Low income free cell phone in chicago

Good morning everyone,
I was recently laid off and I have been openly looking for work on LinkedIn. I had a connect reach out regarding a job at her husbands work. He then reached out to me and there is a lot of interest on both ends. However, there is no Job Title/Salary listed - they are asking me what I would want it to be. I have 7 years of experience in digital marketing, primarily focused on Marketing Automation but also have done PPC, social media, graphic design, etc. Here are the details:

• Personal Injury Law Firm based out of Philadelphia
  • I am located in the suburbs of Chicago, fully remote position
• Reporting to Director of Marketing
• Responsiblities sent to me were in reference to a specific campaign for Pressure Cooker accidents. The responsibilities include:
  • Targeted Content Marketing: Develop blogs, infographics, and FAQs focused on pressure cooker safety and legal recourse available to victims. Create downloadable content such as safety guides or what-to-do checklists in exchange for contact information.
  • PPC Campaigns: Use Google Ads and Meta Platforms to run targeted ads using specific keywords related to exploding pressure cookers. Implement geo-targeting to focus on areas where these incidents are more common or where product sales are high.
  • Social Media Marketing: Utilize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share stories of previous clients, safety tips, and legal advice. Run lead generation ads that direct users to a landing page where they can sign up for free consultations.
  • Video Marketing: Produce video testimonials of past clients and explainer videos on what legal steps to take after an injury. Distribute these videos on YouTube, TikTok, and as part of social media ad campaigns.
  • SEO and Local Search: Optimize your website content for SEO to rank higher for related search terms. Ensure your Google My Business listing is updated and optimized for local searches.
  • Email and SMS Campaigns: Set up automated nurturing campaigns to educate and engage leads captured through different channels. Use SMS to send quick updates and reminders about safety news or legal consultations.
  • Networking and Partnerships: Attend and sponsor industry events and seminars relevant to product liability and consumer safety. Join professional groups and associations where you can contribute content and expertise.
  • LinkedIn Marketing: Use LinkedIn for targeted ads and content marketing focused on demonstrating expertise and successful case studies. Engage with potential referral partners by joining discussions and sharing insightful content.
  • Referral Program: Create a formal referral program that offers incentives for other professionals to refer clients to your firm. Clearly communicate the benefits and terms of the referral program through dedicated landing pages and during networking events.
  • Co-Branded Webinars and Workshops: Host webinars and workshops in partnership with medical professionals or safety organizations. Focus topics on consumer safety, legal rights, and case studies related to product liability.
  • Direct Outreach: Use a targeted email campaign to reach out to potential referral sources with information about your expertise and past successes. Follow up with phone calls or personal meetings to discuss potential partnerships.
  • Content Marketing: Produce white papers, case studies, and articles that showcase your expertise and success in cases related to exploding pressure cookers. Distribute this content to potential referral sources and make it available on your website.

As you can see, it is essentially running the marketing department for the firm by myself. The Director is very opening to assisting if/when needed for anything I am uncomfortable with or isn't a strong suit.
With all of this information, what would my title even be, and what would be a fair salary for someone in the Chicago suburbs? The amount of responsibilities makes it feel like an Associate Director position, but traditionally Associate Director's aren't doing all the heavy lifting.
Happy to answer any additional questions - I want to make sure I am taken care of and not lowballing myself. Thank you

Hi, i recently had my blood test done and these are the results. I’ll be discussing these results with my doctor but i’m pretty sure she’ll prescribe me birth control. According to the test my hormone levels are fine and seem to be in the follicular phase? Any advice, interpretations or things to pay attention to? I’m aware that my iron seems to be very low, could that contribute to amenorrhea? Thanks!
Serum FSH level 6.7 iu/L normal 0.30 - 7.80iu/L
Follicular Mid-cycle Luteal Post-menopausal
3.0-8.1 2.6-16.7 1.4-5.5 26.7-133.4
Serum LH level 2.7 iu/L normal 0.00 - 8.40iu/L
Follicular Mid-cycle Luteal Post-menopausal
1.8-11.8 7.6-89.1 0.6-14.0 5.2-62.0
! Serum ferritin 15 ug/L normal 30.00 - 250.00ug/L
Haematocrit 0.367 Ratio normal 0.37 - 0.47Ratio
Red blood cell distribut width 16.1 % normal 11.00 - 15.00%
Neutrophil count 1.9 109/L normal 2.00 - 7.50109/L
Free androgen index - (SA) - Normal Serum testosterone 0.9 nmol/L normal 0.50 - 1.70nmol/L
Serum sex hormne binding glob 33.7 nmol/L normal 11.00 - 155.00nmol/L
Free androgen index 2.7 % normal 0.70 - 8.70%
OESTRADIOL - (SA) - Normal 98 pmol/L
Follicular Mid-cycle Luteal
<921 139-2382 <1145
Post-menopausal (No HRT) <103

Your Tuesday daily deals. Sign-up to get these deals via email below, or join my golf deals subreddit to get these a little earlier in the day (I can schedule ahead)
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$550 $200 NEW Mizuno ST-X PLTNM 230 Driver: Available in RH, Senior Flex, and 10.5 or 12 Degrees Loft. No code needed. Shipping is free
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• Veterans / First Responders (approximately 15% off across each): Taylormade, PXG, Dunlop brands - Srixon, Cleveland, XXIO, Callaway, Wilson and PING all offer discounts

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I'm curious to hear other options who have made either move. My fiancé and I have loved Washington for many years now, but the cost of living has skyrocketed. Not even mentioning Seattle, the cost in smaller cities such as Tacoma, Olympia or Vancouver have skyrocketed into the 400k range for homes, which means we would be "forced" to look toward small towns, such as Chehalis, Bremerton, or Aberdeen. While we love the state, we're not crazy about living in small towns with few job opportunities.
Meanwhile, we visited Chicago and Milwaukee a few years ago and loved both cities. Houses can still easily be found in the low 200K there near the cities, so significantly more affordable than Washington. Our issue is, while we love the cities we aren't too sure on how much we love Wisconsin and Illinois.
I'm curious of peoples experiences in moving to a state you weren't too sure about, simply because the cost of living was significantly cheaper or affordable for your income level.

Hello - I'm a woman who knows nothing about cars. My first vehicle was a 2007 Ford Focus hatchback which I drove for 7 years and honestly loved. I sold it to a friend and went car-free for a year, but now I need a replacement.
I am not sure how to pick my price point. My income is $74k gross and I am in a city in the midwest. I am looking for something that is decently cost-effective and reliable. Originally I was aiming to spend around $10k, but I haven't been able to find anything good at that price. I've done a lot of reading on this subreddit and seen a lot of recommendations for Toyota and Honda, but everything I've seen is $12-13k with 130,000+ miles on it. My mom's boyfriend is a "car guy" and has strongly advised against buying anything over 100,000 miles.
With my income I think I am able to come up on my price, I am just a frugal person so my mindset is "just because I can spend more doesn't mean I should spend more." However if it makes sense financially I'm willing to do it. I've seen a rule of thumb be 10-15% of your monthly take home for a vehicle. My monthly take home is $3730 so 10% would be $373, but I also have about $9k I could use as a down payment.

• My primary use would be 100-170 mile round trips a few times a week, so highway mpg is important. In the city I take public transit or walk. I expect to drive minimum 250 miles a week and frequently more.
  
• I would also like to be able to road trip in it. I would like to have 4 doors, or at least have a back seat (my last car was a 2 door but had backseats for passengers).
  
• I would like to be able to sync my phone to play music/navigation but it is not a necessity.
  
• I would prefer not to drive an SUV (I know a lot of people recommend the Rav4). I liked that my last car was able to park anywhere, and SUVs are more dangerous to pedestrians and it's just not something I need.
  
• I would prefer not to have auto-correcting steering. I've driven one of these as a rental and hate the way the wheel tries to jerk itself around - I would like to be in control of the car.
  
• I don't know how to drive stick and I'd prefer not to, but if it makes a big difference then I am willing to learn.
  
• I'm not planning on upgrading any time soon, I'd like something that lasts.
  

I'm not married to any specific brand. I've mostly looked at Civics and Corollas, but I think a Prius would check a lot of the boxes that I'm looking for (though I'm worried about the necessity for a battery replacement in a used Prius?). That being said, I'm open to any other suggestions. I've also seen Mazda recommended on here a lot, but I've also heard that certain year Mazdas have a lot of issues which has made me wary. Also, no Hyundai or Kia. I'm in a Kia Boys city so those two are right out.
If there's any information I'm missing let me know! Thank you in advance.

Mom had a stroke in January
It’s been a hard journey, from the ICU to a Skilled Nursing Facility, now to home care
Mom’s currently at the hospital because she had a fainting spell due to low BP, and a UTI
She’s recovering but she still needs assistance. Her aphasia is getting better, slowly but surely, she was paralyzed on the right side of her body, she’s getting mobility and strength back in her right leg, slowly but surely.
My family (dad, sister, brother 1, brother 2) are in state. Dad and sister are the main caregivers, behind the medical staff, then brother 1 (who lives an hour and a half away) subs in on his days off at work. Brother 2 lives closer but due to mental health reasons, he’s unable to really help. He doesn’t have a disability, he’s just been through a lot and can’t bring himself to be more present in such a stressful time.
I moved out of state a month before my mom had her stroke. As soon as I heard about mom, I jumped on a plane and flew back home. I was home for 7 weeks then flew back once mom was stabilized and in a skilled nursing facility.
A few weeks after, I flew back home for a week.
I’m set to fly back home again, in a couple weeks, to help out where I can.
While I’m living away, I’ve helped with a ton of clerical work. For two months, I was wrangling with insurance and the skilled nursing facility and the physician at the facility. Any phone calls or answers my family needed help with, I jumped on.
It just wrenches my heart seeing texts from my family, saying they’re burned out. They’ve asked numerous times if I want to move back. I moved away originally for myself. I was not happy back there anymore. I moved away to work on myself, then all this happens to my family.
Yesterday, Brother 1 texts out to say that he thinks we need to look into getting some paid time off for our dad because our dad is just getting burned out. He’s 60, works a physical job, then he comes home and tends to our mom, then at night he can’t sleep because of all the worry.
As much as I agree that dad needs a break, I’m not sure about the PTO route. We’re already only on one income. We had an ordeal with setting my mom up for disability, but we got something figured out so hopefully we’re closer to being on the right track. We’re still waiting on a decision from disability. If dads goes on paid family leave, it would be even less money and then he would have to leave his work and who knows if they would even let him back. His job isn’t really set up with like, a corporate structure to guarantee protection if he takes time off. He just works at a local body shop.
I worry about my dad’s health. I worry about my siblings. I worry about my mom. And I worry about myself. I still haven’t settled in to this new home out of state. I always tend to worry about myself last. The one time I decide to put myself first, and move away from home, all this shit happens.
I say I wasn’t happy back at home. My family has always had a dysfunctional relationship, built on trauma and anxiety. Mom was really the pillar that held it all together. Now that she’s sick, the cracks are showing again. Dad is crazy anxious and stressed out and is just spreading his negativity everywhere. If I move back, I’m just going to get sucked right back into that vortex and I won’t be as helpful as they need me to be. Sure, I can tell my family that, but what good will that do them?
I just miss my mom. I hate that we’re going through this. I hate it so much.

I’ve seen a few people mentioning acupuncture, and I thought it might be useful for others if I share my experience. Sorry, this is a super-long post, and I’m typing on a phone.
I see my acupuncturist (Tony) every week. It’s been a pretty long trial and error to work out which day of the week to have my sessions (in relation to when I have my infusions and my side effects) to have the biggest impact on how I feel.
What works well for me: the day of the last steroids after chemo I have a session. During steroids I don’t sleep, and I can’t eat, and I feel pretty deranged🤪. With no acupuncture this takes a week or so to calm down. With acupuncture I’m fixed overnight - it catapults me into being starving hungry and I sleep about 14 hours for the next few days.
I try and time the next session for when the side effects are starting to really kick off (so fairly soon after - less than a week). Without a session I’ll still be insatiably hungry, a lot of joint pains, my sleep will be back to very disrupted and fairly short, utterly freezing all day and night, exhausted etc. After acupuncture, I’ll be jumped forward to a normal appetite, a reduction in pain, and improved sleep (but I’ll then be very hot, especially at night). As time has gone on the post-chemo pain has reduced to almost nothing. (The first couple of sessions it was so bad I couldn’t walk). Also, my neuropathy has massively reduced despite ongoing chemo - although they have reduced one chemo drug they thought was responsible for the neuropathy to 80%. However, I’m still getting progressively more exhausted.
The following week I try and time acupuncture before my blood test, and by this stage I’m usually feeling better, but whatever is going on for me physically or mentally seems to be the focus.
And then back to post-steroids🙄 I’ve only once had a session immediately after chemo to see if I can reduce the horrible impact of steriods, because of when Tony works and when my chemo happens, and I seem to remember it did work very well.
Also, in between sessions Tony has given me needles to take home with me and instructions where to use them. They’re tiny, fine pins, individually wrapped and sterile with “launching tubes”. The pin is slightly longer than the tube, so you put the tube in the right place, tap the top of the pin and it goes in. Every week I have different places to use them depending on what’s going on for me. I only use a few pins - in a proper session with Tony he uses loads more!
I also have moxa. (I use smokeless moxa, a stick you light up like a cigarette and use the hot end to heat up points, rather than put pins in them). This is to build the blood cells that chemo has wiped out. I have permanent marker on my back (dots!) which are the places to warm up. (Permanent isn’t that permanent - I’ve got to be very careful in the shower!)
I’m lucky I have a partner who can do this, but there are places on the leg I’ve used that do the same job when my partner has been away.
The first time I “failed” my blood test (neutrophils too low - I was delayed by a week) I was prescribed Filgrastim the following round of chemo. Tony said not to do the moxa those 3 weeks because the Filgrastim should be enough, and it’s important not to overstimulate the process. The blood test after the Filgrastim? I failed it spectacularly, so I spent loads of the next 24 hours with needles in and doing moxa - tested again, and passed with flying colours! No more Filgrastim for me - I hated it!
I had another massive delay in chemo where I felt that acupuncture didn’t work for me - however, in retrospect, I think it was me. My platelet levels just wouldn’t rise. According to TCM neutrophils are Chi which can build more quickly, but platelets are Blood, which builds more slowly. And I just wasn’t resting enough. I genuinely thought I was, but these last 2 rounds of chemo I’ve rested sooooo much more it’s only now I recognise I was over-doing it. And these last two rounds have hit me hard, but I’ve passed all the blood tests!
Tony is a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) acupuncturist, he wears a mask to see me, and I’m the first patient of the day in order to protect me from any potential germs.
I hope this is helpful to someone, and I send love to all on this unplanned journey!

I think my mom has Se, Ni, and Te.... however, two people on my previous post believed she was xSFJ (but didn’t elaborate why). What do you guys think? Please explain why you think yes or no.
NEED TO BE PRODUCTIVE + BUSY

• Absolutely cannot relax without doing something productive first, even on the weekends.
• Once told my cousin (who worked 5 days a week 7am-5pm) that she should look for part time shifts on the weekend since she has all that free time. I legit thought she was insane for believing that.
• I often don't tell my mom when I have an off day because otherwise she would expect me to still be productive otherwise.

NEED TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF HERSELF

• Always keeps an eye out on how she can self-improve and be better. Be it aesthetically, financially, lifestyle-wise, health-wise, etc. She especially pushes it on to me. This also includes education and career, always pushing me to aim for better positions and get more degrees.
• Her favorite topic is finances. Always wants to know how she can live comfortably now and later. But this also causes her lots of anxiety.

UNSOLICITED ADVICE IN STEAMROLL KIND OF WAY

• She's very quick to help give advice to someone, but it's often unsolicited and also quite forceful. Instead of suggesting it gently, her wording is more like "you should do this, then tell them that, you have to also do this or else it'll cause you trouble." She means well, I just don't think it's appreciated or welcome
• Also does not realize that her advice is unsolicited. Which is ironic because she expects emotional support and sometimes lashes out at me if I just give advice, yet she does the same and doesn't realize.
• Really reminds me of Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec for this trait.

DEFINITELY JUST KNOWS THINGS

• Showed my mom this korean tv show, Fantastic Duo, where several contestants perform together and the artist of the song picks one to sing a duet with. Within legit 5 seconds of it starting, my mom pointed to one contestant and said "seems like she'll get picked" and she was right. I was shocked. I showed her another clip and she also immediately pinpointed the right person.
• When I asked her how she knows, she said she always has been able to know things like this without explanation. According to her, it just comes to her suddenly.

SOMETIMES SEEMS UNSURE WHAT TO THINK

• My mom has strong opinions and beliefs, and often cannot be swayed. A little stubborn. BUT there are times where it seems like she doesn’t have a strong opinion (or one at all), and then if I express leaning one way she will strongly agree with me and take on that belief.
• Not out of insecurity or “just because”, but it feels like she was on the fence with no strong opinion and then once seeing points made that she isn’t against, she will strongly agree and believe in it.

VERY ANXIOUS ABOUT THE FUTURE

• This might be an excessive amount for a function, but she's constantly anxious and she very easily spirals. She'll be fine one moment, then if I bring something up, she'll immediately spiral and won't stop ruminating about it even though I said it's fine and not a big deal.
• Also constantly worries abut making the wrong decision. Even if she made the right decision, she'll sometimes be like "What if we chose the other decision?" The reasoning for this seems to be more that she's considering too many perspectives and cannot decide what the overall right choice is.
• My perspective of her anxiety is that nothing can get her out of the muck. If I give her objective reasoning, it only temporarily relieves it and I can see it. She'll firmly say "yes you're right" with relief, but you can tell she still only says it tentatively compared to her usual self.
• Continuously repeats topics and points over and over within one conversation. Or she'll say ABC, then we move on, then a short bit later we come back to the conversation and she'll repeat ABC even if I provided moral support and logical reasoning to try to relieve her thoughts. Her repetitive points on her pain points go nowhere and is also never solved.

FIERY, AMBITIOUS PERSON

• Always been hot-headed and fiery, both in temper and passion. She has this aggression in her to want to get things done. Very Type A kind of person.
• The kind of person to thrive off of negative feedback so she can be like "I'll fucking show you"
• Constantly comparing herself to others like "oh this person has good traits, I should be like that too" or "this person's trait is bad, I know now to not be like that."
• The kind of person to say "there are no stupid questions" but then you ask one and she'll say "use your fucking head, what a stupid question"

RARELY SEES HERSELF IN THE WRONG, BUT EVENTUALLY SELF-REFLECTS

• Self-explanatory, but she very rarely sees herself as wrong. She is stubborn and will hold steadfast to her opinions and beliefs in the moment. I don't think I've ever heard her apologize, and especially not admit she was wrong in the moment unless there's concrete proof.
• That said, if you give her time to brood about it, she'll come around and admit you have a point. She still won't apologize, but she'll say it in a "I get it, objectively it's right" kind of way.
• E.g., she got PISSED at me a couple years ago for not making a big deal on mother's day. Then some months later, she and I were talking and she said "I even told the friend that we have to be understanding of our own actions. I got mad at Gorgo about not celebrating mother's day once, but then I later realized I can't blame her. We never celebrate holidays and I don't do anything big for her birthday either, so why should I have expected her to celebrate mother's day?"
• It was like an indirect admittance through an irrelevant conversation she had, something she never brought up with me.

CARES TOO MUCH WHAT OTHERS THINK

• Yes to what society thinks, but I mean this mostly with personal relationships. If she has to make a decision that benefits some people and not the others, she worries way too much how the unfavored people in the group will be impacted.
• One time we ordered custom clothing from a store, and we weren't very happy with the end result. The tip amount was up to us, so I stood firm on a certain amount. My mom objectively sided with me, but emotionally wondered if we should give more because even though the result wasn't good, the store owner still went through all that trouble.
• I feel like this goes hand in hand with her anxiety.

USED TO BE SPONTANEOUS AS HELL WHEN YOUNGER

• My mom has all these wild stories of her when she was younger. She'd be traveling across the country with her friends by train, then randomly she'd get off at a stop and be like "okay I'll see you guys back at home! I actually wanna get off here" shocking her friends. And this was pre-cell phone times too. My mom today cannot fathom how she never got kidnapped or something.
• Once, she got tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized for some days. Once she was discharged, she went straight to the salon, got her hair done, and went to the club to dance lol
• Definitely was the leader of her friend group and everyone always relied on her for fun and plans
• She no longer is like this. Could be due to growing up, could also be due to the after effects of depression she had a few years ago. More of a homebody now.

KEEN EYE FOR AESTHETICS

• I've always believed that if my mom led her ideal life, she'd be an interior designer. She has an eye for things, and I don't know how to describe it.
• One time, we were figuring out what to do with this blank spot in my room. We fiddled around for a bit, then she had an idea, went downstairs, hauled up the large ottoman we had and placed it there. Looked great immediately and has been there ever since!
• I don't remember this, but she has told me how everyone would compliment the outfits she'd pick out for me, or the younger girls at work would compliment my mom on her outfits. And genuine compliments, not fake ones, as she says.

MISC.

• Not into fantasy/sci-fi. You will never catch her watching that genre. She likes political movies, action, based on true stories, spicy romance.
• Not into deep talk. Very much talks about strictly relationships/people, productivity/how to be your best self either internally or externally, etc.
• Very spiritual and religious (buddhism).

Will answer any questions you may have. Thank you!!

Your Tuesday daily deals. Give a shout in the comments (so others can upvote) if there is something you would like me to look for or sign-up to get these via email, below.
RIGHT HANDED GOLF CLUBS
$550 $200 NEW Mizuno ST-X PLTNM 230 Driver: Available in RH, Senior Flex, and 10.5 or 12 Degrees Loft. No code needed. Shipping is free
$1012 $810 LIKE NEW Callaway Apex 21 Irons: Available in RH, Stiff Flex, and 4-PW + AW. No code needed. Shipping is free for members (free to join)
$390 $331 MINT TaylorMade Spider GT Max SB Putter: Available in RH, 34" or 35" Length. Use code MAJOR15 at checkout. Shipping is free
LEFT HANDED GOLF CLUBS
$380 $291 MINT LH TaylorMade Spider GT Max SB Putter: Available in LH, 35" Length. Use code MAJOR15 at checkout. Shipping is free
GOLF BAGS
$300 $225 RevCore Luxury Cart Bag: Available in Matte Black and Dark Navy, Tour Grade Synthetic Leather. 14 Way Full Length Dividers with Oversized Putter Well, and 9 Pockets with 2 Cooler Pockets. Use code LUXCART at checkout. Shipping is free
GOLF SHOES
$130 $34 Oakley Men's Nomad Sneaker Shoes: Available in Blue, Sizes 8 and 11.5. Use code WWGWB15 at checkout. Shipping is 8.99
APPAREL
$200 $59 Sun Mountain Men's Stratus 20K Waterproof Hooded Rain Jacket: Available in Black, Green and Navy, Sizes S-XL. No code needed. Shipping is 6.00
GPS AND RANGEFINDERS
$270 $140 MGI Sureshot Pinloc 5000IPS Rangefinder: Available in Black. No code needed. Shipping is 6.00
OTHER
Don't miss another deal - Sign-up here to get these posts via email every day (7:30am PT / 10:30am ET).
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DISCOUNT CODES:

• Get 15% off orders of $300+ with MAJOR15 and 20% off orders of $600+ with MAJOR20 at GlobalGolf.com. Use code GOLFER2024 for 10% off everything else
• Get 15% off a single item at WorldWideGolf.com with code WWGWB15 (exclusions apply)
• Use BKGOLF15 at Rhoback.com to get 15% off first-time orders
• Use HOLEINEONE at RockBottomGolf.com for $10 off $50
• Get 15% off used golf balls through month-end at CleanGreenGolfBalls.com with code CGGB15. Includes both low-end (e.g. hit-away and high-end balls (e.g. Mint AAAA+ ProV1s, TP5x)
• Veterans / First Responders (approximately 15% off across each): Taylormade, PXG, Dunlop brands - Srixon, Cleveland, XXIO, Callaway, Wilson and PING all offer discounts

Note: I may earn commissions on these deals when you make a purchase. This income helps cover the costs involved in building scraping tools / identifying these deals. This is cleared with the mods.

This is not sponsored by Goldbelly. This review is solely written from my own experiences with the company. Goldbelly is a delivery service that pairs customers with popular restaurants across the United States. You can order from thousands of restaurants, markets, and stores across the nation.
Food safety and regulations..
After numerous orders with Goldbelly, it is safe to say that their product works as intended. I know there are a lot of negative complaints about Goldbelly online about food arriving spoiled, but I can assure you that after dozens of orders, food has always arrived on time and safely refrigerated. The complaints that you see online are likely the minority.
When delivering food via popular mailing services, companies like Goldbelly don't have a ton of control as to if the food arrives on time. But from my experience, the regulation around the amount of insulation and dry ice/ice packs the company makes restaurants has gotten a lot better in recent years. This makes it so food generally can last at last 24 hours after their intended arrival date.
If you're considering giving Goldbelly a chance, the product is trustworthy.
Overall review..
Goldbelly is definitely expensive. You're paying 2-3 times more sometimes, and some of the food won't be as fresh as having the option to dine in. Goldbelly is useful if you're really trying to splurge, or send someone the gift of some food they normally don't get to eat.
I would stay away from shops that have a 4.2 review or lower.
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34, M. I’ve been in the design, architectural space for 10 years but found a great role structured with commission where I am in more of a sales role in the same industry. I’ve been wanting to get into a role like this with higher earning potential.
5 weeks ago I started. Job description line regarding benefits literally says, VERBATIM, “$275 is contributed towards medical plan after 30 days”
Okay sounds very nice, I take that as whatever plan I select, $275 is covered which to me is basically free health insurance. My plan is $147 bi weekly so $294. Before being employed I had my own plan through the marketplace which was $210 a month, nice low deductible too. So instead of asking for a slightly higher base salary or higher percentage structure of commission (until I switch to 100% commission structure with higher payouts) I just say screw it I’ll accept at least I’m getting free health insurance.
Now my CFO is saying no, $147 is still what you pay bi-weekly. That’s what’s leftover of your plan after we pay our portion. I’m like, $500+ a month for a medical plan that I could’ve gotten for less than HALF myself? So now I’m locked into this medical plan until open enrollment in July, I cancelled my personal plan I had already worked towards my deductible, AND now 10% of my income is going to a medical plan I was under the impression was PAID FOR by them. If my plan is over $275 I’d happily pay the difference.
Some other red flags, a previous employee sued them in small claims for ‘wage theft’ on commissions she didn’t get paid for (granted she never finalized closing the sale but she did do some designs for the clients), they also only allow $35 expense allowance when traveling PER DAY for food which seems insanely low in this climate, there’s also a bit of a revolving door with guys in the field doing the construction so unsure if they’re underpaid too. I brought up the medical insurance smokescreen to her and I should have a discussion with them later this week. I’m basically asking for my salary to be increased where my medical insurance can be paid for and I still take home what my current base salary should be. In increase of $275 per month is what I’m asking for a $36k base salary of $880 a week.. PLUS my experience in this industry is what it is..

ANALYSIS:

• FX analysis:
• We see looking at EURUSD that skew is v elevated as IV is elevated on calls vs puts.
• EURUSD is stuck under 1.08 but traders are looking for a break towards 1.09. Note that traders seem to be pricing in softer inflation data. If PPI comes hot and CPI too tomorrow, we can see strong downward move in EURUSD as traders are seemingly complacent from positioning on soft inflation data
• BTC:
• BTC positioning shows traders sell calls. Skew points downward. Can see some pressure for this OPEX as a result, but should push up after that. Hence why price is lower in premarket.
• https://imgur.com/a/mShRPhn
• Oil:
• Range bound as traders waiting for US economic data this week. But skew is still pointing higher. Buyer momentum is higher, so it is positioned for a move higher but I suppose traders hold their breath waiting for the data.
• Silver:
• Looks like can continue higher. Skew is higher, IV change is rising.
• Calls on 28 adn 29 are the main options.
• https://imgur.com/a/q3KxHuN
• USDJPY - gamma wall at 157C. Can get stopped there, before move higher after. Positioning on JPY v bearish.

DATA LEDE:

• Japan PPI:
• YOY came 0.9% vs 0.9% forecast, last month was revised to 0.9% YOY too.
• So is gradually increasing since November.
• German Final inflation revision showed no change to preliminary reading. Confirmed the prelim reading. inflation of 2.2% vs 2.2% last time.
• UK EMPLOYMENT DATA
• 178k people got laid off in the last month, less than the 215k expected.
• More than the 156k last month.
• So labour market is continuing to weaken.
• Unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in line with expectations. Highest reading in over a year.
• Average earnings still came hot though, at 5.7% growth YOY vs 5.3% forecasted. Last month was 5.7% YOY.
• Average earnings growth has come down a lot though in the last year and is now near yearly lows of growth.
• So UK labour market data showed weakening of labour market.
• EURO ZEW Economic Sentiment index:
• Came 47 vs 46.1 expected.
• Highest economic sentiment reading in over a year.
• Economic sentiment in Eurozone continues to improve.
• German economic sentiment index came 47.1 vs 46 expected. Highest in a year.
• US PPI Data
• Fed’s Powell is due to speak at 10am, unlikely to say anything in particular.

MARKETS:

• Markets are flat, waiting for PPI.
• SPX trading flat around the levels it was at yesterday, ahead of PPI. Market waiting for PPI
• Nasdaq: 18,200. Trading flat around these levels.
• DJI flat at 39.5k
• GEr40: Trading flat at the highs, trading at 18,700.
• HKG trading lower by 0.8%. Tested close to 19k and held.
• OIL trading flat the last week or so around 77-79.
• GOLD: trading flat at 2,344.

FX:

• GBP down due to weak employment data, which points to firstly, rate cuts being on the horizon, and weakness in UK economy.
• Also down because BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Recovered somewhat with EURO which headed higher after ZEW Economic survey
• Yen continues weakness after failed intervention
• DXY flat ahead of PPI
• EURUSD trading t the 1.08 resistance
• AUDUSD trading at 0.66. Still stuck under the downtrend trend line.

EARNINGS:
BABA

• EPS of 10.14 vs 10.21 expected. Miss by 0.7%
• Revenue of 221.8B beat by 1%. Up 6% YOY
• Adjusted EBITDA was 30.81B yuan, beat by 1.4%
• Segment revenue:
• Taobao group was 93B, beat estimates by 1%, down 28% QOQ
• Cloud intelligence was down 8% QOQ
• Local services group revenue was 15B Yuan
• Cainiao Smart logistics network was 20.12B yuan
• So mixed segment revenue.
• Approved a $4B dividend for Fy 2024.
• One time extraordinary cash dividend
• Repurchased $12.5B worth of shares in Fy 2024.
• They are focusing on enhancing customer experience and growing AI product capabilities
• Significant investments in strategic business priorities, particularly in ecomm
• CEO comments:
• Returning to growth, our china and international commerce business saw double digit GMV growth
• Accelerated revenue in cloud computing
• NOT GREAT EARNINGS ON THE WHOLE. EPS was dissapoitning, segment revenues were dissapointing.

HD

• Down as they say that delayed spring selling is hurting sales.
• Weak current quarter, comps were down worse than expected. But they maintained the Full year guide, which was better than many expected imo
• Rev $36.4B vs $36.7B est. missed narrowly
• Comps -2.8% vs -2.2% est. worse than expected
• EPS $3.63 vs $3.60 est. slightly better than expected
• Customer transactions were down 1% YOY
• Average ticket down 1.3% YOY
• Sales per retail square foot were down 3.4% YOY
• Maintains FY guide
• FY EPS of $15.26
• FY sales of 154.2B
• The 1Q weakness is in-line with what we highlighted, but FY guide maintained = better than feared by some.
• Delayed start to sprint and softness in larger discretionary projects hurt sales.
• Still seeing challenges
• But are trying to look forward to rest of the fiscal year with robust plans to engage customers.

SONY:

• Announced new leadership structure.
• Is adopting a new dual CEO structure for their video game Unit.
• Net profit was 189B yen , up 34% YOY and beat by 26.8%
• Revenue was 3.48T, up 14% YOY, beat by 14%
• EPS of 153.6, beat by 34%
• Segment performance:
• Game Business revenue was 3.481T, up 14% YOY
• Game business operating profit was 105.9B, more than double YOY
• Moving business operating profit was nearly double YOY
• So strong quarter results
• GUIDANCE FOR FY2025:
• Revenue of 12.31T, down 5.5% YOY
• Net profit of 925B down 4% YOY
• Planning partial spin off of financial unit
• Conducting 5-1 stock split
• Announced buyback of 250B shares
• Seen strong performance in game and movie business, leading to robust quarter.

MAG 7 NEWS:

• MSFT - OPENAI announcements yesterday:
• Releases voice assistant, which acts as a translator in real time.
• OpenAI GPT 4o which is faster, omnimodel and easier. It will launch on desktop version too. Said this model will be available for free.
• Showcased use of AI for tutoring.
• Announced they have over 100m+ users using chatGPT worldwide.
• TSLA - rehires their key Supercharger Team, reversing recent cuts.
• GOOGL, AMZN - Anthropic, which is backed by these companies is launching its GenAI chatbot Claude throughout europe including EU countries Switzerland and Iceland.
• GOOGL - has their own IO developer event today. Is expected to showcase its latest AI tools and AI linked enhancements to products.
• AAPL - Foxconn reported earnings. Whilst their results jumped a lot YOY, they missed estimates. They said they saw strong server demand due to AI, but consumer electronics sales were down 9%, weakness in iPhone in CHina.
• Said they are cautious about near term consumer electronics demand.
• AAPL - preparing o sell Vision Pro device outside of US for first time, plans to expand to CHina, Japan and France.

COMPANY SPECIFIC:

• SPWR up as part of a short squeeze of meme stocks, and other heavily shorted stocks.
• GME - Up 40% in premarket. The squeeze continues.
• AMC up 50% too, BB up 15%
• The meme stocks are seeing momentum continuing on from yesterday, after coming into focus due to Roaring Kitty’s tweet during weekend.
• Chinese EV company, BYD is unveiling Plug in hybrid pickup truck in Mexico. It’s called the shark and will be distributed globally except for US.
• RUM - Rumble sues Google for $1B over anticompetitive ad practices. Files lawsuit
• WMT - to lay off and relocate hundreds of corporate workers. Remote workers have been asked to move to larger corporate hubs. Small office employees in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to relocate
• UBER - Willa acquire FoodPanda’s Taiwan business for 950M
• ULTA - maintained at hold by Stifel

OTHER NEWS

• Meme stock rally this morning continues.
• US small business index ahead of expectations, but much below the historically average level. Cost pressures remain the main issue as many small businesses still raise wages to retain workers.Inflation still the main issue for small businesses in US, but less so than before.
• Yesterday’s trading saw the lowest volume day since Thanksgiving 2023. This is as traders await the key economic news coming out this week.
• Yesterday saw inflation expectations rise for next year to 3.3%, highest since November 2023.
• From the data this morning then, we can see that the macro trends are:
• UK labour market continues to weaken
• Euro economic sentiment improves
• Bank of America sees slower growth but still positive spending in the US. People are getting user to higher rate environment.
• US administration increases tariffs on $18B of Chinese imports. Including semiconductors, batteries, solars, EVs etc. Trying to bolster domestic manufacturing.
• Yesterday, Yellen said that China is not really playing by the rules on trade, said it is unacceptable to be dependent on China in key industries.
• B of A fund manager survey shows fund managers are most bullish since 2021. Not seeing signs of big pullback here. Cash allocation decreasing as fund managers INCREASE exposure to the market too. Lowest cash level since 2021.
• BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Said we can cut rates and still have restrictive policy.
• OPEC sees demand for doc crude in 2024 at 43.2M BPD in 2024, and says they will now only forecast demand for doc crude
• OPEC said that despite some downside risks, there is further upside potential for global economic growth in 2024.

ANALYSIS:

• FX analysis:
• We see looking at EURUSD that skew is v elevated as IV is elevated on calls vs puts.
• EURUSD is stuck under 1.08 but traders are looking for a break towards 1.09. Note that traders seem to be pricing in softer inflation data. If PPI comes hot and CPI too tomorrow, we can see strong downward move in EURUSD as traders are seemingly complacent from positioning on soft inflation data
• BTC:
• BTC positioning shows traders sell calls. Skew points downward. Can see some pressure for this OPEX as a result, but should push up after that. Hence why price is lower in premarket.
• https://imgur.com/a/mShRPhn
• Oil:
• Range bound as traders waiting for US economic data this week. But skew is still pointing higher. Buyer momentum is higher, so it is positioned for a move higher but I suppose traders hold their breath waiting for the data.
• Silver:
• Looks like can continue higher. Skew is higher, IV change is rising.
• Calls on 28 adn 29 are the main options.
• https://imgur.com/a/q3KxHuN
• USDJPY - gamma wall at 157C. Can get stopped there, before move higher after. Positioning on JPY v bearish.

DATA LEDE:

• Japan PPI:
• YOY came 0.9% vs 0.9% forecast, last month was revised to 0.9% YOY too.
• So is gradually increasing since November.
• German Final inflation revision showed no change to preliminary reading. Confirmed the prelim reading. inflation of 2.2% vs 2.2% last time.
• UK EMPLOYMENT DATA
• 178k people got laid off in the last month, less than the 215k expected.
• More than the 156k last month.
• So labour market is continuing to weaken.
• Unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in line with expectations. Highest reading in over a year.
• Average earnings still came hot though, at 5.7% growth YOY vs 5.3% forecasted. Last month was 5.7% YOY.
• Average earnings growth has come down a lot though in the last year and is now near yearly lows of growth.
• So UK labour market data showed weakening of labour market.
• EURO ZEW Economic Sentiment index:
• Came 47 vs 46.1 expected.
• Highest economic sentiment reading in over a year.
• Economic sentiment in Eurozone continues to improve.
• German economic sentiment index came 47.1 vs 46 expected. Highest in a year.
• US PPI Data
• Fed’s Powell is due to speak at 10am, unlikely to say anything in particular.

MARKETS:

• Markets are flat, waiting for PPI.
• SPX trading flat around the levels it was at yesterday, ahead of PPI. Market waiting for PPI
• Nasdaq: 18,200. Trading flat around these levels.
• DJI flat at 39.5k
• GEr40: Trading flat at the highs, trading at 18,700.
• HKG trading lower by 0.8%. Tested close to 19k and held.
• OIL trading flat the last week or so around 77-79.
• GOLD: trading flat at 2,344.

FX:

• GBP down due to weak employment data, which points to firstly, rate cuts being on the horizon, and weakness in UK economy.
• Also down because BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Recovered somewhat with EURO which headed higher after ZEW Economic survey
• Yen continues weakness after failed intervention
• DXY flat ahead of PPI
• EURUSD trading t the 1.08 resistance
• AUDUSD trading at 0.66. Still stuck under the downtrend trend line.

EARNINGS:
BABA

• EPS of 10.14 vs 10.21 expected. Miss by 0.7%
• Revenue of 221.8B beat by 1%. Up 6% YOY
• Adjusted EBITDA was 30.81B yuan, beat by 1.4%
• Segment revenue:
• Taobao group was 93B, beat estimates by 1%, down 28% QOQ
• Cloud intelligence was down 8% QOQ
• Local services group revenue was 15B Yuan
• Cainiao Smart logistics network was 20.12B yuan
• So mixed segment revenue.
• Approved a $4B dividend for Fy 2024.
• One time extraordinary cash dividend
• Repurchased $12.5B worth of shares in Fy 2024.
• They are focusing on enhancing customer experience and growing AI product capabilities
• Significant investments in strategic business priorities, particularly in ecomm
• CEO comments:
• Returning to growth, our china and international commerce business saw double digit GMV growth
• Accelerated revenue in cloud computing
• NOT GREAT EARNINGS ON THE WHOLE. EPS was dissapoitning, segment revenues were dissapointing.

HD

• Down as they say that delayed spring selling is hurting sales.
• Weak current quarter, comps were down worse than expected. But they maintained the Full year guide, which was better than many expected imo
• Rev $36.4B vs $36.7B est. missed narrowly
• Comps -2.8% vs -2.2% est. worse than expected
• EPS $3.63 vs $3.60 est. slightly better than expected
• Customer transactions were down 1% YOY
• Average ticket down 1.3% YOY
• Sales per retail square foot were down 3.4% YOY
• Maintains FY guide
• FY EPS of $15.26
• FY sales of 154.2B
• The 1Q weakness is in-line with what we highlighted, but FY guide maintained = better than feared by some.
• Delayed start to sprint and softness in larger discretionary projects hurt sales.
• Still seeing challenges
• But are trying to look forward to rest of the fiscal year with robust plans to engage customers.

SONY:

• Announced new leadership structure.
• Is adopting a new dual CEO structure for their video game Unit.
• Net profit was 189B yen , up 34% YOY and beat by 26.8%
• Revenue was 3.48T, up 14% YOY, beat by 14%
• EPS of 153.6, beat by 34%
• Segment performance:
• Game Business revenue was 3.481T, up 14% YOY
• Game business operating profit was 105.9B, more than double YOY
• Moving business operating profit was nearly double YOY
• So strong quarter results
• GUIDANCE FOR FY2025:
• Revenue of 12.31T, down 5.5% YOY
• Net profit of 925B down 4% YOY
• Planning partial spin off of financial unit
• Conducting 5-1 stock split
• Announced buyback of 250B shares
• Seen strong performance in game and movie business, leading to robust quarter.

MAG 7 NEWS:

• MSFT - OPENAI announcements yesterday:
• Releases voice assistant, which acts as a translator in real time.
• OpenAI GPT 4o which is faster, omnimodel and easier. It will launch on desktop version too. Said this model will be available for free.
• Showcased use of AI for tutoring.
• Announced they have over 100m+ users using chatGPT worldwide.
• TSLA - rehires their key Supercharger Team, reversing recent cuts.
• GOOGL, AMZN - Anthropic, which is backed by these companies is launching its GenAI chatbot Claude throughout europe including EU countries Switzerland and Iceland.
• GOOGL - has their own IO developer event today. Is expected to showcase its latest AI tools and AI linked enhancements to products.
• AAPL - Foxconn reported earnings. Whilst their results jumped a lot YOY, they missed estimates. They said they saw strong server demand due to AI, but consumer electronics sales were down 9%, weakness in iPhone in CHina.
• Said they are cautious about near term consumer electronics demand.
• AAPL - preparing o sell Vision Pro device outside of US for first time, plans to expand to CHina, Japan and France.

COMPANY SPECIFIC:

• SPWR up as part of a short squeeze of meme stocks, and other heavily shorted stocks.
• GME - Up 40% in premarket. The squeeze continues.
• AMC up 50% too, BB up 15%
• The meme stocks are seeing momentum continuing on from yesterday, after coming into focus due to Roaring Kitty’s tweet during weekend.
• Chinese EV company, BYD is unveiling Plug in hybrid pickup truck in Mexico. It’s called the shark and will be distributed globally except for US.
• RUM - Rumble sues Google for $1B over anticompetitive ad practices. Files lawsuit
• WMT - to lay off and relocate hundreds of corporate workers. Remote workers have been asked to move to larger corporate hubs. Small office employees in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to relocate
• UBER - Willa acquire FoodPanda’s Taiwan business for 950M
• ULTA - maintained at hold by Stifel

OTHER NEWS

• Meme stock rally this morning continues.
• US small business index ahead of expectations, but much below the historically average level. Cost pressures remain the main issue as many small businesses still raise wages to retain workers.Inflation still the main issue for small businesses in US, but less so than before.
• Yesterday’s trading saw the lowest volume day since Thanksgiving 2023. This is as traders await the key economic news coming out this week.
• Yesterday saw inflation expectations rise for next year to 3.3%, highest since November 2023.
• From the data this morning then, we can see that the macro trends are:
• UK labour market continues to weaken
• Euro economic sentiment improves
• Bank of America sees slower growth but still positive spending in the US. People are getting user to higher rate environment.
• US administration increases tariffs on $18B of Chinese imports. Including semiconductors, batteries, solars, EVs etc. Trying to bolster domestic manufacturing.
• Yesterday, Yellen said that China is not really playing by the rules on trade, said it is unacceptable to be dependent on China in key industries.
• B of A fund manager survey shows fund managers are most bullish since 2021. Not seeing signs of big pullback here. Cash allocation decreasing as fund managers INCREASE exposure to the market too. Lowest cash level since 2021.
• BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Said we can cut rates and still have restrictive policy.
• OPEC sees demand for doc crude in 2024 at 43.2M BPD in 2024, and says they will now only forecast demand for doc crude
• OPEC said that despite some downside risks, there is further upside potential for global economic growth in 2024.

For more of my daily analysis please join Tradingedge
ANALYSIS:

• FX analysis:
• We see looking at EURUSD that skew is v elevated as IV is elevated on calls vs puts.
• EURUSD is stuck under 1.08 but traders are looking for a break towards 1.09. Note that traders seem to be pricing in softer inflation data. If PPI comes hot and CPI too tomorrow, we can see strong downward move in EURUSD as traders are seemingly complacent from positioning on soft inflation data
• BTC:
• BTC positioning shows traders sell calls. Skew points downward. Can see some pressure for this OPEX as a result, but should push up after that. Hence why price is lower in premarket.
• https://imgur.com/a/mShRPhn
• Oil:
• Range bound as traders waiting for US economic data this week. But skew is still pointing higher. Buyer momentum is higher, so it is positioned for a move higher but I suppose traders hold their breath waiting for the data.
• Silver:
• Looks like can continue higher. Skew is higher, IV change is rising.
• Calls on 28 adn 29 are the main options.
• https://imgur.com/a/q3KxHuN
• USDJPY - gamma wall at 157C. Can get stopped there, before move higher after. Positioning on JPY v bearish.

DATA LEDE:

• Japan PPI:
• YOY came 0.9% vs 0.9% forecast, last month was revised to 0.9% YOY too.
• So is gradually increasing since November.
• German Final inflation revision showed no change to preliminary reading. Confirmed the prelim reading. inflation of 2.2% vs 2.2% last time.
• UK EMPLOYMENT DATA
• 178k people got laid off in the last month, less than the 215k expected.
• More than the 156k last month.
• So labour market is continuing to weaken.
• Unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in line with expectations. Highest reading in over a year.
• Average earnings still came hot though, at 5.7% growth YOY vs 5.3% forecasted. Last month was 5.7% YOY.
• Average earnings growth has come down a lot though in the last year and is now near yearly lows of growth.
• So UK labour market data showed weakening of labour market.
• EURO ZEW Economic Sentiment index:
• Came 47 vs 46.1 expected.
• Highest economic sentiment reading in over a year.
• Economic sentiment in Eurozone continues to improve.
• German economic sentiment index came 47.1 vs 46 expected. Highest in a year.
• US PPI Data
• Fed’s Powell is due to speak at 10am, unlikely to say anything in particular.

MARKETS:

• Markets are flat, waiting for PPI.
• SPX trading flat around the levels it was at yesterday, ahead of PPI. Market waiting for PPI
• Nasdaq: 18,200. Trading flat around these levels.
• DJI flat at 39.5k
• GEr40: Trading flat at the highs, trading at 18,700.
• HKG trading lower by 0.8%. Tested close to 19k and held.
• OIL trading flat the last week or so around 77-79.
• GOLD: trading flat at 2,344.

FX:

• GBP down due to weak employment data, which points to firstly, rate cuts being on the horizon, and weakness in UK economy.
• Also down because BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Recovered somewhat with EURO which headed higher after ZEW Economic survey
• Yen continues weakness after failed intervention
• DXY flat ahead of PPI
• EURUSD trading t the 1.08 resistance
• AUDUSD trading at 0.66. Still stuck under the downtrend trend line.

EARNINGS:
BABA

• EPS of 10.14 vs 10.21 expected. Miss by 0.7%
• Revenue of 221.8B beat by 1%. Up 6% YOY
• Adjusted EBITDA was 30.81B yuan, beat by 1.4%
• Segment revenue:
• Taobao group was 93B, beat estimates by 1%, down 28% QOQ
• Cloud intelligence was down 8% QOQ
• Local services group revenue was 15B Yuan
• Cainiao Smart logistics network was 20.12B yuan
• So mixed segment revenue.
• Approved a $4B dividend for Fy 2024.
• One time extraordinary cash dividend
• Repurchased $12.5B worth of shares in Fy 2024.
• They are focusing on enhancing customer experience and growing AI product capabilities
• Significant investments in strategic business priorities, particularly in ecomm
• CEO comments:
• Returning to growth, our china and international commerce business saw double digit GMV growth
• Accelerated revenue in cloud computing
• NOT GREAT EARNINGS ON THE WHOLE. EPS was dissapoitning, segment revenues were dissapointing.

HD

• Down as they say that delayed spring selling is hurting sales.
• Weak current quarter, comps were down worse than expected. But they maintained the Full year guide, which was better than many expected imo
• Rev $36.4B vs $36.7B est. missed narrowly
• Comps -2.8% vs -2.2% est. worse than expected
• EPS $3.63 vs $3.60 est. slightly better than expected
• Customer transactions were down 1% YOY
• Average ticket down 1.3% YOY
• Sales per retail square foot were down 3.4% YOY
• Maintains FY guide
• FY EPS of $15.26
• FY sales of 154.2B
• The 1Q weakness is in-line with what we highlighted, but FY guide maintained = better than feared by some.
• Delayed start to sprint and softness in larger discretionary projects hurt sales.
• Still seeing challenges
• But are trying to look forward to rest of the fiscal year with robust plans to engage customers.

SONY:

• Announced new leadership structure.
• Is adopting a new dual CEO structure for their video game Unit.
• Net profit was 189B yen , up 34% YOY and beat by 26.8%
• Revenue was 3.48T, up 14% YOY, beat by 14%
• EPS of 153.6, beat by 34%
• Segment performance:
• Game Business revenue was 3.481T, up 14% YOY
• Game business operating profit was 105.9B, more than double YOY
• Moving business operating profit was nearly double YOY
• So strong quarter results
• GUIDANCE FOR FY2025:
• Revenue of 12.31T, down 5.5% YOY
• Net profit of 925B down 4% YOY
• Planning partial spin off of financial unit
• Conducting 5-1 stock split
• Announced buyback of 250B shares
• Seen strong performance in game and movie business, leading to robust quarter.

MAG 7 NEWS:

• MSFT - OPENAI announcements yesterday:
• Releases voice assistant, which acts as a translator in real time.
• OpenAI GPT 4o which is faster, omnimodel and easier. It will launch on desktop version too. Said this model will be available for free.
• Showcased use of AI for tutoring.
• Announced they have over 100m+ users using chatGPT worldwide.
• TSLA - rehires their key Supercharger Team, reversing recent cuts.
• GOOGL, AMZN - Anthropic, which is backed by these companies is launching its GenAI chatbot Claude throughout europe including EU countries Switzerland and Iceland.
• GOOGL - has their own IO developer event today. Is expected to showcase its latest AI tools and AI linked enhancements to products.
• AAPL - Foxconn reported earnings. Whilst their results jumped a lot YOY, they missed estimates. They said they saw strong server demand due to AI, but consumer electronics sales were down 9%, weakness in iPhone in CHina.
• Said they are cautious about near term consumer electronics demand.
• AAPL - preparing o sell Vision Pro device outside of US for first time, plans to expand to CHina, Japan and France.

COMPANY SPECIFIC:

• SPWR up as part of a short squeeze of meme stocks, and other heavily shorted stocks.
• GME - Up 40% in premarket. The squeeze continues.
• AMC up 50% too, BB up 15%
• The meme stocks are seeing momentum continuing on from yesterday, after coming into focus due to Roaring Kitty’s tweet during weekend.
• Chinese EV company, BYD is unveiling Plug in hybrid pickup truck in Mexico. It’s called the shark and will be distributed globally except for US.
• RUM - Rumble sues Google for $1B over anticompetitive ad practices. Files lawsuit
• WMT - to lay off and relocate hundreds of corporate workers. Remote workers have been asked to move to larger corporate hubs. Small office employees in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to relocate
• UBER - Willa acquire FoodPanda’s Taiwan business for 950M
• ULTA - maintained at hold by Stifel

OTHER NEWS

• Meme stock rally this morning continues.
• US small business index ahead of expectations, but much below the historically average level. Cost pressures remain the main issue as many small businesses still raise wages to retain workers.Inflation still the main issue for small businesses in US, but less so than before.
• Yesterday’s trading saw the lowest volume day since Thanksgiving 2023. This is as traders await the key economic news coming out this week.
• Yesterday saw inflation expectations rise for next year to 3.3%, highest since November 2023.
• From the data this morning then, we can see that the macro trends are:
• UK labour market continues to weaken
• Euro economic sentiment improves
• Bank of America sees slower growth but still positive spending in the US. People are getting user to higher rate environment.
• US administration increases tariffs on $18B of Chinese imports. Including semiconductors, batteries, solars, EVs etc. Trying to bolster domestic manufacturing.
• Yesterday, Yellen said that China is not really playing by the rules on trade, said it is unacceptable to be dependent on China in key industries.
• B of A fund manager survey shows fund managers are most bullish since 2021. Not seeing signs of big pullback here. Cash allocation decreasing as fund managers INCREASE exposure to the market too. Lowest cash level since 2021.
• BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Said we can cut rates and still have restrictive policy.
• OPEC sees demand for doc crude in 2024 at 43.2M BPD in 2024, and says they will now only forecast demand for doc crude
• OPEC said that despite some downside risks, there is further upside potential for global economic growth in 2024.

For more of my daily analysis please join Tradingedge
ANALYSIS:

• FX analysis:
• We see looking at EURUSD that skew is v elevated as IV is elevated on calls vs puts.
• EURUSD is stuck under 1.08 but traders are looking for a break towards 1.09. Note that traders seem to be pricing in softer inflation data. If PPI comes hot and CPI too tomorrow, we can see strong downward move in EURUSD as traders are seemingly complacent from positioning on soft inflation data
• BTC:
• BTC positioning shows traders sell calls. Skew points downward. Can see some pressure for this OPEX as a result, but should push up after that. Hence why price is lower in premarket.
• https://imgur.com/a/mShRPhn
• Oil:
• Range bound as traders waiting for US economic data this week. But skew is still pointing higher. Buyer momentum is higher, so it is positioned for a move higher but I suppose traders hold their breath waiting for the data.
• Silver:
• Looks like can continue higher. Skew is higher, IV change is rising.
• Calls on 28 adn 29 are the main options.
• https://imgur.com/a/q3KxHuN
• USDJPY - gamma wall at 157C. Can get stopped there, before move higher after. Positioning on JPY v bearish.

DATA LEDE:

• Japan PPI:
• YOY came 0.9% vs 0.9% forecast, last month was revised to 0.9% YOY too.
• So is gradually increasing since November.
• German Final inflation revision showed no change to preliminary reading. Confirmed the prelim reading. inflation of 2.2% vs 2.2% last time.
• UK EMPLOYMENT DATA
• 178k people got laid off in the last month, less than the 215k expected.
• More than the 156k last month.
• So labour market is continuing to weaken.
• Unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in line with expectations. Highest reading in over a year.
• Average earnings still came hot though, at 5.7% growth YOY vs 5.3% forecasted. Last month was 5.7% YOY.
• Average earnings growth has come down a lot though in the last year and is now near yearly lows of growth.
• So UK labour market data showed weakening of labour market.
• EURO ZEW Economic Sentiment index:
• Came 47 vs 46.1 expected.
• Highest economic sentiment reading in over a year.
• Economic sentiment in Eurozone continues to improve.
• German economic sentiment index came 47.1 vs 46 expected. Highest in a year.
• US PPI Data
• Fed’s Powell is due to speak at 10am, unlikely to say anything in particular.

MARKETS:

• Markets are flat, waiting for PPI.
• SPX trading flat around the levels it was at yesterday, ahead of PPI. Market waiting for PPI
• Nasdaq: 18,200. Trading flat around these levels.
• DJI flat at 39.5k
• GEr40: Trading flat at the highs, trading at 18,700.
• HKG trading lower by 0.8%. Tested close to 19k and held.
• OIL trading flat the last week or so around 77-79.
• GOLD: trading flat at 2,344.

FX:

• GBP down due to weak employment data, which points to firstly, rate cuts being on the horizon, and weakness in UK economy.
• Also down because BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Recovered somewhat with EURO which headed higher after ZEW Economic survey
• Yen continues weakness after failed intervention
• DXY flat ahead of PPI
• EURUSD trading t the 1.08 resistance
• AUDUSD trading at 0.66. Still stuck under the downtrend trend line.

EARNINGS:
BABA

• EPS of 10.14 vs 10.21 expected. Miss by 0.7%
• Revenue of 221.8B beat by 1%. Up 6% YOY
• Adjusted EBITDA was 30.81B yuan, beat by 1.4%
• Segment revenue:
• Taobao group was 93B, beat estimates by 1%, down 28% QOQ
• Cloud intelligence was down 8% QOQ
• Local services group revenue was 15B Yuan
• Cainiao Smart logistics network was 20.12B yuan
• So mixed segment revenue.
• Approved a $4B dividend for Fy 2024.
• One time extraordinary cash dividend
• Repurchased $12.5B worth of shares in Fy 2024.
• They are focusing on enhancing customer experience and growing AI product capabilities
• Significant investments in strategic business priorities, particularly in ecomm
• CEO comments:
• Returning to growth, our china and international commerce business saw double digit GMV growth
• Accelerated revenue in cloud computing
• NOT GREAT EARNINGS ON THE WHOLE. EPS was dissapoitning, segment revenues were dissapointing.

HD

• Down as they say that delayed spring selling is hurting sales.
• Weak current quarter, comps were down worse than expected. But they maintained the Full year guide, which was better than many expected imo
• Rev $36.4B vs $36.7B est. missed narrowly
• Comps -2.8% vs -2.2% est. worse than expected
• EPS $3.63 vs $3.60 est. slightly better than expected
• Customer transactions were down 1% YOY
• Average ticket down 1.3% YOY
• Sales per retail square foot were down 3.4% YOY
• Maintains FY guide
• FY EPS of $15.26
• FY sales of 154.2B
• The 1Q weakness is in-line with what we highlighted, but FY guide maintained = better than feared by some.
• Delayed start to sprint and softness in larger discretionary projects hurt sales.
• Still seeing challenges
• But are trying to look forward to rest of the fiscal year with robust plans to engage customers.

SONY:

• Announced new leadership structure.
• Is adopting a new dual CEO structure for their video game Unit.
• Net profit was 189B yen , up 34% YOY and beat by 26.8%
• Revenue was 3.48T, up 14% YOY, beat by 14%
• EPS of 153.6, beat by 34%
• Segment performance:
• Game Business revenue was 3.481T, up 14% YOY
• Game business operating profit was 105.9B, more than double YOY
• Moving business operating profit was nearly double YOY
• So strong quarter results
• GUIDANCE FOR FY2025:
• Revenue of 12.31T, down 5.5% YOY
• Net profit of 925B down 4% YOY
• Planning partial spin off of financial unit
• Conducting 5-1 stock split
• Announced buyback of 250B shares
• Seen strong performance in game and movie business, leading to robust quarter.

MAG 7 NEWS:

• MSFT - OPENAI announcements yesterday:
• Releases voice assistant, which acts as a translator in real time.
• OpenAI GPT 4o which is faster, omnimodel and easier. It will launch on desktop version too. Said this model will be available for free.
• Showcased use of AI for tutoring.
• Announced they have over 100m+ users using chatGPT worldwide.
• TSLA - rehires their key Supercharger Team, reversing recent cuts.
• GOOGL, AMZN - Anthropic, which is backed by these companies is launching its GenAI chatbot Claude throughout europe including EU countries Switzerland and Iceland.
• GOOGL - has their own IO developer event today. Is expected to showcase its latest AI tools and AI linked enhancements to products.
• AAPL - Foxconn reported earnings. Whilst their results jumped a lot YOY, they missed estimates. They said they saw strong server demand due to AI, but consumer electronics sales were down 9%, weakness in iPhone in CHina.
• Said they are cautious about near term consumer electronics demand.
• AAPL - preparing o sell Vision Pro device outside of US for first time, plans to expand to CHina, Japan and France.

COMPANY SPECIFIC:

• SPWR up as part of a short squeeze of meme stocks, and other heavily shorted stocks.
• GME - Up 40% in premarket. The squeeze continues.
• AMC up 50% too, BB up 15%
• The meme stocks are seeing momentum continuing on from yesterday, after coming into focus due to Roaring Kitty’s tweet during weekend.
• Chinese EV company, BYD is unveiling Plug in hybrid pickup truck in Mexico. It’s called the shark and will be distributed globally except for US.
• RUM - Rumble sues Google for $1B over anticompetitive ad practices. Files lawsuit
• WMT - to lay off and relocate hundreds of corporate workers. Remote workers have been asked to move to larger corporate hubs. Small office employees in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to relocate
• UBER - Willa acquire FoodPanda’s Taiwan business for 950M
• ULTA - maintained at hold by Stifel

OTHER NEWS

• Meme stock rally this morning continues.
• US small business index ahead of expectations, but much below the historically average level. Cost pressures remain the main issue as many small businesses still raise wages to retain workers.Inflation still the main issue for small businesses in US, but less so than before.
• Yesterday’s trading saw the lowest volume day since Thanksgiving 2023. This is as traders await the key economic news coming out this week.
• Yesterday saw inflation expectations rise for next year to 3.3%, highest since November 2023.
• From the data this morning then, we can see that the macro trends are:
• UK labour market continues to weaken
• Euro economic sentiment improves
• Bank of America sees slower growth but still positive spending in the US. People are getting user to higher rate environment.
• US administration increases tariffs on $18B of Chinese imports. Including semiconductors, batteries, solars, EVs etc. Trying to bolster domestic manufacturing.
• Yesterday, Yellen said that China is not really playing by the rules on trade, said it is unacceptable to be dependent on China in key industries.
• B of A fund manager survey shows fund managers are most bullish since 2021. Not seeing signs of big pullback here. Cash allocation decreasing as fund managers INCREASE exposure to the market too. Lowest cash level since 2021.
• BOE’s Pill says that Rate cut is likely to come under consideration in Summer, after employment data. Gilts are up in UK as a result. V explicit mention of rate cuts to come.
• Said we can cut rates and still have restrictive policy.
• OPEC sees demand for doc crude in 2024 at 43.2M BPD in 2024, and says they will now only forecast demand for doc crude
• OPEC said that despite some downside risks, there is further upside potential for global economic growth in 2024.

Hey everyone,
I'm Harry, a 55-year-old real estate agent, and I'm here to share my journey with you all. Some might think it's time for me to retire, but I love what I do. I've been in the real estate game since my 20s, back when things were a lot different.
I remember the old days of "traditional" selling. I would spend hours in parking lots handing out flyers and scouring call books for phone numbers to call one by one. It was tough back then, let me tell you.
But as the times changed, so did the way we do business. I had a bit of a breakdown during all the transitions. It was hard for me because I thought I knew how to sell, but suddenly I felt lost. However, my family was my motivation—I had to provide for them.
So, I ventured into digital marketing, posting on Facebook, doing boosts, and reaching out to potential clients on LinkedIn. But after a while, my sales hit a plateau. I didn't know how to grow my client list anymore.
That's when my son introduced me to email marketing. He gave me a free trial with the current tools he's using just to test it out. I was hesitant at first, but I knew I had to keep up with the times. And you know what? It worked! The only problem is I can't afford the ones he's using on a monthly basis.
And so now, with a tight budget, I am looking for the best affordable emailing tools. My son recommended: WarpLeads for leads (since they offer unlimited leads at a fixed price), Millionverifier for verification, MailDoso for email infrastructure, and Instantly for templates and sending emails. Do you have any other suggestions or recommendations for other low-cost tools that might be useful to me?
If you might also have tips for a boomer like me who tries his way through technology, I'm all ears! Let's inspire each other to keep pushing forward, no matter our age. Thank you in advance!

On Feb. 9, 2022, I officially became "Homeless" on state record and applied for rent and housing assistance in Knoxville through KCDC/Section 8.
Per today's date:
Zeitraum = 825 days aka 27.123 months. This is exactly the length of time I've been surviving homeless.
It wasn't until THIS YEAR that my name "officially" has gone from being on their "PRE-waiting list": aka the long-ass waiting list you're on BEFORE graduating to the "OFFICIAL" waiting list.
*Btw, no one informed me of this being their process. I waited for many hopeful months while living out of my car, waiting to be called that I contacted them to get the news of only being on the PRE-waiting list- List. Good shit...
So, I decided to visit KCDC in-person last week to speak to them about my still pending status and ask if there were any actions I could take to help my chances of having a place to call home...
FYI: The Broadway location is ONLY for applying to any of their listed complexes. Unfortunately, ALL their waiting lists are also completely full.
*The Harriet Tubman location is for applying or relating to receiving vouchers for financial rental assistance.
FYI: you can ONLY APPLY for a voucher between their generous hours of 8AM-3PM only on the 2nd WED of each month, just fyi for any new applicants.
All I was told at each location was to "continue waiting" and that I would one day be contacted whenever my name came up.
The housing costs in Knoxville, especially have risen quickly dramatically even since when I very first began applying and they'll continue this trend.
**BTW, they're SHUTTING DOWN our Homeless Shelter on Broadway due to a LACK OF FUNDING (good timing), so yet another option we can all cross off our lists of any places to lie our heads down at night.
Pretty ironic that TN is the FREAKING VOLUNTEER STATE, considering... "GO VOLS", am I right??
See news link here: https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/the-foyer-a-low-barrier-knoxville-homeless-shelter-set-to-close-as-officials-seek-new-operato
Oh yeah, HOMELESSNESS IN TN is also now a CLASS E FELONY!
*You are automatically disqualified from receiving public assistance such as Section 8 and SNAP benefits unless you've fully paid off ALL FEES (up to $3,000 for being homeless) and have fully completed your probation period! *KEEPING THINGS REALLY CLASSY, TN! 😜 (Also, you can't sleep in your vehicle at any rest stops, either. Also illegal. You can sit there in your car for only 3hrs max.)
"In Tennessee, felonies are classified from A to E, with Class A being the most serious and Class E being the least severe. A Class E felony in Tennessee is the lowest level of felony. It includes offenses such as theft of property valued at $1,000 to $2,500, certain driving offenses like third or subsequent DUI offenses, stalking, and forgery. The typical punishments for Class E felonies in Tennessee include: 1. One to six years of imprisonment (PRISON TIME, not jail), and/or 2. Fines up to $3,000. (Also, just pointing out that with any Class E felonies, being the "least" serious felony, if any fines for the offense are deemed as "unspecified" in their books, they then have the capability to charge an offender up to $50,000.)
However, these punishments can vary based on a variety of factors such as the exact nature of the crime, whether or not the defendant has a prior criminal record, and other relevant factors considered by the court." See specifics here: https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-40-criminal-procedure/tn-code-sect-40-35-111/
Covertly, they've named this abomination as the:
"Equal Access to Public Property Act of 2012.” Makes it sound so helpful and positive for us, doesn't it? Thanks, guys! LOL!
See below what all is covered, including: **If they happen to search and find any of your stored belongings (likely being at times literally their entire life's possessions, including if they find you've stored your food somewhere) the police will immediately confiscate it, and then you will have a total of 90 days to go to them and claim all your belongings or else they'll consider it as "abandoned property". You must detail exactly where on the property that they found your items, so that they then will slap you with a Class E Felony, charge you a "holding fee" for whatever amount of time they "stored" it for you, also stating that "the court shall include an order of restitution for any property damage or loss incurred as a result" of you or your belongings being present on the state property. But hey, at least you get your items back!
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2021/title-39/chapter-14/part-4/section-39-14-414/#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20offense%20for,agency%20responsible%20for%20the%20land.
My Story: (if you've made it this far and give any shits about hearing it for the sake of context.)
Around 1 year-deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, I had been living in an expensive house centered in the North Knox Historic District, working FT at a job I'd spent the past few yrs diligently climbing their ladder, and splitting the house payment with my then, Fiancee of 5 1/2 yrs. He began dating a different girl, had moved her into our house, while stating that "If I didn't stop being depressed, he was going to kick me out". Unfortunately, the house had been put solely in his name when bought. You see, my grandmother had just passed from COVID-19, my childhood best friend had just passed away, and I had been informed suddenly that my 84yrs-old dementia-ridden Father was getting worse and also nearing his last days. Not long after, my older sister contacted me acting upset, stating that he now needed to be on continual watch for FT care, so I packed my things, left my fiancee and my then home and moved in to care for my late father. Eventually, I had to leave my job to fulfill my caretaking duties but I don't regret being there for my father but it grew to be very difficult times, as it was for many those yrs. Dad passed away Jan. 31, 2022. My mother immediately inherited the house at his death, per their messy divorce agreement many yrs before. She so graciously left no time after me literally watching him take his very last breath in the bedroom down the hall from my own for her to serve me immediate eviction papers, now forcing me to leave the home that I grew up with my father in, while being raised. This house, I had only 1 year previous, agreed to my mother and sister when they had requested this of me, quit my long-term, FT job, losing all my sources of income in order to live with and solitary care for my father. (Everyone else- meaning my mother and 3 sisters -were all "too busy" to help me out or give even short breaks. I'm informing you of this, so that anyone that ever says to themselves, "why don't they just go live with family", can comprehend how that's not an actual option for everyone, so when the systems are failing, ppl aren't always on the streets or living out of their cars bc of drug problems or laziness or whatever other common misconceptions I've heard from ppl that are limited in grasping these situations for others. That last month that he was still alive, they all "forbade" me from leaving the house at all nor having any visitors "for his health", despite my deep despair from watching his health ferociously decline, resulting in my very rapidly declining mental health and massive weight-loss and over-exhaustion. Upon receiving my eviction notice, I then immediately began applying for Section 8 assistance. I had no one left and nowhere to go. It's like this for a lot of people. Don't assume ppl always have any other options available, is my point of giving so much backstory. Not exactly trying to "victimize" myself here for pity. I'm strong, I've got this. Just trying to get some points across for when you judge another's situation that you don't know.
Ok, here's the last I'll say about all this. Just humor me and try to consider what I'm pointing out here.
Every single one of us local TN natives have seen through the years how various homeless individuals will bravely step into some of our favorite local diners, gas stations, retail stores, etc. Them, asking employees permissions for maybe utilizing a restroom, some cold water or a drink, often after them walking around most the day (shelter kicks everyone out once it's morning), often after being in our unforgiving weather or high temps. Sometimes, they're asking even for a small bite to eat or leftovers from the kitchen. SO MANY times throughout the years, we've all been standing by, as we witness some enraged employee or the manager angrily decline, followed with often loud threats of calling the cops on them, etc in an attempt to motivate them to not come back asking later, as now they see how many of their annoyed paying customers are actively shaking their heads and shaming their whole interaction with rotten looks of disgust.
I mean after all, our businesses ABSOLUTELY can't be taking any risks of "losing their dedicated customers, just BC some "lazy bums" keep showing up, "always asking for free handouts" and "scaring away our business".
Really, it's best to just not give them anything in the 1st place cus ya know, just like strays, they'll "just keep showing back up"...
Right?
Excluding sometimes a random kind individual's exception, for the most part this mindset I'm highlighting here has most often worked as an sorta unspoken "Golden Rule" when we're relating to how we'll decidedly "handle" our large and growing homeless population.
Now that our housing prices have fully skyrocketed, with increases markedly on the rise almost immediately after the COVID-19 Pandemic that left so many of us without income that was supporting our access to necessities. Many, many "middle-class" individuals who were previously working averaging their 5 days/week (ty past labor strikes enforcing our allowance of 2 days off) and living comfortably on their 40hrs/week paychecks are currently struggling to find availability and also afford even a 1br ran-down apartment in our "lower-class" neighborhoods. Most are now working multiple jobs trying to keep up, and childcare isn't offered for free, so it keeps everyone from having opportunities to not only spend time raising their children vs random strangers who are also overworked, but how can you save money when you're losing part of what you earn, just to be able to go to work and not be fully abandoning your children to fend for themselves if left home alone?
Often, homeless ppl can be seen all throughout our city, and guaranteed to be growing in mass numbers when inching closer toward that underpass leading up to the Historic Gay St./Downtown/UT campus/Cumberland Strip. *It's really fairly ironic I've thought, how so much of our income has always been made/spent here, however we're required each time, to first drive through the huge crowd of terribly unfortunate ppl left standing without their bare necessities, often left to sleep outside the packed shelter when it hits capacity, which is always a guarantee. They're not left outside strictly bc they're "on drugs", like a lot have been led to believe.
Lastly, but oh of such an amazing relevance-
**Here's some realism surrounding our cultures' universally pre-conceived (disconnected/egotistical and mis-informed), accepted stigma that states the following phrase:
"These ppl just won't get a job bc they're SO LAZY and just want to live off all us hard-working American's tax dollars...blah blah blah.." Employers won't hire if you don't have an address and the shelters fail to deliver anyone's incoming mail, nor do businesses want to hire a homeless person showing up without proper hygiene or attire or any kind of criminal record. Also, transportation is a bitch. KAT bus costs money, and is very limited on its area services. By walking such lengthy distances, not only can your safety be at risk (especially for Females or any shifts beginning or letting out after dark) but you're gonna be super sweaty and gross by the time you actually arrive to then work a full shift, if you can even somehow make it on time every day by walking for hours before and then after every single shift that you show for.
This isn't any kinda "new" issue for the poor, btw. Don't be such heartless fools, making someone else's situation about "you".
Life's realities can forcibly humble an individual, catching us off-guard for what we'll often end up facing. Always count your blessings and never assume you know anything about anyone else's struggles or how they got there. We're all just trying to survive in this place.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this info helps bring insight to whomever reads this. Good luck out there, I mean it. We got this. ❤️

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State of the consumer Are U.S. consumers finally tightening the purse strings? That's the main question on the minds of investors as major retailers kick off their quarterly earnings reports this week, starting with Home Depot (HD). The home improvement chain's Q1 results came in below Street expectations, hurt by a delayed start to spring, continued softness in certain larger discretionary projects, and higher mortgage rates.
Dig deeper: Retailer earnings come at a time when consumer sentiment is weakening, amid expectations of stickier inflation for some time to come and a tempered outlook for income growth. Investing Group Leader Bret Jensen believes stagflation is an increasingly likely economic scenario. "Right now, I believe the average American consumer has a better handle on the U.S. economy than the average investor and a better take on the true level of inflation than governmental statistics."
Scott Feiler, consumer sector specialist at Goldman Sachs, said the consumer spending concerns have been driven by updates by bellwethers in the sector, and the notable slowdown seen in April - one of the worst months of the retail quarter. Companies like Wayfair (W) and Whirlpool (WHR) have already warned that consumers are cutting back spending on big-ticket items, while fast-food chains such as McDonald's (MCD) and Starbucks (SBUX) have observed pickier and more value-minded customers. "Consumer cracks are emerging," especially among lower incomes, warned Bank of America analyst Savita Subramanian.
Earnings watch: Walmart (WMT), which will report Q1 results on Thursday, is expected to report modest upside to the consensus U.S. comparable sales estimates, driven by bargain-hunting shoppers. Also keep an eye on other retailers scheduled to report results next week: Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), TJX (TJX), and Ross Stores (ROST).
Sustained weight loss Patients who are taking Novo Nordisk's (NVO) blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy have reportedly maintained an average of 10% weight loss four years after starting the treatment. "We see that once the majority of the weight loss is accrued, you don't go back and start to increase weight if you stay on the drug," said Martin Holst Lange, Novo's head of development. The data could help Novo in its efforts to convince insurers and governments to provide coverage for the treatment. The U.K.'s National Health Service provides only two years of Wegovy coverage, while Medicare does not cover the drug. A recent poll showed that many people believe Medicare should cover weight loss drugs. (2 comments)
Resisting takeover Anglo American (OTCQX:AAUKF) has unveiled a major shakeup of the company - which includes divesting its steelmaking coal and nickel businesses - as the British miner aims to stave off BHP's (BHP) takeover bid. Anglo American will demerge Anglo American Platinum (OTCPK:ANGPY), while its diamond business De Beers will either be divested or demerged "to improve strategic flexibility." The overhaul is aimed at sharpening Anglo American's focus on its mainstay assets - copper and premium iron ore. "These actions represent the most radical changes to Anglo American in decades," its CEO Duncan Wanblad said. The plan was announced just a day after the firm rejected BHP's (BHP) new £34B proposal.
Power grid boost The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved two new rules Monday that are expected to make it easier to expand the construction of big power lines and bring more renewable energy to U.S. homes and businesses. One rule will require companies that produce and transmit electricity to weigh factors such as supply and demand over at least 20 years; the other addresses the permitting of critical projects in areas that lack adequate transmission capacity. The rule requiring long-term planning is "the biggest single action by the federal government to advance transmission," according to Rob Gramlich, president of power consulting firm Grid Strategies. (46 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.5%. Hong Kong -0.2%. China -0.1%. India +0.5%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt -0.2%. Futures at 7:00, Dow flat. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude flat at $79.10. Gold +0.3% to $2,349.10. Bitcoin -1.5% to $61,690. Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.48%.
Today's Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index 8:30 Producer Price Index 9:10 Fed’s Cook Speech 10:00 Jerome Powell Speech 8:15 PM Fed's Schmid Speech
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
WSB survey results: Derisking and diversifying is still the way to go.
Biden administration raises tariffs steeply on Chinese EVs, chips.
Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT) face landmark trial on rideshare drivers.
BYD (OTCPK:BYDDF) sends shockwaves across auto with Seagull.
Biden faces mounting calls to take on grocery price-fixing issue.
HubSpot (HUBS) rises on report of 'compelling' offer from Alphabet.
Wedbush: Apple (AAPL)-OpenAI pact appears to be done deal.
OpenAI unveils new flagship model GPT-4o, available for free to all.
OPEC risks losing market share if it does not start raising output.
ZIM (ZIM) surges as container shipping stocks' momentum continues.

Hello Redditors,
This is an incredible success story of how we helped a client achieve incredible results in just four months, generating an $80,000 return on investment (ROI) with a combination of SEO and Facebook Ads. We have completed many successful projects and there's a certain satisfaction in seeing our strategies translate to such tangible growth. I have tried to keep this post extremely detailed so that it can be beneficial for experienced marketers and newcomers alike.
The Client: Hair Extension E-commerce Brand
Revenue Split Between SEO and Fb ads: 3:2
Average Order Value: $350
Total Revenue(6 months): $140,000
Expenses(6 months): Product Cost + Delivery cost + Team + Agency Fees + Ads Cost+ Website Optimization + Packaging: $60000
Basic Company Background:
The brand was being run by a Mother-Daughter duo for the past 3 months. They had a shopify website with average structure and were struggling with facebook ads themselves. Although they made few physical sales due to friends and relatives but were unable to utilize the digital potential of their business as such. After trying facebook ads for some time they wanted a reliable digital marketing team to work with and they were recommended to us by one of our other customers who has a service based business. Initially we connected majorly for facebook ads but after the initial discussion when were doing research from our side, we found that there is huge potential in SEO for this niche so we suggested that we should prepare a proper website on wordpress and focus on both SEO and Ads parallelly as, although Ads will give an initial boost to the business but SEO will bring some stability and help in building a sustainable business.
Facebook Ads Campaign Structure:

• Our campaign housed multiple ad sets targeting users who are interested in fashion products and we also targeted audiences of some big and costly fashion companies. We were mostly targeting females aged 25-45 with good income source to have optimal conversions in the beginning, with our Seo efforts we planned to target a slightly younger audience as well which is going steadily as of now.
• We ran occasional promotions like "Buy x get x free" to boost AOV.
• Due to the high AOV and especially the product niche sometimes it is necessary to build trust so we used retargeting to build trust and showcase benefits, not just push for immediate conversions. Ads focused on comparison(Before & Afters), Customer Reviews, Hassle free product application and natural look, stylish look.

Ads Creatives and Brand Positioning:
It's important to note that after deep research we could find that a major share our hair extensions customers are females aged between 21-45 so we did not actively position our brand as solving problems of low hair volume, but instead we focused on how the products ads style, gives a much better look and you can try new hairstyles and hair colors daily. Also since almost all the demographics in this age group are working, we tested a professional look angle as well which gave us decent results. In ad creatives as well as on the website we made the daughter as the face of the product as we want to slowly grow her instagram as well which can add another organic and sustainable stream of revenue. She shoots before and after transition videos, general product application videos and other videos for ads according to the target audience and brand positioning strategy we discussed earlier. Instead of making long videos focused on product details a lot, we made short but captivating videos which can appeal to the young audience’s fashion sense.
Key Takeaways from FB Ads:
Mostly Meta Ads or Any other marketing tactic is just a traffic source but conversion will basically happen by how well you are able to communicate your product to the audience through your website. Its is necessary to have a smooth user journey, attractive offers, crisp information and right brand positioning on the website.
It is extremely important to make data driven decisions and track customer journeys meticulously. Always rely on your own tracking or google analytics to avoid the potential unreliability of Facebook Ads Manager.
Seo Strategy
If you don’t already know this, SEO is all about how effectively you can strategize your content and technical efforts keeping a bigger picture in mind. After our initial keyword research we could find that the average Kd of the important keywords was low when it comes to commercial keywords which were directly related to the business.
It's important to note that since the website was being built after our onboarding only so it was easy for us to structure the website according to the SEO strategy that we prepared.
At every stage we had meetings with the developer to ensure that there are no technical issues that will hinder the SEO growth and future and also we structured the website to be SEO friendly. We built separate pages for all the product categories and after through keyword research we added content to those pages so that the pages itself can rank for commercial keywords.
After the website was ready we audited it for technical issues(Like mobile friendliness, H1 tags, canonical tags, etc) we started focusing on the content. We wanted to establish our website as a trusted authority in the hair extensions and hair care industry in general.
Since the website was completely new, initially we created blogs(2-3 times per week) around informational keywords with low KD purely for increasing our website authority and bringing the initial traffic on the website. We have seen that usually people start stressing about approaching big websites for guest postings since the first day itself but if your keyword research and content is solid, that is not required in the beginning. Initially we focused on profile creations, image submissions, pdf submissions, internal linking in the content, web 2.0 backlinks etc and this was more than enough for us to rank for low difficulty keywords and increase our DA to a decent level so that our category pages can rank for low difficulty keywords.
Here I would like to include a tip, many times people are worried that what if the backlink that they have created doesn't get indexed. In the initial phase we work really hard when it comes to what we call as maturing our backlinks as this is the major factor for ranking on low difficulty keywords. So basically what we do is, we make backlinks of our web 2.0 backlinks itself which helps the primary backlink in getting indexed which ultimately helps with our website DA.
Also many people have been asking us in our previous posts how we structure our blog since I talk a lot about content quality, see it's not as hard and it doesn't involve a lot of research at least in the initial phase when you just have to rank on low difficulty keywords. In this phase usually what we do is study the top 5 ranking blogs on the particular keyword and make sure that we include more content and more subheadings then them. Also we try to find opportunities to include tables or charts wherever possible, we include good quality images(original if possible) and at this stage internal linking is very very important so we focus on that as well. In later stages although the basic strategy for framing the blogs remains same, overall content strategy varies a lot from business to business and requires a lot of strategizing depending on the brand positioning goals.
So after we were able to rank for low difficulty informational keywords and our Website DA reached a decent level due to our backlinking efforts, we started writing content around the fashion advice and common problems which people face related to hair in general. But as discussed earlier, we wanted to keep our brand positioning fashion centric, so even while writing about common problems we applied a positive and solution centric approach. We strategically placed internal links to our product pages in the content and tested popups with offers as well. Apart from this, we started guest posting as well at this stage. For finding websites for guest posting we used SEMrush’s backlink gap analysis tool and created a segregated list of blogs that we can reach out to based on their content quality and DA. By this time the store started generating decent revenue from ads and SEO so the client was completely onboard with reaching out to blogs for guest posting. Guest posting and overall strategic SEO application started generating a good amount of traffic for us and in 3-4 months the revenue generated due to SEO surpassed our Ads revenue as well.
Advantages of Combining SEO and Paid Ads
While Facebook Ads played a crucial role in launching the brand and driving initial traffic, SEO has emerged as the primary driver of sustainable growth. This approach allowed us to:

• Reduce Reliance on Paid Advertising: As our SEO efforts matured, we were able to gradually decrease our Facebook ad spend, resulting in cost savings and improved return on investment.
• Build Brand Authority: Our SEO strategy has positioned our website as a trusted authority in the hair extensions industry. This fosters brand recognition and trust, leading to organic customer acquisition.
• Scale Traffic and Revenue: Organic traffic growth has been exponential, leading to a significant and sustainable increase in website revenue generated through SEO.

SEO efforts are always ongoing but we are really satisfied with the base that we have built and we are really looking forward to working with keywords with higher KD and generating more revenue with SEO In the upcoming months. Although we will keep running ads in future as well mostly for awareness purposes but the major revenue will be generated from our SEO efforts. Apart from this, as we mentioned earlier, we are looking to actively start the Social Media efforts as well from the next month itself. We will be looking to target Instagram and Tiktok in the initial phase and we believe in 2-3 months social media will contribute towards 25% of our revenue which will grow rapidly.
Thankyou For Reading!