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The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is worth considering on its own, but you can actually boost the value of your rewards when you pair it with certain other Chase credit cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Chase Freedom Flex benefits and featuresThe Chase Freedom Flex℠ comes with substantial purchase and travel protections, including select World Elite Mastercard benefits that you don't often find on no-annual-fee cards. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightChase Freedom Flex fees and costsThe Chase Freedom Flex℠ doesn't charge an annual fee, so it's a great long-term keeper card. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Freedom Flex℠ are both excellent cards, but they're suited to different types of users. If you're torn between the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited®, have a look at our comparison of the two Freedom cards to narrow down your choice.

An experimental treatment for advanced melanoma is poised to be the next major advance in cancer treatment, experts say. Those who got TIL therapy had a 50% reduction in disease progression and death, compared to those who were treated with ipilimumab, the study found. Bruce Hawley and his wife, Laurie, celebrated their third wedding anniversary in 2021 in Vancouver, several years after his TIL therapy. "The chemotherapy knocks down the immune cells to make space for the TIL cells going in," Hwu said. The hope is that TIL therapy will also be used for other solid cancers, not just melanoma, Rosenberg said.

☆ U.S. lawmakers ease planned curbs on Chinese chips amid corporate pushback
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The final version no longer forbids contractors from "using" the targeted chips and pushes the compliance deadline back to five years from the immediate or two-year implementation deadlines included in the first version. Chips made by SMIC are commissioned by companies all over the world and can be found in products as diverse as cell phones and cars. They are difficult to identify because chips are not typically labeled with the names of the companies that manufacture them. Lawmakers released a final version of the NDAA Tuesday night. Schumer's office, SMIC, YMTC, CXMT and the Chamber of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ U.S. lawmakers ease proposed curbs on Chinese chips amid corporate pushback
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Chips made by SMIC are commissioned by companies all over the world and can be found in products as diverse as cell phones and cars. They are difficult to identify because chips are not typically labeled with the names of the companies that manufacture them. Lawmakers are expected to announce final language for the final package later this week, which may include the revised measure. SMIC, YMTC and CXMT, the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment. SMIC was blacklisted by the Trump administration over concerns the company aids the Chinese military.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried was the poster boy for 'effective altruism.' Now, its followers are heartbroken and critics are questioning its 'weird' funding setup.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was a proponent of effective altruism: earning as much as possible to give your wealth away. He had a huge influence on the effective-altruism movement, which counts Silicon Valley tech workers and Oxford University academics among its fans. 'Devastated'Bankman-Fried was the main funder of Future Fund, a charitable project run by the FTX Foundation. "We joined the Future Fund to support incredible people and projects," they said, "and this outcome is heartbreaking to us." Science groups that had received money from the Future Fund told the magazine Science in mid-November that they were unsure of their funding's future.

☆ Hate speech dramatically surges on Twitter following Elon Musk takeover, new research shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN Business —New Twitter owner Elon Musk declared last month that “hate speech impressions” had dramatically fallen on the platform since he took over. It was a remarkable claim, given that Musk has executed mass layoffs and chased away hundreds of employees, draining the company of much-needed resources to enforce content moderation policies, which the billionaire has also publicly criticized. On Friday, two watchdog groups published research that indicated Musk’s claim simply did not hold water, offering one of the clearest pictures to date of the surging tide of hate speech on the platform. The Center for Countering Digital Hate and Anti-Defamation League both said in reports that the volume of hate speech on Twitter has grown dramatically under Musk’s stewardship. Specifically, the Center for Countering Digital Hate said the daily use of the n-word under Musk is triple the 2022 average and the use of slurs against gay men and trans persons are up 58% and 62%, respectively.

☆ The 10 people transforming supply chain - including leaders from Best Buy, Goodr, and Altana
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Dave Clark, CEO of FlexportFlexport's incoming CEO Dave Clark. AmazonWhen Dave Clark left his job as the CEO of global consumers at Amazon to run the logistics startup Flexport this summer, he caused quite a stir. Flexport is the senior classman of logistics startups, with $2.3 million capital raised and a valuation of $8 billion. Clark's job is to supercharge its growth. "What draws me to supply-chain issues is the complexity; these are hard problems to solve, with thousands of moving parts that don't always connect or communicate with one another," Clark told Insider.

☆ Subsidies Supercharge GM’s EV Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The transition to electric vehicles might not kill traditional auto makers after all—as long as they qualify for Washington’s flagship subsidy program. At an investor day Thursday, General Motors laid bare the economics of its technological shift. The bad news: GM estimated that its operating margins on EVs would still only be in the low to mid-single digits at the end of 2025. That calculation includes sales of regulatory credits for greenhouse-gas emissions, but excludes new tax credits that President Biden signed into law in August as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ FTX's rescue by Binance is a red flag for sports heavyweights that signed sponsorship deals with the crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Binance stunned the crypto world with a deal to buy Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX Tuesday. The exchange's troubles raise questions about its deals with Tom Brady, the Miami Heat, and the Mercedes F1 team. But FTX is yet to comment on what will happen with the million-dollar sports sponsorship deals it brokered earlier this year. As cryptocurrencies surged, major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase and FTX all worked to land major sports sponsorship deals to compete for users and build brand awareness. Major companies have pulled away from sports sponsorship deals amid the market turmoil.

☆ How Joe Biden can help save the planet at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Hugo Dixon | Andre Cabette Fabio | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

States such as Pakistan will also complain that they are already suffering the consequences of climate change despite having done very little to cause it. PULL IT TOGETHERAmerica and other rich countries have a series of policies which could accelerate the just transition across the Global South. Developing and emerging economies, excluding China, need $1 trillion a year in investment, according to a new report from the Rockefeller Foundation. And they need help adapting to the ravages of climate change. If America and other rich countries negotiate a whole-economy transformation with India, they will kill two birds with one stone.

One year and billions of dollars later, the so-called metaverse still feels years away, if it ever manifests at all. And Meta’s flagship social VR app Horizon Worlds can feel like a ghost town (albeit a ghost town with laser tag). Meta’s latest headset, the Quest Pro, is its first effort at combining the immersiveness of VR with the real world. The VR headset market is still tiny compared to, say, an established gadget market like console video games. A visitor to the 2022 Tokyo Game Show tests the Meta Quest 2 VR headset.

☆ This 29-year-old super-saver earns $135,000 a year and plans to retire by 35: I'm in 'the top 1% of the most frugal people'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Firl is part of the FIRE — short for financial independence, retire early — movement, and specifically adheres to a strategy known as "lean" FIRE. LoonarCity | Jack Davis & Sara MillerSo far, Firl stashed away roughly $380,000 and hopes to save at least $625,000 to fund an early retirement at age 35. He earns $135,000 a year as a software engineer, and about half of each paycheck goes toward food and living expenses every month. The Firl family wasn't hurting for money. LoonarCity | Jack Davis & Sara Miller"We also have garnered a reputation with our friends and family as being very frugal and thrifty," Firl says.

☆ Meet 11 adtech companies helping marketers like Nordstrom and P&G supercharge their ads on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Lindsay Rittenhouse | Elizabeth Pham Janowski | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Insider identified 11 adtech companies helping marketers develop their TikTok strategies. While brand marketers initially flocked to TikTok to grow awareness among Gen Z, they're increasingly seeing TikTok ads drive sales, especially with the popularity of the "TikTok Made Me Buy It" phenomenon. Adtech and marketing tech companies have seized this opportunity and are introducing new products to help marketers succeed on TikTok, whether that's making their TikTok ads perform better, making those ads easier to create, or identifying which influencers are best for a given brand to work with. "A good TikTok adtech company is one that helps realize the fact that, because of data deprecation, creative is the new audience targeting," he said. Insider identified 11 adtech companies helping marketers make their TikTok ad campaigns easier to create and execute, based on conversations with advertisers, analysts, and investment bankers.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ China says it's running on a new version of democracy that doesn't rely on elections. Experts say it's just another mind game.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

He first introduced the term "whole-process democracy" to China in a 2019 speech. However, by November that year, "whole-process democracy" was mentioned in 128 People's Daily articles, per CMP. "China's whole-process people's democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy and people's democracy with the will of the state," says China's white paper on the subject, per CGTN. Semantics aside, a key point to note is that "whole-process democracy" plays down the need for elections. Even so, Chong said, whole-process democracy might still help the CCP give the impression that it cares about the average citizen.

☆ How Amazon's warehouse empire reshaped the nation — and the US workforce
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we're exploring the new Insider project Warehouse Nation, and specifically, Amazon's role. The tech giant has made efficiency the cornerstone of its business, and this series examines how that's reshaped the nation and its workforce. Plus, this week has shown us that Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have pretty much opposite views on the state of the economy (no surprise there). Elon Musk told investors that he planned to get rid of nearly 75% of Twitter's 7,500 workers, according to The Washington Post. Jeff Bezos thinks it's time to "batten down the hatches," while Elon Musk says Tesla is "pedal to the metal" on production.

☆ Why the market crisis that ousted the UK's prime minister would never happen in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss' tax plan sparked immediate market backlash and, eventually, her resignation. Prime Minister Liz Truss, just 22 days into her leadership role, unveiled a mini-budget that proposed tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy. The prime minister announced her resignation on Thursday, just 45 days after taking office. The prime minister was dealt a less-than-ideal hand when she entered office. The checks and balances throughout the US government also stand in the way of such rapid-fire economic policy.

☆ Here's the exclusive pitch deck workplace-coaching startup 10KC used to raise $56 million to match employees with mentors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Founded in 2014, 10KC is a mentorship startup that matches employees based on their profiles. For Dave Wilkin, a cofounder and the CEO of 10KC, mentorship has been one of the foundations of his professional career. 10KC removes bias from networks and relationships, which is incredibly important for hybrid and decentralized work," Wilkin said. Now, Wilkin and Garcea have raised a $56 million growth-equity round for the first time, which Five Elms Capital led. Check out the 14-slide redacted pitch deck that 10KC used to raise $56 million in growth funding from Five Elms Capital:

☆ A merger with Albertsons could bring Kroger's tech initiatives, like automated warehouses and smart carts, to over 5,000 locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Kroger is building its own tech infrastructure, including automated warehouses for delivery orders. Here are Kroger's biggest e-commerce and technology initiatives:A ClusterTruck ghost kitchen inside a Kroger in the Midwest. The delivery-focused ghost kitchen touts a Cheesecake Factory-inspired menu of 80 to 100 food items. Over the last few years, ClusterTruck opened locations inside Kroger stores in Indiana and Ohio. Another partnership, this one with the autonomous-car startup Nuro, has stationed self-driving vehicles to deliver grocery orders in certain cities since 2018.

☆ Geopolitical tensions with the U.S. could 'supercharge' China's innovation, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Abigail Ng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An employee works on the production line of semiconductor wafer at a factory of Jiangsu Azure Corporation Cuoda Group. China has stepped up investment into its chip industry in a bid to be self-reliant in crucial technology needed for electric vehicles, smartphones and more. U.S.-China tensions have pushed Beijing to be more self-sufficient, and that could be a good thing for innovators in China, according to an investment specialist at JPMorgan Asset Management. In the mid-1990s, Chinese companies were mostly mass market manufacturers of "commoditized goods," he added. "I think that the geopolitical tension you're talking about will just actually supercharge that — because China needs to do these things itself, and they will carry on with progress in that area."

☆ Biden's surprise move to reclassify cannabis could supercharge legal weed — but it also carries big risks for companies and investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jeremy Berke | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He announced pardons for federal cannabis possession and ordered a review of how cannabis is scheduled. While Biden's announcement stopped far short of decriminalization, he outlined three key steps:He's pardoning people federally convicted of simple cannabis possession. Biden's announcement signals that his administration — quiet on cannabis until now — will finally push for federal cannabis reform. Stifel analyst Andrew Partheniou called Biden's announcement "the most important development in US cannabis history," in a Friday morning note. If the government decides to regulate cannabis like a pharmaceutical, that could undermine the recreational cannabis industry as it currently stands.

LONDON — If anyone thought Britain was due a period of calm after Boris Johnson’s tumultuous premiership, no one told his successor. But the proposed solution by new Prime Minister Liz Truss has quickly sent the economy spiraling into chaos, threatening consequences both immediate and long-lasting for many Britons. Prime Minister Liz Truss's government unveiled a financial plan last week that sparked market concern and public criticism. The nose-diving pound will also make everyday products in Britain more expensive as importers face spiraling costs. It wants to supercharge Britain’s sluggish economy by any means necessary — even if that means short-term shocks.

☆ Kroger is doubling down on its subscription delivery business as it weans itself off of Instacart. Here's a rundown of its other initiatives, from ghost kitchens to smart carts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Here are Kroger's biggest e-commerce and technology initiatives:A ClusterTruck ghost kitchen inside a Kroger in the Midwest. ClusterTruckGhost kitchensIn December 2019, Kroger began improving its prepared meals offering by partnering with ghost kitchen startup ClusterTruck. The delivery-focused ghost kitchen touts a Cheesecake Factory-inspired menu of 80 to 100 food items. Over the last few years, ClusterTruck opened locations inside Kroger stores in Indiana and Ohio. But the firm, which tracks where consumers shop, said Kroger stores with the ghost kitchens are seeing an uptick in visits compared to neighboring Kroger branches.

☆ Managing up can protect your career in a recession. Here's a guide to managing your boss, according to organizational behavior experts.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Definitions vary, but behavioral experts say it's about managing your relationship with your boss. Insider spoke to two behavioral experts who explained how it can protect your career in a recession. The thought of "managing" your boss might sound like a daunting task, but behavioral experts suggest that managing up can protect your career in a recession. Definitions of the phrase vary, but it's really about "managing the relationship that you have with your boss," according to Andy Molinsky, professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis International Business School. "I think the idea of managing your boss almost feels shocking," Molinsky said in an interview.

The future of Hulu continues to be an open question as Comcast and Disney still haven't agreed on terms that will settle the company's future ownership. But Comcast executives are planning on Disney buying them out — even if they'd prefer otherwise. Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu and has an option to buy the remaining 33% from Comcast as early as January 2024. Some analysts and industry watchers have speculated Comcast might try to buy Hulu from Disney rather than the other way around. Disney could have positioned Hulu as its advertising play going forward, but CEO Bob Chapek has chosen to make versions of both Disney+ and Hulu with and without commercials.

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