Author: insighter

An above-ground swimming pool can mean summertime fun in the backyard, but installing one can cost a thousand dollars or more. Paying with cash is an interest-free way to cover the cost of a pool, but financing options can help spread payments over time. Can you finance an above-ground pool? You can finance the cost of an above-ground pool a few different ways. Credit cards, “buy now, pay later” plans and retailer financing let you borrow money and make payments until the amount is paid off. The cheapest option offers zero or low interest. Pool loans are another way to…

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Last summer, Derrika Richard felt stuck. She didn’t have enough money to afford child care for her three youngest children, ages 1, 2 and 3. Yet the demands of caring for them on a daily basis made it impossible for Richard, a hairstylist, to work. One child care assistance program rejected her because she wasn’t working enough. It felt like an unsolvable quandary: Without care, she couldn’t work. And without work, she couldn’t afford care. But Richard’s life changed in the fall, when, thanks to a new city-funded program for low-income families called City Seats, she enrolled the three children…

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  Trade Roots, a Wareham-based Cannabis dispensary grows cannabis plants for making CBD with THC in their greenhouse, and manufactures CBD products for sale in their shop and distribution to buyers.  John Tlumacki | Boston Globe | Getty Images Cannabis stocks leapt on Tuesday afternoon, buoyed by a Biden administration decision to ease federal restrictions on marijuana. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, NBC News reported, citing four sources with knowledge of the decision. For more than 50 years,…

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California said its population grew last year for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 amid decreased mortality and a pickup in legal immigration, indicators that may provide benefits to the world’s fifth-largest economy. A report released Tuesday by the California Department of Finance showed that as of Jan. 1, the state’s population increased 0.17% to 39.13 million, adding over 67,000 people. Of the state’s 58 counties, 31 had gains, with most of that growth concentrated in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Inland Empire near coastal Southern California.  Seven of California’s 10 largest cities gained residents in…

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There’s something appealing about the idea of a do-it-yourself home-improvement project. By handling a job yourself, you can save money on labor costs and enjoy work that’s been done with your own hands. But the reality is some projects are better left to the experts. Professional contractors can handle tasks that are complicated, time-consuming or downright unpleasant. Whether you plan to spruce up your entire home or just remodel part of one room, you’ll want to make a smart choice between doing it yourself or hiring and paying a pro. When you could try DIY The project is something you…

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McDonald’s employee giving change to a customer. Jeffrey Greenberg | UIG | Getty Images Some of America’s best-known corporations are saying their consumers are being pinched by inflation as prices continue rising. Inflation has dominated corporate America’s discourse over the past three years following the pandemic-induced easing of monetary policy and trillions of dollars in Covid relief. Though the pace of price growth has cooled since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in early 2022, consumers are still feeling the squeeze — and often tightening purse strings — as costs continue climbing. “It is clear that broad-based consumer pressures…

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If you’re still struggling to fill seasonal roles, take a page from these business owners on welcoming new recruits, standing out from the competition, and bringing employees back summer after summer.

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Japan’s stock market has been on fire over the past few years. The Nikkei 225, which tracks the 225 largest firms by market cap in Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange, has surged 130% from its COVID-induced low in March 2020 to a record high of over 38,000. That’s even better than the impressive 121% surge from the U.S.’s equivalent index, the S&P 500, over the same period. Japanese stocks’ recent run is quite the shift from the pain of the previous three decades. The Nikkei 225 last hit a record high during a market bubble in 1989, before three “lost decades”…

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We’ve all been there — you’re knee-deep in a search for a place to stay while traveling when a hotel name you don’t recognize pops up. Not knowing whether it’s part of a chain, oriented to luxury travelers or if it includes free breakfast can make choosing a hotel difficult. In this guide we’ll discuss Westin hotels, which is part of the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program, including what they’re like and what you can expect when staying at one of these properties. Westin hotels are a part of Marriott. Together, with 31 other brands, Westin makes up a portion of…

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A coin called TON has leapt in value in recent months, with investors betting its integration with messenger service Telegram could bring the cryptocurrency to the app’s estimated 900 million users. Telegram endorsed TON in September last year, saying the blockchain and associated token would be its “official Web3 infrastructure”. Earlier this month, TON said that Tether tokens could also be issued on its blockchain, allowing Telegram users to send the stablecoin to each other within the app. The TON token has surged, reaching as high as $7.63 on April 11, compared with around $2.21 a year earlier, according to…

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A Coca-Cola building in Zagreb, Croatia, Nov. 8, 2023. Denis Lovrovic | AFP | Getty Images Coca-Cola on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The beverage giant also raised its full-year outlook for organic revenue. Shares of the company fell less than 1% in premarket trading. Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: 72 cents adjusted vs. 70 cents expected Revenue: $11.30 billion vs. $11.01 billion expected Coke reported first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $3.18 billion, or…

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Pogo is an app that pays you to share your data about your shopping and more. Most of us could use a little extra wiggle room in our budgets. But the thought of taking on more hours at work or building a lucrative side hustle might put that dream out of reach. Pogo offers an easy way to see more dollars in your bank account. While you won’t have to put too much effort into this income stream, you will have to be comfortable sharing your purchase history and real-time location with the app. We explore how Pogo works and what…

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