The day of the sale, the absentee bid book was full and online demand soared. Bidders from all over the world participated online driving the strong results.

Milford, CT, May 8, 2020 -- Shannon’s online-only Fine Art auction on April 30th exceeded expectations, selling 80 percent of the 185 lots. Shannon’s spring auction is usually a destination for collectors, with a busy preview, a full saleroom and a bank of 20-plus phone lines. Adapting to the COVID global pandemic, Sandra Germain, managing partner, made the decision to hold an online sale with fewer lots in place of the full catalog auction, which has been postponed.

Instead of in-person interactions, the staff at Shannon’s fielded phone calls and emails from their home offices, sent video previews to clients and scheduled previews by appointment. The day of the sale, the absentee bid book was full and online demand soared. Bidders from all over the world participated online driving the strong results.

Leading the auction were two paintings by New York School Abstract Expressionist, Milton Resnick. Ulysses from 1956 sold for $137,500 and Apparatus from 1958 sold for $30,000. During the sale, auctioneer, Peter Coccoluto, opened the bidding on Ulysses at $45,000 and fielded aggressive bidding from online bidders and competing absentee bids. Listening to the auction felt like being present in the saleroom. In a matter of minutes, the bidding jumped past the $100,000 mark before slowing down and ultimately selling to an absentee bidder.

Late 19th and early-20th century American Art, a leading genre in every Shannon’s sale, also did well led by a Daniel Ridgway Knight painting Summer Afternoon, Seine Valley that sold for $52,000 and a J.G. Brown, Shoeshine Boy, that sold for $20,800.

Other highlights in American Art, include an Eric Sloane, Berkshire Barn, that sold for $27,500 against a $12,000-18,000 estimate; a Peter Sculthorpe, watercolor that brought $10,635; an Arthur Wesley Dow, Marshes and Dunes at Ipswich, sold for $8,750 and a Reginald Marsh, Three Girls on the Boardwalk, sold for $7,500.

Germain reported increased international participation in the sale, commenting “We achieved excellent results with our international lots and were pleased to see active participation from Europe, Asia and Latin America. People around the world are paying attention to online auctions now more than ever.” Argentinian artist Romulo Maccio’s, Palabras, sold for $28,600 to a Latin American buyer.

The star-studded sale featured lots by notable artists including Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Helen Frankenthaler, Antonio Jacobsen, Henry Gasser, Edward Bannister, Martha Walter and others. Shannon’s is already gathering consignments for their next online auction scheduled for June 25th and planning their full cataloged sale for later this summer.

Consignments for auctions at Shannon’s are accepted year-round. To consign a single piece of artwork, an estate or a collection, please call (203) 877-1711; or, send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To learn more about Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers, please visit www.shannons.com or follow them on social media. Updates are posted frequently.

About Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers:
Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneer’s opened in 1997 as Connecticut’s premier fine art auction house. Founded by partners Gene and Mary Anne Shannon, the firm quickly established a reputation for integrity, knowledge of fine art and personalized service, providing clients with specialist knowledge of American and European 19th and early 20th century paintings and the fine art market. Shannon’s holds two annual Fine Art Auctions at their gallery in Milford, Connecticut and two annual Online Discovery Auctions. Each sale is composed of paintings, watercolors, drawings, bronzes and fine prints, all authenticated and guaranteed. Shannon’s prides itself on providing each client with personalized service, educating consignors and buyers on fine art, the auction process and market trends. Contact us today with your inquiries about consignments via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 203-877-1711. Also, visit Shannon's online at www.shannons.com.

Media Contact:
Sandra Germain
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers
49 Research Drive
Milford, CT 06460
203-877-1711
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
http://www.shannons.com

Healthcare industry in the US is an oligopoly that is destroying U.S economy.

District of Columbia, May 8, 2020 -- Healthcare, an industry that requires heightened focus, especially in view of the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the world, qualifies as an Oligopoly according to industry experts and observers. The U.S. healthcare system is twice as costly as the next industrial country and three times the average cost of the thirty-five members and ranked last in quality of service according to the Organization of Industrial and Developing Countries. Click here for detailed summary : https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/detailed-summary.html

Numerous violations of the antitrust laws and tax laws have been mentioned in a detailed report which states clearly that necessary action on such violations is not enforced on the healthcare industry by the government. The report also detail the reasons for growth of the Healthcare Oligopoly, the cover-up by the IRS, and provides reasonable solutions for fixing the problem.

The oligopoly allegations get further established from the data over the past 30 years which shows no gain in salaries of U. S employees working in the healthcare industry. However, at the same time, employers' have increased the amount they spend on employees because they pay for the rising costs of health care benefits.

Some of the key factors highlighted in the report about the healthcare industry of the USA that shows there is heavy spending on the healthcare sector, resulting in high healthcare cost and poor quality of service. Click here for more information: https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/key-factors-highlighted-in-report.html

It is also evident that the U. S spends more on healthcare than any other country from the information provided here:

https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2019/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries

Many experts point out that in the U.S, the cost for certain medical procedures are much higher than what it would cost in other OECD countries. While healthcare costs are around 10% of the GDP in most developed countries, in the U.S it was 18% by 2019. While this is because of the large employments in this sector, it is also evident that there are gross violations of the consumer protection laws, illegal billing practices, and lack of correct taxing practices. A cover-up by the Internal Revenue Service cannot also be absolutely ruled out.

Click here for more information: https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/statistics-that-you-must-know-about-usa.html

Employer-paid healthcare system is also responsible for increasing the healthcare costs in every step of the manufacturing process. The economic destructive force of employer-paid health care costs is caused by the accumulation of health care costs. It can be compared to the principle of value-added taxes in the production of a good sold. During each step, the employer adds the cost of health care benefits to the product or service. Then at each step, the cost is marked up and then passed on to the next buyer of the good, until the final good is manufactured and sold. This cycle of passing on costs must be stopped in order for the manufacturing industry to regain its competitive edge.

High healthcare costs has also caused huge damages to the manufacturing industry.

Here are the details of how it works: https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/high-healthcare-costs-has-also-caused.html

There are solutions available to protect the manufacturing industry against these damages. The first step should be to lower healthcare costs to match other nations. Also, the employer pay healthcare system must be eliminated and a personal/business income tax system must be introduced.

https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/healthcare-and-income-tax-system.html

The creation of the healthcare industry Oligopoly was done very systematically by the federal government. The consumers have been defrauded by the system that has been deliberately designed to remain undetected and to act as a money-churning machine for those in power. The cunningly crafted Medicare/Medicaid Programs have resulted in the suspicious uniform billing system. The attempt to control medical costs by creating Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) has helped eliminate competition.

https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/2020/05/medicaremedicaid-programs.html

The failure of the law enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust group, the inability to enforce the consumer protection laws are all factors leading to this Oligopoly. Other reasons can also be added such as the failure of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because of its poor grasp of the contract law and not enforcing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for accrual taxpayers and the collection of taxes mandated by the tax code.

To make sure that the quality of life is improved, the government must consider lowering the nation’s healthcare costs substantially. It must also focus on improving the salaries of the employees and make the manufacturing industry competitive with other countries. It is equally important to have a single-payer healthcare system, with universal coverage, and change the tax system to pay for healthcare and other social benefits. https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com/

Media Contact:
Roy J. Meidinger
Saving the World
14893 American Eagle Ct.
Fort Myers, Florida 33912
954-790-9407
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://healthcare-oligopoly.blogspot.com

Braintree, MA, May 7, 2020 -- Local Leads 365, a new, digitally fast and rich software platform was recently launched to help local service providers and merchants identify and reach potential customers more quickly. Developed by Gibbs Software Solutions, a company based in Braintree, Massachusetts, the new, robust application can deliver real estate transaction data for any town in Massachusetts.

The key advantage? Local Leads 365 provides new homeowner information the day after closing — not 1-12 months later, like many competitors. The leads are automatically delivered to the subscribers’ devices daily.

Additionally, the Local Leads 365 platform offers easy to customize templates for the merchant to entice the consumer via letters, post cards and flyers. And this activity can be seamlessly integrated into most Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs). The software can also easily search for data based on “triggers”, such as homes with acreage exceeding 20,000 square feet or home values in excess of $500,000. This lets local service providers find and directly target specific customer types.

“We worked long and hard to create a platform that the small business owner or office manager could quickly adapt and use to generate new and lifelong customers,” noted Denver Gibbs, founder of Gibbs Software and Local Leads 365. “We have already received tremendous response from oil dealers, landscapers, painters, roofers, plumbers, electricians, home security, handymen, flooring, furniture stores, dental offices, financial planners, insurance brokers and auto service. The early adopters tell us that the platform is easy and fun to use and it instantly connects them with newcomers to the area in search of reliable resources.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans that move every year equates to 14% of the population (or roughly 40 million). The average homeowner spent $9,081 last year on home services, according to HomeAdvisor. The costs broke down as follows: $7,560 on home improvements. $1,105 on home maintenance. By virtue of their new circumstances, new homeowners are the nation’s leading spenders.

For more information about Local Leads 365, please visit www.LocalLeads365.com or call (781) 343-1932.

Media Contact:
Steven V. Dubin, PR Works
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
781-582-1061

Ms. Untaru, VON Consulting General Manager, comments about trends in personnel recruitment & human resources in the US

LA, USA., May 6, 2020 - Vivien Untaru, VON Consulting recruitment agency GM, has set up international recruitment campaigns in Central and South-Eastern Europe and recently started in the US. The agency she manages provides recruitment services, hardware design and verification services, IT support and software development for customers in different industries. The team she manages helps clients by building teams on and off site, remotely or on their premises that can assist in ongoing projects or can take on full projects. By bringing in passion for the technical fields and an innovative approach, the VON Consulting team has become a supportive long-term partner for clients’ businesses.


Ms. Untaru, VON Consulting General Manager, comments about trends in personnel recruitment & human resources in the US, in the interview below.

What industries were most affected by coronavirus in the US?
The first to feel the coronavirus impact were hospitality, horeca, travel and retail sectors. Also, the real estate sector registered a slow-down in transactions and, recently, prices started to be more flexible. In March and April, things escalated and these sectors, amongst others, were hit hard and lost jobs to the thousands.

What will be the sectors hiring in the upcoming months?
IT, telecom, online consumer goods, transportation & courier companies will most certainly continue recruiting. 
Industries affected directly by the coronavirus (to mention a few - hospitality, leisure, travel, leisure, retail, constructions) will restructure their employee scheme, but some will be hiring for their online engines. 

What do companies need to keep in mind at this point, as regards to their employees? 
During this time it is important to keep the existing workforce fully engaged and motivated. Many companies can actually design turn-around plans and launch new projects/products, improve processes, design new marketing strategies by involving their employees. In these times, many solutions might come from the people in the field, in direct contact with the customer, able to see day-to-day issues.

How can companies create shared value in their future recruitment processes?
Companies need to engage their current employees in the recruitment processes. Workers with a history in the company should be included in the hiring stages, as well as in the onboarding process. 

How employees or candidates will adapt to this coronavirus impacted work landscape?
Employees and candidates as well are already starting to understand the importance of reskilling or gaining new expertise in digital management of day-to-day attributions, learning to work with new online tools. Companies should include online learning and training, seminars, courses and career exploration in their employee retention and loyalty practices. Companies should provide the means for a safe on-site activity. For those situations, where some of the employees could continue to work from home, shifts could be organized in such a way that only a certain number of employees will be present in the office at any given moment, allowing for proper social distancing. Candidates should also be called in for on-site interviews only in final stages of the process so as to minimize exposure of both team and candidates.

How can companies improve their human resources processes in the future?
First of all, companies need to be more open to online recruitment and online recruitment tools adapted to their profile, as this trend, enhanced by the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to grow in the near future.
Remote working will also see a rise and companies need to make sure they have procedures in place for their employees, in order to generate performance and ensure the day-to-day efficient flow of activity, while also maintaining employee satisfaction.

Will the employee experience continue to be a top priority in HR in 2020?
Yes, only it will suffer some transformations. Employees who are energized by their job are essential to transformation agendas, are more likely to stay, are more resilient and more ready to reskill. Energized employees will choose to work in cultures that are empathetic, in environments they find enriching, and in work cultures that are both efficient and embracing. 

What are the main hurdles that companies need to overcome in the coming months?
Good team-management interactions and better enablement of digital working in times of social distancing. This is where a professional HR partner with expertise can make the difference.

About VON Consulting
Currently, VON Consulting has 3 offices in SEE (Bucharest, Brasov and Cluj in Romania), one in the USA and in the process to open up a new one in Dusseldorf, Germany. VON Consulting has 150 employees and has worked with clients from the EU and US, mainly in IT, telecom, networking and semiconductors industries, some of them Fortune 500.