PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Amazon has expanded into cooking with its latest round of new skills , with the announcement on Thursday (Jan. 4) of the launch of the Smart Home Skill API. In a blog post , Amazon developer Mike Maas said that developers can now build skills to enable U.S. customers to control microwaves via Alexa, its voice-activated digital assistant. Support for other types of cooking devices, such as convection ovens, will be launched soon, the executive said.

Entertainment 74

Entertainment Start-ups 74

Katz,Sapper&Miller

JANUARY 3, 2018

Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Construction Services Group will host a Viewpoint Construction Software® Local User Group Meeting Jan. 24 in Indianapolis.

Construction 40

Construction 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 1, 2018

Michael Lawrence Collins. Going to college pays off, on average. But to maximize the chance that a college education offers a satisfactory return, students need to think like investors. They need to carefully consider which degrees pay off and why, and they need to make informed decisions about the type of degree and major they select. Investors in financial markets consider many complex variables to mitigate risks and maximize returns.

Education 66

Education Mississippi 66

PYMNTS

JANUARY 2, 2018

Less than five months before the compliance deadline for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), most top UK and US firms are still overestimating their state of readiness, a study suggests

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Speaker: Amanda Adams, Fractional CFO, CPA

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Amanda Adams, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

Account

PYMNTS

JANUARY 2, 2018

A scanner can identify a vulnerability, but only a deep understanding of cyber exposure will tell you about the seriousness of that risk. Here's how and why.

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PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

In response to weak sales at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. , following the retailer’s decision to add nearly 2,000 Rite Aid locations to its store base, a Morningstar analyst is questioning how long it will take for the acquisition to boost the company’s bottom line, Reuters reports. “From our perspective, it may take at least a handful of years before Walgreens is able to fully benefit from the acquisition,” Vishnu Lekraj wrote in a note.

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Sales Pharmaceutical Retail 52

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 31, 2017

I began the Teacher Reboot Camp blog in 2009. It amazes me so many of you are still here as I continue to grow as an educator and learner. When I first started blogging, I didn’t realize I would have 8 years of ideas, resources, and knowledge to share. However, I find the more I exchange thoughts and ideas with all of you, the more I want to explore and discover.

Education 47

Education 47

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Western Union has agreed to pay a $60 million fine as part of a consent order with the New York State Department of Financial Services. According to a press release , Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo announced on Thursday (Jan. 4) the fine for violations of the New York Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws. An inquiry by the Department of Financial Services found that for longer than 10 years, Western Union failed to create and maintain an anti-money laundering complia

New York 46

New York 46

PYMNTS

JANUARY 2, 2018

Every organization starts with a purpose. Making money is not that purpose. Rather, an organization’s reason for being is to positively impact customers, a community, or the world in some way. This purpose is fueled by the organization’s ability to execute on the right things and make money doing them. Unfortunately, organizational purpose is often forgotten as a business grows.

Education 46

Education Start-ups Retail Sales 46

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

It’s been a doubly rough week for Sears. The struggling chain announced even more brick-and-mortar store closures are coming — this time to 103 Kmart and Sears locations. Once the largest retailer in the U.S., Sears has cut its number of stores in half over the last several years. The last 12 months have been particularly brutal: Mounting debt and 24 straight quarters of losses have troubled efforts to stay afloat.

Retail 46

Retail E-commerce 46

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

Account

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Coffee shops are quick service restaurants (QSRs) — even when the service isn’t that quick. So if there’s a way to make it quicker, good business sense says it’s worth doing, right? Try telling that to a coffee hipster. Slow food, rather than fast food, is the artisanal way, and coffee diehards believe a fresh-ground pour-over is the freshest (and therefore the only) way to go.

Technology 43

Technology California Education Start-ups 43

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Another year, another chance for mobile wallet players to convince consumers to give up their plastic cards and utilize the phone as a payments form factor. It hasn’t been easy. Despite there being some variety of “Pay” for every day of the week, none have garnered even a 10 percent usage rate among consumers. The most-used mobile wallet in the U.S. as of 2017, according to PYMNTS/InfoScout data is Walmart Pay, with a usage rate just a shade below 6 percent (5.95 percent to be exact).

Retail 43

Retail Maine Sales 43

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Blockchain-based challenger bank BABB — which stands for Bank Account-Based Blockchain — has hired a new CIO. The company said Thursday (Jan. 4) that bank technology veteran Paul Johnson will take up the position. Johnson previously served as chief of another U.K. challenger bank Aldermore, at which he oversaw its IPO in 2015. BABB is planing its own initial coin offering (ICO) later this month.

Technology 43

Technology accountant Account accounted 43

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Credit Karma Tax announced on Thursday (Jan. 4) the launch of Earlybird Advance, an online refund advance service. In a press release , the company said the service will enable U.S. citizens who file their tax returns through Credit Karma Tax to get a $500 to $1,000 advance on their tax refund with no fees or interest. The clients can get access to the funds as quickly as 24 hours after the IRS accepts the tax return. “Because filing taxes with Credit Karma Tax is completely free, not only

Tax 41

Tax tax return income tax Finance 41

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Join us in this webinar, where we share best practices on how to think about the reconciliation work each month, when best to do reconciliations, how they should be prepared, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how to properly prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations and its impact on the financial statements.

financial statements

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Providing financial services to legal marijuana businesses in the U.S. has proven a challenging, complicated venture for the nation’s banks. As more financial institutions (FIs) warm up to the idea, one bank in Maryland is taking significant steps to address cannabis companies’ FinServ challenges. Reports in The Washington Post this week profiled Severn Savings Bank, a community bank in the state that is said to be providing services to legal marijuana businesses.

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Maryland Washington Legal Government 41

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Macy’s will shutter approximately 30 stores as the retailer continues to sell its real estate and invest in eCommerce, CNBC reports. As the company moves to invest in internet operations to win over online shoppers, it’s exploring more opportunities to cash in on its real estate holdings. “Macy’s, Inc. has been reviewing its real estate portfolio across the country to see if there are opportunities to improve the use of our assets,” Macy’s told the newswire.

Real Estate 41

Real Estate New York Retail Sales 41

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

No one likes being charged more than once for a transaction — one of the vagaries of living in a technology-fueled world — especially when it comes to commerce and banking. The Washington Post reported that a number of Capital One customers, as of Wednesday (January 3), found multiple charges (the same one, that is) levied on their accounts. The newspaper reported that it was not yet known how those errors occurred or just how many customers were impacted.

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accountant Account accounted Washington 41

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

While many in the segment have bemoaned store closures as a sign of weakness in the retail sector, one expert is taking a slightly more optimistic view of what’s next — at least in regards to one retailer in particular. Former Walmart CEO Carter Cast believes store closures are a sign of strength for Walmart, not weakness. “I think there are store closures ahead of Walmart that are going to be good for the company and good for shareholders,” Cast said on CNBC ’s “Power Lunch.”.

Retail 40

Retail Sales E-commerce 40

Speaker: David Warren and Kevin O’Neill Stoll

Transitioning to a usage-based business model offers powerful growth opportunities but comes with unique challenges. How do you validate strategies, reduce risks, and ensure alignment with customer value? Join us for a deep dive into designing effective pilots that test the waters and drive success in usage-based revenue. Discover how to develop a pilot that captures real customer feedback, aligns internal teams with usage metrics, and rethinks sales incentives to prioritize lasting customer eng

Sales

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Amazon has rolled out a new Alexa developer kit for on-the-go devices, making it easier for manufacturers to integrate the wildly popular voice assistant into their products, the company announced in a blog post. With the release of the kit, makers of mobile devices will be able to integrate the Alexa technology into their products while investing less in hardware and integration efforts.

Gambling 40

Gambling Manufacturing Technology 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

There are three types of people in this world: those who love blockchain, those who hate it, and those who still have no idea what it is (but they might jump on the bandwagon anyway just to look cool). In brief, blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin, the little cryptocurrency that could. The digital coin climbed more than 1,300 percent in value over the course of 2017 from about $1,000 at the start of the year to over $14,000 as New Year’s Eve wound down.

Transportation 40

Transportation Retail Start-ups Technology 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Describing a business as “a mediocre corporation” usually doesn’t generate a stellar review. A small subset of workers and entrepreneurs in Dallas, however, work at a company that intentionally branded itself that way. “We really tried to lower expectations with the brand,” A Mediocre Corporation Founder Matt Rutledge said. A Mediocre Corporation is an incubator pursuing its passion for experimentation in eCommerce by building out and testing new types of online commerce.

Retail 40

Retail Sales E-commerce 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

The U.S. labor market slowed a bit more than economists expected in December, with a noted slip in retail employment. Reuters reported that payrolls were up by 148,000 positions, a significant slowdown from the 252,000 gain seen in the previous month. That missed estimates of 190,000 additions. The unemployment rate, at a current low, has plateaued at 4.1 percent.

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corporation tax payroll Retail Tax 40

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The first Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management, conducted by Deep Analysis with support from AIIM and M-Files, surveyed 500 enterprises across various industries to assess their readiness to employ AI. The results reveal that AI is already far more embedded into organizations' operations than previously realized. These findings and more insights have been brought to you in the "Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management.

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Buying land on which to build a warehouse is becoming an increasingly pricey proposition. As two-day shipping becomes heavily favored among consumers, eCommerce firms are under mounting pressure to locate their warehouses and distribution centers as close to their customer bases as possible. According to Wednesday (Jan. 3) reports from technology news source Recode, that means these firms need large tracts of industrially zoned land near major cities — something that is not exactly easy to come

Real Estate 40

Real Estate Construction Maine Start-ups 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

December was a good month for Amazon. Really, 2017 was a good year for the eCommerce giant, and we’ve got the numbers to prove it. Apple took more of a roller coaster ride – months later, analysts still aren’t sure how the iPhone X will perform, and whatever happened to that HomePod? Plus: Facebook to sink more funds into video, Google tries to dig in its heels in the smart speaker race, and Microsoft scrambles to patch a vulnerability (but the fix has its own drawbacks).

Sales 40

Sales Start-ups Retail accountant 40

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

The grocery realm has attracted many big headlines over the last few years — a phenomenon that went into overdrive six months ago when Amazon announced it was purchasing Whole Foods. Ever since that inflection point, the narrative surrounding grocery in the U.S. market has changed, framed largely as a competition between Amazon and Walmart , with increasing pressure from discount chains like ALDI.

Technology 53

Technology Retail Gaming Start-ups 53

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

The retail apocalypse is fake news if you ask Mark Cummins, co-founder of Irish startup Pointy. Brick-and-mortar retail is changing, no doubt, but Cummins noted that it still makes up around 91 percent of all retail spend, while eCommerce claims just 9 percent of consumer dollars. Against that landscape, it isn’t enough for retailers to post their addresses and hours of operation online; Cummins said they need inventory discoverability to drive physical sales, or customers who don’t know where t

Retail 41

Retail Sales E-commerce Technology 41

Speaker: Mark Stovel

When it comes to automating, many firms focus on finding the latest tech, believing that efficiency is something achieved through new tools. Yet true efficiency is achieved by delivering real value to clients, not merely by upgraded systems. Without a clear approach, no level of automation can overcome the complexities of serving every client’s needs.

PYMNTS

JANUARY 4, 2018

Karen Katz, CEO of Neiman Marcus Group, will be stepping down from her post, where she has served since 2010, according to news from The Wall Street Journal. The retailer has been beset with debt from two leveraged buyouts over the last several years and will be looking for an outsider to fill the vacant role. Katz will retire from her executive duties, but will retain her board seat.

Gaming 42

Gaming Retail Sales 42

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Facing pressure from the Chinese government, bitcoin mining collectives are shifting their operations overseas, Bloomberg reports. Bitmain , which runs China’s two largest bitcoin-mining collectives, is setting up a regional headquarters in Singapore and has expanded its operations to the U.S. and Canada. Another mining pool, BTC.TOP , has also chosen to open a facility in Canada.

Manufacturing 43

Manufacturing Government 43

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Add Mark Zuckerberg to the growing list of people interested in cryptocurrency. According to Bloomberg , Facebook’s CEO mentioned cryptocurrencies in a Jan. 4 posting that detailed his plans to spend 2018 working to address long-standing problems – including widespread misinformation and hate speech– that have plagued Facebook for the past two years.

Start-ups 59

Start-ups Technology 59