With almost everyone getting great gift deals sent to their inbox these days, it’s not surprising that the peak holiday shopping period of November and December brings in 30 percent more revenue for e-commerce retailers than non-holiday months, according to a report by RJMetrics.

This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest online shopping days of the period, saw record-breaking sales totaling $6.8 billion in 2016, a 17 percent increase over 2015. 

One of the few things both political parties agreed on during the recent US presidential election campaign was the need to rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Not only are many of the nation’s roads and bridges in need of repair, if not outright replacement, but this surge in construction activity would generate high-paying jobs. 

The election of Donald Trump as the 45th US President has spurred interest in large-scale public works projects, especially with his call for a national infrastructure bank. While some parts of his plan remain controversial — and details on how to pay for it remain murky — many businesses are betting that there will be an increase in US construction activity. 

Watching paint dry? That’s boring. But knowing that as the paint dries, it’s water – not toxic chemicals – evaporating into the air? Now that’s exciting.

Water-Based vs. Solvent-Based Coatings

Water-based coatings, which employ water as their liquefying agent rather than chemical solvents, have made huge inroads worldwide over the past few decades. Consumers, professional painters, OEMs, as well as government regulators, have increasingly recognized the advantages of eco-friendly water-based paints, including low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, easy cleanup, and low odor.

2015 marked a turning point for the US funeral and cemetery industry. For the first time, more Americans were cremated than buried underground.

The past decade has been an exhilarating ride for producers of frac sand, or silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing. North American shale oil and gas production has surged since 2010, bringing tremendous opportunities to the previously quiet silica sand industry. In 2014, the market for frac sand in North America was 20 times larger than it was a decade earlier, according to a recent study published by The Freedonia Group.

But for every boom, there is a bust. In late 2014, consumption began to decline as oil and gas prices plummeted across the world. Now, instead of embarking on ambitious expansions, frac sand suppliers have idled production and mining operations. The stock price of Fairmount Santrol, the US’s largest frac sand producer, dropped from $16.98 at the time of its IPO in 2014 to a low of $1.23 in January 2016.

Owners and tenants of commercial properties usually only think about their roofs when there is a leak that needs repairing. However, many are discovering that their choice in roofing materials can help them save on their bottom line. 

“Cool roofing” products help reduce energy consumption and lower utility bills — important considerations for all business owners. Materials are classified as “cool roofing” if they reflect a significant amount of sunlight off of a roof surface while also absorbing solar radiation. By doing so, cool roofs prevent heat from being transferred to the interior of the building, causing less strain on air conditioning and keeping cooling costs at a manageable level.

In a recent GMR Data report, figures indicate that revenues for the dermatology drug market will reach $83.2 billion in 2026 from a base of $31.6 billion in 2016.

The largest dermatology drug markets in 2016 include areas such as acne, worth $3.89 billion globally, skin infections ($6.59 billion), and skin cancer ($5.06 billion).

Robust sales in western markets, entrance of new drugs into emerging markets, and increasing prevalence of skin conditions are all driving the global forecast for the next decade.

Unquestionably, the leading infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud hosting service provider is Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company began offering data storage services in 2006, launching Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) in March of that year, and Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) in August.

The US travel services industry, which includes both traditional and online travel agencies, increasingly faces a new source of competition for booking services: the airlines and hotel operators themselves.

A growing number of airlines and hotels are adopting strategies — such as loyalty programs, fees on third-party bookings, or discounts on direct bookings — to encourage consumers to book services directly with them.

The future of motorcycles is being forged today. Leading manufacturers are developing new technologies with the potential to revolutionize the riding experience. 

This wave of innovation, however, has garnered sparse news coverage. The media has focused on developments in the automotive industry such as self-driving cars and electric vehicles, paying little attention to similar trends in motorcycles.