Latest news with #Abernethy
Daily Record
23-05-2025
- Daily Record
Fundraising effort to help Ukrainian children visit Dumfries and Galloway
A group of 27 children from the east of the country will be coming to the region in August following the success of a similar trip last year. Children from war-torn Ukraine are set to visit Dumfries and Galloway – if a fundraising effort is successful. A group of 27 children from the east of the country will be coming to the region in August following the success of a similar trip last year. All of the children have either lost parents or close relatives during the war or have family volunteering on the frontline, which is just 25km from their homes in Lyubotin, near Kharkiv. The trip aims to give the youngsters some respite from the horrors of war and they'll be staying at Abernethy's Barcaple Outdoor Centre near Ringford with their teachers – but funds are needed to make sure the trip happens. Centre director, Dave Crudgington, said: 'The group had an amazing time staying in at Abernethy Barcaple, going on activities in the local area especially enjoying mountain biking and rock climbing. 'The community in Kirkcudbright warmly supported the group last year, giving them seats of honour at the Kirkcudbright Tattoo and from donations from the Rotary group. 'Ukrainian flags were flown at all town halls and many public buildings across Dumfries and Galloway in a show of support for the struggles of the Ukraine people while they were here last August. The group were really encouraged for the support they received while they were here with us. 'This year we are planning a Burns supper and ceilidh to give them a truly Scottish experience! 'Abernethy have committed to fully funding the trip this year and due to success of last year's trip there are nine more children coming. To pay for all the visas, flights, transport and a 12 night stay at Abernethy Barcaple we need to raise £36,000. 'Currently we have £26,000 donated or pledged but need help to raise the final amount. Last year's trip happened after Abernethy was approached by Simon Lidwell and Tatyana Bondarenko from St John's Church in Dumfries. Tatyana is herself a refugee from the war with Russia who lives in Dumfries and is also a committee member of the Hallmuir POW Chapel and cultural heritage centre near Lockerbie. She wanted to help a group of children from the Kharkiv region who had been taking part in online conversations with volunteers in Dumfries and learning about places in Scotland. The trip came together with thanks to the Help Lyubotin organisation, chapel members, MOOL and the Quartz group at John's Church. Dumfries Lions Club and Kirkcudbright Rotary Club were among the groups that helped provide with fundraising. This year, the Murray usher Foundation has donated £1,000 and Kirkcudbright Rotary has provided £1,400. Lockarbie Rotary are providing a trip to an Alpaca farm as well as fish and chips, with Station House Cookery School in Kirkcudbright donating a morning of cookery classes. Thanks go to them and all other groups and people who have supported the visit. • To support the fundraising appeal, click here.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Northland employers highlight benefits of paying living wage
'When you increase the wages, you attract more people with qualifications. 'If you're advertising for minimum wage, you lose some top candidates.' The living wage emerged as a response to growing poverty and inequality, which hold back many Kiwi workers, their families and the economy. The living wage is considered the minimum to provide workers and their families with the basic necessities of life factoring in expenses, rest, activities, and some savings. It is a voluntary amount that employers can choose to set as a base rate for their staff. It is currently set at $27.80 and will increase to $28.95 per hour from September 1. That's compared to the minimum wage, which is $23.50 an hour. While there is no data on how many Northland businesses pay the living wage, five are listed on Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand's website including Oromahoe Kindergarten. Wilson said that paying a living wage helps staff have more money to cover their bills, such as rent, mortgage, food, and power, and they have more money left over for leisure activities. 'It's not just about surviving, it's about thriving as well,' he said. 'At first, moving from minimum to living wage was a big jump, and we wondered how it would work, but we managed it. 'If you really want to, you can make it work.' Janine Abernethy, who owns Marsden Metals and Recycling, a Northland metal recycler, said all 18 of their staff are paid above the living wage except for a teenage cadet, who was paid 'just below it'. Abernethy said the living wage was 'a good barometer for employing people to understand what it costs to live now'. The familyowned company had paid the living wage 'forever', she said. 'We've never paid the minimum wage. 'We've always paid good wages for our staff. 'You just have to appreciate your staff.' However, Abernethy acknowledged that business owners had 'different circumstances'. There were other ways to improve workplaces for staff, she said. 'Wages are not the main factor of employment relationships between employers and employees. 'There are a whole range of things you need to consider ... we just recently offered medical insurance to the team. 'You have to make it so it works for both parties.' Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leah McKerrow said paying the living wage would be 'challenging' for employers with a lot of staff. 'It's not a small investment, but many want to pay well because that's the way they attract staff. 'But for some, that means a 20% increase in their overall salary bill, and they can't afford it either; things are also going up for them, like rent increases.' McKerrow said that, generally, employers want to pay their employees well. 'They know it's important for job satisfaction and retention. 'The living wage is slightly out of reach for some of them. 'Many are wanting to pay well, but the living wage requirements' impact overall is too great.'
Business Insider
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Rosenblatt Securities Remains a Buy on PDF Solutions (PDFS)
In a report released today, Blair Abernethy from Rosenblatt Securities maintained a Buy rating on PDF Solutions (PDFS – Research Report), with a price target of $31.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $19.19. Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty Discover companies with rock-solid fundamentals in TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter. Receive undervalued stocks, resilient to market uncertainty, delivered straight to your inbox. According to TipRanks, Abernethy is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 5.5% and a 56.62% success rate. Abernethy covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as PDF Solutions, Pegasystems, and Ansys. PDF Solutions has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $30.00. PDFS market cap is currently $750.6M and has a P/E ratio of 185.23. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 24 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders buying their shares of PDFS in relation to earlier this year. Most recently, in February 2025, MICHAEL B GUSTAFSON, a Director at PDFS bought 4,000.00 shares for a total of $92,240.00.
Business Insider
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Rosenblatt Securities Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Bentley Systems (BSY)
Rosenblatt Securities analyst Blair Abernethy maintained a Buy rating on Bentley Systems (BSY – Research Report) today and set a price target of $53.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $43.66. Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty Discover companies with rock-solid fundamentals in TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter. Receive undervalued stocks, resilient to market uncertainty, delivered straight to your inbox. Abernethy covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as PDF Solutions, Pegasystems, and Ansys. According to TipRanks, Abernethy has an average return of 5.5% and a 56.62% success rate on recommended stocks. Currently, the analyst consensus on Bentley Systems is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $52.09. The company has a one-year high of $57.19 and a one-year low of $36.51. Currently, Bentley Systems has an average volume of 1.45M.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fox TV Condemns ‘Appalling' Kanye West Super Bowl Ad for Swastika Tees: ‘We Regret These Commercials Aired'
Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy condemned Kanye West's Super Bowl LIX ad that directed viewers to swastika T-shirts in a note to staff on Wednesday. The ad ran in three markets (Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta) during Super Bowl LIX and encouraged viewers to go to his website, However, the site only sold one item — a T-shirt with a swastika on it, called 'HH-01,' which West was selling for $20. 'The ad, which was presented as a legitimate online apparel site before and during the airing of the Super Bowl, was switched at some point afterwards, and completely outside of our stations control respondents to the commercials were redirected toward the marketing of a wholly appalling product,' Abernethy said in his email. It appears West took pains to deceive both Fox and the local news stations. According to multiple reports, at the time the ad aired, the website had sales listings for multiple items of clothing. However, within an hour of the ad airing, all of those items were removed and replaced with just one option: the Swastika tee. Abernethy continued his statement on the matter and said, 'We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of antisemitism. As you well know, Fox is a strong supporter of such organizations as the 'Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,' the 'United Jewish Appeal Federation, and others through direct support or on-air promotion of their campaigns and we will continue to work with them in combating antisemitism.' Fox received substantial social media backlash and was called out by the The Anti-Defamation League on Monday to condemn the ad. The ADL also created a petition urging others to demand a response from the network. 'At the Super Bowl, hate took a front-row seat. Kanye West promoted an ad with a link to swastika T-shirts, broadcasting it to millions on live TV,' the ADL website statement read. 'Just days earlier, his dangerous rants on X praised Hitler, self-identified as a Nazi, and spread antisemitic vitriol. In 2022, ADL identified 30 incidents of harassment, assault and vandalism linked to Kanye's online outbursts. We refuse to let hate win. Bigotry has consequences. Join ADL in demanding that Fox Sports condemn this ad and never give hate a platform again.' On Tuesday, Shopify shut down the website, but was running for more than 24 hours and allowed customers to purchase the antisemitic merchandise. Shopify shared a statement about its decision: 'All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify.' You can read Abernethy's full email to staffers, as first reported by Variety, below:To All FTS Employees: I wanted to take a moment to address a commercial that ran in three of our local television station markets during Super Bowl LIX on Fox. The ad, which was presented as a legitimate online apparel site before and during the airing of the Super Bowl, was switched at some point afterwards, and completely outside of our stations control respondents to the commercials were redirected toward the marketing of a wholly appalling product. We regret that these commercials aired in these three markets, and we strongly condemn any form of antisemitism. As you well know, Fox is a strong supporter of such organizations as the 'Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,' the 'United Jewish Appeal Federation,' and others through direct support or on-air promotion of their campaigns and we will continue to work with them in combating antisemitism. Jack The post Fox TV Condemns 'Appalling' Kanye West Super Bowl Ad for Swastika Tees: 'We Regret These Commercials Aired' appeared first on TheWrap.
