Just different

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Last year, for the first time, a majority of the top 10 U.S. trade partners were Asian nations. While that remains the case today, it is not the case when looking at the United States’ top export partners. Instead of six Asian nations, there are four. Instead of two Western Hemispheric nations, there are three. Instead of two European nations, there are three. This is the second in a series of columns about the nation’s exports. It follows similar series I did for the countries that are the nation’s top 10 trade partners and one for the airports, seaports and border crossings that are the nation’s top 10 “ports.” The first article in this series focused on an overview of the top 10 exports . This post will take a quick look at those 10 countries that are among the top 10 partners for U.S. exports: Canada Mexico China Japan United Kingdom Germany South Korea Netherlands Brazil … [Read more...] about Top 10 U.S. Export Partners Tells A Different, Less Asian Story

Former president of Kiehl’s Chris Salgardo dedicated 18 years of his career to leading the New York-based brand to becoming one of the best-selling beauty brands in history. Today, more than two years after leaving Kiehl’s, Salgardo launches Atwater , a men’s grooming range named after his father’s hometown in California. At launch, Atwater will comprise of 10 products—ranging from cleanser to exfoliant to moisturizer—and will be available via direct-to-consumer channels as well as in Nordstrom store locations in the United States. advertisement advertisement Atwater is the latest beauty brand to launch in recent memory that’s founded by industry veterans with decades of experience and institutional knowledge at their disposal—legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown brought Jones Road to market the moment her 25-year non-compete lifted in 2020, and former Estee Lauder VP Chaz Giles debuted personalized skin-care platform Revea last year. … [Read more...] about Former Kiehl’s president Chris Salgardo launches Atwater, a grooming brand for men

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) started its science mission just a few weeks ago, surpassing all expectations while astonishing scientists and the public alike. Its infrared instruments and a light-collecting area 6.25 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope are delivering sharper photos that go further into the Universe’s past than ever before. advertisement advertisement And yet, it will soon feel like a toy camera. The Webb is just the beginning of a new golden age of astronomy that is bringing us devices that will capture images that we can’t even imagine right now—the aggregate of which will change our perception of existence itself. Two of these future machines are very different from the JWST, each representing two completely different design philosophies. One is the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), a titanic device equipped with seven 27.5-foot mirrors that will be housed inside a 12-story building on top of Las Campanas Observatory … [Read more...] about These next-gen telescopes will make the James Webb look like a toy

Paul Moller stands in the back corner of a large garage in Davis, California, clean-shaven and wearing a large pair of golden aviator glasses. The 52-year-old engineer is a professor down the road at the University of California, Davis, but he’s not the type to sit back with a book and highlighter. In his white polo shirt and glossy brown bomber jacket, he looks ready to tinker with the shiny invention behind him at knee-level at a moment’s notice. advertisement advertisement The dark blue saucer behind Moller features eight propellers encircling a small, one-person cockpit. Behold Moller’s new M200X—a vehicle reminiscent of the Jetson family’s green flying car that Moller says is almost ready for manned test flights. Cut to: Moller stands outside with the M200X in an open grassy field. The vehicle, tethered to a rope, powers up, whirring loudly. The saucer lifts slowly into the air, rocking back and forth unsteadily, before Moller and his team signal … [Read more...] about Paul Moller’s 50-year dream to build a flying car won’t die

You don’t have to do much convincing to get women to buy skin care products. advertisement advertisement As for men, they’re coming along. In fact, males make up one-third of the customer base of Kiehl’s. Still, the skin and hair care products brand, which eschews traditional advertising, felt it needed to make an extra effort to get guys interested in its new antiaging moisturizer. So Kiehl’s hired Marvel Custom Solutions to create Captain America: Transformation & Triumph , a limited-edition comic book designed to promote Kiehl’s Facial Fuel “Heavy Lifting” Firming, Lifting, Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer for Men. The comic book, which is currently free at Kiehl’s stores with the purchase of any product and available online , too (it was also distributed via an issue of The Wall Street Journal ), finds the evil Cobra descending upon Kiehl’s flagship store determined to get his hands on a serum as well as machinery rumored to have been used back … [Read more...] about Kiehl’s Enlists Captain America To Prove Real Men Moisturize

Stock options can definitely be a great tool in retaining the staff with the right attitude. SMEs have a knowledge gap in one area related to compensation and benefits (C&B). It is often entrusted to the so-called experts even by large enterprises. Big global consultants conduct benchmark studies on compensation and the exercise is repeated at frequent intervals. SMEs do not have the luxury of infinite cycles of data collection and analytics. Often, SME employees wear multiple hats and hence the task of fixing compensation becomes even more tangled. At the same time, this is a core issue that needs to be tackled. What are the factors that need to be considered so that SME leaders get the compensation balance right? In our coaching practice, we always look at the markers that indicate the attainment of goals. What are the markers for a good C&B strategy? The objectives of compensation management are to attract, engage and retain employees through competitive … [Read more...] about Demystifying the complexities of employee compensation

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The fastest-growing top 100 U.S. export from pre-pandemic 2019 is LN LN G and other natural gases, up almost 10 times as much in value as the overall average. This year, the fastest-growing markets for the United States’ No. 3-ranked export are in Western Europe, when compared to the comparable first six months of last year. That’s because those nations are, of course, beholden to Russia for a great deal of their petroleum products. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine six months ago, there have been Western sanctions and Russian retaliation. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, overall U.S. exports topped $1 billion through June for the first time. That is thanks to strong growth in not only natural gas, up 59.07% from the same six months of 2021 and 219.25% from the first half of 2019, but also refined petroleum (including gasoline) and oil, the first- and second-ranked U.S exports. Overall, … [Read more...] about LNG, Fastest-Growing U.S. Export Since Covid-19, Heading To Europe

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Oil is flirting with becoming the nation’s most valuable export, just five years after accounting for more than 1% of all U.S. exports for the very first time. If this were to happen it would certainly be the first time in decades, if not ever. While it won’t happen this year, if ever, it today ranks second among some 1,200 export categories, second only to gasoline and other refined petroleum products. It has now passed the civilian aircraft category, the perennial No. 1 for many years. Oil’s percentage of total U.S. exports has increased fivefold in just five years, to 5.3%, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data available. With top-ranked refined petroleum products at 6.4%, the value of oil exports is little more than a percentage point from the top spot. This is the fourth in a series of columns about the nation’s exports. It follows similar series I did for the countries that are the nation’s top … [Read more...] about Once Unimaginable, Oil Flirts With Being Top U.S. Export

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin With prices for gasoline still elevated, U.S. exports of refined petroleum products should smash the 2013 record-setting total easily this year. The category, which includes jet fuel, diesel fuel, refined lubricating oils and kerosene as well as various types of gasoline, is also almost certain to repeat as the nation’s top-ranked export for the second consecutive year but only the third time since that record-setting 2013 total. In the intervening years, the primary aviation category had ranked first but two fatal Boeing BA jet crashes and a travel-halting global pandemic seriously curtailed the Chicago-based company’s exports in recent years. So far this year, the aircraft category ranks fourth, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, which is through May and the basis for this column. This is the third in a series of columns about the nation’s exports. It follows similar series I did for the … [Read more...] about ‘Gasoline’ Exports Likely To Smash 2013 Record Easily

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The federal government can’t use “circumstantial evidence” to permanently confiscate nearly $70,000 in cash, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. “While it may be dubious to drive around with a large amount of cash in one’s car,” Judge Julius Richardson wrote for the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, “it does not create an inescapable inference of criminal activity. Not using a bank does not necessarily make one a criminal.” After Dereck McClellan passed out in his car at a South Carolina gas station in January 2019, police searched the vehicle. Inside they found a blunt in the ashtray, an empty liquor bottle riding shotgun, and a duffle bag stuffed with cash in the trunk. Their search also revealed a bundle of cash in the console. All told, Dereck was carrying $69,940.50 in cash. That money, Dereck said, came from a retail business he was running with his girlfriend. Although Dereck was arrested for public … [Read more...] about Federal Court Upholds The Right To Carry Cash