If you love art and love history and the great freedom we enjoy here in the United States of America then You need to take a quick visit to the Protectors of Freedom Memorial Park and it’s right in Toms River, New Jersey.

 

 

 

 

Recently Myself, April and my Mom went for a quick tour and look at the Protectors of Freedom Memorial in Toms River New Jersey. A wonderful sculpture park provided to the Ocean County area by the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation. It features World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Medical Nurse sculptures honoring the men and women who served to protect our freedom. The park features the sculpting art of artist Brian Hanlon.

 

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This wonderful little park is located right near the Ocean County Mall and is a quick tour through the history of the major freedom conflicts of the last century including the medical work of nurses through these moments in history. Each section high listed by the breathtaking sculptures of artist Brian Hanlon, amazing how detailed in person these sculptures are.

This little park is a wonderful place for veterans, history buffs and schools to visit for a day trip to see not only historical moments of our past, but to learn how freedom is NOT free with many tyrannical people out there who would love to take away your freedoms and if not for these men and women they may have already done so. These “Protectors of Freedom” stood up to bullies through history and said NO you will not take away our right to freedom. Be respectful and learn and honor these folks. Many of you probably have family from prior generations that are “ Protectors of Freedom”. God bless them and never forget.

The Protectors of Freedom Park is located at Bay Lea Park on Bay Avenue in Toms River, Ocean County – New Jersey.

Take a few minutes to scroll through some of our photos from our recent trip.

 

The Protectors of Freedom Memorial in Toms River, New Jersey

A look at the Protectors of Freedom Memorial in Toms River New Jersey. A wonderful sculpture park provided to the Ocean County area by the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation. It features World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Medical Nurse sculptures honoring the men and women who served to protect our freedom. The park features the sculpting art of artist Brian Hanlon.

 

LOOK: 100 years of American military history

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The Pound Sterling posted gains on Tuesday with a weaker US dollar and expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike providing net support.

The Pound to Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate advanced to above 1.3500 and secured a further advance to near 1.3550 on Wednesday.

The Pound to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate also posted a net gain to 1.2020 before settling just below 1.2000 after failure to post fresh 23-month highs.

Inflation Spreads in the Retail Sector

BRC reported that UK shop prices increased 1.5% in the year to December from 0.8% the previous month and the strongest reading since December 2012.

Food prices rose by 2.7% over the year, the strongest increase since 2013 with BRC reporting that poor harvests, labour shortages and rising global food prices were contributory factors.

Non-food prices rose by 0.9% after falling by 0.2% in December.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson commented; “The rise in shop prices is playing into wider UK inflation, which is pushing cost of living to the forefront of the political agenda. Many households will find it difficult to absorb the additional costs, as well as others on the horizon.

She added; “Retailers are working hard to cut costs, but it would be impossible to protect consumers from any future rises. As commodity prices, energy prices and transportation costs continue to rise, it is inevitable that retail prices will continue to follow in the future.”

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, which co-produces the data noted; “The surge in energy and travel costs is now impacting disposable incomes and is likely to dent consumers’ willingness to spend.”

Markets Expect BoE will Respond

There are strong expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will respond to inflation concerns with a further increase in interest rates to 0.50%.

ING noted; “EUR/GBP pared Monday’s gains yesterday, getting back on track to test the 0.8300 support tomorrow when we expect a combination of a BoE hike and a patient ECB to generate more pressure on the pair.”

Bank of America remains sceptical over the Sterling outlook “We doubt that a hawkish BoE provides the kind of impetus that it did in December as GBP enters into a month which has historically presented seasonal headwinds to sterling.”

Dollar Remains on the Defensive

The dollar has continued to lose ground with the Euro to Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate advancing to near 1.1285.

There has been short covering in the Australian dollar and renewed buying support for European currencies.

Marshall Gittler, Head of Investment Research at BDSwiss Group, commented; “USD’s weakness was also due more to the risk-on sentiment than US fundamentals. On the contrary, yesterday’s US economic news was distinctly positive for the dollar.”

Capital Economics still consider that markets are underestimating how high US rates will go; “Fed fund futures imply a peak around 1.75-2.0% which would be very low by historical standards and would likely still leave real rates in negative territory.”

It adds; “We think the terminal rate in the U.S. currently discounted in money markets is too low, both in absolute terms and relative to equivalent rates elsewhere. This is the key reason why we think the greenback will eventually resume its rise.”

ING expects that the dollar selling will abate; “we expect the dollar’s positioning now to have reached a somewhat more balanced level which can allow for some stabilisation. After all, a market that is quite freely speculating on the pace and size of Fed tightening is unlikely to turn much less bullish on the dollar anytime soon.”

MUFG expects a firm US dollar in the near term; “The focus on the potential for more aggressive tightening by the Fed will likely keep the US dollar supported for now.”

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By Caleb Drickey (February 1, 2022, 2:04 PM EST) — Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP’s transatlantic team of private equity professionals guided Apollo Global Management and Hg Capital on two of the year’s biggest insurance industry transactions, landing it a spot among Law360’s 2021 Private Equity Groups of the Year.

Unlike some competitor firms, Skadden has not fully severed its private equity operations from its larger mergers and acquisitions practice. The firm maintains a London-based team of five partners and roughly 30 associates who exclusively serve European private equity clients, while U.S. business is conducted by versatile M&A attorneys working out of the firm’s New York, Delaware, Los Angeles…

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The Oak Park Estates Neighborhood Association invites neighbors and local businesses to a business fair and networking event this month.

The event starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15 at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Kiest.

OPENA welcomes all business owners who live in our neighborhood, adjacent neighborhoods or whose business serves the residents of our neighborhoods to join us! Business owners will be able to talk about their business, network with residents and hand out materials on your business to residents. Residents will be able to network with the business owners and your neighbors!

Masks will be required indoors. Businesses that wish to participate should RSVP to oakparkestates1@gmail.com.

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TYSONS CORNER, VA, Dec. 6, 2021 — Capgemini has completed its acquisition of VariQ and the Rockville, Maryland-based provider of information technology and cybersecurity services will operate under its U.S. business arm that offers services to federal agencies, GovCon Wire reported Thursday.

Commenting on the VariQ stock purchase, Doug Lane, CEO of Capgemini Government Solutions and previous Wash100 awardee, said the IT and consulting firm was provided with government contract vehicle access and has gained an additional multidisciplinary workforce.

About Executive Mosaic

Founded in 2002, Executive Mosaic is a leadership organization and media company. It provides its members an opportunity to learn from peer business executives and government thought leaders while providing an interactive forum to develop key business and partnering relationships.

Executive Mosaic offers highly coveted executive events, breaking business news on the Government Contracting industry, and delivers robust and reliable content through seven influential websites and four consequential E-newswires. Executive Mosaic is headquartered in Tysons Corner, VA.

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Macy’s, Inc., on Tuesday (Nov. 9) announced it will be raising its minimum wage for employees to $15 per hour as part of a corporate benefits package that will also include debt-free tuition and raises for employees at all levels of the company.

The debt-free education program will launch in February, with about $35 million doled out to U.S.-based salaried and hourly employees over the next four years to cover all tuition, books and fees for high school completion, college prep classes, English language learning programs, associate and bachelor’s degrees, bootcamps and professional certificates within Macy’s debt-free network.

Macy’s is partnering with education and upskilling platform Guild Education on the program.

“As we continue our transformation to be a digitally-led omnichannel retailer, a critical component of our growth includes investing in our talent and enhancing all aspects of their Macy’s, Inc. experience with a strong focus on advancement opportunities, culture and engagement,” Danielle Kirgan, Macy’s chief transformation and human resources officer, said in the company announcement.

“As a company, we’re driven by our mission to enable our colleagues’ success and be the preferred employer everywhere we do business, with competitive pay and benefits rooted in principles of equity,” she added. “This program removes a major barrier to accessing education and will help our colleagues to further develop their skills and grow their careers and earning potential.”

Macy’s is also adding some flexibility to its time-off policy, with the addition of one flexible paid holiday per year. Last year, Macy’s added several bonus opportunities for employees.

Related: Amid Industrywide Labor Crunch, Walmart Rolls out First-Ever Driverless Truck Route

Meanwhile, Walmart is handling the labor shortage in a different way, adding fully driverless routes through a box truck pilot with middle-mile delivery automation company Gatik between a Walmart dark store and a Neighborhood Market, the retailer’s smaller-format shop, in Bentonville, Ark.

In August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said unfilled jobs in “transportation, warehousing and utilities” were nearly twice what they were in 2020. In late October, the American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello said the industry is short 80,000 drivers, a number that could double in this decade.

 

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NEW PYMNTS DATA: THE 2021 HOLIDAY SHOPPING OUTLOOK

About: It’s almost go time for the holiday shopping season, and nearly 90% of U.S. consumers plan to make at least some of their purchases online — 13% more than did in 2020. The 2021 Holiday Shopping Outlook, PYMNTS surveyed more than 3,600 consumers to learn what is driving online sales this holiday season and the impact of product availability and personalized rewards on merchant preference.

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Good morning: It’s been a good year so far for investment bankers in the City. That’s the conclusion you can take from new research by Refinitiv that shows bankers’ fees from mergers and acquisitions are on course to hit a record.

Banks advising on deals involving UK companies, either as the buyer or seller, have earned $4 billion so far this year. That is the highest year-to-date total since at least 2000 and well above the $2.4 billion made in the same period last year.

These figures are based on completed deals, so fees are likely to increase significantly before the year is out. There are a number of multi-billion takeover battles yet to reach their denouement, with £7 billion bids made for Wm Morrison,

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Judy Woodruff:

In the Olympic competition, the U.S. women’s soccer team faced elimination today. In the end, they beat the Netherlands on penalty kicks to move to the semifinals.

In bicycle motocross racing, American Connor Fields, the defending gold medalist, suffered a violent crash and missed the finals. He’s hospitalized, in stable condition.

Back in this country, new heat waves are roasting the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. Going into the weekend, more than 60 million Americans are under heat advisories. Temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees in parts of Idaho and Washington state.

In U.S. economic news, a key inflation index jumped in June by the most since 1991. The indicator used by the Federal Reserve was up 3.5 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Wall Street was mostly lower today. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 149 points to close at 34935. The Nasdaq fell 105 points. The S&P 500 shed nearly 24.

And two passings of note. Former Michigan Senator Carl Levin died Thursday, of lung cancer. Over 36 years, the veteran Democrat became an influential voice on military issues. He voted against sending troops to Iraq in 2002.

And, years later, he argued the invasion failed to stop terrorism.

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U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures are surging late Thursday, bolstered by strong U.S. economic data that offset investors’ concerns about the potential for a rise in Iranian supplies. Traders are also betting that the start of driving season in the United States and Europe would lead to increased demand for gasoline. Meanwhile, a jump in air travel is helping to drive up demand for distillates like jet fuel.

At 19:32 GMT, July WTI crude oil is trading $66.84, up $0.63 or +0.95% and August Brent crude oil is at $69.19, up $0.46 or +0.67%.

After posting a flat-to-lower trade early in the session on Iranian supply concerns, prices began to firm following the release of solid U.S. economic news.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week as layoffs subsided, with companies desperate for workers to meet surging demand unleashed by a rapidly reopening economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 406,000 for the week-ended May 22, the Labor Department said. That was the lowest since mid-March 2020 and marked the fourth straight weekly decline in applications.

In a separate report on Thursday, the Commerce Department confirmed that gross domestic product increased at a 6.4% annualized rate last quarter. The unrevised estimate followed a 4.3% growth rate in the fourth quarter.

After last week’s setback was fueled by talk of a deal between the United States and Iran to end the sanctions against the rogue nation, the trade has been cautious but to the upside as most traders now believe that increasing global demand will offset any rise in supply over the long-run. Furthermore, traders also believe that OPEC and its allies have the ability to adjust production levels to cancel the increased supply should the need arise.

The on-going talks between the U.S. and Iran will be the hot topic next week at the June 1 meeting of OPEC+. The producers will have to assess whether to change plans for easing production curbs against the prospect of additional Iranian supply.

Story continues

Late in the session on Thursday, the main trend remained down, but momentum shifted to the upside. This puts the markets in a position to challenge recent highs.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, on Sunday sought to tamp down concerns that Joe Biden’s plans on infrastructure, jobs and families will cause inflation, saying spending will be phased in over a decade.

“It’s spread out quite evenly over eight to 10 years,” the former chair of the Federal Reserve told NBC’s Meet the Press.

She said the Fed would monitor inflation carefully.

“I don’t believe that inflation will be an issue but if it becomes an issue, we have tools to address it,” Yellen said. “These are historic investments that we need to make our economy productive and fair.”

Addressing Congress on Wednesday, Biden said his “American Jobs Plan is a blue collar blueprint to build America. That’s what it is.”

He has said his plans will be paid for by a series of tax increases on the wealthiest Americans, less than 1% of the population, and by raising corporate taxes. Some Democrats have expressed concerns such increases will slow economic growth.

“We’re proposing changes to the corporate tax system that would close loopholes,” Yellen said.

“This comes also in the context of global negotiations to try to stop the decades-long race to the bottom among countries in competing for business by lowering their corporate tax rates. And we feel that will be successful.

The president has pledged that no family earning under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxesJanet Yellen

“The president has pledged that no family earning under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes. And we’ve been assiduous in sticking to that pledge.”

Republicans oppose corporate tax increases. The Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy told Fox News Sunday: “Academics would say if you raise taxes on corporations, you have lower wages, you have less investment, and you hurt shareholders. Think pension funds.

“Now, if it’s OK to have lower wages for working people, it’s a blue collar thing. If it’s OK to have less investment, it’s a blue collar thing. But if you want higher wages, if you want more investment, if you want more efficient deployment of capital, than it’s anti-blue collar.”

Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation, the White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, countered Cassidy’s claims.

Corporations, he said, “got that giant tax cut in 2017 [under Donald Trump]. What we’re talking about is just rolling some of that tax cut back. So we’re talking about putting the rate back up to 28%. It was 35% before that tax cut came. So corporates would still have a lower tax rate than the rate they had prior to 2017.

“We think that 2017 tax cut didn’t meet its promise. You didn’t see massive investments in [research and development], you didn’t see wages go up. What you saw was CEO pay go up … So we think we can raise those taxes on corporations and fund the things that make the economy grow. Bridges, roads, airports, rail.”

Republicans also oppose the scope of Biden’s infrastructure proposals, contending priorities such as expanding green energy, electric cars and elder and child care should not be pursued.

“The administration needs to kind of be honest with the American people,” Cassidy said. “If you really want roads and bridges, come where Republicans already are. If you want to … do a lot of other stuff, well that’s a different story. Roads and bridges, we’re a lot closer than you might think.”

Yellen would not speculate on whether Biden would accept a bill from Congress that does not include a way to pay for the spending increases he wants.

“He has made clear that he believes that permanent increase in spending should be paid for and I agree,” she said.

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