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Happy Friday! Let me offer a penny for your thoughts while I still can. The Treasury Department placed its final order for the coin best known for being stuck to the bottom of your car's cup holders.

In today's big story, we're looking at the impact Trump's tax bill could have on your wallet and why bond investors remain up in arms about it.

What's on deck

Markets: Jamie Dimon isn't feeling too optimistic about the economy.

Tech: We have some advice for Jony Ive about his future work with OpenAI.

Business: The creative ways companies avoid using the word "tariff."

But first, one bill to rule them all.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Trump takes on taxes

For President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill" and your wallet: Is beauty only skin deep?

The tax bill passed the House on Thursday and is now headed to the Senate. And while it's still subject to change, BI's Ayelet Sheffey examined how it could impact Americans' finances.

Here's a look at some of the potential winners and losers of the bill in its current form.

Winners

Service workers: The legislation would eliminate taxes on tips and overtime wages.

Parents: The current child-tax credit would be extended through 2028 and bumped up from $2,000 to $2,500. There's also the "Trump account" that includes a $1,000 deposit from the government for babies born in the US from 2025 through 2028.

Residents of states with high taxes: The cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, would increase from $10,000 to $40,000. The issue's been a source of GOP infighting.

Losers

People with student debt: Existing income-driven plans would be eliminated in favor of two options. One would be a standard payment plan. The other offers loan forgiveness after 360 payments for borrowers based on their income level. (The two new options aren't that much worse than borrowers' current options, but the bill shows more loan forgiveness is a long shot.)

EV owners: Say goodbye to those tax credits. And while we are at it, let's add a $250 annual registration fee. Somewhat relatedly, tax credits for homeowners installing solar panels or energy-efficient heat pumps are on the chopping block.

People on Medicaid and SNAP: The monthly work requirements for many recipients would rise. Elder Americans won't get a pass either, as the work requirement for SNAP benefits would extend to adults age 55 to 64.

One group not on the above list would argue it's the biggest loser from Trump's bill: bond investors.

"Bond vigilantes" have been selling off Treasurys and sending yields spiking in protest of the bill.

So what's their beef? BI's Jennifer Sor has a nice rundown on the group's biggest gripes.

The issue centers on the bill widening the US government's deficit (how much revenue is brought in compared to what it spends money on). At last count, that number reached $1.8 trillion. One estimate sees that growing by $4 trillion over 10 years under the new bill.

A bigger deficit means more borrowing, which isn't good for the economy's growth prospects. The more the US has to worry about paying off debt, the less it can spend on services or benefits for Americans.

And if the debt and deficit keep growing, some investors might wonder whether the government can actually make good on its debts (see: Treasurys).

3 things in markets

1. Beware "global financial market Armageddon," a famed Wall Street bear warns. Societe Generale strategist Albert Edwards fears the worst as Japanese bond yields spike. Here's how the bond yield surge in Tokyo could affect the US.

2. Jamie Dimon says don't get too comfy. The US is still at risk of a fate worse than recession — stagflation — he told Bloomberg on Thursday. It's not a problem that can be ignored either. "I think it's a mistake to think we can go through all the things we're going through and the volatility itself will come down," he added.

3. Would you like an AI video with that research note? In response to client requests for more videos, UBS is using AI to generate avatars of its analysts that explain their notes. Thirty-six analysts, or about 5% of UBS' total, have volunteered to take part, and the bank has plans for more.

3 things in tech

1. The ins and outs of Google I/O. The search behemoth's annual conference was packed with updates, from Gemini's Chrome integration to its nascent Smart Glasses. As Google preps for the AI era, here are the six main takeaways from I/O.

2. Legal-tech darling Harvey goes into the blue Azure. Harvey agreed to spend $150 million on Microsoft's cloud services over two years, according to an internal email seen by BI. The startup, which builds chatbots and agents for legal services, is scaling up and expanding.

3. Dear Jony Ive, please don't give us a voice-controlled device. The former Apple designer and Sam Altman have been teasing new AI hardware following OpenAI's purchase of Ive's startup. BI's Katie Notopoulos hopes the gadget won't require talking in public.

3 things in business

1. The jet-setting rich. Nearly half of summer travelers this year earn over $100,000, according to a Deloitte survey. Luxury travel is booming, but if you don't have deep pockets, you may find yourself cutting back during trips — if you go at all. The wealth gap may not last, though.

2. Walmart takes a page from the Big Tech playbook. The retailer is laying off 1,500 people to "remove layers and complexity," effectively flattening management. Companies like Meta and Amazon have led the trend to boost efficiency.

3. Don't say the T-word. Instead of "tariffs," businesses might say they have to raise prices because of "sourcing costs" or "supply-chain issues." Tariff-induced panic buying took off in April, but that burst of activity is winding down, Bank of America credit card data shows. That's bad news for the economy.

In other news

• Now they're being ordered home.The big winners of the loneliness epidemic: nice guys with jobs.
• I'm on the verge of finishing my dream course at Harvard Business School. With Trump's crackdown on foreign students, I don't know if I'll be let back on campus.
• Big Law firm says its Trump deal is nothing more than a 364-word Truth Social post.
• Kid Cudi says Diddy broke into his home, unwrapped his family's Christmas gifts, and shut his dog in the bathroom.
• Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says there's a 'silver lining' for people starting businesses in a choppy economy.
• Hinge Health just broke open the digital health IPO market. Here's who's getting rich.

What's happening today

• NATO Parliamentary Assembly spring session.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Good morning! President Donald Trump officially accepted a gifted Boeing 747-8 from Qatar. The plane has been controversial over the potential conflict of interest it poses. But what's it like inside? Look at what's set to be the new Air Force One.

In today's big story, talk is swirling that private equity's recruiting cycle is ramping up, and recent grads are on edge.

What's on deck

Markets: A US recession could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Tech: Internal memos from one of Microsoft's AI leaders show how he plans to transform the tech giant.

Business: Things are not going great for Target.

But first, may the odds be ever in your favor.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Ready, set, PE

While most recent college graduates are getting ready for their new jobs, a select group is considering their next one.

Some private-equity firms are setting up informal, introductory meetings with soon-to-be junior investment bankers before their caps even hit the ground. These so-called "coffee chats" are the precursor to interviews for jobs that won't start for another two years. The process kicking off so early has hopeful financiers on edge, BI's Emmalyse Brownstein, Reed Alexander, and Alex Nicoll write.

Welcome to Wall Street's "Hunger Games."

If the above sounds confusing, I don't blame you. PE's recruiting cycle doesn't make much sense. Before you start working at your first job (investment banking analyst), you're already interviewing for your second job (private-equity associate).

Take a minute to read the last sentence again if you need to.

Still, that's how things often work on Wall Street: always thinking two steps ahead.

The summer internship that leads to the junior-banker job offer is often secured well over a year before it starts. And your best shot at getting one of those is your university's finance club, which you need to start thinking about the second you get on campus.

Speaking of college, you'd better plan on getting into a target school if … well, you get the idea.

PE firms might eventually find themselves flying too close to the sun.

The junior-banker-to-PE pipeline has been mutually beneficial.

Banks don't have to worry about competing with PE firms for young talent. PE firms don't have to worry about training associates on the basics of dealmaking.

But the ever-earlier timeline hasn't gone unnoticed, and at least one high-profile banker has called PE firms on it.

Speaking at Georgetown University last fall, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said junior bankers taking PE jobs before starting as analysts was "unethical."

"I don't like it, and I may eliminate it regardless of what the private-equity guys say," he added.

To be fair, some PE headhunters tried slowing things down with an industry pact. It didn't take long for one headhunter to break it.

Banks are in a similar conundrum. If they ban analysts from pursuing PE jobs too early, they risk losing out on talent.

After all, plenty of aspiring Wall Streeters just view banks as a stepping stone to getting a job in PE. If they start actively preventing that, what purpose do they serve them?

3 things in markets

1. Could America be inadvertently pushing itself into a recession? Doug Ramsey, CIO of The Leuthold Group, thinks it might. In a note to clients, Ramsey pointed to a deteriorating consumer sentiment, which poses a major risk to the recession outlook. He's keeping an eye on a handful of sentiment indicators.

2. The bond market is flipping out, but Morgan Stanley isn't fazed. Though US deficit fears triggered a sell-off in the bond market, strategists at the bank warned against hopping on the "Sell America" train. "TINA — 'there is no alternative' — remains a theme for now," they wrote.

3. The stock market is flashing signals that another dip is coming — and investors should buy it, analysts at BoA say. A technical indicator suggests a near-term drop in stock prices is coming, but BoA says the market is still in a broader uptrend.

3 things in tech

1. Meta's performance reviews are about to get harder. Managers are being told to put more employees in their "below expectations" rank — the lowest performer bucket — in the coming midyear performance reviews, per an internal memo seen by BI. The move could set the stage for more performance-based layoffs, despite 4,000 low performers being cut months ago.

2. OpenAI just bagged a $6.5 billion acquisition. Sam Altman's company is buying IO, a hardware startup from former Apple exec Jony Ive — the guy who designed the iPhone. It shows the generative AI competition is now about distribution, not technology, writes BI's Alistair Barr.

3. How Microsoft is bringing its "age of AI agents" to reality. In January, CEO Satya Nadella tapped Jay Parikh, the ex-head of engineering at Facebook, to lead a new unit called CoreAI, which is crucial to Microsoft's AI ambition. Internal memos from Parikh, and viewed by BI, reveal his plan to get Microsoft focused on the macro, CoreAI's early accomplishments, and more.

3 things in business

1. Target reports tumbling sales. In an earnings call, Target said the backlash from reframing its DEI program was one of the many headwinds that had an adverse impact on sales, but the exact amount wasn't quantifiable. Some DEI supporters have claimed partial victory, but many say they're not satisfied — and more protests are coming.

2. Is Musk what Tesla needs right now? BI asked four people who have worked with him, as the CEO steps back from DOGE to focus on Tesla amid falling sales and growing competition. One said Musk was Tesla's "product manager," but questioned whether he's the right person to lead the embattled EV maker.

3. Big Law firms say they're not being bribed by Trump. Nine white-shoe firms doubled down on their deals to provide a collective $940 million in pro- bono work for the Trump administration. In letters to Congress, they flatly rejected allegations that the deals were unethical.

In other news

• Remote workers flocked to jobs overseas. Now they're being ordered home.
• Walmart says it's cutting roles to 'remove layers and complexity.'
• What we know about Trump's secretive private dinner for top holders of his memecoin.
• Goldman Sachs shares 20 'rising star' stocks that a growing number of hedge funds are betting on.
• Tesla is now accepting Cybertruck trade-ins. Two owners showed BI how much their vehicles have depreciated.
• Fortnite is the No. 1 game after Apple let it back on the App Store. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tells BI it's a 'priceless' win.
• Founder of AI tool for cheating in interviews predicts everyone will do it — and technical job interviews are on their way out.
• Disney could get a surprise win from Universal's big bet on Epic Universe.

What's happening today

• Trump hosts a gala for the top 220 holders of his memecoin.
• Immigration court hearing on ICE detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student who led pro-Palestine protests on campus.

• Universal Orlando Resort opens new theme park, Universal Epic Universe.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Good morning! We recently tested Tesla's Full-Self Driving software against Waymo's robotaxis, with the former making one big mistake. Turns out Tesla CEO Elon Musk wasn't a big fan of our test. However, he said the company's soon-to-be-launched robotaxis will avoid certain areas of Austin if the company deems them unsafe.

In today's big story, we're hitting some of the highlights from Google's big annual developer conference, including a major update to Search and a new tool that could upend Hollywood.

What's on deck

Markets: What was long considered the safest corner of the market is no longer looking so secure.

Tech: An exclusive conversation with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.

Business: Millennials aren't ready to inherit their parents' homes. There's a whole industry devoted to easing the handoff.

But first, we're entering AI Mode.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Search's AI era

Google Search is getting an AI-powered makeover.

The search engine will be more conversational and eventually include an AI assistant as it looks to fend off competition from high-profile startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. AI Mode, set to roll out this week, will open up in a new tab and allow users to ask follow-up or more complex questions.

The update came at Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, where the tech giant gave the clearest picture yet of how it sees its crown jewel keeping pace in a world dominated by AI, writes BI's Hugh Langley.

We always knew this was where things were headed. From the moment ChatGPT broke onto the scene in late 2022, there were rumbles about Search's future. Chatbots were viewed as a potential alternative for navigating the internet.

That put Google in a tricky situation. Search could benefit from AI, but there's also the risk of upsetting the company's golden goose.

At last year's I/O, Google offered a glimpse into the change users could expect from AI. Behind a catchy phrase — "Google will do the Googling for you" — the company showed off its AI Overviews feature you're probably familiar with.

But even with Search's initial AI adoption, smaller AI competitors were making serious progress. An Apple executive said AI engines were eating into Google's market share.

Google quickly denied Search was in trouble, but AI's impact is undeniable.

Which brings us to Tuesday's announcement, which Google Search head Liz Reid called "a glimpse of what's to come in Search overall."

Google also did a bit of its own disrupting.

The tech giant unveiled Flow, a new AI-powered moviemaking tool. BI's Alistair Barr has the rundown on what Flow can do and why traditional studios should be nervous.

(If you want to read more of Alistair — and you should — you can subscribe to his weekly newsletter Tech Memo, which comes out every Friday and focuses on Big Tech.)

To be clear, Google is pitching Flow as a tool for studios, not a threat to them. But it's easy to see how it could make one uneasy. The millions invested into high production-value storytelling doesn't look as good if you can do the same thing with AI for a fraction of the cost.

Of course, the studios could adopt the tech to help them work more efficiently and stay ahead of the competition.

Just ask Google.

3 things in markets

1. Bye-bye, bond safety. The bond market has had a rough few months, but after Moody's recently downgraded US debt, many Wall Street titans are questioning bonds' safety. The advice for investors is simple, but unnerving: Don't count on bonds to shield you during times of volatility.

2. The prize for Bridgewater's new research competition: $25K and a job interview. The hedge fund is crowdsourcing ideas on positioning itself in the new global economic order. Contestants can submit predictions on how countries' protectionist policies impact the global economy — and five could win big.

3. Crypto regulation is one step closer to becoming law. The GENIUS Act is headed for Senate debate as bitcoin is poised for a record high. Here's what to know about the bill, which is focused on creating rules around stablecoins.

3 things in tech

1. Instagram is all about … privacy? Instagram boss Adam Mosseri told BI's Peter Kafka about the "paradigm shift" from users' public posting to private sharing. He also talked about the app's push into messaging, why it shows recommended posts, Threads' origin story, and more.

2. Tech's new hiring playbook: age before beauty. Silicon Valley used to idolize youth, but now, big and little tech companies are looking for more experienced workers. AI is a big reason, since it's taking over more junior tasks. Younger engineers now have to hustle harder than ever.

3. To hype or hide AI? Investors love to hear about a company's AI ambitions, but customers hate it. Duolingo is the latest company to learn this after its CEO doubled down on its AI vision, sparking major backlash. This tension over AI has tech CEOs walking a tightrope.

3 things in business

1. Boomer home dilemma. America is on the precipice of a major wealth transfer through home ownership. Millennials stand to gain, but there are lots of kinks that could make them unprepared to inherit. Companies like Flock Homes may have the answer.

2. Elon Musk goes all in on tech, less so on politics. Musk told an interviewer in Qatar he'll still be Tesla's CEO in five years and would stop only "if I'm dead." He also isn't budging on his legal battle with Sam Altman's OpenAI, which he accused of abandoning its nonprofit mission. However, Musk is scaling back political spending, saying he's "done enough."

3. Why Walmart is raising prices and Home Depot isn't. Last week, Walmart said it would raise prices over tariffs, but on Tuesday, Home Depot announced it wouldn't, saying it would rely on other "levers" to avoid increasing prices. Here's four reasons why the retail giants are looking at new import costs differently.

In other news

• Google cofounder Sergey Brin shares why he's back at the company 'pretty much every day now' to work on AI.
• Inside Asia's biggest tech trade show, where Nvidia's 'Jensen' is the hottest name drop.
• Musk bashes Bill Gates' comments on USAID: 'Show us any evidence.'
• Google turns to Warby Parker to develop smart glasses, competing with Meta's Ray-Bans.
• Wall Street investors share three predictions for what could make or break the stock market's recent rebound.
• The unsolicited 'offers flooded in' for red-hot legal tech startup Legora's new funding round.
• Not quite the American dream: Renting is becoming a better deal, even if you're wealthy or a retiree.
• YouTube is going to new lengths to nab an Emmy.

What's happening today

• Target, Zoom, and Lowe's report earnings.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Morning! If you're in the market for a Los Angeles mansion, you might be able to get one for a steal. The 10-bedroom, 13-bathroom home in LA's Holmby Hills neighborhood has been on the market since September, when it was listed for $61.5 million. The catch? Sean "Diddy" Combs owns it.

In today's big story, JPMorgan's getting so much efficiency out of AI it's impacting the bank's hiring plans. (Oh, and Jamie Dimon chimed in with some thoughts on the economy.)

What's on deck

Markets: What top Wall Street banks are saying about the return of the "sell America" trade.

Tech: An excerpt from a new book chronicling OpenAI's incredible, and sometimes controversial, rise to power.

Business: CBS News' CEO is leaving. It's another blow for "60 Minutes."

But first, we're no longer hiring humans for that position.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

(AI) Help Wanted

Artificial intelligence might not take your current job. But there's a chance it'll make finding your next one pretty hard.

JPMorgan is the latest company to indicate AI is affecting its workforce needs, writes BI's Reed Alexander.

During JPMorgan's investor day Monday, two bank executives said hiring would slow down and headcount reductions would be coming, thanks partly to AI. It's a big reversal for the bank, which has grown its headcount by 23% over the past five years.

Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan's CFO, told investors the bank was "asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency."

Meanwhile, Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking, said there will likely be a 10% drop in the bank's operations workforce thanks to the benefits of AI.

Barnum made one caveat about JPM's future hiring plans. Strategic hiring will still take place in "high-certainty areas" like bankers, advisors, and branches.

Translation: If you're generating money for the bank, you're fine. Everyone else? Good luck.

The bank isn't alone in its AI-powered hiring slowdown. Amazon also sees robots as a key part of flattening its hiring curve, according to an internal document viewed by BI's Eugene Kim.

It wouldn't be right to discuss JPMorgan's investor day without mentioning the world's most famous banker.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon shared some pessimistic views on the state of the volatile economy.

He raised the alarm on the risk of stagflation, a nightmare situation where inflation flares up while growth stalls. JPMorgan also missed out on some business because of Trump's trade war, according to Dimon.

Dimon wasn't completely down on the current administration, crediting government officials for wanting to "fix some of the things they think are broken." (If Dimon had it his way, regulations for public companies would loosen. Shocker!)

But perhaps Dimon's most interesting comments were about one of his biggest rivals: bitcoin.

Despite his constant bashing of the digital asset, his bank will now allow clients to buy it. (They won't hold onto it for you, though.)

"I don't think you should smoke. But I defend your right to smoke," Dimon said.

3 things in markets

1. Ross Gerber isn't sold on Tesla's recent rally. Shares of Elon Musk's EV maker were up 52% from recent lows, but Gerber still thinks it has further to fall. The early investor-turned-bear dumped more stock, citing three major issues with the company.

2. US debt downgrade: disaster or distraction? Top Wall Street banks weigh in. Moody's slashed America's top-tier credit rating following concerns about the country's fiscal situation. The news rattled the markets on Monday, but Wall Street banks aren't bracing for a major volatility spike. They explained why.

3. Would-be investors said no to OpenAI's nonprofit structure. In a letter to California's attorney general, the company said it lost out on "many" potential investors because it couldn't offer "easy-to-understand" equity. It plans to restructure as a Public Benefit Corporation.

3 things in tech

1. OpenAI's growing pains. ChatGPT turned the hot little startup into a household name overnight. With a sudden need to scale up, OpenAI went on a hiring frenzy that led it to double in size. The result was pure chaos. Read an excerpt from Karen Hao's new book about the world's most famous startup.

2. This Yale student moonlights as a tech security watchdog. Alex Schapiro has caught bugs in startups and big companies, leading at least one to start its own bug bounty program. He's an ethical hacker — someone who looks for flaws in code before the bad guys can exploit them.

3. AI and consulting are on a crash course with each other, and the Big Four could be the victim. Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG have dominated the services industry for decades, but AI could upend that. From business models to pricing structures, here's how AI could disrupt the Big Four's dominance.

3 things in business

1. CBS News' CEO Wendy McMahon is out. In a memo sent to staff obtained by BI, McMahon cited disagreements with Paramount's path forward. Her exit follows longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens' departure a month ago. Following news of the latest shake-up, Sen. Bernie Sanders warned Paramount Global's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, to "not capitulate to Trump's attack on a free press."

2. The pharma heir and the trial lawyer she says hoodwinked her. Claudia Engelhorn gave a $10 million "gift" to her former lawyer, Erik Bolog. Engelhorn says he tricked her into it; Bolog says she's retaliating because he called her out on what he says was a racist remark. Now, they're duking it out in court.

3. Walmart just did other companies a favor. The retail giant's recent announcement to raise prices due to Trump's tariffs gave other companies the freedom to do the same, retail analysts told BI. But following Trump's Walmart backlash, companies might want to be careful with how they approach the price hike conversation.

In other news

• Instagram is offering creators up to $20,000 to bring people to the app.
• 23andMe was once worth $6 billion. What's left of the DNA testing startup is being bought for $256 million.
• Capital One just bought Discover. Here's what it means for their customers.
• From guitars to tubas, Trump's tariffs are making instruments more expensive.
• Nvidia CEO says Chinese AI researchers are 'world class' — and US companies are hiring 'a whole bunch' of them.
• I'm a former air traffic controller. The entire system is being stressed and the government needs to do more.
• People are working harder and longer. Here's how to avoid burning out.

• Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' would create 'unfettered abuse' of AI, 141 high-profile orgs warn in letter to Congress.

  ---

  What's happening today

• Google's annual Input/Output developer conference begins in Mountain View.
• McDonald's annual shareholder meeting.

• Home Depot reports earnings.

  ---

• The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back! In case you missed it, our new newsletter, Tech Memo, written by the great Alistair Barr, launched on Friday. Check out the first edition here. And if you aren't already, subscribe here.

In today's big story, we're looking at Big Tech's obsession with cutting out middle managers and flattening their orgs.

What's on deck

Markets: When companies like Facebook and Zillow IPO, they turn to this man

Tech: How one of the hottest coding startups almost died.

Business: Gen Z is turning to blue-collar jobs.

But first, no longer stuck in the middle.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Flat techies

Technology can quickly become outdated, but it's a job title in tech that's an endangered species: the middle manager.

Big Tech is flattening its ranks to thin out layers of management in a bid to reduce bureaucracy, writes Emma Cosgrove, Tim Paradis, Eugene Kim, and Ashley Stewart.

Middle managers have had to keep their heads on a swivel for a while. At the end of last year, BI's workplace expert Aki Ito detailed Corporate America falling out of love with the role.

But the tech industry has taken the trend into overdrive, as is often the case. From Microsoft to Intel and Amazon, companies are shedding managers to make themselves as quick and lean as possible.

The biggest immediate impact of flattening orgs is managers overseeing more workers. Some argue that will limit micromanagement. Others say you'll burn out the managers who are left behind.

Big Tech is willing to take its chances, though.

As Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last fall: "I hate bureaucracy."

"The goal again is to allow us to have higher ownership and to move more quickly," Jassy added.

Big Tech's middle-management purge speaks to a larger trend: Let the stars shine and get rid of anyone else.

Part of tech companies' efficiency push is to identify top performers and weed out underachievers.

With that approach, you could argue there is less of a need for managers. No weak links in the chain means managers don't have to do as much hand-holding. Get out of the way and let your top performers do what they do best.

This isn't a foolproof strategy, though. Someone being extremely capable at their job doesn't always correlate with them being an easy employee to manage. In fact, sometimes the opposite can be true.

But what other options do these tech giants have? The pressure from startups like OpenAI and Anthropic is undeniable. Their smaller size also gives them a massive leg up to move quickly.

And when it comes to AI, speed is the name of the game. Meanwhile, middle managers seem to only be slowing companies down.

3 things in markets

1. Trump's "Big, beautiful bill" could cause some big chaos. Market pros say the president's tax bill would add $4 trillion to the US deficit, stoking mayhem in the bond market. That means another Trump vs. bond market showdown could be headed our way.

2. Bankers tell startups wanting to go public: "Go, go, go." Startups like Hinge Health put their IPO plans on hold when Trump introduced sweeping tariffs. Now that the stock market has recovered, bankers are telling companies to go public while they still can.

3. This "hick from Ohio" is a big deal for IPOs. Pat Healy could be the forefather of getting stock exchanges to compete for the right to get a company to list with them. From free Davos advertising to NFL star appearances, here's how Healy lands companies major marketing perks.

3 things in tech

1. "Appstinence" is a virtue. Raised in the age of the smartphone, a growing cohort of people, mostly millennials and Gen Zers, are opting for dumb tech instead. As the evidence of our collective phone addiction adds up, even tech lovers are embracing the digital detox movement.

2. How Silicon Valley's favorite startup came back from the edge of disaster. StackBlitz was at death's door when Anthropic released its AI model Sonnet 3.5 in 2024. That led StackBlitz to create Bolt.new, a product that could write code based on prompts written in English — and the company's gold mine. BI's Alistair Barr has the full story.

3. Is AI coming for teachers? Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn thinks so. On a recent podcast appearance, he told venture capitalist Sarah Guo that schools will still be necessary in an AI-driven future — but mostly just for childcare. He thinks AI will do the actual teaching.

3 things in business

1. Gen Z is dyeing white collars blue. The cost of college is skyrocketing, and the white-collar job market is unstable. That's led many young people to turn to trades instead, which can offer six-figure salaries and have a high demand for workers.

2. Selling a merger to Trump? MAGA-ify it. Cable giant Charter is merging with Cox, posing a bigger rival for Comcast. The merger still needs the green light from the Trump administration, and it seems like Charter is leaning into pro-American rhetoric to get it, BI's Peter Kafka writes.

3. LA investor Jessica Mah is in a legal battle with DGV investor Justin Caldbeck and two ex-employees. In a lawsuit, Mah has accused Caldbeck of sexually harassing her, which he denies. The lawsuits against Mah, meanwhile, accuse her of misusing company funds, harassment, and age discrimination, BI's Rob Price reports.

In other news

• No one seems to know if AI will take our jobs or make us productive superstars.
• Joe Biden was diagnosed with an 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer.
• Boeing was the real winner of Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East.
• I was an HR manager at Meta who helped guide the layoff process. Then they cut my role too — here's what being laid off taught me.
• We put Tesla's FSD and Waymo's robotaxi to the test. One shocking mistake made the winner clear.
• Trump's EPA is trying to reverse a Biden climate initiative that would have provided financing for new housing projects.

• Dairy Queen CEO explains what a job interview with Warren Buffett is like.

  ---

  What's happening today

• WNBA season begins.

  ---

• The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

TGIF! Yesterday, I asked you all the lowest hourly rate you'd accept to train AI at something you are highly skilled at. Apparently, we've got a group with some serious specialities. More than 33% of respondents want to be paid more than $100 an hour for their service. The second pick among the group was a $50 hourly rate (20%). Only about 16% of you said you wouldn't train AI regardless of the price.

In today's big story, big financial decisions are hard enough during the best of times. Try making them when so much is in flux.

What's on deck

Markets: Citadel Securities is training its developers on a coding language that's not even live yet.

Tech: Meta's fancy new AI model is at a critical juncture.

Business: Walmart's CFO had a sharp critique of the impact of tariffs.

But first, what should I do?

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Decisions, decisions

These days, the only certainty is more uncertainty. That's a problem for anyone making big financial decisions.

With tariffs constantly jostling the economy, the stress around a big choice is even more heightened.

Lucky for you, Business Insider analyzed some of the biggest decisions a person might make and whether it's a good or bad idea in the current environment. Over the past two weeks, we've run six stories on some of the most important financial choices a person might make.

Here's a recap of the six big decisions we examined and whether now is a good or bad time to make them.

Buying a car: Good time

You might be surprised to hear it's a good time to go car shopping. After all, the automobile industry is set to get crushed by tariffs. A lot of car production occurs outside the US, even for American automakers.

But as long as dealerships have inventory that wasn't hit by the tariffs yet, now is the right time to get in before things get hairy.

Investing in stocks: Good time

To be honest, it's never a bad time to invest in the stock market. Even if you're buying into a market freefall, it's not a major issue if you intend to invest for the long run.

The issue comes when you try to time the market and nab some quick gains. But if you're patient, the current volatility shouldn't scare you that much.

Starting a business: Good time

Some of the biggest companies in the world are struggling to understand the current economy. What hope could a new business have?

Actually, a pretty good one. Plenty of strong businesses emerge during times of turmoil. In fact, a market downturn can actually create opportunities for new companies.

Buying a house: It's complicated

The trickiest question of the bunch, the case can be made for both sides.

The negatives are that prices remain incredibly elevated since the pandemic. Mortgage rates also haven't been cooperative. The latter is a double whammy, since it not only makes buying a house more difficult but discourages homeowners who have low locked-in rates from selling.

Still, real estate is often considered a sound investment as long as one is patient.

Job-hopping: Bad time

Woof. Have you seen it out there? While the unemployment rate isn't scary yet, companies aren't looking to restock their ranks. You're better off staying put, just be prepared to be around some grumps.

Retiring: Bad time

Sorry, boomers. You're going to need to hold on a bit longer. As people live longer, and healthcare costs keep rising, people are rethinking whether the nest egg they spent decades building will last them.

3 things in markets

1. Jamie Dimon isn't ruling out a recession. Even as trade tensions die down, the JPMorgan CEO said uncertainties can still weigh on markets and the economy. The big issues: the US budget deficit, geopolitical conflict, and tariffs.

2. Big-name hedge funds are still looking abroad. Even after the US stock market's big rebound, high-profile investors want to put money in international stocks. At Sohn in New York, billionaire David Einhorn and Tiger Cub Rob Citrone shared some of their picks.

3. Citadel Securities is planning ahead — like, really far ahead. The firm is training developers on a coding language that hasn't even been released yet. Tech leader Herb Sutter told BI why it's important to stay on top of language evolution and how less experienced coders can stand out.

3 things in tech

1. Meta's Llama faces a turning point. The company's reasoning model was a big deal. Following the muted reception from Meta's latest models, Llama's relevancy is fading. To top it off, the WSJ reported delays in its big "teacher model," Behemoth. But some developers told BI they aren't writing Llama off just yet.

2. One VC sector isn't feeling the funding slowdown. Legal tech is still hot despite a chilly funding market for everyone else. That's thanks to the industry's AI-induced digital transformation. Funding has already hit $999 million this year, and the sector's poised to keep growing.

3. Tech's heaviest hitters take on healthcare AI. While many built their healthcare businesses way before the AI boom, they're now centering their strategies around AI. From wearables to robotic surgery, here's how companies like Nvidia and Amazon are going all in on healthcare AI.

3 things in business

1. Hundreds of fake podcasts peddled opioids on Spotify. A BI investigation found 200 "podcasts" pushing highly addictive drugs on the platform, often promising deliveries without prescriptions on sites posing as online pharmacies. Spotify has since taken them down.

2. Advertisers hit back at Elon Musk's ad boycott lawsuit. X filed an antitrust suit claiming several advertisers and a now-defunct trade group colluded to form an illegal boycott against the platform. In a legal filing on Wednesday, these advertisers said the suit was an attempt to use the courthouse to win back the business X lost.

3. Walmart warns tariff-related price hikes could hit shoppers. After Q1 earnings, the retailer's CFO said tariffs are still "too high." and customers can likely expect price increases within the next month. But Walmart has a knack for capitalizing on uncertainty.

In other news

• The six biggest bombshells so far from the Diddy trial — from Cassie Ventura's testimony to 'freak offs.'
• How Trump's 'one big beautiful bill' would impact Medicaid, student loan forgiveness, your taxes, and more.
• Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explains why he thinks the HBO Max rebrand 'makes sense.'
• Coinbase says scammers bribed insiders to steal customer data — and it could cost the crypto exchange $400 million.
• Billionaire investor David Einhorn explains why gold will keep rising — and it's got nothing to do with inflation.
• Roblox wants to become the new shopping mall for Gen Z.

What's happening today

• WNBA season begins.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up forBusiness Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy almost Friday! It's not TV. It's HBO, HBO Go, HBO Now, HBO Max, Max, HBO Max. The TV brand that brought us "The Sopranos" and "Sex and The City" is rebranding its streamer … again. BI's Peter Kafka has more on all the flip-flopping and why, jokes aside, it's acknowledgment of a deal gone bad. (At least HBO is leaning into the joke.)

In today's big story, Meta will pay you $50 an hour to help make its avatars more realistic. Which begs the bigger question: How much would you need to be paid to train AI on something you're good at?

We're still promoting Tech Memo, a weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr, because it will be that good. Don't miss out by signing up here!

What's on deck

Markets: The US-China trade deal doesn't mean investors are out of the woods yet.

Tech: Amazon's growing robotics business may mean fewer human hires in the future, according to an internal document.

Business: The job market might be the biggest risk no one's talking about.

But first, lending a helping hand to AI.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Train and gain

Want to make a quick $50? Just say "Cheese."

Meta is paying $50 an hour to record people's facial expressions and small talk to bolster its virtual avatars, writes BI's Effie Webb.

It's part of the tech giant's massive bet that the metaverse is the future. Meta's recruiting adults to make its virtual reality avatars as realistic as possible and create a social environment that is "indistinguishable from reality" during virtual interactions.

That sounds exhilarating or terrifying, depending on where you sit on the technology adoption scale. What's not up for debate is that plenty of this type of work is going around.

Across the tech world, companies are hiring humans to train AI models to act more … human. Tesla previously paid up to $48 an hour to people training its humanoid robots. Meta also has contractors monitoring how "flirty" its chatbots get.

The humanization of AI is turning into a nice side hustle for those willing to put in the hours. One woman told BI she made $8,000 in three weeks training AI after hours. But it's not always easy work. Sometimes it can involve stress-testing AI with "harmful" prompts, as Effie previously reported.

Tech companies' constant push to level up their AI makes for an interesting dilemma for the humans training them.

Sharing your smile is one thing, since most of us don't get paid to flash our pearly whites. (Don't worry. I still think you look great.)

But what about training AI on something you're good enough to get paid to do?

On the one hand, you could probably demand a higher rate for teaching AI a somewhat proprietary skill. On the other hand, are the short-term gains worth the long-term risks that could come with AI eventually being better at the task than you?

Simply put: Do you want to be the turkey setting the table for Thanksgiving?

Let me know what you think. They say everyone has a price. What's yours for teaching AI your secret sauce?

3 things in markets

1. The S&P 500 just flashed an optimistic technical signal. The index moved above its 200-day moving average, which has historically signaled a positive long-term trend. LPL Financial's technical analyst said it could spell a bottom for the market.

2. And Wall Street's fear is subsiding. The index known as Wall Street's fear gauge saw its fastest-ever drop from April 10 to May 12; Wall Street's breathing easy now that the US and China have dialed down tariffs. The index had peaked when fears were high right after Liberation Day.

3. But investors might be declaring tariff victory too early. The US-China deal to temporarily reduce tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% pushed the S&P 500 up 3.2%. However, investors might be getting ahead of themselves for a variety of reasons.

3 things in tech

1. Tariffs have taken a toll on TikTok's US e-commerce business. Four TikTok staffers told BI they attribute the drop-off in US sales to tariffs, which have created cost headaches for merchants. It's one of the many setbacks the social media platform has experienced this year.

2. Waymo just got another recall headache. The company issued a software recall for more than 1,200 robotaxis after several of its cars were involved in barrier collisions, according to a report filed with a federal safety agency. It's Waymo's third recall in over a year, though the last two were voluntary.

3. Amazon robots won't take your job, but they might end the need for it. Amazon said it sees warehouse robots as crucial to "flattening" its hiring curve, according to an internal document obtained by BI. It suggests Amazon could use robots to slow the rate of new hiring rather than replace existing workers.

3 things in business

1. The job market is on the brink of collapse. While unemployment remains historically low, things may not be as tranquil as they seem, writes economist Neil Dutta. From fewer job openings to the uncertainty surrounding Trump's trade upheaval, signs are pointing to higher unemployment and a weaker job market.

2. Behind Ryan Coogler's deal to own "Sinners." The director behind the box-office sensation struck a rare deal with Warner Bros., giving him the rights to "Sinners" in 2050. A veteran entertainment and technology attorney spoke to BI about how Coogler could cash in.

3. The key deals struck during Trump's tour of Saudi Arabia. Companies like Nvidia and Amazon have notched some big wins while Trump has been in the Middle East. Here's a list of what's been announced, from a major chip deal to a planned Saudi AI zone.

In other news

• Trump can't stop talking about the pushback to Qatar's Air Force One offer.
• We asked Grok why it was bringing up 'white genocide' in unrelated X posts. The AI's answers are messy.
• Uber has a new plan to get you to use its app more: Cheaper ride and delivery options.
• VIDEO: How Army mountain soldiers are training for war with Russia.

What's happening today

• Walmart reports earnings.
• Supreme Court hears case on Trump's executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship.

• PGA Championship begins.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up forBusiness Insider's daily newsletter here.

Good morning. One of the key accusers in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial testified Tuesday in court. R&B singer Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spoke about joining in on the drug-fueled sex marathons that he called "freak offs."

In today's big story, ESPN finally unveiled the streaming-only version of its channel, and it comes as streamers reevaluate how they judge success.

Tech Memo, a weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr, is launching soon. Sign up here!

What's on deck

Markets: Brevan Howard taps a longtime JPMorgan dealmaker for a new senior role.

Tech: Job cuts are officially underway at Microsoft.

Business: The hidden intention behind some companies' RTO plans isn't about getting back to the office.

But first, what channel stream is it on?

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

The new streaming wars

One of the last holdouts of the streaming era is finally making a move.

ESPN unveiled plans — and a price — for its long-awaited streaming version of the sports channel. Business Insider's Peter Kafka has the rundown on Tuesday's launch event for ESPN's new service, which will cost $30 a month.

(Not to be confused with ESPN+, which has been around for over seven years. While ESPN+ streams live games, the biggest sporting events can't be watched there without a cable TV subscription. Unlike ESPN+, this new streamer will include everything you'd get if you were watching ESPN on cable TV.)

ESPN's willingness to finally cut the cord shows how much the TV landscape has changed. But it's not just streamers fighting for subscribers. From engagement to subscriber growth to profitability, streamers have different priorities, writes BI's James Faris.

So what are the different strategies, and who is running them?

James does a great job of breaking it all down, but here's a quick rundown.

The engagement approach: Netflix, Amazon

When you're at the top, you sometimes have to find new ways to define success. After clearing the 300 million subscriber milestone, Netflix is now focusing on keeping users engaged rather than just growing.

The reason? Engaged users are good for ads, which is the next big opportunity the streamer sees.

It's not alone, as Amazon went all in on ads last year when it automatically turned them on for Prime Video users who weren't willing to cough up $3 a month to remove them.

The subscriber approach: Disney, Paramount+, Peacock

For those not lucky enough to have a massive subscriber base, growing the number of users is still a priority.

One challenge has been keeping the momentum from big events like the Olympics or NFL playoff games.

Of course, sometimes you might have even more viewers than you realize. That's why password-sharing crackdowns are all the rage.

The profitability approach: Max

Subscribers. Engagement. Let's be honest, the end goal is the same: making money.

Warner Bros. Discovery already conceded that Max won't rule the streaming roost. But it is in the black, something some of its peers can't claim.

3 things in markets

1. Inflation surprisingly cooled in April. The inflation rate slowed to 2.3% last month from March's 2.4% year-over-year bump, making it the smallest increase since 2021. Still, forecasters said the effects of the trade war could show up as soon as next month. On the plus side, eggs are back on the menu for breakfast.

2. Brevan Howard hires Carlos Hernandez. The longtime JPMorgan dealmaker will be Brevan Howard's first-ever executive chair. A person close to the manager told BI that Hernandez's role will focus on high-level corporate strategy and client development.

3. Getting a job in secondaries. The investment strategy of buying stakes in private funds from investors who want to sell early used to be niche. Secondaries are now fundraising at record levels, and a lucrative career path is emerging. Here's how to land a job in the booming industry.

3 things in tech

1. Microsoft's job cuts are here. The software giant has started culling managers and noncoders as part of its plan to shed about 6,000 jobs. It wants fewer managers with more reports, consistent with an industrywide push to flatten management layers.

2. AI companies stand to win in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" — for now. The bill includes a provision preventing states from regulating AI for 10 years, a godsend for companies like OpenAI and Meta. However, there's a good reason they shouldn't start celebrating yet.

3. The CEOs behind your favorite YouTube stars. Content creators from MrBeast to Smosh are hiring leaders from Hollywood, talent management firms, and creator economy startups to level up their businesses. These executives allow creators to focus on content — and avoid burnout.

3 things in business

1. Employers have found a sneaky substitute for layoffs. Rather than conducting layoffs, some employers are using RTO mandates to get workers to quit. But companies adopting this take-it-or-leave-it approach to RTO can end up with the worst of both worlds, BI's Aki Ito writes.

2. You can now book private chefs and personal trainers on Airbnb. The company rolled out Airbnb Services, which lets users hire professionals like hairstylists or photographers to come to their Airbnb or home. An exec told BI it's one way the company is trying to win customers back from hotels.

3. Trump is asking Americans to do the one thing they hate most. Buying things is a national pastime, and Trump is the king of conspicuous consumption. But after issuing tariffs, the president is preaching austerity — a misread of both America's economy and culture.

In other news

• Apple spent many years and billions of dollars investing in China. Now it's stuck there.
• Amazon is doubling down on MrBeast and it shows the growing power of creators in Hollywood.
• You shouldn't delete this email if you want a slice of Apple's $95 million Siri settlement.
• Trump takes another swipe at the Fed after April inflation comes in light.

What's happening today

• Sony reports earnings.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back! Stock market futures are surging after the US and China said on Monday they agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days following trade talks in Switzerland. The US is set to cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% during this period, while China is set to lower tariffs on American imports to 10% in the same timeframe.

In today's newsletter, consumers are shifting spending habits to make themselves more resilient if a recession hits.

Tech Memo, a weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr, is coming soon! Sign up here!

What's on deck

Markets: Here's another barrier to getting a job on Wall Street: your university's finance club.

Tech: Our annual list of the best early-stage investors: the Seed 100.

Business: Donald Trump Jr. is cashing in on his dad's presidency as a partner in a new investment fund.

But first, we're cutting back on that.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Smart spending

In a world full of economic uncertainty, consumers just want some guarantees regarding where they spend their money.

We might not be in a recession, but Americans don't want to take any chances with their budgets. Cruises. Streaming subscription services. All-inclusive vacation packages. Consumers want fixed-price options that are clear and upfront about how much they'll cost, writes BI's Juliana Kaplan.

Meanwhile, anything where the price might vary is a no-go. That two-week backpacking trip in Europe? No thanks. A concert with an unknown number of cocktails (and where they might not play the hits)? Maybe next summer.

As depressing as consumers' lack of spontaneity sounds, it's not necessarily bad for all businesses. After all, plenty of companies have spent years desperate for us to join their subscription services that'll offer a bit more stability to their balance sheets.

With businesses and customers in the dark about what might happen to the economy, everyone might benefit from a bit of lock-in.

One market is taking consumers' new spending habits on the chin.

The luxury market, which boomed when middle-class households increased spending during the pandemic, is feeling the pullback, writes BI's Jennifer Sor. For the first time in 15 years, the global luxury market shrank last year, decreasing by 2%.

It's not entirely surprising that pricey items are no longer at the top of most consumers' shopping lists. When the times get tough, the Rolexes and Louboutins are typically the first to go.

But one does wonder when they'll make their comeback.

A major premise of the trend Juliana highlighted is the concept of "affordable luxury." Giving yourself that high-end feeling without breaking the bank. That could mean a more permanent reprieve from the finer things in life.

On the other hand, the rich don't seem to be slowing down. The departure of lower- and middle-income consumers from the luxury market could eventually just increase the exclusivity and value of the items. After all, if everyone can afford it, is it really that luxurious at all?

3 things in markets

1. The secret back door to a Wall Street career: student finance clubs. At elite schools, finance clubs offer invaluable training and access to recruiters. But they've also created a cutthroat race for membership, leading some students to start prepping before they even arrive on campus.

2. Forget "sell in May and go away." Historically, summer months tend to be slow for the stock market. Tariff changes, tax policy, and debt ceiling risks could shake up seasonal advice.

3. Recession-proof trades may not work. Now what? Traditional defensive stocks — like those in the consumer staples and utilities sectors — won't necessarily do the trick in this current market environment. They aren't the only options to protect your portfolio, though.

3 things in tech

1. The best early-stage investors of 2025. Every year, BI highlights the top seed-stage investors who give young startups the push they need to become some of the most successful companies in the tech world. See who made BI's fifth annual Seed 100 list.

2. Salesforce's Marc Benioff on his angel-investing "side hustle." Benioff sat down with BI to discuss his investing strategy for Salesforce Ventures and Time Ventures. His founder-mode approach is a lesson from his early experience with Steve Jobs.

3. Who could replace Elon Musk at Tesla? In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that the EV giant reached out to recruitment firms to begin the search for a new CEO, which Tesla's board chair and Musk quickly denied. Tesla analysts and investors told BI that Musk would be nearly impossible to replace, but they shared a small list of prime candidates.

3 things in business

1. Don Jr. is the new Hunter Biden. Days after his father's election victory, Donald Trump Jr. joined 1789 Capital, a tiny venture capital fund. Since his arrival, the firm has invested in companies being awarded lucrative defense contracts — and been cut in on deals offered only to a select few. There's no evidence 1789's deals break the law, but the potential conflict of interest has alarmed DC insiders, writes Bethany McLean. It's also eerily similar to what Trump blasted Hunter Biden for: trading on his father's name to win lucrative business deals.

2. He created a pencil-thin skyscraper — and a thick collection of lawsuits. Michael Stern has contributed to remaking New York City's skyline, but he also has a history of lawsuits filed against him by former business partners, investors, contractors, and his own mother, according to a BI review. Now, his legal issues have followed him to Miami, but Stern says it's just part of the job.

3. The politics of beer. A few years ago, Mexican-made Modelo became the top-selling beer in the US. Now, President Trump's tariff and immigration policies could threaten its reign. Here's how politics can affect your favorite brew.

In other news

• Tesla tells Model Y and Cybertruck workers to stay home for a week.
• Diddy's Hail Mary: Convincing a sex-trafficking jury he, too, is a domestic violence victim.
• A business owner tested if customers would pay more for American-made. The results were 'sobering.'
• Forget SEO. The new hot thing is "AEO." Here are the startups chasing this AI marketing phenomenon.
• Gen Z's 'conscious unbossing' should be a wake-up call for businesses.

What's happening today

• Opening statements begin in trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs.

• Fox Corp reports earnings.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Friday! We've got a new pope and he's an American! Cardinal Robert Prevost, who hails from Chicago, will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Here's everything you need to know about him. To be fair, we probably should have seen this coming with Gen Z's obsession with "Conclave."

In today's big story, a trade agreement with the UK has Wall Street excited, but not everyone is convinced things are heading in the right direction.

You still have time to sign up for Tech Memo. It's our new weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr on what's happening inside the world's most powerful tech companies.

What's on deck

Markets: At Milken, billionaire and CEO concerns about the economy didn't stop the party.

Tech: Google pushes back on claims it's losing search to AI.

Business: Panasonic is cutting 10,000 jobs in a bid to boost efficiency.

But first, wheeling and dealing.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

The art of the trade deal

President Donald Trump seems to be entering the next stage of his wide-reaching trade war, and investors are loving it.

On Thursday, Trump announced a trade agreement with the UK that his administration said would bring opportunities worth $5 billion to US exporters.

The first deal made since Trump's Liberation Day — when tariffs were widely implemented — was reason enough for investors to celebrate, sending major indexes rising.

But it wasn't just the UK deal that had Wall Street excited. In announcing the agreement on Truth Social, Trump made clear he wasn't done resolving trade disputes.

"This Deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Many more to come — STAY TUNED!" Trump said on the social media platform.

Trump's post seemed to confirm what many had long believed: The threat of tariffs was merely a Trump negotiation tactic to secure better trade terms.

(BI's Alice Tecotzky previously read Trump's "The Art of the Deal" to see how they compared to his approach to tariffs. There were plenty of takeaways.)

One trade agreement is still far from solving the whole trade war.

Investors have been eager to find any signs of reprieve from tariffs, with some even pricing in a win for the US ahead of the UK announcement.

Still, there's no guarantee other countries will be as willing to come to the table. Relations with one of the biggest trade partners — China — are still strained. Discussions between the two sides are supposedly coming this weekend.

In the meantime, the risk of a recession is looming. Despite strong recent economic data, some experts warn the worst is yet to come thanks to the ongoing uncertainty, writes BI's Catherine Boudreau.

The unknowns are also stressing anyone involved in global trade, which is already a pretty complex industry to begin with, writes BI's Madeline Stone.

Even Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the true impact of tariffs on the economy is still unclear while holding interest rates firm on Wednesday, much to Trump's displeasure.

But for now, Wall Street is happy to take the win. A trade agreement with the UK is better than a trade agreement with no one.

3 things in markets

1. Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time in three months. The world's largest crypto saw gains after the White House's trade agreement with the UK. Bitcoin is moving in line with other risk assets as the markets settle down.

2. A benefactor from the Trump bump is going bust. The secondhand market had a record number of deals last year, and uncertainty around President Trump's policies means demand for the once-niche market is expected to ratchet up again. Here's what it's like to work as a secondaries investor.

3. Hanging with the bigwigs and billionaires at Milken. Onstage at the Beverly Hills conference, concerns about the economy were almost as ubiquitous as the viral Saratoga water bottle. Recession woes didn't stop the rich from partying it up in private, however.

3 things in tech

1. Things aren't looking good for Google. Google disputed an Apple exec's statement that AI is cutting into its search. It's possible that both companies are right — but a recent filing reveals there's another reason to worry about Google's search dominance.

2. Tariffs sparked a wave of iPhone upgrades, not AI. Wall Street thought Apple's generative AI would kick-start an upgrade cycle, but Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found concerns over higher prices actually did the trick.

3. Millennials had the mall; Gen Z has Pinterest. That's according to Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, who said the platform is where "Gen Z goes to shop" during its Q1 earnings call. Pinterest's stock jumped as much as 18% after-hours on Thursday.

3 things in business

1. Panasonic plans to cut 10,000 jobs. The Japanese company, which supplies batteries to Tesla through a subsidiary company, plans to cut 5,000 roles in Japan and 5,000 overseas by March 2026, which amounts to about 4% of its global workforce.

2. Bill Gates ramps up giving away his billions. The Microsoft cofounder told the New York Times he plans to shut down his foundation in 2045 — decades earlier than initially intended. He also criticized Elon Musk, saying he was "involved in the deaths of the world's poorest children" by cutting USAID as part of his DOGE initiative.

3. Shopify wants to help sellers navigate tariffs. The company just launched new tools to help merchants calculate duties and consider other tariff impacts, including a new website that uses AI to give guidance. See how it's assisting sellers.

In other news

• Here's how much Trump's policies could cost Wall Street in bonus money.
• Trump's deal with Paul Weiss is throwing a wrench into his war on Big Law.
• Warren Buffett delivered a masterclass in succession planning — and a lesson in high drama.
• Temu sent my last shipment with no extra tariff fees. What happens the next time I want to place an order?
• The new face of professional networking isn't human.
• Liam Payne died without a will. Here's why his ex will manage his $32.2 million fortune, even though they weren't married.

What's happening today

• Hoover Institution Monetary Conference begins, with speakers including institution director Condoleezza Rice.

• Court hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez as push to free them continues.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy almost Friday! Some good news this morning: A cheap, widely-prescribed diabetes drug is showing some promise in preventing colon cancer.

In today's big story, Google's stock tanked after an Apple exec said AI engines are starting to challenge the search engine's dominance.

If you haven't subscribed to our new newsletter Tech Memo, what are you waiting for?

What's on deck

Markets: Trump teases first 'major trade deal' — and it's set to be with the UK.

Tech: Big Tech is all about rewarding its stars and getting rid of everyone else.

Business: People are fed up with companies' 'bait and switch pricing.'

But first, can you Google ChatGPT this?

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Search and destroy

AI giveth, and AI taketh.

Google seems to be learning that the hard way, as the new tech is gaining ground on one of its crown jewels.

Apple executive Eddy Cue said searches on its Safari browser shrank for the first time last month, and he's pointing the finger at AI engines, writes BI's Peter Kafka.

Cue also said AI tools like OpenAI and Perplexity AI would eventually supplant traditional search engines, and Apple will offer them to Safari users in the future.

Google investors took the news hard, with shares dropping more than 8% on Wednesday.

Cue has a vested interest in Google's search business, since Google pays Apple at least $20 billion a year to make its search engine the default on the iPhone. Still, in theory, Apple might be able to replace some or all of that money with payments from the OpenAIs of the world.

(Cue's comments came while testifying in the federal antitrust suit against Google's parent company, Alphabet. When it rains, it pours.)

The AI boom obviously hasn't been all bad for Google. The interest in the tech gave it the green light to invest billions in new development. The results weren't always great, but it largely seems happy with the progress made on things like its AI Overviews.

But as much as it tries to reshape itself, the progress made by its younger, smaller AI rivals is becoming undeniable.

It's not just the new kids on the block enjoying the AI revolution.

A very, very old player has newfound success leveraging AI. IBM is full speed ahead on its AI strategy, and Wall Street is eating it up, writes BI's Matthew Fox.

The company's stock is up almost 15% this year, far outpacing the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which is down 5%. At its recent conference, CEO Arvind Krishna said its generative AI business is now worth $6 billion.

IBM's focus is helping companies adopt AI, and has the added benefit of an open-source approach. That allows it to work with clients regardless of the AI tools they prefer, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Matthew.

(If you're looking for more tech coverage like this, subscribe to our upcoming tech newsletter Tech Memo. Alistair Barr will be running the show, and he does a much better job of covering tech than me.)

3 things in markets

1. Trump's first post-tariffs trade deal. The White House is expected to announce a trade deal with the UK on Thursday. A Downing Street spokeswoman told BI that talks between the two countries had been "continuing at pace" and the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, would provide an update later on Thursday.

2. No surprises from the Fed. The central bank held interest rates steady as expected, although Chairman Jerome Powell had faced calls from President Trump and members of his administration to lower them. Powell has stressed waiting to see how tariffs affect the economy.

3. Jefferies banker's death ruled an accident. Carter McIntosh, a 28-year-old associate, died of a toxic mix of drugs including fentanyl and cocaine, an autopsy revealed. His death in January sparked widespread backlash against the bank's work culture.

3 things in tech

1. Big Tech has a new playbook. Tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are doubling down on performance-based rewards, with top performers receiving larger payouts and low performers facing the heat. Meanwhile, new-hire offers are being reduced.

2. How a meme empire is sliding into your DMs. The Instagram gold rush isn't in the grid anymore — it's in your DMs. Doing Things, the company that owns meme accounts like Overheard, told BI its strategy to get users to share its content.

3. Meet Valarian, a new addition from the Palantir mafia. The Palantir-alumni-founded startup wants to help governments and companies control their data and has plans to expand into the defense sector. Its current seed round has raised $20 million.

3 things in business

1. Pro-Tesla, anti-Musk. Working for Tesla was Matthew LaBrot's dream job, but he was fired after publishing a website protesting Elon Musk. In an interview with BI, he shared his concern for how the billionaire is affecting Tesla's brand and sales — and why he still believes in the company anyway.

2. Recession fears got nothing on Disney adults. They know a Disney vacation is pricey, but they're going anyway. Disney World visits are surging, US parks revenue soared last quarter, and soon, they'll have a new magical destination to add to the list: Abu Dhabi.

3. Does $19.95 to rent a U-Haul truck sound too good to be true? That's because it is. Companies are using "bait-and-switch" tactics to lure customers in with one price, only to tack on extra fees and make the total nowhere near what was initially expected. It's so common that customers often throw their hands up and pay anyway.

In other news

• After selling OnlyFans, its cofounder is launching a rival creator platform.
• Verily CEO tells staff the sale of its insurance business is a 'strategic win' as the deal closes.
• Altoids, K-Pop, and a Harry Potter wand: The strangest moments of Diddy jury selection.
• The COO of Reality Labs is leaving Meta after nearly 11 years.
• We visited two of the busiest US airports on the first day of Real ID requirements. Here's what our reporters saw.
• Seth Rogen gave Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos a cameo in 'The Studio.' He says Apple wanted Tim Cook instead.
• Airlines care more about your credit card than your flight.
• Sam Altman just hired a CEO of applications to help him grow his AI empire.
• Trump's tariffs and the end of the 'de minimis' exemption will be a welcome boon for the secondhand clothing industry.
• The freeloader era of streaming is over.
• Uber CEO says the Waymo robotaxis on its app in Austin are busier than 99% of human drivers.
• Hate your job? That may be by design.

What's happening today

• Paramount, News Corp, Coinbase, and Lyft report earnings.

  ---

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up forBusiness Insider's daily newsletter here.

Good morning! Some of the world's elite gathered for the Met Gala last night. (My invite must have got lost in the mail.) Here's a rundown on how the event went. We also made our picks for who was the best-dressed — and who missed the mark.

In today's big story, President Donald Trump has targeted movies made outside the US with his latest tariffs, but no one really knows what it means.

I know your inbox is already pretty full, but you're going to want to make room for this. Tech Memo, a weekly BI newsletter from Alistair Barr on what's happening at the world's most powerful tech companies, is launching soon. Subscribe here!

What's on deck

Markets: Warren Buffett's retirement announcement was a downer for Berkshire Hathaway's stock.

Tech: Former Meta employees shared what it was like to be laid off as "low performers."

Business: Austin is the first battleground for Tesla and Waymo's driverless taxis to face off.

But first, lights! Cameras! Tariffs!

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Make America(n Movies) Great Again

EXT: PORT OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY - DAY

A walking film reel departs from a European container ship and approaches a customs officer awaiting exiting passengers.

FILM REEL

Hello! I'm the new summer blockbuster, and I'm ready for the big screen!

CUSTOMS AGENT

Not until you pay up on these tariffs!

My first attempt at screenwriting might not make sense, but the same could be said for President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement focused on Hollywood.

On Sunday, the president said he'd save Hollywood from "dying a very fast death" due to productions shifting out of the country by imposing a 100% tariff on movies made outside the US.

The problem, as Business Insider's Peter Kafka points out in this piece, is that no one quite understands what putting tariffs on films made outside the US means or how it would work.

Trump isn't wrong that tax incentives and labor costs have led Hollywood to look overseas. But how would one enforce these tariffs? What level of work done on a movie outside the US would trigger the tariffs?

And, as my short film above illustrates, how do you even tariff something that doesn't physically arrive here via cargo ships or planes?

(You can read more about Peter's theories here. Hint: Tax breaks and other financial incentives.)

Trump said Monday afternoon he was "not looking to hurt the industry; I'm looking to help."

What's not debatable was the industry's initial reaction. Shares of top streamers and movie companies like Netflix and Walt Disney took a dip Monday morning.

Maybe the best way to understand these latest tariffs is to look at them more holistically.

At least, that was the pitch from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday at the Milken conference, where BI's Bradley Saacks was in attendance.

In front of a crowd of the world's biggest and most powerful asset managers, Bessent made the case that the administration's overall trade plans were part of a three-pronged approach. Tariffs, tax cuts, and deregulation work together "to solidify our position as the home of global capital," Bessent told the group.

The framing was meant to help investors digest the volatile first 100 days of Trump's presidency, thanks largely to his focus on tariffs. Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz and Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, who followed Bessent's speech, said tying together tariffs with deregulation and tax cuts was a good way to articulate Trump's broader plan.

Whether the rest of the attendees agreed remains to be seen.

3 things in markets

1. It's time to start rooting for the rich. The wealthy don't like higher prices, but they're spending through it. Their buying habits are holding up the consumer-driven US economy — but if they start to cut back, everyone else will feel the contraction.

2. Berkshire Hathaway's stock tumbles on Buffett news. The conglomerate's stock dropped as much as 7% on Monday after Warren Buffett announced his retirement over the weekend. Shareholders are wondering what Berkshire will look like without Buffett at the helm.

3. Elite colleges are rushing to the bond market. MIT plans to sell $750 million worth of taxable bonds, according to May 2 preliminary offering documents. It joins a list of elite colleges that have tapped the bond market as the Trump administration threatens to slash federal funding for universities.

3 things in tech

1. Meta's "low performers" on those brutal layoffs. Eight former employees told BI what it was like to be caught in the company's sweeping job cuts — and the stigma that comes with being labeled a "low performer."

2. Amazon rewards consistently high performers. The retail giant is revamping its pay structure to better recognize and reward long-term high performers, per internal guidelines obtained by BI. The compensation overhaul reflects a wider trend happening across Big Tech.

3. Microsoft's controversial management approach. The software giant is putting some ousted low performers on a two-year rehiring ban and identifies these job cuts as "good attrition," according to an internal document viewed by BI. It's similar to hardcore performance-management strategies used at Meta and Amazon.

3 things in business

1. Tesla vs. Waymo. The two companies' driverless taxis will go head-to-head in Austin in June, when Tesla launches its services in the city. Here's how the robotaxis compare on cost, training, business strategy, and more.

2. OpenAI says its nonprofit will remain in control after all. In September, the AI giant announced it was moving to a for-profit business model. Read the letter CEO Sam Altman sent to employees explaining the decision to reverse course.

3. Google wants the star power. The tech company quietly launched a film and TV production initiative called 100 Zeros, BI has learned. Google hopes 100 Zeros will boost its image among Gen Z, but it plans to skip out on YouTube as a distributor.

In other news

• Want to invest in Mira Murati's new AI startup? You'll have to pony up at least $50 million.
• Marc Andreessen thinks AI can do every job in the world — except his.
• Palantir praises DOGE cuts and compares the US government to 'fine-marbled wagyu.'
• Jon Voight says he's sent Trump a 'comprehensive plan' to 'make Hollywood great again.'
• What airlines are saying to people who don't have a Real ID yet.
• Warren Buffett's best and worst investments.
• How Salesforce is using AI career coaches to hire employees internally.
• Skims boss says prioritizing work-life balance is not a recipe for success — it's a red flag.
• My career has taken me to Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Google. Here's what brought me back to Wall Street.
• Oil prices have crashed to four-year lows. That means cheaper gas for Americans hitting the roads this summer.
• Nvidia CEO says 'San Francisco is back' — and it's thanks to the AI gold rush.

What's happening today

• Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies at House Appropriations Committee hearing.

• President Trump hosts Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.

  The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up forBusiness Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hi! It's me again. I'm back after eight weeks away with the newest addition to my family. Thanks to Hallam Bullock for running things while I was gone. (Hopefully he didn't do too good a job that you're sad to see me back.)

Speaking of leadership changes, Warren Buffett is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. (How's that for a transition?) In today's big story, we're looking at why his successor could face an uphill battle taking over for someone who, according to one Buffett expert, is "literally not replaceable."

We're also growing our newsletter family! The great Alistair Barr is launching a new weekly newsletter for BI. Tech Memo will give you the scoop on what's happening inside the world's most powerful tech companies. Sign up here!

What's on deck

Markets: Wall Street forecasters are envisioning a recession this year. Here's how they think it'll play out.

Tech: Skype felt like magic for many millennials. Then came Zoom.

Business: American shoppers might have to say goodbye to their endless options.

But first, so long, farewell.If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Bye bye Buffett

A 94-year-old retiring shouldn't be surprising, but Warren Buffett isn't your typical 94-year-old.

Business Insider's Theron Mohamed, who was at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, said the crowd was stunned into silence when Buffett first shared the news.

They'd eventually rally to give him two standing ovations (something Buffett, never one to miss a joke, pointed out could be interpreted a couple of different ways).

It didn't end there, as praise poured in from business leaders like Tim Cook, Mark Cuban, and Jamie Dimon.

The adulation is well deserved. Berkshire's Class A stock has risen roughly 5,500,000% under Buffett from 1965 through 2024, compared to around a 39,000% increase for the S&P 500.

But the question remains: What's life without Warren going to be like?

Luckily for Berkshire backers, Buffett spent the past few years succession planning.

Greg Abel, the company's vice chair of non-insurance operations since 2018 and the chair of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is Buffett's pick to fill his proverbial shoes.

The 62-year-old was first identified as Buffett's heir-apparent back in 2021. Abel even has a similar small-town vibe as Buffett. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa, and has previously been described as a "regular guy."

Still, Alice Schroeder, Buffett's friend and biographer, told BI's Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert the legendary investor is "literally not replaceable."

In Omaha, many of Buffett's shareholders told Theron they were sad but grateful, and some were worried about the future.

Succeeding a high-profile executive is no picnic. Some big-name CEOs have found themselves returning to the helm of their old company. Disney's Bob Iger and Starbucks' Howard Schultz are two recent examples.

Abel is also stepping into a unique role that has thrived on being somewhat hands-off. Despite having nearly 400,000 employees across the companies it owns, Berkshire has only a few dozen employees working at its corporate headquarters.

And while that might be viewed as a benefit for Abel, knowing when to step back can sometimes be just as hard as knowing when to step in.

There's also the added complication of Berkshire's sheer size. With a market cap north of $1 trillion, investing opportunities that move the needle for the massive conglomerate are becoming few and far between.

The value-focused investing that drove Berkshire to astronomical heights is also becoming harder to execute with valuations so high. It's why the company's cash pile, which currently stands at nearly $350 billion, continues to climb.

Still, Buffett seems confident in Abel's ability to take the torch, and if there's one thing investors have learned during his tenure: Don't bet against Buffett.

3 things in markets

1. How a recession could unfold. Some of Wall Street's top forecasters see a downturn materializing in 2025. Many believe tariffs could be the defining factor. Here's what economists from Moody's, JPMorgan, and Apollo think could happen.

2. The New York gold rush. Business has been booming lately for Isaac Kahan, owner of Bullion Trading LLC. With prices for the safe-haven asset soaring, BI visited the business to learn about recent trends.

3. All eyes on LA. The annual Milken conference at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles kicks off today, and BI's Bradley Saacks will be covering it all for us. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's chat with host Michael Milken opens the event and will set the tone for a conference that attracts the biggest names in the finance and business world.against Buffett.

3 things in tech

1. RIP Skype. After 22 years in operation, Skype will be laid to rest today, adding another tombstone to the graveyard of early-2000s tech services millennials loved and left behind. Here's a look at Skype's rise and decline amid a sea of video-calling competitors.

2. An AI fix for a tedious legal task. Due diligence — when attorneys comb through thousands of pages before a deal is finalized — is a necessary but lengthy process for M&A lawyers. Startup Marveri has secured $3.2 million to revolutionize it with AI.

3. ChatGPT is great, but don't overuse it. OpenAI recently scrapped an update that made its chatbot a bit too friendly. The mistake is a good reminder: We shouldn't rely on ChatGPT in vulnerable moments. That's what human connection is for, BI's Alistair Barr writes.

against Buffett.

3 things in business

1. Everyone is stuck in their jobs. Americans are grumpy because they can't change jobs, and now, Trump's tariffs could make the Big Stay even worse. Pent-up bitterness in the office isn't just bad for the employees who feel stuck — it's bringing morale down for everyone else.

2. No more endless choices? American shoppers love having lots of options, but Trump's tariffs could soon change that. Whenever you're looking for a new pair of jeans in the near future, it's likely you'll have far less options to choose from.

3. Starbucks wants to bring "aperitivo" to the US. CEO Brian Niccol said he's looking to bring late afternoon bites, similar to its European menus, to US locations. BI's Katie Notopoulos checked out what the chain currently offers — and what could be worth bringing from Europe.

In other news

• Warren Buffett says cutting the US deficit is a difficult job — but it 'should be done.'
• The FTC says the company that pitched financial freedom scammed people out of $1 billion.
• Met Gala tickets, which are invite-only, cost $75,000. Here's what that gets attendees.
• Amazon-backed creator startup Spotter lays off staffers. Read the memo from its CEO.
• Here's what happens if you don't have a Real ID after May 7.
• Trump is waging war on America's knowledge workers.
• Employers are tapping this group of 'highly skilled' but underemployed people.
• Americans love Social Security. Its overworked staff feels like 'the enemy.'
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans fear going broke more than death. Here's how to avoid three retirement-saving mistakes.
• For Gen Zers working in clean energy, DOGE's cuts are a double whammy.
• Trump's tariffs are fueling a rise in weird new gadgets.
• Five years of student-debt relief is suddenly over.

What's happening today

• Sean 'Diddy' Combs is on trial on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
• Ford Motors reports earnings.
• The Met Gala is tonight.

The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back! A product manager has some advice for junior employees: Be the dumbest person in the room. Asking questions and listening rather than trying to tout your knowledge is the best bet.

This will be my last edition for a bit, as I'll be on parental leave until May. But don't sweat it! You're in the very capable hands of my UK colleague Hallam Bullock while I am out. The only thing you'll need to change is to imagine a posh British accent while you're reading it.

In today's big story, people are getting worried about a potential recession. Here's how to protect yourself.

What's on deck

Markets: Find out what the PE giants are paying.

Tech: Everyone wants to get rid of low performers, but doing so might not be as beneficial as you think.

Business: Older Americans told us how they've traded in their white collars for blue ones to make ends meet.

But first, protect ya neck.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Don't let the recession get you down

The economy might take a dive, but you don't have to let it take you down with it.

After a few months of everyone being excited about what the future could hold for the US economy, things have taken a noticeable turn. Scary words like "recession" and "stagflation" are getting thrown around, and the only thing that seems certain under the current administration is more uncertainty.

It's the kind of environment that can make your head spin. Lucky for you, we turned to the experts. Business Insider's Matthew Fox got advice from financial planners about what you can do to prepare for the worst. (And no, they're not just telling you to put your money in bonds.)

In fact, the best advice is more emotional than financial: Don't panic. When times get tough, people tend to want to react. But the reality is that markets move quickly, especially these days, and you don't want to get caught selling off assets amid what could just be a mini downturn.

Besides, if the economy does go south, you might be better off leaning into the chaos instead of pulling away. I am not a financial advisor, so don't take this as advice, but history has proven that those who were willing to buy the dips usually benefited in the long run.

But how did we get here in the first place?

Just a few months ago, things seemed ready to take off. The S&P 500 was setting record highs. Bankers were licking their chops at the potential deal flow. Everyone was ready to rock.

The market has been singing a different tune for the past few weeks.

Plenty of people are pointing their fingers at tariffs. Trump's will-he-won't-he trade plan has become a guessing game investors don't seem interested in playing anymore.

However, BI's Filip De Mott said that's not the only thing derailing stocks. The deregulation expected under Trump and his embrace of crypto haven't led to boons in industries just yet.

The key is that last bit: just yet. The administration has been in place for less than two months. A lot could still shake out. Investors' willingness to wait, though, remains to be seen.

News brief

• I ordered a $2.74 mouse pad from Temu. I got a pile of goo — exactly what I deserved.
• Meet Mark Carney, the former central banker elected to replace Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the thick of tariff talk.
• Elon Musk suggests the US should leave NATO, saying it 'doesn't make sense' for the US to pay for Europe's defense.
• Check out the Rolex wrist candy Mark Zuckerberg rocked at UFC this weekend.

• Russia's arms exports are going bust as foreign buyers bolt and the Ukraine war chews through its weapons.

  ---

  3 things in marketing

  1. Private equity paydays. To get a pulse on how much people make in PE, BI combed through job listings and H-1B visa data for a dozen firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and KKR. The good news: Salaries are steep, and an Odyssey Search Partners survey found bonuses can lead bigwigs to expect compensation upward of $1 million a year. The bad news: Pay growth has generally stabilized.

  2. This tax season, don't bring the IRS to your door. While the IRS will often automatically correct small errors and typos, glaring mistakes can result in costly penalties. Avoid these four common IRS audit triggers for a smoother tax filing season.

  3. The US government now has a bitcoin reserve. President Trump recently signed an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve, but, Peter Kafka writes, it's unclear what it's supposed to do and why the US should have one. The US already owns a bunch of bitcoin, and many crypto fans thought the Trump plan would be to go out and buy more. That doesn't appear to be the case now.

  ---

  3 things in tech

  1. How parts of the US will track abortion pills. Last May, Louisiana reclassified misoprostol and mifepristone — both commonly used to induce abortions — as "controlled substances," allowing prescriptions to be monitored. This designation is typically applied to drugs with a risk of abuse. Tech companies, like Bamboo Health, can make big money running states' prescription monitoring databases. BI found that, while designed to investigate doctors for wrongdoing, these programs can have wider implications for clinicians and their patients.

  2. Agentic AI is coming to the military. Scale AI, the $13.8 billion startup helmed by Alexandr Wang, secured a DOD contract to integrate AI agents into military decision-making. The contract is the first of its kind and cements the partnership between tech and the military.

  3. Actually, you need those low performers. Big Tech companies like Meta and Microsoft have instituted brutal performance-based cuts this year, making 2025 the de facto year of the low performer. But in reality, that management tactic hurts business in the long run. An initial surge in productivity is offset by loss of quality, morale, and, ultimately, profitability.

  ---

  3 things in business

  1. Another twist in the Baldoni-Lively saga. Three days before Justin Baldoni sued The New York Times, someone paid $120 to boost content about an emoji that was a key part of Baldoni's suit. The payment's timing suggests the client knew just how important that emoji would become before it was publicly revealed in the filing.

  2. Federal workers clap back (subtly). Snarky emails, spoon emojis, and pronouns. These are some of the ways federal workers are subtly protesting workforce cuts and demands from President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE while also keeping their jobs. They told BI they've found comfort in banding together with their colleagues along the way.

  3. Some older Americans turn to blue-collar jobs. Side hustles and blue-collar work have kept some former white-collar professionals afloat as they navigate the job market. BI heard from dozens of these older Americans who've struggled with landing roles after a layoff. Lower pay, a need for specialized qualifications, and résumé dilemmas are among the challenges.

  ---

  In other news

• Elon Musk says he'll never turn off the Starlink terminals in Ukraine.
• The strange and disturbing rise of Taliban tourism.
• Meet the entrepreneur who quit her tech job to make purring plushies for anxious millennials.
• Female founders and execs talk about acts of 'micro-feminism' at work — and why they matter.
• The US Navy wants a robotic crawler to eliminate the most dangerous underwater threat: sea mines.
• Tractor Supply shoppers are snapping up all the company's baby chicks as egg prices soar.
• China's capital city is making AI education mandatory, even for elementary schoolers.
• Anti-Elon Musk stickers are being snapped up by Tesla owners who can't sell.
• Russia's arms exports are going bust as foreign buyers bolt and the Ukraine war chews through its weapons.
• The stock market is getting more turbulent. Here are four ways that's reshaped how investors behave.
• Ukrainian soldiers react to Trump: If we run out of American bullets, we'll find another gun.

• Trump handed these two Chinese e-commerce companies a double win — for now.

  ---

  What's happening today

• China imposes retaliatory tariffs on certain agricultural products from the US.
• Ontario imposes 25% surcharge on electricity shipped to the US. (The Canadian province supplies 1.5 million Americans in New York, Minnesota, and Michigan.)
• Oracle reports earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Friday! If you're grabbing an Uber or Lyft this weekend and a Tesla shows up, do yourself a favor and don't bring up Elon Musk. Whether you love him or hate him, chances are your driver doesn't want to talk about it. (And if you insist on doing it, they'll probably just say what they think will get them the best tip.)

In today's big story, tariffs against Canada and Mexico have been mostly delayed by a month in yet another turnaround in the ongoing trade war.

What's on deck

Markets: One betting market has the odds of a US recession at 32%.

Tech: Microsoft is talking up a massive quantum-computing breakthrough. Amazon execs aren't buying it.

Business: Some senators want to take a closer look at X's advertising tactics.

But first, another postponement.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Tariffs? What tariffs?

So, about those tariffs…

Two days after implementing a 25% tax on Mexican and Canadian goods, President Donald Trump is pulling a U-turn.

The president announced a one-month pause on tariffs for both countries' imports that fall under an agreement called USMCA. If you're a bit rusty on your global trade regulations, USMCA was the trade deal that Trump negotiated between the US, Canada, and Mexico to replace NAFTA.

The trade pact covers most goods, making Trump's announcement almost equivalent to the monthlong pause on tariffs he initiated in February.

The offer didn't extend to the other target of Trump's tariffs, China, which has issued retaliatory tariffs.

There's long been speculation that Trump's tariffs were merely a negotiation tactic to get better trade terms from other countries. And the president's willingness to issue another reprieve from his trade taxes could be proof of that.

But the market's willingness to accept the ongoing uncertainty might only extend so far. Investors are already on edge as fears of a potential recession start to bubble up.

Stocks rebounded on Wednesday after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted a resolution to the tariff situation could be coming. But despite the official announcement on Thursday, stocks finished down considerably. The S&P 500 closed 1.78% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.61%.

Trump's flip-flopping may not pay off in the long term. That's according to supply chain and conflict resolution scholars, who said his tariff tensions are eroding the US's relationships with its allies.

Things aren't likely to calm down in the meantime.

The February jobs report comes out this morning. It will help inform the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates on March 19, which is less than two weeks away.

And the fight over tariffs is far from over. Canada and Mexico's postponement is only until April 2. That also coincides with the kickoff of more tariffs. This time they're targeting foreign agricultural goods and other products. Trump also mentioned South Korea, India, and the European Union over what he said were unfair trade relations.

There's no shortage of experts weighing in on what it all means. If you want to sound smart about the Trump tariffs, here are some of the best thinkers to follow.

News brief

• SBF's crisis manager quit after the crypto scammer's surprise Tucker Carlson interview.
• Top NY Times editor Joe Kahn says the paper is adding readers in red states and still has room to grow.
• Deloitte and Accenture workers worry about losing their jobs as DOGE focuses on consulting contracts.
• It's the end of a wild era for Yeezy and Adidas.
• Salesforce cuts diversity hiring goals, joining Meta and Google in scaling back DEI initiatives.
• Broadcom just proved Nvidia will be looking over its shoulder for a while longer.
• Trump, once a crypto skeptic, establishes a bitcoin reserve.

• Sorry, American firms, the AI trade has moved to China.

  ---

  3 things in marketing

  1. Economists and betting markets agree: Odds of a recession are rising. The chance of a US recession jumped to 32% on Thursday on Polymarket, up 23% from late February. Wall Street economists say the reason is Trump-shaped — the administration's unpredictable policy moves could shake consumer confidence to the core.

  2. Inside "Project Voyage," Goldman Sachs' grand plan to thin its ranks, cut costs. In addition to moving the bank's annual culling of underperformers up the calendar, CEO David Solomon plans to relocate employees from New York City to lower-cost areas like Dallas and Salt Lake City, people familiar with the program told BI. One former employee said Project Voyage is a multi-year plan, and you can expect these divisions to be the most impacted.

  3. How much do investment bankers really make? As Wall Street waits to see if a dealmaking rebound will fully materialize this year, recruiting firm Prospect Rock Partners heard from over 900 investment bankers on how much they earned in 2024. Check out some of the survey's highlights.

  ---

  3 things in tech

  1. The petition to standardize closed captions. BI's Katie Notopoulos has a bone to pick with streaming services: Captions are too hard to figure out. Every streamer has a different interface, posing a challenge for the 63% of Americans under 30 who prefer subtitles. Maybe you're swiping up, but what if it's actually down? Perhaps you accidentally click the dreaded "Play from the Beginning" button in the process. She thinks it's all too much, and it's also an accessibility issue.

  2. Amazon calls BS on Microsoft's quantum-computing claims. In an email to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon's head of quantum tech expressed doubts that Microsoft's Majorana 1 quantum computing chip could do all it was hyped up to do, according to a copy of the email obtained by BI. Industry experts said tech companies might be generating more hype than substance in their attempts to outdo each other in the field.

  3. The shortcut for cheap AI. Distillation — using one model to improve another — has more potential today than ever, thanks to the plethora of open-source models that can serve as "teachers." While some developers celebrate the concept, the big AI companies behind foundation models need to justify and protect their pricey offerings.

  ---

  3 things in business

  1. These senators want an investigation into Elon Musk's X. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Adam Schiff, and Chris Van Hollen are calling for a DOJ probe into X. Specifically, they want to know if X is leveraging Musk's political status to pressure companies into advertising on the social media platform, referencing an article from The Wall Street Journal article last month. Read the letters they sent to the DOJ and the FTC.

  2. Playing dress up with an AI twist. Fashion app Doji uses AI to help users virtually try on clothes, and early beta testers are loving it. One fan is none other than Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who's also backing it through his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six.

  3. Social Security employees can't read news sites at work anymore. As the Trump administration continues restructuring the Social Security Administration, a recent agency-wide email announced new browsing restrictions for employees' work computers. Restrictions prohibit workers from checking the news, online shopping, and visiting sports sites. According to the email, the goal is to limit risk and protect sensitive information.

  ---

  In other news

  I tried ChatGPT's new Deep Research. It was worth the extra wait of up to 30 minutes for its reports.

• A Las Vegas bar, a wedding venue, and a Swedish hotel: How retired Boeing 747s are being turned into tourist attractions.
• US-made Patriot missiles have protected Kyiv. Europe doesn't have an easy replacement.
• Kentucky's bourbon makers are up in arms about Canada yanking their bottles off shelves.
• VC Kelly Barton balances investing with winning IRONMAN world championships. Here's why she says her passion makes her a better investor.
• 'Reacher' spinoff 'Neagley' will be out by the end of 2025 'with a bit of luck,' author Lee Child said.
• Software engineers at Google, Microsoft, and more share their best tips for landing a coding job in tech.
• DOGE cuts have pushed layoffs to the highest level since the pandemic.

What's happening today

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the February jobs report.
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will address the 18th annual U.S. Monetary Policy Forum.
• President Trump speaks at the White House Crypto Summit.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy almost Friday! If you're indulging in a Thirsty Thursday — Do people still call it that? —don't be surprised if happy hour looks a bit gray. While millennials and Gen Zers are cutting back on booze, the number of boomers tipping one (or a few) back is rising.

In today's big story, Microsoft is rethinking how it evaluates employees and handles underperformers.

What's on deck:

Markets: The jobs report is tomorrow, but don't expect a DOGE-sized drop in numbers. Here's why.

Tech: Meta's got a list of ex-employees it won't rehire.

Business: Lulu Cheng Meservey's brash PR tactics annoy some of her peers, but her big-name clients can't get enough of it.

But first, HR is going to join us for this one.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Under review

Microsoft's performance review is on a PIP.

The tech giant is rethinking how it evaluates employees, according to Business Insider's Ashley Stewart, who spoke to several people with knowledge of the plans.

The result could be Microsoft taking a tougher stance on employees deemed low performers. Evidence of that came earlier this year when Microsoft made hundreds of performance-based cuts in January and February.

In many ways, it's a blast from the past for Microsoft, which once had a reputation for conducting tough reviews. The arrival of Satya Nadella as CEO more than a decade ago changed that, with the company taking a softer stance. Some even called Microsoft a "country club."

Microsoft's current process for managing out low performers can take months of documentation. One high-level manager told Ashley the average time to exit a low performer after a manager notified HR was about seven months. That process can be further delayed if an employee takes a leave of absence, which can reset the clock.

But with the AI race heating up, Microsoft wants to move faster and more efficiently. Like its peers Meta, Amazon, and Google, that's meant taking a deeper look at its performance review and management process.

Microsoft's potential pivot also shows where AI's had the most impact thus far.

Since ChatGPT's arrival a few years ago, there's been plenty of speculation about all the jobs that were at risk of being automated away by AI.

The reality, though, is the tech isn't advanced enough to replace most roles completely. Efficiencies can be achieved that allow a company to cut some headcount, but AI hasn't completely wiped out jobs in most cases.

In fact, the industry AI is disrupting the most is the one building it: tech.

It's not just a matter of AI automating people's jobs. (Although those are looking dicey for software engineers.) The massive bets tech giants are making on AI are forcing them to recalibrate their entire operations to be as streamlined as possible, and those changes don't come easy.

Perhaps the shift was always coming. The rise of interest rates and the maturation of these companies might have naturally led to a stage of buckling down.

But spending billions on tech that hasn't fully panned out from a business perspective certainly didn't slow things down.

News brief

• Alito says he's 'stunned' the Supreme Court ruled against Trump over USAID's funding.
• Outgoing Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen lost $11 million in bonus and stock payments when he resigned from the grocery chain.
• Trump told Congress that Musk runs DOGE — and the lawyers noticed.
• Instagram says it's 'doubling down' on DMs. This chart shows just how much.
• Add the teachers' union to the list of investors worried about Tesla's sliding stock.
• Media leaders tell BI how they're tackling a crisis that's bigger than Trump.
• Tripledot Studios in a $900 million deal, sources say.

3 things in markets

1. Federal workers' layoff pains will be mostly invisible in Friday's jobs report. DOGE's February firings won't be reflected in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report because of the cuts' timing. And even though the job losses will appear in a more distant report, they probably won't make a big dent overall.

2. Are we on the verge of a "Trumpcession"? Wall Street exec Jeffrey Solomon is part of a small but growing group of forecasters using the dreaded R-word: recession. In an interview with CNBC, Solomon said a trade war could impact supply chains and prompt business leaders to pump the brakes on dealmaking. Some signs already point to an economic slowdown, and Solomon isn't alone in waving the red flag.

3. Brevan Howard is telling investors the "true risk" is not getting in on crypto. For years, institutions have kept their distance from digital assets. Brevan Howard's CEO told BI the tipping point for institutional investors is on the horizon, thanks to the boost provided by President Trump and crypto czar David Sacks. The firm, whose digital assets unit was up more than 52% in 2024, wants to be the go-to place for crypto-curious institutions.

3 things in tech

1. Meta keeps "block" lists of ex-employees. Hiring managers at Meta sometimes pursue laid-off workers for rehire. They express interest, set up a screening call — and then ghost. That's because some ex-employees are on lists that deem them "ineligible for rehire," even if they have a written track record of exceeding managers' expectations. BI's story elicited a reaction from former Google HR chief Laszlo Bock.

2. Google Search is going AI Mode. The tech giant said it plans to test a new "AI Mode" feature for Search that aims to answer users' queries with "a wider and more diverse" set of AI-powered results. Instead of AI Overviews, which respond to queries with a direct answer at the top of the results page, the new AI Mode takes things a step further by generating an entire page.

3. Big events for big ratings. TV networks have been struggling with maintaining their audiences for years. But BI's Peter Kafka picked up on a pattern to get more eyes: streaming must-watch live sports and awards shows. The most recent Oscars, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics got bumps in viewers, and streaming was part of their equation.

3 things in business

1. Meet the PR pitbull adored by Sam Altman and Bari Weiss. Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after communications gurus, known for her unusually aggressive "going direct" strategy. Less enchanted are her PR peers, who aren't sold on her style of bucking convention, tweeting madly, and playing offense with the press. Still, Cheng Meservey won the admiration of startup founders by showing them how she thinks.

2. A new DOGE staffer was connected to a fertility clinic and has ties to the pronatalist movement. Miles Collins, whose association with DOGE was first reported by BI, is a startup founder who employees say has been working at the Department of Labor. Collins was connected to a California fertility clinic that's now facing lawsuits accusing it of mistreating employees, although the company has denied wrongdoing. Collins is also the brother of a prominent pronatalist, a movement that Elon Musk has also spoken in favor of.

3. A tariff breather for car companies. President Donald Trump is giving the Big Three automakers — Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors — a one-month pause on his recent tariffs to avoid an "economic disadvantage." But there won't be another break when Trump's second round of trade-related tariffs takes effect on April 2, and additional tariffs on steel and aluminum are coming this month.

In other news

• A once-hot startup got a $1.5 billion loan. More than $500 million went to a high school dropout's 'sham' hedge fund, judge rules.
• Instagram cofounder explains how the work of a software engineer will change in the next three years.
• Are you worth $10 million? $100 million? Chances are you live in the US.
• Elon Musk says the Post Office and Amtrak should be privatized.
• Where you can cash in on Florida's cooling housing market.
• RFK Jr. says vitamin A could help treat measles. Here's what doctors think.
• Millennial moms want more kids — they just can't afford it.
• Where to hide right now as tariffs hit markets.
• While the US and China compete for AI dominance, Russia's leading model lags behind.
• Crypto insiders say Trump's love for bitcoin is more than a fling — even though he may be making an 'unforced error.'

What's happening today

• Macy's, Costco, and Kroger report earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Some companies are already telling customers they'll need to raise prices due to Trump's tariffs.
• At least one — Chipotle — has said it's not planning on passing the cost to consumers
• The tariff announcement has become a key talking point businesses now need to consider.

I'd like to formally announce I will not be passing the cost of the tariffs down to Business Insider Today's newsletter readers.

President Donald Trump's taxes on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese goods have absolutely no impact on my ability to produce the daily newsletter. (And it's also free to subscribe.)

But don't let the details get in the way of a feel-good story: I am willing to carry the burden of these taxes for you, the reader.

My declaration might sound silly (It is!), but there are undoubtedly some serious conversations taking place at businesses about communicating the impact of these new tariffs.

Some companies aren't wasting time making clear that customers will have to take this one on the chin. Target CEO Brian Cornell said some grocery costs could go up as early as this week, while Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said price increases on imported products are now "highly likely."

Both executives didn't get too specific on their earnings calls, but the message was clear: Don't blame us if we have to raise prices.

They're not alone. Companies big and small have been telegraphing potential price increases due to tariffs for a while. As legendary investor Warren Buffett recently said of tariffs: "Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn't pay 'em!" (We've got a full rundown on the products most susceptible to tariffs.)

But one company took a very different approach. Before Tuesday's announcement, Chipotle made clear it was not planning on raising its prices due to tariffs.

Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright told "NBC Nightly News" that the chain planned to absorb any price increases.

"We are fortunate to have such an extraordinary economic model at Chipotle that we can withstand those types of inflationary pressures and not have to pass those costs off to the consumer," Boatwright said.

What a win for the finance bros! You can't tax these gains! I'll take double meat and some guac, please!

Oh, wait, there's one more thing.

Boatright went on to say Chipotle could still raise prices if the cost of the tariffs becomes a "significant headwind."

Oh, ok…

And tariffs aren't even set to hit Chipotle that hard. At least, according to Chipotle. Executives previously played down the impact of tariffs on a recent earnings call. Despite Mexico supplying roughly 90% of the avocados eaten in the US, according to CNBC, the chain only gets about half its supply from Mexico. And Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer said the produce it gets from our neighbors to the south accounts for only about 2% of its sales.

Hmmm, alright.

Chipotle is also not philosophically opposed to passing along the cost to customers. In fact, the chain literally just did it. In December, Chipotle raised prices by 2% nationwide to offset inflation, its first price increase in over a year. The price hike also addressed the hit to its profit margin that came with ensuring "consistent and generous portions."

So, to recap: A chain that says it's pretty insulated from tariffs and recently raised its prices will do its best not to raise prices on consumers. (But no promises.)

Siri, where is the nearest Moe's?

To be fair to Chipotle, the tariffs are projected to cost the chain some money. Rymer previously estimated that tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China would increase its cost of sales — or how much it pays for the stuff it sells you — by about 0.6%.

That's not nothing, especially when fast-food chains have been fighting to keep prices down in the face of an uncertain economic future. So, credit Chipotle for attempting to avoid passing on the costs to customers rather than just waving the white flag on tariffs or using the trade tax as cover to raise its prices.

"It is our intent today to hold pricing constant because we don't know if the tariffs are transitory, if they're going to be permanent, or how they will impact our business in the future." Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer for Chipotle, told me via email.

But just as some have said Trump's tariff plan is part of a bigger negotiation tactic, don't be surprised if companies look to borrow from the president's playbook. The hot-button issue could be an excuse for businesses to raise prices or an opportunity to tout that they're holding the line to protect their customers.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello there! Did you ever want to check out a business but couldn't find many details online? There's a new AI tool for that. Google's "ask for me" will call businesses and get you details on availability and pricing. We tested it out, and while the tool is limited, the potential is there.

In today's big story, Canada and Mexico get hit with 25% tariffs in the latest big shakeup from the Trump administration. But some Canadians are fighting back in their own way.

What's on deck

Markets: Hedge funds' February report cards are in.

Tech: DeepSeek said its AI models could have an incredible profit margin. There's just one not-so-small catch.

Business: Ad insiders are telling clients to advertise on Elon Musk's X to avoid political headaches.

But first, here come the tariffs (again).

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

'No room left'

After a one-month reprieve, tariffs are back on the table for the US's neighbors and biggest trading partners.

President Donald Trump confirmed Monday that the US was proceeding with 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The president said there was "no room left" for negotiation with the US allies, squashing hopes of another last-minute resolution.

The announcement worsened what was already a tough day for US stocks, which have been dealing with AI giant Nvidia's weeklong sell-off. The S&P 500 finished the day down 1.76%.

China, which is already facing US tariffs, also got hit. The taxes on its goods will be doubled to 20%.

It's the latest development in one of the most unpredictable aspects of Trump's second term. Since his campaign trail, Trump has promised to implement stiff taxes on the US's trading partners.

Trump and his supporters argue tariffs will bring business back to the US and improve trade terms with other countries. Pfizer's CEO said on Monday he may move overseas drug manufacturing back to the US in response to the tariffs.

But, some economists and investors have said US consumers will ultimately feel the pain.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett was the latest to weigh in, calling tariffs "an act of war, to some degree," during an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning. He also said tariffs become a tax on goods over time, adding "I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn't pay 'em!"

Regardless of which side you fall on, the importance of imports from China, Mexico, and Canada is undeniable.

According to 2023 data, one of those three countries was the largest import trade partner for all but a few states. The exceptions were Alaska and Hawaii (South Korea), Maryland and Rhode Island (Germany), Indiana (Ireland), and Idaho (Malaysia).

Meanwhile, the goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China mostly fall into one of three categories: oil, electronics, or vehicles.

The US could also face retaliatory tariffs on its exports. Some Canadians seem to be taking matters into their own hands. In response, they're abandoning US consumer brands in favor of locally-made alternatives. The country's largest retailer said sales of Canadian goods are up by double digits.

Meanwhile, China swiftly announced additional tariffs of 10% to 15% on some US imports, including on soybeans, pork, and beef.

News brief

• California is bringing most state employees back to the office for four days a week this summer.
• Ex-Elliott portfolio manager Mark Wills launched a commingled fund — something new hedge funds have been struggling to do.
• Autism care software company CentralReach tapped William Blair to explore a sale.
• Growing protests target Tesla showrooms with Mariachi bands, raccoon puppets, and cardboard Cybertrucks.
• Oval Office blowup fallout: The five biggest moves in markets with a Russia-Ukraine deal in jeopardy.
• Jon Stewart says he's game to have Elon Musk on 'The Daily Show.'
• Tim Cook teases a new Apple product coming 'this week.

3 things in markets

1. Two big hedge funds had a frosty February. Funds at Citadel and Millennium lost money last month, unable to shake off the market jitters brought on by President Trump's actions. Geopolitical tensions and the risk of a trade war shook investor confidence. Still, some multistrategy firms weathered the volatility with positive returns, including Balyasny and ExodusPoint.

2. Three things for investors to watch this week. Treasury yields could spike due to Trump's tariff plan for Canada and Mexico. February jobs data will give insight into the effect of Trump's policies and the economy's direction. And a lineup of Fed speeches, including Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, might give clues as to what's driving recent economic weakness.

3. How Trump's crypto reserve could actually work. The president posted that he wants to make the US the "Crypto Capital of the World" by stockpiling digital currency. The project has the potential to position the US as the dominant player in the market and modernize the financial system. Still, it's unclear how the reserve would be funded and executed.

3 things in tech

1. DeepSeek talked up a potential 545% profit margin, but it comes with a few big caveats. To realize those monstrous gains, all of DeepSeek's users would have to pay up. That won't be easy, considering none of its rivals have gotten all their users to do so. To make matters more complicated, a few other factors throw the figure into question.

2. Amazon's new AI reasoning model is set to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. BI's Eugene Kim learned Amazon will launch a model with advanced "reasoning" capabilities under its Nova brand by June. According to a project insider, the model will embrace "hybrid reasoning," allowing it to provide quick answers and engage in more complex extended thinking — all while striving to be one of the more price-efficient options on the market.

3. YouTube creators go old school. Last year, the company said TV is the top place people watch YouTube, surpassing phones. YouTubers are cashing in on the transition by creating longer videos since extended content can boost their revenue with more ad breaks and higher rates.

3 things in business

1. Management experts say DOGE is a case study in bad management. Before Donald Trump assumed office, business leaders were hopeful that Elon Musk's involvement in the DOGE office could cut bureaucracy. Six weeks in, that hope has curdled into serious concern. Management experts described DOGE's tactics as "clumsy," "wrongheaded," and full of "political recklessness."

2. Kroger CEO is out after an investigation into "personal conduct." Kroger's board of directors learned about conduct from CEO Rodney McMullen that was "inconsistent with Kroger's Policy on Business Ethics," a statement from the grocery chain said. While no Kroger associates were involved in this conduct, McMullen abruptly resigned following an investigation. Former Staples CEO Ronald Sargent is now at the helm as the country's largest supermarket chain by sales looks for a permanent replacement.

3. The Elon tax on advertising. Industry insiders told BI they're advising clients to spend on X to avoid legal and political headaches. X has a long, fraught relationship with advertisers, but Elon Musk's newfound influence in the White House is inducing them to fall in line. They're afraid of political reprisals if they don't — and they're not happy it's influencing their ad buys.

In other news

• Mini-retirees share four financial tips that helped them quit their jobs.
• Deepfake nudes are the perfect issue for Melania Trump to take on: It's bipartisan and everyone agrees it's a problem.
• Middle managers are caught in the RTO crossfire. Here's how they can handle the clash.
• Six psychological tricks to be more likable in a job interview.
• Musk wants to leave NATO. Thanks to Marco Rubio, that's a lot harder.

What's happening today

• Supreme Court hears case regarding Mexican lawsuit against US gun manufacturers, which accuses them of facilitating drug cartel violence.
• BestBuy, Target, and Nordstrom report earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back! If you're feeling some kind of way about heading back to work, maybe hold off on that social media post. As much fun as it can be to vent, an ex-VP of HR at Microsoft said it's a fine line.

In today's newsletter, four massive firms are dominating the hedge fund industry and leaving everyone else to figure out where they fit in.

What's on deck

Markets: Hudson River Trading had a record year in 2024. Here's what went so well for the trading giant.

Tech: Hulu's livestream of the Oscars went dark during critical moments of the awards ceremony.

Business: Starbucks' CEO is six months on the job. How is he doing? (And what does it mean for your morning coffee?)

But first, don't even try to compete.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

The new big four

In the world of hedge funds, there are four big names — and then everyone else.

Millennium, Citadel, Point72, and Balyasny have surpassed their peers by so much it's reshaping the entire industry, writes Business Insider's Bradley Saacks.

The fundraising ability, talent recruitment, and strong performance of those four multistrategy funds have made it almost impossible for up-and-comers to break in.

The concentration at the top has several knock-on effects.

For one, it makes an already competitive (and expensive) market for hiring even harder. One estimate last July of 18,600 people across 53 multistrategy firms found more than 71% worked for one of the big four.

And if you can't attract the best talent, you might have a tougher time raising money from allocators, who are already keeping things close to the vest due to high interest rates.

Those two factors make setting up your own fund a lot more intimidating than it used to be.

Even investors with the highest pedigrees — former Millennium executive Bobby Jain — have faced challenges going out on their own. And besides, the days of a high-profile investor running a fund that attracts billions of dollars in investments are long gone.

At the same time, one allocator told Bradley that Steve Cohen's Point72 has a $9 billion waitlist, which is larger than most firms' total capital.

As one person building a multi-strat fund put it to Bradley: "If you're going to compete with Citadel and Millennium in their own backyard, you're already dead."

The end result could mean less competition, as investors might just stay with the biggest dogs on the block.

Funds looking to stay afloat might try to think outside the box, lest they compete directly with one of the giants. That could mean catering to specific regions or focusing on more niche investments the big players wouldn't bother with.

Still, the rise of the big four could be an opportunity for smaller players. With firms like Millennium and Citadel looking more like big banks, being nimble could be an asset.

Specifically, using AI to help streamline work that a high-priced human might typically do could narrow the gap (and improve their margins).

News brief

• As Europe mobilizes behind Ukraine, it's sitting on a $218 billion ace card — and it's being urged to play it.
• 'Crypto Capital of the World': Trump selects cryptocurrencies for new strategic reserve.
• Citi's latest blunder: an $81 trillion 'inputting error.' (That's not a typo.)
• Millennials have a terrifying new job: being full-time adults.
• Here's what Trump's cabinet picks have in their investment portfolios — from bitcoin and Big Tech to index funds.
• Americans are afraid to fly after recent crashes — social media and DOGE aren't helping.
• The best-dressed celebrities on the 2025 Oscars red carpet.
• 'SNL' mocks Trump-Zelenskyy White House meeting, interrupted by a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk.
• Jeff Bezos' Washington Post moves might please Trump — but they're costing him money.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the DoD's civilian federal workforce must respond to DOGE's productivity emails.

3 things in markets

1. Goodbye, WallStreetBets. Hello, investing influencers. With Roaring Kitty's rise in the rearview, there's a new set of retail-investing influencers guiding thousands of followers. Three told BI their strategies, explained why they left the WallStreetBets subreddit, and shared some personal Hall of Fame trades.

2. HRT's monster 2024. Hudson River Trading's net trading revenue hit nearly $8 billion last year, an all-time high, according to people familiar with the matter. Roughly half of HRT's trading profits still come from its high-frequency trading business. But the firm is also expanding into more hedge-fund-style trading strategies that require more capital and come with greater risks.

3. The US economy's big bogeyman: stagflation. Fears of higher inflation and slow economic growth are creeping back into the picture. Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid and Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk both issued warnings in remarks last week.

3 things in tech

1. This dating app wants to be like Pokémon Go for finding love. Left Field launched for New York daters last week, and it's the latest startup aiming to mitigate swiping fatigue. The app wants to introduce a more passive way to date. Instead of swiping, Left Field sends push notifications of a potential match in the area if a user has location services on and crosses paths with another profile.

2. Inside the exclusive LA tech conference where VCs, royals, and legendary athletes mingle. The Upfront Summit is an annual invite-only event that aspires to be #not-like-the-other-tech-conferences. This year, Prince Harry, Serena Williams, and Kamala Harris were all in attendance, and AI excitement — and unease — was a dominant theme.

3. Hulu crashed during the livestream of the Oscars. On Sunday, some fans were left disappointed and unable to follow along in real time for some of the biggest awards of the night. It was the first time the platform has streamed the awards live.

3 things in business

1. The secret of business success. A study of 50 million American companies tried to crack the code, finding the amount of financing and its source are key indicators. But venture capital's mostly white, mostly male bias led BI's Adam Rogers to this succinct conclusion: "Be a tech bro who gets money from other tech bros." The study also gives clues about a more interesting question — why today's startup culture looks so different from before.

2. Meet DOGE's acting administrator. Amy Gleason's career has combined interests in nursing and technology. One former colleague described her as "superhuman" when it comes to work, adding that she earned the nickname "the green dot" for being on the work messaging system late into the night and then early in the morning. The ex-colleague also described her as apolitical and unflappable and predicted she would "crush it" in her new role.

3. Checking in on Brian Niccol's 'Back to Starbucks' plan. Since September, the new CEO has been focused on rebranding the coffee chain to win back its customer base. Niccol's goal is to turn Starbucks into a cozy local coffeehouse customers can hang out in — and he's instituted several changes to do so. It's still early, but marketing and retail experts think Niccol is moving in the right direction.

In other news

• Forget cancel culture. America's real problem is cancellation culture.
• The 2025 Oscars worst-dressed list: 12 looks that missed the mark — sorry.
• There's a streaming alliance that beats Netflix on one key metric.
• Who's left at OpenAI?
• The art of no deal: Negotiation experts dissect Trump and Zelenskyy's Oval Office clash.
• How cheaper mortgages gave us the baby boomers — and what it means for today's baby bust.
• A key part of the bitcoin bull case has lost steam. What to know about efforts to start a bitcoin reserve.
• How much Netflix pays employees in jobs ranging from content roles to engineers, according to salary data.
• Photos show the biggest moments at the 2025 Oscars.

What's happening today

• Paris fashion week begins.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Friday! What do Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, and Gayle King have in common? They are part of the first all-women space crew since 1963. Sánchez is leading the six-person crew on an 11-minute journey on one of her fiancé Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rockets.

In today's big story, Amazon's love affair with AI doesn't extend to job candidates using it during interviews.

What's on deck

Markets: Goldman Sachs pulls back on DEI language in its annual report. It says it's just following the law.

Tech: Internal xAI documents show how workers are instructed to suss out "woke ideology" and "cancel culture" in Elon Musk's chatbot.

Business: Netflix isn't losing sleep over your canceled subscription. In fact, you'll probably be back.

But first, AI for me, but not for interviewees.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Interviewing on AI

Tech companies love AI. Just don't try to use it to get a job at one.

Amazon created guidelines for its internal recruiters to sniff out job candidates who might be using AI during the hiring process, writes Business Insider's Eugene Kim.

The tech giant's stance is that AI tools give candidates an "unfair advantage" that doesn't allow Amazon to evaluate their "authentic" skills, according to guidelines Eugene obtained.

As a reminder, this is the same Amazon pouring billions of dollars into AI development in the hopes that AI tools become a key part of people's personal and professional lives. The same Amazon encouraging employees to use its AI chatbot at work. The same Amazon that would love to have its AI-powered Alexa+ in homes across America.

With all that AI encouragement, it's not surprising candidates would turn to these tools to give themselves the best chance possible, especially when the market for tech jobs is so tough.

Dealing with AI-powered interviewees isn't just an Amazon problem.

For about as long as AI chatbots have been around, people have been figuring out how to use them to cheat get an advantage.

BI's Rob Price has covered the topic extensively, writing about the "magic teleprompter" apps that feed candidates answers.

Sometimes, using AI is just about passing a technical test to get a raise or to land a job. Other times, the tools are shadow stand-ins for people, doing some, if not all, of their actual work.

While the latter might sound egregious, using AI tools to get a job that'll require you to use AI tools doesn't seem that out of line. Imagine if you had to try out for a track team but weren't allowed to wear running shoes. Why ban someone from using something they'll eventually need to succeed?

I put that question to a tech recruiter. They said the problem is candidates solely relying on AI tools instead of having their own logic and general knowledge. It's a big issue, particularly with younger candidates fresh out of college, they added.

Still, it's not like candidates haven't been trying to get an edge on interviews for years. The recruiter mentioned the 2008 book "Cracking the Coding Interview," which includes programming questions commonly asked during interviews.

Sometimes, the recruiter has to stay a step ahead, like asking follow-up questions the chatbots might have trouble managing.

And if all else fails, maybe AI can help with the AI problem.

News brief

• What to know about the economic blackout that boycotters are planning today to protest corporate corruption.
• The cofounder of Airbnb is joining DOGE.
• Sam Altman says OpenAI's new ChatGPT-4.5 is a more emotionally intelligent model but warns that it's 'expensive' to train and run.
• These are the job responsibilities of DOGE staff embedded in federal agencies, according to Trump.
• North Korea was behind the $1.5B Bybit crypto hack, FBI says.
• I'm a pediatrician working in the middle of Texas's measles outbreak. Here's what I want parents to know.
• Woman charged in Tesla dealership vandalism incident involving Molotov cocktails and graffiti, police say.
• Talen CEO says Amazon is investing 'sweat equity' at its data center next door to the Susquehanna nuclear plant.

3 things in markets

1. Meet the fund manager who beats the S&P 500 again and again. Michael Cuggino's Permanent Portfolio Aggressive Growth Portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500, returning 28% versus the index's 17% on a trailing 12-month basis. Cuggino's fund also had a higher average annual gain than the S&P 500 over the past decade. The secret? The fund doesn't invest along themes or focus too much on specific indexes, instead prioritizing quality growth firms.

2. Nvidia still has something to prove. Despite strong earnings, one subject came up a bunch during Nvidia's Wednesday call: gross margins. CFO Colette Kress said expectations are in the "low 70s" for the current quarter as the company ramps up Blackwell chip production. Still, she thinks the gross margins will bounce back after. Even once Nvidia isn't as stressed over speeding up Blackwell, one analyst doesn't think the chip titan will be out of the woods.

3. Goldman wants to play by the rules as it drops DEI references. The bank toned down DEI language in its annual report, mentioning diversity much less than in previous years. The bank also said its "aspirational hiring goals" will expire this year without clarifying if new ones will be implemented. Goldman CEO David Solomon said the bank made the adjustments "to reflect developments in the law in the US."

3 things in tech

1. xAI is training Grok in anti-wokeness. BI reviewed internal xAI documents outlining how AI tutors should "spot bias" and look out for "woke ideology" and "cancel culture" in its chatbot Grok's responses. Tutors are told to consider the company's "guiding principles," which include "do not moralize, preach, or judge." Some workers said they felt the training methods prioritize right-wing beliefs, while a researcher said he believes Grok's approach can differentiate it from other chatbots. Check out some of the sample prompts and responses tutors were shown.

2. Googlers are using a Google Doc to track Google's layoffs. The tech giant cut jobs across its Cloud, ads, and Trust & Safety teams this week. It follows smaller, surgical cuts across the company over the past few months, employees said. In an effort to track the layoffs, current employees have circulated a crowdsourced Google Doc reviewed by BI.

3. An origin story for Amazon's robots revolutionalizing e-commerce. In 2015, Amazon hosted a competition challenging researchers to build robots that could identify and pick up specific warehouse items. A decade later, those ideas have helped launch a flock of advanced robots that could help the e-commerce giant save as much as $10 billion a year.

3 things in business

1. Rise of the Gen Z realtors. The share of realtors under 30 quadrupled in 2024, data shows, as the profession attracts more young people. Three Gen Z brokers told BI the profession helped them experience financial freedom and avoid slogging away at a typical desk job — even if their baby faces made it hard to get off the ground initially.

2. I just can't quit you, Netflix. The streaming giant isn't worried if you cancel your subscription — data from the analytics company Antenna suggests it'll probably win you back quickly. In 2023, 61% of subscribers who canceled were back on the platform within a year. That win-back rate far surpasses Netflix's streaming rivals' average of 45%.

3. These healthcare startups are ready for acquisitions this year. It's been a slow few years for company combinations in the healthcare startup industry. Nearly a dozen investors and bankers told BI few large companies seem willing to make big deals. The right buyers might be their peers — and seven healthcare startups appear ready to move.

In other news

• Judge says mass firings of probationary employees by the Trump administration were invalid.
• North Koreans are back to fighting alongside Russia, South Korean intelligence says.
• Vistra's stock had surged amid the AI boom. Now Wall Street is getting antsy waiting for a data center deal.
• The major companies that have relocated to Texas, from Tesla to Chevron.
• One map shows where Americans are paying the highest electricity bills.
• The Oscars gift bags are worth over $216,000. Here's what's inside.
• Real estate investors explain why they're all in on the 'steady' Louisville market and how they picked it.
• Betting markets are skeptical DOGE will accomplish some of its big goals.

What's happening today

• Ramadan begins.
• Apple's iPhone 16e hits stores.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.