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If you're planning to travel this year, travel insurance can help protect the cost of your trip. Travel insurance is non-negotiable for me, but I believe it's also important for the average vacationer. Travel insurance is often overlooked in the excitement of planning travel, but forgetting travel insurance can be costly. You won't realize how important travel insurance is until you need to use it in an emergency. Unless you've purchased specific coverage, travel insurance generally won't cover canceling a trip due to fear of travel or changing your mind.

☆ Police arrested senior citizens who blockaded banks in a 'Rocking Chair Rebellion' to end fossil fuel use
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

They say Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America should stop lending to fossil-fuel companies. Grey-haired San Francisco protestors donned hats and rain jackets, set up a tent, passed around colorful banners and signs, and sang songs about protecting future generations. Organizers reported that 10 activists who occupied a Chase Bank were arrested on March 22, 2023. There were no arrests in San Francisco, where three young people and three older people chained themselves to the Wells Fargo doors. Morgan McFall-Johnsen"We're hoping to damage the reputation enough that people say: 'Oh no, Wells Fargo is not a good guy.

☆ Does bottled water go bad? When it's safe to drink expired water and what to do with a contaminated bottle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bottled water can have an expiration date, though it's legal in the US to sell expired water. Drinking expired water probably won't harm you, especially if the water was stored properly. So while an expired water bottle from the fridge may be safe to drink, the bottle you forgot in your hot car trunk or on a sunny shelf probably isn't. What to do with an expired water bottleIf you suspect your water is bad, boil it to kill off any potential pathogens. Oliver Rossi / Getty ImagesIf you're a frugal or environmentally-conscious person, you may wonder how to salvage your expired bottled water.

Its offshore debt restructuring, the country's biggest such exercise, is aimed at saving it from a disorderly collapse. The developer has $22.7 billion of offshore debt, all of which is deemed to be in default. A dollar bondholder, who was not authorised to speak to media, likened the debt restructuring plan to lending a bucket of rice to someone and being repaid with two grains a year. Evergrande said on Wednesday that additional financing of 250 billion yuan ($36.65 billion) to 300 billion yuan would be required as it resumes operations over the next three years. If Evergrande fails to push ahead with restructuring plan, the developer may have to face liquidation proceedings filed by an investor in one of its units in a Hong Kong court.

☆ Interest Rates Are Still Going Up—And That’s Good News for Savers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

But they’ve cheered savers by breaking a decadelong streak of near-zero returns on cash parked in savings accounts, CDs and the like. Where interest rates are headed nextThe opportunity might not last. The fed-funds rate, which banks use to set savings and CD rates, now appears more likely to fall than rise further. What it means for your moneySavings and CDsGiven the likelihood that we’re at peak interest rates, using CDs to lock in high yields may be a good idea. On the home buyer front, the median sale price of an existing home fell 12.3% between June and February as higher mortgage interest rates weakened demand.

☆ It took a progressive Virginia suburb 8 years to let developers build apartments instead of single-family houses. It shows how hard it is to build middle-class housing in the US.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Arlington, Virginia, is finally set to pass a "missing middle" housing policy after years of debate. Arlington is just the latest community to address missing middle housing as a part of a broader national reckoning. Across the country, critics of increasing housing density in single family neighborhoods are disproportionately older, wealthier, white homeowners. Advocates of missing middle housing say there's a deep generational gap when it comes to housing density. Despite the massive effort it took to come to the verge of passing missing middle housing, Arlington officials predict change will be slow and limited.

☆ Credit Suisse reinforces Japan’s offshore anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, March 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The crisis at Credit Suisse has traders wondering who’s next. Japanese lenders, with their staid depositor bases, look like unlikely targets for bank runs. Yet the rising cost of short-term dollar and euro credit, combined with extreme yen volatility, have made hedging much more expensive. Domestic commercial lenders alone held $600 billion of international debt securities at the end of 2022, and some look overexposed. Take Japan Post Bank (7182.T), a $32 billion institution whose parent is partly owned by the Ministry of Finance.

☆ Amazon job cuts rise to 27,000, but it's still not enough to rightsize the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon 's (AMZN) announcement Monday to eliminate another 9,000 employees in the coming weeks is a step in the right direction. The new Amazon cuts, which bring its recent total to 27,000, follow other tech layoffs. Andy Jassy, CEO of Club holding Amazon, detailed the company's actions in a memo to staff, saying these job cuts will mostly come from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud unit, advertising operations and videogame streaming platform Twitch. If Amazon turns into the leaner company want it to become, the stock could turn higher. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The latest is research published last Thursday by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. The sum, though, is just $140 million, and the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation is pouring in three-quarter of the proceeds. But there is a decent investment case for water without state or supranational support. Without them, water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe United Nations 2023 Water Conference starts on March 22, World Water Day, in New York.

Shares of First Republic fell 20.7% in early trading after the bank suspended its dividend payout. The KBW regional banking index (.KRX) and the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) fell over 2% each. "Deposits have fled from regional banks like First Republic into the big banks who are now bailing them out by putting the deposits back in. "Until you stop the deposit flight from regional banks into the systemically important banks that are too big to fail, it doesn't matter how much money you pour into the bucket." The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded seven new highs and 75 new lows.

CNBC Select asked Brian Walsh, a CFP and Senior Manager of Financial Planning at SoFi, to share some of his best tips for making travel more affordable. Plus, waiting too long could mean the more affordable hotel and vacation rental options fill up, leaving you stuck paying for pricey accommodations. Many travel rewards credit cards can make booking flights and hotels more affordable thanks to the large welcome bonuses they may offer. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Learn More Information about the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication. Remaining flexible and using rewards points when booking your travel plans is key to significant savings.

☆ Amazon just asked its software engineers to start using a new in-house AI tool, rather than ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees last month that generative AI is a "significant area of focus" for the company. Amazon wants its engineers to start using its own ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence tool at work, as it looks to catch up in the AI chatbot space, Insider has learned. "Amazon CodeWhisperer is an AI-powered coding assistant that provides real-time recommendations in your IDE based on your existing code and comments," the email, titled "Start using Amazon CodeWhisperer today," said. The move signals Amazon's behind-the-scenes efforts to join the AI chatbot race, where it has been noticeably absent in the public space. He also said Amazon's investment in this space will only increase, highlighting the maturation of generative AI, which powers many of the AI chatbots.

☆ Wall Street is surprised by First Republic's falling stock. Here's how the bank compares to SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

FRC 1D mountain First Republic's stock was down by more than 75% at one point on Monday. The dramatic slide puzzled many Wall Street analysts, however, who still see First Republic as a strong bank even after SVB's demise. Here's a look at some of the pressure points for First Republic and how it compares to SVB. First Republic's deposit mix has likely changed in recent days, though the company has not released updated numbers. Another consideration is that First Republic's loans are largely residential real estate.

☆ Shred Your Bucket List: Why ‘Must-Do’ Travel Plans Are Ruining Your Vacations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Sebastian Modak | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CUMBERLAND, MD., is not what most people would call a bucket-list destination. Set on the banks of the Potomac River, it offers pleasant-enough diversions. A quaint, pedestrian-only strip of local businesses. A vintage steam engine that shuttles sightseers into the Allegheny Mountains. Still, when I think ahead to when I’ll kick the proverbial bucket and the travel experiences I’ll remember most, it is a scorching summer afternoon in a mostly unremarkable town that rises to the surface—not the first time I glimpsed the magnificent mausoleum in Agra.

☆ I'm a travel influencer who's sailed to Antarctica 3 times. It's a notoriously treacherous journey — but it's so worth it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Fortesa Latifi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Drake Passage is an ocean passage ships take to Antarctica. Alyssa Ramos, a travel influencer, has crossed it three times back and forth — and keeps going back. As a travel influencer, I've always had those bucket list destinations that are just dreams to me. The Drake Passage is a body of water between the southern edge of South America and the lonely continent of Antarctica. You just have to accept that you're going to throw up and be prepared with anti-nausea medications.

☆ Capitalizing on market crashes is key to retiring on time. Many millennials are still looking for their first chance.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Stock market declines can create bargain-buying opportunities for investors looking to generate long-term wealth. Many millennials are looking for their first chance to participate, having lacked adequate savings during prior market downturns. That's because a falling stock market creates discounts and a chance to buy high-upside assets on the dip. The 28-year-old is among the TikTok financial influencers telling their young audiences not to miss out on the next stock market slump. Some have argued that overvalued markets, slowing population growth, and rising interest rates could weigh down US stock market returns for at least the next decade.

A deeper look at the company's billing practices revealed what appeared to be Medicare fraud, Pérez Aybar said. Fraud flourishesThat's just one of thousands of examples of how Medicare fraud is flourishing — not only in south Florida, but across the country. Taxpayers are losing more than $100 billion a year to Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to estimates from the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. This convicted felon says Medicare and Medicaid fraud is "very easy" to get away with. The same pills could be sold and resold multiple times with different phony patients, billing Medicare each time.

☆ Powell pushes dollar to three-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - The dollar was riding high on Wednesday, flung to three-month peaks when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised investors by warning that interest rates might need to go up faster and higher than expected to rein in inflation. Overnight it had shot more than 1.2% higher on the euro, its biggest one-day move in five months. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, jumped 1.3% overnight to a three-month peak of 105.65. The blockbuster week of central bank meetings and speakers rolls on later in the day, with the Bank of Canada setting policy and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaking. "If they don't hike, the Canadian dollar will likely fall into a bucket of currencies where the central bank is unwilling to keep up with the Fed."

☆ Here's what makes cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks tick and why we like the stock so much
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) last month had its best single trading day in about a year, exactly one week after the next-generation cybersecurity company became our newest Investing Club holding. Why Palo Alto Networks? PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 1-year performance Palo Alto Networks is a great way to play a secular growth industry. Taking all of these segments together, Palo Alto Networks is a company capable of delivering on every aspect of cybersecurity under one roof. Palo Alto Networks' ESG practices, meanwhile, are overseen by the ESG and Nominating Committee, which provides counsel to the board in these matters.

☆ Quick, simple things you can do this year to improve your financial future
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —You know very well you could do a million things to improve your financial situation. The problem, though, is that changing a million things means you’ll basically have to change way too much about how you live. Incremental, implementable and imperfect,” said Brent Weiss, co-founder and head of financial wellness at Facet, a financial planning firm. Break down where your money is going specifically and create a “needs” column and a “wants” column, said Rose Niang, the financial planning director at Edelman Financial Engines. Pay down high-interest debtCredit card interest rates are at record highs this year.

☆ The unraveling of fintech darling Vise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

It was April, and more than two dozen salespeople who worked for the fintech startup Vise had been ordered to a multiday off-site at the W Hoboken hotel in New Jersey to share exhaustive reports on their performance. Even salespeople at bigger, established, top-tier investment-management firms typically wouldn't close $250 million in a year, multiple sales employees said. (K-means clustering is an unsupervised machine-learning algorithm often referred to as a form of AI, Vise's founders said). (Vise's founders disputed this, saying the company received updated financial data only once a day for its portfolio-construction engine.) And to address its "leaky funnel" of overestimating prospective sales, Vise was to stop outreach to new clients while it onboards and upsells to existing clients, the document said.

☆ 10 people were injured on a Spirit Airlines flight after a battery fire, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Spirit flight had to make an emergency stop after a battery fire on board, WTLV reported. Spirit told an NBC affiliate that the battery fire was believed to be "from a guest item." "All of a sudden just a ton of smoke came out," Kerri Arakawa, a passenger on the plane, told the news outlet. Insider was unable to confirm whether the battery was attached to a vape, but Spirit told WTLV in a statement that the battery fire was believed to be from a "guest item in an overhead bin." Prosswimmer told Insider that he believed the fire was caused by a "battery charging pack," but could not confirm whether it was attached to a vape.

☆ I quit my job as a nurse to house-sit — and I've now lived rent-free in LA, Portugal, Costa Rica, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Costa Rica and Mexico were the top two. We booked a trip to Costa Rica, but in March 2020, the pandemic hit and all our travel plans were put on hold. We checked out the site, and we typed in "Costa Rica" when it asked "Where do you want to go?" So far, we've stayed in 10 homes in landscapes as varied as the desert of Palm Springs and the jungle of Costa Rica. Our first house-sit was at a jungle casita in Costa Rica, where we looked after a little rescue dogIt proved to be one of our favorites.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Procter & Gamble, Tesla, Spotify, AbbVie & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Morgan Stanley upgrades Sarepta to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on the company's gene therapy drug, SRP-9001. Morgan Stanley reiterates Rivian as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its overweight rating on the EV maker after its earnings report on Tuesday, but says it's now a show-me story. Morgan Stanley reiterates Eli Lilly as top pick Morgan Stanley said the stock is best-in-class and that it's bullish on its diabetes drug, Mounjaro. Morgan Stanley names JD.com a catalyst driven idea Morgan Stanley said it's bullish heading into the China e-commerce company's earnings on March 9. Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by shares of Microsoft.

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☆ 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.

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