Will your interest rates be “Higher for Longer”?

By Funeral Director Daily November 27, 2024

    You’re a funeral home or cemetery owner/operator and you are in the final stages of planning that 2025 business budget.  If you have loans for livery vehicles or building improvements that are either adjustable or coming due in 2025 what can you reasonably expect for interest rates on those loans going forward?  …

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Titan introduces the “Mystery Casket”

By Funeral Director Daily November 26, 2024

    Titan Casket, the business to consumer national casket company has introduced what they term their “Mystery Casket” for sale through Cyber Monday.  According to this release from Business Wire, Titan’s Mystery Casket will be sold to consumers through Cyber Monday for $1,199 — the release notes that is a 60% discount when compared…

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Seeking Alpha’s Valkyrie Trading Society opines on Matthews post-earnings release

By Funeral Director Daily November 25, 2024

  It didn’t take long for an investment advisor to get a take on what they think about Matthews International’s 4Q Earnings Report of last week.  The article from Seeking Alpha’s contributer Valkyrie Trading Society is titled, “Matthews International:  Signs of Deleveraging and Margin Improvement”.  You can access the article here.   Here’s a short…

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Matthews releases quarter and fiscal year end results, stock price rises

By Funeral Director Daily November 25, 2024

    Matthews International, which provides memorialization products and cremation solutions among its multi-faceted business segments announced their Fiscal 4th Quarter and Fiscal Year End results last Thursday.  Matthews operates on a fiscal year that ends on September 30 of each year.   While the company had some positive attributes for the quarter such as…

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The death of Julian Litten. . . and more

By Funeral Director Daily November 22, 2024

  A few days ago I came across this article from  Great Britain’s newspaper, The Telegraph.  The headline was intriguing to a person like me who worked in Death Care, so I continued to read the article.   Turns out that the article was an obituary news article of sorts dealing with the life and…

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BUSINESS

Try a little kindness. . . and compassion

By Funeral Director Daily | November 29, 2024

    It’s funny how when you get older and more mature that certain situations and happenings bring back a forgotten remembrance to you.  Today’s article is the result of one of those memories.  …

The Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1863

By Funeral Director Daily | November 28, 2024

    Editor’s Note:  It was in the middle of America’s Civil War, the year 1863, that President Abraham Lincoln decided that Americans should give “Thanks” for the blessings bestowed upon them. . . Even…

Will your interest rates be “Higher for Longer”?

By Funeral Director Daily | November 27, 2024

    You’re a funeral home or cemetery owner/operator and you are in the final stages of planning that 2025 business budget.  If you have loans for livery vehicles or building improvements that are either…

FINANCE

More “Private Money” is entering the Death Care business

By Funeral Director Daily | December 4, 2024

    While it is all anecdotal on my part, what I’ve seen lately leads me to believe that there is plenty of money in circulation looking for investment and that some of that money…

Death Care Index up 24% Year-to-date. . . on par with other indices

By Funeral Director Daily | December 2, 2024

    Today is December 2 and we are into the last month of 2024.  If you are involved in investments — and virtually everybody in this day and age of 401k’s, IRA’s, 529 Plans,…

Matthews releases quarter and fiscal year end results, stock price rises

By Funeral Director Daily | November 25, 2024

    Matthews International, which provides memorialization products and cremation solutions among its multi-faceted business segments announced their Fiscal 4th Quarter and Fiscal Year End results last Thursday.  Matthews operates on a fiscal year that…

REGULATIONS

Today is the last day for “Matching Funds” donations at Wreaths Across America. . . caravan leaves Saturday

By Funeral Director Daily | December 3, 2024

  Wreaths Across America, the non-profit organization that works with volunteers and over 4,800 cemetery locations to place wreaths on our honored veterans graves has its matching donation program in place through today where your…

The Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1863

By Funeral Director Daily | November 28, 2024

    Editor’s Note:  It was in the middle of America’s Civil War, the year 1863, that President Abraham Lincoln decided that Americans should give “Thanks” for the blessings bestowed upon them. . . Even…

NFDA testifies on Veterans burial issues

By Funeral Director Daily | November 20, 2024

    We learned last week from this National Funeral Director Association (NFDA) press release that Lesley Vitter, NFDA’s Senior Vice-President of Advocacy, testified on November 13 at a Congressional House Committee hearing that concerned…

CEMETERY

Today is the last day for “Matching Funds” donations at Wreaths Across America. . . caravan leaves Saturday

By Funeral Director Daily | December 3, 2024

  Wreaths Across America, the non-profit organization that works with volunteers and over 4,800 cemetery locations to place wreaths on our honored veterans graves has its matching donation program in place through today where your…

Survey indicates the Top Location in each state for dispersal of cremated remains

By Funeral Director Daily | November 21, 2024

    In October Choice Mutual, an end-of-life burial insurance company released the results of a nationwide survey of over 3,000 individuals that, among other things, asked where in their home state would they want…

SCI opens “Nation’s First-of-its-Kind” Mausoleum

By Funeral Director Daily | November 8, 2024

    In a press release we received last week funeral home and cemetery operator/consolidator Service Corporation International (SCI) announced the opening of its new property in Sandy Springs, Georgia.   According to the press…

CREMATION

Survey indicates the Top Location in each state for dispersal of cremated remains

By Funeral Director Daily | November 21, 2024

    In October Choice Mutual, an end-of-life burial insurance company released the results of a nationwide survey of over 3,000 individuals that, among other things, asked where in their home state would they want…

SCI opens “Nation’s First-of-its-Kind” Mausoleum

By Funeral Director Daily | November 8, 2024

    In a press release we received last week funeral home and cemetery operator/consolidator Service Corporation International (SCI) announced the opening of its new property in Sandy Springs, Georgia.   According to the press…

Better Place Forests launches cost-conscious option

By Funeral Director Daily | October 24, 2024

    Last week we learned through this press release that Better Place Forests was offering a new product to consumers that they felt would appeal to those consumers in a cost-conscious manner.  The new…

PRENEED

Funeral Directors Life adds 48th state of operation

By Funeral Director Daily | October 11, 2024

    Earlier this week we learned that Funeral Directors Life (FDL), based in Abilene, Texas,  was approved to sell preneed insurance in the state of Virginia.  As you can read from this press release,…

Anthem Partners, Premiere Preneed, NGL form strategic relationship

By Funeral Director Daily | October 10, 2024

In what is becoming a growing trend among larger funeral home operators Anthem Partners announced in late September that they had formed a strategic alliance with Premier Preneed Marketing and National Guardian Life (NGL) that…

The Federal Funds interest rate came down, what does that mean for you?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 3, 2024

    If you ask my opinion, American borrowers have been somewhat spoiled by the low interest rates that we had had for almost the last ten years.  This article will tell you that from…

PRODUCTS

Titan introduces the “Mystery Casket”

By Funeral Director Daily | November 26, 2024

    Titan Casket, the business to consumer national casket company has introduced what they term their “Mystery Casket” for sale through Cyber Monday.  According to this release from Business Wire, Titan’s Mystery Casket will…

Survey indicates the Top Location in each state for dispersal of cremated remains

By Funeral Director Daily | November 21, 2024

    In October Choice Mutual, an end-of-life burial insurance company released the results of a nationwide survey of over 3,000 individuals that, among other things, asked where in their home state would they want…

More help for Children’s Grief

By Funeral Director Daily | November 19, 2024

  I was excited on Friday morning when I received some information from a reader of Funeral Director Daily.  You see, I started Funeral Director Daily a few years ago with the idea that it…