Podcasts about consolidating

Real estate is changing fast and most people don't fully understand what's happening behind the scenes. In this episode, I sit down with Amanda DiVito Parle to talk about the major shifts happening across the industry - from brokerage models to burnout to the growing fight over data and control. In a market where everything feels uncertain… This conversation will challenge how you think about the future of real estate.   Key takeaways to listen for Why experienced agents are leaving traditional brokerages What burnout is really costing agents (and how it's changing careers) How new brokerage models are reshaping opportunity in real estate Why data is becoming the real power in the industry What industry consolidation could mean for consumers and agents   Resources mentioned in this episode National Association of REALTORS® MLS.com   About Amanda DiVito Parle Amanda DiVito Parle has spent over two decades at the forefront of the real estate industry — as a top producing broker, an industry leader, and one of the most sought-after voices on stages across the nation. She has built teams, led organizations, and sat across the table from thousands of agents and business leaders navigating the complexities of the real estate industry. Amanda speaks from experience, weaving together a narrative that is both relatable and inspiring.    Connect with Amanda Website: with Amanda DiVito Parle Podcast: At the Kitchen Table   About Leigh Brown Leigh Brown is a keynote speaker and leadership expert who helps organizations navigate growth, conflict, and change with clarity and courage. Her message resonates with leaders facing real-world pressure—whether that's housing challenges, organizational friction, or cultural shifts. Her latest book, Next Is Now, equips leaders to stop reacting and start leading with intention.

(2) Jeff Bliss highlights Las Vegas's pursuit of an NBA team to complete its status as a global sports capital, while the Fertitta family acquires Caesar's Palace, consolidating power among the city's casino billionaires.1908 MAIN ST LA

On the podcast: why authentic founder-led content outperforms, tapping into HSA payments to unlock a whole new audience, and the growth lever no dashboard can measure.Top Takeaways:

Gold Hunter Resources CEO Sean Kingsley and VP Exploration Rory Kutluoglu join Ian Wagner in Frankfurt to discuss the Great Northern Project in Newfoundland. The company has consolidated a 26,000-hectare land package along the Doucers Valley Fault, bringing together historic drilling, a small existing resource at Thor, and multiple underexplored targets. Kingsley and Kutluoglu discuss the project's infrastructure, airborne geophysics, planned 10,000-meter inaugural drill program, and the broader opportunity to build on Newfoundland's growing gold exploration and M&A momentum.

What if one of the most important contributors to energy efficiency, worker safety, and emissions reduction is also one of the most overlooked? And in an industry facing consolidation and private equity pressure, how can an association help members see the value of community, standards, and education?In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Michele Jones, EVP/CEO of the National Insulation Association (NIA). Michele discusses:How NIA represents more than 250 companies across the mechanical insulation industry, including contractors, distributors, manufacturers, fabricators, and metal building laminators.What mechanical insulation is and why it matters.How industry consolidation and private equity ownership are affecting membership, dues, sponsorships, foundation giving, and conference attendance across the association.Why NIA is launching a “dog and pony show” roadshow to meet directly with member companies.How NIA just held its 70th convention, celebrated in Puerto Rico with strong attendance and recognition of past presidents.How NIA is partnering with AMPP to develop national insulation installation standards.NIA's new Learning Management System.Why Michele believes mechanical insulation still does not get the respect it deserves, even though it lowers energy costs, reduces pollution, protects personnel, and keeps systems running properly.References:NIA Website

Recorded live at Advancing Preconstruction 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona, this episode features Steve Dell'Orto, Founder and CEO of Concentric. A construction industry veteran who built the platform from the GC side, Dell'Orto brings the perspective of someone who has lived the inefficiencies he is now working to solve. Key Topics Covered:The Excel problem: Most precon teams still running disconnected spreadsheets with no standardization, structured data, or shared repository across the teamPlatform adoption: Concentric is designed to be familiar and Excel-like, keeping the barrier low without reinventing existing preconstruction workflowsThe data flywheel: Each project captured in the platform feeds the next, building accuracy, precision, and certainty of outcome over timeSingle pane of glass: Consolidating precon workflows into one platform eliminates the data transfer friction and security exposure that comes with juggling multiple point solutionsAmplify and agentic AI: Concentric's AI layer operates inside the platform vault, keeping proprietary data secure while delivering company-specific, context-rich outputsPrecon as a unifier: The platform is designed to bring operations into the planning stage earlier, bridging preconstruction and execution rather than treating it as a clean handoffYou can connect with Steve via LinkedIn and book a demo directly through the Concentric website:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedellorto/Website: https://concntric.com/

Scaling higher education is no longer a theoretical strategy. As the sector moves deeper into consolidation, institutional leaders need to confront whether their operating models, credential structures, partnerships, and delivery systems are built for the market ahead. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Stephen Spinelli, President of Babson College, about how an entrepreneurial mindset can help higher education respond to consolidation, AI disruption, and changing learner expectations. Drawing from his experience as co-founder of Jiffy Lube International and president of one of the nation's leading entrepreneurship institutions, Spinelli explains why higher education's anti-scale culture has become a strategic problem. He argues that demand for learning is growing, but the sector's delivery model has not kept pace with what students, employers, and adult learners now need. The conversation covers how AI is changing the economics of small-unit, high-quality education, why credentials are likely to become more modular and measurable, and how partnerships with other institutions and industry will shape the next era of higher education. Spinelli also outlines why strategy must be tied to action, accountability, and institutional values that do not shift with every market signal. This episode is especially relevant for presidents, boards, and senior leaders working through questions of scale, consolidation, strategic partnerships, AI-enabled learning, and long-term institutional relevance. Topics Covered Why higher education is showing classic signs of market consolidation How anti-scale thinking limits institutional durability and adaptability Why demand for learning is growing while delivery models lag behind How agentic AI changes the economics of small-unit education Why credentials may become smaller, more measurable, and more industry-aligned How strategic partnerships may extend beyond institutions into corporate and industry networks Why lifelong learner relationships may become a new revenue and relevance model How quarterly board-level strategic execution reviews keep institutions accountable Why liberal arts capabilities matter more in an AI-enabled environment Real-World Examples Discussed Jiffy Lube's early growth model and what it taught Spinelli about scale Babson's shift from entrepreneurship to entrepreneurial leadership Babson's network of 45 or 46 partner schools building entrepreneurial leadership capacity A group of seven New England institutions exploring partnership models to save resources AI-supported teaching models that could allow one expert to reach far more learners The doctor, lawyer, educator relationship model for lifelong learning Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leadership Institutions need a crisp and understandable value proposition that clearly explains why they exist and what they believe. Mission and values must drive strategy so institutions can adapt their actions without abandoning their core purpose. Strategic plans must be actionable, measurable, and reviewed regularly by the board so they inform decisions instead of sitting unused. This episode offers a direct look at what higher education leaders need to confront as consolidation, AI, modular learning, and partnership-driven delivery reshape the sector. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/scaling-higher-education-entrepreneurial-approach/ #HigherEducation #HigherEducationLeadership #HigherEducationPodcast

What does it actually take to lead 70,000 people through one of the biggest cultural resets in beauty history?Michael Bowes, Chief People Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies, joins Jessica Neal on Truth Works for a candid conversation about stepping into the top HR seat at an iconic 80-year-old company in the middle of a billion-dollar restructure, the courage it takes to disagree with your CEO without breaking the partnership, and why the loneliness of the role is real but the work is worth it.Michael walks through his path from Saks Fifth Avenue in the early 90s, to Nike, to Tommy Hilfiger, to Coach and Tapestry, and a brief detour into executive search before joining Estée Lauder in 2015. He spent almost ten years in talent before being promoted into the Chief People Officer role. He is honest about the fact he was not chasing the title. He took it because he believed in the new CEO Stefan's vision for the next 80 years of the company.Then the conversation gets into what is actually changing inside Estée Lauder under the new Beauty Reimagined strategy. A culture that used to default to no is now committing to say yes. Over 1,000 different bonus calculations across business units have been consolidated into nine. Brands that used to operate in silos are now rowing in the same direction with one shared set of goals.Michael also opens up about the realities of the CPO seat that no one prepares you for. The loneliness. The board dynamics. The added complexity of working inside a family-majority-shareholder company. The fact that everyone thinks they can do your HR job until you actually have to do something hard. And the running joke that the only people who tell you they would never want your job are the ones who just watched you do it.The episode closes with how Estée Lauder is approaching AI as a tool rather than a threat, including how the company is mining 80 years of prestige beauty consumer data in ways no competitor can match. Plus the rise of K-beauty, why Dr. Jart sits inside the portfolio, the China R&D centre that is reversing the old east-to-west flow of trends, and the philosophy that has guided how Michael hires for the last decade: hire the player, not the playbook.Topics Covered:How The Estée Lauder Companies scaled from a kitchen in Queens to a global prestige beauty portfolioWhy 87% of the workforce is women and how that shapes consumer decisionsTravel retail as a multi-billion dollar growth channelMichael's career path from Saks to Nike to Tommy Hilfiger to Coach to Estée LauderBeing part of the CEO succession conversation before being promoted himselfTaking the Chief People Officer role in the middle of a global billion-dollar restructureThe Beauty Reimagined strategy and its five pillarsShifting the culture from "protect by saying no" to "we say yes"Consolidating 1,000+ bonus calculations into nine business unitsThe loneliness of the CPO seat and why CEO chemistry is non-negotiableHow to disagree with your CEO and still own the decision publiclyNavigating board dynamics and family-majority shareholdersAI as a tool, not a threat, and how Estée Lauder is embedding it across R&D and consumer insight80 years of prestige beauty data and what AI can unlock from itThe K-beauty wave, Dr. Jart, The Ordinary, and the China R&D centreThe biggest hiring mistake organisations make by defaultWhy the right hire is the player, not the playbookThe piece of advice from Michael's grandmother that he still lives byTruth Works is hosted by Jessica Neal, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix.

Episode: The Tom Dupree Show  |  Host: Tom Dupree  |  Co-host: Mike Johnson Episode Summary Tom Dupree and Mike Johnson tackle one of the most common misconceptions in retirement planning: that a 401(k) balance is a retirement plan. It isn’t. It’s a savings vehicle — and a very good one — but it was designed to collect money, not distribute it. This episode explains what that distinction means in practical terms, and what steps to take before retirement to make sure your savings can actually do the job you’re counting on them to do. Topics Covered in This Episode Why a 401(k) is an accumulation vehicle, not a retirement plan The problem with applying a growth portfolio to a withdrawal strategy How rolling a 401(k) into an IRA opens up income-oriented investment options The three-legged stool: income, growth of income, and price appreciation Why selling shares to fund expenses works in a rising market — and fails in a flat or declining one The case for consolidating multiple old 401(k) accounts before retirement How dividend income shifts the focus from watching the balance to watching the cash flow Why pure asset allocation models limit flexibility in retirement The psychological value of knowing what you own and why you own it Key Takeaways The 401(k) did its job — now it needs a different tool. A 401(k) is structured for dollar-cost averaging and tax-deferred growth. That design is a poor match for generating predictable monthly income in retirement. A bigger balance is not a plan. Knowing your account value is not the same as knowing what that value will produce for you each month, for how long, and under what market conditions. Income-first investing changes the math. When a portfolio generates enough dividend income to cover living expenses, you are not forced to sell shares during market downturns — and that distinction is what protects long-term wealth. Rolling to an IRA opens up your options. The investment menu inside a 401(k) is limited by plan design. An IRA allows access to individual dividend-paying stocks and income-generating vehicles that most 401(k) plans don’t offer. Scattered accounts are a retirement hazard. The average person approaching retirement holds three to five old 401(k) accounts. Consolidating simplifies beneficiary designations, RMD calculations, and day-to-day management. Watch cash flow, not just the balance. In retirement, the number that matters most is what the portfolio produces each month — not what it’s worth on any given day. Know what you own and why you own it. Clients who understand their holdings don’t panic when markets get choppy, because they know the income side of the equation hasn’t changed even if the price has. Three Questions Worth Answering Before You Retire Tom closed the episode with three questions every listener should be able to answer: Do you know what fees you’re paying? Do you know what income your portfolio is currently producing? Do you know what you own and why you own it? If you can’t answer even one of those with confidence, that’s worth addressing before retirement — not after. Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between a 401(k) and a retirement plan? A 401(k) is a tax-deferred savings vehicle offered through your employer. It is designed to accumulate money during your working years. A retirement plan is a personalized strategy that determines how you will generate income from your savings throughout retirement — including what you own, how much you withdraw, how taxes are managed, and how long your money needs to last. The 401(k) is one piece of that plan, not the plan itself. Should I roll my 401(k) into an IRA when I retire? For most retirees, rolling a 401(k) into an IRA makes sense because an IRA offers a much wider range of investment options — including individual dividend-paying stocks and income-focused strategies that most 401(k) plan menus don’t include. Pre-tax contributions roll into a Traditional IRA; Roth contributions roll into a Roth IRA. The rollover should always be done institution-to-institution to avoid taxes and penalties. Every situation is different, so it’s worth reviewing your specific plan before making the move. What is wrong with leaving my 401(k) invested in an S&P 500 index fund in retirement? The S&P 500 yields just over 1% in dividends — not enough to cover most retirees’ living expenses. That means you’d need to sell shares regularly to generate cash. When the market is rising, that works. When the market is flat or declining, you’re forced to sell more shares to get the same dollar amount, which depletes your principal at the worst possible time. Over a 20- or 30-year retirement, that pattern can quietly cause serious damage to a portfolio. What is an income-focused retirement portfolio? An income-focused portfolio is built around investments that generate regular cash flow — primarily dividend-paying stocks in companies with long track records of consistent and growing dividends. The goal is for the income produced by the portfolio to cover living expenses, so you are not dependent on selling shares to fund retirement. Price appreciation is still part of the picture, but it’s the third priority, not the first. How many 401(k) accounts should I have going into retirement? Ideally, as few as possible. The average person approaching retirement holds three to five old 401(k) accounts from previous employers. Consolidating them into one or two IRAs — one Traditional, one Roth if applicable — simplifies beneficiary designations, required minimum distribution calculations, and overall portfolio management. It also makes it much harder to lose track of money you’ve worked decades to save. What is a safe withdrawal rate in retirement? A commonly referenced figure is 4% per year, which comes from historical research suggesting that withdrawal rate has a high probability of lasting 30 years across most market environments. However, the right withdrawal rate depends on your specific expenses, other income sources like Social Security or a pension, your tax situation, and how your portfolio is structured. An income-focused portfolio where dividends cover most expenses may allow for more flexibility than a pure growth portfolio using a fixed percentage rule. What does Dupree Financial Group do differently from a typical 401(k) plan? Dupree Financial Group is a fee-only, fiduciary RIA that manages separately managed accounts — meaning your investments are held in your name, not pooled into a fund. The firm builds income-focused portfolios around dividend-paying companies selected for their financial strength, cash flow, and dividend history. There are no products sold, no commissions, and no conflicts of interest. The focus is entirely on building a portfolio that generates reliable income and protects principal over a long retirement. About The Tom Dupree Show The Tom Dupree Show is hosted by Tom Dupree, founder of Dupree Financial Group and a 47-year veteran of the investment business. Each episode covers the financial topics that matter most to retirees and those approaching retirement — in plain English, without the Wall Street spin. Dupree Financial Group is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Advisory firm based in Lexington, Kentucky. The firm manages separately managed accounts focused on income-generating, dividend-paying portfolios — no products sold, no commissions, no conflicts of interest. Past episodes are available at dupreefinancial.com under the Radio tab. Schedule a Complimentary Portfolio Review If you’re not sure whether your 401(k) can actually support the retirement you’ve planned, we’ll take a look. No charge. No pressure. Just an honest conversation about what you own and whether it’s working for you. Call: 859-233-0400  |  Visit: dupreefinancial.com The post Your 401(k) Is Not a Retirement Plan appeared first on Dupree Financial.

Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre presents a tax-free fiscal plan focused on economic stability, household relief, and strategic fiscal management despite global challenges.

and this is a disaster in the making.

✔️ Bitcoin consolidating before it bursts out✔️ Cheap BTC with compressed volatility has historically been one of the strongest setups in the asset✔️ When you price assets in the hardest money, they are losing purchasing power over time.✔️ The SnapBack could be legendary!✔️ Kevin Warsh, the new Fed Chair, just made it clear why rates are going lower✔️ U.S military says it ‘runs a Bitcoin node'✔️ Belarus will allow “crypto banks” to operate with 26 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin✔️ Tether freezes 344 million of USDT ✔️ Eth Foundation Quantum researcher: No idea how Bitcoin solves the declining security budget✔️ FOLD launches bitcoin bonus program for employers✔️ SteelSeed Card ✔️ A fleet of K1 Lightning Bitcoin ATMs ✔️ Sources:► https://x.com/bitcoinmunger/status/2047328426692866509► https://x.com/david_eng_mba/status/2047161337151942730► https://x.com/david_eng_mba/status/2046988791475470578► https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/2047427412422484204► https://x.com/danielisdizzy/status/2047037188500554010► https://x.com/DocumentingBTC/status/2047007441833922568► https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/2047347364730482798► https://forklog.com/en/belarus-outlines-regulations-for-crypto-banks/► https://tether.io/news/tether-supports-freeze-of-more-than-344-million-in-usdt-in-coordination-with-ofac-and-u-s-law-enforcement/► https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/tether-freezes-344-million-usdt-130306016.html► https://x.com/bankless/status/2047027841318154729► https://x.com/nic_carter/status/2038804571791761821► https://research.google/blog/safeguarding-cryptocurrency-by-disclosing-quantum-vulnerabilities-responsibly/► https://x.com/bitcoinnewscom/status/2047391803968745864► https://x.com/xmrstreet/status/2047234501256909207► https://x.com/bitcoinnewscom/status/2047295974037475425► DONATE TO HELP KEONNE AND BILL https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-freedom-pardon-the-innocent-coders-jailed-for-building-privacy-tools✔️ Check out Our Bitcoin Only Sponsors!► https://archemp.co/Discover the pinnacle of precision engineering. Our very first product, the bitcoin logo wall clock, is meticulously machined in Maine from a solid block of aerospace-grade aluminum, ensuring unparalleled durability and performance. We don't compromise on quality – no castings, just solid, high-grade material. Our state-of-the-art CNC machining center achieves tolerances of 1/1000th of an inch, guaranteeing a perfect fit and finish every time. Invest in a product built to last, with the exacting standards you deserve.► Join Our telegram: https://t.me/theplebunderground#Bitcoin #crypto #cryptocurrency #dailybitcoinnews #memecoinsThe information provided by Pleb Underground ("we," "us," or "our") on Youtube.com (the "Site") our show is for general informational purposes only. All information on the show is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on the Site. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE SHALL WE HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF THE SHOW OR RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SHOW. YOUR USE OF THE SHOW AND YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION ON THE SHOW IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

With three different 401(k) plans in the equation, is there an easy way to simplify and make my financial life easier? Have a money question? Email us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jill on Money LIVE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jill on Money Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jillonmoney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jillonmoney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jillonmoney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ "Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.joelgoodman.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THE TOM DUPREE SHOW  |  PODCAST SHOW NOTES  A Practical Guide to Surviving the Financial Transition When Your Spouse Dies The Tom Dupree Show  |  Dupree Financial Group  |  dupreefinancial.com  |  859-233-0400 Episode Description Nobody wants to think about losing a spouse. But the financial consequences of that loss — the drop in Social Security income, the pension decisions that can never be undone, the tax bracket shift that hits the surviving spouse hard — are real, and they are far easier to manage with a plan in place than without one. This special evergreen episode of The Tom Dupree Show is built around exactly that planning conversation. Tom Dupree and Mike Johnson walk through each of the major financial pressure points a surviving spouse faces: the Social Security cliff, pension survivor options, the widow’s tax penalty, account consolidation, beneficiary designations, and the income planning reset that has to happen when a household goes from two earners to one. Every one of these is a cash flow problem — and every one of them can be addressed before the crisis hits. The best time to plan for losing a spouse is before it happens — not because it makes grief easier, but because it means one less thing is falling apart when everything already feels like it is. Topics Covered The Social Security cliff: why household income drops significantly when one spouse passes away and what can be done to prepare Survivor benefit rules: which Social Security payment the surviving spouse keeps and how claiming age affects the amount Pension election options: single life, joint life, period certain, and the popup provision — and how to choose Lump sum vs. monthly pension payments: when rolling over to an investment account may produce better long-term results The widow’s tax penalty: how filing status shifts from married joint to single and what that does to your tax bracket Tax account diversification: pre-tax, Roth, and taxable accounts and why having all three gives you flexibility in the withdrawal phase Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) as a tax-efficient strategy for required minimum distributions Account consolidation and why scattered, orphaned accounts create avoidable stress for surviving spouses Beneficiary designations and why they override a will — and need to be reviewed regularly Building a dividend-income portfolio so the surviving spouse never has to sell assets in the middle of a crisis Key Takeaways Losing a spouse is also a cash flow crisis.  When one spouse dies, the household loses one Social Security payment — but monthly expenses rarely drop by the same amount. Planning for that gap before it happens is one of the most important things a couple can do. The surviving spouse keeps the higher Social Security benefit, not both.  Many people assume both payments continue. They do not. One stops. Understanding this before retirement — and factoring it into when and how each spouse claims — can make a meaningful difference in long-term income. Pension elections are permanent.  Choosing single life vs. joint life vs. period certain is a one-time decision. The right answer depends on the couple’s other assets, their spending needs, and each person’s health and life expectancy. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The widow’s tax penalty is real and often overlooked.  A surviving spouse filing as single reaches higher tax brackets at lower income levels than a married couple filing jointly. This is not something that can be changed after the fact, but it can be planned around with the right mix of account types. Account consolidation reduces stress at the worst possible time.  Scattered IRAs, old 401(k)s, and separate investment accounts create a logistics nightmare for a grieving spouse who may not have been closely involved in the finances. Consolidating and organizing ahead of time is an act of care. Beneficiary designations override your will.  It does not matter what a will says if the beneficiary designation on a retirement account names someone else. These need to be reviewed at least annually and updated after any major life change. A dividend-income portfolio protects the surviving spouse from forced selling.  When a portfolio is built to pay income from dividends, the surviving spouse does not have to sell assets during an emotionally and financially difficult time. The income continues regardless of what the market is doing. Both spouses need to know what the plan is.  The spouse who has not been managing the finances should know who to call, where the accounts are, and what the income sources are. Ideally, they already have a relationship with the financial advisor. The post What Happens to Your Retirement When Your Spouse Dies appeared first on Dupree Financial.

Exploring the Ham Dash App ham radio dashboard. Consolidating the shack with Raspberry Pi 5 and M.2 solid state drive. Should you Repair or Replace that appliance with the recently expired warranty. 58:09

Exploring the Ham Dash App ham radio dashboard. Consolidating the shack with Raspberry Pi 5 and M.2 solid state drive. Should you Repair or Replace that appliance with the recently expired warranty. 58:09

This week's show covers consolidating your investments, how to turn your portfolio into a paycheck, donor advised funds, and more!

With a high-profile conflict between IDF soldiers and a CNN crew, the establishment of five new Israeli settler outposts on territory meant to be under Palestinian Authority control in a single night, and skyrocketing settler violence aimed at erasing Palestinians from their land, the situation in the West Bank has “definitely worsened” during the Iran war, Haaretz West Bank correspondent Matan Golan told the Haaretz Podcast. Golan joined her colleague, Yarden Michaeli, for a podcast conversation focused on what is unfolding in the West Bank and Gaza while the world’s attention is diverted to the major regional conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States. “It’s hard to count how many incidents of cars set on fire, and raids of settlers on Palestinian villages” have occurred over the past month, Golan said. What the West Bank and Gaza have in common, Michaeli noted, is a situation in which steps designed to be interim measures – such as the Yellow Line separating Gaza – don’t appear to be temporary. Since last autumn’s cease-fire, the IDF has maintained control of more than half of the Gaza Strip, and, as Michaeli explained, a Haaretz investigation has revealed the construction of military outposts and infrastructure that point to plans for an entrenched long-term presence. “All of this is happening in the context of the government pushing in a certain direction,” he explained, “and what makes us so concerned about it is the experience we have from the West Bank.” In the rest of the Strip, which remains under Hamas’ control, he said, the humanitarian crisis continues. “We have 2.1 million people now in Gaza that are crammed to less than half the size of the land that they had prior to the war” with hundreds of thousands living in tents or makeshift shelters amid destroyed buildings with no access to power, fuel or running water – and over 18,000 severely ill people who have been denied entry to the West Bank and Jerusalem to receive medical care by Israeli authorities, Michaeli explained. Read more: 32 Outposts, 10 Miles of Ground Barrier: IDF Builds New Border Line Inside Gaza. Here's How It Looks Gaza Aid Reduced by 80 Percent Since Start of Iran War as Food Prices Surge IDF Suspends Reserve Battalion Whose Soldiers Detained CNN Crew in West Bank Palestinian Man Shot Dead, 14 Wounded in West Bank Settler Raids as Five New Outposts Established in One Night Analysis by Dahlia Scheindlin | Don't Buy the Israeli Right's Sudden Concern for Settler Violence Who Gets to Decide What Counts as an Accident in the West Bank?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I examine how Business Central is transforming ERP with strong financial returns and AI-driven capabilities. Highlights 00:10 — A new Forrester report commissioned by Microsoft, entitled "The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central," has revealed some remarkable findings regarding the financial impact this standout cloud ERP is having on customers. 00:36 — And here's what it found: 209% ROI over three years, an estimated $464,000 net present value, and potential payback in just six months. The researchers aggregated the findings from interviewees and created a fictitious composite organization to develop this model. 00:58 — In their modeling, the researchers found that by year three, the composite company was experiencing a 30% reduction in monthly close time and up to 50% time savings for accounts payable, accounts receivable, and billing. It reduced audit preparation time by up to 30%. 01:19 — Consolidating outdated ERP products and systems led to more than a 10% reduction in total cost of ownership and over $170,000 in present value savings from withdrawn systems and decreased maintenance. 01:37 — Microsoft links these impressive results to how Business Central represents an AI-ready ERP foundation, enabling organizations to leverage Copilot, Power BI, and intelligent agents while emphasizing clean data, integrated systems, and standardized processes. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

What happens when a 50-year-old brand built on whistleblowing and independent journalism has to master digital subscriptions? For Ben Moss, CEO of The Moss Report and Publisher of the Townsend Letter, the answer was trading a "leaky" paywall for a high-value "Essentials" strategy.In this episode of the Paywall Podcast powered by Leaky Paywall, Ben joins Pete to discuss how he modernized two legendary niche publications without losing the "Trust Moat" his father built over half a century. They dive deep into the mechanics of the digital transition, including:The "Essentials" Strategy: How Ben replaced a standard metered paywall with a curated "Starter Pack" of 20 high-value articles—and why it triggered a 30% spike in free registrations.The Power of the Automated Drip: A look at the 18-email onboarding sequence that nurtures new readers from "casual visitor" to "mission-driven subscriber."Consolidating the Tech Stack: Why Ben moved away from "Frankenstein" setups (like Mailchimp) to an integrated Flow Letter and Leaky Paywall dashboard to save time and reduce technical debt.Acquiring a Legacy: The reality of taking over the 40-year-old Townsend Letter, moving it from a declining print-and-ad model to a 100% digital, reader-supported platform.The "Patreon" Mindset: Why authenticity and a whistleblowing legacy are the ultimate competitive advantages in an AI-driven world where "information is cheap, but trust is expensive."If you are a niche publisher wondering how to turn a loyal "analog" audience into a thriving digital community, this episode is a blueprint for building a brand that readers don't just read, they fund.

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Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Joxavier Jackson. A financial advisor with over 15 years of experience across major institutions such as Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America. She discusses her evolution from a teenage bank teller to an independent financial planner at The Piedmont Group in Atlanta, where she provides holistic, comprehensive wealth management—especially for clients who traditionally lack access to financial literacy. Joe shares her personal journey, the gaps she observed in financial education—especially in working‑class families and communities of color—and why she aims to provide accessible, relationship‑based financial planning. She breaks down the fundamentals of long‑term wealth: insurance, asset allocation, retirement accounts, tax strategies, fraud prevention, and planning for individuals and business owners. The discussion highlights the importance of financial confidence, the significance of meeting people where they are, and the need to increase participation of Black and Brown individuals in wealth‑building spaces.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Joxavier Jackson. A financial advisor with over 15 years of experience across major institutions such as Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America. She discusses her evolution from a teenage bank teller to an independent financial planner at The Piedmont Group in Atlanta, where she provides holistic, comprehensive wealth management—especially for clients who traditionally lack access to financial literacy. Joe shares her personal journey, the gaps she observed in financial education—especially in working‑class families and communities of color—and why she aims to provide accessible, relationship‑based financial planning. She breaks down the fundamentals of long‑term wealth: insurance, asset allocation, retirement accounts, tax strategies, fraud prevention, and planning for individuals and business owners. The discussion highlights the importance of financial confidence, the significance of meeting people where they are, and the need to increase participation of Black and Brown individuals in wealth‑building spaces.

Running Oracle Database@AWS is most effective when you have full visibility and control over your environment.   In this episode, hosts Lois Houston and Nikita Abraham are joined by Rashmi Panda, who explains how to monitor performance, track key metrics, and catch issues before they become problems. Later, Samvit Mishra shares key best practices for securing, optimizing, and maintaining a resilient Oracle Database@AWS deployment.   Oracle Database@AWS Architect Professional: https://mylearn.oracle.com/ou/course/oracle-databaseaws-architect-professional/155574 Oracle University Learning Community: https://education.oracle.com/ou-community LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-university/ X: https://x.com/Oracle_Edu   Special thanks to Arijit Ghosh, Anna Hulkower, Kris-Ann Nansen, Radhika Banka, and the OU Studio Team for helping us create this episode. ------------------------------------------------------ Episode Transcript: 00:00 Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast, the first stop on your cloud journey. During this series of informative podcasts, we'll bring you foundational training on the most popular Oracle technologies. Let's get started! 00:26 Nikita: Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast! I'm Nikita Abraham, Team Lead: Editorial Services with Oracle University, and with me is Lois Houston, Director of Communications and Adoption with Customer Success Services  Lois: Hello again! Last week's discussion was all about how Oracle Database@AWS stays secure and available. Today, we're joined by two experts from Oracle University. First, we'll hear from Rashmi Panda, Senior Principal Database Instructor, who will tell you how to monitor and log Oracle Database@AWS so your environment stays healthy and reliable. Nikita: And then we're bringing in Samvit Mishra, Senior Manager, CSS OU Cloud Delivery, who will break down the best practices that help you secure and strengthen your Oracle Database@AWS deployment. Let's start with you, Rashmi. Is there a service that allows you to monitor the different AWS resources in real time? Rashmi: Amazon CloudWatch is the cloud-native AWS monitoring service that can monitor the different AWS resources in real time. It allows you to collect the resource metrics and create customized dashboards, and even take action when certain criteria is met. Integration of Oracle Database@AWS with Amazon CloudWatch enables monitoring the metrics of the different database resources that are provisioned in Oracle Database@AWS. Amazon CloudWatch collects raw data and processes it to produce near real-time metrics data. Metrics collected for the resources are retained for 15 months. This facilitates analyzing the historical data to understand and compare the performance, trends, and utilization of the database service resources at different time intervals. You can set up alarms that continuously monitor the resource metrics for breach of user-defined thresholds and configure alert notification or take automated action in response to that metric threshold being reached. 02:19 Lois: What monitoring features stand out the most in Amazon CloudWatch? Rashmi: With Amazon CloudWatch, you can monitor Exadata VM Cluster, container database, and Autonomous database resources in Oracle Database@AWS. Oracle Database@AWS reports metrics data specific to the resource in AWS/ODB namespace of Amazon CloudWatch. Metrics can be collected only when the database resource is an available state in Oracle Database@AWS. Each of the resource types have their own metrics defined in AWS/ODB namespace, for which the metrics data get collected.  02:54 Nikita: Rashmi, can you take us through a few metrics? Rashmi: At Exadata database VM Cluster, there is CPU utilization, memory utilization, swap space storage file system utilization metric. Then there is load average on the server, what is the node status, and the number of allocated CPUs, et cetera. Then for container database, there is CPU utilization, storage utilization, block changes, parse count, execute count, user calls, which are important elements that can provide metrics data on database load. And for Autonomous Database metrics data include DB time, CPU utilization, logins, IOPS and IO throughput, RedoSize, parse, execute, transaction count, and few others. 03:32 Nikita: Once you've collected these metrics and analyzed database performance, what tools or services can you use to automate responses or handle specific events in your Oracle Database@AWS environment? Rashmi: Then there is Amazon EventBridge, which can monitor events from AWS services and respond automatically with certain actions that may be defined. You can monitor events from Oracle Database@AWS in EventBridge, which sends events data continuously to EventBridge at real time. Eventbridge forwards these events data to target AWS Lambda and Amazon Simple Notification Service to perform any actions on occurrence of certain events. Oracle Database@AWS events are structured messages that indicate changes in the life cycle of the database service resource. Eventbridge can filter events based on your defined rules, process them, and deliver to one or more targets. Event Bus is the router that receives the events, optionally transform them, and then delivers the events to the targets. Events from Oracle Database@AWS can be generated by two means: they can be generated from Oracle Database@AWS in AWS, and they can also be generated directly from OCI and received by EventBridge in AWS. You can monitor Exadata Database and Autonomous Database resource events. Ensure that the Exadata infrastructure status is an available state. You can configure how the events are handled for these resources. You can define rules in EventBridge to filter the events of interest and the target, who is going to receive and process those events. You can filter events based on a pattern depending on the event type, and apply this pattern using Amazon EventBridge put-rule API, with the default event bus to route only those matching events to targets. 05:13 Lois: And what about events that AWS itself generates? Rashmi: Events that are generated in AWS for the Oracle Database@AWS resources are delivered to the default event bus of your AWS account. These events that are generated in AWS for Oracle Database@AWS resources include lifecycle changes of the ODB network. The different network events are successful creation or failure of the creation of the ODB network, and successful deletion or failure in deletion of the ODB network. When you subscribe to Oracle Database@AWS, then an event bus with prefix aws.partner/odb is created in your AWS account. All events generated in OCI for the Oracle Database@AWS resources are then received in this event bus. When you are creating filter pattern using Amazon EventBridge put-rule API, you must set the event bus name to this event bus. Make sure you do not delete this event bus. Events generated in OCI and received into event bus are extensive. They include events of Oracle Exadata infrastructure, VM Cluster, container, and pluggable databases. 06:14 Lois: If you want to look back at what's happened in your environment, like who made the changes or accessed resources, what's the best AWS service for logging and auditing all that activity? Rashmi: Amazon CloudTrail is a logging service in AWS that records the different actions taken by a user or roles, or an AWS service. Oracle Database@AWS is integrated with Amazon Cloud Trail. This enables logging of all the different events on Oracle Database@AWS resources.  Amazon Cloud Trail captures all the API calls to Oracle Database@AWS as events. These API calls include calls from the Oracle Database@AWS console, and code calls to Oracle Database@AWS API operations. These log files are delivered to Amazon S3 bucket that you specify. These logs determine the identity of the caller who made the call request to Oracle Database@AWS, their IP from which the call originated, the time of the call, and some additional details.  CloudTrail event history stores immutable record of the past 90 days of management events in an AWS region. You can view, search, and download these records from CloudTrail Event History. You can access CloudTrail when you create an AWS account that automatically gives you the access to CloudTrail. Event history. If you would like to retain the logs for a longer period of time beyond 90 days, you can create CloudTrail trails or CloudTrail Lake event data store.  Management events in AWS provide information about management operations that are performed on the resources in your AWS account. Management operations are also called control plane operations. Thus, the control plane operations in Oracle Database@AWS are logged as management events in CloudTrail logs.  07:59 Are you a MyLearn subscriber? If so, you're automatically a member of the Oracle University Learning Community! Join millions of learners, attend exclusive live events, and connect directly with Oracle subject matter experts. Enjoy the latest news, join challenges, and share your ideas. Don't miss out! Become an active member today by visiting mylearn.oracle.com. 08:25 Nikita: Welcome back! Samvit, let's talk best practices. What should teams keep in mind when they're setting up and securing their Oracle Database@AWS environment?  Samvit: Use IAM roles and policies with least privilege to manage Oracle Database@AWS resources. This ensures only authorized users can provision or modify DB resources, reducing the risk of accidental or malicious changes.  Oracle Data Safe monitors database activity, user risk, and sensitive data, while AWS CloudTrail records all AWS API calls. Together, they give full visibility across the database and cloud layers. Autonomous Database supports Oracle Database Vault for enforcing separation of duties. Exadata Database Service can integrate with Audit Vault and Database Firewall to prevent privileged users from bypassing security controls. Enable multifactor authentication for AWS IAM users managing Oracle Database@AWS. This adds a strong second layer of protection against stolen credentials.  Always deploy your Oracle Database@AWS in private subnets without public IPs. Use AWS security groups and NACLs to strictly limit inbound and outbound traffic, allowing access only from trusted applications. Exadata Database Service supports integration with Oracle Vault for key lifecycle management. And in case of Autonomous Database, the transparent data encryption keys are automatically managed. But you can bring your own keys with OCI Vault. Key rotation ensures compliance and reduces risk of key compromise. Oracle Database@AWS enforces encrypted connections by default. Ensure clients connect with TLS 1.2 or 1.3 to protect data in transit from interception or tampering.  Use Oracle Data Safe's user assessment features to detect dormant users or excessive privileges. Disable unused accounts and rightsize permissions to reduce insider threats and security gap. Export database audit logs to Oracle Data Safe Audit Vault or AWS S3 with object lock for immutability. This prevents lock tampering and ensures audit evidence is preserved for compliance.  11:25 Lois: OK, that covers security. Do you have any tips for making sure your Oracle Database@AWS setup is reliable and resilient? Samvit: Start with clear recovery objectives. Define how much downtime and data loss each workload can tolerate. These targets drive your HADR architecture and backup strategy.  Implement business continuity measures to deliver maximum uptime for your databases. As a best practice, you must configure disaster recovery environment for your critical databases so that, in the event of any disaster affecting the primary database, applications can be immediately failed over to the DR environment, ensuring least application downtime and zero or minimal data loss. With Oracle Database@AWS, you can automate the creation and management of DR environment for your database services using different deployment capabilities. You can opt to configure either cross-availability zone DR in the same region or configure cross-region DR. Since cross-availability zone can only provide site failure protection, you must also configure a cross-region DR to protect against regional failure. A DR plan is only effective if tested. Regular failover and switchover drills validate that people, processes, and systems can recover as designed.  For Exadata Database, Autonomous Recovery Service provides automated backup validation, recovery guarantees, and protection against accidental data loss or corruption.  Oracle-managed backups are fully managed by OCI. When you create your Oracle Exadata Database, you can enable automatic backups by choosing Enable Automatic Backups in the OCI Console. When you do that, you can select Amazon S3 or OCI Object Storage or Autonomous Recovery Service as the backup destination. Don't just take backups. You also need to test them. Regularly restore backups into non-production environment to validate integrity and recovery time.  Plan beyond just the database. Map application and middleware dependencies to ensure end-to-end business resilience. A database failover is useless if dependent apps can't reconnect. 14:09 Nikita: Another area of interest is performance and cost. What practices help teams balance the two? Samvit: Autonomous Database automatically scales CPU and storage as workloads grow. This ensures performance during peaks while avoiding overprovisioning. So you should enable ADB auto-scaling.  Monitor CPU, memory, and IO metrics with AWS CloudWatch to rightsize your compute. Scale up or down based on actual utilization instead of static provisioning. Autonomous databases continuously evaluate and creates indexes automatically. This improves query performance without requiring manual tuning.  Use connection pooling in your applications to optimize database connections. Minimizing round-trip reduces latency and improves throughput. Apply AWS tags to database and related resources for cost allocation and chargeback. Tagging also helps with governance and cost visibility.  Choose between bring your own license and license-included models for Oracle Database@AWS. The right model depends on your existing license portfolio and cost strategy. Not all workloads need long backup retention. Adjust retention policies based on business needs to balance compliance with storage costs.  Exadata Database supports Oracle multitenant with pluggable databases. Consolidating databases reduces infrastructure footprint and licensing costs. Performance tuning isn't just technical. Align metrics with business KPIs. correlating DB performance to user experience and revenue impact helps prioritize optimizations.  16:20 Lois: Before we wrap up, Samvit, let's look at operational efficiency. What advice do you have for making day-to-day operations more efficient? Samvit: Use infrastructure as code tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation to automate provisioning. This ensures consistent, repeatable deployments with minimal manual errors.  For Autonomous Database, enable auto-start/stop to optimize costs by running databases only when needed. This is ideal for dev test or seasonal workloads. Exadata Database Service provides fleet maintenance to patch multiple systems consistently. This reduces downtime and simplifies lifecycle management.  Integrate AWS CloudWatch for performance monitoring and EventBridge for event-driven automation. This helps detect issues early and trigger automated workflows. Oracle Data Safe provides ready-to-use audit and compliance reports. Use these to streamline governance and reduce the effort of manual compliance tracking.  For Autonomous databases, Performance Hub simplifies monitoring while Exadata users benefit from AWR and ASH reports. Together, they give deep insights into performance trends. Automated tagging policies and change management workflows help maintain governance. They ensure resources are tracked properly and changes are auditable.  Monitor storage consumption and growth patterns using AWS CloudWatch and the ADB Console. Proactive tracking helps avoid capacity issues and unexpected costs. Send CloudTrail logs into EventBridge to trigger automated incident responses. This shortens response time and builds operational resilience.  18:36 Nikita: Samvit and Rashmi, thanks for spending time with us today. Your insights always help bring the bigger picture into focus. Lois: They definitely do. And if you'd like to go deeper into everything we covered, head over to mylearn.oracle.com and look up the Oracle Database@AWS Architect Professional course. Until next time, this is Lois Houston… Nikita: And Nikita Abraham, signing off! 19:03 That's all for this episode of the Oracle University Podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please click Subscribe to get all the latest episodes. We'd also love it if you would take a moment to rate and review us on your podcast app. See you again on the next episode of the Oracle University Podcast.

A senior official says China has made solid progress in consolidating poverty alleviation over the past five years, with rural incomes rising steadily and the urban-rural gap continuing to narrow.

The Hoover Institution's Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region held a public session on Resilient Realists: How Taiwan Navigates Its Future in a Turbulent World on March 2, 2026 from 1:00-2:30 PM PT. Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical competition between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly intensified, and the global order has faced growing strains. Through it all, Taiwan has remained remarkably resilient. In the face of relentless diplomatic, economic, and military pressure from Beijing, Taiwan's leaders have leveraged the island's critical role in global technology supply chains, its reputation as a robust liberal democracy, and its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific to deepen engagement with key world powers. As many Americans question core assumptions of the post-Cold War global order, the PRC's military power continues to grow, and the world stands on the cusp of a technological revolution in artificial intelligence, can Taiwan continue to navigate so deftly through turbulent geopolitical waters? To address these topics, the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region at the Hoover Institution held a fireside chat featuring Dr. Hung-mao Tien, President of the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR) in Taipei and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Dr. Tien joined in conversation by Adm. (Ret.) James O. Ellis, the Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, and Dr. Larry Diamond, the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.   ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr. Hung-mao Tien is the President and Chairman of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei, and board member of several foundations and business corporations in Taiwan. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). From 2000-2002, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, the semi-official body in Taiwan responsible for direct exchanges and dialogue with the People's Republic of China, Representative (ambassador) to the United Kingdom, and presidential advisor to former President Lee Teng-hui. He has also served in an advisory capacity to Harvard University's Asia Center, The Asia Society in New York, and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Tien has taught in universities in both the US and Taiwan as professor of political science.  His numerous publications in English (author, editor and co-editor) include: Government and Politics in Kuomintang China 1927-37 (Stanford University Press); The Great Transition: Social and Political Change in the Republic of China (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press); and Democratization in Taiwan, Implications for China (St. Anthony's Series, Oxford University), Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies, Themes and Perspectives (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press), China Under Jiang Zemin (Rienner), and The Security Environment in the Asia-Pacific (M.E. Sharpe). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Larry Diamond is the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. He is also professor by courtesy of political science and sociology at Stanford, where he lectures and teaches courses on democracy (including an online course on EdX). At Hoover, he co-leads the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region and participates in the Program on the US, China, and the World. At FSI, he is among the core faculty of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, which he directed for six and a half years. He leads FSI's Israel Studies Program and is a member of the Program on Arab Reform and Development. He also co-leads the Global Digital Policy Incubator, based at FSI's Cyber Policy Center. He served for thirty-two years as founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. Diamond's research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy and on US and international policies to defend and advance democracy. His book Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency (2019; paperback ed. 2020) analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world and offers an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home and abroad. His other books include In Search of Democracy (2016), The Spirit of Democracy (2008), Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (1999), Promoting Democracy in the 1990s (1995), and Class, Ethnicity, and Democracy in Nigeria (1989). He has edited or coedited more than fifty books, including China's Influence and American Interests (2019, with Orville Schell), Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China, and Global Semiconductor Security (2023, with James O. Ellis Jr. and Orville Schell), and The Troubling State of India's Democracy (2024, with Šumit Ganguly and Dinsha Mistree). Admiral James O. Ellis Jr. is Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he oversees both the Global Policy and Strategy Initiative and the George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group. He retired from a 39-year career with the US Navy in 2004. He has also served in the private and nonprofit sectors in areas of energy and nuclear security. A 1969 graduate of the US Naval Academy, Ellis was designated a naval aviator in 1971. His service as a navy fighter pilot included tours with two carrier-based fighter squadrons and assignment as commanding officer of an F/A-18 strike fighter squadron. In 1991, he assumed command of the USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. After selection to rear admiral, in 1996, he served as a carrier battle group commander, leading contingency response operations in the Taiwan Strait. His shore assignments included numerous senior military staff tours. Senior command positions included commander in chief, US Naval Forces, Europe, and commander in chief, Allied Forces, Southern Europe, during a time of historic NATO expansion. He led US and NATO forces in combat and humanitarian operations during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. Ellis's final assignment in the navy was as commander of the US Strategic Command during a time of challenge and change. In this role, he was responsible for the global command and control of US strategic and space forces, reporting directly to the secretary of defense.

Welcome How Winning Manufacturers Put Historical Data At The Center Of Their Business Transformation American manufacturing has been on a negative trajectory for the last half century. In the last 20 years alone, 30% of Americas small and midsized manufacturers have been absorbed by larger competitors or gone out of business. Trade policy alone isn't enough to save the American Manufacturer. To dominate the 21st century, American Manufacturers need to innovate faster than ever before. Fortunately a fresh crop of leading innovators in this new AI-powered era is beginning to emerge. We're here to bring you their stories. Consolidating components purchasing across a global supply chain. Speeding up DFM to get products to market faster. Enforcing reuse to avoid unnecessary duplication and carrying costs. These are just a few of the success stories that CADDi customers have pioneered over the last year. We're here to deep dive some of these for you. The CADDi team will get under the hood on approaches used by our top customers so you can deploy them in your own business. Don't miss this chance to grab the AI-enabled playbooks that are making companies like, Subaru, Kawasaki, Dairy Conveyor Corp, Denso, Ebara, and others so successful at improving QCD Brought to you by: CADDi  SPEAKERS: Aaron Lober VP of Marketing CADDi Aaron Lober is an accomplished marketing executive with a foundation in product marketing at companies like Procore Technologies, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Blameless (acquired by FireHydrant). He holds an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Chris Cope VP of Engineering CADDi Chris Cope is a seasoned technology leader with expertise in SRE, AI, Architecture and Security. Formerly with Xometry and Laconia, Chris excels in optimizing production workflows and spearheading automation projects. He is known for driving innovation and scaling teams to enhance operational efficiency and earned a Masters in Computer Science from DePaul University. Patrick Harrigan VP of Partnerships CADDi Patrick Harrigan, VP of Partnerships at CADDi, formerly of Hexagon AB and Tulip Interfaces, fosters a partner network to expand CADDi's AI platform, driving operational efficiency, cost reduction, and knowledge democratization. Visit https://advancedmanufacturing.org/webinars for more webinars and an interactive experience with visuals.

Did you know there’s nearly $2.1 trillion in forgotten 401(k) and retirement accounts scattered across the United States? On this episode of The Financial Hour of The Tom Dupree Show, hosts Tom Dupree, Mike Johnson, and James Dupree tackle what they call America’s abandoned 401(k) crisis — and lay out a clear path for recovering lost retirement savings before it’s too late. With the average American staying at an employer for just 3.9 years, it’s no surprise that old 401(k) accounts get left behind. But those forgotten dollars represent real retirement income that could be working harder for you right now. Whether you’re in your thirties with scattered accounts or approaching retirement with assets spread across multiple former employers, the team at Dupree Financial Group explains why consolidating your retirement accounts into a personalized investment management strategy could be one of the most important financial decisions you make. Why Abandoned 401(k) Accounts Are Costing You More Than You Think The problem goes deeper than simply losing track of an old account. As Mike Johnson explained during the episode, there are two distinct sides to this crisis. The first is accounts that people genuinely forget about — they leave a job, move to a new city, and a 401(k) with a few thousand dollars slips through the cracks. The second, and far more common scenario, is when people know they have old accounts scattered around but never get around to consolidating them. “You have all these various pieces scattered around. You haven’t forgotten about them — they’ve just been sitting there. And there’s really no clear plan, no management, anything like that.” — Mike Johnson The costs of inaction add up quickly. Old employer plans charge administration fees and internal fund expenses that steadily eat away at your balance. Without active management, your investments may have been moved to money market funds or stable value options without your knowledge — meaning you’ve potentially lost years of compounding growth. Tom Dupree put it simply: “Money that’s together is better managed.” The Hidden Costs of Scattered Retirement Accounts Beyond the obvious risk of forgetting an account entirely, keeping retirement savings spread across multiple former employers creates a series of compounding problems. Fees erode your balance. Plan administration costs and internal fund fees are deducted from accounts whether you’re contributing or not. Over time, a dormant account can lose significant value to expenses alone. Opportunity cost is real. An old 401(k) sitting in a bond fund or money market account for 20 years has missed potentially decades of growth. As Mike Johnson noted: “How much did you leave on the table by just leaving it on autopilot?” Logistics become a nightmare at retirement. Multiple accounts mean multiple logins, multiple statements, and multiple required minimum distributions to calculate and manage once you reach age 73. No cohesive investment strategy. Without consolidation, there’s no way to ensure your overall allocation reflects where you are in life — whether that’s aggressive growth in your thirties or income-focused positioning as you approach retirement. Plan changes happen without you. Third-party administrators regularly swap out fund options within employer plans. If you’re not watching, your money may end up in an investment that no longer fits your goals. How to Find Your Lost 401(k) Accounts If you think you may have retirement money sitting somewhere you’ve forgotten about, there are several ways to track it down. Mike Johnson walked listeners through the key resources available. Contact your former employer. This is the most direct route. Many companies can tell you whether you still have a balance in their retirement plan and connect you with the plan administrator. Use the federal government’s search tool. In 2024, the Department of Labor launched lostfound.dol.gov, a searchable database specifically for private, non-governmental employer plans. You can search by Social Security number to locate plans connected to your work history. Check state unclaimed property databases. Some abandoned retirement assets may have been turned over to your state’s unclaimed property division, which maintains searchable records. The statistic is striking: 54% of savers don’t know where their old 401k is, and 61% don’t know their login credentials. If that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone — and the solution is more straightforward than most people realize. Your Four Options for an Old 401(k) (And Which One Actually Makes Sense) Once you’ve located an old retirement account, you have four choices. Mike Johnson broke them down clearly during the episode. Option 1: Leave it where it is. This is the easiest path — and almost always the worst one. The account sits unmanaged, accumulating fees with no investment strategy behind it. As Mike put it, this makes sense “0.00001% of the time.” Option 2: Roll it into your new employer’s 401(k). Better than leaving it behind, but still limiting. Most employer plans offer only 20 to 30 investment options, with many being target-date or broad index funds that may not fit your specific situation. Option 3: Cash it out. If you’re under 59½, you’ll face penalties and taxes. Even above that age, cashing out means losing the tax-advantaged compounding that makes retirement accounts so powerful. This should generally be a last resort. Option 4: Roll it into a professionally managed IRA. This is the approach the Dupree Financial Group team recommends for most people. An IRA gives you access to individual securities, ETFs, mutual funds, and a fully customized investment philosophy tailored to your goals and timeline. There are no tax consequences for a direct rollover, and you gain the ability to build a cohesive plan across all your retirement assets. The Power of Roth Conversions for Younger Savers One of the episode’s most actionable takeaways was Mike Johnson’s advice for younger workers with small, stranded 401(k) accounts. “If you’re in your twenties or thirties and you have some small legacy 401(k) stranded accounts, you can move that to an IRA and it would probably make sense to convert that to a Roth while you’re in a lower tax bracket.” — Mike Johnson The math is compelling. Pay a small tax bill now on a relatively modest balance, and that money compounds tax-free for the next 30 or more years. The team also discussed how Roth conversions were particularly powerful during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, when account values were depressed — converting low balances meant paying taxes on less and then watching all the recovery growth accumulate tax-free. For those closer to retirement, gradual Roth conversions can still make sense. The strategy involves filling up your current tax bracket with conversions each year, reducing future required minimum distributions and creating tax-free income in retirement. Tools like Morningstar’s retirement planning resources can help you model how different conversion amounts affect your long-term tax picture. In-Service Rollovers: A Strategy for Workers Over 59½ If you’re still working but have reached age 59½, you may have an option many people don’t know about: the in-service rollover. Most employer plans allow participants who are 59½ or older to move existing assets out of the 401(k) and into an IRA — while continuing to make contributions and collect any employer match in the plan. This means you can begin building an income-focused portfolio years before you actually retire. “At 59 and a half, you roll it to an IRA and then you’re preparing for retirement… you get that income stream rolling so that machine is now working.” — Mike Johnson The Dupree Financial Group team structures these rollovers around their dividend-focused investment approach, building portfolios of quality companies that generate consistent income. By the time you retire, the transition is seamless — your portfolio is already generating dividends, your relationship with your advisor is established, and linking your IRA to your checking account for retirement income is as simple as flipping a switch. Why Compounding Favors Those Who Start Now James Dupree brought a generational perspective to the conversation, noting that while younger workers may understand the concept of compounding better than previous generations, many still haven’t taken action on it. Tom Dupree shared a perspective from his 47 years in the investment business: “Everybody who’s got a large account — it started with a small one. That’s how it works.” The team emphasized that the size of your starting balance matters far less than getting that money working for you under professional management. A few thousand dollars left in an old 401(k), properly invested and compounded over 20 or 30 years, could grow into a meaningful piece of your retirement income. James illustrated the point with a personal example — calculating how much his girlfriend could accumulate by investing the daily savings from making espresso at home instead of buying Starbucks. The numbers were eye-opening, and the principle applies directly to abandoned retirement accounts sitting idle. Key Takeaways From This Episode Nearly $2.1 trillion in retirement savings is sitting in forgotten or unmanaged accounts across the U.S. Dormant 401(k) accounts lose value through hidden fees, opportunity costs, and unmonitored investment changes. The federal government’s lostfound.dol.gov database can help you locate old employer plans. Rolling old 401(k) accounts into a professionally managed IRA provides more investment options, lower fees, and a cohesive retirement strategy. Roth conversions on small, stranded accounts can be especially powerful for younger workers in lower tax brackets. In-service rollovers at age 59½ let you begin building retirement income while still working and collecting your employer match. Consolidating scattered retirement assets into one managed portfolio allows for coordinated tax planning, income generation, and a smoother transition into retirement. Frequently Asked Questions How do I find out if I have an old 401(k) from a previous job? Start by contacting former employers directly. You can also search the Department of Labor’s database at lostfound.dol.gov, which was launched in 2024 specifically for locating private employer retirement plans. State unclaimed property databases are another resource worth checking. Is there a tax penalty for rolling over a 401k to an IRA? No. A direct rollover from a pre-tax 401(k) to a traditional IRA has no tax consequences. Similarly, Roth 401(k) assets can roll to a Roth IRA without triggering taxes. The key is ensuring the rollover is done directly — trustee to trustee — rather than taking a distribution and redepositing. The IRS rollover chart outlines exactly which account types can transfer into which. What is an in-service rollover? An in-service rollover allows employees who are 59½ or older to transfer assets from their current employer’s 401(k) into an IRA while still working and contributing to the plan. This lets you begin building a managed retirement portfolio before you actually retire. Why shouldn’t I just leave my old 401(k) where it is? Dormant accounts accumulate plan administration fees and internal fund costs without any active management. Investment options may change without your knowledge, and the money isn’t aligned with your current financial goals or retirement timeline. What’s the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA for investment options? A 401(k) typically offers 20 to 30 investment choices selected by your employer’s plan administrator, usually mutual funds and target-date funds. An IRA gives you access to individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and other securities — allowing for a fully customized investment strategy. Should I convert my old 401(k) to a Roth IRA? It depends on your current tax bracket versus your expected bracket in retirement. If you’re in a lower bracket now — especially if you’re younger — converting to a Roth allows all future growth to compound tax-free. The team at Dupree Financial Group can help you evaluate whether a conversion fits your specific situation. Schedule Your Complimentary Portfolio Review Have you worked for multiple employers over the years? You may have retirement money sitting in old 401(k) accounts that could be working harder for you. The team at Dupree Financial Group can help you locate scattered retirement assets, evaluate your options, and build a consolidated, income-focused portfolio designed for where you are in life right now. No obligation. No products to sell. Just an honest look at your situation. Call (859) 233-0400 or visit dupreefinancial.com/book to schedule your complimentary consultation. Listen to more episodes of The Financial Hour → Dupree Financial Group is a registered investment advisor. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Please consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions. The post The 2 Trillion Dollar Problem: How to Find and Recover Your Abandoned 401k Accounts appeared first on Dupree Financial.

A proposal from Dr. Opperman to close one of the PPS middle schools leaves Lincoln on the hot seat. 

Dean Maciuba, Founding Partner at Crossroads Parcel Consulting, discusses the future of out-of-home delivery in the USA. What the FedEx-InPost transaction means for FedEx exposure in Europe Learning from InPost about parcel locker operations The opportunity for parcel lockers in the USA Future opportunities to combine FedEx and InPost operations in Europe FedEx and Flying Tigers Parcel locker failures in the USA Targeted rollout of parcel lockers in key US markets FedEx's existing PUDO relationship with retailers Partnering with retailers or the USPS for parcel lockers Are parcels a priority for PUDO partner retailers? Is 24-hour access really a selling point? USPS and parcel lockers Leveraging the USPS post office network for parcels Understanding US consumer behaviour in parcels= Residential and rural delivery surcharges UPS and FedEx and e-commerce parcel delivery density Consolidating deliveries to out-of-home parcel collection points Residential parcel lockers  

Questions? Comments?Don and Tom examine Kiplinger's list of top retirement side gigs and separate practical ideas from pipe dreams, questioning whether executive coaching, IT consulting, online reselling, and landlord life truly offer “passive” or realistic income. They highlight more viable options like tutoring, handyman work, and tour guiding while emphasizing purpose over paycheck. Listener questions cover the risks of private credit and alternative investments, plus smart strategies for consolidating multiple 401(k) accounts without triggering unintended tax consequences.0:04 Old guys still podcasting intro1:38 Kiplinger's retiree side-gig list3:26 Executive coaching reality check4:40 AI and tech consulting skepticism6:32 Consulting and client ego problems7:53 AI vs. content writers9:06 Bookkeeping for small businesses9:29 Online selling isn't easy money11:19 Tutoring as a steady option12:17 Handyman work pays well13:44 Tour guide opportunities14:17 Landlord myth of “passive” income16:00 Where to find side gigs16:47 Bridge jobs for healthcare17:08 Purpose-driven retirement19:14 Private credit and alternative risks23:46 Consolidating multiple 401(k)sLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don and Tom examine Kiplinger's list of top retirement side gigs and separate practical ideas from pipe dreams, questioning whether executive coaching, IT consulting, online reselling, and landlord life truly offer “passive” or realistic income. They highlight more viable options like tutoring, handyman work, and tour guiding while emphasizing purpose over paycheck. Listener questions cover the risks of private credit and alternative investments, plus smart strategies for consolidating multiple 401(k) accounts without triggering unintended tax consequences. 0:04 Old guys still podcasting intro 1:38 Kiplinger's retiree side-gig list 3:26 Executive coaching reality check 4:40 AI and tech consulting skepticism 6:32 Consulting and client ego problems 7:53 AI vs. content writers 9:06 Bookkeeping for small businesses 9:29 Online selling isn't easy money 11:19 Tutoring as a steady option 12:17 Handyman work pays well 13:44 Tour guide opportunities 14:17 Landlord myth of “passive” income 16:00 Where to find side gigs 16:47 Bridge jobs for healthcare 17:08 Purpose-driven retirement 19:14 Private credit and alternative risks 23:46 Consolidating multiple 401(k)s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join host Nick Schutt on Robots and Red Tape as he chats with Darryl Peek, VP of Partnerships for US Public Sector at Elastic. Darryl shares his journey from engineering at Lockheed Martin to leading in cybersecurity and AI-driven solutions.They dive into Elastic's role in search, observability, and security, exploring Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), data governance, and the challenges of AI in regulated industries. Discover how Elastic helps unify siloed data, enhance security, and measure AI's impact on productivity—all while navigating public sector priorities.*Key insights on RAG: Grounding AI with organizational data to avoid hallucinations and ensure accuracy.*Tackling data silos: Harmonizing structured and unstructured data for better insights without perfection.*Federal SOC bottlenecks: Prioritizing alerts, context, and triage to reduce analyst overload.*AI ethics and accountability: The need for audits, human-in-the-loop, and guardrails in agentic AI.*Modernization across administrations: Consolidating tools to build recession-proof missions focused on security and observability.Subscribe to @RobotsandRedTapeAI for more episodes on AI and public sector tech.

79% of global B2B buyers say AI search has changed research habits. Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2, oversees insights from 100+ million annual software buyers and has witnessed enterprise research shift from 29% to 50% starting searches on AI chatbots in just four months. Sanders reveals why buyers moved from "reference to inference" workflows, how G2 captures 60% of AI citations through verified review data, and the critical difference between calendar age versus cognitive age in modern buyer journeys.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Interview with Francis Macdonald, Director & CEO of Li-FT Power Ltd.Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/li-ft-power-tsxvlift-commits-7m-to-environmental-studies-for-50m-ton-lithium-project-7632Recording date: 6th February 2026Li-FT Power (TSXV:LIFT) has positioned itself at the forefront of North America's lithium sector through strategic consolidation, executing its acquisition of Winsome's Adina project as spodumene prices rebound from a 2.5-year downturn. CEO Francis MacDonald reports lithium prices have tripled from $600 per ton in July 2025 to nearly $2,000 per ton, signaling what the company believes is the early stage of an 18-24 month bull cycle.The Adina transaction addresses a critical development constraint that had artificially limited the project's potential. A claim boundary bisected the deposit, preventing Winsome from optimizing pit design across its 78 million ton resource estimate—only 35 million tons could be incorporated into preliminary mine plans. Li-FT Power had strategically acquired the southern claims before announcing the transaction, enabling complete consolidation that MacDonald expects will unlock 80-100+ million tons of resource, positioning Adina among North America's largest hard rock lithium deposits.The transaction was announced alongside $48 million in financing led by Avenir Minerals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Agnico Eagle, at $4.30 per share—a price that subsequently doubled to over $9 as lithium sentiment strengthened. Combined with existing equity positions, the company now holds approximately $75 million to fund aggressive 2026-2027 technical programs across both its Adina and Yellowknife flagship projects.MacDonald emphasizes the importance of cyclical timing, noting that strategic acquisitions should occur during market downturns when valuations are depressed. "We saw prices starting to fall in January of 2023. And so, it was really a falling or a flat price environment for 2.5 years," he explains, adding that volatility becomes advantageous when positioned correctly within the cycle.The company plans 50,000 meters of drilling at Adina in 2026 to support a feasibility study targeted for 2027, while concurrent drilling at Yellowknife aims to expand its existing 50 million ton resource base. At the anticipated 80-100 million ton scale, MacDonald argues Adina could justify throughput rates of 4-5 million tons per year, significantly larger than typical 2 million ton per year lithium operations and improving project economics through economies of scale.View Li-FT Power's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/li-ft-power-ltdSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Following the successful launch of the 2026 NESG Macroeconomic Outlook Report, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) hosted a special podcast episode featuring some members of the research team who authored the report. The 2026 Outlook positions Nigeria at a critical inflection point—having recorded measurable stabilisation gains in inflation moderation, foreign exchange stability, external reserves, and investor confidence—but still facing structural vulnerabilities in productivity, jobs, fiscal space, and household welfare. The report therefore makes a strong case for 2026 as the year of consolidation: moving beyond crisis management towards embedding reforms in institutions, markets, and economic behaviour. This podcast will serve as a strategic knowledge translation platform—breaking down the report's insights into accessible conversations, deepening public understanding, and encouraging stakeholders to engage directly with the full publication. The podcast aims to: • Simplify and explain the key findings of the 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook • Provide context behind the data, projections, and policy recommendations • Strengthen public and stakeholder understanding of “consolidation” as an economic phase • Promote downloads and readership of the full report • Position NESG as the leading voice on evidence-based economic policy discourse in Nigeria

 a large share of the refinances in 2025 were indeed driven by homeowners taking cash out of their home equity to consolidate debt or tap housing wealth, not just refinancing to get a lower interest rate. The data available on refinance activity in early and mid-2025 show this clearly:

Why do some TikTok Shops explode… and others die in 90 days? This episode breaks down the foundational moves most sellers skip and the fixes that change everything.   TikTok Shop isn't “Amazon with videos”—it's entertainment first, shopping second. In this TikTok Thursday episode, TikTok Shop strategist Michelle Barnum-Smith explains the non-negotiable foundations sellers need in 2026, whether you're launching from scratch or trying to scale what you already started. The big mindset shift: people open TikTok to scroll, not to search-find-and-buy, so your strategy has to be built for discovery and impulse, not intent-based shopping.   Michelle breaks down what actually wins on TikTok Shop: products that are instantly understandable, visually demonstrable, and ideally show a quick transformation or solve a clear pain point fast. She also calls out a costly structural mistake, having too many separate listings. Since most discovery happens through videos, every listing becomes its own content, affiliate, ads, and promo machine. Consolidating into a master listing with variants can protect momentum (especially when one variant goes out of stock) and make it easier to stack orders.   From there, it's all about converting scrolls into purchases with a simple offer stack: free shipping, product discounts (like flash sales), clickable coupons, and TikTok Shop campaigns that add visibility and “deal” badging. She also warns against manually lowering the listing price because you lose the visual cues that help shoppers feel urgency. Finally, she outlines the content and ads engine that feeds the algorithm, optimizes for thumb-stopping hooks, watch time, completion, rewatches, and engagement, then iterates at volume and is prepared for a pay-to-play reality where ads and budget can be the difference-maker. In episode 493 of the AM/PM Podcast, Bradley and Michelle discuss: 00:00 – Introduction 01:26 – What You Need To Start (Or Scale) On TikTok Shop 05:13 – The “Non-Negotiable Foundations” For Million-Dollar Shops 06:13 – Why People Use TikTok (And Why They Aren't There To Shop) 08:17 – What Makes A Product “TikTokable” (And What Doesn't) 10:17 – The #1 Listing Mistake: Too Many Separate Listings 11:37 – Built Bar Example: Master Listing & Variants Vs. Content Shutdown 14:03 – Turning Scrolls Into Impulse Buys: The Offer Stack 15:06 – Free Shipping: Expectations, AOV, And Losing Sales To Amazon 18:34 – Product Discounts: Flash Sales & “Lowest Price In 30 Days” Warning 20:53 – Clickable Coupons & TikTok Campaigns: Badges, Fine Print, Price Traps 26:00 – TikTok Thursday Q&A with Michelle Barnum-Smith

As wealth grows, life rarely gets simpler. More accounts, more advisors, more decisions… and eventually, even successful families start to wonder whether everything is actually working together.In this episode of The Green Zone Podcast, Jeff Green and Lauren Smith unpack a modern family office–style approach to wealth management, designed for families who want clarity, coordination, and confidence without needing a $50 million balance sheet.They explore why financial complexity often comes from too many advisors working in silos, not from a lack of expertise—and why the real solution isn't adding more people, but improving alignment among the professionals you already trust.Jeff and Lauren walk through the five pillars of a modern family office blueprint, including:Consolidating your financial world into one coordinated systemBuilding a true “board of advisors” who communicate with one anotherPlanning proactively for after-tax growthInvesting with purpose, not market noisePreparing the next generation through thoughtful legacy planning and communicationAlong the way, they discuss why families shouldn't be forced into the role of project manager for their own wealth—and how a family office mindset can help reduce decision fatigue, uncover missed opportunities, and bring everything back to what matters most.If you're looking for a clearer, more coordinated way to manage your financial life, this episode is a must-listen.Connect With Winstone Wealth Partners:jeff@WinstoneWP.com(713) 244-3030Schedule A Call With Jeff or LaurenWinstone Wealth PartnersLinkedIn: Jeff GreenLinkedIn: Lauren Smith  

In the final episode of “Mastering the Hidden Margin", a special series on Build Better Work, our cast reveals where margin is truly lost—after the SPA agreement is signed. Join Tony Pericle,  Kara DeGraff, Scott Sinning, and Rick Wells as they break down how broken data flows, manual reconciliation, and missed renewals quietly drain 1–3% of SPA revenue every year. The conversation explores the full SPA lifecycle: digitizing supplier data, normalizing inconsistent formats, managing claim reconciliation, and enforcing renewal discipline. The panel shares side-by-side distributor and manufacturer perspectives, along with war stories from decades in pricing and contract administration. Practical guidance is offered on standardized templates, tolerance-based reconciliation, aging reports, centralized renewals, and preventing pricing chaos when SPAs expire unexpectedly.Time Stamps:0:00 - Intro2:54 - SPA Life Cycle4:01 - Consolidating and Internalize Data9:00 - Claims and Disputes11:27 - Reconciliation of Claims13:28 - Renewing Contracts19:19 - Leveraging “White Space”22:05 - The Hidden Margin24:22 - New Customers/ New SPAs29:02 - AI in Distribution30:41 - 3 Most Important Features for Distributors to Know31:52 - How to Prevent Leakage33:02 - Most Important Characteristics for SPA Leadership36:49 - ClosingGuests:Tony | tony@profitoptics.com: Tony Pericle is the founder of ProfitOptics and one of the most innovative minds in the distribution industry. With over 30 years of experience—from frontline sales to leading AI-powered transformations—he's helped major distributors unlock hidden margin, optimize operations, and scale pricing strategies. Cara | linkedin.com/in/caradegraff: Cara DeGraff is a VP of Production Management at Vistex and leads a global team that manages all aspects of product management and product education. Since joining Vistex in 2007, Cara welcomes the challenge of solving companies' problems and optimizing their processes through Vistex solutions. Prior to Vistex, Cara worked for both manufacturers and distributors with SAP as their ERP, and across a variety of industries managing and implementing a myriad of business processes.Scott | scott@pricingfordistributors.com: Scott Sinning founded Pricing For Distributors in 2022 after a 30-year career in wholesale distribution with Graybar Electric. As former VP of Pricing Strategy, he knows about the margin challenges and opportunities faced by distributors. He is a "business guy" that came up through the ranks, but his career also included lead roles on ERP and pricing software projects where he learned how to drive successful change at scale.ABOUT BUILD BETTER WORK PODCAST Build Better Work by ProfitOptics is a podcast about the power of technology to transform work and lives with our host Greg Stivers. The show is produced by ProfitOptics, a technology consulting firm that builds software and engineers data solutions to drive business performance for mid-size and enterprise companies. CONNECT WITH PROFITOPTICS ProfitOptics.com Follow us on LinkedIn

What does it actually take to build a multi-million-dollar service business, stay sane through recessions, and still love the work after 26 years? In this episode, Steve DHondt (PMS Brick Pavers) invites us into his shop, his mindset, and his faith-driven approach to leadership and growth. Steve runs a $6–7M outdoor living and hardscaping company with 60+ employees—and he's calling it now: a massive wave of home-service businesses won't survive past 2026 if they don't get lean, efficient, and intentional. We talk about debt, consolidation, leadership, equipment, family trade-offs, and how to believe in yourself when things get heavy and messy.   "I'm not rich — my business is. I get paid a salary like everyone else. Because when I don't choke my business with my personal lifestyle, it can keep growing, keep providing, and keep taking care of the people in it." – Steve Dhondt   In this episode, we cover: Why 35% of home-service businesses may not open in 2026 What smart debt vs pride debt looks like in real life Consolidating services so your team can actually win How AI + software automation keeps small shops competitive Leading through recession without panicking What "efficiency" really means in the field Missing dinners, guilt, family tension—and how to handle it Growing past the five-year itch when you're burned out Equipment strategy: buy cheap vs buy once and win on efficiency How Steve thinks about faith, fear, and confidence   Key Takeaways Efficiency Beats Ego: The nicest personal truck doesn't pay the bills. Revenue-producing assets do. In a tightening economy, upgrade equipment, systems, and software—not your image. If it doesn't increase safety, productivity, or profit, it's optional. Simplify or Get Burned Out: Stop offering every service under the sun. Consolidate, specialize, and systemize what you do every day. Random jobs create chaos, weak crews, and nonstop fires. Simplicity scales—complexity drains your life. People Are the Real Business: You don't just build patios—you build people. Invest in your team's tools, training, and lives outside of work. When employees feel supported and trusted (even allowed to fail), they take better care of customers than any owner ever could   Connect with Steve Dhondt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveisalwaysright/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-dhondt-534b23166/ Website: https://www.weretheguys.com/about-us Connect with Keith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithkalfas/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelandscapingemployeetrap Website: https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keith-kalfas   Resources and Websites:  Start Getting Leads Now https://www.footbridgemedia.com/keith Resources You Need To Build A Successful Business https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Potential advantages or disadvantages of consolidating retirement accounts ( 4:28 )Paying taxes through IRA withholdings vs making estimated payments ( 13:08 )Whether a minister's housing allowance impacts Affordable Care Act subsidy eligibility ( 26:11 )When Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts ("QLACs") might make sense to consider ( 30:27 )When following the 4% "rule" for distributions, can you reset your initial distribution if/when your portfolio value increases from market gains ( 37:48 )If someone has an outdated will and unused trust, but the person verbally stated their wishes to the heirs, is there a need to update will and/or trust, especially if there is currently nothing in the trust ( 49:19 )To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.comLinks in this episode:Tenon Financial August 2024 newsletter about - Retirement plan-to-IRA rollover pros and consRetirement Planning Education YouTube video - What is a QLAC (Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract)?Retirement Planning Education podcast episode - #002 - What's the 4% RuleMy company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

In this episode of The Independent Dealer Podcast, we sit down with brothers Travis and Casey of Vamos Auto in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Bill Roggio analyzes the ISIS allegiance of Australian shooters, distinguishing ISIS's immediate caliphate goals from Al-Qaeda's patient state-building. He warns that while Al-Qaeda focuses on consolidating control in places like Somalia(Al-Shabaab), they remain a potent global threat capable of launching external attacks when strategically advantageous. 1842 Afghanistan

In previewing CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Okta Inc. (OKTA) ahead of their earnings after Tuesday's close, Ahmed Khan shows concerns from 2025's price action compared to 2024 but believes it makes the names more attractive in affordability. He adds that cybersecurity's fragmented market will experience continued consolidation. Ron Westfall notes "mixed" expectations heading into the reports but adds A.I. will serve as a long-term catalyst. He projects CrowdStrike and Okta to benefit from what he projects to be a $95 billion market. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Joining me today is Derrick Broze, here to discuss his recent series, The Technocratic Trump Administration, as well as his latest update on the Fluoride Lawsuit—regarding the Trump administration's efforts to continue appealing the historic ruling that would help Make America Healthy Again. We unpack the confounding and hypocritical actions of Trump's cabinet around both topics, and how the partisan base supporting any politician in the two-party illusion is used to gaslight and "flood the zone." We also dive into the current status of the Epstein debacle, and the ever-growing control grid being built around us. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v703jre","div":"rumble_v703jre"}); Source Links: The Last American Vagabond Derrick Broze, Author at The Last American Vagabond The Pyramid of Power Crowdsource Effort! - The Conscious Resistance Network The Pyramid Of Power - The Pyramid of Power Crowdsource Effort! - The Conscious Resistance Network New Tab (22) Catherine Herridge on X: "Straight to the Point Exclusive: FBI Director Kash Patel @FBIDirectorKash said FBI is working with DOJ to meet the Epstein Files Transparency Act 30 day deadline to produce records. Herridge: "So, more charges are possible in the Epstein case? Director Patel: Based on the https://t.co/gnMVAQJXmR" / X New Tab Fluoride Lawsuit Plaintiffs Push Back Against Trump EPA In Ongoing Litigation x.com/michaelpconnett/status/1990527499789644105 Fluoride Trial Archives - The Last American Vagabond Trump's EPA Continues Biden Admin Appeal of Historic Fluoride Ruling Is Trump's EPA Planning to Continue the Appeal of the Historic Fluoride Ruling? New Tab The Technocratic Trump Administration The Technocratic Trump Administration: The Public-Private Partnership The Technocratic Trump Administration: Pressuring and Consolidating the Media FCC chair Brendan Carr leads Trump's charge against the media : NPR The Technocratic Trump Administration: The Zionist Infiltration Expands Launching the Genesis Mission – The White House (21) No Election Integrity No Republic on X: "Can you imagine the Influencers' outcry if Alejandro Mayorkas had announced this?" / X (21) Disclose.tv on X: "NOW - DOE Secretary Chris Wright says Trump's Genesis Mission is "an all-in national effort to take the power of AI and pair it with the 40,000 outstanding scientists and engineers at our national labs." https://t.co/4pnCzdKrKg" / X (21) Jason Bassler on X: "Flock Safety's CEO Garrett Langley just called the transparency activists at https://t.co/7vYVNCDLR6 “terrorists.” So, if mapping cameras is "terrorism"… what do we call mass surveillance of millions of innocent drivers? https://t.co/eEVbk7Sn5X" / X The Impending Future Of AI-Government - But Who Controls The AI? Unquenchable Thirst – Texas Data Centers Consume 50 Billion Gallons Of Water As State Grapples With Historic Drought Trump's Warp Speed, CDC's Jim O'Neill, Transhumanism & Gaza "Freedom Cities" (Technocratic Dystopia) GAZA-Great-Trust-Plan.pdf New Tab US Border Patrol Is Spying on Millions of American Drivers | WIRED Border Patrol monitors US drivers and detains Americans for ‘suspicious' travel | AP News New Tab Trump Says Calls For Military To Resist Unlawful Orders "Seditious" & DC Deployment Ruled Illegal (21) The Last American Vagabond on X: "This, as his administration begins to investigate the politicians who posted the video reinforcing that it's legal to refuse unlawful orders. This government is the laughing stock of the world. Not sure if that's deliberate or not, but I strongly consider it. #TwoPartyIllusion" / X DHS Lies About Detaining/Deporting US Citizens & Trump Reportedly Readying To Attack Venezuela (8) Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on X: "This story is WILD. Witnesses saw a man get detained by DHS six weeks ago. A friend detained with him saw him have a medical incident while detained and get taken out by an ambulance. Then he disappeared. DHS says they have no record of him. No hospital either. He's just… gone. https://t.co/5YD5maV8HU" / X (8) Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on X: "ICE went to a court in Rhode Island to arrest someone, misidentified their target and ended up surveilling a random Latino intern, and then threated to break a judge's car windows and were only stopped when court security intervened and asked them to calm down and look at IDs. https://t.co/6BAAZvpjnK" / X (9) LongTime

Wanda Wen, founder and creative force behind Soolip, is celebrated for her unremitting romance with the artisanal and the inherent beauty of things touched by hand. Established on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood in 1995, and now nestled in Westlake Village, Soolip was built upon a profound love of paper - the tactile, expressive medium that continues to inspire Wen's world of refined artistry and soulful luxury.   A USC business graduate and former New York fashion executive with Perry Ellis and Stephen Sprouse, Wen blends business acumen with a discerning eye for art, style, and meaningful detail. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Town & Country, Better Homes & Gardens, and more, and she has appeared on The Today Show, HGTV, and as a judge on Freeform's Wrap Battle alongside Carson Kressley and Sheryl Underwood. Author of The Art of Gift Wrapping (Potter Craft/Random House), Wen is also known as America's “go-to gift wrap stylephile.” A dedicated yogi and teacher, Wen infuses mindfulness into all she creates. She co-launched YogaLand Game in 2018, an experiential board game for yoga enthusiasts that unites her passions for design, creativity, and uplifting others, and is set to launch YogaLand version 2, for the young generation ages 6 - 12, in Spring 2026. In today's episode, Nada talks with Wanda about her lifestyle brand and its evolution over the decades, all while managing to remain true to its original mission statement. Wanda takes us back to the beginning when her love of beauty and letter writing coalesced into a paper company that started in her garage, and details for us the flagship store's rapid growth into several niche markets. She explains the meaning behind the name “Soolip” and encourages us with the life mantras that keep her and her business grounded. And offers listeners a chance to engage in upcoming workshops and yoga lessons. For more information, visit Soolip's website. To get in touch with Wanda about her private yoga lessons, email: wanda@soolip.com. Follow on Instagram: @wandawensoolip  Please follow us at @thisislibertyroad on Instagram; we want to share and connect with you and hear your thoughts and comments. Please rate and review this podcast. It helps to know if these conversations inspire and equip you to consider your possibilities and lean into your future with intention.

Top Shops 2025 brought together the most innovative, forward-thinking leaders in manufacturing—and this year's gathering at the NASCAR Hall of Fame felt like stepping directly into the winners' circle. Surrounded by the energy of hundreds of top-tier manufacturers, we sat down with the four shops recognized as the crème de la crème in their categories: Technology, Shopfloor Technology, Business Strategy, and Human Resources. Together, these honorees represent what's possible when ambition meets execution. In this special episode of MakingChips, recorded live in Charlotte, we talk with each winner about the decisions, investments, philosophies, and people that drove their rise to the top. From multimachine pallet-tech automation and Swiss machining efficiency to bold equipment investments and workforce strategies that transform culture, each story reveals a different path to excellence. Yet all four shops share a mindset of curiosity, courage, and relentless improvement. Throughout these conversations, we explore how technology becomes a competitive advantage, how small teams can deliver massive output, why unconventional business strategies can pay off, and how employee-first leadership becomes the backbone of success. Every guest brings candor, humor, and real-world wisdom—showing that you don't become a Top Shop by accident. Whether you're just starting your Top Shops journey or are already benchmarking in the top percentile, you'll walk away from this episode energized, inspired, and equipped with ideas you can put into practice immediately. Because these shops aren't just winning awards—they're redefining what modern manufacturing looks like. Segments (0:48) Opening from the NASCAR Hall of Fame at Top Shops 2025 (1:28) What are the Top Shops award categories and how does the survey work? (2:19) Why investing in ProShop is an investment in your business (3:56) A conversation with Joey Jones on Aerotech Machining and their award (9:17) The details of Aerotech Machining's automation journey  (12:47) Introducing Jayme Rahz of Midway Swiss Turn and their shop floor practices award (15:03) When robotics become accessible and feasible for Midway Swiss Turn (18:59) How do you train new employees with no Swiss experience? (19:50) Staying niche instead of chasing high-volume work (22:02) Grow your top and bottom-line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) (22:40) Mike Bauer with Marathon Precision on winning the Business Strategy award  (25:13) Why Mike buys machines before having the work (his spiderweb method) (30:27) Machine count, headcount, and shop expansion history (31:40) Consolidating two businesses and retraining all employees (32:40) Allison Giddens joins the conversation and introduces Win-Tech (34:44) Implementing a 4×10 schedule and early challenges (37:23) Using the Top Shops survey for benchmarking and improvement (40:17) Building culture and partnering with local trade schools (41:22) Challenges in technical education and the need for better instructors (45:53) Why you should listen to the Lights Out podcast Resources mentioned on this episode Why investing in ProShop is an investment in your business Connect with Joey Jones with Aerotech Machining (Technology award) Introducing Jayme Rahz of Midway Swiss Turn and their shop floor practices award Grow your top and bottom-line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) Michael Bauer with Marathon Precision on winning the Business Strategy award  Allison Giddens joins the conversation and introduces Win-Tech Complete the 2026 Top Shops Survey and see us at Top Shops 2026! Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Ania Aliev was so eager to buy her business, she worked the deal while in labor at the hospital. It's been worth it.Register for the webinar: Tax Issues: Entity and Deal Structuring - Thu Oct 30 - http://bit.ly/43tlhIPTopics in Ania's interview:Rushing to get a deal closed before giving birthUsing her people skills to connect with sellersSearching only in the Eastern USBuying an AED sales and service companyMyths about AEDsFiguring out the best pricing modelLack of competition in the industryDealing with “Mom brain”Willingness to say “I don't know”Stickiness of customersReferences and how to contact Ania:LinkedinLife Support SystemsLearn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:The Acquisition LabGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton RohozovProduced by Pam Cameron

Family, life gon' always throw chaos your way—the streets, the market, even your own emotions. But the ones who win? They don't let the chaos break ‘em, they consolidate it. Just like in the market, when the chart moving sideways, that's consolidation. It look like nothing happening, but what's really going on is strength being built, energy being stored, direction being formed. Chaos is the same way. GOD don't waste storms; He uses them to shape your discipline. Consolidating the Chaos means taking all that pressure, all that confusion, all that fear—and organizing it into power. Instead of reacting wild, you sit still, you strategize, you build patience. When you master consolidation, you turn chaos into clarity. You turn pain into preparation. You turn setbacks into setups. The market consolidates before the breakout—and so do you. Family, don't run from the chaos. Consolidate it, control it, and let it push you into your breakthrough.Consolidate The CHAOS | Wallstreet Trapper (Episode 162) Trappin TuesdaysJoin our Exclusive Patreon!!! Creating Financial Empowerment for those who've never had it.