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The most recent example of global e-commerce powerhouse Amazon expanding its logistics portfolio was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal report published today.

According to the report, Amazon is taking steps to introduce a delivery service for businesses, entitled “Shipping with Amazon” (SBA), that would position it as a direct competitor with the parcel duopoly of UPS and FedEx.

As for the approach, Amazon would take with SWA, the report explained that the service would have Amazon picking up packages from businesses and shipping them to consumers, with the service expected to kick off in Los Angeles soon with third-party merchants selling goods through Amazon.com. And following the Los Angeles launch, Amazon would expand SWA to more cities.

Other key takeaways from the report noted that Amazon would like to open it up beyond third-party sellers to other businesses as well and that Amazon is “planning to undercut UPS and FedEx on pricing, although the exact rate structure is unclear.”

This development is in sync with recent comments made by Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky the company’s recent fourth quarter earnings call in regards to its logistics operations and plans.  

“We will continue to build our logistics capability…and that will be all the way to end delivery,” he said. “We’ve been able to increase service levels in many of the cases by delivering ourselves,” adding “… shipping cost is always going to be a strong part of our offering, and it’s going to be increasing due to our business model, and we, at the same time, look to minimize the cost by getting more and more efficient in that area.”

Stifel analyst Dave Ross observed in a research note that his firm believes these statements are consistent with Amazon’s long-standing primary directives of improving service and experience for its customer base, and reducing costs in the network.

“Of course, the idea is to grow the offering, if successful. This makes sense – at least in support of Amazon’s existing business, as it leverages independent contractors’ empty backhaul, so now they can come back to the fulfillment/sortation center with packages,” wrote Ross. “And while this won’t threaten FedEx and UPS from an existential point of view, it may start to change pricing discussions in the market, challenging large carrier margins. We continue to believe Amazon will do more in logistics but compete in a leaner, more targeted, asset-light fashion.”

Jerry Hempstead, president of parcel consultancy Hempstead Consulting,  said in an interview that Amazon does not yet have the infrastructure to do on demand pickups for the vast amorphous market, adding that he thinks they would want to chase that business.

“It looks to me like Amazon orders coming from select vendors will simply look and route like they are coming from an Amazon stocking location,” he said. “It’s not Amazon making sales calls on other companies soliciting business away from other carriers. What’s an “average” for older men? Note that every man’s buy viagra sample ages are different: Arousal might take a longer time Penile erection might be less full Time it takes to look as young, healthy and beautiful as possible. There are instances that the symptoms exhibited by the patients are just side effects of the generic medication are the purchase viagra online same as that of the original drug used to treat impotence or erectile dysfunction. Therefore avail this solution order generic cialis secretworldchronicle.com and stay blissful. It is a technique practiced at an infertility clinic in india lowest prices viagra in which a man donates its healthy sperm for future use in reproduction. Actually it will pump orders into others networks, just downstream. I think this is a mechanism for Amazon drop shipments originating from vendors and cutting out the intermediate stop in an Amazon fulfillment center. It takes out handling steps, reduces inventory, reduces time in transit etc.”

In recent years, Amazon has been diligent in expanding its own logistics network in the form of things like opening 20 regional sort centers and launching its own air network contracting with ATSG and Atlas Airlines, and getting into ocean freight. Other logistics-related efforts of note by Amazon include things like testing drone delivery of parcels, and building an Uber-like app for freight.

Some other things it has focused on include a new delivery service offering, entitled Seller Flex, which could prove to be a major competitive advantage for the e-commerce bellwether in terms of how it negotiates rates with FedEx and UPS. Seller Flex is geared toward making more products available with free, two-day delivery while helping to relieve overcrowded warehouses. According to a Bloomberg report, the initiative will drive Amazon more deeply into services typically handled for the Seattle-based company by UPS and FedEx.

And in late January Bloomberg reported that Seller Flex had been reamed to FBA Onsite, noting that along with changing the name of the offering, Amazon is recruiting more sellers and telling merchants they can keep goods in their own warehouses, as in the past merchants had to send goods to Amazon facilities and then pay extra fees to participate in FBA Onsite, as well as Amazon’s household goods fulfillment service called Subscribe and Save that offers discounts on frequently purchased items. Among the benefits of FBA Onsite cited in the report were: increasing inventory; shortening delivery times; reducing costs; and letting merchants send inventory to Amazon warehouses and pay Amazon to handle storage, packing and deliver.

“Amazon is growing like a weed, when it comes to its logistics and supply chain plans,” an industry observer said. “They have lots of logistics requirements and will continue to grow logistics capacity in a few different ways. One is by continuing to do business with 3PLs and carriers, and the other is to build out its own transportation network on its own, as well as increasingly provide third-party services and compete with 3PLs.”

By FS Staff

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We’ve seen markets get spooked recently as 10-year Treasury yields have continued to climb. On our recent Lifetime Income program, Jim Puplava delves into bond risk and what it means for your portfolio.

Bond Market Risk Ahead

We’re in the middle of a Federal Reserve rate raising cycle right now, and this may be setting the stage for bond market losses for many investors.

To start, the Fed has signaled that it intends to raise rates three times this year, and possibly into next year as well.

“That would take the Fed Funds rate from 1.5 to about 2.25%,” Puplava said. “Short-term rates are rising, but we’re also seeing medium-term rates break out. The 10-year Treasury note is now at 2.75%, with the possibility that we could see 10-year notes get up to 3 percent this year.”

When interest rates rise, the value of existing bonds decline. Bond values have been increasing since we saw record low interest rates in the summer of 2017, Puplava stated, and rising rates mean falling bond prices.

Multiple Drivers At Play

But interest rate increases aren’t the only catalyst for bond risk. There are a number of drivers here, including anticipation of the pickup in economic activity, rising wages, rising oil and commodity prices, and overall fears of inflation.

It appears the era of easy monetary policy is coming to an end, here, in Canada and England, Puplava stated, and possibly next year as the Bank of Japan and the ECB are expected to begin raising interest rates.

The Fed is shrinking its balance sheet, as well, which is withdrawing $30 billion a month in liquidity out of the bond market.

Deficits are increasing, and a lot of that is on automatic pilot due to increases in entitlements, Puplava said. All of these factors play into anticipated increases in bond risk.

“There are a number of factors that are all converging that are probably going to drive inflation and interest rates higher down the road,” Puplava said. “The important thing is … if you are in a bond fund, chances are, the bonds in the fund are long-term bonds, meaning that they’re impacted by an increase in interest rates.”

Bond ETFs Present Risk

Many investors in bond ETFs may face bond risk as interest rates increase.

“You can actually see principle losses that are greater than what you’re receiving in income,” Puplava said.

It’s important to remember that as interest rates rise, prices fall on bond funds, negating the returns that you’ve earned from interest. If bond yields spike higher, you can lose more in principal than what you’d make back in interest, as has already happened to many bond investors in the first month of this year.

In the past, we’ve seen a brief period with rises in rates. Addictions are extremely common in people with the chronic pancreatitis. discount cialis http://respitecaresa.org/event/winter-break-camp-ages-6-17/ The buildup discount sildenafil of plaque in the penile arteries may also reduce the coronary arteries and cause a heart attack. If cheap levitra the quality of pills complies with FDA standards, it doesn’t matter if you take brand or generic form, as both the versions are meant purely to solve your issue regarding impotency. Osteopaths viagra effects women use a range of techniques to treat patients and provide intervention for people who are predisposed to a number of mental health disorders,” Fergus said. We had them in 2011 and again in 2013, after which they came down quickly, Puplava noted. Since 2009, most have been earning interest on bond funds with principal left intact because interest rates were declining.

Now, however, things are different. We’re starting from a historically low level of interest rates, so strategies for wealth preservation are going to be different this time.

“This time around, bond funds may no longer be the hedge against falling stock prices as they have been in the recent past,” Puplava said. “It’s been almost 37 years since we saw a bear market in bonds. … We could be approaching a similar period again, as deficits begin to explode in the latter part of this decade and most certainly in the next decade.”

How To Protect Yourself

This transition in bonds may not be linear, but present us with a series of storms.

If you are in bond funds and long-term bonds, it makes sense to begin to shift into shorter-term bonds to protect principal.

For investors who can afford it and who have portfolios that are large enough, it may make sense to go into a laddered bond portfolio with staggered maturities, so that every single year, bonds come due. That way, investors don’t lose any principal and can reinvest in higher-yielding bonds or other assets.

It may also be beneficial to consider what are called adjustable rate bonds, which pay interest that resets with rising interest rates every quarter or 6 months.

Puplava also recommends using a few of the best actively-managed bond portfolios.

“The problem with bonds in bear markets is a bond bear market lasts a very long time,” Puplava said. “When they begin, they can last for decades. If you are in bond funds, you need to start taking evasive action now.”

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According to The Pulse Of Radio, PEARL JAM bassist Jeff Ament revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone that he will release his third solo album, titled “Heaven/Hell”, in March. Ament is the second member of the group to issue a solo effort in the past year, following drummer Matt Cameron‘s solo debut, “Cavedweller”, in late 2017.

Ament did not indicate an exact date for the release or whether he would tour behind it. PEARL JAM itself has been writing its 11th studio LP and is heading out on European and North American tour dates this spring and summer.

Ament did discuss his favorite 2017 albums in the article, naming records by ST. VINCENT, THE WAR ON DRUGS, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, MOGWAI, AT THE DRIVE-IN, PORTUGAL. THE MAN and THE XX among his top albums of last year.

In addition to a full month of European dates, PEARL JAM will play two shows apiece at Seattle’s Safeco Field, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park, as well as a gig in Missoula, Montana. It’s not clear whether more North American dates are in the works.

Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is working on a new book focusing on his behavior during the decades before he shed his addictions and was able to achieve sobriety.

Adler’s tortured history with substance abuse is well known to GNR fans. Although the other members of the band’s classic lineup had their own semi-distant relationship with sobriety during their early years, Adler’s heroin addiction cost him his job in 1990, and he’s had his ups and downs since; several years ago, he was forced to postpone a tour with his band Adler in order to enter rehab after a drinking relapse.

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Sober by his own estimation for four years now, Adler has decided it’s time to commemorate that dark chapter in his life by rounding up other people’s stories of his behavior and collecting them in a book he’s titled Steven Adler: The S— My Friends Remember I Did. “Now that I’m sober, I’m talking to people and they’re telling me stories, and it’s just blank up there,” Adler admitted of his own recollections. “There’s nothing there. So I decided I’m gonna put a book together — a reminder of the stories.”

Fans who have memories of time spent with or around Adler during his pre-sobriety period are encouraged to share them at his Steven Adler Stories website, where he’s collecting “memorable, hilarious or downright wild” tales. The new book will mark his second outing as an author, following his 2010 memoir, My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N’ Roses.

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IROQUOIS COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Iroquois County officials are talking about what business owners can do if a disaster strikes.

The EMA Coordinator will be meeting to talk about how they can prepare before and after in the case it happened. An owner in Watseka knows clean up isn’t easy.

“These are places where people go, these are places people work if those things are not there and they’re not able to recover from a disaster than the local economy cannot recover.” 

“There are a number of businesses within the city of Watseka and outside the city where flooding has occurred umm that often have their business plans for emergencies and know what they need to do if they suffer a flood again.” 

And the clean up goes beyond just taking care of the building. EMA Coordinator Eric Ceci says it’s important to be prepared ahead of time.

“A businesses response plan could be how do i keep my employees safe if a tornado strikes and then a recovery plan could be how do I insure employees continue employment if we don’t have a building anymore.” 

One of the issues Dan McCullough the owner of Shorty’s Bar and Grill is currently dealing with. It was not a natural disaster but a fire burned his business to the ground.

‘I’m worried more about the people that had no other job cause they’re my main concern because their job was all they had you might say.” 

All that’s left is this pile of debris.    

“I want to get it cleaned up because it’s an eyesore for the city.” 

He’s spent the last month working to figure out a clean up plan. And he hopes Shorty’s can still call this spot home. 

“Hopefully we can put a building here, I think it will look nice.” 

“A lot of people walk by here from around the area and we had a tremendous carry out business.” 

A cause of the fire has not been determined. McCullough tells me a surveillance system hard drive is being looked into. It was found in the debris.  He hopes that will give a clearer picture into how the fire started.

The event for business owners is being held with the help of the Watseka Chamber of Commerce. The EMA Coordinator will give a presentation.

He says if you aren’t able to come to the meeting you can contact him directly. His hope is every business has a disaster plan in place. 

Millbrae school officials are looking to end the district’s run as one of the few local school systems without a parcel tax, as administrators are expected to float such an initiative to voters this summer.

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After more than a year of planning and community outreach, the school board could approve formal pursuit of the tax soon, said Vahn Phayprasert, superintendent of the Millbrae Elementary School District.

“We are just excited about it, and we are going to do whatever it takes not only to educate but also fight a good fight,” said Phayprasert. “It’s good for the kids and for the district, in terms of financial support.”

The district Board of Trustees is set Tuesday, Feb. 6, to weigh a proposal designed to put a parcel tax on the June ballot. Assuming trustees support the recommendation, a $97 annual per parcel measure expected to span five years would go before voters, said Phayprasert.

The Millbrae Elementary School District is among only a select few in San Mateo County which does not already have a parcel tax in place. The district has passed bond measures previously, but that money may only be allocated toward facilities and cannot fund school operations.

For his part, Phayprasert said the parcel tax is necessary to help offset funding gaps generated through inadequate allocations from the state government to the public school system.

“Without additional local funding, or our community foundation, the school district can only provide what is required — meaning reading, writing and math. If our community wants to go beyond that and into enrichment programs … that’s the only way we can do it,” he said.

Phayprasert’s confidence the measure will receive the supermajority voter support needed to pass is bolstered through community polling conducted last year, showing 75 percent of voters would favor a parcel tax. Should the tax pass, seniors would be eligible for an exemption from paying it. The tax is slated to generate $700,000 annually.

The district has unsuccessfully sought voter support for a parcel tax three times previously, said Phayprasert. But greater awareness regarding the district’s difficulties generating revenue could lead to improved results this time around, said Phayprasert.

“We have a lot of parents and stakeholders that are supporting us,” he said.

Additional support has been offered by city officials, said Phayprasert, as the two sides met recently to discuss collaboratively campaigning in favor of the measure.

Educators are slated to present the district’s tax campaign strategy to the City Council next month, said Phayprasert, following an invitation by city administrators to publicly discuss the initiative.

In turn, Phayprasert said it is reasonable to expect educators would offer their support to the city, should officials pursue a bond measure to finance reconstruction of the city’s Community Center.

City officials are seeking money to build a new center, following an arson fire claiming the previous facility. City Hall received a $6 million insurance recoupment, but the payment covering the value of the nearly 50-year-old building is inadequate to address the cost of building a modern center, officials have said.

The City Council in November approved a proposed new center design, expected to cost as much as $72 million. Councilmembers also hired a pollster to gauge community support for a tax, and results are still pending as well as a timeline.

Phayprasert said he believes the two agencies could work in tandem to rally support for both measures standing to improve the quality of life and education in Millbrae.

“It’s best I feel to work together if we are try to go out for any tax, because it is one community,” he said.

As it relates to the school district’s pursuit of the tax, Phayprasert said he believes it is due time Millbrae joins the ranks of local communities where additional financial support is offered to the school district.

“It doesn’t make any sense why Millbrae doesn’t have one,” he said of the parcel tax. “So I’m excited.”

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105

For three years, Leilani Figalan walked by the College of the Canyons tennis courts every single day, never hearing a sound.

But one day in August, she heard the “thwack” of a tennis racket. And then the “plunk” of a ball.

“And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, they have classes of tennis here? I’ve got to check it out,’” she said. “I opened the gate … I said, ‘Is this a class?’ They said, ‘It’s a team. Come join.’ I hadn’t played in 20 years. They said, ‘It doesn’t matter’.”

And so Figalan became one of 12 teammates on the Cougars’ first-ever women’s tennis team.

The team is coached by Patty LaBat, who has experience coaching at the high school level and has also been teaching private sessions for the last 30 years.

She was originally selected as an assistant coach who would primarily handle recruiting. But when the original head coach wasn’t able to fully assume her role because of a knee replacement in mid-December, LaBat was promoted.

MORE: COC men’s basketball comes from behind to beat West LA

“You can tell that people are interested because I get phone calls and I get texts and stuff,” LaBat said. “They’ll start next year and I’ve recruited a couple kids for next year already. It’s exciting.”

Figalan and a handful of other players have prep tennis experience – there are players from Hart, West Ranch and Quartz Hill, to name a few. Some have more experience, some have less.

“I enjoy the college age a lot because they have so much going on in their background,” LaBat said. “And they’re all from different walks of life and from the Antelope Valley and from here and from LA and it’s just, it’s fun to bring them all together and they really created a nice team.”

For Figalan and another teammate over the age of 50, it’s the chance to reconnect with a sport that they stopped playing, but never stopped loving.

“I feel on fire,” she said. “…My first year or two here I was nervous. It had been years since I’d been back to school, and this makes me feel young again. So I feel fantastic and I can’t wait to win our first match.”

The Cougars practice two hours a day, five days a week at COC and have to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA. LaBat is already seeking players for next season that can meet those requirements.

“Two years of growing and just maturing would be a benefit to a lot of tennis players,” said the coach. “Maybe they’re not ready to move out. Maybe they want to stay here and hone their skills. That is a big pushing point that yes, we do have all the colleges coming to the tournaments to recruit.”

Canyons has its first match of the season today at 2 p.m. against Orange Coast at COC and will compete through April in Western State Conference play.

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The Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s basketball team already captured a win over Cedarville earlier this season, but Panthers interim coach Jason Mays expects a much different Yellow Jackets squad when the two sides square off Thursday.

Cedarville’s Patrick Bain, who was leading the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with 22.5 points per game, tore his ACL less than a week ago and will miss the remainder of the season.

Even without Bain, though, Mays insists the Yellow Jackets are a formidable foe — proven when Cedarville lost by just two points in overtime to Malone on Tuesday.

“They’re playing differently now,” Mays said. “They’re playing a lot more zone, playing four or five guards, and they’re shooting the ball freely. It’s a tough matchup for us, with a bunch of guards out there running around.”

On the flip side, while KWC has the ability to go small, Mays would prefer the Panthers stick with playing two big men and use their size around the basket.

“Offensively, we’ve got to pound it inside and make them guard us inside,” he said. “Defensively, when we get a stop, we need to push hard off that rebound and increase the tempo. If we do those two things, I think we’ll be in control of the game.”

KWC enters Thursday after dropping its last three contests, including a 96-77 loss at No. 13 Findlay on Saturday. The perimeter-oriented Oilers gave the Panthers a lot of trouble, and Mays envisions Cedarville trying to take a similar approach.

“We’re gonna have to really communicate on defense on our switches and getting through screens,” he said. “They’re gonna screen us 10 times a possession if they can, to get their shooters free. It’ll be an interesting game for us.”

On the season, Cedarville is averaging 77.6 points per game on 44.8-percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range. Grant Zadawski, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, is the Yellow Jackets’ top scorer at 11.9 points per game, followed by 6-7 freshman forward Conner Tenhove (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

The Panthers, meanwhile, are scoring 75.5 points per game on 47.6-percent shooting, including 35.6 percent from beyond the arc.

KWC is led in scoring by 6-foot senior guard Daniel Dzierzawski (13.8 ppg), followed by 6-8 junior forward Malek Harris (12.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg), 6-3 junior guard Rasheide Bell (11.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and 6-2 junior guard Brandon Hatton (11.7 ppg).

Mays also called the Panthers’ next two games crucial, considering his team is tied with three others — including Saturday’s opponent, Ohio Dominican — with a 6-7 mark in conference play. Cedarville is ninth in the G-MAC at 5-8, and could make up ground with a win over KWC.

Only the top eight teams in the league standings advance to the conference tournament.

“The reality is we need to win both these games this week,” he said. “However, that doesn’t change the fact that our focus is still on one game at a time. That’s just where we are right now.”

Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m., following the KWC women (11-8, 7-8) taking on league leader Cedarville (17-3, 12-2) at 5:30.