Finance: Stock market quotes, news, currency conversions & more: March 2017

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Why I Don’t Do Things For Free And You Shouldn’t Either

If you listened to my podcast or have been following my social media accounts this week then you know I’ve been talking a lot this week about the importance and value of investing in yourself. Whether you’re climbing the corporate ladder or are an entrepreneur the more you invest in yourself, your skills, and your knowledge base the more marketable you make yourself.

If you work in corporate America and are working your way up to success then you are already aware that at the very least you need some sort of college degree just to get your foot in the door. If you want to be an executive or lead an organization then you definitely have to invest in a post graduate degree and you have to have years of experience under your belt. No matter which way you look at it, education is the key to that corporate gateway which is why post-secondary education is such big business.

I, for one, have spent tens of thousands of dollars to work at a corporation that neither motivates me or speaks to the things I am most passionate about. To date, I have amassed almost $90,000 dollars in student loan debt to work at a job that is not aligned with my dreams and passions. Yet and still, when I was unclear about my future and the direction I wanted my life to take, I invested in my education. Why? Because even though at the time I did not know what my purpose in life was I knew I wanted a “good” job

Fast forward some years later, I am now in my late 30s and I am very clear about what my future looks like. I am no longer wasting time or money on things that are not directly aligned with my dreams and passions. I live in my purpose every single day and I’m very aware of the things I am investing in. I am very intentional on what I spend my money on and am now investing in workshops, residencies, classes, books, and conferences that will not only increase my knowledge base and improve my skills, but also allow me to network with individuals doing the same things. Putting myself in the same room with those who are doing what I’m doing or are interested in hiring people with my skills and knowledge, is key to growing my business and it should be what you’re doing too.

Many entrepreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers/consultants don’t invest in themselves as much as they should. We all have our reasons as to why we don’t. Sometimes we have competing priorities (I talk about that also in my podcast) that won’t allow us to invest in ourselves, and I know when you’re first starting out and haven’t made a profit from your business it may hinder your ability to invest in yourself.

However, never allow not having something stop you from getting what you know you need. There are many creative and inexpensive ways that you can invest in yourself (listen to my podcast here for inexpensive self-investment options). When you invest in yourself, especially if you’re a freelancer/consultant like myself, you’re not only gaining knowledge you’re also setting the value of your services. Not only are you now more marketable, but you also show potential clients/customers why they should purchase your services versus that person doing the same thing who may not have the same level of expertise.

Far too many people out here are either giving away their services for free or undervaluing themselves. Don’t short change yourself because you think people aren’t willing to pay. They are and they will if they see that you’re worth it. I very rarely do things for free because I know what I bring as far as expertise, years of experience, and knowledge. I am constantly investing in myself so that I can give my customers the absolute best. Additionally, time is money. So if I’m taking time from my busy schedule that could be better spent with my family, or on another activity that is valuable to me, I expect to be paid.

Don’t get me wrong, there are occasions where I’ll donate my time if I truly believe the project or event’s purpose is community based and is aligned with my own personal commitment of giving back, but that’s the exception, not the rule. The thing about charging for your services is that people will respect your time more if they have to pay for it. They won’t waste your time if they’ve had to dig in their pockets. Remember that. People don’t respect free work that’s why you have to charge them. In the infamous words of Birdman, “Make ’em put some respek on your name”.

The point I’m trying to make is if you are in business for yourself then you have to start acting like it. Nothing of real value is free and that includes your time, expertise, and knowledge. Below are some tips to make sure you are getting paid and not getting played!

Have a services/product price list.

Be prepared to show potential clients/customers your price list as soon as they inquire about your services. Be transparent and include all fees so that your potential client/customer isn’t surprised later on in the transaction process. If you don’t have a price list, create one. NOW! Let potential customers know exactly what they’re paying for (show them your credentials if you have to). Your price should consider not only your time, but also everything you’ve invested into making you the right person for the job.

Collect deposits.

Start charging deposits in order to secure the date and time. This one is so important because if you block out a date for someone and they end up canceling the event or deciding they don’t want to hire you, you now have potentially lost income for any other events you could have booked that day and didn’t. The non-refundable deposit at least offsets some of the potential income that has been lost.

Always remain professional.

Your reputation is what’s going to make or break your brand and how you present yourself is crucial to creating a great business relationship with your customers. Some things to consider that will add value to your business is:

· Having clients sign a contract that clearly outlines the services they are paying for. This ensures that there is no miscommunication by either party.
· Always do what you say you’re going to do. Be a person who stands by their word.
· Establish a cancellation/refund policy and inform the customer (even if it’s a no refund policy) let the customer know what they’re getting themselves into.

Navigating the world of entrepreneurship can be tricky and overwhelming, but if you’re well prepared it doesn’t have to be. As long as you stay committed to your mission and your vision, know what you bring to the table, and don’t undervalue yourself you will always come out on top.

Now That Bitcoins Are Worth More Than Their Weight In Gold, Is It Time For Central Banks To Make Their Own?

Nafis Alam, Sunway University and Graham Kendall, University of Nottingham

The history of gold trading can be traced back hundreds of years while bitcoin, a digital currency that uses encryption and works independently of central banks, has been around for less than ten.

But the cryptocurrency is now starting to challenge gold as the investment of choice. Its meteoric rise is such that on March 3, 2017, bitcoin overtook gold for the first time, trading at US$1,290 compared to US$1,228 for an ounce of gold.

All the gold that has ever been mined would easily fit under the legs of the Eiffel Tower – in fact, multiple times. Gold’s scarcity is one reason for its value. Another reason is that it’s a very nonreactive metal so it doesn’t tarnish, which is important if you’ve invested millions and don’t want it to slowly deteriorate.

Most governments keep some of their funds in gold (as the video below explains). But although gold is seen as a safe haven in times of crisis, it is still subject to the usual market fluctuations of any commodity. Once the bitcoin reaches its full potential (all bitcoins are mined) the value will be much more stable.

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a virtual currency used for electronic purchases and transfers. It has recently been gaining popularity and a growing number of businesses, including WordPress, Overstock.com, and Reddit, now accept it as a form of payment. Microsoft already accepts bitcoin payments through its Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile platforms, while those shopping online at Shopify may use bitcoin as payment.

Bitcoin is also moving outside the virtual space; what may be the world’s first bitcoin store, House of Nakamoto, opened early this year in Vienna. There, people can buy bitcoins for euros, and vice versa, from a dedicated bitcoin ATM. Drinkers in Cambridge can pay for beers at a pub called The Haymakers.

The number of bitcoins is capped at 21 million. As of March 2017, there were almost 16.2 million circulating. The supply of coins grows steadily because of the way bitcoin is programmed. Each “miner” (“mining” is lingo for the discovery of new bitcoins – anyone with computer knowledge and access to blockchain software can act as a miner) introduces new coins to the supply at a rate of around 12.5 coins every ten minutes.

Mining is the process of adding transaction records to bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions (blockchain). The blockchain confirms transactions as having taken place to the rest of the network.

Even as far back as 2013, bitcoin was worth almost as much as gold. And, at the end of 2016, the total value of bitcoins in circulation was US$14bn.

A good investment opportunity?

Investment in digital currencies, such as bitcoin, has emerged as an alternative to traditional forms of money and created a niche that’s driving major innovations in the financial sector, such as peer-to-peer lending, and digital wallets. As traders gain confidence in alternative forms of money and payment mechanisms, bitcoin is seen as a possible investment alternative.

In fact, bitcoin exhibits similar features to gold – limited global supply, maintaining value and hedging against global market volatility. Such is the exuberance in bitcoin investment that it actually outperforms the precious metal, generating an annual return of 155% compared to gold’s annual loss of 6% during the same time period.

Even though Bitcoin seems a profitable investment tool, its value can be as volatile as the value of the gold, depending on the perceived risk of owning bitcoin as a commodity. Bitcoins are encrypted for security purposes, but while the coding identifies the currency itself, it does not identify its owner. If someone hacks the miner system and gets a secret bitcoin code they will eventually become the rightful owner.

Even though Bitcoin seems a profitable investment tool, its value can be as volatile as the value of the gold, depending on the perceived risk of owning bitcoin as a commodity.

What, then, is pushing the investment value of bitcoin? One driver is increasing demand from developing countries, especially Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries are experiencing economic distress and weakening currencies, making their local currencies unpredictable and volatile. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly popular to use bitcoin as a natural hedge against paper currency.

Another contributing factor to the rise of bitcoin is the possibility of a trade war between US and China. US President Donald Trump has indicated that he may impose 45% tariff on Chinese imports. This may lead to a weakening yuan, and capital outflow from China as investors will resort to more stable currencies such as euros.

The hike in bitcoin’s price during financial troubles is also a testament to its increasing attraction as a hedging tool.

When Cyprus’s economy crashed in 2013, the price of bitcoins spiked as people resorted to other forms of payment than the national currency. In 2015, when the Chinese currency was in free fall, people in the country turned to bitcoin alongside gold.

And after the Brexit vote in the UK, when global currencies and stock markets tanked, bitcoin’s value rose more than US$100 compared to the previous day. This was mainly due to some of the speculative money flowing out of the pound and yuan making its way to bitcoin.

Increased government support

Bitcoin is not just getting increased interest from tech-savvy individuals and banks such as Barclays, BBVA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, State Street, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS. Governments are also lending support to the cryptocurrency.

The Australian government plans to reduce tax on bitcoin transactions. Current treatment of the digital currency under the goods and services tax (GST) law means that consumers are “double taxed” when using it to buy anything already subject to GST. The government plans to change this.

Meanwhile, the UK’s chief scientific adviser has said that governments should use bitcoin’s underlying technology – blockchains – to help with taxes, benefits and passports.

Taking its cue from bitcoin, the US government is planning to launch a legalized cryptocurrency called Fedcoin, which can be exchanged for a physical dollar. Bitcoin is not considered legal tender because it is not backed by any government.

What we can say with certainty is that we cannot use gold to buy bitcoin directly but bitcoin can be used to buy gold.

Bitcoin pricing is also motivating the much-anticipated establishment of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. An ETF is an investment company that has no restrictions on the amount of shares it can issue.

The approval of a bitcoin ETF would make the cryptocurrency more attractive to risk-averse institutional investors as it would allow an easier way to gain access to bitcoin than buying it directly.

Such is the dominance of bitcoin that the Bank of England issued a white paper on the subject, investigating the possibility of central banks minting their own cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin’s appeal, compared to gold, comes from two factors. First, it can be used as an easy medium for payments (for a limited but growing number of transactions), which gold cannot replicate. And with their limited supply of 21 million, bitcoins are likely to attract higher demand compared to gold.

The debate over the supremacy of gold versus bitcoin will continue. What we can say with certainty is that we cannot use gold to buy bitcoin directly but bitcoin can be used to buy gold. You can decide which you prefer.

Nafis Alam, Professor of Finance, Sunway University and Graham Kendall, Professor of Computer Science and Provost/CEO/PVC, University of Nottingham

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Electronics Store RadioShack Files For Bankruptcy Again

U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.

The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.

General Wireless, which acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.

RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.

Sprint will convert several hundred locations into Sprint corporate-owned stores, the wireless provider said in a separate statement.

RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing and subsequent store closings are not material to Sprint’s overall sales results, Sprint added.

RadioShack, a nearly 100-year-old chain that captured the heart of electronics enthusiasts for its specialty products such as “walkie talkies,” first filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after the rise of mobile phones caught it off-guard and customers abandoned its stores for big box competitors including Best Buy Co Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

In an attempt to keep the doors open on 1,740 stores, RadioShack struck a partnership with Sprint during its bankruptcy, inviting the mobile carrier to co-brand with the company and set up smaller stores within its own. At the time, Sprint viewed RadioShack’s retail footprint as a way to quickly scale up its own business.

But, in the years since RadioShack has emerged, both Sprint and RadioShack have been challenged.

Sprint, whose network is viewed as inferior to the country’s largest carriers, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc, has been forced to offer heavy discounts to grow its business.

RadioShack meanwhile has struggled to compete against internet behemoth Amazon.com Inc and for the attention of shoppers who increasingly wait for deep discounts before making a purchase.

The influx of cheaper copycat consumer products manufactured abroad has also hurt the business.

Still, in the years since its first bankruptcy, RadioShack has focused on expanding its private label offerings, which include drones, radios and adapters, and now makes up the majority of its business.

The shift away from selling other retailers’ products to its own has helped it reduce operating expenses and increase gross profit.

China Moves To Approve At Least 35 Trump Trademarks

SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - China has granted preliminary approval for at least 35 trademarks linked to Donald Trump, documents on China’s state trademark office show, giving the U.S. President and his family protection were they to develop the “Trump” brand in the market.

The trademarks, all variations in English and Chinese on the name “Donald Trump,” were given preliminary approval in two lists published on the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Feb. 27 and Monday.

The approvals underline the complexities and potential concerns over conflicts of interest facing President Trump, who has a sprawling business empire from hotels to apparel using the Trump name around the world.

Trump, a wealthy real estate developer, has previously said he has handed over his business interests to a trust overseen by one of his sons and a Trump Organization executive. He can, however, revoke the trust at will and, as its sole beneficiary, remains linked to it financially.

The new trademark approvals cover such businesses as branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars and bodyguard and escort services.

The 35 trademarks, which Trump’s lawyers applied for in April last year, are registered to “Donald J. Trump” and listed to the address of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The Associated Press earlier reported the approvals of the trademarks, which it said also included three further trademarks not directly registered in the President’s name. These related to Scion, a hotel brand Trump’s sons want to expand in the United States. Reuters could not immediately confirm the three further approvals.

Representatives for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s personal ties between politics and business have prompted concern from politicians and rights groups who say the President could face potential conflicts of interest related to the extensive business affairs of his family.

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the Departments of State, Commerce and Justice to brief Congress on the Chinese trademark approvals and on “the potential constitutional dangers that they present.”

“This is an astonishing development ... It’s clear to me that officials in Beijing have come to appreciate the potential return on investments for China in having a positive, personal business relationship with the President of the United States,” Cardin said in a statement.

Cardin has previously introduced a resolution demanding Trump cut his ties with the Trump Organization or risk violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which bars public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress.

The preliminary approvals are open to be challenged for around a 90-day period from the date of approval. If no objections they will be formally registered in late May and early June respectively.

Trump received a single trademark approval last month in China for Trump-branded construction services, following a 10-year legal battle. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI and Eric Walsh in WASHINGTON; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lincoln Feast)

The New Rules Of The Music Industry

As a kid growing up in the ‘90s, all I wanted was to be a rockstar, have my music played on the radio, and make killer music videos for MTV.

That’s what the music industry promised to provide the lucky artists and bands who got signed. My how things have changed.

If you’re an artist or band trying to get your music out to the world (or even make a living) then you need to play by the new rules.

Gone are the old days of the music industry where you would hope to get signed to a label and then become a star (i.e. everything would be done for you).

Today you need to view yourself (and your music) through the lens of three very important truths. I call them the new rules of the music industry, and those who play by them will succeed.

Rule #1 - You Are A Brand

No longer are you simply a musician or artist. You are a brand. Knowing this distinction is critical to gaining traction and growing your fanbase.

The word “brand” can come with a negative connotation for all the creatives and artists reading this but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Being a brand as an artist simply means that you need to learn the art of promotion and entrepreneurship. You basically have to become a business person.

Because music is still a business. Always has been. Always will be.

It’s just that in the “old days” the business was handled for you by other people. Namely your label and their team.

Someone still has to promote your music - these days that someone is you!

Rule #2 - You Are A Content Creator

The key to good promotion is to remember that we live in an age of content consumption.

Whether it’s binge watching on Netflix or reading blog after blog, people these days want to consume content and they want lots of it.

Your job as an artist is to give your fans a steady diet of content related to you and your brand.

What could this content be?

For starters, your music. This is the obvious one. Share your latest single or music video. Great.

But there is so much more you can do.

Why not share videos of you in the songwriting process? Or in the studio recording your latest album? Or snap some footage from your phone on stage?

Do live Q&As with your fans. Talk about what you do for fun OTHER than music.

Whatever it is, share something about you, your music, and your life. Your fans will love it and appreciate it.

And here’s the key - to stay relevant in today’s world you must stay top of mind. You do this by creating regular bits of content - rather than only releasing an album or EP once a year or every other year.

View yourself as a content creator and not just a musician and you’ll be in good shape.

Rule #3 - Don’t Try To Be Perfect

When I was growing up, all the bands I loved had perfect everything. Perfect-sounding albums, perfect-looking music videos, and perfect writeups in magazines.

They were always presented as polished and untouchable.

The problem with perfect though is that it holds many artists back from simply finishing new music or sharing a piece of content. This is a big no-no.

Granted we don’t want to share crap - not at all. We simply want to be authentic and real, sharing our best stuff as best as we can.

There’s a point at which your recordings as an artist will only be but so good. They won’t be perfect. Release them anyway and move on to the next project.

Ironically this is how you improve as an artist!

The age of glossy perfection is coming to an end for most artists. My generation (the millennials) prefer the raw, authentic you - so give it to them!

Will You Play By The Rules?

I still love the idea of becoming a rockstar and being able to focus purely on the art and craft of my music while other people do all the hard work of promoting me and growing my fan base.

Who doesn’t?

But the old rules don’t apply anymore. It’s a brave new world and those who play be these new rules will be the ones who build longevity and be rewarded with the chance to continue to make the music they love

Are you an artist or musician looking to make your music sound as good as the stuff you hear on the radio? Check out all the free resources here to take the quality of your recordings up a few notches!

Bike Culture Is Thriving In New Orleans

The City of New Orleans is launching a new bike-sharing program this coming fall, according to the Uptown Messenger. The Brooklyn-based Social Bicycles will run the new public transportation program, which is currently set to launch in October 2017. The bike-sharing program will operate out of 70 stations located throughout the city.

The bike-sharing program partners New Orleans’ Transportation Department with Social Bicycles, a company that uses mobile and wireless technology to make renting bikes easy and accessible. The partnership is part of Mayor Landrieu’s efforts to make NOLA public and alternative transportation options more reliable and accessible.

According to an American Community Survey, New Orleans boasts the 10th highest percentage of residents who cycle to work each day. In the last decade alone, New Orleans has paved more than 100 miles of bike lanes throughout the city. Social bike tours, bike parades, and bicycle valets are now common events in city programming. With so many bike commuters, NOLA is developing its own culture around biking.

Let’s take a closer look at New Orleans’ burgeoning bike community:

Dashing Bicycles & Accessories

Dashing Bicycles & Accessories strives to foster and empower women and families to be part of NOLA’s active bicycle network. Follow Dashing Bicycles on social media to stay apprised of local bike news and events.

Marin Tockman, Owner of Dashing Bicycles & Accessories. [Photo via goinvade.com]

Gerken’s

Gerken’s on St. Claude in Bywater offers full-service bike repairs and rentals. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff can recommend great places in the city to explore on your bike.

Buzz NOLA

Buzz Nola Rentals & Tours has a large fleet of cruisers available to rent. Buzz Nola also offers bike tours which are popular among New Orleanians who enjoy connecting with fellow riders.

Bike Easy

Bike Easy, a local advocacy group for cycling enthusiasts, hosts a variety of community events which aim to make biking in New Orleans easier and safer.

This article was originally posted on Naveen Kailas’ website http://naveenkailas.com

For more New Orleans updates and news, follow Naveen Kailas on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NaveenKailas

Snap Shares Tumble As Short Sellers Move In

Snap Inc’s shares tumbled 11 percent on Tuesday and traders raced to position themselves to cash in on further declines after analysts gave the company a lukewarm reception following its red-hot market debut.

Snap’s $3.4 billion public listing on Thursday was the hottest technology offering in three years, but its lofty valuation and slowing user growth have raised eyebrows on Wall Street and attracted traders who expect its shares to fall.

Institutional traders were paying annualized interest rates between 20 percent and 40 percent to be among the first to short-sell the stock, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm.

The owner of messaging app Snapchat is not profitable and has warned it may never be.

Much of last week’s frenetic trading in Snap has yet to settle, making it difficult for brokers to estimate how many shares are available to lend to short sellers.

But early data suggests brokers are facing a “chaotic” lending environment, with early short interest approaching $200 million, said S3 Partners Managing Director of Research Ihor Dusaniwsky.

“This is the first couple of days of shorting data to show up, so I’m sure this is going to get bigger quickly,” Dusaniwsky said.

Short-sellers borrow and then sell stocks they think will fall in value, hoping to profit by buying the stock back more cheaply later on and then returning it to its owner.

The interest rates brokers charged for Snap shares on Tuesday suggest demand is extremely high and that those borrowing the stock expect its price to fall steeply.

By comparison, brokers lend out shares of Facebook Inc at an annualized rate of less than 1 percent, reflecting an ample supply available for lending and low demand from short sellers, according to data from Astec Analytics.

In its market debut Snap surged 44 percent from its $17 initial public offering price to close at $24.48. Since then it has fallen 22 percent.

At mid-day on Tuesday Snap was down 10.8 percent at $21.20.

Snap has been heavily traded since its market debut, rolling over the number of shares sold in the IPO more than twice.

Options trading in Snap is expected to start on Friday, once regulatory requirements are met.

At about $27 billion, Snap’s market capitalization remains a little larger than Kellogg Co and slightly smaller than HP Inc.

So far, no analysts have initiated the stock with a “buy” rating.

Of six analysts who have launched coverage of Snap, four recommend selling and two have neutral ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Globally, shares of most of the 25 largest tech IPOs have languished in their first year on the public market, with 16 notching a hefty decline from their debut day closing price, according to a Reuters analysis of market performance.

(Additional reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

5 Success Strategies For Women Entrepreneurs

Here’s a fun exercise: Type “top entrepreneurs” into Google and watch which names show up on your screen. Any guesses? You probably won’t be surprised to see Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos and Larry Page atop the list. All, of course, are savvy, well-known entrepreneurs. But you have to scroll a long way down before the first women — maybe Vera Wang and Sara Blakely — appear.

Why is this?

It’s certainly not because women are in any way less smart or capable than men. But in addition to the standard challenges of growing a business, women are often faced with stereotypes, discrimination and their own self-doubts. As Salesforce’s vice president of SMB marketing, I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of startups and growing businesses, plus meet hundreds of successful female entrepreneurs along the way. It’s always interesting to share our wins and failures.

So, in honor of Women’s Day, I’d like to offer some of the strategies that have worked for me and the women I’ve met.

Fail fast and often. It’s a fact of life: women are more risk-averse than men. According to the Harvard Business Review, when faced with a risky decision, men will think more about the strategic implications of a choice, while women will think more about the people affected by the outcome of the choice — which makes them less likely to take the risky decision. While it’s true that at any business you can’t just wait around for someone else to come up with the next big idea, this is especially true at small companies with limited resources and a small customer base. When you have an idea, don’t wait for permission. Run with it! If you don’t risk failing, you’ll never have the opportunity for success. It’s an oft-heard Silicon Valley mantra, but we also use it for our team at Salesforce: “Fail fast and often.”

Embrace your inner bulldog. A senior executive at our company recently told me that although he doesn’t always agree with me, he always trusts me. He said, “That’s because you’re not afraid to be a bulldog about the things you care about.” I wondered to myself, “Is that a good thing?” Ultimately, I’ve decided that it’s a good thing to have strong opinions and stick with them. My coworkers know that I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Many women worry about being perceived as being too pushy or too aggressive. But the reality is that if you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will. To be successful at a business of any size — but especially a small one with limited resources — you need to have a clear point of view and be laser-focused on getting there.

Make your own “boy’s club.” The days of doing business over a three-martini lunch and a round of golf are mostly gone, but you can still reap the benefits of being in a “club” of like-minded people. For me, this happened organically when I was invited into a program designed to help high-potential women develop the skills they needed to move up at Salesforce. As it turned out, the most important things that I got out of the program were the relationships I built with the other attendees. It wasn’t just learning that there were other women facing the same problems I face; rather, it was building a mini-community of people I can trust to give me honest advice when I need it. You don’t have to work at a big company like Salesforce to create this kind of trust circle. In fact, it may work best when your “club” includes people from other companies. Visit the SBA website to find local groups for women entrepreneurs that can give you the support you need along the way.

Make work fit your schedule. For as long as women have been in the workplace, they’ve been challenged to balance their work and home lives. Many have struggled with the myth of “having it all,” but today it’s easier than ever to be fully engaged in both. Many businesses do their work in the cloud, so you have the flexibility to access mission-critical applications from almost anywhere. And tools like Google Hangouts make it easy to keep the lines of communication open. But being totally connected doesn’t mean that you should be working 24-hours-a-day. It means that you can intermingle your work and professional lives in ways that let you hit all the important moments. I can spend the morning working at my daughter’s school, and the afternoon running a team meeting from my laptop. (And at night I can take a spin class from my Pelaton bike). This lets me focus on the activities that matter — both personally and professionally — and not just the ones that fit in my schedule.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Most parents — especially moms — will tell you that they don’t have enough hours in their day. Many learn to be terrific jugglers, but from time to time they’ll drop the ball on something important. Not having enough time is also one of the top things that keeps small business owners up at night. It’s no wonder, because they and their employees are often stuck doing menial, repetitive tasks — like paperwork — that take them away from more strategic, customer-oriented work. New automation and artificial intelligence tools are now available that let every business — even small ones — automate repetitive tasks and work smarter than ever. Focusing on what moves the needle is also a helpful philosophy in your home life.

Try out these tips and see if they can help you be more successful, not just on Women’s Day but all year long. Please let me know how it goes, or if there are other tips that work for you.

5 Bold Steps For Aid Workers This International Women’s Day

On this, International Women’s Day, I want to give some insight into the day-to-day lives of women working in the humanitarian aid sector by sharing some of the murmurs I overhear from many women working in some of the toughest places in the world.

I prefer working with men – said more women than I can count.

I’m pregnant, they’re not going to renew my contract – said one woman about a month before her contract was, in fact, not renewed.

I don’t think I should ask for a promotion. I don’t want to seem too pushy. – said more women than I can count.

And then there are the harmful things that women say to and about each other.

She’s so bossy. She thinks she knows everything – said a woman on a team managed by another woman.

You’re so ambitious – said malignly by a female manager to a female staff.

What did you do? - asked a female supervisor to a recently assaulted female staff member, minutes after the attack.

If we don’t see these words as poison, as the vitriol choking our advancement, then we are lost. Listening to such things over the years, I’m reminded of three elements of Buddhism’s eight-fold path: right thoughts, rights words, right actions. Our actions begin with our thoughts that then turn into words that then become the manifestation of our ideas into the material world. If we keep hearing negative things about each other and thinking negative thoughts about ourselves, what will naturally follow from our actions towards women will be negative. And that is exactly what the Humanitarian Women’s Network survey shows about our status in the humanitarian aid sector: systemic discrimination, and harassment and assault of women in the humanitarian workspace. Wrong thoughts, wrong words, wrong actions.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #BeBoldForChange. I challenge every woman and man reading this article to take 5 bold steps today towards right thoughts, right words, and right actions.

1. Think Positively: Start your day with a positive thought about one woman that you work with. Pick a new woman everyday. Think of one good quality about her and try to remember that she is someone’s sister, mother, daughter, and friend.

2. Stop Gossiping about each Other: Ladies, this has got to stop. Before you trash talk about that female colleague, before you speak disparagingly about a woman who you know or don’t know or heard of, stop yourself. Women gossiping about each other is one of the most dangerous forms of subversion that has us kept us from claiming our throne as the majority sex at 51% of the world’s population. Stop talking badly about one another immediately.

3. Be a Mentor or a Mentee to a Woman Today: The Humanitarian Women’s Network is setting up a roster of senior mentors in the aid industry for willing mentees. We believe that by networking women at the top with women who are just getting into the field, we can help women navigate our profession to build strong and healthy careers. To sign up as a mentor or request a mentor, contact us as womeninaidwork@gmail.com.

4. Hire Women: If HR comes back and says that the only person in the entire universe qualified to fill a particular role is a man, kindly request that they try harder in their search to bring about a more ‘diverse’ candidate pool. I strongly encourage women to start hiring more among their ranks and support one another’s career progress.

5. If You See Something, Say Something: if you hear any negative thoughts or see any negative actions towards a fellow woman, don’t let it slide. Interrupt someone saying negative things about women— even if they’re speaking negatively about themselves—and repeat after me: right thoughts, right words, right action.

These simple steps, when done at scale, will prompt serious cultural shifts in favor of women in the humanitarian aid sector― because we will be collectively embodying the change we want to see in the world. On this International Women’s Day let’s #BeBoldForChange by making the boldest change: the one within.

Be part of the movement: to learn more about the Humanitarian Women’s Network, visit www.humanitarianwomensnetwork.org. To set up your own HWN network in your area, contact us at womeninaidwork@gmail.com

We Create Our Own Fake News

Meeting with a client over lunch last week, I couldn’t help but notice his frustrations about feeling stuck in his job search. As he fleshed out the details of his career exploration process, each story turned difficult, tedious, or impossible. And as the conversation progressed, I could observe him slipping deeper and deeper into his own doubts and fears, fueled by his assumptions and limiting beliefs.

Although my client has lofty career goals — many of which are realistic considering his skills and experience — his assumptions about details such as degree requirements or applicable work experience had become barriers. As he explained support for his reasoning, several of his conclusions didn’t match facts or come from credible sources but rather from personal beliefs based in his past experiences or what others had told him was true.

Our conversation reminded me of how we’ve been taught to follow what friends and family say — and to believe what radios, magazines, newspapers, televisions, and online media tells us.

But that has changed.

The explosion of technology in the past decade has produced an avalanche of new media sources and the advent of “fake news.” The purpose of fake news is to cause confusion by making us question our beliefs using untrue information disguised as legitimate news. It’s been designed to manipulate us and distract us from trusting our own conclusions — thereby creating assumptions and false beliefs.

Yet herein lies the irony: We are also suspect to biased judgments that come from our own tightly held assumptions and beliefs.

We create our own fake news.

Although it is human nature to believe that our own conclusions are correct since our beliefs come from our experience, beliefs are not static — they’re dynamic and change along with us as we grow. The more we learn, the more we sculpt our thoughts — the thoughts that create our beliefs. Clearly stated by Esther Hicks and The Teachings of Abraham, “A belief is only a thought we keep thinking.”

The thoughts and beliefs we hold are establishing our direction and momentum in every decision, every day — and, in turn, create the foundations of our attitudes, actions, and words. Knowing that our thoughts have tremendous power and momentum, it may be wise for us to pay attention to our own broadcast. What “news” are we telling others? And what are we telling ourselves?

Challenging our own thoughts and beliefs is part of the critical thinking process. We can either create barriers to our growth by holding onto beliefs that no longer serve us — or we can question them and choose again.

Curious? Here are tips to gain clarity about our beliefs and avoid being the creator our own fake news:

Challenge assumptions. It’s easy to assume anything we read or hear as truth. However, we also need to keep in mind that “truth” is relative to the context in which a proclamation is made. The fastest way to examine our assumptions is to start with the question, “Why?” Answering that question facilitates a proverbial peeling of the onion — the process of discovering intentions and gaining increased insight and clarity into our beliefs and how they are either supporting us or leading us astray.

Seek to understand. In Steven Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey introduces his third habit: Seek First to Understand; Then to Be Understood. This concept provides us with a simple truth — it’s not always about us first. In order for us to make genuine connections with others we must first soften our stance and learn to understand others.

That was then, this is now. The past — though it still feels real — is simply data and our personal history. It is already completed. How we interpret our past and use that knowledge to make decisions in the present is what determines our future. But ultimately, it’s only data. The interpretation of data will constantly change as we do, and being aware of this constant change allows us to shift our perspective and keep learning from the same event or circumstances years later.

Do the work. If we are genuinely seeking to educate ourselves about our changing beliefs, we need to be willing to let go of past beliefs that aren’t serving us and create new ones that do. Remember doing homework for school? Doing the work on ourselves is the much the same. The consequences of taking a test without studying can be disastrous. In life, our homework is to seek to understand, learn about ourselves, and accept the reality that we are constantly changing. The test comes through the results of our choices.

Be your own worst enemy or best ally. Depending on whether we are learning from our experiences or not will be the strongest indicator of how we are supporting ourselves. By reacting to challenges with the same mindset every time, we are destined to repeat the same mistakes — becoming our own worst enemy. Or, with the knowledge that we are always growing and changing, we can choose a more mindful approach and respond deliberately, therefore creating more satisfying experiences and becoming our best ally.

In the end, my client was grateful that I challenged him on his assumptions, but I reminded him that he is the only one responsible for creating his experience. By opening his mind to new information and challenging his own assumptions, he could be less susceptible to what he’s told by others and the media, including himself — and potentially his own fake news. This powerful lesson is true for us all.

Michael Thomas Sunnarborg helps people maintain balance during transitions in their work, relationships, and life. Learn more at michaelsunnarborg.com

Image: Pixabay.com

Originally published at michaelsunnarborg.com on March 6, 2017.

How To Fight The Coming Wave of Credit Card Junk Fees

When William Livingstone booked a recent airline ticket from Warsaw to Madrid, he found something unusual on his bill: a $15 "credit card fee" with no explanation. It appeared his credit card was just helping itself to some of his money because it could.

Why? Perhaps it was a currency exchange fee, the result of converting dollars into zlotys. Then again, it just could be a money grab by his airline. Hard to say.

Livingstone, who runs a business in Helena, Mont., is one of many bewildered credit card customers who have encountered mysterious fees on their statements. These fees should have quietly vanished after passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, a law that clamped down on nuisance fees. But with a new, pro-business administration in power, industry watchers expect a surge in junk fees as the shackles of federal regulation are carelessly unlocked.

Livingstone, who believes he was overcharged for his airline tickets, tried to find the reason behind the fees and other charges, and contacted me for help. "This is fraud," he said.

Yes, it sure feels that way. And it's happening on such a breathtaking scale that makes it so much worse. It's institutionalized, sanctioned fraud that represents a colossal regulatory failure. If you don't want to become the victim of a junk fee, there's really only one person who can help: you.

Fees are still here

"Credit card companies are masters at making money," says Jake Serfas, a lead financial strategist at O’Dell, Winkfield, Roseman and Shipp, a Washington, D.C., retirement planning firm. "They convince the public that everything they want is only a swipe away. But what is that swipe really costing the consumers?"

A lot. More credit card companies are charging a range of fees for everything from card replacements, reward redemption, foreign currency conversion, over the limit, duplicate statement, balance transfer and account closure. Many of these are "junk" fees, meaning they effectively cost the company nothing to provide and are almost pure profit -- in other words, they charge them simply because they can.

"Most of these are small, ranging from $1 to $12 per fee," explains Serfas. "And although it may not seem like a lot to a consumer, spread out over millions of credit card users and they are making hundreds of millions of dollars in small charges."

Why isn't the government doing more? Well, the CARD Act, which was designed to protect consumers from hidden and unreasonable fees, eliminated some charges. But hidden fees remain a key revenue source for credit card companies and for merchants.

"Hidden fees are still part of the business," says Roseman.

They charge for that?

What to look for? Actually, it's more a question of what not to look for. If you're not reading your credit card statement at least once a month, chances are you're missing something.

Here are just three particularly egregious examples:

The reordered transaction trick. If you have overdraft protection on your account, watch for this little trick: Your bank will reorder your transactions throughout a day to maximize the number of times that you pay overdraft fees. "Consider this example," says Nick Clements, who runs a site called MagnifyMoney that publishes transparency scores for financial institutions. "You start the day with $50 in your account. You then make three withdrawals throughout the day, the first at 10 a.m. for $20, the second at 1 p.m. for $20 and the third at 7 p.m. for $40. In this particular scenario, you should have only overdrawn on your account at the third transaction, right? The trick happens when your bank reorders your withdrawals so that the $40 happens first, then a $20 and then the final $20. In this case you would have actually overdrawn twice." Legal? Yes. Unfair? Without a doubt.

The balance transfer fee. Say you’re carrying a balance and want to transfer the amount to another card with a lower interest rate. Watch out! Your card may charge a "balance transfer fee" of 3% or $5 -- whichever is higher -- to do it. "It's in the small print," says Adam Jusko, the CEO of the credit card website Credit Card Catalog. This is particularly nefarious because it's often part of a "Zero percent" initial rate. "The card issuer is essentially using the balance transfer offer as a marketing ploy to lure customers away from competitors, but instead of just taking it as a marketing cost, they can’t curb their natural tendency to squeeze a buck out wherever they can," he says. The card company makes money on both ends of the deal.

Cash advance fees. “You’re in enough of a pinch that you’re turning to your credit card company for a cash loan," says Kerri Moriarty, the head of development for Cinch Financial, an optimization service for personal finances. "Now you’re not only subject to a much higher interest rate – nearly 5 percent higher than your regular purchase rate – but also a fee in the form of 4 percent of the advance amount,” She advises exhausting all other possible options first, like withdrawing from a retirement account or using a home equity line of credit or even just asking a family member or friend for a short-term loan, all of which will cost you less in the long run.

Of course, this is just a small cross section of possible credit card fees. Banks, credit card companies and merchants are creative. Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes another surprise fee.

How to avoid them

Experts say you can escape from these fees with three proven strategies: behavior modification, early detection and resistance. First, know what kinds of activities can trigger a junk fee. Those include large charges, transfers, late payments and making purchases in a foreign country. Avoid doing those things, and if you can't, at least ask your credit card company how much it will cost and request a waiver, if possible.

Next, monitor your credit card statement very carefully. If you see anything that appears out of place, notify your bank or merchant immediately.

The final strategy is resistance: fight the fees. Banks know these are junk fees and are likely to roll over when you challenge them. "You could also use some leverage and threaten to cancel a card and switch to another credit company for reduced charges," adds Serfas, the financial strategist. "This could even be a great time to ask for a lower interest rate."

Don't be too quick to pin a junk fee on a bank, though. As Livingstone found out, his $15 fee was added by Ryanair, the discount airline he'd booked his tickets through. It charges a flat two percent fee on all credit card transactions.

Why? Why not?

One thing seems clear: These junk fees are poised to expand in the current laissez-faire regulatory environment. The only person who can save you is the one staring at you in the mirror.

Yes, gorgeous. I'm looking at you.

Christopher Elliott specializes in solving seemingly unsolvable consumer problems. Contact him with your questions on his advocacy website. You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google or sign up for his newsletter.

Reaching Out To The Working Class

In the months following the election there has been a strange debate about whether Democrats should try to recapture the white working class voters who supported Donald Trump. Those arguing against reaching out have said that there is no reason to try to appeal to voters who supported a racist, xenophobic, and misogynist candidate.

While no one should have empathy for the hatred expressed by Donald Trump and many of his supporters, there is a separate policy issue. The question is whether progressives should look to support policies that help the working class.

Note that I said “working class,” not “white working class.” It’s true that many white manufacturing workers have been hit badly by changes in the economy over the last four decades, most notably the rise in the trade deficit and the decline in unionization. But millions of African American working class workers were also hit by these same trends, as were working class Hispanics, although fewer Hispanics were working in factories three decades ago.

Workers without college degrees have been losers in the last three decades regardless of their race or ethnic background. This is a simple and important point, but one that is widely misunderstood.

In recent months there actually have been several pieces in major news outlets arguing the opposite: that somehow white workers are unique in losing out over this period. These analyses, that ostensibly showed that African Americans and Hispanics had done better in the labor market than whites, either failed to control for the aging of the population or relied on picking a single month of highly erratic data rather than a longer time period. Any honest account shows that workers without college degrees have faced a weak labor market and stagnant wages over the last four decades.

This point is important because, just as is the case with whites, most African American workers do not have college degrees nor do most Hispanic or Asian workers. Policies that help workers without college degrees will benefit most non-white workers. This means that even if we didn’t give a damn about the white working class voters that supported Trump, we should still be promoting policies that reverse the massive upward redistribution we have seen over the last four decades.

On trade this means policies designed to reduce the trade deficit. This issue here is not “winning” in negotiations with our trading partners. It’s a question of priorities in trade negotiations.

Rather than demanding stronger and longer protections for Pfizer’s patents and Microsoft’s copyrights, we should be getting our trading partners to support a reduction in the value of the dollar in order to make our goods and services more competitive. If we can reduce the trade deficit by 1-2 percentage points of GDP ($180 billion to $360 billion) it will create 1-2 million manufacturing jobs, improving the labor market for the working class.

We should use trade to reduce the pay of doctors and other highly paid professionals. If we open the door to qualified professionals from other countries we can save hundreds of billions of dollars a year on health care and other costs, while reducing inequality.

We should also support policies that rein in the financial sector, such as reducing fees that pension funds pay to private equity and hedge funds and their investment advisers. This money comes out of the pockets of the rest of us and goes to some of the richest people in the country. A financial transactions tax, which could eliminate tens of billions of dollars spent each year on useless trades, would also be a major step towards reducing inequality.

Policies that put downward pressure on the pay of CEOs and other top executives would also help the working class. This could mean, for example, making it easier for shareholders to reduce CEO pay. In the non-profit sector we could place a cap on the pay of employees for anyone seeking tax-exempt status. Universities and non-profit charities could still pay their presidents whatever they wanted; they just wouldn’t get a taxpayer subsidy.

There is a long list of market-based policies that we can pursue to reverse the upward redistribution of the last four decades. (For the fuller list see Rigged [it’s free]). These are policies that we should pursue because it is the right thing to do. It will help the working class of all races, including the white working class.

These policies may not get the white working class to vote for progressive candidates instead of racist demagogues like Donald Trump. But it is worth noting that almost all the people who insist that such policies won’t matter also assured us that Hillary Clinton would be elected president.

There is one other point on these policies that is worth mentioning. If we increase opportunities for working class people, there will be less of them, in the sense that more children from working class backgrounds would complete college. While Trump won among white college grads also, his margin among these voters was much smaller than his margin among whites without college degrees.

If the growth in college graduation rates had grown at the same rate since 1979 as they had in the years from 1959 to 1979, there would have been 10.4 million more white college grads voting last November and 10.4 million fewer whites without college degrees. If these people split their votes in the same ratio as other white college grads and non-grads, it would have increased Hillary Clinton’s popular vote margin by more than 1.8 million votes, virtually guaranteeing her a solid victory in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

This is of course a very simplistic analysis, but it is the sort of calculation that should cause people to ask what is meant by asserting that a particular group of people are hopeless. Whatever the implications for winning elections, progressives should support policies that reverse upward redistribution because it is the right thing to do. And this is true even for those who don’t give a damn about the white working class.

GM Sells Opel To French Company For $2.3 Billion, Exits Europe

PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - PSA Group has agreed to buy Opel from General Motors in a deal valuing the business at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), the companies said on Monday, creating a new regional car giant to challenge market leader Volkswagen.

The maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars vowed to return Opel and its British Vauxhall brand to profit, targeting an operating margin of 2 percent within three years and 6 percent by 2026 underpinned by 1.7 billion euros in joint cost savings.

PSA shares jumped 4 percent after Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said GM’s European arm could be turned around using some of the lessons from the French group’s own recovery.

“We’re confident that the Opel-Vauxhall turnaround will significantly accelerate with our support,” he said.

By acquiring Opel, PSA leapfrogs French rival Renault to become Europe’s second-ranked carmaker by sales, with a 16 percent market share to VW’s 24 percent.

Last year, PSA and GM Europe recorded a combined 72 billion euros in revenue and 4.3 million vehicle deliveries.

GM will receive 1.32 billion euros for the Opel manufacturing business - 650 million euros in cash and 670 million in PSA share warrants.

An additional 900 million euros will be paid by the Paris-based carmaker and BNP Paribas for Opel’s financing arm, to be operated jointly and consolidated by the French bank.

The sale of Opel seals GM’s exit from Europe. Eight years after coming close to a sale to Canada’s Magna International, the Detroit auto giant has faced renewed investor pressure to offload the business and focus on raising profitability rather than chase the global sales crown currently held by VW.

After fending off 2015 merger overtures by Fiat Chrysler with support from her board, GM boss Mary Barra agreed to target a 20 percent minimum return on invested capital and pay out more cash to shareholders.

PSA shares were up 4 percent at 19.83 euros as of 0814 GMT. GM shares closed 1.2 percent higher on Friday after Reuters reported a deal had been struck.

The two carmakers, which already share some production in an existing European alliance, confirmed last month they were negotiating an outright acquisition of Opel by PSA, sparking concern over possible job cuts.

PSA said on Monday the targeted savings would come from purchasing and research and development - avoiding plant closures - as the Opel lineup is redeveloped with PSA technology and vehicle architectures.

An ambitious technical convergence push will begin with the Opel Corsa, Tavares indicated, as earlier reported by Reuters.

The next version of the popular subcompact will be delayed by a year to 2020 as it goes back to the drawing board, according to presentation slides shown to analysts.

“Our planning teams are already working on that,” Tavares said when asked about the model. Another five PSA-based Opel models will follow by 2023.

For PSA, the Opel deal caps a stellar two-year recovery under Tavares, which avoided bankruptcy in 2014 by selling 14 percent stakes to the French state and China’s Dongfeng <0489.HK>, to match a diluted Peugeot family holding.

Tavares has since cut about 3,000 French assembly line jobs each year through voluntary departures to reduce the wage bill to 11 percent of revenue from the 15 percent level he inherited - which is where Opel’s labor costs stand today.

PSA reiterated pledges to run Opel as a distinct German subsidiary and honor existing job guarantees to unions, which tend to cover production plans for existing models.

Beyond those horizons, however, the outlook for Opel plants may be less certain.

“Tavares wants to create healthy competition between the plants,” said one person involved in the discussions. “They will be competing for workload.”

With Europe’s auto market near a peak, some analysts predict the combined company may need to close two or three plants in the next five years. Britain’s European Union exit adds to the uncertainty over Vauxhall’s UK plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton.

But Tavares said exports could help fill Opel plants, adding that UK manufacturing brought opportunities as well as risks in the event of a “hard Brexit” in which Britain leaves the EU without a free-trade deal.

“This may look to you a little bit romantic,” he conceded.

The transaction also sees GM retain most of Opel’s pensions deficit, estimated by analysts at $10 billion. Earlier in the talks, the U.S. carmaker had sought to offload a larger share of the liabilities, sources said.

Some smaller pension funds will be transferred to PSA, along with a 3 billion euro payment to cover their full settlement, the companies said on Monday.

GM will also take an accounting charge of $4 billion to $4.5 billion in relation to the deal, which is expected to close in late 2017.

NBCUniversal Invested $500 Million In Snap Inc As Part Of IPO

Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal said on Friday it had invested $500 million in Snap Inc (SNAP.N) as it continues to spend heavily on digital media companies.

Snap’s shares jumped 8.6 percent to $26.59 in early trading. The company finished its first day of trading with a 44 percent gain compared to its IPO price of $17.00.

The investment was made as a part of the Snapchat owner’s initial public offering, NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke said in a memo to employees.

Earlier, CNBC reported that Snap’s stock allocation to NBCUniversal seems to be the only one made to a new strategic investor, making NBCUniversal the lone U.S. media company with a stake.

Comcast has invested heavily in digital-native companies such as BuzzFeed and Vox Media, partly in an effort to better service existing advertisers.

“With the Snap investment, we have invested over $1.5 billion in promising digital businesses in the last eighteen months,” Burke said in the memo.

NBCUniversal has already launched entertainment programs such as The Voice, SNL and E! News’ The Rundown on Snapchat. The media company said it expects to launch more Snapchat shows in the coming weeks.

NBCUniversal has agreed to hold Snap’s shares for at least a year, according to the CNBC report.

Snap disclosed last month that it expected investors buying up to a quarter of its shares in the company’s $3.4 billion initial public offering to agree not to sell them for a year.

Lock-up periods help companies moderate stock volatility by preventing company insiders from selling their shares within an allotted time.

NBCUniversal courted Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel for the past year, CNBC said, and both companies have been working on deepening their relationship.

Snap declined to comment beyond details noted in its prospectus and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Comcast’s shares were marginally lower.

(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Anya George Tharakan; Editing by Maju Samuel)