Editorial Vida and Grupo Nelson have launched LiderVision.com, an online portal for Spanish pastors and leaders.

The initiative by the Spanish imprints of HarperCollins Christian Publishing was announced during the inaugural LiderVisión conference, held June 27-29 in Miami. Around 700 attendees were able to preview LiderVision.com's services, which include free book excerpts, pastoral advice and access to an online store that will provide Spanish products and titles.

LiderVisión will fulfill a void in Christian leadership-specific titles and publications within the Hispanic community, company officials said.

"If there is a neglected priority in the Hispanic church, it's providing solid voices in leadership," said Lucas Leys, Editorial Vida's publisher and LiderVisión project initiator. "LiderVisión will address this need by engaging a Spanish-speaking community of pastors and Christian leaders to share ideas and generate conversations, while also offering resources that will aid in Christian leadership."

LiderVisión brings three elements to the Hispanic church: actualizing ministerial goals and missions; creating a community of colleagues; and providing spiritual advice from respected leaders such as Samuel Rodriquez, Bill Hybels and Ismael Cala, company officials said.

"LiderVisión's social media community already has over 80,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, so it's clear that the Hispanic Christian community is ready and willing to engage in the platform," said Tod Shuttleworth, senior vice president of HarperCollins Christian's specialty and global publishing. "In addition to being a conversation-generator, LiderVisión will also provide Spanish-language ministry resources from a strong catalog of Christian authors and titles."

Editorial Vida is the Spanish division of Zondervan, while Grupo Nelson is its counterpart at Thomas Nelson. Zondervan and Thomas Nelson are under the umbrella of HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

Kerusso founder and CEO Vic Kennett announced the 2013 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) giveaway winners.

During ICRS, the Kerusso “prize patrol” gave $20 cash to 20 retailers throughout the exhibit hall.

A federal judge has ruled that computer giant Apple violated antitrust law by conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices. In 2012, the Department of Justice brought charges against Apple and five major publishers—Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers (Macmillan), Penguin Group (USA) and Simon & Schuster—all of which settled, leaving Apple to have its day in court alone.

Plaintiffs—the Justice Department and 33 states and U.S. territories—filed suits April 11, 2012, alleging that Apple and the five publishers conspired to “raise, fix and stabilize the retail price for newly released and bestselling trade e-books” in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and various state laws.

U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 195,000 jobs in June. The U.S. Labor Department also revised upward the previous two months, noting that 149,000 jobs estimate in April was really 199,000 new jobs, and 175,000 in May was actually 195,000, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

"This is a very solid report," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for forecaster Moody's Analytics. "In addition to the solid job gains, it is also encouraging that hours worked per week remain high, which is a positive leading indicator for jobs, and hourly earnings growth is holding up."

Scott Anderson, chief economist of San Francisco-based Bank of the West, added: "The June payroll figures did not disappoint, coming in far better than analysts expected. The jobs recovery is finally starting to join the rest of the economic expansion."

The positive report comes on the heels of improving home sales, stronger consumer confidence and growing car sales, the Star-Telegram reported. During the past six months, hiring has averaged almost 202,000 a month—a rate that will start lowering unemployment numbers if it continues.

Retailers added 37,000 jobs and the sector appears to be growing, the Star-Telegram reported.

"The strong jobs report is welcomed news for the economy and may signal positive and accelerated momentum for the second half of 2013," Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. "Payrolls came in stronger than expected, including in the retail industry, which witnessed strong gains in building supplies, clothing and sporting goods. The economy is currently stable, but traction and pace remain uncertain."

Despite all the positive developments, most predictions of the gross domestic product (GDP)—the sum of goods and services in the U.S. economy—remain subdued, the newspaper reported.

"I still don't think the job market is off and running," Zandi said. "Real GDP growth has slowed meaningfully so far this year, and this should show up in softer job growth in coming months. The weak global economy is hurting manufacturing exports and jobs, and government layoffs remain a significant drag."

The unemployment rate held steady at 7.6% last month, despite three solid months of hiring.

"So far this year, 1.23 million private-sector jobs have been added," Alan Krueger, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a blog. "The household survey showed that the unemployment rate remained at 7.6% in June, down from 8.2% a year ago."

Divine Image Cosmetics founder and CEO Amanda May is an evangelist of a different sort. Flowing out of her walk with God and understanding of the Scriptures, May shows women through her makeup business that their self-worth comes from God—not from their appearance.

“We have the tools to help enhance their natural outward beauty, but the true beauty that people see starts with the hidden woman of the heart,” said May, who grew up in an abusive home and initially used makeup to hide from others.

The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market at AmericasMart Atlanta will operate with a new Tuesday-to-Monday market schedule starting in January 2014.

The Market Temporaries will open one day earlier—on Thursday—and will close Monday with the Market.

Rich Peluso has been promoted to senior vice president of Affirm Films, the faith-based label of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Peluso, who was vice president of Affirm Films, will continue to oversee the development, production, acquisition and marketing of Sony's Christian and inspirational films. He will continue to report to Steven Bersch, president of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA).

"Over the past several years, Rich has been key to creating Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions' outstanding slate of faith-based films, including such titles as Soul Surfer and Courageous, and upcoming releases, including Moms' Night Out and The Remaining," Bersch said. "His understanding of the genre as well as his strong relationships within the faith community and with filmmakers has been key to our success, and I am delighted to be able to acknowledge his contributions with this promotion."

Peluso added: "The opportunity to work with quality storytellers that are called to both entertain and inspire people through visual media is deeply rewarding. I'm thankful for the support and recognition from Sony Pictures and look forward to the reach and impact our future projects will have over the next several years."

In a separate move, Tana Evans will take on additional duties as vice president of marketing and distribution for Affirm Films. She will also continue as vice president of distribution for all SPWA products.

Prior to joining Affirm, Peluso served 15 years at EMI Christian Music Group/EMI Music, most recently as the president of EMI CMG Distribution—now known as Capitol Christian Distribution. He was also president of The Safe Side Company, a children's entertainment venture.

Peluso was honored in the business category of The Champions of the Faith Awards during the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta in 2010.