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☆ The labor market's soft landing 'is in danger,' economist says. Here's where jobs are still growing
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Tom Merton | Ojo Images | Getty ImagesJob seekers have been sour on the job market for a while now — and with good reason. "The soft landing in the U.S. labor market is in danger," Nick Bunker, Economic Research Director for North America for Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote in a statement on Friday. "Yellow flags had started to pop up in the labor market data over the past few months, but now the flags are turning red," Bunker said. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, the highest since October 2021. To pivot, assess 'transferrable skills'Because the labor market is weakening, it might be hard for workers to find opportunities in their preferred industries, Bustamante noted.

Persons: Tom Merton, Nick Bunker, Bunker, Nonfarm payrolls, Alí Bustamante, Julia Pollak, Pollak, NEETS, Bustamante Organizations: Economic, North, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Worker Power, Economic Security, Roosevelt Institute, ZipRecruiter, Health, Finance Locations: U.S, North America, New York City

☆ I moved to Thailand, started a family, and can't picture ever returning home to Scotland
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Duncan Forgan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewA friend recently said that living in Southeast Asia was akin to winning one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. AdvertisementIt's been 14 years since the author arrived in Southeast Asia. Yet Western media obsessions — US presidential elections and divisive identity politics, to name but two — are not given the same relentless prominence here. I've not lived in Scotland since 2007, and the axis of my life — wife and son, friends, work networks, clients — is almost entirely Asia-orientated. We are heading back to Scotland this July, and I can't wait to catch up with friends and family and show my son Alex the Highlands for the first time.

Persons: —, Willy Wonka's, batty, Mr Wonka, Thailand's, It's, Duncan Forgan, kao, he's, Chiang Mai, Alexander, I'm, Alex the Organizations: Service, Business, South, Tamil Nadu, Royal, Alex the Highlands Locations: Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Chinatown, Thai, Jok, Ojo, Thailand, Vietnam, Asia, Pacific, soi, South, Western Australia, Scotland, London

☆ The race to create the 'Amazon of real estate' could change home buying forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

But after years of trying, the basic structure of buying and selling a home remains pretty much the same. Even if you accept a bit of intricacy, real estate remains a stodgy industry — and regulation is at the core of that resistance to change. Despite the best efforts of would-be disruptors to cut out this middleman, 88% of buyers this year enlisted a real-estate agent, a Zillow survey found. Short of a tech-enabled homebuying nirvana, there are some other changes that could make the process easier for consumers. Saul Klein, an early internet evangelist in the real-estate industry, told me he sees an approaching "paradigm shift."

Persons: that's, you'll, they're, it's, Mike DelPrete, Rob Hahn, DelPrete, aren't, they'd, pocketing, —, ClosingCorp, we're, John Berkowitz, hasn't, Berkowitz, They're, Bobby Bryant, Bryant, Rich Barton, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, Saul Klein, Klein, James Rodriguez Organizations: Companies, University of Colorado Boulder, National Association of Realtors, Ojo, Group Inc, Universal Locations: Washington, California, Georgia

☆ Sparse inventory drives prices for new, used vehicles higher. 3 things to do when car shopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Moreover, the strike might only affect a relatively small number of vehicles when compared to the auto market as a whole. Car shoppers hardly saw similar end-of-summer sales last year either because of a chip shortage that reduced production levels, added Caldwell. "It is absolutely a great time to look into the EV market, both for new and pre-owned," he said. Additionally, recurring price cuts from Tesla this year might also soften prices in the EV market as a whole, added Caldwell. Shopping tips for a low-inventory car market

Persons: Adam Gault, Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds, Gen Z, We're, They're, Caldwell, Tom McParland, There's, Kelley, EVs Organizations: Finance, Workers, United Auto Workers, Automatch Consulting, EV Locations: Edmunds

☆ Read the 16-page pitch deck that 'Million Dollar Listing' star Josh Flagg and his cofounders used to raise $1.7 million for their real estate media startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Celebrity real estate agent Josh Flagg, media exec Griff O'Brien, and investor Andrew Shanfeld have teamed up to launch Estate Media, a personality-driven media company. Real estate has become a huge pop culture topic, aided by reality TV series like "Selling Sunset" and the "Million Dollar Listing" franchise. The company will offer content created with a network of real estate personalities who, Estate Media said, reach a collective 25 million followers. While the real estate industry has come down from its pandemic frenzy, O'Brien believes Estate Media can ride ups and downs in the market. Scroll down to see the deck Estate Media used to raise its seed round.

Persons: Josh Flagg, Griff O'Brien, Andrew Shanfeld, O'Brien, Flagg, Shanfeld, Jack Davis, Chip, Joanna Gaines —, There's, Margot Ettedgui, TikToker Aaron Grushow, Robert Rivani, Glennda Baker, Ricky Carruth, Adam Weitsman, Chris Heller, Rich Antoniello, Austin Rief, Devin Emery, Brian Goldsmith, Ricky Van Veen, Justin Killion, Spence Markel Organizations: Estate Media, Entertainment, Crypt, HGTV, Los Angeles, Estate, Ojo Labs, Complex Networks, Austin, Morning, Growth Partners, Powerhouse Capital, CollegeHumor

☆ A video of a whale appearing to ask for humans to remove parasites went viral. An expert says tourists are hurting the creatures, not helping.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A video showing a boat captain pulling parasites off a whale's head in a Mexican lagoon went viral. "People are going to get hurt because of that video," Bondy, told Insider in an interview. Bondy said that picking parasites like barnacles off a whale could hurt them because they have extremely thin and sensitive skin. "Whales, for thousands of years, have been surviving without people picking parasites off," she told Insider. Bondy is also worried that if tourists pick parasites from whales, the sea mammal could react aggressively toward them.

Persons: Shari Bondy, Bondy, Gray Organizations: Service Locations: Mexican, Wall, Silicon, Ojo, Mexico's Baja

☆ Gray whales were nicknamed 'devil fish' for fighting back when harpooned by whalers. Now they approach boats and let humans pet them, baffling scientists.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now gray whales in Baja California frequently interact with humans in a remarkable shift. The video showed a gray whale right beside a boat, allowing the captain to pick whale lice off its head. Still, the fact that the gray whales of the Baja lagoons interact with boats and humans at all baffles researchers. The gray whales then make the longest migration of any mammal, with most traveling more than 10,000 miles to their foraging grounds near Alaska. Hunting gray whales is illegal, with some exceptions for Indigenous peoples in Alaska, Canada, and Mexico.

Persons: Gray, that's, Andrew Trites, Trites, he's, Guillermo Arias, Leigh Torres, Torres, it's Organizations: Service, Marine Mammal Research, University of British, Getty, Oregon State, Mammal Institute Locations: Baja California, Wall, Silicon, Ojo, Baja, University of British Columbia, Alaska, Pacific, Canada, Mexico, Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Coast, Pacific Northwest, Oregon

☆ Video shows a grey whale seeking help from humans to have parasites picked off its head
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Grey whales in Mexico are approaching tourist boats to get help from humans, The Dodo reported. A video shows a whale-watching captain picking parasites off a whale's head as it spins around. The whale has repeatedly come to the captain to get its head picked, he told The Dodo. It shows a grey whale approaching the small tourist boat as the captain, identified as Paco Jimenez Franco, starts picking whale lice off its head. Speaking about his first one-on-one encounter with the whale, Franco said: "Once I removed the first one, she approached again so that I could continue to do so."

Persons: Grey, —, Paco Jimenez Franco, Franco, Mark Carwardine, Carwardine, orcas, Joshua Zitser Organizations: Service, Facebook, Guardian Locations: Mexico, Ojo, Mexico's Baja, British, Baja California, Portuguese, Strait, Gibraltar

Kenyan shipments of tea - its major export - have fallen by a fifth over the last year, according to the local regulator. The spike in global interest rates has already tipped Sri Lanka and Ghana into defaulting. Reuters GraphicsBLACK MARKETAlthough the dollar's share as a global reserve currency has dropped to 59% from 70% over a decade, it continues to dominate global trade. Nigeria has long had a web of multiple exchange rates which it is now trying to untangle, having also devalued its naira currency again last week. A plunge of around 70% in Bolivia's reserves has spawned queues at banks and currency exchange shops as some merchants stopped accepting local currency.

Persons: Wilson Muthaura, KTDA, Charlie Robertson, Muthaura, David Willacy, Ojo, Chaucer, Ronal, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kristalina Georgieva, William Ruto, Duncan Miriri, Marc Jones, Macdonald Dzirutwe, Monica Machicao, Mayela Armas, David Sherwood, Catherine Evans Organizations: Bank, FIM Partners, Reuters Graphics, Workers, REUTERS, La Paz, West, Reuters, JPMorgan, Monetary Fund, IMF, Fund, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, LONDON, Pakistan, COVID, Russia, Ukraine, London, Islamabad, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Tunisia, teetering, Nigeria, Kenya, StoneX, Nigeria's, Lagos, British, Cuba, Venezuela, Githunguri, Kiambu County, United States, Lebanon, Turkey, Ethiopia, China, India, Johannesburg, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Argentina, Nairobi, La Paz, Caracas, Havana

Ships in the Autonomous Port of Cotonou in Benin, West Africa. Prosper Dagnitche/AFP/Getty ImagesThe stream of used cars heading to West African ports is only expected to increase with the West’s shift to electric vehicles. “It’s not like people want to drive used cars; it’s an affordability issue.”Experts say demand for used cars could explode further as the take up of electric cars in the West increases the supply of used cars to African countries. Those states also have robust port operations, making them an ideal place to ship used cars to Africa. “In terms of where Africa goes, the transition shouldn’t necessarily be from used cars to brand new combustion engines, it should be from used cars to EVs,” Ipke said.

☆ From swimming pools to gardening, the rich's privileged lifestyles are driving urban water crises, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Published in the Nature Sustainability journal this week, the peer-reviewed research looked at the South African city of Cape Town, which has experienced severe drought in recent years. For the study, researchers split Cape Town's urban population into five social groupings and then modeled water consumption. "Informal dwellers and lower-income households constitute together 61.5% of Cape Town's population but consume a mere 27.3% of the city's water." "Specifically, privileged water consumption is unsustainable because in the short term, it disproportionally uses the water available for the entire urban population." Longer term, the report described what it called privileged consumption as constituting an environmental threat to the status of local water sources.

☆ Fact Check-Video purporting to show post-election clash in Lagos, Nigeria, dates to at least October 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

“It seems Ndigbo have waken up to defend themselves from Tinubu's APC thugs in Lagos,” wrote one person who shared the video on Twitter. However, another online search of keyframes also revealed that the clip was shared online as early as October 2022 (here ) (here ) (here ). TVC News Nigeria reported that a clash broke out between traders and road transport workers at Alaba International market on Oct. 19 (here ). Corroborating videos said to show the market has been shared online (here ) and other local outlets reported on the clashes (here ) (here ). Video showing clashes in Alaba International Market in Lagos, Nigeria dates to at least October 2022.

☆ Will Home Prices Drop in 2023?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

As of January, prices were down 13% from that June high, according to the National Association of Realtors. Will home prices drop in 2023? The University of California San Diego, for example, predicts prices will drop 5% nationally and as much as 18% in some cities. As a result, the U.S. housing market has been short on for-sale listings for more than a decade. “This is the easiest way to find out if you got a good price on your home in comparison to what else is on the market.”Finally, understand your finances.

☆ Ex-Amazon managers say they were pressured to cut successful workers to meet attrition goals — and faced retribution when they resisted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Former Amazon managers say they were pressured to cut successful workers to meet attrition goals. In anticipation of Amazon's performance-review period, he told Insider, he'd kept careful notes on what his employees were doing well and where they could improve. These people said leadership would place employees in Focus even if the managers of those employees said that the workers had met or exceeded expectations. A few weeks later, he said, his manager told him he was on Pivot and had the option to leave the company with severance, which he did. Amazon managers are required to submit their performance ratings for employees in an online tool, then discuss their rationale with managers above them, he said.

☆ Explainer: What is at stake for investors in Nigeria's election?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Rachel Savage | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Multiple exchange rates, widespread insecurity and low oil production due to massive crude theft are all problems that worry investors. Another focus is soaring fuel subsidy costs that devour government revenues and drive up debt. "No investor's going to want to buy into a market where you can't sell stock and get your money out," he said. Foreign investors held 16% of shares on Nigeria's stock exchange last year, sharply down from 58% in 2014, Nigerian Exchange Group data showed. Many investors, however, were cautiously optimistic that Nigeria would see improvements, whoever wins on Feb. 25.

☆ Amazon Studios is growing fast and spending big on shows like 'Citadel,' but insiders say unclear creative direction, leadership shifts, and tech bureaucracy threaten to drive away staff and talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

The dust has been settling at Amazon Studios after a big reorg in the fall that solidified Jen Salke's power. Yet Amazon Studios faces major challenges. Amazon Studios' Head of Global Television Vernon Sanders told Insider that the goal is to deliver content with global cultural relevance. Amazon Prime VideoWhile spending on such big swings has soared, some insiders see far less budgetary support for underrepresented casts. "I do think people wonder what's the commitment to Amazon Studios," the current insider said.

☆ Harvey Schwartz has his work cut out for him at Carlyle. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But first, a Wall Street firm finally finds its CEO. Harvey Schwartz Goldman Sachs1. In many ways, Carlyle and Harvey Schwartz are perfectly imperfect for each other. Might as well call it "Carefree Carlyle," because that's the vibes I'm getting under the soon-to-be Schwartz era. Click here to read more about what'll be expected of Harvey Schwartz as CEO of Carlyle.

☆ Ojo, a home-listings site aiming to rival Zillow, sells its Canadian operations to Royal Bank of Canada and raises funds from Vista Equity Partners in combined deal of nearly $200 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home-listings company Ojo Labs sold its Canadian operations to the Royal Bank of Canada. The transactions, totaling nearly $200 million, will help Ojo navigate a bumpy housing market. "We put the company in an extremely healthy cash position, while others are having to retrench," Berkowitz told Insider. These services can differentiate Ojo from Zillow and Realtor.com, which are most intently focused on the home transaction. CoStar, the real estate data giant that's reached a dominant position in commercial real estate data, has recently trained its eye on residential listing platforms.

☆ Man City crush Chelsea in FA Cup, Stevenage stun Villa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Richard Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Elsewhere, League Two (fourth tier) side Stevenage pulled off the shock of the weekend by winning 2-1 at Premier League Aston Villa, scoring two goals in the final few minutes. City will play at home in the fourth round against either Premier League leaders Arsenal or League One side Oxford United, who meet on Monday. Potter said City were the last team he could wish to face during the team's difficult run of form. Walsall beat Stockport County 2-1, Stoke City won 3-0 at Hartlepool, Blackburn Rovers beat Norwich City 1-0 and Derby County beat Barnsley 3-0 to also make it to the fourth round. Bristol City and Swansea City will meet again in a replay after drawing 1-1.

☆ After months of a slumping economy, layoffs are finally starting to hit finance firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The economy has been trending downward for months, but it seems the shoe we've all been waiting to drop — layoffs — is starting to come down. Over on the tech side, Insider is covering the mass layoffs at Twitter, which started last night. Bloomberg reports that Twitter has been hit with a class action lawsuit, alleging staffers were not given enough notice before the cuts. Click here to see all the companies across industries that have already conducted layoffs. Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief.

☆ Microsoft's former VP of HR shares the types of employees who are most likely to be laid off
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Compassionate Eye Foundation/Martin Barraud/OJO Images Ltd / Getty Images1. Who's most at risk during layoffs? Contract workers: At the highest risk are contract employees, which companies use for this very contingency. They want to remain flexible in case of a downturn, and as such, contract employees are usually the first ones out. Special interest groups representing Big Tech companies oppose possible crypto regulation in California. Cryptocurrency companies may soon be required to get a license to operate in the state, and industry groups representing Amazon, Apple, Meta, and other tech companies wrote to the state assembly opposing the law.

☆ Amazon Prime Video's former marketing chief outlines 'Thursday Night Football' plans and how the company 'listens to culture' to connect with customers
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-08 | by ( Erica Berenstein | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Amazon Prime Video will make a huge marketing push behind marquee series "Rings of Power." Former marketing chief Ukonwa Ojo told Insider about how the company uses data connect with audiences. Amazon does deep analysis of user comments, she said, for clues about what viewers care about — Prime Video's marketing team also factors in the cultural mood. You need data that moves at the pace of culture. They're going to need to be transported to a completely different world — so world-building shows — and they're also going to need some joy and some levity and some laughter.

☆ The 33 most innovative HR leaders who steered employees through a global crisis — and the plans they're using to create more flexible, equitable workplaces
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-15 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | Aman Kidwai | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Our list of top innovators includes HR executives from Chipotle, Zoom, and Glassdoor. This article is part of a series highlighting high achievers in HR called "Most Innovative HR Leaders." The most successful HR leaders listened closely to employees and used their ideas to build more effective diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. We asked our readers to tell us about innovators in the HR space, and then we picked 33 outstanding leaders across industries. Here are the top 33 innovators in HR (in alphabetical order by last name) and their exclusive insights on building the future of work.

☆ Redefining retirement: How I quit my career to travel the world
▼ + stars: | 2019-11-14 | by ( Verne Maree | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A year later, we sailed her across the Channel to Calais, down rivers and canals to the south of France — an unforgettably wonderful experience. Then we fly south — like migrating geese — to spend yet another summer between Durban and Perth. The nomadic retirementNow meet South Africans Gail and Neil Greenfield, the epitome of retired nomads. Rather than slowing down, nomadic retirees quit work to travel the world. When it comes to the planning, big events like this year's Rugby World Cup in Japan are anchored in first, Gail explained.

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