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March 2022

Business

5 Factors That Affect Your Email Deliverability

Whether you’re working on your own email marketing strategy or you’ve hired an Ecommerce Email Marketing Agency you’ve probably heard about the importance of constantly tracking your statistics to ensure a healthy deliverability that will later on guarantee a better performance and conversion rate.

Successful deliverability equals successful email marketing.

Email deliverability is the foundation of email marketing and it plays the most important role when it comes to placing your email in the subscriber’s inbox.

Marketers spend lots of time and effort on creating the perfect email – effort that it’s worthwhile. Having the right amount of text and images, using an eye-catching font, tailored content, selecting the best sending time and frequency are all key factors on the email marketing strategy. However, all the effort is wasted if your subscribers never get to open the email because it never arrived in their inbox.

With all this said, let’s talk about some factors that directly affect your deliverability health to help you define your strategy and reach out to as many subscribers as possible without interfering with your deliverability health.

  1. Infrastructure

The servers, setup and controls used by a company’s ESP – email service provider – directly affects how mailbox providers perceive their emails. Also, email authentication is also part of good email infrastructure but, don’t worry, most ESPs automatically authenticate the IP addresses and domains used. Authenticating your email with SPF and DKIM standards as well as setting up DMARC records is super important to ensure good deliverability.

  1. Email Volume

The more emails a brand sends, the more the mail providers keep an eye out on their messages. This is why very large senders will naturally struggle more to keep a good deliverability. By using sending patterns you’ll be one step ahead since inbox providers like to see predictable patterns in sending volumes from a brand. This also means that you’ll need to slowly increase the volume over weeks when heading into higher email frequency seasons such as retailers holiday season.

  1. Beware of Spam Traps

When planning and scheduling your campaign it is super important to exclude those subscribers that had hard bounce and those who are potential spam traps, this last one demonstrates that the brand has poor subscriber acquisition practices and is highly penalized by inbox providers and blocklist operators that identify spammers.

  1. Engagement

Positive feedback is as important as negative feedback when it comes to reputation, and mailbox providers pay lots of attention to it in the form of opens and other behaviors that indicate if the subscribers want to receive your emails.

  1. Reputation

Email reputation is calculated by each mailbox and it’s provided according to its own secret and unique and secret weighting of some factors and subfactors, take care of it by closely monitoring the performance of your campaigns, Keep good ORs, CRs, and low Spam Complaints & Bounces. There are some important aspects why you might be landing in spam so take this into consideration to optimize your reputation.

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Industrial News

Road project set to spur industrial growth in Weirton

Portion of federal funding to be used to open property for future opportunities

WEIRTON — A portion of the more than $40 million awarded to Brooke and Hancock counties through the recent Congressional spending bill will assist in opening up former steel-making property in Weirton for future economic development opportunities.

Of the funds announced March 11, $3 million was awarded to the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, and $1 million to the City of Weirton, with the goal of constructing an industrial access road through the Frontier Crossings development in Weirton.

“The goal is to connect the dots,” Mike Paprocki, executive director of BHJ, explained, noting plans are for the road to stretch from the Cove Road and Weir Avenue intersection, through the property now owned by the Frontier Group of Companies, and eventually lead to Brown’s Island.

Paprocki said while the road would be a public right-of-way, it’s primary purpose would be to carry industrial traffic.

Weirton City Manager Mike Adams expressed appreciation to U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., for their support of the funded projects in the region.

“That’s a testament to what they think of this area,” Adams said. “That’s their recognition that this is a special place.”

The city manager noted he believes a big selling point for the federal funds being provided was the amount of private funding already invested by the Frontier Group, which has amounted to close to $90 million to prepare the land.

“This site has tremendous potential,” Adams said, adding he feels it is only a matter of time before prospects make a decision to locate operations in the city.

Pat Ford, business development director for the Frontier Group of Companies, also expressed appreciation to West Virginia’s Congressional delegation, as well as to city officials and the BHJ, for their work in obtaining the funds.

“What’s exciting about this news is our voices are heard,” Ford said.

Ford said the Frontier Group has been meeting with numerous prospects about the property, with the potential for $1.2 billion in investment, but the construction of the road is needed for the efforts to move forward.

“There is not a week that goes by we’re not talking to someone,” Ford said, explaining prospects include both national operations planning to grow and international companies looking for a foothold in the U.S. markets.

Once the road is complete, it will further solidify transportation corridors through the region for roadway, river and rail.

“It’s multi-modal,” Paprocki said, adding the development also will further open industrial access in the northern parts of Hancock County and beyond.

In addition to the $4 million for the road project, the area also is set to receive $22.47 million for use in the planned expansion of the Weirton water treatment plant, $10.3 million for improvements to Follansbee’s wastewater treatment system, $1.96 million for water infrastructure improvements in the Beech Bottom Industrial Park and $4 million for improvements to a railroad bridge in the north end of Follansbee.

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Top Stories

BuzzFeed investors have pushed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down entire newsroom, sources say

  • Several large shareholders have urged BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the company’s news organization.
  • BuzzFeed News has won awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, but is now shrinking through voluntary buyouts.
  • BuzzFeed News has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year, according to people familiar with the matter.

BuzzFeed is shrinking its money-losing news organization, the company announced Tuesday, amid what people familiar with the matter describe as broader investor concern that the division is weighing down the company.

Several large shareholders have urged BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the entire news operation, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. BuzzFeed declined to comment.

BuzzFeed’s stock closed over 6% higher at $5.27 on Tuesday.

BuzzFeed News, which is part of its content division, has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year, two of the people said. The company, which also has advertising and commerce divisions, said Tuesday its full-year content revenue grew 9% in 2021 to $130 million.

One shareholder told CNBC shutting down the newsroom could add up to $300 million of market capitalization to the struggling stock. The digital media company went public via a special purpose acquisition vehicle in December. The shares immediately fell nearly 40% in their first week of trading and haven’t recovered.

Peretti has been a vocal champion of the importance of BuzzFeed News for years, calling it “good for the world, good for business, and good for our company culture.” The organization’s newsroom has won several awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and a George Polk Award.

“This morning we announced plans to accelerate profitability for BuzzFeed News, including leadership changes, the addition of a dedicated business development group, and a planned reduction in force,” Peretti said Tuesday. “We will prioritize investments around coverage of the biggest news of the day, culture and entertainment, celebrity, and life on the Internet.”

The company has offered voluntary buyouts to fewer than 30 employees, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the decision is private. The buyout is only available to reporters and editors who cover investigations, inequality, politics or science and have worked for the company for more than a year. BuzzFeed plans to make the buyout proposal to the NewsGuild of New York regarding its U.S. staffers.

Rather than shut down BuzzFeed News, Peretti is attempting to make the division profitable. He has a ready-made template: He made the decision to lay off 70 HuffPost staffers last year after acquiring the company from Verizon Media.

“Though BuzzFeed is a profitable company, we don’t have the resources to support another two years of losses,” Peretti said at the time. “The most responsible thing we can do is to manage our costs and ensure BuzzFeed — and HuffPost — are set up to prosper long-term. That’s why we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure HuffPost to reach profitability more quickly. Our goal is for HuffPost to break even this year.”

HuffPost is now profitable, according to a person familiar with the organization.

Editor-in-chief departs

Ahead of the job cuts, Mark Schoofs, BuzzFeed News’ editor-in-chief, told staff Tuesday he’s leaving the company. Samantha Henig, BuzzFeed News’ executive editor of strategy, will run the newsroom on an interim basis.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Tom Namako and Ariel Kaminer, executive editor of investigations, are also resigning. Namako is joining NBC News’ digital operation as executive editor.

In its fourth-quarter earnings release, Buzzfeed said quarterly revenue grew 18% year over year to $146 million. Profit rose to $41.6 million, up 29% from the same period the year before.

Full-year revenue grew 24% year over year to $398 million. Net income more than doubled from last year to $25.9 million.

 

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Finance

Paradigm Invests $8.8M in DeFi’s Ribbon Finance

Paradigm Invests $8.8M in DeFi’s Ribbon Finance

The protocol automates crypto derivatives strategies for the lay DeFi trader.

Ribbon Finance, a crypto structured products protocol backed by the RBN token, has raised $8.8 million under a new partnership with Paradigm, the venture capital firm that launched a record $2.5 billion crypto fund last November.

Under the partnership, Ribbon Finance and Paradigm will work to build new risk products native to decentralized finance (DeFi) and continue to scale the protocol, including doubling down on the project’s multi-chain approach.

“[Ribbon] is a simple way for users to earn high yield on bitcoin, ether and USDC,” co-founder and CEO Julian Koh told CoinDesk in an interview. “We help users create exposure to expert, complicated financial strategies under the hood, but we make that experience really easy for users.”

In short, Ribbon Finance makes it easier for retail investors to benefit from the complicated world of crypto derivatives, Koh said.

Investors deposit wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) or ETH into a vault that automates the “covered call” options strategy, where the strike price is higher than the current asset price. Ribbon writes the calls on a weekly basis and collects the premium. Ribbon says investors can expect double-digit annual percentage yield (APY) from Theta Vault, according to its website.

Ribbon has $257.6 million in total value locked on the protocol, according to data from DeFi Llama.

“Structured products are one of the most important categories of DeFi,” Paradigm research partner and Chief Technology Officer Georgios Konstantopoulos said in a statement. “We were impressed by the execution of the Ribbon team and are excited to back Julian and (co-founder) Ken (Chan) to make Ribbon the market leader in their category

Looking forward

Koh said the focus over the next six months is expanding to additional blockchains. Ribbon Finance recently deployed on Avalanche and Solana and is focused on building its presence on those chains.

“We are just getting started,” said Koh. “The whole structured products industry in DeFi is less than a year old. So we have really just scratched the surface of the types of products that people can build.”

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Wealth

The typical middle-class household made $2 million from homeownership over the past decade, showing it’s still the best way to build wealth

At least in terms of building wealth (if you’re middle class).

Younger households with middling incomes who bought a home within the last 10 years have been able to enjoy massive wealth gains, with housing wealth across nearly 1,000 U.S. cities increasing by over $8 trillion since 2010, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors.

Middle income households-turned homeowners enjoyed the biggest wealth gains, as on average, these households saw their wealth grow by over $2 million.

The main reason behind these homeowner wealth gains is the rapid rate of home value appreciation in the U.S. The NAR estimates that 86% of the wealth homeowners built during this period comes from home appreciation, with the median sales price of a home rising at an annual 8.3% between 2011 and 2021.

Some metro areas saw middle income residents’ wealth increase much faster than others, normally due to population or job growth in the city in question, NAR found.

Best middle income housing markets

NAR said the metro areas where middle-class homeowners saw the biggest wealth gains over the past 10 years are:

  1. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (+ $103,690)
  2. Austin-Round Rock, Texas ($61,323)
  3. Nashville-Davidson-;urfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. ($55,252)
  4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas ($53,421)
  5. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas ($52,716)

But while most metro areas saw household wealth grow for middle income homeowners, 58% of cities according to the NAR, it declined in cities that have seen their housing markets explode over the last decade. Los Angeles and New York topped the list with big declines for middle income households, despite housing wealth increasing overall.

And while household wealth for middle income earners grew overall, the same could not be said for lower income homebuyers. Low income households make up 27.2% of all homeowners, but enjoyed only 4% of the wealth gain.

A changing housing market

The prospects of building wealth through homeownership is enticing to young households ready to make their first big purchase. For millennials, who have aged into prime homebuying age and are now the single largest demographic looking to buy a home, this is more applicable than most.

But for millennials and even younger Gen Z homebuyers in 2022, buying a home has become a nearly impossible feat.

While younger generations are flooding the homebuying market, the pandemic and remote working options have made homeowners less willing to sell. And combined with a historically low inventory of new homes for sale, supply has been unable to keep pace with demand over the past year.

The high competition for new homes has priced many young homeseekers out of the market, as older generations looking to downsize have been able to leverage higher incomes and more years of real estate savvy to win out on bidding wars.

The result has left many millennials either unable to buy a home and begin building wealth, or unhappy with a rushed purchase and readying to sell early before seeing any big benefits from appreciation.

For those who are homeowners during this turbulent period for housing, home appreciation rates are better than ever. Median home values are now 20% higher than they were in January 2021, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace.

 

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Industrial News

City council to consider plans for Hwy 40 industrial business park

Plans are in the works for a new industrial business park in Sarnia.

Monteith Sutherland Limited, has proposed to create a 48 block industrial subdivision on the 158 acre parcel of land on Highway 40, between Kimball Road and McGregor Side Road.

Mayor Mike Bradley said city council will consider a recommendation by city staff to approve draft plans when it meets Monday.

“It’s in the right area, in the industrial sector, it gives us more diversity as it relates to business parks,” said Bradley. “The city has the Highway 402 one, we have the areas around the Research Park, which really are for light use, this is heavy industrial and it fits perfectly into that Plank Road sector.”

If approved, each block or lot would be developed in accordance with an approved Site Plan Control Agreement.

The property is currently zoned Heavy Industrial, which permits a wide range of industrial uses, including manufacturing and processing.

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Top Stories

Saudi Arabia could invest $50 billion this year to boost oil capacity

Dubai – Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco, under pressure from the West to boost output amid soaring prices, pledged on Sunday to hike investments by around 50% this year as it reported a doubling in 2021 profits.

Oil prices leapt 50% last year as demand recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and then surged above $100 a barrel to 14-year highs in February after Russia invaded Ukraine, leading Western nations to urge major producers to increase output.

Aramco said it would boost its capital expenditure (capex) to $40-50 billion this year, with further growth expected until around the middle of the decade. Capex was $31.9 billion last year, up 18% from 2020 — indicating an increase of about 50% for this year at the middle of the guidance range.

Asked if Aramco would pump more oil to fill any gaps in the market left by the war in Ukraine, CEO Amin Nasser said it would produce according to guidelines from the Saudi energy ministry.

The company has said it plans to raise its crude oil “maximum sustainable capacity” to 13 million barrels a day by 2027, and wants to increase gas production by more than 50% by 2030. Its average hydrocarbon production was 12.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day last year.

Aramco made $110 billion in net profit in 2021, up from $49 billion a year earlier and compared with analysts’ mean estimate of $106 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon. With a rise in both output and prices, analysts expect net profit to reach $140 billion in 2022.

Aramco’s shares rose over 4% in early trade to a high of 43.85 riyals, valuing it at 8.76 trillion riyals ($2.34 trillion).

A $2 trillion valuation was a goal sought by de-facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before the company’s record $29.4 billion initial public offering in 2019. He has announced plans to sell more Aramco shares.

The surge in Aramco’s valuation on Sunday moved it above that of Microsoft, though it remains behind Apple’s $2.68 trillion.

The Saudi government said last month that Crown Prince Mohammed, who is leading a huge investment drive to diversify the kingdom’s economy, had transferred 4% of Aramco shares to the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

Boosting capex
“They are ramping up the reinvestment quite substantially and they are likely to use (the free cash flow) to de-lever the balance sheet,” said Yousef Husseini, head of the materials team at EFG Hermes Research.

Aramco said its free cash flow was $107.5 billion last year, compared with $49.1 billion in 2020. It declared a dividend of $75 billion for 2021, in line with its earlier pledge.

The company said it also planned to develop a significant hydrogen export capability and become a global leader in carbon capture and storage technology.

Nasser told an earnings call that global oil demand was growing healthily and spare production capacity was declining.

In a separate statement he said “although economic conditions have improved considerably, the outlook remains uncertain due to various macro-economic and geopolitical factors.”

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Finance

Italian MFE’s finance chief: No plans to take over ProSieben at the moment

BERLIN, March 21 (Reuters) - Broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) (MFEA.MI), (MFEB.MI) has no plans to make a takeover bid for German competitor ProSiebenSat.1 (PSMGn.DE) at the moment, the Italian firm's finance chief told daily Handelsblatt. "Currently, we have no such plans. What will be in a year's time, we will see then," Marco Giordani was quoted as saying by Handelsblatt on Monday. MFE, formerly Mediaset, is controlled by the family of Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It announced last week that it already had a stake of more than 25% in ProSiebenSat.1. At more than 30%, the Italian company would have to make a mandatory offer to the remaining ProSieben shareholders according to German law. So far, MFE is not represented in ProSieben's supervisory board. Two seats are due to be reassigned at the group's shareholders meeting in May, according to Handelsblatt. Candidates are former RTL boss Bert Habets and Rolf Nonnenmacher, who has been on the committee since 2015, the paper said. Giordani said he would hope for a candidate that will be fully supported by MFE. Otherwise MFE could suggest rival candidates. "In any case, these would not be MFE representatives but independent managers with the right qualification," the finance chief said.

BERLIN, – Broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) (MFEA.MI), (MFEB.MI) has no plans to make a takeover bid for German competitor ProSiebenSat.1 (PSMGn.DE) at the moment, the Italian firm’s finance chief told daily Handelsblatt.

“Currently, we have no such plans. What will be in a year’s time, we will see then,” Marco Giordani was quoted as saying by Handelsblatt on Monday.

MFE, formerly Mediaset, is controlled by the family of Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It announced last week that it already had a stake of more than 25% in ProSiebenSat.1.

At more than 30%, the Italian company would have to make a mandatory offer to the remaining ProSieben shareholders according to German law.

So far, MFE is not represented in ProSieben’s supervisory board. Two seats are due to be reassigned at the group’s shareholders meeting in May, according to Handelsblatt. Candidates are former RTL boss Bert Habets and Rolf Nonnenmacher, who has been on the committee since 2015, the paper said.

Giordani said he would hope for a candidate that will be fully supported by MFE. Otherwise MFE could suggest rival candidates. “In any case, these would not be MFE representatives but independent managers with the right qualification,” the finance chief said.

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Business

How Can Housewives Ensure Financial Independence in 2024 and Beyond?

Financial independence is necessary for a woman’s stability and security. It helps them to earn bread for their families and fulfil personal goals. Having a steady income is also a way to ease the monetary burden off their husbands’ shoulders. Together, it becomes easier to tide over unexpected events like a job loss when both are earning. A refer and earn work can be a good start for anyone who has no experience. It is a genuine way to upscale your financial well-being and can be managed from home. You have to consistently dedicate some time as per your wish. Sounds convenient? Read on to learn more.

Refer and Earn

IDFC FIRST Bank MyFIRST Partner App offers a chance to make a passive income. Your household chores do not get disturbed. Earn money when you have some time off. Look for people in your social circle who need quick money. Refer them to a personal loan which is available from ₹20,000 and ₹40 lakhs for an EMI period of 6 months and 60 months. Once you convince them to take the loan, you receive a flat 1.5% of the amount.

This is a commission which can be more than ₹50,000 per month depending on the number of loans that are released via your referral. Further, a used car loan, business loan, loans against property or a savings account are also available. In all, you can make more than ₹1lakh per month on the refer and earn app which is quite wholesome.

What Are the Top Benefits?

You might still be thinking how is a referral better than other income ideas? Here’s how.

  • Do not have to invest or spend a penny. Other side hustles like freelancing, tutoring, photography and home business require specific skills or tools.
  • Sign up on the genuine refer and earn app within minutes and start earning. The process of becoming a loan agent is not complex or time-consuming.
  • The income potential is not limited. Earn quite a lot by working sincerely.
  • You only need your smartphone. No laptops or other smart devices are needed.
  • The payout is weekly. Do not have to wait till the month’s end to receive money.
  • A great chance to earn good amounts if you are willing to do your best. Other online money-earning apps offer little money for filling up a survey or playing a game.
  • The personal loan is flexible which makes it easy to sell.
  • Opportunity to work directly with a big bank.

A dedicated relationship manager and client acquisition support make the refer and earn work smooth. You get training, guidance and business development opportunities to make a great secondary income. The mentors will also assist with your onboarding and give you details about the product. They will be present along the way for all sorts of help.

IDFC FIRST Bank offers the highest-paying refer and earn money app. Housewives can start earning right away to start 2024 with great financial standing. You no longer have to depend on another person to get your little wishes fulfilled.

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Industrial News

Reliance-ACRE combine wins race for ailing textile firm Sintex Industries

Reliance-ACRE combine wins race for ailing textile firm Sintex Industries

Lenders to ailing textile firm Sintex Industries Ltd (SIL) have approved a resolution plan submitted by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) jointly with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd (ACRE).

The plan (RIL-ACRE) has been duly approved by the 100 per cent members of Committee of Creditors (CoC) as the successful resolution plan subject to approval of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the company informed BSE.

Gujarat based SIL said all four compliant Resolution Plans submitted by four Resolution Applicants were put for e-voting for approval by the CoC members in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) and regulations. The e-voting concluded On March 19, 2022 at 10.00 p.m.

The plan is that existing share capital of the Company will be reduced to Zero. The company will be delisted from the stock exchanges i.e. BSE and NSE.

The lenders to the company include Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Export Import Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. Lenders – members of CoC – exposure to SIL is about Rs 7,718.72 crore, according to filing with BSE.

SIL has been undergoing substantial financial stress and severe liquidity constraints since last Financial Year. Coupled with changed industrial dynamics, it has been facing time and cost overrun in completion of projects, reduction in subsidies and incentive benefits and Covid related disruptions.

 

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