Author: Davide E

The hot-button joke Barack Obama made about Republican nominee Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday was improvised on the spot, his speechwriter said.The former president clasped his hands together during his speech to indicate he was referring to a smaller number, and criticized Trump’s “bizarre obsession with crowd size.”The visual gag drew laughter from the audience, with some online speculating that Obama was making a joke about Trump’s body shape in a mocking move.”What I want people to know is that it was a spur of the moment thing,” Jon Favreau, President Obama’s White House speechwriter, said…

This article is an onsite edition of the FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up for the Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to receive the newsletter every weekday morning. See all newsletters here.Good morning. We’re here with the latest from the Democratic National Convention and the search for those missing from a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily.But first, we start with an exclusive report on PwC: the Big Four firm’s China operation has told clients it expects Chinese authorities to impose a ban on it for as long as six months, starting next month, as part of punishment…

New York CNN — Canada’s two biggest freight rail companies have suspended operations, executives at both companies say, locking out 9,000 members of the Teamsters union that runs the trains and potentially dealing a blow to both the Canadian and U.S. economies. About a third of the freight handled by the two railroads, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern Railway (CPKC), crosses the U.S.-Canada border, and depending on how long the shutdown lasts, it could disrupt operations in many U.S. industries, including agriculture, autos, homebuilding and energy. “CPKC is acting to protect Canada’s supply chain and…

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – These days, many people get directions on their cell phones, but if you want to find a business without listening to your phone, having the address number displayed on the building can be a convenient solution.So Larry asked: Are there any guidelines for how businesses should display their addresses in Springfield?Springfield has two sections of regulations that apply to this issue. One section simply says, “All businesses and dwellings within the city shall be numbered,” and it also says, “All such numbers shall be clearly visible from the street, not less than three inches in height,…

Beginning this semester, Lee and Husar have been appointed director and staff fellow, respectively, in the College of Business’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office. Chih-Chen Lee brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to his new role.Lee arrived at NIU in 2005 after following in his father’s footsteps, who taught accounting in Taiwan, after earning his master’s and doctorate in accounting from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He previously taught at Florida International University for five years. “When I visited campus and met the faculty, I immediately felt a connection and knew I wanted to work with them,” she…

BARBERSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) — Construction has been underway on the roadway connecting Main Street to U.S. Highway 60 in Barboursville for nearly six months.The Department of Health is working to install new sidewalks, ramps and a drainage system on Firmdale Road.Dr. Jeff Overstreet’s Family Chiropractic has two entrances on Firmdale Road, but Overstreet said it hasn’t been affected as badly as other clinics.”They’ve actually had to close off the entrance so people can park elsewhere and I think they understand it’s a good thing they have a sidewalk,” Dr. Overstreet said.Jerrod Parsons, a member of Firmdale Church of Christ, said…

CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 19: Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris… [+] A speech is given during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians and Democratic supporters gathered in Chicago for the convention, which concluded with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the party’s presidential nomination. The Democratic National Convention runs from August 19-22. (Photo by Winn McNamee/Getty Images)Getty Images In 2018, under former President Trump, the corporate tax rate was sharply reduced from 35% to 21%, to the delight of businesses. President…

Every four years, the National Federation of Independent Business releases a survey ranking the issues and priorities facing small business owners, and while New York’s top ranking is no surprise, some issues are of more concern to New York than other states. “We cover all the areas that small business owners deal with on a daily basis,” said Ashley Lancelot, New York state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. Lancelot explained that these items represent 75 situations or concerns that small business owners were asked to rank: To develop the state rankings, a national sample of 40,000 NFIB…

Beerlein issues warning about outlook for small businesses in latest report With significant minimum wage and paid sick leave measures set to take effect in February, State Representative Matthew Bierlein today expressed great concern about Michigan’s employment situation and how workers, business owners and the economy will be affected in the long term. A recent decision by the Michigan Supreme Court increased the minimum wage and ultimately eliminated the tip deduction for waiters, bartenders, and other workers who often earn more from tips than they earn at the higher minimum wage. In 2018, the Michigan Legislature took the necessary steps…

Indian food delivery and quick commerce company Zomato plans to expand its efforts in helping Indian consumers find and buy movie, sports and event tickets. Zomato plans to achieve this by acquiring Indian payments and financial services distribution company Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business, the company said in a statement on Wednesday (August 21). Zomato expects the transaction to close during the current quarter, subject to completion of closing conditions, according to the statement. According to the announcement, once the transaction is complete, the ticketing business will continue to operate on the Paytm app for up to 12 months during which…