The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, showed inflation slowing to a 3% annualized rate in June, the lowest since March 2021. The index increased 0.2% from the previous month, while core PCE was up 4.1% from a year earlier.
A UPS labor agreement staved off a strike but likely will result in costs passed on to consumers, with FedEx prices probably following suit, says Tommy Storch of Insight Sourcing Group. "[B]uckle up -- we may be in for a bumpy ride," adds consultant Jerry Hempstead.
Strikes at ports in western Canada have hampered rail traffic into the US, which dropped 12% for the week ended July 22, following weekly drops of 46% and 36%, The Association of American Railroads reports. The chemical sector was particularly hard-hit, with The National Association of Chemical Distributors expecting weeks of disruptions.
Drone-powered warehouse inventory monitoring can facilitate faster, more efficient tracking and real-time data accuracy, helping to lower costs and increase productivity, writes Sean Mitchell, vice president of customer success at Gather AI. "One person can operate three drones at a time and especially for manufacturers who want to ensure that they have the inventory they need for production, they can conduct full facility inventory far more frequently and potentially reduce or eliminate physical inventories," Mitchell writes.
The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 in favor of new rules that will force publicly traded companies to disclose cybersecurity breaches within four days of determining that they are material to investors, although some industry groups have said the amount and types of information the SEC is requiring firms to divulge goes beyond what is needed. The disclosure reporting can also be postponed if the Justice Department determines that doing so is in the interest of national security.
Bruce Biegel, senior managing partner at Winterberry Group, and Lynn Tornabene, chief marketing officer at Anteriad, offer business-to-business growth tips. The pair advise B2B marketers to differentiate offerings, focus on branding and offer the kind of experiences buyers expect as consumers.
Sales managers can achieve better outcomes by making the most of their strengths -- and that first requires assessing what those talents are. Work with your supervisor on pinpointing these as well as goals, then ask for ongoing coaching and professional development while networking to find a mentor, Kelly George of the Center for Sales Management writes.
Megan Rapinoe, who led the US women's soccer team to the World Cup championship in 2019, says she's a "team first" player and has worked to create several leadership styles to meet teammates where they are and give them the support they need. "[W]e create this environment where everybody feels seen and heard, and everyone feels confident, and everyone feels like they have a place within the team. And if a more senior player can be the one setting that example, then the whole structure and the environment changes within that," Rapinoe says.
Leaders can regain a sense of balance and creativity by making time for thinking and resting, taking time off and starting the day more leisurely before the task-oriented part of the brain kicks in, writes executive coach Ken Blanchard. "Surprisingly, when we step away from the relentless pursuit of tasks, we're often able to see our vision more clearly and feel newly inspired by it," Blanchard writes.
