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New Alvarez & Marsal Fall 2022 Consumer Sentiment Report - Highlights Impacts of Inflation, Weak Optimism

Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group

Category spend down y-o-y for basic needs, experiences, gifts & indulgences 7 in 10 Consumers plan to spend less on holiday shopping Rising prices create concern across all age groups New York, NY —November 16, 2022— Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group (A&M CRG) today released its newest consumer report, Consumer Sentiment Survey Fall 2022, which looks at the impacts of inflation and resultant changes in consumer spending over the last year, as well as spending expectations into the holidays and for the coming six-month period. This is the third chapter of its bi-annual Consumer Sentiment Report, based on a survey of 1,500+ consumers matching the U.S. adult population according to gender, age, ethnicity, region and income. The report covers various changing behaviors in response to inflation, including around consumers’ holiday spending plans, shopping priorities by category, concerns over rising prices, other factors that will affect holiday purchase decisions, and more. “Our objective was to understand how inflation is affecting the American consumer in terms of their optimism or lack thereof, their buying patterns and expectations, and their preferred shopping channels – especially as we go into the holiday season” noted Jonathan Sharp, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group, and lead author of the study. “What we found is that extended inflationary pressures are causing U.S. consumers to retrench further and curtail even more their discretionary spending – even categories that had seemed somewhat immune in spring 2022 are now under pressure.” Additionally, many fear that inflation has yet to peak, with 65% of consumers expecting prices to continue to rise in the next 6 months. The study found that: Almost 9 in 10 consumers have adopted new habits in response to inflation; 7 in 10 are altering their holiday shopping habits Among shopping priorities by category, only grocery was up, vs. dining out, which was down by 40% Concerns over rising prices rise with age, as do plans to spend less on indulgences Consumer expectations on things getting better, saving more, having more money, and plans to spend the same or more on basic needs were all down year-over-year This year’s holiday season looks like it will also be impacted by consumer spending reticence. The most significant changes people are making is a reduction in their overall gift spending; 1 in 3 shoppers plan to spend less on gifts this holiday season. The report provides insights into the factors that will have an impact on purchase decisions this holiday, including shipping fees, more limited return policies, potential upcoming sales, holiday availability, and Buy Now Pay Later options. “Smart retailers will remain agile in responding to deal-hungry, penny-pinching consumers,” added Jonathan Sharp. “Inventory management, pricing and cost management will continue to be severely challenged.” To download a pdf of Consumer Sentiment Survey Fall 2022, please visit: https://alvarezandmarsal-crg.com/insight/am-crg-consumer-sentiment-survey-fall-2022/ The Alvarez and Marsal Consumer and Retail Group (CRG) is a management consulting firm that tackles the most complex challenges and advances its clients, people, and communities towards their maximum potential. CRG combines the best of A&M’s broader firm's bias toward action and practicality with deep consumer and retail industry experience. CRG partners with businesses across a wide range of categories including Food & Beverage, Beauty & Personal Care, Grocery, Mass Merchandise, and Apparel & Footwear to drive significant performance improvement. Contact Details David Schneidman dschneidman@alvarezandmarsal.com Company Website https://www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail

November 16, 2022 11:47 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Hoonartek Expands its Presence into US

Hoonartek

Hoonartek a global data, lending and analytics service provider today announced its expansion in the US market with the opening of its first US center located in New Jersey. The launch comes along with the setting up of a new dedicated Ab Initio Centre of Excellence (COE) for the US, focused on innovation and solutions for existing and new clients in the region. This reinforces Hoonartek’s positioning as a preferred Ab Initio solution partner providing a full spectrum of offerings, including architecture & planning, program management, turnkey implementation, devops, and assurance, along with innovative managed services. The COE has been launched as part of Hoonartek’s larger strategy of extending their leadership capabilities in Ab Initio delivery and forging strategic collaborations in the US market focused on metadata automation, self-service, governance, cloud deployment, legacy transformation capabilities, and turnkey solutions. Speaking on the US expansion, Peeyoosh Pandey, CEO, Hoonartek, said, “The US is the centerpiece of the growth plan we have charted for ourselves. With a dedicated and skilled talent pool, robust infrastructure, and an estimated integration software market value of US$ 19.5bn by 2032, the US epitomizes the world’s most promising market for our services. We remain committed to contributing to this vast market by expanding our presence in the region. We offer innovative US businesses (and their offshore subsidiaries) excellence in delivering end-to-end solutions leveraging Ab Initio technology. With this launch, we are building on out over decade-long special relationship with Ab Initio in making our mutual US customers successful and replicating our success from the UK, Asia, Europe, and South Africa.” The Ab Initio Delivery COE will help Hoonartek drive actionable banking and digital-specific solutions and insights to help enterprises fully realize the potential of their data infrastructure. An 800+ consultants-strong boutique organization, Hoonartek is actively augmenting its talent in the US to scale its operations and drive technology solutions through the COE. Congratulating Hoonartek on the launch of the Ab Initio Delivery COE and US expansion, Ab Initio Head of International Operations, Alan Parker said, “For over a decade, Hoonartek has been a trusted Ab Initio partner and has deployed transformative Ab Initio centric solutions for many customers. We believe their focus on innovation, delivery and quality will continue to make our mutual customers successful. With exciting new releases coming from Ab Initio in cloud, data fabric, and active metadata our customers will have more opportunities than ever to benefit from Hoonartek’s expertise and add value to their operations.” The new center will leverage Hoonartek’s innovative accelerators and frameworks for Ab Initio to drive automation, self-service, governance, cloud deployment, and legacy transformation. The suite of accelerators will help customers and their business stakeholders rapidly deploy modern data fabric-centric architectures. “We are constantly looking to help our customers be successful. We aim to do this by helping our customers make more out of their existing investments in Ab Initio and complementing our background in lending, cloud, and building data/metadata products,” Pandey further added. Hiren Thakkar, CTO, Hoonartek said, “High-performance data platforms are increasingly becoming necessary for the growth of complex organizations. These platforms are critical for business agility, automation and self-service and should have the potential to adapt to new realities in the ever-evolving world of business computing. Our capabilities in true transformative data engineering and our skilled devops teams put us in a strong position to help clients understand huge amounts of changing data, enabling them to make insightful decisions and automate solutions leveraging the power of Ab Initio. The launch of Hoonartek US Ab Initio Delivery COE will position us closer to our customer teams onsite and help us leverage our market expertise with them in their journey of excellence.” Contact Details Consocia Advisory Som Sengupta +91 88618 22111 ssengupta@consociaadvisory.com Company Website http://www.hoonartek.com/

November 16, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Stagwell (STGW) Agency Assembly joins The Attention Council

Assembly

Omnichannel media agency Assembly, part of Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), has joined The Attention Council as an agency member, further bolstering its commitment to meet the mixed media demands of its burgeoning global client cohort. The Attention Council is a coalition of advertising technology companies committed to promoting attention as a primary metric for understanding advertising and increasing advocacy for the wider adoption of cross-platform attention metrics in the planning, buying, and selling of media. Andy Brown, CEO of TAC, commented, “I am delighted to welcome Assembly to The Attention Council. They join at a time of major growth for use of attention metrics in the media and marketing industry. I look forward to them playing an important role in the evolution in the coming years”. Joel Coppersmith, Global Head of Measurement & Effectiveness at Assembly, added, "The media landscape has evolved and so have the ways in which consumers and media interact. There is a lot still to learn as we seek ways to improve the effectiveness of media and advertising at driving business outcomes.” “The value and use of attention and attention-based metrics is a fascinating, and hotly debated, topic that may shed light on how we can deliver better advertising, and Assembly is delighted to be part of driving that conversation forward". ABOUT ASSEMBLY: Assembly is the modern global omnichannel media agency, bringing data, talent, and technology together to find the change that fuels growth for the best brands on the planet. Our approach connects big, bold brand stories with integrated, global media capabilities that deliver performance and drive large-scale business growth. Our work is powered by our proprietary, in-house technology solution, STAGE, and led by our global talent base of over 1,600 people around the world. We’re purpose-driven at our core and pioneers in social and environmental impact in the agency world. Assembly is a proud member of Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing. Visit www.assemblyglobal.com Contact Details Assembly Gunilla Huddleston, VP of Marketing, EMEA gunilla.huddleston@assemblyglobal.com Company Website https://www.assemblyglobal.com/

November 16, 2022 04:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Passwordless Is All The Rage — But There Are Considerations To Be Made

BIO-key International, Inc.

It has long been known that passwords are vulnerable to hacking. Organizations around the world have acknowledged this risk over the years by introducing more stringent controls around password security and by creating awareness among their staff. Despite the rising awareness of the risks associated with weak passwords, data breaches have revealed that not enough attention is paid to the creation of secure passwords –- the most popular passwords around the world are still passwords like “password” and “123456.” According to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), 579 attacks to hack a password occur every second, which adds up to a monumental 18 billion attacks per year. But many common practices for making passwords stronger through complex requirements like including symbols, case sensitivity, and disallowing previous passwords only make it harder on users. Passwords become incredibly inconvenient to create, remember and manage across the various accounts a person owns. Because using passwords can create a poor user experience, many people often end up ignoring even basic password protocols – leaving themselves and their organizations defenseless against phishing schemes, brute-force attacks, and other tactics cybercriminals use to hack passwords. Is Passwordless Authentication The Solution? An ideal scenario seemingly might be one where no passwords are required, and several alternative options have emerged for the passwordless authentication of users. While many people and companies focus on the convenience of going passwordless, the security considerations of passwordless authentication are often overlooked. The most commonly used passwordless authentication methods focus on replacing the password as a single method, or as one of the methods used for multi-factor authentication. Authentication methods that are most commonly used are either possession factors, which require the person to use a smartphone or hardware token, or device-based biometrics, such as Apple Touch ID or Windows Hello. These options present their own challenges. Possession factors, such as smartphones or hardware tokens can be stolen, shared, lost, or damaged, resulting in users being locked out or allowing unauthorized access. And the costs and investment in purchasing multiple tokens or separate mobile devices with data plans for staff could be very high for large organizations. Not to mention there are large portions of people who do not have access to a smartphone. Finally, there are scenarios that make these factors implausible to use. For example, manufacturing floors, contact centers, banking locations, and others have people working who need to authenticate but where it may not be safe or practical for them to carry an additional device. Identity-Bound Biometrics Removes the Need for Phones and Tokens One method of passwordless authentication that could effectively address these challenges is the use of I dentity-Bound Biometrics (IBB) for access management, which is offered by cyber security companies like BIO-key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI). Identity-bound biometrics creates a centralized unique biometric identity that can be used to verify a person anywhere. Some of the most common identity-bound biometric authentication methods are fingerprint scans, palm scans, face scans, iris scans, and voice recognition. Passwordless authentication with IBB can be as simple as the scan of a finger at any device in any location, making it a safe, efficient, cost-effective, and secure option for a range of common use cases, including shared workstations, remote access, and scenarios where mobile devices are not permitted such as manufacturing floors and contact centers as mentioned previously. BIO-key says its IBB process centrally stores biometric data in a nonreversible way to create a unique biometric identity for each user to verify the person taking action, which serves to establish trust and accountability based on a person's biometric identity. The benefits of using IBB include: Positively identifying the user intended to gain access Auditability of activities through a log that records all logins and tracks users' system access Ease of use with a quick and easy user experience requiring only single-touch authentication for a passwordless login Reduced overall cost by installing just one fingerprint scanner per desktop as a one-time investment as opposed to multiple tokens or mobile devices IBB is part of BIO-key's unified identity and access-management platform PortalGuard, which provides a range of authentication methods as part of its robust multi-factor authentication, as well as single sign-on and self-service password reset capabilities. PortalGuard is the only platform on the market that offers all these business-critical solutions using identity-bound biometrics as a key differentiator when it comes to implementing stronger authentication, according to Bio-key. To learn more about BIO-key’s IBB passwordless authentication products visit its website. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

November 15, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Investing In Precious Metals? Check Out Coins Issued For 2023

APMEX

While collecting coins or numismatics is one of the oldest hobbies in the world, investing in them for their value as precious metals can be lucrative. The U.S. Mint is currently poised to release its 2023 coins, including the American Eagle series that will become available in the first few months of next year. American Eagle coins are admired for their patriotic design and trusted bullion content. The Mint launched the American Eagle Coin Program in 1986 with gold and silver bullion coins for investors. The program has since expanded to include platinum and palladium coins, and the Mint also makes proof and uncirculated versions for collecting. American Eagle coins give investors a way to add small amounts of physical precious metals to their investment portfolios. However, the Mint does not sell them to investors directly. Instead, they must be purchased through an authorized purchaser like APMEX. APMEX Offers Pre-Sales Of 2023 Coins APMEX offers more than 20,000 products — including gold, silver, platinum and palladium products — that it reports can generally be acquired at a lower rate than equivalent products from primary mints and manufacturers. The company’s best sellers are silver and gold bars, silver and gold coins from different countries and gold foil notes. In addition to American Eagle coins, APMEX is offering pre-sales for a number of others to be issued in 2023, including the Somalia 1-ounce Silver Elephant and the Australia 1-ounce gold Lunar Year of the Rabbit. Customer Rewards APMEX customers are able to receive rewards for their shopping through the APMEX Club. The APMEX Club gives customers expedited shipping, a dedicated account manager for phone orders and early access to flash sales. The membership begins either after a customer completes their second order or spends $5,000 on their first order. There are no additional fees, and membership tiers are determined by purchase and selling activities. APMEX also offers rewards to customers who sign up for The Bullion Card. Precious metals investors earn four points per dollar spent at APMEX and one point per dollar spent on all other purchases through the card. They can turn those points into gold and silver and take possession of physical precious metals through APMEX. Investors looking for a way to use The Bullion Card and earn the maximum amount of points while doing their holiday shopping can also do so in APMEX’s Best Selling Products or Deals page. APMEX is one of largest, oldest and most trusted sources for Precious Metals. Over the last 22 years, we have served over 1.3 million customers and processed over $13.5 billion in sales. We offer the largest selection of Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Copper items from investment- grade products to collectibles. APMEX has the prestigious title of Authorized Purchaser with the U.S. Mint. APMEX has over 155K customers reviews with an average 4.9 out of 5 rating. We also offer a wide variety of free educational content, charting and portfolio tools, and custom alerts and notifications on our website and mobile app to provide our customers with the latest industry news. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details APMEX. Inc. +1 405-595-2100 service@APMEX.com Company Website https://www.apmex.com/

November 15, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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CORRECTING AND REPLACING: Ryan VanDePutte Joins Inspirant Group as Sales Director

Inspirant Group

Inspirant Group, the award-winning disruptive management Consulting firm, has appointed Ryan VanDePutte as Sales Director. With a multi disciplinary background, VanDePutte has deep experience in project delivery, enterprise, and mid-market sales, assisting companies in simplifying their unique business and technology challenges. In his new role, VanDePutte will drive transformation initiatives and business development for the fast-growing Chicagoland company. “We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan to our team of Unconsultants. It is the exact right time to have his leadership and expertise at this stage of Inspirant Group ’s growth as we continue to expand our service offerings,” said Meighan Newhouse, Co Founder and CEO, Inspirant Group. “I’m delighted to join Inspirant Group and the talented team of Unconsultants in developing the Appian practice area,” VanDePutte shared. “This will allow us to draw upon the team’s collective knowledge base and experience in delivering best in class transformation initiatives to our clients.” VanDePutte holds a Bachelor of Science degree in operations management and information systems from Ball State University - Miller School of Business. He resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife and three children. Founded in 2017, Inspirant Group is the award-winning, remote-first management “UNconsulting” firm that takes companies from inspiration to transformation. By stripping away the bureaucracy and complexity associated with the traditional “big 4” and mid-tier consulting firms, Inspirant ’s team of UNconsultants delivers high touch service and advises clients in three service lines: strategy & operational agility, talent & organization, and technology & data. This mirrors the company’s approach to any engagement: optimize processes, ensure the right people are in the right seats, and make the tech and data work for the client (and not the other way around). Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Inspirant is Certified™ by Great Place to Work ®, the employee experience award, and was honored with two 2022 Built In awards including Best Remote-First Places to Work in the US and 22 StartUps to Watch in Chicago. For more information, visit: Inspirantgrp.com and follow us on LinkedIn. Contact Details Julie Livingston +1 347-239-0249 julie@wantleverage.com Company Website https://inspirantgrp.com

November 14, 2022 09:30 AM Central Standard Time

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Political and Public Affairs Consultants Gather in London for 55th Annual International Association of Political Consultants Conference

International Association of Political Consultants

With the US midterm, Israeli, and Brazilian elections recently completed, international political and public affairs consultants from around the world will gather in London, UK for the 55 th annual International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC) conference to share, learn and discuss democracy, election strategy and the latest trends in campaigns. The conference will take place at the Royal Horseguards Hotel (2 Whitehall Court) from Monday November 14 th to Wednesday, November 16 th. The conference will feature speakers including: · Dame Arlene Foster PC – Former First Minister of Northern Ireland · Frances O’Grady – General Secretary of the Trades Union Council (UK) · Feyi Akindoyeni – President, Australian Professional Government Relations Association · Hakan Svenneling MP – Left Party of Sweden · Christopher Hope – Associate Editor (Politics) of the Daily Telegraph · Guy Benson – Fox News contributor and Political Editor of Townhall.com · John Zogby – Founder of the Zogby international poll Among the topics for discussion: · Diversity in politics – What does it really mean · How do governments communicate to stakeholders · European future borders and internal divides · US midterms – What happened and what does it mean · The role of the media in shaping political discourse Established in 1968, The International Association of Political Consultants is committed to fostering democracy and the democratic process throughout the world. Members span a variety of political backgrounds and activities fostering the growing and diverse profession of political consulting as well as the practical aspects of democratic elections. Contact Details International Association of Political Consultants Marcel Wieder - Vice President Communications +1 416-907-2126 marcel@aurorastrategy.com Company Website https://www.iapc.org

November 11, 2022 12:18 PM Eastern Standard Time

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The Blood Supply Shortage: Why it’s Happening and How You Can Help

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/8kShJVgN2pc This is the worst blood shortage in over a decade, posing a concerning risk to patient care. Amid this crisis, doctors have been forced to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become available. Blood and platelet donations are critically needed to help prevent further delays in vital medical treatments. The blood supply took a major hit about as the Covid-19 pandemic took over the healthcare system. Shortages could potentially lead to the postponement of surgeries, other medical procedures, and be a major issue if a mass casualty event were to happen. Every year 4.5 million Americans will need a blood transfusion. Someone in your audience or their loved one could be in need. With the blood shortage being a major health issue potentially affecting so many, what can be done and what should we know? Dr. Glenn Ramsey, chair of the College of American Pathologists Transfusion Committee recently conducted a nationwide media tour to inform the public on what is being done. Topics that Dr. Ramsey discussed included: With the current blood shortage, the recent changes in blood donation restrictions The importance of donating blood Keeping the blood supply strong Why there is always a shortage How the current blood supply is being maximized What the most common incidents are in which blood donation is needed For more information please visit americasblood.org and newsroom.cap.org Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

November 11, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Fall Health Checklist from the College of American Pathologists

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/DotHvhg8XQw Summer is coming to a close, which means it’s the perfect time to take stock of your health and set yourself up for success the rest of the year. The FDA has recently changed their guidelines regarding Covid at-home tests, now advising people to take three tests, instead of the previously recommended two tests. The agency issued the update just ahead of the back-to-school season – an attempt to reduce the risk of infection being missed and to help people from unknowingly spreading the virus. But COVID isn’t the only thing on people’s minds. With fall approaching, cold and flu season isn’t far behind. This time of year can create confusion for people who may not be able to tell the difference between COVID symptoms and cold/flu symptoms. There are also concerns about the spread of Monkeypox and the re-emergence of Polio. During a nationwide media tour on September 15 th, Dr. Emily Volk – President of the College of American Pathologists discussed: Changing FDA guidelines around COVID testing and what you need to know Navigating flu shots and COVID boosters Tips for knowing the difference between COVID symptoms and cold/flu symptoms Additional insights on recent health concerns such as Monkeypox and Polio For more information, visit CDC.GOV or FDA.GOV Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

November 11, 2022 10:31 AM Eastern Standard Time

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