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When it comes to New York City, unfortunately, the rumors are true: everything costs too much. In 2017, the average sale price for Manhattan condos in existing buildings was approximately $1.9 million. So what about finding and purchasing a more affordable apartment or home in the city? You can always remodel and improve its value afterward, right? True, but NYC remodeling can be just as expensive. According to Brick Underground, NYC remodeling jobs are important, but can be extremely expensive. There are, however, steps that property owners can take to at least minimize the financial damage. "Some homeowners can be surprised by the initial estimates," said Aaron Borenstein, a contractor with Bolster, an NYC company that empowers property owners to control their major renovations. "...

BlackBerry announced on Nov. 16 that it will purchase Cylance for $1.4 billion in cash. Cylance is an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity firm, which should help BlackBerry expand its sector that develops software for next-generation autonomous cars, known as its QNX unit. The California-based Cylance is known for making AI-based products that prevent cyber attacks on companies. According to a report in Business Insider, the company recently considered filing an IPO. In June, BlackBerry CEO John Chen had laid out acquisition criteria during an annual meeting, and Cylance reportedly fits all of the criteria well. In his recent announcement regarding the acquisition, Chen apologized for keeping investors waiting so long for the announcement. No matter how long the wait was, it seems ...

In many cities across America and the world overall, electric bicycles are growing in popularity. In the future, it's possible they could potentially even compete with cars as a preferred method of transportation for commuters everywhere. Existing Problems With Car Commutes Despite decades as the predominant transportation method for people across the country, cars as a primary transportation method have had a host of issues for quite some time. Initial car prices, along with costs of car ownership over longer stretches of time, have been a barrier to entry for many in need of reliable transportation. Those cars that do remain on the road are often not in the best state of repair; more than 20 million vehicles on the road in 2021 will be over 25 years old. This is, of course, without beg...

Search engine optimization, known by the acronym SEO, is the practice by which a company works to push its website to the top spots on a search engine's results. It involves a number of techniques, such as the inclusion of a video on your landing page (which can actually increase your odds of ending up on that coveted first page by 5300%) or the implementation of high quality written content that utilizes relevant keywords. While most SEO organizations execute these techniques without a hitch, sometimes accidents happen and mistakes are made. As the case between SEO firm BrioDigital and their client NestEdge Realty proved, the resulting argument may end up in court. On July 16 of this year, NestEdge sued the SEO firm for one million dollars, claiming that their negligence caused cons...

Americans eat more than 10 billion bowls of soup each year. For more than 30 years, just outside of Chicago, Skokie residents have enjoyed delicious matzo soups, bagels, and other snacks at Jewish deli The Bagel. Sadly, that's now coming to an end. Sadness doesn't even come close to how I felt," said Chuck Dribbin, Skokie resident and regular at The Bagel. According to the Chicago Tribune, The Bagel will close at the end of November after 31 years of operation in Skokie. The Bagel owner Danny Wolf and general manager Haya Golenzer announced plans for closing on the deli's Facebook page. "The mall wants this space to reconfigure the area, since Lord and Taylor left next door," said general manager Richard 'Ricky' Brantner. "Our lease expired, so for the last three months, we've been m...

We've all seen our fair share of waste contamination movies: from spiders that grow to enormous size to cans of mixed vegetables that begin speaking, the truth about hazardous waste is much less ridiculous and much more harmful. A hazardous material is defined by the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management as "any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, and/or physical), which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, either by itself or through interaction with other factors." However, it does address the fact that each of the four governmental agencies in charge of regulating hazardous waste -- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the...

Mortgage rates are on the rise across the United States. According to The Washington Post, mortgage rates have been escalating over the last few weeks. The 30-year fixed-rate average, which is the most popular mortgage product on the hosing market, is just under 5% (4.82%). The last time the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was that high was back in 2011. Studies show that the average amount it takes to sell a house in the U.S. is $15,200. Bankrate adds that at the current average rate, a buyer would pay principal and interest of $525.87 for every $100,000 borrowed, which is an additional $4.22 per $100,000 compared to the first week of November. Conversely, the average time to sell a property in many markets right now is between 6 and 12 months. An adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) is a ...

The first pair of polarized sunglasses were developed in 1936 when Edwin H. Land combined his talents as a lens crafter and his patented polarized film to create polarized lenses. People across the country frequent sunglasses shops and mall kiosks but probably look past the many different labels on each pair of shades. According to Science Trends, these labels are actually advertising a variety of techniques used to block out the sun and protect eyes. Polarized sunglasses work by intercepting and blocking waves of light, which vibrate in certain ways. These types of shades are designed to intercept light waves that vibrate horizontally, which are also the light waves responsible for glaring. Here are some other excellent sunglass-related techniques to block bright lights and danger...

Income taxes account for about 50% of all federal revenue -- $1.688 trillion. About 33% of the federal revenue ($1.238 trillion) comes from payroll taxes. As the 2018 midterm elections wrap up, individual citizens and business owners alike will be carefully monitoring all the changes coming to the way taxes are handled. This has already been a busy year for financial advisors and accountants, as the 2018 tax year will mark the first time that U.S. taxpayers will file under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. According to Tax Foundation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has made several significant changes to the individual income tax, including reforms to itemized deductions and the alternative minimum tax, lower marginal tax rates across brackets, and an expanded standard deduction and child tax cred...

British technology company and renowned vacuum manufacturer Dyson Ltd. plans to manufacture its first electric car in Singapore. According to Bloomberg, Dyson announced its plans to complete a factory in Singapore by 2020 and release its first electric car model by 2021. Dyson's recent announcement is just one part of the company's $2.6 billion effort to expand into the automotive market and to challenge Tesla Inc. to the hottest sector -- electric vehicles. In 2017, more than 73 million vehicles were produced worldwide and more than $4 billion worth of metalworking fluids were globally consumed just for lubricating transportation equipment. Singapore is one of the costliest places in the world to purchase a vehicle because the city-state doesn't house any car-manufacturing ...