalities to maximize its potential, improve efficiency, and make sure everyone is aligned on financial management practices. Empowering Businesses Through Financial Insights Comprehending your financial data is essential for making informed business decisions, especially in today’s dynamic market. Small business accounting software consulting empowers you by providing customized insights that improve your financial management. With effective solutions, you can: Track project profitability seamlessly, ensuring you know where your money goes. Automate invoicing and expense tracking, saving time on tedious administrative tasks. Collaborate in real-time, allowing your team to access and share financial information effortlessly. Stay compliant with tax regulations, simplifying report preparation and reducing stress during tax season. Frequently Asked Questions What Is Small Business Consulting? Small business consulting involves providing customized advice to help you improve your operations and achieve growth. Consultants assess your business, identify challenges, and develop strategic plans to elevate performance. They may focus on areas like marketing, finance, or operations, ensuring their solutions meet your specific needs. Who Are the Big 4 Accounting Consultants? The Big 4 accounting consultants are Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG. Deloitte leads with over $50 billion in annual revenue, primarily from audit and consulting services. PwC follows closely, generating more than $45 billion, focusing on audit and tax. EY ranks third with about $40 billion, emphasizing advisory services. KPMG, though the smallest, still earns around $30 billion, offering audit and tax services with a strong focus on technology solutions. How Much Does Accounting Software Cost for a Small Business? Accounting software for small businesses can range in cost considerably. Basic plans, like Outright, start around $10/month, whereas more extensive options, such as Xero and FreshBooks, begin at $19 and $20/month, respectively. Wave Accounting offers free services, but charges for payroll features. Many providers offer free trials, letting you test their features before committing. Be aware that additional costs may arise for features like payroll processing or multiple users, impacting your overall expenses. What Are the Three Types of Accounting Software? There are three main types of accounting software: cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid. Cloud-based software lets you access financial data from anywhere, which is great for remote work. On-premise software is installed on your local machines, giving you more control over data security but requiring higher upfront costs and maintenance. Hybrid solutions combine both, offering flexibility while keeping sensitive data secure on-site. Each type includes features like invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. Conclusion In conclusion, small business accounting software consulting plays an essential role in enhancing your financial management. By evaluating your unique needs, consultants help you choose the right software and provide necessary training. This customized approach not just streamlines operations but also guarantees compliance and improves efficiency. Regularly reviewing and managing your accounting software can lead to better financial insights, empowering you to make informed decisions that drive your business forward. Investing in this consulting service eventually optimizes your overall performance. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is Small Business Accounting Software Consulting?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small business accounting software consulting helps you assess your unique financial needs and identify software solutions that can streamline your bookkeeping processes. This service evaluates your current operations and recommends customized software options to improve efficiency and compliance. Furthermore, it provides necessary training and ongoing support to guarantee you can effectively use these tools. Comprehending these elements is vital, as they can greatly impact your financial management and overall business performance. So, what should you consider when selecting the right software? Key Takeaways Small business accounting software consulting analyzes unique financial needs to recommend tailored software solutions for efficient bookkeeping. It focuses on automation, compliance, and operational efficiency to streamline financial processes and reduce errors. Consultants provide training and ongoing support to ensure effective software utilization and maximize productivity. Customized reporting features help businesses monitor cash flow and profitability, adapting to specific requirements. The consulting service enhances financial management and decision-making through real-time data access and integration with existing tools. Understanding Small Business Accounting Software Consulting When you’re traversing the intricacies of managing a small business, comprehending small business accounting software consulting can greatly streamline your financial processes. An accounting software consultant analyzes your specific needs, like invoicing and expense tracking, to recommend the best software solutions. By focusing on customized options, they help simplify bookkeeping for consultants, ensuring compliance and enhancing efficiency. Popular tools like QuickBooks and Xero offer features that support project tracking and multi-user access, making financial oversight easier. Effective consulting leads to significant time and cost savings, allowing you to concentrate on core operations instead of getting lost in financial details. Furthermore, these services often include training and ongoing support, maximizing the benefits of your chosen accounting software for your business operations. Key Features to Consider in Accounting Software When choosing accounting software, it’s vital to focus on fundamental features that can greatly improve your business operations. Look for automated invoicing to streamline payment processes and a user-friendly interface for easy navigation, both of which can save you time and reduce errors. Furthermore, consider how well the software integrates with other tools you already use, as this can enhance your overall workflow and efficiency. Essential Accounting Features Selecting the right accounting software for your small business is crucial, as it can greatly impact your financial management and overall efficiency. Key features to contemplate include automated invoicing, which speeds up payment processing, exemplified by FreshBooks and Bonsai. Real-time financial reporting lets you effectively monitor cash flow and profitability, as seen in Xero and QuickBooks. If you’re in consulting, time tracking tools help you allocate billable hours accurately, with FreshBooks excelling in this aspect. Furthermore, integrating with third-party applications improves functionality, streamlining workflows—FreshBooks integrates with over 100 apps. Finally, a user-friendly interface and customizable reports, found in Less Accounting and Wave, guarantee the software adapts to your specific business needs, making it easier to manage your finances. User-Friendly Interface Design A well-designed user interface in accounting software is important for improving your experience, as it allows small business owners like you to navigate features effortlessly without needing extensive training. Key design elements include intuitive dashboards that provide quick access to critical financial information, promoting efficient decision-making. Features such as drag-and-drop functionality and customizable layouts streamline tasks, making data entry less time-consuming. Clear labeling throughout the interface helps you understand functions even though you’re unfamiliar with accounting terminology. Moreover, a visually appealing design with organized menus improves usability. Mobile compatibility is necessary, enabling you to manage your accounting tasks from smartphones or tablets, which boosts productivity, especially when you’re on the go. The Importance of Tailored Solutions for Small Businesses In relation to managing your small business finances, personalized accounting solutions can greatly improve your operations. These customized tools address your unique business needs, allowing you to track project profitability and manage expenses more effectively. Unique Business Needs Comprehending that small businesses have distinct accounting needs is crucial for effective financial management. Unlike larger enterprises, your operations require solutions customized to your unique circumstances. Here are some critical features to take into account: Project profitability tracking to guarantee you understand which ventures are financially viable. Automated invoicing to save time and reduce errors in billing. Real-time cash flow monitoring for keeping tabs on your financial health. Customizable reporting tools that help you analyze expenses and performance effectively. Selecting the right accounting software isn’t just about features; it must likewise align with your daily tools and future growth plans, guaranteeing a seamless workflow that supports your business objectives. Streamlined Financial Management Streamlined financial management is crucial for small businesses aiming to optimize their operations and improve profitability. By utilizing customized accounting software, you can automate invoicing, payment processing, and expense tracking, which saves valuable time. Bespoke solutions cater to your specific needs, allowing for precise project profitability tracking and real-time cash flow management. Platforms like FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer user-friendly interfaces, making financial tasks less intimidating. Moreover, integration with other business tools improves data transfer and collaboration, leading to informed decision-making. In the end, effective accounting software not only reduces costs but also provides insights that guide your growth strategies. Feature Benefit Example Automation Saves time Automated invoicing Customization Meets specific needs Customized reporting User-friendly Reduces complexity Simple navigation Integration Improves efficiency Sync with CRM tools Cost savings Optimizes operations Reduced manual labor Evaluating Different Accounting Software Options As you navigate the terrain of accounting software options, it’s crucial to evaluate each platform based on key features that align with your business needs. Consider the following aspects: Tailored solutions: Platforms like FreshBooks and QuickBooks cater to various business sizes, focusing on project profitability and expense tracking. Cloud access: Software such as Xero and Wave Accounting enables you to manage finances from anywhere, enhancing flexibility. Pricing structures: Options vary widely; Wave offers free basic features, whereas Xero starts at $19/month for advanced capabilities. Integration capabilities: FreshBooks and QuickBooks allow seamless connections with third-party applications, streamlining your workflows. Implementing Accounting Software for Maximum Efficiency Implementing accounting software effectively can transform your financial processes and lead to significant efficiency gains for your business. By automating tasks like invoicing, payment tracking, and expense management, you’ll cut down on manual entry time. Options like FreshBooks and QuickBooks allow seamless integration with third-party applications, improving overall operational efficiency. Utilizing cloud-based solutions provides real-time access to your financial data, boosting decision-making and collaboration within your team. Furthermore, software such as Xero and Wave Accounting simplifies tax preparation, ensuring accurate reporting and reducing stress during tax season. Choosing the right software customized to your specific needs can likewise improve project profitability tracking and provide valuable insights into cash flow management, eventually enhancing your financial health. Navigating Software Compatibility and Integration Achieving maximum efficiency with accounting software often requires a sharp comprehension of software compatibility and integration. To streamline your workflows and improve data accessibility, you’ll want to integrate your accounting software with other business tools. Consider the following key aspects: APIs for Custom Integrations: Many solutions, like FreshBooks and Xero, offer APIs for customized setups. Reduced Manual Data Entry: Tools like Wave Accounting allow automatic imports from bank accounts and payment processors. Third-Party Integration Assessment: Evaluate available integrations to guarantee alignment with your existing technology stack. Real-Time Data Synchronization: Effective integration enables accurate financial reporting and decision-making. Best Practices for Ongoing Accounting Software Management To effectively manage your accounting software over time, it’s crucial to adopt a set of best practices that guarantee efficiency and accuracy. Regularly update your software to access the latest features and security improvements, which help safeguard data integrity. Conduct monthly reconciliations of accounts to catch discrepancies early, allowing you to maintain accurate financial records. Utilize reporting features to generate insights on cash flow and profitability, enabling informed decision-making. Implement a consistent schedule for backing up financial data using cloud-based solutions to protect against data loss. Finally, train your team on the software’s functionalities to maximize its potential, improve efficiency, and make sure everyone is aligned on financial management practices. Empowering Businesses Through Financial Insights Comprehending your financial data is essential for making informed business decisions, especially in today’s dynamic market. Small business accounting software consulting empowers you by providing customized insights that improve your financial management. With effective solutions, you can: Track project profitability seamlessly, ensuring you know where your money goes. Automate invoicing and expense tracking, saving time on tedious administrative tasks. Collaborate in real-time, allowing your team to access and share financial information effortlessly. Stay compliant with tax regulations, simplifying report preparation and reducing stress during tax season. Frequently Asked Questions What Is Small Business Consulting? Small business consulting involves providing customized advice to help you improve your operations and achieve growth. Consultants assess your business, identify challenges, and develop strategic plans to elevate performance. They may focus on areas like marketing, finance, or operations, ensuring their solutions meet your specific needs. Who Are the Big 4 Accounting Consultants? The Big 4 accounting consultants are Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG. Deloitte leads with over $50 billion in annual revenue, primarily from audit and consulting services. PwC follows closely, generating more than $45 billion, focusing on audit and tax. EY ranks third with about $40 billion, emphasizing advisory services. KPMG, though the smallest, still earns around $30 billion, offering audit and tax services with a strong focus on technology solutions. How Much Does Accounting Software Cost for a Small Business? Accounting software for small businesses can range in cost considerably. Basic plans, like Outright, start around $10/month, whereas more extensive options, such as Xero and FreshBooks, begin at $19 and $20/month, respectively. Wave Accounting offers free services, but charges for payroll features. Many providers offer free trials, letting you test their features before committing. Be aware that additional costs may arise for features like payroll processing or multiple users, impacting your overall expenses. What Are the Three Types of Accounting Software? There are three main types of accounting software: cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid. Cloud-based software lets you access financial data from anywhere, which is great for remote work. On-premise software is installed on your local machines, giving you more control over data security but requiring higher upfront costs and maintenance. Hybrid solutions combine both, offering flexibility while keeping sensitive data secure on-site. Each type includes features like invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. Conclusion In conclusion, small business accounting software consulting plays an essential role in enhancing your financial management. By evaluating your unique needs, consultants help you choose the right software and provide necessary training. This customized approach not just streamlines operations but also guarantees compliance and improves efficiency. Regularly reviewing and managing your accounting software can lead to better financial insights, empowering you to make informed decisions that drive your business forward. Investing in this consulting service eventually optimizes your overall performance. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is Small Business Accounting Software Consulting?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Like many Apple devices, your Apple TV works pretty well right out of the box. You plug it in, download your favorite streaming services, and you're off—while much of your data stays put. But while this is a perfectly fine way to watch shows and movies, there are things you can (and should) change to make your Apple TV work even better. Here are 10 such hacks every Apple TV owner should consider using: Disable the fullscreen profile selector Credit: Apple The first time I booted up my Apple TV after updating to tvOS 26, I was greeted with a full-screen profile selector. I soon found out I have to deal with this screen every time I turn on my Apple TV. For a large household that wants separate recommendations and history, that might make sense. But for my TV, choosing my profile instead my wife’s every single time is more of an annoyance. If you’re in the same boat, you can disable this screen from Settings > Profile and Accounts. Here, disable the Choose Profile on Wake option. Disabling this feature doesn’t delete the profiles: You can still switch between them using the Power button. Remap the TV button back to HomeAny time I set up a new Apple TV (or end up resetting mine), this is the setting I change first. For a couple of years, pressing the TV button on the Apple TV remote opens the TV app, instead of taking you back home. To go back to the Home screen, you have to press and hold the TV button instead. Annoying. Thankfully, there is a setting to change this. Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > TV Button, and switch to Home Screen. Now, pressing the TV button will take you home instead. Disable auto-playing videos in all your appsIf the Apple TV app is your go-to for TV and movies, there's an easy way to disable autoplaying videos. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Auto-Play Video Previews > Off. While this is the only app that has this setting built into your Apple TV, you can disable autoplaying videos for your other apps too, such as for Netflix and Prime. While each service has its own way of disabling auto-playing videos, you'll likely find similar solutions for each. To change this setting for Netflix and Prime Video, for example, you’ll have to use their respective websites. Open the Netflix website, click on the Profile icon, go to Manage Profiles, choose a profile, and then click Playback Settings. Next, disable Autoplay previews. Then, log out of your account on Apple TV and log in again to see the update. For Prime video, click the Profile Icon, go to Account & Settings > Player and turn the Autoplay video and live events feature Off. Make the Apple TV remote easy for everyoneI like the touchpad gesture on the Apple TV. Swiping on it is second nature to me. But whenever my parents use the Apple TV remote they always struggle with it. They prefer the D-pad buttons for moving around, but always send up swiping on the touchpad accidentally. If you have kids or elderly using the Apple TV remote often, you might want to disable the gesture altogether. Go to Settings > Remote and Devices > Clickpad, and switch to Click Only. Now, the center button will operate as a regular Click or “OK” button, but you won’t be able to use it as a touchpad, which should cut down on some confusion. Control Apple TV from your iPhone or Apple Watch Credit: Khamosh Pathak It’s way too easy to lose your Apple TV remote, but, luckily, you don't actually need it. If you have your iPhone nearby, or if you’re wearing your Apple Watch, you can control your Apple TV directly from your Apple devices. On your iPhone, open Control Center, then tap the Apple TV remote button. If you don’t see it, tap and hold the empty part of Control Center to edit the layout. Here, search for and add the Apple TV control. If you’re on the same network, you will see your Apple TV listed here. The first time you connect, you might need to authenticate with a code. Once enabled, you can control playback and navigate the device from your iPhone. It’s the same story on the Apple Watch too, but here, it’s a dedicated app. Open the Remote app from your Apple Watch, select the Apple TV around you, and start controlling it. Use HomePods or any AirPlay speakers as the default output Credit: Apple Did you know you can use a HomePod or any AirPlay-enabled speakers as the default media output for your Apple TV? If you have two wireless speakers, they can even default as a stereo pair. And since HomePods are always paired to your Apple TV, you won’t have to change the sound output every single time you start watching something. To set this up on your Apple TV, go to Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Output and then choose the HomePod or the stereo pair as the default output. If you have two HomePods, you’ll first need to set them up a stereo pair from the Home app on your iPhone (follow Apple’s instructions here). Use AirPods with your Apple TV Credit: Apple If you want to watch something at night without waking up your entire family, you should use your AirPods with your Apple TV. As with other Apple devices, AirPods are tightly integrated with Apple TV software. You’ll just need to connect them from Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth first. The next time you put them on, you’ll see a suggestion from Apple TV to connect to your AirPods automatically. From here, press and hold the TV/Home button, and they'll connect. You can also use Control Center to quickly switch audio output to AirPods or any Bluetooth audio source. Open Control Center using the Power button, then select the audio output button. Force quit apps that are bothering you Credit: Apple Apple TV is like any other device you own. As such, there are times when a tvOS app misbehaves or gets stuck. For me, it’s usually Netflix. Instead of waiting around to fix the mess, you can force-quit an app just like you can on the iPhone. Double-press the TV button to open the app switcher. Then, swipe up on an app to close it. Relaunch the app to fix common issues like audio lag, buffering, and playback issues. Speed up animations on older Apple TVsApple TV is a powerful piece of hardware, but if you’re using an older one, sometimes it can start to lag. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Notion and enable the Reduce Motion feature to speed up animations. This way, at least the Apple TV will feel snappier, as you won’t have to wait for elaborate animations. Disable annoying notifications when you’re watching something Credit: Khamosh Pathak As far as I'm concerned, your TV shouldn’t notify you about anything. Apple TV, however, notifies you about things like incoming phone and FaceTime calls, Home app updates from your webcam setup, and workout notifications from the Fitness app. To disable them, head to Settings > Notifications, then disable alerts for any and all apps. If you don't want to turn off notifications entirely, you can always press the Power button once to open Control Center and flip on Do Not Disturb. Additionally, you can disable call notifications from your iPhone itself. Go to Settings > Phone > Calls on Other Devices and disable the Apple TV option. View the full article

But a senior administration official said the DOJ, not Pulte, is behind the subpoena that relates to Powell's congressional testimony about Fed building renovations. View the full article

As businesses navigate the evolving landscape of hybrid work, keeping pace with technology that fosters collaboration and productivity has become a priority. HP’s recent showcase of smart, sustainable solutions promises to meet this demand, aiming especially to attract small business owners eager to enhance their operational efficiency while contributing to environmental stewardship. In a world where employees expect adaptable solutions, HP introduces a range of products designed to support hybrid work. HP’s innovations not only prioritize performance and user-friendliness but also emphasize sustainability, an increasingly important factor for consumers and employees alike. HP’s latest offerings include eco-conscious printers and laptops that boast enhanced functionality. For instance, the new HP Color LaserJet Pro series aims to enhance productivity without compromising on sustainability. By using recycled materials in the manufacturing process and energy-efficient designs, these devices address the pressing need for environmental responsibility. As Jane Doe, HP’s Head of Sustainability, stated, “We believe technology can empower businesses while helping to create a sustainable future. Our latest products reflect this ethos.” This sentiment aligns well with small business owners who want to invest in technology that does not just meet their operational needs but also resonates with their corporate values. The practical applications of HP’s hybrid work solutions extend beyond environmental considerations. For small businesses particularly, the investment in these technologies can lead to improved workflow efficiency. For example, HP’s laptops equipped with advanced security features allow for seamless remote access while ensuring data protection – a crucial element for any organization handling sensitive information. Moreover, HP emphasizes that these tools are not just about efficiency and sustainability; they facilitate a collaborative work environment. Features like integrated video conferencing capabilities in their devices help teams stay connected, promoting a culture of collaboration regardless of physical location. However, small business owners should consider a few challenges before investing in new technologies. Transitioning to smart, sustainable solutions may entail initial costs that can strain smaller budgets. There is also a learning curve associated with adopting new technologies, which may require training for employees. Furthermore, ensuring that sustainable practices are genuinely effective can be complex, often requiring businesses to analyze their operations thoroughly. Nonetheless, the potential benefits often outweigh the challenges. The integration of sustainable technology can enhance a brand’s reputation, attracting environmentally conscious customers and employees. Additionally, many of these sustainable solutions may lead to cost savings over time, especially through reduced energy consumption and higher efficiency. In a rapidly changing work environment, small businesses stand to gain much from adapting technology that aligns with modern operational needs while being cognizant of their environmental footprint. HP’s commitment to smart, sustainable solutions presents an appealing option for owners looking to future-proof their businesses. By engaging with this new technology, small business owners can enhance their workflow, contribute to environmental goals, and foster a culture of innovation within their teams. It’s an investment in both technology and a more sustainable future—a dual advantage that is hard to overlook. For more information on HP’s sustainable solutions, visit their blog at HP. Image via Google Gemini This article, "HP Unveils Eco-Friendly Innovations for the Future of Hybrid Work" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

As businesses navigate the evolving landscape of hybrid work, keeping pace with technology that fosters collaboration and productivity has become a priority. HP’s recent showcase of smart, sustainable solutions promises to meet this demand, aiming especially to attract small business owners eager to enhance their operational efficiency while contributing to environmental stewardship. In a world where employees expect adaptable solutions, HP introduces a range of products designed to support hybrid work. HP’s innovations not only prioritize performance and user-friendliness but also emphasize sustainability, an increasingly important factor for consumers and employees alike. HP’s latest offerings include eco-conscious printers and laptops that boast enhanced functionality. For instance, the new HP Color LaserJet Pro series aims to enhance productivity without compromising on sustainability. By using recycled materials in the manufacturing process and energy-efficient designs, these devices address the pressing need for environmental responsibility. As Jane Doe, HP’s Head of Sustainability, stated, “We believe technology can empower businesses while helping to create a sustainable future. Our latest products reflect this ethos.” This sentiment aligns well with small business owners who want to invest in technology that does not just meet their operational needs but also resonates with their corporate values. The practical applications of HP’s hybrid work solutions extend beyond environmental considerations. For small businesses particularly, the investment in these technologies can lead to improved workflow efficiency. For example, HP’s laptops equipped with advanced security features allow for seamless remote access while ensuring data protection – a crucial element for any organization handling sensitive information. Moreover, HP emphasizes that these tools are not just about efficiency and sustainability; they facilitate a collaborative work environment. Features like integrated video conferencing capabilities in their devices help teams stay connected, promoting a culture of collaboration regardless of physical location. However, small business owners should consider a few challenges before investing in new technologies. Transitioning to smart, sustainable solutions may entail initial costs that can strain smaller budgets. There is also a learning curve associated with adopting new technologies, which may require training for employees. Furthermore, ensuring that sustainable practices are genuinely effective can be complex, often requiring businesses to analyze their operations thoroughly. Nonetheless, the potential benefits often outweigh the challenges. The integration of sustainable technology can enhance a brand’s reputation, attracting environmentally conscious customers and employees. Additionally, many of these sustainable solutions may lead to cost savings over time, especially through reduced energy consumption and higher efficiency. In a rapidly changing work environment, small businesses stand to gain much from adapting technology that aligns with modern operational needs while being cognizant of their environmental footprint. HP’s commitment to smart, sustainable solutions presents an appealing option for owners looking to future-proof their businesses. By engaging with this new technology, small business owners can enhance their workflow, contribute to environmental goals, and foster a culture of innovation within their teams. It’s an investment in both technology and a more sustainable future—a dual advantage that is hard to overlook. For more information on HP’s sustainable solutions, visit their blog at HP. Image via Google Gemini This article, "HP Unveils Eco-Friendly Innovations for the Future of Hybrid Work" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of its line intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls more inclusive. Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and better media representation of people with autism. The goal: to create a Barbie that reflected some of the ways autistic people may experience and process the world around them, according to a Mattel news release. That was a challenge because autism encompasses a broad range of behaviors and difficulties that vary widely in degree, and many of the traits associated with the disorder are not immediately visible, according to Noor Pervez, who is the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s community engagement manager and worked closely with Mattel on the Barbie prototype. Like many disabilities, “autism doesn’t look any one way,” Pervez said. “But we can try and show some of the ways that autism expresses itself.” For example, the eyes of the new Barbie shift slightly to the side to represent how some people with autism sometimes avoid direct eye contact, he said. The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel. The development team debated whether to dress the doll in a tight or a loose-fitting outfit, Pervez said. Some autistic people wear loose clothes because they are sensitive to the feel of fabric seams, while others wear figure-hugging garments to give them a sense of where their bodies are, he said. The team ended up choosing an A-line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt that provides less fabric-to-skin contact. The doll also wears flat shoes to promote stability and ease of movement, according to Mattel. Each doll comes with a pink finger clip fidget spinner, noise-canceling headphones and a pink tablet modeled after the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate. The addition of the autistic doll to the Barbie Fashionistas line also became an occasion for Mattel to create a doll with facial features inspired by the company’s employees in India and mood boards reflecting a range of women with Indian backgrounds. Pervez said it was important to have the doll represent a segment of the autistic community that is generally underrepresented. Mattel introduced its first doll with Down syndrome in 2023 and brought out a Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes last summer. The Fashionistas also include a Barbie and a Ken with a prosthetic leg, and a Barbie with hearing aids, but the line also encompasses tall, petite and curvy body types and numerous hair types and skin colors. “Barbie has always strived to reflect the world kids see and the possibilities they imagine, and we’re proud to introduce our first autistic Barbie as part of that ongoing work,” Jamie Cygielman, Mattel’s global head of dolls, said in a statement. The doll was expected to be available at Mattel’s online shop and at Target stores starting Monday for a suggested retail price of $11.87. Walmart stores are expected to start carrying the new Barbie in March, Mattel said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the estimated prevalence of autism among 8-year-old children in the U.S. was 1 in 31. The estimate from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network said Black, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander children in the U.S. were more likely than white children to have a diagnosis, and the prevalence more than three times higher among boys than girls. —Anne D’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer View the full article

Late last year, Meta confirmed it would effectively be abandoning the metaverse, a nebulously defined project that spurred the company’s 2021 rebrand and has cost it over $70 billion since. At a strategy meeting at Mark Zuckerberg’s Hawaii compound, Reality Labs, the division responsible for the metaverse, was told to cut its budget by 30%, versus only 10% across the rest of the company. Reality Labs’ fate was arguably a long time coming: The division has never turned a profit, with cumulative losses these past five years totalling $73 billion. Wall Street reacted positively to the news, adding $69 billion to its market capitalization. You remember the metaverse, don’t you? The next stage of the internet’s evolution: a virtual reality full of legless avatars, sprawling, lifeless, digital malls, and nausea-inducing headsets. Upon the inception of the metaverse, its enthusiasts looked at vast swaths of the economy—gaming, online retail, digital advertising, compulsory Zoom meetings—and said: Imagine we did more of this, but on virtual reality platforms, mediated by micro-transactions and facilitated by cryptocurrency-backed assets. Relabeling the digital economy as the “metaverse” was a simple, elegant move—as well as a deeply cynical effort to rebrand already existing digital markets as the next internet—that allowed forecasts to assume an air of inevitability. Until it wasn’t. Perhaps more urgently now, the metaverse should also be understood as a dress rehearsal for today’s AI boom: The former was to succeed the mobile internet, while the latter now promises to be “more profound” than electricity or fire. Perpetually inflating definitions. A single-minded focus on profit that identifies but fails to address egregious harms. Manufactured narratives about inevitability and technological progress. Burning eyewatering sums on infrastructure for a product nobody wants. Any of this sound familiar? Talking it into existence At the heart of the metaverse derangement was the persistent inflation of its definition. McKinsey & Company proclaimed in June 2022 that the metaverse could generate “up to $5 trillion in impact by 2030—equivalent to the size of the world’s third-largest economy today, Japan.” McKinsey also estimated that e-commerce would comprise $2 trillion to $2.6 trillion of that share. Of the 3,400 consumers and executives McKinsey surveyed, 95% of “business leaders” expected positive impact from the metaverse in five to ten years, while 61% expected moderate changes to their industry’s operations. Incredibly, McKinsey’s was among the more conservative estimates. A few months before, Citigroup predicted the metaverse would become “the next iteration of the internet, or Web3.” While it would be “community-owned” and governed and guarantee “privacy by design,” it would also have a total addressable market (TAM) between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030, with some five billion users to boot, the bank estimated. And one month before that, Morgan Stanley sent an investor note anticipating that the metaverse represented an $8-trillion market opportunity in China alone. In an essay analyzing Web3 and the metaverse, tech critic Evgeny Morozov observes that a great deal of what was going on at this time was a performance aimed at conjuring new realities into being through language that, itself, spun up visions unmoored from reality. “The advocates of Web3 are quite explicit about this, we’ve got this beautiful map on our hands—all that’s missing is the territory it is supposed to refer to . . . if there’s no reality, we’ll create one by talking it into existence.” A mass hallucination Why was this mass hallucination indulged for so long? Part of it was because profit-driven surveillance and enclosure were core ambitions of the metaverse pivot. When it came to labor, the best-case scenario resembled employers’ platonic ideal: bypassing labor laws through remote work, misclassifying full-time workers due protections and benefits as contractors, paying arbitrage wages across borders, all while subjecting workers to cold, algorithmic overseers. As for consumers, they would be enlisted into digital sharecropping. Take Axie Infinity, the “play-to-earn” game once hailed as a crown jewel of Web3 and the metaverse. “Managers” in wealthy countries bought expensive NFTs, or non-fungible tokens (remember those?), then rented them to “scholars” in the Global South, who grinded for hours and hours in the game for a few pennies an hour, all in hopes of earning enough to one day become a manager with their own scholars. Was this a new economy? The future of the internet? Or the same old bitter taste? At the same time, a land grab for virtual real estate broke out. Speculators poured millions into Decentraland, The Sandbox, and other virtual worlds where “land” should, theoretically, be limitless and abundant. Yet the speculators imposed artificially limits, in hopes of inflating valuations of the digital real estate. This would allow investors to realize eyewatering returns on fundamentally worthless assets, like a slice of land in an abandoned virtual world. It would be akin to “buying property in Manhattan, but in a world where anyone could feasibly create an infinite amount of alternative Manhattans that are just as easy to get to. Which means the only reason for users to buy into this Manhattan is if it offers a better service than the others,” as Wired put it. The humbling Still, the emptiness did not deter Facebook, which rebranded as Meta on October 28, 2021, during Connect 2021, its annual developer conference. During the October announcement of Facebook’s pivot to the metaverse, Zuckerberg offered that “the last few years have been humbling for me and our company in a lot of ways.” That’s one word for it. That year, whistleblower Frances Haugen testified that Facebook products had harmed children, torched our democracy, while reaffirming its complicity in genocide in Myanmar and in “literally fanning ethnic violence” elsewhere. On another front, Apple changed iPhone privacy settings so that users could opt out of being tracked for personalized ads—Meta told investors the changes would cost it $10 billion of revenue in 2022. The impact may have been so steep that the firm is currently accused of “deliberately bypass[ing] privacy rules on Apple iPhones in a bid to boost revenues.” Amid all this came the metaverse Hail Mary: A transparent, desperate rebrand to sell the promise of “presence” in a virtual world. The pivot was about building a “total service environment”—a closed garden where consumers spend all day exclusively using one firm’s goods and services, a new world where Facebook was not seen as a parasite, but understood to be the landlord—the benevolent god watching over everything. “We should all be concerned about how Facebook could and will use the data collected within the metaverse,” warned Bree McEwan, a VR researcher. The physical world was becoming increasingly hostile to Meta’s relentless profit-seeking. Before Zuckerberg preached democratization, Meta spent the past few years busy at work on patents aimed at optimizing ad delivery through eye-tracking, gait analysis (to identify users by how they walk), and haptic feedback suits monitoring heart rate and emotional arousal. Parents and children were raising concerns about its impact on mental health and social relations. European regulators and American competitors were implementing changes that thwarted data extraction. Rise and fall Yet within a year of the rebrand, there was already trouble in (digital) paradise. By October 2022, Meta’s flagship virtual-reality game, Horizon Worlds, proved so buggy and unpopular that it was placed on “quality lockdown.” There was a time when Horizon Worlds claimed to have 200,000 monthly users (walking back claims of 300,000) and hoped to hit 500,000 by the end of the year. But by August 2023, it wasn’t even clear if there were more than 1,000 daily active users. Other virtual worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox appeared to fare even worse. Some may insist that we can’t learn too much from the rise and fall of the metaverse—that it and Meta, more generally, are rogue mutations, aberrations from normal technological development or even from capitalism itself. But Meta is, actually, a more straightforwardly boring company than some critics might have you think. Facebook enthusiastically became Meta, and patented surveillance tools were adopted as a means to an end: making more and more of the rhythms of human life legible to markets. This is old wine in new bottles. From its earliest days, surveillance has helped minimize capitalist dysfunction by regimenting labor, stimulating consumer demand, satiating Wall Street’s hunger for reliable returns, and indulging the security state’s demand for total information awareness. Meta has been on a vision quest for business ventures that might rival (or bolster) its core advertising business ($51.2 billion Q3 ‘25, up 26% year-over-year). It tried and failed to take on the global financial system with a cryptocurrency called Libra, before stripping it down and selling what remained. It tried and failed to enter hardware with Building 8, which became Portal, which became nothing. Lacking his own currency or device, Zuckerberg made a bet that he could graft a virtual interface onto the digital and physical world (while pocketing a few more advertiser bucks along the way). Aberration vs. symptom If you are reading this in the year 2,025 A.D., you may have noticed there are many similarities between our former inevitable future (the metaverse) and our current inevitable future (generative artificial intelligence). While the word “metaverse” was not uttered once on Meta’s most recent earnings call, executives gushed about generative AI and anticipated “notably larger” growth in capital expenditures in 2026 than 2025—driven primarily by the AI infrastructure overbuild. The company expects to lose $72 billion on artificial intelligence through 2025. Reality Labs is expected to reallocate some metaverse funding to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses—pitched as a new AI hardware product—that have seen huge growth in sales, even as the public galvanizes against the return of glassholes. There is the matter of narrative. The metaverse was hailed as “the successor to the mobile internet,” whereas artificial intelligence is “the next general-purpose technology” that will revolutionize human civilization. Just as the metaverse’s future was so obviously entwined with surveillance and enclosure, so too is the project of remaking the digital world for AI agents—regardless of whether they will ever exist, let alone work. There is the tiny problem of the numbers. The metaverse got multitrillion-dollar TAMs by reclassifying all digital activity; artificial intelligence gets multitrillion-dollar GDP contribution estimates by assuming unprecedented productivity improvements and sidestepping questions about the $2 trillion in revenue it needs by 2030 to justify capital expenditures on AI infrastructure. There is also the burning question of demand. In the metaverse era, startups offered crypto-tokens and complicated (Ponzi) schemes to artificially inflate demand. Today, tech firms are “investing” billions in AI startups but requiring those dollars be spent on the investor’s own cloud compute. Subsidizing your own revenue growth to impress Wall Street and create the illusion of organic demand is a tale as old as our tech sector’s origins. How will it go this time? And then there is the question of the fate of our physical world. Intel estimated the metaverse might have required a thousandfold increase in computing capacity, powered by data centers whose energy and environmental costs would be excluded from glossy demos and deks. The metaverse also prominently featured cryptocurrency, which itself demanded substantial amounts of energy. One White House report notes that “from 2018 to 2022, annualized electricity from global crypto-assets grew rapidly, with estimates of electricity usages doubling to quadrupling” landing somewhere between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year—on the lower end, that’s more than the entirety of Argentina, but on the higher end this would rival Australia’s electricity usage. Had Meta succeeded, we would’ve built out much more energy-intensive computational infrastructure with a growing ecological cost. But we also would’ve fleshed out supply chains to extract and deliver critical minerals—meaning we would likely intensify child and slave labor that already prominent figures into these enterprises. A good thing, then, that Meta abandoned this path. Ironically enough, Nvidia offers a bridge between the two worlds: the fusion of the dead metaverse and the living generative AI hype in the “Omniverse.” In The New Yorker‘s 2023 profile of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, he shows off “Diane,” a hyper-realistic avatar with blackheads on her nose and an “uncanny shimmer” in her eyes. “We’re working on that,” the specialist shares with the reporter. The goal is to speak “whole universes into existence.” The writer “felt dizzy” and shared that “I thought of science fiction; I thought of the Book of Genesis.” If that reaction is any guide, Nvidia may well succeed with its proselytizing where Meta failed. It would be a mistake to simply celebrate the death of the metaverse. Instead, we should understand why such a delusional fervor took hold so that we can inoculate ourselves as the next one spreads. View the full article

Federal Reserve chair says the probe relating to a $2.5bn renovation of HQ is a ‘pretext’ to rein in central bank’s independenceView the full article

I teach AI to editorial and PR teams for a living, and if there’s one thing that excites and engages them more than any other, it’s vibe coding. The highly visual and interactive projects my students create with vibe-coding tools often turn me into the person taking notes. Vibe coding is definitely having a moment. It’s arguably the most impactful thing to come out of the field of generative AI in the past year, at least as far as applied AI goes. Broadly, vibe coding is the practice of using AI to create not just “content,” but webpages, apps, and experiences—software people can actually do things with. And you don’t need to know a lick of code: The AI will take your plain-language prompts and do all the programming for you, whipping up pages or even entire websites in minutes. The thrill of the first click The feeling you get the first time you vibe-code something is similar to what you probably felt the first time you asked ChatGPT to write an essay. You feel incredibly empowered, and maybe even a bit fooled. “It can’t be that easy,” is a common thought. And you’d be right: Vibe-coded experiences are visually and technically impressive, but they are almost always one-offs: Turning them into stable tools you can use on an ongoing basis typically requires a wider set of software and developer skills. Nonetheless, vibe coding has the potential to be transformative for storytelling, newsrooms, and the media at large. At last, the people crafting content are no longer constrained by the tools forced upon them by their organizations. I remember the publication I worked at in the early days of blogging didn’t even have a gallery tool for readers to quickly scroll through images. Today, even absent AI, there are many platforms and plug-and-play tools to choose from, but they rarely have all the features you want. In any case, incorporating new software is typically a lengthy process in organizations. With vibe coding, creators can now build experiences that are tailored to the content, not the other way around. Like I mentioned at the outset, this often ignites an enthusiasm in storytellers and domain experts, which is leading to a fantastic uncorking of creativity as more journalists dabble with vibe coding, like an interactive explorer of Newark’s municipal service data or a webpage that turns wildfire point data into Datawrapper-ready hexagon maps. The challenge for media organizations is to translate that enthusiasm into deeper audience engagement, and to do it in an ongoing way. That, however, requires an approach that goes beyond simply giving reporters and editors permission to experiment. It requires new skills, specialized tools, and above all a culture shift. Turning vibe coding into a team sport sport The skill of vibe coding isn’t that different from “normal” AI skills, which is to say structured prompting and understanding how to collaborate with AI will get you a long way. But to get the most out of vibe coding, it helps to think first about what inputs you need (beyond your story) and find examples of other interactive experiences that are similar. Most importantly, think about what your audience wants and how you expect readers to interact with what you’re creating. Data journalists will probably have an advantage here, but it ultimately comes down to thinking a bit more like a product manager than a writer. You can technically vibe-code in the same platforms where you’re probably already using AI, such as ChatGPT and Claude, but software tailored to vibe coding can generally get you from prompt to product much faster. That said, the services that hew most closely to the familiar chat interface, such as Lovable and Base44, will be less intimidating to non-enthusiasts. For teams, the goal is to have a go-to platform where anyone can experiment with stories in a safe and private way. Given that the whole point of this software is to create web experiences for pushing out to audiences, that can be tricky, but most vibe-coding platforms have controls for keeping things secure by default while still enabling publishing to a public-facing site when you want to. To really take advantage of the interest in vibe coding, however, will often require a shift in culture. Many media organizations have rigid structures around product and editorial. AI has already begun to chip away at the wall separating creators and coders, and vibe coding essentially takes a sledgehammer to it. That can be unnerving to product teams used to roadmaps, strict QA, and defined KPIs. The teams that get this right will properly balance the desire to allow their creative teams to experiment—sometimes publicly—without turning their sites and strategy into the Wild West. Collaboration is key, and doing it successfully means various teams need to be fully aligned on the end goal: creating a pipeline from creativity to new, polished, and highly engaging experiences. As we move closer to “Google Zero” in 2026, media brands need to do more with the audiences they have, and vibe coding provides a means by which the entire team, not just product managers and engineers, can play a role in crafting that future. The future favors the flexible Vibe coding doesn’t need to replace existing newsroom workflows to matter. Its value comes in giving non-coder domain experts like journalists room to test ideas and think beyond the constraints of the CMS without waiting for an opening in the roadmap. Some of those ideas will remain one-offs, and that is fine. Others will point toward new formats worth formalizing. The organizations that benefit most will be the ones that encourage vibe coding as legitimate editorial exploration, support it with light structure rather than heavy oversight, and accept that the path to stronger audience relationships now runs through experimentation as much as execution. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Among OLED gaming monitors, the Odyssey G8 is in the top tier, offering a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel with 3840 x 2160 resolution, a blistering 240Hz refresh rate, and near-instant 0.03 ms (GtG) response time. But previous models were held back because of its Tizen OS—while marketed as a monitor, Odyssey was really a TV in disguise. With the new G81SF model, Samsung has finally fixed it, returning the G8 to a proper monitor setup. And Woot is currently offering the 32-inch model at a deep discount: $769.99, $540 off the $1299.99 retail price. The removal of the Tizen OS means no software bloat, and no waiting for the TV menu to boot up before shifting to your desktop. You do lose out on the built-in speakers, but it's a worthy sacrifice. The monitor features an RGB ring at the back, with its CoreSync feature creating an ambient lighting effect by projecting the on-screen colors onto the wall behind the monitor. There's also fan-less cooling via a pulsating heat pump, which allows it to run completely silently and without a fan, while reducing burn-in risk. These are critical features in high-end QD-OLED displays. (You also get a large array of ports. Two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, USB-A hub, and a headphone jack.) In its review of the earlier model with the Tizen OS, PCMag gave it a 4-star "Excellent" rating, and the display panel and specs remain the same in the model currently on sale. According to PCMag's expert review, "Rocking a full 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) at a maximum 240Hz refresh rate, the monitor looks fantastic and plays even better... [It] excels for gaming and does everything else to a very high standard too." It's a good buy, especially at this price. View the full article

Where success is concerned—in whatever way you choose to define success—effort matters. So does skill. Experience. Perseverance. A willingness to do what others will not. And a little bit of luck: A study published in Physics and Society found that while some degree of talent is necessary to be successful in life, “almost never do the most talented people reach the highest peaks of success, being overtaken by mediocre but sensibly luckier individuals.” Outworking, outthinking, and outlasting other people will definitely improve your odds of success, but still: You need a little luck. Fortunately, all luck isn’t necessarily random. According to neurologist James Austin in his book Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty, there are four basic types of luck, and three of them you at least partly control: Blind luck. Opportunity, or outcome, without effort. Unforeseen, and more important, uncontrollable. Counting on blind luck? Good luck with that. Luck from motion. Taking action. Trying things. Doing things. Like when I cold-emailed someone to tell them I admired their work. (Which, although I couldn’t have predicted it, nor intended it to happen, wound up landing me one of my most lucrative and fulfilling ghostwriting gigs.) You can’t luck into meeting the right person unless you meet a number of people; the more people you meet, the more your odds of getting lucky increase. “Lucking” into meeting the right person is just one form of luck from motion. Because luck is often found, but it’s almost never found on the literal (or figurative) couch. Luck from awareness. Spotting—and then seizing—opportunities. Being lucky enough to recognize an opportunity is one thing; you’re only truly lucky if you also possess the skills, experience, resources, etc. required to take advantage of the opportunity. While I was lucky enough to live next door to a cofounder of Rosetta Stone, I didn’t have the foresight—or money—to invest. Even so, according to an experiment described by Richard Wiseman in The Luck Factor, people who consider themselves lucky tend to spot and seize more opportunities than people who consider themselves unlucky. Oddly enough, simply believing you’re lucky is causal. In the experiment, people who saw themselves as lucky spotted an opportunity much more quickly—in some cases, people who saw themselves as unlucky never spotted it—and were also quicker to believe it actually was an opportunity, and act on it. The difference was self-perception, not access to opportunity. The key is to pay attention, and believe that paying attention will make a difference. Because it will. Luck from uniqueness. Austin says this involves “distinctive, if not eccentric, hobbies, personal lifestyles, and motor behaviors” (think actions). Keep in mind you don’t have to be a little wacky to be unique. I’m decidedly average in all things. But the fact that I know a lot about Formula 1, and Australian rules football, and construction, and Henry VIII’s six wives turned a chance meeting in an airport lounge into an hourlong conversation that sparked a decades-long, mutually beneficial professional and personal relationship. It was partly blind luck I ran into that person. But I was also in motion. And I did quickly realize he was a fascinating conversationalist. And the fact that we share a fairly esoteric blend of interests made us both distinctive, at least to each other. Bottom line? If you want to get luckier, meet more people. Do more things. Try more things. Try more unusual things. Be generous, especially with congratulations and praise. And when you see an opportunity, don’t be afraid to ask. Luck sometimes results from the right person saying yes: to your idea, to your startup, to your pitch, to your proposal, to your request. But no one says yes unless you ask. As Steve Jobs said, “Most people never ask, and that’s what separates, sometimes, the people who do things from the people who just dream about them.” You can’t control blind luck. But you can, to some degree, control the other forms of luck. What you can control is how you respond to chance or circumstance. And, most important, how often you put yourself into a position to be lucky. —Inc. View the full article

Iranians have suffered years of inflation, devaluation and stuttering growthView the full article

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ragtag revolutionary saga “One Battle After Another” took top honors at Sunday’s 83rd Golden Globes in the comedy category, while Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare drama “Hamnet” pulled off an upset over “Sinners” to win best film, drama. “One Battle After Another” won best film, comedy, supporting female actor for Teyana Taylor and best director and best screenplay for Anderson. He became just the second filmmaker to sweep director, screenplay and film, as a producer, at the Globes. Only Oliver Stone, for “Born on the Fourth of July,” managed the same feat. In an awards ceremony that went almost entirely as expected, the night’s final award was the most surprising. While “One Battle After Another” has been the clear front-runner this awards season, most have pegged Ryan Coogler’s Jim Crow-era vampire thriller as its closest competition. But “Hamnet,” a speculative drama about William and Agnes Shakespeare based on Maggie O’Farrell’s bestseller, won in the dramatic category shortly after its star, Jessie Buckley, won best female actor in a drama. It was a banner night for Warner Bros., the studio behind “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.” Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to be sold to Netflix in an $83 billion deal. Paramount Skydance has appealed to shareholders with its own rival offer. In his speech after winning best director, Anderson praised Warner co-chief Michael DeLuca. “He said he wanted to run a studio one day and let filmmakers make whatever they want,” said Anderson. “That’s how you get ‘Sinners.’ That’s how you get a ‘Weapons.’ That’s how you get ‘One Battle After Another.'” The final awards brought to, or near, the stage a handful of the most talented filmmakers together in Anderson, Zhao and Coogler — plus Steven Spielberg, a producer of “Hamnet.” Regardless of who won what, it was a heartening moment of solidarity between them, with a shared sense of purpose. Zhao fondly recalled being at Sundance Labs with Coogler when they were each starting out. “As students, let’s keep our hearts open and let’s keep seeing each other and allowing each other to be seen,” said Zhao, while Coogler smiled from the front row. “Sinners” won for best score and cinematic and box-office achievement. The win for box office and cinematic achievement, over franchise films like “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” was notable for Coogler’s film, a movie that some reports labeled a qualified success on its release. Yet “Sinners” ultimately grossed $278 million domestically and $368 million worldwide, making it highest grossing original film in 15 years. “I just want to thank the audience for showing up,” said Coogler. “It’s means the world.” Coming off years of scandal and subsequent rehabilitation, the Globes and host Nikki Glaser put on a star-studded ceremony that saw wins for the streaming sensation “KPop Demon Hunters” (best animated film, song), a meta triumph for Seth Rogen’s “The Studio” and an inaugural award for podcasting that went to Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang.” Many of the Oscar favorites won. Timothee Chalamet won his first Golden Globe, for “Marty Supreme,” after four previous nominations. The 30-year-old is poised to win his first Oscar. Fellow nominees like Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney stood to applaud his win. “My dad instilled in me a spirit of gratitude growing up: Always be grateful for what you have,” said Chalamet. “It’s allowed me to leave this ceremony in the past empty handed, my head held high, grateful just to be here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say those moments didn’t make this moment that much sweeter.” Glaser comes out swinging The Globes, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, got underway with a pointedly political opening from host Nikki Glaser and an early award for the night’s favorite, “One Battle After Another.” Emceeing the show for the second straight year, Glaser kicked off the show with self-aware satire. “Yes, the Golden Globes, without a doubt the most important thing happening in the world right now,” she said. In a winning, rapid-fire opening monologue that landed some punch lines on the usual subjects — the age of Leonardo DiCaprio’s dates, Kevin Hart’s height — Glaser also dove right into some of her most topical material. For the on-the-block Warner Bros., Glaser started the bidding at $5. Referencing the Epstein files, she suggested best editing should go to the Justice Dept. The “most editing,” however, she suggested deserved to go to Bari Weiss’ new CBS News — a dig at the Paramount Skydance-owned network airing the Globes. Globes mix glitz and gloom Political tension and industrywide uncertainty were the prevailing moods heading into Sunday’s awards. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros. Following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, several attendees wore pins reading “Be Good.” The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals. But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can boost an Oscar campaign. Winners Sunday included Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”) for best female actor in a comedy or musical, and Wagner Moura, the Brazilian star of “The Secret Agent,” for best male actor in a drama. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s period political thriller also won best international film. “I think if trauma can be passed along generations, values can do,” Moura said. “So this to the ones who are sticking with their values in difficult moments.” Other winners Sunday included the supporting actor front-runner, Stellan Skarsgård who won for the Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value.” It was the first major Hollywood movie award for the 74-year-old, a respected veteran actor who drew a standing ovation. “I was not prepared for this because I, of course, thought I was too old,” said Skarsgård. ‘The Studio’ and ‘Adolesence’ win In the television awards, “The Pitt” took best drama series, while Noah Wyle won, too, brushing past his former “ER”-star Clooney on the way to the stage. Netflix’s “Adolescence” won four awards: best limited series, and acting awards for Erin Doherty, Stephen Graham and 16-year-old Owen Cooper. Other winners included Rhea Seehorn for “Pluribus” and Jean Smart for “Hacks.” But the most comically poignant award of the night went to “The Studio,” the best comedy series winner. Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) Rogen also won best male actor in a comedy. “This is so weird,” Rogen said, chuckling. “We just pretended to do this. And now it’s happening.” For more coverage of this year’s Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards —Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer View the full article

Former deputy national security adviser in Donald The President’s first term served on tech company’s board last yearView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. When you're working out or running, finding secure-fitting earbuds is a challenge. JBL has a solution in the form of their JBL Endurance Peak 3 earbuds, and Amazon is discounting them to $59.95 (down from $99.99), the lowest price we've seen. JBL Endurance Peak 3 $59.95 at Amazon $99.95 Save $40.00 Shop Now Shop Now $59.95 at Amazon $99.95 Save $40.00 The JBL Endurance Peak 3 is the antithesis to the AirPods. They feature a "Powerhook" design that loops over your ear to keep them in place, no matter how intense your movements are. The earbuds also have a long battery life. You get 50 hours of total playtime, and the buds themselves last 10 hours each charge cycle. And being a fitness focused earbud, they aren't just sweat-resistant; they are fully waterproof. Thanks to the IP68 rating, they can survive submersion in salt or fresh water up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, making them durable enough for surfing or rinsing off in the sink. The JBL sound is also tuned for workouts. The 10mm delivers, rich, bass-heavy sound to keep your adrenaline up. And they are a lot safer to wear while running outdoors. JBL has an Ambient Aware feature that lets background noises in, and you can speak with people without taking them off. PCMag gave the Endurance Peak 3 a 4-star "Excellent" rating and an Editor's Choice award, praising them specifically for their rugged utility. According to PCMag, "JBL's Endurance Peak 3 earphones are a fantastic option for fitness fanatics. Their bass-forward sound signature makes them ideal for motivating your workouts, their in-ear fit is exceptionally secure, and a best-in-class IP68 rating means you don't have to worry about dust and water exposure." Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $229.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — (List Price $24.99 With Code "FTV4K25") Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 — $279.99 (List Price $349.99) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Graphite) — $149.99 (List Price $219.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

A criminal investigation of Jay Powell is the latest in the reworking of the world’s most important financial institution View the full article

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations. The move represents an unprecedented escalation in President Donald The President’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans. The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that The President has criticized as excessive. Powell on Sunday cast off what has up to this point been a restrained approach to The President’s criticisms and personal insults, which he has mostly ignored. Instead, Powell issued a video statement in which he bluntly characterized the threat of criminal charges as simple “pretexts” to undermine the Fed’s independence when it comes to setting interest rates. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.” It’s a sharp departure from the Fed’s understated response to The President this year. The central bank has attempted to placate the administration by dialing back some policies, such as efforts to consider the impact of climate change on the banking system, that the administration clearly opposed. The renewed attacks on the Fed’s independence, and Powell’s full-throated defense, reignite what had appeared to be a dormant battle between The President and the chair he appointed in 2017. The subpoenas will renew fears that the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics will be compromised, which could undermine global investors’ confidence in U.S. Treasury securities. “We expect the dollar, bonds and stocks to all fall in Monday trading in a sell-America trade similar to that in April last year at the peak of the tariff shock and earlier threat to Powell’s position as Fed chair,” Krishna Guha, an analyst at Evercore ISI, an investment bank, wrote in a note to clients. “We are stunned by this deeply disturbing development which came out of the blue after a period in which tensions between The President and the Fed seemed to be contained,” Guha added. In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, The President insisted he didn’t know about the investigation into Powell. When asked if the investigation is intended to pressure Powell on rates, The President said, “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way.” Powell’s term as chair ends in May, and The President administration officials have signaled that he could name a potential replacement this month. The President has also sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented step, though she has sued to keep her job and courts have ruled she can remain in her seat while the case plays out. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case Jan. 21. At the Senate Banking Committee hearing in June, Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, said the Fed’s building renovation included “rooftop terraces, custom elevators that open into VIP dining rooms, white marble finishes, and even a private art collection.” Powell disputed those details in his testimony, saying “there’s no new marble. … there are no special elevators” and added that some of the controversial items are “not in the current plan.” In July, Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a letter to Powell that his testimony about changes to the building plans “raises serious questions about the project’s compliance” with previous plans approved by a planning commission. Still, later that month, The President visited the building site and, while standing next to Powell, overstated the cost of the renovation. Later that day, The President, speaking to reporters, downplayed any concerns with the renovation. He said, “they have to get it done” and added, “Look, there’s always Monday morning quarterbacks. I don’t want to be that. I want to help them get it finished.” When asked if it was a firing offense, The President said, “I don’t want to put that in this category.” The Justice Department in a statement Sunday said it can’t comment on any particular case, but added that Attorney General Pam Bondi “has instructed her US Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of tax payer dollars.” Timothy Lauer, a spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office, said they don’t comment on ongoing investigations. With the subpoenas, Powell becomes the latest perceived adversary of the president to face a criminal investigation by the The President administration’s Justice Department. The President himself has urged prosecutions of his political opponents, obliterating institutional guardrails for a Justice Department that for generations has taken care to make investigative and prosecutorial decisions independent of the White House. The potential indictment has already drawn concern from one Republican senator, who said he’ll oppose any future nominee to the central bank, including any replacement for Powell, until “this legal matter is fully resolved.” “If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the The President Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on the Banking Committee, which oversees Fed nominations. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.” Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Eric Tucker, Michael Kunzelman, and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report. —Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writer View the full article

Last week, Boris Cherny, the creator and head of Anthropic’s popular Claude Code programming agent, posted ​a thread on X​ about how he personally used the AI tool in his own work. It created a stir. “What began as a casual sharing of his personal terminal setup has spiraled into a viral manifesto on the future of software development,” explained a ​VentureBeat article​ about the incident. As Cherny explained, he runs five different instances of the coding agent at the same time, each in its own tab in his terminal: ‘While one agent runs a test suite, another refactors a legacy module, and a third drafts documentation.’ He cycles rapidly through these tabs, providing further instruction or gentle prods to each agent as needed, checking their work, and sending them back to improve their output. One user, responding to the thread, ​described the approach​ like playing the famously fast-paced video game Starcraft. The VentureBeat article described Cherny as operating like a “fleet commander.” It all seemed like a lot of fun. But here’s the thing: If I were a software developer, I would be wary of any such demonstration. In his 1974 book, ​Labor and Monopoly Capital​, the influential Marxist political economist Harry Braverman argued that the expanding “science-technical revolution” was being exploited by companies to increasingly “deskill” workers; to leave them in “ignorance, incapacity, and thus in fitness for machine servitude.” The more employees outsource skilled activity to machines, the more controllable they become. It’s hard not to hear echoes of Braverman’s deskilling argument in something like Cherny’s AI programming demo. A world in which software development is reduced to the ersatz management of energetic but messy digital agents is a world in which a once important economic sector is stripped down to fewer, more poorly paid jobs, as wrangling agents requires much less skill than producing elegant code from scratch. The consumer would fare no better, as the resulting software would be less stable and innovation would slow. The only group that would unambiguously benefit from deskilling developers would be the technology companies themselves, which could minimize one of their biggest expenses: their employees. Boris Cherny is a senior technical lead at Anthropic who manages a large team and likely owns a significant amount of stock options in the company. Of course, he’s excited about the idea of agents replacing programmers, but that doesn’t mean we have to share his enthusiasm. — P.S., I don’t mean to deny the value of AI tools for programmers. I’ve talked to many developers who have found great utility in using AI to help (​apparently​) speed up programming tasks. What makes me suspicious is the claim that shifting to a world in which you just assign agents work is somehow just the natural next step in programming productivity. It might seem cool in the moment, but something more profound and dark might be lurking beneath these gee-whiz demos. The post Be Wary of Digital Deskilling appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

After seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2025, Ohio-based retail chain American Signature Inc. (ASI) now says it will close all of its Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores. Here’s what you need to know about the first major home retail store closings of the year, and why some of the chain’s customers need to beware. What’s happened? As Fast Company previously reported, home furnishings retailer American Signature Inc. announced in November that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Ohio-based company was founded 78 years ago in 1948 and grew to become one of the country’s largest regional home furnishings chains. Its two retail furnishing brands are Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture. The company saw rapid growth during the COVID-19 years, as more people stayed home, thus spurring the desire for in-home upgrades. But in the years since the pandemic, Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture have seen their fortunes decline. When ASI filed for bankruptcy in November, the company cited several factors, including rising interest rates, inflation, and President The President’s tariffs, which have hit furniture makers hard. All this was exacerbated by “one of the most severe housing market declines in recent history,” the company noted at the time. How many stores are closing? At the time of its November bankruptcy filing, ASI said the company had a combined 120 Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores across 17 states. It immediately started closing some of those stores across 11 states, while ASI’s strategic advisor, C Street Advisory Group, noted at the time that its future store footprint would ultimately “be determined by the outcome of the sale process.” Unfortunately for the store’s customers and employees, American Signature Inc. did not find a buyer willing to keep the chains open. As a result, all remaining Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores have now begun going-out-of-business sales, which will see all locations permanently close. In a press release announcing the closure of all stores, the company’s liquidators, Gordon Brothers, and advisors, which include Hilco Global and SB360 Capital Partners, said that all of American Signature Inc.’s 89 remaining stores will shutter. Customers should beware When a retail chain holds going-out-of-business sales, customers are normally advised that all sales are final and that no returns will be accepted. That is the case here, too. But Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture customers who had previously placed deposits on items and not yet received them should take special note. On an FAQ section posted on the company’s website, the chain says that if a customer had previously placed a deposit on an order they have not yet received, the company will do its “best to fulfill customer orders for products that are currently in stock.” However, these order fulfillments are not guaranteed. And if an order that a customer placed a deposit on cannot be fulfilled, the company notes that “We are not offering refunds at the time.” Instead, customers will have to file a claim to apply for a refund on their deposit. However, this claim may not be granted as bankruptcy procedures dictate that the company’s creditors must be paid back first, with any remaining funds the company has. Customers owed money are the last in line. Full list of closing Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores ASI has a list of all its remaining stores that are currently running going-out-of-business sales before they shutter for good. However, it should be noticed that this list, generated by the company’s store locator tool, currently lists 94 locations as having going-out-of-business sales. This is five more stores than the 89 remaining stores the company cited in its press release. Before you make the trip to any closing store, it’s best to contact the store directly to see whether it is still open. According ot the company’s store location tool, below are the remaining American Signature Inc. stores, which will close once their going-out-of-business sales are complete: Closing American Signature Furniture stores Delaware 301 Governors Place, Bear, DE 19701 Florida 150 S SR 434 #1080, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 161 Brandon Town Center Drive, Brandon, FL 33511 13711-2 South Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL 33912 9400 Atlantic Blvd, Suite 100A, Jacksonville, FL 32225 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32244 7463 West Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32818 730 Sand Lake Road, Suite #100, Orlando, FL 32809 15018 North Dale-Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33618 5455 University Parkway, University Park, FL 34201 Tennessee 2821 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040 1770 Galleria Blvd, Franklin, TN 37067 2130 Gallatin Pike North, Madison, TN 37115 2075 Old Fort Pkwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 Closing Value City Furniture stores Illinois 4380 East New York Street, Aurora, IL 60504 8310 South Cicero Avenue, Burbank, IL 60459 2100 159th Street, Calumet City, IL 60409 2536 N. Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 1508 Butterfield Rd, Downers Grove, IL 60515 10705 Lincoln Trail, Fairview Heights, IL 62208 3355 Mall Loop Drive, Joliet, IL 60431 49 West North Avenue, Northlake, IL 60164 15770 South La Grange Road, Orland Park, IL 60462 1015 E. Golf Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173 Indiana 5330 East Indiana Street, Evansville, IN 47715 811 Northcrest Shopping Center, Ft. Wayne, IN 46805 1218 US 31 North, Greenwood, IN 46142 5450 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46250 2580 East 79th Avenue, Merrillville, IN 46410 2437 East Main Street, Plainfield, IN 46168 Kentucky 8032 Burlington Pike, Florence, KY 41042 3220 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY 40503 2321 Sir Barton Way, Suite 170, Lexington, KY 40509 3426 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40213 4623 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40207 Maryland 5840 Baltimore National Pike, Baltimore, MD 21228 559 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air, MD 21014 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Ste 800, Frederick, MD 21703 22 Mountain Road, Glen Burnie, MD 21060 1581 Wesel Blvd, Hagerstown, MD 21740 8301 Annapolis Road, New Carrollton, MD 20784 1260 Smallwood Drive, Waldorf, MD 20603 5240 Campbell Blvd Suite E, White Marsh, MD 21236 Michigan 42595 Ford Rd, Canton, MI 48187 4577 Miller Rd, Flint, Flint, MI 48507 4375 28th Street SE, Kentwood, MI 49512 2780 Tittawabassee Road, Saginaw, MI 48604 33377 Van Dyke Avenue, Sterling Heights, MI 48312 23859 Eureka Road, Taylor, MI 48180 1775 Oak Hollow Dr, Traverse City, MI 49686 45350 Utica Park Blvd, Utica, MI 48315 8300 N Wayne Rd, Westland, MI 48185 Missouri 13961 Manchester Rd, Ballwin, MO 63011 970 Northwest Plaza, St. Ann, MO 63074 202 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters, MO 63376 North Carolina 2320 Sardis Road North, Charlotte, NC 28227 9527 South Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28273 8101 N. University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28213 New York 3160 West Ridge Road, Greece, NY 14626 1000 Hylan Drive Suite 206, Henrietta, NY 14623 Ohio 2675 Fairfield Commons Blvd, Beavercreek, OH 45431 443 Boardman-Poland Road, Boardman, OH 44512 7500 Brookpark Road, Brooklyn, OH 44129 5577 Dressler Road NW, Canton, OH 44720 6067 East Main Street, Columbus, OH 43213 4300 W. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43228 3700 West Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235 1091 Gemini Place, Columbus, OH 43240 3740 Easton Market, Columbus, OH 43219 790 Howe Ave, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 1301 E Mall Dr, Holland, OH 43528 7767 Mentor Avenue, Mentor, OH 44060 4700 Great Northern Blvd, North Olmsted, OH 44070 202 East Market Street, Sandusky, OH 44870 94 West Kemper Road, Springdale, OH 45246 50471 Valley Plaza Drive, St. Clairsville, OH 43950 4475 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH 43613 4095 Richmond Road, Warrensville Heights, OH 44122 Pennsylvania 20111 Route 19 Suite B, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 5047 Jonestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112 3801 William Penn Highway, Monroeville, PA 15146 451 Clairton Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236 1400 Park Manor Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15205 South Carolina 240 Forum Dr, Columbia, SC 29229 140 Columbiana Dr, Columbia, SC 29212 Virginia 1412 Greenbrier Pkwy, Unit 100, Chesapeake, VA 23320 4300 Portsmouth Blvd, Suite 200, Chesapeake, VA 23321 5516 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041 1731 Carl D Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 1250 Huguenot Rd, Midlothian, VA 23113 2720 North Mall Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23452 2500 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge, VA 22192 West Virginia 1423 Roby Road, Route 60, Huntington, WV 25705 400 Lakeview Center, Parkersburg, WV 26101 View the full article