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Jeannie Morris, Trailblazing Chicago Sportscaster, Dies at 85

Jeannie Morris, Trailblazing Chicago Sportscaster, Dies at 85

The marriage ended in divorce, and in 1960 she married Johnny Morris, a broad recipient for the Chicago Bears whom she had also met on the Santa Barbara campus.

Ms. Morris’ first sports break came after her husband retired from the bears in 1967 and became a local sports caster. When the American newspaper Chicago asked him if he would write a column, he declined, but said his wife was a writer and should be hired.

She got the job, but her byline didn’t reflect her name. Rather, one follows the social norms of the time: “Mrs. Johnny Morris ”wrote a weekly column entitled“ Soccer is a game for women ”that appeared on the women’s pages of the paper before joining the sports division of The American and later of The Chicago Daily News. Eventually her line changed to Jeannie Morris.

As the wife of a bear, she had a lot of material to write about.

“It was because I lived 10 years of a football life that most people haven’t seen,” she told The Athletic in her last interview, just before she died. “There was a subculture. There were good stories in the subculture. “

In 1969 Ms. Morris moved to Mr. Morris at Chicago TV station WMAQ, where she started out as a popular local media couple for a long time. The station marketed her early on as a soft news reporter. An advertisement in The Chicago Tribune in 1970 promoted the “Woman’s View of the Sports World,” through which viewers could meet “The Sports Leaders, Their Families and Friends.”

She would soon prove herself as a field reporter covering and producing news and features related to Chicago sports.

“She was my # 1 reporter,” Morris said in a telephone interview. “I often had to give her tough tasks, but I knew she’d made it.” He added, “She was competitive – as competitive as I am – and we made a good team.”

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CEO says Hawaiian Airways is optimistic on 2021, new flight routes

CEO says Hawaiian Airlines is optimistic on 2021, new flight routes

After a bloody year for the aviation industry, Peter Ingram, CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, told CNBC that he believes it can only be done from here.

Airlines have spent much of 2020 cutting routes and cutting flights as the demand for travel has fallen due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, companies like Delta and United Airlines have announced some new additions in the past few months.

Hawaiian Airlines joins the battle with new nonstop flights from Honolulu to Austin, Texas. Orlando, Florida and Ontario, California will be added in the spring. The Honolulu-based company expects air traffic to recover in the new year and is trying to take advantage of the population development in the southern states.

“The reason it is time to announce three new routes is that … we are very optimistic for 2021,” he said at Closing Bell. “These are places we’ve been looking for. They have good demand for Hawaii.”

Austin has established itself among the top tech scenes in the country, competing with the traditional tech ecosystem for which the San Francisco Bay Area is known. The Texas capital has caught the interest of several tech companies that have either opened factories there or announced plans to relocate their headquarters from California.

Earlier this month, Oracle, a mainstay of Silicon Valley, announced that the company would move its headquarters to Austin. It is among a number of companies planning to relocate outside of California.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has moved his personal residence to Texas and has split most of his time between Austin and Boca Chica, where SpaceX facilities are located. Tesla, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and Musk’s tunnel start-up Boring Co. both operate in Austin.

Apple is also expanding its presence in the Texas capital, where it is investing $ 1 billion in a 3 million square foot campus. The site is expected to employ 5,000 people and is due to open in 2022.

“I’ve seen coverage in your air of how Austin is booming as a technology hub these days, and we think a lot of those people want to go to Hawaii,” Ingram said. “Same goes for Orlando with a growing population.”

Florida has been a long-standing hotspot for retirees looking to move, and the state’s population has grown steadily. Due to US population shifts, Texas is expected to add three seats for its US home delegation and Florida is expected to get two seats, the Associated Press reported.

The Census Bureau estimates that 10 states, including New York, Michigan and California, are at risk of losing at least one seat in the House of Representatives, which the AP said could have a noticeable impact on the country’s political map.

Hawaiian Airlines recorded a drop in revenue of around 90% in the last two quarterly reports.

“At a time when the depth of some of our traditional routes may not be what they were, this is a great opportunity for us to expand our network and we see great opportunities in all of these, not just for the next year but also for the long term, “said Ingram.

Hawaiian Airlines shares fell 1.55% on a shortened trading day in recognition of Christmas Eve. At $ 17.78 a share, the stock is down 39% year-to-date.

The stock is more than double its pandemic low of $ 7.55 as of mid-March.

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‘Keep Alive and Survive’: Ski Resorts Brace for a Pandemic Season

‘Stay Alive and Survive’: Ski Resorts Brace for a Pandemic Season

OLYMPIC VALLEY, California – A crowd of skiers recently zigzagged down the slopes at Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Couples and families wandered through the resort’s village, which was decked out in golden Christmas lights and frosted with snow.

It looked like the beginning of a happy season. On closer inspection, however, it turned out to be anything but that.

The patios in the restaurant were almost empty when masked workers with lime green disinfectant sprayers on their backs were swept through. This was part of the $ 1 million Squaw Valley spent on disinfecting equipment and other security measures. Scanty groups waited in socially distant rows at the ski lifts. The resort felt “so dead,” said one skier, Sabrina Nottingham, in part because it kept ticket sales below 50 percent of the norm.

Squaw Valley, a marquee for winter sports enthusiasts, is one of many ski resorts across the country preparing for an unpredictable season. Resorts have been forced to rethink how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and with vaccines still rolling out, they have made a variety of changes in places like Aspen, Colorado. Park City, Utah; Taos Ski Valley, NM; and Killington, Vt. Many place visitor restrictions and require ticket reservations; New Mexico has limited resorts to 25 percent of capacity.

The resorts are also minimizing personal interactions by installing kiosks for ticket collection, creating space between people for ski lifts and gondolas, requiring masks, limiting the number of people on an elevator at one time, and closing down indoor dining in some places.

While the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the entire travel industry, ski resorts could have a disproportionate impact this winter due to their short business window. The ski industry had already suffered a blow back in the spring when the pandemic broke out and many ski resorts were forced to close prematurely, resulting in $ 2 billion in losses and laying off or vacation days for thousands of employees, according to the National Ski Areas Association trade group . The industry recorded the lowest number of visits since the 2011/12 season at 51 million, the association said.

Now resorts like Squaw Valley are setting their expectations low for the new ski season.

“I don’t think anyone in the industry is aiming for the best year ever,” said Ron Cohen, president of Squaw Valley and neighboring Alpine Meadows, who laid off 2,000 seasonal workers in the spring. “We want to keep our businesses so that after the end of Covid we have the opportunity not to suffer so much damage that we may not be able to get up.”

Mike Pierce, a spokesman for Mount Rose Ski Tahoe, a resort in western Nevada, said the attitude was “just to maintain and survive the status quo.” He declined to provide financial data but said, “If we break even it will almost be counted as a success.”

Even before the pandemic, the ski industry tried to arouse interest in the sport. According to the National Ski Association, the number of skiers has stagnated over the past decade. Adrienne Isaac, a spokeswoman for the trade group, said the resorts had tried to make skiing and snowboarding more accessible to newbies but had come to terms with the perception that it was mostly aimed at the rich and white. Climate change continues to affect snowfall, which can result in shorter seasons.

How the ski resorts develop this winter will have a domino effect on the tax revenue of the state economy. In New Mexico, the shortened ski season last winter and this spring generated $ 41 million in taxes, but George Brooks, the executive director of the state ski association, said he expected no more than 40 percent of that number in the coming months .

Vail Resorts, the world’s largest ski company with 37 ski resorts around the world, including 34 in the U.S., reported in a December 10th call for profit that it lost $ 153 million from August to October, more than the loss of 106 , $ 5 million in the US same time a year ago. Rob Katz, managing director of Vail Resorts, said season pass sales rose about 20 percent, but he expects fewer visitors and less sales this winter than previous seasons.

At smaller resorts, the pain may not be as severe. Diamond Peak Ski Resort in Incline Village, Nevada announced that it was about $ 1 million ahead of projections after the spring shutdown. Mike Bandelin, the resort’s general manager, said smaller resorts often operate at a loss in the last few weeks of the season, so closing early actually saved money.

Many resorts said they still expected some die-hard skiers and powderhounds to show up this winter, along with locals and those who have moved to second homes nearby. At the Winter Park Resort west of Denver, a swarm of eager skiers crowded the lift lines this month’s opening weekend. The resort was quick to take action to allow more distance, said Jen Miller, a spokeswoman.

Updated

Apr. 24, 2020, 8:33 am ET

But the visitors who won’t come, said the ski resorts and other ski experts, are most likely casual skiers and those who travel from long distances.

“We’re going to lose the mom and pop who want to raise their kids,” said Mr. Brooks.

In Colorado, the Aspen Skiing Company, which operates four ski resorts, has had stable business since reopening Nov. 25, but will miss the 20 percent of its annual visitors from other countries, said a spokesman, Jeff Hanle. He said Aspen may also see fewer travelers out of state, especially if they live in places where they will need to isolate on their return.

“You have to be a pretty committed skier to say, ‘I’m going to ski and I know when I go home I’ll have to quarantine,” he said.

Even if the resorts make it through the winter, smaller businesses that rely on skiers to get into town – like restaurants, hotels, and retail stores – may not be as lucky.

At Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vt., An Irish pub called Mulligan’s has laid off half of its staff. Since visitors to Vermont, which sources 80 percent of its ski traffic from other states, must be quarantined for a week or two before they can go anywhere, Mulligan’s owner Tom Rose expects up to a 60 percent loss of his normal winter sales.

“We survived Hurricane Irene. Our sales took a real leap after September 11th. We made it through the great recession, ”said Rose. But “this pandemic is by far the worst.”

There are some bright spots. Backcountry skiing or ski touring – which often involve climbing remote, snow-capped mountain ranges – is booming. According to the NPD Group, backcountry equipment sales increased 76 percent from August to October compared to the same period last year.

“The Covid environment, which favors socially distant outdoor recreational activities, as well as the restrictions in place in the ski resorts have increased interest in ski touring this season,” said Eric Henderson, spokesman for Snowsports Industries America trade group.

Those who have The trips to the resorts said they were glad they made the effort. Recently in Squaw Valley, Ms. Nottingham, 21, who was visiting San Luis Obispo with fellow California State University students, said the experience “felt safer than going to a grocery store because everyone is everyone, even though the resort is quiet was covered up anyway. “

Squaw Valley, which opened in 1949 and hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, has seen significant changes in recent years. In 2010 it was bought by a private equity group called KSL Capital Partners and merged with neighboring Alpine Meadows the following year. Together, the two resorts span 6,000 acres, most of them in the Lake Tahoe region, and have 42 lifts and more than 270 trails.

In August, Squaw Valley announced that it would change its name by 2021, as “Squaw” is considered a racist and sexist term for Native American women.

But nothing the resort has been through can match the chaos of the pandemic, Cohen said. While refusing to disclose the financials for Squaw and Alpine, he described the spring’s losses as “devastating” and said the resorts are “operating on lower profit margins” and generating weaker sales this winter.

The disruption became doubly apparent this month when a new stay at home order went into effect in the region, forcing resorts to cancel hotel stays and adding another wrinkle to potential visitors.

For ski resorts, the mantra right now is “stay alive and survive,” said Cohen.

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What the superhero movie could make

'Wonder Woman 1984' reviews: What critics are saying

Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in “Wonder Woman 1984”.

Warner bros.

Can a nostalgic superhero movie convince people to leave their couches and go to the theaters? “Wonder Woman 1984” tries to answer this question.

Cinema owners are confident that the sequel to Wonder Woman, due out on Christmas Day, will attract a major demographic back to theaters despite the continued surge in coronavirus cases.

The ongoing pandemic isn’t their only concern, however. The same day that “Wonder Woman 1984” debuted on the big screen, it can also be streamed on HBO Max.

“Wonder Woman 1984 is the first test of a title of this size being released on both large and small screen at the same time,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst.

Box office analysts have mixed opinions about how well the film will perform at the home box office. “Wonder Woman 1984” fell short of expectations on its international debut last weekend, grossing around $ 38.5 million. That was well below the industry’s predicted $ 60 million.

The movie could have even more trouble in the US and Canada considering that only around 34% of the theaters are open. That’s about 2,000 theaters, reports Comscore.

“It is difficult to place a number on its possible opening weekend as there really is no directly comparable release scenario,” said Dergarabedian. “And the biggest opening weekend for cinemas since the pandemic began in mid-March has not even passed the $ 10 million mark.”

It is related to “The Croods: A New Age,” an animated film by Dreamworks that debuted over Thanksgiving. It had the highest opening of any movie released during the pandemic, at just $ 9.7 million. The estimated $ 14.2 million for the entire five-day Thanksgiving weekend.

Still there is a pent-up demand for “Wonder Woman 1984”. This could convince moviegoers to go to the big screen instead of watching the movie at home.

“We’re seeing ‘Wonder Woman 1984′ getting the highest advance ticket sales of any movie in the pandemic era, but I’m cautiously leaning over $ 10 million for that, given the number of theater closings, audiences’ caution and caution A simultaneous streaming release weekend, “said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com. “A number closer to $ 15 million could be achievable, but there is a lot of unpredictability that needs to be considered right now.”

Robbins said premium screens like IMAX and Dolby Cinema are likely to be among the top performing venues for the sequel as they offer higher quality sound and picture. Private party rentals, where moviegoers rent a theater to a group of up to 20 friends and family members, are also likely to generate a healthy share of the box office.

For the past five years, the box office has generated at least $ 80 million for a single day on Christmas Day. Analysts agree that that number won’t be seen this year.

In times without a pandemic, “Wonder Woman 1984” could have opened between $ 100 million and $ 150 million, said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. With so many movie theaters closed, the coronavirus threat looming, and the film available on HBO Max, Pachter forecast an opening of between $ 15 million and $ 25 million.

“While many choose to stay home and watch the movie this vacation, fans and families might find themselves in relatively fair numbers in markets where it is safe and possible, although far from what they are Usually for a blockbuster superhero, sequels are opening at Christmas, “said Robbins.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Dreamworks Animation.

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Right here Are 5 Small Companies That Thrived Through the Coronavirus Pandemic

Here Are 5 Small Businesses That Thrived During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Kleine Unternehmen waren im Jahr 2020 am Boden zerstört. Sie haben sich so häufig um staatlich vorgeschriebene Stillstände, neue Kundenbedürfnisse und Sicherheitsprotokolle für Pandemien gekümmert, dass viele nicht mehr sicher sind, in welche Richtung sie gehen. Neun Monate nach der Coronavirus-Krise bleibt nach Angaben von Opportunity Insights, einer Forschungsgruppe an der Harvard University, mehr als ein Viertel zumindest vorübergehend geschlossen.

Für einige Branchen war es jedoch ein Bannerjahr. Kleinunternehmer, die Kunden bedienen, die zu Hause gefangen sind, online einkaufen und Abenteuer im Freien suchen, haben Rekordverkäufe erzielt.

Erfolg in einer Krise kann unangenehm sein. “Ich kann nicht genug sagen, dass es bittersüß ist”, sagte Sunshine Foss, die Besitzerin von Happy Cork, einer Weinhandlung in Brooklyn, deren Verkäufe stiegen, als andere Geschäfte in ihrer Nachbarschaft geschlossen wurden.

Hier sind fünf kleine Unternehmen, die die Pandemie-Chancen übertreffen und auf dem Weg ins Jahr 2021 florieren – und sogar einstellen.

Wenn Frau Foss und ihr Ehemann Remo im März 2019 ihre Weinhandlung in einer leicht frequentierten Seitenstraße im Viertel Bedford-Stuyvesant eröffneten, vergingen manchmal Stunden ohne Verkauf.

“Wir standen auf der Straße und baten die Leute, hereinzukommen und unsere Sachen auszuprobieren”, sagte sie.

Die Pandemie hat das geändert. Als die Stadt im Frühjahr geschlossen wurde, strömten die Kunden in der Flasche und im Koffer nach Wein. Im April verdoppelte sich der Umsatz. Im Sommer stiegen die Verkäufe erneut: Als Proteste gegen Polizeibrutalität und systemischen Rassismus die Stadt und die Nation erschütterten, stieg die Nachfrage nach Produkten von Unternehmen in Schwarzbesitz – die Spezialität von Happy Cork -.

“Ich konnte Black Girl Magic nicht in den Regalen lassen”, sagte Frau Foss und bezog sich auf eine kalifornische Weinsammlung, die von zwei Schwestern kreiert wurde. “Ich bin jetzt so glücklich, dass es eine große Kundennachfrage gibt, aber es ist bittersüß, dass all dies nötig war, um die Aufmerksamkeit auf diese Marken zu lenken.”

Esrever Wines, ein Label, das von drei langjährigen Freunden aus Queens gegründet wurde, war einer der Nutznießer. Die Pandemie erschwerte die Produktion für das Unternehmen, da das kalifornische Weingut, das seine Mischungen herstellt, nur wenig Personal hat, die Nachfrage jedoch gestiegen ist und Happy Cork zu den Top-Einzelhandelsstandorten des Unternehmens gehört, sagte Tyshemia Ladson, eine der Gründerinnen von Esrever.

Ein Darlehen in Höhe von 1.875 US-Dollar aus dem Bundesprogramm zum Schutz von Gehaltsschecks half dem Geschäft in den Anfängen der Pandemie. Frau Foss verdoppelte ihre Belegschaft in diesem Jahr auf acht Mitarbeiter, und sie war glücklich überrascht, dass Käufer aus dem ganzen Land vorbeikamen, die häufig von ihren produktiven Social-Media-Posts angezogen wurden. Ihr Geschäft hat jetzt die Verkaufsprognosen übertroffen, die sie bei der Eröffnung festgelegt hat.

„Viele Geschäfte, die in unserer Nachbarschaft eröffnen, haben kugelsicheres Glas. Sie können die Flaschen nicht anfassen “, sagte Frau Foss. „Ich wollte etwas, das ein intimes Einkaufserlebnis war. Ich wollte, dass der Laden wirklich gut riecht und wirklich hübsch aussieht und sich wohlfühlt. Wir haben Preise, die für alle funktionieren. Sie können eine großartige Flasche für 8 US-Dollar von einer Marke bekommen, von der Sie nie etwas gewusst hätten. “

San Diego

Die Telefone bei ePlastics klingelten Ende März ununterbrochen, als Kunden nach Masken, Plexiglas-Trennwänden und anderen Schutzvorrichtungen suchten. Die Sintflut hat nicht nachgelassen.

“Niemand war darauf vorbereitet”, sagte John Short, der General Manager des 106 Jahre alten Kunststoffherstellungsunternehmens. “Alle haben Google-Suchbegriffe für” Barrieren “und” Schilde “eingegeben, und wir haben Anrufe aus der ganzen Welt erhalten.”

EPlastics musste seinen Einzelhandelsausstellungsraum, in dem Kunststoffprodukte von Baumaterial bis zu Weingläsern angeboten werden, für etwa einen Monat schließen, um die kalifornischen Regeln für das Herunterfahren zu befolgen und herauszufinden, wie die Mitarbeiter geschützt werden können. In seiner Werkstatt wurde die Herstellung jedoch fast rund um die Uhr fortgesetzt. Die Beschaffung von Rohstoffen wie Acryl- und Polycarbonatplatten sei eine ständige Herausforderung, sagte Short, da die Lieferkette weltweit gestört sei.

Der Umsatz war in diesem Jahr um 30 Prozent höher als in jedem anderen Jahr, und die 52 Mitarbeiter des Unternehmens haben viel Überstunden geleistet, um mit der Nachfrage Schritt zu halten, sagte Short. In diesem Jahr wurden mehr als 10.000 Kunststoffbarrieren hergestellt.

EPlastics entwickelte einige beliebte neue Produkte für sich, wie eine tragbare Barriere für Geschäfte, durch die Kassierer Geld leiten können, und eine Plastikbox mit Löchern, die Ärzte über die Köpfe der Patienten legen können, um den Luftaustausch zu verringern. Ein Großteil seiner Arbeit floss jedoch in kundenspezifische Projekte für Kunden wie Krankenhäuser, Universitäten, Banken und Einzelhändler wie Supermärkte und Spirituosengeschäfte. Die Marine war ein großer Kunde und kaufte Trennwände für die Essenssäle auf ihren Schiffen.

Herr Short war besonders erfreut darüber, dass ePlastics eine Rolle bei den Coronavirus-Hilfsmaßnahmen der National Aeronautics and Space Administration spielte. Das Robotics Alliance Project der NASA, das Wettbewerbe für Highschooler sponsert, ließ seine Wissenschaftler gemeinsam mit Schülern Gesichtsschutzschilde aus Polycarbonatplatten von ePlastics entwerfen und herstellen. Die Schilde werden online verkauft und an medizinische Fachkräfte gespendet.

“Wir fanden im ganzen Land kleine 4 mal 8 Plastikstücke, aber es war wirklich schwierig für die Maschinen, diese zu verdauen”, sagte Lucien Junkin, ein NASA-Robotikingenieur. „EPlastics ließ einen seiner Lieferanten ein paar 750-Fuß-Rollen herstellen, die die Maschine einfach verschlingen konnte. Dann haben wir links und rechts Tausende von Gesichtsschutzschildern ausgespuckt. “

Charleston, SC

Katie und Wes Lyon kündigten zusammen mit ihrem College-Freund und Geschäftspartner Max Berry im März ihre Firmenjobs, um Vollzeit bei ihrem Start-up zu arbeiten und amerikanische Flaggen zu verkaufen.

Wirtschaft & Wirtschaft

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“Wir haben dieses Jahr ein exponentielles Wachstum gesehen”, sagte Berry.

Wie viel Wachstum? “Es ist keine Zahl, an die irgendjemand glaubt, wenn wir es sagen, es ist so verrückt”, sagte Frau Lyon. Sie machte eine Pause, bevor sie antwortete: “4.000 Prozent.”

Ein Jahr zuvor waren sie sich nicht sicher, ob ihr E-Commerce-Geschäft fliegen würde. Sie gründeten das Unternehmen Ende 2018 zu „Grillen“, sagte Berry. “Wir gehören nicht zu den Unternehmen, die unsere Website aktiviert haben und Bestellungen eingegangen sind.”

Er und die Lyoner dachten ursprünglich, handgefertigte amerikanische Flaggen, die von amerikanischen Arbeitern aus Materialien aus Amerika genäht wurden, wären ein einfacher Verkauf. Das hatten sie persönlich gesucht und konnten es nicht finden.

“Wir hatten zwei Möglichkeiten: Wir konnten es bei Amazon oder in einem großen Laden kaufen”, sagte Lyon. “Und entweder wurde es aus China importiert – was für uns lächerlich ist – oder, wenn es im Inland hergestellt wurde, wird es mit billigen Materialien in Massenproduktion hergestellt.”

Sie machten sich auf den Weg, um eine bessere Flagge zu kreieren, und fanden in South Carolina ein Produktionshaus, in dem ihre sternenklaren Banner hergestellt werden konnten.

Aber dann … die Grillen. Sie brauchten fast ein Jahr, um zu lernen, wie sie Kunden mit digitalen Anzeigen effektiv ansprechen können. Sie erkannten, dass sie nicht einfach eine amerikanische Flagge verkaufen konnten; Sie mussten seine Qualität und ihre in Amerika hergestellten Ideale hervorheben. Sie haben ihre digitale Werbung kurz vor der Pandemie angepasst – ein zufälliger Zeitpunkt, der ihnen geholfen hat, den E-Commerce-Boom des Coronavirus zu bewältigen.

“Ich denke, das lag daran, dass die Leute mehr Zeit zu Hause verbrachten und sich um ihr Zuhause kümmerten”, sagte Frau Lyon. “Das vermischt mit einem großen amerikanischen Stolz, dass wir alle zusammen sind, wir haben die Verantwortung, uns als Amerikaner gegenseitig zu schützen.”

Sie erwarteten ebenfalls einen Anstieg vor den Wahlen, aber der Oktober erwies sich als ihr langsamster Wachstumsmonat. Hohe Ausgaben durch politische Kampagnen drängten das Unternehmen aus den digitalen Kanälen, auf die es sich verlässt.

“Wir haben gegen politische Anzeigen gekämpft, für die Millionen ausgegeben werden müssen”, sagte Frau Lyon. “Es war ein harter Monat für Direktkunden.”

Allegiance beschäftigt vier Mitarbeiter in einem Distributionszentrum und beauftragt 20 Hefter in Georgia und South Carolina mit dem Nähen der Flaggen, die bei 50 US-Dollar für eine 12 x 18 Zoll große Flagge beginnen.

“Ich liebe es”, sagte Cindy Packard, die im April mit dem Nähen von Allegiance-Flaggen begann. „Manchmal, wenn du eine Näherin bist, ist es irgendwie langweilig. Aber ich liebe die Farben. Und ich fühle mich patriotisch. Jedes Mal, wenn du jemandem sagst, dass du Flaggen machst, möchte er dich danach fragen. “

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Als die Pandemie Ende März ausbrach, brachen die Verkäufe im High-End-Fahrradgeschäft von Peter Hurley zusammen. Herr Hurley beurlaubte die Mitarbeiter, während sein Managementteam Sicherheitsprotokolle entwickelte und versuchte, sich anzupassen. Die Pause erwies sich jedoch als kurz: Einen Monat später, nachdem die Fabrik neu konfiguriert und die Konferenzräume in Produktionsräume umgewandelt worden waren, nahm das Unternehmen die Produktion wieder auf.

Ein Darlehen von 409.000 USD aus dem Paycheck Protection Program im April trug dazu bei, das Blatt zu wenden. Herr Hurley nutzte das Geld, um seine Mitarbeiter zurückzubringen und zu bezahlen, wodurch Einnahmen freigesetzt wurden, um das Online-Marketing des Direktvertriebshändlers zu verbessern.

Im Mai nahmen die Bestellungen zu und im Juni setzte ein anhaltender Boom ein. Die Verkäufe des Unternehmens erreichen in der Regel bis Juli ihren Höhepunkt und gehen dann zurück. In diesem Jahr hat die Herbstpause nicht stattgefunden.

Das Unternehmen hat jetzt 67 Mitarbeiter – 30 mehr als vor der Pandemie – und den höchsten Umsatz seit Hurley das Unternehmen vor 13 Jahren gekauft hat. Die American Bicycle Group ist spezialisiert auf maßgeschneiderte Straßen-, Trail- und Triathlon-Bikes ab etwa 2.500 US-Dollar. Herr Hurley führt den Umsatzanstieg auf Kunden zurück, die mehr Zeit im Freien verbringen, und auf leidenschaftliche Fahrer, die entscheiden, dass es Zeit für ein Upgrade ist.

Daniel Medina Díaz, ein Triathlet, der in Benton Harbor, Michigan, lebt, hatte sich ein Fahrrad aus der Quintana Roo-Linie des Unternehmens gewünscht, seit er letztes Jahr bei der USA Triathlon National Championship auf die Marke gestoßen war. Ein Labor Day-Verkauf hat den Preis schließlich so weit gesenkt, dass er den Sprung wagen konnte.

“Ich mag die Textur der Kohlefaser und die Art und Weise, wie die Motorräder so lackiert werden, dass sie wie ein Rennwagen aussehen”, sagte Medina Díaz, die hofft, sein neues Fahrrad bei einem Rennen in Tempe, Arizona, im April vorstellen zu können.

Herr Hurley wartet darauf, ob der diesjährige Umsatzschub anhält. „Ist das die neue Normalität? Ich habe viel darüber nachgedacht und habe wirklich keine Ahnung “, sagte er.

Austin, Texas

Dolores Guerrero Davis betritt jeden Morgen ihr Büro und schaut auf das übergroße Whiteboard, auf dem die Projektpipeline ihres Unternehmens abgebildet ist.

“Mein Gehirn explodiert einfach”, sagte sie. “Es ist so viel Arbeit.”

Das hat Frau Davis nicht erwartet. Noch vor der Pandemie warnten nationale Indikatoren davor, dass sich das Umbaugeschäft im Jahr 2020 verlangsamen dürfte. Als Austin im März nicht wesentliche Geschäfte schloss, bereitete sie sich auf schwere Zeiten vor. Sie erhielt ein Darlehen in Höhe von 641.000 USD aus dem Paycheck Protection Program, mit dem sichergestellt wurde, dass CG & S – das 1957 von ihren Eltern ins Leben gerufen wurde – offen blieb und keiner der 35 Mitarbeiter entlassen wurde.

Dann passierte das Unerwartete: Hausbesitzer in Austin und im ganzen Land erkannten, dass ihre Häuser aktualisiert werden mussten, was die Baufirmen auf Hochtouren brachte. CG & S erhielt zahlreiche Anfragen, insbesondere zu seinen Designdienstleistungen. Und sie stammten nicht von Träumern: Die Kunden waren bereit, Bargeld auszugeben.

“Ich denke, jeder verbringt Zeit zu Hause und erkennt, dass sein Platz nicht funktioniert”, sagte Frau Davis. “Die Kinder sind seit März auf unserem Markt von der Schule nach Hause gekommen, und ich denke, es hat die Leute dazu gebracht, über ihre Häuser nachzudenken und wie sie funktionieren.”

Heute hat CG & S doppelt so viel Designgeschäft wie je zuvor, und viele seiner Kunden stellen die Bauteams des Unternehmens ein. Frau Davis, die das Geschäft mit ihrem Ehemann Stewart besitzt, stellte mehrere neue Designer und zwei weitere Projektmanager ein.

Für Matt und Denise Chumlea war der Zeitpunkt endlich richtig, die Küche in ihrem Bungalow aus den 1940er Jahren zu renovieren. Sie hatten den Rest des Hauses umgebaut, aber die Kosten für ihre Traumküche mit einem 300-Flaschen-Weinkeller, hochwertigen Geräten, einem Schlammraum und vielem mehr aufgeschoben.

Als Frau Chumlea erfuhr, dass sie schwanger war, überlegten sie, nur Upgrades vorzunehmen – und beschlossen dann, groß rauszukommen.

“Wenn wir einen Cent verdienen, lassen Sie uns in Covid schwanger sein und gleichzeitig einen großen Küchenumbau durchführen”, sagte Chumlea.

Sie fanden CG & S durch ein Schild, das Frau Chumlea im Hof ​​eines Nachbarn entdeckte. “Sie konnten meine Ideen, die Vision in meinem Kopf, aufgreifen und sie einfach herausbringen”, sagte Chumlea.

Die Bauarbeiten werden voraussichtlich im Februar abgeschlossen sein, gerade rechtzeitig, damit das neue Baby nach Hause kommt.

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U.S. to require folks flying from the UK to check adverse for Covid, CDC says

U.S. to require people flying from the UK to test negative for Covid, CDC says

A view of the signage leading to one of the testing centers at Heathrow Airport on December 22nd, 2020 in London, England.

Joseph Okpako | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The United States will require people traveling from the UK to test negative for Covid-19 no later than 72 hours prior to departure, the CDC said in a statement late Thursday.

The announcement comes after the UK announced earlier this week that it had identified a new strain of Covid-19 that appears to be spreading faster. The CDC said President Donald Trump will sign the ordinance on Friday, Christmas Day, and the measure will take effect on Monday.

The CDC said passengers would be required to provide airlines with documentation of their laboratory results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen testing.

The airlines would also have to confirm that the passengers tested negative before boarding, the agency said. They would also have to prevent passengers from boarding if they refuse to take a test.

Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways urged passengers to conduct negative tests before boarding flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The new strain prompted dozens of countries to quickly restrict travel from the UK to prevent the strain from invading their own borders. The US had already restricted entry from the UK in March, with the exception of foreigners who had been in the country in the past two weeks.

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Robinhood Recaps Are a Meme for a Risky Yr

Robinhood Recaps Are a Meme for a Volatile Year

In 2020, wild fluctuations in stock markets caused by the pandemic turned millions of people into opportunistic investors. After stocks fell in March, veteran traders and Nasdaq newbies poured their dollars into buoyant tech companies like Tesla and Zoom, as well as companies hit by Covid restrictions, including airlines, restaurants and cruises.

To reflect a year of volatility and impulsive investing, Robinhood, the popular trading app that has created controversy by marketing it to the young, released a year-end data dump for its users. A press release promised that the Robinhood round-up will be “a special personalized experience that will guide you through your investment journey this year – from views on trades, your most memorable investing moments, big or small and other milestones along the way.”

Robinhood’s summary – available to anyone with an active account prior to December 15th – showed stocks bought, dividends and interest, which stocks in their portfolio they clicked the most, and other data.

Some people praised the abstract’s aesthetic and said they enjoyed figuring out how early they would adopt Robinhood. “We were thrilled to hear from many clients who enjoyed taking a peek at their investment year, from saving screenshots of their recaps to sharing them on social media,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email.

Robinhood is one of several popular consumer apps that include shareable, data-driven annual summary lists, like Spotify Wrapped, a round-up of the upbeat or appropriately depressing songs people heard in 2020, and Strava’s year in the sport that got the miles its users ran and cycled. These packages use upbeat language and engaging graphic design to encourage their users to share on social media.

But for most people, personal financial decisions are not as easy to share as, say, the most played artist of the year. They are private by nature.

Kareem Rahma, 34, a comedian and entrepreneur, wrote in an email that he “would never share this information publicly as it is much more sensitive than my listening habits on Spotify”.

Even so, many people posted screenshots of their round-up on social media. Many were impressed with the number of times they checked the price of certain stocks.

“Tesla has grown like crazy in general, and obviously its inventory has improved. So it was kind of weird how many times I apparently checked it,” said Eric Milligan, an information technologist.

The 29-year-old Jordan Bishop was also surprised by this slide in his summary. “Before you know it, you’ve checked it 10 times a day and it gives you a little dopamine boost each time,” he said.

“Robinhood Wrap made me realize that I was very obsessed with every dollar up or down in the market and it was just very unhealthy,” wrote Rajat Kamboj, a 20-year-old student, in an email. His recap told him that he had checked the value of his Tesla stock 18,656 times in 2020, averaging more than 50 times a day. (“They’re just a little connected,” was his summary.)

“As a self-directed brokerage company, we do not give investment advice,” a Robinhood spokesman said in a statement. “The goal of Robinhood Recap was to celebrate milestones and give people a broader view of their activities over the year so they can shape their behavior over the long term.”

The round-up became a meme on the snappy finance-focused subreddit WallStreetBets; A user created a parody version of a repeat item that revealed extensive losses. (“You made some risky calls …”)

“This year has seen an unprecedented surge in retail investment,” the Robinhood spokesman wrote. “We have welcomed millions of new customers to Robinhood, approximately half of whom are first-time investments. With Robinhood Recap, we wanted to remind both new and long-time customers of their investment journey. “

Robinhood added three million users this year for a total of 13 million. The app has become a favorite of young and inexperienced investors, attracted by free trading, free stock offers, and an engaging user interface that uses a July New York Times report dubbed the Silicon Valley Playbook of Behavioral Nudges and Push “Means notifications. “

The Times article states that Robinhood users trade risky products faster than clients of large brokerage firms. For example, Robinhood users bought and sold 88 times as many risky options contracts as Charles Schwab’s clients.

Several people said the round-up seems to fit into the company’s broader strategy of positioning itself as a lifestyle experience rather than just another boring trading platform to appeal to less sophisticated investors.

“Their bright and colorful user interface, easy access to margin accounts and options, and Robinhood Recap give me the idea that they are trying to appeal to younger people,” wrote Luke Thornburg, 19, in an email . “These younger people, who are generally inexperienced and more risk tolerant, might choose Robinhood because of these things.” He said that he lost money trading risky options when he first used the app.

“Spotify seems to be a clear comparison there,” said Bishop, the founder of a personal finance website that focuses on air travel. “I just find it fascinating and a little dangerous how personal finance and social media converge in this way.”

Gina Fuchs, 24, a community coordinator for a not-for-profit coding camp for young women, wrote in an email: “The app does a great job of making it accessible to small traders or people who dip their toes into the world of stocks (I!). and because of this, it is attractive to millennials. If the data had been captured more creatively, this would have been an interesting feature for them. “

While this year has been good for Robinhood from a business standpoint – a $ 200 million round of funding in August raised its valuation from $ 8.6 billion to $ 11.2 billion – the company has also been an intense one Subject to scrutiny of its practices.

After a 20-year-old user killed himself in June after mistakenly believing he had a negative $ 730,000 balance on the app, Robinhood faced a round of critical press about the app’s appeal to youngsters , inexperienced investors turned.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company of “misleading customers about sources of revenue” and citing “repeated misrepresentation of failure to disclose receipt of payments from trading companies for forwarding customer orders to them.” Robinhood agreed to pay a $ 65 million fine. And on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that a complaint filed in San Francisco against Robinhood Financial could become a class action lawsuit.

“The deal relates to historical practices that do not reflect Robinhood today,” said Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal officer, in a statement. “We recognize the responsibility that comes with helping millions of investors make their first investments and we are determined to continue developing Robinhood as we grow to meet our clients’ needs.”

Brett Robinson, a 28-year-old who works in film development, saw abstract as a cultural artifact of late capitalism. “It accidentally reminded me of the truism ‘if something is free, you are the product,'” he wrote in an email. “Of course, Robinhood is more interested in our involvement than in my piddly return.”

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Vacation gift-card shopping for might assist enhance retail gross sales in 2021: Invoice Simon

Holiday gift-card buying could help boost retail sales in 2021: Bill Simon

This holiday season, gift card spending could spike, and that could help boost retail sales over the next year, former US President and CEO of Walmart Bill Simon told CNBC on Thursday.

Payment service Blackhawk Network found in a survey that shoppers spent an average of around $ 313 on gift cards during the holidays. This is an increase of 19% from the 2019 average. In addition, 52% of respondents said they would likely buy more gift cards in 2020 than in the past.

In a Closing Bell interview, Simon said the increased spending on gift cards could initially have a negative impact on retailers already grappling with the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Gift cards are shaky … because you don’t see the sale when the customer buys the card. You see the sale when it’s actually exchanged,” he said. “So if you try to measure Christmas sales, you will have this liability on the balance sheet, which is not a sale even though the sale was closed.”

However, the impact of gift card purchases could be much more beneficial with a view to the next year, explained Simon, who was President and CEO of Walmart US from 2010 to 2014.

One reason for this is that recipients tend to spend more than the face value of the gift card when shopping. “In general, you see about 20 to 30% more than the gift card,” he said.

The second reason is that, according to Simon, there may be “3% to 5% breakage, which means that cards are not redeemed”. “It’s a bit of a godsend for retailers, but it will also take time for them to finish.”

There could be fluctuations as retailers realize the benefits of buying Christmas gift cards over the next year, Simon said, pointing to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Covid-19. When asked if retailers could have above-average sales in the first quarter, Simon replied, “They could and should.”

“If people still don’t want to get out, they may not be able to redeem their cards until the second quarter and it can happen later in the year,” said Simon. “But I think what we’re seeing in the increase in gift card shopping seems likely.”

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Tony Robbins Accused of Discriminating In opposition to Worker Who Obtained Covid

Tony Robbins Accused of Discriminating Against Employee Who Got Covid

Tony Robbins, the life coach and motivational speaker, discriminated against one of his co-workers by refusing to give her the housing she needed to work from home after contracting a debilitating case of Covid-19 in the spring. This resulted in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The lawsuit also alleges that Mr Robbins falsely claimed to have helped the worker recover by asking one of his friends to intervene in her care after she was put on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Mr. Robbins; his firm Robbins Research International; and his wife, Bonnie P. Robbins, known as Sage, for violating several disability laws, including the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities.

The employee Despina Kosta worked for Mr. Robbins for 18 years – the first nine in Europe and the last nine in the USA, where she worked in New York as a sales manager or “personal results specialist”. She was one of the company’s top-rated salespeople, according to the lawsuit.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the lawsuit said, Mr. Robbins downplayed the severity of the coronavirus and urged his team to continue selling in-person events. Ms Kosta claims she has raised concerns about the approach but has been ignored.

In April, Ms. Kosta, 52, developed a high fever and had Covid-19. She was placed in a medically induced coma from April 12 to May 1 while being treated first at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and then New York Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center.

After that, Ms. Kosta made efforts to recover and found it difficult to walk or even hold a cell phone, she said.

Ms. Kosta tried to return to work on July 1 and asked her supervisor and a human resources officer if she could work “just a few hours” a day while she recovered and regained her strength, she said in an interview Wednesday evening . “They said no to that,” she said.

Ms. Kosta said that since July she has no longer had access to her work email or the company’s database, which stores information about the clients she serves. She said she couldn’t work without this access. Ms. Kosta said she made about $ 250,000 annually.

J. Christopher Albanese, a lawyer representing Ms. Kosta, said the company did not quit her, but the lockout made her unable to do her job.

Updated

Apr. 24, 2020 at 12:43 am ET

Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Mr. Robbins, said the allegations in the lawsuit were “ridiculous and unfounded”.

She said that Ms. Kosta “remains a current employee” and that the company has “provided all necessary accommodation” and “continues to pay the full cost of her health insurance even though the legal obligation to do so ended in June”.

Ms. Kosta also said that comments from Mr. Robbins on a podcast caused her distress.

On the podcast recorded in May, Mr. Robbins described a worker who had a cough, a 102-degree fever and “became very anxious.”

“And so she went to the hospital and then she felt short of breath from fear and hyperventilated a little, so she was immediately put on a ventilator,” he said.

Mr Robbins said after finding out the clerk had fallen into a coma he called a doctor friend who knew people in the hospital. He said he asked his friend to call the hospital and the friend finally got through to the night doctor who eased the pressure on the ventilator.

“As a result, she opened her eyes four or five days later,” Robbins said, claiming that the episode showed that ventilators, at least with too much pressure, appeared to “do harm”.

In July, Ms Kosta said she was contacted directly by a customer in Poland who said he listened to Mr Robbins’ podcast and understood that Mr Robbins had described Ms. Kosta.

Ms. Kosta listened to the podcast and said Wednesday evening that Mr. Robbins’ claims of interfering with her treatment were completely false. She said she was ashamed because he described her as a “hysterical woman, weakling”.

The comments were not the first time Mr. Robbins’ remarks about a woman had been scrutinized. In April 2018, Mr. Robbins apologized for women using the #MeToo movement to “gain meaning and safety by attacking and destroying other people”.

Ms. Connelly, the spokesperson for Mr. Robbins, said the organization had raised concerns about Ms. Kosta’s condition. “When we were informed that Ms. Kosta had contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalized, Mr. Robbins and his organization made inquiries with compassion and support for her,” she said.

She added: “Any suggestion by Ms. Kosta that RRI is unprofessional or does not comply with applicable law in her situation or in the normal course of business is obviously wrong.”

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Transport delays have harm vacation gross sales, says Fanatics’ Michael Rubin

Shipping delays have hurt holiday sales, says Fanatics' Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin, chairman of the board of directors of online sportswear giant Fanatics, told CNBC on Wednesday that retail sales this holiday season were negatively impacted by shipping problems.

“There was so much pressure on the various shipping networks to deliver, I think there was even more demand that could have been had,” Rubin said on Squawk Box. “As good as the business is, it could have been better.”

Overall, e-commerce sales rose 22% to $ 9 billion on Black Friday alone as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Adobe Analytics. However, this growth comes at a price that puts a strain on warehouse and logistics networks. For example, on Cyber ​​Monday, UPS asked its drivers to stop picking up packages from some major retailers after those companies reached their capacity allocations.

The rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, which began this month after the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, kicked off millions of additional doses being distributed in the U.S.

UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said vaccine shipments were “the top priority for delivery on the UPS network,” but he said it did not affect vacation package deliveries.

“UPS has carefully planned the main holiday season with our customers. We have also worked with Operation Warp Speed, vaccine manufacturers and other partners to carefully plan for many months what vaccine delivery requirements need to be made,” he said.

Rubin, a partner with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, said the pandemic had generally sped up e-commerce adoption by two or three years.

“I think e-commerce you will see 30% plus [growth] across the border. We had a great year, “said Rubin, whose fanatics were worth $ 6.2 billion during a Series E funding round in August.” Most interesting, however, was that the demand could have been even better if the shipping networks only had more capacity. But with Corona delivering vaccines for the first time, there is so much pressure on the shipping networks this year. “

Earlier this week, Fanatics announced that it has partnered with Barnes & Noble Education to run the e-commerce operation for sporting goods sold in bookstores on campus. The partnership includes Lids, with the companies making a $ 15 million equity investment in Barnes & Noble Education.

“I think somehow the company was misunderstood, and from our perspective we looked at it and said, ‘We really believe we can work together to strengthen this offering,'” said Rubin of Barnes & Noble Education. “We’re going to leverage all of Fanatics’ e-commerce capabilities and place them behind the 775 universities to give them the best deal – better technology, better mobility, wider range.”

Barnes & Noble Education stocks rose 1.7% on Wednesday. The partnership with Fanatics was announced ahead of Monday’s opening, and the stock is up about 12% this week.