Latest news with #Hackett
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Wexford woman honoured with award for her life-long contributions to the counselling and psychotherapy profession
Former Cathaoirleach Bernie Hackett who hails from Gorey received the national Carl Berkeley Memorial Award at a ceremony held at the Maryborough Hotel in Cork. The award recognises a member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) who has made exceptional contributions to the development of the counselling and psychotherapy field by creating or influencing projects or development work at the local and/or national level. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Molloy congratulated Ms Hackett on a career that is the embodiment of the Carl Berkely Memorial Award saying: 'I had the absolute pleasure to work closely with Bernie for many years when she served on the Board and as Cathaoirleach. Bernie has dedicated more than 40 years to the fields of counselling, clinical supervision, and the training of future professionals. "Throughout her distinguished career, she has consistently earned the highest praise and admiration from both colleagues and students for the exceptional quality of her work.' Ms Hackett has been a fully accredited and active member of the IACP since 1991. She has made significant contributions to the organization, initially serving on the Complaints Committee before taking on the role of Chair of that Committee. She was an active member and later Chair of the Supervision Committee, as well as Chair of the Supervisor's Forum Organizing Committee. She also served on the Board of the IACP, before being elected to the position of Cathaoirleach in 2020. Her unwavering dedication and commitment to her roles have consistently demonstrated professionalism, resulting in impressive outcomes. Furthermore, she has served as a highly positive and influential representative of the IACP. Speaking during her acceptance speech at the award ceremony, Bernie Hackett said: 'I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of all IACP members who have given their time voluntarily over the years and with whom I have had the privilege of working in many different roles. Thank you very much to the members of the Professional Practice and Supervision Committees for nominating me, I'm truly honoured and humbled to receive the Carl Berkeley Memorial Award.'
CNBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
The S&P 500 just sprinted through a key indicator as Wall Street cheers the rollback of tariffs
The 90-day pause on most tariffs between China and United States took the worst case scenarios off the table for Wall Street and spurred a rally that smashed through a notable milestone for chart watchers. The S & P 500 rose 3.3% on Monday and closed well above its 200-day moving average. That level had been seen as a potential ceiling on the market rebound by skeptical strategists. The strength of the move on Monday means that busting through the 200-day looks like just a footnote in what has become a rapid rebound for the market. "This is an example where the fundamentals and the technicals intersected at such an aggressive level that the traditional analysis is tough. ... This is to me more supply and demand of shares technical than it is necessarily levels here and levels there," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide. The fact that stocks continued to add to their gains throughout the day suggests there was significant buying from institutional investors who were either short or underweight the market, Hackett said. "We blew through the 200-day, we blew through the previous resistance levels, and we're not weakening through the day. The CMT 101 is you blow through the 200-day and then you settle back on top of it. The fact that that's not happening tells me that this caught people off guard more than we are giving it credit for," he added. CMT refers to chartered market technician, which is a certification for technical analysis held by many professional strategists and fund managers, including Hackett. The rally could take out another milestone this week, as the S & P 500 is just one more push away from turning positive on the year. The index is less than 1% below the mark of 5,881.63, where it closed on Dec. 31.
CBS News
01-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
CASA Sacramento seeks volunteers to support foster kids
SACRAMENTO – May 1 is Big Day of Giving, an annual fundraiser that inspires people in the community to donate to local nonprofits. One group taking part in the event is CASA Sacramento, an organization that serves foster care youth with trained volunteers who can make a big difference in their lives. "The saying is, 'It takes a village,' and it does take a village, and I do think that I'm part of that village," said Renee Hackett, a CASA Volunteer. Hackett took on the role after retiring three years ago. "I decided that's what I wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to make a difference in a child's life." CASA stands for Court-Appointed Special Advocate. The trained volunteers are appointed by a judge and work closely with foster youth. "Support them," Hackett said. "Help them realize their potential. Help cultivate that potential." Together, they spend quality time like playing sports, grabbing a bite to eat, or just hanging out. But the main job of a CASA is to champion for abused and neglected children in court. "We file reports every six months," Hackett said. "We do provide feedback when asked during court proceedings." "The kids are great," said Victor Adjei, another CASA volunteer. He sees what foster youth are up against and knows the impact he can have on a child's life. "I think what's more challenging is the circumstances that they're in," Adjei said. "A big part is them understanding that they're loved, you know that they belong." In Sacramento County, there are approximately 1,100 kids in the foster care system. This year, CASA Sacramento has 150 active volunteers supporting 15% of the foster youth population. "I don't think that there are enough services, individuals reaching out to build a relationship with these kids," Adjei said. "I think that's where CASA steps in." And for these kids who often move from home to home, CASA volunteers can be a lifeline. "The CASA is the most consistent person in that child's life, and I think that's a lot. That means a lot for a child," Hackett said. CASA Sacramento is looking for volunteers of all genders and educational backgrounds.
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Housing affordability: How a change to mortgages could benefit buyers into the tune of $20k
Prospective first-home buyer Sharna Hackett jokes that having a bit more money in her kitty might allow her to purchase a residence with 'an actual kitchen bench'. In 2023, Ms Hackett moved back to Melbourne after securing her dream job as a video manager in the visual effects industry, following years of working overseas in the creative sector. Aged in her 40s, she is now hoping to buy a two-bedroom apartment not too far from her inner suburbs' workplace after spending 'quite a few years' saving up a deposit. Ms Hackett said that if mortgage serviceability buffers were cut – potentially expanding her home loan by tens of thousands of dollars – she might be able to buy in a pricier suburb than the ones she has been looking at, such as Fitzroy North or Westgarth. 'It might mean that I could be a little bit more open to things that are a little bit nicer or, you know, an actual kitchen bench,' she said. Ms Hackett doesn't see herself ever being able to afford a house unless she could flip an apartment for quite a bit more than she paid for it. New data analysed by property sales and research firm Oliver Hume shows there are more than 400 suburbs where the typical household's wage isn't enough to buy there. There are just 36 areas where the local wage would be enough to buy a house with, mostly in Melbourne's outer ring including Wyndham Vale, Mickleham and Cranbourne South. But a Senate Inquiry recommendation to change the rules around how banks lend us money could change the situation in dozens of suburbs — and boost first-home buyer budgets by more than $20,000. Oliver Hume's figures show that a 1 per cent reduction to the nation's 3 per cent serviceability buffer for home loans would be enough to put 60 Melbourne suburbs on the affordable list, based on local incomes. The buffer is set by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and used by banks to stress-test mortgages to ensure a buyer could cope if their interest rate was 3 percentage points higher — which saved many households from disaster as interest rates surged from 2022 to 2023. Melbourne-based Smart Lending director and senior loan writer Melissa Gielnik said that for every half a percentage point cut from mortgage serviceability buffers, about $20,000 would be returned to a home loan – but this would vary based on factors like home prices. Ms Gielnik said that she would like to see Australia's mortgage serviceability buffer reduced to a 2 per cent figure. 'Especially because (interest) rates are on decreasing, we've ridden the wave of the up, now we're coming down,' she said. 'So being on the downward slide, I kind of feel like they could lessen it.' And Ms Hackett said that if mortgage serviceability thresholds were decreased, a new deluge of buyers would likely enter the market. 'My only concern would be, what tends to happen when things become more affordable is prices seem to go up because more people are looking at the same stock,' Ms Hackett said. 'I'm not necessarily sure that it would make a significant difference, because then I would just be competing with more people.' Buyer's agency Cohen Handler Victoria's business director Zac Jacobs said that for some people, cutting the mortgage serviceability buffer would allow them to look at properties and suburbs they wouldn't otherwise consider due to financial constraints. 'I guess our fear always is, does that level the playing field for all first-time buyers and then negate it at the same time?' Mr Jacobs said. 'Because now they can afford by spend between $20,000 more, everyone can afford to spend $20,000 more, the prices go up $20,000. That's the issue I would say.' He added that the having an additional $10,000 to $20,000 could help cover a buyer's advocate's fees too. 'It could help them (a buyer) engage someone professional to help them find the right property, negotiate the property off market, for example, so don't have to compete at auction,' he said.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Only 4% of finance leaders say firms are ‘maturing and scaling' generative AI use
This story was originally published on To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Backing up views on generative AI held by board members, corporate finance executives likewise report that usage of the technology remains in the fledgling stage. Only 4% of finance leaders surveyed by The Hackett Group said their companies were 'maturing and scaling' their use of generative AI. More than a third said they either were 'not doing anything' (22%) or were 'waiting for the market to mature' (13%) before considering investments in the area. Most (61%) of the polled finance leaders indicated they were only in the initial stages of exploring generative AI. However, executives across business functions overwhelmingly characterized their companies as at least moving forward. About 9 in 10 (89%) of the broader sample said their generative AI initiatives were 'advancing.' That result portrayed a massive change from a Hackett survey conducted a year ago, when just 16% of executives cited business transformation through generative AI as a high priority. (A Hackett official declined to disclose the survey sample size or a breakdown of participants' titles, beyond stating that 'it's a statistically significant sample size for global 2000 organizations.') In its survey report, Hackett — a longtime executive advisory firm that is additionally positioning itself as a generative AI consultancy — criticized companies that are slow to assimilate AI into their operations. 'Early adopters of AI are redefining finance's role in driving business performance,' the firm wrote. 'Organizations that fail to embrace AI risk falling behind their competitors in agility, efficiency and strategic impact.' Despite the urgency, the report noted, confidence in AI remains low, with a host of concerns influencing finance executives to proceed cautiously. Interestingly, while 35% of them cited lack of implementation skills and experience as a 'major concern,' only 4% said the same about staff training and education. This embedded content is not available in your region. To address such concerns and accelerate the impact of AI, Hackett recommended that finance leaders: Develop a targeted generative AI strategy aligned with enterprise-wide AI goals. Prioritize AI use cases that drive tangible business value. Set realistic expectations for benefits and value potential. Build and refine a data ecosystem that enables cross-enterprise, AI-driven insights. Simplify complex processes and eliminate manual inefficiencies. Invest in upskilling finance teams to ensure AI readiness. Meanwhile, more than half (52%) of the surveyed finance executives said their teams were planning or piloting generative AI deployments addressing annual planning and forecasting. Next were business performance reporting and analysis (48%), strategic business planning support (35%), general accounting and close (26%), cost accounting (22%) and accounts payable (22%). Recommended Reading What CFOs should know about the state of the AI market Sign in to access your portfolio
