Funeral Director Daily

Big Tobacco and Traditional Funerals — Do they have something in common?

By Funeral Director Daily / December 15, 2023 /

    Last week, according to this article from Reuters, one of the largest companies in the world of tobacco took a $31.5 billion write down on the value of their future sales.  British American Tobacco (BAT) took this write-down on the value of some U.S. cigarette brands “acknowledging. .  that its traditional market has…

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The survey is in and the results say that even Seniors prefer a “Celebratory” approach to funerals

By Funeral Director Daily / December 14, 2023 /

  There is no doubt that trends move faster today than in the past.  That is probably because “news” moves faster also so it is easier and quicker to “get the word” out.  It is also apparent that trends are merging towards conformity world-wide. . .especially in the English speaking world.   The “Cost of…

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PlotBox named to the Technology Fast 50 for 2023

By Funeral Director Daily / December 13, 2023 /

  Earlier this month deathtech solutions provider PlotBox announced that it ranked #27 in the 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards.  The Fast 50 is a ranking of the growing technology companies in Ireland.   According to a press release that you can read here, “PlotBox CEO Sean McAllister credits PlotBox’s strategy for global expansion…

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Seeking Alpha writer says “SCI provides a buying opportunity”

By Funeral Director Daily / December 13, 2023 /

  This article from Seeking Alpha suggests that the largest funeral home and cemetery operator in North America, Service Corporation International (SCI) is a buying opportunity for investors.  To that end, the article makes these points: “Historically, SCI has delivered very strong financial performance and shareholder returns.” “. . .growth has been fueled by a…

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Actuaries become “Death Care” allies

By Funeral Director Daily / December 12, 2023 /

    Breaking the taboo of “End-of-Life” planning can only be a help for funeral services and other death care companies.  Funeral directors, funeral homes,  and cemeteries with progressive sales force techniques have known for a long time that getting one to talk about their mortality is what gets those consumers to eventually enter into…

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The value of “non-combustible” cremation remains

By Funeral Director Daily / December 11, 2023 /

An interesting situation concerning “non-combustible” cremation remains was brought to light by this front-page lead story article in an edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week.   The article is entitled, “Lakewood Cemetery alleged theft spotlights market for metal implants left after cremation”.  It goes on to explain that a former employee of the…

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Seeking Alpha author suggests that Matthews Memorialization Segment could be “spun off”

By Funeral Director Daily / December 8, 2023 /

      It’s Friday and going into the weekend it’s always nice to have something to think about. . . . How about this for today. .   This article from Seeking Alpha looks at the past fiscal year for Matthews International and uses that information as well as what they gleaned from the…

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West Virginia: 113-year old firm purchased by 4th generation Ohio firm

By Funeral Director Daily / December 7, 2023 /

  When you look at the map the Ohio River separates the states of Ohio and West Virginia as well as the cities of Steubenville, Ohio, and Weirton, West Virginia.  Now, however, the bridge over the Ohio River will not only connect the states and cities but two historical funeral homes as well.   It…

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Loans are getting tougher for small business

By Funeral Director Daily / December 6, 2023 /

    You’ve probably heard it said before, “The only businesses that can get loans are those that don’t need them“.   There’s probably some truth to that statement because if you really need a loan for your business to function, your lender might worry about the cash-flow you generate and the ability to pay…

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Finally some good news in America on life expectancy, but we’ve got a ways to go

By Funeral Director Daily / December 5, 2023 /

    It was only about two weeks ago that Funeral Director Daily reported the final numbers for life expectancy in the United States using the 2021 final figures.  At that time, as you can see in this article, life expectancy had been lowered for newborns in the United States to 76.1 years.   However,…

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