Targeting small business owners

A gym owner in California who planned to reopen his businesses after being forced to close amid the coronavirus outbreak has reversed his decision after officials said his members face arrests and fines. Sean Covell, who owns three Fitness System franchises across the Sacramento area, announced to his members in a letter that he will be defying the state's "stay at home order" and reopening his doors again to the public on Friday, believing the restrictions are violating his constitutional rights. The gyms were closed as part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom e's order enacted on March 19 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. "The last few months have undoubtedly been some of the hardest in our lifetimes," the letter reads. "We have essentially been under house arrest, individuals and businesses have seen the trampling of their constitutional rights, people have been terrorized by the news, and politicians have been dispensing misleading information, half-truths and headlines … [Read more...] about California gym owner backtracks on plan to defy coronavirus lockdown by reopening, blames “unconstitutional harassment”

Shares of media mogul Barry Diller's Match Group Inc (MTCH.O), the owner of popular dating site Match.com and mobile app Tinder, jumped as much 16 percent in their market debut on Thursday, valuing the company at $3.34 billion. The company's initial public offering raised $400 million after the shares were priced at $12 each, at the lower end of the expected range of $12-$14. The stock was trading at $13 shortly after the opening. Match Group, which touts itself as the world's No. 1 dating company, plans to use the proceeds to repay debt owed to its parent, Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI.O). IAC, whose shares were up 0.4 percent in early trading, retains a stake of about 86 percent in Match. The U.S. online romance market, worth more than $2 billion a year, has thrived as instant messaging, photo-sharing and geolocation services grow in popularity. Match, which also owns OkCupid and OurTime, has driven IAC's profit and revenue in recent quarters and is seen as the crown … [Read more...] about Tinder-Owner Match Valued at $3.34 Billion in Market Debut

Mr Sunak told MPs that global forces were making 'life difficult for families at the moment' (Image: Getty) Get pensions news and advice plus latest money alerts for FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info The Chancellor said he “will go further” in easing pressures as he warned families to brace for more price rises in the coming months. With inflation expected to soar above nine percent today, Mr Sunak is facing calls to step in immediately. Related articles Truss unveils radical Brexit master plan to end EU row Read your OWN deal! IDS issues blistering attack on EU But the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, has indicated new help won’t be imminent – and a programme of measures will be introduced … [Read more...] about Rishi Sunak planning ‘targeted moves’ to ease the cost-of-living crisis

Take-Two is going all-in in terms of remakes and remasters of existing games but it also plans to double its output of new titles as well. Once Microsoft made its acquisition bid for Activision Blizzard it became clear that any publisher could be next, no matter how big. As the owners of Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games, Take-Two is a very tempting target but according to CEO Strauss Zelnick ‘we like being an independent organisation’. That doesn’t mean anything if the right offer comes along, but for now Take-Two, who are traditionally one of the least prolific of the big publishers, is planning to increase their output of major titles to 24 in the next three years. Speaking during the company’s latest earnings presentation, Zelnick said that they currently have plans for ‘twice as many immersive core titles’ as usual, as well as eight remakes/remasters, seven ‘mid-core’ games, 10 indie titles, and 10 mobile games. All this will happen before the start of … [Read more...] about Rockstar owner Take-Two has eight new remasters planned over the next three years

INCOMING Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been linked with a sensational swoop for N'Golo Kante this summer in a bid to bolster his midfield options next season. The Chelsea midfielder is a two time Premier League winner, but injuries have led to the Blues becoming less reliant on him this season. And the disruption higher up at Stamford Bridge has convinced a number of clubs that some of the Blues' prized assets are up for grabs this summer. According to The Mirror, this has led to chiefs at Manchester United, including Ten Hag, believing a swoop for Kante is a realistic proposition. The news comes after SunSport exclusively revealed that the Blues were fearing Kante would be one of a number of players on their way out of the club. Chelsea are already having to say goodbye to centre-back Antonio Rudiger , after the club were restricted from doing business back in March following sanctions placed on former owner Roman Abramovich. READ MORE … [Read more...] about Man Utd boss Erik Ten Hag ‘targeting N’Golo Kante transfer’ – and Chelsea fear World Cup winner could leave this summer

If your grass is in need of a trim, one family in South Wales have just the thing for the job – and it’s not a lawn mower. Dawn Hart and her partner Richard White, from Carmarthenshire, South Wales, keep more than 200 goats – who are available to hire for grass-cutting services. The couple, both 44, started their unique business idea three years’ ago and stress the goats’ strong stomachs allow them to consume more than eight pounds of grass, weeds and knotweed a day. Dawn said: ‘We have over 200 goats with us including lots of little ones. ‘Most have names and I’ve got individual collars with all their name on and our telephone numbers. ‘They are basically lawn mowers, however, their main purpose is to work in large groups and do conservation grazing for the council and national trust at the end of summer. ‘The goats eat through all the weeds and bramble to clear pathways – they’re great for getting into the smaller spaces where you can’t send in tractors, heavy … [Read more...] about Family start unique gardening business where people can hire out goats as lawn mowers

Novak Djokovic's seven-year-old son was playing a club tournament when the Serb won the Italian Open (Image: Getty) Sign up for FREE tennis updates from on and off the court SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Novak Djokovic has revealed that his seven-year-old son Stefan was busy playing his first club tournament while he was clinching a sixth title at the Italian Open . The world No 1 admitted he had no idea what the result of his son's match was immediately after winning a record-extending 38th Masters title and was "eager" to hear his son's experience of playing a competitive match. Related articles Djokovic survives scare to beat Tsitsipas and win Italian Open title Djokovic sends Nadal French Open warning as he … [Read more...] about Novak Djokovic’s son was busy playing tournament while Serb won Italian Open title

Sam Stubbs is chief executive of KiwiSaver fund Simplicity and a regular opinion contributor. OPINION: Anyone who has been to a supermarket , petrol station or taken out a mortgage lately will be painfully aware of how high the cost of living is here. A block of cheese can be twice the price of Australia and mortgage rates are on average 20% higher. On the positive side, our long term growth has been higher than most developed countries, so we have more money to spend. But a lot of the increase in our cost of living has been because we are a small country, dominated by a few companies operating as effective duopolies or oligopolies. Think Foodstuffs and Countdown , Carters and Fletchers , and the big four banks. Fortunately, things are about to change, and I suspect in a very big way over time. READ MORE: Is New Zealand really open for business? Here's the real surprise with inflation Why is New Zealand so darn expensive? Why? The first … [Read more...] about How to get NZ’s cost of living down

STUFF Grant Robertson told a business breakfast he would not be taking his foot off the gas to ignore long-term challenges. Finance Minister Grant Robertson will reveal this year’s Budget on Thursday. Some say the time is right for some change, as the country navigates a high rate of inflation, reopening borders and a pressured labour market. We asked: What do you hope to see this year? Kirk Hope, chief executive, Business NZ: The key issue for businesses remains skill shortages. The Government can address that issue by having well-established clear policy on immigration that enables businesses to attract people to NZ. This issue is bigger than a single year or even multi-year Budget because it is impacting not only the private sector but also the Government itself as it deploys expenditure in critical areas such as infrastructure development, and this issue is also spilling over into the provision of essential public services such as health. Greg Harford, chief … [Read more...] about What do you want to see in the Budget this year?

By Dharshini David Published 18 hours ago comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics NI election 2022 An escalating dispute over the post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland risks seeing the government scrapping parts of that deal. In that event, could it trigger a trade war that could see households and businesses paying an unwelcome price? European Union officials have repeatedly warned of "serious" consequences if the UK were to override part of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Last November, Ireland's minister for foreign affairs, Simon Coveney, warned that the entire Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) - which exists to ensure tariff-free and quota-free trade between the EU and UK - depends on the UK observing the Protocol. More recently, however, as the war in Ukraine has both heightened cost-of-living … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland: Could the EU and UK face a trade war?