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☆ Private-equity salaries revealed: Here's how much top firms like Blackstone, KKR, and Oaktree are offering 2024 associates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some of the most recent private equity recruits will rake in nearly $200,000 in base pay alone. Among the firms recruiting are Bain Capital, Blackstone, and KKR & Co. — three of the largest private-equity firms in the world based on funds raised in the last five years. These private-equity firms, along with others, have increasingly accelerated their recruiting timelines to get ahead of competitors, as Insider previously reported. To woo promising junior talent, private-equity firms offer sky-high salaries and even more enticing bonus propositions, much like in investment banking, from which these firms cull most of their talent. Oaktree Capital ManagementOaktree Capital Management was founded in 1995, and has $170 billion in AUM, according to its website.

☆ Iger's on track to bring back the magic at Disney — allowing the stock to soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But now comes the hard part: Executing on ambitious cost cuts and generating long-sought profits at Disney's beleaguered streaming unit. Disney stock, which is up more than 26% year-to-date, soared more than 5% on the news before giving up those gains Thursday afternoon amid a broader retreat in equities markets. But while Disney shares have made a strong comeback since Iger returned as CEO, the company must now deliver on its plan. Ultimately, we think Iger will bring back the magic at Disney — and we reiterate our 1 rating on the stock, meaning we would buy shares of Disney here. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ State of the Union takeaways: Biden comes out swinging in a raucous, combative speech despite pleas for bipartisanship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The speech marks Biden's first address to the new Republican-controlled House. Before diving into the list of bipartisan accomplishments, though, Biden began by congratulating House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In a symbolic appeal to bipartisanship, First Lady Jill Biden wore purple — the color that results from combining blue and red. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump shared his thoughts about Biden's speech on his social media platform, Truth Social. In addition to attacking Republicans on Social Security and Medicare cuts, Biden opened up several other lines of attack.

☆ Big Tech got crushed by falling ad prices, and the damage could last well into 2023. Here's exactly how much ads cost on Google, Meta, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok and Snap.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Meta, Google, and Snap reported declines in ad sales, or flat ad revenue, during the fourth quarter. Out of the four big ad-supported tech companies — Google, Meta, Amazon, and Snap — only Amazon reported that its ad business grew year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Meta's ad prices have declined as the company rebuilds its ad business with artificial intelligence after getting hit by Apple's app-tracking privacy crackdown. While CPMs fell year-over-year during the fourth quarter, ad prices were 7.2% higher in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, according to Northbeam. The average return on Meta ad spend during the fourth quarter was $1.96, up from $1.30 in the first quarter of 2022.

This is Matt Weinberger, deputy editor of Insider's tech analysis team and your host for today. The one port in this particular storm is Apple, which is still the only major tech company not to do layoffs in recent weeks. Mark Zuckerberg just ushered in a new era of tech. In recent months, layoffs have swept just about every major tech company (except, notably, Apple). Enter Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta, who officially rang in the new era on Wednesday when he declared that 2023 would be the "year of efficiency" at the social network.

☆ DeSantis' plans for Florida this year include tax cuts for gas stoves and more elections police. The proposals are widely viewed as targeting GOP voters nationally.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Banning vaccine and mask mandatesDeSantis wants the Florida legislature to permanently ban COVID vaccine and mask mandates. It's not clear how much of a difference a new, permanent Florida law would make. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. But some analysts, such as Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Center, have warned that tax breaks could actually worsen inflation because people will spend and consume more at a time when supplies are limited. Currently, state law requires a vote be unanimous.

☆ The billionaire CEO of tech giant Palantir skis for at least 5 hours a week, and has the same body fat percentage as prime Michael Phelps, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is a fitness fanatic who skis for up to five hours a day. Axios reported he has just 7% body fat – similar to Michael Phelps' at the 2008 Olympics. Karp has been pictured at events in ski gear and sometimes exercises during interviews. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps had a body fat of 8% around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when he took home eight gold medals. He's has been pictured at events in ski gear and sometimes exercises during interviews, like the one with Axios.

☆ Meet OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who learned to code at 8 and is a doomsday prepper with a stash of gold, guns, and gas masks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

He also wanted to know "what would convince them not to vote for him in the future." Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Drew Angerer/Getty ImageIn a thread on Twitter, Altman said he was "voting against Trump because I believe the principles he stands for represent an unacceptable threat to America." YC and Thiel stopped working together a year later in 2017 for unspecified reasons. Altman said one of the people he talked to in Silicon Valley made him sign a confidentiality agreement before talking because she was scared of losing her job for supporting Trump. Source: Twitter, Sam Altman, Insider

☆ What Elon Musk has said publicly — and in private texts — on his ideas for Twitter and X, an 'everything app'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk has discussed his plans for X, an "everything app," on Twitter and in private texts. AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinPrivate texts about a blockchain-based platformMusk has also discussed creating a social media platform built on a blockchain. In April, the billionaire privately outlined his idea for a "Doge" social media platform in texts to his younger brother, Kimbal Musk. "I have an idea for a blockchain social media system that does both payments and short text messages/links like Twitter," Musk texted. Shortly after buying Twitter, Musk began charging Twitter users for the app's blue check mark.

☆ House Democrats have already found something to love about Kevin McCarthy's Republican-led House
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The House just used an open process for amending legislation for the first time in 7 years. But in interviews with Insider this week, Democrats also expressed skepticism that the use of open rules would be more than a one-time thing; the open rules that the chamber utilized last week were provided for as part of the House GOP's rules package. "We'll see how long this lasts," said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, a long-time ally of Pelosi. Spanberger herself had fun with open amendments, submitting one that would exclude drilling from areas offshore because the GOP majority was "looking to destroy Virginia's beautiful coastline." said Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who said he generally favors an open process.

As in 2011, the GOP speaker runs a House majority full of ideologically-driven conservatives who want to use the debt limit as leverage to force budget changes on a Democratic-led Senate and White House. “It is possible we will eventually see House Republicans put forth a plan for dealing with both the debt limit and the spending problem. After 2011, the Obama White House drew a hard line when the debt limit deadline came up again in early 2013. Andrew Harnik / APAsked about Biden's position and the GOP criticisms, the White House said the president “takes a backseat to no one” on pursuing bipartisanship, but said that the no-negotiations stance from 2013 onward on the debt limit succeeded. “Everyone seems to have forgotten that there was a debt limit standoff in 2013 where Obama adopted the no-negotiation approach and prevailed with a clean debt limit,” he said.

☆ From Jeff Bezos to Jack Dorsey, here are 14 the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs trying to crack the code of living forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Mark ZuckerbergMark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of $56.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, once told physicist Stephen Hawking he wanted to know what would enable humans to live forever. Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesInsider's Cadie Thompson reported that in 2015, the late physicist Stephen Hawking asked Mark Zuckerberg about which big questions in science he sought answers to. Zuckerberg responded, "I'm most interested in questions about people. How does learning work and how we can empower humans to learn a million times more?" Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are among a small crop of Silicon Valley elite who founded the prize in 2012, and continue to back it.

WASHINGTON — A top Republican who negotiated the bipartisan gun law that passed last year said he doesn't expect to see new legislative action on gun violence despite the recent mass shootings in California. Asked whether the House intends to take up legislation to combat mass shootings, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., gave no indication that it would. Biden negotiated the assault weapons ban of 1994, which expired in 2004. “It’s time we pass an assault weapons ban in this country. I’m the author of the assault weapons ban in 1994.

Republicans are on a collision course with the White House, which is demanding that Congress raise the debt limit without conditions. Republicans have waged heated battles over the debt ceiling, most notably in 2011, but they have always been resolved in time. Why does a GOP House complicate debt ceiling negotiations? Republicans have floated everything from budget cuts to socially conservative legislation as part of a debt ceiling increase. The White House had laid down a marker: no negotiations, no policy strings attached to raise the debt ceiling.

CLEVELAND — Matt Dolan, who lost a raucous Republican Senate primary in Ohio last year, will run again in 2024, this time seeking to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Dolan will announce his candidacy this week, he told an Ohio GOP official in a voicemail Sunday that the official shared with NBC News on the condition of anonymity. Dolan, a state senator whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, would likely be the first candidate on the GOP side to officially declare. Other Republicans closely looking at the race include Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Bernie Moreno, a businessman who briefly was a Senate candidate in 2022. Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks in Cleveland, on April 28, 2022.

☆ DeSantis' 'Freedom Blueprint' for Florida is taking shape, and it's widely viewed as paving the way for a 2024 presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's widely viewed as a blueprint for theHe has already made some of his intentions clear, on areas from Disney to anti-China policy. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. He also wants the state to nix the sales tax on medical equipment and on medicines for pets. Other tax cuts would be temporary, including lifting the sales tax for a year on children's books, athletic equipment, and toys, as well as a proposal to suspend the sales tax on pet food and on household items that cost $25 or less. Loosening gun restrictionsDeSantis wants lawmakers to pass legislation that would change Florida law so that gun owners could carry a gun in public without a concealed weapons permit.

☆ The Biden administration just made it easier for Trump to keep a key promise on prescription drugs if he wins in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Biden administration presented a plan on Wednesday to let the government negotiate drug prices. Trump, who once accused Big Pharma of "getting away with murder," could be president when drug prices fall. Gutting the prescription drug provision would come at a cost to the federal government. President Trump signed a series of four executive orders aimed at lowering prices that for prescription drugs in the United States. "There has been no bigger champion of lowering prescription costs and putting Americans first than President Trump," Steven Cheung, Trump's 2024 campaign spokesman, told Insider.

☆ How Anti-Abortion Activists Bought Access to the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

In exchange for as little as a few thousand dollars in contributions to the nonprofit, these people received easy access to events where Supreme Court justices would be. Supreme Court Historical society trustee Jay Sekulow, center, represented President Trump during the latter's impeachment trial in 2020. Anti-abortion advocates cheer in front of the Supreme Court after the decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores was announced in 2014. Alito did not respond to a request for comment on his involvement in the Supreme Court Historical Society. Supreme Court justices, though, aren't even required to stay within those weak guardrails because no code of ethics governs justices' behavior.

☆ Biotech investor Brad Loncar shares 10 predictions for 2023, including a hot new cancer target, Nobel Prize winners, and a biotech founder running for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Loncar shared his 2023 forecast, including new drugs, Nobel Prize winners, and more globalization. Brad Loncar isn't expecting a miraculous rebound for the biotech industry in 2023. In an interview with Insider, Loncar shared 10 predictions for biotech in 2023, ranging from Nobel Prize winners and presidential runs to hot cancer targets and bankruptcy worries. 2022 was a rough year for the biotech industry, which once again underperformed the stock market. The industry runs to the next super-hot cancer target: Claudin 18.2In cancer research, drug companies are always on the hunt for the next promising target.

☆ Secure 2.0 changes 3 key rules around required withdrawals from retirement accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion legislative package on Dec. 29, 2022 that has several updates for retirement savers. Raising the RMD age to 73 (and eventually 75)Currently, savers have to start taking RMDs at age 72. The new law raises the RMD starting age in two tranches: to 73, starting in 2023, and to 75, starting in 2033. Eliminating RMDs from a Roth 401(k)Starting in 2024, investors in employer retirement plans likes Roth 401(k) accounts will no longer have to take RMDs. This change aligns Roth 401(k) with Roth IRAs, which don't require distributions during one's lifetime.

☆ Trump tax returns: House Ways and Means Committee considers potential release
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe House Ways and Means Committee began meeting Tuesday to consider potentially publicly releasing years' worth of federal income tax returns filed by former President Donald Trump. A police escort delivered documents that were presumed to be Trump's tax returns shortly before the scheduled 3 p.m. hearing. Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the ranking Republican on Ways and Means, warned against the potential release of the returns. "Let me be clear, our concern is not whether the president should have made his tax returns public as has been tradition, nor about the accuracy of his tax returns," Brady told reporters. Documents arrive as the House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing regarding tax returns from former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.

☆ 12 media executives anonymously predict 2023's biggest deals, trends and changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Candle Media has acquired intellectual property assets including Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company and Moonbug, which owns the animated kids series "CoComelon." Executive 3: Iger extends his contract There's been lots of speculation over who Iger will choose as his successor. History suggests he has a hard time leaving the role of Disney CEO. Christine M. McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer The Walt Disney Company. "I love Shari [Redstone], but ViacomCBS is not long for this world as it stands today," said a media executive last year.

☆ Advocates Urge Congress to Pass Permanent Residency Status for Afghans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesConvincing Republican senatorsThe House version of the Afghan Adjustment Act has 143 co-sponsors, including 10 Republicans. Demonstrators gather to support Afghan evacuees outside the Capitol on Nov. 16, 2022. At the moment, one prospect to advance the Afghan Adjustment Act is by attaching it to that larger spending bill, advocates say. But negotiations on the omnibus are ongoing, and whether the Afghan Adjustment Act will be included is up in the air. Yet without a deal by then, passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act appears doomed, advocates say, keeping Afghan evacuees in perpetual legal limbo.

☆ I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Meat quesadilla at the only place it's available in the US. The meatless 'steak' could've fooled me, and I now want to try it on everything.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Cassy Crabtree | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Meat quesadilla at the only place it's available in the US. Cassy Crabtree tried Taco Bell's Beyond Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla. Cassy Crabtree On October 13, Taco Bell introduced its new Beyond Meat Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla. Taco Bell I visited my local Taco Bell in Tipp City, Ohio (a suburb of Dayton). I tried Taco Bell's Beyond Carne Asada Steak Quesadilla.

☆ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party and registers as an independent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mike-Memoli-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced she is leaving the Democratic Party and officially registering as an independent. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Capitol building on Oct. 27, 2021. After joining the Democratic Party, she served in the Arizona state Legislature and went on to win a seat in the U.S. House in 2012 representing the Phoenix area. The Biden administration was informed of Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party “mid-afternoon” on Thursday, a senior administration official said. Biden did acknowledge Sinema in his remarks, however, saying: “I want to thank Senator Sinema, who can’t be with us today.

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