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New York Post
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
2025 Full Flower Moon: Shocking truths bloom under the 'assassin's moon'
Step up and shout out, folks, the Full Flower Moon in Scorpio is upon us. The Full Flower Moon rises and shines on May 12, 2025, at 12:56 PM EST in intense AF Scorpio, the sign of death and rebirth, intimacy and underbellies, sex and power, control and release. Full Moon May 2025 6 The Full Flower Moon is peaking at 22 degrees of Scorpio. Ambreen – What makes this moon even more acute is that it is peaking at 22 degrees of Scorpio. This is known as the 'assassin's degree,' as the energy is critical — kill or be killed — and associated with karmic contracts and responsibilities. But what needs to be slain or consumed is not another person but another version of ourselves. Paired with Pluto, our planet of shadows, retrograding and revealing in Aquarius, this killer Scorpio moon is meant to provoke, to point to the areas in life where we are stuck or stagnant, and raise a sharpened claw towards the way out. Onward and through.. Remember my babies, that those born with Scorpio moons have the powerful ability to rengenerate, and the divine capacity to alchemize pain into purpose, and we are all gifted with that medicine during this lunation. What is a Flower Moon 6 The full moon in Scorpio will directly oppose Uranus, our planet of the outlandish and the unexpected. Papilouz Studio – The full moon in Scorpio will directly oppose Uranus in Taurus, a planet known as 'The Great Awakener' for its capacity to disrupt, destroy, liberate, and cast us out and anew. This Uranian influence could unceremoniously edge us to burn the boats of before, choose freedom over fear, and courage over comfort. 'I am a necessary part of an important search to which there is no end.' Keith Haring Also, in the interest of public health and as the brilliant astrologer Evan Nathaniel Grim notes, this is the full moon when folks are most likely to catch an STI or an unwanted pregnancy. Look alive, wrap it up, and don't let your great awakening be a rash. Full Flower Moon 6 During the Full Moon, Mercury in Taurus will square Pluto in Aquarius. janez volmajer – During the full moon, Mercury in Taurus will form a tense square with Pluto. Mercury is the mind and its expressions, and Pluto is the buried, the exiled, and the subconscious, in kind and not so kind; this aspect gives rise to triggering conversations and erratic behaviors. If Taurus is the sun drunk surface, Scorpio is the truth that comes from the bottom up. Rest assured, though, whatever comes up (Pluto) and is let out (Mercury) is actually in service of improved stability and increased abundance (Taurus). 6 Artist Keith Haring paints a mural on the handball wall at Clarkson Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Newsday RM via Getty Images Fall apart to come together, so to speak. Full moons are always about release and revelation, but as Taurus/Scorpio is the axis of the possessive/obsessive, and form(Taurus)/transform (Scorpio), there's added impetus to let go, break free, and let others be. If Taurus is the sun drunk surface, Scorpio is the truth that comes from the bottom up. Artist and activist Keith Haring, himself a Taurus sun with a Scorpio moon, embodies this axis with the belief: 'I am a necessary part of an important search to which there is no end.' Here's to that ceaseless seeking. Flower Moon meaning 6 The Full Flower Moon gets his name from the blooms that flood the earth this time of year. jakkapan – As per the Farmer's Almanac, the Algonquin people called May's full moon the Flower Moon, a reference to the boom of blooms that carpeted North America in late spring. Other names for this moon include the Leaf Budding Moon, marking the awakening of flora and fauna as the weather warms, and the Planting Moon, denoting the time when seeds should be sown for the summer to come. The Cree called this month's moon the Egg Laying Moon and Frog Moon, while the Oglala knew it as Moon of the Shedding Ponies. From flowers to ponies, seeds to eggs, all names reflect the promise of vitality and the power of changing forms. In reference to the Flower Moon falling in the sign of rot and renewal, it becomes a symbol for what can flourish when we turn over the soil of ourselves. How will the full moon in Scorpio affect my zodiac sign? 6 The house within your birth chart ruled by Scorpio can tell you how this full moon will express itself in your life. Pamela Ranya – Because this full moon falls in a fixed axis, those with personal planets in the fixed signs: looking at you, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, and specifically those with placements between 18 to 26 degrees, will feel the effects of this lunation most acutely. To determine how this full moon will express itself in your life, look to the house within your birth chart ruled by Scorpio. When is the next full moon? The next full moon will be the Full Strawberry Moon in Sagittarius, rising on Wednesday, June 11th, and peaking around 3:44 a.m. Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Hiring And Retention Difficulty: Is It The Economy Or The Manager?
A help wanted sign. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) Hiring and retention of employees are difficult for demographic reasons, I've argued in a series of articles on Forbes. But a management expert offers a different perspective: 'The issue is not about people, it is really about owners and leaders, managers being cops instead of coaches.' That's the view of Rudy Miick, shared from an email with his permission. Current decade has lowest growth of working age population since the Civil War. The demographic issue is captured in this image, showing that the growth of the working-age population in the current decade, from 2020 to 2030, will be the lowest since the Civil War. Note the contrast with the huge increases from 1970 through 2010, when the baby boomers were entering their working years and the children of boomers entered their working years. At that time we also had women choosing to work. After World War II about one-third of adult women worked. By 1999 the proportion was up to 60 percent. This was an era of labor abundance. With many applicants for every open job, managers could be sloppy or even downright rude. Now, however, old management practices don't work because of the demographics. The poor management theory also has good basis. Miick argues for only hiring A+ workers, but also emphasizes that to do so the manager needs to know what an A+ worker is. If we don't define excellence, he writes, we won't get it. These ideas are not 'tight labor market' principles; they will help any business in any economic environment. An abundant labor force enables managers to hire and retain workers easily, but just hiring what Miick calls a 'pulse' won't provide great value to the customer nor low cost to the employer. It appears to me (Miick may disagree) that hiring and retention problems show up more in a labor-constrained economy. The labor-abundant economy enables easy hiring, so that management problems are masked. They would show up by a careful look at metrics such as customer satisfaction and cost per unit produced. In the current labor-constrained economy, poor practices slap managers across the face—though they often don't know what hit them. The long-term labor challenge, which will only improve a little in 2040, implies that investing in good management today will pay off for years to come. First-level managers play the largest role in employee productivity and retention. Retention expert Dick Finnegan relates his actual experience when responsibility for retention is pushed all the way down to team leaders. All too often business owners or senior executives pile so many responsibilities on first-level managers they are in a hurry to hire, skimp on coaching and take little time to provide feedback. The solution is for top level managers to understand the problem and then provide the training and resources that low-level managers need to be A+ themselves. So is hiring and retention difficult because of the manager or the economy? The answer is clearly Yes.
Forbes
28-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Rolling Back Biden Era SBA Rules Isn't Enough, SBA Must Also Modernize
SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler, center, looks at a submarine being manufactured at GSE Dynamics in ... More Hauppauge, New York, on April 24, 2025. (Photo by James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty Images) The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced it will eliminate a package of Biden- era policies that dramatically reduced underwriting standards within the 7(a) loan program, which the Trump administration maintains sacrificed its financial integrity and drove up taxpayer liability. As discussed below, the SBA also needs to focus on much-needed technology and underwriting updates. The agency's SBA 7(a) loan program guarantees a portion of a loan made by an approved SBA lender to a small business. The agency guarantees up to 85% of loans of $150,000 or less, and up to 75% of loans greater than $150,000 (with the maximum loan amount being $5 million.) SBA 7(a) loans are designed to help small businesses access financing for various business purposes. Made through SBA-approved banks and other lenders, the loans are known for their flexibility, allowing small businesses to use the funds for a variety of purposes, such as: The SBA itself does not lend money directly to borrowers. Lenders play a crucial role in the program, both in processing loan applications and in managing the loans after they are funded. The agency says it is 'restoring robust rules to end the era of reckless lending – preserving access to capital for America's small business owners and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,' according to an April 22 press release. 'The last Administration inherited a thriving 7(a) loan program but left it in critical condition – dismantling every common-sense guardrail that kept it solvent and self-sustaining,' said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, adding that the agency is acting to 'restore prudent lending criteria, rein in risk, and save the 7(a) program before it collapses under the weight of bad policy.' The Trump administration wants to set the bar a little bit higher by upping lender fees, which cover the costs of borrower defaults. This is important because the 7(a) loans provide government-backed capital from private lenders for qualified small businesses that are likely unable to borrow elsewhere. However, in doing so, the SBA is required to operate at 'zero-subsidy,' and historically pays for itself through lender fees. However, the Biden Administration eliminated lender fees and adopted an underwriting standard known as 'Do What You Do,' which erased longstanding lending criteria and enabled lenders to approve underqualified borrowers for government-guaranteed loans. The result? The lending program saw a rise in defaults and delinquencies, which the SBA was unable to cover due to decreased fee income. By 2024, the 7(a) loan program had a negative cash flow of about $397 million – the first instance of negative cashflow in 13 years. 'The Biden-Harris administration's failure to respect public funds left taxpayers on the hook for $400 million last year, the first negative cash flow since 2011 – during the Obama Administration. These new efforts completely realign the SBA's vaunted 7(a) program with responsible lending practices, safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the lending program's long-term viability for American small businesses and entrepreneurs.' Last month, the SBA took aggressive action to stop the bleeding and restore lender fees within the 7(a) loan program. The new SOP 50.10.8 will reject the 'Do What You Do' underwriting rules and revert lending criteria to the higher, pre-Biden standards. Additionally, the new rule will reinstate and streamline the Franchise Directory to help lenders determine whether certain businesses are eligible to receive an SBA loan. The Biden administration wanted to do as many loans as possible. While the intentions may have been noble, the result was that loans became too easy to get, in large part due to its mandate to pursue DEI goals. Ultimately, the overall performance of the 7(a) program deteriorated. This week, I met with the Small Business Committee in the Congress and discussed Biden era SBA lending policies. When loans come too easily, you get bad actors, and that hurts SBA lending overall. For instance, with microloans, non-performing assets jumped up from 1% to close to 5%. By eliminating the lender fees, the SBA suffered the losses. Throughout its history dating back to the Eisenhower administration, the SBA has helped fuel the American Dream of entrepreneurship and the U.S. economy as a whole by empowering job-creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses and/or recover from a declared disaster. However, the agency is not as efficient as it can and should be. Improving SBA lending criteria and technology will benefit small businesses dramatically by making it less painful to secure capital, which is the life blood of any growing enterprise. In speaking with officials in Washington, I've told the current administration that they need to move away from tax return-driven underwriting and instead focus on cash flow-based underwriting. That's what fintechs have always done; it's the biggest change happening in lending today. Small businesses have become more asset-light. They need more working capital rather than long-term loans. The problem is that the SBA cannot figure out a way to underwrite working capital loans. The best way to underwrite working capital loans is by examining cash flow data at any given point of time by looking at monthly statements and quarterly statements. Unfortunately, the government is slower to move than the private sector is. The good news is that Trump administration is trying to revamp SBA lending. Reinstating the lender fees that cover bad loans is a first step. Regardless of who is in office, the government needs to digitize the process, thereby making it faster and reducing lender risks with greater focus on data analytics to make better informed lending decisions. This will lower the cost of processing loan applications and reduce the time it takes to underwrite these loans. Business owners often look to borrow money because they need it fast. Meanwhile, SBA loans take the longest time of all types of funding because so much government-required paperwork is involved. When interest rates climbed higher during the Biden administration, the arbitrage between an SBA loan and other types of small business loans went down. SBA loans required so much paperwork that the process became painful, and government standard operating procedures have not been changed in the last 30 years. Related: Digitization Of Small Business Lending Helps Fill The Lending Gap Current SBA officials realize that it overdue for technology upgrades to reduce the cost and the time both for these loans, and to provide a better customer experience. Upgrading technology will enable SBA lenders to conduct important ongoing portfolio monitoring. They haven't modernized in decades, and the time to do it is now.
Forbes
23-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
If Trump Destroys Inflation Reduction Act, Economic Fallout May Come
Block Island, R.I: Deepwater Wind installing the first offshore wind farm at Block Island, Rhode ... More Island, August 14, 2016. (Photo by Mark Harrington/Newsday RM via Getty Images) Louisiana may be known as an oil and gas state, but it is now getting its feet wet by trying to build offshore wind energy developments in the Gulf of Mexico. Even though the deal has bipartisan support, the Trump Administration is trying to block all such wind projects in federal waters. President Trump signed an executive order that stopped all offshore wind energy projects. Trump doesn't believe in climate change and thinks fossil fuels are the way to go. What makes him tick? The administration said this strategy will lower energy costs, create more jobs, and meet the growing energy demand. However, look to ruby-red Louisiana, which views offshore wind as a job creator and a vehicle to reduce electricity price volatility. 'We are at an inflection point now on the way energy economics works,' says Fox Swim, a senior solar researcher for Aurora Solar, in a Zoom interview. 'This administration is willing to break the law and norms. It is willing to inflict economic damage on the rest of the country to fulfill its vision. The renewable energy industry must lean hard on state governments. If states value stability in our grid and renewable energies, then these jurisdictions must do the right thing.' The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is in danger now. It passed in 2022, creating green energy programs nationwide. But if the projects die, economic stimulation does as well. If the Trump Administration gets rid of the IRA, then Energy Innovation said it would cost consumers $32 billion in energy bills, while gross domestic product falls by $190 billion by 2035. We lose hundreds of thousands of jobs too. Trump cannot simply eliminate the law, but he can gradually dismantle it. He could slow the rollout or make fossil fuel investments more valuable than those in renewable energy. So even if the law is still on the books, it might not have much of an effect. Swim points to the Endangerment Finding, the scientific and legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases that cause climate change. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started overseeing those emissions under the Clean Air Act. She thinks the administration will rewrite the law to say, 'Climate is not a problem.' She also believes the administration will revise the IRA to say which technologies qualify for tax credits. So, here's the scoop: Aurora's new survey revealed that 57% of business owners favor keeping the IRA, while only 29% want it gone. And guess what? A whopping 78% of business owners want to make the most of their IRA benefits. Now, let's talk about homeowners. Awareness of the IRA has skyrocketed from 51% in 2024 to a colossal 77% in 2025. Interestingly, 48% of installers believe that a reduction in funding from the IRA would negatively impact their business. 'Joe Biden created the IRA, and he fundamentally shifted the way we do clean energy in the U.S. Trump could just as easily shift the needle in the opposite direction,' says Swim. 'The government uses subsidies to promote technologies and industrial policy. The subsidies must exist to bring renewables to the level where they can compete with extremely subsidized petroleum industries.' GULF OF MEXICO - JUNE 25: The Transocean Discoverer Enterprise drillship burns off gas collected at ... More the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on June 25, 2010. An approaching tropical disturbance may force collecting operations involving ships and other siphoning equipment to be temporarily halted. This may cause oil to flow unchecked from the well until the weather improves and siphoning operations can be restored. (Photo by) New York State planned to transform one of its largest fossil fuel plants into a renewable energy powerhouse. It would've used offshore wind energy, battery storage, and geothermal power to make clean energy. But guess what? Those plans are on hold because of Trump's executive order that put a stop to all offshore wind projects. This deal would've been a game-changer, providing power to 2 million homes and generating a massive 2.6 gigawatts of electricity. The Trump administration has started undoing over 30 environmental rules that were put in place by the previous administration. They're eliminating caps on power plant emissions, reducing protections for rivers and streams, and making it easier for cars to pollute. The president has given his EPA the green light to keep some coal plants running. That's on top of the plans to weaken rules for monitoring pollution from power plants. For instance, he's targeting the mercury rules and those that regulate coal ash, which is the waste left behind when coal is burned and caused widespread damage in the Tennessee Valley Authority's areas. Trump has also called the IRA the 'Green New Scam.' Trump has also withdrawn from the voluntary Paris Agreement that tries to limit temperature increases to 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit by mid century. 'We're not going to do the wind thing,' Trump told rallygoers. 'Big, ugly windmills, they ruin your neighborhood.' He later wrote on social media, 'After years of being held captive by Environmental Extremists, Lunatics, Radicals, and Thugs, allowing other Countries, in particular China, to gain tremendous Economic advantage over us by opening up hundreds of all Coal Fire Power Plants, I am authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL.' Have we become immune to this language? The madman theory applies to the idea that foreign foes shouldn't tempt a leader because they are too unpredictable. Trump, though, is driven by vindictiveness and the desire to undo the successes of his predecessors, and not by the greater good. WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 12: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (L) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) arrive for ... More a news conference with fellow members of the House Progressive Caucus ahead of the vote on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 outside the U.S. Capitol on August 12, 2022 in Washington, DC. Despite not achieving everything the House liberals wanted, the $737 billion act will focus on slowing climate change, lower health care costs, and creating clean energy jobs by enacting a 15% corporate minimum tax, and a 1% fee on stock buybacks, and enhancing IRS enforcement. (Photo by) The real checks and balances might not come from the legislative branch, which seems scared of him, but from American businesses, which might actually have more power than the president. Market powers trump presidential levers. Companies have gone beyond just focusing on shareholders. They now include communities and employees in their mission. This strategy is called the 'triple bottom line,' which considers the planet, people, and profits. Ignoring this can hurt a company's well-being. Cisco, Oracle, and IBM are among the many companies that are leading the sustainability challenge. America's energy picture illustrates the point: Coal has fallen from 50% of the electricity mix in 2008 to 16% today, while renewables keep blossoming, now at 20%. That's a market choice. No U.S. utility company has any plans to build coal-fired power, including the two biggest, American Electric Power and Souther Company, which are trying to ditch their coal plants. Aurora's Swim worries that corporations will reverse their net-zero goals, although that is a gamble—one that could bring lawsuits, lose customers, and damage their brands. That said, listed a series of "backtracking companies:" Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan pulled out of a industry climate alliance. Meanwhile, Blackrock withdrew from the Net-Zero Asset Managers, and American Airlines removed a reference to its "urgent" climate actions. "Trump is here for four years," says Swim. "There will be a midterm, and political gravity will catch up with his actions. But this administration is willing to inflict economic damage —even incurring a recession—to remake the country into the vision it has.' Witness the tariffs and the whirlwind they have taken this country. "There are strong conservative and economic cases for renewables," she continues. "Supporters must push legislators to say these policies make sense for your state and bring tangible benefits to your community. Maybe their leaders don't care about climate change, but they do care about power outages and recovery costs.' If Trump destroys the IRA, economic fallout could follow. While the president may be bound to the past and blinded to the country's future promise, he knows how to read the political landscape—the best hope of staving off a free fall and even more environmental problems. Renewables Will Best Fossil Fuels Over Time Trump's Energy Agenda And Its Economic Impact
