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Having multiple credit cards and playing the rewards game can save you hundreds of dollars each year — if you're smart about how you use the cards. "The one big downfall of credit cards is the high interest rates," he added. "But if you're paying in full and avoiding those, then yeah, credit cards are great." Chasing rewards can land you some substantial sign-up bonuses like the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card's 75,000 miles or Chase Ink Business Unlimited's $900 cash back. But getting the most out of your credit cards depends on your spending habits — and finding the perks that would save you the most money.

☆ The winners and losers of the Silicon Valley Bank failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by regulators on Friday. These are the biggest winners, and losers, in the wake of the bank failure. Which brings us to the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank. Here's a rundown of who stands to gain, and lose, the most as a result of the fall of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank's obituary had barely been written before firms were offering to buy up customers' uninsured deposits for as little as 55 cents on the dollar.

☆ Some brands are 'slack-filling' to cleverly disguise how much product you actually get
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

There's a name for that empty part of the packaging: slack-fill. Dworsky suggested that some brands used slack-fill to deliberately mislead shoppers into thinking they're getting more product than they really are. The firm noted that these lawsuits are generally dismissed, in part because it's hard to prove that slack fill is nonfunctional. Halo Top and Mondelez have been unsuccessfully sued over slack-fill, too, lawsuits viewed by Insider show. But slack-fill lawsuits aren't always dismissed.

☆ 15 Best Dress Shirts for Men, According to Style Experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Since dress shirts are a closet staple, there are also hundreds to pick from, making a trusted recommendation invaluable. “Hands down, it’s my top selling button-up dress shirt,” she says. Though it has the appearance of a traditional dress shirt, it’s actually made of a sweat-wicking cotton-polyester blend with four-way stretch. “Without a doubt, this is a favorite of each client that tries it,” Alexander says of the dress shirt he recommends most often. Soft silk pickAs an alternative to cotton or synthetic blends, silk is a luxurious option that’s lightweight and soft on the skin.

☆ Hershey launches vegan Reese’s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Vegan Reese’s are happening. Hershey, which makes Reese’s along with Hershey bars, Kisses and other chocolates and candies, announced two new dairy-free products on Tuesday: Reese’s plant-based peanut butter cups, and a vegan chocolate Hershey bar with almonds and sea salt, each made with oats instead of dairy and designed to taste like milk chocolate. The new Reese’s variety will be available nationally this month, and the new Hershey bar is arriving in April. The company is the latest to introduce a vegan chocolate in hopes that it will attract more customers. Mondelez (MDLZ) acquired Hu, a company which makes vegan chocolate, that year, as well.

☆ $52.6 billion is needed to protect the NYC area from coastal storms, according to a new plan proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Lindsey Jacobson | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That's how much the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers thinks it will take to protect the New York City area from coastal storms. Plan 3B offers the "best bang for the buck," said Bryce Wisemiller, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New York District. He said this is the most cost-effective plan to protect the region from storms that are likely to happen only once in 100 years. Residents can explore the 3B plan, as well as suggested plans 2, 3A, 4 and 5, at the Army Corps' interactive website. Watch the video here to learn more about the plan to protect the New York City area from coastal storms.

☆ Biden administration announces plan to stop water plant hacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Suzanne Smalley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - The Biden administration announced on Friday a new plan to improve the digital defenses of public water systems. The water system plan, which recommends a series of novel rules placing more responsibility for securing water facilities at the state-level, follows several high-profile hacking incidents in recent years. In February 2021, a cyberattack on a water treatment plant in Florida briefly increased lye levels in the water, an incident that could have been deadly if an alert worker had not detected the hack quickly. EPA officials say they have a "robust technical assistance program" in place to support public water systems that need cyber support. The water treatment industry was also critical of the administration's announcement on Friday.

☆ I make up to $9,500 a month renting out my home while my family lives in a trailer in the driveway. Here's how I set up my Airbnb and VRBO business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Alexi McKinley rents out her home and lives in a trailer in her driveway for a few weeks every month. Her family makes up to $9,500 a month from vacation-rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Now we spend around two weeks every month living in our trailer so we can rent out our house on Airbnb and VRBO. We just pack what we want depending on how long the Airbnb guests are staying. The living space in the trailer.

☆ These stocks won February — but it may be time to dump 2 popular tech plays
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the downturn, some stocks were able to buck the trend and post gains of more than 20%. Still, investors should be careful when looking at the biggest winners this month because some of those top stocks aren't expected to continue rallying. The company also issued expectations for first-quarter revenue that was above the consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet. Meta Platforms and Fortinet are the only two among the top 10 performers expected to add more share value over the next year than each did in February alone. Similarly liked by just over half of analysts, Fortinet's average price target implies the stock could gain another 19.3% over the next 12 months.

☆ People who moved to Tennessee for cheaper homes and a laid-back life say they're happy — for the most part
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The 50-year Florida resident decided to pack up and move to Memphis, Tennessee, for a more manageable mortgage payment while on a fixed income. Foster said clients have recently moved to Tennessee from New York, New Jersey, and California. He traded snowy Buffalo for the ease of southern livingMichael and Danielle Ekstrum moved to Tennessee after becoming empty nesters in 2018. A retiree fed up with California's overcrowding bought a home in Tennessee without thinking twiceMichael and Bonnie Tyler moved from Sacramento, California, to Jonesborough, a historic town in eastern Tennessee. "There's too much traffic, too many people, it's way too expensive, and there's no water," Tyler told Insider.

☆ 'Without a doubt our favorite mega cap': Investor names the stock to buy for the next 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft offers the greatest potential reward for investors looking to invest in a stock over the next five-to-10 years, according to veteran investor Mark Hawtin. "It is without a doubt our favorite mega-cap name," he told CNBC's Pro Talks Wednesday. According to Hawtin, Microsoft will outperform the wider market as it has a diverse revenue stream. "I think one of the key things about understanding Microsoft is, they are so ingrained and embedded in so many companies," Hawtin said. Microsoft bundles its workplace collaboration software Teams with Office 365, hitting growth at rivals Zoom and Slack, which is owned by Salesforce.

☆ Netflix plunges after the streaming giant launches a wave of price cuts in 100 countries in the face of stiff competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The price cuts come as Netflix faces a surge in competition from various streaming platforms. Netflix's price cuts buck its recent trend of hiking subscription prices in the US and Europe. Additionally, some price cuts will amount to a 50% reduction, depending on the streaming tier. Some countries that are impacted by the lower Netflix prices include Yemen, Libya, Kenya, Croatia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, among others. None of the price cuts are taking place in the US or Europe.

☆ Ex-Bon Appétit editor Marissa Ross says the wine world ruined her. Now she's back and ready to give it hell.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

Her rise was tied to a period of reinvention for the wine world during which natural wine conquered millennial taste buds and became ubiquitous on menus across the US. Marissa Ross, Bon Appétit's wine editor from 2016 to 2020, often posted pictures of herself chugging straight from the bottle — a technique she called "The Ross test." "Natural wine," a nebulous term that generally refers to wine made with minimal intervention and without additives like sulfites, was tentatively entering the American wine world. Many in the wine world took the idea that you didn't have to be educated to know about wine as a personal insult. When she first told BA that she planned to cover only natural wines, Ross said, Rapoport called to try to change her mind.

☆ Hyundai's low-cost, long-range sedan is shaping up to be a major pain for Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

For $45,500, buyers can get an impressive 361 miles of range, more than Tesla's Model 3 offers. More importantly, the Ioniq 6 sedan's impressive specs and newly revealed pricing show it's shaping up to be one of the strongest rivals to Tesla's Model 3. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 beats the Tesla Model 3's range. By comparison, the $42,990 Model 3 promises 272 miles of range, while the more expensive Long Range model is rated for 358, just shy of the Hyundai's max. The Hyundai Ioniq 6.

☆ ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Greg Bensinger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

In the edition, Sammy the Squirrel, crudely rendered also using AI, learns from his forest friends about saving money after happening upon a gold coin. While that may not sound like much, it is enough to inspire him to compose other books using the software. There were over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February listing ChatGPT as an author or co-author, including "How to Write and Create Content Using ChatGPT," "The Power of Homework" and poetry collection "Echoes of the Universe." There is even a new sub-genre on Amazon: Books about using ChatGPT, written entirely by ChatGPT. In the video, White says anyone with the wherewithal and time could create 300 such books a year, all using AI.

☆ The wedding boom is winding down but inflation is still driving up the cost to say 'I do'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The explosive wedding boom seen last year is winding down, but the average cost of nuptials is still going up, according to new data from Zola. Couples will shell out an average of $29,000 this year to say "I do" – up from $28,000 last year, the digital wedding planning platform found. The expected jump is in large part because of the rising, inflationary costs that vendors are facing, the company said. Catering costs and other labor-intensive services are a particular pain point, Thom said, as vendors raise wages to support workers. "Florals or installations or anything that's really decor-heavy that requires extra labor on site, those costs are rising dramatically," she said.

☆ Carbon-related tech raised a record-breaking $4.2 billion in 2022 as VCs poured into direct air capture and carbon accounting startups despite wider slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Emissions removal and management startups raised $4.2 billion last year, up from $3.6 billion in 2021. Carbon-related startups raked in $4.2 billion from venture capitalists globally last year across 204 deals, according to a new report from PitchBook. PitchBook's carbon tech categorization also includes fintech and analytics companies such as Coatue-backed carbon accounting firm Sweep. "We can't contain the climate crisis to an acceptable degree of global heating without actively addressing carbon capture and sequestration." While carbon tech is defying the wider venture-capital slowdown, which has seen valuations and deal counts plummet in the face of the war in Ukraine and fears of recession, the wider carbon and emissions tech category has remained flat.

☆ Warren Buffett is missing out on this year’s market comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the Oracle of Omaha has missed out on this year’s stock market rally. Buffett, in fact, has promoted that idea to investors many times, arguing that most individual stock pickers will not be able to beat the market. And to his credit, that usually pays dividends: Berkshire stock was up 3% last year in a down market. “High rates of inflation create a tax on capital that makes much corporate investment unwise,” Buffett said in his 1980 shareholder letter to Berkshire investors. Investors will get several more clues about consumer spending this week when several top retailers report earnings.

☆ Are you switching to freeze-dried eggs? Here's what a food scientist says you need to know to stay safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Just about everything is more expensive today than it was a year ago, but especially eggs. Compared to January of last year, the price of meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased by 8.1%, according to Consumer Price Index's data. The soaring price of this grocery staple is causing some people to turn to unconventional ways to preserve them — like having their eggs freeze-dried. If you're planning to make the switch to freeze-dried eggs, here are some tips about how to do so safely, from Donald Schaffner, a professor of food science at Rutgers University. Plus, advice on how to get the best bang for your buck from fresh eggs.

☆ Deutsche Bank upgrades Activision Blizzard, says video game stock can rally regardless of Microsoft deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Activision Blizzard can generate returns for shareholders regardless of if the Microsoft deal goes through, Deutsche Bank said. Analyst Benjamin Soff upgraded the gaming stock to buy from hold and raised his price target by $7 to $90. In 2022, Microsoft proposed buying the "Call of Duty" maker for $68.7 billion in cash. Despite headwinds to consumer spending, Soff expects health growth and predicts the company's 2023 releases will be commercially successful. Overall, Soff forecasted growth of 12% for net bookings and 17% for operating incomes in 2023.

☆ Tuesday Morning says it wants to close 265 stores as part of its bankruptcy filing. See if your local store is on the list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Camarillo: Camarillo Village Square, 2450 Las Posas Road, Ste HCamarillo Village Square, 2450 Las Posas Road, Ste H Roseville: Fairway Commons Shopping Center, 5771A Five Star Blvd. San Diego: Pacific Plaza Shopping Center, 1772‐D Garnet AvenuePacific Plaza Shopping Center, 1772‐D Garnet Avenue Woodland Hills: Pride Shopping Center, 22950 Victory Blvd. Winston-Salem: Whitaker Square Shopping Center, 1947 North Pease Haven Road, Space #1947Whitaker Square Shopping Center, 1947 North Pease Haven Road, Space #1947 Matthews: Windsor Square Shopping Center, 9945 E. Independence Blvd. ; Westhill Village Shopping Center, 7525 WestheimerWeslayan Plaza West Shopping Center, 5442‐A Weslayan Street; Westheimer Commons, 12568 Westheimer Rd. ; Westhill Village Shopping Center, 7525 Westheimer El Paso: West Towne Marketplace, 6450 N. Desert Blvd., Ste.

☆ Subway says it's exploring a sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Samantha Delouya | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Subway said Tuesday that it is exploring a sale of the chain. Last month the WSJ said Subway was up for sale in a deal that could fetch more than $10 billion. "There is no indication of timing or assurance that a sale will occur," the sandwich chain said in a brief statement. Last month, the Wall Street Journal said Subway was exploring a sale that could value the sandwich chain at more than $10 billion. In late January, Subway's late cofounder, Buck, gave his 50% stake in Subway to his foundation, where his two sons work.

☆ There will be an 'unprecedented spike' in maternal mortality if a Trump-appointed judge bans the abortion pill, Democratic attorneys general argue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Banning mifepristone will result in more women dying in pregnancy, Democratic attorneys general argued this month. The argument comes as a judge in Texas is considering a ban on the abortion pill. Republican attorneys general who have weighed in on the case also maintain that its approval infringed on state rights. In her brief, James noted that carrying a pregnancy to term poses significantly greater health risks than an early abortion. As Slate's Christina Cautertucci notes, mifepristone is only one of the two drugs used in a typical medication abortion.

☆ Sandwich chain Subway is exploring a possible sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, a Subway sandwich is seen on a table at a Subway restaurant on January 12, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Sandwich giant Subway confirmed Tuesday it is exploring a possible sale. Subway said Tuesday JP Morgan is advising the Connecticut-based company and will conduct the sale exploration process. Subway, which has over 37,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, said earlier this month its same-store sales climbed 9.2% last year. Same-store sales at North American locations jumped 7.8% in 2022, Subway said, surpassing decade-old average weekly sales records.

House Freedom Caucus members, who want to shrink the role of government, are demanding reductions in government spending. The Freedom Caucus members also raised significant sums from larger donors and traditional political fundraising committees. Unlike other congressional caucuses, the House Freedom Caucus doesn't disclose its membership, a practice that began in 2015. While McCarthy has pledged that the government won't default, the Republicans' narrow 222-212 majority has given outsized power to the Freedom Caucus. 'I AIN'T LISTENING'Freedom Caucus members are among the most conservative members of Congress, according to their voting records.

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