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7 tips for complying with the new federal wage-hour regulations
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recently disclosed the details of its final revised regulations relating to certain "white collar" salary exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Lesson learned: Amazon’s Prime Day breaks sales records
Katina Hernandez RetailWhen online retailer Amazon announced in June that a follow-up to last year's Prime Day was in the works, some were left feeling skeptical. Although Amazon hailed last year's event for generating more sales than the previous Black Friday, #PrimeDayFail trended on social media as consumers were less than impressed with many items on sale and the length of Amazon's signature Lightning Deals.
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Can Pokémon Go help catch customers? Retailers think so
Danielle Manley RetailPokémon Go has taken over. Currently available in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia only, Pokémon Go is already rivaling Twitter for total daily users. With numbers like this, business owners everywhere should be looking at how they can use Pokémon Go's success to their advantage.
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Employment applications: A refresher course
Mel Kleiman Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe most important piece of paper between you and the job applicant is the employment application. Yet the employment application is such a commonplace, routine document that we often overlook how vital it is.
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What do June’s economic statistics mean for your small business?
Paul Zukowski Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWe all see the same government-supplied numbers on the U.S. economy each month — the jobs added, the unemployment rate, the Fed's interest rate. But what those numbers mean to your small business is often quite different from what they mean to the business next door, to Exxon or to the economy as a whole, especially in a presidential election year.
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Metals Thoughts: Spinning our wheels
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesThere has been a fair amount of choppiness to the market in the last week without really getting anywhere from a price movement perspective. Since our close on July 1, we are up about $4, but have had some volatile sessions in the interim — especially Friday after the particularly strong jobs report.
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Americans still struggling to find healthy food on the go
Katina Hernandez Food & BeverageIt is no secret many Americans are gravitating toward a healthy lifestyle, with millennials leading the way. And no other industry has seen the effects of this health consciousness trend more so than the food industry.
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Can exceptional customer service be delivered through email?
Jessica Taylor CommunicationsCustomer service is not about face-to-face communication anymore — we've gone digital. There's no doubt consumers enjoy communicating through technology. The term "customer service" usually describes individuals who are in a support role in their company, but I'm here to tell you otherwise. Unless you don't communicate with anyone during your day-to-day work life, then you're in a customer service role.
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Prime time to shop? Amazon makes second run at annual deal day
Julie Bernhard RetailBeen waiting all year long for that 55 gallon vat of lube to go on sale again? Nail clippers for a giant dog? Beard growther? Save the date and clear the garage, the anticipation is over — Amazon Prime Day is back for another round July 12 with what they promise to be the Black Friday event of the summer.
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Metals Thoughts: Brexit stage left
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesThe surprise from the Brexit "leave" victory last week is abating a bit, and markets seemed to have settled. However, we — like the Brits — still have plenty to sort out. The most damaging thing about the surprise was how certain everyone was that "Bremain" would carry the day.
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