News Unfiltered

Rebuilding Together Celebrates 1000 Gulf Coast Homes Rebuilt During National Conference

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:35:20 +0000

Rebuilding Together, the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership, is holding its 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans, November 10 -12. This year, Rebuilding Together also celebrates the completion of Rebuild 1000. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, Rebuilding Together created the initiative Rebuild 1000, a commitment to rebuild 1,000 hurricane-damaged and destroyed homes throughout the Gulf Coast. During Rebuilding Together’s National Conference, the 200 Rebuilding Together affiliates will join together to celebrate the success of Rebuild 1000. The 1000th homeowner, Mr. Columbus, will be welcomed back into a newly renovated home on November 11. The Rebuilding Together Affiliate Network celebrates his homecoming, as well as the efforts of Rebuilding Together’s volunteers and sponsors in a ceremony, which Mr. Columbus, DIY Network’s Chris Grundy, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu will attend. Full release

PwC Launches Thought Leadership Series on How Emerging Markets are Changing the Global Economy

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:41:45 +0000

PwC US recently launched Marketmap, a new thought leadership series that explores how emerging markets are changing today’s global economy. Marketmap will detail what corporations seeking footholds in such nations must understand in order to succeed. he firm announced the first issue of Marketmap, “China: Pearls, pitfalls and possibilities,” at the 26th National Conference on the Foreign Current Practices Act at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in Washington, D.C. “The rate of market growth in countries such as China offers unprecedented possibilities all across the business world,” said Harry Broadman, PwC’s Chief Economist and Emerging Markets Practice Leader. “That said, there are serious risks for those that fail to navigate myriad, complex challenges. We anticipate that the Marketmap series will serve as a tremendous resource for executives looking to position their enterprises to share wisely in the emerging wealth.” Mr. Broadman is the Managing Editor of Marketmap. Full release

Little PINK Book Recognizes Career-Long Commitment to Women’s Advancement

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:28:48 +0000

Four women business leaders are being recognized for their career-long commitment to women’s advancement at this month’s Little PINK Book events in Atlanta and New York. The awards will be handed out at Little PINK Book’s 7th Annual Fall Empowerment Series in Atlanta tomorrow, November 10 and in NYC on November 17. Event sponsors include The Coca-Cola Company, Chartis, FedEx and more. Technology sponsor Accenture will offer complimentary live video streaming of the sold-out NYC event featuring a panel of top women influencers who will share their career success secrets. Little PINK Book has tracked the contributions of award recipients over the last several years. “Each of these women have gone above and beyond to actively promote women within her organization and externally,” says Little PINK Book founder and CEO Cynthia Good. Full release

comScore Reports $36.3 Billion in Q3 2011 U.S. Retail E-Commerce Spending, Up 13 Percent vs. Year Ago

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:36:53 +0000

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its Q3 2011 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached $36.3 billion for the quarter, up 13 percent versus year ago. This growth rate represented the eighth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. “The third quarter of 2011 saw a continuation of the year’s strength in U.S. retail e-commerce spending, even in the face of renewed economic headwinds and uncertainty facing the U.S. consumer,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “As we approach the critical holiday shopping season, we are optimistic about the continued health of the e-commerce sector despite other factors – including stubbornly high unemployment and volatile financial markets – currently weighing on the economy.” Full release

Frustrated US Investors Reject Republican Candidates, Survey Finds

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:28:17 +0000

In advance of the next Republican Presidential debate, a survey by the financial publication Traders Reserve found Republican candidates failing to inspire US investors, with 25% of investors choosing “None of the Above” over the entire Republican field. 68% of investors rated the current Republican candidates as “average” to “poor” suggesting the Republicans face a fierce uphill battle for investors’ votes to capture the White House next November. The survey addressed specific concerns of the investor class as they remain one of the most overlooked in the current race for votes. Specifically, the survey questioned investors’ financial outlook for the next four years and their primary concerns when considering a presidential candidate. Chief among those concerns: Creating jobs and the economy. The survey, conducted in the 48 hours leading up to CNBC’s Debate “Your Money, Your Vote,” shows a growing group of disaffected voters unlikely to support the current group of Republican candidates. In that survey, 25.7% of respondents chose “None of the Above.” Full release

In the Wake of Healthcare Reform: Policy Thought Leaders, Health-System and Health Plan Executives Meet to Discuss Strategic Issues, Opportunities and Best Practices In an Uncertain Time

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:43:33 +0000

MedeAnalytics-sponsored summit focuses on perspectives and initiatives for clinical integration, ACOs, value-based purchasing, hospital-physician alignment and other major topics – Uncertainty created by Washington politics, coupled with the uncharted territory inherent in significant areas of healthcare reform, have contributed to an environment today that is more challenging than ever for providers and payers. Nov. 10-11 a number of national healthcare policy thought leaders, as well as executives from some of the country’s top healthcare provider and payer organizations, will gather in Monterey, Calif. to discuss a range of strategic policy options, marketplace opportunities, and practical solutions. The conference, being held at the Monterey Plaza Hotel, is sponsored by MedeAnalytics, a leading provider of healthcare performance management solutions. Full release

Support for Sales Tax Fairness Gets Huge Senate Boost

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:42:25 +0000

Advocates for a level playing field between traditional brick-and-mortar retailers and their online-only competitors got a huge boost today as a broad bipartisan group of Senators announced their support for federal e-fairness legislation. The Marketplace Fairness Act was introduced on the Senate floor this morning by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Johnson (D-SD). Senate action on e-fairness comes less than a month after bipartisan introduction of similar legislation in the House that would end the special treatment afforded online retailers like Amazon.com that allows them to forgo collection of state sales tax. “A true free market is devoid of government preferences and special treatment,” said Katherine Lugar, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “The Marketplace Fairness Act will get government out of the way, restore the free market and close the loophole that has given an unfair advantage to online retailers like Amazon.com for over a decade.” Full release

Justice Department Research Shows That School-Level Interventions Reduce Dating Violence by up to 50 Percent

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:41:31 +0000

The Department of Justice today announced new research from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) that finds school-level interventions reduced dating violence among middle school students by up to 50 percent in 30 New York City public schools. This study was originally conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum and funded by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. The study used a multi-level, randomized control trial to find out what is effective in preventing dating violence and sexual harassment among over 2,500 sixth- and seventh-grade students. “The success of school-level interventions is particularly important because they can be implemented with very few extra costs to schools. The scientific methods in this study were rigorous,” said John H. Laub, Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Justice. “They show the potential for science to support successful, cost-effective options.” Full release

Magazine Subscriptions Are Well and Alive in the Era of Digital Magazines

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:38:10 +0000

Overwhelmingly, 92% or responders identified “convenience” as the most important attribute of online magazine subscription shopping. Among buyers, 73% report getting better deals on magazine subscriptions online. Opportunity to order discount magazine subscriptions is a major factor in ordering print subscriptions. With the impending release of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet to compete with the Apple iPad, publishers are rolling out their digital subscription offers on multiple platforms. While the initial experience with online subscriptions has been underwhelming for most but a few publishers, the value of digital access goes beyond paid digital subscriptions. According to Michael Johnson, Director of Marketing at Acclaim Subscriptions, currently 4.6% of magazine subscriptions eCommerce transactions are completed using mobile or tablet operating systems. Full release

3 Sunny States Remain Top Choices for Where Americans Would Like to Live

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:37:18 +0000

Excluding their current state, if Americans had to say where they would most like to live, the top three mentions are states typically associated with sunshine and the beach: Hawaii (1), California (2) and Florida (3). These states have consistently been in the top 3 the last 8 times this question has been asked. However, this year marks the first time since 2001 that California has not been the top mention. These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,463 adults surveyed online between October 10 and 17, 2011 by Harris Interactive. Rounding out the top 5 this year is Texas (4) and Colorado (5). Texas saw a nice jump this year, up to 4 from 8 last year, while Colorado dropped from 4 last year, to 5 this year. The remaining 10 states on the list cover every geographic region of the country. Full release