Your estate plan may be your last words to those you leave behind. If youre a parent, you should think carefully about the message youll be sending.

Parents who leave their children unequal inheritances risk fueling family feuds. But strictly equal bequests also can cause resentment if the heirs dont see the distribution as fair.

Money can cause family discord, and you want to make sure that you are thinking through this and keeping sibling relationships intact, says Colleen Carcone, co-author of Principles of Estate Planning and a wealth planning specialist at TIAA.

DEFINE FAIR

Carcone recommends her clients first think about how they define fair. For some people, fair means an equal dollar amount. Others may want to adjust the distribution to deduct financial help theyve already given, for example, or to leave more to heirs with greater need. Parents commonly want to leave more to children who run the family business or who help care for the parents in their later years, says Marianela Collado, a certified financial planner with Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, Florida.

Each approach has its merits and problems. With an equal-dollar distribution, heirs may resent their wealthier siblings for getting money they dont need. Similarly, children who received less financial help during the parents life may resent those who got more if the estate distribution doesnt reflect that imbalance.

Unequal distributions can cause hard feelings, as well. The person getting less than others may view it as a punishment, especially if the amount was docked to reflect past financial help or to account for personal wealth. (One inheritor I know refers to this as the success tax.)

What matters is how your decision is likely to play out given your familys dynamics, and that may be differently than you expect.

ASK YOUR KIDS WHAT THEY THINK

Carcone once had clients whose son was much wealthier than his siblings or his parents, for that matter. She encouraged the clients to discuss their estate plan with their son, and they discovered he didnt want what they thought.

They had been thinking, Were just going to divide everything into thirds because we have three kids and we love our three kids equally, Carcone says. But he said, I would rather have the money go to my siblings, but what Id really like is that watch collection that Grandpa left you.

In other families, anything thats not a strictly equal distribution will cause discord. Leaving one child more than another would ignite those Mom (or Dad) always liked you best rivalries that can destroy sibling relationships.

Its your money, obviously, so you can do what you like. But discussing yourestate planand intentions with your children could give you unexpected insights and may help stave off future problems. If youre reluctant, ask yourself why, says CFP Hui-chin Chen of Pavlov Financial Planning in Arlington, Virginia.

If they dont feel comfortable making (their estate plans) known when they are alive, that might be an indication that they are just sowing seeds of discord for when they are gone, Chen says.

THINK HARD ABOUT ASKING KIDS TO SHARE

A stumbling block for many parents is what to do with the family home or a much-loved vacation property. Some children may be more attached to the real estate, while others would prefer to have the money from its sale. If you want your children to share ownership, think about how that would work.

Whos going to be responsible for maintenance and upkeep and expenses? Do all of the kids have that desire? Do all of the kids have that ability? Carcone says.

Your kids may have ideas on how they can successfully share the ownership and the costs, or you may get a little preview of the dissent the property can cause. Either way, that can inform your decision.

LEAVE A DETAILED LETTER

Carcone encourages talking to your children about how youve divided your estate and also leaving behind a detailed letter explaining the thinking behind your decisions. Such letters can head off disagreements about what you said and what you meant. (As any parent knows, what we say to our children and what they hear can be quite different.)

Make sure that they understand why you did what you did, Carcone says. Nobody wants to leave a legacy of family disharmony.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of Your CreditScore.

Back to top

Read the original here:
Avoiding discord: Should you give your kids an equal inheritance? - Las Vegas Sun

Bloodstock agent Richard Knighttells us about how he is managing both personally and professionally with the Europe-wide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus

How is life ticking over for you at the moment?

Lockdown life has clearly been very different to normal but in many ways we're enjoying this time and embracing it as a family.

We're very fortunate to be based near Malmesbury in the south-west of the UK and we're surrounded by fields and woodland which gives great scope for dog walking, running and cycling without seeing another soul.

Outside of work we've really enjoyed the good weather days and the garden has certainly appreciated the extra care and attention all being well the early new potatoes will be ready for the start of Royal Ascot!

With no racing or sales in Europe at present, your scope to do business must be limited.What have you been doing instead?

As racing manager to Hussain Alabbas Lootah and to Sheikh Abdullah Al-Malek Al-Sabah, work has largely continued as normal.

I manage 40 horses in training on their behalf and Mr Lootah has eight broodmares and their followers, so there's been plenty to keep me busy between checking invoices, liaising with trainers, stud farms, vets, stallion farms and so on.

Never has there been a more important time for progress notes and updates and thankfully all the trainers and studs have been great with WhatsApp and email photo/video messages.

Outside of this there have been late mating plans and nomination bookings, and I've also taken the time to speak with a few breeze-up consignors to discuss their consignments and I'm in the process of putting together a list of which horses make the most appeal based on pedigrees, photos, video and vendor opinions.

What's your view on online sales, if they had to happen in Europe this year?

I think it would depend on the type of sale and what additional information can be supplied by vendors and sales companies.

For example, I would be happier to purchase a horse-in-training online, with form in the book and a detailed vet report, than I would a foal or yearling. For me, seeing those foals and yearlings is absolutely critical so that I can make a judgement on conformation, athleticism and temperament.

If the online yearling sales do have to happen then it will be hugely important to get around as many studs as possible in the weeks leading up to the sales that will inevitably leave gaps and wont be an ideal scenario, but we will have to work with the hand we're dealt.

The North American Jockey Club livened up lockdown by announcing the 140-mare stallion cap would you welcome a similar move in Europe?

I was very interested to read what bothAdrian OBrien andTony Fry said on this question and I dont disagree with either.

There are pros and cons, and if I owned or managed this years 2,000 Guineas and St Jamess Palace Stakes winner then I would be saying no but then the other side of me says that 140 is a large book of mares and setting a limit will not only be good for the breed but also give other stallions more of a chance of success.

From my experience many stallions self-limit due to a lack of demand and many self-limit due to their inability to cover large books of mares perhaps overall I'm swaying to leaving it as it is, especially in the current business climate.

Ultimately, if you dont like how many mares a stallion is covering then dont use them and instead find another stallion that you believe in.

Richard Knight is looking forward to the Goffs and Arqana Breeze-Up Sale at Goffs

Peter Moody

What's your best guess on what will happen to the market this year, and how long it will take to recover?

Clearly the market will be down but I still expect the fastest breezers to sell well, the top stores to sell well and the best yearlings, foals and mares to follow suit.

Personally, I've been pleasantly surprised over the last couple of months by the number of phone calls and emails from new clients looking for all types of bloodstock, from National Hunt stores to pinhooking Flat foals, and that has to be good for us all.

Do you think there will be any positives to come out of the crisis eventually?

It's been great to see the sales companies working together and I'm very much looking forward to the joint Goffs UK and Arqana breeze-up sale.

My family and I have also thoroughly enjoyed Racing Welfare's Furlong Factor competition congratulations to Lara Telfer and all thosewho took part.

The use of online meeting platforms like Zoom are another success and will mean less travelling and a better environmental footprint for many who travel to business meetings that on occasions could be done from home.

I hope that thekey positive for the future is that with everyone missing racing as much as we have, that we will all appreciate our core product more and work together to both protect and improve the industry.

Any film, TV or book recommendations to share to get through home confinement?

It's been mostly about light-hearted entertainment in our household to balance the daily coronavirus news and we've enjoyed Modern Family on Amazon and Gordon, Gino and Fred on ITV.

What are you most looking forward to when racing returns?

There's so much to look forward to and these first few weeks are going to be very exciting. To potentially have Guineas weekend, Royal Ascot plus plenty of two-year-old races all within 21 days is great and will hopefully give everyone a boost.

From a personal perspective I enjoyed a great 2019 on the track with six black-type winners (five of the six cost less than 55,000) and five of those six remain in training for 2020.

Both Mr Lootah and Sheikh Abdullah have some really exciting prospects and I also cant wait to see the winners roll out of Rathmoy Stables in Newmarket where my brother William is now training from.

On the National Hunt side of the industry I'm excited to see my first foal purchase sell a Flemensfirth gelding out of Muance owned and prepared by Park Wood Stud near Tetbury. He has grown into a big, strong, quality gelding with a great walk and a super temperament.

Readmore Life in Lockdown Q&As with industry figures

Tony Fry: 'Would I buy a horse over the internet? I must admit I wouldn't'

Ed Harper: 'Our stud secretary says clients have never been so organised'

Adrian O'Brien: 'There are plenty of reasons to maintain a spring in the step'

Billy Jackson Stops: 'The buying bench is going to be heavily depleted'

Alex Elliott: 'Cooking and cycling were two things I never thought I could do'

Joey Cullen: 'Racing has the chance to showcase itself to a captive audience'

Claire Sheppard: 'The TBA had to move quickly to save the covering season'

Tomas Janda: 'Lower prices could encourage new buyers to get involved'

Matt Hall: 'Films are a waste of timeI watch festival replays instead'

Tom Goff: 'I've painted two garden seats. God, I sound so middle-aged!'

Simon Sweeting: 'Rightly or wrongly I'm having all my mares covered'

Richard Kent: 'Stud fees and sales house charges will have to come down'

Philippa Mains: 'The industry is a family and we help each other out'

Claire Goodwillie: 'People have realised if you're not online you're invisible'

Tina Rau: 'I'm enjoying post-dinner quarantinis with friends over video call'

Daniel Creighton: 'The market will recoverthe only question is when'

Ed Player: 'We're happy to move with the times and embrace online trading'

Patrick Sells: 'Chasemore Farm is effectively operating in a bubble'

Chad Schumer: 'Racing in the US being cancelled is the biggest frustration'

Tom Blain: 'Trade will be down but all we can do is roll with the punches'

Ted Voute: 'We'll need to strengthen the way we showcase young stock'

Simon Kerins: 'We'll embrace any format that will help get horses sold'

Barry Lynch: 'The industry has often bounced back as quickly as it dipped'

Tim Lane: 'Working with horses does you the world of good in these times'

Jerry Horan: 'My sister butchered my haircut. I think it was payback'

Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham: 'Social distancing isn't hard - just lonely!'

Henry Beeby: 'Nick Nugent and I have entered a beard growing competition'

Charles O'Neill: 'ITM will be ready to go when the markets open up again'

Freddy Powell: 'We're improving our online sale platform in case it's needed'

Bumble Mitchell: 'Online sales could be tricky for outlying studs like mine'

David Stack: 'I had to give a garda a lesson about the birds and the bees'

Colm Sharkey: 'I've been torturing myself trying to sort out my golf swing'

Rachael Gowland: 'I didn't realise how much I loved racing until I couldn't go'

Sam Hoskins: 'I've been listening to endless Cold War podcasts on my tractor'

Niamh Spiller: 'Video calls are very important to keep everyone motivated'

Jamie Lloyd:'Staff have had all their own gear labelled, even wheelbarrows'

Michel Orlandi: 'The stallions are flying and that gives me great hope'

Richard Venn: 'The French are in a good position to get back racing sooner'

Tim Kent: 'It's difficult to plan when we don't know when racing will resume'

Russell Ferris: 'Weatherbys had contingency plans that we activated at once'

Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon: 'Inglis Easter has kept us busy since January'

Peter Hockenhull: 'The social side of meeting and chatting to breeders is gone'

Polly Bonnor: 'We've fulfilled every feed order, including all our exports'

Richard Lancaster: 'We're fortunate that some Shadwell staff live on site'

View post:
Richard Knight: 'It's been great to see the sales companies work together' - Racing Post

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US congressman Justin Amash abandoned his third-party run for president on Saturday(May 16), blaming the impossibility of campaigning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The former Republican, who left the party amid frustrations over the leadership of US President Donald Trump, had announced he was preparing to run less than three weeks ago, on April 28.

"After much reflection, I've concluded that circumstances don't lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this year, and therefore I will not be a candidate," he tweeted.

Social distancing, political polarisation and the impact of the economic crisis on fundraising were among the reasons he cited for calling off his run.

"I continue to believe that a candidate from outside the old parties, offering a vision of government grounded in liberty and equality, can break through in the right environment. But this environment presents extraordinary challenges," he said.

Amash, 40, left the Republican Party in the summer of 2019.

As an independent in Congress, he voted to impeach Trump.

In April, he announced he had formed an exploratory committee in preparation for a run as the nominee of the Libertarian party, which promotes civil liberties and limited government.

"Let's do this," the Michigan lawmaker said at the time.

He had presented himself as an alternative to Trump and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden.

In the 2016 presidential election, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson received nearly 4.5 million votes, or just over three per cent of ballots cast.

Originally posted here:
Independent Justin Amash abandons US third party presidential run - The Straits Times

WUHAN, CHINA - MARCH 30 2020: Masked staff pose for a photo in a shop of luxury goods in a high-end ... [+] shopping center in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Monday, March 30, 2020, after nearly ten weeks of Covid-19 break.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Feature China / Barcroft Studios / Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Since the 2008/2009 recession, China has effectively become the tail that wags the dog of the global luxury market.

Thats because China was largely unaffected by the economic downturn that battered the market throughout the rest of the world. Not only that, Chinese consumers, with their growing economic power, expressed a heady appetite for luxury brands that signaled status in a culture where that really mattered.

Now after the beating luxury brands have taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, which Bain and Company predicts will strike off 20% to 35% of the personal luxury goods market in 2020 and McKinsey is on record for sales to shrink as much as 35% to 39%, all eyes are on the Chinese to restore luxury brands fortunes.

In analyzing prospects for the luxury markets recovery, Bains latest report takes a glass-half-full view of the industrys future. It predicts the industry will recover by end of 2022 or early 2023 to 2019 sales levels of 281 billion ($304 billion).

And to do that, China is the industrys only hope, says Claudia DAprizio, Bain partner and leader of its luxury goods practice.

The economy in China will be the one that will be least impacted by the long tail of this planetary crisis, DAprizio told me. For the luxury market, we think the recovery will be stronger and faster in China than in the U.S. and Europe.

Already Bain reports the best-performing brands are registering year-over-year sales increases in China for the first four months of 2020. While store traffic remains down, consumers who visit are reportedly more inclined to buy and their level of spending has increased.

Having grown dependent on the Chinese market for growth or more correctly addicted luxury brands are going to have to keep the pressure on to reach that ambitious 2022/2023 recovery schedule.

In 2019 Chinese consumers alone accounted for 90% of the growth in the personal luxury goods market or some 19 billion ($21 billion) in sales. They also generated 35% of global luxury spending.

By comparison, American consumers generated only 22% of the industrys sales and Europeans 17%, and their share of the market has declined from 27% and 30% respectively since 2000, while Chinas share has grown from 2%.

Further, Bain expects that Chinese consumers will make more than half of luxury goods purchases by 2025 when global sales are expected to reach 320-330 billion ($346-357 billion). That means they would have to gain some 15% more market share in only five years, a pretty aggressive expectation.

DAprizio admits predicting the future for luxury coming out of this crisis is particularly problematic since it impacted not just consumers financial wellbeing, but their health and emotions. Its probably going to have more than double the impact that the industry had from 2007 to 2009, she says.

What can get luxury brands off course in the post-coronavirus world, even if China rebounds as strongly as Bain expects? Plenty.

First, nobodys going anywhere, as the travel industry will be the very last to recover.

About 40% of overall [global] sales are made when people are traveling, so that is something that will be slow to recover, DAprizio shares, as she predicts repatrization of purchases in China will offset losses due to reduced travelling as the government is pushing for more local consumption.

On-the-go Chinese consumers have been big luxury shoppers. Luxury sales in mainland China made up only 11% of global sales in 2019, compared to Chinese consumers 35% total market share.

Second, luxury brands are counting on Chinese consumers to have not just the same appetite for their pricey goods, but also the same spending power. That is to be determined.

The Chinese economy contracted 6.8% in the first quarter 2020, with industrial production down 1.1% and imports/exports off 6.4%.

Since Chinas factories feed the rest of the worlds markets and the coronavirus shutdowns and resulting canceled orders didnt happen until the second quarter elsewhere, it may be a long shot to achieve the expected 1.3% year-over-year growth in the second quarter.

Complicating matters further is rising Chinese unemployment. CNN Business reports that as many as 80 million Chinese workers are out of a job, while the official figure from government sources are far lower.

Calling data from Beijing notoriously opaque, CNN quotes economists at Socit Gnrale reporting that nearly 10% of people in China are jobless.

Rising unemployment may hit luxury brand performance in China harder than in Western markets. A lot of the luxury market depends on the aspirational drives of middle-income Chinese consumers. But if they lose that income, the luxury market will lose those customers, Luxury Dailys Mickey Alam Kahn shares.

Consider also that the U.S. has four-times more truly wealthy consumers than China, 18.8 million millionaires compared with 4.4 million in China.

Third, what DAprizio calls the selling ceremony, which is so important to Chinese consumers, will be disrupted by social distancing measures required in the post-coronavirus world.

There is an element of cautiousness and fear linked to the possibility of contagion which will reduce store traffic. The sanitary control measures required are not the best setting for luxury shopping which has a huge emotional element, she says.

She also foresees fewer luxury store openings which will put more emphasis on e-commerce, as well as the need for greater marketing efforts.

Luxury brands will have to pull all the marketing levers and make investments in the most efficient way, which will likely result in a hit to brands profitability down the road.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, the coronavirus is going to heighten cultural sensitivities in the luxury market.

There is a lot of tension around inequalities, especially among the lower-income tiers of the population, DAprizio shares. And its not just tension between the haves and the have-nots but also the tension between the East and West.

As Western luxury brands have focused on the Chinese consumers for growth, they have committed any number of mistakes reflecting gross cultural insensitivity, like the notorious Dolce & Gabanna campaign featuring a model eating pizza with chopsticks.

While DAprizio lauds the luxury industry as the melting pot of creativity everywhere, she also foresees the danger of strongly increasing local sensitivites, arising from the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China and already is a point of sensitivity for the Chinese people.

Brands really need to pay attention to elements of the monocultural reality and try to be relevant with authenticity around local cultures and local sensitivities, she says.

It is important to note her emphasis on local cultures and sensitivities because both China and Hong Kong are important markets for luxury brands, yet they have cultural differences, challenging a one-size-fits-all-China approach to these markets.

Coronavirus is going to accelerate a trend that Bain defines as cultural relevance and local tribes.

There has been a social strengthening of localism and nationalism, she shares. In particular the younger Chinese consumers are developing a stronger demand for Chinese products, local brands and local enterprises. This will probably accelerate and be a threat for European brands.

To meet this shift, DAprizio calls on luxury brands to develop a global framework that is large enough to accommodate all these differences and all the differing cultural needs, she says, and continues, Luxury brands will need to make room for more collaborations with local designers, artists, and creatives to gain relevance around this trend toward strong localization.

In closing, DAprizio sees hope, and challenges, on the horizon not just in China but around the world coming from the next generational shift in the luxury market, from Baby Boomers and GenX consumers to Millennials and GenZ.

These are both the luxury consumers of today and tomorrow. They are a wave shaping and creating luxury brands evolution in terms of messaging and purpose, she concludes. I see these consumers as a very positive underlying driver for success, as long as brands stay in tune with the next generations.

As long as is an important qualifier in that statement and many brands have tripped up staying in tune with consumers aspirations and drives when generations shift.

More here:
Fate Of Luxury Depends On China, But Continued Success There Is Not Guaranteed - Forbes

BOULDER A cross-section of interviews with dozens of startup leaders by Boulder-based Rebel Consultants LLC broadly point to personal relationship-building and innovation in the face of crisis as key to success once the world is able to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebel Consultants CEO Brian Baker recapped the series of interviews with 28 business leaders from early-stage startups to companies in the Fortune 500 during a Tuesday session of Boulder Startup Week.

Baker described the current climate as the largest economic shutdown in the history of mankind, and the federal governments spending to keep commerce afloat as the biggest governmental action in history.

But many of the respondents, including from both sides of the political spectrum, were angry with the federal response being either too financially weak from the view of liberals or too imposing on the free flow of commerce in the view of conservatives.

Theres a huge identity with tribe in the United States. Its not like this is new, but it is being strengthened by COVID-19 and there is a huge level of impatience with anyone whos on the other side, he said.

Yet the leaders in the survey all said businesses will not return to pre-COVID normals because personal behaviors will shift.

That new paradigm will force executives to re-examine every part of their company, from outside vendors to their employees. Baker believes that businesses need to begin preparing to show their clients their value, and employees should be ready to show why they offer more value compared with someone else who is currently among the countrys unemployed.

All roles and vendors will be reviewed for (return on investment), and thats something every worker should be prepared for, he said. In fact, I would go ahead and type up why youre important to the organization, and I would do that all the way to the executive level right now.

Baker said the landscape for calling workers back is a virtual unknown right now for the survey respondents, who arent sure if they would be legally liable if an employee were to contract COVID on the job.

Theyre looking to strike some kind of balance between legal and human capital, he said.

About a quarter of the survey respondents said they were in personal contact with their customers during the past few months, which he derided as a horrible figure. He argues that while marketing remains important, offering generic platitudes in a mass email is less effective than building personal relationships in a time of social distancing.

Stay safe is not something professionals want to see in an email signature, it seems a little trite at the moment, he said.

Baker also suggested companies dont look at dropping prices for their services as a way to increase sales volume, arguing that customers will be willing to pay full price down the road when incomes have stabilized.

All of the survey respondents said they were looking for new market opportunities in a post-COVID world as they try to model other major companies that struck it big in the aftermath of a major historical event.

Baker noted that Facebook and Pinterest launched in the years after 9/11 as people looked to find more communities, while tech startups Venmo, Airbnb and the whitepaper underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies debuted in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis.

So its not like we cant do well after a big crisis. In fact, we usually do pretty well. And after the 2008 crisis, we got a lot of stuff, he said.

2020 BizWest Media LLC

Read the original:
Boulder Startup Week: what 28 startup leaders think will succeed in a post-COVID world - Boulder Daily Camera

GENEVA The head of the World Trade Organization said Thursday that he will leave his post a year early, a personal decision that sets the stage for a succession contest at the trade body amid lingering U.S.-China tensions and a coronavirus pandemic that has doused the global economy.

Roberto Azevedo, a 62-year-old Brazilian, said he will step down Aug. 31 as WTO director-general, ending a seven-year tenure marked in recent years by intense pressure from President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused the Geneva-based trade body of unfair treatment of the United States and launched a trade war with China in defiance of the WTO system.

This is a decision that I do not take lightly, Azevedo told a special meeting of WTO delegations. It is a personal decision - a family decision and I am convinced that this decision serves the best interests of this organization.

Read more:
Head of World Trade Organization to step down early - Minneapolis Star Tribune

This article was created by StackCommerce in partnership with Content Works, Postmedias commercial content division. While Postmedia may collect a commission on sales through the links on this page, we are not being paid by the brands mentioned.

What do the worlds most successful people have in common? They read. A lot. Most CEOs and executives read four to five books per month. Theyre not just doing it because they love murder mysteries or sci-fi adventures, theyre doing it because reading is a key ingredient to success. Reading has a multitude of personal and professional benefits that you may not have considered.

Want to learn more? Weve gone ahead and listed below some of the major benefits you can gain from reading, as well as some handy resources that can help you read more in less time.

Leaders must stay ahead of the curve and keep up with the most up-to-date and important information of the day. Knowing trends and developments in your industry will help you make educated decisions that can drive your company forward. Reading keeps you in the know and allows you to think more critically about decisions that need to be made.

When it comes to staying in the know on business trends in particular, many leaders are turning to Readitfor.me, a book summary service that condenses reads on productivity, management, and more relevant topics into quick, 12-minute summaries. Perfect for those who want to read more but might not have the time, Readitfor.me makes it easy to keep up with todays trending business ideas. Lifetime memberships are currently on sale for $99.99, or 88 per cent off its usual $840 price.

Reading encourages your imagination, thereby cultivating creativity. Authors keep us on our toes by introducing us to new worlds, offering challenging opinions, or proposing alternative world views. Creativity allows you to think outside the box to find solutions that may not seem obvious to others. Reading forces you to get comfortable living outside the box.

According to a University of California, Berkeley study, readers are excellent at analyzing information. Readers are well-practiced in deciphering and interpreting language, which makes them excellent at handling abstract information and analyzing situations. Those are incredibly handy skills in business.

The more you read, the more your vocabulary and grasp of language will improve, allowing you to speak more confidently. However, youll also gain a better understanding of sentence structure and rhythm, allowing you to write better. Reading teaches you how to write persuasively and concisely. Employers like employees who can both speak and write effectively.

When you read, you interact with an authors world through his or her perspective. Youre constantly comparing that perspective to your own, thereby gaining an appreciation for alternative viewpoints and opinions. This allows you to develop empathy and interpersonal skills.

Communication is a major cornerstone of leadership, and if your goal with reading is to become a better leader, Soundview Executive Book Summaries can also help. Working with leading book publishers and best-selling authors, Soundview is another book summary service that extracts the key takeaways from vital leadership concepts like management, motivation, HR, and entrepreneurship. You can get a 1-year subscription now for $49.99, or 49 per cent off the usual $99 price.

Reading is an escape. Life is full of stressors, from running a household to meeting a deadline, and reading offers you a lifeline. When you can just curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book, it can do wonders for your mental health.

Reading introduces you to new people and places constantly. When you frequently put yourself outside of your comfort zone by reading, you develop new perspectives and learn new things. The more you know, the more capable you are, and the more interesting you are to talk to.

If you want to take a more general approach to your reading goals, both 12min Micro Book Library and CatchUp Book Summaries can help. Both services sport bite-sized book summaries from a variety of genres and topics, and theyre both on sale now. You can get lifetime access to CatchUp for only $29 (90 per cent off the usual price) today or lifetime access to 12min for $39 (88 per cent off the normal price) as well.

Prices subject to change.

More here:
Seven reasons why you should be reading as much as the world's top business leaders - Financial Post

We, a collection of sociology Ph.D. students at the University of Chicago, would like to respond to professor Kimberly Hoangs recent op-ed published in The Chicago Maroon. Our aim is neither to polemicize against the author of the piece nor provoke further controversies. Instead, we merely want to offer an alternative set of value commitments. We see this recent post as an opportunity to restate our continuous commitment to scholarship, rigorous research, and community during these tumultuous times.

The problem we see with Hoangs tough love is not so much her advice per se. Of course, it is important to continue our research, publish, and think about potentially necessary adaptations of our projects. We also do not take issue with the advice that students should seriously consider non-academic jobs. Rather, we do not agree with her framing of our most important tasks as an academic community in the current situation. Hoangs piece subscribes to an ideological vision of the academy as a competitive market, in which atomistic individuals fight for dominance of their brand. In her uptake of the meritocratic ideal, she suggests that academia selects those who apply themselves most and are worthy by measure of their intellectual brilliance. If only we increase our personal commitment and output, we might be able to weather the crisis. Even if read more generously, this rhetoric provides little in support of the true intellectual community we seek.

The problem with this view is that it ignores the many structural conditions that shape who will make it, as well as the unpredictability of success. It ignores that thriving communities of scholarship are more than marketplaces and require solidarity, mutual concern, and altruism. It also ignores, finally, the structurally precarious situation of graduate students and dresses it up as privilege. Working hard is no guarantee for success. So, we wonder, why not highlight the failures of the academic job market instead of exhorting those who cannot deal with it to exit?

In contrast, we want to emphasize a different vision. The current COVID-19 situation is already reinforcing existing inequalities. As universities come under economic pressure, they will make cuts where it is easiestthat is, with respect to those who are most vulnerable. Instead of a world where each individual just focuses on themselves and their research, we believe that communities should come together and fight to mitigate the fallout from the crisis together. We want to affirm that ours is an intellectual community that is oriented to joint progress through mutual aid and learning. Accordingly, we recommend that the next steps should be worked out together: We should understand how the current crisis and our response to it perpetuate inequality, and how we can combat it. What kind of new accessibility challenges does the virtual classroom pose? What additional difficulties result for people with mental and physical disabilities? How do we support and build cooperative social networks over distance? Then, we should think about how to collectively establish systems of support and care. For instance, graduate students of the sociology department have come up with lists of concrete suggestions of how faculty-student cooperation could look like. Graduate students have also mobilized a petition asking the University to continue wage payments to cooking and cleaning staff.

Many of us have come to this university to find and create a community in the academy. We want to build a community that helps all of us feel supported and that enables us all to succeed in our personal and professional lives. We want to build a community that understands the systemic injustices that cause certain groups of people to suffer no matter how hard they work. We want to help them succeed and overcome the structural sources of this inequality to come an inch closer to a world that can be meritocratic. This is why we do sociology. This is what we, as graduate students along with our faculty, can and should do right now.

Ultimately, Hoang would know any of this had she bothered to ask the students in her own department what they are going through. It is strange that an ethnographer by training does not engage with the subjects she is supposedly giving advice to. Aspiring ethnographers are taught how to listen. Is Hoang listening to us? We, for one, are willing to talk.

The authors are sociology Ph.D. students at the University. They have requested anonymity in light of the influence Hoang has as an instructor and administrator in their department.

Read more:
Professor Hoang, We Need Academic CommunityNot CompetitionAmid the Pandemic - The Chicago Maroon

There are things I miss about the office. I miss talking through problems face-to-face. Going on a coffee run with my coworkers. And the hum of the newsroom. (Although, the kiddos are providing some pretty interesting sound effects these days.)

But when and if you do finally go back to the office, don't expect it to look exactly how you left it.

Employers are working to implement all kinds of changes to protect their employees in this new age of social distancing.

There's likely going to be more space between desks, added partitions and sanitation stations, plus new rules on the use of common areas, meetings and where and how to keep your food.

Workspaces: Desks are going to have to be separated to allow for social distancing. Higher partitions and privacy panels will help create more protection between workers.

Friendly reminders of social distancing, like a six-foot rug or a taped-off area behind desks to show the appropriate distance to stand when asking a colleague a question, could become common.

How you move throughout the office will also change. Companies might add furniture like big bookshelves or indoor trees to help direct the flow of foot traffic and create barriers. Certain hallways or stairs could be designated as one-way to help prevent bottlenecks or workers getting too close.

Sanitization: There will be disinfectants and hand sanitizers scattered around the office, but you can also expect to see cleaning crews coming throughout the day.

Stickers detailing the last time of cleaning will help workers know that a meeting room is safe to enter.

Communal spaces: Many employers will opt to close spaces that encourage gathering, including kitchens. The risk is too high for germs to spread.

Automation: The less touching, the better. Think voice or foot-controlled technology to activate elevator buttons, or turn on lights or sensors with automatic sanitizing capabilities.

Protective wear: Companies are going to have stricter requirements for workwear, writes Alexander Alonso, chief knowledge officer for the Society for Human Resource Management, for CNN Business' Perspectives.

He added that more than half of essential businesses are currently allowing personal protective equipment (more commonly referred to as PPE) in their uniforms, including gloves and face masks.

By now, you might feel like you have a good grasp on this whole remote work thing.

You've found the most comfortable spot to work, figured out the best schedule and have finally found the best background for all your video calls.

But have you thought about your computer's security?

Experts say they have seen a surge in "phishing" attacks targeting people working from home.Clicking on a link in an email or message could lead to installing malware on your device, writes CNN's Rishi Iyengar.

The 2008 recession was nicknamed the "mancession." Today, it looks like women are bearing the brunt of the economic fallout.

Last week, we learned that the economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April and that the unemployment rate soared to 14.7%.

That's stunning.

But the situation is even more devastating for women. The unemployment rate for women increased to 15.5%, while the rate for men rose to 13%.

Here's what's going on: Women are overrepresented in jobs that can't be done remotely, like hospitality and retail, reports CNN's Anneken Tappe.

It's getting harder to find credit these days.

Banks are tightening their grip when it comes to extending credit. Credit card holders have seen their credit limits reduced or even discovered that cards have been closed involuntarily. And tapping your home's equity for a loan could also be off the table, as some banks have stopped accepting applications.

But consumers still have some options if they are struggling financially. Some lenders are offering coronavirus-specific personal loans and Congress has temporarily changed the rules for tapping a 401(k).

Keep in mind, there are risks involved when it comes to dipping into your retirement savings, so make sure you understand the long-term implications.

You might not be using your car every day to commute to and from work, but the car payments are still coming due.

If you are struggling to make your monthly payments, the first thing you need to do is speak up, according to CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena. Don't wait until you miss a payment.

Many auto lenders are offering assistance to customers having a hard time making ends meet because of coronavirus shutdowns.

No one is wearing pants these days. Well, at least not new pants.

People did a lot of online shopping last month, as many retailers offered the type of discounts that are usually seen around Black Friday.

So what are people buying? Being comfy at home seems to be a top priority, as pajama sales soared 143%. Sales of pants declined 13%, according to Adobe Analytics.

Not surprisingly, online grocery store sales rose by 11% between March and April.

While many retailers are dropping prices to entice customers, not everything is being discounted. For instance, computer prices increased 3.1% last month.

Read the rest here:
Here's what the office could look like post pandemic - CNN

On May 7, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that restaurants, bars and personal care services --hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons and tanning facilities-- would be permitted to reopen, beginning May 15, 2020. One of those business owners who is reopening is Kevin Malof, partial owner of Bishops Quarter bar and restaurant, pictured, in Loveland. Photo provided.

By Megan Alley Sun Reporter

On May 7, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that restaurants, bars and personal care services hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons and tanning facilities would be permitted to reopen, beginning May 15.

The announcement is part of DeWines continuingResponsible RestartOhioplan to reopen businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan sets forth the following:

Starting May 1, all medically necessary procedures that do not require an overnight stay in a healthcare facility or do not require inpatient hospital admission and minimizes use of personal protective equipment could move ahead.

This includes regular doctor visits, well-care checks, well-baby visits, out-patient surgeries, imaging procedures and diagnostic tests.

Dental services and veterinary services may also move ahead if a safe environment can be established.

Starting May 4, manufacturing, distribution and construction businesses could reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees.

Also beginning on May 4, general office environments could reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees.

Starting May 12, consumer, retail and some services could reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees.

According to the plan, the general safe business practices that all businesses must follow as they reopen are:

Requiring face coverings for all employees, and recommending them for clients and customers at all times.

Conducting daily health assessments or self-evaluations of employees to determine if they should work.

Maintaining hand washing and social distancing.

Cleaning and sanitizing workplaces throughout the day and at the close of business or between shifts.

Limiting capacity to meet social distancing guidelines

Clermont Chamber President Matt Van Sant provided a local response to the most recent announcement,.

The Clermont Chamber is pleased that Governor DeWine has re-opened Ohio on a limited basis for our workers andresidents, Van Sant wrote in an email. Four out of ten workers in Clermont County are from manufacturing, retail trade, and health care/social assistance. From restaurants to basic employment in our county, this move will strengthen our overall economy and make things better for our community. Our workers want to work.

DeWines plan, as it pertains to restaurants, bars and personal care services, says the following:

Restaurants and bars in the state will be permitted to reopen outdoor dining services on May 15 and dine-in services on May 21.

DeWines Restaurant Advisory Group drafted a list of guidelines and best practices for restaurant and bar owners to follow. The full list of mandatory and recommended best practices can be found atcoronavirus.ohio.gov.

Personal care services, such as hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons and tanning facilities will be permitted to reopen on May 15.

DeWines Personal Services Advisory Group drafted a list of guidelines and best practices for personal care service providers to follow. The full list of mandatory and recommended best practices can be found atcoronaviurs.ohio.gov.

One of those businesses owners diving into the plan set forth by DeWine is Kevin Malof, who is a partial owner of Bishops Quarter bar and restaurant in Loveland.

Bishops Quarter is a three-level bar located just off the bike trail, and it opened in December 2018.

The bar and restaurant employs some 40 part-time and full-time staff members, made up of cooks, wait staff and administrators. Hiring was underway to staff-up for the busy summer season when state stay-at-home orders were enacted in mid-March, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

There was disappointment that we had to close, but primarily because of our employees; we were concerned about how they were going to pay the bills and sustain themselves during this crisis, in part because none of us knew how long it would be; four weeks, eight weeks, none of us knew for sure, Malof said.

Leadership at Bishops Quarter quickly pivoted its operations to try to make ends meet.

They took advantage of the Small Business Administrations Paycheck Protection Program designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll, and they began offering carryout food, and eventually, beverage service.

We had an excellent, absolutely amazing response, Malof shared. Not that were making the money that we were making as a full-service, full-time restaurant, but the support that we had initially from the local community was great.

Now, Malof and his team are getting ready to reopen under the mandatory and recommended best practices set forth under DeWines plan, a step that Malof says has brought him some relief.

We were actually seeing movement in terms of some direction, and of course, the devil is in the details, he said, adding, What we do know, and weve been blessed in this entire period, we have had carryout, we have maintained a strict regiment of cleanliness and sanitary conditions, things we always have done as a restaurant, because restaurants are unique; its handling food and there is a substantial safety component, so we really havent changed that, except that we have been open this entire period, as a carryout, and have been able to do that in a manner of maintaining self practices that have not allowed any contamination or anyone becoming contagious.

He went on to say, In some ways, were not changing what were doing, even when we allow customers to come in, but the introduction to customers adds a secondary layer, because its incumbent upon them to help protect themselves, each other and our staff [customers] may become complacent, whereas employees know that the moment they feel ill, they would notify us.

Bishops Quarter will continue to offer carryout, and theyll start offering outdoor seating service this weekend, and dine-in indoor service beginning next weekend.

Plans for how to move forward after that are contingent on customer demand, weather and staffing availability.

While Malof and his staff will be taking the precautions to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at Bishops Quarter, they are not requiring customers to wear face coverings, which the Centers for Disease Control recommends to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

We would hope that our customers self-police each other, and themselves, and not put other people or the staff at risk, if it comes down to that, Malof said. If we believe, as things change, as that [wearing face masks] is a practice that is required or necessary to ensure safety, then well evaluate and consider that as well.

Malof said that hes had one employee who has expressed concern of safety about returning to work and interacting with large numbers of the public.

For his employees with those concerns, Malof said hes offered to move them to more behind-the-scenes positions, or offered them the flexibility of staying home, while ensuring that their positions will be held for them until they choose to return to work.

When asked about the significant path he and his employees are charting as they move ahead in the early stages to reopen Ohio businesses amid a deadly pandemic, Malof responded, We believe that we can offer an opportunity for people to come in, start experiencing restaurant business again, and yet, we realize that our success, and the success of this experiment is directly incumbent upon our customers taking the issue as seriously as everyone else is. . . . People need to be smart about this, and not put everyone else at risk.

See more here:
Local reaction to DeWines go-ahead to reopen restaurants, bars and personal care services - The Clermont Sun