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Amazon recently opened a brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles called "Amazon Style."
Customers can do pretty much everything from their phones, and an algorithm helps feed outfit choices to dressing rooms.
I went to check it out, and it felt like shopping in the year 2045. I never want to go back to normal.
Amazon recently opened a brick-and-mortar clothing store in Los Angeles, where customers can do pretty much everything from their phone.
That includes ordering items to fitting rooms.
The new Amazon Style store is the behemoth retailer's first foyer into brick-and-mortar clothing stores.
It looks like a cross between Urban Outfitters and an Apple store.
When I entered the store, I was greeted by cheerful employees.
It was like if Trader Joe's employees were selling you clothes.
They asked if I'd been to the store before. When I said I hadn't, they explained how the shopping experience worked.
The gist is this: There are no sizes available on the showroom floor.
If you want to try something on, instead of the usual act of schlepping through sizes to find yours, you just scan the QR code attached to the clothing item.
When you scan the code, an Amazon link pops up on your phone and takes you to the online store.
You simply add your size to a dressing room, then the app alerts you when the room is ready for you.
I went to the store with my 18-year-old sister (it's probably not a coincidence that this is the first story she's joined me on).
A few times, she turned to me and said: "I feel like we're in the future."
We were both expecting the store to be full of fast-casual Amazon-brand clothing, but that wasn't our experience at all.
There were bright, cheerful displays advertising different clothing vibes.
“CASUAL DRESSES,” read one sign.
"Y2K," read another.
"Hi, that's for me," my Gen Z sister said. She promptly walked away from me and toward it.
As we wove our way through the women's section, I was surprised at just how many different styles of clothes were available.
There were dresses, jackets, jeans, and shirts.
In the middle of the women's section was a large display advertising "influencer looks."
The displays had specific QR codes that would take you to that influencer's favorite Amazon-supplied clothing.
I didn't know who the influencers were. Neither did my sister, but their choices were cute.
The whole experience was wildly sleek. I decided to try something on to get the full vibe.
I scanned the QR code attached to the jean jacket I wanted to try on and chose my size.
The Amazon app asked me if I needed an accessible fitting room and what gender clothing I most wore.
Then, it informed me that there would be more items waiting in the fitting room that they thought I would like.
(Who is "they"? The algorithm is powerful.)
I locked my phone and kept browsing, but I wasn't totally sure how I'd know when the fitting room was ready.
Did I need to go up to talk to an attendant? That felt unlikely.
Did I need to keep checking the app? I wasn't sure.
I checked every few minutes, until 10 minutes later, it said my fitting room was ready.
It gave me the option to go to the fitting room then or in 10 minutes, presumably to allow more shopping time.
I chose "now."
I beckoned my sister, and we went upstairs to the second set of fitting rooms.
There was a kind of waiting room, presumably for people waiting for their friends to be done shopping.
It was decorated almost like an Anthropologie store, with different-sized mirrors, magazines, and botanic wallpaper.
I walked to the room assigned to me and pressed “unlock your room.”
That's the only moment when the whole sleek experience got a little clumsy.
There isn't very good cellular service in the Glendale Galleria, and my phone was struggling to connect enough to unlock the door.
After waiting a minute or two, my sister suggested I look for an Amazon WiFi connection, which I did.
It required joining an “unprotected” WiFi network, but it solved the problem quickly. The door was soon unlocked.
The fitting room was spacious and had a screen welcoming me in. "GET STARTED!" urged the touchscreen.
On the left side of the room was a rack with the jacket I’d chosen (and three others the algorithm thought I might like).
Through the touchscreen, I chose another sweatshirt and requested it to be delivered to my fitting room.
Then things got really futuristic — or maybe my sister and I were just easily impressed.
On the far side of the fitting room was a closet.
When you order something else to try on while you're already in the fitting room, an employee delivers the article of clothing through the other door of the closet.
While they're in the closet arranging the clothing on a clothing rack, a red light is illuminated to alert you.
When they're done, the red light turns off and the closet is illuminated from the inside, as if to lure you. It succeeded.
Also, we were really impressed by how quickly the sweater came. It couldn’t have been more than 90 seconds after I requested it.
It did feel weird standing on the other side of the closet as some unseen employee arranged clothing, though.
When you're finished trying on clothes, you take what you want and leave the rest in the dressing room.
Downstairs, on the first floor, there's a normal checkout process. It's as if you're in a usual clothing store and not the year 2045.
When we went to another store, my sister turned to me and said: “Is it weird I want all the stores to be like the Amazon store now?”
To me, it wasn't weird at all.
More: Features Retail Amazon Amazon Style
Amazon shopping
Clothing stores | 2022-06-07T19:00:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | PHOTOS: Tour the First Amazon Style Clothing Store in LA | https://www.businessinsider.com/tour-first-amazon-style-revolutionary-clothing-store-la-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tour-first-amazon-style-revolutionary-clothing-store-la-2022-6 |
NRA pushes back against NY Attorney General's demand that an independent monitor babysit its operations
Nation Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre speaks at the association's Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Indianapolis, April 26, 2019.
The NRA calls NY AG Letitia James' demand for an independent monitor 'a defacto takeover.'
The gun-rights group says James is overstepping her statutory mandate.
A monitor would be 'intrusive, unnecessary and unprecedented,' they complain in new court filing.
The NRA is fighting back against New York Attorney General Letitia James' demand for an independent monitor who would oversee the gun group's operations, calling the idea "intrusive, unnecessary and unprecedented."
James is overstepping her statutory powers in asking for such a monitor, who, if approved, would answer to a Manhattan judge and to the AG in "a defacto takeover" of the gun group, its lawyers say in a new court filing.
Further, such a monitor — along with an "independent governance expert" to advise on needed "reforms," as James is also requesting — "would burden the First Amendment rights of the NRA and its millions of members," the filing complains.
James had asked for the imposition of a compliance monitor and a governance expert last month, in an updated lawsuit filed two months after her office lost a legal bid to shut down the NRA in its entirety. James has not said if she will appeal that ruling.
Since that loss, the AG "has amended her complaint but added no new factual allegations," the new NRA filing says.
"Rather, she asserts a new cause of action which seeks the intrusive, unnecessary and unprecedented appointment of an 'independent' compliance monitor to oversee the administration of the NRA, answerable to the NYAG's own office as well as the Court," the filing continues.
"There is no colorable practical need, and no legal basis, for the NYAG to contrive a de facto takeover of the NRA to replace her defunct dissolution claims," it says.
"Rather, the parties should proceed with discovery and trial on the NYAG's previously existing claims, and the new one should be dismissed."
Those previously-existing claims include James' demands that NRA head Wayne LaPierre and three former top leaders pay back tens of millions of dollars allegedly looted from the group, which is incorporated as a charitable non-profit in New York.
LaPierre, who James alleged blew millions on travel and entertainment for cronies and family members, was nearly unanimously reinstated as leader of the 5-million member non-profit late last month.
James' original lawsuit also demands that he and the three ex-leaders be forever barred from nonprofit service.
Oral arguments concerning James' request for a monitor and a governance expert would be the next step in the two years of litigation between the NRA and the AG; the Manhattan judge overseeing the matter, New York State Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen, has yet to set a date for those arguments.
More: NRA Wayne LaPierre Letitia James New York | 2022-06-07T20:30:31Z | www.businessinsider.com | NRA Fights NY AG's Demand for Court-Appointed Babysitter | https://www.businessinsider.com/nra-fights-ny-ags-demand-for-court-appointed-babysitter-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/nra-fights-ny-ags-demand-for-court-appointed-babysitter-2022-6 |
Silhouette of college graduate
In March, a judge agreed to postpone Heather Smart's student-loan bankruptcy hearing due to medical treatment.
But he just ruled she must proceed with her trial unless she can prove she is medically unable.
Biden promised to reform the bankruptcy process, but it's continuing to be a burden for borrowers.
Three months ago, a federal judge ruled Heather Smart can postpone her hearing to get rid of her student debt through bankruptcy as she undergoes cancer treatment. Now, that same judge says it's time for Smart to go to court.
Smart filed for bankruptcy of her $95,181.92 student debt load in December because of unemployment caused by "receiving extensive medical care and treatment for myriad issues relating to several forms of aggressive and invasive cancer, as well as a blood disorder," according to a court filing. She claimed her situation prevented her from making sufficient income to pay off her loans.
The Education Department wrote at the time that Smart did not qualify for bankruptcy discharge because when her "health improves, she has college degrees and is capable of maintaining full-time employment and can maintain an appropriate standard of living while repaying her loans." But a US bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas allowed her to postpone her hearing while she was undergoing treatments.
Last week, Smart requested further postponement of her hearings because she "is currently in the lengthy process of diagnosing, planning, and executing a treatment plan for myriad medical issues," including cancer and a blood disorder, per the court filing. She is waiting to find out whether her disability is permanent, which could significantly impact the outcome of her student-loan repayment.
The judge denied Smart's request.
"Trial in this case has been set and then reset on numerous occasions," Judge Jeffrey Norman wrote. "This matter must be concluded. An indefinite suspension does not do justice."
He added that the court will consider an extension of the trial date only if Smart "is medically unable to participate virtually," and she must prove that inability by "reliable evidence and give an estimate of when she will be able to appear for trial."
Since Smart could not provide evidence of her medical condition at the time due to her doctors being unavailable, she requested time to re-file claims, and the judge granted her that request.
The Education Department also granted Smart a Cancer Treatment Deferment on her loans, meaning she is not required to pay off her debt through October 2023 and interest will not grow — but even being in long-term deferment, the judge is still requesting she proceed with the trial.
Proving bankruptcy on student loans in court is no easy feat. The borrower must prove an "undue hardship" standard, that requires them to show that they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, their circumstances will likely not improve, and they have made a good-faith effort in repaying their debt. But successfully meeting that standard is rare and many borrowers have been blocked from relief because of it, which is why Biden's administration promised to reform the bankruptcy process.
"The process doesn't work well. It needs to be reformed … and we're committed to doing that," Federal Student Aid head Richard Cordray told a House education subcommittee last fall. "There have been discussions already with the Justice Department. They, too, are willing to have us revise our approach."
Since then, though, the Education Department has continued to oppose borrowers' discharge requests in court. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said during a virtual discussion on student debt on Monday that "Secretary Cardona has said we want to review that policy, and that is something that is underway now. There's an interagency process for that, it's not solely within the department's discretion, and we're working quite hard on that. actually."
But advocates say the process needs to be sped up. Dan Zibel, vice president and chief counsel of Student Defense — an organization that advocates for borrowers' rights — said in a statement that "time after time, we continue to see the government erecting barriers that make it harder for bankrupt borrowers seeking a discharge of their student loans."
"Although the Department of Education has publicly acknowledged the problems, to date, we have seen little in terms of concrete policy changes, and borrowers facing extreme hardship are paying the price," Zibel said. "Enough is enough." | 2022-06-07T20:30:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Federal Judge Brings Student-Loan Borrower Undergoing Cancer Treatment to Court | https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-bankruptcy-court-borrower-cancer-treatments-biden-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-bankruptcy-court-borrower-cancer-treatments-biden-2022-6 |
The résumé that got me into Snapchat right out of college and how I optimized it — bullet by bullet
Jonathan Javier
Jonathan Javier says the main reason job seekers don't get called for an interview is a weak résumé.
Jonathan Javier is the CEO and cofounder of Wonsulting. He was an operations specialist at Snapchat in 2017.
He was hired at Snap right out of college and says his résumé was optimized to land interviews.
Javier prioritized action verbs, included impact metrics, and emphasized hard skills in his experiences.
You've applied to hundreds of jobs expecting a response back from one of your "dream companies" but all you've received are rejection letters.
If this is you during your job search, I get it — that was me, too. I always questioned what it was: Was it because of the school I attended? (I didn't attend an Ivy League.) My background? Not writing the perfect cover letter?
Coming from a Filipino background with no professional connections, I didn't know where to start. But I got the hang of everything and eventually cofounded Wonsulting, a company that helps job seekers by providing job search resources.
Many job seekers incorrectly assume that résumés are automatically approved or rejected by software and will try to optimize theirs to beat the system. Through my learnings and mistakes, I created a résumé that was optimized not for an applicant tracking system (ATS), but for a human being.
Here's the résumé that got me into Snapchat, and how t0 structure yours.
My résumé.
This is the résumé that got me into Snapchat as my first job out of university. I didn't go to a "target school" where opportunities at these respective companies didn't come to the career fairs, nor did I apply on a careers website.
Luckily, I had a mentor who gave me feedback on my résumé and prepared me for landing my first role at Snap.
Let's breakdown how each part of my résumé was optimized to land interviews:
Action Verbs: In each experience bullet, I started with an action verb. An action verb describes what I did in the role; if it was a current role, I would put the present tense but in the past tense, I would put -ed at the end. Examples of great action verbs are as follows:
Collaborated: Shows your teamwork skills, whether with senior management or peers (and is also included in most job descriptions)
Managed: Shows how you oversee a team or how you were responsible for a workload to provide value.
Improved: Shows you made a direct impact on the company through what follows after the action verb
Analyzed: Shows numbers + problem-solving skills through data analysis
Hard Skills and Tools: To incorporate hard skills like proficiency in Zendesk, Microsoft Excel, Salesforce, and Google Anaytics, I scanned through the descriptions of the job titles I was interested in to see which were in the minimum or preferred qualifications.
After doing so, I included them on my résumé at the bottom to show I had these skills, and where applicable, I added them to my experiences to showcase I've had real life experience in previous roles.
For example, let's say I'm going for an Operations Analyst role and one of the core skills was utilizing Excel for VLookups. What I would do is include Microsoft Excel not only in my skills section but also throughout my résumé (as seen on the first bullet of Goodwin's Organics).
The top of your résumé: you should have your LinkedIn, phone number, email, and website or portfolio (if applicable). Then, your education is first if you're a student or new grad: I included my university's full name, my major, GPA and major GPA, graduation date, programs, and organizations I was involved with.
For GPA, I only included my cumulative GPA once I brought it up to a 3.5 and instead added my major GPA since it was higher. Including GPA is optional, considering many companies now do not put a major weight into it.
Clarity and concision: Keep your résumé to one page, and try to list only 2-5 bullets for each experience — 3-4 is the sweet spot. Many résumés I've seen have had 7-8 bullets and they get repetitive. Always remember that less is more, so long as you show how you're qualified and match all of the minimum requirements.
Impact metrics: These are numbers and percentages from positions I worked in which showcased what I did beyond expectations for the company.
For example, I calculated the "increase in attendance by 25%" by calculating how many people attended the first event we had before I joined vs. after I joined and "engaged and raised awareness to 5,000" by looking at Google Analytics.
By doing this, you're able to show your impact. One of the questions I always get is "how do you get these numbers?" You can get these numbers by asking your peers/managers or calculating an estimate — just don't lie about it or make it unrealistic.
Soft skills: your soft skills shows how you'd not only be a culture fit, but if you're someone who would be great to work with. By including these simple statements such as collaborating with multiple stakeholders, providing recommendations for senior management, and identifying solutions to problems, you make yourself a viable candidate.
Since I created this résumé in 2016, I've had time to reflect on what I'd do differently now.
Here's what I would have changed:
Giving more space: My résumé is text heavy because I was trying to keep to one page, and the information can't breathe. I would have spaced out the résumé more between the bullets and new experiences to save space and make it easier for someone to read.
Adding more specific skills: Microsoft Office skills are pretty basic skills now and don't need to be listed on a résumé. I'd instead add more specific skills such as SQL and Salesforc to better showcase my experience with platforms in the operations field. Also, the technical skills section doesn't have many specific "technical skills,"so I would just title this "Skills."
Projects OR Interests: I included projects because I didn't have as much experience in relative StratOps fields, so I wanted the reader to see I was working on projects outside of work that helped me strengthen my skills. Now, I have this as "interests" to show what I"m interested in for my next career move rather than projects since I've already gotten real world experiences.
What else can you do to supplement your résumé?
I've broken down the résumé that got me into Snapchat; but there's another layer to this: networking with hiring managers and recruiters played a big role in landing me interviews and offers.
It's important to network because you can learn insights from people who are in the positions you're applying for.
For example, let's say you're applying to an operations analyst role. You should network with those in respective companies who are in those positions, whether on LinkedIn or other social platforms . All you have to do is the following:
Search on LinkedIn the position you're going for: operations analyst
Set the filter to "Current Company" or a company you're interested in
Then send a LinkedIn message like the one I sent to get my first meeting with Snapchat
By doing this, you stand out from the crowd.
Tailoring your résumé for the job title you're applying for is essential to landing interviews
Many job seekers wonder why they can't land interviews, and often times it's because their résumés aren't optimized for what the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for. Many also think that if you cast a wide net and apply to every single role, it'll lead to more interviews — but it's important to match the job description's qualifications throughout your résumé and put it on your résumé where applicable.
Lastly, applying to roles isn't enough. Nowadays, companies are looking for only one role to hire, and you may just come in second despite having the relevant experiences necessary to make yourself qualified. Always remember that your résumé goes hand-in-hand with networking, and your interpersonal skills will eventually lead you to land your offers.
Jonathan Javier is the CEO and cofounder of Wonsulting.
More: Snapchat Resume Tips Resume template Career advancement
Wonsulting | 2022-06-07T20:30:55Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Get a Snapchat Job Right Out of College According to Wonsulting | https://www.businessinsider.com/wonsulting-resume-snapchat-job-right-out-of-college-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/wonsulting-resume-snapchat-job-right-out-of-college-2022-6 |
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did a recent interview with Dave Rubin, a conservative commentator and activist.
Conservative commentator Dave Rubin gave Ron DeSantis a "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirt during his live show.
The Florida governor has been using the nickname as a dig against President Joe Biden.
DeSantis frequently bashes Biden at press conferences and calls him "Brandon."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has some new anti-Biden swag.
Conservative commentator and activist Dave Rubin gifted the Republican governor a "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirt when he appeared on "The Rubin Report" live show Friday in Orlando. The chant has become a stand-in for the chant "F-ck Joe Biden" in GOP circles and is often seen on flags, bumper stickers, and T-shirts among grassroots Republicans in Florida.
"It seems that he should put it on right now and rip it off Hulk Hogan style," Rubin said as DeSantis, a Republican, held the shirt up in front of himself and smiled.
"Oh!" DeSantis exclaimed as he received the gift in the video, released online to subscribers on Monday.
The governor called Biden "Brandon" throughout his roughly 32-minute interview — something he has been doing occasionally in recent months when he appears at press conferences throughout the Sunshine State. Rubin said on Twitter that the live show was sold out and had roughly 1,000 guests.
In his interview with Rubin, DeSantis brought up recent reporting in places such NBC that found Biden was growing frustrated with his sagging approval ratings.
"You want to know why your approval ratings are in the toilet? Look in the mirror. Your policies are failing," DeSantis said, citing high gas prices.
"I love that you call him Brandon," Rubin told DeSantis, "because I think it's possible he thinks his name is Brandon."
Rubin was taking a dig at the 79-year-old president's age and questioning his fitness for office. A May Harvard-Harris poll found that 83% of Republicans and 61% of Independents have doubts about Biden's fitness for office. Only 19% of Democrats share these doubts.
The Brandon rallying cry on the right first emerged following an early October 2021 postrace NASCAR interview that aired on NBC Sports.
Biden himself joked about the insult during a speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April.
"Republicans seem to support one fellow," Biden said. "Some guy named Brandon. He's having a really good year. And I'm kind of happy for him."
A May New York Magazine story said that DeSantis "has risen in Biden's hierarchy of disgust," and that White House aides are considering ramping up political fights with the governor.
DeSantis is up for reelection in November and is widely viewed as a GOP favorite to run for president in 2024. He has often clashed publicly with the Biden administration and federal health officials over COVID-19 restrictions.
DeSantis also has punched back at major corporations, signing a bill into law in April to strip Disney of its self-governing status after the company's executives said it would work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, a sex education bill that critics call "Don't say Gay."
Supporters said families should have more say in what their kids are taught, but opponents said they worried the legislation would marginalize LGBTQ students, teachers, and their families.
Rubin exclaimed, "Gay!" at the start of his interview with DeSantis and then joked during the program that DeSantis should finish out his term as governor, be president for eight years, and then become CEO of Disney.
"Who knows what happens," DeSantis said, laughing then cringing. "You never know in life."
More: Politics Ron DeSantis Florida let's go brandon | 2022-06-07T22:04:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | Dave Rubin Gives DeSantis 'Let's Go Brandon' T-Shirt | https://www.businessinsider.com/dave-rubin-gives-desantis-lets-go-brandon-t-shirt-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/dave-rubin-gives-desantis-lets-go-brandon-t-shirt-2022-6 |
The 21 best new books starring LGBTQ characters, from lush romances to unique fantasy novels
Discover all the best new books centering on LGBTQ characters to come out this year, from rom-com beach reads to historical fiction.
Characters of all gender and sexual identities help queer readers see themselves in literature.
The books on this list include a range of genres and characters, from romance to fantasy.
All of these books are brand new and were published in 2022.
Pride Month is a time when many readers intentionally gravitate towards novels written by LGBTQ authors and featuring queer characters, but this representation matters all year long. The appearance of gay, bisexual, nonbinary, questioning, and other queer characters not only helps more readers see themselves in books but also offers more unique stories to the amazing expanse of literature in the world.
This list features LGBTQ characters of a wide range of gender and sexual identities in romance novels, fantasy adventures, contemporary fiction, and more. To create this list, we gathered recommendations from Goodreads reviewers, bestseller lists, and personal favorites. Every book features at least one LGBTQ character (though most have an exciting cast of queer side and main characters) and was published in 2022.
21 of the best new books with LGBTQ characters to read in 2022:
"Icebreaker" by A.L. Graziadei
Mickey James III is the next in a family line of history-making NHL players, but when his teammate, Jaysen Caulfield, also becomes a contender for the league's top draft spot, their rivalry heightens and slowly transforms into something more. Besides the main gay romance of this novel, "Icebreaker" also features polyamorous, bisexual, and lesbian characters.
"The One True Me and You" by Remi K. England
Fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont can't wait for the small but hugely exciting upcoming fandom convention where she plans to meet online friends, try out new pronouns, wear masculine cosplay, and kiss a girl for the first time. But when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up at the same hotel for a beauty pageant on the weekend of the convention, Kaylee's plans are entirely derailed until she meets another pageant contestant with whom the sparks immediately fly.
"Lake Lore" by Anna-Marie McLemore
Though everyone who lives near the lake has heard the stories of the world beneath it, only Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia, two nonbinary teens, have actually been there. As the line between the world under the lake and the world above begin to blur, Bastián and Lore must overcome what once tore them apart and work together in this young adult fantasy read.
"Wrath Goddess Sing" by Maya Deane
"Wrath Goddess Sing" is a retelling of "The Iliad" where Achilles is a trans woman, recruited by Odyessus for war, but would rather die than fight as a man. When Athena intervenes and grants Achilles her true form, she reunites with allies, sets out for vengeance, and faces hellish battles in this fantastical novel of identity, family, and love.
"A Million Quiet Revolutions" by Robin Gow
"A Million Quiet Revolutions" is a young adult story told in verse of two trans boys who name themselves after Revolutionary War soldiers whom they discover may have been trans men in love in their own time. Aaron and Oliver have shared every milestone, but when Aaron moves away, the boys feel lost and turn to America's past to find the power to stake their own place in history.
"Yerba Buena" by Nina LaCour
Sara Foster left her past behind when she ran away from home at 16 and has become a renowned bartender at Yerba Buena in Los Angeles. In the same city, Emilie Dubois is struggling to decide what to do with her future when she takes a job arranging flowers for Yerba Buena, where she and Sara meet and form an immediate connection. "Yerba Buena" is a contemporary love story about two women finding their way in the world, in themselves, and towards each other.
"So This Is Ever After" by F.T. Lukens
Arek has fulfilled the prophecy that said he was destined to save the kingdom, but now he's stuck as King with a magical loophole to get married by his 18th birthday or wither away. With the deadline only three months away, Arek begins a desperate and hilarious search in all the wrong places while the romantic answer to his problem may be much closer than he suspects.
"Fevered Star" by Rebecca Roanhorse
"Fevered Star" is the second book in Rebecca Roanhorse's "Between Earth and Sky" series and picks up as sea captain Xiala finds unlikely allies in the wake of Tova's destruction. Starring characters of varying orientations, gender identities, and pronouns, readers are swept into an imaginative fantasy world of politics, forbidden magic, and dire consequences.
"Ophelia After All" by Racquel Marie
This young adult coming-of-age romance follows Ophelia Rojas, a self-proclaimed "boy-crazy" girl, who begins to question her sexuality when she finds herself developing a new crush on Talia Sanchez. In the blur of high school prom season, this emotional, unique, and sweet story unfolds as Ophelia navigates new friendships, complicated emotions, and the nonlinear journey of questioning and discovering who she is alongside a diverse cast of bisexual, pansexual, aromantic, biromantic asexual, and questioning side characters.
"Legends & Lattes" by Travis Baldree
This wonderfully cozy "slice-of-life" fantasy novel follows orc barbarian Viv as she leaves her warrior life behind in favor of opening a coffee shop. Tagged as "high fantasy with low stakes," "Legends & Lattes" invites readers to enter a magical world where Viv meets new friends, learns how to run her new business, and even finds a little bit of queer love.
"The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School" by Sonora Reyes
Yamilet Flores is navigating her new white and rich Catholic school where no one knows she's gay — and she plans to keep it that way. However, keeping her own secret proves to be nearly impossible since Bo, the only openly queer person in her school, is basically irresistible. This young adult novel deals with familial acceptance, sapphic love, and the magic of embracing our truest selves.
Simone Larkspur has a successful career as a pastry chef for a cookbook publisher but when her company decides to start making cooking videos, Simone struggles to find success in the new endeavor. Infuriatingly, the new test kitchen manager, Ray, accidentally becomes a viral YouTube star and Simone must work beside them or risk her job. But the more time they spend together, the more Simone's heart softens for Ray and makes her want to stick by their side as they come out as nonbinary to a wave of mixed reactions.
"You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" by Akwaeke Emezi
With bisexual and lesbian characters, "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" follows Feyi Adekola as she sets out to reignite her life and find love five years after an accident that killed the love of her life. After a chance encounter leads to a whirlwind summer beyond Feyi's wildest dreams, her new relationship is sabotaged when she meets the one person she could never be with yet leaves her wondering just how far she would go for another chance at love.
"The Romantic Agenda" by Claire Kann
Asexual Joy has been secretly in love with her best friend Malcolm for years, but when he meets the love of his life, Summer, he invites Joy to join them and Summer's friend on a vacation, hoping she'll keep Summer's friend occupied during the trip. Heartbroken, Joy and the friend, Fox, pretend to fall in love to make Malcolm jealous, but find they may be more fit for each other than they could have imagined.
"The Boy with a Bird in His Chest" by Emme Lund
"The Boy with a Bird in His Chest" is a new fantasy novel about Owen Tanner who lives with a chatty bird inside his chest. When a forest fire forces Owen to flee the home in which he's spent a decade hiding from the world, he's thrust into a world that's both terrifying and joyful in this novel about embracing our truest selves in a story that's brought to life with several queer characters and magical realism.
"Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo
In pre-Code Hollywood, studios run on a dark system of magic sacrifices and blood bargains where fame comes at a great cost but Luli Wei is desperate and will do whatever it takes to reach stardom. Readers love how "Siren Queen" tackles prevalent issues including racism and LGBTQ rights under the backdrop of 1930s Hollywood featuring a lesbian main character.
"A Lady for a Duke" by Alexis Hall
This compelling historical fiction novel features trans heroine Lady Viola Caroll who takes the opportunity to finally live as herself after being presumed dead at Waterloo, though it comes at the cost of her title, her wealth, and her dear friend, the Duke of Gracewood. Years later, Viola and the Duke reconnect and rekindle old feelings that may still prove dangerous in this rich romance read by the same author who wrote "Boyfriend Material."
"Boys Come First" by Aaron Foley
"Boys Come First" is a story about three Black, gay men looking for love, friendship, and acceptance in Detroit, which seems to be constantly changing around them. Inspired by the author's personal experiences and conversations, Troy, Dominick, and Remy lean on each other as they navigate their professional lives, challenging relationships, and gentrification.
"I Kissed Shara Wheeler" by Casey McQuiston
A month before graduation, Chloe Green's high school nemesis, Shara Wheeler, kisses her and two other classmates before disappearing leaving a cryptic trail of clues for each of them to follow. "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" features a queer romance at the novel's forefront but also includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary, and gender-questioning side characters as Chloe teams up with Shara's boyfriend and neighbor to follow the clues and get Shara back before graduation.
"D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding" by Chencia C. Higgins
On the reality TV show "Instant I Do," strangers have six weeks to plan a wedding a convince their families that they're getting married with a $100,000 prize at stake if no one guesses their relationship is fake. Kris is looking for her big break as an influencer and D'Vaughn is looking to finally come out to her mom, but when the two meet on the show, they find their chemistry is anything but fake.
"The Verifiers" by Jane Pek
Claudia Lin is used to keeping secrets from her family, like the fact that she’s gay and has just been recruited by a referrals-only detective agency for online dating. When a mysterious death occurs, Claudia knows she must break protocol and investigate in this novel that’s part mystery and part family story. | 2022-06-07T22:04:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | 21 Best New Books With LGBTQ Characters to Read in 2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/books-with-lgbtq-characters-2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/books-with-lgbtq-characters-2022 |
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants to overhaul the free tax filing process for Americans.
Just one in 25 filers were able to use the free filing system last tax season.
With adequate IRS funding, most Americans could file for free in minutes, according to Treasury.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she wants to overhaul how Americans file their taxes for free, given the scarce use of the existing program.
Yellen said on Tuesday "about four percent" of all tax-filers used the Free File service in the 2021 tax filing season. That program is available for Americans with adjusted gross incomes of $73,000 and under.
"It hasn't worked. We need to develop a new system," Yellen said in a Senate Finance Committee hearing. "There's no reason in the world that a modern economy shouldn't have a system that makes it easy for such a large group of taxpayers to file their returns."
"We're certainly looking into it," she said, adding that the organization's chief priority is closing its huge backlog of paper returns.
Even with just the information that the IRS currently collects, about half of taxpayers' returns could be autofilled, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper written by researchers from the Treasury Department, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and Dartmouth College.
That autofilling could save a lot of money, according to the paper: About 40% of filers who would have their returns accurately pre-filled are currently paying someone to do their taxes.
If the IRS were adequately funded, Americans might be able to do their taxes for free in minutes, according to a blog post from the Treasury Department. But the issue comes down to resources, as it often does with the IRS.
It's no secret that the IRS is ailing, according to Yellen, who described it as an agency "under siege." The Treasury Department has been sounding alarm bells for months that the agency is underfunded and understaffed as a result of GOP-led budget cuts in the past decade.
In her testimony, Yellen said that the IRS is "horrendously under resourced," highlighting that the agency's staffing levels are the same as they were in 1970, and that workers use 1960s technology. Shawn Gunn, a tax examiner in Kansas City, Missouri, likened the computers at work to those in the movie "Hackers," with dark green screens and white text. Gunn also previously told Insider he scrambled to find staples, and enough carts to move papers around.
The IRS's underfunding impacts more than just staples, though: Buried amidst its piles of papers are millions of unprocessed tax returns from 2020, which may not be processed until December. Those processing delays have held up refund checks, which has meant it's harder for some taxpayers to afford childcare, groceries, and even their homes.
"I think it should be very high priority for Congress to give the IRS the resources it needs," Yellen said.
More: Economy Tax refund tax filing Tax filing fees
IRS Free File
tax refund delays
IRS tax refund schedule | 2022-06-07T22:04:29Z | www.businessinsider.com | Janet Yellen Wants a New Way for People to File Taxes for Free | https://www.businessinsider.com/janet-yellen-wants-new-way-file-taxes-for-free-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/janet-yellen-wants-new-way-file-taxes-for-free-2022-6 |
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Ascent Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan
Ascent Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan
Funding U Undergraduate Student Loan
MPower Financing Undergraduate Student Loan
Chicago Student Loans by AM Money
Prodigy Finance Student Loan
Strice Funding Student Loan
Other lenders we considered
Which lender is the most trustworthy?
How did we pick the best companies?
Best student loans without a cosigner of June 2022
Best student loans without a cosigner Editor's Rating Loan amount range APR Minimum credit score Next steps
Up to $23,000 cumulatively, different limits each year in school
Undergraduates: 4.99%
Undergraduates: 4.99%, Graduate and professional students: 6.54%
$2,001 — $200,000
Fixed: 7.38% - 14.54%, Variable: 4.37% - 11.12%
Provide more than two years of credit history and meet undisclosed minimum score
$2,001 — $20,000
Fixed: 11.86% - 12.85%, Variable: 9.16% - 11.56%
No credit history required
Funding U Undergraduate Student Loans
Fixed: 7.49% - 12.99%
$2,001 — $100,000 lifetime
Fixed: 7.53% — 8.85%
$15,000 — Cost of attendance
Variable: starts at 6.25%, average loan from Prodigy is at 9.80%
Stride Funding Student Loan
$5,000 — $25,000 per year, $50,000 lifetime
Rates based on your income
Will decline based on major credit issues
*While our ratings might seem a bit low for a "best of" guide, that's because our methodology rates these companies using the same system we use for other student loan lenders with lower rates and more options for loan term lengths. However, many of those options require a cosigner or a solid credit history, making them inaccessible to some borrowers.
The cost of college is expensive, and many students need to take out loans to pay for the expenses. However, not every student borrower has the option to enlist a cosigner for their student loan, making many types of student loans unavailable to them.
Luckily, there are several lenders that don't require cosigner for their loans.
1.057% loan fee
Up to $3,500 for first year students, increases every year you're in school
Government pays interest while in school
No cosigner needed
Low maximum loan amount
Eligibility based on financial need
10-year standard repayment term
Rates change annually
Loan maximum of $3,500 for first-years, $4,500 for second-years, and $5,500 per year for each school year after that
The government pays interest on these loans while you're in college. It also covers interest during a six-month grace period after you graduate, before you must begin repaying your student loans. You'll have to demonstrate financial need to qualify for these loans. Only undergraduate students are eligible.
As far as student loans go, this is the best option out there.
What to watch out for: Low loan maximum. For first-year students, you may only borrow up to $3,500 in subsidized loans for your freshman year, and you'll only qualify for the maximum depending on your financial need. The amount increases each year you're in school, but is still much lower than with other private lenders.
Read more about subsidized loans.
Up to $5,500 for first-years, scales up each year you're in school
No credit check needed
No cosigner
Not based on financial need
Interest accrues while you're in school
No variable loans
Rates are fixed, but new rates for each school year
Interest will accrue on unsubsidized loans while you're in school and during your grace period. If you're able, you should try to pay off that interest each month to prevent it from capitalizing. These loans aren't based on financial need. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are eligible.
What to watch out for: Interest capitalizing. The federal government doesn't cover your interest while in school like it does with subsidized loans. Any unpaid interest is capitalized, or added onto your loan balance after periods of nonpayment, including forbearance, deferment, and after your grace period. This will increase your overall loan balance, and you'll later pay interest on that higher amount, upping the total cost of your loan.
Read more about unsubsidized loans.
Undisclosed late fee
No prepayment or origination fees
Cashback reward after graduation
Many options for repayment term length
Requires some credit history
Apply through your computer
Customer service available via phone, email, and physical mail
Provided you are eligible, you'll receive 1% of your initial loan balance as a cashback bonus after graduation
Five, seven, 10, 12, 15, or 20-year repayment terms available (20-year term only available for variable loans)
Undisclosed late fees
Loan minimum of $2,001, overall maximum loan amount of $200,000
Loans made through Bank of Lake Mills, Member FDIC
This loan may be the right choice for you if you have an established credit history and are looking for some of the best rates on a loan without a cosigner. You're able to borrow up to $200,000 for an academic year with this type of Ascent loan, and you'll need to meet a minimum income requirement of $24,000 to qualify.
Watch out for: Credit history required. You need to have more than two years of credit history and hit an undisclosed minimum credit score to qualify for an Ascent non-cosigned credit-based loan. Other lenders on our list don't take credit into account.
Read more about Ascent.
Undisclosed minimum late fee
Low loan maximum
Approval decisions based on factors like GPA, major, and school of attendance
Loan minimum of $2,001, maximum loan amount of $20,000
Instead of basing lending decisions on credit for this loan, Ascent takes into account your school, program, graduation date, major, GPA, and cost of attendance, among other factors. This could be a good choice if you have limited credit history. You need to be a college junior or senior to qualify and must maintain a GPA of 2.9 or higher.
Watch out for: Low loan maximum. You're only able to borrow up to $20,000 with this Ascent loan. That's a higher maximum than federal subsidized loans, but you'll pay a substantially higher interest rate.
No prepayment, origination, or late fees
Relatively high APRs
One repayment term option
Loans unavailable for residents of 19 states
Only fixed-rate loans
Apply through your computer or mobile device
Customer service available via email
10-year repayment term
Loan minimum of $3,001, maximum up to $15,000
Residents of AL, AK, DE, ID, KY, LA, MA, MN, MS, MO, NV, NH, ND, OK, RI, SD, UT, WA, and WY ineligible for loans
No cosigner allowed
Loans made through Funding University
Funding U doesn't make lending decisions solely based on creditworthiness. It will also consider factors like your academic performance and future potential career success when choosing to offer you a loan.
Watch out for: No variable-rate loan options. If you want to take out a loan with Funding U, it will have to be a fixed-rate loan. While this means you'll likely start out with a higher rate than some variable options with other lenders, your rate won't fluctuate over the life of your loan.
Read more about Funding U.
5% origination fee and undisclosed late fee
Lends to international students without a cosigner
Interest rate discounts for hitting certain requirements
Only fixed-rate loans available
One repayment term available
High APR range
Origination and late fees
Only lends to students within 2 years of graduation from college
Customer service available by filling out a form or phone
$2,001 loan minimum, up to $100,000 lifetime loan limit
1.5% reduction in your interest rate with automatic payments, six on-time payments, and proof of graduation and employment
Lends to students for 350 schools
Loans are made by Bank of Lake Mills or MPOWER Financing
MPower lends to international students and doesn't require a cosigner, one of the only lenders to do both of these things.
You can get up to a 1.5% reduction on your interest rate by signing up for automatic payments, making six on-time payments, and reporting proof of graduation and employment. Each of these three requirements will qualify you for 0.5% off, or up to 1.5% total.
Watch out for: Fees. You'll pay a 5% origination fee on your student loan, which will be deducted from your loan proceeds. Additionally, if you're late on your payments, you'll pay an undisclosed fee.
Read more about MPower.
4.5% origination fee
Income-based repayment option
Only one repayment term
Income-based repayment plan for borrowers facing financial hardship and making under a certain threshold
$2,001 loan minimum, $50,000 loan maximum
AM Money is the only private lender on our list to offer an income-based repayment option. Income-based repayments can help lower your payment for up to three years if you are facing financial hardship, as defined by AM Money. If the calculated monthly payment in your regular plan is higher than the monthly amount calculated under IBR, then you qualify.
Watch out for: Only one repayment term. AM Money sets your repayment term at 10 years, so you won't have flexibility in deciding when you want to pay off your loans.
$25 late fee, 5% admininstration/origination fee
$15,000 up to cost of attendance
Multiple repayment term lengths
No credit history needed
High loan maximum
Only variable loans available
No undergraduate loans
Only available to borrowers looking to study abroad
Choose between seven to 20 year repayment term lengths
Prodigy offers loans to borrowers in 18 countries
Borrow between $15,000 up to cost of attendance
Only graduate loans available
Prodigy offers loans to borrowers in 18 countries, and you can see if your country is eligible. Prodigy only issues loans to students studying abroad, so if you need a loan in your home country, you're out of luck.
What to watch out for: Only offers graduate loans. If you're an undergraduate student in need of a student loan, you'll need to pick another one of the lenders on our list.
$10 late fee
No payments when you make below a certain threshold
Hard to refinance
One repayment term
Five-year repayment term length
Loan amount range $5,000 to $25,000 per year, $50,000 lifetime
Stride functions differently than the other lenders on our list because the "loan" in this case is an income-share agreement. Here's how it works: Your payments are tied to your income, and you'll pay nothing during the months when your income is below a minimum threshold. You pay a percentage of your income with rates based on what you are expected to earn.
Watch out for: You may end up overpaying compared to a standard loan. If you outearn expectations, it may cost more to use Stride because your payments are a percentage of your income. Income share agreements are also difficult to refinance.
Other student loans without cosigners we considered
Some more prominent lenders also offer loans without cosigners, but they generally require good credit scores, high minimum incomes, and proven credit histories to qualify. For many undergraduate students, these requirements aren't easy to reach.
These lenders include:
All of these lenders appear in our best private student loans guide because they have great rates and many options for repayment term lengths. But because they are inaccessible to many borrowers looking to get a loan without a cosigner, we chose not to include them in our best picks in this guide.
The Better Business Bureau, a non-profit organization focused on consumer protection and trust, measures businesses using information like their responsiveness to consumer complaints, truthfulness in advertising, and transparency about business practices. Here is each company's score:
Lender BBB grade
Funding U
Prodigy Finance
Stride Funding
Most of the companies on our list are not rated by the BBB — this isn't because they are untrustworthy businesses, but instead because the BBB doesn't have enough information to give a grade. The BBB grade for the Department of Education is not applicable because the DOE is not a business.
It's important to note that a good BBB grade doesn't guarantee you'll have a good relationship with your lender. Ask family and friends about their firsthand experience with the company before signing on the dotted line, or read online customer reviews.
How did we pick the best student loan refinancing companies?
Personal Finance Insider's mission is to help you make the best, most informed decisions with your money. To do that, we combed through many student loan companies, comparing interest rates, terms, and fine print so you don't have to. We also compared our findings to other personal finance sites. We looked for several factors in determining the best student loans without cosigners, including:
Interest rates: We looked for lenders offering competitively low interest rates, and we prioritized lenders with the lowest interest rates for both fixed and variable loans.
No credit history required: We tried to pick lenders that didn't require a lengthy credit history to qualify.
Variety of term lengths: We picked lenders that offered term lengths that fit many borrowers' different situations.
No or few fees: We looked for lenders that charge minimal fees.
Can I get a student loan without a cosigner?
Yes, you can get a student loan without a cosigner, though many private lenders do require one for students without credit histories. All the companies we've listed above don't require a cosigner. Federal unsubsidized and subsidized loans never need a credit check.
How do I get approved without a cosigner?
Getting approved without a cosigner usually includes factors outside of your credit score. Lenders may take into account GPA, major, projected future earning potential, and more when making approval decisions.
How can I pay for college without my parents?
Take school affordability into account when applying for colleges; many state schools cost less than out-of-state schools. You might also consider starting at a community college for a couple of years to lower your overall cost of attendance.
Additionally, you may consider taking on a side job if you're able. Federal aid packages may also include grants and work study, which is money you don't need to repay.
Prioritize federal loans before looking at private student loans, as federal loans often have lower interest rates and more protections, plus direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans don't require a cosigner.
Do parents have to cosign federal student loans?
No, your parents do not have to cosign your federal direct subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, which are the federal options we have listed above. This means you will be entirely responsible to repay any money you take on.
PERSONAL FINANCE The best private student loan refinance companies of June 2022
PERSONAL FINANCE Funding U student loans review: Lender doesn't allow cosigners and bases decisions on academic success
PERSONAL FINANCE Applying for a student loan is easy, but you won't get your money right away
More: Student Loans Loans Personal Finance Insider pfi
direct subsidized loans
direct unsubsidized loans
Ascent student loans
Funding U student loans
MPower Financing student loans
am money
prodigy finance student loans
Stride student loans | 2022-06-07T22:04:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Best Student Loans Without a Cosigner of June 2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-student-loans-without-cosigner | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-student-loans-without-cosigner |
How Citizens National Bank works
Is Citizens National Bank trustworthy?
Citizens National Bank vs. Southern Bancorp
Citizens National Bank vs. Hancock Whitney Bank
Citizens National Bank is a community development financial institution with 27 branches in Mississippi.
Citizens National Bank; Insider
The bottom line: Citizens National Bank may be an ideal fit if you live in Mississippi and prefer local banks to national banks. The bank offers a decent free savings account, and also has the CleanSlate Program if you want to open a bank account but have a poor banking history.
Money market account 3
Second chance savings and checking account
Only available in Mississippi
Monthly service fees on checking and money market accounts
Interest isn't compounded daily (monthly for money market account, quarterly/annually for saving account and CDs)
Citizens National Bank SmartBlue Savings Account
Smart Savings Transfer
Interest compounded quarterly, not daily
Community development financial institution with 27 branches and 75 ATMs in Mississippi
Must keep at least $100 in account to earn interest
If you have a checking account, you'll be eligible for Smart Savings Transfer which lets you round up debit card purchases and deposit the extra change into your savings account
Interest compounded and deposited quarterly
The Citizens National Bank SmartBlue Savings Account could be worthwhile if you are searching for a savings account that doesn't charge monthly service fees.
It pays a lower interest rate than the average savings account, though. You'll also need at least $100 in your account to earn interest.
Citizens National Bank ClassicBlue Checking Account
Reimbursed up to $10/month if you're charged by an out-of-network ATM provider
Monthly service fees are automatically waived for anyone under the age of 25 or over 62
To waive the $5 monthly service fee, you must meet one of the following requirements: Have at least 10 debit card transactions per month; receive $100 or more in direct deposits; Keep at least $500 in your account daily
Overdraft protection that allows you to link your checking account to SafetyNet Savings or apply for a line of credit
There's a $10 overdraft protection fee if you utilize it
The Citizens National Bank ClassicBlue Checking Account makes it easy to avoid ATM fees. You won't be charged by Citizens National Bank if you use an out-of-network ATM, and you'll be refunded up to $10 per month in out-of-network ATM fees.
Anyone under the age of 25 or over the age of 62 won't have to deal with monthly service fees — the fee is automatically waived.
If you are in between those ages, you'll have to determine if you can meet one of the following requirements: Make 10 debit card transactions per month, receive $100 in direct deposits per month, or maintain a daily account balance of $500 or more.
Citizens National Bank Certificate of Deposit
Varies depending on location
Interest compounded quarterly or annually depending on term
CD options will depend on your location
CD options will vary depending on where you live in Mississippi; Contact your nearest branch to see which terms are available
Early withdrawal penalties depend on the term chosen and amount deposited; Contact your nearest branch for more information
Interest compounded and deposited annually or quarterly
Citizens National Bank CDs require a hefty minimum opening deposit of $2,500 — usually, banks let you open a CD with $1,000.
You'll have to contact your nearest Citizens National Bank branch to find out which terms are available, since your options may vary depending on where you live.
Citizens National Bank HighYield Money Market Account
Earn 0.01% APY on account balances under $100,000
Earn 0.05% APY on account balances over $100,000
You'll find money market accounts with lower minimum openings and higher interest rates at other banks. The Citizens National Bank SmartBlue Savings Account will also be a better option if you'd prefer to avoid monthly service fees.
Citizens National Bank is a local bank in Mississippi with 27 branches and 75 ATMs.
The local bank has limited customer support. Representatives are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. If you prioritize strong customer service, you might consider banking with an institution that has 24/7 live support.
The bank's mobile app has 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple and Google Play stores.
Citizens National Bank is FDIC insured. Up to $250,000 is secure in an individual bank account.
Citizens National Bank trustworthiness and BBB rating
We include ratings from the Better Business Bureau so you can see how banks address customer issues. The BBB gave Citizens National Bank an A+ rating.
A high BBB rating won't guarantee that your relationship with the bank will be smooth, though. Talk to current customers or read online customer reviews to see if Citizens National Bank could be a good fit.
Citizens National Bank hasn't been involved in any recent public controversies.
Citizens National Bank created the CleanSlate Program for people who struggle to open a bank account due to their negative banking history. The CleanSlate Program helps improve your banking history so you can have more banking options.
The CleanSlate checking account doesn't require a credit check. If you maintain the account and have zero overdraft for 18 months, you'll be eligible to open a traditional checking account at Citizens National Bank.
Meanwhile, to be eligible for the CleanSlate Savings account, you'll take a financial education course first. Once you've received your certificate, you'll be eligible to open the savings account.
Citizens National Bank and Southern Bancorp are both certified as CDFIs and serve Mississippi communities. See which bank might be a better fit for you.
AR and MS
CD interest rates
Deciding between Citizens National Bank and Southern Bancorp will likely hinge on the accounts you'd like to open.
Citizens Bank offers a free savings account, but Southern Bancorp makes it easier to waive fees on a checking account — just sign up for online statements and your fee will be waived.
It's also worth noting that Southern Bancorp has strong CDs with competitive interest rates.
See how Citizens National Bank stacks up to a popular regional financial institution: Hancock Whitney Bank.
Hancock Whitney Bank
AL, FL, LA, MS, and TX
Variety of CDs
If your priority is to avoid monthly service fees, Citizens National Bank might be a more suitable option.
Citizens National Bank doesn't charge monthly service fees on its savings account. Meanwhile, Hancock Whitney Bank charges a $3 monthly service fee if you are between the ages of 18 and 65 and don't have at least $200 in your account.
In regards to checking accounts , both banks have monthly service fees. However, Citizens National Bank has more ways to waive the fee than Hancock Whitney Bank.
Whitney Bank will likely be a better choice if you'd like to open a CD, though. The minimum opening deposit is much lower than what's required at Citizens National Bank, and you'll have a variety of CD terms to choose from.
Is Citizens National Bank a local bank?
Yes, Citizens National Bank is a local financial institution with 27 branches in Mississippi. Its headquarters is in Meridian, Mississippi.
How do you open a bank account at Citizens National Bank?
You'll need two types of US IDs and a minimum deposit to open your accounts. Checking accounts require at least $50 upfront, while savings accounts require an initial deposit of $100.
You may open the Citizens National Bank SmartBlue Savings Account or Citizens National Bank ClassicBlue Checking Account online, but other bank accounts will need to be opening at a branch.
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More: Citizens National Bank Citizens National Bank SmartBlue Savings Account Citizens National Bank ClassicBlue Checking Account Citizens National Bank CD | 2022-06-07T23:31:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | Citizens National Bank Review: Mississippi Bank, Second Chance Banking | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/citizens-national-bank-review | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/citizens-national-bank-review |
Trucking heavyweight Saia will no longer transport firearms, Freight Waves reported Monday.
Firearms were already a small part part of businesses like Saia's, the outlet added.
The move comes in the wake of shootings in New York, Texas, and elsewhere.
Last week, the Georgia-based logistics and shipping company publicly updated its rules so that it would not move around firearms that are put together already or close to being so, the outlet reported.
Saia's latest "rules tariff," (which describes prices and other policies) is dated Monday and has on its list of banned or restricted items, "Firearms to include handguns, rifles, assembled and unassembled."
Saia is an "LTL carrier," which means it transports goods for customers or shipments that don't take up an entire truck.
Freight Waves noted that these "LTL carriers" were already not particularly keen on shipping guns before gun violence came to national prominence again recently, because of their potential to be stolen and the problematic image in general.
"I would feel safe to say that most LTL companies today would shy away from the commodity due to the risk," Rex Oliver, director of operations at Atlantic Logistics, told Freight Waves in an email.
The company will still move individual parts of guns and ammunition, Freight Waves added.
Gun violence has become more visible for many in the US lately after a racist attack in a Buffalo, New York grocery store and in Uvalde, Texas and others that followed.
There have been 246 mass shootings so far in 2022, as of Sunday, Insider reported.
Few corporations have responded publicly, ABC News reported Tuesday, besides the CEOs of Amazon and Goldman Sachs. ABC News reached out to 20 Fortune 500 companies and did not get a response from the majority, and two (Microsoft and Walgreens Boots Alliance) declined to comment.
CEOs "see the risk of taking a position as exceeding the return," James O'Rourke, Norte Dame professor, told ABC News.
Axon Enterprise, which makes law enforcement tools like tasers, is an exception. Axon's CEO said the company should try to drones with stun guns to combat mass shootings, but it caused internal strife; members of its ethics board quit. The ACLU also condemned the idea, and the company said it dropped the idea this week.
The trustee of New York State Common Retirement Fund, which has money invested in Meta and Twitter, said it would vote against confirming both companies' boards to protest what he cited was content from the shooting in Buffalo and the shooter's racist manifesto going around the platforms. (The move was ineffectual.)
"This time we must actually do something," President Biden said last week.
Saia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More: Saia gun violence Trucking | 2022-06-07T23:31:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | Trucking Company Saia Will No Longer Transport Guns, Firearms | https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-company-saia-will-no-longer-transport-guns-firearms-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-company-saia-will-no-longer-transport-guns-firearms-2022-6 |
Ukrainian troops carry rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles toward the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, March 13, 2022.
Russian paratroopers in the Kyiv region, March 2022.
Ukrainian troops are seen after the liberation of Hostomel, Ukraine, April 6, 2022.
A Ukrainian soldier next to a destroyed Russian T-90M tank near a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, May 9, 2022.
More: Russia Ukraine Russian Military Delta Force
marine raiders | 2022-06-07T23:31:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | Videos Show Performance of Ukrainian, Russian Troops, US Operators Say | https://www.businessinsider.com/videos-show-performance-of-ukrainian-russian-troops-us-operators-say-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/videos-show-performance-of-ukrainian-russian-troops-us-operators-say-2022-6 |
TikTok 'failing' as disinformation videos reach millions ahead of Kenya election; manipulated content, hate speech, calls to violence viewed 4M times, study finds
TikTok is failing to stem election misinformation in lead up to Kenyan general election.
False political content is reaching millions of Kenyans on TikTok, now the most downloaded app there.
Videos of fake newspapers, TV bulletins and polls are being allowed to proliferate.
Such content is "the tip of the iceberg" and "not being taken seriously," a researcher said.
As a general election in Kenya nears, TikTok is becoming a go-to source of information on politics. New research shows that a lack of effective content moderation by the platform is allowing millions of users in the region to engage with videos that are intentionally misleading and some that even incite violence.
The popular social media app has been developing its audience in Africa since at least 2020, with a particular focus on Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya according to a Quartz report. Now, Odanga Madung, a fellow with non-profit Mozilla, has conducted new research into political disinformation in Kenya on TikTok, finding it is acting as "a forum for fast and far-spreading political disinformation." TikTok is now the most downloaded app in the country, according to the report.
"It's clear that TikTok is the new political avenue on the block and Kenyans are using it heavily to connect with politicians and consume political content," Madung told Insider. The app's growing popularity in the country is "fundamentally changing the media landscape," he added.
Kenya's recent political history is fraught and Madung noted politicians there are known "to use reckless, incendiary rhetoric amid escalating tribal tensions among Kenyan citizens."
After the presidential election of 2017, the Human Rights Watch said "serious human rights violations" occurred as police beat and even killed citizens protesting the re-election of Uhuru Kenyatta. The reaction to the 2007 election in Kenya was even more violent, resulting in more than 1,300 people being killed, a majority by police. A revised form of government was put in place in response. Kenya's current election cycle is being dubbed "hustlers versus dynasty" and tensions are swirling as issues of class and ethnicity become central to some campaigns and proposed legislation.
Using a sample of 130 TikTok videos from 33 accounts of political disinformation about the upcoming election, including manipulated content, hate speech and calls to violence, Madung found that such videos had been viewed 4 million times. He called it "the tip of the iceberg of what is on the platform."
"A highly sophisticated disinformation campaign is underway on the platform, which includes slickly produced video content and attack ads spewing false claims about candidates, while also threatening various ethnic communities," Madung said. "Many of the videos are getting outsized viewership in comparison to their followers. According to researchers, this suggests that the content may be gaining amplification from TikTok's For You Page algorithm."
While all of the videos and accounts Madung used remained on the platform when he completed his research, a TikTok spokesperson told Insider they have all since been removed.
"We're committed to protecting the integrity of our platform and have a dedicated team working to safeguard TikTok during the Kenyan elections," the spokesperson said. TikTok is also working with fact-checker Agence France-Presse in Kenya and intends to roll out new features there, like an election guide and content lables, to get users connected to "authoratative information."
Still, to Madung, the prolonged existence and apparent popularity of the type of political content he found on TikTok, along with "little public commitment" from the company shows "this issue is plainly not being taken seriously."
Madung's research found that many of the videos made "explicit threats of violence" against some ethnic communities based in the Rift Valley Region, a focus of violence after the 2007 election. Formerly a large province, it was partitioned into separate counties in 2013.
A video showing William Ruto, a presidential candidate and current Deputy President of Kenya, captioned to say he "hates" the Kikuyu people based there and "wants to take revenge," has almost 500,000 likes. Another video of a detergent commercial was altered to have the narrator negatively describe and talk about the "removal" of tribes like Kikuyus, Luhyas, Luos and Kambas. And "graphic" imagery from previous election violence is being posted to stoke political tensions.
In terms of "synthetic" or manipulated content, Madung's research found videos like a mash up of the Netflix documentary "How to Become a Tyrant" cut with incendiary news clips and false narration. It also found fake news bulletins and polls designed to look like they came from the Kenya Television Network, a fake tweet from Joe Biden, and numerous fake newspaper front pages, each garnering tens of thousands of views on TikTok.
While political ads are banned on TikTok, political videos are posted using hashtags like #siasa and #siasazakenya. Videos with just those two hashtags, "saisa" meaning "politics," have more than 20 million views and counting, Madung found.
"In contrast, the same hashtag on Instagram has fewer than 100 posts and the most popular videos were viewed only hundreds of times," Madung said.
Part of the reason for the content being allowed to proliferate on TikTok, Madung found, is a weak content moderation practice focused on Kenya or Africa as a whole.
A former TikTok content moderator Gadear Ayed told Madung that moderators were often assigned work in languages and countries they did not understand, along with demands of speed due to the high volume of content to be checked, often at least 1,000 videos per day. She was once put on moderation of posts in Hebrew, despite not knowing the language. Watching videos at 3x speed was normal practice for moderators.
"We didn't have any way to identify whether a video was real or fake," Ayed said in the report. "The moderation process is very fast and TikTok didn't want us spending too much time checking if the content is real or not."
While platforms like Facebook and Twitter have also been used to stoke political tensions in Kenya, both platforms have worked to improve their content moderation. According to Madung, TikTok is choosing to ignore what work other platforms have done.
"TikTok is failing its first real test in Africa," he said. "Rather than learn from the mistakes of more established platforms like Facebook and Twitter, TikTok is following in their footsteps, contributing to the pollution of an information environment ahead of a delicate African election."
More: Tik Tok Kenya Election Africa Politics | 2022-06-08T01:06:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Kenya Election Disinformation Proliferates TikTok Ahead of Vote: Research | https://www.businessinsider.com/research-on-tiktok-political-disinformation-around-kenyan-elections-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/research-on-tiktok-political-disinformation-around-kenyan-elections-2022-6 |
Sen. John Thune this week said AR-15s are necessary in his home state to hunt prairie dogs.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune was asked why people need AR-15s.
In response, he argued that they are still necessary for hunting animals such as prairie dogs.
Sen. Bill Cassidy recently also claimed people need AR-15s to defend themselves against feral pigs.
A Republican senator this week said that people require AR-15-style weapons because they need to "shoot prairie dogs," a herbivorous burrowing rodent.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune was asked to comment on why people would need an AR-15 — the weapon used by the gunman in the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
"They are a sporting rifle. And it's something that a lot of people for purposes of going out target shooting — in my state they use them to shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints," Thune told CNN this week. And so I think there are legitimate reasons why people would want to have them."
AR-15-style rifles are semi-automatic rifles originally designed for military use that are now marketed primarily as sporting rifles.
Thune's comments on AR-15s being needed for prairie dog hunting come weeks after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy claimed people need the weapons to defend themselves from "feral pigs."
In an interview published on May 26, Vice News asked Cassidy whether he believed there was any room to ban assault weapons in the country, and why anyone would need an AR-15-style weapon.
"If you talk to the people that own it, killing feral pigs in the, whatever, the middle of Louisiana. They'll wonder: 'Why would you take it away from me?'" Cassidy told Vice.
Cassidy's remarks inadvertently referenced a meme from 2019 involving a hypothetical argument on Twitter where someone argued that they needed the firearms to "kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play."
In the meantime, President Joe Biden has called for renewed restrictions on assault weapons following the Texas school massacre, which left at least 21 people — including 19 children — dead.
More: Gun Control Uvalde Gun Control Laws ar-15
Prairie Dogs | 2022-06-08T05:44:29Z | www.businessinsider.com | GOP Senator Says AR-15s Are Needed to Kill 'Prairie Dogs' | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-senator-says-ar15s-are-needed-to-kill-prairie-dogs-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-senator-says-ar15s-are-needed-to-kill-prairie-dogs-2022-6 |
Trump's former top lawyer Pat Cipollone is in talks to testify publicly at a Jan 6 House Committee primetime hearing: report
Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said he would testify about Jeffrey Clark, a DOJ official who outlined ways for Trump to challenge the 2020 election.
Trump's former White House counsel is in talks to testify publicly, ABC News reported.
The January 6 Committee wants to put him on a panel with top Justice Department officials, per ABC.
If the talks succeed, he would appear on one of the six primetime hearings on the Capitol riot.
Pat Cipollone, who served as one of former President Donald Trump's top lawyers in the White House, is in talks with the January 6 House Committee to publicly testify about last year's Capitol riot, ABC News reported.
The former White House counsel has indicated that his testimony will be about Jeffrey Clark, a former top Justice Department official who reportedly used his powers to try and aid Trump in overturning the 2020 election, the outlet reported, citing sources close to the matter.
Cipollone had previously spoken with the January 6 committee during an informal interview in April.
ABC News reported that the committee now wants to put Cipollone on a panel with former acting US Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, former Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, and former DOJ attorney Steve Engel.
Rosen and Donoghue have been formally invited to testify for at least one of the six primetime hearings, the first of which is scheduled to start on Thursday.
The New York Times previously reported that Trump had wanted to fire Rosen as the US attorney general and replace him with Clark, who had planned ways to challenge the 2020 election results in Trump's favor.
However, Trump was ultimately dissuaded when top Justice Department officials threatened to resign if the replacement went through, The Times reported.
Cipollone and Pat Philbin, a former deputy White House counsel, said they would resign should Clark be installed as attorney general, ABC reported, citing testimony from Donoghue.
Several issues may need to be addressed before Cipollone can testify, such as who questions him and for how long, if there are any ongoing issues of privilege, and whether Trump would approve of him appearing during the hearing, the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The January 6 committee's six upcoming hearings, all scheduled for primetime airing, are expected to unveil key findings of the year-long investigation into the Capitol attack.
Republican lawmakers who refused to participate in the investigation are now preparing to defend Trump, though it's not yet clear what their effort will entail. Some of them have claimed that the decision to host the primetime hearings belies a greater public interest in rising gas prices, a baby formula shortage, and the state of the economy.
More: insider news Donald Trump pat cipollone january 6 | 2022-06-08T05:44:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ex-Counsel for Trump in Talks With Jan 6 Committee to Testify Publicly | https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-former-counsel-pat-cipollone-talks-testify-publicly-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-former-counsel-pat-cipollone-talks-testify-publicly-2022-6 |
Deliveroo and Farfetch-backer Felix Capital wants to find the next big thing in consumer tech. It just raised $600 million to invest in founders ready to beat the downturn.
Consumer-focused VC firm Felix Capital has raised $600 million for a new fund.
The fund is its fourth since inception in 2015, and will invest in emerging sectors such as Web3.
The raise comes as investors prepare to back private companies more cautiously amid falls in valuations.
Felix Capital, a London-based venture capital firm behind consumer tech companies such as Deliveroo, Farfetch and Peloton, has raised $600 million in capital for a fresh fund, taking the total funds under management to over $1.2 billion.
The fund, Felix Capital's fourth since its inception in 2015, doubles the amount of capital overseen by the firm as it looks to spearhead a wave of new investments into emerging sectors such as Web3 and other consumer areas amid a critical time for the global startup ecosystem.
Market uncertainty as a result of soaring inflation and geopolitical risk has triggered a severe downturn in public and private tech markets. The downturn and VC pullback has already affected tech startups that have fetched lofty valuations over the last decade.
In recent months, several unicorn startups worth billions of dollars such as fintech giant Klarna have been forced to cut jobs, put themselves up for sale or face significant cuts in valuation as an uncertain funding environment has cast a shadow over their future.
For Frederic Court, Felix Capital's founder and a former investment banker at Lazard, the current panic among VCs and startups follows a year in which attitudes to growth were "very exuberant", but he believes the industry "has been reminded that macro matters" in 2022.
"The main difficulty over the past 18-24 months was not so much to find attractive opportunities or great companies or great founders, it was more a question of assessing what those companies were worth," he said.
Despite the challenging environment, Court believes the technology-led consumer trends that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic are here to stay for the long-term, giving reason to remain confident in investments.
"People got used to the convenience of ordering online, using new tools for collaboration and communication and all these new platforms for entertainment, creativity," he added. "All of this is not going away."
Despite this, Court said he doesn't think many companies will go public soon given "a slowdown" in IPO listings, but expects strategic mergers to take place where it makes sense for startups to "rebalance their business or readapt to the needs of the modern consumer".
Felix Capital, which closed its fund earlier this year after exceeding its $500 million target, will look to invest in up to 25 tech startups over the next couple of years across Europe and the US at an early stage, but holds flexibility to invest into later stages too.
More: Venture Capital Consumer brands Farfetch | 2022-06-08T07:15:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | Felix Capital Raises $600 Million for New Fund As It Eyes Next Wave of Consumer Startups | https://www.businessinsider.com/felix-capital-600-million-fund-farfetch-deliveroo-web3-consumer-startups-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/felix-capital-600-million-fund-farfetch-deliveroo-web3-consumer-startups-2022-6 |
Exclusive: Medical AI startup Owkin just secured $80 million as it gears up to launch a drug trial with the pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb
Tasmin Lockwood and Callum Burroughs
Owkin's founders, Thomas Clozel and Gilles Wainrib.
The medical artificial-intelligence startup Owkin, a unicorn, just secured $80 million.
It's set to partner with the pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb on a drug trial.
The pair hope Owkin's technology will help bring drugs to market faster through efficient trials.
The medical artificial-intelligence unicorn Owkin has secured $80 million as it gears up to launch a drug trial with the American pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb.
The French-American startup, which was founded in 2016, has developed an technology to speed up drug discovery and development. Its platform allows doctors, medical researchers, and pharmaceutical companies to identify new drug candidates, and clinical trials while drawing on health data from usually siloed sources such as hospitals across the US and Europe.
The $80 million is split between a Series B-1 equity round, led by Bristol Myers Squibb, and up-front fees for a clinical trial for cardiovascular drugs using Owkin's technology. The company couldn't reveal exact figures, but a source familiar with the terms of the deal says the equity investment stands at $50 million.
The fresh funding brings the startup's total raised to over $300 million, building on a previously announced $250 million.
The goal is that the AI technology will bring these new drugs to market faster via more precise and effective trials.
Owkin's AI seeks to make clinical trials more efficient for patients, because the technology can predict certain biomarkers for diseases and treatment outcomes for diseases like breast cancer. The startup's technology also aims to estimate the effectiveness of treatments using covariate adjustment — a technique to increase the trial's statistical power without increasing the sample size — and patient data from previous clinical trials.
For example, Owkin's technology was used to scan and analyze digital tumor slides using a patient's medical history and other medical data, such as surgery type, according to FierceBioTech. In another study, the technology scanned tumors to predict more effective treatment responses for patients with mesothelioma.
"If you try to develop a drug for all patients, it's becoming harder and harder," Owkin's CEO and cofounder, Thomas Clozel told Insider. "Finding what population you want to develop the drug into and the right diagnostic tools to detect them is really something that we need to bring forward."
The company could raise further investment from Bristol Myers Squibb if it meets specific milestones through the trial.
The investment comes after a three-year relationship between the startup and the drug giant. Clozel hopes this new partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb will show that Owkin can improve the workflow of clinical trials, which he said it did for drug discovery with the French healthcare company Sanofi.
The startup struck a similar partnership last year with Sanofi that saw the multinational invest $180 million in Owkin while applying its technology to drug discovery for four types of cancers.
"Despite many advances from Bristol Myers Squibb and the field in general, cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death globally," said Venkat Sethuraman, the global-biometrics and data-sciences head at the pharmaceutical company.
"We are taking a translational approach to cardiovascular drug discovery and development — subtyping patient populations to identify targeted therapeutics, expanding the use of biomarkers and real-world data to better design trials, and ultimately determining which patients are most likely to benefit from treatments."
The startup's service that makes clinical trials more effective for patients is free for researchers but sold to pharmaceutical companies. Owkin plans to also run drug discovery in house, developing its own intellectual property, which it would then take to pharmaceutical companies to take to market.
"We want to become an AI biotech to de-risk treatments and find new treatments at scale," Clozel said.
The 180-employee company, which plans to grow to 250 employees with the new investment, employs a "brick by brick" approach to creating solutions for unmet medical needs. It will next look at autoimmune drugs.
Owkin plans to use the cash to grow in the US and Europe, expand its data network, and develop its own IP pipeline of treatments.
More: Venture Capital Tech Insder BI Tech | 2022-06-08T07:15:21Z | www.businessinsider.com | Medical AI Startup Owkin Secures $80 Million From Bristol Myers Squibb | https://www.businessinsider.com/medical-ai-startup-owkin-bristol-myers-squibb-drug-trial-health-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/medical-ai-startup-owkin-bristol-myers-squibb-drug-trial-health-2022-6 |
US stocks have rarely been this cheap, and investors should buy these 8 high-quality companies that became bargains in May, according to Morningstar's top US strategist.
Investors looking for bargains don't need to look any further.
Investment analysis firm Morningstar says US stocks are near their lowest prices of the last decade.
Chief US Market Strategist Dave Sekera says growth stocks and small caps are especially cheap.
Those areas have been hit hard in 2022, and investors aren't sure it's safe to get back in.
Some experts who are bearish on the stock market say that even after all the selling that's gone on in the last few months, stocks still look expensive.
They're concerned that stocks could keep falling as companies grapple with challenges like rising interest rates, high inflation, elevated energy prices, changing consumer preferences, and signs of a weakened economy.
But Morningstar Chief US Market Strategist Dave Sekera thinks equities are surprisingly cheap right now.
Sekera says that at the end of May, US stocks were as cheap as they were during the major market scares of 2011 and 2018, and at their recent lows they were almost as inexpensive as they were during the COVID crash.
"Since 2011, on a monthly basis, there have only been a few other instances in which the markets have traded at such a large discount to our intrinsic valuation," he wrote. "We think the pendulum has swung too far the other direction and view the U.S. equity market as being significantly undervalued for long-term investors."
Sekera is evaluating companies based on Morningstar's estimates of their fair value, which is predicated on how much cash the companies are expected to generate and how predictable those cash flows are.
Sekera says growth stocks were surprisingly the least expensive among the companies he analyzed, and were trading at a 19% discount to Morningstar's estimates of their fair value. He adds that small-cap stocks, which have also been hit hard in 2022, were trading at a discount of the same size.
Sekera writes that more volatility is to be expected because of the major challenges stocks are facing, but he says investors shouldn't get out of this market.
"We think that now is not the time to be reducing exposures but to be adding judiciously — especially in high-quality companies — based on your investment plan and goals," he said.
He writes that the following eight companies all have wide economic moats that should give them durable advantages over the long run, but despite their leads over competitors, they all fell to unusually low valuations in May.
Morningstar rates companies on a scale of one to five stars based on the companies' "economic moat," the fair value of the stock and its confidence in that value, and how expensive the stock is relative to that price. All of the following companies were rated five stars.
4. Compass Minerals
Ticker: ZMH | 2022-06-08T10:17:52Z | www.businessinsider.com | 8 Cheap, High Quality Stocks to Buy: Morningstar Top Strategist | https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-cheap-high-quality-stocks-to-buy-morningstar-top-strategist-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-cheap-high-quality-stocks-to-buy-morningstar-top-strategist-2022-6 |
Mortgage rates have remained fairly stable in recent weeks. The 30-year fixed rates inched up slightly above 5% yesterday, but they haven't experienced any dramatic increases like we've seen in the past few months.
Even with calming rates, rates are still 2% higher now than they were this time last year. This has started to have a cooling effect on the housing market, as some buyers are priced out due to the combination of high rates and high prices.
But there may be some relief coming toward the end of the buying season, says Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified and senior vice president of Cardinal Financial, as overpriced homes are reduced down to market prices. Homebuyers shouldn't lose hope yet. | 2022-06-08T10:17:58Z | www.businessinsider.com | Today's Mortgage, Refinance Rates: June 8, 2022 | Rates Inch up Slightly | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mortgage-refinance-rates-today-wednesday-june-8-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mortgage-refinance-rates-today-wednesday-june-8-2022-6 |
Here's how to structure your portfolio as the odds of a recession rise 'dramatically' in the next two years, according to a portfolio manager at $631 billion Federated Hermes — and 6 economic indicators to closely monitor for weakness
One market expert believes a recession is coming, but not until 2023 or 2024.
Steve Chiavarone of Federated Hermes isn't outright bearish, but is cautious about the economy.
The strategist and portfolio manager sees a recession coming in 2023 or 2024.
Here's how investors should position their portfolios and allocate money to stocks and bonds.
Last October, Steve Chiavarone was waving the green flag for stocks — with a caveat.
The equity strategist and head of multi-asset solutions at $631 billion Federated Hermes had a 2021 year-end price target of 4,800 for the S&P 500, and predicted that the index would rise another 10% to 5,300 by the end of 2022 — even though he told Insider that inflation was a serious threat.
The 500-component index ended 2021 within 1% of Chiavarone's price target, even as prices rose dramatically. Investors largely dismissed the risk of inflation and continued to send stocks higher.
But less than six months later, that year-end 2022 price target is looking unlikely. The S&P 500 has tumbled 13% this year to about 4,140 as investors' risk-on sentiment evaporates.
A key reason why is that inflation is now impossible to ignore, even for government officials that long downplayed its seriousness. There's a growing sense of dread that price surges will force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to a level that stalls growth and causes a recession . Some experts believe that rates have already risen enough, but Chiavarone isn't buying it.
"It's very popular to want to say, 'peak inflation, peak Fed hawkishness,'" Chiavarone told Insider in a recent interview. "Well, I'm not so sure. And here's what I mean by that: Do I think inflation is necessarily going to accelerate meaningfully from here? Not necessarily, but I also don't think that this story's over."
Chiavarone later added: "The market, again, has fooled itself into some complacency around the Fed."
6 recession signs to watch for
While Chiavarone certainly isn't complacent about the threat that inflation and rising interest rates may continue to pose, he said his view on the economy is "not outright bearish" yet either.
"Even with the rate hikes that are coming through and even with the economic slowing that's going to be the result of that, it's just going to take a while," Chiavarone said. "The economy had so much momentum, and indicators were so strong, and consumers and corporates were so well-capitalized that you are going to get a landing that's a little harder, but it's going to take some time."
The strategist continued: "Our view is that it's unlikely that you're in a recession in 2022, but if you get late in 2023 or even early 2024, I think those odds move up dramatically."
A recession in 2023 or 2024 is Chiavarone's base case because he thinks the alternative — a so-called "soft landing" where the US central bank slows inflation without hurting the economy — is a long shot. Even Fed chairman Jerome Powell admitted that it would be "challenging."
"The opportunity for the Fed to engineer a soft landing — historically, that's not the most likely outcome," Chiavarone said. "And I think given how late they started and how hot they let things run and how much they're going to hike this year, I think a hard landing is a real possibility here."
There are six indicators that Chiavarone said have historically foreshadowed a recession: a jump in unemployment claims, rising inflation, a decline in housing starts, an inversion in the 10-year US Treasury note to Federal Funds rate curve, a spike in high-yield bond spreads, and a drop in the ISM manufacturing report.
More specifically, Chiavarone is watching for jobless claims to increase by 64,000 from their near-term low — they are currently 34,000 off their low of 166,000 set in March. Inflation — as measured by core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) — over 1.6 percentage points higher than normal is also a big problem. Unfortunately, that is a mark it has already far surpassed.
Meanwhile, Chiavarone is keeping an eye out for housing starts falling 690,o00 — right now they are only down by 53,000. He's also watching the 10-year-to-Fed funds rate curve; it currently has a positive slope of about 2 percentage points, but if it inverts by 3.85 percentage points, Chiavarone says we're in trouble.
As for the final two indicators, Chiavarone says investors should be concerned if high-yield bond spreads hit 7 percentage points — they're still a few percentage points away — and if the ISM manufacturing report should fall to 47.8 from where it currently sits at 56.1.
These signs are "no magic formula" but are instead meant to be helpful economic barometers when both the level of deterioration and timeframe in which it occurred are considered, the strategist said. Five of the six indicators appear to be out of the danger territory, for now.
"It's really only the inflation prints that are indicative of recession at that level," Chiavarone said.
How to structure a portfolio
In addition to heading up multi-asset solutions at Federated Hermes, Chiavarone is also a portfolio manager who helps run his firm's Global Allocation Fund (SBFIX). The product has outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year and has beaten 70% or more of competing funds in both the past five and 10 years, according to Morningstar.
Currently, Chiavarone said he's about 3 percentage points overweight in both stocks and cash and is structuring his portfolio as follows: 63% stocks, 31% fixed income, and 6% cash.
The portfolio manager said he's currently focused on two main groups of stocks: cyclicals and defensives that pay dividends.
Economically sensitive stocks in sectors like energy, materials, industrials, and financials are a key part of Chiavarone's portfolio. But the strategist has said that stocks in those sectors were a "limited-time offer" with the economy bound to slow, and he's now inclined to sell cyclicals on rallies.
Conversely, Chiavarone said he'd buy dips in dividend-paying names in defensive sectors like consumer staples, utilities, and healthcare to prepare for an eventual recession. The portfolio manager highlighted those former two sectors in February in what he predicted would be the "revenge of the boring" stocks. His affinity for consumer staples is a departure from his disdain for the group back in October.
Outside of specific sectors, Chiavarone views large companies more favorably than small-caps as both interest rates and recession risks rise. He added that it's "hard to be overweight anything but the US at this point" as the Russia-Ukraine war hangs over the European economy, while China's controversial "COVID-zero" policy cripples that country's economy.
In terms of bonds, there may not be a rally for the beleaguered asset class anytime soon as "downward pressure" remains for the group, Chiavarone said. The Fed's decision to reduce liquidity by selling bonds has sent prices down, which in turn pushes up yields.
However, investors should watch closely for a chance to strike as economic weakness leads to a flight to safety in the form of long-duration bonds. When the 10-year's yield rises between 3% to 3.25%, the strategist said that may be a sign to dip into the beaten-down group.
"I think that there is an opportunity — not yet — but I think there's an opportunity over the course of the next six to 12 months where you really are going to want to go long duration on fixed income and buy longer term bonds," Chiavarone said.
Chiavarone continued: "As the rate hikes start to hit the economic data and the economic data soften and a hard landing comes more into focus, you're going to want to have longer duration fixed income in your portfolio, which no one's wanted to touch this year."
On Monday, which was just days after Chiavarone's call, the 10-year's yield topped 3% for the first time since 2019. Investors targeting long-duration bonds should consider pairing them with their short-duration counterparts as well as cash, the portfolio manager said.
Recession indicator
Steve Chiavarone
Steve Chiavarone Federated Hermes
Steve Chiavarone business insider | 2022-06-08T10:18:04Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Invest, 6 Recession Signs to Watch: Federated Hermes | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-risk-economic-downturn-how-to-invest-strategy-federated-hermes-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-risk-economic-downturn-how-to-invest-strategy-federated-hermes-2022-6 |
When asked to respond to Joseph's description of his experience, a Ryanair spokesperson told Insider in a statement there had been "substantially increased cases of fraudulent South African passports being used to enter the UK." It said the "simple questionnaire in the Afrikaans language" is used "to minimize the risk of fake passport usage."
More: Ryanair as told to Transportation Language Testing | 2022-06-08T10:18:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ryanair Made Me Do a Language Test Because I'm South African | https://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-afrikaans-language-test-south-africa-flight-uk-example-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-afrikaans-language-test-south-africa-flight-uk-example-2022-6 |
A frustrated home buyer.
The housing market may be slowing — but home prices are still climbing.
Mortgage rate hikes have helped to push housing affordability to a new all-time low.
As prices soar, buyer sentiment has fallen to new lows.
The housing market may be slowing down, but that doesn't mean buying a home has become any more affordable.
Across the country, hopeful buyers are eagerly waiting for home prices to fall — especially as buyer competition continues to fizzle out. However, despite waning demand, prices are still rising and that could mean prospective buyers are betting on a pipe dream.
According to Corelogic, home prices hit a new all-time high in April. During the month, they grew by 20.9% from 2021 – marking the 123rd consecutive month of price gains. The increase is attributed to mortgage rate hikes, which researchers say drove buyer urgency.
"The record growth in home prices is a result of a scarcity of for-sale inventory coupled with eager buyers who want to purchase before mortgage rates go higher," Patric Dodd, president and CEO at CoreLogic, told Insider.
Buyers became accustomed to low rates during the pandemic, but the Federal Reserve's recent attempts to cool inflation have driven them higher. Despite rate growth slowing in the past few weeks, they're trending far above levels seen in the pandemic's early days.
According to Freddie Mac, the average U.S. fixed rate for a 30-year mortgage came in at 5.09% this week, declining from a pandemic high of 5.30% but still a tremendous increase from a pandemic low of 2.68% in December 2020.
"Most buyers who closed on their home in April had locked in their mortgage rate in February or March when rates were lower than today," Dodd said. "With 30-year fixed mortgage rates much higher now, we expect to see waning buyer activity because of eroding affordability."
Higher housing costs are pushing out potential buyers
Housing affordability has been on the decline for years — and it's only getting worse.
The US economy is likely facing a recession in the next year, and that means the housing market is in dicey territory too. With inflation at a forty-year high and consumer sentiment at a decade low, many Americans are struggling to afford homeownership.
According to the National Association of Realtors, rapid home price and mortgage rate growth has plummeted housing affordability by 29% over the last year – representing the steepest annual decline on record.
"With mortgage rates surging over 200 basis points in the past four months alone, many home shoppers are hitting a hard ceiling on their budgets and demand for new homes is waning as a result," George Ratiu, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement."
As buyers grapple with affordability, a survey shows that more and more Americans do not believe now is a good time to purchase a home.
According to Fannie's Home Purchase Sentiment Index, the percentage of survey respondents who say it is a good time to buy decreased from 19% to 17% in May, while the percentage of those who say it is a bad time to buy increased from 76% to 79%.
"Consumers' expectations that their personal financial situations will worsen over the next year reached an all-time high in the May survey, and they expressed greater concern about job security," Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said in a statement. "Further, respondents' pessimism regarding home buying conditions carried forward into May, with the percentage of respondents reporting it's a bad time to buy a home hitting a new survey high."
As buyer sentiment falls, Fannie says the share of those who believe it's "easy to get a mortgage" decreased across almost all segments of their survey. Their data also shows that the percentage of respondents who believe mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months decreased from 5% to 4%.
"These results suggest to us that increased mortgage rates, high home prices, and inflation will likely continue to squeeze would-be homebuyers – as well as those potential sellers with lower, locked-in mortgage rates – out of the market," Duncan said.
More: Housing Affordability Fannie Mae Homebuyers Homeowners | 2022-06-08T10:52:19Z | www.businessinsider.com | Housing Crisis: Affordability Hits All-Time Low As House Prices Climb | https://www.businessinsider.com/afford-to-buy-a-home-real-estate-housing-crisis-prices-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/afford-to-buy-a-home-real-estate-housing-crisis-prices-2022-6 |
Kali Hays, Claire Atkinson, Natalie Jarvey, and Tom Dotan
Roku CEO Anthony Wood.
Roku has a growing advertising business, something Netflix is looking to get into.
Roku started as a product inside Netflix. It was spun out more than a decade ago.
A deal makes sense, some insiders say. Others question Netflix's desire for a hardware company.
At Roku, a video-streaming platform operator that's suffered a punishing stock plunge, employees are buzzing about the possibility of an acquisition — and their talk and hopes are pinned on Netflix.
Employees at Roku have been discussing the possibility of a Netflix acquisition in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The chatter comes as Roku's stock has dropped about 80% since late July on weaker demand for video streaming and lower set-top-box sales.
Roku competes with Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung in the market for streaming devices, and some of those industry titans are battling with the smaller company for lucrative video-ad dollars. The collapse in Roku's stock made it hard to compete with its larger tech rivals on pay in a tight labor market. The result has been a staggering increase in equity grants to employees, leaving Roku well underwater on stock-based compensation.
Roku has been seen as an acquisition target before — including last year, when, according to The Wall Street Journal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts considered purchasing the company. In January, the departure of a top Roku executive stoked questions about the company's future.
In recent weeks, the possibility of a Netflix acquisition has become the focus of internal chatter at Roku. That's when Roku abruptly closed the trading window for all employees, prohibiting them from selling any of their vested stock at a time when they should normally be able to do so, according to two of the people familiar with the matter.
There may be other reasons for such a trading halt. Companies typically close trading windows for employees before releasing information that will affect their share price to avoid insider trading.
Spokespeople for Roku and Netflix declined to comment.
Netflix wants ads and Roku has them
Some of the people familiar with the matter, along with industry bankers and other experts, told Insider the timing would be advantageous for both parties if they were looking to strike a deal. Roku's valuation had plunged below $13 billion as of the close of trading on Tuesday, making an acquisition easier to swallow than a year ago when Comcast was reportedly eyeing a deal.
Netflix is looking to introduce advertising to its service for the first time as it faces increased competition and subscriber losses. Roku has built a robust video-advertising platform that generated $647 million in first-quarter revenue. That's about seven times the sales brought in by Roku's hardware business, which makes video-streaming boxes and related devices.
"It makes sense with where Netflix wants to go," a technology investment banker said. "And it makes sense in this current environment. Everyone is looking around thinking, 'I was worth twice as much last year. What happened?'"
One senior-level Roku employee said a deal between the two companies would "align well in terms of culture, business, and current valuation." Netflix is trying hard to get into advertising-based video on demand "and Roku has it," this person added. Everyone who spoke with Insider for this story asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
A long, intertwined history
Netflix has turned to acquisitions in the recent past to help it expand. When the company decided last year to start offering video games, it went on a mini acquisition spree, snapping up several small game developers, including Boss Fight Entertainment in a March deal.
Roku and Netflix have a long, intertwined history. Anthony Wood, Roku's founder and CEO, developed a set-top box inside Netflix in the early 2000s. For many years, the companies operated their corporate headquarters next door to each other in Los Gatos, California.
Reed Hastings, a Netflix cofounder and co-CEO, decided to spin that business out in 2008 over concerns that owning its own platform would hamper its ability to distribute its streaming app on other devices.
In 2014, Hastings reiterated his lack of interest in hardware. "We're working with over 1,000 devices now. There's no value add for us to do a device," he said during an interview at the Code Conference.
One Roku insider was skeptical of a deal, saying Netflix "never showed an appetite for getting into hardware." Roku commands a leading share of the connected-TV market in the US, but sales of its players tumbled 19% during the first quarter, resulting in a loss for the division.
That part of the business is now dwarfed by Roku's advertising operation, though. And Netflix would get immediate scale in advertising by buying Roku.
'There's no religion anymore'
Netflix is under siege from other video streamers, sending its stock down about 70% in the past six months. Owning Roku would give it a huge competitive advantage when it comes to knowing what people watch and when they stop watching, not just on Netflix but also across rival streaming channels carried through Roku boxes.
One media-industry executive who has spoken with Netflix in recent weeks told Insider that Hastings' view of his company's future was, "Nothing is off the table," and that he's open to anything.
"There's no religion anymore," this person said.
Roku has more than 61 million active accounts, making it an important strategic weapon in the growing battle for video-streaming-ad dollars between tech and media-industry giants. While its neutral status was a valuable tool in the past, the company's direct connection to so many consumers and homes could give Netflix more power to negotiate with other platforms and industry titans. Indeed, Apple and Amazon run video-streaming services and sell their own streaming devices. That hasn't prevented those companies from offering rival services through their hardware.
Yet some industry observers questioned whether it would make sense for Netflix to spend so much on an acquisition at a time when it faced pressure from investors to boost revenue growth and staunch subscriber losses. Despite purchasing several small video game developers recently, the company has eschewed major M&A deals.
One industry analyst also highlighted that Netflix could run afoul of antitrust regulators if it tried to buy Roku. Another industry source said Netflix was early in figuring out what it wants to do in advertising and might not know yet if it needs to go shopping for a business the size of Roku.
Despite recent share declines, Roku would probably cost Netflix at least one-fifth of its $88 billion market valuation.
More: Roku Netflix Comcast
Merger and Acquisitions | 2022-06-08T10:52:27Z | www.businessinsider.com | Inside Roku, Talk Is Heating up About an Acquisition by Netflix | https://www.businessinsider.com/roku-employees-talk-possible-acquisition-by-netflix-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/roku-employees-talk-possible-acquisition-by-netflix-2022-6 |
TikTok Shop opened its corporate office in London in October.
A TikTok executive is under investigation over his comments about maternity leave, The FT reports.
A senior executive at ByteDance, which owns TikTok, shocked employees at TikTok's London offices when he said at a dinner that as a "capitalist," he didn't believe companies should offer paid leave to new parents, according to a Financial Times report.
Joshua Ma, who heads up TikTok Europe's e-commerce division, was placed under internal investigation for his comments, according to the report.
Ma did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
A TikTok spokesperson told Insider: "We are investigating alleged statements and actions to determine whether there has been a breach of company policies."
More: TikTok Bytedance Toxic Workplace TikTok Shop | 2022-06-08T10:52:28Z | www.businessinsider.com | TikTok Exec 'Didn't Believe' Firms Should Offer Maternity Leave: FT | https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-exec-bytedance-europe-offer-maternity-leave-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-exec-bytedance-europe-offer-maternity-leave-2022-6 |
Sen. John Thune alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at a news conference.
Several Republicans who criticized Trump emerged unscathed from their primaries Tuesday.
They include Sen. John Thune, whose political career Trump declared "over."
Recent primary results have exposed the limits of Trump's power over the GOP.
Criticizing President Donald Trump was once considered a career-ending move in the GOP.
But primary elections on Tuesday saw victories for several Republicans who defied the former president, showing the limits to his ability to reshape the party.
In South Dakota Sen. John Thune won a convincing victory over his primary challengers. Thune clashed with Trump over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, saying his ploy "would go down like a shot dog"
Trump lashed out at Thune after the remarks, labelling him a "RINO [Republican in name only]" and declaring his political career "over."
Among those trying to unseat Thune was Mark Mowry, who had taken part in the protests in Washington DC ahead of the January 6 riot. (Mowry was not endorsed by Trump in the race.)
Also on the ballot Tuesday were Republicans who voted in favor of creating the January 6 House committee, a move furiously opposed by Trump.
Two of the pro-committee candidates saw off challenges from MAGA candidates who championed the election-fraud conspiracy theories that fueled the riot and have been relentlessly pushed by Trump since.
In New Jersey, Rep. Chris Smith fought off a primary challenge from Mike Crispi, a MAGA activist and radio host backed by former Trump strategist Roger Stone.
In South Dakota, Rep. Dusty Johnson defeated challenger Taffy Howard, who championed Trump's election fraud "Big Lie."
In Mississippi a similar battle remains undecided: the contest between incumbent Rep. Michael Guest and challenger Michael Cassidy is likely to be decided in a run-off election.
The results are notable because Trump so heavily emphasized supporting his bogus election-fraud claims, making it a key test to prove a candidate's loyalty.
None of the candidates challenging Trump's GOP rivals had been formally endorsed by him, unlike in the Georgia primaries, where Trump's official candidates lost.
But all were backers of Trump's election-fraud "Big Lie," and their loss represents a setback for his agenda.
Overall, Trump remains the dominant figure in the GOP, with his endorsement a highly prized asset.
Many of his high profile endorsees have won their primaries, the most recent being Mehmet Oz, who was this week declared winner in a close-fought primary for a Pennsylvania Senate seat.
But a number of recent primary results have not gone Trump's way, particularly in Georgia where Gov. Brian Kemp trounced Trump-endorsee David Perdue, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger defeated Jody Hice. Both winners had opposed Trump's bid to overturn the election in the state, and Trump had poured energy and resources into trying to unseat them.
The results have some Republican strategists wondering if total fealty to Trump remains a necessity.
Of Trump's influence Bob Heckman, a veteran Republican consultant, told Politico: "Before, it was perceived to be a done deal that Trump could kill you, and now it's not so clear."
More: John Thune Jan 6 committee Donald Trump Republican primaries | 2022-06-08T11:49:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | GOP Trump Critics Win Primaries, Depriving Him and Allies of Revenge | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-trump-critics-win-primaries-depriving-trump-circle-of-revenge-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-trump-critics-win-primaries-depriving-trump-circle-of-revenge-2022-6 |
Intel is hiring for 2,500 open roles, even as tech hits a downturn. Here's how to land a job paying $100,000 at the chip giant.
Pat Gelsinger, the CEO of Intel.
Pool Eric Lalmand/Getty Images
Intel is hiring over 2,500 people in the US to expand its manufacturing business.
Divisions such as engineering, research, and security have a plethora of open roles.
Jason Patterson — an Intel recruitment manager — tells Insider how applicants can stand out.
Despite hiring slowdowns and freezes in tech, chip-manufacturing giant Intel is aggressively hiring with over 2,500 job openings across the nation.
Last year, Pat Gelsinger — the CEO of Intel — announced a $20-billion plan to invest in factories and engineering roles in the US to combat the ongoing semiconductor shortage. That's an unprecedented scale of investment in hiring new roles, Jason Patterson — a senior-staffing manager at Intel — told Insider. He said to land one of those roles, candidates will need to highlight their certifications and stand out in the interview process with personal anecdotes.
Intel places a high value on candidates that demonstrate flexibility and willingness to work in other departments, Patterson said. Specific stories and data that exhibit collaboration go a long way, he added.
Still, it's the technical skills that seem to be in highest demand. Michael Yoo — a general manager at the tech-training platform SkillSoft — told Insider that while applicants don't necessarily need a degree to prove their knowledge, they should look for classes and certifications that demonstrate their qualifications.
"There seems to be an unquenchable thirst to build out technology skills," Yoo said. "It still tends to be a seller's market."
Job openings at Intel range from entry-level roles to senior-level positions in engineering, security, and more. Also, they're open to anyone, since Intel reversed a controversial no-rehire policy from 2015 that banned those whom the company had previosly laid off and those who left on their own.
Intel doesn't often disclose how much each role gets paid, so Insider analyzed nearly 1,000 H-1B visa applications from 2021 and determined that new hires, on average, can make over $100,000 yearly. Intel's numbers also don't include stock options or bonuses.
Here's a breakdown of the skills and certifications Intel is hiring for and expert advice on how to get the job.
Validation and software-engineering roles can pay over $100,000
Patterson said Intel has posted over 1,000 open-software and hardware-validation roles across the United States.
Validation engineers check the quality of Intel's products. It's often a good starting point for employees who want to move around the company, Patterson said.
There are several open entry-level validation engineer positions in Northern California. Salaries for these roles can range from $89,000 to $194,000, according to the H-1B data Insider analyzed.
Despite Intel's focus on processors, the firm is also hiring across its software departments. There are over 600 open-software-engineering roles across the company. Patterson said software powers validation work and manufacturing-quality control.
Salaries for software engineers depend on location, but can start anywhere from $77,000 to $95,000, the H-1B data shows.
Cloud roles are in demand
At Intel, there are nearly 300 open positions in its cloud division. While many of these roles don't require any certifications, Yoo said experience in cloud platforms can help prove competency.
He added that becoming a cloud generalist and specializing in multiple platforms can help candidates stand out.
For example, open-cloud roles at Intel, like the cloud-software-services engineer position, list an understanding of multiple cloud platforms in its preferred-qualifications section. The listing also mentions skills in programming languages like Java or C++, familiarity with the Linux operating system, and a background in artificial intelligence as required and preferred skills.
"Even if you decide that you don't want to be a coder, you have to know a little bit of what's it like to code. It's foundational," Yoo said.
Security pros and researchers can start close to $100,000
Intel is also hiring for over 400 open roles in its cybersecurity division — including security researchers, analysts, and engineers — that can pay between $80,000 and $95,000.
The information-security analyst role lists security, database administration, and coding certifications in its preferred-qualifications section. A network-information-security engineer listing mentions security certifications in Security+, GIAC Security Essentials, entry-level networking, and (ISC)² in its preferred qualifications section.
According to Yoo, getting a security certification can go a long way for candidates applying to any role because it's a hot field.
More: Intel Jobs Recruitment | 2022-06-08T11:49:14Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Get a $100,000 Job at Intel: Skills, Experience, and More | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-hired-intel-salary-tech-skills-certifications-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-hired-intel-salary-tech-skills-certifications-2022-6 |
Read the pitch deck startup Regie.ai used to raise a $4.8 million seed round for its AI tool to help salespeople close more deals
Regie.ai cofounders (from left to right) Srinath Sridhar and Matt Millen.
Regie.ai
Sales automation startup Regie.ai launched for public use on Tuesday.
It raised $4.8 million from a mix of venture capitalists and angel investors while in stealth mode.
Cofounders Srinath Sridhar and Matt Millen share the pitch deck it used to land the funds.
Coming out of stealth mode is a big deal for startups. It's when the firm finally releases a new product for public use, after months or even years of hard work behind the scenes.
So, when Regie.ai, an artificial intelligence-based software that automates sales processes, emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday, it also announced $4.8 million in seed funding. Foundation Capital, South Park Commons, Day One Ventures, and a group of angel investors participated in the round.
And it was able to land investors it had chemistry with by showcasing leadership's combined experience in sales and development, cofounders Srinath Sridhar and Matt Millen told Insider.
"If you're convinced that there is something here that shows, that confidence makes other people want to jump on board," Sridhar said. "If you don't have that confidence in yourself then I think it's very often a huge uphill battle."
Sridhar and Millen founded the startup in 2020. Their partnership started when they came together over similar ideas. They found a way to combine Sridhar's technical and engineering experience with Millen's background in sales as CEO of automated sales forecasting tool Outreach.io, according to the cofounders. Regie.ai declined to share its valuation, but said that telecommunications firms like AT&T and Charter Spectrum use the AI copywriting platform.
"We joined not just companies, but talents," Millen said.
That combination of sales and technology knowledge helped the cofounders hone their approach with investors, they told Insider. It was a balance between staying focused on the product and conveying a broad sense of growth, Sridhar said.
It's also helped that AI software is hot with investors. There has been a proliferation of AI copywriting software companies like Lavender.ai, Writesonic, and Copy.ai which all offer similar services. Copy.ai, for example, raised an $11 million Series A round in 2021 with backing from big VC firms like Sequoia Capital.
Eventually, Regie.ai plans to expand its service for consumers. The next iteration will use its software to craft copy for services like LinkedIn messages and recruiter outreach messages, Sridhar said.
With its latest funding, the firm plans to hire more members of its executive suite and invest in product development by hiring more engineers, according to the cofounders.
"I don't believe in building something that somebody else is building and just being off to the races in one way or another," Sridhar said. "We would love to continue to build to make sure there's distance between ourselves and anybody."
Read the pitch deck Regie.ai used to raise its $4.8 million seed round:
More: Pitch Deck AI copywriting | 2022-06-08T11:49:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | Read the Pitch Deck AI Startup Regie.ai Used to Raise $4.8 Million | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-ai-startup-regieai-raise-millions-stealth-venture-capital-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-ai-startup-regieai-raise-millions-stealth-venture-capital-2022-6 |
Amazon is building a local advertising business in its latest attempt to dent Google and Facebook's ad dominance
Lauren Johnson and Katherine Long
A worker at an Amazon warehouse.
Amazon is building a local ads business, according to job postings and company insiders.
Advertising has helped offset Amazon's sluggish sales and inflationary costs.
The new arm could take aim at the advertisers that make up most of Google and Facebook's ads business.
Amazon is going after local advertising in its latest move to expand its booming ad business.
Amazon has been advertising a handful of roles in cities like New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., to form a newly formed Local Ads team that would build relationships with local media companies and agencies. Amazon called the roles "a rare opportunity to join a start-up business with Amazon ads" that will "create a brand new business and revenue stream for Amazon Advertising."
One listing, for a head of channel sales, is looking for someone able to manage relationships "which may be unconventional in nature, need a centralized advocate, and/or have broader implications to multiple Amazon Advertising business units," suggesting that the Local Ads team would work closely with Amazon's existing advertising team.
Advertising has been saving Amazon's bacon amid sluggish sales and inflationary costs. The company reported $31 billion in ad revenue in 2021, making it the third biggest advertising company after Google and Facebook.
Amazon reported $3.7 billion in operating income during the first quarter, 32% below investor expectations. Slow sales and rising costs disappointed Wall Street, driving down Amazon's stock by 14% on the day after its earnings last month, its biggest one-day drop since 2006.
But Amazon's fast growing, high-margin advertising business has been a bright spot, according to internal documents that were reviewed by Insider.
An internally tracked figure called "North America Established," which represents revenue from the North American retail business excluding such segments as ads, groceries, and digital products, had $2.9 billion in operating losses last quarter, one of the documents shows. When ad sales were included in that segment, it turned an operating profit of $1.6 billion.
One person familiar with the plans said that Local Ads would sell Amazon's adtech products like streaming TV ads and a demand-side platform that sells ads off Amazon's website. Amazon makes most of its ad revenue from search ads but has invested more in adtech to get bigger ad budgets from advertisers.
Amazon's push into local advertising suggests that it's eyeing the millions of small businesses that make up the bulk of Facebook and Google's ad revenue, said Jay Friedman, president of ad agency Goodway Group, which works with smaller advertisers.
The Local Ads team would also help Amazon's effort to drive advertisers' brick and mortar sales, where most small businesses' sales come from, he said.
David Williams, head of Amazon and marketplaces at ad agency WPromote, said Amazon would be challenged to court small businesses that view the e-commerce giant as a rival, though.
"Most customers shop on Amazon for selection, price, and shipping," he said. "Local businesses are likely not going to be able to compete on price and selection compared to shopping all available sellers and products on Amazon."
More: Amazon Advertising Agencies Digital Advertising | 2022-06-08T13:16:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Is Going After Google and Facebook With a Local Ad Business | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-going-after-google-and-facebook-with-local-advertising-business-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-going-after-google-and-facebook-with-local-advertising-business-2022-6 |
Insurtech company Branch just became a unicorn. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that pushed them to over $1 billion valuation.
Steve Lekas, cofounder and board director of Branch, and Joe Emison, cofounder and CTO of Branch.
Branch raised nearly $150 million in financing in a Series C funding round.
Private-investment firm Weatherford Capital led the funding round.
Branch expects to offer insurance in all 50 US states by the second quarter of 2023.
The home-and- auto-insurance industry has seen slow disruption as startups have struggled to figure out how to take on massive incumbents like Geico and AAA.
Steve Lekas, a veteran of the insurance industry, believed that he could take on the giants by combining his longtime insider knowledge of the insurance industry and technology. Lekas spent 15 years developing online products at the insurance giant Allstate and its subsidiary, Esurance.
Lekas' brainchild is the startup Branch, which he cofounded with Joe Emison in 2019. The startup allows users to buy home insurance and bundle it with auto insurance within a few minutes at a lower cost than traditional insurance companies usually offer.
Now, the company has become a unicorn. The company recently closed a Series C funding round of $147 million, bringing the insurtech startup's valuation to $1.05 billion. Weatherford Capital led the round with participation from Acrew, AmFam Ventures, Anthemis, Gaingels, Greycroft, HSCM Ventures, and SignalFire.
Branch's technology uses only two pieces of data — the customer's name and address — to determine a quote for bundled home and auto insurance. The company's model also takes out other fees associated with acquisition costs, such as advertising, to lower prices. Lekas said the company works with regulators to limit those costs.
Lekas said the funding comes as Branch wants to grow its geographic footprint. The company currently operates in 28 states and plans to reach 45 by the end of 2022. Lekas said he estimates national coverage by the second quarter of 2023.
"If you have good economics, in a strong insurance business, we think we can both grow very fast and also create a business that stands on its own two feet," Lekas said. "We are continuing to expand nationally as fast as possible."
Branch investors believe the company can still grow despite the current market conditions in tech and broader predictions that fintech will be one of the hardest-hit sectors in the VC pullback.
David Seider — a principal partner at Weatherford and a member of Branch's board — told Insider that insurtech companies like Branch remain strong investments even during an economic downturn.
"Insurance will always have demand, and people will continue to need more affordable options," Seider said. "This is non-discretionary spending, and we believe that great companies like Branch will be founded in any economic environment."
Branch positions itself as a competitor against incumbents like AAA or State Farm Insurance, but is also up against other digital-insurtech companies like Lemonade and Hippo.
Here is an exclusive look at Branch's Series C pitch deck
Branch slide 1
More: Features Start-Up Insurance | 2022-06-08T13:16:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Here Is an Exclusive Look at New Insurtech Unicorn Branch's Pitchdeck | https://www.businessinsider.com/insurtech-unicorn-branchs-pitchdeck-home-auto-insurance-geico-state-farm-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/insurtech-unicorn-branchs-pitchdeck-home-auto-insurance-geico-state-farm-2022-6 |
LinkedIn has supercharged its ad business with a little-known consulting division that counts Oracle, SAS, and HP among its clients
LinkedIn is getting into the consultancy business with a new unit called B2B Edge.
The Microsoft-owned business social network hopes to expand beyond its digital display ad business.
B2B Edge already counts HP, Oracle, and SAS as clients.
B2B advertisers shifted spending from in-person channels to digital during the pandemic, and one of the biggest beneficiaries was LinkedIn.
B2B display ad spending skyrocketed 33% to $5 billion from 2020 to 2021, with 32% of that share going to LinkedIn, eMarketer found. And now, LinkedIn is trying to grow that revenue with a new consultancy called B2B Edge.
With B2B Edge, the social media platform for professionals is going after the spending dominated by consulting giants like Accenture, Deloitte, and Ogilvy Consulting. B2B Edge is trying to show B2B branding efforts can drive actions like email sign-ups or sales by analyzing campaigns that run on LinkedIn and elsewhere.
LinkedIn quietly launched B2B Edge eight months ago, working with clients like Oracle, HP, and analytics giant SAS. Linkedin wouldn't break out exactly how much revenue its making from B2B Edge but said it's already a significant contributor to its ad business.
In connecting branding to direct response, LinkedIn is hoping to convince B2B companies to spend more on branding. LinkedIn said 8% of B2B marketing dollars it gets go toward branding, with the rest going toward direct response. With B2B Edge, LinkedIn hopes to increase that share to 51% over the next decade, said LinkedIn's VP of marketing Jim Habig.
While LinkedIn says its data on 830 million members can differentiate B2B Edge from other consultancies, Habig stopped short of saying that the company has the Accentures and Deloittes of the world in its sights – at least, for now.
"We do not see B2B Edge as a standalone business at this point," he said.
The consultancy also primes LinkedIn to snap up B2B spending beyond digital display. While B2B advertisers spent just $5 billion on digital display in 2021, Insider Intelligence estimates B2B advertising overall totaled $26 billion in 2021 and will reach $30 billion by 2023.
"This consultancy positions us as much more than a digital display or advertising platform," said Habig. "It positions us as critical partners in creating effective B2B marketing strategies."
SAS is prepping for a 2024 IPO and started elevating its profile in mid-2021, with its first branding campaign in 20 years called "Curiosity Forever."
SAS used B2B Edge to measure the impact of its ad creative, said SAS CMO Jennifer Chase. B2B Edge started out measuring the creative that ran on LinkedIn but is now expanding to measure all of SAS's "Curiosity Forever" creative, including videos on YouTube and content published in The New York Times and Harvard Business Review. Chase said working with the consultancy has helped her justify ad spending devoted to branding.
"I can have a conversation about brand marketing and put it in financial terms," Chase said.
More: Social Advertising Consultancy LinkedIn Microsoft | 2022-06-08T13:16:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | LinkedIn Started a Consulting Business With Clients HP, Oracle | https://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-linkedin-started-a-consulting-business-with-hp-oracle-clients-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-linkedin-started-a-consulting-business-with-hp-oracle-clients-2022-6 |
Volunteers may be asked to assist passengers with lost baggage and ferry people through security.
James D. Morgan / Contributor/ Getty
Qantas has asked office staff to help it meet peak travel demand by working in Australian airports.
They may help customers find lost bags and work in security roles, per a memo seen by Bloomberg.
The airline industry is facing a labor shortage globally amid soaring travel demand.
Airline executives are having to get creative to find solutions to an industry labor shortage. For Qantas, that means looking within, by asking office workers to fill in as baggage handlers and security at airports.
On Wednesday, Melbourne staff at Australia's biggest airline, as well as staff at its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, were asked to help the airline meet peak July travel demand, according to Bloomberg, which cites an email sent by Jetstar's airport operations.
According to the memo, which outlines the "Airports Peak Contingency Plans," staff may be asked to help find lost baggage, distribute water, and help speed travelers through security, Bloomberg reported.
A representative for Qantas told Bloomberg that 200 volunteers signed up when the airline made a similar request during the Easter holidays.
Qantas and Jetstar did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, which was made outside of regular business hours.
Airlines globally are struggling to find enough staff to meet soaring demand for travel. Workers have been slow to return after being laid off in their thousands when the COVID-19 pandemic grounded global travel. This left airlines short of pilots, flight attendants, and baggage handlers.
Those problems, coupled with wider economic turbulence in the form of surging fuel costs and route disruptions related to the Ukraine war, have led to thousands of flight cancellations and long delays at airports.
Air passenger numbers rose 76% in the year to March 2022, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association. Those numbers are only expected to increase as airlines enter summer and peak levels for international travel.
Qantas laid off thousands of staff during the pandemic
Qantas, like most airlines around the world, laid off thousands of staff as a result of the pandemic. The "Flying Kangaroo" as it's sometimes called, resumed international flights following a strict COVID-19 lockdown, in November 2021.
In May, a union representing Qantas pilots warned that the airline's post-COVID expansion plans could increase the pressure on pilots. The plans include the purchase of 40 A321XLR jets from Airbus, as well as operating what will be the world's longest non-stop passenger flight between Sydney and London, and flying non-stop to New York.
"Your decision-making is slower, your reaction times are slower, you're more likely to get a poor landing," Tony Lucas, president of Qantas chapter, of the Australian & International Pilots Association, told Bloomberg in relation to proposals aimed at meeting surging demand for air travel.
Are you an employee of Qantas or Jetstar? Contact this journalist in confidence via email, or message on Twitter at @spj1064
More: Qantas transport Careers labor shortage | 2022-06-08T13:16:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Qantas Asks Office Staff to Work As Ground Crew Amid Labor Shortage | https://www.businessinsider.com/qantas-staff-work-airports-security-baggage-airline-labor-shortage-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/qantas-staff-work-airports-security-baggage-airline-labor-shortage-2022-6 |
The South African government has attacked Ryanair's decision to quiz passengers in Afrikaans.
The Department of Home Affairs in South Africa said it was "taken aback," Reuters reported.
Ryanair previously said customers would be refused travel if they cannot complete the test.
The South African government labeled Ryanair's new policy of making South African passengers fill out a pre-flight questionnaire issued in the Afrikaans language a "backward profiling system," Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The budget airline previously told Insider that South African customers would be unable to travel from the UK and Europe if they could not complete the language test.
The requirement comes as the South African Department of Home Affairs recently accused criminals of creating fake passports for sale in South Africa, multiple outlets reported.
In a statement sent to Insider, the airline said: "Due to the high prevalence of fraudulent South African passports, we require passengers travelling to the UK to fill out a simple questionnaire issued in Afrikaans."
According to Reuters, the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa said: "We are taken aback by the decision of this airline." It added that there were other measures in place for airlines to monitor fraudulent activity and verify passports.
The Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
The UK High Commission in South Africa confirmed in a tweet on Friday that the test was not a requirement for South African passport holders to enter the UK.
The EU Delegation to South Africa also confirmed to Insider that the language tests are not a requirement for South African passport holders entering the European Union.
A South African man who was required to take the test by Ryanair told Insider's Urooba Jamal that it was "callous" and "insensitive."
More: Planes air travel News Ryanair | 2022-06-08T13:16:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | Ryanair Language Test Is 'Backward Profiling': South Africa Government | https://www.businessinsider.com/ryaair-south-africa-government-afrikaans-language-test-backward-profiling-system-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ryaair-south-africa-government-afrikaans-language-test-backward-profiling-system-2022-6 |
Salesforce officially unveils its software to help companies make and manage NFTs, months after employees protested against its plans to enter crypto
Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff
Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune
Salesforce debuted a pilot of NFT Cloud, helping its customers create and manage NFTs.
Some Salesforce employees previously protested the idea, citing environmental and economic concerns.
The product is built with "sustainability at its core," Salesforce exec Adam Caplan said.
Salesforce has debuted the first version of its NFT Cloud, a product to help its corporate clients create and manage non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the company announced Wednesday.
NFT Cloud, the company's first entrance into the so-called Web3 market of cryptocurrency-related technologies, will be part of the company's Commerce Cloud suite. As of Wednesday, the NFT Cloud is only available in a closed pilot, as select customers test it out.
"This is all about helping our customers deliver connected and personalized experience across both the physical and the digital world," Adam Caplan, Salesforce senior VP of Emerging Technology, said at a press conference earlier this week. "So NFT cloud, it's all about helping our customers mint, manage and sell NFTs."
Caplan said the new product was the result of conversations with customers who asked Salesforce to help them "navigate Web3."
Salesforce's plans to build NFT Cloud were first reported by CNBC in February. In the wake of that report, over 400 employees signed on to an open letter to co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor in protest, citing the environmental and economic impact of NFTs, Thomson Reuters Foundation News first reported.
"We are grateful to have a culture where employees are empowered to voice their opinions. We are holding listening sessions with interested employees and will incorporate their feedback in our path forward," a Salesforce spokesperson told Insider amid the backlash in February.
While the NFT and larger cryptocurrency markets have grown tremendously in recent years, they have also proven controversial in the tech industry.
In the letter, the Salesforce employees argued that building an NFT product would be a de facto endorsement of an unregulated industry that has seen many people lose their savings and livelihoods via risky investments and scams.
They also said that the carbon emissions that come with NFTs are at odds with Salesforce's own pro-environmental messaging — including in its Super Bowl ad in February, which starred actor Matthew McConaughey. The company also announced earlier this year that it would tie executive pay to certain sustainability goals.
The NFT Cloud product announced today is built with "sustainability at its core," Caplan said. That means Salesforce is providing customers with more sustainable blockchain options, automating carbon emission calculations, and letting brands offset emissions by purchasing carbon credits, he said.
When asked about the sentiment that NFTs are a passing fad as the market for them cools off, Caplan said they are not focusing on the value of the NFTs themselves but rather on the potential that the technology could be useful for customers. Caplan also said that Salesforce is building security features into NFT Cloud, in response to the spate of scams that have hit users in the space.
In addition to NFTs, Caplan said customers are asking for ways to use blockchain technology to track ethical sourcing in supply chains and collecting data from their online customers.
"We're learning as we go, obviously," Caplan said. "And it's a long road to see how this all evolves."
More: Salesforce NFT Marc Benioff Cloud software | 2022-06-08T13:16:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | Salesforce Debuts NFT Cloud, Months After Employee Protests | https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-nft-cloud-web3-cryptocurrency-management-software-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-nft-cloud-web3-cryptocurrency-management-software-2022-6 |
See the 13-page pitch deck for Decimal, a startup automating accounting ops for small businesses
Decimal CEO Matt Tait.
Decimal
There's no shortage of expense management, bill pay, and payroll tech solutions for SMBs.
Decimal is a fintech automating accounting operations for SMBs.
See the pitch deck Decimal used to raise a $9 million seed round.
Small- and medium-sized businesses can rely on any number of payroll, expense management, bill pay, and corporate-card startups promising to automate parts of their financial workflow.
Smaller firms have adopted this corporate-financial software en masse, boosting growth throughout the pandemic for relatively new entrants like Ramp and massive, industry stalwarts like Intuit.
But it's no easy task to connect all of those tools into one, seamless process. And while accounting operations might be far from where many startup founders want to focus their time, having efficient back-end finances does mean time — and capital — freed up to spend elsewhere.
For Decimal CEO Matt Tait, there's ample opportunity in "the boring stuff you have to do to survive as a company," he told Insider.
Launched in 2020, Decimal provides a back-end tech layer that small- and medium-sized businesses can use to integrate their accounting and business-management software tools in one place.
On Wednesday, Decimal announced a $9 million seed fundraising round led by Minneapolis-based Arthur Ventures, alongside Service Providers Capital and other angel investors.
Underpinning Decimal's automated accounting operations product are the startup's partnerships with major tech companies focused on business operations, from Intuit to Expensify, Bill.com, Gusto, and Shopify.
"To run accounting operations for a small business, you need somewhere between five and 15 different software products," Tait said. And while those tools are necessary "point solutions," they also add up to "noise" and can create messy workflows and difficulties in connecting different systems and data sets, he added.
According to Tait, Decimal has been bootstrapped — and profitable — since it launched two years ago. While Tait is based in Indianapolis, the startup's 60 employees work fully-remotely across 13 states (included a recently onboarded hire in the US Virgin Islands).
"We love being a remote-only company, because it means that we can hire anywhere," Tait said.
Decimal spent little on marketing over the past two years as it grew. But Tait said that on the heels of its fundraising Decimal is now in a position to intentionally burn more cash. The startup now plans to focus on growing its sales and marketing teams, and targets a return to profitability within the next 15 months.
Since launching, Decimal has found traction among three sets of customers: Professional services companies, like marketing and consulting firms; tech startups; and e-commerce players. Clients, Tait said, typically have annual revenues ranging from $500,000 to $12 million.
Early-stage tech companies, in particular, have proved fertile ground for Decimal.
"We always joke that the hardest customer to onboard is the post-Series A tech customer," Tait said. "They've pivoted six or seven times. They can't lose the revenue they pivoted from, but they need to scale and they don't want to spend any time on this infrastructure."
Tait added that he doesn't see Decimal moving farther downstream in terms of the average size of its customers, but does plan on pushing the startup to cater to larger companies who particularly face new, back-office problems as they grow.
"Once you start to hire more and get more clients and you get more expenses, your margin for error and what your gut says on how your business is doing increases dramatically," Tait said.
Check out the 13-page deck Decimal used to raise its $9 million seed round.
More: Features Pitch Decks Accounting | 2022-06-08T14:51:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Fintech Decimal Used This Pitch Deck to Raise a $9 Million Seed Round | https://www.businessinsider.com/accounting-ops-fintech-decimal-pitch-deck-raise-9-million-seed-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/accounting-ops-fintech-decimal-pitch-deck-raise-9-million-seed-2022-6 |
The CEO of a crypto financial advisory firm says the bear market is a buying opportunity for investors who feel left out, and shares his 3 rules for crypto investing
The crypto winter may be a great opportunity for investors to enter the space, says Eric Erwin, CEO of Onramp Invest.
Eric Ervin, CEO of Onramp, spoke with Wisdomtree's Jeremy Schwartz and Ben Dean on the market.
They noted that crypto winter serves as a buying opportunity for many who previously felt left out.
Ervin shared his "three 3's," a set of rules for how to invest in crypto right now.
The recent market downturn has caused a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt among crypto investors.
Between looming government regulation, a correction for tech stocks, and sky-high inflation — which many thought that crypto would serve as a hedge against — it seems as though the crypto hype has cooled off.
However, in a recent episode of the Behind the Markets — a podcast created by Wisdomtree, the $80 billion asset manager — Eric Ervin, the CEO of Onramp, a fintech company that helps financial advisors provide their clients with crypto services, spoke with Wisdomtree's CIO Jeremy Schwartz and Director of Digital Assets Ben Dean.
During the podcast the three discussed why investors shouldn't fear the recent crypto bear market — in fact, they think that this is actually a buying opportunity for many who had previously felt left behind in crypto.
Ervin also revealed his "Three 3's" of investing in crypto, and why developing a rules-based investment thesis in this downturn could result in asymmetrical returns for principled investors.
Bear market woes
During the conversation, Ervin, Dean, and Schwartz pointed out that today's bear market is actually an excellent time for people who previously felt as though they were priced out of the crypto market to dive in.
"Most people are just as positive as they've ever been, if not even a little bit more positive, because I think some of the bloom is off the rose," Ervin said. "They wanted to allocate to crypto, but they were a little hesitant in this raging bull market that we've had for many years now, but they're starting to come back and say, all right, things are a little bit more sane."
They also discussed the need for investors to diversify their crypto portfolios. Ervin noted that recent history illustrates why an investor can't just diversify their assets by buying the ten top cryptos by market capitalization because of the turnover that regularly occurs in crypto.
For example, Luna became the 10th largest cryptocurrency on the market back in December of 2021 — but just five months later the crypto tanked more than 200 places after crashing in mid-May.
"You have to have a little bit more of a prudent approach to almost avoid certain assets, but at the end of the day, you can't avoid everything. This is a highly speculative asset class. And so you need to be diversified," Ervin said.
Ervin's Three 3's
Ervin and Schwartz both believe that crypto has illustrated its resilience during this bear market, and that this is a good opportunity for investors to set the stage for great results ahead of the next bull run.
They did note, however, that a smart investor needs to act on principles in a volatile cryptocurrency market, not emotion.
In order to help investors do just that, Ervin shared his three rules for investing in the crypto market.
Allocate no more than 3% of your portfolio to crypto
Ervin encouraged investors to ensure their portfolios aren't too heavily exposed to crypto. For this, he recommended allocating "no more than 3%" of your total portfolio to crypto.
Dean added that investors should think about investing in crypto as similar to investing in the startup ecosystem. He suggested thinking about crypto as a venture capital play — or investing in bold ideas and entrepreneurs in a specific sector — rather than an investment in more standard-issue equities.
Schwartz also noted that he originally supported a 1% allocation to crypto in a portfolio, but as the markets began to rise tremendously, he started to feel left out on the gains. Ervin said that at 3% you prevent yourself from feeling FOMO.
No less than a three-year time horizon for evaluating success
Ervin mentioned that a problem with many investors is the desire to see immediate profits. However, with an asset like crypto, its volatility will lend itself to dramatic gains and losses over any given period of time.
By committing to holding your investment for a set period of time, you prevent yourself from acting irrationally based on a bull or bear swing in the market and trying to chase gains. In addition, investing with a longer-term mindset will encourage investors to properly analyze their crypto investments and determine which cryptos have the potential to provide returns over the long-run and which are simply the hot crypto du jour.
Dollar-cost average into crypto with 3% of discretionary income
Ervin and Schwartz mentioned that to "dollar cost average" your exposure into the market is one of the best ways to reign in your emotions while investing in a volatile market.
Dollar cost averaging means purchasing a fixed amount of an asset at regular intervals over a long period of time. This, combined with limiting your investment to 3% of discretionary income, will result in a cautious, less emotional, and more principled exposure to crypto for your portfolio.
"Just turn off the statements, don't look at the accounts, and then come back," Ervin said. "I don't think you're gonna harm yourself if you're doing it that way, because it's just a rules-based equation. Most of my mistakes in investing have all been human-based, but when I have rules and a system, then I can stick to it, things generally work out."
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coinbase ceo | 2022-06-08T14:51:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | Crypto Winter Is a Buying Opportunity If You Follow These 3 Rules: CEO | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-bitcoin-ethereum-defi-winter-buying-opportunity-wisdomtree-onramp-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-bitcoin-ethereum-defi-winter-buying-opportunity-wisdomtree-onramp-2022-6 |
Gelt puts savings accounts on the blockchain. Here's an exclusive look at the 10-page pitch deck it used to raise $4 million from NFX.
Nastco/Getty Images; Theerapan Bhumirat/Getty Images; MicroStockHub/Getty Images; Savanna Durr/Insider
Crypto startup Gelt allows people to open a savings account on the blockchain and earn interest.
It converts cash into USD Coin, a stablecoin that's pegged to the value of the US dollar.
In January, the startup closed $4 million in funding from investors like NFX's Morgan Beller.
Gelt wants to make savings accounts on the blockchain easy to use for people who don't know DeFi from WiFi.
The startup offers savings accounts that convert people's cash into a popular stablecoin, a type of digital money whose value is pegged to a reserve asset like a fiat currency or gold. Gelt says it offers a rate of return on investment of up to 10%, and it insures deposits of up to $100,000 through a partnership with crypto insurance company Nexus Mutual.
On Wednesday, Gelt came out of stealth with $4 million in seed funding from NFX, Village Global, Jump Capital, Alliance, and Orange DAO, a syndicate of hundreds of Y Combinator graduates, Gelt tells Insider exclusively. The round closed in January, before the current market downturn put a chill on venture-capital funding to startups.
Even still, funding for blockchain companies continues to flow, with $9.2 billion invested in the first quarter of 2022, according to market research firm CB Insights.
Gelt wants to bring more investors into the crypto market by allowing them to deposit money directly from a traditional bank account. But people should still do their homework: Gelt converts cash into USD Coin, a stablecoin that's tied to the value of the US dollar. Stablecoins are supposed to be less volatile than other tokens because they derive their price from another asset, but they're not foolproof, as the market saw when Terra's stablecoin crashed in May.
"Not all stablecoins are created equal," said Jeremiah Smith, CEO of Gelt.
Jeremiah Smith is the cofounder and CEO of Gelt.
Gelt
Morgan Beller, a general partner at NFX, said she decided to back Gelt because it has potential to make decentralized finance accessible to the masses. People have different risk tolerances for engaging in the crypto market, she said, with some people preferring "hard drugs" like making direct crypto investments. Gelt gives them a "beer" option, she said.
The company's founders, Smith and Yury Oparin, worked side-by-side on their dissertations while studying at the Imperial College London, a public research university in London. Even before graduation, they started a series of companies together, from a cloud-storage company to a marketplace for structured data, but they all fizzled out.
Their trial and error over the years led them to start working on Gelt early last year.
From the start, the founders had a mantra of "move fast without breaking things," Smith said. Gelt fosters people's trust by allowing them to withdraw their funds anytime through their private keys, which use blockchain startup Magic's key management infrastructure. And Gelt's smart contracts are audited by Quantstamp, a blockchain security firm that works with market leaders OpenSea, NBA Top Shot, and Solana, according to a Gelt press release.
The company has been live-testing its service for several months and added 1,000 people last month, Smith said.
Based in London, Smith said he pitched only one investor in person for the seed round. Instead, he recorded a video of himself going over his pitch deck using Loom, an app for recording what's on screen and on camera at the same time, and sent the video to potential investors in an email. The format gave them a "feel for the business," he said.
The latest round bring Gelt's total funding to $4.4 million after an earlier pre-seed round.
Now read the 10-page pitch deck that Gelt used to raise $4 million from investors like NFX.
A screenshot of the pitch deck that DeFi startup Gelt used to raise a seed funding round. | 2022-06-08T14:51:41Z | www.businessinsider.com | Gelt Raises $4.4 Million in Funding for Its Crypto Savings Accounts | https://www.businessinsider.com/gelt-funding-crypto-savings-accounts-blockchain-nfx-bitcoin-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gelt-funding-crypto-savings-accounts-blockchain-nfx-bitcoin-2022-6 |
The House is set to vote Wednesday on a package of gun-related bills dubbed the "Protect Our Kids Act."
House Republicans are poised to vote against eight bills aimed at preventing gun violence on Tuesday, in part due to opposition from powerful pro-gun groups on the right.
The House will also vote on the "Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act," a federal "red flag" bill that would allow family members and law enforcement officials to temporarily block firearm access to those who a court determines pose a danger to themselves or others.
The email also noted the opposition of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, including links to talking points from the NRA about both the gun package and the red flag law. Leaders also noted the opposition of Heritage Action for America, an advocacy group tied to the conservative Heritage Foundation.
But the two gun groups' inclusion — and the NRA's threat to downgrade candidate ratings or withhold endorsements should any Republicans back the measures — underscores the enduring influence of pro-second amendment groups on the right, despite the NRA's recent financial troubles and shrinking membership.
More: House Republican Conference House Republicans Kevin McCarthy National Rifle Association | 2022-06-08T14:51:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | House GOP Tells Members to Reject 8 Gun-Safety Bills, Citing NRA Opposition | https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-to-reject-gun-control-bills-nra-opposition-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-to-reject-gun-control-bills-nra-opposition-2022-6 |
4 founders share why unique trips like sheep herding and surfing help them manage burnout and stay focused.
Anthony Lorubbio, the founder of Recal, visited the Western US for his two-month solo trip.
Lorubbio
Many founders are embarking on wellness journeys or retreats to combat burnout.
Four founders who took unique vacations and wellness retreats explained when they needed a reset.
They explained how the experiences shaped their lives and helped them scale successful businesses.
Anthony Lorubbio had lost his identity to his work.
After spending eight years scaling a distillery company to millions in annual profits, and a year overworking himself in a private-equity job, he didn't know who he was without his career.
"It required a lot of my energy, effort, strain, and sacrifices, mentally and physically," Lorubbio said. "A lot of my identity had been wrapped up in who I was with this business."
Pushed to the brink of a breakdown, Lorubbio quit his job in January 2021 and embarked on a two-month solo journey through the Southwestern US. His daily hikes and newfound mindfulness became the impetus for a new business and helped him recover his lost identity.
Lorubbio is one of many founders embarking on wellness journeys or retreats to combat burnout, Ali Jacowitz, a psychologist, said. Since the start of the pandemic, Jacowitz has seen an increasing number of clients report symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and brain fog.
"When you get to a point where your weekends do not restore you, your workouts do not restore you, and sleep does not restore you, you are in need of something a little bit more drastic," she said.
To be sure, long-term solutions are not guaranteed unless the experience is run by licensed professionals who can teach skills such as setting boundaries, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques, Jacowitz said.
Insider spoke with four founders who took unique vacations and wellness retreats when they needed a reset. They explained what prompted their decisions, as well as how the experiences shaped their lives and helped them to continue running successful businesses.
Anthony Lorubbio embarked on 60 days of solo travel
Lorubbio journaled regularly on his solo trip.
Lorubbio knew he wasn't the only entrepreneur who found solace and inspiration in an extended wellness sojourn. Inspired by his journey, he launched the mental-health-retreat company Recal three months after his trip, in March 2021.
How did the realization that you were burned out turn into a two-month-long trip?
I can speak firsthand and probably for some other founders out there: Going to the extreme seems to be a part of our DNA. When we're in something, we're fully in it. And, sometimes, we run until we crash. I was fully invested in my business, and then I had to fully invest in recovery.
What practices have you brought back into your work life?
One of the most transformative skills I practiced was monotasking, which means focusing on only one thing at a time. For example, asking myself, 'How can I have a laser focus on experiencing my food as I'm eating?' 'How can I embrace the fact that I have these dirty dishes and monotask on getting them cleaned efficiently?'
I also changed my approach to launching a business. When starting my first business, it was extremely regimented, and everything was written down in pitch decks and business plans. I always thought that I needed to be constantly improving and moving forward. This trip was the first time in my life when I realized that taking a couple of steps back, or to the side, actually allows necessary space for thoughts and creativity to flow.
Gardar Stefansson spends one week a year herding sheep
Gardar Stefansson.
courtesy of Stefansson
Stefansson, a serial entrepreneur, was on a work trip in northwest Iceland when a local farmer asked him for help herding sheep. Viewing the request as an opportunity to connect with others, he accepted.
Each morning, he would wake up early, take a bus to the top of a mountain, and herd the sheep downhill until the end of the day. The experience gave him clarity and a sense of purpose, and he's returned every year for the past decade.
When he's not unwinding by herding sheep, he's the cofounder of Good Good, an organic food company that sells healthy breakfast foods and snacks. Last year, the business booked seven figures in revenue, which Insider verified with documentation.
What has sheep herding taught you about business?
It's taught me that even though a situation is difficult, and there might be threats everywhere, do not panic.
It's about reflecting on the current status, digesting, and avoiding falling into the blaming game. If something is not going in the right direction, empower and enable the team. Find solutions together. We encourage independent thinking from our employees but run the business with a unified team spirit, the same way you have to think and act while on top of the mountain.
What drew you to sheep herding as opposed to a typical vacation?
I always have this guilt if I'm not with my team or not working. I tend to have that workaholic syndrome and want to be there for everybody.
But even with that, I do both: I take a vacation and go sheep herding every year because they're for different purposes.
I need that differentiation between going to the mountains and having to be 100% focused, versus going on a holiday and sitting on a beach. But the intense sheep-herding activity allows me to get out of that entrepreneurial mindset. It's like hitting a restart button.
Emily Borders traveled to Panama for a week of yoga and surfing
Emily Borders during her retreat in Panama
courtesy of Borders
Borders colaunched her public-relations agency, Highwire PR, in 2008. Last year, it booked more than $29 million in revenue, according to documents verified by Insider. Despite the company's success, becoming a founder was different than she expected.
"One of the more challenging parts when you build a team is instead of two or three or five people's perspective, trying to think about what do 120 people think about this," she said. "That's been really challenging to understand how to create the kind of organization where everyone can find a voice and a path."
This year, to help strengthen their leadership styles and find clarity, Borders and her cofounder, Carol Carrubba, took a weeklong yoga and surfing trip in Panama.
What skills have you brought back to the "real world"?
Throughout the retreat, I worked on seeing the business, a client challenge, or a personnel challenge more clearly. Being away from so many distractions, following a guide through meditation , journaling, and yoga, helped me to focus and be more intentional with each action.
Is a yoga retreat something you'd consider doing again?
I would love to try different retreats or physical experiences because the intense focus on the physical really helped me step away. Next time, I might try a "women's day" at a ski resort, where they teach you presence on the mountain or take a yoga retreat I heard about in Puerto Rico. Anything that takes ordinary activities and adds that deeper mental level is really interesting to me.
Chip Rarau joined a six-day outdoor founders retreat
Chip Rarau, front, on a founders retreat.
courtesy of Rarau
Rarau's first love was software engineering. He loved the immediate gratification of plugging in a code and instantaneously seeing something happen.
Today, he's the founder of Wisk, a software-development company that booked almost $1 million in revenue last year, which Insider verified with documentation.
While he put all of his energy into Wisk, he wasn't scaling the business. So he reached out to a life coach in March 2021 and begged for a way to become more productive.
"In a startup, you have this saying, 'pivot or persevere,'" Rarau said. "I was persevering but just burning myself out. I had to pivot."
Six months after his initial meeting with the life coach, Rarau attended a founders retreat, where he practiced yoga, journaled, and connected with other entrepreneurs.
How did your mindset shift during the retreat?
At the retreat, I started practicing meditation to detach. I learned to sit with my thoughts but do nothing about them. I didn't write them down. I detached myself from the act of doing.
What was so impactful about being surrounded by other founders?
We never talked about our businesses, but we had discussions about other things on our minds. It was really helpful to have that safe space to connect and recognize that experiences and discussions touch each person so differently.
More: Features Mental Health Mental Health Month
wellness industry | 2022-06-08T14:52:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Avoid Burnout As an Entrepreneur and Take Vacations | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-avoid-burnout-as-an-entrepreneur-vacation-retreat-2022-5 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-avoid-burnout-as-an-entrepreneur-vacation-retreat-2022-5 |
I've made $5,500 in 2 months renting out my family's cars on Turo. The extra income has helped us pay our bills and save for college.
The Veiga family purchased an SUV for long-haul road trips. In April, they decided to start renting it on Turo.
Daniel Veiga
Daniel Veiga, 41, rented out one of his family's five cars on the car-sharing app Turo.
Within a month, Veiga began renting out four of the five family cars, generating $4,229 in bookings.
This is how the family manages and markets multiple cars on the app, as told to Kimanzi Constable.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daniel Veiga, a 41-year-old digital marketer. The revenue he makes from the car-sharing app Turo has been verified by Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I first heard about Turo three years ago on a trip to San Francisco with my family.
We got off the plane and headed to the car-rental kiosks. We reserved a Yukon XL SUV to fit our family of five and our luggage comfortably, but they could offer us only a Honda Pilot.
We often had the same experience with car rentals
We'd pick the category of car that we wanted and were often disappointed at the mismatch. While I vented about the category fiasco with a friend, they said I should try using Turo.
My friend said Turo was an app where you could rent people's cars and get the exact vehicle you wanted.
I downloaded the app, looked at the options, and was impressed. We used Turo exclusively for the next three years to rent cars.
I, my wife, and our two teenage children all have cars.
In March, we decided to buy a fifth vehicle. We take a lot of family road trips, so we purchased a 2022 GMC Yukon SUV because we didn't want to put the miles on our other cars.
We bought the Yukon with no money down because of our excellent credit, and I used some money from our main business, a digital-marketing agency, to make the car payments.
I remember thinking, "Why not rent the Yukon on Turo when we're not using it?"
The process of listing on Turo was pretty straightforward
You open the app and sign up, and it asks for a vehicle identification number. Once you put in the VIN, most of the necessary vehicle information is pre-populated. It took us about an hour and a half to list the first few vehicles, and the process got easier as we added more cars.
The app then offers host-insurance options. The way Turo's insurance works is that the higher percentage of insurance you take, the less income you receive per ride.
The insurance plans range from 90%-10% to 60%-40%. You get the larger percentage of income.
The main difference between the plans is what your deductible is. If you choose the 60%-40% plan, you'd get 60% of earnings from each ride, but you wouldn't have a deductible. We chose the 80% plan, which means we'd have a $750 deductible in the event of an accident.
In April, I listed our Yukon for rent at $140 a day.
The vehicle generated $2,192 from bookings in the first few weeks, so we decided to list all of our cars on Turo. We created a system that ensured we'd always have at least one car available for our family.
It meant a lot of sharing, but we saw the income potential.
In the first month on Turo, we made $4,299 in bookings and decided to buy 4 more cars
We made $4,299 in revenue in the first month of renting our four cars. Minus the monthly payments that we made for three of the vehicles, we saw $2,299 in profit.
We decided to buy four more vehicles to increase our earnings. We had zero down payments on each of the vehicles, and we bought all four cars at once to avoid multiple hits on our credit reports.
With nine vehicles listed in May, I turned to my background in digital marketing. I created a website to boost our bookings and filmed point-of-view driving experiences.
The POV videos and good photos help the vehicles stay rented and out of our driveway.
In May, we made $12,926. But that's not pure profit.
Our car payments in May totaled $9,677.30. That means the $12,926 we earned paid our car payments and left us with a profit of $3,248.70. In two months, we've made $5,547.70 in profit.
My wife and I handle the daily admin operations
It takes us 20 minutes per car to vacuum, wash, and wipe the cars down after they're returned. It takes us 3 1/2 hours a week to maintain the cars. Each vehicle is rented out for three days at a time, on average.
The most time-consuming part is driving the vehicles to and from the collection point. We try to meet renters in locations closer to the airport because we live about 20 minutes away.
Using Turo's app is simple, but we also use a third-party app called CarSync. CarSync has more automatic messaging functions, which reduces the time we spend messaging renters.
In CarSync, I can also see an entire month of vehicle data: the dates rented and price per day. CarSync can also automatically bill renters for any tolls they go through.
There are negative aspects of using Turo
If there's an accident in a rental and the damage is below our $750 deductible, it doesn't make sense to go through Turo's insurance because I won't be covered.
There have been three renter fender benders, and getting renters to pay for the damage is a pain. If a renter ghosts us, and the damage is below $750, we eat the cost.
We also have to adjust our prices often to compete with other listings in our area. Sometimes we discount our day rate by 10% if a renter is local and agrees to pick up the vehicle early.
Turo has been an excellent income source for our family
Life is expensive these days, especially for a family of five. Making money on Turo has helped us pay bills and save money for our children's college funds.
More: contributor 2022 UK Freelance Kiera Fields Turo | 2022-06-08T14:52:12Z | www.businessinsider.com | How I Made $5,500 on Turo in 2 Months Renting My Family's Cars | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-money-turo-car-rental-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-money-turo-car-rental-2022-6 |
Be careful, junior bankers: Your short-lived grip on power is already slipping away.
Junior bankers are struggling to hang onto the power they seized last year — but an economic slowdown and hiring freezes threaten to restore some of that control to their bosses.
Junior investment bankers seized power from their bosses on Wall Street last year.
Firms rolled out salary raises and perks as droves of junior bankers flocked from the industry.
But industry experts warn that an economic slowdown could spell the undoing of their victories.
Junior investment bankers mounted a power play that sent shockwaves across Wall Street last year.
Entry-level bankers blamed burnout as droves flocked from the financial-services industry in 2021. Short-staffed and desperate to replenish their ranks, some banks had to turn away deals and others resorted to aggressively poaching from rivals.
To blunt the sting of attrition and keep junior bankers from jumping ship, Wall Street firms rolled out a gravy train of perks and sweeteners, like lavish bonuses, all-expenses-paid vacations, free Pelotons, and more. A series of base-compensation raises, which continued into early 2022, pushed first-year investment banker comp into six-figure territory at virtually every bank across the Street.
Suddenly, junior bankers were reveling in their newfound power. The industry's least influential cogs in the wheel seemed to hold all the cards.
But in recent months, a sharp decline in deals has spooked bank watchers and led to growing concerns about hiring freezes and layoffs. Now, these aspiring masters of the universe are confronting an uncomfortable reality, industry experts say — the possibility that their short-lived victory over their bosses may be nearing its end.
"The pendulum swung unusually toward the employees" last year, said Alan Johnson, a compensation consultant who closely follows labor trends on Wall Street.
"It's probably going to go back to more in the middle, where there's a balance between the employer and the employee," he told Insider in a recent interview. "In a tight labor market, pay goes up. People can be choosier. In a more normal labor market, people won't be as choosy."
Public offerings over the past few months have plummeted, and the M&A market is down by more than 20% versus last year. One junior banker recently divulged how he secretly spirited away from New York City to spend several weeks "chilling" poolside with his girlfriend in warmer weather, playing Xbox for hours on end with little work to do.
Meanwhile, speaking at an industry conference last week, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that a "hurricane" is coming to douse cold water on the global economy.
And, as is the case with most hurricanes, this one is expected to be a party killer.
Grateful to have a job
Other than brief turmoil that roiled financial markets in the spring of 2020, this expected economic slowdown is the first such episode that junior bankers have experienced in their professional careers. But past downturns could serve as harbingers of what to expect, according to Brennan Hawken, an UBS equity research analyst who covers big banks.
Hawken recalls how the financial crisis more than a decade ago reshaped employees' attitudes toward work. "There's no question, that mentality will change," he told Insider about how these headwinds could affect junior bankers' gains last year.
"You don't worry about the seat not being good enough. You simply say: 'OK, I'm just glad I kept the seat. I've just got to hold on during this lousy period and make sure I stay in the game,'" he added.
Among young Wall Streeters' most memorable conquests last year was a string series of pay raises for analysts and associates. Heading into 2021, many firms paid first-year analysts — who, aside from interns, occupy the lowest rungs of investment banks' hierarchies — a starting salary of $85,000 before bonus.
But last summer, a domino effect swept the industry as firms like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs drove base pay up more than 25%, to $110,000. Some banks like Evercore went further, pushing first-year banker base pay to $120,000.
In spite of the lavish raises, not everyone appears to have been placated by the cash splash. A March survey by Wall Street Oasis found that more than half of the nearly 500 respondents who self-identified as working in the banking industry expressed dissatisfaction with their current pay. (Ninety-two percent of respondents said they were at the junior end of the spectrum, either analysts or associates.)
Still, the field has somehow held onto its luster in spite of last year's negative publicity about the industry's demanding culture.
Take Goldman Sachs, for instance: A volley of odious headlines, which began last spring when the bank's own junior staffers blew the whistle on draconian work conditions, seems to have left the firm with few chinks in its reputational armor.
The firm received more than 236,000 applications globally for its 2022 intern class and accepted fewer than 2% of them, underscoring how competitive the industry continues to be.
Fears over fewer full-time jobs and slashed bonuses
This year's crop of interns is even more anxious than usual about the high stakes they'll face.
Undergrads are fearful that banks may be less generous in handing out full-time return offers, according to Steve Sibley, a finance professor who runs the investment-banking workshop at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. "They're really focused on, 'What can I do to be one of the ones that gets the return offer?'" Sibley said.
The tightening labor market is very much on the minds of MBA-level interns and job seekers too, said Liza Kirkpatrick, assistant dean of the career management center at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
"They're going into their internship being ready to compete, ready to prove themselves," Kirkpatrick told Insider. Their goal this summer is to prove to employers "that they can win the opportunity" to come back full-time, she said.
Aside from student hopefuls, current employees have plenty of their own pressures to worry about.
After relishing the riches they earned in 2021, the biggest M&A year in history, investment bankers are likely to see their bonuses slashed by "double digits" in light of reduced dealflow, Johnson, the compensation consultant, predicted. IB analysts will receive their bonus checks later this summer.
Slices of the industry like equity capital markets, which handles public offerings for big-ticket corporate clients, could be set to experience the worst pain as IPOs stall, Johnson warned.
Return-to-office wars
Wall Street's return-to-office wars have burst into view again in recent weeks, as employees at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have railed against their banks' use of ID swipes to monitor office attendance. Even competitors like Bank of America, which have adopted a more laissez-faire approach to returning to the office, have struggled with spotty attendance, Insider reported this week.
The Wall Street Oasis survey found that just 17% of first-year analysts actually prefer to work from the office, while nearly a third said they'd rather work from home most of the time.
These skirmishes could offer banks yet another window to gain a leg up over employees, said Chris Marinac, the director of research at financial-services firm Janney Montgomery Scott.
Marinac predicts that the restoration of power to managers could aid banks' efforts to shepherd staffers back to their desks. "I would think that's going to be a negotiating point in the company's favor," he told Insider.
Even if they don't like it, there's little junior bankers can do to protest. At Goldman Sachs, for instance, employees' internal frustrations didn't stop the bank from bringing the axe down on multiple pandemic-era freebies this spring.
The firm ended comped car transportation to and from the office in April, while also shutting off free access to the gym and breakfast in the cafeteria — even as it gave staffers at least two additional vacation days and a minimum of 15 required PTO days per year. (Meanwhile, partners and managing directors, who occupy the bank's most elite echelons, were given unlimited PTO days "to rest and recharge," according to a company memo.)
Devon Ritch, a partner at Union Square Advisors, a technology-focused M&A bank, agreed that "the balance of power has probably shifted too much to the junior talent" during the pandemic years.
But some perks are sticking around, Ritch said. Following a busy fourth quarter, his bank gave every employee a forced week of extra vacation to take earlier this year, which he described as a "retention mechanism" and "morale booster."
"There is always a shift in the balance of power when the labor market changes," Stefanie Coleman, a principal in people advisory services at EY, told Insider.
"When employees have ample employment choices, they tend to articulate heightened expectations of their employers," Coleman added. "It is conceivable that, when the market shifts the other way, that some of those expectations might dim a little bit."
Are you a junior banker on Wall Street? How do you feel about the coming economic headwinds? Contact this reporter. Reed Alexander can be reached via email at ralexander@insider.com, or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.
More: Wall Street Finance Banking | 2022-06-08T14:52:18Z | www.businessinsider.com | Junior Bankers on Wall Street Stand to Lose Power Amid Economic Slump | https://www.businessinsider.com/junior-investment-bankers-losing-power-control-wall-street-economic-downturn-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/junior-investment-bankers-losing-power-control-wall-street-economic-downturn-2022-6 |
Bonds are having their worst year in four decades, but the head of global fixed income at JPMorgan Asset Management sees 3 opportunities in the market with a recession likely to hit in 2023
Bond market investors have had their worst start to the year ever, said Bob Michele of JPMorgan Asset Management.
Bonds have gotten destroyed this year as inflation and interest rates surge.
But JPMorgan Asset Management's head of global fixed income sees opportunities.
Here are three ways to invest in bonds, even with a recession set to strike in 2023.
The stock market may steal headlines, but what's been happening to bonds this year is arguably even more noteworthy.
"It's been the worst start to the year for the bond market in history, and certainly by other measures going back at least 40 years," said Bob Michele, the head of global fixed income at JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM), in a recent interview with Insider.
It took a dangerous combination of weaker economic growth and rampant inflation to dampen the appetite for debt in the early 1980s. The return of that duo appears to have put an end to four straight decades of strong performance for fixed income. Investment-grade bonds in the US, as measured by the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index, are down 9.2% this year.
What Michele called a "tremendous repricing" of bonds in the first five months of 2022 followed a jarring pivot by the Federal Reserve after it opted to rapidly sell bonds on its balance sheet while hiking interest rates in the hopes of slowing inflation.
Bond prices typically fall when inflation and interest rates rise, which boosts their yields, given that bond prices and yields move inversely. The result is that the 10-year US Treasury note's yield topped 3% on Monday — a level that, before May, it hadn't hit since November 2018.
But after plenty of pain, Michele now believes that the bond market bleeding may end soon.
"The market seems to have fully taken on board the Fed pivot — from ongoing accommodation to really leaning hard into inflation — and priced a lot in," Michele said. "And I think actually for us, for the first time in close to two years, we see both Fed expectations and the bond market fairly priced."
Fed's pivot probably won't prevent a recession
Though JPMAM's head of fixed income thinks the worst might be over for the bond market, he can't say the same for the economy. Michele told Insider in February that the Fed's fumbling of inflation could cause a downturn, and he now believes that the US will likely slip into a recession midway through 2023 as the Fed's big anti-inflation pivot comes too late.
"The Fed has two very significant battles to fight," Michele said. "They've got the highest inflation by many, many measures in over 40 years — so they've got to try to rein that in — and they're trying to withdraw the greatest liquidity injection in history."
The 42-year market veteran continued: "And they're trying to do both of those at the same time. And if they can do that and engineer a soft landing — well done. But when you look at it in those terms, it seems very aspirational."
Even the ever-optimistic Fed chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged that it will be "challenging" to avoid a recession, if it's even possible at all. But contrary to what some believe, Michele said that a brief economic downturn wouldn't be the worst outcome for the US if it stops inflation, which he called a "regressive tax" that disproportionately hurts lower-income consumers.
"I think if you told the Fed that, 'Look, you can bring inflation down to 3% or lower over the next year and have a couple quarters of -1 to -2% GDP, they would take it in a second," Michele said. "And I think that they would accept a somewhat mild and well-telegraphed recession, if that was the base."
To the Fed's credit, earlier this year it acknowledged that it had made a policy error and was behind the curve on inflation, Michele said. That means there's still an outside chance that the US can avoid an economic downturn.
"I give them high marks today for admitting they got it wrong, swallowing their pride, and laying out a path to do the right thing," Michele said. "And you know, I think they've given themselves a fighting chance to engineer a soft landing, or at least a fairly shallow recession relative to the challenges that lay ahead."
3 opportunities in fixed income
Bonds historically perform well in times of economic distress, so it may be unclear to newer investors why bonds have been crushed as the risk of a recession rises. The simplest answer is that bonds lose value when inflation and interest rates rise, as has been the case in 2022.
But the major market repricing has now gone too far, Michele said, adding that bonds are now neither expensive nor cheap. That means he believes it's time to buy bonds, albeit slowly.
"We're becoming less conservative on our positioning and willing to take more risk on both credit and duration," Michele said.
Three parts of the bond market now look enticing, Michele said: longer-duration bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds, which yield 4.1% after yielding 2.7% in December, and high-yield bonds, which now yield about 7% instead of the 4.4% they did at the start of the year.
The worse bonds perform, the higher — and therefore, more enticing — their yields get. Michele isn't yet pounding the table for people to buy bonds, but thinks fixed income could soon be on the upswing.
"I'm anxious to see where the rebalancing occurs," Michele said. "Our expectation is money will now come out of cash and go in and buy bonds and equities. So I think that will create a bit of a surprising tailwind into the summer for the markets."
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bob michele jp morgan asset management | 2022-06-08T14:52:30Z | www.businessinsider.com | 3 Bond Market Opportunities, Recession in 2023: JPMorgan AM Head | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-inflation-bond-investing-strategy-opportunity-how-to-prepare-jpmorgan-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-inflation-bond-investing-strategy-opportunity-how-to-prepare-jpmorgan-2022-6 |
Coatue's shopping list: The hedge fund shares 13 tech stocks it thinks are unfairly beaten-down — and the right time to buy them
Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue, has assembled a shopping list of stocks to buy when market conditions become more favorable.
Tech hedge fund Coatue cut its exposure during the market route and is sitting on a giant cash pile.
The fund assembled a list of stocks that have fallen victim to indiscriminate selling, it told investors.
But before it buys, it believes market prices need to fall further — potentially another 20%.
Tech-focused hedge fund Coatue Management is sitting on a giant pile of cash, and it's devising ways to deploy it as it waits for signals that the market is stabilizing.
As Insider previously reported, founder Philippe Laffont is fond of slashing exposure during times of market stress, and the recent stock slump has been no different: The fund told investors in mid-May it had liquidated most of its holdings and was siting on more than 80% cash.
The fund, which started the year managing $59 billion in assets, has lost 17% in 2022 — a dismal start, but better than the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has fallen 23%, and other marquee Tiger Cubs. Coatue told investors it was nonetheless disappointed it didn't react quicker to the plummeting fortunes of previously high-flying tech companies.
It may be sitting on cash, but that doesn't mean it's sitting idle.
Having managed its downside exposure, Coatue now believes the worst is behind it. Now the fund is identifying which stocks to bet on next — and when to start repurposing that cash pile — to turn its performance around.
According to the fund's investor presentation, a copy of which was viewed by Insider, Coatue has assembled a shopping list of 40 stocks — a combination of mature tech giants, rapidly growing but already profitable companies, and emerging but unprofitable bets that could skyrocket over the long-term. Coatue did not respond to a request to comment before publication.
The shopping list
DoorDash is profitable and has been on a growth streak, making it one of Coatue's top-40 picks.
In sifting and winnowing its wish list, one strategy Coatue highlighted to investors is identifying those that have fallen victim to indiscriminate selling. Stocks are commonly bought and sold based on correlated factors, and in investors' mad rush to unload tech exposure, some "babies get thrown out with the bathwater."
So Coatue is aiming to identify great companies that have been unfairly punished by the market crisis, according to its investor presentation.
It highlighted 13 companies with similar stock dives but diverging fundamental business performance. Insider has emphasized those names in bold below:
Robinhood and Lemonade, which are down 54% and 52% this year, respectively, have broken business models and little to support their lofty valuations, in Coatue's analysis. Robinhood has declining users and a 43% revenue slide, while Lemonade is struggling to retain customers and is selling insurance at a loss.
PayPal, by comparison, has a user base of 430 million that's growing 10% year-over-year to go along with ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) margins greater than 20%. Block, the uber-popular Cash App owner, is the largest emerging bank, with 25% gross profit growth and 15% ebitda margins.
PayPal is down 54% and Block is down 48% this year, on par with Robinhood and Lemonade.
"These market inefficiencies get us excited," Coatue wrote in its investor presentation.
Other anomalies that have caught the tech fund's attention (with year-to-date stock performance as of June 7):
Pinterest (-46%) vs. Snap (-68%): While Pinterest is shedding users in the US, Snap is the "dominant GenZ messaging platform" with more than 20% user growth.
Wayfair (-72%) vs. Shopify (-72%): Wayfair has declining revenues and faces stiff competition from the likes of Amazon, Williams-Sonoma, and other online retailers. Shopify is profitable and boasts revenue growth in excess of 20%.
Lyft (-62%) vs. DoorDash (-52%): Lyft remains a distant No. 2 in its field behind Uber and continues to post losses. Doordash is the top player in food delivery, has grown eight-fold since 2019, and is profitable to boot.
Roku (-60%) vs. Netflix (-67%): Roku — which is US only, relies on advertising revenue, and produces no original content — has thin ebitda margins and was trading at 162-times its projected 2022 earnings. Netflix — which is global, earns subscription revenue, and produces enormous amounts of original content — has 22% ebit (earnings before interest and tax) margins and was trading at 16-times its projected 2022 earnings.
Another type of company Coatue is adding to its wish list is long-term innovation bets. They pose more downside risk, but could also see their valuation soar over the next five years:
Tesla is one of Coatue's "innovation bets."
Tesla (-40%): In Coatue's upside five-year scenario, Tesla could eclipse Apple's market cap. It sees the company as a dominant, vertically integrated automaker whose stock price jump from roughly $720 today to $2,500.
Nvidia (-37%): The chipmaker already holds a firm grasp over the artificial intelligence processing market and is poised to capture future growth in autonomous vehicle and metaverse markets. Coatue pegs its five-year valuation upside at $360 a share, up from about $189 a share today.
Datadog (-34%): The software company provides monitoring and analytics for IT functions, like cloud computing. With cloud infrastructure spending projected to hit $1 trillion by 2030, Coatue sees enormous potential for Datadog. Its upside case is a $230 share price in five years, up from $108 today.
Other companies on Coatue's top-40 include: Microsoft, Amazon.com, JD.com, and Snowflake.
When to buy?
Coatue isn't necessarily leaping to buy up any of these stocks imminently, telling investors in May the environment isn't yet conducive to "aggressive stock picking."
Major market corrections are notorious for false-dawn rallies — the market lurches upward for a short spell before continuing its long descent. During the Dotcom crash in 2000 to 2001, Coatue notes there were three separate stock rallies in excess of 30% sprinkled into the Nasdaq's 78% decline. A similar phenomenon played out during the Great Depression .
Coatue is guarding against this. It has price targets in mind for each of its wish list companies, but it said in mid-May it believes the market could tank another 20%. That's assuming a likely "hard landing" economic scenario, featuring sustained inflation, an overreaction from the Fed on rate increases, geopolitical risks, and a contraction of profit margins that are well above the historical trend line.
That means it could potentially be months before Coatue significantly increases exposure to any of these companies and starts putting its cash hoard back to work.
More: Coatue Management Coatue stock tips 2022 | 2022-06-08T16:21:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | Coatue Shares 13 Stock Picks Trading at a Bargain and When to Buy Them | https://www.businessinsider.com/coatue-tech-stock-picks-bargains-tsla-amzn-pypl-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/coatue-tech-stock-picks-bargains-tsla-amzn-pypl-2022-6 |
Oma Seddiq and Natalie Musumeci
Police arrested an armed man near Brett Kavanaugh's home. The man said he wanted to kill the justice.
The man was reportedly upset about a leaked draft opinion that shows the court may overturn Roe v. Wade.
The news comes after abortion-rights protestors gathered around Kavanaugh's home last month.
The police arrested an armed man near Brett Kavanaugh's home who told officers he wanted to kill the Supreme Court justice, a court spokesperson confirmed to Insider on Wednesday after The Washington Post first reported the news.
"At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh's residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District," spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement.
The man, who sources told The Post appeared to be in his mid-20s and is from California, was carrying burglary equipment and at least one weapon. Police stopped him on a street near Kavanaugh's home in Maryland.
People close to the investigation told the Post that police found initial evidence that shows the man was upset about last month's leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide nearly 50 years ago. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a series of contentious decisions by the end of this month, including a major one concerning abortion.
Sources said the man was also angry about a recent string of mass shootings across the country, according to The Post.
The news comes after abortion-rights protestors gathered around the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh's home, and those of other Supreme Court justices in light of the leaked draft last month. The Senate swiftly took action and unanimously passed a bill that would provide additional security to the justices and their families, though the House has not yet approved it, with some lawmakers seeking to include protections for Supreme Court staff. Attorney General Merrick Garland also ordered more security protections for the justices in response to the protests.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the news on the Senate floor on Wednesday, calling it "extremely disturbing" and urging House Democrats to take up the bipartisan legislation, introduced by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware.
"This is exactly, exactly the kind of event that many feared that the terrible breach of the court's rules and norms could fuel," McConnell said.
"This is exactly the kind of event that many worried the unhinged, reckless, apocalyptic rhetoric from prominent figures toward the court, going back many months, and especially in recent weeks, could make more likely," he continued, a seemingly implicit jab at Democratic leaders that criticized the Supreme Court in the wake of the leaked draft opinion.
Cornyn also weighed in on the news on Wednesday, calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to consider his bill.
"The arrest of this individual proves these threats to the Justices' lives are horrifyingly real, and it's unconscionable for House Democrats to leave their families without police protection for even one more day," the senator said in a statement. "Speaker Pelosi must keep the House in session until they pass my bill. Every day they don't the threat to the Justices grows, the potential for tragedy becomes more likely, and House Democrats achieve a new apex of political dysfunction."
More: Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh Justice Police | 2022-06-08T16:22:10Z | www.businessinsider.com | Police Arrest Armed Man Who Wanted to Kill Brett Kavanaugh | https://www.businessinsider.com/police-arrest-armed-man-who-wanted-to-kill-brett-kavanaugh-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/police-arrest-armed-man-who-wanted-to-kill-brett-kavanaugh-2022-6 |
By Charles Henderson, global managing partner and head of X-Force at IBM Security
Over the past year, the general public has become more aware of a very palpable change in crime — cybercriminals have become far more efficient and destructive. The impact of this trend makes older techniques feel like petty crime.
For more than a decade, most cyberattacks were focused on selling stolen data. The financial damage businesses felt from these attacks was significant, but most data is difficult for criminals to monetize. Credit card breaches are a great example of this outdated criminal business model's failures. The industry has had great success closing compromised accounts quickly — in many cases before purchases can be made. After identifying the useful cards, criminals may purchase expensive merchandise that can be sold for cash, but physically obtaining the items carries a significant risk of being caught. All of this reduces the data's value, making smaller data breaches unprofitable.
Criminals have discovered a much more lucrative business model for their attacks: ransomware. For the past three years, ransomware has been the most common cyberattack that my team at IBM Security, X-Force, has seen. Ransomware gives criminals leverage with their targets, especially when that target plays critical roles in global supply chains. This allows the attack to be immediately monetized with no intermediate steps and no risky physical interaction.
In short, criminals have gone from chasing data to a direct payment model, and every one one of us feels the effects — whether we realize it or not.
Last year, one in four cyberattacks that X-Force responded to were ransomware, most of which targeted manufacturing companies. Criminals used the world's dependency on this industry for pandemic response efforts to their direct advantage. In fact, the FBI, CISA, and NSA observed ransomware incidents against 14 of the 16 US critical infrastructure sectors in 2021.
But while businesses paid, and continue to pay, the cost of ransomware attacks are also being passed on to consumers. In 2021, gas prices rose 10% because of the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. The price of meat surged just as much following a ransomware attack on the world's largest beef supplier. Just last month, an Illinois college announced that after 157 years of teaching, it was permanently shutting down, in part due to a ransomware attack.
Historically, organizations relied heavily on perimeter network security and considered internal networks to be trusted. We can no longer focus solely on how to keep attackers out of business networks — perimeters are porous and criminals will always find a way in. Preventing ransomware attacks requires a tectonic shift in how businesses approach security, giving up on models previously perceived as tried and true, and moving to a Zero Trust model where everything and everyone is scrutinized and iteratively validated. There is no single solution a business can buy to achieve this. AI, analytics, and advanced detection capabilities are gaining focus, but these technologies will fall short if they are not coupled with adversary simulation, threat hunting, training, response playbooks, and reliable threat intelligence to inform these processes.
I'm not telling you to give up on security, but I kind of am. Give up on the old model of trying to keep the attackers out. There is an open door for a new approach, we just need the wisdom to walk through it.
More: Sponsor Post Studios Enterprise Studios Tech Cyber attacks | 2022-06-08T16:22:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | The New World of Cyberattacks Requires New Ways of Fighting Back | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/the-new-world-of-cyberattacks-requires-new-ways-of-fighting-back | https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/the-new-world-of-cyberattacks-requires-new-ways-of-fighting-back |
Netflix's 'Stranger Things' season 4 is on pace to top 'Bridgerton' season 2 in all-time viewership
Sadie Sink in "Stranger Things" season four part one.
"Stranger Things" season four had the biggest first week for a Netflix English-language series.
It was viewed for 335 million hours in its first full week of release.
It topped "Bridgerton" season two's first week of viewership.
"Stranger Things" season four is already one of Netflix 's biggest releases ever.
The season was watched for 335 million hours in its first full week of release, topping "Bridgerton" season two's first week of viewership.
"Stranger Things" season four is already the No. 3 biggest Netflix English-language season ever after debuting on May 27, and No. 5 overall when accounting for non-English-language shows like "Squid Game" and "Money Heist."
The season is on pace to top both seasons of "Bridgerton" as Netflix's biggest English-language series, and could potentially overtake "Money Heist" season five if momentum keeps up.
Below are the top 10 TV shows on Netflix from May 30 through June 5 (Insider combined Netflix's English-language and non-English-language lists):
10. "My Liberation Notes" season one — 14.24 million hours
Description: "Three siblings, exhausted by the monotony of day-to-day adulthood, seek to find fulfillment and freedom from their unremarkable lives.
What critics said: "'Ozark' never loses sight of the fact that selling your soul is rarely done solely for righteous reasons." — Daily Beast
7. "All American" season four — 30.64 million hours
"All American"
Description: "Inspired by pro football player Spencer Paysinger, this sports drama features NAACP Image Award winner Taye Diggs as a coach."
What critics said: "No objection here if Netflix wants to provide a well-acted throwback series complete with likable anti-heroes and colorful suspects." — Chicago Sun-Times
What critics said: "It isn't the psychokinetic powers that make 'Stranger Things' watchable, it's the suffocating mindlessness of the lovingly recreated small-town landscape." — Times (UK)
What critics said: "'Stranger Things' provides a form of escapism that has nothing to do with alternate dimensions. It invites viewers to indulge in the sweet self-righteousness that can come with getting excluded for being uncool." — Buzzfeed
Winona Ryder on "Stranger Things."
Anna Armatis/Netflix
What critics said: "There are enough human dramas, soapy teenage love triangles, and nostalgia-coated kids' adventures to make it an engaging eight episodes." — Empire
1. "Stranger Things" season four — 335.01 million hours
Hopper is imprisoned in Russia in "Stranger Things 4."
What critics said: "Like its characters, it's still growing — no matter how un-photogenic the journey." — Los Angeles Times | 2022-06-08T16:22:28Z | www.businessinsider.com | 'Stranger Things' 4 on Pace to Top 'Bridgerton' Season 2 in Viewership | https://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-on-pace-top-bridgerton-viewership-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-on-pace-top-bridgerton-viewership-2022-6 |
'Caviar bumps' are the latest status symbol as millennials and Gen Z carry on with the Roaring '20s vibe
Caviar and a shot of Miller High Life beer with chips at Riddler, a new Champagne bar in Hayes Valley on Wednesday, January 4, 2016, in San Francisco, Calif.
Licking caviar off your hand is the latest trend among Millennials and Gen Zers, the NYT reports.
Caviar has become more affordable and accessible in recent years.
It's the latest piece of the 'old money' aesthetic that's captivating young people.
Some millennials and Gen Zers are hankering for a bump — of fish eggs.
The New York Times' Alyson Krueger reports that millennials are ingesting a tongue-full of the old-money, upper-class status symbol. As Krueger describes it, the "bumps" are more akin to licking salt off your hand after taking a tequila shot; no one is snorting caviar.
At the Temple Bar — an iconic cocktail spot in NoHo, which closed in 2017 but was resurrected in October 2021 amidst the city's post-vaccine jubilee — caviar bumps made it onto the menu in fall 2021. Today, one will run you about $20, just a dollar less than their martinis.
"What will happen is someone will be like, 'Should we do a caviar bump?' and it feels a little naughty," Temple head bartender Samantha Casuga told the New York Times. "Then other people see it, and they want to do one, too."
It's the latest iteration of the youngest generations hearkening back to the last '20s — the roaring 2'0s, a mere century ago. There are, of course, many parallels with the conditions 100 years in the past: The country emerged from a deadly pandemic into a riotous spending boom and an impending sense of socioeconomic doom.
Millennials and Gen Zers have already glommed on to the roaring '20s aesthetic, as Insider's Hillary Hoffower previously reported. They've leaned into preppy, old money vibes, from tennis skirts to tweed blazers to all things vintage. Even their partying is old school, with a glam, night luxe aesthetic ruled by crystals, martinis, and oysters dominating going out — a stark contrast to the self-care and wellness messages filling up social media feeds.
It's a direct rebuke to the now-sunsetting phase of the tech prodigy in jeans and a hoodie, or the business-casual girlboss. It doesn't hurt that a lot of old-money activities — think golfing or boating — happen by design away from other people, which probably bolstered their popularity during the still-continuing pandemic.
Caviar bumps, like the fast-fashion iterations of old money outfits and the coastal grandmother aesthetic, are also quintessentially millennial: They're a cheaper version of the original.
As the New York Times reports, caviar has become more accessible and affordable as farming has gotten more efficient and widespread in several countries, especially China. That means that the price point is no longer intolerable — or, at the very least, restrictive to someone who is spending upwards of $20 on a drink — and it can be consumed more casually.
In other words, as millennials and Gen Zers found solace in a nostalgic aesthetic, they're still only able to afford just a bump. Sure, they may never be able to afford a house — and are facing down a tough choice between work that keeps pace with rising prices or work that helps combat the impending climate crisis — but at least they can fleetingly taste a quintessential luxury. Just don't Google what came after the roaring 20s.
More: Economy Caviar roaring 20s Old Money
Old Money Aesthetic | 2022-06-08T17:55:37Z | www.businessinsider.com | Roaring '20s 'Caviar Bump' Is Status Symbol for Millennials, Gen Z: NYT | https://www.businessinsider.com/caviar-bumps-status-symbol-millennials-gen-z-roaring-20s-nyt-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/caviar-bumps-status-symbol-millennials-gen-z-roaring-20s-nyt-2022-6 |
Direct-to-consumer brands are selling on Amazon after years of avoiding the e-commerce giant. Experts predict a bumpy ride.
A shopper holding a phone on Amazon Prime Day.
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images
DTC brands, such as Caraway and Fly by Jing, are devoting more resources to Amazon.
As DTC brands face rising costs, many are turning to the platform for revenue and new customers.
Amazon can be cheaper for brands than traditional retail, but it's tricky to navigate, experts say.
In the past five years, brands such as Nike and Birkenstock have abandoned their Amazon storefronts to focus on direct sales channels and own their customer relationships. These moves were partially inspired by startups, such as Harry's and Allbirds, that launched on the premise that selling directly to consumers was a better way to do business.
But now, as managing day-to-day operations and traditional customer-acquisition avenues, including Facebook and Instagram, become more costly, Amazon doesn't seem like a bad option for digitally native brands.
Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature, which allows iPhone users to opt out of data-tracking while using apps such as Facebook, makes it harder for brands to target customers via social-media ads. Price hikes on shipping rates by FedEx and UPS have also made it much more expensive to operate a DTC brand in 2022.
Meanwhile, persisting supply-chain issues have made Amazon's new Buy With Prime feature, which lets merchants sell on Amazon through their own websites while taking advantage of Amazon's fulfillment services, a tempting way for DTC brands to test the platform.
"Within the last 12 to 18 months, these headwinds have caused folks to look for new streams of profitable revenue growth," said Kyle Widrick, the founder and CEO of Win Brands, a DTC holding company. "And whether they find it or not on Amazon, it's only natural for them to test it out."
Widrick, whose portfolio includes Homesick candles and Gravity weighted blankets, helps acquired brands launch an omnichannel distribution strategy. He believes all brands need a presence on Amazon, even if DTC is their primary channel.
"We consider Amazon to be the largest shopping mall in the world," Widrick said. "So whether you want to be on it or not, you have to be."
More DTC brands are warming up to Widrick's line of thinking. In 2019, Jeff Raider, Harry's CEO, told Modern Retail that the company had no plans to start selling on the e-commerce platform. Last year, Harry's opened a branded Amazon storefront. Other brands, such as Caraway, Your Super, Fly by Jing, and Bite, have also launched or devoted more resources to Amazon in 2022.
Caraway, which makes nonstick ceramic cookware in a variety of trendy colors, launched on Amazon in mid-March as part of a broader expansion into retail. The brand, which launched as a DTC business in November 2019, now sells at Bed Bath & Beyond and offers a few exclusive colorways at Crate & Barrel.
One thing about Amazon's platform that swayed Jordan Nathan, Caraway's founder and CEO, was the ability to design a branded storefront page themselves.
"I think Amazon's done a great job of making their platform a place where your branding can come through. That's been a huge development," Nathan said. "You can build your own store-within-a-store. You can have branded content on your page."
Caraway's digital storefront on Amazon.
Nathan had planned to launch Caraway on the platform in 2023. But with customer-acquisition costs on the rise, he pushed the launch up.
"It balances out the higher acquisition costs of DTC," Nathan said.
Fahim Naim, the head of Amazon at Advantage Unified Commerce, a consultancy that helps brands navigate the e-commerce platform, said he used to have to convince brands of Amazon's benefits. But newer DTC brands need less convincing.
Naim said he's seen a surge of interest this year from existing clients as well as new brands looking to increase their Amazon spend. Naim has steered the Amazon launch strategies for brands such as Native and Grove Collaborative.
"Sometimes it's too soon," he said. "We're seeing that brands now don't have that same level of hesitancy they once did, and they're launching on Amazon too early."
'If you go to Amazon with a problem, they'll say, "Hey, you should fix that,"'
Though launching on Amazon can be more cost-efficient than partnering with a traditional retailer, it's also not a perfect Facebook substitute for brands looking for cheaper customer acquisition.
"Amazon is incredibly efficient — you have access to every human being alive," said Katharine McKee, the founder of Morphology, a digital commerce consultancy. "But it's not a retailer. It's a tool, and you have to be ready to use the tool correctly."
McKee said that DTC brands have taken a "wild turn" in their perspective of Amazon in the past year. Like Naim, she's seeing an increasing number of DTC clients turn to her for help launching on the marketplace — many of them after launching in retail and being disappointed by unexpected fees. "It feels a little bit like a last-ditch effort," she said of brands turning to the platform after botched attempts at retail.
Still, McKee said that brands willing to follow Amazon's terms of service and learn how to use the platform could benefit from it and see high revenue returns.
"The tool works incredibly well, but Amazon's perspective is they just want every good ever created on their website," McKee said. "If you're a brand owner and you want to use the tool to increase reach and efficiency, you need to understand that they're not a direct partner where you share a common goal. Amazon doesn't care if you succeed."
McKee said the biggest problem she saw brands encounter when launching on Amazon was an expectation that Amazon would be as supportive as a traditional retail partner.
"Target and Nordstrom, for example, have a vested interest in you succeeding. They want to help you," McKee said. "If you go to Amazon with a problem, they'll say, 'Hey, you should fix that.'"
Before launching on Amazon, DTC startups should have strong brand awareness, plenty of inventory, and a dedicated team working solely on all facets of the Amazon business, from the algorithmic structure to order fulfillment, Naim and McKee said.
Naim added that if done well, Amazon can be "the most cost-efficient" platform for consumer brands. While there are fees associated with selling on Amazon, Naim and McKee said the platform wasn't as likely to eat into a brand's profit margins in the way a traditional retailer — which buys product up front and charges for unsold, returned, or damaged inventory — would.
Spending money on advertising outside of Amazon can also help boost a brand's presence on Amazon's search results, Naim said, since customers may be more likely to search for that brand by name.
He said, "If you spend a lot on advertising early on and build some level of attention with press and external ads, Amazon will be a lot cheaper and easier for you."
More: Amazon DTC Retail | 2022-06-08T17:55:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Customer-Acquisition Costs Force DTC Brands to Start Selling on Amazon | https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-brands-sell-on-amazon-amid-rising-customer-acquisition-costs-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/dtc-brands-sell-on-amazon-amid-rising-customer-acquisition-costs-2022-6 |
Goldman Sachs' top tech execs explain why the bank is all-in on a 'polycloud' approach — and why being cloud agnostic is like 'thinking that the earth is flat'
Bianca Chan and Carter Johnson
Goldman Sachs co-chief information officers George Lee (left) and Marco Argenti (right)
Goldman Sachs is embracing an emerging public-cloud strategy known as a polycloud approach.
In it, firms follow a fit-for-purpose strategy by using several cloud providers for different tools.
Goldman Co-CIOs George Lee and Marco Argenti offered a look inside the bank's cloud strategy.
As more top Wall Street firms turn to the public cloud, the dialogue about the best way to adopt the technology continues to evolve.
In recent years, the consensus among financial firms is to take a multi-cloud approach, which involves using several different public-cloud providers. But even that strategy has different ways of being implemented.
For some, a multi-cloud approach means being so-called 'cloud agnostic,' a practice that enables different applications to be compatible with different providers, moving between them easily. Others have publicly sided with one provider as a primary or strategic partner over others.
Now, a new school of thought about the best way to approach a multi-cloud strategy is emerging at one of Wall Street's biggest firms, and it's challenging the cloud-agnostic status quo.
Since Goldman's first foray into the cloud a decade ago, the bank has partnered with several tech giants to accelerate its move. Last December, Goldman tapped AWS to launch GS Financial Cloud for Data, a developer-oriented streaming data service for its buy-side customers. The firm, which has built much of its new tech on the cloud, has also previously worked with Google Cloud and IBM, from compute and developer tools to experimenting with quantum computing to solve complex calculations.
But despite working with multiple cloud partners, Goldman's top cloud execs say the goal is not to have all tools operate in all environments. Instead, it's about picking best-of-breed offerings from different public-cloud vendors and having each environment operate independently.
In fact, aiming for a cloud-agnostic strategy is a major pitfall whereby firms might sacrifice the unique benefits individual providers can offer for the sake of flexibility, co-CIOs George Lee and Marco Argenti told Insider.
"Thinking that you can essentially be completely agnostic of which cloud provider you're on, it's like thinking that the earth is flat a little bit," said Argenti, who spent six years at AWS before joining Goldman in 2019.
Embracing 'polycloud'
Goldman has increasingly embraced the polycloud strategy as it eschews a "lift and shift" cloud migration, Argenti said, in which applications are moved wholesale into the cloud without changing their underlying architecture.
"We intentionally wanted to move into the cloud knowing that, first of all, it would not be a lift and shift of the existing infrastructure," Argenti said. "Generally, people talk about cost, talk about resilience, talk about security, but they don't talk about cloud migration as an architectural conversation."
For Goldman, embracing the cloud has also meant building a one single "orchestration layer," or a dashboard-like view into how different applications are being used across cloud providers.
"The polycloud means I'm actually using multiple cloud providers, and then I'm using them in the best way possible for my workloads, with a common layer that I can orchestrate with a certain logic," Argenti said.
The strategy challenges the idea of prioritizing cloud agnosticism, which can lead companies to miss out on the unique strengths of different public-cloud providers if they focus only on portability.
It's a sentiment that has been echoed by other industry vets. Tim Wagner, who has worked in senior-tech roles across Coinbase, AWS, and Microsoft, and now helms Vendia, a fintech that helps firms manage data across clouds.
"Replicating complex, distributed systems across multiple cloud vendors is a challenging and costly proposition, even for the largest and most IT savvy of companies," Wagner wrote in a whitepaper on polycloud. "Cost and complexity aside, any 'cloud agnostic' strategy comes with a perilous downside: In an attempt to remove all reliance on anything that isn't a commodity, companies end up purchasing the least innovative, least well-leveraged cloud services."
The polycloud approach has also been embraced by at least one other major financial player. Last year, top tech execs at Two Sigma, a quant-focused investment manager, detailed to Insider how the fund is relying on a fit-for-purpose strategy in adopting several cloud providers for different tools.
"Multi-cloud doesn't necessarily mean cloud agnostic," Carter Page, head of data engineering at Two Sigma, told Insider at the time.
More: Goldman Sachs Cloud AWS | 2022-06-08T17:55:49Z | www.businessinsider.com | Goldman's Top Tech Execs Detail the Bank's Polycloud Strategy | https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-tech-execs-detail-banks-public-cloud-polycloud-strategy-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-tech-execs-detail-banks-public-cloud-polycloud-strategy-2022-6 |
I want to retire a millionaire, so I showed my portfolio to a financial planner and he said 4 mistakes are holding me back
I want to retire a millionaire, so I asked a financial planner to look at my strategy so far.
He said I need more tax diversification and income streams, and a plan for retirement income.
He told me I need to contribute to my retirement account more often, not randomly throughout the year.
For the past two years, I've been working hard to reach my goal of retiring as a millionaire. I knew this would be a challenge, since I only started saving for retirement in my early 30s, but I still decided it was something I wanted to achieve so I could spend my later years living comfortably.
While I took some steps to start putting this plan into motion, like opening a SEP IRA and adjusting my spending habits, I knew I had a lot more work to do. That's why I asked financial planner Adam Scherer to review my retirement portfolio and tell me if I'm on track to retire as a millionaire. He said I'm making four mistakes that are holding me back from reaching my future goal.
1. I only contribute to my SEP IRA a few times a year
Ever since opening up my first retirement account at the age of 30, I vowed to make frequent contributions to my SEP IRA. At first, I was good about depositing money monthly. But as time went on, I found myself forgetting to do this or just tempted to use that cash on purchases instead.
Scherer says one main downside to not contributing monthly is that I'm missing out on opportunities to buy into investments when they are potentially priced lower due to normal market or economic fluctuations.
One way to fix this mistake is to automate my contributions. Scherer says that setting up a monthly automatic transfer to my SEP IRA will put less pressure on my overall cash flow and help me develop a positive retirement savings habit that could pay off in the long run.
2. I don't have any tax diversification
When I opened up my SEP IRA a few years ago, I thought that was the only account I needed to help me plan for retirement. It turns out I was wrong.
Scherer says that tax diversification, which is the strategy of having assets in accounts that have varying tax treatments (e.g. tax-deferred, taxable, tax-free) allows for a smoother retirement income strategy and generates tax savings.
"If your invested assets are located in a single account type, the options available to meet your retirement income needs in a tax-efficient manner become more limited and could result in additional taxation," says Scherer.
To help my retirement savings grow, Scherer recommends establishing accounts with varying tax treatments. For example, as a self-employed individual, I can have my SEP IRA as the tax-deferred account, a brokerage account, which is taxable, and a Roth IRA, which offers tax-free withdrawals.
"Over time, adjust the location of your contributions so the result is a balanced, tax-diversified allocation as you head into retirement: 33% in taxable accounts, 33% in tax-free accounts, 34% in tax-deferred accounts," says Scherer.
3. I don't have a retirement income strategy
Even though I have a goal that I want to retire as a millionaire, I don't have a viable plan in place to help make that happen.
Scherer points out that if I want to reach this goal, I need to account for variables that include: the amount of my earnings, the length of time until retirement, the length of time I'll be in retirement, the effect of inflation on the value of my savings, an estimate of my living expenses throughout retirement, additional savings for contingencies (traveling, health-related issues, gifting), and a required rate of return on my invested assets to get me to my goal in the timeframe I desire.
To begin figuring out this strategy, Scherer recommends using a retirement calculator or working closely with a financial planner.
4. I don't have enough income streams
Aside from my businesses and side hustles, I don't have many other fluid streams of income.
"Your current earnings provide you with the opportunity to spend on things that you value today and save for your future self," says Scherer. "By having more sources of income, whether active (earnings), passive, or portfolio, a balance of saving and spending that truly aligns with your values and dreams becomes easier."
Scherer says one way to develop a passive income stream is by allocating investments to income-generating vehicles, such as dividend-paying stocks or coupon-bearing bonds. He also recommends looking into rental real estate or investing as a silent partner in other businesses as another passive-income generator.
"Ultimately, any of these alternatives need to be reviewed and selected only if they align with your overall retirement strategy and personal values," says Scherer.
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More: Retirement Millionaire Financial Planners Personal Finance Insider | 2022-06-08T17:56:13Z | www.businessinsider.com | 4 Mistakes That Are Holding Me Back From Retiring a Millionaire | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mistakes-holding-me-back-retiring-millionaire-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mistakes-holding-me-back-retiring-millionaire-2022-6 |
What is a step-up CD?
Is it the right time to consider opening a step-up CD?
Banks and credit unions with step-up CDs
Step-up CDs raise interest rates during a CD term. Is it worth considering right now?
Step-up CDs are only available at some financial institutions and may not have many term options.
Step-up CDs are only available at some banks and credit unions, and often through limited terms.
If you open a step-up CD you'll lock in a deposit for a term, but the interest rate may increase.
While banks are increasing CD rates right now, you might want to consider other options first.
If you're exploring different savings account options, you might come across step-up CDs. Available at select financial institutions, step-up CDs offer a unique twist to the traditional CD.
A step-up CD is a type of certificate of deposit (CD) where a financial institution will increase the interest rate at least once before the end of its term.
Here are some of the most common characteristics to note among most step-up CDs:
Minimum opening deposit: The minimum amount needed to open a step-up CD will usually be between $1,000 and $2,500. Bear in mind that for comparison a traditional savings account will typically require a lower initial deposit of $100 or less.
Liquidity: Once you deposit money into a CD, the money will need to be kept in the account for the entire term. So you usually won't be able to deposit money until the term hits maturity.
Availability and terms: Step-up CDs aren't commonly available at financial institutions. Most financial institutions that offer a Step-Up CD also offer limited-term options.
Early withdrawal penalties: If you withdraw money before the end of a CD, you'll have to pay a penalty. The CD penalty is usually some of the interest earned.
Interest rate: Step-up CDs have a blended interest rate. This means that the interest rate will go up after a set time.
Step-up CD vs. Bump-up CD
A bump-up CD is another type of certificate of deposit where the interest rate can increase over time. While these accounts are similar, they may not be necessarily the same.
A step-up CD may sometimes offer a guaranteed increase in its rate at a specific date — banks will inform you about rate changes before you even open an account.
In comparison, a bump-up CD — also known as a raise-your-rate CD — will only allow you to request a rate increase if the financial institution raises its rates on its CDs before the end of your term.
While CD rates have slowly increased over the last few months, you'll want to pay attention to more than new rates before making your decision.
Brittany Davis, AFC, associate financial planner at Brunch and Budget, says minimum opening deposits and liquidity could play a significant factor in determining whether any type of CD is the best option for you right now.
"Are you OK with parting with your money? Because as I've looked at some of the rates, sometimes it's not worth the money for the interest that's being paid. You could almost get a high yield savings account and still have easier access to your money," says Davis.
Particularly with step-up CDs, Davis suggests considering alternatives like savings bonds first.
"It depends on how long you plan to keep your money held away and what the time period is for that step up in interest rate. Is it worth it? Could you be investing in something else? Can it compare to the series I bonds?" explains Davis.
The following national banks and credit unions all have step-up CDs. You can also read our bank reviews to learn more about each financial institution.
US Bank: US Bank has a 28-month step-up CD that increases every seven months.
TD Bank: TD Bank offers 3-year and 5-year step-up CDs. Interest rates go up once a year.
VyStar Credit Union: Vystar Credit Union has an 18-month step-up CD. You'll be able to raise your rate once during the term.
Wings Financial Credit Union: Wings Financial Credit Union has a 5-year step-up CD. The interest rates increase once over the 5-year term.
PERSONAL FINANCE I'm a former banker, and there are 5 times I recommend putting your money in a high-yield savings account over a CD — even if the CD has a better interest rate
PERSONAL FINANCE A CD early withdrawal penalty will occur if you take out money from your account early— here's how avoid it
PERSONAL FINANCE A CD ladder can help you grow your money without the risks of the stock market
More: Step-up CD CD Savings Bank Account | 2022-06-08T17:56:19Z | www.businessinsider.com | Step-up CD: Definition, and How to Determine If Its Right for You | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/step-up-cd | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/step-up-cd |
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx wants answers from the Education Department on potential student-loan relief.
She said in a letter she has "serious doubts" the department can carry out the plans smoothly.
A top Republican lawmaker joins millions of student-loan borrowers in wanting to know what kind of relief President Joe Biden plans to carry out.
On Wednesday, GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx — top Republican on the House education committee — wrote a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona requesting more information on the broad student-loan forgiveness Biden is considering. Cardona told reporters last week that he is "ready to roll" on whatever decision Biden makes, but Foxx wrote that she has "serious doubts" that is, in fact, the case.
"While you indicated that the Department is prepared to act on an unconstitutional decision to forgive student loans, I remind you that acting is not just releasing a press statement: action is a comprehensive, smooth operation that follows careful planning and thoughtful consideration about all aspects of an initiative, from communications to implementation," Foxx wrote. "I am gravely concerned the Department will further harm borrowers and taxpayers if it acts on student loan forgiveness, in part because of its inability to follow through on its grandiose proposals."
Biden is reportedly considering $10,000 in relief for borrowers making under $150,000 a year, and the Wall Street Journal reported that the decision will likely not be made until July or August, closer to when student-loan payments are set to resume after August 31. Given that details of plans have not been publicly confirmed by the White House, Foxx requested Cardona answer a series of questions within one week, including:
"You said you are ready to act on student loan forgiveness, but you can only be ready if you know the plan; therefore, please describe, what is this plan?"
She also wants to know who else is aware of the plan, how the plan will be communicated to borrowers, and how the department plans to execute income thresholds on relief, saying that "these are questions that all borrowers and taxpayers deserve to have answered."
Foxx has long criticized the potential of broad student-loan forgiveness. Following relief for former Corinthian Colleges students defrauded by the for-profit chain, Foxx wrote in a blog post that Biden "operates as if he can issue any decree he wants" on the matter.
Some of her Republican colleagues have also attacked the idea of student-loan relief, arguing it will cost taxpayers while serving as a method for Democrats to win votes at the midterm elections. On the other hand, many Democratic lawmakers and advocates continue to push for Biden to enact expansive relief for all federal borrowers, with major union leaders most recently joining the fight for "robust student loan forgiveness" without income caps. | 2022-06-08T17:56:25Z | www.businessinsider.com | Biden Unprepared to Carry Out Student-Loan Forgiveness Plans: Foxx | https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-response-student-loan-forgiveness-plans-biden-unprepared-foxx-education-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-response-student-loan-forgiveness-plans-biden-unprepared-foxx-education-2022-6 |
UK neobank Zopa is getting into the buy now pay later (BNPL) market.
The company had previously teased Q4 2022 for an IPO, and its CEO affirmed that it will be waiting for "the right moment" to go public.
UK neobank Zopa is getting into the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market, it announced Wednesday.
The announcement came just the day after Apple said it was also launching BNPL services.
"We're not gonna compete with Apple," Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana said at the Money20/20 fintech conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday. "Our focus will be on bigger-ticket items."
Zopa's BNPL option is available for purchases from £250 to £30,000 ($314 to $37,630).
The bank says it will carry out full credit checks to ensure it only offers affordable credit to customers and will help customers to consolidate their debt and build their credit profiles.
"We understand that BNPL is just debt," Janardana said.
Ed Massey, Zopa's head of partnerships and business development, called BNPL a "relatively unpredictable space," citing upcoming regulations, rising inflation, and the current cost of living crisis.
Zopa said that its BNPL service will first be offered as retail finance for merchants through B2B2C partnerships, and then to consumers when new regulation comes into place.
Zopa first launched as a peer-to-peer lender connecting savers to borrowers, though it closed down this stream of its business in late 2021. Since getting its banking license in 2020, Zopa says it has become profitable, attracted £1.2 billion in deposits, and issued around 300,000 credit cards.
Massey said that Zopa makes 7 million fully-automated lending decisions a month.
Zopa had previously earmarked the fourth quarter of 2022 for its IPO. Janardana said it's "doing the necessary steps" but "we will wait for the right moment to do an IPO," adding that investors including Japanese investment giant SoftBank were happy to wait. In October,
Zopa announced that it had raised $300 million in funding from SoftBank, and says that it has raised a total of $500 million to date.
More: Money20/20 Europe Fintech Zopa BNPL | 2022-06-08T17:56:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Zopa CEO Spoke at Money20/20 About Its Market Services | https://www.businessinsider.com/zopa-ceo-spoke-at-money2020-about-its-market-services-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/zopa-ceo-spoke-at-money2020-about-its-market-services-2022-6 |
Better CEO Vishal Garg and his loyalists ousted the company's COO after she sounded the alarm on company financials, according to a new lawsuit
Sindhu Sundar
Better CEO Vishal Garg
In a lawsuit, Better's ex-COO said she was pushed out for blowing the whistle on CEO Vishal Garg.
She said Garg and a lawyer shut her out after she complained Garg kept financials "a black box."
The lawsuit comes as Better is expected to close its SPAC deal in the next month.
When Better CEO Vishal Garg claimed that many employees who suffered its now-infamous December layoffs were let go for under-working, chief operating officer Sarah Pierce went into damage-control mode.
Pierce said she tried to fix the company's messaging by asking other executives to refer to "approved talking points," and even confronted Garg to tell him she would "not enable his false narrative" about employees "who stole" from the company by working fewer than 8 hours a day. But Garg then turned his ire against her, according to a lawsuit she filed June 7 in New York federal court. Garg complained about her to Better's board, she said, accusing her of failing to be transparent about the company's numbers.
In the escalating conflict between them, Pierce alleged that the company's lawyers took Garg's side. One general counsel, Paula Tuffin told Pierce "not to contradict" Garg, while another general counsel, Nicholas Calamari, put her on administrative leave, according to the suit.
Pierce's allegations offer a detailed narrative about the internal upheaval within Better in the weeks following its layoff of 900 employees over Zoom. Her lawsuit targets Better, Garg, and general counsel Nicholas Calamari as defendants. Tuffin is named in the allegations but isn't a defendant.
Pierce said she was progressively iced out after she raised red flags about the company's financials. She told the board that it was Garg who was to blame for the company's numbers being "a black box," and told Tuffin that Garg had made multiple misleading statements about the company's finances to the board and investors, according to her lawsuit.
In response, she was told that the company was processing her "resignation" even though she never gave one, she said. She was eventually shut out of her company email account and ultimately terminated, according to her complaint.
"CEO Garg and General Counsel Calamari's scheme to put Pierce on a leave of absence, with no communication plan to her 8,500 employees, was an attempt to intimidate, silence, and discredit her," Pierce's complaint says.
Pierce left the company in early February, at the same time as Emanuel Santa-Donato, Better's then head of capital markets, Insider reported at the time.
Better indicated in a statement that it would fight the allegations. "We don't comment on ongoing litigation," the company said. "However, we have reviewed the claims in the complaint and strongly believe them to be without merit. The company is confident in our financial and accounting practices, and we will vigorously defend this lawsuit."
Pierce also alleged that Better and Garg had exaggerated metrics and that Garg had told investors and the board that the company would be profitable by the end of the first quarter of 2022, even though Pierce had told him otherwise.
After the controversial layoffs in December, 15 company leaders planned to write to Better's board, pressuring Garg to take a leave of absence, and threatening to resign if he didn't, Pierce said. Calamari sought to discourage them from sending the letter, and suggested they could expect retaliation if they did, according to Pierce's complaint. According to Pierce, Calamari worried the letter would imperil the company's upcoming SPAC deal.
Better is expected to merge with Aurora Acquisition Corp., a blank check company, by the end of the second quarter of this year. A shareholder vote to close the deal is yet to be scheduled.
A representative for Aurora declined to comment on Pierce's suit.
In her lawsuit, Pierce also said she'd filed a notice with OSHA, the federal agency that typically investigates workplace safety issues. The notice pertained to claims asserting whistleblower protections under the Dodd-Frank Act, which works together with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to provide statutory damages for certain whistleblowers. The notice is a required step before she can integrate those specific claims into her federal complaint.
Whistleblower laws help the US Securities and Exchange Commission with investigations by supporting whistleblowers bringing forward new information, said Thomas Lee Hazen, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"The SEC has a long history of encouraging companies to cooperate in its enforcement issues," Hazen said. "These whistleblower provisions are part of that fabric, to try to help the SEC discover violations of securities laws."
More: Law Real Estate Vishal Garg | 2022-06-08T19:26:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | Better's Ex-COO Says She Was Pushed Out for Complaining About CEO Garg | https://www.businessinsider.com/better-ex-coo-says-pushed-out-ceo-vishal-garg-lawsuit-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/better-ex-coo-says-pushed-out-ceo-vishal-garg-lawsuit-2022-6 |
A former Credit Suisse exec-turned CEO of a $130 million crypto asset manager says bitcoin has 'probably' bottomed for the year at $26,000 — and breaks down 3 ways retail investors can survive a bear market
Osprey Funds Founder and CEO Greg King
Greg King is the founder and CEO of Osprey Funds, a $130 million crypto asset manager.
Macro pressures like inflation, King says, have put altcoins in a downturn.
The former Credit Suisse exec recommends allocating 2% - 20% of your portfolio in crypto.
In recent months, there's been a down drift in broader crypto markets, with many investors wondering when the nascent space will shrug off its negative trends.
On a macro level, markets are reacting to inflation concerns over the Fed's hawkish monetary policy, leaving investors with a risk-off appetite for speculative assets. Meanwhile, the trillion-dollar industry is trying to recover from the collapse of UST and Terra while assessing systemic risks.
Bitcoin, in particular, notched nine consecutive weeks of losses through May – the longest losing streak in the crypto's 13-year history. The token made small gains on Sunday, breaking its record downtick. Bitcoin is still more than 55% off its all-time high, according to crypto data dashboard Messari, trading near $30,488 on Wednesday.
But Greg King, the founder and CEO of $130 million crypto asset manager Osprey Funds, says that bitcoin may have bottomed at roughly $26,000 last month.
"The challenge with what's going on in the macro environment is there's certain forces that are pushing everyone towards a risk-off type of position," King told Insider. "Their first instinct is that crypto is risky."
King, who is best known for helping to create the industry's first exchange-traded notes at Barclays, started Osprey Funds in 2018. The asset manager offers six trusts to give investors exposure to crypto assets, which include Bitcoin, Solana, Polkadot, BNB Chain, Polygon, and Algorand.
Bitcoin has, however, fared in the bear market better than major altcoins like Solana and Avalanche, leaving King in part to predict that its price has bottomed. Meanwhile, solana and avalanche have declined more than 55% in the past three months, whereas bitcoin is down around 22% in the same time frame.
Altcoins are trading similarly to riskier assets like technology stocks, King said, although altcoins have their own local factors that impact price action. Solana, for example, has experienced various outages on its network, which has led to its recent decline.
King predicts that the correlation between altcoins and tech will persist on a "medium-to-long-term basis."
"These are software companies and projects that have just been organized differently," King said, citing both Solana and Avalanche.
Bitcoin's network, on the other hand, is often seen as a digital currency which allows users to conduct borderless and decentralized transactions. Proponents, like King, triumph the crypto as a hedge against inflation similar to digital gold.
Osprey Funds has a three year outlook on Bitcoin and other major layer-1 blockchains. By 2025, the asset manager says bitcoin's price target will hit $230,487 in a bullish market and $106,111 in a bearish one, per an Osprey research report from April.
Retail's best bet
King said retail investors can navigate bearish markets in three ways.
First, investors should make sure they are investing a dollar amount that they feel comfortable within their overall portfolio. Younger people, he said, can allocate more and take larger risks, compared to someone who is nearing retirement age. King recommends investors allocate anywhere between 2% - 20% of their portfolio to crypto.
"Everybody hates reading the stories about the person who put his or her life savings into a certain token and it all melted down," King added.
The collapse of Luna, for example, resulted in completely wiped out savings accounts for certain investors. Some of these funds were allocated to their childrens' future education, buying homes, or even helping their parents retire. After expecting yields of 20% from its stablecoin, some even fell into a depression after intense financial losses.
Second, retail should dollar-cost average, which means systematically investing a similar dollar amount on a regular basis regardless of price. This has been, King said, a "tried and true method of investing" where you can accumulate more at lower levels and less at higher levels.
Finally, King recommends having a long-term view about investments and getting exposure to the top layer-1 blockchains that will become the "backbone of Web3."
"Investors should be prepared for significant pullbacks because you can't have an asset class that's up hundreds of percentage points in some years without a 50% to 80% drawdown at times," King said.
NOW WATCH: The CIO of a crypto hedge fund explains the value in cryptocurrency — and why the market will explode over the next 2 years
More: Investing crypto digital assets
Osprey funds
greg king | 2022-06-08T19:26:46Z | www.businessinsider.com | Bitcoin Price Bottom Is $26,000, Bear Market Tips: Asset Manager | https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-crypto-asset-manager-credit-suisse-bottomed-year-exec-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-crypto-asset-manager-credit-suisse-bottomed-year-exec-2022-6 |
What is Amazon Prime Day? What to know about the summer’s biggest sales event coming this July
Prime Day has gotten so big that it's commonly referred to as "Black Friday in July."
History of Prime Day dates
The best Prime Day deals
How to shop the best Prime Day deals
Do other retailers have their own sale?
Prime Day is Amazon's mega two-day annual sale event exclusive for Prime members.
Amazon Prime Day is confirmed for July 2022, but the exact date is still to be announced.
In addition to thousands of deals on everything from tech to fashion, expect Amazon devices to drop to record-low prices.
When it comes to the sport of hunting for excellent deals, there are few shopping holidays bigger than Amazon Prime Day. What once started as a small event to celebrate Prime members has grown into a full-scale shopping holiday with sales updated constantly, ending quickly, and spread out across hundreds of categories.
Despite its name, Prime Day is held over two days with 48 hours worth of exclusive discounts and limited-time savings. With thousands of deals, you're bound to find something worth buying — and that's where we come in.
With Prime Day 2022 set for July, it's time to get prepped. Here's everything we know so far and our best tips so you don't miss out on any deals.
Amazon Prime Day 2022 will take place in July in more than 20 countries, but an exact date hasn't been announced yet. Amazon confirmed Prime Day's July 2022 timing in its Q1 financial report.
Based on previous years, we suspect Prime Day to fall in the middle of July. Here's a quick rundown of the history of Prime Day dates:
Year Date
Monday and Tuesday, July 11-12
Tuesday and Wednesday, October 13-14 (delayed due to the pandemic)
Monday and Tuesday, June 21-22
Amazon's Prime Day deals are exclusive to members of Amazon Prime and are one of the service's major benefits. Official Prime Day Lightning Deals, Deals of the Day, and Amazon device discounts all require a Prime membership during the event.
Amazon Prime costs $15 a month or $139 a year and you can sign up for the service through the Amazon website. In addition to Prime Day deals, Amazon Prime includes tons of other perks, like free two-day shipping on many items, Prime Video streaming, Prime Music, and more.
If you're a new subscriber, you can get free Prime Day access by signing up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial. To maximize your savings, we suggest enrolling after the official Prime Day date is announced so you can make sure your trial lasts during the sale.
For non-members, there's also a slew of competing sales from other retailers to consider. Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and more all offer their own deals during Prime Day. Though these sales aren't as expansive as Prime Day, they deliver similarly low prices on tech and home goods and don't require a Prime subscription.
Prime Day is the best time to stock up on Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo Dot.
Amazon Prime Day is the best time of year to find deals on Amazon-branded devices. Products from other companies get huge discounts too, with tons of savings on electronics, home goods, and small appliances.
Many items can often be found on sale on Prime Day for all-time low prices that typically match what you'd find on Black Friday and Cyber Monday .
Here are some products that typically get big discounts on Prime Day:
Smart speakers: Smart home gear will be worth watching, including Google Nest (available at non-Amazon retailers) and the fourth-generation Amazon Echo. Last year we saw all-time low prices, including $40 off the Echo Show 8. We'll be keeping an eye on every form of Echo, from the modest Dot to the full-featured Show.
Video doorbell cameras: Brands like Eufy, Google Nest, Arlo, and the Amazon-owned Ring often drop their prices. For last year's event, we saw deals like the Ring Video Doorbell Pro for only $130. We'll be watching all of these brands this year.
Fire TV sticks: Streaming devices of every brand tend to see discounts for the event, especially Amazon's Fire TV devices. The already-affordable Fire TV Stick dropped to only $20 last year — a 50% discount. This year we're expecting to see major price drops on every model of Fire TV device, including our pick, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
Fire TV branded displays: You can expect all Amazon-branded products to see discounts for Prime Day, including Fire TV displays. We'll be watching the Fire TV Omni Series and the more affordable Fire TV 4-Series for price drops this year.
Kindle e-readers: Kindles are one of Amazon's most popular devices, and they see some major discounts for the deal holiday. Last year we saw Amazon's premium e-reader, the Kindle Oasis, at $75 off. We'll be sharing deals on every Kindle model this Prime Day.
Fire tablets: As with the rest of Amazon-branded products, Fire Tablets often drop to all-time low prices for Prime Day. Last year, the Fire HD 8 Tablet was discounted by 50% and cost only $45. Expect to see deals on every type of Fire Tablet.
Instant Pots: Typically $110, the Instant Pot Duo Nova was down to only $60 for Prime Day. Instant Pots are one of the most popularly discounted items across retailers for the event, with models of every type and size down to all-time lows.
Robot vacuums: Prime Day is a great time to buy a robot vacuum. For Prime Day 2021, we saw discounts like $100 off the Eufy RoboVac 11s and the iRobot Roomba 692 models. We'll be keeping an eye on these models and more from brands like Roborock, Ecovacs, and Bissell.
Apple devices: Apple gear sees regular discounts throughout the year, but they drop to even better prices during Prime Day. We saw deals like $70 off the Apple Watch Series 6, $30 off the 8th Gen iPad, and $70 off the Apple TV 4K.
Wireless earbuds: If we're lucky, we'll see drops on the ever-popular Apple AirPods, but far more likely are discounts on brands like Beats, Jabra, and Sony.
TVs: Smart TVs of every price point, from Vizio to LG drop to great low prices for Prime Day. We saw the 32-inch TCL Roku drop by $80 and the 55-inch Samsung QN90A drop by $200.
There are a few steps you can take right now to help prepare for Prime Day and ensure you're set to find all the best deals. Here are some tips to to shop Amazon Prime Day 2022:
Subscribe to Amazon Prime: To take advantage of Amazon's Prime Day deals, you'll need to be a subscriber. If you sign up for the free 30-day trial in time, you can skip the $15 monthly fee.
Download the Amazon App: Amazon's mobile app is a great way to personalize your shopping experience by previewing upcoming deals and adding them to your watch list for notifications when they go live. It's also helpful for claiming bonus credits ahead of the festivities.
Collect bonus credits: In years past, Amazon has offered shoppers the chance to snag extra cash towards Prime Day with early promotions. Though none have been offered for 2022 yet, last year we saw savings for shopping at small businesses, and promo credits with Amazon gift cards.
Prepare a shopping list: It's smart to go into Prime Day with at least some idea of what you want to buy (and save on). If you need some inspiration from your fellow Insider readers, these were the 30 top-selling products from last year's Prime Day.
Though no retailers have announced anything official yet, we expect several other stores to offer competing sales during Prime Day 2022.
Historically, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are the major contenders to keep an eye on during the event, as they match some of Amazon's all-time low prices without the subscriber barrier to entry.
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More: Insider Reviews 2022 Amazon Prime Day 2022 product card Amazon | 2022-06-08T19:27:04Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Prime Day 2022: What You Need to Know to Prepare | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/deals/what-is-amazon-prime-day | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/deals/what-is-amazon-prime-day |
Mercury Fund's Samantha Lewis is on the hunt for deals with Web3 startups. Here are the qualities she looks for when considering an investment.
Samantha Lewis, Mercury Fund
Mercury Fund
She's interested in companies building tools bridging the divide between Web2 and Web3.
Mercury Fund, a Houston, Texas-based venture capital fund, which invests in companies in middle America, has begun to look at Web3 startups to expand the scope of its "power" theme – a focus area that revolves around rethinking how individuals access capital and build wealth.
Samantha Lewis, a principal at Mercury Fund, leads the firm's investments around this theme and is one of the first there to seriously look at Web3. Lewis offers up the qualities in founders and startups that she looks for when considering an investment in this sector.
"I'm focused on how all the investments we do are solving the unsolved problems that exist, whether in financial markets or in how we get mass adoption in Web3," she said.
Lewis has been looking into Web3 and blockchain in 2017. In addition to working with Web3 companies, Lewis also invests in B2B fintech startups .
Mercury Fund, which manages $1 billion in assets, has invested in blockchain-based ESG verification company Topl, retail startup Cart.com, and beauty ecommerce platform Upgrade. Before joining Mercury Fund in 2020, Lewis was an angel investor in Topl and joined its board of directors. Mercury Fund led Topl's seed round in 2020.
For startups looking for an investment from Mercury, it's important to understand the firm's vision of catering to sectors that are often neglected, Lewis said.
"Being able to help the people who sometimes get forgotten about and left behind when it comes to the value being created is key," she said.
That means, first and foremost, startups need to do their research. She said Mercury Fund researches every potential investment to ensure there's no invented hype, and startups should do the same.
"There are some really valuable companies in Web2 that allow people to control their data and do trustless transactions," Lewis said. "Web3 can enable so much for companies that are traditionally Web2 companies. More importantly, companies have to prove they are solving urgent problems for customers."
"So much of the crypto and blockchain world is still solving new industry challenges," she said. "The founding team must be undeniably obsessed with the space, their community, and their solution – like live and breathe Web3 obsessed."
But that doesn't mean any founder with a passion for Web3 immediately gets Lewis to cut a check. She warns innovators that building a successful company shouldn't just be about personal monetary gain–a creed she also holds for startups outside Web3.
Lewis said Mercury Fund likes to work with founders who don't focus on building hype, but are more concerned with building long-term customer value.
Lewis said she's noticed many founders, especially those in Web3, have difficulty distilling their product "to a message that makes sense." While she understands that the space is new, Lewis feels this is a big mistake as it doesn't give investors a good view of a startup's offerings.
Founders should make sure that they understand what they're trying to solve and are not create artificial fear-of-missing-out.
"Most importantly, the biggest mistake founders make: being an asshole," she said.
More: start-ups Venture Capital Web 3.0 | 2022-06-08T19:27:16Z | www.businessinsider.com | How Web3 Startups Can Pitch to Samantha Lewis of Mercury Fund | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-web3-startups-pitch-samantha-lewis-mercury-fund-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-web3-startups-pitch-samantha-lewis-mercury-fund-2022-6 |
Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on September 27, 2018.
The man with a gun arrested outside Brett Kavanaugh's home called the cops on himself.
The man called Mongomery County Emergency Communications Center and said he was having suicidal thoughts, according to court documents.
He told detectives his actions were prompted by anger over the leaked Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade and the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The man with a gun arrested outside Brett Kavanaugh's Chevy Chase, Maryland home called the cops to turn himself in, court documents allege.
The man, who identified himself as Nicholas John Roske, called Mongomery County Emergency Communications Center and told the person on the line that he was having suicidal thoughts and had a gun, according to court documents.
He then told the call-taker he had traveled from California specifically to kill the Supreme Court Justice, court documents allege.
Roske told detectives he had planned to kill Kavanaugh because he was upset about the recently leaked Supreme Court decision that would overturn the right to an abortion as decided in Roe v. Wade.
Also upset about the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the man said he thought Kavanaugh "would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws," court documents allege.
Roske told officials that he had made the decision to kill Kavanaugh because he thought it would "give his life a purpose," the complaint read.
According to the complaint, law enforcement officials discovered "a black tactical chest rig and a tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crow bar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boot with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items" in the backpack and suitcase they seized from Roske.
More: Speed desk Breaking Brett Kavanaugh Uvalde | 2022-06-08T19:27:40Z | www.businessinsider.com | Man With Gun at Brett Kavanaugh's Home Called Cops on Himself: Court Docs | https://www.businessinsider.com/man-with-gun-at-brett-kavanaughs-home-called-cops-on-himself-court-docs-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/man-with-gun-at-brett-kavanaughs-home-called-cops-on-himself-court-docs-2022-6 |
Adam Masato, left, with his family.
Adam Masato took out $33,000 in crypto-backed loans to finish his investment property.
Some crypto-backed loans don't have monthly payments and require no credit checks.
Masato says it's "stressful" to borrow against such a volatile asset.
Real estate investor Adam Masato makes $8,400 a month in passive income from an Airbnb rental, but getting the $342,000 in startup costs to fund the project presented a unique challenge.
Besides liquidating Roth IRA investments, taking out a HELOC against his condo, and getting a traditional personal loan, Masato decided to take out $33,000 in loans backed by his cryptocurrency holdings.
Getting a traditional mortgage wasn't really an option. Masato explains, "Several lenders told us this would be a complicated loan to obtain, specifically because [the rental property] is a single-wide manufactured home on private land, not a mobile home park; also because it's not a primary residence."
Masato had to put up at least one bitcoin and some USD stablecoins as collateral to get a total of $33,000 in cash loans from Celsius, a company that offers crypto-backed individual and business loans, to fund part of his investment property.
If you're interested in taking out crypto-backed loans, here are a few things to consider.
Some crypto-backed loans don't have monthly payments
Unlike a traditional mortgage or other loan, some crypto-backed loans don't require a set monthly payment. Of his loans, Masato says, "The loans are 0% interest with no monthly payments, as long as they're holding my bitcoin as collateral. The caveat is I can only borrow 25% of the dollar value of my bitcoin collateral."
Mitesh Shah, founder of cryptocurrency analytics provider Omnia Markets, Inc., explains that crypto-backed loans are the same as securities-backed loans — i.e. loans backed by stock or fund holdings — except that the underlying assets exist on a blockchain.
Shah adds that most crypto-backed loans have low interest rates and faster transaction times, plus they typically don't require traditional credit checks since the loan can be paid back with the crypto holding. "Credit checks are not required for crypto loans because the cryptocurrency itself becomes the collateral for the loan," he says. " Credit score , history, income, or debt are not needed."
If the value of your coin drops, you'll have to put up more as collateral
Masato says that, unlike a traditional mortgage, he could be called on to provide more crypto as collateral if the value of his coins drops. "If bitcoin drops in value below a certain amount, I will get a margin call and have to provide more bitcoin as collateral."
A margin call occurs when the equity in your investment account drops below a certain amount, leaving you owing money to your lender and brokerage. It happens at traditional brokerages that manage stock market investments as well. Crypto lenders use the same technique to make sure they're protected if the price of bitcoin drops dramatically.
Desh Weragoda, mortgage banker and chief technology officer at MBANC, a company that provides both crypto and traditional loans and mortgages, says that most crypto-lending companies "put your crypto in a custodian account, which is basically an intermediary that holds your crypto, and they do a margin call on it."
If the price of bitcoin drops below the margin call, Weragoda says that crypto-lending companies will liquidate the amount of crypto held in the custodian account if you're unable to put up more crypto as collateral. If that happens, "you essentially lost your crypto," he says.
Borrowing money against crypto works best for investors who plan on 'hodling'
Even if you have enough crypto to use as collateral for a loan, you'll need to consider your own investing strategy before using your holdings to take out a loan. Says Shah, "Crypto-backed loans may be the preferred method for some individuals that only invest under a long-term methodology and have no interest in transacting those coins."
In simple terms, if you plan on holding your crypto — a strategy commonly called "hodl" in the crypto community — a crypto-backed loan might work for your lending needs.
Masato plans on paying off the crypto-backed loans as soon as possible
When asked about the mental and emotional toll of borrowing against such a volatile asset, Masato says, "It can be stressful, especially when the price gets close to the margin call limit."
He adds, "I've always intended to close out the loans as soon as I have the liquidity to do it, regardless of the price. I don't think it's smart to carry a crypto-backed loan any longer than you need to. Because the crypto-lending space is so young, there's no FDIC insurance, and definitely no bailouts if any of the lenders go under."
PERSONAL FINANCE A 35-year-old who's earning $8,400 a month in passive income from an Airbnb learned everything he knows about real estate from YouTube
PERSONAL FINANCE What is bitcoin? A beginner's guide to the world's most popular type of cryptocurrency, and tips for investing in it
More: Bitcoin cryptocurrency Crypto-backed loans Margin Call | 2022-06-08T19:27:58Z | www.businessinsider.com | Why a Real Estate Investor Chose to Take Out Crypto-Backed Loans | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/cryptocurrency-backed-loans-over-traditional-mortgage-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/cryptocurrency-backed-loans-over-traditional-mortgage-2022-6 |
Shopify's big push into advertising is supposed to help merchants hobbled by Apple's privacy changes find new customers. Experts and sellers aren't convinced.
Madeline Stone and Lauren Johnson
Shopify Audiences is meant to help merchants find new potential customers.
Shopify officially launched its first foray into advertising last month.
Its new tool is meant to help merchants struggling to target customers after Apple's iOS changes.
Merchants and experts say it has its limitations.
Last month, Shopify made its first big foray into digital advertising: a tool called Shopify Audiences, meant to help merchants find customers on Facebook and Instagram.
After nearly a year of testing with merchants, Shopify Audiences comes as Apple's privacy changes make it harder for brands to target and measure digital advertising — especially on Facebook. Meta's Facebook expects Apple's targeting changes to shave $10 billion off its revenue this year. At the same time, direct-to-consumer brands that sell on Shopify — and once heavily leaned on Facebook to find customers — have slashed ad budgets as acquisition costs grow.
Shopify's tool uses machine learning to anonymously pool purchase-intent data across its merchants and shoppers, and requires that merchants opt in to sharing their data with Shopify. Shopify Audiences is only available to Shopify's Plus merchants, and Shopify plans to expand the tool to other platforms like TikTok and Snap.
Insider spoke with two merchants, one marketing agency, one retail consultant, and one research analyst about how Shopify's new tool could change how merchants acquire customers.
While they said Shopify's first advertising product fits well with its overall mission of serving merchants, some expressed doubt that the tool in its current iteration would completely solve the biggest issues that online sellers are facing in customer acquisition today. Representatives for Shopify did not return Insider's requests for comment.
'It seemed like they were cutting out a lot of our ability to use audiences'
Chase Waters is the digital marketing director at Trove Brands, which owns the DTC brands BlenderBottle, Owala, Avana, and Whiskware. The company decided to try an early test of Shopify's new ad tool with BlenderBottle and Owala after being approached by a Shopify representative in June 2021. The company has seen a 600% return on ad spend for BlenderBottle while using Shopify Audiences.
He said that Trove had been looking to add another way of targeting audiences after Apple's iOS changes in 2021 made Facebook advertising less effective.
"It seemed like they were cutting out a lot of our ability to use audiences, or really isolate the right audiences that we wanted to target," Waters said. "And with people opting out of tracking with iOS 14, we felt like this was just a good way to reach new people and people that we previously probably couldn't reach."
He said that Shopify Audiences has generally helped the brands to target new audiences they weren't reaching with their existing targeting.
However, the tool does have some downsides.
"After, I'd say two to three weeks, the audiences kind of slow down. The performance isn't quite as good," Waters said.
He added that the team aims to update their Facebook audiences about once a week to make sure their performance remains strong.
Kirten Parekh, the cofounder and CEO of gut-health-products brand Klora, said that it's very early days for his brand — it was launched about two months ago — and Shopify Audiences.
His cofounders, Daniel and Jonathan Snow, own a digital-marketing firm called The Snow Agency and have seen how the efficacy of Facebook advertising has declined. But Parekh thinks Shopify Audiences could help the Klora team learn more about its audience and more efficiently target its ad spend.
"We're very hopeful that if this actually works, it's going to change the whole game," Parekh told Insider.
Rick Watson, the CEO and founder of RMW Commerce Consulting, said that in his view, Shopify Audiences will likely not solve all of merchants' advertising problems. He said one of the problems is that merchants don't need to go through Shopify to get access to the kind of data that Shopify provides. Instead, merchants could upload their own shopping data to Facebook to find audiences.
"It's interesting, but the traffic is not unique and Facebook already has a ton of data," he said. "Is this going to double anyone's ad performance? I don't think so."
Jesse Pujji, the cofounder of the marketing agency Ampush, said that Shopify's tool simplifies the process of creating audiences for Facebook ads and can be combined with Facebook's own tools, which is helpful to find people interested in specific types of products.
That said, Pujji estimated that Shopify Audiences could generate a modest 5 to 10% increase in advertising efficiency compared to Facebook's own audience tools.
'This is very early innings for them'
Waters said that Trove is constantly testing new advertising strategies and that it will continue to test the best ways to use Shopify Audiences.
He also said that the company's existing positive relationship with Shopify was a factor in its willingness to test the new product in the first place.
That dynamic is a key part of Shopify's overall strategy: The more enticing its suite of services, the more likely it will be able to attract and retain merchants. Shopify's merchant base exploded during the pandemic, reaching more than 2 million in 2021. Its merchant additions were lower in the first quarter of 2022 than in the same period last year, though the company said during its May earnings call that it expects that trend to improve going forward.
"As far as Shopify is concerned, any way that they can improve the experience on their platform is definitely a positive," Angel Zino, a senior investment strategist at CFRA Research, told Insider. "This is a market now where advertisers are looking for better opportunities, for better ways to advertise because of some of the privacy changes that are clearly going on."
Zino said that digital advertising could pay off for Shopify, as it would likely have better margins than fulfillment, where the company has been investing heavily lately. And Shopify Audiences' efficacy could improve over time as more merchants opt in to sharing their data.
"This is very early innings for them, and there are significant opportunities ahead," he said.
Facebook Advertising | 2022-06-08T19:28:22Z | www.businessinsider.com | Shopify Audiences Launches to Help Sellers With Facebook Targeting | https://www.businessinsider.com/shopifys-audiences-advertising-tool-customer-acquisition-facebook-targeting-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/shopifys-audiences-advertising-tool-customer-acquisition-facebook-targeting-2022-6 |
6 of crypto's loudest opponents that you should know about, from Dogecoin's co-creator to a star of 'The OC'
Actor Ben McKenzie in 2004 at an event for his show, "The OC."
Chris Weeks/WireImage/Getty images
Cryptocurrencies have boomed in recent years, but not everybody is on board yet.
Some naysayers like Dogecoin's co-creator say crypto is worthless and "inherently right-wing."
Other critics say it's rife with get-rich-quick scams that drain ordinary people of their funds.
It's easy to find crypto disciplines singing the movement's praises online.
There's Elon Musk, of course, alongside giant companies like Binance and Coinbase, and many other investors, developers, and apostles shouting its supposed social and financial benefits from the rooftops.
But what about those opposed to cryptocurrencies? Let's take a look at the other side of the coin.
Warren Buffett thinks bitcoin is 'rat poison squared'
Warren Buffett speaks onstage during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on October 13, 2015 in Washington, DC.
The billionaire Berkshire Hathaway CEO has staunchly denounced crypto as merely a risky asset for a while, pushing back claims that it could revolutionize finance.
He believes it's worthless because the virtual coin doesn't produce anything. Rather its value is only derived from someone else paying more for it (similar to the pyramid scheme comparison that some critics typically use.)
"If you and I buy various cryptocurrencies, they're not going to multiply," Buffet told CNBC in mid-2018. "There are not going to be a bunch of rabbits sitting there in front of us. They're just gonna sit there. And I gotta hope next time you get more excited after I've bought it from you and then I'll get more excited and buy it from you."
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said it's 'worthless'
JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon
Dimon has also not kept his distaste for crypto a secret, calling it a speculative asset class that is "nothing like gold" or traditional fiat currency.
"Something that's not supported by anything, I do not believe has much value," he said in mid-2021.
He's made it a point to separate his opinion from his company though — JPMorgan allows users to make payments with a digital coin that the bank created, JPM Coin, and has given clients access to a number of crypto funds.
From Doge to no
Dogecoin.
One of the more surprising anti-crypto heralds is the co-creator of meme coin Doge himself.
Jackson Palmer launched Dogecoin as a joke in 2013 and has since become a critic of cryptocurrencies, including posting a famous Twitter thread in 2021 declaring crypto "an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology."
He said instead of crypto staying true to its decentralized roots, the space is now controlled by "a powerful cartel of wealthy figures" who have brought the worst parts of the centralized capitalist system into the market, like fraud and corruption.
Cryptocurrency is built "primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity," he said.
Ben McKenzie, actor turned crypto critic
Ben McKenzie onstage at Trust Me I'm Famous: Ben McKenzie Questions Crypto during the 2022 SXSW Conference on March 13, 2022 in Austin, Texas.
Travis P Ball/Getty Images for SXSW
Another eyebrow-raising addition to the anti-crypto clan is Ben McKenzie, who starred in the hit early aughts show "The OC."
He made waves in 2021 for a Slate piece scolding celebrities for jumping into the space for profit while dismissing the effect their influence could have on unsuspecting investors who follow them online. Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and actor Matt Damon are just some big names that have partnered with crypto brands and projects.
"[It's not] a good idea for a public servant to promote gambling with one's entire paycheck in what is essentially an unlicensed, unregulated casino," the piece read.
Don't miss Molly White and her 'Web3 is Going Just Great' tales
Molly White sits for a portrait in Maine while on sabbatical on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
Tristan Spinski for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Twitter account web3 is going just great has become a staple, tweeting hiccups big and small from the market to its 85,000 followers, from scammy investments to hacks that drain people's bank accounts.
It's run by Molly White, a seasoned Wikipedia writer and editor who has been dubbed one of crypto's biggest alarm raisers.
The gist of her stance is that crypto-loving figures and companies are marketing the space as an innovative technology and a way to get rich — only to bankrupt the everyday people that threw their financial support behind it.
"People are putting in money that they can't afford to lose," White told the Washington Post in May. "They thought this might be their ticket out of poverty or they can finally stop working that minimum-wage job and then all their savings are gone."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is The Hill's loudest anti-crypto voice
The Democrat has long slammed the crypto market for operating without the same rules that exist within the traditional finance system — rules that help keep consumers safe from fraud and risk.
She's also lambasted the wealth-consumed aspect of crypto culture and for most crypto holdings sitting in the uppermost echelons of society, which she says doesn't foster financial inclusion.
"We need real solutions to make the financial system work for everyone, not just the wealthy," she said in December. "Bitcoin ownership is even more concentrated within the top 1% than dollars."
More: crypto Bitcoin Warren Buffett Business News Features | 2022-06-08T20:57:56Z | www.businessinsider.com | Crypto's Loudest Opponents to Know: From Dogecoin's Co-Creator to an OC Star | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-bitcoin-opponents-warren-buffett-jamie-dimon-dogecoin-palmer-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-bitcoin-opponents-warren-buffett-jamie-dimon-dogecoin-palmer-2022-6 |
Warren expressed openness to an AR-15 tax that's being pushed in the House.
She said imposing heavy taxes is a legitimate way to try and restrict access to military-style rifles.
Other Democrats treaded carefully around the measure, pending ongoing Senate negotiations.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said Wednesday she was open to backing a House measure that would levy a 1,000% excise tax on AR-15-style weapons for manufacturers, producers, and importers.
"It's important to use every tool available and that includes taxes in order to put an end to the availability of weapons that are used for murdering people," Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told Insider.
She said she's "open" to the measure but wanted to give space to ongoing bipartisan talks in the Senate to mitigate gun violence. Those discussions — with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's blessing — are focused on a narrow set of reforms like improving background checks and establishing "red flag" laws meant to enable law enforcement to seize guns with a court order.
But a ban on military-style weapons like the AR-15 that most Democrats favor is off the table due to staunch GOP resistance.
"I want to give Chris Murphy and his group as much room to negotiate as they need to see what they can produce," she said, referring to the Connecticut Democrat spearheading the discussions. "But whatever happens to those negotiations, we already know it won't be the end of what needs to be done to get the availability of weapons under better control."
The bill from Democratic Rep. Donald Beyer of Virginia has not been formally introduced yet. But the 1,000% tax would apply to military-style "assault weapons" and high-capacity magazines capable of carrying 10 rounds or more, adding thousands of dollars to the final sales price of such guns in an effort to restrict their access. It would exempt ammunition, along with recreational weapons.
"What it's intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen," Beyer told Insider last week. "We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation."
Democrats employed reconciliation — a legislative maneuver that allows budgetary bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority and bypass a filibuster — in 2021 to pass both the stimulus law and the House-approved Build Back Better bill over united GOP resistance. Negotiations on a smaller Democrat-only bill continue between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a centrist holdout.
The Beyer bill reflects a recognition among Democrats that any bipartisan success on tackling gun violence is likely to eject many of their priorities like an assault-style weapons ban. An AR-15 style rifle was the weapon used by different gunmen in a recent string of high-profile mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
National surveys indicate major public support for a ban on those rifles along with universal background checks. Democrats are strongly in favor. But the party is unable to draw enough GOP support to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
Other Democrats treaded carefully around the legislation, given the high-stakes effort to strike a gun deal with Republicans. Sen. Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said he wanted to review the bill first.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was noncommittal on the Beyer bill as well. But he reiterated his support for a ban on semiautomatic rifles. "I've thought for many, many years that we should ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons," Sanders said.
More: Policy Elizabeth Warren Democrats Congress | 2022-06-08T20:58:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Elizabeth Warren Open to AR-15 Tax That Could Pass With Only Democrats | https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-ar-15-tax-democrats-gun-legislation-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-ar-15-tax-democrats-gun-legislation-2022-6 |
Our review of MasterClass: All your questions answered about how it works and the best celebrity-led online classes to take
By Remi Rosmarin and Mara Leighton
MasterClass helps you learn new skills from experts in the field.
MasterClass creates online video classes taught by celebrities and industry experts.
An annual subscription is $180 (35% off right now) and gives access to all of MasterClass.
Browse the top MasterClass classes in everything from gardening to game theory here.
Who better to teach you how to write for television than Shonda Rhimes or hit a powerful backhand than Serena Williams?
Unfortunately, 23-time-Grand-Slam-winners and famed showrunners aren't easy to contact. So, MasterClass is bridging the gap and recruiting the best of the best to teach us the secrets to their crafts.
Unlike most e-learning platforms focused on teaching hard skills like cloud computing or UX design, MasterClass targets a different audience: lifelong learners.
You can learn about writing, cooking, sports, business, wellness, and more — with each topic taught by an expert. For $180 a year, you can access all the courses on the site. Tip: right now, you can get a first-time annual membership for $117 ($63 off) as part of MasterClass's Father's Day sale through June 19.
We report on many education platforms, and MasterClass is one of our favorites (as well as one of our go-to gifts). The videos have great production value, courses are engaging and fast-moving, and you get a mix of practical tools as well as nuggets of insights into the lives of the celebrities we love.
Plus, the app makes using MasterClass very easy: I've even listened to the audio-only versions like pseudo podcasts.
What you'll find below:
Some common FAQs
A list of the 19 best MasterClass courses
A personal review of MasterClass
For $180, MasterClass gives you unlimited access to culinary arts courses from some of the top chefs in the world, including Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters.
MasterClass FAQs:
How much does MasterClass cost?
MasterClass costs $180 for its annual subscription ($15 a month), which gives you unlimited access to all its classes until you cancel. Right now, you can buy a first-time membership for $117 until June 19 as part of its Father's Day sale.
How does MasterClass work?
MasterClass classes are about 2-5 hours on average, with individual lessons ranging from 2-5 minutes. Classes include pre-recorded video lessons by your instructor, a class workbook, interactive assignments, and sometimes community activities. MasterClass may have opportunities for students to submit work to instructors for feedback, but that's not the norm.
Is MasterClass worth it?
If you will use MasterClass more than a few times, yes, the yearly pass may be worth it. If you won't, or you need something more intensive or traditionally academic, consider other online learning sites like Coursera or edX.
Some of the best MasterClass courses:
Learn the power of empathy with Pharrell Williams, Robin Arzón, Roxane Gay, Walter Mosley, Robert Reffkin, Gloria Steinem, and Cornel West
In MasterClass's first multi-course, multi-instructor series, The Power of Empathy features a mix of famous entertainers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who all share different stories and perspectives on what it means to lead an empathic life.
Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership
Learn creativity and leadership skills with Anna Wintour
Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour has inspired movies and biographies, but what actually makes the iconic fashion leader so influential? In this MasterClass, Wintour shares her tips for making tough decisions, leading with your gut, and managing a team of people you trust. Read a review of the course here.
Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation
Learn the art of negotiation with Chris Voss
During his time as an FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss mastered all of the facets of communication and compromise. While your everyday negotiations may not be as high-stake, Voss's strategies can help you get the outcomes you want — whether it's a promotion at your job or a big decision in your relationship. Read a review of the course here.
Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting
Learn how to act with Samuel L. Jackson
It's hard to believe now that Samuel L. Jackson had a stutter growing up, one that actually stopped him from talking for a year. You can learn about how he overcame this obstacle to become an Oscar nominee in this course on acting, which particularly focuses on how to develop a character.
Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques
Learn cooking techniques with Thomas Keller
Chef Thomas Keller's restaurants, like The French Laundry, have been awarded quite a few Michelin stars and have people eagerly waiting months at a time for reservations. In his MasterClass, he breaks down the basics of some of the most essential cooking techniques, like braising meats and making stocks. Read a review of the course (and other MasterClass cooking courses) here.
Ron Finley Teaches Gardening
Learn gardening with Ron Finley
Ron Finley has launched a movement around an unusual form of protest: gardening. In 2011, Finley was issued an arrest warrant for planting fruits and vegetables on the curbside strip outside his home in South Central LA — a food desert. Two years later, his story helped change LA laws and, a decade later, he's helped plant dozens of community gardens. In his MasterClass, Finley teaches you how to grow your own food, avoid killing your plants, and the beauty and community you can find in healthy food. Read a review of the course here.
Hillary Rodham Clinton Teaches the Power of Resilience
Learn the power of resilience with Hillary Rodham Clinton
For the first time ever, Hillary reads her would-be 2016 victory speech — and shares her advice from her decades-long political career as a former first lady, US senator, Secretary of State, and first female US presidential nominee. Read more about the course here, and about MasterClass's White House series here.
Serena Williams Teaches Tennis
Learn how to play tennis with Serena Williams
If you want to be a pro, you have to practice like one. Get the chance to experience the same drills Serena runs every day, as well as some insight into the importance of mental strength in the game.
Questlove Teaches DJing
Learn music curation and DJing with Questlove
Questlove — iconic DJ, Grammy winner, and The Roots drummer — teaches collecting and mixing music. You'll learn how to transition from genre to genre to curate the perfect playlist, whether just for yourself or to wow your friends.
Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing
Learn the art of creative writing with Margaret Atwood
Writer's block is a major challenge, but hopefully, some inspiration from Margaret Atwood can bring you out of your funk. The Man Booker Prize-winner's lessons delve into character development, point of view, structuring a novel, and more. Read a review of the course here.
Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography
Learn photography with Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz claims the title of first-ever female chief photographer at "Rolling Stone," along with plenty of other accomplishments. Here, she sheds light on her photography philosophy and shows how a great photo comes to life.
Christina Aguilera Teaches Singing
Learn how to sing with Christina Aguilera
Whether you want to fine-tune your vocal craft or have no musical experience beyond singing "happy birthday" to your friends and family, Christina Aguilera has the techniques to help you take it up a notch. The Grammy Award winner gives you practical tips on how to polish your sound as well as share some stories about her career trajectory.
Apollonia Poilâne Teaches Bread Baking
Learn bread baking with Apollonia Poilâne
Apollonia Poilâne, the third-generation baker and CEO of the famous Parisian bakery Poilâne, teaches you how to use all of your senses when baking an ideal loaf from scratch. She outlines best practices for a variety of French breads — rustic wheat, rye, brioche, and her beloved sourdough loaves — with warmth and clarity. Read a review of the course (and other MasterClass cooking courses) here.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Teaches Scientific Thinking and Communication
Learn how to think like a scientist with Neil deGrasse Tyson
Ivy League degrees, bestselling books, and a Grammy award are just some of Neil deGrasse Tyson's accolades. In this course, the renowned astrophysicist will help you see into the mind of a scientist, giving you plenty of skills to help you strengthen the way you think and communicate along the way.
Carlos Santana Teaches the Art and Soul of Guitar
Learn how to play the guitar with Carlos Santana
If you're looking for a classic, technical guitar lesson, this course probably isn't for you. If, however, you're looking to understand how one of the world's most popular guitarists approaches the instrument, draws inspiration for his music, and found his unique sound, you'll love this class with Carlos Santana.
Bob Iger Teaches Business Strategy and Leadership
Learn business strategies and leadership skills with Bob Iger
As the former CEO and current Executive Chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger was responsible for some of the brand's most important acquisitions, including Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. His lesson dives into everything from business insights from the acquisition process to how to use your time effectively and productively.
Learn how to design your space with Kelly Wearstler
Ever wondered how to make your space look like it's plucked off an "Architectural Digest" page while still feeling like it's distinctly yours? It's a tall order, but Kelly Wearstler has designed enough celebrity homes and boutique hotels to give you all the tips and tricks you need to know to redefine your own space. You'll learn how to choose colors for any room, make a space feel larger, and even curate an art collection.
Dominique Ansel Teaches French Pastry Fundamentals
Learn French pastry fundamentals with Dominique Ansel
Dominque Ansel is revered for his creative takes on delicious pastries, like the Cronut, a croissant-donut hybrid that garners hours-long lines outside of his SoHo bakery in New York. In this course, you'll learn the precise technique Ansel uses to bake his famous treats. Fruit tarts, chocolate cakes, and mini madeleines are just some of the desserts you'll learn to bake.
Daniel Negreanu Teaches Poker
Learn how to play poker with Daniel Negreanu
There's no one better to help you perfect your poker face than Daniel Negreanu — he's won the World Series of Poker six times. He'll help you learn even the most complex poker concepts so you can increase your win rate the next time you sit around the felt.
A review of MasterClass:
MasterClass is one of my favorite online learning platforms, and I've had personal experience with a fair share of them (Coursera, Skillshare, edX, Rosetta Stone, CreativeLive, and so on).
Compared to many online courses, MasterClass's follow the format of a one-sided conversation more than an academic setting, which can make learning feel more engaging.
I love that I'm able to learn conventional and not-so-conventional tricks and tips from giants of any industry — some of whom are on my shortlist of favorite authors, actors, musicians, and chefs. Classes are pretty short (2-5 hours total), and the lessons are between 5-25 minutes each.
I also get access to notes, additional reading resources, and a community. And it's nice that I can download lessons or use Audio Mode in the car as a de facto audiobook on days when my attention span is low.
Plus, the diversity, quality, and flexibility of its online classes are hard to beat. If I'm going through a cooking phase, I can watch bite-sized clips that are interesting and useful. And if something isn't my number one passion, the allure of a "master" helps me remain interested in the lessons.
Personally, I enjoy having yearly access. If you're a lifelong learner, it gives you the ability to jump around different subjects with tools like "topic playlists" that queue up stuff you might like. For me, it's worth the $180 — it's informative without feeling overly stringent or overwhelming. But if you're interested in deep-diving into only one topic, I'd recommend auditing a class at Coursera or edX rather than dropping $180 just to access one MasterClass. — Mara Leighton, senior reporter
More: Features E-Learning MasterClass IP Graphics | 2022-06-08T20:58:20Z | www.businessinsider.com | MasterClass Review 2022: FAQ, Price, and Best Celebrity Classes | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/masterclass-review | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/masterclass-review |
Apple is still selling the Watch Series 3 even though it won't support the latest version of watchOS — here's what we recommend instead
The Apple Watch Series 3 will not receive any more major updates, including watchOS 9.
The Apple Watch Series 3 won't be getting watchOS 9, but Apple is still selling it.
We can't recommend the Series 3 because of this, and security updates are next to be dropped.
Instead, we'd recommend the $279 Apple Watch SE as an affordable, simple Apple smartwatch.
The $199 Apple Watch Series 3 is the most affordable model you can buy, and it's still available from Apple. This is in spite of the fact that it won't support watchOS 9, the upcoming latest version of Apple's smartwatch interface.
This means the Apple Watch Series 3 won't get the latest features included with watchOS 9, like new watch faces, more metrics in the Workout app, and improvements to sleep insights.
Even if you're looking for a simple, affordable Apple Watch, we stopped recommending the Series 3 last year because its tiny storage made updating to new versions of watchOS a chore. We often needed to uninstall apps and delete music from the Series 3 just to install updates.
There's also the inevitability that Apple will cease Watch Series 3 security updates, but it's unclear when. Apple usually patches security flaws on older devices, even those without the latest operating system, so we should expect the same for the Apple Watch Series 3. However, Apple hasn't issued a security update to the original Apple Watch or the Series 2 since December 2020.
Which Apple Watch should you buy instead of the Series 3?
The Apple Watch SE looks nearly identical next to the Series 3, but will be supported for much longer.
The next best affordable option for a simple smartwatch from Apple is the Apple Watch SE.
The Apple Watch SE starts at $279, which is $80 more than the Series 3. For that extra $80, you get a significantly better smartwatch.
You get a larger display with slimmer bezels, Apple's second-generation heart rate sensor, a processor that's twice as fast, and 32GB of storage compared to just 8GB. You'll also get all the latest features coming with watchOS 9.
Apple Watch Series 3 vs SE specifications
38mm, 42mm Retina OLED
Up to 18 hours, USB-A magnetic charging cable
Up to 18 hours, USB-C magnetic charging cable
Fitness and health sensors
GPS, altimeter, first-gen heart rate sensor, high and low heart rate notifications, irregular heart rhythm notification, emergency SOS
GPS, compass, always-on altimeter, second-gen heart rate sensor, high and low heart rate notifications, irregular heart rhythm notification, international emergency calling, emergency SOS, fall detection
Up to 50 meters
Cellular connectivity
Yes (optional)
$199 starting
Read our full Apple Watch SE review here. | 2022-06-08T20:58:32Z | www.businessinsider.com | No watchOS 9 for Apple Watch Series 3: Buy the SE Instead | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-watch-series-3-no-watchos-9 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-watch-series-3-no-watchos-9 |
Why some influencers are ditching Amazon's live-shopping program — even if they're getting paid
In 2020, Amazon launched its own live-shopping platform, Amazon Live.
In 2020, Amazon launched a live-shopping feature for influencers called Amazon Live.
But the tool has struggled, with influencers saying it's hard to build an audience on the platform.
Influencers broke down what it's like using Amazon Live — and why it's not worth their time.
Amazon is struggling to win over influencers in its push to become the dominant player in the US live-shopping market.
In 2020, Amazon launched its own live-shopping feature, Amazon Live, and in a play to be the internet's live-shopping destination, the ecommerce giant has been recruiting popular TikTok and YouTube creators to use the tool. But it's struggling to keep those influencers happy.
While Amazon has proven to be a valuable platform for influencers through its affiliate marketing program and storefront tools, a number of creators say Amazon Live just isn't worth it.
Insider spoke with eight influencers and two talent managers who have experience with Amazon Live to learn how the platform works.
Most said that while Amazon Live as a product is easy to use, they did not like spending their time simply selling products — perhaps a bigger criticism of live-stream shopping, in general. When they did put in the time, most influencers said they didn't find success in viewership or sales.
One influencer, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely about Amazon's terms, said they struggled to build an audience on the platform or bring their existing followers over to Amazon. A second creator said that talking about multiple products every week on Amazon was too time consuming for the amount of money they earned, and they ultimately stopped using the feature.
Still, there are some creators in who have found success on Amazon Live. Beauty influencer Carla Stevenné streams every weekday, and last year, she told Insider that she makes more money there than on any other platform. And fashion influencer Tiana Young Morris said that the money Amazon has offered her to post monthly streams — on top of the regular commission — is well worth it.
"I couldn't turn it down," Morris said, who streams for about an hour a week on Amazon. "A large portion of my income does come from Amazon."
Morris' top performing livestreams are about her favorite wigs sold on Amazon, and one of her more recent livestreams has garnered about 22,000 views, she said.
In response to questions about the success of Amazon Live, an Amazon spokesperson pointed out that some of the influencers who have used the feature since its launch are now full-time Amazon Live influencers, and for those that aren't full time on Amazon, Live offers a way to diversify their revenue streams.
How Amazon Live works and the problem with live shopping
Amazon's live-shopping feature is part of a larger push by many platforms to bring the concept of influencers selling products live and directly to fans to the US.
The feature functions as an extension of Amazon's Influencer Program. For every item an influencer mentions during a livestream, a special link is added under the video directing viewers to the product. Creators earn a commission — between 1% and 10% — every time someone purchases a product with their link.
Although live commerce has taken off in other regions, like Asia, the social trend has struggled to gain mass popularity in the US.
"I didn't like that it was basically just me selling stuff," said the second creator, who gave up using the feature after one month.
"While I can go on TikTok Live and engage with my followers about all different subjects for hours, talking nonstop for an hour about Amazon products feels a lot like QVC," a third creator said.
This may point to a bigger problem for the US live-shopping industry — that influencers find the idea inauthentic — rather than just to an issue with Amazon's product. It seems that influencers who want do sell products would rather do "haul videos" on platforms like YouTube, where they have already built an audience, are more comfortable with the format, and can make money from advertisements or sponsorships, on top of any affiliate commissions.
For influencers who have found success on Amazon Live, actively promoting the stream on other platforms is key.
For instance, when Morris was first starting out, she would promote her Amazon stream on her primary social platforms like TikTok, where she has 345,000 followers.
"Most of the time I try to steer my audience that I already have from where they are to the Amazon Live," she said, adding that she will also make videos for TikTok teasing an upcoming Amazon Live.
Why some creators gave up using Amazon Live
Since 2020, employees on the Amazon Live team have been actively reaching out to influencers, offering them additional payments — on top of standard commission rates — to post live-shopping videos.
Morris, for example, is paid on a tiered system. She makes more money if her livestreams perform well, she said, and since she joined the platform in 2020, she has negotiated to earn more for her videos.
A fourth creator, who is popular on YouTube, declined one of these offers because they didn't feel the need to prioritize another platform, they said, while a fifth creator said they regret working with Amazon on a 2020 livestream. A sixth creator said they couldn't convert followers.
One main complaint among creators was that they have struggled to build an audience on Amazon, despite promoting their livestreams on Instagram and other platforms.
"It was not successful," said the fifth creator, who was paid by Amazon to post a livestream in partnership with a beauty brand."I felt embarrassed. There were around 200 people on, maybe even less. I don't think anyone actually shopped as I was live. But I will say that I have an Amazon Storefront, and that does really well for me."
The sixth creator, who has over 400,000 followers on Instagram, said they couldn't get their Instagram followers to convert into an Amazon Live audience. And without the audience, it wasn't worth it to go live for 45 minutes to an hour each week.
"At the end of the day, if I am going to take this much time to go live, from the preparation to going live, I'd rather just do it in a place where there is an audience," the sixth creator said.
And even if they could make time to post on Amazon Live, they said it was hard to sell for the full 45 minutes required.
"It's really hard to find the time — and it's harder to figure out how to fill that time," the sixth creator said. "When I go live on Instagram or TikTok, where I have a lot of followers, just by chatting away the time goes away. When you're pushing people to a new platform, and no one is there to begin with, I can only talk to myself for so long."
"To be successful on Amazon Live, you have to be a host, you have to have a personality for it, and I don't think everyone has that," one talent manager added. "I think that is part of the challenge. It's certainly not for everyone."
But even with these problems, the sixth influencer said they did enjoy using the Amazon Live app.
"It was the most sophisticated live set up that I've used that was built into an app, which is nice," they said.
But this just points back to the larger issue the US live-shopping industry is facing: Even with a well-developed product, the ecommerce giant is struggling to keep its creators happy.
Influencers have to spend their own money buying products to review
Influencers also complained about the money spent buying products to review.
Unless the livestream is sponsored by a brand, Amazon doesn't give influencers the products they talk about, three creators told Insider. Instead, influencers said they either had to spend their own money on Amazon buying products or use what they already had at home.
But an Amazon spokesperson said that part of what makes the content on Amazon Live successful is that creators discuss their favorite products with their audience, not just products they are gifted.
"We want creators to have full autonomy over which products they feature, review, and demonstrate as this is important in establishing trust, authenticity, and credibility with their audience," the spokesperson said.
Still, a third creator who said that Amazon required them to list a set number of products in each stream thought the cost wasn't worth that "authenticity."
"You definitely expect to be given a stipend," the third creator said. "Not to mention how many products you would have to be reviewing each month to accumulate four hours worth of reviews, and how much that would cost you. You end up just buying far more from Amazon yourself just to pull off the deliverable."
More: Influencers Amazon Live Shopping Social Commerce | 2022-06-08T20:59:08Z | www.businessinsider.com | Why Influencers Are Ditching Amazon's Live-Shopping Program | https://www.businessinsider.com/why-influencers-are-ditching-amazons-live-shopping-efforts-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/why-influencers-are-ditching-amazons-live-shopping-efforts-2022-6 |
You asked, we answered: 'Help! What should I get my dad for Father's Day this year?'
We share Father's Day gift ideas for all kinds of dads, whether they live nomadic lifestyles, love expensive tech, or hate getting "stuff."
Cotopaxi; Amazon; Atlas Coffee Club; Insider
Father's Day is around the corner (June 19 this year). Those of us with dads who are notoriously difficult to shop for may wind up kicking the task down the road, hoping the perfect present for someone who "wants nothing" will fall out of the sky.
A Father's Day gift advice column isn't exactly like a eureka-level gift dropping from heaven, but it's a pretty decent alternative. I've been an Insider Reviews journalist testing, researching, and ranking products for over five years. Gift guides (of which we've written thousands) are kind of like our Olympic event.
This year, to debut our gifting column, we asked: who are you shopping for this Father's Day, and what does your dad need, hate, love, and value? We recommended a handful of custom gifts within different price ranges that we think their father or father-figure would like, with the hopes that readers with similar dads can get inspired, too.
Below, you'll find descriptions of the dads our coworkers are shopping for — and expert recommendations for what to buy them (and dads like them) this Father's Day.
The Apple and audiobook enthusiast who needs little else
My dad's favorite gifts are always tech-related. He wears an Apple watch I got him every day and is obsessed with his Alexa. Even the last-minute gift I grabbed him once — an Audible subscription — ended up garnering a lot of excitement. He loves podcasts, history audiobooks, and just being plugged into world news in general (ideally with his noise-canceling headphones).
The problem is, there's only so much tech a person can have, tech gifts don't really feel "special," and they can be expensive! I've gotten him more specific gifts in the past like a puzzle or a DIY beer brewing kit, but they collect dust. What can I get him that he'll still like, but that feels more creative (and budget-friendly) than another Apple device?
—Technically Stuck
If dad enjoys historical audiobooks (and hasn't read this one yet), he will probably love "Say Nothing," which covers The Troubles in Ireland. Investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe tells a spellbinding tale of memory, identity, and violence that's impossible to put down.
"Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland"
For something tech-adjacent that's also personal, I'd recommend a new wallet. The Bellroy Apex Sleeve has RFID-blocking technology for card security, and it's made in premium leather that should age nicely. He'll use it every day and he'll think of you when he does. We ranked it the best masculine wallet you can buy.
Bellroy Apex Sleeve
$129.00 from Bellroy
If he's really more of a tech guy than an analog anything and he's a reader, consider getting him a Kindle if he doesn't already have one. It's still tech, but it might feel a bit more personal if you mention some of the titles you specifically think he'd like to download onto it (like "Say Nothing"). Our favorite for most people is the Kindle Oasis, but you'll find reviews and recommendations on which model to buy for who in our best e-readers guide here.
Amazon Kindle Oasis (8GB)
Lastly, sometimes it's best to just go with what's made Dad happy in the past. If he really loves tech, we rounded up some of the best tech gifts for Father's Day.
The tech-savvy traveler
My dad dreams of being a minimalist who can travel anywhere at a moment's notice. Therefore, I'm not really leaning towards a material gift that'll just sit in a storage unit, but rather something that can actually support him on his traveling nomad journey.
I've considered an Airbnb gift card, but it doesn't feel personal enough or a guidebook, but he's so tech-savvy that he'll just plan out a whole trip on Google Maps! What can I get him that is travel-friendly and fun, but not a physical item?
—Travel Weary
First off, I'd recommend looking into the Priority Pass, which gives him access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the world. All he has to do is slip it into his wallet, and he'll have a more pleasant traveling experience — thanks to you. If that doesn't feel personal enough, you can always pick up an in-flight cocktail kit to go with it.
Priority Pass Standard Membership Plan
$99.00 from Priority Pass
The Cocktail Box Co. Gin & Tonic
If you want to go for a grand gesture, you could also book a trip for the two of you. You can even pick up a custom boarding pass with a scratch-off destination reveal on Etsy, if you live for a little drama.
APaperParadise Custom Boarding Pass Card
$12.75 from Etsy
I get wanting to avoid something that collects dust in a storage unit. But have you considered physical gifts that he may want to use nonstop? I'm thinking of this I-can't-believe-how-much-it-fits Cotopaxi backpack we swear by for travel, or the Hydaway Collapsible Water Bottle, Trtl Pillow, or an external battery so he never gets caught without a digital boarding pass or lost somewhere new without a charge. If he's open to new things, these will improve his nomadic lifestyle.
$220.00 from Cotopaxi
TravelCard Plus
$39.00 from TravelCard
Hydaway Collapsible Water Bottle
Trtl Neck Support Travel Pillow
Lastly, if he loves to travel because he's curious about other places, he might enjoy a coffee subscription that sends him delicious single-origin coffee from across the globe for him to try. You can opt for whole beans to prolong its freshness, just in case they're delivered while he's out of town, too.
$9.00 from Atlas Coffee
For more gift ideas, check out our travel gift guide here.
The non-materialistic dad
Yoshiyoshi Hirokawa/Getty Images
My dad isn't a materialistic guy. He wouldn't use tech and doesn't particularly love to cook or garden. He's had the same clothes for years. He loves learning about history, but he usually likes to reread his favorite books rather than new ones. He's into zen and meditation, and loves to take walks and lift at the gym. He also loves his downtime — watching movies, eating his favorite snacks, and talking to his kids.
I don't want to get him "stuff" he won't use or need. What's something small, meaningful, and/or convenient that I could get him for less than $200?
-Zen on a Budget
If Dad loves to reread his favorite books, and he likes to enjoy a long walk, consider combining them into one activity with an Audible subscription. This way, he can take books on his walks with him.
Audible Gift Membership (3 Months)
If possible, you can also pool your resources with the rest of your family and book an Airbnb for a staycation together. Grab some games to play together or plan to take long walks together in nature and watch Dad's favorite movies. Pack the little things that matter – his favorite coffee and snacks, books to read while Dad is enjoying the quiet — and give Dad what he loves most: quality time with you.
If your dad has had the same clothes for years, he'll appreciate a new addition that's well-made and durable. I recommend the Ten Thousand Versatile Shirt or Darn Tough socks which he can use year-round. The Ten Thousand Versatile Shirt is on the Insider Reviews All-Time Best list of our favorite 100 products, and you can read a review of the Ten Thousand Versatile Shirt here and the Darn Tough socks here.
Darn Tough Treeline Micro Crew Cushion Sock
Ten Thousand Versatile Shirt
$54.00 from Ten Thousand
Lastly, if Dad likes to travel and appreciates being in the most beautiful parts of the US for his long walks, you can get him a national parks annual pass and save him a lot of money — the $80 pass will get him plus three other adults in one vehicle in for free to most US national parks, which usually cost between $20-$35 per person to enter.
National Park Service Annual Pass
$80.00 from National Park Service
For more Father's Day gift ideas, you may want to check out our Father's Day gift guides, like funny Father's Day gifts, inexpensive gifts, or gifts for dads who want nothing.
More: Insider Reviews 2022 Insider Picks IP Reviews Gifts | 2022-06-08T21:49:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | "What Should I Get My Dad for Father's Day?" Expert Recommendations | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/gifts/fathers-day-gift-advice-column-2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/gifts/fathers-day-gift-advice-column-2022 |
MacBook Air 2022 vs. 2020: Apple's updated thin-and-light laptop is faster and has improved features, but the older model is still a good buy
Apple's 2022 MacBook Air (left) is pricier than the 2020 MacBook Air (right), but is also even more premium.
Camera and Audio
Apple added a newly redesigned MacBook Air alongside the existing model from 2020.
The 2022 MacBook Air uses a new M2 processor, enhanced screen features, and a slimmer profile.
However, the new MacBook Air costs $200 more than before, which is still a good buy for most people.
Apple's new M2 processor is not even available in the priciest MacBook Pro laptops yet, so the M2-equipped MacBook Air 2022 isn't a minor refresh. Equipped with the new Apple silicon, upgraded display, and an enhanced camera, the new MacBook Air fits all that new tech into an even thinner, lighter design.
But, this MacBook Air also has a base price that's $200 higher than the previous generation. Buying an older model is often smart for staying on budget. Is that the case for the MacBook Air 2022 versus. 2020 — or are the significant upgrades worth the 20% price hike?
Apple's announcements during the 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) do not make the M1 processor and the 2020 MacBook Air obsolete. But looking at the differences between the 2022 and 2020 MacBook Air models, there will definitely be people willing to pay that higher price for those advanced features.
MacBook Air 2022 vs. MacBook Air 2020 specifications
Specification MacBook Air M1 2020 MacBook Air M2 2022
Display 13.3-inch Retina (2,560 x 1,600) 13.6-inch Liquid Retina (2,560 x 1,664)
Processor (CPU) Apple M1 (8 cores) Apple M2 (8 cores)
Graphics (GPU) Apple M1 (7 cores) Apple M2 (up to 10 cores)
Memory (RAM) 8GB up to 16GB 8GB up to 24GB
Storage (SSD) 256GB up to 2 TB 256GB up to 2 TB
Battery Up to 18 hours Up to 18 hours, Fast charge capable
Camera 720p FaceTime camera 1080p FaceTime HD camera
Size 2.6 pounds, 0.63 inches height 2.7 pounds, 0.44 inches height
MacBook Air 2022 vs MacBook Air 2020: Performance
While moving from the M1 to the M2 processor isn't as large of a leap as moving from the Intel-based processors, there's still a significant performance gain. Apple says that the new M2 processor is up to 1.4 times faster than the M1, but it's up to 15 times faster than a comparable Intel model. According to Apple's tests, the speed differences between the M1 and M2 will be most noticeable in tasks like video editing and gaming.
Like the M1, the M2 is a system on a chip (SoC) which combines the central processor, graphics processor, and memory. The M2 can be configured with 8 or 10 GPU cores and also uses a new media engine for smoother graphics and faster screen renders.
The M2 also allows the 2022 MacBook Air to be configured with as much as 24GB of RAM — 8GB more than before. This larger RAM capacity could convince buyers who are torn between power and portability. The extra RAM is a plus for data-hungry applications like video editing as well as running multiple apps at once.
While the M2 has lots of power, most general users will get by with the M1 MacBook Air still on offer.
MacBook Air 2022 vs MacBook Air 2020: Design
The MagSafe charging port returns to the MacBook Air in 2022 at long last.
Like the M1 processor, the M2 doesn't use a fan. But the 2020 MacBook Air just put the fanless system in the same design as before. For the 2022 model, Apple redesigned the laptop around the M2 to be thinner and lighter than before.
Both models have just two Thunderbolt (USB 4) ports but now with the recently-revived MagSafe charger. This means charging the 2022 MacBook Air doesn't take up a Thunderbolt port. It still only supports one external monitor, up to 6K.
The 2022 laptop is also available in more colors: Starlight (gold), Midnight (black), silver, and Space Gray.
If you're after the best-designed MacBook Air yet, then the 2022 model is for you. Otherwise, the 2020 model is still a premium Apple product.
MacBook Air 2022 vs MacBook Air 2020: Display
Apple's updated Liquid Retina display is larger, brighter, and more vibrant than before.
While the 2022 MacBook Air is thinner, it's still the same width as before. Apple has managed to fit in a larger screen by reducing bezel size.
That does mean, however, that the 2022 has a camera notch and the 2020 doesn't. The notch has been a point of contention among Apple fans on the iPhone and MacBook Pros. It juts into the menu bar here and can make the options feel more cluttered.
The screen is also upgraded from Apple's standard Retina display to Liquid Retina. This screen tech uses multiple LEDs instead of just one for backlighting, improving brightness, color, and contrast.
For the buyer considering using a MacBook Air for visual work, it makes sense to spend extra on the latest model.
MacBook Air 2022 vs MacBook Air 2020: Camera and Audio
The new FaceTime HD camera on the MacBook Air uses the notch design, but it rests in the unused Menu Bar space.
Notch aside, Apple has also updated the camera inside the 2022 MacBook Air. FaceTime video will look a bit sharper with a bump from 720p to 1080p resolution. Audio in those FaceTime calls may also sound a bit better with four speakers rather than three.
Buyers concerned with improving their work from home operation should consider this sizable camera upgrade.
MacBook Air 2022 vs MacBook Air 2020: Which should you buy?
The 2022 MacBook Air offers faster performance, a better screen, and a much-improved design. That, with the extra available RAM, makes it the better option for gaming, photo and video editing, and other power- and- data-heavy tasks. It's also better for users with more than one Thunderbolt accessory, since the charger has its own port again.
But, the 1.4x faster performance is far less noticeable than the 15x speed boost from an Intel-based Mac. Will these upgrades be noticeable for office users working on spreadsheets, word processors, and internet browsers? Here, the price difference may be more noticeable, and so the 2020 MacBook Air still has its place as the best Apple laptop for most people.
More: IP Tech Laptops Apple MacBook Air
IP Versus | 2022-06-08T21:50:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | MacBook Air 2022 Vs. MacBook Air 2020: Which Model Should You Buy? | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-macbook-air-2022-vs-2020 | https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-macbook-air-2022-vs-2020 |
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stands on a stage at the Tesla Gigafactory for the open day in Grünheide, east of Berlin.
German union IG Metall questioned Elon Musk's authority to force workers to return to the office.
Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory began shipping out cars in March and is tripling its workforce.
Last week, the Tesla CEO reportedly told executives to work 40 hour per week in the office or quit.
Germany's largest trade union pushed back against Elon Musk's return-to-office ultimatum for employees that work from home.
Last week, in a leaked companywide email, Musk told Tesla executives they must return to the office for a minimum of 40 hours a week or resign. Musk said on Twitter that the decision was part of an effort to promote equality between factory workers — who have been required to come to work in person throughout the pandemic — and executives.
IG Metall told Reuters in a statement that it would support any worker in Germany who did not wish to comply with Musk's demand. The union — which recently opened an office near Tesla's new Berlin-Brandenburg factory — represents about 2.3 million German workers in the manufacturing industry, including some Tesla workers, according to Reuters.
"Whoever does not agree with such one-sided demands and wants to stand against them has the power of unions behind them in Germany, as per law," Birgit Dietze, the district leader for IG Metall in Brandenburg Sachsen, told the publication. A spokesperson for the union did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.
In February, Tesla workers elected 19 people to the company's first works council a month before the new gigafactory opened. In Germany, a works council functions as an organization that can advocate for workers at a local level, separately from a union. Typically representatives for the council are elected every two to four years.
IG Metall questioned Musk's authority to bring workers back into the office in a statement to Fortune.
"In Germany an employer cannot dictate the rules just as he likes," Dietze said. "A worker can rely on the strength and power of her or his union if she or he does not want to accept the demands of the company."
Historically, Musk has spoken out against unionization efforts at Tesla. Earlier this year, the billionaire appeared to taunt the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) by tweeting a video of workers dissing the UAW.
Tesla workers in the US sought to unionize in 2017, but reportedly faced backlash from the electric-car maker. Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Tesla and Musk "unlawfully threatened" workers hoping to unionize. The group said Tesla "interrogated" employees involved in the effort and ordered Musk to delete a tweet it deemed "anti-union."
Last week, recruiters at major tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft put out calls to Musk's employees who might be looking to dodge his return-to-work edict. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen executives have echoed the sentiment. IG Metall also represents workers for BMW and Volkswagen.
"We have a fundamentally different view on creating an attractive working environment, and stand for empowerment and personal responsibility in our teams to balance the ratio of mobile and in-person work," Gunnar Kilian, a Volkswagen board member responsible for human resources, told Fortune.
More: Cars Tesla Elon Musk Electric Cars | 2022-06-08T21:50:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Major German Union Challenges Musk's Return-to-Office Edict | https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-german-union-elon-musk-return-to-office-remote-workers-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-german-union-elon-musk-return-to-office-remote-workers-2022-6 |
Then-President Donald Trump listens as then-senior advisor Jared Kushner speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on September 11, 2020.
Jared Kushner told Trump to tack on five points to any bad poll that was released, per a NYT report.
The report said Kushner was "rationalizing that traditional surveys missed many Trump voters anyway."
Republicans have long claimed that polls often don't account for many of Trump's most fervent supporters.
Republicans often point out that the 2016 presidential election — which was seen by most observers as a contest that favored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over former President Donald Trump — produced one of biggest electoral upsets in modern political history.
After Trump entered the White House, senior advisor and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner would lean in on this mindset when dealing with the volatile commander-in-chief, according to details from a forthcoming book from New York Times reporter Peter Baker and The New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser that were published Wednesday in the Times.
Baker described Kushner as a "measured alter ego" who "others turned to for help in calming down or reasoning" with Trump during the former president's tenure in the Oval Office, while also stating that he was "strategic" in how he handled his dealings with the former president.
"Mr. Kushner developed his own techniques for handling Mr. Trump," the Times reported. One key, he told others, was feeding the president good news, even if it was in short supply. ... Kushner came up with a specific mathematical formula for his peculiar brand of Trump management: two to one. Any phone call, any meeting should include this good-news-to-bad-news ratio. He would give twice as much upbeat information as grim updates."
The report continued: "He similarly made a habit of telling Mr. Trump to add five points to any bad poll, rationalizing that traditional surveys missed many Trump voters anyway, part of a common White House practice of telling the president what he wanted to hear regardless of the facts."
Throughout the Trump presidency, the former president was beset by middling favorability ratings that reflected the polarizing effect that his demeanor had on the electorate.
Despite Trump's national polling numbers, which on average sat well below 50 percent, many of the hotly-contested states in the 2020 presidential election — including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — were all decided by less than 2 percentage points.
The Times report went on to state that despite Kushner's family ties, Trump was still "a demanding boss" who was not keen "to showing appreciation."
"Mr. Kushner understood that Mr. Trump was never going to call him and say, 'You're doing a great job. I just want to thank you for this.' Instead, Mr. Kushner once explained to an associate, his dealings with Trump invariably began with the president saying, 'What the hell is going on with this?' albeit with an earthier expletive, often in a phone call at 1 or 2 in the morning," the report said.
After seeing a stream of advisors leave the White House over the years, Kushner knew that he could never dismiss that Trump was in the driver's seat.
"Mr. Kushner realized the essential element of survival: never forgetting it was Mr. Trump's show, Mr. Trump's party, Mr. Trump's way," the report said.
More: Jared Kushner Donald Trump Political Polls Trump administration | 2022-06-08T22:25:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | Kushner Told Trump to Add Five Points to Any Bad Political Poll: NYT | https://www.businessinsider.com/kushner-trump-add-five-points-bad-polling-gop-supporters-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/kushner-trump-add-five-points-bad-polling-gop-supporters-2022-6 |
Lawyers for Donald Trump and NY Attorney General Letitia James faced off in court Wednesday.
Trump had hoped a costly contempt-of-court ruling would be lifted permanently.
The judge for the AG's probe of Trump's business instead ordered still more affidavits.
A Manhattan judge on Wednesday kept a costly contempt-of-court order dangling over the head of former President Donald Trump, saying it was the best way to ensure he fully complies with New York's ongoing inquiry into his hotel and golf resort business.
Wednesday's decision leaves open the possibility that a fine already totalling $110,000 could climb still higher. And it left a Trump lawyer complaining that the former president is being unfairly targeted "for who my client is."
"I just don't understand why we are still in contempt," Trump attorney Alina Habba complained during a sometimes heated virtual hearing before the judge presiding over NY Attorney General Letitia James' 3-year probe.
"In the final analysis, I just want to get this done," answered the judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
The AG has been laser-focused recently on understanding why so few of the computer-averse Trump's handwritten business directives — many scrawled in Sharpie on Post-it Notes affixed to hardcopy draft letters, contracts and appraisals — have so far been turned over to the probe.
Of 900,000 Trump Organization documents so far turned over, only ten can be categorized as these so-called Trump "custodial" documents, the AG has complained.
Trump had said in an affidavit that his executive assistants were responsible for preserving his paperwork, an assertion that sparked a search for a dozen of Trump's former assistants.
Then, on Friday, longtime executive assistant Rhona Graff testified under subpoena that there was, in fact, no centralized document preservation policy at the multi-billion-dollar business.
In this latest ruling, the judge gave Trump's side until Friday, June 17, to get sworn statements from officials in each of the Trump Organizations' departments.
These officials are to explain what happened to Trump's handwritten directives once they left his outbox and were hand-delivered by his assistants to the inboxes of its hotel, golf, marketing and legal divisions.
"This is the best way to do it," the judge said of leaving his contempt of court order in place while Trump's side jumps through these final hoops.
"And I think it's fair," the judge added. "I understand we have a slight difference of opinion."
"I just think the opinion is a lot based on who my client is," Habba shot back. "And that's concerning to me."
The judge had found Trump in contempt of court in April, setting a $10,000-a-day fine that rose to $110,000 before the judge stopped the clock in early May.
If Trump fails to fully comply with the judge's final demands, the fine could be reinstated retroactive to May 7, meaning the former president would be liable for some $300,000 in additional fines.
In papers filed in advance of Wednesday's hearing, Habba had said there were at least eight instances where documents bearing Trump's hand-written directives had indeed been turned over to the AG.
But just before Wednesday's hearing, the AG revealed what those eight Sharpie-marked documents actually were — and they were hardly evidentiary smoking guns.
They included Trump's initials on an invoice, a photograph of a Balducci's store and a rendering for 40 Wall Street showing the name "The Trump Building."
An early diagram of the residential "villas" at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort showed Trump had used a black marker to switch the names for the "Jack Nicklaus" and "Phil Mickelson" residential villas there — with Trump giving legend Nicklaus the larger villa.
"Great," Trump also wrote, for no given reason, on a series of old news photos of golf bigs Arnold Palmer and Gary Players.
There was no explanation of how, if at all, these examples of Trump directives were responsive to any AG subpoena. | 2022-06-09T00:00:21Z | www.businessinsider.com | NY Judge Keeps Contempt-Fine Threat Dangling Over Donald Trump's Head | https://www.businessinsider.com/ny-judge-contempt-fine-threat-donald-trump-organization-probe-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ny-judge-contempt-fine-threat-donald-trump-organization-probe-2022-6 |
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
The House passed legislation that would raise the age limit from 18 to 21 to buy a semi-automatic weapon.
The measure was part of the Protecting Our Kids Act package of gun reform policies in the wake of mass shootings.
Here are the 10 Republicans that voted in favor of raising the age limit.
The 228-199 vote occurred largely along party lines, with two Democrats voting against the bill and 10 Republicans siding with the Democrat-led proposed legislation, which also prohibits the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds.
—House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) June 8, 2022
The age hike was part of a package of gun safety bills known as the Protecting Our Kids Act, introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler, which was broken up into certain gun policies to pressure GOP congresspeople resistant to tighter gun laws. The different sections were voted on individually, and 10 GOP members voted on retaining Title I. Overall, five GOP members voted in favor of the whole package.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 70% of Americans favor enacting gun control laws over protecting ownership of guns.
While the legislation isn't expected to survive in the Senate, which is focusing on policies related to school safety, improving mental health programs, and enhancing background checks, the House bill serves to show voters where lawmakers stand on the issue ahead of the November midterms as the government tries to address the rise of gun violence in the US.
Here are the 10 Republicans who voted in favor of Title I of the Protecting Our Kids Act to raise the age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons:
Rep. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Al Drago/Pool via AP
Rep. John Katko of New York.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York
Rep. Maria Salazar of Florida
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida at a press conference outside the Capitol on March 17, 2021.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., attends the Monmouth GOP Super Saturday campaign drive, June 2, 2018, in Colts Neck. Smith is seeking re-election in New Jersey's 4th District.
Julio Cortez, File/AP
Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio
Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., speaks during the Problem Solvers Caucus press conference in the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020.
More: Adam Kinzinger Brian Fitzpatrick Anthony Gonzalez John Katko
Maria Salazar | 2022-06-09T01:33:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | 10 GOP Lawmakers Voted to Raise Minimum Age to Buy Semi-Automatic Weapons | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-lawmakers-voted-raise-minimum-age-buy-semi-automatic-weapons-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-lawmakers-voted-raise-minimum-age-buy-semi-automatic-weapons-2022-6 |
Climate tech startups raised nearly $40 billion in funding last year. Check out 5 of the best pitch decks that caught the eyes of investors.
Christian Reber, cofounder and CEO of presentation software startup Pitch.
Nearly $40 billion was raised by climate tech startups last year.
The presentation company Pitch collected 40 pitch decks used by climate tech startups.
Pitch CEO Christian Reber worked with climate VC World Fund to pick out five of the best for Insider.
Climate tech had a banner year in 2021.
Nearly $40 billion was raised by startups trying to solve the climate crisis last year, with mobility and energy taking the lion's share of investors' dollars.
A swath of recently launched startups have lured millions from investors, including carbon accounting companies, carbon market plays, and those putting captured carbon to use in consumer products.
But there are still significant areas of untapped potential, according to a recent PwC report which analyzed 15 climate tech areas. It found the top five technologies that have the potential to reduce 80% of emissions by 2050 received just 25% of overall climate tech investment dollars since 2013.
Hard-to-abate industries, such as shipping and construction, and capital-intensive hardware plays, like carbon removal, require early investment from patient VCs, the report said.
Climate tech founders should be patient but persistent as demand for solutions will soar as more investors realize the urgency of the climate crisis, according to Christian Reber, the cofounder and CEO of presentation software startup Pitch.
The ability to scale is crucial when launching a business ,but climate companies face unique challenges, Reber said.
"In software, my space, I can just basically A/B test my way to success," he added, referring to a split testing method where two variables are compared against one another. "In climate tech companies, it's a little bit different."
Switzerland-based Climeworks, for example, launched its large-scale carbon-removal facility in September 2021 – 12 years after the company was first founded. Startups have been working on this tech for years, but the industry is still plagued with supply chain issues. The buzzy lab-grown meat sector, meanwhile, is slow-moving despite US-based UPSIDE Foods and the Netherlands-based Mosa Meat working on the tech since 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Climate tech is "harder to test but I wish CEOs would be more vocal, more aggressive, because there is urgency," Reber, who is also an angel investor , said.
Founders don't want to "draw the doomsday scenario," Reber said. But it works, he added.
"You are actually working on solutions," Reber continued. "Who knows if your solution is going to be the right one, no-one will be able to tell you that, neither your customers nor investors. Only time will tell. Use this opportunity go out there and scream if you have something that you feel is worth screaming about."
In a bid to help climate tech and sustainability startups catch the eye of investors, Reber's company Pitch has collected more than 40 pitch decks, which showcase young companies working to solve sustainability issues across sectors including food, finance, and fashion.
When it comes to pitching, decks should focus on the company's feasibility and true impact, according to Reber.
"Present the science in the most transparent and thoughtful way you can so investors develop," he said. "I think there are quite a few companies out there that pretend to do something good and they just don't."
Reber and the Pitch team worked with climate tech investors World Fund to select five successful pitch decks across a range of sectors and outlined why they stood out.
Check out the 5 pitch decks below:
1. Framework is remaking consumer electronics to better respect people and the planet
California-based Framework is designing completely modular consumer technology that can be upgraded, customized, and repaired.
The hardware company was founded in 2020 by Nirval Patel, the former head of hardware at Oculus and a former director of engineering at Facebook. Framework currently has a laptop on shelves but plans to grow its ecosystem with products designed to stand the test of time.
It's "critical" that a range of solutions are funded and tested to reduce and reverse climate change, Patel said.
Reber said this Series A pitch deck stood out because it weaved customer reviews and news coverage about the product throughout, helping to reassure investors about its existing traction.
"Investors need to feel confident that a climate tech initiative is also commercially viable and will lead to their targeted return on investment," Reber said.
Framework is "subtly mitigating any concerns from investors that customers might not want to switch to an eco-friendly, non-branded laptop," he added.
The company has raised $27 million to date, according to PitchBook.
Check out the 15-slide deck below:
2. EcoLocked is developing eco-friendly concrete for construction
Founded in 2021, EcoLocked is hoping to decarbonize the construction industry by creating a new building material using biochar — a form of charcoal that locks carbon dioxide away for hundreds to thousands of years by storing it in solid form.
The Berlin-based startup's deck caught the eye of investors because of its well-presented hardware play.
"If investors are serious about cutting emissions, they need to invest more in hardware solutions, such as manufacturing, carbon capture, renewables, and energy storage," Reber said.
But crucial to getting investor buy-in is breaking down the detail of technical hardware initiatives into digestible and easy to understand elements, he added.
"EcoLocked is a great example of this: They use charts and diagrams to make their points clear and easy to understand even for those without a PhD in material science," Reber said
EcoLocked Cofounder and CEO Mario Vaupel said he was surprised by investors' reluctance to write checks to hardware-focused climate tech, "even though climate change is a physical issue that requires physical solutions."
"In the fight against climate change, we urgently need hard tech business models that tackle CO2 emissions in industrial value chains," he added. "It is high time that VCs make hardware climate tech part of their portfolios."
EcoLocked
3. Sylvera is building a platform for carbon ratings and reports
Founded in 2020, London-based Sylvera is bringing a source of truth for carbon markets by rating carbon credits.
It surveys nature-based projects, such as forestry, using technology including 3D scans and satellite imagery. It estimates how much carbon is stored in the forest and combines this with environmental data and information on the project operator to determine the quality of carbon credits issues by the project.
Reber and the Pitch team were impressed with Sylvera's no-frills deck because it gets straight to the point.
"This is a demonstration of why short and sweet is often better," Reber said. "It's only 10 slides long and yet manages to coherently and succinctly explain the fairly complex problem at hand."
Check out the 10-slide pitch deck here:
Sylvera
4. Juicy Marbles is serving up plant-based filet mignon
The alternative protein space has long been plagued with failing taste and texture parity when stacked up against meat. Juicy Marbles has developed what it claims is the first line of plant-based whole cuts.
The company, founded in Slovenia in 2020, launched its marbled filet mignon earlier this year and will be tackling tenderloin next, with the product listed online but not yet available.
CEO and cofounder Luka Sinček is set on "rooting out beef."
Juicy Marbles served up a deck brimming with mouth-watering product pictures.
"This deck lets the product do the talking, with the major focus of the deck revolving around photographs rather than words," Reber said.
"This deck could have easily focused on the science and theory behind Juicy Marbles. However, this visually arresting deck is far more memorable and convincing than a ton of graphs and charts."
The startup has raised $4 million to date, according to PitchBook.
5. Sourceful is creating sustainable packaging
Sourceful — founded in 2020 with a dual headquarters in Manchester, UK, and Shenzhen, China — is helping businesses shift to sustainable packaging.
Climate tech is exploding in popularity, cofounder and CEO Wing Chan said, and consumers are voting with their wallets.
Sourceful's platform is designed to help balance the cost, time, and impact of bespoke packaging. Each design also comes with a carbon footprint, so businesses know the environmental impact of their packaging materials.
Pitch was drawn to Sourceful's deck for its design, which is a good example of bringing "interest and texture" to a pitch, according to Reber.
"The market slide of this deck is powerful, making great use of screenshots of current news articles to show the urgency and need for climate action in this sector," Reber said.
"It's a great example of how you can show, not tell, when demonstrating a point," he added. "Just think about how much more boring this slide could have been — it could have been just a series of numbers, or a table."
Sourceful has secured $32 million from investors to date, per PitchBook.
Sourceful | 2022-06-09T07:39:15Z | www.businessinsider.com | Check Out 5 Climate Tech Pitch Decks That Caught the Eye of Investors | https://www.businessinsider.com/5-climate-tech-pitch-decks-investors-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/5-climate-tech-pitch-decks-investors-2022-6 |
Lauren Boebert's use of campaign funds is under scrutiny by Colorado officials following a complaint by the same PAC that leaked a nude video of Madison Cawthorn
Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing an investigation in Colorado concerning her use of campaign funds.
Rep. Lauren Boebert's use of campaign funds is being investigated in Colorado.
Boebert was accused of filing inaccurate mileage estimates and using donor cash to pay tax liens.
The claims were in a complaint lodged by the PAC that leaked videos of ousted Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
Colorado officials are investigating whether controversial GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert may have misused campaign funds.
According to The New York Times, local officials in Colorado are investigating whether Boebert falsely logged the mileage she clocked on the 2020 campaign trail. The officials are also examining whether Boebert used around $20,000 in donor cash to pay tax liens on her restaurant, Shooters Grill, per the outlet.
The investigation was sparked by a complaint against Boebert by the American Muckrakers PAC, an organization that brought an ethics complaint against Rep. Madison Cawthorn. The ousted congressman was the subject of multiple video leaks from the website "FireMadison.com" which was set up by the PAC.
The people behind the PAC, including its president, David Wheeler, have now turned their attention to Boebert with the website "FireBoebert.com."
The Denver Post first reported in 2021 that Boebert had cashed $22,259 worth of checks for mileage reimbursement, based on a mileage estimate of 38,712 miles on the road — more than the circumference of planet Earth.
The complaint about Boebert's use of funds centers around tax liens from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment filed against Boebert from August 2016 to February 2020, which demanded payment on unemployment premiums for Shooters Grill.
Boebert paid off the liens in late 2020 and reimbursed herself for campaign travel during the same period. However, the complaint suggests there was an inappropriate use of funds on Boebert's part, among other allegations.
"As you are both fully aware, utilizing an illegal source of funds or ill-gotten funds to pay off a tax lien is illegal in Colorado and under federal law," the PAC's complaint wrote. "That is the very definition of ill-gotten funds."
On Tuesday, Janet Drake, Colorado's deputy attorney general, confirmed that the Colorado Department of Revenue and the Department of Labor and Employment would "investigate the issue," per The Times. A spokesman for Colorado's attorney general also said that an interagency group would "evaluate the allegations and whether legal actions are justified."
Meanwhile, representatives for Boebert told The Times that the lawmaker had accounted for the mileage and paid off the tax liens before the donor reimbursements were banked.
"Colorado citizens should be disgusted with Lauren Boebert. Lauren Boebert created this problem on her own and is finally going to be held accountable. This is what happens when you elect a clown that can't even pay her employees money owed to them or pay the appropriate taxes," wrote Wheeler in a press release about the Boebert investigation.
Wheeler added that he thought Boebert "should be ashamed of her actions."
"Anyone that uses donor money to pay their taxes is not fit to hold public office," Wheeler wrote.
More: Lauren Boebert Complaint Donor PAC | 2022-06-09T09:10:30Z | www.businessinsider.com | Colorado Officials to Inspect Lauren Boebert's Use of Campaign Funds | https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-officials-to-inspect-lauren-boeberts-use-of-campaign-funds-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-officials-to-inspect-lauren-boeberts-use-of-campaign-funds-2022-6 |
Goldman Sachs’ star economist lays out whether the US is heading for a recession and reveals what could trigger a rebound in the floundering stock market following the crash
Cyclists ride past the European headquarters of Goldman Sachs in London.
DANIEL LEAL / Contributor Getty
The stock market is poised at a critical juncture, with investors unsure if the bottom is in.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius laid out his views on the chances of a recession.
He also revealed the key things to watch for that could signal a sustained stock market turnaround.
The stock market is poised at a critical juncture, with investors seemingly split on whether it has found a bottom, or is just pausing before a further leg down.
The downward pressure has been largely a response to the Federal Reserve's rate-rise cycle as it scrambles to shut the inflation barn door after the horse has bolted.
Any sign that inflation has topped off and is on path back towards the 2% target is seen by many as the starting point for a sustained market recovery.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius is one of the people at the forefront of solving the puzzle and ascertaining when this is likely to happen.
He said in a recent note the US economy is currently "on a narrow path to a soft landing" and a near-term recession is a relatively unlikely scenario.
"We have not changed our estimated 35% risk that the US economy will enter a recession within the next two years. Although the deterioration in some growth indicators, most notably the 1.5% decline in Q1 GDP, suggests that near-term recession risk has increased in a mechanical sense, other broad activity measures imply that output is still expanding," he wrote.
He added that Fed tightening since late 2021, increased signs of labor market adjustment, and better inflation numbers have reduced the risk that central bank officials will need to tighten monetary policy to a degree that will force a recession in 2023 or 2024.
Hatzius also sees some specific positive signs within the inflation data, but some sectors continue to struggle with supply bottlenecks. "The price news also looks more encouraging. Most notably, statistical measures of sequential PCE inflation—especially our trimmed core index—have eased over the past few months. Broad supply-chain measures have improved, with the supplier delivery components of the monthly business surveys declining from high levels.
"However, one area where the news has been more mixed is the auto sector, as semiconductor supply is improving but shortages of auto parts from Ukraine and China are putting upward pressure on prices," he added. "This is one reason why we expect a 0.5% increase in the May core CPI."
Core consumer inflation data, which excludes food and energy prices, is due Friday and expected to show an increase of 0.5% on a monthly basis and 6% year-on-year.
Hatzius also warned against reading too much into poor earnings updates from some of the biggest consumer-facing companies.
"We fielded a number of questions about an imminent recession following the Q1 earnings reports from Walmart and Target. But the macroeconomic significance of these disappointments is limited, in our view."
"Part of the problem was a large increase in shipping costs, consistent with what we see in the economic data but not really new information. Then there was the spending shift away from discretionary items in April noted in the Target earnings call. Since that call, however, we have learned that real personal consumption in April was actually quite solid; in any case, we should expect goods consumption to underperform service consumption as the economy emerges more fully from the pandemic," Hatzuis said.
Turning to forecast for the Federal Reserve's next move, Hatzius said Goldman expects 50bp hikes at the next two FOMC meetings, however at the September meeting it is a "close call" between 25bp and 50bp, with 25bps more likely and at least "a few more 25bp hikes" in the following months.
"In terms of near-term communication, there is little incentive for Fed officials to deviate from their relatively hawkish framing of the last few months," he said. "After all, a significant further retracement of the earlier FCI tightening, on top of the 25bp easing seen in the past three weeks, would be counterproductive from the perspective of a central bank that is anxious to get inflation back down toward 2%."
The multi-trillion dollar question is when the economic data will lay the groundwork for a new bull market . Hatzius sees it as likely to be some way off, but a Fed-prompted rally cannot be ruled out. Faster-than-expected falls in inflation are the key thing to watch for.
"To say that markets are likely to remain range-bound is often a cliché, but we think it currently has more content than normal because Chair Powell is so intently focused on the role of financial conditions in delivering a soft landing," Hatzius said.
"Although financial conditions still look broadly compatible with the Fed's goals, under our central economic forecast we don't think the recent easing can go much further without triggering a fresh leg higher in terminal funds rate pricing, which would probably weigh on equities and credit," he added.
On the flipside, another big risk sell-off could nudge the Fed to switch to quarter-point increases or even stop raising rates, which would then support stocks and credit, Hatzuis said.
"An optimistic scenario is that CPI and PCE inflation fall faster than we are currently forecasting, as suggested by the sharp decline in our trimmed core PCE. A pessimistic scenario is a bigger energy shock that drives oil prices well beyond our commodity strategy team's modal $125/barrel forecast," he said.
More: recession 2022 Stock Market Analysis stock market crash 2022 Stock Market Outlook 2022
Goldman Sachs forecast | 2022-06-09T09:10:42Z | www.businessinsider.com | Economic Outlook: Goldman's Star Economist on Recession, Stocks | https://www.businessinsider.com/economic-outlook-goldmans-star-economist-on-recession-stocks-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/economic-outlook-goldmans-star-economist-on-recession-stocks-2022-6 |
Online freelancer marketplace Fiverr is launching a consulting business comprised of more than 1,000 creative experts as it looks to go after bigger projects from larger advertisers
Amir Guy, general manager of Togetherr, Fiverr's new venture
Togetherr/Fiverr
Togetherr allows marketers to hire a team from a pool of more than 1,110 top creatives.
Part of Fiverr, the platform will allow marketers to bypass agencies.
Togetherr's freelancers are vetted and many have won awards or worked with big brands.
Online freelancer marketplace Fiverr is on Thursday launching a new platform, which will allow marketers to assemble a team of top freelance creatives to work on projects like brand strategy or new product launches.
Named Togetherr, the platform is aimed at enterprise clients, as well as agencies, who need on-demand, project-based skillsets, with projects starting from $50,000.
Unlike on Fiverr, where anyone can sign up for a freelancer account and bid on projects, only vetted freelancers will appear on Togetherr. Many have won plaudits, like Cannes Lions and CLIO awards, and some have worked on campaigns for clients like Google, IKEA, and Nike.
The platform, wholly owned by Fiverr but operating from a different website, Togetherr.com, was launched in collaboration with Amir Guy, who will oversee it as general manager. Guy comes with 25 years of advertising industry experience, between agencies such as Grey, Wunderman Thompson, and Young & Rubicam.
Togetherr has spent the last few months vetting and onboarding more than 1,100 creatives and 30 micro-agencies, who will serve as the pool of advertising experts that marketers can tap into.
Guy is banking on two trends he sees in the industry: agile, disruptive tech firms increasing their share of advertising spend, and the fact that most big companies already don't trust their entire advertising business to agencies exclusively.
"They're not even capable of conceiving working with agencies," said Guy of tech firms. Meanwhile, "let's say you're Nike's agency of record – you know that 50, 60% of the projects are not done with you, because they don't trust you to do it. You are too slow, too convoluted," he added.
Togetherr uses AI to build a high-performing creative team
Once clients answer a few questions to define the scope of their marketing project, Togetherr's AI algorithm will create three "dream teams" of creatives, whose skills and experiences should match the client's requirements. The algorithm will ensure that members of each team of creatives relate to each other in some way, for example by having previously worked together in the same company or on the same project. It does this by scanning publicly available information such as LinkedIn and award sites. This will help with stronger team cohesion, a common concern among clients hiring freelancers, Guy said.
The inspiration to start Togetherr came from Guy's own experiences as an advertising executive. Throughout the years, Guy said he saw clients getting more frustrated with their agencies' slow pace, while agencies themselves hemorrhaged creatives, who had grown disillusioned with agency life due to the industry's increasingly "toxic" work environment.
Brands started to open in-house agencies, while top talent set up shop on their own, and work became more project-based.
Guy then realized that when clients needed outside talent for a project, they would mostly stick to a roster of creatives they already knew, while creatives themselves would often freelance on projects at their old agencies. This is where he realized that Togetherr could help brands access better creatives and creatives access more projects.
"People sometimes [ask], are you a disruptive product? And I say, no, the disruption is already happening," said Guy, who added that the pandemic only served to accelerate the talent exodus from agencies and clients' willingness to hire freelancers irrespective of location.
Agencies need a "wake up call"
Fiverr is not the first company that is attempting to automate the creative process in marketing and advertising. Startups like BeenThereDoneThat also aim to reduce marketers' reliance on agencies by pooling together easily accessible top talent.
But Togetherr isn't necessarily intent on killing"advertising agencies, said Guy. Instead, he sees the platform as an extra tool that agencies can also use to complete projects for clients. "I want to make brands happy so they can access creatives directly and want to make agencies happy so they can have agility and on-demand capability using Togetherr," he added.
While agencies have consolidated throughout the years, boutique agencies and even solo operations have sprouted. That has left the market fragmented, and, according to Guy, ripe for disruption.
"I don't think agencies will disappear," he said. "I think big brands will always need the agencies to accompany them on a longer run and to serve as the keeper of the brands or strategies. [Togetherr] is a wake up call because the industry does need a reboot."
More: Advertising Freelance AI | 2022-06-09T09:10:48Z | www.businessinsider.com | Fiverr Launches Creative Consulting Business for Enterprise Clients | https://www.businessinsider.com/fiverr-launches-creative-consulting-business-for-enterprise-clients-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/fiverr-launches-creative-consulting-business-for-enterprise-clients-2022-6 |
I'm a financial-advice blogger booking $8,000 in revenue a month. Here's how I grew my side hustle with brand partnerships and affiliate marketing.
Lisa Andrea, the founder of The Financial Cookbook.
courtesy of Andrea
Lisa Andrea launched The Financial Cookbook finance blog in February 2021.
She has turned her blog into a profitable business with affiliate marketing and brand partnerships.
Here's how she scaled her side hustle to book $8,000 a month.
Lisa Andrea saw a gaping hole in financial education, particularly for women, while she worked in marketing at a Big Four financial institution. From investment opportunities to saving for a home, too many women aren't taught the basics of financial planning in school, she said.
In February 2021, she launched The Financial Cookbook, a blog offering the "recipes for success" in finances, career, and life that Andrea taught herself. That includes lessons on investing, negotiating a salary, and writing a résumé, all of which contribute to a person's financial stability.
"The Financial Cookbook is a guide for everything they should have taught us in school," she said.
When Andrea launched her blog, she joined the more than 100 million Americans who run side hustles. Many people created side gigs as a way to fill their free time and earn ancillary income amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey of 510 entrepreneurs by the lending firm Clarify Capital.
Andrea booked $8,000 in revenue in May — a number that has grown month over month — through ads, affiliate marketing, brand partnerships, and product sales on her site, which Insider verified with documentation.
What's more, Andrea built her brand to 14,000 newsletter subscribers, 4 million monthly Pinterest views, and 96,000 social-media followers across her platforms, she said.
Insider spoke with Andrea about her decision to launch a financial-advice platform, how to grow an online community, and the most effective social-media platform for businesses.
The following as-told-to interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Find your passion in a void
The Financial Cookbook website.
After graduating from college, we are ushered into the real world without understanding the simplest ways to manage our careers or advocate for ourselves. I created The Financial Cookbook as a blueprint of how to manage money and shape your career in your 20s. It's something I wish I had when I was younger, which is why post-college women are my target audience.
I had the idea to start a financial guide for years, but it wasn't until my company went remote amid the pandemic, I wasn't traveling, and I had a leg injury that I had time to officially launch. My passion for helping others, combined with the engagement I see from my community, has made the long hours worth it.
Since the start of the year, I've invested more into the business and into myself: I attend courses on entrepreneurship, Google search-engine optimization, and blogging. I've also read books to help inform my business decisions. I recommend that all founders take advantage of these opportunities to continue learning as they grow.
Create multiple points of contact to attract new viewers
The Financial Cookbook Pinterest page.
screenshot, Pinterest.
After launching the blog, I joined Instagram and Pinterest to promote the site. I didn't know anything about social media before starting the company, but I watched YouTube videos by social-media coaches to learn the best type of content and the best time to post, as well as to understand algorithm changes.
Pinterest has been the most helpful tool in broadening my audience because it's a search engine rather than a social-media platform. Instagram and TikTok can help you interact with a large audience, but Pinterest is designed to drive people to your website.
Consistently connecting with audience members on multiple platforms helps draw traction from different corners of the internet. This multiplatform approach is crucial for business growth.
Turn a blog into a profitable business
A post shared by Lisa | The Financial Cookbook (@financialcookbook)
I generate income from paid ads, affiliate marketing, and brand partnerships. I work with nearly 50 companies on their affiliate-marketing programs.
Companies in all industries have affiliate programs, which I recommend other bloggers and digital founders take advantage of by applying to be part of them. But it's important to stay authentic: Promote only companies' information and products that align with your brand messaging.
I also offer items for purchase on my blog, including a résumé template for $15 and a habit-tracker challenge for $2.78.
I am a huge proponent of multiple streams of income, which is why I advise my readers on passive-income opportunities I've taken myself: I invest, have real estate, and make money through e-commerce sites like eBay, where I earn about $500 a month selling clothes and other household items.
I see financial freedom as having all of your life costs automated by passive income. I think that's what all of us are trying to get to, and the core of The Financial Cookbook is to help others achieve that.
More: Financial Coaching financial advice side hustles
Side-Hustle
How to Start Any Business From Scratch | 2022-06-09T10:42:05Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Start a Side Hustle That Makes 6 Figures With Affiliate Marketing | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-side-hustle-makes-six-figures-affiliate-marketing-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-side-hustle-makes-six-figures-affiliate-marketing-2022-6 |
Today's mortgage and refinance rates: June 9, 2022 | Rates have held steady for several weeks now
Mortgage rates are holding steady today, with 30-year fixed rates hovering just above 5%. Rates have remained near their current levels for several weeks now, suggesting that they may have finally peaked.
Rates increased dramatically this year in response to inflation and the Federal Reserve 's attempts to tame it. Next week, the Fed will meet to discuss raising the federal funds rate. So far this year, the Fed has hiked this rate twice, starting with a 0.25% increase in March and a 0.5% increase in May.
While mortgage rates aren't directly tied to the federal funds rate, they often inch up as a result of Fed rate hikes. So it's possible that mortgage rates could rise further. | 2022-06-09T10:42:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | Today's Mortgage, Refinance Rates: June 9, 2022 | Rates Have Held Steady for Several Weeks Now | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mortgage-refinance-rates-today-thursday-june-9-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mortgage-refinance-rates-today-thursday-june-9-2022-6 |
Nicole Gaudiano and Warren Rojas
GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told Insider he's not part of the Senate's gun negotiations.
As governor, Rick Scott signed gun-control legislation three weeks after the Parkland school shooting.
As a senator, he isn't participating in talks on gun-safety measures after the recent mass shootings.
"Democrats want to talk about gun control, I want to talk about school safety," he said.
Sen. Rick Scott has a history of addressing gun violence as a governor after mass shootings in Florida. But as bipartisan groups of senators negotiate federal legislation, he isn't in the room.
"My experience so far is the Democrats want to talk about gun control, I want to talk about school safety," Scott, a Republican, told Insider. "So there's a complete disconnect."
The recent shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, are pushing Congress to try again to take action on a host of gun-safety measures. Legislation Scott signed as Florida's governor after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being held up as an example.
Three weeks after the shooting that killed 17 people in South Florida, Scott signed legislation that committed millions to increasing school safety and tightened gun laws. The legislation, which passed Florida's majority-Republican House and Senate, allowed some teachers to be armed, but it also raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21, imposed a three-day waiting period on gun purchases, and allowed weapons to be confiscated from those deemed a threat to themselves or others. That provision is known as a "red flag" law.
"I think the template from Florida is the right one, which is, do some significant mental health investment, some school safety money and some modest but impactful changes in gun laws," Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat at the helm of Senate negotiations, said on CNN Sunday. "That's the kind of package we're putting together right now. That's the kind of package I think can pass the Senate."
House Democrats secured passage on Wednesday on a package of bills that would raise the purchase age for semi-automatic rifles to 21, limit access to high-capacity magazines, and ban bump stocks for civilian use. More limited bipartisan measures are under negotiation in the evenly-divided Senate, where anti-gun-control Republicans are likely to block more aggressive action.
Scott leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the main campaign arm for the Senate GOP. He told Insider the focus should be on school safety, state-by-state red flag laws, more mental health counselors in schools, threat assessment teams and more coordination of law enforcement agencies. He also touted these measures in 2019 after shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
"I think what we ought to do is some of the things that we did in Florida," he said.
The shootings last month killed 10 mostly Black people in a racist rampage at a Buffalo supermarket and 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Scott said that, when Murphy asked for information on Florida legislation, he provided it. But when Insider asked Scott if he's part of the negotiations, the governor-turned-senator replied, "No."
Fred Guttenberg, the father of a teen slain in the Parkland shooting, told Insider he isn't optimistic that Democrats will find the Republican votes they need to break a Senate filibuster. Scott is "the telltale person who should be all over this" because he led the way after Parkland, he said.
"But Senator Rick Scott is running away from Governor Rick Scott," Guttenberg said.
Senators are discussing investments in mental health, school security funding, incentives and funding for state red flag laws, and changes to the background check system to purchase guns, Murphy said. But he added that a ban on assault weapons or comprehensive background checks are not on the table.
During the CNN interview, Jake Tapper asked Murphy why senators wouldn't just make the law in Florida a national law.
"Senator Scott, then Governor Scott, passed that law in Florida because it was the right thing to do, but also because Republicans saw it as good politics," Murphy said. "And we have to make the case to Republicans that right now this is good politics. If they want to get reelected, then they cannot stand in the way of the common sense changes that we're talking about right now."
More: Rick Scott Florida shootings Uvalde | 2022-06-09T10:42:35Z | www.businessinsider.com | Rick Scott Is MIA on Senate Gun Talks Despite History on Issue | https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-scott-red-flag-gun-law-florida-senate-democrat-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/rick-scott-red-flag-gun-law-florida-senate-democrat-2022-6 |
I've made over $25,000 renting out my yard as a dog park. There's almost no overhead and it only takes 3 hours of work a month.
Dianne Neffendorf and her husband, Dale, rent two fenced yards on their property on Sniffspot, an app that helps users make passive income by monetizing yard space as dog parks.
Sniffspot
Dianne Neffendorf, 62, owns a farm in Oregon City, an area about a half hour south of Portland.
She lists two of her fields on Sniffspot, an app that allows people to rent land to dog owners.
Since early 2022, she's made over $25,000 and spends about three hours a month on maintenance.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dianne Neffendorf, the owner of Neffendorf Farm in Oregon, about her dog-park side hustle with Sniffspot. On the app, 7,000 hosts list underutilized outdoor space that dog owners can rent for their pups to romp. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
We bought our farm 24 years ago, and since 2008 I've been trying to figure out ways to make extra money on the property. We have two cottages for glamping, we host weddings, and we also raise Scottish Highland cows. We're just a 30-minute drive to downtown Portland, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere.
When COVID hit, our neighbors asked if they could use one of our fields because the dog parks were closed. My husband and I thought, "Wow, we can maybe do something like this." So I offered up the space through Facebook, and it exploded with responses. So I was busy on my phone with my calendar and with Venmo and PayPal.
After we were on the news, somebody said, "Haven't you heard of Sniffspot?" So I looked it up, and it was the exact same thing we were doing. Sniffspot just made things so much easier for booking and payments. They took over the scheduling, keeping track of incoming payments, and then we get paid monthly. We report what we make on our taxes, just like any other income.
We have two Sniffspot fields — one is a half acre and the other's a full acre. When somebody signs up, Sniffspot sends me a notification. They also make sure that nobody can overbook, so I'm not having two people show up at the same time. They give a half-hour buffer between dog-park renters. I've also closed the parks down several times. So if I'm going to go on vacation or training, I just go to the Sniffspot calendar and I block it so nobody can actually book it over that time.
Most people come with one dog. But a lot of people have two or three dogs. Sometimes, though, they'll meet up for a dog party here.
We have an annual Irish terrier group that's come here three times now. They come from as far as Texas and Bellingham, Washington, and everywhere in between. It's all the litter mates and their parents. They rent the park out for a couple hours twice a year.
On the weekends, especially, we are usually booked from sunrise to sunset. We have a ton of regulars that come out here. We have a gal that comes out here almost every day.
"I've never seen happier dogs before because I'm actually witnessing them with no leash on, just being dogs with their buddies running around," Neffendorf said.
We charge $14 per dog per hour, and $7 an hour for additional dogs. [Editor's note: Sniffspot collects 22% of the host's fee, with the average rental lasting at least two hours.] I want to stay competitive. Everybody has their choice as to how much they feel that their yard is worth, and I think a lot of people in the beginning probably undervalue because they don't realize how popular Sniffspot is with people.
Last month I made $2,500, the month before $2,400. It just seems to be going up each month — even though I have closed the parks several times throughout the month due to rain. I imagine once the weather gets nice that we will have another record-breaking income. I'm sure we will soon be doing $3,000 a month.
Between our two fields on weekends, we average 14 total bookings in one day. Now that sunset gets later and later, we should be able to squeeze in at least a couple more bookings each day during daylight hours.
I think that we offer enough scenery and perks here. We offer a porta-potty, and hardly anybody uses that, so that's a big plus. We get it serviced every week. We have three porta-potties on the property because we have cottages for glamping here. It costs $300 a month to have them serviced, and we were mostly doing it anyway.
Our overhead is small. It also includes gas for mowing the fields, which probably takes up three hours a month.
The people that come here know that they have to pick up after their dogs, and they're always great about doing it. We provide a garbage can and bags for that. Rarely does somebody complain, unless it's after a dog party when people aren't really paying as much attention to their dogs as they should.
When we have wedding events or any other events here, we use one of the Sniffspot fields as our parking lot. But I want to make sure that I maintain it now just for Sniffspot purposes, because nothing else has made more money on the property.
The Neffendorfs raise Scottish Highland cows that they say have a calming influence on the dogs.
Dianne Neffendorf
We've been here a long time, and I've decorated our property the way I like it. I have a lot of murals and interesting things. And the Scottish Highland cows are actually a huge factor. Because of their breed, they're really docile. So we have barking dogs that come here that will bark right at them. And our cows are so chill and laid-back. They just look at the dogs, like, "Oh, whatever." So it's helped a lot of dogs, or at least their owners tell me that.
I've talked to a couple dog trainers and they were saying that even dogs that have backyards need stimulation, to be in a new space is like brain training for them. We have people that come out here for scent training. They'll drop things around the field — we can watch from our kitchen window. It's kind of cool.
I've never seen happier dogs before because I'm actually witnessing them with no leash on, just being dogs with their buddies running around. I love seeing the pictures people post of their time at our site. Just happy dogs.
More: sniffspot Passive Income Dog park Dogs | 2022-06-09T10:42:53Z | www.businessinsider.com | One Woman Made $25,000 Renting Her Yard to Dog Owners on Sniffspot | https://www.businessinsider.com/sniffspot-private-dog-park-rental-dianne-neffendorf-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/sniffspot-private-dog-park-rental-dianne-neffendorf-2022-6 |
Hola, Aaron Weinman here. Let's talk about SPACs.
Brian Snyder/Reuters; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Insider
1. SPACs are sputtering. More than 10% of companies that merged with SPACs in 2020 and 2021 reckon they'll go bust. Nineteen firms have canceled SPAC mergers this year.
Investors are more discerning over where they park their cash, and regulators are sharpening their pencils on how SPAC targets go public, leading banks to spurn them.
Take the SoftBank-banked mortgage lender Better.com. It's laid off so many thousands of staff in the last five months, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were watching Ari Gold of "Entourage" fame.
Now, Sarah Pierce, Better's former executive VP for sales and operations, alleged in a lawsuit that Better deceived investors to keep them onboard a merger with Aurora Acquisition, a SPAC sponsored by Novator Capital. (Better said the claims are without merit.)
SeatGeek is another casualty of the downturn. Seatgeek and RedBall, a SPAC led by former Goldman Sachs partner Gerry Cardinale and "Moneyball's" Billy Beane, "mutually agreed" to kill a merger last week due to market conditions. But people on the inside said neither were willing to compromise on a revised company valuation or amend the "sponsor promote."
The "promote" is a lucrative fee for the SPAC sponsor after it seals a merger. Sponsors are reluctant to reduce what they earn on their "promotes," which usually amounts to a fifth of a SPAC's stock, one person said.
With SPACs on the fritz, bankers are fine-tuning their résumés.
"Layoffs are coming," one banker told Insider. "Pipelines are down. Companies are pushing plans out to 2023."
Here's the latest on Better's lawsuit.
And for more on SPACs gone awry, check out this dive into the SPAC era's worst-ever deal.
Junior bankers are hanging on to the power they seized last year — but an economic slowdown threatens to return control to their bosses.
2. Wall Street's minions are losing power. Since the pandemic hit and bankers retreated home, the junior staff were showered with raises and perks like Pelotons. But the slowdown in dealmaking could reverse some of the juniors' hard-fought victories. Here's how the recent decline has observers spooked.
3. State Street is planning a takeover of Credit Suisse, as first reported by Inside Paradeplatz. The Swiss bank's shares jumped after the report, a reversal of fortunes after warnings of a second-quarter loss. State Street declined to comment on the report, but some analysts say the deal is "highly unlikely."
4. Cashed-up Coatue has got a wish list of stocks. Here's 13 tech names the hedge fund thinks have fallen victim to indiscriminate selling.
5. Goldman Sachs' tech execs are all about the "polycloud" approach. The bank's co-CIOs detailed Goldman's cloud strategy and compared being "cloud agnostic" to the Flat Earth theory.
6. Staying on Goldman, the Wall Street bank lost a chief saleswomen in its asset-management arm, according to Bloomberg. Heather Miner, who earned a partner title in 2018, is joining private-equity shop Advent International.
7. The UK's Zopa is bustling into the BNPL space. After teasing out a potential IPO, the neobank's CEO also affirmed that it's waiting for "the right moment" to go public.
8. JPMorgan's growth-equity arm invested in Codat's $100 million Series C round. The company constructs tech that connects fintechs with banks. Here's an overview of JPMorgan's key fintech deals.
9. Decimal, an accounting fintech, raised $9 million in a seed round. Chief Executive Matt Tait told Insider that there's ample opportunity in "the boring stuff," when it comes to running a business. Check out the 13-page pitch deck Decimal used to snare its latest funding.
10. Coinbase pulled back a number of job offers. Here's an essay from Ashutosh Ukey, a 23-year-old software engineer, who spoke to Insider after having his offer from the crypto exchange withdrawn.
The NFL's Denver Broncos has agreed to sell the team to Rob Walton and members of the Walton and Penner families.
Yieldstreet, a digital alternative investor, has partnered with fintech platform Luma Financial Technologies | 2022-06-09T12:13:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | Wall Street: SPACs Gone Bad | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-wall-street-spacs-ipos-seatgeek-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-wall-street-spacs-ipos-seatgeek-2022-6 |
Investors are starting to push troubled biotechs to liquidate — and it might not be a bad idea
Jing Liang, a biotech veteran and former CEO of Attenua.
Jing Liang
There are about 200 biotech companies trading at valuations below their cash level.
Investors are starting to push some of these companies to shut down and return cash to shareholders.
For some companies, liquidation could be a "win-win" situation.
The biotech industry is suffering through one of the worst downturns in its history, and some aggressive investors are cranking up the heat on distressed companies. In an unusual move, they're arguing that some beaten-down biotechs should liquidate — and return the cash on their balance sheet to shareholders.
"Investors are making a statement," Josh Schimmer, an Evercore ISI biotech analyst, told Insider. "The statement is not only do we not have confidence that your company is going to have the type of clinical and commercial success to deliver a meaningful return on capital, but it says we're assuming you'll burn a fair amount of money in the process."
Liquidation is a dire move for a biotech in which it effectively gives up on developing drugs and calls it quits. But it's not all bad news — this investor pressure could trim down a bloated industry that now has more than 700 publicly traded companies, stretching thin a limited supply of experienced industry leaders.
Smaller, less successful companies are being pressured to close up shop
Biotech has historically been a cyclical industry of booms and busts, but this current market meltdown is different because of the large number of biotechs that have seen their stocks collapse. According to Evercore ISI, about 200 biotechs are trading at "negative enterprise value," meaning the sum of their market capitalization and debt is less than its cash level — effectively, the market has no faith their business plans will create value.
Peter Kolchinsky, a managing partner of the biotech investing firm RA Capital Management, recently warned of the risks of operating a struggling company in the current market.
"Those companies that can't exit their spiral might cross down into valuation ranges that attract a different kind of shareholder: those seeking a return of cash, some of whom are willing to agitate actively to get it," he wrote in a May 27 blog post.
RA Capital's founder and managing partner, Peter Kolchinsky.
Some investors have started doing just that, hoping to carve up ailing companies for a quick buck.
Brad Leonard, a managing partner at a small investing shop called BML Capital Management, is targeting Forte Biosciences, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The tiny Dallas biotech's stock price tanked in late 2021 after its lead drug candidate failed a midstage study. Forte commands a $19 million market capitalization, while holding $40 million in cash and equivalents as of the end of March.
"The company is being run for the benefit of the few remaining employees rather than shareholders," Leonard wrote, according to a copy of an email disclosed in an SEC filing.
He advocated that Forte close shop, pay severance to its small workforce, and return the rest of the cash to shareholders.
Since then, Leonard said he had received a constant stream of calls from other investors, some contemplating taking similar actions on other biotechs.
"People seem to think these zombie companies need to do something rather than sitting on their cash and burning through it," he told Insider.
Another company under threat is the South San Francisco biotech Catalyst Biosciences. The independent investor Julian Singer called out the biotech's balance sheet in an SEC filing on May 24. The company has roughly $87 million in cash but is trading at a $36 million valuation. In the filing, Singer said he was "extremely concerned" with how Catalyst might use that money and advocated that the company distribute the cash to "stockholders in as expeditious a manner as possible."
Liquidation might be the right choice for some companies
It isn't just opportunistic investors that see merit in the idea of liquidating a struggling company. The biotech veteran Jing Liang has seen liquidation firsthand as the founder of Attenua, a private biotech that was sold in 2020 after its lead drug candidate flopped. While he said he was initially disappointed with the board's decision, he understood that it made sense in hindsight.
In today's market, Liang said he believed preclinical biotechs with a negative enterprise value should wind down. He's talked to multiple biotech CEOs about liquidation, he told Insider, though he declined to name the companies.
Liang, now a managing partner at the consultancy Umbrex, said there needed to be some creativity in addressing challenges with liquidation, particularly in convincing management teams it's a good idea and making winding down more efficient. He outlined a strategy where biotechs return most of their cash to investors but reserve a small amount for a seed round to spin out a private company to pursue an early research and development project. Another idea would be to launch a liquidation fund that could wind down companies at scale, while providing cash to start private firms.
He called it a win-win strategy: Shareholders get a return, and executives can carry on at a new private company that gives them more flexibility and less pressure.
More: Healthcare Biotech Activist Investing | 2022-06-09T12:13:15Z | www.businessinsider.com | Biotech Investor Activism Rises, Forcing Liquidations | https://www.businessinsider.com/biotech-investor-activism-rises-forcing-liquidations-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/biotech-investor-activism-rises-forcing-liquidations-2022-6 |
A report from the Institute of International Finance was bleak on the Russia economy.
Its experts said backlash from the invasion of Ukraine, plus sanctions, will drag it back 15 years.
Global firms have abandoned Russia in recent months, and Europe is trying to abandon Russian energy.
Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine will wipe out 15 years of economic growth in Russia, according to an influential association of finance experts.
The prediction was made by the Institute of International Finance, a collective made of representatives from global finance firms. It was reported Wednesday by the Reuters news agency.
The group cited several repercussions from the invasion that would hit Russia's finances hard. It estimated the damage would drag the economy back to around its size in 2007.
The main three were:
Companies pulling out of Russia and laying off workers.
A collapse in exports thanks to sanctions.
Talented Russians leaving the country.
The group predicted that Russia's economy would contract by 15% in 2022 and a further 3% in 2023.
—IIF (@IIF) June 8, 2022
It said the picture could become even worse for Russia depending on how quickly countries in Europe make good on their plan to stop consuming Russian oil and gas.
The EU agreed to stop around 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, but has said that stopping natural-gas imports from Russia would take much longer.
Russia is teetering on the brink of a historic debt default as it has encountered more and more difficulties in paying its foreign creditors after having been cut out of the financial system. Domestic capital controls have shored up its currency, but with demand for energy declining in many parts of the world, it's had to offer fuel at huge discounts, particularly crude oil.
The IIF report acknowledged that Russian receipts from imports actually increased after the invasion, thanks largely to rising energy prices.
But its experts said Russia would feel only a short-lived benefit from that phenomenon, and that its isolation from Western markets would be far more significant and erode its economy.
More: News UK Putin Russia Ukraine | 2022-06-09T12:14:15Z | www.businessinsider.com | Russia Invasion of Ukraine to Drag Economy Back 15 Years: IIF Experts | https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-invasion-ukraine-economy-drag-back-15-years-iif-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-invasion-ukraine-economy-drag-back-15-years-iif-2022-6 |
Here are the 13 healthcare companies to hit $1 billion valuations this year as the market stumbles
Wei Deng, the CEO of Clipboard Health, founded the healthcare-staffing startup in May 2016. The company hit a $1.3 billion valuation with its April Series C round.
Clipboard Health
Healthcare startups are raising less money this year as investors react to an unstable market.
Bill Evans, the CEO of Rock Health, said firms are now more thoughtful about giving high valuations.
These 13 startups beat the odds to hit valuations of $1 billion or more so far in 2022.
Healthcare-venture funding is slowing down after two years of investment mania.
Digital-health startups banked $6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, trailing the $7.3 billion the industry raised in the fourth quarter of 2021.
That number is still much higher than pre-pandemic funding amounts. Still, investors are feeling the shift; with a potential recession on the horizon, venture firms are proceeding with caution.
Analysts have been raising concerns about inflated valuations for the past year, and the poor market performance of the healthcare companies that went public last year is now dragging startup valuations down, Bill Evans, the CEO of Rock Health, said.
Evans said those factors make the startups that land large funding rounds this year — and that cross the unicorn threshold of a $1 billion or higher valuation — especially notable.
"I suspect that late-stage investors attaching a high valuation to a growing company are doing so in a really thoughtful manner," he said.
Thirteen companies have found their footing in this year's shaky market, sending their valuations to the $1 billion mark or higher.
Pitchbook provided company data, including valuations, to Insider for this story. This list is composed of healthcare companies — which all include a digital-health focus — and excludes companies working primarily with pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.
Here are 2022's newly minted healthcare unicorns.
NexHealth — $1 billion valuation
Alamin Uddin, NexHealth CEO (left); and Waleed Asif, NexHealth CTO. The pair started the company in 2017.
NexHealth
Deal size: $125 million
Date raised: April 21
While working as a medical receptionist in an undergraduate pre-med program, Alamin Uddin, the CEO of NexHealth, saw many of the challenges — like a lack of connection between scheduling software and the patient's medical record, or trouble contacting patients before an appointment — providers face when managing patients.
He graduated in 2015 and launched NexHealth two years later with his cofounder, Waleed Asif, to tackle those problems.
The startup's platform aims to simplify how patients interact with their doctors online, making tasks like appointment scheduling and messaging a provider easier while automating aspects like reminder texts to patients on the back end for medical and dental practices.
The company also provides tools to help developers integrate their tech with electronic health-record systems.
Buckley Ventures led the Series B round, with participation from angel investors Lachy Groom, Jack Altman, Scott Belsky, Shreyas Doshi, Eric Glyman, Shahed Khan, Packy McCormick and Rahul Vohra. The fresh capital brings the startup's total funding to $176 million.
Wheel — $1.02 billion valuation
Michelle Davey (pictured), the CEO of Wheel, and Griffin Mulcahey cofounded the company in January 2018. Tiger Global co-led the company's most recent funding round.
Date raised: January 19
With digital health solutions exploding in popularity, virtual care has become less of an added bonus and more of a must-have for healthcare practices. Wheel emerged to support the shift.
The company provides a virtual-care platform and national clinician network to help companies ramp up telehealth services faster and at reduced costs. Wheel facilitated 1.3 million patient visits last year, and the company said it expects to triple its visit volume by the end of 2022.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tiger Global co-led the $150 million Series C round. Coatue and Salesforce Ventures, along with existing investors CRV, Tusk Venture Partners, and Silverton Partners, also participated.
The company hasn't publicly confirmed its valuation and declined to comment on Pitchbook's data.
Omada Health — $1.03 billion valuation
Sean Duffy, the CEO of Omada Health, cofounded the chronic-care provider with Adrian James.
Date raised: February 23
While tech-based chronic-care companies are now common, Omada Health was one of the early leaders.
The company began with diabetes care and has since branched into several other chronic conditions, including hypertension , musculoskeletal conditions, and behavioral health. Its model aims for evidence-based behavior change, with remote-monitoring devices and care teams to personalize virtual programs for its members.
Omada also has its own internal research team — the Omada Insights Lab — to validate and hone its care interventions.
Fidelity led the $192 million Series E round, with participation from aMoon and existing investors Perceptive Advisors, Wellington Management, and Civilization Ventures. The company has raised $449.5 million since it was founded over a decade ago.
Rumors of Omada's public debut have circulated for years, with the company being pressured to make a move after Teladoc acquired rival diabetes startup Livongo in 2020. But CEO Sean Duffy told Bloomberg in February that the company wants to wait until the equity markets stabilize before going public.
IntelyCare — $1.1 billion valuation
David Coppins, the CEO of IntelyCare (right) cofounded the company with Ike Nnah, chief technical officer (middle), and Chris Caulfield, chief nursing officer.
IntelyCare
Date raised: April 6
Headquarters: Quincy, Massachusetts
Nurses began leaving their jobs in droves during the pandemic, and industry experts expect those staffing shortages to intensify in the next few years.
IntelyCare helps long-term health facilities fill those gaps. The company matches nurses with open positions at the post-acute-care centers while taking care of associated costs like travel.
Janus Henderson Investors led IntelyCare's $115 million Series C round. Longitude Capital, Leeds Illuminate, Endeavour Vision, Revelation Partners, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures also joined the round.
The company said its annual revenue has grown by more than 850% since its February 2020 Series B.
Viz.ai — $1.2 billion valuation
Dr. Chris Mansi (pictured), the CEO of Viz.ai, worked as a neurosurgeon before cofounding the company alongside David Golan, the chief technology officer, and Manoj Ramachandran.
Dr. Chris Mansi started Viz.ai out of frustration. During a 2018 TedMed presentation, the former neurosurgeon told the story of a patient he'd operated on who had developed a blood clot in her brain from a car crash. The patient died twelve hours after the successful surgery — because the surgery came too late.
It usually take hours to get a patient into surgery, even in an emergency. Viz.ai's products aim to reduce that span to minutes.
The startup's tech uses artificial intelligence to analyze a patient's scan, alerts specialists to potential disease found in the scan, and lets specialists view those analyses directly on their phones while coordinating next steps with the patient's care team. Viz.ai also offers specific workflows for different conditions, like strokes and pulmonary embolisms.
Tiger Global and Insight Partners led the $100 million Series D round. Existing investors Scale Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Threshold, GV, Sozo Ventures, CRV, and Susa also participated.
Biofourmis — $1.3 billion valuation
Kuldeep Singh Rajput, the CEO of Biofourmis, started the company in Singapore in 2015.
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Biofourmis is diving deeper into at-home care management, and big names in venture capital have stepped up to bet on its vision.
The digital-therapeutics company works with health systems and pharmaceutical companies to support patients undergoing or recovering from medical treatment. The startup provides a data-analytics platform that lets providers monitor their patients' disease progression, plus wearables and an app to keep patients engaged.
General Atlantic led the Series D round, bringing the company's total funding to $445 million to date. CVS Health also participated in the round alongside existing investors.
Biofourmis previously raised $100 million in Series C funding in 2020, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with MassMutual Ventures, Openspace Ventures, EDBI, Sequoia Capital India, and Faiz Mayalakkara joining.
In an email to Insider, Kuldeep Singh Rajput, the CEO of Biofourmis, hinted that after receiving the massive capital infusion, the startup is looking into potential M&A opportunities. He also said that Biofourmis currently works with 15 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and plans to expand those partnerships this year.
Clipboard Health — $1.3 billion valuation
Wei Deng, the CEO of Clipboard Health, founded the healthcare-staffing startup in May 2016.
Deal size: $30 million ($80 million total over two rounds, announced together)
Headquarters: Walnut, California
Several healthcare-staffing startups have emerged in the past decade to meet increasing demand, and Clipboard Health has skyrocketed to the top of the ranks.
The company's healthcare-talent marketplace lets workers book open shifts at nearby facilities through Clipboard Health's app. More than a thousand facilities in over 30 US cities post openings on the app, according to the company.
"Our main focus has been nursing and nursing-assistant roles, but we see similar dynamics in other healthcare professions and other industries. Those are the growth opportunities," Wei Feng, the CEO of Clipboard Health, told Insider in an email.
Sequoia Capital led the $30 million Series C round, while IVP led the $50 million Series B. The company has raised $93.7 million to date, according to Pitchbook.
Clarify Health — $1.5 billion valuation
Dr. Jean Drouin (right), the CEO of Clarify Health, cofounded the company with Todd Gottula, the president of Clarify Health in 2015.
Clarify Health
Clarify set out to enable value-based healthcare payments, reimbursing providers for the quality of care they provide rather than the quantity, through analytics.
It works with providers, health plans, and life sciences companies to do just that.
The company landed $150 million in an April Series D round SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led. BlackRock, Memorial Hermann Health System, and existing investors Insight Partners, Spark Capital, KKR, Aspenwood Ventures, Rivas Capital, and Sigmas Group also participated in the round.
Clarify has raised nearly $353 million to date. The company has also made two acquisitions in the past year, grabbing behavioral-economics startup Embedded Healthcare in March and Apervita's value-optimization business in October.
Athelas — $1.56 billion valuation
Tanay Tandon (pictured), the CEO of Athelas, cofounded the remote patient-monitoring startup with Deepika Bodapati.
Athelas
Deal size: $59.4 million ($132 million total over two rounds, announced together)
Athelas started as a 2014 hackathon project.
Tanay Tandon, the CEO of Athelas, and his cofounder Deepika Bodapati built the concept overnight, designing a blood-imaging tool attached to a smartphone. That design eventually became Athelas One, which allows patients to measure their white-blood-cell counts from home.
Now, Athelas offers multiple devices for blood testing, medication adherence, and more, partnering with hospitals and health systems to help patients manage chronic conditions from afar.
General Catalyst led the first $73 million funding round, which closed in April 2021, and Tribe Capital led the $59 million round, bringing the company to a total $132 million Series B. Sequoia Capital, Greenoaks, Human Capital, and Initialized Capital also participated, along with startup accelerator YCombinator, which Athelas graduated from in 2016.
Transcarent — $1.82 billion valuation
Glen Tullman, a cofounder of digital diabetes company Livongo, serves as chair and CEO of Transcarent.
Glen Tullman served as the CEO of virtual diabetes -care startup Livongo from 2014 to 2018, and as its chair for two years after. When Teladoc acquired Livongo for $13.9 billion in October 2020, Tullman took on a new project.
Transcarent launched publicly in March 2021 with a new approach to employer-sponsored healthcare. Through Transcarent, employees don't pay premiums or coinsurance, and employers don't pay Transcarent monthly fees for its insured employees. The startup makes money by taking a portion of the costs it saves those employers.
Three other Livongo employees have joined Transcarent's leadership team, along with Hemant Taneja, a Livongo founder and General Catalyst managing partner. The company has raised $298 million since its founding.
Kinnevik and Human Capital led the $200 million Series C round, with participation from Ally Bridge Group, Northwell Health, Intermountain Healthcare, and Rush University Medical Center, and existing investors including General Catalyst, 7wireVentures, Alta Partners, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Jove Equity Partners, Threshold Ventures, and GreatPoint Ventures.
BostonGene — $2.15 billion valuation
Andrew Feinberg, the CEO and president of BostonGene, serves simultaneously as chair and CEO of business-software company Netcracker Technology.
BostonGene
Date raised: March 4
Headquarters: Waltham, Massachusetts
BostonGene is developing tools to more closely evaluate disease properties in the country's sickest patients.
BostonGene's software uses artificial intelligence to profile the immune systems of cancer patients — and the molecular makeup of their tumors — to identify potential therapies.
The tech analyzes the tumor and its surrounding environment to detect mutations and other biomarkers to help doctors determine which treatments might be most effective for each patient.
The Japanese IT company NEC Corporation led the Series B round, with participation from Impact Investment Capital and Japan Industrial Partners, bringing the startup's total funding to $200 million.
While the software is only currently available to oncologists in the US, BostonGene said it would be expanding its offerings to Japan and other Asian countries in partnership with NEC, which recently launched a healthcare and life-sciences business.
Oura Health — $2.55 billion valuation
Tom Hale, the CEO of Oura Health, joined in April after the former CEO, Harpreet Singh Rai, announced in December he would be stepping down.
Oura Health
Deal size: Unknown
Headquarters: Oulu, Finland
Contrary to its competitors Apple and Fitbit, which produce wearables made for the wrist, Oura Health believes more accurate health stats can be determined from the finger.
The company sells a smart ring that tracks its wearer's vital signs, like heart rate and temperature, with a monthly membership fee for extra insights. While the Oura Ring is mostly marketed as a consumer product, the company shifted its strategy last year for employers buying the rings to control COVID-19 outbreaks, after a December 2020 study found that skin temperature changes could help predict the wearer's risk of infection with COVID-19.
Oura Health didn't share how much money it raised to hit the $2.55 billion valuation or which investors contributed to the round. Its past investors include Lifeline Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Temasek, The Chernin Group, JAZZ Venture Partners, and MSD Capital.
The company raised the funds while navigating turnover in its top role. Harpreet Singh Rai, the former CEO who had worked at Oura Health since 2016, announced he was stepping down in December. Tom Hale joined Oura Health to fill the position in late April.
"We see a future where Oura's technology can expand into holistic health — including illness detection, reproductive health, recovery and mental health," Hale told Insider in an email about his future plans for the business.
Somatus — $2.56 billion valuation
Dr. Ikenna Okesie (pictured) serves as CEO of Somatus. He cofounded the company in 2016 with Anthony Welters, the chair of Somatus.
Somatus
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Notching the highest valuation on this list, Somatus works to prevent one of the most common chronic conditions — kidney disease — from worsening to the point of kidney failure.
The company teams up with local providers, including kidney specialists and primary-care doctors, to facilitate in-home care to stop kidney disease from progressing. Somatus also offers a data-analytics and care-coordination platform for providers, at-home dialysis treatments, and help for patients seeking a kidney transplant.
Wellington Management led the Series E round. RA Capital Management, GIC, and Fidelity joined the round, along with existing investors Anthem, Blue Venture Fund, Deerfield Management Company, Flare Capital Partners, Inova Health System, Longitude Capital, and Optum Ventures.
The company said it expects to serve over 150,000 members in 2022 through its government and commercial-health plan partnerships.
More: Features Dispensed startups 2022 | 2022-06-09T13:44:39Z | www.businessinsider.com | The 13 Healthcare Companies That Hit $1 Billion Valuations in 2022 | https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-startups-1-billion-valuation-unicorns-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-startups-1-billion-valuation-unicorns-2022-6 |
Microsoft halts TV advertising in the latest sign of trouble for the tech industry
Microsoft CEO and executive chairman Satya Nadella.
Brian Smale/Microsoft via Getty Images
Microsoft hit the brakes on TV advertising as signs of an economic slowdown mount.
Microsoft spent an estimated $294.8 million on TV advertising in 2021.
The move is an early sign of the downturn's effect on the ad industry.
Microsoft has paused its TV advertising, one of the first indicators of the economic slowdown's impact on ad spending.
Three people familiar with the matter said Microsoft paused TV ads and related projects for the main Microsoft brand and that it was unclear when they'd resume.
Variety earlier reported that Microsoft planned to sit out the TV upfronts, forgoing the opportunity to buy network inventory in advance to get better rates. Microsoft spent an estimated $294.8 million on TV advertising in 2021, according to Variety, citing Kantar.
Microsoft's TV advertising was handled by IPG's McCann New York, whose many well-known commercials for the company included its 2019 "We All Win" Super Bowl ad and "Changing the Game" that highlighted its support for disabled gamers.
IPG's McCann Worldgroup is still handling other global advertising for Microsoft's companies like Xbox, and Microsoft will continue to run performance marketing, the sources said. McCann New York is shifting its employees working on the Microsoft account around to avoid layoffs, two of them said. Microsoft spent $1.1 billion overall on global advertising in 2021, according to Comvergence estimates.
"Microsoft remains committed to its partnership with McCann, and appreciative of the great work they have done. As we do each year, we are evaluating how to allocate media dollars, but this does not affect our relationship," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
One person with direct knowledge said Microsoft made the advertising cuts in the face of rising interest rates and supply chain challenges to avoid layoffs.
The economic slowdown has been hitting tech giants, leading them to enact hiring freezes and layoffs, and marketing is one of the first areas to get cut during an economic slowdown.
Morgan Stanley and the agency Zenith have pared back their ad spending forecasts this month, and some ad agencies have been bracing for big ad spending cuts.
"We have not seen marketing budgets cut yet — and I will stress, yet — but anticipate that this will start happening soon," an agency exec recently told Insider.
More: Microsoft TV Advertising brand advertising | 2022-06-09T13:44:51Z | www.businessinsider.com | Microsoft Halts TV Advertising Amid Economic Slowdown | https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-halts-tv-advertising-amid-economic-slowdown-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-halts-tv-advertising-amid-economic-slowdown-2022-6 |
8 top media recruiters to know now as the Great Resignation and possible recession disrupt Hollywood
Ashley Rodriguez and Elaine Low
Clockwise from top left: Nada Usina, Calvin Yee, Mike Speck, and Wendy Doulton.
Russell Reynolds; Egon Zehnder; Katalyst Group; Heidrick & Struggles
Hiring and firing in media are in flux as M&A ripples through Hollywood and economic uncertainty looms.
Insider identified 8 recruiters in media that job seekers and hiring managers should know.
They shared new trends and how companies are navigating the uncertain business landscape.
Corporate media and entertainment staffers have largely adjusted to a remote environment and other pandemic-driven workplace shifts. Hollywood productions have long been back in full gear. But with massive M&A activity still rippling through entertainment, the Great Resignation disrupting workforces across industries, and a potential recession on the horizon, media and entertainment hiring — and firing — are once again in flux.
The WarnerMedia-Discovery merger has already begun to shake executives off the branch at the new entity, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more synergies (read: layoffs) are expected in the coming months at the 40,000-strong company.
Meanwhile, Netflix's back-to-back disappointing quarterly earnings results have rocked investors' faith in the company, sending the stock down a massive 70% since last November's high of $700 a share and prompting rounds of layoffs at the streamer.
Jennifer DeCastro, partner at True Search, told Insider she sees more consolidation ahead. Still, she added, "There's going to continue to be a push for really strong digital-first, commercially-minded senior-level executives that can help a lot of these companies think through, 'What is the new landscape? How are consumers engaging with content?'"
Insider identified eight leading recruiters, including DeCastro, who work with media and entertainment clients (listed below in alphabetical order). They spoke about the latest trends in search and in media industries and unpacked how companies are navigating the uncertain business landscape in 2022.
Jennifer DeCastro, True Search
Jennifer DeCastro
Jennifer DeCastro, a Korn Ferry alum who has been in the business for two decades, works with media, digital and tech firms in their search for senior hires. She placed former Goop chief content officer Elise Loehnen on the board of kitchen and dinnerware retailer Mackenzie-Childs in late 2020.
Among the roles that are in demand, she's seeing a need for chief marketing officers, chief commercial officers, general managers, or CEOs who "have a heavy commercial growth orientation" and can engage with customers in the new pandemic-era media landscape.
And for the first time, DeCastro is seeing more openness to hiring remotely, even on the C-suite level.
"All of my clients are saying, 'Listen, people can be based on the West Coast or in the Midwest," she told Insider. "It's not specific as much anymore to a location … as long as they are comfortable with and have had experience, either reverse commuting to some degree or managing remotely at the senior level. It completely changes the landscape."
Some companies are throwing the door open to nationwide searches or regional searches instead of looking for candidates in specific cities, she added. She's also seeing more flexibility among employers, as pandemic surges continue to affect workplaces, for workers to toggle between working from home and working from the office.
"That's been a big shift," said DeCastro.
Wendy Doulton, Katalyst Group
Wendy Doulton
Katalyst Group
Katalyst Group founder Wendy Doulton works with consumer-facing companies undergoing deep transformations.
One of the biggest transformations she witnessed in Hollywood in the last two years has been in the way employees view work.
The shift to working partly or fully from home changed the values of people across corporate America, and Hollywood wasn't immune. Doulton saw experienced senior executives who didn't need to work chose early retirement, and highly coveted talent in fields like tech move into other industries for jobs with better work-life balance.
"It's a time of social unrest in so many ways and part of how that's manifesting is in the workplace," Doulton said. "Talent are voting with their feet."
What this means for companies: "The most nimble with the most cash to throw at people is winning out, even more so than industry."
Against this backdrop, workplaces with high-performance cultures like Netflix and Amazon came under strain. And companies of all kinds that insist on employees coming to the office have struggled to attract and retain talent, Doulton said. All the while, media outfits were pivoting into new businesses like direct-to-consumer that created demand for new talent — and a hiring boom.
Despite the heightened demand, Doulton said some companies are still unwilling to flex on where their employees can work from, or to compromise on skill sets at the executive level. It makes executive searches much more difficult.
"It's almost like we're all in the same play, we're all just reading different scripts," Doulton said. "As a recruiter it can be really frustrating."
Doulton expressed concern that the media industry is losing sight of its diversity, equity, and inclusion focus in the process. She said companies in 2020 were very committed to diversity.
"Now, it's just, get me the best person you can, and that's a real bummer," she said.
Greg Sedlock, Spencer Stuart
Greg Sedlock leads the technology, media, and telecommunications practice at Spencer Stuart, one of the big five leadership advisory firms.
He's focused on the media and consumer-internet industries, including recruiting at the board, C-suite, and executive levels and advising CEOs on issues like company culture and organizational structure.
Sedlock's media team also includes:
Kate Hurley, who recruits CEOs and other top leaders for media and tech companies, from Fortune 100 firms to high-growth startups
Brickson Diamond, founder of the non-profit Blackhouse Foundation, who joined Spencer Stuart's TMT practice as a consultant and client advisor in October. The firm acquired Diamond's consultancy Big Answers LLC, which sourced diverse senior-level talent across entertainment, technology, and other industries.
Ashling O'Connor, a former journalist based in London, who helps companies recruit top talent and assess their leadership.
Olaf Schwan, who's based in Munich and works with a range of media and entertainment clients across publishing, broadcasting, TV and feature films production, and digital.
Rekha Koshy, who's based in Mumbai and works with consumer-facing companies across media, entertainment, retail, and more.
Juan Pablo Simon Padres, who's based in Buenos Aires and works with clients across Latin America.
Bill Simon, Korn Ferry
Bill Simon
Bill Simon has been with Korn Ferry since 1988, overseeing its media entertainment and convergence sector coverage; he places C-suite execs and other senior-level roles across traditional entertainment and digital media companies.
While the hiring market is not slowing precipitously, looming concerns of a further downturn have made employers more cautious, he said, particularly as M&A activity translates to the elimination of more jobs.
The last two months have likely been a "slight damper, or a sign of caution" in media hiring, said Simon.
"I think there's going to be a net loss of leadership jobs in the entertainment media sector in the coming year, through this consolidation, and through the current tightening of the economy," he said. "That said, there will still be opportunities for really agile kinds of leaders — people who can work in a fast-paced, fast-changing, technology-driven, complex, global, multi-platform, multiple-revenue stream kind of environment."
Among entry-level positions, however, he wondered whether production assistant roles, for example, will continue to offer upward mobility if the current high pace of production eventually slows down.
On the senior level, Simon forecasted some "very selective senior-level hiring." Conversely he also believes there will be "a lot of really able, capable senior level people not being maximized to their potential."
Mike Speck, Heidrick & Struggles
Mike Speck
Mike Speck leads Heidrick & Struggles' media practice. He places top-level talent across the East and West Coast media scenes.
Speck, who mainly handles searches at the C-suite and board levels in media, content, and social media, said there's a big focus on direct-to-consumer businesses across those industries.
Media companies are also increasingly looking for creatives who understand the commercial side of the business and commercial execs who understand the critical aspects of content creations, as the lines between the two arenas blur with streaming and social media.
Chief financial officers are critical amid the spate of industry consolidation, he noted. It's leading media companies to pursue executives from sectors like fast-paced retail or banking, to find people with the experience to help them strategize on how to manage their portfolios of assets.
"Companies want somebody who's creative and really part of the leadership team," Speck said, of financial chief searches.
He also cited heightened demand in media for tech and product-development executives, adding that it's getting harder and harder to tear that kind of talent away from the tech industry.
"The tech side and the product development side of media has never been more critical," Speck said. Yet, "the demand for really good tech execs who are willing to leave the pure play tech behind and move to media, that's a tricky move. That's not an easy one."
On the board side, Speck said he's doing a lot of work around bringing in experts from government relations, as well as continuing to add diversity to boards.
Joanna Sucherman, JLS Media
Joanna Sucherman
JLS Media
Joanna Sucherman has firsthand experience with media companies, having held TV and cable roles for over 10 years before becoming an executive coach and recruiter. The former E! Network producer now works to place high-level execs at companies such as Disney, NBC, Fox, BBC and Participant Media.
She has noticed a decline in middle-management executives being offered contracts, resulting in more free agents in a competitive marketplace.
Data and analytics workers are still in high demand at media companies.
"Those jobs are what is needed in terms of what is happening, and understanding the audience," she said. "And that is becoming more and more of a necessity for not just tech companies, but all media companies are wanting that type of data. So it's not going to go away."
Hiring in legal and finance divisions in entertainment is also "very robust," said Sucherman.
Though Netflix recently cut 150 full-time positions, in addition to contract staffers from its editorial and social media channels, Sucherman does not believe the streamer's move has rattled other studios too much when it comes to hiring.
"It hasn't shaken anybody's confidence," said Sucherman. "I don't think people are ready to say, 'Well, that's it. We're giving up.'"
Companies ebb and flow, she said. "They're like waves. They go up and they go down, and you see them grow and shrink."
Nada Usina, Russell Reynolds
Nada Usina
Nada Usina leads advisory firm Russell Reynolds' global technology, digital, media, entertainment, and sports practices.
She advises CEOs and boards, working with companies at various stages from startups preparing to go public to multinational conglomerates going through major mergers and acquisitions.
Amid the current economic downturn, she said talent who have proven they can adapt to the ever-changing consumer landscape are extremely valuable, even if they don't have backgrounds in entertainment.
"Having leaders in this space who have a proven agility to adapt to new business models and economic challenges is even more critical than ever," Usina wrote in an email.
Leaders are also trying to wrap their heads around blockchain, which could have big implications for the future of Hollywood, Usina said.
"There is a need to bring in talent or partner with those who are at the forefront on blockchain," she said. "The opportunities and implications for media and entertainment companies, while still nascent in terms of revenue, is where the next frontier will be won or lost."
Before Russell Reynolds, Usina held operating leadership roles across tech and media sace, including Broadcast.com, Yahoo!, Nokia, and the internet-TV company JumpTV that merged with Neulion and later formed Endeavor Streaming .
Calvin Yee, Egon Zehnder
Calvin Yee
Egon Zehnder's Calvin Yee works closely with both the New York and Los Angeles media communities.
The head of the firm's global media and entertainment practice has clients across advertising, digital, entertainment, sports, publishing, tech, luxury goods, and more. He is also a leader on Egon Zehnder's diversity and inclusion council.
Yee told Insider in 2020 that he and his firm advise the companies they work with and executives they coach equally, regardless of size or stature. He works with established companies in the midst of transformation and upstarts that are innovating and changing consumer behavior.
Yee also has an interest in content companies that strive to serve society as well as their audiences, by innovating in areas like education technology or fintech.
"The media and entertainment space has a chance to touch audiences and what everyone is realizing is that we're wasting the opportunity," Yee previously told Insider.
More: Features Hiring Hollywood | 2022-06-09T13:44:57Z | www.businessinsider.com | Top Media Recruiters and Headhunters Working With Hollywood: List | https://www.businessinsider.com/top-media-recruiters-headhunters-work-with-hollywood-list-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/top-media-recruiters-headhunters-work-with-hollywood-list-2022-6 |
Flexport hired Amazon veteran Dave Clark to supercharge growth, but some former colleagues doubt his experience and brash style are the right fit for the startup
Emma Cosgrove and Katherine Long
Amazon Consumer CEO Dave Clark is leaving the company to helm logistics unicorn Flexport.
Amazon's departing head of retail will become CEO of supply chain tech unicorn Flexport.
Clark's ambition and reputation will be good for Flexport, his former colleagues say.
They also say his experience and personality may be an awkward fit for the asset-light startup.
Amazon consumer CEO Dave Clark's decision to take the reins at Flexport is a sign of the logistics startup's need to grow. Multiple executives who worked on his teams at Amazon say Clark's ambition and reputation will be good for Flexport — but that his experience and personality may be an awkward fit for the asset-light model of a freight forwarder.
Clark — who spent 23 years at Amazon and built out much of its sprawling logistics footprint — will start in September and share the job with Flexport founder and current CEO Ryan Petersen until next year, when Petersen will transition out of the C-suite and into an executive chairman role.
"With Dave coming on board, in five years Flexport is going to be known hands down as the world's best supply chain company," Petersen said on CNBC Wednesday morning.
Flexport is already the biggest startup in the relatively nascent space of supply chain tech. It has raised more than $2 billion in funding since 2013 and claims $3.3 billion in revenue last year — on track for $5 billion this year according to Petersen. IPO rumors have been swirling for years and the company is profitable, according to Petersen.
Flexport has also received investment from Amazon competitor Shopify, which participated in Flexport's $935 million Series E round in February. But Petersen has yet to convince many industry players that his product lives up to its $8 billion valuation.
"I'm still not convinced Flexport isn't the WeWork of logistics," a former Amazon logistics executive told Insider. But bringing on Clark as CEO "gives them a massive boost in credibility," they said. "Dave is in no way full of shit."
Clark is known as a hard-nosed operator who can quickly build big logistics networks. But the scale of his most recent push to grow Amazon's warehousing and logistics capacity led the company to admit to overexpansion and over-staffing and may have ultimately sunk his status at the company he helped shape. Clark denied this to Forbes and a Flexport spokesperson declined to comment for this report.
Clark has implied that one motivation for leaving Amazon was that he wanted to take the helm at a newer company. "I've had an incredible time at Amazon, but it's time for me to build again," he wrote on LinkedIn on Wednesday. The switch almost certainly means a pay cut: Amazon paid Clark $56 million last year and by resigning, Clark is losing nearly $70 million in shares of unvested Amazon stock, according to documents from Amazon's annual shareholder meeting and Insider calculations.
A different kind of logistics giant
At Amazon, Clark was responsible for building out an e-commerce logistics network that no retailer can rival and that holds its own when compared to UPS and FedEx.
"What made him successful at Amazon is he bucks the system," said a former Amazon logistics executive after Clark's departure announcement.
Flexport is a logistics company, but it doesn't have a physical network of warehouses, trucks, and vans like Amazon. Freight forwarders are the travel agents of the cargo world. Flexport creates the most logical path across the world for cargo and deals with problems that arise along the way.
Noting that Amazon didn't start building its own network in earnest until around 2016, one former Clark direct report said the Flexport job is a good fit. "Amazon was asset light in logistics until it wasn't. We leveraged a lot of people's assets and capabilities until it reached the size and scale to build on our own," they said.
Flexport v. Amazon
Flexport has at times been referred to as competitive with Amazon, but Petersen rejected that notion on CNBC.
"We don't see ourselves as anti-Amazon at all. We try to make it as easy as possible for companies that sell through Amazon to get their goods delivered into FBA," he said, referring to Amazon's e-commerce order fulfillment service.
Flexport competes for the freight spend of some Amazon sellers who may use Amazon's freight services. But the bulk of Amazon's logistics might is in warehousing, fulfillment and delivery, which Flexport doesn't do.
Others wonder if bringing on Clark is a sign that Flexport may have grander ambitions. "Clearly they have more ambition than I understood," said a former Clark direct report referring to the move, adding that they will need to pay more attention to Flexport now.
Petersen and Clark told Forbes that buying logistics assets could get in the way of Flexport's aim to underprice the market. And it would be a fundamental shift for Flexport to start piling up warehouses and vehicles. "Yet that's the only thing Dave knows how to do," said another former Amazon logistics executive.
Also perhaps foreign to Clark, and inherent in an asset-light logistics operation, is the necessity to maintain healthy partnerships. Global freight is a constant push and pull between carriers with capacity on ships, planes, trains, and trucks and the players that want their cargo to be top priority.
"I don't know if he's a big partnership builder guy. I've never been in a meeting with him where he's talking about being a good partner to our vendors and suppliers," said the same former exec. "It's always about leverage."
Do you work for Flexport? Got a tip? Contact reporter Emma Cosgrove via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-862-294-3077) or email (ecosgrove@insider.com).
More: BI Transpo Logistics Amazon | 2022-06-09T15:15:36Z | www.businessinsider.com | Amazon Insiders Say Dave Clark's an Awkward Fit for Flexport | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-insiders-say-dave-clarks-an-awkward-fit-for-flexport-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-insiders-say-dave-clarks-an-awkward-fit-for-flexport-2022-6 |
5 challenges advertisers and marketers will be tackling at Cannes Lions, as new players like Amazon, Netflix, and TikTok compete for brand dollars
Claire Atkinson, Lauren Johnson, Lucia Moses, and Lindsay Rittenhouse
Cannes Lions Festival, 2019.
The Cannes Lions ad festival returns to the French Riviera after a two-year hiatus.
New players like Netflix and Instacart will be on hand in a sign of the ad industry's changes.
But the specter of recession and uncertainty about ad targeting will cloud the festivities.
The biggest names in media and advertising will pack the beaches of southern France June 20-24 when the Cannes Lions ad festival returns to the Riviera.
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, thousands are expected to attend as they satisfy pent-up demand for in-person schmoozing and dealmaking.
The festival that started as a celebration of advertisers' creative work has expanded to accommodate a growing number of players, from the adtech companies that have multiplied in recent years to the social media giants that have come to dominate the ad market.
This year a new swath of ad sellers, from streaming services to retailers, will be drawing attention as they angle for advertisers' dollars.
TikTok, which has put Meta and Google on the defensive, will be there in full force, while Facebook pivots to a future where ads aren't the driver and without its longtime ads leader Sheryl Sandberg. Amazon — now the third-biggest seller of global advertising — is also upping its presence at the event this year as it jockeys for big brands' business.
The threat of a recession will hang over the festival, too, and many marketers are unprepared for what comes after the end of third-party cookies that track and target consumers across the web and have long been the mainstay of digital advertising.
"This is a wake-up call and advertisers need to be ready with a plan of attack. I think it will be a hot topic for Cannes," said Jay Stocki, SVP of product and strategy at Epsilon.
Here are five more themes that are likely to dominate conversations and negotiations the week-long event.
Newcomers and new competition
Among the most notable players elbowing in to the proceedings is Amazon, which will boast an entire "port" next to the main Palais theater and a Twitch "apartment" to mingle with advertisers. Dipping a toe in is Netflix , which is planning to sell advertising in a surprise reversal, with Ted Sarandos making a speaking appearance.
Festival-goers will also notice retailers like Walmart and Instacart on the scene that are now ad sellers as well as buyers.
"We expect an increased focus on retail media at Cannes," said Walmart Chief Revenue Officer Seth Dallaire. "Right now, advertisers are looking for solutions from partners that have strong, direct relationships with consumers and access to first-party data and that's exactly what Walmart Connect has to offer."
For the traditional media players, it's an uneasy time. Netflix has said it will have an ad-supported tier by the end of the year and observers are waiting to see how it will build that capability — whether that means acquiring or hiring.
"This year, Netflix, Roku will be on the ground. NBC and Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. You have all the streamers in addition to the usual suspects," said Michael Kassan of consulting firm MediaLink, a longtime Cannes fixture (before its acquisition by Hollywood agency UTA in December, MediaLink was owned by Ascential, which runs the festival).
"Walmart Connect, Instacart — the money that's going to flow into retail media is going to come from somewhere," Kassan continued. "They're massive marketers. And now they're your competitors."
Recession jitters
Tech slowdown, retail stumbles, headcount cuts — every day brings more news of economic weakness. And while the labor market is strong and people are still spending, ad industry watchers are bracing for ad spending growth cuts. It's too early to use the R word, but for context, US ad spending fell 13% in the 2008 recession.
Zenith and Morgan Stanley have lowered their ad spending forecasts, which could invite criticism of spending on big events like Cannes. Economic as well as COVID concerns will keep some people away.
"I think the brands aren't going because they're all getting their budgets cut, but all the retailers are out in force," speculated Melissa Burdick, president of retail adtech firm Pacvue, a first-time festival goer.
The Great Resignation and disrupted workplaces
The ad industry continues to struggle with talent challenges, which will keep recruiters busier than usual at Cannes. Employment by ad agencies and related services dipped in May after making steady gains and remains well below its pre-pandemic levels — making it hard for agencies to pitch for new work and straining existing staff.
Employees have indicated that having more flexibility in where they work could help, but many agencies aren't ready to give up on the in-person office experience. "A lot of CMOs are concerned with hybrid work and how to get people back to the office," one agency exec said.
A shift away from purpose
The past two years have given CMOs plenty of opportunity to align with social issues by adapting their messaging to the pandemic, racial justice, the environment, and more. But some industry watchers predict purpose will take a back seat, especially with growing concerns over inflation and the economy.
"I think we'll see a shift in the tone of the ideas this year," said Kevin Mulroy, partner and executive creative director at Mischief @ No Fixed Address. "We'll see less COVID-related ideas that begin with soft plinking piano keys and stock footage of people banging pots out their windows. I know I, for one, am excited for brands to feel like they have license to have fun and be funny again."
Still, marketers are keen to talk up their good works and chew the fat over world affairs, and DEI and sustainability will still figure prominently on the programming agenda. Chess champion Gary Kasparov, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is on the schedule to discuss the importance of brand action with Edelman boss Richard Edelman, while Issa Rae is set to participate in a discussion on bias in ads.
The metaverse, NFTs, and the stars embracing them
Those looking for celebrity sightings won't be disappointed. Actor and writer-producer Issa Rae will talk about consumer bias, while socialite Paris Hilton share her views on NFTs with marketer Gary Vaynerchuk in one of several metaverse-related sessions on the calendar.
Actor-marketer Ryan Reynolds — who capitalized on a Peloton misstep by drafting the star of the fitness company's ill-received 2019 ad to promote his Aviation gin — will give his take on storytelling in a session hosted by Dentsu's Wendy Clark.
And Spotify is drafting a slew of artists to entertain attendees after hours, including The Black Keys, Post Malone, and Kendrick Lamar. MediaLink and iHeart will again host a VIP dinner and concert at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, Antibes.
More: Cannes Lions Advertising Agencies Marketing | 2022-06-09T15:15:42Z | www.businessinsider.com | Cannes Lions: How Amazon, Netflix, TikTok Will Change the Ad Festival | https://www.businessinsider.com/cannes-lions-how-amazon-netflix-walmart-will-change-advertising-festival-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/cannes-lions-how-amazon-netflix-walmart-will-change-advertising-festival-2022-6 |
I made $75,000 last month in revenue as a freelance SEO consultant after quitting my job as a pharmacist. Here's how I took my side hustle full time.
Amit now makes more in a month than he did in a year at his day job.
Pete Copeland
Amit Raj was working as a pharmacist in 2013 when he started learning SEO from an online mentor.
Raj started freelancing as an SEO consultant as a side hustle using platforms like Upwork for gigs.
Here's how he quit to consult full time and made his annual salary in a month, as told to Amber Sunner.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Amit Raj, a 35-year-old founder from Glasgow, Scotland, about starting an SEO and link-building company. It has been edited for length and clarity. Insider has verified Raj's revenue with documentation.
I joined Lloyds, a popular UK pharmacy chain, as a pharmacist in 2012, but I have always been interested in digital marketing.
In 2013, I started researching SEO. I was browsing a marketing forum called WarriorForum when I stumbled across a comment from Dan Ray.
Dan was talking about clients he worked with who were paying over £10,000 a month for SEO and digital services. I messaged him to find out more, and I learned he was an SEO specialist.
We had a few calls, and he asked if I wanted to be the "guinea pig" for his coaching business. He wanted to try taking a complete novice and training them to get to his level of SEO expertise.
I learned the ropes of SEO by working under him as an intern and eventually started to do link-building outreach for him around 2014. This was generally unpaid for a few hours a week. I did it in my spare time for about six months.
Link building is the process of getting your website included in other websites as a hyperlink. This builds a website's authority on Google and will boost its traffic and search ranking.
Having seen how lucrative the industry was while working with Dan, I started an SEO side hustle
I started doing freelance SEO consulting regularly in 2016 while working full time at Lloyds. I spent a few hundred pounds of my savings to make and host my freelancer website on WordPress.
It was a lot of manual work to develop my website's SEO to ensure it would rank for terms such as "freelance SEO consultant" and "freelance link builder." I was in the top 10 on Google search terms at one point. It helped to consistently drive leads.
I worked on SEO projects after work and on the weekends. I only had two clients at the start and had decided to specialize in the link-building aspect of SEO work.
I would reach out to other websites and blogs on my client's behalf to be featured as a hyperlink by either showing them our client's content or sharing something newsworthy about the client.
My first few clients came through freelancing platforms such as Upwork
When I first started out, I was charging £10 an hour or working on a package basis. (Today, £10 is the equivalent of about $12.50.)
In 2018, I was always working with between two to four clients, and I was making enough revenue to hire my first freelancer. They helped me scale the company by taking on the manual work of sending reach-outs.
In 2019, I decided to move to part-time work at the pharmacy, working two days a week.
I wanted to invest more time in the business and find higher-value clients who signed longer-term contracts, but quitting entirely seemed too risky.
With my time freed up, I learned more SEO skills. I also started posting more on social media and in SEO and marketing-related groups about my business and personal brand. As a result, I gained several new clients and began building up my network of freelancers.
In 2020, I rebranded my company to The Links Guy and set up a more professional website on Web Flow. We hired a web designer for £600 to design a website that would inspire more trust in our customers.
Since the pandemic, more businesses have turned to online services, so they're investing more in SEO
In the 2020-2021 tax year, we made £151,000.
In June 2021, I quit Lloyds. I didn't enjoy the pharmacy industry — it's a lot of pressure to handle people's medications.
I also left for financial reasons. My SEO business was growing, but my pharmacist salary had stagnated, so I decided to focus on my business.
I began acquiring clients organically through referrals in 2021. Now 90% of my clients approach me. We have clients in dental, tech, and telecoms. One of our clients is Formula Swiss, a producer of high-quality CBD oil.
Last year, we made £285,500 in revenue. I now have 20 freelancers working on our content. and I'm still the only full-time employee.
I made £60,000, or about $75,000, in revenue last month. My yearly salary as a full-time pharmacist was less than a single month's revenue now.
I have learned not to scale too fast
Don't try to do everything — we focus on link building. It makes things easier to manage when it comes to marketing SEO services.
I recommend that you test a business idea out before taking a big risk. See if it will work out by going part time in your current job or doing the business on a small scale.
More: contributor 2022 as told to SEO | 2022-06-09T15:16:19Z | www.businessinsider.com | How I Make up to $75,000 a Month As a Freelance SEO Consultant | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-75000-month-freelance-seo-consultant-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-75000-month-freelance-seo-consultant-2022-6 |
PayPal users can send cryptos to other users free of charge—and to external wallets and exchanges for a fee.
Recent volatility in the crypto space will likely affect short-term growth, but buy-in from major payment players will support long-term adoption.
The news: PayPal users can now send cryptos to other users free of charge, per a press release. Users can also send and receive cryptos from external wallets and exchanges, but they'll have to pay network fees.
The features are available for select US PayPal users and will gradually roll out to all eligible US users in the coming weeks. Users need to complete an additional identity verification process to use them.
How we got here: PayPal first ventured into cryptos in November 2020 when it started letting users buy, hold, and sell the digital assets.
PayPal later debuted Checkout with Crypto, which lets users make purchases with cryptos across its merchant network.
It's also exploring a proprietary stablecoin, though it has yet to confirm any official plans.
Bad timing? PayPal's latest crypto efforts come amid major market volatility.
Bitcoin has lost more than one-third of its value since the year began, and more than $1 trillion has been erased from the broader crypto markets. TerraUSD's implosion last month was a watershed moment that highlighted the need for crypto regulation.
Despite recent turbulence, PayPal sees promise in the space as more consumers adopt cryptos, Jose Fernandez da Ponte—SVP and general manager of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies at PayPal—told TechCrunch. The number of US crypto owners is expected to grow 19% year over year (YoY) in 2022 and hit 33.7 million, per Insider Intelligence forecasts. (That's a major slowdown from last year's 85.4% YoY growth.)
The opportunity: Letting users send cryptos internally and externally increases the utility of PayPal's app and can help boost user engagement.
Earlier this year, PayPal shifted its growth strategy by scaling back user acquisition efforts to focus on converting medium-engaged users into highly engaged users—something its latest crypto efforts can help with. The new features also bring PayPal's wallet in line with other crypto wallets, many of which offer users external transfers.
The bigger picture: PayPal isn't the only company ramping up crypto efforts—Stripe, Shopify, and Checkout.com have all signed crypto partnerships in the last few months. While recent volatility in the crypto space will likely affect short-term growth, buy-in from major payment players will support long-term adoption. | 2022-06-09T15:16:25Z | www.businessinsider.com | PayPal Users Can Send Cryptos to Other Users Free of Charge | https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-launches-crypto-transfer-services-to-boost-engagement-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-launches-crypto-transfer-services-to-boost-engagement-2022-6 |
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, leaves the White House last July.
Sanders is urging Dems to rethink their approach so the party doesn't faceplant in the November midterms.
He wants the party to offer a liberal version of the GOP's 1994 "Contract with America."
He's also pushing Biden to blame Manchin and Sinema for the party's failure to deliver on their agenda.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is issuing a fresh warning that Democrats' chances of winning in the midterms are slipping away fast.
In an interview with Politico published on Thursday, the progressive from Vermont — and the chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee — said that "Republicans stand an excellent chance of gaining control of the House and quite possibly the Senate."
It's not a new sentiment from Sanders, who has watched firsthand as Democrats stalled out on their Build Back Better plan, a package of expansive social spending and climate legislation. But he's also offering an antidote to their string of political illnesses largely stemming from inflation dragging down President Joe Biden's approval ratings.
He's pushing Democrats to take a page from the GOP playbook and offer a progressive "Contract with America" that spans the party's priorities on climate and social programs. It's meant to be a liberal version of the conservative agenda Republicans spearheaded by Newt Gingrich used to sweep to victory in the 1994 midterm elections.
Sanders also wants Biden to acknowledge Democrats can't achieve their most of their agenda due to resistance from Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a pair of centrist holdouts.
The Vermont independent is counseling Biden to say: "I can't do it. I need more votes."
Negotiations continue between Senate Majority Chuck Schumer and Manchin continue on a smaller climate and jobs package. But after four meetings, the pair seem no closer to breaking the stalemate. "We've got a ways to go," Schumer said Thursday.
It's not the first time that Sanders has warned Democrats about what may lay ahead — and how they can turn things around and rally support.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Sanders said that it's "political suicide" to turn your back on the working class, a group whose support, he told Politico, is "fading away."
It's "good politics to become strongly involved in the labor movement," Sanders told Vanity Fair, adding that throwing support behind workers across the country who are organizing is "the right thing to do from a policy position."
"I think if the Democrats don't do that immediately, they are going to look at a very, very bad 2022," Sanders said.
Supporting the labor movement could potentially be part of Sanders' new contract with the country. It's certainly something that's popular: Approval of labor unions is at its highest since 1965, according to a 2021 Gallup poll. Democrats are especially supportive, with 90% saying they approve.
Sanders has previously said that the country faces two paths. One is "what we are seeing today" — a growing movement towards oligarchy, according to Sanders, "in which a small number of incredibly wealthy and powerful billionaires own and control a very significant part of the economy." The other is the growing labor organizing movement.
"It is that growing trade union movement that makes me so very hopeful for the future of this country," Sanders said in April floor remarks.
More: Bernie Sanders Joe Biden Build Back Better 2022 midterms
Contract With America | 2022-06-09T15:16:43Z | www.businessinsider.com | Bernie Sanders Wants to Borrow From GOP Playbook Ahead of Midterms | https://www.businessinsider.com/sanders-midterms-gop-playbook-contract-with-america-democratic-agenda-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/sanders-midterms-gop-playbook-contract-with-america-democratic-agenda-2022-6 |
Top money managers are looking to Jim Osman's buy list to find hidden gems with price moving catalysts in this fire sale market. He shares 5 'special situation' stocks that are spring-loaded for gains of up to 31%
Jim Osman, the founder of the Edge Group
Jim Osman founded The Edge Group, which provides investing recommendations to money managers.
In a market where everything is on sale, Osman is helping clients find price moving catalysts.
He shares 5 top stock picks with upside of 18% or more.
For the past two years, amid a raging bull market , it's been a smooth ride for stock pickers like Jim Osman.
"You just throw a dart at the wall when something goes up and you go, 'look at me. I'm the greatest'," said Osman, the founder of The Edge Group, a firm that provides investing recommendations to top money managers and individual investors.
It's a trickier environment this year with the S&P 500 down around 13% year-to-date and some individual names taking an even bigger hit. Popular stocks from the last two years like Netflix (NFLX) and Zoom (ZM) are down 66% and 37% respectively.
Osman admits he's "one of the losers" who likes this type of environment.
"In a falling market, you're going to see real stock pickers and real people who are going to be smart about making returns on the way down," Osman said. "There's a real opportunity to make substantial gains," he added.
It's exactly what Osman's been doing this year.
Osman's Edge Group focuses on recommendations that go beyond the numbers with a focus on "special situation" investing.
These are situations where investors will take stakes in companies based on particular catalysts, such as spinoffs in the hope it will result in a significant increase in future value.
The spinoff market was red-hot last year with 2021 bringing the most spinoffs since 2011, according to data from Bloomberg. The momentum is continuing this year with around 30 spinoffs on the calendar, Osman said.
"Our model portfolio return is up 7% this year on the basis of our recommendations of spinoffs and their parents," Osman said.
Focusing on spinoffs is perfect in this environment, when it's difficult to know which way the market will go on any given day.
"What we're trying to concentrate on really is that little bit in the middle, on either side, that people don't know they should be looking at to get returns in a market like this," Osman said. "And this is where spinoffs and breakups come in."
Osman describes the current market as having "everything on sale." He explains that it's tempting to look at pockets of the market that have done well previously and just snap up stocks that are cheap but technology, one of the most popular sectors of the market, tends to overshoot itself based on history.
"Investors should avoid getting into [these stocks] because there's reason to believe that some of these stocks will never recover," Osman said.
Instead they should look to quality stocks that are being suppressed in the current environment.
"If people can disconnect from the market and macro views and look towards individual stocks, and also refrain from using leverage and keep a bit of cash on the side for these really ugly days then I think you've got a great opportunity for the next few years in really get some good companies at some cheap prices," Osman said.
Here he shares some of the stocks he sees as opportunities in the spinoffs sector.
1. Encompass Health Corp
EHC stock on June 9
Ticker: EHC
EHC base case upside: 18%
EHC base case target price: $70.89
"It's an odd one really because healthcare has been cheap for a while and never really participated in the rally," Osman said. "And what Encompass Health is doing is splitting their business into two and that was a forced spin off."
"This stock has gone sideways for a while now," Osman said. "There's gonna be complete value creation here in terms of the two businesses, there's definitely at least 50% upside in this. "
2. Warner Brothers Discovery
WBD stock on June 9
Ticker: WBD
WBD base case upside: 31.5%
WBD base case target price: $22.04
Warner Brothers Discovery is an interesting suppressed name, Osman said. It falls into his category of "fallen spinoffs."
When a parent company spins off a part of the business, it will often provide existing shareholders with shares of the spinoff for free. Since shares of these companies are provided for free, they are often the first ones to be sold in the portfolio, especially in market downturns, Osman said.
MSGE stock on June 9
Ticker: MSGE
MSGE base case upside: 23.5%
MSGE base case target price: $81.29
Osman is a fan of MSGE because of its exposure to the booming industry of sports and sports betting.
4. Regal Rexnord Corp
RRX stock on June 9
Ticker: RRX
RRX base case upside: 24.8%
RRX base case target price: $159.76
"RRX which is another spinoff that got hammered and again 25% upside," Osman said. "It's an interesting business in plumbing and all the boring stuff you never want to hear of."
FB base case upside: 30%
FB base case target price: $255.47
"The breakup value of something like Facebook in terms of what they've got, they've got WhatsApp and all these other things, it could be quite huge," Osman said. "If they had to do it, if they had to create value then they could do that."
"It's always been one of those stocks a little bit out of favor," Osman said. "If they can spin off those in the next three to five years, let's say, this makes a good pick right here … I own Facebook at these levels and I think it's interesting and at least got 50% upside on that one."
More: Investing Features Investing Strategy
stock list
special situation investing
catalyst investing | 2022-06-09T15:16:49Z | www.businessinsider.com | 5 'Special Situation' Stocks to Buy With up to 31% Upside: Jim Osman | https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-special-situations-catalysts-upside-bear-jim-osman-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-special-situations-catalysts-upside-bear-jim-osman-2022-6 |
A former Capital One exec used this deck to raise $60 million for a startup helping SMBs launch their own branded credit cards
Tandym is aiming to help SMBs launch their own branded cards.
kate_sept2004/Getty
Tandym is a new fintech hoping to reinvent the old-school world of store credit cards.
It's competing against both legacy players like Bread Financial and buy now, pay later providers.
See the 23 slides Tandym used to raise its seed round from investors like Gradient Ventures below.
Jennifer Glaspie-Lundstrom is no stranger to the private-label credit-card business. As a former Capital One exec, she worked in both the card giant's co-brand partnerships division and its tech organization during her seven years at the company.
Now, Glaspie-Lundstrom is hoping to use that experience to innovate a sector that was initially created in malls decades ago.
Glaspie-Lundstrom is the cofounder and CEO of Tandym, which offers private-label digital credit cards to merchants.
Store and private-label credit cards aren't a new concept, but Tandym is targeting small- and medium-sized merchants with less than $1 billion in annual revenue. Glaspie-Lundstrom said that group often struggles to offer private-label credit due to the expense of working with legacy players.
"What you have is this example of a very valuable product type that merchants love and their customers love, but a huge, untapped market that has heretofore been unserved, and so that's what we're doing with Tandym," Glaspi-Lundstrom told Insider.
This month, Tandym announced the launch of its platform, as well as a $60 million seed round. The round consisted of $10 million in equity led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund, in addition to participation from Obvious Ventures and other investors. The round also included $50 million in debt-financing that the fintech said would allow it to expand its merchant network.
Private-label cards cut out intermediaries like issuing banks and networks by working directly with merchants, who are then able to pass on savings to customers in the form of rewards.
Merchants who use Tandym will be able to offer their customers at least 5% back in rewards, and will only pay a 0.5% processing fee to Tandym, compared to the typical 1.5% to 3% charged per transaction by major credit card providers.
Tandym is also offering an alternative to traditional credit
Glaspie-Lundstrom said that Tandym's tech will allow it to compete with more established players in the private-label space.
"It is not just the surface layer, making it pretty and making it a nice user interface for the customer. It goes all the way down through our stack, so things like access to real-time data and decisioning," she said of Tandym's back-end capabilities. "Our underwriting models will be just as, if not more, sophisticated than the incumbents."
Tandym uses a soft credit pull, much like those used by buy now, pay later providers, to approve new users for accounts. The credit inquiry will not appear on a user's credit report until they are approved for the account, a feature that Glaspie-Lundstrom said is "the best of both worlds" and will help users build their credit.
Since most private-label cards offer much smaller lines of credit than typical consumer credit cards, private-label providers are able to lend to more consumers, including those who may not have strong enough credit to be approved for a larger credit line.
"You don't have to give somebody a $5,000 line that they can go and put all their purchases on. You just have to approve what they're trying to buy," Glaspie-Lundstrom said of private-label decisioning. "So if you're taking a $100 risk on someone, you're much more likely to approve them than if you're taking a $5,000 risk on someone. So by the nature of that product, you can just extend credit to more folks, and they can use this as a credit-building tool."
While the store credit card may seem like an artifact from the past, Glaspie-Lundstrom and Tandym hope to appeal to younger customers who have become accustomed to using buy now, pay later services.
Glaspie-Lundstrom said that she doesn't necessarily view players like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay as direct competitors, since Tandym offers users the opportunity to build their credit, as well as rewards offerings.
"There are customer segments that are driven toward rewards, and there are customer segments that are driven toward financing," she said. "Buy now, pay later, by and large, is targeting that financing need."
Jennifer Glaspie-Lundstrom is the cofounder and CEO of Tandym.
Tandym
Legacy players in the space are also seeking to adapt as the need for digital capabilities becomes more pressing. Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, was one of the original private-label card providers, working with brands like Victoria's Secret and Ulta Beauty.
Alliance Data acquired the fintech Bread in 2020 and has since invested $1 billion in expanding its digital capabilities. In addition to its store card business, it also offers buy now, pay later options and lending products for e-commerce, as well as consumer credit and savings products under the Bread brand.
Barclays, another legacy private-label and cobrand player, announced a partnership with the fintech Amount in April 2021 that allows brands to offer white-label installment plans at their point of sale.
As Tandym scales, Glaspie-Lundstrom said it wants to strike the right balance between signing up a large number of merchants and pursuing retailers with larger gross merchandise value targets. The first three Tandym merchants are currently live on the platform.
Besides growth, Glaspie-Lundstrom said Tandym is focused on innovation.
"When you operate in the traditional value chain, there's only so many degrees of freedom," she said. "For us creating a new network, we're essentially rewriting the rules, and it allows us to reduce costs and give so much money back to merchants."
See the 23 slides Tandym used to raise $60 million in seed funding below.
More: Features E-Commerce | 2022-06-09T15:16:55Z | www.businessinsider.com | Pitch Deck Credit-Card Startup Tandym Used to Raise Its Seed Round | https://www.businessinsider.com/tandym-seed-round-pitch-deck-credit-card-startup-capital-one-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tandym-seed-round-pitch-deck-credit-card-startup-capital-one-2022-6 |
These 5 charts reveal what consumers want from entertainment in the metaverse
UTA/Vox Media
UTA and Vox researchers found the metaverse is an "ideal way" for franchises to engage with fans.
Legacy Hollywood studios and other entertainment players are exploring Web3 opportunities.
Nearly nine out of 10 people polled said they'd visit a metaverse centered on a favorite celebrity.
Though the average consumer might have a tough time identifying what the metaverse actually is, most people have already engaged in immersive experiences in some form or fashion, according to a new study from UTA and Vox Media, which also found that nearly nine out of 10 polled would visit a metaverse built around a favorite celebrity.
The study, which surveyed over 4,000 internet users aged 13 to 60 in May, found that nearly half of respondents said they knew "nothing" about the metaverse, but 68% of 13- to 56-year-olds and 88% of Gen Zs have actually participated in immersive metaverse activities such as "Fortnite" or Roblox.
That's good news for entertainment players embracing the possibilities of the tech, whose ranks are growing even amid recent stumbles for cryptocurrencies. Hollywood has already begun an earnest exploration of the metaverse and Web3. Most major talent agencies have a head of digital and Web3, and the Walt Disney Co. in February appointed an executive to lead its metaverse efforts — who in turn poached an Apple games exec for his team.
Researchers gauged respondents' interest in creator-driven metaverse experiences.
Audiences may be more ready for this revolution than skeptics would believe: Four out of five respondents would want to use the metaverse for "experiences and community around arts and culture, health and fitness, celebrity/entertainment."
But to talk about the metaverse as a singular place or entity that consumers will collectively enter isn't quite the right frame of reference, said researchers.
"We're using this term the metaverse, and the metaverse, I think, is really meant to define a set of technologies that are coming together and affording us the opportunity to kind of humanly be in content, or to be in these virtual worlds," Joe Kessler, head of UTA IQ, the Hollywood talent agency's data and analytics group, told Insider.
Respondents said most entertainment would be enhanced by the metaverse.
UTA and Vox researchers found that the metaverse is an "ideal way" for TV, movie, book and video game franchises to continue to engage with fans. Of those polled, 40% said they were interested in engaging with a new installment of their favorite movie franchise through the metaverse. That figure was even higher for anime fans (43%) and comic book and video game enthusiasts (nearly half).
Gamers and anime fans expressed the most enthusiasm for metaverse experiences tied to their interests.
"There's such an amazing opportunity to build out scalable experiences around franchise IP and talent, even based on the things consumers want to be able to do and immerse themselves in," said Shelby Bier, UTA entertainment and culture marketing senior analyst. "Entertainment storytelling will really change."
As the media environment becomes more fragmented, the metaverse is "the next stage" for entertainment, said Kessler.
"It puts more pressure on companies like Disney," he said. "Because by definition, if all of these channels become increasingly disaggregated, it's going to be easier for people to flip from one to the other. We're seeing that in streaming now with the increasing churn. So I do think it puts pressure on them to deliver greater quality and more depth in their storytelling across all the experiences that they're dealing with."
Researchers concluded that people will follow their unique passions into the metaverse.
Respondents also expressed significant interest in using the metaverse to access live events, with 64% interested in watching an event from another city, for example, and 46% interested in augmentation, i.e. watching an event through the eyes of a performer or athlete.
And that extends to other forms of access — for the neurodiverse or those with mobility challenges, for example, noted Edwin Wong, SVP insights and innovations at Vox Media.
"This concept of universal design in the metaverse should actually be something we think about to create access for others," he said. "We're not just building for the richest people who have $3,000 headsets."
Still, that doesn't mean everyone is prepared to dive into virtual reality experiences or other metaverse activity. Three out of five of those polled said they're more interested in non-metaverse entertainment experiences.
While respondents were open to experiences in the metaverse, most said they prefer entertainment that doesn't exist there.
"I don't think it's going to really replace [traditional media] ever," said Bier. "We exist in a world where physical books are doing better than ever … the metaverse is just going to be an expansion of the traditional TV streaming or even linear TV and movie streaming or theatrical TV. It's just another vertical for creators to tell stories and connect with their audience and engage fans in a new way."
More: Entertainment Hollywood Metaverse | 2022-06-09T15:17:03Z | www.businessinsider.com | What Consumers Want From Entertainment in the Metaverse: Survey | https://www.businessinsider.com/what-consumers-want-metaverse-entertainment-uta-vox-media-survey-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/what-consumers-want-metaverse-entertainment-uta-vox-media-survey-2022-6 |
That, coupled with wider economic turbulence caused by the war in Ukraine, has led to thousands of flights being canceled, and long delays at airports.
On Monday Wizz announced it would suspend all operations at Doncaster Sheffield airport in northern England from Friday, claiming it had failed to meet its commercial agreements, per The Times.
Doing so would help it to stabilize operations and minimize delays elsewhere in the UK, per Bloomberg.
On Wednesday Australia's Qantas asked office-based staff of its budget carrier Jetstar to volunteer to work in airport roles, helping to locate lost luggage or distribute water.
More: Aviation Airlines Wizz air labor shortages | 2022-06-09T15:17:09Z | www.businessinsider.com | Airline Boss Blames Travel Chaos on a Shortage of Airport Staff | https://www.businessinsider.com/wizz-air-ceo-airport-staff-shortage-causing-flight-delays-cancellations-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/wizz-air-ceo-airport-staff-shortage-causing-flight-delays-cancellations-2022-6 |
Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California chairs the Committee on House Administration, which is considering changes to the rules governing congressional stock trading.
Committee on House Administration will unveil proposed reforms on congressional stock trading in the coming weeks.
It's not clear whether the committee will propose an outright ban on lawmakers trading stocks.
Time is running short for lawmakers to coalesce around a single proposal.
A key US House of Representatives panel will soon unveil a proposal for "substantial changes" to the rules for members of Congress who trade stocks.
The Committee on House Administration will introduce a "legislative framework recommending reforms to improve transparency and accountability" in the coming weeks, the committee's communications director, Peter Whippy, told Insider.
The changes in question would apply to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, a law designed to quash corruption and curb financial conflicts-of-interest. Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation, initially published in December, found that 63 lawmakers and at least 182 senior-level congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose their stock transactions on deadline.
Whippy said the Committee on House Administration recently received responses to questions it sent witnesses who appeared before federal lawmakers during an April public hearing on the topic.
"This valuable input is necessary to build a complete legislative record to support substantial changes to the law and current disclosure regime," he said.
Will proposed changes include an outright ban on members of Congress trading stocks?
Whippy indicated that it was still on the table, but it's not clear yet what the proposed changes will be.
Congress could make other changes to the STOCK Act that fall short of a ban, including levying higher penalties against members who don't disclose their stock trades on time, or improving ethics training for freshmen members.
Insider has found that a $200 late fee for first-time violators of the STOCK Act is inconsistently enforced, especially in the US House. It also found numerous examples of conflicts of interest among federal lawmakers, including both Democrats and Republicans.
To date, President Joe Biden has said little about Congress and stocks — silence that's upsetting some who are advocating for a ban on federal lawmakers trading stocks.
Momentum or stagnation?
April's congressional hearing underscored lawmaker's focus on congressional stock-trade matters. But it's unclear whether Congress will be able to come to an agreement on the matter before the 2022 midterms — even though there is some bipartisan consensus that changes are needed.
Recent polling shows voters support a ban on congressional stock trading.
During April's hearing, Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren of California at times expressed doubts about a full-blown congressional stock trading ban. She suggested focusing on harsher penalties for people who violate existing law and offering better compliance training for freshmen members of Congress.
Her GOP counterpart on the committee, Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, voiced a similar perspective.
Still, the two sides don't appear to be tackling the issue together since April's hearing, according to Davis' office.
"There has been no minority involvement despite repeated asks to work together on a consensus bill," said Tim Monahan, Davis' spokesman.
Elsewhere in Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike have together introduced several bills to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
After the hearing, a bipartisan group of House members sent a letter to the Committee on House Administration asking for a markup of "strong legislation to ban members of Congress from directly owning or trading stocks while in office."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially rejected the idea of a congressional stock trading ban before relenting earlier this year and allowing a group of bipartisan lawmakers to craft bills and to conduct the public hearing that happened in April.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat of Virginia who sponsored the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks, told Insider on Thursday that any proposal falling short of a congressional stock-trade ban "not meet the threshold of reforms the American people deserve."
Improving disclosures and enforcing penalties, but doing nothing else, wouldn't address "the overarching perception of impropriety while in a position of public trust," said Spanberger, who's been frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations. "As predicted, the movement to ban Members of Congress from buying, selling, or trading stocks is being stonewalled, delayed, and shuffled to the back of the line."
Roughly a dozen Republicans have signed onto Spanberger's bill, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy floated a stock ban earlier this year.
Over in the US Senate, a group of Democrats working to hammer out a compromise bill say they've largely reached agreement on the fundamentals of a congressional stock-ban bill, although no hearings or votes have been scheduled. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ben Sasse of Nebraska have also introduced their own bills.
Last month, a coalition of 16 reform advocates, government watchdog groups, and political organizations wrote President Joe Biden a letter urging him to "publicly and actively" push Congress to ban its members from trading individual stocks.
Biden was vice president when the STOCK Act was signed into law. But he has said little about Congress and stocks this year and has not publicly responded to the reform advocates' letter.
More: Conflicted Congress Abigail Spanberger Rodney Davis Zoe Lofgren | 2022-06-09T16:47:17Z | www.businessinsider.com | 'Substantial Changes' to STOCK Act Will Be Proposed by Key US House Panel | https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stocks-trading-stock-act-money-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stocks-trading-stock-act-money-2022-6 |
On Tuesday, the company launched the eBay vault, a 31,000 square foot facility that is temperature controlled and has 24/7 security for graded trading cards worth $750 or more.
Storing valuable trading cards in the vault not only offers it security, it also gives responsibility to marketplaces like eBay to keep the item in good condition.
The eBay vault plans to include other collectible item categories and luxury goods by 2023, and expects to hold $3 billion in assets in a few years, the news release said.
More: eBay Trading cards Trading Asset Management | 2022-06-09T16:47:23Z | www.businessinsider.com | eBay's New Vault for Trading Cards Also Makes Selling a Breeze | https://www.businessinsider.com/ebay-vault-for-trading-cards-digital-marketplace-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/ebay-vault-for-trading-cards-digital-marketplace-2022-6 |
President Joe Biden speaks with host Jimmy Kimmel during a commercial break during the taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Los Angeles prior to attending the Summit of the Americas.
Joe Biden joked that when he needs to flush important documents down the toilet, he calls Trump.
"Everyone talks about sensitive documents and the like. I don't destroy anything," Biden told Jimmy Kimmel.
A book by The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman claimed Trump clogged toilets by flushing documents.
On his first appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" since 2019, President Joe Biden joked that when he needs to flush any sensitive documents down the toilet, he phones a friend: Former President Donald Trump.
"Just a process question, when you have sensitive documents that you need to flush down the toilet, is that done in your office toilet or in the personal bathroom area?" Kimmel cheekily asked Biden during his appearance on Wednesday.
"I call Trump," Biden responded, prompting laughter and applause from the crowd.
"Everyone talks about sensitive documents and the like. I don't destroy anything," Biden continued, trailing off into a story about spending 78 hours with Xi Jinping — more time than any head of state has spent with the Chinese leader.
He said when they were together, they each had a translator to help them communicate effectively.
"The difference between when I would do that and others would do that is I always handed in all my notes," Biden said.
"You gotta hand in your notes. We learn that in school, theoretically," Kimmel responded.
The pair was referring to February a report that White House staffers said Trump often clogged toilets in the building after stuffing them full of wads of printed paper.
The claim was made by The New York Times' White House correspondent Maggie Haberman in her new book "Confidence Man," a copy of which was obtained by Axios ahead of its October publication date.
Trump denied the claim, saying he was told he was under "no obligation" to turn over his administration's records, which flies in the face of presidential-records law. | 2022-06-09T16:47:47Z | www.businessinsider.com | Joe Biden Calls Trump When He Needs to Flush Documents Down the Toilet | https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-calls-trump-when-he-needs-to-flush-documents-down-the-toilet-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-calls-trump-when-he-needs-to-flush-documents-down-the-toilet-2022-6 |
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
Rep. Liz Cheney will take the spotlight as the Jan. 6 select committee begins its public hearings.
Cheney serves as vice-chairperson of the panel and has become a staunch critic of Trump.
She faces a tough reelection battle against Trump-backed opponent Harriet Hageman on August 16.
Rep. Liz Cheney will take the national spotlight when the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot holds its first public hearing on Thursday evening.
The Wyoming Republican serves as the vice chairwoman of the panel and is one of just two Republicans on the nine-member committee. But unlike her retiring GOP colleague, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Cheney faces a competitive race to hold on to her congressional seat and has been targeted by former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed her primary challenger, Harriet Hageman.
The televised hearings offer an opportunity for Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Capitol riot, to directly make her case to voters back home and defend her stance ahead of her primary on August 16.
Cheney's team pointed Insider to two interviews she had this week, in which she addressed the upcoming January 6 hearings.
"People must pay attention, people must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don't defend it," Cheney told CBS Sunday Morning, adding that she believes the riot was a conspiracy that's "extremely broad" and "well-organized."
Some of her allies and supporters hope voters will be paying attention too.
"She has made it her goal to go on a fact-finding mission," Gunner Ramer, political director of the anti-Trump group Republican Accountability Project, told Insider. "To figure out what exactly led to Jan. 6, what was Trump doing during the Capitol attack."
"My hope is that the voters see that, and it's not some partisan witch hunt as some Republicans have argued," Ramer added.
Cheney has become one of Trump's toughest critics in Congress in response to the deadly violence that broke out at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. She joined all Democrats and just nine other House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump on a charge of "incitement of insurrection."
The highest-ranking Republican on the January 6 panel, Cheney has taken the most aggressive approach toward Trump and has pushed for the committee to focus on the former president, according to a Washington Post report last month. Cheney's colleagues have said she is the most prepared and knowledgeable lawmaker on the panel, the Post reported.
A former Trump ally, Cheney has repeatedly explained her criticism of him in interviews and public statements over the past year. She's rebuked Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, blamed him for the Capitol riot, and called him a threat to American democracy.
Rep. Landon Brown, a Wyoming state lawmaker who supports Cheney, told Insider ahead of the hearings that he thinks the committee "will ultimately get down to a situation where even those people that were kind of on the fence with Donald Trump will see that what he was trying to do was secure his authoritarian power."
"It will rub a lot of people the wrong way, and I think that the only way to do this is by doing what she's doing," Brown said of Cheney.
Though Trump's most loyal followers have largely already written Cheney off, the incumbent congresswoman is hoping to win over her state by presenting herself as an upholder of the Constitution and a fighter for Wyoming. The stakes are high as the Cowboy State is shaping up to be a battleground between Trump's MAGA base and traditional Republicans.
"I do stand in support of what she is saying," Brown said. "But I think that the message needs to be more dedicated to what she's done for Wyoming, not just about what she's doing to go after Trump."
Cheney has said that her goal is to show the public what happened on January 6 to ensure that it never happens again.
"If we really want to understand why January 6th is a line that can never be crossed again, then we really do have to put the politics and the partisanship aside and say what happened," the lawmaker told Dispatch Live on Tuesday night. "Let's understand what happened and let's do everything we can to protect ourselves from it in the future."
The January 6 select committee, formed in May of last year, has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents for its investigation into the Capitol attack and the events surrounding it. Thursday's hearing is one of six that the panel plans to hold to reveal its findings. Cheney has previously hinted that the panel has obtained enough evidence to refer Trump for criminal charges, though it's unclear how the committee will proceed. A January 6 committee spokesperson did not return Insider's request for comment.
More: Liz Cheney january 6 hearings capitol | 2022-06-09T16:47:59Z | www.businessinsider.com | Liz Cheney Takes Spotlight in Jan. 6 Hearings Amid Tough Reelection | https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-january-6-hearings-takes-spotlight-amid-tough-reelection-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-january-6-hearings-takes-spotlight-amid-tough-reelection-2022-6 |
Hot $10 billion productivity startup Notion is acquiring Cron, a calendar app backed by top execs at LinkedIn and Figma
Notion has acquired the calendar app Cron, founded by Raphael Schaad, pictured on the left with Notion CEO Ivan Zhao.
The popular productivity startup Notion is acquiring the calendar app Cron as it looks to expand.
Notion has been on the rise over the past few years and is focused supporting its growing user base.
Users have been asking for a calendar app, and Cron fits in with Notion's road map, executives said.
Notion, the $10 billion productivity startup that bills itself as an all-in-one workplace, is acquiring the calendar app Cron.
As one of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley, Notion has been on the rise over the past few years. It combines documents, internal wiki pages, task-management tools, and spreadsheets in one customizable app. Now with Cron, Notion is adding a calendar to its productivity tools.
Notion declined to disclose the terms of the deal, and Cron's valuation is unknown. Cron got its start relatively recently, as it was part of Y Combinator's winter batch of 2020 and raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Initialized Capital in March of that year. Other investors in the round included Figma CEO Dylan Field, former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and the Sunrise cofounder Jeremy Le Van.
Cron seeks to differentiate itself by making scheduling easier. For instance, a keyboard shortcut allows users to share when they are available via email or text.
Notion itself raised $275 million last year as tech workers and TikTok influencers alike embraced its document-driven approach to teamwork and project planning. That brought its total funding to $343.35 million. Notion saw its daily active users quadruple to over 20 million worldwide over the past 12 months amid a larger remote-work boom. The company boasts that 90% of startups on the Forbes Cloud 100 index use the app, too.
The two companies share the goal of making people more productive, which is why the deal came together, Madhu Muthukumar, Notion's chief product officer, told Insider. He said many users were excited when Notion executives talked about a calendar integration at the company's user conference in March.
"Our goal is to build these wonderful tools for people to really unlock their potential," he said. "When you look at the product and you work with it, you just see the same things. You see a really robust, useful tool. It is more than a calendar. Like it truly is how people are organizing their time."
Raphael Schaad, Cron's founder and CEO, echoed that sentiment. He and Notion CEO Ivan Zhao first met because they used each other's products. They initially started chatting about building integrations between their two products but quickly realized there was more potential in joining forces, he said.
"I always saw the calendar as something much more powerful than something that can just have a few business meetings per week," Schaad told Insider.
There's also already plenty of user overlap between Notion and Cron, Schaad said. Cron's product isn't in general availability yet, but it already has a lot of buzz, reminiscent of Notion in its early days. Many users have already made simple integrations between the products, like adding a Notion document to a Cron calendar event, he said.
The two companies plan to see what their user bases want and integrate the two products from there.
For Notion, the acquisition is another step toward its goal of helping people become more productive. Though Notion helps people work asynchronously, many people use it to organize their time, Muthukumar said.
Schaad and his small team are joining Notion's 320-person employee base. For now they will continue to build Cron as a separate app, while beginning to work on integrations with Notion.
"When we look at the product that Rafael and team have built, we know that it's one of those tools that can be valuable every single day," Muthukumar said.
More: Notion Software As A Service cron Productivity
asyncronous work | 2022-06-09T16:48:06Z | www.businessinsider.com | $10 Billion Notion Is Acquiring Calendar App Cron | https://www.businessinsider.com/notion-acquires-cron-calendar-app-linkedin-figma-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/notion-acquires-cron-calendar-app-linkedin-figma-2022-6 |
Researchers developed a robotic finger with living human skin.
Scientists have developed skin tissue for robots, according to a new study.
The crafted "skin" is just over half an inch in thickness and made of the top two layers of skin.
Researchers say the development could be useful to make prosthetics and pharmaceuticals.
Technologies are blurring the line between human and machine. Now, scientists are taking the next step: developing human-like skin for robots.
Though it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, in a study published Thursday in the journal Matter, researchers described how they developed skin tissue for robots that looks and moves just like ours. "We have shown that living skin tissue can be used as a coating material for robots," Shoji Takeuchi, an engineer at the University of Tokyo and lead author of the study, told Insider. "This result has the potential to make robots look more human-like."
To craft the skin, the team first submerged a robotic finger in a cylinder filled with a solution of collagen and fibroblasts — two main components that make up skin, the human body's largest organ. Using living cells also endows robots with the biological functions of skin, such as its ability to self-repair and repel water.
The research team sees a variety of potential uses for this technology, like helping engineers create more nimble and human-like prosthetics and aiding in the development of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for skin.
According to Takeuchi, the "skin" is 1.5 mm (just over half an inch) in thickness and made only of epidermis and dermis — the top two layers of skin in the human body. "It does not look perfectly like skin," Takeuchi said, adding that it lacks some advanced skin features like sensory neurons, hair follicles, nails, and sweat glands. "However, as the robot moves, the skin stretches and contracts, revealing wrinkles; my personal impression is that it is much more realistic than silicone," Takeuchi said. According to him, silicone is currently the preferred material used to craft artificial robotic skin.
The robotic finger is covered with human living skin, allowing it to self-repair and repel water.
Robotic experts have been trying to create more human-like robots for years, but they haven't been able to achieve real skin that can conform to uneven surfaces like the body of robots. "You have to have the hands of an artisan who can cut and tailor with skill" in order to mold flat skin sheets to the contours of a three dimensional machine, Takeuchi told Insider. "We established a tissue molding method to directly mold skin tissue surrounding the robot, which resulted in seamless skin coverage on a robotic finger with an uneven surface."
Still, Takeuchi said the developed skin is weaker than natural skin and, because it is living tissue, needs a constant supply of nutrients and waste removal. To that end, Takeuchi and his team plan for their follow up studies to explore how the tissue can survive for longer, as well as include more sophisticated skin structures like hair follicles and sweat glands.
NOW WATCH: These robots can be useful to your everyday life
More: Biology Robots Engineering Skin | 2022-06-09T16:48:42Z | www.businessinsider.com | This Robotic Finger Has Skin Made From Living Cells | https://www.businessinsider.com/this-robotic-finger-has-skin-made-from-living-cells-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/this-robotic-finger-has-skin-made-from-living-cells-2022-6 |
Tory donor who changed his name and invented eccentric persona accused of pressuring young people into taking out loans
Paul Borrow-Longain with Ilma Bogdan, former chief of staff, at a Help for Heroes Carol Concert in December 2019.
A man who created an eccentric persona under a second name is accused of pressuring young people to take out loans.
Paul Edwin Lancelot Thomas Borrow-Longain, a Tory donor, can be traced back to Paul J Langan.
At least two women who say they were pressured to take out loans by Borrow-Longain claim they are now thousands of pounds in debt.
A man who is operating under an elaborate second name is alleged to have pressured at least two young women into taking out loans worth thousands of pounds, an Insider investigation has revealed.
Paul Edwin Lancelot Thomas Borrow-Longain is a Conservative Party donor and member of various linked groups, granting him access to ministers such as Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Office minister James Cleverly.
Borrow-Longain is a genealogy fan, counts minor royalty among his friends and patrons, and claims to a plethora of honours, including a coat of arms, the Freedom of the City of London, and a knighthood from the defunct Austrian nobility.
But he appears on a poster, promoting a discussion about the future of retail, under a different name of Paul Langan.
Tories branded him 'Borrowed-Longname'
The poster, which dates from 2010 and places Langan in Canada, is corroborated by a Twitter account that matches up with a Companies House account showing businesses with addresses linked to Borrow-Longain's firms.
Langan is also a Conservative supporter, having been the acting chairman of Conservatives Abroad, according to his LinkedIn page.
Paul J Langan shown on a poster from 2010.
Two Conservative sources raised their suspicions about Borrow-Longain with Insider, saying such suspicions had earned himself the moniker "Borrowed-Longname" in certain circles.
He runs a string of companies and not-for profits focused on social media, the Commonwealth, and fundraising, including LynxOr Global, Pulsar Studios, Tolo Media, Terrestres Servo Coronas and ADR Technology.
Five former employees and four further sources spoke to Insider on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal and concern about their future careers.
Several said he was working under what they described as a "fake" or assumed name. One confirmed, unprompted, that his other name was Langan. Another source, who has known Borrow-Longain for many years, told Insider he had changed his name after returning from Canada.
Targets: Young, female, Tory
Four sources, three of whom were young women, said Borrow-Longain approached them via social media to encourage them to work for him. The others said they met Borrow-Longain via a friend.
He impressed them with presents and lavish dinners, meetings with ministers or European royalty, and offers to help them with burgeoning political careers, the women said.
In some instances, the offer of a job came with the expectation to invest in a new venture, according to the sources. Borrow-Longain declined to comment on the claims unless Insider named its sources.
One woman, who was 19 when she met Borrow-Longain, told Insider: "He offered me a high-up position in one of his companies… On the grounds of [the job], I ended up taking out a business loan — but what I didn't know is that it was actually a personal loan."
Borrow-Longain ghost-wrote her correspondence to the bank, messages seen by Insider show. He also assured her the investment would be safe.
Including interest, the loan was worth more than £20,000, according to documents seen by Insider. Half of the sum was ploughed into the business, from which Borrow-Longain took "director's expenses", the woman said.
The woman said she still had around £10,000 of the loan when she became suspicious about what the money was being used for, and was able to return it to the bank. She is now paying the rest back in installments.
She told Insider she believes "there is a genre of people he would like to target — young, female Conservatives."
A second woman who was employed by Borrow-Longain said she was pressured to take out a loan to the point of feeling "very uncomfortable". The woman, a non-UK citizen, told Insider the demand was connected to promises of visa sponsorship.
She left his employment after four months and did not take out the loan.
She said Borrow-Longain "would make out that he was high born, from a very high-up aristocrat family", but later came to believe that was not true.
A third individual said she also resisted repeated demands to take out a loan. She said she "witnessed him on several occasions suggesting people take out business loans and invest in startups".
There was an apparent pattern, the source said.
"You take out loan, invest in his company, he makes you COO and charges a big consultancy fee for himself and that is how he takes the money out – and then the money has gone."
Separately, a woman is taking Borrow-Longain to court, documents seen by Insider show. Her claim is that "he stole £3,000 and used a fake persona in order to it," a source familiar with the situation said. The individual could not be reached at the time of publication.
Messages seen by Insider appear to show Borrow-Longain warning of "consequences" after another person backed out of plans to invest.
This time the target was a young Conservative-backing man in the British Army, who was asked by Borrow-Longain to give a tour of Windsor to Karl von Habsburg, a member of Austria's defunct nobility who styles himself an Archduke.
Von Habsburg was in London "because Paul was getting knighted through the house of Habsburg", the source said. He runs a group — the Order of St George — which was founded in 2008 and describes its members as knights. Messages and social media posts corroborate that a ceremony involving Borrow-Longain took place.
Paul Borrow-Longain invested as a Knight of the Order of St George
Facebook/Paul Borrow-Longain
Following the tour, Borrow-Longain praised the young man and said he was in line for a knighthood himself, messages show. The young man described Borrow-Longain as the "stereotype aristocrat."
Shortly afterwards, the source says, Borrow-Longain pressured him to take out a £25,000 loan to set up a new business. Again, Borrow-Longain offered to write the documents, the source claims.
"We were meant to discuss the new business in Exeter, but it never came through. He was more bothered about the loan... He was constantly asking when can I get in touch with them [the bank] and sort it out," he told Insider.
However, the man said that after he backed out of the deal, Borrow-Longain's tone changed. Messages seen by Insider show him saying: "Every decision has consequences and this one will have many."
Tory donation, a Covid loan and questions about funding
Another of his firms, ADR Technology, donated £10,000 to Daniel Kawczynski, the Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham via his "local party organisation or indirectly via a central party organisation", according to his register of interests.
However, the sum, registered by Kawczynski in November 2021, does not appear on Electoral Commission records. It also appears to have been removed from Kawczynski's register in early May, after Insider made preliminary inquiries.
A few months prior to the donation, Borrow-Longain praised Kawczynski for a "very statesmanlike speech" on NATO. The pair met in August 2021, social media posts show.
Kawczynski did not reply to requests for comment.
ADR also received a state-funded COVID-19 Bounceback Loan of £37,500.
Several sources said they were confused about the source of Borrow-Longain's funds; wages were paid by bank transfer only after some prompting, two former employees of two different companies said.
The same employees told Insider that some of his companies would carry out work for each other and that at times they had been asked to transfer money among some of the businesses.
Records from Companies House corroborate some of these claims: ADR Technology's accounts show that it received "consultancy fees" from one of Borrow-Longain's other companies, LynxOr Global, worth £38,896 and a £24,430 fee for software development from Pulsar Studios.
The same accounts show a loan worth nearly £19,500 taken out under personal guarantee by company director Samuel Virgo. Virgo declined to comment to Insider.
LynxOr has received a loan from Tolo Media, another of his firms, accounts also show. TSCSO Estates, again listed under his name, also paid ADR consultancy fees but is owed £1,807 back.
Employed daughter of man with links to Russia's FSB
Borrow-Longain's apparent ambition to ingratiate himself with the Conservative party did not end with Kawczynski.
One senior Conservative source told Insider that Borrow-Longain had also "sought to cultivate" MPs in the Lancashire region – home to BAE Systems. The source said Borrow-Longain had "proposed donations that have never come to fruition".
That source and others asked for anonymity to speak, citing fear of reprisals.
One of those MPs said he had approached them to "help" financially with the 2019 election campaign, but that it had gone no further.
Borrow-Longain also claimed on his social media channels to have sponsored at least one Conservative drinks reception, although this was not registered at the Electoral Commission under his name or under any of his companies.
Conservative sources highlighted his connection to Ilma Bogdan, whom he employed as chief of staff at his not-for-profit firm Terrestres Servo Coronas. Insider recently reported allegations that Bogdan's father has links to Russia's FSB security agency. Bogdan denied such a link.
The pair were pictured together in Salisbury Cathedral attending a fundraiser, of which Terrestes Servo Coronas is described as a sponsor.
The cathedral was made famous when men accused of being Russian agents in a chemical-weapons attack in the city claimed to have only been there to see the cathedral's spire.
The pair also marked so-called Brexit day – when the UK officially left the EU – in the Carlton Club, along with the minor royal Tessy Antony de Nassau, the ex-wife of Prince Louis of Luxembourg.
Like Bogdan, Borrow-Longain was a council member of the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council, through which he attended several meetings with ministers and senior MPs. A source told Insider he had been "blacklisted" after concerns were raised about some of his activities.
He also describes himself as a senior adviser to Conservative Friends of the Commonwealth and a committee member of the Conservative Friends of East Africa.
Speaking to Insider, Borrow-Longain acknowledged he had changed his name but declined to explain why. He also refused to comment on any of the allegations without being told the identity of the sources.
He told Insider he was in "significant pain and not very well".
More: News UK Conservatives Russia | 2022-06-09T16:48:48Z | www.businessinsider.com | Tory With Eccentric Persona Accused of Pressuring People Into Loans | https://www.businessinsider.com/tory-donor-eccentric-persona-accused-pressuring-loans-2022-6 | https://www.businessinsider.com/tory-donor-eccentric-persona-accused-pressuring-loans-2022-6 |
Apple Maps allows you to add a business if you can verify ownership.
You can add a business to Apple Maps if you're the owner.
You'll need to have details like your business's website and phone number.
After verifying your business through a phone call, it can take about five days to get approved by Apple.
If you have a business, you can make it easier for clients and customers to find by adding it to Apple Maps. Depending on the business you own or operate, it might already be listed. But if it's not, Apple offers an easy-to-use tool to add any physical location in about 1,600 commerce categories.
How to add a business to Apple Maps
To add your business to Apple Maps, you should have a few pieces of information handy: the physical address (obviously), as well as the business's phone number, and website information.
1. Open the Apple Business Register website in a web browser.
2. In the search box, type the name of your business.
3. In the drop-down menu, if you don't see the name of your business, click Add a missing place.
You can add your business to Apple Maps using the Apple Business Register website.
4. If necessary, sign in with your Apple ID and then agree to the terms of use.
5. On the Add a missing place page, enter all the details for your business, including the name of the business, phone number, and business category. Then click Next.
Enter your business's information as requested.
6. At the top right of the page, click Verify Ownership, and then enter your business information, such as phone number and address.
Review the info and then verify your ownership.
8. On the Choose a primary contact for your business page, enter your contact information and then click Save and continue.
Enter your contact information and then continue.
9. On the Verify that you own this place page, allow Apple to place an automated call to your business's phone number and enter the four-digit code. Click Done.
10. Apple will review the data you entered and, if approved, add your business to Apple Maps.
Quick tip: After your business has been created and added to Apple Maps, you can review its details and make changes on the My Places page of the Apple Business Register.
More: Apple Maps Business Software & Apps Tech How To | 2022-06-09T18:18:49Z | www.businessinsider.com | How to Add Your Business to Apple Maps | https://www.businessinsider.com/add-business-to-apple-maps | https://www.businessinsider.com/add-business-to-apple-maps |
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