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Argent, a startup that aims to improve the security of crypto wallets, just raised $40 million using this 20-slide pitch deck
Argent cofounders Gerald Goldstein, Julien Niset, and Itamar Lesuisse
London-based cryptocurrency startup Argent has raised $40 million in fresh funding.
Argent has built a crypto wallet it hopes will improve the security of crypto transactions.
Check out the 20-slide pitch deck Argent used to raise the fresh funds below:
Argent, a London-based startup that provides improved security for crypto wallets, has raised $40 million in Series B funding.
Created in 2017 by Belgian entrepreneurs, including the founders of brain training app Peak, Argent offers its more than 500,000 users a smart wallet where they can buy, store, and sell cryptocurrencies. The startup wants to offer users a product that is as secure and stable as bank accounts at neobanks like Monzo or Revolut.
"We've solved the issue of security in non-custodial crypto wallets, measuring up usability versus security to create an easy to use product, now we are focused on scalability," Argent CEO Itamar Lesuisse told Insider. "We have spent time in transition building out our Layer 2 product as we see Argent as being a super app with thousands of use cases."
Layer 2 refers to third-party integrations that can be built on top of an existing layer 1 network, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
"Crypto is still very elitist and the technical knowledge needed is high," Lesuisse added. "We have the foundations of what is possible to help real people access crypto all over the world."
Much of the company's recent growth has comes from overcoming the hurdle presented by high transaction fees from the Ethereum network, which peaked at around $15 per transaction in gas last year. Lesuisse said crypto is often too expensive or insecure, which has prevented more mainstream adoption.
The Series B funding round was led by Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet, alongside existing investors including Sequoia-backed Paradigm, Index Ventures and Creandum, and strategic investors including Starkware, Jump, and Animoca.
Argent will use the fresh funds to offer new products as it bids to move beyond its DeFi roots into becoming a broader play with new areas like virtual real estate, gaming, DAOs, and NFTs in the works.
The company wants to more than double its 25-strong team by the end of 2022, particularly in product design and engineering functions. Similarly, the company has earmarked the Latin American market as a key growth hub and will base its operations out of Mexico.
Check out Argent's Series B pitch deck below:
More: Features UK | 2022-04-28T08:38:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Argent: Cryptocurrency Startup Raised $40m With This Pitch Deck | https://www.businessinsider.com/argent-cryptocurrency-startup-raised-40m-with-this-pitch-deck-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/argent-cryptocurrency-startup-raised-40m-with-this-pitch-deck-2022-4 |
Elon Musk says the soon-to-be $34 billion lithium business needs new players to rein in 'insane' costs. Here's how top startups are tackling the industry's nastiest challenges.
Lithium startups racing to supply companies like Tesla and its competitors must crack key challenges first.
Automakers are scrambling to secure enough supply for electric car batteries.
Elon Musk said the industry needs more lithium outfits — but it's not an easy business.
Here's how startups are cracking the three biggest problems in the space.
Elon Musk told investors during Tesla's latest earnings call that the electric-car business is desperate for new lithium entrepreneurs and startups, and recently tweeted that Tesla itself may enter the business because lithium prices have reached "insane levels." But it's not an easy space to tap into, and startups racing to supply companies like Tesla and its competitors must crack several key challenges before they can cash in.
Lithium is critical not only for tech companies across the globe, but also for every automaker and startup pouring billions of dollars into all-electric-vehicle product lines. It could be a $34.3 billion market by 2030, per Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Because their access to lithium could make or break their EV ambitions, auto companies are developing strategies to secure enough battery supply, like investments and partnerships with startups.
Ford recently signed an agreement with startup Lake Resources for the metal using direct lithium extraction. GM is working with startup Controlled Thermal Resources for its needs. Tesla has secured a deal with China's Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. The list goes on.
"We've got Rivian, Ford, GM, Tesla now all expressing dire concern that they're not going to have the materials they need," Rich Nolan, CEO of the National Mining Association, said. "That's a dramatic recognition of how essential it is to get these materials."
But mining, processing, and procuring lithium doesn't come without challenges. Here's how startups are looking to clear three of the highest hurdles in the EV-battery lithium business.
Lithium mining is an extensive process, from site selection to permitting to the start of construction — and that doesn't include the steps needed to prepare the raw materials for use in an EV battery. It's challenging to bring new lithium projects online, because new greenfield developments are resource intensive. And though it's easier to upscale an existing lithium producer, that still comes with time constraints.
Those steps can take five to seven years or more, experts say. Companies have to take this long lithium-development timeline into account if they sign to supply automakers with the critical material.
This means they might lobby for continued support at local, state, and federal levels, not unlike the Biden administration's recent invocation of the Defense Production Act or Canada's $1.6 billion EV-battery supply-chain strategy.
"I think really the biggest bottleneck ultimately is going to be ensuring that projects get permitted and get the green light," said Steve Hanson, the CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based startup ACME Lithium. "These things can't be rushed, but at the same time, we need to make sure that resources are put into these areas of permitting to make sure that we secure this long-term need for supply."
There are a lot of opportunities to tackle within the lithium business.
Companies like Lilac Solutions and Mangrove Lithium are developing technology for more sustainable mining. Others, like Piedmont Lithium, are in the business of actually developing new greenfield sites and looking for EV industry partners to invest in and help fund these projects. And others, like Ascend Elements and Li-Cycle, return spent EV-battery lithium to the supply chain.
"There's such a gap in the supply-demand curve that it's going to take all sources, domestic, international, recycling, reuse, alternatives to meet that demand," Nolan said.
Automakers are making more and more ambitious plans to electrify each day, with several aiming for majority-electric lineups before the end of the decade.
Given the time constraints and cost, lithium companies have to be realistic about meeting automaker demand.
"The demand expectations have actually been exceeded," Keith Phillips, the CEO of Belmont, North Carolina-based Piedmont, said. "A lot of people assume it will take care of itself in a year or two or three. I don't think that will happen for a decade or two, to be honest, because we're just in the first or second inning. We haven't even identified where that lithium might come from yet."
At the same time, that presents opportunities for these outfits. Lithium prices are now well above $70,000 per metric ton, 10 times the historical average, said Pedro Palandrani, the director of research at the fund-management firm Global X ETFs.
"The reality is that getting access to those raw materials could be very challenging and we're seeing prices already at all-time highs for many of those raw materials," Palandrani said.
More: Transportation Electric Vehicles Elon Musk | 2022-04-28T09:22:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Startups Are Cracking the Lithium Industry's 3 Big Challenges | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-lithium-electric-vehicles-desperate-startups-beat-3-challenges-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-lithium-electric-vehicles-desperate-startups-beat-3-challenges-2022-4 |
Elon Musk's vision for Twitter involves turning it into a "digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."
Elon Musk said his version of Twitter will protect free speech but also abide by the law.
However, Twitter operates in the EU, which has imposed new rules on content moderation.
A clash between Musk's idea of free speech and the EU regulations could hurt Twitter financially.
Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner, has explained that his vision for protecting "free speech" on the platform also entails abiding by the law.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the billionaire wrote: "By 'free speech,' I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law."
"If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect," he added. "Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people."
A self-described "free speech absolutist," Musk has pledged to turn Twitter into a "digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated." In the lead-up to his acquisition of the platform, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO also indicated that he would likely be changing the way Twitter moderates content and handles account bans.
While Musk didn't specify in his tweet if he was referring to American or international law, his ambitions for the platform could run up against newly imposed European regulations on online content moderation — a potentially costly prospect for his new company.
On Saturday, the European Union passed the Digital Services Act, a package of legislation aimed at tackling the spread of misinformation and illegal content on the internet. Big Tech companies looking to operate within EU countries will have to abide by the rules or risks fines and a potential ban.
A 'Musk-ified' Twitter clash with the EU's new content regulations
Musk's Twitter will have to comply with local regulations like the EU's new Digital Services Act.
The Digital Services Act mandates that very large online platforms (VLOPs) — such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — must operate on the basis that what is illegal offline must be illegal online, in accordance with the EU's laws.
For instance, the Act requires that major social media platforms to flag hate speech, eliminate any kind of terrorist propaganda, and put in place frameworks to quickly take down illicit content.
In addition, per the Act, the platforms must possess a "crisis response mechanism" to combat disinformation. The Act's text specifically cites the example of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and how online information amid the conflict has been manipulated.
Special provisions to prevent advertising from targeting minors must also be put in place, per the Act.
Platforms like Twitter will also have to carry out annual risk analyses to monitor how their platforms may be adding to the spread of divisive material, which includes content that has "adverse effects on fundamental rights," threatens "democratic processes and public security," or exacerbates "gender-based violence."
Failing to follow EU laws could hurt Twitter's earnings
Penalties for violating the Act could hurt Twitter and, by extension, Musk. For one, the company could face sanctions in Europe that would take away around 6% of the company's revenue, or result in a total ban on the company operating in Europe, said Thierry Breton, the EU's internal market commissioner.
There are some country-specific laws that Twitter will have to be mindful of as well. For instance, Germany has regulations that require firms like Twitter to remove hate speech within 24 hours or be fined up to 50 million euros ($56 million).
Meanwhile, the UK — which is no longer part of the EU bloc — is also looking to pass an online safety bill, which could result in Twitter having to moderate not only illegal but also harmful content if it wishes to operate in the country.
"If [Musk's] approach will be 'just stop moderating [Twitter],' he will likely find himself in a lot of legal trouble in the EU," Jan Penfrat, senior policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi, told ABC News.
"An 'Elonised' version of Twitter would probably not meet the DSA requirements of articles 26-27," said Mathias Vermeulen, public policy director at the digital rights agency AWO, per TechCrunch.
"This can lead to fines (which Musk doesn't care about), but it could lead to Twitter being banned in the EU in case of repeated violations," Vermeulen added, per the outlet. "That's when it really gets interesting: Would he change his ideal vision of Twitter to preserve the EU market? Or is he prepared to drop it because he didn't buy this as a business opportunity but to 'protect free speech in the US?'"
The EU's leaders have also warned Musk to comply with their rules.
"We welcome everyone. We are open but on our conditions. At least we know what to tell him: 'Elon, there are rules. You are welcome but these are our rules. It's not your rules which will apply here,'" Breton told The Financial Times.
More: Elon Musk Twitter Censorship European Union | 2022-04-28T10:10:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | Elon Musk's Twitter May Run up Against EU's New Content Laws | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-collision-course-with-eu-content-laws-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-collision-course-with-eu-content-laws-2022-4 |
How these 7 Web3 music startups are taking on the $25 billion music industry, with the backing of artists like Nas, Katy Perry, and The Chainsmokers
Katy Perry is among a slew of top artists-turned-investors putting money into Web3 music startups.
Only 8.25% of artists on Spotify make more than $50,000 a year, according to its own data.
Insider identified seven startups poised to disrupt the music industry with Web3 technology.
These companies are using NFTs, smart contracts, and tokens to help artists earn more money.
Over the last decade, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have come to dominate how people listen to music, offering all-you-can-listen subscriptions for a few dollars per month.
But music artists have gotten the short end of the stick, eking out a living from the fractions of pennies earned from streaming platform royalties, even overall industry revenue grew 18.5% to $25.9 billion in 2021, according to the music industry's global representative body.
The arrival of Web3 could balance the scales in favor of artists.
Nas has released NFTs on royalty sharing platform Royal, and is an investor in the startup.
Drawing from technologies like the blockchain, social tokens, and NFTs, a number of startups are seeking to change the industry by giving artists more control and money from their music, while also letting fans share in any financial upside from supporting an artist early in their career.
Insider identified seven Web3 music startups that are developing products in areas like decentralized music streaming, royalties sharing, and one-of-one music NFTs.
They have collectively raised tens of millions of dollars in funding from leading VC firms like a16z, Animoca Brands, and Founders Fund, as well as A-list musicians like Jason Derulo, Katy Perry, and The Chainsmokers.
On Audius, artists can upload their music for free, without going through intermediaries like distributors, which often act as gatekeepers to platforms like Spotify. Users can also listen to tracks at no cost. All the while, everyone is earning crypto money in the form of its $AUDIO tokens.
While the platform features lots of indie and up-and-coming artists, users can also find big names like Skrillex, Dillon Francis, and Diplo. It has now reached more than 100,000 artists and more than 4.5 million active monthly users.
Fans can stream Diplo and Dillon Francis' music on Audius, for free.
The platform is not controlled by any one particular entity, instead it is community-owned. Token holders can cast votes on proposals on how to manage Audius.
Roneil Rumburg, cofounder and CEO, said companies that were traditionally community oriented, like SoundCloud, eventually succumbed to pressures from investors and the need to serve corporate interests, and started charging for things like uploads.
He and Forrest Browning, cofounder and chief product officer, decided to set up Audius as a decentralized, owner-less platform because they believed no company should be in control of the artist-fan relationship.
"It sounds kind of Marxist," said Rumburg. "This idea that the means of distribution, in this case, should be in the hands of the people who actually use them."
The platform uses blockchain technology to align the incentives of the three players in this ecosystem: node operators, artists, and fans. Node operators must stake $AUDIO tokens in order to run the nodes that host Audius's content, and in return earn token rewards.
Artists can earn tokens based on things like the number of streams they've accumulated, follower count, and how many times they've reposted other artists' songs. Users are rewarded based on their activity, such as how often they listen on Audius.
Audius doesn't take a cut of token transactions: 90% goes to artists and 10% to the node operators. In fact, the startup says it doesn't make money at all from the activities it facilitates.
"Audius does capture value as a network," said Rumburg. "It's just going to the folks that are using and operating the network, rather than to our company."
Browning said Audius' 0% take rate helps it onboard artists onto the platform. "We're not sitting here trying to think about product features to increase the cut that Audius is making,'' he said.
To operate, Audius has so far raised $13.6 million from VCs including crypto fund Pantera Capital and prominent artists like Jason Derulo, Katy Perry, and Steve Aoki. The money was raised in the form of $AUDIO tokens, which Audius treats as an endowment for its non-profit Audius.org foundation, to be used to grow the network.
Jason Derulo is among the A-list artists who have invested in Audius.
Investors themselves can earn tokens like everyone else by being active participants in Audius, such as by running nodes.
Rumburg said Audius is developing tools that allow artists to use the following they have on Audius to earn money. Audius already allows artists to share their songs from Audius to TikTok, a partnership inked last August, according to Rolling Stone.
"We really see the goal for Audius being to create this direct connection and interaction between artists and fans, and ultimately for that to be the underpinning of a new music economy," said Rumburg.
Catalog is a music NFT marketplace that lets artists sell one of one records of their music. Unlike most other NFTs, which can come in series of thousands, NFTs sold on Catalog are issued as single, unique items, of which there are no other copies. "We consider it the canonical version of your work online," Michael McKain, Catalog's cofounder, told Insider.
While it caters to independent musicians, artists like Pussy Riot, Vic Mensa, and Boyz Noize have "pressed" records on Catalog. The company has so far facilitated $2.7 million in sales, according to Forbes.
Pussy Riot is among the artists who have released NFTs on Catalog.
"When you're collecting a piece of work on Catalog, you're basically saying, 'This piece of music, I found emotionally resonant, I see value in owning it'," said McKain.
The company is attempting to move away from the "all you can eat buffet model" of today's music industry, where music is valued based on the number of plays it gets.
"That's a very narrow way of looking at music. We don't value paintings by the number of times you look at them," said McKain. "Some of the most influential music in our lives is music that you might not have on repeat every day or play in the background all day."
Artists selling records on the platform receive 100% of record sales, plus a share of any secondary sales, which they can set themselves. They can also choose to accept any bid at any time during an auction, which allows them to effectively choose their buyer, and can embed special perks in their NFTs, like concert passes or access to early releases.
The startup, founded in 2017, has so far raised $7.2 million in seed funding from VCs including 1confirmation, the crypto-focused fund backed by Peter Thiel and Mark Cuban.
Started by electronic music DJ and producer Justin Blau, known as 3lau, Royal lets users own NFTs of an artist's streaming royalties earned from a song.
Each NFT can also include extra perks, like guest list passes and exclusive mixes.
"You're putting time and effort and money into an artist anyway, whether you're buying an asset on Royal or not," Blau told Insider. "We just give you the ability to both connect with the artist and to potentially experience upside."
DJ and producer 3lau, who has collaborated with artists like Rihanna and Ariana Grande, is behind Royal.
Artists including Diplo, Nas, and Vérité have auctioned song royalties on the platform, with Vérité's drop selling out in seconds and raising approximately $90,000.
They are among a slew of artists looking for new ways to get their music in front of fans, without having to contend with the "algorithmic gating" of streaming platforms.
"It's really about giving artists a toolkit, almost like a tech stack, to be able to do whatever they want to do. And even if artists are signed to major labels, whatever ownership they maintain, they can still share it with their fans," said Blau.
The startup has raised $71 million from Web3 heavyweight venture capital firms including a16z and Paradigm, as well as prominent music artists like The Chainsmokers and Kygo.
RCRDSHP
RCRDSHP allows users to purchase digital collectibles released by artists in the form of virtual cards. Sold in packs, these collectibles include playable music, but can also include video content, production tutorials, or in-real-life perks, such as concert passes.
The startup initially wanted to feature "moments" from concerts, like the Dapper Labs-created NBA Top Shot collectibles. However, founder and CEO Obie Fernandez told Insider he pivoted to artist and music collectibles once faced with the maze-like complexity of music events licensing rights.
DJ duo Disco Fries have released hundreds of NFTs on RCRDSHP.
Paul Zimmerman / Getty Images
Each collectible is assigned a corresponding token coin value, denominated in RCRDSHP's own SOUND token, which is designed to trade at parity with the US dollar. This allows owners to "burn" a collectible they might not be interested in and receive the corresponding coin amount, which they can use to purchase new collectibles.
In order to release collectibles, artists must take from a pre-assigned amount of coins they receive upon onboarding to create their cards. The only way for artists to earn more coins is to have fans stake the cards they bought, which generates coins for the artist.
"We're aligning incentives so that the artist is incentivized to go to their fans and say, 'Hey, here's an artist card I'm giving to you as a gift, go stake it for me on RCRDSHP, because this is going to generate some money for you and whoever stakes the most for me, I'm going to invite to a trip to Vegas with me or I'm going to send you a vinyl'," said Fernandez.
RCRDSHP also features a leaderboard that ranks who generated the most coins for their favorite artists, which lets users compete for who's the biggest fan, said Fernandez.
The startup counts 27,000 registered users and a couple of thousand monthly active users, according to Fernandez. It has raised $5 million from investors including Dapper Labs and Founders Fund.
As a DJ and producer himself, Fernandez said the music industry's "hyper-capitalistic machine" pumps out unlimited quantities of music, which results in it being treated as a "throwaway, passive thing."
"If you want to make something that's not pop music, you're limited to doing it in your off hours or being wealthy or having patrons. To me, philosophically, that's terrible for humanity. Call it cultural destruction," he said.
Artists like Snoop Dogg, NOTD and TOKiMONSTA have released music on Sound, which lets users own NFTs of an artist's songs.
The platform also features an earnings leaderboard that shows how much each artist has earned, as well a collector's leaderboard showing who has spent the most.
Snoop Dogg has made more than $2.5 million from NFT sales on Sound.
NFT holders can make a public comment on the song listing's page, similar to the comment feature on SoundCloud. When a holder sells their NFT, the new owner can rewrite the original comment.
Every song also comes with a "golden egg" hidden on a randomly selected timestamp. If a user leaves their comment where the golden egg is located, their NFT is updated to a one of one edition, with extra perks thrown in by the artist such as the track's stems or production feedback for aspiring musicians.
Founder David Greenstein told Coindesk in December that Sound is aimed at the artists that "aren't making sustainable careers". According to Spotify's own data, 16,500 artists made $50,000 or more in 2021, out of an estimated 200,000 artists on the platform.
The startup, founded in 2021, raised $5 million from VCs including a16z and Atelier Ventures.
As Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs fetched ever higher prices at auctions last year, SoundMint's cofounders looked at music and realized that it, too, could be created using a generative approach.
Working with electronic music act KLOUD, they created 5,000 unique music NFTs, each compiled with different compositional elements like bass lines, drums, and leads. The NFT drop fetched around $2.5 million in eth, and paved the way for the creation of SoundMint and a $1.7 million seed funding round led by Animoca Brands.
Anonymous DJ and producer KLOUD made around $1.25 million from his first SoundMint drop.
KLOUD
Artists releasing tracks on SoundMint approach the creation process differently, according to Andre Benz, one of SoundMint's cofounders. Instead of producing songs for Spotify or radio, in a format that is recognizable by fans, they instead work on creating unique stems, each 25- to 45-seconds long, and outsource the mixing and mastering to an algorithm.
"Mixing and mastering is the longest part, because you're nitpicking on tiny little details over and over again. It's almost like you're letting that weight off your shoulders, and sometimes it could be variations that you would never have thought of," said Benz.
YellowHeart is a music NFT platform with three components: music collectibles, such as albums in NFT format; community tokens, which are free NFTs given out during live events; and NFT ticketing.
YellowHeart inked a deal with MGM Grand Resorts to sell NFT tickets for the Jabbawockeez.
Only users who have purchased an NFT are able to listen to it, via YellowHeart's app, due to how the metadata is structured in the NFTs. The company developed its own blockchain wallet, which company founder and CEO Josh Katz said is the only one on the market able to play media, but in theory any wallet with media playing capabilities can play YellowHeart NFTs.
Katz said he decided to introduce this ownership verification process to protect copyright holders. Currently, most NFT data is stored on IPFS, or interplanetary file sharing system. Given the open and permissionless nature of blockchain, any one person could find a given music NFT and download it.
As a platform, YellowHeart takes 10% of revenue from NFT sales, while artists retain 90%. Katz said this allows artists to sell a lot less content to make the same amount of money as they would via streaming platforms.
"We're trying to create a do-it-yourself platform for peer-to-peer content, where artists can come on, set up an account, mint music, fan tokens, and tickets, and sell them to their fans," said Katz.
"Now the artist can have a career because not only are they getting paid 90% of the money on the first sale, but they're getting a royalty on the second, the third, and subsequent sales. It allows people to actually live and have a career," he added.
The startup has raised $3.7 million from Live Nation Entertainment.
More: Media Music Web3 | 2022-04-28T11:41:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | 7 Web3 Music Startups Taking on the $25 Billion Music Industry | https://www.businessinsider.com/7-web3-music-startups-nft-blockchain-tokens-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/7-web3-music-startups-nft-blockchain-tokens-2022-4 |
Ben Winck and Alcynna Lloyd
Chatter about a housing bubble has grown increasingly loud amid surging home prices and dwindling demand.
Housing-bubble collapses across history have seen three main elements: an economic downturn, higher rates, and lower demand.
With new-home sales fresh off a four-month low, at least one piece of that equation appears to be intensifying.
There's a great debate raging in the US right now over whether the nation is in the midst of a housing bubble.
But as that discussion takes place, at least one of the elements responsible for popping the theoretical bubble is intensifying.
Housing-bubble collapses across history have seen three main elements: an economic downturn, higher rates, and lower demand. That last element could be showing itself, with new data released this week showing US new-home sales falling to a four-month low, having declined every month in 2022 — a far cry from their early-2021 heyday.
Americans are reacting to the difficult combination of home prices rising alongside mortgage rates, and the result has been a marked hit to demand. Of the remaining two parts needed to pop a bubble, one is a given and the other is quickly getting worse.
Home affordability is getting slammed left and right
Until recently, buyers still had one big reason to go out and spend big on a home: mortgage rates sat at historic lows throughout the pandemic thanks to the Federal Reserve's decision to set interest rates close to zero. The last two months have seen that crutch swiftly disappear as the Fed pushes rates higher. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now stands at 5.11%, its highest level in 12 years. And it's due to keep soaring.
Shoppers are already forking over more of their cash just to cover their home loans. Data from mortgage technology and data provider Black Knight shows that the typical American household is now spending 31% of its income on mortgage payments – the largest share since 2007.
Lofty selling prices are also squeezing buyers out of the market, with prices soaring 19.8% in the year through February, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller price index. As prices have climbed, inflation has hurt purchasing power, making homeownership even more difficult for Americans.
The slowdown in new home sales signals the two trends — higher prices and rising rates — have put a damper on the extraordinary housing demand of the past two years. That leaves just one bubble-popping criterion left: a major economic downturn, like the credit crisis seen in 2008, which results in drastically reduced spending power.
This would slow down home purchases even further, with any remaining buyers not already priced out likely bowing out at that stage. The further decline in home sales could then disrupt the market by triggering a notable downshift in home prices, feeding a cycle of evaporating demand and plummeting home values.
Much still to be decided
But the jury is still out on whether there's a bubble to pop at all. Experts have cautioned that the current situation is dramatically different from the mid-2000s market, as lending standards are much safer and household savings are larger.
It's also unclear if a meaningful economic downturn will materialize. Some economists expect the Fed to raise rates too aggressively and slam the brakes on economic growth in order to pull inflation lower. Deutsche Bank is among the most bearish, saying in a Tuesday note the central bank's actions will spark a major recession by the end of 2023.
Others aren't so worried. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in March that "the probability of a recession within the next year is not particularly elevated," adding the economy is strong enough to "flourish" without low rates. Other data show the labor market almost fully healed and consumer spending at record highs, signaling the recovery is far from sliding backward.
Still, the housing market could be in several more months of intensifying pressure. Affordability remains under siege, and while construction is rebounding, it takes seven months on average for a home to be built. The US might not be quite in housing-bubble territory just yet, but the latest signs suggest it's crawling closer.
More: Economy Real Estate Housing Market Housing | 2022-04-28T11:41:28Z | www.businessinsider.com | Housing Bubble Pop Outlook: Key Piece Intensifying As Home Prices Rise | https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-bubble-pop-outlook-home-prices-spike-sales-slow-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-bubble-pop-outlook-home-prices-spike-sales-slow-2022-4 |
Keir Starmer and Liam Byrne MP
Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images
Labour MP Liam Byrne faces a two-day suspension from the Commons for bullying a member of his staff.
An independent investigation concluded Byrne abused his position of power and ostracised the staff member.
Separately, Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been charged with driving offences following a crash last November.
Former minister Liam Byrne faces a two-day suspension from the House of Commons after an investigation found he bullied a member of staff.
The Labour MP had ostractised a constituency worker, David Barker, between March 20 and the end of July 2020. Byrne stopped contacting Barker and disabled his Parliamentary email account for a period, according to the investigation.
The removal of access to the email account led to a "punitive" effect on Barker, as it denied him access to his final payslips, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found.
As a result, the Independent Expert Panel recommended the Labour MP should be suspended, make a written apology to the former employee, and take management training.
In a statement, Byrne said he was genuinely remorseful for the incident, and accepted he failed "to fulfill my obligations as an employer and Parliament's Behaviour Code."
"This constituted an ostracism which was a breach of Parliament's Behaviour Code which I strongly support, and caused distress for which I am profoundly sorry. I have apologised in full to the individual concerned," he said.
"I'm incredibly grateful to the panel for recognising the genuine remorse I felt about the impact on the individual concerned, the steps I have already taken to ensure this never happens again along with the work still to do, and for concluding that I did not deliberately act to delay the investigation."
A Labour Party spokesperson told Insider: "The Labour Party fully supports the recommendations of this independent report, including the proposed sanction."
Separately, Conservative MP Jamie Wallis was charged with several driving offences following a car crash last November.
Wallis, who recently came out as trans, was charged with failing to stop after a car crash, failing to report the crash, careless driving, and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.
In a statement in March, the MP said he had fled the scene because he was suffering from PTSD, triggered by a rape.
More: UK Politics News UK House of Commons Parliament | 2022-04-28T11:41:34Z | www.businessinsider.com | Liam Byrne Faces Two-Day Suspension for Bullying Staff Member | https://www.businessinsider.com/liam-byrne-faces-two-day-suspension-for-bullying-staff-member-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/liam-byrne-faces-two-day-suspension-for-bullying-staff-member-2022-4 |
Signs of a possible recession are mounting, and investors should lock in their gains while they can, according to the chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. Here's what she thinks they should do right now.
Liz Ann Sonders is the chief investment strategist of Charles Schwab, which oversees $7.87 trillion in client assets.
The chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab is telling investors to stay neutral on stocks.
Liz Ann Sonders says clients should rebalance often and look for quality and value.
She argues that this market is unusually complex, and betting on specific trends doesn't make sense.
Investors don't like to think about the possibility of a recession , but Liz Ann Sonders of Charles Schwab says it's more likely than many realize.
Sonders is Schwab's chief investment strategist and helps oversee the $7.87 trillion in client assets that the company manages. She says that rising interest rates and balance sheet tightening by the Federal Reserve , combined with relatively weak economic growth, all make a recession more likely than a soft landing where the economy keeps growing.
"If all of those exogenous forces move the needle one direction or another, I think it's easier to argue that it moves the needle more toward recession," she told Insider in a recent interview. "The last 13 tightening cycles, 10 have ended in recession, three have ended in a soft landing. So the odds are always more in favor of recession than a soft landing."
After months of signalling, the Fed started raising interest rates in March and is expected to keep raising rates steadily into 2023. Sonders says that those hiking cycles usually start with a much stronger economy than the current one, which has been losing steam for months. The Conference Board, a research nonprofit, is forecasting growth of just 1.5% for the first quarter.
Higher interest rates are likely to slow the economy further by making it more expensive to borrow money.
Everything from the start of this economic cycle to its monetary policy has been unique even before the war in Ukraine made things even more complicated. And Sonders says investors should fight their impulse to try to turn every development to their advantage — with an anti-inflation trade, a rising rates trade, a bet on growth or against it.
"One of the things that we did a couple of months ago was we effectively neutralized our tactical recommendations," Sonders said. Since February, she isn't telling investors to overweight tech stocks, or underweight energy companies, or favor small caps over large or fixed income over real estate, for example.
Instead, Sonders suggests approaching this environment with a bias toward quality companies and an emphasis to lower-price value stocks.
That means a focus on "positive earnings revisions, a positive free cash flow yield, strong balance sheet, and not paying an obscene valuation," she said. "It's sort of an almost back to the basics approach of actually investing based on the characteristics, as opposed to making a sector call or two or a broader asset class or two."
But she's not just telling clients to go to neutral and let stocks run from there. Sonders says investors should be careful about taking what the market gives them and rebalancing their portfolios more often than usual. She doesn't recommending a specific timing pattern or frequency.
"Have your portfolio tell you when it's time to rebalance, so that you're more frequently trimming into strength, adding where there is weakness," she said. "It's more of a broad message about letting volatility work in your favor."
She also warns investors that they might be too focused on inflation right now. While it's unquestionably a significant issue for the economy and for markets, she says investors who are orienting their portfolios around inflation might be missing the possibility that it's peaking and that dynamics will change dramatically, ruining those trades.
"I think there is more than just budding evidence that, sooner than I think a lot of people think, we could be starting to hear the term 'supply glut,'" she said. "We're starting to stack up consumer companies that are now talking about maybe having over-inventoried now into waning demand."
Still, Sonders says the disinflation of the last couple of decades is likely gone, and from here, inflation is likely to stay at a higher level, even if that level isn't in the 8% range that has been reported over the last few months. | 2022-04-28T13:12:45Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Trade Stocks Before a Recession: Charles Schwab Strategist | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-how-to-trading-stocks-investing-advice-liz-ann-sonders-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-how-to-trading-stocks-investing-advice-liz-ann-sonders-2022-4 |
Gil Barndollar and Justin Logan, Defense Priorities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference at a metro station in Kyiv, April 23, 2022.
There are growing calls for the US to outsource its policy on Ukraine to Kyiv.
But US and Ukrainian interests are not the same, and the US needs to be clear about the costs it's willing to bear.
Gil Barndollar is a Defense Priorities senior fellow. Justin Logan is a Cato Institute senior fellow.
Amid Russian war crimes and Ukrainian tactical victories, there are increasing calls for the US and the West to outsource their policy on Ukraine to Kyiv.
At a press conference this month, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested this was already US policy. According to Sullivan, "we believe our job is to support the Ukrainians. They'll set the military objectives, the objectives at the bargaining table ... we're not going to define the outcome of this for them. That is up for them to define and us to support them in."
This idea is wrong and potentially dangerous. For the sake of both national interest and basic prudence, no country should delegate its Ukraine policy to Ukraine.
Western support for Ukraine has been a necessary condition of that country's survival. If Kyiv wants critical Western assistance, it must hear Western advice as well. US assistance implicates us in this war and creates a US interest in the war's terms of conclusion.
But that US interest in Ukraine is obviously not equal to the Ukrainians' own interest in national survival, territorial integrity, and future foreign policy autonomy. Washington needs to communicate clearly to Kyiv its own strategic aims and the costs Americans are willing to incur to pursue them.
Ukrainian troops after the liberation of Hostomel, Ukraine, April 6, 2022.
While Ukraine is suffering tremendously, Western citizens are also paying the price of this war. This falls into two main categories: economic damage and escalation risks.
The prospect of a serious global economic slowdown grows by the day, with sanctions on Russia contributing to skyrocketing energy prices, particularly in Europe. British households saw gas prices rise 54% recently, and there is little reason to expect relief any time soon. America's pain at the pump is less dramatic but just as real. Disrupted wheat, sunflower oil, and fertilizer exports also threaten food supply chains to countries in the global South.
It is political malpractice to simply assume that these escalating costs can be borne forever.
While the war will eventually end, all current signs indicate it is likely to persist for months. As a recent Wall Street Journal analysis concluded, "Ukraine's counterattacks and Moscow's redeployment toward Donbas in Ukraine's east suggest that both sides believe they can win, making it unlikely that peace talks will result in a deal anytime soon … That could be a recipe for a prolonged conflict."
Economic costs pale in comparison to the risks of escalation, with nuclear war the possible final stage of any confrontation between the United States and Russia. Escalation risk is potentially manageable, but it has been elevated both by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's demands and President Joe Biden's rhetorical missteps.
The Ukrainian president's call for a no-fly zone earlier in the conflict would have brought the US and any NATO members that followed it into war with Russia. Biden should make clear to Zelenskyy that the US will not fight Russia for Ukraine, and that our appetite for incurring risk on Ukraine's behalf is already at its outer limit.
Although Biden has stated this repeatedly, his erratic rhetoric has added additional uncertainty to a volatile situation.
Ukrainian troops with a blood-stained stretcher near the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, March 13, 2022.
The Western willingness to run risks on Ukraine's behalf is not and cannot be unlimited. Washington's levels of resource expenditure and assumption of risk needs to be matched to America's strategic aims. The unfortunate fact is that more than two months into the war, it is unclear what outcome US policy is aimed at.
Is the US looking to guarantee Ukrainian independence, shatter Russian conventional military power, or provoke regime change in Moscow? If the White House has an answer, it has yet to satisfactorily enunciate it.
For its part, Ukraine's strategic aim is looking more and more like an outright defeat of Russia, perhaps to include even the reconquest of Crimea. Not only would this require the West to run large risks and suffer economic pain for a long time to come, but it would also raise the question of how Vladimir Putin's Russia, facing a major defeat, would be likely to react.
Do we expect Putin, the man in charge of the world's largest strategic nuclear arsenal, whom we regularly hear is psychotic or detached from reality, to view outright defeat with equanimity? Or is something much darker, like the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a real possibility?
Giving a blank check to a weaker partner with vital interests of its own is never sound statecraft. The US can manage the escalation risks in Ukraine. But the same US, as the key enabler of Ukraine's defense, can and must have a say in when and how this war ends.
Gil Barndollar is a senior fellow at Defense Priorities. Justin Logan (@justintlogan) is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the danger of overplanning
More: Defense Priorities News Contributor Russia Ukraine | 2022-04-28T13:12:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | US Can't Take Unlimited Risk in Helping Ukraine Fight Russia | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-cant-take-unlimited-risk-helping-ukraine-fight-russia-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-cant-take-unlimited-risk-helping-ukraine-fight-russia-2022-4 |
The US economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter for the first time since the pandemic crash
Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022.
US gross domestic product shrank at an annualized rate of 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022.
Economists expected 1.1% growth. The negative print shows a major slowdown from the fourth quarter's 6.9% pace.
The first months of 2022 saw the Omicron wage crest and fade while inflation accelerated to 41-year highs.
The US economy contracted for the first time since the early days of the pandemic as historic inflation crashed into the otherwise strong recovery.
The country's gross domestic product shrank at an annualized rate of 1.4% through the first quarter of the year, the Commerce Department said Thursday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg held a median estimate of 1.1% growth over the period. The print shows the recovery slowing massively from the 6.9% rate seen through the fourth quarter.
The report — the first to come after the best growth year since 1984 — underscores the bumpier path ahead for the country's rebound. On one hand, the first months of 2022 saw the Omicron wave crest and then quickly ease. Daily virus infections hit their lowest levels since the summer in March, and while case counts have trended slightly upward, they remain well below the highs seen during the second half of last year.
But while the coronavirus's threat has largely faded, inflation took its place as the economy's biggest downside risk. Price growth accelerated to a year-over-year pace of 8.5% in March, marking the fastest inflation since 1981 and a sizeable pickup from the rate seen at the end of 2021. Russia's invasion of Ukraine only exacerbated the issue in recent weeks, with supply-chain issues and sanctions driving energy and food costs sharply higher.
The bleak GDP reading isn't set in stone. The figure will be revised multiple times in the coming months as more data comes in.
The bulk of the decline was also powered by somewhat temporary factors. The fourth quarter's booming growth was led by a massive inventory buildup as companies rushed to match supply with demand. Since most of that stockpiling happened in the last months of 2021, businesses dramatically slowed down their inventory investment in the first quarter. That cutback dragged significantly on GDP.
Trade also pulled headline growth to lower levels, but that too masks the true nature of the recovery. Economic activity rebounded faster in the US than in most other economies, and Americans continued to spend at a record pace through February. That left imports, which are subtracted from GDP, at elevated levels. Slow recoveries abroad also kept demand for US exports fairly subdued, further dampening the growth measure.
"A soft headline Q1 GDP number has been in the cards for some time so this does not change our view on the outlook," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said. "This is noise, not signal. The economy is not falling into recession ."
Plenty of bright spots remain. Consumer spending grew at an annualized pace of 2.7% through the first quarter, accelerating from the prior quarter's pace. The measure was likely lifted by the drop in coronavirus infections and the reversal of some economic restrictions. It also suggests Americans are still pumping fuel into the economy despite soaring prices.
Still, the report signals the booming expansion seen through 2021 won't repeat itself. Growth was expected to ease as stimulus effects waned and the country got closer to full health, but the data reveals the slowdown was much more severe than anticipated.
More: Economy GDP US GDP gross domestic product
US economic recovery | 2022-04-28T13:12:57Z | www.businessinsider.com | US GDP Shrinks 1.4% in Q1, Missing Forecasts Amid Omicron, Inflation | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-gdp-q1-economic-growth-inflation-omicron-wave-coronavirus-recovery-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-gdp-q1-economic-growth-inflation-omicron-wave-coronavirus-recovery-2022-4 |
Sinéad Baker and Ben Gilbert
The White House proposed a new system for selling seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defense.
The proposal allows for the sale of "property linked to Russian kleptocracy" seized due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It's the latest step from the Biden administration to financially pressure Russia.
The White House revealed plans on Thursday intended to enhance the US's ability to seize mansions and yachts owned by the wealthiest and most powerful Russians — and sell them to help fund Ukraine's defense.
The White House said the proposal would create new authorities that can seize "property linked to Russian kleptocracy" and "allow the government to use the proceeds to support Ukraine."
The plan targets Russia's oligarchy — a small group of influential and wealthy Russians, many with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The "proposal aims to streamline the process for seizure of oligarch assets, expand the assets subject to seizure, and enable the proceeds to flow to Ukraine," The White House said.
And it said the plan "would improve the United States' ability to use forfeited oligarch funds to remediate harms caused to Ukraine by Russian aggression."
The Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, and the State Department would work together "to use forfeited funds related to corruption, sanctions and export control violations, and other specified offenses to remediate harms of Russian aggression toward Ukraine," the White House said.
Thursday's proposal is the latest step by the Biden administration to sanction Russian oligarchs in the wake of the February 24 invasion of Ukraine. The proposal appears to be the manifestation of a growing interest among American politicians to directly seize assets of wealthy Russians and sell those assets to fund Ukraine's defense.
"I think it's a good idea to seize assets of those close to Putin," Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio told Insider in March. "Other countries are doing it, including Germany yesterday. If Germany is doing it, that must mean everybody is doing it."
The United States — alongside allies in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada — have frozen the assets of dozens of Russian oligarchs and banned them from doing business in their respective regions.
"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Biden said earlier this year. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."
More: News UK Speed desk oligarch Oligarchs | 2022-04-28T13:13:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | White House Plans to Sell Russian Oligarch Assets to Help Ukraine | https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-plan-sell-russian-oligarch-houses-yachts-help-ukraine-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-plan-sell-russian-oligarch-houses-yachts-help-ukraine-2022-4 |
How one food tech startup went from turning down SoftBank to a $100 million investment and a planned IPO
EZCater CEO Stefania Mallett.
EZCater connects restaurants with businesses seeking meals and catering for workplaces.
SoftBank tried to invest in EZCater before the pandemic, but the startup kept it "at arm's length."
In late 2021, SoftBank led a $100 million investment in EZCater, which is planning a 2023 IPO.
SoftBank began flirting with the corporate-catering app EZCater in spring 2018 during the peak of the food-delivery wars.
While SoftBank's interest was flattering, CEO Stefania Mallett initially kept the venture firm "at arm's length," she said. She didn't want EZCater to be part of the same fund as SoftBank's other food-tech investments — DoorDash and Uber, which runs Uber Eats .
"We never let them get close," Mallett told Insider.
At the time, before the pandemic, EZCater's bread-and-butter business model matched restaurants with workplaces looking for corporate catering for meetings or special events. EZCater doesn't deliver food like DoorDash does, but it offers similar tech as an app-based food marketplace.
For that reason, Mallett said she questioned "how much attention" her startup would get from SoftBank, which was bankrolling high-profile logistics-focused startups with millions of dollars.
"They were so deep with DoorDash. And we were small, and we were concerned," Mallett told Insider. "We didn't want to be part of a portfolio play."
The two went their separate way until summer 2021, when SoftBank began courting the Boston company again.
About five months later, in December, EZCater announced a $100 million Series D-2 round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The round brought EZCater's total funding to $425 million and put the company's valuation at $1.6 billion.
EZCater's Relish offers employees a daily selection of individual meals from popular restaurants, delivered straight to any office nationwide.
EZCater became a 'profoundly different' company from DoorDash and Uber Eats during the pandemic
EZCater emerged from the pandemic as a different company, Mallet said.
Traditional corporate-catering gigs collapsed during coronavirus lockdowns as thousands of nonessential employees began working from home. EZCater lost 85% of its revenue and was forced to let go 400 of its 900 employees.
"It was rough," Mallett told Insider.
So the company shifted and began providing meal solutions to essential workers in warehouses and hospitals – people in any business who can't work from home, Mallett said.
The pandemic forced EZCater to turn to an audience it had never considered. And it was a significant demographic. Mallett, citing Pew data, said about 60% of American workers had to work in the workplace.
Then, as remote work turned to hybrid office hours, EZCater introduced a platform called Relish in May. It allows companies to offer on-site employees a daily selection of individual meals from local restaurants. Companies can set and adjust meal subsidies by day or week.
The San Francisco 49ers, JLL, RingCentral, and SeatGeek use Relish. EZCater aggregates the individual meals, which are delivered as one big catering-style order. Some companies report higher office attendance on days Relish is offered, Mallett said.
"What we've seen is food is such a great motivator to get people into the workplace," Mallett said.
The average order is about $300.
"There's just more profit margin to be made there than on a $30 order," Mallett said, referencing an individual meal delivery processed through an operator like DoorDash or Uber Eats.
When SoftBank looked again at EZCater last year, Mallett said her company was a "profoundly different" business than the SoftBank-backed DoorDash, which went public in December 2020.
Relish orders are aggregated into one meal delivery.
This 'COVID-resilient' company is now preparing an IPO
Today, EZCater works with more than 85,000 restaurants across the US, including Jason's Deli, The Honey Baked Ham Co., and Sajj Mediterranean. Most of its revenue comes from tray catering and individual packaged meals ordered through its marketplace.
But Relish is its fastest-growing service — with higher sales potential.
Corporate catering has a $25 billion total addressable market. But the market opportunity for all food-for-work services is over $300 billion, Mallett said.
Turning the company's attention to people it hadn't been selling to made EZCater "COVID-resilient," Mallett said.
She pointed to the Omicron surge in December and January as an example of its resilience.
EZCater's 85% revenue drop in March 2020 was because its business model relied on catered corporate events and meetings. But when the Omicron variant swept across the US, EZCater had only an 8.5% dip in revenue.
This resilience "proves that we have expanded into all of these businesses where they have to be in the workplace," like retail, e-commerce, and distribution warehouses, she said.
"We're pretty nimble," she said. "That kind of cleverness, that kind of responsiveness to the situation is the kind of thing that SoftBank likes."
Mallett hopes other investors will follow suit.
EZCater's next moves are to keep growing its network and to hire at least 300 more employees as it prepares to make its Wall Street debut.
"We're lining up people who would want to potentially invest in us when we go public. Sometime in 2023 is our plan," she said.
More: Food tech Marketplaces Softbank | 2022-04-28T13:56:21Z | www.businessinsider.com | EZCater Initially Rejected SoftBank Before VC Led $100 Million Investment | https://www.businessinsider.com/ezcater-initially-rejected-softbank-before-vc-led-100-million-investment-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ezcater-initially-rejected-softbank-before-vc-led-100-million-investment-2022-4 |
How to get a job in the booming $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry
The cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has 2,600 open roles across 38 countries, its head of talent acquisition told Insider.
The rapid rise of cryptocurrency has created a boom in crypto-related jobs.
Many of these positions are high-paying and don't require direct experience, experts say.
Insider spoke with people in the industry to learn how people could enter the crypto world.
Nearly 12 years ago, the first public cryptocurrency transaction occurred when Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 bitcoins — the equivalent of $63 million today — for two large Papa John's pizzas.
Since that trade, cryptocurrency has been used to buy houses, digital land, and cars, and bitcoin has become an official currency of El Salvador. The total cryptocurrency industry was worth nearly $2 trillion as of Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap.
The rapid growth has also meant another boom: the rise of crypto jobs. Job titles containing the terms "bitcoin," "ethereum," "blockchain," and "cryptocurrency" grew by 395% in the US between 2020 and 2021, a LinkedIn analysis found.
Open positions span finance, software development, IT, and customer service, and experts say the barriers to entry are lower than job seekers may expect.
"I think the whole market is still in the make-the-market mode," Daniel Wasik, the head of talent acquisition at the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, said. "Talent is still being developed, and individuals are developing their own capabilities within the crypto, Web3, blockchain space."
At Wasik's company, there are 2,600 open roles across 38 different countries. James Neave, the head of data science at the job-search platform Adzuna, said there were over 7,000 available cryptocurrency jobs on the site in the first seven days of April. That number has not fallen below 4,000 in 2022, Neave added.
The companies posting these jobs vary, from large, established firms like Deloitte, PwC, EY, and PayPal to buzzy startups. If you're looking to work in this growing industry, here are the steps experts say you should take.
Industries that are hiring
While a variety of industries and companies are venturing into crypto, there are clear figures showing which are meeting that interest with job offers, Neave said.
In April, 53% of the cryptocurrency roles listed on Adzuna were in IT, and 18% were in finance. In these fields, software developers, financial analysts, customer-service representatives, and cybersecurity workers were in the highest demand, Neave added.
"One thing that was interesting was that a lot of these job ads are fairly clear with these software developers, especially if they're entry level," Neave said. "They don't actually need crypto experience."
Finance and cybersecurity roles often require five to 10 years of cryptocurrency experience, he said, but they come with high salaries — the average crypto-security salary is $85,656 a year, according to ZipRecruiter.
There are three clear paths job seekers can take if they're looking to gain cryptocurrency knowledge, Tommaso Di Bartolo, an entrepreneur, author, and blockchain lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, said.
The first step is the most direct and involves investing a small bit of money, $10 to $20, with a crypto exchange.
"Once you start investing, you start reading about it. And once you start reading about it, you start understanding it," Di Bartolo said.
For those who don't want to invest their money before learning more, Di Bartolo said a good alternative could be playing games that use nonfungible tokens or in-game currency, such as "Rev" and "Upland."
The final option is taking an academic route, Di Bartolo said. Job seekers can take classes or read to grow their understanding, he said. Di Bartolo, for example, shares a weekly post on his LinkedIn page with courses and opportunities in the Web3 field.
"We are going to reshape and reeducate the next generation of learners," he said. "No longer are we going to university and saying, 'Turn to Chapter 3, Page 4. Learn this."
The necessary qualities
Curiosity, humility, and passion are the most important characteristics those looking to join the cryptocurrency industry should have, experts say.
"You're joining such a dynamic, forward-thinking industry," Crypto.com's Wasik said. "It's clear thinking, determination, and being resourceful that's really, I would say, differentiated from other industries and something we really do look for within our interview process."
It's understandable for job seekers to lack a formal education in such a newly developed field, but there is ample opportunity to learn independently though online courses and conferences, he added. Such action proves a passion for the space.
"Whether you've worked for a technology company, a media company, or a finance company before," Wasik said, "values are what link your own career."
Moving forward, experts agree that crypto continues to be a growing and changing space that will need workers who are willing to be on the frontier of this digital wave.
"I think the key ingredient to learning is curiosity," Di Bartolo said. "So be curious about the topic — curiosity always meets with fear, but curiosity helps you move from being fearful to being fearless."
More: cryptocurrecny Web3 jobs Blockchain | 2022-04-28T13:56:27Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Get a Job in the Booming $2 Trillion Cryptocurrency Industry | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-in-crypto-industry-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-in-crypto-industry-2022-4 |
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press conference after the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels, Belgium on April 06, 2022.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that it's up to Finland and Sweden to seek membership.
He added that if they want to join the military alliance, both would be quickly welcomed.
Finland and Sweden offered the strongest indications that they will soon pursue NATO membership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said Finland and Sweden would be quickly welcomed to the military alliance if they choose to apply in the near future.
"If they apply, they will be welcomed, and I also expect the process to be quick and that they can then join NATO after the formal process has been finalized," Stoltenberg told reports in Brussels at a joint press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Stoltenberg said it's up to the two Nordic countries to decide if they want to apply for membership, but if they decide to do so, they "will be welcomed with open arms to NATO."
Finland and Sweden earlier this month signaled they would seek NATO membership — reportedly set to apply as soon as this summer.
The two countries have historically been militarily unaligned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine alarmed both countries and prompted consideration of joining the international alliance.
"Everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm.
Andersson said the "security landscape has completely changed," adding that it was time to consider Sweden's best security interest.
Russia in response threatened "serious military and political repercussions" if they joined the military alliance and said it would deploy nuclear weapons to the Baltics — despite the fact that it's assessed Russia has already done so.
Article 5 of NATO's charter says an attack on one member is an attack on them all — leaving Russia with the choice to attack NATO as a whole if it pursues punishment against Finland and Sweden.
Finland's former prime minister Alexander Stubb told Insider's Sinéad Baker that a response from Russia would likely come before membership is finalized, so Finland has actively sought security guarantees from member states in the run-up to the application process.
Stoltenberg on Thursday said Finland and Sweden are NATO's closest partners, calling them "strong and mature democracies."
"We know that their armed forces meet NATO standards — are interoperable with NATO forces," Stoltenberg said.
He added: "We train together, we exercise together, and we have also worked together with Finland, Sweden in many different missions and operations."
More: Speed desk Breaking NATO Finland | 2022-04-28T13:56:33Z | www.businessinsider.com | NATO: Finland, Sweden Quickly Welcomed If They Want to Join Alliance | https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-finland-sweden-quickly-welcomed-join-military-alliance-ukraine-war-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-finland-sweden-quickly-welcomed-join-military-alliance-ukraine-war-2022-4 |
The 27-year-old cofounder of an NFT marketplace acquired by Gemini explains why high-net-worth individuals are investing in digital art as a diversification tool: 'It's not like the stock market where you're competing against some insane quant fund'
Nifty Gateway cofounders Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster
Nifty Gateway was acquired by crypto exchange and custodian Gemini in 2019.
Cofounder Duncan Cock Foster explains the risks in investing in NFTs.
The marketplace has racked up $700 million in lifetime NFT sales, according to Cock Foster.
Duncan Cock Foster, the cofounder of Gemini-acquired marketplace Nifty Gateway, never doubted the long-term investment case for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
The 27-year-old told Insider that he always had an "intuitive understanding of the human desire to collect," which would lead NFTs to capture a market reportedly valued at $41 billion.
Growing up in Seattle, Cock Foster spent his teenage years playing the digital card game Magic: The Gathering and collecting sneakers. The issue with these collectibles, however, was interoperability and verifiable ownership.
In online game RuneScape — which Cock Foster also played — if you bought an in-game asset such as clothing for your virtual character, you couldn't take it to other games.
"Your digital item didn't exist outside the context of one single server. This wasn't possible until blockchains," he said. "Even at that time, people were spending a lot of money on digital items. It just wasn't stuff that they thought was possible for them to truly own."
NFTs, on the other hand, have verifiable ownership because anyone who has internet access can see who holds a certain asset via the blockchain's public ledger.
"The idea of a digital thing that existed basically just on the internet was really what made the concept of NFTs click," he added.
In 2018, Cock Foster cofounded Nifty Gateway with his twin brother Griffin after they graduated from Emory University. The startup, which was acquired for an undisclosed amount by crypto exchange and custodian Gemini in 2019, has since racked up $700 million in NFT sales and has 1 million registered users.
The marketplace launched an NFT advisory board for institutions and high- net-worth individuals in February – a mission Cock Foster says will further Nifty Gateway's goal of onboarding 1 billion people into the nascent space.
"If you're a high-net-worth individual, NFTs are a great diversification tool for your portfolio," he said, which is partly due to its divergence with broader crypto markets.
It was a rocky start of the year for large cryptos like bitcoin and ethereum, for example. In a span of two weeks, bitcoin declined 16% while ethereum dropped approximately 20%. Altcoins like solana plunged 27% as well, according to crypto data dashboard Messari.
NFTs as a diversification tool
While some were predicting a bearish winter, monthly NFT trading volumes told a different story.
NFT marketplace OpenSea notched an all-time high of $4.95 billion worth of ethereum trading volumes in January, according to blockchain data provider Dune Analytics. Floor prices of blue-chip collections such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club increased as well, even as the digital currency used to purchase them experienced a significant decline.
NFTs as a diversification tool, he said, could be comparable to investing in traditional art. 88% of fund managers recommended allocating to art, according to a 2017 report from Deloitte, which specifically cites using the investments as collateral.
Art lending markets allow asset managers to underwrite loans which gives its clients the opportunity to utilize capital more efficiently by leveraging their assets. An anonymous borrower took out an $8 million loan collateralized by their collection of 101 CryptoPunk NFTs in March.
Cock Foster said the NFT market is much better for individuals to participate in because most people buying and selling are retail traders.
"It's not like the stock market where you're competing with some insane quant fund," he added. "Most of the people that are on the other sides of the trades that you're taking are also individuals."
With any speculative asset, however, comes risk for the investor – specifically with an NFT collection's security.
Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, was targeted by a hacker which led to a loss of at least $3 million worth of NFTs on Tuesday. The attacker logged into their official Instagram account and sent a phishing post to followers.
More: NFT crypto Gemini
Duncan Cock Foster | 2022-04-28T13:56:39Z | www.businessinsider.com | Why NFTs Are a Great Diversification Tool: Nifty Gateway Cofounder | https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-nifty-gateway-gemini-cofounder-wealthy-investing-diversification-tool-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-nifty-gateway-gemini-cofounder-wealthy-investing-diversification-tool-2022-4 |
Marinello Schools of Beauty students received $238 million in relief.
The Education Department approved $238 million student debt relief for 28,000 borrowers on Thursday.
The relief was for Marinello Schools of Beauty students, which was accused of "widespread" misconduct.
While now closed, the department said Marinello misled students about the quality of their programs.
Student-loan borrowers who took on debt to go to a for-profit beauty school are getting relief.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden's Education Department announced it will be wiping out $238 million in student debt for 28,000 borrowers who went to Marinello Schools of Beauty between 2009 through its closure in 2016. This is the second round of approval of borrower defense claims — a type of loan forgiveness for students defrauded by for-profit schools — for Marinello students, with 200 of them having received $2.2 million in relief last July.
"Marinello preyed on students who dreamed of careers in the beauty industry, misled them about the quality of their programs, and left them buried in unaffordable debt they could not repay," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "Today's announcement will streamline access to debt relief for thousands of borrowers caught up in Marinello's lies."
—U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) April 28, 2022
Prior to this announcement, the department has been approving individual borrower defense claims, and this is the first time since 2017 it is forgiving debt for a group of borrowers that didn't file individual applications but were found to have been defrauded. As the press release noted, the department had continued to examine evidence of misconduct "so widespread across all the school's campuses" between 2009 and its closure that all borrowers who took on debt to go to Marinello are entitled to full relief.
The Education Department said it will "soon" begin alerting borrowers to their relief, and changes to their accounts will be made in the coming months automatically.
In 2020, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Student Defense — a group that advocates for borrowers' rights — called on the department to use its existing authority to provide full and automatic relief to defrauded borrowers, particularly when it comes to group filings. This week, for example, Student Defense filed a lawsuit against the Education Department over unresolved claims, particularly pertaining to an application filed six years ago on behalf of a group of students who attended now-defunct for-profit school Kaplan Career Institute.
"This six-year failure is unconscionable, given the detailed evidence of misconduct" provided to the department, the suit stated. Student Defense said it is long overdue those group filings are reviewed, and the debt is relieved.
"As many advocates have said for years, Marinello students are among the groups of defrauded borrowers who have waited far too long for the relief they deserve," Student Defense President Aaron Ament told Insider. "So this move is welcome and overdue, but it should just be the tip of the iceberg. The backlog of students who are owed debt relief under borrower defense is long and growing — it's bigger now than it was under the Trump administration — and this move shows there is no reason the Department can't rule on group claims right now."
Thursday's announcement brings the total of approved borrower defense claims under Biden to about $2.1 billion for 132,000 borrowers.
Borrower defense | 2022-04-28T13:56:45Z | www.businessinsider.com | Marinello Beauty School Student-Loan Borrowers Get $238M Debt Relief | https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-borrowers-marinello-beauty-debt-relief-biden-education-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-borrowers-marinello-beauty-debt-relief-biden-education-2022-4 |
Organic-loving consumers will likely keep buying sustainable food despite higher prices
A woman selects fruits and vegetables
Dalibor Despotovic/Getty Images
Grocery prices are up 10% from a year ago, but some devoted foodies will keep buying organic.
About four in 10 consumers who order takeout are willing to spend more on sustainable to-go options.
Shoppers expect organic and are increasingly looking to food for how it can boost their wellness.
For some shoppers, there's no way in kale they'll stop buying organic.
A 10% jump in grocery prices in the past year might keep some consumers from reaching for organic carrots or heirloom tomatoes grown without pesticides. But others, especially Gen Zers and millennials concerned about their health and that of the environment, would continue to buy sustainably produced food as long as they could, experts told Insider.
Surveys conducted in the US and abroad indicated that some consumers continued to prioritize sustainable goods. In the case of what we eat, that means food perceived as being better for a person's health, for producers, for animals, or for the planet in general. But to get those benefits, consumers often have to hand over more money in the checkout line.
Some are willing to: A survey by the market-research firm Euromonitor International showed that about half of consumers across dozens of countries were willing to pay more for sustainable packaged food despite costs that were about 15% higher than that of conventional packaged food.
That motivation extends to getting takeout, too. A survey from Deliverect, a company that helps restaurants manage online orders and delivery, found that 43% of respondents across various countries, including the US, the UK, and Spain, would pay more for to-go food that they considered sustainable.
There are limits, of course. A survey in Britain and Germany found that just over half of shoppers looked at food labels in search of sustainable attributes. But price was the ultimate factor for about eight in 10 British grocery buyers and about seven in 10 German shoppers.
Yet for devoted foodies who linger in the organic aisles, there might be no going back to ingredient labels that show additives most people can't pronounce. Travis A. Smith, an associate professor in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, told Insider that these shoppers, especially the younger ones, were used to paying higher prices for sustainably produced food, so even the recent run-ups in grocery bills might not scare off those who could afford it.
Smith said the rise of store brands selling organic products in the past 10 to 15 years meant more sustainably produced food was within reach for some budget-conscious shoppers.
If prices do get too high, consumers are often savvy swappers. Smith said Americans don't tend to eat a lot of seafood, but that demand in the US has been increasing because prices haven't risen as much as with beef, for example. Now, he said, the price hikes are pushing some consumers to rethink how they might host a party. "Instead of getting the chicken wings, they're getting the boiled shrimp or fried shrimp," he said.
Consumers don't just want organic, they want wellness
Darren Seifer, the food and beverage industry analyst for the market-research firm NPD Group, said that during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009, demand for organic plateaued. "When money got tight, organic was one of the original victims," he said.
But Seifer has witnessed a shift since then in how some consumers study labels. "We're seeing that it's not really all about organic," he said. "Purity is table stakes. That's our entry. It's more about what specifically can the food or beverage do for me."
These health-conscious consumers are seeking foods that promote gut health or heart health, Seifer said. "In today's times, does it help me out with immunity, or does it help me out with anxiety?"
Seifer pointed to rising sales of elderberry and CBD oil. He also cited shoppers' growing interest in manuka honey, produced in New Zealand and Australia, which is drawing attention for its antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.
Seifer said demand for sustainable food would likely endure not only because some shoppers are seeking better health but also because younger shoppers, in particular, are considering the needs of the earth.
"The older generations grew up with things like plastic and thought that was just fine. And the younger generations are thinking, 'OK, we have to live our lives a little bit more sustainably because we can't keep doing this and expect things to turn out fine.'"
More: Sustainability Newsletter Sustainable Food Organic Food Inflation | 2022-04-28T14:43:48Z | www.businessinsider.com | Foodies Will Buy What's Sustainable Despite Inflation | https://www.businessinsider.com/foodies-sustainable-shopping-habits-inflation-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/foodies-sustainable-shopping-habits-inflation-2022-4 |
Commodity ETFs give individual investors an easy way to diversify their holdings with raw materials
ETFs provide small investors a simple way to get into the commodities markets.
ismagilov/Getty
Commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are funds that invest in raw materials.
These funds help investors gain quick access to the commodity markets.
Investors can buy and sell commodity ETFs the same way they do stocks.
Commodity investing is appealing for several reasons. It's a great way to hedge against inflation, generate compelling returns, and diversify a portfolio.
But for individual investors, it's usually not practical to buy physical raw materials like gold, copper, and oil or futures contracts tied to them. Those markets are largely the realm of professionals, given the high costs and complexity involved.
That's where commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) come in.
What are commodity ETFs
Commodity ETFs are securities (financial instruments that investors can trade) that provide exposure to the price changes of raw materials. These funds trade like stocks, so investors can buy and sell them on exchanges throughout the day.
Further, investors can short sell shares of ETFs, meaning they can borrow shares from a lender and then sell them in hopes of purchasing them back later at a lower price. Investors can also buy ETFs on margin, which involves borrowing funds and then using them to purchase these securities.
Types of commodity ETFs
There are four main types of commodity ETFs:
Physically backed ETFs: These funds hold the actual raw materials themselves, for example gold, silver or platinum.
Futures-based funds: These use derivatives contracts, including futures, swaps and forwards, to grant exposure to different commodities. Regardless of whether the underlying raw-material price rises or falls, these ETFs can generate returns. These funds can potentially influence futures prices, instead of simply following them, because they make so many transactions.
Equity-based commodity ETFs: These funds provide exposure to the stocks of companies involved with natural resources or other raw materials. For example, businesses that take part in extracting, producing, storing, or shipping these commodities.
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs): These are debt-based securities issued by financial institutions. They track an underlying index, similar to many ETFs. ETNs don't pay dividends, instead of providing lump-sum payments, which can help investors who own them to avoid short-term capital gains taxes.
How do commodity ETFs fit in an investment portfolio?
Commodities are alternative investments, meaning they are alternatives to more traditional assets like stocks and bonds. Investors can incorporate commodity ETFs into their portfolios in order to improve diversification.
There is strong statistical data supporting the ability that commodities have to diversify investor portfolios. Between 1970 and 2017, the annual returns produced by the Bloomberg Commodity Index and the S&P 500 had a correlation of 0.3, which is rather low, according to the investment management firm Pimco.
Quick tip: Commodities have a track record of displaying a low correlation to stocks and bonds, making them a valuable tool for diversification.
The aforementioned commodity index had the same correlation with the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index, a measure of global bonds.
Investors can also harness commodity ETFs to hedge against inflation, as raw materials have frequently experienced predictable gains when unexpected inflation materialized. In other words, when key inflation measures, like the consumer price index, went up, commodity prices often rose along with them.
"Commodity ETFs can be attractive because they can be uncorrelated with other asset classes (like the stock and bond market in general) and also provide a hedge against inflation," says Lana Khabarova, founder of SustainFi, a platform for impact investing. For instance, an agriculture ETF could be a good investment if food prices are on the rise.
At the same time, Khabarova cautions that commodities have been more volatile than stocks, so investors should limit the portion of their funds invested in them. "They are there for diversification but are not meant to be a core investment," she adds.
Christopher G. Huemmer, senior investment strategist for FlexShares ETFs at Northern Trust Asset Management, says commodities should be one part of a mix of asset classes investors use to hedge against rising inflation. He suggests that they harness Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) in the short-term, natural resources and commodities in the intermediate-term, and real estate and global infrastructure over the long-term.
"Over that intermediate time horizon, both commodities and natural resource equities have done an excellent job historically of battling inflation and giving investors an alternative source of returns beyond stocks and fixed-income securities," Huemmer says.
What are the pros and cons of commodity ETFs?
One major benefit of commodity ETFs is that they can provide an investor's portfolio with greater diversification since raw materials have frequently displayed little correlation to stocks and bonds.
Another major draw of these funds is that they can help investors hedge against inflation since natural resources and raw materials have frequently increased in value when consumer prices are pushed higher.
Further, commodity ETFs provide investors with a way of obtaining returns that don't move in tandem with those of stocks.
As for drawbacks, commodity ETFs can experience significant volatility . Their prices are a function of supply and demand. Bad weather, for example, can have a substantial impact on the supply of certain agricultural commodities.
In addition, the tax treatment of commodity ETFs can be complex. If you invest in funds that hold precious metals directly, you might end up paying taxes higher than your long-term capital gains tax rate or even your income tax rate, since the current tax rules treat these ETFs as collectibles.
Further, commodity ETFs that make use of futures can potentially affect the price of these derivatives contracts by executing a large number of transactions. This situation creates additional uncertainty for these funds.
Investors can achieve greater diversification with a single transaction.
Commodity ETFs can help investors hedge against inflation.
Investors can gain exposure to an asset class whose returns don't follow those of the stock market.
Commodity ETFs can suffer intense volatility, as their prices depend on supply and demand that can be affected by factors like weather.
The tax treatment of commodity ETFs can be rather complicated.
Futures-based commodity ETFs come with additional uncertainty because the transactions they make can impact futures prices.
How do you buy commodity ETFs?
You can use a brokerage or retirement account to purchase shares of commodity ETFs. If you don't currently have one, you can establish one of these accounts by going through either a financial institution or your employer.
Quick tip: Any investor with a brokerage or retirement account can buy commodity ETFs.
Once you have set up one of these accounts, be sure to conduct the appropriate research on commodity ETFs that interest you so you can find one or more that are a fit for your objectives, risk profile and time horizon. If you think it will prove helpful in evaluating these matters, consider seeking the assistance of a financial professional. When you have selected a fund that is a good fit, you can buy it just like you would purchase shares of stock.
When considering commodity ETFs, investors should keep in mind the many potential benefits they provide. For example, their strong ability to provide diversification or hedge against inflation. Further, they should remember that these funds provide quick, efficient exposure to these raw materials.
However, investors should also keep in mind that commodity ETFs have their drawbacks. For example, sharp volatility and complicated tax rules.
Charles is a financial writer and editor with strong knowledge of asset markets and investing concepts. He's currently the VP of Content for financial services firm Quantum Economics.
MARKETS What are commodities? Tangible, everyday goods you can invest in, to hedge against inflation or sinking stock prices
PERSONAL FINANCE What is diversification? A portfolio strategy that uses a variety of investments to limit risk
MARKETS What's the difference between ETFs and index funds?
More: Personal Finance Insider PFI Reference Freelance commodities investing | 2022-04-28T14:44:30Z | www.businessinsider.com | Commodity ETFs: Definition, Pros & Cons, How to Invest | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/commodity-etf | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/commodity-etf |
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Retailers are facing an increasingly competitive landscape. Here's how understanding what consumers value can help drive growth.
Merchants can help improve customer acquisition, conversion, and retention by understanding the role customer values play in purchase decisions.
Pairing an understanding of customer values with data is helping retailers meet shopper expectations.
Savvy shoppers increasingly demand a seamless shopping experience that spans multiple digital and physical touch points.
Survival of today's retailers depends on many factors, but in an era when consumers find most brands to be "easily replaceable," meeting consumer expectations plays a critical role. You would be hard-pressed to find an organization that does not rely heavily on understanding and leveraging the demographics and psychographics of their customers. But it's equally important to consider the role customer values play in purchase decisions.
Since values often drive decisions, consumers buy based on an emotional response more than they might realize. Gaining an understanding of consumers' values can be beneficial for marketers whose success is increasingly being measured by the acquisition, conversion, and retention of new customers — but who may struggle to keep up with customer expectations.
By layering existing data onto an understanding of consumer core values, marketers can uncover valuable insights that allow for targeted messaging and customer experiences on a more human level.
With this fresh perspective in mind, PayPal commissioned a survey* in five global markets to better understand the shared values of their 426 million-plus global users and the impact those values could have on brand preference and desired shopping experiences.
When presented with 56 core human values to choose from, survey results showed that across all five regions (US, UK, DE, FR, AU) PayPal consumers ranked security, experiences, and loyalty within their top 10. As merchants look to create more impactful consumer connections and develop that coveted stickiness that fosters loyalty and repeat purchases, it's important to think outside of demographics and psychographics as the only means of consumer insights.
Why security comes first
Two years ago, only 17.8% of global sales were made from online purchases. That number is expected to reach 21% in 2022, a 17.9% increase in ecommerce market share over two years. It's no surprise that the past two years have expedited the growth of digital commerce. However, ecommerce growth brings an increase in online fraudulent activity as well.
When making a purchase, shoppers want assurances that their personal and financial information is protected. PayPal research shows that 79% of US consumers say they have to "trust that their financial information is secure" when buying online. In addition, more than half (52%) of PayPal customers say they are more likely to buy online if PayPal is available, and over 80% are more likely to complete a first-time purchase if PayPal is offered.
"By simply offering a trusted payment method, merchants may be more likely to drive conversion and bring back shoppers time and again," said Marcy Campbell, senior vice president, professional services at PayPal. "PayPal is one of the world's most trusted brands, and that trust is transferable to the retailer."
Customer experience is key
The journey matters and if merchants are not providing the shopping experience customers desire, they risk losing the sale, as well as a loyal customer. So, it's no surprise that "experiences" was also ranked as a top 10 core value of PayPal consumers, according to the Valuegraphics survey.*
"Merchants need to focus on showing up where their customers are — whether that's in-store, online, on mobile, or on social media," Campbell said. "They need to invest in the experience, not just the transaction."
When the experience isn't satisfactory, most customers don't return. PayPal's research shows that 80% of shoppers stop using retail sites with poor experiences.
Merchants need to create a seamless experience that allows shoppers to engage with the product. "Product presentation is important and offering customers options at the point of decision rather than at the point of purchase has been increasingly important," Campbell added.
At Pressed, a cold-pressed juice and plant-based foods retailer, creating the right experience often revolves around a conversation between store associates and customers. "What we try to do in our retail stores is really educate the customer on the product and make it less of a transaction and more of an experience," said Blaine LaBron, the company's vice president of digital marketing.
"On the technology side, our goal has always been to first educate the consumer, and then once they've decided on what they want, get them out the door as soon as possible," he added. "We know everyone has very busy schedules."
To enhance the experience, the company offers alternative payment methods — such as QR codes, PayPal, and Venmo — for customers who want them. "The idea here is for customers to purchase in the way they want to purchase," LaBron said.
This applies to both online and in-store purchases. For online transactions, Campbell recommends placing payment options next to a product offering, not just the checkout page. "81% of Millennial and Gen Z Buy Now Pay Later users decide which payment method to use before checkout," she said.**
A strategy for winning loyalty
Loyalty is the third core consumer value retailers should focus on.
The value of a loyal customer is endless. Repeat purchases, word-of-mouth advocacy, ease of new product adoption. One might even consider them as an extended part of your marketing team. In fact, a Harvard Business Review study found it costs retailers five to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than to maintain and grow an existing relationship.
To maximize value with customers, retailers need to design seamless experiences that engage consumers at relevant touchpoints, as well as design customer loyalty programs that recognize and value repeat customers.
According to McKinsey, customers' expectations are high: 71% of customers prefer customized communication and 76% become angry when they don't receive it.
"We have product offerings like Store Cash, which allows a merchant to identify a PayPal user, and offer them incentives to return to their website if they haven't completed a purchase," Campbell said. "We have seen a lift in PayPal sales when businesses offer Store Cash via email and in-app."
For Pressed, working with PayPal allows the company "to innovate without worrying about things like collecting payments, especially in such an evolving space," LaBron said.
For retailers, innovation should revolve around a basic directive, Campbell said. "Put yourself in the customers' shoes. Shoppers want a relationship, not a transaction," she added. "Anything you can do to create that feeling of connection will make a difference and will help expand sales, create loyalty, and further your brand."
Watch the video below to find out more about how Pressed is creating a valuable experience for customers.
Find out more about how PayPal solutions can help enhance the customer experience and build loyalty.
* Valuegraphics, commissioned by PayPal, December 2021-January 2022. Valuegraphics conducted a survey of 6,750 total PayPal, located in US, DE, FR, UK, AU, to identify the values that impact their decisions
**TRC online survey commissioned by PayPal in April 2021 involving 5,000 consumers ages 18+ across US, UK, DE, FR, AU (among Millennial & Gen Z BNPL users (ages 18-40), US (n=222), UK (n=269), DE (n=275), AU (n=344), FR (n=150)
More: Sponsor Post Studios Enterprise Studios Retail Studios Technology
sp-paypalenterprise-article3 | 2022-04-28T14:44:36Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Understanding Consumer Values Can Drive Retail Growth | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-understanding-consumer-values-can-drive-retail-growth | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-understanding-consumer-values-can-drive-retail-growth |
Banking sector suffers 'deal fatigue' as Q1 M&A activity dries up
A KPMG report finds that although the volume and value of global M&A deals in banking have stalled, pent-up demand is building.
Fintechs, regional and community banks, and pressure on margins may help drive an increase in deals for the year ahead.
The news: The volume and total value of global M&A deals in banking declined sharply for Q1, according to a KPMG report.
By the numbers: The report blamed the decline on the Omicron variant, surging inflation, expected interest rate hikes, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The number of M&A deals in banking for Q1 fell more than 30% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to 91.
The total value of deals was $16.9 billion, a drop of over 47% QoQ.
Fewer and smaller megadeals mainly drove the slump in M&A activity, according to KPMG. A rush to close transactions before 2022 also comparatively hurt Q1 figures.
The decline in deals mirrors a general drop in funding: Global fintech funding fell 18% QoQ to $28.8 billion for Q1—the largest percentage drop since 2018, per CB Insights data.
What's next? Deals could bounce back as pent-up demand and confidence within the industry picks up. This is the view KPMG takes: It said strategic trends in banking were robust and would help M&A to grow. Three major trends may help drive an increase in deals:
Fintechs: Banks are looking to bolster growth by buying up smaller innovative players that bring them new capabilities. US neobank SoFi's purchase of cloud-based core-banking provider Technisys for around $1.1 billion was one of the quarter's biggest buyouts.
Regional and community banks: They're expanding through acquisitions, mostly seeking economies of scale. Louisiana-based Origin Bancorp's purchase of Texan BT Holdings for around $313.5 million is a recent example.
Pressure on margins: Heightened competition from neobanks, rising compliance costs, higher technological expenditure, and efforts to meet environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) commitments are piling on costs. Purchasing smaller, highly specialized fintechs or regtechs saves banks the time, effort, and cost of creating solutions in house.
The big takeaway: In spite of pent-up demand, a harder stance in the US by regulators will likely limit the speedy approval of the largest M&A deals and banks contemplating megadeals must prepare for greater scrutiny. Separately, we see record-high inflation, a looming energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine continuing to impact dealmakers' confidence. These wider market factors will dictate whether M&A activity can rebound after its slow start in 2022. | 2022-04-28T14:44:54Z | www.businessinsider.com | Volume and Value of Global M&a Deals in Banking Declines Sharply in Q1 | https://www.businessinsider.com/volume-and-value-of-ma-deals-in-banking-declines-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/volume-and-value-of-ma-deals-in-banking-declines-2022-4 |
The real reason Bolt got sued by a big customer: There's a fight over whether it can buy discounted stock in the $11 billion startup
Melia Russell, Sindhu Sundar, Yoonji Han, and Leena Rao
Ryan Breslow and Jamie Salter.
Bolt; Michael Tullberg/WireImage/Getty Images; Insider
Bolt is being sued by a customer that says the startup's one-click checkout has technical glitches.
The customer, Authentic Brands Group, owns retail brands Forever 21, Nautica, and Reebok.
Insiders say that ABG is focused on obtaining stock in the $11 billion startup.
The real reason San Francisco fintech startup Bolt got sued by a big retail customer is part of an attempt to accumulate stock in the $11 billion startup, Insider has learned. Bolt, which provides an online checkout solution for other companies, is facing a lawsuit from one of its largest retail customers, Jamie Salter's company Authentic Brands Group, which is alleging that the startup's technology is fraught with technical issues and delays, causing the company to lose money.
But in a unusual twist, ABG, which owns dozens of retail brands including Forever 21, Nautica, Brooks Brothers, and Reebok, is actually fighting for an ownership stake in the $11 billion fintech.
Bolt is no stranger to drama, with its founder Ryan Breslow's iconoclastic pronouncements about the tech industry. That hasn't stopped the eight-year-old company from ascending into the upper echelons of unicorn startups, with over $1 billion in funding from marquee investors including General Atlantic, Floodgate, and Tribe Capital. And the lawsuit also comes on the heels of the demise of rival payments startup, Fast, after it raised $120 million in funding. Now, Bolt's ongoing battle with a prominent customer could chip away at the startup's competitive advantage.
The checkout technology space, said one source who's close to the company, is "Bolt's to lose."
In October 2020, Bolt signed up ABG as a customer and entered a deal to award it stock warrants, which give the holder the right to buy shares at a specified price before a specified date — on certain conditions.
The agreement said that if ABG implemented Bolt's checkout and loyalty products at brands like Forever 21 and generated a certain amount of transactions, ABG could buy shares in Bolt for a stake of up to 5%, according to the lawsuit and sources close to the company who asked for anonymity discussing pending litigation. Those shares had an estimated value of $20 million at that time, said a source, and could be worth $370 million at Bolt's Series E share price.
In a court filing, ABG valued that stake at closer to $500 million.
Multiple sources said that ABG is suing because it still wants those highly valued shares. They posited that Salter's company believes in the long-term success of Bolt and wants a piece of the upside. One source pointed to the fact that ABG initially filed its complaint in court under seal, which Insider has verified, to keep the conflict under wraps. It wanted to avoid a public battle that could hurt Bolt's share price and the value of its warrants, this source said.
This latest hiccup is just yet another in a string of conflicts at the fintech startup.
In January, Bolt founder and then CEO Breslow rattled the tech world when he went on a Twitter tirade saying that Y Combinator and his chief competitor, Stripe, tried to pummel his own startup into obscurity, and called the accelerator "mob bosses." Then two weeks later, Breslow resigned and took on the role of executive chairman, saying the decision came well before his tweetstorm. The payments company was reportedly raising a new round of funding at a $14 billion valuation, only weeks after Bolt closed $355 million in a Series E round, valuing it at $11 billion.
How Bolt miffed a prominent customer
In its lawsuit, ABG alleged that Bolt assured the retail brand owner that the startup could release an effective online checkout software product and launch a loyalty program called "AllPass" within roughly three months.
But ABG claimed in court that the endeavor was plagued by delays and that Bolt "utterly failed" to come up with a solution that could work with most of its brands' websites. ABG has alleged that those delays were at least in part due to Bolt working instead on a separate product called Bolt+, which has not been released. A source familiar with the matter tells Insider that Bolt+ is a loyalty product but is separate from AllPass.
In the complaint, ABG also accuses Bolt of changing the terms of the agreement for issuing the stock warrants.
The agreement said it needed to contribute $750 million in transactions through Bolt products before it could buy its shares, according to the lawsuit. But in October 2021, Bolt told the company, ABG says, that the transactions had to come through its AllPass loyalty program in order to meet the threshold for ABG to exercise its stock warrants.
ABG said that its retailers Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, and Lucky enrolled in AllPass but it didn't work properly, so the company didn't release the program to its own customers. Bolt denied this characterization in a court filing, and a source close to the company said that Bolt's technology was delivered on time and had no technical issues. The source also claims that ABG is changing the terms of the warrant, which was always predicated on the retailers transactions through AllPass.
The agreement in question is different from the contract that ABG has with Bolt regarding the use of its checkout technology, which continues to power checkout for its retailers Forever 21 and Lucky.
Bolt charges customers like ABG a percentage of gross merchandise value, or the total amount of a purchase on a retail site. This is similar to how other payments services such as PayPal make revenue.
ABG accuses Bolt of riding its coattails
In its lawsuit, ABG paints a different picture of its relationship with Bolt, seeking to distance itself from Bolt, particularly its fundraising roadshow, making allegations that raise questions about Bolt's $11 billion valuation.
In court filings, ABG accused Bolt of riding its coattails by invoking their relationship to sell investors a rosy narrative of its growth. ABG also said it had helped Bolt secure deals with Shopify and Casper, but that Bolt has sustained persistent losses and been unable to deliver a reliable checkout software product for its brands.
The deal was in part also meant to boost Bolt's profile and expand its customer base, according to ABG, which said that if the software had worked, the agreement would have connected it to dozens of its portfolio brands.
As of January, Bolt was reportedly logging $60 million in annual revenue, Insider previously reported. At that time, two fintech startup founders told Insider that market research on Bolt indicated that actual net revenue for 2021 could well have been less than $20 million. Bolt was forecasting $150 million in annual revenue in 2022, according to a person familiar with the new funding at the time. It's unclear whether Bolt was profitable.
Bolt also publicly divulged confidential details about their agreement and created an impression of success that never materialized, ABG said in its amended complaint. Without ABG's permission, Bolt had both publicly described its partnership and prematurely referenced ABG's deal to acquire Reebok, ABG said in court filings.
In the response to the lawsuit, in which Bolt filed a motion to dismiss ABG's claims, Bolt denied ABG's allegations, arguing that its claims are without merit and are a "transparent attempt" to rewrite the terms of its agreements.
Bolt responded that its partnership with ABG to develop AllPass and its customer relationships with ABG's brands were not confidential, noting that ABG itself publicly announced the program with Bolt.
In an email, an ABG spokesperson declined comment, saying the company doesn't discuss pending litigation. Bolt also declined to comment for this story.
Matthew Kish, Callum Burroughs, and Ben Bergman contributed to this report.
More: Retail Startups | 2022-04-28T15:31:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | Forever 21 Parent ABG Is Suing Fintech Bolt for a Stake in the Startup | https://www.businessinsider.com/abg-suing-bolt-for-stake-in-the-startup-lawsuit-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/abg-suing-bolt-for-stake-in-the-startup-lawsuit-2022-4 |
Big Law's 'invisible middle' say they're feeling left behind while rainmakers and junior lawyers are making more than ever
Yoonji Han, Jack Newsham, Casey Sullivan, and Sindhu Sundar
Big Law associates and rainmakers are getting record pay as firms vie for talent.
But some junior and "service" partners are feeling short-changed.
The widening disparity in pay is wearing on law firms' culture and competitiveness.
As major law firms have distributed profits to partners after a busy 2021, they're under increasing pressure to pay their rainmakers a bigger slice. That means less is left over for partners lower in the ranks.
A senior partner at a large law firm said firms with bonus pools for top partners were seeing some of the most significant internal debate, in part because it's a "zero sum game" and there would be only a single payout on last year's extraordinary revenue.
"If you're paying out the profits based on the past 10 months, it doesn't reward productive and collaborative behavior for the past 10 years," said another partner at a top law firm.
At Dechert, for instance, tensions have surfaced about the pay package of one of its senior corporate partners, Mark Thierfelder, who advised on one of the largest private-equity deals last year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Thierfelder earned roughly $12 million, his bonus constituting about $2 million of the compensation, according to this person. Thierfelder is the head of the firm's private-equity department and advises the sovereign wealth fund GIC as a client, including on its buyout of Medline last year.
Some of the more junior partners in the Dechert corporate department haven't been pleased to learn about Thierfelder's outsize compensation package, this person said. By comparison, they've seen incremental increases in their own pay, the person added.
A former Dechert lawyer said there was a "massive" gap between the lowest-paid partners and the "superclass" of partners, which includes firm leadership.
Thierfelder declined to comment through a firm spokesperson.
The Big Law talent war has been red hot in recent years, with firms raising pay for junior lawyers and opening their pocketbooks to woo rainmakers.
Meanwhile, certain tranches of lawyers feel like they're being left in the dust. These include so-called service partners and senior associates who do the grunt work and whose billable hours rake in substantial revenue for a firm.
One partner called this group "the invisible middle."
"You've got partners who bring in the work and deserve to be compensated for it, and partners who do the work and deserve to be compensated for it as well," the partner said. "It's not unlike a professional sports team without the O line: A quarterback can be great, but they're not much without a strong O line."
Insider spoke with 23 current and former law-firm partners, associates, and recruiters about how the widening gap in compensation had changed the legal profession. Some said it created rifts in firm culture and stymied the growth of junior lawyers, while others said it's necessary to give higher pay to the lawyers who brought in clients. Many lawyers who spoke with Insider were granted anonymity because they did not have permission from their firms to speak with the press. Their identities are known to Insider.
Pay gaps have risen with the demise of lockstep
Gaps between the lowest- and highest-paid partners have grown as traditional firms like Cravath, Swaine & Moore have modified their pay scales to better compensate junior lawyers. Firms have done so in part to keep lawyers from being poached by firms like Kirkland & Ellis, which say they pay based on merit more than years of experience.
Some firms have also sought new ways to boost the compensation of top partners. Incoming equity partners, for instance, can often negotiate guarantees that they'll maintain their number of shares for a period of time regardless of performance, two people told Insider.
This year, in particular, partners have had more leverage than usual to demand higher salaries, people said. Some of the biggest pay packages have been offered to lawyers who work with private-equity and corporate clients.
Meanwhile, firms looking to beef up their corporate practices are said to be offering significant pay bumps to lure new hires — both for rainmakers and for lower-ranking partners whose books of business they could take or leave.
Sometimes, the firms just need additional lawyers to service a big client, one person said.
One law firm seeking to expand its corporate practice is Gibson Dunn. The firm hired Douglas Horowitz, a capital-markets partner who joined from Cahill Gordon in early April. His pay at Gibson Dunn is said to be $9 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment.
One Gibson Dunn partner viewed such pay packages as necessary to lure talent away from competitors. Rainmakers are often unpersuaded to leave their firms, especially if it's where they've spent years building relationships, this person said.
"In some sense, it's a hit or miss strategy, almost like the draft in sports," the lawyer said. "If you hire enough laterals, and one works out really well, it'll make up for the five people not working out."
Large gaps in pay can cause law firms to take a 'culture hit'
There are risks associated with rewarding lawyers based on individual performance rather than seniority, however. The rejiggering has caused disloyalty and prompted lawyers to look out for themselves, according to sources.
Incentivizing lawyers to bring in clients, for instance, can create a "grabby sales atmosphere" where partners think they "own" clients and receive credit for the business they generate, Avery Ellis, a recruiter at Mestel & Co., said.
Poaching partners from competitors can cause a "culture hit," according to Big Law attorneys. Especially when partners are paid in the high seven figures, the additions come at the expense of homegrown senior associates and junior partners, who can see fewer opportunities to grow their own practices.
"You can't keep your culture when somebody is making eight times as much as someone else," a Gibson Dunn partner said. "In what sense are those people partners? They're not."
Some firms have resisted changing their pay system to protect their culture. The incoming chair of Debevoise & Plimpton recently told Bloomberg Law that he had no plans to abandon their so-called lockstep pay model, a system that compensates lawyers based on years of experience rather than business generation.
Debevoise, which is said by people with knowledge of its system to pay its most senior partners about three times as much as its junior partners, is one of only two Big Law firms left to use such a "pure" lockstep system. The other is Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
Growing gaps in partner pay may just be the cost of doing business
Plenty of lawyers are on board with the trade-offs of working at a firm where lawyers sink or swim based on the success of their own practice. And some believe lawyers at the top end of the pay scale deserve the extra money.
"They're fighting like hell to build relationships," said one junior corporate partner on the West Coast who was at peace with the pay disparity between himself and top partners.
But in other instances, lawyers found the class divide extreme.
A lawyer at one large law firm said some senior associates at her firm took home more than nonequity partners in recent years. The lawyer said she didn't begrudge senior partners at her firm for earning more than her but that subsidizing associate salaries by underpaying nonequity partners was a step too far.
That move came as law firms across the industry offered large salaries to associates in an effort to staff a rising tide of deals and litigations. Many firms paid out large bonuses in 2021, helping the most senior associates make over $550,000 last year — and perhaps even more if they moved firms and landed a signing bonus.
While the money's been great, the focus on pay has also meant some lawyers don't even care which firm they're at, as long as they're getting paid well for their 2,500-hour work year. One lawyer said that he followed whoever the rainmaker was to whatever firm they went to, since that's where the business and opportunities would be.
On the other hand, high pay — even at the expense of firm culture — may be necessary for firms to survive, Jeffrey Lowe, a recruiter at Major, Lindsey & Africa, said.
Refusing to change compensation models in order to preserve firm culture could have its own cost, according to Lowe.
"Our highest-performing partners are now walking out the door because they're able to double or triple their compensation," Lowe said. "What is it that we're preserving if we can't remain competitive in the marketplace?"
More: Big Law Compensation Pay | 2022-04-28T15:31:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | A Growing Pay Gap Between Big Law Partners Is Causing Culture Rifts | https://www.businessinsider.com/growing-pay-gap-between-big-law-partners-causing-culture-rifts-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/growing-pay-gap-between-big-law-partners-causing-culture-rifts-2022-4 |
TikTok creators have become music tastemakers and are now a key part of song release strategies, from private listening parties to livestream Q&As
Tanya Chen and Dan Whateley
Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images for MC.
Music artists are hosting digital meetups and listening parties with TikTokers.
The strategy allows artists to preview new tracks and brainstorm video ideas with creators.
Marketers are constantly optimizing song releases on TikTok as its audience grows.
In the summer of 2020, as Miley Cyrus was preparing to release her single "Midnight Sky," her team began brainstorming which insiders should get early access to hear the track.
"I feel like the traditional way when you're making an album is you go play it for the radio people, the label, you know, the tastemakers," said Olivia Rudensky, founder and CEO of Fanmade, a marketing and fan engagement upstart that works on digital strategy with clients like Cyrus and Hailey Bieber.
But for Cyrus' "Plastic Hearts" album release, the team turned to a new set of tastemakers: TikTok influencers.
In partnership with TikTok, it held two listening sessions over Zoom with around 15 creators, sharing snippets of Cyrus' unreleased songs and discussing different ways that the influencers could incorporate "Midnight Sky" into trends.
"These creators are needed in the process," Rudensky said. "They're just as important as all the relevant stops when you're doing promo or when you're going to tastemakers because they really are the audience that's making or breaking music right now."
Since the release of "Midnight Sky," the music industry as a whole has doubled down on TikTok.
Record labels and artists are hosting TikTok livestream concerts, doing Q&As with its creators, teasing snippets of new tracks as TikTok sounds, and hiring influencers (and even non-influencer hydraulic press and slime accounts) to push music.
While no single marketing tactic is guaranteed to break through on an app with over 1 billion monthly users, hosting a listening session with creators can help an artist's marketing team understand what might cut through the noise.
Making listening parties more accessible to creators, and TikTok communities more accessible to artists
Because of the nature of the audio-focused platform, TikTok creators (regardless of the type of videos they post), are often a hybrid of fan and music curator. And industry professionals are hosting a variety of digital and in-person events to reach them.
Some digital meetups, like Cyrus', are for a small curated group of creators. Other influencer events are much larger, like an in-person October concert and release party for Tiësto's track "The Motto" that was attended by around 250 influencers, artists, and models, and was livestreamed on TikTok.
TikTok influencers attended Tiësto's Zouk Nightclub performance cohosted by TikTok and Atlantic Records.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Atlantic Records.
Nicki Minaj debuted her single "Bussin" in a creator-artist meet-up via Zoom in February in front of hundreds of creators as part of a TikTok Black History month event.
"The Zoom call was an hour with Nicki on camera chit-chatting, and moderated by TikTok," said Denver McQuaid, a visual effects TikToker with 147,000 followers who attended the gathering. He said the event wasn't billed as a listening party, or one to help promote her new song. But hundreds of creators in the large Zoom call were told to consider using "Bussin" in their upcoming TikToks.
While McQuaid and others enjoyed the music in the event, it drew backlash among some Black creators who told BuzzFeed News they felt excluded.
"There wasn't a lot of creative direction; it was pretty much 'this is a new song, use it in your videos'," McQuaid said. "That was kind of it. A majority of the call was more a general chit-chat and understanding of who she is."
The Minaj event also highlighted a new power dynamic between artist and listener.
She was the artist, and held the spotlight. But at one point, McQuaid said Minaj asked creators in the stream for tips on what she could do with her own TikTok account.
"It was a very 'goes both ways' approach," he said about the major artist and creators swapping insights about their areas of expertise.
Digital spaces are taking on a bigger role in song releases
Traditionally, song releases involve a pastiche of music journalists, DJs, and fans all hand-selected by an artist and their label to preview a new single.
But the pandemic has shifted events online in a way that could become permanent, upending the idea that listening parties need to be held in music industry capitals like New York and Los Angeles. Listening sessions and artist meet-ups are now being held via apps like Zoom, Instagram, and TikTok.
Ari Elkins, a TikTok music curator with around 1.8 million followers, hosts weekly one-on-one listening sessions with artists on Instagram Live, often timed around a recent song or album release. Recent sessions have included artists like Lauren Spencer-Smith, Big Gigantic, and Clean Bandit.
"I get a ton of emails every day, probably 30 to 40 emails from different artists sharing their unreleased music," Elkins told Insider.
TikTok listening streams are still largely experimental, but can function as both a thank you to the TikTok community at large, and as a wink for users to post their content featuring a new song.
A TikTok spokesperson told Insider that the company has hosted various formats of online listening events with artists for fans, including a one-off creator meetup with Khalid in December and an April listening party event with Lizzo where she teased two unreleased songs. In September 2021, Demi Lovato and Marshmellow worked with creators to brainstorm content ideas for their single "OK Not To Be OK." And in March 2021, Daddy Yankee was the star of a Zoom call of about two dozen creators to preview his music video for "Problema."
"With so many people trying to make music and be seen, there's a lot of noise to break through," McQuaid said. " I think of [listening parties] as a focus group where a lot more people are getting involved and spewing out ideas."
More: TikTok Music marketing Miley Cyrus | 2022-04-28T15:31:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | How TikTok Creators Have Become a Key Part of Music Release Strategies | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-creators-have-become-key-part-music-release-strategies-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-creators-have-become-key-part-music-release-strategies-2022-4 |
Cristina Cordova became a startup exec at just 22 years old and then landed roles at Stripe and Notion. Now, she’s taking on her next challenge as a VC at First Round Capital.
Cristina Cordova is First Round Capital's latest partner.
Bonnie Rae Mills
Before she worked in venture, she was the 28th employee at Stripe and also an early hire at Notion.
Cordova is also an angel investor and has backed more than 50 startups.
Cristina Cordova has a nearly picture perfect resumé for venture capital.
She graduated from Stanford, worked as an operator for unicorn startups like Stripe and Notion, and angel invested in over 50 startups before landing the coveted role of partner at First Round Capital.
But her path to success was anything but a given.
Cordova grew up as the child of a single mother in Los Angeles and spent much of her early childhood managing her own schedule.
"I was definitely a latchkey kid," she told Insider. "I learned to be very independent and self driven and motivated."
It was that drive that led Cordova to her first college internship at Tapulous, an app development startup. A friend offered her an internship there after she left for a study abroad program and Cordova jumped at the opportunity. It would ultimately change the course of her career.
It was at Tapulous that Cordova first heard the phrase "venture capital," and realized that it could be a viable career path for her down the line. She became fascinated by the inner workings of Silicon Valley startup culture, and read as many tech blogs and news sites as she could.
After completing her internship, Cordova landed a job at Pulse, an RSS news feed application, which has since been bought by Linkedin. At Pulse, she became the vice president of business development at 22 years old.
It was a lofty task for Cordova, and she felt intimidated by the responsibilities at first.
"I had huge impostor syndrome," she said. "I felt like I had to hide my age, because of how young I was."
Cordova knew she had to dive into the role and learn as she went along, just like she did at Tapulous.
She immediately took on every project she could at Pulse, from securing partnerships with major newspapers to hiring and managing employees across departments. By the time she was 24, she had landed her next role as Stripe's head of partnerships and was a key player in getting Lyft as a Stripe customer.
While at Stripe, Cordova became curious about angel investing after seeing so many of her past colleagues break into venture, and participated in First Round's angel investing track program.
"I consider myself a generalist," Cordova said. "Angel investing was my way to learn about all kinds of businesses and figure out how I could be helpful to a business outside of a space that I've worked in directly."
She became quite the prolific angel investor , backing over 50 startups. Unlike some angels, who would write a check and have little involvement in a company afterwards, Cordova would dive in to help founders with any operational problems they were having.
After investing in workplace management startup Notion, she became so active in helping the company that she ended up taking a job there as the head of platforms and partnerships, and reported directly to the CEO.
Cordova managed to stay close with several of the partners at First Round Capital she met during the angel investing program. And as luck would have it, the venture firm was looking for a new partner earlier this year, a few months after she left Notion to focus on angel investing full time. First Round's partner Brett Berson knew Cordova well, since the firm had also invested in Notion, and offered her the role to join after seeing the success of her other angel investments.
It was serendipitous for Cordova at the time, who thought it might be a better way for her to engage and help founders on a more personal level.
"The relationships that I saw that First Round had with their founders felt much deeper and more fulfilling to me than just putting in a check as an angel," she said.
More: Careers Venture Capital First Round Capital | 2022-04-28T16:15:07Z | www.businessinsider.com | Cristina Cordova Is First Round Capital's Newest Partner | https://www.businessinsider.com/cristina-cordova-first-round-capital-newest-vc-partner-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cristina-cordova-first-round-capital-newest-vc-partner-2022-4 |
Photos posted to Vyacheslav Dukhin's Instagram account, including the one above, show him touring the Energomash plant in Chekhov with Alexander Lebedev
Vyacheslav Dukhin
Alexander Lebedev met with a senior Russian official in early February, weeks before Ukraine was invaded.
Vyacheslav Dukhin posted photos on his Instagram showing Lebedev and him touring a factory that produces parts for Russia's nuclear energy industry.
It comes amid questions about his son's peerage, and both men's relationship with Boris Johnson.
Alexander Lebedev met with a senior Russian government official in early February, weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, to tour a complex that produces parts for Russia's nuclear energy industry.
Photographs posted on Instagram by Vyacheslav Dukhin, a former journalist who has since July 2020 been deputy prime minister of the Moscow region, show the two men touring the Energomash ChZEM complex in Chekhov, near Moscow.
At the time, Russian forces were built up on the Ukrainian borders, with NATO forces on standby. After the invasion of Ukraine began, Dukhin shared pro-war content on his Instagram.
The photographs show the pair looking at components produced by Energomash, visiting a cultural complex set up at a renovated factory on the site, and at a sports center on the site.
Energomash is the only manufacturer of a type of valve for Rosatom, the state-owned Russian nuclear energy organisation, Dukhin wrote.
Lebedev, whose links to the firm date back to 2015, is a former KGB agent and the father of newspaper proprietor Evgeny Lebedev, whose peerage has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks.
Boris Johnson pushed forward with the honour for his friend despite the British security services recommending against it, according to the Sunday Times.
Lord Bew, chair of the Lords' appointments vetting watchdog Holac, recently told MPs it was a "case of particular complexity with many wrinkles that are so obvious to everybody: how much is somebody responsible for their father".
Lebedev junior is the majority owner of the Evening Standard and the Independent, which were first purchased for £1 each by his father.
Questions also surround a reported meeting between Johnson, then foreign secretary, and Lebedev senior during an April 2018 trip to a villa owned by the Lebedevs in Italy.
Johnson travelled without his security detail and no minutes were made of their meeting, which came a month after the Salisbury chemical poisonings of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal.
Johnson is yet to respond to a Parliamentary question on the meeting.
Alexander Lebedev's posts at Energomash and claims of a hacked website
A spokesman for Lebedev said he had never met Dukhin before the tour at Energomash, and that he does not own Energomash.
"The factory in question doesn't belong to Alexander," he told Insider. "It is not in his ownership. I've had that confirmed. Alexander doesn't own it. He doesn't have a part in the ownership."
He rents premises at the factory, where he intended to launch a school, and was viewing it for his four children, he added.
"It was purely a personal interest that was coming as a parent," the spokesman said. He did not explain why Dukhin was there.
But in a 2016 interview with a Russian energy trade magazine, Armtorg, a plant director said the factory is part of the National Reserve Corporation, owned by Lebedev.
Energomash features on Alexander Lebedev's Russian-language website, although not on his English-language website.
Alexander Lebedev's Russian-language website
One page on Lebedev's website cites a December 2021 Instagram post, naming Lebedev as the owner of the plant.
However this was dismissed by the spokesman, who told Insider: "The website is no longer in Alexander's control. It is now in the control of a former, disgruntled employee."
He declined to say for how long the website had been out of control.
In 2015 and 2016, Lebedev shared a number of photographs of him at the site, posing with valves. In another post, Lebedev says the factory will produce "high pressure valves for atomic and thermal stations".
—Alexander Lebedev (@lebedevalex) June 11, 2015
In a February 17 meeting with the Moscow regional government and sanctioned energy firm Gazprom, Energomash discussed "import substitution and technological development", the firm's notes of the meeting say.
The spokesman restated their denial that Alexander owned the factory after Insider approached him for clarification.
But an April 2022 presentation by the National Reserve Corporation, featuring a large photograph of Alexander Lebedev, cites the redevelopment of the plant in Chekhov as an example of its work in cultural heritage done through public-private partnerships.
Dukhin's office was contacted for comment.
More: UK Politics News UK Alexander Lebedev Evgeny Lebedev | 2022-04-28T16:15:25Z | www.businessinsider.com | Lebedev Met Senior Russian Official Weeks Before Ukraine Invasion | https://www.businessinsider.com/lebedev-met-senior-russian-official-weeks-before-ukraine-invasion-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/lebedev-met-senior-russian-official-weeks-before-ukraine-invasion-2022-4 |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a press conference on April 23, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Zelenskyy once risked Russian sniper fire to get a bowl of soup near Kyiv, according to TIME.
Zelenskyy's aides refer to the excursion — in which he met a cook supplying the front lines — as "the borscht trip."
While Russian forces were still trying to capture Kyiv, public appearances from Zelenskyy were rare.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once risked Russian sniper fire to get a bowl of soup on the outskirts of Kyiv, TIME reported on Thursday.
When Russian forces were still trying to seize control over Ukraine's capital city in early March, Zelenskyy one day decided to travel to a checkpoint near the edge of the city, the report said.
There, he met a man who brought fresh borscht — a traditional eastern European soup — to Ukrainian troops, the report said. Zelenskyy ate a bowl of the borscht with bread while in range of Russian sniper fire and shelling.
Zelenskyy told TIME that the cook spoke about hating the Russians and that they chatted about the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Zelenskyy's aides now refer to the excursion as "the borscht trip," according to the report, and said it left an impression on the Ukrainian president.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin was still trying to take Kyiv and strike at the heart of Ukraine's government, Zelenskyy would rarely leave his command center fortress to avoid being the target of an airstrike or shelling.
A few days before "the borscht trip," Zelenskyy had insisted on viewing the impacts of the war up close, according to TIME. He met with troops on the frontlines and viewed the damage caused by fighting.
For weeks, Putin's forces focused their attack on the suburbs of Kyiv — bombing residential areas and gunning down civilians en masse.
Russian forces have since retreated from the Kyiv region after failing to capture Ukraine's capital city, focusing on a renewed offensive in the country's eastern Donbas region instead.
Zelenskyy has been seen recently outside on the streets of Kyiv — meeting with world leaders like UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson or top European Union officials.
More: Speed desk Zelenskyy Ukraine Russia | 2022-04-28T16:15:49Z | www.businessinsider.com | Zelenskyy Risked Sniper Fire Near Kyiv for a Bowl of Borscht: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/zelenskyy-risked-russian-sniper-fire-near-kyiv-borscht-time-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/zelenskyy-risked-russian-sniper-fire-near-kyiv-borscht-time-2022-4 |
'DeFi is going to win': Crypto billionaire Mike Novogratz describes the shift away from banks that's happening at an intensity he hasn't seen before — and shares his investing approach to betting on blockchains that will support the future of finance
Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners
Michael E. Novogratz
Michael Novogratz says crypto replaces centralized trust in institutions.
He says DeFi will be widely adopted because it's faster and more transparent.
He predicts there will be fewer sovereign currencies that are accompanied by digital currencies.
Will crypto reshape the world? Michael Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, believes it will.
At the recent Emerge 2022 conference, he reminded the audience that bitcoin itself was born during a period of rapid global change.
He cited the 2008 financial crisis, which coincided with a collapse in world trade that had been built on trust between countries, and the loss of jobs and homes for millions of Americans. Shortly after, in 2009, bitcoin was born.
"And so the entire crypto revolution essentially came out of this breakdown of trust," Novogratz said.
Trust in centralized institutions is still being challenged today. Novogratz listed the war in Ukraine, rising tensions between the US and China, public distrust of politicians, social media, and elections as part of the breakdown.
"And so as trust is in a bear market , what has been fascinating is blockchain, crypto, bitcoin is in a bull market , right? Because it was set up to not need trust. It's set up for communities to buy in and have algorithmic or automatic or mathematical trust," Novogratz said.
But the idea of bitcoin being used as a hedge against global uncertainty and inflation hasn't exactly played out in its price. Year-to-date it has failed to break above $50,000. And there's no sign yet of a retrace back to its November all-time high near $70,000.
While bitcoin's performance has been correlated with risky tech stocks, Novogratz believes it will decouple over time. He reminded the conference audience that what started off as a science experiment 13 years ago has expanded to a trillion-dollar market cap and outperformed currencies such as the yuan, ruble, and lira. And he's optimistic that the impact of cryptocurrencies — and decentralized finance (DeFi) — will stretch into the traditional financial system.
Among institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and high- net-worth , there's a long line of people on their way into digital assets, Novogratz said. He estimates that over the next five years, 30% to 40% of global pension funds will start participating, followed by the remainder of them in the next 10 years. On Monday, Fidelity became the first retirement-plan provider to announce plans to allow investors to hold bitcoin in their 401(k)s.
As for adoption of the technology, blockchain provides the infrastructure for DeFi that can be used in lending, derivatives, and the insurance business. Novogratz claimed that banks are worried and will lobby against that.
But there's already a giant DeFi network in which billions of dollars trade peer-to-peer, over thousands of tokens, he said. Most of Wall Street hasn't participated because of regulatory and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) issues.
"Those things are going to be solved," Novogratz said. "And once they're solved, DeFi is going to win because it's better. It settles atomically, which means it settles that day. So there's no settlement risk. It's transparent."
However, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw of the US Securities and Exchange Commission released a statement in November listing numerous issues with DeFi. These include a lack of transparency for retail investors due to complicated code and pseudonymity.
The industry is also rife with scams. According to Chainalysis, 72% of crypto thefts in 2021 — a record year for crypto-related crime — were from DeFi protocols.
Crypto as an asset
Despite his optimism about DeFi, Novogratz made no promises about a timeline or which blockchains will lead the way. Determining the leading project is hard because building the infrastructure is complicated; it will take at least a couple more years before this technology impacts how we live our lives, Novogratz said.
Even leading layer-1 contenders like Ethereum will scale and get faster but not fast enough to process all the necessary transactions, he noted. And not every transaction needs to be verified by every computer in the network, nor does every transaction need to be transparent, he added.
The end result will be levels of transactions batched and verified by layer-2 solutions or side chains. This architecture is being worked out now, he said, adding a tip for investors.
"I think as a prudent investor, you need to have some ethereum and you should have bets in other protocols where you have knowledge," Novogratz said.
His investing approach is to follow adoption volume. This means if programmers are building on the blockchain, and people and businesses are using it at an accelerating rate, he invests. Otherwise, it's just hype.
Crypto as a currency
The world currently has about 164 national currencies. Novogratz believes there won't be a need for that many. Global currencies will be reduced to a few major contenders such as the dollar and the euro and will be accompanied by digital currencies such as stablecoins. He foresees many emerging economies flipping to stablecoins rather than their local currencies. But forced adoption isn't the right path, he noted.
"So what El Salvador did was make bitcoin legal tender, that kind of cuts against the ethos," Novogratz said. "A real commandment of crypto is permissionless. No one forced you to buy your Bitcoin, right? And so forcing people to accept bitcoin or accept crypto is kind of an anti-crypto ethos."
He believes that in the US, the transition to digital currency needs to be policed so that it remains in line with the values of privacy and freedom.
He stands in agreement with the stablecoin plan laid out by Brian Brooks, who served as Acting Comptroller of the Currency at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) up until 2021.
Under the guidance of Brooks, the OCC made clear that the area of stablecoins subject to regulation should be the holding of the reserve assets. If the stablecoin is fiat-backed, then it needs to be backed by fiat instruments and be redeemable at par. However, stablecoin issuers don't need to be banks. For example, retailers that issue credit cards aren't banks but offer a stored-value card supported by an underlying bank.
As for algorithmic stablecoins, which are not backed by assets but rather an algorithm, such as Terra (LUNA), Novogratz admits they're riskier. But the yields are higher. The risks just need to be disclosed to participants.
More: Investing crypto 2022 Crypotcurrency
Michael Novogratz
DeFi investing
defi bank of international settlements
DeFi regulation
defi projects
defi platform | 2022-04-28T17:02:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | 'DeFi Is Going to Win' Over TradFi: Crypto Billionaire Mike Novogratz | https://www.businessinsider.com/defi-is-going-to-win-over-tradfi-crypto-mike-novogratz-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/defi-is-going-to-win-over-tradfi-crypto-mike-novogratz-2022-4 |
I'm a freelance copywriter who doubled my income in a year. Here's how I found higher-paying clients and used Facebook groups for leads.
Cierra Loflin
Cierra Loflin, a digital nomad, is currently based in Thailand.
Cierra Loflin was furloughed in March 2020, so she started researching copywriting.
She taught herself copywriting using Udemy and Skillshare, then scoured Facebook groups for work.
Here's how Loflin doubled her freelance income in one year working less than 30 hours a week.
In March 2020, I was working in Vietnam as an English teacher when the company announced we'd only receive 20% of our monthly income on payday.
First I was angry, then scared. I realized I had to find another way to make money.
I had a travel blog that wasn't making a dime, but the substantial traffic showed I could write for an online audience.
I started watching videos about copywriting on Skillshare, Udemy, and HubSpot and decided to try freelancing. I was still working as a teacher and only spent around 15 hours a week freelancing, using my savings to supplement living costs.
My blog was my portfolio. I also wrote articles on Medium to build my online presence. I followed the successful copywriter Jacob McMillen's advice to send 20 cold emails to prospects each week.
How I landed my first gig
In late March 2020, I began scouring copywriting job boards like ProBlogger and Cult of Copy and sending cold reach-outs to any advertiser.
After about a month of cold emailing, I landed my first gig in April 2020. It was a ghostwritten article for a real-estate company. I was only paid $30 for 1,000 words, but I was ecstatic when the PayPal notification came through.
Within weeks I secured steady work from two marketing agencies and an affiliate website that paid $0.03, $0.04, and $0.05 a word, respectively.
In May 2020 I also started working for an SEO company. It paid well, offered consistent work, and gave all its new writers a writing coach.
My coach was Nathan Collier, the founder of the Content Marketing Lounge Facebook group. He introduced me to the concept of "trading up" clients, or trading out current clients with those who would pay higher rates.
After the first six months, I made around $2,000 a month using this method.
I quit teaching in May 2020 and moved back to the States, and I went full-time freelancing in June 2020. For the first few months I worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., as I couldn't afford to turn down any work.
I didn't take any holidays during my first 18 months of freelance copywriting. While this helped get my writing business off the ground, I wouldn't recommend it.
I followed my original method of finding gigs on Facebook and then sending cold emails with an introduction, my portfolio, and relevant clips. I could trade up for better gigs because I now had niche examples to show prospective clients.
I also started expanding my network within copywriting agencies, which increased my workload with higher-quality clients. With every new client I would raise my per-word rate slightly.
Early freelancing mistakes
By the end of 2021 I felt like I needed a break, so I saved up some cash and took a month off writing to spend time with family over Christmas.
While the time off was nice, it led to some cash-flow issues later on. My tax bill for 2021 was higher than I expected, and I had to cut back on expenses in March and April to recover.
Another mistake I made during the first year was not creating new leads when I was working at maximum capacity, which caused my income to stagnate, hovering around $2,000.
I had begun to post content-writing tips on LinkedIn over the summer of 2020, and an agency reached out to work with me. It paid a rate of $0.15 per word. Finally, in December 2020, I made $3,500 in one month.
What I've learned going into my 3rd year of freelancing
Gone are the months of writing 40 to 50 articles for underpaying agencies. Now I focus on one story per day, using the Pomodoro technique. I spend two or three hours writing and two or three hours doing admin work such as proofreading, answering emails, invoicing, and sending pitches to editors and business owners.
Recently I raised my rate from $0.08 a word to $0.15 a word with a company I work with regularly. I made it clear I was charging more because of my increased experience and stood firm on the new rate.
I also started charging flat rates for articles instead of using the per-word structure.
In June 2021 I started writing for Giddy, a sexual-health platform, which required me to interview experts for articles and paid much more than SEO-focused content.
I still religiously send 10 outreach emails per week, using a Google spreadsheet to track and see which leads work best. Most of my recent clients have come from Binders Full of Writing Jobs, a Facebook group for women and gender-nonconforming writers.
While I still work on the per-word pay structure for some clients, I'll likely move away from this model and charge a per-project fee.
I found that creating and scaling a freelance writing business isn't magic — it's pitching, writing, editing, and repeating every day. It's not easy, but I have control over my income and the freedom to work from anywhere in the world.
I made $37,000 in 2021, and I only work 20 to 30 hours a week. I'm now based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and have lived in other digital-nomad hubs like Koh Phangan, Thailand; Medellín, Colombia; and Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
More: UK Freelance contributor 2022 Kiera Fields | 2022-04-28T17:02:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | How I Doubled My Income in One Year As Freelance Copywriter | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-double-your-income-year-freelance-copywriter-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-double-your-income-year-freelance-copywriter-2022-4 |
I'm a 24-year-old influencer with 1.2 million TikTok followers. Here's how I built my brand and my advice for aspiring creators.
Victoria Garrick.
Courtesy of Victoria Garrick
Victoria Garrick is a speaker, podcast host, and influencer.
Her career started unexpectedly when her TEDx Talk went viral. Now she's on social media full time.
Here's her advice for aspiring creators, as told to writer Perri Ormont Blumberg.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Victoria Garrick, a 24-year-old content creator and public speaker based in Los Angeles, California. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My career unknowingly began to take shape in 2017 during the second semester of my sophomore year of college. I gave a TEDx Talk on student-athlete mental health titled, "The Hidden Opponent," which is where my advocacy work began. I received such an outpouring of support — primarily on social media where I was getting hundreds of Facebook messages and Instagram direct messages from people all over world — from that video that I was motivated to continue sharing my experiences.
At the same time, I was taking an extremely candid approach on social media to my 1,200 followers in an effort to repair my mental health and self-esteem. It was entertaining and relatable to people, but it was also really for me so I could get back to using social media in a carefree way. I continued to post no-filter, authentic content.
Upon graduating in 2019, I went straight into a university tour
I was direct messaged on Instagram by a student at Denison University who wanted me to come speak, and after consulting my dad, I realized I could charge a speaking fee and they would fly me out to speak to them. After doing that and posting about it online, I began to receive more inquiries.
I slowly picked up about seven or eight speaking engagements just from word of mouth in the athletic community. I was even a keynote speaker at the Big Sky Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Symposium a week after my college graduation.
I also sent out a mass email to every athletic department I could find online to let them know I was speaking and they could book me for fall 2020, so that allowed me to book a handful of schools. But when the pandemic hit, I shifted my focus completely to social media and was only speaking virtually. I've since evolved that into sharing content on YouTube, my podcast "Real Pod," and recently on TikTok.
Now I create content full-time for all the social media platforms and travel the country to speak to college students and athletes about the importance of mental health and breaking down the stigma surrounding issues like depression , anxiety, and eating disorders.
I post on Instagram and TikTok every day
Those two platforms are where I connect the most with my audience, and success on those platforms keeps my business running. I currently have 1.2 million followers on TikTok, 376,000 followers on Instagram, and 277,000 subscribers on YouTube.
I have a variety of revenue streams through social media, my podcast, speaking engagements, and merchandise. I make money off of social media specifically by advertising various products and brands. I'm very particular about the brands I work with and only advertise products and companies that I genuinely love and use.
My alarm goes off every morning at 7:15 a.m., and I usually start the day from bed
I check emails on my phone and see how yesterday's content performed, but this is a habit I'm trying to break.
Once I do sit down in my home office around 8 a.m., I organize my planner and to-do list to get my priorities straight for the day. I frequently work weekends, but sometimes I take random days off during the week. That's one of the benefits of being self-employed.
Every day is different and can consist of things like podcast recordings, filming sponsored content, prepping for speaking engagements, and meeting with my team about the upcoming schedule or housekeeping items.
I have three different people who work for me part-time: a director of operations who handles scheduling, administration, and communication across my brand and has been working for me for six months, a video editor who I use for any and all projects, and a content specialist. We meet weekly to brainstorm growth and content ideas across my channels.
I also have three different management teams: Neon Rose Agency, which manages my sponsorships and brand deals across social media, Dear Media Network, which produces my podcast, and Engage, which manages my speaking engagements.
I always work until about 6 p.m.
But even after that if I get ideas, or if there's something great to document that's happening at dinner or later that evening, I'll create content and post about it.
For example, recently I mentally checked out of work and was getting dressed to go out on a double date with my fiancé and our friends. But as I was getting dressed, I began to feel more and more self-conscious. Nothing was looking good on me, I felt bloated, and I couldn't find anything that made me feel cute.
I ended up choosing an outfit because we had to leave so we wouldn't be late, but I realized that what just happened to me was actually a really relatable experience. This wasn't something I planned, but I ran to the bathroom at dinner to post about it.
While there's so much to say, the most important thing someone trying to break into this field can do is just post
You have to start creating content and taking risks and be willing to fail publicly in order to get a pulse on things and better understand how to create successful content.
What makes for a good and bad post depends on how you view it. If I'm viewing it with my business cap on, a good post has high engagement and a bad post is one that isn't generating likes or views. However, if I put my human hat on, even one like or one comment is special because it means that piece of content was meaningful and helped that one person.
Your first three to five seconds of a video have to hook someone. But unless you make a bunch of videos with no hook and see that they flop, you won't learn this for yourself. Unlike most fields, the social media world is probably the only place that values quantity over quality because you never know what will go viral.
One of my favorite quotes I've heard is, "If your first draft is perfect, you started too late." In the world of content creation, people get so bogged down with wanting their first podcast episode to be absolutely flawless, or their first TikTok to go viral, and the truth is that the only way to get close to perfection is to try over and over again and continue learning and improving throughout the process.
Also don't obsess over getting brand deals. In order to get those, you need to have an audience that's engaged and listens to what you say.
Focus on building your audience. Once you build a loyal and/or large following, you'll then be able to monetize your brand by selling into that audience, collaborating with other big-time creators, and possibly expanding into other pillars like merchandise, podcasting, or online stores.
When I first started out, my accounts weren't big enough to attract household name brands, but now I've been able to work with dream brands like Spotify, Nike, Advil, Buick, Headspace, and Gatorade.
When I first started my podcast in 2019, I was trying my best to score great guests, but you can only go so far without having a lot of experience and a smaller brand behind you. Now, having grown my podcast to more than two million downloads, I'm able to book guests like Katie Couric and Josh Peck.
Burnout is a totally normal experience and something that happens to everyone, so to anyone struggling with this, I see you
What helps me avoid burnout — but also manage it when I'm experiencing it — is listening to my body and my needs.
I felt pretty burned out toward the end of 2021, and I wasn't as motivated to create. If I only have 40% in my tank that day, I'll accept that and do the bare minimum to get by. On the contrary, if I'm feeling super juiced up and really talkative, I'll use that energy to film videos and get ahead on things.
While people love to celebrate hustle culture and the grind, rest and recovery are equally important. If you set up boundaries, take time off, and give yourself the opportunity to rest and relax, good for you, because it's really hard to do that in today's overachieving world.
More: BI-freelancer Social Media TikTok | 2022-04-28T17:02:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Victoria Garrick Built a Career Around Being Real on Social Media | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-victoria-garrick-built-career-being-real-social-media-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-victoria-garrick-built-career-being-real-social-media-2022-4 |
DoControl wants to stop data breaches via apps like Slack and Google Drive. Here's the 25-slide pitch deck it used to raise $30 million led by Shopify-backer Insight Partners.
Security startup DoControl landed $30 million in a Series B funding round.
The startup works with companies to prevent cybersecurity breaches via third-party workplace apps like Slack and Google Drive.
Check out the 25-slide pitch deck it used to raise fresh funds.
A startup that has developed a platform which responds to data breaches in workplace apps like Slack , Zoom , and Google Drive raised $30 million in its Series B funding round, led by VC firm Insight Partners.
New York City-based DoControl is an automated data control platform and monitoring service for workplace-integrated software. DoControl was founded in 2020, emerging on the enterprise software scene with a $10 million Series A led by RTP Global. It has several dozen clients across the Americas and EMEA regions.
Many firms rely extensively on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications – like Slack, Dropbox, or Google Drive – for file sharing, where they can encounter several cybersecurity risks. DoControl cites departing employees, third-party vendors, and external attackers as three of the major threats to data security.
The workplace messaging application Slack, for example, allows users to create messaging channels, which are public to a company's employees by default. Data retention on Slack is also automatically set to the work space's lifetime, requiring employers to alter data retention settings to have an automatic deletion date.
AWS keys, credentials for employees to access SaaS apps, can be weaponized by attackers to access an individual's account, and from then a workplace's AWS environment.
DoControl's founder and CEO Adam Gavish says that DoControl's no-code security controls would have prevented a recent data breach of workplace software Okta, which brought infiltrators access to internal networks of 366 corporate customers. "DoControl's data access policies would have prevented AWS keys from being exchanged over Slack channels," according to Gavish.
DoControl's plans for global growth involve strengthening its presence in the European and Middle Eastern markets and establishing an Asian-Pacific presence. The startup is also planning to scale its R&D, customer support, sales, marketing, and operations teams, with the goal of doubling employee headcount.
The latest funding round backed by Insight Partners had participation from its existing investors including StageOne Ventures, RTP Global, and the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund.
Check out the 25-slide pitch deck DoControl used to raise the fresh funds below:
More: UK Pitch Deck Startups | 2022-04-28T17:03:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | Pitch Deck: DoControl Raises $30 Million Series B for Enterprise Security | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-docontrol-raises-30-million-series-b-enterprise-security-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-docontrol-raises-30-million-series-b-enterprise-security-2022-4 |
Scammers are impersonating influencers on platforms like Instagram to lure their followers into shady crypto schemes
Influencers say that fake accounts impersonating them are rampant on Instagram and YouTube.
These accounts copy the influencer's profile and promote crypto scams to their fans.
Insider spoke with several influencers about this problem and how it's affected their businesses.
Hajer Alabi was scrolling through her ForYouPage on TikTok last year when she came across videos from Sara Rosalia, a personal finance influencer who goes by Sara Finance online.
The videos, which discussed various side hustles and doled out investing tips, hooked Alabi, who decided to follow Rosalia on Instagram. A few days later, an account with the same profile photo and a similar username followed her back, and sent her a DM promoting a cryptocurrency that she could buy for up to $1,000.
"I thought this could be something good, and considering she's an influencer for finance, Sara wouldn't scam her followers," Alabi told Insider. "I was ready to send them the money. But then I noticed little grammar mistakes in their messages, and the way that they were typing wasn't professional."
Alabi decided to do some investigating. She looked more closely at the account and realized it wasn't the real Rosalia. Rather, it was a fake account with the a similar name, and the same profile photo and pictures.
"It had the same posts, but there were subtle differences," Alabi said. "It was a little creepy."
She sent Rosalia a DM to let her know that there was an account impersonating her on Instagram, and they each reported and blocked the fake account. Instagram later took down the account.
Still, the effects linger for Rosalia, who has a substantial online presence, with 723,000 TikTok followers, 335,000 YouTube subscribers, and 51,000 Instagram followers. Not only do these fake accounts impact her followers — who could potentially fall for a scam — but they've also had a negative impact on her business.
In April, her Instagram account was disabled for over a week for "pretending to be someone else," according to a message on her Instagram Help Center. Her account is back now, but she struggled to get in touch with Instagram, she said.
Similar accounts impersonating Rosalia live on YouTube. These accounts target her audience in the comment section of her videos, with the fake accounts requesting her subscribers send them a message on WhatsApp and Telegram.
Examples of accounts on YouTube pretending to be Sara Finance in the comment section of her videos.
Screenshot of Sara Finance YouTube/Sara Rosalia
Rosalia isn't the only influencer with multiple accounts impersonating her on Instagram and YouTube. Insider spoke with eight creators who post content about personal finance, investing, and cryptocurrency who said this has become a big issue for them in the past year. These accounts use the influencer's name, profile photo, and even content, including pictures of their family and children, to trick followers into thinking it's actually the influencer.
Influencers shared how the recent uptick in fake accounts has negatively affected their careers on social media, the relationship they have with their followers, and why they want Instagram to make the verification process easier.
And while Insider couldn't find any fans who have fallen for the crypto scams, these accounts could potentially be costing followers thousands of dollars. In 2021, more than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
"Historically speaking, these follow the old and tried trend of 411 scams, wherein a not-so-technically savvy user is tricked into thinking they are engaging in a legitimate interaction with somebody they respect," said Santiago Torres Arias, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Purdue University. "These were somehow translated to social media in the mid 2010s, with the crypto scams on Twitter."
Insider found 20 accounts on Instagram impersonating Marko Zlatic, who goes by WhiteBoardFinance.
Screen shot of Instagram/Amanda Perelli
'It's hurting our credibility'
The fake accounts that have plagued these finance influencers are typically on YouTube and Instagram.
"It's hurting our credibility," Kelly Anne Smith, who is known as Freedom in a Budget, said. She has nearly 50,000 YouTube subscribers and 13,000 Instagram followers. "It really brings down the integrity of our brand, and it's also just annoying. I get messages multiple times a day saying, 'Hey, I think you've been hacked' and have to tell them 'No, it's just a fake account.'"
On Instagram, these accounts have copied so many aspects of the influencer's account — from photos and Stories to similar follower counts — that it's hard to decipher which account is real.
Insider reached out to Instagram for comment, and the platform sent over more information on the verification process (which can be found here) and provided the following statement:
"We've built reporting into the app and have dedicated forms for people to let us know when someone else is using their content without permission, so we can take action by removing that content and disabling the accounts of those responsible where appropriate."
On YouTube, fake accounts often won't steal a creator's video content — which makes the scam pages less believable to fans — but they do copy the creator's profile picture and username.
Content intended to impersonate a person or channel is not allowed on YouTube, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi told Insider. Users and creators can report channels they believe are impersonating others.
In Q4 2021, YouTube removed over 24,000 channels for impersonation and over 950 million comments for violating policies around spam, misleading and scams, the company said.
These scammers are "savvy," personal-finance influencer Marko Zlatic, who has 826,000 subscribers on YouTube, said.
"They'll block whoever they are pretending to be, that way I can't see their profile to report them," he added.
Insider found 20 accounts on Instagram impersonating Zlatic. The accounts used the same profile picture and a similar username. One fake account has over 94,000 followers and another has over 35,000 followers. That's more than the 35,000 followers that Zlatic actually has on Instagram.
These scammers don't just copy influencers' accounts. They also actively pursue their followers by instantly following and sending a DM to someone after they follow the real account.
"The bot must have some code where as soon as someone new follows me, the fake account will message them," Rose Han, who goes by the username Investing with Rose, said. "The accounts will copy everything that I post, including my stories, which is so creepy."
Insider found 17 Instagram accounts pretending to be Han.
Insider followed a fake account impersonating an influencer. Soon after, the account DMed the Insider reporter, asking "how's your trade going" and sending a link to a fake crypto investment scam.
When asked if it was really the influencer, the fake account responded: "This is my supplementary account where I check on my fans and traders you're lucky to come across me. Too many restrictions on the other one can't even like nor text."
"I'm really afraid that one day my account will get shut down and be associated with those other pages," Han said.
The fear isn't unjustified: One influencer told Insider that he was subpoenaed for scamming people on social media, and he had to hire a lawyer to show that the fake accounts aren't actually him.
—Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 8, 2022
'Instagram really could do a better job at helping'
Tech creator Marques Brownlee, who has 15 million subscribers, shared his frustrations on the uptick of spam comments on YouTube in a recent video.
"You would think the comment section would be this precious priority for YouTube because it's such a unique feature of the site," he said. "This is one of the only places you can facilitate real conversations between the creators and the audience."
Brownlee said that these bots are largely promoting tech scams, like a fake giveaway, on his channel, but that he's seen comments promoting adult content sites or PC giveaways on other channels.
Eight days later, he shared on Twitter that YouTube is experimenting a new "increase strictness" content moderation tool and that he is "hoping it can make a dent in this comment spam we've been seeing so much lately."
"We're testing out the ability for creators to set channel guidelines so they can better shape the tone of conversations on their channel," YouTube's Choi said. "Creators can also choose moderators, blacklist words and phrases, pin comments and more."
Since YouTube didn't take action until this year, software engineer Andre Escudero founded a service to help YouTube creators filter their comment section. Escudero regularly watches YouTube, he said, and noticed many of his favorite creators opening up about this issue.
The startup, called Social Clean, is an automated content moderation service that removes scams, spam, and inappropriate comments below a creator's YouTube video. The platform connects to a creator's YouTube account to help remove and hide comments based on custom filters.
About 150 YouTube creators have signed up with service, Escudero said, which offers a free version and two paid versions.
Creators have also hired teams to help. Rosalia said she hired a virtual assistant to go through her YouTube comments.
"I have a setting where all comments are automatically held, and I have to approve the comment before it's posted," Rosalia said about YouTube. "I didn't want people to continue getting scammed. That was the only solution."
Instagram has been less proactive in solving the problem, according to influencers, who say that reporting these accounts and attempting to get verified can be fruitless.
"Reporting these accounts has been a nightmare, and trying to get verified has been a nightmare," Zlatic said. "I've provided my passport, address, links to articles, and they still don't verify me."
Rosalia agreed, adding that Instagram could also hide creators "following" list and flag accounts that buy fake followers.
"Instagram really could do a better job at helping," she said . "I've applied for check mark verification many times over the last year, and they haven't given it to me. That would be one very strong way for followers to know that it's really me."
If you have been affected by a social media scam, or know more about this issue, contact the author at aperelli@insider.com
More: Influencers Creator economy Instagram YouTube | 2022-04-28T17:49:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | Scammers Are Impersonating Influencers to Lure Fans Into Crypto Schemes | https://www.businessinsider.com/accounts-on-instagram-youtube-impersonating-influencers-scamming-followers-into-crypto-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/accounts-on-instagram-youtube-impersonating-influencers-scamming-followers-into-crypto-2022-4 |
In a hot DTC job market, marketing microinfluencers are using Twitter to land new roles at startups in as little as 10 days
DTC Twitter has become a hotbed for talent recruitment, with some candidates landing jobs in days.
Using Twitter to hire or find a job isn't new, but DTC players say the pandemic has accelerated it.
Both DTC microinfluencers and young marketers are getting new gigs.
On January 14, Nate Lagos quit his job as the chief marketing officer of Dugout Mugs, a direct-to-consumer company selling Major League Baseball-licensed beer mugs made from wooden baseball bats.
A few hours later, he tweeted about it.
"Well, I QUIT MY JOB TODAY," he wrote. "Pretty crazy, but the experience gained has been incredible, and I'm excited for what the future might hold. If anyone needs marketing help, hit my DMs."
Within 10 days Lagos had a new job as the director of growth marketing at Original Grain, a DTC watchmaker.
"I posted the same exact message on LinkedIn and Twitter at the same time. I got one job offer from LinkedIn and a dozen from Twitter, and the offer I got from LinkedIn was the lowest of them all," Lagos said, adding that he interviewed with about 20 companies during his 10 days of unemployment.
Anyone familiar with the DTC community on Twitter will note that founders and hiring managers using the social-media platform as a recruiting tool is nothing new.
Nik Sharma, an investor and advisor known as "The DTC Guy" to his 130,000 Twitter followers, said he'd gotten several jobs through the platform since 2017, when he was hired as the director of performance marketing at Hint Water.
But during the pandemic, as more companies adopted remote hiring and burned-out millennials contemplated switching jobs, DTC Twitter has become a hotbed for finding a new gig quickly.
"Recruiting via social media has always been a thing, but the pandemic accelerated it in a huge way," said Paul Singh, an angel investor and founder of the DTC startup Bump Health.
Singh, who has 112,000 followers on Twitter, said he'd made some of his most recent hires from the platform. People who spoke with Insider for this article said that hiring timelines for candidates off Twitter are often just a few weeks, if not a few days.
"I get 10 or 20 DMs a week from highly qualified people saying, 'Hey, I haven't thought about a move, but can we just chat?'" Singh said. "A lot of people are turning towards social to shop for these roles without having to do all the traditional things that come with a job hunt."
The 'Great Reset' on DTC Twitter
Singh refers to the "Great Resignation" as the "Great Reset." Young DTC workers like Lagos who are ready for a change are quitting their jobs with Twitter as their backup plan — using the platform to expand their networks and make their next career move.
"People are seeing that you don't have to stick around in a role that doesn't suit you personally or give what you need," said Eli Weiss, a senior director of customer experience and retention at Jones Road Beauty.
This attitude, driven by burnout during the pandemic, has resulted in an incredibly competitive job market for good DTC talent.
"I know people who have joined a company I work with and then two days before they start they're recruited to another company that gave them an insanely higher salary," Sharma said.
Sharma was an early adopter of Twitter hiring. "It's slowly becoming a very normal thing," he said. "A lot of my employees have all been found through Twitter. There's this DTC Twitter culture that exists — a lot of founders, investors, and marketers sharing ideas."
While Sharma and Singh have follower counts on Twitter that qualify them as microinfluencers, rank-and-file marketers with much smaller followings are also discovering that the platform can lead to a dream job.
Joanne Coffey, an assistant manager of retention marketing at Jones Road Beauty, was working for a small DTC beauty brand when she joined Twitter in June 2021. Coffey, who works remotely from Manchester, New Hampshire, started using the platform to post about her work in customer retention and connect with other DTC marketers.
"It's not like being in LA, where you can just go down the street and meet people," she said. "I quickly immersed myself in this community."
Coffey didn't join Twitter with the intention of finding a new job, but in January she was poached by Jones Road Beauty, the beauty-industry legend Bobbi Brown's new DTC venture.
"Twitter is the new LinkedIn. Most of my network is from there," said Cody Plofker, the director of e-commerce at Jones Road Beauty. "The amazing thing about Twitter that you can't see on people's résumés is you can see what content they're creating and how they engage with people who don't agree with them. You can see their skill set before you talk to them."
LinkedIn is 'thought bro-ey.' Twitter is 'where the actual work gets done.'
For DTC hiring managers and job seekers, what differentiates Twitter from LinkedIn is that on Twitter, both companies and potential recruits are more open about sharing their failures in helping grow a brand.
"LinkedIn has become extremely thought bro-ey. It feels very buttoned-up, like a trade show or conference where salespeople thrive," Weiss said. "Twitter is where the actual work gets done."
Weiss started at Jones Road in March. Like Coffey, he wasn't looking for a new job, but he started to bond with Plofker, who'd joined Jones Road in 2021 and began tweeting about his highs and lows as a DTC marketer.
"What stuck out with me in having early conversations with Cody was that he was building differently, and I was able to see what he was actually doing and having that access to see how he was building," Weiss said.
Sharma says the quality of candidates is better on Twitter than on LinkedIn. "Everyone is on LinkedIn, and anyone can click on your job post," Sharma said. "If you're on DTC Twitter, you're actively choosing to make your feed DTC Twitter, so we know you're already very interested."
Another thing that differentiates Twitter from LinkedIn is accessibility. Weiss, who does not have a college degree, has used Twitter to get customer-experience roles at Olipop and Simulate, the developer of Nuggs.
He said he'd found the marketing microinfluencers of Twitter, like Sharma, to be incredibly welcoming and open to solicitation via direct messages, whereas LinkedIn messages often seem more "sales-y" and go unanswered.
"Most of my career has been spent just trying to get past HR," Weiss said. "With Twitter, you're speaking directly to the CEO."
More: DTC Twitter CPG | 2022-04-28T17:49:28Z | www.businessinsider.com | DTC Twitter Is the New LinkedIn for Marketers Looking to Get Hired | https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-twitter-the-new-linkedin-for-marketers-looking-for-jobs-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-twitter-the-new-linkedin-for-marketers-looking-for-jobs-2022-4 |
As of Thursday, he owes $30,000, but the court order does not demand that he cut a check every day.
Instead, what he owes New York's AG will accumulate by $10K a day — likely until he personally swears an affidavit explaining why he has no documents to turn over.
Donald Trump has yet to pay a penny of a court-ordered $10,000-a-day fine, which as of Thursday totals $30,000, Insider has learned.
But the former president's failure to cut one of his classic, Sharpie-signed checks does not mean he's thumbing his nose at the court or in any way out of compliance.
It only means that the sum he owes New York Attorney General Letita James will keep accumulating each day — his court-ordered penalty as part of being held in contempt for dodging her subpoena for his personal business documents, according to people close to the matter.
The amount he owes will just keep rising — $40,000 on Friday, $50,000 on Saturday, and so on — as an IOU to the AG, until Trump either turns over the documents she wants, or explains to the satisfaction of a Manhattan judge just how it is that he has nothing to turn over.
So why doesn't he have to pay yet?
So why is his non-payment, for now, OK? Trump has filed a notice saying he plans to appeal the contempt order, but there's so far been no order to halt the fine pending appeal.
And exactly what does Trump have to do to get out of contempt, and to stop his debt to James from rising?
The answer to the first questions can be found in the contempt order that set the fine, as signed into effect on Tuesday by New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
"Donald J. Trump is in contempt of Court and must pay a fine of $10,000 per day, from the date of this Decision and Order, until he purges such contempt to the satisfaction of this Court," Engoron wrote in his order.
The order makes no mention of whether the fine must be paid daily, weekly, or in a lump sum after Trump "purges" the contempt.
So unless the AG's office demands otherwise — and that demand is OK'd by the court — it's perfectly OK for Trump to keep his checkbook closed for now.
What would halt the fine?
As to precisely what Trump must do to halt the fine, here, too, the contempt order does not specify. "Until he satisfies his obligations," it only says, or "until he purges such contempt."
There are however, some very strong hints of what would "satisfy his obligations," hints found both in the order itself and in the judge's words from the bench on Monday, when he found Trump in contempt.
All point to the judge wanting Trump to personally swear out an affidavit that specifies where he searched for the demanded documents,and why those searches came up empty.
Where is Trump's own affidavit, the judge has asked at least four times this week, on paper and from the bench.
"Mr. Trump has not refuted, with admissible evidence, OAG's [the Office of the Attorney General's] detailed assertions that he failed to search numerous file cabinets in various locations," Engoron wrote in the contempt order.
Instead, the only accounting of Trump's search for documents came from a Trump attorney affidavit that simply affirmed Trump's papers had been searched for. Just four pages long, it gave no details of what locations were searched.
A sworn statement from Trump himself
"Not only did Mr. Trump fail to submit an affidavit himself, which this Court believes would have been the best practice, as he is the most obvious person to affirm where any responsive documents in his possession, custody, and control would be located, but the attorney affirmation submitted on behalf of Mr. Trump contained only conclusory statements, rather than details of a diligent search," the order said.
"I feel like there's an 800 pound gorilla in the room here," the judge told the parties from the bench on Monday.
"Why don't we have an affidavit from him?" he asked, meaning Trump. "Why not get an affiavit from him? He's been running this business 20, 30 years."
Later in the same hearing Monday, the judge said it again, in response to Trump lawyer Alina Habba stating, "We have nothing to hide."
"There a difference," the judge answered, "between saying something, and saying something under oath."
The AG's office has complained it's been given just 10 documents from Trump's personal business files, all turned over by the Trump Organization, which has been under subpoena to produce all documents, including Trump's, for two years.
Trump himself has been under subpoena to produce his own documents since December, and has provided zero, the AG has complained.
Trump Tower in Manhattan
James is especially intent on getting Trump's hard-copy documents, which the business's own lawyer has sworn in a deposition are stored in file cabinets in the Trump Organization's headquarters in Trump Tower, the former president's skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
"You can't just say 'I don't have anything,'" the judge also said. "You have to say where you looked."
James, a Democrat and outspoken Trump critic, has been investigating alleged financial wrongdoing at Trump's real estate business for three years. Trump has said there was no wrongdoing at his business, and has called the probe a politically-motivated witch hunt.
His lawyers also say James already has 900,000 documents from the Trump Organization, and that Trump has nothing more to give.
Habba told reporters after court on Monday that she hoped to clear the matter up quickly by swearing out an affidavit of her own, asserting the details of how Trump's documents had been searched for.
More: Donald Trump Letitia James New York Court Dispute | 2022-04-28T17:49:34Z | www.businessinsider.com | Today Is Thursday. Donald Trump Now Owes NY AG Letitia James $3,000 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-donald-trump-pay-ny-ag-letitia-james-contempt-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-donald-trump-pay-ny-ag-letitia-james-contempt-2022-4 |
Hannah Towey, Sam Tabahriti, and Dominick Reuter
The White House unveiled a new plan Thursday to sell seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine.
The $90 million superyacht owned by sanctioned oligarch Viktor Vekselberg could be the first asset sold.
It's the only Russian yacht the US has seized so far — but European allies have seized a dozen more.
Under a new White House plan unveiled Thursday, a $90 million superyacht belonging to sanctioned oligarch Viktor Vekselberg could be the first asset sold to fund Ukraine's defense against Russia.
The 255-foot yacht named "Tango" was seized by Spanish law enforcement at the request of the US during the first week of April. Its billionaire owner and founder of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group was sanctioned by the US in March for maintaining a network close to the Kremlin, per the US Treasury.
If President Biden's proposal is approved, it would expedite and streamline the complicated legal process surrounding the forfeiture of seized Russian assets.
Since "Tango" is the only oligarch-linked yacht the US has successfully seized thus far, it would likely be one of the first assets put through the new system — potentially generating millions in aid to Ukraine. The US Department of Justice declined to comment on this possibility.
Civil Guards accompany US FBI agents and a US Homeland Security agents from the superyacht "Tango" in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022.
The new plan would also "improve the United States' ability to work with international partners to recover assets linked to foreign corruption," the White House said.
This amendment could open up the US' proposed forfeiture system to over a dozen yachts seized and identified for seizure by European allies. In total, the yachts are worth more than $2.5 billion, as Axios has reported.
However, Benjamin Maltby, a partner at Keystone Law in the UK and an expert in yacht and luxury asset law, told Insider that conducting a sale through the US Department of Justice would "only add another layer of unnecessary administrative expense and delay" if the yachts were located in a separate jurisdiction.
On top of the legal amendments, the plan would establish a way to transfer the proceeds of forfeited kleptocracy property to Ukraine's defenses. Shane Riedel, CEO of financial crime risk quantification platform Elucidate, told Insider that there's "no precedent" in liquidating seized assets and directing the money elsewhere. For example, when the US sanctioned Iran and froze around $2 billion, the funds sat in frozen accounts for around 35 years due to a lack of legal framework, Riedel said.
"Under the proposal, the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and State will work together to use forfeited funds related to corruption, sanctions and export control violations, and other specified offenses to remediate harms of Russian aggression toward Ukraine," the White House said in a statement.
More: Yachts Oligarchs Russia Ukraine | 2022-04-28T17:49:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | Oligarch's $90M Yacht Could Be Sold by US for Ukraine Aid | https://www.businessinsider.com/oligarch-yacht-could-be-sold-by-us-for-ukraine-aid-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/oligarch-yacht-could-be-sold-by-us-for-ukraine-aid-2022-4 |
15 banks that exchange foreign currency
How to exchange foreign currency
These banks and credit unions allow you to exchange foreign currency at a branch, over the phone, or online
Financial institutions may charge a fee for exchanging currency.
simonkr/ Getty Images
Not all banks or credit unions exchange foreign currency.
Our list has options that let you exchange foreign currency at a branch, over the phone, or online.
Most financial institutions require you to be a customer to exchange foreign currency.
If you're looking to exchange currency for a trip abroad, major brick-and-mortar banks or credit unions can help you get different currencies at a fair exchange rate.
You won't want to visit your nearest branch on a whim, though, as some banks do not offer exchanges. Here's everything you need to know about exchanging currency — from where you can go to what you'll need to place an order.
Here's a list of banks and credit unions from our best guides that exchange foreign currency. Keep in mind most banks or credit unions require you to be a customer to exchange currency.
America First Credit Union: Credit union members may visit select branches to exchange up to $5,000. There's a $10 transaction fee if you exchange more than $300 and a $20 transaction fee for exchanges under $300.
Bank of America: Bank of America customers may exchange up to $10,000 online or over the phone. You can also place an order over $10,000 at a branch. There isn't a fee for exchanging currency, but if you have your order shipped home, there's a $7.50 fee.
Citibank: You can call or visit a branch to exchange over 50 types of currency. There's no fee for Citigold or Citi Priority Account Package customers. Citi customers with accounts not mentioned will have to pay a $5 service fee for any transaction under $1,000. If you'd prefer to have money sent to your home, there's a $10 to $20 fee, depending on your shipping priorities.
Citizens Bank: You may exchange foreign currency at a branch. Contact Citizens Bank for more currency exchange information.
Chase: Chase customers may exchange up to $5,000 at local branches. You'll have to your nearest branches to learn about transaction fees.
First Citizens Bank: Customers may exchange over 80 types of currency at branches. There aren't any limits on how much you can exchange, but you'll need to contact your nearest branch to learn more about potential fees.
First Horizon Bank: First Horizon Bank has currency for more than 65 countries. You'll have to visit a branch to exchange currency and learn more about potential fees.
Huntington Bank: Huntington Bank customers can exchange up to $20,000 for an $8 fee at bank branches. The bank has 75 types of currencies.
PNC Bank: PNC Bank lets customers exchange currency at local branches. You'll want to call your PNC branch first so currency can be delivered beforehand. The bank charges zero transaction fees for exchanging currency.
Regions Bank: Regions customers may exchange currency at local branches. You'll have to visit a branch to exchange currency and learn more about potential fees.
State Employees Credit Union: Only credit union members can exchange foreign currency at branches. You'll want to call SECU customer service before you visit a branch to ensure the type of currency will be available at your nearest location.
Service Federal Credit Union: Service Credit Union has over 60 types of currencies. You may call or visit a local branch to place an order. Orders under $200 may entail a $10 transaction fee.
TD Bank: TD Bank has 55 types of currencies. You do not need to have a TD Bank account to place an order. Orders can be done online or at a TD branch. However, keep in mind online orders have $7.50 fee and a maximum order limit of $1,500.
US Bank: US Bank customers may exchange currency at a local branch. There's a $10 transaction fee for orders $250 or less. Orders that exceed this amount do not have a transaction fee.
Wings Financial Credit Union: Wings Financial Credit Union has over 90 different currencies, and orders may be placed at local branches. There's a $10 transaction fee for orders under $300. The fee is waived if you make an order over $300.
Not all financial institutions exchange currency. Even if your bank provides this service, your nearest branch may only have certain types of currency available or limited amounts.
To avoid unnecessary trips to a bank, consider taking the following steps for purchasing currency.
Call your bank's customer service.
Sandra Jones, senior vice president of member communications at State Employees Credit Union, recommends calling your bank's customer service to see if your location has the type of currency you need to exchange.
If the currency isn't immediately available, a bank representative can place an order.
Some financial institutions may offer to have the money sent to your home for a fee. If your bank requires you to exchange currency in person, you can set up an appointment to visit a branch.
While you can check exchange rates online to get a rough idea of how much money you'll need, Jones says online rates do not accurately represent the rates available at financial institutions.
Quick tip: You'll want to avoid exchanging currency when traveling. Before your trip, make run through these six tips so your banking doesn't affect your vacation.
Make sure you have everything to complete the order.
When you are exchanging currency, make sure you have the following readily available:
A US ID like your driver's license or passport
Currency being exchanged
Additional cash or payment option if your bank charges a transaction fee
Banks will usually charge a transaction fee for exchanging currency. You'll either pay a flat fee or a variable fee, which depends on the amount and type of currency.
A bank representative will guide you through the steps of buying currency at your appointment.
When you return from your trip, your financial institution may also be able to buy back the foreign currency.
PERSONAL FINANCE ATM withdrawal limits: How much can you take out with your bank daily?
PERSONAL FINANCE What you'll pay in foreign transaction fees at major US banks, including 7 that don't charge fees at all
More: Exchange Currency Savings Personal Finance Insider PFI Reference
State Employees Credit Union
American First Credit Union
Service Credit Union | 2022-04-28T17:49:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | 15 Banks & Credit Unions That Exchange Foreign Currencies | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banks-that-exchange-foreign-currency | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banks-that-exchange-foreign-currency |
Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, and Paul Gosar of Arizona have all proxy voted over 100 times.
Greg Nash and Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
House Republicans are opposed to proxy voting, and Kevin McCarthy tried to end it with a lawsuit.
But 15 Republicans have used the system — which allows members to cast votes on others' behalf — over 100 times.
They include prominent names like Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn, and Paul Gosar.
Ever since the House of Representatives instituted proxy voting — a procedure that allows members of Congress to vote on behalf of their colleagues — Republicans have made their opposition to the practice clear.
When the House voted in May 2020 to allow proxy voting due to the public health emergency spurred by COVID-19, every single Republican lawmaker voted against the measure. Days later, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over it, challenging the constitutionality of proxy voting.
"It is a brazen violation of the Constitution, a dereliction of our duty as elected officials, and would silence the American people's voice during a crisis," McCarthy said at the time. "Democrats are creating a precedent for further injustice. If their changes are acceptable, what stops the majority from creating a 'House Rule' that stipulates the minority party's votes only count for half of the majority party's?"
Ultimately, the Supreme Court declined to hear the complaint in January 2022. Republicans have also claimed that Pelosi only keeps the procedure in place to this day in order to shore up Democrats' razor-thin majority.
But with time, Republicans have begun to break with their stated opposition to the practice and attest that they are "unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency" while dealing with health issues, the births of children, political events, and ailing family members.
While proxy voting is still overwhelmingly used by Democrats versus Republicans, Insider identified 15 Republican House members who've cast over 100 proxy votes in the last two years.
Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho
Fulcher at a press conference outside the Capitol on December 3, 2020.
Fulcher, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who's served since 2019, has voted by proxy 177 times — by far the most frequent proxy voter in the Republican caucus, despite joining McCarthy's lawsuit to end the practice.
At the time, he argued that proxy voting was an "unconstitutional process" that would "eliminate any meaningful debate and allow Members to stay home collecting a paycheck while others cast their vote."
But after Fulcher was diagnosed with renal cancer in June 2021, he began utilizing that very same process the following month as he underwent chemotherapy, a punishing treatment that can lead to fatigue, among other symptoms. He continued frequent proxy voting into the fall of 2021.
Still, Fulcher says he wants proxy voting abolished.
"While proxy voting was a useful tool during my cancer treatment, my situation was rare ... by far the exception, not the rule," Fulcher told Insider in a statement, arguing that the system has "proven to be too ripe" for abuse. "I remain in support of removing the policy."
Yet even after announcing that he was cancer-free in December 2021, Fulcher has voted by proxy 17 times in 2022, most recently asking fellow Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania to cast 6 votes on his behalf on April 5.
Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida
Buchanan on Capitol Hill on November 17, 2020.
Buchanan, a Florida Republican who's served since 2007 and could be next in line to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has voted by proxy 165 times over the last 16 months.
His first proxy vote took place on January 12, 2021, when he asked fellow Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida to vote on his behalf against a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment and remove former President Donald Trump from office.
—Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) January 13, 2021
He then voted by proxy regularly until mid-April 2021, and has continued to sporadically use it since then.
Buchanan did not respond to Insider's request for comment, but he's previously said that the procedure allows him to be "more productive" than if he'd voted in person.
"I can be a lot more productive back home. There's nobody up here. So I just felt like I'd have a bigger impact in my district back in Sarasota," Buchanan told CNN in July. "Nobody can come in and visit with you. We can be more productive visiting with people having meetings back home, not spending a half a day each way coming up here, flying up here, and there's nobody here."
Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina
McHenry at a House Oversight And Government Reform Committee hearing on September 30, 2021.
Al Drago/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
McHenry, who's served in the House since 2005 and hopes to chair the House Financial Services Committee in the next Congress, has voted by proxy 164 times.
After fellow Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana first cast a proxy vote on behalf of McHenry on January 21, 2022, the North Carolina Republican has used the procedure with relative frequency, most recently on April 5.
McHenry told CNN in July that he believes the practice is "being held onto for political purposes rather than for health purposes." Democrats' majority in the chamber is in the single digits, making absences potentially fraught — and McHenry says proxy voting has impeded normal business.
"I think, frankly, as an institution we should get back to dealing with each other, talking to each other and trying to understand each other," he told CNN. "People aren't here. And we're a one-on-one institution. We're a human interaction place both with members and with the press."
Rep. Greg Steube of Florida
Steube speaks to TV cameras outside the Capitol on April 23, 2020.
Steube, another Florida congressman who's served since 2019, is the fourth most frequent proxy voter in the Republican caucus, despite signing onto House Republicans' anti-proxy voting lawsuit in May 2020.
"By signing on to this lawsuit I am committing to refrain from lending my vote via proxy or placing a vote via proxy on behalf of another Member," Stuebe wrote in a letter to McCarthy at the time.
Since then, he's voted remotely 161 times.
The Florida Republican also warned at the time that the procedure would "allow Members of Congress to cast votes on behalf of American citizens from entirely different districts and states who never elected them for representation."
Since then, he's had Republican colleagues from Ohio, South Carolina, and other districts in Florida cast proxy votes on his behalf.
Steube's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Insider.
Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana
Baird leaving a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on October 22, 2019.
Baird, who's served in Congress since 2019, is the fifth-most frequent proxy voter in the Republican caucus, casting 159 votes remotely in the last two years.
Like Buchanan, his first proxy vote was against a resolution calling on Pence to invoke the 25th amendment, and he's voted remotely sporadically since then, asking fellow Indiana Reps. Jackie Walorski and Larry Bucshon to cast votes on his behalf almost every time.
Baird's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota
Hagedorn outside the Capitol on November 14, 2018.
Hagedorn, who died in February after suffering from kidney cancer, had become the 6th most frequent proxy voter after casting 155 votes remotely.
As the House prepared to vote on the measure in May 2020, Hagedorn — who had previously undergone treatment for his disease — took the House floor to speak out against the idea.
"You know, some might question why a member of Congress like myself — who's dealing with Stage IV cancer, getting treatment the last year at the Mayo Clinic — why I would be the one passionately wanting everyone to travel and work in this chamber," he remarked. "It's because it's a bad idea for this House."
But after Hagedorn's cancer re-emerged in July 2021, he began to vote remotely again, and stopped voting in person entirely beginning in November 2021 until his death in mid-February.
Rep. Brian Babin of Texas
Babin at a news conference with members of the GOP Doctors Caucus on January 19, 2022.
Babin, a Houston-area congressman who was first elected in 2015, has voted by proxy 127 times.
"House Democrats' proxy voting rule takes away the constitutional duty of every member, and I oppose it completely," said Babin in May 2020 as he announced that would be joining McCarthy's lawsuit.
He added that he "will never utilize the constitutionally dubious provisions" that allow for proxy voting.
But on March 8th, 2021, days after a group of House Republicans faced backlash from their colleagues for using proxy voting while attending CPAC in Florida, the Texas congressman utilized the procedure for the first time.
He was also among several House Republicans who voted by proxy on June 30, 2021 in order to travel to the US-Mexico border for an event with Trump.
—RSC (@RepublicanStudy) June 30, 2021
Babin's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Insider.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina
Cawthorn — the far-right 26-year old congressman who's perhaps best known for suggesting that his GOP colleagues participate in cocaine-fueled orgies — is the eighth most frequent proxy voter among Republicans, casting 124 votes remotely since he arrived in Congress in 2021. But he's accused Democrats of abandoning their posts by voting by proxy.
"Leaders show up no matter how uncertain the times are," Cawthorn tweeted in July 2020, days after he unexpectedly defeated a Trump-backed candidate in a GOP primary.
"The Democrats are cowards for hiding and not showing up to work," he said.
—Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) July 1, 2020
But Cawthorn changed his tune just weeks after being sworn in, with McHenry — himself the third most frequent proxy-voting Republican — voting on his fellow North Carolinian's behalf in late February 2021 while Cawthorn attended CPAC.
The North Carolina Republican defended that particular vote, telling Smoky Mountain News days later that Pelosi "arbitrarily changed our voting schedule to intentionally situate it over CPAC in an effort to prevent congresspeople from speaking to their constituents," he said.
"I chose to value speaking with conservatives and North Carolinians over abiding by her bad faith ruling," he added.
But since then, Cawthorn has voted remotely plenty more times, including over 50 times just this year.
Cawthorn's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Rep. John Carter of Texas
Carter arrives for an event on the House steps of the Capitol on September 15, 2020.
Carter, who's served in Congress since 2002, has cast 122 proxy votes, the ninth highest rate among Republicans.
The Austin-area lawmaker first began to use the procedure in 2021, and a colleague's failure to vote on his Carter's behalf in May 2021 may have allowed for the initial House passage of a bill providing emergency funding for the Capitol Police following January 6.
The initial 213-212 vote was nearly a tie due to the defection of several progressive Democratic lawmakers, who argued that the bill failed to address the underlying issues that caused the riot.
Carter was one of two Republicans who didn't vote on the measure, while the rest of their Republican colleagues voted against the security funding, despite asking fellow Republican Rep. Kevin Calvert of California to vote no on his behalf.
"Rep. Calvert had been voting by proxy for Rep. Carter throughout the week," a spokesman for Calvert told JustTheNews. "Rep. Calvert made a mistake and simply forgot to cast Rep. Carter's vote."
Carter told Bloomberg in February that he'd used the procedure to take care of his wife while she was sick, and conceded that technology enables members to make informed decisions about how to vote.
"If you have a serious family emergency or some kind of emergency in your district, like a hurricane came in or stuff like that, you ought to be able to proxy vote," said Carter.
Carter's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Gosar objects to Arizona’s Electoral College votes certification on January 6, 2021.
Gosar — who's most recently garnered headlines for attending white nationalist conferences and being censured by the House of Representatives for releasing an anime video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — also happens to be the 10th most frequent proxy voter in the Republican conference.
He voted by proxy for the first time on January 21, 2021. Just six days later, Gosar wrote on Twitter that "Pelosi's 'proxy voting' scheme is shameful and unconstitutional."
He has since deleted the tweet, and proceeded to proxy vote 110 more times since then, including once to attend a white nationalist event, while asking colleagues like Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to vote on his behalf.
At one point, he even asked fellow Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri to vote on his behalf while he attended CPAC, only for her to decline when she learned why.
"I was not going to vote anyone's proxy who was traveling for other reasons," she told CNN last year. "I just said, 'you know, find someone else to carry your proxy.'"
Gosar's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida
Salazar at a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 10, 2021.
Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images
Salazar, a former Telemundo reporter who unexpectedly flipped a Miami-area House district in 2020, has voted by proxy 107 times.
After first voting via proxy in July 2021, Salazar has continued to use the procedure frequently, including casting nearly 70 votes by proxy in 2022.
The congresswoman told Insider in a statement that since her elderly mother fell ill last year, she's had to miss votes in order to serve as her main caretaker.
"My parents sacrificed so much to give me a better life and my mother has always been there for me," said Salazar. "Without knowing how much time we have left together I want to be there for her."
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York
Stefanik at a press conference on Capitol Hill on October 26, 2021.
Stefanik, whose position as caucus chair makes her the third highest-ranking member of House Republican leadership, has voted by proxy 106 times since January 2021.
Her use of proxy voting is particularly flagrant, given her position in leadership and repeated denunciations of proxy voting, even while using the practice to attend a fundraiser with Trump in January 2021.
Stefanik spokesman Alex deGrasse defended her use of proxy voting to attend the event, telling the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that she "will always work to ensure her district is represented at the highest levels which is why she made sure the district had a vote."
Stefanik also voted entirely by proxy from August 24 until October 12 after giving birth to her first child in late August.
In January 2022, Stefanik defended her use of the practice even while declaring that Republicans "believe in in-person voting" and would eliminate proxy voting if they regain control of Congress.
"It's the rules of the House right now," Stefanik said. "These are the rules that Nancy Pelosi sets. She sets the mask rule, she sets the magnetometer rules. I oppose both of those rules, but we use them. I use those rules because those are the rules that she has set."
Stefanik's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada
Amodei at a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 30, 2022.
Amodei, a low-key congressman who's represented a wide swath of northern Nevada since 2011, has proxy voted 105 times.
Nearly all of those proxy votes, which began in January 2021, were cast by either Republican Reps. Troy Balderson of Ohio or Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
When asked about his frequent use of the procedure in August 2021, he justified it in similar terms to those that Stefanik would later use.
"The use of proxies has been reality [sic] of The House Rules for nearly two years," he told the Nevada Current. "I follow House Rules."
Amodei's office did not respond to Insider's repeated requests for comment.
Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida
Waltz at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on September 29, 2021.
Waltz, who succeeded current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a special election in 2018 following his resignation from Congress, has used proxy voting 102 times.
In every instance, Waltz has attested that he is "unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency," asking fellow Florida Republicans like Salazar, Cammack, and others to vote on his behalf.
Waltz's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Insider.
Gaetz at a hearing on Capitol Hill on October 21, 2021.
Matt Gaetz, the far-right congressman who's currently under a federal investigation for sex-trafficking allegations, has voted by proxy 100 times.
He was among the Republicans that used the procedure to attend CPAC in February 2022, and unlike most of his GOP colleagues, he even used it in 2020.
On both December 18 and 20 of 2020, Gaetz asked former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii to vote on his behalf.
But Gaetz is one of the rare Republicans who's actually publicly supportive of proxy voting; when Insider reached out to his office for comment, spokesman Joel Valdez referred to a Washington Examiner op–ed that Gaetz wrote in November 2020.
"To date, I've toed the party line, but no more: the Republicans are wrong," wrote Gaetz. "I am now convinced that remote voting would be a devastating blow to the lobbyists and special interests who corrupt our politics and harm our nation."
He went on to detail what he sees as the average lawmaker's day, including taking "thousand-dollar PAC checks" from lobbyists and raising "tens of thousands of dollars over mediocre Tex-Mex."
"I support remote voting because we are better as public servants when we spend more time with the public we are elected to serve," he wrote. "And if we cannot drain the swamp, we should at least spend less time in it."
More: Features proxy voting Madison Cawthorn Matt Gaetz | 2022-04-28T18:37:04Z | www.businessinsider.com | 15 Republicans Proxy Voted Over 100 Times Despite Their Opposition to It | https://www.businessinsider.com/15-house-republicans-proxy-voting-over-100-times-mccarthy-opposition-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/15-house-republicans-proxy-voting-over-100-times-mccarthy-opposition-2022-4 |
Democratic Reps. Al Lawson and Frederica Wilson of Florida.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images and Lynne Sladky/AP Photo
Since the House allowed proxy voting due to the pandemic, some members have seldom voted in person.
Two Florida Democrats have voted in person less than 7% of the time over the last two years.
Insider identified several other lawmakers, all Democrats, who have mostly voted remotely since May 2020.
Ever since the House of Representatives introduced proxy voting in May 2020, countless lawmakers have opted to use the remote voting procedure in order to keep themselves safe amid the ongoing public health emergency.
That was the novel procedure's original intent, at least. But two years on from the start of the pandemic and following the widespread availability of vaccines and high-quality masks, some lawmakers have continued to mostly vote remotely, asking their colleagues to cast votes on their behalf.
The remote voting procedure is overwhelmingly used by Democrats. Chief among them are Reps. Al Lawson and Frederica Wilson — two Florida Democrats who have showed up in person for less than 7% of all roll call votes in the last two years.
Insider analyzed the data from each of the over 700 roll call votes taken by the House between May 20, 2020 and April 7, 2022, analyzing which members used the practice most frequently.
The Florida duo aren't the only lawmakers who've opted to mostly vote remotely — Insider identified several other Democrats who've cast over 50% of their votes by proxy since May 2020.
Here are the top 10 most frequent proxy voters, including the percentage of votes they've cast remotely:
Al Lawson of Florida - 96.5%
Frederica Wilson of Florida - 93.6%
Bobby Rush of Illinois - 90%
Donald Payne of New Jersey - 89.7%
Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona - 84%
Grace Napolitano of California - 72.4%
Grace Meng of New York - 67.1%
Raul Grijalva of Arizona - 63.8%
Katie Porter of California - 62.7%
Al Lowenthal of California - 56.5%
Lawson's communications director, Ayanna Young, defended the congressman's proxy voting habit in a statement to Insider. She did not provide reasons for why Lawson has proxy voted with such frequency.
"Like most Americans, Congress had to make adjustments in the way they work," she said. "Throughout the pandemic Rep. Lawson has maintained a solid 99.3% voting record and has consistently been engaged in his committee work. He continues to work tirelessly to meet the needs of his constituents."
A review of the data found that Lawson, 73, has only shown up in person for 25 votes since proxy voting began. In fact, Lawson hasn't shown up to vote once in 2022.
Otherwise, he's asked Democratic colleagues to vote in his stead, most frequently Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania.
Lawson's northern Florida district as it exists was recently eliminated by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida amid redistricting, creating a new district that leans Republican. Lawson told the Tallahassee Democrat that his "plan right now is to be on the ballot."
Rep. Wilson's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Insider. As of April 7, Wilson, who is 79, had showed up for 5 days of voting in 2022 and had voted in person just 46 times since proxy voting began, according to the data.
But Republicans, despite their stated opposition and a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the practice from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have gradually come around to proxy voting as well.
In an interview with Insider, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia — who's voted on behalf of his colleagues more than any other member of Congress — said that Congress could benefit from guidelines to ensure the practice is not being abused.
"We have a lot of plus-seventies in Congress," said Beyer. "We also have a lot of young people, with families and children, and I think it was really valuable for those folks with kids at home to be able to stay for the parent teacher conference."
More: Al Lawson frederica wilson Florida proxy voting
Proxy Voting Project | 2022-04-28T18:37:07Z | www.businessinsider.com | FL Reps. Lawson and Wilson Vote in Person Less Than 7% of the Time | https://www.businessinsider.com/al-lawson-frederica-wilson-proxy-voting-less-than-7-percent-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/al-lawson-frederica-wilson-proxy-voting-less-than-7-percent-2022-4 |
Center the QR code on the screen
Check your lighting and distance
Clean the lens
Tap and hold the screen
Try Google Lens
Make sure Google Lens suggestions are turned on
Try a third-party QR code reader
7 ways to troubleshoot if your Android device is not scanning a QR code
There are a number of potential reasons why your Android device might not be scanning a QR code properly.
If your Android device is not scanning a QR code, make sure the code is properly framed on your screen.
Cleaning your camera lens and getting better lighting on the code are other potential solutions.
You can also try using Google Lens or a third-party QR code app.
QR codes have been around for a long time, but it seems like they've recently found new, heightened popularity. Many restaurants, for example, have switched to leaving a QR code at the table so you can read the menu on your phone rather than printer paper.
That's great, most of the time. But what happens when your Android phone won't scan a QR code? There are a handful of ways to quickly troubleshoot and try to solve this problem.
Often, your phone might not scan the QR code because of how you're trying to position your phone. Start by opening the camera app on your Android phone — whether that is the Google Camera app found in Android OS devices or a custom camera app. Center the QR code squarely in the frame, being sure the code is at the center of the viewfinder. Wait a few moments, and you should see the option to open the page associated with the code.
Center the QR code on your screen, and make sure it’s in focus.
It's also possible that you are too close, too far, or trying to connect with insufficient lighting. Make sure that the QR code is focused in the frame. If the camera is having difficulty identifying the code, move closer or farther to allow the lens to focus, and make sure the QR code is lit well enough for the camera to read it properly. Move it into better lighting if needed, or have someone else shine their phone's flashlight.
It's not just being too close or far from the QR code that can keep your phone from reading it properly; the camera lens is also susceptible to smudges and other grime. Give it a quick wipe (ideally with a microfiber cloth) to let the camera see the code better.
Quick tip: We tested the best accessories for your iPhone and recommend the Whoosh! Screen Cleaning Kit because it gives you everything you need to keep your phone clean at a reasonable price of $10.
If you're pointing your phone directly at a QR code and — despite decent lighting and good framing — the camera still isn't scanning the QR code, here is a trick that will work with many camera apps: tap and hold the screen. Depending upon your phone model, the camera app may launch Google Lens and give you the ability to launch the page for the QR code.
Tap and hold the screen to scan a QR code on many Android phones.
If tapping and holding the screen doesn't work, your camera app might not be designed to launch Google Lens automatically. In that case, install Google Lens (if it's not already installed on your phone) and launch the app. Google Lens makes it easy to scan QR codes.
If you are using the Google Camera app, make sure Google Lens suggestions are enabled — this makes it much easier to scan QR codes in just a few moments. Start the Camera app, tap the Options icon at the top of the screen and then tap More Settings. In the General section, make sure Google Lens suggestions is on by swiping the button to the right.
If your phone’s camera offers this option, enable Google Lens suggestions.
If you aren't having luck with your phone's built-in camera and either Google Lens isn't working for you or you prefer not to use it, try a third-party QR code scanner app. There are many to choose from in the Google Play store, though one of the best is QR & Barcode Scanner. The app is easy to use and can accurately scan QR codes; just point the phone at a QR code and go.
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More: Android QR Codes Scanning Troubleshooting | 2022-04-28T18:37:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Android Not Scanning a QR Code: 7 Ways to Troubleshoot | https://www.businessinsider.com/android-not-scanning-qr-code | https://www.businessinsider.com/android-not-scanning-qr-code |
Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia plans to dismantle local governments across Ukraine, a US official said on Thursday.
In captured territories, Russia wants to set up new forms of government with its own leaders.
Ukraine has warned that Russia will schedule referendums in captured areas to impose legitimacy.
Russia plans to dismantle Ukraine's government and install puppet leaders to head local municipalities, a US official said on Thursday.
Michael Carpenter, US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said in remarks to the agency's permanent council in Vienna that Russia seeks a "forced capitulation" of Ukraine's elected government and wants to "dissolve" all local municipal governments across the country.
"Plans for a new government and new constitution are being developed by Russian officials and so-called 'separatists,'" Carpenter said.
He added: "This planning includes a moratorium disallowing legitimate Ukrainian leaders and those supporting Ukraine's legitimate government from any leadership positions."
Carpenter said Russia wants to set up new forms of government in territories it captures and warned it may be preparing to stage "sham" referendums in occupied regions to try and legitimize its invasion.
Ukraine has previously accused Russia of scheduling referendums in the southeastern Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, however, that "pseudo-referendums" or establishment of "new pseudo-people's republics" would derail any peace negotiations with Moscow.
Carpenter referred to the idea of Russian referendums as a textbook move and said the US witnessed "attempts to impose so-called 'new realities'" eight years ago in Crimea and in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since 2014, Ukraine has fought Kremlin-backed rebels in the pro-Russia separatist-controlled Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic — both in the country's eastern Donbas region.
Shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 24 televised war declaration, he signed a decree recognizing the two regions as independent states.
Carpenter accused Russia of using disinformation to portray legitimate Ukrainian authority as a "Western-inspired coup" to local populations.
"The reality is that Russia installed puppet regimes dependent on Russian bribes, and orchestrated nebulous 'people's councils' to create phony constitutions – all an attempt to lend an air of legitimacy to the sham," Carpenter said.
Now, Russian forces have focused their attention on a renewed offensive in the Donbas after failing to capture Ukraine's capital city Kyiv.
Despite Russian troop movement to eastern Ukraine, Western officials have warned that Putin still wants to control all of Ukraine. | 2022-04-28T18:37:54Z | www.businessinsider.com | US: Russia Wants Puppet Leaders Replacing Local Governments in Ukraine | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-says-russia-wants-puppet-leaders-replacing-local-governments-ukraine-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-says-russia-wants-puppet-leaders-replacing-local-governments-ukraine-2022-4 |
How to land a job at Discord, the video-game social app that's hiring for 100 positions right now
Discord is hiring in engineering, design, and more.
Discord has a huge following as a social-networking app, especially for gamers.
Right now, the company is hiring to help build its reach to all types of fandoms.
Insider spoke with a talent leader at Discord about how to get a job at the platform.
In the digital age, candidates are not impressed with how employers are handling hiring: long applications, slow response times, and impersonal communication, to name a few reasons.
But Discord , a popular instant-messaging and social platform, is all about connecting, and its recruitment process reflects that.
"We communicate with people in a very human way where we allow them to feel like, 'I can totally just be myself here, and I'm going to get that throughout the entire hiring process,'" Devin Schroeder, a talent leader at Discord, told Insider.
The platform is wildly popular with gamers and has 140 million users each month. It's a Swiss Army knife for social networking; with a free account, users can make voice calls, send instant messages, stream HD screen shares, watch multiple streams at once, organize servers with thousands of users, share files, and add bots. Though Discord hasn't announced plans to go public, analysts predict the company will launch its initial public offering this year.
As the company expands its audience, there are over 100 openings across all teams on its website. Schroeder said he's receiving more applications than ever, with hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates for entry-level positions in engineering, design, machine learning, and more. All new hires will be a part of Discord's new frontier as the platform aims to become the place to discover all types of interests.
"Discord originally was founded as a place where gamers found their community, and that's how we grew in popularity," Schroeder said. "One of the things we're really focused on growing is making sure that no matter what you're interested in, that you can find something to geek out over, something that you totally love."
Getting a job at Discord
Before opening a role, Schroeder said, hiring managers work closely with the team that the new hire will join to ensure the recruiting team has a clear understanding of what a role entails. He added that Discord had a specific sourcing team to seek out talent for a wider, more diverse hiring pool.
"Through us partnering with the leadership team and understanding what we need, we're able to go a level deeper, and we're able to look at the hard and the soft skills that will lend itself to being successful here," Schroeder said. "It's an opportunity to penetrate the market looking at different types of talent."
Once applications start coming through, Schroeder said a human recruiter would look at every candidate. If a person seems like a good fit for the skills that the manager and talent team set out to find, a recruiter will send an initial message and conduct a 45-minute phone screen.
Next, candidates will complete a skills test specific to their role. Schroeder said the assessments were designed to demonstrate how a person approached problems, not just getting the correct answers. Applicants can stand out by talking through each step of their thought process and presenting their solutions in a clear way.
Candidates then complete about two virtual interviews in Discord's virtual space. Schroeder said his team liked to add a touch of personality at this stage by designing a creative virtual room with a fun name like "Monica's interview mansion." He said he structured interviews to be specific to each role, rather than asking general questions that candidates have answered dozens of times. He focuses on making interviews conversational to put people at ease.
Candidates also get a free month of Discord's premium subscription, Discord Nitro, so they can experiment with the product and find their own interests.
"Whether it's basketball or Marvel or anime, we look to learn that about people, what they love on a human level, not just about their work," Schroeder said. "We then try to link them up with employees or servers where they can immediately feel connected."
Altogether, Schroeder said the process usually took a couple of weeks. He added that the whole company worked on the platform.
"One of the things that I find really easy about my job here is that when I talk to people about how they use Discord, I hear the joy it brings to them in their everyday lives," Schroeder said. "As a recruiter, when you hear that stuff, it's really easy for you to just understand that the company you work for is creating happiness for people."
More: Discord Discord stock market Job Openings
engineer jobs | 2022-04-28T19:20:02Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Land a Job at Discord, the Video-Game Social App Hiring Now | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-land-a-job-at-discord-video-game-app-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-land-a-job-at-discord-video-game-app-2022-4 |
How parking lot lines are perfectly painted
Tomas Ponce is the owner of TP Striping, a professional line-striping business.
Parking spaces are painted perfectly using advanced machinery, attention to detail, and experience.
Tomas also paints running tracks, football fields, playgrounds, tennis courts, and airport runways.
Text on screen: Tomas Ponce is the owner of TP Striping. He specializes in line-painting surfaces. After reviewing the project's blueprint, the first step is to prepare the job site. The starting points for each parking line are marked so the operator knows when to start each line. Workers ride a special machine that sprays paint. The machine also has a laser point to make sure the lines are straight. Tomas says the most difficult part of the job is "perfecting when you start and finish a line."
The machine paints at 5,900 psi, so operators must practice when to press the trigger. Tapping the trigger too early or too late can cause overspray. Spraying at night is easier than spraying during the day because the laser is more visible in the dark. It also helps that there is less traffic. TP Striping also paints symbols using stencils and fast-drying paint. Workers simply lay out the stencil, spray an even coat, and carefully remove the stencil. Tomas calibrates the laser on his machine every two to three days to make sure it's working properly. It takes two to three hours to paint a new parking lot with 100 lines. Touch-up jobs can be done in an hour or less depending on the size of the lot. Tomas uses around 10,000 gallons of paint per season. With an average of 250 to 400 gallons used every week, Tomas estimates a 100-line parking lot uses 10 gallons of paint.
Line-striping isn't exclusive to parking lots. Tomas stripes running tracks, football fields, playgrounds, tennis courts, and airport runways. Tomas says, "the most difficult job is a running track, because it is a slow and consistent curve, and you only get one chance to do it right." | 2022-04-28T19:20:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Parking Lot Lines Are Perfectly Painted Using Specialized Machines | https://www.businessinsider.com/parking-lot-lines-perfectly-painted-using-specialized-machines-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/parking-lot-lines-perfectly-painted-using-specialized-machines-2022-4 |
PayPal's CEO is betting the company's checkout tech can beat Amazon, Shopify, and Bolt, thanks to 2 key advantages
Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal.
Dan Schulman, PayPal's CEO, said checkout would be one of the company's priorities for 2022.
The payments giant has struggled recently, cutting its performance outlook for the rest of the year.
Checkout is a valuable but competitive space, with players such as Amazon vying for customers.
As PayPal seeks to reset after cutting its performance outlook for the rest of the year, the payments giant says it's doubling down on the crowded checkout-tech space as one of its main priorities for 2022.
Dan Schulman, PayPal's president and CEO, outlined the company's advantages over one-click startup competitors and established e-commerce players alike during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Schulman cited both PayPal's scale and its track record as two major assets that would help it win the checkout wars, assets that newer VC-backed startups, such as Bolt and the now defunct Fast, struggled to establish.
"It's a network effects business," Schulman said. "The larger the scale, the more attractive the network is."
The focus on checkout is expected to be paired with an emphasis on PayPal's digital wallet, as the company shifts its focus from acquiring new users to more deeply engaging with its existing active users.
PayPal faces checkout competition from both smaller startups and e-commerce heavyweights
Checkout may be a risky bet to help turn PayPal's struggles around: The space is crowded with both VC-backed startups and e-commerce giants, including Shopify and Amazon.
Amazon recently announced the rollout of its Buy With Prime feature, which allows Prime members to use their saved shipping and payment information from their Amazon accounts on third-party websites, which furthers Amazon's bid to become consumers' go-to shopping and payment platform.
PayPal originally launched its One Touch feature in 2015, which allows users to make payments using PayPal without having to reenter their log-in credentials for every transaction. Schulman said on Wednesday that PayPal planned to further improve log-in using "new identity techniques."
Schulman said PayPal was working to further simplify its UX, eliminating pop-ups that take customers away from retailers' sites and ensuring seamless checkout flows.
"Retailers depend completely on a checkout provider, and if it doesn't go right, they can lose a tremendous amount of sales," he said.
PayPal is also working on what Schulman called "next-generation checkout," furthering efforts to not only increase conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment but also to more actively push consumers to consider making a purchase in the first place. Schulman hopes to leverage PayPal's large stores of consumer data to allow merchants to create customized offers and homepages for customers.
"Nobody has the amount of data and information we have on customers," Schulman said.
While Schulman acknowledged the competition in the space, he said PayPal's track record and consumer trust were key advantages.
"Checkout is a hard business," he said. "You've got to be able to scale it, and it's got to be perfect."
More: Retail PayPal E-Commerce | 2022-04-28T20:07:38Z | www.businessinsider.com | PayPal Makes Checkout a Priority for 2022 After It Cut Performance Outlook for Q1 Earnings | https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-makes-checkout-a-priority-cutting-performance-outlook-q1-earnings-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-makes-checkout-a-priority-cutting-performance-outlook-q1-earnings-2022-4 |
5 smart ways to spend your tax refund to build wealth, according to a financial planner
If you're getting a tax refund this year, consider using it to build wealth instead of splurging.
Use it to pay off credit card debt and student loans, or beef up your emergency savings.
Or invest it in a retirement account or brokerage account. After all that, treat yourself.
The deadline to file your 2021 taxes was April 18, so unless you filed for an extension, you've likely filed your 2021 taxes by now. Whether you used a tax-filing software, accountant, or did them yourself, the hard part is (mostly) over. Depending on how much you withheld or paid throughout the year, you either owe money or will receive a refund.
If you paid too much in estimated taxes or withheld too much from your paychecks, you'll likely receive a tax refund. This year's average refund so far is $3,226 — that's quite the chunk of change!
If you have already received or are expecting to get a refund this year, you may be thinking about what to do with the money. Before you run out to make a big purchase, I'd like to recommend stepping back and making a plan.
As a financial planner, I'm a fan of balancing long-term goals over short-term rewards. Sure, using your tax refund to buy a new pair of shoes or luxury vacation sounds great in the moment, but it's important to weigh the instant gratification of splurging with the long-term benefit of setting yourself up financially for the next year and beyond.
A refund (or any windfall!) is a great chance to kick-start a money goal or improve your financial situation. Here are my five favorite ways to use your tax refund.
Emergencies can happen at any time. Some are one-time expenses — a sudden medical bill or home repair — and others are longer-term, like job loss.
This is what makes having emergency savings so essential. An emergency fund can help you avoid borrowing money to cover costs. If you don't have an emergency fund, your refund is a great place to start. I recommend having around six months' worth of expenses, including the amounts you spend on necessities like rent, food, utilities, and gas for your car. But remember — any amount saved is better than nothing at all.
Store your emergency money in a savings account that's easily accessible, but separate from your checking account. This prevents you tapping it for everyday expenses.
Credit card debt is one of the most nefarious forms of debt, thanks to high interest rates. If you have an overdue balance on your card, use your refund to pay it off (or as much as you can).
If you have student loan debt, you can use your refund towards repayment. The pause on federal student loan repayment was just extended through August 31, but you should consider paying — the pause also set your loan's interest rate at 0%, which means any payment you make now through August 31 will go directly to the principal of the loan, reducing your overall loan faster and reducing the amount of future interest you'll pay. A win-win!
3. Put more towards retirement
Retirement is one of the largest goals you'll work towards throughout your life. If you've fallen behind with retirement savings, your refund is a great opportunity to make a one-time deposit in your 401(k) or individual retirement account. In 2022, you can contribute up to $20,500 to a 401(k) and $6,000 for traditional and Roth IRAs.
While it may not be the most exciting way to spend your refund, your future self will thank you.
If you're already on track to meet your other financial goals, consider using a portion of your refund to invest in the stock market. Investing is a great way to grow your wealth over time, and while the stock market may seem a little bit like a roller coaster right now, remember that ups and downs are normal.
Depending on your investing time horizon and appetite for risk, there are tons of investing options available. If you're more risk-averse and want to take a "set-it-and-forget-it" approach, consider investing in index funds or an exchange-traded fund, which are typically automatically diversified. If you want to get more involved with your investments, consider shopping for individual stocks. There are also plenty of robo-advisors out there to help you get started.
While I'm all about paying for your financial future first, don't be afraid to reward yourself a little. It's totally OK to treat yourself to something new with your tax refund, as long as a majority is still going to those larger financial goals.
If I receive a tax refund, I typically set aside around 10% to buy myself a nice dinner out or a new item of clothing. I consider it as a mini reward for using most of my refund towards other goals. Positive reinforcement is a real thing, and splurging a little can help reinforce those positive financial habits.
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More: Taxes Tax refund Financial Planners Personal Finance Insider | 2022-04-28T20:07:38Z | www.businessinsider.com | 5 Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund to Build Wealth | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/smart-ways-spend-tax-refund-build-wealth-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/smart-ways-spend-tax-refund-build-wealth-2022-4 |
Walmart+ is Walmart's cheaper alternative to Amazon Prime — here's what you get for $98 a year
Joe Osborne, Antonio Villas-Boas, Emily Hein, and Angela Tricarico
Walmart; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider
Walmart+, Walmart's Amazon Prime competitor, costs $98/year or $13/month.
Subscribers can get free next-day and two-day shipping without any minimums.
Other perks include discounts on fuel at 14,000 gas stations and deals on prescriptions.
Walmart+ Monthly Subscription
Amazon Prime has officially met its first true challenger in Walmart+, the premium shopping subscription from the nation's largest brick-and-mortar retailer.
Walmart+ launched in September 2020 with a price of $98 per year, or $13 a month. For those keeping score, that's about $40 cheaper than the cost of Amazon Prime's annual rate.
Once you subscribe, you get access to a variety of key perks, including free delivery on all Walmart.com orders, fuel discounts, and prescription savings. The service also recently upgraded its discount on fuel from 5 cents a gallon to 10 cents a gallon at participating gas stations.
To help you decide if Walmart+ is worth a subscription, we broke down the service's pricing options, along with details on everything you get for your money.
Walmart Plus price
Walmart+ costs a flat fee of $98 per year.
Alternatively, members can opt for a monthly plan that costs $13 a month. Both the annual and monthly plans include a 30-day free trial period for new members.
As a quick comparison, Amazon Prime costs $139 per year, with a monthly option that costs $15 a month.
What you get with Walmart Plus
Services like Walmart+ essentially live on the perks and features that they offer.
For instance, Amazon Prime includes access to its unlimited video and music streaming services, as well as a litany of exclusive daily deals. So, what does the $98 annual fee for Walmart+ include?
"Free delivery as fast as same-day" on over 160,000 in-store items like groceries, everyday essentials like toothpaste and toilet paper, general merchandise, and some toys and electronics. This was previously known as Walmart's "Delivery Unlimited" subscription service that enabled unlimited deliveries for a yearly or monthly fee.
Up to 10 cents off per gallon on fuel at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express gas stations, plus member pricing at Sam's Club gas stations.
A Scan & Go automated checkout service for in-store shopping. The feature works from the Walmart app, and it lets you scan and pay for items with Walmart Pay while you're shopping at a physical store. It makes for "a quick, easy, and touch-free payment experience," the company said.
Access to Rx for less, a new benefit that grants Walmart+ members up to 85% off on thousands of prescription medications, along with six completely free prescription medications. You can read about it in more detail here.
Early access to special deals and promotions, including select discounts during shopping events like Black Friday.
Walmart Plus vs. Amazon Prime
Walmart Grocery
How does Walmart+ stack up against Amazon Prime right now?
Walmart+ is still fairly new, and while it offers a good value-driven set of features, it doesn't offer as much as Amazon Prime just yet. With that said, the service continues to add new perks and improve its existing ones.
Though Walmart+ and Amazon Prime offer similar benefits when it comes to free, fast shipping, Amazon has a clear edge when it comes to entertainment options. Prime members get access to perks like Prime Video, Amazon Music, and free ebooks. Meanwhile, Walmart doesn't have any comparative entertainment features yet.
On the plus side, Walmart+ does have a few unique perks that Prime doesn't offer, like discounts on fuel. It's also notably less expensive, coming in at $98 a year versus Amazon Prime's $139 yearly cost.
Check out the comprehensive breakdown of Walmart+ has to offer compared to Amazon Prime.
Disclosure: This is a disclosure.
More: Features Walmart Walmart Plus Retail | 2022-04-28T20:50:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | Walmart Plus Price: $98 for Annual Membership | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/walmart-plus-price | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/walmart-plus-price |
Collins criticized Biden's potential move to cancel some student loans.
She argues it's unfair to people who repaid student loans and doesn't want higher-earners to qualify.
Biden said that a decision on debt relief was coming in the "next couple of weeks."
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Thursday criticized the Biden administration for considering wiping out a portion of student debt. She argued that she doesn't want relief flowing to borrowers with high-incomes.
"I have a lot of concerns that there does not seem to be any kind of income cap that he is proposing," Collins told Insider.
"I believe that we ought to increase Pell Grants which go to our neediest families and that is a far better way to target relief," she said, referring to a program that helps lower-income students pay for higher education.
NBC News reported that debt relief would likely be tied to a borrower's income, similar to the direct payments of the Biden stimulus law enacted last year.
The Maine Republican also said student debt forgiveness is "not fair" to those who repaid their debt over many years. She also argued that people with higher incomes are likelier to be able to pay it back and shouldn't qualify.
Other Democrats were quick to respond. "That's like saying if we lower the cost of prescription medicine, are we screwing the people who used to pay more?" Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii told Insider.
"This is a problem in our society," Schatz said. "We should fix it."
The criticism from Collins comes after President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he expected to make a decision on some student debt relief "in the next couple of weeks."
Biden has faced cascading calls to forgive some student debt, and those calls have only amplified following his most recent extension of the pause on student-loan payments through August 31. While Biden promised on the campaign trail to approve $10,000 in student-loan forgiveness, many progressives were hoping he would shoot higher.
But during Thursday remarks, he shut the door on $50,000 in relief for every federal borrower.
"I am considering dealing with some debt reduction, I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction but I'm in the process of taking a hard look at whether there will be additional debt forgiveness," he said, adding a decision will be made "in the next couple of weeks."
While Republicans remain adamant that student-loan relief should not be implemented, partly due to fiscal costs, Democrats are hopeful relief will be delivered, and that it will stimulate the economy.
More: Policy Susan Collins Joe Biden White House | 2022-04-28T20:51:11Z | www.businessinsider.com | Susan Collins Swipes at Biden's Plan to Wipe Out Some Student Debt | https://www.businessinsider.com/susan-collins-biden-plan-student-lona-debt-relief-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/susan-collins-biden-plan-student-lona-debt-relief-2022-4 |
President Joe Biden is planning to attend the White House Correspondents Association Dinner with 2,600 journalists, politicians, and celebrities.
The president has a packed travel schedule despite top Democrats getting sick with COVID this week.
Biden is attending the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday with 2,600 guests.
He's vaccinated and double boosted, but also 79-years old.
Vice President Kamala Harris is out sick with COVID. Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical advisor, just dropped out of a glitzy media, politician, and celebrity "nerd prom" for fear of exposure.
Yet President Joe Biden has still RSVP'd yes to the black-tie gala, formally known as the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. In just two days, he'll get roasted by comedian Trevor Noah and deliver his own zingers to more than 2,620 attendees in the Washington Hilton's basement-level ballroom.
On top of that, Biden's travel schedule is chock full. On Wednesday, he eulogized former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. On Sunday, he'll travel to Minnesota for former Vice President Walter Mondale's memorial service.
All the while, COVID cases in the Northeast are rising, and two more senators tested positive this week. While neither appears to have gotten seriously ill, the shortage makes voting all the more difficult in a 50-50 Senate.
The situation has many — including some in the Washington press corp — wondering: Why isn't the 79-year-old president being more careful in the days ahead?
"Appreciate Biden's support of a free press, but wish he wouldn't put himself in harm's way for the nerd prom," tweeted Carol Eisenberg, deputy health and science editor at the Washington Post.
—Carol Eisenberg (@Eisey) April 27, 2022
After all, just three weeks ago a more exclusive media dinner in Washington known as the Gridiron turned into a superspreader event that infected at least three Cabinet members.
And Biden's behavior today is a far cry from when he worked to win the presidency, holding virtual campaign events from the safety of his basement during shutdown orders.
But a lot has changed since then. The president has been vaccinated and twice boosted — factors that reduce the likelihood that he'll need hospitalization or that he'll die from COVID-19.
Still, the White House is taking some precautions. Biden will not be at the dinner portion of the correspondents' gala and will wear a mask except when he's speaking, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at her weekly press conference Wednesday.
Joe Biden removes his mask before speaking at an event.
White House says it supports the press, unlike Trump
Psaki defended the White House's health and safety protocols when asked about them this week by reporters, and said there were no plans to make alterations despite Harris' infection. Everyone who meets with Biden has to get tested and socially distance, she said.
"It is possible he could test positive for COVID," Psaki said of Biden Tuesday, vowing to publicly disclose if it happens.
For the forthcoming dinner, all gala attendees have to show proof of vaccination and take a same-day COVID test, according to guidance the WHCA circulated on Wednesday. The Gridiron Dinner didn't have the same testing requirement.
But the White House should go a step further and have a medical provider administer tests to anyone seated near Biden, said Dr. Kavita Patel, a former healthcare policy official in the Obama administration who is a physician at Mary's Center in DC. Doing so would help to reduce the chance that guests might not be testing themselves properly, she said.
Patel said she understood that going to events such as the dinner were important to show "the country is in a better place."
"It's possible for him to go but do it in the safest way possible," she said. "I think he can go with incredibly stricter safety protocols around him. But I also think it's reasonable for him to not go because the second in command has COVID."
This is the first White House Correspondents Dinner in two years following a pandemic hiatus. Biden is also resuming a decades-long tradition of presidents' attending after Donald Trump repeatedly snubbed the event because of his fraught relationship with the press.
Psaki sought to draw this distinction on Wednesday, noting Trump regularly "questioned the legitimacy of the press."
"It's an opportunity to honor the work of all of you and many of your colleagues and to — and to talk about the importance of journalism in the world," Psaki said Tuesday about Biden's decision to attend, saying he makes "risk assessments" and "has access to the best healthcare in the world."
Federal health officials have begun telling people to evaluate their own personal risks when deciding how to live their lives. Before, they largely stressed that people should think about the risk they pose to other people when they decide whether to gather with groups indoors.
Facing the midterm election in seven months, the Biden administration has tried to portray a sense of post-pandemic normalcy to the public. Part of returning to normal means the president attending events like this weekend's gala.
But Fauci, who is only two years older than Biden, pulled out of the gala on Tuesday and the following day said on CBS that, "We certainly cannot say the pandemic is over. It is not over."
For guests or people working the event on Saturday, risks are not zero, including for lingering symptoms from "long COVID." Biden's age would put him at risk for a more difficult case, though his personal doctor hasn't reported he has any high risk underlying conditions.
President Barack Obama, left, speaks during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Saturday, May 3, 2014, in Washington.
Dinner jumbles COVID messaging
There have long been questions about whether the White House Correspondents Dinner is appropriate from a journalism ethics perspective. While it's also a fundraiser and awards ceremony, photos and videos of the event can feed into a public perception that the press is too cozy with the politicians they're supposed to cover aggressively.
The forthcoming event may also be jarring from a public health messaging perspective. Top healthcare correspondents last week were sounding the alarm about a Trump-appointed judge striking down a mask mandate on public transit.
Yet their colleagues covering the White House will on Saturday sit at tables packed with famous and wealthy guests. Numerous smaller events punctuate the weekend, including happy hours and brunches.
Politically, the event is a target.
"This is a continuation of the hypocrisy of the left when it comes to COVID — on the one hand they want to extend a federal mask mandate for the traveling public on the other hand they want to attend a elitist superspreader event for 2,000 in a closed ballroom," Sean Spicer, who was press secretary under Trump, told Insider in an email.
Even if people are wearing masks they will take them off while eating and drinking, opening themselves up to infection. The public health messaging risks getting muddled.
"If you're a normal person, especially someone who doesn't think a lot about public health or politics, it seems like such a disconnect," said Michael Mackert, director of the Center for Health Communication at the University of Texas at Austin.
The visuals of the gala could make it hard for the public to determine whether the same rules apply to everyone and how officials are making decisions, he said.
"The visual is going to say something that no amount of words can," he said. "It's going to come across poorly."
At the same time, Mackert added, there's the risk that Biden skipping the event would send a message to the public that vaccines don't work.
"I don't envy them making the call," he said. "It feels very lose-lose"
More: WHCA Joe Biden COVID Anthony Fauci | 2022-04-28T21:37:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Biden Will Go to a Packed Journalism and Celebrity Black-Tie Gala | https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-will-go-to-a-packed-journalism-and-celebrity-black-tie-gala-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-will-go-to-a-packed-journalism-and-celebrity-black-tie-gala-2022-4 |
How to get water out of the charging port on your phone or computer
If there’s water in your iPhone’s charging port, you’ll see this message.
The best way to get water out of a charging port is to just wait and let it dry.
You can also try to knock the water out by tapping the device against your hand, with the charging port facing down.
Don't insert foreign objects like cotton swabs or paper towels into the charging port — these can push the water in deeper.
It's true that most high-end smartphones have some degree of water resistance, and the newest iPhone models can even be submerged up to six meters deep. But the internal components are still sensitive to water, and will malfunction if they're too wet.
If you've gotten water into the charging port on your phone, laptop, game console, or other device, you'll want to get it out quickly.
The best way to get water out of your charging port
It might sound too simple to be true, but the best way to clear water from a charging port is to just leave it alone and let it dry.
Leave the device in a well-ventilated area — in other words, a room where the air is actively circulating. Keep the charging port uncovered, and if it's possible, leave it with the charging port pointed down so gravity can help the process along.
Make sure your room has air flowing through it.
Let your device dry for at least 30 minutes, then come back and check the port. If you can still see moisture inside, or if the device is still giving you a "liquid detected" error, you need to keep waiting.
If your device is small enough to hold with one hand, try tapping it gently against your palm with the charging port pointing down. This can help knock out excess water.
What to avoid when getting water out of a charging port
There are a few bits of conventional wisdom when it comes to drying out water that you should absolutely not follow.
First, don't insert any foreign objects into the charging port, like a cotton swab or paper towel. Not only can this push the moisture deeper into your device, but if you're not careful, you can end up scratching or displacing the internal components. At that point, it won't work even when dry.
Some guides suggest using a hairdryer to bombard the device with hot circulating air. But this can overheat your device and even deform the metal inside the charging port.
And no matter how many websites recommend it, don't leave your phone in a bowl of dry rice. This doesn't dry it out any quicker than circulating air, and small bits of rice or starch can get stuck in the charging port and damage it.
Small bits of rice can get stuck inside of your phone and corrode the hardware.
Pfeiffer/Shutterstock
Just be patient and let your device dry. You'll be thankful when the water is gone and it's working fine again.
TECH Can iPhones get viruses? Yes, but the risk is low — here's how to protect yourself
TECH How to properly clean an iPad's charging port when it won't charge
More: Tech How To Charging port Water water damage | 2022-04-28T21:37:58Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Get Water Out of Your Charging Port | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-water-out-of-charging-port | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-water-out-of-charging-port |
1. Free checked bags
2. Global Entry or TSA PreCheck %% add NEXUS here and below and link to https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/chase-credit-card-nexus-application-fee-credit-2021-12
3. 2 one-time lounge passes per year
4. The Excursionist Perk
5. Exclusive access to cheaper award flights
6. Book basic economy without all the restrictions
The United explorer has an increased bonus of up to 70,000 miles — here are 6 perks that will make you keep it for years
This is historically one of the best times to open the United Explorer Card.
The United℠ Explorer Card comes with a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
For that price tag, you'll get one of the most rewarding and thoughtfully crafted airline credit cards on the market.
This card helps you speed through security, grants access to airport lounges, and much more.
The United℠ Explorer Card comes with quite a few benefits that can notably upgrade many aspects of your travel experience, from the booking process to the airport experience to even boarding your flight — all for a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
While the card flaunts perks like free checked bags, TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credits, and bonus miles for common purchases, there are plenty of lower-profile enticements, too. For example, you'll get access to more award seats than most United flyers; you can be one of the first to board the plane, guaranteeing ample overhead-bin space; you can even get into United airport lounges for free a couple of times each year.
The United℠ Explorer Card currently offers an elevated bonus of 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, and an additional 10,000 miles after spending $6,000 in total on purchases in the first 6 months. Per Insider's valuations, this bonus is worth up to $910 in free airfare.
Here are the six benefits you shouldn't ignore to make the most of your United℠ Explorer Card.
United Explorer card benefits
Getting free checked bags is a boon if you're not a fan of bringing a carry-on and prefer a hands-free airport experience. Or, if you're simply in the habit of checking bags, this benefit will save you and a travel buddy up to $120 per round-trip.
United charges $30 for your first checked bag. But when you pay for your flight (or the taxes and fees on an award flight) with this card, you and one guest on your reservation will get the first checked bag free on United flights. If you and a travel buddy were to use this benefit for one trip each year, you'd more than offset the card's annual fee.
2. Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
If you're thinking about getting TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and you have the United℠ Explorer Card, it's a no-brainer to sign-up. Both services are free with a United card every four years.
If you pay with your card, United will credit your statement with the cost of TSA PreCheck ($85), Global Entry — which includes PreCheck ($100), or NEXUS, which includes both TSA PreCheck and Global Entry benefits ($50). Here's why this should interest you:
TSA PreCheck allows you to keep your shoes and belt on when you go through TSA security checkpoints. You also won't be required to take your laptop out of your bag.
Global Entry allows you to skip the immigration line when returning to the US from overseas. You just walk up to a Global Entry kiosk, fill out a quick electronic questionnaire, and exit the airport.
NEXUS offers expedited entry into Canada, and comes with all the privileges of the previous two programs.
All three of these programs could save you many hours at the airport each year, depending on how much you travel. But Global Entry is the easy choice here, as it includes TSA PreCheck benefits. NEXUS is the most powerful of the programs, but it's far more difficult to be approved for than the others, because it requires you to be interviewed by both US and Canadian border authorities. And there are only a handful of current interview locations.
The United℠ Explorer Card comes with two day passes to United Club airport lounges each anniversary year. It's a nice perk that can make your airport experience a bit more palatable. You'll find free alcohol and snacks in airport lounges, as well as comfortable seats and electrical outlets aplenty.
United Club day passes regularly cost $59 each, so you can think of these passes as $118 in value per year — if you'll use them.
This little-known trick isn't necessarily a card-specific benefit, but it's a great way to spend the increased bonus that comes with the United℠ Explorer Card.
The United Excursionist Perk effectively extends your vacation to another location for free. There are a handful of rules you should know (consult our United Excursionist Perk guide for those details), but here's how it works in short.
Let's say you want to book a round-trip flight from Houston to Paris. This flight regularly costs around 60,000 miles in coach. The Excursionist Perk allows you to book an additional one-way flight within Europe during your trip for zero miles. So instead of a simple round-trip flight, you could book something like:
Houston to Paris
Paris to Venice
Venice to Houston
You'll have to pay the (often nominal) flight taxes and fees, but this is an excellent way to get a bit more for your miles.
United Airlines has different levels of award seats you can buy. The cheapest (and best value) seats are called "Saver Awards." Once these seat prices sell out, you could find yourself paying double the amount of miles for the exact same flight.
The United℠ Explorer Card remedies this problem by opening up more Saver Award availability to cardholders. Only those with United credit cards and United elite status can see these prices. So while others might think there are no more available award flights, you could have plenty of seats to choose from.
Basic economy is a bottom-of-the-barrel fare that airlines publish which is filled with restrictions. United's basic economy tickets enforce the following:
You can't bring a checked bag with you. If you try, you'll be charged a $25 fee at the gate.
You'll have to pay extra to choose your seat.
You can't refund or change your flight.
You'll board the plane dead last.
The United℠ Explorer Card solves two of these problems. Because the card offers preferred boarding, you can book basic economy and still board before most other passengers. This means you won't have to worry about overhead bin space. Also, you'll be able to bring a carry-on bag without ponying up $25.
Holding the United℠ Explorer Card allows you to book the cheapest United flights without abiding by all the consequences baked into basic economy.
The United℠ Explorer Card may be the most well-rounded airline credit card on the market. It enhances your airport experience, your boarding experience, and even your booking experience. And with a currently enhanced sign-up bonus worth up to $910, now is one of the better times historically to apply. | 2022-04-28T21:38:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | United Explorer Card Benefits: 6 Perks You Should Take Advantage of Now | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/united-explorer-card-benefits | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/united-explorer-card-benefits |
Weight-loss app Noom is laying off 495 coaches in a strategy pivot
Allana Akhtar and Gabby Landsverk
Saeju Jeong, co-founder & CEO of Noom
Sam Barnes/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images
Weight-loss app Noom laid off 180 coaches on Thursday, a coach told Insider.
Noom told staff they would be laying off 315 more coaches within the next 10 days.
It is part of "an evolution to the coaching model," Noom leadership told staff in an email.
Weight-loss app Noom laid off 180 coaches on Thursday, according to documents reviewed by Insider.
A coach for the platform said Noom has plans to lay off 315 more employees within the next 10 days, offering voluntary severance options. The 495 layoffs began on Thursday, with 180 staff let go in a series of small-group video calls, a coach for the platform told Insider.
The total layoffs would constitute about 25% of its 2,000-person coaching staff, the coach said.
The coach, who was not part of the cuts and asked to remain anonymous, told Insider the move is part of a strategy pivot towards scheduled video-based coaching, rather than assigning users a text-based coach right away. Noom told employees the "new model for coaching" will come with "lots of ambiguity at the start," and coaches can expect higher caseloads, according to documents reviewed by Insider.
In a letter to staff, seen by Insider, Noom described the 495 layoffs as part of "an evolution to the coaching model."
Noom, a leading app-based weight-loss program currently valued at $3.7 billion, soared to dominate the market by promising a unique approach to dieting — helping users to "redefine" their relationship to food using psychology-based techniques. Noom advertises a coaching model "based on" cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, with staff on call to provide guidance round the clock via text.
However, that promise has been heavily critiqued, with users complaining of canned advice from burned-out coaches, expensive subscriptions, and strict calorie goals. Coaches told Insider they sometimes juggle hundreds of clients at once.
Discussing today's layoffs, the coach told Insider Noom is offering a voluntary severance option of eight weeks' pay for up to 350 more employees. Vacation days will not be paid off in both voluntary and involuntary severance packages, the coach said.
"This decision was not made lightly, but it was made with the future vision of the coaching team and the long-term health of our business in mind," Noom leadership told staff in an email seen by Insider. "We are in a moment of change and it is important that we evolve our coaching model to be more viable for the sake of the Noom mission, the long-term health of our business, and for the coaching team."
In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson said: "Noom is continually working to meet the evolving needs of our users while ensuring the health of our organization as it continues to grow. Parting ways with a portion of our coaching staff is a decision that we did not make lightly and we appreciate their contributions. 1:1 coaching continues to be a critical part of the Noom experience for many of our users and we continue to invest in and enhance that capability."
This is a developing story. Visit businessinsider.com for updates.
More: Noom Fitness Apps Tech | 2022-04-28T21:38:21Z | www.businessinsider.com | Weight-Loss App Noom Is Laying Off 495 Coaches in Strategy Pivot | https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-app-noom-laying-off-coaching-staff-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-app-noom-laying-off-coaching-staff-2022-4 |
Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida were among the Republicans who voted against the bill.
The House passed a bill easing the provision of military equipment to Ukraine, sending it to Biden's desk.
The vote was nearly unanimous, but 10 House Republicans voted against the bill.
That comes after 8 House Republicans voted against suspending trade relations with Russia.
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday allowing the Biden administration to more easily lend and lease military equipment to Ukraine, which is currently under siege by Russian troops.
The vote comes after the Senate passed the bill via voice vote — meaning none of the 100 senators had any objections — earlier this month, and the bill heads to President Joe Biden's desk. The legislation revives a World War II-era program that the US used to quickly supply Allied countries within weapons as they fought against Hitler.
But 10 House Republicans, most of them on the right flank on the party, voted against the measure. That comes after 8 Republicans voted against suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus in March amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"Handing President Biden a blank check to fix Ukraine is like handing a drowning victim an anchor — it doesn't end well," Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement to Insider when asked why he opposed the bill.
These are the 10 House Republicans who voted against the military aid bill:
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona
Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina
Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina
Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin
Insider reached out to each of the lawmakers' offices for comment on the vote.
As the war in Ukraine has unfolded, some Republicans have come under fire for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, or characterizing Ukraine as a dictatorship. Former President Donald Trump declared that Putin's rationale for invading the country was "genius" and "savvy," while Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug."
In response, some Republican senators have pushed back, with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina telling Insider that Cawthorn is an "outlier" within the party.
More: Congress Ukraine Russia Military aid | 2022-04-28T22:21:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | 10 Republicans Vote Against Giving Military Equipment to Ukraine | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-republicans-vote-against-military-equipment-ukraine-gaetz-greene-gosar-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-republicans-vote-against-military-equipment-ukraine-gaetz-greene-gosar-2022-4 |
A whistleblower notified the FDA about concerns with a plant that made infant formula. Months later, 2 babies died after consuming it.
Taiyou Nomachi/Getty Images
The FDA in February said two babies died potentially from bacteria linked to infant formula.
Abbott Nutrition recalled lots of some formulas made in their Sturgis, Michigan, plant.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro on Thursday said a whistleblower alerted the FDA to the plant in October.
A whistleblower notified the Food and Drug Administration about concerns with a plant that produces infant formula months before two babies died and the products were recalled, according to a newly revealed document.
The FDA said in February it was investigating reports of bacterial infections related to powdered infant formula made at Abbott Nutrition's plant in Sturgis, Michigan. Abbott Nutrition recalled select lots of its Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare formulas.
The FDA said two deaths had been reported and that a "Cronobacter infection may have contributed to the cause of death for both patients."
In mid-October, months before the deaths and recalls, a whistleblower sent the FDA a 34-page document outlining potential concerns with the Sturgis plant, Rep. Rosa DeLauro revealed in a statement on Thursday.
The document, written by a former plant employee, accused the plant of lax cleaning practices, falsifying records, releasing untested infant formula, and hiding information during an FDA audit in 2019, among other issues.
"I am deeply concerned about the practices at this Abbott facility and their apparent failure to implement and enforce internal controls at this facility," DeLauro said in the statement, adding: "I am equally concerned that the FDA reacted far too slowly to this report."
"Why did the FDA not spring into action?" she said. "Why did it take four months to pull this formula off store shelves? How many infants were fed contaminated formula during this time?"
In a statement to Insider, the FDA acknowledged "there have been questions about the timeline related to the Abbott Nutrition infant formula recall."
"However, this remains an open investigation with many moving parts. Our top priority is ensuring that any recalled product produced at the Sturgis, Mich. facility has been removed from the market," the statement said. "We are continuing to investigate and will continue to update our consumer alert should additional consumer safety information become available."
Abbott Nutrition did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but previously told CNN: "We value the trust parents place in us for high quality and safe nutrition and we'll do whatever it takes to keep that trust."
The recalls have also contributed to recent shortages in infant formulas that have prompted retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, and Target to limit the amount customers are allowed to buy at one time.
One mother in Glendale, California, told Insider she has been scrambling to try and find formula for her 11-month-old son, who is sensitive to dairy and relies on Nutramigen, a hypoallergenic formula.
"It's impossible to find anywhere," Julie Berger said in a phone interview with Insider on Thursday, adding that for babies like hers with a dairy sensitivity, "there's very few formulas that really end up vibing with them."
While the formula that works for her son has not been recalled, Alimentum, another hypoallergenic formula, was part of the recall, which could be prompting more mothers to seek out Nutramigen.
For the past week or so Berger has been constantly searching stores in person and online in Los Angeles and San Diego, where her parents live, but said it's nearly impossible to find any in stock.
She said she's thankful her son is a little older, because now he can eat some solid food and does not rely on formula alone: "If he was any younger we would've been really up shit's creek."
Are you a parent struggling to find infant formula? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.
More: Baby formula FDA Food recall Shortage | 2022-04-28T23:56:42Z | www.businessinsider.com | Whistleblower Told FDA About Infant Formula Plant Before 2 Babies Died | https://www.businessinsider.com/whistleblower-told-fda-infant-formula-plant-before-2-babies-died-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/whistleblower-told-fda-infant-formula-plant-before-2-babies-died-2022-4 |
The parachute and cone-shaped backshell of the Perseverance rover, captured by NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, on April 19, 2022.
The 4-pound Ingenuity chopper, the first aircraft to take flight on another world, located and captured photos of the wreckage of a dust-covered, orange-and-white parachute and a backshell — or the protective cover, which stored the chute — from 26 feet in the air. The pictures, which NASA shared Wednesday, were taken on the one-year anniversary of Ingenuity's first foray into Martian skies on April 19, 2021.
NASA's Perseverance rover descends onto the Red Planet, on February 18, 2021.
The Perseverance rover's backshell amid a field of debris, on April 19, 2022. NASA officials say the hardware held up well.
NOW WATCH: NASA will pay most of the $9 billion cost of bringing Martian dirt back to Earth
More: Perseverance Mars Rover NASA Ingenuity Mars | 2022-04-29T00:39:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | NASA Helicopter Captured Aerial Views of Space Litter | https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-helicopter-captured-aerial-views-of-space-litter-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-helicopter-captured-aerial-views-of-space-litter-2022-4 |
Cushman & Wakefield cut 'quality control' corners for Donald Trump, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday.
Cushman & Wakefield did not always follow "internal quality control practices" when appraising properties for Donald Trump, a Manhattan judge found Thursday.
The rebuke is buried in an order that requires C&W turn over additional appraisals to NY AG Letitia James.
C&W had fought the subpoena, saying 'thousands' of clients' confidentiality could be compromised.
Appraisal giant Cushman & Wakefield did not always follow its own "internal quality control practices" when appraising properties for Donald Trump, a Manhattan judge has found.
"This Court has reviewed numerous documents in camera," meaning in private, the judge wrote, "demonstrating that C&W was not consistent in adhering to its internal quality control practices when conducting appraisals on behalf of the Trump Organization."
The rebuke is included — almost as an aside — toward the end of a court order released on Thursday. The order requires that C&W turn over stacks of additional appraisals to New York Attorney General Letitia James' probe of Trump's business.
The firm has until May 27 to turn over appraisals not only for Trump properties but for other properties "comparable" to the Trump assets they have valued.
Read the judge's order here.
Thursday's written ruling expands on what the judge, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, had ruled from the bench on Monday, when he found that C&W must comply with James' recently-expanded subpoena.
The AG "has an independent investigate interest in determining whether there was a pattern and practice at C&W of failing to adhere to its internal quality control practices," Engoron wrote.
C&W had fought the expanded subpoena, saying it could potentially require them to turn over "thousands" of "utterly irrelevant" appraisals for clients whose confidentiality rights would then be compromised.
But Engoron, who is presiding over a host of subpoena squabbles in the AG's Trump probe, said that the additional appraisals James wants are very relevant.
James' office "has satisfied its burden of demonstrating that the materials sought from C&W are not "utterly irrelevant to its inquiry," the judge wrote.
He quotes from one of James' own arguments, which had said, "It is plainly germane to an inquiry into choices related to key appraisal variables, whether the same appraisers made similar or different choices for other clients in comparable circumstances."
The judge continued, "For example, although appraisals of adjacent buildings on the same date will be completely different based on their respective sizes, ages, condition, occupancies, the assumptions for the rate of inflation should be the same."
James is probing how Trump valued at least ten properties over the past decade. She has alleged in court documents that she believes he overstated valuations when he wanted to use the asset as loan collateral, and minimized some of the same valuations to lower his real estate taxes.
Many of the questioned appraisals were done by C&W, including for the Trump family's Westchester County estate, Seven Springs, the Trump National Golf Club near Los Angeles and the skyscraper at 40 Wall Street in Manhattan, where Trump's stake "doubled" in value from 2012 to 2015.
C&W has denied wrongdoing, saying in a statement earlier this week, "Any suggestion that Cushman & Wakefield has not responded in good faith to the attorney general's investigation is fundamentally untrue."
The statement continued, "We stand behind our appraisers and our work."
More: Donald Trump Letitia James Real Estate Manhattan | 2022-04-29T03:01:15Z | www.businessinsider.com | Cushman & Wakefield Cut 'Quality Control' Corners for Donald Trump: Judge | https://www.businessinsider.com/cushman-and-wakefield-cut-quality-control-corners-for-donald-trump-judge-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cushman-and-wakefield-cut-quality-control-corners-for-donald-trump-judge-2022-4 |
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump made his first post in two months on his Truth Social platform.
Former President Donald Trump has resurfaced on Truth Social after months of silence.
On Thursday, Trump posted "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE" on the platform.
"Covfefe" appears to be a throwback to a 2017 gaffe when he tweeted the word accidentally.
Former President Donald Trump has resurfaced on his social media platform, Truth Social, with a post harking back to an old Twitter gaffe.
The former president made his first post on the platform in two months on Thursday.
Trump's post included a hashtag that referenced a Twitter gaffe from 2017.
Screengrab/Truth Social
The post appeared to the show the former President on the lawn of his Mar-a-Lago resort, looking at his phone.
Trump has over two million followers on Truth Social, a fraction of his peak Twitter follower count of more than 88 million people. His post was "ReTruth-ed" (the platform's version of a re-tweet) more than 68,000 times and liked 178,000 times.
While it is unclear why Trump included the #Covfefe hashtag in his post, it harks back to a gaffe he made in 2017. The nonsensical word was tweeted by the then-president in the early hours of May 31, 2017.
Although it was eventually deleted, social media users quickly turned the term into a meme.
Earlier this week, Trump said he would not return to Twitter even if his account were to be unbanned by its new owner, Elon Musk. The former president was permanently suspended from Twitter on January 8 last year after the platform deemed that his account was being used to incite violence during the Capitol riot.
Trump has not actively posted on Truth Social since its launch in February. On top of its slow kickoff, the platform has also been poorly received.
The former President also recently bungled the platform's name during a rally in Ohio, calling it "Truth Central" instead.
More: Donald Trump TRUTH Social Truth Social app covfefe | 2022-04-29T05:07:32Z | www.businessinsider.com | Trump Makes First Post on Truth Social in Months, Writing 'Covfefe' | https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-makes-first-truth-social-posts-in-months-writing-covfefe-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-makes-first-truth-social-posts-in-months-writing-covfefe-2022-4 |
Twitter's week from hell: Elon Musk throws the company's future into doubt with a record leveraged buyout that has employees bracing for big job cuts and a C-suite bloodbath
Kali Hays and Ben Bergman
Elon Musk speaks at an event in Austin, Texas, on April 7, 2022.
Twitter is looking at a future in flux under Elon Musk, from new leaders to fewer staff.
Twitter's CEO seems to have had little contact with Musk. An employee called him "a lame duck."
Another employee said staff are bracing for layoffs and suffering from "Elon derangement syndrome."
Twitter succumbed on Monday to the largest technology leveraged buyout in history, led by the world's richest person. The future is now in flux, with employees, investors and analysts expecting the debt-laden company to slash jobs and purge its executive suite.
Elon Musk is borrowing $25 billion to help him pay for the $44 billion takeover, and he's made it clear big changes are coming when Twitter is due to become a private company later this year.
Many employees, former Twitter executives and investors expect layoffs. One staffer said colleagues are openly discussing where the reductions may come, with certain groups more worried than others. Trust and safety teams, for instance, which deal with Twitter's efforts on content moderation, frequently pilloried by Musk, expect to be cut. Engineers seem less worried.
"Some people are just off the wall freaking out," the person said. "It's normal to have some worries, but it's amplified by Elon. It's like Elon Derangement Syndrome." This employee, and many others who spoke with Insider for this story, asked not to be identified discussing sensitive topics.
Musk's dramatic moves are already spurring workers to speed up some projects, and more staff have returned to Twitter's San Francisco office each day this week, this employee said. Some colleagues are "riled up" about Musk getting undue credit for an upcoming Edit feature and they are are stepping up meetings to try to release products and updates sooner, related to things like bots, another Twitter issue targeted publicly by Musk.
"Call it self-preservation or chaos is a ladder, either way it's having an effect," the employee said.
One veteran social media executive said he expects Musk to cut at least 25% of the company's staff. Indeed, such a move was part of Musk's pitch to investment bankers financing the buyout, Bloomberg reported.
'You could cut half the headcount and barely notice'
Twitter had 7,500 full-time employees at the end of 2021, up more than 50% from two years earlier, according to regulatory filings. One Twitter investor said the company is overstaffed, given how few new products Twitter has rolled out in recent years. "You could cut half the headcount and barely notice," he added.
A former Twitter executive agreed, saying workforce reductions are a certainty now. "He'll slash entire departments, or they'll do it themselves," the former executive said, speaking about the possibility that many employees will simply choose to leave before Musk takes over. "It will probably make it more profitable, and it will continue to function, but it will be short term gains."
Short term may be all that Elon is looking for. The veteran social media executive said he expects Musk to bring in outside investors and within two years, take Twitter public again. Musk did not respond to a request for comment via email. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment.
How will Twitter 'survive' under an LBO?
Some analysts are even wondering if Twitter may crumble under the debt load that will be heaped on a business with relatively meager profits.
"How would Twitter 'survive' under an LBO, we wonder?" said Neil Campling, head of TMT research at Mirabaud Securities. "Because over the last twelve months Twitter's EBITDA is a paltry $682 million. And they didn't have to worry about massive debt interest payments."
Under Musk, that will change drastically. The LBO will potentially leave Twitter owing than $1 billion a year in interest payments, according to Mark Shmulik, a top internet analyst at Bernstein. He estimates Twitter can generate free cash flow of $2.2 billion through 2024. Even with about $2 billion of cash, "we can see how little room there is to remain self-funded," the analyst wrote in a note to investors this week.
"It's certainly possible that we see a round of layoffs as the company looks to increase output cadence while offering employees that aren't happy with new leadership a way out," Shmulik added. "Cost takeout may be required to afford some breathing room especially if there's intent to make big changes to the business model."
A rich 'lame duck'
One person who is unlikely to survive in this new future is Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, according to some employees who spoke with Insider this week. They also expect other leaders to leave, too.
In a write up of FAQs from the all-hands meeting held this week, one surprise, according to an employee, was a line that said: "It is too early to know what leadership will look like."
During the meeting, Agrawal seemed to make clear he's had little contact with Musk, thus far. He expressed his desire to "spend more time" with Musk and "have a two-way dialogue" to "understand where he sees the future of Twitter."
"He's a lame duck," another employee said of Agrawal. "The general sentiment is that people are disappointed with leadership."
Agrawal will be well paid on the way out, though, receiving $38.7 million under the provisions of his contract, according to financial disclosures. Ned Segal, Twitter's CFO, is set to get $25.4 million; Vijaya Gadde, chief legal officer, $12.5 million; and Sarah Personette, chief customer officer, $11.2 million.
As for the board of directors, chairman Bret Taylor did not mince words earlier this week in the all-hands meeting. He told employees the board "will not exist on the other end of this transaction" and "there will be a new structure to this place."
A current employee said colleagues are asking questions of leadership for more information on the future of the company "at all levels, all the time" and getting few responses and "zero information."
In one of the few responses to employee questions about Musk's takeover, a vice president simply said in an email viewed by Insider "we don't have any new information" and told workers to "hang in there."
Leveraged Buy Outs | 2022-04-29T09:04:45Z | www.businessinsider.com | Elon Musk's Debt-Fueled Twitter Buyout Has Staff Bracing for Job Cuts | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-debt-fueled-twitter-buyout-staff-bracing-job-cuts-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-debt-fueled-twitter-buyout-staff-bracing-job-cuts-2022-4 |
A group of Republicans have bought six billboards in House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's home district that read: "We've heard the tapes, Kevin. Stop lying about January 6th."
A group of Republicans has bought billboards in Rep. Kevin McCarthy's district.
The billboards accuse McCarthy of lying about the Capitol riot.
They allude to leaked audio tapes in which McCarthy was heard slamming Trump in private.
A Republican group has purchased billboards in House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's home district in California, accusing him of lying about the Capitol riot.
"We've heard the tapes, Kevin," read the billboards. "Stop lying about January 6th."
The group posted an image of one of the billboards on its Twitter page, along with the caption: "Hey @GOPLeader, one of your constituents sent us this picture. If you see one yourself, tag us and we'll retweet it."
The billboards were funded by the Republican Accountability Project, a group of Republicans including Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The group has placed McCarthy on its GOP "Hall of Shame" list, slamming the congressman for what it says are "false and/or irresponsible public statements" against democracy, among other things.
"We're just trying to at least inform the people that vote for him that he lies and continues to lie," the group's spokesperson Barry Rubin told The Washington Post. "When he goes back home, there are going to be some people that question him about it."
Rubin told The Post that the billboards are located around 100 miles north of Los Angeles, at six locales in Bakersfield, and will be up for two weeks.
The billboards allude to a recent scandal involving leaked audio tapes on which McCarthy can be heard slamming former President Donald Trump and other lawmakers.
In a taped call, McCarthy called Trump's behavior over the Capitol riot "unacceptable" and indefensible while saying he had "had it" with the then-president. McCarthy can also be heard saying that Trump acknowledged "some responsibility" for the attack.
Other leaked recordings from McCarthy's private conversations have revealed the congressman's distaste for the actions of some GOP members. For instance, he criticized Rep. Matt Gaetz, for making comments following the riot that were "putting people in jeopardy."
The recordings also captured McCarthy wondering out loud if some GOP lawmakers could be censored on Twitter and have their accounts taken away.
Responding to the comments in the recordings, Gaetz called McCarthy "weak," while Fox News host Tucker Carlson labeled McCarthy a "puppet of the Democratic Party."
The Republican Accountability Project has conducted campaigns against several GOP lawmakers, including a $1 million billboard drive calling for the resignations of Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, as well as House Reps. McCarthy, Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, Mo Brooks, Elise Stefanik, and Louie Gohmert.
The group is also known for putting up billboards in Times Square in October 2021 to remind Trump that he lost the 2020 election.
More: Kevin McCarthy capitol riot GOP Donald Trump | 2022-04-29T09:04:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | GOP Group Buys Out Billboards to Slam McCarthy in His Home District | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-group-buys-billboards-to-slam-mccarthy-in-home-district-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-group-buys-billboards-to-slam-mccarthy-in-home-district-2022-4 |
"An operation is planned today to get civilians out of the plant," the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, according to Reuters, without giving ay further details.
"I believe that with the help of the UN it is possible to organize an evacuation mission. Ukraine is ready for these steps," he said. "But it is also necessary for the Russian side to consider this issue without cynicism and actually do what it says."
More: News UK Russia Ukraine Zelenskyy | 2022-04-29T09:05:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ukraine Launching Evacuation Effort for Mariupol Steel Plant Friday: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-evacuation-mission-mariupol-steel-plant-friday-russia-report-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-evacuation-mission-mariupol-steel-plant-friday-russia-report-2022-4 |
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 28, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via REUTERS
A former senior UN official said it's "humiliating" Russia bombed Kyiv as the UN leader visited.
Ukraine said Russia fired missiles at Kyiv as UN secretary general António Guterres met Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly slammed the UN for not punishing Russia for war crimes.
The UN's former second in command said it's "humiliating" that Russia bombed Kyiv while UN secretary general António Guterres visited the city.
Five missiles struck Kyiv shortly after Guterres met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, the president said in his nighttime address.
Zelenskyy: "This says a lot about Russia's true attitude to global institutions. About the efforts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the UN and everything that the organization represents.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Mark Malloch Brown, the former UN deputy secretary general, agreed with Zelenskyy's assessment.
"It is humiliating in a way. I think the international community, not just Europe, but countries everywhere, will recognise they cannot have their UN secretary general sort of treated in this disrespectful, casual and frankly, dangerous way, by Putin," he said.
Ukraine reported the explosions on Thursday.
Kyiv's mayor said on Telegram on Thursday that there had been "two hits in the Shevchenkovsky district" and Zelenskyy said "Today, immediately after the end of our talks in Kyiv, Russian missiles flew in the city. Five rockets."
A UN spokesperson said Guterres and his team were safe, but dozens of people in the city were reported injured, The Associated Press reported.
Malloch Brown said that peace between Russia and Ukraine would not be reached easily: "This is not a conflict tragically, which is ready for peacemaking by anybody, let alone the UN. Neither side is ready to make the concessions that would require."
Though coming to the UN's defense on Thursday after the Russian strikes, Zelenskyy has repeatedly slammed the UN for failing to come to Ukraine's aid as it was invaded by Russia.
In one notable admonishment earlier this month, Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council during a televised speech that the body must punish Russia for war crimes or dissolve itself.
The UN General Assembly ultimately suspended Russia from the council over atrocities in the town of Bucha, with Russia outright quitting the council moments after in protest.
Speaking to Sky News, Malloch Brown went on to say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed the flaws in the UN.
"A lot of ambassadors, a lot of UN staff, describe this as the UN's League of Nations moment. The moment just before the second world war, when that international mechanism for peacekeeping – the UN's predecessor – was basically broken," he said.
"There are many that worry that the UN faces a similar moment of crisis of legitimacy and confidence. One of the original guarantors of the UN, the former Soviet Union, now Russia, has become a rogue state, an enemy of the international law and order system. The UN has to rise to the occasion of dealing with that."
Speaking in Kyiv on Thursday, Guterres criticized the UN Security Council for its inaction over punishing Russia for Ukraine.
"Let me be very clear, [it] failed to do everything in its power to prevent and end this war," he told reporters.
More: News UK Ukraine Russia UN | 2022-04-29T10:36:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ex-UN Official Says 'Humiliating' Russia Bombed Kyiv During UN Visit | https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-un-official-says-humiliating-russia-bombed-un-kyiv-visit-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-un-official-says-humiliating-russia-bombed-un-kyiv-visit-2022-4 |
This platform was a last resort to find independent consultants. Now, it's leading the trend in the industry.
Catalant has over 75,000 independent consultants — some making seven figures.
While at Harvard Business School, Pat Petitti cofounded a marketplace for independent consultants.
Catalant connects businesses with its platform of 75,000 independent consultants and boutique firms.
Independent consultants can make an average of $140,711, Catalant's data indicated.
After graduating from MIT, Pat Petitti wasn't thrilled with his whole life being decided for him by the consulting firm he'd joined.
"A company told me where I was going to work, what city I was going to live in, where I was going to go every day, who I was going to work with, what I was going to work on," Petitti said.
That led Petitti on a path to launch Catalant, a marketplace for independent consultants and consultants at boutique
Pat Petitti, the CEO of Catalant Technologies.
Catalant Technologies
firms to work with companies around the globe, in 2013. Some of Catalant's independent consultants include people who were partners at large global consulting firms — such as the Big Three: McKinsey, Bain, and BCG — and people leading data-science teams at large global technology companies. For Petitti, Catalant is an escape hatch for the experienced consultant who wants to own — and sell — their expertise.
Catalant's average project size is over $70,000, Petitti said. While the cost is lower than a project for a larger consulting firm, Petitti said it's because Catalant's consultants usually work with a client on the first phase of a project. If a client likes a consultant's work, they can keep them on the project for longer.
Some consultants in Catalant's 75,000-person marketplace can make over $1 million a year, and many make over $500,000 a year, Petitti said. Independent consultants with more than one project make an average of $140,711, Catalant's data indicated.
How do independent consultants work with companies?
Petitti and some of his colleagues at Harvard Business School founded Catalant, originally called HourlyNerd, while in a field immersion program. The business was invited onto Shark Tank in 2013, but Petitti said the team passed and went straight to Mark Cuban who's still an investor today.
In the early days, Petitti said, Catalant was a platform of last resort for clients looking for consultants. Now, Catalant is partnering with companies to find independent consultants. Since the pandemic started, the largest trend in consulting has been larger companies trying to leverage high-quality independent consultants for strategic work, Petitti said. In 2021, Catalant had a 42% increase in the number of businesses using its marketplace of independent consultants.
Catalant could be described as a TaskRabbit for companies looking for an independent consultant. Someone at a company that uses Catalant makes a post on the platform describing the project they need to complete.
"We use our technology to help identify the people in our marketplace who are best suited to help them do the work," Petitti said.
An independent consultant then reaches out to the client if they think they're a good fit for the project, and Catalant helps them connect for a Zoom or phone conversation.
Next, the consultant sends the client a proposal that says what work they'll do, the cost, and the milestones. When the client agrees to the proposal, Catalant auto-populates the information into the company's project contract.
"Because of our speed, you'll end up selecting the person for your project within 48 hours, oftentimes 24 hours," Petitti said.
When the work starts, Catalant tracks the work and collects the payments. Catalant pays the consultant, and the client pays Catalant. After the project, Catalant gets feedback from the consultant and the customer, which it uses to inform its matching algorithms.
"We've been fortunate to be at the forefront of how large organizations use independent consulting," Petitti said. "We have 50 clients who used Catalant for over a million dollars last year."
Catalant also allows independent consultants to work with the types of companies they otherwise couldn't work with, Petitti said.
"If you are one of the consultants helping a company move to a direct-to-consumer model, you are having an impact on literally millions of consumers and making their experience better," he added. "You can't have that scale of impact in any other company."
Who fits at Catalant?
Being a consultant is no longer about having an MBA, Petitti said. It's more about a consultant's work experience solving problems that clients need help with.
"I think about a third of the people in our marketplace have been consultants at some kind of consulting firm before," Petitti said.
The average age of an independent consultant who signs up to work through Catalant's marketplace is 45, with five or more years of experience as an independent consultant, Petitti said.
"When our clients come to us, it's usually to find the person who solved the problem before," Petitti said. "Why try to reinvent the wheel when there are people who've already solved these problems before?"
More: Consulting independent consulting Freelance
boutique consulting firms | 2022-04-29T11:15:04Z | www.businessinsider.com | Catalant Is Connecting Independent Consultants to Businesses | https://www.businessinsider.com/catalant-is-connecting-independent-consultants-to-businesses-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/catalant-is-connecting-independent-consultants-to-businesses-2022-4 |
UN atomic agency says it is investigating 'extremely serious' claim that a missile flew directly over a Ukrainian power plant
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Georges Schneider/Getty Images
Earlier this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the way Russia has acted around Ukraine's nuclear power plants should be incentive for the world to take control of Russia's nuclear arsenal.
The fighting has put pressure on the safeguards ensuring nuclear safety and security of the plant, the IAEA said in a report published Thursday.
On March 4, a projectile caused fire at a training center on the plant's grounds, the IAEA said. Russian troops later detonated the unexploded munitions left on the site from the day of the fire, Ukraine told the IAEA on March 15.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks at a press conference about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, March 4, 2022.
NOW WATCH: Why Ukraine's nuclear waste is a major threat
More: News UK Ukraine Russia IAEA | 2022-04-29T11:15:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ukraine Says Missile Flew Directly Over Nuclear Power Plant: IAEA | https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-missile-flew-directly-over-nuclear-power-plant-iaea-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-missile-flew-directly-over-nuclear-power-plant-iaea-2022-4 |
New data showed the US economy shrinking in Q1 for the first time since the pandemic crash.
Core parts of the economy, like consumer spending and business investment, actually had a strong quarter.
Two of the biggest drags on growth are somewhat temporary.
The US economy just contracted for the first time since the intense lockdowns of early 2020. But there's no reason to panic.
Gross domestic product remains the benchmark for tracking the performance of a national economy, and data out Thursday morning painted an alarmingly bleak picture of how the US is doing. The American economy shrank at an annualized rate of 1.4%, falling extremely short of the median forecast for 1.1% growth and reversing course from the fourth quarter's 6.9% print.
Despite that scary headline number, the details of the report and most other economic yardsticks show the recovery is trucking along just fine.
The economy isn't as dismal as headline GDP suggests
The headline contraction in GDP "obscures the resilience of the domestic economy," Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said in a Thursday tweet. Data published earlier in April showed the jobs recovery still charging forward and retail spending at an all-time high by the end of the first quarter.
Other details in the GDP report back up the encouraging outlook, with consumers and businesses alike still spending big.
Americans' spending, which makes up about two-thirds of the overall economy, saw a 2.7% jump, suggesting that demand remains strong even in the face of high inflation. That was fueled by a 4.3% increase in spending on services, a welcome improvement after lockdowns and virus waves starved the sector of much-needed activity.
The uptick signals "consumers' wallets remained 'open for business'" despite high inflation, and spending growth is likely to pick up in the second quarter as more households indulge in travel and leisure, Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, said.
Business investment also picked up in the three-month period, providing another lift to overall output, suggesting that employers still see strong potential for future growth and are pouring money into expanding their operations.
Altogether, consumer spending, private investment, and the strength of the housing market added more to GDP in the first quarter than in the fourth, signaling the domestic economy actually accelerated through the start of 2022, Swonk said.
The headline number was dragged lower by temporary problems
For starters, a drop in business inventories put a huge damper on economic output. The final months of 2021 saw firms build up their stockpiles to counter the effects of lingering supply-chain issues. That rush played a major role in boosting growth through the end of 2021. But with the inventory build-up having played out, firms cut back on such investment in 2022.
That pullback alone subtracted 0.8 percentage points from the headline GDP rate, Jason Furman, a professor of economics at Harvard University and former chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, tweeted.
Trade figures put an even bigger drag on the growth gauge. The first three months of the year saw imports remain high while exporting dropped to the weakest pace since the second quarter of 2020. Since imports count negatively toward GDP, the shift subtracted a full 3.2 percentage points from growth, according to Furman. Put differently, economic output would've handily exceeded forecasts if the trade deficit wasn't so large.
The fault only partially lies with the US. Part of the reason for such high imports comes down to Americans' voracious spending appetite.
On the other end of the trade equation, exports were mostly lower due to weaker demand abroad. The US has enjoyed a uniquely demand-strong recovery while other economies have generally seen high inflation have a bigger effect on spending. As such, demand for US goods and services overseas was subpar through the quarter.
While the economy is faring better than the GDP report suggests, it's unlikely the country repeats the stellar rebound seen through 2021. The US will likely experience slow growth later this year as inflation bites into spending and the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates, Matthew Sherwood, global economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said.
Still, the US is "in much better shape than the headline figure would imply," and it's unlikely the country enters a new recession "given the underlying health of the domestic economy," he added.
More: Economy economic outlook GDP gross domestic product
GDP contraction | 2022-04-29T12:07:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | US Economic Outlook: Why the Q1 GDP Contraction Isn't Worrisome | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-economy-shrank-gdp-americans-shouldnt-worry-recovery-strong-outlook-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-economy-shrank-gdp-americans-shouldnt-worry-recovery-strong-outlook-2022-4 |
I make up to $4,000 a session as a family photographer. Here's how I get new clients while homeschooling my kids.
Maggie Sutherland.
Maggie Sutherland
Maggie Sutherland is a full-service photographer — and she homeschools her four children.
She's faced many business challenges, from moving cities to finding clients during the pandemic.
Here's how she manages her kids' daily lessons alongside her business, as told to Robin Madell.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maggie Sutherland, the 32-year-old founder of Sutherland Photography in St. Louis. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm a mom and have been homeschooling my four kids for seven years. I also run my own full-service photography business, which I officially started in 2020. My clients typically spend between $1,000 and $4,000 a session.
I've always been interested in photography. My dad studied photography in college, and my grandparents had a darkroom in their basement. But I didn't really get into photography until I was in high school, when I started taking classes on it.
I started with mostly landscape still life and moved on to taking pictures of my kids once I had them. An old friend pushed me to finally start my business and take clients. I love it because new subjects are really fun — as much as I love taking pictures of my kids, they don't always get into it.
Each client takes 10 to 12 hours of my time
I limit myself to working with one client a week so that I can give each client the experience they deserve and limit the potential for COVID-19 exposure.
We start with a quick phone call so I can learn about what they're looking for, followed by a consultation where they come to my studio and we plan the session, props, and outfits. They have the opportunity to look through my offerings, decide how they want to display the photos I take in their sessions, and secure their date.
The length of the session varies. It can take an hour for a family or maternity session, or it can take three-plus hours for a newborn. I have everything they might need — snacks and drinks, as well as toys for subjects' siblings to play with.
After their session, I invite them back for a session-reveal appointment, when they'll see their photos for the first time. From there, I hand-edit their chosen images in a fine-art style, which can take 20 minutes or up to an hour per image, and order their products. They come back a few weeks later to pick up their artwork.
I'll usually do editing or other administrative work in the afternoons if I'm home, and I'll wait to return phone calls until the evening, when my husband gets home. My sessions usually take place on Saturday mornings.
My husband goes to work about 4 a.m., but my kids and I all get up about 7 a.m. Then everyone does 2 chores.
We start school at 8:30 a.m. Everyone has their assignments in a binder ahead of time so they can always start working if I need to help the younger kids.
For each kid, I plan a semester's worth of lessons in Excel. I print out three to four weeks at a time in case they really love something and want to speed through it — or if there's an illness, we can easily adjust.
In the mornings, I start with my oldest, then my second oldest, and match up their science and social-studies lessons so that they're learning the same things at the same time. Then, I match my second oldest's remaining subjects with my third child's lessons the same way.
We start with math for everyone and then move on to language arts. From there, we do science together and listen to history lessons. We use a curriculum called "The Story of Civilization" and love listening to it in the car. We also listen to books on tape while running errands. Our favorites are from "Magic Tree House."
We usually finish up all the work I need to help them with by lunch. After lunch, they work on any independent work like reading or Latin and have free time after that. My 10-, 8-, and 5-year-olds all play baseball and softball, so spring and fall get extra busy.
I really love homeschooling because the kids have the freedom to follow their interests, whether they be sports or cooking.
Once the pandemic started, we had to drastically change how we spent our days
Before the pandemic, we spent a ton of time at museums, science centers, and aquariums. We were just out in the world learning about life. We had playdates and hiked with friends at least once a week. We've had to cut way down on our excursions and get creative when COVID-19 hit.
There are a bunch of online tours of museums and cool documentaries we've watched, but it isn't the same as going and experiencing that for yourself. Outdoor activities like baseball, hiking, and the zoo have been an OK compromise, and we've spent a lot more time with bookwork.
We recently moved from Knoxville, Tennessee, to St. Louis, and trying to restart my business in a new location wasn't easy
There are fewer networking opportunities now, so it's just harder to get your name out. I would have been going to benefit dinners or visiting local businesses to partner with, but I've changed my marketing to focus more on search-engine optimization so clients can find me online more easily.
I've hired an SEO guy — whom I found from a photography business class — to help me work on that. We also moved my website to a host that's better for SEO and customizing.
I've been reaching out to other small businesses through email instead of in person. I basically just introduce myself, share how I found them, and try to connect with them before suggesting we partner up. Partnering with other businesses could mean providing promotional photos and headshots, the partner displaying my artwork with my business cards alongside it, promotions for the partner's customers, or collaborating on giveaways or advertising. It depends on what the partner's business is and how we can best help each other.
A lot of times, I'll find a prospective partner on social media and slowly start chatting with them to see if we would be a good fit. I've found a bakery, doula, and chiropractor to partner with this way. Referrals from previous clients are also a huge part of my business.
I really focus on customer service and creating a custom experience for each of my clients
I spend a lot of time planning and getting to know them so that coming back for next year's family portraits is an easy decision for them. At the end of it, they have beautiful artwork on their walls that their friends and family will see, so that certainly helps.
I'm hopeful that restrictions are slowing down with COVID-19 so that I can work on marketing in more ways — like going to community events and getting my name out more.
More: BI-freelancer contributor 2022 Nora Biette-Timmons Homeschooling | 2022-04-29T12:46:25Z | www.businessinsider.com | How I Balance Running a Business With Homeschooling My Kids | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mom-balances-homeschool-kids-photography-business-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mom-balances-homeschool-kids-photography-business-2022-4 |
Wells Fargo is in the middle of its first big data project since moving to Google's public cloud — and it's forcing the bank to upend how it thinks about data security
Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Reuters
Wells Fargo has taken a multicloud approach, partnering with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
In its first major modernization effort, the bank will revamp its customer-experience engine.
The platform will allow Wells to ingest more data and analyze it faster than on on-premises servers.
Wells Fargo's move to the public cloud could save the bank $1 billion in expenses over the next decade. But to get there, the bank has first embarked on a data-modernization project — its first major cloud initiative since announcing partnerships with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in September.
To begin its journey into the cloud, Wells is prioritizing its so-called customer-experience engine, according to Chintan Mehta, the bank's chief information officer. The platform operates on the bank's internal servers and was launched last year. The tool uses data to predict customers' actions and needs and offers up relevant prompts and services. The engine's suggestions are based on customer metadata from commonly collected attributes, like age, sex, gender, and location, as well as how long someone spends on a mobile or web page before clicking.
Now, Wells Fargo is replumbing the platform for the public cloud. The move could allow the bank to ingest more data in a secure way and analyze it faster than it could with its on-premises solution, thanks to the ability to dial up and down computing power. Moving to such infrastructure also means the bank will operate in a new security landscape, which will force it to adopt a new mindset for developing products and dealing with data in the public cloud.
Already, Wells Fargo is seeing the benefits. When the bank began exploring a push to the cloud, it created "sandboxes," or isolated areas in the cloud in which engineers could build, tinker with, and even break cloud-based tools. Mehta and his team quickly realized just how quickly cloud-based services could work.
Chintan Mehta, Wells Fargo's group chief information officer.
"When we did the first sandbox, for a like-to-like environment, it took us close to two months to build out the infrastructure for the on-prem. It took us one weekend on the cloud," Mehta said.
Wells Fargo is building the customer-experience engine on Google Cloud Platform. The choice is driven by the fact that the bank can tap the tech giant's artificial-intelligence, machine-learning, and data models that have been trained by "trillions of petabytes across the whole internet," Mehta said.
The new customer-experience platform will launch in the cloud in the third quarter, Mehta said, shortly before the bank's customer-service bot, named Fargo, launches in the fourth quarter. (Fargo, for its part, is built on LaMDA, Google's conversational-machine-learning initiative, Mehta said.)
"As you move these use cases there, data then starts getting a center of gravity. So you will have more and more things going there because the data is already there," Mehta said.
A constant attack
But as at any firm, the move to the cloud has come with extra risk for Wells Fargo, Mehta added.
"If I am in a safe walled garden where all my data is already protected, it's within my pyramid. I can do things in a very different way versus actually putting this kind of data out on a public domain — not public domain for consumption but essentially even for computational use," he said.
Moving from the "walled garden" of on-premises data servers to the public cloud has consequently required changes in how Wells Fargo manages the data it collects, stores, and uses for its customer-experience engine.
"That is where the data rearchitecture comes in — from a security standpoint and from a compliance, privacy, and regulation standpoint. How do you get the benefits of cloud and elasticity in this context? Because this has to scale. This has to do it billions of times a day, while protecting the data," Mehta added.
For Mehta and his team, that approach means enforcing stricter scrutiny of its data, internal and external. The bank also spent the past few years training teams on the new security posture, from development and engineering teams to cybersecurity and operational-engineering teams, Mehta said.
"In a public-cloud environment, you have to make an assumption that you cannot trust any interactions, even if it's coming from inside your own systems," Mehta said. "You have to protect the data as if you are constantly being attacked. And that's where the zero-trust concept comes in, which is I don't trust anything on any prior stuff. I have to validate and protect everything."
More: Wells Fargo Google Public cloud | 2022-04-29T12:46:26Z | www.businessinsider.com | Inside Wells Fargo's First Data Project Since Moving to Public Cloud | https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-wells-fargos-first-data-project-since-moving-public-cloud-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-wells-fargos-first-data-project-since-moving-public-cloud-2022-4 |
Pedestrians walk past a Now Hiring sign in Arlington, Virginia, on March 16, 2022.
The Employment Cost Index rose 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022, the most since at least 2001.
The uptick exceeded the 1.1% estimate and marked a pickup from the prior quarter's 1% gain.
The report shows Americans still enjoying above-average wage growth as inflation got even hotter.
Working Americans' wages rose the most on record through the first three months of 2022 amid intense demand for labor and historically strong inflation.
The Employment Cost Index — one of the most closely watched yardsticks for countrywide wage changes — gained 1.4% through the first quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That's the largest one-quarter increase since data collection began in 2001.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg held a median estimate of a 1.1% increase. The print also showed wage growth accelerating from the 1% jump seen through the fourth quarter of 2021.
The report confirms that the outsize pay gains employees enjoyed throughout 2021 continued into the new year. The months-long imbalance between worker supply and demand — informally known as the labor shortage — increased pressure on businesses to raise wages as they scrambled to rehire. The phenomenon has shown little sign of easing in 2022, with the latest data showing job openings still near record highs at the end of February.
Wage pressures could even be intensifying as the economy inches closer to its pre-pandemic job count. The latest gain exceeded the 1.3% hike seen in the third quarter of 2021, around when the labor shortage first emerged.
While wage growth has been extraordinarily strong throughout the coronavirus crisis, it's still fallen behind inflation. Prices for common goods and services rose 8.5% in the year through March, marking the fastest inflation since 1981. By comparison, the ECI is only up 4.5% from the year-ago period, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has only worsened the price-growth problem in recent months.
Rising prices actually took a larger chunk out of workers' pay than in the quarter prior. Inflation-adjusted compensation shrank 3.7% in the year through March, down from the 2.9% decline seen through 2021. Unless inflation peters out and wage growth holds strong, most employees will continue to see their buying power shrink.
This story is breaking, check back soon for updates.
More: Economy ECI Employment Cost Index Wages | 2022-04-29T12:46:44Z | www.businessinsider.com | US Wages Climb 1.4% in Q1 2022, Beating Economist Estimates | https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-growth-eci-q1-labor-shortage-job-market-hiring-raises-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-growth-eci-q1-labor-shortage-job-market-hiring-raises-2022-4 |
Startups are rushing to clean up bitcoin's carbon footprint. This founder thinks the market for renewable crypto mining is just heating up.
Fiorenzo Manganiello and Robin Vaks, the Cowa cofounders.
Cowa
Sustainable bitcoin has become increasingly important to the global finance industry.
The Swiss crypto miner Cowa believes financial institutions want to acquire companies in the space.
The startup is pushing for the majority of mining energy to come from renewable sources.
Bitcoin has been dogged by a variety of issues that have slowed its widespread adoption, not least of all its impact on the environment.
The energy-intensive process of cryptocurrency mining, which has faced criticism from the crypto advocate and soon-to-be Twitter owner Elon Musk, requires high amounts of computer power to solve complicated mathematical problems.
That power is often generated by fossil fuels. Research from the University of Cambridge, for instance, estimated that mining bitcoin created over 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the US alone in 2020.
The environmental cost of crypto mining has birthed a wave of new startups promising to make the practice sustainable. Kryptovault in Norway, Argo Blockchain in Texas, and Cowa in Switzerland have all set about dramatically reducing crypto's carbon footprint.
As a result, major tech companies, hedge funds, crypto exchanges, and financial-services businesses have all begun circling the startups hoping to decouple blockchain from its polluting reputation.
"Companies like Revolut, Klarna, Block, they need clean bitcoin on their balance sheets, while Visa and Mastercard are looking to enter the space, and they might be potential buyers," Fiorenzo Manganiello, a former hedge fund analyst who is now CEO of Cowa, told Insider.
"This is a sector going towards consolidation, and we know this is going to happen in the next six to 12 months."
Cowa describes itself as a nature-friendly bitcoin-mining company and is pushing for most mining energy to come from renewable sources. The company plans to power its mining processes using only clean energy like hydro and, possibly, wind.
Musk's declaration last year that Tesla would stop accepting bitcoin payments over sustainability concerns helped draw attention to crypto mining's energy use. So too did China's limitations on companies' ability to mine crypto there.
As a result, companies are looking for bitcoin flow from a diversified field of options with more sustainable options coming at a premium, unsurprisingly.
Manganiello estimates companies are willing to pay 5% to 10% premiums on the spot price of bitcoin to secure sustainably mined alternatives.
A lot of hedge funds and crypto exchanges also now have ESG mandates — shorthand for environmental, social, and governance priorities — making the rush for bitcoin mined outside Chinese coal fields much more in vogue.
"Mining should be done in a sustainable way," Manganiello added. "If there is a ban on fossil-fuel use, then it will be a priority."
Estimates differ, but the trend is toward more bitcoin being mined sustainably. By one estimate, in 2019 some 39% of crypto mining was garnered using renewables.
Insider understands Cowa has closed a Series A round at a significant valuation, but the company declined to comment on the specifics of the deal. More than 200 companies and individuals launched the Crypto Climate Accord last year, committing to net-zero operations by 2030, mainly by switching to renewable power sources.
Evidence of that shift has begun to emerge already with Jack Dorsey's Block signing up to break ground on a bitcoin-mining operation in Texas that would use solar energy and storage technology from Tesla.
Manganiello said the consolidation of the mining industry was set to continue this year as large miners looked to add capacity in new regions. Energy companies looking to mine their own crypto and fintechs bidding to reach profitability are also likely to drive acquisitions in the sector too, the Cowa cofounder says. He added that Cowa had been approached by numerous companies to be acquired.
More: crypto Sustainability Bitcoin | 2022-04-29T13:38:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Cowa: Green Crypto Mining Startup Tips Industry for Consolidation | https://www.businessinsider.com/cowa-green-crypto-mining-startup-tips-industry-for-consolidation-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cowa-green-crypto-mining-startup-tips-industry-for-consolidation-2022-4 |
I'm a 'fish sommelier' at a Hawaii resort who gets paid to recommend dishes to guests. Here's how I landed the job.
Ryan Hauser has worked as fish sommelier at the Four Seasons since 2018.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Ko Olina
Ryan Houser, 28, is a fish sommelier at Mina's Fish House at the Four Seasons Resort in O'ahu.
He goes table to table each night to show guests fresh fish options and give recommendations.
This is what his job is like, as told to writer Jenny Powers.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ryan Hauser, a fish sommelier in Hawaii, about his job. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Much like a wine sommelier is tasked with pairing the best-suited wine to a corresponding dish, as a fish sommelier, my job is to match the right fish with the right person. In the simplest of terms, I'm a matchmaker.
I work five nights a week at Mina's Fish House at The Four Seasons Resort O'ahu at Ko Olina. I go from table to table, talking to guests about their seafood preferences and making recommendations based on a variety of factors such as texture, flavor, and preparation.
By guiding guests through all we have to offer, I'm often able to help them break out of their culinary comfort zones by recommending a type of fish they haven't tried before or a different style of preparation.
With all the amazing local fish Hawaii has available, we strive to offer fresh, locally-caught fish such as opakapaka, onaga, opah, kampachi, and swordfish whenever we can and typically never serve frozen fish.
When I arrive for my shift, the first thing I do is check and see what fish came in the night before or that very morning and determine the quantities we have on hand so we don't oversell anything. Then I gather ice and work on putting together my daily fish display, which I carry with me to showcase the daily catch and some of our popular offerings.
On a typical night, we serve approximately 250 to 300 dishes
Before dinner service begins, I attend a staff briefing, where we learn about any VIPs dining with us that evening, how many guests we're expecting, and what standards we may need to improve upon for that particular day, as well as review any allergens and available specialty cocktail and wine selections.
Then it's time to grab my display and begin my night's work.
Talking to people comes easy to me, and having spent my life around fish, it's a topic I'm passionate about, so I do my best to interact with as many guests as possible.
When I approach guests, one of the first questions I ask is if they're looking for family-style or individual dining, which determines whether I'll be suggesting whole or half-fish options versus smaller fish and market fish steaks.
From there we'll discuss their preferences and what they might be looking for in a fish.
Flavor and texture are key factors in the selection process for each guest
Hauser says he always recommends fresh local fish, such as the opakapaka, a Hawaiian pink snapper.
If a guest is interested in something firm and hearty, I might suggest swordfish, which has a steaklike quality to it along with a nice oil content that allows it to retain moisture pretty well.
Alternatively, if they're seeking something delicate and flaky with a medium texture and a nice moisture content, I might recommend opakapaka, which is a Hawaiian pink snapper.
Salmon is also a very beautiful fish with a nice medium texture and amazing moisture content when cooked correctly. The issue many people have with salmon is at one point or another they've had it served overcooked, which makes it dry and bitter at times, so now they avoid it. But when salmon is cooked to perfection like it is in our kitchen, it's delicious.
Personally, if I had to pick one fish to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be the scorpion fish called nohu, which has a similar texture to lobster.
I've been fishing and learning about fish since I was a kid
Hauser says his background in diving and spearfishing taught him a lot about different kinds of fish.
I actually wasn't always such a big fan of fish — as a 4-year-old living in Japan I was once served an oddly cooked fish that looked and tasted gross and it turned me off of fish for a while.
When I was around 5 or 6, I learned to fish alongside my dad and grandfather in Japan.
A few years later, my family moved back to Mililani, Hawaii, and when I was 12, a neighborhood kid's dad invited me to go spearfishing. I went and from that moment on, I was hooked.
To me, spearfishing is the most selective form of fishing because you choose exactly what you're going to harvest — I really enjoy the conscious aspect of it.
Since that time I've spent thousands of hours spearfishing, diving, and learning about all types of fish
I've learned everything from the origins of different fish to the best conditions to catch them to what they eat, which can affect how they taste.
Throughout high school, I worked at a retail fishing store called Hana Pa'a and after college, I did everything from auto-parts sales to construction, plumbing, and being a pool technician.
Later, I went into a series of hospitality roles ranging from being a Japanese-speaking recreational host at a local Disney property to working as a car valet.
In 2018, I was about to become a supervisor at the valet company where I worked when I got a call from my longtime friend, Jared Chang, who said he had the perfect job for me: replacing him at Mina's, where he was the original fish sommelier after the position was created by the restaurant's chef, Michael Mina.
Like most people, I'd never heard of a fish sommelier, but the more he told me about it, the more interested I became, so I took the job
These days, plenty of people have heard of a wine sommelier, and there are all sorts of schools and accreditations for the job, but being a fish sommelier is a relatively new thing, and my experience is limited to Chef Mina's restaurants.
While I certainly don't claim to know every type of fish in the world, I definitely know way more about them than the average person — and I love my job because I get to use that knowledge every single day and share it with others.
More: Careers job diary as told to Fish | 2022-04-29T13:38:55Z | www.businessinsider.com | I'm a 'Fish Sommelier' in Hawaii — Here's What My Job Is Like | https://www.businessinsider.com/hawaii-four-seasons-fish-sommelier-restaurant-how-landed-job-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/hawaii-four-seasons-fish-sommelier-restaurant-how-landed-job-2022-4 |
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How Northrop Grumman is rescuing satellites from the 'graveyard'
Created by Insider Studios with Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle is giving old satellites new life.
The company is leading the way in on-orbit servicingfor commercial and government customers.
Northrop Grumman powers systems and technologies that we rely on every day.
When Tom Wilson, who leads Northrop Grumman's space business, and his team looked at a rapidly expanding commercial space industry in the late 2000s they saw a big problem — and a big opportunity.
Wilson and his team saw that ever-growing constellations of commercial and military satellites had become a mainstay of modern society: Everyone from the soldier on the battlefield to merchants moving the world's goods at sea to the weekend jogger on a long run was relying on space-based services for communications, location, navigation, and more.
Satellites, simply put, had become "part of the fabric of our global economy," Wilson said.
The problem is that satellites — especially the ones in high-altitude geosynchronous orbits — are enormously expensive to build and launch. They also have a finite reserve of fuel on board needed for repositioning and maneuvering the spacecraft, a process known as "station keeping."
Once the fuel reserve is expended, an otherwise perfectly functional satellite is rendered useless, and in geosynchronous orbit — where some of the most advanced and expensive satellites operate — they expend the last of their fuel moving to a so-called graveyard orbit, an outer orbit where retired satellites are out of the way of active satellites.
"We looked at how we could change the economics of space and make orbital domains more sustainable," Wilson said.
Enter the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), a first-of-its-kind technology launched in 2019 that is charting a more sustainable course for the satellites so integral to our lives.
GEO satellites usually run out of fuel after 15 years and each year about 20 satellites in otherwise perfect working order are retired.
Northrop Grumman's MEVs change the calculus for customers looking to save on replacing older satellites by docking with them on orbit and taking over station-keeping functions.
MEVs are already providing services for two Intelsat spacecraft that provide bandwidth for satellite television and internet services back on earth.
Docking with a satellite orbiting earth at an altitude of 22,000 miles and traveling 7,000 miles per hour is no mean feat, but MEV-1 did it in 2020 and MEV-2 repeated the accomplishment in 2021.
New GEO satellites can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and additional millions to launch into space. Deferring those costs saves companies millions, allowing customers to invest in new technologies and keep revenue-generating satellites on orbit longer.
Changing the timelines adds up to a disruptive force in the market, Wilson said.
"It's a new ecosystem in space," he added. "Enabling satellites to last longer generates more profit for commercial companies, which don't have to build a new one as soon."
Part of a growing portfolio
Northrop Grumman has continued to build on its already robust portfolio of space programs, including the GEOStar satellite bus family of systems that can be used to host a wide range of payloads.
As Northrop Grumman's portfolio has continued to expand, innovative solutions continue to be realized, including an upcoming launch of two satellites that will make up Norway's Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM). ASBM will deliver reliable broadband internet to the polar region, greatly improving and expanding existing connections in the challenging high north.
The ASBM satellites take cutting-edge communications technology from Northrop Grumman's work on the US Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites, and pairs it with a variant of the GEOStar satellite to quickly deliver a world-class capability that meets the customer's requirements.
"I think people associate Northrop Grumman only with the most complex, hard-to-solve problems like the James Webb Space Telescope —incredibly intricate systems," Wilson said. "As we continue broadening our portfolio not only can we do the complex, but we can do the production, we can do the simple, and we can do it in innovative and affordable ways."
"We're driving towards a balanced portfolio that shows we can do the super complex like we always have," he added, "but today with our new capabilities, we can also do the small and very fast."
Northrop Grumman is preparing to launch two new products, including a customer- owned and operated spacecraft similar to the MEV called a Mission Extension Pod (MEP). The MEP will be attached to expensive commercial satellites in geosynchronous orbit running low on fuel and provide six extra years of service life.
The MEP is in part made possible by another Northrop Grumman product, the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), which will launch in 2024.
The MRV incorporates a robotic arm payload developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The MRV will use its robotic payload to attach the MEP to client satellites, as well as make repairs to satellites in space, truly a leap forward, Wilson said.
"We are leading the market, moving at a very rapid pace and fielding the technology … that will enable us to, over time, add increased robotic capability in space to enable a whole new mission domain for commercial and national security space," he said.
"The ability to repair satellites that have had problems or extend their life or swap out capability on orbit is a commercial service that we have proven success in, and that we are going to bring to the government side of things as well."
It all adds up to a bright future for Northrop Grumman in the space business, Wilson said, building new, forward-looking commercial and government lines of business on top of decades of high-end space know-how.
He said, "We take our deep mission expertise, honed over 60 years in systems engineering, and envision where markets and adversaries are going as we develop the technology our customers will need a decade or more from now."
Find out more about how Northrop Grumman is solving the toughest problems in space.
This post was created by Insider Studios with Northrop Grumman.
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Studios Technology | 2022-04-29T14:17:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Northrop Grumman Rescues Satellites From the Graveyard | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/northrop-grumman-rescues-satellites-from-the-graveyard | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/northrop-grumman-rescues-satellites-from-the-graveyard |
Daiso is a hot Japanese dollar store with plans to slowly spread across the US — see what it's like inside its newest store in NYC
Japanese dollar store Daiso wants to open more than 15 stores in the US annually for the next 10 years.
The chain carries a wide range of Japanese products, including toys, kitchenware, and snacks.
See what it's like inside one of Daiso's newest locations.
One of the world's hottest dollar stores with a strong cult following is a brand you may have never heard of: Daiso.
But in the next few years, you might find yourself perusing its aisles at a new location near you.
This is Daiso, a Japanese "100-yen store" — which converts to under $1 — with stores around the world and a growing presence in the US.
The retailer currently operates about 6,000 stores worldwide, including 83 stores in the US.
And its stateside footprint is growing fast.
The brand plans to open over 15 stores in the US annually for the next 10 years, Shuhei Geshi, Daiso's store operations manager, told Insider in an email interview.
And if past grand openings are any indication of what future Daiso openings will look like, you can expect long lines, eager customers, and a flood of Daiso "haul" videos on YouTube.
Source: Gothamist, YouTube
Given its price point, Daiso is often referred to as a "dollar store" like Dollar Tree or Dollar General …
… "but once you come to the store, you will know the differences between [Daiso and other dollar stores]," Geshi said.
The Japanese brand has all the classic goods available at any conventional budget store, including cleaning supplies, small decorations, and stationery.
But beyond that, it's a wonderland of products that'll probably never be available at a budget store in the US, like sushi rolling mats, popular Asian snacks …
… sandwich makers in the shape of a panda ...
… traditional Japanese tableware, and Asian skincare products.
It also sells plenty of products that you never knew you needed, whether it be laundry bags designed for socks …
… a two-in-one chopstick and ladle holder …
… or plastic ear caps.
Almost all of Daiso's products were created in-house, according to its website.
Source: Daiso
And it rolls out 800 new products monthly to create an ever-changing inventory that make customers "excited" to visit, Geshi said.
One of the brand's newest locations is in Brooklyn, New York.
It's tiny but mighty and a prime example of how diverse Daiso's offerings can be.
The store is tucked away on the second floor of Brooklyn's aptly named "Japan Village."
The store was small but its aisles were clean and packed with a wide range of products. We're talking everyday and eclectic kitchenware …
… cute office supplies …
… children's toys …
… comforting snacks and meals …
… and even gardening supplies.
The products' prices are often printed in yen directly onto the packaging, hence the easily accessible yen to US dollar conversion charts.
But for the most part, this location's inventory will run you anywhere between about $2 to $15, a price range that's significantly lower compared to other big-box retailers like Target and Walmart.
And this low price point has caught the eyes of plenty of Brooklynites.
The second-floor store has only been open for two months, but it's already been a hit with locals.
I visited on a Monday afternoon, a traditionally quiet time for retailers, but still saw plenty of shoppers perusing the aisles as workers organized the shelves.
"It has been very busy," Geshi said regarding the new Brooklyn location. "We have more customers than we expected."
And within the next decade, you too may be able to experience the joys of bargain hunting in a diverse Japanese dollar store.
More: daiso Dollar Store Business Visual Features Retail
Store tour | 2022-04-29T15:05:44Z | www.businessinsider.com | Photos: Japanese Dollar Store Daiso Growing in US | https://www.businessinsider.com/Daiso-japanese-dollar-store-expanding-US-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/Daiso-japanese-dollar-store-expanding-US-2022-4 |
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Joe Manchin (W-Va.)
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Senator Bernie Sanders again lambasted centrist Democrats.
He said senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema "sabotaged" social spending efforts.
He said dealing with them is a challenge for Democrats, and their strategy is a "political failure."
When President Joe Biden took office, he found an ally in touting an agenda full of huge social investments: Senator Bernie Sanders.
But in the year since, despite Biden's — and Sanders's — pushes, those proposed social spending plans are all but dead due to a pair of centrist Democratic holdouts. It's become a pain point for the party and the Biden administration, as the Democrats' razor-thin majority makes it impossible to move anything forward without everyone on board.
Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have emerged as the main roadblocks. Sanders has frequently sparred with Manchin, who single-handedly proclaimed that Build Back Better was "dead." In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Sanders again lambasted Manchin and Sinema's role in killing Build Back Better, saying they "sabotaged our efforts, what we were trying to do."
"Ever since then, the Democratic Party has stumbled and fallen further and further behind," Sanders told Vanity Fair's Hunter Walker and Luppe B. Luppen.
Manchin has proclaimed that he's "never been a liberal in any way, shape or form." He's repeatedly blasted Biden for high inflation, and has thrown cold water on discussing social spending before reducing the deficit.
"How you handle Manchin, how you handle Sinema and the other conservative Democrats is one of the challenges that the Democrats have got to deal with," Sanders told Vanity Fair. "But the current strategy is an absolute political failure."
At Biden's 100 day mark last year, most Americans approved of his performance, and he was polling well above where former President Donald Trump during most of his term. However, his polling has since cratered, a potential red flag for the upcoming midterm elections.
His proposed Build Back Better framework would have extended monthly child tax credit payments, helped lower the costs of childcare, and put billions towards climate spending — something that got Sanders' stamp of approval.
Biden's stalled spending bill is hanging by a thread in the evenly-divided Senate. This week, Manchin ruled out reviving the social spending elements of the House-approved Build Back Better legislation, all but ending Democratic hopes to widen the safety net. He's pressed for a much narrower bill centered on cutting the deficit, rolling back the GOP tax cuts, reducing prescription drug prices, and clean energy incentives.
Manchin is also now spearheading a small bipartisan group seeking to strike an agreement on climate and energy initiatives, an effort that's raised eyebrows in his party. Many Democrats are skeptical that Republicans are willing to cut a deal on energy during a midterm election year.
For her part, Sinema has opposed increasing tax rates on rich Americans and large businesses. That complicates the negotiations for Democrats since Sinema's chief demand conflicts with one of Manchin's top priorities. It's unclear how they'll reconcile those competing interests and still clinch their votes. Senate Democrats hope to reach a deal by Memorial Day.
More: Economy Build Back Better Bernie Sanders Joe Manchin | 2022-04-29T15:05:50Z | www.businessinsider.com | Sanders: Democrats' Manchin, Sinema Strategy 'Absolute Political Failure' | https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-democrats-manchin-sinema-strategy-absolute-political-failure-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-democrats-manchin-sinema-strategy-absolute-political-failure-2022-4 |
A crypto research director who says ethereum can eventually rise to $35,000 shared his 2 favorite altcoins — and why comparing crypto to tech stocks back in 1999 is actually a compliment
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered's head of crypto research, believes ethereum can eventually reach $35,000.
Geoffrey Kendrick sees bitcoin and ethereum hitting $100,000 and $10,000 this year, respectively.
Standard Chartered's head of crypto research thinks ethereum could one day hit $35,000.
Kendrick also revealed two altcoins he believes are promising.
Cryptocurrencies look remarkably similar to technology stocks in the late 1990s, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, the head of crypto research at Standard Chartered, the fifth-largest bank in the United Kingdom.
But that's actually a good thing, Kendrick told Insider in a recent interview — even though he's well aware of the fact that the infamous tech bubble of 2000 eventually popped.
"I'm not using that because in 2000, tech blew up," Kendrick told Insider. "But rather to say the size of the market, the development of the market, was similar."
Kendrick continued: "We really haven't seen the extreme price movement and participation that we saw in tech then. So I'm thinking more about the number of users. And there are very direct crossovers between the number of users of crypto assets, addresses, and the number of users of the internet in 1999. It actually stacks up in terms of share of global population almost exactly."
A crypto boom that doesn't end in a bust would be a welcome development for investors in the space after what's been a dismal year so far for digital assets. Bitcoin and ethereum, the two largest tokens by market capitalization, are down 18% and 23% year-to-date, respectively. But Kendrick is focused on a longer timeline.
"If we fast-forward five or 10 years, there's a very, very constructive backdrop here," Kendrick said. "And the use cases in things like ethereum, for example, haven't really even played out yet at all. So my backdrop is very, very positive."
So positive, in fact, that Kendrick's 2022 price targets for bitcoin and ethereum are $100,000 and $10,000, respectively — which implies upside of about 150% and 250% for those cryptos. In the long term, Kendrick confirmed to Insider that he still believes ethereum can rise more than tenfold to $35,000, a price target that Reuters first reported in September 2021.
"There's been a number of market commentators that are saying that, like in previous bitcoin halving cycles, we're now getting into the second half of that, and — in previous cycles — that has been a bearish signal," Kendrick said. "I disagree with that logic."
How bitcoin and ethereum will get to the moon
Standard Chartered's head of crypto research is confident that bitcoin and ethereum "have very different drivers" than in previous trading cycles, which is why he thinks they'll rebound this year.
Perhaps the most important catalyst for bitcoin and ethereum, Kendrick said, is that so-called smart money is flowing into the cryptos despite their massive drawdowns since last November. That wasn't the case in the late 2010s, he said.
"Institutional money is coming and has continued to come despite the selloff, which obviously, at its most aggressive, was more than 50% in bitcoin and ethereum," Kendrick said. "So that, for me, says, 'This time is different.'"
Bitcoin can reach the upper end of Kendrick's price prediction if the token eventually becomes a globally recognized store of value that accounts for about 2% of the world's assets, the research head said. But first, the crypto must continue to help bank the unbanked and grow into a "genuine peer-to-peer transaction solution," Kendrick said.
Meanwhile, Kendrick says that ethereum should benefit from an upcoming network upgrade that experts have dubbed "the merge." The event, which will reduce the number of new ether tokens that enter circulation, is critical for the crypto market and may lead to a wave of new investment, Kendrick said. After that, he said ethereum may take the title of top token.
"I suspect that opens up the medium-term possibility of ethereum's valuation overtaking bitcoin," Kendrick said. "For that, you'd need to get — so my end-of-year targets are $100,000 and $10,000, which is a 10-to-1 — you need to get to about 16% of price, which I suspect is where we go in 2023."
2 'ethereum killers' to watch
Besides bitcoin and ethereum, Kendrick said he has his eye on two altcoins in particular: polkadot (DOT) and avalanche (AVAX). Those two so-called "ethereum killers" are still worth considering as ethereum's merge nears, Kendrick said, adding that investors may want to "be bullish on something which doesn't do exactly what ethereum does."
Polkadot, which is a multichain protocol that aims to connect different blockchains, is popular in part because it was founded by ethereum co-creator Gavin Wood, as Kendrick noted. The crypto research head said he's positive on parachains as the ethereum merge takes place.
"Polkadot probably stands out for me in terms of layer ones as a potential beneficiary medium term, given its sort of core use case of creating linkages between chains," Kendrick said. "That's probably, in terms of the top 10 or 20 in size of layer ones, would be my number one choice."
Avalanche gets more of a cautious recommendation from Kendrick, given that it's considered to be a direct competitor to ethereum. Still, he acknowledged that the two tokens don't have to be mutually exclusive, as a crypto investor can own both.
"I actually do quite like avalanche," Kendrick said. "I suspect that it could — in terms of being a similar thing to ethereum — actually, avalanche I think can possibly do OK anyway. Let's say post-ethereum merge, it's sort of like a mini-me version."
More: Investing Geoffrey Kendrick Standard Chartered Geoffrey Kendrick Standard Chartered
Geoffrey Kendrick crypto
bitcoin price projection
bitcoin 100000
btc 100000
ethereum killers | 2022-04-29T15:05:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | 2 Altcoins to Watch, Bitcoin & Ethereum Targets: Crypto Researcher | https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-ethereum-crypto-price-targets-predictions-altcoins-to-watch-kendrick-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-ethereum-crypto-price-targets-predictions-altcoins-to-watch-kendrick-2022-4 |
PayPal plans digital wallet engagement booster as growth slows
PayPal reports positive growth for Q1 2022, bolstered by buy now, pay later (BNPL) and Venmo.
CEO Dan Schulman said that inflation, supply chain pressures, the war in Ukraine, and PayPal's boycott of Russia all hurt Q1 performance.
By the numbers: PayPal's total payment volume (TPV) for Q1 rose 15% year over year (YoY) to hit $323.0 billion, decelerating from Q4's 23% jump, per an earnings release. TPV growth was also down from Q1 2021's 46% YoY jump.
The company added 2.4 million accounts to end the quarter with 429 million active users. Growth was well below the 9.8 million accounts added in Q4, when new users from its Paidy acquisition bolstered numbers.
PayPal forecasts 10 million new accounts for the year; Insider Intelligence's projection put the firm's core global user base growth at 7.2%, or around 14 million. Last quarter, Paypal removed 4.5 million illegitimate user accounts. It may have strengthened its security measures to prevent this from occurring again.
Transactions per account—which PayPal uses as a metric for engagement—remained steady at 11% YoY growth, in line with Q4.
What PayPal said: CEO Dan Schulman said on the company's earnings call that inflation, supply chain pressures, the war in Ukraine, and PayPal's boycott of Russia all hurt Q1 performance. The company lowered its 2022 guidance and was reevaluating its medium-term outlook accordingly, he added.
But Schulman singled out Venmo as a growth area, with Q1 volumes up 12% YoY to hit $58 billion, compared with 63% YoY in Q1 2021. Similarly, PayPal's buy now, pay later (BNPL) franchise grew volumes 256%, with more than 18 million consumer accounts using the product since launch.
Looking ahead: Here are areas PayPal will focus on going forward.
User engagement: PayPal wants to add higher-value accounts, which the company believes is more cost-effective than trying to retain low-engaged users. Earlier this month, the payments firm revamped its co-brand credit card with new cash-back benefits in a push to boost engagement.
Digital wallets: Schulman emphasized that these would be key to the firm's growth plans, describing them as the "future of the industry" and the "future of PayPal." He added that PayPal and Venmo are working hard to put digital wallets at the center of consumers' daily financial lives. "It is the heart of what we're trying to do from an engagement perspective," he said.
Venmo: PayPal will hike instant transfer fees for Venmo users in an effort to generate the app's maiden profit. Schulman also noted plans to integrate Venmo with Amazon are progressing toward an H2 target launch. The partnership will be a huge opportunity for Venmo to use Amazon's vast sales to grow its payments volume.
Cryptocurrencies: PayPal may add to its existing crypto offerings, which include Checkout with Crypto, Cash Back to Crypto for Venmo credit card users, and a crypto exchange in the UK. In August, Schulman stressed that cryptos will soon shift from acting mainly as an investment tool to having wider payments use. | 2022-04-29T15:06:02Z | www.businessinsider.com | BNPL and Venmo Drive Positive PayPal Q1, but Growth Is Cooling | https://www.businessinsider.com/bnpl-and-venmo-drive-positive-paypal-q1-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/bnpl-and-venmo-drive-positive-paypal-q1-2022-4 |
Then-CDC Director Robert Redfield testifies on Capitol Hill on March 12, 2020.
Robert Redfield lamented how the CDC was sidelined under the Trump administration.
Excerpts from Redfield's private testimony were first released on Friday.
Redfield confirms that a CDC official's February 2020 comments led to more pressure on the agency.
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testified to Congress that the Trump administration effectively muzzled the health agency after a top official made comments about the then-emerging pandemic that spooked the White House.
"I've said this publicly before, this is one of my great disappointments. That HHS basically took over total clearance of briefings by CDC," Redfield testified before the House panel tasked with investigating the federal government's response to the pandemic.
Excerpts of Redfield's testimony were first released on Friday and were first reported by The Washington Post.
Redfield's testimony, as he himself alluded to, underscores the CDC's very obvious absence during key moments of the Trump administration's COVID-19 response. As Redfield told lawmakers, this came after CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Nancy Messonnier alerted Americans to the possibility on February 25, 2020, that the pandemic could be "severe."
Messonnier, of course, was proven right. The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly 1 million Americans. But at the time, her comments contradicted the White House's public views and her concern sent the stock market tumbling. In response, Redfield testified that the CDC could not get approval from the Health and Human Services Department to hold its own news briefings.
"So from where I sat, the ability to make those decisions internally at CDC were no longer CDC's decisions, whereas I would argue the clearance process prior to Nancy Messonnier's was more perfunctory, whatever we put up got cleared. And I assume we still had to get cleared, but I don't remember ever not being cleared until afterwards that I -- for a while, none of our briefings were approved," Redfield testified.
As an example of other political interference, the House committee pointed to internal White House emails that detail the private debate over how the CDC should advise churches and houses of worship during the pandemic.
"I have proposed several passages for deletion," Paul Ray, then-administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote in a May 2020 email in response to the CDC's draft guidance that advised virtual or drive-in options for religious services. Ray said those suggestions "raise religious liberty concerns" and that the CDC should only publish its advice after "striking the offensive passages."
In a statement to The Post, Ray defended his actions.
"Each faith tradition—not the federal government—is best situated to understand the demands of its own beliefs and therefore to choose, among the multiple effective means of preventing the virus's spread, those means that best comport with its beliefs," Ray wrote. "The edits proposed to this document were designed to keep Americans safe while respecting their right to worship as they believe they should."
Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, who chairs the select coronavirus subcommittee, said his panel "continues to unearth disturbing new details on how the Trump Administration's pandemic response prioritized politics over public health."
"As today's new evidence also makes clear, Trump White House officials worked under the direction of the former president to purposefully undercut public health officials' recommendations and muzzle their ability to communicate clearly to the American public," Clyburn said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Rep. Steve Scalise, who is the top Republican on the committee, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
More: Robert Redfield Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Trump adminstration | 2022-04-29T15:06:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ex-CDC Chief: Trump Admin. Muzzled Agency for Months As COVID Spread | https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-cdc-chief-trump-admin-muzzled-agency-for-months-as-covid-spread-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-cdc-chief-trump-admin-muzzled-agency-for-months-as-covid-spread-2022-4 |
Investors say wealth managers are missing the mark on advice
Jenna McNamee
Two J.D. Power surveys reveal that investors aren't getting the financial advice they need.
The studies emphasize a disconnect between investors and the techniques advisors and investment firms are using.
The news: Investors are struggling to find the advice and services they need, regardless of how they access wealth management services, per two new surveys by J.D. Power.
The surveys ran from November 2021 through January 2022.
Each gathered responses from over 4,000 US investors who either worked with a dedicated financial advisor or financial professional or who made their own investment decisions without consulting an advisor.
Key data: One survey looked at investors who engage with a full-service wealth manager. The other focused on investors who opted for a self-guided approach to investing, primarily beginning during the pandemic.
The biggest finding was that neither set of investors is getting what they need from their current provider:
Just 14% of full-service investors are receiving comprehensive advice that accounts for their full financial picture.
More than three quarters of self-directed investors say they would consider switching providers.
Full-service advisors: The survey found they're not necessarily seeing attrition, but that might be because their clients aren't aware of what a sound financial plan should look like.
While 51% of full service investors believe their financial plan is adequate, J.D. Power found that only 26% of these investors' plans fully document and update the investor's goals and needs.
Self-directed investors: These pandemic-era investors—who tend to be younger, with less-established financial health—encounter technical issues such as website outages and processing glitches while managing their accounts. On top of the digital challenges these investors face, they are in many cases also struggling to pay bills or create an emergency expense fund.
Only 39% of those who began DIY investing during the pandemic are considered financially healthy.
Divergent findings: Despite the bleak key data, there is a clear difference in client engagement. Full-service investors say they plan to remain loyal to their investment firm.
76% of full-service investors will not consider switching to a new firm.
The Net Promoter Score of this group is 93.
The self-directed investors who indicated they would consider switching investment firms named the following drivers:
Lack of tools and services that meet their needs.
Recommendations for new investment firms by friends and family.
Investors' sentiment regarding hybrid advice models also differs.
Self-directed investors struggle to become comfortable with the scalable approach to hybrid advice. Often, their personal interaction involves a less-personalized conversation via a call center.
Full-service investors, on the other hand, find their firms' recent focus on technological development has increased their satisfaction with the digital channels now available to them.
The big takeaway: The studies emphasize a disconnect between investors and the techniques advisors and investment firms are using.
Increased tech spending by wealth managers seems to have appeased full-service investors enough to maintain their loyalty. But these clients may find themselves falling short of their financial goals in the long run.
Attrition appears to be an especially high risk for younger, self-directed investors—who will be quick to take their business to a new firm if they believe it will better provide them with the tools and education they need to grow financially.
Now more than ever, wealth managers must focus on personalization to cater to all investor types. | 2022-04-29T15:06:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | Investors Aren't Getting the Advice They Need, Survey Finds | https://www.businessinsider.com/investors-arent-getting-the-advice-they-need-survey-finds-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/investors-arent-getting-the-advice-they-need-survey-finds-2022-4 |
Netflix spending cuts fuel fears that its golden creative age is over after explosive growth created 'a quality control issue,' insiders say, and execs are 'scared and paralyzed'
Natalie Jarvey and Elaine Low
"Stranger Things" season four debuts May 27.
Netflix is reining in spending on content and recently laid off 25 marketing staffers.
To Hollywood creatives the challenges are a signal that Netflix's spendy golden age is over.
"I miss the days when Netflix executives had passion projects," one showrunner told Insider.
Many in Hollywood took pleasure at seeing entertainment's big disruptor taken down a peg when Netflix revealed April 19 that it had lost 200,000 subscribers during the first three months of 2022 and expected to lose another 2 million during the spring quarter.
The news sent the company's stock price tumbling — Netflix lost more than 35% of its value overnight and its shares are now trading down 68% from the start of the year — and even its chilling effect on other media stocks didn't completely silence the schadenfreude.
But for creatives who have happily taken their cut of the streaming leader's multibillion-dollar annual content budget, the reversal underscored what many already had felt in their negotiations, in their writers rooms, and over their power lunches: Netflix's creatively expansive and high-rolling golden age is coming to an end.
"Netflix is in a financial retreat, it seems," one high-level agency source told Insider in March ahead of the company's earnings report, during which co-CEO Reed Hastings revealed that the famously ad-averse service would likely add a lower-priced ad-supported tier in the next year or two.
Though the company is still expected to spend as much as $18 billion on content in 2022, Insider's conversations with 9 Hollywood producers, showrunners, and talent reps revealed the writing has been on the wall that the streamer is pulling back compared to its first decade as an original programming powerhouse.
"The party is over at Netflix," said a person familiar with inner workings at the company.
The company — which is feeling the effects in all divisions, including the marketing team where a reorganization led to layoffs at the recently launched Tudum fan site — plans to scale back on extravagant content production and rein in show budgets, global head of TV Bela Bajaria told the Wall Street Journal. Its content budget will continue to grow, but as it looks to keep margins steady, Netflix will be more strategic about big swings, a source familiar with the company said.
Already, Netflix had become quicker with a cancellation — resulting in what one producer, who has made several shows with Netflix, called the "second season curse." And three people told Insider that the streamer's reasons for canceling a series are often opaque to creators.
Shows that are renewed, meanwhile, are likely to have smaller episode orders, two Netflix showrunners said — though Bajaria has pushed back on the idea that the company is shortening season lengths due to financial constraints, telling the Journal that episode orders are dictated by the creative.
"I miss the days when Netflix executives had passion projects — projects they nurtured and fought for as much as any creator — and they could make that case and follow that passion," one of the showrunners said. Now that the company's meteoric rise is slowing, they added, "I worry that people are going to be even more scared and paralyzed than they already were."
Producing hundreds of original shows created 'a quality control issue'
When Netflix first got into the original programming game a decade ago, it was releasing only a handful of shows each year. In 2013, it debuted just three dramas — including David Fincher-produced political series "House of Cards" and prison-set "Orange is the New Black," from "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan. Today, the streamer releases several hundred shows per year to satiate the content demands of its 222 million global subscribers.
"They used to be very deliberate and specific about what they wanted," said the producer, adding that the growth in output — not to mention the multiplying number of executives working behind the scenes — has created "a quality control issue."
"Netflix was one of the key players in artificially exploding the price of content," said Evan Shapiro, a producer and media strategist. "The average cost per hour of scripted content has skyrocketed since 'House of Cards.' Everybody is guilty of overspending but Netflix's pure voracious need for content drove it up." Shapiro, who ran NBCUniversal's now defunct comedy streaming service Seeso, predicts that frugal times at Netflix, along with the industry-wide focus on ad-supported streaming, will cause budgets to fall.
Netflix has told Hollywood agencies it's now looking for large-scale shows with resonance, two sources said. In reality programming, that means competitions like classic broadcast hits "American Idol" and "The Voice," or social experiment shows like "Survivor." On the scripted side, that means broad comedies, contemporary action thrillers, action comedies, and sci-fi that appeals to a mainstream audience — but costs less than $10 million per episode.
"'Emily in Paris' could not be referenced more," said the TV agent.
The second showrunner, who has worked on several shows with Netflix, said the company appears to have lost its previous mandate "to show interesting things." Now, it applies data to all of its programming decisions. "Before, you always heard 'We just want to make the best version of this show.' [Netflix had] a creator's mindset. Now it's gone a little bit away."
Two sources told Insider that Netflix's once hands-off approach has shifted, with creative execs getting into the weeds of scripts and giving writers "way more notes" than any other studio now.
Increasing competition for content and for subscribers
It's no longer a given that Netflix will be the first choice for a creator looking to sell a buzzed-about new show. Where Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings once joked about sleep being Netflix's only real competition, now the streamer must jockey for not only talent but also subscribers with Disney+, HBO Max , Amazon, Apple, and others.
"There is more original content being made at all of these places and all of these services are becoming more robust," said another agency source, who highlighted Apple and Amazon "having gotten so much more competitive" with their talent deals, particularly on the movie side, in the last 12 months.
Some Hollywood dealmakers are hoping that if Netflix now is negotiating from a position of weakness — or at least of less dominant strength — its talent deals might ultimately evolve. Adding advertising, for example, could lead to more transparency around viewership metrics, which would help creators renegotiate for bigger paychecks.
In a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday, Jason Blum — the producer behind horror films like "Paranormal Activity" and the "Halloween" revival — argued Netflix should return to the old-school Hollywood way of compensating talent with bonuses tied to a project's success with audiences.
Netflix has instead been paying a flat fee up front. That deal structure "makes the business of movie and TV show producing very expensive," Blum said, arguing that it's cheaper and better for long-term quality control to give talent a stake in a project's performance. "As someone who has made both hits and flops, I've always thought it fundamentally unsustainable for a company to treat all participants as if they had made a hit before the project is even produced."
Netflix's former vp content Cindy Holland, who left the company in the shakeup that put Bajaria in charge, was aware of the challenges brought on by ever-growing content demands, according to a Hollywood Reporter article, particularly how a surfeit of new releases could cannibalize the audience for existing shows.
It is now up to Bajaria — a Universal TV veteran who made quick work proving herself as the service's content chief by shepherding Korean drama "Squid Game" into Netflix's most-watched show ever — to find a way to course correct.
"Maybe the idea of that much original curated content is not something that can be solved by just money," said the producer, who was sympathetic to the challenge Netflix has faced in scaling up its operations on a global stage in less than 10 years.
"They tried something unprecedented" in streaming such a volume of original shows in one year. "Nobody would have executed that perfectly."
And no one Insider spoke to is counting Netflix out as a creative player. When "Stranger Things" returns for its fourth season later this month, after a nearly three-year hiatus, it's expected to grab the zeitgeist as fast and firmly as ever — and perhaps reset the chatter about the company in a hit-driven town.
But many believe Netflix is right to scale back. Said a second high-level agency source, "They need to do a little bit less, a little bit better."
More: Netflix Streaming wars Hollywood | 2022-04-29T15:06:26Z | www.businessinsider.com | Netflix Layoffs, Spending Cuts, and Creative Retreat Worry Hollywood | https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-layoffs-spending-cuts-creative-retreat-worry-hollywood-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-layoffs-spending-cuts-creative-retreat-worry-hollywood-2022-4 |
Norwegian low-cost startup Norse Atlantic Airways announced its first four routes between Oslo and the US.
Destinations include New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, and fares start at $129 one-way.
The carrier will operate Boeing 787 "Longships" in a two-class configuration, including economy and premium.
New European low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways just announced its first routes and fares, with plans to connect Norway to four US cities using its Boeing 787 "Longships."
On Friday, Norse revealed it will connect Oslo to New York's JFK International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and Orlando starting this summer. The new competition will bring more options to travelers and herald a "new era for consumers seeking good value, choice and friendly service when choosing to travel across the Atlantic."
"Norse now offers the lowest one-way point-to-point transatlantic fares in the market," CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen said in a press release. "Whether traveling on business, leisure or simply wishing to explore the world, Norse now makes it possible for everyone to explore for less."
The startup also revealed that more US destinations, as well as routes from London and Paris to the US, would "be announced soon." In March, the airline confirmed it had received slots at London's Gatwick airport at "no cost."
The official announcement strays away from Norse's initial route choices in the US. In a filing to the Department of Transportation in January, the carrier revealed plans to serve smaller airports in the Los Angeles and New York metro areas.
Specifically, Norse wanted to fly to Stewart International Airport, which is about 60 miles north of Manhattan, and Ontario International Airport, which is about 50 miles from Los Angeles.
Norse is a Norwegian carrier that intends to fill the niche transatlantic gap left behind when Norwegian Air Shuttle ceased its long-haul routes in 2020 due to bankruptcy. Keeping with its Viking theme, the airline will fly Boeing 787 "Longships", each of which has been named after national parks around the globe, like Raet in Norway and Yosemite in California.
The carrier has a planned fleet of 15 Dreamliners, according to Norse, and received its first in December. The planes have a two-class configuration — economy and premium. When booking, travelers can choose from three fare options, including Light, Classic, and Plus, which "reflect the way that [passengers] want to travel, and which options are important to them."
Take a closer look at Norse's four initial routes to the US.
Between Oslo and New York
Manhattan skyline
Ismael Rios / EyeEm
Norse will begin thrice-weekly flights between Oslo and JFK on June 14, though service will increase to daily on July 4. Fares start at $129 one-way.
Between Oslo and Fort Lauderdale
Sunset over Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Norse will begin thrice-weekly flights between Oslo and Fort Lauderdale on June 18. Fares start at $149 one-way.
Between Oslo and Orlando
John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Norse will begin thrice-weekly flights between Oslo and Orlando on July 5. Fares start at $149 one-way.
Between Oslo and Los Angeles
Norse will begin thrice-weekly flights between Oslo and Los Angeles on August 9. Fares start at $169 one-way.
More: routes airline startup Startups Airlines | 2022-04-29T15:06:32Z | www.businessinsider.com | New Low-Cost Airline Launching Flights to 4 US Cities; Norse Atlantic | https://www.businessinsider.com/new-low-cost-airline-launching-flights-us-norse-atlantic-airways-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/new-low-cost-airline-launching-flights-us-norse-atlantic-airways-2022-4 |
The average American got a real pay cut of almost 4% in the last year — despite all the hype about the Great Resignation and labor shortage
Wells Fargo customers use ATMs outside of a Wells Fargo bank on July 14, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Inflation-adjusted wages fell 3.7% in the last year through March as higher prices eroded strong pay gains.
US workers have enjoyed historic wage growth as businesses struggle to attract job applicants.
Yet higher prices throughout the economy are leaving Americans with much weaker buying power.
Even with extraordinary wage growth, intense demand for workers, and widespread quitting, inflation is crushing Americans' wallets.
Real compensation, which is adjusted for inflation, fell 3.7% for all workers through the year that ended in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in the Friday report. That's worse than the 2.9% drop seen through 2021 and the biggest one-year decline in two decades.
The drop casts a grim shadow over data that, at first glance, showed historic strength in the labor market. Nominal wages rose 4.5% in the year through March, reflecting the largest 12-month jump since at least 2001. If you can ignore inflation, workers are winning extraordinary raises amid a historically tight labor market.
Yet rarely has inflation been so hard to ignore. Prices for common goods and services rose 8.5% over the same period, leaving Americans to contend with the fastest inflation since 1981. Americans are earning more on paper, but surging prices are leaving them with significantly less buying power.
The sky-high inflation is also overpowering some of the extraordinary trends boosting worker power. The labor shortage continues to hamper companies' hiring efforts, with the US still boasting near-record job openings at the end of February. The ratio of unemployed-Americans-to-job-openings sits at a record-low 0.6, meaning there are nearly twice as many job openings in the US as there are workers to fill them.
That imbalance is the foundation for the stellar nominal wage gains seen throughout the pandemic. Businesses have had to raise wages faster than usual just to attract workers amid the nationwide shortage.
Firms are also struggling with keeping their own workers around. Nationwide quits have surpassed 4 million for the last nine months as employees either exit the workforce or change jobs. The trend, which has been deemed the Great Resignation, has boosted wage pressures further, with many companies reporting the need to raise pay just to maintain their current payroll.
The two phenomena — the labor shortage and the Great Resignation — are giving employees the most negotiating power they've had in decades. But until inflation falls back to earth, their wallets are only going to feel lighter.
More: Economy Wage Growth ECI Employment Cost Index | 2022-04-29T15:48:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Real Wages Fell 4% in Past Year Despite Labor Shortage, Great Resignation | https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-overpowered-wage-growth-americans-losing-buying-power-labor-shortage-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-overpowered-wage-growth-americans-losing-buying-power-labor-shortage-2022-4 |
6 tips for dealing with a narcissist at work, according to a psychotherapist
When dealing with a narcissist at work, establish clear boundaries and be prepared to follow through.
If you work with a narcissist, Morin says learning to manage your reactions to their behavior is crucial.
Ignore attention-grabs, stay calm, and focus on facts instead of feelings when discussing an issue.
Listening to your coworker drone on and on in meetings about how great they are can become irritating fast. But long lectures from someone with a superiority complex won't be your only problem when you're dealing with a narcissistic person at work.
Not only will narcissists claim they're the best, they'll also insist they deserve the best. Whether they demand meetings are scheduled according to their preferences or they insist on getting the biggest office space, they'll urge everyone to give them special treatment. And they won't care who they hurt as they strive to advance their own careers.
While you can't control a narcissist's behavior, you can control how you respond to them. Here are some of the best ways to deal with narcissistic people at work.
Losing your temper, yelling, or sending a rash email will only fuel a narcissist's behavior. They will gain great satisfaction from knowing they have the power to upset you.
A better approach is to stay calm. Show them that you're in control of your emotions and no matter how out of line they become, you're going to manage your behavior and act respectfully.
If you find yourself losing your cool, step away or take a few minutes to calm down before responding. When you're calmer, you'll be able to think more clearly, which is key to successfully addressing an issue.
Create healthy boundaries that limit the impact a narcissistic person can have on you. Whether that means you limit the amount of time everyone gets to speak in a meeting or you excuse yourself from listening to their monologues about their greatness, set limits on what you're willing to tolerate.
However, be prepared for a narcissistic person to cross the line. After all, they think they're the exception to every rule. You may need to follow through with a consequence when a boundary is violated.
You can say something like, "I told you I wasn't going to discuss this issue again today so I'm ending the conversation now. Feel free to put your concerns about not getting the corner office in an email." This will show that you're willing to stick to your limits when they test you.
3. Focus on the facts, not your feelings
You aren't going to get a narcissist to adjust their behavior by telling them that they've hurt your feelings. Not only will they not care, but they also won't understand. They lack empathy by nature, so focus on the facts.
Rather than say, "I'm frustrated that you want to keep talking about this," try, "We've been talking about this for 30 minutes and it's not going to change."
Stay focused on their behavior, not your feelings or interpretation of what's going on. Sticking to the facts will keep conversations less emotionally charged.
4. Don't try to change them
A narcissist isn't going to change their behavior based on your feedback, so don't waste your time or energy trying to convince them to do things differently.
Accept that they're going to brag sometimes and trust that they'll use people to get ahead. When you expect them to keep those behaviors up, you'll be less distressed when they continue to be narcissistic.
5. Ignore obnoxious behavior
Narcissists love attention, even when it's negative, so it's usually best to simply ignore their obnoxious behavior.
When a narcissistic person exaggerates their accomplishments, arguing simply prolongs the discussion about how great they are. You may find changing the subject, walking away, or simply ignoring their comments not only preserves your energy for more important tasks, but it may also save you time.
6. Address abusive behavior
While it's good to ignore annoying behavior, abusive behavior should be addressed. If a narcissist puts you down or bullies someone in the office, take action.
Depending on the situation and your role, you'll need to decide what the best course of action is. You may address it directly if it's appropriate to do so or you may need to notify HR or a team leader about what's going on.
Managing your reactions
Despite the frustration you might feel when you work with a narcissist, there may be a few upsides, too. Often, they're good workers who take bold risks and are unafraid to point out potential pitfalls that others might overlook. So take a deep breath, work on managing your own emotions, and practice these steps to improve how you deal with a narcissist's air of superiority.
More: Amy Morin narcissism Narcissists narcissist behaviors | 2022-04-29T15:48:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | 6 Tips for Dealing With a Narcissist at Work, From a Psychotherapist | https://www.businessinsider.com/narcissist-tips-for-dealing-with-narcississm-at-work-psychotherapist-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/narcissist-tips-for-dealing-with-narcississm-at-work-psychotherapist-2022-4 |
Fox News' Peter Doocy says he's having 'too much fun' on the White House beat to think about leaving to host a show
Fox News' reporter Peter Doocy laughed off President Joe Biden calling him a "stupid son of a bitch" on a hot mic.
Screengrab/Fox News
Fox News' Peter Doocy said he's in no rush to leave his White House gig for an anchor role.
"Someday," Doocy told Politico Magazine. "But right now I'm having too much fun doing this."
Doocy has sparked fireworks in the briefing room and was dubbed a "stupid son of a bitch" by Biden.
Fox News' Peter Doocy is having "too much fun" covering the White House to consider leaving the briefing room for an anchor position, he told Politico Magazine.
Under the past two presidential administrations, the White House briefing room has skyrocketed White House correspondents to near-celebrity status, bringing promotions, book deals, cable news contracts, and even the honor of being played on "Saturday Night Live."
Numerous past White House correspondents, including NBC News' Chuck Todd and CNN's Jake Tapper, have parlayed success in the briefing room into high-profile anchor gigs. But Doocy is in no huge rush to join their ranks.
"Someday," Doocy said when asked if he wants to one day make the move to anchor. "But right now I'm having too much fun doing this."
Joe Biden ran for president on a platform of restoring normalcy and ending the chaos of Donald Trump's White House. And his communications team runs a tight ship with the goal of making as little news as possible, frustrating and boring some current White House correspondents, Politico reported.
But Doocy, who started covering the Biden campaign in early 2019 and is now a White House correspondent, is one of the few reporters who regularly stirs up fireworks in the briefing room and in press conferences, getting under the skin of not just press secretary Jen Psaki, but the president himself.
In January, Biden called Doocy "a stupid son of a bitch" after Doocy asked whether inflation would be a political liability for Democrats in the midterms.
But Doocy didn't appear to be very insulted by Biden's remarks, joking at the time that Biden can call him "whatever he wants," and that he appreciated Biden calling him up afterward, where he said the two "cleared the air."
Doocy also told Politico that he felt honored to be on the receiving end of the insult.
"I'm somebody that grew up watching presidents, watching late-night TV. So if I hear one of them referring to me in any way it is surreal," Doocy, son of "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy, told Politico.
"He tries to get answers to his questions, and he's a big boy," the elder Doocy said of his son at the time.
More recently, Psaki took another shot at Doocy in an interview with the popular podcast Pod Save America, hosted by three former Obama administration officials.
"He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual, including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch," Psaki said.
Psaki's comments roiled many within Fox News, Politico reported. But Doocy himself appears to be unbothered, telling Politico he spoke with Psaki afterward.
"I think that's a classic example of how stuff can be taken a little out of context," Doocy told Politico.
More: Peter Doocy Fox news White House | 2022-04-29T15:49:11Z | www.businessinsider.com | Peter Doocy Says He's Having 'Too Much Fun' on the White House Beat | https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-doocy-having-too-much-fun-on-white-house-beat-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-doocy-having-too-much-fun-on-white-house-beat-2022-4 |
Top biotech analysts say these 20 companies are set to run out of cash within a year
Henry Ji, the CEO of Sorrento Therapeutics.
Biotechs with dwindling levels of cash are struggling to navigate a market downturn.
Jefferies analysts identified 20 biotechs at risk of running out of cash within a year.
Three of these companies also have substantial doubt about making it to the end of 2022.
The biotech market has continued to fall in 2022, with companies and investors prioritizing cash-saving measures to weather the storm. But for some companies, those measures may not be enough to last the year without running out of cash.
A leading biotech index, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, which trades under the ticker XBI, has fallen 34% in 2022. The plummet has been driven by factors such as investors' pivot away from growth stocks, a lack of mergers and acquisitions, and a wave of clinical-trial failures.
Companies running short on cash typically feel the brunt of market downturns.
In an April 29 note, the Jefferies analysts Michael Yee, Andrew Tsai, and Dennis Ding identified 20 biotechs that were on track to run out of cash in the next 12 months given their cash-burn rates. The analysts included only those biotechs with at least $200 million in market capitalization and a share price above $1. They used companies' recent quarterly net losses to estimate how quickly they were burning cash, comparing that to current reserve levels.
Three of these biotechs also made Insider's list in March of 13 biotechs facing substantial doubt over their future. These companies — Sorrento Therapeutics, Bluebird Bio, and Clovis Oncology — all included warnings in their annual securities filings that they might not survive 2022.
The Jefferies report doesn't reflect recent actions some companies have taken to raise capital. For instance, CTI BioPharma won approval in February for its first cancer drug, which triggered a $60 million payment. That payment wasn't factored into Jefferies' analysis. In another example, Xeris Pharma announced a debt financing in March that provided up to $150 million.
But even with those moves, these biotechs fall well short of having robust war chests.
Here are the 20 biotech companies that are running low on cash:
Xeris Pharma
Chimerix
Vaxxinity
More: Biotech Pharmaceutical Healthcare | 2022-04-29T16:40:58Z | www.businessinsider.com | 20 Biotechs Running Out of Cash: Jefferies' Stock Analysis | https://www.businessinsider.com/20-biotechs-running-out-of-cash-jefferies-stock-analysis-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/20-biotechs-running-out-of-cash-jefferies-stock-analysis-2022-4 |
London-based Amazon aggregator Olsam Group has acquired US-based Marketfleet as 'the aggregation of the aggregators' continues
Julie Peck
Olsam Group, which purchased Flywheel in December, has led the charge in the consolidation of aggregators.
Olsam Group acquired Marketfleet, an aggregator focused on outdoor products.
Olsam has led the charge in snatching up other Amazon aggregators.
Benefits from the deal include a leg up on the outdoor market and specialized talent.
Consolidation continues in the aggregator category, with Olsam Group leading the way. The London company picked up its second US-based aggregator with the purchase of Marketfleet, which has 11 brands with a focus on outdoor products.
Amazon aggregators compete to buy the most successful brands on the site and improve their marketing, packaging, and positioning to take them to the next level of profitability. And now they're competing to buy up each other.
"The aggregation of the aggregators" has become a catchphrase in the category, which raised more than $12 billion in funding in 2021 but finds itself facing headwinds in 2022. In January, Thrasio acquired Lifelong Online, an Indian consumer-brands company, and earlier this spring Moonshot Brands picked up brands from distressed aggregators.
Olsam could be said to have given rise to the trend with its purchase of Flywheel in December. But the company says its plans for expansion are not based solely on buying up and incorporating other aggregators.
"Acquisitions is always a channel we will pursue, but the focus has always been to partner with the best brands, expanding the reach of each and every brand to get beloved products into the hands of more consumers," said Sam Hörbye, a cofounder of Olsam. "Our strategy with each brand is always 100% growth — whether that's with new products, new channels, or new geographies."
Olsam now has a strong foothold in the outdoor category
Marketfleet, whose products include kayaks, paddleboards, and bodyboards, brings a specialization in the lucrative outdoor segment to Olsam.
According to Verified Market Research, the US market for outdoor-recreation products is projected to grow from about $108 billion in 2020 to about $178 billion in 2028.
Olsam also recently purchased Colapz, a UK brand that sells collapsible camping and outdoor gear, giving it a strong foothold in the category. Hörbye said that its product range is known for a positive environmental impact and that Marketfleet and Colapz would have many synergies.
Acquiring the teams behind the brands
Hörbye said the Marketfleet acquisition brings with it a team with important Amazon expertise. In total, Olsam now has about 70 employees.
For aggregators, this can be a major benefit of acquiring other aggregators versus buying stand-alone Amazon brands. Amazon brands can grow to a multimillion-dollar scale with just one or two people behind them, making the brands valuable to acquire but adding no personnel to the aggregator's team.
"Part of the Marketfleet acquisition was to help build on our internal capabilities," Hörbye said, adding that Marketfleet "had deep expertise across analytics, sourcing, product design," and Amazon fulfillment, "thereby deepening our operational capacity."
"These are very rare skill sets in the ecosystem," Hörbye said, "and we are extremely excited for each and every person to join and leverage knowledge across the wider Olsam portfolio."
When Olsam acquired Colapz, it folded Colapz's product designers into its team. At the time, Hörbye said that adding that skill set to Olsam's capabilities had been attractive.
Marketfleet's founder, Chris Friedland, will leave to pursue other ventures, the company said.
More: amazon aggregator Amazon aggregators Acquisition | 2022-04-29T16:41:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | London-Based Aggregator Olsam Group Acquires US-Based Marketfleet | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-aggregator-olsam-group-acquires-marketfleet-consolidation-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-aggregator-olsam-group-acquires-marketfleet-consolidation-2022-4 |
CNN staffers brace for the digs at the White House Correspondents' Dinner as ABC, CBS, NBC, and other news organizations jockey for star guests at the annual Nerd Prom
Trevor Noah will be the comedy headliner at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner is back Saturday after two years of COVID hiatus.
CNN will host stars from its corporate sibling HBO Max's Murdoch-inspired drama, "Succession."
ABC News is reportedly bringing Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson.
CNN staff are bracing for blowback this weekend as the White House Correspondents' Association annual black tie dinner convenes for the first time since 2019. The event, set for Saturday at the Washington Hilton, raises money to support the work of reporters covering the White House.
More broadly, the event also known as Washington's Nerd Prom anchors a four-day weekend of soirees and salons where news journalists, pundits, politicos, celebrities, socialites, and various hangers-on rub shoulders and debate whatever's plaguing DC most: This year, the focus will be on the upcoming midterms as a referendum on the presidency of Joe Biden, who is set to attend.
The dinner is the bustling weekend's pinnacle — known for the comedic host's equal opportunity roasting of all in attendance. With Trevor Noah set to slay, several CNNers told Insider they fully expect to be a target despite their tireless work covering the war in Ukraine. (Noah works for Paramount Global, the parent of CNN rival CBS News, which bought 16 tables at the event.)
The news network, whose fledgling streaming service CNN+ was shuttered by new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery after a month in operation, has weathered a range of reputational blows in the past few months — starting with the firing of primetime host Chris Cuomo and then the stunning departure of longtime CNN President Jeff Zucker, followed shortly by the exit of his partner, network chief marketing officer Allison Gollust, amid claims she was too cozy with the former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who oversaw the launch of the ill-fated streamer, also stepped down in advance of Discovery's acquisition of his company.
Some CNN executives said they won't mind the ribbing, which is a time-honored tradition at the 2,000-person event, as is the competition among news organizations for the sparkliest set of star guests.
CNN will welcome to its tables some of the actors from HBO hit drama "Succession," widely said to be based in part on the Murdoch dynasty.
By Sunday, new CNN chief Chris Licht will be holding forth at the network's annual "Political Hangover Brunch." Insider hears that after appearing before CNN staffers to address the CNN+ shutdown on April 21, Licht isn't likely to be making more waves, at least in the next few weeks. (His first official day is Monday, May 2.)
Still, the future of CNN+ talent including Chris Wallace is a question inside and outside the company. News watchers are also wondering what happens to the three executives who've been tasked with running CNN since Zucker's departure: Amy Entelis, Michael Bass, and Ken Jautz.
Top stops on the party circuit
Thursday night, WBD chief corporate affairs officer David Leavy, a former deputy press secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Clinton White House, was at a screening of HBO movie "Survivor," with President Biden. It's a first during this president's term. Director Barry Levinson and HBO and HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys were said to be at the screening too.
On Friday, two Hollywood talent agencies, CAA and UTA, are set to host events. UTA's party will likely be flooded by CNN talent as the agency reps the likes of Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer alongside others such as Fox News' Bret Baier and CBS News' Norah O'Donnell.
Jay Sures, UTA co-president, told Insider the vibe "is going to be more fun, a little bit more party-centric. People are ready to let loose a little bit this year. It's going to be mostly how are yous and how's your family."
Other bold-faced names expected at UTA's shindig include White House Communications Chief Jen Psaki, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Brooke Shields is also expected to make an appearance. The agency will make an attendant donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The Washington Post and the Daily Beast canceled their parties amid COVID fears, while talent agency WME opted to make a donation to the CEPA Democracy Fellowship Fund — but there's a Politico brunch Sunday and the annual Saturday Garden Brunch hosted by Tammy Haddad, the former executive producer of Larry King Live, among many others.
In a sign of the times, crypto platform Binance, which owns a stake in Forbes, is hosting a Saturday night bash with the Ambassador of Colombia to the US, Juan Carlos Pinzon, under the curious title, "An Evening of Magical Realism."
On a more serious note, Sures observed, "This has been a tough year for journalism. There are people who had to go to Ukraine and are still there. You've had ups and downs with news divisions with massive institutional changes that were made and people losing jobs and changing places — and you've had a return to normalcy post-Trump where it's much more about reporting the news than commentating on the news."
Doug Heye, a cable political commentator and a resident fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, told Insider, "I think President Biden's comments will be more subdued" than past presidents' — it's traditional for the Commander in Chief to do some comedy riffs of his own. "There's not a lot to joke about and most people will be catching up with people they haven't seen for two years," said Heye. "They're not going to be talking about Michigan's fourth congressional seat."
Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, and more stars set to dine with the news organizations
Meanwhile the broadcast network news division owners are rolling out the big guns with their own events and power-loaded guest lists.
NBC News Group is bringing 160 guests and putting on four scheduled events including its WHCD after-party. The company has been in talks to hire White House Communications Chief Jen Psaki for a slot at MSNBC, while Symone Sanders, the former chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, is already on board at MSNBC with her own weekend show.
Among the heavyweights sitting with NBC News at the dinner are the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns, Mayorkas, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, to name a few.
On Friday afternoon NBC News Group Chairman Cesar Conde is expected to drop by the new NBC News Washington bureau to remark on how it serves some 400 reporting staff for NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, and Telemundo under one roof, according to the company. On Saturday, Comcast and NBCU News Group will host the main post-dinner party at the Kennedy Center.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain and the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, will be at the CBS News tables on Saturday alongside the likes of former president Donald Trump's scarf-loving COVID response coordinator Deborah Birx and European Union ambassador to the US Stavros Lambrinidis.
CBS News talent hitting the dinner include Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, and Tony Dokupil, with guests including Drew Barrymore, Melinda French Gates, Sophia Bush, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Corey Stoll.
ABC News will have all heads turning to glimpse its potential dinner guests: Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, SNL comedian Pete Davidson. The network declined to confirm the news first reported by the New York Post's Page Six.
ABC News talent in attendance will include Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz and Nightline co-anchor Juju Chang, among others.
More: Politics Media Trevor Noah CBS News | 2022-04-29T16:41:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | White House Correspondents' Dinner: CNN, ABC, NBC Host Stars, Politicos | https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-correspondents-dinner-cnn-abc-nbc-host-stars-politicos-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-correspondents-dinner-cnn-abc-nbc-host-stars-politicos-2022-4 |
The note-taking trap: Female employees are stuck doing 200 hours of drudge work a year that doesn't get them promoted
The No Club's authors from left to right: Laurie Weingart, Lise Vesterlund, Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser.
Sally Maxson
Women spend one month a year on average on work that doesn't help career progression, a new book says.
These tasks are often volunteer-based and fall to women, according to "The No Club."
Such work costs women higher profile opportunities at work, the authors say.
Working women are spending an average of one month a year on tasks that don't lead to promotions, according to a new book by four US academics called "The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work."
This work, described as "non-promotable tasks" by authors Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart, involves vital tasks that keep workplaces running but are not directly connected to a company's financial goals.
"The primary definition is work that doesn't advance careers but is important to the organization," Laurie Weingart, professor of organizational behavior and theory at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the book's authors told Insider. "Somebody needs to do them, but they're typically not part of anyone's formal job."
These might include onboarding new employees, working on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and taking notes in meetings.
And the problem isn't just confined to white-collar work.
"It's universal," Weingart said. "It happens across industries and levels, there's even evidence that it happens among grocery store clerks and TSA agents."
Doing these tasks leaves less time for profile-raising work
The authors supplemented pre-existing research and studies with their own studies and focus groups.
In an analysis of 300 professional service employees' billable hours from 2015 to 2017, they found that women across all seniority levels were spending an average of 200 hours a year on tasks that don't lead to promotions, equivalent to a month a year.
"The organization was very surprised to see the magnitude of the problem," Lise Vesterlund, coauthor and behavioral economist at the University of Pittsburgh said. "They were also surprised to see that this was not just a phenomenon at the junior level, but also at the senior level."
The more time women spend on these kinds of necessary admin tasks, the less they spend on projects that catch the boss's eye.
"By the mere definition, you just cannot advance at the same rate if you're doing less promotable work," Vesterlund added.
If a significant proportion of women's time is taken up by serving on committees, training younger employees, or pulling together company policies, they will ultimately end up with less high-impact work to show for themselves — especially when up for promotions against male colleagues who can show their work led to immediate, tangible outcomes.
This also contributes to the gender pay gap as non-promotable tasks aren't deemed immediately economically valuable to the company.
Almost nine in ten companies said that supporting colleagues' wellbeing was vital to the organization, but only 25% said it was considered in performance reviews, according to a 2021 survey of over 400 organizations by McKinsey and Lean In.
"The employee who's given the non-promotable work will receive lower pay," Vesterlund said. "And if you are given non-promotable work, you cannot improve your pay by negotiating."
Women are expected to say yes
The instinct to take up this kind of work is deeply entrenched in women's upbringing, beginning at school and influencing the way they go about their professional life, according to the book.
Weingart said that women are often assigned to be default note-taker in male-dominated university courses. A 2006 study found that female medical residents were even asked to do support work such as cleaning up patient meals alongside their training.
"When people think about non-promotable tasks, they think about what's been referred to as office housework such as planning the office parties," Weingart said. "But it's much more pervasive in terms of the work and the way work gets distributed."
Women also tend to just say yes.
"In our studies, we looked at a setting where there is no difference in performance. And what we found was that women were asked to do this work 50% more than the men were asked," Vesterlund said. "And when they were asked, they were 50% more likely to say yes."
The academics found that, in mixed-gender groups, women volunteered 50% more for tasks like note-taking. But "if you only have men in a group, and you only have women in a group, the aggregate volunteer rate is the same," Vesterlund said. "It turns out that men are perfectly good at volunteering, they just don't volunteer when the women are around."
"The disparities come from the expectations that we all hold, and many of our own responses are coming from the expectations that we have," she said.
More: Women at Work Career Career Journey | 2022-04-29T16:41:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Women Take up 'Non-Promotable' Tasks at Work That Hurts Careers | https://www.businessinsider.com/women-do-one-month-more-non-promotable-work-than-men-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/women-do-one-month-more-non-promotable-work-than-men-2022-4 |
Amazon is handing out a record $6 billion in employee stock awards this quarter as it battles a competitive labor market and complaints of low pay
Hundreds of tech workers gather outside the Amazon Spheres during a Climate Strike walkout and march in Seattle, Washington, U.S. September 20, 2019.
Amazon is expected to spend $6 billion on employee stock awards in the second quarter, up 66% from last year — both record highs.
The increase is largely due to wage inflation and the competitive labor market, Amazon's CFO Brian Olsavsky said during Thursday's earnings call.
Amazon has been grappling with high turnover and complaints of low pay in recent years.
Amazon is giving employees a record amount of stock awards in an effort to retain corporate workers amid high inflation and a competitive labor market.
During the second quarter alone, which ends in June, Amazon is on pace to spend a record $6 billion on stock-based compensation expenses, the company's CFO, Brian Olsavsky, said during Amazon's most recent earnings call on Thursday. That's the highest quarterly amount ever spent on employee stock awards, and a record 66% jump from the same period last year, according to company filings.
Amazon's compensation, like many tech companies, typically consists of a combination of cash base pay and stock awards. But Amazon's flat stock price in recent years reduced the upside potential in pay, prompting many frustrated employees to consider other job offers, as Insider previously reported.
Olsavsky blamed record inflation and a competitive labor market for the company's decision to increase stock grants. He also pointed to a "seasonal step-up" because most Amazon employees receive their annual restricted stock unit grants in the second quarter.
Even accounting for that, the increase is staggering: Amazon has never spent more than $3.7 billion in quarterly employee stock awards, and this quarter's estimate is nearly double the $3.2 billion it spent in the previous quarter.
"We expect to see stock-based compensation expense of approximately $6 billion, up from $3.3 billion in Q1, largely reflecting wage inflation as we continue to hire and retain employees in high-demand areas, including engineers and other tech workers," Olsavsky said during the call.
Amazon's spokesperson confirmed the record figures, but declined to provide a statement for this story.
Mark Mahaney, senior managing director at Evercore, told Insider the change is a "pretty big indicator of aggressive wage inflation" across the board. The nearly $3 billion increase in employee stock awards from last quarter was one of the main reasons why Amazon's second quarter operating income outlook fell way below Wall Street estimates on Thursday.
"It's a surprisingly big number," Mahaney said.
Amazon stock is down almost 12% following Thursday's earnings report that showed slowing demand and growth. The company highlighted incremental costs of $6 billion related to inflation, productivity loss, and excess capacity. Those costs will drop to about $4 billion in the second quarter, the company predicted.
The mammoth growth in employee stock awards comes at a time when Amazon is grappling with severe employee turnover across its corporate workforce. A combination of Amazon's comparatively low base pay, its stagnating stock price, and a reputation for a grueling workplace has led to a huge spike in employee departures in the past year, with some teams reporting a whopping 35% attrition rate. At least 50 vice presidents left Amazon last year, a more-than-10% turnover rate at that level, according to Insider's analysis.
To address some of those concerns, Amazon more than doubled its max base pay to $350,000, while expanding the pay band for many roles this year. Some employees saw up to a 90% pay increase this year, though not everyone is happy with their new salary, with some seeing single-digit raises, as Insider previously reported.
More: Amazon Amazon compensation Amazon earnings
Amazon stock awards | 2022-04-29T17:19:04Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Employee Stock Award at Record High in Competitive Labor Market | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employee-stock-award-rsu-competition-tech-labor-market-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employee-stock-award-rsu-competition-tech-labor-market-2022-4 |
The US economy just took a big step closer to a recession, but the chief economist of Ameriprise Financial isn't concerned. He says investors can play a huge market reversal by buying stocks in these 3 sectors.
Russell Price, the chief economist at Ameriprise Financial, is more optimistic than some of his contemporaries.
Russell Price, Ameriprise Financial
Stocks have taken a hit in 2022 as economic growth falters, inflation rises, and war rages.
But Russell Price, Ameriprise Financial's economy chief, is bullish on stocks and the economy.
Here are the three sectors that Price likes most with stocks set to rally by over 10% this year.
From a shrinking economy to high inflation to the Russia-Ukraine war, there's been no shortage of headaches for investors this year. But the economy chief at a $30 billion financial planning firm believes that by the end of the year many of today's biggest concerns will be a distant memory.
In a recent interview with Insider, Russell Price, the chief economist of Ameriprise Financial, said he expects the S&P 500 to end the year at 4,700 as the US avoids a recession. For the widely followed index to hit that mark, it would have to climb over 11% from where it currently stands.
The case for a stock market rally
A stock rebound will come as corporate earnings continue to grow, above-trend inflation starts to subside, and fears about an economic downturn gradually dissipate, Price said.
Both components of stock valuations — earnings and the multiple that investors will pay for a stock — are under pressure this year. But S&P 500 earnings are still expected to rise 9% in 2022, Price said, which is roughly in line with Factset analysts' consensus estimate of 10.9%.
S&P 500 earnings per share would hit $225 if they split the difference between those two estimates and climb 10%. That mark, paired with what Price said was a "reasonable" price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20x to 21x, would bring the 500-component index to between 4,500 and 4,725. Higher interest rates hurt multiples, but Price noted that valuations have already fallen drastically this year.
In addition, inflation probably peaked in March at 8.5% and will steadily decelerate, the economist said. If Price is right, the Federal Reserve might not raise interest rates as aggressively as it plans to, which could reduce the risk of a policy error that causes a downturn.
A recession — which is historically defined as back-to-back quarters of falling GDP — isn't Price's base case. However, the economist acknowledged that it's about twice as likely as normal right now — and that was before GDP unexpectedly shrank by 1.4% in the first quarter. The US economy is now just one bad quarter away from a second recession in three years.
But even if a downturn does come, it would be "relatively short and shallow," Price said, given that consumers appear to be financially healthy and willing to spend.
While Price said there's no surefire recession signal, he added that perhaps the most helpful indicator is the Financial Obligations Ratio (FOR), which shows households' debt levels relative to their disposable income. The FOR is lower than it was at any point in the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s, which means consumers have plenty of cash.
"The low debt position of consumers I think really cannot be overstated," Price told Insider. "It's a very important factor, and that doesn't even take into consideration higher savings and the added value that people have in their homes and the added stability they have from a strong job market. So other than inflation, a lot of things are in consumers' favor at this time."
Where to invest as US stocks rebound
Price's thesis that the US will dodge a recession is paired with a continued preference for domestic stocks over their international peers, a preference he's had for the past few quarters. Europe's economy is flailing as Russia's invasion of Ukraine wreaks economic havoc on the region, Price said. And the conflict may not end anytime soon.
Within the US stock market, Price said he's a fan of three sectors: financials, healthcare, and technology. All three are in the red this year, though the former two have fallen less than the S&P 500 has. But tech stocks have taken a huge beating as investors ditch growth names.
Financials have underwhelmed after entering the year as Wall Street's most-recommended sector. Fears of a recession have hit the economically sensitive group.
However, Price said financials are still a fine choice as profit margins expand and the Fed raises interest rates. In theory, banks should boost profitability as rates rise by borrowing cheaply and lending at higher rates, but a temporary yield curve inversion complicated matters. The sector has fallen 9% since that rare phenomenon spooked investors, but Price's thesis hasn't changed.
"We still think that their net interest margins are going to expand," Price said. "And even though the 10-year/2-year has been flat — and even momentarily inverted — we still think that, over time, their net interest margins are going to widen. And they should continue to see relatively decent demand for borrowing."
Meanwhile, the healthcare sector offers a promising combination of attractive valuations and good revenue growth, Price said. The main catalyst for the group, in Price's view, is that healthcare services like elective procedures will continue to resume as the pandemic fades.
Finally, tech is currently out of favor but is enticing from a contrarian investor's perspective, Price said. His inclination is to target mega-cap names that are money-making machines, have robust balance sheets, and buy back shares in droves.
"There is a good number of very high-profile, heavily weighted companies in the tech space that are high growth but also very profitable," Price said. "So it's not 1999 anymore where they have no profits to show and it's all future expectations."
While Price didn't recommend any specific stocks or investment products, Insider compiled a list of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that investors can consider to gain exposure to the sectors the economy chief said he favors.
Those ETFs include the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF) and Invesco KBW Bank ETF (KBWB) for financials, the SPDR Fund (XLV) and the SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS) for healthcare, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ) for tech.
More: Investing investing 2022 Investing Strategy
Earnings predictions
economy and stocks
economist outlook
economist prediction
Russell Price
Russell Price Ameriprise Financial
sectors to buy
Sectors to watch | 2022-04-29T17:19:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Play a Stock Rebound, No Recession: Economy Chief | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-recession-risk-stock-market-rally-economy-price-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-recession-risk-stock-market-rally-economy-price-2022-4 |
Republican Reps. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call and Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Mike Kelly had an unwelcome analogy for Rep. Liz Cheney during a tense GOP conference meeting on February 3, 2021.
He said her response to January 6 was like seeing "your girlfriend on the opposition's side' during a sports game."
"I'm not your girlfriend," Cheney reportedly shot back.
Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania made an unwelcome sports analogy about Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming during a tense GOP conference meeting on February 3, 2021 as conservative Republicans attacked her for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump.
Watching Cheney's response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol was like playing a rival team "and you look up in the stands and see your girlfriend on the opposition's side," the former Pennsylvania car dealer told his colleagues, according to the forthcoming book "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future."
"She's not your girlfriend," another female lawmaker replied.
"Yeah," Cheney shot back. "I'm not your girlfriend."
A spokesperson for Kelly confirmed the lawmaker's comments to Insider.
"As a former college football player and later a football coach, Rep. Kelly often draws comparisons to sports," spokesman Matt Knoedler said in a statement. "He sees the Republican Conference as a team and the reported exchange reflects that. Rep. Kelly repeatedly expressed concerns with Rep. Cheney's role as Conference Chair after January 6th."
The exchange detailed by authors Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns was part of a heated debate over whether Cheney should retain her leadership post as the No. 3 House Republican after she and 9 other GOP colleagues voted to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection."
House Republicans voted on a secret ballot to keep Cheney as House Republican Conference chair on that day, but ousted her in May 2021 after she repeatedly pushed back against Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
She and Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, are now the only House Republicans serving on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol.
During the February 3, 2021 conference meeting, Cheney appealed to Republicans to be "worthy of the mantle of Abraham Lincoln," while conservative Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona accused her of giving "aid and comfort" to Democrats," according to the book.
"Capturing the mind-set of apocalyptic battle on the right, Biggs argued that Democrats 'are not just an opponent. They're an adversary that's trying to wipe this country out and change it forever,'" the authors wrote.
A spokesman for Cheney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
More: Liz Cheney Mike Kelly january 6 Trump | 2022-04-29T17:19:06Z | www.businessinsider.com | GOP Rep. Mike Kelly Likened Liz Cheney to 'Your Girlfriend on the Opposition's Side' | https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-donald-trump-mike-kelly-january-6-capitol-insurrection-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-donald-trump-mike-kelly-january-6-capitol-insurrection-2022-4 |
A packing station inside an Amazon warehouse in Germany.
Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company has "too much space right now" compared to demand.
He told analysts on Thursday that Amazon went from being understaffed to overstaffed.
Amazon expanded its logistics footprint by about 50% in 2020 to accommodate pandemic-era demand.
Amazon is over capacity after doubling its warehouse space during the pandemic.
"We have too much space right now versus our demand patterns," CFO Brian Olsavsky said on a call with reporters Thursday. "We are using space that we put into place for over the last two years in a very different environment."
As consumer demand skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon invested heavily in warehouse space, staff, and other infrastructure to keep up. In the past three quarters alone, the company has doubled the size of its operations and its workforce, Olsavsky said.
Right-sizing after two years of pandemic shakeup was a common theme of Amazon's first-quarter earnings report Thursday, in which the company reported a $3.8 billion loss and slowing revenue growth of 7%.
"As the variant subsided in the second half of the quarter and employees returned from leave, we quickly transitioned from being understaffed to being overstaffed, resulting in lower productivity," Olsavsky said. "This lower productivity added approximately $2 billion in costs compared to last year."
Olsavsky said the company is "very encouraged" that demand will balance out with supply later this year.
Amazon's lucrative Prime Day is set for July, squarely within the third quarter, when Olsavsky forecasted on Thursday that demand patterns would normalize. That's a month later than in 2021 and earlier than October 2020, when Prime Day was Amazon's it was the biggest sales day in the company's history.
Shares of Amazon fell more than 13% following Thursday's results, fueled by lower revenue outlooks, inflation, and supply-chain struggles.
"External macro factors will take longer to play out, but we believe AMZN can grow into & better control productivity & fixed cost leverage in the back half," JPMorgan analysts said of the report.
Eugene Kim contributed to this report.
More: Amazon Retail warehouses | 2022-04-29T18:11:11Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Has 'Too Much Space' in Its Warehouses Right Now, CFO Says | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-space-too-much-cfo-says-customer-demand-pandemic-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-space-too-much-cfo-says-customer-demand-pandemic-2022-4 |
Amazon told investors it has 'too much space' after a massive warehouse buildout during the pandemic. Here's why industry insiders aren't worried.
Emma Cosgrove and Katherine Long
An employee handles packages at an Amazon warehouse.
Amazon's warehouse footprint doubled as the company rushed to meet pandemic demand.
But now, Amazon has "too much space," CFO Brian Olsavsky told reporters Thursday.
Analysts expect Amazon to work through its excess capacity by the end of this year.
Amazon has too many warehouses and not enough orders, executives said Thursday with the release of the company's fourth-quarter earnings. The e-commerce giant posted a quarterly loss of $3.8 billion, its first since 2015, and Amazon's stock dropped more than 12% Friday morning.
While a key driver behind the quarterly loss was a $7.6 billion writeoff on Amazon's stake in electric vehicle maker Rivian, the increasing expense of operating the company's massive warehouse network was an additional drag on Amazon's bottom line.
"We have too much space right now versus our demand patterns," Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky told reporters Thursday, explaining that the company plans to temper new warehouse leasing activity.
But analysts and insiders said the pause on new fulfillment centers isn't a sign that the commerce behemoth is in serious trouble. And in fact, Amazon's excess space could turn into an advantage.
In order to meet the demand created by the pandemic, Amazon doubled the fulfillment network it had built during the 25 years prior to 2020 in just two years, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a Friday research note.
The buildout led to an expensive network of warehouses that took a toll on the company's profitability. Margins for Amazon's North American commerce division dipped negative at the end of last year, as rising costs outstripped sales, the company's quarterly earnings report shows. Amazon said that excess capacity, productivity loss and inflation cost the company $6 billion last quarter.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo wrote that sales growth would sort out the "overcapacity" by the end of the year. The extra logistics muscle could become a tailwind driving profitability in the upcoming fourth quarter, when Amazon sees its largest sales of the year.
"We'll be really glad we have this capacity in Q3 when Prime Day hits because that's always a big surge of both inventory and orders and then definitely in the holiday season," Olsavsky said Thursday.
'Bullwhip effect'
Amazon's Olsavsky forecasted the pause on new fulfillment centers on an earnings call in February when he said the company's rush to meet pandemic-driven demand while keeping up delivery speeds could lead to "overbuilding," according to a transcript from Sentieo. He said the company would be "moderating" new fulfillment center leases in 2022 on the same call.
"We literally committed to as much as we could to handle the volume that we saw," Olsavsky said Thursday. "We did not want space to be constrained. Even with that intent, it took until the second quarter of last year for us to feel like we had enough space."
Marc Wulfraat, president of logistics firm MWPVL International Inc. and an expert on Amazon's network of warehouses, told Insider the pullback the company detailed yesterday is already underway, and is more dramatic than similar periods in the past. But Amazon is still in the process of adding at least 84 million square feet to its U.S. fulfillment network this year.
"These are multi-year projects and the company cannot stop on a dime because of the significant pre-committed capital," Wulfraat said.
Moreover, excess capacity could be a boon for Amazon, Wulfraat predicted. The company could "eventually sell their excess capacity to generate revenue to subsidize their own operations," he said. Rents for large warehouses rose 16% last year as vacancy rates plunged, according to commercial brokerage CBRE, indicating strong demand for warehouse space generally.
Amazon won't be the only company to find it has built more capacity than it needs this year, said Scott Ruffin, founder of Amazon Air and now CEO of logistic startup Pandion.
"It happens all the time. Building a capital intensive network and matching that with demand you're always risking the bullwhip effect," Ruffin said. "It's kind of like a teenager learning how to drive a car. It's either put on the gas or slam on the break. They'll pull back effectively and then they'll go fast again." | 2022-04-29T18:11:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Has 'Too Much Space' but Insiders Aren't Worried | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-too-much-space-earnings-analysis-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-too-much-space-earnings-analysis-2022-4 |
I was laid off from Netflix's fan site Tudum after just 4 months. Now I'm left flailing.
"I signed a one-year contract for my job and was really counting on that stability, so now I'm left flailing, unsure what my next steps will be," says a former Tudum employee who was laid off yesterday.
A full-time contractor who started in January was just laid off at Netflix's editorial site Tudum.
They found out the news on a phone call and learned they'd receive just two weeks' wages.
Here's their story, as told to writer Fortesa Latifi.
This is an opinion essay. The thoughts expressed are those of the source.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a former Netflix employee who was affected by the layoffs at Tudum, Netflix's editorial fan site that launched in December, this week. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their career, but Insider has verified their identity and former employment. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
When I got an email from a recruiter at Netflix , I thought it was spam. I was working as a copywriter and freelancing on the side and couldn't believe that Netflix wanted to hire me.
I was worried about joining the infamously unstable media industry. But when they offered me more money than I was making at my copywriting job — $60 an hour — I had to take the leap.
I started at Netflix remotely in January 2022
I wasn't salaried, but I logged 40 hours every week and the money was great. Not only that, but I was really creatively fulfilled.
I was on the culture and trends team. Every day was a little different, but generally I would write, pitch, and edit content based on Netflix shows and movies. I would get screeners in advance and watch them, then try to brainstorm content that could be rolled out in tandem with the title's release. It almost felt like a regular newsroom, but everything was focused on Netflix content.
The day of the layoffs started out normally
I was watching "Bridgerton" for a piece I was writing and then I Slacked my editor — but her Slack account was deactivated. I thought that was strange, so I asked another editor about it but they told me not to worry. I took a break to make lunch.
Then I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize, but I didn't answer it. When I checked my Slack, everyone was talking about getting calls telling them they'd been laid off. I realized that must have been the phone call I ignored, so I called them back and was told the news — that I was laid off, I could expect only two weeks' wages, and more communication would be forthcoming. I was also automatically logged out of Slack.
I'm really upset, to say the least
A few hours later, I didn't have anything in writing about my payment or any guidance on how to get unemployment or when my health insurance will end.
I signed a one-year contract for my job and was really counting on that stability, so now I'm left flailing, unsure what my next steps will be.
I think that what these layoffs show is the disconnect between the marketing and editorial departments
Executives wanted us to create powerful projects that work in tandem with the streaming content, but they seemed to have no idea what that means or how to achieve it.
This layoff shows me that even a great job is just a job. Work is just something you have to get through to be able to afford your life. It really makes work seem less meaningful when there's no stability. How do suits expect creative people to have the time and energy and space to create when we're constantly scared of things like these layoffs?
It was really a pleasure to work with the people who were on my team, and it's shameful that Netflix didn't let us reach even one-quarter of our potential
This layoff really speaks to the culture of tech companies. It also exposes the truth of the nature of capitalism: Companies are constantly trying to scale with no regard to anybody else's livelihood.
I truly think it's evil what was done to me and my colleagues today. I know the people who did it won't think of it that way, but it's true. They may be saving money by firing us, but the money they save is nothing in the grand scheme of Netflix's business model.
In response to Insider's request for comment, a Netflix spokesperson said: "Our fan website Tudum is an important priority for the company."
More: Netflix TUDUM as told to Layoffs
netflix content | 2022-04-29T18:11:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | I Was Laid Off at Netflix's Tudum. Now I'm Left Flailing. | https://www.businessinsider.com/i-was-laid-off-netflix-tudum-left-flailing-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/i-was-laid-off-netflix-tudum-left-flailing-2022-4 |
1. $1,000 in travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
2. Two round-trip flights to Europe on Air France
3. 4 nights at an expensive Hyatt hotel
4. Round-trip tickets from the US mainland to Hawaii
5. Round-trip business class flight to Europe on Iberia
5 ways to get over $1,000 in value from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card's 80,000-point bonus
The current elevated Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus can take you and a travel buddy to Waikiki Beach for (nearly) free.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering an increased bonus of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This offer is worth an average of $1,440, per Insider's valuations.
If you know the best ways to use Chase points, it's possible to get well over $2,000 in free travel from this bonus.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the single best beginner credit card for points and miles collectors. Its rewards are easy to use, and they can be redeemed in a variety of ways to match any travel style. If you don't yet have a firm plan for your points, you can still earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points and know that they'll serve your goals.
This card is currently offering an elevated bonus of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's worth an average of $1,440, per Insider's valuations — but you can squeeze much more from it if you know the best ways to use Chase points.
There are many other reasons to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card, beyond the bonus:
The card offers excellent trip delay insurance, baggage delay insurance, and primary car rental insurance
It earns bonus points on everyday spending categories
It comes with an annual $50 statement credit when booking hotels through the Chase Travel Portal.
Not bad for a $95 annual fee. If you've been thinking to apply, it's a good time to give the card a test drive. Here are five powerful ways to use its bonus to save $1,000+ on travel.
This is one of the easiest ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards points — though, admittedly, not the most valuable.
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can use Chase points to "buy" travel through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1.25 cents each. For example, if you want to book a $300 flight, you can do so for 24,000 Chase points.
Using all 80,000 points this way will yield a value of $1,000 in free travel. You can use your points for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and even "experiences," like a camel ride through Morocco.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth, on average, 1.8 cents apiece based on Insider's points and miles valuations — in part because you can transfer them to airline and hotel partners for award travel and get outsized value.
Flying Blue is the loyalty program of both Air France and KLM. Each month, it publishes "Promo Rewards," which are award discounts on certain routes.
Even without discounts, Flying Blue offers extremely reasonable award prices to cross the Atlantic. You'll pay 25,000 miles each way when traveling to Europe (and even all the way to Israel). That's 5,000 miles less than the average cost of other airlines like United Airlines and American Airlines.
The catch is that its taxes and fees can be a little high — so the value you save with low award prices is partially negated by your out-of-pocket cost. But if you can use a Flying Blue Promo Rewards, the deal becomes even more enticing.
For example, at the time of writing, Flying Blue is offering flights from Boston to Paris for as little as 17,250 miles each way (plus ~$118 in taxes). That means the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card bonus is enough for two round-trip flights to Paris. You'd even have 15,000 points left over.
Just note the taxes and fees, however — for two travelers, you'll pay a total of $471. In other words, this airfare is far from "free" — but it's a steep discount.
These same fares cost $1,657 for two travelers. That means you're getting a value of 1.72 cents per point — a much better deal than had you simply booked these flights through the Chase Travel Portal.
World of Hyatt is, in my opinion, the single greatest transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Hyatt charges comparatively few points per night compared to other hotel programs, and Insider estimates Hyatt points value to be 1.5 cents each.
After you reach minimum spending, you'll have at least 84,000 Chase points. That's enough for four nights at a fancy hotel like the Andaz Napa during off-peak dates: Here's what it'll cost in points: 84,000 Hyatt points and $0.
And here's the exact same stay when using cash: $2,124.14. By transferring 84,000 Chase points to Hyatt for this stay, you'll get a value of 2.52 cents per point. That's significantly higher than Insider's average-value estimate of both Hyatt points and Chase points.
There are a variety of Chase transfer partners you can use to reach Hawaii for cheap. With this current bonus, you could transfer points to:
British Airways Executive Club: Non-stop one-way flights from the US West Coast to Hawaii cost 13,000 Avios points. You'll fly on either American or Alaska airlines. This bonus is enough for three round trips to Hawaii from cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, etc.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: If you live on the East Coast, you can reach Hawaii for 35,000 Singapore Airlines miles round-trip. You'll fly on Alaska Airlines or United Airlines. With the current bonus, you can book two round trips to Hawaii this way.
Southwest Rapid Rewards: The value of Rapid Rewards points is tied directly to the cost in dollars, so the amount of points varies based on the flight. But you can expect to receive a value of 1.4 cents when you transfer your points to Southwest. If prices aren't obscene, the current Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card bonus should be enough for two round trips.
You can read our article on how to get to Hawaii with miles and points for more ideas.
Iberia is the flag carrier of Spain, and a surprisingly valuable Chase transfer partner for commuting to Europe.
For as little as 34,000 Iberia Avios points, you can fly one way in a lie-flat business class seat to Madrid from Boston, New York (JFK), or Chicago. You can also fly to Barcelona from Boston and New York (JFK).
Here's a look at a sample round-trip itinerary from Chicago to Madrid in business class. You can transfer 68,000 Chase points to Iberia for a round-trip business class seat — though you'll also have to pay an annoying $283 in taxes and fees.
The same itinerary costs $3,843 in cash. That means you're getting an incredible value of 5.24 cents per Chase point. And you'll still have 16,000 points left over.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of the most powerful points currencies in the free travel world. When an opportunity to easily scoop up 80,000 points presents itself, you should seize it if you're able. Before you apply, here are a few rules you should know:
If you currently hold either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase won't let you open this card. You can only hold one Sapphire card at a time.
If you've received a Sapphire bonus within the past 48 months, you're not eligible to earn another.
If you've opened five or more cards from any bank in the past 24 months (not counting certain small business cards), you're not eligible to open this card.
If you're just starting out in the points and miles world, however, this card is a no-brainer. I've had it for eight years and I have no intention of canceling it — it's saved me thousands during my travels. | 2022-04-29T18:12:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | Best Ways to Use the Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/chase-sapphire-preferred-bonus-best-ways-to-use | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/chase-sapphire-preferred-bonus-best-ways-to-use |
I asked financial advisors which credit cards their millionaire and billionaire clients use — and now I know what perks matter to the wealthy
I polled financial advisors to find out which credit cards are most popular with the ultra-wealthy.
Cards that offer simplicity and travel perks are among the most appealing to high-net-worth clients.
A high rate of cash back earning also ranks highly for some.
For the past few months, I've spent quality time researching new credit cards. As someone who only opens up a new credit card every 5 to 7 years, I wanted to make sure the next card I go with has the perks and benefits that make the most sense for my lifestyle.
Before I make my final decision, I want to make sure I'm considering all of the credit cards out there — even ones that seem out of my reach because of their high annual fees or income requirements. While these cards might not be in my scope of affordability today, knowing what they offer and why some people are eager to get their hands on them can help me see what perks matter to those who have a lot of money.
What credit cards do the wealthy use?
To help me enter the mindset of the rich, I decided to ask financial advisors, who have millionaire and billionaire clients, which credit cards they flock toward.
"Millionaires want simplicity," says R.J. Weiss, a CFP.
So while some people use credit cards in a strategic way to optimize their spending for rewards, Weiss says that most millionaires he works with don't.
"They've stuck with a small handful of cards over the course of sometimes decades and aren't looking to do anything new here, even though they understand they might not be fully optimized," says Weiss.
Here are the credit cards that seem to be the most swoon-worthy for those with a high net worth .
Amex Platinum Card
According to Weiss, one of the most recommended cards for high-net-worth individuals is The Platinum Card® from American Express .
While this card comes with a wide range of perks that make it seem too good to be true, it also comes with an annual fee of $695 (See Rates), which is higher than most other credit cards.
It's also not so easy to get your hands on. To get approved for this card, you'll typically need a credit score over 700. There is no official income requirement, however, Amex will take your income into consideration when they decide whether or not to approve you for the Platinum Card.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is currently offering 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months of card membership, worth $1,800 in travel based on Insider's points and miles valuations. Here's our Amex Platinum review for all the details.
Weiss says that some of the perks of this card that his clients highly regard include:
5x points on airfare purchased directly through the airline, and on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel (starting January 1, 2021, the 5x points will apply up to $500,000 on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel per calendar year)
$200 prepaid hotel credit
$240 digital entertainment credit**
American Express Global Lounge Collection ("This is a big deal for those who travel extensively, as Centurion Lounges are among the highest quality," says Weiss).
Up to $200 in Uber Cash** each calendar year
Access to Amex's airline and hotel transfer partners ("American Express Membership Rewards has a number of airline transfer partners, which can come in handy for booking premium flights or upgrades," says Weiss).
One credit card that's accessible to people who aren't millionaires is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. However, this card usually requires an excellent credit score for approval and has an annual fee of $550.
But when it comes to perks, it offers benefits that are in line with some of the more premium cards out there, which is why Gene McManus, CFP and CFA, says it's popular with his high-net-worth clients.
"The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card has some excellent privileges that the higher net worth client who is, also, a consumer of travel services would find beneficial, and they would meet the financial requirements to be approved for the card," says McManus.
If you're considering the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, be sure to also look at the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which offers a higher welcome bonus and many of the same perks for a lower annual fee. Here's our comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve for more details.
As for the annual fee, McManus says it's worth the cost since there's a sign-up bonus of 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — worth $750 based on Insider's valuations — with an up to $300 annual travel credit that offsets the cost.
Some of those perks that McManus says are popular with his clients include:
5x total points on flights purchased through Chase
$300 annual travel credit
Priority Pass and Chase Sapphire Lounge access
Fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
Lyft and DoorDash benefits
50% more redemption value on travel purchased through Chase
American Express Centurion 'Black' Card
The Centurion® Card (more commonly known as the American Express Black Card) doesn't accept applications — instead, you'll have to be selected by Amex.
"This card is offered by American Express primarily by invitation only," says McManus. "The 'classified' benefits range from having someone escort you through security at airports to reservations at restaurants that are impossible to get. Just having the Centurion card in the wallet or purse is a status symbol for some."
The cost of this card is one of the highest and includes:
An initiation fee of $10,000
An annual fee of $5,000 for the primary cardholder
An annual fee of $5,000 for each additional cardholder (maximum of two additional cardholders)
While this credit card is tough to get, here's how someone can get access to this card:
Be an existing Amex cardholder for at least one year
Make at least $250,000 in purchases on your Amex cards
While most people are invited to apply for this card, you can also request an invite by visiting the Centurion card portal
The perks of this card that seem to attract the wealthy include:
Access to Centurion International Arrival Services
50% of your points back through the Pay With Points benefit
Access to the Amex Global Lounge Collection, including all Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (restrictions apply), and more
Up to $200 annual airline incidental fee credit**
Equinox Destination Access membership
Up to $250 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits per quarter (up to $1,000 per year)
Centurion Shopping Program
Exclusive event sales and VIP experience access
Return and purchase protection
Extended warranty protection
Potential to earn up to $3,000 in cash back from the welcome bonus
No preset spending limit
Strong 2% cash back rate on all purchases with no bonus categories to track and no limits to the rewards you can earn
Annual $200 cash bonus has a very high spending requirement
Relatively high annual fee
Because it’s a charge card, you must pay off your balance in full each month
The information related to the Spark 2% Cash Plus has been collected by Business Insider and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Earn up to a $1,000 cash bonus; $500 once you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, and $500 once you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months of account opening
Earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere - with no limits or category restrictions
Comes with no preset spending limit, so it can adapt to your needs based on your spending behavior, payment history and credit profile
Earn an annual $200 cash bonus every year you spend $200,000 or more
Add employee cards for free, and earn unlimited 2% cash back from their purchases
Rewards won't expire for the life of the account, and you can redeem your cash back for any amount
Spark Cash Plus has no APR because your balance is due in full every month
One small-business credit card that Evon Mendrin, a CFP, says is popular with clients is the Spark 2% Cash Plus . While it doesn't have as robust benefits as a travel rewards card, Mendrin says its unlimited 2% cash back is a perk wealthy clients appreciate.
However, one thing to consider about this card is that it does have an annual fee of $150.
"If you're spending beyond $7,500 per year and want a simple cash back benefit with no cap, the $150-per-year fee may be worth it," says Mendrin. "Many business owners prefer function over flair, and this simple benefit can provide a nice cash benefit without worrying about different point systems."
Benefits of this card include:
A bonus of $500 after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months, and $500 after spending $50,000 in the first 6 months of account opening, plus a $200 cash bonus every year you spend $200,000 or more.
No preset spending limit because it's a charge card. However, you must pay off your balance in full every month to avoid a 2.99% late fee.
Be sure to check out Insider's 2022 guide to the best business credit cards for more options if you own a small business.
PERSONAL FINANCE The best travel rewards credit cards of May 2022
American Express Black Card
Centurion Card from American Express | 2022-04-29T18:12:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Credit Cards Millionaires and Billionaires Use, According to Financial Advisors | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards-millionaires-and-billionaires-use-financial-advisors-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards-millionaires-and-billionaires-use-financial-advisors-2022-4 |
Canada, Alberta, Oil workers using oil drill.
Oil prices are climbing, but US energy companies are having a challenging time hiring enough workers.
"We're competing against Amazon hiring drivers," one executive told Reuters.
Hourly wages are roughly 5% higher than last year, but still about 6% below pre-pandemic levels.
At a time when energy market turmoil is pushing oil prices above $100 per barrel, North American oil companies are facing public pressure to ramp up production.
As with many industries, those efforts are facing significant headwinds in the shape of a labor shortage.
US government figures show there are roughly 100,000 fewer workers in the oil and gas industry than there were before the pandemic started two years ago, and the most recent quarter saw tens of thousands more quit jobs in the sector.
"We're competing against Amazon hiring drivers, or Target with positions in air-conditioned warehouses," Patterson-UTI Energy CEO Andy Hendricks told Reuters. "It's easier than a drilling rig in west Texas in the summer."
Of the 695 drilling rigs operating in the US, Patterson-UTI runs roughly a sixth, per Reuters, and Hendricks said job fairs that once drew 200 people now attract less than half that number.
Oil jobs still pay more than warehouse or retail work, but those sectors are catching up and oil-worker wage gains lag behind overall inflation, BLS data show.
In addition, some companies have stopped paying as much for irregular or inconvenient assignments like traveling to remote locations for seasonal maintenance work.
Hendricks told Reuters that his company raised wages to be more competitive last year, but average compensation in the industry has not kept pace with inflation after seeing a significant drop during the first year of the pandemic.
The labor challenges compound other challenges facing the industry, like a shortage of the special grade of sand used for fracking, or investors' new emphasis on "capital discipline" after a previous boom-and-bust cycle.
Taken together, economists at the Dallas Federal Reserve previously estimated that it's unlikely that US oil producers will be capable of meeting the surge in demand for another six months at least.
If you are a worker in the oil and gas industry, please get in touch with this reporter via email.
More: Oil oil drilling Energy companies | 2022-04-29T18:12:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | US Oil Companies Struggle to Hire in Tight Labor Market: Report | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-oil-companies-struggle-hiring-compete-amazon-target-workers-report-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/us-oil-companies-struggle-hiring-compete-amazon-target-workers-report-2022-4 |
Ohio Republican Senate hopeful Jane Timken declared she was 'done with Trump' at an RNC meeting after January 6
Jane Timken speaks at the FreedomWorks Forum for Ohio's Republican Senate Candidates on March 18, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio.
One of Ohio's Republican Senate hopefuls reportedly soured on Trump after the January 6 riot.
"I'm done with Trump," she told an attendee at an RNC meeting soon afterwards, according to a book.
That's despite Timken gaining her current position as Ohio state party chair with Trump's help.
One-time Trump loyalist Jane Timken declared that she was "done with Trump" just days after MAGA supporters swarmed Washington at his behest.
The breaking point for the former chair of Ohio's Republican Party, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns wrote in political tell-all "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," was the deadly January 6, 2021 siege of the US Capitol.
Timken told one other Republican about the break during a Republican National Committee meeting in North Florida the weekend after the riot, the book says.
"I'm done with Trump," Timken told one Republican attendee.
Others at the event would speak out against Trump that weekend, but Timken's defiance was striking, given she'd ridden Trump's coattails a few years earlier.
Timken got the job as party chair in 2017 largely because Trump disliked her predecessor, Matt Borges. In October 2016 the Trump campaign formally cut ties with Borges, accusing the then-state party chair of "undermining Trump's efforts to win in Ohio in order to advance his own candidacy to replace Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus."
Timken is one of the seven GOP hopefuls vying to succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman this fall. While Portman has tapped her as his chosen replacement, Trump endorsed "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance earlier this month.
Other contenders in the GOP primary, which is scheduled for May 3, include former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan, and businessman Mike Gibbons.
Timken, Mandel, and Gibbons tried — and failed — to win Trump over a year earlier, subjecting themselves to an "Apprentice-like" sparring session at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club in March 2021.
A spokesperson for Timken did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
More: Donald Trump Jane Timken JD Vance Josh Mandel | 2022-04-29T18:49:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Jane Timken Said She Was 'Done With Trump' After Jan 6 Riot: Book | https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jane-timken-done-january-6-riot-ohio-senate-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jane-timken-done-january-6-riot-ohio-senate-2022-4 |
Former President Donald Trump and Fox News Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier.
Fox News reportedly abandoned plans for a documentary on how Trump lost in 2020.
The project was unknown before being mentioned in a forthcoming book obtained by Insider.
A Fox News spokesperson denied the reporting from the authors, two New York Times reporters.
Fox News scrapped plans for a Bret Baier-hosted documentary on how former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, according to a forthcoming book.
The reporting comes from New York Times political reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns in "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," a copy of which was obtained by Insider.
As the network found itself under a siege of its own making from Trump following his loss and failed attempts to prove widespread election fraud, smaller but more extreme right-wing competitors Newsmax and One America News Network (OAN) were much more willing to run with the outgoing president's false statements.
Fox News executives reassured their "Trump-skeptical employees to wait until after the election for the overall tone of coverage to change," according to Burns and Martin.
"Then Trump began attacking the network, and Fox saw its audience dip as the former president's fans flocked to a pair of rival channels on the far right, Newsmax TV and One America News," they continue. "Fox got the message. There would be no documentary on Trump's defeat."
Burns and Martin also mention the departure of Chris Stirewalt — the politics editor during the 2020 election who, along with Fox News Decision Desk Director Arnon Mishkin, made the early but correct call for Arizona to go for President Joe Biden — as part of a shift back to more Trump-friendly coverage.
In a statement to Insider, a Fox News spokesperson denied the book's reporting and claimed that the network did not receive an opportunity to respond before it was published.
"If Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin had bothered to fact check their book with FOX News, they would know that these claims are entirely inaccurate," the network spokesperson told Insider in an email.
On sourcing, Burns and Martin explain at the beginning of the book that direct quotations "reflect the verbatim language used in interviews, text messages, emails, documents, or in recorded material, or were relayed by authoritative sources soon after the fact," while other episodes are paraphrased from interviews and internal communications.
More: This Will Not Pass Fox news Donald Trump Bret Baier
Political Media | 2022-04-29T18:49:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Fox News Nixed Documentary on How Trump Lost in 2020: Book | https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-documentary-how-trump-lost-2020-election-burns-martin-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-documentary-how-trump-lost-2020-election-burns-martin-2022-4 |
What is a homeowners insurance escrow account?
How to set up a homeowners insurance escrow account
Should you keep your homeowners insurance policy after you pay off your mortgage?
How to change your homeowners insurance with escrow
Homeowners insurance escrow: What it is, who needs it, and how it works
If you put a down payment of less than 20%, you may be required to open an escrow account.
An escrow account is managed by your lender and holds your payments for property taxes and insurance.
Escrow accounts are usually required by your lender if you have a mortgage.
It is a good idea to keep your homeowners insurance even after you've paid off your mortgage.
Buying a home for the first time can be both exciting and overwhelming. It's probably the largest purchase of your lifetime, and there's quite a lot to learn along the way. Each step of the process — from obtaining financing, to finding the right place, to making an offer, and closing the deal — is unfamiliar.
One thing that might be new to you is the concept of an escrow account. If you're taking out a mortgage, your lender will probably require you to have one to make sure you have enough money to cover the related expenses, including homeowners insurance .
Your real estate agent will usually set up an escrow account with your lender for you at closing. It's a separate bank account that consolidates your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance payments, including your homeowners insurance premiums. An escrow account will roll your payments into one account, so you don't have to worry about paying various bills each month. It also guarantees that you'll have enough money to cover lump sum payments on your homeowners insurance and property taxes when they come due.
Most lenders will require an escrow account. For instance, if you have a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) mortgage, you must set up an escrow account. However, you'll only need an escrow account for a conventional mortgage if you make less than a 20% down payment . As for VA mortgages, many VA lenders require them, but not all.
The amount you'll pay on your escrow account each month will vary based on the cumulative annual expense of your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance premiums. You calculate your monthly escrow payments by adding up your expenses and dividing the sum by 12. However, many lenders may require an escrow cushion, a surplus amount above your mortgage payments, to ensure you have enough funds. The cushion, however, cannot exceed two monthly escrow payments, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Homeowners insurance escrow account pros and cons
While a homeowners insurance escrow account can be beneficial, it also comes with several drawbacks. If you have the option to use one or not, it is essential to consider whether a homeowners insurance escrow account is right for you, as it can be challenging to get rid of if you change your mind, says Dan Belcher, CEO of Mortgage Relief.
The benefits of an escrow account come down to whether you'd like to be more hands-off when it comes to your monthly payments or if you value agency over your account.
Automatic payments: You don't have to worry about paying various home-related bills on time, which allows you to avoid late penalty fees.
Potential to earn interest on the account: You may have the potential to earn interest, but this varies by state and lender. For instance, lenders must pay homeowners the interest earned on an escrow account in California.
Funds already set aside in case of a shortage: As homeowners insurance premiums fluctuate, an escrow cushion will ensure you have enough funds to pay for the account. If the funds are still insufficient, your lender will pay the difference and increase your monthly mortgage payment for the upcoming months.
Potentially lower mortgage cost: You may get additional savings on your interest rate or closing cost by setting up an escrow account.
No surprises: Your lender will typically notify you of any changes to your payments and send you a report of all activity on your account, including overages and shortages on your account.
Larger upfront payment: Your lender might require you to deposit a couple of extra months of escrow payments as a cushion to make sure you avoid possible shortfalls. Look at your budget to see if larger upfront payments are doable for you.
Miss out on investment options: If earning interest is something you value out of an account, setting up an escrow account with your lender may not be the best option. Keeping your payments in a high-yield savings option might be more favorable.
Lender may pay your insurance late: As you have less control over your account, this leaves room for your lender to make mistakes like paying your home insurance provider late or not correctly estimating your expenses.
Escrow scams: Escrow accounts are a target for scams because of the large funds held in one place. Cybersecurity concerns may be a reason why you might not want to keep your payments in an escrow account.
Important: If you believe your lender charged you improperly or failed to pay your expenses on time, notify them in writing. They have five days to respond and 30 days to resolve the issue, according to the CFPB. "The escrow account has a rule that any failure with the lender's responsibilities, there is a possibility the funds will return to the borrower," says Belcher.
5 steps to set up a homeowners insurance escrow account
There are instances where you can opt out of having an escrow account with your lender. Be aware that you are responsible for paying your expenses on time, often in a lump sum amount instead of monthly installments.
"The advantage of using an escrow account to pay your homeowner's insurance is knowing that you have a piece of mind that payments are made," says Maria Townsend, a licensed insurance broker in North Carolina and CEO of Insured Stash, an insurance educational platform. "However, consumers can also pay annually without escrow, if they have a substantial amount for their down payment on their property."
Here's how to set up an escrow account on your own:
Step 1: Verify your total insurance bill and tax bill for the year
Verifying your total annual bill will determine how much you'll need to deposit in your escrow account monthly. Insurance companies may ask you to pay quarterly or every six months instead of annually. Contact yours to determine the exact amount you have to pay and when your payments are due. Similarly, you want to contact your local tax collector for payment dates and amounts. You may be required to pay quarterly, every six months, or annually.
Step 2: Calculate your monthly payments
Add your annual insurance premiums and property taxes and divide the sum by 12. This amount is how much you'll be paying into the escrow account each month. As property taxes and insurance rates may fluctuate, you may want to include a cushion to prevent shortfall. This way, you can avoid late fees and penalties.
Step 3: Open an account
Contact private banks and mortgage lenders to inquire about escrow account options. Have your details and information of any other parties applying for the account on hand. Alternatively, you can put your monthly property taxes and insurance payments in a high-yield savings account to earn higher interest on your money.
Step 4: Automate deposits and withdrawals
Like an escrow account managed by your lender, it is a good idea to automate your deposits to ensure you have sufficient funds in your account. Similarly, you should automate your withdrawals from your account to your insurance company and tax department, so you don't default on your payments and can avoid late fees. Note that if you set up an escrow account with a bank, your bank will manage payments for you but may charge a fee for that service.
Step 5: Adjust your escrow account or bank account throughout the year
Be sure to monitor your account to reflect any changes throughout the year. Property taxes and insurance premiums fluctuate, and you want to ensure you have a sufficient amount to pay your bill.
Although not legally required, keeping your homeowners insurance policy after you've paid off your mortgage is a good idea, says Townsend. Homeowners insurance protects your dwelling and personal property from damage. It also can protect you from liability if someone is injured on your property.
The last thing you want is to undergo an unexpected, home-related loss and be unable to pay for replacements. Insurance is there to help you prepare for the worst and alleviate financial hardship from a home-related loss, especially if you live in a high-risk area.
If you want to switch to a different homeowners insurance provider when making payments through an escrow account, it's important to update your mortgage lender with the new information.
Quick tip: Visit our guide on finding the right home insurance policy before you make the switch.
After comparing quotes and making the switch, you'll need to submit the lender's mortgage clause information to your new insurance company, and their insurance advisor will send the proof of insurance, says Townsend.
It usually doesn't cost anything to change your homeowners insurance, but the insurance company may have a cancellation fee if you decide to suspend your policy. Also, take note of any shortages or overages on your monthly payments during the time of the switch as your monthly mortgage payments may change.
More: Escrow Home Insurance Home Insurance | 2022-04-29T18:49:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Homeowners Insurance Escrow: Definition, How It Works | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-escrow-home-insurance | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-escrow-home-insurance |
What is an iron condor?
How does an iron condor work?
What is delta?
Iron condor example
The iron condor is an options trading strategy that can be used to profit in a market with little volatility
The name iron condor comes from the way the strategy is depicted on a profit/loss diagram.
Willie B. Thomas/Getty
An iron condor is a options trading strategy that minimizes risk while profiting from low volatility.
This strategy is constructed of two calls and two puts with different strikes but the same expiration.
You can profit from an iron condor whether the underlying stock or index rises or falls.
Trading stock options, long the territory of professional investors, has become much more popular among individuals. You might be familiar with the basic concept. Instead of buying the stocks, you use options to bet on the future direction and magnitude of the move in the price of the stocks. If you predict correctly, you profit from the trade. If not, you lose.
There are many advanced options trading strategies you can use based on how volatile you think a particular stock or index will be and whether it will rise or fall. Others, including one known as the iron condor, are non-directional, or market neutral. That means you can profit from them no matter which direction the underlying stock or index moves.
Read on to learn how iron condors work, when trading them can be profitable while limiting risk, when to use them, and why they are called iron condors in the first place.
Note: The iron condor discussed here is technically known as a short iron condor. A second, less common, type, the long iron condor, is not part of this discussion.
"The iron condor strategy gets its name from its depiction on a profit/loss diagram," says Robert R. Johnson, a professor at the Heider College of Business, Creighton University. "The graph looks like a bird with its head rising and wings outstretched."
An iron condor trade consists of two puts (one long and one short) and two calls (one long and one short), each with different strike prices but the same expiration dates. In the illustration above, the short put and the short call make up the body of the bird. The long put and long call make up the wings.
"The use of the word 'iron' comes from the fact this trade employs both calls and puts," notes Don Kaufman, co-founder and chief market strategist at the trading education firm TheoTrade.
Note: A put is an option to sell and a call is an option to buy. A long put or call is one you buy. A short put or call is one you sell.
The biggest advantage of an iron condor strategy is its high probability of profit. In part this is because the strategy is market neutral, meaning it doesn't matter whether the stock goes up or down in price. Profit is derived from the premiums collected from selling the two credit spreads of the iron condor. While this strategy creates limited profit, it also limits risk.
"An iron condor reaches its maximum gain if the stock price closes in between the call and put options sold," says Kaufman. "Therefore, how you select these short strikes will dictate the credit received and the probability of reaching maximum gain."
Note: Due to the combination of a high probability of success and low risk, iron condors are often employed as income strategies, not unlike fixed income investments.
Recall that an iron condor is made up of four different options contracts that pair into two credit spreads, a bull put spread and a bear call spread. To create an iron condor, do the following:
First select an expiration date. "While you can technically pick any amount of time to expiration, it's important to balance the time decay of the options with the ability to manage the trade," Kaufman advises. "That means choosing a date that is between 30 to 50 days to expiration."
Then select which call and put options you will sell. "One approach is to consider the option's delta," says Kaufman. " Delta is a way of estimating the probability of the option expiring in-the-money (ITM) or profitable. If you were to select a call and put strike with a delta of 0.15 to 0.20 the call and put will have a 15% to 20% chance of expiring ITM. By following that rule, you will end up having a 60% to 70% probability of reaching maximum profit by expiration."
Finally, determine which strikes to purchase as a protection against a major move in the price. Kaufman suggests caution: "Pick a call and put strike price that is one to two strikes further OTM. It's typical to have a $2 strike width between the long and short strike for most stocks."
Delta (Δ) is a metric that predicts the change in the price of an options contract given a $1 change in the underlying security. Delta also predicts the likelihood an options contract will end in the money.
You can find the delta of an option, along with other metrics, using a basic options calculator like this one on the Options Industry Council website.
Although it might sound a little counter-intuitive, an iron condor is most profitable when all four options expire out of the money. When one side or the other expires in the money, your losses can mount.
Suppose you believe Microsoft shares, which were trading at $280, will not move much over the next 30 days. You decide to take out an iron condor with a 30-day expiration.
Here are the steps to do that:
Buy a long put with a strike of $248. Pay a $3.23 premium per share ($323 for one contract of 100 shares; $3,230 for 10 contracts).
Sell a short put with a strike of $250 and receive premiums of $3.61/$361/$3,610.
Sell a short call with a strike of $320 and receive premiums of $3.41/$341/$3,410.
Collect a premium of $3.41 ($341 for a contract of 100 shares).
Buy a long call with a strike of $322 and pay premiums of $3.06/$306/$3,060.
Your total credit on all four legs is $0.73/$73/$730. This is the maximum profit you could make if all four options expire worthless. In order for you to make the profit, the price must be between $250 and $320 at expiration.
The table below shows actions taken along with metrics calculated by the OIC calculator and VFMDirect.com premium calculator.
1 contract
10 contracts
Long put
Short put
Long call
Remember, based on delta, there's just an 18% probability of ending ITM on the put side and a 17% probability on the call side. This translates to an 82% to 83% likelihood the option will show maximum profit.
Although your maximum profit, in this case, is capped at $730 for a 10 contract iron condor, your maximum losses are also capped. The maximum loss is the difference between either the long call and short call strikes or the long put and short put strikes minus total credit times the number of shares being optioned.
In this case, the difference between the strike prices is $2/$200/$2,000, depending on contract size. For a 10 contract iron condor, the calculation looks like this: $2,000 - $730 or $1,270, maximum potential loss. It would be up to you to decide whether the "bet" is worth it given an 82-83% chance of success.
FINANCE What to know about derivatives and how they allow investors to hedge, leverage, and speculate
PERSONAL FINANCE A long position means you buy a stock or stock option in the bullish belief its value will increase over time
PERSONAL FINANCE Options let you lock in a good price on a stock without actually buying it – here's how option trading works
PERSONAL FINANCE Strangle options: An investment strategy that plays both ends against the middle
More: Personal Finance Insider PFI Reference Freelancer investing strategies | 2022-04-29T18:49:57Z | www.businessinsider.com | Iron Condor Options Strategy: Definition, Example | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/iron-condor | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/iron-condor |
Sean Hannity embraced election fraud claims in text messages to Mark Meadows, according to a CNN report.
"There is no way Biden got these numbers. Just mathematically impossible," he texted Meadows.
"Everyone knows it was stolen. Everyone," he wrote in another message.
Weeks after Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Fox News host Sean Hannity had his team "digging into the numbers" as he claimed to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that the victory was "mathematically impossible."
In text messages sent to Meadows on November 29, 2020, Hannity appeared to embrace false claims about the 2020 election that former President Donald Trump spread. By then, Fox News, along with every other major network, had already declared Biden as the election winner.
"I've had my team digging into the numbers. There is no way Biden got these numbers. Just mathematically impossible," Hannity texted Meadows, according to messages obtained by CNN. "It's so sad for this country they can pull this off in 2020. We need a major breakthrough, a video, something."
The texts are among the 2,319 messages that Meadows turned over to the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. CNN published a total of 82 texts exchanged between Hannity and Meadows between Election Day 2020 and Biden's inauguration, revealing his fixation on the election results and his support for Trump.
Trump and his team at the time had been pursuing dozens of legal efforts to overturn the election results. One challenge that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought to the Supreme Court, asking to toss out the results in key battleground states that Biden won, seemed to catch Hannity's attention.
In a message sent on December 8, 2020, Hannity told Meadows: "Texas case is very strong. Still a Herculean climb. Everyone knows it was stolen. Everyone."
"I vacillate between mad as hell and sad as hell. Wtf happened to our country Mark," Hannity said in a follow-up message.
Three days later, the Supreme Court dismissed Texas' bid to overturn the results. Still, Hannity maintained that the election was stolen, telling Meadows in a December 11, 2020 text that: "They steal an election. What am I missing Mark? We r so F'd as a country."
There is no evidence that widespread voter fraud occurred in the election, and federal, state and local officials have repeatedly said the results were fair and accurate.
A Fox News spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
More: Sean Hannity Fox news Donald Trump Mark Meadows | 2022-04-29T18:50:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | Sean Hannity to Mark Meadows: Biden's Win Was 'Mathematically Impossible' | https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-mark-meadows-biden-win-mathematically-impossible-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-mark-meadows-biden-win-mathematically-impossible-2022-4 |
Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois at President Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.
An argument about policing broke out among Democratic lawmakers as they hid from January 6 rioters.
"They just saved our lives," Rep. Cheri Bustos said in arguing about the importance of police.
"You still want to defend police?" a fellow Democrat shot back, showing a video of rioters streaming past cops.
Some House Democrats got into an argument amongst themselves about the party's stance on police while on lock down during the January 6 riot, with lawmakers butting heads over the role of the Capitol Police in protecting them from rioters.
As the Capitol was under siege, House members were evacuated to the Ways and Means Committee room in the Longworth House Office building. Both Republicans and Democrats were present, with a video from Punchbowl News showing a tense interaction as Republicans declined to wear masks in the crowded, enclosed space.
But the tension wasn't only between members of the two parties.
According to the book, Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois — a moderate, swing-district congresswoman who'd just come off a stint chairing the House Democrats' campaign arm — told a group of colleagues in the room that she believed the day served as a lesson about the importance of police.
"They just saved our lives," Bustos reportedly said.
But that reportedly took her Democratic colleagues aback, given that police had failed to prevent rioters from breaching the Capitol. According to Bustos, an unnamed fellow Democratic lawmakers showed her a video that appeared to show the rioters passing by them unimpeded.
"Look at this video — you still want to defend the police?" the lawmaker said. Videos from that day showed rioters overwhelming police at various barricades outside the Capitol.
@marcus.dipaola
Group just pushed Capitol police
♬ original sound - Marcus DiPaola
However, police did not actively coordinate or cooperate with the rioters, as some believed at the time.
Still, the clip troubled Bustos, prompting her to text the same clip to her husband Gerry, the Rock Island County Sheriff, who told her that the police were clearly overrun.
"Their own lives are in danger," he responded.
Reached for comment, Bustos spokeswoman Heather Sager did not dispute the reported interaction.
"The Capitol Police saved Congresswoman Bustos' life and the lives of her colleagues during the Jan. 6 insurrection," she told Insider in a statement. "Five of those officers are now dead; 150 were injured — attacked with baseball bats, lead pipes, bricks and flag poles. You bet the Congresswoman is grateful for their heroic actions and supports them."
The vignette reveals the complexity of lawmakers' emotions and discussions as the Capitol complex was overrun by hordes of pro-Trump rioters.
It also came on the heels of a 2020 election in which Democrats' stances on policing — particularly, the notion that some supported defunding the police — had seemingly negatively impacted their party's chances in some House elections across the country.
Bustos herself told The Hill in June 2021 that "defund the police was not the right message" for Democrats.
"My husband's a sheriff of Rockland County, Illinois, so I do not believe in defunding police," she said. "I believe in adequately funding police, and making sure that you know we get this right."
"You get tied in with people in your party who actually are saying those words, I just I think that we've got to get this right," she added. "It's a very important issue."
More: Cheri Bustos progressive democrats police brutalitly Police | 2022-04-29T19:41:50Z | www.businessinsider.com | Democrats Clashed With Each Other Over Police During January 6 Attacks | https://www.businessinsider.com/cheri-bustos-democrats-policing-capitol-january-6-attack-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cheri-bustos-democrats-policing-capitol-january-6-attack-2022-4 |
Grace Panetta and Brent D. Griffiths
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 31, 2022.
Pelosi said lawmakers should "go to the beach and forget the whole thing" if voting rights bills failed.
A new book by two New York Times reporters details the failure of voting rights legislation.
Pelosi clashed with the White House over the urgency to pass sweeping democracy reform measures.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said democracy would be so endangered without new federal voting rights laws that lawmakers should "go to the beach and forget the whole thing" if Congress didn't pass a voting rights bill, according to a forthcoming book from two New York Times reporters.
Spoiler: the bill failed, and Democrats never flocked to the beach.
When Democrats took control of the US Senate in January 2021, one of Pelosi's top priorities was to pass H.R.1, also known as the "For the People Act," — Democrats' wide-ranging voting rights and democracy reform bill.
"If the measure did not pass, then Pelosi said she believed American democracy was doomed and lawmakers might as well 'go to the beach and forget the whole thing,'" wrote authors Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in their forthcoming book "This Will Not Pass," which Insider obtained ahead of its May 3 release.
The mammoth-sized legislative package included sweeping new voting rights measures that would standardize the US' state-by-state patchwork voting and election laws. It also featured reforms to tighten campaign finance regulations and fortify federal ethics rules.
It seemed to have significant momentum in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and outgoing President Donald Trump's continued denial of his 2020 presidential election loss.
But not everyone shared Pelosi's urgency to pass the bill — and she quickly found herself clashing with key White House advisors over what she saw as a lack of urgency and commitment to the measure.
Pelosi, the authors wrote, grew increasingly "frustrated" with the White House for not taking a more hands-on role in lobbying for the bill on Capitol Hill.
In one meeting detailed in the book, Pelosi "trashed" senior White House advisor Anita Dunn — behind Dunn's back — for doubting the necessity of the legislation, the authors wrote. When White House chief of staff Ron Klain tried to defend Dunn, Pelosi called Klain's dedication to the bill into question, too, the book says.
And "if Pelosi was incensed, Biden's advisers were equally annoyed by her attachment to the catch-all bill, especially some of the proposed campaign finance restrictions that they feared would hinder Democrats more than Republicans," the authors wrote.
The book did not specify which campaign finance reforms White House officials objected to in the bill.
But the bill included major elements of the DISCLOSE Act, a bill that would crack down on nonprofit and social welfare organizations that aren't required to disclose their donors spending so-called "dark money" to influence elections. It also called for an overhaul of the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, whose commissioners often disagree on how to enforce federal campaign finance laws.
Many Democrats have denounced the rise of "dark money" on the right. But Democrats are increasingly benefiting from "dark" and hard-to-trace campaign spending themselves. Liberal nonprofits are catching up to and, by some accounts, even exceeding "dark money" spending from conservative money in both federal and state-level elections.
And Biden, who has so far declined to take executive actions that would dramatically reshape the FEC, was "somewhat ambivalent" about the legislation's priorities.
"The president's main concern was not gerrymandering or campaign finance reform, but election subversion by foreign enemies or domestic saboteurs," the authors wrote. "Pelosi's cherished bill did nothing to address that threat."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, joined by Texas lawmakers, speaks at a news conference on a voting rights bill on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 15, 2021.
It was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who had the far tougher hand in getting voting rights measures that drew near-nonexistent Republican support through an evenly-divided Senate under the current filibuster rules.
The authors described Schumer as "depleted" and "adrift" over the fate of voting rights as Republicans filibustered every bill he brought to the floor.
The Senate leader was tasked simultaneously with fielding discontent from donors and anger from voting rights advocates over the lack of progress while lobbying moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to soften their long-held opposition to weakening the filibuster.
Manchin helped draft and got behind the Freedom to Vote Act, a slimmed-down version of H.R. 1 that focused on voting rights — and named for the late congressman John Lewis that would restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In January of 2022, Schumer brought both bills, combined into one package, to the floor — along with a plan to force a vote on filibuster reform.
But Manchin and Sinema joined all 50 Senate Republicans in voting against a one-time change to the chamber's filibuster rules that would more easily allow Democrats to pass the measures along party lines, striking the fatal blow to Democrats' voting rights push.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, for her part, offered a far more optimistic spin on the state of American democracy than Pelosi's reported comment that lawmakers should "give up and go the beach" if voting rights and democracy reform protections didn't pass.
"My advice to everyone out there who's frustrated, sad, angry, pissed off: feel those emotions, go to a kickboxing class, have a margarita, do whatever you need to do this weekend, and then wake up on Monday morning, we gotta keep fighting," Psaki said in an interview of ABC's "The View" after the defeat of the bills.
Pelosi's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
More: This Will Not Pass Voting Rights Congress Nancy Pelosi
Freedom to Vote Act
Disclose Act | 2022-04-29T19:42:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | Pelosi Said Lawmakers Should 'Go to the Beach' If Voting Rights Failed | https://www.businessinsider.com/pelosi-lawmakers-voting-rights-bill-failed-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pelosi-lawmakers-voting-rights-bill-failed-2022-4 |
Trump lied about his endorsement record as he tried to boost the prospects of some 2022 picks.
Former Sen. David Perdue, who Trump backs, is struggling in his bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
The former president's endorsements are being closely followed as he weighs a 2024 run.
Former President Trump falsely suggested that he has an "unblemished" endorsement record as some of his hand-picked hopefuls struggle to gain ground amid hotly contested GOP primaries.
"Remember, you know, my record is unblemished," Trump told The New York Times in an interview that was published on Friday. "The real story should be on the endorsements — not the David Perdue one — and, by the way, no race is over."
Trump is not accurate in his description of his past record. Reps. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Jake Ellzey of Texas both won their primaries without his backing. Trump also stuck with Roy Moore even as the Alabama judge faced sexual assault and misconduct investigations.
And the current trajectory of some of his endorsements suggests that a handful of other GOP primary losers could soon join them.
Perdue, a former US senator, is the prime example of Trump's struggle to recruit challengers to sitting GOP governors that have angered the former president. Trump has made no secret how much he loathes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for refusing to bow to his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.
Recent polling shows Kemp has a commanding lead. According to an April 10-22 Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, Kemp held a 53% to 27% lead over Perdue among likely GOP primary voters. If Kemp won by that big of a margin he would the potential for a June runoff.
Trump has doubled down on backing Kemp, a far cry from how he unceremoniously dumped Rep. Mo Brooks after the Alabama Republican's US Senate run appeared poised to finish poorly.
The former president is rallying in Nebraska tonight with businessman Charles Herbster, whose gubernatorial campaign has been besieged by sexual assault allegations. It doesn't help matters that Trump defied GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts by endorsing Herbster.
It's not all bad news for Trump.
His backing of author J.D. Vance may help catapult him to an Ohio Senate primary win. And back in Georgia, there's more promising MAGA news down the ballot. Rep. Jody Hice is in a too close to call race with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the latter of which Trump also blames for his election loss. Former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, who Trump pushed to run long before the GOP establishment supported Walker's campaign, looks to be headed toward a romp in Georgia's US Senate primary.
Trump's endorsements are being closely watched as a proxy for his hold on the Republican Party and how a potential 2024 campaign would fair.
More: Donald Trump Republican Party 2022 midterms Congress | 2022-04-29T19:42:21Z | www.businessinsider.com | Trump Lies About Endorsement Record As More of His Candidates Struggle | https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorsement-record-2022-midterms-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorsement-record-2022-midterms-2022-4 |
Donald Trump faces 'a bunch of other issues' if he has no more personal business documents to turn over to a NY probe, a judge was told Friday.
The warning was made by an attorney for NY AG Letitia James, after a Trump lawyer repeatedly said there are no more documents.
The judge ruled Friday that Trump remains in contempt for failing to comply with James' document subpoena.
Donald Trump faces "a bunch of other issues" if he has no more personal business documents to turn over to a NY probe, a Manhattan judge was told Friday.
The not-so-veiled warning was made by an attorney in the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, during a hastily-called conference before the judge overseeing multiple subpoena disputes between the AG and Trump.
New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, had assembled the parties to discuss the contempt order and $10,000-a-day fine the judge had issued on Monday.
Engoron decided Friday that the contempt order and fine would continue — but first, lawyers for Trump and for James had a heated back-and-forth over how forthcoming Trump has been in producing personal business documents for the AG's three-year probe of the Trump Organization.
Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, stated repeatedly that Trump simply has no more documents to give. "There's really nothing left in his custody," she said.
These protests prompted AG attorney Kevin Wallace to hint of things to come.
"I'll be frank," Wallace said, his tone ominous. "If that's all there is ... it raises a bunch of other issues."
The AG has been probing the universe of Trump Organization business documents for more than two years, as it investigates whether Trump mistated the value of his properties in order to reap millions in bank loans and tax breaks.
James' lawyers have repeatedly said in hearings and in court documents that it has learned of the existence of some of Trump's missing personal business documents not through Trump, but from other witnesses and through the recent work of an independent, court-ordered document search firm, HaystacksID.
"We have been reading Haystacks' reports," agreed AG attorney Andrew Amer. "Things have not been collected," prior to the search firm's work, he said. "Things have not been imaged. There's huge gaps and holes."
James had expanded on those gaps in an April 7 filing.
"To date the Trump Organization has produced approximately ten documents from Mr. Trump's custodial files," the filing said, an often-repeated complaint of the AG.
Just seven, the filing said, have come from Trump's so-called "chron files," a chronological collection of paperwork going back years, and believed by the AG to reside in file cabinets at the Trump Organization headquarters in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Those seven documents, turned over by the Trump Organization on Feb. 9, totals 542 pages, the filing says.
That tranche of documents "appears incomplete and to some degree unresponsive," the filing says. "It contains incomplete correspondence, and extraneous, irrelevant material, such as a document discussing whether a Trump Organization Security guard should receive a permit to carry a handgun."
Neither Trump nor the Trump Organization has turned over "documents that logically should be part of Mr. Trump's production," the filing says.
That includes paperwork relating to Trump's net worth and tax and audit documents relating to past litigation against Trump, the filing says.
Trump's longtime personal assistant, Rhona Graff, has been ghosting the AG, the filing claims: "HaystacksID attempted to contact her counsel several times but has received no response whatsoever."
Trump, through attorney Habba, has begun the process of appealing the contempt order.
Trump has denied wrongdoing at the Trump Organization, and has characterized the investigation by James, a Democrat, as a politically-biased witch hunt. | 2022-04-29T20:20:50Z | www.businessinsider.com | Donald Trump Faces Legal Jeopardy for Missing Documents, AG Lawyer Tells Judge | https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-legal-jeopardy-missing-documents-ag-lawyer-tells-judge-2022-4 | https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-legal-jeopardy-missing-documents-ag-lawyer-tells-judge-2022-4 |
Amazon Freevee is the new name for IMDb TV — the service lets you stream popular movies and shows for free with ads
What is Freevee?
Is Amazon Freevee free?
How does Amazon Freevee compare to IMDb TV?
Where can I stream Amazon Freevee?
Does Amazon Freevee have live channels?
What are the best movies on Amazon Freevee?
What are the best shows on Amazon Freevee?
Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) is a streaming service that lets you watch movies and shows for free.
No subscription is needed, but the platform is ad-supported so there are commercial breaks.
A variety of movies and shows are available to stream right now, from "Knives Out" to "Mad Men."
With so many quality streaming services available, your monthly entertainment bill can quickly add up. If you're looking to save money, free streaming options like Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) might help you cut back on expenses.
The ad-supported service has a rotating collection of free movies and shows, along with a few exclusive series. Amazon plans to grow Freevee's original content lineup by 70% in 2022, and the studio will also start producing original movies for the service.
To help you decide whether Amazon Freevee is worth your time, we broke down the streaming service's key features, best programs, and more. The catalog of content changes, however, so keep in mind that many movies and shows are only available for a limited time.
What is Freevee (formerly known as IMDb TV)?
Freevee is an ad-supported streaming service owned by Amazon that lets you watch movies and shows for free. The service used to be known as IMDb TV but was rebranded as Freevee on April 27.
Freevee's ever-changing catalog currently includes popular movies like "Fifty Shades of Gray" and "If Beale Street Could Talk," as well as hit TV series like "Mad Men" and "Fringe."
The streaming service even has a few original shows such as "Pretty Hard Cases," "Leverage: Redemption," and "Judy Justice." In 2022, Freevee plans to expand its original programming even further, and will even start producing its own movies.
Is Amazon Freevee (IMDb TV) free?
Yes, Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) is free to watch. Instead of charging you a monthly subscription fee for access, the service has commercial interruptions. All you need to do is create an Amazon account, and then you can start watching movies and shows for free on Freevee.
If you want ad-free entertainment from Amazon with even more movies, shows, and originals to choose from, you can get a Prime Video membership for $9 a month. Prime Video is also included with a full Amazon Prime subscription for $15 a month. New members receive their first month for free, and students can claim a discounted $7.49 monthly rate. You can learn more about Prime Video in our full guide.
Freevee is simply the new name for IMDb TV. Other than the name change, the rebranded platform remains the same. The service will stay ad-supported and free for all users.
Amazon plans to grow its lineup of original content on Freevee over the next year.
Viewers who want to watch movies and TV shows on Freevee can stream entertainment through the dedicated Amazon Freevee app for smartphones, tablets, web browsers, Roku, Fire TV, LG smart TVs (2018 and newer), Google TV, Android TV , PlayStation 4 consoles, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
In addition to the standalone app, you can also stream Amazon Freevee directly within Amazon's Prime Video app.
Although Freevee does not include access to traditional cable channels, you can watch continuous, ad-supported streams of themed content.
Certain Amazon Freevee channels, like "Game Show Central," air multiple shows revolving around a similar topic. "Antiques Roadshow UK," "Forensic Files," and other series have standalone channels featuring a live stream of various episodes.
You can choose from a diverse catalog of movies to watch for free on Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV), like the "Fifty Shades" series and "Fighting With My Family." That said, the available catalog changes often.
To give you an idea of what you can stream right now, we compiled a list with some of the best-reviewed movies on Amazon Freevee as of April 27. Our list includes a selection of titles that are certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The best movies on Amazon Freevee:
"Knives Out" (2019)
"A Simple Favor" (2018)
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010)
"Emma" (2020)
"A League of Their Own" (1992)
"Napoleon Dynamite" (2004)
"Fast Times At Ridgemont High" (1982)
"Top Five" (2014)
From "Mad Men" to "Weeds," you can watch a variety of series for free on Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV). Just like the service's movie selection, however, the lineup of available shows frequently changes.
To give you an idea of what you can stream right now, we rounded up some of the best-reviewed shows currently on Amazon Freevee. All the series in our list have at least one season certified fresh by critics on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.
The best shows on Amazon Freevee:
"Bates Motel"
"The X Files"
"Leverage"
"Fringe"
"Lost"
"Weeds"
"White Collar"
More: IP Reviews Insider Picks IP Tech product card | 2022-04-29T20:20:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Freevee (IMDb TV): Cost, Features, Movies, TV Shows | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/imdb-tv-streaming-service | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/imdb-tv-streaming-service |
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