Biden's economy is stalled. Here's what he must do now to unfreeze our supply chain

Instead of playing hide-and-seek with the White House press corps, or whining about Republicans blocking his $5 trillion tax-and-spend scheme, President Joe Biden could be doing something useful.

The president could be working to bring down inflation. How? By getting people back on the job, addressing the supply chain challenges that are increasing the cost of nearly all consumer goods and by doing everything possible to increase U.S. oil and gas output, to help put a lid on fast-rising energy prices. READ MORE

Three Key Causes to the Rise in Employee Departures

Much has been said and written about “The Great Resignation.” And for good reason. Various research shows that anywhere between 40% and 50% of knowledge workers in the United States have left a job in the last year, or are considering doing so. 

That’s a huge increase over annualized voluntary attrition benchmarks in the technology industry, which have hovered around 13% to 15% in the past few years. What’s behind it? To find the truth, we must do a little digging. And what we find may surprise us.

In my research, departures generally happen for one of three reasons: READ MORE

Increase chances of startup success by avoiding these 5 common legal mistakes

For over a decade I have worked with thousands of startups and entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries and markets. I’ve seen them succeed. I’ve seen them fail. I’ve seen some overcome adversity, and others come to the realization that they needed to pivot and try something else. Many of these young companies faced similar challenges.

At the Entrepreneurship Law Center at the University at Buffalo School of Law, we strive to prepare and position clients to focus on growth. By being aware of – and avoiding – the following top five legal mistakes startups make, entrepreneurs can increase their chances of building a successful business. READ MORE

Decade after Jobs' death, has Apple traded magic for profit?

Ten years after Apple founder Steve Jobs' death, the firm has grown into a colossus of devices and services that is the world's most valuable company, but the tech legend's diehard fans lament its lost aura of revolution.

"Apple doesn't innovate anymore" or "Steve Jobs is turning in his grave" are the type of disillusioned tweets that pop up especially during product launches led by Tim Cook, who took Apple's reins in August 2011. READ MORE

A Three-Day Work Week? One Startup Experiments to Draw Talent

A shortage of technology talent has Indian companies offering sweeteners like more vacation time and gender-neutral parental leave as they compete for graduates and professionals. One Bangalore startup is trying a more dramatic solution: a three-day work week.Fintech company Slice is offering new hires a three-day week with salary at 80% of the going market rate. This is a win-win approach that frees the workers to pursue other passions or interests -- or other gigs -- while still locking in a steady pay and benefits from Slice, said Rajan Bajaj, the company’s founder. READ MORE

‘A perfect storm’: supply chain crisis could blow world economy off course

It was all going so well. Successful vaccination programmes were driving the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy, stock markets were back at record highs, and prices were rising just enough to make deflation fears a thing of the past.

But a supply crunch that initially put a question mark over the availability of luxury cars or whether there would be enough PlayStations under our Christmas trees is instead morphing into a full-blown crisis featuring a shortage of energy, labour and transport from Liverpool to Los Angeles, and from Qingdao to Queensland. READ MORE

A startup says its software can spot racial bias within companies. Will this surveillance scare employees?

Employees at Telhio Credit Union are already used to having their internal communications monitored to ensure compliance with US financial rules. But Telhio, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, and has over 250 employees, recently began watching for something else, too: indications of unconscious and overt bias in emails, texts, and phone calls. READ MORE

Car sales plunge as chip shortages choke off supply

New car sales plunged over the last three months in the United States despite strong demand, as the shortage of computer chips and other supply chain issues caused shutdowns at auto factories and choked off the supply of vehicles.

General Motors reported sales fell a third from a year-ago last quarter, and they were off 40% from the same quarter of 2019 before the pandemic roiled the car market. Sales at Stellantis, the company formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group, fell 19% from a year ago, and 27% from the pre-pandemic period. READ MORE

Watch out Amazon: These startups deliver in a matter of minutes

Have an instant craving for a bag of chips or ice cream and don't want to run out to the store? A new breed of startups in the United States is trying to deliver to customers with the munchies in as little as 10 minutes.

Companies such as Gopuff, Gorillas, Getir, 1520, Jokr, Buyk and Fridge No More are expanding delivery services in major US cities, and they're putting pressure on traditional grocers, convenience stores and e-commerce players to offer delivery options within minutes, instead of hours. READ MORE

Investments In Chips Hit Record Level As Tech Giants Look To Design Their Own

As the chip shortage continues to disrupt different sectors—perhaps most notably automotive—investors have flooded money into the design and processing of chips at a never-before-seen rate.

This rush to invest also comes at the same time more tech giants have unveiled plans to design their own chips—something that likely is not a coincidence. READ MORE

The workers who keep global supply chains moving are warning of a 'system collapse'

Seafarers, truck drivers and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex Covid-19 vaccination and testing requirements to keep stretched supply chains moving during the pandemic.

But many are now reaching their breaking point, posing yet another threat to the badly tangled network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around the world. READ MORE

NLRB memo takes aim at NCAA, says college football, basketball players are employees

The National Labor Relations Board released a memo Wednesday stating that college football players and many other athletes should be regarded as employees, paving the way for athletes to unionize and negotiate their working conditions. 

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo also threatened action against schools, conferences, and the NCAA if they continue to use the term "student-athlete," saying that it was created to disguise the employment relationship with college athletes and discourage them from pursuing their rights. READ MORE

IPOs slow down globally in Q3 after frenetic 2021 start

Initial public offerings (IPO) globally slowed in the third quarter of 2021 from their previous frenetic pace, but the number of listings in the first nine months of the year still was the highest since the dotcom bubble of 2000, according to Refinitiv data.

IPOs in the third quarter raised a total of about $94.6 billion, down 26.3% from the second quarter, as activity cooled due to a summer slowdown and U.S. scrutiny of Chinese listings following Beijing's crackdown on DiDi Global Inc just days after its New York IPO. READ MORE

Covid and remote work changed the workplace. Now let's change the work week — to 4 days.

There is an inconvenient truth about modern employment: Many people hate their jobs. Even before the pandemic, a global Gallup poll found that approximately 85 percent of people were not engaged at work.Two-thirds of Americans reported feeling negatively about their work, while 25 percent of British sick days can be traced back to stress generated in the workplace. READ MORE

Zoomers Are Poised To Drive The Entrepreneurship Boom

Generation Z, individuals currently between the ages of 16 and 24, may become the most entrepreneurial generation the world has ever seen.

The reasons for that involve sweeping cultural and sociological trends. The key enablers of those next-gen founders will be modern digital technologies: Social networks that make reaching large audiences possible; knowledge platforms that teach valuable business skills; and the cloud, which makes it possible to build solutions quickly, flexibly and cost-effectively. READ MORE

More Than 80% of Organizations Acted on DEI Initiatives in 2021

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is increasingly becoming a fundamental part of doing business, according to a new WorldatWork study.

“Trends in DEI Practices and Policies” shows that both management and employees see dramatic increase in DEI activities in the workplace. The study’s findings support what many observers have been saying: The social movements of 2020 and 2021, such as Black Lives Matter, provided an “a-ha” moment to business leaders. Instituting workplace DEI initiatives went from sounding like a noble concept to being a top-priority action item. READ MORE

5 ways to engage workers, limit departures in the ‘turnover tsunami’

An epic game of employee musical chairs is unfolding across industries as workers are voluntarily leaving their jobs in record numbers. Twenty-five percent of workers say they expect to leave their job this year, according to a recent survey from Prudential. In April alone, nearly four million people quit their jobs: the most on record. As a result, companies across industries are scrambling to deal with this so-called “turnover tsunami.” READ MORE

Automakers' problems are much worse than we thought

For a year and a half, a lack of computer chips has been plaguing the auto industry, forcing plants to shut down, delaying auto shipments and sending car prices through the roof. But that's not the only problem automakers face.

Industry experts say automakers are having trouble getting all manner of parts and raw materials for a variety of reasons, including Covid-related plant shutdowns by suppliers, logistical problems involving shortages of ships, shipping containers and truck drivers, and difficulty that some suppliers are having filling jobs. READ MORE