( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Martha Barrantes shares insights on SME growth, predicting trends like digital transformation, sustainability, and supply chain resilience. SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, December 28, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Renowned financial consultant and entrepreneur Martha Barrantes , with over 25 years of experience in accounting and financial management, has unveiled her latest projections for the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the face of current global economic shifts. Known for her commitment to empowering SMEs, Barrantes provides invaluable insights into how businesses can navigate challenges and seize opportunities to achieve sustainable growth. "Economic shifts present both obstacles and openings for SMEs," says Barrantes. "Understanding the trends and proactively adapting to these changes is the key to ensuring long-term success. SMEs must be agile, innovative, and well-prepared to leverage the opportunities that come their way." Analyzing the Economic Landscape Barrantes explains that the global economic environment is being shaped by several transformative factors, including technological advancements, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures. While these elements pose challenges, they also create fertile ground for innovation and growth within the SME sector. "SMEs are uniquely positioned to adapt quickly to changing market conditions," Barrantes notes. "Unlike larger corporations, their smaller scale and flexibility allow them to pivot strategies and explore new business models with relative ease. However, this requires a clear understanding of the economic trends at play." Key Projections for SME Growth Based on her extensive experience and analysis, Barrantes shares several projections for SME growth in the current economic climate: 1. Digital Transformation Will Accelerate Barrantes predicts that the digitalization of SME operations will continue to gain momentum. "Businesses that invest in technology to improve efficiency, customer engagement, and scalability will have a significant competitive advantage," she asserts. From eCommerce platforms to cloud-based accounting systems, digital tools are becoming indispensable for SMEs aiming to streamline operations and expand their market reach. Barrantes highlights the importance of adopting technologies that align with specific business goals. 2. Sustainability as a Growth Driver Another key projection from Barrantes is the growing emphasis on sustainability. "Consumers and investors are increasingly prioritizing environmentally responsible businesses," she observes. "SMEs that integrate sustainable practices into their operations will not only contribute to a healthier planet but also attract a loyal customer base and investment opportunities." Barrantes advises SMEs to explore energy-efficient technologies, reduce waste, and partner with eco-conscious suppliers to position themselves as leaders in sustainability. 3. Supply Chain Resilience Will Be Paramount The global supply chain disruptions of recent years have underscored the need for robust supply chain strategies. Barrantes emphasizes that SMEs must build resilience into their supply chains to weather future uncertainties. "Diversifying suppliers, investing in inventory management systems, and fostering strong supplier relationships are crucial steps for mitigating risks," she explains. SMEs that proactively address supply chain vulnerabilities will be better equipped to maintain operations and meet customer demands. 4. Talent Retention and Development Will Define Success Barrantes projects that talent acquisition and retention will be central to SME growth. In an increasingly competitive labor market, businesses that prioritize employee development and well-being will stand out. "Offering competitive benefits, fostering a positive workplace culture, and investing in upskilling programs will help SMEs attract and retain top talent," she advises. "Your team is your most valuable asset, and their growth directly impacts your business's success." 5. Access to Financing Will Evolve Securing financing remains a critical factor for SME growth, and Barrantes anticipates that innovative financing options will become more accessible. "From crowdfunding platforms to fintech solutions, SMEs have more avenues than ever to secure funding," she notes. "However, it's essential to approach financing strategically and align it with long-term goals to avoid over-leverage." Strategies for Navigating Economic Shifts In addition to her projections, Barrantes offers actionable strategies to help SMEs thrive amid economic changes: Focus on Financial Planning: "Robust financial planning is the cornerstone of stability," Barrantes asserts. She encourages SMEs to regularly update their financial forecasts and maintain a cash reserve to navigate uncertainties. Embrace Innovation: Innovation is a powerful tool for overcoming challenges. Barrantes advises SMEs to explore new markets, diversify products, and adopt creative approaches to problem-solving. Prioritize Customer Relationships: Building strong relationships with customers can help SMEs maintain loyalty and adapt to evolving demands. "Understanding and addressing customer needs is essential for long-term growth," she emphasizes. Leverage Professional Expertise: Barrantes recommends seeking guidance from financial consultants and industry experts to navigate complex decisions. "Collaborating with professionals can provide fresh perspectives and enhance strategic planning," she adds. Empowering SMEs for a Resilient Future Barrantes' insights highlight the immense potential within the SME sector, even amidst economic shifts. She believes that with the right strategies and mindset, SMEs can not only survive but thrive in the current landscape. "SMEs play a vital role in driving economic growth and innovation," she says. "By equipping these businesses with the tools and knowledge they need, we can foster a resilient and prosperous future." About Martha Barrantes Martha Barrantes, a Costa Rican entrepreneur, boasts over 25 years of expertise in Project Management, Finance, Accounting, and Tax Consulting. She has founded, steered, and guided businesses toward success, fostering innovation, productivity, and profitability. Barrantes holds a Master's Degree in Finance and Tax Consulting. Martha Barrantes marthabarrantes email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN28122024003118003196ID1109037938 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.The Indianapolis Colts could show up to the stadium on Sunday with nothing to play for. Or the scenario may call for a victory so they can remain alive in the AFC playoffs. Either way, the Colts' postseason fate hangs on other teams as they enter Sunday's game against the lowly New York Giants at East Rutherford, N.J. Indianapolis (7-8) is mathematically alive in the playoff hunt but trails the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos by two games with two contests left. The Chargers and Broncos both have games on Saturday. If both nine-win clubs win, the Colts will be eliminated and miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is well aware of the team's predicament and scenarios entering the game against the Giants (2-13), who have lost a franchise-record 10 straight games. "We still have an opportunity, with some help from other people," Richardson said. "But we just taking it one game at a time because it doesn't do us any good if everybody else does what they have to do to help us out and then we don't go out there and take advantage of it." Richardson (back/foot) sat out practice all week, and head coach Shane Steichen said Friday he is questionable to start Sunday, though he fell short of ruling him out. If Richardson is not ready to go, veteran Joe Flacco would be in line to start against New York. Flacco was just 1-3 as a starter when Richardson was sidelined or benched earlier this season. But Flacco (nine touchdowns, five interceptions) has a superior touchdown-to-interception ratio than Richardson (eight TDs, 12 interceptions) and has completed 66.5 percent of his passes compared to Richardson's 47.7 percent. No matter who starts, the game plan will revolve around star running back Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for 218 yards and three scores on 29 carries during last weekend's 38-30 home win over the Tennessee Titans. It was Taylor's second-most rushing yards in a game behind the club-record 253 he put up against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2020 season. The Giants are starting Drew Lock at quarterback for the fourth time in the past five games. Lock underwent an MRI exam on his passing shoulder Monday but no damage was found. He hurt it during Sunday's 34-7 road loss against the Atlanta Falcons. Lock is 0-3 as a starter this season and has completed just 52.7 percent of his passes. He has one touchdown and four interceptions in 129 attempts. "As a quarterback, the ball is in your hands every play and one or two bad plays can change a game," Lock said of his miscues. "You try to look at them individually, try to learn from each play individually and go onto the next week. Learn from what you did and just have a heavy emphasis on taking care of the ball." Giants coach Brian Daboll opted for Lock over Tommy DeVito, who is 0-2 as a starter this season. Daboll said he made the decision to continue the continuity from last week. Meanwhile, star rookie wideout Malik Nabers (toe) missed practice Thursday and called himself a game-day decision. Nabers has 97 receptions for 969 yards and four touchdown catches as one of the bright spots of the horrendous season. "It's tough on everybody. It's not just tough on me. It's tough on everybody," Nabers said of the team's troubles. "I'm continuing to keep my mental (attitude) strong, continue to move forward, continue to try to better the team, better myself. Lead by example. I feel like that's really all we can do in this state of mind that we're going through." In addition to Nabers, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (ankle), defensive back Dee Williams (knee), defensive lineman Cory Durden (shoulder) and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten (knee) were limited in practice on Friday. Center John Michael Schmitz (ankle), linebacker Micah McFadden (neck), and defensive backs Raheem Layne (knee) and Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin) sat out practice. Richardson was one of three Colts to miss practice on Thursday. The others were tight end Mo Alie-Cox (toe) and linebacker E.J. Speed (knee). In the most recent meeting, the Giants routed the Colts 38-10 late in the 2022 season. --Field Level MediaLegal cases taking a toll on Sean 'Diddy' Combs' wealth: Is he really in trouble?
Canadians face a fresh wave of scams as fraudsters seize on the Canada Post strike to try to trick victims out of their cash. The last few weeks have seen an “exponential” rise in attempted fraud, ranging from phishing emails to deepfake phone calls, says Octavia Howell, chief information security officer at Equifax Canada. “Any time there is a major political event, a major strike or anything like that, we’ll see an uptick,” she said in a phone interview. “Not only is there a Canada post strike ... it’s the holidays.” Scams related to parcels and deliveries typically tick up in step with online shopping orders this time of year, but the work stoppage at Canada Post has led to even more fraud attempts amid the confusion around shipments, Howell said. Comprehensive figures on the latest batch of scams are not yet available from Equifax Canada, but the credit bureau’s daily updates have marked the rise nonetheless. Rather than the roughly half-dozen daily consumer fraud reports of previous increases, Equifax Canada’s investigations team is filing up to “87 in one report in one day coming from the same IP addresses,” said Howell. She called the trend “insidious.” “We’re seeing exponential growth in the amount of scams that are actually happening ... because, one, holidays, and then two, people aren’t able to get their shipments out.” Mail carriers walked off the job on Nov. 15, halting deliveries of letters and packages at the start of the holiday shipping season. Canada Post cautions users that it never reaches out about a delivery via text or email unless it has been requested to. The Crown corporation has asked Canadians to be on guard for telltale signs of a phishing scam or fraud attempt, including poor grammar, imagery inconsistent with Canada Post logos and a tracking number at odds with its standard format. The Better Business Bureau similarly cautioned users when the strike kicked off. “Watch out for fake package delivery offers during Canada’s postal strike,” the non-profit said in a release last month. It advised potential victims to verify delivery services, avoid unsolicited shipment offers from little-known companies and check for accreditation by the bureau before selecting a service. It also noted that scammers may send false messages claiming to be from Canada Post or another carrier asking for payment for undelivered items or offering “priority service.” “Do not click on links in unsolicited emails or texts. Instead, visit the official website of the courier service for updates,” the bureau said. Canada Post recommends customers contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre if they receive a suspicious email, text or call related to the postal service.
Chris "The Bear" Fallica and Geoff Schwartz are joined Brett Ciancia of Pick Six Previews to discuss their College Football Playoff dark horse candidates. Geoff explained why he believes the Miami Hurricanes are a dark horse candidate for the play... It was a tough weekend for Miami fans, and apparently an even tougher one for their mascot. CNY Central anchor and reporter Ashley Wenskoski was at "The Dome" on Saturday covering Syracuse’s game against Miami when she called out the Hurricanes’ mascot, Sebastian, for hitting on her on the sidelines. "Sebastian the Ibis (Miami’s mascot) just kneeled down and asked for my number mid-drive," she wrote in a post on X. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM "Feels like he has bigger things to worry about with his team on the ropes in the 4th quarter at the Dome...but who am I to say." Syracuse knocked Miami out of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 42-38 win on Saturday for the program’s first top-10 win since 2017. Quarterback Kyle McCord completed 26 of 36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns to help the Orange rally from a 21-point deficit. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord (6) throws during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Miami on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) MIAMI’S CFP HOPES TAKE BIG HIT AFTER IT SQUANDERS 21-0 LEAD TO SYRACUSE; CLEMSON WILL PLAY IN ACC TITLE GAME With their playoff hopes in the hands of the CFP selection committee, it’s no wonder Sebastian couldn’t focus on the game. Wenskoski seemingly agreed. "And more importantly, Syracuse football won its biggest game in years & my team and I worked tirelessly to provide the best possible sports coverage," she wrote in a post on X in response to an article about the incident. "[Head coach] Fran Brown has re-energized a program in a fantastic sports town. I guess Miami's mascot simply couldn't watch that 4th quarter. Can't blame him." Head Coach Fran Brown of the Syracuse Orange looks on during the fourth quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at JMA Wireless Dome on September 20, 2024 in Syracuse, New York. (Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP But the mascot did respond to being called out on social media. "They do anything for clout," a comment from Sebastian the Ibis’ Instagram read on a post about the incident. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X , and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter . Paulina Dedaj is a Sports Reporter for Fox News Digital.
At Merrimack High School, some futures are made with a latheNone
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Pat King, one of the most prominent figures of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa, has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order. A judge in an Ottawa courtroom Friday said the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that King was guilty on one count each of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and counselling others to obstruct police. He was also found guilty of two counts of disobeying a court order. The Alberta resident was found not guilty on three counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing police himself. King could be facing up to 10 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin on Jan. 16. The Crown is seeking “significant” incarceration time in a penitentiary while the defence wants King to be sentenced to time served and a period of probation. King’s attorney Natasha Calvinho said right now she is focused on the sentencing hearing and will determine if any other action, such as an appeal, will be pursued at a later date. Calvinho said she and her client are disappointed with the ruling, but she said it was well reasoned. “I think what the more important takeaway here, and what we’ve been saying from the very beginning, Mr. King was acquitted of all charges related to inciting any form of violence, specifically intimidation of Ottawa residents,” Calvinho said outside the courthouse. “So yes, he was convicted, a couple counts of mischief for his social media posts, as the judge found, and will continue to fight another day.” The maximum sentence for mischief in this instance is 10 years. In January 2022 the convoy attracted thousands of demonstrators to Parliament Hill in protest against public-health restrictions, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the federal government. The event gridlocked downtown streets around Parliament Hill, with area residents complaining about the fumes from diesel engines running non-stop, and unrelenting noise from constant honking of horns and music parties. The federal Liberal government ultimately invoked the Emergencies Act to try and bring an end to the protests, which had expanded to also block several border crossings into the United States. Ottawa Police brought in hundreds of officers from police forces across Canada to force the protest to an end. King’s defence argued that King was peacefully protesting during the three-week demonstration and was not a leader of it. But the Crown alleged he was a protest leader who was instrumental to the disruption the protest caused the city and people who lived and worked nearby. The Crown alleged King co-ordinated the honking, ordering protesters to lay on the horn every 30 minutes for 10 minutes at a time and told people to “hold the line” when he was aware police and the city had asked the protesters to leave. The Crown’s case relied mainly on King’s own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the protest to document the demonstration and communicate with protesters. The court proceedings paused for about 10 minutes when King requested a short “health break” after the first verdicts on the mischief charges were read. Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland described the honking as “malicious conduct” intended to disrupt residents, workers, businesses and others from lawfully enjoying downtown Ottawa. Hackland also said that the videos show King was seen as and accepted the leadership role. He pointed to a quote from King, finding it “hilarious” that residents could not sleep for 10 days as “gleefully” aiding and abetting mischief. This evidence also played a role in determining King’s guilt in disobeying a court order and counselling others to do the same. These charges relate to the original Feb. 7, 2022 injunction against using air and train horns in downtown Ottawa which was launched by residents. The city successfully filed a similar injunction days later. As for counselling others to obstruct police, Hackland found King’s call to “hold the line” was telling people not to move from the protest site despite police orders. The judge said that phrase can be seen as a greeting between supporters of the convoy protest, but said there was no other logical interpretation in the context of King’s videos. In the days before a multi-day police removal operation began, King called on people to link arms and sit down with their backs to police if officers tried to move them. On the intimidation charges, Hackland said that a consistent theme of King’s videos were calls to remain peaceful and non-violent. He said that the target was always the federal government and COVID-19 policies, and specific individuals were not targeted by or through King’s actions. As for an intimidation charge related to blocking highways, Hackland said that finding guilt in this instance would be an “overly broad” interpretation of the Criminal Code as the blockade was done as part of a political protest, which is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. His trial was heard over several weeks between May and July. King still has charges of perjury and obstruction of justice that need to be dealt with which is a separate matter stemming from an April 2022 bail review hearing. Details of the testimony that led to the charges are protected under a publication ban, which exists for all information that arises during a bail hearing.Scindia aims to make postal dept profitable by 2029, seeks funds from Finance Minister