Penske buys 2 North Carolina luxury dealerships
Penske Automotive Group chairman Roger Penske said the publicly-held retailer is pleased to enhance its premium retail automotive brand mix in the Southeast.
Does landscaping increase home value?
Landscaping can have a big impact on the impression a home makes. The front lawn leading to your door is usually what a visitor notices first; the view out the back can enhance the ambiance of interior rooms. The question is, how vital is it to invest in curb appeal to improve your home’s value? Is it worth prioritizing part of your home maintenance budget on your outdoor areas?
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) claims professional landscaping can increase a home’s price tag 15 percent to 20 percent more at the time of resale. “High-quality landscape designs usually have an ROI of 20 percent to 30 percent of the overall house value,” says Bryan McKenzie, a landscape designer and co-founder of gardening advice site bumpercroptimes.com.
However, not all projects deliver on the promise, and some can potentially decrease property value. Where you see beauty, others may see a burden or even a hazard.
Let’s dig more deeply into when landscaping decreases or increases home value — and what projects may offer the best opportunity to return more on your investment.
Red Lobster heads in right direction, key shareholder says
The tide at Red Lobster is rising, with key shareholder Thai Union saying its losses at the Orlando-based company have fallen significantly.
The Thailand-based seafood supplier reported that its share of loss from operations in Red Lobster decreased by 66% in the second quarter compared with the same time last year.
Converted from Thai currency, the loss in the quarter this year was about $2.7 million, improved from a loss of about $8 million last year.
“This is a massive improvement,” said Thai Union Group CFO Ludovic Garnier. “This is going in the right direction.”
In an Aug. 8 presentation, Thai Union attributed the smaller loss to price increases and lower food and labor costs.
The improvement follows Thai Union reporting a “share of profit from operations” for Red Lobster in the first quarter of this year.
“It’s continued evidence of stabilization at Red Lobster,” said San Diego-based restaurant analyst John Gordon.
Thai Union, whose brands include Chicken of the Sea tuna, became a Red Lobster stakeholder in 2016 before teaming up with a group of investors in 2020 to acquire the rest of the company from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Capital.
UAW, Detroit 3 spar as 'particularly challenging' contract deadline looms
After a week in which UAW President Shawn Fain threw Stellantis’ initial proposals in a trash can, hopes for a quick deal are dwindling as next month’s deadline approaches.
A megahost might run your Airbnb: Why it matters
By Sam Kemmis | NerdWallet
Airbnb has changed a lot since its humble couch-surfing beginnings in 2007. What started as a way for homeowners to earn extra income by renting out their spare bedrooms has become a multibillion-dollar, industry-disrupting giant.
The majority of travelers now rent entire residences rather than stay with hosts. Nights booked at private rooms made up only 16% of U.S. short-term rental bookings in May 2023, an all-time low, according to a report from AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics company.
And many of the hosts renting their homes are not mom-and-pop homeowners trying to earn extra income. They’re large management companies with multiple properties in their portfolios, some with dozens or even hundreds.
More than 30% of active listings in the U.S. are managed by hosts with 21 or more properties, according to data provided by AirDNA. That’s more than the 26% of listings managed by single-property hosts.
In other words, almost three in four Airbnb listings are now managed by hosts with more than one property in their portfolio. This trend raises the question: Is staying with a mega-host good for travelers?